RABAT, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people marched on Sunday in the Moroccan capital Rabat to defend free education and show solidarity with protesting teachers.

Organized by the Moroccan Coalition for the Defense of Public Education, the march criticizes the government's "scheme to terminate all public services."

The march, joined by several leaders of leftist opposition parties, denounced a bill under discussion in parliament which calls for the gradual introduction of registration fees in public institutions of higher education and then in high schools.

CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The resumption of Syria's suspended membership in the Arab League (AL) is not on the agenda of the Arab summit scheduled for the end of March in Tunisia, the pan-Arab body said Sunday.

"Until now, the topic of Syria's return to the AL is not on the agenda and it was not officially proposed by any party," said Mahmoud Afifi, AL spokesman, in a statement.

"But the Syrian crisis is on the agenda," he added.

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says a United Express regional jet didn’t slide off a runway in Maine — it missed the runway altogether.

A preliminary report Thursday indicates the 50-seat Embraer 145 approached to the right of the runway on an aborted first landing attempt and then again when it touched down March 4 at Presque Isle International Airport.

The document indicates it landed between the runway and taxiway.

Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) The husband of an NCP corporator was Monday hacked to death in Maharashtra's Beed district allegedly by a mob which suspected he was helping members of the Shikalgar community in a kidnapping case, police said.

Pandurang Gaikwad (50) was attacked with swords, sickles and sticks in Phule Nagar area of Parli-Vaijnath town in the district, over 470 kilometres from here, an official said.

"Gaikwad sustained serious injuries in the attack in the early hours of Monday. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival," the official said.

Kanpur: The kind of life we find in Kanpur is not available in other city, stated Dr Alka Shukla. She was speaking at a programme held to celebrate Kanpur Diwas here.

This city has multi-dimensional aspect. We get a mixture of independence struggle, literary trends, and industrial features, said a senior litterateur Neelambar Kaushik. He was speaking at a discussion organised on the occasion of Kanpur Day here on Sunday. 

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) A 37-year-old man was arrested for allegedly abducting a woman from Outer Delhi's Mundka and sexually assaulting her in Haryana, police said Sunday.

Sonu, a native of Jhajjar, Haryana, had contacted the victim on the pretext of doing her bridal make up, they said.

During interrogation, Sonu disclosed that he came in contact with the victim's brother and took her mobile number after persuading him for the bridal make up of his sister on Saturday, a senior police officer said.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Mar 24 (PTI) Newly-appointed BJP vice-president Uma Bharti on Sunday hit out Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the latter's remarks that 'chowkidars' (watchmen) of the saffron party were working only for the rich people.

Bharti said Vadra did not know the meaning of 'chowkidar', saying that watchmen work in villages for the security of the poor.

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand is calling President Donald Trump a “coward” who “punches down” and says that he is “tearing apart the moral fabric of our country.”

Gillibrand is set to say even more about Trump on Sunday as she stands in front of one of his signature New York properties.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The father of a slain black teenager pleaded for peace Saturday after the acquittal of a white police officer triggered an apparent retaliatory shooting at the defense attorney’s office and touched off protests in the streets of Pittsburgh.

Police put officers on 12-hour shifts until further notice.

ROME, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte held talks here Saturday on jointly elevating the China-Italy relations into a new era and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance the construction of the Belt and Road.

During their talks, Xi noted that the China-Italy relations are rooted in the history of the two countries' thousand-year-old exchanges, with strong public support.

23 Mar 2019; DW: Dogon tribe-members reportedly burned a large portion of a Muslim Fulani village. Tensions among ethnic communities have surged since the government started battling extremists in its desert territories.

Members of the Dogon tribe staged an attack on the Peulh village of Ogossagou in central Mali on Saturday, local officials confirmed. The Peuhl community is part of the Muslim nomadic Fulani group.

23 Mar 2019; DW: It's a well-worn exercise: The finishing touches are being made, readying the Washington Convention Center for the AIPAC meeting on March 24-26. A sound-check is carried out on the speakers through which the unmistakable American-accented baritone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will boom, as he addresses a crowd of up to 18,000 participants — a man in the final throes of his bid for reelection.