KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president announced a partial call-up of reservists for training amid tensions with Russia, saying Monday that the country needs to beef up its defenses to counter the threat of a Russian invasion.

The Kremlin dismissed the Ukrainian leader’s statement as an “absurd” attempt to inflame tensions.

Ukraine has also accused Russia of blockading its ports on the Sea of Azov and urged Germany and other Western allies to boost their naval presence in the Black Sea to help deter Russia from further aggression.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The man with ties to the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Prize in literature lost his appeal Monday to have his rape conviction and a two-year prison sentence reversed and instead was convicted of a second rape.

The Svea Court of Appeal on Monday gave Jean-Claude Arnault 2 ½ years in jail for raping the same woman twice seven years ago.

3 Dec 2018; AFP: Anti-establishment leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed a "deep and radical" change in Mexico as he assumed the country's presidency Saturday, five months after winning a landslide election victory.

The leader, widely known by his initials as "AMLO," took the oath of office and donned the presidential sash before Congress -- where the coalition led by the upstart party he founded four years ago, Morena, now has strong majorities in both houses.

3 Dec 2018; DW: At least 75 gas stations have run out of fuel due to blockades at major depots, French energy giant Total said. The situation is likely to get worse if protests don't stop soon, according to officials.

French gas giant Total on Monday said "yellow vest" protesters continue to block 11 major fuel depots, resulting in 75 gas stations running out of fuel.

ABOARD A US MILITARY PLANE (AP) — The Trump administration is urging Europe to impose tough new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program.

The call comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to meet European officials in Brussels this week and after the U.S. and others condemned an Iranian missile launch over the weekend.

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) Just days after retiring, former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph has dropped a bombshell claiming ex-Chief Justice Dipak Misra was "remote-controlled by an external source", an explosive accusation that, he said, impacted the administration of justice.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — Three astronauts successfully blasted off Monday to the International Space Station from Kazakhstan, a perfect launch that follows October’s aborted mission.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency and Oleg Kononenko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos lifted off as scheduled at 5:31 p.m. (1131 GMT; 6:31 a.m. EST) Monday from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Jaipur, Dec 3 (PTI) Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said Monday he would file a defamation case against a television channel for allegedly running a fake video about slogans purportedly in support of Pakistan during his rally in Rajasthan's Alwar district two days ago.

He said the slogans were of 'jo bole so nihaal' and was shown as in favour of Pakistan in the video.

"I am going to file a defamation case after consulting with my lawyer. I cannot compromise with the name I have earned," he told reporters at the Congress office here.

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The Congress on Monday hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over violence in Buland shahr, saying it was the worst kind of failure of law and order and he should set his own house in order before "gallivanting" around the country for campaigning in elections.

A police inspector and a youth were killed on Monday as a mob protesting over illegal cow slaughter went on a rampage torching a police post and clashing with police, which opened fire.

GENEVA (AP) — A U.N. agency says China has issued the most international patent applications for an eighth straight year, showing the country’s heft in intellectual property amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s accusation that the growing Asia power steals it.

The World Intellectual Property Organization said Monday that innovators around the world filed a record 3.17 million patents last year, an annual increase of nearly 6 percent.

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) Reiterating its allegation of mass deletion of names of voters in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Monday it will soon start a "door-to-door" programme to urge people to ensure that their names, if deleted, are added to the voters' list.

AAP leader Atishi claimed the names of nearly 30 lakh voters were deleted and a majority of them belonged to traders, minorities and Purvanchali communities settled in the city. "AAP workers will contact people door to door to get their names added in the voters' list," she said.

Gadwal/Tandur (T'gana), Dec 3 (PTI) Mounting a blistering attack on Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the prime minister and the ruling BJP of posing a threat to the country, claiming that they "spread hatred and anger".