India tells Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official says

TORONTO (AP) — India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official familiar with the matter said Tuesday, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.

The official, who confirmed an earlier report from the Financial Times, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Barring Huawei out of Portugal "unreasonable": Portuguese-Chinese chamber

LISBON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Board of Directors and Strategic Council of the Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCILC) on Monday condemned the exclusion of China's telecommunications giant Huawei from Portugal's 5G market as "unreasonable" and potentially damaging the long-standing friendship between Portugal and China.

Russia says its air defenses shot down Ukrainian Neptune missile near Crimea

MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/: Russian air defenses have detected and destroyed a Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile over the northwestern part of the Black Sea near Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"At about 8:30 p.m. Moscow time on October 3, success was accomplished in stopping an attempt by the Kiev regime to perpetrate a terrorist attack with a Neptune anti-ship missile on facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.

USA: Michigan school shooter’s parents cleared to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday that cleared the way for the parents of a teenager who fatally shot four students at Oxford High School to face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

James and Jennifer Crumbley are accused of making a gun accessible to Ethan Crumbley and ignoring his mental health needs. The state appeals court said in March that the couple could face trial, and the Supreme Court let that decision stand in a one-sentence order.

US Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas is carjacked by three armed attackers about a mile from the Capitol

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar was carjacked by three armed attackers but was unharmed, the Texas Democrat’s office said.

Cuellar’s chief of staff Jacob Hochberg released a statement Monday night saying: “As Congressman Cuellar was parking his car this evening, 3 armed assailants approached the Congressman and stole his vehicle. Luckily, he was not harmed and is working with local law enforcement.”

Hochberg said police recovered Cuellar’s vehicle.

USA: Florida man who murdered women he met in bars set to die by lethal injection

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man is scheduled to die by lethal injection over 25 years after he killed women het met in north Florida bars during a dayslong spate of crimes.

Michael Zack III is set to die at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the murder of Ravonne Smith, a bar employee he befriended and later beat and stabbed with an oyster knife in June 1996. He was also convicted and separately sentenced to life in prison for murdering Laura Rosillo, who he met at a bar in a nearby county.

Canada wants private talks with India to resolve diplomatic spat

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Canada wants private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday, after a report said India had asked the country to withdraw 41 diplomats.

India has told Canada that it must repatriate the diplomats by Oct. 10, according to the Financial Times. Neither Joly nor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded when asked if the report was accurate.

Iran's Khamenei says normalising Israel ties is a losing bet - state media

DUBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that countries seeking to normalise relations with Israel "are betting on a losing horse", state media reported on Tuesday.

Khamenei did not identify the countries, but expectations that Israel might normalize ties with Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam's two holiest shrines, have been ratcheted up this month.

Thailand shooting: teenage suspect arrested after two killed at luxury mall

BANGKOK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Thai police arrested a teenage gunman suspected of killing two foreigners and wounding five people on Tuesday in a shooting spree at a luxury Bangkok mall, the latest high-profile gun violence to rock the country in recent years.

Hundreds of people, including children, were seen screaming and racing into the streets after gunshots rang out at the Siam Paragon mall, a major shopping and entertainment venue popular with tourists in Bangkok's crowded commercial heart.

Saudi Arabia Hosted China-Arab Publishing Cooperation Forum

RIYADH, Oct 3 (NNN-SPA) – The China-Arab States Publishing Cooperation and Exchange Forum was held yesterday, in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.

Under the theme of “Deepening China-Arab Publishing Cooperation and Exchanges, Promoting Mutual Learning between Chinese and Arab Civilisations,” publishers from China and Arab countries reviewed their cooperation in translation, publishing, copyright trade, book fair platforms and online publishing.

USA: The Army is launching a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting to reverse enlistment shortfalls

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is launching a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting to focus more on young people who have spent time in college or are job hunting early in their careers, as it scrambles to reverse years of enlistment shortfalls.

A major part of this is the formation of a new professional force of recruiters instead of relying on soldiers randomly assigned to the task.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, in an interview with The Associated Press, said some of the changes will begin in the next 90 days but a wholesale transformation will take years.

Belgium: Billions in frozen funds for Hungary on table as EU seeks Ukraine support

BRUSSELS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The European Union is considering unlocking billions of euros for Hungary that were frozen over rule-of-law concerns as it seeks to win Budapest's approval for aid to Ukraine including a start to membership talks for Kyiv, senior officials said.

Hungary cultivates closer ties with Russia than other EU states, and is seen as the key potential opponent to a decision due in December on whether to open accession talks with Kyiv, which would require unanimous backing of the union's 27 members.

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