Susan Rice discusses how the Chinese leadership is ‘not scared of Donald Trump’ on trade, the negative perception of big tech abroad can hurt the U.S., and how Donald Trump’s foreign policy is ‘actually not America first. It’s me first.’
Stablecoin Tether's recent growth is being driven by its use as an alternative to the U.S. dollar in emerging markets, rather than by demand for cryptocurrency trading, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Reuters on Friday. Tether issues a stablecoin, also called Tether or USDT, which is designed to maintain a constant value of $1 and is widely used in crypto-to-crypto trading. It has grown rapidly in recent years, hitting more than $100 billion worth of Tether tokens in circulation in March.
An annual Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisia's Djerba synagogue and celebration has been cancelled due to the war in Gaza, the head of the organising committee, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters on Friday. Trabelsi added that the committee has reduced the annual pilgrimage to limited rituals only inside the temple, and expects a very small number to arrive from France due to the tense situation in the Middle East. The southern island of Djerba – a holiday destination – is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue and the annual pilgrimage, attract thousands of Jews annually who come from Israel and several European countries.
Alphabet Inc's Google on Friday said it will roll back requirements that U.S. suppliers and staffing firms pay their employees at least $15 an hour and provide health insurance and other benefits, a move that could allow the tech giant to avoid bargaining with unions. The elimination of the 2019 policy, along with other steps such as limiting access by temporary workers and vendors to internal systems, are designed to comply with shifting U.S. and global labor regulations related to contingent workers, a spokesperson for Mountain View, California-based Google told Reuters. "These updates bring us in line with other large companies and simply clarify that Google is not, and has never been, the employer of our suppliers’ employees," the spokesperson said.
The United Nations human rights chief called for countries to take concrete steps on reparations for people of African descent at a U.N. meeting on Friday, adding his voice to calls for justice for slavery atrocities. Support is building among Africa and Caribbean nations for the creation of a tribunal to address reparations, which might include financial payments and other amends, for crimes dating back to the transatlantic trade of enslaved people. "I join your demands for action now," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in an address at the closing of the four-day U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD).
Trump Media & Technology Group has alerted the CEO of Nasdaq of "potential market manipulation" in its shares, it disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Data made available to us indicate that just four market participants have been responsible for over 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, G1 Execution Services and Jane Street Capital."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated two of the most commonly used "forever chemicals" as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law, in a bid to clean up properties across the United States that are contaminated with the toxic compounds. The highly anticipated rule will affect companies that use, dispose of or store two specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, compounds. The EPA's rule issued on Friday under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) requires companies and others to report leaks and help pay to clean up two PFAS known as PFOA and PFOS.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said drones that sources say Israel fired at the city of Isfahan on Friday caused no damage or casualties, in comments made to the envoys of Muslim countries in New York and cited by Iranian media. "The Zionist regime's media supporters, in a desperate effort, tried to make victory out of their defeat, while the downed mini-drones have not caused any damage or casualties," Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying. Israel has made no public comment on the incident.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee launched a program on Friday to combat voter fraud in the lead-up to the November election, even as voting irregularities have proven extremely rare in the United States. The RNC and the Trump campaign said they were preparing to deploy more than 100,000 attorneys and volunteers across the states that are expected to be competitive in the presidential race. The Republican Party and the Trump campaign said in a statement that they plan to recruit an army of poll watchers, who will monitor individual polling sites for irregularities.
The start of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial was pushed back a week to mid-May on Friday after lawyers agreed the extra days would aid trial preparation. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein changed from May 6 to May 13 the start of jury selection during a pretrial hearing in Manhattan. Menendez was allowed to participate in the conference by telephone after his lawyers said a late night in the U.S. Senate on Thursday made it impossible for him to attend the Friday morning hearing.
BAKU (Reuters) -Armenia has agreed to return several villages to Azerbaijan in what both sides said on Friday was an important milestone as they edge towards a peace deal after fighting two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada posted on X that Armenia would return four villages near the countries' shared border that had been "under occupation" since the early 1990s, and called it a "long-awaited historic event". In Armenia, the state news agency quoted the prime minister's office as saying: "In this process, the Republic of Armenia receives a reduction in risks associated with border delimitation and security."
Far more animals than previously thought likely have consciousness, top scientists say in a new declaration — including fish, lobsters and octopus. Recent research backs them up.
Reports Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran rattled markets on Friday, with prices of oil, gold and equities seesawing during the trading session. Iran's state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan on Friday, as US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes against its arch-rival.
Trump Media & Technology Group sent a letter to Nasdaq warning that so-called "naked" short selling could be impacting its stock.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal pad might dislodge and get trapped, causing the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally.
There are 20 missing persons cases and 36 unsolved homicides listed on the cards.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told NATO members on Friday that Ukraine needed a minimum of seven Patriot or other high-end air defence systems to counter Russian air strikes, exhorting them to step up their military assistance for Kyiv. In an emotional speech by video link to the NATO-Ukraine Council, the Ukrainian leader described the current level of foreign aid as "very limited" and said Israel had not been left to fend for itself during Iran's massive air strike on Saturday.
NATO allies on Friday agreed to provide Kyiv with additional air defence systems, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said after a special meeting of allied defence ministers with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "In addition to Patriots, there are other weapons that allies can provide, including (the French system) SAMP/T, and many others, who do not have available systems, have pledged to provide financial support to purchase them for Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
Filtering out PFAS is only the first step. These ‘forever chemicals’ still have to be destroyed, and there are many questions about how to do that safely.
Jury selection is continuing — and could conclude — Friday in former President Donald Trump's historic New York criminal trial.
Five environmental activists from the group Just Stop Oil were on Friday convicted of trespassing for disrupting a performance of "Les Miserables" in London last year.Just Stop Oil wants the UK government to end all new oil and gas exploration and has promised not to let up in its protests until it does so.
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