MALE, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Maldives authorities detained former president Abdulla Yameen after he was accused of trying to bribe witnesses in his money laundering trial, officials said.

The arrest came after the Criminal Court began a hearing into allegations that Yameen received nearly $1.5 million in illicit payments just before he lost an election in September and was forced out of power.

CARACAS, February 18. /TASS/. Venezuela's direct losses sustained as a result of US sanctions over the last three years stand at around $38 billion, Venezuela's Vice President for Planning Ricardo Menendez told Agencia Venezolana de Noticias on Monday.

Dhar (MP), Feb 18 (PTI) Irked over not being served chicken meat in his meal, a 60-year-old man allegedly killed his 32-year-old son in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh Monday, police said.

Accused Chhotu Baghel stabbed his son Hira Singh to death in a fit of rage at their residence in Kharwali village, around 90 kms from here, after the latter ate chicken meat himself this morning, said Tanda police station in-charge MT Baig.

The wife of the deceased said that Chhotu was angry after Hira didn't share the meat with him.

Medardo Mairena was sentenced to 216 years in prison for “terrorism” and six other offences related to his participation in the protests that caused the death of four police officers and a civilian, said lawyer Julio Montenegro from the non-governmental Permanent Commission for Human Rights. Pedro Mena was given 210 years for terrorism and other offences.

Montenegro described the sentences as “unprecedented” and “overly exaggerated.”

The two opposition leaders will serve only 30 years in prison, though, as that is the maximum allowed in Nicaraguan law.

19 Feb 2019; DW: After garnering praise for hosting last year's Asian Games, Indonesia has decided to throw its hat into the Olympic ring. If chosen, it could face competition from India and a joint bid by North and South Korea.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo submitted a bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games in a formal letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), state media reported on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Justice Department official says Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his position in the middle of next month.

The official was not authorized to discuss the move by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Monday night.

The White House is expected to name a replacement for Rosenstein this week.

Rosenstein’s departure had been expected with the confirmation of William Barr as attorney general last week.

Rosenstein has been on the job for nearly two years.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Monday she’s not a democratic socialist, a not-so-veiled distinction setting her apart from New Hampshire voters’ favorite 2016 primary candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders, a potential rival for the party’s 2020 nomination, has described himself as a democratic socialist, and the Vermont independent didn’t abandon the politically fraught label for his previous campaign.

SINGAPORE, Feb 19 (NNN-CNA) — The Singapore government will spend about S$22.7 billion, or 30 per cent of its total expenditure in Financial Year (FY) 2019, on defence, security and diplomacy, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his Budget statement.

In FY2018, defence, security and diplomacy spending accounted for about 28 per cent of the total Government expenditure.

“Given its strategic significance, the Government will continue to invest a significant share of our resources … to support our defence, security and diplomacy efforts,” he told Parliament.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Active, middle-aged men able to complete more than 40 push-ups had a significantly lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than those who were able to do less than 10, a new study showed.

"This study emphasizes the importance of physical fitness on health, and why clinicians should assess fitness during clinical encounters," said senior author Stefanos Kales, professor in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School and chief of occupational medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance.

19 Feb 2019; AFP: Ireland's deputy prime minister expressed annoyance on Monday at Britain's continued failure to ratify a deal on its orderly withdrawal from the European Union.

"Of course there's frustration," Simon Coveney, who is also Dublin's foreign minister, told reporters after more talks in Brussels with EU colleagues.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May thinks she might be able to get a deal signed with EU leaders in November past the British parliament if it is reworded.

MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. A six-year boy who had spent the whole night in Moscow’s Elk Island National Park eventually turned up alive and unharmed, a law enforcement source informed TASS.

Islamabad, Feb 18 (PTI) Pakistan has the potential to become one the top 20 economies of the world, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman said Monday as he concluded his two-day visit to Islamabad.

The Crown Prince briefly interacted with the media along with Prime Minister Imran Khan at Nur Khan air base at the conclusion of his first state visit to Pakistan.