28 Mar 2019; AFP: Several anti-junta parties formed a coalition in Thailand on Wednesday, vowing to thwart a military-backed party in a bid to end years of junta rule following the country's first vote since a 2014 coup.

Thai politics are deadlocked after Sunday's vote, with two main rival parties claiming the right to govern amid allegations of ballot irregularities and the full official results yet to be released.

LONDON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to change original Brexit departure date in law to April 12 or May 22 as British Prime Minister Theresa May was in an 11 hour appeal to Tory MPs to back her Withdrawal Agreement.

MPs voted 441 to 105 in the House of Commons to bring the new Brexit date into law and remove the original plan for Britain to leave the European Union (EU) on March 29.

WASHINGTON, March 27. /TASS/. The US is able to increase pressure on the Venezuelan government headed by President Nicolas Maduro using military force, US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday.

"They’ve got a lot of pressure right now. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing. They’ve got plenty of pressure right now. They have no electricity," Trump said. "Other than military, you can’t get any more pressure than they have... All options are open," he added.

DAMASCUS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses responded to Israeli airstrike in Syria's northern province of Aleppo overnight Wednesday, intercepting a number of missiles before reaching their targets, according to the state news agency SANA.

The airstrike targeted the Sheikh Najjar area in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, according to the report, citing a military statement.

Sounds of explosions were heard around the government-controlled area of Sheikh Najjar, which is an industrial zone in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, said the report.

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Wednesday that the Golan Heights is recognized by the international community as an occupied territory.

The UN Security Council has adopted several resolutions that demand Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in 1967, Wu Haitao, the deputy permanent representative of the Chinese mission to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on the Golan Heights.

28 Mar 2019; DW: Malta's navy said that a special operations team had taken control of a tanker that was hijacked by migrants off the coast of Libya. The ship arrived at a Maltese port on Thursday morning.

The migrants had taken control of the vessel on Wednesday, and directed it north toward Europe, according to Italian and Maltese authorities.

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. trade negotiators arrived in Beijing on Thursday to start a new round of talks aimed at ending a tariff war over China’s technology ambitions as officials hint they might be making progress.

The meetings are the latest in a rapid-fire series of exchanges seeking to end the conflict that is disrupting trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment.

The talks will begin with a working dinner Thursday and last the entire day Friday, Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said during a regular briefing.

28 Mar 2019; DW: Facebook on Wednesday announced it was extending its ban on hate speech to include content related to white nationalism and separatism on both its Facebook and Instagram platforms. It will be enforced as of next week.

Facebook said in a statement "white nationalism and separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups."

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called on the international community to continue pushing for the political process in Syria.

"Years of conflict in Syria have brought untold misery to Syria and its people. The Syrian people yearn for an early peace so that they can return, rebuild, and resume a life in tranquility," said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, in a Security Council meeting.

28 Mar 2019; AFP: European lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday for an EU-wide ban on single-use plastic products such as the straws, cutlery and cotton buds that are clogging the world's oceans.

The text had already been approved in negotiations with member states and EU officials and it will now be rapidly approved into law. The ban comes into effect from 2021.

LONDON, March 28. /TASS/. British lawmakers rebuffed all eight alternative proposals on a deal with the European Union on Brexit conditions during the vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening.

27 Mar 2019; AFP: Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific announced Wednesday that it will buy budget airline HK Express for US$628.15 million, as it moves to counter competition from the increasing number of low-cost carriers in the region.

The HK$4.93 billion acquisition leaves Cathay Pacific in control of three of the four airlines in Hong Kong, adding to its namesake carrier and regional subsidiary Cathay Dragon.