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U.S. Democratic and Republican negotiators have reached an agreement "in principle" on Monday to fund the government and avoid another partial shutdown. Republican Senator Richard Shelby, one of the congressional negotiators working on border security funding, said late on Monday that an "agreement in principle" had been reached, according to Reuters. "Our staffs are going to be working feverishly to put all the particulars together,” Shelby said. He did not say whether President Donald Trump would get any money for the U.S.-Mexico border wall as he has asked. Trump's December demand for 5.7 billion U.S. dollars to help construct the border wall triggered a 35-day partial government shutdown that ended last month without him getting wall funding. A congressional aide, who asked not to be identified, said the outline of the deal included 1.37 billion U.S. dollars for erecting new fencing along the southern border. That is about the same amount C

France has recalled its ambassador to Italy for talks after "provocations" from Italy's political leaders, said the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday. "France has been, for several months, the target of repeated, baseless attacks and outrageous statements," the ministry said in a statement. It came one day after Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi di Maio hailed the "winds of change across the Alps" on Twitter following his meeting with leaders of the "yellow vest" movement.

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Americans to choose "greatness or gridlock" on Tuesday as he delivered a State of the Union address in which he mixed calls for bipartisanship with appeals to the Republican base and jabs at Democrats.  Read more:  State of the Union highlights   Second Trump-Kim meeting to be held in Vietnam on Feb. 27-28 Trump reached out by calling for lower healthcare costs, a proposal to eliminate HIV, and infrastructure spending, but also hit out at "partisan investigations," made remarks on divisive cultural issues and repeated controversial criticisms of illegal immigrants.  On his foreign policy, which Trump described as "principled realism," the president confirmed that he would meet Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in late February. Bipartisan call? Trump's third speech to a joint session of Congress, delayed by one week following the 35-day government shutdown, opened

China's cooperation with Venezuela is based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and joint development, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Friday when asked if China would be "worried" that Venezuela cannot pay back its debt. "We believe that however the situation develops or changes, cooperation between China and Venezuela will not be damaged." Geng added that China is currently in close communication with all parties involved through various means, actively seeking conditions for dialogue in order to solve the issue peacefully. The South American country has plunged into  political turmoil  amid looming tensions with the United States.  Just days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro swore in to begin a new six-year term on January 10, the country's National Assembly Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the "interim president" with support from Washington and its allies. On Thursday,  the European Union al

On January 30, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer opened two-day trade talks at the White House with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, as both sides continued in their commitment to seek an agreement even as the 90-day truce has passed its halfway point. During Liu's visit, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a long-time adviser to the Chinese government and leaders, commentator on the politics and economics of China, recipient of the China Reform Friendship Medal, and host of CGTN's program "Closer To China with R.L. Kuhn", was interviewed by CNBC, a leading international business news network, where Kuhn offered an in-depth view on the Sino-U.S. trade conflict. "Here's why I can be optimistic," said Kuhn, adding that "President Xi and President Trump are both taking active leadership of the dispute, and each leader is making a personal commitment to resolving it. I do not think either would take a public position on the resolution without having high

U.S. lawmakers said on Wednesday they expect Congress will pass a resolution ending U.S. involvement in the Yemen war, which would force President Donald Trump to issue the first veto of his presidency in order to continue supporting the Saudi-led coalition. Republican and Democratic senators and representatives said on Wednesday they were re-introducing a war powers resolution that passed the Senate by 56-41 in December, a rebuke of Trump amid anger at Saudi Arabia not just over civilian deaths in Yemen, but also the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. The lawmakers – an alliance of progressive Democrats and Republican constitutional conservatives – deplored the “humanitarian disaster” in Yemen but also said they wanted Congress to reassert its constitutional authority to decide whether the United States should be involved in military conflict. “That decision has never been debated and discussed and voted on and approved by Congress,” R

A new round of high-level talks of China and United States was held on Wednesday morning in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of White House, Washington D.C. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin attended this high-level economic and trade consultations. Liu He is 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. This round of talks is scheduled for two days from Jan. 30th to 31st.