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India making life ‘unbelievably difficult’ for millions by ordering diplomats out, says Trudeau

Published

11 months ago

October 22, 2023

India’s decision to revoke diplomatic immunity for dozens of Canadian diplomats is making life “unbelievably difficult” for millions of people with ties to that country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.

Trudeau made the remarks in Brampton Ont. a day after his government confirmed that 41 Canadian diplomats had left India after New Delhi threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity.

“This is a violation of the Vienna Convention governing diplomacy,” Trudeau said. “This is them choosing to contravene a very fundamental principle of international law and diplomacy. It is something that all countries in the world should be very worried about.

“It also has very real impacts on the millions of people who travel back and forth between India, as students, as family members, for weddings, for businesses, for the growing trade ties between our countries.”

Canadian diplomats left India after two weeks of negotiations between India and Canada prompted by India’s demand for “parity” in the number of diplomats present in the two countries, a source with knowledge of the situation told CBC News.

India’s move on diplomats ‘contrary to international law,’ PM says

Featured VideoPrime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government of India’s move to revoke diplomatic immunity from dozens of Canadian staff posted there is a violation of international law and something countries all over the world should be worried about.

That demand was part of an angry reaction by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Trudeau’s allegation last month that Indian agents were involved in the murder of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, B.C. on June 18.

Trudeau said India’s actions are “making it unbelievably difficult” for “millions of Canadians who trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent.”

Government officials said that 45 per cent of Canada’s international students, 27 per cent of new permanent residents and 22 per cent of temporary foreign workers come from India.

“This is something that has far-reaching consequences for the diplomatic world that I know many, many countries are very worried about,” Trudeau added.

India says it’s following international law

On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly issued a statement confirming that 41 diplomats and their 42 dependents were pulled from the country before their diplomatic immunity could be revoked.

Joly’s statement said that if countries are allowed to break diplomatic conventions, “no diplomat anywhere would be safe.”

Pulling those diplomats, Joly said, will have impacts on the consular services that can be offered on the ground in India. All in-person services at consulates in India have been paused until further notice.

“Five [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] staff remain in India and will focus on work that requires an in-country presence such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment and overseeing key partners, including visa application centres, panel physicians and clinics that perform immigration medical exams,” Joly’s statement said.

The Government of India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded to Joly’s statement Friday.

“The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” the statement said.

The Indian government insisted that demanding parity in the number of diplomats present in each country is consistent with the Vienna Convention.

“We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms,” the statement said.

Canada has said that it will respect “diplomatic norms and not reciprocate this action.”

Number of Indian diplomats disputed

India claimed to have only 21 accredited diplomats in Canada and said Canada had 62 in its High Commission in New Delhi and four consulates in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bengaluru.

Canadian officials have questioned India’s arithmetic, which they say does not give an accurate picture of the respective sizes of the two diplomatic missions.

India’s claim to have only 21 accredited diplomats in Canada also appears to conflict with the registry of accredited foreign representatives in Canada, which shows that India has 60 in Canada.

Canada’s allies have started speaking out against India’s move to strip diplomats of their immunity.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the U.S. is “concerned” about the 41 diplomats’ departure form India.

“Resolving differences requires diplomats on the ground. We have urged the Indian government not to insist upon a reduction in Canada’s diplomatic presence and to cooperate in the ongoing Canadian investigation,” Matthew Miller said in a media statement.

The U.K. High Commission in Ottawa issued an almost identical statement.

“The unilateral removal of the privileges and immunities that provide for the safety and security of diplomats is not consistent with the principles or the effective functioning of the Vienna Convention,” the statement said.

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Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

Published

6 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

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AP MLB:

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Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

Published

7 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

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AP tennis:

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Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

Published

7 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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