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☆ Explainer: Why is South Asia the global hotspot of pollution?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Sakshi Dayal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The worsening air pollution is an annual problem for South Asian nations as winter approaches and cold, heavy air traps pollution in a thick layer of smog. South Asia has become the global hotspot for air pollution, with studies finding four of the world's most polluted countries and nine of the 10 most polluted cities in the region. WHY IS POLLUTION IN SOUTH ASIA WORSE THAN OTHER PLACES? An increase in the number of vehicles on roads as the region has developed has also exacerbated the pollution problem. Countries across South Asia will have to coordinate efforts if the region's pollution problem is to be solved, collaborating to enhance monitoring and make policy decisions.

Persons: stubble, Anushree, Sakshi Dayal, Michael Perry Organizations: Swiss Group, REUTERS, ., Thomson Locations: DELHI, South Asia, Asia, New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh's

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ Indian scientists hope cloud seeding can clean Delhi's toxic air
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Air quality dips in Delhi ahead of winter every year, when cold air traps pollutants from a variety of sources including vehicles, industries, construction dust, and agricultural waste burning. The project, estimated to cost 10 million rupees ($120,000) for 100 square kilometres (38.6 square miles), would involve spraying into clouds a mix of salts that include silver iodine, Agrawal said. "We don't expect that big a cloud that will cover entire Delhi, but a few hundred kilometres would be good," he told Reuters. The air quality index in the city was 506 early on Thursday, which is categorised as "hazardous" by Swiss group IQAir. Several countries have used cloud seeding to produce rain, improve air quality and water crops in time of drought, including Mexico, the United States, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Persons: Anushree, Manindra Agrawal, Agrawal, Gufran Beig, SAFAR, Beig, Shivam Patel, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Indian Institute of Technology, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Delhi, Kanpur, Punjab, Haryana, Mexico, United States, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Mexico

☆ Pollution Forces City-Wide Closures of Businesses, Schools in Eastern Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Mubasher BukhariLAHORE (Reuters) - Heavy pollution-fuelled smog forced authorities to close schools and markets this week in Pakistan's most populous province, including the eastern city of Lahore which has risen to one of the world's worst cities for hazardous air quality. Schools, offices, restaurants and businesses, aside from priority services like pharmacies, hospitals and courts, would all close to limit residents' movement outside, according to a directive from the provincial government. Heavy smog blanketed Lahore this week, reducing visibility and leading residents to complain of a threat to their health. In neighbouring India, authorities in Delhi have announced they would restrict use of vehicles next week to curb rising pollution as air quality in the capital remained dangerously unsafe despite mitigation efforts. (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Michael Perry)

Persons: Mubasher Bukhari, Amir Mir, Mohammad Salahuddin, Charlotte Greenfield, Michael Perry Organizations: Schools Locations: Mubasher, Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan's, Lahore, Punjab, Swiss, Delhi, Karachi, South Asia, India

☆ India's top court tells states to stop crop burning as New Delhi's air turns hazardous
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Air quality dips every year ahead of winter, when calm and cold winds trap pollutants from sources including vehicles, industries, construction dust, and agricultural waste burning. Delhi has stopped local construction, closed primary schools till Nov. 10 and will impose restrictions on use of vehicles next week to fight pollution, but it wants its neighbouring states to control crop residue burning. At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the real time air quality index stood at 306, a level categorised as 'hazardous' by Swiss group IQAir. "We direct the state government of Punjab and adjacent states to Delhi - Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - to ensure that crop (residue) burning is stopped forthwith," Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana usually burn crop stubble left behind after rice is harvested in late October or early November to quickly clear their fields before planting wheat crops.

Persons: Anushree, Boulton, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, SAFAR, Justice Kaul, Kaul, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, NEW, Farmers, Thomson Locations: Karnal district, Haryana, India, NEW DELHI, New Delhi, Delhi, Swiss, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's capital New Delhi was wrapped in a thick layer of toxic haze on Friday and some schools were ordered closed as the air quality index (AQI) plummeted to the "severe" category. In India, the annual average concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air is the highest in northern regions. Officials said they saw no immediate improvement in the air quality. Delhi hosts a World Cup match on Monday between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Poor air quality also caused respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes and restlessness in pet animals.

Persons: Aheed Khan, Ashwani Kumar, Prabhat Gangwar, Tanvi Mehta, Rajesh, Blassy Boben, Manoj Kumar, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: joggers, Residents, Officials, Control Committee, Farmers, Health, Friendicoes, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Swiss, Pakistani, Lahore, Delhi, India, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

☆ Why is India's Modi so worried about Sikh separatist calls for Khalistan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Amplified calls for the creation of Khalistan date back to when India gained its independence in 1947. At the same time, some Sikh supporters of Khalistan have made comments perceived as anti-national and threatening toward India and its government. And in counterinsurgency operations, Indian security forces were accused of a multitude of human rights abuses. The first photos of the damaged Akal Takhat after the army stormed the sikh Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on June 9, 1984. “The larger [Sikh] community is standing by the statements from Trudeau and they want action upon this,” said Jasveer Singh, a British Sikh and senior press officer with the Sikh Press Association.

Persons: Justin Trudeau’s, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, “, Nijjar’s, –, Andre Durand, Guru Nanak, hasn’t, ”, Amandeep Sandhu, Amritpal Singh, India’s, Singh, Stringer, Modi, Suhasini Haidar, Sondeep Shankar, Indira Gandhi, Gandhi, Harsh Pant, Cole Burston, Pant, Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Blair Gable, Trudeau, Jasveer Singh Organizations: CNN, Air India, Sikh, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Getty, India, British, Keystone, Pew Research Center, Panjab, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Police, Khalistan, Observer Research Foundation, Protesters, Reuters, Sikh Press Association Locations: Montreal, New Delhi, Ireland, Indian, Punjab, Canada, Hardeep, India, Air India, Cork, AFP, Pakistan, Amritsar, British India, Ottawa, “ India, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Toronto, British

India is by far Canada's largest source of global students in the country's fast-growing international education business, making up for roughly 40% of study permit holders. International students contribute over C$20 billion ($14.6 billion) to the Canadian economy each year. Reuters spoke to more than a dozen universities and consultants in Canada and India who said they were taking measures to reassure students. Last week, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller described international students "an asset that is very lucrative". In Punjab's Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, over 5,000 students moved to Canada last year.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, We've, Joseph Wong, Ashok Kumar Bhatia, John Tibbits, Tibbits, Marc Miller, Rhonda Lenton, Jiwan Sharma, Melanie Joly, Gurbakhshish Singh, Nivedita Balu, Wa, Manoj Kumar, Denny Thomas, Josie Kao Organizations: Canada's, Canadian, Reuters, University of Toronto, Reuters Graphics, Association of Consultants, Overseas Studies, Conestoga, York, Taxi, Thomson Locations: India's, Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada, TORONTO, AMRITSAR, India, New Delhi, British Columbia, Kitchener , Ontario, Punjab, Punjab's Amritsar, Ottawa, Amritsar, Wa Lone, Toronto

The chief minister said the gang lured patients from hospitals and performed the operations privately in the region of Taxila, the city of Lahore and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Three deaths have so far been confirmed, according to the chief minister, but authorities were still confirming the data. Fawad had previously been arrested five times but was released on each occasion and was able to resume his operations, Naqvi said. Later, when he went to another doctor for further treatment, he was told he didn’t have a kidney, according to the chief minister. But the practice has continued and local media have reported that illegal kidney transplants have made a comeback in recent years.

Persons: Fawad, ”, Mohsin Naqvi, Naqvi, ” Naqvi, didn’t Organizations: Pakistan CNN — Police, Police Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan’s Punjab, Fawad, Taxila, Lahore, Kashmir, “, Punjab

The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, especially in Canada. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India. One such group called Sikhs for Justice is based in the United States and has been organizing an unofficial so-called "Khalistan Referendum". The demand for an independent Sikh state surfaced most prominently in India during a violent insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s and paralyzed the state of Punjab. Canada last month alleged that India may have been involved in the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom New Delhi labeled as a "terrorist".

Persons: Erin Scott, we're, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, State Department, Justice, U.S . State Department, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, India, Canada, U.S, Punjab, Air India, New Delhi, Washington

☆ US, Asked About Sikh Separatist Groups, Says It Respects Free Speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, we're, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Kanishka Singh, Gareth Jones Organizations: State Department, Justice, U.S . State Department, Air, Air India Boeing Locations: United States, India, Canada, U.S, Punjab, Air India, New Delhi, Washington

BAY ISMOYO/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday there was a "climate of violence" and an "atmosphere of intimidation" against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi. "Because there is freedom of speech, to make threats and intimidate diplomats, I don't think that's acceptable," Jaishankar told reporters on Friday evening in Washington. Canada is home to an influential Sikh community, and Indian leaders say some fringe groups there remain sympathetic to the cause of an independent Sikh state. The insurgency killed tens of thousands of people and the Khalistan movement is considered a security threat by the Indian government. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 by two Sikh bodyguards after she allowed the storming of the holiest Sikh temple, aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.

Persons: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Jaishankar, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Indira Gandhi, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler Organizations: India's, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, India, ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Rights, Indian, Washington . Relations, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Canada, New Delhi, Washington, India, Punjab, Air India

☆ Canada's Sikhs are grateful - and afraid - after Trudeau's India allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

India forcefully denied its involvement in Nijjar's murder, which took place in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Surrey, BC. But Canadian Sikhs are unconvinced, and the minority who are active proponents of Khalistan are afraid. Trudeau's move risks derailing a strategic economic and political shift many Western countries are making towards India to counter China. Mukhbir Singh, a member of the Ottawa Sikh Society, said he backs the idea of Khalistan, but that Canadian Sikhs' views on the issue are not monolithic. "Prime Minister Trudeau has taken a stance" to make "paramount" the safety of its citizens, he said, even though the Canadian government does not support Khalistan.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Sentokh Singh, Trudeau's, Jagmeet Singh, Fen Hampson, Nijjar's, Gurmeet Singh, Mukhbir Singh, Trudeau, Suk Dhaliwal, Dhaliwal, Steve Scherer, Wa, Denny Thomas, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, OTTAWA, Khalistan, Indian High Commission, New Democrats, Carleton University, RCMP, Ottawa Sikh Society, Liberal, Surrey, Reuters, Wa Lone, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Punjab India, India, New Delhi, Canadian, Ottawa, China, Punjab, Golden, Amritsar, Toronto

☆ Sikh group protests outside Golden Temple over killing in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple is seen after the killing on its grounds in June 2023 of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Sikh activists on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, demanding punishment for the killers of a Sikh separatist in Canada. Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament that there may be a link between New Delhi and the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June in British Columbia. Holding posters of Nijjar, the protesters outside the holiest of Sikh shrines shouted slogans asking New Delhi to stop extrajudicial operations against separatists seeking Punjab as an independent state. Nijjar, who worked as a plumber, left the north Indian state of Punjab a quarter-century ago and became a Canadian citizen.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Paramjit Singh Mand, Dal, Kanwar Pal, Sunil Kataria, Mayank Bhardwaj, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian, Dal Khalsa, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, Golden, Amritsar, Punjab, New Delhi, India, Canadian, Sikh

☆ India raids 53 sites nationwide as crackdown on Sikh separatists deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —India’s anti-terror agency has raided 53 sites across seven states and union territories in a crackdown on what it says are “terrorists” and “gangsters,” some of whom it alleges have links to Sikh separatist groups. “Khalistan” is a reference to a separatist movement that seeks to create a homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of India. The NIA said Wednesday the latest raids “relate to conspiracies of targeted killings, terror funding of pro-Khalistan outfits, extortion, etc. “These criminals have been engaged in planning and commissioning serious crimes, including contract and revenge killings, in association with criminals lodged in jails across India,” it added. Things escalated further when India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens over what it said were “security threats” against diplomats in Canada.

Persons: ”, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau’s, Modi Organizations: CNN, National Investigative Agency, Khalistan, Canadian, Sikh, NIA Locations: Punjab, India, Canada, British Columbia, Sikh Canadian, Pakistan, Malaysia, Portugal, Australia, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh . New Delhi

☆ Punjab's Sikhs Fear Canada-India Row Threatens Them at Home, Abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Outside of Punjab, the greatest number of Sikhs live in Canada, the site of many protests that have irked India. Still, though, the elder Nijjar said he is worried about deteriorating diplomatic relations with Canada and declining economic prospects in Punjab. The once-prosperous breadbasket of India, Punjab has been overtaken by states that focussed on manufacturing, services and technology in the last two decades. Modi's government has created "an atmosphere of fear", especially for young people, said Sandeep Singh, 31, from Nijjar's village. At the same time, the party says no one has done as much for the Sikhs as Modi.

Persons: Manoj Kumar BHARSINGHPURA, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Himmat Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Narendra Modi's, Nijjar, Gursimran Singh, Indira Gandhi, Modi's, Modi, Sandeep Singh, wouldn’t, Kanwar Pal, Manoj Kumar, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: Canadian, Ottawa, DREAM, CANADA, Hindu, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Dal Khalsa, Reuters, YP Locations: India, Canada, Punjab, North America, Canadian, Vancouver, Bharsinghpura, Amritsar, Nijjar's

☆ Punjab's Sikhs fear Canada-India row threatens them at home, abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: Himmat Singh Nijjar, Hardeep Singh, Adnan Abidi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Narendra Modi's, Nijjar, Gursimran Singh, Indira Gandhi, Modi's, Modi, Sandeep Singh, wouldn’t, Kanwar Pal, Manoj Kumar, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Canadian, Ottawa, DREAM, CANADA, Hindu, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Dal Khalsa, YP, Thomson Locations: Jalandhar district, Punjab, India, Canada, North America, Canadian, Vancouver, Bharsinghpura, Amritsar, Nijjar's

☆ Canadian Sikh protests outside Indian mission off to a muted start
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Wa Lone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Trudeau said last week Canada was pursuing "credible allegations" that Indian government agents may have been involved in Nijjar's murder. The Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, said concerned authorities have been informed of the protests. Nijjar, who worked as a plumber, left the north Indian state of Punjab a quarter-century ago and became a Canadian citizen. He has supported the formation of an independent Sikh homeland, called Khalistantan, to be created out of Punjab. The Canadian government has amassed both human and signals intelligence in a months-long investigation into the Sikh separatist leader, CBC News reported last week, citing unidentified sources.

Persons: Blair Gable, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Jatinder Singh Grewal, Trudeau, Grewal, Sanjay Kumar Verma, Verma, David Cohen, Wa, Denny Thomas, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: High Commission of, REUTERS, Rights, Justice, Canada, Reuters, Sunday, Indian, Toronto Police Department, Canadian, CBC News, CTV News, Wa Lone, Thomson Locations: High Commission of India, Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Toronto, British Columbia, Ottawa, Vancouver, Surrey, India, Delhi, Punjab, Canadian

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's health minister said Sunday that an injectable medicine that was causing a severe eye infection and sight loss in diabetic patients in the province of Punjab has been recalled and an investigation ordered while police are looking for the suppliers. Federal Health Minister Nadeem Jan said in Islamabad that a case has been lodged against the two absconding suppliers of locally manufactured injection Avastin. The Punjab government has formed a five-member committee of experts to look into the matter and report in three days. In a televised news conference along with Jan, provincial Health Minister Jamal Nasir said diabetic patients in Lahore, Kasur and other districts were administered Avastin injections to address retinal damage. However, the injections led to severe infections, ultimately resulting in the loss of sight of a dozen patients.

Persons: Nadeem Jan, Jamal Nasir, Jan Organizations: Federal, Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Punjab, Islamabad, Lahore, Kasur

☆ India anti-terror agency seizes properties of alleged Khalistan militant
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Pro-independence Khalistan flags are seen at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple, site of the June 2023 killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - India's federal anti-terror agency on Saturday said it confiscated the properties of an alleged Khalistani militant whom it accuses of terror activities in India, as tensions with Canada grow over Sikh separatists. The anti-terror agency had registered a case against the alleged militant in 2019 for spreading fear and terror in Punjab and other parts of the country. NIA issued non-bailable warrants of arrest against Pannu in February 2021 and he was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender (PO)' in November last year. Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh; editing by Clelia OzielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Gurpatwant Singh, Justin Trudeau, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Clelia Organizations: REUTERS, National Investigation Agency, Canadian, NIA, Pannu, Thomson Locations: Khalistan, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, federal, India, India's, Punjab

☆ India Stops New Visas for Canadians, Asks Ottawa to Downsize Missions as Spat Worsens
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

A blanket suspension of new visas by India for a Western country is unheard of and marks the lowest point of India-Canada relations. But Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Ottawa had been asked to reduce numbers at its diplomatic missions in India to bring parity between the missions of the two countries. Bagchi said India suspended issuing new visas to Canadian citizens due to "security threats" to its staff in its consulates in Canada. "You are aware of the security threats being faced by our high commission and consulates in Canada. Industry estimates show the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India could boost two-way trade by as much as $6.5 billion.

Persons: Krishn Kaushik, Rupam Jain, Rajesh NEW DELHI, Justin Trudeau's, Trudeau, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Dominic LeBlanc, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi's, Sakshi Dayal, Shivam Patel, YP Rajesh, Alex Richardson Organizations: Rajesh NEW, Industry, YP Locations: India, Ottawa, New Delhi, Canada, Delhi, British Columbia, United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Washington, London, Canberra, Punjab

☆ India suspends visa services for Canadians as stand-off escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A security personnel stands guard outside the Canadian High-Commision in New Delhi, India, September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - India on Thursday suspended visa services for Canadian citizens, a foreign ministry spokesperson said, citing security threats to its staff in its consulates in Canada. BLS International(BLSN.NS), an Indian company offering visa facilities, said the notice from the Indian mission in Canada cited "operational reasons" for suspension of visa services "till further notice". Canadian officials have so far declined to say why they believe India could be linked to Nijjar's murder. Industry estimates show the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India could boost two-way trade by as much as $6.5 billion.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Narendra Modi's, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Dominic LeBlanc, Sakshi Dayal, Shivam Patel, Rupam Jain, Krishn Kaushik, Shri Navaratnam, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Canadian, REUTERS, BLS, Global Affairs Canada, Canadian Bureau of International Education, Industry, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Canada, Ottawa, British Columbia, Punjab

☆ India's opposition Congress dismisses Canada's suspicions on Sikh leader's murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Congress spokespersons backed what they called India's "fight against terrorism" and criticised Trudeau. Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh state whose creation was the goal of a bloody Sikh insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s in India's northern state of Punjab during which tens of thousands were killed. "The Indian National Congress has always believed that our country's fight against terrorism has to be uncompromising, especially when terrorism threatens India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." New Delhi, which urged Ottawa to act against anti-Indian elements, has long been unhappy over Sikh separatist activity in Canada. Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.

Persons: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nanak, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau's, Trudeau, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Jairam Ramesh, Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh, FRANK, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Indian National Congress, Research, Economic Times, Press Trust of India, Indian Express, YP, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, India, Delhi, India's, Punjab, New Delhi, Australia, Britain, United States, Ottawa, Indian

☆ India's Opposition Congress Dismisses Canada's Suspicions on Sikh Leader's Murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By YP RajeshNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's main opposition Congress party backed on Wednesday the government's rejection of Canada's suspicions that New Delhi's agents had links to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, and urged a stand against threats to the country's sovereignty. Congress spokespersons backed what they called India's "fight against terrorism" and criticised Trudeau. Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh state whose creation was the goal of a bloody Sikh insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s in India's northern state of Punjab during which tens of thousands were killed. "The Indian National Congress has always believed that our country's fight against terrorism has to be uncompromising, especially when terrorism threatens India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.

Persons: YP Rajesh NEW DELHI, Justin Trudeau's, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Jairam Ramesh, Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh, FRANK, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: YP Rajesh NEW, Twitter, Indian National Congress, Research, Economic Times, Press Trust of India, Indian Express, YP Locations: India, British Columbia, Delhi, India's, Punjab, New Delhi, Australia, Britain, Canada, United States, Ottawa, Indian

☆ What We Know About Canada’s Claims Against India About a Sikh’s Killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Jin Yu Young | More About Jin Yu Young | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Nijjar was a self-proclaimed “Sikh nationalist who believes in and supports Sikhs’ right to self-determination and independence of Indian-occupied Punjab through a future referendum,” according to an open letter he wrote to the Canadian government in 2016. The Indian government declared Mr. Nijjar a terrorist in 2020, decades after he left India. It accused him of plotting a violent attack in India and leading a terrorist group called the Khalistan Tiger Force. Mr. Nijjar was shot in June near the Sikh temple that he led. On Monday, the Canadian prime minister told lawmakers that “agents of the government of India” had been linked to Mr. Nijjar’s killing on Canadian soil.

Persons: Nijjar, India ”, Nijjar’s Organizations: British Columbia, Khalistan Tiger Force, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Locations: Punjab, British, Canada, Punjab State, India

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