WILL ENGAGE QUIETLY WITH INDIA, NOT LOOKING TO ESCALATE: JUSTIN TRUDEAU

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said ties with India are going through “extremely challenging times”, but maintained that Ottawa would not escalate the diplomatic standoff over the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and instead work “quietly” with New Delhi.

Asked if there would be retaliation to Canada having been asked to reduce its diplomatic strength in India, Trudeau said, “We are not looking to escalate. We are going to be quietly doing the work that matters in continuing to having constructive relations with India in this difficult time.” While India has given no reason for achieving parity in diplomatic strength, Canada claims it was withdrawing some of its diplomats due to security reasons. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie again stressed this aspect, stating that “we take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously” and called for full cooperation by India on the Nijjar killing. Meanwhile, the US State Department suggested that there might be no change in cooperation on its Indo-Pacific strategy with India. Its spokesperson Vedant Patel said “of course” when asked the question. “We are partners with them in the Quad and in many other fora. And we continue to work with them and other countries in the region on a number of important issues,” he added.

AAP MP SANJAY SINGH IS LATEST ED ARREST IN DELHI EXCISE POLICY CASE

A day of searches at his official residence on Wednesday ended with the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who was picked up by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

This is the third high-profile arrest in the case — while AAP’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair was arrested in September last year, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested in February this year. Both are still behind bars.

The ED action against Singh, who has emerged as the AAP’s voice in the Rajya Sabha alongside Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, evoked a sharp reaction from Delhi Chief Minister and party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. He called the arrest “completely illegal” and said that “it shows Modi ji’s nervousness”. “They will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections,” he tweeted.

The AAP released a video recorded by Singh before his arrest. “I have consistently been raising my voice against the corruption of the Narendra Modi govt and Adani’s mega scam… there was no action on such complaints, but today the ED suddenly turned up at my door, conducting its investigation for hours. They found nothing, but despite this, I am being forcibly placed under arrest. But we are all soldiers of the Aam Aadmi Party and we want to tell Modi ji that you are losing the elections and that too spectacularly. This signals your disappointment, your defeat,” he said in the video.

Several allies of the AAP in the opposition’s INDIA bloc, including the RJD, JDU, TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT) and PDP, also slammed the govt.

The excise policy case pertains to the now-scrapped liquor policy, which was introduced by the Delhi govt with the stated objective of increasing revenue and weeding out corruption by privatising the sector. The policy was scrapped after allegations emerged that some private players had been extended undue benefits.

Singh’s arrest came a day after a Delhi court allowed Raghav Magunta Reddy, son of YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and businessman Dinesh Arora, both accused in the case, to turn approvers.

BJP LEADERS SAYS KEJRIWAL IS NEXT

Taking a dig at the AAP following Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s arrest in the excise policy case, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the proverbial handcuffs were reaching the Chief Minister himself. “The right hand of the mastermind of the liquor scam has been behind bars for 7.5 months; today his left hand, Sanjay Singh, too is gone. Now it’s the 10-headed corrupt Ravan Arvind Kejriwal’s turn,” he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said that the masks being worn by the staunchly honest were slowly slipping: “The law is doing its job, and now the investigation is reaching the mastermind of the scandal… Those who, together, committed a liquor scam, are now revealing the truth and naming names.”

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Singh’s arrest attested to the fact that the truth always prevails. “… it was known right from the beginning that Sanjay Singh is one of the kingpins of the scam with close contact with an accused, Dinesh Arora, who after turning approver led to clinching evidence against Singh,” he claimed.

Northeast Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also said the Delhi CM’s arrest wasn’t a distant possibility after Singh’s arrest.

10 DEAD, 22 ARMY PERSONNEL AMONG 82 MISSING IN SIKKIM FLASH FLOOD

At least ten people died and 80 others, including 22 army personnel, went missing on Wednesday after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta River basin, officials said. All 10 who died have been identified as civilians including 3 of the dead who were washed up in north Bengal, they said adding that one of the 23 army men who had gone missing in the morning was rescued later.

The flood in Sikkim that started around 1.30 am was made worse by the release of water from Chungthang dam, the officials said.

Over 3,000 tourists from various parts of the country, were reported to be stranded in different parts of Sikkim, Sikkim Chief Secretary V B Pathak said.

Several workers employed with Teesta Stage III dam in Chungthang were also stranded in tunnels of the dam, Pathak said.

The Sikkim Chief Secretary said that the road infrastructure has suffered extensive damage due to flooding as 14 bridges have collapsed with nine ofthem being under Border Roads Organization (BRO) and five others belonging to the state govt.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday to take stock of the situation in the state and assured him of all possible support.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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UKRAINE AID FACES MURKY PATH AMID LEADERSHIP CHANGE

US funding for Ukraine faces a new hurdle in Congress after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as House speaker gave Republican hardliners an opening to stall the next round of aid to Kyiv. The fate of US aid for Ukraine’s efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion now rests in large part on the next speaker, who will have to navigate a party sharply divided on the issue. Republicans plan a speaker election on Oct. 11, and all legislative action is likely to halt in the meantime. Aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion still enjoys widespread support in Congress.

Some of those mentioned as possible speakers, including House majority leader Steve Scalise, voted for a $300 million Ukraine funding bill last week.

Yet other contenders, like Jim Jordan, voted no. The leader of the GOP hardliners, Matt Gaetz, emphasised that a majority of Republicans voted against the aid bill last week.

55 CHINESE SAILORS WERE KILLED IN SUBMARINE TRAGEDY IN AUGUST: A UK REPORT

As per a classified UK report, 55 Chinese sailors may have died due to a 'catastrophic failure' in the submarine.

An undisclosed UK defence report hints at a devastating incident involving a Chinese submarine, the '093-417', in the Yellow Sea. The report suggests that 55 Chinese sailors, including the captain and 21 officers, may have died due to a “catastrophic failure" in the vessel's oxygen systems, the Daily Mail reported.

However, China has denied the loss of submarine, as has Taiwan. But the British intelligence report identified the PLA Navy submarine as 093-417 and added that it suffered catastrophic failure that poisoned the crew on August 21.

The alleged accident led to a series of system failures that took approximately six hours to resolve. During this window, the onboard oxygen system purportedly malfunctioned, poisoning the crew. It appears that the submarine ran into a trap originally meant to ensnare British and US submarines, the publication added.

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‘NO CRIMINALITY’: SCOTLAND POLICE CLOSE GURDWARA CASE

The Scottish police have closed their investigation into an incident involving three radical Sikh activists preventing Indian high commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, from entering a Glasgow gurdwara, saying no offence was committed. The Indian high commission in London had reacted with fury to the September 29 incident and reported it to the foreign, commonwealth and development office and the metropolitan police, urging the UK authorities to take action.

But on Wednesday a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Following extensive enquiries into a report of a disturbance in the Albert Drive area, no criminality has been established.” Police Scotland had been called after the three activists prevented Doraiswami and the consul general of India in Edinburgh, Bijay Selvaraj, from entering the gurdwara to attend a community event.

DELHI EXCISE POLICY SCAM: WHY AAP NOT NAMED AS ACCUSED, SC ASKS ED

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought to know from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) why the political party (AAP), which is alleged to be a beneficiary of Delhi excise policy scam, has not been made an accused in the money laundering case.

The question was posed by a Bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna while hearing two separate bail pleas filed by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia in a corruption case and a money laundering case relating to the scam being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, respectively.

“As far as the PMLA case is concerned, your whole case is that it (kickback) went to the political party. It is the beneficiary and not him (Sisodia), but then you have to explain as to why the political party is still not an accused in the case. How do you explain this?” the Bench told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who will respond to the court’s query on Thursday on behalf of the ED.

THE CHARGES AGAINST NEWSCLICK

NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, who was arrested in a case filed under the anti-terror law following allegations that the portal received money for pro-China propaganda, allegedly conspired to peddle a narrative that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories, the Delhi Police has claimed.

Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

In the remand application, the police said, "Secret inputs revealed that Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham and some other Chinese employees of Singham-owned Shanghai-based company have exchanged mails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India." This amounts to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India," the application stated.

It has also been learnt that foreign funds have been siphoned off by Purkayastha and his associates, the police said.

According to the application, "The accused persons have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers' protest through such illegal foreign funding."

A false narrative was propagated to discredit the efforts of the Indian govt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the police said in its application.

It was learnt that Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 general elections. It was also learnt that People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by NewsClick, has been used for intentionally peddling these false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy, it stated.

The accused persons, in the guise of foreign funds, received more than Rs 115 crore, according to the application.

The police applied for 15 days' police remand for both the accused and got their custody for seven days.

3 WIN NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY FOR WORK ON TINY QUANTUM DOTS

The Nobel Prize 2023 in Chemistry has been awarded to Moungi G Bawendi, Louis E Brus and Alexei I Ekimov "for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.”

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that the award rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties.

“The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2023 have succeeded in producing particles so small that their properties are determined by quantum phenomena. The particles, which are called quantum dots, are now of great importance in nanotechnology,” it said.

GLOBAL GIANTS TAP INDIAN CONSUMERS THROUGH WORLD CUP ADs

Global companies are spending millions of dollars to get their names seen during the Cricket World Cup in India, with the sporting event representing an opportune moment for brands to tap into the cricket-crazy nation of 1.4 billion people.

Brands are likely to spend about Rs 2,000 crore in advertisement spots on streaming platforms during the tournament, estimates Jehil Thakkar, a partner at Deloitte India. A 10-second advertising slot during matches costs up to Rs 3 lakh, a 40 per cent increase compared to the last World Cup in 2019, he said.

Among the brands that are paying for airtime during the World Cup are large corporate names such as Coca-Cola Co., Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay and Unilever Plc’s India unit Hindustan Unilever Ltd., while the ICC’s list of official partners includes Saudi Aramco, Emirates and Nissan Motor Co.

Disney Star, which holds the exclusive TV broadcast rights for the World Cup in India, said in a statement Wednesday that it is partnering with 26 sponsors including Booking.com BV and liquor company Diageo Plc.

ASIAN GAMES, DAY 11: INDIA GO PAST LAST EDITION’S 70 MEDALS

The duo of Ojas Pravin Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam beat South Korea in the archery mixed team compound to secure a first-place finish and give India its 16th gold medal at the Hangzhou Games.

Neeraj Chopra won Gold in the men’s javelin (88.88 m) – The silver also came to an Indian athlete, Kishore Kumar Jena (87.54m)

The Indian quartet won gold medal in the men’s 4x400m relay. The team comprising of Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Rajesh Ramesh and Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi finished with a time of 3:01.58.

The medal rush continued in athletics as Harmilan Bains in women’s 800m, Avinash Sable in men’s 5000m secured silver medals. Lovlina Borgohain signed off with silver in women's 75kg boxing after losing to China's Li Qian. India quartet - Vithya Ramraj, Aishwarya Kailash Mishra, Prachi, Subha Venkatesan - finished second to win silver in Women's 4X400M relay - they finished behind Bahrain with 3:27.85.

Wrestler Sunil Kumar secured a bronze in the 87kg Greco-Roman event after beating Kyrgyzstan’s Atabek Azesbekov 2-1 in the Bronze Medal match.

Ram Baboo and Manju Rani pair won bronze in the 35km mixed race walking event.

Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh signed off with a bronze medal in squash mixed doubles.

Parveen lost her last four bout in the 57kg boxing and won a bronze.

In Medals Tally, India is currently placed 4th (18G, 31S, 32B), behind China (171G, 94S, 51B), Japan (37G, 51S, 59B) and S Korea (33G, 45S, 70B)

CHAOS AT JAVELIN FINAL

The men’s javelin final was drama-packed as confusion reigned supreme.

Star athlete Neeraj Chopra found himself in the thick of things as he was forced to retake his first throw. His first attempt was wiped off the system! The javelin final event faced measurement issues.

Asked if the officials gave any reason for not measuring his first throw, Chopra said, "One of the officials said the second athlete after me had taken his throw quickly. It was a bizarre situation……Later they told me I will be given another throw for the first attempt."

A perfect gentleman he is, Chopra agreed to it.

Anju Bobby George, the senior vice president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) accused the officials of deliberately targeting the Indians. "They are trying to cheat us and trying to disturb our athletes. Neeraj's first throw was a very good throw and it was a kind of disturbance. We called Neeraj to protest there itself. Jena's throw also called foul when he was one foot behind the line," the legendary long jumper alleged.

Anju reckons that winning in China is difficult as their officials are always up for some "mischief" and disturb the athletes.

CRICKET WORLD CUP KICKS OFF TODAY

As the 13th edition of the ODI World Cup gets set to kick-off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today, all the ten captains were gathered together for a press conference in Ahmedabad yesterday. Unsurprisingly, captain of Team India and Pakistan were most favourites amongst the journalists asking questions in the press conference.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has asserted that the 'Men in Blue,' who are riding high on confidence and are one of the favourites, will give their everything in the World Cup. Even though the Indian team is entering on the back of a hot run in the ODI format, being the host will likely bring the much-needed luck factor to them as well.

"Not thinking too much about on that stuff but yeah in last 3 editions hosting teams won the World Cups and we will give our everything in this World Cup and enjoy the tournament," Rohit said in the World Cup 2023 Captain's Day event.

"People are going to love this tournament. The stadiums will be jam-packed. Indians love their cricket. It is going to be a great tournament," Rohit added.

In the first match, in Ahmedabad today, defending champions England take on last edition’s runners-up New Zealand

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