MILAN (AP) — The directors of Italy’s premier opera house, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, are meeting to decide whether to accept controversial funding from Saudi Arabia.

The meeting Monday came amid media reports last weekend that at least some of the 15 million euros ($17 million) had been deposited into an escrow account pending approval of the funding.

New Delhi, Mar 17; PTI/GANASHAKTI: National record holder KT Irfan Sunday became the first Indian from athletics to qualify for the next year's Olympics while finishing fourth in the 20 km event of the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan.

The 29-year-old Irfan clocked 1 hour 20 minutes and 57 seconds to better the Tokyo Olympics qualification standard of 1 hour 21 minutes.

Panaji, Mar 18 (PTI) All 14 Congress MLAs in Goa were on the way to Raj Bhawan on Monday to meet Governor Mridula Sinha to stake claim to form government in the state following the demise of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The Congress Legislative Party (CLP) met in Panaji on Monday morning.

BAGHDAD, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Sunday that his country won't return to war policies as the friend to all regional countries and an advocate of peace.

Abdul Mahdi made the comments during a meeting with Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari and his accompanying delegation in the capital Baghdad, according to a statement by Abdul Mahdi's media office.

18 Mar 2019; AFP: More than 120 people have died and many more are missing in Mozambique and neighbouring Zimbabwe on Sunday after tropical cyclone Idai barrelled across the southern African nations with flash floods and ferocious winds.

Authorities in Mozambique said the toll there had risen to 62 in the centre of the country, while Zimbabwe said 65 people were killed in affected eastern areas, after the cyclone tore across the region on Friday and Saturday.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah officially launched the International Kite Festival on Sunday with some 200 kiting enthusiasts expected to participate in the event.

The Sultan made his way to the Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas, a riverfront public park in the capital, where he inaugurated the event before trying his hand at flying one kite. He also toured the exhibits and mingled with the crowd.

Male, Mar 17 (PTI) India and the Maldives on Sunday discussed measures to strengthen bilateral ties and collaborate in the fields of defence, development cooperation, capacity building and health as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with the country's top leadership, including her Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

Swaraj arrived here on Sunday on a two-day visit, the first full-fledged bilateral trip from India to the island nation after the government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came to power in November last year.

New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal has directed six states to submit by April 30 action plans for bringing air quality standards within the prescribed norms, failing which they would be liable to pay environment compensation of Rs 1 crore each.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered the chief secretaries of Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Nagaland governments to submit their plan within the stipulated time.

KANPUR: A staunch follower of RSS ideology, Manohar Parrikar passed away in only 63 years.  He was a Goan, a metallurgist, union defence minister and BJP chief minister in Goa. What needs to be described here is his Kanpur connection.

Christchurch, Mar 16; PTI: India's High Commission in New Zealand on Saturday said that it has been pursuing with local authorities whereabouts of seven Indians and two Indian-origin persons after the terror attacks on two Christchurch mosques.

Two Indians are receiving treatments, the Indian mission said.

"We have been pursuing with NZ auth whereabouts of 9 Indians, incl 2 PIOs. 2 indians receiving treatment. Following up with NZ Govt for others. Also r in regular touch with their families (sic)," the Twitter account of the Indian High Commission in New Zealand said.

Jammu, Mar 18 (PTI) An Army soldier was killed and three others injured as Pakistan violated the ceasefire for the second consecutive day along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Monday, officials said.

The incident occurred in Keri Battal forward area and further details are awaited, they said.

New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) A 40-year-old rickshaw puller was arrested Sunday for allegedly raping his minor daughter in West Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area, police said.

According to a senior police officer, the seven-year-old girl of the rickshaw puller told a woman, who was working in an NGO and used to teach her sometimes, that her father raped her.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the officer said.