Residents in a Bangkok neighborhood are trying out a renewable energy trading platform that allows them to buy and sell electricity between themselves, signaling the growing popularity of such systems as solar panels get cheaper. The pilot project in the center of Thailand’s capital is among the world’s largest peer-to-peer …

Young people are driving the growth of businesses that benefit society and the environment, the organizer of a global gathering of ethical entrepreneurs said as it opens Wednesday. Some 1,500 people are meeting in Edinburgh as the 10th Social Enterprise World Forum — one of the most important networking events …

Plans by South Africa’s government to change the law to allow land expropriation without compensation have provoked an emotional response, even reaching the ears of President Donald Trump, who signaled his disapproval last month in a controversial tweet in which he ordered U.S. officials to investigate the situation. South Africa’s …

The U.S. federal deficit will reach $1 trillion by the end of the fiscal year, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. The CBO said in previous estimates that it did not expect to hit the milestone until 2020. Spending rose by $222 billion, or 32 percent, in the first …

Amid a worsening tariff battle, China is putting off accepting license applications from American companies in financial services and other industries until Washington makes progress toward a settlement, an official of a business group said Tuesday. The disclosure is the first public confirmation of U.S. companies’ fears that their operations …

The Trump administration moved closer Tuesday to rolling back Obama-era rules reducing oil and gas industry leaks of methane gas, one of the most potent agents of climate change.   The Environmental Protection Agency formally released its proposed substitute for a 2016 Obama administration rule that aimed to step up …

Zambia’s government has denied that the country faces an economic crisis, despite widespread concerns that the money it owes China is reaching unsustainable levels. Speaking from Lusaka, Amos Chanda, spokesperson for President Edgar Lungu, told VOA’s Daybreak Africa that, while Zambia may have economic challenges, it’s far from a debt …

Policymakers in Indonesia are grappling to deal with a weakened currency, the rupiah, which was valued at just 14,930 per U.S. dollar last week — its lowest point since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. But unlike 20 years ago, when economic turmoil led to major political upheaval in Indonesia, most …

United States is a land of opportunity. We have all heard this saying, but what does it mean and how does it happen? A Kurdish-American family in the state of Virginia is seeing how their 13-year-old son has made the most of a unique opportunity. VOA’s Yahya Barzinji recently visited …

Japan will once again try to get the international ban on whale hunting overturned at the global conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which opened in Brazil on Monday. The proposal presented by Japan says, “Science is clear: there are certain species of whales whose population is healthy enough …

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday in Washington, the U.S. Energy Department said, as the Trump administration encourages big oil-producing countries to keep output high ahead of Washington’s renewed sanctions on Iran’s crude exports. Perry and Falih discussed the state of world …

More Indians are aspiring to become entrepreneurs, leaving the security of well-paid jobs to launch their own ventures. As Anjana Pasricha reports, their dreams have been fueled by successful start-ups in the last decade that have reached valuations of billions of dollars. …

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal. Freeland spokesman Adam Austen did not give details. After more …

Greece’s lead creditor warned the country on Monday not to stray from reforms agreed upon before the end of its international bailout, as European monitors arrived to check the nation’s finances. The five-day inspection is expected to focus on government promises over the weekend to offer tax relief as well …

Zimbabwe’s new finance minister has described his task of reviving the country’s moribund economy as extraordinarily difficult, but he is hopeful of success. “It’s enormous, it is Herculean. I am very energetic and I am very up to the task. I am starting now, but in the process what I …

European Union trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom met her U.S. counterpart for the first time on Monday since President Donald Trump dropped his threat to impose tariffs on EU cars, saying they had discussed how to achieve concrete results soon. Malmstrom hosted United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Brussels on …

Roads were empty, businesses were closed and schools shut down Monday in parts of India, as opposition politicians looking toward elections called for a nationwide strike over rising fuel prices.   While the strike caused barely a ripple in many cities, protesters burned tires in remote Arunachal Pradesh, threw stones …

Ford won’t be moving production of a hatchback wagon to the United States from China — despite President Donald Trump’s claim Sunday that his taxes on Chinese imports mean the Focus Active can be built in America. Citing Trump’s new tariffs, Ford on Aug. 31 said it was dropping plans …

Ford says it has no plans to move production of a small car from China to the United States despite President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic tweet Sunday. “It would not be profitable to the build the Focus Active in the U.S. given an expected annual sales volume of fewer than 500,000 …

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday unveiled plans for tax cuts and pledged spending to heal years of painful austerity, less than a month after Greece emerged from a bailout program financed by its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Tsipras, who faces elections in about a year, used a keynote policy …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States and Japan have begun discussion over trade, saying that Tokyo “knows it’s a big problem” if an agreement cannot be reached, and that India has also asked to start talks on a trade deal. “We’re starting that,” Trump told reporters …

China’s trade surplus with the United States reached a record $31 billion in August, despite hefty tariffs recently imposed on Chinese goods.  The news of the surplus came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose another $267 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports, which would cover …

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on another $267 billion worth Chinese imports, which would cover virtually all the goods China imports to the United States. The potential tariffs would come on top of punitive levies on $50 billion in Chinese goods already in place, as well …

Millions of people covered under the Affordable Care Act will see only modest premium increases next year, and some will get price cuts. That’s the conclusion from an exclusive analysis of the besieged but resilient program, which still sparks deep divisions heading into this year’s midterm elections. The Associated Press …

Hiring picked up in August as U.S. employers added a strong 201,000 jobs, a sign of confidence that consumers and businesses will keep spending despite the Trump administration’s conflicts with U.S. trading partners. The Labor Department said Friday the unemployment rate remained 3.9 percent, near an 18-year low.  Americans’ paychecks …