International law firm and lobbying shop Squire Patton Boggs is getting cozy with one of President ‘s most trusted advisers. The firm said this week that it’s formed an alliance with Michael D. Cohen, a personal lawyer to Mr. Trump who has served as his fixer for many years and credits himself as the originator of the […] (via WSJ)
By Joseph White | DETROIT DETROIT General Motors Co (GM.N) on Tuesday unveiled a German-made Buick crossover wagon it plans to sell in the United States, and in so doing highlighted the U.S. auto industry’s vulnerability to shifting trade politics. The Buick Regal TourX, scheduled to launch later this year in the United States, is aimed at imported all-wheel drive vehicles such as those offered by Subaru […]
By Ingrid Melander and Michel Rose | PARIS PARIS The two leading candidates in France’s presidential election clashed sharply over Europe in a televised debate on Tuesday night, with centrist Emmanuel Macron accusing the far right’s Marine Le Pen, his anti-European Union rival, of lying. The three-hour debate involves all 11 candidates, some of whom draw one percent or less of support in polls, and a majority […]
Fox News is facing fresh legal and financial challenges after a third employee joined a racial discrimination lawsuit while a dozen brands stopped advertising on Bill O’Reilly’s top-rated programme following new allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. The allegations that the cable network knew of complaints from black employees two years ago and failed to investigate them, coupled with the news of advertisers distancing themselves from […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States blamed the Syrian government and its patrons, Russia and Iran, on Tuesday for one of the deadliest chemical weapons attacks in years in Syria, one that killed dozens of people in Idlib Province, including children, and sickened scores more. A senior State Department official said the attack appeared to be a war crime and called on Russia and Iran to restrain […]
Italian government bond prices were lower on Monday, as investors focused on signs of political sclerosis rather than economic data pointing to strength in manufacturing and a drop in the ranks of the unemployed. The difference between Italian 10-year sovereign bonds and the benchmark German Bund — a key measure of investor confidence as it shows the premium traders are demanding to buy Italian debt — hit […]
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A bill to slap new sanctions on Iran has been delayed in the U.S. Senate due to concerns about Iran’s May presidential election, in which conservative hardliners hope to defeat moderate President Hassan Rouhani, U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday. A group of Democratic and Republican senators introduced the bill in March seeking to impose tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran over ballistic […]
QUITO Ecuadorean leftist Lenin Moreno won Sunday’s presidential election, the country’s electoral council said on Tuesday, after a tight contest with his right-wing opponent. Moreno pocketed 51.16 percent of valid votes versus 48.84 percent for conservative challenger Guillermo Lasso, with 99.65 percent of votes counted, according to the council. The results are “irreversible,” electoral council president Juan Pablo Pozo said, adding there was no indication of fraud. […]
By Scott DiSavino | NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices on Tuesday rose to a near one-month high as expectations of a drawdown in U.S. crude and product inventories outweighed news of higher Libyan production. Brent LCOc1 futures were up 91 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $54.03 a barrel by 11:27 a.m. EDT (1527 GMT). That pushed the global benchmark over its 100-day moving average, into overbought […]
AIRPORT DUTY A woman immigration officer welcomes arriving passengers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. —LYN RILLON The Bureau of Immigration will assign more employees to the airports to deal with a staff shortage caused by mass resignations and leaves of absence involving immigration officers. President Duterte’s order to stop payment for overtime work has led to the departures, according to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. Malacañang said […]
Greek ministers and the country’s bailout monitors were on Tuesday trying to strike a deal on the pension and labour market reforms needed to unlock further financial aid. With the clock ticking down to more than €6bn in debt repayments that Athens must make in July, negotiators say an accord on the main elements of the policy package must be reached soon to stave off the risk […]
Photo A Boeing 737 MAX at Boeing Field in Seattle in January 2016. The company wants to sell up to 60 airliners to Iran. Credit Jason Redmond/Reuters The Boeing Company announced a tentative agreement on Tuesday to sell up to 60 737s to an Iranian airline, a transaction valued at $6 billion that appears very likely to test the Trump administration’s avowed hostility toward Iran. Boeing, the […]
South Africa’s rand tumbled in late trading on Monday after a rating agency cut the country’s coveted investment grade status, leaving President Jacob Zuma’s decision to fire his finance minister responsible for wiping out almost all the currency’s gains for the year. The rand slid to R13.7 against the dollar, taking its drop in the past five days to almost 9 per cent. Having recorded a gain […]
RIYADH British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she would raise “hard issues” with Saudi Arabia’s leaders during her visit, as critics urged her to pressure Riyadh over its war in Yemen and human rights record. May was expected to explore ways of boosting trade ties with the kingdom during her two-day visit, her second to a Gulf Arab state since Britain decided to leave the […]
Qatar is in discussion with FIFA to host several major international tournaments ahead of 2022 including the Club World Cup currently held by Real Madrid, sources familiar with the matter have told AFP. The Gulf state could also be the venue for the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups. Sources say all three tournament options are currently being considered by the Qatari authorities and football’s governing body, and […]
BRASILIA Brazil’s top electoral court on Tuesday began hearing a landmark case about illegal campaign funding that could lead to the removal of President Michel Temer less than a year after he took over from impeached leftist Dilma Rousseff. The case before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) could annul the 2014 election won by Rousseff and her running mate Temer, prolonging the political instability that has deepened […]
Photo Rifaat al-Assad in Paris in 2011. A Spanish judge ordered the seizure of numerous properties associated with him or his family. Credit Michel Euler/Associated Press LONDON — Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, was named on Tuesday in a European money laundering investigation. A Spanish judge, José de la Mata Amaya, ordered the seizure of properties in Spain that are controlled by […]
In this Monday, April 3, 2017, photo, Tim Berners-Lee poses outside his office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Berners-Lee, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, is this year’s recipient of the A.M. Turing Award, computing’s version of the Nobel Prize. The honor comes with a $1 million prize funded by Google, one of many companies that made a fortune […]
The ‘Panama Papers‘ scandal was one of the biggest data leaks in history. But a year on from the exposé by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), it appears to be simply ‘business as usual’; as few governments have meaningfully tackled the issues of tax avoidance and evasion. Unparalleled leaks The leak was huge. It contained 11.5 million documents, and named more than 200,000 companies, 14,153 clients in […]
Future of renewable energy in Africa discussed at the first Africa Renewable Energy Leaders Summit (ARELS) in Nairobi Future of renewable energy in Africa discussed at the first Africa Renewable Energy Leaders Summit (ARELS) in Nairobi Tuesday, April 4, 2017 The first Africa Renewable Energy Leaders’ Summit (ARELS) officially launched today at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi. The two-day-long international conference organised by dmg events Middle East, […]
JOHANNESBURG President Jacob Zuma said South Africa’s fiscal policies will not change and that people should remain calm after its credit rating was cut to junk following a political reshuffle that he defended as bringing new blood into the cabinet. But moments later, the ANC-allied Cosatu, South Africa’s largest trade union, said Zuma must step down after his change of finance ministers triggered the credit rating downgrade. […]
MANILA China and Southeast Asian countries have made progress in talks on a code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea, the Philippine acting foreign minister said on Tuesday. China claims almost the entire waterway, through which about $5 trillion in sea-borne goods pass every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. “We have made good progress on coming up with a […]
A day after an explosion ripped through St Petersburg’s metro system killing at least 14 people, authorities in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan identified a suspect in the attack as a Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen. There were conflicting reports as to whether the suspect was a suicide bomber or whether he had fled the scene. Citing an unnamed official at Kyrgyzstan’s national security committee, the Russian news […]
Submitted by James Durso “The lion is back in his den!” Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt, walked free last week after six years in detention on charges of murder and corruption. What does the U.S. have to show for it? Nothing. In January 2011, Egyptian activists planned protests against corruption, lack of economic growth, and the heavy-handed police tactics of the recent years. The protests were […]
