01 Mar 2019; AFP: At least 23 Afghan security forces were killed in a Taliban attack on a joint US-Afghan base in southwestern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, as fighting continued during a pause in peace talks between the insurgents and American negotiators.

ANKARA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Turkey-U.S. Joint Working Group to coordinate the U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria concluded a two-day meeting in Ankara, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The bilateral meeting focused on the U.S. pullout from Syria's Manbij and the area east of the Euphrates River.

This is the second meeting of its kind following the initial one held in Washington on Feb. 6.

The group meeting in Ankara is operating as a sub-unit of the Syria Working Group established in February 2018 between Turkey and the United States.

01 Mar 2019; AP: NASA’s newest Mars lander has started digging into the red planet, but hit a few snags, scientists said Friday.

The German drilling instrument on the InSight lander struck what appeared to be a couple of stones. It only managed to burrow between half a foot (18 centimeters) and about 1 ½ feet (50 centimeters), far short of the first dig’s goal, said the German Aerospace Center.

The hammering device in the “mole” was developed by the Astronika engineering company in Poland.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman landed in Delhi Friday night, hours after he was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days.

A group of people gave a rousing welcome to him at the Palam airport, from where he would be taken to a medical facility for examination.

He was handed over to Indian authorities at Attari-Wagah border Friday evening.

Srinagar, Mar 1; PTI: Three security personnel were killed on Friday in an encounter with separatist militants in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara following information about presence of separatist militants there, the officials said.

During the searches, the militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated.

02 Mar 2019; DW: At least four civilians were killed and 11 injured on Saturday as Indian and Pakistani soldiers traded fire in the disputed Kashmir frontier region. The resumed fighting violated a temporary ceasefire put in place after a week of escalating unease at the border.

The dead included a 24-year-old woman and her two young children in India-administered Kashmir. Their father was also critically injured.

BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged Australia to abandon ideological bias and provide an environment of fair competition for Chinese companies.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a routine press briefing when asked to comment on media reports that Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne had reiterated keeping Chinese telecoms giant Huawei out of Australia's 5G network infrastructure even if the United States softens its stance on Huawei.

China expressed grave concern over this statement, Lu said.

Mumbai, Mar 1 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a press conference and answer questions of the public.

Since he became the PM in 2014, Modi has not held a press conference in all this time, Gandhi said, addressing a public rally here.

"I address press conferences; have you seen the 'chowkidar' addressing a press conference? He is not only a 'chor' (thief) but also 'darpok' (coward)," Gandhi said.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Over 200 artistes across cultural disciplines will come together over the weekend to "resist the politics of hate" and to "stand up for democracy" in a first of its kind festival of the arts being held under the banner "Artistes Unite".

There will be music, dance, poetry, theatre, cinema and more at the two-day festival, which will held against the historic backdrop of the Red Fort in the 15 August Park.

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than two million boys and girls are currently out of school in Syria, people's resources are depleting, and more than eight in ten people live below the poverty line, the UN Humanitarian Needs Overview for Syria said on Friday.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters at a regular briefing that the 2019 overview is a reminder that the crisis is far from over for millions of people in Syria who have lived through eight years of war.

ALGIERS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- As many as 56 police officers and seven citizens were injured during Friday's massive anti-government protest in Algeria, local police department said in a statement.

Despite peaceful marches, the demonstrators were intruded by groups of troublemakers and rubbers, who stole money from a fuel station in downtown Algiers.

They also set fire on two vehicles and vandalized facades of a state-run bank and Djazair Hotel, near the neighborhood of El Mouradia, where the presidency's headquarters were located.

02 Mar 2019; AFP: Australia's defence minister and his deputy both announced they were quitting politics on Saturday, bringing to five the number of cabinet members retiring as Prime Minister Scott Morrison heads into a fraught election.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, the most moderate remaining member of Morrison's conservative coalition government, said he was stepping down at the next election, due by mid-May, to begin a business career.