A Canadian official alleged Tuesday that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations.

“The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee.

Morrison did not say how Canada knew of Shah’s alleged involvement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

Canadian authorities have repeatedly said they have shared evidence of that with Indian authorities.

Indian government officials have repeatedly denied Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd. India’s embassy in Ottawa didn’t immediately respond to messages for a request for comment on the allegation against Shah.

On Oct. 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were persons of interest in multiple cases of coercion, intimidation and violence aimed at quieting a campaign for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan.

Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The United States Justice Department announced criminal charges in mid-October against an Indian government employee in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.

In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.

Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the committee Tuesday that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

She said the information was then passed to the government in New Delhi, which allegedly works with a criminal network affiliated with Lawrence Bishnoi.

Bishnoi is currently in prison in India, but Drouin said his vast criminal network has been linked to homicides, assassination plots, coercion and other violent crimes in Canada.

Before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public with allegations that Indian diplomats were persons of interest in criminal investigations, Drouin said there was an effort to work with the Indian government to ensure accountability.

Drouin said a meeting was held with Modi’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore two days earlier.

She said the decision was made to go public when it became evident the Indian government would not cooperate with Canada on proposed accountability measures.

That included asking India to waive diplomatic immunity for the persons of interest, including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Drouin said this was not seen as likely.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety.

The Indian government denies the allegations and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in return.

Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot in his pickup truck after he left the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.

Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Niijar’s murder and are awaiting trial.

Drouin and Morrison were called as witnesses at the committee alongside Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme, as well as the director of Canada’s spy service.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Wednesday replaced Foreign Affairs Minister Diana Mondino after she voted in favor of lifting the US embargo against Cuba at the United Nations.

Milei, a libertarian who took office in late 2023, is unabashedly pro-United States and has taken a cooler stance toward leftist trade partners in the region and overseas, including by taking steps to distance Argentina from Cuba and Venezuela.

Earlier on Wednesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called on the US to end its decades-long sanctions regime on Cuba, in a non-binding resolution opposed only by the US and Israel.

Milei, who has said that he wants Argentina to be in line with the US and Israel, shared a post on social media from a lower house lawmaker praising his government for “not supporting nor being an accomplice of dictators.”

Gerardo Werthein, who has been serving as Argentina’s ambassador to the US, will replace Mondino as the country’s foreign minister, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni said on X.

Mondino, one of Milei’s first confirmed cabinet members, has played a key role in keeping diplomatic relations smooth with international partners despite incendiary comments from the president about countries like Brazil and China.

Milei was having lunch when he received a call from Werthein inquiring about Argentina’s vote in favor of lifting the embargo on Communist-ruled Cuba, angering the right-wing leader, local news outlet TN reported.

Earlier this year, Argentina’s state energy company YPF said it would not provide fuel to Cuban airline Cubana, prompting the state-run carrier to shut down a route run between Havana and Buenos Aires.

Cuba’s foreign ministry at the time said Argentine officials cited the US embargo in defending the move.

North Korea conducted a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile test on Thursday morning, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry, which said it was believed to be the longest flight time yet for a North Korean missile.

The launch comes just days ahead of the United States presidential election, and follows warnings from the South Korean intelligence agency that Pyongyang was planning on launching an ICBM around the election to test its reentry technology.

The missile is believed to be a long-range ballistic missile fired at “a lofted angle,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It is suspected to have fallen outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to public broadcaster NHK, citing the country’s Defense Ministry.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the missile flew for “approximately one hour and 26 minutes,” NHK reported.

“The flight time was the longest ever. Possibly the newest missile ever,” Nakatani said.

The US National Security Council described the launch as an intercontinental ballistic missile test, calling it “a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Eight of 11 justices on Mexico’s Supreme Court have resigned and declined to participate in an election for the court scheduled for June, the court said on Wednesday.

According to a statement, the court’s president, Norma Pina, presented her resignation, as did Luis Maria Aguilar, Jorge Mario Pardo, Alfredo Gutierrez, Alberto Perez, Javier Laynez, Juan Luis Gonzalez and Margarita Rios.

Seven of the jurists’ resignations are effective August 31, 2025, while Aguilar will leave office on November 30.

The resignations are the result of a constitutional overhaul that was enacted last month that requires all judges be elected by popular vote.

The reform requires judges to resign ahead of the June election if they do not want to participate in the electoral process and wish to maintain their pension, or risk losing it, prompting an outcry among judicial workers.

The slate of resignations heightens tensions between Mexico’s Supreme Court and the ruling bloc, increasing the risk of a constitutional crisis as Congress and the presidency remain at odds with the judiciary over the reform.

“It is necessary to underscore that this resignation does not imply an implicit acceptance of the reform’s constitutionality,” said justice Gutierrez in a resignation letter on Tuesday.

In her letter to the Senate on Wednesday, Rios said her resignation “should not be seen as an implicit endorsement of a (reform) framework that remains controversial.”

The 11-member Supreme Court will see its number reduced to nine as part of the reform. Three current justices have publicly backed the reform.

Heavy rains and high winds lashed Taiwan on Thursday as the largest storm to hit the island in nearly three decades made landfall along its southeast coast, killing at least one person and injuring dozens.

Typhoon Kong-rey packed winds approaching 200 kilometers per hour (125 mph), equivalent to a Category 3 Atlantic hurricane, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), as it made landfall in Taitung county on Thursday afternoon.

Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind – how far the strongest winds are from its center – measured 320 kilometers (nearly 200 miles) on Wednesday evening, meaning it is the largest storm to hit Taiwan since Typhoon Herb in 1996, said Chang Chun-yao, a forecaster with the island’s Central Weather Administration.

A 56-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree while traveling by car in central Nantou county, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC). At least 73 storm-related injuries have been reported across the island, it added.

Ahead of the powerful storm, local authorities ordered offices and schools to temporarily close, while Taiwan suspended trading on its stock market.

Taiwan generally has a strong track record of responding to major typhoons, though remote villages in more mountainous regions can be particularly vulnerable to landslides.

Taiwan’s military has put more than 34,000 soldiers on standby to assist with rescue efforts and over 8,600 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas on Wednesday, CEOC said.

More than 500 flights, including 300 international journeys, have been canceled, and all ferry services to Taiwan’s outlying islands have been suspended, according to Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration. High-speed rail services are operating at limited capacity, according to the rail operator, while the Taipei metro said it had suspended services on open-air sections.

Images from Taiwan’s official Central News Agency and social media showed ferocious waves slamming into the coast of Taitung county, while parts of neighboring Hualien county were submerged in floodwaters. Toppled road signs and traffic lights were also seen across Taiwan, social media images showed.

Kong-rey rapidly intensified to reach super typhoon strength on Wednesday as it barreled toward Taiwan after bashing the Philippines. Though the storm weakened slightly ahead of making direct landfall over Taiwan, it is unleashing intense downpours, bringing flash flooding, storm surges and the risk of landslides.

The heaviest rainfall is expected across eastern Taiwan. Taiwan’s weather agency on Thursday issued an “extremely torrential” rainfall warning, its highest level, for parts of Yilan, Hualien, Taichung and Taitung counties along the east coast.

The rest of eastern Taiwan and parts of the island’s north, including Taipei, are under a “torrential” rainfall warning, the second-highest level. Additional rainfall of over a half of meter (20 inches) is still possible across parts of eastern Taiwan, which could lead to flash flooding and landslides, according to the CWA.

Warmer oceans from the human-caused climate crisis are leading storms to intensify more rapidly, according to scientists.

Kong-rey is the third typhoon to make landfall on Taiwan this year after Krathon and Gaemi.

Earlier this month, Typhoon Krathon killed four people as it brought particularly heavy rains to the south of the island.

In recent days, northern parts of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon have been lashed by the outer bands of Kong-rey, known locally as Leon, as authorities ordered evacuations and warned of its impacts after already seeing devastation last week from Tropical Storm Trami, known as Kristine, which killed at least 130 people.

After moving into the northern Taiwan Strait, the storm is forecast to head into the East China Sea and toward Japan.

This story has been updated with additional information.

An electric motorcycle, made by Swedish-Kenyan manufacturer Roam completed a 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) journey from Nairobi, Kenya, to Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 17 days, using only solar power.

While the world record for the longest electric motorcycle journey is 25,000 kilometers (11,300 miles), undertaken over 42 days in the US, Roam hopes that its stunt helps to prove the viability of renewable energy for long-distance travel even in remote areas with poor charging infrastructure.

The batteries were charged en route through a solar panel charging system carried in a support vehicle, which would drive ahead each day, stopping to charge up the batteries, so that when the bike caught up it could swap the dead battery for a fresh one. During the journey, the motorcycle model, the Roam Air, achieved its new single battery record range of 113 kilometers (70 miles), and on the trip’s last day, it traveled 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in less than 18 hours.

Kituyi split the riding with Stephan Lacock, a postgraduate student at Stellenbosch University who is working on a powertrain simulation project to boost the Roam Air’s efficiency. Accompanied by two support vehicles, they set off on 29 September, traveling through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana, before arriving in Stellenbosch on the morning of 16 October. The team drove along highways and dirt tracks, stopping off at Victoria Falls and Chobe River, where they camped under the stars and among hippos.

On average the team covered around 400 kilometers (250 miles) per day, with about 80 kilometers (50 miles) per battery.

Cloud cover

The biggest challenge the team faced during the journey was the weather. “You can’t force the sun to shine,” says Kituyi, and at some points they ended up adapting their route so that they could escape cloud cover and have an opportunity to recharge the batteries.

While Roam wanted to demonstrate the potential of solar energy as a solution for powering bikes in areas that lack charging infrastructure, Kituyi says that most of Roam’s customers charge their bikes at home with energy from the grid. However, he insists that this mammoth journey would still be possible for people without a solar support car.

“Anywhere you can charge your phone, you can charge the bike,” he says. “That means with enough planning and lodging in hotels that have electricity, you are able to do this journey yourself.”

However, he adds that he’s not expecting many of Roam’s customers to travel cross-continent – rather, riders might need the bike to travel between rural areas and cities. The feat was about “showing the flexibility works,” he says, and countering range anxiety.

Accelerating market

The journey was a collaborative effort between Roam and Stellenbosch University, which launched an Electric Mobility Lab this month, dedicated to advancing sustainable transport solutions.

Roam donated two motorcycles to the lab to support research and develop the bikes further. Kituyi hopes that through powertrain efficiency tests and “accelerated testing,” which involves charging and discharging the battery multiple times a day, the startup will gain a better understanding of the life cycles of the bike and the battery.

He adds that “accelerated testing” requires special facilities, and in the past Roam has carried out these tests outside Africa, including in China. The lab will give Roam the opportunity to keep the testing within the continent, which he says will make it more reliable as it’s undertaken in a similar climate, as well as helping to build Africa’s electric vehicle (EV) market.

According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the African EV market is worth an estimated $16 billion, and it is projected to reach $25 billion by 2029. It claims this is driven by increased investment, rising EV sales, and government policies that encourage electrification. For example, Rwanda has eliminated import taxes on electric vehicles and is offering incentives for charging infrastructure development.

They added that African startups are dominating the space, since they have designed bikes to withstand local road conditions, do not rely on traditional charging infrastructure, and offer flexible payment options. Rwanda’s Ampersand currently has a fleet of almost 4,000 and expects this to surpass 40,000 by the end of 2026, whereas Spiro has over 18,000 e-bikes on the road across Kenya, Benin, Togo, Rwanda and Uganda, and has launched in Nigeria.

Roam, founded in 2017 and formerly known as Opibus, has seen this transition firsthand. It started by electrifying safari vehicles, before turning to buses and motorcycles. Today, motorcycles are its main focus and it produces around 40 bikes a day, according to Kituyi. Currently, the bikes are available to buy in greater Nairobi, and in early 2025, it will be expanding across the whole of Kenya, as well as entering Uganda and Rwanda.

“There is a big demand and constant growth of the market for motorcycles,” says Kituyi, adding that he has seen a gradual shift in people’s mindset. “They are getting more confident with the idea of stopping at a restaurant and asking them for electricity to charge their bike.”

He hopes that the recent expedition will help to build trust in EVs even further.