Author: ALJAZEERA

The lawsuit came three days after a similar case by NPR, which also saw its funds cut.PBS has filed a lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump and other administration officials to block his order stripping federal funding from the 330-station public television system, three days after NPR did the same for its radio network. In its lawsuit filed on Friday, PBS relied on similar arguments, saying Trump was overstepping his authority and engaging in “viewpoint discrimination” because of his claim that PBS’s news coverage is biassed against conservatives. “PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,” lawyer Z…

The US Court of International Trade has ruled that Donald Trump does not have ‘unbounded authority’ to impose tariffs.

US electronic design automation software makers were told via letters to stop supplies to China, the FT reported.United States President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered US firms that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese groups, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the move. Electronic design automation software makers, which include Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA, were told via letters from the US Commerce Department to stop supplying their tech, the report, which was published on Wednesday, said. A spokesperson for the Commerce Department declined to comment on the letters but…

Law to take effect on January 1 has support of social media companies, but Apple and Google oppose it.Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores, putting the second most populous state in the United States at the centre of a debate over whether and how to regulate smartphone use by children and teenagers. The bill was signed into law on Tuesday. The law, which goes into effect on January 1, requires parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases for users…

A series of new executive orders seeks to fast-track approvals to grow the US’s nuclear energy sector, a lengthy process.United States President Donald Trump has signed a series of new executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear energy production in the country, while rolling back regulations. Friday’s orders, signed by Trump at an Oval Office event, called on the nation’s independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission to cut down on regulations and fast-track new licences for reactors and power plants. One order requires the body to make decisions on new nuclear reactors within 18 months. That would severely pare down a process that…

The DOJ is expected to have a written agreement with Boeing in place by the end of next week.The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has struck a deal in principle with Boeing to allow it to avoid prosecution in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people, a harsh blow to the families of the victims. Boeing will pay more than $1.1bn, including the fine and compensation to families, and more than $455m to strengthen the company’s compliance, safety, and quality programmes, the DOJ said on Friday. The aircraft maker also agreed to…

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has taken its first concrete action to deliver sanctions relief for Syria, following a surprise policy pivot earlier this month. On Friday, the US Department of the Treasury announced sweeping relief to an array of individuals and entities, which it said will “enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with [Trump’s] America First strategy”. The US State Department, meanwhile, concurrently issued a waiver to a 2019 law, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, that would “enable our foreign partners, allies, and the region to further unlock Syria’s potential”. In a statement,…

Investors interpreted Trump’s comments to mean Nippon Steel had received his approval for its takeover of US Steel.United States President Donald Trump has expressed support for Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid for US Steel, saying their “planned partnership” would create jobs and help the US economy. Shares of US Steel soared 21 percent on Friday after Trump’s comments as investors interpreted the president’s post on Truth Social to mean Nippon Steel had received his approval for its long-planned takeover, the last major hurdle for the deal. “This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will…

The group said it would call for analysis on international supply chain resilience.Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven (G7) democracies have pledged to address “excessive imbalances” in the global economy and said they could increase sanctions on Russia. The G7 announced the plan on Thursday as the officials, who met in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, said there was a need for a common understanding of how “non-market policies and practices” undermine international economic security. The document did not name China, but references by the United States and other G7 economies to non-market policies and practices…

Disruption from the ‘highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack’, first reported around Easter weekend, continues.British retailer Marks & Spencer estimates that a cyberattack that stopped it from processing online orders and left store shelves empty will cost it about 300 million pounds ($403m). The company said in a business update (PDF) on Wednesday that disruption from the “highly sophisticated and targeted cyber attack,” which was first reported around the Easter weekend, is expected to continue until July. Online sales of food, home and beauty products have been “heavily impacted” because the company, popularly known as M&S, had to pause online shopping. The…