Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay in shock after terror threat to Israeli tourists

Israeli travellers told to evacuate area immediately as police set up patrols and roadblocks

The golden sands of Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay are usually carefree, a place for tourists to surf the famous break and relax on the beach.

But last week, the slow rhythm of the bay was dealt a shock. The US embassy, followed up by Sri Lankan police and Israel’s national security council, warned of a serious terrorist threat in the area. Israeli travellers were believed to be the intended target of a planned attack and were told to evacuate immediately. Hundreds of police and senior intelligence officials descended on the small coastal town, setting up patrols and road blocks.

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Putin calls for alternative international payment system at Brics summit

Russian president’s goal to de-dollarize world economy alarms members that do not want bloc to turn against west

Vladimir Putin has opened the expanded Brics summit by issuing a call for an alternative international payments system that could prevent the US using the dollar as a political weapon.

But the summit communique indicated that little progress had been made on an alternative payment system.

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Israelis told to urgently leave Sri Lankan tourist areas after terrorist threat

Israel tells citizens in Arugam Bay area to hide Jewish identity and not gather in large groups

Israel’s national security council has warned Israelis to immediately leave popular tourist areas in southern Sri Lanka after threats of a possible terrorist attack.

According to the council, Sri Lankan authorities had informed it of “a terrorist threat focused on tourist areas and beaches” around the popular surfing area of Arugam Bay in the south of the island.

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Tuesday briefing: Canada puts India ‘on notice’ as row over alleged killing of Sikh activists escalates

In today’s newsletter: Justin Trudeau says there are ‘credible allegations’ that Modi’s government was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist in British Columbia. What does say about India’s global standing?

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Good morning.

In September 2023, Justin Trudeau stood up in parliament and made extraordinary allegations against the Indian government. The prime minister said Canadian authorities were investigating “credible allegations” about the potential involvement of Indian officials in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist activist in British Columbia.

Middle East | Israel has accused Hezbollah of keeping hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in a bunker under a hospital in the southern suburbs of Beirut, though it said it would not strike the complex. The Sahel hospital in Dahiyeh was evacuated shortly afterwards, and Fadi Alame, its director, told Reuters that the allegations were untrue.

Labour | A cross-party group of 30 MPs has urged Rachel Reeves to impose a 2% tax on wealth above £10m on Britain’s rich in next week’s budget rather than announce spending cuts that would hit the most poor hardest.

Ukraine | Britain is to lend Ukraine an additional £2.26bn and allow Kyiv to spend the money on weapons to fight off the Russian invasion as part of a wider $50bn (£38.5bn) loan programme expected to be confirmed by G7 members later this week.

Sudan | Refugees and aid agencies have warned of deteriorating conditions in overcrowded camps in Chad, as intensifying violence and a hunger crisis in Sudan drive huge numbers across the border. About 25,000 people – the vast majority women and children – crossed into eastern Chad in the first week of October. Read an explainer.

European Union | Moldovans have voted by a razor-thin majority in favour of joining the EU, nearly final results showed on Monday after a pivotal referendum clouded by allegations of Russian interference. With 50.18% supporting EU membership, the decision was much closer than pre-referendum polls suggested.

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Regulators urged to examine UK business dealings with Bangladeshi ex-minister

HMRC and FCA asked to look into property deals with Saifuzzaman Chowdhury now under investigation for corruption in Dhaka

British regulators have been urged by MPs to examine the relationship between London estate agents, lawyers and lenders and a former Bangladeshi government minister under investigation for alleged corruption.

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury was the land minister in Bangladesh until earlier this year, when the government of Sheikh Hasina was spectacularly toppled, after her regime’s violent suppression of student protests.

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Pakistan’s government curbs judiciary’s power after alleged harassment of MPs

Coalition will now be able to hire and fire judges but faces accusations it bribed and abducted lawmakers to get its way

Pakistan’s government has passed a controversial amendment to the constitution that has been accused of weakening the power and independence of the judiciary, throwing the country’s democracy into further crisis.

The 26th constitutional amendment was passed in a clandestine, late-night parliamentary session that was clouded in secrecy and marred by allegations of abductions and intimidation of parliamentarians to force them to vote in favour of the bill.

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India’s airline industry in chaos after 90 hoax bomb threats in a week

Authorities yet to uncover source and motive of surge in fake bomb threats, as dozens of planes forced to reroute

A reported 90 hoax bomb threats have been made against Indian airlines in the past week, provoking international travel chaos as planes were grounded, diverted and flown to safety by fighter jet escorts.

The unprecedented surge in fake bomb threats against multiple Indian and international airlines has caused severe disruption to India’s aviation industry and created a growing sense of panic among air passengers.

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Allegations suggest India is now part of the assassination club | Hannah Ellis-Petersen

Canada’s PM, Justin Trudeau, claims Indian diplomats are implicated in murders on Canadian soil

A gruelling week for Indian diplomacy began with an explosive Canadian press conference on Monday. Senior Canadian police officials accused Indian diplomats of being involved in “criminal” activities on Canadian soil, ranging from homicide and targeted assassinations to extortion, intimidation and coercion against members of the Canadian Sikh community.

They alleged that Indian diplomats – including the high commissioner himself – were implicated not only in the high profile killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist who was gunned down outside a gurdwara in a suburb of Vancouver last June, but also linked to other murders on Canadian soil. The diplomats had even worked with a gang run by India’s most notorious mob boss to get their dirty work done, they alleged.

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Indian diplomats put ‘on notice’ in Canada after links to anti-Sikh activity uncovered

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats as fallout continues from 2023 killing of Canadian Sikh Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Canada’s foreign minister has warned India’s remaining diplomats in the country that they are “clearly on notice” not to endanger Canadian lives after New Delhi’s top envoy in Canada was named a person of interest in the assassination of a Sikh activist.

India’s high commissioner was expelled on Monday along with five other diplomats, prompting the Canadian foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, to compare India to Russia, saying Canada’s national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in Canada.

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Air India flight escorted by Singapore fighter jets after latest hoax bomb threat

The Air India flight landed at Changi Airport after being escorted by air force F-15SG jets, in what was the third threat to the national carrier in recent days

Singapore’s air force mobilised two fighter jets late on Tuesday in response to a bomb threat on an Air India Express flight bound for the city-state, its defence minister said.

Two Singapore air force F-15SG jets scrambled and escorted Air India flight AXB684 away from populated areas after the airline received an email that there was a bomb on board its plane, Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post.

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Air India plane makes emergency landing in Canada after bomb threat

Abrupt landing comes a day after flight from Mumbai to New York was diverted to Delhi after a false bomb threat

An Air India plane bound for Chicago has made an abrupt landing in the Arctic city of Iqaluit, after a false bomb threat. The emergency stop before sunrise on Tuesday, came less than a day after Canada and India expelled senior diplomats in a widening feud between the two countries.

The flight’s 211 crew and passengers disembarked at the Iqaluit airport some 300km (186 miles) north of the Arctic circle, the Royal Canadian Mounted police said in a news release. According to local media in Iqaluit, an “unspecified bomb threat from a person in India to Air India” was relayed to the flight’s captain.

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Canadian police accuse India of working with criminal network to kill dissidents

Modi government agents alleged to have collaborated with syndicate run by mob boss Lawrence Bishnoi

Canadian police have accused the Indian government of working with a criminal network run by one of India’s most notorious gangsters, Lawrence Bishnoi, to carry out targeted killings of dissidents in Canada.

A diplomatic row broke out between India and Canada on Monday after Canadian police accused Indian diplomats of “criminal” activities in the country, including extortion, intimidation, coercion and harassment, and involvement in targeted killings of Canadian citizens.

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Canadian police accuse Indian diplomats of ‘criminal’ activities including homicides

Accusations made hours after both countries expel senior diplomats in escalating row over killing of Sikh activist

Canadian police accused Indian diplomats and consular staff of “clandestine” and “criminal” activities in the country on Monday night, hours after senior diplomats were expelled from both countries in an escalating geopolitical row.

Speaking to reporters at a hastily organised press conference, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted police (RCMP) said the force had evidence of “agents” acting on behalf of the Indian government engaging in extortion, intimidation, coercion and harassment.

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Muslims in India face discrimination after restaurants forced to display workers’ names

Muslim business owners in two states fear policy will lead to targeted attacks or economic boycotts

Muslims in India say they have been fired from their jobs and face the closure of their businesses after two states brought in a “discriminatory” policy making it mandatory for restaurants to publicly display the names of all their employees.

The policy was first introduced by Yogi Adityanath, the hardline Hindu monk who is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Last month the state of Himachal Pradesh, governed by the opposition Congress party, announced it would also make it compulsory for all names of workers and employees to be put on display.

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Tribal clashes in north-west Pakistan kill at least 11 people

Shooting incident in Kurram district between rival tribes follows attack on coalmine in south-west Pakistan

At least 11 people have been killed in tribal clashes in the north-west of Pakistan, a local official has said.

Tensions rose in Kurram district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, after two people were critically injured in a shooting incident between rival tribes. It was not immediately clear what caused the shooting.

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Armed attackers storm Pakistan coal mines, killing at least 21

About 40 assailants fired rockets and hurled grenades at mines and miners’ quarters in country’s south-west, days before regional summit in Islamabad

Dozens of attackers armed with guns, rockets and hand grenades have stormed a cluster of private coalmines in south-western Pakistan on Friday, shooting some miners in their sleep and others after lining them up, killing at least 21, police have said.

The attack by about 40 armed men days before Pakistan hosts a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation grouping is the worst in weeks in the restive, mineral-rich province of Balochistan bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

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Indian tycoon Ratan Tata dies at age 86

Tata, described as ‘a truly uncommon leader’, credited with transforming Tata Group into a global conglomerate

The Indian business tycoon and former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has died, aged 86.

Tata, who had headed India’s largest conglomerate for over 20 years, had been receiving intensive care at Mumbai hospital, according to Reuters.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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Opposition Congress party wins power in Indian-administered Kashmir

Narendra Modi’s BJP loses first election since stripping the region of its autonomy and statehood

The Indian prime minister’s hopes of his party gaining power in Kashmir were dashed on Tuesday as it emerged that his BJP had lost the first election held since the national government stripped the region of its autonomy and statehood.

The elections instead delivered a resounding victory to India’s main opposition party, Congress, and its regional partner, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), which had come together in a alliance to defeat Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which also rules at the national level.

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Indian police charge man over doctor’s rape and murder in Kolkata hospital

Sanjay Roy charged with crime that prompted nationwide anger and protests over violence against women

A man has been charged in the high-profile case of a doctor’s rape and murder in a Kolkata hospital, a crime that prompted widespread anger and protests over the threat of sexual violence faced by women in India.

The suspect, Sanjay Roy, was arrested the day after the young doctor’s bloodied body was discovered on 9 August in a room at RG Kar hospital, where she had gone to rest after a 36-hour shift.

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Myanmar military kills dozens in heaviest airstrikes since 2021 coup

Ten children reportedly among those killed during intense aerial campaigns last month

Myanmar’s military has launched some of its heaviest aerial campaigns since the 2021 coup in recent months, killing at least 26 people in a series of attacks in early September.

The military, which has repeatedly been accused of indiscriminate aerial bombardments, launched at least seven airstrikes in four days between 3 and 6 September. According to Unicef, 10 children were among those killed. A pregnant woman also lost her unborn child.

A camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Pekhon township, southern Shan state, was one of the seven locations targeted. Daw Ohn Mar Khaing, a volunteer teacher at the camp, known as “Bangkok”, told the Guardian it was struck despite there being no fighting in the township, or opposition fighters nearby.

“We only have helpless women and children, who were displaced from the war in their villages,” she said.

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