The European Commission is set to propose the formation of a permanent border force and coastguard agency that would take control of the bloc’s external frontiers, in a move that would represent a significant transfer of sovereignty from national governments. According to EU officials and documents seen by the Financial Times, the bloc’s executive will reveal its plans next week.
SHANGHAI -- Uncertainty surrounded the fate of one of China’s most influential tycoons on Thursday -- following reports that he could not be contacted, and media speculation that his apparent disappearance could be connected to China’s deepening anti-corruption investigation.
Delegates from North and South Korea held talks Friday in Kaesong in southern North Korea, aimed at reducing tensions between the two rival countries, reports said. The talks are a rarity for both the countries, which have been witnessing a strained relationship since August when a land mine explosion at the demilitarized zone injured two South Korean soldiers -- an incident that was blamed on North Korea.
U.S. authorities have warned that the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, may have a passport printing machine that was used to help its followers infiltrate American borders with fake passports, according to an intelligence report cited by ABC News.
Yum Brands, the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is set to modernize its restaurants and improve operations globally and unveiled a plan to return about $6.2 billion to shareholders before the company splits its China business. The company announced in October that it would separate into two publicly traded companies -- Yum! Brands and Yum! China -- by the end of 2016.
Philippine Sen. Grace Poe, the front-runner in next year's presidential election, said on Friday she would go to the Supreme Court after the country's election commission disqualified her for the second time in as many weeks. While the details of the ruling aren't out yet, it was on three cases that questioned her nationality and whether she fulfilled residency requirements.
The U.S. government launched a program Thursday to collect facial and eye scans of people crossing into the country through the Mexican border, as part of a plan to track those staying on expired visas. About half of the people in the U.S. illegally are reportedly believed to have extended their visit more than what their visas allowed, but authorities were not able to identify them due to lack of a checkout system.
Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government has been buying oil from the Islamic State group, which has made over $500 million so far through the trade, a top U.S. Treasury official said Thursday. Adam Szubin added that some of the ISIS oil went to Turkey -- an allegation also made by Moscow after Ankara downed a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border late November.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has proposed a new system giving permanent residence status to millions of people already living in the city, giving them better access to services like healthcare and education. All Chinese citizens have a hukou, or residence registration account, which determines their access to education and other social welfare services.
Atlantic Media this month had talks with at least one potential buyer of -- or investor in -- Quartz, the business-news website it formed three years ago, amid a string of acquisitions and investments in online news media. Financial Times reported the news, saying Atlantic has received other approaches regarding Quartz over the years.
Divers from the FBI searched a lake in San Bernardino, California, on Thursday for a computer hard drive missing from the home of the suspects involved in last week’s deadly shooting at a social service center in the city, an FBI spokesman reportedly said. The news comes as authorities seek to determine the motive behind the attack.
After 45 hours of deliberation, jurors in a sex crimes trial convicted former Oklahoma City police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, on several of the most serious charges filed against him, including rape and forcible oral sodomy. Out of a total of 36 charges filed against him, Holtzclaw was found guilty Thursday of 18 charges, including four counts of rape, and faces more than 200 years in prison, CBS News reported.
Asian stocks headed higher for the first time this week early Friday after U.S. indexes eked out a small gain, their first advance since last week's meeting of oil producers sent oil and commodities lower, roiling global markets. Markets expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years next week. Japan's Nikkei 222 and New Zealand's NZ 50 both rose 0.5 percent. Australia's ASX 200, which has been battered this week by the decline in energy and commodity prices... Читать дальше...
Chicago’s City Hall press office was made aware of the possibility of a Laquan McDonald dashcam video Dec. 8, 2014; only two months after the black teenager was shot 16 times by a white police officer, emails obtained by Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV revealed.
Fears of terrorism in the United States are at a level not seen since Sept. 11, 2001, a New York Times/CBS News poll says. Americans were surveyed in the wake of attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, as both are thought to have had ties to the Islamic State group.
The Sweet Leaf Tea Company has voluntarily recalled 1.5 million bottles of iced tea, citing that possible glass fragments may be in the drinks, CNNMoney reported on Thursday. The recall involves six flavors—raspberry, half-and-half lemonade tea, original, peach, green tea with citrus and mint and honey—and only applies to the 16-ounce glass bottles that were distributed between Feb. 27 and Dec. 6.
The British and French militaries were continuing Thursday to join U.S. jets in bombing Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq despite U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter insisting one day earlier that European countries were not doing enough to help defeat the terror group more commonly known as ISIS.
Former “Hills” star Kristin Cavallari wrote a heartbreaking message to her brother, Michael Cavallari, after he was confirmed dead Thursday. The former reality star, who is married to Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, took to Instagram to express her grief over his untimely death.
Whether you’re fleeing a war-torn country or seeking a lucrative Silicon Valley tech career, it can take years to obtain permanent U.S. residency, the first solid step toward citizenship. But each year, thousands of wealthy foreign families, most of them from China, have fast-tracked their way to green cards by writing $500,000 checks to U.S.-based developers.
Nearly half of Republican voters support Donald Trump's proposal to bar Muslims from entering the United States, with 42 percent of GOP respondents reporting they agree with the presidential candidate's plan in a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday. By comparison, the survey found that 75 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independent voters were at odds with the Muslim travel ban.
As diplomats in Paris draw closer to a deal to tackle climate change, the outlook for the coal sector is starting to darken. Nearly 200 nations at the United Nations-run summit are expected to finalize a sweeping climate deal by this weekend. Top leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, are calling for a shift in the world’s energy supplies away from high-carbon sources, such as coal, and toward cleaner alternatives.
SpaceX is returning to space with the launch of communications satellites for Orbcomm Inc. on Dec. 19. A newly upgraded Falcon 9 rocket will carry 11 small commercial communications satellites to space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The upcoming satellite launch could also see the first ground-based attempt for SpaceX to land its first-stage booster. SpaceX plans to static fire the Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 16 with a launch scheduled three days after the test, SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced on Twitter.
Volkswagen has agreed on steps to improve oversight of engine-software development to avoid future manipulations after its admission of cheating U.S. diesel-emissions tests caused the biggest scandal in the German carmaker's corporate history. Correspondent Grace Pascoe reports. Video Transcript: Trust is top of Volkswagen's checklist. And regaining it after the embarrassing emissions scandal won't be easy. Hans Dieter Poetsch is VW's chairman.
Investors might want to pay closer attention to Oscar buzz. A new study from Emerson College in Boston found a strong correlation between critically acclaimed movies and the amount of revenue they bring in, not just on opening weekend but for several weeks after. And on the flipside, films that were eventually nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award, or "Razzie," a tongue-in-cheek "honor" given to the worst movies of the year, were playing to pretty empty theaters by the end of their first month.