U.S. airline Alaska Airlines on Tuesday said it would discontinue a daily flight between Los Angeles and Havana, Cuba, after Jan. 22, due to the recent changes in Cuba travel policies by the U.S. government. The U.S. government made it tougher last week for Americans to visit Cuba and do business in the country, making good on a pledge by President Donald Trump to roll back his Democratic predecessor’s move toward warmer ties with Havana. The regulations include a ban on Americans doing business with some 180 Cuban government entities, holding companies, and tourism companies. The airline which started the Los Angeles-Havana flight in January this year, said it will redeploy the aircraft to other markets with stronger demand. Passengers who have tickets booked to Havana after January 22 will be rebooked on another airline at no additional cost or a full refund, the company said. …
Sudan to Unify Currency Rate in Bid to Win Foreign Investment
Sudan is taking steps to close the gap between its official and unofficial currency rates and scrap subsidies by end-2019 to win foreign investment after U.S. sanctions ended, Minister of State for Finance Magdi Hassan Yassin told Reuters on Tuesday. Washington last month suspended 20-year sanctions and lifted a trade embargo because it decided that Sudan had made progress on counterterrorism cooperation and on internal conflicts such as one in Darfur. It also unfroze assets and removed financial restrictions. Sudan is hoping the measures will help the import-dependent country get back on its feet after years of hardship caused partly when the south seceded in 2011 and it lost three-quarters of its oil output, its main source of foreign currency. “We will gradually lift subsidies in accordance with the five-year plan by the end of 2019. … Most of the things that hinder foreign investment are being addressed and there are reforms to investment and company laws,” Yassin said. Sudan last November cut fuel and electricity subsidies and announced import restrictions to save scarce foreign currency. Sudan’s year-on-year inflation decreased in October to 33.08 percent from 35.13 percent in September on the back of lower food and beverage prices, a report from Sudan’s central statistics agency said Tuesday. Sudan’s central bank has held the official exchange rate at 6.7 pounds to the dollar but currency is largely unavailable at that price. The pound currently hovers around 23 pounds to the dollar, according to currency traders. “The 2018 budget, which will …
US Commerce Chief: ‘Some Sort’ of NAFTA Deal Will Reach Trump
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday that he believes NAFTA negotiations will produce “some sort” of a deal for President Donald Trump to evaluate but repeated his warnings that the United States will walk away from the trade pact if key problems are unresolved. Ross, speaking before the start of a fifth round of talks this week to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, said Mexico and Canada would suffer far more than the United States if the pact is dissolved. “I would certainly prefer them to come to their senses and make a sensible deal,” Ross told a Wall Street Journal CEO forum. “In any negotiation if you have one party that is not in fact prepared to walk away over whatever are the threshold issues, that party is going to lose,” Ross added. Trump has relentlessly criticized NAFTA for draining U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico, calling it “the worst trade deal ever made” and threatening to scrap it unless it can be improved to reduce U.S. trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. Ross said Trump’s “general point of view is that no deal is better than a terrible deal,” but added that he does not know how Trump will evaluate a deal resulting from negotiations. “Some sort of a draft will land on his desk. So it will be a binary decision in that sense,” Ross said. At negotiations resuming in Mexico City on Thursday, Mexico and Canada are expected to respond to tough demands …
Study: Better Soil Could Trap as Much Planet-warming Carbon as Transport Produces
Improving soil health in farmlands could capture extra carbon equivalent to the planet-warming emissions generated by the transport sector, one of the world’s most polluting industries, experts said Tuesday. Soil naturally absorbs carbon from the atmosphere through a process known as sequestration, which not only reduces harmful greenhouse gases but also creates more fertile soil. Better soil management could boost carbon stored in the top layer of the soil by up to 1.85 gigatons each year, about the same as the carbon emissions of transport globally, according to a study published in the journal Nature. “Healthier soils store more carbon and produce more food,” Louis Verchot of the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “Investing in better soil management will make our agricultural systems more productive and resilient to future shocks and stresses.” Using compost, keeping soil disturbance to a minimum, and rotating crops to include plants such as legumes can help restore organic matter in the soil, Verchot told Reuters. The extra carbon that could be stored from rejuvenated soil is equivalent to 3 to 7 billion tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, he said. “The U.S. emits around 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. So [emissions] equivalent of a major economy could be sequestered in soils each year with changes in farming practices,” he added. The study found the United States has the highest total annual potential to store carbon in the soil, followed by India, China, …
From Catering to Coding, Jobs Help Survivors of Slavery to Rebuild Lives
With modern slavery emblazoned in headlines around the world, a growing number of companies and charities are stepping forward to help survivors get something they desperately need — jobs. From making clothes and furniture in India to cooking, catering and even coding in the United States, such work opportunities are helping former slaves to rebuild their lives. “Survivors of slavery see their own value and worth through work and their expectations change,” said Paula Haines, executive director of Freedom a la Cart, a catering and box lunch company that trains and employs trafficking survivors. While no data exists on the number of victims who are freed, rescued or escape from slavery, more than 40 million people were estimated to be trapped as slaves worldwide last year, in forced labor, sexual exploitation and forced marriages. With the lucrative crime — worth $150 billion a year — ever-evolving and spreading, countries and charities are ramping up efforts to catch traffickers and provide support to survivors. But such help must go beyond just shelter and counseling, according to Hasina Kharbhih, founder of the anti-trafficking charity Impulse NGO Network, based in northeastern India. Impulse helps girls and women trafficked from India to reintegrate into society by equipping them with the skills needed to enter the local job market or set up businesses. “If you don’t provide rescued girls with skills and opportunities right away, they get frustrated and may end up being re-trafficked,” Kharbhih said ahead of speaking at the Reuters annual two-day Trust …
UN: Syria Formally Joins Paris Climate Agreement
Syria has formally joined the 2015 Paris deal aimed at slowing climate change, the United Nations said on Tuesday, leaving the United States as the only country opposed to the pact. Syria, racked by civil war, and Nicaragua were the only two nations outside the 195-nation pact when it was agreed in 2015. Nicaragua’s left-wing government, which originally denounced the plan as too weak, signed up last month. Syria announced last week that it intended to join. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York that Syria had submitted instruments of accession to the Paris climate deal and that the move would enter into force for the country on Dec. 13. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed doubts that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are the prime cause of global warming, announced in June that he intended to pull out and instead promote U.S. coal and oil industries. Overall, the Paris agreement seeks to limit a rise in temperatures to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, ideally 1.5. The U.N.’s weather agency said on Monday that this year is on track to be the second or third warmest since records began in the 19th century, behind a record-breaking 2016, and about 1.1 Celsius (2F) above pre-industrial times. …
US Oil, Gas ‘Resurgence’ Expected as Global Demand Grows
Oil will continue growing as a source of energy for over two decades, with the U.S. set to become the undisputed leader in crude and gas production, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. The report from the Paris-based agency will come as grim news for officials attending global climate talks in Bonn, Germany, as they grapple with ways to contain carbon emissions. Scientists just this week said that emissions of the heat-trapping gas rose this year after three years of not growing. The IEA said oil production will be driven by continued growth in energy-hungry industries. Though solar power is set to become the cheapest source of new electricity generation and the boom years for coal are over, oil and gas will continue to meet the bulk of the world’s energy needs, the IEA said. Oil demand is forecast to keep rising until 2040, with natural gas growing by a sharp 40 percent. A more widespread use of electric cars will not be enough to consign oil to the past, said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “It is far too early to write the obituary of oil, as growth for trucks, petrochemicals, shipping and aviation keep pushing demand higher,” said Birol. Total energy demand is expected to have grown by 30 percent by 2040 — and would be growing twice that without efforts to improve energy efficiencies. The price of oil has risen over 30 percent since June to a two-year high of around $57 a barrel in New York …
Space Delivery: Astronauts Get Ice Cream, Make-own Pizzas
Astronauts got a mouth-watering haul with Tuesday’s Earth-to-space delivery — pizza and ice cream. A commercial supply ship arrived at the International Space Station two days after launching from Virginia. Besides NASA equipment and experiments, the Orbital ATK capsule holds chocolate and vanilla ice cream for the six station astronauts, as well as make-your-own flatbread pizzas. Astronauts always crave pizza in orbit, but it’s been particularly tough for Italy’s Paolo Nespoli. He’s been up there since July and has another month to go. Nespoli used the space station’s robot arm to grab the cargo ship, as they zoomed 260 miles above the Indian Ocean. Besides flatbread, the capsule contains all the makings of a good Earth pizza: sauce, cheese, pepperoni, anchovy paste, tomatoes, pesto, olive oil and more. Astronauts also get a hankering for cold treats, thus the big frozen shipment of ice cream cups, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream bars and frozen fruit bars. In all, the capsule contains nearly 4 tons of cargo. It’s named the S.S. Gene Cernan in honor of the last man to walk on the moon, who died in January. The experiments include mealworms and micro clover, sent up by high school students. The supply ship will remain at the space station until the beginning of December, when it’s cut loose with a load of trash. It will hover close to the orbiting lab as part of an experiment, then several mini satellites will be released and it will burn up in the atmosphere …
«Газпром» повідомив про збільшення поставок газу в Україну
Російський газовий монополіст «Газпром» повідомив, що станом на кінець третього кварталу цього року обсяг його «продажів газу» до України, яка цього газу не купувала, склав 1 мільярд 575 мільйонів кубометрів газу. Станом на третій квартал попереднього, 2016 року такий обсяг «продажів газу до України» склав 1 мільярд 384 мільйони кубометрів. При цьому «Газпром» нагадав в оприлюдненому ним щоквартальному звіті, що ще з середини 2014 року перевів Україну на передоплату постачання газу. «Нафтогаз» не оплачує і не купує газ у «Газпрому» з листопада 2015 року. Фактично йдеться про нелегальне постачання газу на окуповані частини Донецької і Луганської областей, які свого часу відмовилися приймати газ із вільної території України під приводом пошкодження газопроводу, заявивши, що його ремонтували надто довго. У лютому 2015 року «Газпром» почав самочинно постачати газ сепаратистам на окуповані частини Донбасу через непідконтрольні Україні газовимірювальні пункти, без заявок «Нафтогазу» і без передоплати. Російська компанія твердить, що це постачання здійснюється відповідно до контракту 2009 року і що цей газ має оплачувати Київ, а таке постачання триватиме й далі без вимоги передоплати. Протягом 2016 року «Газпром» таким чином незаконно надав сепаратистам і своїм гібридним силам на окупованій частині Донбасу 2 мільярди 390 мільйонів кубометрів газу. Українська сторона вже не раз заявляла, що таке необліковане постачання, здійснене всупереч заявкам із Києва, грубо порушує чинний контракт, що «Нафтогаз» цих обсягів газу не приймав і не має наміру оплачувати його, а також вимагає міжнародного розслідування цих незаконних дій російської компанії. …
Росія: «Газпром» повідомив про оскарження ухвали Стокгольмського арбітражу щодо «Нафтогазу»
Російський газовий монополіст «Газпром» повідомив, що подав апеляцію на ухвалу Стокгольмського арбітражу за однією зі справ, що стосуються суперечки між російською компанією і «Нафтогазом України» – щодо контракту на постачання Україні газу від 2009 року. Як мовиться в оприлюдненому щоквартальному звіті «Газпрому», це окреме рішення Арбітражного інституту Торговельної палати Стокгольма у Швеції, яке в Росії називають «проміжним», було оскаржене у Швеції в апеляційному суді округу Свеа 7 листопада. Російська компанія також заявила, що остаточне рішення в цій справі Стокгольмський арбітраж має винести не пізніше ніж 30 грудня цього року. Крім того, у звіті «Газпром» згадав і про другу справу, яку нині розглядає цей же арбітраж, – щодо контракту 2009 року з «Нафтогазом України» про транзит газу. Як заявили в компанії, в цій справі остаточне рішення має надійти не пізніше ніж 28 лютого 2018 року. «Нафтогаз» прокоментував ці заяви «Газпрому» у фейсбуці такими словами: «Після рішення Стокгольмського арбітражу співробітники «Газпрому» засмітили інтернет лозунгами на кшталт «Перемога! Нафтогаз заплатить за все!». Але, вчитавшись за 5 місяців у рішення арбітражу, змінили свою думку і подали апеляцію». 31 травня Стокгольмський арбітраж виніс окреме рішення у провадженні з «Газпромом» щодо контракту про постачання газу. Саме рішення офіційно не публікували. Рішення встановлювало загальні принципи і не визначало конкретних сум розрахунків між сторонами, про які вони мали домовитися самостійно, – суми ретроактивної компенсації за переплати, здійснені «Нафтогазом», а також ціну, яка має бути застосована до будь-яких обсягів газу, отриманих «Нафтогазом», але не оплачених у повному обсязі. Такі переговори протривали до вересня і не дали результату, відтак остаточне …
Rise in Teen Suicide, Social Media Coincide; Is There Link?
An increase in suicide rates among U.S. teens occurred at the same time social media use surged and a new analysis suggests there may be a link. Suicide rates for teens rose between 2010 and 2015 after they had declined for nearly two decades, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why the rates went up isn’t known. The study doesn’t answer the question, but it suggests that one factor could be rising social media use. Recent teen suicides have been blamed on cyberbullying, and social media posts depicting “perfect” lives may be taking a toll on teens’ mental health, researchers say. “After hours of scrolling through Instagram feeds, I just feel worse about myself because I feel left out,” said Caitlin Hearty, a 17-year-old Littleton, Colorado, high school senior who helped organize an offline campaign last month after several local teen suicides. “No one posts the bad things they’re going through,” said Chloe Schilling, also 17, who helped with the campaign, in which hundreds of teens agreed not to use the internet or social media for one month. The study’s authors looked at CDC suicide reports from 2009-15 and results of two surveys given to U.S. high school students to measure attitudes, behaviors and interests. About half a million teens ages 13 to 18 were involved. They were asked about use of electronic devices, social media, print media, television and time spent with friends. Questions about mood included frequency of feeling hopeless and considering …
FDA Approves First Digital Ingestion Tracking System Med
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug in the United States with a digital ingestion tracking system, in an unprecedented move to ensure that patients with mental illness take the medicine prescribed for them. The drug Abilify MyCite was developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The drug Abilify was first approved by the FDA in 2002 to treat schizophrenia, and the ingestible sensor, made by Proteus Digital health, was approved for marketing in 2012. The FDA said in a statement Monday that the digitally enhanced medication “works by sending a message from the pill’s sensor to a wearable patch.” “Being able to track ingestion of medications prescribed for illness may be useful for some patients,” said Dr. Mitchell Mathis, director of the division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “The FDA supports the development and use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committed to working with companies to understand how this technology might benefit patients and prescribers.” Green-lighting the new medication, however, came with some caveats. Among them, the FDA said it was important to note that Abilify MyCite’s labeling asserts “the ability of the product to improve patient compliance with their treatment regimen has not been shown.” “Abilify MyCite should not be used to track drug ingestion in ‘real-time’ or during an emergency,” the statement said, “because detection may be delayed or may not occur.” In a portion of the statement that appeared …
Президент СБ: ставка на Україну є фактично найбільшою нашою ставкою у світі
Світовий банк працює з Міжнародним валютним фондом, щоб отримати можливість надати Україні більшу підтримку, заявив президент Світового банку Джим Йонг Кім під час зустрічі з прем’єр-міністром України Володимиром Гройсманом 14 листопада у Києві. «Я хочу сказати, що ми досягли й навіть перевищили наш ліміт підтримки України. Те ж саме зробив і МВФ. Але МВФ велика організація, набагато більша, ніж ми, і в них є понад трильйон доларів, які вони можуть надати як позику. Ми зараз працюємо дуже тісно з МВФ, щоб розширити цей ліміт і надати ще більшу підтримку, ще більше ресурсів для України, тому що я дійсно глибоко вірю в реформи в Україні і ми зробили нашу ставку на Україну. Ми фактично зробили найбільшу ставку у світі на цю країну, і зараз хочемо забезпечити успішність України», – сказав президент Світового банку. Він додав, що Україні необхідно завершити процес реформ і «здійснити ще декілька кроків для того, щоб забезпечити процвітання українців». Джим Йонг Кім зазначив, що Світовий банк підтримує запровадження ринку землі в Україні й створення незалежного Антикорупційного суду. У червні цього року Світовий банк схвалив концепцію партнерства з Україною на 2017-2021 роки, метою якого є «сприяння сталому й комплексному відновленню економіки України». У вересні 2017 року міністр фінансів України Олександр Данилюк заявив, що Світовий банк за 25 років інвестував в українські проекти понад 11,6 мільярда доларів. …
Shrinking GE Rattles Investors, Shares Hit 5-year Low
General Electric’s new Chief Executive John Flannery on Monday outlined steps that will turn the biggest U.S. industrial conglomerate into a smaller, more focused company, surprising some investors who sold the company’s shares to a five-year low. Flannery’s plan to shrink GE’s multi-industry array of businesses was a reversal of the deal-driven empire building of his predecessors, Jeff Immelt and Jack Welch, and potentially a milestone in the decline of the conglomerate as a business strategy. Other companies that once emulated the GE model of spreading bets among diverse industries are now unwinding their portfolios as well, something Immelt also did throughout his 16 years as CEO, even as he made acquisitions. Flannery said he will pare GE down to three core businesses: power, aviation and healthcare. He will keep Immelt’s strategy of building software to complement GE’s machinery, albeit with a narrower focus and reduced budget. For investors, Flannery’s decision to cut both the dividend and the 2018 earnings forecast by half added up to a whole that was less than they judged GE be worth last week. GE shares fell to their lowest level in more than five years as investors worried the years-long overhaul would not pare down enough expenses or generate as much cash as they hoped. They closed off the day’s lows, down 7.2 percent to $19.02. “They need to cut more cost,” said Scott Davis, an analyst at Melius Research. “GE is still a bloated company with duplicate costs up and down the organization.” …
Study: Harvey’s ‘Biblical’ Rainfall Getting More Likely
The chances of a hurricane flooding parts of Texas, like Harvey did, have soared sixfold in just 25 years because of global warming and will likely triple once again before the end of the century, a new study says. Study author Kerry Emanuel, a meteorology professor and hurricane expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that what was once an extremely rare event — 20 inches of rain over a large area of Texas — could soon be almost common. From 1981 to 2000, the probability of 20 inches of rain happening somewhere over a large chunk of Texas was 1 in 100 or even less, Emanuel said. Now it’s 6 in 100 and by 2081, those odds will be 18 in 100, he said. “The changes in probabilities are because of global warming,” Emanuel said. The study was released Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Emanuel said he hurried the study to help Houston officials think about what conditions they should consider when they rebuild. Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said he was struck by the potential for much higher rainfall that Emanuel’s simulations predict for the future and how important it is for the design of critical structures like dams and nuclear facilities. “If the worst-case precipitation scenario is getting worse, as Kerry’s study and other evidence implies, that safety margin is shrinking,” Nielsen-Gammon said in an email, highlighting Emanuel’s results that also show the worst-case …
Drinking Age: Oldest Evidence of Winemaking Found Near Tbilisi
Oenophiles take note: 5980 BC was a very good year for wine. Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of the oldest-known evidence for winemaking, detecting telltale chemical signs of the fermented alcoholic beverage made from grapes in fragments of nearly 8,000-year-old earthenware jars at two sites about 30 miles (50 km) south of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. The findings show that this important cultural achievement occurred earlier than previously known in the South Caucasus region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Until now, the oldest wine-making evidence had come from pottery from the Zagros Mountains in northwestern Iran dating to 5400-5000 BC. “Alcohol had an important role in societies in the past just as today,” said University of Toronto archaeologist Stephen Batiuk, one of the researchers in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Wine is central to civilization as we know it in the West,” Batiuk added. “As a medicine, social lubricant, mind-altering substance and highly valued commodity, wine became the focus of religious cults, pharmacopoeias, cuisines, economies and society in the ancient Near East.” David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum who helped lead the research, said large jars called qvevri similar to the ancient ones are still used today for wine-making in Georgia. The researchers performed biochemical analyses to find residual wine compounds the pottery had absorbed. University of Pennsylvania biomolecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern found evidence of tartaric acid, an indication of brewing involving the Eurasian grape, as well …
Mexico Readying Economic Response if US Exits NAFTA
Mexico’s government is preparing a macroeconomic response in case U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to quit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an event which could wreak havoc on the Mexican economy and hurt the peso. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Monday the government and central bank were preparing a plan to address the possibility of a future without NAFTA, but gave few details. The government has said it is examining how it could adjust Mexican legislation to give investors certainty about their investments if the almost 24-year-old NAFTA collapses. Underpinning some $1.3 trillion in annual trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico, NAFTA has been a central pillar of recent Mexican economic development. Nearly 80 percent of Mexican exports are shipped to the United States. Trade negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada meet in Mexico City this week to continue talks on overhauling the accord, and Videgaray reiterated the government’s position that the expectation was that talks would ultimately succeed. Mexico would continue to work on diversifying trade, protect foreign investment, review possible changes to tariff barriers, and prepare a macro-economic response from the finance ministry and the central bank, Videgaray added. “These are the four lines a plan B must include,” he told Mexican radio. “We have to be prepared for all the scenarios and one of the scenarios is that the United States leaves the treaty, and as we have said, that is not the end of the …
Cost of Diabetes Epidemic Reaches $850 Billion a Year
The number of people living with diabetes has tripled since 2000, pushing the global cost of the disease to $850 billion a year, medical experts said Tuesday. The majority of those affected have type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and lack of exercise, and the epidemic is spreading particularly fast in poorer countries as people adopt Western diets and urban lifestyles. The latest estimates from the International Diabetes Federation mean that one in 11 adults worldwide have the condition, which occurs when the amount of sugar in the blood is too high. The total number of diabetics is now 451 million and is expected to reach 693 million by 2045 if current trends continue. The high price of dealing with the disease reflects not only the cost of medicines but also the management of a range of complications, such as limb amputations and eye problems. …
Bipartisan Analysis: Senate Bill Would Hike Taxes for 13.8 Million
Promoted as needed relief for the middle class, the Senate Republican tax overhaul would increase taxes for some 13.8 million moderate-income American households, a bipartisan analysis showed Monday. The assessment by Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation emerged as the Senate’s tax-writing committee began wading through the measure, working toward the first major revamp of the tax system in some 30 years. Barging into the carefully calibrated work that House and Senate Republicans have done, President Donald Trump called for a steeper tax cut for wealthy Americans and pressed GOP leaders to add a contentious health care change to the already complex mix. Trump’s latest tweet injected a dose of uncertainty into the process as the Republicans try to deliver on his top legislative priority. He commended GOP leaders for getting the tax legislation closer to passage in recent weeks and then said, “Cut top rate to 35% w/all of the rest going to middle income cuts?” That puts him at odds with the House legislation that leaves the top rate at 39.6 percent and the Senate bill as written, with the top rate at 38.5 percent. Trump also said, “Now how about ending the unfair & highly unpopular individual mandate in (Obama)care and reducing taxes even further?” Overall, the legislation would deeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal completely the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes. It carries high political stakes for Trump and Republican …
Investors Leave Venezuela Meeting With No Clear Insight
Foreign investors walked a red carpet at a state palace Monday eager to hear strategies for reorganizing Venezuela’s billions in debt, but they left minutes later having learned no concrete plans to address the country’s financial crisis. Vice President Tareck El Aissami, who headed the talks, used much of his time to rail against U.S. President Donald Trump and foreign lenders for leading what the government calls an “economic war” against this oil-rich nation. But he also tried to assure creditors that debts will continue to be paid, echoing statements by President Nicolas Maduro that Venezuela has made more than $70 billion in debt payments since 2013. “The state has fully honored its national and international commitments, especially with regard to external debt service,” El Aissami said in a televised broadcast. “Even with great sacrifice, we have paid every penny of our debt service.” Those few investors who bothered to show up had few expectations for the meeting, which from the start was clouded in confusion. Maduro invited investors to Caracas a little more than a week ago while announcing his goal of renegotiating a foreign debt that he said has become impossible to repay because of a U.S.-led financial “blockade” of the socialist-run country. As Venezuela spent heavily on social programs under the late President Hugo Chavez, a time when global oil prices soared, its debt skyrocketed to over $120 billion, about half of which is in the form of dollar-denominated bonds. The …
US Budget Deficit Up Sharply to $63.2 Billion in October
The federal government began its new budget year with an October deficit of $63.2 billion, up sharply from a year ago. The Treasury Department reported Monday that the October deficit was 37.9 percent higher than the $45.8 billion deficit recorded in October 2016. Both government receipts and spending were up for the month, with receipts climbing 14.3 percent to $235.3 billion, a record for the month of October. The larger spending figure was up a sizable 11.6 percent to $298.6 billion. The deficit for the 2017 budget year, which ended on Sept. 30, totaled $666 billion, up 13.7 percent from a 2016 deficit of $586 billion. Many forecasters believe the deficit will rise higher in the current budget year, reflecting the impact of proposed tax cuts Congress is considering and hurricane relief. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in June that the deficit for the current budget year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, would fall to $563 billion. However, that estimate did not include money for a tax cut being pushed by the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers. It also did not include increased spending to deal with three devastating hurricanes that have hit the U.S. mainland and territories. Taking those developments into account, economists at JPMorgan Chase estimate that the deficit in the current budget year could climb to $675 billion, with the deficit in 2019 rising even higher to $909 billion. Lawmakers passed a budget resolution that would provide for $1.5 trillion in additional deficits over …
Protesters Disrupt US Fossil-nuclear Event at Climate Talks
Protesters drowned out speeches by White House advisers and business representatives Monday at an event the U.S. government sponsored at the U.N. climate talks in Germany promoting the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy. About 200 protesters stood up 10 minutes into the event and began singing an anti-coal song to the tune of “God Bless the U.S.A.” They were ushered out of the room without further incident. The event late Monday was the only one the U.S. delegation organized at the ongoing climate talks in Bonn. The American delegates are being closely watched by diplomats from the other 194 nations at the conference because of President Donald Trump’s announcement that he wants to quit the 2015 Paris climate accord. Before the panel event, the governors of Oregon and Washington — Kate Brown and Jay Inslee — said Trump’s rejection of climate change was “a dead end.” “What you’re going to hear today is essentially Donald Trump trying to sell 8-track tapes in a Spotify streaming world,” Inslee told reporters. “That is not going to cut it.” Both Oregon and Washington are part of a coalition backing the Paris accord. George David Banks, a White House adviser who was part of the U.S. panel, said ruling out the use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources of energy was only controversial “if we choose to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the reality of the global energy system.” After the singing …
New Guidelines Mean Half of US Adults Have High Blood Pressure
New medical guidelines lower the threshold for high blood pressure, adding 30 million Americans to those who have the condition. That means now nearly half of U.S. adults have it. High pressure has long meant a top reading of at least 140 or a bottom one of 90. That drops to 130 over 80 in advice announced Monday by major heart groups. The change results in an additional 14 percent of U.S. adults with high pressure, but doctors say only 2 percent of these newly added people need medication. The rest are urged to try healthier lifestyles first. High blood pressure raises the risk for heart disease, stroke and other problems. The guidelines were announced at an American Heart Association conference in Anaheim, California. …
«Укроборонпром» повідомив про 150 мільйонів доларів інвестицій зі США для авіапрому
Державний концерн «Укроборонпром» повідомив, що досяг із американським інвестором домовленості про залучення значних інвестицій на харківський авіазавод. Але в соцмережах щодо цього інвестора висловили сумніви. За домовленістю, якої досягли під час міжнародної виставки Dubai Airshow 2017, що зараз триває в Об’єднаних Арабських Еміратах, американська Oriole Capital Group інвестує 150 мільйонів доларів США в серійне виготовлення літаків державним підприємством «Харківське державне авіаційне виробниче підприємство», що входить до складу «Укроборонпрому». «У першу чергу мова йде про серійне виробництво на потужностях ДП «Харківське державне авіаційне виробниче підприємство» українських Ан-74 в різних модифікаціях. У свою чергу, Oriole Capital Group отримає право на інвестиції у виробництво, модернізацію та збут цих літаків», – мовиться в повідомленні. «Ключовим елементом цього стратегічного партнерства є модернізація існуючого виробництва, повне залучення всіх 3000 фахівців харківського підприємства, а також програма модернізації літаків і авіоніки, яка допоможе підвищити унікальні експлуатаційні можливості літака Ан-74», – додали в «Укроборонпромі». Крім того, харківський авіазавод буде отримувати замовлення на виготовлення запасних частин для літаків, проведення технічного обслуговування та навчання пілотів. «Маємо зазначити, що домовленість передбачає планування та реалізацію проекту протягом значного терміну. Це означає, що «Харківське державне авіаційне виробниче підприємство» отримало стабільний багаторічний план розвитку, який забезпечує його ефективну роботу, розширення виробничих потужностей, створення нових робочих місць та збільшення прибутку, а разом із цим – відрахувань до бюджету України», – інформує державний концерн. Генеральний директор «Укроборонпрому» Роман Романов назвав цю домовленість «надважливою подією для України». «Це є доказом того, що підприємства «Укроборонпрому» є надійними партнерами світового рівня, які гарантують якісне та своєчасне виконання замовлень. Фактично це …