Saudis expel Canadian ambassador
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia expelled Canada’s ambassador Monday and announced a freeze on “all new business” between the nations.
In a series of aggressive tweets, the Saudi Foreign Ministry gave Canadian Ambassador Dennis Horak 24 hours to leave the kingdom.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry last week called for the release of Samar Badawi, a women’s rights activist, and her brother, Raif Badawi, a blogger imprisoned for a website critical of the country’s religious establishment.
Fuel truck explosion
MILAN — A tanker truck exploded Monday on a highway near Bologna, Italy, killing two people and injuring up to 70, police said.
Officials said they did not know yet what was in the truck’s tanks, but Italian news agency ANSA reported it was liquefied petroleum gas.
The explosion reportedly came after a traffic accident. Videos showed flames shooting in the air after the explosion, replaced later by a thick black cloud of smoke.
Hiroshima anniversary
TOKYO— Hiroshima marked the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bomb with a somber ceremony to remember those killed and injured that day.
Mayor Kazumi Matsui raised concerns in his address Monday about nuclear deterrence as a threat to global security. He urged leaders toward a world without atomic weapons.
The U.S. bombing killed 140,000 in Hiroshima. The Nagasaki bombing killed 70,000 days later, with Japan soon surrendering to end World War II.
Chaos in Bangladesh
NEW DELHI — Authorities in Bangladesh said Monday they are investigating an attack on a car carrying U.S. Ambassador Marcia Bernicat.
Motorcyclists targeted Ms. Bernicat’s car in Dhaka on Saturday as she returned from dinner at the home of a social activist, the embassy said. She escaped unharmed.
An embassy spokeswoman stressed that the attack was unrelated to protests over Dhaka’s road safety. Over the past few days, students have protested traffic management in Dhaka. The protests turned violent over the weekend.
Authorities arrested photographer Shahidul Alam after he said on TV that the government was using “brute force” to maintain power.
More than 40 people were injured Monday.
European heat wave
LISBON, Portugal — Emergency services in Portugal continued their fight Monday against a wildfire that threatened to engulf a hillside town.
The Civil Protection Agency said 44 people required medical assistance as the blaze passed Monchique, 155 miles south of Lisbon.
A 72-year-old woman was seriously hurt.
More than 1,100 firefighters with 327 vehicles and eight aircraft battled the blaze that erupted amid a heat wave caused by hot air from Africa.
In France, where four nuclear reactors have been temporarily closed due to the heat, three cities banned the most polluting cars from the roads because of heat-linked ozone pollution.
The heat wave is expected to last until Thursday, peaking Tuesday.