KANPUR: As many as 58 candidates will fight for a total of 20 seats in the election of Lawyers’ Association on March 11. Two nominations were cancelled on Friday and two nominations were withdrawn on Saturday. There were also reports of fights and tearing down of the application form. One group complained that nomination was being withdrawn under pressure while another group stated that the withdrawal was done on own decision.

02 Mar 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump on Friday urged China to abolish tariffs on agricultural products imported from the United States - adding that trade talks between the rival powers were going well.

"I have asked China to immediately remove all Tariffs on our agricultural products" the president wrote on Twitter.

He said his request was based on the fact that negotiations with China were "moving along nicely" - and his delay last week of a planned tariff increase on Chinese exports.

Hanoi; March 1; GANASHAKTI  — North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho called an impromptu press conference at midnight in Hà N?i following the disappointing end to the highly anticipated summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

Ri said during the two-day summit, the two countries’ leaders had held serious discussions.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — There is insufficient evidence to pursue federal civil rights charges against a white former Tulsa police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man, the Department of Justice said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Trent Shores announced the closure of the investigation into whether Betty Shelby willfully used unreasonable force against Terence Crutcher when she shot and killed him in September 2016.

01 Mar 2019; DW: The Canadian government has allowed for the extradition process of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou to proceed, Canada's Department of Justice said on Friday.

She was arrested in Vancouver last December and has been living in one of her two mansions under house arrest. The United States has requested the extradition of Meng, who has been charged, along with Huawei, with stealing trade secrets and technology and conspiring to violate US sanctions in Iran.

United Nations, Mar 1; PTI/GANASHAKTI: UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa is following with "great concern" the situation between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to seek dialogue to avoid an escalation of tensions, her spokesperson said.

Espinosa's spokesperson Monica Grayley said the UNGA President stresses that the use of "diplomatic means is basically the best way to settle political differences, to settle political disputes" and hopes that the relevant parties can resolve the current situation through peaceful means.

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- An American spacecraft designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from the United States was launched Saturday morning for its debut unmanned flight.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifted off at 2:49 a.m. Eastern Time (0749 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- As the annual sessions of China's top legislative and advisory bodies approach, world experts look forward to a greater role of China in improving global governance.

William Jones, Washington bureau chief of the U.S. publication Executive Intelligence Review, praised China's contribution to tackling global issues and believed China's wisdom as well as its philosophy will further benefit the whole world.

MOSCOW, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia is concerned about possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and hopes its plans will fail amid international opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Hanoi, March 1 : North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a formal welcome ceremony in Hanoi on Friday afternoon, commencing his official friendly visit to Vietnam scheduled for March 1-2.

Chairman Kim was warmly welcomed by Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace at 3:30 pm.

This is his first official friendly visit to Vietnam after he assumed his post in 2011.

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- France and Germany are using their unprecedented "joint presidencies" of the UN Security Council in March and April to defend multilateralism and European values, said the ambassadors of the two countries on Friday.

The unique approach, which was designed as "an unprecedented expression of Franco-German partnership" at the United Nations, is both innovative and pragmatic, French ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre told reporters together with German ambassador Christoph Heusgen.

BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The China-developed  MA700 turboprop aircraft has entered the trial-manufacturing and test phase, announced the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) Friday.

The first MA700 is expected to roll off the production line this September.

The MA700 is the third member of China's "Morden Ark(MA)" regional airplane family following the MA60 and MA600. The AVIC is striving to conduct the maiden flight by the end of 2019, said AVIC.