US Senate approves new North American trade deal

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a new North American trade pact, handing President Donald Trump a second back-to-back trade win just as his impeachment trial was beginning in Washington. After a brief debate, lawmakers voted 89-10 in favour…

Moroccan airline to launch 1st non-stop flights between Casablanca, Beijing

RABAT, Jan 17 (NNN-XINHUA) — The Moroccan national airline Royal Air Maroc (RAM) launched on Thursday the first non-stop flights between Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca and Beijing Daxing International Airport. The flight will be operated by B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with a capacity of 302 seats, including 26 in business…

US to decide on Africa presence in two months, says top officer

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Stateswill make a decision on the level of its presence in Africa, particularly inthe Sahel region, in about two months, Washington’s top military officer said. Washington has some 7,000 special forces on rotation in Africa carryingout joint operations with national forces against jihadists,…

Auto tariff threat not mentioned in US talks: EU commissioner

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US threats to put tariffs on European autos did not come up during talks this week with American trade officials in Washington, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said Thursday. Hogan’s remarks came hours after Germany’s defense minister confirmed amedia report that Washington had threatened 25…

Iran-US tension: Pres Rouhani says wants dialogue, working to ‘prevent war’

TEHRAN, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he wants to avoid war after Tehran and Washington appeared on the brink of direct military confrontation in early January for the second time in lessthan a year. Ahead of parliamentary elections on Feb 21 — predicted to be achallenge…

Historic Trump impeachment trial begins in Senate

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The historic impeachment trial ofDonald Trump opened Thursday in the US Senate, as lawmakers took a solemn oath to be “impartial” in deciding whether to force the 45th US president from office. For just the third time in American history, the hushed Senate chamber wastransformed…

US allows time to wind down deals hit by fresh Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Treasury Department said it will allow for a 90-day period to wind down transactions in certain sectors of Iran’s economy hit with fresh U.S. sanctions last week.The period, good through April 9, allows transactions in the construction, mining, manufacturing or textiles sectors of…

Russia: Pres Putin shake-up could keep him in power past 2024 as cabinet steps aside

Russian President, Vladimir Putin MOSCOW, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed constitutional changes on Wednesday that would give him scope to extend his grip on power after leaving the presidency, and picked a new prime minister after Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet stepped down. Most importantly, Putin…

Libya’s warring leaders eye Berlin truce talks after failure in Moscow

TRIPOLI, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar agreed “in principle” to attend a peace conference in Berlin after the head of Tripoli’s UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj signalled he would be present.The talks come as world powers step up efforts for a lasting ceasefire, nine months since an…

‘Locust swarm’ forces Ethiopian Airlines plane to divert

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A swarm of what appeared to be locusts forced a passenger plane off its course in Ethiopia, the flight operator says.Pilots were preparing to land the Ethiopian Airlines flight from Djibouti to Dire Dawa on Thursday when clouds of insects slammed into the plane’s…