United States federal regulators are poised to impose a US$ 1 billion penalty on Wells Fargo for a variety of alleged misdeeds, including forcing customers to buy auto insurance policies that they didn't need, according to people briefed on the regulatory action.
Argentina sent its first shipment of lemons to the United States in 17 years, a few months after President Donald Trump authorized citrus imports from the country.
Miguel Díaz-Canel has been ratified on Thursday by the National Assembly of Cuba as the new president of the Council of State, the country's first leader in practice. The parliament ratified the former vice president with 99.83% of the votes of the deputies present. Diaz-Canel replaces the General Raúl Castro, who retires from power after 12 years at the head of the country. However, the new president clarified that Raúl Castro “will lead the most important decisions” for the country.
The G7 leaders have united in condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and support recent actions by the US, UK and France to degrade and deter further use. Likewise G7 foreign ministers condemned the nerve agent attack and share the UK's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation was responsible.
Starbucks' executive chairman has said he is embarrassed by the recent accusations of racial profiling in the company's US cafes. Howard Schultz's comments came after Starbucks announced it will close US stores on 29 May for company-wide racial bias training.
Britain and the US have issued a formal alert about “malicious cyber activity” by Russia amid warnings that relations with Moscow have hit an all-time low. The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) combined with the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security to issue an unprecedented joint “technical alert” setting out the threat across the public and private sectors.
The ministers leading the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could meet again on Thursday in Washington as they push for quick progress, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo advanced. Guajardo said he had spoken to Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday and would talk to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to see about agreeing a trilateral meeting in Washington on Thursday.
China's economy grew at an annual pace of 6.8% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to official data, beating forecasts for the period. The growth figures for January to March were also above Beijing's 2018 annual growth target of around 6.5%
Diplomatic tensions between the UK and Russia deepened amid claims that Moscow was blocking investigators from reaching the site of a chemical weapons attack in Syria. The UK said it was “essential” the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was granted “unfettered access” to Douma.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau backed air strikes by the United States and its allies on Syria’s chemical weapons program but Argentina, Brazil and Peru voiced caution during a regional summit about the escalating military action.