KHARTOUM, 23 Feb 2019; AA: Sudanese president has appointed Minister of Defense Awad Ibn Oaf as first vice president of the country, a presidential decree said on Saturday.

According to a statement issued by the media office of the presidency, former Governor of Al-Gazeera state Mohamed Tahir Aila has also been appointed as new prime minister of the country.

Washington, Feb 23 (PTI) President Donald Trump has nominated his envoy to Canada Kelly Knight Craft as the next US Ambassador to the UN to succeed Indian-American Nikki Haley.

In October, Haley announced that she was leaving the post by the end of the year.

The 46-year-old former South Carolina governor has served nearly two years in the post. She was the first Indian-American ever appointed to a Cabinet position in any US presidential administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Craft, 56, would replace Haley.

MOSCOW, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. OC-135B observation aircraft flew over Russia on Feb. 18-23 under the international Treaty on Open Skies, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The U.S. plane took off from the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, and Russian specialists on board ensured the aircraft flew along the agreed route and the equipment was used in accordance with the deal, the ministry said.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — China’s Huawei is set to take the wraps off a new folding-screen phone, joining the latest trend for bendable devices as it challenges the global smartphone market’s dominant players, Apple and Samsung.

The company on Sunday plans to unveil the device, which can be used on superfast next-generation mobile networks that are due to come online in the coming years.

Huawei will reveal the phone on the eve of MWC Barcelona, a four-day showcase of mobile devices, as the company battles U.S. allegations it is a cybersecurity risk.

TASS, February 23. US President Donald Trump has received the Golden Raspberry award for worst actor and worst screen combo. The award ceremony was transmitted on YouTube on Saturday.

The US leader received the in-jest Worst Actor Award for his "roles" in the documentaries "Death of a Nation" and "Fahrenheit 11/9". He also received the award for Worst Screen Combo for the duo with his "self-perpetuating pettiness", the organizers said.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Saturday after visiting the U.S.-Mexico border that the government needs a broader, more effective approach to border control. He suggested the Pentagon might contribute with its expertise in surveillance and monitoring.

“How do we get out of treating the symptoms and get at the root of the issue,” Shanahan said in an interview while flying back to Washington.

ANKARA; 23 Feb 2019; AA: Amid tensions between nuclear armed neighbors India and Pakistan, a Pakistani parliamentarian traveled to India for a spiritual event on Saturday, opening a rare diplomatic opportunity for Islamabad.

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, who represents ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Pakistan National Assembly (MNA) said India would be the main benefactor if Delhi and Islamabad were to "join hands and walk together."

Two upper KG students were kidnapped in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh by two masked men at gunpoint for ransom, then tied and dumped in a river in U.P.

Bodies of the twin brothers were recovered from the Yamuna in Banda district of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh late on Saturday.

Srinagar, Feb 23 (PTI) Nearly 150 people, mainly from the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir including its chief Abdul Hamid Fayaz, were detained during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday as tension gripped the Valley ahead of a hearing by the Supreme Court on Article 35A of the Constitution.

Though police termed the detentions as routine saying that leaders and potential stone pelters have been picked up in the past, officials privy to the developments said this is the first major crackdown on the Jamaat-e-Islamia.

GENEVA; 23 Feb 2019; AA: The UN human rights arm Friday raised concerns about the recent executions of 15 people in Egypt earlier this month.

Egyptian authorities should take all necessary measures to ensure the process and investigate allegations of torture, said Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office "We urge the Egyptian authorities to halt all executions," he said.

Nine people were executed Feb. 20, linked to the killing of Egypt’s General Prosecutor Hisham Barakat.

Bengaluru, February 23; GANASHAKTI: 300 vehicles were gutted in a fire that broke out in a parking lot at the venue of the 2019 Aero India show being conducted by the defence ministry at the Yelahanka air base. No casualties have been reported. The fire has been extinguished completely, said DGP of Fire Services MN Reddi. 

According to a policeman, around 100 cars were affected in the blaze after one car caught fire. To control the fire, more than 10 fire engines have been rushed to the spot.

A Deputy Superintendent of Police has been killed in an exchange of fire in Jammu and Kashmir, police official said.

Taking to Twitter, police had earlier said, “Exchange of fire at Turigam, Kulgam. Security forces on job. Details will follow.”