September 20, 2023

*) Azerbaijan launches anti-terror ops in Karabakh Azerbaijan has launched "local anti-terrorist activities" in Karabakh to restore constitutional order by disarming and forcing the withdrawal of Armenian military formations after six Azerbaijani citizens were killed in separate mine blasts in the breakaway region. Baku blamed Armenian separatists for the death of the four Azerbaijani police officers and two civilians. The ex-Soviet neighbours have been locked in a decades-long dispute over the mountainous region, going to war twice in the 1990s and in 2020. *) Erdogan: Security Council no longer guarantor of international security Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the UN Security Council no longer works to ensure global security but instead is an arena for its five permanent member states to engage in strategic confrontations. “We must build a global governance architecture that is capable of representing all origins, beliefs and cultures in the world,” he added. The effectiveness of the Security Council has been questioned in the face of recent crises, especially after Russia launched an offensive against Ukraine nearly 19 months ago. *) Canada Sikh, Muslim groups demand India cooperate with Nijjar murder probe World Sikh and other organisations have called for action after recent allegations over India’s complicity in the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Nijjar, a Sikh leader in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, was shot dead on June 18 in front of a Sikh temple in Surrey. Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged India to take the allegations seriously, a concern that Washington later echoed. *) Muslim leaders bash West at UNGA over Quran desecrations Muslim leaders addressing the United Nations have berated the West over burnings of the Quran, denouncing the acts protected as free speech as discriminatory. Quran desecration in Sweden sparked debate on religious tolerance and freedom of expression, with calls for deeper understan