Прем’єр-міністр України Володимир Гройсман збирається обговорити з наглядовою радою «Нафтогазу» пропозицію продовжити контракт з чинним головою правління компанії Андрієм Коболєвим. Про це він заявив під час візиту до Харкова 14 березня. «Що стосується наглядової ради. Вона внесла пропозицію підписати новий контракт на нових умовах, які достатньо близькі до того, що я вимагав. Це одна з перших адекватних пропозицій, які отримав уряд від наглядової ради. Будемо проговорювати для фіналізації рішення», – зазначив прем’єр. Як повідомила 13 березня «Економічна правда», наглядова рада НАК «Нафтогаз України» ухвалила рішення рекомендувати Кабміну повторно призначити Андрія Коболєва головою правління компанії щонайменше на рік — до 2020 року. При цьому зарплату Коболєву пропонують зменшити вдвічі. Кабінет міністрів України на засіданні 6 березня оголосив відкритий конкурсна посаду голови правління НАК «Нафтогаз України». У рішенні уряду йдеться, що конкурс стартує 23 березня – на наступний день після завершення контракту чинного голови нафтогазової компанії, уточнили у прес-службі уряду. Конкурсний відбір триватиме впродовж 30 календарних днів, оголосили в уряді. Голова Національної акціонерної компанії «Нафтогаз України» Андрій Коболєв заявив у Києві 6 березня, що рішення уряду про оголошення конкурсу на заміщення позиції голови компанії суперечать чинному законодавству. Андрій Коболєв став головою правління компанії в березні 2014 року. Під його керівництвом компанія виграла кілька позовів до російського «Газпрому». За даними «Нафтогазу», НАК є провідним підприємством паливно-енергетичного комплексу, однією з найбільших компаній України, яка здійснює повний цикл операцій з розвідки та розробки родовищ, експлуатаційного та розвідувального буріння, транспортування та зберігання нафти і газу, постачання природного і скрапленого газу споживачам. …
Brexit: What Now?
Veteran Conservative lawmaker Nigel Evans has been in Britain’s House of Commons for more than a quarter-of-a-century and, like most of his parliamentary colleagues, is stunned at the turn of Brexit events. “I got elected in 1992 and I don’t know if I have known any time more uncertain than now,” he told VOA. He’s flummoxed at what the next move should be for a Conservative government that has lost control of the Brexit process. As a committed Brexiter, he fears Britain will end up staying in the European Union because of an impasse in the Commons that has seen the ruling Conservative government repeatedly rebuffed by lawmakers, including by a third of its own MPs, in a series of historic votes without precedent for the storied House of Commons. Parliament is not alone in being hopelessly divided: Theresa May’s Cabinet is, too, with the British prime minister lurching between pro-EU rebel ministers and their pro-Brexit counterparts, trying to resuscitate a government that appears to be in terminal decline. Divorce delayed More than 20 ministers have resigned in the past two years — and at least another half-dozen are on the cusp of quitting. Midweek another minister resigned and four declined to vote with their own government — an unprecedented defiance left unpunished. Britain’s newspaper headline writers are running out of superlatives and metaphors to describe the political havoc. “We’re becoming the laughing stock of the World,” fumes Andrew Pierce, the Daily Mail’s associate editor, in College Green, the patch …
Гривня продовжує дешевшати на міжбанку, офіційний курс майже не змінився
Національний банк України незначно послабив гривню за підсумками торгів на міжбанківському валютному ринку 14 березня. Регулятор встановив на 15 березня курс 26 гривень 71 копійка за долар, що на одну копійку більше, ніж днем раніше. Попри це, результати торгів на міжбанку сигналізують про продовження суттєвого знецінення гривні після кількох тижнів зміцнення. Наприкінці торгів на незначних обсягах операцій курс зріс до рівня 26 гривень 87–92 копійки за долар. Регулятор уже розпочав реагувати на зміну тренду, повідомляє профільний ресурс «Мінфін». «Тільки за вчорашній день із куплених у першій декаді березня 211 мільйонів доларів НБУ довелося продати понад 50 мільйонів доларів для протидії зростанню котирувань, але остаточно стабілізувати цим курс регулятору поки не вдалося», – відзначають експерти. Котирування, які встановилися на міжбанку станом на кінець сесії 14 березня, відповідають рівням, що фіксувалися в перших числах цього місяця. Водночас ще наприкінці лютого котирування сягали рівня близько 27 гривень за долар. …
China Investment Law Fails to Deliver, Raises Concerns
China’s top legislature is expected to pass the country’s first Foreign Investment Law this week at a time when negotiators from Beijing and Washington work to hammer out a trade deal. Analysts and business groups say the legislation is a step in the right direction, but still falls short. In some ways, they add, it even raises new concerns that negotiators need to address before the two sides reach a deal. For decades, China has been grappling with the question of just how far and how fast it should open up its state directed economy, and steps — while always welcome — have long lagged behind expectations. The Foreign Investment Law is not different. In a statement, the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) said it welcomes the law and appreciates the effort to improve the investment environment. “We are concerned, however, that such an important and potentially far-reaching piece of legislation will be enacted without extensive consultation and input from industry stakeholders, including Foreign Invested Enterprises,” the statement said. An earlier version of the law was put together in 2015, but later stalled during the review process, only to resurface more recently. When it did, the wording was more general and more vague, analysts note. By contrast, the first version had 171 articles, the new one has 41. This some argue, helped pave the way for the bills speedy passage. NPC Observer, a website that closely follows China’s legislature or National People’s Congress, notes that by keeping the legislation …
У Мінсоцполітики пояснили, що робити із невикористаною субсидією
У Міністерстві соціальної політики України повідомили, що громадянами мають право платити менше, якщо на рахунках є невикористана субсидія. Відповідне роз’яснення розміщене на сайті відомства. «Якщо станом на березень на рахунках у субсидіантів в надавачів комунальних послуг є невикористані субсидії, так звана переплата, громадяни мають право платити менше – рівно на суму невикористаної державної допомоги. Якщо домогосподарство економило чи отримало субсидію «заднім числом» за ті місяці, коли оплата комунальних рахунків відбувалася власними грошима, воно має право вимагати зменшеної за лютий платіжки на суму невикористаної житлової субсидії», – йдеться в повідомленні. Крім того, якщо на рахунках є чимала переплата, домогосподарство може розраховувати на ці кошти також і в квітні, додали у Мінсоцполітики. 12 березня в Україні стартували виплати субсидій грішми, так звана монетизація. Лише за перший день громадянам перерахували 19,4 мільйони гривень. Виплати монетизованих субсидій почалися через мережу державного банку «Ощадбанк». З 1 березня в Україні стартував процес монетизації субсидій. На 2019 рік у проекті бюджету заплановано 55 мільярдів гривень на субсидії з комунальних послуг. …
НБУ отримав міжнародну нагороду за «досягнення в прозорості»
Національний банк України отримав міжнародну нагороду Central Banking Transparency Award за «значні досягнення у прозорості та розбудові діалогу зі стейкхолдерами». Як повідомляє прес-служба НБУ, нагороду на церемонії в Лондоні ввечері 13 березня отримав голова банку Яків Смолій. «Ми перейняли нову культуру й цінності. Ми стали сучаснішими, відкритішими і прозорішими. Ми розпочали діалог зі стейкхолдерами. Ми пояснюємо громадськості кожен свій крок на обраному шляху. Ми чітко озвучуємо можливості та виклики, які постають перед нашою державою. Ми беремо на себе відповідальність за свої слова та вчинки», – сказав Смолій у своїй промові. Central Banking Awards – щорічна нагорода профільного журналу Сentral Banking. Вона складається з 26 категорій, 13 із яких відзначають успішні кейси та здобутки центральних банків світу, а інші 13 категорій – учасників фінансового ринку. Нагороду Central Banking Awards у категорії «Прозорість» передусім отримують за здобутки центрального банку з точки зору прозорості по відношенню до широкого кола стейкхолдерів (зацікавлених груп). Для цього центральний банк має продемонструвати значні здобутки та/або лідерство, підтверджене зрозумілою комунікацією і взаємодією зі стейкхолдерами з використанням каналів внутрішньої та зовнішньої комунікації. …
Researchers Develop Effective Treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia
Sickle cell anemia afflicts many millions of people across the globe, mostly of African heritage and including some 100,000 African Americans in the United States. Now, researchers believe they may have discovered an effective treatment for the painful and debilitating disease. Faith Lapidus reports. …
Trump Says He is in No Rush to Complete China Trade Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was in no rush to complete a trade pact with China and insisted that any deal include protection for intellectual property, a major sticking point between the two sides during months of negotiations. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been expected to hold a summit at the president’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida later this month, but no date has been set for a meeting and no in-person talks between their trade teams have been held in more than two weeks. The president, speaking to reporters at the White House, said he thought there was a good chance a deal would be made, in part because China wanted one after suffering from U.S. tariffs on its goods. But he acknowledged Xi may be wary of coming to a summit without an agreement in hand after seeing Trump end a separate summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without a peace deal. “I think President Xi saw that I’m somebody that believes in walking when the deal is not done, and you know there’s always a chance it could happen and he probably wouldn’t want that,” Trump said. China has not made any public comment confirming Xi is considering going to meet Trump in Florida or elsewhere. The president, who likes to emphasize his own deal-making abilities, said an agreement to end a months-long trade war could be finished ahead of a presidential meeting or completed in-person with his counterpart. …
Study Warns of Risks from Inactive Ingredients in Drugs
A new study is warning patients that if they feel worse after taking a new medication, it might not be because of the drug but rather an inactive ingredient in it. The report published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine says medications often contain “inactive” ingredients that can cause allergic reactions or gastrointestinal reactions in people sensitive to specific compounds. Drugs can contain inactive compounds like gluten, lactose or specific dyes that can cause a reaction in certain patients. “There’s a tremendous underappreciation of the potential impact that inactive ingredients may have,” said Dr. Giovanni Traverso, a gastroenterologist who spurred the research after his celiac patient’s trouble with medication that contained gluten as an inactive compound. The study analyzed data on inactive ingredients from a database of more than 42,000 prescription and over-the-counter medicines. It found that an average pill contains eight inactive ingredients, but some contain 20 or even more. While most of the worrisome ingredients are in small amounts in most medications, the researchers pointed out that 39 percent of seniors take at least five prescription medicines daily, so even the tiniest amount can add up. Drug manufacturers already put warnings on medications that contain refined peanut oil. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a proposal that recommends adding gluten information to drug labels. …
Democrats Cool Toward NAFTA Replacement, Question Labor Standards
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives gave a cool reception to the replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement on Wednesday as the top U.S. trade negotiator opened a campaign to win broad support for the accord in Congress. Several Democrats said a closed-door meeting between United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and their caucus failed to ease their concerns about the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) provisions on labor, biologic drugs and some other issues. A USTR spokeswoman declined to comment on the meeting. The support of Democrats, who control the House, is considered important to passage of the USMCA, and Wednesday’s meeting at the U.S. Capitol signaled that the Trump administration has a lot of work to do to address the party’s concerns. Democrats questioned whether new labor standards aimed at ensuring workers have the right to organize can be adequately enforced, as this depends partly on Mexico passing new labor laws. “What you’re hearing is that a lot of people don’t think it’s good enough,” Representative Pramila Jayapal said of USMCA after the meeting, adding that she was concerned the new pact would not solve the biggest shortcoming of NAFTA, which allowed Mexican wages to stagnate. “We know that when you don’t have strong enforcement provisions, you are essentially facilitating the outsourcing of jobs and bad worker protections and undercutting of U.S. workers,” said Jayapal. NAFTA dealt with labor provisions in an unenforceable side-letter, allowing unions in Mexico to remain weak and wages low, drawing factories …
Spotify Files EU Antitrust Complaint Against Apple
Spotify has filed a complaint with European Union antitrust regulators against Apple, saying the iPhone maker unfairly limits rivals to its own Apple Music streaming service. Spotify, which launched a year after the 2007 launch of the iPhone, said on Wednesday that Apple’s control of its App Store deprived consumers of choice and rival providers of audio streaming services to the benefit of Apple Music, which began in 2015. Central to Spotify’s complaint, filed with the European Commission on Monday, is what it says is a 30 percent fee Apple charges content-based service providers to use Apple’s in-app purchase system (IAP). Forced to raise price Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify’s general counsel, said the company was pressured into using the billing system in 2014, but then was forced to raise the monthly fee of its premium service from 9.99 to 12.99 euros, just as Apple Music launched at Spotify’s initial 9.99 price. Spotify then ceased use of Apple’s IAP system, meaning Spotify customers could only upgrade to the fee-based package indirectly, such as on a laptop. Under App Store rules, Spotify said, content-based apps could not include buttons or external links to pages with production information, discounts or promotions and faced difficulties fixing bugs. Such restrictions do not apply to Android phones, it said. “Promotions are essential to our business. This is how we convert our free customers to premium,” Gutierrez said. Voice recognition system Siri would not hook iPhone users up to Spotify, and Apple declined to let Spotify launch an app on its Apple Watch, Spotify said. Spotify declined to say what economic damage it believed it had suffered. “We feel confident in the economic analysis …
US Health Officials Move to Tighten Sales of E-Cigarettes
U.S. health regulators are moving ahead with a plan designed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavored products in convenience stores and online. The new guidelines, first proposed in November, are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials call an epidemic of underage vaping. E-cigarettes typically heat a flavored nicotine solution into an inhalable vapor. Federal law bans their sale to those under 18, but 1 in 5 high school students report using e-cigarettes, according to the latest survey published last year . Under proposed guidelines released Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration, e-cigarette makers would restrict sales of most flavored products to stores that verify the age of customers entering the store or include a separate, age-restricted area for vaping products. Companies would also be expected to use third-party identity-verification technology for online sales. Companies that don’t follow the requirements risk having their products pulled from the market, the FDA said. “The onus is now on the companies and the vaping industry to work with us to try and bring down these levels of youth use, which are simply intolerable,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in an interview. The restrictions won’t apply to three flavors that the FDA says appeal more to adults than teenagers: tobacco, menthol and mint. The FDA will accept comments on the guidelines for 30 days before finalizing them later this year. Anti-smoking activists have questioned whether …
З 1 травня в Києві планують підвищити тарифи на електроенергію та опалення
З 1 травня комунальне підприємство «Київтеплоенерго» планує підвищити тарифи на електроенергію та опалення. Згідно проекту, який оприлюднило підприємство, тариф на електроенергію може зрости на 24% і становитиме 1,75 гривні за кіловат-годину. Плата за опалення може зрости на 19% – з 964,19 гривні до 1147,2 гривні за гігакалорію. У «Київтеплоенерго» пояснили необхідність підвищення тарифів зростанням вартості природного газу. З 1 січня в Україні зросли тарифи на гарячу воду та опалення. …
НБУ: долар за день відіграв тижневе падіння
Національний банк України за результатами торгів на міжбанківському валютному ринку встановив на 14 березня курс 26 гривень 70 копійок за долар США. Це одразу на 34 копійки більше, ніж днем раніше. Такий курс відповідає показникам середини минулого тижня, на 6 березня курс НБУ становив 26 гривень 76 копійок за долар. Зміну настроїв на ринку профільний сайт «Мінфін» пояснює тим, що в перший після тривалих вихідних день експортери продали обов’язковий обсяг валютної виручки, розміщення облігацій внутрішньої державної позики було незначним, також ліквідність у банківській системі залишається на дуже високому рівні. Національний банк України наразі не реагував на зміну тренду і зростання курсу долара не пригальмовував. Аналітики припускають, що регулятор вдасться до інтервенцій у разі продовження послаблення гривні. …
UN: DR Congo Intercommunal Violence Was Orchestrated
United Nations investigators say intercommunal attacks that killed more than 500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo were orchestrated. The investigators from the U.N. human rights office in Congo say the attacks may amount to crimes against humanity. The clashes between the Banunu and Batende communities took place in Yumbi territory, in Mai-Ndombe province, between December 16 and 18. U.N. investigators who went there found the violence was planned and carried out with the support of traditional chiefs. U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani says the investigators verified at least 535 people were killed and more than 100 others injured. “These figures are most likely an underestimate,” she said. “The number of casualties is believed to be much higher as the bodies of some who died are believed to have been thrown into the Congo River. It is also not possible to confirm the number of people who are still missing as an estimated 19,000 people were displaced by the violence, 16,000 of whom crossed over into the Republic of Congo.” Shamdasani says fights between the two communities over land and fishing resources have broken out in the past, but never on this scale. She says the violence was triggered by a dispute over the burial of a Banunu chief. She says the similarity of the attacks carried out over a three-day period across four different villages indicates prior consultation and organization. “Certain chiefs of the Batende-majority villages were cited by many sources as having taken part in the …
Americans in Cool States Misjudge Threat From Rising Heat Waves
Americans most at risk from more frequent and intense heat waves tend to misjudge the deadly dangers hot spells can pose to their health, scientists said on Tuesday. People’s vulnerability to heat waves is growing as cooler states become hotter, in part because air conditioning and other ways to cool down are less common there, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Right now, people in cooler areas “don’t experience hotter weather as frequently,” said co-author Peter Howe from Utah State University. That means “they have less of that experience… to handle those hot days.” Global temperatures are on course for a 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit) rise this century, overshooting a global target of limiting the increase to 2C (3.6F) or less, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization has said. In the United States, hot years are projected to soon become more common as annual average temperatures — already a degree higher than in 1901 — continue to rise, according to the National Climate Assessment, a U.S. government report. After surveying more than 9,000 people in all 50 states, researchers carrying out the heat wave study discovered that people in northern states, including in the northern Midwest, had fewer health concerns about extreme heat than those living in the country’s south. Residents of the normally temperate Rocky Mountains and Appalachians were among the least concerned by extreme heat, the study said, while those in sweltering …
Понад 19 мільйонів гривень перерахували громадянам у перший день виплат субсидій грішми – уряд
У перший день виплат субсидій грішми, так званої монетизації, громадянам України перерахували 19,4 мільйони гривень. Як повідомили в Кабінеті міністрів 12 березня, кошти оформили понад 11 тисячами переказів. «На карти зараховано 204 224 перекази на суму 333,4 мільйонів гривень. Кампанія триває», – йдеться в повідомленні. Виплати монетизованих субсидій почалися через мережу державного банку «Ощадбанк». В уряді додали, що розпочата з початку березня кампанія з монетизації субсидій на оплату житлово-комунальних послуг «проходить планово і без збоїв». З 1 березня в Україні стартував процес монетизації субсидій. У Мінсоцполітики раніше повідомляли, що готівкою будуть виплачувати субсидії домогосподарствам, для яких субсидія призначена на поточний опалювальний сезон. На 2019 рік у проекті бюджету заплановано 55 мільярдів гривень на субсидії з комунальних послуг. Кабінет міністрів у листопаді минулого року схвалив запровадження в Україні монетизації субсидій на рівні постачальників послуг. …
Hammerhead Shark ‘Nursery’ Found Off Galapagos Islands
Researchers have found a new breeding ground for hammerhead sharks off the coast of Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago. The head of the team of researchers, Eduardo Espinosa, said the natural refuge off the island of Santa Cruz is home to about 20 of the sharks. The team managed to attach monitors to five of them. “That site, where the babies spent two or three years, is important not only for the Galapagos but on a world scale, because it gives hope for the protection and conservation of a species,” Espinosa said. The team hopes to monitor the sharks in an effort to protect both the predators and their environment. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers the hammerhead shark an endangered species. They are not particularly fertile reproducers, and combined with a demand for their fins in Asia, the species is vulnerable. Marine biologist Alex Hearn of San Francisco University in Quito said researchers believed that the hammerheads gave birth along continental coasts, so the discovery of the island nursery opens new lines of study. …
Trade Chief: US Working on Steel, Aluminum Tariff Relief for Mexico, Canada
The United States is working on a plan to lift tariffs from Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum but preserve the gains that domestic producers have received from the duties so far, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday. “What I’m trying to do is a have a practical solution to a real problem … get rid of tariffs on these two, let them maintain their historic access to the U.S. market which I think will allow us to still maintain the benefit of the steel and aluminum program,” he told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee at a hearing about the World Trade Organization. The United States imposed the “Section 232” tariffs on steel and aluminum nearly a year ago to protect domestic producers on national security grounds. A plan to lift tariffs on the metals from Canada and Mexico was once linked to the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement but ultimately was excluded from that deal. Since then, a number of U.S. lawmakers have said they did not believe the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) could win approval in Congress if the metals tariffs — along with and retaliatory duties on U.S. farm and other products — were left in place. Members of the New Democrat Coalition in the House of Representatives echoed a similar message in a meeting with Lighthizer later on Tuesday. “Some of us impressed the need to resolve 232 before we have a chance to move forward” on consideration of USMCA, said …
NASA to Make Untouched Lunar Samples Available for Study
NASA is once again turning its focus to the moon. Nearly 50 years after the last lunar mission, the U.S. space agency is unsealing some of the samples brought back by Apollo astronauts for study. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts during the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. Some of the samples have never been opened, others were resealed in an effort to preserve them. NASA has picked nine teams of scientists to study the samples. The teams were selected from scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center, the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, the University of Arizona, the University of California, Berkeley, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the University of New Mexico, Mount Holyoke College and the Planetary Science Institute. “By studying these precious lunar samples for the first time, a new generation of scientists will help advance our understanding of our lunar neighbor and prepare for the next era of exploration of the moon and beyond,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “This exploration will bring with it new and unique samples into the best labs right here on Earth.” NASA said its officials in the 1970s had the foresight to know that future scientists would likely be better equipped to study the lunar material. …
Lopez Obrador Rebuts Finance Ministry over $2.5B Mexico Refinery Funding
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday denied any delay to a flagship refinery project in his home state after the deputy finance minister was quoted as saying $2.5 billion for its construction will be moved to state oil firm Pemex. The planned investment for the Dos Bocas refinery “can go to exploration and production” for Pemex, Arturo Herrera told the Financial Times in an interview during a trip to London for meetings with investors. However, Lopez Obrador stood by his plan to build the refinery within three years, saying the tender could be unveiled next week. In answer to a question about whether the $2.5 billion would be spent this year on the refinery, said “Yes.” The president’s plans to fast-track construction of the new refinery in Tabasco, his home state, have concerned investors that it would take away much-needed resources from Pemex, which is creaking under $106 billion of debt. His energy minister, Rocio Nahle, said she understood Herrera’s budget concerns but said the project was on track. “The faster we do this project, the cheaper it will be,” she said on Mexican radio. The conflicting statements appeared to confuse investors. Mexico’s benchmark stock index reversed gains and weakened 0.7 percent after Lopez Obrador’s rebuttal of Herrera’s comments, while the peso pared gains. “Contradictions within the federal government do not help financial markets,” said James Salazar, an economist at bank CI Banco. The government is under growing pressure to dispel doubts Pemex can successfully manage more than …
Official: US Plans ‘Very Significant’ Additional Venezuela Sanctions
The United States is preparing to impose “very significant” Venezuela-related sanctions against financial institutions in the coming days, U.S. special envoy Elliott Abrams said on Tuesday. Abrams did not elaborate on the fresh measures but his warning came a day after the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian bank Evrofinance Mosnarbank for helping Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA evade U.S. financial restrictions. Abrams said Washington was also preparing to withdraw more U.S. visas from Venezuelans with close ties to President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has taken the lead in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful president after the 35-year-old Congress chief declared Maduro’s 2018 re-election a fraud and announced an interim presidency in January. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit. Abrams’ comments came as Venezuela ordered American diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours. Washington said it had decided to withdraw the remaining diplomats due to deteriorating conditions in Venezuela, which has been plunged into its worst blackout on record. Abrams emphasized that the withdrawal of diplomats was not a change in U.S. policy. “This does not represent any change in U.S. policy toward Venezuela, nor does it represent any reduction in the commitment we have to the people of Venezuela and to their struggle for democracy,” he said, adding that the U.S. intended to keep up pressure on Maduro through sanctions. “You will see very soon a significant number of additional visa revocations. You will see in the coming days some very significant …
Number of Older US Renters Spikes 43%
Carmen Perry decided to rent rather than buy immediately after she divorced her husband and sold the family home. The 67-year-old realtor sees definite advantages to living in a space owned by someone else. “If something breaks or something needs to be replaced, water heater or whatever, I just call the company who does the management for the owner and they come and fix it for me,” Perry says. “And that is great, especially when I lived in a very large house with a lot of maintenance. Now, I don’t have any of those responsibilities, and I like that.” Perry is not alone among older Americans who are opting out of buying. The number of renters over the age of 60 jumped 43 percent in large American cities between 2000 and 2017, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data. By contrast, the number of renters between the ages of 35 and 59 grew just 17 percent during the same time period, and the number of renters under the age of 34 increased 7 percent, according to apartment search website RENTCafe, which conducted the analysis focusing on cities with populations of at least 100,000. RENTCafe finds renting is gaining popularity among older Americans for a variety of reasons. “They might have to do with empty-nesters finding themselves in a big home that they no longer need nor are able to maintain,” RENTCafe researcher Florentina Sarac told VOA via email. “Seniors also appreciate having the possibility to pack their bags and …
US Trade Official: US, China Possibly Nearing Deal
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Tuesday that the United States and China are possibly nearing an agreement on a new trade deal, but stopped short of predicting a successful outcome of their lengthy negotiations. “Our hope is that we are in the final weeks of having an agreement,” Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee. But he said there are still significant issues that need to be resolved. “We can’t predict success at this point, but we are working hard,” he said. He added the U.S. would insist that any new trade pact include enforcement provisions allowing Washington to reimpose tariffs if China violated terms of the agreement. “We are going to have an enforceable agreement, or [President Donald Trump] won’t agree to the agreement,” Lighthizer said. Trump said last Friday he was confident the U.S. could strike a deal with China, but added, “If this isn’t a great deal, I won’t make a deal.” A new deal could possibly end hefty tariffs both countries have imposed on each other during the last eight months. The U.S. has taxed $250 billion of Chinese imports while China has imposed levies on about $110 billion of U.S. goods. Lighthizer declined to say whether the U.S. would lift its tariffs if a deal is reached. “We have to maintain the right to be able to — whatever happens to the current tariffs — to raise tariffs in situations where there’s violations of the agreement,” he said. “That’s the core. If we don’t do …