Asian Star - May 06, 2017

100 95 75

25 5 0

www.theasianstar.com AsianStar logo Saturday, April 25, 2015 6:42:48 PM

Vol 16 - Issue 14

Polls unclear as to who will win BC election on Tuesday Forecasting the winner of next Tuesday’s BC election is a dangerous task.

All pollsters got their fingers badly burnt when they wrongly forecast that the Adrian Dix led NDP would win in 2013. So this time they are being more cautious in order to protect their reputation.

Any one could win! Polls are unclear! Numbers are shifting ! Pollsters examining the British Columbia campaign are offering voters an inconsistent view of where the parties stand, in contrast with 2013 when firms widely – and wrongly – predicted an NDP victory. This time, the results differ significantly between polling firms, with one saying the BC Liberals have the momentum, another arguing the BC NDP is comfortably ahead, and others striking a more cautious tone.

Continued on Page 6...

Saturday, May 06, 2017

South Asian grandfather dragged out of his taxi and beaten to death A 64-year-old taxi driver was dragged out of his car and beaten to death by a customer in London, Ont., on last Saturday.

Vijay Bhatia was a grandfather and long-time driver, well-known among the city’s cabbies. He died when he was pulled from his cab early Saturday and attacked in the parking lot of a Mac’s convenience store, London police said.

“I am so upset, he was in the business a long, long time,” said

Jason Kukurudziak, owner of Blue and White taxi. “It is tragic, just tragic. It is senseless.”

Continued on Page 9...

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Canadian Senator mugged in Pakistan by thieves on motorcycle

Canada has more seniors than children for first time

For the first time, seniors outnumber children in Canada, as the population experienced its greatest increase in the proportion of older people since Confederation, according to the latest census data.

Statistics Canada’s 2016 census figures released Wednesday include demographic data related to age, gender and where Canadians live.

There are now 5.9 million Canadian seniors, compared to 5.8 million Canadians 14 and under.

This is due to the historic increase in the number of people over 65.

Continued on Page 3...

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A Canadian senator was mugged while visiting Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, losing a large amount of money, a string of black pearls, credit cards and her Senate identity card to experienced street thieves.

Salma Ataullahjan, born in Pakistan into a well-known political family, was appointed to the Senate in 2010 by Stephen Harper.

Continued on Page 7...

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Court upholds death sentences of men convicted in fatal gang-rape on bus that shocked India India’s top court on Friday upheld the death sentences of four men who were convicted in the fatal gang-rape and torture of a 23-yearold medical student on a moving bus in the Indian capital nearly five years ago.

The court held that the nature of the crime, which triggered massive protests across India, made it a fit case for the death penalty.

It described the assault as “most brutal, barbaric and diabolical,” according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The victim’s father said he was happy with the court judgment and demanded that the convicts be hanged quickly.

“The court heard our voice and gave justice,” Badri Singh said.

Prosecutors said the four — Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh — took their victim to the back of a private bus in New Delhi, raping her and then damaging her internal organs with an iron

Canada has more seniors than children Continued from Page 1...

A jump of 20 per cent since 2011 and a significantly greater increase than the five per cent growth experienced by the population as a whole.

The increase in the share of the oldest Canadians was even bigger — up 19.4 per cent for those over 85 and up 41.3 per cent among those over 100.

The result is the median age of the Canadian population in 2016 increased to 41.2 years, six months older than the median age just five years ago. (Median age is the point that separates an equal number of Canadians who are older and younger.)

The aging of the population is due to the first baby boomers turning 65 over the last five years, as well as the increasing life expectancy of Canadians and a low fertility rate.

Projections suggest the imbalance in the population will only grow.

By 2031, about 23 per cent of Canadians could be seniors, similar to Japan, the world’s oldest country.

By 2061, there could be 12 million seniors to just eight million children in Canada.

“As people get older, they need more health care, more home care, and that puts increasing demands on government spending,” says Dr. Frances Woolley, economics professor at Carleton University in Ottawa. “There are big challenges for the government coming on the fiscal side.”

But Canada is still younger than most of its G7 counterparts. Only the United States has a younger population among the world’s biggest industrialized economies.

Nevertheless, the share of Canadians in the labour market (between ages 15 and 64) has decreased since 2011 to 66.5 per cent from 68.5 per cent.

rod. She died two weeks later of injuries in a hospital in Singapore, where she was taken for treatment.

The outrage over the New Delhi attack prompted quick action on legislation doubling prison terms for rapists to 20 years and criminalizing voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women.

Indian lawmakers also voted to lower to 16 from 18 the age at which a person can be tried as an adult for heinous crimes.

Defence attorney A. P. Singh, representing three of the men, said the court should have given a chance to reform and avoided the death penalty. He said he would seek a review of Friday’s judgment from Supreme Court judges.

Ram Singh, the bus driver and the fifth

suspect in the crime, was found hanging in his cell in Tihar prison in March 2013, months before the suspects were convicted.

The sixth suspect was just months short of 18 years when the crime took place. He walked

out of a correction home in December 2015 after spending three years — the maximum punishment for minors — sparking public outrage and an overhaul of the juvenile law.

Indian courts are notorious for delays as more than 30 million cases are pending before them.

In view of the massive protests across the country, the Indian government put the gang rape case on a fast-track trial.

Swati Maliwal, chief of the New Delhi Commission for Women, said people in India were not scared of committing crimes because of long delays in bringing them to justice.

“The fact is that the road to justice is very, very long in this country,” she said. “Even in this case, it has taken five years. But at least in five years, we are coming to a conclusion. There are women in the country who have been fighting court battles for 10 to 15 years.”

At least six rapes were taking place in the Indian capital every day, she said.

“Nothing much has changed because there is no fear among people that if they do something wrong, they will be punished,” she said.

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Middle Class in BC have no political friends

By Umendra Singh Both major political parties in BC claim to be working for the middle class but neither of them are doing anything to help.

The middle class pay by far the most taxes and fees, directly and indirectly, to fund BC’s spending.

But they get very little in return.

The BC Liberals are passionate about helping the wealthy and occasionally throw scraps at the disability advocates.

The NDP is determined to only help the poverty stricken or those living on the borders of the poverty line while making appropriate noises about helping the middle class.

100 But neither of them actually does anything 100 to help the middle class.

95 95 Not one of the promises of both parties, not one of their policies is directed at helping 75 only the middle class. Not one.

75 There is not one single tax break designed only for people with annual earnings of $50,000 to $200, 000. There are plenty of 25 promises from both parties to help those 25 who make less than$50,000 or those who 5 VICTOR BAINSa year. earn above $200,000 5 And this is the reason why the middle class 0 of 0 BC needs to find a political movement which is concerned about middle class instead of listening to false promises of BC Liberals and BC NDP.

www.theasianstar.com # 202 - 7028, 120th Street, Surrey, BC V3W 3M8 Ph: 604-591-5423 Fax: 604-591-8615 E-mail: editor@theasianstar.com Editor: Umendra Singh Associate Editor: Shruti Prakash Joshi Marketing and Sales: Ravinder S. Cheema........604-715-3847 Shamir Doshi....................604-649-7827 Harminder Kaur...............778-708-0481 Parminder Dhillon..........778-859-9234

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Polls unclear as to who will win BC election

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Continued from Page 1...

The NDP was heavily favoured to win the provincial election four years ago, when the party was led by Adrian Dix. Instead, Liberal Leader Christy Clark carried her party to its fourth consecutive majority government.

Kyle Braid, a senior vice-president at Ipsos, said his company’s polling indicates the two parties are currently in a statistical tie.

“It’s anyone’s to win,” he said.

“And if it’s like the last election, where more than four in 10 registered voters don’t vote, it’s really going to be about which party does a better job of getting out their vote.”

Mr. Braid said he does not have a prediction on how the race will play out and he “learned last election [to] try to avoid too many predictions.”

A poll conducted by Ipsos the day before the 2013 vote had the NDP eight points ahead of the Liberals among decided voters. The Liberals ended up with 44 per cent of the vote – four-plus points ahead of the NDP – and 49 of 85 seats. Mr. Braid said Ipsos conducted online polls four years ago, but this time around has added identical phone surveys.

“The main thing we’re doing differently is the dual methodology,” he said. “…We did online last time, others did phones, almost all of them were off. So there was something unique about the last election.”

Mario Canseco, who four years ago was with Angus Reid Public Opinion, has said the 2013 polling did not capture a late shift among voters. Mr. Canseco, now vice-president of public affairs with Insights West, said in an interview that his current firm looked at the horse race at the start of the campaign and will do so again at its close. “It’s better to focus on some of the issues in the middle of the campaign instead of just crunching out horse-

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race numbers every week,” he said.

This week, Insights West released a survey that examined the issues of accountability, energy, and the environment, as well as sentiments toward party leaders. The survey, among other things, found 77 per cent of British Columbians want to ban donations from corporations to political parties, and 73 per cent would like to ban such donations from unions. Mr. Canseco said Insights West will continue polling into Monday, the day before the vote, to ensure it has the most recent information.

He said the criticism of pollsters after the past B.C. election was warranted – though that campaign has drawn much more attention than instances in which his polling was correct. “That’s just the way things are.

Nobody’s asked me about the 22 elections I’ve done correctly since I got here. It’s almost like being a goalie in hockey, nobody remembers the 22 stops, they remember the one that went by you,” he said.

David Valentin, executive vice-president with Mainstreet Research, said the race does appear to be close. While the NDP could win the popular vote, he said it’s difficult at the moment to see its path to a majority government. Mr. Valentin said Mainstreet Research’s poll after the latest debate found movement toward the Liberals.

“In our post-debate poll, we asked what the debate-watchers planned to do, that’s usually a good indicator of what is to come,” he said.

“And what we saw there is that even though these debate-watchers said [BC NDP Leader] John Horgan won the debate, and even though they told us that they found [BC Green Party Leader] Andrew Weaver the most favourable, they still told us by a slim margin that they intended to vote Liberal.”

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Canadian senator mugged in Pakistan by thieves on motorcycle Continued from Page 1...

She was robbed Tuesday night. Two men were arrested Thursday — both admitted to the theft during preliminary interrogations — and some of the senator’s items have been recovered, Islamabad police said. The accused had a court appearance Friday.

Ataullahjan’s Senate identification was “of course” among the items recovered, a police official told the National Post, although local press accounts say few of her belongings have been found. Ataullahjan reported the robbery in person at a police station shortly after the incident, the officer said.

“At approximately 10:20 p.m. while getting into my car,” Ataullahjan wrote in her First Information Report, known as a FIR, which police use to launch investigations, “two person on a motorcycle grabbed my handbag and fled with it.”

She told police her handbag contained US$4,200 and 62,000 Pakistani rupees (worth about C$810), a necklace of black pearls, two credit cards, a debit card and her Canadian Senate identification card.

The mugging took place in a shopping district known as the Super Market in Sector F-6 of Islamabad, police said.

“I was mugged yesterday,” she said on Twitter Wednesday. “To everyone who has written or called, thank you for your well wishes. I am thankful to be OK.” She was not injured, police confirmed.

The thieves were riding a 125cc Honda, a popular commuter motorcycle in Pakistan.

Investigators examined video surveillance images and found the motorcycle had a blue gas tank.

“Both of the guys were previously involved in similar incidents,” the police officer said, and a search of known street thieves found a suspect with a similar motorcycle. Officers found the bike parked outside his home when investigators arrived to speak with him.

During interrogation, he admitted his involvement and led police to a second suspect, police said. Both men were arrested at their homes in neighbouring Rawalpindi.

They were identified by police only by their first names of Atif and Zohaib; both are 22 years old and related. “Now she is satisfied,” the officer said of Ataullahjan.

Ataullahjan was born in Mardan in northern Pakistan’s Peshawar valley, near the Afghanistan border. Her father, Saranjam Khan, was a senator in Pakistan and her grandfather, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, was the leader of an independence movement from British rule, according to her official biography.

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Gobind Sarvar’s first Science and Education fair made a big hit

ince the start of the world, human has been different from other species because of the gift of highly developed brain. With that brain he has been able to come up with so many inventions that are able to create a comfortable and educated

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world.

They say ‘Success is science; if you have conditions, you will have results’, and we can see the results in the form of every new invention happening everyday around us.

At present, science and technology has become such an important element in every field around the world that there is a need to educate children to invent from the youngest ages.

Gobind Sarvar School based in Surrey believes in involving students with real life scenarios and helping them develop their innovation instinct.

Lately a Science and Education fair was hosted by the school where starting from elementary to high school students participated in groups and presented their science projects.

Not only this, elementary students also presented some amazing plays that were appreciated by all.

Minister responsible for Translink, Peter Fassbender was also present at the moment and praised the initiative. “This is the future. We need more of the initiatives like these ones and I am glad that Gobind Saravar pioneered in taking a step forward”, smiled he.

The presentations were also judged by Science experts and a series of questions were asked to the students which gave them a taste of real life presentation scenario.

“I am very happy that this event has captured so many people to come in and we plan to grow every year”, said Mr. Bhatia, principle of Gobind Sarvar School.

He gave all the credits to the students and teachers for all their hard work and dedication in making the event a success.

LOCAL

Saturday, May 06, 2017

India - Pak tension rises after 2 Indian soldiers ‘mutilated’ “In an unsoldierly act by the Pak Army the bodies of two of our soldiers in the patrol were mutilated,� read the release. “Such despicable act of Pakistan Army will be appropriately responded.�

The Pakistan military has denied involvement in the killings. “Pakistan Army is a highly professional force and shall never disrespect a soldier even Indian,� read a Monday statement by the public relations department of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

In a hotline phone call between the militaries of both nations on Tuesday, Pakistan called for “actionable evidenceâ€? that the attack was Pakistani, and hinted that it may have come from inside Indian territory. “We are fully committed to maintain peace and tranquility ‌ however, any disadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing,â€? read a follow-up statement.

The slain soldiers are Paramjit Singh from Punjab and Prem Sagar from Uttar Pradesh.

Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan, has been a source of tension ever since the two countries were partitioned as part of independence from the United Kingdom.

Of four wars fought between the two countries since 1947, three have broken out over Kashmir, the last in 1999.

On Tuesday, a former Indian defence minister, AK Antony, was publicly calling on the government of Narendra Modi to “give freedom to the army to take appropriate action at an appropriate time.�

Indian social media also lit up with calls 100 for swift retaliation, many of the posts using the hashtag “Badla Lo� (take revenge).

95 Calls for vengeance were also issued by the families of both slain men.

75 100 “His sacrifice should not be forgotten, we want 50 heads in return for his life,� said the 95 daughter of Prem Sagar, as reported in the Times of India.

25 75 In similar comments to reporters, the widow of of Paramjit Singh said “if5 the government cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, 0 25 then they should allow me to take revenge of my husband’s killing.�

5 Late on Monday, Indian media was filled with reports that Indian forces had already 0 launche retaliatory attacks, destroying several frontier posts and killing seven Pakistani soldiers.

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The two killings come after months of growing Kashmiri tensions. In September, 17 Indian soldiers were killed by gunmen who stormed an Indian military base.

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said. “The guy got into Vijay’s face, I don’t know why.�

Serenity Lane lives in an apartment across the street from the convenience store. She was looking out her window when she saw Bhatia being attacked. “I watched a guy get pulled out of his cab and (beaten) to death.� Lane, who has lived in the apartment for about a year, said she was about to go to the convenience store when she looked out her window. “It was horrible, I feel disgusted by what I saw.�

Taylor Neilson, a friend of Lane’s, was in the apartment with her when the attack occurred. “I was on the couch and I heard something.

I said, ‘What’s going on?’ I could hear the screaming even though the windows were closed,� she said.

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Grandfather dragged out of his taxi and beaten to death Continued from Page 1...

London police said officers responding to a report of an assault found Bhatia in the parking lot. He did not have any vital signs and was taken to hospital.

Bhatia was assaulted by one of two passengers in his cab, police said. Police took the passengers into custody.

Cody Perkin, 23, of London, is charged with one count of second-degree murder.

He is also charged with assault and uttering threats in relation to another person, who sustained minor injuries not requiring medical treatment, police said. Perkin has been remanded into custody.

Kukurudziak downloaded footage from the interior video camera in Bhatia’s taxi and provided it to investigators. The video showed two passengers in the backseat, Kukurudziak

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LOCAL

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Police chief in Nova Scotia charged with sexually assaulting 17-year-old girl The police chief in Bridgewater, N.S., has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenaged girl.

The province’s Serious Incident Response Team said it laid one charge of sexual assault and two charges of sexual exploitation against 53-year-old John Collyer over allegations dating between April 1 and July 31 of last year.

SIRT said Thursday it learned of the allegations from the RCMP in August, but it required time to collect all of the evidence.

“It involved interviews with many people but we were also seeking … certain documentary evidence that was in the hands of a third party and the nature of where and how it was held led to delays that were beyond our control,” said Ron MacDonald, the director of the police watchdog agency.

The girl was 17 at the time of the alleged offence in the Bridgewater area on Nova Scotia’s south shore, MacDonald said.

He said it is the first time in his five-year tenure with the independent agency that

charges of sexual assault have been laid against a police chief in the province, although there have been a number of investigations of police officers.

Pat Cappello, the chair of the community’s police commission, said a motion was passed at a meeting Thursday evening to suspend Collyer for 60 days with pay.

Collyer was placed on administrative leave

by Bridgewater’s police commission in August after it became public that SIRT was investigating the alleged sexual assault. He had been police chief for five years at the time of the original allegations, and prior to that was a long-serving officer with 26 years on the police force. Collyer is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Bridgewater on June 14.

Asked why the allegations against the police chief were only revealed last year after a CTV report, Cappello said at the time “we were just scrambling trying to figure out what was going on.”

“It was a personnel matter and really there wasn’t a whole lot we could say,” he said.

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Highest priced houses in Metro Vancouver belong to the lowest income earners, study finds A new study says the highest priced houses in municipalities Metro Vancouver are owned by those with the lowest median household incomes.

The study — by the consultant group Site Economics Ltd. — took data from the Canada Revenue Agency and the Vancouver Real Estate Board.

It found annual taxable median household incomes are not associated with median home prices in different municipalities in Metro Vancouver.

“Port Moody now has the highest median taxable income in Metro Vancouver, yet only average house prices, and Richmond has the lowest median taxable income, yet some of the highest house prices,” it stated.

Richard Wozny, a longtime real estate developer and the principal for Site Economics Ltd., believes this discrepancy between incomes and housing prices in Vancouver is the result of the owners of high-priced homes under reporting their actual income — though the claim is an extrapolation, as the report doesn’t show any specific evidence of this.

Wozny says these owners — who are subject to property taxes — are not paying enough income tax needed to support the infrastructure and neighbourhood services that make the city so desirable, which in turn leads to higher house prices.

“Growth is not being required to pay for itself,” he said. “It seems like politicians have been too timid to ask for something.”

Wozny says if incomes are no longer a reliable source of taxes, there needs to be substantial tax reforms — property tax, for

example — to better capture the wealth in the real estate market.

Take caution with data, expert says Tsur Somerville, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, says while this particular discrepancy of low incomes, high house prices has been raised in the past, there’s a

problem with these studies.

“For instance, if we had one city that was full of people who bought these houses a long time ago and are now retired, they’re going to have very low income and very high house prices because they bought houses a long time ago and they’ve increased in price,” he said.

“If, in comparison, I have a city that’s full of young people who are buying condos and paying one third of their income on their mortgage payments, then their ratio of house prices to income is going to be very, very different.”

In this study, he says, older neighbourhoods like Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby reflect this first kind of scenario while newer, suburban neighbourhoods like Port Moody reflect the latter.

LOCAL

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Surrey boxer becomes national champion Surrey’s Eric Basran, 18, won his final match of the Canadian National Boxing Championship in Quebec City, making him the 2017 titleholder for elite men in the 56-kg category.

Basran, a member of Team B.C. who represents the Queensborough Boxing Club, won his first two matches 3-0 against Kevin Chauvette of Quebec and Giovan Major of the National Team.

The following day, Basran fought Thomas Bloomenfeld of the National Team and won

11

Surrey cop seriously injured after being hit by motorcycle

2-1.

This is the second time Basran has faced Bloomenfeld, a former Canadian champion, and won.

The first time was in 2015, when Basran competed in the Ringside World Championships in Kansas City Missouri.

Basran had lost to Bloomenfeld at the National Championships earlier that year, but won by a close margin in the final round of their match at the World Championships.

During the Ringside World Championships, Basran was only 16, but fighting against 17- to 18-year-olds in the highest calibre category for that age group.

Now considered an elite boxer, Basran first began amateur boxing competitions when he was 11 years old.

At five-years-old “I began martial arts and learned the basic fundamentals which … has helped me to become a better boxer,” Basran said. “Participating in some world tournaments has helped me evolve.”

Earlier this year, Basran won gold at the 2017 Oregon Golden Gloves boxing tournament, but was unable to advance to the national championships in Las Vegas as he was Canadian and therefore not eligible according to the tournament rules.

A Surrey traffic cop was seriously injured Monday night after being struck by a motorcycle. Surrey RCMP say the 43-yearold officer was hit just before midnight at the south end of the Pattullo Bridge.

They say the officer was struck while conducting a speed check and after he stepped into the centre lane to flag down an allegedly speeding motorcyclist.

“The member [of the RCMP] suffered significant injuries and remains in hospital,”

Cpl. Scotty Schumann said. “It doesn’t appear, for whatever reason, the motorcyclist saw him in time to stop or saw him at all.”

Schumann says the officer’s injuries are not life threatening but he will be off work for some time.

He says the motorcyclist was not injured but was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Police are investigating the collision but Schumann says it could be months before any charges are recommended.

RCMP investigate ‘unfortunate’ mistaken identity that led to handcuffing of teenage girl RCMP in Surrey, B.C., are investigating how “a case of mistaken identity” prompted officers to handcuff and hold down a 16-year-old girl who was waiting at a bus stop.

Her parents, Ruth and Garry Auguste, have filed a formal public complaint and are demanding an apology.

who took the video — Ash Hotti — say the teen was waiting for the bus. Hotti said a police officer came up close to her and kept asking questions about her identity.

He said when the girl started backing away, the officers grabbed her, threw her on the ground and handcuffed her. ​ “Once it was learned that it was not the correct person, [she] was released immediately,” the statement read.

Senior investigators are now in contact with the family, said Surrey RCMP. “It is extremely unfortunate that this situation occurred and we are certainly mindful of her young age and how upsetting this was for her and her family,” said Supt.

Ed Boettcher in a statement.

W W W . G A R Y M A N G AT . C O M

We have agreed to not use the name of the girl who was handcuffed, since she is a minor and her parents fear she will be harassed on social media. She told CBC she has had trouble sleeping and suffered from head and back pain since the incident.

Police had previously only confirmed they were investigating an incident had taken place, but now describe the girl’s handcuffing as a case of mistaken identity, after officers went to the Newton bus loop last Friday looking for someone wanted on a Mental Health Act warrant.

They found “someone matching the description and apprehended a female at this location,” according to a statement.

Officers approached the girl, who, according to an eyewitness and her own account, told them she was not “LaToya.”

Bystander video shows two officers holding down the 16-year-old, who yells out profanities and asks the officers to check her identification card.

We cannot confirm the events that led up to the incident, but the girl, and the person

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Senate passes bill that repeals many Conservative citizenship changes The Senate approved the Liberal government’s major citizenship bill Wednesday, after a nearly year-long legislative process resulting in changes affecting citizenship revocation, children’s rights and language requirements.

The Senate voted to pass Bill C-6 Wednesday, with 45 senators voting in support of the legislation, 29 against, and no abstentions. The wide-ranging bill would

repeal many parts of the former Conservative government’s citizenship legislation, including a provision that revoked citizenship from dual Canadian citizens convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage.

An attempt by Conservative Senator Daniel Lang essentially proposing the government maintain that power was defeated Tuesday during debate in the Red Chamber.

If passed, the proposed legislation would automatically reinstate citizenship for dual nationals like Zakaria Amara, a member of the so-called Toronto 18 who planned to bomb downtown Toronto and had his citizenship

revoked last fall under the Conservatives’ Bill C-24. The Liberals have continued to stand by the proposal amidst criticism from the Conservatives, with cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeatedly saying that “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”

The bill now heads back to the House of Commons for review, where MPs can accept, reject or modify the Senate’s amendments. It’s not clear how the government will respond to the changes.

One amendment would give Canadians the right to a court hearing before their citizenship is stripped. Bill C-24 eliminated the right to a Federal Court hearing for individuals subject to revocation of citizenship when the revocation was based on fraud. Rather, the government sends letters informing the individual that their citizenship will be revoked, and that they have 60 days to respond in writing.

The initial version of the Liberals’ bill did not address this change – something the Senate managed to change.

Independent Senator Elaine McCoy tabled an amendment ensuring that a court hearing is given to people facing citizenship revocation on the grounds of false representation or fraud. “It is the perfect example of the Senate doing exactly what their job is supposed to be, which is to look at the work the House of Commons has done on a bill and give it second thought,” said Josh Paterson, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

City of Vancouver names new fire chief The City of Vancouver has appointed Darrell Reid to serve as the new fire chief.

In addition to leading the city’s fire and rescue services, the city says Reid will also be responsible for emergency management.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Darrell as Vancouver’s new fire chief, bringing decades of experience in fire and rescue services and emergency management,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson in a statement.

“I’m confident that as chief, Darrell will make great progress in ensuring the safety of

our residents by bringing the city’s emergency response and preparedness to the next level.”

The city said Reid currently serves as CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and was previously the deputy chief with Toronto Fire Services.

Reid also served as incident commander during the 2011 Slave Lake fires and the 2013 High River flood in Alberta.

Reid starts the job on June 19, replacing current fire chief John McKearney who is retiring after 37 years of service.

Millennium Line SkyTrain reopened after truck hits pillar, causing closure The Millennium SkyTrain line was closed briefly Wednesday morning after a truck collided with a track support pillar in Burnaby.

Burnaby RCMP officials say the truck hit its brakes suddenly, and a small car ran into it from behind, ending up wedged underneath the truck.

Staff Sgt. Gerard Sokolowski said SkyTrain service was briefly suspended for safety reasons.

“Just for safety, we just had the engineers check it out,” Sokolowski said. “Everything is OK.”

TransLink was briefly running shuttle buses between Gilmore and Brentwood stations, but normal SkyTrain service has now resumed.

Saturday, May 06, 2017

LOCAL

13

Surrey must create 168 new classrooms, hire 300 teachers by September More portables and hundreds of teachers are coming to Surrey as the district scrambles to make room for 168 new classrooms by September.

Finding the space will also mean the district is being forced to convert “noneducational spaces” like computer labs into classrooms. The move comes after a Supreme Court Ruling in favour of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation that ruled to restore contract language and classsize and class-composition deleted in 2002.

The decision found the B.C. government acted wrongly when it stripped such limits from teachers’ contracts.

School board chair Shawn Wilson

confirmedthat the district will require 168 new “enrolling clasrooms” by the fall.

Where will those spaces come from in an already jam-packed district?

“We require 168 new learning spaces

inside our schools that already are stretched so Surrey will be requesting about 30 additional portables as well as adjusting space…. We do not have enough room, we will require additional portables or school additions/modifications on top of our new schools.” An “audit of space” has been done, as is done every year, but Wilson said “this year it has increased vigilance because of the implifications of the new Collective Agreement Language.”

“We are analyzing space, analyzing the new Memorandum of Agreement and the new Collective Agreement Language and we are working to implement,” said Wilson.

“This will require many new portables, and some space in schools that currently is not used for a ‘class’ will likely need to be used.

Example – two classrooms, side by side each have three teachers using it as a learning support 100 room. We will enrol a class in one 95 of the rooms and these six teachers 75 will work together to support students in another room. We are only capturing space that we 25 believe can easily be converted to a classroom. Another example, a 5 portable dedicated for French as a Second 0 Language support will become an enrolling classroom and that support will happen in the other class where the kids reside. The teacher will travel.”

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Teens in hospital after serious Surrey crash on 176th Street Emergency responders had to remove the roof of a vehicle and use the Jaws of Life to rescue three people after a serious crash in Cloverdale on Wednesday night (May 3).

One vehicle was involved in two separate crashes, police said. A caller told police a black Cadillac had been involved in a collision around 9 p.m. with a vehicle near 64th Avenue and 168th Street.

“She fled the scene,” said Surrey RCMP Corporal Scotty Schumann.

Police say the Cadillac then hit the back of a grey Honda Prelude on 64th Avenue just west of 176th Street (Highway 15), pushing the vehicle into the Shell gas station.

The Honda then hit the fuel pump, according to police.

Three people inside the Honda were trapped, and though they were freed by members of Surrey Fire Department, all were hurt. The driver of the Honda was a 17-yearold boy, police say. His condition is serious

and unstable. The frontseat passenger, a 17-year-old girl, was taken to hospital with serious injuries but they’re not considered to be life-threatening.

Another young person riding in the back seat of the Prelude sustained minor injuries.

Allison Keating heard the crash.

“It was absolutely horrific,” she said. “I was there with my daughter, coming home from Splitz gymnastics about 30 to 45 seconds after it happened. We heard the impact but didn’t see it. “So terrifying,” added Keating.

“I’m praying for everyone who was injured.”

100 Police say the woman driving the Cadillac 95 a 22-year-old Surrey resident. She was was detained at the scene of the second crash and 75 sustained minor injuries. Schumann said police are “looking strongly” at impaired driving and speeding as being factors.

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Sikh Council welcomes 2018 Toronto Parliament of World’s Religions The Sikh Council for Interfaith Relations (SCIR) is pleased to share with you that the next Parliament of the World’s Religions will be held from November 1 to 7, 2018 in Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Robert Sellers, Chair of Board of Trustees of Parliament of the World’s Religions with Dr. Satpal Singh (SCIR), Ajit Singh Sahota (WSOCanada), and Surinder Kaur Sahota

The announcement of the 2018 Parliament was made in Toronto on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 and was attended by Dr. Satpal Singh (Trustee of SCIR), Ajit Singh Sahota (World Sikh Organization – Canada), Manjit Singh Parmar (Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council), and Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia (Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and of SCIR). Toronto Mayor John Tory addressed the gathering at City Hall and highlighted the Khalsa Day parade held 2 days earlier at the same location with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joining over 80,000 Sikhs for Vaisakhi celebrations. Mayor Tory shared that any and all are welcome to share a meal at langars held at Sikh Gurdwaras across Toronto.

SCIR coordinated the Sikh participation and presentations at the 2015 Salt Lake

Christy Clark threatens reteliation against Trump’s lumber tax

City Parliament of the World’s Religions.

In view of the upcoming Parliament, SCIR has established a 2018 Parliament Sikh Task Force. The charge of the Parliament Sikh Task Force is to coordinate and implement the active participation of the worldwide Sikh community at the upcoming parliament through: - significant international Sikh presence and engagement, - presentations at plenary and parallel sessions focused on interfaith and intrafaith issues, and - Guru ka Langar, if possible, at the parliament to be led by the local Sikh community.

The task force members include Sikh representatives from Canada, US, and across the world. Dr. Satpal Singh, Trustee of SCIR, serves as Convener of the Task Force. Suggestions and queries about Sikh participation in the upcoming parliament can be emailed to satpalub@gmail.com.

More than 10,000 people are expected to participate in the 2018 Parliament and in the coming 18 months the Parliament Sikh Task Force will work with the Parliament to share our perspective and priorities.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. More information about the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions along with online registration is available at https:// parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/2018toronto/toronto-2018.

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BC premier can’t impose thermal coal tax, says Alberta premier Rachel Notley Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says British Columbia likely doesn’t have the authority to slap a $70-per-tonne tax on thermal coal shipments proposed by B.C. Premier Christy Clark. Clark, in the midst of a provincial election campaign, has said she wants Ottawa to ban thermal coal shipments from the U.S. as retaliation against new tariffs on softwood lumber imposed by the Trump administration.

If her B.C. Liberals are re-elected next week, Clark vowed Tuesday she will impose a $70-per-tonne carbon levy on thermal coal if the federal government refuses to take action.

“Of course we are (opposed), and we don’t think she actually has the authority to do it,” Notley said in response to a question at a news conference in Fort McMurray Wednesday.

“And we would argue that of course something that would impact Albertans’ export industry like that is bad news for Albertans.”

Last week, the United States imposed countervailing duties on lumber imported from Canada. The American lumber industry contends Canadian products are unfairly subsidized. Notley said the softwood tariff will hurt provinces across Canada. But she suggested that having one province take action against the U.S. on its own could aggravate rather than solve the problem.

“That’s why it’s really important for us to work together on a pan-Canadian strategy ... where the consequences or the strategies to fight back are also considered in the context of how it impacts all provinces, and it’s not just how it impacts one province,” Notley said.

Thermal coal is burned for heat and electricity.

Clark’s proposed tariff wouldn’t apply to metallurgical coal that is used to make steel.

It’s not the first time Alberta and B.C. have

engaged in interprovincial trade disputes. The provinces have clashed in the past over the Northern Gateway pipeline, that would have stretched from Alberta through B.C. but was rejected.

Greg Pasychny, the mayor of Edson, said he sharply opposes any tax on thermal coal shipments — especially since the coal mine south of the town is one of its biggest employers.

“It’s a tax grab — there’s no other way of looking at it,” he said Wednesday. “It’s B.C. trying to get more money off of Alberta.”

Pasychny said it’s unfair for B.C. to pose a tax because Alberta doesn’t have a port from which to ship. He said the tax will hurt the entire country.

“Sometimes you want to bang your head against the wall when you consider that we’re all part of one nation,” he said. “All you’re doing is hurting your country.”

Millennials aren’t fleeing Vancouver but older siblings are The story of the millennial generation leaving Vancouver in droves due to the cost of living is a myth, the latest census figures suggest.

It is, in fact, their older 30 and 40 something siblings who are packing up the kids and fleeing south of the Fraser.

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The number of 25 to 34-year-olds living in the City of Vancouver increased 21 per cent between 2006 and 2016, the census data reveals. Surrey saw a 37 per cent increase in this age group over the same time period.

Burnaby, New Westminster and the North Shore also saw increases.

Vancouver is, however, losing its younger Gen Xers. The city lost almost 9,000 residents between the ages of 35 and 44 between 2006 and 2016, which amounts to a nine per cent drop. Burnaby, Richmond, the North Shore and New Westminster also lost members of this age group, though the drop was less steep than in Vancouver.

Vancouver’s loss is, at least in part, Surrey’s gain. That city saw an 18 per cent increase in this age group over the same time period, gaining almost 11,000 people between 35 and 44. These trends do not come as a surprise to Paul Kershaw of the University of B.C.’s School of Population and Public Health.

LOCAL

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Highlights of Statistics Canada’s latest 2016 census release Statistics Canada released new population data from the 2016 census today. Here’s a look at the highlights:

More seniors • Median age of Canadians is 41.2 years, compared to 40.6 years in 2011.

• More seniors (5.9 million) than children (5.8 million), the first time that has happened.

• By 2061, projected 12 million seniors to 8 million children.

• 2016 Census: Seniors vs children • Increase of 20 per cent in number of seniors, biggest increase in 70 years.

• Increase of 41.3 per cent in Canadians 100 years or older, the fastest growing age group.

• 2016 census: Canadians over the age of 100 • Now 8,230 Canadians over the age of 100, five times more women in this group.

Shrinking labour force cohort • Share of 15-64 year olds (labour market) down to 66.5 per cent from 68.5 per cent, lowest since 1976.

• 2016 Census: Labour market share

• More people approaching retirement (4.9 million) than beginning to enter work force (4.3 million).

Women’s longevity outpacing men’s • Women make up 50.9 per cent of the population • Twice as many women over the age of 85 as men.

Disparities across the country • Widest disparity in proportion of seniors between regions of the country (Atlantic Canada and Alberta) since Confederation.

• Newfoundland and Labrador oldest province (43.7 average age), Nunavut the youngest (27.7).

• Mackenzie County, Alberta, highest share of children (34.4 per cent).

• 2016 Census: Hightest share of children • Qualicum Beach, B.C., highest share of seniors (52.1 per cent).

Where we live • 53.6 per cent of dwellings are singledetached homes (7.5 million out of 14.1 million).

• 27.9 per cent of dwellings are multi-storey apartments (18 per cent fewer than five storeys, 9.9 per cent five storeys or more).

• 29.4 per cent of dwellings in Toronto are high-rise apartments, by far the highest share in the country.

• 1.2 per cent of Canadians live in nursing homes or seniors’ residences.

Fentanyl victim’s mother slams alleged importer’s BC Liberal connection The mother of a fentanyl victim is questioning why a B.C. politician brought a relative facing a serious fentanyl-related criminal charge onto the campaign trail.

Kasimir (Kaz) Tyabji-Sandana, of Calgary, was arrested and charged in 2015 with importing a controlled substance after police intercepted a package marked as a muffler from China at Vancouver’s International Mail Centre.

The parcel was addressed to someone in Calgary and contained 122 grams of pure fentanyl, the synthetic opioid detected in about 61 per cent of the 1,278 illicit-drug overdose deaths in B.C. between Jan. 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017.

Tyabji-Sandana has been free on bail since late 2015. The charge has yet to be proven in court and a five-day trial is set for Sept. 11.

In recent months, Mathew Wilson, the B.C. Liberal candidate for the Powell RiverSunshine Coast riding, has been spotted campaigning with Tyabji-Sandana, who is his stepbrother. Tyabji-Sandana has been actively supporting Wilson’s campaign on his public Facebook page, encouraging people to post Wilson’s lawn signs and offering to sell tickets to one of his campaign events. Wilson’s campaign Facebook page shows photos of the two attending campaign events together since the Liberals announced his candidacy in November.

This does not sit well with Michelle Jansen, whose 20-year-old son Brandon died in March 2016 of a fentanyl overdose at the

Sunshine Coast Health Centre, a private addiction-treatment centre in the riding.

“I think it’s a slap in the face,” Jansen said.

“I think it demonstrates (B.C. Liberal leader) Christy Clark’s leadership. She speaks out of both sides of her mouth.”

Jansen said she felt Tyabji-Sandana’s involvement with Wilson’s campaign demonstrated the party’s “flagrant disregard for the importance of the fentanyl crisis.”

She then slammed the Liberals for their failure to deliver on a 2013 election promise to “create an additional 500 addictions spaces in the province by 2017,” which the party later delayed to the end of 2017 (the party announced all 500 were ready a week before the election launched.)

Jansen said Tyabji-Sandana should not be connected to the campaign while facing fentanyl charges, which she believes is offensive to the grieving families of overdose victims.

“To know that this is going on right where my son died is hurtful,” Jansen said. “I think he should step back.”

Wilson’s campaign office provided an emailed statement in response to an interview request: “Our hearts go out to Ms. Jansen, who is dealing with a terrible loss. Of course, Kaz is supporting his stepbrother, as is the rest of Mathew Wilson’s family, and hundreds of other members of our community. We won’t be commenting further on a legal matter that’s before the courts.”

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Vancouver’s drug problem is so bad that pigeons are making nests out of needles: police In a testament to the sheer scale and concentration of Vancouver’s drug problem, a pigeon living in the city’s Downtown Eastside was found to have built its nest entirely out of used hypodermic needles.

The nest was found in the sink of a room of a “single room occupancy” — an official term for low-cost hotels in the neighbourhood frequented by addicts.

The image was posted to the Twitter account of Vancouver Police Superintendent Michelle Davey, a veteran of policing strategies and planning in the neighbourhood.

“Sad reality of the opioid crisis,” she wrote

in an accompanying note.

As Vancouver’s drug users continue to be sold batches of drugs tainted with the powerful opioids fentanyl or carfentanil, the city has seen a rising spike in overdoses and drug-related deaths.

More than 100 people have been killed in Vancouver by overdoses over the course of 2017, with many more having life-threatening overdoses reversed with the opioid-blocking medication naloxone.

Over a single night in April, for instance, paramedics in the Downtown Eastside had to respond to 12 overdoses.

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Sajjan pulls out of fundraiser for veterans amid Afghan battle controversy Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan on Tuesday bowed out of an annual fundraising event originally set up for veterans of the war in Afghanistan, an event whose main beneficiaries include military personnel returning from combat.

He is pressing ahead with a major speech on Wednesday to industry and military experts that is expected to address the Liberals’ much-anticipated defence policy.

The embattled minister had been scheduled to speak at the 8th annual “To the ‘Stan and Back” event at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday.

But founder Cheri Elliott said she was told at the last minute that a scheduling conflict had arisen and he would not be able to attend.

“The official reason for his not being able to attend is he was asked to be elsewhere at the time. That is what I was told,” said Elliott, who is the mother of a serving Canadian Forces member.

Sajjan spoke last year at the event, which raises money for service members as well as first responders dealing with PTSD and other psychological trauma.

The minister’s office would not reveal the nature of the scheduling conflict, but said Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr stood in for Sajjan at the fundraising event.

A spokesperson also confirmed the minister still planned to deliver the keynote address to a luncheon hosted by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute on Wednesday.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan accused Sajjan of skipping the fundraiser to hide from veterans, especially those who had served in Afghanistan.

“If he walked away from that (CDAI speech), it would be vacating his responsibilities as a minister,” Bezan said.

“But it is incredibly disappointing and cowardly for him not to be at the Afghanistan veteran fundraiser.”

Sajjan, a former soldier and veteran of the Afghan war, faced sustained fire again in question period on Tuesday over his comments exaggerating his role in Operation Medusa, a key battle involving the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan in 2006.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood alongside his minister as interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose repeatedly called for Sajjan’s resignation.

Ambrose accused Sajjan of having embellished his military record for political gain, while Trudeau praised Sajjan’s “exemplary record” as a soldier, police officer and minister.

The prime minister also rebuffed NDP calls to open an inquiry into the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, which Sajjan had earlier refused.

New Democrats later released a letter from NDP leader Tom Mulcair to Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson asking her to look again at whether Sajjan was in a conflict of interest in this decision because of his work as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan.

Dawson earlier refused to open such an investigation, after Sajjan told her that he was not involved in, nor had any knowledge about the transfer of Afghan detainees.

The partisan bickering on Tuesday extended beyond question period, as the Liberals pushed back a so-called opposition day that they had promised to the Conservatives for Thursday.

Conservative House leader Candice Bergen accused the government of postponing the opposition day until next week to avoid a full day of questions about Sajjan’s conduct.

Central to that would have been a nonbinding motion the Tories say they intended to table and which would have seen MPs vote on whether they still had confidence in the defence minister.

HIV/AIDS researcher in BC among winners of $100,000 Killam Prize Leading HIV/AIDS researcher Julio Montaner is among a group of scientists, writers, doctors and researchers receiving a prestigious prize for brilliant work in fields including health sciences, engineering and humanities.

The ArgentineCanadian is among five scholars awarded this year’s Killam Prize, which honours Canadian researchers and scientists whose lifetime of work has impacted Canadians and citizens around the world.

Each receives $100,000 and will be honoured at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on May 30.

The groundbreaking Vancouver doctor, who heads the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, pioneered the highly active antiretroviral therapy and championed the “Treatment as Prevention” strategy.

Montaner is currently working with the World Health Organization on prevention strategies for viral hepatitis.

Other winners include University of Victoria scholar and lawyer John Borrows for his work to incorporate indigenous legal concepts into the practice of Canadian law, and University of Toronto philosopher Tom Hurka for his work on moral and political philosophy.

Then there’s evolutionary and molecular biologist W. Ford Doolittle of Dalhousie University, recognized for integrating the philosophy of biology and genomic research

on notions of the “tree of life” and Gaia Theory; and University of Toronto researcher Molly Shoichet for her work on tissue and polymer engineering, focusing on targeted drug delivery, tissue regeneration and stem cell research.

Winners are chosen by a committee of their peers. Previous winners include Victoria Kaspi, the late Mark Wainberg, and Nobel Prize winner Arthur McDonald.

The Killam program also announced recipients of its research fellowships, which dole out $840,000 over two years to six scholars for independent research projects.

This year’s group includes: • Roberto Abraham of the University of Toronto for a project called “Probing the Low Surface Universe with Dragonfly” • Deborah J. Cook of McMaster University for “Modifying the Microbiome in Critical Illness: The Potential of Probiotics” • Eric Helleiner of University of Waterloo for “Globalizing the Classical Foundations of International Political Economy” • Dominic McIver Lopes of University of British Columbia for “Being for Beauty: Aesthetic Agency and Value” • Louis Taillefer of Universite de Sherbrooke for “High-temperature Superconductivity” • Christine Wilson of McMaster University for “Dense Gas and Star Formation in Galaxies: An ALMA Archival Project.”

Census 2016: Youth in the North, seniors on the Island Statistics Canada’s 2016 census data on age shows there are more seniors than children for the first time in Canada.

In B.C., the census shows the two groups are concentrated in different areas of the province, with youth in the North and seniors on Vancouver Island.

Where are the children?

Four out of five of B.C.’s youngest communities are in the North. An administrative region in the Peace River area topped the list, followed by the city of Fort St. John.

In the Metro Vancouver area, Squamish had the highest proportion of children, followed

by Chilliwack, Mission and Abbotsford.

Where are the seniors?

They are mostly on Vancouver Island.

Qualicum Beach is the only region in B.C. where more than half the population is over the age of 65.

White Rock is Metro Vancouver’s oldest community, with just over a third of the population over 65.

Where are the working-aged adults?

They are skiing in Whistler. Whistler topped the list with more than 80 per cent of the population aged 15-64.

Outside of Whistler, the cities with the most working-aged adults are almost exclusively in Metro Vancouver, with the exceptions of Fort St. John and Esquimalt, just outside Victoria.

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Sarnia doctor still practising after court ruling he sexually assaulted colleague A Sarnia physician who was found by a civil court to have pinned down a fellow doctor in her home and sexually assaulted her has continued to practise medicine “without consequence,” a judge said.

Dr. Syed Nasir Ali was ordered in April by Superior Court Justice Johanne Morissette to pay Dr. B $200,000 in damages for the 1999 incident.

Ali was never criminally charged for the assault. (Dr. B did report the incident to police). Ali’s profile on the public register of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario shows no discipline history or restrictions on his licence.

“The fact is that Dr. Ali has not had to atone for his actions since 1999,” Morissette wrote.

“He has continued to practise medicine and

live in Sarnia without consequence for the sexual assault he committed on (Dr. B).”

A civil case requires a lower burden of proof than criminal cases, which is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil court, it must be proven that it was more likely than not that the alleged incident occurred.

Ali’s lawyer, Nina Perfetto, declined to comment to the Star as Ali intends to appeal the ruling. The Star is not naming Dr. B as it does not identify victims of sexual assault without their consent.

“In reaction to the verdict, I felt an extreme sense of relief as I had suffered humiliation for 17 years,” Dr. B told the Star in an emailed statement. “I believe that Dr. Ali’s conduct should result in serious professional consequences. I hope that the

College of Physicians and Surgeons deals with this situation appropriately.”

The college has the power to discipline physicians for conduct that took place in their private life, and Dr. B’s case highlights

the lack of information shared publicly by the medical regulator regarding its investigations.

A college spokesperson said she could not confirm or deny that Ali is in fact being investigated.

“Certainly I would expect in the face of a decision like this that the college would want to launch their own independent investigation,” said medical malpractice lawyer Paul Harte, who was not involved in the case.

“In my view, the college should indicate whether they are in fact investigating the civil findings. Such a statement would reassure the public and it would create little or no prejudice to the doctor (Ali) given the public finding of the civil court.”

Landlord violated Muslim tenants’ rights for not respecting prayer time: Ontario human rights tribunal

A landlord who repeatedly ignored his tenants’ requests to respect their prayer times and remove his shoes in their prayer space violated their religious rights, Ontario’s human rights tribunal has ruled.

John Alabi is facing a $12,000 fine after the decision, which found he discriminated against his tenants on the grounds of their Muslim faith.

The decision handed down from tribunal adjudicator Jo-Anne Pickel outlines a turbulent tenancy for Walid Madkour and Heba Ismail, who rented a unit from Alabi for less than three months after moving to Toronto from Montreal.

The issues that came before the tribunal all took place in January and February 2015 — the time between when both parties mutually agreed to terminate the lease and the day the couple moved out.

Alabi told the tribunal he felt Madkour and Ismail were imposing their way of life on him, a claim flatly rejected in Pickel’s decision.

“Unfortunately, attempts by Muslims to practice their faith have increasingly been interpreted as an attempt to impose their way of life on others,” Pickel wrote.

“There was absolutely no evidence that the applicants’ requests for additional notice and for the removal of shoes in this case were an attempt by them to impose their way of life on the respondent or anyone else. Far from seeking to impose their way of life on anyone, the applicants were merely making simple requests for the accommodation of their religious practices.”

Between late January and late February 2015, Alabi had agreed to give the couple 24-hours notice if someone was planning to view the apartment, in accordance with Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act. Madkour and Ismail, however, asked for additional notice up to an hour before Alabi planned to enter the apartment.

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Two-thirds of Canada’s electricity now comes from renewable energy Two-thirds of Canada’s electricity supply now comes from renewable sources such as hydro and wind power, the National Energy Board said in a report released Tuesday.

Renewable energy production jumped 17 per cent between 2005 and 2015. The portion

of all electricity in Canada generated by renewables is now 66 per cent, up from 60 per cent a decade earlier.

“I think people don’t understand just how much of our generation is the renewables,” said NEB chief economist Shelley Milutinovic.

“Probably very few people would know Canada produces the second most hydro in the world.”

In 2015, China produced 29 per cent of the world’s hydroelectric power, followed by Canada at 10 per cent.

In terms of all renewable energy, Canada ranks fourth in production, behind China, the United States and Brazil.

Hydroelectricity accounts for the majority of renewable electricity, with 60 per cent of all electricity in Canada coming from hydro.

Wind power accounted for 4.4 per cent, biomass power was 1.9 per cent and solar power was 0.5 per cent.

Biomass power comes from burning organic waste such as wood pellets or methane gas produced by landfills.

Non-renewable energy accounted for the rest, with 16 per cent coming from nuclear power, about 10 per cent from coal and nine per cent from natural gas.

Ontario fully phased out its coal plants in this decade, with the last one closing entirely in 2014, dropping coal’s share of Canada’s electrical supply to 10 per cent from 16 per cent.

Hydro generation grew eight per cent between 2005 and 2015 but its overall share of the power generated in Canada remained

constant at 60 per cent.

Wind power saw the biggest growth in the decade. In 2005 Canada produced less than 2,000 gigawatt hours of wind power, which accounted for just 0.5 per cent of all power.

In 2015, it produced 20 times as much, more than 28,500 gigawatt hours, which amounted to 4.4 per cent of power generation.

A gigawatt hour of power is the equivalent of one million kilowatt hours. A kilowatt hour of power is the amount used to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.

Canada is the seventh-largest producer of wind power in the world.

In 2005, Canada produced almost no solar power at all. In 2015 it produced more than 3,000 gigawatt hours.

Ninety-eight per cent of all Canadian solar production is in Ontario, where financial incentives drove the installation of new solar power plants.

In 2015, Canada installed 600 megawatts of new solar capacity, the 10th largest increase in solar installations in the world. China, however, added 15,200 megawatts.

The cost of solar production is the main barrier to new installations.

Chris Barrington-Leigh, a professor at McGill University’s School of Environment, has done an analysis of the potential for growth in renewable energy production in Canada, said 2015 was a record year for new installations of renewable energy around the world.

He called Canada’s renewable growth “a good start” but said the aim is to get to 100 per cent.

Electricity generation was responsible for about 80 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Hydro, wind and solar power do not produce emissions from generating electricity, although there are emissions associated with producing and installing the equipment.

Barrington-Leigh said Canada has a lot of land without a large population, which makes it an ideal country to be able to get to 100 per cent renewable energy.

The report notes the main barriers to expanding renewable energy is concern about the price for consumers, as well as reliability.

Conservative MP calls Trudeau’s response on ethics probe ‘an insult to Canadians’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said he is happy to co-operate with the federal ethics commissioner and answer any questions she might have about his controversial Caribbean vacation.

That was the line when it emerged that ethics commissioner Mary Dawson was looking into the prime minister’s private helicopter flight during a vacation at an island owned by the Aga Khan, the billionaire leader of the Ismaili Muslims and a long-time Trudeau friend.

It was also the line when it came out that she was investigating the so-called cashfor-access fundraisers involving Trudeau, for which he has since been cleared.

It’s a line Trudeau has repeated ad nauseam at news conferences and during question period, every time the opposition parties have pressed for more details.

So it should hardly be a surprise, then, that it’s the line the Liberals gave Conservative MP Chris Warkentin in response to an order paper question, sort of an access-to-information request system available to MPs. Warkentin asked, in writing, for more details of any meetings Trudeau has held with Dawson since his government was sworn in.

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The answer, also in writing: “The prime minister is happy to engage with the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner and answer any questions she may have,” said the single-sentence response tabled in the House of Commons.

Warkentin described the answer as “an insult to Canadians.”

“This is completely ridiculous. It lacks any form of transparency,” he said Tuesday.

“We’re not asking in-depth details about the investigation.

We’re simply asking (whether) or not the prime minister has met with the ethics commissioner.”

“You have asked if we can provide information about any meetings that Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson may have had with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since November 4, 2015,” her spokeswoman, Jocelyne Brisebois, wrote in an email Tuesday. “Any dealings that the commissioner may have with individual public office holders or Members about their compliance with the Conflict of Interest Act or the Conflict of Interest Code for members of the House of Commons are confidential, as are any meetings that may take place in the context of an ongoing examination under the Act or inquiry under the code.”

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The senator who had sex with a teen girl cost taxpayers at least $600K during investigation It took almost two years to arrive at the recommendation to toss Sen. Don Meredith from Canada’s beleaguered Red Chamber. “(Meredith) is unfit to serve as a senator,” the Senate ethics committee ruled Tuesday after considering a report that found the 52-year-old senator and pastor had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl, offered her perks and promised her a committee job.

“The public needs to be able to believe that senators will protect the … weak, the voiceless and the vulnerable from the personal and parochial interests of the powerful,” the Senate committee stated in its report recommending his expulsion. Meredith had asked for a two-year suspension without pay.

An ongoing Star investigation shows that during the two years the investigation and deliberations took, Canadian taxpayers expended at least $600,000 in salary, office, meals, travel and other expenses on Meredith’s continuing job as a senator from Toronto.

The Senate will vote on the recommendation in the next two weeks and Meredith will be offered the opportunity to speak to the upper chamber.

Meredith’s words to the ethics committee, in an in-camera meeting last month, were not divulged in its expulsion recommendation report. However, the committee found that the

remorse he expressed behind closed doors was at odds with his behaviour since the incidents came to light. In short, the committee noted his “indifferent” attitude to the investigation and to his responsibilities as a senator.

It was June 2015 when the Star broke the story that Meredith had a sexual liason with a teenage girl beginning when she was 16 and continuing until just after her 18th birthday. She was a visiting student from overseas and met the senator at a church event in Ottawa.

Meredith is a Pentecostal pastor. Dubbed “Ms. M” by the senate investigator, she recently told the Star she is looking forward now to “getting on” with her life.

In 2013, using a video link at first, he would masturbate while looking at the teenager’s partially unclothed body. While she was still 16, Meredith’s conduct progressed to a physical liaison in the girl’s apartment when Meredith partially removed his pants and touched her breasts and buttocks, and she then partially removed her top and touched the senator’s “private parts,” according to an investigative report that was completed two years after it began. They eventually had sexual intercourse, including once prior to her turning 18, the Senate ethics officer concluded.

Frustration mounts over Liberal immigration lottery that brings parents, grandparents to Canada Hundreds of Canadians frustrated by the government’s shift to a lottery system to sponsor their parents and grandparents as immigrants to Canada are hoping to prompt change through an electronic petition.

Petition e-739, which closes for signatures this afternoon, calls on the Liberal government to take a phased-in approach and give priority to qualified sponsors who have made repeated applications.

This year the government moved from a first-come, first-served process to one where potential applicants were randomly selected by draw. The change was announced in December 2016 by then immigration minister John McCallum, just weeks before the deadline under the old system.

Brad Fach, a Cambridge, Ont., software engineer who launched the petition, was shocked to learn of the sudden change after he and his wife spent much time and money preparing the required forms and documentation to apply for her mother and father to emigrate from Belgium. He said the government has reduced a sensitive, emotional process to an undignified, “botched” system.

“I believe it mocks a very serious issue of family reunification, and is the wrong way to go,” he told.

Last week, the government announced that

95,000 people had filed an online form to win one of 10,000 spots to apply for sponsorship under the new lottery system. That put the chances at roughly one in 10.

Under the previous system, the first

completed applications turned in to the immigration processing office when it opened in January were accepted. The switch to a lottery system aimed to make it more fair and transparent, according to the government, as the old process favoured those who were geographically close to the centre or had the financial means to pay for couriers or legal representatives to help get them to the front of the queue. Fach rejects that rationale. To qualify as a sponsor for parents or grandparents, he said, you must be in strong financial shape.

Trade deficit narrows to $135M in March as exports surge to record Canadian exports surged to a record $47 billion in March, but the country still posted a $135 million trade deficit for the month as imports also rose.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that exports rose 3.8 per cent in March, more than twice as much as the 1.7 per cent growth in imports.

Energy products and consumer goods were responsible for much of the increase in exports, the data agency said.

Only two export sectors shrank, BMO economist Benjamin Reitzes noted: raw metals and minerals (down 1.9 per cent) and autos (down 1.8 per cent).

Compared to the same month last year,

exports are now almost 13 per cent higher than they were in 2016.

Most of the surge in exports is going to countries other than the United States, which is a sign that Canada’s economy is diversifying.

Exports to countries other than the U.S. rose 15.3 per cent in March to a record high $12.6 billion.

The biggest increases came from China, India and South Korea.

“This is a solid report overall,” Reitzes said. “While trade continues to have trouble gaining consistent traction, the firm end to [the first quarter of 2017] provides a nice handoff for Q2.”

Saturday, May 06, 2017

‘I can’t even get a job waitressing’: Gen Y on its work woes Starting a career as a young adult today is precarious work.

Almost one-quarter of the generation of young adults born between 1981 and 2000 are working temporary or contract jobs, nearly double the rate for the entire job market.

Almost one-third are not working in their field of education, 21 per cent are working more than one job, and close to half are looking for a new job.

These numbers come from an online survey of millennials that attracted 2,636 responses from people who weren’t in school and either working or unemployed.

Taken together, the results show a significant number of millennials are not prospering in today’s economy.

“My metaphor is an escalator going down faster than young people can run up, no matter what adaptations they make,” said Paul Kershaw, a University of British Columbia professor and generational equity expert

who founded the group Generation Squeeze.

“They go to school longer, they work longer hours, they delay starting families. But those adaptations aren’t enough to sprint up faster than the escalator is going down.”

Job quality is more the issue for millennials than quantity. The unemployment rate for young people is a little less than double the national rate of 6.6 per cent, which is in line with previous generations. People entering the work force after graduation have always battled to find their way.

But the survey results suggest there are additional challenges today that can’t be dismissed as a brief stage young people must pass through on the way to career success. Of the people who answered our questions, 45.6 per cent turn 30 this year or are already in their 30s.

“What boomers might have experienced when they were 21, people are now experiencing when they’re 31,” said Vasiliki Bednar, who headed the federal government’s Expert Panel on Youth Employment. “I think a lot of people would agree that the 20s are a messy time.

When we see people in their 30s who are experiencing delayed adulthood, that’s a problem.”

A late start in career-building can have effects for decades to come. Parents have children later or not at all, major purchases like houses get pushed off and saving for retirement is postponed.

Political activity audits of charities suspended by Liberals The Liberal government is suspending the few remaining political activity audits of charities after an expert panel report recommended removing a political gag order imposed on them by the Conservatives five years ago.

As an immediate first step to respond to the panel’s recommendations, National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier “has asked the CRA to suspend all action in relation to the remaining audits and objections that were part of the Political Activities Audit Program, initiated in 2012,” a release Thursday said.

The panel report, also released Thursday, and the suspension together appear to end a long chill for charities that began in 2012, when the Conservative government launched 60 political activity audits, starting with environmental groups that had criticized federal energy and pipeline policies.

A spokesperson for the minister, Chloe Luciani-Girouard, said Thursday’s suspension affects 12 audits, of which seven have resulted in an intention to revoke charitable status.

The program cost environmental, antipoverty, human-rights and religious charities significant staff resources and legal fees, and brought an “advocacy chill” to the sector, with many groups self-censoring lest they be caught in the Canada Revenue Agency’s net or annoy their auditors.

The Liberal Party campaigned in the 2015 election to end the “political harassment” of charities, but once elected did not quite end the program. Instead, the new government cancelled six of the political activity audits that were yet to be launched, but allowed

audits already underway to continue.

That left groups such as Environmental Defence and Canada Without Poverty, which were deemed too political by CRA, still under immediate threat of losing their charitable status. Thursday’s announcement lifts that threat, at least until the government responds to the panel recommendations.

The five-member panel, chaired by Marlene Deboisbriand on the board of Imagine Canada, says Canada’s charity law and regulations are too restrictive and vague.

It calls for changes to the Income Tax Act to delete any reference to “political activities” with regard to charities.

The change would be “to explicitly allow charities to fully engage, without limitation, in non-partisan public policy dialogue and development, provided that it is subordinate to and furthers their charitable purposes.” The CRA would also dramatically change its enforcement activities. The panel report, based on wide consultations last fall, also said there was broad consensus in the charity sector that partisan activities — endorsing particular candidates or parties — should remain forbidden.

The panel recommended that a charity’s political activities, whether pressing for a change in government policy or buttonholing a politician, be judged on whether they further the group’s charitable purpose.

The proposed changes would eliminate current rules that restrict a charity’s political activities to 10 per cent of their resources.

Critics have argued the rules are unclear on definitions of what constitutes a political act.

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‘Butcher of Kabul’ back in city after 20 yrs

US aims to eliminate ISIS from Afghanistan After dropping a monster bomb on its fighters, then targeting its leader, the US military is looking to destroy the Islamic State group’s Afghan branch before battlehardened reinforcements arrive from Syria and Iraq.

While US and Kabul government forces have mainly been combatting Taliban fighters since 2001, IS’s local offshoot — also known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K — has a stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.

First emerging in 2015, ISIS-K overran large parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, near the Pakistan border, but

their part in the Afghan conflict had been largely overshadowed by the operations against the Taliban.

Many Americans first heard of ISIS-K last month when the US dropped the “Mother Of All Bombs” on its Nangarhar bastion — an aerial munition that the Pentagon said was the biggest non-nuclear weapon it had ever used in combat.

US and Afghan forces then raided a compound last week close to the site of the bombing, with the Pentagon saying it believed it had killed ISIS-K’s leader Abdul Hasib during the operation.

A former warlord branded the “Butcher of Kabul” returned to the Afghan capital this morning, two decades after leaving the city where he is accused of carrying out war crimes.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister, has returned to mainstream political life after his dormant Hezb- i-Islami militant group signed a peace deal with the government in September.

His convoy to the capital today, comprising several hundred vehicles, mainly pickup trucks equipped with machine guns, was greeted by hundreds of onlookers, including supporters bearing the green party

flag and flowers.

A controversial figure, Hekmatyar earned his bloody nickname for laying siege to the capital while premier during the country’s 1992-1996 civil war. Hekmatyar returned to public life on Saturday at a gathering in Laghman province, two hours east of Kabul. As it progressed through the city today, his convoy was joined by hundreds of cars of supporters bearing flags over their windows, singing the national anthem or chanting “Welcome to Kabul, Honourable Hekmatyar” in Pashto.

Modi’s ‘gift,’ South Asia satellite launched

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Weeks after assuming office in May 2014, PM Narendra Modi had surprised India’s space scientists by asking them to develop a “Saarc satellite”.+ Three years on, the satellite, now renamed ‘South Asia satellite’ after Pakistan opted out of the project, is set to take wings on May 5, taking Modi’s space diplomacy to a new high.

Isro’s Rs 450 crore communications satellite (Gsat-9) will be India’s gift to neighbours and marks New Delhi’s attempt to get around troubled ties with Pakistan, which stalled the Saarc project. The satellite, which will have a footprint across South Asia, will enable a full

range of applications and services in the areas of telecommunications and broadcasting.

With the launch nearing, Modi said in his radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday that his slogan ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’ extended outside the country.

He said the satellite would address the region’s economic and development priorities. “There should be cooperation of our neighbours and there should be development of our neighbours too,” he said.

Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have agreed to be part of this mission.

Prachanda govt in crisis after coalition partner pulls support over judge’s impeachment The Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led government in Nepal on Monday received a major blow after one of the ruling coalition partners, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, decided to withdraw from the government over the impeachment motion against the chief justice.

A meeting of the party central committee decided to pull out support following the impeachment motion registered in Parliament against Chief Justice Sushila Karki by the two other ruling coalition parties, Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre), on Sunday. There was no immediate reaction

from the Prime Minister’s Office over the fate of the coalition of seven parties.

“The decision to impeach Karki by the ruling Nepali Congress and Maoist Centre is an attack on the judiciary and our party does not support such a move,” the Rastriya Prajatantra Party said announcing its decision to leave the government.

Nepal has seen hectic political developments following the decision to impeach the first woman chief justice, with Nepal’s home minister Bimalendra Nidhi quitting his post on Sunday over the impeachment decision.

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INDIA

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Did meeting between Sajjan Jindal and Sharif spur border tension?

The alleged mutilation of Indian soldiers across the Line of Control (LoC)+ happened less than a week since the unannounced meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian business tycoon Sajjan Jindal+ at the hill resort town of Murree.

Given Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s soft line towards New Delhi and its business world, Jindal’s visit to Pakistan was not surprising. But, the visit came at a time when Sharif was under tremendous pressure from the Supreme Court over a probe into his offshore assets revealed in Panama Papers leak. There was also tension with the military over investigation of a news story in Dawn about a rift between civilian and military leaderships during a high-level meeting last year.

Observers believe that threats of terror attack, or any untoward incident on the Indian side, increase every

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time bilateral engagements between the two countries grow. They say Jindal’s visit may have caused the current escalation, as there were talks of lines of communications opening up.

In the past too, peace overtures between the two neighbours have often been followed with attempts to thwart these. Last year, the Pathankot terror attack came within a fortnight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore for Sharif ’s birthday and his granddaughter’s wedding.

Similarly, ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan and signing of the “Lahore Declaration” with Nawaz Sharif, who was then PM for the second time, was followed by the 1999 Kargil disaster and Sharif ’s ouster in a military coup orchestrated by then army chief General Pervez Musharraf.

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Stop ‘mann ki baat’ and start ‘gun ki baat’: Uddhav Thackeray to Modi Uddhav Thackeray has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come down heavily on Islamabad following the killing of two Indian soldiers — and the mutilation of their bodies — by Pakistani forces after a targeted attack on frontier posts in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

Addressing a Shiv Sena conclave on Tuesday, Thackeray exhorted Modi to stop ‘mann ki baat’ and start ‘gun ki baat’ to curb the escalating Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir.

“The PM should teach Pakistan a fitting lesson...Kashmir is up in flames and our soldiers are being mutilated...This is not the time for ‘mann ki baat’. The PM should now start ‘gun ki baat’ with Pakistan,” Thackeray said.

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Over $2 1 billion worth of black money was illegally taken out of India in 2014, according to the latest report by the international watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI), released on Monday.

This illicit outflow was nearly 19% more than that recorded the previous year.

GFI has, for the first time, given information on the equally damaging inflow of illegal funds in this report, with India being the destination of a staggering $101 billion in 2014, up nearly 11% over the previous year.

Globally, the report estimates that between $620 and $970 billion was drained out of the developing world, primarily through trade fraud. Illicit inflows are estimated at a mind boggling $1.4-2.5 trillion. Combined, illicit outflows and inflows accounted for 14-24% of total developing country trade over 20052014.

This year’s GFI report stands out from its previous reports for adopting a much more rigorous method of collecting and analysing information on international trade and balance of payments. Besides using IMF global data on direction of trade, the report has included information from other sources to plug gaps.

Inclusion of Swiss data on gold exports, that was earlier omitted, has led to a drastic revision of India’s outflow and inflow figures.

“Due to India’s large imports of gold from Switzerland, rectifying this data issue significantly closed observed bilateral trade gaps between the two countries,” economist Joseph Spanjers, one of the report’s authors, told TOI. He thanked India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Swiss Directorate General of Customs for cooperating in the process.

For India too, like all other countries, a range of estimates has been presented for inflows and outflows.

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INDIA

Saturday, May 06, 2017

14 dead in road mishap in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah At least 14 persons were killed and 28 others injured in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah early on Friday morning, police said.

The accident took place in Sarai Neem area when the vehicle carrying the victims from a pre-wedding function overturned and fell into a roadside pit.

Senior district officials, including the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) rushed to the spot to oversee rescue and relief operations.

The injured were sent to a district hospital in Agra, where condition of at least four others was said to be critical.

All the deceased were reportedly from Agra.

Officials said the people involved in the accident were returning from Kundal

Nagariya village on Fatehabad road when their vehicle, apparently negotiating a steep turn at a high speed, turned turtle and fell into the pit.

Police fear the death toll could rise.

Army chief hints at retaliation for soldiers’ beheading by Pak The Indian Army does not reveal plans before executing them, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday, indicating possible retaliation to the Pakistan military beheading two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. Replying to a volley of questions on whether the army would respond to the barbaric act, Rawat, without giving a direct reply, said the armed forces would effectively respond to such actions by the neighbouring country.

“We do not talk about future plans beforehand. We share details after execution of the plan,” Gen Rawat said, refusing to elaborate further.

He said, “When this kind of action takes place, we also carry out retaliatory action.”

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event. Vice Chief of Army Staff Sarath Chand on Tuesday had said that the army would respond to the dastardly act at “a time and place of its choosing”.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the “sacrifice (of the two soldiers) will not go in vain” and the Indian armed forces would react “appropriately” to the “inhuman act”.

Sources said the army is weighing various options to respond to the beheading of a naib subedar and a BSF head constable by a Pakistani Border Action Team on the Line of Control on May 1.

Asked about the reactivation of terror

launchpads across the LoC which were destroyed by India during the surgical strike last year, Rawat said the “counter-infiltration

postures” had been beefed up.

“Terrorists are trying to infiltrate. Snows are melting, summer months have started.

Like each year, infiltration will commence.

We are taking measures. We have beefed up our counter-infiltration postures,” said Gen Rawat. On security forces launching a massive anti-militancy operation at multiple places in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday, the army chief said it is being carried out to bring the situation under control.

“The combing operation is going on as some banks were looted and some policemen have been killed. It has been launched to ensure that the situation is brought under control. These operations are carried out regularly,” he said.

Army changes tactics in J&K Switching back to the practice it discontinued in the early 2000s, the Army in a joint operation with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the J&K Police today carried out a “cordon and search operation” in villages and towns in south Kashmir, signalling a change in military tactics aimed at gaining an upper hand over militancy in the state.

This morning, the Army backed by the CRPF and the J&K Police rolled out at least four battalions — comprising 4,000 troops backed by helicopters and UAVs — bringing back the operational strategy used in the 1990s, said a senior functionary.

The cordon and search operation, referred to as “CASO” in military parlance, was around specific villages and hamlets suspected to be safe havens for militants in Shopian district, 60 km south of Srinagar. “We have beefed up our counter-infiltration posture in J&K,” Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said in Delhi today.

The Army is conducting a combing operation in the state to bring the situation under control, said General Rawat, adding a rise in casualties and bank robberies was a major reason for ordering the operation.

Sources said the operation was spread across 80-100 sq kms.

The CASO had been discontinued as it caused undue hardship to local population, alienating them from the forces, a senior official in the security establishment said.

Instead, the forces had moved to intelligence-backed operations. Top brass of the Army has been told that operations will have to continue and the Army will have to get “physical control of the area”, the sources said.

The Army has also told the government that Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahedeen are operating together and sharing resources — a phenomenon common in the early 2000s.

Mother sells child for Rs 200 in Tripura In a shocking incident, a tribal in Tripura has been reported to sell her child for mere Rs 200. The woman, who belongs to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) section, sold the kid on April 13 last month to an auto driver, Danshai, a resident of Laxmipur ADC village of the state.

Khanajoy Reang, the father of the child, has confessed to the incident.

“I asserted on not selling the child but his mother sold the child for Rs 200. The child is at present in Machkumbhi village. The incident took place around 15 to 20 days back,” Reang said.

“When the issue was raised in front of the head of the village and it was decided that we would get our child back and accordingly we went to meet the person whom we sold our kid but we got a reply that they would return

the child only to its mother.”

Meanwhile, the Social Welfare and Social Education Department said it is making all efforts to bring back the child to its parents.

Local Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Abid Hossain said he is aware of the incident and is making all efforts to return the child to the biological mother through Child Line.

This is said to be the second incident of the kind to be reported in less than 15 days.

The last incident was reported by in Ultacharra ADC village in remote Gandacherra sub-division of Dhalai district where a tribal woman sold her 11-day-old son for Rs 5,000 to bear the cost of the treatment of her ailing husband at Rangia Tilla of Haldia ADC village under Teliamura Police Station in West Tripura.

PUNJAB

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Sidhu suspends 10 Improvement Trust officials Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today suspended 10 employees of Bathinda Improvement Trust for alleged irregularities in the construction of the Manmohan Kalia

Enclave, comprising 96 flats, located on the Goniana road in the city.

The suspended employees who have been handed over the charge-sheet are Junior Engineers Gurbinderpal Singh and Jasbir Singh, Assistant Trust Engineers Mukhtiar Singh and Gur Raj Singh, Trust Engineer Rakesh Garg and Executive Officers Harinder Singh Chahal, Gora Lal, Kulwant Singh Brar, Jawahar Lal and Baljit Kumar.

Three more accused on the list are retired employees — Zora Singh, Kanwar Balbir Singh and Hans Raj Sharma.

The officials concerned issued the completion certificate and refunded the security of the contractor without a survey of the building.

Kejriwal to meet AAP MLAs on May 8

Manmohan Kalia Enclave Flat Allottees’ Association led by former media incharge of the state BJP Sunil Singla had lodged a complaint with the minister, following which a probe was marked.

The minister said: “The guilty will not be spared in any of the trust allotments where people have been befooled”.

The matter had been hanging fire even after three Vigilance inquiries giving adverse comments on the project execution.

It was stated that in 2010, the Bathinda Improvement Trust had invited applications for the allotment of flats in the Manmohan Kalia Enclave and offered 96 multi-storey apartments with all amenities. The possession was to be handed over to the allottees by October 20, 2013.

The complainants alleged that the flats were still not in a position to be occupied and the material used was sub-standard.

F lex n u S

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is set for an organisational shake-up in the state. Sources said party convener Arvind Kejriwal would meet AAP MLAs in New Delhi on May 8 to discuss the restructuring of the state unit. The sources said Kejriwal would hold one-onone meetings with the legislators, besides seeking their collective opinion on party matters.

For the past two days, Kejriwal and other senior leaders have been holding meetings to tackle the growing resentment at various levels in the party, especially in Punjab.

Recently, AAP MP Bhagwant Mann had said the party failed to come to power in the state due to a “historical blunder” by certain

top leaders.

Sources said today that Mann held a meeting with Kejriwal on the revamp of the state unit. Instead of the convener, the party would appoint the state president. Mann is said to be one of the main contenders for this post, besides Sukhpal Khaira.

Currently, Gurpreet Singh Waraich is the state AAP convener.

Sources said the opinion of the 20 MLAs would matter the most in the appointment of the new state chief.

The AAP high command wants to act fast because the MC elections are due in June-July, while the Gurdaspur bypoll is expected to be held in August.

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Sources said the growing list of prospective candidates for the important seat included Swaran Salaria (who the BJP overlooked in the 2014 General Election in favour of Vinod), former Rajya Sabha member Avinash Rai Khanna and former Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma.

Besides them, other Punjab leaders, including Dinesh Kumar Babbu, are in the reckoning. The Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of four-time BJP MP Vinod Khanna.

In 2014, Vinod’s candidature was opposed by some leaders from Punjab. Among them was said to be Salaria, considered close to the all-powerful Sangh. He enjoys the support of yoga guru Ramdev.

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NDP

Saturday, May 06, 2017

We Can’t Afford 4 More Years of Christy Clark and the BC Liberals!

John Horgan and the BC NDP

Christy Clark and the BC Liberals

Will remove bridge tolls

Will keep bridge tolls

Will build new hospitals and health facilities in Surrey, Richmond and Burnaby

Have refused and stalled new hospitals

Will build schools in Surrey to replace portables

Let kids sit in portables

Support fairness for port truckers and the taxi industry

Have created instability for port truckers and the taxi industry

Will expand affordable housing construction for families

Allowed housing costs to get out of control

It’s time for a premier that works for you, not the people at the very top.

Elect John Horgan and the BC NDP. Authorized by BCNDP, 604-430-8600

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26

PUNJAB

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Sukhbir dissolves SAD party units Amidst desertion by several party workers and local leaders in district units, and reports of fuelling rebellion within Shiromani Akali Dal, party president Sukhbir Singh Badal

today dissolved the organisational structure of the party.

The party has dissolved its parliamentary affairs committee (PAC), working committee, various wings, general council and districtlevel committees, while all office-bearers have been removed. The new committees will be formed within a month, after the seniormost Akali leaders meet workers at the grassroot level and take feedback on who they would want to lead.

Though the party leaders deny any desertions or a brewing rebellion, sources say there were attempts by some SGPC members, along with some Akali leaders from Rajpura and Patiala, to break away from the party.

These leaders were reportedly also supported by some other extreme right-wing Sikh bodies.

Other than this, the party has witnessed a spate of resignations at the ground level, where many of their men have switched loyalties to the Congress. Many of the former Congress workers and leaders, who had jumped on to the Akali bandwagon during their rule, too, are learnt to be planning to go back to their parent party. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, however, denied that there was any desertion or a rebellion. “We have simply decided to remove the deadwood from the party and people who opposed our official candidates during the Assembly election. Whosoever harmed the party cannot be entrusted the responsibility of leading the party now.” He said the original Akalis continued to remain loyal to the party, while it is the “riff raff ” and “imports” that were breaking away. The idea behind the revamp of the party’s organisation is also to reward the party loyalists, he said.

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Five hurt as transport employees clash At least five persons were injured in a clash between the staff of two private transport companies at the Madan Lal Dhingra Inter State Bus Terminus here this morning.

The employees of Pyar Bus Service, owned by the family of former MLA and senior Congress leader Jasbir Singh Dimpa, and the Baba Budha Sahib Bus Service, run by the family of Akali leader and former Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, damaged each other’s vehicles.

Sources said tension had been brewing among the operators over bus timings and routes, especially after the recent change of command in the state.

Ravikaran Singh Kahlon, Majha zone Akali chief and a partner in the Baba Budha Sahib company, alleged that the Congressbacked Pyar Bus Service had started plying 40 buses on the Amritsar-Jalandhar route without a permit. He refuted Pyar Bus staffers’ allegations that his employees carried sharp-edged weapons and pistols.

“Our buses, which had valid documentation, were being intercepted by Congress leaders’ bus operators. When our

employees objected to it, they attacked them and damaged our buses. We have audio clips of their threatening calls,” he said.

Kahlon said staff members Jaggi and Makhan were beaten up by the rivals, adding that both had been admitted to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.

Rajan Gill, owner of Pyar Bus Service, said: “All our buses have valid permits.

During the decade-long rule of the Akalis, the Kahlons kept evading taxes as nobody questioned them. Now, when objections are being raised by us, they are resorting to violence. Their staff members damaged our buses and shot at our employees.”

Pakistani, Saudi channels beam into Kashmiri homes, stoking ‘azadi’ rage Saudi clerics and Pakistani news anchors are being beamed direct to Kashmiri homes, and are stoking the fires of ‘azadi’. Over 50 Saudi and Pakistani channels, including Zakir Naik’s banned Peace TV+ preaching Salafist Islam, and others indulging in anti-India propaganda are running without necessary clearances via private cable networks in Kashmir.

All this is happening under the nose of the PDP-BJP government, which even subscribes to these cable services in some of its offices and buildings. Although satellite television service providers like Tata Sky, Airtel digital TV and Dish TV, are available in Kashmir, most people subscribe to private cable.

A cable operator, who did not want to be named, said that there are over 50,000 private

cable connections in Srinagar alone, and only because these broadcast Pakistani and Saudi channels.

Besides Naik’s Peace TV Urdu and English channels, private operators air Saudi and Pakistani channels like Saudi Sunnah, Saudi Quran, Al Arabia, Paigham, Hidayat, Noor, Madani, Sehar, Karbala, Hadi, Sehar, Ary QTV , Bethat, Ahlibat, Message, Falak, Geo

News, Ary News, Dawn News, and many others, which cannot be accessed through satellite television service providers. None of these channels is permitted to air in the rest of the country by the I&B ministry .

“No cable operator, any where in the country, including in Jammu & Kashmir, can run any channel other than the ones approved by the Union I&B ministry.

28

FIJI

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Rabuka confident of positive 2018 election outcome SOCIAL Democratic Liberal Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka is confident the party will win the upcoming general election.

He said judging from the response the party is receiving from Fijians “on the ground”, the party was doing remarkably well.

Mr Rabuka also commented on the leak of the party’s list of possible candidates for the 2018 poll, saying it is not the SODELPA list.

He said the publication of the possible candidates list was an opportunity for SODELPA to review its document handling procedures, adding the process had been completed.

“SODELPA continues its community awareness visits and programs and is

confident of winning the 2018 election from the response on the ground.”

In an earlier interview with this newspaper, Mr Rabuka said the candidate selection process was very much confidential.

The party’s management has endorsed only four members who are Mr Rabuka, vicepresidents Ro Kini Kiliraki, Anare Jale and Viliame Gavoka.

He had said all other sitting members of Opposition’s applications have been confirmed.

Mr Rabuka had said the SODELPA candidate list was much longer than the 110 names that were leaked and the leak of the possible candidates list was a mischievous attempt to sow dissension within the party.

FIRCA warns about currency smuggling The Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has raised concerns on the continuous attempts by travellers to move large sums of money across Fiji without declaring it.

This after 11 Asian nationals disembarking from different flights were last week arrested for attempting to import more than $134,600 into the country without declaring it. Customs officers became suspicious about the passengers and selected them for further inspection.

“Over the past few months we have noted a drastic increase in currency smuggling cases and it is really a concern for us,” said FRCA chief executive officer Visvanath Das in a statement.

“All those travelling in and out of the country are once again reminded to declare the correct amount of currency they are carrying to avoid fines, seizure and prosecution.

“The need to report currency is a common requirement internationally and there is no excuse for non-compliance”.

He added Customs officers at the airport were working hard to ensure illicit activities as such were curbed.

“These seizures should be a deterrent to those engaged in such activity.”

Police Commissioner Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho said ignorance of the law would not be accepted.

“The appropriate awareness and advisories have been issued which is why ignorance of the law is not an acceptable excuse and members of the public must be mindful of their actions to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law,” he said.

The 11 Asian nationals have been charged and produced in court.

Bill does not stop the criticism of MPs and Govt The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights says the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Bill does not stop people from criticizing members of parliament and the government. Ashneel Sudhakar who is leading the committee which is now taking public submissions, says Section 24 of the bill regarding defamation of parliament

is very clear. Section 24 of the proposed law says that any person whose words or actions defame, demean or undermine the sanctity of parliament, the Speaker or a committee commits an offence and is liable upon conviction in the case of a natural person, to a fine not exceeding $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

Police intimidation sabotages NFP Talanoa Session Police intimidation through repeated inquiries about the purpose and agenda of a National Federation Talanoa session led to the Management of Khemindra Primary School in Savusavu withdrawing its permission and approval to the Party for use of the school resulting in cancellation of the Talanoa session on Tuesday evening.

We regard this as sabotage because of instilling of fear into the public by police.

Police has no right whatsoever to interfere in any meeting to be held by a political party. The Public Order (Amendment) Act gives freedom to political parties and other organisations to hold meetings without the need to obtain a permit from police except when the venue is a public place like parks and roads.

The presence of plain clothes police officers at political meetings and even informal Talanoa sessions like the one the party held with the youth in Suva last Saturday, and grilling members of the public and those giving their venues for such meetings is detrimental to the conduct of free and fair elections.

The nation being governed like a Military and Police State should have ended with the resumption of parliamentary democracy in October 2014. But it is clear that police doesn’t understand and respect fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens and the need for political parties to operate in a free and fair environment where our people are unafraid and totally free to ask questions, raise issues and express dissent against any policy of Government. The Khemindra Primary School Manager had earlier given permission for the Talanoa session to be held at the school at a cost of $150. It was to be hosted by the NFP Leader, Hon Parmod Chand, Mr Pio Tikoduadua and other management board members of the party. Notices of the session to be held between 5.30pm-7.30pm on Tuesday were distributed to the public.

The Gone Marama Bale Na Roko Tui Dreketi, Ro Teimumu Kepa has today declared that the descendants of the Indentured Labourers belong to the Vanua of Noco and Rewa, and will be forever known with the i Taukei identity or I Cavuti of “Luvedra na Ratu” or (The Children of the Ratu).This was after the Tikina of Noco presented their I Cavuti to the paramount chief of Rewa, Ro Teimumu Kepa at a traditional ceremony at Ratu Sauvoli School grounds

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school. The intimidation plus the presence of Education Minister who was in Savusavu conducting a workshop led to the school management taking the decision to cancel the use of the venue. It is worth noting that the School’s head teacher and manager were with the Education Minister when the NFP Leader questioned the Minister as to whether he influenced them to take such a decision. This is after the Minister failed to reply to a message by the NFP Leader on the issue.

The climate of fear and intimidation is still prevalent despite resumption of parliamentary democracy. We demand that police and other State agencies diligently perform the duties required of them, instead of trying to find out what political parties are doing.

They should stop becoming law unto themselves because it only erodes efforts to have free and fair elections by preventing political parties from amplifying the voice of the ordinary people.

Descendants of Girmitiyas now known as “Luvedra na Ratu”

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However before midday Tuesday, the School Manager informed the Party to find another venue because they felt intimidated by police who were making queries as to the purpose and objective of the Talanoa/meeting, as well as who would be in attendance.

The Manager stated that they feared the school would not get funding for a school project if the Party held its meeting at the

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in Nabudrau. Ro Teimumu unveiled a plaque to declare their I Cavuti and for the first time ever, the newly adopted children of Rewa, descendants of Indentured labourers have been bestowed a new i Taukei identity. While accepting the I Cavuti, Ro Teimumu said that this is a beginning of a new journey for Noco and Rewa as a whole. Ro Temumu says today is about the Christian principles accepted by the chiefs in 1838 and it is about loving your neighbour.

E-mail: hrfurniture60@gmail.com PAKISTAN 29

Saturday, May 06, 2017

One dies in Balochistan violence after Hindu man arrested for ‘blasphemy’ A 13-year-old boy died in aerial firing by police on Thursday after an angry mob in Pakistan’s Balochistan demanded they hand over a Hindu man arrested on blasphemy charges.

Prakash Kumar, 35, was arrested from Hub on Wednesday after locals complained he allegedly sent blasphemous content via WhatsApp, police was quoted as saying by local media.

Police said they had lodged a case against the accused while a cellphone, from which the suspect allegedly shared blasphemous content, has been seized. A local court has sent the suspect to jail for further interrogation in the case.

A mob soon gathered outside the Hub city police station demanding that Kumar be

handed over to them so they could “punish” him. When law enforcement refused, the crowd turned violent.

The police managed to disperse the crowd using tear gas shelling and aerial firing, and also took scores of protesters into custody.

According to police, a teenager died in the violence. The boy was a resident of Pathan Colony and became a victim of aerial firing during the clash which took place near Gaddani bus stop in Hub. Blasphemy, which carries the death penalty, is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with allegations often prompting mob violence.

Vigilantes have murdered 65 people over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to research compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies think-tank.

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We don’t need what Pakistan produces: China envoy In a rare show of candour, a Chinese envoy has said that China has little interest in importing goods produced in Pakistan.

It would be ready to import only after Chinese factories are established in Pakistan, and they begin manufacturing, the envoy said. Explaining the reason behind the ChinaPakistan trade imbalance, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong said that Pakistan is not producing the goods that are needed in China. But the situation will change when Chinese companies start producing such products in Pakistan,

he said during a meeting with leaders of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in Islamabad, according to several media reports.

The statement confirms rising concerns that Pakistani business may have little to gain from the much-hyped ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) because it would largely benefit Chinese business. New infrastructure would not only provide construction contracts, they will also help to create the right situation for establishing Chinese factories.

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Trump administration sets up task force to look into hate crimes The Trump administration has made fighting violent crime one of its top priorities and set up a task force to look into the recent surge in hate crimes in the US, including those against the Hindu and Sikh communities.

In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on increase in religious hate crime, a senior Justice Department official referred to the several instances of hate crimes against Hindu and Sikhs communities.

“The Attorney General (Jeff Sessions) has made fighting violent crime one of his top priorities,” said Eric Treene, special counsel for religious discrimination civil rights division at the Department of Justice.

One category of violent crimes are those based on actual or perceived race, colour, national origin, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and similar

factors-- generally known by the shorthand hate crimes, Treene said, adding that addressing hate crimes must be part of our national effort to reduce violent crime.

In February, Sessions established a task force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety. The task force has a Hate Crimes Subcommittee, which will develop a plan to address hate crimes to better protect the rights of all Americans.

On June 29, the Hate Crimes Subcommittee will hold an additional one day summit focusing solely on identifying, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes.

“An arrest has been made in the Kansas City shooting the President referenced, in which two Indian-American men were shot, one fatally. That investigation is ongoing,” he said. Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said religious hate crimes are on the rise.

20,000 Indians to return from Saudi Arabia via amnesty scheme Thousands of Indian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia after travelling there illegally and those who overstayed their visas, including a large number from Tamil Nadu, are ready to return to India under a 90 day amnesty period that the kingdom’s government has offered them.

Speaking by telephone from Riyadh on Tuesday, Anil Nautiyal, counsellor (community welfare) at the Indian embassy, said 20,321 Indian nationals had applied till Monday evening to return home under the amnesty scheme. Around 1,500 blue collar workers from Tamil Nadu are among those who are using the amnesty to come back to

the country. Most of the other workers who are availing of the scheme are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Nautiyal said the Saudi Arabian government had set up an exclusive centre in Riyadh for Indian nationals who want to exit the country.The Indian embassy had appealed to all Indians+ staying in Saudi Arabia illegally to take advantage of the amnesty that, unlike a similar offer in 2013 that was restricted to Riyadh and Jeddah, is available in 21 locations across the kingdom, he said.

“The majority of applications we received were from blue collar workers wanting to return to India,” Nautiyal said.

Woman hurls racial abuse at Indian man and his pregnant wife in Sydney An Indian man and his family were racially abused by a woman at a theme park in Sydney, Australia, after he asked her if they could sit next to her, Mail Online reported.

The incident, which occurred on April 22 at Sydney’s Luna Park, was recorded by Utsav Patel, who was at the receiving end of the woman’s racist tirade.

The video shows the woman shout “F*** off ” and “F*** India” at Patel, his pregnant wife and their four-year-old daughter.

According to Patel, the incident precipitated after his pregnant wife wanted a seat as she waited for them to finish a ride. When he requested a woman seated on a nearby bench to make room for his wife, she refused and began swearing and hurling abuses at the young couple.

Stung by her expletive-laden rant, Patel asks the woman, “Why?”, to which the woman replies, “Because I don’t like them. Go f***

yourself... get out of here man. Go, go, go.”

Patel then tells the woman that was not the right way to treat people, and she responds

with an insulting mimic of his Indian accent.

He then warns her that he’d call the security officials, but the woman is undeterred. “What’s security going to do? I can say whatever I like,” she shouts. Patel told Mail Online that he alerted the park authorities and showed them video evidence of the racist attack.

New South Wales police has contacted Patel’s family and is investigating the incident.

GOPIO chairman confronts RBI governor, discusses fate of demonetised currency Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Chairman Dr Thomas Abraham confronted Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Dr Urjit Patel at a talk delivered by him at Columbia University on April 24 for not allowing diaspora Indians with foreign citizenship to deposit or exchange their demonetised Indian currencies.

GOPIO estimates that over Rs 5,000 crore of demonetised currencies are in the possession of OCI card holders and those non-OCI card holders with foreign citizenship. Many

travelling to India to deposit their currencies were turned away by RBI at five of its branches which still accept the demonetised currencies from NRIs who are Indian citizens.“This is gross injustice to more than 50% of the overseas Indians who have been deprived of their hardearned income,” said Dr Abraham. “Indians who left India to earn their living should not be deprived of their hard-earned money because they were not in India to deposit the demonetised notes when Indian banks were accepting the notes,” Dr Abraham added.

Saturday, May 06, 2017

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Saturday, May 06, 2017 Saturday, April 29, 2017

Amir Khan’s Dangal Creates A New Record, Releases In 9000+ Screens In China

Why Associate Ba**s With Strength & Vagina With Weakness? : Nimrat Kaur

That’s the latest achievement added to Dangal’s list of accomplishments. Aamir Khan’s wrestling drama is expected to make over 100 cr at the box-office as it releases in record breaking 9000+ screens in China Drum rolls for Aamir Khan’s Dangal! It has set a brand new record in China as the film has released in about 9000+ screens across the country today.

This is said to be the widest release for an Indian film in any territory.

In China, which has nearly 40,000

Let’s indeed hang down our heads in shame. Ekta Kapoor (producer) and Nagesh Kukunoor (director) have collaborated to ask you one of the most testing questions which will leave you baffled no end.

Nimrat Kaur plays the role of Indian Army’s first woman combatant in the web series The Test Case, which explores President Pranab Mukherjee’s February 2016 proposal of inducting women in all combat roles. Nimrat leaves you stunned with her performance and Juhi Chawla impresses too. ‘Why is it said: Do you have ba**s, if you want to ask someone if he has strength?’

screens, Dangal will release as Shuai Jiao Baba, which means “Let’s Wrestle, Dad”.

Just last month, Aamir Khan and Dangal director Nitesh Tiwari were in China to promote the film, which officially opened this year’s edition of the Beijing International Film Festival. The fans were very excited seeing Aamir at the airport. Even the star did not disappoint his fans and obliged them with autographs and selfies. Khan even distributed white caps to them with Dangal written on it.

Rs 1 crore! That is how much Kamal Haasan’s Bigg Boss 10 house costs A house set worth over Rs. 1 crore is being constructed for the Tamil version of popular reality show “Bigg Boss”, to be hosted by actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan in his maiden television avatar.

“A lavish house set on a budget of over Rs. 1 crore is being constructed at EVP theme park.

The team is busy preparing the participants’ list of 15 members, including two cricketers. The first season of the show will be aired from June 18 on Vijay TV,” a source from the unit told IANS. On taking up the role of the show’s host, Haasan said in a statement: “When ‘Bigg Boss’ approached me to play the host, I funnily quipped, who better than me, right? All my life, I have been under a constant watch and have been judged on whatever I have done, public or private.”

“But now, the roles are reversed, as I would stand with the audiences and watch these celebrities in the house survive this ordeal,” he added.

Haasan, according to the source, will shoot for few episodes and then recommence work on his multilingual comedy film “Sabash Naidu”.

Hey Kapil Sharma! Krushna Abhishek would love to work with you Kapil Sharma is going through some tough times with his show plummeting to No. 20 on the TRP charts. Things have not been looking up for him ever since the bad fight on board the Air India flight from Australia to India.

Kapil is trying to rope in a new team for his show and fans have not taken the exit of Sunil Grover, Ali Asghar and Chandan Prabhakar easily. In fact, there were rumours of how Kapil would now try to get Krushna Abhishek on the show. It seemed unlikely as tales of discord between the two did rounds ever since his Comedy Nights Live replaced Comedy Nights with Kapil on Colors. The comedian also took some jibes at Kapil, which did not go down well with his team.

Krushna is returning on Colors as the host for India Banega Manch. He will be seen along with Mona Singh on the talent-based show. At a media

interaction, Krushna said, “I have no personal problem with Kapil. Rivalry is between channels and shows. Me and Kapil are good friends. If given the chance, I would like to work with Kapil again.” We can say that Krushna

summed up the situation really well.

The fight for TRPs is between channels and they are just entertainers. The two comedians were the few from the TV industry to make it to Forbes Highest Earning Indian celebrity list. Bharti Singh was the only person who joined them.

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Bollywood

Asian Star shadows Kangana at the launch of her next film in Varanasi to visit the Kashi Vishwanath

Temple, too, to offer prayers.

‘The Asked if she has been able to Queen of imbibe the spirit of Rani THE quaint gullies of Lakshmi Bai through sevVaranasi wore an unJhansi believed eral years of prep, she said, usually vibrant look that life without “The Queen of Jhansi beyesterday as it served lieved that life without as the perfect backdrop dignity is equivalent dignity is equivalent to for the launch of Kandeath and that’s why I togana Ranaut’s upcomto death. I totally tally relate to the characing film, Manikarnika: relate to the ter. It holds true in today’s The Queen Of Jhansi. world too.”

The actress, who is also a character’ Unit hands informed that co-producer on the Rani Lakshmi Bai biopic, launched a 20-feet poster at the Dasashwmedh Ghat in the presence of hundreds of fans, who cheered her on throughout the evening.

Talking about her passion project with mid-day, which was on the spot yesterday,

Kangana Ranaut

Kangana said, “This is an auspicious day for us. We have got the best team on board and we are attempting an extraordinary film.”

The actress made it a point

various aspects of Rani Laxmibai’s life will be documented in the film being coproduced by Kamal Jain and Zee Studios. April 27, 2018, has been set as the release date.

As the evening drew to a close, lyricist Prasoon Joshi read out a heart-rending

Kangana Ranaut at the launch of her film in Varanasi poem celebrating the spirit of Lakshmi Bai. But the high point was Kangana participating in the Ganga aarti and taking a dip in the Ganges as director Krish, co-writers KV Vijayendra Prasad, Prasoon and musician trio ShankarEhsaan-Loy looked on.

Sonny first, all else can wait for Sunny Bahubali writer KV Vijayendra Prasad reveals Deol’s next has been shelved since actor is now focussing on beta Karan’s Bollywood debut

AFTER talks with Akshay Kumar reportedly didn’t materialise, writer-director KV Vijayendra Prasad signed Sunny Deol for his patriotic drama earlier this year.

However, Prasad, who has penned blockbusters Bahubali 1 and 2 as well as Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, informs us that the project has been shelved.

“That film with Sunny isn’t happening now; it’s shelved.

He wants to concentrate on his son Karan’s debut,” reveals Prasad, who is scripting Goldie

Apr

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Begum Jaan

*ing: Vidhya Balan Naseerudin Shah

Apr Noor

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*ing: Sonakshi Sinha, Kanan Gill

KV Vijayendra Prasad; (right) Karan Deol; (far left) Sunny Deol Behl’s new show, Aarambh.

Last year, there were rumours of Prasad’s son and Bahubali director SS Rajamouli helming the project titled Mera Bharat Mahaan. But, his team had clarified that his packed diary wouldn’t allow him the liberty until Bahubali

2 hit screens.

As for Sunny, he is busy with Karan’s launch pad, Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, that he is directing himself. The shoot is currently on in Manali. As per reports, Karan has already signed his second film with producer-director Dinesh Vijan.

New Released Bollywood Films Apr

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Bahubali 2

*ing: Prabhas, Anushka, Tamannaah, Rana

STAR TRACK

SHRADDHA, PARINEETI VIE FOR EXCLUSIVE SLOT AT BIEBER GIG THE upcoming Justin Bieber concert has not only got Bollywood excited, but also triggered a competition of sorts between two film camps.

Sources say makers of Meri Pyaari Bindu and Half Girlfriend are keen to get their respective lead pairs on stage to take promotions to another level, minutes before the 22year-old pop icon takes over. The only problem is that they both are seeking an exclusivity clause.

An insider says, “The two camps are vying for an exclusive 15-minute slot, given that both Parineeti Chopra (Meri Pyaari

May

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Vodka Diaries *ing: Kay Kay Menon Mandira Bedi

May

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Atithii Iin London

*ing: Kartik Aaryan, Paresh Rawal, Kriti Kharbanda

Bindu) and Shraddha Kapoor (Half Girlfriend) are good singers too. A music concert headlined

by Bieber can serve as an effective platform for them to flaunt their singing talent and publicise their film as well.

However, the concert schedule is pretty tight and there might be room to accommodate just one of the two films.”

When we reached out to the promoters (White Fox India), they refused to comment.

Bieber will perform at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on May 10.

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Bollywood

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Prabhas: The first and the only crossover star of India after the blockbuster success of Baahubali rush to the theatres in large numbers for a South Indian star. It has happened for the first time that a film starring almost a ‘newbie,’ as far as the knowledge of North Indian audience is concerned, is turning into a global phenomenon and breaking all records. This speaks volumes about the charisma and screen presence of Prabhas.

He is not just accepted by the audience but they are appreciating him as well. I’ve seen Baahubali 2: The Conclusion has broken almost each and every record within just six days of its release. It is estimated that the film has so far earned Rs 785 crore at the worldwide box office. Not just that, in India alone, the business registered is Rs 630 crore gross. But what surprises the most is the fact that the film has earned Rs 222.25 crore from the Hindi dubbed version itself and that too in just six days. Why surprising you ask?

Because these are the figures one usually witnesses from a film starring one of three Khans be it Salman, Shah Rukh or Aamir.

But for the first time in the history of Indian cinema, a film has blurred the lines between regional and national cinema, broken all the language barriers and turned out to be the biggest hit. And the one who has made this possible, apart from SS Rajamouli, is Baahubali’s lead star Prabhas. Obviously, he is also the one who has benefitted largely as a result.

It is surprising to see the North Indian audience, who usually don’t flock to theatres unless the film has one of the top six superstars of Bollywood, namely, Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir, Akshay, Ajay and Hrithik,

Fans want to see Prabhas and Katrina in Saaho

Prabhas is the latest man from the South that girls are going crazy about.If his powerful King act in Baahubali has made girls sigh heavily, his gentle and humble nature has won over everyone.

He has given five years of his career to this film and it paid off lavishly. Now that he has moved on to his next called Saaho, there were reports that the makers are looking to cast a Bollywood heroine opposite him. So we sprung into action and asked you to vote for the Bolly beauty who should romance our Baahubali in his next film. We have your verdict now and it is Katrina Kaif who has won this poll.

Well, we hope makers are reading this and we will get to hear an announcement soon.

What say Katrina Kaif?

people on my Facebook timeline discussing, gushing and even fighting over Prabhas.

This made me realise that Prabhas has truly become the only crossover star of India. Not once before, has an actor been loved as much all over the country.

I know you’ll throw Rajinikanth or even a Kamal Haasan at me. True that they are a known name all over India. In fact call it the ignorance of Hindi speaking audience but

before Baahubali, if you’d spoken to them about any of the South Indian star the first two names would have been Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. But while their films might be making big bucks at the ticket windows, they have never really earned much if you look at just the business of their Hindi versions. Also, if you take a look at the box office performance of their last releases in Hindi, you will have a clear picture of what I am talking about.

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Bollywood Horoscope Aries

Libra

March 21 - April 20

Sept. 24 - Oct 22

You may want to get a little extra rest.

You are prone to infections and fevers. Try to compromise rather than having an all out battle. Money can be made if you use your ingenuity. Get involved in philosophic groups that will enlighten you.

Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

You can enhance your reputation if you treat family and friends with respect and dignity. Opportunities for new and exciting relationships will be yours if you get out and join groups. You may be sensitive to a point of absurdity. Organizations may cost you more than you can afford.

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Taurus

Scorpio

April 21 - May 20

Oct 23 - Nov 22

Don’t get talked into get rich quick schemes. You will expand your circle of friends if you join groups. Be prepared to counteract the damage that adversaries are about to create. Don’t push your opinions on others this week or you may find yourself in the doghouse.

Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Things are looking good for you, so open your eyes and get to it. Someone you live with could be frustrated and upset. You might find group functions tiring. Money problems will get worse if your partner hasn’t been playing by the rules.

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Gemini

Sagitarius

May 20 - June 21

Nov 23 - Dec 22

Financial limitations are likely if you take risks. Mingle with those who can further your goals. Take time to help children with projects that may be too hard for them to do on their own. You’ll find it easy to charm members of the opposite sex this week.

Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

Cancer

Bollywood Applaud The Nirbhaya Case Verdict As soon as the news broke that the Supreme Court has upheld death penalty for the four men accused in the Nirbhaya rape case, social media exploded with comments.

Soon enough Bollywood stars too were tweeting about it. Raveena Tandon, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu and Vishal Dadlani were among those who took to Twitter to applaud the decision. Varun Dhawan tweeted: Even hanging the 4 criminals is not enough justice but it should serve as a reminder that how india deals with this crime #Nirbhayaverdict Pink girl Taapsee Pannu too threw her support behind the verdict and tweeted: At last, justice delayed is not always justice denied! Wish there was a more cruel way to make em feel the pain they evoked #Nirbhayaverdict

Vishal Dadlani questioned whether the situation will improve after the verdict, stating: Justice for #Nirbhaya. Nothing has

changed, since that horrific and murderous night, though. Are women ANY safer? If not, shame on us all. Raveena Tandon tweeted: May her tears flow No more..may the mothers daughter finally rest in peace..may all evil know there is a price to pay

Emotionally you won’t see things accurately. You might not accomplish all that you want to at home this week. You could have a tendency to spend too much on your home or entertainment. Don’t be too confident that coworkers are on your side.

Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Capricorn

June 22 - July 23

Dec 23 - Jan 20

Luck is with you, regardless of the financial venture. Make changes regarding your friendships. Unexpected events may be upsetting. You will be quite excitable this week.

Your lucky day this week will be Sunday.

Leo

You are best to put in some overtime rather than get involved in family gatherings. You need to look into some private matters before you can proceed with your plans. Try to be understanding.

You will attract potential lovers, but be sure that they’re unattached.

Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

Aquarius

June 24 - August 23

Jan 21 - Feb 19

Family trips or projects should be on your mind. Spend time with friends or family. Reevaluate your position and make decisions about your future goals. Sudden disruptions will cause upset and a change of routine in your home environment.

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Virgo

It might be best not to spend your money on luxuries this week. Changes in your residence will be favorable in the long haul.

You have the stamina and determination to succeed. Friends may not be completely honest with you.

Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Pisces

August 24 - Sept 24

Feb 20 - March 20

You will enjoy interacting with those who come from different backgrounds.

Partnerships will be favorable and contracts can be signed. You are best to do something energetic with friends instead. Don’t forget that your budget is limited right now.

Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Unpredictable events will disrupt your routine. Double check your work and be sure that your boss is in a good mood before you do your presentation. Plan to get out and do a bit of travel. Travel will initiate new friendships or love connections.

Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Bollywood personalities’ birthdays

Hrishitaa Bhatt May 10

ANTRA MALI MAY 11

Pooja bedi MAY 11

SALIM DIWAN MAY 12

Saturday, May 06, 2017

Park Boulevard

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2’ U/A; Action/Sci-fi Director: James Gunn Cast: Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel

it and the ungainly length just keeps you hoping for a quick end.

Marvel may not have expected much from its B team of intergalactic superheroes but the audience sure lapped it all up with

The gamey gang of Galaxy protectors who spiced up the intergalactic sci-fi entertainment with a unique blend of irreverent pop-culture references and snarky humour return with as much of a splash as Vol 1... but it’s not quite in the league of its predecessor. There’s really no novelty to

a relish that garnered Vol 1 a $771 million boost all year through. And with that it became the fifth biggest of all Marvel outings. So it’s but obvious that Marvel would have big dreams spinning out of this sequel under review. Vol 1 was disarmingly wacky and amusing but Vol 2

doesn’t quite get there. And it’s not for wont of trying. The B team that meshed-in Star Wars with Star Trek in a cheeky tone replays the same irreverence but it barely hits home.

The narrative gets scattered about as though fashioned by winds of change and the resultant fire-works look to be of a distinct Chinese make - impressively splashy but lacking in depth and emotive resonance.

Quill’s Daddy issues are milked dry but the stretch of imagination it hangs its weight on, feels a little too fragile and flimsy to be sustainable.

And as for the survival of the universe, it’s not a major concern when Quill and his Daddy can just as well create their own private one with as

simple an act as the clapping of hands.

The goofy gang of misfits-maverick mercenaries all, who were slanderously

appealing first time round, appear to have dimmed their mojo what with their rough edges and indecorous bickering making the ensuing wild goose chase seem like a unhappy family vacation. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and her badass sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) have a love-hate relationship and it’s a tedious one.

Rocket the cybernetically enhanced raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is generally illtempered with ego issues taking the fun out of his wisecracks here. Baby Groot (voiced

by Vin Diesel) a splinter of the original has big ink pool eyes that pull you in but there’s nothing much he can do other than slink into the tiniest of gaps and pull off a blast.

Dave Bautista’s Drax may have more to do this time around but it doesn’t amount to a laugh riot. Seeing Kurt Russell in his robust youth is definitely the highlight here.

The hysterically frenetic ballistic fireworks has video game parlor affect. Even though there’s plenty of good humour to tradeoff with the lame, it all feels so dÊjà -vu.

The careless attitude is quite appealing no doubt but it’s a case of been there, done that.

Even though writerdirector Gunn infuses the experience with a playful exuberance, it feels limiting. The CGI and effects are prime but that’s never enough. The longish runtime also makes it tougher to be entertained throughout. This one feels very much like a roller-coaster ride that doesn’t come off as good the second time around.

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

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Friday, May 5, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

Indian film festival cancelled Down Under Threats over participation of Pak artistes force organisers to call off weeklong event in Sydney

THE inaugural edition of the Indian Film Festival and Awards of Australia (IFFAA) has been called off, hours after mid-day reported about the Indian diaspora objecting to the participation of Pakistani film stars at the weeklong event. Visiting Bollywood celebrities had also expressed apprehension over sharing the stage with artistes from across the border.

Relations between the two countries had suffered a blow last September following a terror attack on the Army base in Uri, Kashmir, killing 17 Indian soldiers. The situation was limping back to normalcy when Pakistani forces killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies along the Line of Imran Abbas; Arjun Rampal (below left); Humayun Saeed (below Control on May 1.

Festival director Vvikas right); Ileana D’Cruz (left) were supposed to take part in the event Paul says, “I have received threats from vested interest groups and was worried about the security of my celebrity guests, myself, sponsors and my team. So, we have decided to defer it.”

Outrage on social media with netizens labelling the festival as anti-Indian was also a reason for canceling Pakistani celebrities expected culminating in a star studded the event that was to to attend the event were Hu- awards night on May 13. The kick off on May 7. mayun Saeed, Imran Abbas, Bollywood guest list included “We will hold the Hareem Farooq, Ali Azmat and Jeetendra, Randhir Kapoor, festival when rela- former Pakistani Censor Board Ekta Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, tions between the chief Fakhr Alam. The seven Ileana D’Cruz, Sonu Nigam, two countries im- day film festival was planned Sonu Sood and a few other to showcase films and talent celebrities from the Punjab prove.”

Among the from India, Pakistan and Nepal film industry.

‘Actors more revered than singers’

SINGER-actor Ayushmann Khurrana feels actors are more popular in India and are, therefore, often chosen to front concerts and shows instead of singers.

Recently, Sonakshi Sinha got into a Twitter spat with singer Armaan Malik, who opposed the idea of actors singing and performing at shows and in films. mid-day had reported about the actress being approached to open pop icon Justin Bieber’s India gig.

Ayushmann says Indians are culturally tuned in a way that they prefer actors over singers.

“Our country is culturally very

Ayushmann Khurrana jumps to Sonakshi Sinha’s defence, days after a few musicians slammed her unconfirmed stage act at the upcoming Bieber concert

Aamir’s Dangal set for Chinese glory 2016 blockbuster to release on 10,000-plus screens across China, becoming Bollywood’s biggest ever release in that country IN a first for a Bollywood film, Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal will release across a record 10,000 screens in China. The news comes close on the heels of reports that SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus, Bahubali 2: The Conclusion hit 9,000 screens worldwide.

Dangal director Nitesh Tiwari says, “Recently, Aamir and I watched the film in a packed theatre in Beijing at a film festival. The response was overwhelming. [Securing] such a wide release shows the kind of confidence the audience has in our film. Like it did in other countries, I am optimistic that Dangal will do well in China too. It’s reassuring that the team’s work has found global acceptance and appreciation.”

Pointing out that Khan is counted among the most popular Bollywood actors in China, the film’s spokesperson says, “Dangal is releasing this Friday with a footprint of 10,000-plus screens, a neverbefore-seen feat for any Hindi film. PK (2014, also starring Aamir) had released on half the number of screens and had made over a whopping R140 crore there.”

Featuring newcomers Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra, Dangal became the highest-grossing film in India with a box office collection of R384 crore, and another R20 crore through digital platforms.

The film had been inspired by wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat and how he trained his daughters, Commonwealth Games medallists Geeta and Babita Phogat.

‘Aamir and I watched the film in a packed theatre in Beijing. The response was overwhelming’ Nitesh Tiwari, director

different; only cricketers and actors are mostly in the spotlight. It has been like that since ages. Apart from that, actors are revered more than singers as our films are all about stars lip-syncing; they are voices of the singers,” he told PTI. The actor says there is also a commercial aspect involved in big concerts as organisers try to boost sales by involving Bollywood stars.

“It is culturally tuned like that. I don’t know if it is right or wrong,” he adds.

Ranveer’s one-night stand inspires Ranbir STAR TRACK BEFORE taking off on a brief holiday to London with mom Neetu last week, Ranbir Kapoor shot for an ad for a leading innerwear brand.

Moving on from its original ambassador Hrithik Roshan, the brand wanted a fun campaign with the Kapoor scion.

We hear, the theme matches

that of Ranveer Singh’s condom commercial.

An insider informs, “It is a quirky ad on Ranbir’s onenight stand. It’s laugh-outloud funny. As far as the concept goes, there are evident similarities with Ranveer’s condom ad, which put the focus on his sex appeal.

They [the creative team] have tried to do something like

that with Ranbir.”

RK, who has been busy with the shoot of Sanjay Dutt’s biopic apart from patchwork of Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos, shot for the banian ad at a suburban studio. We hear, he was his unabashed self on set and improvised the scenes. The ad will release next month.

R 2crore spent on

8

Around Town

Saturday, May 06, 2017

PICS Spring Garden Gala, a Resounding Success

P

rogressive Intercultural Community Services Society’s (PICS) annual fundraising event, The Spring Garden Gala to raise funds for PICS Diversity Village, a complex care home to be built in Cloverdale was a resounding success with the Society raising upwards of $150,000 at the event.

More than 600 people attended the event which was beautifully themed on the concept of spring. Tabla and sitar players greeted the crowds with soothing music during the networking portion of the event while Surrey’s PRAISE Team performed during the main event. A touching tribute was offered to PICS supporter and generous donor Bruce Kehler who passed away

recently. His family and work associates received a plaque and a moment of silence was observed.

Thanking the community, Board President Bobby Pawar said, “I am overwhelmed by the show of strength we have received from the community for PICS Diversity Village. Our seniors need a culturally sensitive home and with the community strongly in support of this project, this project is well on its way to being built”.

PICS CEO Mr. Charan Gill also thanked the community for coming out in big numbers. “I am thankful to each and every one of you and I request you for your continued support to

PICS,” he said.

Mr. Gill along with others was honored at the gala as well. While Mr. Gill received the Legendary Journey Award for thirty years of exemplary service, PICS Honorary Award was given to long-time volunteer and board member Paul Resham Dosanjh. PICS Exceptional Youth Leader award went to Jonathan Gomes and the PICS Community Pioneer award was given to 93.1 RED FM. PICS Board member Sarwan Randhawa too was honored for his service to the Society.

PICS’s new CEO, Satbir Singh Cheema made an impassioned appeal to everyone asking them to support this project. “Irrespective of which party forms the government this month, this project needs your

support,” said Mr. Cheema to a number of provincial candidates in the room.

Mr. Cheema also thanked all sponsors, donors, members of the media who made the gala a huge success.

The PICS Garden Spring Gala was conceptualized and executed by PICS Board’s fundraising committee comprising President Bobby Pawar, Treasurer Maninder Dhadda and members Kiran Dhaliwal, Abby Gemino and Puneet Khaira.

PICS have already bought 2.5 acres of land in Cloverdale and all critical components of the project are in place.

Photo Credits: FAHAD Photo

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mid-day Thursday, May 4, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

‘Bahubali’ in wax

To coincide with the roaring success of Bahubali: The Conclusion, a wax statue of Prabhas was installed at Madame Tussauds, Bangkok, on Tuesday. Measurements were taken by the museum folk late last year.

Prabhas is said to be the first South star to have his wax work at the museum. It features him as his famous character, Amarendra Bahubali, from SS Rajamouli’s hit epic drama. Fans have been making a beeline to the museum and uploading snapshots of the wax model on social media.

Sign of the times Apart from being part of Nandita Das’s biopic on Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto, Rasika Dugal will be seen playing mother to two hearing-impaired kids in Tu Hai Mera Sunday. The actress learnt sign language while prepping for Milind Dhaimade’s film that has Barun Sobti and Shahana Goswami as co-stars. Since the two child actors are hearing impaired in real life too, she had to work hard on getting the nuances right for effective communication.

MEXICAN FLAVOUR

This time for Africa Hours after slaying the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York, Priyanka Chopra took off for Johannesburg. PeeCee has made her way to South Africa for a fundraiser. Being UNICEF’s global goodwill ambassador, the actress is part of an event which highlights the challenges faced by children in violence-hit regions. The fundraiser will take place in Johannesburg on May 6, proceeds of which will go towards the child protection programmes of UNICEF in that country.

She will also attend Indian-origin designer Gavin Rajah’s fashion show. Expect her to make yet another sartorial statement. At the Met Gala, she impressed the fashion police in a trench coat with the ‘longest’ train. On Monday, Priyanka posted on social media: “Travel as much as you can, as far as you can, as long as you can.

Life’s not meant to be lived in one place.” PeeCee seems to be doing just that.

Bollywood

Sallu’s mommy turns producer Salman Khan’s mother, Salma Khan’s name features on the posters of his upcoming production, Tubelight. The poster reads: Produced by Salma Khan and Salman Khan. This is the first time that the superstar has put mommy dearest’s name on the publicity material of his film that also features younger brother, actor-producer Sohail Khan. It is well known that Sallu shares a close bond with her.

While hosting Bigg Boss, he would always wrap up the episode by saying, “Do whatever

Looking West Vibha Gulati (right), who has assisted Rajkumar Hirani on Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) and directed a few short films, is ready with her next project. Titled Forbidden, the short film stars South actress Salony Luthra in the lead. The script demanded that the character perform stunts, and Vibha zeroed in on Salony after she cleared a string of tests. Says Salony, “I was confident about every requirement for my role, but for the American accent. I spent three weeks in the US to get it right.”

TELLY TATTLE Hema Malini is a fan of the soap, Badho Bahu. The actressdanseuse makes it a point to catch up with the show whenever time permits. She apparently also keeps telling fellow MPs about her daily fix.

Hema recently sent a message to the makers saying how the show’s

SPOTTED

Gauahar Khan (left) hosted a dinner for friends and family at an Andheri restaurant to celebrate sister Nigaar’s birthday on Tuesday night

protagonist (Rytasha Rathore) is different from the typical heroines on the tube. She also hopes Badho realises her dream of becoming a wrestler.

After trying the knot in February this year, Nagarjuna — Ek Yoddha actress Pooja Banerjee went on a break. She’s now back on the scene and will be seen in Ekta Kapoor’s Chandra Nandini. She plays a vishkanya in the fantasy drama. Pooja tied the knot with long-time boyfriend, swimmer Sandeep Sejwal, who is an Asian Games 2014 medalist.

The controversial ex-Bigg Boss contestant, Om Swami is at it again. Yesterday, a video of the self-styled godman deep in meditation with a girl in lingerie seducing him went viral. The clip is said to have been taken on the set of his upcoming film, Man Ka Mel. It is said that the starlet was shooting in a bikini, but Om disapproved of it. Strangely, however, he approved of the mismatached lingerie. Watch it at your own risk.

mid-day Thursday, May 4, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

Vir’s e-show live on stage India as well as overseas, and now, actor-comedian Vir Das is set to take his show to six HIS Netflix outing, Abroad Un- Indian cities.

Vir, who is also touring the derstanding, has received a positive response from fans in world with his show, will arrive

you want man, but don’t trouble your mother.” Now, that’s like a good (mamma’s) boy.

Om Swami gets a lap dance

Hema’s daily fix

Break ke baad

16 HITLIST

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The Mexican remake of Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots (2009) will release on June 2. Titled 3 Idiotas, the film has Vidhu Vinod Chopra as one of the executive producers. The All Izz Well track has also been redone in Mexican

in the country to perform in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune.

He says he decided to turn the show into a stage performance on public demand.

“While working on it, I had kept my expectations minimum, but the response to the comedy has been overwhelming. Since I was getting several messages and e-mails from viewers asking if Abroad Understanding will ever be performed live, I decided to go ahead with it. It will take

place in September,” says the 37-year-old.

The comedy series is currently streaming on Netflix across 100 countries. Apart from the series’ highlights, Das will incorporate his experience of touring the world, and dabble in topics like Indian politics and Islam-o-phobia.

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Classifieds / Jobs

Production Clerk required for production and distribution of window screens and must complete general office duties.

Duties: Cut, shape and fit materials to make window and door screens; assemble parts and components to form final products; repair defective products for repair or recycle Check manufactured items for defects and conformance to specifications; answer calls; prepare invoice and collect payment. needs to use saws; drills and other small tools.

Education: High School or GED; Spoken and written English The position is full time 8:30-4:30pm with some overtime during summer months.

If you believe you have the necessary experience and skills, please submit your resume and references to info@ vancouverscreens.ca Vancouver Screens Ltd. #112 - 13085 115 Avenue Surrey, BC V3R 0C3 Phone: 604 - 520 - 6768 ------------ Apr 08-2017 Vacancies for Framer-Helper MN Framing Ltd. located at 6281 Knight Street, Vancouver BC V5P2V9 has an

immediate vacancy for Framer Helper.

Job Title: Framer Helper Number of Vacancies: 1 Location of work: Job requires on-site at various job sites within the lower mainland.

Job Type: Full time, permanent position with 30-40 hours per week. Overtime at the rate of 1.5 times after 40 hours per week.

Compensation: $20 per hour Benefits: WCB Coverage with 4% vacation pay Key duties: • Load and unload construction material and taking them to job site, • Move tools, equipment from storage to job site; • Assist framer with forming and framing related work; • Help put up, level, and install building framework • Remove rubble and clean work areas, machines and equipment to maintain a clean and safe jobsites • Perform other related job duties as required Job requirements: Some experience as a labourer will be an asset but not mandatory. Training provided on site.

Work conditions: • Physically demanding, handling heavy

NOW HIRING Bus Driver Gobind Sarvar School, located at 8820 – 168 Street, Surrey, B.C. is looking for a school bus driver living in Abbotsford area.

If you are licensed to drive a school bus, please email your resume and driver’s abstract to: info@gobindsarvar.ca or call Jaspreet at 604-930-2122 for further details.

loads, combination of sitting, standing and walking • Able to work long hours, weekends and outdoor in various weather conditions Contact: If you meet the requirements, please send your resume at mnframing@ hotmail.com.

Only those who our basic expectations will be contacted for an interview.

We thank you for your interest in our company!

------------ Mar 09-2017 Vacancies for Framer-Carpenter MN Framing Ltd. located at 6281 Knight Street, Vancouver BC V5P2V9 has immediate vacancies for Framer-Carpenter.

Job Title: Framer-Carpenter Number of Vacancies: 2 Location of work: Job requires on-site at various job sites within the lower mainland.

Job Type: Full time, permanent position with 30-40 hours per week. Overtime at the rate of 1.5 times after 40 hours per week.

Compensation: $26 per hour Benefits: WCB Coverage with 4% vacation pay Key duties: • Read & Interpret blueprints, drawings & sketches to determine specification; • Estimate height, width, length & other

proportions; • Measure, cut, shape & assemble the major structural elements of a woodframed buildings using woodworking machines, power tools and hand tools; • Build house foundations, Construct building framework including wall, beams, partitions, floor, doorframes, ceilings; • Inspect and replace damaged framework or other structures and fixtures; • Be able to understand building materials and building codes; Job requirements: • Completion of High School • 2-3 years of experience in trade or completion of 3-4 year apprenticeship program Work conditions: • Physically demanding, handling heavy loads, combination of sitting, standing and walking • Able to work long hours, weekends and outdoor in various weather conditions Contact: If you meet the requirements, please send your resume at mnframing@ hotmail.com Only those who our basic expectations will be contacted for an interview.

We thank you for your interest in our company!

------------ Mar 09-2017

LOOKING FOR CLASS 1 TRUCK DRIVER A trucking company, Planet Pride Logistics, located at 11411 Shell Road, Richmond BC V7A3W7 has immediate vacancies for 5 Long Haul Truck Drivers.

Term of employment: Full time, Permanent Position Shifts: Weekdays, Weekends, Evenings Salary: $23.50 per hour for 50 hours per week, overtime after 60 hours of the rate of 1.5 times with Vacation pay of 4%.

Requirement: Class 1 driving license with Air brake endorsement

Duties: Drive and operate company’s long haul trucks within all over Canada, receive and relay information to central dispatcher, maintain log book, bill of landing. Do pre-trip, en-route, posttrip inspection for any mechanical or body defect, reports incidents to the manager immediately and accurately.

Please send your resume at planetpride.logistics@ gmail.com or fax at 778-297-4402 Gill to Furmaan Kaur Gill

FOR LEASE Two retail units 3000sqft #130/140 - 304785 Cardinal Ave Abbotsford

(604) 725-6734 / (604) 595-1445

Saturday, May 06, 2017 South Asian Seniors - Learn Acupressure Techniques & Be Your Own Doctor May 7th 2017( Sunday ) at Shanti Niketan hall from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults/ Senior members and non members to attend a presentation to Learn Acupressure Techniques & Be your Own Doctor by Qualified and Expert Acupressurist Avtar Singh Woodwall on May 7th 2017 ( Sunday ) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC. A copy of the Acupressure points in Hands and feet will be provided to new participants for treatment at home, light snacks & tea will be served after the presentation. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information.

Project funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi Speaking Seniors.

-----------------------------------------All devotees are cordially invited at Hindu Cultural Society and Community Centre of B.C. (3885 Albert St., Burnaby) to participate in Sai Japa/ Bhajans on Saturday May 6th 2017

at 5 p. m..

Program: 5.15 to 6.15 Bhajans/Kirtan 6.30 to 7.15 Sai Japa 7.30 Priti Bhojan Contact: Rajubhai Parekh 604-327-8259 Kantibhai Patel 604 522-7989 Mandir 604299-5922 -----------------------------------------South Asian Seniors - Anxiety Disorder & Mental Health, Dr. Jogi Harrad - April 9th 2017 from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Center of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Adults, Senior members and nonmembers also for a very important PresentationAnxiety Disorder & Mental Health by Dr. Jogi Harrad a known Psychiatrist in the community on April 9th 2017 (Sunday) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 140th street Surrey BC. Dr. Jogi Harrad will answer all your questions about Mental Health. Tea and light snacks will be served to all participants after the presentation.

Project funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi speaking seniors. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further details.

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News & Jobs

11

VACANCIES FOR LONG HAUL TRUCK DRIVERS A trucking company, New Moon Express Ltd., has immediate vacancies for 10 long haul truck drivers.

Job Position: Long Haul Truck Driver Number of Vacancies: 10 Term of employment: Full time, Permanent with 50 hours per week.

Location of work: Travel across Canada and USA with base at 12403 Old Yale Road, Surrey BC V3V 3X9 Shifts: Weekdays, Weekends, Night, Evenings Salary: $23.50 per hour for 50 hours per week, overtime after 60 hours per week at the rate of 1.5 times.

Benefits: 4% vacation pay Credentials: Class 1 or A driver’s license with air brake endorsement.

Experience: On the job training will be provided Additional Skills: • Basic English is required to understand road signs and fill log book.

• Be able to work in individually or in a team • Clean driving abstract Types of trucking and equipment: Flatbed, Van, Refrigerated Type of Travel: Long Haul, Regional, Provincial/

Territorial, National and International.

Duties: • Drive and operate company’s long haul trucks to transport goods and material • Receive and Relay information to central dispatcher • Perform pre- trip, en-route and post- trip inspection for any mechanical or body defect • Ensure cargo is secured properly in accordance with safety requirements and follow safety procedures for transporting goods • Record cargo information, hours of service, distance travelled and fuel consumption • Administer bills of lading and manually or electronically maintain log books • Communicate with dispatcher, other drivers and customers using communication devices and on-board computers • Report incidents to the manager immediately and accurately.

How to apply: Please send resume at newmoonexpressltd@gmail.com Only those who meet our basic expectations will be contacted for interview. We thank you for your interest in our company!

VACANCIES FOR LONG HAUL TRUCK DRIVERS A trucking company, SB Trucking Ltd. has immediate vacancies for 10 long haul truck drivers.

Job Position: Long Haul Truck Driver Number of Vacancies: 10 Location of Work: Travel across Canada and USA with base at 12403 Old Yale Road, Surrey BC V3V3X9 Term of employment: Full time, Permanent with 50 hours per week.

Shifts: Weekdays, Weekends, Evenings Salary: $23.50 per hour for 50 hours per week, overtime after 60 hours per week at the rate of 100 1.5 times.

100 Benefits: 4% vacation pay 95 95 Credentials: Class 1 or A driver’s license with 75 air brake endorsement.

75 Experience: On the job training will be provided Additional Skills: • Basic English is required to understand road 25 25 signs and fill log book 5• Be able to work in individuals or in a team 5 • Clean driving abstract 0 Types of trucking and equipment: Flatbed, Van, 0 Refrigerated Type of Travel: Long Haul, Regional, provincial/

Territorial, National and International.

Duties: • Drive and operate company’s long haul trucks to transport goods and material • Receive and Relay information to central dispatcher • Perform pre- trip, en route and post- trip inspection for any mechanical or body defect • Ensure cargo is secured properly in accordance with safety requirements and follow safety procedures for transporting goods • Record cargo information, hours of service, distance travelled and fuel consumption • Administer bills of lading and manually or electronically maintain log books • Communicate with dispatcher, other drivers and customers using communication devices and on-board computers • Report incidents to the manager immediately and accurately.

How to apply: Please send resume at sbtrucking@hotmail.com Only those who meet our basic expectations will be contacted for interview. We thank you for your interest in our company!

16

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Rihanna didn’t like Dippy’s gown

A WHIFF OF SNIFF

AmoleSaturday, Gupte’s long-completed film, Sniff, finally has a release date. The May 06, 2017 spy-superhero film will release on August 25 this year. The film stars Khushmeet Gill, Surekha Sikri and Sushmita Mukherjee in key roles

Shilpa’s fan girl moment

Singer Rihanna took a dig at Deepika Padukone by liking a meme criticising her choice of her outfit at the recent Met Gala in New York. An Instagram account by Melvin Fenty’s name posted a meme that read: ‘What Met gala theme was vs how everyone showed up”. In one column of that post, there were a host of outfits that Rihanna and others wore and on the other side, there was an image of Dippy’s gown with the face cropped out. As soon as it was posted, Rihanna ‘liked’ it. Fashion gurus too found her gown out of place at the gala. We are waiting for your reaction, Dippy.

After slamming ‘today’s stars’ for giving the funeral of Vinod Khanna a miss, Rishi Kapoor took to social media yesterday to thank them for heeding his clarion call and attending the late star’s prayer meet on Wednesday.

He wrote, “Thank you my film brethren for your solidarity shown towards the Khanna family. Hum main ab bhi insaniyat baaki hai. Love you all (sic).”

Shilpa Shetty had a fan girl moment when she met Hollywood star, Goldie Hawn, at an event in England recently. Shilpa, who featured on UK’s Celebrity Big Brother, has grown up watching the veteran’s films, so her exicitement was palpable.

Given that the two share a common passion for fitness, Shilpa was surprised to know that Goldie is also into yoga and meditation. The two then exchanged notes on healthy living and eating.

SPOTTED

Go, Goa, gone

Catch me if you can

Deepika Padukone (right); Rihanna (above) at the Met Gala 2017; (top) the meme that Rihanna liked While touring with Salman Khan for the recent Da-Bangg shows in Hong Kong, Auckland and Melbourne, Maniesh Paul played games with fans on social media.

He would post distinctive snapshots of the places he stopped by, asking fans to guess the location. While at a Hong Kong restaurant, he posted a picture of its unique decor without disclosing the location. To his surprise, a few female fans landed up at the venue to take selfies with him. Playing these games certainly gave him a high.

Friday, May 5, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

In the nick of time Diljit Dosanjh almost missed his flight to Canada while recording a track for Dinesh Vijan’s Raabta starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. The actor-singer recorded the track, Saada Move, earlier this week, hours before he took off for the Dream Tour, which has him performing across several cities in Canada from May 6-22. He was so engrossed in the studio with music composer Pritam that his manager had to barge in and request him to leave immediately lest he miss the flight.

Suniel Shetty has been shooting in Goa for the reality show, India’s Asli Champion…

Hai Dum. Sooraj Pancholi decided to drop in on the set unannounced. It came as a welcome surprise for Anna.

His daughter Athiya Shetty and Sooraj made their debut together in Hero (2015). A source from the set shares, “Sooraj was in the vicinity where Anna was shooting, so he decided to pay a surprise visit. The two chatted and had lunch, and Suniel introduced the young actor to the team. Sooraj, a fitness enthusiast just like Suniel, was curious to know the kind of tasks that have been designed for contestants and how they train themselves.”

He even indulged in a few stunts on the set.

This photo of Kareena Kapoor Khan by the iconic London bridge has gone viral on social media. Bebo with hubby Saif Ali Khan flew into her favourite city earlier this week. She is said to be shooting for a brand endorsement. It will be a short trip as their baby boy Taimur is not accompanying them. There is also talk of Kareena and Saif shooting together for a hush-hush project.

Anand hi anand hai Sonam Kapoor was accompanied by rumoured beau, Anand Ahuja, to the National Film Awards ceremony on Wednesday. The actress got a special mention for Neerja (2016). With Anand by her side at a defining moment in her life, she has sent out a loud and clear message. Soon after the awards were announced, Anand had taken to Instagram to write, “@sonamkapoor the purest exemplification of selflessness, contribution, thoughtfulness, love and care. Many congratulations to you and everyone around you, encouraging (and challenging) you to become the person you are.” Time to make it official now, Sonam.

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Saturday, April 2, 2016

i 5

Saturday, 2, 2016 Saturday, April April 2, 2016 i 5i 5

Vol. 6 No. 31 Saturday - April 2, 2016 - Tel: - Tel: 604-591-5423 E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com 604-591-5423 - -E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com Tel: 604-591-5423 E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com Vol. 6 No. 31 - Saturday - April 2, 2016 - Tel: 604-591-5423 - E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

Vol. 31 -- May Saturday Vol. 8 No. 14 6 - No. Saturday 06, 2017 - April 2, 2016

Vancouver’s skyline riseamid amid an office-tower building boom from Vancouver’s skyline totorise an office-tower building boom Vancouver housing market is rebounding Another solid month for Vancouver’s skyline to expect rise amid anyears office-tower building boom next two due to competition. it Suisse is optimistic his building tower tower is optimistic his building will will he $240-million $240-million Credit CreditSuisse/ Suisse/ Mr.Mr. Shokri others expectnext two years due to competition. it Suisse he Shokri andand others say say theythey The landlords who will likely suffer The landlords who will likely suffer next two years due to competition. start to fill as the completion date gets closer. start to fill as the completion date gets closer. it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will SwissRealtower tower theheart heart many of the new towers to start signing SwissReal ininthe of of many of the new towers to start signing tenant Fraser Valley real estate he $240-million Credit Suisse/ Mr. Shokri and others say tenant they expect tax impact, with prices up 5% in 3 months a result oflandlords the current are ownas aasresult of the current boom are ownThe who boom will likely suffer

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Franz Gehriger, the of CEO ofgets SwissReal Franzstart Gehriger, CEO SwissReal to fill as the the completion date closer. downtown Vancouver will leases as they getget to completion. downtown SwissReal Vancouver will be heart leases as many they closer to completion.

Thattenant tower inbethe of ofcloser the new towers to startThat signing The Fraser Valley real estate market 2016, but did increase slightly by 2.2% month-ers of Prices in Canada’s most expensive city for March. older buildings, Mr. Shokri said.

As ers of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said.

As as a result of the current boom are ownGroup who bought the original historic Group who bought the original historic Franz Gehriger, the CEO of SwissReal completed a ayear, sosofar,far, will is is partly in Vancouver, completedininless lessthan than year,butbut partly because companies intoVancouver, downtown Vancouver be because leases ascompanies they get closer completion.well, That continued to show strength in April, reaching over-month. existing homes appear have rebounded The totalwho number residential properties newers developments intothe well, new developments in the suburbs, building inof 2002 partof older buildings, Mr.suburbs, Shokri said.stock-exchange As stock-exchange building 2002 before partGroup bought theinbefore original historic only one tenant has signed upupthan totomove in.in.butwhich do do want to be in new, energy-efficient only one tenant has signed move which want to be in new, energy-efficient completed in less a year, so far, is partly because companies in Vancouver, which have already experienced higher theThe highest sales level for the region in the The Board received 2,950 new listings in from the impact of a tax on foreign buyers as currently listed for sale in the region were nering with Credit Suisse to develop it, said which have already experienced higher well, new developments in the suburbs, tenantonly has committed forfor a a10th buildings, to operate on short timelines. nering with Credit Suisseinto2002 develop said stock-exchange building beforeit,parthasone committed 10th of move buildings, tend to operate on timelines. tenant has signed upof to in. a tend which do want to be inshort new, energy-efficient rates inhave recent years,years, may may have pastThe tentenant months.

April, 4% from March 2017, andvacancy Vancouver realtors reported Tuesday a huge 7,813group in April, a 3.5 in perleasing cent increase from a the main interested Vancouvacancy rates in already recent have which experienced higher the 370,000 square feet – –leaving a state offorof a 10th AsAs well, hedecrease said, prices in in the newnew thenering mainwith group interested Credit Suisse in to leasing developVancouit, said theThe 370,000 square feet leaving a state well, he said, prices the The tenant has committed of buildings, tend to operate on short timelines. asvacancy they compete each other.

Fraser Board buildings a 25.2% will decrease compared to April 2016’strouble swing in for condominiums and year ago and three periscent from a year ver office the bump technology ratescompete in with recent years, may have trouble asdemand they with each other. emptiness that isValley unusualReal for anEstate office skycome i Saturday, likely 25, 2015down in the mainthese groupdays interested in Vancouverthespace office space these days isleasing the technology the is 370,000 square feet –types leaving a 4state ofincoming As July well, said, prices in in the new emptiness2,230 that unusual for an office skybuildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, Julyhe 25, 2015down Intownhomes Vancouver,in theApril. co-developer of the Cred- sector. processed sales of all property on 3,942 listings. ago.

Those companies make their deciscraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in trouble as they compete with each other. sector.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Credver office space these days is the technology Those companies make their deciemptiness thatso, is unusual forApril, aninoffice skywill likely come down in theThe Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver scraper in this city.Service® Even a hugeinshift 4 Fraser i Saturday, July 25, 2015 its Multiple Listing For thebuildings Valley region, the average “It’s worth pointing out that according to business tenancy is expected(MLS®) as the region In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred- sector. Those companies make their deciscraper in this city.

Even so, a huge shift in business tenancy is expected as the region number of days to sell a single said the composite benchmark price for all the realtors each (segment) of the market is experiences something it has not seen bebusiness tenancy is expected as the region family detached home in April residential properties in Metro Vancouver a seller’s market still, ” said Porter, referring to experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much experiencesbuilding something it has not seen be2017 was 26 days, compared to was $941,100 in April, an 11.4 per cent detached, condominium and townhomes. an office-tower boom much offore: which is speculative construction rath15 days in April of last year. increase from a year ago but a five per cent The sales-to-active listings ratio for April fore: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants.

HPI® Benchmark Price jump in the past three months.

2017 was 45.5 per cent for all property types, which is committed speculative construction rather“This thanis kind forofofspecific tenants. uncharted territory for VanActivity Sales of all property types dropped 25.7 per two per cent below March 2017. er ofthan for specific committed couver, ” said Mehdi Shokri, aterritory principal with “This is kind uncharted for Van- tenants.

• Single Family Detached: At cent from a year ago to 3,533 in April but were “Generally, analysts say that downward “This is kind of uncharted territory for Vanthe capital markets team at Avison Young. couver,” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with $888,900, the Benchmark price 4.8 per cent above the 10-year average for pressure on home prices occurs when the couver, said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with “But I don’t markets see a ”big disaster occurring. ” the capital team at Avison Young. for a single family detached the month.

Compared to March sales, April ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a The ICredit Suisse is onlyteam the at most Avison “But don’tthe seecapital a tower bigmarkets disaster occurring. ” Young. home in the Valley increased activity fell 0.7 per cent. visible and furthest of aasecond I along don’t see big disaster The Credit“But Suisse tower is only thewave mostoccurring.”

2.3% compared to March 2017, “Our overall market is of new office towers planned fortower VancouThe Credit Suisse is only the most visible and furthest along of a second wave and increased 14.5% compared operating below the recordver and somevisible key suburbs.

A first cluster and planned furthest along of a second wave of new office towers for Vancouto April 2016. setting pace from a year ago of towers – some twooffice million square feet –for Vancouof new towers planned ver built and downtown some key in suburbs.

Athree first cluster • Townhomes: At $446,000 and is in line with historical was the past years. ver andtwo some key suburbs.

A first cluster towers –of11 some million square aofAnother decrease 24.9% to the feet 2,969 officecompared developments are – the Benchmark price for a townhome in the spring levels. It’s a different of towers – some two million square feet – was built downtown in and theofpast three years. sales this time last blocks year a 0.8% increase Fraser Valley increased 3.2% compared to story in our condominium and proposed within Credit Subuilt downtown in the2017. past three years. compared to was the 2,213 in March Another 11 tower officesales isse’s Exchange at developments Howe and Westare March 2017, and increased 26.2% compared townhome markets,” said Jill Another 11 office developments are Of thestreets, 2,230 sales processed April, 438 Oudil, president of the board.

Pender evenblocks while the office-vaproposed within of inCredit Su- to April 2016. proposed within blocks of Credit Suwere and 567atcontinues were apartments.

• Apartments: At $285,400, the Benchmark “Demand has been increasing cancy rate in the tower region to inch isse’s townhouses Exchange Howe and West isse’s Exchange tower at Howe West for apartments/condos in the Fraser for months and supply is not Total active inventory for the Valleyandprice up as a result of the firstwhile wave ofFraser building.

Pender streets, even the office-vaPender streets, even while the office-valast month was 4,913 listings, the lowest seen Valley increased 3.1% compared to March keeping pace. This dynamic is But commercial brokerscontinues say the city is cancy rate in the region to inch cancy rateyears. in the regiontowers. continues to2017, inchand increased 29.8% compared to April causing prices to increase and for an April in ten Inventory levels not about to be populated by ghost up as a result of the first wave of building. up as when a resultcompared of the firsttowave of building. decreased 13.8% April 2016. making multiple offer scenarios But commercial brokers say the city is But commercial brokers say the city is the norm.” not about tonot be about populated ghost towers. to be by populated by ghost towers.

The board said for the first four months of the year, condominiums and townhomes accounted for 68.5 per cent of all residential sustained period, while home prices often sales, up from the 58.2 per cent average over experience upward pressure when it surpasses Housing prices in the Greater Toronto Area market, including a 15 per cent tax on non- the same period last year.

20 per cent over several months,” said the rose 31.7 per cent in April from a year ago, but resident or foreign buyers and tougher new “Until more entry level, or missing middle, REBGV. By property type, the sales-to-active local realtors say a surge of new listings are on rent control rules. homes are available for sale in our market, listings ratio was 26 per cent for detached the way that might meet demand.

“The fact that we experienced extremely we’ll likely continue to see prices increase,” homes, 58.2 per cent for townhomes, and 82.2 The Toronto Real Estate Board also lashed strong growth in new listings in April means Oudil said. “There’s been record building this per cent for condominiums. out new provincial rules to create affordability that buyers benefitted from considerably past year, but much of that inventory isn’t Sales of detached properties dropped 38.8 in the market, including a 15 per cent tax more choice in the marketplace. It is too early ready to hit the market.” per cent from a year ago to 1,979 last month. to tell whether the increase in new listings The Vancouver market has seen sales The benchmark price for detached properties was simply due to households reacting to the decline steadily since the province announced was $1,516,500, an 8.1 per cent increase from strong double-digit price growth reported an additional 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers a year ago and a 1.8 per cent from March 2017. over the past year or if some of the increase was effective Aug. 2, 2016. Ontario followed with Sales of apartment, or condominium, also a reaction to the Ontario Government’s its own 15 per cent on foreign buyers, calling properties dropped 18.3 per cent from a year recently announced Fair Housing Plan,” said it a non-resident tax and extending it to the ago to 1,722 while the benchmark price of Larry Cerqua, president of the board, in a entire Greater Golden Horseshoe which $554,100 was up 16.6 per cent from a year ago statement. TREB said there were 33.6 per cent affects a population of about nine million and 3.1 per cent from March. more new listings than there were a year ago. people in southern Ontario.

Attached, or townhome, property sales fell New listings were up by double-digits for all Doug Porter, the chief economist with Bank 10.8 per cent in April from a year ago while low-rise home types, including detached and of Montreal, said the evidence is clear that the the benchmark price was $701,800, a 15.3 per on non-residents, and said its own new data semi-detached houses and townhouses but tax in British Columbia did cool Vancouver’s cent increase from a year ago and a 2.4 per concludes the share of foreign ownership is condominium apartments were at the same single detached home market. “Vancouver cent from March. still low. level as last year. was as hot as a fire cracker in 2016,” said Toronto numbers are due Wednesday, the The Toronto Real Estate Board said The board also released new data looking at Porter. “It looks the shock of the tax is wearing first reporting period since it brought in its Wednesday its average price for all housing property assessment land registry information off. But who knows where prices would have tax, but Porter doesn’t think Canada’s largest rose 24.5 per cent from a year ago to $920,791. to analyze foreign and speculative ownership been absent the tax?” city will have the same reaction.

March average sale prices for all housing were in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the area April new listings for detached, attached “I would suggest the tax was a shock in $916,567, up 33.2 per cent from a year ago. that surrounds and includes Toronto and is and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver B.C.. I don’t think it was shock in Ontario, The new data includes 10 days of reaction home to nine million people. The GGH is totalled 4,907, a 19.9 per cent decrease from there was plenty of warning and hints (it was to new 16 new provincial actions to cool the subject to the 15 per cent tax. a year ago but a three per cent increase from coming),” said Porter.

Toronto home prices climb 31%, but surge of new listings could help balance torrid market

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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Real Estate

Greater Vancouver condo prices surge, but sales slowT down Vol. 6 No. 31

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Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building

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Condos are leading a revival of prices in the Vancouver region’s housing market, but sales activity remains below the torrid pace of a year earlier.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said Tuesday that the benchmark price for condos sold last month in its territory reached $554,100, up 8.2 per cent over the past three months and 16.6 per cent from April, 2016. Benchmark prices are the industry’s representation of typical homes sold.

In the townhouse segment in April, the benchmark price hit $701,800, up 5.3 per cent over the past three months and 15.3 per cent from April, 2016.

After setting record highs for sales early last year, the number of properties changing hands began falling in April, 2016, and continued sliding for several months after the B.C. government imposed a 15-per-cent tax on foreign buyers in the Vancouver region in August.

The tax hit detached houses the hardest. Last month’s benchmark price of $1.52-million for detached houses in Greater Vancouver fell 3.9 per cent compared with August, but is still up 8.1 per cent over the past year.

For all housing types, there were 3,553 transactions of existing properties on the Multiple Listing Service last month, down 25.7 per cent from a year earlier, though the sales volume rang in 4.8 per cent more

he $240-million Credit Suisse/ SwissReal tower in the heart of downtown Vancouver will be completed in less than a year, but so far, only one tenant has signed up to move in.

The tenant has committed for a 10th of the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of emptiness that is unusual for an office skyscraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in business tenancy is expected as the region experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants.

“This is kind of uncharted territory for Vancouver,” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with the capital markets team at Avison Young.

“But I don’t see a big disaster occurring.”

The Credit Suisse tower is only the most visible and furthest along of a second wave of new office towers planned for Vancouver and some key suburbs. A first cluster of towers – some two million square feet – was built downtown in the past three years.

Another 11 office developments are proposed within blocks of Credit Suisse’s Exchange tower at Howe and West Pender streets, even while the office-vacancy rate in the region continues to inch up as a result of the first wave of building.

But commercial brokers say the city is not about to be populated by ghost towers.

Mr. Shokri and others say they expect many of the new towers to start signing tenant leases as they get closer to completion. That is partly because companies in Vancouver, which do want to be in new, energy-efficient buildings, tend to operate on short timelines.

As well, he said, prices in the new buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the

next two years due to competition.

The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred-

than the 10-year average for April. The benchmark price for all housing types increased 11.4 per cent year over year to $941,100.

“Until more entry-level – or ‘missing middle’ – homes are available for sale in our market, we’ll likely continue to see prices increase,” real estate board president Jill Oudil said in a statement Tuesday. She noted

that 68.5 per cent of sales in the first four months of this year have been for condos and townhouses, compared with 58.2 per cent during the same period in 2016.

Fewer luxury mansions are selling, dragging down the average price for detached houses to $1.77-million in Greater Vancouver last month, a 2.7-per-cent decrease from April, 2016. The average price for resale condos, by contrast, has surged 20.1 per cent over the past year to $634,723, while the average price for townhouses increased 8 per cent to $833,223.

it Suisse tow start to fill a Franz G Group wh stock-excha nering with the main gr ver office sp sector. Tho

31

Saturday, April 2, 2016

i 5

Saturday, May 06, 2017 -

Real Estate

“Do whatever you can to hold onto your property for as long as possible” warn SA real estate agents

Saturday - April 2, 2016

- Tel: 604-591-5423 -

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

couver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building boom

edit Suisse/ he heart of er will be , but so far, to move in. or a 10th of ng a state of n office skyhuge shift in s the region not seen beboom much uction rathted tenants. tory for Vanrincipal with vison Young. r occurring.” nly the most second wave for Vancoufirst cluster square feet – three years. pments are Credit Sue and West he office-vanues to inch of building. y the city is host towers.

Mr. Shokri and others say they expect many of the new towers to start signing tenant leases as they get closer to completion. That is partly because companies in Vancouver, which do want to be in new, energy-efficient buildings, tend to operate on short timelines.

As well, he said, prices in the new buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the

next two years due to competition.

The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other.

In Vancouver, the co-developer of the Cred-

it Suisse tower is optimistic his building will start to fill as the completion date gets closer.

Franz Gehriger, the CEO of SwissReal Group who bought the original historic stock-exchange building in 2002 before partnering with Credit Suisse to develop it, said the main group interested in leasing Vancouver office space these days is the technology sector. Those companies make their deci-

If you own a property do whatever you can to hold on to it as long as you can and if you have to sell, its vital to price your home correctly, warns Private Property’s Lea Jacobs. “Although no one is absolutely certain what’s going to happen now that the country has been downgraded to junk status by two of the world’s leading credit agencies, it’s pretty obvious that things are going to change – and not necessarily for the better,”

strict budget) that this will last indefinitely,” said Jacobs “Remember, if you are planning to lease a property, rents will also increase as interest rates go up. What we are trying to say is hang onto your property for as long as possible.”

If downgrading in some form or another is not an option Jacobs recommended first looking at a more affordable car, cutting back on entertainment and food costs or reevaluating your insurance and health needs.

“Basically do everything in your power to protect your biggest investment, namely your home.”

“If there comes a time when it becomes apparent that you simply can’t afford the bond repayments, speak to the bank about extending the loan period, thus reducing the monthly repayment. If that’s not an option and you have to sell, make sure you price the property realistically.”

“Call on different estate agents to give you a valuation (we recommend basing the selling price on the average of at least three opinions). Ask how the agent arrived at the recommended figure and why they would advise you to sell for that amount.”

“Make sure you get your priorities straight by holding on to your biggest and most valuable asset – your home – for as long as you possibly can,” said Jacobs.

Toronto condo market heated up in the first quarter, amid new evidence of investor flipping The Greater Toronto Area’s condo market saw record quarterly sales as inventory plummeted in the first quarter, some of it clearly linked to investors looking to profit from units quickly.

Urbanation Inc., a condo research firm, said Wednesday there were 9,932 new condo apartments sales across the the GTA over the first 90 days of 2017, a 73 per cent jump from a year ago.

The average price of newly launched unit in the first quarter was $733 per square foot in the City of Toronto and $608 per square foot in the 905 region. The GTA average of $694 per square foot was up five per cent from the fourth quarter. Remaining unsold inventory at the end of the quarter was $719 per square foot, a 20 per cent increase from a year ago.

“Following the recent strength in condo price appreciation, (there was) an increase in resale activity within newly completed buildings as well as more units transacting twice within shorter timeframes,” the company said in its release, pointing to the speculation.

Within new projects completed and registered over the past two years, there were 1,059 sales in the first quarter representing 17 per cent total of total resales during the period. That percentage of homes sold within two years jumped 69 per cent from the first quarter a year ago.

Urbanation said there were 249 resale units sold in first quarter of 2017 that were sold for the second time within the past 12 months,

said Jacobs.

She particularly warned against panic selling and overpricing your home in order to recoup debts. Instead she urged potential sellers to weigh up the pros and cons and try to ignore any short-term gains.

“Life may be good in the immediate aftermath of selling a home. You may be able to pay off some if not all of your debt and live comfortably, but it’s unlikely (unless you are very strong willed and work according to a

%

Yr)

%

a 53 per cent increase over the equivalent statistic for a year earlier.

“The shortening of holding periods for some condo buyers is an outcome of the rapidly accelerating market”, said Shaun Hildebrand, senior vice-president of Urbanation. “Although the share of shortterm condo market participants still appears relatively low, it will be important to monitor the situation closely going forward as market conditions evolve.”

The Toronto Real Estate Board released its own data Wednesday that shows the condo sector picking up steam. April sales rose 7.7 per cent from a year ago — the only subcategory to see a rise in year over year sales — while new listings were relatively flat, creating an imbalance that drove the average existing condo home to $541,392, a 32 per cent increase from a year ago.

Some of the activity can clearly be traced to consumers being priced out of the detached home market where the average price of an existing home is now $1.2 million and a new home $1.78 million.

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next two years due to competition.

The landlords who will likely suffer as a result of the current boom are owners of older buildings, Mr. Shokri said. As well, new developments in the suburbs, which have already experienced higher vacancy rates in recent years, may have trouble as they compete with each other.

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IN GINARE ASKATCHEWAN S

CUSTOM TEELS &ABRICATION F BUSINESSOR ALEFS

Ideal business opportunity well established Grocery and convenience store in busy downtown details. area. Excellent sales and profit. Full service store including UPS, cigarettes, world wide money For sale Prime 1489 Sq ft office space for sale in busy retail/office complex in Surrey. transfers with Western union, slushies, hot dogs, fruits, vegetables, halal meats, atm, general Ideal for a variety of office types. Visible from 152 and centrally located. Asking groceries, cleaning supplies and more. Low rent, excellent lease terms surrounded by tons of Dream Pizza or ale FS $350,000 residential buildings ando commercial businesses. turn key opportunity grab this Established Indian Sweets and Restaurant business located in high traf�ic area of Scott Rd, Surrey.

Perfect opportunity our be own t Perfect y boss Wide ariety egetarian v v PHARMASAVE menu eets. FRANCHISE with xpanded Can sw tobe egetarian add e dishes non to v the money making business before it is gone!

Contact for more details.

Asking $189,900 with ell this established w Pizza & Indian menu. Catering services provided regular clientele. Seating for 50. Complete turn key restaurant

mobile welding service, crane fabrication, fabrication of residential gates, security bars and much N more! Mon– Fri operation closed on weekends. Please contact me for more details on this hard LIS EWto TIN G come by opportunity! Asking $149,000

PRIME OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE

BUSINESS OR F SALE

BUSINESS OR F SALE

Asset Sale- DBA "Pharmasave" well established franchise operating since June 2012. Increasing annual script great business opportunity! Asking $129,000 count of approx 12,000/annum. Approx 2400 sq ft of ground floor space leased space w/5 year, 5yr, 5 yr lease + 1 st right refusal to tenant option to purchase the building. Open six days/week (6) doctor offices, High end Kroll software, and Oscar CRM software in use. Lease area of 2,400 sq.ft. Customized tenancy improvements.

Business is run professionally by a Health Care Group Company- enormous expansion potential! Owner will Fantastic opportunity tomore rundetails. yourAsking own $899,000 Pizza & Indian Cuisine provide training.

Contact me for

PIZZA

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INDIAN

CUISINE

business! Excellent food, rated 4.5/5 by customers open 7 days a week, very busy location take out with availability for seating if desired. Tons of tourists year round, central to major sites in Hope and integral area near grocery stores, city hall, local police station, 23 years Established Credit Company for sale. Retail and Commercial collections, motels and cinema. Well established, great sales and a complete turn key operation that will not last long! Asking Judgments, Tenancy Order Collection, loans $199,000 and outstanding invoices.Take

CONVENIENCE TORE S & BUSINESS FOR SALE

Don't miss this chance to run your own buy Convenience store/Mini mart!

This well established business is well or-ganized, excellent Well known and established Lighthouse Franchise on King George & 80th in Surrey.set Take out up, with all your essential sundries for The sale as well lotterylocations AND is www.lighthouse.menu and they are on Facebook establishment and Party Orders are also handled. website for allasfranchise the licensing to sell Pizza at this location! Busy area near parks, as well. This business has been established in 2009 and has been run by the same owner since this time. As it is a take out and delivery. schools, residences it is the perfect small business! Ample of Establishment there is notyour a liquorideas licensetoat this opportunity to add an location. alreadyAsking turn$549,000 key operation!

Don't miss this great small business prospect! Asking $149,000 N

SIGNAGE & PRINTING BUSINESS FOR SALE

INDIAN

Great opportunity to run your own signage and printing business! This established turn key operation offers all varieties of banners and signs, vehicle wraps, window graphics & lettering LED Channel & 3D letters and awning

TOWING COMPANY FOR SALE

UNIT ORF SALE

the Lower Mainland. Ideal opportunity to run your own turn key business in a niche market. Contact for more details. Asking $279,900 ox

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CAFÉ FOR SALE

ATTENTION FOREIGN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS!!!

UNIT OR ALE F T S AA 2 BABY ULTRASOUND FRANCHISES FOR SALE! KHALS

low overhead expenses. Professionals and New Immigrants with a healthcare background this is a perfect opportunity! Burnaby and Abbotsford locations available.

AskingOR $125,000 UNITS ALE each location F S (15299 VE) Excellent

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LIGHTHOUSE INDIAN CUISINE

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GREEN MOUSTACHE FRANCHISE FOR SALE

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Are you passionate about healthy lifestyle? Are you ready to take Corner unit in an excellent location. Ample your passion and belief in healthy organic foods and juices to the next level?? Look no further and join The Green Moustache Family space and in the Fully �inished y side ata side b or units str otalbothaoffice f t warehouse. with their latest franchise location on W. 4th in Vancouver. Already an established Large at the back of name with twoox. locations in Whistler and5540 one Squamish this turn key operation of appr . invailable sqft A or f sale. oloading door Close t the unit. will enable you to develop your passion into a profitable career. With excellent Fully carpeted Port ells K Industrial ea. ary Eas o access both t office space lots windows support from the founders, this BC based company is looking for individuals who allowing plenty Highway aci�ic 1 and are wanting hway Hig Ptruck cr of light, security alarm believe in health and are community driven toand utilize that to let ossing. their Entrepreneurial juices flow! Contact for more details on the Green Moustache and 2 bathrooms. Contact for more info.

Franchise and joining the Green Moustache family on W.4th! Asking $99,000

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AUTO BOD Y REPAIR SHOP ORMAINLAND FSALE AUTO /TRANSMISSION/CAR IN LOWER

Established auto y or bod shop our sale f own y! be boss y toda L NE IST W Well established ell anduto equipped e w Car A Center which IN G in Over 37 year well established Auto repair / Transmission Repair / car repair NEW G offers complete car & epair. truck inspection, service IN LIST The ect perf opportunity our the Lower to own run shop, business y amplewith a Mainland.

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Located in the heart of Surrey in Payal Business Centre, this office is professionally designed. 5 offices, reception area, separate lunch room and full washroom.

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Downtown core. 2 bed, 2 bath and dinner this quaint restaurant serves traditional Italian classics in 850 sq.ft home to use as a rental a fantastic atmosphere and ambiance. Perfect casual dining for property. Asking $349,000 locals as well as tourist traffic. Turn key operation ready for you to OFFICE SPACE FOR SALE implement your dreams as a restaurant owner! Asking $219,000 Approx. 3100 SF of office space available for sale in the busiest plaza in Surrey. Close to Banquet Halls, retailshops & offices. Asking $749,000 Excellent opportunity to own your own franchise! Well established and recognized

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UNITTOOR FASE LE & ON & 132 MORE 1000 12,000 S.F. RETAIL OFFICET SPACE72 Available for lease. Opp JR Furniture. Good mix of warehouse and of�ice space. Centrally AVAILABLE FOR SALE & LEASE BUSINESS located in light industrial zoning.

Of�ice for eat vestment sale! In Gr ALE S #1 1016 Sq cellent xposure, Ft e op Ex t �loor of�ice y space Khalsa within the Amazing opportunity to be your own boss! ,6960ey Surr 120 St Business Cent er x. comple ull ea F ar eddesignat or oom f classr space and addition Established Donair food outlet in prime busy Perfectwithving li space 8077 KING GEORGE BLVD. vantage Great unit for lease facingof King of�ice space. ake T available ad ons of xposure t om visual fr . 128th e af�ic High st tr area in Langley. Already steady clientele from The perfectthesecond1000 floor office spacesqfor leaseofWithinftbusy Triton and businesses corner 128 Centre.

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Close tov .shopping, Gas $325,000.00 eatvisualvestment opportunity the ous numer ounding, surr tons complex bedroom with denfor your office.

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1920 sq Transit. This space ft has 2 offices inside of and second vate �loor of�ices, droom,of�iceboar space. bath corned in business further. Low lease, and great area for more details.

1985 Sq.ft. unit reception ea,aras washroom. chenette. kit Ex xposure, eNotary,op t �loor of�ice y space wit lunch room as well Perfectcellent for Accountants, Harleen dens.

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95 Ave & 152 St., 940 sqft. space is available In Mughal Garden plazaof�ice 2 units available, approxfor4875 sqft.Already leased to lease on 2nd �loor including 3 small of�ices, meeting room long term tenants, to be sold together.

Asking $1.25 million and reception. Also available 9400 sqft. space for lease.

LOTS OF EXPOSURE.

Established Indian Sweets and Restaurant business located in high Quiznos Subs in Port Coquitlam will enable you to achieve your entrepreneurial traffic area of Scott Rd, Surrey. Wide variety vegetarian menu with dreams! Busy plaza with Earls, Safeway, Scotiabank, McDonalds, Bosley Pet Valu and much more! Residences and commercial businesses all around sweets. Can be expanded to add non vegetarian dishes to the menu. makes this an ideal location. Owners have run it for several years Catering services provided regular clientele. Seating for 50. Complete and are now ready to retire. Contact me for more details regarding turn key restaurant great business opportunity! Asking $129,000 this business opportunity. Asking $119,000

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8077 The perfect retail for the perfect franchise well look no more! Established and award eas t KING GEORGE BLVD. Looking corner unit in busy plaza move in ready.

Approx winning Vera's Burgers in busy Meadow Town Center with major anchors like 1200 sq ft perfect for fast food, of�iceCineplex or retail Superstore, Odeon, and many major Financial Institutions and major space. Easy access to highway, retailers.close Fully turntokeyalloperation with extra large patio, good lease, low amenities on Busy King George Hwy. Great franchise fees and beer licence. Current absentee owner this business is a great Opportunity contact me today. opportunity to be your own boss and take it to the next level! Asking $229,900

After School Enrichment Classes, Week long Summer camps, Birthday Parties, pre School plaza Banquet in Halls, Surr Classes and Kidz APARTMENT Night out programs. Please contact listing Realtor for moreDONAIR info on this ALE S unique opportunity. FOR Asking $79,000 FOR

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INVESTOR OPP ORTUNITY NEW FRANCHISE 2590 sqft . etail R ande Of�ic Investment Opportunity in Hope.

Sq. ft large Lot Fully space for UNIT saleFORAsking ITALIAN RESTAURANT FOR SALE SALE $649,000 7200 renovated home close to the A treasure gem of Italian cuisine tucked away in Hope! Open for lunch BUSINESS FOR SALE

over three floors. A brand new facility with a custom open floor plan for your preference. The Mann Corporate centre has been designed andS.F allows for & RET MORE 1000 O to provide maximum 12,000 . flexibility T AIL ACEOFFICE many types of professional users who are seeking a high quality with great AVAILABLE FORfacilityALE Sexposure.

ASE & LE Highlights include: State of the art facility with modern finishes, Underground secured parking provided. Free on site surface parking, more than 3 parking stalls per 1000 Sq ft. 24/7 security with HD recording privilege. Central location with easy access to all major routes.

FOB access and intercom. Please contact listing realtor for details on remaining space, square footage and pricing details.

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Don't miss this rare opportunity to own your own busy Lighthouse Indian Cuisine Franchise! Prime location in Brickyard Station Plaza this fantastic business has Take out and dine in, beautiful décor, quality kitchen, Full Liquor license and full Indian Cuisine Menu. Complete turn key operation enables you to be your own boss with this established franchise. Contact me today for further info. Asking $389,000

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Be your ownGREAT boss! Established Pizza business for sale.

Excellent locationOPPOR in FRANCHISE TUNITY South Surrey with tons of opportunity to expand and grow. Only $69,000.00!

enjoy working serves with children!

Your dreamItalian to own classics your business restaurant traditional in has arrived. Reputable and 4Kidz Franchiseand has ambiance. over 320 franchises worldwide! This unique business aestablished fantasticBricks atmosphere Perfect casual dining for locals as well tourist traf�ic. can be run from home or elsewhere.

Theas exclusive Franchise territory for Maple Ridge, Pitt Turn keyand operation you recession to implement Meadows Mission is ready for sale. for Fantastic proof business that enable children plaza. your dreams a restaurant from 3-13+ learnasand build with Legoowner! bricks. Teach the fundamentals of S.T.E.M. (science, Asking $219,000 technology, engineering & mathematics). This unique business offers in School Workshops,

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$69,900

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EW that term in tenants, berelated Attention centers, Earlyto Childhood Education businesses,sold Teachers and others with Educational backgrounds Hope!learning Open for lunch and dinner this quaint L

$209,000 busy

Take vantage ad eat of vestment in this(notopportunity! gr ound etail/ �loor Gr oom/of�ice showr r Well established .Baby Ultrasound Franchise, 3D/4D ultrasound diagnostic), Private clinicIdeal for pregnant moms. high in market busy Business Center Full turn key operationceilings thiseys easy to run niche business is Surr perfect Khalsa for individuals or couples with businesses uses.

Asking $349,000 Medical/Health industry backgrounds. Beautifully set up office, low lease rate, excellent hours and easy to run with

higher

ITALIANLEARNINGRES TAURANT OR F ALE S CENTRE FOR SALE

units long

Unique and established opportunity to make your entrepreneurial dream come true! This beautiful Café in the heart of White Rock is a small business owners RETAILbreakfast ACE and VAILABLE SP menu A and rarely dream! Tastefully decorated excellent lunch 8321 ., Surrey.

-seating back cellent 128 Ex location in found…Liquor license as well! Outdoor and front of premises, tonsSt of Asking parking and many, many more high rises coming in the area currently make this a business owners dream come true. Turn key business ready and you! F S OFFICE ACEwaiting SP OR for ALE Confidentiality have to bevailable signedSFbefore Approx. agreement will3100 or viewing f the ofbusiness. sale of�ice in ey.

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PIZZA BUSINESS FOR SALE

Great ranchise F on thisopportunity ed!$69,000yjust Bus Contact for more info opportunity. Asking Only Coquitlam Center Mall or location oss Chop f Franchise! ont W last Asking long! $158,800

CUISINE LIS EW TIN G

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own your own busy Lighthouse canopies and window graphics. Established for five years, low lease, built up clientele make this a great business Indian Cuisine Franchise! Prime location in Brickyard Station Plaza opportunity! me forhas moreTake details.

Asking this fantasticContact business out and $99,000 dine in, beautiful décor, quality kitchen, Full Liquor license and full Indian Cuisine Menu. Complete turn key operation enables you to be your own boss with this established franchise. Contact me today for further info. Asking Established and reputable towing company that serves clients throughout $389,000

available,

full website, social media presence all in place for you! Make your Hair alon S Business for sale entrepreneurial dreams comeverdale true.

Contact forarmorewdetails.

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MINI MAR T

advantage of this unique niche business opportunity. Asking $229,000

PAYAL BUSINESS CENTRE - 82 Ave & 128 St

Cuisine in y. unning Langle R successfull y or f #705 $465,000, #706 $335,000 the veLast ears PIZZA y�ixcellent with yedail sales. & CURRY RESTAURANT FOR SALEW Well Burger Franchise located on in busy Fraser Highway Close o ys t Da Inn, estern The & Best Twoestablished Vera's adjoining of�ices a in new Established & turn key & Curry restaurant for sale.t Prime location and Cloverdale.

Westward Inn Pizza o also eyhound the closeGr maintained key operationor ready for you boug acrossWellom fr establishment SMH. full turn ht Can be station, taxi opkey operation. st bus Full kitchen y standin placeand mantake out and to beleased ogether tContactor f realtor otal foramore details. space t : $339,000 of complete turn and complete your own boss! listing Price apartments near y. cellent b Ex location & ey ation. turn oper Thisk is an 1600 . sqft ate. or separ delivery service.Reasonable lease and ample parking space.

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BUSINESS

COLLECTION / CREDIT COMPANY FOR SALE- ONE IN A MILLION OPPORTUNITY!

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2010

Columbia;cott this Streasure a business 32 rooms 8318 oadof R eringconsists is ofmedical off and with the potential to expand up toan50 rooms. Its also includes other ofessionals pr opportunity o t purchase emium pr of�ice and a Liquor space ey, Sur a 110 seat pub, fully licensed resaturant store in BC. Set ed t Ideal y forallBCcomplet b or run f 2016, this with lot sizeoclose to 45,000be sqft.

PNP your the and etedreams! art concr st ATTENTION PITA PIT FRANCHISE own state business and achieveif eel your entrepreneurial building erAskingoff ae etail mixtur of and r Magni�icent luxury estate situate don 8.5 acres withWell overestablished 8100 sq. ftPita of living Contact for morewill details. $2,599,000 Pit space. Home includes 6 TRUCKERS! A very rare opportunity to own a beautiful Parisian feel Salon/Café in bdrms, 8 washrooms, a separate guest house and fruit stand. 5 acres has blueberry plants as well. This of�ice space o ofessionals t pr lookingor f a Spacious 2 bedroom and 2 bath condo with over 1300 sq. ft. of living space with a beautiful overlooking view of the inside Franchise in rapid growing Historic Abbotsford. Well established, with a loyal client following this Attention Truckers! for stunning home possessesPermitted every luxuryuse possible with high ceilings, crown molding, stainless steel courtyard and pond! Well maintained property with laminateestablishment floors, crown This open home or ftheir business. beautiful ersmoulding offy and neutral all paint. brunch, da floor ea.

Lunch long erm and t AfternoonAPPAREL T areagrand of Burnaby! appliances,Granite counter tops, open �loor plan, largeBrentwood gym room, patio, sundecks, built in vacuum, LADIES & BOUTIQUE FORSpace SALE Transportation Industry and more.wok IL zoned plan includes a large living room with gasInf/paddition, which open upbeautiful ton the spacious eating area.

Extra large kitchen with lots offor this café offers so much more!

Reservations top of the line security system, separate kitchen and is perfect ed. limit oday Call orthose with et fa flair mor details.

R a much re o pmore! p o r t uThis n i t gorgeous y to home is situated in the The turn key operation for for fashion and wanting to run their own business!

Showers, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Special occasions and even Private middle of serene farmland yet only two minutes away from Aldergrove Town centre and with quick access cabinets and counter space. Large laundry room, in floor radiant heat, extra shelving in closets, 2 parking stalls and storage available. Two side by side lots that are stall.Rarea well established Wedding ceremonies. Wait...there's more! This beautiful treasure of a Located in the uptown District of New West in the busy commercial area.Take advantage of 3 businesses in land to Hwy #1. The second house is rented as well as fruitpurchase opportunity to advantage of this stunning locker. Great location with easy access tobusiness shopping, offers transit gorgeous & Highwayselect 91 & 99.

Please call listing realtor for more info. apparel, furnishings, jewelry, linens, gifts, franchise surrounded by highrises, residences, new home!

Call today for a personal viewing. one: 1. One year established Ladies Apparel & accessories Boutique 2. Complete professional alteration to be sold together. House is since Asking $329,900 vintage treasures and home décor. A beautiful, breathtaking turnkey operation this is a chance to own a niche business created and business with full workshop in the same premises but segregated from the boutique. 3. Full website with two demolished. Commercial Land only. Please developments, commercial businesses and more. This established with love and a business owners delight don't miss this location does school hot lunches and a large amount of ATGRE INVES TMENT OPP PRIME OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE PleaseINDIANoach RESTAURANT SALE presence and first page SEO for alterations andORTUNITY! five star reviews. Owner selling due contact for more details. Asking $649,000 opportunity! do staff, not FOR ealtor contact orappry f online listing anstores, social media r catering ordering as well! Do not approach staff please info required. Asking $75,000 4 es, acr el Hot velopment and de Prime office space on street level available for lease. Excellent location prime area Indian cuisine to health issues this is the perfect opportunity to take this turn key business to the next level with your ideas! each. contact listing realtor for more details. Asking $209,000 in Asking $109,900 the egina, City of R details onvailable this uniqueabusiness.

Perfect for a variety of uses including daycare, dine in and take out. Low lease high traffic area Price is excluding inventory. Please contact for moresite Saskatchewan.

Prime location, not martial arts or Church use. Central location with Contract for more details. Asking $109,000 NEW LEASING OPPORTUNITY Established custom steel abrication and business. aluminum eat Gr f opportunity our to own run y GROCERY STORE FOR SALE AREAmissed! to IN DOWNTOWN be or e Contact mor f The Mann Corporate Centre is comprised of 23,000 square feet of 'A' Class office/retail space great exposure to Scott Rd.that Contact for more details. welding and repair, custom and stock trailers, business with services include: aluminum

ONE IN

E-mail: ads@the

MASTER AWARD

2006-2007 2004-2005 2008-2009 2004-2005 2013-2014

2011, 2012 2006-2007 2011, 2012

Sutton Group - West Coast Realty PH:604-572-3005 FAX: 778-574-4174 #106 7565 132 St., Surrey. BC. PH:604-572-3005 FAX: 778-574-4174

Saturday - April 2, 2016

he $240-million Credit Suisse/ Mr. Shokri and others say they expect SwissReal tower in the heart of many of the new towers to start signing tenant downtown Vancouver will be leases as they get closer to completion. That completed in less than a year, but so far, is partly because companies in Vancouver, only one tenant has signed up to move in. which do want to be in new, energy-efficient The tenant has committed for a 10th of buildings, tend to operate on short timelines. the 370,000 square feet – leaving a state of As well, he said, prices in the new emptiness that is unusual for an office sky- buildings will likely come 4 i Saturday, July 25, 2015down in the scraper in this city. Even so, a huge shift in business tenancy is expected as the region experiences something it has not seen before: an office-tower building boom much of which is speculative construction rather than for specific committed tenants.

“This is kind of uncharted territory for Vancouver,” said Mehdi Shokri, a principal with the capital markets team at Avison Young.

“But I don’t see a big disaster occurring.”

The Credit Suisse tower is only the most visible and furthest along of a MASTER second wave PLATINUM of new office towers planned for VancouAWARD AWARD ver and some key suburbs. A first cluster of towers – some two million square feet – was built downtown in the past three years.

Another 11 office developments are proposed within blocks of Credit Suisse’s Exchange tower at Howe and West Pender streets, even while the office-vacancy rate in the region continues to inch up as a result of the first wave of building.

But commercial brokers say the city is not about to be populated by ghost towers.

DIAMOND AWARD

WINNER OF FVREB’s TOP ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

-

Vancouver’s skyline to rise amid an office-tower building

INVESTOR OPPORTUNITY

Investment Opportunity in Hope. 7200 Sq. ft large Lot Fully renovated home close to the Downtown core. 2 bed, 2 bath 850 sq.ft home to use as a rental property. Asking $349,000

BEAUTIFUL TURNSHOP KEY FOR A SPALON / OR FSALES AUTO BODY SALE

EDbe your own boss today! easy to operate Candy business! This established Established auto body shopDfor UCsale franchise is located in Ocean Park Shopping Center RE equipped Auto Care Center which offers complete car & Wellgrowing established and well near major anchor Safeway. This rapidly franchise currently has 22 locations within and truckBC inspection, service and repair. The perfect opportunity to run your own Alberta. With unique product Imported from with the a well recognized and established automotive center. Contact realtor business US and UK this franchise is completely turn –key for more details. Asking $109,000 and full training provided. This easy to run business is perfect for a couple and for those wanting to try their hand at being an entrepreneur.

Asking $79,900

Located in a busy commercial plaza in the heart of Surrey. Lots of traf�ic to REDand UCEclose public transportation, restaurants, D of�ice and retail shops. Established recently the spa and salon offers modern décor up to date equipment/furnishings. Excellent turn key operation. Asking $60,000

29/07

Office for sale! Great Investment

#1 1016 Sq Ft Excellent exposure, top floor office space within the busy Khalsa Business Center complex. Full area designated for classroom space and additional office space. Take advantage of tons of visual exposure from 128th st. High traffic complex great investment opportunity. $325,000 #2. 1920 sq ft of second floor office space. Includes 10 private offices, boardroom, reception area, kitchenette.

Excellent exposure, top floor office space within the busy Khalsa Business Center complex. Take advantage of tons of visual exposure from 128th st. High traffic complex great investment opportunity. $550,000

Just Listed.... 14841 Delwood Place Surrey Dear Valued Clients, Just Listed! 14841 Delwood Place Surrey. LUC 9095 SQ.FT. lot in quiet cul-de-sac Green Timber Neighborhood. Close to schools, shopping, transportation and rec centre. This updated spacious home offers a new roof, new windows, and new laminate floor with west facing backyard and is a great investment opportunity. List price $849,000.00 This updated spacious home offers a new roof, new windows and new laminate floor with a large west facing backyard, storage in the back and room for RV parking. Ideal investment to live in or build your dream home. If you have friends or family you think may be interested kindly share this email with them. Please contact me for the detailed informational brochure with more pictures on this property.

27/01