Chandigarh, Feb 28 (PTI) Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu Thursday insisted that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for in seeking a long-term solution to terror outfits operating across the border, amid strain in India-Pakistan ties in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent developments.

Lucknow, Feb 28 (PTI) BSP chief Mayawati Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his proposed address to BJP workers through a mega video-conference, terming it "ridiculous and betrayal of national sentiments" amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan.

Under the BJP's 'Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot' programme, Modi is slated to have direct dialogue with about a crore BJP workers, volunteers and others through the "world's largest video conference" at noon on Thursday.

Patna, Feb 28 (PTI) The ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, an ally of the BJP, Thursday cautioned against "social media jingoism and mindless warmongering" that are being mistaken for bravery.

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor said #SayNoToWar, which has been trending on microblogging site Twitter ever since tension with Pakistan escalated, is not cowardice.

#SayNoToWar is not cowardice. The Father of the Nation was opposed to any war and he certainly was no coward.

RABAT, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed on Thursday to strengthen partnership, the Moroccan official MAP news agency reported.

The pledge was made during a telephone conversation between the two leaders following Buhari's re-election as Nigeria's president.

"The conversation was an opportunity to recall the willingness to strengthen the bilateral partnership on strategic projects conducted under the impetus of the two leaders," the report said.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) The Union cabinet on Thursday approved the Kanpur and the Agra metro rail projects, a move to boost public transport connectivity in the two Uttar Pradesh cities.

According to the government, the Agra rail project will have two corridors, which will pass through heart of the city and will connect prominent tourist places like the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Sikandra, as well as the interstate bus terminal, railway station, medical college and others.

01 Mar 2019; AFP: Bangladesh told the UN Security Council on Thursday that it will no longer be able to take in refugees from Myanmar.

Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told a council meeting that the crisis over the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya sheltering in his country had gone from "bad to worse" and urged the council to take "decisive" action.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) Railways has cancelled the operations of the Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express on its side from Thursday, which senior officials said was due to "purely operational reasons" as Pakistan had suspended services from across the border.

A notification in this regard was issued here.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- American scientists found that catch-up sleep on the weekend couldn't repay the weekday sleep debt and such an inconsistent schedule might make things worse.

The study, published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology, has shown that sleeping in on the weekend can only help the body recover mildly but its effects do not last and even showed worse outcomes on some measures.

28 Feb 2019; DW: The White House announced that no agreement on denuclearization was reached between Kim and Trump.

When asked if sanctions were the reason the agreement fell through, Trump said: "It was about the sanctions, basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety and we couldn’t do that. They [North Korea] were willing to denuclearize a large portion of the areas that we wanted … but we had to walk away from that."

"I'm never afraid to walk away from a deal," Trump added.

GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed investigators say Israeli soldiers intentionally fired on civilians and could have committed crimes against humanity during crackdowns against Palestinian demonstrations in Gaza last year that left 189 people dead.

The independent Commission of Inquiry mandated by the Human Rights Council said more than 6,000 people were shot by military snipers using live ammunition to repel protesters near the separation fence.

HANOI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met Wednesday night in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit to discuss concrete ways for peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled in their first encounter at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, where the two leaders were slated to briefly sit down one-on-one before having a social dinner, opening their two-day summit.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Wednesday that Jared Kushner, a son-in-law and senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, has met with the Saudi king and the crown prince on Tuesday as part of his visit to Middle East countries.