18 Mar 2019; AFP: New Zealand's Canterbury Crusaders rugby team said they would consult with the Muslim community about a potential change of name after criticism following Friday's massacre at two mosques in their home city of Christchurch.

The name of the reigning Super Rugby champions has been questioned in the past, but the club said "we understand the concerns that have been raised" after the mass shooting, which left 50 people dead.

PARIS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to take "strong decisions" to prevent weekly "Yellow Vest" protests from turning violent after rioters ran amok across Paris on Saturday.

"I want us to very precisely analyze things and as quickly as possible take strong, complementary decisions so this doesn't happen again," the president told ministers late on Saturday.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — A Christchurch gun shop on Monday acknowledged selling guns online to the 28-year-old white supremacist accused of killing 50 people in mosque shootings that have upturned New Zealand’s reputation as among the world’s most tolerant and safe nations.

At a news conference, Gun City owner David Tipple said the store sold four guns and ammunition to Brenton Harrison Tarrant through a “police-verified online mail order process.” The store “detected nothing extraordinary,” about the buyer, he said.

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Beijing plans to complete an afforestation project of about 16,667 hectares by the end of this year, according to the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau.

The project includes tree planting in a forest park in the Tongzhou District, where a number of key municipal organs have moved their offices to, and areas near the Beijing Daxing International Airport, which is scheduled to be put into operation before Sept. 30.

JERUSALEM, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Supreme Court disqualified on Sunday a far-right candidate accused of racism from the general elections in early April.

The court said in a statement that Michael Ben-Ari, a candidate with the Union of Right-Wing Parties, a union of ultra-nationalist parties, cannot run for the national elections.

In a legal opinion submitted to the court, the Attorney General's Office said Ben-Ari should be disqualified.

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at General Motors (GM), pressuring the auto giant to reopen an Ohio plant, whose closure has put 1,700 people out of work.

"Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors about the Lordstown Ohio plant ... I asked her to sell it or do something quickly," Trump tweeted Sunday.

"She blamed the UAW (United Automobile Workers) Union -- I don't care, I just want it open!" the tweet reads.

Lucknow, Mar 17 (PTI) Sounding the poll bugle from the banks of river Ganga, Congress' in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Sunday said political stagnancy had left the youths, women, farmers and labourers distressed in Uttar Pradesh and it was her responsibility to change the politics here.

Gandhi arrived here for the next leg of her UP tour, as part of which she is to sail from Allahabad to Varanasi on river Ganga.

Kolkata/Bankura, Mar 17 (PTI) The West Bengal CID on Sunday intercepted a truck at Beliator in Bankura district and seized a large amount of explosive material stored inside.

A senior officer of West Bengal police said around 250 packets of gelatin sticks and 229 bags of ammonium nitrate were recovered from the truck that came from Telangana.

Nashik, Mar 18 (PTI) A huge cache of explosives, including over 2,000 gelatin sticks and a number of detonators, was seized from a van in Nashik district of Maharashtra, police said on Monday.

The vehicle driver was arrested for allegedly carrying the explosives illegally, Jaykheda police station's assistant police inspector Ganesh Gurav said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is marking the fifth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine by visiting the Black Sea peninsula.

Putin on Monday attended the launch of new power plants in Crimea, part of Moscow’s efforts to upgrade the region’s infrastructure. Ukraine has cut off energy supplies to the peninsula and blocked shipments of Crimea-bound cargo via its territory after Moscow annexed the region in 2014.

MOSUL, Iraq, March 17 (Xinhua) -- A clash in northern Iraq killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded five Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants on Sunday, the Iraqi military said.

A soldier asked the force of Turkish PKK militants to show their pass permission at a checkpoint before the PKK vehicles ran over the soldier, sparking a clash that killed two soldiers and wounded five PKK militants, according to a statement by media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC).

BANGKOK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- An average of 75 percent voter turnout was reported in Sunday's early voting for the general election in Thailand, a senior official of the Election Commission said.

Of a total of 2.63 million Thais who had registered as early voters, over 75 percent reportedly cast their ballots on Sunday, confirmed Election Commission Deputy Secretary General Nat Laosisavakul.

Early voters cast their ballots without any violent disturbance reported, said National Police Commissioner General Pol. Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda.