European Union

Thirteen candidates are running for office in the presidential elections in Slovakia. Polls put lawyer Zuzana Čaputová of the Progressive Slovakia party and the independent EU commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, from ex-prime minister Robert Fico's ruling party, in the lead. Commentators take a closer look at the candidates ahead of the vote on Saturday.

In Istanbul the police in Istanbul put a stop to a peaceful demonstration on International Women's Day with tear gas. President Erdoğan has answered criticism with the counter-accusation that the marchers tried to drown out the call to prayer with calls and whistles. Will the debate further divide the country?

A growing number of countries and airlines are grounding Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft after the second crash within six months of a plane from this series in Ethiopia on the weekend. Air travel experts suspect a software error is to blame. Boeing has announced plans to fix the problem with an update. How safe is the technology?

"The risk of no deal has never been higher," EU negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday, commenting on the House of Commons' rejection of UK prime minister Theresa May's Brexit deal. Speaking to MEPs in Strasbourg, Barnier repeated no different deal was possible. Pro-Brexit MEP Nigel Farage urged EU leaders, were the UK to ask for an extension of the negotiation period beyond 29 March, to veto such a request.

The likelihood the UK will leave the EU on 29 March has faded after Tuesday's failed vote, but no one can say how much longer and on what terms it will stay in.