Canada gathers allies as tensions rise with India over Sikh leader’s murder

A banner with the image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple, site of his June 2023 killing, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 20, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 21 September 2023
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Canada gathers allies as tensions rise with India over Sikh leader’s murder

  • Trudeau’s rare attack just days after Delhi hosted G20 Summit is putting Western nations in awkward position
  • Britain has refused to publicly criticize India, White House encourages India to cooperate with investigation

OTTAWA: Canada this week divulged it had intelligence possibly linking Indian government agents to the murder of a separatist Sikh leader, the kind of news that usually sparks uproar among democratic allies. Not this time.

India is being courted by the United States and others as a counterweight to China, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s rare attack just days after New Delhi hosted a G20 Summit is putting Western nations in an awkward position.

“India is important in Western calculations for balancing China, and Canada is not,” said Stephanie Carvin, a professor of international relations at Ottawa’s Carleton University.

“This really does put Canada offside among all other Western countries,” she said.

Trudeau announced on Monday that Canada was “actively pursuing credible allegations” that Indian agents had potentially been involved in the murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

At that point Ottawa had already been discussing the matter with key allies such as the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

The results so far have been muted. Britain refused to publicly criticize India and said bilateral trade talks will continue as planned. Indeed, a statement from Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about the affair did not mention India by name.

Britain is in a difficult position, caught between supporting Canada and antagonizing India, a country it wants as a trading partner and ally to help confront China, said Chietigj Bajpaee, India expert at the Chatham House think tank in London.

“Short of there being any definitive evidence of India’s involvement, I think the UK response is likely to remain muted,” he said. A free trade deal would be a “major political win” for both India and Britain, Bajpaee said.

'WAITING GAME'

White House national security adviser John Kirby said the United States was “deeply concerned” and encouraged Indian officials to cooperate in any investigation. India rejects the idea it was involved in the murder.

The Washington Post reported Trudeau had pushed for a joint statement condemning India at last week’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi and was turned down by the United States and others.

Kirby said “any reports that we rebuffed Canada in any way whatsoever are false, and we will continue to coordinate and consult with them on this.”

The muted response to Trudeau’s allegations is stark when compared to the uproar after Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by nerve agent in England in 2018. Britain, the United States, Canada and others threw out more than 100 Russian diplomats to punish Moscow for an attack it has always denied carrying out.

“Our Five Eyes partners are understandably reluctant to really wade into this, given everybody’s interest in advancing ties with India, in the context of the ongoing tension with China,” said Wesley Wark of the Center for International Governance Innovation think tank in Waterloo, Ontario.

“It’s a bit of a waiting game. If the Canadians come up with very solid evidence about egregious Indian state involvement in an assassination attempt, I think we’ll hear more from our allies in support,” he said.

With allies unwilling to contemplate any kind of joint condemnation of India, the Canadian options now look limited, at least until it can provide incontrovertible evidence.

“If we don’t get our allies to support this, either publicly or privately, Canada’s not going to be able to do a great deal to move India,” said Richard Fadden, former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

“And I think the greatest thing we can aspire to in the short term or the medium term is to get India not to do this again,” he told CTV.

Canadian government sources indicated they would have preferred to wait longer before making a statement but felt they had to act, given some domestic media outlets were about to break the story.

Trudeau would have never spoken “out loud if we didn’t have the information lining up into a fact base,” said one source, adding that they hoped more information would come soon.

Canada has not made public the intelligence it has because there is an active murder investigation, the senior source said.

“On the cusp of the global opportunity for India, they absolutely need to handle this responsibly — for their own interests,” the source said.


Taliban delegation visits Japan in rare trip outside region

Updated 1 sec ago
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Taliban delegation visits Japan in rare trip outside region

  • The Taliban government makes regular visits to neighboring and regional countries
KABUL: A Taliban government delegation was visiting Japan for the first time on Monday, in a rare diplomatic visit outside of the region.
The Afghan delegation left Kabul on Saturday, in a visit that local media said would last one week and included officials from the higher education, foreign affairs, and economy ministries.
“We seek dignified interaction with the world for a strong, united, advanced, prosperous, developed Afghanistan and to be an active member of the international community,” Latif Nazari, a deputy minister at the ministry of economy who is part of the delegation, tweeted on Saturday.
The Taliban government makes regular visits to neighboring and regional countries, including in Central Asia, Russia and China.
However, it has only officially visited Europe for diplomacy summits in Norway in 2022 and 2023.
Japan’s embassy in Kabul temporarily relocated to Qatar after the fall of the previous foreign-backed government and the takeover by the Taliban in 2021.
However, it has since reopened and resumed diplomatic and humanitarian activities in the country.

North Korea’s Kim makes rare visit to father’s tomb, says devoted to ‘sacred struggle’

Updated 12 min 17 sec ago
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North Korea’s Kim makes rare visit to father’s tomb, says devoted to ‘sacred struggle’

  • Kim Jong Il’s birthday, which falls on February 16, is widely celebrated as a major holiday in North Korea
  • The Kim dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War Two

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid his respect at a family mausoleum to mark the birthday of his late father and former leader Kim Jong Il, state media KCNA said on Monday, pledging to continue the “sacred struggle” for prosperity and security.
Kim Jong Il’s birthday, which falls on February 16, is widely celebrated as a major holiday in North Korea, called the Day of the Shining Star.
But it was the first time in four years that the young Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of Sun in the capital Pyongyang, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, for the anniversary.
Accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, his sister and a senior ruling Workers’ Party official, among other aides, Kim Jong Un paid homage “in the humblest reverence,” KCNA said.
“He expressed his solemn will to devote himself to the sacred struggle for the eternal prosperity of the country, the security of the people and the promotion of their well-being,” it said.
The Kim dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War Two and has sought to strengthen their grip on power by building cults of personality around them, though Kim Jong Un has shown signs of increasingly trying to stand more on his own feet without relying on his predecessors.
In another dispatch, KCNA said Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for the final phase of his pet project to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang.
The ambitious initiative was launched in 2021 as part of Kim’s five-year plan to boost the economy, and designed to distribute at least 10,000 new apartments in Pyongyang each year, though some analysts have questioned its feasibility amid international sanctions and economic woes.
Photos and a video released by KCNA showed Kim receiving thunderous applause from thousands of people many wearing protective helmets attending the ceremony, against a backdrop showing images of modern apartments and high-rises.
Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesperson for South Korea’s unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, said North Korea appears to be focusing on producing tangible outcomes by mobilizing manpower and material where they can relatively easily make progress, such as housing construction.
During the ceremony, Kim lauded construction workers and officials for achieving nearly 400 percent progress last year compared to 2020, and pledged another plan to continue expanding the city.
The project would “usher in a new era of prosperity of Pyongyang in which the ideal streets of the people to be proud of in the world are built every year,” KCNA said.


Trump attends the Daytona 500 and says the spirit of NASCAR will ‘fuel America’s Golden Age’

Updated 17 February 2025
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Trump attends the Daytona 500 and says the spirit of NASCAR will ‘fuel America’s Golden Age’

  • “Daytona 500 is a timeless tribute to the speed, strength and unyielding spirit that make America great,” Trump said in a message on Sunday
  • During his Jan. 20 inaugural address, Trump said that “the golden age of America begins right now”

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: Donald Trump, attending Sunday’s Daytona 500, for the second time as president, called the opening event of the NASCAR series a unifying event that possesses a spirit that will “fuel America’s Golden Age” — which he has said would happen under his leadership.
In a presidential message released as he flew to Daytona Beach, Florida, Trump said the Daytona 500 brings together people from all walks of life in a “shared passion for speed, adrenaline and the thrill of the race.”
“From the roar of the engines on the track to the echo of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ soaring through the stands, the Daytona 500 is a timeless tribute to the speed, strength and unyielding spirit that make America great,” Trump said. “That spirit is what will fuel America’s Golden Age, and if we harness it, the future is truly ours.”
Trump said in his Jan. 20 inaugural address that “the golden age of America begins right now.”
Air Force One buzzed the Daytona International Speedway before it landed. Trump traveled from West Palm Beach, Florida, airport with several guests, including his son Eric, his wife, grandson Luke, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and his wife, Kathryn, the White House said. Several members of Congress are traveled with Trump.
His motorcade arrived at the speedway by driving onto a portion of the track. Trump’s limousine later led drivers on two ceremonial laps and he went on the radio to urge them to have fun and be safe.
“This is your favorite president. I’m a big fan. I am a really big fan of you people. How you do this I don’t know, but I just want you to be safe,” Trump said. “You’re talented people and you’re great people and great Americans. Have a good day, have a lot of fun and I’ll see you later.”
Trump was at the race in 2020 while running for a second term. He was given the honor of being grand marshal of NASCAR’s biggest and most prestigious event of the year and delivered the command for drivers to start their engines. Air Force One did a flyover and his limousine drove on the speedway back then, too.
Sunday’s race got underway in front of a sold-out crowd but was halted about an hour later after eight laps because of heavy rain that was expected to cause a lengthy delay. The sport’s fans are seen as leaning conservative and many in the stands on Sunday wore red caps that said “MAGA” for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. Trump, who watched the race from a suite, also wore a MAGA cap.
Trump, a sports fan, left the race during the rain delay but slightly ahead of when he was scheduled to depart. He is an avid golfer and attends college football games and UFC matches.
Last weekend, the Republican made history as the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl.


In Ukraine, a potential arms-for-minerals deal inspires hope and skepticism

Updated 17 February 2025
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In Ukraine, a potential arms-for-minerals deal inspires hope and skepticism

  • Ukraine has vast reserves of ilmenite — a key element used to produce titanium — along the country’s embattled east
  • Much of it, as with all of Ukraine’s critical minerals industry, is underdeveloped because of war as well as onerous state policies

KIROVOHRAD REGION, Ukraine: The mineral ilmenite is extracted from mounds of sand deep in the earth and refined using a method that summons the force of gravity, resulting in a substance that glimmers like a moonlit sky.
Ukraine boasts vast reserves of ilmenite — a key element used to produce titanium — in the heavy mineral sands that stretch for miles along the country’s embattled east.
Much of it, as with all of Ukraine’s critical minerals industry, is underdeveloped because of war as well as onerous state policies.
That is poised to change if US President Donald Trump’s administration agrees to a deal with Ukraine to exchange critical minerals for continued American military aid.
In the central region of Kirovohrad, the ilmenite open-pit mine is a canyon of precious deposits that its owner is keen to develop with US companies. But many unknowns stand in the way of turning these riches into profit: cost, licensing terms and whether such a deal will be underpinned by security guarantees.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that he did not permit his ministers to sign a mineral resource agreement with the US because the current version is not “ready to protect us, our interests.”
Ukrainian businessmen with knowledge of the minerals industry also privately expressed skepticism about whether a deal is viable. The capital-intensive industry is unlikely to yield results in years, if not decades, as geological data is either limited or classified. Many question what conditions American companies are willing to risk to build up the industry and whether existing Ukrainian policies that have so far deterred local businessmen will accommodate foreign investors.
“The main thing we can gain is certain security guarantees obtained through economic means, so that someone stronger than us has an interest in protecting us,” said Andriy Brodsky, CEO of Velta, a leading titanium mining company in Ukraine.
The question of security guarantees
A deal, which would essentially barter one resource for another, could help strengthen Kyiv’s relationship with the Trump administration.
The United States is a major consumer of critical raw earth minerals such as lithium and gallium, two elements that Ukraine has in proven reserves. Trump has specifically mentioned rare earth elements, but these are not well researched, industry experts told The Associated Press.
Titanium, used in aerospace, defense and industry, is also high in demand and the US is a leading importer of ilmenite. Sourcing the minerals from Ukraine would reduce future reliance on Russia and China.
In exchange, Kyiv would continue to receive a steady stream of American weaponry that offers leverage against Moscow and without which Ukraine cannot ward off future Russian aggression in the event of a ceasefire.
The question of security guarantees is a sticking point for companies, Ukrainian businessmen and analysts said. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously to describe private conversations, told the AP that US companies expressed interest in investing but needed to ensure their billions will be safeguarded in the event of renewed conflict. But once invested in Ukraine, the presence of American business interests alone might act as a guarantee, Brodsky said.
“If this process starts, it will continue,” Brodsky said. “Once the investment figures exceed hundreds of billions, the Americans, a highly pragmatic people, will protect their profits earned on Ukrainian soil. They will defend their interests against Russia, China, Korea, Iran and anyone else. They will protect what they consider theirs.”
Growing American interest
Brodsky, who just returned from a trip to Washington and New York, said the conversation among US businesses is changing in Kyiv’s favor.
“A lot of people in very serious and wealthy offices are saying that now, we — our country and my company — are in the right place and doing exactly what needs to be done at this moment,” he said.
Velta has worked with American partners for many years. Brodsky has begun negotiating with companies he believes could be a partner in the event of a deal.
Ukraine has never been attractive to foreign investors because of prohibitive government policies — not offering incentives to attract foreigners, for instance. Brodsky believes that international companies will need to pair up with local partners to flourish.
American companies have several ways to enter the market, explained Ksenia Orynchak, director of the National Association of Extractive Industries of Ukraine, but would require traversing “certain circles of hell” in Ukraine’s bureaucracy. Teaming up with an existing Ukrainian license owner is possibly the most straightforward.
She said more exploration is needed in the field and hinted existing data may have been acquired through ulterior motives. Under the Soviet system, geologists stood to gain if they claimed to have found large reserves.
“Someone did it so that Moscow would praise Ukrainian geologists or Soviet geologists,” she said.
She advises American investors to lower existing thresholds for exploration because bidding can take place in areas where reserves are only presumed, not proven.
“I believe, and so does the expert community, that this is not right. In fact, we are selling a pig in a poke,” she said.
A historically untapped sector
At the extraction site, the air is dense with ilmenite dust. When the afternoon sun’s rays pierce the darkened space, they sparkle and dance in the air. The soot covers the faces of workers who spend hours inside every day extracting the precious material from sand.
The gravity separation method removes unwanted elements in the ore and water separated from the mineral rains down through metal-lined floors. Workers are used to getting wet and don’t bat an eye. Titanium is developed from the purified ilmenite at a different facility.
Velta began in the form of an expired license for geological exploration and a business plan for $7 million when Brodsky acquired the company. It would be eight years and many millions more invested before he could even think about production capacity.
The deal also does not factor in a crucial element that could prove challenging later: The position of Ukrainian people themselves. According to the Constitution, the subsoil where extraction would take place belongs to Ukraine.
“I am very afraid that they (Ukrainian people) already had disapproving reviews, that everything is being given away. Who allowed him? He had no right? And so on,” Orynchak said.
Those sensitivities were echoed among workers at the Velta mine. Speaking anonymously to voice his true thoughts, one said: “If you have a vegetable garden in your home, do you invite a foreigner to take it?”
The high risk often is a key reason that some Ukrainian businessmen privately express skepticism about the deal.
When one businessman of a major group of companies heard about the arms-for-minerals deal, his first impression was: “This is just hot air,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely about his thoughts. “This is a very capital intensive industry. Just to take ground from an open pit will cost you billions. Not millions, billions.”


Canadian warship in Taiwan Strait ‘undermines peace’, says China

Updated 17 February 2025
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Canadian warship in Taiwan Strait ‘undermines peace’, says China

  • The US and its allies regularly pass through the 180-km strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China
  • Beijing views aiwan as a renegade province and claims jurisdiction over the body of water that separates the island from the Chinese mainland

BEIJING: A Canadian warship passing through the Taiwan Strait “undermines peace” in the sensitive waterway, China’s military said Monday.
Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province and claims jurisdiction over the body of water that separates the island from the Chinese mainland.
The Canadian vessel passed through the strait on Sunday and was the first to do so this year, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said, coming days after two US ships made the passage.
Canada’s actions “deliberately stir up trouble and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Li Xi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said in a statement.

The army had dispatched its naval and air forces to monitor and guard the passage of the ship, Li said, adding that the troops will “resolutely counter all threats and provocations.”
The United States and its allies regularly pass through the 180-kilometer (112-mile) strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.
A US destroyer and an ocean survey ship traveled through the strait starting on February 10, drawing criticism from China’s military, which said it sent the “wrong signal and increased security risks.”
Washington’s latest passage through the strait was the first since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
Taiwan’s defense ministry, meanwhile, said it recorded 41 Chinese aircraft and nine warships near the island in the 24 hours to 6:00 am on Monday.
Beijing has never ruled Taiwan, but it claims the democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to bring it under its control by force.