North America

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.

HAVANA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) on Friday called on Latin American political and social forces to slam war threats against Venezuela and support peace in the South American country.

In a statement, the PCC denounced "the escalation of U.S. pressures and actions" aimed at preparing "a military adventure disguised as humanitarian intervention" in Venezuela.

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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday broke off talks on vehicle mileage standards with California, increasing the chances of a court battle that threatens to unsettle the auto industry.

The White House, which has proposed freezing the standards, said it would now move unilaterally to finish its own mileage rule later this year “with the goal of promoting safer, cleaner, and more affordable vehicles.”

WASHINGTON; 21 Feb 2019; (AP) — A judge has imposed a full gag order on Trump confidant Roger Stone after he posted a photo on Instagram of the judge with what appeared to be crosshairs of a gun.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Thursday she believes Stone would “pose a danger” to others in the case if she didn’t institute the order.

Jackson ordered Stone to court to show why she shouldn’t modify or revoke his bail or implement a full gag order. The judge had already issued an order limiting comments in the case.

22 Feb 2019; AFP: A US judge on Thursday ordered a Coast Guard officer who espoused white supremacist views and drafted a hit list of Democratic politicians and prominent media figures to remain behind bars.

Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, an admirer of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, was arrested last week on firearms and drug charges.

22 Feb 2019; AFP: The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria sued Thursday to bring her home after the Trump administration took the extraordinary step of declaring that she was not a US citizen.

Hoda Muthana, 24, says that she regrets joining the extremists and is willing to face prosecution in the United States over her incendiary propaganda on behalf of the ruthless but dwindling group.

22 Feb 2019; AFP: US biotechnology manufacturer Thermo Fisher on Thursday announced it would stop selling to China equipment used to create a DNA database of the country's Uighur minority.

Since 2016, there have been regular reports of Chinese authorities taking blood samples in the Xinjiang region.