Saudi Arabia said it was expelling the Canadian ambassador and had recalled its envoy while freezing all new trade and investments, in protest at Ottawa's calls for the release of jailed Saudi activists.

　　The kingdom slammed Canada for "interference" in its internal affairs.

　　The move, which underscores a new foreign policy led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, comes after Canada demanded the immediate release of human rights campaigners swept up in a new crackdown.

　　Canada has responded by saying it "will continue to advocate for human rights".

　　And the Canadian Press reported that Saudi Arabia is planning to withdraw 15,000 Saudi students studying on government-funded scholarships, grants and in trainee programs at Canadian universities, colleges, and other schools and transfer them to other countries such as Britain and the United States.

　　Meanwhile, Airline Saudi said it will suspend flights to and from Toronto as of next Monday.

　　For more on this, my colleague Ge Anna talked with Dr. James Dorsey, a senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University in Singapore.