The Asian Star November 20 2021

www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 41

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Most Canadians agree these workers should be fired if they won’t get vaxxed: Survey The survey, conducted in early November, included asking 1,611 Canadians if they thought a select group of workers should be fired for refusing to get doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Angus Reid, 70% of respondents agreed with that sentiment, with particular and considerable support for on-board airline employees (71%), school teachers (69%),

medical professionals (69%), first responders (69%) and restaurant employees (64%) to be vaccinated. There was less support when it came to firing unvaccinated tradespeople/ construction workers (55%) and employees at small local businesses (53%).

There’s also a divide between how Canadians feel about vaccine Continued on page 6

Tel:604-591-5423

State of emergency declared amid record-breaking floods in BC The BC government has declared a state of

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South Asian Business Association of BC donates $15,000 to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation

Coquihalla Hwy likely won’t open until the weekend dute to repairs after

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Coquihalla Highway connects Interior BC to the Lower Mainland.

BC reports first case of new strain of COVID-19 Delta variant AY4.2 British Columbia has reported the first case of a new strain of the COVID-19 Delta variant. On Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told a news conference that the AY 4.2 strain was first detected in the

United Kingdom, but has also been connected to spread in Western Canada. “What we are looking at is whether these variants are spreading more quickly or are making people sicker,” Henry said. “Our defense continues Continued on page 8

Province feeling heat for not using emergency alert system South Asian Business Association of BC donated $15,000 to Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. Royal Columbian Hospital is one of major the hospitals in Fraser Health region offering medical care including 24/7 emergency, outpatient, ambulatory care and a range of inpatient services. Royal Columbian

Hospital also provides number of highly specialized acute care services including cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, neurosurgery, tertiary trauma, and thoracic surgery that often require the care of multiple medical specialists, multidisciplinary care teams and the use of specialized equipment and technology.

BC’s public safety minister is making no apologies for not using a national emergency warning system to alert British Columbians about flooding and treacherous road conditions. Nevertheless, Mike Farnworth is now promising to deploy the Alert Ready system, but not until next year. Alert Ready delivers critical and potentially lifesaving alerts through television, radio and

wireless devices. It has been available in B.C. since 2016, but has never been used.

Warren Buffett saw inflation coming early on -- 8 tips to help you come out ahead Farnworth came under fire in the legislature on Wednesday when Lytton-area Liberal MLA Jackie Tegart asked, “How bad Continued on page 8

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Saturday, November 20, 2021

Floods leave BC residents searching for temporary housing Recent Rains and flooding in the Fraser

members so they were in three different locations, the Valley has left many family of five, which just residents displaced and added to her stress.” their families looking Abbott said they are for places to live on working on finding shorta short-term basis, term housing for others as according to the nonwell. profit Atira Women’s “I was able to reach out Resource Society. to someone I know through Chief executive officer work who owns a number Janice Abbott said, they of apartment buildings in A road completely submerged during recent heard from about 21 the Fraser Valley, and he’s flooding in Abbotsford. Rainfall warnings staff members and their going to make his vacancies remain in effect across southern BC and families who live in the available short term,” she said. parts of the province. valley on Wednesday “I just hope that everybody morning. who has a vacant space is open to making it “We have a number of staff who live in available on a short term basis.” mostly Abbotsford who rent, obviously for the Abbott expected the request for temporary cost…and commute in to Vancouver or Surrey housing help to increase, and added people to work,” she said. “They’ve been flooded out can contact Atira if they need help finding of their homes.” Abbott said they managed to somewhere to stay. She said those with spaces to find temporary housing on Wednesday for the offer can also reach out. daughter of one of their staff members: a woman “If somebody has a space they’re willing to and her four children. “We were able to find her make available, they can absolutely call us,” she space in a transition house…I don’t know yet and said. “We can refer people who are displaced by I’m not sure she knows yet whether returning those floods into those units.” to her home is ever possible,” Abbott said, and Atira’s housing outreach team can be added the family wasn’t able to stay all together. contacted by phone at 604-315-1713, or via “In the midst of all of this crisis and turmoil and email at housingoutreach@atira.bc.ca. stress, the mom had to put her kids with family

Highway snaps in half, Vancouver cut off as BC grapples with floods BC is grappling with the aftermath of intense rainfall and floods, which washed away parts of major highways and forced people to evacuate from affected locations in the southern part of the province. Highway 1, 3, 7 and 5 in Coquihalla suffered extensive damage from river surges.

Most of the highways remain closed, cutting off the Lower Mainland area completely. The Coquihalla Highway, which appears to have snapped in two, is one of B.C.’s most important

highways since it connects the city of Vancouver to the province Interior. Reopening of the Coquihalla Highway could take months, Global News has reported.“In some cases, it can be hours, or a day or two to remove debris,” Public Safety Minister and Deputy B.C. Premier Mike Farnworth said Tuesday morning.“But in some cases, like the Coquihalla, it could be several weeks or months. We won’t know that until the experts do the work that needs to be done

Saturday, November 20, 2021

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OPINION

By Sylvain Charlebois, Professor Dalhousie University

Shoplifting has been on the rise in Canadian supermarkets in recent months. And that ultimately costs us all. Concrete data on theft in grocery stores is difficult to get since incidents are typically underreported. Managers tend to take matters into their own hands.

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Food theft is on the rise as prices climb But with the increasing number of reports of theft, and security guards stationed inside and outside grocery stores, things are likely more complicated than we’re aware of. Speaking with various retailers in Montreal, Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver – even those in the heart of neighbourhoods where crime rates are typically

lower than average – thefts are a new cause for concern. According to anecdotal estimates, the number of thefts has increased by 25 to 40 per cent in just the last six months. A midsized grocery store can easily catch 10 to 12 shoplifters a week. The cost of living and the price of food are enticing some people to find other ways to obtain supplies. The most coveted items in supermarkets include meat such as ground beef, steaks, sausages and roasts, cheeses, spices and over-the-counter medicines. Energy drinks and alcohol are also targets in provinces where beer, wines and spirits are sold in grocery stores.

Some people can steal up to $300 worth of products from multiple locations in a single day.

In addition, some employees may act as accomplices in internal thefts, either in the warehouse or at the back of the store before the products are even on the shelves.

On average in Canada, every grocery store loses $3,000 to $4,000 worth in stolen groceries per week. For every 500 supermarkets that open their doors every morning in Canada, the food in the equivalent of nine will be free that day due to theft. That’s a lot of food, and the associated costs are a huge problem for retailers.

Some merchants go to great lengths to prevent theft. Aside from the addition of security cameras and door people, hiring security guards also seems to pay off.

Plainclothes mystery shoppers roam the aisles to catch thieves in the act. Although expensive, this strategy works well. These offenders don’t have a typical profile – they come from all age groups and backgrounds. That makes catching them more difficult. In Canada, according to some crime experts, about half of all those charged have no criminal record. First offenders are often well educated, come from well-off families, hold stable positions and enjoy a good reputation. Many are just down on their luck.

Obviously, self-service checkouts can facilitate theft. It should therefore come as no surprise that surveillance has been added around these areas. With profit margins declining to near one per cent, the profitability of stores depends a great deal on increased surveillance to minimize theft.

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LOCAL

Saturday, November 20, 2021 Reopening of Coquihalla Highway could take ‘weeks or months’ due to flood damage Several major highways remained closed Tuesday morning, after a storm moved through southern B.C. Sunday and Monday causing traffic confusion across the province. Many of the routes in and out of the Lower Mainland remain cut off. The Coquihalla Highway, one of B.C.’s main highways connecting the Lower Mainland and the Interior, suffered catastrophic damage. The southbound lanes between Larson

Hill and Juliet have been washed into the river, provincial officials “In some cases, it can be hours, or a day or two to remove debris,” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Tuesday morning about reopening highways. “But in some cases, like the Coquihalla, it could be several weeks or months. We won’t know that until the experts do the work that needs to be done and they’re doing it right now.”

Recent rains & floods cut rail link to Vancouver port; one dead Floods and landslides that have killed at least one person have cut all rail access to Canada’s largest port in the city of Vancouver, a spokesperson for the port said on Tuesday.

Two days of torrential rain across the Pacific province of British Columbia touched off major flooding and shut rail routes operated by Canadian Pacific Rail (CP.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), Canada’s two biggest rail companies. “All rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the British Columbia interior,” port spokesperson Matti Polychronis said. At least one person was killed when a mudslide swept cars off Highway 99 near Pemberton, some 100 miles (160 km) to the northeast of Vancouver.

Two people were missing and search and rescue crews were combing through the rubble,

officials said. Vancouver’s port moves C$550 million ($440 million) worth of cargo a day, ranging from automobiles and finished goods to essential commodities. The floods temporarily shut down much of the movement of wheat and canola from Canada, one of the world’s biggest grain exporters, during a busy time for trains to haul grain to the port following the harvest. Drought has sharply reduced the size of Canada’s crops this year, meaning a rail disruption of a few days may not create a significant backlog, a grain industry source told Reuters. Del Dosdall, senior export manager at grain handler Parrish & Heimbecker, said he expected some rail services could be restored by the weekend. Another industry source said he expected the shutdown to last weeks.

The City of Abbotsford is doubling down on its evacuation order The City of Abbotsford is doubling down on its evacuation order, urging all residents who remain in the Sumas Prairie to leave immediately amid further flooding that’s expected to be “catastrophic.” An evacuation order was issued earlier Tuesday for the entire portion of the Sumas Prairie to the Chilliwack border in the eastern Fraser Valley after the torrential weekend rain. But at a late-night news conference, Mayor Henry Braun said about 300 people, including farmers, have refused to leave.

Sumas Prairie was once a lake, and is drained by a pump station that could fail anytime, Braun said. Four pumps are working at maximum capacity, but the water level continues to rise. “I know it’s hard for farmers to leave their livestock, but people’s lives are more important to me right now than livestock and chickens,” said Braun, who has his own cattle. Police will go home to home for water rescues to get people out of the area, Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr said, and anyone who cannot leave the area is urged to call 911 immediately.

Eleven more people rescued overnight in Abbotsford, as 40 residents refuse to leave Eleven more people were rescued overnight from the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford, where floods have caused catastrophic damage to property and animals.

About 40 residents, however, are refusing to leave, a decision city emergency officials said Thursday is putting the lives of emergency crews at risk. “We are not out of this by a long shot,” said Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun, at an earlymorning news conference Thursday. He said those who were refusing to leave were likely farmers located in the eastern part of Sumas Prairie.

Braun said he didn’t know exactly how

many animals were lost to the flood but added that the losses to livestock, property, and infrastructure in Abbotsford would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

That figure does not include rebuilding the dikes, he added. In addition to the 11 residents rescued overnight, one more rescue was underway Thursday morning. Officials said about 100 residents displaced from their homes were staying at the Emergency Support Services shelter overnight Wednesday. The water has been receding on the western side of Sumas Prairie.

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Catastrophic flood in Abbotsford & Sumas Prairie, 184 residents rescued An “atmospheric river” hit southern BC on Sunday and Monday, dumping huge amounts of rains & floods across the region causing widespread mudslides, flooding and rockslides.

More than 180 Abbotsford residents stranded by flooding were rescued by air and water overnight Tuesday, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said in an update early Wednesday. The rescue follows a warning late Tuesday for residents in the Sumas Prairie area for all people to immediately evacuate the area, as a pump system was set to fail.

That included hundreds of farmers who had stayed back to take care of their livestock and birds after an evacuation order earlier because of initial flooding caused by an overflowing river just south of the border.

The Barrowtown Pump Station — a fourpump station that keeps the Fraser River out of the Sumas Lake Canal and protects many square kilometres of prime agricultural land remains critical and could fail. The Fraser

River was predicted to flood into the Sumas Prairie and surrounding areas on Tuesday night, potentially leading to catastrophic damage, significant risk to human life and devastation of livestock.

“This event is anticipated to be catastrophic.

Residents who cannot evacuate safely are asked to call 911 and report your location immediately,” said B.C.’s Public Safety Minister, in a statement issued shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday.

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Most Canadians agree these workers should be fired if they won’t get vaxxed: Survey

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 Surrey volunteers ship 3,000 meals to flood-stranded Hope area People stranded in Hope, BC by the recent flooding and landslides that have devastated communities across the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and Interior got a taste of generosity today (Nov. 17), with the delivery of some 3,000-plus homemade meals from Surrey.

Whipped up Tuesday by volunteers at the Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib, the meals were to be shipped out this morning (Wednesday) by helicopter rented with donated funds.

In a Facebook post, Amarjit Singh Dhadwar thanks West Coast Pilot Club and Guru Nanak Food Bank volunteers, as well as Gavin Robertson and Karnail Singh for also assisting.

Meal preparation efforts and that additional items collected for shipping include milk and fresh fruit.

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 BC reports first case of new strain of COVID-19 Delta variant AY4.2

Province feeling heat for not using emergency alert system

From page 1 to be vaccination.”

Based on preliminary evaluation, she said, the vaccine works against the evolution of the Delta variant.

COVID-19 strains evolve over time and full sequencing is still being done for all positive cases in B.C., she added. The UK Health Security Agency has designated the mutation as a “variant under investigation.”

Early analysis suggest it could be slightly more transmissible than the original Delta strain.

AY 4.2 cases make up roughly 10 per cent of the sequenced cases in the U.K. The province

From page 1 does it have to get before the government actually uses an emergency alert system?”

“Alberta managed to warn people of the severe weather event this weekend. So did Washington State. This government did nothing,” said Tegart. “They learned not a single lesson from the heat dome or the forest fires. British Columbians are paying the price for this government’s incompetence.”

Farnworth told the legislature that

is grappling with whether additional measures are needed to manage more transmissible versions of the virus. For now, the focus continues to be immunizations, washing hands, keeping distance and minimizing time with large groups indoors.

Meanwhile, B.C. is not considering restrictions only for those who choose not to be vaccinated, referring to the partial lockdown that Austria has imposed on unvaccinated people in a bid to get them to get the shot.

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British Columbians were made aware of the emergency through other systems such as Drive B.C., flood warnings to local communities. , and highway signs that warn of road conditions. He said Abbotsford had considered using Alert Ready to announce the immediate evacuation of the Sumas Prairie area on Tuesday night, but decided against it because of fears it would cause widespread panic.

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 Canada to drop Covid test requirement for some Canadians crossing the border Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, and 11 other U.S. lawmakers met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday to discuss Canadian border issues amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The U.S. and Canada reopened the border to land travel last week for the first time in nearly two years. Most travelers must show proof of vaccination to enter either country, but Canada also requires travelers to get a negative PCR test before entering from the U.S. Stefanik said she encouraged Trudeau to drop Canada’s Covid test requirement for U.S. visitors.

“Canada is not only America’s closest ally and neighbor, it is an essential partner to New York’s North Country,” Stefanik said in a statement. “I appreciate Canada’s partnership in reopening the Northern Border and have urged bilateral coordination and continued progress towards

fully restoring cross-border travel. I remain committed to strengthening the longstanding relationship between the United States and Canada to ensure a smooth reopening of the Northern Border, maintain North American energy security, and strengthen the supply chains between our two countries on behalf my constituents in the North Country.”

The CBC reports Canada plans to soon drop its requirement for fully vaccinated Canadians taking short trips across the U.S. border to show proof of a negative Covid test to return home.

Sources say molecular tests, like the PCR test, will still be required for trips longer than 72 hours.

The change is expected to take effect later this month as holiday travel and cross-border shopping increases, but Americans will still be required to show a negative test to enter Canada.

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Saturday, November 20, 2021

Evacuation train carries 200 passengers out of Hope A late-night evacuation passenger train carrying about 200 people stranded for days

by British Columbia’s mudslides and floods left Hope for Vancouver on Wednesday.

Jonathan Abecassis, a spokesman for Canadian National, said the emergency evacuation train was expected to arrive in Vancouver shortly after 10 p.m.

“It’s a joint operation,” he said in an interview from Montreal. “Emergency Management B.C. asked CN to organize it. We reached out to Via Rail and we orchestrated it with them.

Our award-winning journalists bring you

the news that impacts you, Canada, and the world. Don’t miss out. “It’s about 200 evacuees who had no other way of getting out of town,” he said.

Abecassis said the evacuees boarded onto a Via Rail passenger train at about 8 p.m.

Wednesday.

He said the floods and slides have seriously affected rail operations but access to Vancouver from Hope was available.

“We have quite a few washouts in the area and we’re really doing whatever we can to help get people safe,” he said.

Foundation co-created by Shopify CEO donates $26 million to Canadian children’s hospitals A foundation established by Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke and wife Fiona McKean is donating $26 million to Canada’s 13 acute-care children’s hospitals, including CHEO. “This historic gift recognizes the immense impact of the pandemic on Canadian children, youth, and their families,” according to an announcement of the Thistledown Foundation gift issued Thursday by Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations and Children’s Healthcare Canada. Each hospital will get $2 million. “Through this gift, our hope is that children across Canada will have the best possible care to enable them to feel better soon and get back to the important job of being kids,” McKean, the chair of the foundation, said in the release. “Tobi and Fiona are incredible change-makers with huge hearts,” CHEO president and CEO Alex Munter said in the release. “As an Ottawa resident, I am so proud that our fellow Ottawa citizens have made this truly unprecedented gift — not only helping kids and families from eastern and northern Ontario, western Quebec and Nunavut where CHEO serves but in every community across

Canada. “Kids are truly the unsung heroes of this pandemic, and this historic gift recognizes and highlights the urgent need to make them a priority.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, children and youth have faced school closures, delays in getting essential social, community and health services, and separation from friends and family, the organizations said.

Slowing access to development services, mental health care, and surgical and diagnostic services can mean devastating and longterm impacts on children’s health outcomes, according to the release.

Children’s hospitals across the country are reporting significant increases in visits and admissions related to anxiety, depression and eating disorders among children and youth.

The Thistledown Foundation was established in 2019 by Lutke and McKean to advance technological solutions for decarbonization, and has expanded to contribute to Canada’s response to COVID-19 by helping with both research and improving the supply chain for PPE

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Canadian banks gradually bring employees back to offices Canadian banks have allowed office employees to work from home during the pandemic, but with almost 80% of the population double vaccinated, they are gradually bringing them back to offices, albeit with hybrid work arrangements.

Below are the major banks’ plans for bringing staff back to work locations, with some setting return dates, while others’ intentions are more fluid: Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO): Most of the bank’s 61,000 employees are still working from home, but many have begun returning to offices or will do so over the coming weeks and months. Many of those will adopt a hybrid work model, working some days from home and some days in the office.

Each business group and region is determining the best work arrangements for them, and employees will receive at least four weeks’ notice before they return to offices.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO): Employees working from home are not expected to return to the bank’s locations before 2022, but is “monitoring the evolving situation.” The bank is preparing for employees to return to TD premises when conditions allow.

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO): Scotiabank plans to begin a phased return for headoffice employees working remotely from Jan. 17. The return will be staggered for different groups and most head-office staff will follow a hybrid working model.

Unpaid leave begins for some federal employees not vaccinated for COVID-19 Employees in the core federal public sector who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were to be put on unpaid leave Monday, unless they were already granted an accommodation. The policy could potentially leave more than 1,000 workers without pay and unable to access employment insurance benefits. As of Nov. 3, the vast majority — about 95 per cent — of federal public servants were reported to be fully vaccinated.

Of the 267,222 employees who declared their status, a little over 3,150 have requested some kind of accommodation so they

can work without a full slate of vaccines.

The government said 1,255 workers reported that they are completely unvaccinated, which represents about 0.5 per cent of employees who’ve declared their status.

There are 7,284 workers with only one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. They have been given 10 weeks after their first dose to receive their second shot before they are also put on unpaid leave.

The government said it would accommodate employees who cannot be vaccinated for health, religious, or other reasons protected

LOCAL / NATIONAL

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Saturday, November 20, 2021

Star & Style Abhishek Bachchan shares intense first look of Bob Biswas Abhishek Bachchan has released the first look of his upcoming film Bob Biswas.

The actor essays the role of the infamous serial killer who was first seen in Vidya Balan’s 2012 film Kahaani. Bob Biswas was played by Saswata Chatterjee in Kahaani.

In the first look, a motion poster, Abhishek Bachchan looks at the camera intensely. A voice-over in the background says, “Aapko shayad yaad nahi, asal me aap bahut bure aadmi ho. (Maybe you don’t remember but you are actually a very bad person).”

Abhishek shared the motion poster on Instagram with the caption, “Ek minute’. The line refers to Bob’s dialogue in Kahaani. The serial

killer, when in front of his victim, would take a moment before he would shoot the person.

Along with the poster, Abhishek also revealed that the trailer would release on Friday at 12 pm.

The motion poster has received love from many, including Abhishek’s sister Shweta Bachchan and niece, Navya Naveli Nanda.

Shweta dropped hands raised emojis while Navya wrote “Wooooooo” in the comments section. Abhishek’s Manmarziyaan co-star Vicky Kaushal also cheered him on. “Go AB!” he wrote, along with a fire emoji. Director Zoya Akhtar wrote, “I really want to watch this.”

The spin-off is produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Sujoy Ghosh’s Bound Script Production.

Press release

Sergeant Jag Khosa of Surrey Police Services led a workshop at Gobind Sarvar School

Sgt. Kathy Furgason Surrey Police Services, an associate of Sgt. Jag Khosa came along with Sergeant Jag Khosa of Surrey Police Services led a workshop at Gobind Sarvar School Gobind Sarvar School’s belief in educating its educators to the finest knowledge by the best, led to Professional Development Day workshop led

by Sergeant Jag Khosa of the newly formed Surrey Police Service. The theme of the workshop was Avoiding Criminal Conduct in the Student Life.

In the introduction of Sgt Khosa, Dr. Rishi Singh, Principal of the School, recalled moments when he saw Sergeant walking in the Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan several years ago. In the Vaisakhi celebrations, he was affectionately surrounded by all age groups- either to bless him or to shake hands to express gratitude for his work. Since that time to the present, Sgt. Khosa’s passion for serving the community has not diminished but has increased manifold.

Sgt. Khosa has a well-established career in law enforcement with over 14 years of dedicated service in Alberta and British Columbia as an investigator specializing in gang investigations, prevention, intervention & enforcement. His extensive experience in this field made him a perfect fit to deliver this much-needed workshop.

During this workshop at Govind Sarvar School, Sgt Khosa shared some theoretical aspects of the crime world. Also, he shared some case studies where skirmishes in school have led to, increased or full-scale, engagement of those students with Gangs. He stressed that after the family, teachers could play a crucial role in preventing their students from going on a negative path through their observations and early intervention methods. Surrey Police Service, hence, has in its policy framework and deliverables to engage and work with the community at all levels.

His main topic covered aspects of how alert and engaged parents or guardians can stop a child from getting involved in the world of Crime/Gangs.

He also shared tips on how to detect criminal behaviour early on in kids’ life. He stressed multiple times that the life span of gangsters is short, and their life quality is not good, unlike the popular perception of gangsters having a life full of riches. Govind Sarvar School’s teachers also shared their insights into the matter, and discussion was a win-win knowledge gain for all.

Gobind Sarvar School’s leadership lays a lot of stress on empowering their staff with knowledge and training to deal with all aspects of Society and Sgt Jag Khosa’s sharing of his knowledge base empowered Educators of the school immeasurably!

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FOI documents reveal NDP’s plan to dismantle private child care sector Press release

A document obtained by the Official Opposition under Freedom of Information (FOI) reveals the NDP government’s blatant attempt to drive private child care providers out of business. In May 2021, the Minister of State for Child Care opted to discontinue the provision of grants for private child care operators for the New Spaces Fund and not create any additional incentive programs.

“The NDP’s appalling decision to make it cost-prohibitive for private child care providers to operate is purely based on ideology, and families will end up paying the price for it,” said Karin Kirkpatrick, BC Liberal Critic for Children, Family Development and Childcare. “Private providers deliver 60,000 child care spaces in B.C. — half of the total — and are largely run by women. The minister needs to explain why she is deliberately targeting this group, and tell us how many spaces will be lost due to her government’s ideological intention to move away from market-based child care.”

The document shows that in September 2020, the Priorities and Accountabilities Cabinet Committee approved the recommendation that by year ten of the Childcare BC plan, only public organizations, Indigenous governments, and non-profits would be eligible for provincial child care space creation funding. As a result, space creation grants would no longer be available to for-profit providers.

“The NDP has overpromised and underdelivered for years, and this again shows their ‘government knows best’ attitude,” added Kirkpatrick. “The minister should be building the sector with operators instead of sabotaging private businesses, which have created 85 per cent of spaces under her mandate.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, November 20, 2021 Pleas for patience in BC following reports of panic buying The head of the BC Trucking Association is pleading for patience amid concerns over supply chain disruptions caused by flooding in the province.

“We really need to get the message out for people to calm down,” Dave Earle told Global News. “The goods are coming.”

Shoppers clear out shelves as highway closures lead to panic buying.

Every major transportation route between the Lower Mainland and the Interior has been cut by washouts, flooding or landslides

following record-breaking rainfall across southern B.C. between Saturday and Monday.

There have been reports of panic buying at grocery stores over fears that the supply chain, already under strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could be further impacted by road closures.

Following reports of food shortages and hoarding at grocery stores, Canadian food retailer Save-On-Foods said in a statement that all shipments in and out of the Lower Mainland have been put on hold due to road conditions.

Will inflation be a horror or a healthy readjustment?

Economists clash over the basics What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but as Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem recently remarked, the same thing does not apply to what happens in financial markets.

“It has real impacts,” Macklem told the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations in October. And this week, some newly released data from that very month is likely to prove him right. On the heels of U.S. inflation figures that last week shocked politicians and unsettled markets, Canada will get its own October reading on rising prices on Wednesday.

From Nero to Newton For a phenomenon observed in Nero’s Rome and studied by some of humanity’s best minds, including Sir Isaac Newton — who besides transforming physics with his laws of motion battled inflation as Master of the Royal Mint — modern scholars remain surprisingly divided on the subject.

If history is any guide, periods of inflation can lead to turmoil. This week, financial

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Unvaccinated federal employees not granted exemptions to be put on unpaid leave Employees in the core federal public sector who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be put on unpaid leave today, unless they were already granted an accommodation. nThe policy could potentially leave more than 1,000 workers without pay and

unable to access employment insurance benefits.

As of Nov. 3, the vast majority -- about 95 per cent -- of federal public servants were reported to be fully vaccinated. Of the 267,222 employees who declared their status, a little over 3,150 have requested some kind of accommodation

Pastor says Church event tied to deadly Covid-19 outbreak Pastor Robert Smith of the Gospel Light Baptist Church in Amherst, a city in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, has said, “I followed what God wanted us to do,” when discussing a recent event at his church, which has since been linked to three recent COVID-19 deaths.

At the end of October, the church hosted a multi-day gathering of faith groups across Nova Scotia. Over 100 people attended.

They weren’t required to wear face masks or

show proof of vaccination beforehand, which violated public health orders, officials told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

A guest at the event allegedly caused an outbreak at Rupert House, a local group home for those with intellectual disabilities, in Amherst.

The outbreak led to the death of Victoria Harrison, a 64-year-old vaccinated woman who lived in the house. Harrison died November 10, one week after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

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Annual inflation rate hits 4.7% in October, fastest pace in nearly 19 years Canadian inflation soared in October to its quickest pace in almost 19 years, part of a global upswing in prices that is piling pressure on central banks as households pay sharply more for gasoline,

new vehicles and various food items.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.7 per cent in October from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Wednesday, up from 4.4 per cent in September.

Lynx Air, Canada’s newest ultra-low-cost carrier to launch out of Calgary A new airline is coming to the Canadian skies.

Lynx Air announced on Tuesday that it will launch as a new, “ultra-affordable” airline based out of Calgary, Alta. The company says it will operate the airline as an ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC), which typically offers low-base fares while charging for extras such as seat selection and carry-on baggage. The new carrier has named Merren McArthur as its chief executive

officer. McArthur previously worked as chief executive of Tigerair Australia, another ULCC, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines and Virgin Australia Cargo. Lynx says it will unveil its routes and schedules “soon.” It will operate a fleet of Boeing 737, and says it has firm orders and lease agreements in place for 46 aircraft over the next seven years.

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Upstairs has 3 generously sized bedrooms that include a Master ensuite with mountain views, walk in closet. Fenced yard, double garage and extra parking space. Excellent location on a quiet street, easily walkable to shopping, recreation, parks, schools and quick HWY access. Down the street Sunnyside Elementary, New Grandview Heights Secondary school catchment.

A TRUE STUNNER! Rarely offered, this spectacularly landscaped home offers tons of privacy & tranquility. Located in the coveted subdivision of Chimney Hills, this 3 bed / 2.5 bath home is located on a HUGE 13,982 sq. foot lot. Highlights include NEWLY painted exterior, HARDWOOD floor & carpet on main, lots of NATURAL LIGHT, traditional layout with sunken living & family room, renovated kitchen with granite countertops & a nook overlooking the backyard, ONE YEAR OLD FURNACE & A/C plus Hotwater On Demand. Upstairs offers 3 bedrooms including a large master with a WI closet & ensuite fitted with a soaker tub. The beauty of this home is ac

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Truly delightful huge basement entry app. 7200 sqft. home sits on rectangular 9965 sqft. lot. House features 11 bedrooms & 10 washrooms build by good reputation builders. Main floor has 5 bedrooms & 4 bath with huge family room,living room,kitchen,& spice kitchen.Ground level basement has 27'x15' media room with bar & washroom for upstairs use.House has 3 spacious ground level basement suites (3 bed.+3 bed & bachelor suite).Total rent of the suites is $3500/month.Very nice tenants.Easy access to Pattulo bridge, Port Mann bridge & shopping center.Motivated sellers.Easy to show.

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Truly delightful fully renovated 6 bedroom basement entry home sits on rectangular 7920 sf flat lot in most demanding area Aldergrove Langley.Main floor features 3 bed ,2 bath with new kitchen /island ,new flooring,new tiles , new woodwork,new fixtures,splash back,granite counters,new tiles,new cabinet, new windows,new zebra drapes,4 new washrooms & much more .Newly built 3 bedroom unauthorized basement suite with rear separate entry.Excellent renovated covered 333 sf Patio & deck.Landscape front & fully fenced back yard. Storage shed.Walking distance to both schools,shopping,community center with pools,water Park,ice arena,playing fields& to all major routes.

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Saturday, November 20, 2021 As 5G technology starts to launch more widely, it will have a significant impact on the mobile app industry. We will see sweeping changes across virtually every aspect of an app user’s experience, and this will span a wide variety of industries.

Whether we are building out complex warehouse management systems, smart city and home solutions, gaming experiences or the ability to use virtual reality to virtually try on glasses or clothing for retail customers, app building teams can now immerse themselves in their clients’ needs and end-user challenges to find unique and creative solves that modern technology has the potential to achieve.

We are also going to see the ability to build life-changing experiences across core industries such as healthcare, education and gaming/ entertainment, which will have a significant impact on user experiences regardless of location. 5G connectivity and processing speeds will ostensibly eliminate the latency barriers to processing data and give valuable user insights in real time.

Building Exceptional Mobile App Experiences: Currently, the biggest barrier to building out truly exceptional mobile app experiences is connectivity and the challenges of reliable connectivity in everyday consumers’ lives. Whether they are commuting to work, travelling the globe, or simply listening to music on a daily walk, reliable connectivity has been a challenge to a seamless experience. With the removal of connectivity and data-processing barriers and the promise of huge connectivity improvements that come with 5G, mobile app builders can now fully optimize consumer experiences to leverage incredible loading speeds, making those dreaded pinwheels and loading progress bars a thing of the past. We are going to see truly incredible new apps that reach towards the leading edge of video, streaming, AR/VR and geolocation-based capabilities.

Mobile apps will now have the ability to process important data inputs like body sensors, built in object and voice recognition features to provide customers with immediate insights like heart rate readings, voice over text capabilities and augmented reality (AR) overlays in physical environments, to give consumers actionable information immediately and without

interruption. metrics 5G and the Future of Mobile Apps performance B i g like heart rate, allowing Changes Coming to Key Industries users to adjust accordingly.

While we will likely see changes There is also likely to be a across most industries as a direct significant impact on overall result of the rollout of 5G technology, accessibility for customers consumers will likely see these who are currently limited changes manifest themselves by existing software and in a few key industries initially. their dependence on the Smart Homes, Gaming availability of connectivity. and Entertainment Consider the experience Households who have multiple of a shopper with vision or gaming devices, streaming services, connected hearing impairments. With emerging technology televisions, home assistant devices and smart such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) home operating systems like thermostats and Voice Recognition software, 5G has the will see vast improvements in overall quality, ability to completely transform day-to-day speed and real-time data insights for users. All functions from point-of-sale payment and this without being impacted by the number “reading” labels on store shelves to voice of devices versus available connectivity. This prompted wayfinding leveraging smart city or is especially true for household applications even in-store sensors. Smart Cities: Cities both that require constant, reliable connectivity. large and small will also stand to benefit from the The gaming industry itself will see huge significant gains of a 5G connected environment. changes as 5G becomes widely available. Massive efficiencies and improvement decisions Gamers are currently desktop-bound due will now be based on real-time data collected to connectivity issues that severely impact at key source points. If we take the example the overall experience of games that rely on of the commuter experience, this has exciting streaming, video and multiplayer functionality. implications. With the geo-location capabilities This huge change to connectivity will offered by 5G, cities can now make informed mean gamers will be able to enjoy these state- decisions solely based on user and density data. of-the-art experiences with other players This certainly means greater efficiency (read: cost globally, whether they are sitting in their savings) across the board, but it also means that living rooms or riding the subway to work. citizens benefit from a user data-based schedule Healthcare: The healthcare industry stands that adapts as their needs change and evolve. to gain advancements with the ability to widely Education: This has been a transformative use technology such as AR and VR. Remote year for education as we saw educators and communities, currently underserved and students being forced to adapt to a completely severely limited by connectivity, will now see remote learning environment. 5G and the ability significant improvements across the board. to offer lightning-fast download and video Communities will now be able to leverage streaming between teacher and student means recognition technology for not only diagnosis, that high quality immersive learning will be but also for doctors and surgeons in large a reality for thousands of students (regardless city centres to assist remotely in operations of their location) in the very near future. We using VR and AR software. Another key will also be continuing to work with clients in healthcare industry impact will be seen with the transportation, warehouse management fitness tracking apps and devices such as smart and delivery on demand industries to leverage watches or health wearables in general. With 5G enhanced connectivity to service key features connectivity, data collected on these devices or like geolocation-enabled services and realthrough body sensors will now have the ability time delivery tracking environments that offer to provide usable insights in real-time, such as customers better accuracy of their orders and

19

deliveries. Forging New Partnerships: With new abilities to process real-time data from their phones without relying on cloud technology (as is currently the case), app building teams will now need to forge new partnerships in adjacent industries to ensure that consumer trust and data privacy are at the forefront. App development companies will need to forge new or deepen existing partnerships with data security and data privacy firms to ensure that there is a balance between capabilities and consumer trust.

They will ensure they can build best-in-class experiences with safety and privacy at the core of everything being built. App building teams will also benefit immensely from partnerships with telecom partners like TELUS to fully understand and maximize the potential that a 5G-enabled world will offer. Evolving Teams and Skill Sets For mobile app development companies, we will also likely see a change in the key members of app development solutions teams and the skills needed to make these new experiences happen.

App development companies will look to add or deepen their skill sets in the areas of AR/VR, big data and data privacy, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and voice-enabled services.

Looking Ahead: The biggest winner in all of this is the average consumer, with significant impacts to the core tenets of our communities like accessibility, education and healthcare.

Mobile app development teams will now be limited only by their imagination and consumer challenges, knowing that 5G will deliver the lightning-fast connectivity and data processing that currently limits functionality, and feature sets that require large amounts of data processing to deliver intended results.

Removing barriers to connectivity means that those teams building apps and technology-based experiences are limited only by their imagination and a desire to create exceptional, personalized experiences - from the moment you get in your smart car to drive to work, to a crisp and clear video call with family members across the globe.

To learn more about how 5G will impact the app development industry, click here.

Meet the author Kundan Joshi CEO and founder of TheAppLabb

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INDIA

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Retired judge to monitor Lakhimpur Kheri probe The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Punjab and Haryana High Court’s retired judge Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence “to assure full and complete justice to the victims of crime” in which eight persons, including four farmers, were killed on October 3.

The move was aimed “at ensuring transparency, fairness and absolute impartiality in the outcome

of the investigation, which is to be conducted in a time-bound manner,” said a Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. The Bench — which included Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli — also upgraded and reconstituted the SIT formed by the UP Government by appointing three IPS officers suggested by the state. The officers are SB Shiradkar, Padmaja Chauhan and Preetinder Singh.

Andhra Pradesh hit by massive flooding Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to Chittoor district Collector M Hari Narayanan and reviewed the situation. Jagan asked the Collector to closely monitor the water levels and take required steps accordingly, a CMO release said. Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, was caught in a massive flood of unprecedented scale on Thursday, leaving hundreds of pilgrims

stranded even as a heavy downpour under the influence of a depression in Bay of Bengal battered the temple-town Tirupati and many parts of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

The four ‘maada streets’ adjoining the main temple on Tirumala Hills, remained flooded, as was the Vaikuntham queue complex (cellar).

Darshan of the God was virtually stalled as pilgrims

Number of fully jabbed more than partially vaccinated in India The number of fully vaccinated individuals has surpassed the partially vaccinated eligible population for the first time in the country, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said today.

In a tweet, the minister appealed to all eligible citizens to get vaccinated.

As of now, 40 per cent have received both doses.The minister said he

was confident the country would have every Indian vaccinated by the end of the “Har Ghar Dastak” campaign. The month-long vaccination campaign aims to ensure that all adult population is covered with the first dose while those already jabbed do not skip the second dose. The minister said there was no shortage of vaccine in the country.

40% got both doses

India slips 5 points in global bribery risk rankings India has slipped five points in the global bribery risk rankings settling at the 82nd spot among 194 nations analysed for compliance risks businesses face internationally.

The TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix (TRACE Matrix) published on Wednesday has been measuring business bribery risk since 2014 and assigns an overall country risk score based on the

combined and weighted score of four domains — business interactions with government; antibribery deterrence and enforcement; government and civil service transparency; and capacity for civil society oversight, including the media role.

India slipped from the 77th rank in 2020 to 82nd in 2021 with the country’s score being a high of 47 on the domain of business

The Resistance Front commander among 5 killed The Resistance Front (TRF) commander Afaq Sikander was among five militants killed on Wednesday in twin encounters with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The forces while on a cordon and search operation in Gopalpora were fired upon by militants. In the ensuing gunfight, two ultras were shot. Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said one of the militants was a commander of the

proscribed TRF. He said three militants were killed in another gunfight in Pombay area.

Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed the situation in J&K in the wake of the encounters and civilian killings.Top officials of the J&K Police, CRPF and BSF attended the meeting that lasted an hour. The civilian killings and encounters figured at the meeting held days ahead of the DGPs’ conference in Lucknow.

Hardik Pandya clarifies on ‘Rs 5 crore watch seized’ by Customs A peeved cricket player Hardik Pandya said that contrary to speculation, an expensive watch in his possession when he arrived from Dubai early on Monday with Team India was worth Rs 1.50 crore and not Rs 5 crore. “The cost of the watch is Rs 1.50 crore and not Rs 5 crore as per the rumours floating around on social media,” Hardik asserted, on certain reports claiming otherwise.

Issuing a detailed rebuttal on media theories that his watch “worth Rs 5 crore” was allegedly seized by Customs sleuths and he was reportedly

detained, Hardik said that “wrong perceptions have been floating around on the social media regarding my declaration to Customs at Mumbai Airport.”

The 28-year old cricketer claimed that after arriving in Mumbai from Dubai early on November 15 and picking up his luggage, he proceeded to the Mumbai Airport Customs counter to declare the items brought by him and to pay the requisite customs duty.

Delhi schools close indefinitely due to toxic smog & pollution Schools and colleges in Delhi will remain shut indefinitely as authorities scramble to bring hazardous pollution levels down with a series of urgent interventions.

Barely a fortnight into opening after Covid-19 battered India in two deadly waves, schools will now again close due to pollution levels deemed critically harmful to the health of kids. They were previously ordered to

remain shut till the end of this week but the curfew has now been extended, officials said.

Children are developing asthma-like symptoms and upper respiratory tract infections due to premature assault of hazardous pollution levels on their lungs, doctors in Delhi have warned. The Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM), set up by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration,

21

Saturday, November 20, 2021 .

FIJI

Punjab Haryana closes schools in 4 districts as air quality dips

The Haryana Government today ordered closure of all schools in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar districts till November 17 in view of the deteriorating air quality in National Capital Region.

A spokesperson said government and private sector employees had been advised to work from home to cut vehicle fuel emissions.

He said a complete ban had been imposed on all types of construction activities. —

Law soon on job quota for locals in govt & pvt sector: CM Channi With Punjab elections round the corner, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is racing against time to woo voters and dispel the perception he is running the government with a tacit understanding with the Akalis. He says he will soon bring a law to ensure

near cent per cent quota for locals in government and private sector jobs.

“Employment generation figures high on our model for a government in 2022,” the CM told The Tribune here today.

“I am consulting legal team on job opportunities for Punjabis.

Punjab CM Channi accepts farmers’ demands Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi today held meetings with the leaders of 32 farmers’ unions and the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and acceded to a majority of their

demands (barring the agri-loan waiver).

The key demands accepted by the CM included cancellation of FIRs against farmers for stubble burning and protesting against

Who funded the 36-member Fiji delegation to Glasgow – Biman National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad has hit out at the Government calling for the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Attorney-General Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum to tell the Fijian people who funded the 36-member Fiji delegation to the Glasgow COP26.

Prof Prasad said Fiji’s failure to achieve anything tangible from its agenda at COP26 proves that the donor-funded trip was a “junket”.

He said human rights activist Shamima Ali was right to ask the Government to tell Fiji’s people

who funded the 36-member Fiji delegation to the Glasgow COP26.

“Bigger countries than Fiji, such as New Zealand, sent fewer than 10 people,” he said.

“The Marshall Islands made a bigger impact than Fiji at COP26.

It had a delegation of just five.

“But instead of sending a small, effective delegation that Fiji could afford – and lowering Fiji’s own carbon footprint – Fiji put out the begging bowl for three dozen people to travel.

New allegations against former Minister New information has emerged on the nature of investigations against former Forestry Minister Osea Naiqamu and others.

FBC News understands that Naiqamu and others piled up debts as Directors of Pine Landowners Company Limited, and attempted to force the Fiji Pine Group to pay off more than $800, 000.

Naiqamu and his business partners owe money to the Fiji Development Bank and the Fiji National Provident Fund.

These two entities then sued Pine Landowners Company in order to recover debts.

Fiji Pine Group Chief Executive, Vimlesh Kumar claims Naiqamu has been attempting to pressure him to clear the loans for the landowner company.

Kartarpur corridor reopened Kartarpur corridor reopened, Home Minister Amit Shah said the decision reflects the Modi government’s immense reverence for Guru Nanak Dev and the Sikh community.

Kartarpur border corridor links to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan near the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Dera Baba Nanak. Kartarpur corridor is one of the most revered shrines of Sikh religion.

Kartarpur border corridor was suspended since March 2020 because of Covid-19 pandemic. Amit Shah said the nation is all set to celebrate Prakash Utsav of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji on November 19 and he was confident that this move will further “boost the joy and happiness across the country”.

Chief Minister Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi welcomed the Centre’s decision and said

the state cabinet will be part of the “Jatha” that will visit the shrine in Pakistan on November 18.

Besides Channi, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, former CM Amarinder Singh, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also hailed the Centre’s move.

India signed the Kartarpur corridor agreement with Pakistan on October 24, 2019.

Under the pact, Indian pilgrims of all faiths are allowed to undertake round the year visafree travel through the 4.5-km-long passage.

In November, 2019 former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Union minister Hardeep Puri were part of the first group visited the Gurdwara.

Pakistan Parliament passes bills on electronic voting system The joint session of Parliament on Wednesday passed the bill to election laws introducing electronic voting system and voting rights for overseas Pakistanis

for general elections to be held in 2023.

The legislation was passed in the joint session of the Parliament, National Assembly and the Senate summoned by President of Pakistan.

Who could have foreseen the disaster that is Naya Pakistan?

A tv anchor Saleem Safi recently uploaded two interviews on his YouTube. This seems to be part of a series in which Safi talks to those tv anchors who were once seen being ‘diehard supporters’ of Imran Khan but have now become vehement critics of him.

In the two interviews that Safi uploaded, the anchors Kamran Shahid and Irshad Bhatti confessed that they had unabashedly supported the rise of Imran Khan at the expense of ‘status quo politicians’ such as the former PM Sharif and Asif Zardari. The anchors confessed that they had had no qualms in echoing Khan’s constant tirades against Sharif and Zardari (of being ‘corrupt’). Kamran Shahid even went to the extent of saying that he, along with the

channel that he hosts his show on, declared Khan rallies that had 400 people as having 40,000!

Indeed, owning up to one’s mistakes and misdeeds takes courage and should be encouraged especially if a person is a journalist. Dunya news’ senior journalist and tv anchor Kamran Khan, who till a few months ago was insisting that all was well and that the country had a ‘perfect hybrid political system’ headed by PM Khan, recently uploaded a damning diatribe opposing the PM on Twitter.

Journalist Kamran Khan is often seen as ‘the Establishment’s man.’ So his denunciation in this context was understood by many as a reaction to the manner in which PM Khan got in the crosshairs of the military chief General Bajwa.

Police man tries to sell his children for Rs 50,000 Ghotki, Sihdh: A video went viral on social media, showing a cop, a father trying to sell his own children for Rs 50,000. The incident reported from Ghotk, Sindh. In video, policeman Nisar Lashari, from

Sind police is seen shouting in middle of the street while his two kids look visibly confused. He then picks up the younger son in his lap and shouts that he is selling his children for Rs 50,000.

More awareness on cyclone prep needed More awareness and education is needed in communities in terms of how to prepare for cyclones in Fiji.

This was the view of United Nations Resident Coordinator Sanaka Samarasinha as the country now enters the cyclone season.

“I think we have learnt a lot, certainly from Tropical Cyclone Yasa last year that people need to be aware of how to prepare properly for a cyclone,” he said.

“During TC Yasa, we heard reports of people trying to strap down their roofs, in the middle

of the cyclone and obviously that didn’t work.

“I have been in discussions with Minister for Disaster Management Inia Seruiratu on a number of issues, in particular with people not wanting to evacuate their homes during a cyclone or natural disaster in order to safeguard their property from thieves, which is sad.

“We need to be ready also in terms of local coordination and I have asked my team to do an after action review of things that we have learnt from the past few cyclones.”

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Saturday, November 2021 Saturday, November 20,6,2021

Covaxin, India’s homegrown COVID jab, ‘highly efficacious’: Study

C

ovaxin, the first COVID-19 vaccine developed in India, is “highly efficacious” and presents no safety concerns, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet.

Covaxin gained emergency approval from the World Health Organization last week, the eighth jab to be given the green light by the health body. The vaccine has already been cleared for use in 17 countries.

How to fight COVID vaccine misinformation?

Known by the code BBV152, Covaxin is an inactivated virus-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech

in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology.

The WHO has described it as “extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements”.

Some of the other approved vaccines must be stored at very low temperatures, which throws up logistical and cost problems.

Covaxin “was highly efficacious against laboratory-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 disease in adults”, the Lancet study said.

The jab was also “well tolerated with no safety concerns raised in this interim

analysis”, it added.

The Indian-developed vaccine has a 78 percent efficacy rate after two doses over a month, according to the WHO. It has joined the COVID vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson&Johnson, Sinopharm and Sinovac on the WHO-approved list.

The rollout of Covaxin can “increase the finite global manufacturing capacity, and improve insufficient supply of vaccines, which disproportionately affects lowincome and middle-income countries,” said

Chinese researchers Li Jingxin Li and Zhu Fengcai, who did not take part in the study.

They did however mention certain limits to the study, saying that as the trials had been conducted solely in India, there was a less ethnically diverse study group.

The studies were also carried out between November 2020 and January 2021, before the more contagious Delta variant of the virus became widespread.

Despite the trial dates, the researchers involved were able to identify which of the patients were infected with the Delta variant.

For this sub-group, the study found that Covaxin still provided protection against COVID-19, but was slightly less effective.

Employers and workers – follow workplace health and safety regulations, and public health orders and direction.

•

Understand all of the health and safety risks in your workplace

•

Be aware of current public health orders that affect your business

•

Put measures in place to reduce the risk of workplace injury or illness

Find updated resources and more information at worksafebc.com #LetsDoOurPartBC

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