Hanoi, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The top leaders of Vietnam and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed on Friday to facilitate high-level visits, and expand the exchange of all-level delegations via the party, state and mass organization channels, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Lucknow, Mar 1 (PTI) The general elections in the country will be held on time, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said Friday, amid tensions between India and Pakistan.

The CEC is in the Uttar Pradesh capital for the past two days to review poll preparations in the state.

"The election in the country will be held on time," Arora told reporters here when asked about the poll schedule in the wake of tensions between the two countries.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The European Parliament has called on Kosovo to suspend a 100-percent tariff on Serb goods to help restart reconciliation talks.

David McAllister, who is heading the European delegation visiting Kosovo, and Serbia earlier in the week, said Saturday it asked for the suspension of the tariff in all meetings with Kosovar leaders “as the only way to success.”

During a tour to both capitals earlier this week, two senior U.S. officials made the same call.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Striking teachers in Oakland, California, celebrated after reaching a contract deal Friday with school administrators to end a seven-day walkout.

To cheers and applause, union leaders from the Oakland Education Association announced that teachers had won everything they demanded — higher pay, smaller classes and more school resources — in a week of marathon negotiating sessions with the district.

“This is a historic contract with a win in every major proposal we made,” the Oakland Education Association said in a statement.

01 Mar 2019; DW: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported that the toxic chemical used in Douma, was likely molecular chlorine.

Despite being given the power to assign blame by its member states last June, the OPCW investigation did not do so for the Douma attack, as it was not part of the mandate for the team investigating the April attack.

Lucknow, Mar 1 (PTI) Electronic voting machines are being treated like "football", Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said Friday in the wake of political parties expressing apprehensions on the working of EVMs.

The CEC is in the Uttar Pradesh capital for the past two days to review poll preparations in the state.

"EVMs are being used for the past over two decades. If we take results of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls into account, the results of the Delhi assembly polls four months after, it were different.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) The chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Navy will get Z-plus security cover after a fresh assessment of their threat perception by the security agencies, officials said.

The decision was taken after a thorough review of the threat perception of IAF chief Air Marshal B S Dhanoa and chief of Naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan.

The chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff will be given the Z-plus security, a government official said.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) A non-resident Indian was arrested from the IGI airport here for allegedly raping a woman he had met on a matrimonial site in 2017, police said Friday.

The accused has been identified as Ravinder Singh, a native of Jalandhar district in Punjab, they said.

According to police, the woman filed a case on March 27, 2018 stating that she came in contact with Singh through the matrimonial website.

KANPUR: There was free-for-all situation in Block Sansadhan Kendra at Bhitargaon under Ghatampur Tehsil on Saturday. A brawl initiated over the payment of the uniform supplied to the primary schools. Teachers exchanged fists, stone pelting and even used sticks.

Palghar, Mar 2(PTI) A 10-year-old girl was allegedly repeatedly raped by a boy at a village in Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said on Saturday.

The boy, 12, was booked following a complaint lodged by the girl's parents, police said.

"Both the minors are neighbours. As per the complaint, the boy had been raping the girl since the last four months," an official of Mokhada police station said.

Berhampur (Odisha), Mar 1 (PTI) A 45-year-old man was arrested Friday for allegedly raping his 13-year-old daughter repeatedly for a month in Ganjam district of Odisha, police said.

The man was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim, a student of class 8, on Thursday, Inspector-In-Charge of Bhanjanagar Police Station S K Sahu said.

The accused was booked under various sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Beijing, Feb 28 (AP) The wife of a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer says he has disappeared on the day of his scheduled release from prison.

Jin Bianling says her husband Jiang Tianyong's whereabouts Thursday are unknown. She says supporters arrived at his jailhouse in central Henan province only to be told that he had already been picked up and taken away by unknown individuals.