Planning has begun for an international force to go into Gaza to stabilize security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior U.S. advisers have said. One of the top requirements of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan was formation of a U.S.-backed stabilization force. The United States has agreed to provide up to 200 troops to support the force without being deployed in Gaza itself.
The two senior advisers, in a briefing for reporters, said tensions remain high between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the enclave.
“Right now what we’re looking to accomplish is just a basic stabilization of the situation. The international stabilization force is starting to be constructed,” one adviser said.
Among the countries the U.S. is speaking to about contributing to the force are Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar and Azerbaijan, said the adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The advisers said there were up to two dozen U.S. troops in the region to help set up the operation, serving in a “coordination, oversight” role.
“The goal is to use all the different local partners who want to help and be involved,” the adviser said.
After Hamas killed seven men in Gaza City it accused of collaborating with Israel, the advisers said there were discussions to establish safe zones for civilians to prevent such incidents.
The second adviser said that no Gazans would be forced to leave the battered Palestinian enclave. Officials are looking at rebuilding in areas that are free of Hamas militants.
Tag: World News
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Planning under way for international force in Gaza, say US advisers
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Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations, no date set for Rafah border reopening
CAIRO/TEL AVIV (TIP)- Israel said on Thursday, October 16, it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of a U.S.-mediated ceasefire.
A dispute over the return of hostages’ bodies held by Hamas threatens to derail the truce and other unresolved elements of the plan, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance.
Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters Israel remained committed to the agreement and continued to uphold its obligations, demanding Hamas return the bodies of the 19 deceased hostages it had not handed over.
The Islamist faction has handed over 10 bodies but Israel said one was not that of a hostage.
Hamas said it remained committed to the Gaza agreement and to handing over all the remaining bodies of hostages, but that returning the remains may take time as some were buried in tunnels destroyed by Israel and others were under the ruins of buildings that Israel had bombed.
The armed wing of Hamas said the handover of more bodies in Gaza, reduced to vast tracts of rubble by the war, would require the admission of heavy machinery and excavating equipment into the Israel-blockaded Palestinian enclave.
On Oct 16, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of flouting the ceasefire by killing at least 24 people in shootings since Friday, and said a list of such violations was handed over to mediators.
“The occupying state is working day and night to undermine the agreement through its violations on the ground,” he said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the allegation of violating the ceasefire. It has previously said some Palestinians have ignored warnings not to approach Israeli ceasefire positions and troops “opened fire to remove the threat”.
After local health authorities said an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed two people, the Israeli military said its forces fired at several individuals who emerged from a tunnel shaft and approached troops, describing them as posing an immediate threat.
Palestinian local health authorities said at least seven people were killed by Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip on Thursday. People in Gaza reported seeing drones and warplanes in the skies over the southern Gaza Strip with sporadic gunfire heard from time to time.
CALL TO DISARM
Israel has said the next phase of the 20-point plan to end the war, a blueprint engineered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, calls for Hamas to relinquish its weapons and cede power, which it has so far refused to do.
Hamas has instead launched a security crackdown in urban areas vacated by Israeli forces, demonstrating its power through public executions and clashes with local armed clans.
Trump repeated his threats against the militia group, saying in a post, “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.”
Asked about his recent threats toward Hamas, Trump told reporters in an Oval Office event, “If they behave, good. If they don’t behave, we’ll take care of it.” -
Canada gets tough on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
By Prabhjot Singh OTTAWA (TIP): Canada is getting tough on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program as the federal government is focused on building lasting economic strength.
The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). In fiscal year 2024–2025, ESDC conducted 1,435 employer compliance inspections, of which 10% of employers were found non-compliant. During the same period, penalties more than doubled from $2,067,750 to $4,882,500 and resulted in 36 employers being banned from the TFW Program, a threefold increase from last year.
The strict enforcement of the program has impacted all those employers who were trying to exploit the facility. A vast majority of those affected by the continuous surveillance allegedly come from the South Asian community, especially those who had tried to sneak into the system by paying huge amounts to the agents and the greedy employers.
In September, the ESDC hit the headlines when an employer in the fish and seafood sector was issued a penalty of $1 million and a 10-year ban from the Program for failing to provide proper wages and working conditions, failing to comply with federal and provincial labour laws, and failing to provide a workplace that was free of abuse.
To date, this is the biggest penalty ever issued by the Department, because any mistreatment of workers or misuse of the Program will not be tolerated. Employers who are found to be non-compliant with TFW Program conditions are also listed on a public-facing website managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, an employer in the agriculture sector was fined $212,000 and banned from the TFW Program for 2 years for failing to provide proper working conditions and for not providing the required documentation to inspectors.
Another employer in the residential building construction industry was fined $161,000 and banned from the TFW Program for 5 years for failing to provide proper wages and working conditions, and lack of compliance with federal and provincial labour laws.
Yet another employer in the long-haul trucking industry was fined $150,000 for failing to genuinely operate a business and for not providing the required documentation to inspectors.
In a statement, the ESDC held that the “Canadians are always first in line. To be clear, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a last resort option for employers who cannot find qualified Canadians and permanent residents to fill job vacancies.
“There’s a stringent process in place to ensure that Canadian workers are always prioritised first. All employers seeking to use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must demonstrate that genuine attempts to recruit workers from within Canada were unsuccessful. They must also continue recruiting for the position while the application is pending. Workers under the TFW Program represent approximately 1% of the Canadian workforce and play important roles in key sectors such as agriculture, food processing, construction and health care.
In the context of the tightening labour market in September 2024, several measures were implemented to reduce reliance on the TFW Program, resulting in a 50% reduction overall in applications to the Program and 70% in the low-wage stream.
Employers who hire temporary foreign workers are also required to provide safe, healthy and dignified working conditions. The Government has a strong compliance regime to help ensure that the health and safety of temporary foreign workers are protected.
The employer compliance regime aims to verify employers’ adherence to program requirements and conditions through inspections. Employers who do not respect these could be issued administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) of up to $1 million per year and be temporarily or permanently banned from the Program.
In fiscal year 2024–2025, ESDC conducted 1,435 employer compliance inspections, of which 10% of employers were found non-compliant. During the same period, penalties more than doubled from $2,067,750 to $4,882,500 and resulted in 36 employers being banned from the TFW Program, a threefold increase from last year.
Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, says: “Building a stronger Canada means protecting those who work tirelessly, day in and day out. Workers in Canada deserve safe workplaces where their rights are protected from bad actors. The TFW Program is a last resort measure for businesses – it is no substitute for Canadian talent, and its misuse will never be permitted. Strengthening our inspection practices to weed out employers who misuse the program puts workers at the forefront and safeguards their well-being while we build, together, one Canadian economy that will benefit all generations.”
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Jail, not Bail, fails in the House of Commons
By Prabhjot Singh OTTAWA (TIP): After an animated debate over the growing incidence of violence, especially by repeat offenders, Conservatives suffered yet another political reverse when their Bill C-242 fell through for want of support.
The Bill put to a vote on Monday, October 6, was defeated 196-142 as the Conservatives failed to get any support from members of other Opposition parties – Bloc Québécois and NDP.
Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the House on Monday proceeded to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of Arpan Khanna (representing Oxford) and seconded by Eric Melillo (Kenora-Kiiweinoong).
It said:
(a) violent crime is up 55% under the Liberal government, and repeat offenders continue to be released because of Liberal catch and release laws; and(b) The Liberal government promised to pass criminal justice reform six months ago, but has failed to do so;
to keep repeat offenders in jail and keep Canadians safe, the House thinks that Bill C-242, an Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act, also known as the Jail Not Bail Act, must pass and is committed to sitting extended hours, holding an expeditious committee study and undertaking such other procedural measures as may be necessary to pass it at the earliest opportunity.
The question was put on the motion, and it was negatived on the following division, as it got only 142 votes in its support while 196 opposed.
Earlier, last week, another Bill moved by the Conservatives also fell through for want of majority support.
Brought in by John Barlow, Conservative MP representing Foothills in Alberta, to demand an exemption on food taxation, also saw Bloc Québécois and NDP siding with the Liberals, to defeat it when the motion was put to a vote.
In his Bill, John Barlow held that since the Prime Minister said Canadians would judge him by the cost at the grocery store, and that,
(i) Food inflation was 70% above the Bank of Canada’s target,
(ii) food prices were up 40% since the Liberals took power,
(iii) Daily Bread Food Bank expected 4 million visits to its food banks in 2025, and
(iv) Food bank use in Canada was up by 142% since 2015,
The House calls on the Liberal Prime Minister to stop taxing food by eliminating:
(a) the industrial carbon tax on fertilizer and farm equipment;
(b) the inflation tax (money-printing deficits);
(c) carbon tax two (the so-called clean fuel standard); and
(d) The food packaging tax (plastic ban and packaging requirements).
There was a wide-ranging debate on the Bill as both the Treasury and the Opposition Benches took sides in reacting to the rising prices of groceries in the country.
Finally, when the motion was put to a vote, it got only 138 votes in support while 194 went against it.
(Toronto based Prabhjot Singh is an award-winning journalist recognized for investigative journalism, environment and business reporting, sports and feature writing. A Media Consultant, he has remained associated with various news agencies, including Reuters, and media houses like PTC News (India/Canada), Parvasi Media (Canada) the Liberal World (India), and The Indian Panorama, New York. He is interested in Indian Diaspora and the Sikh Diaspora in particular. His work has appeared in various international and national newspapers, magazines and journals.)
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Refugees to face longer route to UK settlement rights
London (TIP)- Refugees will have to wait longer than the current five years before they can apply to settle permanently in the UK, under changes the government has said it is planning to the asylum system.
It has also confirmed that the route enabling refugees to automatically bring close relatives to the UK – which was temporarily suspended in September – will be permanently scrapped.
Sir Keir Starmer said the changes will mean “there will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”
It comes as the prime minister meets leaders at the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen, where he will be discussing ways to tackle illegal migration.
Ahead of that meeting, the prime minister said “fundamental changes” were being made to the asylum system to show that “settlement must be earned by contributing to the country”.
The changes are similar to those already being planned for people arriving in the UK for other reasons, such as on a work visa, many of whom will have to wait 10 years to settle.
Earlier this week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out her plans to make it similarly harder for other categories of migrant to qualify for indefinite leave to remain.
Under the proposals, those wishing to apply will have to learn English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record, and volunteer in their community to be granted permanent settlement status.
Details of the new conditions refugees will have to meet in order to settle in the UK and be accompanied by family members will be set out later in the autumn.
A government source said the UK had been “overly generous” towards asylum seekers and wanted to show “we get it, we will reduce the pull factors.”
But shadow home secretary Chris Philp called the planned changes a “Starmer gimmick” that “will make no difference whatsoever”.
The Refugee Council, a charity, said the government’s approach would not deter people trying to get to the UK but would instead push “more desperate people into the arms of smugglers in an effort to reunite with loved ones”.
The government has been trying to reduce the numbers of people arriving in the UK on small boats crossing the Channel.
On coming to power in July 2024, Labour promised to “stop the chaos” of the “small boat crisis” but numbers remain at high levels.
Currently refugees can apply to settle in the UK – also called indefinite leave to remain – after five years, giving them the right to live, work and study in the country for as long as they want provided they meet certain conditions. Source: BBC -
Two killed, 3 critically injured in Manchester synagogue attack: UK Police
Manchester (TIP)- British police said on Thursday that four people were injured in a violent incident near a synagogue in Manchester, northwest England, Reuters reported. According to Greater Manchester Police (GMP), officers were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall after receiving reports that a car had been deliberately driven at pedestrians. Witnesses also reported that one man had been stabbed.
In a series of posts on X, Greater Manchester Police said they were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall shortly after 9:30 am by a member of the public, who said he had witnessed a car being driven toward members of the public and that one man had been stabbed.
Responding officers confronted the suspect, who was subsequently shot by police. The individual has been taken into custody and is receiving medical treatment. Authorities confirmed that four people sustained injuries during the incident. Their conditions are not yet known. Police said the situation is contained and there is no wider threat to the public.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the attack and additional police officers would be deployed at synagogues across the UK.
On the attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters, “This morning’s attack is absolutely shocking. I’m on my way back to London to chair an emergency meeting, and additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country. We will do everything we can to keep our Jewish community safe.”
King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened” to learn of the attack “on such a significant day for the Jewish community.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services,’” the monarch said on his social media feed.
The motive behind the attack has not yet been established, and investigations are ongoing.
The incident took place as people gathered at the synagogue on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar.
Witnesses told police they saw a car being rammed into people walking on the street close to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, an outer suburb of Manchester. They also reported a man being stabbed.
Greater Manchester Police officers were called to the incident site at 9:31am (08:31 GMT) by a member of the public.
“GMP declared a major incident at 9.37am. Shots were fired by Greater Manchester Police firearms officers at 9.38am,” the police stated.
Paramedics arrived at the scene at 9:41am (08:41 GMT) and were tending to members of the public.
The National Health Service (NHS) North West Ambulance Service said in a statement that its crews had treated patients at the scene, and critically injured people had been transported to hospital. -
Putin praises Trump but warns support for Ukraine will ‘damage relations’
MOSCOW (TIP)- Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States that supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington but will not change the situation on the battlefield, where the Russian army is making slow but steady advances.
The potential supply of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv will signal a “qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said at a forum of international foreign policy experts in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The Russian leader noted that even though Tomahawk missiles will inflict damage on Russia if supplied to Ukraine, Russian air defenses will quickly adapt to the new threat. “It will certainly not change the balance of force on the battlefield,” he added, emphasizing that the Russian military is continuously making gains against Ukraine.
Asked about Trump dismissing Russia as a “paper tiger” because of its failure to defeat its smaller neighbor after more than 3 1/2 years of fighting, Putin argued that Russia has faced all the NATO allies backing Kyiv.
“We are fighting against the entire bloc of NATO and we keep moving, keep advancing and feel confident and we are a paper tiger; what NATO itself is?” he said. “A paper tiger? Go and deal with this paper tiger then.”
A White House official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity said Russia’s economy and reputation have taken a battering because of the war as Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a peace deal that would have benefited his country.
At the same time, Putin hailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to help negotiate peace in Ukraine and described their August summit in Alaska as productive.
“It was good that we made an attempt to search for and find possible ways to settle the Ukrainian crisis,” he said, adding that he felt “comfortable” talking to Trump. Putin also reaffirmed his offer to the U.S. to extend their last remaining nuclear arms control pact for one more year after it expires in February. The 2010 New START treaty limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.
“If they don’t need it, we don’t need it either,” he said, adding that “we feel confident about our nuclear shield.”
While praising Trump and trying to emphasize potential common interests, the Russian president sent a stern warning to Ukraine’s Western allies against trying to seize ships that carry Russian oil to global markers. He argued that would amount to piracy and could trigger a forceful response while sharply destabilizing the global oil market. Source: AP -
French prime minister puts onus on lawmakers to strike budget deal
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Friday ruled out using special constitutional powers to ram the budget through parliament without a vote, putting the onus on lawmakers to agree on a compromise.
Lecornu’s pledge came ahead of crunch talks with political rivals – the far-right National Rally (RN) and Socialist Party – over how to pass a slimmed-down 2026 budget, a complex legislative balancing act that could lead to his ouster.
The two parties welcomed Lecornu’s decision but said that was not enough, and that the new prime minister would have to do more if he wanted them to agree not to vote him out.
Lecornu, who last month became President Emmanuel Macron’s fifth prime minister in two years, has been in complex talks with party leaders and unions to find a way to push the budget through a deeply fragmented parliament.
“In a functioning parliament — one that’s been recently renewed and reflects the face of France — you can’t just force things through,” Lecornu said in his first televised address since being named by Macron three weeks ago. The special clause in article 49.3 of the constitution allows prime ministers to skip votes and ram bills through parliament, but exposes them to a no-confidence vote that can bring down the government.
It has been criticised as disrespectful of lawmakers and undemocratic, but Lecornu’s predecessors have often used it to pass complex legislation. -
Israel intercepts last Gaza flotilla boat, begins deportations
TEL AVIV (TIP)- The Israeli military intercepted the last boat in an aid flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza on Friday, October 3, a day after stopping most of the vessels and detaining some 450 activists including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said the Marinette was intercepted some 42.5 nautical miles (79 km) from Gaza. Israeli army radio said the navy had taken control of the last ship in the flotilla, detained those aboard and that the vessel was being led to Ashdod port in Israel.
In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli naval forces had now “illegally intercepted all 42 of our vessels—each carrying humanitarian aid, volunteers, and the determination to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza”.
MARINETTE PASSENGERS CLAIM TO SEE A WAR SHIP
A camera broadcasting from the Marinette showed someone holding up a note saying “We see a ship! It’s a war ship”, before a boat is seen approaching and soldiers boarding. A voice is heard telling the people on board not to move and to put their hands in the air. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the boat’s status. The ministry said on Thursday the flotilla’s one remaining vessel would be prevented from breaching the blockade if it tried to. The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of the enclave, almost two years into Israel’s siege ofGaza which was sparked by militant group Hamas’ October 7 attacks. Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt. The foreign ministry had said the flotilla was previously warned that it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a “lawful naval blockade”, and asked organisers to change course. It had offered to transfer aid to Gaza.The Israeli foreign ministry on Friday said that four Italians had been deported. “The rest are in the process of being deported. Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible,” it said in a statement. All the flotilla participants were “safe and in good health”, it added.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in cities across Europe as well as in Karachi, Buenos Aires and Mexico City on Thursday to protest the flotilla’s interception. On Friday, tens of thousands of Italians demonstrated, as part of a day-long general strike called by unions in support of the flotilla.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed calling the activists “terrorists” as he stood in front of them.
“These are the terrorists of the flotilla,” he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night.
Cyprus said one of the flotilla boats had docked in Cyprus with 21 foreigners aboard. The vessel had asked to dock in Larnaca for refuelling and humanitarian reasons, a Cypriot government spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not identify the boat, or say whether it had been among those stopped by the Israeli military.
Israel has faced widespread global condemnation over the war in Gaza, and is defending itself against charges of genocide in the International Court of Justice.
Israel says its actions have been in self-defence and has consistently denied genocide allegations.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 66,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say. It began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed during the assault, and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal announced this week to end the war that demands Hamas surrender. U.S. President Donald Trump has given Hamas a few days to respond, and warned Hamas that Israel would continue its siege of Gaza if the group refused. Source: Reuters -
Frenchwoman who escaped Nazi massacre dies aged 100
Camille Senon, a feminist and union activist who narrowly escaped the Nazi massacre in her French village of Oradour-sur-Glane died on October 2 aged 100, the mayor’s office said.
Senon was a young woman when the Third Reich’s elite SS unit marched into Oradour on June 10, 1944, killing 642 villagers, including all of her family. “I was working in Limoges, but I would return to Oradour at the weekend. That day I took the tramway as usual, and we quickly saw the black smoke in the distance,” Senon told AFP in 2017.
“They kept us several hours, explaining to us what they had done to Oradour and letting us believe that maybe they would kill us too,” she recounted.
“What I saw next is hard to speak of. There was not a soul left alive.”
Most of the victims were women and children.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of France, Senon joined the CGT union and the Communist Party.
She rose up the male-dominated ranks of the trade union movement to head one of the CGT’s most important women’s sections in Paris.
Throughout her life, Senon, who styled herself as an “eternal rebel”, never gave up fighting for women’s rights. -
Lawrence Bishnoi gang designated terrorist outfit in Canada
By Prabhjot Singh TORONTO (TIP): Canada has formally designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity under its criminal code, citing the group’s violent activities, intimidation tactics and threats to diaspora communities.
The announcement was made in Ottawa on Monday, September 29, by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. It has come just days after India and Canada’s National Security Advisers held talks in New Delhi, signaling possible cooperation in addressing concerns related to gangsterism and extremism.
On September 22, the Canadian authorities had arrested Inderjit Singh Gosal, a close aide of banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on multiple firearms-related charges in Ottawa. As per sources, Gosal was later released on bail, though he is learnt to be on the radar of authorities. Following the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in June 2023, Gosal took a more prominent role in coordinating diaspora mobilization, including the controversial “Khalistan referendum” campaigns promoted by the SFJ.
The Bishnoi gang is led by Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat. He is accused in numerous charges, including murder, extortion and high-profile assassinations, including of famous Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
The Canadian Public Safety Minister said the decision to designate Bishnoi gang as a terror entity would give law enforcement “powerful and effective tools” to curb the gang’s activities.
With the addition of Bishnoi gang, there are now 88 entities listed as terrorist groups under Canadian law. The government emphasized that the move reflected Ottawa’s commitment to tackling transnational threats and ensuring public safety. “The Bishnoi gang is not just a criminal network but a terrorist organization that thrives on fear and violence. This designation makes it clear that Canada will not tolerate their crimes,” Anandasangaree said.
After the listing, all property, vehicles and financial assets linked to the Bishnoi gang in Canada can now be frozen or seized. It also becomes a criminal offence for anyone in Canada or Canadians abroad to knowingly provide funds, services or resources to the gang.
“This group has targeted communities, cultural figures, businesses and prominent individuals through murder, shootings, arson and extortion. Canadians deserve to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods. Today’s decision is about protecting them,” Anandasangaree said.
Originating in India, the Bishnoi gang has grown into a transnational crime syndicate with a footprint in Canada, particularly in areas with significant diaspora population. Security agencies say the outfit uses fear, extortion, and targeted killings to spread terror, often reaching across borders to execute its designs.
Canadian officials said the designation would help border and immigration authorities make decisions on the admissibility of individuals linked to the gang, while also strengthening the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s ability to prevent and disrupt terrorism-related crimes.
(Source: TNS)(Toronto based Prabhjot Singh is an award-winning journalist recognized for investigative journalism, environment and business reporting, sports and feature writing. A Media Consultant, he has remained associated with various news agencies, including Reuters, and media houses like PTC News (India/Canada), Parvasi Media (Canada) the Liberal World (India), and The Indian Panorama, New York. He is interested in Indian Diaspora and the Sikh Diaspora in particular. His work has appeared in various international and national newspapers, magazines and journals.)
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Canadian, Indian foreign ministers meet on the sidelines of the United Nations
By Prabhjot Singh NEW YORK / TORONTO (TIP): A couple of months after they talked to each other on the phone, foreign ministers of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Canada, Anita Anand, met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
It was an Ottawa-based diplomat-cum-journalist, Bhupinder Singh Liddar, who put up a picture of the two foreign ministers on his social media page yesterday.
Both Indian and Canadian foreign ministers held a wide range of discussions with foreign ministers of many other countries. Canadian PM Mark Carney also addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations.
During their meeting, the ministers discussed strengthening Canada and India’s bilateral ties, following productive discussions between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, in June this year. The ministers also agreed to advance shared priorities, including economic prosperity, security and global governance.
The ministers acknowledged recent progress in the two countries’ relationship through the appointment of high commissioners in India and Canada. Minister Anand noted that Canada’s high commissioners play a key role in promoting Canadian trade and investment, providing services to Canadians abroad and enabling dialogue between countries.
Minister Anand emphasized that Canada remains committed to supporting and growing the well-established commercial ties shared by Canada and India, including agricultural products, critical minerals and energy products.
The Indian Foreign Minister expressed the hope that he would greet his Canadian counterpart in India soon. There are speculations on social media that she may visit India next month. In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had at the invitation of Canadian PM Mark Carney, visited Canada to attend the G7 summit.
The two ministers agreed to remain in contact.
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Canadian couple coauthor illustrious 3-volume series on Golden Temple with Raghu Rai, wife
By Prabhjot Singh NEW DELHI / TORONTO (TIP): For Mr. Baljit Singh Chadha, a leading businessman of Montreal, and his wife, Mandeep Kaur (Roshi) Chadha, the experience of working on an important illustrated book related to Sikhism with two of the top contemporary photojournalists – Raghu Rai and Gurmeet Kaur Sangha Rai – was like a dream come true.
Mr. Baljit Singh Chadha was one of the first businessmen of Indian origin who organized an introductory party for Mark Carney in his election as the leader of the Liberal Party for the post of Prime Minister after Justin Trudeau had announced his decision to quit.Their efforts bore fruit as they travelled all the way from Montreal in Canada to New Delhi in India this week to present a first set of their books to none other than the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri.The books, says Baljit Singh Chadha, “are a comprehensive study of heritage, significance and conservatism.”
Raghu Rai is India’s top photojournalist who worked for some of the top media houses in the country, and his wife, Gurmeet Kaur Sangha Rai, is a leading architect.
Gurmeet, who got married at the age of 23, balanced her family and her architectural goals with Raghu Rai. Interestingly, she managed to balance work and family obligations while working on important UNESCO projects, including the GT road project and the Sri Harmandir Sahib project.
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Dinesh Patnaik presents his credentials to the Gover-General of Canada
By Prabhjot Singh OTTAWA (TIP): Dinesh Patnaik of India was among six new heads of foreign missions in Canada who presented their letters of credence before formally commencing their diplomatic duties in Canada.
With his assuming office, India’s full-fledged diplomatic relations have been restored. All six new heads of commission presented their credentials to the Governor-General of Canada, Mary Simon, at a ceremony held at Rideau Hall.
Mary Simon officially welcomed all six new heads of mission to Canada.
Six heads of mission after presenting their credentials to the Governor-General of Canada, Mary Simon, in Ottawa on Thursday, September 25, 2025 (Picture by Governor-General’s Media team) The new heads of missions are: Karl Anthony Amadeus Dhaene, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium; Anthony Dessources, Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti; Hanne Ulrichsen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway; Andrii Plakhotniuk, Ambassador of Ukraine; Dinesh Kumar Patnaik, High Commissioner for the Republic of India; and Stefan Tomašević, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia. With the presentation of their letters of credence, they formally commenced their diplomatic duties in Canada.
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House-to-house delivery of mail will be a thing of the past in Canada
OTTAWA (TIP): There is a time when traditions become a part of history. And there is one such tradition which is about to be confined to the annals of history.
Door-to-door mail delivery in Canada will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, people with disabilities and in rural and remote areas will have to go to the nearby community mailboxes to get their letters.
Though the number of letters sent through Canada Post has been coming down drastically, there are still ardent followers of hard copies or letters coming as part of surface mail. These are the avid postal mail lovers who are in the habit of checking their mailboxes outside the main doors of their houses every day. Soon, they will have nothing to look for in their mailboxes. It is more true for people living in rural or remote areas. As of today, there are nearly 4 million Canadian households who are privileged to get their letters delivered to their homes.
This facility or privilege is all set to be withdrawn as the Government of Canada announced some far-reaching decisions to save Canada Post, a national institution, older than Canada itself.
Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement, issued the following statement:
“Canada Post is a national institution, older than our country itself, that has been serving Canadians for more than 150 years. For generations, postal workers have connected communities in every corner of the country, providing an essential lifeline to hundreds of northern, Indigenous, and rural communities. Canadians continue to rely on it today, and it remains a vital public service.
“At the same time, Canada Post is now facing an existential crisis. Since 2018, the corporation has accumulated more than $5 billion in losses. In 2024 alone, it lost over $1 billion, and in 2025, it is already on track to lose close to $1.5 billion. Earlier this year, the federal government provided a $1-billion injection to keep the corporation operational. In the second quarter of 2025, Canada Post posted its worst quarterly results ever, losing $407 million. Today, the corporation is losing approximately $10 million every day.
“Twenty years ago, Canada Post delivered 5.5 billion letters annually. Today, it delivers only 2 billion, even as the number of households has grown. That means fewer letters are being delivered to more addresses, while fixed costs remain high. At the same time, parcel volumes — which should have been Canada Post’s growth opportunity — have declined. In 2019, Canada Post delivered 62% of parcels in Canada; today, its market share has dropped below 24%, with private competitors taking the lead. Structural challenges, combined with outdated restrictions and stalled negotiations between labor and management, have further limited the corporation’s ability to adapt.
Soon after the announcement was made by the Minister, an issue was raised in the House of Commons where some MPs from Quebec wanted that door-to-door delivery of letters in rural and remote areas and to the families of disabled persons, should not be impacted.
Joel Lightbound, however, insisted that it was more important to save the institution, which was getting deeper into mounting losses.
The federal government has now directed Canada Post to transition from door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes for four million additional addresses. Joël Lightbound, while addressing a Press Conference, revealed that the Crown agency has also been asked to restructure rural deliveries and shift non-urgent mail from air to ground. Lightbound said that he projects to raise delivery times from three or four days to up to seven days for non-urgent mail. “Canada Post is facing an existential crisis. We need to respond,” he said. “I know that Canadians care about the future of Canada Post.”
Ottawa plans to address the loss by adopting all recommendations issued by the Industrial Inquiry Commission led by William Kaplan in a May 15 report.
Along with the switch to community mailboxes for four million additional addresses and developing dynamic routes to accommodate daily variations in mail volume, a more straightforward process for increasing stamp rates will be implemented, Lightbound said.
He also announced the government will lift a 1994 moratorium on closing roughly 4,000 post offices that were once located in rural regions but have now transitioned to suburban areas as communities expand. He said that remote and indigenous communities will continue to have access to post offices despite the moratorium being lifted.
Ottawa will also instruct Canada Post to employ part-time workers to meet the demand for weekend and additional weekday deliveries resulting from high volume. These workers will be compensated with the same pay and conditions as full-time employees, along with proportional benefits and pensions. The changes are expected to generate nearly half a billion dollars in annual savings, helping ensure Canada Post’s long-term survival, the minister said.“We can’t go on with Canada Post losing $10 million a day and Canadian taxpayers footing the bill,” Lightbound said.
Incidentally, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has not taken well to all the recommendations of the Kaplan Committee. Instead, it has raised serious objections to some of the recommendations.
“We fundamentally disagree with the bulk of its recommendations and challenge some of the information on which it was based,” says the union, holding that Kaplan’s recommendations are unacceptable as no action plan to increase the share of parcel service has been made.
Meanwhile, Canada Post said it supports the changes announced by Lightbound.
“Today’s announcement will allow us to make the changes needed to restore Canada’s postal service for all Canadians by evolving to better meet their needs,” Canada Post president and CEO Doug Ettinger said in a Press release. “We take this responsibility seriously and will work closely with the government and our employees to move with urgency and implement the necessary changes thoughtfully.
“Our goal is to ensure that a strong, affordable, Canadian-made, Canadian-run delivery provider supports the needs of today’s economy and delivers to every community across the country,” he added.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based senior journalist.) -
Abbas denounces Israel’s ‘War of Genocide’ in UNGA speech
United Nations (TIP)- On the third day of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the world body via video link, following the Trump administration’s refusal to issue visas to him and his delegation.
In his remarks, Abbas made it clear that he does not endorse the actions of Hamas during the October 7 assault on Israel. “Despite all what our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on the seventh of October,” he said, adding that the killing of civilians and the taking of hostages does “not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence.”
Abbas reaffirmed that the Gaza Strip remains a central part of the Palestinian state. “We have affirmed, and we will continue to affirm, that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine, and that we are ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there,” he stated.
Rejecting any role for Hamas in the future government, Abbas insisted, “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance,” stressing that armed groups must disarm. “Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one legal security force. We reiterate that we do not want an armed state. Ladies and gentlemen, our wounds are deep and our calamity is great.”
Abbas also turned attention to the broader Palestinian struggle, noting, “Seven million Palestinians are still living the tragedies of the Nakba and displacement since 1948.” He said the people of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza continue to endure “the tragedies of the Israeli aggression and occupation for decades,” citing years of “occupation, killing, arrests and settlement and the theft of money, property and lands.”
Highlighting global inaction, Abbas pointed out, “More than a thousand resolutions at the United Nations, not one of them was implemented. There have been many efforts, many international initiatives, without reaching an end to this tragic situation that the Palestinian people are living under the yoke of occupation.”
He reminded the Assembly that the Palestinian authorities had adhered to the Oslo Accords. “We restructured our institutions, and we amended our national charter, and we rejected violence and terrorism and we adopted a culture of peace,” Abbas said. “We made all our efforts to build the institutions of a modern Palestinian state that lives side by side in peace and security with Israel, but Israel did not adhere to signed agreements and has worked systematically on undermining them.” -
Israel deepens Gaza City offensive as Netanyahu heads to US
CAIRO/JERUSALEM (TIP)- Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza City on Thursday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, with U.S. President Donald Trump pursuing a deal to end the Gaza war.
Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people across the Palestinian enclave on Thursday, local health authorities said. They included 11 people from two families in Zawayda town in the central Gaza Strip, where planes hit a residential building.
Israel’s military did not comment on the incident but said it had struck 170 targets across Gaza in the past 24 hours and attacked “terror infrastructure” used by militant groups to attack soldiers. Its forces were deep in Gaza City, it said.
Tanks have entered Gaza City as part of an offensive that Israel says is intended to eliminate Hamas following its deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 but which has caused extensive destruction, a humanitarian catastrophe and widespread hunger.
Netanyahu says Gaza City is the Palestinian militant group’s last bastion, but hundreds of thousands of civilians remain there, fearing there is nowhere safe for them to go.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday Washington was confident of securing breakthrough on Gaza in coming days after Trump shared a 21-point Middle East peace plan with leaders of Muslim-majority countries in New York.
Trump also promised Arab leaders he would not allow Israel to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Politico reported. Palestinians want the West Bank for an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has declared there will never be a Palestinian state although Britain, France, Canada and other nations this week formally recognised Palestinian statehood. Some of Netanyahu’s coalition allies want Israel to annex the West Bank.
Israel has become diplomatically isolated over its military siege of Gaza, with European nations and others increasingly critical of its conduct.
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in the Gaza war. Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu has retained the backing of the U.S., Israel’s most important ally, and Trump told the U.N. this week that moves to recognise a Palestinian state risked rewarding what he called Hamas atrocities and could encourage continued conflict.
Netanyahu is expected to address the General Assembly on Friday and meet Trump next week. Leaving Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu said he would denounce leaders who had recognised a Palestinian state.
He said he would discuss the war in Gaza with Trump, including defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. He said he also intended to discuss efforts to expand diplomatic relations with countries that do not officially recognise Israel.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. About 48 hostages remain in captivity, with 20 of them believed to be alive. -
China leads nations with new climate plans, defying U.S. climate denial
United Nations (TIP)- China led several countries in announcing new climate plans on Wednesday and offered a veiled rebuke of the U.S. president’s anti-climate rhetoric a day earlier at the U.N. General Assembly.
Addressing a climate leaders’ summit hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a live video message from Beijing that by 2035 his country would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 7% to 10% from their peak.
In addition, Xi said China planned to increase its wind and solar power capacity by six times from its 2020 levels within the next 10 years — helping to increase its share of non-fossil fuels in domestic energy consumption to over 30%. China‘s reduction target marked the first time the world’s biggest emitter pledged a cut in emissions, rather than just limiting their growth, though the reduction was less than many observers had expected. Xi urged stronger climate action from the world’s developed countries. He referred, though not by name, to the United States for moving away from the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. “Green and low-carbon transformation is the trend of our times. Despite some countries going against the trend, the international community should stay on the right track, maintain unwavering confidence, unwavering action and undiminished efforts,” Xi said. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump used his U.N. General Assembly speech to blast climate change as a “con job,” to call scientists “stupid” and to criticize E.U. member states and China for embracing clean energy technologies.
Trump ordered a second withdrawal by Washington from the 10-year-old Paris treaty, which aimed to prevent global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius through national climate plans. The U.S. is the world’s biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter and second-biggest current emitter behind China. Ian Bremmer, a political scientist with the Belfer Center, said Trump’s climate denial speech had effectively ceded the market for post-carbon energy to the Chinese.
“Trump wants fossil fuels and the United States is indeed a powerful petro-state,” Bremmer said. “But letting China become the world’s sole powerful electro-state is the opposite of making America great again … at least if you care about the future.”
Observers had been hoping that China would seize on the U.S. retreat as a moment to announce a reduction target of at least 30% to stay in line with its past goal of net-zero emissions by 2060.
Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society, said China’s announcement was underwhelming in light of its rapid production of renewable energy and electric vehicles. -
US has Gaza peace plan and hopes for breakthrough soon, says envoy
The United States shared a 21-point Middle East peace plan at this week’s U.N. meetings and is hopeful for a breakthrough on Gaza in the coming days, its envoy to the region said.
U.S. President Donald Trump presented proposals to leaders from several Muslim-majority countries – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt – during a meeting held on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly on Monday, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said.
“I think it addresses Israeli concerns and, as well, the concerns of all the neighbors in the region,” he said. “We’re hopeful, and I might say even confident that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough,” he added.
Israel has drawn global condemnation over its war in Gaza, which is nearing the two-year mark with no ceasefire in sight. The conflict has caused major destruction and killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
A global hunger monitor says part of the territory is suffering from famine.
The current war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. About 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, are still being held. -
Danish officials believe drone flyovers at 4 airports are meant to sow fear and division
Drones flew over four Danish airports overnight Sept 24 into Sept 25, the latest instance of unexplained drone activity that has raised concerns about security in northern Europe amid growing Russian aggression.
Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called the incidents a “hybrid attack” because the flights all occurred within roughly the same timeframe. It was not immediately clear who was behind the incidents, but Lund Poulsen said that it appeared a “professional actor” was behind the “systematic” flights. While careful not to directly accuse a specific country, Danish intelligence officials reiterated that they estimate the risk of Russian espionage and sabotage in Denmark as high. “We have seen this in other parts of Europe, and we must also expect to see it in Denmark,” said Finn Borch, the head of the Danish Security Intelligence Service at a news conference Sept 25 night. The goal of the flyovers was to sow fear and division, Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said Thursday, adding that the country will seek additional ways to neutralize drones, including proposing legislation to allow infrastructure owners to shoot them down.
Flights were halted for several hours at Aalborg Airport in northern Denmark, which also serves as a military base. Drone sightings began shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday and ended just before 1 a.m. Thursday.
Three airports in Esbjerg, Sønderborg and Skrydstrup also were impacted. Skrydstrup is an air base that is home to some of the Danish military’s fighter jets. -
Former French president Sarkozy given five-year sentence after Libya case
Paris (TIP)- Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case related to millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
The Paris criminal court acquitted him of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.
The ruling means he will spend time in jail even if he launches an appeal, which Sarkozy says he intends to do.
Speaking after Thursday’s (Sept 25) hearing, the 70-year-old, who was president from 2007-12, said the verdict was “extremely serious for rule of law”.
Sarkozy, who claims the case is politically motivated, was accused of using the funds from Gaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign.
In exchange, the prosecution alleged Sarkozy promised to help Gaddafi combat his reputation as a pariah with Western countries.
Judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy had allowed close aides to contact Libyan officials with a view to obtaining financial support for his campaign.
But the court ruled that there was not enough evidence to find Sarkozy was the beneficiary of the illegal campaign financing.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of Euro 100,000 ($117,000, £87,000).
There was a shocked intake of breath in court when the judge read out her sentence.
Sarkozy could be sent to prison in Paris in the coming days – a first for a former French president and a humiliating blow for a man who has always protested his innocence in this trial and the other legal cases against him.
“What happened today… is of extreme gravity in regard to the rule of law, and for the trust one can have in the justice system,” Sarkozy said outside the court building.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high,” he said.
The investigation was opened in 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam, son of the then-Libyan leader, first accused Sarkozy of taking millions of his father’s money for campaign funding.
The following year, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine – who for a long time acted as a middleman between France and the Middle East – said he had written proof that Sarkozy’s campaign bid was “abundantly” financed by Tripoli, and that the Euro 50m (£43m) worth of payments continued after he became president.
Among the others accused in the trial were former interior ministers, Claude Gueant and Brice Hortefeux. The court found Gueant guilty of corruption, among other charges, and Hortefeux was found guilty of criminal conspiracy.
Sarkozy’s wife, Italian-born former supermodel and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was charged last year with hiding evidence linked to the Gaddafi case and associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud, both of which she denies.
Since losing his re-election bid in 2012, Sarkozy has been targeted by several criminal investigations.
He also appealed against a February 2024 ruling which found him guilty of overspending on his 2012 re-election campaign, then hiring a PR firm to cover it up. He was handed a one-year sentence, of which six months were suspended.
In 2021, he was found guilty of trying to bribe a judge in 2014 and became the first former French president to get a custodial sentence. In December, the Paris appeals court ruled that he could serve his time at home wearing a tag instead of going to jail. -
With eminent cricket personalities on its Board, ETPL breaks new ground
By Prabhjot Singh There is a famous saying that institutions grow taller than the men and women who built them, holding that men and women come and go, but the institutions they build stay forever.
How true? See Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator and historian, co-founder of the International Olympic Committee, or James Naismith, inventor of basketball.
It is why they say if the founders are good, great people, institutions they start to become immortal.
And of late, a lot has been happening in the world of sports. Take the example of Kerry Packer, the man who revolutionized the game of cricket. Many still remember him as the father of instant or shorter versions of cricket. And now the shorter and instant versions of cricket have taken the game to territories where they were unheard of two to three decades ago.
Cricket may have originated in England, but more than 60 per cent of European territory remained free from its influence for most of the 20th century. But now the sport is taking Europe by storm.
The start of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), for example, was a step in the right direction. Within months, the ETPL has announced a series of leadership appointments that underline its ambition to become cricket’s next global powerhouse.
In a significant move, Brian MacNeice, Chair of Cricket Ireland, has been appointed Chair of the ETPL Board, while Andrew May, CFO of Cricket Ireland, will continue as a Board Director and core member of the ETPL founding team. These appointments further strengthen the partnership between Cricket Ireland and the ETPL, underscoring the league’s commitment to strong governance and long-term ambitions.
Further strengthening the leadership team, Warren Deutrom, former CEO of Cricket Ireland, joins the ETPL on a full-time basis as Director, ETPL and Chair of Rules X, the parent company of the ETPL.
Widely respected as one of the most accomplished administrators in world cricket, Warren Deutrom was instrumental in Ireland achieving ICC Full Member status and establishing itself as a growing force on the global stage. His appointment brings global credibility and vision to the ETPL’s leadership.
Speaking on his appointment, Brian MacNeice said: “The European T20 Premier League marks an exciting new chapter for the game in Europe. It carries the potential not only to inspire a new generation of players and fans but also to firmly establish Europe as a vibrant and credible cricketing destination. At Cricket Ireland, we are delighted to be a founding partner in this journey, and we look forward to working closely with the ETPL leadership team to deliver a league built on the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and governance.”
Warren Deutrom, on being appointed as Chair of Rules X, the parent company of the ETPL, said : “I am delighted to be given this exciting opportunity to remain involved in European cricket, and to help bring this longstanding vision to reality. Strong indicators such as Italy’s recent qualification for next year’s men’s T20 World Cup, the positive impact of the Olympics for cricket’s recognition on the continent, and ICC’s digital data prove that European cricket is on a growth journey. We believe that the ETPL can play a vital role in galvanizing the world’s 2nd biggest sport in the world’s 2nd biggest sports market by establishing a world-class professional T20 league that can attract top players, partners and, ultimately, fans. I can’t wait to work alongside such an exceptional team to make this vision a reality.”
The ETPL was founded by Abhishek Bachchan (Bollywood superstar and sports entrepreneur), Priyanka Kaul (media and business strategist), Saurav Banerjee (media and investment leader) and Dhiraj Malhotra(former CEO of Delhi Capitals and ex-GM of the BCCI). Together, they have built the foundation for the ETPL to be developed as a truly world-class, professionally governed global league.
The league has already attracted significant attention across the cricketing and investment world. With Abhishek Bachchan’s celebrity and sports credentials, the strategic expertise of its co-founders, and the backing of leading advisors such as Oakvale Capital and KPMG India, the ETPL is emerging as one of the most sought-after new T20 properties worldwide.
The European T20 Premier League (ETPL) is aiming to become Europe’s premier franchise T20 league. Backed by Rules X – in partnership with the official cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands – the ETPL is bringing together international stars, European cricket boards and world-class investors to create a premier cricketing experience. Launching in 2026, with its powerful blend of cricketing pedigree, governance excellence, celebrity ownership and global investment expertise, ETPL is poised to transform the landscape of cricket in Europe and beyond.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based senior journalist. He can be reached at prabhjot416@gmail.com) -
Changes in bail, immigration laws may dominate the House of Commons when it resumes its sitting after a break
When it comes to law vs. Sentiments, the latter tends to enjoy a slight upper hand.
By Prabhjot Singh OTTAWA (TIP): Animated debates over demands for changes in bail laws and the scrapping of the temporary foreign worker program have been taking place all over Canada as Prime Minister Mark Carney is getting ready for his second session of Parliament.
The session is expected to be stormier as the Leader of the Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, looks all set to spearhead a concerted campaign against “failures of the Carney-led Liberal government.”
While Conservatives will gun for the ruling Liberals, the BC ruling NDP has indicated support for the Opposition over ending the foreign worker program. If the reactions to the BC NDP Premier’s recent statements are any indication, sentiments look hurt.
Since the start of 2025, many developed nations, including the US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and France, have been working on tightening their immigration controls, besides downsizing intakes of foreign students. These legal changes have been impacting the movement of people from developing nations to developed nations. In addition, they have been providing a lever to the Conservatives to whip up anti-immigrant sentiments on the pretext of “Saving jobs for their own people”, while fighting the problems like housing and affordability.
Growing social conflicts may be at the back of the minds of the ruling clans, both in provinces, as well as at the federal level, in their attempts to find solutions, but the problems are refusing to be contained. Instead, they are getting multiplied and becoming serious. It is why even provincial governments are taking up cudgels on behalf of Canadians to protect their jobs from being taken away by an uncontrolled influx of “immigrants”.
Domestic and street violence, house break-ins, auto thefts, growing gun culture and violent crime, which have shown unprecedented increase, are shifting the focus to fresh immigrants in general and international students in particular.
Though “deportation” of those involved in wrongful entry or the spurt in violent crime has started, yet the chorus for sweeping changes in laws, especially bail to habitual offenders, has overtaken all other remedial measures the governments have been contemplating to initiate.
In Canada, the House of Commons will resume its sitting on Monday. The leader of the Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, who won his seat back in Parliament through Battle River-Crowfoot in Alberta byelection, has already been making noise about changes in bail laws as well as advocating for the deportation of all those without proper documents.
Pierre Poilievre also called on the government to abolish the temporary foreign worker program. Poilievre says the program has oversaturated the market with cheap labor, making it challenging for young Canadians to secure employment. The TFW program allows Canadian employers to use foreign workers to fill temporary jobs when no Canadian workers can be found.
His views have been endorsed by the British Columbia Premier David Eby.
In a surprise statement early this week, David Eby called for the end of Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program — blaming Ottawa’s flawed immigration policies for filling up homeless shelters and food banks.
His statement created ripples in the strong Indo-Canadian community not only in British Columbia but also elsewhere.
“The temporary foreign worker program is not working. It should be cancelled or significantly reformed,” Eby said during an unrelated announcement in Surrey, B.C.
“We can’t have an immigration system that fills up our homeless shelters and our food banks. We can’t have an immigration system that outpaces our ability to build schools and housing. And we can’t have an immigration program that results in high youth unemployment.”
It’s a rare show of unity between Eby, of the B.C. NDP, and federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who on Wednesday called for the program to be scrapped. At a press conference in Mississauga, he blamed temporary foreign workers for “shutting our own youth out of jobs.”
His announcement, however, evoked severe criticism, both from within and outside the party. Various trade unions held that the statement made by the Premier was beyond the mandate or philosophy of the NDP.
David Eby, however, has not relented.Other than immigration laws, the other major issue likely to dominate the House of Commons is the “tariff” war with the USA. Though the Prime Minister has rolled out a plan to save the Canadian producers and jobs, the Opposition is unlikely to spare any opportunity to attack Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Laws are meant to act as deterrents for restricting the movement of people across man-made boundaries. Early this year, when the US President, Donald Trump, started rolling out his tariff plans after assuming office for his second term, the movement of people across the Canada-US border dropped considerably. New laws, though primarily focused on generating more revenue while making the US as number one country in the world, have, as initial reports show, acted as a “dampener” to drastically cut free movement of people across two friendly neighbors.
Recent reports by Statistics Canada reveal that Canadians are hitting pause on trips to the United States, and it’s not just a blip. For the seventh straight month, travel south of the border has dropped sharply, a shift fueled by political and economic tensions.
New figures from Statistics Canada show that in July 2025, return trips by car to the US fell 36.9 per cent compared to the same month last year. Air travel was also down, with Canadians returning from the US on commercial flights dropping 25.8 per cent.
President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade stance toward Canada, including tariffs and his suggestion that the US should “annexe” its northern neighbor, has sparked anger and a growing boycott movement.
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aHouse of Commons: Finance Ministers, past and present, hold the sway in Canadian politics on day 2
By Prabhjot Singh OTTAWA (TIP): While former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Christina (Chrystia) Alexandra Freeland made public her exit from Federal Politics within hours of the new Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announcing that the new Liberal government under Mark Carney will table its first federal budget on November 4.
Early in the day, Chrystia Freeland announced her departure from federal politics, confirming she will step down from Cabinet and not seek re-election.
In a letter to constituents she expressed gratitude for the trust placed in her over five terms representing University–Rosedale riding in Greater Toronto Area. She thanked both Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney for the opportunity to serve in Cabinet, as well as her colleagues, staff, and family for their support.
It was her resignation on the day in December last year she was to present her fiscal report during the previous Liberal Government under Justin Trudeau, that rocked the federal politics. She had then resigned both as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.
She joined the race to head the Liberal Government after Justin Trudeau quit but lost it to the incumbent Prime Minister Mark Carney. She contested the last federal elections on April 28 and won comfortably.
Interestingly, while the Leader of Opposition Pierre Poilievre, after losing the April 28 elections, made a triumphant entry to House of Commons by winning a byelection from Alberta, Chrystia Freeland, made public her decision to quit federal politics.
Incidentally, she has been appointed international envoy to Ukraine and will help as an envoy in its reconstruction.
After she quit Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet, a Liberal MP of Indian origin, Chandra Arya, became the first member of the Liberal caucus to propose the name of Chrystia Freeland for the Prime Ministers’ office. Interestingly, he himself became the first candidate to join the race for the party leadership. However, the party high command rejected his credentials for the leadership race.
It did not end there. Subsequently, his nomination as a Liberal candidate from Nepean riding in Ottawa was also turned down. Instead, it is Mark Carney, the Prime Minister, contested successfully from there. It may be just a coincidence that in the current House of Commons, both Chandra Arya and Chrystia Freeland, would be missing from members’ list.
Freeland highlighted key accomplishments during her tenure, including trade negotiations with Europe, the renegotiation of NAFTA, economic protections during the pandemic, infrastructure investments, and Canada’s support for Ukraine.
Explaining her decision, Freeland said the demands of public office had become too great and that she wishes to dedicate more time to her family. She emphasized her pride in serving Canadians and expressed confidence in the country’s resilience.
“Canada has faced great challenges, but it will emerge stronger than ever,” she wrote.
When she quit in December last year, she called out her own government’s economic stewardship and “costly political gimmicks.” Her exit escalated caucus pressure on Trudeau to resign, triggering a leadership race that she ran in, but that ultimately made Mark Carney leader. The Liberals would go from 20 points behind the Conservatives to a comeback win in April’s election.
She’s attracted ire from Trump, who called her “toxic,” and from Russia, which sanctioned her back in 2014.
Sources say Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will absorb Freeland’s internal trade duties and government House leader Steve MacKinnon will take on transport.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced that the Liberals would table the federal budget on November 4.
The Opposition has been criticizing the Liberals for delaying the budget. Even on the first day of resumption of Parliament, the Conservatives mounted attacks that instead of much delayed budget, it was now being shifted to November instead of October.
The long-awaited spending plan will be the federal Liberals’ first under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
It will also be the first budget as finance minister for Champagne, who announced the date during question period Tuesday.
He billed the plan as a “generational investment” in Canada’s future.
“We’re going to present a great budget in this house on the fourth of November, mister speaker,” he said.
“We’re going to build this country, mister speaker, we’re going to protect our communities, we’re going to empower Canadians.”
Carney has billed the budget as one of both cost-cutting and investment as Ottawa looks to protect Canada’s economy against U.S. trade disruption.
The federal budget typically arrives in the spring but the Liberals delayed it until the fall.
The minority Liberal government will need support from at least one other party to pass the budget in the fall session of Parliament.
Carney has announced a series of big-ticket spending items since the spring election, including billions of dollars in new spending on defense and infrastructure.
The federal government also cut personal tax rates in the lowest tax bracket by a percentage point as of July and has announced an expenditure review to trim day-to-day spending across the public service.
Many fiscal observers are expecting the federal deficit to balloon in the fall budget. Carney has pledged to balance the operating side of the budget within three years even as capital spending is expected to grow.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto-based senior journalist)
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Israel army says will use ‘unprecedented force’ in Gaza City, urges residents to leave
Tel Aviv (TIP)- The Israeli military warned on Friday, Sept 19, it would operate with “unprecedented force” in Gaza City, telling residents to flee southwards as it pressed its ground offensive on the territory’s largest urban center, as strikes and operations continued across the Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces said troops expanded their operations in Gaza City, and in the past day, killed more than 10 operatives and directed strikes on terror infrastructure.
In the Strip’s south, the military said troops operating in Khan Younis and Rafah killed several terror operatives and demolished dozens of sites used by Hamas.
Local Hamas-run health authorities said at least 22 people were killed across the Strip in Israeli strikes. The casualty figures could not be independently verified and did not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
As troops pushed the Gaza City ground offensive, the military announced the as-planned closure of the Salah al-Din Road, a temporary second evacuation route for residents of Gaza City to the southern Strip. Palestinians evacuating Gaza City can now only do so via the Rashid coastal road. “The IDF will continue to act with great and unprecedented force against Hamas and the other terror organizations,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman said. “For your safety, take the opportunity and join the hundreds of thousands of [Gaza] City residents who have moved south to the humanitarian area, and do not allow Hamas to exploit you as human shields.”
The military on Friday said it estimated 480,000 Gaza City residents have fled since late August.
Around one million Palestinians were estimated to be residing in Gaza City before the IDF launched a major offensive against Hamas in the area.
Ahead of the offensive, the IDF ordered Palestinians in all areas of Gaza City to evacuate immediately to an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Strip’s south. In western Gaza City on Friday, Sami Baroud described “relentless and intense shelling.”
“Our life has become nothing but explosions and danger,” the 35-year-old told AFP by telephone.
“We have lost everything — our lives, our future, our sense of safety. How can I evacuate when I can’t even afford transportation?”
Nivin Ahmed, 50, fled south from Gaza City to the central city of Deir el-Balah on Thursday, walking with seven family members. “We walked more than 15 kilometers [nine miles], we were crawling from exhaustion,” she said.
“My youngest son cried from fatigue. We took turns dragging a small cart with some of our belongings.”
Mona Abdel Karim, 36, said she had been unable to secure transport south and had been sleeping with her family on Al-Rashid Street for two nights waiting for a driver.
“I feel like I’m about to explode. We can’t walk on foot — my husband’s parents are elderly and sick, and the children are too weak to walk,” she said.
Amid the growing humanitarian crisis in the Strip, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said Hamas gunmen “brazenly robbed” four UNICEF aid trucks carrying baby formula in Gaza City on Thursday.
“The trucks were commandeered right outside the UNICEF compound in Gaza City, a direct assault on humanitarian work,” COGAT said in a statement.
UNICEF put out their own statement saying “armed individuals” commandeered four aid trucks outside their compound at gunpoint, and diverted the contents elsewhere, before releasing the drivers and the trucks.