Indian high commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami left unharmed from his scheduled place of meeting at a Gurdwara in Glasgow.
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A group of unidentified assailants suspected to be the proponents of denounced cause of separate Khalistan state prevented Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom Vikram Doraiswami from entering a gurdwara in Scotland on Friday (Sep 29).
According to reports, Indian high commissioner in the UK had a meeting scheduled with the gurdwara committee of the Glasgow Gurdwara on Albert Drive. A Times of India report cited a pro-Khalistan activist as saying that there was a 'slight confrontation' at the scene.
A video of the incident posted on Instagram showed tables ready to serve food to the high commissioner.
The video, seen by WION, shows one of the activists engaging in an intense argument with a gurdwara committee member. The committee man then unsuccessfully tries to snatch the activist's phone.
The video also shows two of the activists going to the high commissioner’s car in the car park and appearing to try and open the car door but it is locked from the inside. The car then reverses and leaves as members of the gurdwara committee do not intervene.
Threat to Indian diplomats in the UK
In July, threats were issued against Indian diplomats in the United Kingdom by pro-Khalistan elements with pictures including the High Commissioner of India to UK Vikram Doraiswami.
Earlier in May, security barricades and vehicles were removed from outside the British High Commission and High Commissioner's residence in New Delhi in response to the lack of security at Indian High Commission in London, UK where Indian flag was removed by Khalistani radicals.
Also watch | US: All efforts will be made to secure Indian mission
Meanwhile, India's foreign minister Dr S. Jaishankar flagged the "climate of violence and an atmosphere of intimidation" during his visit to the United States.
"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.
Poland edu min takes action to extradite Nazi veteran honoured in Canadian Parliament
Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Arif Virani, stated that he cannot comment on Poland's extradition move as no formal request has been received. As per CBC News, he said no contact has been made by the Polish government in relation to the extradition request of the Nazi veteran.
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Poland's Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek has revealed that he has initiated actions to secure the extradition of Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian Canadian, who served in the Nazi SS Galizien Divison during World War II, media reports said. "In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian Parliament, which involved honouring, in the presence of President Zelenskyy, a member of the criminal Nazi SS Galizien formation, I have taken steps towards the possible extradition of this man to Poland," Czarnek said in a social media post on Tuesday (September 26).
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Parliamentary invitation raises controversy
Yaroslav Hunka, despite his wartime affiliations, was recently invited to the parliamentary gallery by Speaker Anthony Rota during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the Canadian Parliament.
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The Nazi veteran also received a standing ovation from the Canadian Parliamentarians, a move that triggered a massive controversy and resulted in the resignation of Rota. Rota, who reportedly invited the Nazi veteran introduced Hunka as a "Ukrainian hero" and a "Canadian hero". Poland education minister Czarnek expressed outrage over such honouring.
"I am deeply sorry I offended many with my gesture and remarks," Rota said. "This initiative was entirely my own. I want to really tell you that the intention was not to embarrass this House."
Canada's response
Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Arif Virani, stated that he cannot comment on Poland's extradition move as no formal request has been received. As per CBC News, he said no contact has been made by the Polish government in relation to the extradition request of the Nazi veteran.
Legal experts quoted by CBC pointed out that Canada does not have a formal extradition agreement with Poland, but extradition is possible through bilateral agreements.
"That doesn't prevent extradition. It just makes it a matter of more paperwork between the two governments," he said adding, "We do not have crimes of association other than organised crime type-offences which are very, very specialized," he said.
Speaker Anthony Rota issued an apology to the House for inviting Hunka and subsequently resigned from his position. Opposition parties had insisted that an apology was insufficient.
Rota has taken full responsibility for the incident. "I accept full responsibility for my actions," he said adding, "My resignation is effective at the end of the sitting day tomorrow, Wednesday, September 27, to allow preparations for the election of a new speaker. Until that time, the deputy speakers will chair the House proceedings."
Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Arif Virani, stated that he cannot comment on Poland's extradition move as no formal request has been received. As per CBC News, he said no contact has been made by the Polish government in relation to the extradition request of the Nazi veteran.
"I am deeply sorry I offended many with my gesture and remarks," Rota said. "This initiative was entirely my own. I want to really tell you that the intention was not to embarrass this House."
Canada's response
Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Arif Virani, stated that he cannot comment on Poland's extradition move as no formal request has been received. As per CBC News, he said no contact has been made by the Polish government in relation to the extradition request of the Nazi veteran.
Legal experts quoted by CBC pointed out that Canada does not have a formal extradition agreement with Poland, but extradition is possible through bilateral agreements.
"That doesn't prevent extradition. It just makes it a matter of more paperwork between the two governments," he said adding, "We do not have crimes of association other than organised crime type-offences which are very, very specialized," he said.
Speaker Anthony Rota issued an apology to the House for inviting Hunka and subsequently resigned from his position. Opposition parties had insisted that an apology was insufficient.
Rota has taken full responsibility for the incident. "I accept full responsibility for my actions," he said adding, "My resignation is effective at the end of the sitting day tomorrow, Wednesday, September 27, to allow preparations for the election of a new speaker. Until that time, the deputy speakers will chair the House proceedings."
U.K. PM Sunak criticized for pushing back ban on new gas and diesel cars
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Wednesday that he is delaying by five years a ban on new gas 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, opposition politicians and large chunks of U.K. industry, but was welcomed by some in the governing Conservative Party who chafe at the expense of ending the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.
At a news conference, Sunak said he was moving the deadline for buying new gasoline and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, weakening a ban on new new natural-gas home furnaces due to start in 2035, and scrapping a requirement for landlords to make properties more energy-efficient.
He said he would keep a promise to reduce the U.K.’s emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, but with “a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach.”
In a statement designed at least in part to woo voters ahead of an election next year, Sunak rejected environmental proposals including new aviation taxes, measures to encourage car-pooling and taxes on meat — none of which has actually been introduced.
To meet net-zero goals, he said, the government will build more windfarms and nuclear reactors, invest in new green technologies and introduce new measures to protect nature.
Sunak argued the U.K. was “far ahead of every other country in the world” in transforming to a green economy, but said moving too fast risked “losing the consent of the British people.”
“How can it be right that British citizens are now being told to sacrifice even more than others?” he said.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was moving the deadline for buying new gasoline and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.Karl Hendon / Getty Images
U.K. greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 46% from 1990 levels, mainly because of the almost complete removal of coal from electricity generation. The government had pledged to reduce emissions by 68% of 1990 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.
Sunak said those commitments remain. But with just seven years to go until the first goalpost, the government’s climate advisers said in June that the pace of action is “worryingly slow.” Sunak’s decision in July to approve new North Sea oil and gas drilling also spurred critics to question his commitment to climate goals.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who brought in the 2030 gasoline car target when he was leader, said businesses “must have certainty about our net-zero commitments.”
“We cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country,” he said.
News of plans to backtrack broke as senior politicians and diplomats from the U.K. and around the world — as well as heir to the British throne Prince William — gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where climate is high on the agenda. Sunak is not attending, sending his deputy instead.
Greenpeace U.K. executive director Will McCallum said Sunak “isn’t offering working people honesty or a brighter future — he’s putting his oil and gas cronies first once again.”
Environmentalists were not the only ones alarmed by the move. Automakers, who have invested heavily in the switch to electric vehicles, expressed frustration at the government’s change of plan.
Ford U.K. head Lisa Brankin said the company had invested 430 million pounds ($530 million) to build electric cars in Britain.
“Our business needs three things from the U.K. government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three,” she said.
Richard Burge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said “the government’s decision to suddenly backtrack and delay the ban on petrol and diesel cars makes us look flaky, unreliable, and incapable of leading the green energy revolution.”
Analyst Tara Clee of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown said the retreat could undermine Britain’s hard-won reputation for leadership on green technology.
“These changes send a message that nothing is set in stone, and committing in earnest to a movable goalpost could be a major business risk,” Clee said.
Britain’s Conservatives have been openly reassessing their climate change promises after a special election result in July that was widely seen as a thumbs-down from voters to a tax on polluting cars.
The party, which trails behind the Labour opposition in nationwide opinion polls, unexpectedly won the contest for the suburban London Uxbridge district by focusing on a divisive levy on older vehicles imposed by London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan. Some Conservatives believe axing green policies is a vote-winner that can help the party avoid defeat in a national election due by the end of 2024.
But Conservative lawmaker Alok Sharma, who chaired the COP26 international climate conference in Glasgow in 2021, warned that it would be “incredibly damaging ... if the political consensus that we have forged in our country on the environment and climate action is fractured.”
“And frankly, I really do not believe that it’s going to help any political party electorally which chooses to go down this path,” he told the BBC.
Peter Cox, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, said that with the world on course to see temperatures breach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level in about a decade, countries “urgently need to act on their net zero commitments.”
“This is a terrible time for the U.K. to back off from our commitments, sending mixed messages to business communities that desperately need clarity to enable investment and innovation in a low-carbon future,” he said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has given Kosovo another grant to help the country’s integration into the European Union and Euro-Atlantic institutions
ByThe Associated Press
September 15, 2023, 8:30 PM
PRISTINA, Kosovo -- The U.S. Agency for International Development has given Kosovo another grant to help the country's integration into the European Union and Euro-Atlantic institutions, promote its growth and to support the development of democratic institutions, the U.S. Embassy in Pristina said Friday.
The U.S. has invested $2 billion (1.86 billion euros) in Kosovo since 1999, including investments of over $1 billion (934 million euros) from USAID. The $34.7 million (32.4 million euros) is the last Congress-approved installment of agency funds for Kosovo.
“Our USAID programs in Kosovo are all intended to ensure that all Kosovans can access effective and accountable services from their institutions, are empowered to demand accountability for these services, and can thrive through strong economic and democratic opportunities,” U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey M. Hovenier said.
Kosovo’s president, Vjosa Osmani, said the government's agreement with USAID “will contribute to the continuous reduction of corruption and increasing the efficiency in reacting to the citizens’ needs.”
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo.
Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but Serbia and its allies Russia and China have not.
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