Canada and India expel diplomats over murder of Sikh activist

In today’s newsletter:

• A new low for India-Canada relations

• China launches large military drills near Taiwan

• How Trump allies are sowing election doubts

Good morning. Canada has expelled six Indian diplomats, alleging they were involved in “clandestine activities” over the murder of a Sikh activist.

A Canadian government official said Indian high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and five other diplomats had been informed that they were “persona non-grata”. India responded by kicking out six Canadian diplomats including Stewart Wheeler, Ottawa’s most senior remaining envoy.

Canadian officials are probing what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has claimed were “credible allegations” of Indian government involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist who was shot dead in a suburb of Vancouver in June 2023.

Trudeau said yesterday that the activities included clandestine information gathering, coercive behaviour targeting south Asian Canadians and involvement in more than a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder.

New Delhi called the expulsions “completely unacceptable”, saying that it reserved the right to take “further steps” in response to what it called “the Trudeau government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India”.

Here’s more on the diplomatic dispute over Nijjar’s killing — and a new low for India-Canada relations.

And here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: South Korea and Indonesia report September trade data. Japan reports revised industrial production and retail sales for August.

• Tokyo Metro IPO: The subway operator is expected to announce the final pricing of its initial public offering ahead of a Tokyo Stock Exchange listing on October 23.

• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: The China-led bloc begins a summit in Islamabad. Li Qiang will attend, the first Chinese premier to visit Pakistan in more than a decade. (Reuters)

Five more top stories

1. China deployed a record number of warplanes into airspace close to Taiwan as part of a wider military exercise, confirming fears that Beijing would ratchet up tensions days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te asserted his country’s sovereignty in a National Day speech. Taiwan said 125 military aircraft were deployed in the People’s Liberation Army exercise yesterday.

2. Chinese carmakers said they were not seeking to “overthrow” Europe’s legacy manufacturers with cheaper electric vehicles. At the Paris Motor Show, companies including Xpeng and GAC pledged their long-term commitments to the European market amid a trade war between Brussels and Beijing.

3. A suspected act of sabotage nearly caused a German plane to crash earlier this year, one of the country’s spy chiefs has said as he warned of a dramatic increase in “aggressive behaviour” by Russian agents. Thomas Haldenwang said if a package that caught fire at a logistics centre in Leipzig had ignited on a flight, “it would have resulted in a crash”.

4. Shares in Nvidia closed at a fresh record yesterday, passing the previous peak they had hit in July. Renewed confidence about a soft landing for the US economy has driven a rebound in big technology stocks since the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates last month.

5. The 2024 Nobel Prize for economics has been awarded to academics Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson for their work on wealth disparities between nations. The trio’s research highlights that institutions set up during colonisation have had an enduring impact on economic outcomes in the countries affected.

The Big Read

Since 2020, the claim that widespread voter fraud led to Donald Trump’s loss — allegations debunked and dismissed in court — has metastasised into an array of conspiracy theories casting doubt on the US election system. Now, organised, well-funded efforts by rightwing organisations are setting the stage for controversy if this year’s results are as tight as forecast.

We’re also reading . . . 

Chart of the day

Cheap natural gas is spurring Chinese truckers to switch to rigs powered by the fuel, a trend that analysts said had helped thrust China past peak diesel demand and moved it closer to reaching peak oil.

Take a break from the news

What does it take to be considered super-rich? $10mn? $30mn? $100mn? Ask 10 different wealth industry professionals and you will get 10 different answers. What they do agree on, however, is that the rapid rise in billionaires has disrupted what it means to be part of the moneyed elite.

Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Camille De Guzman