Month: June 2018

Iran is studying ways to keep exporting oil and other measures to counter U.S. economic sanctions, state news agency IRNA reported Saturday. Since last month, when U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal that lifted most sanctions in 2015, the rial currency has dropped up to 40 percent in value, prompting protests by bazaar traders usually loyal to the Islamist rulers. Speaking after three days of those protests, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U.S. sanctions were aimed at turning Iranians against their government. Other protesters clashed with police late Saturday during a demonstration against shortages of drinking water. "They bring to bear economic pressure to separate the nation from the system ... but six U.S. presidents before him [Trump] tried this and had to give up," Khamenei said on his website Khamenei.ir. With the return of…

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had received assurances from King Salman of Saudi Arabia that the kingdom will increase oil production, “maybe up to 2,000,000 barrels” in response to turmoil in Iran and Venezuela. Saudi Arabia acknowledged the call took place, but mentioned no production targets. Trump wrote on Twitter that he had asked the king in a phone call to boost oil production “to make up the difference...Prices to (sic) high! He has agreed!” A little over an hour later, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on the call, but offered few details. “During the call, the two leaders stressed the need to make efforts to maintain the stability of oil markets and the growth of the global economy,” the statement said. It added that there also…

Editor's note: A look at the veracity of claims by political figures President Donald Trump has elevated his tax cuts to an act of biblical proportions, misleadingly claiming at a White House speech Friday that they triggered an “economic miracle.” Not quite. Also Friday, the president’s top economics aide, Larry Kudlow, appeared on the Fox Business Network to address one of the major problems with the tax cuts — that they’ll heap more than $1 trillion onto the national debt. Kudlow falsely countered that the budget deficit was falling because of growth generated by the tax cuts. The deficit is actually rising. A look at the statements and the fact: TRUMP: “Six months ago, we unleashed an economic miracle by signing the biggest tax cuts and reforms ... the biggest…

General Motors Co warned on Friday that higher tariffs on imported vehicles under consideration by the Trump administration could cost jobs and lead to a “a smaller GM” while isolating U.S. businesses from the global market. The administration in May launched an investigation into whether imported vehicles pose a national security threat, and U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose a 20 percent vehicle import tariff. The largest U.S. automaker said in comments filed with the U.S. Commerce Department that overly broad tariffs could “lead to a smaller GM, a reduced presence at home and abroad for this iconic American company, and risk less — not more — U.S. jobs.” Higher tariffs could also hike vehicle prices and reduce sales, GM said. ​Less investment, fewer workers Its comments…

U.S. President Donald Trump touted the Republican tax cut plan Friday, six months after he signed it into law, saying it was strengthening the U.S. economy and helping average Americans by increasing investment, jobs and wages. "It is my great honor to welcome you back to the White House to celebrate six months of new jobs, bigger paychecks and keeping more of your hard-earned money where it belongs: in your pocket or wherever else you want to spend it," he said. A recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, however, projects a gloomy fiscal outlook in the U.S., which is experiencing rising debt under the Trump administration. The CBO report predicts the country's debt burden will double in 30 years, exceeding even the U.S. debt load during World War…

President Donald Trump is denying any immediate plan to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization (WTO). “We have been treated very badly by the WTO,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One during a short Friday afternoon flight from Maryland to New Jersey. But asked if he intends to pull the United States from the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations, Trump replied, “Not at this point, but they have to treat us fairly.” The remarks come as Trump appears increasingly intent on confrontation, rather than cooperation, with the European Union, the Group of Seven (G-7) nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the WTO. He has repeatedly suggested the United States would be better off pursuing trade and strategic…

Canada struck back at U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on Friday, vowing to impose punitive measures on C$16.6 billion ($12.63 billion) of American goods and unveiling a C$2 billion aid package for affected industries and workers. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told a news conference the tariffs would come into effect on July 1. ...

Minnesota regulators on Thursday approved Enbridge Energy's proposal to replace its aging Line 3 oil pipeline across the northern part of the state. All five members of the Public Utilities Commission backed the project, though some cited heavy trepidation, and a narrow majority later approved the company's preferred route despite opposition from American Indian tribes and climate change activists. In discussion before the vote, several commissioners cited the deteriorating condition of the existing line , which was built in the 1960s, as a major factor in their decision. “It's irrefutable that that pipeline is an accident waiting to happen,” Commissioner Dan Lipschultz said ahead of the vote. “It feels like a gun to our head ... All I can say is the gun is real and it's loaded.” Some pipeline…

A U.S. delegation traveled to Kenya on Thursday to attend the inaugural economic summit of the American Chamber of Commerce, Kenya. About 500 delegates, including Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Gilbert Kaplan, U.S. undersecretary of commerce for international trade, other high-ranking government officials from both nations and representatives from nearly 30 major U.S. corporations, gathered at the summit, which was aimed at creating partnerships between the two nations' public and private sectors in order to foster economic growth.  The Kenyan agenda was centered on advancing Kenyatta's "Big Four" priorities — universal health care, manufacturing, food security and affordable housing — that he set out after his re-election to a second term last year. American companies in attendance were looking for opportunities to expand and to increase trade and investment in Africa. Kaplan…

Importers of Iranian oil are facing pressure from the United States to find another energy source or be hit with sanctions. The Trump administration is threatening other countries, including close allies such as South Korea, with the sanctions if they don't cut off Iranian imports by early November, essentially erecting a global blockade around the world's sixth-biggest petroleum producer. South Korea accounted for 14 percent of Iran's oil exports last year, according to the U.S. Energy Department. China is the largest importer of Iranian oil with 24 percent, followed by India with 18 percent. Turkey stood at 9 percent, and Italy at 7 percent. A State Department official told reporters this week that the "vast majority" of countries will comply with the U.S. request. A group from the State Department…

Leaders in east Africa have agreed to work together to build a single railroad and highway network to enhance integration in the region. Leaders and representatives of eight countries met in Kenya Tuesday for the 14th time to discuss the northern corridor project aimed at improving trade and tightening security. The representatives stressed the need for better movement of people, goods and services with better joint infrastructure. Kenya got the go-ahead to continue building its standard gauge railways to the Uganda border. Kenya is about to finish the second phase of the rail line between the cities of Nairobi and Naivasha. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta told his counterparts plans are under way to extend the line. “Preliminary discussions for the funding of Naivasha and Kisumu sections are in progress and…

Enslaved on a Thai fishing vessel for 11 years, Tun Lin saw his fellow workers lose their minds one after another, with one fisherman jumping into the sea to end his life. Some would start murmuring or laughing to themselves as they worked day and night in Indonesian waters on the cramped boat, often surviving on fish they caught and drinking water leaking from an onboard freezer. "It was like a floating prison - actually, worse than prison," the Burmese fisherman, who was sold into slavery, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Samut Sakhon, a Thai fishing hub some 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital Bangkok. The 36-year-old, who was rescued in 2015 after losing four fingers and being stranded on a remote island for years without pay,…

Warming waters have reduced the harvest of Alaska's prized Copper River salmon to just a small fraction of last year's harvest, Alaska biologists say. The runs of Copper River salmon were so low that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shut down the commercial harvest last month, halting what is usually a three-month season after less than two weeks. Earlier this month, the department also shut down most of the harvest that residents along the river conduct to feed their families. The total commercial harvest for Alaska's marquee Copper River salmon this year after it was halted at the end of May was about 32,000 fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported. That compares with the department's pre-season forecast of over 1.2 million and an average annual…

International efforts to make it easier for garment workers in India to speak out against sexual harassment, dangerous working conditions and abuses are failing, campaigners said Tuesday. The U.S.-based certifying agency Social Accountability International (SAI) and Britain's Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) — an alliance of unions, firms and charities — are not enforcing procedures they set up to protect workers, they said. "The organizations are violating the rules of the mechanisms they created by not taking time-bound action against complaints that come up," said S. James Victor, director of Serene Secular Social Service Society, which works to empower garment workers. "They are far removed from ground reality. The fact is that every day a worker continues to face workplace harassment in the spinning mills and garment factories of Tamil Nadu."…

President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's measured approach to restricting Chinese investments in U.S. technology companies, saying a strengthened merger security review committee could protect sensitive American technologies. Trump, in remarks to reporters at the White House, said the approach would target all countries, not just China, echoing comments from Mnuchin on Monday amid a fierce internal debate over the scope of investment restrictions due to be unveiled Friday. "It's not just Chinese" investment, Trump told reporters when asked about the administration's plans. Mnuchin and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro sent mixed signals on Monday about the Chinese investment restrictions, ordered by Trump on May 29. Mnuchin said they would apply to "all countries that are trying to steal our technology," while Navarro said…

Historic levels of violent crime in Mexico have sparked a record increase in the country's car-armoring business, with an industry group predicting a double-digit jump in the number of vehicles bulletproofed this year. There were more than 25,000 murders across Mexico last year, the highest annual tally since modern records began, government data shows, with 2018 on track to be even worse. That insecurity will help drive a 10 percent rise in car-armoring services this year to 3,284 cars, above the previous all-time high in 2012, according to the Mexican Automotive Armor Association (AMBA). That figure is small relative to the 15,145 cars armored in 2017 in Brazil, which expects to see a 25 percent jump this year. Demand in Mexico has grown so strong that more global automakers have…

To treat snake bites, bathe in a tea brewed from yellow button-shaped flowers, advises Melissa Espinoza Paez as she describes the medicinal properties of Costa Rica's jungle plants, pointing out towering vines used to combat kidney problems. In the lush mountains close to the Panama border that make up the Bribri indigenous territory, Espinoza hopes the country's first certified indigenous tour agency can deliver a bigger slice of income from ecotourism directly to local women. "When other agencies brought tourists to our territory, sometimes they'd give a small amount to the people here, but it wasn't really the value of their work," said Espinoza, 38, indicating a green dart frog trying to hide in the undergrowth. "We're giving a tourism experience that is truly cultural... We are trying to live…

The British Parliament has overwhelmingly approved plans to expand Europe's biggest airport after decades of debate over its potential impact. The House of Commons on Monday voted 415-119 to build a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government and business groups strongly backed the expansion, saying it would be tantamount to putting out an "open for business" sign as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. But small communities around the airport and environmental groups have vehemently opposed the expansion on environmental, noise and financial grounds. Friends of the Earth described it as a "morally reprehensible" move that would result in Heathrow emitting as much carbon as all of Portugal. Greenpeace UK said it was ready to join London councils and the city's mayor, Sadiq…