U.S. House votes to expel Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress

STORY: U.S. House votes to expel Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 1, 2023 DATELINE: Dec. 2, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:46 LOCATION: Washington D.C. CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. various of the U.S. House of Representatives voting on the bill STORYLINE: The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to expel New York Republican George Santos from Congress over the lies, scandals and alleged campaign finance crimes. The lower chamber voted 311-114 to expel Santos, with all Republican leaders voting against expulsion. In total, 105 Republicans and 206 Democrats voted for expulsion. The latest action, which required a two-third majority, makes Santos, a first-term lawmaker, the sixth member of the House to be expelled in the body's history. Santos invented ties to the Holocaust and made false claims that his mother was at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. His detractors also mentioned several times his use of campaign funds for personal expenses. Xinhua News Agency corre

Israel reopens Gaza crossing after two weeks of closure

STORY: Israel reopens Gaza crossing after two weeks of closure DATELINE: Sept. 29, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:52 LOCATION: Jerusalem CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Palestinian workers heading to Erez crossing STORYLINE: Israel reopened its main crossing point with the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning after closing it for two weeks amid border protests. The Erez Crossing, the sole pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Israel, has been reopened for Palestinian workers to enter Israel, the Office of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an Israeli Defense Ministry unit that coordinates with the Palestinians, announced in a press release. The crossing will remain open "depending on the assessment of the situation and the security stability," said the statement. Israel closed the crossing for the Jewish New Year holiday on Sept. 15, citing security concerns. Approximately 18,000 Gazans hold permits from Israeli authorities to work in Israel, bringing much-needed funds into th

Fallout from collapse of U.S. banks causes more trouble in Europe

STORY: Fallout from collapse of U.S. banks causes more trouble in Europe DATELINE: March 16, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:52 LOCATION: Rome CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the banks in Rome 2. various of U.S. dollar and Euros STORYLINE: Banking giant Credit Suisse lost nearly a fourth of its value Wednesday, amid the growing fallout from the collapse of two regional banks in the United States. New York-based Signature Bank was shut down Sunday by state regulators, two days after California's Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed as depositors rushed to withdraw funds. Wednesday marked the second time in three trading sessions since the U.S. bank failures, that European financial stocks were severely battered. Nevertheless, the dramatic impact on Credit Suisse in trading Wednesday was largely unexpected, since the institution is so large. According to 2022 data from Insider Intelligence, Credit Suisse was the second-largest bank in Switzerland and the 17th-largest in Europe, with an estimated 730 billion

U.S. regulators close New York's Signature Bank following Silicon Valley Bank collapse

STORY: U.S. regulators close New York's Signature Bank following Silicon Valley Bank collapse DATELINE: March 14, 2023 LENGTH: 0:00:52 LOCATION: NEW YORK, U.S. CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Signature Bank STORYLINE: New York-based Signature Bank, a key lender in the crypto industry, was shut down Sunday by state regulators over a "similar systemic risk exception." This is according to a joint statement by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The move came two days after California's Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed as depositors rushed to withdraw funds. Regulators promised that all depositors of Signature Bank "will be made whole," and "as with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer." The authorities also said "shareholders and certain unsecured debtholders will not be protected." Founded in 2001, Signature Bank is a New York state-chartered commercial bank. Xinhua News Agency c

Salary cut for lawmakers

Salary cut for lawmakers

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken March 28, 2011, shows Yoshihisa Inoue (L, facing), secretary general of the New Komeito party, Nobuteru Ishihara (C), secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Katsuya Okada (2nd from R) secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, ahead of their discussions in the Diet in Tokyo. Prime Minister Naoto Kan's DPJ and the two opposition parties agreed the same day to cut 3 million yen from each parliamentarian's salary to help generate funds for reconstruction work following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan to donate $100 mil. to set up new funds at ADB

Japan to donate $100 mil. to set up new funds at ADB

KYOTO, Japan - Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi delivers a keynote speech at the start of a two-day annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Kyoto on May 6. Omi, who chairs the meeting, unveiled a plan to contribute $100 million to the Asian Development Bank to set up two new funds to fight global warming and facilitate the investment climate in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ukraine conflict, climate action play major role in Canada's 2022 budget

STORY: Ukraine conflict, climate action play major role in Canada's 2022 budget DATELINE: April 8, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:10 LOCATION: Ottawa CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. SOUNDBITE (English): CHRYSTIA FREELAND, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister STORYLINE: In her second annual federal budget tabled as Canada's finance minister, Chrystia Freeland has shifted her focus from helping Canadians and the economy weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to allocating funds to address what she characterized as two of the major challenges facing Canada and the world. The budget she tabled on Thursday includes more than 6.4 billion U.S. dollars in new funding over five years to better equip the Canadian Armed Forces; increase Canada's contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD); and reinforce Canada's cyber-security strategy to prevent and defend against attacks, including those against government agencies and critical

Japan to donate $100 mil. to set up new funds at ADB

Japan to donate $100 mil. to set up new funds at ADB

KYOTO, Japan - Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi delivers a keynote speech at the start of a two-day annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Kyoto on May 6. Omi, who chairs the meeting, unveiled a plan to contribute $100 million to the Asian Development Bank to set up two new funds to fight global warming and facilitate the investment climate in the Asia-Pacific region. (Kyodo)

New agriculture minister Hayashi arrives at prime minister's office

New agriculture minister Hayashi arrives at prime minister's office

New agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo for a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 24, 2015. He returned to the post after Koya Nishikawa resigned on Feb. 23 to take the blame for two political funds scandals in which he has been embroiled. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Salary cut for lawmakers

Salary cut for lawmakers

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken March 28, 2011, shows Yoshihisa Inoue (L, facing), secretary general of the New Komeito party, Nobuteru Ishihara (C), secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Katsuya Okada (2nd from R) secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, ahead of their discussions in the Diet in Tokyo. Prime Minister Naoto Kan's DPJ and the two opposition parties agreed the same day to cut 3 million yen from each parliamentarian's salary to help generate funds for reconstruction work following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (Kyodo)