01 Feb 2019; AFP: The International Criminal Court finally freed former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo on Friday after his shock acquittal last month on charges of crimes against humanity.

Supporters sang and waved flags in the Hague after judges agreed to release the 73-year-old on condition that he stays in an as-yet-unnamed country pending an appeal by the prosecution.

SYDNEY, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Brisbane International Airport went into emergency lockdown on Saturday night after a man allegedly entered the international terminal carrying a knife.

Following a swift and extensive security response, the man was taken into custody by police who used non-lethal weapons to subdue him.

"There is no evidence to suggest the incident at the international airport is terrorism related; it is a domestic violence-related situation," police told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

01 Feb 2019; DW: If Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, UK citizens should still be able to visit the bloc visa-free for up to 90 days, ambassadors of the remaining 27 EU nations said on Friday. The 90 days can be taken in any 180-day period, the envoys said in Brussels. 

02 Feb 2019; DW: There were two strong explosions reported over Vinales and the Pinar del Rio area in western Cuba on Friday afternoon before small black stones fell to the ground, witnesses said. The largest fragment of about 11 centimeters (4 inches) was found in a small crater.

The meteorite had been seen flying over the Florida Keys earlier on Friday, according to the US National Weather Service in Key West.

Bengaluru, Feb 1 (PTI) Underworld don Ravi Pujari, arrested in Senegal on a red alert by Indian intelligence agencies, was living with a new identity, had got a Burkina Faso passport for himself and his family and ran a chain of restaurants in some West African nations, Karnataka police said Friday.

"Ravi Pujari had obtained a new identity as Antony Fernadez and got a Burkina Faso passport for himself, his wife and children.

Ballia (UP), Feb 1 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, who heads the BJP ally SBSP, Friday claimed that a US agency has warned that the saffron party could instigate riots.

The minister was apparently referring to reported remarks by US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on an assessment by intelligence agencies on threats worldwide.

According to reports, Coats said there was a possibility of communal violence if the BJP stresses on nationalist themes .

Nagpur, Feb 2 (PTI) Suspected naxals Saturday killed two villagers in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, apparently on suspicion that they are police informers.

The incident occurred in the wee hours when some ultras dragged Girma Kadyami and Samru Kosni, both residents of Markegaon village in Dhanora taluka, out of their houses and shot them dead, said Gadchiroli superintendent of police Shailesh Balkawde.

JAKARTA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A shallow earthquake with a revised magnitude of 6.1 rocked West Sumatra province of western Indonesia on Saturday, but was not potential for tsunami, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.

There were no initial reports of damages or casualty after the main shock, according to the national disaster management agency.

The meteorology agency said earlier that the quake was at 6.0 magnitude before revising it to 6.1, Agung M. Utomo, official in charge of the agency told Xinhua.

Ahmedabad, Feb 1 (PTI) As many as 34 persons have died due to swine flu in Gujarat since January 1, 2019, with three deaths recorded Friday, officials said.

The state has recorded 737 cases of swine flu in the last one month

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Former Madhya Pradesh Police chief Rishi Kumar Shukla was on Saturday appointed CBI director for a fixed tenure of two years, according to an order issued by the personnel ministry.

The 1983-batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre is at present chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation.

He succeeds Alok Kumar Verma, who was on January 10 removed from the post.

01 Feb 2019; AFP: Several EU countries on Friday seized and destroyed suspect beef from a Polish slaughterhouse where allegedly sick cows were butchered, as French authorities said some of the meat had already been sold to customers.

Warsaw has attempted to reassure affected countries and says the meat does not pose a health risk.

Lucknow, Feb 1 (PTI) BSP president Mayawati called the Budget presented Friday by the BJP-led government `jumlebazi', or empty rhetoric, that did not address the ground realties.

She claimed that economic disparities had grown during the last five years with only a handful of capitalists benefiting, instead of farmers and the poor.

"This is wrong and against the interest of the country," she said in a statement.