The Asian Star April 3 2021

www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 9 Disagreements over Israel, antiSemitism definition threaten to divide federal NDP ahead of convention Tensions over anti-Semitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persist within the NDP ahead of next week’s policy convention, threatening to divide New Democrats and overshadow domestic policy concerns that serve as points of cohesion. The party has released its list of potential resolutions that could make it to the virtual floor should they survive a vote ahead of the event, which runs online April 9-11. The list includes a half-dozen that articulate solidarity with Palestinian causes or call for sanctions and stronger condemnation of Israel. More than 40 NDP riding associations have endorsed a particularly contentious resolution that opposes a working definition of anti-Semitism Continued on page 10

Saturday, April 3, 2021

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Carbon tax increases as MPs get a raise - says Taxpayers federation Joke is on tax payers as BC MLAs get pay raise too on April 1 It may be April Fool’s Day but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said this is no laughing matter. As of April 1, the federal carbon tax will jump to $40 a tonne, meaning gas prices could likely rise. The tax is expected to increase to $50 a tonne next year However, it’s not just the carbon levy that’s angering the taxpayers federation but the fact that the prime minister and members of parliament are also receiving a raise on the same day.“Today the joke is

on taxpayers and it isn’t funny as our MPs pocket a pay raise while taking more money out of our wallets through a higher carbon tax and booze taxes,” said Alberta Director Franco Terrazzano. The CTF said MPs are eligible for raises each year on April 1. Last year a backbench MP received an extra $3,700 and this year the CTF estimates each backbench MP will receive an extra 1.7 per cent, Continued on page 7

BC reports 832 new Covid-19 cases, five more deaths BC reported 832 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, along with five additional deaths.

At a live briefing, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said 310 of the new cases were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 388 were in the Fraser Health region, 53 were in the Island Health region, 42 were in the Interior Health region and 39 were in the Northern Health region. Thursday’s case count pushed B.C.’s seven-day rolling average

for new cases to 873. A month prior, on March 1, it stood at just 497.

There were 7,571 active cases, while 296 people were in hospital, 79 of whom were in critical or intensive care. Henry used the briefing to urge British Columbians to stay home over the Easter long weekend, and to ensure that if they did gather with others, it was outside.

Continued on page 7

Is Canada turning the corner with Covid-19?

Canada has secured the largest vaccine portfolio in the world but has so far failed to get its inoculation programme off the ground, even as it faces the pandemic’s third wave. In December, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced a C$1bn (£580m) investment in vaccine agreements. Ottawa had secured seven separate vaccine purchase contracts, she said,

Mumbai sees massive surge in Covid-19 cases as numbers reach 8,600 in one day Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar has hinted towards lockdown in the city soon. She said that an announcement to the effect may be made on Friday. The city has reported a massive spike of 8,646 new Covid-19 cases within 24 hours, and 18 deaths. The numbers have pushed the total number of cases to 4,23,360 and the death toll to 11,704. Sources in the Maharashtra government had on Wednesday told CNN-News18 that the

state will not see a complete lockdown, but district-wise stringent restrictions and containment zones, the SOPs for which were likely to be made public by April 2. State Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked officials to prepare fresh SOPs on further restrictions to be implemented amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, and deaths.

Chinese diplomat calls Trudeau ‘running dog of US’ A Chinese consul general in Brazil has derided Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “running dog” of the U.S. whose only accomplishment is to ruin friendly

relations with China, the latest example of Beijing’s combative new, “wolf-warrior” brand of diplomacy.

Continued on page 10

enough for each Canadian to receive 10 doses, free of charge. Four months later, Canada is still lagging behind most Western nations in vaccinations. It is currently ranked 44 in global rankings of vaccinations per capita, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Continued on page 6

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Saturday, April 3, 2021 Canada-wide warrants issued for two Metro Vancouver men Two Canada-wide arrest warrants have been issued for a pair of Metro Vancouver criminals who skipped out on their sentencing hearings.

Vancouver police are asking for the public’s help in locating 61-yearold Thomas Toth, while Surrey RCMP is on the lookout for 49-yearold Michael Norberg.

Toth was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of 86-year-old Orlando Ocampo, who died from injuries incurred in a beating outside the Vancouver Costco store on Dec. 20, 2017.

Toth, who is described as a 6-foot-2 white man and weighing 250 pounds, failed to appear for his March 5 sentencing hearing.

N o r b e r g , meanwhile, had a provincewide arrest warrant issued in 2019 after he failed to appear at his sentencing hearing after being convicted of forcible confinement and invitation to sexual touching.

A Canadawide extension was applied to Norberg’s arrest warrant on March 29.

Norberg is described as a white male, approximately 6-foot-2 with a slender build, brown hair, blue eyes and prominent arm tattoos.

Anyone who sees either Toth or Norberg is asked to call 911.

British Columbians urged to stay home this Easter weekend amid Covid-19 cases rise With the Easter weekend upon us, British Columbians are being urged to stay home as COVID-19 cases surge across the province.

This message bears even more urgency after B.C. reported its highest single-day case count on Thursday, with 1,013 new infections.

“The risk for all of us is too great, which means any of our usual travel and holiday weekend gatherings need to be put on hold this year,” reads a joint statement from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix. Thursday was the first time since the pandemic started that B.C. has crossed the thousand-mark threshold for new daily cases.

Beyond that disturbing tally, the latest cases mean more than 100,000 people in B.C. have contracted COVID-19 to date.

Nationally, we are approaching the onemillion mark in cases since this pandemic began.

Canada’s top doctor has previously urged Canadians to “hold on together a bit stronger and longer” until vaccines can do their job.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam continues to stress the risk virus variants pose to our efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. Recently, she said she was concerned that variants could threaten “our progress before vaccines can bring full benefits.”

As the province tries to get its case load under control once again, the Easter long weekend marks the first weekend since new restrictions were announced.

They include a ban on indoor dining at eateries, the closure of non-liquor-primary establishments, as well as indoor religious services no longer being allowed, despite recent announcements relaxing these rules for the next few weeks.

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OPINION

By Ian Madsen, Senior Policy Analyst Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Canada must stand up to China now

The vote by Canada’s Parliament to declare the actions of the Chinese government a genocide against the Uyghur people highlights the growing discordance between Western democracies and the increasingly repressive and aggressive Chinese regime.

The Chinese government also engages in cultural repression, surveillance or discrimination against its Tibetan, Mongolian and Korean minorities.

China has benefited immensely from the open trade, travel and investment system created and nurtured since the Second World War, since it gradually joined starting about 40 years ago. However, China engages in behaviour that’s counter to the spirit and sometimes the letter of law of the treaties and organizations of which it is party. As a member of the United Nations,

China is required to respect the territorial integrity of other nations. Yet it has launched naval incursions into Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Philippine and Taiwanese waters. And it has built permanent military bases in the South China Sea, which it has claimed largely as its own, defying global rulings. It has rammed foreign vessels and otherwise engaged in hostilities in these naval adventures. Its fishing vessels have poached in neighbours’ waters. It has also arrested foreign nationals and held them with little outside contact or counsel. That includes two Canadians, still imprisoned after two years on bogus espionage charges.

China has also violated a treaty with the United Kingdom granting Hong Kong autonomy in domestic affairs until 2047. It has now taken control of Hong Kong. It has invaded India’s territory and assaulted its troops in Ladakh in the northwestern Himalayas, Sikkim in the central Himalayas, in Arunachal Pradesh and in a border area with Bhutan.

It has tried to insert itself into the Arctic Council, although it’s not an Arctic nation. It uses the Paris climate accord to its advantage: it doesn’t have to cut greenhouse gas emissions until 2035, unlike countries like Canada and the United States. China is building one large coal-fired power station weekly.

It also ties other nations, poor or developed, to it with onerous debt-financed infrastructure projects in its Belt and Road Initiative. China requires foreign corporations doing business with it to enter into joint ventures that transfer intellectual property to local firms. It conducts industrial and scientific espionage.

It has compelled foreign companies and organizations to kowtow to it on Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and other matters. It fosters hostility among its citizens to Western nations, its neighbours and others who don’t acquiesce. China uses trade and investment as a weapon. It punished Canada for arresting Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, incarcerating two blameless Canadians and impeding import of Canadian canola, meat and other products. It did similar things to Australia when that nation suggested an independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s actions to hide evidence and silence doctors are contrary to international expectations of transparency, accountability and responsibility.

China has also used trade as a weapon against South Korea and Japan; the former when it dared to install anti-missile defences against the hostile and volatile North Korean regime and the latter when it dared to defend against Chinese incursions in its East China Sea territories. Some rare elements mined and refined in China are not easily found elsewhere. They are crucial in many products vital to modern life: electronics, solar panels, fibre optics, wind turbines, batteries, LEDs, computers, televisions, cellphones, electric motors and defence products, among others.

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Saturday, April 3, 2021

Toll-free Pattullo Bridge opening date moved to 2024 due to Covid-19 pandemic he opening date for the new toll-free Pattullo Bridge replacement has been moved from late 2023 to sometime in 2024.

The government said preliminary, in-river work began in February, including installing the first piles that will form the foundation for the first bridge tower, but the on-site investigative work and permitting processes have taken longer than anticipated due to the complexities of the project and the COVID-19 pandemic, the government said in a release.

The in-river work is now temporarily paused to protect fish and fish habitat in the Fraser and will hopefully resume when the fish window opens again in the summer, the government added.

Other work on land will continue in the meantime and foundations in both New Westminster and Surrey are expected to start being built this spring.

Vancouver police issue warning about spike in jewelry scams Vancouver police issued a warning Thursday about a spike in jewelry scams on the city’s East Side.

The scammers typically use sleight-of-hand distraction techniques to steal valuables from unsuspecting victims, or by trading fake and worthless jewelry in exchange for cash.

“Every spring we see an increase in these types of crimes as the days get longer and the weather improves,” said Sgt. Steve Addison, a spokesperson for the VPD. “However, the exponential growth since January is extremely concerning.”

He says investigators have seen a five-fold increase in jewelry scams since the beginning of 2021, from three in January to 15 in March.

Thirty incidents have been reported to VPD so far this year, and there are likely dozens more that have gone unreported.

“These thieves succeed by overwhelming their victims with the element of surprise, or by convincing them to go against their better judgement,” said Addison.

“Usually, by the time someone realizes they’ve been tricked, the scammers are long gone. This makes catching them and charging them very difficult.”

Some recent incidents: A 57-year-old man was sitting at a bus stop near Main Street and East 41st Avenue in January when he was approached by a man and woman driving a black Toyota Sienna. The couple had three young children in the car and said they were desperate for money to get back to Montreal. They convinced the unsuspecting victim to withdraw $3,000 from the bank in

exchange for handfuls of fake jewelry.

A woman was walking near Kingsway and Joyce Street in February when a brown sedan pulled up beside her. A woman got out of the passenger seat, approached the 63-year-old victim, and put a chain around her neck. The victim refused and told the woman to go away. An hour later, the victim realized her necklace was gone.

Earlier this month, a 56-year-old woman was walking her dog near Fraser Street and East 33rd Avenue when a woman got out of a car, approached her, and claimed the victim reminded her of her dead mother.

The scammer tried to put a fake necklace around the victim’s neck, then hugged her.

While doing so, the suspect removed the victim’s necklace and bracelet. The victim went home and told family members, but by the time police were called the suspects were long gone.

Vancouver police are urging residents to remain vigilant, not to let people enter their personal space, and to report all encounters with jewelry scammers so police can search the area for suspects.

“The best thing we can do to prevent jewelry scams and distraction thefts is to understand how these thieves operate, to avoid falling victim, and to call police right away,” said Addison.

Crimes in progress can be reported to 911.

Police identify Kelowna homicide victim a year after shooting in bid to further investigation Amanpreet Bal, 29, was found shot dead inside a car in Mission neighbourhood on March 24, 2020.

Police in Kelowna, B.C., have released the identity of a murder victim a year after his body was found inside a car in the city’s Mission neighbourhood.

On Monday, RCMP identified the victim as Amanpreet Bal, 29, in an attempt to further their investigation. Bal was found shot dead in the vehicle’s front seat in the 300-block of Trumpeter Court just after

midnight on March 24, 2020, a statement said.

He had recently moved to the Kelowna area from the Lower Mainland, and investigators believe his death was connected to ongoing criminal activity at that time, it said.

According to RCMP, neighbours had reported hearing gunshots earlier that night.

But one year later, no arrests have been made.

Any witnesses or anyone who has not yet spoken to police is asked to call the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit at 250-762-3300, or anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

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Saturday, April 3, 2021

Is Canada turning the corner with Covid-19?

From page 1 This week, the country welcomed an announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Pzifer-BioNTech had agreed to accelerate delivery of five million vaccine doses, bringing them forward from late summer up to June.

But the country is now waging war with a surge of new Covid-19 variants which threaten to overwhelm an already strained hospital system. The country has recorded more than 980,080 infections and almost 23,000 deaths.

Canada was criticised at the end of last year for buying up multiple times the supply it needs to cover its population.

It had signed deals with seven vaccine suppliers - including Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson - for a total of over 400 million doses.

But without the capacity to produce the vaccines domestically, Canada has been forced to rely on outside manufacturers, mainly in the EU and the US, where vaccine exports have been tied up with delays or cancelled altogether.

Just over 12 out of every 100 Canadians have received at least one dose of vaccine, compared to about 30 in the US and 46 in the UK. Immunisation has been further frustrated by shifting guidance on the AstraZeneca vaccine. In late February, Health Canada authorised its use for all Canadians 18 and older. But this week, the government said that the vaccine should not be used in adults under age 55, citing questions over blood clots.

Some 500,000 AstraZeneca doses have already been delivered to Canada and 1.5 million doses are to be shipped from the US this week. Another 4.4 million doses are

expected by the end of June.

Some news this week suggests that Canada might be about to change its vaccine fortune.

Prime Minister Trudeau on Tuesday announced Pfizer would speed up delivery of 5 million vaccine doses - getting them to Canada

by June. This new timeline means Canada should receive some 17.8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine between April and June - more than a million doses each week.

The first doses of Johnson&Johnson’s singleshot vaccine are expected by the end of April.

Canada has pre-ordered 10 million doses of this vaccine, with the option to order 28 million more.

“We now have handily exceeded our promised target of six million doses delivered before April,” Mr Trudeau said. “And this week, we begin our ramp-up phase.”

The federal government and the government of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, are expected to announce a nearly C$1bn investment in a vaccine production and distribution facility in the Toronto area, according to the Toronto Star newspaper.Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi SA will expand Canada’s influenza vaccine production capacity, producing enough for the entire population in six months. The facility is expected to be completed by 2027.

A third wave Some experts are warning that this vaccine catch-up may not be enough to halt the pandemic’s third wave amid rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations. “The ongoing increase in infection rates is now playing out in our hospitals with rising trends in severe and critical illnesses, placing renewed strain on the health system,” said Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health official. The Public Health Agency of Canada has projected that if Canadians increase or maintain current levels of social interaction, Covid-19 infection rates will spike to the highest levels the country has seen so far.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

All BC part-time and full-time workers will get job-protected leave for Covid-19 vaccine BC govt announced on Thursday all part-time and fulltime workers in the province will be granted job-protected leave in order to get their COVID-19 vaccine. Under the Employment Standards Act, the government said workers will be able to take “the time needed” to travel and receive the vaccine or take a dependent family member to receive the vaccine.

“I encourage all workers to get your vaccine as soon as it’s your turn,” Harry Bains, Minister of Labour said in a release.

“And I know most businesses understand

BC reports 832 new Covid-19 cases, five more deaths From page 1 “This is not the time for any of us to be travelling for leisure or vacation or getaways outside of our community, travel is still very high risk for all of us — we take the risk from where we are coming and we take it home from where we have been,” she said.

BC MLAs get pay raise too on April 1 From page 1 on contract data published by the government of Canada. “With millions of Canadians struggling through the COVID-19 downturn, the least our MPs could do is cancel this cruel April Fools’ Day joke and end the tax and politician pay hikes,” said Terrazzano. Aside from the carbon, the alcohol escalator tax is also expected to rise Thursday. The federal carbon tax was recently affirmed as constitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada after a long legal battle with Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario who argued the feds don’t have jurisdiction to impose the tax. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defends the tax, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has vowed to scrap it if his party forms government.

Alberta family pleads and petitions to keep BC mass murderer behind bars In 1982, George and Edith Bentley met their daughter Jackie and her husband Bob Johnson, along with their daughters, 13-year-old Karen and 11-yearold Janet Johnson, at a remote camping area in British Columbia. They were killed by David Shearing, who shot the adults, then held the two young girls captive and sexually assaulted them before he shot the girls as well. The six bodies were found in a burned vehicle in a remote area of Wells Gray Provincial Park.

Shearing was convicted of six counts of seconddegree murder, sentenced to six concurrent sentences of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for 25 years. Shearing now goes by the last name of Ennis, and is up for full parole at a hearing in July. He is seeking to live within an hour of Bowden, where he’s incarcerated.

Kristal Woolf is the great niece of Bob and cousin of Karen and Janet. Woolf lives in Airdrie, Alta., and she’s horrified that Ennis could be released, and even more disturbed he could be allowed to live close to her family.

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the importance of having their employees vaccinated and providing a safe workspace for workers and customers.”

A worker can now take job-protected leave if they need to care for other family members because of COVID-19, and not only a child or dependent adult as previously defined.

While workers now have the assurance they won’t lose their jobs for taking time off to get vaccinated, the province is exploring options to provide workers with paid leave while getting the vaccine.

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Saturday, April 3, 2021

China’s ‘blatant coercion’ of Australia is a lesson for the world, says Antony Blinken US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has singled out China’s “blatant economic coercion of Australia” as an example of the urgent threats democratic nations around the world face from increasingly assertive authoritarian regimes.

In a major speech on America’s alliances, Blinken said the Biden administration will not force countries into an “us or them” choice with China. But he called for democratic nations to work closer together to counter the rising superpower’s “aggressive actions” and technological advancements.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said economic coercion by China was one of the major threats to global stability.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said economic coercion by China was one of the major threats to global stability. Bloomberg Blinken, who clashed spectacularly with Chinese diplomats at a meeting in Alaska last week, said he would particularly like to see democratic nations join forces to develop an global alternative to China’s 5G technology.

“There’s no question that Beijing’s coercive behaviour threatens our collective security and prosperity, and that it is actively working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we and our allies share,” Blinken said in a speech at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“But that doesn’t mean that countries can’t work with China where possible, for example, on challenges like climate change and health security.” Blinken said the Biden administration knows its allies have “complex relationships with China that won’t always align perfectly”.

“But we need to navigate these challenges together,” he said. “That means working with our allies to close the gaps in areas like technology and infrastructure, where Beijing is exploiting to exert coercive pressure. “We’ll rely on innovation, not ultimatums.” Blinken said the major threats faced by the US and its allies could be grouped into three categories, with the first being military threats from countries such as

China and Russia. “We see this in China’s efforts to threaten freedom of navigation, to militarise the South China Sea, to target countries throughout the Indo-Pacific with increasingly sophisticated military capabilities,” he said.

“Beijing’s military ambitions are growing by the year.” The second category was non-military threats in the form of “technological, economic, and informational tactics that threaten our security”. “From China’s blatant economic coercion of Australia, to Russia’s use of disinformation to erode confidence in elections and in safe, effective vaccines – these aggressive actions threaten not only our individual countries, but also our shared values,” he said.

The third category was global crises such as climate change and COVID-19. Blinken said the co-ordinated sanctions imposed this week

by Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom on Chinese officials for atrocities committed against Uighurs in Xinjiang was a model to follow in the future.

Retaliatory sanctions by China “make it all the more important that we stand firm and stand together, or else risk sending the message that bullying works”, he said. Blinken said he was concerned that modern communications technology was “being encroached upon by our adversaries”. “Consider 5G, where China’s technology brings serious surveillance risks,” he said. “We should bring together tech companies from countries like Sweden, Finland, South Korea, the United States, and use public and private investment to foster a secure and trustworthy alternative.” Blinken said the elevation of the “Quad” - a strategic dialogue between the US, Australia, India and Japan - to leaders-level meetings this month demonstrated the importance the Biden administration places on alliances. “We share a vision of a free, open, inclusive, and healthy Indo-Pacific region, unconstrained by coercion, and anchored by democratic values,” he said of the four Quad nations. “We make a good team.”

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Surrey RCMP looking for man wanted for assault on pregnant woman “This unprovoked RCMP has released a assault is very surveillance photo of a concerning,” said Surrey man wanted in connection RCMP spokeswoman with a random assault Cpl. Joanie Sidhu. “We on a pregnant woman are appealing to the in Whalley last week. public to help us identify Mounties say the woman the man responsible was shoved from behind so we can advance and onto the ground our investigation.” by an unknown man The suspect is on March 23 at around described as white, with a 11:30 a.m. outside a bank slender build and he was at 102nd Avenue and wearing a sky blue jacket, King George Boulevard.

This man is wanted in an assault on a Get ready to pay pregnant woman that occurred March 23 dark pants and a grey hat. more for toilet paper, outside a bank at 102 Avenue and King Anyone with Kleenex and diapers George Boulevard in Whalley, Surrey, BC. information can contact The victim was Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime taken to hospital but police say Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 she received only minor injuries.

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Saturday, April 3, 2021

BC adds three more Vancouver hotels to housing stock for homeless people B.C. government has purchased three more hotels to help house homeless people living in Vancouver. Housing Minister David Eby said in a news release that the properties will help the province meet its goal of providing dignified indoor living spaces for everyone currently camping in Vancouver’s Strathcona Park by the end of the month. The province says it is spending about $75.5 million to buy the Patricia Hotel and two properties on Main Street.

The buildings have a total of 249 units and about 114 are expected to be offered soon to people experiencing homelessness. B.C. Housing will work with current long-term tenants at the Patricia Hotel to ensure they have appropriate accommodation as the building transitions to supportive housing, while tenants at the other two hotels will not be displaced.

This comes after a federal announcement of the purchase of three other properties through the Rapid Housing Initiative, including the Ramada Hotel on West Pender Street.

Together, all six buildings will provide about

340 permanent supportive homes, according to the B.C. government. “Street homelessness and encampments aren’t working for anyone in Vancouver — not for people who have been living outside over the winter in unsafe conditions without access to supports, and not for their neighbours who live nearby,” said Eby in a statement. Initially, the Patricia Hotel will provide about 100 permanent homes with wraparound supports and a non-profit housing operator will be on site to manage the building and provide services. Daily meals, access to lifeskills training, recovery services, employment assistance, counselling and physical and mental health resources will be available to residents, said the government. B.C. Housing is reaching out to non-profit housing providers to explore support services for the two buildings on Main Street. One is a 22-unit building and the other has 32 units. They’re both located just north of National Ave. Between the two buildings, there are currently 14 vacant units.

Chinese diplomat calls Trudeau ‘running dog of US’ Li Yang, based in Rio de Janeiro, also referred to Trudeau as “boy” and a spendthrift in an apparent retort to Canada’s recent Uyghurrelated sanctions against China. The tweet was written in English on a platform that’s banned in Li’s home country, suggesting the remarks were directed at neither Chinese nor Brazilian citizens.

“Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the US.,” scoffed Li on the Twitter social media platform. “Spendthrift!!!”

Running dog is a pejorative Chinese term for lackeys of a more powerful, often evil, force, made popular by Mao Zedong during the early years of the country’s Communist government. By Monday

afternoon, the message had earned 3,000 likes.

“This is a very unfortunate and unnecessary tweet,” said Zhiqun Zhu, an international relations professor at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University. “Insulting leaders of other countries is not a thing a diplomat should do. It is not only undiplomatic, but also against China’s own culture of being polite and respectful.”

More and more Chinese diplomats, though, seem to be following the wolfwarrior approach, even competing with each other to be the boldest, said Zhu. Had the post been issued by a diplomat based in Canada, it could have been grounds for declaring the individual persona non grata and sending him or her home, said Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing.

Here’s a quick look at some of the things you’ll pay more for in BC A series of tax changes proposed before the pandemic are now in effect in British Columbia, meaning residents will be paying more on a variety of items ranging from online subscriptions to sugary drinks. Here’s a summary of what will cost more, starting with pain at the pumps.

In what is likely unwelcome news for drivers, B.C.’s carbon tax increased Thursday. The increase amounts to $45 per tonne, which the Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates will cost 9.9 cents per litre of gasoline. Gas price analysts have suggested drivers in Metro Vancouver could be paying as much as

$1.70 a litre by the summer.

Those buying diesel may pay an extra 12 cents per litre, based on the CTF’s estimate, and natural gas could cost 8.8 cents more per cubic metre. The CTF suggests the carbon tax alone will amount to another $7 each time a minivan driver fills up, $12 for a light-duty pickup truck, and $65 to fill a big rig truck.

If shipping costs more, that cost could be passed on to consumers in other ways in addition to the tax, the federation says. In terms of natural gas, supplier FortisBC has promised prices won’t change until at least the end of June. However, it said the carbon tax increase and other charges may still result in higher bills for its customers.

Disagreements over Israel, anti-Semitism definition threaten to divide federal NDP ahead of convention From page 1

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), arguing it is used to chill criticism of Israeli policy. An advocacy group called the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute is applauding the move for resisting what it dubs an “effort by anti-Palestinian lobby groups” to pressure party leadership into suppressing debate around the plight of Palestinians. In response to the would-be resolutions, party members from 17 ridings — including some of those whose electoral district associations are against the IHRA definition — signed a letter sent to NDP riding presidents and obtained by The Canadian Press.

“The NDP policy convention, where at least 99 per cent of attendees will not be Jewish, is neither the time nor the place to debate a resolution that condemns the definition of this pervasive hatred for the Jewish people,” the March 26 letter states.

“Debating this resolution at our upcoming convention would put the NDP — Canada’s party of social justice — in the position of violating our fundamental principles of the work of social justice.” Groups that back the working definition of anti-Semitism say it crystallizes understandings of hateful rhetoric that includes demonization of the Jewish state.

Several New Democrats have condemned the definition — adopted by the federal Liberal government in 2019 as part of its antiracism strategy — while others including NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh say it can serve as a useful but non-binding educational tool.

Delegates registered for the convention will take part in a ranked vote next Tuesday

to determine which of the 400-plus proposals make it to the virtual floor for debate and potential adoption as party policy. The point of contention is not the IHRA’s 39-word definition itself, which describes anti-Semitism as expressions of hatred toward Jews, but rather the way some groups have applied it and the appended list of examples that contextualize it.

The statement’s lead author, Kenneth Stern, has disavowed its deployment, writing in a Guardian opinion piece that “right-wing Jewish groups” had moved to “weaponize” a definition created initially to assist European data collectors.

Former NDP MPs Svend Robinson and Libby Davies, who remain party members, have slammed the definition on those grounds. It was cited in a Jan. 3 Twitter post by Gila Martow, a Progressive Conservative member of provincial parliament in Ontario, to level accusations against NDP MP Charlie Angus, who spoke out on the issue of Palestinian access to vaccines.

Resistance to the working definition comes from “activists” and “fringe groups,” said Richard Marceau, general counsel for the Toronto-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).

“I believe that there is a small and active and vocal group of NDPers that have a suspicious obsession with the state of Israel. And their obsession borders on the unhealthy,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

The focus of the convention should revolve around more immediate issues facing Canadians at home, such as health care and the vaccine rollout, Marceau said.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Premier Horgan urged to apologize for telling young people to ‘not blow this for the rest of us’ Premier John Horgan’s move to blame young people for BC’s latest surge in Covid-19 cases is not going over well.

He’s facing backlash for his comments made Monday, with some wondering if Horgan should be looking to himself for someone to blame.

“The cohort from 20 to 39 are not paying as much attention to these broadcasts and quite frankly, are putting the rest of us in a challenging situation,” the premier said at a briefing Monday, during which the province announced new restrictions. However, given it’s people in that exact demographic who are putting their health on the line every day to work in grocery stores, restaurants, and in more direct lines of fire like health care, UBC New Democrats President Justin Kulik calls the premier’s comments unacceptable.

“We have been hit hard by just about everything in this pandemic. Education, job loss, our mental health — we’re seeing that it’s young people putting themselves at risk every day to keep our province working. But we’re still getting the blame at the end of the day and being told not to ‘blow it for the rest of us,’” said Kulik, who ran for the BC NDP in the last provincial election.

“I think it’s important that the premier apologize for this comment — not just because it isn’t backed up by data but just because young people have given so, so much,” he added.

Kulik took to Twitter to call for Horgan’s apology on Monday.

“I was your youngest candidate,” he wrote.

“Young people are on the front lines. We are struggling. How dare you tell young people not to ‘ruin it for the rest of us.’”

Kulik tells NEWS 1130 when he heard Horgan attribute the rise in cases to young people, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“I ran alongside the premier — he was one of the BC NDP’s candidates, as was I. And to hear this rhetoric coming from the government is disappointing. I really think there are better approaches to this, and even if there was data to back up this rhetoric — which there isn’t — it still wouldn’t be appropriate,” he explained.

While he admits he has his disagreements with various NDP leadership members, Kulik says his calls for an apology are solely based on Horgan’s move to point the finger at young people.

“I’ve seen some BC Liberal MLAs retweeting me and even then I still recognize that their years in government were more harmful to young people and our education than these comments from the premier,” he said.

Many have taken to social media to blast the premier for his comments. That includes BC Green candidate Adam Bremner-Akins, another young politician, who put out his own criticism on Twitter.

“Young people are on the front lines, providing services for you, and the rest of the province, and have sacrificed so much already,” one post reads.

Outlining the essential jobs young people fill and the impacts they’ve felt over the past year, Bremner-Akins didn’t mince words while calling the premier out, saying “We don’t deserve to be blamed for your governments (sic) incompetence, if you really wanted to help young people you would, but you are just using stereotypes to throw us under the bus for your political gain, and not address other issues.”

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LOCAL

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Private school teacher ordered to pay $226K in damages to man he sucker punched 13 years ago A veteran teacher at a Shawnigan Lake private boarding school on Vancouver Island has been ordered to pay $226,000 to a security guard he sucker punched over 13 years ago.

In a civil ruling, a B.C. Supreme Court judge found that the assault by Ralph Mackay Fraser was a “profoundly painful, upsetting and life-changing incident,” which left the security guard, then 21, with lifelong injuries.

“This was, in short, a thoroughly disgraceful incident. If the defendant is a person of any conscience, he will be immobilized by shame every time he thinks of it,” stated Justice Robin Baird in the March 2021 ruling.

Fraser, who pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in 2008 and received a conditional discharge, was in his 50s when he committed the offence.

B.C. man ordered to pay $7 million for brutal beating of teenager Fraser was being escorted out of an event at the Pan Pacific hotel in Vancouver on Feb. 17, 2008, by 21-year-old security guard Andrew Thompson when he punched him in the face, permanently damaging the bony structure around Thompson’s left eye.

The ruling states that Fraser had previously been involved in a scuffle at the hotel bar after drinking too much, and staff called security to remove him. He had been attending an event with a number of people, including the headmaster of Shawnigan Lake School.

The assault left Thompson incapacitated for weeks and in need of emergency facial surgery, according to the ruling.

13

Human rights tribunal puts anti-maskers on notice, saying complaints require proof of disability The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has made it clear that anyone thinking of filing a complaint because they were told to wear a mask in a store will actually have to prove they have a disability that prevents them from doing so.

In a screening decision handed down Wednesday, tribunal member Steven Adamson wrote that “a large volume of complaints” have been filed over B.C.’s Covid-19 measures requiring face coverings in public indoor spaces like grocery stores, libraries and community centres.

The tribunal normally doesn’t publicize this type of decision, which determines if a complaint contains a possible violation of the B.C. Human Rights Code. But Adamson said he wanted to publish one anonymized

example for the purpose of public education.

“The Code does not protect people who refuse to wear a mask as a matter of personal preference, because they believe wearing a mask is ‘pointless’ or because they disagree that wearing masks helps to protect the public during the pandemic,” Adamson said.

“Rather, the Code only protects people from discrimination based on certain personal characteristics, including disability.”

As anti-tax guru’s fines go unpaid, his bogus ideas are revived in Covid-19 conspiracy circles B.C.’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner has recommended that people, like store owners, who are only having brief interactions with customers shouldn’t demand medical proof that someone is unable to wear a mask.

14

LOCAL

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Vancouver penthouse party host arrested again, charged with disobeying court order man accused of operating a makeshift nightclub inside his Vancouver penthouse amid COVID-19 restrictions was back in jail on the weekend. Police confirm Mo Movassaghi, 42, was arrested at 5 a.m. Saturday at his Vancouver residence.

Sgt. Steve Addison with Vancouver police said Movassaghi was taken into custody after the VPD attended his home in response to a complaint from the public.

Movassaghi has since been charged with disobeying a court order and two counts of possessing a controlled substance.

He is also accused of breaching a release order, according to Addison.

Police had been called to investigate an allegation Movassaghi was breaching

his court-ordered condition limiting the number of visitors to his suite.

At a court appearance Monday, the Crown said Movassaghi argued he only had two people inside – but after being handcuffed – he collapsed.

Police found roughly 6.5 grams of cocaine, MDMA, and another drug on Movassaghi, according to the Crown.

Movassaghi was given 12 months probation and ordered to pay a $100 fine after pleading guilty to simple possession of cocaine.

“Frankly, I think most people would expect the book to be thrown at him,” said Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on Sunday.

“If these allegations about the arrest are related to COVID and hosting a party, for example, I just find it unbelievable

BC hits daily record of Covid-19 cases The latest figures given on March 31: t 5PUBM OVNCFS PG DPOĕSNFE DBTFT BDUJWF t /FX DBTFT TJODF .BSDI t 5PUBM EFBUIT UISFF OFX t )PTQJUBMJ[FE DBTFT t *OUFOTJWF DBSF t 5PUBM WBDDJOBUJPOT

756,080 people have received one of the three approved vaccines, including 87,351 who have received a second dose. t $BTFT VOEFS QVCMJD IFBMUI NPOJUPSJOH t 3FDPWFSFE t -POH UFSN DBSF and assisted-living homes, and acute care facilities currently affected: 12

Lower Mainland residents struggle to book doses as AstraZeneca made available for ages 55-65 More than 100 pharmacies across the Lower Mainland will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines for the first time Wednesday, but some residents had a hard time booking an appointment.

On Tuesday, the province announced those aged 55 to 65 would be eligible for the AstraZenecaCOVISHIELD vaccine, specifically at pharmacies.

Health officials initially gave very few details about the updated rollout, which caused some panic and confusion. “I thought these poor pharmacists,” said Mel Clancy.

Clancy tried to call her local drug stores for more information shortly after the announcement, but says her pharmacists were also in the dark.

“I thought they are going to be inundated with people trying to find information.

It’s pretty great to book it based on the age group. Now you’ve got double the amount of people who are going to be trying to find this out. So I just thought ‘oh boy,’” said Clancy.

As many as 113 pharmacies from Vancouver to Chilliwack will be offering the vaccine to begin with and more will be added in the coming weeks.

While those aged 55 to 65 can book their appointment online, others are being prompted to join a waitlist to be contacted once more vaccines become available. Some pharmacies hadn’t even set up an online portal for booking yet.

As of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, this was the status at LowerMainlandpharmaciesinvolvedintherollout: t $PTUDP 8BJUMJTU POMZ t -PCMBXT Appointments only, but website says “COVID-19 vaccinations aren’t available at pharmacies JO #SJUJTI $PMVNCJB BU UIJT UJNF w t 4BWF 0O 'PPET 8BJUMJTU 0OMZ t -POEPO %SVHT /P # $ option listed. A tweet from the company says all BQQPJOUNFOUT BSF BMSFBEZ CPPLFE t (VBSEJBO 4VOTUPOF /P POMJOF CPPLJOH QPSUBM t 3FNFEZ 39 /P POMJOF CPPLJOH QPSUBM t 1IBSNBTBWF Website says, “ At this time, British Columbia’s public health department is handling the rollout of the COVID-19 immunization program and community pharmacies do not currently have a TVQQMZ PG $07*% WBDDJOFT t 3FYBMM 8BJUMJTU POMZ t 8BMNBSU /P # $ PQUJPO MJTUFE

BC Liberal statement on NDP’s child care regulation Press release

Karin Kirkpatrick, BC Liberal Critic for Children, Family Development and Childcare released the following statement as the NDP’s new cost regulation for the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative (CCFRI) is set to take effect on April 1, 2021 “The NDP government needs to immediately pause this cost regulation, which is pushing many child care providers to the brink of bankruptcy, forcing them to lay off staff and shut down much-needed child care spaces for families. “Every day I’ve been receiving calls from providers who have invested their life savings into child care facilities, some of which have pledged their family homes for loans, and they are begging the Minister to listen to their pleas. “This is a result of the NDP’s lack of understanding of how businesses

work. Child care businesses, whether private or non-profit, operate at an average one to two per cent margin — salaries and rent are the two biggest costs. Ninety per cent of child care owners or operators, and the majority of employees, are women.

The impact of a lack of spaces most affects women. Government is basically saying that if you don’t operate at a loss on each new space, parents won’t be eligible for the government subsidy and Early Childhood Educators won’t be eligible for a wage top up.

“This sudden regulation change has placed enormous stress on operators, making it no longer financially viable for them to be in business. Families will pay the price through the loss of thousands of child care spaces.”

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Canada says air travellers must use quarantine hotels even if they’ve been vaccinated The federal government is reminding vaccinated travellers that they must still complete a multi-night quarantine hotel stay when entering Canada via air.

In a tweet, the government explained that all non-essential air passengers must complete the mandatory quarantine stay, regardless of whether they’re partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “Attention!

If you have received the #Covid19 vaccine and are flying back to Canada: The mandatory

food, any

hotel quarantine requirement still applies,” the tweet explained.

The latest federal restriction requires anyone entering the country by air to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and stay in a governmentauthorized hotel for at least three nights while they await results.

Travellers are expected to cover the cost of their hotel stay, which includes security, transportation and additional Covid-19 testing.

Canadian authorities bust marine smuggling ring, seize $10 million of opium Canadian authorities have seized more than a tonne of opium they claim had been smuggled by sea into B.C. In February, officers from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the RCMP executed a search warrant on two freight containers at Delta Port and discovered 2,500 individual packages of suspected opium, each weighing 400 grams. The search was conducted without tipping off the alleged traffickers. The RCMP and CBSA’s Metro Vancouver marine operation unit seized the literal tonne of opium, replaced it with fake product and then waited for someone to come collect the containers.

That happened on Feb. 12 when the containers were picked up and transported to a warehouse in Surrey.

Police followed the shipment and arrested five people — one Vancouver man and four men from Ontario — at the warehouse. A sixth man evaded arrest and fled the scene.

No names have been released as charges haven’t yet been filed. The RCMP’s federal serious and organized crime division (FSOC) continues to investigate.

The CBSA says the seized opium has a street value of $10 million and the 1,000 kilogram bust is one of its largest opium seizures on record.

Opium is collected from the milky fluid that seeps from cuts made to immature opium poppies. It can be used in its raw form or processed into heroin and other opioids.

“The RCMP takes very seriously any substance thatthreatensthesafetyandsecurityofCanadians,” said RCMP FSOC Supt. Richard Bergevin.

The RCMP says an opium seizure this large is rare as heroin and fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is fuelling Canada’s continuing overdose crisis, are far more commonly seized by police due to their increased potencies compared with opium.

15

Mounting debt ‘worrying’ as Canadians stretch to chase rising home prices, says Bank of Canada governor Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said he’s seeing “worrying” signs in Canada’s hot housing market, in which households are taking on increasing levels of debt to chase rising prices.

The central bank had largely stayed quiet on the housing market until February, when Macklem said it was showing signs of “excessive exuberance” as national real estate prices jumped 25 per cent from the year before.

“Since then, the housing market has continued to run strong across a variety of dimensions; price increases have continued at a pretty high rate,” Macklem said in an interview with the Financial Post on Wednesday.

“If you look at the household indebtedness, you are seeing, on average, the loan-tovalue ratios are getting higher, particularly in the uninsured space. That suggests that Canadians are stretching and that is worrying.”

Rising Canadian athlete switches citizenship, hoping to compete for China in Tokyo Olympics Nina Schultz was just 19 years old when the world realized it had a serious new contender in the heptathlon.

New Westminster, B.C. native captured a silver medal for Canada at the last Commonwealth Games, finishing behind only the U.K.’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson, now the international number one.

But three years later, Schultz is a Canadian track-and-field luminary no more.

At a moment of bitter tensions between the two countries, she has taken on Chinese citizenship and hopes to compete for her

adopted country in this year’s Tokyo Olympics.

The reasons, Schultz has said, are deeply personal and seem to predate the current turmoil in China-Canada relations. Still, some critics of the regime in Beijing question her choice.

Her maternal grandmother in China once held the high jump world record but could never compete for that nation in the Olympics because it was boycotting the Games at the time. Her grandfather was a Chinese record holder in the high jump. The granddaughter expressed a wish as long ago as 2017 to achieve what her mother’s mother could not.

Former US President Donald Trump likes Kelowna waterfront Donald Trump appears to have his eye on Kelowna’s waterfront.

Photos of what look like a Trump tower or Trump hotel occupying prime Okanagan Lake foreshore were leaked to The Daily Courier today, April 1.

When reached at his Mar-a-lago golf resort in Florida, Trump said he’s heard great things about Kelowna.

“Developers all across the globe are

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

talking about the towers going up in your city,” the ex-president said. “I want in. They’re giving them away. They’re making it so easy to build these things.”

Details on the final product are scarce, however. When asked if it would be a hotel, office tower or residential space, the man who made his fortune developing New York City properties said it will be all of those things — and more.

16

Saturday, April 3, 2021

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, April 3, 2021

B.C. Liberals call for urgent help for BC businesses and workers Press release

With new public health orders in effect, the BC Liberals are calling on the NDP government to immediately ramp up supports for struggling small businesses.

“Yesterday, John Horgan said if new support was needed they’d get on it — so where is it? People needed that support one minute after midnight when the new restrictions came in, but there was no plan for it,” said Interim Leader of the Official Opposition Shirley Bond.

“How could they not have supports in place, knowing they were about to put so many British Columbians out of work for at least three weeks? The lack of care for people’s livelihoods, especially for those aged 20 to 39 in the service industry who are being blamed for the third wave by John Horgan, is unacceptable.”

Todd Stone, BC Liberal Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, said the NDP government has botched the recovery grant program for small business, which has left many restaurants and other hospitality businesses hanging by a thread, not sure that they will be able to make it to the other side of the pandemic.

As a result, the Official Opposition is once again urging action that will get financial support to those small businesses that need it the most including: t *NNFEJBUFMZ BEKVTU UIF 4NBMM BOE Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant program by: t 4QFFEJOH VQ UIF BQQMJDBUJPO BOE

approvals process to reduce the massive CBDLMPH UIBU FYJTUT BOE t &BTJOH the eligibility criteria, including the requirement for a business to have been operating for at least 18 months as of the date of application; the requirement for a business to have had positive cash flow for the last financial statement prior to February 2020; and the requirement that business ownership has not prepared the business for sale following February t 1SPWJEF JNNFEJBUF ĕOBODJBM support to restaurants hit with sudden costs due to lost perishable inventory as a result of the latest health orders t&YQBOE TVQQPSU GPS TNBMM CVTJOFTTFT through tax deferrals and relief, such as: t%FGFSSJOH UIF &NQMPZFS )FBMUI 5BY Provincial Sales Tax and Carbon tax; and t4UPQQJOH BMM UBY JODSFBTFT BOE QMBOOFE new taxes for 2021. t&OTVSF UIBU BEWBODF OPUJDF PG additional health measures are provided to businesses in the future.

“John Horgan’s mixed messages have caused confusion, and small business owners and their employees are going to pay the price,” added Stone. “It’s clear Horgan and the NDP have no plan and no ideas to get people the help they deserve, so I’m happy to send them our ideas. It’s not about taking credit — it’s about making sure these small businesses don’t lose everything after weeks of mixed messaging from a Premier and his ensuing lack of supports for small businesses.”

17

Driver trapped under fallen power lines for five hours during windstorm A woman was trapped inside her car for hours after power lines fell across her vehicle while she was driving in Vancouver during Sunday’s windstorm.

It happened while she was driving along 51st Avenue and Southwest Marine Drive.

Vancouver Fire Chief Ken Gemmill says it was quite the ordeal and latest over five hours.

“Unfortunately it was a long drawn out battle.

You don’t know if the power line down on the car was live or not. So we can’t advise them they

leave their car,” he said, adding other resources were needed to help safely get the woman out.

“So we eventually did get Vancouver Police to assist us in closing the street down and keeping her calm in her car and unfortunately it took five hours,” Gemmill explained.

He says when the woman’s husband showed up he was stressed out by length of the rescue.

“He was a little bit upset by the whole ordeal but the safety of the individual is our highest priority and she understood.

Seniors from Chartwell Imperial Place - giving back to Meals On Wheels Press release

Chartwell Imperial Place Seniors Caring About Seniors and giving back at Easter to Meals on Wheels, Surrey North Delta.

This week, Retirement Living Consultant of Chartwell Imperial Place, Nicola Romaniuk, presented another gift to the Meals on Wheels.

This month’s partnership with Meals on Wheels is a thoughtful gift of 130 Chocolate Easter Bunnies, with a love note and puzzle attached. I choose to collaborate on this project with a well respected local realtor of 25 years, Collette Burke. Collette and I have worked together supporting seniors over the past 2 years.

When speaking with Christine Morettin, Administrator at the Surrey North Delta Meals on Wheels Christine says, “Our clients are so happy to receive anything and Christine is so grateful to Chartwell Imperial Place”. A resident couple at Imperial Place Joan and Wally, volunteered their

time to put these all together for us, so it’s a truly all hands on deck, seniors supporting seniors. From our Home to Their Home.

Just last week Meals on Wheels received 130 activity booklets for their clients designed especially for them by Chartwell Imperial Place, Surrey Hearing Care Inc. and Downtown Surrey Pharmasave.

Imperial Place, Retirement Living Consultant Nicola Romaniuk, has told Christine we are committed to partnering with Meals on Wheels working with other community supporters.

Our goals is Making Peoples Lives Better not only here at Imperial Place but in the community of Surrey and North Delta where so many of our residents used to live.

CHARTwell Imperial Place retirement residence 13853 102nd Ave, Surrey, BC V3T 5P6 Ph: 604-581-1555

18

O

INDIA

ver the past century, cooling technologies have fundamentally impacted the ways in which people interact with each other and their local environment.

The trajectory of cooling is now undergoing an extraordinary change. As the economies and populations of the hottest parts of the world grow, and global temperatures continue to rise, the demand for cooling for human comfort has the potential to drive one of the most substantial recent increases in energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

Understanding cooling demand growth and finding ways to shape its increase sustainably remains a complex task. In this regard, India is a very relevant case study. It ranks first among lower-middle income countries with an increasingly affluent middle class and it has the highest exposure to potential cooling needs.

Air conditioning is threatening our ability to tackle climate change. Here’s what we need to do While the magnitude of future cooling demand in India is increasingly known, little is understood about the dynamics of changing cooling patterns. How is cooling managed and what strategies do people use? How, when and why are people buying and using air conditioners (ACs)? Who is buying energy-efficient ACs? And is cooling consumption gendered?

In a new study, published in Environmental Research Letters, my coauthors and I provide answers to some of these fundamental cooling questions in one of the fastest and

Saturday, April 3, 2021 and the most common use of the AC is for sleeping.

The average number of hours of AC usage is 5.4 hours. Interestingly, this is much less than estimates in the national India Cooling Action Plan, which predicted usage at more than eight hours a day for six months of the year.

All of these findings are displayed in charts below, which shows average AC use (left), preferred temperature (middle) and timings of use (right). charts showing the average reported AC use (in hours) in a summer day (left), preferred AC thermostat temperature settings (middle), and the most preferred timings for AC and cooler usage (right) The average number of hours of AC usage is 5.4 hours.

Our data suggests that there are a number of significant factors that drive AC usage. These include residing above the ground floor (leading to 35% higher AC usage on average), living in apartments as opposed to houses (1.1 hours less AC usage on average) and having poor power supply (0.9 hours less usage on average).

Other socio-demographical factors are important, too, as well as thermal preferences, behaviours and awareness of energy efficiency.

Houses with higher reported monthly incomes use the AC for longer. Whereas those with more second-hand ACs tend to use ACs for fewer hours, as do households with a higher proportion of seniors (aged 60 and above) and families who have not moved home for long periods.

How energy demand for cooling in India’s cities is changing largest urbanising regions of the world.

We selected Delhi – India’s capital territory – for our study as it is India’s highest electricityconsuming region and its trends provide insights for the rest of the country. Using a combination of existing datasets and new door-to-door surveys, we developed a sample of areas in Delhi with above-average AC penetration with a rare, near 50-50, split of AC and non-AC households.

Analysing the data, we unpack perceptions of thermal comfort, characterise the conditions under which households use ACs and examine what drives the purchase of energy-efficient cooling appliances.

We consider three types of cooling appliances in their respective order of uptake: fans, air coolers and ACs. Within the sample of households, we find that fans – which could be attached to the ceiling, table, wall or be freestanding – are the ubiquitous cooling device, with almost all households owning at least one.

As the Venn diagram below highlights, most homes have a combination of fans and coolers, but not ACs, while a third have fans and ACs, but not coolers. Forty-three per cent of households own one AC – most of which were newly bought in the previous two-to-three years – and 11% of homes have all the three cooling devices. a Venn diagram showing the ownership of cooling appliances within the sampled households Ownership of cooling appliances in the sampled households (n = 2,092). The

percentages represent the proportion of all households having the given appliance. The actual number of households for each appliance ownership category is listed in brackets.

Approximately 18% of households in the same neighbourhoods own only a fan. The majority of non-AC owning households reported not switching to ACs due to the prohibitive costs of the appliance and of its related recurring costs, such as electricity bills and maintenance.

Clearly, interventions that rapidly scale up the energy efficiency of cooling appliances – at a speed that matches the fast rate of increasing AC and air-cooler penetration – will be essential to locking-in low-carbon thermal comfort.

Our data suggests that almost half the households set their AC thermostats between 24C and 26C, and less than a third prefer temperatures between 21C and 23C. Overall, 24C is reported as the most preferred temperature setting for Delhi’s summer – where ambient temperatures are typically 28-35C. Notably, 24C is also the default setting for room ACs as mandated by India’s government in 2020.

The relatively large 5C range in the temperatures that households consider comfortable, even under the same weather conditions, is an important reminder of the varied perceptions of thermal comfort. In terms of cooling use, the majority of households use their AC for an average of three-to-six hours daily during peak summer months

INDIA

Saturday, April 3, 2021 Delhi adds 2,790 new Covid-19 cases The city added 2,790 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, a jump of nearly 1,000 cases more than the previous day’s count. Thursday’s spike was the highest single-day surge in 114 days, since the city recorded 3,188 infections on December 8. “The number of cases has increased more than we anticipated. There is a need to quickly vaccinate as many people as we can — everyone above the age of 18 must be allowed to get doses,” said Dr SK Sarin, director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS). He headed the Delhi government’s first committee on Covid-19 management and control. The Delhi government had in the third week of March written to the Centre, asking for permission to vaccinate all adults, but hasn’t received approval yet. “All eligible residents should be administered the vaccine quickly. If south Delhi is reporting

Congress hits back over interest rate orders, ‘oversight or election-related hindsight?’

a high number of cases right now, there will surely be an increase in other districts as well,” said Dr Lalit Kant, former head of the department of epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research. Apart from the sharp spike in cases, the positivity rate — proportion of samples that return positive among total tested — also increased sharply on Thursday, jumping to 3.57% from 2.71% a day ago. Experts regard the positivity rate as a crucial metric to assess the spread of an infection. While Delhi’s positivity rate stayed below 1% for 82 days, it has jumped over the past few days. The number of active cases also crossed the 10,000-mark on Thursday. There were 10,498 people with the infection in the city as on Wednesday night – as reported a day later in Thursday’s health bulletin.

The government on Thursday said the orders slashing interest rates on small savings had been issued by oversight and would be withdrawn.

Finance Minister Nitmala Sitharaman informed of withdrawal of the controversial order through a tweet this morning saying “Interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 20202021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021.

Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn.

The Congress was quick to hit back with party general Secretary Priyanka Vadra asking

Covid-19 vaccination for people above 45 starts In a significant step to exponentially expand the countrywide vaccination drive, the Centre has decided to operationalise both public and private sector COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs) on all days of month of April (from today till April 30, 2021).

The Centre has written to all States and UTs and asked them to make necessary arrangements to provide COVID vaccination in these CVCs on all days of the month, including g a z e t t e d holidays during April 2021.

This step has been taken after detailed deliberations with the States and UTs on March 31 to optimally utilize all COVID Vaccination Centres across the public and private sectors to ensure rapid increase in the

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the FM, “Really @nsitharaman “oversight” in issuing the order to decrease interest rates on GOI schemes or election driven “hindsight” in withdrawing it?

Congress media chief Randeep Surjewala also hit back at FM asking if she was running a government or a circus.

“Madam FM, are you running a ‘Circus’ or a ‘Government? One can imagine the functioning of economy when such duly approved order affecting crores of people can be issued by an ‘oversight’.

Who is the competent authority referred in order?

Cyrus Mistry speaks on Supreme Court’s verdict

pace and coverage of COVID vaccination.

This decision is in line with the graded and pro-active approach employed by the Government of India along with the States and UTs for COVID-19 vaccination.

“The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level,” said the Health Ministry.

T h e vaccinations for people above 45 years of age began today based on the recommendation of National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration (NEGVAC).

The inoculation is going well, gove’t said.

Days after the Supreme Court set aside the December 2019 ruling of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that had directed the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons chairperson, he reacted saying that he was grateful for the opportunity and that his conscience is clear.

However, he stressed that as a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, he was “personally disappointed by the judgment of the apex court”.

The NCLAT order had ordered the reinstatement of Mistry as Tata Sons chairman and set aside N Chandrasekaran’s appointment.

The apex court allowed all the appeals filed

by Tata Sons against the said NCLAT order.

Meanwhile, the appeals by the SP Group and Cyrus Investments were dismissed.

In a statement released on Tuesday, 30 March, Mistry said, “Over the last four years, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my actions and on whether I could have handled the generational change in leadership better.”

He added that in hindsight, he might have had many imperfections, but he did not

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have any “doubt or erosion of conviction” about the direction he chose, nor about the integrity of his actions and their consequences.

“Every member of society looks to institutions, such as courts, to validate and endorse the appropriateness of his or her actions and beliefs,” he said.

“As a minority shareholder of Tata Sons, I am personally disappointed by the outcome of the judgment with respect to our case.

Although I will no longer be able to directly influence the direction of governance of the Tata group, I hope that the issues I have raised will cause deeper reflection and influence individuals concerned to catalyse change.”

Statement from Cyrus Mistry “I sleep with a clear conscience,” he stressed in the statement.

He also thanked Tata Sons for the opportunity “to work with a fantastic team of people from diverse backgrounds in multiple industries and geographies all bound together by a common value system embedded by the founders into the Tata Group”.

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INDIA

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Why Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh led to 12 deaths Bangladesh had hoped that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at its 50th independence anniversary celebrations last week would be memorable.

But the visit turned deadly as violent protests broke out against Mr Modi, leaving at least 12 people dead.

Mr Modi is a polarising figure both at home and abroad. His government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has often been accused of pursuing policies that target Muslim minorities, and not doing enough to curb violence against them. The BJP denies the charges.

His contentious image appears to have sparked the protests in the capital Dhaka - and the violence that followed no doubt was an embarrassment to both countries. It also casts a shadow on what has always been an amicable

relationship between India and Bangladesh.

Mr Modi arrived in Dhaka for a twoday visit on 26 March, Bangladesh’s independence day. It also coincided with the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founder and father of the current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

Leaders of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal were all guests of honour at the event.

But Mr Modi’s visit, which was meant to cap off the 10-day long celebrations, set off protests.

A group of Muslim worshippers held a protest on 26 March after Friday prayers at a mosque in the city. Soon, clashes erupted and police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd.

Protests then spread to other parts of the country and a hardline Islamist group, Hefazat-e-Islam, called for a nationwide shut down on 28 March to protest the attacks on those who held rallies against Mr Modi’s visit.

‘Our theme is clear’ says BJP minister on Centre’s handling of minority issues Minister of Minorities Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who led BJP’s attacks on Congress for its alliance in assembly elections, rejected the opposition efforts to blame his party for communalising the elections and asserted that the Narendra Modi government’s theme was clear from day one. “Our theme is very clear. The government’s development

plank has nothing to do with vote bank politics practised by the Congress,” the Union minority affairs minister who reached out to minority groups in West Bengal and Assam over the past week in the run-up to the state elections said. Naqvi will travel to Kerala on a visit that he hopes would help neutralise the Congress and the Left’s “fake narrative” against his party.

With opinion polls giving an edge to DMK in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK goes on the backfoot In the run up to the Tamil Nadu elections, AIADMK’s leaders Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam have made an appeal to the electorate to not go by opinion polls run by news channels broadcasting in the state. In a joint statement,

the AIADMK coordinator and joint coordinator said opinion polls have become tools of imposition of opinion instead of being a barometer of public sentiment ahead of elections.

In their letter, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam questioned rhetorically: “Don’t we all know that many of these predictions made by the media have been proven wrong at the elections?”

Recently, the Tamil Nadu news media have put out opinion polls that suggest the DMK has gained an edge. The opinion polls also seem to say that outlying contenders such as Kamal Haasan, Tamil nationalist Seeman, and VK Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran will cause some disruption to the vote banks of the Dravidian parties AIADMK and DMK. The AIADMK is facing elections without the starpower of J Jayalalithaa, riding on the popularity of her lesser-known lieutenants Panneerselvam and Palaniswami. The DMK, meanwhile, has leveraged the AIADMK’s submissive attitude towards the BJP to its advantage. The AIADMK is also speculated to be hurtling toward a major leadership crisis after elections, with VK Sasikala biding her time to take over the party.

Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 6.

Indian Idol judge Vishal Dadlani cheekily ‘withdraws’ PM Modi’s slogan on ‘achche din’ Indian Idol judge Vishal Dadlani on Thursday took a dig at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her controversial decision to first announce cuts in interest rates for small saving schemes before sensationally reversing her own government’s order. While Sitharaman’s detractors wasted no time in taking potshots at the state of indecisiveness affecting the Narendra Modi government, Vishal Dadlani too took to Twitter to mock the finance minister.

The ace music producer wrote, “This slogan was an#oversight. It has been withdrawn.”

This was in reference to his earlier tweet declaring that ‘Achche Din Aaane Wale Hain (Good days are about to come).”

Vishal’s emphasis on ‘oversight’ was to make fun of Sitharaman’s decision to blame her government’s oversight for the order slashing interest rates on small saving schemes.

Over 80% voter turnout in West Bengal elections A large voter turnout of more than 80 per cent despite sporadic incidents of violence and allegations of vote fraud on Thursday marked the second phase of West Bengal assembly polls.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also accused the central forces deployed in Nandigram constituency, where she is locked in battle with her former lieutenant, Suvendu Adhikari now with the BJP, of helping the saffron party under instructions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Allegations of booth capturing and partisan behaviour prompted the EC to seek a report on an incident in Boyal village where the feisty TMC boss stayed put for more than two hours outside a polling booth following a siege of sorts by BJP supporters.

FIJI

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh appeals public to get vaccinated to prevent spread of Covid-19 Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday appealed to the people of the state to get vaccinated to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the second spike of the disease.

Addressing Facebook LIVE, CM Captain Amarinder Singh said the second spike being witnessed in the state is a cause for concern as he equated it with the Spanish Flu which was prevalent from 1918 to 1922.

He said restrictions being imposed in the state are necessary. Punjab saw 2,944 fresh cases on Thursday.

The chief minister urged everyone to get vaccinated and said he himself got vaccinated along with his family and relatives.

He said people can get infected twice as well so requested everyone to continue wearing masks even after getting vaccinated.

MP Kirron Kher being treated for cancer Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher is under treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, her husband Anupam Kher said on Thursday.

In a public message on Twitter, actor Kher said “Just so rumours do not get the better of a situation, Sikander and I would like to inform everyone that Kirron has been

diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. She’s currently undergoing treatment and we are sure she will come out of this stronger that before. We are blessed that she is being looked after by a phenomenal team of doctors. She has always been a fighter and takes things head on.”

Kher said his wife is well on the road to recovery.

Why ‘NRI belt’ blames UK variant for Covid-19 surge in Punjab Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar both lie in what is known as Punjab’s NRI belt, and seem to be ticking time bombs in terms of Covid-19s infections. These two districts, along with the other two districts in the ‘Doaba’ region — Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar —account for 26 per cent of Punjab’s Covid-19 cases and 27.68 per cent of the state’s deaths.

The total number of cases in these four districts is 60,475, out of Punjab’s

figure of 2.32 lakh, while the figures for deaths are 1,907 and 6,868 respectively.

Authorities suspect this spurt is being caused by the deadly variant of Covid-19 found in the United Kingdom, which is reportedly 70 per cent more contagious.

It’s just a day before Holi, a lazy Sunday afternoon, and Hoshiarpur’s market is flooded with people without masks.

Children run through the city’s narrow lanes with fistfuls of colour and water guns.

Pakistan Gov’t rejects Covid-19 lockdown suggestions Prime minister Imran Khan said Pakistan cannot afford complete lockdown amid Covid-19 pandemic, saying that the measure would adversely impact on the daily wage earners across the country. He said, for the time being, the government will impose smart lockdowns again across the country, adding

that it was imperative to exercise even more caution during the third wave of the coronavirus. A week earlier, federal minister for palnning categorically rejected any prospects of a “complete lockdown” being imposed across the country, saying the gove’t will not undertake the move.

Court lifts ban on TikTok Peshawar High Court lifts ban on popular app TikTok and ordered telecommunication authorities to make sure that “immoral content” is not uploaded on it.

The Peshawar High Court on March 11 had ordered the ban on TikTok over alleged “obscene content”, the second time in less than six months.

The court on Thursday lifted the ban.

Chief Justice of PHC Justice Qaisar Rasheed in his judgement directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to be vigilant against uploading vulgar content on the app.

The court adjourned the hearing in the case till May 25 with the directives to the PTA Authorities to submit a detailed reply in the next hearing.

Six terrorists arrested for plotting attacks against army The security agencies arrested six terrorists belonging to Afghanistan-based Tehriki-Taliban terror group who were plotting attacks against army personnel, officials said.

According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), four terrorists were arrested in Rawalpindi, while two were nabbed in

Lahore—the two main cities of Punjab province.

During an intelligence-based operation in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, law enforcement agencies arrested four terrorists involved in a grenade blast. The arrested terrorists had also carried out a grenade blast in Rawalpindi.

Sikh man missing from Peshawar A Sikh man has been missing from Peshawar city since Wednesday night and police have arrested three suspects for interrogation, according to officials. Avinash Singh, went missing from the Gulberg area of Peshawar Cantt. His brother Pervinder Singh registered a case in the West Cantonment Police

Station. City police immediately formed an investigation team headed by the Superintendent of Police, Cantonment, Tahir Shah.

The investigation team collected mobile data of the Sikh man and took into custody three suspects

for interrogation, according to officials.

Cabinet rejects proposals to import sugar & cotton from India The Cabinet on Thursday rejected proposal of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to import cotton and sugar from India, according to cabinet minister.

“Cabinet stated clearly no trade with India,” Minister for Human Rights said in a

tweet soon after a Cabinet meeting chaired

by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday.

“PM made clear there can be no normalisation of relations with India until they reverse” their actions viz Kashmir of August 5, 2019, tweeted Mazari, who is known for her hawkish stand on Kashmir.

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We need to get vaccinated as there is always a risk of breaches at the border – Dr Fong Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says Fiji remains at risk of breaches at the border at any point in time and the danger of COVID-19 community cases is real.

Only 25,000 people have been registered for vaccination so far and

Doctor Fong stresses that everyone should be encouraged to get vaccinated.

While speaking to the representatives of the faith based organisations, Doctor Fong says this is a difficult journey to navigate.

Former Education Ministery staff charged with transferring more than $340,000 from bank account A former Ministry of Education staff charged with 56 counts of money laundering for allegedly transferring more than $340,000 from the Ministry’s bank account into 2 other bank accounts has been granted bail by the Suva Anti-Corruption Magistrates Division.

Rahul Kumar is also charged with a count each of unauthorised modification of data and obtaining financial advantage by deception.

He allegedly transferred the money to his bank account and another account between 2017 to 2019.

12 boys aged as young as 12-year-old charged with separate rape incidents in March 12 boys aged as young as 12 years old have been charged with separate rape incidents in March while a 17-year-old girl was charged for aiding and abetting rape.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions says there was one incident where 8 juveniles were charged with the rape of a 14-year-old girl from their school.

A 16-year-old boy was charged with

the rape of his 9-year-old niece while a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl from their village on separate occasions.

In another incident, a 17-year-old boy was charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl from his village. There were 38 people charged with a total of 75 counts of separate incidents in March.

We should correct those who are calling the Covid-19 vaccine evil and satanic – Archbishop Chong The Head of the Catholic Church in Fiji, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong says he thinks we should correct those who are calling the COVID-19 vaccine evil and satanic.

In an interview with fijivillage, Archbishop Chong says if something brings about good and is of good intention, it cannot be the work of evil.

He further says the vaccine is supposed

to bring about good health and stopping the spread of the virus which is good.

The Archbishop adds God has gifted us with knowledge, intellect, ability to study and research which is meant to be at the service for the common good of all people and what comes from God brings about good.

22

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Salary of Indian workers in Gulf exempt from income tax - says Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said salary income earned by nonresident Indians in Gulf countries would continue to be exempt from tax in India.

Quoting a tweet of TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Ms. Sitharaman clarified that the Finance Act 2021 has not brought in any new or additional tax on Indian workers in Saudi/U.A.E/Oman/Qatar.

The Minister said said the amendment in the Finance Act, 2021, has merely incorporated general definition of the term “liable to tax” in the Income Tax Act to provide clarity.

“This amendment has not altered the taxability of salary income earned by non-resident Indian citizens in Gulf countries. Their salary income earned in Gulf countries would continue to be exempt in India,” the Office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Moitra had tweeted a picture of an amendment in Finance Bill, 2021, saying the “complicated words” in the amendment is “in reality a Special Gulf workers tax”.

“FM going back on her words. Hardworking Indian workers in Saudi/U.A.E/Oman/Qatar to be taxed EXTRA,” Ms. Moitra tweeted.

Ms. Sitharaman’s office tweeted: “No going back on words. The Finance Act, 2021 hasn’t brought in any additional or new tax on hardworking Indian workers in Saudi/UAE/Oman/Qatar.” The Minister also said that drawing conclusions without comprehending the facts is worrying.

“Further, putting out the conclusion on a social media platform not only misleads but also creates unwanted panic among people,” the Minister’s office tweeted.

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As businesses across B.C. shut down their operations and lay off hardworking British Columbians in the wake of new COVID-19 restrictions, MLA Todd Stone is asking John Horgan to work faster to help them.

“When it comes to new supports for people, on Monday the Premier said they’d get on it. Yesterday his Jobs Minister said their goal is ‘to have something by late next week.’ That’s not good enough. With each passing day

that the Premier and his Jobs Minister fumble — or outright fail — to get those supports to people, the more B.C. businesses and jobs will disappear,” said Stone, BC Liberal Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.

“Tomorrow is April 1. Rents are due, bills need to be paid, and people are worried. The only ones who don’t seem concerned are John Horgan and the NDP. They must act today to get British Columbians the help they need.”

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