USA

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Saturday after visiting the U.S.-Mexico border that the government needs a broader, more effective approach to border control. He suggested the Pentagon might contribute with its expertise in surveillance and monitoring.

“How do we get out of treating the symptoms and get at the root of the issue,” Shanahan said in an interview while flying back to Washington.

Washington, Feb 23 (PTI) President Donald Trump has nominated his envoy to Canada Kelly Knight Craft as the next US Ambassador to the UN to succeed Indian-American Nikki Haley.

In October, Haley announced that she was leaving the post by the end of the year.

The 46-year-old former South Carolina governor has served nearly two years in the post. She was the first Indian-American ever appointed to a Cabinet position in any US presidential administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Craft, 56, would replace Haley.

TASS, February 23. US President Donald Trump has received the Golden Raspberry award for worst actor and worst screen combo. The award ceremony was transmitted on YouTube on Saturday.

The US leader received the in-jest Worst Actor Award for his "roles" in the documentaries "Death of a Nation" and "Fahrenheit 11/9". He also received the award for Worst Screen Combo for the duo with his "self-perpetuating pettiness", the organizers said.

GENEVA; 23 Feb 2019; AA: The UN human rights arm Friday raised concerns about the recent executions of 15 people in Egypt earlier this month.

Egyptian authorities should take all necessary measures to ensure the process and investigate allegations of torture, said Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office "We urge the Egyptian authorities to halt all executions," he said.

Nine people were executed Feb. 20, linked to the killing of Egypt’s General Prosecutor Hisham Barakat.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats controlling the House have teed up a vote next week to block President Donald Trump from using a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, accelerating a showdown in Congress that could divide Republicans and lead to Trump’s first veto.

The Democrats introduced a resolution Friday to block Trump’s declaration, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would vote on the measure Tuesday. It is sure to pass, and the GOP-run Senate may adopt it as well. Trump quickly promised a veto.

23 Feb 2019; AFP: Virgin Galactic's spacecraft reached an altitude of more than 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) on Friday, carrying for the first time a passenger in addition to its two pilots.

SpaceShipTwo, built by British billionaire Richard Branson to carry tourists into space, launched from California's Mojave desert and flew to an altitude of 55.87 miles (89.9 kms), the company said.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday a trade summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping was likely next month, and hailed two days of "very good talks" by negotiators.

The negotiations were extended through Sunday as officials race to reach a deal ahead of a deadline next week when US duty rates are due to rise sharply.

But Trump again said he was considering pushing back the deadline for raising tariffs on more than $200 billion in Chinese exports.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Jean-Pierre Lacroix, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said Friday that the opportunity to bring peace back to the Central African Republic (CAR) is great.

"We have a great opportunity to bring peace back to the Central African Republic and to the Central African Republic people," he said when meeting with the press.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council has condemned "in the strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" attack in India-controlled Kashmir against Indian forces last week.

In a press statement on Thursday, the council members reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House on bilateral ties and the ongoing bilateral trade talks.

Liu is in Washington D.C. for the seventh round of high-level economic and trade talks between the world's top two economies that started on Thursday. He is also visiting the United States as the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.