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CARACAS, March 30. /TASS/. The military cooperation between Moscow and Caracas should not be a source of concern for other states, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Friday.

"It’s of no secret to anyone that our country has been maintaining the defense cooperation with Russia since 2001, but their [Russian servicemen’s] visit has sparked a scandal," the Venezuelan Defense Ministry quoted Padrino as saying in a Twitter post. "Nobody should worry about cooperation to increase our operative readiness."

HAVANA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's state telecommunications company ETECSA and U.S. Internet giant Google on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the goal of improving the quality of access to the Internet in the island.

The deal signed by ETECSA's vice president of investments, Luis Iglesias, and Google's Cuba chief, Brett Perlmutter, will allow for a better user experience once technical conditions permit it.

TIRANA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Albania's economy grew by 4 percent in 2018, former Minister of Finance and Economy Arben Ahmetaj said on Friday.

"Consumption and investments remain the main generators of economic growth, reflecting on the consumer confidence and Albania's economic growth, thanks to the reforms we have undertaken over the past years, as well as the appropriate fiscal consolidation," Ahmetaj said.

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia, on track to meet and beat the 2020 Kyoto commitments, is confident of meeting its 2030 target, which represents a halving of emissions per person, a senior Australian official said here Friday.

DUBLIN, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The direct shipping of goods between Ireland and the continental Europe has witnessed a marked increase as more companies choose to bypass British ports amid Brexit fears, local media RTE reported on Friday.

The report quoted local port authorities as saying that currently two-and-a-half times more goods move on direct routes from Dublin than via the UK landbridge and that number is expected to increase.

The UK landbridge refers to Britain as a bridge linking Ireland and the European mainland over the sea.

LONDON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Friday voted to reject Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, dealing a third blow since January to the Withdrawal Agreement, which sets out the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union (EU).

THIRD DEFEAT

MPs voted 286 to 344 to turn down the Brexit deal. Britain now is facing a real possibility of no-deal Brexit on April 12 unless the prime minister can win a new agreement from Brussels, where EU leaders are set to meet in a summit on April 10.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has approved seven applications for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, the Energy Department said Thursday.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Energy Department has approved 37 nuclear applications since January 2017, including nine in the Middle East. Besides the seven to Saudi Arabia, two were approved for Jordan. Perry said in his testimony that six applications were approved to Saudi Arabia, but a spokeswoman later said he misspoke.

29 Mar 2019; AFP: Top negotiators from China and the United States began a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing on Friday to settle a bruising dispute that has threatened to blight the global economy.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were greeted by Vice Premier Liu He at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse as they seek to resolve the months-long trade war between the world's top two economies.

28 Mar 2019; DW: US aerospace giant Boeing has received unfair tax breaks in the US state of Washington, an appellate panel in the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on Thursday.

The tax break of some $100 million (€89 million) annually harmed the sales of Boeing's European rival Airbus, according to the WTO officials.

28 Mar 2019; DW: The British government's plan to hold a third parliamentary vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal on Friday has been approved.

House Speaker John Bercow said MPs would vote on a motion to approve the Brexit withdrawal agreement, which sets the divorce terms. Unlike the two meaningful votes already held, it will not cover the political declaration which deals with the future relationship between the UK and the European Union.