KIEV, March 30. /TASS/. More than 1,500 international observers have arrived in Ukraine to monitor the presidential election that will be held on March 31, Spokesman for Ukrainian State Border Guard Service Oleg Slobodyan told Ukraine’s UNN news agency.

"As many as 76 observers have arrived over the past 24 hours. Currently, there are more than 1,500 official observers from 40 countries in Ukraine," he said.

A 27-year-old German man reeled in a French hand grenade from World War II while he was fishing in the northern German town of Emden on Friday, local police said.

The man was fishing on a bridge in Emden when the incident happened, police said. He said he was using "normal fishing tackle with a hook."

"Instead of a pike, it was a grenade," a police spokeswoman said on Saturday.

Police closed off the area around where he was fishing and the device was handed over to the explosive ordnance disposal service.

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The United States is cutting off aids to three Central American countries, as President Donald Trump kept grumbling at their failure to stop illegal migration up north to his country, said the State Department on Saturday.

The U.S. State Department is "carrying out the President's direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," otherwise known as El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, it said in a statement.

Hyderabad, Mar 30 (PTI) The Pulwama terror attack was a gift to the BJP ahead of the elections and it was 'alright' to carry out surgical strikes on terror camp in Pakistan, former chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) A S Dulat said Saturday.

"I think it is, I mentioned this before, I think it was gift from the Jaish to the BJP or to Modiji. Because of elections. It was inevitable that something would happen.

Something would be done. So, the surgical strike deep inside Pakistan was alright," he told reporters here.

Thane, Mar 30 (PTI) A man from Bhayander here was Saturday arrested for allegedly beating to death his 70-year-old mother, police said.

Somnath Mitra (45), a resident of Mandvi Lake area, used to have frequent fights with his mother Roma, senior inspector Chandrakant Jadhav of Bhayander police station said.

"They had a fight at around 9am today. The accused banged the 70-year-old's head against the wall, killing her instantly. He has been arrested and charged with murder," Jadhav said.

Washington, Mar 30; GANASHAKTI: There has been a considerable amount of cooperation from India on the US efforts to restrict export of Venezuelan oil, a top American diplomat said Friday as the Trump administration tightened its noose over President Nicolas Maduro's regime of the Latin American country.

New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) Ending speculation, Congress Sunday announced that party president Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala along with Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

The announcement was made by senior party leader AK Antony at a press conference here.

"Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala," Antony said.

There were several requests for Rahul to contest from Wayanad, he added.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s king has stripped fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of his royal decorations, citing his 2008 flight to escape serving a two-year prison term on a conflict of interest conviction and other legal cases against him.

Thai media reported that the royal command from King Maha Vajiralongkorn was published Saturday in the Royal Gazette.

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday asked the Gujarat government to take disciplinary action in two weeks against the erring police officials, including an IPS officer, convicted by the Bombay High Court in the sensational Bilkis Bano gang rape case during the 2002 riots in the state.

Besides, Bano in a plea before the top court sought exemplary compensation from the state government, refusing to accept its offer of Rs 5 lakh.

30 Mar 2019; DW: Polls closed last Sunday evening in Thailand's parliamentary elections, but nearly a week on, the results remain inconclusive. Questions about accuracy at the ballot boxes persist and jockeying between parties has resulted in a hung parliament of sorts. On Saturday, the country's election commission sought to allay concerns over accuracy and transparency, saying that computer software was partly to blame for inconsistent and delayed vote totals.

ANN ARBOR, the United States, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of experts from a diverse range of fields gathered at the Michigan China Forum on Saturday to share thoughts on China-U.S. relations and probe into cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) A MiG 27 aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Sunday near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, official sources said.

The MiG 27 UPG jet was on a routine mission, they said.