Indian Sub-continent

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani military said on Thursday that security forces had killed eight terrorists and arrested five others in two separate operations in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said in a statement that security forces conducted intelligence-based operations in Bannu district and North Waziristan district.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India halted all visa services for citizens of Canada and told it to reduce its diplomatic staffing on Thursday as a rift widened between the countries after Canada’s leader said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.

Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, key strategic partners in security and trade, have plunged to their lowest point in years after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on its soil.

NEW DELHI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India on Wednesday urged its nationals in Canada, especially students, to exercise "utmost caution" as ties deteriorate after each nation expelled one of the other's diplomats in an escalating row over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader.

Tension has grown since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday Canada was investigating "credible allegations" about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.

NEW DELHI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government on Wednesday issued an advisory to its citizens in Canada against travelling to areas which are prone to anti-India activities.

The advisory came in the wake of souring relations between the two countries after the killing of a Sikh leader in Canada which the Canadian government blamed on Indian agencies.

Both countries have expelled one diplomat from each other's embassy.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Relations between Canada and India have sunk to their lowest point in years as the two countries swap accusations and expel each other’s diplomats over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader.

Experts said it remains to be seen if it will create a lasting rift between the two U.S. allies, but it’s nonetheless an awkward situation for Western countries seeking to woo New Delhi as a counterweight to China and win India’s cooperation on the Ukraine war.

DHAKA, Sept 19 (NNN-BSS) – Bangladesh reported 3,084 new dengue cases and 17 new deaths yesterday, taking the tally to 170,768, and the death toll to over 800, so far, this year, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the Ministry of Health, said.

According to DGHS data, 46,960 dengue cases were recorded so far this month, after 71,976 in Aug, and 43,854 in July. The total 839 deaths included 246 in Sept, 342 in Aug, and 204 in July.

KABUL, Sept 19 (NNN-ANA) – Police have smashed hashish farms in the eastern Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, and asked farmers to avoid cultivation of illegal crops including poppy and hashish, provincial police said, in a statement today.

The counter-narcotics police launched operations against illegal crops and destroyed six acres of hashish farm in Parian district of the province yesterday, according to the statement.

In a similar operation against illegal crops, police smashed a hashish farm in the northern Samangan province on Sunday.

NEW DELHI, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said authorities were "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking New Delhi's agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, an assertion India quickly dismissed as "absurd".

The spat deals a fresh blow to diplomatic ties that have been fraying for years, with New Delhi unhappy over Sikh separatist activity in Canada. It now threatens trade ties too, with talks on a proposed trade deal frozen last week.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat Tuesday and accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs, escalating a breach with Ottawa over its allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.

ISLAMABAD, Sept 18 (NNN-APP) – Supreme Court of Pakistan’s senior Judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, took oath as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan yesterday, according to a statement from the President House Media Wing.

Pakistani President, Arif Alvi, administered the oath at a ceremony held at the President House in Islamabad, attended by caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Chief of Army Staff, Asim Munir, senators and foreign ambassadors.

Isa assumed the office after his predecessor, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, retired on Saturday, after completing his tenure.