US Asks India To Cooperate In Probe Of Khalistani Terrorist's Death

The White House is "deeply concerned" about allegations that Indian agents were potentially involved in the murder of a Khalistani terrorist in British Columbia earlier this year and encourages India officials to cooperate in any investigation, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that domestic intelligence agencies were actively pursuing credible allegations tying New Delhi's agents to the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, in June.

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

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"Governments Run Countries, Not Secretaries": Amit Shah vs Rahul Gandhi

Countering Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's claim that of the 90 secretaries in the government of India, only three belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that it is the government that runs the country, not the secretaries.

"One of my colleagues (Rahul Gandhi) was saying that of the people who run the country, only three are from the OBC category. Now who will make him understand that it is the government that runs the country, not the secretaries," Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha.

In a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition parties, Amit Shah said that those claiming to speak for OBCs should know that it is the BJP who gave an OBC prime minister.

"Our Constitution says that the policy of the country will be decided only by the cabinet and the Parliament. You (Rahul Gandhi) are not here to listen, but I want to tell you that 29 per cent of MPs in our party belong to the OBC community. If you want to do a comparison, just come to us. And in our union cabinet, there are 29 ministers, who belong to the community. Out of 1358 MLAs, there are 365 MLAs in our party who belong to the OBC category... You speak about the OBCs, but it was the BJP who gave this country a PM from the OBC community," Amit Shah said.

Rahul Gandhi, who spoke in the Lower House just before Mr Shah claimed that there are only three secretaries in the government of India from the OBC community.

"I was shocked to find out that out of 90 secretaries in the government of India, only three are OBCs. These secretaries only control five per cent of the budget. If the country's budget is Rs 44 lakh crore then Rs 2.4 lakh crore controls it," Rahul Gandhi said.

Speaking about the concerns from the Opposition about OBC representation, delimitation, and the delay in implementation of the Bill, Amit Shah said the bill will be implemented soon after the census and delimitation after the elections.

"Census and delimitation exercises will be conducted soon after the elections, and women will have a greater voice in the Parliament," he added.

Further, questioning the intent of the previous government for not passing the Bill, Amit Shah said, "This is the fifth attempt to bring the women's quota bill. From Devegowda ji to Manmohan Singh ji, four attempts were made to bring this bill... What was the reason this bill was not passed?" he asked.

Amit Shah also talked about the women-centric initiatives the Modi government has introduced ever since it took power.

"Women's security, respect, and equal participation have been the life force of government since PM Modi took the oath of office," he said, enumerating schemes such as free LPG cylinders, Mahila Samman Savings scheme, maternity leave and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao as initiatives that have empowered women.

"Congress ruled for over five decades in this country, but there were 11 crore families who were deprived of toilets. They gave the 'Gareebi Hatao' slogan but couldn't make any arrangements for the poor. When a house doesn't have a toilet, then the most affected ones are the daughters, sisters, and mothers," he further said.

The Home Minister also said that the Women's Reservation Bill will ensure the participation of women in decision-making, and policy-making in the country.

"We have disappointed women four times before. We have to rise above politics now... Today, I want to urge the Treasury and Opposition that we should unite on this new beginning and with consensus amend the Constitution to give reservation to women," he said, adding that passage of the bill will mark the start of a new era.

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Mumbai Woman Dies After SUV Hits Her. Driver Misleads Cops, CCTV Nails Him

The driver of a car has been arrested for fatally knocking down a 73-year-old woman in Mumbai last week, but trying to pass it on as an accident in which he had no fault and where he in fact helped the victim by taking her to a hospital, police said on Wednesday.

The accident took place when the deceased, Pushpa Dhanaji Keni, was crossing a road at Sion in Central Mumbai for going to a temple, they said.

The accused, identified as Ismail Ansari, claimed the woman suddenly collapsed while crossing the road and fell in front of his SUV on September 10, an official said.

However, the driver's fault in the accident was established with the help of CCTV footage, he said.

After hitting Keni with his car, Ansari made a call from her mobile phone to her daughter, who works in the Central Railway as a head booking clerk, informing she fell on the road after experiencing dizziness and that he was taking her to Sion Hospital for treatment, the official.

The car driver also asked the woman's daughter to come to the hospital. The elderly woman's daughter visited the hospital, where she thanked Ansari for rendering timely help to her mother, said the official.

However, Keni died the next day during treatment and her last rites were also performed, he said.

While examining CCTV footage of the area on Saturday last, an officer of the Sion police station found Keni was actually hit by the speeding SUV driven by Ansari.

The officer showed the footage to the victim's son and also the car driver.

Her son lodged a complaint at the Sion police station and an FIR was registered against Ansari under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence) 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, and relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The car driver was subsequently arrested.

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

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British Tourist Climbing 'Stairway To Heaven' Falls 300 Feet To His Death

A British tourist died after he plunged more than 90 meters to his death while scaling a narrow ladder on an Austrian mountain, Metro reported. This area is popular among tourists seeking picturesque Instagram photos. The aerial ladder, known locally as the "stairway to heaven" rises sharply in the Dachstein Mountains outside of Salzburg.

The tragic incident happened on September 12 when the 42-year-old embarked on a solo climb up the ladder. However, he slipped and fell into the valley below. Police officers and a pair of rescue helicopters rushed to the scene following the accident, but the man couldn't be saved. 

Shortly after, rescuers retrieved his body from the gully beneath the ladder.

Authorities have ruled out any third-party negligence, asserting that the climber was entirely alone at the time of the accident. The identity of the man has not been released.

Notably, the ladder is promoted as the ''new TOP attraction on the Zwieselalm for climbing enthusiasts'' by the Dachstein region tourist website, which notes the climb is done in four stages with the ladder waiting ''as the ultimate adrenaline kick.''

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''The Panorama-ladder with its 40 meters is the new TOP attraction for all fans of via Ferratas. The via ferrata on the Donnerkogel at the Zwieselalm in Gosau at Dachstein presents amazing and breathtaking views of the glacier of the Dachstein, as well as of the highest mountain of Austria - the Grobglockner. The Ladder to heaven was built by Outdoor Leadership with their professional climber Heli Putz,'' the description on the website reads. 

However, the website warns that the climb is "only [for] experienced climbers" and should be completed in mild weather and calm wind conditions. 

The climb is rated as moderate/difficult and is not recommended for beginners.

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Amid Standoff With India, Canada Opposition Leader's Jibe At Justin Trudeau

Taking a jibe at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his allegations on India for its involvement in the alleged killing of the Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada's opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has said that he should come out clean with all the facts in order to make judgements.

In a media address on Tuesday, Mr Poilievre said, "I think the prime minister needs to come clean with all the facts. We need to know all the evidence possible so that Canadians can make judgments on that.

Mr Poilievre's remarks came in response to a media query that asked what more should be done as an Indian diplomat was expelled by Canada.

"The prime minister hasn't provided any facts. He provided a statement. And I will just emphasize that he didn't tell me any more in private than he told Canadians in public. So we want to see more information," Mr Poilievre said.

He stated that the allegations could be found untrue or incredible if more information is not provided.

"We need to have the evidence that drew that allowed the prime minister to come to the conclusions he made yesterday," he said.

"I would have to have more evidence to make a judgment on that. I do find it interesting that he knew about vast foreign interference by Beijing for many years, at the same time as Beijing had kept two Canadian citizens hostage. And he said nothing. And he did nothing. Just very interesting that that was the approach he took in that case," he added.

A day ago, Mr Trudeau accused the Indian government of the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He claimed that 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.

Najjar, who was wanted in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia 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).

India has, however, rejected the allegations by Canadian PM Trudeau regarding the government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Nijjar. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed the allegations 'absurd 'and 'motivated'.

"We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister," said the MEA in an official statement.

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

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Covid Severity Much Lower Now, But 3 Symptoms Remain, Says New York Doctor

A health expert has said that the severity of coronavirus has decreased significantly, and cases are noticeably weaker than previous waves, but highlighted three symptoms that are still prevalent. Speaking to NBC News, Dr Erick Eiting said that the virus has become so light that it is hard to tell if a person has Covid or common cold. The virus caused a global pandemic more than three years ago, leading to tight curbs on travel and severely impacting our immunity.

But now, the symptoms are mild, said Dr Erick Eiting, who is vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown.

"The only way that we knew that it was COVID was because we happened to be testing them," Dr Eiting added.

He, however, noted that current symptoms mostly include congestion, some sneezing and a mild sore throat.

A long-term study published in The Lancet had linked sore throat with Covid, saying the symptom increased after the spread of the Omicron variant in 2021.

Another health expert, Dr Grace McComsey from Case Western University, told NBC News that a loss in taste and smell now only impacts around 10-20 per cent of Covid patients as opposed to 60-70 per cent during the early pandemic.

Both the doctors also said that fewer patients compared to last year are in need of intense hospital care.

Coronavirus causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It is known to have originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019.

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Tests Carried Out On Mexico's 'Alien Bodies': ''No Evidence Of Any...''

Doctors in Mexico City have conducted extensive laboratory studies on the two alleged "non-human" alien corpses revealed last week. The tests were carried out by Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, a forensic doctor with the navy at the Noor Clinic on Monday, BBC reported. 

Dr. Benitez concluded that the so-called bodies belonged to a single skeleton and were not assembled. He also said that the laboratory tests have shown that ''there is no evidence of any assembly or manipulation of the skulls''. 

Notably, the mummies were presented by Jaime Maussan, a journalist who has speculated widely on aliens. The mysterious bodies are tiny in stature and chalky in colour, and each one of them has three-fingered hands and shrunken heads. One was described as female, with eggs inside.

The specimens were about 1,000 years old, according to carbon testing carried out by researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Mr. Maussan, speaking under oath at the San Lazaro legislative palace, said, ''These specimens are not part of our terrestrial evolution… These aren't beings that were found after a UFO wreckage. They were found in diatom [algae] mines, and were later fossilised.'' 

However, multiple UFO and forensics experts slammed the claims as ''unsubstantiated'' and a ''hoax''. Some academics and archaeologists have suggested the "bodies" are simply the ancient remains of mummified humans.

According to the physicist and presenter Professor Brian Cox, who was among the critics, has claimed that they were  "way too humanoid" to be genuine, Sky News reported. He also has been calling for a sample to be sent to the biotechnology company 23andme for independent verification. 

"It's very unlikely that an intelligent species that evolved on another planet would look like us," he said last week.

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