Kathmandu / AFP Nepal’s former rebel Maoists withdrew from the ruling coalition on Tuesday, leaving the government without a majority and threatening to plunge the quake-hit country into a fresh political crisis. The Maoists, who hold 80 out of 575 elected seats in parliament, said they wanted to form a “national consensus government” to implement a divisive new national ...

  Londres, United Kingdom / AFP David Cameron chaired his final cabinet meeting on Tuesday after six years as Britain’s prime minister, with incoming premier Theresa May preparing to form a new government to deliver Brexit. May led tributes to Cameron at the meeting, which was described by ministers as “emotional”, and posed for photographers on the steps of the ...

  London / AP After all of the flamboyant characters and very public backstabbing in the race to become Britain’s next PM, the winner turned out to be an understated workhorse who maintained a low profile throughout the campaign. Home Secretary Theresa May, 59, is not well-known internationally, but she has served for six years in one of Britain’s toughest jobs, ...

  Caracas, Venezuela / AFP Citibank plans to close the account Venezuela uses to make international payments, President Nicolas Maduro said, accusing the US-based bank of mounting a “financial blockade.” “Citibank, with no warning or communication, says that it is going to close the Central Bank and Bank Of Venezuela account. That is what you call a financial blockade,” the ...

  Berlin, Germany / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Tuesday they expected Britain’s new government to quickly define its relationship with the EU after conservative Theresa May becomes PM. The European Union could not put forward any proposals on the two sides’ future relationship “until it’s clear what the strategy from Britain ...

  Brussels, Belgium / AFP The European Union on Tuesday launched a controversial deal with the United States aimed at curbing government spying on the personal internet infomation of European citizens. The deal replaces one struck down by the EU’s top court in October, a decision which left firms like Google and Facebook in legal limbo over whether they could ...

  WASHINGTON Since its unfortunate “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union, Britain has experienced a tragi-comic round of backstabbing, foot-dragging and second-guessing. Europe, meanwhile has mostly behaved with admirable good sense. The Europeans seem to understand that the Brexit vote is a wake-up call about dissatisfaction with the EU that’s nearly as widespread on the continent as it is ...

  With Brexit impact hanging over Europe, European finance ministers’ warnings over adverse economic impact on the EU, were also loaded with a political sarcasm that the UK, which voted to leave at its own choice, risks becoming a “Little Britain” in the referendum’s aftermath. This is a clear signal to Scotland and North Ireland to remain in the EU. ...

  Mark Whitehouse U.S. job growth rebounded in June from a brief slump that had many concerned about the outlook for the economy. The crucial question now: How long can it go on? The employment report for June suggests that U.S. employers were doing well in the weeks before Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The Labor Department’s establishment ...

One of the U.S.’s biggest economic challenges is the slump in productivity. After climbing steadily for many decades, productivity has slowed dramatically since 2011: Productivity is the key to long-term prosperity. It represents a hard ceiling on the amount of valuable things that a society is able to produce. If productivity flatlines, it means that the pie isn’t growing, and ...