TOP NEWS

The Canada-India relationship
Canada and India at loggerheads - diplomats sent home

The diplomatic row that has been going on between Canada and India for a year escalated on Monday when the countries sent home six diplomats each, several media reports.

Canadian authorities suspect that the Indian state was involved in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in a parking lot in British Columbia last summer. This is firmly denied by India.

On Monday, Canadian police said they have large amounts of evidence that the Indian government is involved in a "campaign of violence" in Canada, Reuters reports.

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Political situation in Moldova
The EU acts against suspected Russian influence in Moldova

The EU has targeted six actors in Moldova, including Gagauzia's pro-Russian governor Evgenia Gutsul, as part of efforts to reduce Russian influence. Reuters reports.

On Sunday, the country holds presidential elections and a referendum on joining the EU. In the election, the pro-EU incumbent president Maia Sandu is tipped as the favorite, according to AFP. She is pitted against ten other candidates.

The other week, Moldovan police stated that they had discovered a large-scale attempt to buy no votes in the EU vote. The equivalent of over SEK 150 million is said to have been brought into the country via people connected to the politician and businessman Ilan Shor, who lives in Russian exile.

The Kremlin denies any attempt to influence the election.

- There are still many people in Moldova who want good relations with our country, says spokesman Dmitry Peskov according to the Moscow Times.

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Putin's Russia
French scientist gets three years in prison in Russia

A court in Moscow has sentenced the 48-year-old French political scientist Laurent Vinatier to three years in prison, AP reports.

He is convicted of failing to register as a "foreign agent" and of collecting information on Russian military activities.

Vinatier, who speaks fluent Russian and quoted author Aleksandr Pushkin during the trial, has previously pleaded guilty.

- I ask the Russian Federation to forgive me for failing to follow Russian law, he said.

His lawyers sought a fine, citing Vinatier's confession, his cooperation with investigators, and his 20-year career in Russia where he wrote pro-Russian books and essays.

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Climate conference COP29
Minister warns of fiasco: "Not the thing of the month"

EU summits warn of a breakdown ahead of this year's climate summit COP29 in Azerbaijan. That's what TT writes.

Ireland's Environment Minister Eamon Ryan feels worried, he says on his way to a ministerial meeting in Luxembourg where the EU countries' environment ministers are to agree on a common line.

- Geopolitical and multilateral cooperation is not exactly the thing of the month right now. So there is a risk that we will not reach an agreement, he says.

EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra emphasizes that countries that "can afford to pay" should step forward and take responsibility. He is said to be referring to the oil countries.

Sweden's climate minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) says that she is convinced that the EU countries will land in "a good place" before the summit.