North America

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has chosen David Malpass, undersecretary for international affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department, as the U.S. candidate for the next president of the World Bank.

Calling Malpass a "very extraordinary man," Trump said in a statement at the White House that he launched a "broad search for replacement" for Jim Yong Kim, the former World Bank chief who abruptly resigned in early January and stepped down Friday.

WASHINGTON; 06 Feb 2019; AA: The Turkey-U.S. Joint Working Group held its final meeting in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, chaired by Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale. 

A diplomatic source who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the meeting was held at the State Department. It tackled bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington and regional affairs.

WASHINGTON, February 5. /TASS/. The Senate of the US Congress on Tuesday approved a bill imposing sanctions on Syria and its allies, including Russia and Iran, according to a live broadcast of the session by the C-SPAN TV channel.

WASHINGTON, February 6. /TASS/. The United States is ready to consider the possibility of signing an agreement to replace the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with a greater number of participants, US President Donald Trump has said.

In his State of the Union Address, Trump said that Russia has "repeatedly violated" the terms of the deal. "That is why I announced that the United States is officially withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF Treaty," he said.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. The Russian nanotechnology company Rusnano may become minority stockholder in the US-based electrical vehicles and batteries producer Tesla controlled by Elon Musk. This may take place after Tesla completes acquisition of Maxwell Technologies from California, a source on the market told TASS on Wednesday.

"Rusnano holds a very small stake in Maxwell and if Tesla acquires it, then the Russian company can become the minority shareholder in the Elon Musk’s company," the source said.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The governor of New Mexico ordered the withdrawal of the majority of the state’s National Guard troops from the U.S. border with Mexico on Tuesday, in a move that challenges President Trump’s description of a security crisis.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the partial withdrawal shortly before Trump’s State of the Union address. Her Republican predecessor deployed National Guard troops to the border in April 2018 at Trump’s suggestion, and 118 remained there before Tuesday’s reversal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Republican on Tuesday pushed congressional bargainers to reach a border security deal without first getting President Donald Trump’s approval, a month after the impulsive president scuttled an apparent bipartisan deal and triggered a historically long federal shutdown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the panel’s first act since Democrats took the majority, the House Intelligence Committee is expected to vote to send more than 50 interview transcripts to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The panel is meeting Wednesday for the first time since California Rep. Adam Schiff became chairman. Schiff has long said that sending Mueller the transcripts from the panel’s now-closed investigation into Russian election interference would be one of his top priorities.

BARRON, Wis. (AP) — A man accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl and killing her parents is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.

Jake Patterson, 21, is accused of killing James and Denise Closs on Oct. 15 and kidnapping their daughter , Jayme Closs, from their Barron home. Jayme escaped on Jan. 10, after 88 days.

Patterson is expected to be in the courtroom Wednesday, according to Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald. The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine whether there’s grounds for a trial. Both sides can present evidence.

ATLANTA (AP) — Stacey Abrams harnessed the frustration of Democrats on Tuesday with a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump for abandoning working Americans and fomenting partisan and cultural discord.