Canada PM Accuses India Of Involvement In Khalistani Terrorist's Murder

Months after Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused the Indian government of being behind this fatal shooting, CBC News reported.

Nijjar, who was wanted in India, was gunned down outside a gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada's Surrey, BC on June 18.

Hailing from Bharsinghpur village in Punjab's Jalandhar, Nijjar was based in Surrey and had been declared "absconder" by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to CBC News, Canada, PM Trudeau said his country's national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

"Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said.

He stressed that the involvement of a foreign hand or government in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada was unacceptable.

"Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open, and democratic societies conduct themselves," Trudeau added.

He informed further that he was coordinating with Canadian allies on this issue.

"As you would expect, we have been working closely and coordinating with our allies on this very serious matter," he said.

Trudeau also urged the Indian government to "cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter", CBC News reported.

He claimed that some Indo-Canadians were "angry" and "perhaps frightened right now", adding, "Let us not allow this to change us".

Earlier, the NIA in July, last year, announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on Nirjar in connection with the killing of a Hindu priest in Jalandhar.

"Hardeep Singh Nijjar is wanted by the National Investigation Agency in NIA case in the conspiracy hatched by Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) operating under Nijjar, to kill a Hindu priest at Jalandhar," the NIA had said in a release.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Historic Move From Old To New Parliament Today: 10 Facts

1. Sources said after a photo session and a function in the Central Hall of the old parliament building, the Prime Minister will walk to the new Parliament House, carrying a copy of the Constitution. All the MPs will follow him on foot and later, meet at their respective chambers in the new parliament.
2. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, JMM leader Shibu Soren and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi have been invited to address the special function in Central Hall of Parliament as seniormost parliamentarians.
3. The 96-year-old building -- opened in 1927 -- where the "midnight hour" speech was delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru and the Constitution was adopted, was seen as inadequate for the needs of the present day, especially in terms of modern info-tech facilities and offices for MPs.
4. The building -- designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker -- will be "conserved, as it is an archaeological asset of the country," sources have said.
5. In his address at the Day One of the special session of parliament, PM Modi said, "We are leaving this building with hope for the future... Today is the day for remembering the 7,500 MPs who have served here... I salute every brick of this building".
6. He also recalled the milestones added over the last nine years - including the scrapping of Article 370 and the introduction of "One Nation One Tax" GST.
7. In May, the new parliament building on Kartavya Path, the heart of Delhi, was opened by PM Modi. The building can seat 888 members in the Lok Sabha chamber and 300 in the Rajya Sabha chamber. For a joint sitting of both houses, 1,280 MPs can be accommodated in the Lok Sabha chamber.
8. Each Member of Parliament will have a 40 sq m office space in the redeveloped Shram Shakti Bhawan, which will be completed by 2024. The national archives will also move from the old building to the new.
9. The four-storey structure has a built-up area of 64,500 square metres. It has three main gates -- Gyan Dwar, Shakti Dwar and Karma Dwar -- and separate entrances for VIPs, MPs and visitors. A composite animal guards every door.
10. The building planners have drawn inspiration from temples and scriptures. It has a wall, Jan Janani Janmabhoomi, painted by grassroot artists. There are also three galleries to showcase music, crafts and architecture. The building showcases the country's glorious heritage, with contributions from artisans and sculptors from across the country, sources said.

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Canada Expels Top Indian Diplomat Over Killing Of Khalistani Terrorist

Canada on Monday accused India's government of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader near Vancouver last June, and expelled New Delhi's intelligence chief in Ottawa in retaliation.

The diplomatic move sent relations between Ottawa and New Delhi, already sour, to a dramatic new low.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an emergency session of the parliamentary opposition at mid-afternoon that his government had "credible allegations" linking Indian agents to the slaying of an exiled Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June in British Columbia.

"The involvement of any foreign government in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Trudeau said.

He called "in the strongest possible terms" on the Indian government to cooperate in clearing up the matter.

Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said the Trudeau government had taken immediate action.

"Today we have expelled a senior Indian diplomat from Canada," she said, without naming the official.

Jolie said the expelled Indian is the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's foreign intelligence agency, in Canada.

Nijjar, whom India had declared a wanted terrorist, was gunned down on June 18 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver that is home to a major Sikh community. Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside of Punjab, India.

Nijjar advocated for the creation of an independent Sikh state to be carved out of parts of northern India and perhaps part of Pakistan. India accused Nijjar of carrying out terrorist attacks in India, a charge he denied.

Tensions between India and Canada have been simmering over the unsolved slaying, and Indian unhappiness over how Ottawa has handled right-wing Sikh separatists.

New Delhi accuses Ottawa of turning a blind eye to the activities of Sikh nationalists who seek a separate Sikh homeland in northern India.

A former adviser to Trudeau, Jocelyn Coulon, asserted that Canada's accusation would have "the effect of a bomb around the world."

India will join "the group of nations that assassinate political opponents" abroad, much as Saudi Arabia orchestrated the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018, said Coulon, who is now an independent researcher.

New Delhi did not immediately respond to Canada's charges.

Tensions between the two nations flared further earlier this month during the G20 summit in New Delhi, which Trudeau attended.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed "strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada" during a meeting with Trudeau, according to an Indian government statement.

India has often complained about activities of the Sikh diaspora abroad, particularly in Canada, which New Delhi believes could revive a Sikh separatist movement.

The Indian state of Punjab, which is 58 percent Sikh and 39 percent Hindu, was rocked by a violent separatist movement in the 1980s and early 1990s, in which thousands died.

Canada also recently suspended negotiations for a free trade agreement with India.

Trudeau later told media that Canada would always defend "freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of peaceful protest" while acting against hatred.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Video: US Teen Intentionally Kills Retired Cop In Deadly Bike Crash

Disturbing footage going viral on the internet captured the moment a laughing teen deliberately rammed his car into a bicyclist in Las Vegas before driving away. The teen mowed down and killed a retired police chief, as his friends can be heard saying "Yeah, hit his a**", in the video. 

The 64-year-old Andreas Probst was out for a morning bicycle ride around 6 a.m. on August 14 when he was struck intentionally by the teenage driver, according to Las Vegas Police. Probst died at the University Medical Center. However, police have not confirmed a link between the video and the Probst case, the Independent reported. 

The video starts with the passengers cursing at other cars as they speed on the North Tenaya Way, near West Centennial Parkway, the New York Post reported. Further in the video, the car approaches a man riding a bicycle on the side of the road. In the video, the teen driver asks his friends, "Ready"? as the passengers film, laughing."Yeah, hit his a**", the passenger tells the driver.

The driver then deliberately rams into his back tire with a loud bang, sending the cyclist flying. The man then films the man helplessly lying on the side of the road.

A passenger tells the driver, "Damn that n-a got knocked out!"

Two teens stole a car and filmed themselves murdering an innocent cyclist for laughs.

Reverse the races… and it's a national media story for a month, complete with a televised Ben Crump press conference and a Biden speech on white terrorism. pic.twitter.com/hgrg5VbbkW

— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) September 16, 2023

Soon after the incident, the unidentified 17-year-old driver of the Hyundai was arrested by police, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The teen has since been charged with murder, after detectives found a video of the crash posted on social media that they used to determine that the crash was intentional, according to a department statement.

It's not clear if the passenger who filmed the kill was charged with any crime.

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Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay Quits Company After 19 Years

Panos Panay, the chief product officer at Microsoft, who oversaw the development of Surface devices and Windows 11, is leaving the company after 19 years. Mr Panay announced his departure from the company via a post on X.

In a tweet, he wrote, ''After 19 incredible years at Microsoft, I've decided to turn the page and write the next chapter. I'm forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor to make products with.''

See the tweet here:

After 19 incredible years at Microsoft, I've decided to turn the page and write the next chapter. I'm forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor to make products with.

— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) September 18, 2023

In an internal email to staff, Microsoft Executive Vice President Rajesh Jha confirmed Mr. Panay's departure. The email read, ''After nearly 20 years at the company, Panos Panay has decided to leave Microsoft. Panos has had an incredible impact on our products and culture as well as the broader devices ecosystem.

Under Panos' leadership, the team created the iconic Surface brand with loved products. More recently, as the leader of Windows, the team has brought amazing services and experiences to hundreds of millions with Windows 11 on innovative devices including those from our OEM partners. He will be missed, and I am personally very grateful for his many contributions over the years. Please join me in wishing him well.''

Notably, Mr. Panay joined Microsoft in 2004 as one of the company's group program managers and became the person in charge of supervising the Surface hardware division as well as other products. He was named the company's chief product officer in 2018 and was promoted to executive vice president after a successful Windows 11 launch in 2021. 

"Thank you, Panos, for your impact on our products, culture, company, and industry over the past two decades. I'm grateful for your leadership, support, and all you've done for Microsoft and our customers and partners," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an emailed statement. 

As per TechCrunch, the news comes just days before a New York City event set to debut new Surface hardware. 

Microsoft's consumer marketing head, Yusuf Mehdi, will take over leading the Windows and Surface businesses. ''Yusuf Mehdi will take on the responsibility of leading the Windows and Surface businesses with our OEM and Retail partners,'' the memo reads. 

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Kohli, Rohit Rested Before 'Bharat Darshan' At WC. BCCI Explains Reason

A day after Indian cricket team's Asia Cup triumph, the squad for the Australia ODI series was announced on Monday. There were several surprises in the squad for the three-ODI series. The biggest one being the return of Ravichandran Ashwin, who last played an ODI in January, 2022. Another surprise was that the team management rested the star trio - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya - for a series that is being seen as the final dress rehearsal before the World Cup. 

The trio, along with Kuldeep Yadav, has been for the first two ODIs, while they will make a comeback in the third ODI. BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who announced the squad, was asked by a journalist about the reason behind resting the stars ahead of 'Bharat Darshan' at the World Cup. The reference of 'Bharat Darshan' was given because India will be the most-travelled team in the ODI Cricket World Cup as it will be playing all it group stage matches in different cities.       

Agarkar gave a deft reply to the query. "Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) have been around forever and obviously Hardik is an important player for us, we want to manage him," he said. 

"Kuldeep is in great form. It also gives us a chance to look at some of the other guys. That's the thing. Luckily, we got a fair amount of cricket in the Asia Cup.

"If not we might have looked at it some other way. At some stage or the other, more than physical, guys sometimes need a mental break which is not such a bad thing, leading up the tournament (Cricket World Cup).

"But comes the third game, everyone will be available to play. We will play our World Cup squad. It does give us a chance to play some other guys who have been sitting outside and it has been a strong squad," said BCCI Chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

Squad for the first two ODIs: KL Rahul (captain), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Squad for third ODI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
 

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Sonia Gandhi Announces Six-Point Scheme Ahead Of Telangana Polls

The Congress has announced six guarantees if it comes to power in Telangana in what now is becoming an increasingly familiar strategy. Buoyed by its massive victory in next-door Karnataka earlier this year, the Congress has announced provisions for all -- women, farmers, youth, statehood activists the elderly population and the homeless.
 
"I, along with my colleagues, had the opportunity to be part of the birth of this great state. Now it is our duty to take it to a new height," said former party chief Sonia Gandhi while making the announcement.

"It has been my dream to see the Congress government in Telangana that will work for all sections of society. Are you all going to give us your support?" she asked the people.

Telangana was formed in 2014 when the UPA was still in power after Mrs Gandhi gave the assurance for the formation of a new state. The decades-long agitation was spearheaded by K Chandrasekhar Rao, who helmed the state since its creation and is hoping for a third straight term in power.

The biggest announcement is for the women in the southern state -- the Mahalakshmi scheme -- not only involves Rs 500 subsidised gas and free travel in state transport buses, it also includes a financial Rs 2,500 per month.

The scheme for farmers include the a Rs 15,000 annual grant, Rs 500 bonus for paddy crops and Rs 12,000 for agricultural laborers.

Under the Gruha Jyothi Guarantee, all households will receive 200 units of free electricity and under Indiramma Indlu Guarantee, those without their own homes will be provided house sites and Rs 5 lakh.
Those who held agitation for the Telangana movement will receive 250 sq yard plots.

The schemes for students and young people will include Vidya Bharosa Cards worth Rs 5 lakh and an International School in every district.

The elderly will get a monthly pension of Rs 4,000 and Rs 10 lakh coverage under the Rajiv Arogyasri insurance.

Most of the schemes top the state government schemes many of which are the best in the country.

Mr Rao's government, for example, already pays Rs 2016 as pension, which is among the highest in the country. But they have said they may match the amount the Congress is offering.

The state's farmer investment support scheme Rythu Bandhu gives Rs 4,000 per acre to each farmer in the growing season, but it is only for landed farmers and not the tenants or landless labourers.

The Arogyasree health insurance is already one of the best in country and better than the Centre's Ayushman Bharat. But Rs 10 lakh cover is the higher limit.

The state also offers a fee reimbursement scheme for higher education for almost every category of students.

The KCR government also has a 2BHK  housing scheme.

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