G7 STATEMENT OMITS MENTION OF CANADA'S NIJJAR CASE ALLEGATION

The G7 bloc, including countries like the US, the UK, and Australia, has refrained from including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claim of "credible links" between the assassins of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Indian government in their joint statement issued during the UN General Assembly. Despite concerns expressed by some "Five Eye" nations, most G7 countries rejected Trudeau's lobbying efforts to raise the Nijjar case with India at the highest government levels and issue a joint condemnation, citing it as a breach of international norms.

Only a few countries issued statements on the matter, with Australia being the most prominent in expressing concerns to the Indian government. The US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, found Trudeau's allegations troubling and emphasized the importance of upholding international law, sovereignty, and non-interference. The UK Foreign Office expressed concern, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out any reconsideration of trade talks with India. Australia's Prime Minister, after expressing concern, urged the media to remain calm.

The joint statement issued by the G7 Foreign Ministers, led by Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, made no reference to the Nijjar case or India. During the New York meeting, the G7 Foreign Ministers discussed various global issues but did not include India in their discussions or statements.

WOMEN FACE TOUGHER PENALTIES AS IRAN MPS PASS DRESS CODE BILL

Iranian women who flout the strict Islamic dress code mandating head coverings and modest clothing would face up to 10 years’ prison under a Bill passed on Wednesday.

The push to step up penalties comes a year after a wave of protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaching the rules.

Iran’s legislature approved “the ‘Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity’ Bill for a trial period of three years,” the official IRNA news agency reported. The Bill still requires approval by the Guardian Council.

Under the Bill, violations would be punished most severely if they are considered linked to what Iran regards as hostile foreign forces.

Women breaching the dress rules “in cooperation with foreign or hostile governments, media, groups or organisations” could face five to 10 years’ prison.

Those seen “half-naked in public spaces” would also face lengthy jail terms.

Women driving cars without a hijab or wearing “inappropriate clothing” would be fined five million rials, or around $10.

The draft law also imposes fines against anyone “promoting nudity” or “mocking the hijab” in the media. Business owners whose women staff break the dress rules could be banned from exiting the country.

BRITISH PM DELAYS BAN ON NEW PETROL AND DIESEL CARS BY 5 YEARS

LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said he is delaying by five years a ban on new petrol and diesel cars that had been due to take effect in 2030, watering down climate goals that he said imposed “unacceptable costs” on ordinary people. The move angered green groups and opposition politicians.

AZERBAIJAN CALLS TRUCE WITH ARMENIA SEPARATISTS OVER KARABAKH ROW

Yerevan : Azerbaijan said on Wednesday it had halted military action in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after its battlefield success forced Armenian separatist forces to agree to a ceasefire that will see the area fully return to Baku’s control. Under the agreement, outlined by Azerbaijan and the Russian defence ministry, which has peacekeepers on the ground, separatist forces are meant to disband and disarm, while talks on the future of ethnic Armenians who live there are due to start on Thursday.

In a speech to the nation on Wednesday evening, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Baku had restored its sovereignty “with an iron fist” and that Armenian forces had begun handing over their weapons and leaving the region. He said Karabakh Armenians would be told that they could take part in Azerbaijani elections, get state education, and freely practice their Christianity in his Muslim-majority nation.

Karabakh, a mountainous area in the volatile wider South Caucasus region, is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory, but part of it has been run by separatist Armenian authorities since a war that ended in 1990s. Armenians claim a historical dominance in the area, which they call Artsakh. Azerbaijan links its historical identity to the territory too. Azerbaijan, which sent troops backed by artillery strikes into Karabakh on Tuesday to bring the breakaway region to heel, says it plans to integrate the area's 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

BIDEN & BIBI PLEDGE TO WORK TO IMPROVE ISRAEL-SAUDI TIES

New York : US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met to discuss potential diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, aiming to ease strains in their relationship. Biden expressed opposition to Netanyahu's controversial judicial overhaul plan and concerns about Israel's approach to the Palestinian conflict.

The central issue was the US-led effort to establish ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, involving security guarantees, civilian nuclear assistance for Riyadh, and Israeli concessions to Palestinians. Both leaders expressed hope for historic peace and reconciliation in the region. Biden reiterated his commitment to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and supporting a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

DESPITE OWN TERROR RECORD, PAK USES CANADA ROW TO TARGET INDIA

Islamabad/New Delhi : Terrorism-tainted Pakistan’s foreign office attempted on Wednesday another hatchet job on India, latching onto Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s allegation about Indian agents’ involvement in pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing as an indication of New Delhi’s “network of extra-territorial killings” going global. Foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Nijjar’s “assassination” on Canadian soil last June was “a clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty”.

“It is also a reckless and irresponsible act that calls into question India’s reliability as a credible international partner and its claims for enhanced global responsibilities,” she said at the presser in Islamabad. Several current and former foreign ministry officials of Pakistan have joined in the tirade against India since Trudeau’s claim of “credible” but unsubstantiated allegations about New Delhi’s involvement in Nijjar’s killing sparked a bilateral crisis.

Baloch officially slamming India based on those very accusations comes against the backdrop of Pakistan’s dubious record of sponsoring terrorism, which kept it on terror financing watchdog FATF’s infamous grey list for four years until October last year.

EXPLOSION DAMAGES CARGO SHIP NEAR UKRAINE-ROMANIA BORDER

A cargo ship in the Black Sea was damaged by an explosion, leading to the rescue and evacuation of its crew to the Romanian port of Sulina. The cause of the explosion remains uncertain, with suggestions ranging from a sea mine to an engine room explosion.

Romania's Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, mentioned the possibility of a sea mine but did not provide concrete evidence. Both Russia and Ukraine have placed explosive devices in the Black Sea since the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Romania's Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Sorin Grindeanu, considered two hypotheses: a sea mine or an engine room explosion. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, and the cause has not been confirmed.

Recent escalations in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine have raised concerns for Romania, a NATO member. Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports near Romania's Danube border and Ukraine's efforts to control strategic oil and gas platforms in the Black Sea have heightened tensions.

Earlier this month, suspected Russian drone debris was discovered in Romania following attacks on nearby Ukrainian ports.

GERMANY WEIGHS BARRING CHINA PARTS IN 5G NETWORKS

Berlin : Germany is considering a ban on parts made by Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks from 2026, government sources said on Wednesday. According to government proposals, Chinese components would be excluded from the country’s “core network” from January 1, 2026, the sources said. It is understood that the ban will apply not only to new parts but also those that have already been installed. The government also wants to begin phasing out parts made by Huawei and ZTE in Germany’s “access and transport network,” the sources said. The plan marks part of Germany’s strategy of “de-risking” its ties with China.

IMRAN CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY IN MAY 9 CASES

LAHORE: Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has been charged with “criminal conspiracy”, which carries a maximum sentence of death penalty, for “masterminding” the May 9 attack on Army installations and inciting the people to mutiny, a senior Punjab Police official said on Wednesday. PTI

REPUBLICANS CLASH WITH AG, ACCUSING HIM OF FAVOURING HUNTER BIDEN

Washington : House Republicans clashed with attorney general Merrick Garland on Wednesday, accusing him and the justice department of the “weaponisation” of the department’s work in favour of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Garland’s appearance before the House judiciary committee was the first in two years and came at an unprecedented moment in the department’s history: He’s overseeing two cases against Donald Trump, the first former president to face criminal charges, and another against the sitting president’s son. Republicans on the committee — led by Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman — set the tone with accusations that the justice department is favou-ring the Biden family, while targeting his opponent, Trump. “There’s one investigation protecting President Biden. There’s another one attacking President Trump,” Jordan said in his opening statement. “The Justice Department’s got both sides of the equation covered.”

Garland — carefully and deliberately — defended the country’s largest law enforcement agency. “Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate,” the attorney general said. He added, “I am not the president’s lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The justice department works for the American people.” The central line of questioning in Republicans’ arsenal surrounded allegations that the justice department interfered in the yearslong case into Hunter Biden and that the prosecutor in charge of that case did not have the full authority he needed to bring the necessary charges to the younger Biden.