MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. An explosion wounded three people during the Communist party congress in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Deputy Vladislav Berdichevsky wrote on Telegram on Saturday.

"Three people were wounded as an unidentified device exploded at the Communist party congress," he wrote.

The Ministry of State Security of the DPR confirmed that an explosion occurred. "The fact of explosion is confirmed, task forces have responded to the scene," the Donetsk News Agency quoted the source in the ministry.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Canadian negotiators are close to reaching a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) this weekend, according to media reports.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister and chief NAFTA negotiator, has postponed a planned speech at the United Nations, as the United States and Canada are making the final push to finish the NAFTA talks, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

NEW YORK, September 30. /TASS/. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reached a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, under which he will pay a fine of $20 million and resign as Tesla board chairman, the CNBC TV channel reported on Saturday.

According to the report, Musk will retain his post as Tesla CEO, but will have to step down as Tesla board chairman within 45 days, for a period of no less than three years. Besides, Tesla and Musk will have to pay the fine of $20 million each, and two independent directors will be appointed to the company’s board.

New Delhi, September 30; GANASHAKTI: The Delhi Union of Journalists takes strong objection to the arbitrary retrenchment of 297 permanent employees by the management of the Press Trust of India.

The management has chosen to suddenly throw out staffers who have spent long years building up the country’s premier news agency and taking it to new heights. They have been summarily thrown out by putting up a list of names at the PTI office.

SOCHI, September 29. /TASS/. The threat of new sanctions motivates banks to bring more euro than dollars to the country, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Economist of Russia’s VEB development bank Andrei Klepach told TASS on Saturday.

"First, they (banks) have already brought great dollar amounts. Second, the threat of sanctions exists, though I hope that the US will not assume last resort measures. In this environment, a natural and simplest step is to transfer from payments in dollars to payments in euro," he said.

Rameswaram (TN), Sept 29 (PTI) Around 1,500 fishermen from here returned to the shores without fish catch Sunday after they were allegedly driven away by Sri Lankan Navay near Katchatheevu, a fishermen association leader said.

The fishermen, who had put out to sea Saturday in over 275 mechanised boats, were fishing near Katchatheevu when the Lankan Naval personnel in four patrol vessels allegedly snapped the fishing nets of 10 boats, Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association President P Sesuraja told reporters here.

KANPUR: In view of forthcoming Kumbh Mela on Sangam in Allahabad, the leather tanneries in Jajmau will remain closed for three months.

This order was passed to make the Ganges clean.

A decision to this effect has been taken in a meeting chaired by Kalpana Awasthi, Principal Secretary (Environment). However, the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will make the final decision, in a meeting to be held on October 5.

GAZA CITY; 29 Sep 2018; Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds have attended the funeral of an 11-year-old Palestinian boy, apparently the youngest killed by Israeli fire in six months of protests along Gaza’s perimeter fence.

Nasser Musabeh was among seven protesters who Gaza health officials say were killed by Israeli troops near the fence Friday.

Vivek Tiwari 38, an Apple executive, has been shot dead by UP police. Two constables Prashant Chowdhary and Sundeep, have been arrested.

Vivek Tiwari was travelling in his car with a colleague, Sana Khan at around 01:30 am when the incident took place.

Jakarta, Sep 29 (AFP) The death toll from Indonesia's quake and tsunami jumped to 384, the disaster agency said Saturday, as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region.

So far, it said all the deaths were recorded in tsunami-struck Palu, a day after waves 1.5 metres (five feet) high slammed into the city of 350,000 in central Sulawesi island.

New York, Sep 28 (AFP) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dismissed fears Friday that his country was seeking to overtake the United States as the pre-eminent world power, saying Beijing wants global harmony.

NEW YORK; 29 Sep 2018; (AP) — The Trump administration pressed ahead Friday with plans to create an “Arab NATO” that would unite U.S. partners in the Middle East in an anti-Iran alliance, but Qatar said the crisis among Gulf countries must be solved first.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in New York with foreign ministers from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to advance the project.