MOSCOW, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending Russia's compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with immediate effect, the Kremlin said Monday.

Putin ordered to suspend the implementation of the Treaty "until the United States eliminates the violations of obligations under the treaty or until its expiration," according to the text of the decree published on the Kremlin website.

The decree instructs the Russian Foreign Ministry to inform the United States about the suspension of the treaty by Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators left a closed-door briefing with Trump administration officials Monday deeply frustrated by the lack of new information on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with some raising the prospect of placing new sanctions on the government of Saudi Arabia.

MUMBAI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- India has received the dreadful distinction of having seven of its cities in the list of top 10 most polluted cities in the world, according to data compiled in the IQAir AirVisual 2018 World Air Quality Report on Tuesday.

05 Mar 2019; AFP: China announced Tuesday a 7.5 percent increase in military spending in 2019, lower than last year as the country faces an economic slowdown, but still likely to make Asian neighbours nervous.

It it working to provide the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) with state-of-the-art hardware, spending heavily on stealth warplanes, aircraft carriers and other weaponry.

05 Mar 2019; DW: French President Emmanuel Macron has outlined his vision for fundamental reform of the European Union in an editorial to be published on Tuesday in leading newspapers in each EU country.

His impassioned call for a "European Renaissance" comes amid unease about a continued upswing in support for far-right, nationalist parties in the EU elections in May.

Macron's main recommendations:

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced Monday that the core module of the country's space station, the Long March-5B carrier rocket and its payloads will be sent to the launch site in the second half of this year, to make preparations for the space station missions.

China is scheduled to complete the construction of the space station around 2022. It will be the country's space lab in long-term stable in-orbit operation.

BAGHDAD, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi President Barham Salih Monday discussed with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas bilateral relations, and expressed Iraq's support to the rights of the Palestinian people to achieve peace and stability on their land.

A statement by the presidency office said that Salih received Abbas and accompanying delegation, and the two sides held a meeting to discuss means to enhance cooperation and coordination in a way that serves the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples.

RAMALLAH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians are holding their breath as Israel's general elections are due to take place on April 9, amid fears of further regional escalation to serve the electoral aspirants.

Observers believe that the Palestinian issue is the most tackled on the campaign trail of Israeli parties, including more hostile steps to gain public support ahead of the upcoming elections.

BEIJING (AP) — China announced a robust annual economic growth target and a 7.5 percent rise in military spending Tuesday as it convened an annual legislative session overshadowed by a tariff war with Washington.

Seeking to defuse U.S. and European complaints the Chinese system is rigged against foreign companies, Premier Li Keqiang promised in a speech to the National People’s Congress they will be “treated as equals” with their Chinese competitors.

OTTAWA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The crisis facing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government over the SNC-Lavalin affair deepened on Monday with the sudden resignation of one of his most solid cabinet ministers.

Jane Philpott, who served as president of the Treasury Board that oversees federal government spending, wrote in a publicly released letter to Trudeau that she had "lost confidence" in the way the government has dealt with the issue of alleged political interference in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

UNITED NATIONS, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A Russian UN envoy on Monday reiterated Moscow's call for direct access to former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who allegedly suffered a nerve agent attack in Britain a year ago.

London has the obligation to allow Moscow such access under the international convention and bilateral treaties, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy told a press conference in New York.

BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China will reduce the tax burdens and social insurance contributions of enterprises by nearly 2 trillion yuan (about 298 billion U.S. dollars) this year, according to a government work report delivered Tuesday by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening meeting of the annual legislative session.

"We will introduce both general-benefit and structural tax cuts, focusing primarily on reducing tax burdens on the manufacturing sector and on small and micro businesses," Li said.