MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russia denies there is an agreement to exchange Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, serving a prison term in Russia, for Russian citizens in US jails, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"We’ve taken note of reports in a number of mass media about some plans for exchanging Oleg Sentsov, convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in Russia, for Russian citizens in US custody. We reacted to these rumors with surprise."

4 Oct 2018; AFP: Russian President Vladimir Putin headed for India on Thursday looking to tie up billions of dollars in arms deals with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely irking the US, China and Pakistan in one fell swoop.

The Kremlin said before the two-day visit by Putin and top Russian ministers that the "key feature" would be the signing of a $5-billion deal for the S-400 air defence system, despite the risk of US sanctions against countries buying Russian defence kit.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A U.S. Navy veteran in Utah was arrested Wednesday in connection with suspicious envelopes that were sent to President Donald Trump and top military chiefs.

William Clyde Allen III, 39, was taken into custody in in the small northern Utah city of Logan, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the state’s U.S. attorney’s office.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has met with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi to discuss bilateral ties, the State Department said here on Wednesday.

According to a statement of State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, Pompeo met on Tuesday with the Pakistani official, following up on their Sept. 5 discussions in Islamabad on a range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

CAPE TOWN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The South African government on Thursday welcomed the decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which orders the United States to ensure that sanctions against Iran do not affect humanitarian aid and civil aviation safety.

The ICJ, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered the United States on Wednesday to remove any impediments to the free exportation to Iran of goods required for humanitarian assistance, as well as goods and services required for the safety of civil aviation.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Visitors to New Zealand can be fined 5,000 New Zealand dollars ($3,243) for refusing to provide passwords to unlock electronic devices and allow customs officials to examine them under a new law that a civil liberties group on Thursday condemned as a grave invasion of privacy.

The law came into effect on Oct. 1 as part of an update of 22-year-old customs legislation. It also gives customs officials authority to copy data found on searched devices.

KIEV, October 4. /TASS/. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, endorsed a presidential draft law on Thursday to extend the special status of Donbass until December 31, 2019.

The draft law, which was submitted to the parliament by Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko on October 3 and marked as "urgent," was backed by a total of 245 MPs

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 4 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has nominated prominent Indian-American nuclear expert Rita Baranwal to head the nuclear energy division at the department of energy.

If approved by the Senate, Baranwal will be an assistant secretary of energy, responsible for nuclear technology research and the development and management of the department's nuclear technology infrastructure, the White House said in a statement.

New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) India on Thursday deported seven Rohingya immigrants, who have been staying in Assam illegally, to their country of origin Myanmar, in a first such move with regard to the people from the Rakhine province of the neighbouring country.

The illegal immigrants were detained in 2012 and since then they were lodged in Cachar Central Jail in Assam's Silchar.

Mumbai, Oct 4 (PTI) The BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted over 800 points in afternoon session Thursday as rupee sank to another low amid boiling crude prices, weak global cues.

The rupee plunged to a new low of 73.81 against the dollar, while the international benchmark Brent crude breached the US 86 per barrel level, nearing its four-year high.

The BSE 30-share barometer pared some losses and was trading at 616.15 points, or 1.71 per cent, lower at 35,359.48 at 1245 hrs.

The gauge had lost nearly 550 points in the previous session Wednesday.

Kaithal, Oct 4 (PTI) A 16-year-old girl has alleged that she and her mother were raped by an assistant sub-inspector rank police official in a village here last month following which police booked 18 people, including seven policemen in the case.

The victim told senior officials the main accused who was a ASI rank police official raped them at their house here last month, while other accused, including a sarpanch and former sarpanch of the village, stood outside and supported him, a senior police official said.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 4 (PTI) Pakistan wants the US to facilitate talks with India as the two nations are not engaging bilaterally, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said, warning that the absence of dialogue could lead to escalation of tension.