Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS – ASSASSINATION IN CANADA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday accused “agents of the government of India” of assassinating Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader in British Columbia, in June. Trudeau said the allegation was based on intelligence gathered by the Canadian government. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he added. Ian Austen and Vjosa Isai report for the New York Times.
The Indian government today denied allegations it was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader in Canada, describing the allegation as “absurd.” India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat and accused Canada of interfering in India’s internal affairs. Krutika Pathi and Rob Gillies report for the AP News.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The U.N. International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia has said war crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed ten months after a peace deal was signed between the government and regional forces from Tigray. Will Ross reports for BBC News.
China’s former Foreign Minister Qin Gang was removed after an internal Communist Party investigation found he had been having an extramarital affair that led to the birth of a child in the United States, senior Chinese officials were told. Qin Gang had an affair while he was China’s envoy to Washington. He remains under investigation for possible national security violations. Lingling Wei reports for Wall Street Journey.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and the United States “should and must” achieve peaceful co-existence in comments to two U.S. veterans who fought for China during World War Two, indicating a willingness to lower tensions. “Looking to the future, China and the United States, as two major countries, bear more important responsibilities for world peace, stability and development,” Xi said. Reuters reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Ukraine is suing Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia at the World Trade Organization over their decision to ban Ukrainian grain imports. “It is fundamentally important for us to prove that individual member states cannot ban the import of Ukrainian goods. That is why we are filing lawsuits against them in the WTO,” First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliya Svyridenko said. The bans could indicate fraying E.U. solidarity with Ukraine. The legal action could also signal future difficulty for Ukraine’s E.U. membership bid. Paula Andrés reports for POLITICO.
Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted “closeness” in their positions on “U.S. actions … of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature.” Both agreed that any effort to resolve the Ukraine crisis would have to include Russia. Reuters reports.
Coal extracted in Russia-annexed Ukrainian territory has been exported to Turkey, a NATO member. At least $14.3 million worth of coal has arrived in Turkey from those regions so far this year. Filipp Lebedev and Gleb Stolyarov reports for Reuters.
OTHER RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
The missile that killed 15 civilians and injured over 30 others in eastern Ukraine on Sep. 6, which Ukraine blamed on Russian “terrorists,” may have been a failing Ukrainian missile, investigations suggest. The strike appears to be a tragic accident, as missiles can veer off course for multiple reasons. John Ismay, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Haley Willis, Malachy Browne, Christoph Koettl, and Alexander Cardia report for the New York Times.
The Ukrainian government has dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar and six other top officials in the Defense Ministry as it deals with corruption. The dismissal comes two weeks after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ousted defense chief Oleksii Reznikov. Jennifer Hassan, Lyric Li, and Sarah Dadouch report for the Washington Post.
U.S. RELATIONS
Five Americans jailed in Iran were released after $6bn of Iranian funds held in South Korea reached banks in Doha, concluding the controversial deal. “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home,” President Biden said. Lyse Doucet reports for BBC News.
The rate of illegal migration across the U.S.-Mexico border has risen steadily since the beginning of September, with Border Patrol apprehending over 7,500 migrants on Sunday. Daily apprehensions averaged over 4,300 in July, the latest month for which official data is available. The increase suggests the effect of President Biden’s border policies may be waning. Julia Ainsley reports for NBC News.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS – TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Nine California lawmakers yesterday asked the state’s attorney general to seek a court opinion on whether former President Trump is disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment. These efforts are the latest in a nationwide bid to establish whether Trump’s actions around Jan. 6 amount to “insurrection or rebellion.” Maggie Astor reports for the New York Times.
Steven Calabresi, a founder of the Federalist Society, who previously said former President Trump was disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment, now says it does not apply to Trump. Calabresi agrees with an analysis that suggests the provision is limited to people who had taken an oath to support the Constitution “as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state.” As an elected official, Trump does not fall within these categories, the analysis states. Adam Liptak reports for the New York Times.
A lawyer for Jeffrey Clark has said Clark drafted a letter to Georgia officials expressing doubt over the legitimacy of the state’s election only after former President Trump pushed him to do so. Clark, a Justice Department lawyer under Trump, is a defendant in the Georgia election interference case. Clark’s sworn declaration, filed on Sep. 14, did not appear to corroborate his lawyer’s claim. Amy Gardner and Holly Bailey report for the Washington Post.
OTHER DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Robert Costello, who has represented Rudy Giuliani since 2019, has sued his client for $1.36 million in unpaid legal fees. Costello and his law firm have only been paid $214,000 of about $1.57 million, according to the eight-page complaint. Jan Wolfe reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Hunter Biden yesterday sued the IRS, alleging it illegally disclosed his tax information and “sought to embarrass” him through media statements. The suit says Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, both IRS agents and their attorneys, “willfully disregarded federal tax law, undermining Americans’ faith in the IRS and the purported confidentiality of its investigations.” Ivana Saric reports for Axios.