The Asian Star March 24 2018

www.theasianstar.com Vol 17 - Issue 8

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Passion and determination is what you will find at Gill & Gill

By Umendra Singh

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assion and determination are two of the most important characteristics in any law professional. And you will find these two characteristics in the lawyers at Gill & Gill Law in Surrey. Passion for fairness, justice and making sure that

Rajpreet Gill

Anupum Gill

the right thing is done. That is what you will get from lawyers Anupum K. Gill and Rajpreet S. Gill of Gill & Gill Law, Barristers and Solicitors, working out of their office in the Little India complex (#203 - 8078 - 128 Street, Surrey) at the corner of 128 Street and 80th Avenue.

Both Anupum and Rajpreet have come to Metro Vancouver after providing professional law services for a number of years in Edmonton, where they are well regarded for their passion, determination and tenacity.

They graduated from American law schools - Anupum from Nova SoutheasternUniversity in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Rajpreet from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio.

Continued on page 8

First of three South Asians wanted for beating autistic man arrested The first of the trio of men who allegedly beat up an autistic man in the bus depot at Mississauga’s Square One has been arrested. Parmvir Singh Chahil, 21, was located in Windsor on Friday. With the help of local police, Ronjot Singh Dhami, he was taken into custody

by Peel Regional Police, who had put out a

Canada-wide warrant for his arrest following the March 13 incident. Video released by police of the vicious assault on a 20-yearParmvir Singh old man, who Chahil, 21 was repeatedly Continued on page 6

Poll suggests Canadians disapprove of Trudeau’s trip to India A majority of Canadians say Justin Trudeau’s recent trip to India was not a success, a new poll shows, as the Opposition Conservatives call on the Prime Minister to apologize for the diplomatic debacle in the House of Commons.

A new Nanos / Globe and Mail survey found that more than threequarters of Canadians view Mr. Trudeau’s

trip to India last month as not a success or somewhat not a success, with only 12 per cent of respondents saying it was a success or somewhat a success.

Mr. Trudeau’s February trip, which lasted eight days and included his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Continued on page 7

Two South Asian brothers wanted in violent kidnapping

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olice are searching for two brothers from Surrey who are wanted for a targeted kidnapping where the victim was held captive and violently assaulted.

According to Surrey RCMP, Pavandeep Uppal is a 22-year-old South Asian man, about 6-foot-2 and 146 pounds. He has

black hair and brown eyes. Police have provided a photo of Pavandeep to the public.

Jasondeep Uppal is a 19-year-old South Asian, about 6-foot-3 and 155 pounds.

He also has black hair and brown eyes.

The brothers are wanted in a March 6 incident where the victim was confined, a s s a u l t e d Continued on page 6

Man implicated in Jassi Sidhu killing mistakenly granted Canadian residency

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arshan Singh Sidhu, one of seven people in India originally implicated in the alleged “honour” killing of a B.C. woman in that country in 2000, was granted a permanent resident visa to Canada by mistake in 2008 after he lied about his criminal record.

The error was revealed in a recent Federal Court decision concerning whether Sidhu’s son, who was granted a visa at the same time, should be allowed to remain in Canada despite the misrepresentations of his father, who has since returned to India.

It is one of Continued on page 6

Tel:604-591-5423

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Local

Saturday, March 24, 2018

South Asian dangerous offender twice deported to Canada from USA

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man declared a dangerous offender after being found guilty of sex crimes against children in Surrey had twice been deported to Canada from USA where he had been in jail on other charges. Jatin Patel, now 44, killed a transexual prostitute the day after he arrived in Canada, on his second deportation, in 2003. Justice Kenneth Ball sentenced him on March 7 to an indeterminate prison term, meaning his sentence has no expiry date, following an eightday trial after which a jury in BC Supreme Court in New Westminster found Jatin Patel guilty of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexually touching a child under age 16, for crimes committed in Surrey in January and March of 2015. “Mr. Patel exhibited deceitful and manipulative conduct in relation to the young girls, as well as his supervisors,” Ball noted at the sentencing.

There is a publication ban on information that could identity the victim, in this case a 13-year-old girl whom he’d met on Facebook.

Patel met her and her friend, another 13-year-old girl, at Surrey’s Linda Vista motel, where he supplied them with crystal methamphetamine and tried to have sex with the victim before she masturbated him.

The court heard the victim was molested a second time after Patel snuck her and her friend into his room at a recovery house on 140th Street in Surrey, where they also smoked crystal meth.

Patel was born in Toronto in 1974 and lived in Canada for a few years after his family moved to Statesboro, Georgia to start a business buying, fixing, selling and running motels. When he was 10, his dad was shot dead by an employee during a fight over money. Patel first ran into trouble with the law for forging signatures on cheques from his mom and motel guests, and was incarcerated in Grade 12. Two-and-a-half years into a five-year sentence he tried to escape from jail and was sentenced to five more years. After serving another two-and-a half-years he was deported to Canada but lied his way back into the U.S. After being found out he was charged under U.S. immigration laws and sentenced to five years in prison in that country. Patel was deported to Canada, for the second time, on May 27, 2003. He had been in jail in the U.S., was released from Vancouver Airport and booked into a Travelodge motel in North Vancouver. He hired a prostitute, discovered she was transexual and in a fit of anger killed her by breaking her esophagus. “He then placed her naked body in a closet in his room, hidden there by linen and clothing,” Ball noted.

Patel then met a woman in the hotel lobby, gave her $100 to buy drugs and they went up to his room for sex, with the victim’s body still in the room.

Patel later wrapped the victim’s body in plastic garbage bags and mattress inside a shopping cart and left it behind a store near the hotel. ID’d by the logo on the motel mattress, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nine years in prison. In November 2011

he got another year in jail and three years probation for attempted robbery while on bail and at a halfway house. He was subsequently convicted of breaching court orders three times and in 2015 was convicted of sexually touching a 13-year-old Surrey girl while she was shopping with her mom in a Surrey grocery store. The Judge noted Patel has “filtered through” 31 different treatment centres or programs for drug abuse. Ball reminded him, after declaring him a dangerous offender, that “an indeterminate sentence is not a perpetual sentence” and that he will be eligible for periodic reviews of his parole eligibility.

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Woman charged after 6 people cross into USA from Canada

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North Carolina woman is facing charge as she was transporting people into USA who didn’t have permission to be in the country, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Vermont.

The complaint said that just after 2 a.m. Sunday, the Border Patrol received a report that six people were seen walking into the United States on a remote Vermont road in the town of Highgate that dead-ends near the Canadian border.

A short time later, agents spotted what turned out to be a rented SUV later determined to be driven by Carmen Melari Ferrufino Perdomo, 31, of Charlotte, North Carolina, a U.S. citizen

originally from Honduras. It’s unclear if she has an attorney. In the car were six Mexican citizens between the ages of 21 and 54 who told investigators they had crossed into the United States that night. None of the Mexican citizens, who were later arrested as material witnesses in the case, had criminal or immigration records.

The complaint says Ferrufino flew from New York to Burlington on Saturday where she rented the car in which she was apprehended.

Records said she had planned to return the vehicle later Sunday in New York.

In recent months the Border Patrol has seen multiple smuggling events in the area.

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OPINION

By Lee Harding, Research Associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Saturday, March 24, 2018

When property prices are a crime

Everyone knew that Vancouver housing prices were criminal, they just didn’t know by how much.

By now, many citizens are aware that offshore money, mostly from China, has been laundered through casinos and invested in properties that have often been flipped through shady realtors and unlicensed brokers.

The new government in British Columbia talked a good talk about dealing with the problem, made a few moves and promised more.

Taxpayers, however, should have more skepticism than hope.

Like most multimillion-dollar criminal schemes, this one takes some explaining.

The story starts in China, where citizens are barred from taking more than $50,000 out of the country. British Columbia disbanded its integrated illegal gaming enforcement team in 2009, making its casinos an easier place to launder cash. Property was a great

investment and realtors with shady conduct would probably never get caught. After all, by 2015, the Financial Transactions and Reports and Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Canada’s anti-money laundering agency, had only fined seven realtors in its history.

Asian gamblers, mostly Chinese, became the high rollers in B.C. casinos. Government reports reveal that the top 20 gamblers traded more than $100,000 of cash for chips at every gambling session. A casino would be stupid to question its best customers, and the British Columbia Lottery Corp. did little more than report suspicious transactions to FINTRAC. By fiscal 2014-15, suspect transactions had risen to 1,737, accounting for a whopping $176 million, or 10 per cent of the government’s gaming revenues.

By 2015, the media reported the presence of Chinese police in Vancouver to investigate money laundering involving real estate.

FINTRAC finally investigated and announced in March 2016 that 55 of the 80 Vancouver real estate firms that were examined had

“significant deficiencies” when reporting the identities and money sources of buyers.

The province cracked down by curtailing large cash transactions and introducing a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax in the Greater Vancouver area. The short-term effect was new tax dollars for the government, fewer house sales, and a sudden spike in farmland prices and purchases, since they were outside the new tax.

The long-term effect, however, was minimal.

Big players in casinos used huge bank drafts instead and real estate buyers used shell companies to obscure the identities of buyers. Because the foreign buyer tax did not apply until a name appeared on the land title, pre-sale contracts flipped properties like hot potatoes many times before they were even built.

The new NDP government assigned lawyer Peter German to review this situation. But so far his recommendations aren’t earth-shaking.

Casinos need more investigators and more stringent reporting of the identity and source of funds for large cash transactions. His full report is due by the end of the month and must offer more substantial recommendations.

Computerized big data analysis has the potential to red-flag suspicious transactions but this won’t be easy. Information is separated in provincial and federal agencies. British Columbia wants to automate the sharing of house purchase information with the Canada Revenue Agency but will that happen?

BCLC employees can’t even properly use their $7-million software to identify money laundering, let alone share information with other government agencies.

For now, the government relies on an old standby: affordable housing paid for by new and higher taxes. It balked at applying the foreign buyer tax to pre-sale contracts, so property flipping won’t slow down and it certainly won’t stop.

www.theasianstar.com # 202 - 8388, 128 St., Surrey, BC V3W 4G2 Ph: 604-591-5423 Fax: 604-591-8615 E-mail: editor@theasianstar.com Editor: Umendra Singh Associate Editor: Chhavi Disawar Marketing and Sales: Ravinder S. Cheema........604-715-3847 Shamir Doshi....................604-649-7827 Harminder Kaur...............778-708-0481 Parminder Dhillon..........778-859-9234 Layout: Avee J Waseer Pre-Press: Iftikhar Ahmed Contributing writers: Jag Dhatt, Akash Sablok, Kamila Singh, Jay Bains

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

SIMPSON, THOMAS & ASSOCIATES

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Saturday, March 24, 2018 From page 1

First of three South Asians wanted for beating autistic man arrested

punched and kicked while sitting on some stairs, outraged people around the world. The three men were originally unidentified but through a tip, police were able to determine they were originally from British Columbia. Once that was known, many more tips came in and two of the three suspects were identified.

Ronjot Singh Dhami, 25, known to police out West, was the first warrant issued and he remains on the loose. His lawyer has indicated he will turn himself

in on Monday. his mother and Ronjot Singh Dhami, 25, brother. Hardip is wanted on a Canada-wide Padda, 44, and warrant, suspected of being one Harmanvir of three men caught on video Chahil, 18, of attacking a helpless man with Windsor are autism at a Mississauga bus charged with station on March 13, 2018. accessory after Police are not waiting for Ronjot Singh Dhami Parmvir Singh the fact. They Chahil this. They have been actively were released on a pursuing leads to find all three men. promise to appear in Windsor court on May They found Chahil and he did not turn 2. himself in. In fact, police in the city he was Chahil is charged with aggravated assault. hiding out have also taken into custody

He was transported to Peel police’s 12 Division Friday morning, interviewed and brought to the Brampton courthouse for a first appearance Friday afternoon.

Police were also working on a plan to update the victim, who is said to be very upset over having his nose broken and body pummeled for no reason.

In the meantime, the search for the other two is underway. Police say the third, unidentified suspect, may go by the first name of Jason.

Man implicated in Jassi Sidhu killing mistakenly granted Canadian residency From page 1 taken place in Canada and India since the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, 25. The woman from Maple Ridge, B.C., and her rickshaw-driver husband, Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu, were attacked by a mob of men in the Punjab region of India in June 2000. Her body was found the next day, her throat slit.

Police in India alleged that Jaswinder’s mother, Malkit Kaur Sidhu, and her uncle, Surjit Singh Badesha, ordered the killing from B.C. after Jaswinder did not marry a wealthier man chosen for her. Seven people in India, including Darshan Singh Sidhu, were originally convicted of orchestrating the killing on behalf of Jaswinder’s family in Canada.

In January 2007, while serving a life sentence, Sidhu applied to become a permanent resident in Canada along with his wife and adult son. (He already had a daughter in Canada at the time who was their sponsor). When asked on his application form if he had been the subject of any criminal proceedings, Sidhu answered “no.”

In 2008, Sidhu, who was in the midst of appealing his conviction, was granted temporary parole. In May of that year, Sidhu, his wife and 25-year-old son — Canadian visas in hand — travelled to Vancouver and obtained permanent residence status

On next page

Two South Asian brothers wanted in violent kidnapping From page 1 and then released. The victim’s injuries were not life threatening and police said the choice of victim was not random.

Surrey RCMP say the Uppals are wanted on charges of forcible confinement, kidnapping, assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon. Jasondeep Uppal is also charged with one count of robbery.

Anyone who has information about the brothers or their whereabouts are asked to contact investigators at 604599-0502 and cite file #2018-31954.

Those who recognized the brothers are asked not to approach them and to call police immediately at 911.

Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit solvecrime.ca.

LOCAL

Saturday, March 24, 2018 From page 1

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Poll suggests Canadians disapprove of Trudeau’s trip to India

their three children, came under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that Jaspal Atwal, who was convicted of attempting to murder a visiting Indian politician on Vancouver Island in 1986, had been invited to official events with the Prime Minister.

B.C. Liberal MP Randeep Sarai took responsibility for inviting Mr. Atwal, but Mr. Trudeau’s national security adviser, Daniel Jean, later told reporters in a background briefing that factions within the Indian government had sought to sabotage Mr. Trudeau’s trip.

The Indian government flatly denied the conspiracy allegation, as did Mr. Atwal.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole on Monday called on Mr. Trudeau to apologize, as parliamentarians returned to the Commons following a two-week break.

“When will the Prime Minister rise in this House and apologize to India for this diplomatic incident?” Mr. O’Toole said.

He later asked, “When will the Prime Minister allow the national security adviser to brief the House in the same way they briefed the press gallery?”

Mr. Trudeau didn’t respond to either question, but Public Safety Minister Ralph

Jassi Sidhu killing From page 6 after undergoing interviews at the airport.

Sidhu and his wife returned to India about six weeks later so Singh could resume serving his sentence. They have not been back to Canada.

However, their son, Barinder Singh Sidhu, remained in the country and started a family.

In early 2014, during a short visit to India, the son didn’t realize his permanent resident card had expired and so he had to go to a Canadian consulate to get a travel visa to return to Canada.

That’s when immigration authorities realized they had previously granted permanent resident visas to a convicted murderer and his family.

They let Barinder Singh Sidhu return to Canada but, in 2015, an immigration officer filed a report alleging he should no longer be allowed to remain on the grounds he had withheld information about his father’s conviction.

But the following year, the immigration division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) determined he could stay as he was not responsible for his father’s misrepresentations.

The IRB’s immigration appeal division upheld that decision in 2017, prompting the government to apply for a judicial review with the Federal Court of Canada.

The government argued that even though the son was never asked on his permanent resident application or during his interview at the Vancouver airport about his father’s criminal record, he was still obligated to disclose that information under a “duty of candour” — and thus “indirectly” misrepresented or withheld material facts.

In a decision released last week, Judge Richard Mosley concluded the son was not bound by a duty to disclose his father’s criminal history. However, Mosley still found that the son was inadmissible to Canada because of the misrepresentations of his father, who had acted as the principal applicant for the family.

“There is no dispute between the parties that, but for Darshan Singh Sidhu’s misrepresentation, (his son) would not have been admitted to Canada as an accompanying family member,” Mosley said. “The visas would have been denied and the family denied landing at the port of entry. His permanent resident status is therefore predicated upon a lie, albeit a lie by his father when they applied for and gained entry to Canada.”

Unlike his parents, my client has actually lived here since 2008 The judge sent the case back to the IRB’s immigration appeal division for reconsideration.

Goodale told the Commons that Canada’s national security agencies are impartial and non-partisan.

“The invitation [to Mr. Atwal] should never have been issued. When it was discovered, it was rescinded, as it should have been,” Mr. Goodale said.

According to the survey, 59 per cent of respondents said the Prime Minister’s trip was not a success, and another 18 per cent said it was somewhat not a success.

Some 10 per cent of respondents said it was somewhat of a success, while only 2 per cent said it was a success. Another 11 per cent were unsure.

The Nanos poll of 1,000 Canadians was conducted March 7-12. It is considered to be accurate within 3.1 percentage

points, 19 times out of 20.

Pollster Nik Nanos said the fact that only 12 per cent of respondents gave Mr. Trudeau’s trip a positive rating shows that it did not work out well for the Liberals.

“It’s going to be critically important that Justin Trudeau, on any of his future foreign trips, that he makes sure that they stay firmly focused on what they’re trying to achieve and to communicate that to Canadians, and not to have any distractions,” Mr. Nanos said.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also found himself on the defensive last week over revelations that he attended rallies featuring Sikh extremists who extolled political violence

to create a homeland separate from India.

Mr. Singh, who maintained that he’s always opposed acts of terrorism or violence, remained unapologetic for attending the events outside the country in 2015 and 2016, and said he has no view as a Canadian federal politician on the issue of Sikh independence.

NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, the party’s Quebec lieutenant, told reporters on Monday that he stands by his leader, whom he called a strong human-rights advocate. He also noted Mr. Singh attended the events when he was an MPP in the Ontario Legislature.

Mr. Boulerice said he’s confident Mr. Singh will “do the right thing for the future.”

“Probably the right thing to do is to avoid any circumstances where you can in some way be related to those people who are saying that violence is a good idea,” Mr. Boulerice said.

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PERSONS OF THE WEEK

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Passion and determination is what you will find at Gill & Gill

From page 1

Their law studies may have been at schools in different parts of the United States but there has always been a

common thread running in them - that common thread is to help and serve the underprivileged, the less fortunate, those with little money and those facing the huge obstacles in navigating the halls of justice.

Anupum grew up in Metro Vancouver and Rajpreet in Edmonton. She graduated from UBC with an undergraduate degree and, in her spare time, helped women fleeing abuse and seeking safety and single mothers. “I realized my calling then - to help those who are underprivileged, to be supportive of those who have no support and no one to rely on,” Anupum said. And getting a law degree to practice law was the best way to help those she wanted to help. So off to law school in South Florida she went.

Rajpreet grew up in Edmonton with basically the same ideals. He wanted to be a resource and helping hand to those who felt overwhelmed by the law and justice system. “I always wanted fairness and justice for everyone,” he said. People are overwhelmed when dealing with police or the court system and he wanted to be there as a consummate legal professional to guide them.

So he spent three years studying law at Case Western, which specializes in international law and justice. He returned to

Rajpreet Gill - Criminal Law & Immigration Law

Edmonton to practice criminal law. Eventually, the two met at a wedding of a mutual friend and among other things liked each other’s passion for helping the underprivileged through the legal processes.

Their families were pleased too and Anupum and Rajpreet married and settled in Rajpreet’s hometown of Edmonton. Anupum joined the law firmRajpreet was working with in Edmonton and started the practice area of family law at that firm.

The two then decided to move to Anupum’s home town and start their own law firm in Surrey - and so Gill & GillLaw, Barristers and Solicitors, was born. “We are providing full legal services here,” Rajpreet said. He focuses on criminal law and immigration law while Anupum focuses onfamily law, personal injury (ICBC) and real estate.“ “We not only settle cases - we actually go to court. I have a lot of experience appearing in courts on behalf of our clients,” Rajpreet said.

“It is better to get proper advice before you start any legal case Rajpreet said. And the best place to get legal advice and support in Metro Vancouver is from Anupum and Rajpreet of Gill & Gill Law , Barristers & Solicitors.

You can find out for yourself by calling them at 604-757-GILL (4455).

Anupum Gill - Family Law, Real Estate & Personal Injury

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Inflation heats up to 2.2% as energy and food prices go up The cost of living went up at a 2.2 per cent annual pace in February, its highest level since 2014, mainly because of a sharp increase in the price of energy. Statistics Canada reported Friday that the inflation rate rose to a 2.2. per cent annual rate in February, from 1.7 the month before. Energy costs have increased by 5.3 per cent in the year up to February, and gasoline prices specifically have jumped by 12.6 per cent over the past year. Higher prices for food at restaurants were also a big factor, up four per cent in the past year. Mortgage interest costs increased by 2.3 per cent in the past 12 months, a marked changed from recent years when borrowers could always bank on getting a better, even lower rate every time their mortgages were up for renewal.

“That’s a big swing from recent years, when falling borrowing costs were regularly holding down inflation,” Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter said. “Clearly, the pendulum has swung on that one.” On the flip side, the price for electricity (-4.7 per cent), traveller accommodation (-4.8 per cent), digital computing equipment and devices (-5.9 per

cent), video equipment (-10.1 per cent) and furniture (-1.8 per cent) have all gotten cheaper, on average, in the past 12 months. Across the country, the inflation rate heated up in every province in February, but nowhere more than in Atlantic Canada.

“Growth was strongest in the Atlantic provinces, led by higher prices for food purchased from stores,” the data agency said in a release. Toronto-Dominion Bank economist James Marple noted that recent minimum wage hikes were likely a factor in the increase in restaurant meal prices, and as such they should be discounted as a factor in inflation from here on out. But overall, he thinks the Bank of Canada will be paying close attention to Friday’s inflation report.

“After several months below two per cent, inflation pressures have picked up and have moved on top of the Bank of Canada’s target,” Marple said. “Today’s data does create the risk that the Bank of Canada moves sooner, but with downside risks to the economic outlook still elevated, this summer remains most likely to see the next policy interest rate hike.”

Afghan woman shot in the face living good life in BC Shakila Zareen has a keepsake on the night table beside her bed in her sparse, clean apartment in a suburb of Vancouver.

It is a photograph of a young woman with olive skin and thick, black hair. She is wearing a bright yellow dress, long earrings, a matching necklace and ring.

She gazes into the camera with a serious, soulful stare.

This is what Zareen looked like before her husband shot her in the face in 2012 in Afghanistan. She survived.

Zareen was 17 years old when she said her brother-in-law forced her to marry a man many years older. She said the abuse started on her wedding night and continued for months.

“From right then and there, he began to beat me and rape me. This became my reality,” Zareen said through an interpreter.

When she was 17, Zareen was forced into a marriage to a much older man by her brother-in-law. She says she was, beaten, raped and eventually shot in the face. Eventually, she went to the police for help. She told them about the beatings. She also told them her husband and brotherin-law had links to the Taliban. “The police said to me, ‘It’s your husband and he really hasn’t done anything that awful to you. He hasn’t cut off your ear, he hasn’t cut off your mouth, he hasn’t cut off your

nose,’” she said.

“The bullet that hit me basically took half of my face off,” she said.

“It was gone — my nose, my mouth, my eye, my teeth, my jaw. “ According to a report from 2017 in The Guardian, her husband refused requests to talk about the incident. Zareen’s brother-in-law told the Guardian she had shot herself. Her husband spent 10 months in prison and was then released.

After that, the Indian government became involved and flew her, her mother and younger sister to Delhi. The government paid for Zareen to have a series of surgeries over the next three years.

Zareen moved to Delhi, India, with her mother, Sherman Jan Zareen, left, and Samira Zareen right, where she underwent a series of surgeries over three years. The three now live in the Vancouver area. (Tina Lovgreen/CBC) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) also certified the trio as refugees and asked the United States to resettle them.

In June of 2016, the U.S. granted them conditional approval. Zareen began to dream of a new life half a world away from Afghanistan and safe from her husband.

LOCAL

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LOCAL

Saturday, March 24, 2018

BC man who ran airborne drug-smuggling ring pleads guilty in US court A Canadian man who ran a helicopter-based drug-smuggling ring years before Washington state legalized marijuana pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge Thursday, after fighting his extradition to the U.S. for much of the past decade.

Colin Hugh Martin, formerly of Malakwa, B.C., entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Seattle. He faces five to 40 years in prison, though the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it would recommend no more than 10 years when he is sentenced in June. The 46-year-old father of six admitted he headed a drug ring that flew marijuana and MDMA, or ecstasy, south into Washington state and exchanged it for cocaine, which was then flown north

into Canada. One of his pilots, Sam Lindsay-Brown, took his own life after flying into a law-enforcement trap in 2009, when federal agents met him when he landed in a remote clearing in northeastern Washington state. Martin, 46, left school in eighth grade to go to work as a logger. In a 2009 interview, he told The Associated Press he became involved in the drug trade after he saw his best friend killed in a logging accident and the local salvage timber industry collapsed. He first came to the attention of American authorities in the late 1990s, when he was indicted in federal court in Spokane for a drug smuggling operation that relied on airplanes. Martin never responded to those charges and was never extradited,

Saudi man who punched female bartender in BC loses appeal and faces deportation A Saudi man who was convicted of assaulting a bartender has lost his appeal of his sentence and faces deportation.

In December, Nasser Eid Alsaad, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing bodily harm in relation to an October 2016 incident at a Prince George drinking establishment.

An intoxicated Alsaad ordered some drinks and when they came, he complained to the female bartender about the price of the drinks, telling her he was not going to pay for them.

The bartender tried to retrieve the drinks, but he threw one of them in her direction and when she came from behind the bar, and with the assistance of other employees, tried to eject him from the premises, he turned and punched her in the face. She suffered a swollen eye and a cut to her eyelid that required attention at the local hospital, where the eyelid was cemented together with medical glue.

In a victim-impact statement, she said that as a result of the assault she had gone from being an outgoing person to being cautious around others. The assault had affected her vision, her face was black-and-blue, and she couldn’t open her eyes for days afterwards, she said.

Court also heard details about Alsaad’s circumstances, including that he was a citizen of Saudi Arabia who had been living in Canada for seven years and had been granted

a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Northern B.C. in 2017.

The Provincial Court judge hearing the case imposed a suspended sentence and 18 months of probation. Alsaad appealed the sentence, arguing that the judge had failed to properly consider the adverse immigration consequences of his criminal conviction, noting that shortly after the sentence was imposed a deportation order was made against him. The offender argued that a more appropriate sentence would have been a conditional discharge.

But in his ruling on the appeal, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ronald Tindale said that the judge had clearly considered Alsaad’s immigration status in his decision.

“While I agree that the Provincial Court judge was not aware of the imminent nature of the deportation process, he was aware and considered that a conviction may result in the appellant’s removal from Canada,” Tindale said.

Tindale noted that Alsaad had filed an application for judicial review in the Federal Court of Canada regarding his deportation and cited case law that suggested that while Alsaad was on a path that can lead to mandatory deportation, it might not happen on compassionate or humanitarian grounds.

Several other grounds of appeal filed

by Alsaad were also rejected, with Tindale concluding that the sentence was not demonstrably unfit and that the appeal should be dismissed.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Gas prices break four-year record with $1.559/litre Vancouver hasn’t seen gas prices this high in… literally years. It’s nothing but bad news for drivers in Metro Vancouver as gas prices reached $1.559/litre late last night and early this morning. The price marginally breaks the alltime record of $1.557 dating back to June 22, 2014. Part of the reason is that the Olympic pipeline, between Oregon and Washington, is down for several days. Not only that but the Burnaby Refinery is also undergoing maintenance as well.

The worst part of it all? According to an industry expert, there doesn’t seem to be any

trace of a silver lining in this story. With gas hitting $1.559/litre in the first few days of Spring, all signs point to pump prices only creeping higher and higher as summer rolls around. Timing has a lot to do with the rising prices. When BC last reached its record high, it was in the peak of summer, when gas is typically higher due to families travelling. When you combine timing with a more expensive summer blend of gas – a mandate by the Government of Canada – it makes even higher prices a near certainty. April 1 also marks the increase of the carbon tax.

Tories start filibuster after Liberal MPs block attempt to get security advisor to answer questions on Trudeau’s India trip Conservatives are threatening to keep MPs in the House of Commons for 40 continuous hours in retaliation for the Liberals voting down their motion to have the prime minister’s national security adviser testify in front of a committee about Jaspal Atwal affair. MPs have already stayed up all night to vote continuously on more than 250 motions and could be forced to keep voting into the weekend. The voting started around dinner time on Thursday.

The House is ruling on fiscal estimates, so every vote is a vote of confidence, keeping Liberal MPs close to their seats. A loss of confidence could trigger an election. But that doesn’t mean they always have to be paying attention. Some MPs have brought in books, magazine and iPads to keep themselves awake.

One rookie Liberal MP was caught dancing to Lionel Richie’s All Night Long while Heritage Minister Melanie Joly and other cabinet colleagues performed YMCA. Parliament will sit ‘until they do the right thing’ Conservatives have maintained the disruption is warranted, given the government’s refusal to let the prime minister’s national security adviser, Daniel Jean, testify at the national security committee about the briefing he gave journalists during Trudeau’s India trip. “We need the same rights that journalists had, and if he doesn’t give it to us through this vote tonight, we are going to show that Parliament is going to sit until they do the right thing,” Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole said Thursday.

John Horgan offers tax break incentives to $40B Kitimat LNG project Premier John Horgan says the province is willing to offer a break on carbon tax as well as an exemption on provincial sales tax related to construction costs at a $40-billion liquefied natural gas export terminal under consideration for the northern community of Kitimat, B.C. The NDP leader laid out the incentives as part of what he said was a clear framework for the approval of any LNG projects under his government’s tenure. They include a fair return for the public, job creation, partnership with First Nations and a guarantee to protect the environment. “I don’t believe at all for a minute that this is going to be easy,” Horgan told a news conference in Victoria.

“This is going to be very, very difficult, but we’re committed to making sure it works.”

Horgan rejected a suggestion that his government was offering the same kind of incentives to LNG projects for which they criticized the previous Liberal administration.

Those sweeteners included a promise to compensate a major LNG project that was slated for Prince Rupert for any tax raises over a 25-year period after the plant starts shipping.

A consortium led by Malaysian energy giant Petronas cancelled the project last summer.

A final investment decision is now looming for the LNG Canada Kitimat project backed

by Royal Dutch Shell in partnership with Petrochina, KOGAS and Mitsubishi Corp.

Horgan said he wanted to be transparent on what the ground rules would be ahead of any deal. Hope endures for liquefied natural gas industry on West Coast as world demand continues “I’m standing before you today and speaking directly to the people of British Columbia and saying there may well be a final investment decision on an LNG facility in northern British Columbia, and should that happen, we will put in place a framework that

will allow them to be competitive,” he said.

‘We may get one’ “[The Liberals] got zero.

We may get one. I believe there’ll be a benefit to British Columbians.”

Horgan acknowledged that Green Leader Andrew Weaver does not agree with all the elements of the NDP’s framework.

Weaver has threatened to bring Horgan’s minority government down over its pursuit of LNG projects, but the premier said the two men had spoken at length about the plans. He left it to Weaver to state his position.

B.C. Green party leader Andrew Weaver B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver says he is concerned the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the LNG Canada project proposed for Kitimat will make it difficult for the province to meet its climate change targets.

“Andrew’s very passionate about combating climate change. It’s his reason for being in this legislature and he makes no apologies for that, nor should he,” he said. “What he has done is he’s agreed to work with us and other sectors of the economy to make sure that our climate action challenge plan is robust, realistic and can meet the challenges we all face to meet those objectives over time.” What about climate targets? At an afternoon news conference, Weaver said his party’s confidence in the NDP government is “predicated on government developing a climate plan to meet our targets.”

Weaver said his party’s target is a 40 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030. The NDP have said they share the same commitment, but Weaver pointed out that they have yet to produce a concrete plan for how to get there.

But the Green leader suggested he wasn’t ready to pull the plug on the so-called confidence and supply agreement he and Horgan signed in order to form government.

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40,000 smoke alarms that may not detect smoke recalled in Canada Health Canada has issued a recall for 40,000 Kidde smoke alarms. Two Kidde dual-sensor smoke alarm models, manufactured between September 2016 and October 2017, are included in the recall: PI2010CA and PI9010CA. A recall alert posted on Wednesday explains that the models have a yellow cap over one of the two smoke sensors, which means the product might not be able to detect smoke.

The company has not received any reports of incidents or injuries. The affected alarms were sold in Canada between November 2016 and January 2018. The company told Global News that it cannot specify which provinces are affected, and consumers should check their individual products. Another 450,000 products have been recalled in the United States. Kidde products are sold online and at stores such as Walmart and Home Depot. Another way

consumers can tell whether their alarm is under recall is by checking for a “pill” shape on the product’s surface. The recall alert explains that the product will have to be detached from the wall or ceiling and then inspected.

Consumers should check the brand, look for the model number, then check the design. “If a yellow cap can be seen in the opening, the unit is affected and must be replaced,” the recall alert reads. “Consumers should not attempt to take apart the alarm, open the casing, or otherwise remove the yellow cap themselves.” If there is no yellow cap visible, the alarm is safe and can be reinstalled. Those who do see a yellow cap should immediately contact Kidde to receive a free replacement — but not remove the original smoke alarm until a new product has been delivered.

BCIBN Directors with Premier Hon. John Horgan (Centre) and Prof. Andrew Petter, President & Vice Chancellor of Simon Fraser University (third from the left) at President Petter’s Gala Dinner.

BC man wanted on Canada-wide warrant for alleged stabbing A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a B.C. man accused of stabbing another man last weekend. Thomas Joseph Lloyd Brown, 25, was at a family gathering near Stautlo Avenue and Crown Street on Musqueam Reserve Land on Saturday. A police statement said Brown allegedly got in a fight with another man and stabbed him at about 10 p.m. PT. Brown is now wanted for aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. The statement described him as five feet nine inches tall, 201 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

He has several tattoos, including the initials

“RA” tattooed on his left arm, “WS” on his right arm, “TB” on his right hand, and “Life” tattooed on his left-hand fingers.

Brown has several tattoos, including “Life” tattooed on his left hand fingers, the initials “RA” tattooed on his left forearm, and “TB” on his right hand. (Vancouver Police Department) Police said anyone who sees Brown or knows where he may be should keep their distance and call 911. Those who wish to remain anonymous can phone Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477.

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Smoke-filled WestJet flight makes emergency landing at Nanaimo airport The Transportation Safety Board is investigating after a WestJet flight from Vancouver to Nanaimo, B.C. was evacuated on the tarmac after smoke filled the cabin moments before landing.

Flight 3161 declared an emergency as the Bombardier Q400 turboprop descended towards Nanaimo Airport on Tuesday afternoon. The safety agency said on Wednesday that it’s deploying a team of investigators to the airport to “gather information and assess the occurrence.”

Robin Thacker captured video of the crew searching for the source of the smoke and

instructing those on board to stay seated.

“It was getting worse and worse, and it was kind of like, we’re not over land, so that’s not good. And I don’t see any floats on this (plane),” he told CTV Vancouver on Tuesday.

Once the plane landed, a crew member can be heard screaming, “Julia, hold people back.”

An announcement then came over the plane’s speakers instructing passengers to, “Evacuate.

Evacuate. Evacuate.” Video showed passengers helping one another onto the tarmac through the plane’s door.

Attorney General Eby headed to Ottawa to talk money laundering issues Attorney General David Eby is hoping to raise awareness of the transnational money laundering issues plaguing B.C. and ask for federal support when he is in Ottawa next week. Eby is scheduled to speak before the House of Commons standing committee on finance, which is receiving input on amendments to the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act. “I think the main request that I’m going to be making to this committee is they think about life on the other side of the Rockies, in British Columbia,” Eby told reporters after delivering an address at the Surrey Board of Trade on Wednesday, “about the issues that we’re grappling with around

real estate and casinos and the seriousness of the impact that gang violence has when these gangs are able to launder money.” Eby said the federal government and agencies such as Fintrac — Canada’s financial intelligence unit — and the RCMP have “a huge role to play” in supporting B.C.’s efforts to fight money laundering. He said it’s also important for all political parties, not just the Liberals, to understand what’s happening in B.C. so there is broad support for local initiatives. “There are major, major agencies at the federal level that we hope to have support from,” said Eby. “There are good back channel discussions

Premier Horgan shares highest approval rating with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe It appears the honeymoon isn’t over yet for Canada’s two newest premiers.

Premier John Horgan and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe share Canada’s highest job performance approval rating among premiers, both tied at 52 per cent.

According to the latest Angus Reid Institute poll, Horgan’s approval rating has increased three points in the last quarter to reach 52 per cent, while Moe’s rating fell one point to match Horgan. Premier John Horgan has Canada’s highest approval rating among premiers. He shares the honour with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. This comes as part of an Angus Reid poll released on Wednesday. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball (Liberal) is in third place, after his rating increased seven points to reach 42 per cent. Manitoba’s

Brian Pallister (Progressive Conservative) is in fourth place, increasing three points to reach 37 per cent.

Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley rounded out the top five with an approval rating of 33 per cent, up one point from the last quarter. While Horgan and Notley have been tied up in a very public spat over pipelines and wine in recent months, it appears neither premier’s approval rating was affected, with Horgan increasing in approval and Notley’s approval remaining statistically unchanged.

The poll was conducted online between March 6 and 15 among a randomized, representative sample of 5,423 Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison, a probability sample of this size with this sample plan would have a margin of error

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Former Fraser Health region boss faces fraud investigation in New Zealand The former CEO of Fraser Health, who in 2014 resigned under threat of dismissal and took a similar job in New Zealand, will be investigated by that country’s serious fraud office over more than $120,608 ($112,427 Canadian) in “unjustified” travel and hotel expense claims.

The action against Dr. Nigel Murray, who worked in B.C. for seven years, was announced Wednesday by an inquiry in New Zealand. In a damning, 57-page report, Murray is found to have billed, and been reimbursed by, the Waikato District Health Board for numerous unauthorized, personal trips to places like Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal and Moncton. He often cited “professional development” as the purpose of the trips when filing expense claims. The report said Murray was hired in New Zealand without due diligence, as key leaders like the chair of the Fraser Health board were not contacted. If they

had been, according to the New Zealand report, recruiters would have learned about problems with Murray’s leadership style and that would have explained why, in May, 2014, he was being pushed out of Fraser Health and hunting for a new job. “If they had checked with his current employer in Canada, it would have raised a red flag. That did not mean Dr. Murray would not have been employed, but the Board should have the fullest information in making an appointment,” the inquiry report says. The report was released the same week that a forensic audit on Murray’s spending while at Fraser Health was made public. It revealed Murray’s profligate spending when he worked in B.C. starting in 2007. Unlike the situation in New Zealand, however, there is no suggestion Murray should repay anything here. High-profile Vancouver businessman Wynne Powell, who was brought in by then health minister Terry Lake to take over as

Teen sent to hospital, another arrested following argument at house party in Surrey Police are investigating after a teen girl was injured after an argument broke out at a Surrey house party on Monday evening.

The incident began after a party near 88th Avenue and King George Boulevard spilled out into the street, according to Surrey RCMP. The party had been attended by approximately 100 teenagers, many of whom where drinking alcohol. “Alcohol was a factor in this incident,” said Cpl. Elenore Sturko in a media release.

The argument then led to a physical confrontation between two 14-year-old girls.

One girl was injured and taken to hospital with minor injuries, while the other girl was

arrested at the scene and later released. She is expected back in court at a later date.

Police would not comment on early media reports that the incident resulted in the victim being stabbed in the chin.

“The cause of the victim’s injuries is still under investigation,” said Sturko.

Anyone with information about the party or the incident is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-5990502. Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222TIPS or solvecrime.ca.

Horgan promises changes to BC housing tax amid mounting frustration Premier John Horgan acknowledges a proposed housing tax aimed at out-ofprovince homeowners could have “unintended consequences,” and says his Finance Minister plans to address those issues soon.

The NDP government announced what it is describing as a speculation tax in last month’s budget. The new policy would add 2 per cent to property tax bills in B.C.’s six regions if the owners are located outside Canada or from another province. Municipalities including the City of Kelowna say they want out of the tax, complaining that it would be a burden to Canadians, including British Columbians, with vacation homes as well as hurt communities that rely on those part-time residents. “The unintended consequences have become apparent and Minister James will address those in the weeks ahead,” Mr. Horgan said at an unrelated event on Wednesday in Vancouver.

Mr. Horgan said his government acted to address concerns over speculation in the province’s housing market, which was creating issues around affordability. The Premier said

his office spoke this week to a representative of the City of Kelowna, . But he also suggested that the government’s housing measures have a lot of support. “I have to tell you that there are a whole bunch of people who are cheering us on, saying we need to stem the speculation, we need to bring the prices of houses into a place where people who live here can continue to stay here, rather than moving father afield,” he said. “It’s important that we remember where we were 12 months ago, rather than where we were 12 days ago,” he added, taking a shot at the previous BC Liberal government.

But Opposition Leader Andrew Wilkinson, the leader of the BC Liberals, said the NDP has blundered into a terrible situation wherein they are basically having to revise their budget, which introduced the tax, as days go by. “They didn’t think this through. They put together a half-baked tax package and now, when people raise the obvious concerns and objections, they are talking about changing things on the fly,” Mr. Wilkinson said in an interview.

ICBC won’t get revenue from intersection speed cameras Drivers who get caught speeding by B.C.’s new intersection cameras won’t have their fines go toward keeping car insurance rates low. Attorney General David Eby said Wednesday the revenue from speeding cameras will be shared with municipalities to fund road safety programs, and not kept by the Insurance Corp. of B.C. That’s despite a recommendation by an outside consultant that ICBC get the money and use it drive down premium increases.

“This red-light camera initiative is not a revenue-generation piece for ICBC. It’s not going to be creating money that will help close the financial gap at ICBC,” Eby said to reporters after making a speech at a Surrey Board of Trade meeting. “Where revenues from tickets go is to local government, after the costs of administration are deducted, and we’re hopeful to work with local government to use that money to improve road safety further, to invest that money in infrastructure in the city to reduce collisions because that will create a virtuous circle for everybody.” B.C. currently collects revenue from tickets for speeding and other traffic offences, and after deducting costs, distributes it to municipalities.

Eby’s comments appear to contradict public statements by Solicitor General Mike Farnworth earlier this week.

Saturday, March 24, 2018 The arrival of Syrian Canadian attitudes toward immigrants refugees, as well as thousands impact. Compared with last year’s survey, of asylum seekers over the United States more respondents believed that immigrants border, along with the global growth in antiadopt Canadian values. Most of the national immigrant sentiment have barely moved results extended a steady 30-year trend the positive attitude most Canadians have toward greater acceptance of immigrants. toward new arrivals, a study has found.

“I think some people felt retrenchment Six-in-10 Canadians chose “disagree” was happening, or at least feared it was when asked the question “Are immigration happening, but since last year the change is levels too high?” in the February survey pretty small and is still more positive than by the Environics Institute for Survey negative,” said Keith Neuman, executive Research – a finding that has remained director of the Environics Institute that relatively stable for a decade. Eight-in-10 conducted the survey of 2,000 Canadians. said immigrants have a positive economic

BC eyes share of increased revenue from new red-light cameras The additional revenue is expected to amount to tens of millions of dollars annually, and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has his own ideas about where that money should go. Mr. Farnworth suggested the province does not have to hand the new revenue over to municipalities automatically. “Right now, we have an agreement in place.

But if there is a change to the program, obviously, we would want to work with them on a change to the way the revenue from that program operates as well.” The NDP government is seeking to forge a good working relationship with municipal governments, and Mr. Farnworth was careful not to signal that any decision has been made without the mayors at the table.

But at the same time, the province is hungry for new revenue. It has extended itself with costly new programs for daycare, housing and more, while facing cash-flow challenges at its major Crown corporations.

The province currently has 140 red-light

cameras at intersections with high crash rates.

Some of those cameras will be upgraded – at the province’s expense − to identify and ticket speeding vehicles in addition to those that run red lights. Speed is the top contributing factor in fatal crashes across B.C., and doubling up the use of the cameras is billed as a way to reduce ICBC costs by preventing some of them. The number of vehicle accidents in B.C. is climbing rapidly, and insurance rates have not kept pace with the cost of settling claims.

In the provincial budget tabled in February, the government warned the financial pressure on its auto insurer is growing. “All of the measures ICBC and Government have implemented are not enough to close the everincreasing gap between the premiums being collected and the cost of the claims being paid out,” budget document warns. “Additional changes are needed.”

BC to replace ‘one-size-fits-all’ funding formula for school districts: Premier Horgan British Columbia will replace a “one-sizefits-all” funding formula for school districts to account for differences in urban and rural communities, Premier John Horgan says.

He told members of the B.C. Teachers Federation at their annual general meeting Tuesday that the previous Liberal government introduced a funding formula in 2002 without conducting broad consultations.

“We’ve put in place a team to address that and I’m confident that, with the input from the B.C. Teachers Federation and others, we’re going to have a funding formula that makes sense in every corner of British Columbia,” he told the teachers, who begin contract talks in about 10 months.

School districts currently receive funding based on the number of students, but the union is calling for a needs-based formula that would prevent cuts to programs and staffing levels when enrolment decreases.

The government will invest more money in public education up to 2021, Horgan said.

“I know you’re saying, ‘But what about the bargaining?’ That’s not in there, that’s somewhere else, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Since September, the province has increased funding to hire 3,700 full-time teachers, Horgan said, though he acknowledged many of the positions were filled by substitute teachers, leaving few teachers on call.

“That’s a problem you didn’t have 10 years ago. That’s a problem, let’s hope, you won’t have five years from now,” he said.

Union president Glen Hansman said members want a wage hike but he’s realistic that other public-sector workers across the province will also be heading to the bargaining

table at around the same time. Hansman said “mature conversations” will make a difference for the union that had a bitter relationship with

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also inched away from & refugees remain positive: study theCanadians polarization over immigration issues seen in Europe and in While immigration is not a matter of consensus support in Canada, where 35 per the United States under Donald Trump. cent believe the country takes in too many Canadians were less likely to strongly agree immigrants, that figure, too, has declined or disagree with several poll questions and over 10 years. The poll’s overall findings offer more likely to express uncertainty and doubt, a snapshot of a Canadian society in which according to Dr. Neuman. “It’s not a big anti-bigotry and pro-immigration social change, but it’s enough to say opinions are a norms are holding in the face of pressure from little less polarized than last year,” he said. “It’s extremists and global trends, Dr. Neuman said. dangerous to assume what’s happening in US

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ID of South Surrey hit-and-run driver still a mystery

RCMP are looking for these women. One is considered a person of interest in a hit and run that severely injured a pedestrian and the other was a passenger in her car.

Police say they have received few tips regarding a hit-and-run collision in South Surrey last Sunday that left a 38-year-old pedestrian with serious injuries. The incident occurred at about 8 p.m., in the 2700-block of King George Boulevard, as the pedestrian crossed the thoroughfare from east to west in a marked crosswalk. The driver involved did not remain at the scene, police said in a news release issued the following afternoon that also included a series of photographs taken from witness video. Police, in asking for public

assistance, described the suspect vehicle as a black, four-door sedan with a tan interior, possibly an early-2000s Acura TL. The driver, they said, was wearing a black coat. Police also appealed to speak with the driver of a white/ silver van who they believe may have witnessed the collision. As of Thursday morning, however, neither the driver who hit the woman, the driver’s passenger (described as wearing a light-coloured coat) or the van driver had come forward.

BC teachers’ union head calls for ‘mature conversations’ ahead of contract BC will replace a “one-size-fits-all” funding formula for school districts to account for differences in urban and rural communities, Premier John Horgan says. He told members of the B.C. Teachers Federation at their annual general meeting Tuesday that the previous Liberal government introduced a funding formula in 2002 without conducting broad consultations. “We’ve put in place a team to address that and I’m confident that, with the input from the B.C. Teachers Federation and others, we’re going to have a funding formula that makes sense in every corner of British Columbia,” he told the teachers, who begin contract talks in about 10 months. School districts currently receive funding based on the number of students, but the union is calling for a needs-based formula that would prevent cuts to programs and staffing levels when enrolment decreases. The government will invest more money in public education up to 2021, Horgan said. “I know you’re saying, ‘But what about the bargaining?’ That’s not in there, that’s somewhere else, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Since September, the province has increased

funding to hire 3,700 full-time teachers, Horgan said, though he acknowledged many of the positions were filled by substitute teachers, leaving few teachers on call. “That’s a problem you didn’t have 10 years ago. That’s a problem, let’s hope, you won’t have five years from now,” he said. Union president Glen Hansman said members want a wage hike but he’s realistic that other public-sector workers across the province will also be heading to the bargaining table at around the same time. Hansman said “mature conversations” will make a difference for the union that had a bitter relationship with the former Liberal government, which in 2002 stripped teachers’ right to bargain class size and composition. “Teachers in BC have some of the worst starting wages in Canada. It’s only us and Quebec that are that far down,” he said.

More teachers are needed to meet the objectives of a landmark 2016 Supreme Court of Canada ruling requiring the province to restore staffing to 2002 levels, he said.

“We need more bodies, from Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta,” Hansman said, adding teachers in those provinces earn up to $20,000 a year more than their counterparts in B.C.

Area reopened after ‘suspicious occurrence’ near Surrey Tax Centre Surrey’s 134 Street has reopened to traffic after a “suspicious occurrence” at the Canada Revenue Agency building.

According to a news release, Surrey RCMP were called to the CRA complex in the 9700 block of King George Boulevard after a threat to an employee at approximately 10:15 a.m. Thursday morning.

A search of the area turned up a suspicious package in the parking garage. Concerned about a potential explosive device or chemical agent, police quickly taped off the area of 134 Street between 96th and 98th avenues and donned gas masks.

Mounties on the scene were soon joined by officers from the B.C. RCMP Explosive Device Unit, the South Coast British Columbia Transit Authority Police Service, Surrey Fire Services, and B.C. Emergency Health Services.

Further investigation confirmed, however, that the object was not a threat to public safety. Police said investigators are still working to determine if the package is connected to the threat.

Investigation launched after man dies in attempted arrest in Surrey B.C.’s police watchdog is investigating a man’s death in Surrey after police tried to arrest him. The Independent Investigations Office says Surrey RCMP received calls about a “distraught” man who was standing in the intersection of 10th Avenue and 161A Street in South Surrey and screaming at around 1:30 p.m.

PT Monday. Surrey RCMP says officers attempted to speak with the man before deciding to arrest him. The arrest attempt turned into a physical struggle, the IIO said in a statement, and the suspect went into cardiac arrest. Surrey RCMP says paramedics attempted to save him, but he died at the scene around 3 p.m.

Man in hospital after setting himself on fire in McDonald’s in Vancouver Police watchdog investigating after officer drives into pedestrian in Squamish IIO clears Vancouver police officer in shooting of axe-wielding man An investigation has been opened, the IIO said, and witnesses are asked to contact investigators.

Surrey RCMP says the area around the intersection has been cordoned off for the investigation.

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BC panel holds public hearing amid review of province’s labour code BC business groups and labour organizations are heading for a showdown as a panel begins hearings this week that could significantly change working conditions across the province. A three-member panel holds its first public hearing on Wednesday in Victoria as part of process to examine recent labour law changes elsewhere in Canada to ensure B.C.’s labour code is consistent with best practices. It’s the first substantive review of the code since 2003, and was part of the agreement that saw the BC Greens pledge to support the BC NDP last summer, allowing it to govern the province. The panel will report to Labour Minister Harry Bains by August. In

a statement, Mr. Bains said he is waiting out the conclusions of the panel before making any decisions. “I look forward to receiving the final report and recommendations from the very capable and impartial review panel,” Mr. Bains said. The panel consists of chair Michael Fleming, a former associate chair of the BC Labour Relations Board, and Sandra Banister, a labour lawyer, representing union interests, and Barry Dong, another lawyer, representing employer interests. However, a spokesman for a coalition of 13 business organizations, including the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, and the BC Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday it believed the government was

Janet Austin is BC’s new Lieutenant Governor Metro Vancouver YWCA CEO Janet Austin is BC’s next LieutenantGovernor.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to make the announcement on Tuesday morning, just as Governor General Julie Payette arrives in Victoria for a scheduled tour of the legislature. Janet Austin has been CEO of YWCA Metro Vancouver since 2002. She’s used the position as the head of one of the province’s most diversified non-profit organizations to advocate for more affordable child care and housing solutions, as well as a larger role for women in leadership positions.

She sits on more than a dozen boards or committees, including the TransLink board

as vice-chair, and has volunteered her time and expertise to a number of organizations, including the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, where she served as chair in 2014 and the United Way of the Lower Mainland.

Austin will replace Judith Guichon, a cattle rancher from the Nicola Valley who was appointed B.C.’s 29th LG in 2012.

Under Austin’s leadership, the YWCA more than doubled its operational budget from $12 million in 2003 to $29 million in 2017 and expanded its reach across the region with about 400 employees and more than 700 volunteers. She has championed the YWCA’s entrepreneurial, non-profit model, using revenue generated from the YWCA Beatty Hotel, currently undergoing an expansion, and a health-and-fitness centre in downtown Vancouver to offset the cost of providing YWCA’s programs and services.

With Austin at the helm, the YWCA doubled its stock of affordable housing for single mothers and children, opening seven new housing communities in Vancouver, Surrey, Coquitlam and North Vancouver. She also made helping women achieve economic independence a YWCA mission, a strategic focus now reflected in the organization’s programming and advocacy. Before serving at the YWCA, Austin was the executive director of the Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland. She was also a past-director of development services for B.C. Housing, a job in which she oversaw the development of housing for seniors and families, including

Liberals had a $1000,000 contract with FB whistle blower Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Research Bureau awarded a $100,000 contract in 2016 to Christopher Wylie, the whistle-blower at the centre of a global controversy over the misuse of data from tens of millions of Facebook users.

The contract for a short-lived pilot project was no one-off: It was among many interactions between Mr. Wylie, the data-driven political entrepreneur, and the federal Liberal Party stretching back nearly a decade.

The revelation on Wednesday about the contract with Mr. Wylie’s company, Eunoia Technologies, brought to Parliament a controversy over allegations that global consultants wrongly obtained and data-mined volumes of personal information from the social media giant to motivate or manipulate voters.

Party insiders say that, starting in 2008, Mr. Wylie was a Liberal volunteer and researcher who played a role in introducing and shaping the party’s drive toward data-driven techniques.

He was a teenager then, boosting fringe techniques – including a now widely used piece of software known as “Liberalist” – while aggressively avowing to the party’s old guard that only technology could reverse the party’s electoral fortunes. There is no allegation Mr. Wylie has ever done anything illegal or unethical in Canada. Christopher Wylie, a whistleblower who formerly worked with Cambridge Analytica, the consulting firm that is said to have harvested private information from more than 50 million Facebook users,

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Shooting in Toronto kills 2, including one bystander Police in Toronto are looking have every reason to believe for three suspects after a man Mr. Ngo was targeted,” Choe who they say was targeted and a said. The shooting could’ve woman described as an innocent been much worse given how bystander were killed in a many people were inside the shooting outside a bowling alley. bowling alley at the time, Police say Thanh Tien Ngo, according to Robert Choe. “It 32, shot dead, and Ruma Amar, certainly could’ve taken on a 29 described as an innocent more tragic complexion, for bystander also killed outside the sure,” he said. Choe said the Playtime Bowl in North York suspects did not physically at around 10 pm on Saturday enter the building, but “came night. “People started running quite close.”

Robert Choe and panicking,” one witness told said Amar has no prior Ruma Amar, 29 CP24. “Someone screamed, saying: history with police, but wouldn’t ‘Gunshots! Gunshots!’ and I just started comment on whether Ngo was known to running outside like everyone else.” officers. Police are A number of people who ran away when looking for three the gunshots rang out on Saturday returned suspects, two to the scene Sunday to drop off their rented who were armed bowling shoes. with handguns on Witness Craig Wallace called it “scary.” the night of the “There’s an arcade at the front of the shooting and one bowling alley and there’s children there,” he who remained in a said. During a news conference on Sunday, dark getaway car.

Toronto Police Det. Robert Choe said that Robert Choe Ngo had been chased toward the bowling said officers have Thanh Tien Ngo, 32 alley before he was shot. He died at the scene. already spoken Ruma Amar had been at the bowling with her husband and her younger sister. She was rushed to hospital where she later died, Choe said. “With what we have learned thus far, we

to about 1015 witnesses, but are asking anyone who may have seen or heard something to come forward.

BC communities take cautious approach on modular housing projects Communities across British Columbia are considering temporary modular housing projects for homeless and low-income tenants, but some are taking a cautious approach after a similar proposal in Vancouver fuelled protests and legal challenges. B.C.’s NDP government is planning to create 2,000 supporting housing spaces across the province by setting up modular units that can be assembled quickly to address local homelessness and moved if those needs change. One of the first such projects was a 78-unit complex in the south end of Vancouver, which was approved last year over the objection of local residents, who complained they had not been properly consulted. The project is being constructed on an empty lot that is awaiting development.

Now, other cities are considering their own proposals. The projects are in development in 12 communities, with others in the planning stages. The City of Richmond has proposed to build a 40-unit modular housing project

on a city-owned site – a plan that quickly prompted strong opposition from nearby residents. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie stressed that no decision has been made and that the city will take public opinions into consideration, with a final decision expected in about a month. “This site has no schools in the immediate neighborhood; it is on public transportation routes; it is near the hospital. … It is near the all these services that we have in our city centre.” A loosely organized group that has emerged opposing the project said its members have sent or encouraged others to send thousands of letters to the city and city councillors. “We want to use this way to tell [the council] that here are the voices that are against the plan,” said David Shao, one of the group’s organizers. Mr. Shao said building temporary housing cannot solve the root issue of homelessness, and he said the type of tenants who would be housed at the site pose safety concerns for the neighbourhood.

Krishan Soni passes away It is with great sadness we inform you of the untimely death of Mr. Krishan Soni on Sunday March 18th, 2018 at Vancouver General Hospital. Mr. Soni was a great teacher, successful business man, and a very strong community leader as well as loving husband, father and grandfather. This is not just the loss for the immediate family but the whole community who respected him and considered him a leader in many ways, most recently he was the chairperson of the new temple fund raising committee and helped overseas the successful completion of a new Hindu temple in Burnaby. Mr Soni enjoyed the company of family and friends and actively participated in social gatherings. Those wishing to pay their condolscences to Mrs Pushpa Soni and family are requested to note the following two days at Soni’s residence at 1609 Cedar Crescent Vancouver.

Let us all pray together for the peace to the well respected most loving dearly departed soul.

For more information please contact Ajay Soni 604-868-0902 or Neeta Soni 778-688-2795

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NATIONAL

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Canada’s privacy watchdog launches investigation into Facebook after allegations of data leak Canada’s privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into Facebook after a series of media reports alleged that private online information belonging to millions of Americans was obtained by a company working on USA President Donald Trump’s election campaign.

“We have received a complaint against Facebook in relation to allegations involving Cambridge Analytica and have therefore opened a formal investigation,” Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Daniel

Therrien said in a statement.

“The first step will be to confirm with the company whether the personal information of Facebook users in Canada was affected.”

The investigation will look at whether Facebook has complied with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s federal private sector privacy law.

Cambridge Analytica suspends CEO pending

probe in Facebook data scandal This weekend, The New York Times and the British newspaper The Observer reported that Trump’s 2016 campaign hired Cambridge Analytica, and that the company harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users to help conduct the digital campaign.

In a blog post, Facebook said that, while

none of the information leakage was a result of a data breach, it did appear to involve the passing of personal information from Cambridge Analytica to a third party when that data was supposed to have been destroyed.

Chief Executive of Cambridge Analytica Alexander Nix leaves the offices in central London, Tuesday March 20, 2018. Cambridge Analytica has suspended Nix following the release of recordings showing him discussing political ‘dirty tricks’ with an undercover reporter.

Bank teller faces deportation after judge rules that guilty plea stays

A former bank teller in Calgary who regretted pleading guilty for her role in a heist because she didn’t like the consequences will not be allowed to back out of her plea. “This was a very difficult question and I don’t mind telling you I struggled with it,” Justice David Gates said

before denying Kenza Belakziz’s application to vacate her guilty plea. Sitting in the prisoner’s box, Belakziz shook her head and wiped tears from her eyes.

Teller involved in bank robbery at risk of deportation and should get lesser sentence, says

the bank, the silent alarm, locations lawyer Belakziz, who is now 24, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery in October where money was stored and details on bait after defence lawyer Greg Dunn and prosecutors bills and dye packs. Nasery and two others Vicki Faulkner and Ryan Jenkins arranged the then robbed the institution in November 2014, deal. She signed a document confirming she tying up employees and holding them hostage understood the judge was not bound by the at gunpoint. By the time the trio of robbers — Nasery, Lucas Windsor and Matthew Valdes sentence proposed by the lawyers.

— left the bank after 20 minutes, with about Her sentencing hearing was $12,000 in two bags, police stalled when the judge told had already set up outside. lawyers he felt their proposal for Initially, investigators believed six months in jail was too low. At Belakziz was a victim before that time, Gates said the sentence they realized it was an inside appeared “to be tailored for job. She was charged a month immigration factors.” Originally later. Gates noted the starting from Morocco, Belakziz is the point for a conviction of only member of her family who conspiracy to commit robbery has not made the effort to become is five years in prison, but a Canadian citizen. A sentence mitigating factors can bring of more than six months would that down significantly. mean she is likely to be deported Some of the victims — bank to Morocco, where she no longer Kenza Belakziz employees who had been zip has family. tied together and held hostage Gates had expressed his belief that Belakziz’s deportation concerns should not mean a lesser — wrote statements describing how the robbery sentence than others who committed the same traumatized them and changed their lives crime.

When the judge refused to accept forever. Nasery pleaded guilty in October 2017 the sentence the lawyers had proposed and to robbery with a firearm, forcible confinement suggested a higher sentence was necessary, and wearing a disguise. He was sentenced to Belakziz tried to back out of her plea. She six years in prison, less time served. The other worked at the BMO branch in the southwest robbers, Valdes and Windsor, pleaded guilty in neighbourhood of Mission when she provided 2015. Valdes received a 5½-year sentence for his confidential information about the bank to her role while Windsor got a five-year, two-month then-boyfriend, Saleem Nasery. She admitted prison term. to giving Nasery information on the layout of

Taiwanese woman connected to BC bawdy houses fights to stay in Canada A Taiwanese woman who moved to Richmond to marry is being connected to the running of a series of bawdy houses and recruitment of foreign nationals to work in the Lower Mainland sex trade.

According to documents filed in federal court, Canada Border Services Agency agents confronted Chun Tao Zhang after allegedly arranging to meet her for sex through a Chinese-language messaging service.

The 37-year-old is now fighting to stay in Canada, because immigration officials determined she breached her work permit by engaging in the sex trade and wasn’t actually living with the spouse who sponsored her.

“I ... find it to be unreasonable that during the months of [the] applicant’s engagement of sex-trade-related activities, the sponsor did not know anything about it, especially considering if they were in a genuine relationship and cohabiting as they indicated,” read a report written by an officer with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada’s inland processing unit. “Despite the couple’s explanations, I did not find the couple provided sufficient and satisfactory explanation to this.” Zhang is asking for a judicial review of the decision to exclude her from Canada. She claims her Charter rights were breached, because the interpreter she brought with her to meet with immigration officials was not certified.

She also claims investigators failed to

consider the possibility she was separated from her husband, and that, as his spouse, the law should allow her to be forgiven for failure to comply with the work permit.

In an email, her lawyer declined to speak while the case is before the courts. According to the court documents, Zhang claimed she engaged in the sex trade “to contribute to the family and ease the sponsor’s financial burden to support the family and their living cost.” The internal documents filed as part of the case reveal details of the CBSA sting operation. The investigation began in March 2017 when the CBSA received information from a source claiming Zhang was in a “marriage of convenience” with a business partner and that she was “operating a number of bawdy houses in the Lower Mainland.”

Officers inspected the Richmond home she claimed to be sharing with her husband but noted minimal articles of female clothing, no female hair brushes or hair products and no photographs of either husband or wife.

Investigators then conducted a covert operation aimed at locating masseuses and sex trade workers in Burnaby, Vancouver and Richmond who were allegedly working for Zhang. They set up an appointment with a woman in Richmond, where a massage was priced at $80 and manual sexual activity was priced at $130. According to a CBSA report, a woman on a visitor visa from Taiwan opened the door “wearing an open robe and lingerie.”

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Trudeau defends Saudi arms export deal the export of over 900 armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, including some outfitted for “heavy assault,” falls in line with Canada’s foreign and defence policies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.

He was responding to NDP attacks in the House of Commons over new details of the $15 billion 2014 contract. The deal was sealed from outside view by the federal agency which brokered the arrangement — the Canadian Commercial Corporation — at the insistence of the Saudis. The agreement — as it was when it was signed in 2014 — called for the sale of 928 of the newly developed, highlyadvanced LAV 6s, including 119 with “heavy assault” 105 millimetre cannons. The deal was approved initially by the former Conservative government, but was given a final green light when the Liberals signed export permits that allowed the sale to proceed despite growing concerns about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

The federal government has been asked to consider seven permits associated with the sale, according to a 2016 briefing paper prepared for then-foreign affairs minister Stéphane Dion and obtained by CBC News under access to information legislation.

“Permits are only approved if the exports

are consistent with our foreign and defence policies, including human rights,” he told the House of Commons Tuesday. “Our approach fully meets our national obligations and Canadian laws.” Trudeau has stood behind the deal in the past, saying Canada had to respect contracts signed by previous governments.

On Tuesday, Trudeau took a moment to tout changes his government is making to the arms export control regime — and to take a swipe at the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper. “We have brought new processes of transparency and accountability to international sales because Canadians expect a higher level of accountability than the Conservatives have offered us for 10 years,” he said. New Democrat foreign affairs critic Helene Laverdiere said a higher level of accountability would involve releasing details of a recent investigation by Global Affairs Canada staff into allegations that Canadian-made armoured vehicles had been used in the long-running conflict against the Shiite population in Qatif, a restive district of eastern Saudi Arabia.

Light Armoured Vehicles LAVs Afghanistan

Majority of Canadians disapprove of Trudeau for the first time since he became Prime Minister The passage of time appears to have done nothing to soothe Canadian voters irritated with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since his highly criticized passage to India last month.

This, combined with a simmering unease among the electorate over the federal government’s deficit spending has, for the first time, driven Trudeau’s disapproval rating north of 50 per cent. All of this adds up to a ten-point gap between the Liberal and Conservative parties in vote intention.

The latest polling analysis from the Angus Reid Institute shows that if an election were held tomorrow, the CPC – led by Andrew Scheer, would be in range to form a majority government. The bleed away from the Trudeau Liberals includes not just vote intention, but perception of leadership. On a number of key metrics, including those that have traditionally been strengths for the Prime Minister, Scheer is seen as a better bet.

But with 18 months before an expected

election, key areas of Liberal support remain solid. Millennials, many of whom turned out to the ballot box for the first time in 2015 principally because of Justin Trudeau, have not changed their minds about the leader – a majority (55%) still approve of him. And the party remains either in the lead or competitive in vote-rich urban centres, where a red surge pushed the Liberals to a 2015 majority.

If an election were held tomorrow, fourin-ten Canadians (40%) say they would vote for a CPC candidate in their riding. This represents a double-digit gap over those who say the same of the governing Liberal party (30%). Another 19 per cent of Canadians say they would support the federal New Democratic Party For the fourth consecutive quarter the number of Canadians saying it is ‘time for a change in government’ has risen.

The percentage of respondents holding that view is now up to 51 per cent

Canada struggles as it opens its arms to the victims of ISIS As leader of one of Canada’s largest refugee agencies, Fariborz Birjandian, a refugee himself, has years of experience welcoming the world’s most vulnerable — Kosovar Albanians fleeing ethnic cleansing, Burmese Karens evicted from Thai refugee camps and Syrians escaping the civil war.

Recently, he entered an English-language classroom in his agency’s building near downtown Calgary, just after a 28-year-old woman had finished describing the screams of a young girl being raped by an Islamic State soldier. Suddenly, the woman fell unconscious. Her eyes rolled into the back of their sockets, her back arched on the floor and she began to hyperventilate, her voice a rising octave until it emerged as a yelp. She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and snapped her teeth at her forearms. “Don’t let her bite herself,” said Kheriya Khidir, an interpreter, settling down to hold one of the woman’s arms and stroke her face lovingly. Mr. Birjandian raced off to call an ambulance. Then, he slipped into a

stairwell to collect his shaken emotions.

The woman, Jihan, is one of almost 1,200, mostly women and children, victims of the Islamic State who have been brought to Canada as part of a special refugee program set up particularly for Yazidis, members of a tiny religious minority from Northern Iraq that the militants set out to decimate in August 2014. “We all have mental issues,” Jihan said. The names of seven loved ones — all taken by ISIS — are crudely tattooed across her chest, arms and hands. Credit Amber Bracken for The New York Times Canada’s immigration minister — who is also a former refugee — assured Canadians the program would address the “unimaginable trauma, both physical and emotional” that most of the victims carried with them. But a little over a year later, the Yazidis have proved a steep challenge to the country’s celebrated refugee settlement system, and to those who work in it like Mr. Birjandian.

NATIONAL

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INDIA

Saturday, March 24, 2018

ISIS targeted Indians, but spared Pak workers: Masih Islamist group ISIS targeted Indian construction workers in Mosul (Iraq) in 2014, but spared Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals, as per local resident Harjit Masih.

He had escaped the clutches of the terror outfit, which killed 39 of his colleagues.

Masih said ISIS militants had told Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers to disperse.

“They then took us to a hilly area, where we were told to sit. Suddenly, they opened fire. I luckily got cover under the corpses.

Later, I found refuge in a camp inhabited

by Bangladeshi citizens,” Masih said.

He claimed that he did not remember the exact date or month when he and four others from Gurdaspur district — Rakesh Rocky, Dharminder Kumar, Malkit Singh and Kamaljit Singh —reached Mosul.

“It was in mid-2013 when we landed in Iraq after giving hefty amounts to travel agents. Each of us was promised a monthly salary of Rs 35,000, but officials paid us Rs 15,000. They promised to pay the arrears soon. We worked for the construction company for nine months before ISIS took control of our camp,” he added.

Can’t prevent convicts from running parties: NDA Government tells Supreme Court A convicted person can’t be stopped from forming a political party or becoming its officebearer as there was no such law, the NDA government has told the Supreme Court.

“Appointment of postholder to a political party is a matter of party autonomy, and it may not be apposite to preclude the Election Commission (EC) from registering a political party merely because a particular post-holder is not qualified to contest elections (on conviction),” the Centre said in an affidavit filed in the top court.

The affidavit has been filed in response to a PIL filed by Delhi BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking lifetime ban on convicted politicians, not just from contesting elections but also forming political parties and holding party posts.

Upadhyay has contended that the law debarred convicted politicians from contesting elections but they were free to run a political party; hold party posts and decide who could contest polls to become MPs/ MLAs. Even persons convicted of heinous crimes such as murder, rape, smuggling, money laundering, sedition or dacoity could form a political party and become its president, he alleged.

However, the Centre opposed the PIL terming it “not maintainable” as courts can’t direct Parliament to enact a particular law. “…having regard to the existing provisions of law relating to ‘registration of (a) political party’, there does not appear any connectivity.

ISI training Sikhs for terror: MHA A team of top Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, which recently appeared before a parliamentary panel, has informed it that Pakistani spy agency ISI was providing terror training to Sikh youths at its facilities across the border to carry out disruptive activities in India.

The officials also confirmed that the government had credible information about attempts being made to instigate members of the Sikh community, who are settled in Canada and other places, against India with false and malicious propaganda.

It is also learnt that the MHA officials told the Committee on Estimates, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, that radicalisation of youths by terrorist groups through the misuse of internet and social media

had emerged as a major challenge for India.

In its report titled “Central armed police forces and internal security challengesevaluation and response mechanism”, which was tabled in Parliament on Monday, the committee mentions that there have been some developments on the Sikh militancy front. It also said the “commanders” of terror groups based in Pakistan were under pressure from the ISI to further its plans not only in Punjab but also in other parts of the country. Sikh youths based or settled in Europe, the US and Canada were being misguided and instigated against India with false and malicious propaganda, but the situation is being watched closely by the central and state agencies and they were taking lawful action as and when required, the report noted.

Case registered against gold jewellery firm CBI registered alleged Rs 824.15-crore bank loan fraud case against Chennai-based private firm Kanishk Gold Private Limited and others on the basis of a complaint by the State Bank of India on behalf of a consortium of 14 banks. The CBI also carried out searches in Chennai.

CBI said the case had been registered against promoter director Bhoopesh Jain; director Neeta Jain; and partners Tejraj Achha, Ajay Kumar Jain and Sumit Kedia. A

consortium of 14 public and private sector banks had given a loan of Rs 842.15 crore. Kanishk first defaulted in March 2017 in interest payments to eight banks. Later, it stopped payments to all 14 banks, sources said.

The company engaged in manufacturing gold jewellery marketed under brand name “Krizz”.

‘Facebook committed to stopping interference in Indian elections’ Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologised on Thursday for mistakes his company made in how it handled data belonging to 50 million of its users and promised tougher steps to restrict developers’ access to such information.

The world’s largest social media network is facing growing government scrutiny in Europe and the United States about a whistleblower’s allegations that London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed user information to build profiles on American voters that were later used to help elect US President Donald Trump in 2016.

“This was a major breach of trust. I’m really sorry this happened. We have a basic responsibility to protect people’s data,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with CNN, breaking a public silence since the scandal erupted at the weekend.

Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook the company “made mistakes, there’s more to do, and we need to step up and do it.”

He said the social network planned to conduct an investigation of thousands of apps that have used Facebook’s platform, restrict developer access to data, and give members a tool that lets them to disable access to their Facebook data more easily.

His plans did not represent a big reduction

of advertisers’ ability to use Facebook data, which is the company’s lifeblood.

Zuckerberg said he was open to additional government regulation and happy to testify before the US Congress if he was the right person.

“I’m not sure we shouldn’t be regulated,” he told CNN. “I actually think the question is more what is the right regulation rather than yes or no, should it be regulated? ...

People should know who is buying the ads that they see on Facebook.” Zuckerberg said Facebook was committed to stopping interference in the U.S. midterm election in November and elections in India and Brazil.

Facebook shares pared gains on Thursday after Zuckerberg’s post, closing up 0.7 per cent.

The company has lost more than $45 billion of its stock market value over the past three days on investor fears that any failure by big tech firms to protect personal data could deter advertisers and users and invite tougher regulation.

Zuckerberg told the New York Times in an interview published on Thursday he had not seen a “meaningful number of people” deleting their accounts over the scandal.

Facebook representatives, including Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Rob Sherman, met US congressional staff for nearly two hours on Thursday and planned to continue meetings on Capitol Hill on Friday.

Jharkhand court sentence life in prioson to 11 in lynching case A local fast-track court in Jharkhand on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to 11 persons convicted of lynching Alimuddin, alias Asghar Ansari, a meat trader, on the suspicion that he was carrying beef in his car.

Videos of Alimuddin’s lynching on June 29 last year had gone viral on the social media.

Judge Om Prakash had found them guilty on March 16 under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance) and 302 (murder) of the IPC. The convicts, including local BJP leader Nityanand Mahato, a member of the ABVP,

were sent to the Ramgarh district jail. “The fast-track court in Ramgarh has awarded all 11 persons life imprisonment for lynching a Muslim meat trader to death. We will move the Jharkhand High Court for justice,” said the defence counsel, adding that the trial of a minor had been shifted to a juvenile court.

The prosecution produced 19 witnesses and the defence one. A CD of the attack, videographed by the local circle officer, was submitted to the court after it was authenticated by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Chandigarh.

PUNJAB

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Congress takes on Akalis over Panthic issues Punjab Congress party cornered the SAD on Panthic issues, including incidents of sacrilege in 2015 and its “failure” to effectively raise the issue of withdrawing GST on langar purchases at the Golden Temple.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh announced in the House that the state government would forego its share of GST (50 per cent) on langar purchases.

A resolution was passed unanimously to seek a similar waiver from the Centre. The state extended the waiver on GST to the Durgiana Mandir and Bhagwan Valmiki Tirath Sthal.

Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said it was the BJP-dominated GST Council that had thrice rejected the state government’s proposal on waiver. “For a party that claims

control over the Panth, you (SAD) should break your alliance with the BJP on this issue and recall your party’s minister from the NDA government,” he said. The move to refund the state’s share of GST on langar found support from the AAP MLAs too.

Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and AAP legislators Sukhpal Khaira and Kultar Singh Sandhwan targeted the Akali Dal over the sacrilege cases and then Akali-BJP government’s “refusal” to share CCTV footage of the Bargari incident with the Justice Zora Singh Commission. “You had something to hide. That’s why the FIR regarding the firing incident was registered against ‘unidentified cops’,” said Sandhwan.

Govt releases Rs1,220 crore for pension dues After facing embarrassment in the Vidhan Sabha over the non-payment of social security pensions today, the Congress government on Wednesday evening released Rs 1,220 crore due to various accounts for one year.

The government released Rs 413.77 crore for pension benefits, Rs 147.49 crore general provident fund, bills of office expenditure Rs 119.38 crore, and Aashiward/Shagun scheme Rs 69 crore, among other heads. This is perhaps for the first time that the state government has opened its treasury during the ongoing financial year to clear all its dues.

It, however, has not cleared the pendency with

‘We Are Sikhs’ campaign wins top US award A campaign to create awareness of Sikhism and its followers in the US and fight prejudice has won a top award for excellence in public relations programming to promote public causes.

The “We Are Sikhs” campaign received the top 2018 PRWeek US award in the category of Public Cause.

The campaign launched last year on Baisakhi by the National Sikh Campaign (NSC) and executed by FP1 Strategies, won the award for effectively projecting the Sikhs as neighbours and everyday Americans who face discrimination due to ignorance of their faith. The PRWeek US awards are nicknamed the “Oscars of the Public Relations Industry”.

“It is indeed a great victory for the Sikh community across the US,” NSC cofounder Rajwant Singh said.

“Countless Sikhs have had to face bullying, discrimination, and hate crimes due to the lack of understanding of our faith and our values. Our community decided that we needed to communicate effectively with our fellow Americans.”

The judges commented that the “provocative campaign that really broke through” and “put a face on one distinct minority group” and noted “the real humanity in the execution”, PRWeek magazine said. The $1.3 million for the campaign was raised mostly by Sikhs, with some Hindus also making notable contributions. The campaign told the stories of Sikhs through online and TV advertising and amplifying them via emails to journalists and community events nationwide. The TV ads showed Sikhs as American neighbours going about their daily lives, professing patriotism and national values, but also a sharing a love for the TV series “Game of Thrones” and the children’s show “Sponge Bob Square Pants” - to counteract the mistaken negative perceptions because of their turbans and beards.

the treasury even as this is the second tranche of major release by the government in a week.

It had released Rs 690 crore on Saturday.

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SAD & AAP MLAs stage walkout form Punjab Vidhan Sabha Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday sought permission of the Assembly Speaker to implement the rules regarding the prohibition of audio-visual recording of the proceedings of the House.

The Speaker assured Charanjit Channi to probe the sharing of the audio recording by LIP MLA Simarjit Bains. The issue was raised as soon as the proceedings of the House began.

Navjot Sidhu and Channi said that despite rules disallowing audio/video recording, the audio recording was shared by Bains.

On Sukhpal Khaira’s demand, the CM assured the House that compensation, as per rules, would be given to the Punjabis killed in Iraq. On the issue, Bikram Majithia entered into a heated argument with Khaira. Khaira demanded Rs 1 crore compensation and government jobs to the families of the victims.

The Punjab decision to leave its share of GST on langar results in heated arguments with SAD MLAs.

The House was adjourned for half an hour as Navjot Sidhu entered into a heated argument with Bikram Majithia after Sidhu talked about the drugs issue. Congress MLAs joined Sidhu on the issue. There was a credit war between Congress and Akali MLAs over waiving of state GST share on langar at religious places. After SAD MLA Parminder Dhindsa said the Centre was ready to waive its share of GST, Congress MLAs said the Centre had changed its stand after Capt Amarinder Singh took the initiative. Akali and BJP MLAs stormed into the Well of the House after not being allowed to bring in an adjournment motion. AAP leader Kanwar Sandhu spoke on “non-cooperation from the bureaucracy” regarding finalising of reports of different committees of the Vidhan Sabha.

He cited “non-cooperation” regarding the excise department, and demanded opening of the proceedings to the press. Raising slogans, Akali-BJP MLAs walked out of the House.

24

INDIA

Saturday, March 24, 2018

BJP used Cambridge Analytica’s services for state elections: Congress The Congress on Wednesday denied links to a political data analytics firm that has been accused of stealing data to allegedly influence electoral process while accusing the BJP of having availed its services in 2010. “The Congress or its President have never used or hired the services of Cambridge Analytica,” said Congress communications incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala, hours after Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the party of compromising national security by roping in the firm to run its 2019 election campaign. “This is fake agenda, a white lie being dished out on fake facts by the Law Minister. And this has become a daily order with Prasad,” he added. Surjewala alleged it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Janata Dal-United which used the

services of Cambridge Analytica in 2010. “I think the BJP and Ravi Shankar Prasadji have the maximum experience of Cambridge Analytica, the company they say has indulged in manipulation,” he said, citing from the firm’s website that it “was contracted to undertake an indepth electoral analysis for Bihar assembly elections in 2010”. “If the company does manipulation, why were the BJP and the JD-U using it. But in his pack of lies, he forgot to tell the truth,” the Congress leader said. He accused the BJP of seeking to divert attention from urgent issues through “fake news”. “The BJP’s factory of fake news has produced one more fake product today to divert attention of the people. When the country was asking questions about the 39 Indians killed in Iraq, to divert attention from the issues of Dalits.

Pakistan shelling kills 5 family members in Kashmir Five members of a family were killed and at least eight other people injured Sunday in crossborder shelling between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir, officials said, as the two rivals traded blame for initiating the violence. The five were killed after a shell fired

by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region of India-controlled Kashmir along the militarized Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, said S.P. Vaid, the region’s police chief. A police statement said the dead included a 35-yearold man and his 32-year-old wife, and three of their children — two young boys and a teenage boy. Two of the couple’s daughters, one 7 and the other 12, were among the injured.

Local residents said the family had gathered

in their kitchen for breakfast when a shell hit their home. Vaid said authorities were evacuating civilians from the area amid shelling and firing. India’s army said its soldiers were responding to what it called an unprovoked violation of the 2003 cease-fire agreement between the two countries.

Authorities in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir said at least six civilians, including five women, were wounded in the Indian firing and shelling along the frontier. Farooq Hadier Khan, prime minister of the Pakistanicontrolled part of Kashmir, condemned Indian shelling of border villages and visited a hospital to meet injured residents, an official statement said.

Top Naxalite with Rs 1.5-cr bounty dead Top Naxal ‘commander’ Arvindji, operating in Jharkhand, is reported to have died on Wednesday of a heart attack in the jungles of the state, sources in the security establishment said. Sources said the horse-riding Arvindji alias Dev Kumar Singh alias Nishant was in his 50s and died early on Wednesday in the jungles of the Budha Pahad in Jharkhand, bordering

Chhattisgarh. The ‘A-category’, most wanted Naxal leader was a member of the central committee of the banned CPI (Maoist) and carried a reward of Rs 1.5 crore on his head, declared by the police of Jharkhand and Bihar.

“We have reports to confirm that Arvindji is dead. It is understood that he suffered a heart attack,” a security official said.

BSF officers found negligent over poor food complaints: Home Ministry Action has been initiated against some BSF officers who were found to be “negligent” over complaints of poor quality food being served to its personnel, the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed a parliamentary panel.

The revelation, which comes nearly a year after BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav was sacked, was made before the Committee on Estimates headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.

Tej Bahadur Yadav uploaded a video about the poor quality of food for jawans. He was sacked by the Border Security Force, which said he was “found guilty on certain charges of indiscipline, including uploading the video in violation of laid down procedures and rules”.

The committee recommended that a mechanism be put in place for testing food items supplied to CAPFs at the source of supply itself.

15 Naxals arrested in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Sukma Fifteen Naxals, two of them carrying cash rewards, were arrested from two places in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist hotbed Sukma district, the police said on Thursday.

The arrests were significant as they came almost eight days after nine personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in an IED blast, when suspected Maoists blew up their mineprotected vehicle in Sukma, a senior police official said. However, the arrested Naxals were not involved in the last week’s attack on the CRPF, but were involved in the attack on

a police team in which two personnel were killed in February, the police said. During a search operation, 14 ultras, including two women, were arrested from a forest in Bhejji area and another cadre was caught from the district’s Pushpal area on Wednesday, Deputy Inspector General of Police (south Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI. A joint team of the Special Task Force (STF), the District Reserve Guard (DRG), the District Force (DF) and the CRPF was involved in the operation carried out in Bhejji to nab the 14 ultras.

Former Himachal CM and wife get bail in money laundering case A special court granted bail to former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, his wife and three others in a money laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh, who were present in the court in response to the summons issued against them on the last date of hearing. The court also granted bail to Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, besides other accused Prem Raj and Lawan Kumar Roach.

All the accused got the relief on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of the same amount each. During the proceedings,

ED counsel Nitesh Rana opposed their bail plea, seeking judicial custody for them. The court, however, granted them bail considering they were not arrested by the ED during investigation. The court had on February 12 issued summons against the accused saying there was “prima facie” enough evidence against them. The Enforcement Directorate had chargesheeted 83-year-old Singh, accusing him of projecting around Rs 7 crore “proceeds of crime” as agricultural income in connivance with his wife and others and had invested the sum in LIC policies

Saturday, March 24, 2018

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26

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Nepal wants ‘mutually beneficial’ ties with India, China: Foreign minister Nepal’s Left alliance government will maintain a “mutually beneficial” relationship with India and China to seek economic benefits from both the Asian giants, the country’s newly-appointed foreign affairs minister said on Sunday.

Pradeep Gyawali, who was inducted on Friday, also said that the Nepal government had started preparations as it expects both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese PresidentXiJinpingtovisitthecountrythisyear.

“We want to build a mutually beneficial relationship with both in the changed context,” Gyawali said, adding that Nepal needs support from both the countries.

“Chinese President Xi was supposed to visit Nepal in 2016, which could not be materialised possibly due to frequent government changes,” he said.

Speaking to reporters here, Gyawali said similar high-level visits will

take place from Nepal’s side also.

He said the government was making necessary preparations for the foreign trip of Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli. “Prime Minister will make foreign trip soon and we are making necessary preparations to that end. But we have not yet decided from which country he will begin his foreign trip with,” he said.

Meanwhile, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has congratulated Gyawali on his appointment to the post of Foreign Minister of Nepal.

She made a phone call to congratulate the newly-appointed foreign minister on Friday, Indian embassy officials said.

In her congratulatory letter, Swaraj expressed confidence that India-Nepal partnership will be further strengthened during his tenure.

She also extended an invitation to foreign minister Gyawali to visit India, they said.

Maldives former dictator, judges charged with terrorism Authorities charged the Maldives longtime former dictator and top judges and police officials with terrorism as the government deals with political turmoil that prompted a weeks-long state of emergency.

The nine people charged at the criminal court included Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the 30-year ruler of the Indian Ocean archipelago state; Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed; four lawmakers including Gayoom’s son; and a former police commissioner.

Prosecutors did not specify the grounds

on which they are charged with terrorism.

If convicted, they could be jailed for 10 to 15 years. All three also were charged with obstruction of justice on suspicion of refusing to hand over their phones to investigators.

Saeed, Hameed and another judicial officer were charged with receiving bribes to help overthrow the government.

Gayoom and the judges were arrested last monthfollowingaSupremeCourtordertorelease several of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s political opponents who were jailed after trials that involved alleged due-process violations.

Sri Lanka ends state of emergency as anti-Muslim violence subsides Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has lifted a nationwide state of emergency imposed 12 days ago in a bid to quell BuddhistMuslim clashes. Communal tensions are on the rise in the Indian Ocean’s island nation.

Sri Lanka’s army soldiers stand guard a road after a clash between two communities in Digana, central district of Kandy The Sri Lankan president said Saturday that the security situation had sufficiently improved in the central district of Kandy, 115 kilometers (72 miles) northeast of the capital Colombo.

“Upon assessing the public safety situation, I instructed to revoke the State of Emergency from midnight yesterday,” Maithripala Sirisena wrote on Twitter.

Sirisena declared a state of emergency on March 6 to quell anti-Muslim violence, in which three people were killed and hundreds of shops were vandalized.

It was the first time the country declared a state of emergency since the end of decades-long Tamil separatist war in 2009.

Communal violence broke out in Kandy

after a Sinhalese man, who had been attacked by a Muslim mob, died in hospital.

In response, rioters attacked several Muslim homes, shops and mosques in the area.

After police were unable to rein in the spread of violence, President Sirisena declared a state of emergency, giving security forces sweeping powers to arrest suspects.

Over 300 people have been taken into custody since the March 6 riots.

‘The Sri Lankan government [President Sirisena pictured] has done very little to address mistrust between Buddhists and Muslims,’ says ICG analyst Alan Keenan In the past few years, communal tensions have flared in Sri Lanka, a majority Buddhist country.

Some 75 percent of the country’s 21 million strong population are Sinhalese Buddhists, whereas around 10 percent are Muslim.

Hardline Buddhist groups accuse Muslims of attacking their religious sites and forcing Sinhalese people to convert to Islam.

India condemns ‘barbaric’ terrorist attack in Kabul India on Wednesday strongly condemned the “inhumane and barbaric” terrorist attack in Kabul and extended all possible assistance to the war-torn country.

In a statement, the External Affairs Ministry said it was not only an attack on the Afghan people but also an attack on their identity and culture.

“What makes this attack particularly reprehensible is the fact that the terrorists and their backers chose the festive day of Nauroz to carry out their heinous act,” it said.

India stands ready to extend all possible

assistance, including for the treatment of those injured, the ministry asserted.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of the victims, and we wish quick and complete recovery to the injured,” it added.

An Islamic State suicide bomber struck on the road to a Shiite shrine in Afghanistan’s capital today, killing at least 29 people.

The Public Health Ministry said another 52 people were wounded in the attack, which was carried out by a bomber on foot.

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Bangladesh SC stays order on Zia’s bail Supreme Court on Monday stayed the release of former prime minister Khaleda Zia on bail in a corruption case under which she was sentenced to five years imprisonment, in a setback to her political ambitions in this year’s general election.

Zia, 72, was sentenced on February 8 in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

In the same case, her son Tarique Rahman and four others were sentenced to 10 years in jail.

On March 12, the High Court here granted the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a four-month interim bail.

However, today a full bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice

Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order to stay until May 8 the High Court order which granted bail to Zia in the graft case.

Following today’s Supreme Court order, Zia will not be released from jail till May 8, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan was quoted as saying by Daily Star.

The apex court asked the ACC and government to submit concise statements on the appeal in two weeks after receiving the leave granting order, the report said.

Zia has also been asked to submit concise statement on the appeal in two weeks after the ACC and government file their concise statements. A concise statement contains the points on which the lawyer placed arguments on the appeals before the court.

27

No positive response from Pakistan on South Asia strategy: Afghan NSA There has been no positive response from Pakistan on the South Asia strategy of Trump administration, which has a significant impact on the reduction of violence and capabilities of the terrorists in this war-torn country, a top Afghan official said today.

Welcoming the South Asia Strategy announced by President Donald Trump last August, Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar told a Washington audience that it already has a significant impact on the reduction of violence and capabilities of the terrorists and to create an enabling environment for our peace and reconciliation strategy.

The response from the region has been mixed, Atmar said in his remarks on “Progress on Peace and Stability in Afghanistan” at the US Institute of Peace.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t had any positive

response from Pakistan. Not any change in the policy that they are pursuing,” he said.

Noting that the response from the wider region is slightly mixed, Atmar said while there is a regional consensus on peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, the consensus on how to fight the terrorists has broken slightly.

“Unfortunately, there are actors in the region that draw a distinction between good and bad terrorists. Unfortunately, another sign of that breakdown of consensus is that we all agreed to have state-to-state relations for counter terrorism. But there are those now who look at state to non-state actors relations for counter-terrorism with serious implications for all of us,” Atmar said.

“Like that there are those who say that they work with the Taliban against Daish or against the ISIS. Not only this is unethical but also self-defeating in terms of policy.

One of Nepal’s last dancing bears dies after rescue One of Nepal’s last known dancing bears that was recently rescued has died after being transferred to a zoo, an animal rights activist said on Wednesday, blaming the death on “negligence”. The two sloth bears were rescued in southern Nepal in December last year from a pair of itinerant street performers who used the animals for entertainment.

Shortly after their rescue, the bears, 19-year-old male Rangila and Sridevi, a 17-year-old female, were transferred to a zoo near the capital Kathmandu where they were put in cages on display. “(We) were told that she had some problem in her liver and that it was jaundice,” said Niraj Gautam of Jane Goodall Institute Nepal, who was involved in the rescue of the bears.

“These animals should have been thoroughly checked.

There was nothing. That’s the negligence we want to point out.”

Gautam said that the bears should have been given special care and medical attention to help them rehabilitate after years of abuse as performing animals. The bears were kept in small cages that were not properly cleaned and were displaying behaviours that suggested they were distressed, Gautam added.

“It feels like all our work was in vain,” he said. The government defended the care the bears have received, saying the zoo is the only facility in Nepal able to house them. The Jane Goodall Institute and the World Animal Protection rights group are lobbying Nepal’s government to have the surviving bear transferred to a special sanctuary for rescued dancing bears in neighbouring India, where the tradition of using the animals for entertainment was only finally stamped out in 2012.

“There are legal hurdles in transferring the animal to another country and the zoo is the only facility we have,” said Gopal Prasad Bhattarai, deputy director of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

“The zoo is giving the best care they (are) capable of (giving) to the bear.” Nepal outlawed the practice of performing bears back in 1973, a year after it was officially banned in India, but the tradition lingered on in parts of the country’s south.

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FIJI

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Iranian man seeks refugee status in Fiji The Immigration Department is yet to comment on how they will handle the issue regarding a young Iranian refugee who fled to Fiji from Papua New Guinea.

The Iranian refugee Loghman Sawari (pictured) who was held on Manus Island for more than three years fled to Fiji, and he is seeking asylum on the grounds he fears persecution if he goes back to Papua New Guinea. Loghman Sawari has told The Age that this is the end for him. His time in PNG has been punctuated by beatings, bullying, imprisonment, illness, suicide attempts and living on the street in Lae. The 21-year-old Ahwazi Arab managed to board a plane under a false name after he said he was threatened by a PNG immigration official and lost hope of being resettled in the United States under President Donald Trump.

We are awaiting answers from the Immigration Department on how the Iranian arrived in Nadi under a false name. It is the first case where a refugee who sought asylum from Australia is claiming to be fleeing persecution by a country connected to the Australian government’s “stop the boats” policy.

Sawari told Fairfax Media he had collected money for the airfare from several sources over several months. Broke and destitute, he has been given refuge by a Fijian family in Nadi and is planning to present himself to Fiji immigration officials tomorrow to seek protection. UNHCR officials are understood to be aware of his situation, which poses legal and diplomatic challenges for the countries involved.

Fiji, PNG and Australia are all signatories to the refugee convention. We have also sent questions to Attorney General Aiyaz Khaiyum.

New $30M Navosa Hospital to benefit over 10,000 patients Over 10,000 Fijians in the province of Nadroga, Navosa and the highlands of Ba will benefit from the new Navosa Sub-Divisional Hospital at Keiyasi which is expected to be completed in the next 18 months. While speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says in the past, people residing throughout this sub-division needed to travel to Sigatoka, Nadi, or even as far as Ba to seek specialized treatment, x-rays and ultrasounds, maternity services, pharmacy services and laboratory testing. Bainimarama says that he is proud to say that upon the completion of the

$30M hospital, this will no longer be the reality for healthcare as all of these services will be offered in Keiyasi.

He says that all over Fiji government has set up new healthcare facilities with a particular emphasis on delivering more and better services to the people of Fiji in remote maritime and deep rural communities. Bainimarama says in the next five years even more investment will be made to upgrade and expand the existing divisional hospitals, making room for more beds, providing more services and creating an overall better experience for those seeking treatment.

Male student found in girls’ washroom A 20-year-old tertiary student who was allegedly found inside a school’s washroom for girls was yesterday instructed to meet his lawyer. Rohit Kumar, who is charged with one count of criminal trespass, appeared before Magistrate Deepika Prakash.

The court was informed that Mr Kumar was allegedly inside the washroom with a female student for hours. A teacher from the school reported the matter to police. Mr Kumar had pleaded guilty to the charge. The

alleged incident took place on October 26 last year. The case has been adjourned to April 10 for mitigating submissions. Meanwhile in a separate case, a man charged with one count of assault with intent to rape pleaded not guilty to the count. The accused informed the court he opted to represent himself on his case. Ms Prakash has instructed the accused to look for witnesses in his case and to reappear in court on August 13 for his case to be heard.

Former housing authority chief ordered to leave Fiji Former Housing Authority chief executive officer Dr Punit Sethi claims he was forced to resign by the authority’s board last week and to leave Fiji immediately. Speaking from his home in New Delhi, Dr Sethi, an Indian national, claimed he did not resign for personal reasons, but had his resignation letter drafted for him and was coerced to sign it. “The board ordered me to resign in two minutes and then within five minutes, my official mobile, car, as well as laptop were confiscated and I was given air tickets to fly back to India,” he claimed. “This was done so as not to allow me to retrieve any evidence from my laptop and also not allowing me to meet anyone, especially media.”

Dr Sethi claimed this was a clear example of harassment and ill-treatment of a professional by the authority’s board. He claimed the laptop was removed from him because it had information adverse to the authority, including interference from a senior minister in its activities. “In fact, myself and my family were put under tremendous unprofessional pressure to resign or to face termination despite visible results on the ground with complete transparency, without any partiality

for anyone and putting completely derailed Housing Authority on the right track of progress and success,” Dr Sethi claimed.

He claimed he was not given any reason for his resignation, but was told that the directive had come from “the top”. Dr Sethi claimed he had learned that “boards in Fiji appointed CEOs only for the purpose to show off on records that good governance is being done, and then on some pretext, CEOs are asked to resign”. He claimed he had worked with complete honesty in his position. “There is documentary evidence and physical evidence on the ground that after my joining as CEO of the Housing Authority, a ‘sick’ organisation was put into action within three to four months.” Responding to the claims, authority board member Nesbitt Hazelman said the allegations were incorrect and mischievous.

Mr Hazelman, who chairs the authority’s human resources board sub-committee, said Dr Sethi was still on probation and was yet to be confirmed as CEO of the authority.

“His (Dr Sethi’s) probationary period was extended in December 2017 for a further three months based on performance issues.

700 students graduate from USP More than 700 students graduated from the University of the South Pacific.

The students from the Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment and the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education are now receiving their awards at the FMF Gymnasium in Suva.

An additional graduation ceremony will take place this afternoon for about 300 students graduating under Pacific Techinical and Further Education.

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s USP graduation will feature graduates under the Faculty of Business.

12 dead from Meningococcal diseases Twelve people die from Meningococcal diseases and the number may increase in following weeks as health authorities complete investigations into deaths suspected to be from the disease. The health ministry’s national advisor on communicable diseases, Dr Aalisha SahuKhan said authorities had noticed dramatic increase in cases. “We are telling everybody because we need everybody to be alert and be highly suspicious of the signs and symptoms of the disease because it’s a very serious disease once you get it,” Dr. SahuKhan said.

“There is a very high rate of death not just in Fiji but everywhere in the world, even in developed countries like Australia, the death rate is still 8-10 per cent even when someone is treated appropriately.” So far, the 12 deaths account for surveillance from 2016 to February of 2018, Dr. SahuKhan said. Dr SahuKhan said

death rate can go up to 50 per cent if patients are not treated appropriately and added most deaths occur in the first 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. “Someone can be well one day and the next day they’re gone if they don’t get treated quick enough,” she said.

Authorities declared an infectious disease outbreak this morning and set in place nationwide action for the Meningococcal Disease Taskforce aimed at strengthening the ministry’s early detection protocols.

An outbreak response team at the four divisional hospitals nationwide is now working to test suspected cases to quicken the urgent treatment of patients suspected to have meningococcal disease. Health authorities emphasise the public need to be aware, alert and go to the nearest health facility as soon as possible if they have any of symptoms.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Encounter specialist’ officer turns himself into the Court

S

enior Karachi police officer gave himself up in the Courton on Wednesday.

According to the record, ‘Police encounter specialist’, Rao Anwar (pictured) who is accused of killing 444 people in extra judicial encounters between 2011 - 2018 in several stage-managed shootouts. A former Police SSP office, Rao Anwar went into hiding after allegedly killing of a north Karachi man named Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27year old shop owner and model from South Waziristan who was living in Karachi.

The anti terror squads killed many innocent people in Karachi while govt keeps on supporting terrorists. SSP Rao Anwar was stopped by

Pakistan asks India to suspend work on Kishanganga hydro power projects

immigration officials at Islamabad airport, while trying to flee the country on a Dubaibound flight on January 23. Rao Anwar had alleged that Mehsud was a militant of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a claim that was denied by the TTP’s spokesperson. In January, a highlevel inquiry committee probing the killing of Mehsud had found that the Waziristan native was killed in a staged encounter by Anwar on January 13.

Until Mehsud’s killing, Anwar had not faced any inquiry. The committee had also concluded in its report the victim had no militant tendencies or links and ran a small business in Karachi.

Two parliamentary committees in Islamabad in a joint resolution asked India to immediately suspend the ongoing construction of the Kishanganga and Ratle hydro power projects+ in Jammu and Kashmir, Dawn reported.

The two projects are being constructed on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. A resolution adopted by the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and water and power committees also asked the World Bank to set up a Court of Arbitration to mediate the dispute over the Indus Waters Treaty between the two countries.

It said that under the Indus Waters Treaty+ (IWT), it is the responsibility of the World Bank to play its role without further delay. Until the World Bank constitutes the court of arbitration, it must persuade India to put an immediate halt to ongoing construction of the Ratle dam till the issue is resolved, read the joint resolution adopted unanimously by both the government

US rules out hot pursuit of militants who flee to Pakistan US forces in Afghanistan have no plans to cross the international border to take out the Taliban and other militants who flee to Pakistan after conducting attacks inside the war-torn country, according to a top Pentagon official. Afghanistan has witnessed some of the worst terrorist attacks killing scores of people. It has blamed Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Haqqani Network and the

Afghan Taliban for these attacks. “To be clear, US military authorities are within the borders of Afghanistan only. We have no authority to go into Pakistan. If there is a way to get that authority, but that would certainly be the exception and not the norm and would not be,” Lt Col Mike Andrews, a spokesperson of the Department of Defence, said yesterday after his return from Afghanistan.

Fate of ‘disappeared’ stirs anger among Pashtuns When Mohammad Ayub Khan heard his nephew had been picked up by Pakistani security officials in Karachi, it brought back painful memories of another nephew who had gone missing in similar circumstances years before. Khan, an ethnic Pashtun, says he had been calling at army and police offices seeking news of Haji Akbar since his nephew was ordered off a bus by uniformed soldiers

seven years ago during a security alert in the northern Swat Valley. Then last year his second nephew, rickshaw driver Abu Ghurera, was detained by plainclothes men as he waited for a fare in the country’s biggest city, according to witnesses. “I have knocked on every door but have not gotten any answers,” said Khan, who blames government security agencies for both men’s disappearances.

29

and opposition members of the committees. =The construction of dams on the western rivers by India has brought the two countries at loggerheads and Pakistan has engaged the World Bank, a facilitator of the IWT, to stop India from going ahead with the construction.

The committees were briefed on the agenda -- Indian threat on the Indus Waters Treaty and to chart out a course of action for Pakistan. The meeting was co-chaired by Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari and Muhammad Arshad Khan Leghari, members of the parliament and the chairmen of the two committees. Briefing the committees, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said all options were available with Pakistan in case India violated the IWT. “We will not let India violate the treaty,” Chaudhry said, adding that Pakistan had already engaged the World Bank to look into the issue as guarantor.

Court asks govt to explain whey Hindu MLA hasn’t been sworn in A court seeking reply from Speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Assembly and the provincial gov’t on a plea filed by a Hindu lawmakerelect over delay in his taking oath as a member of the House.

Member of the Provincial Assembly-elect Baldev Kumar, who is in jail in the murder case of Sikh lawmaker Sardar Soran Singh, had moved the Peshawar High Court against the Speaker, treasury and opposition members of the House and the provincial government over the delay in his taking oath as a member.

The division bench, comprising Justice Qaisar Rasheed and Justice Afsar Shah, yesterday asked the respondents to file their replies by April 5.

Kumar’s counsel, Mohib Jan Salarzai told the court that the KP government was deliberately using delaying tactics to prevent his client from taking oath as a Member of the Provicial Assembly (MPA) as the five year term of the House was about to expire.

He also said, on the court’s direction, Kumar was produced in the assembly on February 26. But he was not administered the oath as lawmakers from the opposition as well as the treasury benches raised a ruckus inside the House.

The Speaker was stopped from administering oath to Kumar in the quorum-less session as the members staged a walked out.

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30

NRI

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Indian American finishes first in Democratic primary in Texas state Indian American Sri Preston Kulkarni, 39, has finished first in the Democratic primary in a congressional district in the US state of Texas, but will have to face a fellow party leader in the May 22 runoff to earn the right to take on the Republican candidate. Sri Preston Kulkarni, 39, received 9,466 votes (nearly 32 per cent), while his fellow Democrat Letitia Plummer got 7,230 votes (24.3 per cent) in the Democratic primary in Texas’ 22nd congressional district. There were five candidates in the race. According to Texas election law, if a candidate does not get more than 50 percent of the votes, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers. If

Sikh student victim of racism in UK nightclub

Kulkarni emerges as a winner in the runoff, he will run against the the incumbent Republican representative Pete Olson. If elected, Sri will become the first Indian American congressman from the state of Texas. He is one of the nearly two-dozen Indian Americans who are running for Congress this year. Sri, who raised more than USD 96,000 in campaign donations, is hoping that the demographic diversity of the district -- it is a majority minority district -- will favour him. He told PTI that he was running because of the anti- American policies of the Trump

NRI wins bravery award in Barcelona terror attack An Indian-origin Birmingham man, who risked his life to help a fatally injured young boy in the last year’s Barcelona terror attack, has been selected for this year’s ‘Pride of Birmingham’ award. Harry Athwal, a project manager from Great Barr area of north-west Birmingham, was in Spain on holiday with a group of friends and family, including his sister Kinde Dehr, when a terrorist drove a van into pedestrians on Barcelona’s famous Las Ramblas tourist spot, killing 13 people and injuring hundreds. He ran to help seven-year-old Julian Alessandro Cadman, who was among those hit, and defied police orders to evacuate the area to keep holding on to him until the emergency services arrived. The boy, who had dual British and Australian nationality, died on the spot but his family have since thanked Athwal for being there for him. “I am a Sikh, and in Sikhism it is my duty to go and help somebody who is hurt or who is being bullied. That, in a sense, overtook me. I didn’t have time to think,� Athwal told the

Birmingham Mail. “At that moment you have a split second to decide what you are going to do. It was my instinct that I had to go and help somebody. I had to do something. It’s in my DNA,� he said. The 45-year-old has since been in touch with the boy’s grandparents, Noreen and Tony Cadman, who have thanked him for his heroic actions. He had arrived in Barcelona on August 17, 2017, the day of the attack along with his sister Kinde Dehr and a group of friends. A week ago, he was in Barcelone for a family holiday with his wife Harjinder and two sons, 19-year-old Deirnn and eight-year-old Khye, to celebrate his younger son’s birthday.

The group was having lunch at a restaurant overlooking Las Ramblas when he heard people’s scream and saw a van ploughing through them. He rushed down to the street to try and help. “The noise was phenomenal as it [van] hit people - thump after thump after thump. Straight away, I realised it was a terrorist attack,� he recalled.

A Sikh law student in the UK felt “victimised� after he was dragged out of a bar because he was wearing a turban, according to the media reports. Amrik Singh, 22 (pictured), claimed that he was ordered to leave Rush Late Bar in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, yesterday for wearing his religious headgear, BBC reported. Singh was told that the bar had a “no headwear� policy.

He tried to explain to a bouncer who approached him that the turban protected his hair and was part of his religion.

But his pleas were ignored - and he was “dragged away� from his friends before being removed from the venue, the report said.

Singh was also allegedly told, “I didn’t think you were allowed to come in a pub and drink anyway.�“I’m heartbroken. The reason why I

was removed was because I refused to remove my turban,� he wrote on Facebook.

Singh said the bouncer had approached him saying that he needed to remove my turban, the report said. “I explained that a turban isn’t just headgear, but part of my religion and that it protected my hair - and that I was allowed to wear a turban in public,� he said. “The bouncer ignored this and said I needed to take it off. I refused and was subsequently dragged away from my friends,� he added. “The fact that I was being removed because of my religious views really upset me. My ancestors have fought for the British army previously,� the Sun reported. “Furthermore, me and my parents were born in Britain and all uphold British values. “The worst part of it was the fact he compared my turban to wearing a pair of trainers,� Singh, a final year law student at Nottingham Trent University, added.

NRI jailed 33 months in US money laundering case Senior judge Donetta W Ambrose sentenced Ramesh to a 33-month jail term yesterday after his conviction of mail fraud and money laundering, a court statement said. According to information presented in the court, Ramesh shipped misbranded drugs from India to re-shippers in the US for distribution - without prescription - to American consumers. Can USA also arrest Nirav Modi? On what passport he is living in the

USA? For that matter, why is UK giving shelter to Mallya.bornagain100 Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S Desai prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

Ramesh operated an online website that offered prescription drugs, without a prescription, to American consumers. He was indicted on two counts of money laundering, 10 counts of mail fraud, a report said.

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Janhvi Kapoor shoots at prime locations of Kolkata Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter are currently shooting for their upcoming film ‘Dhadak’ in Kolkata.

The team has reportedly plans of shooting at various major and traditional locations of the city that includes Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Howrah Bridge, Victoria Memorial, Princep Ghat, New Market area and Maidan.

The lead pair will be seen coming to the city where Kharaj Mukherjee will be seen arranging for a house for them in the film. Ishaan and Kharaj were spotted shooting at Ganesh Chandra Avenue.

Although there is barely any fan following for the budding actors in Kolkata, hopes are high on the ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya’ director Shashank Khaitan who will be helming the Hindi version of the Marathi blockbuster.

Tabu will be ‘Missing’ in her next?

The film is being produced by Dharma Productions and Zee Studios. hanvi is belongs to Kapoor family who is 20-yearsold (born on 7 March 1997) Hindu girl from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

She completed her school education at Dhirubhai A m b a n i International School, Mumbai and her acting course from Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, California. sexy body. She was born and brought up in a Hindu family with the Hinduism ethnicity in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She is the elder daughter of renowned actress Sridevi.

Tabu, last seen in ‘Golmaal Again’ is back to grace the silver screen in her psychological thriller film ‘Missing’, alongside Manoj Bajpayee.

Manoj, who is also co-producing the film, took to Twitter and shared the first look poster and captioned it, “Go #MissingThisApril - Here’s the first poster of the film.

In a cinema near you on 6th April, 2018.

Film ‘Missing’ is an upcoming Bollywood psychological thriller directed by Mukul Abhyankar and produced by Abundantia and Neeraj Pandey with Sri Adhikari Brothers, Anand Pandit Motion Pictures and Manoj Bajpayee. The film also stars Annu Kapoor besides Tabu and Manoj.

Tabassum Fatima Hashmi was born on November, 4 1971, known as Tabu.

She has primarily acted in Telugu and Hindi films, she has also appeared in English, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi and

Bengali language films. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice, and has received six Filmfare Awards, including a record four Critics Awards for Best Actress.

She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2011.

Tabu is best known for playing protagonists in films that garner more critical appreciation than substantial box office figures. Her most critically acclaimed performances were in the films Maachis (1996), Kaalapaani (1996), Virasat (1997), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Hu Tu Tu (1999), Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar (2001), Maqbool (2003), Cheeni Kum (2007), Haider (2014), Drishyam (2015) and Fitoor (2016). She has also played leading roles in several commercially successful films.

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

HOROSCOPE Aries . K + * 2 Your feelings may be validated when a discussion with someone you trust enables you to feel heard and understood. A lovely lineup on Monday can be excellent for

from any advice. The sun enters your sign on Tuesday, meaning that the next four weeks could see you making great strides with your personal plans. Go easy from Thursday, however, because chatty Mercury turns retrograde in your sign. Be aware of the

Taurus * K + . - 2 The focus is on your spiritual sector this week, perhaps bringing insights and revelations your way. You could have a strong connection to emotions that run beneath the surface. Should you need to talk about them, this could be easier as well. In fact, you might feel great relief from getting them out in the open. Chatty Mercury turns retrograde in this same zone on Thursday, and this could make it easier to remember your dreams and tap in to any intuitive nudges.

Gemini . - 2 + B K Socially, things are looking good for you now. With lovely Venus and inquisitive Mercury, your guide planet, in your friendship zone, the days ahead can bring fun events and pleasant encounters. The sun moves into this sector on Tuesday for a four-week stay, and this could inspire you to make a few changes. If you’re interested in a subject, joining a club could bring it to life for you.

Mercury, your guide planet, turns retrograde midweek, and this could coincide with delays

Cancer

B + B - L If you want to impress someone, the coming days and weeks could be the best time to do so. Using a mixture of charm

progress becomes possible. People may be drawn to you, and you can use this to your advantage. Once the sun enters this same sector on Tuesday, you may be propelled into the spotlight. If you have talents to share, this is the time to do so. Mercury turns retrograde midweek, however, so watch out for mistakes

Libra N " + O Relationships sparkle with promise,

conversations seem to work out well. If you’re looking for a compromise or hoping to heal a tricky situation, you’ll likely manage.

Once the sun enters your sector of relating on Tuesday, you could become aware of ways in which you can improve certain relationships. It might mean rewriting some

Scorpio O L + P ' As dynamic Mars continues its journey through your sector of communication, you may become aware of opportunities that are still waiting for you. All you need is the courage to embrace them. The coming days and weeks could see you doing just that. There’s a lot of activity in your sector of routines and wellness, with the cosmos encouraging you to get involved with those things that excite you the most. If you want to exercise daily, pick something you enjoy.

Sagitarius P ' L + G

Leisure options seem particularly upbeat over the coming days. Whether you’re eager to pursue a new hobby, sport, or love interest, it all seems to be coming together very well.

However, lively Mercury, your relationship planet, turns retrograde in this same zone midweek. You may be drawn to activities that you enjoyed as a child, and experimenting with these could be very therapeutic. Over the weekend, don’t let anyone dissuade you from following your heart, especially if it feels good to do so.

Capricorn G L + B 2 This month holds plenty of activity on the home front. Whether you’re entertaining guests or doing your own thing, it all looks like it will be fun. This can be a good time for a celebration or get-together, as a lovely blend of energies can ensure that everyone has a good time.

Inquisitive Mercury turns retrograde in this same sector midweek. If you’re buying gadgets for the home or thinking about investing in remodeling, keep any receipts and paperwork in case you need a refund.

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Are you ready for adventure? If so, the coming week could encourage you to follow your heart. In fact, a discussion with a friend could act as a catalyst and encourage you to book a trip. Once the sun enters your sector of far horizons on Tuesday, you could be propelled into experiences that expand your mind. However, if you’re traveling, Mercury’s retrograde phase begins on Thursday, which could mean delays or detours. With the right mindset, these can be fun, too.

Virgo * $ + N With expressive Mercury, your guide planet, aligning with lovely Venus in an intense sector of your chart, conversations could reveal much.

You might be eager to get beneath the surface of a relationship issue so you can understand what’s going on. It seems you’ll succeed and a solution will be found. Midweek, chatty Mercury turns retrograde in this same sector, so go easy regarding business matters or any issue with

before you sign on the dotted line.

You could get involved in some exciting conversations in the days ahead, and these might propel you into fresh adventures.

Whatever you’ve been thinking about could now become a reality. With the sun entering your sector of talk and thought on Tuesday, you may become aware of one opportunity that’s just waiting for you to embrace it. However, messenger Mercury turns retrograde on Thursday, and will remain so until April 15. Be cautious when closing deals or purchasing expensive items.

Pisces ( 2 + . 2 A conversation about a purchase could work out in your favor. With just a little charm, you may

you something you’ve always wanted. When the sun moves into your money zone on Tuesday, it might be time to take stock and tweak your budget so it can help you save money. However,

Thursday, so keep receipts if you’re purchasing anything important or expensive.

Salman Khan teams up with Hollywood director Tom Struthers for his ‘Race 3’ Hollywood action coordinator Tom Struthers, who had earlier worked with Salman Khan on “Tiger Zinda Hai,� has been roped in to choreograph the stunt sequences for the actionpacked climax of “Race 3.� Khan’s last release, “Tiger Zinda Hai,� saw the actor performing high-octane scenes which After “Tiger Zinda Hai,� Salman Khan and Hollywood action garnered humongous love director Tom Struthers (right) are teaming up for “Race 3.� and appreciation. It is a Anal Arasu, is currently planning the film’s known fact that when Khan likes someone’s climax. Director Remo D’Souza has been work, he wants to work with them again working in consultation with both of them. whether it’s his heroines, directors, or even The trio (D’Souza, Struthers and Arasu) technicians. This time, he has reunited has been discussing ideas and putting with Struthers. The team of “Race 3� is the choreography for the action scenes in currently camping in Abu Dhabi, and will place for the last three months. They even shoot the high-octane scenes over the next reached Abu Dhabi much before the others month-and-a-half. Struthers, who has to make sure everything was in place and worked on several films with Christopher that there was no delay. This will be the Nolan, like “The Dark Knight Rises� and team’s last schedule, after which the film “Inception,� along with Indian fight master will enter the post-production stage.

EMRAAN HASHMI mraan Anwar Hashmi

March 1979) is an Indian

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Bollywood Starsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthdays

EMRAAN HASHMI MARCH 24

RANI MUKHERJI MARCH 21

SHASHI KAPOOR MARCH 18

AAMIR KHAN MARCH 14

Bollywood

Saturday, March 24, 2018

‘Baa Baaa Black Sheep’

A movie whose title has been inspired by a nursery rhyme does not even have the ability to appeal to that demographic.

In Vishwas Pandyaa’s crime caper Baa Baaa Black Sheep, Baba (Manish Paul), the son of a cashew shop owner in Goa, realises that he actually belongs to a clan of crime-fighting vigilantes. His father Charudutt (Anupam Kher) pretends to be a henpecked husband in the house and is as peaceable as a rooster outside it.

Meanwhile, Baba is in love with the fancifully named Angelina (Manjari Phadnis), the daughter of art forger Brian (Annu Kapoor). Also in the picture is police officer Shivraj (Kay Kay Menon), hot on the trail of gangsters supported by corrupt home minister Utpal (Manish Wadhwa), who, of course, is running the drug trade in Goa. These numerous strands connect in

Film: ‘Baa Baaa Black Sheep’

logical and amusing ways, Pandya and co-writer Sanjeev Puri will have us know.

Each character is grandly introduced with a name card, as though that would make us remember them better. It is a measure of the movie’s staggering incompetence from start to finish that even veterans such as Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Kay Kay Menon do not manage to leave a trace.

The lesser actors, led by television regular Manish Paul, cannot even begin to dare to dream. A trip to the slaughterhouse might be more welcoming. From answering every homework question to killing every monster under the bed, from soothing every wound with care to crushing anxiety by just the sound of their voice - parents understandably seemed like invincible, know-it-all superheroes all our childhood.

It’s no wonder then that reality hits all of a sudden, the first time a parent falls and suffers a slip disc, or wears a thick pair of spectacles to read a restaurant menu - our parents are growing old, and older. It’s a slow process as our parents turn from superheroes to...human. And just as slow to evolve are the dynamics of our relationship with them. Once upon a time, a peck on the cheek was a frequent ritual. As were handmade birthday cards every year from the artistically inclined, or declaring parents as ‘My Hero’ in school

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Shaadi Teri Bajayenge Hum Band *ing: Rajpal Yadav, Mushtaq Khan

Mar

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Baa Baaa Black Sheep *ing: Anupam Kher, Manjari Fadnis, Kay

New Released Bollywood Films Mar

23

PRESHAN PRINDA *ing: Meeraj Shah, Sakshi Singh

Mar

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Hichki *ing: Rani Mukerji

Mar

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Raja Abroadiya

*ing: Robin Sohi, Vaishnavi Patwardhan

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Bollywood

Bajrangi Bhaijaan crosses the Rs 250 crore mark in China

B

ajrangi Bhaijaan has been making waves ever since its release in China.

According to the latest tweet by trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the movie has crossed the Rs 250 crore mark.

Taran had tweeted, “#BajrangiBhaijaan manages to sustain on weekdays in China, despite stiff competition… Crosses ₹ 250 cr mark… [Week 3] Fri $ 0.93 mn Sat $ 2.03 mn Sun $ 1.87 mn Mon $ 0.72 mn Tue $ 0.71 mn Wed $ 0.69 mn Thu $ 0.66 mn Total: $ 39.99 million [₹ 260.14 cr]” The movie’s main plotline revolves around a devotee of Hindu god Hanuman played by Salman Khan, who helps a lost six-year-old reach her country, Pakistan, safely. Bajrangi Bhaijaan is directed by Kabir Khan and

stars Salman, Kareena Kapoor and Harshali Malhotra in significant roles.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan had a stellar opening at the Chinese box office, minting Rs 55.22 crore.

Looks like the movie lovers of the country are all about the Khans right now. Mr. Pe r f e c t i o n i s t Aamir Khan’s movies Dangal and Secret Superstar had had a successful run at the box office earlier. In fact, Aamir is pretty famous across the border, as he is lovingly called Aamir Uncle in the country. The movie star’s earlier films, 3 Idiots, and PK had also fared well at the box office.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Ileana D’Cruz named brand ambassador for Tourism Fiji Actress Ileana D’Cruz has been appointed Tourism Fiji’s brand ambassador for the Indian market. She said the warmth and hospitality there makes her feel like it’s “home.”

Following a successful campaign with D’Cruz in 2017, Tourism Fiji witnessed a spike in interest from Indian travelers for the destination.

Now it aims to showcase more of its unique offerings to potential travelers from India through more engagements with the actress. The actress, known for films like “Barfi!”

“Rustom” and the recent, “Raid,” will be travelling to Fiji to experience a wide range of activities next month. “I’m so happy to be associated with a beautiful country like Fiji.

The warmth, hospitality, and love the Fijian people have shown me make me feel like I’m home. I cannot wait to go back and explore more of this lovely paradise,” D’Cruz said in a statement. Fiji has been receiving a steady positive growth in visitor arrival numbers

from India over the past five years. For the year ending December 2017, Fiji saw a 30 percent increase in arrivals from India as compared to 2016. Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, Fijian Minister for Industry, Trade, Tourism, Lands and Mineral Resources, said: “Fiji and India share an age-old connection with over 40 percent of Fiji’s population being of Indian origin.”

Bollywood celebrities hail from Royal families Saif Ali Khan after Aamir, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan is the fourth most remarkable Khan of Bollywood. He was born on 16 August 1970 in New Delhi to Khan Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who hailed from the prestigious royal family of Pataudis, and his motehr is noted film actress, Sharmila Tagore. Mansoor Ali Khan was Nawab of Pataudi from the year 1952–71. Following his, Saif was crowned the tenth Nawab of Pataudi in a pagri ceremony held in the village of Pataudi, Haryana.

After completing his graduation from the boarding school, Khan came back to India and joined an advertising industry in New Delhi. He worked there for two months before appearing in a television commercial for Gwalior Suiting on the behest of a friend.

Subsequently, he was roped in by director Anand Mahindroo, but, unfortunately, the project could not materialize, but Saif relocated to Mumbai to join Hindi films. He finally made his acting debut with Yash Chopra’s unsuccessful film ‘Parampara’ in 1993. The movie also starred actor Aamir Khan. He achieved success with his romantic roles in movies like ‘Yeh Dillagi’ (1995), ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anari’ (1994). Following the success of these two films, Khan was offered several other movies. In years to come, Saif went on to star in films like ‘Bambai Ka Babu’ (1996), ‘Tu Chor Main Sipahi’ (1996), ‘Hamesha’ (1997), ‘Udaan’ (1997), ‘Keemat’ (1998) ‘Humse Badhkar Kaun’ (1998), ‘Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan’ (1999), ‘Kachche Dhaage’ (1999), ‘Aarzoo’ (1999) and ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’ (1999).

By the end of 1990s, Khan had done more than a dozen of movies but he hardly got a role which could have brought him the kind of fame and success which he would have imagined. However, the beginning of the new centaury changed his life forever. His performance in Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ (2001) turned out to be the best rated performance of his career. The critically and financially successful movie marked a major turning point in the career of the actor, winning him the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role. It kind of uplifted the sinking career of Nawab.

After the thunderous success of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ (2001), Saif appeared in several well received films including ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ (2003), ‘Ek Haseena Thi’ (2004), ‘Hum Tum’ (2005), ‘Parineeta’ (2005), ‘Omkara’ (2006), ‘Love Aaj Kal’ (2009), and ‘Cocktail’ (2012), to mention a few. The actor is currently awaiting the release of his films ‘Chef ’ and ‘Bazaar’.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Amitabh Bachchan not in favour of museum dedicated to him Amitabh says he will not approve any proposal for building a â&#x20AC;&#x153;museumâ&#x20AC;? dedicated to his life and work. When a Twitter user directed the 75-year-old to a news report about Andheri MLA Ameet Satam proposing a museum dedicated to Big B, the actor wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;?Not approved at allâ&#x20AC;Ś It shall not be done!â&#x20AC;?

According to the report, Satam proposed the idea of having the museum built in Juhu, which is also where Amitabh stays.

Satam reportedly made the proposal in the state assembly, where he also said that Juhu was

Mumbaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equivalent of Hollywoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beverly Hills given that a number of high profile film stars live in the locality.

Amitabh has had a long career of over four decades in the Hindi film industry.

Age notwithstanding, the actor continues to regale his fans with movies, and currently has movies like 102 Not Out, Thugs of Hindostan, Bhramastra and Jhund in his kitty.

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Rani Mukerji Turns 40, Says Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Continue Battling Stereotypes Actress Rani Mukerji, who turned 40 March 21, said that her 22-year journey as a woman in showbiz has been about battling discriminatory stereotypes constantly.

Mukerji, who is coming back to the big screen with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hichkiâ&#x20AC;? after four years, wrote a heartfelt letter on her birthday. Besides her own journey, she highlighted the hiccups that other women actors face in the industry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a woman, I must admit, it has not been an easy journey. I had to prove myself every day. Actresses have to prove themselves every day,â&#x20AC;? said Mukerji, who is married to producer Aditya Chopra and has a 2-yearold daughter Adira with him. She steered the content to gender disparity in the industry and wrote about the preconceived notions that exist. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A woman has a short career span,

a married womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equity dies, women are not bankable commodities at the box office, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;female-centricâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (I hate this word!!) films are huge risks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A married actress who is also a mother is the final nail in the coffin of her dreams, ambitions and aspirations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; these are some of the discriminatory stereotypes that we have to live with and try to overcome every single day.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a woman, the disparity with a man is huge and glaring in this industry.â&#x20AC;?

Mukerji also commented on how women are always under the scanner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are judged for our looks, our dancing skills, our height, our voice, our acting, how we carry ourselves every time we step out of the house â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we have to be the best and yet we are thought to be extremely dispensable.â&#x20AC;?

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

up & about

CORE MUSIC

Folk music is like an old recipe that is passed on from generation to generation.

It is our culture, no matter how far the borders change, because it is what keeps us rooted and connected to our core DNA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Neha Bhasin, singer

ty and Tanishaa Rhea Chakrabor at batics in a pool Mukerji try acro swimwear label the launch of a

ON A TRIP Popular French record producer, DJ Snake, enjoys an auto-rickshaw ride in Hyderabad.

We love the green kurta

Twinkle Khanna

Akshay Kumar

Kriti Sanon

LITTLE PLEASURES ONE TIGHT SLAP Shilpa Shetty Kundra waves at photographers as she leaves a clinic in Bandra

PICS/SAMEER MARKANDE, NIMESH DAVE, SATEJ SHINDE, YOGEN SHAH

WOUNDED STUNNER A friend supports Mandana Karimi as she steps out of a cafe with a cast on her leg

JUST IN

Bappi Lahiri along with wife Chitrani, son Bappa and daughter-in-law Taneesha host the annaprashana (rice eating) ceremony for grandson Krishh.

Alka Yagnik, Sumona Chakravarti, Hema Malini and Jaya Prada join the celebration

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Desi fight moves for superhero Ranbir

No godfather?

PC’s here for you

With Bulgaria schedule behind him, Kapoor to train in Kalaripayattu for a month before kicking off second leg of Brahmastra shoot MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com WITH the maiden schedule of Brahmastra wrapping up tomorrow, Ranbir Kapoor is gearing up to get into action mode. We hear the actor, over the next four weeks, will train in various Indian martial art forms, including Kalaripayattu and Huyen Langlon, for his superhero act in the Ayan Mukerji-directed film.

A source from the film’s team reveals that both Kapoor and his co-star Alia Bhatt are expected to return from Bulgaria by the weekend. While Bhatt will dive headlong into Gully Boy, Kapoor will begin his prep for the June schedule of the fantasy film. “Ranbir will train in Kalaripayattu and Varma Kalai. He is required to have the physique of a gymnast for the film, and these martial art forms will help him achieve that,” says the source.

Besides attaining a lean physique, the actor will also have to pick up fight techniques for the action sequences of the Karan Johar production. Kapoor will require a ground training in Huyen Langlon, a popular form of martial art from Manipur that involves both armed and unarmed fighting.

A trainer in the know informs, “He only needs to pick up combat training tricks. He will be spending time in developing each skill required for the film’s action sequences. We will focus on Phunaba Anishuba [the unarmed style of combat under Huyen langlon]. Though a month is a short span of time, his team of trainers will take him through the basics of each form.”

Sooraj to put on his dancing shoes Actor gives nod to dance film scripted by Remo D’Souza which will see him train under UK-based choreographer

MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com AFTER having struggled to bag a second release following his Bollywood debut with Hero in 2015, Sooraj Pancholi is now aspiring to establish himself with his dancing prowess. Earlier this year, the actor announced a dance venture with choreographer-director Prabhudheva. Now, the actor has greenlit another dance film, which will be written by famed choreographer-turned-director Remo

Chopra launches studio website with category for new talent, aspiring artistes can apply; special team to curate scripts, groom newbies MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com WITHIN two days of returning to India, Priyanka Chopra is already hard at work — after giving the much-needed impetus to regional cinema with her production house, Purple Pebble Pictures, the actor is championing the cause of supporting new talent. Marking her first step towards attaining the goal, she launched the studio’s website yesterday. In an interesting move, the site includes a talent platform where aspiring artistes — across the fields of acting, script writing and direction, among others — can fill an application form and stand a chance to bag a project.

About the new initiative, Priyanka’s mother and business partner Dr Madhu Chopra says, “We’re constantly looking to discover talent. It could be a skill in any area of filmmaking.

Of course, writers are crucial to the process of filmmaking and since content has been one of the pillars of our banner, we want writers with a fresh ap-

proach and perspective.”

Aspiring storytellers can send their scripts to the studio after filling up the application form. Priyanka has put together a team of curators who will cull out interesting stories that can then be bankrolled by the studio. Similarly, there are dedicated teams that will select and groom new talents across different areas of filmmaking.

“Anyone with the skills associated with filmmaking can apply. Enter your details, and if you fit the bill for any of our upcoming projects, we’ll get in touch with you. The idea is to provide a platform where talent can be curated, groomed and allowed to excel. There is abundant potential, but not enough opportunities.”

Mom Chopra says it was Priyanka’s idea to ensure deserving talent gets a break in showbiz. “In her early days in Bollywood, Priyanka had no one she could turn to for advice. Through this website, she wants to encourage aspirants who can make it in the entertainment business.”

‘In her early days in Bollywood, Priyanka had no one she could turn to for advice’ Dr Madhu Chopra, business partner

D’Souza.

“I have always been passionate about dancing. When I got to know that the film is based on the art, I was thrilled,” Pancholi tells midday of the film that rolls in August.

A team of UK-based dancers

have been roped in to train Pancholi. “It has been a month since we began prepping for it.

I have been training for four hours a day, and am enjoying the experience. While I am being trained in hip-hop, jazz and contemporary, I am also learning clog dance [per-

‘While I am being trained in hiphop, jazz and contemporary, I am also learning clog dance’ Sooraj Pancholi

formed while wearing wooden soled clogs],” he says.

Pancholi is certain that films of this nature will push the boundaries of the art in India. “This movie has a few exciting sequences that I am looking forward to shooting,” says the actor, who announced that he would open a dance academy for underprivileged children across India in January.

The team is scouting for a debutant director to helm the venture.

8

Saturday, March 24, 2018

‘Foreigners call our item songs soft porn’ Celebrating how his Assamese film underplays the sensitive topic of violence, Victor Banerjee says Hindi films have a lot to aspire to SONIA LULLA sonia.lulla@mid-day.com SET in 1983, Victor Banerjee’s awardwinning Assamese film, Rainbow Fields, depicts the trauma of children growing up during the Nellie massacre that took place in Assam.

One might assume that exposing the child actors in the drama to sensitive topics like guns, killings and death, may have been difficult. But Banerjee suggests otherwise.

“When you belong to places like Assam, Nagaland or Mizoram, death has an entirely different significance, or insignificance, if you may.

With this film, we’ve put out a story that’s natural for the people of that area. Since I grew up in the northeast, I have a great deal of sympathy

for the way they feel, and the causes that they have been dying for,” Banerjee, who plays a grandfather to kids affected by the turmoil, tells mid-day.

Given that the veteran actor has been witness to the trauma that children growing up in the midst of violence endure, his casting in the project is fitting. He says that the Bidyut Kotoky-directed venture is special due to the manner in which the subject has been underplayed.

“You won’t see much blood in the film, but there is a persistent undercurrent of violence that is bothersome.” It is the lack of dramatisation in films of this nature that make them better suited for European countries, says Banerjee. He adds that, in stark contrast, Bollywood Victor Banerjee in a still from Rainbow Fields lacks such sensitivity. skimpiest of clothes because that’s “I deeply despise Bollywood for what the public wants,” says the what it has done to the Indian actor, further criticising the industry culture. I think a lot of the ‘moral for stereotyping characters. “The values’ that we have, and the way we South Indians are showcased as one perceive women, has to do with kind of clowns, the Goans are Bollywood films. When my friends portrayed as another kind of clowns, from international countries come and so are the Christians. That’s a here and watch a Bollywood film, disgrace.”

Bollywood, he says, can learn the they call our songs soft porn. Our tracks see our female actors in the art of appropriately showcasing cul-

‘I deeply despise Bollywood for what it has done to the Indian culture. I think a lot of the ‘moral values’ that we have, and the way we perceive women, has to do with Bollywood films’ Victor Banerjee

ture on the big screen from other film industries. “[The Marathi film industry] writes stories from their literature. Their concepts replicate the feelings and attitude of their kind. So, people belonging to the culture identify with it immediately.

Their films have soul.”

Rainbow Fields, also starring Dipannita Sharma, is scheduled to his screens later this month.

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Sushmita Sen, mother of two adopted daughters, happy about changing scenarios of adoption

S

ushmita Sen, who raises two adopted daughters, is happy that people are now more open to the idea of adoption. She says it is high time people get over the thinking that blood and bones create a family. The “Main Hoon Na” star expressed her views when she became a part of TV show “Vh1 Inside Access,” read a statement from the channel. She said: “I think people need to get out of this zone which is really just a zone where they

Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Malhotra’s ‘Badhaai Ho’ Junglee Pictures’ “Badhaai Ho,” starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Malhotra, wrapped up the shoot Mar. 21. This is Junglee Pictures’ next outing with Ayushmann Khurrana after the 2017 sleeper success, “Bareilly Ki Barfi.” The team celebrated the wrap by indulging in a small celebration, with lead actors Khurrana and Malhotra having a gala time by dancing their heart out.

“Badhaai Ho” is a comingof-age story of a family as it grapples with some unexpected news. The film is directed by Amit Sharma, who has helmed over a 1000 ad films, including one on Google Reunion and a short film for Kashmir Tourism, and made his feature film debut in 2015 with “Tevar,” starring Arjun Kapoor.

Ayushmann Khurrana was born 14 September 1984) is an Indian film actor, singer and anchor. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards. In 2012, Khurrana made his film debut in Shoojit Sircar’s romantic comedy Vicky Donor, which touched on the topic of sperm donation in India, and received Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.[2][3] He rose to prominence with romantic comedies Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) and Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), and comedydrama Shubh Mangal Savdhaan (2017), all of which received critical and commercial success. He hosted 63rd Filmfare Awards with Shah Rukh Khan, Parineeti Chopra and Karan Johar.

In Chandigarh born to Poonam and P. Khurrana, He studied at St. John’s High School and DAV College in Chandigarh. Then Panjab University, in Chandigarh.]

He did work theatre for five years. He was also the founding member of DAV College’s “Aaghaaz” and “Manchtantra”, which are active theatre groups in Chandigarh.

believe that blood and bones create a family. That we are truly not marrying an absolute stranger and it has nothing to do with your bloodline and suddenly become your everything that you will even take his last name. “Do you know 45 percent of children are no longer in the orphanages anymore? If not in India, then globally people are adopting. “I cannot tell you how amazing that makes me feel to know that this world, despite all its social media

distractions, has a heart as large as that.

That’s awesome,” added the actress, who has two daughters named Renee and Alisah.

She has some advice for her daughters.

“There is a difference between reputation and being honorable. Reputation is what others think of you or know of you. Being honorable is what you know of yourself.

It’s okay if you have bad reputation, always be honorable. That’s really important,” she said. The former Miss Universe has

featured in films like “No Problem,” “Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya” and “Bewafaa.” She is also seen in the fashion world as a showstopper quite often.

Sushmita Sen has tips for budding models. “Be sure you want to do it. Don’t do it because everyone else is doing it. Find your own expression of your body type.

Don’t become too skinny and starve; you have got to live your life in that body. So respect that. No profession should tell you otherwise,” she said.

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Jeep Wrangler

We invite you to

An Evening Filled with Hope & Inspiration

5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn

Shen Yun’s unique artistic vision expands theatrical experience

J

eep has taken the sport utility vehicle market by storm in the last 10 years.

Now, I realize I just offended 90% of Jeep owners everywhere by not calling the Wrangler a truck, but just bear with me here. The Jeep Wrangler is the iconic go anything, do anywhere vehicle. Jeep really prides itself on its off-road capability and overall ruggedness. And for good reason, the short wheelbase, low overhangs and excellent ground clearance really do excel on the trails. But is it a good day to day driver?

And does it really live up to its hype?

The Jeep Wrangler is one of the most recognizable vehicles on the road today. Jeep has taken the “if it aint broke, don’t fix it” approach for the last 75 years and it’s more popular now than ever. Take that Mini and VW Beetle. The 75th Anniversary Edition Wrangler comes in Sarge Green and I have to say it looks fantastic. It’s a great throwback to the original dark green of the classic army Jeeps of the day. The bronze wheels, bumper and trim contrast the relatively dark green paint and really stand out. The top is still removable and on the four-door model, there’s a smaller piece above the front seats that I absolutely love. It’s like having a targa top or a really big sun roof. In fact, the twopiece roof, all four doors and the upper tailgate are all still removable. You better have a spare spot in the garage because all of the extra parts take up the space of another car. Not to mention trying to remove the roof on your own can end with scratched paint, swearing, a sprained back and lots more swearing. It’s a two-person job on the best of days. Once the roof is off, it’s pretty easy to

can’t always have your music blasting all of the time. The window controls drove me absolutely bonkers. Jeep placed them right in the middle of the dash between the vents and the buttons are hooked over on a very odd angle. I understand the need to not keep them in the doors in case you remove them, but what was wrong with the classic toggle style switches? Now about that SUV comment, not only does Jeep call the wrangler an SUV on their website, but a truck has an open compartment in the rear for external storage. Case closed, get over it. Yell at me in the comments.

Jeep switched over to the 3.6L Pentastar V6 in 2012 to replace the 3.8L in the previous model years. To be honest, I really miss the 4.0L inline HO 6-cylinder engine from the earlier models. The 3.6 liter has plenty of torque but really lacks horsepower. It really shows when passing or merging on the highway. Anything over 4,000 rpm and the engine seems to fall on its face. Available in both a 5-speed automatic and a 6-speed manual, I much prefer the manual. The clutch is fantastic, as there’s lots of feel through the pedal; first gear is a great low gear for climbing. However, I think the transmission is mounted directly to the suspension because if I drove over any bumps or sewer covers the shifter was shaken out of my hand. So violently in fact that I actually crawled underneath to make sure the transmission mounts

see what all the fuss is about. There’s nothing like cruising around on sunny days with no roof and half doors. If you haven’t tried it yet I highly recommend it.

I’m not sure how I feel about the interior to be honest. Jeep made a huge effort to really class it up with the 75th anniversary model but there’s still a very utilitarian feel to it. There’s a blend of gorgeous leather, big 6.5” touchscreen display and bronze trim contrasting with the plastic panels, dash and roof. The seats are a soft brown leather and extremely comfortable in the front and the rear. The steering wheel is great and the controls are very easy to use.

That being said, in my opinion if you are going to go luxury don’t stop half way. The dash and center console is still made of plastic, so is half of the door panels and trim. There isn’t really much of a roof liner and the interior noise is still quite loud. Granted, Jeep did install an epic sound system to make up for it, but you

hadn’t sheared off. The ride was exactly what I expected from Jeep; soft and supple with lots of travel. And just as expected, the body roll was pretty substantial. Emergency lane changes or animal avoidance may result in an upside-down Jeep and a very unhappy Aman.

Overall, the 2017 Jeep Wrangler 75th Anniversary is pretty much exactly what I expected. An unreal off roader that compromised luxury for function.

Now, I do realize that this may be coming off as a negative review, it’s anything but. I just wanted to clear the air that the Jeep is an amazing SUV with lots of great features. But if you’re looking for a comfortable vehicle that’s going to spend 95% of its life on the road because it looks cool, maybe drive

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Saturday - March 24, 2018

Court ruling foreshadows flood of litigation, forced sales involving Chinese home ownerships, lawyer says A student who owned a multi-million dollar Vancouver home has won a B.C. Supreme Court judgment forcing the sale of up to four Vancouver properties, in a complex case that foreshadows a flood of sales and litigation in Vancouver’s wild market, a real estate lawyer says. In 2016 Angela An-Chi Chang — who owned a home on the 3300-block West 14th Avenue according to legal filings — sued a man who allegedly failed to complete his purchase of Chang’s home. After a court battle, a judge has now ordered the sale of up to four properties owned by the defendant,

in a ruling that could lead to further court battles between multiple bank and private lenders who already have mortgages secured by the defendant’s Vancouver real estate assets. Ron Usher, a lawyer involved in making recommendations for reform in B.C.’s real estate industry, told Postmedia that given the NDP government’s new measures to crack down on speculative investment, he can envision “a mountain” of similar cases coming through B.C. courts.

“We are seeing these court actions because there are so many of these private arrangements, where people have to turn to others for financing,” Usher said. “Or, they might have debts coming due in another country.”

Usher said B.C. judges are increasingly being asked in civil cases to unwind complex property ownership disputes.

“We really don’t know the ownership of property in B.C., and now we have judges commenting,” Usher said. “It is inevitable that these cases will start to impact the market place.” Chang’s claim says that defendant Xing Xua Hua agreed to buy her Kitsilano home in June 2016, for $3.9 million. Hua, who currently owns four homes in Vancouver,

Continued on next pages

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Real Estate

Vancouver West End condo assembly can be sold off From page 13 paid Chang a deposit of $190,000. Hua was to complete the purchase of Chang’s home by the end of September 2016. But he asked Chang to extend the closing into October 2016, and offered an additional $500,000 deposit.

Chang agreed to the sale extension, her claim says, but she never received the additional deposit funds, and determined the sale had collapsed.

In November 2016, she sued Hua, claiming losses and damages from the collapsed deal.

In a response, Hua claimed that after he did not complete the agreed deal in October 2016 his son Hua Wang offered in his place to buy Chang’s home for $3.9 million. But Chang did not accept the offer from Hua Wang, filings say.

In June 2017, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled in Chang’s favour. The judge ordered Hua to pay Chang damages of $583,000, plus legal costs for the case. Chang was also given a mortgage against a Shaughnessy home on the 2000-block West 19th Ave owned by Hua to secure the judgment.

The judge then ordered the sale of that Shaughnessy home and further ordered that three other properties owned by Hua, including a second Shaughnessy home valued at $3.1 million, and two Vancouver condos, could be sold. The judge said Chang could set the prices of Hua’s four properties and sell them successively, until she received her full court ordered payment.

The 2000-block West 19th Avenue property was listed in January 2018 for a “court order” sale at $5.58 million. The price was reduced to $5.38 million, and has been reduced further to $5.18 million, an MLS listing says.

A review by Postmedia of land title and mortgage documents connected to Hua’s four

Vancouver properties show that he was involved in a number of real estate deals in 2016, and that multiple bank and private lenders have issued loans to Hua. These successive loans are secured against his properties. This suggests that multiple lenders could become involved in a complicated B.C. court battle involving Hua’s properties, in order to seek repayment of Hua’s real estate-backed debts. The issue being triggered by the forced sale of his properties.

One private lender with loans against several of Hua’s homes, according to documents, is named Su Cheng Chen. CIBC has issued multiple mortgage loans to Hua, as has Reliable

Saturday, March 24, 2018 Mortgage Investments Corp., according to property documents. This court case resembles a number of Vancouver cases involving private lenders, and property

agency Transparency International pointed to the rising use of opaque ownership structures in Vancouver real estate, including shell companies, legal trusts, and so-called nominee

purchases that appear to be financed with real-estate collateral and not backed by traditional income flow. In some cases, real estate investors with oots in Mainland China have been contesting properties that are tied up in complex chains of communitybased private loans, Postmedia has reported recently. Vancouver lawyers are also seeing a substantial increase in B.C. court cases filed by Chinese companies seeking to seize real estate assets from Chinese immigrants in B.C. Many of these cases involve allegations of opaque ownership, and lenders seeking to enforce debt judgments from Chinese courts.

In a 2016 study, global anti-corruption

owners with occupations such as “student” and “housewife.” The study’s author, Adam Ross, said these occupations are unlikely to produce the income needed to buy a house in Metro Vancouver, which is why housewives and students are considered by some to be opaque buyers. Title documents show that the student Chang bought her West 14th Ave. home for $1.47 million in 2011, and sold it for $3.33 million in May 2017, following the collapse of the deal with Hua. Mortgage documents for Hua’s 2000-block West 19th property, show that he lists his occupation as “general manage” and that he bought the home in 2011 with a mortgage from CIBC.

Real Estate

Saturday, March 24, 2018

15

Calgary’s luxury home market may be poised to grow faster than Toronto, Vancouver Million-dollar-plus home sales in Calgary and Montreal have been picking up over the past year, and may even surpass the highend markets in Toronto and Vancouver in the months ahead in terms of fastest growth, according to a new report about the luxury home market from Sotheby’s International Realty.

Sotheby’s Calgary Managing Broker MaryAnn Mears said sales of Calgary homes priced over a million dollars in January and February are up 45 per cent from the same time last year.

Most of those sales involved detached homes between one and two million dollars.

Mary-Ann Mears The increase was driven, Sotheby’s said, by a buyer’s market as some luxury home prices have edged downward.

“Now we’re in the new normal, and with that there is value in these homes and with that we are seeing the buyers are re-engaged and have confidence in the Calgary market,” Mears said.

“Due to the fact we are seeing more inventory, the buyers again can be very selective in getting exactly or close to what they want.”

This $6-million home in Calgary’s Upper Mount Royal neighbourhood is 6,900 square

feet, and connects to a spa through a tunnel.

The luxury real estate brand said job gains and provincial GDP growth are also likely helping.

Local realtor Doug Hayden of eXp Realty said while sales may be down overall in Calgary, and especially in some housing sectors like the condo market, luxury homes have bounced back since the downturn.

“That market definitely got hit, so you’re seeing big price adjustments in some of those homes, not so big in others and you’re seeing builders come into that space as well, so there’s a lot of people building new in that price range,” Hayden said. “It’s a market that’s holding for sure.”

Calgary luxury homes Sales of luxury homes in Calgary have been driven by a buyer’s market, say realtors. (Dave Gilson/CBC)

“Honestly, it’s one of the oddest things I’ve seen in real estate in over 20 years.”

Hayden said people who can afford luxury homes — “there was no downturn for them” — will notice that the value is there for the price.

“I think this is the new realty. You go to a lot of other cities and a million dollars doesn’t even buy you an average home in those cities,” he said. He said the trend also shows economic health, at least for people at the top of the market. “The market that really needs a boost is that mid-range, that was hurt the most by the economy,” he said, describing the range that took the biggest hit as homes between $500,000 and $1 million.

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