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Arson-extortion ring is targeting South Asian males: Edmonton police The Edmonton Police Service is urging the city’s South Asian community to talk to their children when it comes to the fight against a large string of threats, arson, extortion and drive-by shootings that have put many members of the community on edge.

During a Thursday town hall meeting in

southeast Edmonton, police said they believe the leaders of a large criminal organization are targeting young South Asian males, some under the age of 18. EPS has identified 12 of those so-called targets involved in the 34 confirmed cases since October, and all but one of those targets come from the South Asian community. “We need this community to

speak with their families. Have a conversation about the events that are unfolding in the city. Those that are perpetrating these crimes are coming from the South Asian community,” said EPS Staff Sgt. Dave Paton.

“Know where your kids are. Know where your kids are driving your vehicles late at night.

Transactional marriages help fuel surging Punjab exodus to Canada: study Ersatz marriages to qualified English speakers a symptom of a surging migration that a new study warns could wreak havoc on Punjab.

In their eagerness to gain a foothold in Canada, some residents of the Indian state of

Punjab and elsewhere have gone to unusual lengths — including transactional marriages.

Their families paid the migration expenses of individuals who passed the standardized English exam needed to obtain a study visa here — in exchange for the person marrying

Delhi turns into fortress as thousands of farmers march to the capital city

them. As spouses of those English-proficient students, the new husbands or wives were — until last month at least — allowed to obtain work permits in Canada. “Need IELTS clear graduated girl for Canada paper marriage all expenses by boy side,”

Govts in Canada can ease cost-of-living crisis - if they want to A combination of climate shocks and the pandemic disrupted food and energy production and distribution, driving up costs for people around the world. For many

member countries, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine worsened an already difficult situation by pushing the prices of energy, food, and fertilizers even higher and exacerbating energy Continued on page 7

Is a waning Canadian dream fuelling reverse migration in Punjab?

Tear gas fired as thousands march on fortress Delhi.

The capital is ringed by razor wire, cement blocks and fencing on three

sides to keep protests at bay.

The government fears a repeat of 2020 - dozens died in a yearlong protest that ended only Continued on page 6

Canada has long been a draw for people from India’s Punjab province seeking new opportunities elsewhere. But has the Canadian dream soured?

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ambitions when driving through its fertile rural plains.

Billboards promising easy immigration to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK jut out through ample mustard fields.

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Burnaby can recover $30K in costs related to refinery incident

2 pedestrians ‘intentionally’ hit by car in Abbotsford: police One person was arrested in Abbotsford after two people told police they were deliberately hit by a car Wednesday afternoon.

Officers were called to Carlsrue Avenue near Victoria Street around 2:45 p.m. for reports of a crash involving pedestrians.

“Arriving at the scene, first responders located two victims appearing to have minor injuries claimed to have resulted from a driver intentionally striking them

An alleged member of a criminal organization should forfeit more than $6 million in real estate in the Okanagan because it was bought using the proceeds of drug trafficking and fraud, a B.C. government lawsuit says. The director of civil forfeiture filed the lawsuit Friday

with a vehicle following a disturbance,” Abbotsford Police Department spokesperson Const. Art Stele said in a statement.

“An arrest has been made in relation to the event, and both victims have been transported to the hospital in stable condition, appearing to have only suffered minor injuries.”

The investigation is ongoing and police urge witnesses or anyone with video to call 604-859-5225

The fire chief in Burnaby, says the city can recover nearly $30,000 in costs related to crews being placed on standby at the Parkland refinery for more than six hours following an emissions incident in January.

In a report presented to councillors Monday night, Chief Chris Bowcock detailed the $28,963.54 the city incurred in costs for having 34 firefighters and 11 vehicles on standby at the refinery following an equipment failure that resulted in dark

Accused Kelowna trafficker should hand over six properties: BC government against Kelowna’s Kulwant Bal, who the statement of claim alleges is “a member of a criminal organization, the full particulars of which are not known to the plaintiff.” Bal

has previously been associated to people in both the Wolfpack gang alliance and the Hells Angels, Postmedia has learned.

smoke and an acrid odour being released across parts of Metro Vancouver on Jan. 21.

At the time, the regional district issued an air quality bulletin about the emissions, but later found it did not breach pollution standards.

The event, caused in part by Parkland’s attempt to restart the refinery after a shutdown due to extreme cold in Metro Vancouver, had many residents calling for more transparency from the company over

The provincial agency wants six properties, including Bal’s residence at 6938 L&A Rd. in Vernon, his business at 3410 Highway 97 N. in Kelowna, three condos and an acreage, forfeited as the proceeds of crime.

Bal owns Empire Motors, a company that sells used cars.

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

BC launches new agency to build middle-income rental housing quicker

Areas of Practice ICBC/Personal Injury Immigration Law Corporate / Commercial Real Estate / Property Development

BC Premier David Eby on Tuesday announced BC Builds in North Vancouver.

BC Builds plans to build affordable rental housing for household incomes between $84,780 to $131,950 for a studio or one-bedroom home or $134,410 to $191,910 for a two-bedroom home or larger. The province has unveiled a long-promised program that it says will create more rental housing for middle-income earners,

focusing on speedy development on land owned by government, First Nations and non-profits.

Premier David Eby announced the BC Builds agency in North Vancouver Tuesday (Feb 13), and was joined by Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon and local mayor Linda Buchanan. “The people who keep our province running need a decent place to live and they need an agency that it is dedicated to building that housing for them,” Eby said.

Premier David Eby announces $76 million to better protect Abbotsford from flooding

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A critical pump station that came dangerously close to being overwhelmed by floodwaters in British Columbia in November 2021 will receive almost $80 million in upgrades to provide future disaster protection, Premier David Eby said Wednesday.

With the looming threat of climate change, Eby said protecting Fraser Valley residents, farmlands and economically important transportation infrastructure must be addressed ahead of future floods.

Eby said flood-resilience upgrades to Abbotsford’s Barrowtown Pump Station will safeguard the area in the near term, but long-term protections involve ongoing negotiations between the provincial and federal governments

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The Barrowtown Pump Station opened in 1983 as a critical piece of infrastructure to the Fraser Valley’s Sumas Prairie’s flood protection system. It was built to pump water out of the low-lying prairie lands through the Sumas Canal and into the Fraser River.

Eby told a news conference in Abbotsford that his government and area residents don’t want a repeat of the events of November 2021 when hundreds of local residents volunteered to bail water and place sandbags around the pump station.

“The memories are all too fresh for people in this area,” he said. “The breaching of the dike. The water pouring in. The threat to the pump station. The impact to farmers around

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Bank of Canada’s inflation ‘Buffet’ muddies timing of cuts The Bank of Canada says it’s watching core inflation closely as it weighs when to cut interest rates, but a mixed bag of measures gives it options on timing and clouds the outlook for markets and economists.

The central bank has no less than six indexes it monitors to get a grasp on underlying price pressures. Governor Tiff Macklem

has pushed back against focus on a specific indicator, describing core inflation as more of a “concept.” While that reflects the bank’s need for certainty before declaring victory over inflation, it can also limit transparency — there’s no lodestar key to policymakers’ thinking that would compel them to cut.

“The bank can always find a number

to suit its narrative,” Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said.

“You never know on which side of the bed they’ll wake up.”

Core inflation measures are important guideposts for economists — they’re meant to strip out more extreme price fluctuations to provide a better sense of where price pressures are headed. Food and energy, for example, are volatile goods with month-to-month changes that don’t necessarily represent the broader inflation trends. The average of two of the bank’s preferred metrics, CPI-trim and CPI-median, ticked up to 3.65 per cent year over year in December from an upwardly revised 3.55 per cent a month earlier. The release prompted traders to push back bets on Canada rate cuts — and after Tuesday’s hot U.S. inflation report, markets are not fully pricing in a cut until September. But Macklem has said he wouldn’t put a specific number on what level of core inflation would prompt a lowering of the benchmark interest rate from the current five per cent.

“What I’ve emphasized is underlying inflation is more of a concept than a measure,” he said in January. “We’re looking for continued evidence that inflationary pressures are easing and we’re looking for clear downward momentum.”

Stephen Brown of Capital Economics parses through core inflation data each month, running his own calculations to strip out mortgage and rent components.

(Brown was expecting the first cut in April. His forecast shifted to June following the release of January jobs data.)

Failing to exclude those measures means the bank “is going keep interest rates high for too long and condemn the economy to a weaker period than is needed,” Brown said.

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

From page 1 ministers agreed to repeal controversial agriculture laws.

But just over two years later, farmers say other demands have not been met.

Why India farmers are protesting again India’s farmers form an influential voting bloc and and analysts say the government of PM Modi will be keen not

Delhi turns into fortress as thousands of farmers march to the capital city to alienate them. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a third consecutive term in power in general elections this year.

Pictures on Tuesday showed thick clouds of tear gas being used to disperse protesters near the city of Ambala, about 200km (125 miles) north of the capital.

Police also fired tear gas, as they did on Monday, at the Shambhu border between Haryana and Punjab states.

Drones flew continuously over the crowd and dropped tear gas on people below.

“It literally rained tear gas shells through the day,” said a BBC Punjabi reporter who

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Govts in Canada can ease cost-of-living crisis - if they want to From page 1 and food shortages. Although global elevated headline and core inflation.

These include ensuring fiscal policy does food and energy prices have fallen from Governments have faced difficult World Economic Outlook noted. The not work at cross-purposes with monetary their peak levels in mid-2022, domestic trade-offs in tackling high food and April 2023 Fiscal Monitor assessed how authorities’ efforts to bring down inflation; prices and the risks to food production energy prices, as well as core inflation fiscal policy can do its part to support using targeted and temporary transfers to remain elevated in many economies, pressures, with policy buffers reduced monetary policy in facilitating disinflation support vulnerable households instead of hurting mostly poorer households. after years of pandemic relief spending. while protecting the most vulnerable. price controls, untargeted subsidies, and In October 2022, the World Economic More broadly, although inflation Monetary policymakers should remain export bans; and safeguarding investment has been declining in response to focused on bringing inflation down Outlook and Fiscal Monitor highlighted key in human capital, digitalization, green principles for formulating an appropriate many central banks’ interest rate but stand ready to adjust quickly to energy, and supply-chain diversification. hikes, most countries still face financial developments, the April 2023 fiscal response to the cost of living crisis.

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Charges stayed in drug-trafficking case amid police-misconduct allegations Charges have been stayed against three men — once referred to as at the top of the fentanyl-trafficking pyramid in B.C. — after allegations of police misconduct tainted a sweeping 2020 investigation that resulted in the seizure of $30 million in drugs, firearms and cash.

Court records reveal the original police investigation included an officer who was under criminal investigation at the time. After he was arrested, Victoria police began a new investigation with the same officers — save one — on June 23, 2020, dubbed Project Juliet.

Developer wins court case against City of Surrey over townhouse application rejection A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled against the City of Surrey in a dispute with a developer whose application for a large townhouse development was rescinded by the new city council after the 2022 municipal elections. Justice Michael Stephens said the developer, Fergus Creek Homes, has a right to have the application reconsidered after new Mayor Brenda Locke and council voted to

drop it on third reading a month after the October 2022 election, effectively killing the project more than two years into the planning process. Fergus Creek owns a roughly 10-hectare (25-acre) property in Surrey and submitted a development application in September 2020 to build 482 townhouses and other amenities on it. Council referred the application back to city staff two months later

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

Massive BC drug case collapses after police errors, ‘disgraced’ officer’s role revealed A massive B.C. drug trafficking investigation has collapsed and charges against three men have been stayed, after the revelation of serious errors by the Victoria Police Department.

The investigation, dubbed Project Juliet, resulted in the seizure of $30 million in fentanyl, weapons and cash, and charges a year later against Brent Van Buskirk, Vu Bao Nguyen and Byran Balla. But the case began falling apart when first Crown, and then defence lawyers, became aware that one of the Victoria police officers actively involved in the early stages of the investigation was himself under criminal investigation for alleged corrupt practices. “It’s clear that

there were several points of failure in our processes,” Victoria Police Chief Del Manak said at a Wednesday press conference.

“I apologize for our contribution to this outcome.”

Perhaps more troubling, court documents suggest that Victoria police had taken steps to hide the now-disgraced officer’s involvement.

Court ruling reveals how case unravelled Details of how the case unraveled are revealed in an October 2023 B.C. Supreme Court Decision, in which Justice Catherine Murray excoriated police for trying to hide the fact that now-disgraced former officer Rob Ferris was involved.

Homebuyers sue Richmond developer that resold their units at higher prices A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered a Richmond developer to pay almost $13.1 million for cancelling deals with more than 30 would-be condo buyers before selling the units to other people for higher prices.

In a decision posted Monday, Justice Kevin Loo found Anderson Square Holdings Ltd. was not entitled to terminate contracts with nearly three dozen customers in July 2019 under the terms of pre-sale agreements for units in a residential development project.

Loo also found that the directors of the company — former Richmond city council candidate Sunny Ho and Jeremy Liang — “acted dishonestly” in claiming a lack of financing had rendered the project impossible, but he stopped short at holding them financially liable.

Homeowner challenges B.C.’s new law that wants to know source of money to buy house The B.C. government has launched two B.C. Supreme Court cases to demand the source of money and properties under its new so-called unexplained wealth orders.

The owner of a Salt Spring Island house denies wrongdoing in a court case in which the province has used a new law to demand an explanation of the source of the $1 million used to buy the property.

In a response filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Feb. 9, Alicia Davenport denies the money for the purchase in 2017 came from any unlawful activity. The province alleges it came from a $200-million international stock fraud through wire transfers from shell companies.

The B.C. government introduced new

measures last year to combat money laundering that include so-called unexplained wealth orders. If successful in court, the orders put the onus on the alleged perpetrator to explain where money came from to buy their assets in cases where there is a suspicion of criminal activity or corruption.

D a v e n p o r t ’s response says that if the property at 435 Stewart Rd. was purchased with money from unlawful activity, she is relying on a section of the province’s Civil Forfeiture Act that allows the courts to provide relief if a forfeiture of property is not in the interests of justice.

The decision is the latest chapter in a saga that emerged in summer 2019 when outraged pre-sale purchasers of a project then known as ALFA went public after learning the developer was cancelling their contracts, blaming delayed construction and an external lawsuit.

Purchasers were told they could get their deposits back with interest, but more than 30 filed a lawsuit instead. And by early 2021, they watched as the project— now re-branded as PRIMA — was completed and their units were sold to new buyers. Loo’s ruling highlights the personalities on both sides of the battle.

Liang was a student at the University of B.C. when he was appointed director of Anderson Square. The judge called Liang the “face” of his family’s investment in Canada.

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Some Surrey schools moving to extended day schedules in this fall Students at some Surrey high schools will have a new schedule next fall as the district moves towards an extended day program.

The Surrey school board heard a presentation at its meeting Wednesday night, outlining a plan to mitigate capacity pressures at its high schools.

“As the board is very well aware, we are in a very significant growth at this point in time and that is certainly causing pressure for us when it comes to utilization of schools and ensuring that we have adequate space for students,” Supt. Mark Pearmain said during the meeting. “We are expecting a significant growth cycle again for next year, anywhere from 2,200 to 2,600 students

arriving has forced our hand when it comes to making decisions of extended day schedules at secondary schools.”

An extended schedule includes five class periods in a day, rather than four. For the most part, students will be in class from periods one through four, or from periods two through five, meaning they’ll either start their day later or end it earlier than some of their peers. Trustees heard this will help increase school capacity by about 10 to 15 per cent. Deputy Supt. Andrew Holland told the board some of the benefits of an extended day include slightly more flexible schedules for some students and more access to speciality areas of the schools,

Community news In Person Yoga Classes at Shanti Niketan hall for members, Bingo on February 11th 2024 (Sunday), from 2.00 pm to 3.30pm at Shanti Niketan hall. In Person Yoga classes for members only, Every Monday & Every Thursday from 10.00 am to 11.15 am. Pure Vegetarian Lunch on Thursdays after the Yoga session.

-------------------------After going on Remarkable 10 cruises (One every year), 62 Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre members of Surrey are heading to go on another Adventurous Cruise to South Africa for 15 days, leaving on 11th Feb. 2024 & coming back on 28th Feb. 2024. They will be visiting

Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richard Bay in South Africa, Maputo Mozambique, Nosy Be & Antsiranana Ports of Madagascar, Pointe Ges Galets Reunion Island & Mauritius. They are flying from Vancouver to Cape Town -------------------------Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of BC invites South Asian Adults and Senior members only to join and play Bingo on the House on February 11th 2024 (Sunday) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall.

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NDP to bring forward plan to end thermal coal exports, driving toxic pollution Press release OTTAWA – NDP Environment and Climate Change critic tabled a bill that would put an end to the exports of thermal coal, the fossil fuel responsible for more than 30 per cent of global emissions, as Canadians face the dire consequences of the climate crisis.

“Canadians across the country have been living with the impacts of climate change. Right now, parts of the country are unnaturally warm for the winter months, while others are being hit with cold snaps and extreme snowstorms,” said Collins.

“People expect the government to do everything possible to fight the climate crisis. But that’s not the case. What we’re seeing instead is a Liberal government that claims to champion the climate – but then breaks every promise they make to tackle the climate crisis.”

In 2021, Justin Trudeau promised to end thermal coal exports by 2030, but new information obtained by the NDP from the government reveals that under Trudeau and the Liberals, thermal coal exports have more than tripled. To date, coal remains the largest contributor to climate change and is a major source of toxic pollution.

Collins’s bill would also require the government to consult with trade unions and workers who would be affected by changes to the industry before a ban were to happen.

“Not only have the Liberals broken their climate promises – but coal

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exports are getting worse. And make no mistake, Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives aren’t going to solve the problem—they can’t even agree amongst themselves if climate change is real, let alone having a plan to tackle it,” said Collins. “Canadians deserve better than an out-of-touch government that always disappoints and breaks promises, or leaders who refuse to take on one of the biggest threats facing people right now.

“New Democrats believe that Canada should be a global leader on climate, and that Canadians deserve political leaders that are fighting to make sure everyone has clean, healthy air and land. Which is why we’re calling for a ban on all thermal coal exports.”

“This is exactly the kind of initiative we need to see at this point in the federal mandate. Ecojustice applauds MP Laurel Collins for kicking off the legislative process for a proposed law that, once in force, would ban the export of thermal coal from Canada. The government has been painstakingly slow to move on their promise to ban thermal coal exports by or before 2030. Coal has no place in a world serious about tackling the climate crisis.

All pathways to 1.5 Celsius see its use rapidly declining in this decade. There is no time to waste.” - Melanie Snow, Legislative Affairs Specialist at Ecojustice -----------------------------------For more information, please contact: NDP Media Centre:

12

INDIA Talks between minister and farmer leaders under way in Chandigarh

Three Union ministers began their third round of talks with the leaders of protesting farmer unions in Chandigarh , amid standoff between protesters and security personnel at two points on Punjab-Haryana border.

CM Punjab, Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26.

Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare

Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai are representing the central government in the meeting over farmer unions’ various demands, including a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

This will be the third round of talks between the two sides -- the previous

Protesters allege use of artillery by Haryana police A panel of three Union ministers will hold a meeting with protesting farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Thursday for another round of talks amid the ongoing standoff between the agitators and security personnel at the Punjab-Haryana border.

This will be the third round of talks

between the two sides: the previous two rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive. Farmers from Punjab are camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana seeking to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Supreme Court declares electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional India’s Supreme Court on Thursday scrapped a seven-year-old election funding system that allows individuals and companies to make unlimited and anonymous donations to political

parties, calling it “unconstitutional”.

The decision is seen as a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been the largest beneficiary of the system it introduced in 2017.

PM Modi inaugurates first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu stone temple, describing it as a symbol of the shared heritage of humanity and thanked the UAE for scripting a new golden chapter of human history.

Speaking at the inauguration of the temple

built by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), the Prime Minister profusely thanked the President of UAE, Sheikh Mohammad Zayed Al Nahyan, for making the grand temple in Abu Dhabi a reality and said he had not only won the hearts of Indians living in the Gulf nation but also of 140 crore Indians.

How pirates kick-started India’s navy into action The unexpected and dramatic resurgence of piracy off the east coast of Africa has galvanized the Indian Navy into playing a dominant security role in one of the world’s critical waterways, with its biggestever naval deployment to the waters off

Somalia in the last couple of months.

India’s naval renaissance throws down a marker about its great-power ambitions— and sends a message to Beijing about how it will contest any challenge for dominance in the wider Indian Ocean region.

Nepal Police bust trafficking racket, free 11 Indian hostages Nepal police on Thursday dismantled a human trafficking racket, rescuing eleven Indian nationals, primarily students, who had been held hostage for over two weeks.

The operation, named ‘Operation Dunki’ by

Nepal police, targeted a trafficking network that lured victims with promises of facilitating travel to the USA. Eight Indian mafia members, along with their Nepali accomplice, were arrested in the course of the operation.

PM Narendra Modi holds talks with Qatari Emir DOHA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for the release of eight Indians, previously on death row, even as the two leaders held extensive talks that set the stage for taking the bilateral ties to a higher level, especially in the spheres of investment,

energy and new technology. After the talks at the majestic Amiri Palace in this Qatari capital city, Modi described his meeting with the Emir as “wonderful” and said the bilateral ties are growing “stronger and stronger” and both the nations are looking forward to collaborating in futuristic sectors that will benefit the planet.

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

FIJI

PAKISTAN

Heavy rain forecast for Viti Levu region A heavy rain warning is now in force for northern, southern and eastern parts of Viti Levu, the Northern Division, Kadavu and nearby smaller islands, and Lau and Lomaiviti Groups.

According to the Fiji Meteorological Services a trough of low pressure lies slow moving over the country which is expected to continue to affect the Fiji Group for the next few days.

Delays in Viria Project to leave thousands without water Thousands of people living in the Lami, Suva and Nausori corridor will have to wait for another 4 to 5 months for consistent water supply as the Minister for Public Works, Ro Filipe Tuisawau

and the Water Authority of Fiji have not agreed to some terms with the Vanua of Viria regarding the Viria Water Project.

Ro Filipe says the previous government did not include the needs of the landowners in the Viria Water Treatment Plant agreement.

Hari Punja Group of Companies announce 5-star hotel in Nadi Hari Punja Group of Companies has today announced a 258 room, 5-star luxury hotel project at Wailoaloa Beach, Nadi.

Hari Punja Group of Companies Chairman, Hari Punja announced this

today saying that the hotel will be managed

by Rydges Australia, which is one of the most recognised brands in Australia and New Zealand with 60 hotels in operation.

Innovative election tool launched at Rishikul Sanatan College In streamlining the election management process and ensuring transparency and fairness in electoral procedures, the Fijian Elections Office has launched the School Election Toolkit Pilot programme

at

the Rishikul Sanatan College.

1050 students of Rishikul College, starting from year 9 to year 13 used the new tool which includes all voting material, as they elect their new Student Council President today.

Vancouver remains most expensive place to rent in Canada If you’re looking for a new home to rent, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) findings aren’t going to be news to you. Vancouver remains the most expensive place to rent in Canada.

The CMHC says the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom purpose-built apartment was $2,181 in 2023, while a two-bedroom

Coalition deal finalised, Shehbaz Sharif set to be the next PM Following elections with no clear majority, PPP & PML (N) parties reached a deal to form the coalition government, shutting out the populist PTI party of former Prime Minister, Imran Khan.

Imran Khan gets bail in May 9 attack on army installations cases A court on Saturday granted bail to former prime minister, Imran Khan in cases linked to May 9 attacks on military installations by his supporters after his arrest from Lahore in an alleged corruption case.

ATC Judge Malik Ejaz Asif granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder Khan after fulfilling a surety bond of Rs (10 Laakh) = Rs 0.1 million.

PTI nominates former dictator’s grandson as next prime minister Umar Ayub Khan, 54, joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) before the 2018 general elections after losing the 2013 polls as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim

League-N (PML-N) from Haripur in KPK (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) province.

Former PM, Imran Khan’s party on Thursday announced the nomination.

Pakistan is out of friends and out of money Pakistan’s election on February 8th featured state-of-the-art avatars and TikTok videos, but the question it poses evokes an old theme.

How long can the country’s relentless decline continue before it triggers a revolution, outside intervention or hope against hope

Real Estate

condo apartment came in at $2,580 on average.

The city saw a rise of 8.6 per cent in 2023, the CMHC says, with its vacancy rate unchanged at 0.9 per cent.

“Rental demand was driven by record immigration and decreases in homeownership affordability,” the Rental Market Report 2024 explained

The third-placed Pakistan People’s Party said that, it would back former PM Nawaz Sharif, which won 79 seats, to elect new prime minister.

political renewal? For decades the generals have ruled nuclear-armed Pakistan directly or via a stage-managed democracy featuring a recurring cast of corrupt dynastic parties (and the occasional political disrupter).

Lowering interest rates won’t fix housing problems: Bank of Canada governor

Canada’s real estate market is notoriously unhinged, CBC senior business reporter Peter Armstrong writes in an analysis. Home prices are up more than 35 per cent in just four years. Mortgage interest costs are up 30.9 per cent year over year. And rental prices are continually hitting record highs.

As inflation comes under control, there is a growing chorus calling on the Bank of Canada

to cut interest rates, easing at least some of those affordability issues. But Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says a lower interest rate isn’t the silver bullet people are hoping for.

“Housing affordability is a significant problem in Canada but not one that can be fixed by raising or lowering interest rates,” Macklem said during a speech in Montreal yesterday. Macklem said

Saturday, February 17, 2024 Trains diverted on Delhi-Amritsar route as farmers squat on rail tracks in Punjab Some trains on the Delhi-Amritsar route were diverted on Thursday after farmers squatted on tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Police’s action against ‘Delhi Chalo’ protesters. Farmers also staged dharnas at several toll plazas and forced authorities to not charge the commuters a toll fee.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakunda (Dhaner) had given the call for a four-hour ‘rail roko’ protest at several places in Punjab.

Farmers began their stir around 12 pm by squatting on rail tracks at several places. The demonstrations are likely to continue till 4 pm.

Farmers use kites to checkmate Police’s drones In an ingenious plan, protesting farmers at the Shambhu barrier flew hundreds of kites to prevent the Haryana Police from using drones to drop tear gas shells. Farmers could be seen trying to tangle rotors of drones in the kite strings.

Sensing threat to the UAVs, the Haryana Police withdrew these to their territory.

Bhupinder Singh, a farmer, said, “Youngsters brought kites to celebrate Basant at the protest site. As the wind was blowing southwards, our kites crossed the Shambhu barrier. Suddenly, we thought why not counter drones with kite strings. The move proved successful.”

The protesting farmers used wet gunny bags to lessen the impact of tear gas and makeshift fans to direct the smoke of shells towards the Haryana Police

Internet service suspended after farmers’ protest calls in Punjab Home Ministry has ordered suspension of telecom services in Shutrana, Khanauri & Fatehgarh Sahib on February 16.

As tension escalates, clash between traditional and modern technology continues, thus highlighting the innovative ways in which law enforcement agencies and protesters engage with each other.

Deputy Commissionar, Patiala wrote to his Ambala counterpart asking him not to use drones for dropping shells on the agitating farmers inside Punjab’s territory.

PUNJAB

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Saturday, February 17, 2024