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 measure”, a legal instrument that …

China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that trade talks with the United States are impossible under current conditions. The comment from spokesman Geng Shuang during a briefing with reporters came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump predicted there would be a resolution of the U.S.-China standoff on tariffs on hundreds …

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, not only is the perfume …

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 information, that “China will take …

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 and Development, Pai-po Lee, says …

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 tandem with China.   “This …

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 reforms resumes Saturday night – …

Following the success of West Virginia teachers in securing a pay raise, educators in Oklahoma and Kentucky are walking out of their classrooms, demanding that lawmakers increase education spending in their states. Arizona teachers may soon follow suit. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more. …

Federal law enforcement authorities are in the process of seizing Backpage.com and its affiliated websites. A notice that appeared Friday afternoon at Backpage.com says the websites are being seized as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service. The notice doesn’t …

The Trump administration is considering ways to require imported automobiles to meet stricter environmental standards in order to protect U.S. carmakers, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Responding to the story, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump “will promote free, fair and reciprocal trade practices to …

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration said Friday that the United States was not engaged in a trade war with China, even as Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing warned it was willing to fight back. “This is just …

U.S. stocks plunged again Friday over increasing concerns about a trade war between the United States and China. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 572 points by the close, shedding 2.3 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped nearly 2.2 percent, while the NASDAQ fell nearly 2.3 percent at the end …

The Federal Reserve will likely need to keep raising U.S. interest rates to keep inflation under control, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, adding that it was too soon to know if rising trade tensions would hit the U.S. economy. In his first speech on the economic outlook since assuming the …

A teachers strike in Oklahoma stretched into a fifth day on Friday, and a state union leader said he doesn’t think pending proposals to increase revenue are enough to stop the walkout from extending into next week. The Senate considered separate proposals Friday to expand tribal gambling and tax certain …

Technology that once promised freedom from the confines of an office has, for many workers, become a ball and chain, blurring the lines between work hours and, well, any other hours. A New York City Council member wants to put a stop to that. The proposal would bar employers from …

The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday the unemployment rate in March remained at a 17-year-low of 4.1-percent for the sixth straight month. U.S. employers added 103,000 jobs in March, less than the 175,000 analysts expected, following several months of larger increases. The modest job creation was partly caused by the …

Did March provide another month of blowout hiring? Was pay growth healthy? When the government issues its monthly jobs report Friday, those two questions will be the most closely watched barometers. Economists have forecast that employers added a solid 185,000 jobs in March and that the unemployment rate dipped from …

The Trump administration says China is responsible for a trade war with the United States because of its long-term unfair practices. A senior White House economic adviser said Thursday no measures have been enacted, but the situation cannot continue. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States and China will …

Venezuela said on Thursday it was halting commercial relations with Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa, for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting Panama to recall its ambassador. The resolution names Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and nearly two dozen Cabinet ministers and top-ranking officials, adding that Panama’s …

Johnson & Johnson and Imerys SA must pay at least $37 million in a lawsuit claiming a man developed cancer because of his exposure to asbestos in talc-based products including Johnson’s Baby Powder, a New Jersey state court jury said Thursday. The verdict by jurors in New Brunswick, New Jersey, came in the second …

U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up the trade war rhetoric with Beijing on Thursday, saying he had instructed the U.S. trade representative to consider tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese goods. On Friday, China’s commerce ministry said Beijing is prepared to fight the U.S. “at any cost” as …

President Donald Trump will make the case that the United States – and not China – should be the trade “partner of choice” for Latin America when he speaks at a regional summit next week, a senior administration official said on Thursday. Trump is due to make his first visit …

A new report shows large employers spent $2.6 billion to treat opioid addiction and overdoses in 2016, an eightfold increase since 2004. More than half went to treat employees’ children. The analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation finds such spending cost companies and workers about $26 per …

The trade dispute rumbling between China and the U.S. has raised the possibility consumers in Beijing may end up paying higher prices for American beef, liquor and tobacco if Beijing goes ahead with hikes on tariffs for such products. Below are thoughts shared with The Associated Press by a few …

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States is not in a trade war with China, after Beijing announced plans to impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to a similar package announced by the United States. In a Twitter post Wednesday, Trump contended, “We are …