Ottawa, May 14 (IANS) Canadian businessman Maninder Sidhu, who was a parliamentary secretary, has been appointed as International Trade Minister.Sidhu, 41, who was sworn in as a minister on Tuesday, is an entrepreneur who runs his own international trade specialist business.He says in his LinkedIn page that he “worked with businesses across Canada to provide strategic advice with a focus on trade, tariffs and growth opportunities”.Elected to parliament in 2019, he did a short stint as the parliamentary secretary to the Foreign Minister.Sidhu next parlayed his business experience to become the parliamentary secretary to the International Trade Minister and has now jumped to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet, assuming that portfolio.He said in an X post that Carney has placed his confidence in him “to diversify trade, support Canadian businesses in reaching new global markets, and help create good-paying jobs across Canada”.Before his appointment, he said on Facebook about his future mission, “Canada is a trading nation — and we must strengthen and expand the infrastructure that connects us to global markets”.Sidhu and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand are two Canadians of Indian descent with international-focused portfolios.Carney has appointed Anita Ananda to the powerful post of Foreign Minister in his new cabinet charged with fulfilling the “mandate for change”.One of Anand’s missions will be to pilot the reset of the almost ruptured ties with India that Carney signalled, while managing the delicate relations with President Donald Trump’s America.Announcing the new cabinet of 28 ministers, he instructed them to “bring new ideas, a clear focus and decisive actions to their work”.Anand, who was the transport minister and had earlier held the defence portfolio, said in January that she was leaving politics and returning to academia.But Carney persuaded her to return to the cabinet and take the foreign affairs portfolio after she was re-elected in last month’s election.–IANSal/rs

Seoul, May 14 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised combined tactical drills of special operations, stressing that the most “crucial” task for the North’s armed forces is to make full preparations for war, state media reported Wednesday.The combined tactical drills of special operations and tank subunits’ joint fire strike demonstration took place the previous day, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).”Saying that our revolutionary armed forces are now in charge of not a few fronts, but the most important among them is the anti-imperialist class front and making full preparations for war is the most crucial task,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.He also said the combat drills will help “turn the whole army into an elite ranks.”Kim appears to have highlighted the concept of the anti-imperialist class front to justify the North’s deployment of troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine.Photos carried by state media showed North Korean troops in camouflage suits operating drones. South Korea’s spy agency earlier said it detected signs of North Korean troops deployed to Russia learning drone operations and tactics from Moscow.Last month, North Korea acknowledged for the first time that it has sent troops to Russia to fight against Ukrainian forces. During a visit to the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang last week, Kim said the North’s involvement in the war was “justifiable,” calling it an exercise of sovereign rights under a mutual defense treaty with Moscow.–IANSint/rs

Ankara, May 14 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his support for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara, according to the Turkish presidency.

Erdogan on Tuesday said that Turkey is stepping up its diplomatic efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace, noting that he has spoken with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said a statement issued by the presidency.Erdogan emphasised that Turkey maintains its neutral stance in the conflict and urged that the opportunity for peace should not be missed, Xinhua news agency reported.On Turkey-NATO relations, Erdogan said that Turkey places great importance on NATO and will once again assume command of the NATO Kosovo Force. He also called for greater cooperation among NATO allies in the fight against terrorism.Rutte, for his part, noted that his meeting with Erdogan comes as preparations are underway for next month’s NATO summit.”Turkey is a staunch and capable ally. We also discussed Ukraine, where there is a real window of opportunity for progress towards peace,” he wrote in a post on social media platform X.Earlier Erdogan emphasised that a comprehensive ceasefire is essential to create the proper environment for initiating talks and urged all parties to seize the current window of opportunity for a diplomatic dialogue aimed at ending the conflict.He expressed his willingness to host the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey on the occasion of peace negotiations.–IANSint/rs

Gaza, May 14 (IANS) Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced on that it had launched rocket attacks on Israeli cities in response to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.”We attacked Ashdod, Ashkelon, Sderot and Israeli settlements adjacent to Gaza with rocket barrages in response to the Israeli massacres against our Palestinian people,” al-Quds Brigades said in a press statement.A source in the movement said the attack aimed to demonstrate “the resistance’s ability to respond decisively to Israeli attacks.”Israeli media outlets, reported that sirens sounded in several cities and towns in southern Israel, including Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Sderot.Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military spokesperson, said in a statement that two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip were intercepted, while a third landed in an open area, without causing casualties or significant material damage.Following the rocket attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday night ordered residents of the Jabalia city and refugee camp, and other surrounding neighbourhoods in the central Gaza Strip, to immediately evacuate ahead of an Israeli strike, Xinhua news agency reported.The residents were instructed to relocate immediately to the shelter centers in Gaza City.The rocket attack came hours after intensive Israeli airstrikes targeted the vicinity of the Gaza European Hospital, which Palestinian sources said resulted in widespread destruction and heavy human losses.At least six Palestinians were killed and 40 others injured in the Israeli airstrikes, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.According to the IDF, the strike was aimed at an underground Hamas command and control center. The military accused Hamas of continuing to use hospitals in Gaza to conceal militant infrastructure.Israeli state broadcaster Kan and other media outlets reported that the strike targeted Hamas figure Mohammed Sinwar, the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza in October last year. It remained unclear whether Mohammed Sinwar was among the casualties.–IANSint/rs

Kyiv, May 14 (IANS) Ukraine delivered to the United States an official note confirming the completion of its internal procedures for a bilateral natural resources deal, which would establish a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction.Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko handed over the note to Julie Davis, charge d’affaires a.i. at the US embassy in Kyiv, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Interfax-Ukraine news agency .The agreement to establish the fund, which will be partially financed by new royalties on Ukraine’s mineral resources, gas and oil, was signed on April 30 in Washington by Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.According to Svyrydenko, both countries will co-manage and co-finance the fund, while Ukraine would maintain ownership and complete control over its mineral and energy resources.Earlier the US State Department has approved an F-16 fighter jet training and sustainment package worth $310 million for Ukraine, the Pentagon announced.The package included aircraft modifications, flight training, maintenance support, spare parts, ground handling equipment, and specialised software systems, according to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, BAE Systems and AAR Corporation are the deal’s principal contractors. However, This package contained no actual aircraft, as the jets would be provided by NATO allies rather than directly from the United States, said the DSCA.The support package followed an earlier $266.4 million F-16 sustainment agreement approved in December 2024 under the administration of Joe Biden, which provided mission planning systems and key maintenance equipment, Xinhua news agency reported.–IANSint/rs

Washington, May 14 (IANS) The United States urged India and Pakistan to maintain direct lines of communication in the interest of preserving regional stability and reiterated that the Donald Trump administration stands ready to help keep peace in the region.“We urge both sides to maintain direct communication to preserve regional stability,” Tommy Pigott, a statement department spokesperson, said at the daily briefing.He welcomed the “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan and commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “choosing the path of peace” and showing “strength, wisdom, and fortitude”.Pigott repeatedly stressed that the US is focused on two things regarding the India-Pakistan situation: the ceasefire and direct communications between the two countries.Earlier, US President Donald Trump spoke on the issue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he is the first of this three-leg tour of West Asia. He repeated once again how he had used the lure of trade with the US to persuade the two countries to end hostilities.Asked if Secretary of State Marco Rubio had received any commitments from Pakistan in his calls with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Asim Munir on rooting out terrorism, Pigott said, “I’m not going to talk about private diplomatic conversations. What I can say is to reiterate what we’ve been saying for a couple of days now is that we welcome the ceasefire reached between India and Pakistan this weekend, and we commend both prime ministers for choosing the path of peace. The President was very clear in terms of that. We also want to encourage direct communication between the parties. That is something we’ve also been clear about as well.”On India’s refusal of the American offer of mediation, Pigott said, “Well, I’m not going to speculate on that. What I can say is that we encourage direct communication. We have been clear on that. We continue to encourage direct communication. The President has been clear on that. And the President, as I said, has also been clear in praising both prime ministers for choosing the path towards peace and the wisdom and fortitude that shows.”He also offered no comments on reports of radiation leakage at Pakistani nuclear sites.–IANSyrj/rs

Ottawa, May 14 (IANS) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Anita Ananda to the powerful post of Foreign Minister in his new cabinet charged with fulfilling the “mandate for change”. He also appointed Maninder Sidhu as the international trade minister, and two others of Indian descent as secretaries of state – the equivalent of ministers of state.One of Anand’s missions will be to pilot the reset of the almost ruptured ties with India that Carney signalled, while managing the delicate relations with President Donald Trump’s America.Announcing the new cabinet of 28 ministers, he instructed them to “bring new ideas, a clear focus and decisive actions to their work”.Ruby Sahota, who was the minister of democratic institutions, has been downgraded to a secretary of state and put in charge of combating crime.Randeep Sarai is another of the ten secretaries of state and will deal with international development.Anand, who was the transport minister and had earlier held the defence portfolio, said in January that she was leaving politics and returning to academia.But Carney persuaded her to return to the cabinet and take the foreign affairs portfolio after she was re-elected in last month’s election.Carney, who inherited former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, now has a chance to put his mark after having led the Liberal Party to victory, beating the odds in last month’s election.He cut the number of ministers from 39 in Trudeau’s cabinet to 28, and three politicians of Indian origin in the last cabinet do not find a place now.What is probably the most important portfolio during the tariff war with the US has been assigned to Dominic LeBlanc, who will be the minister responsible for Canada-US trade.Chrystia Freeland, who had earlier been the deputy prime minister with the finance portfolio and had challenged Carney for the party leadership, industry portfolio.Anand replaces Melanie Joly, who has been shunted to the transport and internal trade ministry that she had held.Joly ratcheted up the tensions with India, expelling six Indian diplomats last year, alleging that they were “persons of interest” in the assassination of Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.India has denied any involvement in the murky case where there were signs of gang warfare and expelled Canadian diplomats in retaliation.Carney, who has called relations with India “incredibly important”, said of the ties with India on the eve of the elections that “there is a path forward to address those with mutual respect and to build out.”The relations spiralled under former Trudeau, who depended on the New Democratic Party led by Jagmeet Singh, an alleged Khalistan sympathiser, to stay in power.David McGuinty, who was the public safety minister, takes over defence.The new cabinet has fewer Canadians of Indian descent.Harjit Singh Sajjan, who was a former defence minister and held the Emergency preparedness portfolio in the last cabinet, did not seek re-election to the House of Commons and left.From the last cabinet, Arif Virani, who was the justice minister and attorney-general, and Kamal Khera, who held the diversity and inclusion of persons with disabilities portfolio, have been dropped by Carney.–IANSal/rs

Cairo, May 13 (IANS) The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced on Tuesday a 15 per…

London, May 13 (IANS) Britain’s labour market showed further signs of cooling in early 2025, as wage growth slowed, unemployment edged higher, and job vacancies continued to decline, according to official data released Tuesday.Although the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the employment rate stood at 75.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, which was slightly higher than a year earlier, the unemployment rate was also higher than a year ago.The number of employees on British company payrolls dropped by 47,000 between February and March, with early estimates indicating a further decline of 33,000 in April. Last month, the total number of payrolled employees stood at 30.3 million.Meanwhile, wage growth in Britain has continued to moderate. Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses increased by 5.6 per cent in the three months to March compared with the same period last year, down from 5.9 per cent in the previous quarter, Xinhua news agency reported. Including bonuses, total pay rose by 5.5 per cent year-on-year. After adjusting for inflation, real regular pay grew by 1.8 per cent.The number of job vacancies fell by 42,000 in the three months to April, marking the 34th consecutive quarterly decline. The total number of vacancies now stands at 761,000, slightly below pre-pandemic levels.Economists attributed the labor market slowdown to multiple factors, including higher payroll taxes and a recent increase in the minimum wage. The retail and hospitality sectors, in particular, saw increased job cuts in March and April.Despite signs of weakening demand for labour, analysts noted that wage growth remains elevated, posing challenges for the Bank of England’s efforts to control inflation.The Bank of England lowered its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25 per cent earlier this month. However, policymakers have stressed the need for more evidence of easing inflation before further rate cuts.The ONS also acknowledged improvements in its Labour Force Survey data collection, though response rates remain below pre-pandemic levels, limiting the granularity of some estimates.Analysts believe that the cooling job market in the country reflects pressures from both domestic policy adjustments, and global trade uncertainties weighing on business confidence.–IANSint/as

Cairo, May 13 (IANS) Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan had held a phone conversation to discuss efforts to resume a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and coordinate plans for post-war reconstruction, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

During the call on Monday, Abdelatty outlined Egypt’s ongoing mediation efforts, undertaken in coordination with Qatar and the US, “to resume the ceasefire, facilitate the release of hostages and detainees, and ensure uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian, medical, and shelter aid into the war-torn enclave,” according to the ministry’s statement.The Egyptian top diplomat also briefed Fidan on preparations for the Cairo international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza, which is set to be convened immediately after a ceasefire is reached.The two ministers exchanged views on ways to further engage with international stakeholders to rally global support for the Arab-Islamic plan for early recovery and the reconstruction of Gaza in the coming period. They also reaffirmed their strong opposition to any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land.Both sides emphasised the urgency of pursuing a just and durable political solution to the Palestinian issue through the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.The conversation came on the same day that Hamas released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, an act welcomed by Egypt and Qatar as a positive sign for the resumption of negotiations and a boost to ongoing mediation efforts aimed at achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace, Xinhua news agency reported.Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said an Israeli delegation will travel to Qatar’s Doha on Tuesday for talks on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, which, although, will take place “only under fire.”Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the expiration of the first phase of a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18, which have so far killed at least 2,780 Palestinians.–IANSint/jk/dan