HONG KONG U.S. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has been pilloried in many ways, over his bouffant hair, orange skin and supposedly small hands, but a British artist has now used raw pig and sheep parts to sculpt him for a Hong Kong art show. T... More »
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is in talks with private equity firms including KKR & Co LP (KKR.N) and Hopu Investments to sell a minority stake in its China operations as it prepares to spin off the once booming unit, ... More »
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled Exxon Mobil Corp must include a climate change resolution on its annual shareholder proxy, a defeat for the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, which had argued it already provides adequate carbon... More »
BUENOS AIRES U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday championed Argentina’s new center-right leader Mauricio Macri as an example for other countries in Latin America, praising the fast pace of reforms to strengthen the economy. Obama, on a two-day visit to Ar... More »
HAVANA The Rolling Stones are welcoming Cubans to their free concert on Friday with Mick Jagger speaking Spanish in a video on YouTube, though few are likely to see it, given Cuba’s scant Internet penetration. “We have played in many incredible places but this... More »
PHOENIX Phoenix’s mayor on Wednesday urged a federal probe into the local county’s handling of voting in Arizona’s presidential nominating contest, questioning whether minority voters were granted a fair chance to cast their ballots. Greg Stanton asked the U.S... More »
HAVANA U.S. President Barack Obama finally got a chance to meet Pánfilo, the Cuban television character, when he appeared in a skit shot in Havana for a popular comedy show that sometimes pokes fun at the Cuban government. The U.S. embassy in Cuba released the... More »
Apple Inc will integrate Apple Pay with its Safari browser later this year, allowing users to make purchases from mobile websites, technology website Re/code reported, citing sources. The mobile payments system will be available to shoppers who use iPhone and ... More »
BRASILIA Brazil’s National Development Bank will provide 500 million reais ($136.6 million) in funding to fight mosquito-borne illnesses, including the Zika virus, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. The funds are to help bolster the prevention, diagnos... More »
NEW YORK S&P Dow Jones Indices is negotiating with asset managers to license its new index, which it says represents companies that focus on the long term rather than the current quarter. The Long-Term Value Creation Global Index .SPLTVCUN could be the basis f... More »
MILAN/LONDON Telecom Italia Chief Executive Marco Patuano officially resigned on Monday, confirming reports at the weekend he was on his way out as top shareholder Vivendi tightens its grip on the Italian phone group. Telecom Italia’s shares rose 4 percent, ad... More »
SÃO PAULO If any symbol captures the anger of rich and upper-middle class Brazilians who have taken to the streets to protest against President Dilma Rousseff, it might be a giant, inflatable yellow duck. The 40-foot (12-meter) high duck presides over Sao Paul... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station on Friday, ending a nearly six-hour flight, a NASA TV broadcast showed. U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Ole... More »
HAVANA Global ballet star Carlos Acosta returns to his Cuban roots when his new dance company takes to the stage next month. Since retiring last year from London’s Royal Ballet where he was principal guest artist, the 42-year-old has gone back to his native Ha... More »
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians flooded the streets on Sunday in the biggest ever protests calling for President Dilma Rousseff’s removal, reflecting rising popular anger that could encourage Congress to impeach the leftist leader. The d... More »
MOSCOW Russia is ready to coordinate its actions with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria to push the Islamic State group out of Raqqa, Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying. “We are ready to coordinate our actions with the ... More »
WASHINGTON/BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to take responsibility on Sunday for clashes at his campaign events and criticized protesters who have dogged his rallies and forced him to cancel one in Chicago last week. ... More »
LONDON As the world focuses on Zika’s rapid advance in the Americas, experts warn the virus that originated in Africa is just one of a growing number of continent-jumping diseases carried by mosquitoes threatening swathes of humanity. The battle against the in... More »
U.S. health regulators said a genetically engineered mosquito being used in the fight against Zika will not have a significant impact on the environment, possibly paving the way for the technique to be used in the country. The self-limiting strain of the Aedes... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will call for higher trade standards at a Saturday campaign stop in Youngstown, Ohio, to ensure that automakers that use largely foreign parts are not given preference for producing “made in Ame... More »
ACAPULCO, Mexico BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said on Friday that China may be the biggest hurdle to global financial markets and that central bankers are adding to risks with negative-interest rate policies. “China does represent maybe mor... More »
ZURICH Authorities searched the offices of France’s soccer federation and seized documents in support of a Swiss investigation into former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Wednesday. The operation, carried... More »
A man suspected of shooting an Idaho pastor who led a prayer at a rally for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz was arrested on Tuesday and was facing attempted murder charges, police said. Kyle Odom, 30, was taken into custody in Washington D.C. i... More »
CARACAS, Venezuela Camimpeg, a new company formed by Venezuela’s military, will begin providing state oil producer PDVSA with services including drilling, logistics and security in less than a month, a senior defense official said in an interview. Deputy Defen... More »
QUITO Carlos Villacis was named head of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) on Tuesday to replace former president Luis Chiriboga, who has been under house arrest since December on money laundering charges, the association said. Chiriboga was head of the ... More »
DirecTV, the satellite TV provider owned by No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier AT&T Inc (T.N), said all channels have been restored after experiencing loss of audio and video for at least two hours on Tuesday. “All channels have been restored. We apologize for the in... More »
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N), which is trying to recover from a series of food-borne illness outbreaks, temporarily shut a Massachusetts restaurant after four employees fell sick. The restaurant in the town of Billerica, outside Boston, was closed for a ... More »
WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV Israel would have shown good manners had it informed the United States directly rather than through the news media that it was turning down a proposed summit meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, the White House said on Tuesday. But spo... More »
LONDON Fans of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling are in for a treat this week when her digital publisher website Pottermore releases a series of four pieces of writing about wizardry entitled “History of Magic in North America”. The writings, posted at 1400 G... More »
LOS ANGELES The 88th Academy Awards, the highest honors in the movie industry, were handed out a ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday hosted by comedian Chris Rock. Following is a list of winners in key categories for the awards, also known as the Oscars. BEST PICT... More »
MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday about closer cooperation between their countries’ militaries on the Syria ceasefire plan, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The conversati... More »
MELBOURNE The Davis Cup has not been carrying its weight for the time it occupies in the tennis calendar and there are no easy solutions to rejuvenating the team tournament, according to United States captain Jim Courier. The U.S. play Australia in a World Gro... More »
NEW YORK For leading U.S. shale oil producers, $40 is the new $70. Less than a year ago major shale firms were saying they needed oil above $60 a barrel to produce more- now some say they will settle for far less in deciding whether to crank up output after th... More »
COLUMBIA, S.C. Riding high after a landslide victory in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has set sights on a possible face-off in the Nov. 8 presidential election with Donald Trump, the favorite for the Republican nomi... More »
ZURICH Gianni Infantino opened FIFA’s new museum in his first official act as president of soccer’s governing body on Sunday and said that implementing the wide-ranging reforms passed on Friday would be his immediate priority. The 45-year-old Swiss, previously... More »
ZURICH Gianni Infantino will mark his first working day as president of soccer’s governing body on Monday by playing in a soccer match with Swiss-based FIFA employees battered for months by an unfolding corruption scandal. The match symbolizes a return to the ... More »
MEXICO CITY U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s political rhetoric is “racist,” and evocative of Adolf Hitler, former Mexican President Felipe Calderon told reporters at an event in Mexico City on Saturday. “This logic of praising the whit... More »
SAO PAULO While Brazil’s economy is in the doghouse, one underground business is bucking the trend — dognapping. Bosco, a black and white Boston Terrier stolen in November from outside a grocery store in Sao Paulo’s posh Jardins neighborhood, became the poster... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Officials at the University of California Berkeley said on Friday that they were alerting 80,000 people, including current and former students, faculty and vendors of a cyber attack on a system that stores social security and bank account numbers... More »
CHICAGO A study of nine pregnant women from the United States who traveled to countries where the Zika virus was circulating shows a greater-than-expected number of fetal infections and brain abnormalities, U.S. health officials said on Friday. Two of the wome... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO Even as athletes grow increasingly concerned about the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil, the organizing committee for the August Olympics in Rio de Janeiro said it will charge national delegations to have mosquito screens on athletes’ rooms.... More »
SINGAPORE Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Wednesday launched “uberMOTO”, its first motorcycle-hailing service, choosing Bangkok for a pilot project it says it’s developing specifically for cities in emerging markets. Two-wheeled taxis are a popular option i... More »
Tall Jamaican diver Yona Knight-Wisdom hopes he has inspired others to break down barriers and banish stereotypes after becoming the first male diver from the Caribbean island to qualify for the Olympics. The British-born university undergraduate stands 190 cm... More »
MELBOURNE Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes has described Australia’s Olympic committee as a “source of aggressions” against Brazil after it banned the team’s athletes from visiting the city’s favelas during the Games in August. Australia’s team chef de missio... More »
BUENOS AIRES In power just two months, Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri is already facing labor unrest, with a national public sector strike planned for Wednesday as workers protest rocketing inflation and job cuts. Unions representing hospital staffers an... More »
LA PAZ Bolivian President Evo Morales has lost a referendum on whether he could change the constitution to remain in power for a fourth term, the electoral commission confirmed late Tuesday. Morales, who is currently on his third term and became Bolivia’s firs... More »
BRASILIA World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan said on Tuesday Brazil is doing a good job tackling the Zika virus and ensuring that the Olympic games it will host in August will be safe for athletes and visitors. Chan said Brazil’s gov... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama launched a final push on Tuesday to persuade Congress to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, despite strong opposition from lawmakers who do not want detainees transferred to the United States. The presiden... More »
WASHINGTON Republican lawmakers introduced legislation on Tuesday to counter President Barack Obama’s bid to close the Guantanamo detention center, underscoring the difficulty he faces keeping a promise to close it before leaving office next year. Republican R... More »
The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago: 1947 – Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda’s Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey 1948 – Virus recovered from Aedes africanus m... More »
Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has since spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbr... More »
GUATEMALA CITY An audit by a committee appointed by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has concluded that broadcasting contracts between Guatemala’s soccer federation and Mexican media magnate Angel Gonzalez were awarded below market value, say sources with... More »
WASHINGTON DNA coaxed out of a 12,000-year-old fossil from Argentina is providing unique insight into one of the strangest Ice Age giants: a tank-like mammal the size of a small car with a bulbous bony shell and a spiky, club-shaped tail. Scientists said on Mo... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO The worst health scare in recent history is not keeping Brazilians from their annual Carnival revelry, with millions of partiers swarming streets and some making fun of the mosquito that spreads Zika and other viruses. Street processions, block ... More »
PLYMOUTH, N.H. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came to the small town of Plymouth in the New Hampshire mountains on Sunday and promised to lower prescription drug prices, improve education and help heroin addicts get treatment. It was a day... More »
MANCHESTER, N.H. U.S. Republican presidential candidate John Kasich is polling in the low single digits nationally but may be poised to play the role of spoiler in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary by cutting into the support of higher-profile rivals such as Mar... More »
MANCHESTER, N.H. Republican White House contender Marco Rubio struggled at a debate on Saturday at the worst possible time, potentially confounding his bid to emerge as Donald Trump’s chief rival in New Hampshire and giving hope to three rivals desperate for a... More »
NEW YORK The tumble in share prices for biotechnology stocks has created some buying opportunities, with drugmakers Celgene Corp (CELG.O) and Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) poised for a 30 percent rise over the next year, Barron’s said. Both companies currently rely... More »
LONDON Global markets have been in turmoil since the start of the year, with stocks and commodities prices reeling, eroding inflation and making central banks increasingly dovish – a trend that could continue with more weak economic data. China, a focus of muc... More »
Less than two months into the year, the top U.S. shale oil companies have already cut their budget for 2016 a second time as the relentless drop in oil prices continues to erode their cash flow. With oil prices firmly wedged in the low $30-per-barrel range, oi... More »
PARIS Travelers coming back from any outbreak zones of the Zika virus will need to wait at least 28 days before giving blood to avoid any risk of transmission, French Health Minister Marisol Touraine said on Sunday. Zika, which is rapidly spreading through the... More »
BOGOTA More than 3,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Saturday, as the disease continues its rapid spread across the Americas. Brazil is investigating the potential link between Zi... More »
MANCHESTER, N.H. Two Republican U.S. presidential hopefuls said on Saturday they would implement quarantines of travelers if necessary to stop the spread of the Zika virus. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who garnered international attention in 2014 when h... More »
TORONTO BlackBerry Ltd is cutting 200 jobs at its hometown headquarters in Ontario and in Florida in order to trim costs, it said on Friday, as the smartphone maker moves to turn around its fortunes and put more emphasis on its enterprise software business. “A... More »
PARIS French choreographer Benjamin Millepied said on Thursday he was stepping down as director of dance at the Paris Opera after little more than a year in the role, citing personal reasons. The 38-year old — who is married to Hollywood actress Natalie Portma... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO One major hurdle is thwarting efforts to measure the extent of the Zika epidemic and its suspected links to thousands of birth defects in Brazil: accurate diagnosis of a virus that still confounds blood tests. Genetic tests and clinical symptoms... More »
RECIFE, Brazil For scores of women in the epicenter of the Zika outbreak in Brazil, the joy of pregnancy has given way to fear. In the sprawling coastal city of Recife, panic has struck maternity wards since Zika – a mosquito-borne virus first detected in the ... More »
PORT-AU-PRINCE A special mission sent by the Organization of American States met Haiti’s President Michel Martelly on Sunday as part of intensifying efforts to resolve an electoral crisis that threatens stability in the Caribbean nation. Martelly is due to lea... More »
BOGOTA More than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the country’s national health institute said on Saturday, as the disease continues its spread across the Americas. The virus has been linked to the devastating bir... More »
IOWA CITY, Iowa/NEW YORK The 2016 election is shaping up to be the year of angry voters, the disgruntled Americans shaking up the establishment by fueling the presidential campaigns of two very different candidates – billionaire businessman Donald Trump and se... More »
Rio de Janeiro Last January, long lines formed outside health clinics in Recife, a city in Brazil’s northeast hit hard in recent years by outbreaks of dengue, a painful tropical disease. Doctors were on guard because federal health officials and the World Heal... More »
Companies and scientists are racing to create a Zika vaccine as concern grows over the mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to severe birth defects and is spreading quickly through the Americas. Zika is now present in 23 countries and territories in the A... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama spoke on Friday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff about the spread of the Zika virus in the Western Hemisphere, the White House said. “The leaders agreed on the importance of collaborative efforts to deepen our know... More »
NEW YORK Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic advisor at Allianz, said on Friday the Bank of Japan’s shocking move to take one of its main interest rates into negative territory underscored the country’s hope to weaken the yen to re-inflate its economy. “Count... More »
Health insurer Anthem Inc (ANTM.N), which is in the process of buying smaller rival Cigna Corp (CI.N), reported a 6.3 percent rise in quarterly revenue as more people enrolled in its Medicaid plans. Anthem, which operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in more t... More »
MELBOURNE Johanna Konta ground down Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai 6-4 6-1 at the Australian Open on Wednesday to become the first British woman to reach the semi-finals of a grand slam in over 30 years. Hours later, Andy Murray capped a banner day for Britain ... More »
Airlines, hotels and cruise operators serving Latin America and the Caribbean are facing growing concern among travelers spooked by the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The outbreak of the virus, linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, comes as a re... More »
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to fight the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and could spread to the United States in warmer months.... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to fight the Zika virus, following a briefing on the spread of the mosquito-transmitted disease, the White House said. The World Health Organiz... More »
WASHINGTON A Virginia resident who traveled outside the United States has tested positive for the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, state health officials said on Tuesday. The adult resident had recently traveled to a country where Zika virus transmission was o... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO As Rio de Janeiro prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors for upcoming Carnival festivities and the Olympic Games in August, the city is scrambling to expel one unwelcome new arrival: the Zika virus. It will be an uphill battle. Zi... More »
LOS ANGELES Actor David Duchovny, best known for his role as Fox Mulder in sci-fi television show “The X-Files” has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 2,572nd on the famed boulevard. Duchovny starred in the award-winning series from 19... More »
Al Jazeera America, the cable television news outlet controlled by Qatar’s royal family, has issued a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notice, stating that it will lay off 197 employees with the shut down of its operations in America. T... More »
European pay-TV group Sky Plc has struck a deal to screen programs from CBS Corp’s popular Showtime stable, including Billions starring Damian Lewis, as competition for top shows heats up among European broadcasters. The licensing deal will allow Sky to offer ... More »
RIO DE JANEIRO Olympic and tourism officials in Brazil downplayed risks for foreign visitors from the mosquito-borne Zika virus on Monday, even as the health ministry warned pregnant women to consult doctors before visiting the country amid a widening scare. A... More »
LONDON Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated five times for an acting Oscar and Kate Winslet, his co-star in the 1997 blockbuster “Titanic”, says he may finally win the golden statuette next month. DiCaprio got a nod for his lead role in survival drama “The Rev... More »
MIAMI – The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that exploded into a fiery ball just after landing at sea off California on Sunday had descended with pinpoint accuracy onto an ocean barge before a landing leg buckled, causing the booster to tip over, a landing video showed... More »
MEXICO CITY Oscar-winning Mexican film director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has stood by U.S. actor Sean Penn for his interview with drug lord Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, saying in an article published on Sunday that Penn wrote a “fantastic” story. Speaking with S... More »
Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA has expressed interest in buying AT&T Inc’s pay TV assets in Latin America, which could be valued at around $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. AT&T bought the Latin American assets as par... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA cut short a spacewalk on Friday at the International Space Station after one of the astronauts reported a leak in his spacesuit helmet, the U.S. space agency said. Tim Peake, who on the mission became the first astronaut from Britain ... More »
Alcoa Inc said on Monday it had signed a $1.5 billion long-term contract with General Electric Co’s aviation unit to supply components used in aircraft engines. The aluminum producer will provide advanced nickel-based superalloy, titanium and aluminum componen... More »
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Revenge drama “The Revenant” and space adventure “The Martian” took the top film awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, setting them up as formidable Oscar contenders after a night of surprises and stinging barbs from return host Ricky Gervais... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday hammered away at his closest challenger’s eligibility to be U.S. president, while the party’s Senate leader said the chamber will stay out of the fray involving Ted Cruz’s citizenship. Unde... More »
Activist shareholders could push media company Time Warner Inc to sell itself or spin off its lucrative HBO business, the New York Post reported late on Thursday. While the activist shareholders have not approached Time Warner officially, New York-based firm C... More »
Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur facing U.S. charges of securities fraud, has said he had been the target of legal authorities for his much-criticized drug-price hikes and his over-the-top public persona, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shkrel... More »
SINGAPORE Brent crude fell to levels last seen in 2004 on Monday, dropping under the lows hit during the 2008 financial crisis on renewed worries over an oil glut, with analysts saying prices could head lower still. Global production remains at or near record ... More »
The host of the Miss Universe pageant mistakenly announced the wrong winner on Sunday, who then had to give up the crown and hand it over to a 26-year-old actress and model from the Philippines. It was the first edition of the annual beauty show since it was t... More »
BRASILIA Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s key ally in Congress is certain it can head off an impeachment threat, but in return the party demands a radical change of policy course to pull the economy out of its deepest downturn in 25 years. Senator Eunicio ... More »
CARACAS Employees at a Pepsi-Cola Venezuela plant have been freed by the government, which had detained them for halting operations for lack of raw materials, Empresas Polar, owner of the local Pepsi (PEP.N) division, said late on Sunday. “Pepsi-Cola Venezuela... More »
Two men including an oil equipment supply firm executive have been arrested on charges related to an alleged scheme to corruptly secure energy contracts from Venezuela’s state-owned energy company, the U.S. Justice Department said Sunday. Roberto Rincon, the p... More »
