HEJERE, Ethiopia (AP) — Much of the world, including the entire European Union, grounded the Boeing jetliner involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash or banned it from their airspace, leaving the United States as one of the few remaining operators of the plane involved in two deadly accidents in just five months.

PARIS, March 12. /TASS/. The European Parliament considers necessary to curtail the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, according to the report on the state of EU-Russia political relations approved on Tuesday.

"Russia and the EU will remain key economic partners in the foreseeable future, but Nord Stream 2 reinforces EU dependency on Russian gas supplies, threatens the EU internal market and is not in line with EU energy policy, and therefore needs to be stopped," the report says.

13 Mar 2019; DW: Disgraced Cardinal George Pell on Wednesday was sentenced to six years in an Australian prison for child sex crimes.

Pell, who once helped elect popes and ran the Vatican's finances, was convicted in December of molesting two choirboys at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990s. A court order suppressing media coverage wasn't lifted until last month. 

Washington, Mar 12 :  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday hoped that India will not be the "economic lifeline" to the "authoritarian" regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by purchasing oil from the Latin American country.

Pompep's comments came as Washington ramps up actions on Maduro's regime, which is battling to hold onto power in the face of heavy domestic and international pressure.

Venezuela is the third largest supplier of oil to India which is the world's third-biggest oil consumer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Democratic lawmakers try to turn the page after the liberal legislator’s use of anti-Semitic tropes ignited an embarrassing, intra-party fight, the Republican president is trying to prolong and weaponize the issue for his 2020 campaign, asserting during a private weekend fundraiser that Democrats “hate” Jews.

CARACAS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Technical teams have managed to restore electricity service in almost entire Venezuela, which has suffered a massive blackout since Thursday, said Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez on Tuesday.

"After today's noon, Tuesday, March 12, we must say that the victory of the people of Venezuela against this attack (on the electrical system) is on track to consolidate," said Rodriguez.

ANTALYA, 12 Mar 2019; AA: Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday called on the global community to stand against Israeli aggression in the sacred places of Islam.

"Unfortunately, today, Israel's aggression has increased with encouragement from the U.S. We talk about all these issues and will not give up our sacred and national causes," Mevlut Cavusoglu said, speaking at a public gathering in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

CARACAS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is under investigation for sabotage following a massive blackout, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Tuesday.

Guaido is being investigated "for his alleged involvement in the sabotage against the national electricity system," Saab said.

The opposition leader was already under investigation for violating constitutional norms after he declared himself "interim president" on Jan. 23, Saab said.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- British business leaders called for taking the no-deal option off the table to minimize disruption to the economy, after the UK parliament voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's revised Brexit deal on Tuesday evening.

Members of Parliament (MPs) voted 391-242 against the revised deal reached between the British government and the European Union in last-ditch talks in Strasbourg, France on Monday. It was the second heavy defeat for the Brexit deal since it was rejected by a margin of 230 in January.

NANJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The first China-made cruise ship for polar expeditions tested the water on Tuesday in Haimen, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Hu Xianfu, general manager of the shipbuilder China Merchants Group, said the 104.4-meters long vessel is 18.4 meters at the beam. It can operate at a speed of 15.5 knots.

With a gross tonnage of 7,400 tonnes, it can accommodate 255 people on board.

13 Mar 2019; DW: Some 3,000 members of "Islamic State" have left the group's last holdout in Syria to surrender to Kurdish-led forces.

"[The] number of Daesh (IS) members [who have] surrendered to us since yesterday evening has risen to 3,000," Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Mustefa Bali said Tuesday.

The SDF temporarily halted airstrikes and shelling on IS-controlled Baghouz in eastern Syria on Tuesday to allow people to leave the village to hand themselves over.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and Republican senators sought compromise on limiting presidents’ powers to unilaterally declare national emergencies, as chances improved that President Donald Trump might avoid a long-expected rejection by Congress of his effort to divert billions more for building barriers along the Mexican border.