North America

UNITED NATIONS, February 25. /TASS/. The UN Security Council will hold a public meeting on the situation in Venezuela on Tuesday, February 26, at the United States' request, a diplomatic source in the organization informed TASS on Monday.

"The Security Council’s public briefing will be held tomorrow at the request of the United States," he said. According to the source, it is unclear at the moment whether or not the US will submit its draft resolution on Venezuela to the Security Council.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Monday two bills that enhance background check for gun purchases would be vetoed if passed by congress.

"If H.R. 8, or H.R. 1112, are presented to the president, his advisors would recommend he veto the bill," it said in a statement, referring to the bills by their house resolution numbers.

H.R. 8, also known as Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, would require that certain transfers, loans, gifts, and sales of firearms be processed by a federally licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday called on the UN Security Council to review sanctions against Sudan in accordance with the latest situation and eventually lift the sanctions.

Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Sudan and South Sudan, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said that the security situation in Sudan's Darfur region remains generally stable after the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) gradually handed over responsibility for security to the government of Sudan last year.

BOGOTA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday announced new economic and diplomatic sanctions against Venezuelan officials loyal to President Nicolas Maduro.

During a meeting in Bogota of the Lima Group, a Latin American bloc aligned with Washington and its push to unseat Maduro, Pence said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on four Venezuelan governors for their pro-government stance.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Embattled Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax compared himself to Jim Crow-era lynching victims in a surprise speech Sunday, as he resists widespread calls to resign prompted by allegations of sexual assault.

Fairfax strongly defended himself and lashed out at his critics from his rostrum in the state Senate as the 2019 legislative session was coming to a close.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly half the nation’s business economists say they think the U.S. economy will slip into recession by the end of next year, and three-fourths envision such a downturn beginning by the end of 2021.

The finding comes from the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics of its member economists. Just 10 percent of them say they foresee a recession beginning this year. At the other extreme, only 11 percent expect the economy to avoid a recession through 2021.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two years after the Chinese government began to detain members of Muslim minority groups in western China, a growing number of family members abroad are refusing to remain silent.

On Sunday, about three dozen relatives of some of the 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs and others being held without charge spoke out about the mass detentions at an event in Washington, D.C., hoping to raise awareness of what many are calling a human rights travesty but which Beijing defends as necessary to counter violent religious extremism.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mahershala Ali triumphantly wrapped up this year’s award season by winning the best supporting actor trophy at the Oscars on Sunday, adding an Academy Award to the trophies he’s collected for his role as a concert pianist in the interracial road-trip movie “Green Book.”

This was Ali’s second win in this category, coming two years after his win for “Moonlight.”

He dedicated his award to his grandmother, who he said has pushed him his entire life to keep trying time and time again and to remain positive.

24 Feb 2019; DW: Hollywood's biggest stars converged on the red carpet Sunday for the 91st Academy Awards, with the 7,900-odd voting Academy members faced with a broad array of choices. In a night where no single movie was favored to win, the civil rights drama Green Book came out on top. 

WASHINGTON, February 24. /TASS/. Venezuelan servicemen who refuse to allow a humanitarian convoy into the republic will face tougher US sanctions, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

"Venezuela’s military has a choice: Embrace democracy, protect civilians, and allow in humanitarian aid; or face even more sanctions and isolation," he said, attaching to his message a Reuters news report about US plans to toughen its sanctions on Venezuela.