The Asian Star Decemer 10 2022

The revelation that Vancouver has at least one secret police station operated by Chinese authorities is a cause of great concern, say local experts.

A Spanish civil rights group, Safeguard Defenders, revealed in a report that there were Chinese police operations around the world, including three in Toronto and at least one in Vancouver.

Jagrup Brar among 5 South Asians in new BC cabinet

Jagrup Brar is the star addition to the new BC cabinet unveiled by Premier David Eby on Wednesday. He is the new Minister of State for Trade. Jagrup Brar was born at Deon, a remote village of Bathinda, Punjab. Along with him, Harry Bains, Rachna Singh, Ravi Kahlon and Nikki Sharma also inducted as ministers. Nikki Sharma was appointed as Attornery General of the BC government while Bains retained Labor Ministry, Kahlon took the new portfolio of Housing, Rachna Singh is responsible for Education

Victor Ho, the former editor of the Sing Tao Daily – Canada’s largest Chinese-Canadian newspaper – and a Hong Kong democracy activist, said he was not surprised to hear the news and it has created a lot of insecurity in the Chinese-Canadian community.

The report looked into how these police stations function under a “persuasion of return” strategy using intimidation and threats to enforce the “involuntary” return of immigrants back to China for persecution.

The group claimed that between April 2021 and July 2022, Chinese police “persuaded”

India set to become first country ever to receive $100 billion a year in remittances

Inward remittances, accounting for around 3% of India’s GDP, surged 12% from 2021. Besides a large working population of Indians living abroad, there were other reasons, too, for this increase.

For instance, students are the other big constituents of the Indian diaspora. They eventually form high-income groups, with direct implications for remittances. The depreciation of the Indian rupee has

and people of colour in high-profile roles and promotes rising stars to two new ministries for housing and emergency preparedness. Katrine Conroy will hold the province’s purse strings as finance minister, bumping Selina Robinson from the portfolio. Niki Sharma is the new attorney general, making her the first South Asian woman to serve as the province’s top lawyer. Sharma, elected MLA for Vancouver–Hastings in 2020, has experience representing Indigenous people and residential school survivors and said she will tap into that background as she looks for solutions to the public safety issues in urban communities.

India is home to great diversity of faiths: USA

Police have identified a 21-year-old woman who was fatally shot at a gas station in Mississauga on Saturday night. Investigators were called to a Petro-Canada in the area of Creditview and Britannia roads at around 10:40 p.m. Police say the woman was shot “multiple times” outside the station and was pronounced dead at the scene. She has since been identified as Pawanpreet Kaur .of Brampton. Police later confirmed that Kaur

India, the world’s largest democracy, is home to a great diversity of faiths, the United States said Tuesday noting that it will continue to encourage New Delhi to uphold its commitments to protect religious freedom for all. The United States has designated 12 countries, including China, Pakistan and Myanmar, as

South Asian woman, 21 shot dead while working at gas station in Mississauga

Chinese ‘secret police station’ in Vancouver uncovered

Child Care. Premier Eby unveiled new cabinet on Wednesday that places women

Jagrup Brar (right) being welcomed into the cabinet by Premier David Eby (left).

Liverpool acquiring investment from an Indian company cannot be ruled out amid Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) decision to put the club on the market.

That is the verdict of Kieran Maguire, a football finance experient and lecturer at the University of Liverpool.

It has now been a month since it emerged that FSG are looking for additional investment. Unsurprisingly, several parties have been linked with potential takeovers. They include a Saudi-Qatari consortium, Dubai Investment Capital and American group Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

In addition, Mukesh Ambani’s name has also been mentioned. The Indianbased businessman is the 10th richest person in the world, according to Forbes,

and has a wealth estimated at $90 billion.

And Maguire, speaking to Football Insider, believes that potential Indian buyers could see the financial doors owning a club with the stature of Liverpool could open. He said: “Indian investment in Liverpool cannot be ruled out.

“It is a huge market and Indian billionaires have seen the success of the IPL as a franchise sport.

“They are also fully aware that, while cricket is the world’s second most popular sport, it is second by a long way to football.

“Liverpool open all kinds of doors. They have a gigantic following all around the world. Therefore, it would make it easier to sign deals with Indian commercial partners.

“That would be a significant financial boost for the club. Also, it would increase

Mother of teen charged in B.C. ‘crime spree’ says he couldn’t get drug treatment until jail

The mother of a 15-year-old boy facing charges in an alleged North Vancouver crime spree last week is speaking out, saying she fought for years to have her son’s addiction treated, but was rebuffed at every turn.

The teen was arrested last Wednesday, after allegedly using a replica gun during a break-in and string of car-jackings.

“I believe the public needs to know more of the outline of what took place, what’s been happening with my son,” the mother, who cannot be identified because her son is a minor, told Global News in an interview.

“I believe this could have been prevented. There’s a number of things that have been going on with my boy. Since he was 13

years old, he’s spiralled into addiction.”

The teen is now being held in the Burnaby Youth Detention Centre where, for the first time, he is receiving treatment for his addiction, the mother said.

But she said that until he was arrested, the boy fell through the cracks of a system that does not allow for parents or anyone else to force youth into drug treatment.

“I’ve asked for, begged for, support from different government agencies, from the Ministry of Children and Family Development, from the office of the Representative for Children and Youth, from the police who have been in my house numerous times, paramedics, doctors,” she said.

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Indian billionare to buy Liverpool soccer club

Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate to 4.25%, signals pause could be near

Bank of Canada hikes key rate by half percentage point, signals possible pause . The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday to 4.25 per cent — the highest it’s been since January 2008 — while signalling it may pause its aggressive rate hike cycle. Since March, the central bank has raised its key interest rate seven consecutive times in an effort to bring inflation down and slow the economy.

“Looking ahead, 1/8the3/8 governing

council will be considering whether the policy interest rate needs to rise further to bring supply and demand into balance and return inflation to target,” the Bank of Canada said in a news release.

That language is a marked departure from previous announcements where the bank said more rate hikes should be expected.

In note to clients, CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld said “the Bank of Canada flashed a yellow card on its rate hiking team.”

station in Brampton seek justice

The daughter we raised will never come back to us’, said Pawanpreet’s father Devinder Singh from Punjab. The parents of a 21-yearold woman from Punjab, who was shot dead at a gas station in Canada, say they regret sending her to the country and want justice for their daughter.

Pawanpreet Kaur (pictured), a resident of Brampton, died after being shot multiple times outside a Petro Canada gas station in Mississauga on the night of December 3.

“We just want justice for our daughter. We won’t get our daughter back, so we just want the killer to be found. The daughter we raised will never come back to us,” Devinder Singh, Pawanpreet’s father, told Omni Punjabi channel. Pawanpreet left for Canada on a student visa when she was 18.

“There is a craze in India for everyone to send their children to Canada, so we also sent her,” a choked Singh said, adding that they had planned to settle permanently in Canada with their daughter. The news of their daughter’s death was broken to them by their relatives in Brampton.

“We regret sending her off to Canada,” Pawanpreet’s mother Jasveer Kaur told Omni Punjabi. “Why did we send her at a young age to get her degree? We should have kept her here with us,” she said, fighting back her tears. The Peel Regional Police recently released a more detailed description of Pawanpreet’s killer, saying: “The suspect wore a threequarter-length dark winter jacket with a hood, dark winter boots, dark pants, a dark winter toque and white gloves”. “It appears that the suspect was smoking a cigarette. The suspect did not pull the hood up over their head until shortly before shooting the victim at close range.” In a video update posted on YouTube, the Peel Regional Police said they have found a bicycle used by Pawanpreet’s killer. Todd Leach, the officer in charge of the homicide and missing persons bureau, said it was a maroon-coloured Sportek Ridgerunner mountain bike, likely a “stolen” one. “If you find that (bicycle) it is missing, please contact the homicide bureau, even if you have already previously reported it stolen,” Leach said in the video update. “Through extensive video canvassing and witness interviews, investigators have determined that the suspect was on foot in the vicinity of the homicide scene three hours prior to the shooting,” he said in the video.

In the video update, police had also released a photo of Pawanpreet.

6 children in

B.C.

have died of a flu-related illness this season: BC CDC

B.C. health officials confirm six children have died from a flu-related illness this season.

The BC Centre for Disease Control said it is aware of six reports of influenzaassociated deaths among children and youth (under the age of 19) in the province.

In a statement to Global News, the organization said “early findings indicate some of the children experienced secondary bacterial infections contributing to severe illness which can be a complication of influenza.

“It is important to know that death associated with influenza in previously healthy children continues to be rare. Public health is monitoring the situation closely, and are reminding

people of the steps they can take to prevent themselves, their children and their loved ones against the flu.”

On Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said it’s a tragedy. “It’s heartbreaking for families, and it’s heartbreaking for anybody who works in health care, and it’s heartbreaking for me too,” Dix said.

Dix said the province has been preparing for a bad flu season but that doesn’t make these tragic circumstances any easier.

“So what we have this year is a lot of flu,” he said. “We saw that in Australia and New Zealand. We’ve been preparing for it, we have the largest immunization program in the province’s history.”

Parents of South Asian woman shot dead at gas

We want justice’:

OPINION

The U.S. decision to ease sanctions and allow it to resume oil imports from Venezuela will hurt Canada’s oil sector, according to industry analysts.

It’s another blow by the administration that cancelled the 830,000-barrel-perday Keystone XL pipeline from Canada in January 2021. Now officials are seeking alternate supplies to replace imports from

Russia and keep costs down for Americans.

“They should be talking to Canada instead of Venezuela,” says Phil Skolnick, a New York-based analyst with Eight Capital.

In question is the massive market for “heavy oil” – which both countries produce – in the U.S. Gulf Coast refining cluster. Canada is now the largest supplier to the region, in

recent years helping replace sinking imports from Venezuela amid what IHS Markit called “decades of decline and decay.” oil tanker boat ship refinery natural gas energy industry

Imports from Venezuela stopped entirely in 2019 after the U.S. imposed additional sanctions to pressure authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro to leave power. The Biden administration says the move to ease the sanctions is a result of Venezuela’s government taking steps to improve humanitarian conditions. But negotiations were, in fact, underway months ago as a potential solution to replace oil from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

More Venezuelan oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast could push out imports from Canada, causing Canadian producers to receive lower prices because of a wider “differential” or discount compared to benchmark West Texas Intermediate.

This has a ripple effect on everyday Canadians because government royalties are paid on a sliding scale based on oil prices – the lower the price received, the lower the royalties.

“Politics aside, this is a significant negative to Canadian oil differentials,” Dan Tsubouchi, chief market strategist with Canadian investment management firm SAF Group, wrote in a research note.

Western Canadian Select, Canada’s primary blend of heavy oil, is already trading at the widest differential to WTI since early 2020. It’s the result of increased production, insufficient pipeline capacity, and the U.S. government’s decision to release similar quality oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Skolnick says the impact of easing the sanctions on Venezuela will depend on how quickly Chevron – the company granted the license to proceed – can bring production online. The license entitles Chevron to restart production in existing fields but not start up new ones.

Tsubouchi said it could happen faster than many expect, as Chevron can now provide important equipment and supplies like diluent forpipelineblendinganddieselforreliablepower.

“An increase of even 100,000 or 200,000 barrels per day would be significant to Canadian oil,” he wrote.

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U.S. plan to import oil from Venezuela will hurt Canadians by Deborah Jaremko

Billions in ineligible COVID-19 benefits at risk of going uncollected by Ottawa

The federal government succeeded in quickly securing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines and rolling out pandemic benefits to help people and backstop the economy, but wasted millions of doses and gave billions in benefits to ineligible recipients, the auditor general of Canada says.

Auditor General Karen Hogan’s fall audits, which were released Tuesday, give the government a mixed pandemic report card, saying that while benefit programs were swift and did what they were supposed to do, they were also wasteful and lacked proper verification.

“In 2020, the government decided to rely on information provided by applicants and limit pre-payment controls to expedite helping people and employers affected by the pandemic,” Hogan said in a statement. “In doing so, it recognized that there was a risk that some payments would go to ineligible recipients.”

The audit of benefits “found that overpayments of $4.6 billion were made to ineligible individuals, and we estimated that at least $27.4 billion of payments to individuals and employers should be investigated further,” she said.

Former scientist at Wuhan lab says COVID was man-made virus: Report

In what appears to be an astonishing revelation, a US-based scientist, who worked at a controversial research lab in China’s Wuhan, has said that Covid-19 was a “manmade virus” that leaked from the facility.

Covid was leaked from Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a state-run and funded research facility, two years ago, the New York Post reported, quoting US-based researcher Andrew Huff’s statement in the British newspaper The Sun. In his latest book, “The Truth About Wuhan,” epidemiologist Huff claims that the pandemic was caused by the US government’s funding of coronaviruses in China. Excerpts of Huff’s book have been out in the UK-based tabloid The Sun.

According to the New York Post report, Huff

is the former vice president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit organisation based in New York that studies infectious diseases.

Huff claims in his book that China’s gainof-function experiments were conducted with inadequate security, resulting in a leak at the Wuhan lab, according to New York Post.

The Wuhan lab has been the centre of heated debates over the origins of Covid, with both Chinese government officials and lab workers denying that the virus originated there.

“Foreign laboratories did not have the adequate control measures in place for ensuring proper biosafety, biosecurity, and risk management, ultimately resulting in the lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Andrew Huff, said in his book.

Flu season hits BC earlier than expected, disproportionately impacting children

British Columbia has seen a sudden surge in Influenza A cases leading to a sharp rise in absenteeism at schools and more severe cases in children.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says flu cases have come sooner than expected and less natural immunity in children is having an impact on spread and severity.

“More of them are getting sick and we see that absenteeism at schools,” Henry said at an update Monday.

“We are starting to see more severe cases along with complications from influenza. We know influenza can lead to secondary bacterial infections and has a greater impact on children than COVID.”

Typically, influenza season lasts about eight weeks and vaccines can help slow the spread.

More than 1.5 million doses of flu vaccine have been doled out in the province, but the youth vaccination rate continues to be staggering low.

Many children are not registered in the Get Vaccinated system, and the province will be

taking the new step of notifying families of young children directly to book an appointment.

“There are lots of options available for parents to bring their children in to get vaccinated,” Dr. Penny Ballem, the head of B.C.’s vaccination program, said.

For example, only 20 per cent of kids five to 11 have received their flu vaccine.

Kids five to 11 are eligible to receive a vaccine at a pharmacy.

“We can blunt this curve with vaccination now before the holidays so we can have safe and joyful holidays,” Henry said.

“What we are seeing now is a more typical influenza season but it is happening sooner. We still have the time to blunt the impact by getting people vaccinated. Particularly for children who we see are more impacted.”

The province has seen a levelling off RSV, which earlier this fall was having a severe impact on children.

Some health officials have been calling this fall a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza.

Langley Township considers new separate RCMP detachment

Langley Township’s council voted on Monday to explore separating the RCMP from the shared force between the township and Langley City.

The motion, which passed Monday, does not commit to the move but will allow staff to look at potential costs and procedures.

The idea has the support of Langley Township’s mayor, Eric Woodward.

“I think it will potentially benefit both municipalitiesinthelongrun,”Woodwardsaid.

“In the short run, it benefits the Township of Langley to consider this because the detachment buildings are mostly located in the township. The cost to us, the disruption to us, is very minimal.” He continued, “We’re growing so rapidly compared to

our neighbour — we need the space.”

Langley City’s mayor, Nathan Pachal, is a bit more hesitant regarding the change, citing logistics as a possible hurdle.

“I think one of the things that we need to be cognizant of is the cost,” Pachal said.

“A dollar for a dollar doesn’t make sense to be together or apart, given the same level of service.”

It’s been beneficial for both city and Langley businesses and residents. I think it’s resulted in an effective delivery of police services, probably for a lower cost than if we did it on our own.”

A report will be done on the possible transition, but it is yet to be determined when that report will be finished and presented.

The B.C. Liberals and B.C. Greens say Eby is maintaining the status quo by keeping key ministries unchanged. That includes the decision to keep Adrian Dix as health minister despite the crumbling health care system and Mitzi Dean as minister for children and family development despite her repeated defence of a deeply unpopular and now-reversed plan to remove individualized funding for kids with autism. Katrine Conroy is B.C.’s new finance minister. One political pundit, however, said Eby has put his mark on government with a younger, more diverse cabinet.

“David Eby is giving this cabinet an identity very much of his own making,” said David Black, a political communications expert for Royal Roads University. “This is his cabinet, not John Horgan’s cabinet.”

Eby’s 27 cabinet picks, which include 15 women and seven people of colour, prioritizes housing and climate change with a new ministry for emergency management and climate readiness headed by rising star Bowinn Ma. The stand-alone ministry, Eby said, is a reflection that the province must be ready to deal with climate emergencies following the historic floods, fires and heat that have plagued the province in the past two years. Ravi Kahlon will head the new housing ministry, created by Eby to ensure housing development is a key plank of his government. Housing was previously formerly lumped into the attorney general’s ministry and Eby juggled both until he stepped down to run for the NDP leadership.

In picking Kahlon as housing minister, Eby rewarded a trusted ally with the

task of boosting B.C.’s housing stock, a key plank of Eby’s campaign. Kahlon decided not to run for the B.C. NDP leadership and instead threw his support behind Eby by co-chairing his campaign.

Kahlon is also the new government house leader, taking over from Mike Farnworth, who maintains his position as public safety minister and deputy premier. The 23 ministers and four ministers of state swore the oath of office Wednesday before Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin during a ceremony at Government House, a ceremony which was at times punctuated by chants from anti-fracking protesters outside. by attempted to improve regional representation with more ministers from the Fraser Valley, Black said. However, the cabinet, including Eby, is still dominated by MLAs from the Lower Mainland including four from the City of Vancouver, 12 from the rest of Metro Vancouver, two from the Fraser Valley, five from Vancouver Island and only two from the rest of B.C.

In explaining his choice for finance

Former Kelown mayor Colin Basran charged with sexual assault

The former mayor of Kelowna has been charged with sexual assault in connection with an incident alleged to have occurred while he was still mayor.

The single charge against Colin Basran was announced Wednesday afternoon by the B.C. Prosecution Service (BCPS). The charge has not been tested in court.

CBC has reached out to Basran for comment.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kelowna Coun. Mohini Singh told CBC she couldn’t comment as an elected official.

“But on a personal level, I can say I’m not just shocked. I’m also very, very sad.”

The City of Kelowna said it could not comment because the matter is now before the courts.

In a statement, the BCPS said the incident allegedly occurred in Kelowna in May 2022. According to a court document, the alleged assault happened “on or about” May 11.

The BCPS said Brock Martland was appointed on Oct. 13 as special prosecutor in relation to the investigation.

Kelowna mayor apologizes for defending RCMP on dismissal of sex assault cases

minister, Eby called Conroy, the MLA for West Kootenays since 2005, “rural tough” saying she brings considerable experience and a “rural lens” to the role. Conroy, who lives on a cattle ranch in Pass Creek outside of Castlegar, has four kids and nine grandchildren.

B.C. premier David Eby’s cabinet Here is a list of B.C. Premier David Eby’s ministers following his first major cabinet shuffle since taking over as leader:

francophone affairs: Adrian Dix (unchanged)

Economic Development and Innovation: of state for trade: Jagrup Brar (new to

Skills (includes immigration/foreign state for workforce development: Andrew Solicitor General (ICBC): Mike Farnworth

Child Care: Rachna Singh (new to cabinet)

Mines and Low Carbon Innovation: Josie

Finance (includes Columbia River Treaty): responsible for consular corp: Bruce Ralston

Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport: Lana (B.C. Transit and TransLink): Rob Fleming infrastructure and transit: Dan Coulter (new Stewardship: Nathan Cullen

Port Moody police have announced charges have been filed for a man in Abbotsford, B.C., after an alleged sextortion incident.

“In October 2021, a young female contacted the Port Moody Police Department detailing an event where someone had obtained her password-protected intimate images from a cloud-based platform,” said Port Moody Const. Sam Zacharias.

‘It’s an epidemic’: Sextortion and online crimes against youth spike dramatically.

“The suspect threatened to distribute the images if she didn’t send money.”

Port Moody’s major crime unit

conducted a year-long investigation, including an arrest, a search warrant, and the seizure of numerous electronic devices.

On Nov. 29, 2022, the BC Prosecution Service approved charges against Jesse Toews. Toews has been charged with possession of child pornography and using a computer password to commit an offence.

“This investigation was sophisticated and technical, uncovering other alleged compromised data and other potential victims,” said Zacharias.

“We commend the victim for coming forward to police and reporting this incident. If you are the

Port Moody man charged with possession of child pornography after alleged sextortion, police say

Premier David Eby announces new cabinet

Chinese ‘secret police station’ in Vancouver uncovered

“persuaded” 230,000 claimed fugitives to return to China.

The report said the newly documented Vancouver-based police station is being operated by authorities from Wenzhou in China’s Zhejiang province.

No matter from Hong Kong, from the mainland, from Taiwan, even from Singapore or Malaysia because their human security will be jeopardized by this so-called police station. It deals with not only with mainlanders but with overseas Chinese (people),” Ho said.

“You may be subject to be criticized or selected by these so-called police stations (and they could) harass you or come to your office to make known their presence.”

Ho said this is a very dangerous scenario and sends a message that the Chinese government doesn’t honour any international law.

“Because if you have such policing affiliates with related country or countries, you should adhere to a bilateral policing agreement with countries or cities,” he said. “But with this Chinese policing station, they are a kind of hidden police authority but without consent of local government. So it also violates policing sovereignty here.

“It is a very dangerous example and is a symbol that the Chinese government is exercising their power without limits and without any international laws.”

Ho said someone who may be a target of these Chinese police operations would be someone who is an economic fugitive or political dissident. Someone who is vocal about their opposition to the Chinese Communist Party would also be at risk, he said.

At least one Chinese ‘secret police station’ based in Vancouver, civil rights group says

At least one Chinese ‘secret police station’ based in Vancouver, civil rights group says Immigration lawyer and policy analyst, Richard Kurland said he thinks this report is a cry for public attention to get resources allocated to public security institutions, like CSIS and RCMP.

“So yes, this kind of thing has happened, is happening and likely will happen in the future but there’s no reason why we have to make it easy for them,” Kurland told Global News, speaking of the so-called Chinese police station.

“We have seen, in the immigration caseload, individuals physically present,

right here in British Columbia, from that community who have complained and testified and provided affidavits to the effect that the government of China, directly and indirectly, coerced Canadian relatives on Canadian soil into convincing a Chinese citizen to go back and face the music in the mainland.”

Kurland added everyone should remember China does not adhere to the same Western standards of democracy.

“Punishment is not meted out to (an) individual but to the entire family,” he said. “The closest we’ve seen over the past decades is during the rule of Stalin when, in the former Soviet Union, they used to burn down an entire village to catch a couple of guilty guys. That’s their system.

Surrey teen organizes forum to help keep youth away from drugs and gangs

When Nausheen Dhanda walks the halls of her Surrey school, the 16-year-old doesn’t know which of her peers will make it past 20.

“Recently my school, my second home, has been hit by an onslaught of fear and uncertainty,” she said.

Nausheen Dhanda is Grade 11 student at Tamanawis Secondary school in Newton, where a stabbing took the life of 18-year-old Mehakpreet Sethi on Nov. 22.

“And the person that (allegedly) killed him? Someone I would walk by in the halls. Someone my age,” she said. “And this isn’t the first or last time something like this will happen.”

A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in Sethi’s killing. Police say they believe the suspect and Sethi knew each other and that they do not believe the fatal stabbing is tied to the Lower Mainland gang conflict.

Not wanting to see another youth fall victim to violence, Nausheen decided to be part of the change. She approached the KidsPlay Foundation, where she is a youth program co-ordinator, to help organize a forum.

The Drug and Gang Forum 2022 will be held Monday (Dec. 12) at 6 p.m. at Taj Park Convention Centre (8580 132 St.). The free event is open to the public, and no registration is required.

The forum aims to educate young people and their families about the dangers of drugs and gangs and will feature keynote speakers and youth who have been impacted by them.

Kiran Toor, president of KidsPlay Foundation, said the event is a chance for people to learn what is going on in their community and how they can prevent those around them from getting involved in drugs and gangs.

KidsPlay will also be offering sponsorships on the spot to students at the event.

KidsPlay Foundation started in Surrey in 2015 with the goal of keeping youth away from drugs, gangs and violence by offering different programs. The foundation organizes sports tournaments, conferences, and more.

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Police release new video of suspect in Mississauga gas station

Peel Regional Police have released new surveillance video of the alleged suspect in Saturday’s shooting at a Mississauga gas station that left a 21-year-old woman dead.

The video was part of their post on YouTube, providing an update on the Dec. 3 shooting death of Pawanpreet Kaur that occurred at a PetroCanada gas station near Creditview Road and Britannia Road West shortly after 10:30 p.m.

In the video, an individual believed to be the shooting suspect is seen riding a bicycle in the area minutes before the shooting. Police said the person was biking on Creditview Road, north of Sir Monty’s Drive, at around 10 p.m. and again at Camgreen Circle shortly after that. Both locations were metres away from the gas station. The bicycle, described as a maroon Sportek Ridgerunner mountain bike, has since been located by police, Insp. Todd Leach said in the update.

“This bicycle may have been stolen and police are appealing for anyone who may have a similar bike to check and ensure you’re still in possession of it,” Leach said. “If you find it is missing, please contact the homicide bureau even if you have already previously reported it stolen.”

Police have previously said that Kaur was shot at close range and that she was targeted. They added that Kaur was working at the gas station at the time of the shooting.

Police also noted that the suspect was in the vicinity of the gas station three hours before the shooting.

The suspect was seen wearing a threequarter-length dark winter jacket with a hood, dark winter boots, dark pants, a dark winter toque and white gloves and police said the suspect did not pull the hood over their head until shortly before the shooting.

The suspect was then seen running away from the station following the shooting, heading west across Creditview Road, west on Britannia Road, and west on Camgreen Circle.

In addition to releasing the video, police also appealed on Wednesday to those who were in line for the car wash at the gas station and at a nearby KFC drive-thru that evening.

“We ask that anyone with a dash cam to review their footage between the hours of 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. as your camera may have vital evidence of what led up to this incident,” Leach said.

“In order to protect the integrity of this investigation, we cannot provide further details at this time.”

Police have not released the gender of the suspect or what led them to determine that the shooting was targeted. Anyone with information is asked to contact homicide investigators at 905-453-3311 extension 3205 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Woman injured in targeted shooting in Maple

A woman was sent to hospital after a targeted shooting in Maple Ridge, B.C., police say.

The shooting took place 7:30 p.m. Monday at a home in the 23600 block of Dewdney Trunk Road.

“At this time, police believe that this was a targeted incident and there are no public safety concerns to the general public,” said Cpl. Julie Klaussner.

“This is not related to the

Ridge - police

Lower Mainland Gang conflict.”

The woman sustained non-lifethreatening injuries, according to police.

Anyone with surveillance or dashcam footage between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. from the area can contact Ridge Meadows RCMP at 604-476-6941.

Police did not provide any information regarding a suspect.

Woman dead, man in custody following stabbing in Surrey

A stabbing at a home in Surrey has left one person dead, with a suspect in police custody.

RCMP were called to a residence on 66 Avenue in the Newton area shortly before 9:30 p.m. for reports of a stabbing.

When officers arrived, they found a

woman with life-threatening injuries. She was rushed to hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Police found and arrested one suspect.

Officers say the two people knew each other, and there is no risk to the public.

Three men have all pleaded guilty to lesser charges in relation to the 2017 fatal shooting of a Surrey man in Abbotsford.

Alexander Blanarou, 24, was shot to death on Dec. 28, 2017 just before 2:30 p.m. in the 5300 block of Bates Road, south of Harris Road, in Abbotsford. Police arrived on scene to find his body in a nearby blueberry field.

Charges were announced in December 2020 against three men.

Edrick Raju and Islam Nagem were initially charged with first-degree murder, while Michael Schweiger was charged with second-degree murder.

Raju pleaded guilty on Oct. 18 to conspiracy to commit murder and manslaughter with a firearm, but the information could not be reported at the time due to a publication ban, which

has now been lifted. A date for his sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

Nagem and Schweiger were due to go on trial starting Jan. 3, but Nagem has now pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm. His sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 22.

Schweiger has pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to manslaughter, with his sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 24.

Investigators at the time of the killing said Blanarou was known to police and his death was believed to be a targeted hit.

Blanarou was identified in April 2016 by Bill Fordy – then Surrey RCMP’s officer in charge – as one of two people who had recently been arrested by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit for their involvement

Vancouver police to get body worn cameras soon

After a brief discussion of the merits on Tuesday, Vancouver councillors are set to vote on whether to support bodyworn cameras for Vancouver police.

If passed, the motion would direct municipal staff to work with the Vancouver Police Department and stakeholders to identify the costs of such a program by 2024, with the goal of full implementation for on-duty, front-line officers by 2025.

“The implementation of body-worn

cameras will enhance accountability and transparency in public safety. That benefits everybody,” ABC Vancouver Coun. Lenny Zhou, author of the motion, said at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

“The video evidence will provide an independent, unbiased and objective way to capture the interactions between the community and police officers.” The motion will go before councillors at a standing committee on Wednesday at 9:30

3 men plead guilty in relation to 2017 killing of Surrey man in Abbotsford

B.C. doctors ratify new $708-million, three-year deal

B.C. doctors have ratified a new three-year physician master agreement, which promises better pay and more rural funding, among other things.

Voting on the agreement closed at midnight Monday night (Dec. 5), with 5,591 ballots cast and 95.15 per cent of them in favour.

The proposed agreement was first announced at the end of October, along

with a new family physician payment model, developed by the B.C. government and Doctors of B.C. It includes a $708-million incremental cost increase by the end of year three, representing a 13.2 per cent bump over government’s current funding. If inflation continues to rise, funding can increase up to 15.2 per cent.

A meeting between pediatric emergency medicine specialists and obstetricians in Metro Vancouver revealed a frustrated hospital workforce struggling to meet the demands of a region full of sick children, CTV News has learned.

The meeting revealed staffing challenges so severe that hospitals are turning away parents in labour in some cases.

Several physicians raised questions and addressed issues both specific and general, including the revelation that six children have died in British Columbia from influenza in a two-week period.

Most of the participants work at BC Women’s Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital. They described young patients and their parents sitting on the floor of

the emergency department waiting room during peak periods, with those in active labour or requiring C-sections waiting hours for medical attention. In one case, a patient who went to BC Women’s Hospital in Vancouver was told the nearest hospital that could accommodate her delivery was in Squamish. Doctors heard that every maternity hospital in the Lower Mainland is often on diversion at the same time, meaning patients aren’t admitted, and are instead sent away in the hope of finding another hospital to help deliver their infants.

CTV News asked the BC Women’s Hospital how many times in the past month patients have been sent away, but communications

Big banks raise prime rate to 6.45% following Bank of Canada hike

RBC, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto Dominion Bank will raise their prime rates by half a percentage point to 6.45 per cent, from 5.95 per cent, effective Thursday.

This comes after the Bank of Canada increased its policy rate by 50 basis points to 4.25 per cent on Wednesday, the highest rate since the beginning of 2008. The move was in line with average economist estimates tracked by Bloomberg.

It was the seventh rate hike this year as the central bank works to tamp down inflation not seen in Canada since the 1980s. The Bank of Canada wants to see inflation

around 2 per cent, however, the most-recent reading had it at 6.9 per cent in October. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 5.3 per cent.

“Governing Council will be considering whether the policy rate needs to rise further to bring supply and demand back into balance and return inflation to target,” the Bank of Canada said in a statement.

That language suggests larger increases to borrowing costs have probably ended, and that policymakers are open to a break in their aggressive hiking campaign as they weigh the need for fine-tuned adjustments.

Surrey massage therapist charged with sexual assaulting female client

A massage therapist in Surrey, B.C. has been charged with sexual assault after an appointment with a client last month.

A woman said she was sexually assaulted after receiving treatment from Gudbjartur Bodhi Haraldsson on Nov. 14 at a clinic in the 13700-block of 96th Avenue in Surrey.

“Surrey RCMP Special Victims Unit assumed conduct of the investigation due to the sensitive nature of the allegations,” Mounties wrote in a Thursday news release.

The painPRO clinic Surrey Memorial is located at 96th Avenue and 137 Street and lists Bodhi Haraldsson as a registered massage therapist. According to a

profile on the clinic’s website, Haraldsson has been practicing since 1993, served on regulatory board associations, and participated in research. “Bodhi brings over 25 years of professional clinical and research knowledge to his practice,” it states.

“His clinical experience is wideranging and involves being a part of a multidisciplinary team in a rehabilitation hospital, serving as an independent assessor, performing Medical and Rehabilitation Assessments, as well as working with professional and amateur athletes.” Global News has reached out to painPRO Surrey Memorial for comment and will update

B.C. doctors discuss ‘disarray’ in hospitals as pediatric ICU overflows and patients in labour are turned away

Police in Delta, B.C., say two people have been arrested after allegedly holding a pair of women in a U-Haul van against their will.

Police began investigating after someone reported a distraught person near Highway 17 and Ladner Trunk Road on Wednesday.

Officers arrived to find a 21-year-old woman who said she’d been assaulted, robbed and forcibly confined in the U-Haul, but managed to escape.

The victim told police another woman was still being held in the van by a male

and female suspect.

Investigators notified police in neighbouring jurisdictions, and Langley RCMP later found the van in Aldergrove, where they arrested two people, Delta police said.

The second victim wasn’t hurt, and police said they believe all four people knew each other.

Police are recommending a number of charges, including forcible confinement and assault.

The two suspects have yet to appear in court or be formally charged.

Vancouver Park Board votes to remove Stanley Park bike lane for winter

The Vancouver park board has voted to immediately remove the temporary bike lane on Stanley Park Drive that has been in place since early in the pandemic.

Removing the lane was a promise ABC Vancouver candidates made during the recent civic election and now that they have a majority on the board they have followed through on it at Monday night’s Park Board meeting.

“We’re taking everything into account and it’s a hard decision. But I think it’s time to move forward but then also come back with a better solution for the bike lane,” said Angela Haer, the commissioner who brought the motion forward. Cycling advocates say the separated bike lane on the roadway was a safer option than sharing a lane with traffic, or riding on the seawall which can get very crowded.

“It’s just such a joy to be able to safely ride through the forest,” said

Lucy Maloney with Love the Lane, an advocacy group formed by people who wanted to see the lane made permanent.

“The bike lane is wide enough that you can ride side by side and chat to a friend and there’s still plenty of room for faster cyclists to pass you.”

The motion also directs staff to begin exploring how to create a permanent bike lane on Stanley Park Drive that is less disruptive to other park users.

Haer said it is ABC’s intention to move forwardwiththatplaninawaythatmaintains two lanes of traffic for motor vehicles.

“Our goal is to keep the two lanes of traffic -- just like pre-COVID -just like we had previously, and bring in another bike lane,” Haer said.

Given the confines of the roadway and the close proximity of hundreds of large trees along Stanley Park Drive, it is not clear if that ambitious goal will be possible.

Most B.C. kids and adults younger than 60 infected with COVID-19 or vaccinated: study

A large study that chronicles the trajectory of COVID-19 over the first 2-1/2 years of the pandemic suggests most British Columbia children and adults younger than age 60 developed antibodies to slash their risk of severe illness — either through vaccination, infection or both.

Lead author Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an epidemiologist at the BC Centre for Disease Control, said the findings can be generalized to the rest of Canada due in part to a push to deliver first doses of vaccine and the “beast” of Omicron, which drove wave after wave of infections.

Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be detected in the blood of people who have recovered from the disease and among those who have been vaccinated.

Researchers looked for antibodies in the leftover blood of a total of 14,000 people who had lab tests in British Columbia between March 2020, before the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, and August 2022, as the fast-spreading Omicron variant was evading vaccine protection.

They did eight analyses, amounting to snapshots of the virus’s presence in the population over the research period. The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that by January 2021, less than five per cent

of people had been exposed to the virus.

But the proportion of those with COVID-19 antibodies rose to 56 per cent in June 2021 as vaccines were rolled out. It shot to 95 per cent in August of this year through a combination of vaccination and infection as Omicron became the dominant variant.

“The highest infection rates were in children and in parental-age adults. That likely reflects their greater interconnectedness, socially,” Skowronski said, adding that while data from other provinces is limited, similar findings have been reported in the United States. The lowest infection rates were in the very old, as seen elsewhere in the world. She said that was possibly due to social isolation, and a high rate of vaccination and boosters among this age group, which is also at greatest risk of severe illness.

That points to the need for older adults to be prioritized for vaccination, Skowronski said.

The BC Centre for Disease Control launched similar seroprevalence surveys, which measure the attack rates of a particular illness in a population over time, during the 2009 swine flu pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza virus.

It has completed several surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic, including one published in September that suggested

Visit our Website www.theasianstar.com

n investigative project by a Kyiv think tank has identified Canadian-made parts in one type of attack drone used by Russia in its military assault on Ukraine.

Statewatch says it has found antenna components from Ottawabased Tallysman Wireless in Iranian-made Shahed 136 drones that form part of Russia’s arsenal in its invasion of Ukraine. The investigation, led by Inna Popovych, a Ukraine investigative journalist, was undertaken by a Statewatch project called Trap Aggressor.

The Shahed 136 drones, also called kamikaze or suicide drones because they are destroyed when they deliver their explosive payload, have been used against Ukrainian soldiers, civilians and infrastructure.

Reached in Ottawa, Tallysman’s president, Gyles Panther, told The Globe and Mail that the company has “become painfully aware” that some of its components are being “misused in sophisticated military guidance

systems” in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“It is sometimes assumed that we are somehow complicit in this usage. We absolutely are not,” Mr. Panther said. “Tallysman is 100-per-cent committed to supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.”

He said the company does not sell any of its products to Iran or Russia and its distribution network is prohibited from selling to countries, individuals or entities that are the target of sanctions. It also does not sell its goods to third parties, which to Tallysman’s knowledge supply products to these countries, he said.

Mr. Panther said Tallysman is cooperating with Canada Border Services Agency and other government agencies and he said he believes that the antenna parts in question were likely diverted to Iran through distributors using “fake company fronts” to hide their intention.

Tallysman is one of many Western tech companies whose products – in many cases relatively simple electronic components – have ended up in weapons manufactured by Russia and its allies.

Canadian-made parts found in Iranian attack drones used by Russia in Ukraine

2 arrested after pair of BC women held against their will in U-Haul van

Kajol praises SRK

Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan’s professional relationship goes back a long way. The two actors have worked together on numerous Bollywood hits, and are often regarded as one of Hindi cinema’s most beloved on-screen pairs. In an appearance on the Beerbiceps podcast, Kajol attempted to decode the secret to Shah Rukh’s sustained stardom, and recalled a couple of anecdotes as well. She said, “Shah Rukh is one of those people who recognised very early on who he was on screen, who he was expected to be, and pretty much lived up to those expectations. I remember once on his birthday, I was like, ‘It’s your birthday, I’m coming to see you’.

He said, ‘Come, come, but today’s not a good day’. I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I have to go out, I have to meet all these people, at the end of the day, my birthday’s not my own anymore. I belong to these people’. And that’s who he is.”

Community news

Health & Wellness Workshop on Chronic Diseases (The common Four, Cancer, Cardio Vascular Diseases, Diabetes & Chronic Respiratory Diseases). Senior’s Health & Wellness Institute Cosco has helped us to organize this workshop through Facilitator Sylviya Helmer and Lead Workshop Coordinator Sue Evans.

The impact of Chronic Diseases &Conditions which affect the activities of daily living, reduce quality of life & increase mortality risks, will be discussed & presentation will be

through Power Point Presentation.

We invite all Adults & Seniors of South Asian Community in the Lower Mainland to attend this very important Presentation at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC V3W 5K9, on December 11th 2022 (Sunday) from 2:00 pm -3:30 pm. Tea & light snacks will be served.

For more info call: 604 - 507 - 9945 for registration or further details.

Name change

Ganganagar (Rajisthan) India 335038 and presently residing at 12-15065 58 Avenue, Surrey BC Canada V3S 8Z5, do hereby change my name from Gurkirat Singh to Gurkirat Grewal with immediate effect.

Dharmendra still young at heart

Dharmendra, is celebrating his 87th birthday on December 8, He received special wishes from Hema Malini and daughters Esha Deol. Hema Malini dropped two adorable pictures posing with Dharmendra and wrote a sweet note that read, “Praying for dear Dharam ji’s good health on his birthday today. Wish him a long and healthy life filled always with happiness and joy! My prayers will be with him today and every day of our lives. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the love of my life,” Esha Deol also shared pictures with her father, Dharmendra, and wrote a sweet note wishing the star. The first image is of Esha posing with Dharmendra, while in the second, we can see Dharmendra’s younger daughter Ahana Deol with Dharmendra and Esha. Sharing the post, the actress wrote, “Happy birthday papa. I pray for you to

always be healthy & happy. Because of you we are..... you are our pillar of strength. Always the strongest. We simply just love & adore you. Love you,” followed by a heart emoticon.  Soon after Esha Deol shared the post, her industry friends flooded the comment section. Sanjay Kapoor wrote,

She started her year with a bang. Yami’s career graph is soaring high.

Meanwhile, the actress has interesting films in her kitty including, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Lost, Amit Rai’s OMG 2, Aditya Dhar Dhoom Dhaam, and another one which will soon be announced. Yami mentioned that Lost will probably be her next release. “It’s an investigative-drama with an undertone of an emotional-thriller. It has a very realistic tone, a lot of human-drama, nothing pretentious - it is what it is in today’s time. I play a crime beat journalist in it, and in its own subtle way it touches about media integrity in today’s time. So you can take it literally or metaphorically, there is something which is lost, there is someone who is lost. I’m so excited for a film like that. I am very proud of it,” disclosed the actress.

Yami mentioned that she had a great time while shooting for Oh My God 2 with her co-stars. For Akshay she shared “He is a very good producer also, and someone who is very passionate about this film. When

Happy Birthday,” followed by heart emoticons, while others dropped heart emoticons. On Dharmendra’s birthday, his son Bobby Deol shared pictures from a puja ceremony. In the image, we can also see Sunny Deol’s elder son Karan with his grandfather, Dharmendra. Sharing the post, he captioned it as “So blessed to be your son and grandson. Happy birthday, Bade Papa Dharmendra. Happy Birthday.”

I was given the narration I could feel that he really wants to make it with the right team. Of course, whatever chance I got to work with Pankaj Tripathi also, such a fantastic actor. With the new writing, there is another perspective which is very relevant, talked about, yet not talked about. So that will be interesting to see,” Yami concluded.

Yami Gautam

I, Gurkirat Singh S/o Surender Pal Singh, holder of Indian Passport No. R5390408 issued at Vancouver BC on 23/08/2017, permanent resident of Village 19Z, Tehsil Sri

(16 October 1940 – 22 January 2021)

Narendra Chanchal was born in Amritsar on 16 October 1940. He was born in religious Punjabi Hindu family of Amritsar. He was very fond of singing right from his childhood. He grew up in an environment in which He was inspired music and start ed singing bhajans and aartis.

He grew up in a family where He saw some financial hardships. After years of struggle, Chanchal entered into Bollywood with bang, He sung very famous song, “jis palrray mein tulay muhabat, uss mein chaandi nahi tolna” for Raj Kapoor’s film ‘Bobby’ 1973 that won him Filmfare’s best playback award.

He made a mark in the world of Bollywood with his unique style of sufi singing and devotional songs.

Chanchal released a biography which narrates his life, struggles and hardships leading to his success & achievements.

He visited Katra Vaishno Devi mandir every year on 29 December performed on the last day of the year.

Chanchal died on January 22, 2021 at age 80 in Delhi.

‘‘Pathaan’’ fans request to release the first song

Makers of Pathaan are keeping the fans hooked by sharing new posters from the movie. Speaking of which, Yash Raj Films’ official Twitter handle shared a brand new poster featuring Shah Rukh Khan in a new look. In the poster, Shah Rukh is sporting long hair and sunglasses. The text on the poster read, “Apni Kursi Ki Peti Baandh Lo (Fastened you seatbelt).” Sharing the post, the caption read, “Get. Set. Boom! Celebrate #Pathaan with #YRF50 only at a big screen near you. Releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.” Soon after the post was shared, excited fans flooded the comment section, requesting the makers to release the song.

NarendraChanchal(3rdfromleft) withRajKapoor

Chanchal was married with Namrata in 1976. He had 1 Daughter named Kapila Puri married to Hemant Puri & 2 Sons named Siddharth Chanchal & Mohit Chanchal. His Grandchildren Aadya, Hemang, Arya, Kyra.

Kareena extends birth day wishes for her mother-in-law Sharmila Tagore

Sharmila Tagore turned 78. Sharmila Tagore is celebrating her 78th birthday on December 8, on this occasion, she received sweet wish from her daughter-in-law Kareena Kapoor as well.

Kareena shared happy moments, posing with her mother-in-law Sharmila and wrote birthday note that reads, “Happy Birthday to my gorgeous mother-in-law,” followed by heart emoticon. In the image, both actresses are twinning in black outfits. They paired their look with beautiful floral print shawls. Kareena’s daughter Sara Ali Khan also shared her birthday post wishing her “dearest Badi Ammi”. She shared a throwback picture with Sharmila Tagore and a recent photo and wrote a sweet birthday note that read, “Happiest birthday my dearest Badi Amma. Thank you for being our rock solid pillar of support. I love you so much.

Salman Khan welcomes the stars Huma Qureshi, Sonakshi Sinha, Zaheer Iqbal and Mahat Raghavendra in Bigg Boss. They play fun game with contestants. Bigg Boss 16 has become one of the most-watched shows on the telly screen since the day of its launch. The content for the present season is very entertaining and people are enjoying various angles shown between the contestants. The present season of the show comprises some very popular names in the entertainment industry including Gautam Singh Vig, Priyanka Choudhary, Sajid Khan, Shalin Bhanot, Tina Datta, Sumbul Touqeer, among others. During the Shanivaar Ka Vaar episode, Salman Khan welcomed the star cast of Double XL -Sonakshi Sinha, Huma Qureshi, Zaheer

Iqbal and Mahat Raghavendra. Salman Khan welcomed the Double XL star cast on the show and they even danced to the song of the film along with the four stars. Later on the actors get to conversate with housemates.

Huma complements Archana Gautam and says she likes her game. On the other hand, Sonakshi compliments the housemates and tells them Bigg Boss has been her favourite. The housemates give the contestants a task to recreate dialogues with big dentures in their mouths. Sonakshi compliments Priyanka Chahar Choudhary and Ankit Gupta and tells them that they look cute together. She, later on, asks them to recreate their fight scene with dentures on, which left everyone in splits.

A user wrote, “Song when,” while another wrote, “Release the songs asp #pathaanfirstdayfirstshow.” Another user wrote, “Pathaan release song date anounce kre jaldi se.”

Sonakshi, Huma; Archana, Gautam in Bigg Boss

Narendra Chanchal

One of the greatest singers of Indian cinema

Ottawa Real Estate Board members sold 846 residential properties in November, compared with 1,456 in November 2021 — a drop of 42 per cent but “expectedly low,” according to the board’s president. Sales included 658 homes, down 39 per cent from a year earlier, and 188 condos, down 50 per cent from November 2021.

The five-year average for November is 1,270. There’s both a typical seasonal slowdown plus market conditions at play, OREB president Penny Torontow said in a release Tuesday.

“This is not isolated to our local market,” she said. “Globally, we’re still adjusting to the post-pandemic world and that affects demand, pricing, interest rates, cost of living, supply chain disruptions and more.

“As a result, those who can, are waiting and watching.”

The average sale price for a condo-class property in November was $415,533, down of four per cent from November 2021. The average sale price for a residential-class property was $680,031, down five per cent

from a year earlier. But year-to-date average sale prices of $774,422 for houses and $454,436 for condos are up eight per cent over 2021.

“What’s concerning about the current market is the impact on first-time homebuyers,” Torontow said, pointing to the drop in condo sales as a sign that even entrylevel properties are being affected.

“Fluctuating markets, paired with the stress test, are keeping first-time buyers on the sidelines in a tight rental market — with MLS rentals increasing 27 per cent this year over last.”

Amid fears of a looming recession, the Bank of Canada raised overnight rates for the sixth time Oct. 26 to 3.75 per cent in hopes of lowering the country’s 6.86 per cent inflation. In Ottawa, months of inventory for residential-class properties has increased to 3.5 months worth from just under one month in 2021. For condos, months of inventory has increased to 3.4 months from 1.1 months in 2021.

At 1,598, new listings were up 12 per cent in November from 2021 and down 22 per cent from October.

Victoria house prices take another tumble

A typical house in Victoria has lost about $157,000 in value in the last five months.

Sales volumes have also plummeted by 41% in the past year.

While both of those statistics sound alarming, the Victoria Real Estate Board isn’t alarmed.

“The autumn market has returned to its traditional rhythm as we approach the holiday season,” said board president Karen Dinnie-Smyth, who is also a realtor with ReMax Camosun. In the past, DinnieSmyth has pointed out that Victoria is a desirable place to live, work, play and invest and the city’s economy is fundamentally strong, so in the long run home prices and sales are expected to stay high.

Karen Dinnie-Smyth is the president of the 1,600-member Victoria Real Estate Board and a realtor with ReMax Camosun.

However, in the meantime, there’s the here and the now with numbers that are concerning.

The benchmark selling price of a typical single-family home in Victoria peaked at a record high of $1,464,400 in June.

Since then, runaway inflation, higher mortgage interest rates and the resulting battering of consumer confidence has seen the benchmark selling price slide $157,300 to $1,307,100 in November, according to board figures, Now, $1.3 million is still a hefty price and Victoria is still unaffordable for many to buy a home.

However, if you own a home you don’t like to see it slipping in value.

The price drops have also prompted some potential buyers to halt their search to wait and see when it may bottom out.

When bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter was in BC last month he predicted a mild recession and home prices in the province to tumble a total average of 20% by the spring of 2023.

For Victoria that could mean the benchmark selling price for a typical singlefamily home bottoming out at $1,171,520, a $292,880 lost in appreciation from the record high of $1,464,400 in June.

A judge has ordered that a $150,000 deposit that was paid for the purchase of a Vancouver home be forfeited to the seller after finding that the buyer, who was facing having to pay B.C.’s foreign buyer tax, had repudiated the contract. In March 2021, Hongxia Zhang paid the deposit to buy the residence at 4615 West 4th Ave. She agreed to the sale price of $2,950,000 with a completion date of April 26, 2021. nder the contract, time was of the essence and if the buyer failed to pay the purchase price by the completion date, the seller had the option to terminate the contract with the result being that the deposit would be non-refundable and forfeited.

Four days before the completion date, Zhang’s lawyer advised a notary for Anne Nijola Ambroziewicz, the seller, that Zhang wished to delay completion of the contract until she became a permanent resident of Canada.

Zhang wanted to avoid paying the 20 per cent foreign buyer tax levied by the provincial government. But Ambroziewicz declined to extend the completion date. The next day Zhang’s lawyer advised Ambroziewicz’s notary that his client would not be able to complete the purchase and he would not be preparing or sending any closing documents.

Ambroziewicz’s lawyer took that to mean that the contract had been repudiated and that the deposit should be released to his client.

Zhang did not pay the purchase price on the completion date and Ambroziewicz’s lawyer made another demand that the deposit, which had been paid in trust to a real estate brokerage representing Zhang, be released.

The property was sold in September 2021 to another purchaser and after a third demand for the deposit was made resulting in Zhang declining to release the money, Ambroziewicz filed a lawsuit seeking forfeiture of the deposit to her.

In her response to the lawsuit, Zhang claimed that the main reason she hadn’t completed the sale was due to COVID-19, which prohibited her from entering Canada and that this was a so-called “force majeure,” an unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstance allowing her to evade liability.

At the court hearing in the case, Zhang told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carla Forth that she’d been misled by her realtor that the foreign buyer tax would not apply if she’d been granted a confirmation of permanent residence in Canada.

She claimed that she did not learn until after she’d paid the deposit, but before the completion date, that she needed to be in Canada before the completion date to avoid the foreign buyer tax and explained that since she was in Hong Kong, she had to apply for a travel exemption, which was refused by Canadian immigration officials.

In her ruling, the judge noted that the main point of contention between the parties related to the interpretation of the contract.

Woman facing foreign buyer tax has $150,000 deposit on Vancouver home forfeited by judge

Real estate market ‘slightly tipping toward the buyers’ as sales plummet 42% in November

‘They said that so many other people in Surrey are doing the same thing— that is, building and renting suites without permission—that they did not think this would happen,’ judge notes

Sukhdev Singh and Kashmir Singh Sahota have been fined $6,000 after a judge found them in contempt of an interlocutory order to not occupy or use rental properties in Newton which are the subject of a yet-tobe-heard petition from the City of Surrey.

The city alleges in its petition that the respondents failed to obtain required building and occupancy permits as well as city inspections related to renovating and occupying a residential property at 6072 133A Street they bought in 2021 and did “extensive” renovations on to build three separate rental units then rented them out.

Justice John Gibb-Carsley noted in his Nov. 29 reasons for judgment that the City of Surrey claims that the respondents ignored “repeated efforts” to have them comply with bylaws.

“The steps taken by the City of Surrey prior to filing the petition included posting ‘stop work’ notices at the property, warning the respondents several times to halt the renovations and to not occupy or use the property, and issuing bylaw infraction tickets to the respondents,” the judge noted in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.

On April 14, 2022, city hall obtained the interlocutory injunction from Justice Kenneth Ball and on Sept. 22, 2022, Gibb-Carsley found Singh and Sahota in contempt of the April order.

“I have concluded that, in the circumstances of this case, the appropriate penalty is a fine of $6,000 for the breach of the April order,” Gibb-Carsley decided.

“Further, if the property remains occupied on January 1, 2023, the respondents shall pay an additional fine of $13,000, unless

otherwise agreed to in writing by the City of Surrey or by further order of this Court.

I also award the City of Surrey special costs for the contempt proceedings in respect of the April order,”

He also noted in his reasons for judgment that the respondents have been using the upper floor of the house “as a fourth rental unit for tenants,” in effect, converting a single-family structure “into an unauthorized and unpermitted 4-plex” contrary to Surrey bylaws and the British Columbia Building Code.

“In the circumstances of this case, where it appears the respondents have blatantly disregarded municipal permitting requirements that are intended to promote and protect the public by establishing minimum standards for safety, I find there is an added element of a public interest,” the judge said. “In my view, builders who flout

municipal building codes and the permitting process should be deterred from doing so.”

The City of Surrey sought a penalty of $5,000 for each of the respondents, totalling $10,000, as well as another penalty of $10,000 if the occupants of the addition and secondary Suite didn’t vacate the property by Dec. 1, 2022.

The judge noted the respondents were “frank” in their submissions to the court, acknowledging they were in breach of the bylaws and the court order.

“The respondents stated that they ‘never thought it would get this far,’” GibbCarsley noted. “They said that so many other people in Surrey are doing the same thing—that is, building and renting suites without permission—that they did not think this would happen. They advised that they have spent thousands of dollars on fees for lawyers and engineers and have made sincere efforts to obtain the required building permits from the City of Surrey, albeit after they had already renovated the property and rented it to the occupants of the addition and the secondary suite.”

Home sales down again in November for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

Home sales in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley were down again in November, as a slowing trend in the real estate market continues heading into the holiday season. The average price of a detached home in both regions also fell year over year, however the price of townhomes and apartments went up. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

reported Friday that home sales in the region were down 52.9 to 1,614 last month compared with October. They were also down 15.2 per cent from the 1,903 homes sold in October 2022.

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

Last month’s sales were 36.9 per cent below the 10-year November sales average, according to the REBGV report.

The report says the composite

benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver in November was $1,131,600, a 0.6 per cent decrease over the same month last year, a 10.2 per cent decrease over the last six months, and a 1.5 per cent decrease compared with October 2022. Detached houses were on average $1,856,800, a 1.7 per cent decrease from last year and a 1.9 per cent decrease compared with October 2022.

Surrey builders fined $6K tell court they ‘never thought it would get this far’

India, the world’s largest democracy, is home to a great diversity of faiths, the United States said Tuesday noting that it will continue to encourage New Delhi to uphold its commitments to protect religious freedom for all.

The United States has designated 12 countries, including China, Pakistan and Myanmar, as “countries of particular concern” for the current status of religious freedom in these nations.

Announcing this on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs.

“India of course, is the world’s largest democracy. It’s home to a great diversity of faiths. Our annual report on international religious freedom outlines some of the concerns we’ve taken note of when it comes to India. We continue to carefully monitor the religious freedom situation in all countries and that includes in India,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters here.

The Biden Administration, he said, will continue to encourage the Indian government to uphold its commitments to protect religious freedom for all.

“We engage officials regularly on steps they can take to advance religious freedom.

As the world’s two largest democracies, the United States and India, we’re also committed to an enduring project,” he said.

“This is the project that Secretary (of State, Tony) Blinken spoke to previously. The project that as our founders put it, of striving to form a more perfect union. This is a project for both of our countries. We have worked together, and we can work together to show that our democracies can meet our peoples’ needs. We must continue to hold ourselves to our core values including respect for human rights like freedom of religion and freedom of belief or expression,” he said in response to a question.

“That, in turn, makes our respective democracies even stronger. Secretary Blinken, given the totality of the facts

special watch list. But of course, these are conversations that we continue to have with our Indian partners and with partners around the world,” Price said.

India is home to a great diversity of faiths, while China & Pakistan not: US and the circumstances, determined that religious freedom concerns in India do not warrant a country of particular concern designation or placement on the

Ukraine slams India for buying Russian oil

Ukraine’s foreign minister condemned India’s ramping up of Russian oil purchases following Moscow’s invasion as “morally inappropriate” in an interview broadcast Tuesday.

A day earlier India’s top diplomat had defended the purchases of

of cheap Russian oil six-fold since the invasion in February, to the extent that Moscow is now its top crude supplier, according to local media reports.

The government says that with millions of poor Indians hit hard by the global rise in commodity prices in the wake of the war, it has no choice but to buy the cheapest oil possible.

On Monday, foreign minister S. Jaishankar said his country’s costs were being driven up by European countries now buying up more oil and gas from the Middle East.

A new report by the World Bank suggests India could soon become one of the first places in the world to experience heatwaves that break the human survivability limit. Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector said the country is experiencing higher temperatures that arrive earlier and stay far longer. India has witnessed a concurrent increase in meteorological droughts and heatwaves over the last 60 years, past studies have found.

The report was released during the two-day “India Climate and Development Partners’ Meet” being organised by the World Bank in partnership with the Kerala government.

ever recorded, the report reminded.

Soon India could become one of the first countries to experience heatwaves that break the human survivability limit, the report said, reminding that many climate scientists have long cautioned about rising temperatures across south Asia.

The report said:

In August 2021, the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that the Indian subcontinent would suffer more frequent and intense heatwaves over the coming decade.

discounted Russian crude, saying Europe’s imports still dwarfed those of his country despite the continent’s efforts to reduce its dependence.

But Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba told NDTV it was “completely wrong” to justify buying oil from Russia “by arguing that Europeans were doing the same”.

Itwas“morallyinappropriate”,hesaid.

“Because you are buying cheap oil not because of Europeans but because of us, of our suffering, of our tragedy, and because of the war that Russia launched against Ukraine.” India has increased its purchases

“The Middle East was traditionally a supplier for an economy like India, so it puts pressure on prices in the Middle East as well,” Jaishankar told reporters.

India and Russia are long-standing allies dating back to the Cold War. Moscow remains New Delhi’s biggest weapons supplier and India has abstained on UN resolutions condemning the invasion of Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi did however tell Vladimir Putin in September at a regional forum that the “era of war” was over, in comments seen as a rebuke to the Russian president.

India was plunged into the grip of a punishing early spring heatwave in April 2022 that brought the country to a standstill. Temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, topped 46 degrees Celsius. The month of March, which witnessed extraordinary spikes in temperatures, was the hottest

“The G20 Climate Risk Atlas also warned in 2021 that heatwaves across India were likely to last 25 times longer by 2036-65 if carbon emissions remain high, as in the IPCC’s worst-case emission scenario,” it further said.

The heatwaves would be devastating for many poor and marginalised communities across India, who live in inadequately ventilated, hot and crowded homes without proper access to cooling, the report added.

Chlorine gas leak in Andhra 100 hosptalized

According to official, the accident took place on Wednesday in Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Swimming Pool while the children were practising in the swimming pool.

More than ten students aged between 8 to 14 years fell ill following chlorine gas leakage in a municipal swimming pool in Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh, said swimming pool academy supervisor

on Thursday. The accident took place on Wednesday in Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Swimming Pool while the children were practising in the swimming pool. Children are seriously ill due to chlorine leakage in the pool. All the children were swimming in a 50-metre pool and the chlorine gas

India could experience heat waves that break human survivability limit, says World Bank report

India unveils

trillion plan to upgrade grid for clean power

India unveiled a 2.44 trillion rupee ($29.6 billion) plan to build transmission lines to connect renewable generation, as it aims to nearly triple its clean-power capacity by 2030.

The project will connect solar plants in the sun-drenched deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat and wind farms in Tamil Nadu to the national network, the power ministry said in a statement. It will help boost India’s inter-regional transmission capacity from 112 gigawatts to 150 gigawatts by the end of the decade.

A lack of transmission lines has held back renewable electricity in India. As the nation embarks on its path to net zero by 2070, it needs to address this shortfall so that clean power can flow to urban and industrial hubs that are often far from generation sources.

India has a generation capacity of 173 gigawatts from non-fossil fuel sources and plans to almost triple it to 500 gigawatts by 2030. The transmission plan includes

IPS

building transformers and high voltage lines to carry power long distances, as well as laying submarine cables to ship electricity from offshore wind projects.

The power networks sector welcomed the plan, but sounded a note of caution on how contracts will be awarded.

Private transmission companies have been lobbying New Delhi to allocate all projects through competitive bids, rather than the current practice of giving some to state-run Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. without competition.

“The plan presents a very large opportunity to the industry and is absolutely crucial to India’s renewables ambitions,” said Vijay Chhibber, director general at lobby group Electric Power Transmission Association, which represents the private network companies.

“What we still need is a complete clarity on how these projects will be awarded.”

web-series ‘Khakee’ arrested over corruption charges

The Special Vigilance Unit of Bihar has registered a case against senior police officer Amit Lodha for allegedly misusing his official position for financial benefits, a statement issued by the agency said on Thursday.

The senior IPS officer rose to prominence following the release of the web series ‘Khakee’ based on his book ‘Bihar Diaries’.

“While serving as an IPS officer, Lodha signed an agreement with a private firm that

caused him financial gains.

He allegedly agreed to a deal with a firm that produced web series on his book.

Lodha is not an established story writer nor was he authorised to write a book and use it for commercial purposes,” the vigilance unit said in the statement.

Lodha was accused of signing contract for financial gain while still working for the government.

He has been booked under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code

Congress wrests hill state from BJP, eight ministers lose

The Congress on Thursday wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP winning 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of not voting any incumbent government to power since 1985.

According to the results declared by the Election Commission, the BJP won 25 seats, while eight state ministers, including Suresh Bhardwaj, Ram Lal Markanda and Surveen Chaudhary lost.

The Independents won from three constituencies and the Aam Aadmi Party, which had contested from 67 seats, failed to open its account.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hailed the people of Himachal Pradesh and his party leaders as the Congress secured a much-needed win, riding on anti-incumbency and a slew of poll promises, including bringing back the old pension scheme and providing jobs to the youth and Rs 1,500 to every woman.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi assured the people that every promise made by the Congress will be fulfilled.

The Congress has convened a meeting of all its newly-elected MLAs in Himachal

The Congress’ vote share was 43.9 per cent and the BJP’s was 43 per cent - a gap of less than one per cent which was highlighted by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief J P Nadda in their address to party workers in Delhi after the poll results were declared.

The BJP had given the slogan of “Raj nahin, riwaz badlega”, which translates to “the convention will change, not the government”, but failed to buck the trend. Himachal Pradesh has not voted any incumbent government to power since 1985.

Nadda thanked the BJP workers for their hard work in his home state Himachal Pradesh and asserted “raj may have changed, but ‘riwaz’ also changed as there was a gap of less than 1 per cent in vote share of the top two parties”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party BJP has retained its 27-year control of his home state of Gujarat with a commanding election victory, but lost power in northern India state of Himachal Pradesh, according to a nearly complete vote count till Thursday.

A win in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh states would have emboldened Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party to pursue its pro-Hindu agenda with greater vigor ahead of national elections due in 2024.

The BJP has not lost state assembly elections in Gujarat, a western industrial state, since 1995. Modi was Gujarat’s top elected official for 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014.

Modi’s party remains popular in the state despite rising inflation, unemployment and religious polarization.

With vote counting continuing Thursday, India’s Election Commission said the BJP had won 142 out of the 182 seats in the state assembly and was leading in 14 other constituencies. The rival Congress party had won 16 and was leading in another constituency, while a new group, the Aam Admi Party, won five seats.

The Congress party wrested power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh state, where it had won 39 out of 68 seats and was leading in another constituency, against the BJP’s 19 seats, the Election Commission said.

Voting took place in Gujarat on Dec. 1 and 5 and in Himachal on Nov. 12. Vote counting was held Thursday, with full results expected later in the day.

The BJP also lost a key election on Wednesday for control of the city of New Delhi to the regional Aam Admi Party after leading it for 15 straight years, the commission said. BJP workers celebrated the party’s showing in Gujarat state with the state’s top elected official, Bhupendra Patel, describing the win as “people reposing full faith in Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.”

“Thank you, Gujarat. I am overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results. People blessed politics of development and at the same time expressed a desire that they want this momentum to continue at a greater pace. I bow to Gujarat’s Jan Shakti (people’s power),’’ Modi tweeted.

“Gujarat has come as a big shock,” said Pawan Khera, a Congress party spokesperson. His party’s most prominent leaders — Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi — did not actively campaign in the state elections after the party elected a non-family member, Mallikarjun Kharge, as party president in October.

Rahul Gandhi is on a 3,500-kilometer (2,185-mile) walking tour of Indian cities, towns and villages as he attempts to rejuvenate the party and win the people’s support ahead of the next national elections.

Yogendra Yadav, a political activist who opposes the BJP, said the opposition’s success in Himachal Pradesh and New Delhi show that “the BJP is vulnerable and you actually can defeat it provided the opposition is there, has a message, has a messenger and a machine.”

Arvind Kejriwal, chief of the Aam Admi Party, was hoping for a better election outcome for his party

officer who inspired

BJP’s electoral success in Gujarat and loss in Himachal

Rs 2.2

Pradesh in Shimla on Friday and the meet is likely to pass a resolution authorising the Congress president to elect the CLP leader.

Supreme Court takes exception to govt functionaries’ statement on judicial appointments, NJAC

Taking exception to government functionaries’ statements against the Collegium and the quashing of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), the Supreme Court on Thursday asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to advise the Centre on the issue.

Emphasising that the Collegium system was the law of the land that must be followed, a Bench of Justices SK Kaul, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath asked Venkataramani to advise the government on the correct legal position on the issue.“Comments on the Supreme Court Collegium by government functionaries etc are not well taken… You have to advise them, Attorney General, to control their..,” Justice Vikram Nath said during hearing on a petition against the Centre sitting over the Collegium’s recommendations for judges’ appointment.

The top court’s comments came after Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh complained that statements were being made against the Supreme Court.

“Persons in constitutional posts are saying the Supreme Court does not have the power to exercise judicial review. That’s a part of

the basic structure of the Constitution. It’s a little upsetting,” Singh told the Bench.

“Tomorrow people will say basic structure is also not a part of the Constitution,” Justice Kaul commented in response to Singh’s oblique reference to the Vice President’s statement on the Supreme Court’s 2015 verdict declaring the 99th Constitutional Amendment and the NJAC unconstitutional.

Vice-President Dhankar had recently raised questions over quashing of the NJAC Act and the 99th constitutional amendment and wondered if a constitutional amendment unanimously passed by Parliament reflecting the will of the people could be undone by the Supreme Court. Noting that Article 145(3) said interpretation of the Constitution could be done when a substantial question of law was involved, he had said nowhere it suggested a provision could be run down.

Earlier, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had said that the Collegium could itself issue notification for judges’ appointment if it thought the government was sitting over its recommendations. Taking exception to

Cyclone Mandous to hit Chennai coast

Heavy rainfall is expected in Tamil Nadu as cyclonic storm ‘Mandous’ over Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm soon and then weaken gradually and cross the coast near here on December 9 midnight, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

The Tamil Nadu government said 12 teams -- comprising nearly 400 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force and the State force -- have been deployed in 10 districts including Nagapattinam and Thanjavur in the Cauvery delta region, Chennai, its three neighbouring districts and Cuddalore. A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges on Friday.

In an updated bulletin, the IMD said the cyclonic storm ‘Mandous’ (pronounced as ‘Man-dous’) over Southwest Bay of Bengal moved further and it is about 480 km off east south east of Chennai and 390 km from Kariakal.

On December 9, light to moderate rainfall is expected at most places and

heavy to very heavy showers at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in north coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in adjoining south coastal Andhra Pradesh and north interior Tamil Nadu and Rayalaseema. Following the land fall, the rainfall is set to recede.

It is expected to move westnorthwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm. “It will maintain its intensity of severe cyclonic storm till early morning of 9th December and then weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm tomorrow.” It is very likely to cross coast near Mamallapuram here with a maximum sustained wind speed of 65-75

What MCD poll win means for Delhi and Arvind Kejriwal’s national ambitions

Aam Aadmi Party’s victory in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will surely boost the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit’s profile and further its national ambitions.

The AAP broke the BJP’s 15-year stronghold by bagging 134 of 250 wards in the civic polls.

The saffron party, meanwhile, prevailed in 104 wards, the Congress won just nine and Independents three. The AAP prevailed in Delhi after highly-charged campaigning by AAP and BJP which saw top leaders, including Union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and MPs hit the streets for door-to-door campaigning and meetings to garner public support.

Let’s take a closer look at what it means for Delhi as well as the party’s national ambitions: What does this mean for AAP in Delhi?

Speaking to News9, senior journalists Ajay Jha and Neerja Chowdhury called the MCD win “significant for AAP as a growing force,

more than it being a setback for the BJP.”

“The AAP in MCD is even more significant than it winning the Himachal Pradesh Assembly because this will allow the party to show delivery at the ground level much more effectively. People were fed up with corruption among other issues in MCD during BJP’s 15 years tenure. It’s time for AAP to walk the talk now,” they said.

Some, like AAP MLA Som Dutt, are optimistic that the outcome will make it easier to govern the National Capital Dutt, speaking to The Print, said, “The civic body is one department that is most connected with the public. Earlier, there used to be a lot of tussles between the MCD and the MLAs from the same area if they were from different parties. An MLA had to get an NOC from the councillor if they were doing some work, and the public would suffer. The work will get smoother. The BJP would create a lot of hurdles for us to work. This will help us further strengthen the party

BJP retains Gujarat for seventh straight term, sets new records, Bhupendra Patel to remain CM

Riding high on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP on Thursday retained power in Gujarat for a record seventh straight term pulverising the opposition to secure the biggest majority ever in the state.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set new records in the home state of Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah with its “historic” and “phenomenal” victory for a three-fourths majority, it lost Himachal Pradesh to the Congress after a close fight, as the hill state continued with its tradition of nearly four

decades in voting out the incumbent party.

The vote share difference for the winning Congress and the BJP in Himachal Pradesh was less than 1 per cent, a point also noted by Modi and BJP President J P Nadda in their address to party workers at the BJP headquarters in Delhi in the evening. While the Congress, which got a simple majority, polled 43.9 per cent votes, the vote share for the BJP in the home state of Nadda was 43 per cent.

Congress to meet in Shimla to decide new Chief Minister

After registering a win in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election, Congress MLAs will meet on Friday in Shimla to decide on the chief minister.

=Himachal Congress Legislature Party meeting will be held at 3 pm at State Congress Headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan today.

Rajeev Shukla, in-charge of the Himachal Pradesh Congress, and supervisors Bhupesh Baghel and Bhupendra Hooda will also be present at the meeting.

MLAs are likely to pass a resolution and authorise the party’s high command to take the final call for the chief minister.

The Congress, which had not projected a Chief Ministerial candidate in the hill state, was earlier planning a meeting of its MLAs in Chandigarh but changed its plans later after it got a clear majority.

It is a big task for Congress to choose its chief ministerial candidate among various aspirants including Pratibha Singh. Former state Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri are seen as the other contenders for the post.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Shukla had said that the party chief will decide who will be the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Speaking to ANI on election results in Himachal Pradesh, he said the party chief will take a decision on the chief minister’s post.

Meanwhile, some of the Congress leaders apprehended “poaching” attempts by BJP.

Congress returned to power in Himachal Pradesh after five years in the results announced on Thursday. The Congress won 40 seats in the 68-member assembly riding on anti-incumbency.

Key accused & aides received Rs 30 lakh in Amritsar IED case

The investigation into the Amritsar IED case has revealed that the bombplanter, Yuvraj Sabharwal, alias Yash, the key accused, and two of his associates had received a sum of about Rs 30 lakh. A part of it was reportedly arranged by Canadabased terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa.

Yuvraj is on police remand with the Ludhiana police since November 29 and he is to be produced in a court tomorrow.

A sum of about Rs 24 lakh was provided to Yuvraj and his aides before committing the crime and Rs 6 lakh was exclusively given to the former, after he fitted the IED under a police vehicle in Amritsar.

The investigation of Ludhiana Commissionerate and the Counter Intelligence Wing has found the money trail involved in the major conspiracy hatched by Landa from Canada.

Nakodar businessman shot dead by bike-borne assailants

A 39-year-old man was gunned down outside his shop in main bazaar, Nakodar in front of his father and guard on Wednesday evening.

Deceased Bhupinder Singh was a cloth merchant and had been getting calls from gangsters for the past two months who had been seeking Rs 20 lakh as protection money from him.

The victim had lodged complaint with police and civil administration, had shared the numbers from which he had been getting calls. He had been provided with a security guard for protection.

On November 1 and 8, he again got threat calls and the gangsters threatened that they would eliminate him for lodging a complaint.

2019 Tarn Taran bomb blast mastermind Bikramjit Singh arrested

The mastermind behind the 2019 Tarn Taran bomb blast in Punjab was on Thursday arrested by the NIA in Delhi after being extradited from Vienna, the agency said.

NIA had sent a team to Austria to bring Bikramjit Singh, alias Bikkar Baba, back to India, an official spokesperson said.

Bikramajit Singh had formed a terror group along with his close associates to

carry out attacks in Punjab, the official said.

He was arrested in Austria’s Linz on the basis of a Red Corner Notice against him following the issuance of nonbailable warrants by a NIA special court in Mohali, the spokesperson added.

Two persons were killed while one was critically injured in the blast.

Pakistan

Imran Khan expresses concern over Punjab cabinet expansion without his knowledge

A senior PTI member shared objection with his Party’s chairman Imran Khan as one PTI member Khayal Ahmad Kastro was included in Chief Minister Parvez Elahi‘s cabinet in Punjab.

It was learnt through the sources that Imran Khan was not aware of the cabinet’s expansion and the new ministerial appointment.

The senior leader, addressing ImranKhan, expressed his displeasure at the development and said that the expansion should have not taken place, as per the sources.

Imran Khan, when responding to his

party’s member, said that he was not aware of Mr Khayal Ahmad Kastro becoming a minister. “I thought you were being given a department to head,” he said speaking to the new provincial minister.

According to the sources, the PTI chief told Khayal Ahmad Kastro that while the development is not problematic but his becoming a minister has damaged the party’s narrative.

Punjab Governor administered the oath as Kastro the provincial minister amid Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi‘s presence.

Three arrested in Labasa market

Three men were found with dried leaves believed to be marijuana at the Labasa Market.

The Labasa Police Task Force team during a routine patrol at the market noticed the three were acting suspiciously whereby the officers searched the three.

The first suspect, a 42-year-old

man was found in possession of rolls of dried leaves believed to be marijuana.

The second and third suspects, a 31 and 22-year old were found with a number of rolls of dried leaves believed to be marijuana.

All three men were taken into custody yesterday as investigations continue.

Polling agent asked to leave pre-polling venue

One polling agent was asked to leave pre-polling venue earlier today.

The Fijian Elections Office says the person was in breach of electoral laws and hence removed. The person is alleged to have interfered in the work of a presiding officer.

Meanwhile, as of 3pm, the Fijian

Elections Office has completed a total of 506 venues for pre-polling and this includes around 80 voting centers for today.

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem says his team has endured problems again in some areas and there have been reports of heavy rain and flooding.

Fijian Elections Office referred two people to FICAC

The Fijian Elections Office has referred one person and a Facebook user to FICAC.

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem says Awadh Narayan Sharma of the National Federation Party has been referred to FICAC for breach of 116 (4) of the Electoral Act.

Saneem says this is in relation to a complaint by a person against Sharma

in relation to a comment that he targets a particular COMMUNITY.

He adds they will leave it for FICAC to investigate and deal with it.

The SOE says they have also referred a Facebook user to FICAC for publishing the wrong number of a candidate and misinforming voters.

Fiji Police Force warns parents to monitor their children

The Fiji Police Force is urging parents and guardians to keep a close watch on their children.

The Force says this as some children are staying at home.

Police say it has been a busy week of operations for routine, covering the 2022 General Election.

The statement highlighted

one particular officer, Police Constable Malakai Nasue, who assisted Fijian Elections Office escort materials across flooded areas in Lutu for pre-polling.

Meanwhile, 71 venues will be open today in the last day of pre-poll voting.

Pakistan’s election commission initiated a process to remove former Prime Minister Imran Khan as the chairman of his own Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party over “false statements and incorrect declaration”.

The case relates to allegations that Khan bought gifts given by foreign dignitaries from the state depository (called Toshakhana in Urdu) and did not disclose them in declarations submitted to the Election

Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Tuesday’s move against Khan follows an order the ECP passed in October when it found Khan guilty of “corrupt practices” and disqualified him from a parliament seat he won in 2018.

A notice has been sent to the former prime minister and the case will be next heard on December 13.

PTI’s legal expert Mr Babar Awan, a career lawyer represented the case.

Russia to sell crude oil to Pakistan at new adjusted price - minister

Russia will sell crude oil to Pakistan at discounted price, Pakistan’s state minister for petroleum Mr Musaddiq Malik said, days after he led a delegation to Moscow to negotiate the deal. Russia will supply discounted petrol and diesel to Pakistan, Musaddiq Malik told a news briefing in Islamabad. He did not specify the price of the discounted Russian oil or say whether the imports would comply with a $60 per barrel cap imposed by the G7 nations and the EU on Russian seaborne oil from this week over Russia’s invasion of

Saudi Arabia extends $3 Bln deposit term to Pakistan

Saudi Arabia on Friday extended the term of a $3 billion deposit it made to Pakistan’s foreign reserves, state news agency SPA and Pakistan’s central bank said.

Saudi Arabia deposited the money in Pakistan’s central bank late last year as a loan to shore up the cash-strapped country’s reserves.

Election Commission starts process to remove Imran Khan as party chief

india saw a single-day rise of 253 coronavirus infections, while the active cases have declined to 4,597, the health

India reports single-day rise of 253 new Covid-19 cases

ministry said on Saturday. The toll climbed to 5,30,627 with three more fatalities -- two reconciled by Kerala and one death reported

White House says US aware of long delays in visa appointments in India

Earlier, Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhaturia had recommended that Biden should consider issuing a memo to the State Department to reduce the visa appointment wait times to 2-4 weeks maximum for countries with significant backlogs.

The Biden Administration is aware of the long delays in visa appointments in India and is working to respond to the “significant demand of these visa services”, the White House said Thursday.

“I can say that the Biden administration is aware of the issues,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.

She was responding to a question on the agonizing long visa appointment period at the US missions in India, which currently runs into more than 1,000 days.

“While we have made great strides, as you know, because you cover this very closely, in recovering from the pandemic related closures and staffing challenges, we are still working to respond to the significant demand of

these visa services,” Jean-Pierre said.

“That is something that we will continue to do. We are successfully lowering visa interview wait times, that’s around the world, and we’ve doubled our hiring of US Foreign Service personnel to do this important work. Visa processing is recovering faster than projected, and this year we expect to reach prepandemic processing levels,” she said.

Early this week, a presidential commission recommended President Joe Biden to consider issuing a memo to the State Department to reduce the visa appointment wait times to a maximum of two to four weeks for countries like India with significant backlogs.

Non-immigrant visa, visitor visa (B1/B2), student visa (F1/F2), and temporary worker visa (H, L, O, P, Q) appointments with embassies in specific Asian countries and Pacific Islands, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and other countries, have extraordinarily long backlogs.

from Himachal Pradesh in a span of 24 hours, it stated. The active cases comprises 0.01 per cent of the total infections,

South Asia

which stands at 4.47 crore (4,46,73,166). The recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry.

Nepali Congress party emerged as single largest party in recent elections, Deuba set to remain PM

The Nepali Congress has emerged as the single-largest party in last month’s general election, with incumbent Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba set to stay for a sixth term.

According to a tally of results from the Election Commission, declared on Wednesday, the ruling party won 89 seats in the 275-member parliament.

The formation of a new government could take days as a five-party alliance, led by the Nepali Congress, secured 136 seats in the parliament, short of two seats to get a 138 majority.

The alliance that has been in power since July last year said they had sought the support of some new legislators and parties to reach the necessary majority.

Sher Bahadur Deuba addressing reporters in Kathmandu [File: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]

The spokesman for the Nepali Congress, Prakaksh Sharan Mahat, said the head of the newly formed Janamat Party, C K Raut, met with Deuba, aged 76, and pledged support for a new government. Mahat’s party has won six seats in the parliament.

“I have no doubt he will be the prime minister of the new government,” Mahat said, referring to Deuba.

The Nepal Communist Unified Marxist Leninist Party (UML), led by Deuba’s main rival, K P Sharma Oli, has won 92 seats.

The prime minister is chosen with the support of at least half the total number of parliament members.