An Indonesian woman accused of the killing of the North Korean leader's half brother was released from jail in Malaysia after the prosecutor withdrew the murder charge. No reasons were given by the prosecution for its surprise decision to drop the murder case. An Indonesian diplomatic vehicle was seen taking Siti Aisyah, 27, away from the court after a judge dropped the charge.

Siti's lawyer Gooi Soon Seng said the woman was grateful that she had been freed. "She is very happy. Anyone who has been incarcerated for two years of course she cried. Tears of joy," he said. Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong, 30, was also charged with Kim's murder, but she remained in custody. The women were accused of killing Kim by smearing a toxic agent, known as VX, on his face while he was at Kuala Lumpur's airport on February 13, 2017.

British Prime Minister Theresa May secured "legally binding" changes to her Brexit deal a day ahead of MPs voting on it, according to the Cabinet Office minister. David Lidington said the changes will mean the EU "cannot try to trap the UK in the [Irish] backstop indefinitely". The opposition Labour party however questioned whether any changes had been made to the withdrawal agreement.

May flew out to the European Parliament with her Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay for last-ditch talks ahead of MPs voting on her deal Tuesday, as Dhaka Courier goes to press. In the discussions with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, two documents were agreed by all parties, which Mr Lidington said would "strengthen and improve" both the withdrawal agreement from the EU and the political declaration on the future relationship.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika postponed the April 18 presidential elections and said he will not seek a fifth term in office. President Bouteflika's candidacy had provoked mass protests across Algeria over the past few weeks. He has led Algeria for 20 years but has been rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013.

No new date for the election was set. A cabinet reshuffle will happen soon, a statement in Mr Bouteflika's name said. There was no suggestion in the announcement that the president intends to step down before a rescheduled election. Meanwhile, Algeria's Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia announced his resignation and was replaced by Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui, who has been tasked with forming a new government, the official APS news agency reported.

The US Federal Aviation Administration told airlines it believes Boeing's 737 Max 8 model to be airworthy, after two fatal crashes inside six months. In the latest accident, an Ethiopian Airlines plane en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed six minutes after take-off on March 10, killing all 157 people on board.

The announcement followed Lion Air 737 Max 8 crash in October that killed 189. Some in the aviation community have called for the aircraft to be grounded pending a full investigation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a "continued airworthiness notification" saying the plane was safe to fly. China, Indonesia, and Ethiopia ordered their airlines to ground the jet. Shares in Boeing fell by 12.9% on Monday in the wake of the crash.

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