WHO Classifies Gaming as a Mental, Addictive Disorder

For the first time, the World Health Organization is adding Gaming disorder to the section on Mental and Addictive Disorders in its new International Classification of Diseases. The ICD provides data on the causes of thousands of diseases, injuries and deaths across the globe and information on prevention and treatment. The International Classification of Diseases …

Audi CEO Arrested in Emissions Scandal Probe

German authorities have arrested the chief executive of Volkswagen’s Audi division, Rupert Stadler. He was arrested Monday as part of an investigation about cars Audi sold in Europe that are believed to have been equipped with software that turned emissions controls off during regular driving. Last week, Munich prosecutors raided Stadler’s home on suspicion of …

Kenya’s President Mandates Lifestyle Audit for Public Servants

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has intensified his war on graft by announcing that all public servants will undergo a compulsory lifestyle audit to account for their sources of wealth. This latest announcement follows financial scandals that have rocked the country with revelations that millions of dollars were lost in various government agencies through corrupt deals …

World Bank: Remittance Flows Rising After Years of Decline

After two consecutive years of decline, remittances, the money migrant workers send home, increased in 2017 according to figures released by the World Bank. Remittances are a significant financial contribution to the well-being of families of migrant workers and to the sustainable development of their countries of origin. The U.N. recognizes their importance every year …

Poll: Ticked at Trump, Canadians Say They’ll Avoid US Goods

Seventy percent of Canadians say they will start looking for ways to avoid buying U.S.-made goods in a threat to ratchet up a trade dispute between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump, an Ipsos Poll showed Friday. The poll also found a majority of Americans and Canadians are united in support of Trudeau and opposition to Trump in their …

US Lobsters Are a Target of China’s Threatened Tariffs

A set of retaliatory tariffs released by China on Friday includes a plan to tax American lobster exports, potentially jeopardizing one of the biggest markets for the premium seafood.  Chinese officials announced the planned lobster tariff along with hundreds of other tariffs amid the country’s escalating trade fight with the United States. China said it …

Supreme Court Answers Question of Foreign Law in US Courts

Nyet. Non. Nein. No. That’s the answer the Supreme Court gave Thursday to the question of whether federal courts in the United States must accept statements from foreign governments about their own laws as binding. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for a unanimous court that a “federal court should accord respectful consideration to a foreign …

Volkswagen Fined Nearly $1.2 Billion in Emissions Scandal

German authorities fined Volkswagen nearly $1.2 billion Wednesday for its role in a diesel emissions scandal that first surfaced in the United States in 2015. Prosecutors found the German automaker failed to properly monitor its engine development department. The lack of oversight resulted in global sales of nearly 11 million diesel vehicles with illegal emissions-controlling …

Bourbon Tariffs a Blow to Bourgeoning Craft Booze Businesses

As the trade dispute escalates between the United States and its global trading partners, American bourbon whiskey is among the U.S. exports in the crosshairs. It will soon be subject to a 25 percent tariff imposed by a growing number of countries as a retaliatory measure for U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. As VOA’s …

Bourbon Tariffs a Blow to Bourgeoning Craft Alcohol Businesses

Distilling spirits is in Paul Hletko’s DNA. “Prior to World War II, my grandfather’s family owned what is now a major brewery in the Czech Republic,” he told VOA. But his grandfather’s Jewish family lost more than a brewery when the Nazis took over Europe during the war. “The whole family got taken to the …

China’s ZTE Stock Prices Plummet after US Deal

Shares of embattled Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE plunged more than 40 percent Wednesday, its first day of trading after agreeing to pay a $1 billion fine to the United States for violating trade sanctions. ZTE nearly went under after the Trump administration imposed a seven-year ban on the company from buying crucial software and hardware …

European Central Bank to Weigh End to Stimulus Program

The European Central Bank will on Thursday weigh when and how to end its bond-buying stimulus program — an exit that will have far-reaching consequences across the economy, from long-suffering savers to Europe’s indebted governments.   The bank, which sets monetary policy for the 19 countries that use the euro, has been buying 30 billion euros …

Tired of Unemployment, Kashmir Women Decide to Open Their Online Business

The separatist campaign in Indian-administered Kashmir broke out into major violence in 1989. More than 60,000 people are estimated to have died and 10,000 to have disappeared in the disputed Himalayan region. That has pushed their families into poverty. For the region’s youth, earning a living has been a challenge, especially educated young women. However, …

US Won’t Lift Ban on Chinese Telecom ZTE Until $1B Fine Paid

The United States will not lift the ban on doing business with Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE until ZTE pays a $1 billion fine for trade violations and places $400 million more in escrow.   The U.S. Commerce Department released details of its settlement it made with ZTE, under President Trump’s orders, to let the crippled …

IMF’s Lagarde: Global Economic Outlook Darkening by the Day

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde led an attack by global economic organizations on U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” trade policy Monday, warning that clouds over the global economy “are getting darker by the day.” Trump backed out of a joint communique agreed by Group of Seven leaders in Canada over the weekend that …

War-torn South Sudan Issues Higher Denomination Banknotes Amid Soaring Inflation

South Sudan’s central bank said Monday it will issue higher denomination banknotes, enabling citizens to carry fewer notes as rampant inflation continues to devalue the local currency. The bank said it would introduce a 500-pound bill, worth $1.5 U.S. dollars, into circulation this month. Currently the largest note in circulation is a 100-pound bill. South …

Trump Says Friends, Enemies Cannot Take Advantage of US on Trade

President Donald Trump tweeted out more criticism of U.S. trade partners Monday, including allies in Europe and Canada, adding to his declarations that the United States will no longer tolerate what he has called “trade abuse.” “Sorry, we cannot let our friends, or enemies, take advantage of us on Trade anymore. We must put the …

Swiss Voters Reject Campaign to Radically Alter Banking System

A radical plan to transform Switzerland’s financial landscape by barring commercial banks from electronically creating money when they lend was resoundingly rejected by Swiss voters on Sunday. More than three quarters rejected the so-called Sovereign Money initiative, according to the official result released from the Swiss government. All of the country’s self-governing cantons also voted …

New Italian Economy Minister Vows to Stay in Euro, Cut Debt Level

Italy’s new coalition government has no intention of leaving the euro and plans to focus on cutting debt levels, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Sunday, looking to reassure nervous financial markets. Italian government bonds have come under concerted selling pressure on fears the government will embark on a spending splurge that Italy can ill-afford …

XI Takes Swipe at G-7 Summit In SCO Remarks

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)is holding its first summit since India and Pakistan joined the bloc which is widely seem by observers as a means for blocking American influence in Central Asia.  The founding members of the alliance are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.  The summit is being held in the eastern Chinese …