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Canada’s prime minister has said Canadian security agencies are investigating “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and the killing of a prominent Sikh-Canadian activist earlier this year, Aljazeera reported.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday afternoon, Justin Trudeau said he personally conveyed “deep concerns” to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi earlier this month.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was fatally shot on June 18 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a city in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia, spurring widespread questions and condemnation.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said on Monday.

“In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the government of India to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter.”

India’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations, which it described as “absurd”, saying they had also been rejected by Modi when mentioned by Trudeau, according to Aljazeera.

“Allegations of Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” the ministry said in a statement. “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said later on Monday that the government had expelled an Indian diplomat – the head of India’s external intelligence agency, known as RAW, in Canada – over the allegations.

She did not provide additional details, such as the official’s name or when the expulsion took place.

“We see this possible breach of sovereignty as completely unacceptable, and so that is also why we’re coming [out] with this information today,” Joly told reporters during a brief news conference.

The Indian foreign ministry statement also rejected Joly’s comments.

The Globe and Mail newspaper first reported that Canadian national security authorities had “what they consider credible intelligence that India was behind” the killing of Nijjar, Aljazeera reported.

Sources that spoke to the Canadian news outlet did not say how they made that determination.

“The Canadian government has privately ruled out severing diplomatic relations with New Delhi but is considering measures to respond to what it considers a serious violation of Canadian sovereignty,” the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

Foreign Minister NP Saud, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, called on UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Monday.

On the occasion, the two discussed the training and security of Nepali security personnel mobilized under the UN for peacekeeping missions in different countries.

Similarly, Minister Saud met Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Ville Tavio. Matters relating to bilateral relations, mutual interest and cooperation were discussed in the meeting.

On the sideline of the UNGA, Minister Saud also called on the first Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Dr Ivica Dačić. Issues of bilateral relations were discussed during the meeting.

Foreign Minister Saud also called on his Romanian counterpart, Luminița Odobescu.

The world’s attention will turn to New York this week as the 78th UN General Assembly takes center stage. Yet, it's notable that several prominent world leaders have chosen to bypass this crucial gathering, citing their busy schedules.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and French President Emmanuel Macron are conspicuously absent from the inaugural session of UNGA. Experts say this glaring absence of key leaders, responsible for addressing pressing global issues such as climate change, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, food crises, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underscores the waning influence of the UN as a multilateral platform.

However, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres maintains a resolute focus on action rather than attendance. He emphasizes that what truly matters is what gets accomplished, especially in revitalizing the lagging SDGs. This year, alongside the customary speeches by heads of state and government, there are five high-level summits slated to tackle the burning issues plaguing our world.

According to the UN, the Climate Action Summit, set for Sept 23, aims to amplify ambitions and hold countries accountable to their international commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement, particularly in reducing global warming. The summit's key priorities include a global shift to renewable energy, development of sustainable and resilient infrastructure and cities, promoting sustainable agriculture, responsible forest and ocean management, resilience and adaptation to climate impacts, and aligning public and private finance with a net-zero economy.

On the same day, the UN will host the first high-level meeting on universal health coverage, aptly tagged “Moving together to Build a Healthier World”. This meeting is touted as the most significant political gathering ever held on this crucial subject. With over half of the world’s population lacking access to essential health services, and nearly 100m people pushed into extreme poverty due to health costs annually, this event is a pivotal opportunity to secure political commitment from global leaders to prioritize and invest in universal health coverage for all. All nations have pledged to work toward achieving universal health coverage by 2030, encompassing financial risk protection, high-quality healthcare services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines.

On Sept 24 and 25, the SDG summit will take center stage, marking the first such event since the adoption of the SDG agenda in 2015. Despite some progress toward achieving the 17 sustainable development goals, challenges like climate change and financing gaps have hindered overall progress. Small Island Developing States, least developed countries, and landlocked developing countries are falling behind on their SDG targets. To bridge this gap, significant investments, primarily in developing countries, will be a focal point of this year's discussions. The UN estimates that annual investments ranging from $5trn to $7trn across all sectors are needed to realize the SDGs.

From Nepal, a high-powered delegation led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, accompanied by Foreign Minister NP Saud and Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal, is attending the 78th UNGA. Prime Minister Dahal’s primary objective for this visit is to garner international support to conclude Nepal's long-drawn-out transitional justice process. Before embarking on his journey to New York, Dahal made efforts to advance a bill related to transitional justice that had been languishing in the Legislation Committee of Parliament. Although the specifics of international support are not fully disclosed, it's evident that Dahal seeks some flexibility in the bill to allow for amnesty in addressing human rights issues.

Dahal has held talks with the UN Secretary-General Guterres, covering a broad spectrum of issues. These discussions touched on pressing global concerns, from climate change to sustainable development goals, and emphasized various aspects of Nepal-UN cooperation, including peace efforts. Guterres expressed gratitude to Nepal for its active engagement with the United Nations, especially its substantial contribution to peacekeeping. The two leaders also delved into shared concerns related to climate change, challenges faced by Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and the crucial role of the government's leadership in Nepal’s journey toward graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) to developing country, according to the UN spokesperson.

Nepal’s key priorities 

• Climate change: Loss and damage, climate finance 
• UN peacekeeping 
• LDC graduation 
• Rights of land-locked countries 
• SDGs

Foreign Minister NP Saud has appealed to the developed countries to give developing countries a leading role in addressing the effects of climate change.

Addressing a program organized by Parliamentarians Network for a Fossil Fuel Free Future in Washington on Sunday, he called for coordinated efforts in view of the seriousness of the situation and to create an action plan for the future generation.

Speaking at the program as a keynote speaker, in the capacity of the Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Minister Saud talked about the procedural strategies for the displacement of fossil fuel.

On the occasion, Minister Saud said that developed countries should provide 100 billion USD to the Green Climate Fund as pledged and double it by 2025.

"We have been continuously urging the developed countries to increase the production of clean energy and reduce the consumption of fossil fuel. We call on our development partners to help increase the use of clean and renewable energy and transfer technology to LDCs."

Parliamentarians Network for a Fossil Fuel Free Future is a network of over 550 legislators from more than 70 countries calling for a fossil fuel free future.