The Canadian government announced plans to raise immigration levels to 500,000 per year by 2025, up from 485,000 in 2023-24. Indians will be the primary beneficiaries as they received the most permanent residency permits last year. In 2022, over 1,18,000 Indians took up Canadian permanent residency (PR), accounting for a quarter of all 4,37,120 newcomers to Canada.The move aims to boost Canada's population and economy amid labor shortages, but faces public opposition due to housing shortages. The government acknowledged infrastructure planning is needed to support population growth.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit India for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with their Indian counterparts this month. The visit is part of a more than week-long trip, starting with Israel and Jordan. In New Delhi, the US delegation will meet with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss bilateral and global concerns in the Indo-Pacific region. The visit aims to strengthen collaboration and reaffirm the commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath praised Israel's attacks on Gaza amid the Hamas conflict, saying the country is "Crushing Talibani Mentality". At a Rajasthan rally, Adityanath referred to the Israel-Hamas war and said only Lord Hanuman's mace can eradicate the Taliban. He claimed Israel is taking correct measures to finish off targets and crush the Talibani mindset in Gaza. On October 7, Hamas initiated an unprecedented multi-front attack on Israel resulting in over 1,400 Israeli deaths and 239 abducted. Israel responded with retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza that have reportedly killed over 8,500 people per Hamas-controlled health authorities. Adityanath's remarks endorse Israel's severe military response to Hamas as necessary for countering extremism.

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance educational collaboration. The agreement encompasses student and faculty mobility, exchange of information, capacity development, and academic collaboration between institutions in both nations. The MoU also establishes a Joint Working Group to oversee its implementation. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed gratitude for UAE's support to Indian curriculum schools and explored plans for student exchange programs during his visit to Abu Dhabi schools, including 42 Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Indian School.

Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated three Indian-assisted projects on Wednesday. These include the Akhaura-Agartala Cross-Border Rail Link, Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line, and Unit 2 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Bangladesh's Rampal, done via video conferencing. PM Modi lauded the strengthening India-Bangladesh ties, highlighting the remarkable progress over the past nine years with a threefold increase in internal trade. The inauguration of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link was a historic moment, connecting Bangladesh with India's North Eastern states. An international immigration center is slated for Nischintapur, India's last railway station along the Indo-Bangla border in Tripura.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the United Nations General Assembly resolution for a "humanitarian truce" in the Israel-Gaza conflict as "deeply flawed." Expressing disappointment over India's abstention, he lamented that even many of Israel's friends did not insist on a powerful condemnation of the Hamas attacks. The resolution, adopted with 120 votes in favor, called for an immediate ceasefire and protection of civilians. India, along with 44 other nations, abstained from the vote. The ongoing conflict has led to a significant humanitarian crisis, with Israeli forces continuing airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate.

A 24-year-old Indian student, Varun, was critically stabbed in a public gym in Valparaiso, Indiana, by assailant Jordan Andrad, 24. Varun sustained severe injuries to the head and was given a "zero to five per cent chance of survival." Andrad, who alleged feeling threatened by Varun, attacked him with a knife. Varun was rushed to a Fort Wayne hospital, where his condition remains serious. Andrad was arrested and is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and attempted murder following the incident. Investigations are ongoing into the motives behind the attack. [Representative Image]

A Hindu temple in California was burglarized by six suspects who broke in early Monday morning around 2:15 am. The incident occurred at the Hari Om Radha Krishna Mandir in Sacramento. The burglars stole a donation collection box from the premises. No arrests have been made yet, but police are investigating the incident through surveillance footage. Advocacy group Coalition of Hindus of North America condemned the burglary and urged police to probe it as a potential hate crime. The temple's Guru Maharaj and his wife were at home during the break-in and shocked by the incident.

Thailand will waive visa requirements for Indian tourists arriving in the country from November until May 2024. The move aims to boost tourism numbers as the high season approaches. India has been Thailand's 4th largest source of tourists so far in 2022 with 1.2 million arrivals. Thailand recently waived visas for Chinese visitors too. From Jan-Oct 2022, Thailand had 22 million visitors, generating $25.7 billion revenue. The government hopes tourism can offset weak exports and boost economic growth. Thailand is targeting 28 million arrivals this year.

At the University of Oxford, MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla delivered an insightful discourse on 'Exploring Inclusive Development: The Telangana Model', highlighting the state's transformative journey under CM K Chandrasekhar Rao's visionary leadership. She portrayed Telangana's rise from distress to a beacon of balanced growth intertwining infrastructure and welfare. Kavitha delineated pivotal projects like the Kaleshwaram irrigation project, Mission Bhagiratha, and power sector investments that drove development. Agricultural resurgence was a cornerstone, with the sector growing 15.7% in 2022-23 due to government support schemes like Rythu Bandhu, underscoring the ethos of harnessing resources and equitable wealth distribution. Kavitha highlighted the #1 rank in income equality, at par with Nordic nations, showcasing a commitment to minimizing disparities. She called for examining the Telangana model collaboratively as a blueprint of transformative governance. The address highlighted Telangana's indefatigable spirit of progress in equitably uplifting all sections, waging a war on poverty with much more to come.