International news brief: Anti-India graffiti on Swaminarayan temple, Zelenskyy involved in car accident

Toronto, Sep 15: A prominent Hindu temple has been defaced by "Canadian Khalistani extremists" with anti-India graffiti in an apparent hate crime, prompting the Indian mission to condemn the incident and urge authorities to take swift action against the perpetrators. The time of the incident at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Toronto is not yet known.

The Indian High Commission on Wednesday tweeted," We strongly condemn defacing of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto with anti-India graffiti. Have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators." Chandra Arya, Member of Parliament, Canada tweeted, "Vandalism of Toronto BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir by Canadian Khalistani extremists should be condemned by all. This is not just an isolated event. Canadian Hindu temples have been targeted in the recent past by these kinds of hate crimes. Hindu Canadians are legitimately concerned.

Zelenskyy in car accident, no serious injuries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's car collided with another vehicle early Thursday after a battlefield visit, but he was not seriously injured, his spokesman said. Zelenskyy was returning to Kyiv from the Kharkiv region, where he visited troops in the recaptured city of Izium.

A passenger vehicle collided with the president's motorcade in the Ukrainian capital, his spokesman, Sergii Nikiforov, said in a Facebook post. The driver of the other vehicle received first aid from Zelenskyy's medical team and was taken away by ambulance, he said.

WikiLeaks founder's family brings campaign to Mexico

This week the objective was to insert mention of Julian Assange into a meeting between Mexico's president and the United States' top diplomat. Next week, it will be to have Australia's prime minister bring it up with the U.S. president at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. The efforts are part of the campaign by John Shipton, father of the WikiLeaks founder, to find allies and convince the U.S. to drop espionage charges against Assange, who remains in a British prison awaiting extradition to the U.S. The journey by the septuagenarian Australian architect together with another son, Gabriel, brought them this week to Mexico. The country has become the family's main ally in Latin America since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador offered Assange political asylum and called for the U.S. to allow him to seek refuge there.

UN chief and Russia's Putin discuss war in Ukraine

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday about exporting Russian fertilizer through Ukraine's Black Sea ports to address a growing global food crisis that threatens multiple famines. The UN chief said they also discussed security at Europe's largest nuclear plant, where he said bombing has stopped for the past three days, and prisoners of war which he would like to see exchanged.

US sets up Afghan relief fund with frozen central bank money

A year after the tumultuous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration said Wednesday it will transfer $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan central bank funds for humanitarian aid as hunger grips every province in that country. Funds will be dispersed after trustees of the new Afghan Fund meet to determine a timetable. The trustees are two Afghan economists, a US government representative and a Swiss government representative. Notably, the Taliban government will not have access to the fund, which will be held at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland. The bank in a news release said its role is "limited to providing banking services to and executing the instructions of the Board of Trustees of the Fund without involvement in the Fund's governance or decision making."

Taiwan watchful as China unleashes its cyber war

China has unleashed its cyber warfare on Taiwan which has forced Taipei to have its guard up especially in the wake of heightened tensions after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit, media reports said. In a bid to become resilient amid the Chinese aggression, Taiwan has raised its defence spending by 15 PC next year, reported Nikkei Asia. However, in the contemporary world, there are other methodologies which China is eyeing to exploit including cyber warfare against Taiwan.

Controversial cleric occupies Pakistan's state-owned Lal Masjid

Controversial cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz is once again under the spotlight for testing the nerves of the Pakistani government by occupying the state-owned Lal Masjid and reiterating his claim to be its Khateeb (the sermon-giver), media reports said. Maulana Aziz is famous for maintaining his track record of delivering fiery sermons and lambasting state authorities. Later, Dawn reported that nearly 200 people, including teenagers and minors, occupied the worship place once again on Tuesday under the leadership of the controversial cleric.

In a bid to contain the situation, the police cordoned off Lal Masjid with the help of a well-equipped contingent and barbed wire. The cleric, along with the gathering, was inside the mosque. On the condition of anonymity, some officials told Dawn that a few dozen people claiming to be natives of Rojhan city of Pakistan's Punjab province came to Lal Masjid.

SCO Summit Begins

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will be held on September 15 and 16. This year the SCO summit will be held in Uzbekistan's Samarkand. The event will have the participation of the heads of states of the SCO members - India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan