World News Roundup: Canada, to broaden law on medically assisted death; U.S., South Korea scaling back training over corona and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Canada government seeks to broaden law on medically assisted death

Canada's Liberal government on Monday proposed broadening a 2016 law on medically assisted death to include for the first time people who were not in immediate risk of dying. Ottawa made the announcement after a court in the province of Quebec last September said part of the law on physician-assisted suicide was too limited and should, therefore, be considered unconstitutional.

U.S., South Korea weigh scaling back training over coronavirus concerns

The U.S. and South Korean military are considering scaling back command post training due to heightened concerns about the coronavirus, the defense ministers of both countries said on Monday. "I'm sure that we will remain fully ready to deal with any threats that we will face together," U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told a news conference, standing alongside his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon.

New U.S. rule targeting poor immigrants sows fear, confusion, advocates say

The Trump administration rolled out a new immigration policy on Monday that bars people deemed likely to require government benefits such as housing and food assistance from obtaining permanent residency in the United States. Local and state officials overseeing public health and social services in New York said that some immigrants were disenrolling from certain food assistance programs and Medicare even if they might not be affected by the rule, which places new limits on eligibility for green cards.

'Namaste Trump': Modi holds huge rally for president's visit

Donald Trump was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at the opening of the world's largest cricket stadium on Monday, promising "an incredible trade deal" and "the most feared military equipment on the planet" at his biggest rally abroad. Indians wore cardboard Trump masks and "Namaste Trump" hats to welcome the U.S. president at the huge new Motera stadium in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own political homeland, the western city of Ahmedabad.

Malaysian politics in turmoil amid new coalition talk

The fate of Malaysia's ruling coalition hung in doubt on Monday after surprise weekend talks between Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's party and other groups on forming a new government that would exclude his anointed successor Anwar Ibrahim. The tussle between old rivals Mahathir, 94, and Anwar, 72, has shaped Malaysian politics for decades and tension has persisted, despite their alliance to win 2018 elections based on a promise that Mahathir would one day cede power to Anwar.

Dozens hurt as car plows into German carnival parade

A German man plowed his car into a carnival parade in the western town of Volkmarsen on Monday, injuring 30 people including children, police said, adding it was too early to say what his motive was. German prosecutors and police said the suspect, a 29-year-old German citizen, had been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide. The motive remained unclear and investigators were looking into all possibilities, they added.

U.S. considering responses to China's 'egregious' expulsion of U.S. journalists

The United States is considering a range of responses to China's "egregious act" of expelling three U.S. journalists last week, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said on Monday. Beijing said on Thursday it might take more action against the Wall Street Journal, a day after revoking the credentials of three of the U.S. newspaper's correspondents over a column that China said was racist.

Battle against coronavirus turns to Italy; Wall Street falls on pandemic fears

The coronavirus death toll climbed to seven in Italy on Monday and several Middle East countries were dealing with their first infections, sending markets into a tailspin over fears of a global pandemic even as China eased curbs with no new cases reported in Beijing and other cities. While health experts have expected limited outbreaks beyond China, the rapid acceleration of cases in Italy going from three on Friday to 220 on Monday is concerning, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

Exclusive: U.S. wants Afghan president to postpone planned inauguration 

The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to defer his second-term inauguration over concerns it could inflame an election feud with his political rival and jeopardize U.S.-led peacemaking efforts, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Ghani claimed victory last week in a disputed Sept. 28 election and plans to take the oath of office on Thursday, an Afghan official said. His opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani's former deputy, also proclaimed himself the winner and is planning a parallel inauguration, according to Afghan media reports.

Julian Assange put lives at risk, lawyer for United States says

Julian Assange is wanted for crimes that put at risk the lives of people in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan who had helped the West, some of whom later disappeared, said a lawyer acting for the United States in its bid to extradite him. Almost a decade since his WikiLeaks website enraged Washington by leaking hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. documents, Assange, 48, is fighting extradition from Britain to the United States where he is accused of espionage and hacking.

(With inputs from agencies.)