The Asian Star July 10 2021 by The Asian Star Newspaper

www.theasianstar.com

Vol 20 - Issue 22

Film legend Dilip Kumar dies at 98 Film star Dilip Kumar 1922 - 2021

Dilip Kumar, India’s enduring film actor, a legend through the decades, died at Mumbai hospital on Wednesday, July 7 after prolonged illness, his family and doctors said. He was 98. The actor, known to generations of film-goers as ‘tragedy king’ for his portrayal of the brooding, intense romantic in classics such as “Mughale-Azam” and “Devdas”, is survived by his wife Saira Banu. The last rites will be held at 5 pm at the Juhu Qabrastan at Santacruz Mumbai, a post from his Twitter handle said.Dilip Kumar, who embodied the best of India through his work and seven decades in public life, had been admitted to the Hinduja Hospital, a nonCovid facility in Khar, since last Tuesday. “He passed away peacefully at 7.30 am,” Dr Jalil Parkar, who had been treating Dilip Kumar, said.“With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return,” family friend Faisal Farooqui posted from the actor’s Twitter handle at 8.01 am. The Hindi cinema veteran, the last of the golden troika with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand.

Saturday, July 10, 2021

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has been called after firefighters found the body of a five-year-old child inside a Surrey house. According to Surrey RCMP, officers responded to a report of a woman being stabbed at a home on the 15400-block of 94 Avenue at

about 9:15 p.m. on Monday. The woman, who was “seriously injured,” was able to run out of the house and call police; however, a five-year-old child remained inside the home. “The suspect in the stabbing, who is known to the victims, allegedly set a fire inside the Continued on page 7

India’s cabinet reshuffle that holds out no promise of good governance Wednesday’s massive reshuffle is a tentative return of the cabinet system. About time. As it is, seven years of prime ministerial overlordship has battered the system out of shape; only now, when comprehensive collapse and failure have come to gnaw at national well-being has a feeble

attempt been made to arrest the precipitous fall towards misgovernance. Is the new Council of Ministers better equipped to roll back the tide of misgovernance and incompetence? The answer cannot be in a simple affirmative. With the possible exception of Ashwini Vaishnaw,

Continued on page 21

India’s billionaires Ambani & Adani got richer while Coronavirus pushed millions of vulnerable people into poverty India has been hobbled by an economic slump and a brutal wave of coronavirus that new research shows pushed millions of people into poverty. But as these Indians struggle to live on a few dollars a day, the country’s ultra-wealthy have gotten even richer and more influential, as

their combined fortunes have soared by tens of billions of dollars in the last year. Mukesh Ambani — chairman of the sprawling conglomerate Reliance Industries — is now worth more than $80 billion, some $15 billion more than a year ago, according Continued on page 6

Sirisha Bandla to be second Indian-born person to go to space Thirty-one-year-old Sirisha Bandla will be the second Indianborn person and the first of Telugu origin to go to space. The aerospace engineer with her roots in Andhra’s Tenali is part of the Virgin Galactic’s crew that will fly into space on July

Sikh pioneer, South Asian businessman Asa Singh Johal passed away at 98 BC businessman Asa Singh Johal, a revered Sikh pioneer, died at the age of 98. Asa Singh Johal, who would have turned 99 in August, immigrated to Canada in 1924 with his parents and went on to establish sawmills, manufacturing plants and a trucking operation. He left school to start working at the age of 14 and established Terminal Forest Products in 1965, which became B.C.’s largest independent lumber company. The company grew and expanded from its sawmill operation on Richmond’s Mitchell Island. New book spotlights the Sikh pioneer

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Five-year-old child found dead in arson in Surrey

who created B.C.’s largest independent lumber company His son-in-law Avtar Opal said Asa Johal was very particular and his goals in life were clearly defined. “He had a target and he always tried to fulfil it and he did more than that in terms of his whole life, in terms of his family and his business. So we’re very proud of him for all his accomplishments. We’re happy and he’ll be remembered forever,” said Opal. Continued on page 5

11 from New Mexico. Sirisha will be the fourth person of Indian origin to fly into space after Rakesh Sharma, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Virgin Galactic is an American private space agency that will launch its spacecraft ‘Unity Continued on page 8

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BC dropping mandatory masks indoors is happening ‘too soon’, some doctors say When you walk into a shop in British Columbia, masks no are no longer required. But many are sticking on the safe side with even some shops on Vancouver Island keeping them mandatory. “Our company is still in favour of having the masks still on for our employees and customers, just to make sure it’s as safe as possible,” said Shaheena Shaik, an assistant manager at Chocolat Favoris in downtown Victoria. So, when you’re indoors should you, or shouldn’t you mask up? “We’re facing the delta variant which is showing some

signs of being resistant to the vaccines. Why would we want to test it? Why would we want to risk it?” said Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency room physician. “It doesn’t seem wise right to lift one of the most protective measures we’ve put into place to fight this pandemic right now.” Some doctors aren’t buying the province’s new messaging around masks, and say lifting the mandate is premature. “We are so close. Why we would lift the requirement now when we are basically spitting distance to herd immunity?” Continued on page 8 said Dr. Pirzada.

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OPINION

Saturday, July 10, 2021 China’s tightening grip on the intellectual property landscape in Canada

A Chinese tech giant filed more patents in Canada last year than any other company, evidence of what some observers say is a failure by Canada to secure the critical intellectual property rights needed to build next-generation technologies. Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications, a Chinese consumer

electronics and smartphone maker, filed 281 individual patents in Canada’s intellectual property office in 2019-20. U.S. semiconductor company Qualcomm was second on the Top 10 list, followed by several other American firms and two Chinese multinationals, Huawei Technologies (sixth) and Alibaba Group

(10th). State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco was seventh. All companies on the Top 10 list were foreign (nine of them American or Chinese) as firms continue to funnel huge resources into ensuring that they have priority ownership on the technologies of the future, including anything from smartphone software to chemical ingredients for car batteries. For years, experts have warned policymakers in Ottawa that the comparable absence of IP rights among Canadian companies threatens to put Canada at a severe disadvantage, one that will be increasingly amplified as the economy continues to shift toward more digital, intangible assets. That will in turn make Canada increasingly dependent on foreign multinationals for products and services, and crimp the productivity of the Canadian economy. “It’s embarrassing,” said Jim Hinton, co-founder of Innovation Asset Collective. “We can’t even have meaningful ownership of our own market when it comes to intangible assets.” Observers blame Canada’s shortcomings on a range of factors, primarily that Ottawa has failed to translate its worldclass research sector into products or services that can be commercialized. Canadian leaders have meanwhile signed numerous free trade agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, that allow foreign companies to secure crucial IP in Canada, even as Canadian companies fail to do the same abroad. “We’ve had no growth in resident patent filings in the last 10 years compared to everybody else, the Americans and the Chinese particularly,” Hinton said. Without a major course correction, “we’re going to become a middle-income country,” he said. While U.S. firms continue to dominate the patent landscape in Canada, the recent emergence of China adds new urgency to the situation, with American and Chinese firms vying for technological supremacy. “It speaks to the ambitions of China, and the means by which they go about really doubling down on science and technology,” said Robert Asselin, senior vice-president of policy at the Business Council of Canada. “They have a clear agenda.”

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Saturday, July 10, 2021 Sikh pioneer, South Asian businessman Asa Singh Johal passed away at 98 Early in his career, Johal had to maneuver around B.C.’s predominately whiteowned and white-run forestry companies and deal with the logistical issues of procuring logs. Darcy Johal, who has taken over the helm as the president and CEO of Terminal Forest Products, recalls his father’s impressive work ethic, which he maintained despite being paid less than other men because of his ethnic background. “He would wake up at the same time, five o’clock breakfast at the same time and come home for lunch at the same time, and two drinks at five o’clock before dinner then bed at eight. He was so regimented,” said Johal, who described his father as a four-star general. I n d u s t r i a l i s t and philanthropist Asa Johal was recognized for being an outstanding citizen by the B.C. government in 1991, earning the Order of B.C. and the Order of Canada for not only his contributions to the economy but also his philanthropy. Over the decades, Johal contributed generously to fundraising campaigns for the B.C. Children’s Hospital, Canadian Cancer Society, Rotary Club-Polio Plus, and other causes supporting immigrants to Canada. Johal honoured his roots and was instrumental in establishing the India Cultural Centre of Canada and served as president

of the International Punjabi Society of B.C. Darcy Johal said both his father and mother, Kashmir, have been dedicated to their Punjabi culture, as well as supporting good causes. “It was extraordinary what he did, you know, coming from rags to riches to be so successful. And at the same time, he was a very giving person, him and my mom.” Founder of Doman Industries honoured as ‘trailblazer’ He said one of his father’s goals was to establish a gurdwara, which served as a spiritual and community centre for early Sikh immigrants to B.C. “So one of the most extraordinary things he did was to build a Sikh temple, at No. 5 Road [in Richmond]. This was his dream,” said Johal. Avtar Opal said his father-in-law spent the last 20 years giving back to the community but had one regret — he never had the chance to go to university. Johal did become a member of the University of British Columbia board of governors and a director of the Children’s Hospital. He was also given an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of British Columbia for his support of ethnic studies.

Meet Surrey’s Olympians: At Tokyo Games, 9 athletes with roots in Surrey, BC to compete Some of them have competed at the Olympics before, others are first-timers No fewer than nine athletes with Surrey roots are set to compete at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The pandemic-delayed Games get going Friday, July 23, and continue until Aug. 8, with no fans allowed in venues now that the Japanese government declared another state of emergency there. A roster posted to the Team Canada website (olympic.ca) notes nine Olympics-bound athletes who list Surrey as their birthplace, hometown and/or residence. The list includes biographies

for Surrey-area athletes Shallon Olsen (artistic gymnastics), Christabel Nettey (long jump), Amar Dhesi (wrestling), Sukhi Panesar (field hockey), Kim Gaucher (basketball), Drew Mechielsen (BMX), Hillary Janssens (rowing), Sara Groenewegen (softball) and Hayley McKelvey (water polo). Some have competed at the Olympics before (Olsen, Nettey, Panesar), while others are new to the Games this summer.

Surrey Police Vote initiative expense limit set at $1.3 million The campaign to hold referendum on local police force for Surrey will have an expense limit of about $1.3 million, the adviser for the initiative campaign said Tuesday. But Bill Tieleman said he didn’t think the campaign, which moves into high gear next month, would end up spending anywhere near that amount. “We’re taking donations,” he said. “There are people lined up to contribute money. We’ll see how that goes.” Elections B.C. bases the expense limit on the number of registered votes in B.C. when the petition is issued, which takes place Monday, Aug. 16 for the Surrey Police Vote initiative. Elections B.C. confirmed in an email that the expense limit will be about $1.3 million for the initiative.

Tieleman said a limitation of the act is that it written for a provincewide initiative and not for a local one. “I think it’s important to emphasize that the initiative legislation is flawed,” he said. “It doesn’t make any allowances for regional initiatives and yet it is the only initiative legislation in the country.” Replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force was a centrepiece of Mayor Doug McCallum’s 2018 election platform. The Surrey Police Vote initiative was launched by Darlene Bennett, whose husband Paul was killed in 2018 in front of their home in a case of mistaken identity. Tieleman, a political strategist, led Fight HST, the successful No side in the 2011 HST referendum.

Saturday, July 10, 2021 India’s billionaires Ambani & Adani got richer while Coronavirus pushed millions of vulnerable people into poverty

From page 1

to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Not far behind him is Adani Group founder Gautam Adani, whose wealth skyrocketed from less than $13 billion this time last year to $55 billion today. The two men, who are now the first and fourth richest men in Asia, respectively, are worth more than the GDP of some nations. Their diverging fortunes with fellow Indians are symbolic of a rising wealth gap that has hammered many across the world, and which has become particularly pronounced in Asia’s third largest economy, which accounted for more than half of the global increase in poverty in 2020. Ambani spent much of the pandemic as Asia’s wealthiest person, ahead of many Chinese tycoons. He’s retained his comfortable perch through most of this year, and is the world’s 12th richest man — worth more than the likes of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim and Dell (DELL) founder Michael Dell. His company had a terrific 2020, raising billions of dollars from Silicon Valley giants such as Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB), who are betting on his vision to dominate the internet in one of the world’s biggest markets. And it is not too lonely at the top for Ambani. Until recently, the continent’s second richest man was also an Indian: Adani. The founder of Adani Group controls companies ranging from ports and aerospace to thermal energy and coal. Like Reliance, Adani Group has performed exceptionally well on the Indian stock market

— shares of Adani Enterprises, for example, have jumped over 800% on the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai since June 2020, a sign that investors are optimistic about Adani’s ability to bet on sectors key to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic development goals. Chairman and founder of the Adani Group Gautam Adani seen during the News18 Rising India Summit on February 25, 2019 in New Delhi, India. Chairman and founder of the Adani Group Gautam Adani seen during the News18 Rising India Summit on February 25, 2019 in New Delhi, India. Both the Indian billionaires have roots in Gujarat, which is Modi’s home state. Shares in Adani’s companies tumbled last month after The Economic Times newspaper said that foreign funds that hold stakes worth billions of dollars were frozen by the country’s National Securities Depository. Even though the conglomerate said the report was “blatantly erroneous,” its founder lost nearly $20 billion dollars in net worth in less than a month. Despite this steep fall, Adani remains among Asia’s richest men behind Chinese bottle water tycoon Zhong Shanshan and Tencent (TCEHY) CEO Pony Ma, according to Bloomberg. Other Chinese billionaires, including Alibaba (BABA) co-founder Jack Ma, have taken a hit as Beijing cracks down on tech entrepreneurs. The utter dominance of Ambani and Adani isn’t surprising, according to Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers. He added that almost every major sector in India is now ruled by one or two incredibly powerful corporate houses.

Canadian families can get nearly $2,400 from the feds & here’s what you need to know Single Canadians can also get up to $1,379 via the Canada Workers Benefit. Following an update to the Canada Workers Benefit eligibility criteria, as many as 3.2 million Canadians now qualify for the refundable tax credit. As of June 30, approximately 1 million more low-income workers have become eligible for the “sizeable” support, which offers almost $2,400 for families and $1,400 for single Canadians. According to the feds, the expansion will “increase the disposable income available to low-wage workers and provide incentives for workers to rejoin the workforce.” If you think you might qualify for the money, or want to find out more about claiming it, here’s what you need to know: Who can get it? The Canada Workers Benefit, sometimes called the CWB, is a refundable tax credit that aims to support Canadians who are working but earning a low income. It has two parts: a basic amount and a disability supplement. U n t i l recently, the eligibility c r i t e r i a excluded many low-wage workers from the program. H o w e v e r, following the expansion, the benefit is available to those with incomes up to:

$32,244 as single Canadians (without children) $42,197 as single-earner familie $56,197 as double-earner families Secondary earners in couples are now allowed to exclude up to $14,000 of their income when calculating the benefit, “allowing them to access a more generous tax refund.” How much is on offer? The amount CWB applicants can expect to receive depends on several factors. This includes things like their income, marital status, where they live and their eligibility for the disability tax credit. It is unclear if the following numbers, currently displayed on the government’s website at time of writing, have yet to be updated to reflect the expansion of eligibility. The maximum amount single individuals can claim is $1,381. This is gradually reduced if the person’s adjusted net income exceeds $13,064. The maximum amount that Canadian families can get is $2,379. This is slowly reduced if the claimant’s adjusted family net income exceeds $17,348. When it comes to the disability supplement, single individuals can claim a maximum of $713. This is reduced if the individual’s adjusted net income is more than $24,569. Families can also get a maximum of $713, gradually reduced if the family’s adjusted net income exceeds $37,176. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) notes that the maximum basic CWB amount and the disability supplement amount will vary for residents of Quebec. How do I apply? As the CWB is a refundable tax credit, it should be claimed at the same time an individual’s income tax return is filed. That said, eligible individuals and families can get up to 50% of the CWB in advance payments, instead of waiting for tax time. These payments are usually sent on the fifth day of April, July, October and January. Canadians can apply for the CWB by completing their taxes and following the instructions given in their certified tax software. Alternatively, there’s a form available online.

Saturday, July 10, 2021 Sarbjit Singh Bajwa passes away Well known Surrey realtor and former RCMP officer, Sarbjit Singh Bajwa, passed away suddenly last Saturday. He was 70 years old. Born in Dharampur (now in Himachal Pradesh), Bajwa grew up in village Kauli in district Patiala, Punjab. He moved to Canada as a young man in the early 1970s. he was the second South Asian to be a RCMP officer. After serving in the RCMP faithfully, He became a licensed real estate agent.

He leaves behind a huge family, including his widow, Mrs Raminder Kaur Bajwa, son Anmol Bajwa, daughter in law Varinder Bajwa and two grand daughters, Ekam and Sargun, and three of his five surviving sisters, brothers in law, cousins, nephews and nieces. Bajwa was well known for helping friends and strangers alike and will be missed by his huge community of friends and relatives in BC and Punjab. For condolence: 604-897-0327 or 604-543-5159

Five-year-old child found dead in arson in Surrey From page 1 and left the scene in a red Subaru prior to police arrival,” police said. “Surrey Fire Service extinguished the fire and tragically, the child was located deceased inside the home. The cause of the child’s death is still under investigation.” At about 9:40 p.m. that night, Coquitlam RCMP were notified that a man jumped from the Port Mann Bridge. The man, who police presumed is dead, is believed to be the suspect in the stabbing and fire in Surrey, police said. His vehicle was located on the bridge and Coquitlam RCMP is conducting a search for the man in the Fraser River. “This is a heartbreaking incident, and many people in the community, including first responders, will feel the impact of this tragedy,” Sgt. Elenore Sturko said in the release. “We express our condolences to the families involved, and encourage anyone who is struggling with this news to reach out for support from their healthcare provider.” Police said the incident does not appear to be a random act and the crime scene will be cordoned off for a “significant” amount of time.

Covid-19 ‘Lambda’ variant detected in Canada Another Covid-19 variant that is being closely monitored by scientists has arrived in Canada. According to the Toronto Star, the Public Health Agency of Canada says it’s aware of 11 cases of the “Lambda” variant in this country. The C.37 mutation was first detected in Peru last August and has been designated a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization. The WHO says this variant and other variants of interest are “identified to cause significant community transmission or multiple COVID-19 clusters, in multiple countries with increasing relative prevalence alongside increasing number of cases over time, or other apparent epidemiological impacts to suggest an emerging risk to global public health.While early data suggests Lambda may be more contagious than other variants, reports suggest vaccines should still offer protection against it. nEuronews reports Lambda has been detected in at least 27 countries, and is especially widespread in South America. The emergence of yet another variant comes as some countries continue to struggle with cases of the Delta mutation. In Canada, where case numbers have been declining and vaccinations continue, public health officials are still urging caution.On June 28, the Public Health Agency warned “with current rates of vaccination and the increased transmissibility and severity of the Delta variant, resurgence is still possible if easing of public health measures proceeds too quickly and in-person contact rates across the community increase by 50% or more.”

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Saturday, July 10, 2021 BC dropping mandatory masks indoors is happening ‘too soon’, some doctors say From page 1 “I think there is a need perhaps on the political side to show things are getting back to normal. I don’t think that’s necessary.” said Dr. Pirzada. With the new variant, herd immunity is considered 85 per cent vaccinated. Right now, 78 per cent of British Columbians have had their first shot. Only 36 per cent are fully vaccinated. In the meantime, even though cases are down, doctors say until

we increase our vaccination rate, they’re firmly suggesting when indoors, to mask up. “This virus, we’ve seen time and time again its super spreading potential and events,” said Dr. Victor Leung, an infectious disease specialist out of Vancouver. “We could get into a period of exponential growth very quickly, and we don’t want to give this virus the upper hand.”

Sirisha Bandla to be second Indian-born person to go to space From page 1 ‘Unity Virgin Galactic is an American private space agency that will launch its spacecraft ‘Unity 22’ next weekend as part of the test flight. Four mission scientists, including the founder of Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson, will evaluate the experience of the Virgin Galactic Astronaut. Branson will be accompanied by Sirisha, Beth Moses, and Colin Bennett. Sirisha, who is the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic, will be evaluating the human-tended research experience, using an experiment from the University of Florida that requires several handheld fixation tubes that will be activated at various points in the flight profile, the company said. According to news reports, Sirisha was born in Tenali when her US-resident parents Dr Murali, an agricultural scientist, and Anuradha

were in India on a visit about 25 years ago. “It is really a thrilling moment for the entire family,” Dr Kanneganti Rama Rao, uncle of Sirisha, was quoted as saying by The Times of India. Sharing the exciting news, Sirisha tweeted, “I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all.” Overwhelmed with joy, she further added, “I really didn’t need to tweet this since my friends flooded the feed yesterday with it. I was overwhelmed (in a good way!) by messages of love, unrecognizable capital text, and positivity yesterday. Slowly working my way through them...one platform at a time!” KC Chekuri, from Dallas reportedly a family friend of Bandlas was quoted as saying by The Hindu, “It’s a proud moment for all the Telugus across the world and an inspiration for generations.”

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BC reports another 59 Covid-19 cases, first new death in three days Health officials in British Columbia reported 59 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday and one additional death. Of the new cases, 10 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 21 were in the Fraser Health region, seven were in Island Health, 19 were in Interior Health, and two were in Northern Health. The seven-day rolling average for new cases rose slightly from 39.4 to 40.8. Prior to Thursday, the province had gone two days without a Covid-19 death. The provincial death toll from the disease now stands at 1,760.

Seventy-four people were in hospital with the disease, 19 of whom were in intensive care. Just under 81,800 second doses were administered along with 4,359 first doses. The province said 78.4 per cent of eligible British Columbians aged 12 and older have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 40 per cent have received two doses. There were three active outbreaks in the province: Eagle Ridge Hospital, Royal Inland Hospital and Laurel Place at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

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Saturday, July 10, 2021 Trudeau Liberals appoint four more donors to be judges The Trudeau Liberals have appointed four more donors to be judges, two in Ontario and two in Quebec. The announcement of the appointments was made last Friday via a news release, the news of their significant donations was first published by Blacklock’s Reporter. The four judges have donated a total of $26,295 in publicly disclosed donations. One newly appointed judge was a donor to the campaign of Attorney General David Lametti, who made the appointments, another has hosted fundraising events for Liberal candidates in her home. The news comes after the Liberals pledged to stop checking judicial appointments against their own internal donor database known as Liberalist. Despite claiming that appointments including those of judges would be non-partisan under the Trudeau system, the record shows otherwise. Last fall, CBC reported on concerns raised by a top political staffer to Lametti. Francois Landry urged caution for the

minister and his staff in following the demands of Trudeau’s office in appointing judges. “Need to talk about what PMO requires us to do prior to a judicial appointment. It raises some concerns,” Landry wrote in February 2019 just a month after Lametti was appointed minister. A review of 466 judicial appointments by the National Post last December showed that 28% of those receiving an appointment or a promotion had donated exclusively to the Liberal Party. That compares with 4% who donated exclusively to the Conservatives and 1% to the NDP. A further 7% of appointees had donated to the Liberals and at least one other party. This latest round of judicial appointments shows lawyers being elevated to the bench after years of donating. Montreal lawyer Daniel Urbas donated $9,351 to the Liberals including $1,200 to Lametti’s 2015 election campaign. He is now a puisne judge of the Superior Court of Quebec.

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Mary Simon, Indigenous leader, will be Canada’s next governor general: PM Trudeau Canada is getting its first Indigenous governor general with the appointment of Inuk leader Mary Simon, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The announcement comes five months after former governor general Julie Payette resigned amid a “scathing” workplace conduct review and as speculation heats up that the federal parties are on the verge of a summer election before the House of Commons returns in the fall. Trudeau announced on Tuesday morning at the Canadian Museum of History that Queen Elizabeth II has approved the appointment of Simon, a prominent Inuk leader who was formerly the Canadian ambassador to Denmark and who played a leading role in the creation of the Arctic Council. “Ms. Simon’s career has always been one of breaking down barriers,” Trudeau said. “Today, after 154 years, our country takes a historic step. I cannot think of a better person to meet the moment.” Simon is also an Officer of the Order of Canada and has been honoured over the last several decades with the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Gold Order of

the Canadian Geographic Society and the Governor General’s Northern Award. She has also been inducted into the International Women’s Hall of Fame and is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, among other honours. She is the former president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization. “I can confidently say that my appointment is a historic and inspirational moment for Canada and an important step forward on the long path to reconciliation,” Simon told journalists. She is bilingual in English and Inuktitut, but not in French — normally a key requirement for Crown appointments who are expected to conduct their work and communicate in both official languages. The Liberals under interim leader Bob Rae opposed the appointment of unilingual Michael Ferguson as auditor general in 2011 for that exact reason, and the entire caucus — including Trudeau — boycotted the House of Commons vote confirming him as such that same year over his lack of French. Simon said she was denied the chance to learn French while attending a federal day school in Quebec but is committed to doing so.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Star & Style

Saturday, July 10, 2021 Dilip Kumar funeral

Dharmendra says goodbye to his friend, teacher and a lengend, Dilip Kumar

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan arrive to pay final tributes to the legend Dilip Kumar

Shah Rukh Khan consols Saira Bano (Mrs Dilip Kumar) at Dilip Sahib’s funeral.

9 of the most expensive divorces in Bollywood 1. Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh Saif and Amrita tied the knot in 1991. 13 years later they decided to separate and were granted divorce in 2004. In a 2005 interview, Saif had revealed the alimony he had paid to his exwife, Amrita Singh. He said: I’m supposed to give Amrita ₹5 crore, of which I’ve already given her approximately ₹2.5 crore. Also, I’m paying ₹1 lakh per month until my son becomes 18. 2. Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur The couple got divorced in 2016 putting an end to their 13 years of marriage. According to the terms of the divorce, Karisma got Sunjay’s father’s residence in Khar that was in her name. She also received a monthly interest of ₹10 lakhs from bonds worth ₹14 crore that Sunjay had bought in their children’s names 3. Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta Aamir Khan and his first wife Reena Dutta separated in 2002 and it was reported that he paid an alimony of ₹50 crores to her. 4. Farhan Akhtar and Adhuna Bhabani Farhan ended his 16 years of marriage with his wife Adhuna. It was decided that Farhan will be paying a one-time alimony to her instead of monthly maintenance, the amount of which is not known. Adhuna apparently also retained their family home ‘Vipasana’ after the divorce. 5. Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora The couple dated for 5 years before getting married in 1998. When they separated after 13 years of marriage, it was reported that

Malaika asked for a settlement of ₹10-15 crore. 6. Prabhu Deva and Ramlath Dancer and actor Prabhu Deva separated from his wife after 15 years in 2010. He reportedly gave her 3 residential properties - one in Anna Nagar and 2 flats in Ranga Reddy district of

Andhra Pradesh - 2 cars and ₹10 lakh in alimony. The properties apparently were worth ₹20-25 crore 7. Sanjay Dutt and Rhea Pillai Sanjay Dutt and Rhea Pillai separated after a few years of their marriage. As per the settlement details published in Mid-day, Sanjay’s Bandra apartment worth ₹8 crore stayed with Rhea and he had to buy her a luxurious car. 8. Hrithik Roshan and Sussane Khan When Hrithik and Sussane parted ways after 14 years of marriage, there were rumours that Sussane asked for an alimony of ₹400 crore which was settled at ₹380 crore. People started trolling Sussane on Twitter. At the time, Hrithik tweeted that the reports were fabricated and false 9. Aditya Chopra and Payal Khanna While some reports said that Aditya Chopra had to pay a hefty sum of ₹50 crores as divorce settlement with his wife Payal Khanna, others said that the amount of alimony was huge but was kept under wraps.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas exudes retro-chic vibes in her latest photo; says ‘Just vibin’ Priyanka Chopra Jonas is currently in London and is having a gala time. The global star keeps sharing updates about her routine with her fans on Instagram. Today, Priyanka took to her handle and shared a stylish picture of herself! In the picture, Priyanka can be seen exuding chic vibes as she rocks an all-white look. She can be seen sporting a white t-shirt that she has

paired with a white jacket and accessorized her look with a gold neckpiece, matching earrings and a cool pair of sunnies. Along with the picture, PeeCee wrote, “Just vibin’. It looks like Priyanka is already in her weekend mode! Have a look: Meanwhile, Priyanka recently penned a heartfelt note as she remembered the legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

Star & Style

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Shilpa Shetty looks ravishing in teaser of ‘Chura Ke Dil Mera 2.0’

Actress Shilpa Shetty shared the teaser of “Chura Ke Dil Mera 2.0” on Monday. The song, a recreation of her popular number in the 1994 hit ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anadi’, features in her upcoming comedy ‘Hungama 2’. The actress took to social media and

shared a small video clip of the song. “After a looonnggg wait, but at last... Presenting the teaser of #ChuraKeDilMera 2.0 Full song out tomorrow @ 11.11 am! #Hungama2 With love and gratitude,” wrote Shilpa Shetty on Instagram.

Cannes documentary on cinema evolution cites five Bollywood films Five Indian films, all made in Mumbai but disparate in spirit and substance, feature in Belfast-born, Edinburgh-based filmmaker and critic Mark Cousins’ stimulating 160-minute documentary, ‘The Story of Film: A New Generation’. Made during the pandemic and studded with memorable movie moments, the documentary had its world premiere on the opening day of the 74th Cannes Film Festival as if to tell the world that cinema is, and will always be, alive,

no matter what adversity it faces. ‘The Story of Film: A New Generation’, a part of the Cannes Classics section, opens with a shot of the new cinematheque in Madrid, a symbol of hope and renewal for diehard lovers of a medium that is nothing if not dynamic. ‘A New Generation’, a follow-up to Cousins’ 15-hour magnum opus ‘The Story of Film: An Odyssey’ (2011), tracks the creative innovations, technological advancements. , and new ways of seeing in an image-

Alia Bhatt joins Hollywood agency WME, which represents Gal Gadot, Emma Stone Alia Bhatt is the latest Bollywood star eyeing Hollywood dreams. She has been signed on by WME agency. Actor Alia Bhatt is the latest Bollywood actor who has signed a contract with a Hollywood agency. Alia is now a part of WME, which also represents stars such as Emma Stone, Oprah, Gal Gadot, Charlize Theron and others. Alia Bhatt took to Instagram to respond to WME’s welcome message for her. She responded with a ‘yay’ and many heart emojis. Apart from Alia, actors Hrithik Roshan and Vidyut Jammwal have also signed contracts with different agencies

in Hollywood. Hrithik signed the agency Gersh, earlier this year. Deepika Padukone had also joined agency ICM which represented Regina King, Olivia Colman and others. In Bollywood, Alia has multiple projects lined up. She has Brahmastra with boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan and is directed by Ayan Mukerji of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Alia also has Gangubai Kathiawadi, the filming for which was wrapped up last month. It is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and stars Alia as the madam of a brothel.

Dilip Saab loved my song ‘Aana Jana Laga Rahega’- Bappi Lahiri Hindi cinema veteran Dilip Kumar who passed away on Wednesday morning, saw the film industry fraternity, his family and friends sharing tributes to him. The late star, whose career spanned over 50 decades, was also known as ‘Tragedy King of Bollywood’ and to many, he was the man who changed the art of dialogue delivery. Music composersinger Bappi Lahiri, who knew Dilip Kumar well and worked with him, shared his feelings at the passing away of the veteran. “I have such beautiful memories with him,” he starts. “I worked with Dilip saab in two films –

‘Kanoon Apna Apna’, which also had Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit aur ‘Dharmadhikari’ jis mein Dilip saab thhey, Jeetendra aur Sridevi ke saath. Voh kitney hasmukh thhey aur unke acting ki tareef alag hi thhi,” he says. ‘When I went to give him Bappa’s wedding card, he remembered me and clasped my hand’. Bappi also recalls how Dilip Kumar had a sweet bond with his daughter Rema. Says the singer, “He used to call my younger daughter Rema ‘gudiya’ and he loved her a lot. I have a lovely picture of them together.

LOCAL / NATIONAL Govt warns air quality to worsen in Southern BC

Environment Canada has issued special air quality statements for the next 48 hours in nine jurisdictions across southern B.C., as well as in the Cariboo North, Prince George, Stuart-Nechako and Williston. First came the heat wave. Then came the fire. Now, with over 200 fires burning across British Columbia, smoke has once again prompted the B.C. government to warn residents of deteriorating air quality. “The best way to protect yourself from the effects of wildfire smoke is to reduce your exposure by sheltering in place,” warned the province in a bulletin Wednesday afternoon. Environment Canada has issued special

air quality statements for the next 48 hours in nine jurisdictions across southern B.C., as well as in the Cariboo North, Prince George, Stuart-Nechako and Williston. Significant smoke has yet to make it down the Lower Fraser Valley and into Metro Vancouver, and the air quality health index remains low from Vancouver to Hope. Smoky air makes it harder for a person’s lungs to absorb oxygen; fine particulate matter can travel deep into the lungs and lead to inflammation and irritation. That’s particularly concerning for people with chronic lung illnesses like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

New hospital under construction in BC expected to be twice the size of current facility The B.C. government says it has started construction on a new hospital in Terrace, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the discussion about a new hospital for the area dates back to 2010. The new hospital will

be more than twice the size of the current facility. Northern Health says it will work with local and regional First Nations to ensure the hospital is culturally safe and welcoming.

BC releases hydrogen strategy to spur investment in sector The B.C. government has released a hydrogen strategy designed to spur investment in the clean alternative fuel within the province. The strategy document, made public on Tuesday, outlines a series of short- and long-term policy and procedural goals, including the development of a framework for provincial regulators to work cooperatively with hydrogen industry players. It also includes provisions for reviewing and setting regulations for hydrogen production. Until two years ago, interest in hydrogen

fuel was on the wane. An initial wave of excitement peaked in 2000. One of the beneficiaries at that time was Burnaby, B.C.based Ballard Power Systems Inc., which continues to make hydrogen fuel cells. British Columbia’s new hydrogen strategy is looking to capitalize on two decades of technological improvement, during which hydrogen’s outlook has brightened significantly. Dozens of governments around the world are now backing the clean fuel, said Bruce Ralston.

Saturday, July 10, 2021

More businesses want proof of vaccination: lawyer A Toronto-based privacy lawyer says an increasing number of Canadian businesses are considering putting policies in place that would require customers to provide proof of COVID-19 jabs before receiving service. Molly Reynolds says a lot of businesses have been approaching her because they say they want to protect customers and employees as public health restrictions lift across the country.

“There are businesses of really every size, and in really every industry, who are thinking about this,” Reynolds, a lawyer with Torys LLP, said in an interview Wednesday. “(They are thinking) in terms of what should they be doing to protect their customers and protect their employees and then also thinking whether any centralized provincial or federal government vaccine passports might be tools that they can use

Wildfire smoke starting to drift across Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland With the 2021 wildfire season starting earlier than ever, wildfire smoke is starting to drift into the Fraser Valley and across the Lower Mainland. More than 200 wildfires were reported across B.C. and Washington State, so the smoke is expected to travel widely across the region. Metro Vancouver’s AirMap recorded ‘low’ levels of the pollutants known as small particulates (PM2.5) on Monday and Tuesday,

but there was a noticeable a haze in the air as a ‘smoky skies bulletin’ was issued July 5 for parts of southern B.C. and the B.C. Interior. ‘Moderate’ levels of air quality pollutants are forecast for Wednesday, but sometimes air quality health index (AQHI) readings take a few days to catch up to drifting smoke. Little Mountain is seen in this view of Chilliwack, looking northwest from Gibson Road on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

Funeral announcement With great sorrow & grief, Bodalia family would like to inform you, that Nirmilla Bodalia passed away on the morning of Tuesday June 29, 2021 due to heart failure. Nirmilla was the wife of late Chandra (Chandravadan) Bodalia. She was survived by her son Vimal (Anita) Daughter-Mona(Richard) Thomas, Isaiah Parents in law-Nagindas and Chanchalben Bodalia

Many family members, brothers and sister in Vancouver, USA, New Zealand and around the world. Funeral will be held on Sunday July 11, 2021. Details and zoom link to follow We thank you for your prayers at this time. May her life be remembered and May God bless her soul. From Mona Dale. Om Shanti

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, July 10, 2021

New York man who hasn’t paid his mortgage in 20 years dodges eviction again Long Island man who hasn’t paid his mortgage in more than 20 years got another free pass from the courts this week after hiring a new lawyer. Guramrit Hanspal, 52, hasn’t coughed up a dime to live in his East Meadow home since making a single mortgage payment in 1998, but ducked eviction for decades by filing lawsuits and bankruptcies, records show. The home, which was foreclosed on years ago, is now owned by Diamond Ridge Partners, which hauled Hanspal into court in a bid to finally boot him from the property. At a Wednesday hearing in Nassau County court, Judge William A. Hohauser agreed to delay the case after Hanspal’s attorney, William D. Friedman, requested more time, claiming his

co-counsel, David Gevanter, had been hired the day before. “This is the last of approximately 40 attorneys who have appeared on the eve of a hearing,” exasperated Diamond Ridge lawyer Jordan Katz told the judge. “This is very typical of the defendant — he recycles lawyers to buy himself more time,” said Max Sold, who works for Diamond Ridge. “This guy is basically mocking the courts.” In the court hearing, Friedman accused Katz of using “scandalous language.” Hanspal has ducked eviction for decades and is now arguing COVID-19 protections should keep him in the home. Reached by phone after the appearance, Friedman declined to make Hanspal available for an interview.

Canadian bank robber jailed by Singapore for 5 years avoids caning A court in Singapore on Wednesday sentenced a Canadian man to five years in jail for robbing a bank in 2016, but he will not receive an additional sentence of six strokes of a cane due to the terms of his extradition, the government said. Singapore has very low crime rates and the bank robbery had sparked debate about whether the wealthy Southeast Asian city state had become too complacent about security. David James Roach, now 31, fled Singapore on the same day as the robbery, but was later detained in Britain where authorities agreed to extradite him in March last year on the condition that he would not receive corporal

punishment. “This assurance...does not affect Singapore’s long-held view that such punishment does not constitute torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or contravene international law,” the government said in a statement. Roach stole S$30,000 ($22,215.64) from a branch of the Standard Chartered bank in July 2016, but immediately took a flight to Thailand before his identity could be established, according to Singapore authorities. He was detained in Thailand but subsequently deported to Canada before being held by British police after arriving in London in January 2018, at the request of Singapore.

Liberals maintain narrow lead over Tories among decided voters: Poll A new poll suggests Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party has only a narrow lead over the Opposition Conservatives among decided voters. The online survey from Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found 33 per cent of decided voters who were polled intend to cast their ballot for the Liberals, while 30 per cent say they plan to vote for the Conservatives and 19 per cent for the NDP. Leger executive vice-president Andrew Enns said those numbers suggest the Liberals would likely remain in government should Trudeau send Canadians to the polls, though it’s still unclear whether they would be able to win a majority. “These numbers put the Liberals in the driver’s seat to form a government,” he said. “A majority government is still a bit

of a question mark.” The poll suggests the Liberals hold a six-point lead over the Conservatives among decided voters in Ontario, but are in tight race with the Bloc Québécois in Quebec, and in a three-way race with the Conservatives and NDP in British Columbia. The Liberals lead in Ontario with 37 per cent of voters intending to choose them, ahead of the Conservatives with 31 per cent and the NDP with 20 per cent. The online survey of 1,518 adult Canadians was conducted from July 2-4. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random. Decided voters accounted for 1,246 of the total number of people polled.

Why the delta variant means some Canadians now more ‘at risk’ from Covid-19 than ever before For fully vaccinated Canadians, normal life now feels within reach. But for those still waiting for a second dose — or skipping their COVID-19 shots entirely — this stretch may be among the most perilous points of the pandemic. That’s because the months ahead are a transition period, unlike anything we’ve experienced yet. The good news: case counts are nearing rock-bottom even as restrictions are lifting. Still, the fast-spreading delta variant keeps sparking outbreaks and infecting those who aren’t yet vaccinated. “We’re testing new waters in a way; this virus hasn’t seen a reopened population,” said epidemiologist Caroline

Colijn, a Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Evolution, Infection and Public Health at Simon Fraser University. “People who are not vaccinated are going to be at a hugely increased risk in the coming months.” That’s putting the country at a crossroads. Many Canadians have never been more protected. Others have never been more at risk. So how do we all navigate this tenuous stretch ahead? Experts, from infectious diseases specialists to epidemiologists, tend to agree that getting more people fully vaccinated is key to keeping delta at bay and ensuring the variant doesn’t further exacerbate inequalities seen throughout the pandemic.

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Rancher with a Detached Double Garage. Substantially updated home, ready to move in. The home features 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, all on one level. Recent updates includes, fresh paint throughout and newer flooring. Nice home with 2 gas fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, quartz counter tops, white shaker cabinets, tile back splash. Spacious rooms, great floor plan with a south facing private back yard. Large, fenced yard with privacy and lots of parking for vehicles and RV on a lane access. Close to all amenities including schools, parks, recreation, shopping and transit. You won't be disappointed, set up your viewing today.

Truly delightful fully renovated 6 bedroom basement entry home sits on rectangular 7920 sf flat lot in most demanding area Aldergrove Langley.Main floor features 3 bed ,2 bath with new kitchen /island ,new flooring,new tiles , new woodwork,new fixtures,splash back,granite counters,new tiles,new cabinet, new windows,new zebra drapes,4 new washrooms & much more .Newly built 3 bedroom unauthorized basement suite with rear separate entry.Excellent renovated covered 333 sf Patio & deck.Landscape front & fully fenced back yard. Storage shed.Walking distance to both schools,shopping,community center with pools,water Park,ice arena,playing fields& to all

Nicely maintained and updated, split entry home on large fully fenced, lot with lane access. Excellent location with walking distance to everything. Upstairs features traditional layout with good sized living room, great kitchen with new appliances, dining room with walkout to southern exposed sundeck with n/g hookup for barbeques and 3 good sized bedrooms. Downstairs features large recroom and flexroom areas with 2 more bedrooms, 3 piece bath and separate entry. Suite potential. Sunny southern facing backyard has RV parking and enough space to build a detached shop. Great family home. A must see to appreciate.

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14103 110 AVE., N.SURREY

9420 119 ST., N.DELTA

10520 128 ST., SURREY

Truly delightful huge basement entry app. 7200 sqft. home sits on rectangular 9965 sqft. lot. House features 11 bedrooms & 10 washrooms build by good reputation builders. Main floor has 5 bedrooms & 4 bath with huge family room,living room,kitchen,& spice kitchen.Ground level basement has 27'x15' media room with bar & washroom for upstairs use.House has 3 spacious ground level basement suites (3 bed.+3 bed & bachelor suite).Total rent of the suites is $3500/month.Very nice tenants.Easy access to Pattulo bridge, Port Mann bridge & shopping center.Motivated sellers.Easy to show.

NORTH DELTA! - Starter family home or holding property - 2 level 4 bedroom home has been was been well maintained - 3 bedroom up and 1 bedroom down. Fully finished basement with great suite potential - separate entry. Lots of parking for cars and RV - private yard with large covered deck - great patio area. Quiet family friendly street in central/high demand N. DELTA neighbourhood. NEED 24 NOTICE TO VIEW.

Absolutely gorgeous family-home with TWO mortgage helper suites and plenty of room on the main floor with 4 large bedrooms, master bedroom with a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom, multiple living areas with 2 fireplaces, and a spacious kitchen. Kitchen lets out to a large covered sun-deck to enjoy a cup of coffee in the summer or host a BBQ. Large backyard with a brand new fully-surrounded fence with plenty of room for children or pets. Entire property is beautifully landscaped with a large decorative palm tree and multiple fruit trees including fig, apple, pear and cherry trees.

$1,779,000

$1,070,000

$1,448,880

5843 180 STREET, CLOVERDALE 14030 GROSVENOR RD., NORTH SURREY

$912,500

Solid family home on almost 10,000 square foot rectangular lot in Cloverdale with loads of potential. Large open lot offers plenty of space for a pool, playground & trampoline; or use the extra space to build your dream home. Great central location close to shopping, transit & schools. Same owners since 1987. Three bedrooms up, one down in partially finished basement (just needs a closet). Walkout basement with its own entrance offers potential for two bedroom suite. Large covered patio off the living area overlooks the private, sunny backyard. Transform it into a modern, functional family home

$955,000

This well-maintained family home w/3-beds up, suite-potential down and a detached workshop/garage has everything you and your family needs, all located centrally. It's a 5 -10min drive to Guildford Town Centre & Hwy 1; only a 3min drive to Gateway Skytrain Station. The 2level home has a brand-new furnace, dishwasher & washing machine +plenty of other extras including a mobile accessible alarm system and a cozy living room gas fireplace for winter nights. The back deck located off the dining room is perfect for summer barbecues! In addition to the carport and the driveway that fits up to 4-5 vehicles, the 10,200sf lot (60x170) has a massive 1100sf detached workshop that will hold 3 cars, an RV or boat, and meet all of your storage needs.

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Bangladesh PM sends 2,600 kgs of mangoes to PM Modi & Mamta Banerji Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has gifted 2,600 kgs of mangoes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee among other Indian leaders, as a goodwill gesture. The Haribhanga mangoes will be delivered to them soon. According to the Dhaka-based newspaper, Daily Manab Zamin, the shipment arrived at the Benapole-Petrapole check post on the India-Bangladesh border on Sunday

afternoon, from where the gift packs will be dispatched to the residences of the prime minister and the chief minister. President Ram Nath Kovind is also one of the recipients.

The consignment was received by First Secretary (Political) of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata, Md Samiul Quader.

The report also said Bangladesh is planning to send truckloads of mangoes to some of the Northeastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.

Indians plant millions of trees amid mass campaign More than a million people on Sunday began planting 250 million saplings in India’s most populous state, part of an annual mass tree planting campaign to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of global climate change. Lawmakers, government officials and volunteers from social organizations swarmed riverbanks, farms, forests, schools and government buildings, planting saplings at designated spots. The effort spans 68,000 villages and 83,000 forest sites in northern Uttar Pradesh state. India has pledged to keep a third of its total land area under forest and tree cover, but a growing population and increasing demand for industrial projects has placed greater stress on the land. Social organizations planted a large number of “peepal” trees (Ficus religiosa) in Lucknow, the state capital, which is recovering from a devastating surge of coronavirus infections. “This tree is known to release maximum oxygen. So this plant is the ‘need of the hour,’ as we are reminded of its importance after facing the oxygen shortage crisis when the outbreak was at its peak,” said Shachindra Sharma, an activist. India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, crossed the grim milestone on Friday of more than 400,000 people lost to the coronavirus. That number is thought to be a vast undercount because of a lack of testing and reporting. New cases are on the decline after exceeding 400,000 a day in May, but authorities are preparing for another possible wave and are trying to ramp up vaccination. India on Sunday recorded 43,071 new infections in the past 24 hours, raising the total cases to 30.5 million. Uttar Pradesh state reported 128 new cases in the same period. “We are committed to increasing the forest cover of Uttar Pradesh state to over 15% of the total land area in the next five years. In today’s campaign, over 100 million trees will be planted,” said Manoj Singh, a senior state forest official, Since the launch of the tree-planting drive four years ago, the forest cover of Uttar Pradesh — home to 230 million people — has gone up by more than 3%, compared to the national average of 2.89%, said state Forest Minister Dara Singh Chauhan.

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Saturday, July 10, 2021

Global artists unite to send out a message of love, empathy & collaboration for cause amplification ~Support high risk underprivileged cancer patients as a first cause for I.M’s campaign on holistic wellness~

n the ongoing cross-cultural dialogue series with global thought leaders to foster holistic wellness & recovery, Emerging From COVID-19, the first episode themed Artists as Healers will be telecast across PIO TV and affiliates on July 10th. The campaign aims to lay the foundation for multi-stakeholder engagement for collaborative recovery from the pandemic, for a #BetterWorld. The curtain raiser for the campaign was headlined by prominent

diplomats on the 7th International Day of Yoga and the series will continue through 3 more episodes until 14th August, with eminent personalities talking about the urgent need for compassionate leadership and the significance of creativity for wellbeing. The campaign is conceived by I.M in collaboration with the Simon Fraser University, Canada, BC-IBN and Never Grow Up, a work culture consultancy based in India & Singapore. All episodes will be aired live through global media partner Pio-TV.

The 4-part non-ticketed series, spread over 8 weeks in July and August, is dedicated to Cancer Patients Aid association’s (Mumbai, India) Food Relief Fund that aims to support 3000 high-risk cancer patients braving the grisly virus, especially children orphaned during the pandemic. The upcoming episode features Shovana Narayan, Indian Classical Dancer & Padma Shri Awardee, Indian actor, philanthropist & entrepreneur Vivek Anand Oberoi, Robert Pardi, Life Coach & Author of Chasing Life and Ashley Jones, Photographer

& Founder of Love Not Lost. The entire series is moderated by Sobhana Jaya-Madhavan, AVP (external Relations), Simon Fraser University. Please visit www.impresario-global.com to join the campaign, show your support and details of the upcoming dialogue series. For more details contact: Mr. Vivek Savkur savkur.vivek@gmail.com Ms. Sobhana Jaya-Madhavan sjayamad@sfu.ca

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Saturday, July 10, 2021

Why people crying hoarse over Stan Swamy should not look away from the truth The death of an 84-year-old Catholic priest, even if on account of post- COVID-19 complications, would have gone unnoticed and unmourned, barring in his immediate parish circle. But the very fact that Stanislaus Lourduswamy, better known as Stan Swamy, died on Monday technically in judicial custody has sparked a barrage of concern, comments and criticism, including from the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. Sections of the political opposition in India have seized upon this death to berate the Union government and sought to blame the State.

The common theme of the reactions has been three-fold: first, that Stan Swamy died because he was not given bail despite being unwell; second, that he was denied medical care; third, that he was falsely framed on ‘terrorism’ charges. Each of these is patently false and misleading. None of these reflects the actual facts. All of these are a gross distortion of the truth that underscores the purpose behind the targeted attacks on the Government of India, the State and the National Investigation Agency or NIA – to discredit the charges against a group of ‘activists’, among them Stan Swamy, who were arrested for being associated with the banned Communist Party

SEC charges two Indian Americans among six others with insider trading The United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged six persons from Silicon Valley, two of whom are Indian Americans, with insider trading. The SEC has had brought up both civil and criminal charges against Naveen Sood, Naresh Ramaiya and four others alleging their involvement in sharing unlawful tips and trading of insider information about stocks of two tech companies – Infinera and Fortinet. What Does the Complaint Detail? The SEC complaint states Nathaniel Brown, the revenue recognition manager for Infinera, tipped his friend Benjamin Wylam, a high school teacher of the company’s

unannounced quarterly earnings. He gave this information to Naveen Sood. Sood also acquired information about Fortinet’s finances from Marcus Bannon in exchange of the information from Wylam. Further, Naveen Sood shared this information with Matthew Rauch and Naresh Ramaiya, both of whom illegally traded on this information. Bannon, Rauch, and Ramaiya consented to the entry of final judgments without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint. Ramaiya agreed to pay a civil penalty of $65,780. Sood also pleaded guilty, consented to the entry of a final judgment and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $178,320.

Former Gujarat officer claims to be Lord Vishnu’s avatar, demands gratuity Former Gujarat government officer Rameshchandra Fefar, known for claiming to be the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is back in news and this time he has threatened the state government. Fefar was recently granted premature retirement from the water resources department due to his long-term absence from the office following his incarnation claims. According to him, he is the Kalki avatar of Lord Vishnu who rules Satyug (the age of truth when humanity was governed by gods). On July 1, the Rajkot resident wrote a letter to the secretary of the department in which he complained that he did not receive his salary and gratuity yet. He wrote that the “demons sitting in the government” have been harassing him by withholding his Rs 16 lakh gratuity and salary of one year amounting

another Rs 16 lakh. In the letter also he threatened the government of bringing severe drought on earth with his “divine powers” this year if his salary and gratuity are not released immediately. Fefar used to work as the superintendent engineer with the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasvat Agency of Gujarat’s Water Resources Department at its Vadodara office. The agency looks after the resettlement and rehabilitation of families affected by the Narmada dam project. However, he had not been going to the office for long. In 2018 he had attended office for just 16 days in eight months. When he was served a show-cause notice for the same, he claimed he could not go to the office since he was conducting a “penance” to “change the global conscience”.

PM Modi reshuffles cabinet, many ministers resign as buzz over expansion grows Several ministers exited from the Cabinet to make way for 43 newcomers in a major Cabinet reshuffle in India on Wednesday, 7 July. The newly-inducted who included several first-times MPs such as Bharati Pawar, Bishweswar Tudu, Shantanu Thakur, among others, and senior leaders like

Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were all welcomed with congratulatory messages on social media. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, “We will continue working to fulfill the aspirations of people and build a strong and prosperous India.”

‘PM Modi’s silence echoing across the world’: Congress on Rafale deal Two days after France appointed a judge to probe the controversial 2016 Rafale Deal, Congress’ senior leader Pawan Khera held a press conference, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), and asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silent on the matter. “This silence is echoing across

the world,” he added. Although, Khera added, “Narendra Modi’s govt makes a loud song and dance about national security, but it does everything under the sun to undermine India’s security interests when it comes to filling the coffers of its corporate friends; those who we call crony capitalists.”

Why did India open a backchannel to the Taliban? In a crucial policy shift, India recently acknowledged that it entered into backchannel communications with the Taliban in Afghanistan. In early June, the Indian media reported that New Delhi has started talking to certain factions and leaders of the armed group against the backdrop of the withdrawal of the United States forces from Afghanistan. A few days later, India’s Ministry of External Affairs all but confirmed these reports, stating that “we are in touch with various stakeholders … in pursuance of our long-term commitment towards development and reconstruction of Afghanistan”. The Taliban’s Quetta-based leadership and Qatari officials have also confirmed these backchannel meetings. Until recently, India has been reluctant to openly communicate with the Taliban because

it feared that such a move could damage its relations with the Afghan government and its powerful regional and global backers. While Indian intelligence officials have occasionally connected with Taliban fighters to protect India’s interests over the years, most notably in 2011 to secure the release of kidnapped Indian engineers and personnel working in Afghanistan, New Delhi always refrained from establishing a permanent communication channel with the group. It viewed the Taliban as nothing but a proxy for its main regional rival, Pakistan, and believed that it had little to gain from directly engaging the group. Moreover, New Delhi did not want to compromise its official policy of not talking to any “militant groups” by entering into a dialogue with the Taliban, as it believed that doing so would put it under increased pressure

Singapore Prime Minister wears turban during Gurudwara inauguration, greets people with Sat Sri Akaal The recording shows Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong standing atop a podium wearing a white turban and a black mask and giving a speech. The Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong recently created a buzz on social media platform with his Sikh attire during the inauguration of the Silat Road Sikh temple in Singapore. A glimpse of the event, shared

on Twitter, by Parminder Singh shows Loong wearing a turban and greeting the guests. “Singapore Prime Minister, @leehsienloong inaugurated a newly renovated Gurudwara wearing an immaculate turban and greeting everyone with a perfect Sat Sri Akaal!” reads the caption shared alongside the clip. The recording shows Loong standing atop a podium wearing a white turban and a black mask and giving a speech.

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Punjab Power crisis worsens as two units at power plants develop snags Punjab plunged deeper into a power crisis with two units of state-owned thermal power plants being shut down on Thursday because of a technical snag. Even as the state continued to witness an unprecedented demand for power, a 210 MW unit of Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant at Ropar and another 210 MW unit of Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabat, developed snags, forcing them to be shut down.

This 420 MW shortfall in the generation (besides the shortfall in generation from Talwandi Sabo Power Plant) saw unscheduled power cuts being imposed on domestic urban and rural consumers, agriculture consumers and commercial consumers. For the third day, people protested at various places in the state against the erratic power supply. It may be mentioned that the power supply to all industrial units has been shut till July 11.

Farmers in Punjab & Haryana protest against fuel, cooking gas price rise Farmers in Punjab and Haryana on Thursday held protests at several places against the hike in fuel and cooking gas prices. The call for the protest from 10 am till noon was given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading an agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws. Protesters parked their tractors and other vehicles on the roadside and shouted slogans against the Union government over the

rising prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Some of them also brought empty LPG cylinders to the protesting sites as a mark of protest. Agitating farmers also honked their vehicles for a few minutes, saying it was done to “wake up” the government from “slumber”. The farmers slammed the government for “not being able to control the prices of essential commodities”.

Hot weather conditions persist in Punjab, Haryana There was no let-up in hot weather conditions in Punjab and Haryana where the maximum temperatures were several degrees above the normal on Thursday. Gurgaon in Haryana sizzled at 43.7 degrees Celsius, six notches above than what is normal for this time of the year, according to the meteorological department here.

Among other places, Ambala, Hisar and Karnal recorded their maximum temperatures at 40.8 degrees Celsius, 42.8 degrees Celsius and 39.4 degrees Celsius respectively, up to five degrees above the normal. Narnaul and Rohtak witnessed their respective maximum temperatures at 43.3 degrees Celsius and 41.8 degrees Celsius.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warns people of fourth Covid-19 wave Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday warned that Pakistan could be hit by a fourth wave of the coronavirus if the people violated regulations to check the spread of the deadly disease that has claimed the lives of over 22,000 people in the country. Khan issued a video message for the people as the number of new COVID-19 cases have

increased dramatically this week. The prime minister said the Delta variant of COVID-19 -- first identified in India -- could increase the rate of hospitalisations and deaths in Pakistan, giving the examples of Afghanistan and Indonesia which were reeling due to the delta variant.

Pakistan’s dangerous gamble in Afghanistan has left it in perilous state, warns expert While the Taliban continue their offensive against Afghan security forces, Pakistan is undertaking a dangerous gamble in the wartorn country by seeking to cultivate radical jihadist groups in the region, an expert has warned. In an opinion piece, Kelly Alkhouli, a political consultant for The Jerusalem Post, said it is ironic that Pakistan, which has been repeatedly undermining US strategy in the region, has long been viewed as a key ally in resolving the decades-long intra-Afghanistan conflict. “Pakistan’s support of jihadi groups stems partly from cynical realism, in order to expand its sphere of influence in Afghanistan and support the Islamist insurgency in Jammu

and Kashmir,” wrote Alkhouli, director of international relations at the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs. Pakistan has long been blamed for providing support to the Taliban and recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan ruled out the possibility of hosting American bases on their soil for military action inside Afghanistan. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Khan argued that Pakistan cannot host American bases as they have “already paid too heavy a price.” “If Pakistan were to agree to host US bases, from which to bomb Afghanistan, and an Afghan civil war ensued, Pakistan would be targeted for revenge by terrorists again,” said Khan.

Pakistan’s ‘Inadequate’ PM will back China till US dollars flow in: Uighurs who? From denying having any knowledge of human rights abuses against Chinese Uighurs, to claiming he had raised the issue with China behind closed doors, Imran Khan has now stated that Pakistan accepts China’s version as opposed to accounts of witness statements cited by rights groups, or Western governments because “we have a relationship of trust with China” so we trust them completely. Imran Khan was speaking to members of the Chinese news media who were visiting

Islamabad as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Thursday. He, correctly, cited the hypocrisy of those who ignore the rights abuses in Kashmir or Palestine, but appeared completely oblivious of the irony of his own hypocrisy on the issue. Khan also routinely denies human rights abuses within Pakistan, because these abuses are mostly by the army, on whose support he rode to power, and still remains.

FIJI As Covid Outbreak Worsens, Fiji’s Athletes Board a Plane to the Olympics As Fiji battles one of the fastest-growing coronavirus outbreaks in the world, the Pacific Island’s Olympic team departed on Thursday for Tokyo on a freight plane. Their fellow passengers? A shipment of frozen fish. The coronavirus outbreak had thwarted plans to get the athletes to Japan on regular planes after almost all passenger flights from the country were suspended until the end of July. Only a select number of repatriation and freight flights have been allowed to depart.

The country has been pummeled by the Delta variant of the virus, with an average of 57 daily new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, according to a New York Times database. Just over 6 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. So arranging travel was a “logistical challenge,” Lorraine Mar, the chief executive of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press. The solution: a freight plane hauling mostly frozen seafood, with just enough passenger

Fiji announces record 791 new Covid-19 cases; three deaths Fiji recorded three more deaths and a daily record 791 positive cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours ending at 8am today. According to the Health Ministry, two of the victims were unvaccinated while the third had received one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Three more people, who tested positive to the virus, had died but their deaths have been classified as non-Covid-19 related and caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions, instead. Health Secretary Dr James Fong said a 61-year-old man from Qauia Village in Lami

near the capital Suva was brought to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital’s emergency department in severe respiratory distress. “He had been experiencing severe Covid-19 symptoms including shortness of breath for two weeks. He died one day later. He was not vaccinated.” Dr Fong said a 75-year-old man from Raiwaqa in Suva was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital, he said.

Fiji government ‘useless’ warns Opposition The Fiji government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak is an utter failure, but it’s not too late to follow New Zealand’s lockdown example, the opposition leader says. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told media her advice was the lockdown strategy had saved lives. The deputy leader of the opposition

in Fiji and NFP president Biman Prasad. Fiji is in the grip of a Covid-19 outbreak that has infected 791 people and left three more dead in the past day. Fiji’s deputy opposition leader Biman Prasad told RNZ’s Nine to Noon the government’s strategy had been a complete failure and needed to change.

INDIA

India’s senior politician Shashi Tharoor slammed the government over reported glitches on the new Income Tax portal. Tharoor is a Member of Parliament (MP) belonging to the opposition party, the Indian National Congress. Tharoor said that even after spending INR 4,200 crore ($563 million), the government “failed” to attain the objective and “created a mess” instead. Taking to Twitter, the MP said that chartered accountants from All India Professionals Congress (AIPC)

Saturday, July 10, 2021 Indian minister slams country’s new income tax portal over glitches informed him that the new Income Tax Portal has been “disastrous”, with glitches including “longer-than-usual log-in times.” “Almost all features of the new portal are non-operational, so Income Tax Returns filing, 15 CA/CB forms, data prep for appeals has ground2halt,” Tharoor tweeted. “It is not clear why the Centre chose to change the income tax portal in June.” The Congress leader said that it would have been “wiser [to change the portal] just before the end of the

BC Liberals call for independent review of heat wave response Press release The BC Liberals are calling for an independent review of the province’s response to the heat wave that saw a surge in deaths. “While British Columbians were suffering and the number of deaths increasing daily due to the searing heat, Premier Horgan said it was a matter of ‘personal responsibility.’ It is clear that lessons need to be learned from the devastating loss of life and the impacts on British Columbians all across the province,” said Interim Leader of the Official Opposition Shirley Bond. “As the total numbers and ineffective response become clearer, it’s imperative that we review what happened so that we are better prepared to avoid a repeat of this tragedy.” A 2019 report to the provincial government provided warning of what could occur during a major heat wave and yet it appears the NDP failed to heed the advice provided. A review would examine: · Why did the province not take a stronger role in communicating the threat posed by the heat? · Why did provincial operations — like emergency health services — fail to respond quickly and effectively?

·What extra precautions were taken to assist seniors and ensure isolated individuals had the support they needed? ·Did the province have a plan to provide cooling centers and water? · What work was done as a follow up to the 2019 report that outlined significant concerns about an event of this magnitude? “Aside from a tweet featuring a meme, the provincial government didn’t communicate clearly to British Columbians the danger that existed across the entire province,” added Bond. “The coroner has been clear that the public didn’t understand the serious risk the heat wave posed. Municipalities struggled to meet the demands of residents and the province simply did not step up and provide those needed resources. To have people dying alone at home or in the driveway of a fire hall is unacceptable. We need a clear understanding of why the breakdowns occurred and a clear plan to ensure that these tragic outcomes are not repeated when our province faces future extreme weather events.”

Financial Year or the start of the next one so that taxpayers eligible for income-tax refund could have received help in these difficult times.” Tharoor also raised questions on the need for an Income Tax portal when the old portal was running smoothly for years. “Why was the portal switched at peak time when Income taxpayers usually file their returns and claim refunds? Why was no testing of the new portal done before its launch?” Tharoor tweeted. The Central Board of Direct Taxes launched the new portal to file tax returns on May 20. The press note also said that “directions have been issued to fix hearing of cases or compliance only from June 10 onwards, to give taxpayers time to respond on the new system.” After the launch, the Indian Income Tax

Department had tweeted on July 1 saying, “Digital India facilitating infinite possibilities in service delivery through technology! The Income Tax Department also leveraged technology effectively & introduced the Faceless Appeals Scheme for a more efficient & transparent tax administration & enhanced taxpayer services.” Tharoor said that India has very few taxpayers per capita, coupled with a culture of tax evasion and black money. “This must be the first time in history that Indian taxpayers who want to pay their taxes are not able to pay because the Income Tax portal is not working! Penalties should be imposed, and heads roll,” he said. Tharoor’s reaction came a day after the Central Board of Direct Taxes granted further relaxation in the electronic filing of income tax forms 15CA/15CB till July 15.

Saturday, July 10, 2021