USA

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on a state-owned oil firm in Venezuela, the latest move of the Trump administration to mount pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to cede power to the opposition.

The sanctions on Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or PDVSA, will block 7 billion U.S. dollars in assets and could result in a loss of 11 billion dollars in sales next year, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton told a White House briefing.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu He arrived in Washington D.C. on Monday afternoon for the upcoming high-level economic and trade consultations with the U.S. side.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, leads a delegation with members from major economic sectors of the Chinese government.

WASHINGTON; 28 Jan 2019; AA: U.S. administration has "accepted" on Sunday Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s designation of Carlos Alfredo Vecchio as the charge d’Affaires to the U.S.

In a written statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "The United States accepted interim President Juan Guaido’s designation of Carlos Alfredo Vecchio as the Charge d’Affaires of the Government of Venezuela to the United States on January 25."

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As the Trump administration rolls back environmental and safety rules for the energy sector, government projections show billions of dollars in savings reaped by companies will come at a steep cost: more premature deaths and illnesses from air pollution, a jump in climate-warming emissions and more severe derailments of trains carrying explosive fuels.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, standing outside of Oakland’s city hall, formally kicked off her campaign for the White House by presenting herself as the leader who can best unite an America that is at an “inflection point” and facing a critical question.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said the odds congressional negotiators will craft a deal to end his border wall standoff with Congress are “less than 50-50.”

As hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers prepared to return to work, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he doesn’t think the negotiators will strike a deal that he’d accept. He pledged to build a wall anyway using his executive powers to declare a national emergency if necessary.

27 Jan 2019; AFP: The US Federal Reserve will hold its fire this week, leaving interest rates untouched and letting markets calm down after a tumultuous end to 2018.

Coming off Wall Street's worst December since the Great Depression and amid mounting fears about the global economy, Fed policymakers are now unanimously hammering a single message: they will be "patient" before pulling the trigger again.

28 Jan 2019; DW: The US has lifted sanctions on aluminum giant Rusal and two other firms linked to billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who had ties to former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort. The move came despite objections from Congress.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- More than 6 in 10 U.S. citizens believe their country is heading in the wrong direction, while nearly 7 in 10 gave negative opinions on the state of the country, a poll found Sunday.

The poll, released by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, showed that 63 percent of respondents said the United States is heading off on the wrong track, while 28 percent say the opposite.

Records showed that the percentage of people who believe the country in the right direction is the lowest since July 2016.

Washington/New Delhi, Jan 27; PTI: A small group of Sikh separatists held a protest in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington during which they tried to burn the tricolour on the Republic Day, a move slammed by the local Sikh community and termed as a "flop show" by Indian government sources.

The demonstration by Sikh For Justice (SFJ) outside the Indian Embassy in Washington were completely outnumbered by flag waving, enthusiastic and patriotic Indians, official sources said in New Delhi.