United States

• Saturday, December 24th 2016 - 03:44 UTC

  US economy expands 3.5% annualized in the third quarter

  

  The US economy grew even faster than thought in the July-to-September period, latest official figures indicate. The world's largest economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5% in the quarter, up from an earlier estimate of 3.2%, the Department of Commerce said.

• Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 02:06 UTC

  Argentine lemons re-entry spark protests from California citrus growers

  

  Sparking protest from California citrus leaders, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has ruled that fresh lemons from Argentina will be allowed to be imported into the U.S. The rule is the result of ten years of study on pest risks associated with Argentina lemons, according to the USDA. A proposal to allow Argentina lemon imports was published in May this year and received more than 400 comments.

• Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 01:46 UTC

  Brazil's Odebrecht breaks another penalty record, this time in US court: US$ 3.5bn

  

  Brazil's construction colossus Odebrecht and affiliated petrochemical company Braskem SA agreed on Wednesday in New York to pay at least US$3.5 billion, the largest penalty ever in a foreign bribery case, to resolve international charges involving payoffs to Brazil's state oil company and others.

• Friday, December 23rd 2016 - 00:25 UTC

  Greek present for Trump: Obama and Trudeau ban offshore oil and gas drilling in Atlantic and Arctic waters

  

  In the final stretch of his term President Barack Obama is implementing new environmental protections that stand to thwart Donald Trump's agenda on oil and gas extraction in ways that may prove difficult for the president-elect to roll back. The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it will place an indefinite ban on offshore oil and gas drilling across large swaths of Atlantic and Arctic waters.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2016 - 06:51 UTC

  US labor market “the strongest in more than a decade”, Yellen tells graduating class

  

  The United States labor market is in the best condition in last decade said the chairman of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen during a speech to the graduating class at the University of Baltimore. Fed chairman said that the signs of healthy labor market are abundant, among which stand out the stable rate of creation of new jobs and lower share of cuts.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2016 - 06:40 UTC

  Trump easily confirmed by the Electoral College: promises “to work hard to unite the country”

  

  Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump was officially elected as the 45th U.S. president Monday, his victory confirmed by the required vote in the Electoral College. Republican Trump prevailed comfortably in the Electoral College easily dashing a long-shot push by a small movement of detractors to try to block him from gaining the White House.

• Monday, December 19th 2016 - 10:13 UTC

  US ups reward to $25 million for the capture of ISIS' so-called caliph

  

  The United States raised the previous offer for information on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The reward is now worth US$ 25 million for information that would help locate, arrest or convict him, it was announced in a statement. In October 2011, the State Department offered $10 million for information on Baghdadi through its Rewards for Justice program.

• Monday, December 19th 2016 - 09:31 UTC

  Russian cyber-attacks: top US Senators from both parties call for a Select Committee

  

  Pressure mounted on Sunday for a broader congressional investigation of Russian cyber-attacks aimed at influencing the United States election, even as President-elect Donald J Trump team says there was no conclusive evidence of foreign interference.

• Monday, December 19th 2016 - 08:58 UTC

  Street protests in California against president-elect Trump and announced policies

  

  A coalition of activist groups took on Sunday the streets of downtown Los Angeles to protest against some of the labor and immigration policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump, a day before he is expected to officially claim victory in the nation’s presidential contest.

• Monday, December 19th 2016 - 08:50 UTC

  China ready to return US submarine drone: Trump accuses Beijing of “stealing”, tells them, “keep it!”

  

  China says it will hand over an underwater U.S. drone it seized in the international waters of the South China Sea, prompting President-elect Donald Trump to say the United States should tell China to keep the device. Trump does not assume power for another month, but weighed in on the maritime incident in which Chinese naval forces seized the unmanned submersible while it was collecting unclassified scientific data on Thursday.