1. Indonesian police shoot militant

    Indonesian police said they shot a suspected militant in the West Java capital of Bandung on Monday after his bomb exploded in a vacant lot and he fled into a municipal building and set it alight.

    West Java province police chief Anton Charliyan said the man was seriously injured.

    He said no one apart from the suspected militant was hurt in the attack, which triggered* a massive police response and apparent gunbattle. All workers in the building escaped after the attacker ran into it, he said.

    2. Malaysia says airport safe after check

    Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 was declared a “safe zone” on Sunday, after a detection operation found no trace of VX nerve agent*, a lethal* chemical weapon found on the body of a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) man who died on February 13.

    Special personnel wearing protective clothes and masks used detector-like equipment to sniff* all areas in contact with the victim and the suspects.

    As a highly stable substance, VX nerve agent evaporates* very slowly, causing concerns that the airport’s Terminal 2, which recorded passenger traffic of more than 27 million in 2016, could pose a danger to passengers and tourists.

    3. Trump to skip White House press dinner

    U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would not attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a high-profile event that draws celebrities, politicians and journalists.

    “I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

    On the campaign trail and in the White House, Trump has had a strained* relationship with the press, calling journalists “the enemy of the people.”

    4. Car plows into parade crowd in US

    A suspect is in custody after 28 people were injured on Saturday when a vehicle plowed* into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in the Mid-City section of New Orleans, U.S. police said.

    Police chief Michael Harrison said the suspect is being investigated for driving while intoxicated*. Harrison was asked twice by the media if terrorism was suspected. While he didn’t say “No” he did say it looks like a case of driving under influence.

    “We suspect that the subject was highly intoxicated,” he said. Twenty-one people were hospitalized after the crash with five victims in guarded condition.

    5. Azerbaijan’s leader names his wife as VP

    Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has appointed his wife as first vice president, the latest move seen as tightening the family’s grip on the oil-rich Caspian* nation.

    The appointment of Mehriban Aliyeva last week follows constitutional* changes made after a tightly managed referendum* last year that introduced the powerful position of first vice president, the second-most senior official in the country.

    Aliyeva, 52, has been an MP for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party since 2005.

    6. Man jailed for beating girlfriend to death

    A British man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his Chinese girlfriend, in the final chapter of a case that has shocked Chinese international students.

    Jordan Matthews, 24, was found guilty of beating his girlfriend Bi Xixi to death in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, in August and will have to serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars, according to Cardiff Crown Court’s ruling on February 21.

    Matthews, a pub worker, struck Bi dozens of times at their apartment after he became convinced that she had cheated on him.(SD-Agencies)