USA

United Nations, Jan 8 (AP-PTI) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he is sending UN Ambassador Kelly Craft to Taiwan next week to show what a free China could achieve, an announcement that sparked sharp criticism from Beijing and a warning that the United States will pay a heavy price for its wrong action.

Pompeo on Thursday called Taiwan a reliable partner and vibrant democracy that has flourished despite CCP (Chinese Communist Party) efforts to undermine its great success .

Washington, Jan 8 (PTI) President Donald Trump has condemned the violent supporters who stormed the US Capitol, saying they do not represent America, as he vowed to ensure a peaceful and smooth transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden.

In a new video message, Trump said America is, and must always be a nation of law and order.

WASHINGTON, January 8. /TASS/: US authorities have charged 55 people in connection with the protests that erupted in Washington on Wednesday, the Bloomberg news agency reported on Thursday, citing interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin.

According to the agency, those charges involve mostly cases of unlawful entry and assault, however, among the suspects there is also a man who was arrested a day earlier near the US Capitol building with a semi-automatic rifle and 11 Molotov cocktails.

NEW YORK, January 7. / TASS /: The federal court for the Southern District of New York has sentenced Russian citizen Andrei Tyurin, who pleaded guilty to a number of cybercrimes in the United States, to 12 years in prison. The sentence was announced on Thursday during the court session held via telephone.

WASHINGTON DC, January 7. / TASS /: A US police officer who shot one of the protestors at the US Congress is suspended from work pending an investigation, according to the Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund's statement on Thursday.

On January 6, supporters of the current US President Donald Trump tried to storm the building of Congress, they eventually managed to get inside. At the same time, the police guarding the building used firearms, wounding a woman. She later died at the hospital.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Congressional Democrats on Friday weighed impeaching President Donald Trump for a second time, two days after his false claims of election fraud helped encourage a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Democratic leaders including House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for immediate impeachment proceedings if Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s cabinet refused to take steps to remove Trump from power.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Capitol police officer died Thursday night due to injuries sustained during the riots on Wednesday, said the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) in a statement.

The officer Brian D. Sicknick "was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed," the statement said.

Sicknick's death will be investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch, USCP and "our federal partners," it added.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced her resignation on Thursday in protest over chaos and violence that overran Capitol Hill a day earlier.

In a letter to her colleagues at the Department of Transportation, Chao said her resignation will take effect on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson of China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said on Thursday that China opposes a planned Taiwan visit by Kelly Craft, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations.

According to media reports, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Craft will visit Taiwan. China firmly opposes it, said the spokesperson.

(AP) --- Boeing will pay $2.5 billion to settle a Justice Department investigation and admit that employees misled regulators about the safety of its 737 Max aircraft, which suffered two deadly crashes shortly after entering airline service.

The government and the company said Thursday that the settlement includes money for the crash victims’ families, airline customers and a fine.