Reuters World News Summary

Tension has grown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday Canada was investigating "credible allegations" about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June. Australian lawmakers call for release of Julian Assange during talks in Washington A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers that traveled to the United States seeking the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said they had a productive discussion in Washington with the U.S. Justice Department.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

India tells citizens in Canada to exercise caution as relations worsen

India on Wednesday urged its nationals in Canada, especially students, to exercise "utmost caution" as ties deteriorate after each nation expelled one of the other's diplomats in an escalating row over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader. Tension has grown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday Canada was investigating "credible allegations" about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.

Australian lawmakers call for release of Julian Assange during talks in Washington

A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers that traveled to the United States seeking the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said they had a productive discussion in Washington with the U.S. Justice Department. The group of Australian lawmakers urged U.S. officials to drop their attempts to extradite Assange from a British prison to the United States, where he is wanted on charges over WikiLeaks' release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables.

Azerbaijan halts Karabakh offensive after ceasefire deal with Armenian separatists

Azerbaijan said on Wednesday it had halted military action in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after its battlefield success forced Armenian separatist forces to agree to a ceasefire that will see the area fully return to Baku's control. Under the agreement, outlined by Azerbaijan and the Russian Defence Ministry, which has peacekeepers on the ground, separatist forces are meant to disband and disarm, while talks on the future of ethnic Armenians who live there are due to start on Thursday.

Biden, Netanyahu pledge to work toward Israeli-Saudi normalization

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to work together toward a landmark agreement to forge diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Meeting for the first time since Netanyahu returned to power in December, both leaders signaled a desire to ease strains in their relationship, but Biden also made clear he was determined to discuss their differences.

Russian military says it destroys 19 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, Black Sea

Russian anti-aircraft units destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the annexed Crimean peninsula and three more over other parts of Russia, the Defence Ministry said early on Thursday. "In the night from 20th to 21st September, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to commit a terrorist attack with lethal drones on sites in the Russian Federation was intercepted," the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Israel bans workers from Gaza as border tensions escalate

Israel shut crossing points with Gaza on Wednesday, preventing thousands of workers from getting to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank, after days of border demonstrations in which Israeli troops have opened fire on stone-throwing protesters. Around 18,000 Gazans have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing a vital injection of cash amounting to some $2 million a day to the impoverished territory's economy.

Trump says if elected again he will send troops to US-Mexico border

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if elected again he would shift resources from federal law enforcement agencies and send thousands of overseas-based troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Speaking to supporters in Iowa, where the Republican Party's first nominating contest for the November 2024 election will be held in January, Trump also promised to expand on a travel ban that barred people from several countries with majority Muslim populations during his 2017-2021 presidency.

Qatar held separate talks with US, Iran touching on nuclear, drones

Qatar held separate bilateral meetings with the United States and Iran this week that touched on Iran's nuclear program and U.S. concerns about Iranian drone transfers to Russia, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The sources said the meetings have not involved the kind of shuttle diplomacy Qatar conducted in Doha this year in which Qatari diplomats went back and forth between the two sides, ultimately leading to Monday's U.S.-Iran prisoner exchange.

Analysis-Canada gathers allies as tensions rise with India over Sikh leader's murder

Canada this week divulged it had intelligence possibly linking Indian government agents to the murder of a separatist Sikh leader, the kind of news that usually sparks uproar among democratic allies. Not this time. India is being courted by the United States and others as a counterweight to China, and Trudeau's rare attack just days after New Delhi hosted a G20 Summit is putting Western nations in an awkward position.

'Stop the war' and Zelenskiy need not speak, UN Security Council chair tells Russia

It was to be Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's first in- person appearance at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Moscow's invasion of his country when Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia objected to him taking the floor at the start of the meeting. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, serving as president of the tense session, responded with a gibe at Moscow, which has long said the invasion does not amount to a war but was a mere "special military operation".