Bloomberg President Nicolas Maduro raised Venezuela’s minimum wage 50 percent and announced that his oil and foreign ministers will visit producer countries to lobby for price increases ahead of an informal OPEC meeting next month. The wage increase becomes effective Sept. 1, Maduro said, and applies to all workers earning minimum wages and all public employees, members of the …

  New York / AFP Millions of Americans will spend the weekend hot under the collar as soaring East Coast temperatures and stifling humidity slapped excessive weather warnings on New York and Philadelphia. The combination of heat and humidity would make it feel as hot as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in the two cities. Temperatures would stay in …

  London / AFP The British government pledged on Saturday to match European Union funding for farmers, universities and infrastructure projects following Brexit, as it sought to allay fears over key sectors. The commitment, intended to address uncertainty arising from the June 23 vote to quit the bloc, could cost £4.5 billion a year, finance minister Philip Hammond said. The …