While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 15, 2024
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The expulsion of the diplomats – the most senior envoys on both sides – is a major escalation in the row.
PHOTO: REUTERS
India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
India and Canada each expelled the other’s ambassador and five other top diplomats, after New Delhi said its envoy had been named among “persons of interest” following the killing of a Sikh separatist leader.
New Delhi said it was withdrawing its six diplomats from Canada, but an Ottawa government source told AFP they had been expelled, not withdrawn.
The 2023 murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar crashed the country’s diplomatic relations with India after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence services to the crime.
The expulsion of the diplomats – the most senior envoys on both sides – is a major escalation in the row.
Allianz to consider revising Income offer after current deal blocked by S’pore Govt
German insurer Allianz said late on Oct 14 that it will consider revisions to the proposed transaction structure to acquire a majority stake in Singapore’s Income Insurance.
This comes after the Singapore Government blocked the deal on concerns over the deal structure and the ability of the local insurer to continue its social mission.
Allianz, which is listed in Germany, said it respects the Government’s position and will assess the situation with Income and NTUC Enterprise.
Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to hit Hezbollah without mercy, a day after the Iran-backed Lebanese group’s deadliest strike on Israel since the start of the war in late September.
Hezbollah’s drone attack on an Israeli base killed four soldiers on Oct 13, while volunteer rescuers said another 60 people were injured.
“We will continue to mercilessly strike Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon – including Beirut,” Netanyahu said on a visit to the base near Binyamina, south of Haifa.
Putin ordered Novichok attack, double agent Skripal tells UK inquiry
Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal believes Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his Novichok poisoning, an inquiry into the death of a woman who was unwittingly poisoned by the nerve agent was told on Monday.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped unconscious on a public bench in the southern English city of Salisbury in March 2018 after Novichok was applied to the front door handle of his home.
Four months later, mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died from exposure to the poison after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle which police believe had been used by Russian spies to smuggle the military-grade nerve agent into the country.
French far-right’s Le Pen claims innocence in fake EU jobs trial
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, charged with embezzling European Parliament funds, told a court on Monday that she was innocent as she was questioned for the first time in the trial that could thwart her presidential ambitions.
Le Pen and two dozen other National Rally (RN) party chiefs are accused of embezzling European Parliament money by creating fake jobs.
Possible sanctions include jail as well as a decade-long ban from public office, which could wreck Le Pen’s hopes of succeeding President Emmanuel Macron in a 2027 election.