Financial markets in Asia and Europe have been rocked over concerns that the United States’ government might be heading for a partial shutdown. Washington should agree to a new spending bill before the end of the financial year at midnight on Monday amid political divisions that have created a stalemate. If the American lawmakers fail to agree on the budget deal, essential federal services could... 

The White House budget director has ordered federal agencies to begin closing down after the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to reach an agreement on a budget plan to avert a government shutdown. “Agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations,” Sylvia Mathews Burwell, director Of the White House Office of Management and Budget... 

In an address from the White House rose garden Tuesday afternoon, President Barack Obama blamed Republican lawmakers for triggering the first government shutdown in nearly two decades. Pres. Obama spoke on Tuesday roughly 12 hours after a longstanding budget stalemate on Capitol Hill caused a midnight shutdown impacting a number of government agencies and initiatives across the board. “At midnight... 

As a government shutdown looms over the federal budget in the United States, stocks in the country fall sharply and global investors cut allocation to US equities and bonds. All 10 main industries of Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped on Monday. Microsoft Corp. led the declines with a 1.1 percent fall among the largest companies while shares in finance, telephone and energy tumbled the most. Dow... 

It’s widely known that the NSA has taps connected to the various telco networks, thanks in large part to AT&T employee Mark Klein who blew the whistle on AT&T’s secret NSA room in San Francisco. What was unclear was exactly what kind of access the NSA had. Various groups like the EFF and CDT have both been asking the administration to finally come clean, in the name of transparency, if... 

The longstanding notion of US exceptionalism has deep roots in the American psyche, but as the world experiences a “tectonic shift in global geopolitics” the very idea of Washington’s superiority is being challenged, analyst Eric Draitser told RT. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington’s desire to engage in the affairs of other states, particularly in the Middle... 

White House spokesman Jay Carney White House spokesman Jay Carney has talked about the possibility of a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York next week. “It’s possible, but it has always been possible,” Carney said at a press conference on Thursday. “The extended hand has been there from the moment the president was sworn... 

A new report by the Daily Mail reveals Facebook users are abandoning the social media giant at an unprecedented rate over privacy concerns. New research shows Facebook has lost a total of eleven million users, nine million in the US and two million in Britain. Researchers at the University of Vienna analyzed 600 users and found they quit for the following reasons: Privacy concerns – 48.3 percent General... 

Brazil and Argentina have agreed to improve their cyber defense capabilities amid revelations that the US is spying on the Latin American countries, Press TV reports. The decision was made following Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim’s recent meeting with his Argentinean counterpart Agustin Rossi in Buenos Aires. “We need to reflect on how we cooperate to face these new forms of attack,”... 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has postponed a state visit to Washington in response to the US spying on her communications with top aides. Rousseff is demanding a full public apology from President Obama. Barack Obama spoke with Rousseff on Monday in an attempt to persuade her into following through with the trip, the Brazilian president’s office said, according to AP. Brazil’s TV Globo... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talking to US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 14, 2014 Russia and the United States reached a deal on a framework that will see the destruction or removal of Syria’s chemical weapons by mid- 2014. Under the plan, the Assad government has one week to hand over an inventory of its chemical weapons arsenal. Russian Foreign Minister... 

Military Review website posted information from an anonymous source stating that hundreds of Syrian army special forces soldiers are currently located on the territory of the United States, ready to conduct a series of sabotage operations in case of a military aggression against Syria. They may target the country’s infrastructure. The publication lists potential targets that can be damaged,... 

The trust and confidence of the American public in their federal government’s ability to deal with international and domestic problems has hit a record low, a new poll reflects. Gallup’s annual Governance survey shows that just 49 percent of Americans say they have confidence in the federal government’s ability to handle international problems, an all-time low. The previous record low... 

In the past two weeks the US has reportedly begun delivering arms to militants fighting the Syrian government. Washington expects the CIA to monitor the delivery so that the aid does not end up in the hands of Al-Qaeda associates. According to the Washington Post report, after months of promises to provide aid to Syrian rebels in an ‘official’ manner, Washington has finally sanctioned open delivery... 

One-third of all food produced globally remains uneaten and gets thrown away, making the wastage the world’s third-biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions after industry in the US and China, a new UN study reveals. A total of 1.3 billion tons of food a year, worth $750 billion, is thrown away, emitting 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide, according to data collected by the UN’s Food and Agriculture...