Business

Caracas, Feb 16; AFP?GANASHAKTI: Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro hit out at the United States on Friday for "stealing" billions of dollars and offering "crumbs" in return as humanitarian aid.

Tons of US aid is piling up in Colombia close to the border with Venezuela as opposition leader Juan Guaido has vowed to defy Maduro's efforts to block the supplies from entering the country.

"It's a booby trap, they're putting on a show with rotten and contaminated food," said Maduro, speaking at an event in the southeastern town of Ciudad Bolivar.

Washington, Feb 16 (PTI) Exuding confidence ahead of his high-profile meeting with Kim Jong-un later this month, US President Donald Trump has said the second summit will be a "very successful one" as he has established a "very good" relationship with the North Korean leader.

President Trump and Chairman Kim are scheduled to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27 and 28.

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. government will lead an ambitious effort to develop technologies to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, cellphones and other sources to ensure a reliable and affordable supply of metals crucial to battery production in anticipation of soaring global demand and potential shortages, Department of Energy officials said Friday.

CARACAS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is put by his advisors into a dead end regarding the situation in Venezuela.

Trump has been put into an "alley without exit" by his advisors on Venezuela, he said.

Maduro made the remarks when marking the bicentennial of Venezuela's definitive republican constitution amid a political crisis that broke out on Jan. 23 when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president and was recognized by the United States and several other countries.

CAIRO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Warsaw conference on the Middle East ended up without setting up the anti-Iran coalition, an overt goal of the United States that remains unrealized.

The two-day conference, co-organized from Feb. 13 to 14 by Poland and the United States, appeared to be a blatant attempt to build the coalition of hardliners.

KIGALI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- African coffee products could dominate the global market in the next five years as some countries have expanded coffee growing acreage and raised quality of coffee produce, experts told Xinhua on Friday.

Production of coffee in Africa could rise by more than 2 million bags in each of the next five years, as farming improves in most coffee-growing countries like Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, said Peter Kettler, global product manager for coffee at Fairtrade International.

BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States have just concluded a new round of high-level trade talk in Beijing.

A string of positive signals released from the meeting have shown that on the basis of equality, the two countries are moving towards a final deal, led by the consensus reached by top leaders of the two countries.

When meeting with U.S. negotiation delegates on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China stands ready to resolve trade disputes through cooperation and reach a deal that can be accepted by both sides.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s company is scrapping plans for two new hotel chains announced two years ago, casting blame in part on a hostile political environment.

The Trump Organization said Thursday that it will no longer try to open hotels under its Scion and American Idea brands catering to budget and mid-priced travelers, a departure from its focus on luxury hotels. The announcement comes as the company has posted losses at a few of its golf properties and brand experts say it has lost some of its appeal.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon abruptly dropped plans Thursday for a big new headquarters in New York that would have brought 25,000 jobs to the city, reversing course after politicians and activists objected to the nearly $3 billion in incentives promised to what is already one of the world’s richest, most powerful companies.

“We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion — we love New York,” the online giant from Seattle said in a blog post announcing its withdrawal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade, his administration has granted hundreds of companies permission to import millions of tons of steel made in China, Japan and other countries without paying the hefty tariff he put in place to protect U.S. manufacturers and jobs, according to an Associated Press analysis.