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Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake Jolts Greek Island of Crete

A strong earthquake jolted the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday, two weeks and a day after another temblor killed a man and damaged hundreds of buildings.

The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the undersea earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and occurred at 12:24 p.m. local time (9:24 a.m. GMT) off the island's eastern coast.

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Iran Arrests 10 It Says Spied for Foreign Intel Agencies

Iran has arrested 10 people in a southern province it says are linked to foreign intelligence services, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.

The report said Iran's intelligence agency arrested the 10 after "sophisticated and continuous" surveillance in Bushehr province. It didn't name the countries the suspects were linked to.

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Israel's New PM to Meet with Putin in Sochi, Russia

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will for the first time as premier meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month, with Iran at the top of the agenda.

Bennett will travel Oct. 22 to meet Putin in the seaside resort city of Sochi, Russia, to discuss political, security and economic issues, including the Iran nuclear program. Israel and Russia have long kept the diplomatic door open.

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Qatar Diplomat Emphasizes Engagement with Taliban at Forum

Qatar's diplomatic point man on Afghanistan said Tuesday countries should engage the country's new Taliban rulers, warning that isolation could lead to instability and a wide-reaching security threat, as happened when al-Qaida used the country as a base to plot the 9/11 attacks.

Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani, Qatar's special envoy for counterterrorism and mediation in conflict resolution, said he's held conversations with the Taliban about combating terrorism. The Taliban, he said, are committed to fighting the Islamic State group, which is increasingly active in Afghanistan, and ensuring the country is not used by terrorist organizations. The sides have also discussed pressing issues related to the role of women in society, girls' access to education and the importance of an inclusive government.

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World Shares Fall as Pricier Energy Feeds Inflation Fears

World shares retreated on Tuesday as surging prices of oil, coal and other energy added to concerns over inflation.

Benchmarks fell in Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Oil prices extended gains, having closed above $80 per barrel in New York after trading briefly above $81 per barrel on Monday for the first time in seven years.

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Hurricane Ida in Louisiana: Caskets, Vaults Still Displaced

Hurricane Ida swept through Louisiana with furious winds that ripped roofs off buildings and storm surge so powerful it moved homes. What it wrought on the living it also wrought on the dead, moving vaults and caskets and adding another layer of trauma for families and communities recovering from the powerful storm.

"Once you bury a relative, you expect that to be the permanent resting place," said the Rev. Haywood Johnson Jr., who lives in the small community of Ironton, south of New Orleans along the Mississippi River. Ida's surge destroyed nearly every home in the community and pushed heavy vaults — including those containing Johnson's mother and other relatives — from their resting spots into the streets.

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China Pledges $230 Million for Biodiversity Fund at U.N. Meet

China on Tuesday pledged about $230 million to establish a fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries.

President Xi Jinping, speaking by video to a U.N. conference in the southwest Chinese city of Kunming, said that China would put in 1.5 billion yuan and called on other countries to contribute to the Kunming Biodiversity Fund.

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Croatia Held by Slovakia as Russia Tops Qualifying Group

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric scored from a free kick to salvage a 2-2 draw with Slovakia as Russia moved to the top of Europe Group H in World Cup qualifying on Monday.

Dropping points means 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia is likely to need a win over Russia next month to qualify automatically for next year's World Cup in Qatar. Neither team can finish lower than second, ensuring them of at least a spot in the playoffs.

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Germany Qualifies for 2022 World Cup with 4-0 Win in Skopje

Germany is the first country to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after booking its place on Monday with an error-strewn 4-0 win in North Macedonia.

Kai Havertz broke the deadlock in the 50th minute before Chelsea clubmate Timo Werner's quickfire double helped Germany atone for its surprise 2-1 loss to North Macedonia in Duisburg in March – the only blip in an otherwise perfect qualifying campaign with seven wins from eight games in Europe Group J.

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Scientists Urge Speedy Switch to Renewables in Middle East

A climate change conference will underscore to policymakers in the Middle East and the east Mediterranean that the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is needed urgently because greenhouse gas emissions are helping to drive up regional temperatures faster than in many other inhabited parts of the world.

George Zittis, a scientist at the Cyprus Institute's Climate and Atmosphere Research Center, said that although this "can't happen overnight" because of the region's heavy dependency on fossil fuels for energy production, governments have to make the switch within the next two decades to avert potentially "irreversible effects" such as desertification.

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