USA

04 Jan 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump said Friday he was prepared to keep the US government closed for a year or more, as he stood firm on his contentious demand for billions of dollars to fund a border wall with Mexico.

Trump confirmed he said as much in a meeting earlier Friday with top Democrats that failed to produce a deal on ending the two-week shutdown.

"Absolutely I said that," Trump said, adding. "I don't think it will. But I am prepared."

WASHINGTON, January 5. /TASS/. A record-high number of Americans want to permanently move to another country, suggests a Gallup opinion poll whose data was made public on Friday.

04 Jan 2019; AFP: A US government delegation will visit China next week for the first face-to-face talks since President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart agreed on a temporary truce in the trade war, Beijing said Friday.

The US and China have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of goods in total two-way trade, locking them in a conflict that has begun to eat into profits and contributed to stock market plunges.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending package late Thursday that would end the partial government shutdown, amid a veto threat from the White House.

The Democrats who control the House passed the bills that would fund the departments of State, Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Treasury and other agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

Washington, Jan 4 (PTI) Veteran Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, considered an ardent supporter of India-US ties, has been elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time, becoming the most powerful elected woman in the US.

Pelosi, 78, second in line for the presidency, took the gavel as Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in the new Congress after the mid-term elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi knew this moment would come, even if others had their doubts — or actively worked to stop her.

Pelosi is poised to be elected Thursday as House speaker, the only woman who has held the office and now one of few elected officials who will be returning to it. The last time a speaker regained the gavel was more than a half-century ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — No one budged at President Donald Trump’s closed-door meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, so the partial government shutdown persisted through Day 12 over his demand for billions of dollars to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. They’ll all try again Friday.

In public, Trump renewed his dire warnings of rapists and others at the border. But when pressed in private by Democrats asking why he wouldn’t end the shutdown, he responded at one point, “I would look foolish if I did that.”

03 Jan 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered a rather stark take on the situation in war-wracked Syria, summing it up in two words -- "sand and death" -- while remaining vague about the timing of the withdrawal of US troops.

"So Syria was lost long ago. It was lost long ago. And besides that, I don't want -- we're talking about sand and death. That's what we're talking about," Trump said during a cabinet meeting.

03 Jan 2019; AFP: Disney posted its second best year at the box office ever, raking in $7.325 billion worldwide for everything from "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War" to hit animated sequel "Incredibles 2" and the latest "Star Wars" film.

Disney remains the only studio to ever post more than $7 billion in annual box office receipts. In 2016, it recorded its best year at $7.6 billion.

03 Jan 2019; DW: US President Donald Trump said if he were popular in Europe then he would not be doing his job. Trump touted the "tremendous service" the US provides European nations and that in turn, they should respect the US.