CAIRO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Secretary-General of the Arab League (AL) Ahmed Aboul-Gheit called Friday on all Libyan parties to practice self-restraint and immediately de-escalate the military situation in the western areas of the country.

In a statement, the AL chief also urged the Libyan parties to abide by the political path as the only solution to the Libyan crisis.

5 Apr 2019; DW: Euroskeptic parties are joining forces ahead of the elections for the European Parliament in May. A few days ago, about 500 young members of such parties met in Rome. The summit was organized by the youth wing of Italy's anti-immigrant League party, which hopes to win a large share of the vote. Surveys indicate that Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's party could emerge victorious in Italy.

GENEVA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland said Friday that it had signed an agreement to represent the interests of the United States in Venezuela, under a "good offices" accord between the two countries.

The Federal Council, Switzerland's cabinet, said in a statement that the agreement was signed in Bern on Friday by foreign minister Ignazio Cassis and the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland Edward McMullen.

The arrangement needs Venezuela's approval before coming into effect, said the Federal Council statement.

5 Apr 2019; DW: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday announced the creation of a commission tasked with investigating France's role in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

The presidency tapped several historians and researchers for the commission, saying they "will be tasked with consulting all France's archives relating to the genocide … in order to analyze the role and engagement of France during that period."

5 Apr 2019; DW: The World Bank's executive board on Friday unanimously approved David Malpass as the development bank's 13th president.

The 63-year-old senior US Treasury official begins his five-year term as head of the World Bank on Tuesday, replacing former President Jim Yong Kimfollowing his unexpected departure three years before the end of his term.

5 Apr 2019; DW: The German Foreign Ministry said Friday it had brought several children of convicted "Islamic State" (IS) militants back to Germany from Iraq.

The returns were carried out with the consent of the parents, a ministry source said, adding that the number of repatriations so far had "reached a high single-digit figure." The children are staying with their relatives in Germany.

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the Federal Reserve (Fed) should lower interest rates and pursue "quantitative easing" policy in order to boost the U.S. economy.

"I personally think the Fed should drop rates. I think they really slowed us down. There's no inflation," Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for California on Friday.

5 Apr 2019; DW: US Vice President Mark Pence on Friday said the US had placed sanctions on 34 vessels belonging to Venezuela's state oil company and two companies that ship crude oil to Cuba, as Washington steps up its efforts against President Nicolas Maduro.

The sanctions are the most recent move by the US as it seeks to squeeze revenue from the cash-strapped leftist government amid a deepening political crisis in the country.

6 Apr 2019; AFP: Libyan forces under Khalifa Haftar battled their way to the south of Tripoli on Friday, prompting the UN Security Council and the G7 to demand a halt to the military advance on the capital.

Haftar, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), launched an offensive on Thursday to take the capital, held by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias.

5 Apr 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump visited the Mexican border on Friday to deliver a message to would-be illegal immigrants and asylum seekers: don't bother coming.

"The system is full and we can't take you anymore... Our country is full," he said at a meeting with border patrol officers and other officials in Calexico, California. "So turn around, that's the way it is."

CHICAGO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A study posted on the website of the Northwestern University (NU) on Friday found that poverty leaves a mark on nearly 10 percent of the genes in human genome.

In the study, NU researchers found evidence that poverty can become embedded across wide swaths of the genome. They discovered that lower socioeconomic status is associated with levels of DNA methylation (DNAm), a key epigenetic mark that has the potential to shape gene expression, at more than 2,500 sites and across more than 1,500 genes.

6 Apr 2019; AFP: India's alpha-male Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces three formidable women looking to spoil his chances of winning a new term in elections beginning next week.

AFP profiles them here:

- 'Big sis' -

Feisty and fiery Mamata Banerjee is the first female chief minister of the eastern state of West Bengal -- home to more people than Germany -- where Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) needs to do well.