Tuesday Briefing: India accused of homicide and extortion

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October 15, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering Canada’s expulsion of Indian diplomats and deadly strikes in Gaza.

Plus, an artist sues to reclaim his work.

Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s top diplomat in Canada, in June. Blair Gable/Reuters

Canada expelled Indian diplomats

Canada accused the Indian government yesterday of homicide and extortion intended to silence critics of India living in Canada. Canada also expelled Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s top diplomat, and five others, saying they were part of a vast criminal network.

India reciprocated, expelling six Canadian diplomats, including the embassy’s second-highest-ranking diplomat.

The tit-for-tat actions escalated a bitter dispute that began last year with the assassination of a prominent Sikh cleric, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia. The Canadian government accused India of orchestrating the killing. India maintains that the allegations are politically motivated.

Context: Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside India, a religious minority that lives mostly in the state of Punjab, in northwestern India. India has said that some Sikhs in Canada are actively involved in a secessionist movement that seeks to carve out a Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan.

Destruction at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza yesterday. Ramadan Abed/Reuters

Deadly Israeli strikes hit a central hospital complex

Strikes in central Gaza overnight killed or injured dozens of Palestinians, health officials and the U.N. said yesterday.

An Israeli strike killed at least four and injured about 70 others living at a tent camp in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency reported. Israel said it was targeting a Hamas command center, which could not be independently verified. Gazans sheltering there described flames jumping from tent to tent, shrieks of agony and bodies so charred they were unrecognizable. One said it was like living a “recurring nightmare.”

A separate attack hit a school compound in central Gaza where families were sheltering in the city of Nuseirat, according to local officials, who said that at least eight bodies had been recovered. The main U.N. agency aiding Palestinians in Gaza said the facility was to have been used as a site for polio vaccinations.

Human shields: Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents have regularly forced Palestinians captured during the war to conduct life-threatening reconnaissance missions, a Times investigation found. Using captives for this purpose is illegal under Israeli and international law.

Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times, Doug Mills/The New York Times

How Harris and Trump differ on a tax break for parents

With just over three weeks to go, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both campaigned yesterday in Pennsylvania, considered the most consequential state of the race. The Harris campaign has settled on its closing message, that she is the candidate of change.

Policy: Harris and Trump both have child tax-credit plans, but their approaches are very different.

Trump sees the program mostly as a tax cut. His policy denies the full benefit to the poorest quarter of children because their parents earn too little and owe no income tax. Harris would expand the tax cuts and add a large anti-poverty plan, sending checks to millions of parents with low pay or no jobs. That would turn a tax cut into an income guarantee, in a landmark expansion of the safety net.

More on the U.S. election Americans head to the polls in 21 days. Harris agreed to an interview with Fox News. It’s her first formal interview with the conservative outlet and will air Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Eleven percent of female voters nationally switched their vote from Trump to Harris after she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket, according to a new survey. Bill Clinton has spent the past two days campaigning for Harris in a low-key swing through Georgia. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we’ll find the answers.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft lifting off yesterday. Chandan Khanna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Sports

Gwen Keraval

After a painful breakup, my colleague Jenny Gross traveled to Provence to improve her French. Her teacher and host soon pointed out that some of her incorrect grammar habits had become “fossilisé,” or fossilized.

Later, she would realize that this lesson applied to much more than just her command of the language.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

Bjarne Melgaard at his studio in Oslo. David B. Torch for The New York Times

He signed over his art to investors. Now, he wants it back.

As the artist Bjarne Melgaard rose to fame, so did his bills. A 2020 contract with two longtime investors was supposed to be a lifesaver, absolving him of nearly $16 million in debt. But last year, he sued to void it.

Melgaard realized after signing that he had forfeited hundreds of paintings and thousands of prints, the rights to produce a series of sculptures and the ability to oppose sales of his own work. The value of this trove has been estimated at millions of dollars. A Norwegian court will begin hearing the case today. The future of Melgaard’s career may hang on its decision. Read his story here.

Chris Simpson for The New York Times

Cook: Ginger-garlic shrimp with coconut milk is a fragrant 20-minute meal that will lure people into the kitchen.

Read: “Don’t Be a Stranger” explores female desire with a romantic collision between a divorced mother and a much younger musician.

Monitor: Controlling your blood sugar is crucial for your health.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Gaya

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