26 Feb 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to hold a "signing summit" with China's President Xi Jinping to seal a trade deal, since as discussions are in the "advanced stages."

The comments cheered global stock markets, since they confirmed the dispute will not ratchet up immediately, averting an even bigger impact on the global economy.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Monday called on the UN Security Council to review sanctions against Sudan in accordance with the latest situation and eventually lift the sanctions.

Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Sudan and South Sudan, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said that the security situation in Sudan's Darfur region remains generally stable after the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) gradually handed over responsibility for security to the government of Sudan last year.

CARACAS, February 26. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has not ordered to open fire at civilians, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told "Democracy Now!" news program broadcast on Monday.

26 Feb 2019; DW: On Monday evening, the Labour Party said it would back a public vote if parliament rejected the party's alternative plan for leaving the bloc. 

"This week Labour will put its alternative plan for a vote in the House of Commons," Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said on Twitter. "If Parliament rejects our plan, then Labour will deliver on the promise we made at our annual conference and support a public vote."

GENEVA, February 25. /TASS/. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Moscow and Washington to preserve the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and agree on the extension of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, known as the New START Treaty.

CHISINAU, February 25. /TASS/. Moldova’s Party of Socialists has retained leadership in the parliamentary elections after all ballots had been counted, the country’s Central Election Commission reported on Monday.

LONDON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The British and United States authorities announced an agreement Monday on the continuity of derivatives trading and clearing after Brexit.

The deal was struck between, on the one hand, the UK's main financial markets regulators the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's (BoE) Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and on the other hand the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Specialists of the Russian Mission Control Center have adjusted the International Space Station’s orbit, raising it to the medium altitude of 408.5 km, a spokesman for the Central Research Institute of Machine-Building (TsNIImash) said on Tuesday.

"The orbit adjustment was performed as scheduled. As a result of the maneuver the medium altitude of the space station’s orbit was raised to 408.5 km," the spokesman said.

TRIPOLI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Affairs Committee of Libya's eastern-based House of Representative (parliament) on Monday warned against the interference in Libya's internal affairs by ambassadors of some countries and international organizations.

In a statement, the committee called on them to abide by diplomatic norms and charters that govern their work.

In addition, the committee stressed that the eastern-based army's anti-terrorism operation in southern Libya is a "sacred national duty to restore stability and security."

BOGOTA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday announced new economic and diplomatic sanctions against Venezuelan officials loyal to President Nicolas Maduro.

During a meeting in Bogota of the Lima Group, a Latin American bloc aligned with Washington and its push to unseat Maduro, Pence said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on four Venezuelan governors for their pro-government stance.

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. /TASS/. Syrian President Bashar Assad has paid a working visit to Tehran and met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, SANA news agency reported on Monday citing the president’s press service.

The Syrian leader congratulated Khamenei on the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, which resulted in building "a powerful state that is capable of realizing the interests of its people and standing against foreign interventions."

Johannesburg, Feb 26 (AP) The United States military said that its latest airstrike in Somalia killed 35 fighters with the al-Shabab extremist group not far from the Ethiopian border.

The US military command for the African continent said Sunday's airstrike targeted the al-Qaida-linked fighters as they were travelling in a rural area about 23 miles (37 kilometers) east of Beledweyne in central Hiran region.