www.theasianstar.com
Vol 14
Issue 46 Saturday, December 12, 2015
One place for pampering tastebuds- Madras Club House
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Punjab police officer accused of atrocities hiding in Canada after faking suicide
ormer Director General of Police (DGP), Jails, Shashi Kant today alleged a senior Punjab Police officer infamous for atrocities committed by him during the days of militancy and who was said to have committed suicide, was alive and living in Canada. Shashi Kant said this while speaking at the seminar here. Without naming the officer, Shashi Kant said: “The officer had committed endless atrocities and killed so many people during the militancy
period. He later faked his suicide and moved to Canada where he is leading a conformable life. Certain government and security officials and even those who prepared his medical record after his ‘death’ had played role in his escape.” He said that he was made aware of this fact by his sources settled in Canada. Though the controversy as to whether the officer is dead or alive is not new, it is for the first time that a retired DGP-level police officer has made such revelation.
California shooter linked to Ontario Islamic school
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he woman who carried out last Farhat Hashmi, who now lives in Canada, week’s mass shooting in California has been criticized for promoting a conserwith her husband had attended an vative strain of Islam, though the school has Islamic religious school, or madrassa, found- no known links to extremists. In Pakistan, ed by a Pakistani scholar who now lives in it is popular among upper-middle class and Canada, intelligence officials and the school urban women interested in Islamic studies. said Monday. Few details “Huda Institute Canada have emerged about Tashstrongly condemns such feen Malik’s life in Pakistan, acts of violence. We don’t where she lived from 2007 preach, believe in or acto 2014 before heading to cept violent extreme rethe United States on a filigious viewpoints of any ancee visa. Malik studied nature,” Imran Haq, Oppharmacy at the Bahauderations Manager at Al din Zakariya University in In this handout provided by the FBI, Huda Institute Canada the central city of Multan, Tashfeen Malik poses for a photo. said in a statement. The where she got a degree in region where the school 2013. While in Multan, she also attended a is located, however, is home to thousands of religious school, which Pakistani intelligence extremist seminaries, with hundreds of them officials on Monday identified as the Al-Huda linked to al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban. International Seminary. The school is a wom- Pakistan, which supports Islamic militants en-only madrassa with branches across Paki- battling archrival India in the disputed restan and in the U.S. and Canada, said the of- gion of Kashmir and is widely believed to ficials, speaking on condition of anonymity in have ties to insurgents in Afghanistan, has line with regulations. The Canadian branch long turned a blind eye to institutions that is based in Mississauga, Ont., according to teach radical interpretations of Islam. the foundation’s website. Al-Huda’s founder, Continued on page 6
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Volkswagen Canada offers $1,000 credit to upset owners, but still no fix
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RCMP on alert after reports of alleged plots targeting Canadian cities by Islamic terrorists
he RCMP says media reports from Europe about possible threats against Canadian cities — including Vancouver — are being taken very seriously. One report cited Geneva, Toronto and Chicago as possible targets in connection with an investigation of four men alleged to be supporters of the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Other news stories referred to a video in which a fifth suspect allegedly talked about attacks in Vancouver, Ottawa and Geneva. U.S. intel-
ligence services were said to have provided information to Swiss authorities. Mounties issued a statement that the safety of Canadians is of the utmost importance to the RCMP. The national police force said it is working with partners to remain vigilant for potential threats. “It is important to remember that protecting Canada’s national security requires the awareness and active engagement of citizens too, as it is a shared responsibility,” read the statement. Continued on page 6
Liberals tighten mortgage rules to help cool Vancouver and Toronto housing markets OTTAWA — The Liberal government on Friday confirmed it is tightening lending rules for residential mortgages, setting a minimum down payment of 10 per cent for homes over $500,000. CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal says the impact of the new rules could hit Calgary
hard, which has a “relatively large share of high-ratio mortgages.” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said homes purchased below the new price ceiling will remain at five per cent. The changes take effect on Feb. 15, and come after a number of policy shifts in recent years to limit Canadians’ exposure Continued on page 6
How Canadians are fooled into paying high gas prices
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By Umendra Singh
as was retailing at $1.09 a litre in Metro Vancouver around late October when overnight the price shot up to $1.29 a litre. There was no corresponding increase in the price of crude oil on the world market (stable at about $41 (US) per barrel) and neither was there any increase in price of gas across the border. The Canadian dollar was relatively stable, compared to what happened in summer. So called oil indus-
try “experts” (most of whom are paid or financed by oil companies) came on TV and radio to say the price increase was due to repairing or maintenance of oil pipe lines south of the border (no pictures or video provided but I am sure videos and pictures could be arranged). They assured the public that the price will drop back to around $1.09 per litre in a couple of weeks when the repairs were completed. Continued on page 4