MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s statement concerning the Golan Heights is irresponsible, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said, as cited by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

"Syria strongly condemns the US president’s irresponsible statements about the occupied Golan Heights. These statements confirm the United States’ blind commitment to Israel and support of its aggressive ways," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders worried about China’s growing power are devising plans to counter the ambitions of a country they describe as a “systemic rival.”

The European Council will discuss on Friday a 10-point strategy set out by the European Commission before an EU-China summit next month.

The EU wants to “fully address the distortive effects of foreign state ownership” and “achieve a more balanced and reciprocal economic relationship.”

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Thursday called for efforts to build a batch of high-level think tanks that meet the requirements for the new era.

Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting of national high-level think tanks.

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China's State Grid plans to establish a network of its newly launched small charging piles in major cities this year, in a bid to meet the rising demand of new energy vehicle (NEV) owners, China Daily reported Thursday.

The smart charging pile, launched Wednesday by State Grid Electric Vehicle Service Co, the subsidiary of State Grid Corp of China, is designed based on the A4 paper size, much smaller than the traditional charging pile. Dubbed "E-elf", it can be hung on or embedded into the wall.

CARACAS, March 22. /TASS/. The chief of staff of Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of joining a terrorist group that plotted attacks on leading political and military figures, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said.

"The work by the intelligence and interior ministry units led to the detention of citizen Roberto Marrero, aged 49, who bears direct responsibility for organizing criminal groups," the minister said in a statement aired by the Venezolana de Television TV channel.

22 Mar 2019; AFP: The five largest publicly listed oil and gas majors have spent $1 billion since the 2015 Paris climate deal on public relations or lobbying that is "overwhelmingly in conflict" with the landmark accord's goals, a watchdog said Friday.

BAGHDAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A ferryboat sank in Tigris River in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Thursday, leaving at least 93 dead and sparking anger among Iraqis.

The incident took place in the afternoon when a ferryboat carrying dozens of people capsized because of high water levels while crossing from the bank of the river to a small tourist island called Um al Rabeein in northern Mosul, some 400 km north of the capital Baghdad.

JAKARTA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's biggest airliner, PT Garuda Indonesia, has canceled orders of 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jet planes in the wake of two crashes involving similar types of planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in the last six months, President Director of the firm Ari Askhara said here Friday.

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday demanded all-out efforts to search and rescue victims after an industrial park explosion in east China's Jiangsu Province killed 47 and seriously injured 90.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the instructions on his tour of overseas visits.

ROME, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Italy would boost the prospects of stronger bilateral cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told Chinese media on Wednesday.

"The tradition of our relationship is very ancient, as our two cultures can be traced back to one or two thousand years ago," Conte said, noting that Xi will be the first Chinese president to visit Italy in a decade.

Hyderabad, Mar 21 (PTI) The government should appeal against Swami Aseemanand's acquittal in the Samjhauta blast case if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was really the "chowkidar" of the country, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has said.

Attacking Modi's "main bhi chowkidar" (I too a watchman) campaign, Owaisi at an election rally late last night said, "What kind of a chowkidar are you? 25 Indians are also among the dead in that (Samjhauta blast). Bomb blast is a terrorist offence. How are you a chowkidar?"

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) A day after a special court acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the Samjhauta Express blast case, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal Thursday sarcastically said with a verdict that "no one knows" who killed 68 people, it must be a "proud day" for the criminal justice system.

Twelve years after a blast on the Samjhauta Express killed 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, a special court in Panchkula acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the case.