NEW DELHI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- India's election commission has directed political parties to advise their candidates and leaders to desist from displaying photographs of defence personnel in advertisements as part of their election campaign.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) in an advisory to presidents of all political parties in country has sought their strict compliance.

BUCHAREST, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Moldovan Constitutional Court late Saturday validated the final results of the parliamentary elections and the mandates of deputies.

According to news reaching here from Chisinau, capital of Moldova, the Constitutional Court recognized the results of the parliamentary elections held on Feb. 24 both in national and single-mandate constituencies, and approved the mandates of the 101 elected deputies.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A senior U.S. official on Saturday met with top Kosovo leaders in an attempt to persuade the government to revoke or suspend a tariff on Serb goods so that dialogue with Belgrade can resume.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is the latest U.S. envoy to take part in shuttle diplomacy between Kosovo and Serbia. He met with Kosovo’s president, speaker and prime minister at the residence of the U.S. ambassador. A day earlier, he was in Belgrade.

New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) The Congress will fight the general election in Uttar Pradesh on its own strength, party's west UP incharge Jyotiraditya Scindia said Saturday, asserting the path of his party may be different from that of the SP and the BSP but their objective is the same.

Scindia also said that as far as talks for alliances are concerned, "like-minded parties should also think in a like-minded way".

TRIPOLI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Libya's Civil Aviation Authority on Saturday closed Mitiga International Airport of the capital Tripoli for the second time this week after infiltration of an unidentified drone.

"Air traffic is suspended again until further notice in Mitiga International Airport for the same reason, a drone flying in the airspace of the airport at an altitude of 5,000 feet," the airport administration said in a statement.

The statement said the drone poses danger to the airplanes flying to and from the airport.

XICHANG, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China has made significant progress in the development of the key technologies of the heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March-9, which is expected to make its maiden flight around 2030.

The development of the heavy-lift rocket will greatly improve China's capacity of entering outer space. The Long March-9 rocket will support China's space industry development, utilization of space resources and deep space exploration, said experts from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Millions of North Korean voters, including leader Kim Jong Un, went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new lineup of roughly 700 members for the next session of the national legislature, though the vote was more of an endorsement than a competitive contest.

Voters were presented with just one state-sanctioned candidate per seat and cast their ballots not to select but rather to show their approval or, at least theoretically, disapproval of that candidate.

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Russia and Syria are calling on the world community to realize the truth about the situation at the Rukban refugee camp, the heads of the Russian and Syrian inter-agency coordination headquarters, Mikhail Mizintsev and Hussein Makhlouf, said in a joint statement.

New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir will visit India on Monday, days after his trip to Islamabad.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Jubeir will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during his trip.

The Saudi minister met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday in Islamabad, and delivered a "special message" from Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, according to Pakistani media reports.

NEW YORK (AP) — Severe turbulence tossed terrified passengers and crew around a Turkish Airlines plane cabin as it passed over Maine on Saturday, with 30 people suffering bumps, bruises, cuts and a broken leg before the flight landed safely at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.

Dozens of ambulances lined up in front of a terminal to quickly treat the injured coming off the flight that left Istanbul for the 10-hour trip.

GAZIANTEP; 10 Mar 2019; AA: Syrian refugees have found peace and security in Turkey, a UNICEF official in Turkey told Anadolu Agency during his visit to this southeastern province. 

"I have seen refugees settling over four years and finding the peace and the security they were looking for while crossing the border [to Turkey]," said Philippe Duamelle.

DAMASCUS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 63,500 refugees, most of whom are the Islamic State (IS) militants and their families fleeing the last IS-held areas in eastern Syria, are living in the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, a war monitor reported Saturday.

The refugees are mostly non-Syrians either from Iraq or Europe, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.