AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A year after a high school mass shooting near Houston that remains one of the deadliest in U.S. history, Texas lawmakers are on the brink of going home without passing any new gun restrictions, or even tougher firearm storage laws that Gov. Greg Abbott backed after the tragedy.

A Republican governor pushing even a small restriction on firearms kept at home in gun-friendly Texas was a landmark shift after two decades of loosening weapons regulations.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was ordered back to jail Thursday for refusing to testify to a grand jury, even after telling a judge she’d rather “starve to death” than cooperate with prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ordered her to remain incarcerated at the Alexandria jail either until she agrees to testify or until the grand jury’s term expires in 18 months. He also imposed fines that will kick in at $500 a day after 30 days and $1,000 a day after 60 days.

17 May 2019; DW: Germany, France and the Netherlands have said they will not block Huawei from participating in the expansion of national 5G networks. The US fears that China could use Huawei equipment for spying.

The leaders of Germany, France and the Netherlands said Thursday that their governments do not plan to follow the lead of the US and ban Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from involvement in their national 5G high-speed mobile networks.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua): U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday held back from further escalating tension with Iran.

When asked by a reporter at the White House on Thursday morning about whether the United States was going to war with Iran, Trump replied "I hope not."

Washington has piled up military pressure on Tehran over the past week by intensifying deployment including an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following U.S. intelligence information revealing "an escalating of threatening actions" from Iran.

Washington, May 17 (PTI) US President Donald Trump in a proclamation Thursday terminated the designation of Turkey as a beneficiary nation under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) while the suspense on India continued.

GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Prison officials say 41-year-old inmate Michael Brandon Samra was pronounced dead at 7:33 p.m. following a lethal injection at the state prison at Atmore.

Samra and a friend, Mark Duke, were convicted of capital murder in the deaths of Duke’s father, the father’s girlfriend and the woman’s two young daughters in 1997. Evidence showed that Duke planned the killings because he was angry his father wouldn’t let him use his pickup.

UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Xinhua): The United Nations on Thursday called for "maximum restraint" from all parties amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and in the Gulf region.

"We are very concerned about the volatility of the situation. We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, prevent any escalation of and heightening of tensions," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

17 May 2019 (AP) - The Trump administration’s decision to restrict all U.S. technology sales to Chinese telecommunications powerhouse Huawei for national security reasons doesn’t just up the ante in the China trade war.

It’s also bound to hurt U.S. suppliers and accelerate Beijing’s drive toward greater technological independence.

17 May 2019; MEMO: Prominent Likud parliamentarian Gideon Sa’ar has publicly criticised plans to pass a special law that would grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immunity from prosecution while in office.

As reported by the Times of Israel, Sa’ar told Channel 12 news that “this legislation offers zero benefit and causes maximum damage”.

17 May 2019; DW: Russia said it had no desire to leave the Council of Europe and was ready to pay its dues following an apparent breakthrough between Moscow and Western nations. Russia's delegation had faced sanctions over Crimea.

France and Germany pushed through a compromise which would allow Russia's Council of Europe (CoE) to return to the body, as foreign ministers from the 47 member states resumed their two day summit in Helsinki.

LONDON, May 16 (Xinhua): Chinese company Huawei launched its 5G smartphone here on Thursday, as mobile network operators are preparing to switch on 5G network in parts of Britain.

The HUAWEI Mate 20 X (5G) is the latest Huawei smartphone that introduces consumers to 5G with a premium experience comprising high-speed connectivity, flagship performance, large display, reliable battery life and more.

17 May 2019; DW: The next-generation ALFA-X train is on course to become the fastest in the world. Testing will continue for three years, and the train is scheduled to go into use in 2030.

Japan's JR-EAST rail company unveiled a next-generation Shinkansen bullet train codenamed ALFA-X on Thursday. The company said the €82 million ($91 million) 10-car train, which was completed in early May, had already reached speeds of 320 km/h (198 mph).