The Asian Star - July 13, 2024

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Dental Implants Dental Crowns

Axe the Carbon Tax & keep violent offenders in jail

Pierre Poilievre promises a common sense’ approach to undo the harm done by federal Liberals

Federal Opposition and Conservative Party Leader, Pierre Poilievre, blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal Liberal government for ruining the lives of Canadians over the past nine years. He promised to axe the carbon tax, lower income tax, reduce crime and stop criminals and extortionists by ringing in mandatory jail terms, stop bail for repeat violent offenders, making housing affordable in all of Canada, quick approvals to work in Canada for foreign trained professionals and secure the border to stop fake and illegal refugees and criminals from entering Canada.

Poilievre, in Surrey for a meeting with the South Asian media, listed the problems brought down on Canadians by Trudeau and his Liberal government:

• It takes an average Vancouver family 28

years to collect enough money for a down payment for a home.

• Before Trudeau, Canadians could pay off their mortgages in 25 years, not any anymore.

• 2 million people go to food banks on a regular basis – before Trudeau there was a very small number.

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Heat wave leads to more than 150 active wildfires in BC

The number of active wildfires in British Columbia has jumped by more than a few dozen, raising the amount to more than 150 across the province.

The BC Wildfire Service said forest fuels are more susceptible to fire starts after seven consecutive days of extreme heat, with new blazes prompting two new evacuation orders in the past few days.

The latest spans a portion of the District of Wells, about 80 kilometres east of Quesnel in the province’s central Interior, where the BC Wildfire Service map shows a cluster of more than two dozen new fires in the area.

The district issued the order at 10 p.m. Wednesday, saying the 70-hectare Cornish Mountain wildfire is a threat to life and safety, and residents must leave right away.

The order covers the Eight- and Nine-Mile Lake Areas, Cornish Lake, and Mine Sites areas, while an evacuation alert is in effect for the rest of the district.

In northeastern B.C., the Fort Nelson First Nation issued an evacuation order Tuesday for its Kahntah reserve, telling residents they had to leave by boat due to the threat of an out-ofcontrol blaze discovered the day before. As of

10:30 a.m. on Thursday, there are 153 active wildfires in B.C., up from fewer than 100 at the start of the week, with two considered fires of note.

B.C. Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma said the province has a full contingent of firefighters ready to go.

“We currently have access to our full compliment of our firefighting personnel of more than 2,000 people, with 500 deployed in the ground,” she said.

“And we are proactively working to secure out of province resources.”

Ma said anyone that lives in a place where wildfire could happen, they need to stay prepared.

11 married women elope with lovers after taking Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana money

Husbands complained to Police

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was initiated by the central government to update the financial status of poor families, however, these 11 married women used it to upgrade their marital status.

Eleven women in Uttar Pradesh have allegedly misused the money provided to under the yojana. They allegedly took the first installments of Rs 40,000 and left their husbands then eloped with their lovers, says media report.

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BC

Govt & Surrey reach $250 million deal on policing transition

The Province and the City of Surrey have reached an agreement on the police transition that will complete the transfer from Surrey RCMP to the Surrey Police Service.

Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, announced Wednesday (July 10) in Vancouver that the agreement will provide stability to Surrey residents.

“To conclude the transition while ensuring the safety of Surrey residents, our agreements include funding of up to $250 million over 10 years,” Farnworth said. “This includes the current $150 million commitment and a financial guarantee to pay up to $20 million per year for the difference between the salary costs of the city police service and the costs that would have been paid for RCMP salaries.”

“This will help to ensure that increased costs aren’t downloaded to the people in Surrey to increase taxes for policing. Together, we are providing certainty on the direction of policing in Surrey, and moving forward with the transition plan,” Farnworth added.

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Pierre Poilievre in center

BC premier ponders bail reform failing in Surrey woman’s home invasion murder

B.C.’s premier says the province worked with the federal government to change its bail rules, so he is not sure why a man with a long and violent criminal history was released from jail weeks before the stabbing death of a woman in her Surrey home.

David Eby called the murder horrific, saying the reformed federal rules should have prevented Adam Mann’s release. The 40-yearold man was arrested and charged with seconddegree murder in the death of 30-year-old Tori Dunn last month, which her family said stemmed from a home invasion.

amassed nearly 2,200 signatures as of Tuesday.

Eby said he has asked his staff to reach out to the Dunn family to discuss the case to better understand what went wrong and to find ways to “support the family in their calls for further federal reform.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Christy Clark have signed a transit funding agreement totaling over $900 million, making British Columbia the first province in Canada to ratify a bilateral transit deal.

Arriving at a Burnaby transit facility on a SkyTrain Thursday morning, Trudeau was joined by Clark, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and a swath of MPs, MLAs and mayors from across the province.

He said that investments in transit improve the quality of life of all Canadians, something he considers essential, and that his government had worked hard to bring together all the parties involved to ratify the earlier pledge.

“We are not in the business of making announcements for political capital without delivering on them,” he said. “We are in the business of delivering.”

Dunn’s family has launched a petition calling for a legal review of the circumstances that led to Mann’s release and for “changes to the system that will prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

The petition, which was launched July 3, had

“This never should have happened,” Eby said on Tuesday.“It’s just awful, and understanding why it didn’t work in the Dunn case will help us protect other families going forward,” he added, referring to the bail rules. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said in a statement last month that Mann, an Ontario resident, was spotted by Surrey police while they were on their way to Dunn’s home on June 16. At the time, Mann was facing an unrelated aggravated assault charge for an alleged attack in Surrey three weeks earlier.

Trudeau said that he was pleased that the first bilateral agreement had been signed with B.C.

“Coming to B.C. always feels like coming home,” he said. The prime minister said that, after a decade of a lack of investment in infrastructure across the country, his government wants provinces and municipalities to make their own decisions about where the money is best spent.

Videos making the rounds on social media show the moment Justin Trudeau was booed by the crowd at a Rolling Stones concert in Vancouver, B.C., when lead singer Mick Jagger praised the prime minister on stage.

“Mick Jagger compliments Justin Trudeau and immediately regrets it,” reads the title of one video posted to YouTube. But it turns out Jagger was probably just trying to make a joke about the night Trudeau’s mother partied with the Rolling Stones and sparked an international scandal.

“We love your Mr. Trudeau,” Jagger said on July 5

at BC Place stadium. The crowd started to boo before the Rolling Stones frontman could finish his thought.

“I mean, his family has always been such big fans of our band,” he concluded. The crowd continued to boo loudly. The Rolling Stones were performing as part of their Hackney Diamonds tour when Jagger mentioned the Trudeau family. In a clip posted by CBC, Margaret herself was repeatedly asked at the time if she was happy in her marriage. She stated that she was “happy” but refused to clarify if this was in reference to her marriage and would not make any further comment about her personal life.

Clark said she was proud that B.C. was the first province to make the deal.

“This is a good investment for the region, the province and for every single Canadian,” she said. The investment was “crucial for our quality of life,” said Vancouver’s mayor.

Robertson said that the past six years had seen Metro Vancouver’s transit underfunded, and that the system had begun to decline.

4 family members die in another multiple-fatality BC road crash

Four people are dead after a collision on Highway 3 in the southern Interior on Wednesday, and two others are dead following a crash near Boston Bar Thursday, the latest in a spate of multiple-fatality crashes in the province in the past week. RCMP say the Highway 3 crash involving two cars and a tractor-trailer near Becks Road in Keremeos shut Highway 3 for eight hours on Wednesday. They say four members of the same extended family, all in the same vehicle, were found dead at the scene of the “terrible tragedy” that took place around 11:30 a.m. PT. B.C. Highway Control say another crash happened around 2 p.m. PT on Thursday near Boston Bar, killing two more people.

The incidents are the latest in a series of

crashes in B.C. that have claimed at least 18 lives in the past week.

Four people were killed last Friday in a crash in the West Kootenays on Highway 6; a family of three, including an infant, died in Agassiz on the Lougheed Highway on Tuesday morning; and another three people died when their vehicle went over an embankment in Wilmer, north of Invermere, on Tuesday night. RCMP say the cause of the crash in Keremeos and Boston Bar is still under investigation. According to statistics from ICBC, the provincial Crown corporation that provides vehicle insurance in B.C., there were an average of 284 crash-related fatalities a year between 2018 and 2022, which works out to about five a week.

Trudeau booed at Rolling Stones’

Canada’s ambassador for climate change racks up $254,000 travel expenses

Canada’s ambassador for climate change has charged $254,000 in travel expenses in less than two years on the job. Catherine Stewart billed for stays at luxury hotels ranging up to $623 a night, according to Blacklock’s Reporter, citing access to information records.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault appointed Stewart to the role on Aug. 2, 2022, saying she had done “exemplary work” as assistant deputy environment minister.

According to Blacklock’s, from day one Stewart went on international trips including to Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Bali, Beijing, Bern, Brasilia, Brussels, Cairo, Copenhagen, Delhi, Florence, Geneva and Helsinki.

She also visited Istanbul, Kinshasa, Leipzig,

Lisbon, London, Milan, Mumbai, Munich, New York City, Paris, Rome, Sao Paulo, Sharm El-Sheikh, Vienna, Washington and Zurich.

Expenses included business class airfare, and she travelled by air even when train service was available. Last year she flew from Ottawa to Toronto to attend a climate conference “to promote Canada’s clean growth.”

The trip cost $10,096 including airfare and $323 a night at the Sheraton Centre Hotel. Stewart also routinely flew from Ottawa to New York City rather than take the train, and the records show she frequently stayed at luxury hotels. Her charges included the Hotel Mercure in Rome at $390 per night, Hotel Maria Theresia in Vienna at $454 per night, and Amsterdam’s Manor Hotel at $551 per night.

Family of three killed in head-on collision with semi-trailer in Agassiz

A family of three, including an infant, are dead after a head-on crash in Agassiz.

The crash between a small car and a tractor trailer happened at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, in the 8100-block of Lougheed Highway.

Two adults in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. The baby was flown to hospital but died a few hours later, despite what police called “the heroic efforts of first responders and hospital staff.” The truck driver wasn’t injured.

The highway was closed for most of the afternoon Tuesday as crash analysts gathered evidence and worked to determine how it happened. Investigators say neither alcohol nor

drugs is suspected as a cause.

“We are working on supporting all those who were affected (by) this crash and loss of an entire family. I have engaged mental-health supports for all of those involved,” said Agassiz RCMP Sgt. Andy Lot in a statement on Wednesday.

Anyone who saw the collision or has dashcam footage along that stretch of Lougheed Highway between 3 and 3:45 a.m. is asked to call police at 604-796-2211.

Also Tuesday, a crash that killed three passengers in southeast B.C. is being investigated for speed and impairment on the part of the driver.

Ottawa spends $15M on health care AI development through Vancouver tech cluster program

Canada is spending about $15 million on development of artificial intelligence in health care that federal Innovation Minister FrançoisPhilippe Champagne calls a “game changer” for improving the industry’s ability to serve patients.

Champagne says the funding will be spent through the Vancouver-based technology cluster program in five medical tech companies, creating technology that automates certain tasks to enhance care.

The AI program, known as the Health Compass II project, will use the federal money as leverage to raise more money to support the total budget of $44 million.

The technologies being developed through the program include a “patient-facing virtual agent” that is estimated to improve patient engagement by 30 per cent, as well as automation that streamlines administrative tasks and clinical documentation.

The companies developing the technology say the implementation of AI automation can save doctors hours of time each day for seeing more patients or for taking breaks to maintain their wellness and service delivery.

Champagne says the latest spending builds on initial funding from 2022 of $3.1 million for AI integration in electronic medical records as part of the original Health Compass program.

“And this is technology that we can use today,” Champagne said during the announcement in Vancouver.

“I think that’s what people want to see, more efficient delivery, making sure that their physician would have access to cutting-edge information, making sure they can look at data, and making sure that we can help more people … this is a game changer in how we’re going to be delivering (health).”

Major traffic delays in Surrey due to fatal crash on Highway 99

A woman has died in an overnight crash on Highway 99 in Surrey.

Surrey RCMP said the single-vehicle crash happened at 1:30 a.m. and a woman in her 20s was declared dead at the scene. The woman was a passenger in the car and was “ejected” from the vehicle in the crash, police said.

The car ended up in a farmer’s field, a few hundred feet from the highway.

The Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service was called to assist the Surrey RCMP criminal collision investigation team. BC Emergency Health Services said five

ambulances responded to the crash. Three patients were treated at the scene and two were taken to hospital. The other two occupants were a 23-year-old man, who was driving, and a 22-year-old man. Police said it appears speed may be a factor in the crash. The crash shut down Highway 99 northbound between King George Boulevard and Highway 91.

The closure caused massive traffic delays in the area, spilling into adjacent roadways. Highway 99 has been reopened as of 1:30 p.m. Traffic delays are expected to remain due to congestion.

Slain Surrey woman’s cousin to speak with premier, pushes for bail review

The cousin of a B.C. woman killed in an apparently random home invasion says she will be speaking about the case with B.C. Premier David Eby on Wednesday.

him. It doesn’t feel safe for the rest of us. Even myself, I am triple-checking the doors every night,” Chasity Dunn said.

Tori Dunn’s family is also spearheading a petition calling for a comprehensive review of the legal system’s decisions and procedures in the run-up to her murder. Dunn, 30, was fatally stabbed in her Surrey home on June 16, not long after returning home from a birthday party for her husband. The man charged with her murder, Adam Mann, was on probation for prior crimes and on bail for robbery charges at the time.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that this man was just out in the public, this was an opportunity for

“She was a woman in her own home minding her own business with her partner and her dog there … It shouldn’t have happened and it shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.” Earlier this week, B.C. Premier David Eby spoke about the killing, saying it “never should have happened.”

Eby’s government was among the most vocal in pressing the federal government for changes to the criminal code toughing bail rules.

Those changes, implemented in 2023, require violent offenders to prove why they should be granted bail.

“We were successful in getting those rules changed and they should have prevented this from happening to the Dunn family,” Eby said.

“Understanding why it didn’t work in the Dunn case will help us protect other families going forward.” Chasity said the family hasn’t heard anything from official sources about what went wrong.

NAME CHANGE

I, Amarveer Singh s/o Balvir Singh, holder of Indian Passport No. L6887395 issued at Jalandhar India on 23/01/2014, resident of Village Mandhali, Tehsil Banga, SBS Nagar (Punjab) India 144501 and presently residing at 7127 199 Street, Langley BC Canada V2Y 3H8, do hereby change my name from Amarveer Singh to Amarveer Singh Badesha with immediate effect.

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By Richardo Trajan: The latest numbers show inîation rising from 2.7 percent in April to 2.9 percent in May. It’s a small increase but a move in the wrong direction and enough to cast doubt on whether the Bank of Canada will continue to cut interest rates next month.

For over a year, the two main contributors to inîation have been mortgage interest costs and rents. Since the Bank of Canada won’t lower interest rates unless inîation comes down, controlling rents is the best strategy to rein in inîation. Governments cannot control many factors driving inîation, but they can control rents if they choose to.

At the onset of the current high inîation period in 2021, supply-chain bottlenecks and energy costs were the main factors behind price increases. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted production in multiple ways, making many products less available and more expensive.

Between May 2023 and May 2024, mortgage interest costs rose 23.3 percent and rents 8.9 percent, compared to the 2.9 percent headline inîation fígure.

Like many other countries, Canada is using interest rate increases to íght inîation. The general theory is that as írms and individuals spend more on servicing their debts, they will have less money to spend on everything else, slowing down the economy and pulling prices down. It’s a bitter pill. Economic slowdowns fuel unemployment, hurting workers the most.

Higher interest rates also make mortgages more expensive. Homeowners with variable-rate mortgages feel the pinch right away, while those on fíxed-rate mortgages are hit when they renew their mortgages. International production supply chains and oil prices may be largely out of the hands of national and provincial governments, but rents are not.

Major recalls on snacks sold at Costco, drinks at Walmart, Canadian Tire seats, Best Buy containers and Toys R Us mini-sets trigger Health Canada warnings to shoppers

A number of products are being pulled from shelves as Health Canada has issued a number of recalls for Canadian shoppers.

One of the recalls involves certain snacks sold at Costco. Organic Aussie Bites, Costco item 891394, were sold at a Costco warehouse, Costco Business Centre or on Costco.ca between March 14 to June 16, Costco said in its recall notice.

Best Express Foods Inc. is recalling the Organic Aussie Bites due to the presence of undeclared gluten, the company said.

“Do not consume the product if you have celiac disease or other gluten-related disorders as it may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction,” the warning states. “You may return the Organic Aussie Bites to a Costco warehouse

to obtain a full refund.”

There is also a big recall at Walmart’s Canadian stores regarding certain beverages.

Various Silk and Great Value brand plant based refrigerated beverages are being recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a “national” warning to shoppers.

If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, contact your health care provider, the CFIA said.

“Do not consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute recalled products,” the warning states. “Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the location where they were purchased.”

BC real estate market downturn costs homebuyers heavily in breached contract case

A recent civil court case highlights the drastic dip in Kelowna’s real estate market in the spring and summer of 2022, with a group of potential buyers being ordered to pay more than $400,000 after they were unable to secure financing on a home despite signing a purchasing contract.

breaching their contract of purchase and sale.

The three people had agreed to purchase a home on Kelowna’s Ethel Street from Mandl for $1,115,000, which was $116,000 more than the listing price of the property. Mahli signed the contract on the very same day Mandl listed the home, and Liu and Fong were added to the contract eight days later.

In a recent decision, BC Supreme Court Justice Dennis Hori ordered Wai Ming Fong, Xiao Li Liu and Navdeep Singh Mahli to pay Jeffrey Mandl nearly $363,000, in addition to the $50,000 deposit they had already paid, for

Delta council on Monday gave final approval to major changes to the city’s Official Community Plan (OCP).

Recent approval by the Agricultural Land Commission and approval by Metro Vancouver’s board of Delta’s updated Regional Context Statement allowed the city to proceed with the new OCP.

The buyers paid a $30,000 deposit and the completion date for the contract was initially set for May 31, 2022.

But when Mahli began to seek financing for the home, the Royal Bank of Canada sought their own appraisal of the home and determined the value of it was significantly lower than the agreed upon purchase price. As such, the bank refused to finance the purchase and Mahli was unable to find financing through any other institutions.

Mandl gave the buyers two extensions on the closing date, on the condition that they provide an additional $20,000 non-refundable deposit. The buyers did so, and the closing date was eventually pushed to July 18, 2022.

According to the planning department, during the past five years, building permit activity generated an average of approximately 400 net new units per year.

In contrast, the housing target results in a need for more than 700 net new units per year, on average, over five years. The housing target order also phases in the annual unit growth.

The province recently released six-month progress updates on the first 10 priority

The new OCP follows council’s recent zoning amendment approval to permit smallscale, multi-unit housing on single-family and duplex lots, a requirement of the province for municipalities.

The bylaw also reduces parking requirements, removes regulatory barriers for construction and introduces additional density options to provide homeowners the ability to build necessary housing on their properties, the city notes.

The new plan identifies strategic growth in specific areas, including increasing density in urban corridors, simplifying land use descriptions to streamline the development process and provides the framework to enable small-scale housing.

communities selected for housing targets, which pointed out some are making good progress while others, including Delta, are not making as much progress as expected.

City Manager Donny Van Dyk told council at its July 8 meeting that a lot of work remains as staff will look at possible amendments.

Last fall, the City of Delta was given a mandated housing target by the province to add 3,607 new units within five years.

In response, Mayor George Harvie told the Optimist that relying on developers to complete approved projects quickly and then only counting the occupancy permits as a net new unit doesn’t accurately convey the story on what the city has done to encourage more development activity.

Axe the Carbon Tax & keep violent offenders in jail

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• 25 percent of Canadians now live in poverty according to Food Bank Association of Canada

• One in four Canadian children go to school hungry – before Trudeau almost every child went to school with a full stomach

• Housing costs have doubled after 9 years of Vancouver

• Vancouver has become the most expensive city in North America to live and buy a home and third most expensive I the world – it is more expensive to buy a home in Vancouver than in New York, Chicago and London, (England) or even a small island like Singapore with 2,000 times more people per kilometer than Vancouver yet they have more affordable housing, and we don’t,

• Crime, chaos, drug, disorder and extortion in the streets after Trudeau’s “wacko” liberalization of drugs and guns.

“But the good news is that life was not like this before Trudeau and it will not be like this after he is gone,” Poilievre promised.

He promised a “common sense way” plan of dealing with the problems brought about by the federal Liberal government.

“We will axe the carbon tax and bring down income tax,” Poilievre promised.

Crime will be brought under control and repeated offenders will not get a free pass to get out of custody or jail. His government will once again make the neighborhoods safe for the citizens of Canada, he promised.

Talking of housing affordability. The Conservative leader said he will ask municipalities to lower costs of building homes and free up land for more housing. He said every large municipality in Canada will be required to build at least 15 percent more homes each year as a condition of getting federal funding.

” If they don’t meet that annual 15 percent housing target, they will not get federal fundssimple as that,” he said.

He also said that municipalities should look at their administrative costs and streamline them. Giving an example, he said if a house costs $1.5 million in Vancouver, only $300,000 of that goes to the builders, trades people and other workers. By far the largest amount – an average of $1.2 million on an average $1,5 million home – goes to building persist and bureaucracy put up by the municipalities. Poilievre will sell 6,000 federal buildings and thousands of acres of federal land to

build, build and build more houses.

He promised to bring down inflation and fix the budget with common sense concept dollar for dollar rule that will require politicians to find savings of one dollar for every dollar they vote to spend.

“This will bring down debt, inflation and interest rates,” Poilievre said.

“We will ensure our streets ae safe again by stopping the crime. We will stop crime by jail and not bail for repeat violent offenders,” he said.

“A new mandatory jail term for extortion will be put in place by adopting a bill for mandatory jail time for extortionists. We brought this bill for mandatory jail for extortionists after Trudeau refused to impose penalties on extortionists and allowed extortionists to work free on bail and parole,” he said. He complained that not a single Liberal MP from Surrey supported this measure which would deter extortionists.

Conservatives will secure our borders by ensuring criminals, drugs and guns don’t get in he said,” he said.

“The NDP and Liberals have decriminalized crack and cocaine. If you walk down the street with a beer, Police stop you but if you work down the street smoking crack or cocaine, no one will stop you” he said.

He said due to the legalization of hard drugs by the NDP-Liberal alliance, more than 40,000 people have died of overdosing.

Poilievre promised to install a direct Vancouver to Amritsar (Punjab) flight so people will save at least 20 hours of travel time. This will allow more tourists to travel form Punjab to Canada and vice versa. He also promised a “blue seal” system for foreign trained and educated professionals – such as doctors, nurses, engineers, etc., so that these foreign professionals will only be required to take and pass an exam to prove their proficiency in their profession and be allowed to work here. Taking this blue seal exam/test should only take a few weeks or months after arriving in Canadas, he promised.

The Conservative leader also promised to stop “fake” refugees by instituting policies that their cases for asylum in Canada be heard and dealt with in a couple of months, and not take seven to eight years to deal with. “If they are found not eligible, they should be removed within months of arrival – not a decade later. Similarly, criminals and gangsters seeking refuge in Canada will be promptly removed from Canada, he said.

NAME CHANGE

I, Jaspreet Singh s/o Amarjeet Singh, holder of Indian Passport No. S9067164 issued at Bareilly India on 25/02/2019, resident of Village Mohd. Nagar Urf Jogipur, PO and PSAfzalgarh, Tehsil Dhampur, Bijnor (Utter Pradesh) India 246722 and presently residing at 7127 199 Street, Langley BC Canada V2Y 3H8, do hereby change my name from Jaspreet Singh to Jaspreet Singh Lidhar with immediate effect.

U.S. couple’s belongings stolen moments after B.C. trip began

The North Vancouver RCMP is asking for the public’s help after a U.S. couple’s belongings were stolen from the Airbnb they were staying at just minutes after they arrived.

It happened shortly after the couple arrived at their Lonsdale accommodation, before midnight on July 2.

Visiting from Indiana, Madhuchhda Mandal and her fiancé left the rental home’s backdoor open as they unloaded the rest of their luggage. She says her wallet, the pair’s passports, a laptop, car key, and a camera were all gone.

The suspect then begins to run, still holding the items that were taken. The couple also expressed disappointment with what Mandal described as a lack of “urgency” on the part of the RCMP.

“I immediately went into a frantic mode … I was like, ‘no, no, no, this can’t be happening, this is just a nightmare.’ We travel so much and I know how important those documents are,” she said. While the couple’s belongings are gone, the incident was captured on surveillance footage, which the Airbnb host shared with them after learning about what happened. In the video, a person is seen exiting the home hastily while carrying multiple bags.

She says while they called police to report what happened, she claims it took officers more than an hour and a half to show up.

Mandal says she felt that the crime wasn’t treated as a priority.

“[It] made me so disappointed,” she said. “I feel the response would have been way more prompt if this was in the U.S.” However, the North Vancouver RCMP stated that the department followed protocol throughout the process.

“We triage calls based on priority, depending on the severity of it. In this particular instance, the suspect had already left, they were not there, and the theft had already occurred. I think [the response time] was reasonable given it was a non-active threat and nobody’s safety was at risk,” Const. Mansoor Sahak told CityNews.

IIO is seeking witnesses to an arrest in Vancouver where one man was Injured

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) of BC is investigating an arrest in Vancouver where one man sustained a serious injury.

Information provided by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) states that at about 12:40 a.m. today (July 10, 2024), two uniformed VPD officers arrested a man on the southeast corner of the intersection of Water and Abbott streets.

The man was injured while being taken into custody and was taken to a local hospital for

treatment.

The IIO was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred. Initial investigative steps will seek to confirm what happened during the arrest, how the injury occurred, and whether police actions were necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in the circumstances.

The IIO is asking any person who saw the arrest or who has video footage to please contact the IIO Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.

A 33-year-old man from Surrey is facing several charges after what the RCMP is calling a crime spree.

Langley Mounties received several calls Friday with reports of a carjacking on 64th Avenue near 203rd Street.

Police say a woman reported being assaulted as she was getting out of her vehicle. The suspect then got into the vehicle and drove off.

The stolen vehicle was then found a few blocks away after it was involved in a collision with two other vehicles.

The suspect then tried and failed to carjack other vehicles in the area, and then ran away, police say.

Shortly afterwards, Mounties received a report of a 5-tonne truck being stolen from

196th Street near Willowbrook Drive.

After crashing the truck into several parked vehicles, the chase finally came to an end.

“The series of offences came to a halt when a Langley RCMP officer used his patrol car to intercept the truck by making contact with the front wheel of the stolen truck, disabling it from being operated further,” police said in a news release.

“The driver was immediately arrested as he exited the stolen truck.”

Edward Joseph Biwer has been charged with robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, mischief, and assault, among others.

Anyone with dash cam footage or surveillance video of the incident is ask to call the Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200 and quote file 2024-21188.

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Vancouver teacher reprimanded for racially insensitive comments to students

A Vancouver high school teacher has been reprimanded for yelling at one of his students and telling them they were doing poorly in front of classmates, and for making comments about three others poking fun at their nationalities.

Bruce David Russell signed a consent resolution agreement with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation that was posted online Tuesday.

In the agreement, Russell admits to professional misconduct over a series of interactions with students in fall 2022:

• A Grade 8 student told Russell they had to leave early for a student council meeting and presented a dismissal slip. Russell raised his voice, said the student’s apology wasn’t accepted, and told the student in front of classmates that they were doing poorly. The student reported “feeling embarrassed and afraid to attend Russell’s class.”

• Russell told an international student in Grade 9 “to put your head up, this is Canada, not the Philippines” when the student put their head down on their desk.

• He said to another international student from Asia: “You must be tired from staying up all night doing karaoke.”

• About a Mexican student, Russell said to the class: The student “is absent because (the student) is probably back in Mexico.”

• Russell called two female Grade 9 students “darling” and said in front of the class that they had “blossomed.” Russell claimed he meant they had blossomed academically, but that wasn’t made clear to the class.

The school district issued Russell a letter of discipline in April 2023 and reported the behaviour to the commissioner. The agreement noted Russell had expressed regret for his conduct.

A B.C. woman who was repatriated from a Syrian prison camp in 2022 has been arrested and charged with terrorism offences, police announced Saturday. The charges against 51-year-old Squamish resident Kimberly Polman are “leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group” and “participation in the activity of a terrorist group,” Mounties from B.C. and the Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit said in a news release.

Police said the charges stem from an ongoing investigation of allegations that Polman left Canada in 2015 and travelled to Syria to join ISIS.

A pair that was arrested for “a complex shoplifting scheme” in BC will “both be deported,” RCMP said. According to M A man has been arrested and charged after allegedly chasing a woman and threatening her in Surrey’s Ocean Park neighbourhood last month.

In an update on Monday, the Surrey RCMP said on July 6 it received a report about an incident that happened on June 22, where a man

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Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said in a statement that city council worked hard to ensure that the provincial government “would support the police transition beyond its initial $150-million offer.”

‘“The new funds from the Province will help to lessen the financial impact of the transition to Surrey taxpayers. City council fully recognizes

reportedly chased a woman and threatened to harm her on 18 Avenue near 136 Street.

“The victim was able to run away to safety. No contact was made between the suspect and the victim,” Corp. Sarbjit Sangha said.

On Sunday, Mounties arrested 36-year-old Ricki Randall Taysup in relation to the incident. Taysup has since been charged with uttering threats and remains in custody awaiting his next court appearance slated for July 11.

the service of the RCMP in Surrey. We express our gratitude for everything Surrey RCMP has done to serve and protect our community for the past 70 years with their exemplary service. Through integrated policing units, such as IHIT, RCMP will continue to support the people of Surrey. As we go through this process, council will be constantly working in the best interests of Surrey taxpayers.”

Fiji Airways plans Nadi to Dallas flights with Airbus A350

Fiji Airways has filed with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), requesting permission to launch a new nonstop route between Nadi (NAN) and Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW). The new route is expected to be operated 3x weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, in both directions, though an exact schedule hasn’t yet been published. The airline intends to launch this route as soon as it receives permission to do so. This should have no issues being approved, so this route could be launching in the coming months.

Fiji Airways will operate Dallas service with an Airbus A350-900. The airline has four of these in its fleet, featuring 334 seats, including 31 business class seats and 301 economy class seats. Fiji Airways offers a lovely business class experience, with comfortable seats, friendly service, and tasty food and drinks.

Fiji Airways’ current destinations in the United States include Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO). At 6,625 miles, the Dallas service will be Fiji Airways’ longest route yet.

Parliament passes 2024/2025 National Budget

The 2024/2025 National Budget has been passed in parliament.

This means the Bill to appropriate a sum of $3.955 billion for the ordinary services of

Government for the year ending 31st July 2025 has been approved.

39 MPs voted for the budget, 11 voted against while 2 abstained.

Unethical pricing practices have lowered - Abraham

A warning is being issued to supermarkets and traders regarding unethical practices where FCCC CEO Joel Abraham has told traders that if they are thinking of doing something or if they have been engaged in something, now is the time to stop.

While speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Abraham says they have seen that unethical pricing practices have lowered and have also seen some very positive changes in the market in terms of pricing.

As the FCCC is undertaking a market inquiry, Abraham says they are trying to trace the supply chain of the entire grocery sector and that will allow them to basically understand where the unethical practices arise.

He says in the past 8 to 10 months, they have

games with pricing where all of this has been for non-price control items.

The CEO says they have seen changes in prices of non-price control items and are drilling down to see what was the cause of the change.

While stressing the need to take receipts from traders, Abraham says this ensures that if the business is charging any taxes, then those taxes are then adequately remitted to the State.

Ex PM launches new party

Pakistan’s former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday formally launched a new political party, Awaam Pakistan Party, to “change the system and restore respect for the Constitution of the country”.

Party officials said its main slogan was “Badlien gaen nizam” (we will change the system) and its membership was open to anyone

who can contribute for the development of the country.

Abbasi, 65, had served as PM from August 2017 to May 2018 when the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court. Abbasi later distanced himself from the PML-N due to policy disagreements after 2018.

14 dead as jeep falls from mountain road into ravine in PoK

A jeep fell from a mountain road into a ravine in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing 14 people and injuring two others, officials said.

The incident happened in the Neelam Valley, government administrator Nadeem Janjua said. Rescuers had transported the dead and injured to a hospital while the cause of the accident is still to be determined, Janjua said.

Kashmir is divided between neighbouring India and Pakistan, with both claiming the entire territory.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan mainly because of to poor road infrastructure and poor enforcement of traffic laws and safety standards. Last month, a van fell into a river in the same district, killing 16 people, mostly children.

Justice Aalia Neelum sworn in as first woman Chief Justice of Lahore High Court

Justice Aalia Neelum on Thursday took oath as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) of Pakistan, making her the first woman to be elevated as the court’s top judge.

Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan administered the oath of office to her.

Punjab province’s first woman Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was also present at the oath-taking ceremony.

Justice Neelum, 57, stood third in the seniority list of judges of the LHC but the Judicial Commission of Pakistan headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa had decided to consider her nomination for the

office of the LHC chief justice.

Soon after her elevation to the office of the CJ LHC, Neelum’s pictures with the members of the ruling Sharif family went viral on social media suggesting that she has an association with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N).

Born on November 12, 1966, Justice Neelum earned her LLB degree from the University of Punjab in 1995 and was enrolled as an advocate in 1996. She was later enrolled as an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2008 and elevated to the LHC in 2013 before being sworn in as a permanent judge on March 16, 2015.

More Than 800 Students In Tripura Test Positive For HIV, 47 Dead After Drug Use

As many as 47 students have died out of 828 who tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Tripura. This virus is responsible for causing AIDS. The alarming revelation was made by the Tripura State AIDS Control Society (TSACS) in a joint press conference with the Tripura Journalist Union and Web Media Forum.

“We have so far registered 828 students who are HIV positive. Out of them, 572 students are still alive and we have lost 47 people due to the dreaded infection,” a TSACS official said per The Week. The official also revealed that many of the positive students have migrated to other states for

higher studies. Shockingly enough, the officials believe that the disease was spread among the students through injectable drug use. These cases are reportedly spread across 220 schools and 24 higher institutions in the state. These students are said to be from rich families. “By the time they realise that their children fell prey to drugs, it was too late,” said Subhrajit Bhattacharjee, Joint Director of TSACS.

He also revealed the data collected on the active cases of HIV in the state. Out of 8,729 cases registered till May 2024, 5,674 are alive. Out of these 4,570 are males while 1,103 are females.

UK to demand Indian-owned Tata saves jobs at Wales steelworks, minister says

The UK government will demand that jobs are saved at Tata’s steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales, in exchange for state support for the industry, new Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said.

Reynolds – in the job for less than two days after the Labour Party’s landslide win in Thursday’s general election – told the BBC on Sunday that both he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have already spoken to Tata Steel over the company’s plan to shut down its blast furnaces at the plant in south Wales in a move that could hit the jobs of some 2,800 workers.

“I’m going to make sure that job guarantees are part of the negotiation that we are having,” he said. “It’s not about underwriting loss making businesses in perhaps a way we might have

thought about industrial policy in the past. It is about being a partner for investment in the future.”

The fate of the jobs at the steelworks is an early test of the new government’s industrial policy. Tata is planning to cut jobs as it replaces the blast furnaces at with greener but less labourintensive electric arc furnaces.

Reynolds pointed to Labour’s election manifesto pledge to plough £2.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) into the steel industry, on top of £500 million that was already in the outgoing Tory government’s plans, telling the BBC “there is more money available” for the steel industry under a Labour government but that it will come with conditions.

Modi makes first visit to Moscow since start of war in Ukraine

The Indian prime minister’s visit to Russia is sure to be watched closely. Concerned about the Kremlin’s rapprochement with China, Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Moscow on July 8 and 9, his first bilateral visit to Russia since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Both an ally of Russia and a partner of the West, New Delhi has always refrained from condemning the Russian invasion, while calling for a resolution of the conflict and a return to peace – a skilful balancing act in keeping with India’s policy of “multialignment.” The theory defended External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar aims to forge multiple commitments to best preserve Indian interests and take advantage of the contractions in the geopolitical context.

The exercise is perilous. “India does not support the war in Ukraine and, without condemning it, has made no secret of its dissatisfaction with the Kremlin’s position,” said Alexei Zakharov, an independent expert and former researcher at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Russian

and Indian leaders used to meet at annual summits, but since 2021, the tête-à-tête between Modi and Putin has been postponed twice. The last meeting between the two strongmen was in 2022, when, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, Modi remarked to his counterpart that “this is not the time for war.” Isolated on the international stage, Russia has turned to India’s great rival, China, with whom it has steadily strengthened its ties. It’s a rapprochement that New Delhi takes a dim view of.

This trip will therefore be an opportunity for India to signal the importance it attaches to its partnership with Russia. Modi has chosen Moscow for the first bilateral visit of his third term, an honor usually reserved for a neighboring country such as Sri Lanka or the Maldives. “Over the past decade, India has deepened its partnership with the West. It now needs to reassure Russia,” said Harsh Pant, director of the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank with close ties to India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

11 married women elope with lovers after taking Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana money

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This has sparked a massive controversy in the state. This news was widely shared by people on the internet.

According to a report by Moneycontrol, husbands whose wives had taken the money run away with their lovers have reported this incident to the officials. They have also lodged an FIR, reports Business Today.

The department has now decided to halt the next installment payment for these people.

This incident was reported from the Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh. As per reports, over 2,350 beneficiaries received the money under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme in the district. The beneficiaries

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reportedly belong to the villages of Thuthibari, Sheetlapur, Chatia, Ramnagar, Bakul Diha, Khasra, Kishunpur and Medhauli.

The reports further mentioned that the construction of many of these houses is already completed. Among the two thousand beneficiaries, around 11 women reportedly took the first instalment of Rs 40,000 and left their husbands and ran away with their lovers.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme, poor and middle-class families receive assistance from the government to build a permanent home.

The government provides around Rs 2.5 lakh for building the houses. The funds are allotted depending on the financial status of the families.

Protesting

Punjab farmers welcome court orders to open Shambhu border, say will decide next course soon

After the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Haryana Government to remove the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala within a week, farmers, who have been camping there since February 13 when their “Dilli Chalo” march was halted, maintained that the orders had proved they had not closed the highway.

Farmer leader Sarvan Singh Pandher said they had learnt from the media that the high court had asked Haryana to lift the barricades. “We welcome the orders of the court even though we haven’t received these yet. We have called a meeting of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (NonPolitical) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha on July 16 to decide our future course of action,” said Pandher.

He said the orders had proved that it was not the farmers but the Haryana Government which was blocking the border by installing barricades between the two states since February. The highway has been closed for public transport,

which has not only thrown life out of gear, but has also adversely affected business and industry in Punjab and neighbouring states. “As part of a well-devised propaganda, the farmers were being painted as villains and solely blamed for the harassment of commuters. The high court orders have laid bare the truth and shown the world who had blocked the highway. We hope that the court’s directions change people’s perception,” said farmer leader Guramneet Singh Mangat.

On June 23, the farmers had a face-off with local residents and traders from Ambala, who had gathered at the Shambhu border.

Sikh community support for Trump is 4 times more than what it was in 2020: Indian-American Jasdip Singh

Observing that the June 27 presidential debate did have some impact on the popularity of Donald Trump, the head of “Sikh Americans for Trump” has said the former president’s victory will depend on whether the election is free, fair and legal. “I think our community is very much in support. I have seen a lot of support in favour of President Trump. We are raising funds for President Trump. We are going to the convention soon,” Maryland-based community leader Jasdip Singh Jassee, head of “Sikh Americans for Trump”, told PTI ahead of the Republican

National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee next week.

“We all knew about President Biden’s issues that he had for the last four years, but it was very interesting to see ... for the American public and media, to see it during the debate how much President Biden has declined his mental capacity and his thought processes, which was very evident throughout. But somehow, the American media was kind of controlling it and not letting the people know about it,” he said in response to a question.

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