14 Feb 2019; DW: The Democrat-led US House of Representatives has voted 248-177 in favor of a resolution that would end US support for the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in Yemen.

Only 18 Republicans voted for the measure, which would ban refueling support, intelligence and targeting assistance without prior Congressional approval.

Lawmakers said they were concerned about how the US had contributed to the civil war in Yemen, which has killed tens of thousands of people.

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States started a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations in Beijing on Thursday morning.

The opening ceremony of the talks was jointly chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, 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, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

This round of high-level consultations will conclude on Friday.

Washington, Feb 14 (PTI) President Donald Trump has said trade talks with China are going "very well" as top negotiators from the two countries began the two-day negotiations on Thursday to resolve their tariff war ahead of a March 1 deadline.

The world's two biggest economies are holding rounds of negotiations to resolve the trade war ahead of a March 1 deadline set by Trump after which US tariffs on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese imports are expected to increase to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.

14 Feb 2019; AFP: An international court Wednesday ruled Iran can proceed with a bid to unfreeze assets in the United States, rejecting Washington's claims the case must be halted because of Tehran's alleged support for international terrorism.

Washington had argued that Iran's "unclean hands" -- a reference to Tehran's suspected backing of terror groups -- should disqualify its lawsuit to recover $2 billion in assets frozen by the US Supreme Court in 2016.

MOSCOW, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Moscow has no fear of possible new Western sanctions, which are likely forced by Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"We are not discussing sanctions with anyone. We want to improve our economy, trade with normal foreign partners in such a way as not to depend on someone's whims," Lavrov said at a press conference.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Roughly six in 10 U.S. voters oppose another federal government shutdown over the border wall funding dispute between the White House and Congressional Democrats, according to a new poll released on Wednesday.

Only 33 percent of respondents support another shutdown over President Donald Trump's demand for a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found.

However, U.S. voters are evenly split on whether the country should build the wall along the southern border, which is Trump's signature campaign promise.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: A suicide car bombing on a Revolutionary Guards bus in southeastern Iran killed 27 troops on Wednesday, in one of the deadliest attacks on the elite forces in years.

The assault came as the troops were returning from a border patrol mission, the Guards said in a statement.

TRIPOLI, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said it needed 43.5 million U.S. dollars to provide life-saving medical assistance for 388,000 people affected by armed conflict in Libya.

According to an assessment by WHO and the Libyan Health Ministry in 2017, 17.5 percent of the country's hospitals, 20 percent of the primary health care facilities, and 18 specialized hospitals are either partially damaged or completely destroyed.

14 Feb 2019; DW: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Thursday announced it will end production of the A380 double-decker passenger jet in 2021.

The Franco-German company had hoped the superjumbo would challenge Boeing's 747 and revolutionise air travel in the 21st century.

What's behind the move?

KHARTOUM, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said on Wednesday that 2019 would be a year for peace in the country.

"2019 will be a year for peace and silence the sound of the gun permanently," al-Bashir said while addressing a celebration of the Popular Defense Forces in Khartoum.

He renewed his government's concern with the youth, saying that they "constitute a positive energy. They are the future of Sudan, and we are concerned with the youth and seek to achieve their aspirations."

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. OPEC countries demonstrated an unequal level of oil production cuts as of the end of January and reduction rates need to be expedited, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Tuesday in a statement released by the Secretariat’s press service.

"Initial production and supply data from participating countries is beginning to show various levels of conformity, as can be viewed in OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report. Once again the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to exhibit leadership from the front and by example," Barkindo said.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense ministers are discussing the future of the alliance’s operation in Afghanistan and how best to use its military presence to support political talks aimed at ending the conflict.

Frustrated with America’s longest war, U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to pull out troops, raising doubts about NATO’s training operation in the strife-torn country.

Around 14,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, just over half with NATO and the rest doing counter-terror and combat operations.