Australia Advocates Greater Representation, Backs India as Permanent UNSC Member

At the United Nations General Assembly, the Australian Foreign Minister stressed for greater permanent and non-permanent representation for Asia.  Calling for Security Council reforms, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong backed India and Japan to be made permanent members of the UNSC.  Earlier, the Portuguese President had also backed India and Brazil to be given permanent membership of a reformed Security Council.  during the G20 summit Turkish President had also made an endorsement of India’s bid for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.  Notably, reforms in the global…

Canadian Defence Minister calls relations with India “important”, but allegations should be investigated

Last week, Justin Trudeau made the explosive charge that “Indian government agents” could be behind the shooting of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.  India rejected the allegation as “absurd”.   Canada has shared no specific information regarding its charges, India said, flagging “politically condoned hate crimes and criminal violence” in that country.   The Canadian Defence Minister called the relationship with India “important,” but asserted that allegations over the killing of a Khalistani terrorist should be investigated.  Top US diplomat David Cohen claimed that it was the “shared intelligence among…

From poster boy to unpopular: Trudeau’s popularity dips as poll puts Poilievre as the preferred choice for Canada PM

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is losing popularity.  The poll gives an indication that Conservatives have a high chance of getting a majority to form the government in the next elections in 2025.  40 percent of Canadians want to see opposition leader Pierre Poilievre as the Prime Minister  According to an Ipsos poll, 30 percent voted for Justin Trudeau  Meanwhile, another survey in July revealed that Trudeau is considered the worst Prime Minister in 50 years.  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is losing popularity. A recent poll by Ipsos found…

India’s Sharp Counter as Canada Sticks to Its Charge, Trudeau Avoids Indian Media Questions At UN

The government has sought the downsizing of Canada’s diplomatic presence in India amid a crisis that blew up over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s charge that India got a Khalistani terrorist killed in their country. Justin Trudeau today repeated his charge that “Indian government agents” were involved in the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was a wanted terrorist in India. He said there are “credible reasons to believe” so, but did not give any evidence.  India has angrily rejected the allegation and flagged “politically condoned…

Gangster wanted in Punjab shot dead in Canada

Punjab-origin NIA-wanted gangster Sukhdool Singh shot dead in Canada  Sukhdool Singh, alias Duneke, was part of the Khalistan movement in Canada.  Sukhdool, an associate of the Devinder Bambiha Gang in Punjab, escaped to Canada in 2017 on forged documents.  He was booked in seven criminal cases at that time, the police allegedly mentioned only five cases and skipped the two in which he was declared a proclaimed offender.  On Wednesday, his name was found among the list of 43 gangsters released by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which sought information…

Diplomatic relations between India-Canada reached a new low: ‘Anti-India activities, hate crimes, criminal violence

India issues tit-for-tat travel advisory for Canada.  Ratcheting up diplomatic tension with Ottawa, India, cited “politically condoned violence” and issued a travel advisory for all Indian nationals in Canada.   Apart from the nosediving bilateral relations Canada-India ties have also been affected by the ongoing online activities by Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu.  The ongoing spat began after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday made unprecedented allegations against India while speaking in the House of Commons.  Responding to that India also expelled a senior Canadian diplomat on Tuesday…

Russian peacekeepers evacuate 2,000 civilians from breakaway Armenian-controlled region

Azerbaijan began its “anti-terrorist” operation.  Russian peacekeepers have evacuated more than 2,000 civilians from Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region controlled by ethnic Armenians.  A former top official in the ethnic Armenian administration said close to 100 people had been killed and hundreds more injured in the breakaway region.  Russian losses ‘significantly increased’ in recent days  The US-based think tank said the Russian military “likely struggles with a lack of available combat effective units that the Russian command is willing to laterally redeploy to this sector of the front.”  A diesel fuel…

Turkish President Raises Kashmir Issue During UN General Assembly Address

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue of Kashmir during his address to world leaders at the high-level 78th session of the UN General Assembly session here.  Erdogan said it was a matter of pride that India was playing a role at the United Nations Security Council.   He said he favored making five permanent and 15 “temporary” members as permanent members of the UN Security Council.  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comment comes weeks after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit…

What is the Khalistan movement and why is it fuelling the India-Canada rift? 

The Khalistan movement wants an independent Sikh state carved out of India and dates back to India and Pakistan’s independence in 1947.  The Sikh religion was founded in Punjab in the late 15th century and currently has about 25 million followers worldwide.  Sikhs form a majority of Punjab’s population but are a minority in India, comprising 2% of its population of 1.4 billion.  The Khalistan movement is considered a security threat by the Indian government. The bloodiest episode in the conflict between the government and Sikh separatists occurred in 1984. …

Biden lauds the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and the issue of expanding the UN Security Council at UNGA

President Joe Biden lauds the newly announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor at UNGA 2023.  The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will consist of two separate corridors, the East corridor connecting India to West Asia/Middle East and the Northern corridor connecting West Asia/Middle East to Europe.  While highlighting US efforts to maximize collective investment to deliver consequential results across multiple countries and multiple sectors, Biden made reference to the rail port project.  President Joe Biden said the project will spur opportunities for investment across two continents.  At the G20 Summit, India, the…