BenArmani

The White House on Monday again answered a chorus of criticism by pivoting to a hard-line immigration policy, even though it could drive away independent voters in key battleground states. With the commander-in-chief on his third full day of a 10-day “working vacation” at his New Jersey golf resort, the White House deployed Acting Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken...

Asian markets were mixed yesterday as investors are gripped by concerns about the US-China trade war after Donald Trump said he was prepared to walk away from next month’s planned talks. The president’s comments spooked US investors and added to the sense of pessimism across world trading floors after the White House last week announced fresh tariffs on China and...

Export-reliant Chinese companies are slashing prices, moving production abroad, creating new domestic markets and even rebranding goods as they try to survive the escalating trade war with the United States. Factories along the eastern coast, fish processors in the south, apple juice exporters in central China and farmers in the northeast have all been forced to change their business models...

Nissan Motor Co, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG are among carmakers in talks to bring the electric-car revolution to South Africa, as the nation’s auto-factory floors risk being left behind in the global switch to greener vehicles. The industry is preparing a unified stance on electrification to present to the government by the end of the year, Mike Mabasa, chief...

Qatar’s relative debt burden is expected to ease “markedly” in the coming years even as it is slated to see a “temporary” increase in 2019 on account of large $12bn international bond issue, according to Capital Intelligence (CI), a global credit rating agency. Highlighting that the central government’s debt levels are moderate, CI said after increasing significantly during 2014-17, gross...

The head of Yemen's separatist movement said he was ready to take part in peace talks after clashes with pro-government forces killed dozens in second city Aden. The fighting in Yemen's southern port city pitted Saudi-backed government forces against the UAE-trained Security Belt Force, both of which have been fighting Houthi rebels who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. While the...

The administration of US President Donald Trump announced yesterday new rules that aim to deny permanent residency and citizenship to migrants who receive food stamps, Medicaid and other public welfare. The change threatens to set back the citizenship hopes of millions of mostly Hispanic migrants who work for low wages and depend in part on public services to get by. It...

Three of the five children who died in a fire at a Pennsylvania daycare centre early on Sunday were the offspring of a local volunteer firefighter who happened to be called to a blaze just a few blocks away. Luther Jones did not know his kids were at the house in the city of Erie when he responded to a...

It was on the third day of a five-day bus tour across Iowa last week that 2020 White House contender Kamala Harris finally seemed to hit her stride. Armed with fresh endorsements from two of the state’s most sought-after political influencers early on Saturday, the US Senator from California got an enthusiastic welcome from more than 500 people at a...

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific warned staff yesterday that they could be fired for supporting “illegal protests”, as the firm comes under pressure from Beijing over pro-democracy demonstrations. The flagship carrier’s stock plunged nearly 5% in Hong Kong trade yesterday after Beijing imposed new rules banning airline staff involved in the Hong Kong protests from flights to or over the...

China yesterday described unrest in Hong Kong as a sign of “terrorism emerging”, as state media published a video of armoured personnel carriers purportedly driving towards a city bordering the territory. Beijing slammed violent protesters who it said had thrown petrol bombs at police officers and linked them to “terrorism” in Hong Kong, where weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations have posed...

The Labour Party yesterday called for a review into driven grouse shooting, saying the sport’s impact on the environment needed to be assessed. Driven shooting involves a row of “beaters” walking and pushing out the birds, which can fly at speeds of up to 130kph, towards a line of about 10 shooters concealed in sunken butts spaced about 45m apart. Grouse...

The Metropolitan police have apologised for giving “a contrary impression” when its commissioner Cressida Dick told MPs the force met “really regularly” with StopWatch, which campaigns for the fair and effective use of stop and search, after the charity disputed the claim. Use of stop and search powers has been increasing sharply in a number of police areas including London,...

The Portuguese government imposed fuel rationing at petrol stations and called in police drivers to deliver fuel yesterday to prevent a strike by hauliers from paralysing the country at the height of the tourist season. Demanding better salaries and working conditions, fuel tanker drivers staged a similar damaging strike in April in what was Portugal’s worst outbreak of industrial unrest...