U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday promised Americans they are “going to have so much money to spend” if lawmakers approve his tax reform plan.   Trump, in an airport hangar in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, told a crowd of truckers that the typical American household would get “a $4,000 pay raise” …

Women in the Middle East and North Africa are better educated than ever before, but legal and social barriers are hampering their access to jobs and careers, costing the region billions of dollars a year, experts said Wednesday. Just under a quarter of women in the region are in the …

The European Union will not transfer a final tranche of loans worth 28 million euros ($33 million) to support Moldovan justice reforms as the authorities have not fulfilled the required conditions, the EU delegation to Moldova said Wednesday. The European Union is the ex-Soviet nation’s largest external donor, but payments …

As President Donald Trump promotes a tax plan that critics say would raise the federal deficit by slashing corporate rates and eliminating some taxes paid by the rich, three-quarters of Americans think the wealthiest should pay more, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows. Trump was expected to travel Wednesday to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to …

Brazil’s federal audit court on Wednesday ordered a freeze of former President Dilma Rousseff’s assets as well as those of José Sérgio Gabrielli, ex-head of state-run oil company Petrobras, over a $580 million loss in the 2006 purchase of a Texas refinery. The order also covered former Finance Minister Antonio …

A new poll shows most American voters are divided over U.S. President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, are generally pleased with their financial situations, but still disapprove of his job performance. A national poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University found that 56 percent of the respondents disapproved of Trump’s …

Restaurant Veselka has made New Yorkers fall in love with Ukrainian cuisine. Featured in movies and frequented by celebrities, the diner is also a staple for locals. In a city that’s tough on restaurants, Veselka’s longevity is legendary. VOA’s Iuliia larmolenko has the story. …

Worried California vintners surveyed the damage to their vineyards and wineries Tuesday as wildfires sweep through counties whose famous names have become synonymous with fine food and drink. At the Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma County, workers were not sure the grapes above the winery survived a second night of fires …

Mexico’s richest man, telecom magnate Carlos Slim, said Tuesday that reconstruction from two destructive earthquakes last month will create jobs and spur growth and announced that more than $100 million has been raised for relief efforts. Tens of thousands of homes and apartments were destroyed and will have to be …

Attorneys for the Trump administration said a federal judge has no authority to second-guess a presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline as they seek to stop a lawsuit that would block the project. Justice Department attorneys are due in U.S. District Court in Montana on Wednesday to defend …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged gas, investment and support for the Balkans on Tuesday, in an apparent bid to expand influence in a region frustrated by the slow pace of EU accession. His two-day trip to Serbia — a mainly Orthodox Christian country at fierce odds with Turkey during Yugoslavia’s …

The most powerful U.S. business lobby accused the Trump administration of making “poison pill proposals” to sabotage NAFTA on Tuesday, as Mexico’s foreign minister said the demise of the regional trade pact would hurt bilateral cooperation. The process of renegotiating the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement has turned increasingly …

European Union Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday that Brexit negotiations will not move to the next stage focused on trade relations before December at the earliest — not later this month, as Britain was hoping. Tusk bemoaned the slow pace of divorce negotiations with London and said it was …

The global economy is expected to expand to a 3.6 percent annual rate this year, up from last year’s rate of 3.2 percent.    Tuesday’s assessment comes from the International Monetary Fund as economic officials from the World Bank and nations around the world gather to discuss growth, jobs, worries, …

Some U.S. workers for one of China’s biggest glass manufacturers are trying to organize a labor union at their factory in the Midwest state of Ohio. VOA’s Calla Yu reports on how one Chinese investor is adjusting to doing business in the United States. …

A nationwide strike by French public sector workers on Tuesday was affecting schools, hospitals and public services and causing disruptions in domestic air traffic.   Nine public sector unions called for nationwide industrial action to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s economic policies, which they say would result in deteriorating work conditions. …

As the Indian capital, New Delhi, battles deadly air pollution, it might be missing the customary fireworks during the Hindu festival of lights, following a temporary ban imposed by the Supreme Court on the sale of firecrackers   The order has raised a firestorm in the city of about 18 …

Global unemployment this year stands at more than 201 million, an increase of 3.4 million compared to 2016, says the International Labor Organization. The ILO says the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, plays a crucial role in creating decent jobs around the world. The ILO study (World Employment …

American Richard H. Thaler was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics — officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The award committee said Thaler was chosen “for his contributions to behavioral economics.”   “By exploring the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack …

On a recent morning in Yutian, a dusty town bisected by the highway that connects Beijing to the sea, Su Meiquan strolled into a dealership packed with hulking trucks and prepared to drive off with a brand new rig. After years of driving a diesel truck for a trucking company, …

Ants and beetles in the kitchen? Normally that’d close down a restaurant immediately, but for a unique eatery in Bangkok, bugs in the beef ragu and pests in the pesto are the business plan.   Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried …

The New Zealand currency sunk to a fresh four-month low on Monday as a small nationalist party carried out negotiations to determine the country’s next government. The currency fell to $0.7160, its lowest since early June, from $0.7090 on Friday evening. New Zealand’s inconclusive election on Sept. 23 has generated …

Born and raised in this Texas Gulf Coast beach town, James Wheeler Jr. finds himself sawing plywood and hanging sheet rock at a time when he would normally be leading deep-sea fishing excursions, trying to hook tuna or Spanish mackerel by the cooler-full.   Since Hurricane Harvey came through Port …

Sudan’s currency strengthened to 18.5 pounds to the dollar from 20.2 on the black market on Sunday, the first day of business since the United States lifted trade sanctions, raising a glimmer of hope for recovery in the war-torn country. The decision to suspend 20-year sanctions and lift a trade …

Donald Trump boasts of making great deals, but a financial report filed with the British government shows he has lost millions of dollars for three years running on a couple of his more recent big investments: his Scottish golf resorts. A report from Britain’s Companies House released late Friday shows …