www.theasianstar.com
Vol 19 - Issue 13
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Indian charity making 70,000 meals a day for the poor amid COVID-19 crisis The streets of Mumbai, India’s financial capital, are forlorn and neighbourhoods eerily quiet, with the rustle of leaves caused by the warm breeze being the only audible sound in the vicinity. But a suburban restaurant is bustling with activity as 8 to 10 men briskly portion out khichdi (boiled rice with lentils) from large pots into smaller containers. Intent on their work, they keep their eyes on the vessels as their hands move the hot meals along. Their mandate is to pack 5,000 meals to be distributed to the homeless, slum dwellers and migrant workers across the city. The restaurant is one of the six centres set up by KhaanaChahiye.com, an initiative now clocking 70,000 meals a day, ensuring that most of Mumbai’s workforce does not go to bed hungry. The organisers behind Khaana Chahiye (Hindi for “need food”) say this is an attempt to prepare a hunger map of the sprawling metropolis. Their website serves as a platform to collect donations and receive alerts on people facing hunger. India was put under a nationwide lockdown on March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The initial three-week lockdown has been extended to May 3. With more than a quarter of India’s 1.3 billion people living below the poverty line, the world’s largest lockdown
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COVID-19 cases spike in BC 1,795 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in BC, as of Wednesday morning. 90 people have died of infection with the novel coronavirus. 103 COVID-19 patients are in hospital, including 46 in critical care. 1,079 people have recovered from the disease. The federal government has announced $1.1 billion in funding for vaccine and virus research. After weeks of relatively steady growth in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C., this week has seen a sudden spike.Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 71 new cases of the novel coronavirus, for a total of 1,795 to date.
Sikhs are the most generous people in the World - BBC It preaches help for the poor and loving thy neighbour but now a new study has provided evidence that religion can make people more generous in their everyday lives. Research commissioned by the BBC found that people who profess a religious belief are significantly more likely to give to charity than non-believers. Sikhs and Jews emerged as the most likely to share their worldly goods with a good cause, just ahead of Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The study, carried out for the BBC’s network of local radio stations, included polling by ComRes of a sample of more than 3,000 people of all faiths and none. It found that levels of generosity across the British public are strikingly high, but highest among those with a religious faith.
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The day oil was worth less than $0 — and nobody wanted it During these extraordinary times of the COVID-19 pandemic, a few hours can seem like a few days, and last week can feel like last month. For those in the oilpatch, the heady days of 2014, when oil prices were above $100 US per barrel, must seem like a century ago.The markets have been excessively volatile since the pandemic began, but on Monday the truly unthinkable happened — oil prices turned negative. Alberta’s oilpatch history is full of ups and downs, dating back to the province’s first big oil rush more than 100 years ago near Turner Valley. But who would have thought oil would one day be worth less than $0? On Monday, the price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the North American benchmark, fell more than $50 to close at negative $37.63 US. “It’s certainly not something I ever thought I would witness,” said Matt Murphy, a Calgary-based equity research analyst with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. “I won’t wager a guess how it may trade [Tuesday]. Could it go worse than negative $40? I don’t know,” he said.
Stay home if sick after COVID-19 outbreak at chicken plant - Premier tells workers BC Premier John Horgan says people who are sick must stay away from work after an outbreak of COVID-19 at a chicken processing plant in Vancouver. Horgan said Wednesday workers should not go to work when they are sick because they fear losing wages, and he was planning a meeting with Labour Minister Continued on page 8
THINKING OF BUYING OR SELLING YOUR HOME ???
NRIs stuck in Punjab long to return home On a visit to connect with family and friends in Punjab, NRIs settled in the US, UK, Canada and Europe are finding it difficult to cope with the unplanned stay necessitated due to coronavirus travel restrictions worldwide. Thousands of Non Resident Indians usually visit Punjab during winters London-based NRI Satnam Singh Birring, who came to meet his parents in Jalandhar on January 23, was all set to return on March 25 but a spike in coronavirus cases and restrictions on travel put a brake on his plans. My wife was also planning to come to India on March 16 as we had plans to go back together. Neither could she come, nor was I able to go back to London. I even approached the British High Commission in India and the Indian High Commission in UK for a ticket in the chartered flights arranged by the UK government but all the tickets were sold out within 15-minutes! I am eagerly waiting for some solution, he said.
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