BY Vijayendra, who was recently appointed BJP’s Karnataka unit chief, said that his focus will be on the performance in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“My agenda is to focus on the Lok Sabha elections. I will try to bring all senior leaders together,” Mr Vijayendra told NDTV.

Mr Vijayendra, the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, also said that voters will a fitting reply to those accusing them of dynasty politics. Mr Vijayendra is the MLA of Shikharipura, from where his father won comfortably in the 2018 Karnataka election.

He had been appointed as the BJP state vice president in 2020.

The appointment of Mr Vijayendra, seen as the political heir to Mr Yediyurappa, to replace Nalinkumar Kateel ends months of speculation as a change of guard in the state was widely expected since the BJP suffered a big defeat to the Congress in the election in May.

Though it was always a strong probability that the BJP would pick a Lingayat leader to lead its state unit, its decision to pick the first-time MLA ignoring the dynastic plank, something it has used to target rivals, has highlighted the political importance his father continues to wield despite being eased out of electoral politics by the party.

Mr Vijayendra said that the move was aimed at taking the party forward.

“There was no unceremonious exit of Yediyurappa ji, he explained why he resigned as Chief Minister. We want to build the party,” he said.

BS Yediyurappa, echoing the sentiment, said that the change was made looking at the future and wasn’t an attempt by the BJP to placate him.

“Whatever happened has happened. In the future, we will build the party and make necessary changes. Our aim is to win more than 25 Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka. ,” he said.

He added that he was extremely happy with the announcement, which he claimed was made at the last minute by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President JP Nadda.

An Indian-origin Sikh man, described as a “higher-level figure” in the organised crime scene in Canada, and his 11-year-old son were shot and killed in what police have called a “sick and twisted” escalation of gang violence in the city of Edmonton.

Harpreet Singh Uppal, 41, and his son were gunned down outside a gas station Thursday afternoon in a brazen, daytime shooting, Edmonton Police Service acting Supt. Colin Derksen told the media on Friday.

The boy’s young friend, who was in Uppal’s car at the time, survived with no physical injuries.

Colin Derksen said police do not know whether the shooter or shooters knew children were in the car when they began following Uppal.

“But what we do know, sadly, is that once the shooter or the shooters learned that the son was there, they intentionally shot and killed him,” the Edmonton Journal quoted Derksen as saying.

He added killing children was once a “line in the sand” gang members refused to cross, but that is changing.

“That is sick and twisted,” Mr Derksen said. “I think most gang members would agree.” Police have not released the name of the boy, pending autopsy.

Colin Derksen said a suspect vehicle – a stolen 2012 BMW X6 – was located on fire north of Beaumont. No one was located inside the vehicle and no injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

As of Friday morning, police had made no arrests and identified no suspects.

Mr Derksen said Uppal was a “higher-level figure” in Edmonton’s organised crime scene but declined to say if he was affiliated with any specific groups, the report said.

Uppal was facing charges related to cocaine possession and trafficking, as well as illegal possession of body armour. A trial was set to start in April 2024, CBC News reported.

He was also charged with assault with a weapon and unauthorised possession of a firearm in relation to a case from March 2021. The Crown stayed those proceedings in February, it said.

Derksen also declined to say whether police believe the shooting was retaliation for other violence, or whether retaliation for Uppal’s killing is expected.

Sources have told Postmedia that Uppal was a prominent Brothers Keepers associate.

His murder is believed to be part of a war between the UN gang and the BK.

While originating in the Vancouver area, the tit-for-tat slayings are now happening across the country. The day before Uppal was killed, B.C. UN gangster Parmvir Chahil was shot to death in Toronto. Media reports said the killings may be linked.

Mr Derksen said it was too early to say “if there’s a connection” to violence in other cities, “or if there is, how far-reaching it is.” Police said the details of the shooting were immediately posted to social media and detectives are hoping to speak with anyone with information. Anyone with security or dash camera footage that was active in the area at the time is also encouraged to contact police.

Mr Derksen confirmed Uppal and his family were the targets of a 2021 shooting in which a gunman fired through the window of a restaurant where they were having dinner.

The lone man charged in the case – Harsh Jindal, who police claimed was the getaway driver – had his charges dropped last month, court records show.

The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service said the charges were stayed after a preliminary inquiry led prosecutors to conclude there was “no longer a reasonable likelihood of conviction.” “With a heavy heart, I contemplate how it’s conceivable for a child to be killed in such a tragic manner like this,” Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, said in a statement. “Like many of you, I am concerned with the rise in gun violence in our neighbourhoods.” Edmonton, like other metropolitan areas across Canada, is grappling with an increase in shootings and gang-related crimes. But the death of a child has intensified police efforts to solve Thursday’s daylight shooting.

“We’re going to give it everything we got,” said Mr Derksen. “We’re pulling out all the stops. We lost a child here.”

A video of a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) delivering an impassioned speech about Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in the middle of a mathematics lecture has gone viral on social media. In over a minute-and-a-half-long video, the student, standing in the right corner of the screen, asked the lecturer if he could say something. The professor asked, “Can I just finish this line?”

After the maths teacher completed his explanation, the student read from a piece of paper, “As you witness an ongoing genocide of Gaza in MIT silence – I’m joining hundreds of students city-wide walking out of class. We stand for the liberation of Palestine against active genocide that is perpetuated by MIT, Israel and the United States.”

Showing a Palestinian flag, the student-led chants of “free, free Palestine” alongside fellow protestors.

His outburst was captured in a video where he also accused MIT, Israel, and the US of “perpetuating genocide”.

On X, though, Professor Retsef Levi, MIT Expert in Analytics, wrote, “Today, Jewish and Israeli MIT students were physically prevented from attending class by a hostile group of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel MIT students that call themselves the CAA. This is after students from the CAA harassed MIT staff members in their offices for being Jewish and interrupted classes in the past few weeks. All of this has occurred with no clear response from the administration. With each passing day, MIT admin’s silence makes Jewish and Israeli students feel unsafe at MIT.”

This is the reality that MIT President wants to hide. A letter from Israeli & Jewish MIT students:

To all students at MIT,

Today, Jewish and Israeli MIT students were physically prevented from attending class by a hostile group of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel MIT students that…

— Retsef Levi (@RetsefL) November 10, 2023

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman criticised MIT, sharing the post and accusing the institution of failing to “discipline protesters.” “The failure of Harvard, MIT and other universities to discipline protesters who violate their rules emboldens the protesters to more aggressive, disruptive and antisemitic actions. This has created a climate of fear that is not conducive to a university education. The failure to discipline students who have bullied, assaulted or otherwise been abusive to Jewish students under the guise of free speech or a supposed requirement to wait for the completion of a police and FBI investigation is similarly absurd,” he wrote.

The failure of @Harvard, @MIT and other universities to discipline protesters who violate their rules emboldens the protesters to more aggressive, disruptive and antisemitic actions. This has created a climate of fear that is not conducive to a university education.

The failure… https://t.co/yGHGotbR6q

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 10, 2023

This incident reflects the heightened tensions surrounding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Over 11,000 people have been killed in incessant Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claimed, when Hamas targetted a music festival, killing over 250 people.