Austrian MPs blocks EU-Mercosur trade deal with South America

VIENNA, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — MPs in Austria have dealt a blow to the EU’s landmark trade deal with South America’s economic bloc, by demanding a government veto on the deal.The draft free trade agreement took 20 years to complete and the EU has described it as its biggest so…

China’s new mega-airport ready to open

An aeriel view of the striking new Beijing Daxing International Airport BEIJING, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China is poised to open a new mega-airport to the south of Beijing, already home to the world’s second-busiest aviation hub, ahead of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic.Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX)…

US, Chinese trade deputies face off in Washington amid deep differences

WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — U.S. and Chinese deputy trade negotiators resumed face-to-face talks for the first time in nearly two months, as the world’s two largest economies try to bridge deep policy differences and find a way out of their protracted trade war.The negotiations, which extended into Friday, are…

Update: Peter Magombeyi, Zimbabwe union leader found after ‘abduction’

HARARE, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Zimbabwean union leader who was thought to have been abducted is alive and well, reports say.Peter Magombeyi had organised a series of strikes over poor pay and working conditions in recent weeks.On Saturday, he sent a message alleging he had been kidnapped, which resulted…

ECOWAS parliament calls for reversal of Nigeria’s borders closure

ABUJA, Sept 20 (NNN-XINHUA) — The recent closure of the Nigerian borders with West African neighbours might hamper the implementation of the free trade movement within the sub-region of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc’s parliament has said.Whilst seeking a reversal of the decision by…

Malaysia, Indonesia shut thousands of schools as haze worsens

KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of schools have been ordered closed across Malaysia and Indonesia on Thursday, affecting at least 1.7 million students, officials said, as toxic haze from rampant forest fires sent air quality plummeting.Nearly 2,500 schools were ordered to suspend classes in Malaysia — including nearly…

Congo president’s $19m seized in San Marino after ‘spending more than $2m on watches and crocodile shoes’

President of the Republic of Congo- Brazzaville, Denis Sassous Nguesso SAN MARINO, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One of Africa’s longest-serving presidents has been accused of laundering €19million (about 20 million dollars), using shell accounts in Europe.The republic of San Marino, a small country landlocked by Italy, launched an investigation into…

Update: Day of mourning declared after Liberia fire

MONROVIA, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Liberia’s President George Weah has declared Thursday a national day of mourning following a deadly fire at a boarding school in the country.The fire on Wednesday left at least 27 people dead, many of them children.“This is an extremely difficult moment, not only for the…

Nigerian Army denies claims Maiduguri is under attack

ABUJA, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES0 — The Nigerian Army has denied reports that Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, is under attack. In a statement , the Army says Maiduguri at the moment is peaceful and calm. The statement stated that information circulating on social media revealed that some mischievous elements are…

US drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

People attend the funeral of victims of a US drone strike in Khogyani district KABUL, Sept 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A U.S. drone strike intended to hit Daesh hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day’s labour in the fields, officials said. The attack on Wednesday night…