New Delhi, Feb 12 (PTI) India and Maldives on Tuesday exchanged diplomatic notes for the implementation of a visa facilitation agreement to boost people to people contacts between the two countries.

The agreement was signed during Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih's visit to India in December within a month after taking charge of the high office. The visit was seen as an effort by his government to repair ties with India which came under severe strain during the presidentship of Abdulla Yameen, who was known to be close to China.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 12 (APP):Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday said with maximum facilitation for common man as its top priority in “Naya Pakistan,” the present government was striving to upgrade the country’s train travelling system to the next level with the support of China, which had one of the best railway systems in the world.

Lucknow, Feb 12 (PTI) SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday claimed he was stopped by authorities at Lucknow airport in a bid to prevent him from visiting Allahabad, triggering outrage by party lawmakers in the state legislature and workers outside the airport.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said he was to fly to Allahabad from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport to attend an event at Allahabad University.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: US space agency NASA will make one final attempt to contact its Opportunity Rover on Mars late Tuesday, eight months after it last made contact.

The agency also said it would hold a briefing Wednesday, during which it will likely officially declare the end of the mission.

Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004 and covered 28 miles (45 kilometers) on the planet, securing its place in history after lasting well beyond its expected 90-day mission.

Imphal, Feb 12 (PTI) An indefinite curfew was imposed in Manipur capital Imphal on Tuesday and mobile internet services suspended till February 16 across the state in view of the continued protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, officials said.

The state capital straddles Imphal East and Imphal West districts.

The authorities clamped curfew in the state capital amid reports that the contentious bill will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The legislation was, however, not presented in the Upper House.

ADEN, Yemen, Feb 13 (NNN-SABA) – A total of 76 people were killed during the period of a cease-fire, brokered by the United Nations in Dec, 2018, according to local military observers.

The Houthi rebels controlling the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah have committed 1,112 cases of breach, since the beginning of the UN-brokered cease-fire on Dec 18 last year to Feb 9, the military observers said.

“Those cease-fire breaches claimed the lives of 76 people, mostly civilians, and injured 492 others, some of them with critical wounds,” read the observers’ report.

13 Feb 2019; DW: The opening ceremony for the annual Cobra Gold maneuvers launched the biggest exercise of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, with 29 nations taking part as participants or observers over ten days until next Thursday.

In addition to Thailand and the US, seven other nations are actively participating: Singapore, Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. About 4,500 US personnel, on land and sea, are taking part.

KATHMANDU, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- China emerged as the largest source market of foreign tourists to Nepal in January this year as the Himalayan country welcomed 15,343 Chinese tourists, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said on Tuesday.

India, traditionally the largest source market, came second with 14,650 tourists, according to NTB.

Kalyan Raj Sharma, managing director of trekking agency Adventure Outdoor, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the number of Chinese tourists began to rise ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year that began on Feb. 5.

Mumbai, Feb 12 (PTI) Shortage of pilots continued to hamper budget carrier IndiGos operations with the airline cancelling as many as 30 flights Tuesday from across stations and passengers allegedly being forced to buy last minute high fares for its flights, a source said.

On Monday also, the Gurugram-headquartered airline had pulled out 32 flights from its network.

ISLAMABAD, Feb 12 (APP):Pakistan and China have decided to expedite cooperation in the field of agriculture under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and an important meeting in this regard is expected to be held next month, an official in Ministry of Planning, Development, and Reform said.

Nabarangpur (Odisha), Feb 12 (PTI) A tribal man was killed allegedly by Maoists in Nabarangpur district on the suspicion of being a police informer, a senior police officer said Tuesday.

A group of armed ultras stormed Venas village under Raighar Block late on Monday night and forcibly took away Tunu Gond from his house accusing him of being a police informer, the officer said.

JERUSALEM, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Tuesday night to Poland to attend the Warsaw Conference on the Middle East.

"The focus of the conference is Iran," Netanyahu told reporters before leaving.

"We employ many means against Iran's aggression, against their attempts to achieve nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles," Netanyahu said.

Iran denies it attempts to develop nuclear weapons.