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
Continued on page 6
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.
Tel:604-591-5423
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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www.theasianstar.com
Vol 19 - Issue 13
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Tel:604-591-5423
Nova Scotia RCMP defends lack of emergency alert in mass shooting Under fire for how they alerted the public to a 12-hour massacre that took the lives of 22 people, the Nova Scotia RCMP defended their actions Wednesday, saying their use of Twitter was effective.
Since the horrific string of killings started Saturday night and stretched into Sunday morning, questions have been raised as to why the province did not use an emergency
alert system to transmit warnings to Nova Scotians’ cellphones and television screens. RCMP Chief Supt. Chris Leather said Twitter messages from the RCMP started
Saturday at 10:26 p.m. local time, when the Mounties warned of a firearms complaint in Portapique, N.S., a tiny village located approximately 130 kilometres north of Halifax.
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OPINION
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Trudeau rejects turning CERB’s $2,000 / month into a universal benefit for Canadians As he announced yet another emergency financial aid package Wednesday — this one aimed at students — Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau defended his decision not to create a universal benefit that would ensure no Canadians affected by COVID-19 fall
through the cracks. Trudeau says his government’s approach has been to try to target its emergency financial assistance in stages to those who need it most, rather than to everyone at once, including those who don’t need it. “There are millions of Canadians who need help. There are others who do not need help,” Trudeau told the nation Wednesday. “We feel that targeting the maximum amount of help to the people who needed it quickly was the right way to begin to get through this process.” The CERB, which provides $2,000 a month for up to 16 weeks for those who have made at least $5,000 in the last year and have lost income due to the pandemic, has faced growing criticism over the limits on eligibility. Many simply cannot access it, including those who were unemployed before the pandemic began and many marginalized Canadians. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has been calling for the CERB to be made a universal benefit to allow any Canadian in financial distress due to COVID-19 to qualify for benefits. Sending money to everyone and then clawing back the money from those who don’t need it at tax time is the best way to ensure no one is missed, he said. “For weeks, we’ve been calling on the government to give direct help to everyone,” Singh said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s easy. The government should make the CERB universal so that students, and anyone else who needs help, can get the help they need right away.” It’s not as easy as saying we’re going to send out a cheque to every Canadian regardless of their age or their region A group of 50 senators from different political and partisan backgrounds signed an open letter to Trudeau on Tuesday, also calling for the CERB to be turned into a universal benefit. The senators say they have been hearing from many Canadians who have made it clear additional patches will be needed to the CERB to stop other groups from falling through the cracks.
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HELP REDUCE THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 TAKE STEPS TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19):
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Saturday, March Saturday, April28, 25,2020 2020 From page 1
Indian charity making 70,000 meals a day for the poor
has unleashed unprecedented misery upon the country’s migrant workers and the poor. While both the federal and state governments have scrambled to provide relief, it has fallen upon the good samaritans in India’s cities and villages to fill the vacuum. Shishir Joshi, founder of a non-profit organisation called Project Mumbai, is the driving force behind KhaanaChahiye.com. “The reports of people sleeping hungry had been coming out,” he told Al Jazeera. “The idea emerged out of a conversation with a friend. I then roped in two more people.” One of them was Ruben Mascarenhas, a local politician. “I had been getting several calls from different parts of city regarding the workforce basically starving due to the shutdown,” Mascarenhas told Al Jazeera. “We got together, and on
March 29, started with 1,200 meals.” The 1,200 meals were distributed in no time at all along a highway, he said. The volunteers said fights broke out between people hoping for food on the first day of distribution. The organisers realised they needed to scale up. “We started crowdfunding and appealed for more volunteers,” said Joshi. “A few restauranteurs opened up their kitchens and offered to make meals for us at a cost.” Khaana Chahiye [Parth M.N./Al Jazeera] Founder Shishir Joshi said the idea is an attempt to prepare a hunger map of the sprawling metropolis [Parth MN/Al Jazeera] Neeti Goel has five of her restaurants preparing meals for the KhaanaChahiye.com initiative. “I read an article in one of the papers that said the children of workers are eating mud,” she said.
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%& ' ( ) * ( +) ( ) * ( +) COVID-19 emergency benefits to launch on May 1st in BC Applications will be able to be made online at the beginning of May, and by phone a few days later. The B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers, which was announced earlier this month, will give a one-time, tax-free payment of $1,000 to people who have lost wages because of the ongoing pandemic. To be eligible, people must be a B.C. resident as of March 15, meet the eligibility requirements of the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit and be approved to receive that federal funding. British Columbians must also have filed, or agree to file, a 2019 B.C. income tax return. Payments will start to go out within days of application for those approved, the province said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While there may be minor delays during the initial surge, government staff will be working to quickly process payments,â&#x20AC;? the province said. Starting May 1, applications can be made online, at any time, at gov.bc.ca/workerbenefit. The province will also be launching a hotline for general support or questions about the supports available, at 778-309-4630, or toll-free at 1-855-955-3545. Applications for the emergency benefit will be taken over the phone beginning on May 4. PM Trudeau also announces pay top-up for essential workers, expands emergency benefit.
Stay home if sick after COVID-19 outbreak at chicken plant - Premier Horgan From page 1 Labour Minister Harry Bains and WorkSafe BC officials to discuss sick pay issues. Horgan said health investigators arrived at the United Poultry Co. Ltd. plant on Monday after one worker tested positive for COVID-19 and discovered more than two dozen other employees had the disease. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The lesson that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned from the limited information I have on the poultry facility is that workers were coming to work because they were fearful that they would lose wages and not be able to meet their expenses,â&#x20AC;? Horgan told a news conference. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have people putting others at risk for fear of economic consequences for themselves.â&#x20AC;? Horgan said the presence of COVID-19 at a B.C. workplace signals the province cannot let down its guard in the fight against the disease. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The outbreak in the poultry facility is a warning call that we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get too complacent,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to make sure that our workplaces are safe, even those essential workplaces.â&#x20AC;?
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Ministery of health BC launches website about COVID-19 BCs Ministry of Health launched a new website last week providing more detailed information about the COVID-19 pandemic across the province. The data shows the first case of the virus in the Interior Health region was reported to public health on Feb. 11, but the testing wasn’t confirmed and publicly disclosed until three days later, on Feb. 14. This was the fifth confirmed case in all of B.C. at the time, and the
first to be discovered outside of the Vancouver Coastal Health region. Interior Heath’s Susan Duncan said the three-day delay was the time it took for the test to come back positive. That turn-around time has dropped to as low as 17 hours in the IH region over the past week. That delay between the testing and public disclosure of the first case in the health authority was also seen in the province’s north.
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Conservative MP’s attack on Dr. Theresa Tam draws no comment from Andrew Scheer. Andrew Scheer is refusing to comment on Conservative leadership candidate’s suggestion that Canada’s chief medical officer was “parroting” misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
‘Does she work for Canada or for China?’ Scheer was asked Thursday if Derek Sloan, a rookie Ontario MP running for the party’s leadership, is still welcome in the Conservative caucus after an attack on chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam. In a video posted
to his social media accounts, Sloan accused Tam of promoting “misinformation” from the World Health Organization and the Chinese Communist Party about the coronavirus crisis. In the video attacking Tam, Sloan asks, “Does she work for Canada or for China?” and calls for
her to be fired. Scheer said he will not comment on the positions taken by candidates vying to replace him as Conservative leader. “I’ll leave it to each leadership candidate to speak for themselves and explain their views,” Scheer told reporters in Ottawa.
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Saturday, April 25, 2020
Khalsa Business Centre
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LOCAL / NATIONAL
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Fraser Health declares COVID-19 outbreaks ‘over’ at five long-term care assisted living facilities The Fraser Health Authority declared COVID-19 outbreaks “over” at five local long-term care, assisted living and independent living facilities. Dr. Martin Lavoie, Fraser Health’s chief medical health officer, said these include Elim Village in Fleetwood, Evergreen Heights and Amica in White Rock, Delta View Care Centre in Delta, and Shaughnessy Care Centre in Port Coquitlam. “There are no longer any COVID-19 cases at these sites,” he said. But Lavoie said a staff member at Guildford Seniors Village is in isolation at home after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
Lavoie said a “SWAT” team was sent there to “put in place a number of enhanced control members immediately.” Guildford Seniors Village is owned by Retirement Concepts. Asked to what extent the “outbreak” was at Elim, which is a large seniors’ complex, Lavoie told the Now-Leader it was limited to one staff member. “For Elim, we had one health worker who could have potentially exposed people there – other staff and residents – and that was a while ago,” Lavoie said. “Of course at the time we immediately removed that staff person from the facility and then we followed them up until they’re clear to come back to work.
Saturday, April 25, 2020 Service reductions, 1500 layoffs, executive pay cuts begin at TransLink As TransLink begins slashing services, laying off employees and cutting executive pay this week to stem revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, B.C. Premier John Horgan has called on the federal government to provide aid to ailing transit agencies.
Almost 1,500 temporary layoffs will take place at TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Company and B.C. Rapid Transit Company, with the bus company again feeling the effects most because more than half of the transit systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employees work there.
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BC Supreme Court judge rejects injunction sought by homeowners against speculation tax A BC Supreme Court judge has rejected an application for an interim injunction to halt collection of the province’s speculation tax while homeowners fight the tax in a proposed class action lawsuit. The homeowners sought to have the tax suspended while the legal challenge to the provincial tax was before the courts on the basis that being forced to pay it
would cause them “irreparable harm.” However, the judge ruled against the injunction, partly on the basis that if the lawsuit succeeded, the homeowners would likely be entitled to refunds of the tax. “I am not satisfied that the petitioners have established irreparable harm in the context of a constitutional case,” wrote Justice Janet Winteringham in her reasons for judgement.
New confirmed COVID-19 cases spike by 71 to 1,795 in BC Three new outbreaks in long-term care homes in the Fraser Health region have helped fuel a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases in B.C. over the last 24 hours. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Wednesday that 71 new cases of the disease have been recorded, for a total of 1,795 to date. Three more residents of long-term care homes have died, bringing the province’s toll to 90. “We continue to experience new community outbreaks. This of course is very,
very concerning,” Henry told reporters. She said Wednesday’s spike in new cases, the largest that B.C. has seen in weeks, should be a reminder that British Columbians need to continue committing to breaking the chains of transmission by staying home and maintaining distances from other people. “One of the most important things we all need to do is stay home if we’re not feeling well,” Henry said.
Saturday, April 25, 2020 Press release
Statement from Andrew Wilkinson on Ramadan Leader of the Official Opposition, Andrew Wilkinson, released the following statement for Ramadan: “Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, begins and thousands of Muslims throughout our province will be adhering to a period of fasting, prayer, and devotion. “The month is a reflection on the values of patience, empathy, and charity. While we cannot celebrate together due to COVID-19, these important values are more important than ever as we face this pandemic. “We must be patient as public health officials work to contain the virus, we must empathize with those working through challenging circumstances, and we must support charitable acts in every corner of B.C. to take care of our vulnerable populations. “On behalf of the entire BC Liberal Caucus I want to wish the Muslim community here in British Columbia best wishes, peace, and happiness during this special month. “Ramadan Mubarak!”
Vancouver school board to reopen select programs for students with high learning needs Families of students with special needs in Vancouver could have the option of sending their children back to brickand-mortar school buildings next week. The Vancouver School Board says it is opening in-school instruction for students with “exceptionally high learning needs” that depend on face-to-face interaction with education support workers and specialized life skills programs. Attendance is optional, only for these select students, and initially will only be happening at one city school that has these specific programs. “This is not just about the students, it is about
Feds pour $1.1B into COVID-19 vaccine development, tracking of cases Prime Minister Trudeau says the federal government will spend more than $1 billion to help develop, test and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as to determine how widely the virus has spread through Canada. The cash announced today is on top of $275 million in research funding the Liberals announced in March at the outset of the pandemic. Most of the new money is aimed at funding vaccine development and clinical trials, including $600 million over two years through a federal innovation fund that the government says could help the country’s biomanufacturing sector. Smaller amounts will go to tracking and identifying different strains of the virus and the different health impacts it has had on different patients. Trudeau also says the government will create a task force of public health experts that includes Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, and Dr. David Naylor, who has advised Liberal and Conservative governments on health and science issues. The task force will be asked to oversee country-wide blood test surveys to get a better handle on potential immunity and vulnerabilities in Canada.
Feds increase scrutiny of foreign takeovers to protect firms hit by pandemic The new measures announced over the weekend follow the lead of other countries in Europe . The federal government has moved to protect Canadian businesses battered by the COVID-19 pandemic or producing medical supplies from being gobbled up by outside interests by tightening the rules around foreign investments and takeovers. The new measures announced over the weekend follow the lead of other countries in Europe and elsewhere by adding additional scrutiny to a range of proposed investments and transactions until the economy recovers from the pandemic. “We recognize that countries around the world are looking at their own regimes and recognizing there are vulnerable businesses that are going to be important to our recovery who are perhaps exposed to foreign purchases in a vulnerable time,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday.
providing supports for the family as well,” said Stephanie Higginson, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association on The Early Edition. Higginson said many parents of high-needs children are desperate for respite care
LOCAL / NATIONAL
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INDIA 1,409 COVID-19 latest infections reach 21,700 - death toll 686 The total cases of COVID-19 in the country, including 77 foreign nationals mounted to 21393, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. Of the total cases, at least 16,454 are active cases, 4,257 people have recovered and 681 people have lost their lives. Over 1,409 infections were reported in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra reported 5,652 cases and 269 fatalities so far, followed by Gujarat with 2,407 cases and 103 deaths and Delhi with 2,248 cases and 48 deaths. The number of people who recovered in Maharashtra stands at 789. In the national capital, it is 724 and in Gujarat, 179 people have recovered so far.
COVID-19 cases in Mumbai cross 4,000 Day after announcing to bring an ordinance to end violence against health workers working during COVID-19 pandemic, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said Centre wanted to facilitate “doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police, bank and government employees”, who were working very hard during COVID-19. He said attacks on frontline workers would not be tolerated. Meanwhile, The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India have jumped to 21,700 and the death toll touched 686.
13-year-old girl gang-raped at secluded school, four others recorded film A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two youths in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district while four others recorded the act, police said. All the six youths have been arrested, they said. The incident took place around 2.00 pm under Misrikh police station area in the district, the police said. “The 13-year-old girl was on her way back home after attending nature’s call when she was forcibly taken to a secluded school building by the six youths,” Superintendent of Police L R Kumar said. While two youths, who are from the same locality as the victim’s, raped her, the other four filmed a video,” he said. “All six of them have been arrested and are being interrogated. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” he added. The accused also threatened the girl with dire if she told anybody about the incident, Kumar said. The girl has been sent for medical examination, he said.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
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Patiala has 49 COVID1-19 cases Rajpura seems to have become a major hotspot for the Covid-19 after 18 new positive cases came to the fore on Wednesday. With these cases, the total number of Covid-19 patients in Patiala has reached 49. Of them, 30 are from Rajpura alone. Negligence on part of two businessmen, who have already been
tested positive, is said to be behind most of these cases. They had allegedly organised hookah parties during the lockdown. The new 18 cases, reported today, are being linked to the same events, said health officials. It has been learnt that most of these positive patients had brazenly violated the curfew and visited many cities.
Punjab hotspot SBS Nagar now coronavirus-free, 18 patients cured A 16-year-old was discharged on Wednesday from a hospital in SBS Nagar district, where no infected person now remains under treatment. SBS Nagar was the first Punjab district to report a COVID-19 death. But the other 18 infected people have now been cured in what was initially regarded as a coronavirus hotspot. The 16-year-old was the last among the total 18 coronavirus patients to be discharged from the SBS Nagar civil hospital after the report of
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his second sample came negative, an official said. No infected patient is now left at the civil hospital, SBS Nagar civil surgeon Rajinder Prasad Bhatia said. Seventeen coronavirus patients returned home earlier after they were fully cured of the virus. Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar, formerly known as Nawanshahr, a COVID-19 hotspot district, has so far reported 19 coronavirus cases including one death.
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Former Fiji PM Laisenia Qarase known for his racist anti-Indian policies dies at 79 Laisenia Qarase, the sixth prime minister of Fiji who was installed by one coup and removed by another coup, died on Tuesday. He was 79. His death was confirmed by his former Sodelpa party. Mr Qarase had been admitted to a Suva hospital two days ago. The former civil servant turned politician led Fiji in the wake of George Speight’s 2000 coup, and then through a tumultous period marked by broad economic liberalisation, and a series of constitutional controversies. But after a lengthy and bitter falling out, then military commander Frank Bainimarama
overthrew Mr Qarase in the 2006 coup. Mr Qarase was jailed for a year in 2012 on abuse of office charges that stemmed from the 1990s, when he was the director of a number of companies and government entities. He denied the charges, maintaining they were politically motivated. The Fiji government and Mr Bainimarama, who has remained prime minister since his coup, first through a period of military rule, then following elections, is yet to comment.
52 people test negative for COVID-19 last night – PM
PAKISTAN PM Khan tests negative for COVID-19 as total cases reach over 10,000 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was tested negative for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, his aide said, as the number of the COVID-29 cases crossed 10,000 in the country. Khan, 67, agreed for the test after Faisal Edhi, the son of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and chairman of the Edhi Foundation, who met him last week tested positive for the coronavirus. “I am happy to report that his test is NEGATIVE,” government’s chief spokesperson Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted. She said the premier was tested for SARSCoV-2, the virus strain that causes COVID-19. Awan said the family of the Prime Minister had already tested negative.
Pakistan prunes terror watch list, Lakhvi off it India is looking carefully at a revelation that Pakistan has removed thousands of names, including that of 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, from a terrorist watch list claiming that many of them had died and several others were “not associated” with any terror organisation. India has reasons to be skeptical because the revelation that the list has been halved from 7,600 to 3,800 did not come from Pakistan or the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) but from data collected by Castellum.AI, a New York-based regulatory technology company. Reports quoted a Pakistani official as saying the list was riddled with inaccuracies and update was needed to fulfill FATF’s direction to clean up its database ahead
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Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has confirmed that all 52 COVID-19 tests last night have returned negative. Health Minister Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete has said in a brief to the Prime Minister that 23 sailors who have been in quarantine have tested all negative. He says they can now go to home isolation. It has also been confirmed that 3 more cases have tested negative twice. This means that 8 out of the 18 positive COVID-19 patients in Fiji have recovered. Fiji now only has 10 active cases of COVID-19 in Fiji The recovery rate at this stage is 8/18 which is 44%.
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