Beirut, Mar 14 (AFP) Russian air strikes killed at least 13 civilians, including six children, Wednesday in Idlib province, in the first such raids since a September truce deal, a monitor said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 60 people were also wounded in the air strikes that struck several areas in the northwestern province, which is Syria's last major rebel bastion.

14 Mar 2019; DW: The European Parliament has voted to formally suspend EU accession talks with Turkey, citing severe political and democratic backsliding under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Lawmakers passed the symbolic non-binding resolution with 370 votes in favor and 109 against, with 143 abstentions.

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The European Commission is warning Britain’s Parliament that voting against Brexit happening without a withdrawal deal in place isn’t enough and lawmakers must approve the deal, too.

An official from the EU’s executive branch noted Wednesday that the bloc already reached a divorce deal with Prime Minister Theresa May and the House of Commons rejected it - twice.   

The official asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the unresolved situation.

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The United States is grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft, said U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday, as the country becomes the last major country to do so after two crashes by the model in recent months.

"All of those planes are grounded, effective immediately," Trump told a press event, referring to the Boeing 737 Max variations.

"The safety of the American people, of all people is our paramount concern," Trump said.

14 Mar 2019; AFP: No one even knows when it will come out, but Robert Mueller's top secret probe into possible collusion between Donald Trump and Russia has Washington on edge -- and the president mounting preemptive attacks against impeachment.

"How do you impeach a man who is considered by many to be the President with the most successful first two years in history, especially when he has done nothing wrong," Trump asked Wednesday in a stream of tweets laying out the case for his innocence.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said Thursday it lost $1.28 billion in 2018, the third-straight year the government-owned long-haul carrier has lost over a billion dollars.

Since 2016, Etihad has lost a total of $4.75 billion as its strategy of aggressively buying stakes in airlines from Europe to Australia to compete against Emirates and fellow rival Qatar Airways exposed the company to major losses.

13 Mar 2019; AFP: The US space agency NASA on Wednesday cast a shadow on the future of its new heavy-lift rocket, the SLS -- acknowledging development delays on a project that is already years behind.

The Space Launch System program is being run much as the Apollo and space shuttle mission were handled in the days of old.

But Wednesday's announcement illustrates how quickly NASA has embraced a new era dominated by private space companies who are offering the option of low-cost transport on a mission-by-mission basis.

13 Mar 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort, already facing 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud, was sentenced to an additional 43 months in prison Wednesday on conspiracy charges.

"The defendant is not public enemy number one," US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said in delivering the sentence in a hushed Washington courtroom.

13 Mar 2019; AFP: Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in California on Wednesday, granting a reprieve to 737 condemned inmates -- the largest death row population in the United States.

"The death penalty has been an abject failure. It discriminates based on the color of your skin or how much money you make," he told a news conference. "It's ineffective, irreversible, and immoral.

Chennai, Mar 13 (PTI) You can't have a negative, fearful atmosphere in the country and expect economic growth, which is directly related to the mood of the country, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.

Addressing women students at the Stella Maris College here, he said the Congress will change the mood of the country and make people feel happy and empowered.

Jammu, Mar 13 (PTI) A joint military exercise between India and Royal Army of Oman commenced on Wednesday at Jabel regiment headquarters, Nizwa, in the Arab country, a defence spokesman said.

A 60-member strong Indian Army contingent, based in northern command headquarters at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, is taking part in the military exercise 'Al-Nagah III', he said.

Muzaffarnagar, Mar 13 (PTI) A man, who witnessed the killing of his two brothers during the Muzaffarnagar riots, was shot dead at Khatoli here, police said Wednesday.

The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and its adjoining areas in August and September 2013 had claimed more than 60 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced.