1. Israel-Hamas War: US, UK & allies Urge Israel to uphold Humanitarian Laws; 6th Op Ajay Flight Brings Home 143 People
2. Had concerns over interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel: Jaishankar
3. Infiltration bid foiled in J&K’s Uri sector; two terrorists killed
4. India against yuan bill for Russian oil
5. IMEEC work begins with 3.5 lakh crore railways plan to link 8 ports on west coast

What Else

• Agniveer dies in Siachen glacier Army Chief Gen Pande all ranks condole demise
• It’s the beginning of Bharat Era: Foxconn
• US envoy Eric Garcetti goes pandal hopping in Delhi, performs Dhunuchi naach.
• Pakistan: With Nawaz back at the helm, ‘N’ looks to placate allies
• Pakistan: PPP assails political parties wishing for further election delay
• Canada has been helping China hunt for fugitives for decades: Report
• SCS: Beijing and Manila trade accusations over ‘provocative’ ship collisions near disputed atoll
• Australian PM to visit China in Nov to meet Xi; deal reached to resolve WTO wine dispute
• New US curbs on chip exports to China set to escalate battle for tech supremacy

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Israel-Hamas War: US, UK & allies Urge Israel to uphold Humanitarian Laws; 6^th Op Ajay Flight Brings Home 143 People

• Leaders of the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada spoke on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and reiterated their support for Israel and “its right to defend itself against terrorists”.
• However, the leaders also urged to adhere to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, a joint statement released by the White House read.
• Israel bombarded Gaza with air strikes early on Mon and its aircraft struck southern Lebanon overnight, as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his top generals and his war cabinet to assess the escalating war.
• The Israeli Air Force also attacked military targets of the terrorist org, Hezbollah.
• Netanyahu on Sun had given a stern warning to Hezbollah, saying that joining the war would be “its biggest mistake ever” and that they will be crippled with incredible force.
• IDF warplanes on Sun killed the deputy head of Hamas’s regional artillery array, Muhammad Katamash. (here)
• India sends humanitarian aid to Palestine as Hamas War Escalates
• As the Israel-Hamas war escalated, India on Sun sent humanitarian aid to Palestine.
• An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for the people of Palestine departed for El-Arish airport in Egypt.
• Earlier today, Israel warned it would “increase” its attacks in Gaza’s north and called on Gazans to move south out of harm’s way.
• Israel started its “total siege” of Gaza after an Oct 7 cross-border attack on its cities by Hamas members, who killed 1,400 people.
• Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that Israel’s air and missile strikes had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children. (here)
• Pointing towards the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and Ukraine conflict, EAM Jaishankar said that these conflicts have emerged as a key contributor to global volatility and the consequences are visible beyond the immediate geography, adding that the prevailing situation in the Middle East is still “not entirely clear”.
• Emphasizing that terrorism has long been practiced as a tool of statecraft, Jaishankar said that any expectation that conflicts and terrorism can be contained and their impact is no longer tenable. (here)
• Gaza crisis: China ‘always’ behind Arab, Islamic world on legitimate aims, Chinese FM Wang to Malaysia’s Kadir: China will always support the “legitimate aspirations” of Arab and Islamic countries, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Malaysian counterpart in a phone call about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
• Wang’s call to Zambry Abdul Kadir came as China continued to actively engage senior officials and diplomats around the world to mediate the crisis sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel 2 weeks ago. (here)

Had concerns over interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel: Jaishankar

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sun said that the govt had invoked parity as they had “concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel”
• “…. But in our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel,” he said.
• On Canadian diplomatic interference in Indian affairs, Jaishankar said much of the information on the matter has not yet been made public.
• “My sense is over a period of time more stuff will come out and people will understand why we had the kind of discomfort with many of them which we did,” he added.
• Talking more about the issue, he said he hoped that the situation would improve and that Indian diplomats would able to do their basic duty with confidence.
• “Ensuring [the] safety and security of diplomats is the most fundamental aspect of the Vienna Convention,” he said. (here)
• Canadian PM says India’s actions making life hard for millions of people: PM Justin Trudeau said on Fri the Indian govt’s crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.
• Trudeau spoke a day after Canada said it had withdrawn 41 diplomats following an Indian threat to unilaterally revoke their status.
• New Delhi is angry that Trudeau last month suggested Indian agents might have been involved in the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. (here)
• India may take Canada to FATF for inaction on terror funding: Hardening its stance against Canada, India is exploring options to approach the FATF over Ottawa’s inaction against terror funding operations on its soil despite New Delhi having shared “credible and clinching” evidence with it umpteen times.
• India is planning to share a “dossier of the old and new evidence” with the Paris-based watchdog, which oversees the implementation of legal, regulatory, and operational measures to combat money laundering and terror financing (here)

Infiltration bid foiled in J&K’s Uri sector; two terrorists killed

• Security forces foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir by killing two militants, a defense official said on Sun.
• Based on specific inputs of likely infiltration from across the LoC, troops were put on a high alert, and the counter-infiltration grid was strengthened.
• Taking advantage of bad weather marked by incessant rainfall and poor visibility, a group of armed terrorists attempted to infiltrate across the LoC.
• At around 3 pm on Sat, the group was intercepted by alert troops resulting in a heavy exchange of fire. (here)

India against yuan bill for Russian oil

• India is rejecting pressure from Russian oil suppliers to pay for crude imports in the Chinese currency as tensions between New Delhi and Beijing continue to simmer.
• Russia has accumulated billions of dollars worth of rupee assets given its wide trade surplus with India, but it’s struggling to use the funds.
• At the same time, Russia’s demand for yuan has grown sharply in the past year as its economy becomes more reliant on China for imports.
• Russian businesses have been settling more of their trade in yuan, with the Chinese currency replacing the dollar as the most traded currency in Russia this year.
• Indian refiners mostly pay for oil imports in dirhams, dollars, and a small amount of rupees – if oil prices are above the $60-a-barrel cap imposed by the US. (here)

IMEEC work begins with 3.5 lakh crore railways plan to link 8 ports on west coast

• The plan under the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) is to transport goods from Indian ports to Fujairah in the UAE by ship, and from there move the containers by train to Haifa in Israel.
• From Haifa, the containers will move to Europe with Italy, France, the UK, and the US having already joined the alliance.
• Ports in Greece and North Africa may also see some traffic movement. In his remarks from the Oval Office last week, US President Joe Biden identified IMEEC as a critical project for the region.
• The Rs 3.5 lakh crore investment includes several projects, which are in the pipeline or have been cleared recently, such as the Rs 4,500 Son Nagar-Andal link upgrade. (here)

Agniveer dies in Siachen glacier Army Chief Gen Pande all ranks condole demise

• An Agniveer died in the line of duty in Siachen, the Army’s Leh-hq Fire and Fury Corps said on Sun.
• Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and all ranks of the force condoled the death of Agniveer Gawate Akshay Laxman who hailed from Maharashtra.
• The Siachen glacier at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world.
• The terms of engagement of Agniveers include emolument in case of demise as a battle casualty and accordingly, the next of kin will receive Rs 48 lakh as non-contributory insurance as well as an ex-gratia of Rs 44 Lakh.
• Also, the next of kin will get an amount from the Seva Nidhi contributed by Agniveer (30%), with an equal matching contribution by the govt and interest thereon. (here)

It’s the beginning of Bharat Era: Foxconn

• A day after Google announced it would start manufacturing its flagship Pixel smartphone in India, Apple’s largest contract manufacturer Foxconn spoke about the “beginning of the Bharat era”.
• Foxconn’s India representative posted on LinkedIn photos of the company’s Hon Hai Tech Day 2023, which took place on Oct 18, and captioned, “Great event with so much India ambitions, beginning of the Bharat era, devoting to EVs and semiconductors.” (here)

US envoy Eric Garcetti goes pandal hopping in Delhi, performs Dhunuchi naach.

• US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visited a Durga Puja pandal in Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park (CR Park).
• A video shared on Eric Garcetti’s official X account shows the envoy enjoying some scrumptious Bengali street food during his pandal visit.
• Not just that, the US envoy also performed Dhunuchi naach (dance). (here) [Too much involvement]

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Pakistan: With Nawaz back at the helm, ‘N’ looks to placate allies

• In a bid to bring the political temperature down and focus on securing relief for Nawaz Sharif in graft cases, the PML-N has decided to re-establish “close coordination” with its allies in the former coalition govt.
• This decision was made during a meeting at Jati Umra on Sun, also attended by legal experts in addition to the Sharif family members.
• (Sources)- Nawaz Sharif will approach the PPP, JUI-F, and other parties of the ‘defunct’ Pakistan Democratic Movement this week.
• The PML-N would avoid a confrontation with the PPP by not responding to the latter’s scathing criticism of the relief given to the PML-N supremo by the judiciary. (here)

Pakistan: PPP assails political parties wishing for further election delay

• The PPP, which has been consistently vocal against attempts to delay the polls beyond the Jan timeline set by the Election Commission, on Sun took issue with the demand — coming from the PML-N and JUI-F — to postpone the elections even further.
• In a statement, PPP leader and former deputy NA speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said the ECP was bound by the Constitution and could not delay polls on the wishes of “two political parties.”
• He expressed concern that postponing elections could be construed as an attempt to ‘steal the election’ and expressed disappointment over the ECP’s delay. (here)

Canada has been helping China hunt for fugitives for decades: Report

• The Canadian govt has assisted Chinese authorities in their pursuit of fugitive Chinese nationals living abroad and Beijing has ensured Canada’s continuing cooperation by moves such as bartering on trade, according to an investigation by CBC’s The 5^th Estate.
• The Fifth Estate said that in Canada that help has sometimes come as a result of quid pro quo deals, people with first-hand knowledge of the relationship, including two former Canadian ambassadors to China.
• A former Royal Canadian Mounted Police operations officer in British Columbia said that he received direction “from Ottawa at the highest level” to “assist and collaborate with” Chinese officials regarding a “high-profile fugitive.”
• The officer said he refused to facilitate a meeting for the Chinese officials who wanted to interview the fugitive and convince the person to voluntarily return to China.
• China has ensured Canada’s continuing cooperation by bartering on trade, offering assistance in fighting illegal drugs, and negotiating the release of Canadians detained in China. (here)

SCS: Beijing and Manila trade accusations over ‘provocative’ ship collisions near disputed atoll

• China and the Philippines accused each other of carrying out “provocative” actions at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions continued to rise between the two.
• In a statement released around noon on Sun, the China Coast Guard said a “minor collision” took place at about 6.14 am between a Chinese coastguard vessel and a Philippine resupply boat, which it said “ignored repeated warnings and deliberately crossed the bow” of the Chinese ship “in an unprofessional and dangerous manner”.
• Two hours later a Philippine Coast Guard vessel “deliberately stirred up trouble” by running into a Chinese fishing boat.
• The Philippine Security Council accused the Chinese side of causing the Sun’s collision with the Unaiza May 2 resupply boat, which is contracted by the Philippine military.
• It said a Philippine Coast Guard vessel “was bumped by a Chinese Maritime Militia vessel” about 6.4 nautical miles from the 2^nd Thomas Shoal, an atoll in the Spratly Islands, a disputed archipelago known as the Nansha Islands in Chinese. (here)

Australian PM to visit China in Nov to meet Xi; deal reached to resolve WTO wine dispute

• Australian PM Anthony Albanese said on Sun that he would travel to China from Nov 4 to 7 to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, to ensure a “stable and productive” relationship.
• Albanese, who took office in 2022 as the head of govt intent on patching up relations with its biggest trading partner, said he would visit Beijing and Shanghai, the 1^st by an Australian leader since 2016, and confirmation of a significant step in stabilizing ties.
• On the visit, the leaders will discuss cooperation in areas such as economic links, climate change, and “links between our people”, Albanese said in a statement.
• “I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship,” he said.
• In 2019, Australia shipped wine worth around US$800 million to China, its trade data show. Last year, exports were worth US$11 million. (here)

New US curbs on chip exports to China set to escalate battle for tech supremacy

• Washington’s tightening of chip curbs on Beijing this week will intensify their battle for tech superiority and add more uncertainty to the relationships.
• They said the US move could also overshadow a possible meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at next month’s Asia-Pacific EC forum in San Francisco.
• The US Commerce Department unveiled new rules on Tue to upgrade its sweeping export controls on China’s access to cutting-edge computer chips and manufacturing equipment announced by Washington a year ago.
• US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the new rules “confront the threats to our national security” posed by the Chinese govt’s military-civil fusion strategy.
• The new rules aim to close loopholes in the previous curbs and prevent China’s development of AI for military use.
• Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based expert, said the latest move showed Washington was zeroing in on China’s ability to produce advanced chips. (here)