A British Airways offer of an 11.5 per cent pay hike over three years did not prevent the carrier’s pilots from striking for the first time in BA’s history Sept. 9. It affects nearly 200,000 booked passengers on the first two days. [node:read-more:link]
Despite President Donald Trump’s professed support for the European Deterrence Initiative, his administration is considering taking $771 million away from projects earmarked for the EDI. Created by the previous administration in a bid to reassure allies in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its annual budget has grown to $6.5 billion from $1 billion in 2014 [node:read-more:link]
Fast-track approval of a draft National Defense Authorization Act is on the agenda when Congress returned Sept. 9 from a summer recess. However, differences between the drafts presented to the House of Representatives and Senate were problematic. [node:read-more:link]
China’s detention of two Canadians is an “unacceptable” tactic in the countries’ dispute over the U.S. request for extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. In a meeting with the Toronto Star’s editorial board, the PM said that kind of tactic has raised fears in other countries about China using the same levers against them. [node:read-more:link]
Chinese negotiators will travel to Washington next month for talks with their U.S. counterparts, signalling a possible end to their escalating trade dispute. The commerce ministry says Vice-Premier Liu He has sanctioned the visit. [node:read-more:link]
The recent sale of eight F-16 fighters to Bulgaria is seen as evidence that a stepped-up U.S. plan to compete with Russia and China in the global arms trade is succeeding. The $1.7-billion sale had been on hold over cost concerns but the U.S. sweetened the deal with a $60-million grant. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. dislikes a French offer of a large line of credit designed to sustain negotiations on Iran winding down its nuclear program. Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, says the U.S. administration is “not looking to grant any exemptions” to its sanctions on Iran. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lost a bid to call an early general election to break the Brexit deadlock in Parliament. He had insisted that a snap vote was needed after MPs passed legislation to block a “no deal” Brexit. [node:read-more:link]
Dominic Barton, former global managing director of the McKinsey consultancy and head of the federal Economic Advisory Council, has been confirmed as Canada’s ambassador to China. His appointment comes at a time when the two countries remain locked in a feud over Canada’s detention of a top Huawei executive and China’s apparently retaliatory arrests of two Canadians. [node:read-more:link]
Iran is dismissing as “totally ineffective” U.S. sanctions against its space agencies for their alleged role in developing ballistic missile capabilities. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says “Americans are addicted to sanctions” as a way of dealing with adversaries. [node:read-more:link]
European powers have been given two more months to save a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran but President Hassan Rouhani warns that he is preparing for further significant breaches of the agreement if the diplomatic initiative fails. France has offered nearly €14 billion in lines of credit if Iran become fully compliant with the deal. [node:read-more:link]
After dissident British MPs essentially seized control of Parliament in protest over the government’s Brexit plan, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ejected them from his Conservative caucus and has tabled a motion calling for a general election next month. [node:read-more:link]
Britain is apparently on track for an early general election after Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost a critical vote on his “no deal” Brexit agenda. MPs effectively forced Johnson to postpone his initiative only hours after his slimmest of parliamentary majorities vanished when a member of the Conservative caucus jumped ship. [node:read-more:link]
In a bid to block a “no deal” exit from the European Union, some members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s caucus are signing on to support draft legislation to delay Brexit. That has prompted the PM to threaten an early election call. [node:read-more:link]
A team of French police dubbed "cybergendarmes" has destroyed a virus that infected more than 850,000 computers in more than 100 countries, mostly in Central and South America. A network of infected computers controlled from France is believed to have resulted in the theft of millions of Euros through fraud. [node:read-more:link]
