DW's guest columnist and novelist Alaa al-Aswany has been sued by military prosecutors in Egypt after he criticized the way military officials are appointed to civil posts in an article for DW's Arabic section.

LONDON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Downing Street confirmed Tuesday that British Prime Minister Theresa May will write to European Council President Donald Tusk asking for Britain's departure from the bloc to be delayed.

The latest development came after the bombshell decision by the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow to stop May putting her Brexit deal to politicians for a third time.

Media in London quoted an official Downing Street spokesman as saying it has plunged Britain into a constitutional crisis.

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Police arrested a young man for allegedly helping plan the school attack in Sao Paulo on March 13 that left 10 dead, the local police said on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old man was arrested at his home in Suzano, metropolitan Sao Paulo, and was then transferred into custody of judicial facilities because he is a minor, according to a report by Sao Paulo's Civil Police.

The adolescent made voluntary statements before the court on Thursday but was released after he denied taking part in the attack.

19 Mar 2019; DW: A court in Münster on Tuesday ruled partly in favor of three plaintiffs from Yemen who believe that their relatives were killed in a 2012 US drone strike that was relayed via an airbase in Germany.

The Münster Higher Administrative Court ruled that the German government must take "appropriate measures" to ascertain whether US operations conducted via the Ramstein Air Base are in line with international law.

ASTANA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took office as Kazakhstan's interim president on Wednesday following the sudden resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev who had served as the country's president for nearly three decades.

"I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the people of Kazakhstan, to strictly observe the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens, to fulfill in good faith great duties of the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan entrusted on me," Tokayev said at a parliament meeting.

OTTAWA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian government on Tuesday unveiled its 2019 budget titled "Investing in the Middle Class" with a total spending of 22.8 billion Canadian dollars (about 17 billion U.S. dollars) in new spending over the next five fiscal years.

The government is projecting a deficit of 19.8 billion Canadian dollars (about 15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019-2020, which is scheduled to fall to 15 billion Canadian dollars (some 11 billion U.S. dollars) two years later, then to 10 billion (roughly 7.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023-2024.

PARIS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The departure of Britain from the European Union would affect the growth in France, even if the divorce scheduled for the end of March were amicable, the national statistics institute Insee said on Tuesday.

It projected that an orderly Brexit would trim French economic activities by 0.3 percent over several quarters.

If the EU and Britain failed to agree on a deal, "the increase in customs duties following this hard Brexit would weigh on the French economy," Insee said, estimating that the impact would be 0.6 percent.

20 Mar 2019; DW: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was sworn in as Kazakhstan's president on Wednesday, a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his surprise resignation.

Tokayev, who had served as senate speaker, was the designated interim replacement according to the Kazakh constitution. He is expected to serve the rest of Nazarbayev's term until elections in April 2020.

DUBAI, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Eleven Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Tuesday set up the first Arab space organization, whose first project will be developing a satellite to monitor environmental and climate changes.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, UAE vice president and ruler of Dubai, attended the ceremony of signing the charter for the Arab Group for Space Collaboration, held on the opening day of Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi.

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A spacecraft's close-up observation of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu showed particle plumes erupting from its more rugged surface, which may alter the spacecraft's flight and sample collection plans in the coming year, U.S. scientists said at a teleconference on Monday.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — A father and son who fled the civil war in Syria for “the safest country in the world” were buried before hundreds of mourners Wednesday, the first funerals for victims of shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that horrified a nation known for being welcoming and diverse.

The funerals of Khalid Mustafa, 44, and Hamza Mustafa, 15, came five days after a white supremacist methodically gunned down 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch — a massacre that he broadcast live on Facebook.

RABAT, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday signed an agreement with Morocco to provide 100 million yuan (about 14.9 million U.S. dollars) to finance public projects in the north African kingdom.

This deal was inked by Morocco's Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun and Chinese Ambassador to Morocco Li Li.

Benchaaboun thanked the Chinese government for its continuous support for Morocco's economic and social development, while expressing his satisfaction with the quality of the projects undertaken in Morocco with the financial support of China.