The Asian Star October 5 2019

www.theasianstar.com Vol 19 - Issue 36

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Tel:604-591-5423

Air India launches non-stop flight from Delhi to Toronto

Election 2019: Liberals and NDP lose support in key swing ridings, Conservatives gain, says new poll The Liberals and NDP have lost ground in Western Canada, and the surging Conservatives could dominate in several key swing ridings in this month’s federal election, says a new Angus Reid poll.

“The Liberal party looks to have lost

considerable ground to the opposition Conservative party,” Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute, said of the poll results west of Ontario. The poll analyzed the current political leanings of voters in 67 ridings in Canada where, in the 2015 election, the winner and the second-place finisher were separated by five percentage points or less.

It found some regional differences in 2019, such as the Bloc overtaking a slumping NDP in Quebec and nailbiter races between the Liberals and Conservatives in Ontario. In B.C., there is a wider variety of competitions, Kurl said.

Continued on page 3

Air India launched their new non-stop service from Delhi to Toronto on Friday.

The 14-hour flight arrived on Friday morning at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and was greeted by a water cannon salute from Toronto Pearson Fire as they approached their gate.

The inaugural flight was operated with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and featured pictures of Indian destinations on the side of the plane. Air India says the aircraft showcases the “tremendous richness

and variety of India.” Air India’s first nonstop flight to Toronto landed on Friday.

The national carrier will fly this route three times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Flight AI187 will depart Delhi at 3 a.m. local time and arrive in Toronto at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The return flight, AI188, leaves Toronto at 12:15 p.m. and arrives back in Delhi 12:15 p.m.

Continued on page 7

Trudeau shamed by fresh blackface video as future Canadian PM filmed leaping around in afro wig A previous blurry image from this moment was widely circulated, but now a high-quality video showing Mr Trudeau has come out. In the full clip, pals are white water rafting and kayaking during the day before a fancy dress party. Mr Trudeau is the only one who dons a blackface and afro as he cheekily sticks his tongue out for the

camera. The clip shows he even went as far as to paint his knees and his tongue black. But this was not a one-off for the holierthan-thou politician, who is known for calling others out for racism. The video is believed to have been captured in the early 1990s, although it’s not Continued on page 7

Captured Canadian ISIS fighter wants to come home — but does not want to be charged Before he was captured by Syrian Kurdish forces in February, Canadian Mohammed Khalifa went from being a cog in the ranks of ISIS to its English language voice.

Khalifa, 35, who goes by his ISIS nom de guerre Abu Ridwan, says he would like to return

to Canada provided he can bring his non-Canadian wife and their three children.

“This area is no doubt a dangerous area. I’d want to take my family out of there,” Abu

Continued on page 7

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Vancouver area home sales jump 46.3 per cent in September The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales jumped 46.3 per cent in September compared with last year to hit near average levels after a decline in prices.

The board says 2,333 homes sold in the month, up from 1,595 sales last year, to come in at a level just 1.7 per cent below the 10-year average for September.

Higher home sales came as the composite benchmark price for all homes in Metro Vancouver was down 7.3 per cent to $990,600 in September compared

with last year. The benchmark price was down 0.3 per cent from August.

The benchmark price for detached homes dropped 8.6 per cent in September compared with last year. The benchmark condo price was down 6.5 per cent from last year, and the attached home price was down 7.2 per cent.

A total of 4,866 homes were listed in the month, a 7.8 per cent decrease compared with a year earlier, and a 29.9 per cent increase compared with August.

The board says the statistics indicate a more balanced housing market.

Pro-China folks clash with Hong Kong supporters in Richmond Students in Richmond faced violence and intimidation on Tuesday as they gathered at a SkyTrain station to post messages in support of protesters in Hong Kong.

On the day that China was celebrating

70 years of communist rule, the students converged on Aberdeen Station to stick Postit notes on a wall of the building, only to be verbally abused and have the messages torn down by pro-China supporters.

There was allegedly a shouting match and a “Mandarin-speaking group tossed a bunch of coins, loonies and toonies, at one supporter (of the Hong Kong protests), and then things got heated,” said a Richmond resident named Brian who was at the station.

“I think that there are a few (pro-China) individuals that we are starting to recognize as being present (at pro-Hong Kong events),” said Vancouver community organizer Kevin Huang. “And for us, it’s, ‘Hey, let’s keep an eye on these individuals’ because it’s becoming apparent that many of them aren’t afraid to use more aggressive tactics to shut down freedom of speech and political art.”

He has heard occasional reports of confrontations on the streets of Vancouver between those who support the months-long protests in Hong Kong and those who back Beijing.

Iceberg nearly 3x the size of Toronto broke off Antarctica At around 210 metres thick, it would dwarf all but the tallest handful of buildings in the city’s core, and would even reach up two-fifths of the height of the CN Tower!

According to Helen Amanda Fricker, a glaciologist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, she had been waiting since 2002 for the Amery Ice Shelf ’s “Loose Tooth” to come out finally.

When D-28 calved off in September, however, it was more than was expected.

“This iceberg is NOT the Loose Tooth,” Fricker tweeted on Monday. “It is a larger piece of ice (the size of Scotland’s Isle of Skye) to the west of LT. It is like expecting a baby tooth to come out, and instead out comes a molar.” Identified in 2001 and 2002, Amery’s ‘Loose Tooth’ was a projected 625-squarekilometre iceberg that was supposed to calve off when two rifts identified in satellite imagery finally grew enough to link up.There have been several stories of large icebergs calving off from Antarctica in recent years.

Some of these - especially when Iceberg A-68 broke away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in July of 2017 - have raised concerns about the accelerating effects of climate change in that remote part of the world.A-68 was of specific concern because we had already witnessed the accelerated breakup of the Larsen A and Larsen B ice shelves, farther to the north along the Antarctic Peninsula. A-68’s calving was potentially heralding another loss.

By comparison, however, the calving of D-28 is not raising any alarms with scientists.

According to Fricker, this iceberg breaking away from the ice shelf is not due to climate change. It is merely part of the normal, healthy cycle of ice loss for this ice shelf.

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www.theasianstar.com Vol 18 - Issue 36

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Premier hopes legislature is ‘turning a page’ on spending scandal after resignations Beverley McLachlin,

Premier John Horgan says he hopes the retirement of the legislature’s sergeant-at-arms will mark a turning point for the institution after allegations of misspending were first raised nearly a year ago. Gary Lenz, who was embroiled in the spending scandal, announced Tuesday he is retiring, saying the damage to his reputation can no longer be fully repaired after he was placed on administrative leave last year.

Horgan said Wednesday he has confidence in those who work at the legislature.

“I absolutely hope that we are turning a page,’’ he said at a news conference in Surrey, B.C. “I’m very proud of our institutions in British Columbia and in Canada. We are so

blessed to have strong democratic institutions that are represented not just in the buildings, whether it be the House of Commons or the legislative assembly, but the people that work there every day to try and serve the people of British Columbia as best they can.’’ Gary Lenz resigns as B.C.’s sergeant-at-arms, citing irreparable damage to reputation Former clerk of the house Craig James announced his retirement in May after

the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, released a report into overspending allegations against him and Lenz. Craig James resigned from the position of clerk of the legislative assembly in May after the release of an investigative report into a spending scandal at the B.C. Legislature found he had committed misconduct.

She concluded that James improperly claimed benefits and used legislature property for personal reasons, but that Lenz did not engage in misconduct.

Liberals and NDP lose support in key swing ridings, Conservatives gain, says new poll From page 1 “The vote shifts in B.C. could well be more dynamic than in other parts of the country,” she said. “There are NDP-Liberal fights, there are LiberalConservative fights, and there are Green-NDP fights looming.”

The poll grouped together 17 Western Canada swing ridings — eight in B.C. and nine in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — where the aggregate results show the Tories pulling ahead.

Daphne Bramham: Candidates’ views on conversion therapy, abortion raise questions about Scheer’s promise to leave social issues alone John Ivison: Poll shows more people are starting to believe Scheer really could become PM

Kurl said the survey sample size was too small to predict outcomes for individual seats. It is also unclear whether swelling Conservative support is as strong in B.C. as in the three other Western provinces, who all have centre-right provincial governments. However, when asked “In this upcoming federal election, which party’s candidate will you be most likely to support?”, 34 per cent of B.C. swingriding voters said Conservatives, 18 per cent said Liberal,s 13 per cent said Greens, 10 per cent said NDP, and 13 per cent were undecided.

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4

OPINION

By Michael Taube

The federal election has just passed the halfway mark and many Canadians can’t wait until it’s over. This isn’t related to the usual malaise and frustration we see and hear during election season. Rather, it has everything to do with the fact this has been the most ridiculous political campaign in Canadian history.

Where to begin?

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has witnessed several candidates get attacked by the Liberals for old positions on contentious issues like abortion and gay marriage. Scheer, who was also attacked for a 15-year-old statement in the House of Commons before the writ was dropped, accepted several candidates’ apologies – and was lambasted for this decision.

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was involved in a blackface/brownface controversy.

Three separate incidents have been unearthed, the most recent being in 2001 when he was a 29-year-old teacher – and should have known better. It received an enormous amount of negative press coverage, both domestically and internationally. Could there be more?

Saturday, October 5, 2019

The most ridiculous campaign in our political history Anything is possible.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh threw out several candidates due to offensive remarks ranging from allegations of physical abuse to “unacceptable” comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He’s also had to face offensive comments about his turban and heritage from both ex-NDP members and current supporters, and became understandably emotional when Trudeau’s blackface/brownface controversy broke out.

Green Leader Elizabeth May raised eyebrows during the first leaders’ debate by making critical comments about Israel, and flip-flopped on the issue of allowing any debate on abortion in Parliament – which could lead to “re-vetting” of candidates. And then an image of May was reportedly photoshopped by the party to remove a disposable cup and supplant it with a reusable cup and metal straw. It’s not easy being green.

Meanwhile, True North Centre fellow Andrew Lawton has been blocked from Liberal events for over a week due to a lack of media accreditation and was inexplicably asked to leave a public rally.

Rebel Media’s David Menzies was actually escorted out of a Tory event by police for a lack of media credentials, and was apparently handcuffed for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear. People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier was blasted for appearing in photos with alleged white nationalists and racists.

And an elderly couple were briefly prevented from attending a PPC event by aggressive antifascist protestors. How have most of the parties attempted to mitigate this damage?

By promising the sun, the moon and the stars to Canadians in the form of wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

Trudeau claimed his party’s plan was “fiscally responsible,” even though it would create another four years of deficits, a $6-billion “down payment” for pharmacare, mental health service and palliative care, and billions more for education and the environment.

May announced an eye-popping $26.7-billion universal pharmacare plan that would continue to skyrocket to $31.3 billion by 2024-2025, and wants to lower the voting age to 16.

Singh wants to spend $5 billion on new affordable housing and implement a universal dental care plan (which would cost $560 million in the first year alone), among other wasteful suggestions.

Scheer’s proposals have been more fiscally prudent. Nevertheless, he wants to adjust the mortgage stress test to make it easy for firsttime home buyers to get into the market – and potentially default, if the market turns. A 20 per cent refundable tax credit for house renovations and retrofitting sounds fine, but could end up being costly. He also wants to establish a “national energy corridor,” which won’t come cheap.

Canadians have witnessed major scandals and heard offensive remarks, relived ancient political history, experienced daily mud-slinging, and considered policy proposals with big, shiny numbers that are so wasteful that they can make adults cry.

Is it any wonder they’re already fed up with our political parties and their leaders?

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Saturday, October 5, 2019 From page 1

Trudeau shamed by fresh blackface video as future Canadian PM filmed leaping around in afro wig

it was filmed. Mr Trudeau is currently in the middle of a campaign to seek re-election as his Liberal Party is in jeopardy amid his race scandal. An Ipsos poll for Global News indicated Conservatives would win 36 per cent of the vote compared to Liberals with 32 per cent if the election was held the day respondents were asked their voting intention.

It comes after he’s admitted he can’t remember how many times he wore blackface.

After the third shocking photo emerged last week, Mr Trudeau confessed to a “massive blind spot” in his thinking, saying he is “deeply sorry”. The PM, who champions diversity and multiculturalism, was pictured dressed up as a black man at the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, an elite high school in Quebec, which he attended. He donned an Afro wig to perform his version of the Banana Boat Song (Day-O) - a song about people in Jamaica loading

Captured Canadian ISIS fighter wants to come home — but does not want to be charged Ridwan told The Fifth Estate in an interview from a prison in northern Syria.

But if his return means he will likely face justice in a Canadian court, Abu Ridwan said he would rather remain locked up where he is.

“In terms of going back to be judged, then no.”

While captured ISIS members and their families at home in Canada have been pleading with Ottawa for help to repatriate them home, the country’s handling of the contentious issue has come in for criticism by security experts.

Former ISIS fighter on the state of the organization 0:16 For Abu Ridwan, the desire to live in an Islamic state took him out of Canada six years ago. In the summer of 2013, Abu Ridwan had graduated from Toronto’s Seneca College and had a job with a tech company when he decided to leave it all behind to be a part of the emerging Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

“I was happy coming to a place where we have an Islamic state and we could live in an Islamic state and implement the Sharia law. I was content with what I had and the life I was living.”

Within a few months, he had joined the ranks of ISIS and pledged his allegiance to its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

His Arabic and English language skills caught the attention of ISIS commanders and he was recruited to the group’s media department headquartered in the city of Raqqa.

“We come in the morning and we leave later in the day. If you finish your work, you might leave early. It’s nothing unusual if you consider how you work even in like Canada; you know if you are sick or have an emergency, you take a day off. It was very normal,” Abu Ridwan said.

Yet life was anything but normal for the civilians who lived in Raqqa. The underground citizen journalist group — Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently — documented 29 public civilian executions in Raqqa in November and December 2014.

Abu Ridwan said his monthly ISIS salary of slightly less than $200 US was enough to live a comfortable life.

“It’s not like you’re struggling and you’re poor or anything. You are still living good, you were eating well.”

Abu Ridwan told The Fifth Estate that after spending months translating and reading ISIS news items, he was given a script for a propaganda video by ISIS commanders in September 2014.

“They said we want you to read this and so I recorded it, and they took it and they asked for some changes. I rerecorded some parts, and that was it,” Abu Ridwan said.

But when ISIS released that Flames of War video on social media platforms, the threats it contained against Western countries caused a panic among security agencies in Canada, the United States and Europe.

bananas onto boats - in a talent show.

This picture is understood to have also been taken in the 1990s. In the first image that came to light, Trudeau can be seen sporting a turban and robes at the Arabian Nights themed party at the West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver.

That photo was taken in 2001 when Trudeau was a 29-year-old teacher at the private school, according to Time magazine. Trudeau confirmed he was dressed as a character from Aladdin and said he had his arm around a “close friend”. He told reporters on his campaign plane in Nova Scotia: “I should have known better then, but I didn’t and I did it and I’m deeply sorry. “I’m p***ed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself.” “I take responsibility for my decision to do that... it was something that I didn’t think was racist at the time but now I recognise it was something racist to do.”

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Scheer would cut foreign aid by 25 per cent, re-invest savings in tax cuts

C

onservative Leader Andrew Scheer is promising a leaner foreign policy by taking away aid funding from countries he says don’t need it or don’t deserve it, and spending the money instead on domestic programs and tax cuts. Sign up for our Election Dispatch newsletter for a daily update on the campaign Canada is too generous with what he called “middle- and upper-income” countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Italy, he said Tuesday. And Canadians’ tax dollars, he added, shouldn’t be going towards “repressive regimes,” such as in Iran and North Korea, that are “hostile to Canada’s interests and values.”

Scheer’s pledge would cut 25 per cent from Canada’s $6-billion foreign aid budget, which the Conservative leader portrayed as poorly managed by the Liberals. The savings, Scheer added, would be reinvested in his party’s plans for a universal tax cut and various tax credits. He vowed to redirect $700 million to countries “with grave humanitarian or refugee challenges such as much of sub-

Saharan Africa,” which he said would get even more than they do now. Scheer dismissed questions from reporters that suggested his plan would diminish Canada on the world stage, or signal the country is retreating from its obligations.

The Conservative leader said his government would focus its efforts on building “a new international consensus ... on protecting children in conflict zones.”“It’s time for Canada to put our money where our mouth is and only use foreign aid to support the Canadian values we hold dear,” he told reporters at a lakeside Toronto hotel.

The promised cuts would include ending all funding to a United Nations’ organization that supports Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, which the Conservative leader accused of being openly anti-Semitic and having helped the Hamas terrorist group.

The United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, which saw its funding

from Canada previously cut by the Harper Conservatives before it was reinstated by the Trudeau Liberals, has denied being anti-Semitic or supportive of Hamas.

“At a time when Canadians are working harder than ever, (Liberal Leader Justin) Trudeau is using their hard-earned tax dollars to support antiSemitic organizations and prop up foreign dictatorships,” Scheer said. But one foreign aid program recently enhanced by the Liberals will be maintained, Scheer said. Trudeau has announced that Canada will be spending $1.4 billion annually, starting in 2023, on programs supporting the health of women and girls around the world. Under the plan, $700 million of that amount will be dedicated to “sexual and reproductive health rights.”

“Those types of groups will not be affected

by this announcement,” Scheer said, referring to organizations funded by Canadian dollars offering abortion care around the world.

While taking questions, Scheer added that a Conservative government wouldn’t re-open the abortion debate in Canada or elsewhere.

He said Tuesday’s announcement was focused on the countries that would no longer receive funding, not on the types of groups that already get support.

An official in the Scheer campaign later clarified that groups operating in the countries targeted by the Conservative plan would no longer get funding to work there.

When asked about local populations of those countries that could suffer from a lack of Canadian aid, Scheer said Canadians agree with him. “I am convinced Canadians prefer that taxpayer dollars don’t go to hostile regimes and regimes who use Canadian money to support governments,” he said.

“There is a lot of money that is spent government to government.”

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Saturday, October 5, 2019 Pedestrian dies after being hit by car during rush hour in South Vancouver Police are investigating after a pedestrian was struck and killed during rush hour in South Vancouver on Wednesday evening. The pedestrian was crossing the street in the Killarney

neighbourhood, near East 49th Avenue and Tyne Street, when he was hit by a Suzuki station wagon travelling east just after 6 p.m., a police statement said.

Vancouver city staff member killed in work crew accident One city worker was killed over the weekend after equipment came loose at a site near Boundary Road on Saturday.

The incident involved a City of Vancouver engineering work crew, however, officials have not shared details on how the accident occurred.

The RCMP, WorkSafe B.C. and the city are all investigating the accident, which took place around 2 p.m. on Saturday.

In an email, City of Vancouver communications manager Ellie Lambert

said no information will be released at this time out of consideration for the worker’s family and colleagues.

“The City of Vancouver is deeply saddened that a workplace fatality of one of our colleagues occurred today. Our warmest thoughts of sympathy go out to the family, friends and workmates of the staff member,” Lambert wrote.

“RCMP, Worksafe B.C., and City investigations are underway. Counselling services are on site and being offered to staff.”

Woman dies after driving off Blaine boat launch A B.C. woman has been identified as the person found dead in a submerged car in Blaine, Wash.

The Blaine Police Department said Canadian Eleanor Lenzner, 87, had crossed into the U.S. over the weekend but likely became disoriented and confused while navigating through Blaine and drove down a boat launch, the Bellingham Herald reported.

Lenzner and her car were discovered submerged in Drayton Harbour when

two boaters tried to launch their boat on Sunday morning around 7 a.m., said Sgt. Michael Munden.

Search and rescue crews were called in to help pull the car and the body from the water, where it had sunk about three metres.

It’s believed Lenzner had gone off the boat launch at low tide and was unable to get out of the water. Officials are treating the death as an accident.

Police search for 2 young sisters missing in Surrey Surrey RCMP are asking for help locating two young sisters who have not been seen since Thursday morning.

Shauntae Joseph, 10, and Nikita Joseph, 13, were last seen at 8 a.m. in the 6400 block of 121 Street. Their family and police are concerned about their health and well-being.

Both girls are described as Indigenous, standing five feet two inches tall, with slim builds and long dark hair.

Shauntae was last seen wearing a black sweater, black Kappa track pants, and black and white Vans shoes. Nikita was wearing a grey Thrasher hoodie and blue jeans.

Anyone with information about the girls’ whereabouts is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

What you can and cannot do with your phone when driving A distracted-driving ticket issued to a B.C. senior for charging her cellphone is raising questions about what is and is not legal when it comes to devices in cars.

Randi Kramer was issued a $368 ticket for having her phone plugged in and sitting in her vehicle’s cup holder. Kramer, who is in her 70s and had a pristine driving record, was unaware she was doing anything wrong.

Lawyer Kyla Lee challenged the ticket on Kramer’s behalf and police cancelled the violation, clearing Kramer.

Still, Lee said the incident shows current laws make it hard for people to know

exactly what is a punishable offence when it comes to phones and distracted driving.

According to the province’s Motor Vehicle Act, a person driving cannot use the features or functions of a phone and some police officers interpret charging as a feature, Lee said. But the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled that just charging a phone is not an offence and a person must be doing something else with the device to be found at fault, she added.

Having a phone within sight is no longer distracted driving by itself, rules B.C. judge “It just boggles my mind,” said Lee said.

LOCAL

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Vancouver becomes first city in BC to approve its own ride-hailing regulations ancouver has become the first B.C. city to approve ride-hailing regulations ahead of services hitting roadways later this year.

On Wednesday, city councillors approved a $100 annual fee for ride-hailing drivers working within the city limits. They also approved to decrease the yearly licensing fee for taxi drivers from the current $600 to $100.

City staff made a number of recommendations to councillors after meeting with organizations and interest groups, including the local transportation advisory committee.

The city will also be moving ahead with charging a pick-up and drop-off tax of 30 cents each for rides within the downtown core from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., in order to ease congestion.

The motion was not supported unanimously, however Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung tweeted that while she supports the anti-congestion fees, she is weary of the city making rules within its jurisdiction when the Passenger Transportation Board has already said zones for ride h A recent poll by Research Co., which surveyed 800 Metro Vancouverites about their

concerns on upcoming ride-hailing services, found that wheelchair accessibility fleets, road congestion and drivers’ working conditions top the list.

The NDP government has promised that services will be up and running by the end of the year. ailing will stretch across various municipalities.

Gangster who aided Surrey Six killers gets A BC gangster who helped killers get into the Surrey highrise where they slaughtered six people in 2007 has been granted release from prison. But Sophon Sek’s freedom may be short-lived as a deportation order has already been issued against the drug trafficker for his history of serious criminality. In a Sept. 23 ruling, the Parole Board of Canada imposed special conditions on Sek’s statutory release —

which almost all inmates get after serving twothirds of their sentence. Board member Patrick O’Brien said Sek must stay away from criminal associates, live in a halfway house, have only one cellphone and provide all his financial records to a parole supervisor.

He must also stay away from the family of the Surrey Six victims. O’Brien acknowledged that

Sek isn’t a reformed man despite taking several courses inside prison while serving four of an almost six-year sentence. “Throughout your sentence, your commitment and sincerity have been questioned due to reliable information that strongly suggests continued involvement and leadership with security-threat groups,” he said in his written ruling. “You dispute the assertions. However, the concerns were so pronounced that you were transferred out of your region and a return to that area on statutory release is being discouraged over concerns of your safety, as well as the safety of the community. These are serious allegations and concerns that, if at all founded, create

potential for significant threats to public safety.”

Sek, 39, pleaded guilty in 2015 to break-andenter for his role in the Surrey Six murders and received a one-year sentence. A manslaughter charge was dropped. The sentence was added to a five-year term he got in 2014 for several drugtrafficking and firearms convictions. Sek has maintained that he never knew Red Scorpion gangsters Matthew Johnston, Cody Haevischer and a man who can only be identified as Person X planned to kill people inside Suite 1505 at the Balmoral Tower when he helped them get inside the building. Two of the victims, Chris Mohan and Ed Schellenberg, were bystanders caught up in the gangland murders.

3 arrested after alleged break-in at Vancouver apartment Three people have been arrested after an alleged break-in at an apartment in Vancouver’s West End on Thursday night.

Vancouver police were called to the home near Denman and Robson Streets shortly after 10 p.m. PT. A statement from police said the suspects ran off by the time patrol officers arrived, but different officers with the department’s Emergency Response Team

happened to be in the area and intervened.

The statement said three suspects, two men and a woman, were arrested as they were returning to a car parked nearby. Investigators stayed on scene for hours Thursday night, with a silver hatchback cordoned off behind yellow police tape in front of a 24-hour coffee shop.

Const. Steve Addison said the investigation is ongoing. No charges have been laid.

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Khalsa Business Centre

128th Street, 84th Ave., Surrey, BC

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Attempted robbery at Cloverdale bank causes ‘lockdown’ at Surrey high school Surrey RCMP has confirmed that Clayton Heights Secondary was in “lockdown” after an attempted robbery at a bank around the corner from the school.

Police said one male is in custody, but police didn’t elaborate on what happened at the TD Bank in the 18600-block Fraser Highway Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 1).

Just after 3 p.m., Surrey RCMP said in a release Tuesday, a male suspect entered the bank in the Clayton Heights area “with a knife and demanded money from a teller.”

The suspect was arrested “nearby,” and no one was harmed during the incident, police said.

Surrey Schools spokesperson Sheila

Reynolds said the school was on lockdown “briefly” after school was dismissed, and it lasted for about 15 minutes.

“Thanks to the swift actions of the bank staff and our frontline members, the suspect is now in custody without incident,” said Sergeant Mel Wong of the Surrey RCMP. “A nearby school was placed on temporary lockout, but we want to assure the public that there is no ongoing concern for safety.”

The investigation is ongoing at this time. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or, if you wish to make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or solvecrime.ca.

More than 4,200 names on Cloverdale man’s petition to end hospital parking fees Gary Hee was a man on a mission.

That mission took him from hospital parking lot to hospital parking lot across the Lower Mainland to collect signatures.

Now, he says, that quest is over. His petition garnered 4,281 signatures—719 short of his goal—but he feels it’s enough.

Hee started his petition earlier this year in an effort to end parking fees in provincial hospital emergency parking lots.

His mission started at Langley Memorial, but then quickly moved to other hospitals.

“When I saw the parking fees alone were high, then the fines were high, then the extra fines for not paying within a week were high, I did some research and found out it was a big problem.”

Hee said the parking management companies add a higher fine if the bill isn’t paid within a set period.

“They add a fine on top of the parking ticket.

That’s not legal because it’s a private company and not a law enforcement company.”

The 75-year-old added these companies work on commission and said they are “eager to make more money,” which comes at the cost of legality and fairness.

“I call it scamming people,” he said. “It’s callous—especially when people are at a low point, rushing into use an emergency service.”

Hee added the ticket isn’t a ticket in the way the public thinks of, and understands, parking ticketing.

SFU Surrey to be home to BC’s first quantum computing institute ‘Visionary’ institute to receive $17M over five years from provincial government Amy ReidLauren CollinsOct. 2, 2019 11:00 a.m.Local NewsNews A plan to create B.C.’s first quantum computing institute is being touted as a “visionary” project that will help position Surrey’s City Centre area as the region’s second downtown core.

The Quantum Algorithms Institute is being established at SFU’s Surrey campus, with the provincial government providing $17 million over five years to get the project up and running.

The new institute will work with universities throughout B.C. to “position the province as a world leader in this emerging field” and is a “key investment to grow the Surrey Innovation Corridor,” according to a government release

$5,000 reward offered for information on person who ordered cut down of prominent South Surrey eagle nest tree The Hancock Wildlife Foundation is offering a $5,000 reward to the person who cut down a prominent eagle’s nest tree off Croydon Drive – but only if that person can provide proof of who paid them to do the job.

Foundation founder David Hancock said that it’s obvious the tree cutter didn’t act alone, and he would like to know who funded the operation.

“At some time, maybe the kid who (cut

down the tree), will say, ‘OK, five grand, I’m going to rat on the guy that paid me.’ That’s what we’re hoping,” Hancock said Tuesday.

July last year, the City of Surrey received a call that a tree, located on private property at 2112 160 St., had been partially cut and was at risk of falling.

A city arbourist visited the site that afternoon and determined that the tree was at a high risk of falling due to it being cut on both sides, and almost all the way through.

Two men accused of killing Hells Angel in South Surrey appear in court The two young men accused of killing a Hells Angel in South Surrey last August made a brief appearance in Surrey Provincial Court Wednesday.

Calvin Powery-Hooker and Nathan De Jong, both born in 1998, are facing firstdegree murder charges in connection with the shooting death of Suminder ‘Ali’ Grewal, 43.

The accused appeared in court via CCTV video Wednesday morning, and were adjourned to return – again by video – on Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m.

Wearing orange prison garb, the

two men said little when they were told of their new appearance date.

Grewal was shot dead at 9:20 a.m., Aug. 2, while he was sitting in his Dodge Viper in the Southpoint Exchange shopping centre’s Starbucks drive-thru. The laneway runs between Starbucks and Envision Financial in the 3000-block of 152 Street.

According to police, two suspects fled the scene in a vehicle and then on foot. PoweryHooker and De Jong were arrested that day.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

LOCAL

BC mom struck by car while walking with 2 kids awarded $574,000 An Abbotsford pedestrian who was struck by a car while she and her kids were using a crosswalk on a dark and rainy night in 2015 has been awarded almost $574,000 in damages and loss of future wages.

Justice Barbara Norell ruled that Sarbjit Parmar’s damages amounted to about $765,000, but 25 per cent was deducted for Parmar’s liability in the collision, while driver Harold Rink’s role was assessed at 75 per cent.

The decision was rendered Sept. 30 in B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack.

The incident took place on the evening of Dec. 17, 2015, at about 7:15 p.m. Parmar, then 41, and her two youngest children – a girl, 11, and a boy, 7 – had attended her son’s holiday concert at South Poplar Elementary, located in the area of Gladwin and Huntingdon roads.

According to court documents, Parmar had parked her vehicle on the north side of Gladwin Road, and needed to cross Huntingdon Road to get to it.

Parmar and her daughter said there was “light rain” at the time, while Rink described the weather as “terrible” with rain mixed with snow, and winds.

The trio walked to the crosswalk, and Parmar “looked both ways for four to five seconds” and saw a vehicle coming from the east, the documents state.

“She did not know, and could not determine how far away the car was, but she thought she could

cross the intersection,” the documents state.

Meanwhile, Rink, then 79, who was driving a 2014 Mercedes 250 SUV with his wife as a passenger, described visibility as “terrible” and said he could only see 30 to 40 feet ahead.

Reconstruction experts later determined that he would have been going about 45 km/h at the time.

Parmar’s daughter proceeded into the crosswalk first, and Parmar and her son, whose hand she was holding, came next.

Rink said he did not see the latter two until they were directly in front of his vehicle, and he had no time to brake or take evasive action.

Parmar and her son were both struck.

Among Parmar’s injuries were a broken left wrist, a broken left shoulder, stitches to the left side of her head, and a broken right leg in two places, requiring two surgeries.

She was hospitalized for seven days.

Her son suffered a fracture to his leg.

The court documents state that Parmar endured months of healing, and several medical experts testified in court about her ongoing physical injuries and emotional trauma.

“She cannot stand more than 10-15 minutes or walk more than 20-25 minutes. She can only sit without support for five minutes.

She uses a heating pad when sitting and sleeping … Her neck is painful all the time … She can’t drive long periods of time and only drives locally,” the documents state.

YOUNG TEACHERS, THE FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION

RCMP issue warning over distraction thefts after 2 seniors robbed Burnaby RCMP are warning the public about new types of distraction thefts after two seniors were robbed in separate incidents.

The first one took place on Sept. 5, when a woman withdrew cash from a bank near

Kingsway and Willingdon Avenue. She put the cash in an envelope and then continued shopping. About 20 minutes later, she was approached by another woman who told her she had ketchup on her back. The woman then chatted with the victim while cleaning her back.

Police say while the victim was distracted, a

man stole the envelope of money out of her bag.

The second incident happened on Sept. 18 at a mall near Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue. The victim was getting into her vehicle when a woman told her that she had dropped some change near her front wheel. When the victim got out of her car to look for the money, a man got into the passenger side and stole cash from her purse.

“Definitely there was a lot of planning involved, and it’s more than one person, so they’ve co-ordinated to some degree,” said Cpl. Michael Kalanj with Burnaby RCMP. RCMP don’t have reason to believe the two cases are linked at this point. They have released surveillance photos from both incidents in hopes that the suspects can be identified.

“We’re very concerned,” said Kalanj.

“Our two victims in the two incidents we’re talking about today were both elderly females, and we’re talking about potentially the most vulnerable people in our society. So we’re very serious about this.”

A message from the Surrey Teachers’ Association

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LOCAL

Saturday, October 5, 2019

BC money laundering commission to hold first public meetings B.C.’s Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering will hold its first public meetings later this fall across the province, beginning in Vancouver.

The commission staff said in a news release that the “public events will provide British Columbians from different parts of the province

with the ability to come forward and express what they feel are issues of concern, and to identify areas that they would like the commission to focus on or to include in the process.”

All meetings will take place between 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., starting Oct. 23 at the

Request that your child be excused from the FSAs Dear parents, We work hard to give your children the best education possible. Because we care, it’s our professional responsibility to raise our concerns about the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA).

Standardized tests like FSAs for Grades 4 and 7 students take time away from classroom activities, do not count for marks, and have not been meaningfully used to support student learning. FSA results provide no new resources or other funding for classrooms.

The misuse of FSA results to rank schools and the inadequate protection of student privacy are other major concerns. We are urging the provincial government to work with teachers and others to protect school and student information, rather than proceed with this year’s FSA. These are some reasons why BC teachers recommend that parents of Grade 4 and 7 students write to their school principal to request that their children be excused from the FSAs. More information, including a sample withdrawal letter, is available at bctf.ca/fsa.aspx.

A message from the Surrey Teachers’ Association

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, 900 West Georgia.

The commission will then move to Kelowna for an Oct. 29 hearing at the Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel, 2402 Hwy 97.

Meetings will be held Nov. 4 in Victoria at the Marriott Hotel, 728 Humboldt Street, and on Nov. 7 in Richmond at the Hilton Vancouver Airport, 5911 Minoru Boulevard.

There will also be a meeting in Prince George on Nov. 14 at the Ramada Plaza, 444 George Street.

Anyone wanting to present at a

public meeting must pre-register using a form found at the commission’s website.

Members of the public who are unable to attend a meeting and want to provide information to the commission are asked to e-mail Senior Commission Counsel at: contact@cullencommission.ca.

Premier John Horgan announced the commission last May. It is being headed

by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen and will look at the full scope of money laundering in the province.

Two Delta police officers suffer smoke inhalation from tattoo shop blaze Delta fire officials say two police officers were expected to be released from hospital Wednesday after suffering from smoke inhalation.

Fire Chief Paul Scholfield says crews arrived to fight a fire at a tattoo shop just after 5 a.m.

In a news release, he says the shop with residential suites

above was ablaze when crews arrived but they managed to stop the fire from spreading beyond the store where it started.

He says fire crews and police ensured all occupants were out and accounted for.

No other injuries were reported and Scholfield says there is no indication yet what caused the fire.

He says minor smoke damage was reported to the suite above the tattoo shop.

Two men linked to the Brothers Keepers arrested in Surrey Two young men connected to the Brothers Keepers gang are facing a series of charges after Surrey RCMP found a restricted firearm in a vehicle that crashed into another car last week.

Members of Surrey’s Gang Enforcement Unit arrested Gurpreet Multani, 24, and Jaskaran Johal, 21, on Sept. 26 after they jumped from a black Jeep Cherokee that struck a vehicle at 128 Street and 64 Avenue and fled the scene.

“A subsequent search of the suspect vehicle yielded a loaded handgun,” Const.

Richard Wright said in a news release.

Johal is charged with several firearms counts, as well as obstruction of a police officer and breach of his recognizance, while Multani is facing counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, obstruction of a police officer, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.

“Both men are known to police, have links to the Brothers Keepers crime group and have been remanded in custody while the investigation continues,” Wright said.

Their next court appearance is set for Oct. 11. At the time of the arrest, the Gang Enforcement Team was doing patrols in the area. “Targeted enforcement is enabling our members to make important interdictions like this one which has led to the arrests of two known gang members, and taken a loaded gun out of the hands of criminals,” Insp. Mike Hall said. Anyone with information is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.

At the time of his latest arrest, Johal was on bail on charges of assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon related to an incident in Surrey in April. And he is also awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in Vancouver Provincial Court to possession for the purpose of trafficking in Burnaby on Dec. 23, 2016. Johal was also fined $500 in 2017 for a breach of court-ordered conditions.

In March of that year, he was stopped by B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit because his vehicle was missing its “N” for a novice driver.

LOCAL

Saturday, October 5, 2019

15

Task force recommends new eight-lane tube to replace Massey Tunnel

Elected officials from communities on both sides of the George Massey Tunnel want the aging river crossing replaced with a new eight-lane tunnel.

The officials are members of a Metro Vancouver task force who chose from six crossing options proposed by the province.

Their recommendation will be forwarded to a finance committee and then Metro’s board of directors for consideration, likely

by the end of October or in November. A final Metro recommendation will be taken to public consultation by the province. “I’m really pleased that the Metro Vancouver task force were able to come to agreement on the choice that they want to see for the crossing at the Massey Tunnel,�

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said.

which had mostly opposed a 10-lane bridge.

Within months of taking office in 2017, the B.C. NDP government cancelled Liberals plans for a 10-lane, $3.5-billion bridge to replace the tunnel and commissioned a review.

Shortly after the review was released last December, the province began consultations with Metro municipalities and First Nations,

“We’ve come a long way together in a relatively short period of time,� Lina Halwani, project director with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, said during her presentation to the task force.

Family of woman killed in Surrey hit and run appeal for witnesses The family of a 69-year-old and daughter of Sharon woman who died in a hit-andMitchell, and RCMP Const. run collision in Surrey last year Richard Wright appeal to is appealing for witnesses or the witnesses to come forward. driver to come forward to police. “It can be difficult to come RCMP say on Oct. 1, 2018, forward to police, particularly Sharon Mitchell was in a marked after so much time has crosswalk at 68th Avenue and passed,� said RCMP Cpl. 138th Street in her wheelchair Lucy Shorey. “While nothing when she was struck and killed can take away the grief the by a vehicle. She was taken to family has suffered over the hospital in critical condition last year, witnesses can bring where she died from her injuries. some comfort to this family The driver of the vehicle Sharon Louise Mitchell died by assisting us in solving this didn’t stop after the crash. Oct. 2, 2018 at Royal Columbian case. We are also appealing Investigators believe there are Hospital. Mitchell was in a directly to the driver. It’s never people with information who wheelchair when she was struck too late to come forward to could help with the investigation. by a vehicle in a crosswalk at the explain your side of the story.�

Mitchell’s family appealed intersection of 68 Avenue and Sharon Louise Mitchell Tuesday, a year later, for 138 Street. The vehicle did not died Oct. 2, 2018 at Royal remain at the scene. witnesses to call police.

Columbian Hospital. Mitchell “Despite all our grief, we still was in a wheelchair when have hope that someone will come forward with she was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk at some answers. I know you couldn’t do the right the intersection of 68 Avenue and 138 Street. thing then but you can still do the right thing The vehicle did not remain at the scene. now. Please help give our family some peace,�

Anyone with information is asked to contact said Daveen Herman, Mitchell’s daughter. Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Dan and Daveen Herman, the son-in-law Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or solvecrime.ca.

Police arrest woman who stole iPhone from man in wheelchair Transit Police say they’ve arrested a suspect who allegedly stole an iPhone from a 19-yearold man in a wheelchair on a Surrey bus in September.

Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman of no fixed address, who is well known to police. The woman was located when

someone saw her loitering outside a Surrey convenience store, and notified police.

The suspect has not been named, and has been released from police custody on a promise to appear. She is due in Surrey Provincial Court at 9 a.m. on Oct. 22

Tesla and SUV drivers likely saw Surrey shooting suspect Mounties are hunting for some very specific witnesses to Saturday’s fatal shooting at a gas station near the Langley-Surrey border.

Members of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) are asking for the public help to identify the drivers and occupants of two vehicles – a white SUV (possibly a Honda) and a white Tesla sedan – that drove by the suspect shooter at around 6:07 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.

The shooting took place at the Mobil gas bar in the 18600-block of Fraser Highway.

On Monday, IHIT released video surveillance footage showing a black figure, believed to be the shooter, walking northbound across Fraser Highway near 188th Street before running back a short time after, said IHIT Sgt. Frank Jang.

The shooter is believed to have gotten into a silver sedan that left the area northbound on 188th Street past 70th Avenue.

As a result of the public appeal, further information has come in to IHIT and several leads have been generated, he explained.

Investigators are specifically looking to speak with the occupants of a white SUV and a white Tesla sedan, hoping they may have important dash cam video.

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Dr. Balwant Singh Dhillon honoured Dr. Balwant Singh Dhillon honoured by Asa Singh Johal, his wife Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal and the Management Committee of Gurdwara Nanak Niwas , Richmond.

This is a special year for Sikhs and wellwishers of Guru Nanak Dev ji as his 550th birth anniversary (Parkash Purb) is being celebrated around the globe with a great deal of enthusiasm. India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas, 8600 #5 Road in Richmond has been doing this since early this year. On the last Sunday of every month it has invited a prominent scholar on Sikhism to share Guru Nanak’s vision and mission with the congregation.

On November 12, a big celebration is planned for the founder of Sikhism. In this context, it was an honour for the Gurdwara Management to invite eminent Sikh scholar and outstanding historian Dr. Balwant

Singh Dhillon to share his views about Guru Nanak Sahib with the congregation. Dr. Dhillon enthralled the Sangat with his speech about Guru Ji’s philosophy, vision and mission. Secretary Balwant Singh Sanghera and President Balbir Singh Jawanda thanked Dr. Dhillon for taking the time to visit the Gurdwara and share his thoughts about Guru Ji with the congregation. As token of its appreciation, the Gurdwara Management Committee led

Dhillon on behalf of the management . Guru Nanak’s message of universal brotherhood, equality, human rights and against discrimination of any kind is equally as valid and appropriate to-day as it was 550 years ago. His three basic principles of making an honest living, sharing and meditation in the name of God Almighty are the excellent pathways to a productive, peaceful and happy life. Balwant Sanghera

by its Chairman Asa Singh Johal and Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal presented Dr. Dhillon with a plaque. Gurdwara manager Mr. Avtar Singh Saddhar presented a Saropa to Dr.

The group pictures show presentation of plaque to Dr. Dhillon by Mr. Asa Singh and Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal and the Management Committee Members and guests with Dr. Dhillon and Asa Singh Johal.

Knife-wielding suspect arrested after Surrey robbery attempt A nearby school was on lockdown until a suspect was apprehended in Clayton Heights One suspect is in custody after a robbery attempt at a bank on Tuesday afternoon in the Clayton Heights neighbourhood of Surrey.

A knife-wielding suspect entered the financial institution in the 1860-block of Fraser Highway

at about 3 p.m. and demanded money from a teller, said Surrey RCMP media relations officer Const. Richard Wright.

Clayton Heights Secondary School was locked down until the suspect was apprehended

shortly after the incident.

No one was injured.

“Thanks to the swift actions of the bank staff and our frontline members, the suspect

is now in custody without incident,” said Sgt. Mel Wong, Surrey RCMP, who added that there is no ongoing concern for safety.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.

BC paramedics get employment stability in new union contract B.C.’s ambulance paramedics have received hundreds of new positions and additional stability for working in rural areas in a new three-year agreement with the province, their union says.

Paramedics and dispatchers completed ratification of the contract this week after lengthy negotiations produced a tentative deal in July. It is retroactive to April 1, when the previous contract ran out, and includes the NDP government’s standard general wage settlement of two-per-cent pay increases in each year.

The big change is in implementing “rural paramedicine,” an approach begun by the previous government

in 2017, where part-time and on-call paramedics get full-time work that includes house calls and work with residential care facilities in smaller communities.

“This new collective agreement introduces perhaps the most significant changes our workplace has ever seen in a single period of bargaining,” said Cameron Eby, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. (CUPE 873). “We’re now on a path to create regular, family-supporting paramedics jobs in every community in B.C., while ensuring reliable emergency coverage for our patients.”

Rural paramedicine started as a pilot project in Tofino, Ucluelet, Port Hardy, Cortes Island, Fort St. James, Hazelton, Chetwynd, Creston and Princeton in the spring of 2017. It has been implemented in 70 communities, where hiring and retaining oncall or part-time paramedics has been difficult.

After the NDP government took over, Health Minister Adrian Dix established paramedics and dispatchers as a separate union local, to integrate them with care homes and home support for seniors. He said it would also help with B.C.’s response to the opioid overdose crisis.

B.C. Emergency Health Services has also introduced a new dispatch protocol for 9-11 calls that has proven controversial in some communities. Implemented in response to a rise in non-emergency calls such as vehicle accidents with no injuries, it allows dispatchers to prioritize available ambulances, and lets paramedics treat and release patients instead of taking everyone to a hospital emergency.

C

an “Bigg Boss” be complete without fights? Barely four days into season 13, and the show is already witnessing the start of what promises to juicy spats over the coming weeks. In the Oct. 3 episode, viewers will get to see a face-off between actor Sidharth Shukla and anchor Shefali Bagga. For the season’s first-ever luxury budget task, Bigg Boss turned the house into a hospital.

The first day of luxury budget task

‘Bigg Boss’ - The things turn intersting saw Shefali, Dalljiet Kaur, Shehnaz Gill, Paras Chhabra, and team carry forward the proceedings of the hospital task and play the role of doctor. On Day two, it was time for a role reversal. The patients would play the doctors and continue the task.

The first buzzer rings, and Aarti and Asim are chosen to treat Shefali and Paras for a hearing disorder. While the doctors put in their best efforts to score some points, they

and mudslinging each other. Aarti and Koena try to control the situation and ask Sidharth to back off.

Shefali’s fight with the contestants gets uglier as Bigg Boss asks the housemates to unanimously elect the queen of the house. Everyone else agrees on one name but Shefali refuses to budge and nominates herself for the title.

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Admittedly, she has floundered in many a case, notably in fairly recent

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films like “Kahaani 2” and “Begum Jaan,” but the triumphs have outclassed these failures – people still remember her path-breaking turns in movies like “The Dirty Picture” and “Kahaani” among others. We begin our conversation on this note as we meet up on the eve of the release of “Mission Mangal,” in which she essays a scientist. Q: You have been the forerunner of the trend of substance-heavy films, especially the female-oriented ones. In the 2010-2011 phase, you acted in “Ishqiya” and “No One Killed Jessica” for starters.

A (Laughs): I just think that I was there at the right place at the right time, and it is kind of people to give me credit!

A change was underway, waiting to happen, Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria for “The Dirty Picture” and Sujoy Ghosh for “Kahaani”.

give up after hurling taunts and accusations at Shefali and Paras. The second buzzer rings when Sidharth Shukla and Koena Mitra are selected to treat Shehnaz and Mahira for a skin disease. The task takes an unpleasant turn when Mahira faces discomfort on applying bleach on her face. By the end of the task, a major fight breaks out between Shefali and Sidharth Shukla and they end up name-calling

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Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone mobbed at a Ganpati pandal.

Deepika was visiting Mumbai’s famous Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati pandal to seek blessings of the God. As soon as the crowd got to know that the “Piku� star was in the pandal, they rushed to catch a glimpse of the actress.

She was spotted in a heavy golden embroidered sari and big earrings. She completed the look with her hair tied into a sleek bun and minimum makeup. According to reports, Padukone’s bodyguards had a tough time escorting the 33-year-old star for a darshan. On the work front, Padukone will next be seen in Meghna Gulzar’s “Chhapaak,� a film based on acid attack

HOROSCOPE survivor, Laxmi Agarwal. She will also be seen in Kabir Khan’s “‘83.�Padukone formed her own production company KA Entertainment in 2019. She is the chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image and is the founder of the Live Love Laugh Foundation, which creates awareness on mental health in India.

Vocal about issues such as feminism and depression, she also participates in stage shows, has written columns for a newspaper, designed her own line of

clothing for women,

19

Bollywood

Aries

March 21 - April 20 This week, as powerful Pluto turns direct in your sector of responsibility, things can be a lot easier in this department. If the past months have seen delays and obstacles getting in your way, now progress is more assured. There is a further shift as inquisitive Mercury moves into intensive Scorpio and your sector of transformation on Thursday, which could inspire you to look beneath the surface.

Taurus

April 21 - May 20 If you’ve wanted to make progress but felt held back by forces beyond your control, things are now about to change. As volcanic Pluto forges ahead in your sector of opportunity and adventure, doors that were shut may now

into new vistas. With sobering Saturn also pushing forward, the climate is right for seeing positive change taking place in your world.

Chatty Mercury moves into Scorpio and your sector of relating on Thursday, which is perfect for all kinds of negotiation

Gemini

May 20 - June 21 You could experience something of a rebirth in your sector of shared assets and deep soul bonds as powerful Pluto forges ahead on Wednesday. With sobering Saturn already marching forward, positive developments can replace weeks of frustration and inactivity. If you’re running a business, better times are surely ahead. This doesn’t mean that you can overspend, because you’ll still need to keep

general.

Cancer

June 22 - July 23

Certain relationships can become more forward-looking as powerful Pluto turns direct this week. With prudent Saturn already moving forward, the coming weeks could see a shift that suggests you may get on better with key people. There will be less resistance between you and perhaps more willingness to cooperate. Talkative Mercury moves into your leisure sector on Thursday, which can be one of the better times to learn a creative skill or craft or perhaps take up a new sport.

Leo

June 24 - August 23 This week, you may feel as though you’re beginning to run with the tide rather than swim against it. As powerful Pluto pushes forward in your lifestyle and work sector, the problems that have plagued you over the past months may begin to melt away. And if you have purposely made changes to your schedule, you may now

your home and family sector on Thursday, and you may feel moved to organize your place and set up housework routines

Virgo

August 24 - Sept 24 If you’ve felt frustrated by the lack of progress in a romantic bond or creative project, the week ahead can be the start of a more progressive phase. With volcanic Pluto powering forward in your leisure zone after many months in reverse, you could go through a positive gear change. Things can begin to shift your way over the coming weeks.

Messenger Mercury, your guide planet, moves into your communication zone on Thursday, which could see you playing detective. If there is something you want to get to the bottom of or don’t quite understand, you’ll likely leave no stone

Libra

Sept. 24 - Oct 22 If there are times when you’ve wondered if your family life will ever get back on track, that moment may be approaching. With radical Pluto changing direction in your home zone and sobering Saturn already dancing forward, the attitude to certain relatives or family members may begin to shift. And you could

with less of a tendency to resist or argue.

Dealmaker Mercury moves into Scorpio and your money zone on Thursday.

Scorpio

Oct 23 - Nov 22 You may have had many opportunities to push ahead over the past months, but something stopped you. That something may have been sobering Saturn and powerful Pluto rewinding in your sector of talk and thought. With Saturn already pushing ahead and intensive Pluto moving forward midweek, things can now begin to change for the positive. You may have fewer doubts and feel more determined to reach your goals.

Sagitarius Nov 23 - Dec 22

Have money matters been an issue over past months? If so, powerful Pluto forging ahead this week means things can turn to the positive. With Saturn already on its forward trajectory, the coming weeks could see a marked improvement. There may be fewer obstacles and more chances to get ahead. Lively Mercury moves into a private sector and your spiritual zone, so you may begin to question some of

! makes you tick and what you really want out of life could help you see things in a new way.

Capricorn Dec 23 - Jan 20

The focus on the topmost sector of your chart is enhanced from this week with powerful Mars moving in for a six-week stay. This will ramp up your energy level and determination to accomplish key goals. If you have something going that needs a lot of attention and hard work, this is the time to go for it. Potent Pluto turns direct in your sign, so you could feel a sense of renewal over the coming weeks.

Aquarius

Jan 21 - Feb 19 The intensity you may have felt over past weeks can begin to melt away as warrior Mars moves into your sector of travel and far horizons this week. Everything may seem lighter and brighter, and you could feel a lot easier in general. This is a wonderful opportunity to explore new possibilities and traverse new terrain. You’ll be eager to move out of your comfort zone, and doing so could be very rewarding. In addition, you may begin to feel more at ease in yourself, particularly if you’ve been working with a counselor or therapist to sort out any ongoing issues.

Pisces

Feb 20 - March 20 If your social life has been going through some turmoil over the past weeks and months, you could emerge from this with a renewed sense of who your friends really are. As radical Pluto turns direct in your social zone and with sobering Saturn already forging ahead, positive developments may contribute to a greater sense of well-being in this area. Still, it seems that

!

moves into a more intense sector to stir up those deep-seated emotions. If there are any skeletons in the closet, this is when they may begin to rattle.

20

Bollywood

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Vibhooti Vaishnav

NAVARATRI

I

ndia has been the land of celebrations.

People love to dance at any occasion.

Probably the only culture where even gods dance. Krishna plays flute and dances with his friends. Shiva is “Nataraj”, the king of dance who can dance when in love -“lasya” and dance when fierce -“tandav”. And goddess Shakti and all her female manifestations dance in circle known as garba.

Every region of india have their unique folk dance. Laavni of Maharashtra, bhangda of Punjab and raas garba of Gujarat. Although raas and garba form of dance is enjoyed at all auspicious occasions by gujaratis, it has a special place during Navratri -nine nights of waxing moon in the month of Ashwin or aaso of lunar colander. The tenth day is celebrated as Dussera when Ravan, the dark king full of anger, arrogance, vengeance, greed and power hunger was killed by Ram, a symbol of calm and collected man of principles.

This signifies the victory of good over evil.

In different parts of India this navaratri is celebrated with its own flavour worshipping

the goddess of power. In north India maatarani jagrata are held in temples. In the eastern provinces Durga pooja is held for nine days And in the western province of Gujarat these nine days are celebrated with great enthusiasm.

Traditionally, devotional songs of goddesses in its various forms are sung by women while dancing and clapping in a circle around a small earthen pot lit with a diya lamp. They revere goddess Shakti and all that womanhood has to offer by Bhakti(devotion) The tradition has evolved since then and celebrated globally.

This navratri festival, like any other, has not only religious and spiritual significance but also has a huge impact on social and economic aspect of a region. Entire community or society comes together to celebrate and dance to the symphony of music in synchrony creating a harmony. It creates a very joyful atmosphere. People forget about their worries and soak themselves in the festivities. It brings people together be it rich or poor, any caste, creed or religion, all dance together. The circular motion represents the cyclic nature of the universe.

Musicians, singers, venues, food, outfits, accessories etc contribute to the local economy in a huge way. Especially the fashion and style of traditional and tribal outfits that are so vibrant and colourful with hand embroidery, mirror work, beads form a fusion of centuries old art in modern version of outfits.

The entire concept of celebration represents the values of our mythology and philosophy.

Raas is a form of dance where boys and girls pair up and dance with sticks in their hands known as dandia. This form of folk dance originated with Krishna and his friends in Gokul. Krishna is ever so colourful, fun loving, delightful. When Krishna left Mathura and migrated to Dwarka in Gujarat, he brought this dance form to that region.

And Krishna’s grandson Anirudh’s wife Usha was under foster care with Shiv and Parvati. She

brought garba dance form with her to Gujarat where females would dance in a circle clapping and snapping while singing the glory of goddesses. Thus we find both these dance forms till date being preserved and evolved at the same time to become the very vibrant aspect of Gujarati culture. By the 15th ,16th century , gujarati language was compiled and many poets emerged who wrote wonderful songs and till date modern age songs are written and composed with subjects of goddesses and Radha krishna, later being more popular subject.

All over India and around the world, where ever there are gujaratis there is navratri celebration with garba and dandia and people from all walks of

Press release

21

Basant Motors celebrating 28th anniversary Basant Motors is celebrating its 28th anniversary on Saturday, October 5 at 3:00pm at Basant Motors offices 16315, Fraser

Highway in Surrey.

In anniversay celebrations Basant Motors announce an award of $28,000 in scholarships funds for fourteen high school students.

For more info call 604-572-7880 life of all ages come together to celebrate and enjoy music and dance while keeping the lamp of faith and devotion towards higher truth lit in the middle of it all. Let’s all invoke the goddess of power within ourselves to overcome our fears and insecurities and experience the oneness with the universe immersing ourselves in the magic of this divine cultural event taking place somewhere near you in your

town.

In this circle of life let’s fight and burn the demons of negativities and darkness of evils within, brightening and uplifting the very life that we are accepting and including positivity, love, happiness, joy and bliss.

You can take a Gujarati away from Gujarat but you cannot take away Gujarat from a Gujarati and so can you not take garba and dandia from its fragrant culture.

22

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Press release

TELUS investing $16 billion in Alberta, connecting more homes and businesses to fibre and preparing for the future of 5G Advanced TELUS PureFibre optic network and enhanced wireless capacity will help residents, businesses, and service providers innovate locally, compete globally and deliver better health, education and social outcomes TELUS enabling 25,000 job opportunities for Albertans through 2023 TELUS will invest $16 billion in Alberta through the next five years to give Albertans better access to healthcare technology; connect more homes, businesses, and schools to PureFibre; support increased IoT capabilities and agriculture technology; prepare the province for the introduction of 5G; and fast track the latest technology and applications as they emerge.

As one of the province’s leading employers, our investment includes hiring 5,000 Albertans over the next five years. Furthermore, across our vast partner ecosystem, TELUS’ investment in network infrastructure will support the creation of 20,000 family-supporting jobs across the province over the next five years. “TELUS is proud to be making this generational investment in Alberta, providing the technology to bridge geographic and socio-economic divides and connect citizens to the people, resources and information that make their lives better,� said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. “Importantly, TELUS PureFibre offers communities a globally unmatched wireline infrastructure that ensures all citizens have access to the digital tools to drive improved health, social and economic outcomes, enabling entrepreneurs, start-ups and home-based businesses to benefit from the same Internet speeds, functionality, reliability and security that large enterprises currently enjoy. Indeed, in the province’s more remote communities, the advent of broadband and wireless networks, ubiquitously deployed, are bridging time and distance, allowing residents to live and work in any community yielding improved productivity and pervasive economic opportunities. We look forward to connecting more of our fellow Albertans to TELUS PureFibre and our world-leading wireless networks, supporting the province as it attracts new industries and innovators, providing the backbone for the jobs of today and those that have yet to be

imagined.�

These investments build upon TELUS’ continued commitment to bring worldclass wireless and wireline connectivity to communities across the province, providing the technological backbone for our province’s economic strength well into the future.

Between 2000 and 2018, TELUS invested more than $45 billion in technology and operations in Alberta, and over the next five years TELUS plans to invest an additional $16 billion in technology and operations. “ T h i s investment by TELUS demonstrates that Canada’s leading companies once again have confidence in Alberta. TELUS’ world-class communications infrastructure will help unleash the next generation of our innovators, and empower those job creators who can take advantage of the latest technology to move our province forward. This investment shows confidence in the Alberta economy, with the promise of 5,000 jobs to be created here over the next 5 years. Our government is committed to working with job creators, innovators and entrepreneurs to make it easier to open a start-up, grow a business or create jobs, and this incredible investment by TELUS

is proof that it is paying off. We look forward to working with our partners at TELUS as they continue to enrich the lives of Albertans with a focus on innovation in healthcare technology, agricultural technology and preparations for a 5G network that will set the stage for Alberta’s future,� said Premier Jason Kenney. Since 2013, TELUS has invested $3 billion to connect 125 communities and more than 2 million premises - many of those located right here in Alberta - to the TELUS PureFibre network.

First launched in Blackfalds, Alberta, the gigabit-enabled TELUS PureFibre network is among the most advanced communications infrastructure available in the world today, enabling residents to immediately take advantage of dramatically fast symmetrical upload and download speeds on plans like Gigabit Internet at 940/940 Mbps. Gigabit Internet customers can download a full HD movie or upload 100 high-resolution photos in just a few seconds.

The TELUS PureFibre network’s symmetrical upload and download speeds provides significant benefits for applications like video conferencing, gaming, and home security.

TELUS Smart Home Security offers 24/7 real-time monitoring and smart controls to

manage cameras, lock and unlock doors, indoor and outdoor lighting, and even the thermostat.

The TELUS PureFibre network serves as the backbone of TELUS’ wireless network, enabling more wireless capacity and faster speeds throughout the province. TELUS has been repeatedly recognized globally as the fastest network with the best coverage and customer experience in Canada with independent awards and rankings from J.D. Power, H2 OpenSignal, PC Mag, and Ookla. “In addition to our significant investments to bring world-class technology to our citizens, TELUS has a legacy of giving back to the communities where we live, work and serve,� continued Entwistle. �More than any other Canadian organization, we leverage our technology to drive better social and health outcomes for Canadians. This is epitomized through the launch of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation in 2018, made possible through an inaugural endowment from TELUS that represented the largest donation made by a Canadian company in modern history.

Similarly, our commitment to building stronger, more compassionate communities is reflected in our Connecting for Good programs, which provide: low-income Canadian families with access to high-speed Internet, a computer and digital literacy training and tools; youth aging out of foster care with a free smartphone and 3GB data plan to stay connected to the people and opportunities that matter most; Canadians with severe physical limitations with assistive technology to help them participate fully in our digital world; and vulnerable citizens living on the streets with vital healthcare through mobile health clinics. These programs have provided 122,000 Albertan families access to low-cost, high-speed Internet, nearly 5,000 Continued on next page

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23

Press release

NDP plan helps prevent gang crime Press release Jagmeet Singh takes action for people where Justin Trudeau has failed SURREY – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh unveiled his plan today to tackle rising organized crime in B.C. and keep our kids out of gangs, taking action where Liberals have refused to act.

“People in Surrey are worried about the future for their kids, but instead of listening, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals chose to spend $4.5 billion of your money on a pipeline while leaving British Columbians to tackle crime alone,” said Singh.

“New Democrats have the courage to take a different approach. It’s time to look out for kids and protect our communities from the rising gang violence and organized crime that’s hurting

everyday families in B.C..”

An NDP government will create a $100 million fund dedicated to helping keep young people out of gangs, with a boost to programs that get youth involved in their community.

New Democrats will also immediately create a dedicated RCMP anti-money laundering unit and put an end to hidden corporate ownership

of real estate, to help crack down on tax evasion and fraud. “Young people who’ve been left behind need someone on their

side. Preventing gang activity and tackling the housing crisis – those are the priorities of families here in Surrey and they need a government in Ottawa that takes them seriously,” said Singh. “We’re replacing empty talk with concrete action, because New Democrats are in it for you.”

The NDP’s New Deal for People also gets results for B.C. families by investing in more affordable housing and fighting the climate crisis. New Democrats will safeguard the coast from the increased risk of oil spills, as a result of the high tanker traffic permitted by the Liberals, which would only be worsened

by Big Oil-backed Conservatives and the Green Party that won’t rule out supporting them.

TELUS investing $16 billion in Alberta, connecting more homes and businesses to fibre and preparing for the future of 5G Albertan youth with a free smartphone and data plan, and over 10,000 annual medical interventions for vulnerable Albertans through our mobile health clinics. Without question, through the investments we are making in our communities, we are improving the lives of our fellow citizens and creating a truly friendly future.”

In Alberta, TELUS has given $200 million and volunteered more than 500,000 days to charitable and community organizations since 2000. The investments announced in this media release are consistent with TELUS’ capital expenditure guidance for 2019, released in the fourth quarter of 2018 earnings release dated February 14, 2019.

Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements about future events and plans that are forward-looking, including relating to TELUS’ infrastructure investment plans. By their nature, forward-looking statements require TELUS to make assumptions and predictions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors (such as regulatory decisions and developments, the competitive environment in which we operate, our operating and financial results and our ability to carry out financing activities) could cause actual capital and operating expenditures to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

Accordingly, this news release and the forwardlooking statements made in it are subject to the cautionary note and qualified by the assumptions, qualifications and risk factors referred to in TELUS’ 2018 and second quarter 2019 Management’s discussion and analysis, which are incorporated by reference herein, and in other TELUS public disclosure documents and filings with securities commissions in Canada (on SEDAR at sedar.com)

and in the United States (on EDGAR at sec. gov). Forward-looking statements describe TELUS’ expectations and are based on our assumptions as at the date of this press release and are subject to change. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

About TELUS TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications and information technology company with $14.6 billion in annual revenue and 14.2 million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video and security.

We leverage our global-leading technology to enable remarkable human outcomes.

Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct leader in customer service excellence and loyalty.

TELUS Health is Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider, and TELUS International delivers the most innovative business process solutions to some of the world’s most established brands.

Driven by our passionate social purpose to connect all Canadians for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired our team members and retirees to contribute more than $700 million and 1.3 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most giving company in the world.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com, follow us @TELUSNews on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.

Premier John Horgan addresses the 2019 Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Friday, September 27.

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Vol. 10 No. 36

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Saturday - October 5, 2019

Tel: 604-591-5423

Several councillors have Vancouver approves more market rental regularly said no to divisive rezoning for a new rental apartment in the rental projects — but they’re from different parties A model of the 35- heart of the city’s eastside on Tuesday, but it unit rental building that Vancouver council didn’t come without considerable debate. By a 6-3 vote, council voted in favour of a proposed approved on Grant Street five-storey, 35-unit between Woodland and apartment on Grant Cotton Drive, which will Street, just a block displace seven rental units west of Commercial in four houses currently Drive. It will replace on the property. (City of four homes that have Vancouver) Vancouver been purchased by the city council approved

T

oronto has emerged as the world’s second most overvalued housing market on the back of low rates and supply shortages, according to UBS AG’s annual global real estate bubble index.

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

housing after contentious public hearing developer, and the proposal met the guidelines for the Grandview-Woodland community plan passed earlier this decade. “The choice here is not to leave these homes.

It’s either for a four-storey condo building, or what’s in front of us,” said Mayor Kennedy Stewart, who voted in favour of the apartment building, along with councillors Christine Boyle,

Melissa De Genova, Lisa Dominato, Sarah Kirby-Yung and Michael Wiebe. “So that’s the choice. We need rental housing more than we need a million and a half condos.” The public hearing took place over two days, with dozens of speakers and 168 letters submitted.

Councillor Jean Swanson voted against the rezoning, arguing it would only displace low-income

dollar condos are heating up Montreal’s luxury housing market, but Toronto still head of the pack First-time home buyers could save $286 a month on mortgage payments under new federal

Toronto is now the world’s second most overvalued property market: Vancouver was sixth in the Swiss bank’s 2019 index that is led by Munich, with Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Frankfurt filling out the other top spots.

Toronto’s housing prices tripled between 2000 and 2017 and even the introduction of a foreign buyer’s tax and tighter mortgage rules only temporarily cooled red-hot prices, according to UBS Million-

The latest Canadian house price Canadian house price forecast: What the forecast from Moody’s Analytics that too. The forecast calls for house prices really has no good news for anyone. If you’re nationwide to grow by an average of 2.2 per a homeowner hoping to make big equity cent per year over the next five years. Given gains, forget it. And if you’re an aspiring that the Bank of Canada is predicting inflation homebuyer hoping for a reprieve from at 2 per cent in the coming years, this means astronomical urban house prices, forget that inflation-adjusted house prices will likely

next 5 years will look like in 33 cities see no net growth. With Canada’s economy bouncing back from a slowdown at the start of the year, Moody’s expects mortgage rates to rise by a full percentage point over the next two years. That increase in monthly housing costs, combined with high prices and high debt levels,

program will keep prices in check, the research firm predicts.

“House price appreciation will slow down in 2020, turn briefly negative in 2021, and only recover in the following years,” wrote Andres Carbacho-Burgos, a director and head housing economist at Moody’s Analytics.

25

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Reasons why Canada’s apartment building owners are happy

R

ental apartment building market in Canada is trongest it’s ever been, especially from the perspective of apartment building owners.

Buildings are practically full across the country, rental rates are at or near 10-year highs in nearly every market, and average national rents have climbed 4.4 per cent annually over the last two years, according to a new report by commercial property brokerage house CBRE. This rapid rise of rental rates is earning more money for building owners. Total annualized returns for the Canadian multifamily sector were 9.8 per cent as of the first quarter of this year, just behind the industrial sector. Canada’s national average rental apartment vacancy rate ended 2018 at 2.4 per cent, below the 10-year average of 2.6, CBRE said in its national multifamily mid-year update.

Investors are lining up to get into the market in most cities. Multifamily investment volume reached record levels for four consecutive years, including an all-time high of $8.3 billion in 2018.

Apartments are traditionally viewed as stable and defensive assets to own, said CBRE Canada vicechairman Paul Morassutti. “(The asset class) never displays great amounts of volatility,” he told Postmedia last week. “Very rarely would you have declines in rental rates or net operating income. Typically, things would go up in a

slow and steady fashion and it was always a favoured asset class for all those reasons.”

Here are other main drivers that Morassutti and his firm believe will continue to stoke demand for apartment buildings in Canada. Population growth: Canada’s population is expected to grow by nearly one per cent annually over the next four years, surpassing growth in all other G7 countries, the report said. Much of this momentum is being fuelled by immigration, which accounted for 80.5 per cent of the country’s population growth last year. The government has a plan to welcome one million new immigrants between 2019 and 2021. Much of that new population is settling in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver regions, with Toronto and Vancouver experiencing the sharpest annual apartment rental price growth of 5.0 per cent

and 7.1 per cent, respectively, over the past four years.

Shortage of new supply Canada’s big cities are not building enough new rental apartments to keep up with demand, when compared to global peers, the report said.

The largest rental market in Canada is Montreal with just under 600,000 units. Toronto follows well

behind with 313,000 units, and Vancouver trails with just 109,000 units. Units on the secondary market, including privately rented condos, do close the gap, but it’s clear that renters across the country need more options, or else rents will continue to climb.

While we are seeing increased construction of rental units more recently, the overall number remains relatively low, Morassutti said.

Rising cost of home ownership An expanding proportion of Canada’s big-city dwellers can’t afford to buy a home. This factor, above all others, is probably having the greatest effect on stoking apartment rental prices, while spurring investors to buy buildings, Morassutti said. “In Toronto, if you want to buy a detached house or semi-detached house, you need to have a household income of close to $200,000,” he said. “The average household income in Toronto I believe is something like $100,000.” (According to the last Canadian census, the average household in the Greater Toronto Area earned $87,993 after tax.) That leaves residents with only a couple of choices. They can buy a condo, or they can rent.

“As affordability has become more of an issue, and it’s an issue that I don’t believe is going to go away in (Vancouver and Toronto), that will continue to underpin strong rental growth — especially when we really don’t have a lot of supply in purpose-built housing coming on stream,” Morassutti said.

Condos, the ‘future of our communities,’ now cost more per square foot than a detached home Condominiums may be the “future of our communities” but per square foot, they are hardly a bargain. According to a Royal LePage report released today, aside from Vancouver and Calgary, every major city’s condo price per square foot has increased. With the exception of Vancouver, the median price per square foot of a condo is now higher than that of a single family detached home nationwide. Canadian home prices are up — but by the smallest amount in

a decade. Seven reasons Canada’s housing market is stronger than it looks Vancouver’s housing market is dismal — but you still need six-figure income to get your foot in the door “While condo units are smaller, they are the present and future of our communities. With more development opportunities, they can meet both the growing need for housing and lifestyle expectations of homebuyers,” said Phil Soper, the president of Royal LePage in a

press release. The Greater Ottawa condo price per square foot appreciated the fastest among the cities that were measured, rising 17.9 per cent year-over-year to $395, while the Greater Vancouver price actually declined the most by 8.3 per cent to $764. “We are seeing significant interest in Ottawa’s south and west ends from residents working in the nearby military and technology hubs,” said Kent Browne, broker

Over 11% of Vancouver condos have a non-resident owner, says new CMHC report

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

Over 11 percent of Vancouver condos have at least one non-resident as an owner, a number that jumps to more than 19 per cent when it comes to newer built condos.

The information is contained in a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation housing market insight report which also found that non-residents — defined as someone who

doesn’t have their principal residence in Canada — tend to own more expensive properties than residents, especially in Vancouver.

Some of the other findings: 7.2 per cent of all Vancouver properties have at least one non-resident owner.

Non-resident ownership is highest in

and owner of Royal LePage TEAM Realty. The city of Vancouver remains the most expensive condo market in the country, with homebuyers paying $1,044 per square foot for a condo and $1,279 per square foot for a single-family detached home. Greater Calgary offers the lowest condo price per square foot, with a fall of 6.7 per cent to $313.“For the fourth consecutive month, condo inventory in the region declined compared to last year.

26

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Help wanted Clean-up workers wanted Tsawassen Mills area mall, only sub-contracters, bring your own ride, experienced workers only please phone:

Phone: 778-240-0101 / 604-902-2858 South Asian Seniors - Cruise & Tour of Asia, Sri Lanka, India & Dubai in Dec. 2019.

Meeting of Families at Shanti Niketan on October 6th 2019 (Sunday) 2.00 pm to 3.30. pm.

Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey is organizing a 22 days Cruise and Tour of Asia, Sri Lanka, India and Tour of Dubai & Singapore city for 3 days before & after the cruise from 30th Nov. to 21st December 2019. The meeting of all the families ( 48 Members ) of Handa group who have already registered for the cruise has been arranged on 6th October 2019 (Sunday) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC, to get together and know each other as you are going to spend 22 days of your life together as a family and discuss some important issues regarding the Air Travel, hotel, Tour, the Port Excursions, the bus arrangement from the Temple and the group photograph of all the members going on Cruise. It may take about an hour & half, tea and snacks will be served after the meeting. All the members going on the Cruise are requested to be present for this important meeting and other families can also join us for the meeting to know the high lights of Cruise & Tour details for the next year Cruise in June 2020 ( 9th June to 24th June) for 15 days. You will be introduced to local Bains Travel staff also who have helped me to organize this tour. Please contact Surendra Handa Cruise & Tour organizer Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for further information.

Child care provider required at a private home Location Surrey, BC - Salary $14.50 to $14.75 / Hour (To be negotiated) Permanent, Full time 40 Hours / Week Start date As soon as possible Job requirements Languages English Education College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma from a program of 1 year to 2 years Experience 1 year to less than 2 years Additional Skills Assume full responsibility for household in absence of parents, Perform light housekeeping and cleaning duties, Shop for food and household supplies, Travel with family on trips and assist with child supervision and housekeeping duties, Wash, iron and press clothing and household linens Children’s Ages School age (6 - 12 years), and 2 - 3 years Specific Skills Bathe,

dress and feed infants and children, Discipline children according to the methods requested by the parents, Prepare infants and children for rest periods, Keep records of daily activities and health information regarding children, Sterilize bottles, prepare formulas and change diapers for infants, Maintain a safe and healthy environment in the home, Take children to and from school and to appointments, Tend to emotional well-being of children, Instruct children in personal hygiene and social development, Organize, activities such as games and outings for children, Prepare and serve nutritious meals, Supervise and care for children, Help children with homework Work Setting Employer’s home How to apply By email: umendrasingh@hotmail.com By phone: 604-537-3551

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Housing market forecast through 2020 Home sales in every BC region to recover in 2020 - a forecast. Total home transactions across province expected to rise 11 per cent versus 2019, with average sale prices also predicted to increase in every area.

Although every region in B.C. is expected to see lower home sales in 2019 than in 2018, sales will more than recover in 2020, according to a September 5 forecast by the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).

Overall in 2019, residential transactions across the province are predicted to be five per cent lower, at about 75,000 units, than the 78,505 sales of 2018. Every one of B.C.’s 12 boards is expected to report a year-overyear decline in total sales across 2019, with drops ranging from one to 14 per cent.

However, BCREA forecasted that every board will see considerable sales jumps in 2020, totalling a province-wide increase of

nearly 11 per cent to 82,700 homes — which the association said would be just below the 10-year annual average.

“B.C. markets are showing signs of recovery after nearly a year and a half of policy-induced declines,” said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA’s deputy chief economist. “We expect that recovery to continue into next year, with home sales normalizing around long-term averages.”

BCREA BC home sales forecast Sept 2019 Having seen the steepest annual sales declines in 2018, and a forecast drop of 2.2 per cent in 2019, Greater Vancouver is expected to see the biggest recovery in 2020, said BCREA. Home resales in the Greater Vancouver region are predicted to rise 16.3 per cent to 28,500 units — still a far cry from 42,000 sales of 2015, but a marked improvement over both 2018 and 2019.

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GVRD real estate sales return to ‘more typical levels’ in August: REBGV Metro Vancouver’s summer real estate bump continued in August, with sales returning to “more typical levels” according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The board’s latest report says the region saw 2,231 sales last month, up 15.7 per cent from August 2018, though down 12.7 per cent from July 2019.

Greater Vancouver home sales jump in July, but prices continue steady slide It’s the second month in a row with year-over-year sales growth, after more than a year of slumping sales in what many analysts have called a correction to the region’s previously white-hot market.

Mortgage stress test contributes to a decline in BC home sales August’s growth was led by a large boost in sales of detached homes, which jumped 24.5 per cent over August 2018, while condo sales climbed by 8.9 per cent year-over-year.

However, August’s sales total remained more than nine per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.

Metro Vancouver’s June home sales lowest since Y2K, benchmark price drops below $1M Despite the boost in sales, inventory remains high in the region, with 12,296 homes on the market – up 13.3 per cent over August last year, though down 5.9 per cent from July.

“With more demand from home buyers, the supply of homes listed for sale isn’t accumulating like earlier in the year.

These changes are creating more balanced market conditions,” said REBGV president Ashley Smith in a media release.

Despite the stronger sales figures, prices in the region continued to slide. Greater Vancouver home prices 1977-present. Greater Vancouver home prices 1977-present. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancovuer The benchmark price for detached houses across the region was $1.4 million, according to the board, down 9.8 per cent from August last year, and down 0.7 per cent from July. The dip in prices from August 2018 was led by Richmond (12.6 per cent)

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Press release Delta South MLA Ian Paton released the following statement on today’s decision by the George Massey Crossing Task Force: “Today’s announcement does nothing to improve current commutes for motorists and continues to delay any real action on this project for months. Meanwhile, had the NDP gone ahead with the previous plan for a 10lane bridge, the project would be 50 per cent complete and we would be moving towards providing relief for families and commuters stuck in B.C.’s biggest parking lot.

“John Horgan and the NDP have stalled the project for months commissioning redundant studies and reports, wasting taxpayer dollars, and doing nothing to improve the situation for the thousands of commuters who are

stuck in its traffic daily.

“Today’s endorsement of an 8-lane tunnel will have a much greater impact on the Fraser River than a bridge and will require a lengthy environmental assessment. We share these concerns, which were voiced in today’s meeting by Tsawwassen First Nations Chief Ken Baird, who was the only director to vote against today’s motion.

“Ten more years is simply too long for motorists to have to wait for a solution to the worst bottleneck in the province. Families south of the Fraser deserve better from the NDP. “The studies have already been done—it is time to start building a replacement now.”

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

Press release

NDP continue to mislead public on housing after another re-announcement MLA Todd Stone, the BC Liberal Housing Critic, is calling on John Horgan and the NDP to start taking real action after the government re-announced yet another project today dating back to the previous BC Liberal government, this latest one in Okanagan Falls.

“John Horgan and the NDP have been in power for over two years and they are still re-announcing projects set in motion by the previous BC Liberal government years ago,” said Stone, MLA for KamloopsSouth Thompson. “The NDP promised

to build 114,000 new units of housing and now, halfway through their mandate, they have opened just 2,400. At this rate it will take over 100 years to meet their promise.”

At last month’s Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conference, both John Horgan and NDP Housing Minister Selina Robinson falsely claimed that their government had created over 22,000 new affordable housing units. That is 19,600 more than their numbers actually show.

“John Horgan and the NDP came to power on promises of making life more affordable.

After two years, we’ve seen little action from this government that effectively combats the affordability crisis except re-announcements of BC Liberal projects,” added Stone. “With so few new rental units opened under this government to date, nobody believes the NDP will ever deliver on their promise of 114,000 new homes. British Columbians deserve better.”

The South Skaha Housing Society project re-announced in Okanagan Falls today was originally announced in November of

2016 under the former BC Liberal government. Other BC Liberal housing projects re-announced by the NDP include the Seniors’ Support Society project in Peachland, the Catalyst Community Development in Port Moody, the Aboriginal Housing Society project in Prince George, the M’akola project in Courtenay, and the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Community Services project.

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NDP forestry failures add up; Merritt unlikely to get financial support Jackie Tegart, MLA for Fraser-Nicola, is calling on John Horgan and the NDP to support forestry workers in Merritt who have been hit hard by the raft of recent mill closures.

Merritt Mayor Linda Brown has expressed concern that, following a meeting with NDP MLA Ravi Kahlon, her community was not likely to qualify for any of the government support funding due to the fact that the Aspen Planers mill is not yet closed and the funds are not retroactive to the Tolko closure a few years ago.

“John Horgan and the NDP have created an absolute mess, and communities like Merritt deserve answers and support from this government,” said Tegart.

“In June, the BC Liberals presented a five-point plan to John Horgan that would get the industry back on track and help struggling workers and communities. The NDP have ignored our plan for four months while more and more mills cut back or shut down.”

Last month, in response to the forestry crisis the NDP announced they would raid the rural dividend fund, depriving rural communities of important funding for projects and services.

The rural dividend fund was created so smaller communities could build capacity and promote economic diversification.

Instead of new money going to areas hit hard by mill closures and shift curtailments, funds that were once pegged for rural projects and services are now reallocated.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Vancouver says commuter traffic should continue through Strathcona despite homeowners’ objections Vancouver city staff have concluded commuter traffic should continue to zip through Strathcona despite efforts by a new generation of homeowners who had hoped the city would come up with an alternative.

The City of Vancouver has been searching for a new commuter route going east from downtown, prompting a struggle to accommodate the demands of residents of the neighbourhood, the needs of a historic group of produce distributors in the nearby industrial zone and preservation of a community garden.

At council Tuesday, debate uncovered anger at the federal government over its management of trains and port traffic and at the city for rejecting a community panel’s decision last

spring for a completely new route between Main Street and Clark Drive. “My wife and four children and dog live in fear and loathing of Prior Street. We don’t use our front door,” Andreas Juen told city council Tuesday, one of many residents to make a similar case.

Prior Street, which turns into Venables, was transformed into a small highway almost 50 years ago when the city council of the day tried to drive a plan for a full-scale freeway through Strathcona, then home to many low-income Chinese, Italian and black residents.

The complete freeway never got built, but it did transform Prior/Venables from a neighbourhood street into an arterial that fed into the Dunsmuir viaduct.

It’s now a neighbourhood that includes million-dollar-plus heritage homes and middle-class families in them, along with some elderly Chinese residents who say the area is unbearable because of the traffic.

City staff had considered the new route through industrial land near Vancouver’s train station – a solution that would have cost $400-million, the engineering department’s entire budget for projects for a year. But staff came to the conclusion that the best solution was to stick with the current street.

Staff have recommended the route be improved with $125-million of changes, including an underpass to help end traffic snarls at the railroad tracks that cross Prior, street widening at certain points, more trees and better access

to the park on the south side.

Among those in favour of keeping Prior as the commuter street was Philip Wong, speaking for the more than a dozen produce distributors whose warehouses and container trucks dominate the next street to the south, Malkin, that was considered as an option at one point.

Transit Police issue arrest warrant for man wanted in 2 violent robberies

An arrest warrant has been issued for a man wanted in connection with two violent chokings and robberies.

Police say suspect Andrew Krizmanits, 42, may be headed to, or currently in, Eastern Canada or possibly the Sunshine Coast.

Krizmanits, of no fixed address, is well known to police. He has been charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of attempting to choke to overcome resistance.

On the morning of Aug. 18, police allege Krizmanits approached a 45-year-old man riding a bus headed toward the Marine Drive Canada Line station. According to police, he befriended the man, followed him off the bus, asked him for a cigarette and when the victim refused, tackled him and placed him in a headlock until he lost consciousness.

CCTV records suspect before alleged violent robbery 20 days ago. At Vancouver’s Stadium SkyTrain Station CCTV recorded a suspect before he is alleged to have taken part in a violent robbery.

Transit Police say the man is responsible for two thefts in which he put his victims in a headlock, choking them until they were unconscious. 0:17 Upon regaining consciousness, the suspect asked the victim to buy him a drink at the Marine Drive Canada Line Station store, but when the victim entered the store, police say Krizmanits stole his phone and fled on the train.

Man wanted across BC arrested in Courtenay

A man who wanted for a number of offences across British Columbia and was believed to be hiding on Vancouver Island has been arrested.

Comox Valley RCMP say they arrested 47-year-old Dwayne Louis Thomson in Courtenay on Monday, after issuing a warning that he was likely hiding in the region.

Thomson was wanted for a number of offences, including possession of stolen property, failure to comply with probation and breach of undertaking and recognizance.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

What’s stopping you from switching to an electric vehicle?

A new BC Hydro report released this week found that charging availability and charging costs were among some of the top reasons stopping drivers from making the switch to electric vehicles.

The report — Old habits drive hard: How British Columbians’ fuelling habits are driving misconceptions about EV charging — found 70 per cent of those surveyed thought there

were not enough charging stations in BC (there are 1,700) and one quarter was concerned about how much they would pay in electricity.

In reality, B.C. Hydro’s research found that most EV drivers charge their vehicles at home or work and the cost of an EV is typically one eight of what it might cost for a gas-powered vehicle.

Sharif ‘wanted to kill people,’ Crown says during opening arguments Abdulahi Hasan Sharif intended to kill people when he led police on a high-speed chase through downtown Edmonton after allegedly attacking Const. Mike Chernyk, Crown prosecutors argued on his first day of trial.

Sharif, 32, is accused of 11 offences, including five counts of attempted murder in connection with the events of Sept. 30, 2017. He pleaded not guilty to the offences after jury selection Monday.

On Wednesday, 13 jurors received their instructions from the judge and heard opening arguments. Two Edmonton police officers testified, along with the lead officer on the case — a national security investigator with the RCMP. “Once you have heard the evidence, it is the Crown’s position that you will be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Abdulahi Sharif wanted to kill people,” Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Wheaton told the jury.

“He tried first to murder Const.

Chernyk, and then during an extremely dangerous driving pattern, he fled from police causing bodily harm to four strangers.

“It is the Crown’s position he intentionally tried to kill these people by hitting them in that U-haul truck.”

Sharif sat in the prisoner’s box next to an interpreter, who is translating the proceedings into Somali. He is self-represented, but will be aided throughout the six-week trial by amicus lawyer Greg Lazin. Justice Paul Belzil said the jury should draw no “adverse inference” from the fact Sharif does not have a lawyer.

The jury heard the events began outside a CFL football game at Commonwealth Stadium —

whichwasobservingamilitaryappreciationnight.

Court heard Chernyk was alone manning a traffic stop around 8 p.m. “Suddenly, he noticed headlights coming toward him,” Wheaton said.

“He heard the sound of a vehicle accelerating. He tried to move out of the way but it was too late.

A white Chevy Malibu “plowed into him and he flew through the air,” she continued. “A number of bystanders tried to come to his aid as he laid on his back and tried to get his bearings.”

“But suddenly the driver of that vehicle was there. A black man in dark clothing with a knife, and he was trying to stab Const. Chernyk in the head with that knife.

The bystanders saw the knife and they fled, fearing for their lives.

Const. Chernyk was now alone, fighting for his.”

Court heard Cherynk kept his hand on his gun as his assailant fought for it. Eventually they disengaged and the attacker fled into the night.

A few hours later, around 11 p.m., officers manning a containment point at 112 Avenue and Wayne Gretzky Drive stopped a man driving a U-Haul. When an officer took the driver’s licence, the vehicle sped off.

A knife seized as evidence in the trial of Abdulahi Sharif, charged with attempted murder in the Sept. 30, 2017 vehicle attacks.

Police followed the speeding vehicle into downtown Edmonton, Wheaton said, reaching speeds of up to 85 km/h. When the chase reached 109 Street, the speeding truck turned into the alley The Pint nightclub and struck two pedestrians.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

31 19

No evidence FBI, RCMP directed border guards’ examination of Meng Wanzhou: Crown There’s no evidence to support a “conspiracy” theory that United States officials directed Canadian border guards to interrogate Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver’s airport, a Crown prosecutor says.

Defence lawyers argue that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency conspired to obtain information from Meng during an admissibility exam in order to advance a criminal case against her in the U.S. Meng was passing through the airport on Dec. 1, 2018, when Canadian border guards questioned her about Huawei’s business in Iran and seized her electronic devices before the RCMP executed a provisional arrest warrant.

John Gibb-Carsley, representing the federal Justice Department, told a British Columbia Supreme Court judge Wednesday there’s no proof the FBI or RCMP ordered border guards to conduct the exam or provided questions to them.

He also dismissed the defence’s claims that RCMP officers’ notes suggest they initially planned to board Meng’s plane to arrest her and that this plan abruptly changed on the morning of Dec. 1 to allow border guards to interview her first.

“These may seem like trivial points to correct, but in my respectful submission, this is the only evidence my friends have before this court to

weave their story of a conspiracy,” he told the judge.

“Each fact that becomes put in context, and the sinister nature removed, I say erodes their overall allegations.”

The U.S. is seeking Meng’s extradition on fraud charges.

She’s accused of lying to HSBC about Huawei’s work in Iran, putting the bank at risk of prosecution for violating sanctions against the country.

Meng, whose arrest sparked a diplomatic crisis between Canada and China, denies wrongdoing and her lawyers are in court seeking further documents ahead of her extradition hearing in January.

Canadian border guards held Meng for three hours and, in addition to seizing her electronic devices, obtained her passcodes and wrote them on a piece of paper that they gave to the RCMP when she was arrested.

The Crown acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that border guards should not have handed over her passcodes.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is out on bail and remains under partial house arrest after she was detained last year at the behest of American authorities, leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver, on Monday September 30, 2019.

The CBSA later realized its “error” and asked for the codes back, but the RCMP responded that the passwords had already formed part of the evidence before a judge, the Crown said.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Canada’s economy was unexpectedly unchanged in July, following four months of growth, as the country’s mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sectors contracted, Statistics Canada data showed on Tuesday.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted an increase of 0.1% in July following a 0.2% increase in June. Overall, 12 of the 20 industrial sectors monitored expanded on the month, while eight declined, the national statistics agency said.

The Canadian dollar weakened to C$1.3290 or 75.24 cents U.S. after the July GDP miss.

Canada is in the midst of a national election set for Oct. 21 where economic issues, like

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Canada’s GDP flat in July as oil and gas extraction shrinks the cost-of-living, have played a central role on the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada has held interest rates steady since last October as it monitors Canadian economic data.

“Today’s data are consistent with the [Bank of Canada’s] view that growth over the second half of the year is likely to be slightly slower than the first half,” said Josh Nye, a

senior economist with RBC Economics, adding there were “few signs of a broader slowdown.”

“That gives the central bank time to be patient in assessing whether a bit more accommodation is needed to offset external headwinds,” Nye said in a note.

Statscan said goods-producing industries were down 0.7% in July as outputs from all

sectors - excepting utilities - declined.

Services-producing industries were up for the fifth consecutive month, rising 0.3% as the majority of its subsectors grew.

Canada’s mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector dropped by 3.5% in July, the largest decrease since May 2016, Statistics Canada said. Support activities for those same industries slumped by 11.5%, the largest decline since December 2018, following three consecutive months of growth, as drilling and lower rigging services contracted.

high levels of Canada’s economy ‘Riddled with risk’: Canada’s economic growth threatened by geopolitical threats, report says and household debt, but is poised to grow at there’s no real trigger. modest rate, but will a new report from Deloitte Canada states. in all of 2019, according to the advisory firm’s face an environment “riddled with risks” Economic activity will expand at 1.5 per cent chief economist Craig Alexander. Growth will The challenge would be if China has a hard from ongoing geopolitical and trade frictions, in the second half of the year and 1.6 per cent tick up to 1.7 per cent in 2020 and 2021 as landing, if Europe goes into recession. If the lower interest rates shore up sluggish demand. world economy stumbles, then Canada will However, as the U.S.-China trade dispute import the weakness from abroad and that intensifies and the chances of a chaotic Brexit will cause the Canadian economy to weaken.”

After stalling for two consecutive quarters, persist, political events well beyond Ottawa’s control could threaten those moderate gains. Canada’s economic activity increased by a stellar “If there’s a trigger to the turn in the 3.7 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

But the details of that blockbuster gain Canadian business cycle, it’ll actually originate from outside Canada,” Alexander said in paint a far less impressive picture, said an interview. “There is vulnerability inside Alexander. Consumption grew at just 0.5 Canada in terms of elevated home prices per cent, its slowest pace in seven years,

Telus to buy ADT’s Canadian security business, ADT Inc. to pay special dividend Telus Corp. is dramatically increasing the size of its home and business security operations with a deal to buy ADT Security Services Canada Inc. for roughly $700 million.

The Vancouver-based company said Tuesday the purchase is part of its move to provide monitoring for fires, floods, carbon monoxide leaks and break-ins as well as internet-controlled automation features.

“Importantly, the ADT Canada acquisition … also supports the continued advancement of Telus’s health strategy,” including remote patient care, Telus said in a statement.

ADT Canada employs about 1,000 and has approximately 500,000 residential and business customers — about five times the number at Telus SmartHome Security and Secure Business, which was launched last year.

ADT Inc. said Tuesday it will pay a one-time special dividend of up to US$550 million, or 70 cents per share, for its shareholders when the deal closes.

“The sale of our more capital intensive Canadian operations enables us to sharpen our focus on the exciting growth and higher margin opportunities in the U.S., where we can more efficiently invest our time and resources,” ADT Inc. president and CEO Jim DeVries

said in a statement from Boca Raton, Fla. ADT Inc. also said there will be a non-cash charge in the third quarter in connection with the transaction, but didn’t provide an estimate.

Several of Canada’s major phone and cable companies have identified home security and home automation services as growth opportunities for their latest generation of networks, including fifth-generation wireless service.

Bell Canada parent BCE Inc. bought AlarmForce Industries for about $182 million in a deal that closed in early 2018 and then later sold 30,000 AlarmForce customer accounts in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan to Telus for about $66.5 million.

Rogers Communications Inc. also offers customers home security services.

Telus estimates that its home security business added more than 12,000 new customers in the third quarter, bringing its total security subscriber base to about 100,000 prior to the ADT acquisition.

The ADT deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

New Rogers call centre will bring 350 jobs to Kelowna Rogers Communications announced Thursday that it will open a new B.C. customer call centre in Kelowna next summer that will bring 350 new jobs to the community.

The telecommunications giant says the new customer solution centre will occupy 32,000 square feet in Kelowna’s Landmark District. Renovations will begin in early 2020, with the centre opening in summer 2020. Hiring will take place next spring.

The company says the centre will handle around one million Rogers and Fido customer interactions — both calls and web inquiries — each year.

“The new customer solution centre is part of Rogers multi-year plan to transform customer service and deliver a personalized, proactive and simple experience across every

touchpoint,” the firm said in a news release.

“It’s great to see this investment in Kelowna,” said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran.

“With our growing technology sector, along with every other kind of business, communications technology is essential to keeping our local economy going strong.”

With the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands, Rogers is Canada’s largest wireless carrier with 44 retail stores and local media assets in the province with Citytv Vancouver, OMNI B.C., 11 radio stations, as well as a customer solution centre in Burnaby.

Environment debate to be held in Vancouver-Granville riding Abbotsford police release name of man charged with savage assault on...

Saturday, October 5, 2019

4 federal leaders fight to woo Quebec voters in fiery French-language debate Four federal leaders clashed on the environment, the economy and Quebec’s place in Canada as they sought to appeal to Quebec voters in the TVA French-language debate on Wednesday night.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet appeared on TVA, one of Quebec’s most widely watched networks (pictured) and reaches a large audience of francophones outside of Montreal. The station is also known for its unique debate format, which features one-on-one exchanges between the leaders that tend to make it particularly confrontational.

The debate started off with a fiery exchange between Blanchet and Scheer, who were asked to defend their positions on abortion. Blanchet said that he is unequivocally against opening up the abortion debate and that anyone in his party who had a differing position would be removed. Scheer responded by saying he would always vote to support a woman’s right to choose — but the ambiguity in his answer opened the floor to questions from all three leaders about what he, personally, believed.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau presses Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer for his personal views on abortion and a woman’s right to choose during the TVA French-language leaders debate Wednesday. 0:47 The threeagainst-one dynamic continued into the second part of the debate, when Trudeau and Singh faced off on legislation r e g a r d i n g medically assisted dying.

Singh said that he felt the current criteria regarding the right to die are too restrictive and Trudeau said his government could be open to adjusting those restrictions.

When the floor was opened to all four, Singh asked the leaders to state their positions on a woman’s right to choose and medically assisted dying. When Scheer wavered in his answer, Trudeau alluded that there were three leaders being clear in their positions and one not being direct. The leaders also faced tough questions from moderator Pierre Bruneau, who pointedly asked Scheer how he would explain to the 500,000 people who marched in the Montreal climate strike that he plans on being a champion of the oil and gas sector.

Liberals to boost spending and extend deficits while taxing luxury goods and internet giants Justin Trudeau’s Liberals launched their full campaign platform on Sunday with promises of new support for post-secondary students and graduates, paid for, in part, by new taxes on internet giants and luxury goods.

In total, the Liberals are proposing new investments of $9.3 billion in 2020-2021, rising to $17 billion in the fourth year of a second mandate. The federal deficit would increase to $27.4 billion in 20202021, declining to $21 billion in 2023-2024. The Liberals promised in 2015 to run three years of deficits before returning the federal budget to balance in 2019. With the new promises, the federal debtto-GDP ratio would still decline, from 30.9 per cent in 2020-2021 to 30.2 per cent in 2023-2024.

Politically, the Liberal platform increases the party’s contrast with the Conservatives, between a Liberal proposal to spend more and a Conservative commitment to spend less. The Liberal proposals might also reduce the space

between themselves and the NDP, their rivals on the left. The Liberal party’s platform adds $9.3 billion in new spending, but Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says their financial track is sustainable as long as the economy continues to grow in relation to the federal debt.

2:14 “We are making a different choice than the Conservatives do.

We’re choosing to invest in middleclass Canadians, invest in people’s communities, because, quite frankly, that is what has worked over the past four years,” Trudeau told reporters at an event in Mississauga, Ont. “Conservatives are still making the argument that the way to grow the economy is through cuts and austerity and tax breaks that go to the wealthiest. We disagree. Our plan is focused on investing in Canadians, in a fiscally responsible way that means the size of our debt in relation to the size of our economy is low and will keep getting lower every single year.”

Conservatives call Trudeau a ‘hypocrite’ for boasting of environmental creds while flying 2 campaign planes The Conservatives are calling Justin Trudeau a “carbon hypocrite” for flying two planes during the 40-day election campaign, emitting double the carbon emissions of other campaigns.

The Conservatives issued a news release — including travel logs and photographs of the two planes — during the French language debate hosted by TVA. “Despite marching in climate strikes, lecturing everybody else on lowering emissions and imposing a carbon tax on hard-working Canadians, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are secretly using two aircraft to campaign in this election,” the release says.

The Liberals issued their own release in response, accusing Scheer of being “desperate to deflect from the fact that Conservatives have no plan for the environment.”

Greta Thunberg meets Trudeau, tells him he’s not doing enough to fight climate change In a news conference after the Montreal debate, Trudeau confirmed the Liberal

Party is using a cargo plane as well as a regular plane, as it did in the 2015 campaign.

“It allows us to do more events in more parts of the country and meet more Canadians,” he said. “It’s an important part of our national campaign to meet as many people as possible.”

Trudeau said the Liberals will purchase carbon offsets for all of the campaign transportation on planes and buses.

“I will highlight that Andrew Scheer and his Conservatives did not purchase carbon offsets for their transportation because they think pollution should be free,” he said.

Trudeau promises $40K interestfree loans to make homes energy efficient and safer from severe weather The climate change issue keeps dogging Andrew Scheer on the campaign trail Scheer said he couldn’t understand why the Liberals needed two planes, since the single Conservative aircraft has ample space for luggage and equipment.

NATIONAL

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INDIA

Saturday, October 5, 2019

K P S Menon, India’s first foreign secretary, passes away Born Kumara Padma Sivasankara Menon on 18 October 1898 in Travancore, British India. Died 22 November 1982 (aged 84) Ottapalam, Kerala, India.

Former diplomat K P S Menon (junior) passed away at his residence here following age-related ailments, family members said.

He died late Saturday night. He was 90 and leaves behind wife and three sons, they said. Son of K P S Menon (senior), the first Foreign Secretary of independent

India and uncle of former Foreign Secretary and National Security Adviser Shivasankar Menon, K P S Menon (junior) was a 1951 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. He served as an ambassador to various countries, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Japan and China. Menon had served as the Foreign Secretary of India from 1987 to 1989.

Condoling his death, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said he was a diplomat who had contributed towards getting India’s foreign policy accepted and recognised world-wide.

Have Indian IT companies been gouging H-1B workers with low wages?

A recent report conducted by research outfit IHS Markit and commissioned by the Indian software industry lobby group National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has shown that India-origin firms paid US-based software programmers an average wage of $96,300 in 2017. These wages included both domestic workers and H-1B visa holders and were reportedly around 2% more than the median wage of $94,800 that is given to software programmers in the US. IHS Markit apparently used figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as other government data for its number crunching. Now there will be some significant eye-rolling upon the realisation that the report was funded

by Nasscom. And despite industry veteran Peter Bendor-Samuel, the CEO of Everest Group, telling the Economic Times that the report “demonstrates that Indian firms are not systematically underpaying their US-based employees,” this does not fully allay the scepticism around those figures.

Afterall, the $96,300 figure contradicts the ones compiled by Ron Hira, an academic at Howard University and a crusader against Indian H-1B visas. Hira showed that wages paid to employees of outsourcing firms -whose employees are almost always Indian -- were in a band between the low $60,000s to mid $70,000s and in the case of many Indian firms, these employees often earned just a little above $60,000.

Pandit Jasraj becomes the first Indian musician to have minor planet named after him In a rare honour, a minor planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter has been named after doted 89-year-old Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj. The international body with authority in all things astronomy, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), has named the minor planet ‘Panditjasraj (300128)’ following its discovery more than a decade ago on 11 November 2006.

Minor planets are celestial objects in our solar system that orbit the Sun but aren’t planets or comets. These include dwarf planets, asteroids, trojans, centaurs, Kuiper belt objects and the like. The minor planet in question, which technically goes by ‘2006 VP32’ in the astronomy community, was spotted by a NASA-funded project called the Catalina Sky Survey, which tracks and discovers near-earth

objects. Panditjasraj was discovered by the Mt Lemmon Survey telescope in Arizona. The number 300128 is derived from Jasraj’s date of birth 28 January 1930.

Pandit Jasraj becomes the first Indian musician to have minor planet named after him Pandit Jasraj in concert at the Golden Voice Golden Years. With the honour, the Padma Vibhushan-winning musician Pandit Jasraj has become the first musician from India to join the starry sky of immortal composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Pavarotti. “Blessed... in this honour one can experience only god’s grace,” the Pandit told PTI from the US. “It was made official by IAU on 23 September, followed by a citation,” Durga Jasraj, his daughter, said.

India shelves plan for countrywide ban of single-use plastic goods India has held off imposing a blanket ban on single-use plastics to combat pollution, officials said on Tuesday, a measure seen as too disruptive for industry at a time when it is coping with an economic slowdown and job losses. The plan was for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to outlaw six items on Wednesday, the 150th anniversary of the birth of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, as part of a broader campaign to rid India of single-use plastics by 2022.

But two officials said there would be no immediate move to ban plastic bags, cups, plates, small bottles, straws and certain types of sachets and instead the government would

try to curb their use. For now, government will ask states to enforce existing rules against storing, manufacturing and using some singleuse plastic products such as polythene bags and styrofoam, Chandra Kishore Mishra, the top bureaucrat at the ministry of environment, told Reuters.

“There is no new ban order being issued,” Mishra said. “Now, it’s a question of telling people about the ill-effects of plastic, of collecting and sending for recycling so people don’t litter.” The government’s proposed countrywide ban had dismayed consumer firms, which use plastic in packaging for everything from sodas and biscuits to ketchup and shampoo.

PUNJAB

Saturday, October 5, 2019 Court directs Technical Board to pay Rs18 lakh to 3 institutes The Punjab & Haryana High Court (HC) directed Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training to pay a compensation of Rs 18 lakh each to three educational institutions for passing an illegal order of disaffiliation. A Division Bench ruled the last date for granting or refusing affiliation by a university or state government was May 15. “In view of the directions issued by the Supreme Court, it was not permissible for the

respondent-Board to have issued disaffiliation orders on August 1. Thus, the impugned order is illegal and is liable to be quashed,” the Bench of Justice Daya Chaudhary and Justice Sudhir Mittal ruled. The ruling came on bunch of three petitions against the board and other respondents by Guru Har Rai Educational Welfare and Charitable Society, Bhagwati College of Pharmacy and Aryans Educational and Charitable Trust.

GK forms new panthic party Former chief of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) Manjit Singh GK formed a ‘Panthic party’ and named it ‘JAGO’ (Jag Asra Guru Ott).

The party name was announced after an ardaas at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha at Greater Kailash.

GK said the names of the

15-kg heroin seized, 2 arrested A day after the BSF seized 2.13 kg of heroin from Old Mohammadi Wala border outpost in the Ferozepur sector, 15 kg of contraband was recovered in two separate incidents in the state. In the first incident, the Amritsar rural police have confiscated 12 kg of heroin and arrested two persons in this connection.

They were identified as Gurpal Singh and Gupreet Singh, both residents of Rorawala Kalan village located near the Indo-Pak border. SSP Vikram Jeet Duggal confirmed the seizure and said the operation was still on. The seizure was by made by the CIA staff led by Inspector Vikrant. The accused were intercepted by the police team during a naka following a tip-off. “They were apparently going to deliver the consignment to their accomplices when they were intercepted,” the SSP said, adding that the contraband was seemingly smuggled from across the border.

4 arrested in connection with teen’s gangrape

The Sehna police arrested four people for raping 16-year-old girl three days in village Maur Nabha. The victim alleged that four youths of the same village bundled her in a car when she was going to grocery shop. She said the accused took her to an unidentified location and locked her in a room. “The victim has alleged that she was raped repeatedly by four accused from September 29 to October 1. On Tuesday evening, she managed to escape from the clutches of the accused,” said Sub-Inspector Balwinder Kaur.

After returning to her house, the victim’s family members got her admitted to Tapa hospital from where she was referred to Barnala Civil Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment.

The relatives of the victim alleged that they had lodged a complaint with the Sehna police after their daughter went missing, but the cops allegedly did not take them seriously.

chiefs of the youth, women, religious and intellectual wings would be announced soon.

GK said being a Panthik party, its work area would be the betterment of the community by becoming the voice of the Sikhs living in India and abroad. GK also released the party logo.

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Put a halt on ‘goonda tax’, Court tells officials A month after the collection of “goonda tax” from crusher owners was highlighted by The Tribune, a local court directed the state government as well as the district administration, including police authorities, to ensure that no such illegal check post be set up in the district by any unauthorised person.

Disposing of an application filed by eight stone crusher owners from Himachal Pradesh, Ropar Civil Judge Madan Lal stayed the collection of “goonda tax”, directing that defendants Rakesh Chaudhary, Bunty Sandhu and Prabh Gill be restrained from collecting unnecessary royalty or money by way of extortion in Rupnagar. The respondents were also directed to ensure that no such illegal check post was put up in the district till the disposal of the case.

It was on August 28 and August 29 when The Tribune highlighted that “goonda tax” was being collected from crusher owners as well as from drivers of vehicles of Himachal Pradesh carrying sand and gravel. All tippers and other vehicles coming out of stone crushers in the district were forced by the mafia to shell out Rs 4 per cubic

feet of material. According to rough estimates, the mafia, which is operating apparently under the political patronage, is collecting nearly Rs 1 crore every day in the name of “protection money”. The district police had booked Rakesh Chaudhary, Bunty Sandhu and Prabh Gill on a complaint by a road construction contractor on September 10 for allegedly detaining his tippers carrying gravel from Himachal Pradesh and seeking illegal tax. No further action was taken against them and they continued to collect “goonda tax” openly. Following this, eight crusher owners from Himachal Pradesh moved the court alleging that the accused in connivance with defendants, including the state government and district administration, were collecting “goonda tax”. Meanwhile fearing backlash, stone crusher owners in the district preferred to keep mum over the issue. A few crusher owners on the condition of anonymity alleged that the mafia men had assured them of protection from enforcement agencies with warnings that their crushers would be sealed in case they didn’t cooperate with them.

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INDIA

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Top US tech investor bets on India’s kirana shops to fight Amazon, Flipkart One of the most successful Silicon ValleyAsia venture capital firms is counting on the humble mom-and-pop store that dominates India’s retail landscape to hold its own against Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. Menlo Park, California-based GGV Capital, a $6.2 billion investor in some of the biggest unicorns in the U.S. and China including Airbnb, Xiaomi Corp., and Slack Technologies Inc., is backing startups that serve the tiny, family-run businesses known as kiranas.

“It’s all about powering the little guys,” said Hans Tung, managing partner, in a recent joint interview with fellow investor Jixun Foo in Bangalore, where the duo was meeting a dozen entrepreneurs. “We’re backing startups

that provide technology and working capital to make kiranas more efficient, so that these momand-pops can become e-commerce and lending enablers in their communities,” Tung added.

From the poshest neighborhoods to teeming slums, typical Indian kiranas are cramped spaces that can just about fit a king-size bed but are chock-full of sacks of rice, lentils and dried chili peppers. Their floorto-ceiling shelves are stacked with toothpaste and cooking oil, and their shopfronts festooned with colorful bags of potato chips, tiny sachets of shampoo and pickles. With their personalized service, the stores usually offer door-step delivery and interest-free credit. GGV, which has focused almost exclusively on China and the U.S. for two decades, is bullish about India. “We are seeing

IAF monitoring situation along Indo-Pak border, ready for Balakot-type strike: Air Force chief Bhadauria The Indian Air Force is monitoring the developments along the western front and is prepared to carry out a Balakot-type strike, if directed by the government, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said after taking charge of the IAF on Monday.

Bhadauria, who has around 4,250 hours of

flying experience on 26 types of aircraft and led commercial negotiations for procurement of the 36 Rafale jets, also said the induction of these French combat aircraft will give the the IAF enhanced aerial prowess over the country’s “adversararies”.

Khatabook raises $25M to help small businesses in India record financial transactions digitally and accept online payments Even as tens of millions of Indians have come online for the first time in recent years, most businesses in the nation remain offline.

They continue to rely on long notebooks to keep a log of their financial transactions. A nine-month-old startup that is helping them digitize their bookkeeping and accept online payments just raised a significant amount of capital to expand its operations.

Khatabook, a Bangalore-based startup, said on Tuesday it has raised $25 million in a new financing round. The Series A round for the startup was funded by GGV Capital, Partners of DST Global, RTP Global, Sequoia India (Khatabook was part of its Surge accelerator program), Tencent and Y Combinator. The startup has raised $29 million to date.

A clutch of high-profile angel investors also participated in the round, including Gokul Rajaram of Square, James Viraldi of TikTok, Aditya Agarwal of Dropbox, Sriram Krishnan — not one, but two — Akshay Kothari of Notion, Amrish Rau of PayU, Anand

Chandrasekharan (formerly with Facebook), Deep Nishar of SoftBank, Jitendra Gupta of LazyPay, Kunal Bahl of SnapDeal and Kunal Shah of CRED. Khatabook operates an eponymous Android app that allows micro, small and medium-sized businesses to keep a digital log of their financial transactions and accept payments online. The app, which was launched on Google Play Store in December last year, has amassed 5 million merchants from more than 3,000 cities, towns and villages in India, Ravish Naresh, co-founder and CEO of Khatabook, told TechCrunch in an interview this week.

The app, which supports 11 languages, was used to process transactions worth more than $3 billion in the month of August, said Naresh.

Most merchants in developing markets are currently not online. They continue to rely on logging their financial transactions — credit, for instance — on notebooks and pieces of paper.

As you can imagine, this methodology is not structured.

US Congress turns focus on Kashmir The US Congress has stepped up its activities on Jammu and Kashmir, raising questions in the context of human rights in South Asia with several members of the House of Representatives urging India to uphold religious tolerance and a House panel scheduling a hearing on October 22.

“The hearing will focus on the Kashmir valley, where many political activists have

been arrested and daily life, the Internet and telephone communication interrupted. The hearing will also review the humanitarian situation in Kashmir and whether Kashmiris have adequate supplies of food, medicine and other essentials,” Brad Sherman, Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Asia, announced in Washington.

Bihar CM snaps back at reporter over flood query Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lost his cool in the face of persistent queries from a journalist about the inundation of Patna due to heavy rain and shot back asking whether there was similar outrage when Mumbai suffered a deluge and floods disrupted normal life in the US. The incident took place on late Tuesday night when Kumar was wading through kneedeep water to survey an inundated area of the city.

Apparently aggrieved at the incident, Kumar on Wednesday said, “Do you have any illusion that your harsh language is of any consequence to me? It is not. I am someone who has been devoted to serving the people. I do not care about what you say about me.” “People of my age are virtually through with their lives. But for heaven’s sake show a sense of responsibility.”

India expects US to agree S-400 & Iran oil deals External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the US had no objection to Russia selling advanced missile defence systems to India. It has also repeatedly told India that it would permit it to resume oil imports from Iran. Speaking at a thinktank event in Washington, Jaishankar spoke about the delicacy of balancing ties with both Iran and the US. “There may be a world of contradictions where you have friends on both sides of the argument. There are relationships to keep and interests to protect on either side.

You never get clean-cut solutions. You have to walk that space very delicately and dexterously,” he observed. Pointing out that India is a big energy-importing economy and affordable, predictable access to energy is “very important”,

Jaishankar said, “We have been repeatedly assured that will happen.” Jaishankar did not foresee trouble from the US over India’s contract with Russia for the import of the S-400 missile defence system. The US has enacted a law to penalise countries undertaking major arms deals with Russia, but Jaishankar was of the view that, “I am reasonably convinced by the power of my persuasion.” “We have discussed that with the US government and it is my hope that people would understand why this transaction is important for us,” he added. Jaishankar said the government deliberated long and hard before changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir. “We took a long and hard look at it.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

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India-Pakistan nuclear war could kill millions, threaten global starvation A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could, over the span of less than a week, kill 50-125 million people—more than the death toll during all six years of World War II, according to new research. A new study

conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and Rutgers University examines how such a hypothetical future conflict would have consequences that could ripple across the globe.

Today, India and Pakistan each have about 150 nuclear warheads at their disposal, and that number is expected to climb to more than 200 by 2025.

The picture is grim. That level of warfare wouldn’t just kill millions of people locally, said CU Boulder’s Brian Toon, who led the research published today in the journal Science Advances. It might also plunge the entire planet into a severe cold spell, possibly with temperatures not seen since the last Ice Age.His team’s findings come as tensions are again simmering between India and Pakistan. In August, India made a change

to its constitution that stripped rights from people living in the long-contested region of Kashmir.

Soon after, the nation sent troops to Kashmir, moves that Pakistan criticized sharply.

“An IndiaPakistan war could double the normal death rate in the world,” said Toon, a professor in the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics.

“This is a war that would have no precedent in human experience.”It’s a subject that Toon, also of the Department of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, has had on his mind for decades.

He came of age during the height of the Cold War when schoolchildren still practiced ducking-andcovering under their desks. As a young atmospheric scientist in the early 1980s, he was part of a group of researchers who first coined the term “nuclear winter”—a period of extreme cold that would likely follow a large-scale nuclear barrage between the U.S. and Russia.

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‘PARAM Brahma will allow scientists to address complex scientific problems’ Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Pune, has become the first among seven IISERs and the first institute in the city to set up an advanced supercomputing facility under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

Once installed, ‘PARAM Brahma’ will allow scientists to address newer and more complex scientific problems in a range of areas.

Excerpts from an interview by the Indian Express with M S Madhusudhan, chair, IT Programme and Goldi Misra, chief technology officer at IISER, Pune.

MADHUSUDHAN: It is a supercomputer offering a computational power of 850 TeraFlop with 1 PetaByte storage capacity.

It is one of the supercomputers built in India under NSM, co-funded by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Department of Science and Technology.

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, are steering this mission.

‘PARAM Brahma’ is supported by a first-ofits-kind cooling system called direct contact liquid available in India. This cooling system makes effective use of thermal conductivity of liquids, namely water, in maintaining the temperature of the system during operations. The outlay for the deployment and maintenance of the facility over a period of three years is about Rs 32.5 crore.

Which areas of research will ‘PARAM Brahma’ be used in? MADHUSUDHAN: With the new supercomputer, the scientific community will be able to scale up and plan

on taking up advanced studies in existing research areas, including agriculture, drug discovery and healthcare, computational biology and neurobiology, earth and climate

sciences, seismic modelling and earthquake engineering, nano materials and predictive materials modelling, high energy physics, astrophysics, complex network structure and its dynamics, encryption among other areas.

There are researchers who are also making use of algorithms that are based on artificial intelligence (AI) and research in AI will also be initiated in the near future. How will the supercomputing facility benefit researchers at IISER, Pune? MADHUSUDHAN: IISER, Pune, has been using its existing high performance computing (HPC) facilities, which are an aggregate of 19 cluster systems offering a total computing power of 412 TeraFlop and 1.2 PetaFlop storage. Each of these clusters, available since 2009, is being used by research group comprising faculty, students and collaborators. Due to their limited capacities, it was not possible to undertake large-scale studies in a particular scientific area which will now be possible with ‘PARAM Brahma’.

40

FIJI

Saturday, October 5, 2019

PM Bainimarama visits the La Cohiba Cigar Factory in Havana, Cuba Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama also briefed on the harvesting processes.

He says it’s amazing how these workers has visited the La Cohiba Cigar Factory in Havana, Cuba to learn more about make cigars without using high-tech and advance technologies and the cigar production during his end product is of high quality. official visit to the country.

A total of 247 employees Bainimarama says the work at the factory, majority government is looking at innovative of whom are women. ways to increase the production The Prime Minister of tobacco as it is only a small also visited the Colonial fraction of Fiji’s agriculture sector.

Habana museum to learn He says Fiji has the potential more about Cuba’s history. to do tobacco farming on a large The museum has materials scale and Fiji needs the right of ancestral Cubans knowledge and skills to further PM Voreqe Bainimarama thousands of years ago and boost the agriculture sector and also samples of battle ships. also for improved livelihoods.

He also met with with locals, Bainimarama witnessed first-hand the school children. manual production of cigars and was particularly

Woman gets life in jail for killing 14-year-old sister-in-law A woman who murdered a 14-year-old girl by burning her and then disposing of her remains in a septic tank in Sigatoka four-years ago has been given mandatory life imprisonment.

32-year-old Geeta Devi was convicted of one count of murder by the Lautoka High court.

She killed her 1 4 - ye ar- ol d - s i s t e r- i n law in Sigatoka in 2015.

The court heard that on 1st November 2015 the deceased’s mother started assaulting her in one of the rooms.

Devi than dragged the deceased out of the room while she was still moving and breathing heavily.

The court heard that she put her on the cement outside the house and after that took her inside the bathroom.

Devi burnt her body and disposed of the remains in a septic tank.

The High court Acting Judge Rangajeeva Wimalasena said that this is another case where domestic violence has escalated to

a level that cost the life of a young girl.

The Judge said that if the family members, neighbors, and the teachers took timely action than this death could have been prevented.

The court heard that Devi’s husband had raped her nine-year-old sister and is now serving an 18-year sentence.

Devi’s mother in law who was one of the co-accused in this murder case is also serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 14-years.

J u s t i c e Wimalasena said that as a result of not taking timely action to prevent domestic violence incidents at home, a child had lost her life, one child became a rape victim and her two own children are now without both parents.

The High court Judge declined to set a minimum period due to the gruesome and inhumane crime.

Keep Connected With The Latest News, Weather, And Sports

Man gets 2 years jail for raping 8-year-old niece A 19 year old man has been sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for raping his 8 year old niece.

While delivering his sentence, High Court Judge, Justice Salesi Temo says that the accused was 16 years old when he committed the offence and because he was a

juvenile back then, the tariff is 2 years in prison.

Justice Temo says now the accused is no longer a juvenile and now he will have to serve prison time.

The incident happened on the 5th of August in 2013 when the girl was returning from Church.

Telecom Fiji Limited announces customers are now free to use their data as they want Telecom Fiji Limited has announced that customers will no longer have the burden of having to use their data at different times and are now free to use it as they want.

Telecom also says that apart from this, they are getting ready to introduce a game-changer, something that they know Fijians will love.

The company says in a historic break from the usual off-peak and peak data conditions that internet plans had built into them by internet providers, Telecom customers are now able to use their data at any time of the day they want.

Telecom says the decision is the start of a new initiative by Telecom to empower its

customers and take into consideration the central role the internet plays in households today. Telecom CEO, Charles Goundar says they arrived at this decision for a simple reason - complete data freedom for Fijians.

Previously, internet data plans were distributed into two usage periods - peak, which is 6am to 6pm and off-peak, which is 6pm to 6am. Goundar says they believe customers should not have restrictions placed on the data that they have paid for. He says you paid for your data, you should be able to use it when you need. Goundar says they already have one of the cheapest data plans in the market, and they now want to focus on user freedom.

8 juveniles and 1 Police Officer charged for serious crimes last month 8 juveniles and 1 Police Officer were charged for serious crimes last month.

According to the statistics by the Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions , there were 50 people charged with a total of 66 counts of separate incidents in September.

Six juveniles were charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and theft while one juvenile was charged with arson after he allegedly set his mother’s home on fire.

One Police Officer was charged with careless driving.

A 29-year-old man was charged with the manslaughter of a 26-year-old man who died as a result of a fight outside the nightclub.

A 27-year-old man was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm to his 26-year-old wife while a 54-year-old man was charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm to his 38-year-old wife.

In another incident, a 49-year-old man was charged with act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to his 56-year-old wife. The accused allegedly assaulted his wife with a kitchen knife.

Tavua, Rakiraki & Nadarivatu facing power outage Thousands of people living in Tavua, Rakiraki and Nadarivatu are currently facing an unplanned power outage.

Energy Fiji Limited says the outage occurred when a tip-truck which was dumping bagasse near the FSC Rarawai Sugar Mill contacted EFL’s 33,000 volt transmission line.

Drugs seized at 2 separate Police checkpoints in past few days Random Police checks conducted at two separate checkpoints have resulted in the seizure of drugs in the past few days.

Police say the first arrest was made at the Laqere Checkpoint at 1pm Wednesday where a vehicle driven by a 27-yearold taxi driver of Sakoca with two passengers in their 20s from Caubati was stopped and searched by officers manning the site.

The officers discovered plastic bags containing dried leaves believed to be marijuana, smoking apparatus and more than $1,000 cash.

Also discovered was the original registration plate of the vehicle driven by the first accused with an expired wheel tax sticker.

The three have been taken into

custody as investigations continue.

The second arrest was made at the Wainadoi Checkpoint along Queens Highway where dried leaves believed to be marijuana was seized yesterday.

Also discovered were cash and several mobile phones.

The suspect in his 20s is in custody as investigations continue.

Police are requesting members of the public to be patient with their officers who will be erecting checkpoints throughout the day as this is part of the ongoing operations in tracking down illegal activities.

Security officer faces sacrilege charge A 25-year-old security officer of Nadera facing a charge of sacrilege appeared before Megisterate yesterday.

It is alledged that Amitesh Kumar has broken into a temple located at Bau street last month and stolen 40 chairs.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, October 5, 2019 Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit China on October 7 to meet Chinese leadership and revive $60 billion Pak-China Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, according to the media report.

Multi-billion dollar CPEC was launched in 2015 and several projects under the first phase are close to completion. Prime Minister Khan while chairing a meeting on the economic corridor on Wednesday said removal of all bottlenecks

in CPEC projects and their timely completion is the top priority of the government, the Dawn newspaper

‘‘Why are you only bothered about Muslims in Kashmir and not Muslims suffering in in China’’ US asks Pakistan Alice Wells, US Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia asks Pakistan why it is only bothered about human rights of Muslims in Kashmir and is not highlighting the “horrific conditions” that continue to exist for the members of the community throughout China. , during a special briefing at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for not speaking out against China, which has detained

an estimated one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims in Xinjiang province.

China is an all-weather ally of Pakistan. Beijing has often come to the rescue of Islamabad by trying to scuttle global efforts to impose sanctions against Pakistan-based terrorists like Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

China has been providing financial help to cash-strapped Pakistan to overcome its economic woes.

Pakistan removes former UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi In a major reshuffle of diplomats, Gov’t of Pakistan removed former UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi, and appointed Munir Akram as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations. The development came after Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from USA, where he raised Kashmir issue in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly last week. “Ambassador Munir Akram has been appointed as the Permanent

Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York, in place of Dr Maleeha Lodhi,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

However, it gave no reason for her removal.

In his speech that went on for about 50 minutes, far exceeding the 15-minute limit for UN speeches during the General Debate, Khan devoted half of his address to the Kashmir issue, warning that if there’s faceoff between two nuclear-armed neighbours,

Gov’t of Pakistan invites former PM Manmohan Singh at Kartarpur Pakistan has decided to invite former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the inaugural ceremony of the landmark Kartarpur corridor in November, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday.

Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur Corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9, days ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 12.

“The Kartarpur Corridor inauguration is a big programme and Pakistan is preparing

for it in a big way,” Qureshi said, noting that Prime Minister Imran Khan has a personal interest in it.

Pakistan has agreed to allow 5,000 Sikh pilgrims from India to visit on a daily basis to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal through the Kartarpur corridor. “On behalf of the government, as the foreign minister of Pakistan, I invite him to attend the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor,” said Qureshi, adding that the government also intended to send a formal written invitation to the 87-year-old leader.

Pakistan hands over body of BSF trooper who drowned in river along International Border Pakistan on Tuesday handed over to India the body of a Border Security Force (BSF) subinspector who had drowned in a river along the International Border in Jammu last week, officials said. The body of Paritosh Mandal was found “deep inside” the neighbouring country’s territory and the Pakistan Rangers informed the BSF about the recovery, they said.

Mandal, 54, went missing in the Aik Nallah in Arnia sector on September 28 when he and

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PM Khan to visit China next week to revive CPEC projects

two other troopers were patrolling along the India-Pakistan International Border.

Villagers joined hands with the BSF and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to trace him but to no avail, they said.

As the Aik Nallah flows into Pakistan, the BSF informed their counterparts—Pakistan Rangers about it. On Tuesday the Rangers informed the BSF that Mandal’s body has been recovered, officials said.

reported. He said he would visit China and meet its leadership to strengthen friendship between the two countries. The Pakistani daily reported that most of the CPEC-related projects have stalled due to certain reasons, including prevailing financial

crunch confronting the government and noncooperation’ of the bureaucracy due to fear of the National Accountability Bureau’ the anticorruption watchdog. The CPEC is the flagship project of President Xi Jinping’s pet multi-billion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The CPEC has also become a major irritant in India-China relations with New Delhi voicing its opposition to

Pakistan could lose in conventional war with India: Imran Khan Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again raked up the prospect of a war, including a nuclear war, with India over New Delhi’s “illegal annexation” of Kashmir. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Imran has also tacitly acknowledged that Pakistan could lose in a conventional war with India, and in that case “there could be consequences”.

To a question on his issuing a nuclear threat

to India over Kashmir, Imran told the channel: “There is no confusion. What I said is that Pakistan will never start a nuclear war. I am a pacifist, I am anti-war. I believe that wars do not solve problems. War has unintended consequences. Look at the war in Vietnam, Iraq, the wars caused other problems, probably much more serious than what it was originally fought for.

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Sikh cop in Texas shot dead during routine traffic stop A 42-year-old Indian-American Sikh police officer in Texas died on Friday after being shot multiple times while conducting a routine traffic stop.

Sandeep Dhaliwal, a 10-year veteran of the Texas police department, was attacked when he stopped a vehicle with a man and woman inside. One of them got out and shot him “ambush-style” at least twice in a “ruthless, cold-blooded way”, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters.

Dhaliwal, the deputy sheriff of Harris County, was the first turbaned Sikh cop to serve Texas.

The department is “heartbroken to lose a hero, a leader in this violent tragic manner,” Gonzalez said. “There are just no words to convey our pain, our heartbreak, our anger as well... we are human beings. But we are going to channel that to continue to serve the way Deputy Dhaliwal did... with integrity.”

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also tweeted his condolences, saying “Deeply grieved to learn of the shooting of Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a Sikh IndianAmerican officer in Houston. We have just visited that city. My condolences to his family.”

Sandeep Dhaliwal, a 10-year veteran of the Texas police department, was attacked when he stopped a vehicle with a man and woman inside. One of them got out and shot him “ambush-style” at least twice in a “ruthless, cold-blooded way”, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters.

Dhaliwal, the deputy sheriff of Harris County, was the first turbaned Sikh cop to serve Texas.

The department is “heartbroken to lose a hero, a leader in this violent tragic manner,” Gonzalez said. “There are just no words to convey our pain, our heartbreak, our anger as well... we are human beings. But we are going to channel that to continue to serve the way Deputy Dhaliwal did... with integrity.”

NRI CEO gets 7 years jail in H-1B Visa fraud schemes An Indian American CEO, who had hatched one of the largest and mostcomplicated H-1B fraud schemes involving 250 workers from India, was sentenced Sept. 20 to 87 months in federal prison.

Pradyumna Kumar Samal, 50, the founder of two companies, Divensi and Azimetry, both based in Bellevue, Washington, will serve time for mail fraud and failure to pay more than $1 million in employment-related taxes. At Samal’s sentencing hearing in the Western District Court of Washington state,

Judge James Robart stated: “Based on your time in the U.S. you have basically defrauded everyone you could defraud. It is clear you have not followed the law since you came to this country. You engaged in an extensive scheme. This was driven by greed: nothing more, nothing less.” Court records indicate that the Justice Department filed a notice Sept. 24 with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals indicating its intent to file an appeal.

DOJ must file its appeal by Dec. 24. Samal must file a response by Jan. 23, 2020.

Hasan Minhaj explains being barred from ‘Howdy, Modi’ on late night talk show Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj, who hosts the popular Patriot Act show on Netflix, appeared on a late night talk show to relate his experience of being barred from the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event on Sunday.

Before the event started, Minhaj had tweeted his own photo with hands raised outside NRG Stadium, Before the event started, Minhaj had tweeted his own photo with hands raised outside NRG Stadium, “Here to celebrate two great nations coming together. India first. But America first too. #HowdyModi”. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@ hasanminhaj Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump addressed over 50,000 people at the rally at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. “Never got a chance to say Howdy Modi,” the comedian tweeted, along with a link to his conversation

with NBC presenter Seth Meyers. “I have to be there. We submitted our press credentials and immediately got an email saying ‘we are out of space’. You are out of space in a football stadium? C’mon,” said Minhaj on the talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers.

He said the organisers told him he had been denied entry to Houston’s NRG Stadium “because of some of the comments you have made”. “Wow. I am sorry for making fun of cricket,” the comedian told Meyers, adding the organisers of the event then replied, “No. the comments you have made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi are not appreciated and you have been blacklisted.” The duo also talked about the irony of the fact that Minhaj’s picture was displayed on the big screen honouring Indian-Americans who had contributed to the USA’s comedy culture during the event.

UK NRI welcomes India’s decision removing names of 312 Sikh foreign nationals from blacklist A prominent UK-based NRI has welcomed the Indian government’s decision of removing names of 312 Sikh foreign nationals from its blacklist and releasing eight Sikh prisoners lodged in different jails in the country, saying the news has sent a wave of happiness among Sikh community members in the UK. Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, chairman of Social Education Voluntary Association (SEVA) Trust UK and councillor Sharnbrook Counil, Bedford, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decisions. “I was part of the Sikh delegation involving the Sikh Council, Niskam Sewsk Jatha, UK’s leading Gurdwara representatives, councillors, Community, Charity, Voluntary Group representatives and business leaders when we

all met with Modi in 2015 during his London visit,” he said in a statement here. During the meeting, this issue was raised along with others, including removing names of 312 Sikh foreign nationals from the blacklist and releasing Sikh prisoners who have already served their sentences, Sekhon said. “Modi assured the group to look into all these demands raised in full depth and he listened to all the concerns raised in that meeting very carefully and took serious interest

in all the issues raised and discussed,” he said. “I would also like to thank the Indian High Commission, London for its positive role and organising that highly significant meeting,” Sekhon said.

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