More migrants crossing US
border in large groups
WASHINGTON, Mar 06: The number of migrant families crossing the southwest border is again breaking records, and the crush is overwhelming border agents and straining facilities, officials said. More than 76,000 migrants crossed the US-Mexico border last month, more than double the number from the same period last year. — AP
No solution for now to break Brexit deadlock: EU
BRUSSELS, Mar 06: EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday "no solution" has been found so far to break the deadlock over Brexit, a spokesman reported after the latest negotiations in Brussels. Barnier informed commissioners with the EU's executive arm that "no solution has been identified at this point that is consistent with the withdrawal agreement," spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a press conference. — AFP
S Korea proposes clear-air project with China
SEOUL, Mar 06: South Korean President Moon Jae-in has proposed a joint project with China to use artificial rain to clean the air in Seoul, where an acute increase in pollution has caused alarm. Moon also on Wednesday instructed government officials to quicken the retirement of old coal-burning power plants. Seoul has been struggling to tackle the rise in air pollution that experts have linked to China's massive industrial activity and emission from South Korean cars. — AP
Russia cracking down on foreign spies: Putin
MOSCOW, Mar 06: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said the Russian special services had ended the work of hundreds of spies and informers in the country last year. In a speech to the officers of the FSB security service, which he led before becoming president, Putin said foreign intelligence agencies were stepping up activity in Russia. "Thanks to successfully executed special operations, the activity of 129 spies and 465 informers was stopped" in 2018, he said. — AFP
Israeli spacecraft on way to moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Mar 06: An Israeli spacecraft has taken the ultimate selfie on its roundabout journey to the moon. Organizers for the privately funded mission released the photo Tuesday, weeks after its launch. It shows the spacecraft Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis, orbiting some 23,300 miles (37,600 kilometres) away, with the entire Earth as the stunning Apollo-style backdrop. Australia easily stands out. A plaque reads: "Small Country, Big Dreams" and "The people of Israel live." — AP
Iran convicts lawyer for defending protesters
DUBAI, Mar 06: An activist group says a prominent human rights lawyer in Iran who defended women protesting against the Islamic Republic's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, has been convicted and faces years in prison. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran says Nasrin Sotoudeh, who previously served three years in prison for her work, was convicted in absentia by a Revolutionary Court. — AP
India rape victim kills attacker
KOLKATA, Mar 06: An Indian woman who was raped and set on fire killed her attacker by dragging him into the flames, police said on Wednesday. The woman survived with burns to her face and hands while the man died in hospital from his injuries. The widow, 35, told police that the man, 42, attacked and raped her in her home north of Kolkata in eastern India on Monday, when her daughters were out. — AFP
