Tag: Group of Twenty

US Ukraine Mineral Deal- Shades of Iraqi reconstruction scandal- US to provide security & the Trump admin connection to Iraq’s post-war reconstruction scandal

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US Ukraine Mineral Deal- Shades of Iraqi reconstruction scandal- US to provide security

Elbridge Colby and Keith Kellogg both served in the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq in 2003 under Paul Bremer and are now part of the Trump administration. The CPA, which acted as the transitional government overseeing post-war reconstruction in Iraq, faced significant criticism for its mishandling of reconstruction funds. Over $8 billion allocated for Iraq’s rebuilding remains unaccounted for, including more than $1.6 billion in cash that was discovered in a basement in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, Chinese companies are actively engaged in constructing a wide range of infrastructure projects, including housing units, universities, commercial centers, schools, health facilities, and power stations. They have also played a key role in developing the Nasiriya airport.

Sources:

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For a Just and Multipolar World Order: Russia and China Strengthen Alliance

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has arrived in China on his first official visit abroad after his recent inauguration. He was received by his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, with whom he held talks agreeing to deepen mutual political trust and contribute to global security and stability.

For a Just and Multipolar World Order: Russia and China Strengthen Alliance

Related:

Xi Agrees To Deepen China-Russia Military Ties, Brushing Off US Warnings

Canada’s explosive claims against India put US in a pinch

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Canada’s explosive claims against India put US in a pinch

The U.S. reportedly worked closely with Canada in investigating the apparent murder on its soil. President Biden has not publicly commented on the allegations, highlighting the tricky balancing act of standing by Canada without alienating India.

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The Washington Post reported earlier this week that several senior officials of Canada’s Five Eyes allies, of which the U.S. is a member, were informed of the allegations ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi. Nevertheless, no public comment was made by any senior leaders among the group’s members, which also include the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.

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“The fact is that the Canadians have allowed some pretty dodgy people to use Canadian soil and to spread violent messages,” Dhume said.

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“Under Trudeau, the foreign policy choices have been subordinated to domestic diaspora politics, given the importance of the Sikh diaspora in Canada, which have been important liberal voters. Trudeau, who has a minority in [Canadian] parliament, is only in power because of the [New Democratic Party] led by Jagmeet Singh,” Dehejia told The Hill.

Singh is the first Sikh to lead a major federal party in Canada, and helped Trudeau form a minority government last year after the Liberals failed to win a majority in parliament.

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Reuters reported that an unnamed senior Canadian government source said Ottawa worked “very closely” with the United States on the intelligence assessment.

Related:

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Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Khalistani terrorist at centre of India-Canada tussle?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Khalistani terrorist at centre of India-Canada tussle? All you need to know

Who is Hardeep Singh Nijjar?

Canada-based pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen at the parking lot of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in the Punjabi-dominated Surrey city of Canada’s British Columbia province.

Born in Jalandhar, Punjab, Nijjar moved to Canada in 1997 and worked as a plumber. He was married and had two children. His wealth rose suddenly due to his involvement in pro-Khalistan activities. He joined the terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International and went on to establish his own group – Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).

Nijjar was also associated with the separatist organisation, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which is banned in India. He is accused of being proactively involved in recruiting, training, financing and operationalising pro-Khalistan terrorist modules for spreading terror in India.

The Khalistani terrorist was wanted in several cases, including a blast in 2007 that killed six people in Ludhiana. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet in 2022 against the KTF chief over a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in Jalandhar. A cash reward of Rs 10 lakhs was declared against Nijjar by the NIA.

Nijjar had been accused of killing Ripudaman Singh Malik, the man who was acquitted in the 1985 Air India terrorist bombing case, in Surrey last year. He was designated as an ‘individual terrorist’ by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in July 2020.

India has repeatedly asked the Canadian authorities to take action against Nijjar for his alleged involvement in terrorist acts in Punjab. Last year the Punjab Police had sought the extradition of Nijjar on charges of reviving terrorism in the state.

‘India is behaving like a rogue state’: Dissident’s death drags Narendra Modi into global row

Nijjar was not a random target, but a prominent advocate for the creation of Khalistan, a Sikh ethno-religious state carved out of areas including India’s Punjab region.

The Khalistan movement is banned in India, where officials deem it a national security threat, but it has some support in the country’s northern regions, as well as among the sizeable Sikh diaspora in Canada and Britain.

Pakistan, India’s chief foe, is widely suspected of fanning the movement.

Related:

What is Khalistan separatist movement, how did the ideology travel from India to Canada?

Land of the Pure: The Khalistan Movement in India

Zelensky to Beg House Speaker McCarthy for More Taxpayer Money, While Biden Bullies Developing Countries to Betray Russia and China

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday and will head to Washington after the UN General Assembly

House Speaker McCarthy to Meet With Zelensky This Week

Related:

Biden urges UN to not abandon Ukraine

Biden’s call was part of his long-running theme to rally democracies against the globe’s rising autocracies. On Tuesday, he went further, implicitly urging developing nations to turn their backs on Russia and China’s autocracies and join an inter-connected, rules-based order promoted by the U.S. and its allies.

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Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, skipped the general assembly, as did China’s Xi Jinping, but Beijing’s presence loomed large on the east side of Manhattan. While much of Biden’s speech read as a pitch to the developing world, its true subject was China, although the president tried to publicly downplay tensions with Beijing, as he did just weeks ago at the G20.

Bombs for Bailouts: Pakistan Supplied Weapons to Ukraine in Return for U.S.-Brokered IMF Loan

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Biden administration helped Pakistan get a controversial new bailout from the International Monetary Fund after Pakistan agreed to secretly sell arms to the United States for the war in Ukraine, according to a new blockbuster report by The Intercept. The deal allows Pakistan to sell some $900 million in munitions while keeping IMF loans flowing to the government in Islamabad amid a spiraling economic crisis, which is driven at least partly by the austerity measures imposed by the IMF loan. Pakistan’s position on the war in Ukraine has shifted significantly since Russia’s invasion and the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was removed from office in 2022 under pressure from U.S. diplomats who objected to his “aggressively neutral” stance on the war. Khan is now imprisoned in Pakistan on corruption charges. Meanwhile, the caretaker government backed by Pakistan’s powerful military has delayed planned elections, widely seen as an attempt to block Khan’s supporters from power. “When the United States has a primary foreign policy objective, in particular when it’s a war, everything else falls away. That’s what you’re seeing in Pakistan now,” says The Intercept’s Ryan Grim.

Bombs for Bailouts: Pakistan Supplied Weapons to Ukraine in Return for U.S.-Brokered IMF Loan

Related:

“U.S. Helped Pakistan Get IMF Bailout With Secret Arms Deal For Ukraine, Leaked Documents Reveal”

Railway planned as part of India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

ASIA: Ambitions to develop an India – Middle East – Europe economic corridor with sea transport from India to the Gulf region and a railway linking Middle Eastern countries with each other and to Europe were announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi.

Railway planned as part of India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor

Related:

FACT SHEET: World Leaders Launch a Landmark India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

Neo-Con study: Why a New Black Sea Strategy is in the U.S. Interest + The Middle Corridor