CARACAS, February 19. /TASS/. Venezuela should start producing its own weapons systems to defend the country, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday.

"We need our own weapons systems for the existing concept of national security," Maduro said. He added that Venezuela possesses "a good weapons system for defense," including missile defense systems.

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Monday unveiled the outline development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, aiming to develop the region into "a role model of high-quality development."

The plan was released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.

Promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, said an official in charge of the office of the leading group for developing the area.

JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) – An Israeli army officer was charged with failing to prevent his soldiers from beating two Palestinian detainees, Israel’s army said on Sunday.

The commanding officer, whose identity was not disclosed, was indicted for “failing to prevent a crime, negligently causing injury and conducting unbecomingly as an officer,” Israel Defence Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said, in a statement.

The officer was suspended until further notice, the army said.

MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Various restrictions, including economic sanctions, introduced by other countries cost Russia $6.3bln by late 2018, according to the estimates of the Economic Development Ministry presented on Tuesday.

These restrictions include anti-dumping duties, licensing, quotas, technical barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and also economic sanctions.

19 Feb 2019; AFP: The known Universe just got a lot bigger.

A new map of the night sky published Tuesday charts hundreds of thousands of previously unknown galaxies discovered using a telescope that can detect light sources optical instruments cannot see.

The international team behind the unprecedented space survey said their discovery literally shed new light on some of the Universe's deepest secrets, including the physics of black holes and how clusters of galaxies evolve.

19 Feb 2019; DW: Germany is prepared to compromise its arms export guidelines to facilitate joint defense projects with France, according to an internal government document. France wants to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Germany is working to loosen its arms export control rules to make it easier to continue with joint weapons projects with France, according to an internal strategy paper obtained by Der Spiegel magazine.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The country’s last undecided congressional election was marred by falsified signatures, disappearing documents and blank ballots that were filled in by people hired by the Republican candidate, North Carolina elections officials said.

The state elections board could decide as early as Tuesday whether possibly criminal ballot fraud was unfortunate but tolerable, or whether to order a new election in the 9th congressional district.

SKOPJE, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Police forces in North Macedonia dismantled an organized group involved in illegal weapons trade, the country's ministry of internal affairs said in a press release on Monday.

The police action was organized in cooperation with the country's public prosecution office.

After investigations, a court ordered the arrest of all nine members of the group, who are from the North Macedonian cities of Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo.

19 Feb 2019; DW: With fresh tensions boiling between US and the European Union on car imports, EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said he believed there would be no immediate tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

"Trump gave me his word that there would be no tariffs for the time being," Juncker told Stuttgarter Zeitung and Stuttgarter Nachrichten papers on Monday.

"I believe this pledge to be reliable," he added.

Nagpur, Feb 18 (PTI) A 22-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself in her house in Maharashtra's Nagpur district, after she was raped by an accomplice of her friend last week, police said Monday.

The woman, in a suicide note purportedly written by her, stated that she was ending her life out of shame as the incident has become public.

KANPUR: As many as ten thousand people visit Nanarao Park daily that sprawls in an area of 25 acres of land. This park will be beautified with an amount of Rs 9.76 crore under the Smart City Mission. The beautification project will be completed in a span of nine months. City’s first synthetic track, besides one cycle track, will also be developed at the park.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump is prepared to issue the first veto of his term if Congress votes to disapprove his declaration of a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, a top White House adviser said on Sunday.

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller told “Fox News Sunday” that “the president is going to protect his national emergency declaration.” Asked if that meant Trump was ready to veto a resolution of disapproval, Miller added, “He’s going to protect his national emergency declaration, guaranteed.”