USA

12 Feb 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would consider extending the deadline for a trade deal with China beyond March 1.

"If we're close to a deal, where we think we can make a real deal... I could see myself letting that slide for a little while," Trump told reporters at the White House.

But he added: "Generally speaking I'm not inclined to do that."

13 Feb 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump indicated Tuesday that he will walk back his threat to shut the government even if he does not get all the money he has demanded for building a wall along the US-Mexican border.

Although Trump left enough wiggle room to keep the country guessing, he appeared to be edging toward accepting a deal struck in Congress that would give him significantly less money for the much-maligned barrier.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: US space agency NASA will make one final attempt to contact its Opportunity Rover on Mars late Tuesday, eight months after it last made contact.

The agency also said it would hold a briefing Wednesday, during which it will likely officially declare the end of the mission.

Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004 and covered 28 miles (45 kilometers) on the planet, securing its place in history after lasting well beyond its expected 90-day mission.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense said Tuesday that acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad on a broad range of defense issues.

In their meeting at the prime minister's office, Shanahan and Abdul Mahdi discussed a broad range of defense issues, including the need to further develop capabilities of Iraqi security forces, according to a press release issued by the Pentagon.

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A wintry mix of snow, sleet and rain hit New York City on Tuesday as a winter storm moved through the Northeast United States.

Snow arrived in the Big Apple in the morning and turned into icy sleet and eventually freezing rain, creating a wide swath of messy slush and a headache for pedestrians and drivers.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Nearly a million U.S. jobs could be lost due to U.S. newly imposed tariffs on foreign imports and retaliatory tariffs by its trading partners, a recently released study showed.

The study examines the economic effects of tariffs imposed by the United States on imports of foreign products since March 2018, retaliatory tariffs from other countries, and threatened tariffs on the U.S. economy and U.S. workers, one to three years after they have been in effect.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- All U.S. states plus the District of Columbia will see net job loss as a result of the federal government's newly imposed tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners as well as retaliations by the affected countries, a recent study has shown.

The study, titled Estimated Impacts of Tariffs on the U.S. Economy and Workers, was compiled by Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC, an international trade and economic consulting firm, and commissioned by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, a pro-free trade advocacy group. It was released last Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Uncertainty hangs on as U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is not happy with a bipartisan deal reached in principle by lawmakers in a bid to avert a government shutdown.

"I can't say I'm happy. I can't say I'm thrilled," Trump told reporters in the White House about the deal.

However, the president did not say whether he would sign or veto the deal, noting that he would hold a meeting to discuss it later.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Tuesday that the government led by President Nicolas Maduro is ready to sit down with the opposition without preconditions and seek a solution to the political crisis.

12 Feb 2019; AFP: US lawmakers announced late Monday an agreement in principle to avoid another government shutdown, with nearly $1.4 billion in money for construction of a wall on the border with Mexico, as President Donald Trump pushed his politically explosive crusade at a rally in the frontier city of El Paso.