Trump orders more layoffs, Musk touts cuts at cabinet meeting
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to undertake more large-scale layoffs of workers, while the president let downsizing czar Elon Musk take a star role...
New Zealand’s foreign minister raises concerns over China’s Tasman Sea drills on Beijing visit
BEIJING - New Zealand's foreign minister said he had raised concerns over China's recent live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea during meetings with Chinese leaders on...
China says Taiwan seeks to give away chip industry to US
BEIJING — China said on Wednesday that Taiwan was seeking to give away the island’s semiconductor industry to the United States as a “souvenir”...
G20 finance ministers, central bankers to meet amid fractious geopolitics
JOHANNESBURG - Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 top economies gather in South Africa on Wednesday and Thursday, for a meeting marred by the absence or...
US lawmakers warn that China could use Musk to influence Trump
WASHINGTON - The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives' select committee on China warned on Tuesday that Beijing may try to exert...
US, Ukraine agree to terms of critical minerals deal
LONDON/WASHINGTON — The US and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal central to Kyiv’s push to win Washington’s support...
Chile power outage plunges capital into darkness, hits major copper mines
SANTIAGO - A massive power outage across Chile plunged the country's capital Santiago into darkness on Tuesday and knocked out electricity to major copper mines in...
Musk’s new ultimatum spurs fresh confusion among US government workers
WASHINGTON - Federal workers faced fresh uncertainty about their futures on Tuesday after Elon Musk gave them "another chance" to respond to his ultimatum that they...
UK’s Reeves: ‘All of us must step up’ defense spending
LONDON - British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday that other European nations must follow in her country's footsteps and increase their defense spending.
Prime Minister...
Trump floats $5 million ‘gold card’ as a route to US citizenship
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of replacing a visa program for foreign investors with a so-called "gold card" that could...
Scam calls hit record in Thailand before cyberfraud crackdown
THAILAND saw the number of scam calls and text messages more than double to a record 168 million in 2024 from a year earlier,...
China adviser pushes to lower legal marriage age to 18 to boost birthrate
HONG KONG — A Chinese national political adviser has recommended lowering the legal age for marriage to 18 to boost fertility chances in the...