Month: April 2018

Thousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy contracts in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been signed, seriously challenging the financial viability of major hydropower projects on the river, an energy expert told a water conference last week. Buoyed by a recent Thai…

The increasing trade tensions between the United States and China has rattled farmers in the American heartland, the place where many of the products on which China seeks to impose a tariff are produced.  As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, those farmers, once supportive of President…

The head of the International Monetary Fund is warning that the global trading system is in danger of being "torn apart."   In a speech prepared for delivery in Hong Kong Wednesday, Christine Lagarde urged nations to "steer clear of protectionism."  That may be a…

Future Russian gas transit flows through Ukraine to Europe may be between 10 and 15 billion cubic metres per year, Alexei Miller, head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, said on Tuesday, which is a significant decline from current levels. Miller issued his comments after German…

Tuesday, April 10, is Equal Pay Day in the United States. Advocates designated the day to mark how much longer women must work, on average, to earn as much as men averaged in the previous year.  Germany recognized Equal Pay Day on March 10. The…

China’s President Xi Jinping did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump by name or speak directly about rising trade frictions with Washington during a closely watched speech at the Boao Forum — China’s version of Davos for Asia. But the pledges Xi made to press…

Brazil's government has been told that development projects, including hydropower dams, in protected areas can no longer go ahead without the prior approval of lawmakers. Last week's ruling by the supreme court followed the use by the government in recent years of the controversial "provisional…

Afghanistan is set to exploit its unique agricultural climate by refining and exporting another kind of flower, orange blossoms! An Afghan investor found a way to extract the citrusy, floral bouquet from the delicate flowers to create perfumes. As VOA's Zabihullah Ghazi reports in Jalalabad,…

U.S. President Donald Trump predicted Sunday there would be a resolution of the U.S.-China standoff on tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods the world's two biggest economies are threatening to impose on each other. The U.S. leader said, without offering any direct…

Taiwan says it regrets that the "one China" policy insisted on by Beijing prevents it from providing much needed development aid to most countries in Africa. Taiwan was in a relatively good diplomatic position in Africa several years ago. Taiwan’s Deputy Secretary-General for International Cooperation…

The U.N. secretary-general and the Singaporean foreign minister voiced concerns about global trade tensions and rising protectionism during back-to-back meetings in Beijing on Sunday. Following remarks from his Chinese counterpart, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan vowed to "double-down'' on free trade and economic liberalization in…

Some 30 percent of Air France flights were cancelled Saturday as strikes over pay rises appear to be intensifying. And that's just part of France's travel troubles this month. Most French trains will screech to a halt as a strike over President Emmanuel Macron's economic…