The Asian Star-11th April 2015 by The Asian Star Newspaper

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Vol 14 Issue 11 Saturday, April 11, 2015

Tel: 604-591-5423

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LOCAL

2 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

Surrey shootings not my problem Mayor Hepner

leave to our very capable members ayor Linda Hepner of the RCMP.” Many people in the (pictured) calls the community seem to be in shock shootings low-level crime, sayover Hepner’s comments with a ing it’s more of a problem for the lot of them taking to social media. RCMP — not her office. “I am One person tweets “@LindaHenot the sheriff. I can’t do more pner is too busy with #transitplebthan that which we are doing, iscite to sweat the small stuff. Or which is getting those police on small ppl.” Another says “Even if the ground, responding to the she apologizes, the damage to her events, and actually doing some credibility is done.” Advocates from the Newsignificant preventative work,” says Hepner. ton and Port Kells Community Associations She points out the RCMP has 34 new offiare angry. “It makes me furious accers. Hepner feels crime, like these tually. I’m angry and exceptionally ‘I am not the dozen shootings, would be fastdisappointed. ” “We need reassurer-solved if witnesses and neighsheriff’ says ance from our mayor that she has bours spoke to investigators. She Linda Hepner, concerns about our safety.” says they are now looking at some and shootings sort of strategic change to deal are a problem with crime. “That’s what local gov- for the RCMP, ernment could come up with. Are not her office there policy changes that need to happen? The actual enforcement piece I will

We are finally hearing from the mayor of Surrey following a dozen shootings last month.

Surrey Council accused of taking down ‘no’ signs

he City of Surrey has been pulling “No TransLink Tax” signs from city property and the group that put them there is crying foul. For about the past two weeks, City of Surrey bylaw officers have been taking down signs opposing the ongoing transit referendum. bThe city is spending $300,000 in taxpayer dollars to get out the “yes” vote for a 0.5-per-cent hike in sales tax in order to pay for better transit and transportation projects. Jordan Bateman, the B.C. director for the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, has been working a spirited campaign against the plebiscite proposal – on a shoestring budget of $40,000. Cities in the region and TransLink are spending upwards of $7 million to promote a yes vote. Bateman says Surrey is being heavy-handed in using bylaw officials to further hammer down his meagre campaign initiative. “All of our signs are gone in Surrey unless they

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are on private property,” Bateman said. “We had a bunch near the Pattullo Bridge, we had some in the Green Timbers park area, a few on King George, a few on Fraser Highway.” He believes the city could be taken to court over the signs’ removal, but he says his group has neither the time nor the money to take on a publicly funded municipality. Surrey’s Manager of Bylaw Enforcement Jas Rehal confirmed that officers had taken down about 20 signs from public property in the city over the past two weeks. Mayor Linda Hepner said the signs had to come down because they were in direct contravention of city bylaws. “They can go on private property, just not on public space property,” Hepner said Wednesday. The City of Surrey sign bylaw does include language that permits signs in public spaces during elections. Asked if the “no” signs would qualify, as Elections BC is overseeing the transit referendum, Hepner said no. “I would think not, it’s a plebiscite, not an election,” Hepner said. The city is renting advertising space on bus shelters in public spaces promoting the yes vote, which Hepner said Bateman’s group is also entitled to do. There is also a “vote yes” sign in the window of city hall, which is also public property. “On city hall, yes,” Hepner said. “I don’t think you can define the ‘yes’ sign on city hall property the same way you can define the ‘no’ sign on public rights of way.” Johal said there have been no requests to put up a “no” sign at city hall. Asked if no campaigners would be allowed to post a sign if they asked, Rehal said “we would review that request accordingly.” Bateman wrote Hepner and the city on Thursday morning, lodging a complaint and asking for equal space in public facilities. “Despite the proliferation of hundreds of non-conforming, illegal and ugly signs throughout Surrey, ours were singled out for near-instant removal,” Bateman says in his email to Hepner. “We believe this is an inappropriate political statement by City of Surrey staff, fuelled by your support for

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Yet another shooting in Surrey / Delta

hots were fired at a house early Friday morning in the 11700-block of 96th Avenue at the Surrey/Delta border. No injuries have been reported. It’s the 13th shooting in Surrey since the beginning of March. Police are looking for a silver import, possibly a Honda Civic, which took off from the scene. “This investigation is in its early stages, however, and officers are still trying to determine whether this incident is targeted,” Surrey RCMP Sgt. Dale Carr said. “The occupants of the home are not known to police.” The Surrey RCMP learned of the shooting at 5 a.m.

www.theasianstar.com Vol 14

All the news you need and more...

Issue 11 Saturday, April 11, 2015

Tel: 604-591-5423

Two of the world’s top brands in one Surrey store - just for you Pg

South Asian ‘Bombshell Bandit’ jailed for four bank robberies in U.S

Check Inside for Details

Punjabi woman originally from India has been jailed for over 5 years in California for a string of armed bank robberies. Kaur, 24, (pictured) of Union City, California, was nicknamed the “Bombshell Bandit” and convicted of robbing four banks in three US states, has been sentenced to 66 months in prison. Kaur was sentenced in the federal district court in St. George in the US state of Utah on Tuesday, according to a St. George News report. Her attorney, Jay Winward, unsuccessfully requested for a lesser sentence for Kaur. Kaur pleaded guilty in January to four felony charges of bank robberies that occurred during

the summer of 2014. Kaur’s crime spree began in California and ended after robbing the US Bank in the city of St. George, and leading police officers on a high-speed pursuit to Nevada, where she was arrested after an hour-long stand-off. Winward asked the court for a sentence of 48 months. He told the court that Kaur was young, well-educated, capable of paying restitution, and had no prior criminal history. She was raised in a traditional Indian family and grew up feeling “trapped” and bullied, Winward said. She had run from an arranged marriage, to her boyfriend, whom she subsequently married. However, the relationship turned abusive, See story on page 6

“Who is the Sherrif in this town” Mayor is now trying to backtrack from her earlier statement that shootings in Surrey are not her problem and that she is not the Sherrif. “I was responding to questions that they were asking which were all of an operational nature, and I was trying to put that in context,” Hepner said. “I’m doing my very best from a policy perspective ... from the practical perspective, I can’t speak to it. I’m not the sheriff — that’s what I meant.” Hepner said she would rather leave such commentary “to the experts,” particularly Surrey’s “perfectly capable police force.” See earlier story on page 2

Modi looking forward to Canada visit

Happy Vaisakhi See story on page 9

Duffy’s scandal links to BC

enator Mike Duffy’s alleged frauds include a 2009 Senate-sponsored trip to attend the Saanich Fair on Vancouver Island. The Crown alleges Duffy did not attend the Fair but went to Vancouver, where he attended a play starring his actress daughter, billing taxpayers for his expenses. In 2010, the Crown alleges, Duffy made another trip west for what he billed to his expense account as “Senate business — speaking engagement and meetings.” It happened to be the same day his daughter gave birth in a Vancouver hospital and Duffy and his wife used the trip for a joyous family reunion — at taxpayers’ expense, the Crown alleges. Duffy has pleaded not guilty to 31 criminal charges including fraud, bribery and breach of trust. . See more Duffy on page 21

Indian “Marriages of convenience” called a threat in CBSA report

ractice of aborting female fetus & preference for male kids in Punjab also cited in the report More than a third of the applications to bring new spouses to Canada from India may involve bogus marriages, according to internal government documents made public on Tuesday. “Marriages of convenience” in India “have become a threat to the integrity of Canada’s immigration program,” states the 2013 report from the Canada Story continued on page 6

OPINION

4 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

Oil price collapse dampening B.C.’s goal for three LNG plants by 2020

export industry as a source of new tax revenues for the government and employment in the province. The province introduced new taxes and a limit on CO2 emissions for would-be LNG producers in the province in late October in the hope at least one project proponent would commission a multi-billion facility to chill natural gas into its liquid state for export to Asian markets. Sandra Steilo, a spokesperson for the province’s ministry of natural gas development, said the province “remains confident there is room for LNG development in British Columbia, and that it can happen alongside growth elsewhere.”

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“We want to ensure we have provided LNG proponents with the certainty required to make final investment decisions as quickly as possible, and we remain optimistic some of those decisions will be made as early as this year,” Steilo said. Malaysia’s stateowned oil company, Petronas Nasional Berhad, has said publicly it intends to make a final investment decision on its $11 billion Pacific Northwest LNG project near Prince Rupert, B.C. this year. The company did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. The Moody’s report predicted that “very few” of the companies deciding whether to commission a project in North America this year would choose to begin construction because of the fall in oil prices. “Lower oil prices are causing LNG suppliers to curtail their capital budgets and will result in the cancellation of the vast majority of the 30 proposals in the U.S., 18 in western Canada and 4 in eastern Canada,” the report said. Benchmark oil prices, which are used to negotiate LNG shipment contracts with Asian buyers, have fallen by roughly 50% since June 2014. On Tuesday, the West Texas Intermediate benchmark oil price closed at US$53.98, up US$1.84. Manabe said few Canadian LNG project proponents signed binding LNG off-take contracts with Asian buyers when oil prices were higher and as a result the economic and business cases underpinning those projects have weakened. At the same time, she said projects currently under construction in Australia and the U.S. could provide enough LNG to meet demand for Asian markets until at least 2020, and likely beyond.

www.theasianstar.com # 202 - 7028, 120th Street, Surrey, BC V3W 3M8 Ph: 604-591-5423 Fax: 604-591-8615 E-mail: editor@theasianstar.com Editor: Umendra Singh Associate Editor: Shruti Prakash Joshi Marketing and Sales: Ravinder S. Cheema..604-715-3847 Shamir Doshi..............604-649-7827 Harminder Kaur..........778-708-0481 Amritpal S. Grewal.....778-251-0306 Dal Sanghera.............604-591-5423 Parminder Dhillon.......604-591-5423 Pre-Press: Iftikhar Ahmed Contributing writers: Akash Sablok Kamila Singh Jay Bains Photographer: Chandra Bodalia

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 5

LOCAL

6 i Saturday, April 11, 2015 Story from Page 1...

Indian “Marriages of convenience” called a threat in CBSA report

order Services Agency’s enforcement and intelligence operations directorate. Applications involving Indian nationals engaged in phoney marriages “are constantly evolving and creatively testing the bounds of the Canadian immigration system.” The report, which cited statistics up to 2012, said it is “presumed” that there is a link between organized crime and the arrangement of phoney marriages. The broader problem of marriage fraud primarily involves applicants from 10 to 15 countries. The report identifies China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Guyana and Haiti as the “high risk” countries involving Canadian permanent residents sponsoring bogus spouses under the immigration system’s family-class section, according to Border Services. But the report said the problem appears to be “most prevalent” in India and it makes an unsubstantiated assertion that “it has been estimated that as much as 36 per cent of the spousal caseload” involving that country “may

be fraudulent.” The report offers suggestions to Border Services and Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials to detect fraud, but that advice was not released under provisions of the Access to Information Act protecting sensitive information. Nationally, the document shows that the refusal rate on spousal applications from all countries had been around 14 per cent from 2008 to 2011, but jumped to 17 per cent in 2012 when there were a little over 4,500 applications. The author also delves into the implications to Canada’s immigration system of sex-selection abortions, citing statistics showing that there are 940 females for every 1,000 males in India due to the preference for having male children. The report says the disparity is even wider in Punjab state, which is the main source of Indian migration to Canada, and notes that there are “reports” of a gender disparity within Indo-Canadian communities due to this phenomenon.

Story from Page 1...

South Asian ‘Bombshell Bandit’ jailed for four bank robberies in U.S

inward said. After making some money in the stock market, Kaur ended up in Las Vegas, acquiring a gambling addiction and becoming indebted to loan sharks, according to the attorney. He told the court that Kaur was not a run-of-the-mill criminal, but rather a “good, wholesome person who made some horrible decisions”. Kaur felt remorse, Winward said, and had been a model prisoner; and she had turned back to her religion. She was willing and capable of paying back the money she had stolen in the bank robberies, and could become a useful member of society, he said. Winward also said that even though Kaur threatened violence during the robberies, she was not a violent person and did not have a firearm or explosives during the robberies. However, prosecuting attorney Paul Kohler said that during the robberies, the bank tellers did not know Kaur did not have a weapon, and so were afraid for their lives.

The tellers were “trapped”, as were the families driving on the I-15 motorway during the police chase, and the police officers who responded. Before pronouncing the sentence, US District Judge Ted Stewart called the case “complex”, citing both the violence of Kaur’s crimes, and her intelligence and opportunities. Kaur graduated from high school at the age of 15, and from nursing school at 19, he said. However, the circumstances of Kaur’s life explained, but did not justify the crimes, the judge said, and did not warrant a lesser sentence. The public must be protected, he said. Besides serving 66 months in prison, Kaur was ordered to repay the $40,000 taken in the four robberies. According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kaur derives her nickname of “Bombshell Bandit” from the bomb threats she made during the robberies.

Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade set for Saturday

housands of spectators are expected at the Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade this Saturday. The annual event begins at 11 a.m. at the Ross Street Temple, located

in the 800-block Ross Street in southeast Vancouver. The parade will begin at the temple and travel south on Ross Street to Southeast Marine Drive before heading west to Main Street, and then north to 49th Avenue. From there, it will turn east to Fraser Street, south to 57th Avenue, and then east to Ross Street and end back at the temple. Spectators are advised to take public transit to the event.

OPINION

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 7

Hanuman Jayanti was celebrated on April4, last weekend, all over the world. Pictured above are devotees celebrating Hanuman Jayanti in Couitlam conducted by Pujya Shri Pandit Sharadchandra Shashtriji.

Sacramento Kings sign Canadian centre Sim Bhullar, NBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1st player of Indian descent

anadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sim Bhullar has become the NBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first player of Indian descent, signing a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings announced the deal Thursday. The seven-foot-five, 360-pound Bhullar was called up from the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NBA Development League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. The 22-year-old centre could make his debut Friday when the Kings host the New Orleans Pelicans. Bhullar was born in Toronto to Indian-born parents and played two seasons for New Mexico State. He twice won Western Athletic Conference tournament MVP and led the Aggies to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Undrafted last year, Bhullar joined the Kings in training camp before signing with Reno. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s averaging 10.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in the Bighornsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fast-paced system. Bhullar

has 11 double-doubles with Reno this season and had a triple-double with 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks on February 22 versus the Los Angeles Defenders. In his two seasons at New Mexico State, Bhullar averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 65 career games. He set a single-season school record for most blocked shots with 85 in 2012-13. Sacramento is intrigued by Bhullarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s size and heritage. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is the NBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Indian-born owner and is trying to expand the leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence in his native country. When the Kings announced in August that Bhullar would compete for a roster spot in training camp, Ranadive called India the NBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;next great frontier.â&#x20AC;? He said Bhullar â&#x20AC;&#x153;represents one of many that will emerge from that region as the game continues to garner more attention and generate ever-increasing passion among a new generation of Indian fans.â&#x20AC;?

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OPINION

8 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

Oil price collapse dampening B.C.’s goal for three LNG plants by 2020, Moody’s says

t is highly unlikely the government of British Columbia will realize its goal of having three LNG plants up and running on the West Coast by 2020, says a new report from Moody’s. The report released Tuesday also said the majority of the 18 liquefied natural gas projects proposed for construction in B.C. will be nixed as a result of the collapse in oil prices — which affects the price of new contracts for LNG shipments — and a coming glut of LNG production from places such as Australia. “The thing about the B.C. projects is they’re greenfield,” Moody’s senior vice-president Mihoko Manabe said in an interview. Each multi-billion-dollar project would need to be built from scratch at a higher cost than competing projects in the United States. “They’re in an area where there hasn’t been any LNG trade, which is different from the Gulf Coast, and they’re remote from the pipelines that will bring the supply,” she said. B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s government has championed the development of an LNG export industry as a source of new tax revenues for the government and employment in the province. The province introduced new taxes and a limit on CO2 emissions for would-be LNG producers in the province in late October in the hope at least one project proponent would commission a multi-billion facility to chill natural gas into its liquid state for export to Asian markets. Sandra Steilo, a spokesperson for the province’s ministry of natural gas development, said the province “remains confident there is room for LNG development in British Columbia, and that it can happen alongside growth elsewhere.” “We want to ensure we have provided LNG proponents with the certainty required to make final investment deci-

PST hike not the best way to pay for Metro Vancouver’s transit plans

ver the next two months, residents $7.5 billion, over three quarters of which is on of Metro Vancouver will vote “Yes” public transit projects, justified? or No” in a transit tax plebiscite, but 2) Do all of the planned public transit projthe proposed tax hike to finance what are mostects outlined in the plan offer the best value to ly public transit projects is at best questionable residents? from a transportation economics perspective. At 3) Were they shown to be superior to othworse, it could cause more harm than good. er less-expensive alternatives? The merit of If properly designed, built, maintained and the plan largely hinges on the answers to these operated, public transit systems can serve a vital questions. Even if we assume that the proposed role in enhancing mobility and accessiinvestments totalling $7.5 billion are inbility in dense metropolitan areas. Undeed justifiable and will transpire over fortunately, the overwhelming interthe next decade with no cost overruns, national evidence suggests that many this amount still does not represent the public transit systems are, in fact, imtrue cost. First, on an annual basis, exproperly designed, built and operated, perience elsewhere suggests that, once with disastrous results manifested in completed, we should expect at least an gross under-utilization and enormous additional 10 per cent of the total capital costs overruns, requiring further infucosts to go to maintenance and operatBy Joseph Berechsion of capital funding. ing costs, entailing an extra $750 milman Professor In general, the efficiency and effeclion per year over the effective life span of economics tiveness of public transit systems is loThe City Universi- of the projects (which, incidentally, is cation-based. While highly effective in more than the amount the proposed tax ty of New York densely populated areas, its accessibilihike will fetch). Second, transit systems ty and economic efficacy effects are reduced sigrequire periodical upgrading and use of new nificantly in sparsely populated, suburban-type technologies, suggesting additional upgrading locations, which typifies some communities costs each year. Then, depending on how the located at the outskirt of central cities, such as projects are financed, debt service costs must Vancouver. also be accounted for. Presently, the annual The tenet that public transit is always superior coupon rate on a 10-year government bond to other forms of transportation, mainly highfor British Columbia municipalities is 2.45 per ways, is simply wrong. In fact, it has been shown cent, which means an additional annual cost of that outside the central city, save for targeted almost $184 million. But these expenses still transit services, the capacity and quality of the do not cover the entire cost of the proposal road network provide superior accessibility and since taxation carries real efficiency and equity economic growth effects than public transit. costs to the region and its residents. Put simply, Before approving the proposed tax hike, resithe additional tax entails less revenue to comdents should ask: 1) Is this capital spending of mercial enterprises, less purchasing power for

consumers and a less attractive economy for out-of-region businesses and tourists. So these losses to the economy in the form of reduced sales, lost income and a less-competitive regional economy cannot be overlooked as they impose additional real costs caused by the proposed tax hike. Likewise, the regressive impact of an increase in a sales tax cannot be ignored; it means that low- and middle-income groups will pay a higher share of their income than more affluent groups. These intangible social costs cannot be disregarded. Given the expected revenues from hiking the PST, on the one hand, and the true total costs to the economy of the proposed transportation projects combined with the economic and social costs of the tax, on the other, one cannot escape the impression that it’s a poor deal. There are better ways to pay for capital-intensive transportation projects. This includes eliminating unnecessary and wasteful projects, a more rational pricing of transportation services (highways included) and rationalized user fees, the use of less distortive taxes, capitalizing on the positive impacts of the transportation projects such as an increase in property values, and the use of private-sector financing in the form of public-private partnerships. All of these options should be carefully considered before approving the proposed dubious tax hike in Metro Vancouver. Joseph Berechman is a Marvin Kristein professor of economics at CCNY, The City University of New York, and formerly the CN Chair Professor in Transportation and International Logistics at the Sauder School of Business (UBC). He has also published policy studies with the Fraser Institute.

sions as quickly as possible, and we remain optimistic some of those decisions will be made as early as this year,” Steilo said. Malaysia’s state-owned oil company, Petronas Nasional Berhad, has said publicly it intends to make a final investment decision on its $11 billion Pacific Northwest LNG project near Prince Rupert, B.C. this year. The company did not

the vast majority of the 30 proposals in the U.S., 18 in western Canada and 4 in eastern Canada,” the report said. Benchmark oil prices, which are used to negotiate LNG shipment contracts with Asian buyers, have fallen by roughly 50% since June 2014. On Tuesday, the West Texas Intermediate benchmark oil price closed at US$53.98, up US$1.84.

respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. The Moody’s report predicted that “very few” of the companies deciding whether to commission a project in North America this year would choose to begin construction because of the fall in oil prices. “Lower oil prices are causing LNG suppliers to curtail their capital budgets and will result in the cancellation of

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LOCAL

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 9

City of Surrey to chip in $35,000 for Surrey Vaisakhi Parade

ashmesh Darbar’s annual Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey will get financial relief in the form of $35,000 from the city of surrey to offset some of their whopping policing costs. “The city is planning to give us a total of $35,000,” said Dashmesh Darbar President Devinder Singh Grewal to The Asian Star in an interview. Grewal said the policing and other security costs of the annual parade are approximately $90,000, and getting some of it from the city will be a real help. The Annual Vaisakhi parade in Surrey which begins from the temple premises on 128th street and 85th Avenue in Surrey is one of the largest Vaisakhi parades outside of India with as many as 200,000 people visiting from other Canadian cities From page 1

as well as from the US. Though for this year’s parade, it would be business as usual, Moninder Singh, the temple spokesperson said, they are expecting a crowd larger than previous years. “Bus loads of people from California, and other US states are expected to attend this year and all our energies are dedicated towards making them feel welcome,” said Singh. There will be a total of 20 floats with the Canadian Army participating in a big way. “This year we will have large Canadian Military presence. They will bring out some their military vehicles and showcase them at our fair grounds so that more and more children and youth are educated about the Canadian Defence forces,” said premises on April 18, 2015 at 9:30 AM Singh. from temple premises and conclude at apThe parade will begin from the temple WU_IndiaPoster_Mar2015_AsianStar8x10.5.pdf 1 3/25/2015 11:47:35 AM proximately 4:00 PM. You can get more

Modi looking forward to Canada visit

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is excited about his trip to Canada. He wrote about the trip on his Facebook page. “The third part of my visit will take me to Canada, where I will be hosted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Prime Minister Harper played a key role in transforming India-Canada relations. He had visited India twice, the last visit being in November 2012. “Soon after Independence, Canada was one of our most important developing partners. Today, it has the potential to re-emerge as one of a key economic partner,” Modi wrote. Canada is one of the leading global economies and one of the richest in the world in terms of resources – oil and gas, minerals, agriculture, etc. It is a major centre for higher education, research and development and advanced technology. Canadian Pension Funds are among the most endowed funds in the world, and potentially a large source of long term investment funds, which can be productively channel into development of our infrastructure sector. It is important for our food security – 25% of our imported potash fertilizer and 40% of our imported pulses come from Canada, which is a staple food in India. Canada is one of the fastest growing destinations for higher education in the world for Indian students. Canada is also the first country to have completed the requirements of Civil Nuclear cooperation, having concluded the Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2010 and the Administrative Arrangement in November 2012. We look forward to resuming our Civil Nuclear Energy cooperation with Canada, especially for sourcing uranium fuel for our nuclear power plants. Whichever area of national priority we think of, Canada can be an important partner – energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, education, skill, research, food security, etc. The 1 million-strong Indian community in Canada represents India’s rich diversity and is making impressive contribution in all fields in Canada. I look forward to my official meetings in Ottawa

westernunioncanada.ca/india

information on road closures, parking and information about food preparation at www.surreyvaisakhiparade.ca.

H1_FFH_Asian Star_B_JrPg:Layout 1 09/03/15 11:20 AM Page 1

10 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

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Canada’s mortgage wars hit new low as fixed rate dips to 1.49%

Toronto-based credit union has upped the ante in the spring mortgage market rate wars, a development that is likely to make the country’s most expensive markets even hotter. Though the term is only for 18 months, Meridian, Ontario’s largest credit union, has offered what appears to be one of the lowest rates ever on a fixed term at 1.49 per cent. Rob McLister, the founder of ratespy.com, said he thought the new promotion from Meridian might have been a misprint at first. “Now we can say spring market is officially underway,” he said. “This is interest rate insanity.” McLister says over 18 months, based on the difference between the current five-year fixed rate mortgage, consumers will save $1,609 of interest per $100,000 of mortgage. He says that’s enough money to make people stop and think about signing up for the unusual term. Meridian is advertising its new rate as “the lowest known posted mortgage rate in Canadian history” but acknowledges the term may not appeal to everyone. Bill Whyte, chief member services officer for Meridian, said current funding costs make it possible for the credit union to drop its rates. “The economics are working right now. We are not publicly traded so, when we can, we offer rates and products that make sense for the membership base.” The product is only available to people in Ontario and, to get the offering, consumers must pay a $25 fee to join the credit union which has 67 branches throughout the province. The deal is not available online. As long-term rates continue to drop to previous unseen lows and the Bank of Canada forecast to drop its overnight lending rate again in the near future, some worry that cheap money is driving Toronto and Vancouver housing prices to unsustainable levels. This month Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and Genworth Canada both raised the premium on mortgage default insurance, which covers banks for any shortfalls in the event of default. The premium was raised for people with less than a 10 per cent down payment, a sector of the market considered the most at risk. Whyte said he is aware of how heated the Toronto market is so the credit union does “work closely” with members to understand the impact a rate hike could have if they were to spike at the end of 18 months. “We have to be prudent and make sure they are well qualified, stress test the mortgage.

Person of the week By Umendra Singh

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 11

Two of the world’s top brands in one Surrey store - just for you

ust in time for spring gardening and clean up, world class Husqvarna brand gardening and landscaping tools are available for you right here in Surrey. Perhaps the best known brand in the world for gardening, landscaping and forestry tools and equipment, Husqvarna has been in high demand for many decades. Look at the tools and equipment of the world’s largest forestry company, in the truck of your local landscaping company or peek inside your neighbor’s tool shed, chances are you will see that the majority of the tools and equipment have the Husqvarna brand name And now you can be a proud owner of a Husqvarna brand gardening or forestry tool or equipment too. MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd, known for selling NAPA auto parts in Surrey for many years, is now selling all types of Husqvarna brand products from its Surrey service centre at Unit 1 - 13177-76 Avenue in Surrey. A Company spokesman said the MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd is hoping to reach out to more customers so they can take advantage of the company’s huge service centre. “Sales and service, repairing and servicing small engines of any brand that is what we are all about. Whether it is parts of your cars and trucks or parts and equipment for your gardening, landscaping and forestry tools and equipment, we have the best of both worlds right here in Surrey for you,” he said. NAPA Auto Parts MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd has been selling quality NAPA auto parts and NAPA products in Surrey for past 25 years. NAPA by itself has quite a history in North America. The National Automotive Parts Association (“NAPA”) was created more than 85 years ago to meet America’s growing need for an effective auto parts distribution system. Today, almost all do-it-yourself customers recognize the NAPA brand name. And auto professionals swear by the NAPA

The sales and service centre of MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd. brand name. NAPA has a huge inventory of parts to offer. NAPA Auto Parts has a huge network of about 6,500 stores across North America; including the one in Surrey operated by MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd. NAPA Auto Parts stores offer over 422,000 quality parts for all types of automotive and industrial applications, as well as quality tools and accessories for all types of needs. And all of these parts and tools are available at MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies in Surrey. You can go a step further and search for parts, tools and accessories by keyword or by the NAPA part number on the NAPA website. Then create a shopping list, print it, and take it to your local NAPA Auto Parts store at unit 1 - 13177-76 Avenue in Surrey. The staff at the MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies in Surrey is very experienced and helpful - whether you need the right kind of oil for your vehicle or a hard-to-find part that is not available anywhere else. You

will likely find it here. Having established the NAPA Auto Parts in Surrey, MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd moved to a much larger sales and service location at unit 1 - 13177-76 Avenue in Surrey and brought in Husqvarna products to meet customer needs. The service centre repairs and services all kind and brands of small engines. Husqvarna Like NAPA Auto Parts, Husqvarna brand of tools and equipment are known for excellence. And MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd as the servicing dealer has both the experience and knowledge to know the forestry, landscaping and gardening issues inside out and help you with whatever you need. Husqvarna as a brand has been working alongside professional forest workers for over 50 years. But the company and Husqvarna brand itself has been around 325 years. Husqvarna is not only about forestry tools and equipment, though!

It is just as much about gardening and landscaping tools and equipment. “A big percentage of home buyers decide whether or not to look inside a house based on what it looks like from the outside,” says Michelle Sordi at Husqvarna, a world leader in outdoor power products. “Proper maintenance and investing in the right tools will make sure your house and lawn looks great at first glance and demonstrates to potential buyers how much you care for your home.” And Husqvarna tools and equipment will make your lawn and gardens look great! The best place in Metro Vancouver to tune up or repair and service small engines, no matter what the make, are MAG Auto & Industrial Service Supplies Ltd. At the same time, whether it is a lawnmower you need, a hedge trimmer, leaf blower, chainsaws for residential or commercial use, lawn and garden tractors, lawn sweepers or items such as gloves, ear protectors, helmets and boots, they are available in Surrey at MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd’s huge sales and service centre at unit 1 - 13177-76 Avenue. Forestry companies and contractors as well builders wanting to clear land will find all their needs met here too. The sales and service centre may be huge, packed with thousands of items, big and small, but service is on a friendly one to one basis. And the huge South Asian and Punjabi population in Metro Vancouver can get advice and service in their language and from one of their own community members. As we celebrate Vaisakhi and participate in the Vaisakhi parade, check out thousands of NAPA Auto Parts and Husqvarna products at the huge MAG Auto & Industrial Supplies Ltd sales and service centre at unit 1 - 1317776 Avenue, which is just to the east of the Vaisakhi route at 128th Street and 76th Avenue. Or call them at 604-543-7433.

12 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

Judge federal judge has stopped the government from deporting a Sri Lankan war criminal, ruling the former

LOCAL

stops government from deporting man who worked for Tamil Tigers as a tax collector member of the Tamil Tigers could be at risk if forced to return to his home country. In

a ruling released on the Federal Court website Friday, Justice Sean Harrington set aside Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s assessment that the man did not face any risk in Sri Lanka. The case concerns Puvanesan Thurairaja, who worked as a tax collector for the Tamil rebels before traveling to the United Kingdom. After Britain rejected his asylum claim, he arrived in Canada on a false passport. Canadian authorities ordered his deportation on the grounds he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who had collected taxes imposed by the rebels to finance the country’s long civil war. He had worked for the LTTE Records Office and Finance Department, knowing the rebels committed crimes against humanity and that those solicited for taxes faced harsh reprisals if they didn’t pay up. “He was one of the per-

secutors, not one of the persecuted,” Justice Harrington wrote in his decision. “Nevertheless, he is still entitled to Canada’s protection if return to Sri Lankan would expose him to danger.” The judge ruled that CIC’s assessment of the risks of returning him to Sri Lanka was unreasonable and “he may well be at risk if returned.” He ordered the department to reevaluate the risk decision. During the Sri Lankan conflict, Tamil Tigers front organizations operated a lucrative fundraising network based in Toronto. The war ended in 2009 when government forces wiped out the Tigers. Sri Lankans have since elected a new president, Maithripala Sirisena, who has said he plans to launch a long-awaited probe into allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses committed during the civil war.

Vancouver police shoot dead man on wild stabbing spree A man who stabbed three people in the Downtown Eastside Thursday is dead after being shot by police. Officers were called to the First United Church at East Hastings Street and Gore Avenue at about 5 p.m. with reports that a man was stabbing people, police say. One victim — a woman police say did not know her attacker — was in critical condition Thursday night. Witnesses at the scene said an argument between a group of men escalated late in the afternoon when one man pulled out a knife. Daniel Gorowski said he had just gone outside for a smoke near the First United Church at East Hastings Street and Gore Avenue when he saw a group of men walking down the sidewalk. Gorowski said they appeared to be friends, but were arguing. At one point, one of the men turned around to face the others and pulled out a knife. “He went crazy and started stabbing people,” said Gorowski, who was shaking after

the ordeal. The man with the knife stabbed one person from the group in the head while they were in the 300-block of East Hastings Street, then he slashed him on the side of his body, Gorowski said. The man also stabbed another man in the shoulder, he said. Gorowski then fled to the north side of the street, fearing he would be attacked next. “It was pretty scary,” said Gorowski, who recently moved to the area from Houston, Texas. From there, he called 911 as he watched the man attack one more person — a woman who was not part of the group. Another witness, Robert Kerr, told The Sun that the original altercation began with a disagreement about a bicycle. He said when officers arrived on the scene they tried to isolate the man with the knife. Officers fired multiple shots with a beanbag shotgun at the man in an attempt to control him, according to Vancouver Police Department spokesman Randy Fincham. But the man then turned to a woman who was standing

LOCAL

Suspicious death on property of UBC president Arvind Gupta

olice say a man’s body was found on the property of the official residence of the president of the University of British Columbia. University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British Columbia President Arvind Gupta is not the victim of a suspicious death being investigated at his home while he’s in China. RCMP Cpl. Brenda Winpenny of the UBC detachment says officers arrived at the campus residence of Arvind Gupta on Thursday

after someone on the property called police. She says officers have not yet determined how the man died, and she had no information yet on his identity or age. She confirmed the man was not Gupta. Investigators say the man’s death is suspicious and they are calling in specialized units from Lower Mainland RCMP to assist. Susan Danard, a spokeswoman at UBC, said Gupta is in China on university business.

Evergreen Line construction opens 3rd sinkhole

onstruction of the Evergreen rapid transit line has opened up a third sinkhole in the streets of Port Moody, B.C., officials have confirmed. The newest sinkhole forced the closure of the southbound lane on Clark Drive near Seaview Drive. Amanda Farrell, the executive project director for the Evergreen Line Project, said the hole opened up while the tunnel-boring machine was undergoing maintenance. “The size of it is about six me-

tres by six metres and possibly five metres deep. Crews are still assessing that,” she said. Crews are expected to continue working to fix it this morning, but it remains unclear how long that work will take, said Farrell. “I should have that information in the next day or so,” said Farrell. The first of the two sinkholes opened in the parking lot of a building on Chateau Place last fall, and a second appeared on Cecile Drive on Jan. 2.

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 13

Jealous Chinese woman poured super glue in nephew’s ears because she could not have a son Police say it’s a bizarre case of jealousy and of the cultural pressures of conceiving male offspring. The story unfolded in February 2013, when the parents of a seven-week-old boy took their wailing baby to the emergency department at the Richmond hospital. The doctor examining the baby found something blocking both his ears and it was later identified as super glue that needed to be removed through painstaking surgery. Mounties — who are only just releasing the details of the case now — say the baby’s aunt, Wei Wang, was charged and convicted in a B.C. court of aggravated assault last December. Wang, a 30-year-old Chinese National, was sentenced to four months in jail

and two months’ probation. According to a search warrant from August 2013, the baby lived in a home with his parents and their extended family. Several family members claimed sister-in-law Wei Wang was jealous of Baby Y because she had two daughters. They said in Chinese culture males were valued higher than females, and that Wang allegedly said she wouldn’t receive any inheritance if she didn’t produce a son. The victim’s father also claimed he’d found a needle stuck in his son’s car seat a few weeks earlier. RCMP Cpl. Chris Tarasoff says the case was extremely sad and emotionally trying for investigators, but the best result that they could have hoped for was that the child is expected to make a full recovery.

14 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

LOCAL

Surrey hit and run leaves senior with serious injuries

urrey RCMP want the public’s help in identifying the driver of a vehicle that hit an 85-year-old man then allegedly fled from the scene of the collision, leaving the senior seriously injured. According to the press release, a police officer was conducting a traffic stop in the 2600 block of 92nd Avenue on April 6 at 5:45 p.m. when he heard a noise. That’s when RCMP say the officer saw a silver car driving away, heading east on 92nd Avenue. The officer then saw a person lying on the road. The police say the officer tried to stop the fleeing vehicle however it failed to stop. The silver car was last seen travelling northbound on 128th Street through the intersection at 96th Avenue.

Surrey RCMP are looking for the driver of this Honda Civic. (RCMP)

On Wednesday, police said the victim is in stable condition and recovering. Investigators have released a photo of the car involved in the hit and run as it went through a red light at 96th Avenue and 128th Street. It’s a four-door Honda Civic and likely a 2013 to 2015 model. Police also say the car will likely have damage to its front end. “As the investigation continues to advance, we are appealing for the driver responsible to contact our investigators,” said Cpl. Bert Paquet of the Surrey RCMP. “In addition, we would like to speak to anyone who may have seen the Honda Civic or knows where the car or driver can be located.” Anyone with information should contact RCMP at 604599-0502, stating file number 2015-47247, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

BC Liberals make changes to traffic dispute process

he British Columbia government is moving ahead with its plan to shift traffic violation disputes out of the clogged court system. The change was first announced in 2012 as a way to speed up traffic dispute resolutions and to “create system efficiencies and make processes more accessible for citizens,” according to a statement from the ministry of justice. Instead of receiving a ticket, drivers will be handed an electronic driving notice. Then instead of having the option of challenging the violation in court, a driver would appear before a new driver notice review board. No more paper tickets “E-ticketing, coupled with a faster dispute resolution process, will mean that driver infractions will be recorded against driving records more quickly, thereby enabling interventions for high-risk drivers to be applied in a more timely manner,” according to the ministry. About 14 per cent of the 500,000 tickets issued each year in B.C. are disputed and the government says the new dispute system will save $8 to $11 million per year by freeing up court resources for other work. However, lawyer Kyla Lee says allowing a review board to handle traffic disputes is problematic because it “takes away all of the things that, as Canadians, we expect from our court.” “You have police officers who are entitled to detain you, they’re entitled to handcuff you if necessary and when they turn on their lights behind you, you are required by law to stop your vehicle and present your licence,” Lee told The Early Edition’s Rick Cluff. Concerns over lack of due process “So there’s a huge exercise of power over citizens and we need courts to keep a check and balance on that power.” Lee says disputing a driving notice under the new system will involve a three-part process. If the driver maintains innocence, they are obligated to provide evidence during a pre-hearing. After that, they will attend an actual hearing. Police must submit a sworn report as evidence, but if the officer who issued the driving notice can’t do it, another officer can, Lee said. “At the end of the day, the review board is going to determine how the hearing is going to take place, whether you get to cross examine the officer, whether the officer has to come, what evidence you can present — all of that is determined by the tribunal,” she said. “You don’t have the power to mount your own defence in the way that you want to.” The province says the planning and development of the electronic ticketing system is already underway. The new system for resolving traffic disputes out of court will follow at a later date.

LOCAL

Vancouver Park Board to

consider banning bottled water sales

ottled water in Vancouver parks, beaches and community centres could become a thing of the past as the Vancouver Park Board considers a proposal to ban sales and increase filling stations. Park board commissioner Michael Wiebe said he will put forward a motion next Monday. The rationale behind a ban is entirely environmental, he said. “We have amazing tap water in Vancouver and the waste of actually creating water bottles and the waste of the water bottles has been a big factor in what’s taking up our landfills,” he said. Coca Cola currently has exclusive rights to sell bottled water at all

park board facilities, but Wiebe said the contract will be up in November 2016. Under Wiebe’s proposal, there will be more fountains and filling stations at parks, and community centres would offer refillable water bottles to go with memberships. “It’s a way to get people around the idea that our water is safe,” he said. In 2009, the City of Vancouver eliminated the use of bottled water in civic offices. It had asked the Vancouver Park Board to follow suit, but the park board refused at the time because of concerns over revenue loss

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 15

Harper Government helps employees with disabilities return to work

r. K. Kellie Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, along with John Duncan, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Vancouver Island North, on Thursday announced in Port Alberni support to help employees return to work following a disabling injury or health issue. Under the Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) program, the National Institute for Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR) will receive $125,000 for a project that will improve return to work and dis-

ability management programs in federally regulated private-sector industries. WORBE is providing up to $500,000 annually for projects that aim to improve the representation of people with disabilities, women, Aboriginal peoples and members of visible minorities in federally regulated workplaces. While the representation of employees with disabilities has more than doubled since 1987, they remain under represented in the workforce. There are approximately 800,000 working-aged Canadians with disabilities who are not working, but whose disability does not prevent them from doing so.

LOCAL

16 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

Accused in alleged Toronto bomb plot asks Pakistani diplomats to bail him out and help him leave Canada

Pakistani man (pictured) being held at an Ontario prison for allegedly plotting to bomb the U.S. consulate in Toronto has asked his country’s diplomatic mission to help bail him out and return him to his home country. Jahanzeb Malik has written to the Consulate General of Pakistan in Toronto through his lawyer Anser Farooq, arguing that his case should be “of the highest priority” and asking for “any assistance you may be in a position to advance. “This assistance can be in the form of financial, and/or bonds person’s [sic] required to secure his release from detention pending the inadmissibility hearing, and/ or securing safe passage and resettlement of Mr. Malik in Pakistan.” The Pakistani High Commission in Ottawa did not respond to requests for comment on the March 19 letter, obtained by the National Post. Although Malik has lived in Canada since 2004, when he arrived on a student visa, he is a citizen

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of Pakistan. He was arrested on March 9 following a six-month undercover investigation by the RCMP’s Ontario Integrated National Security Enforcement Team. He has not been charged with any crimes but is being held for deportation. March 16 At an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing, the Canada Border Services Agency alleged Malik had made several trips abroad since arriving in Canada, most recently to Libya, where he claimed he had been teaching. But he later told an undercover police officer who befriended him that he was a supporter of al Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and that he had received combat and weapons training in Libya, the CBSA said. He also claimed to have had personal contact with Anwar Awlaki, the late al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula leader, and said he supported the terrorists who attacked a Paris satirical magazine.

South Asian immigration consultant 88 charges for forging papers to get visas

Toronto immigration consultant has been charged with 88 counts for allegedly forging employment letters to obtain visas for religious workers, the Canada Border Services Agency said Friday. Nageshwar Rao Yendamuri was arrested April 2 following a 14-month investigation. He was released on a $100,000 bond and ordered not to engage in employment related to immigration or citizenship. “Yendamuri is accused of submitting to Citizenship and Immigration Canada multiple immigration applications on behalf of religious workers for temporary resident visas, visitor extensions and visitor status restoration, supported by employment verification letters that he forged

and/or fabricated,” the CBSA said. A registered immigration consultant, he faces 44 charges of misrepresentation under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as well as another 44 criminal charges for forgery and using forged documents. He remains on the registry of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council but Daniel Roukema, the director of communications, said the body would be launching an investigation. “We will be conducting our own review,” he said, adding the regulatory agency was unaware of the CBSA investigation until it was announced. Citing confidentiality, he would not disclose whether Yendamuri had been the subject of complaints.

LOCAL

Fuel oil spill from freighter in Vancouver harbour

suspected spill of bunker fuel oil from a grain freighter in English Bay has triggered a cleanup operation, as well as questions about the effectiveness of the emergency response. Port Metro Vancouver spokesman John Parker-Jervis said the port received reports around 5 p.m. Wednesday of oil in the water and dispatched a boat that confirmed it. But there was no immediate move by the Canadian Coast Guard – the lead response agency – to call in the Western Canada Marine Response Corp. (WCMRA) to deploy booms to contain the spilled fuel. That didn’t begin to happen until 8 p.m. Wednesday evening, and it was six hours before containment booms were in place

around the suspect vessel, the grain freighter Marathassa. “It initially was deemed unrecoverable because it was quite a light sheen,” Parker-Jervis said. “But as the evening progressed they found heavier concentrations where it began to be deemed as something that could be recovered so booms were put in place and skimmer vessels of Western Canada Marine Response Corp. began their operations.” Five WCMRA skimmer boats worked to contain the oil from Wednesday night through Thursday. Initial estimates from the Coast Guard peg the spill at 2,800 litres, with half that amount recovered as of Thursday afternoon. The Marathassa has denied responsibility. Despite the containment efforts, large slicks extended to shore, where cleanup volunteers were finding tar balls and oiled seaweed. A Vancouver Aquarium team was gauging damage to marine life. Crews also moved to intercept oil that was migrating around Stanley Park towards the North Shore and Lions Gate Bridge as of Thursday afternoon. The City of Vancouver issued warnings early Thursday that the spilled fuel oil is toxic and people on the water or beaches should avoid it.

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Joe Oliver says ‘balanced budget’ legislation avoids repeating ‘mistakes’

oe Oliver won’t table his next budget for two more weeks, t the federal finance minister announced today that he’ll table a second bill this month — one to force future governments to keep their books in the black. The 2015-16 budget is expected to be the Harper government’s first balanced budget in eight years. Speaking to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto, Oliver said the legislation would include: Deficits only in response to a recession or “extraordinary circumstance, that is, war or natural disaster, with a cost exceeding $3 billion in a year.” A requirement for the finance min-

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ister to testify before the Commons finance committee within 30 days of a published deficit to present a plan and “concrete timelines” to return to balanced budgets. A freeze on operating spending and a five per cent wage freeze for cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, following a published deficit. An automatic operating freeze if a finance minister posts a deficit outside of these “extraordinary circumstances.” Contrary to recent suggestions that his next budget might include some new vote-boosting stimulus spending, the finance minister said Canada “could not and cannot spend our way to prosperity.”

New Express Entry immigration system slow off the mark

ess than half of immigrants to Canada this year will be selected through the much-vaunted new Express Entry system introduced by the Conservative government, which promised to match skilled,ALL economic migrants with employers’ REPAIRS needs. So far, slightly more than 6,850 prospective immigrants have been invited to apwith this coupon ply for permanent residency under Express expires Dec. 31 Entry. It will not be until 2017, two years after its launch, that a majority of immigrants are processed through the new system, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said. The shift to the new economic immigration system was announced in 2012 and has been in place since Jan. 1. In its 2015 immigration levels plan, the Citizenship and Immigration ministry pledged to accept 260,000 to 285,000 new permanent residents, about two-thirds of them economic migrants. To meet that target, the government needs to admit about 22,500 immigrants a month, about 10 times

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the number that are admitted through Express Entry at present. Most new immigrants this year will have to be selected through the old system, which was criticized because it was slow and operated on first-come, firstserved basis. “CIC is in a period of transition with recent implementation of Express Entry that will span approximately two years,” said Johanne Nadeau, a Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman. A majority of economic immigrants arriving in 2015 will be drawn from the pool of people who applied to enter Canada in the years before Express Entry was introduced, Ms. Nadeau said. It is not clear exactly how large a portion of overall immigration will come from Express Entry candidates, or whether the pace at which invitations are issued will increase. CIC would not say whether it has annual targets or expectations for Express Entry admissions at this point.

NATIONAL

Mike Duffy edited Senate residency declaration to remove word ‘primary’

Mike Duffy claimed Senate expenses before starting job

ike Duffy wasted no time claiming his first Senate expense: the newly announced senator from Prince Edward Island put in for the daily $81.55 living expense as of Dec. 23, 2008, one day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the appointment via a press release. And while Harper announced on Dec. 22 that he was naming Duffy to the Senate, the appointment wasn’t official until Jan. 2, 2009, according to the Senate’s website.Duffy claimed the living expense twice in the two weeks before the appointment was official. The claims were for days he spent in the Ottawa-area home he’d owned for five years. The records also show Duffy expensed a trip to Charlottetown from Dec. 29, 2008 to Jan. 4, 2009. His calendar notes he and his wife applied for driver’s licences. The calendar notes an appointment that same day with the then clerk of the Senate and an official from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding “property documentation.” A previously released record includes a Jan. 6, 2009, memo from a Conservative Senate staffer regarding the qualifications for being a senator. Senators are required to be resident in the provinces from which they’re appointed, as well as to own property in the province. The appointments in the calendar suggest Duffy was concerned about showing he was qualified to sit as a senator from Prince Edward Island. Expenses questioned from start The records also suggest Duffy’s expenses, including those for alcohol, had been questioned by finance officials from the very beginning. An assistant to Duffy filed housing expense claims for the 31 days in January 2009, his first official month as a senator. The portion of the claim for his Kanata, Ont., home was worth $25 a night — a total of $775. Duffy bought the house in the Ottawa suburbs in 2003, according to property records, and has lived in Ottawa since the mid-’70s. His assistant also filed an additional ex-

Mike Duffy ‘probably ineligible’ to be P.E.I. senator, Crown argues

Crown attorney prosecuting Senator Mike Duffy’s fraud and bribery trial has contradicted Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s position on who is eligible to sit in the Senate for a particular province. Mark Holmes laid out the broad strokes of the Crown’s case against Duffy in an Ottawa courtroom Tuesday morning. One of the sets of charges involves living expenses and alleges Duffy defrauded the government by claiming his primary residence was in Prince Edward Island while he actually lived in Ontario. Senator Duffy was probably ineligible to sit as a senator, and to sit in the Senate as a representative of Prince Edward Island,” Holmes told the court. “He was constitutionally eligible to have been appointed from the province of Ontario, but that is not what happened.” Harper named Duffy to the Senate to represent P.E.I. in late 2008, despite the fact Duffy had lived in the Ottawa area for decades. Duffy was a well-known former TV broadcaster who went on to be featured prominently at Conservative events and in promotional materials.

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 21

pense claim for the month, which included the cost of a hotel in Charlottetown — in the province he’d declared as his primary residence — and a per diem for 19 days of meals in Ottawa. The meal expenses amounted to $1,549.45. The expense claim also included the cost of meals in Charlottetown on the same trip for which he claimed the hotel reimbursement. Mortgage paid off A Feb. 23, 2009, memo from his assistant to a Senate finance official explained the hotel cost was due to wintry roads in Prince Edward Island.“The house in Cavendish is snowed in,” the assistant wrote. “Also, when his visits are short (for the weekend or something) he prefers to stay closer to the airport in order to arrive on time.”

or outside 100 kilometres of Parliament Hill. The 100-kilometre mark is the determining factor in whether a senator can claim reimbursement for meals and accommodation, which is worth up to $22,000 a year. The form provides check boxes next to two options: “my primary residence is within 100 kilometres from Parliament Hill” or “my primary residence is more than 100 kilometres from Parliament Hill.” Duffy crossed out both references to “primary,” checked both boxes, and indicated his “NCR [National Capital Region]” residence was within the bounds defined by the Senate, and that he also had a residence outside the territorial limit, labelling it “P.E.I.” On the line regarding owning a secondary residence in the capital, Duffy scratched out “secondary” so the line read “I own a [redacted] residence in the NCR and meet the above conditions” for claiming living expenses in Ottawa.

ike Duffy turned his finely honed journalism skills to editing the Senate’s residency declaration form at the height of the 2013 uproar over his spending, crossing out “primary” and “secondary” in the descriptions of his homes in Kanata, Ont., and Cavendish, P.E.I. As the Senate scandal exploded around Duffy, Liberal-appointed senator Mac Harb and Conservative-appointed senators Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau regarding their expense claims, the members of Parliament’s Upper Chamber still had to turn in their annual paperwork to the Senate regarding where they lived. On Duffy’s form, which a stamp shows was received by the Senate’s finance directorate on May 22, 2013, the now-suspended senator checked off both options to declare whether his primary residence was within

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Business / Finance

24 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

Harper rejects stimulus to help economy, vows balanced budget

tephen Harper is making it clear there’s pretty much nothing that will keep him from balancing the federal budget this fiscal year. The prime minister has slammed the door on the possibility the government would open the vault for a stimulus program to help the economy — which has been weakened by lower oil prices Former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin took aim at the Conservative fiscal record in an interview with CBC Radio’s The House on the weekend, calling for a stimulus program to lift the economy. Speaking in North Vancouver, Harper said it makes absolutely no long-term economic sense to launch a major stimulus program

that would drive the country back into deficit when the economy is still growing, albeit at a slower rate. Harper’s remarks come shortly after the government unloaded its multibillion-dollar stake in General Motors. The sale Monday of 73.4 million GM shares is expected to help the Conservatives achieve their long-running pledge to balance the upcoming election-year budget. Harper has repeatedly insisted the government will erase the deficit in the April 21 budget despite the oil slump — a promise that could be key to his re-election chances in the October vote.

Low dollar enticing American property buyers in B.C., real estate agents say

merican buyers enticed by the low Canadian dollar are scooping up B.C. properties, according to several luxury market real estate agents. Jonathan Cooper, vice-president of operations for the Macdonald Realty Group, says he has anecdotally seen a resurgence of Americans interested in Vancouver homes. “There was activity from all nationalities around the Olympics, but especially because of our proximity to Washington state, a lot of Americans were here at that time... talked to agents, went to open houses,” he says. “They’re high net-worth families who have heard about Vancouver, love how beautiful it is ... and yeah, it’s a second home for vacation purposes.” And now they’re coming back, said Malcolm Hasman, another real estate agent based in Vancouver. “Most of the Americans buying are using the property for two to three months a year for the summer months and coming during

the winter to go to Whistler ... that market is increasing,” he said. “This year has been a very good year if you look at January, February, March ... where we are in April ... I can tell you my luxury market is having one of its best years in the last 10 years.”

Different rules for foreign buyers

Still, Cooper says foreign buyers play by different rules. “American or other offshore buyers need to make sure the funds for the down payment are on shore or within a Canadian bank 30 days before closing which isn’t a requirement Canadians face,” he says. However for property owners putting their homes on the market, the takeaway is that whether it’s an American buyer or a local, they need to appeal to a wide market. “You just simply don’t know if your buyers are going to be coming in from the United States, coming in from Asia.”

Canada’s economy gains 28,700 jobs in March

tatistics Canada reported Friday that most of the job gains were in part-time work. The jobless rate was unchanged at 6.8 per cent. Canada’s economy lost 28,000 fulltime jobs during the month, but that was offset by an increase in 57,000 part-time positions. While not a sign of booming growth, the number was far higher than the “no change” consensus of economists surveyed, according to Bloomberg. Given slumping oil prices, which have compelled several energy companies to lay off people, and the recent failures of a number of large retailers, the addition of almost 29,000 new jobs was a surprise for some. “The headline Canadian employment number is much better than expected,” Scotiabank said in a research note after the num-

bers came out. “There are more payroll employees and fewer self-employed in March, a trend we view as positive.” Most of the gains were concentrated in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. All other provinces saw little change in the jobs picture, except P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, which lost jobs Alberta added almost 20,000 part-time jobs, but that figure was offset by a loss of 18,400 full-time jobs during the month.

Business / Finance

Canada’s luxury home market driven by baby boom generation

he baby boom generation continues to wield strong influence in Canada’s luxury housing market, both by contributing to down payments for their children and by trading up to more expensive homes, according to a report from Sotheby’s. There are 9.6 million people born between 1946 and 1965 — almost 30 per cent of the Canadian population, according to the report from Sotheby’s International Realty Canada released Wednesday. Now in their 50s and 60s, the boomer buyers of luxury homes tend to have incomes of about $300,000 to $500,000 annually. So it’s no surprise they can afford the price of entry to traditional luxury neighbourhoods, even in Vancouver and Toronto, where $1 million buys only a modest detached home. But there are some surprises in where they spend their money: In the luxury market their idea of ‘right-sizing’ is buying a 3,000-square-foot condominium, but

all on one level, or possibly buying a bigger home in a better neighbourhood with room for elderly relatives or adult children who still live with them.

Traditional tastes

Better neighbourhoods for the boomers are traditional luxury areas (Forest Hill in Toronto, Shaughnessy in Vancouver), filled with people just like them, Sotheby’s reports. Because they entered the housing market years ago, the boomers have benefited from the steep run-up in housing prices and are able to spend more than younger buyers. The typical price range of luxury property purchased is $2-5 million in Vancouver, $1-4 million in Calgary, $2-4 million in Toronto and $1.5-2 million in Montreal. By contrast, generation X and generation Y choose more diverse neighbourhoods. For those aged 36 to 50 (generation X), choosing a home close to good schools or that reflects their newfound affluence is more important.

Thieves steal $8.5 million worth of gold from Canadian-owned mine in Mexico

rmed robbers stole $8.5 million worth of gold from a refinery at a mine in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, a Canadian mining firm says. Toronto-based and TSX-listed McEwen Mining Inc. says the theft occurred Tuesday at the company’s El Gallo 1 mine. Thieves made off with 900 kilograms (almost 2,000 pounds) of gold-bearing concentrate containing approximately 7,000 ounces of gold. The company said Tuesday that the crime was being investigated by Mexican authorities. “The Company maintains insurance against these types of incidents and is working closely with its insurance carrier to determine the extent of available cover-

age,” the company said in a media statement. “However, the Company’s policy will not be sufficient to cover the entire expected loss.” The Toronto-based company has operations in Mexico, Nevada and Argentina. Based on its current stock price, the company is worth about $364 million. The company is led by, Rob McEwen, who owns 25 per cent of the shares that bear his name. McEwen is best known as the man who steered Vancouver-based Goldcorp from a collection of smaller companies into the 4th-largest gold mining company in the world

Oil price drops 6% as inventories jump more than expected

he price of a barrel of the North Amer- million barrels higher than what’s normally ican oil benchmark sank six per cent in storage this time of year, based on data on Wednesday after new data showed oil in- from the last several decades. Analysts had been expecting a bleak numventories are rising to the highest levels on record. West Texas Intermediate was trading ber, but not this bad. Inventories increased by at $50.91 US a barrel on Wednesday, down almost 11 million barrels last week. A consen$3.07 or more than six per cent. The decline sus of analysts polled by Bloomberg had been came a day after oil hit a 2015 high on Tues- expecting a figure closer to four million barday. The catalyst for Wednesday’s sell-off was rels.“The report is very bearish with the large crude oil inventory build,” new data from the U.S. Department of Energy est said John Kilduff, partner at h that showed the country now has 482 g i oh Again Capital LLC in ise t 01, r million barrels of oil in stors orie nce 20 t n e New York.Existing oil age. That’s a jump of more Inv evel si . l U.S d wells are pumping out n a than 10 million barrels and ies pan g out m more oil than ever, as o c the highest level since 2001. pin pum re oil companies try to pay p Beyond the oil in storage, kee en mo v their bills. But at the e the new data showed that U.S. same time, they are shutting down oil producers continue to pump an unprecedented number of oil rigs, as the out more oil than they ever have. chart above shows.The Saudis also added to Output increased by 9.4 million barrels during the month of March, the Energy the oil glut, as the world’s largest oil producDepartment said. Gasoline in storage also er announced early Wednesday that it proincreased by 817,000 barrels, surprising an- duced a record 10.3 million barrels per day alysts who had been expecting a decline of in March. “With such a level of OPEC production it about a million barrels. April is typically a month when inventories build up in prepara- will be difficult to escape large stock-builds tion for the busy summer driving season. But throughout the year,” analyst Olivier Jakob at current inventory levels are more than 100 Swiss-based Petromatrix said.

Saturday, April 11, 2015 i 25

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NRI Indian woman jailed for 20 years in USA for killing her fetus

urvi Patel was afraid of the lifeless fetus and the blood that gushed out of her and onto her bathroom floor one summer evening in July 2013, but she was even more afraid to tell her strict Hindu family she had fallen pregnant during an affair with a married co-worker. In a panic, she swathed the fetus in towels and a plastic bag and hid it in a dumpster near her family’s restaurant in Mishawaka, Indiana. Later that night, Patel arrived at the local hospital with a severed umbilical cord and placenta still stuffed in her womb. Prosecutors charged her with felony neglect and feticide — an act that causes the death of a fetus — and a jury convicted her in February. This week, nearly 20 months after the incident, the 33-year-old Patel was sentenced to 30 years prison with 10 suspended for what she still maintains was a miscarriage. Patel is first woman in America to be charged, convicted, and sentenced for attempting to kill an unborn fetus. To this day, experts have not been able to determine how many weeks pregnant she was at the time of the incident. Some doctors have said the fetus was only 23 or 24 weeks old and incapable of breathing on its own. For advocates of women’s reproductive rights, her case underscores the ongoing criminalization of free choice, and sets a dangerous precedent for women who seek support and medical care for unwanted pregnancies and miscarriages.

Indian gets 30-month jail for helping to dispose of body

n Indian national here was sentenced to 30 months in jail for his role in hiding the evidence of a crime by helping his friend to dispose of his murdered wife’s body. Gursharan Singh, 27, yesterday admitted to helping compatriot Harvinder Singh evade punishment and failing to report to police the murder of latter’s wife in December 2013, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday. The court heard that Gursharan agreed to help Harvinder move “some belongings” on December 11, 2013. Harvinder, 35, who is now on the Interpol wanted list, had packed a black canvas bag which was then moved from his rented room to a river in a nearby public housing estate. Gursharan realised that there was a body in the bag only when he had helped Harvinder lift it near a pedestrian bridge. The bag was disposed in the Whampoa River. Subsequently, Harvinder had told him his wife, Jasvinder Kaur, 33, had died after he had punched her on her neck during a dispute. Harvinder had stuffed the body into the bag and wanted to dispose it “so that no one would know what he had done to her”, Assistant Public Prosecutor Prakash Otharam said. Kaur’s body was found floating in the waterway on the morning of December 12. Gursharan faced a jail sentence for up to 10 years and a fine for causing evidence of an offence to disappear. District Judge Siva Shanmugam said Gursharan’s action were intended to pervert the administration of public justice. Even after learning that Harvinder intended to dispose of the bag with the body in it, Gursharan continued to “actively assist him”, the Judge noted. “The accused had screened Harvinder from the law knowing that he had committed murder,” Shanmugam said.

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Fighter jet deal on Modi’s French agenda

rime Minister Narendra Modi may try to reach a breakthrough on a major defence deal during his ongoing visit to France, media reports say. France is hoping to sell 126 Rafale fighter jets to India, but the $12 billion deal has yet to be finalised. Modi is in France on the first leg of a three-nation tour which also takes in Germany and Canada. The Indian PM will hold talks with President Francois Hollande and meet business leaders. Indian media report the government is mulling a direct purchase of a smaller number of fighter jets to replace its ageing fleet. The Indian government is “seriously considering a strategic purchase of up to 40 Rafales for the Indian Air Force” due to “operational necessity”, with further purchases later. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted by

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Modi was received by French Minister of State for Sports Thierry Braillard

The Economic Times as saying that “movement” on a deal was likely during Mr Modi’s visit. A highlight of Modi’s trip to France will be boat ride with Mr Hollande on the Seine river. Modi will also visit the World War One memorial and pay tribute to Indians who lost their lives fighting alongside France.

Satyam scam: Raju gets 7 yrs in jail, fined Rs 5.5 cr for fraud

ourt has sentenced the former head of Satyam Computers (pictured) and nine others to seven years in prison in one of the country’s biggest ever corporate scandals. B Ramalinga Raju, who founded the software services giant, denied charges of conspiracy, cheating and forgery but admitted to accounting malpractices. Raju was also fined $800,000. The collapse of Satyam Computers in 2009 cost shareholders more than $2bn and rocked India’s IT industry. It is the biggest fraud at a listed company in India. The convicted men are expected to appeal. The maximum sentence Raju faced was life in jail.

Satyam was one of the biggest players in the booming Indian software market. The jobs of 50,000 Satyam workers were only saved after the government intervened. Another Indian firm, Tech Mahindra, bought a controlling stake in the company in April 2009. “All the accused have been convicted of almost all charges,” prosecutor K Surender told reporters outside court, Those convicted include two brothers of Raju. The scandal emerged in January 2009 when Raju, one of the pioneers in the Indian IT industry and Satyam’s founder and then chairman, confessed to manipulating his company’s accounts.

FIJI

First case of deadly virus

iji has recorded its first case of the mosquito-borne virus, chikungunya. This has prompted the Health Ministry to issue an alert calling on people displaying dengue-like symptoms to present themselves to the nearest health centre or hospital in an effort to minimise risks of the virus spreading in the country.Since 2011, the virus has caused 16 deaths and hospitalised 957 people in the Pacific region.About 93,000 people in the Pacific are suspected of having contracted the virus and 4600 have been confirmed so far.National Adviser for Communicable Disease Dr Mike Kama said the country’s first case was recorded after a foreigner who had already been infected with chikungunya, prior to entering the country, sought medical treatment last week. “As far as we know, this is the first reported case of the virus,” Dr Kama said. “The infected person presented himself

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at the Nadi Hospital and after primary analysis was then transferred to the Lautoka Hospital for treatment.“He has since been cleared and has returned home.”Dr Kama said although there were some risks of the virus being spread if the victim had been bitten by mosquitoes while in the country — chances of this happening were very low. “This has also been backed up by the fact that we have been conducting tests on mosquitoes from Nadi and Lautoka and we have also sent 800 samples from people who presented themselves to hospitals with dengue or chikungunya-like symptoms and they have all returned negative.”Dr Kama said chikungunya symptoms were similar to dengue and people with fever and severe joint pain, muscle pain, headaches, nausea, fatigue and rash should visit their health centre.

Young girls face extortion, claims Fiji Women’s Crises Centre

ictures of some young girls and members of the gay community in compromised positions have surfaced online with perpetrators blackmailing victims for sex or money. This was revealed yesterday by the co-ordinator of the Fiji Woman’s Crisis Centre, Shamima Ali, as the centre recorded reports from some young girls and members of the gay community being ridiculed and bullied by those circulating their photos. And this has prompted the centre to issue renewed calls for the vulnerable to limit their use of social networking sites to useful things only. “Gay people are being bullied by some people who are friends with them on Facebook. Some people are gay and they don’t want to come out because the time is not right for them,” Shamima said. She said some people who were aware that

a particular person was gay and his family did not know about it would go on Facebook blackmailing the person who is gay that he/ she would tell everyone of their sexual status. “Facebook is a good thing. It should be used to improve knowledge and young people have to be very careful of what they do on Facebook.”She said for perpetrators, social networking sites were like a playground. “People stalk others profiles and social networks was a playground for perpetrators to exploit young people and abuse their innocence.”She said young girls, especially those in schools, should be very careful who they chat with.“They should not go out to meet them, share their details or send pictures of themselves.” She also called on police to publicise cases of cybercrimes and use them as a tool for advocacy in schools and communities.

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32 i Saturday, April 11, 2015

he Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed the arrest order of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, 55, the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks case, by the Punjab government under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and ordered his immediate release, drawing angry reaction from India. This is the fourth time since December

Court orders Lakhvi’s release 2014 that Lakhvi has had a brush with freedom without actually being released - the previous ones being on December 18, 2014, then Dec 29, 2014, and March 13 this year. On Thursday, New Delhi once again reacted angrily, saying such developments constitute

a real threat to not just India but the world. “Our concerns on this issue have been made known to the Government of Pakistan in the past. These shall be reiterated. The fact is that known terrorists not being effectively prosecuted constitutes a real security threat for India and the world,” said foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin. “This also erodes the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to us with regard to cross border terrorism?,” he added. Since last December, when Islamabad’s anti-terrorism court ordered Lakhvi’s release on bail in the Mumbai attacks case, the government has been keeping Lakhvi, 55, behind bars under one pretext or the other in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. Accepting Lakhvi’s plea against his fourth detention order, justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq struck down the Punjab government’s order issued for his detention on March 14

following his release by the Islamabad HC a day earlier. The Punjab government said Lakhvi was detained on basis of sensitive information provided by intelligence agencies. The court had directed the provincial government on Tuesday to produce the secret reports, if any, against Lakhvi. The records submitted by the government, according to Lakhvi’s counsel, was the same presented earlier in the Islamabad High Court. The court upheld the stance that if this sensitive information was reliable, the Islamabad HC would not have accepted Lakhvi’s bail. Justice Anwarul Haq said evidence provided by the government could not satisfy the court. While issuing his release orders, the judge directed the accused to submit surety bonds worth Rs 20 lakh. Lakhvi was arrested in December 2008 from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)’s headquarters in Muzaffarabad and the case against him and six co-accused was registered in February 2009.

Pak judge wants CIA lawyer & officer charged for drone strike

Pakistani judge on Tuesday ordered that criminal charges be filed against a former CIA lawyer who oversaw its drone program and the one-time chief agency operative in Islamabad over a 2009 strike that killed two people. Former acting general counsel John A Rizzo and ex-station chief Jonathan Bank must face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism and waging war against Pakistan, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court ruled. A court clerk and a lawyer involved the case, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, confirmed details of the judge’s ruling. Rizzo and Bank could not be immediately reached for comment. The CIA will have no comment, spokesman Chris White told The Associated Press. The legal action comes as the number of CIA drone strikes in Pakistan has fallen precipitously from their 2010 high, amid signs that the US and Pakistan have been more closely cooperating on counter terrorism is-

sues after years of tensions. It is unclear how the criminal charges will affect that cooperation, even though the defendants will almost certainly never see the inside of a Pakistani courtroom. The only way the case could go forward is if US officials cooperate with the Pakistani court, which is inconceivable given that the drone strikes were carried out under a program ordered by two successive US presidents. The case recalls legal charges brought by an independent magistrate in Italy against CIA officers involved in the 2003 kidnapping of a terror suspect. Nine Americans were convicted but none returned to Italy to face the charges. Bank was sent home from Pakistan in 2010 after his cover was blown when a Pakistani man named Kareem Khan initially threatened to sue the CIA and others for $500 million over the deaths of his 18-year-old son, Zaenullah Khan, and his brother, Asif Iqbal, in a purported Dec. 31, 2009, strike on the North Waziristan tribal region.

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Malaysia revives detention without trial with new law

alaysia has revived detention without trial after its lower house passed an anti-terror law that rights groups say is a giant step backward for human rights. The government says the measures were needed after it arrested 92 Malaysians so far this year suspected

of supporting the Islamic State militant group. This includes 17 people detained Sunday, whom police say were planning to rob banks and attack police stations and army camps to obtain weapons. The Prevention of Terrorism Act bill was passed by lawmakers in the lower house Tuesday, with 79 votes in favor to 60 against. It allows authorities to detain suspects indefinitely without trial and the decision cannot be challenged in court. Critics say it was a revival of the Internal Security Act that was repealed in 2012. A Malaysian police special forces unit aim weapons during an exercise against a terrorist attack at a police training camp in Kuala Lumpur

24 killed in bus accident in Bangladesh

t least 24 people were killed on Thursday when a bus veered off the road and rammed into a number of trees in central Bangladesh’s Faridpur district. “The accident took place around 1.15 AM on the Barisal- Dhaka highway when driver apparently lost control over the wheels at Bhanga area of Faridpur district,” a district police officer told reporters. The bus was heading towards southwestern Barisal carrying about 50 passengers from Dhaka. The officer said most of the 24 people died instantly with 19 of them being men and 5 women. Twenty-three people were injured. They were being treated at nearby facilities, some with critical wounds.

Afghan soldier kills 1 US soldier, several others injured

abulL: An Afghan soldier shot and killed a US soldier and wounded several others Wednesday before being shot dead, the first so-called “insider attack’’ to target NATO troops since they ended their combat mission at the start of the year. The shooting happened after Afghan provincial leaders met a US Embassy official at the compound of the Nangarhar provincial governor in the city of Jalalabad. All US Embassy staff were accounted for and safe, the diplomatic mission said. ‘’Right after the U.S. official had left, suddenly an Afghan army soldier opened fire on the U.S. soldiers who were present in the compound,’’ said Afghan Gen. Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, the police chief for eastern Nangarhar province The American troops returned fire, killing the Afghan soldier, whom Sherzad identified as Abdul Azim of Laghman province. The motive for his attack was not immediately known and no group claimed responsibility for the assault.

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