PARIS, Feb. 21, 2019 -- French national Fabien Clain has been killed during an air strike by the international coalition on a holdout of IS group in Syria, state-run radio France Info reported on Thursday.

Known as the "official voice" of the French IS group, Clain was killed on Wednesday following an air strike which targeted the cell's last pocket of resistance in Baghouz near the Iraqi border. His brother, Jean-Michel, was seriously wounded, the report added.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Thursday that the United States would leave a small proportion of troops in Syria after the planned pullout.

"A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The 200 troops would be divided between At-Tanf, an area near the Iraq-Jordan border, and northeast Syria, CNN reported, citing a U.S. official familiar with the planning process.

CARACAS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday ordered the country's southern border with Brazil be sealed off.

"I have decided: in south Venezuela, starting at 8 p.m. today Thursday Feb. 21, the land border with Brazil will be totally and absolutely closed," said Maduro.

The measure will be in effect until further notice, the president said during a meeting with the high command of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.

The move comes amid what he called "provocation" from Brazil's right-wing government.

The Chinese delegation is headed by Vice Premier Liu He, who also came as the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping; while the U.S. team includes Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Liu, Lighthizer and Mnuchin co-chaired the formal opening at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House.

LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Leading retail bodies in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland issued a warning on Thursday that the price of fresh food and drink could increase dramatically in the event of a No-Deal Brexit.

With just over 30 days until UK is set to leave the European Union, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) and Retail Ireland, voiced their concerns to the government in a letter, stating that a No-Deal outcome could lead to delays at major borders and shortages of food products.

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to further boost financial cooperation.

The two countries will enhance communication and coordination of macro policies, develop the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan through the financial sector and promote inclusive growth and sustainable development of both countries, according to the meeting of a financial sub-committee under a high-level committee to coordinate bilateral cooperation.

21 Feb 2019; DW: An Afghan migrant in Germany is willing to pay a fine imposed on activist Elin Ersson. The Swedish activist was charged with violating aviation law after keeping a plane from departing with an Afghan deportee on board.

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China said Thursday it will grasp the development opportunities brought by a new round of scientific and technological advances and strengthen technological exchanges and cooperation with all parties, including in 5G.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the comments at a news briefing when asked about some countries' remarks that Chinese enterprises should be excluded from the construction of their 5G networks due to the "security risks" of Chinese products and devices.

22 Feb 2019; DW: Employees at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) rejoiced on Friday as the Hayabusa2 explorer signaled that it landed on a distant asteroid.

The unmanned spacecraft touched down briefly on the asteroid and then indicated that it was blasting back to its orbiting position.

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Japan’s pro-American stance stands in the way of taking Russian-Japanese relations to a new level, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Thursday during his speech for the Association of European Businesses.

CARACAS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States is blocking Venezuelan state funds to be used on treating children with cancer or kidney problems due to its economic and financial sanctions, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday.

The U.S. government denied a request from Venezuela to access funding for medical treatments, which were normally channeled via state oil firm PDVSA and its U.S.-based subsidiary Citgo, said Rodriguez.

22 Feb 2019; DW: Last year saw a 35 percent rise in the number of people deported to the Maghreb states of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the Rheinische Post reported on Friday, citing the German Interior Ministry.

Germany deported a total of 1,873 rejected asylum-seekers to the northern African countries last year, compared to 1,389 in 2017.

The number of deportations to the region last year was nearly 14 times higher than in 2015, the paper reported.