"We're seeing robust hiring, which is good for the economy and workers, but pay growth is still quite elevated," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, in a statement.

Iraq has recently hosted a raft of foreign officials, including the Iranian, Russian and Saudi foreign ministers and UN chief Antonio Guterres. Since US-led coalition troops ousted Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated regime, Iraq's Shiite majority has led Iraq under a confessional power-sharing system. Successive governments have forged close ties with Iraq's...

The United States wants to see a hike in oil production, including from OPEC countries, said a senior State Department official Monday. "As world economies recover, we'll see more consumption. And therefore we'd like to see supply meet demand," said Jose Fernandez, the US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs,...

The Gulf countries are also able to attract highly qualified and scientific expertise and skilled workers, and they possess the primary resources for the manufacture of chips and semiconductors, especially silicon extracted from sand, plastic and petroleum materials, he adds.

Jordan will host a "political-security" meeting between Israel and the Palestinians to try and restore calm to the occupied Palestinian territories after deadly violence, a Jordanian government official said. The meeting to be held in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba will also be attended by United States and Egyptian...

The ban also means European Commission staff cannot use the Chinese-owned video-sharing app on personal devices including phones that have official apps installed, the spokesperson said, confirming a report by news website Euractiv.

Tehran, Iran - Iran said Wednesday that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors were in the country to clear up "ambiguities" about its uranium enrichment activities. The visit comes after a report by Bloomberg News last week, strongly denied by Tehran, that its nuclear scientists have enriched uranium to 84 percent purity,...

The benchmarks closed lower by about 4 percent last week after the United States reported higher crude and gasoline inventories.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey to show support to the earthquake-hit country and NATO ally which has had tumultuous ties with Washington. His visit comes after a 7.8-magnitude tremor hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria killing nearly 45,000 people but his trip had been planned before...

Iraq, a close ally of Iran, also has strategic relations with the United States, which still has soldiers in the country as part of the international coalition facing the Islamic State group. On Thursday, Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein hosted Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. No mention was...

optimism was dealt a heavy blow Friday by data showing more than half a million new jobs were created in the United States last month, nearly double the December figure and far more than the 188,000 expected. Government figures also showed unemployment fell to the lowest level since 1969. The...

The United States has adopted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contains $370 billion in sweeping investments, subsidies and tax cuts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest-ever US programme to combat climate change. But some of its provisions have been criticised by European Union officials as discriminatory...

The tightening measures are showing effect, with the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rising 5.0 percent last month from a year ago, down from 5.5 percent in November, Commerce Department data showed on Friday. This extends a downward trend since mid-2022, when American households...

Household spending and business investment remained positive in the final quarter last year though they slowed, while inventories and net exports helped growth, said Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics.

The profit in year 2022 is 4.4 percent lower than in 2021.

"By making it harder for people to spend time in the West Bank, Israel is taking yet another step toward turning the West Bank into another Gaza, where two million Palestinians have lived virtually sealed off from the outside world for over 15 years," HRW's Eric Goldstein said.

On Friday the California Energy Commission said 18.8 percent of new cars sold in the state in 2022 were EVs, PHEVs or fuel cell electric vehicles, all of which California includes in its zero-emission category. Ten years ago, that figure was two percent. "California continues to lead the zero-emission vehicle...

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 59 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $74.53 a barrel, while Brent crude futures were down 62 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $79.48 a barrel.

TiKTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew held official talks for the first time with EU vice presidents Margrethe Vestager and Vera Jourova, the bloc's home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson and justice commissioner Didier Reynders.

The country profiles -- arranged in alphabetical order -- summarize recent data, presenting statistical narratives of a country that include economic, political, sociological, environmental, and cultural factors. The profiles also include their performance in 2022 and estimations for 2023.

Americans called him heroic and compared the visit to that of Britain's premier Winston Churchill, who came to Washington in 1941 and addressed the Congress on wartime cooperation between the two allies -- as Zelensky did later Wednesday evening. Before he addressed the special joint session of Congress, Zelensky was...

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - US lawmakers early Tuesday released the text of a US$1.7 trillion funding bill which Congress hopes to pass within days to avert a government shutdown. The bill includes $858 billion in defense funding and will also provide $44.9 billion in emergency assistance for Ukraine. It also includes...

In the midst of Lebanon's three-year financial collapse, banks have tightened controls on withdrawals in both US dollars and the local currency.

Several EU leaders including Macron have said the US subsidies are enticing European companies to relocate to the United States.

The judge presiding over the hearing in a US District Court in Washington read the 71-year-old Masud the charges and his rights before ordering him held without bond until a detention hearing on December 27. The balding and white-bearded Masud was provided with an Arabic interpreter for the hearing, his...

Canadian-based TC Energy, which operates the pipeline, detected the leak Wednesday night in Kansas and immediately halted the flow of oil through the pipeline.

The United States is open to amending lucrative green subsidies that have drawn transatlantic anger for allegedly encouraging job losses in Europe, US climate envoy John Kerry said. In a BBC interview, Kerry signaled unease over the UK government's decision to permit the opening of a coal mine despite ambitions...

The trip -- only Xi's third overseas journey since the coronavirus pandemic began, and his first to Saudi Arabia since 2016 -- comes after US President Joe Biden's visit in July, when he pleaded in vain for higher oil production.

The November midterm elections, in which Republicans failed to score their expected big win in the House while actually losing in the Senate, is being interpreted by Biden as a full-blown validation. And right as his foe Donald Trump gets his own 2024 election campaign off to a typically scandal-burdened...

Payment for settling graft claims against firm in DR Congo.

The concoction includes billions of hungry bacteria, specialized to feed on polluted air -- the first step in a recycling system that converts greenhouse gases into usable products. Thanks to licensing agreements, LanzaTech's novel microorganisms are already being put to commercial use by three Chinese factories, converting waste emissions into...

The world must increase financing for nature-based solutions to meet key climate, biodiversity and land degradation goals, a United Nations report said. The "State of Finance for Nature" report published by the UN Environment Program comes as delegates from nearly 200 countries prepare to meet in Montreal to hammer out...

The EU announced the discovery of a sophisticated US$2.3-billion VAT tax fraud that triggered raids in 14 countries, including France, Germany, Greece and Spain. Over 600 people participated in the scheme, "believed to be the biggest VAT carousel fraud ever investigated in the EU," according to the European Public Prosecutor's...

It is logical for the FRB to halt the wave of escalation of interest rates on the dollar, which was projected to witness a final round next December at a rate of 0.25 percent, due to the approaching winter season and the intensification of the cold wave in western Europea,...

Lawmaker Michel Moawad, who is seen as close to the United States, won the support of 42 of parliament's 128 MPs, but his tally fell well short of the required majority and was exceeded by the number of spoilt ballots cast by pro-Hezbollah lawmakers.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - A Saudi real estate firm has partnered with the Trump Organization on a $4 billion golf and real estate development project in neighboring Oman, according to a stock market filing published Sunday. The deal involving the Dar Al Arkan Global Company, a subsidiary of Dar Al...

The meeting came after the United States said it was looking for China to do more to rein in its ally North Korea, which on Friday test-fired a ballistic missile that US and Japanese officials said was capable of hitting the US mainland. Xi, who is on only his second...

"You guys are used to bending your knees in the games. Some people agree, some people don’t agree with that. And Iran is exactly the same," coach Coach Carlos Queiroz said, according to a video of the press conference. "It is out of question to think that the Iran national...

The UAE is a key player in the 13-nation OPEC oil cartel which, with its 10 allies headed by Russia, angered Washington by cutting production by two million barrels a day from November, adding renewed upward pressure on crude prices.

His speech came at the halfway point of a two-week COP27 conference in Egypt where rich polluters like the US are under pressure to finally provide the funding developing countries have been promised in the battle against climate change. "The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security,...

Biden's tour would include meetings of ASEAN and the Group of 20 industrialised nations in Cambodia and Indonesia.

Paris, France - The European Union threatened Monday to take retaliatory measures against the United States for electric car subsidies that favor domestic manufacturers. The 27-nation bloc is upset about Washington's "Inflation Reduction Act", which will see vast spending on green energy initiatives and includes tax breaks for US-made electric...

The Saudi ambassador to the United States, and a number of embassy staff were present on the occasion.

The Islamic republic has been rocked by protests since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini on September 16, following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaching the country's dress rules for women. Dozens of people, mainly demonstrators but also members of the security forces, have been killed during the...

"People are depleting their emergency stocks ... its profound purpose was to mitigate the shortage of supply," says Prince Abdulaziz at an FII event in Riyadh.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran on Saturday accused the United States of seeking to gain concessions in nuclear talks aimed at restoring the 2015 agreement, by supporting protests over Mahsa Amini's death. The Islamic republic has been rocked by demonstrations that flared over the death of the 22-year-old Amini on September...

Iran vowed an "immediate" response to the European Union as it prepares new sanctions on the Islamic republic after over a month of protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death. EU foreign ministers met to adopt sanctions on Iran after Amini was detained for allegedly breaching Iran's strict dress code for...

Hady Amr also reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to rebuilding bilateral relationship with the Palestinian people and to a two-state solution.

While Saudi Arabia has said it does not use oil as a political tool, US experts see this as a direct rebuff to the Biden administration.

As US annual inflation has soared to the fastest in 40 years, the Fed has moved aggressively this year to tamp down demand, raising the interest rates five times, for a total of three percentage points. "Inflation remains stubbornly and unacceptably high, and data over the past few months show...