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A Sikh family from India who was targeted last month in a shooting spree in the Canadian province of Ontario that killed one person was possibly a case of mistaken identity, provincial police have said. Jagtar Singh, 57, was killed while his wife Harbhajan Kaur, 55, and their daughter were critically injured during a shooting on Mayfield Road near Airport Road, along the Caledon-Brampton border, on November 21. Officers from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and paramedics upon arrival found Jagtar Singh dead on the scene, and rushed Kaur and their daughter to hospital with life-threatening injuries, the Toronto Star newspaper reported on Monday. Officers are investigating “all aspects of this homicide, including whether or not the victims of this crime were intended targets or not”, OPP Detective Inspector Brian McDermott said. “It is still too early to make any firm determinations on that aspect.” According to a source close to the victims who spoke on condition of anonymity, t...

Russia on Sunday called for an international monitoring mission to go to Gaza to assess the humanitarian situation, and said it was unacceptable for Israel to use Hamas' Oct. 7 attack as justification for punishing the Palestinian people. Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for Hamas attack that Israel says killed 1,200 people. Israel's assault on Gaza has killed at least 17,000 people, Gaza health authorities say. The United States on Friday vetoed a proposed U.N. Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas. "We strongly condemned the terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Al Jazeera in an interview aired on Sunday at the Doha Forum conference. "At the same time, we do not believe it is acceptable to use this event for the collective punishment of the millions of Palestinian people with indiscriminate shelling." Mr Lavrov said that ...

There has been a mixed response from anti-racism groups over a newly modified version of the Tintin comic books, after it was widely criticised over its colonialist depiction of Africans. "Tintin in the Congo" by Belgian comic strip artist Herge, the second volume of "The Adventures of Tintin", was first published in 1931. The Belgian Congo -- comprising most of present-day Republic of Congo -- was then a colony of the European country, becoming independent in 1960. In the comic Tintin, an intrepid reporter, travels to Belgian Congo to report on events there leading to encounters with native people, wild animals and an American diamond-smuggling gangster. Over recent decades, the comic strip has become increasingly controversial, with critics pointing to its racist and colonialist treatment of the local population. The new edition, launched in November together with two other books in the Tintin series, carries a preface explaining the colonial context of the t...

Italian environmentalists used a dye to turn Venice's Grand Canal green on Saturday in protest at what they said was a lack of progress at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. People ride in a boat as waters of Grand Canal turned green after a protest by 'Extinction Rebellion' climate activists in Venice, Italy. The protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group, dangling from the Rialto Bridge over the canal with the aid of climbing ropes, also displayed a banner that read: "COP28: While the government talks, we are hanging by a thread." The protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group displaying banner, that read "COP28: While the government talks, we are hanging by a thread." Small stretches of rivers and canals in Italian cities, from the Po in Turin in the north to Rome's Tiber in the south, were also turned green in similar protests. "In a few hours, these waters will be back to what they were before," Extinction ...

Italian environmentalists used a dye to turn Venice's Grand Canal green on Saturday in protest at what they said was a lack of progress at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. People ride in a boat as waters of Grand Canal turned green after a protest by 'Extinction Rebellion' climate activists in Venice, Italy. The protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group, dangling from the Rialto Bridge over the canal with the aid of climbing ropes, also displayed a banner that read: "COP28: While the government talks, we are hanging by a thread." The protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group displaying banner, that read "COP28: While the government talks, we are hanging by a thread." Small stretches of rivers and canals in Italian cities, from the Po in Turin in the north to Rome's Tiber in the south, were also turned green in similar protests. "In a few hours, these waters will be back to what they were before," Extinction ...

The United States widened a trade blacklist Friday taking aim at forced labor concerns involving Uyghurs and other minorities in China. Three Chinese companies -- COFCO Sugar Holding, Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group and Anhui Xinya New Materials -- were the latest additions to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list, the government said. From December 11, goods produced by the three firms will be barred from entering the United States, bringing the number of designated companies to 30. This comes "as a result of the companies' participation in business practices that target members of persecuted groups, including Uyghur minorities in the PRC," said the Department of Homeland Security, referring to the People's Republic of China. COFCO Sugar Holding refines and produces sugar, Jingweida Technology makes devices like network transformers and radio frequency filters, while Xinya New Materials manufactures textile materials. The US government and lawmak...

India on Friday emphasised the need for countries to establish a clear definition of climate finance, saying the lack of clarity affects transparency and trust. At a high-level ministerial meeting on climate finance during the annual UN climate talks in Dubai, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "I strongly believe this is the most crucial outcome we should all strive for." Yadav said that defining climate finance clearly is essential for creating trust and transparency among nations. He said that current estimates from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Oxfam reports (a transnational NGO) vary significantly and create uncertainty about the actual amount of climate finance provided. OECD estimated about USD 83 billion provided by developed countries in 2020, while Oxfam's Climate Finance Shadow Report suggests an amount ranging between USD 21 to 24.5 billion, he said. Mr Yadav said a clear definition of climate finance should ...