North korea

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has scheduled a major political conference to discuss the “urgent task” of improving its agricultural sector, a possible sign of worsening food insecurity as the country's economic isolation deepens amid a defiant nuclear weapons push. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that members of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Politburo met on Sunday and agreed to hold a larger plenary meeting of the party’s Central Committee in late February to review strategies on agriculture and set new goals. It said the Politburo members acknowledged a “a turning point is needed to dynamically promote the radical change in agricultural development.” “It is a very important and urgent task to establish the correct strategy for the development of agriculture and take relevant measures for the immediate farming … to promote the overall … [Read more...] about North Korea party meeting set to discuss ‘urgent’ food issue

The Trump administration, over the objections of lawmakers, is continuing to try to soften its punishment of ZTE, the Chinese telecommunications firm that has emerged as a key sticking point in trade negotiations between China and the United States. The company is on the verge of shutting down after the United States banned it from buying American components and has become a bargaining chip between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as the two leaders work to resolve a brewing trade war. Mr. Xi asked Mr. Trump to revisit the ZTE decision because thousands of Chinese jobs could be lost if the company is shuttered. On Thursday, Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, said the administration was considering placing an American compliance team inside ZTE to ensure that the company was meeting its requirements and not violating sanctions. The company was punished for violating United States sanctions against Iran and North Korea and then lying about it. “We’re … [Read more...] about Trump Mulls Options on ZTE as Congress Tries to Force Tough Penalty

Each night at dusk, in an otherwise desolate Times Square, hundreds of nurses in blue scrubs gather to board buses that take them to hospitals across New York City. Of the thousands of nurses who have come from other states to shore up New York’s hospitals, more than 4,000 are staying in Midtown Manhattan. During the day, many rest at their hotels, amid darkened Broadway marquees, quiet streets and boarded up shops. At night, they face crowded hospital corridors, panicked patients and strained intensive care units . And death. “I have never seen patients so sick before,’’ said Tamara Williams, a 40-year-old nurse from Dallas. “And dying, despite everything that we’re doing.” Even as the daily death toll has fallen in recent weeks, the coronavirus is still spreading. The number of new hospital admissions in New York, the hardest-hit state, has remained high, at about 1,000 a day, down from more than 3,000 a day in early April. Out-of-state nurses have … [Read more...] about Hundreds of Miles From Home, Nurses Fight Coronavirus on New York’s Front Lines