The Asian Star March 12 2022

www.theasianstar.com Vol 21 - Issue 6

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Canadian fighters form their own battalion in Ukraine So many citizens of Canada have shown up in Ukraine to fight for the country’s new foreign legion, the organization has set up a separate Canadian battalion, says a Ukrainian government source.

The news is more evidence of a historic movement by people here to join the armed forces of another nation, and potentially risk their lives in combat against Russian invaders.

The 550 would-be fighters that have arrived from Canada so far are part of a battalion based in Kyiv, said the representative of the International Legion

for the Territorial Defence of Ukraine, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.

“International legion volunteers are usually kept together for logistics purposes as it is easier for communication, to avoid language barriers,” he said.

Meanwhile, a UkrainianCanadian activist helping in the recruitment of fighters in this country said hundreds more have volunteered to fight in Ukraine.

Members of Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Forces conduct weapons training in a public park on March 09, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

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No more mask mandate in BC B.C. health officials announced Thursday that the province will remove its order requiring masks in all indoor public spaces as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, and that the proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirement will be potentially lifted on April 8.

Individual businesses will still be permitted and supported by provincial health to require masks if the owners decide to. A requirement for workplaces

to mandate masks will be lifted as well, but there could be certain situations where people are still required to wear a mask.

Masks will no longer be required on public transit, but both BC Transit and TransLink can decide to put in system-wide mandates, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

For schools, the mask mandate Continued on page 7

Vaisakhi parade cancelled again due to ‘tight turnaround’ to plan spring gathering ‘We are disappointed at how this year has turned out,’ event organizer

S

urrey’s huge Vaisakhi parade has again been cancelled due to COVID-related issues, for a third straight year.

This year, a lack of planning time is blamed for the cancellation of the April 23 Khalsa Day event, along with “sporadic and last-minute changes to the public health orders.”

The day-long celebration is among the world’s largest Vaisakhi parades, drawing close to 500,000 people to the streets of Newton every spring. Cancelling the 2022 parade was “a difficult decision,” event organizers said Monday (March 7).

“The magnitude and planning of this event takes a full year to complete, and given the tight turnaround between the constantly changing public health order restrictions being lifted and the scheduled date of the parade, organizers did not feel they could responsibly honour the importance and magnitude of the event in this timeline,” said a news release from event organizers, with Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar.

South Asian truck driver who killed 16 in Humboldt Broncos crash loses bid to stay in Canada The semi driver who killed 16 people in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash has lost his bid to stay in Canada when he is finished serving his sentence.

According to Michael Greene, the immigration lawyer representing him, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu’s submission to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has been rejected.

Gas prices won’t get better any time soon A lot has changed in the week we were gone, but the biggest change was most likely how god damn expensive gas has gotten.

According to AAA’s gas price tracker, the average price for a gallon of regular octane gasoline is $4.07. That’s up nearly six cents from Sunday and just about 50 cents from last week. Want a little insult to injury? Gas is up just about $1.30 from just a year ago.

USA Today reports this is

was over $4 in more than a decade, and there is still no end in sight. In fact, prices are rising even faster than expected Page 7

The Calgary-based lawyer told CTV News no reason was given by CBSA and Sidhu plans to challenge the decision in federal court.

“You can imagine he and his wife Tanvir they’re devastated. It was really disappointing,” Greene said during an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Greene said he believed Sidhu had a strong case based on “tremendous” public support and

other factors, such as a person’s sense of remorse and their likelihood of reoffending.

“In this case, I’ve never seen anybody, met anybody who is so remorseful,” Greene said.

In April 2018, Sidhu drove through a stop sign near Tisdale, Sask. and collided with the Humboldt Broncos team bus, killing 16 and injuring 13 others.

Sidhu, who holds permanent resident status, was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm.

How the big fat Punjabi wedding became the template for all Indian weddings

From north to south, and east to west, India has a wide variety of nuptials—but it is the big, fat Punjabi wedding that has become the boisterous template for Indian weddings.

Some ascribe the increasingly panIndian popularity of the Punjabi wedding to Bollywood’s depictions, while others say it is because Punjabi weddings are Continued on page 7

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

Surrey Police officer suffers non life-threatening stab wounds in altercation with suspect

BC residents advised to discard sand ginger powder that may contain poison B.C.’s poison information centre and the Fraser Health authority are warning the public not to consume Wing Hing brand sand ginger powder after two people were hospitalized last month.

Fraser Health says in a news release the product sold at the Crystal Mall in Burnaby may contain powder from the plant monkshood, a poisonous toxin that can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, irregular heart contractions and sometimes death.

Dr. Emily Newhouse, a medical health officer at Fraser Health, said in an interview Wednesday that an investigation

A woman is in custody after an altercation resulting in a Surrey Police officer being stabbed.

Surrey police and Surrey RCMP were called to a residence in the 12300 block of 99A Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday for reports of a woman screaming and throwing things inside.

The suspect attempted to run from

began after two people were admitted to hospital with heart irregularities after ingesting the product in February.

She said both patients have recovered, the remaining product was seized from the mall and it has been verified that the store is not at fault.

Newhouse said the authority is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada to determine where in the supply chain the product may have been tampered with.

She encourages anyone who experiences symptoms of poisoning to seek immediate medical attention and to contact the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre.

Chilliwack lotto win lands local $8 million One lucky Chilliwack resident is laughing all the way to the bank after a lotto win that landed them over $8 million. The exact figure they got from Lotto 6/49 is $8,068,948.30, and that extra $69K goes a long way. The winner’s ticket matched all six winning numbers — 16, 25, 31, 34,

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The odds of winning Lotto/69 are one in 13,983,816, and the odds of getting five or six matching numbers are one in 2,330,636.

Lottery players in BC made over $99 million in winnings from Lotto 6/49 in 2021 despite those odds.

The most recent Chilliwack lotto win is truly a needle in a haystack with such a large prize. Still, also in the Metro Vancouver area recently, a Victoria local won $500,000 and someone in New Westminster got $100,774. In the first week of March, a Surrey resident was thrilled to discover they had scratched $675,000 on their ticket (a smaller win, but a win nevertheless).

The winner still hasn’t claimed their money, BCLC says, but more details about them and what they plan to do with their riches will be released as they become available.

BC prioritizes health care, social workers in changes to immigration program Amid staffing shortages in health care, B.C. is implementing a new program that prioritizes the immigration of skilled workers in that sector.

Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen said in a statement Thursday (March 11) that the goal is to place a greater focus on various kinds of health-care workers and social workers within the framework of the province’s immigration nominee program.

Changes also immediately provide a pathway to permanent residence for people already living in B.C. and working in these sectors, the province said.

In addition to prioritizing physiotherapists, pharmacists, nurses and other specialty practices, the province is also adding health-care assistants to the pre-determined list of in-demand jobs.

“Health-care assistants who support seniors in long-term care, assisted living and in their homes are among the most in-demand occupations in British Columbia, both today and for years to come,” said Terry Lake, CEO of the BC Care Providers Association.

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police, prompting a brief foot chase.

Authorities say the officer was stabbed during the arrest, and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The officer is expected to be released to continue their recovery.

No one else was injured during the incident.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

BC Transit bus route from Lougheed SkyTrain to Chilliwack launching this month raveling between the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions, across the Lower Mainland, by public transit will be much easier starting later this month.

The long-planned westward route extension of BC Transit’s existing No. 66 Fraser Valley Express (FVX) bus service will begin on March 27, 2022.

FVX runs along Highway 1, and currently its route spans between downtown Chilliwack and TransLink’s Carvolth bus exchange in Langley Township, with four stops in between — Vedder and Lickman in Chilliwack, and McCallum and Highstreet in Abbotsford.

BC Transit confirmed the launch of the extended and improved service today, which will result in the route’s western terminus relocated from Carvolth to SkyTrain Lougheed Town Centre Station in Burnaby.

“Public transit is about providing people with a safe, reliable and affordable connection to their communities,” said Erinn Pinketon, president and CEO of BC Transit, in a statement.

“Working with our local government partners and TransLink to provide transit riders with an integrated transit solution between the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver is an important step in making it easier for people to choose transit in the Lower Mainland.”

Teen robbed at knifepoint in New Westminster Police are looking for two suspects after a teen was robbed at knifepoint in New Westminster. The youth was walking home from school at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday in the area of 6th Street and 3rd Avenue when he was approached by two other youths. “One of the youth pointed a knife at the victim and demanded he hand over his jacket and backpack,” said New West police Sgt. Sanjay Kumar in a news release. “The victim complied and the suspects fled the scene.” The suspects are both white and about 16 to 18 years of age.

One has a slim build, freckles and brown hair and was wearing a grey sweater. The other had a heavy build and was wearing a red-and-grey sweater. “Our officers are speaking with businesses in the area and looking to collect CCTV footage,” said Kumar.

Anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage is asked to call New West police at 604-525-5411. Parents or guardians are urged to call cops if they find either an Air Jordan brand jacket or Super Dry brand backpack in their home that doesn’t belong to them.

Woman pepper-sprayed by thieves stealing catalytic converter Earlier, New Westminster police say a woman was pepper-sprayed by two suspects when she confronted them in her driveway after they stole the catalytic converter from her car. After the theft and assault in the 900-block of Chestnut Street last Thursday, the two suspects fled in a black truck.

Catalytic converters are common target of thieves because of the precious metals in them.

Police urge anyone who sees a theft like this in progress to call 911.

FVX’s new western terminus at Lougheed Town Centre Station’s bus exchange provides BC Transit bus passengers with more convenient SkyTrain access — both the Expo and Millennium lines — and transfers to a number of TransLink bus routes.

Route and stop locations of the extended No. 66 Fraser Valley Express (FVX) reaching Lougheed Town Centre Station. Click on the image for an expanded version. (BC Transit) Diagram of No. 66 Fraser Valley Express bus stops and connections to other bus services starting in March 2022, when it is extended to SkyTrain Lougheed Town Centre Station. (Fraser Valley Regional District) The improved bus route will make 19 roundtrips each weekday — between 4:40 am and 7:10 pm for westbound trips starti

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

OPINION

By Deborah Jaremko, Director of content Canadian Energy Centre

Why Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion still makes sense

The case for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion remains strong as the world enters another year of exceptional growth in oil demand, according to industry analysts.

Following nearly two years of global demand exceeding supply, oil inventories are now at the lowest level ever in Europe and

Asia, according to a report by IHS Markit. The Trans Mountain expansion, now expected to be complete in late 2023, will help fill the gap, benefiting Canadians in the process.

“The basis is always the same for me, as it’s been for many years now – that [Trans Mountain expansion] gets Canadian oil to

Asia. And by getting to Asia, you’re getting premium pricing,” says Phil Skolnick, New York-based analyst with Eight Capital.

“From the perspective of what it can do for increased revenues coming out of the oil sands and for Canadian oil, it makes a lot of sense.”

Trans Mountain, which has been operating since 1953, is Canada’s only direct access to global oil markets outside the United States. For the last decade it has been overbooked on a regular basis as producers seek more room on the pipeline than is available to ship oil to customers.

The expansion will result in higher revenues for producers and the Canadian government because global customers will pay more for Canadian oil, says B.C.based environmental scientist Blair King.

“It is simply getting paid more for the same product because you can now get it to a market that values it more,” King says. “It is pure cream which requires no further effort once the pipeline is built.”

According to Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer, an increase of US$5 per barrel for Canadian heavy oil would add C$6 billion to Canada’s economy over the course of one year.

Skolnick says that on the global market, the heavy oil grade called Western Canadian Select (WCS) is comparable to Middle East stream Dubai Fateh medium heavy. In November 2021, Dubai Fateh sold for an average of US$14.55 per barrel more than WCS, at US$79.80 per barrel.

Asia represents the biggest potential opportunity for Canadian heavy oil exported through the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, Skolnick says.

“It’s just an open market; a lot is brand new and it’s continuing to grow with India and the (petrochemical) industry in parts of Asia, including China,” he says.

For example, China and Saudi Arabia have reportedly renewed discussions on a deal to build a US$10-billion new refining and petrochemical facility.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

Alberta to suspend provincial fuel tax as pump prices soar The Alberta government will help hardhit consumers by pausing the collection of its 13-cent per litre provincial fuel tax on April 1, Premier Jason Kenney said Monday.

“This massive tax relief is a response to skyrocketing costs at the pump and is going to provide Albertans with the relief that they need when the cost of everything is going up,” Kenney told a news conference.

“Albertans told us they needed relief from rising costs. We’ve heard them loud and clear.”

The pause in tax collection will apply to gasoline and diesel fuel. The change also will apply to the four-cent per litre provincial fuel tax on marked (dyed) gasoline and diesel.

The pause will remain in effect as long as the benchmark price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil remains above $90 US per barrel, Kenney said. Collection of the provincial fuel tax would resume when WTI prices fall below $80 US, he said.

Alberta to end provincial fuel tax while oil prices are high

Premier Kenney says beginning April 1, the provincial 13-cent per litre fuel tax will be removed from the price of gasoline and diesel.

The tax will be reapplied once the price of oil drops below $80 US per barrel WTI. 2:53 The government will review the collection of the fuel tax on a quarterly basis and, if required, consider reinstating collection in stages, based on the average price of WTI over a number of weeks, the province said in a news release.

The government would not reinstate the gasoline tax until at least July 1, they said.

If the pause in fuel tax collection is in place for the full fiscal year, the cost would be about $1.3 billion, Finance Minister Travis Toews told the news conference.

Alberta premier says province drafting relief plan to address soaring gas pump prices Calgary motorists should prepare to ‘dig a lot deeper’ at the pump April 1 is the day the federal carbon tax is set to rise again, from just under nine cents per litre to just over 11 cents per litre.

Driver tries to sue companies over ‘inordinately high’ gas prices A driver who’d had enough of British Columbia’s rising gas prices attempted to sue the companies he felt were behind the costs.

With a legal team, Antonio Pantusa represented himself and other consumers in a class-action battle against Parkland Fuel Corporation, Suncor Energy Incorporated, Imperial Oil Limited, Shell Canada Limited and Husky Energy Incorporated.

The case was heard in January, and a judgment was issued via videoconference last week.

Court documents that summarize the judge’s reasoning say that Pantusa claimed the price for gas over the last seven years in B.C. has been “inordinately high,” something the plaintiff attributed to the “unconscionable pricing practices” of the companies named in the suit. Those companies are the refiners and wholesale marketers of most of the gas sold on the West Coast.

Pantusa’s lawyers told the court the defendants had been “systematically overcharging” their customers, who then pass on those high costs to drivers.

He sought damages to compensate himself and other drivers for the alleged overcharge, court documents said. The other drivers all purchased gas in B.C. for personal use between Jan. 1, 2015, and the date of the suit.

In his notice of civil claim, Pantusa said the defendants abused their position of control over

the market through the use of two surcharges.

The case was in court as Pantusa tried to get it certified as a class proceeding.

The court heard that Pantusa planned to cite a report commissioned by the provincial government and conducted by the B.C. Utilities Commission on gasoline and diesel prices. That report came from a direction from the province to look into why exactly prices are so high – other than due to provincially imposed taxes – and found an unexplained discrepancy between prices across Canada and in different parts of the province.

The report was published in 2019.

Lawyers for the gas companies, however, applied for a summary judgment in their favour, telling the court that Pantusa’s claims were “demonstrably without merit.”

Each company gave affidavits to explain how prices are determined, and denied any agreement between them about pricing.

Their evidence included, as summarized by the judge who heard the case, that, “rack prices are generally tied to local benchmarks at major American trading and production hubs. The (Pacific Northwest) spot price is the main determinant of wholesale prices in the Vancouver area, but elsewhere in British Columbia prices are set based on the spot price at other hubs, such as Chicago or the American Gulf Coast.”

Federal govt ask the Competition Bureau to monitor fuel prices The federal government has asked the Competition Bureau to monitor the fuel market to ensure there is no collusion in setting gasoline prices as the war in Ukraine sends oil prices soaring.

Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Monday that the federal government expected fuel prices to rise in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24.

“I have asked the Competition Bureau to put teams in place to ensure that there is no collusion, that there are no unfair practices,”

he said at a news conference to announce the construction of a GM plant in Bécancour, Que. that will make battery components for electric vehicles.

The comments came as gasoline prices rose sharply across the country in the wake of the invasion in Ukraine.

The price at the pump crossed $2/L at some Montreal gas stations this weekend.

In Montreal, the average price at the pump reached $1.94 per litre, according to data from CAA-Quebec. The organization estimates that the price at the pump should be $1.85, depending on market conditions.

T

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

PM Trudeau tours NATO base, announces renewal of Canadian mission in Latvia “As Russia continues its unwarranted and unjustifiable attacks on Ukraine, Canada is standing united with our European allies in supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as well as democracy and human rights everywhere,” Trudeau said Tuesday.

The mandate for the deployment of hundreds of Canadian soldiers in Latvia had been slated to expire in 2023. The federal cabinet has extended it indefinitely in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Canada leads the NATO battle group in Latvia and plans on reinforcing it with an artillery battery, bringing the total contingent to roughly 660 soldiers.

The country also contributes two frigates to NATO standing naval task forces, a maritime surveillance plane and six CF-18s for air policing on a rotational basis.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, the Liberal government signaled in Defence Minister Anita Anand’s mandate letter that it intended to renew the NATO mission’s mandate.

Stoltenberg welcomed that move Tuesday when he and the three prime ministers spoke to the media after their meetings.

The prime ministers of three NATO countries got a chance Tuesday to see how ready their troops are to defend eastern Europe.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš for a tour of the western military alliance’s base and training range at Adazi, outside Latvia’s capital Riga.

They visited with troops and met with NATO Sec. Gen. Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how allies can prevent the war from spreading.

“Now is the time to provide support to Ukraine, impose heavy sanctions and increase NATO’s military presence in the eastern part of the alliance to make sure there’s no attack against any NATO [members],” Stoltenberg said in an interview.

Trudeau also announced today the early renewal of Canada’s military contribution to NATO’s deterrence mission, known as Operation Reassurance.

RCMP seize up to $30,000 worth of stolen luxury goods Burnaby RCMP say the theft of cellphones from a Metrotown business in January led them to a suspect with “significant property crime history” and the recovery of more than $20,000 worth of stolen luxury items.

The investigation began on Jan. 7, when police were called to the Metrotown business for the reported theft of “numerous cellphones,” Burnaby RCMP said in a news release.

Police estimated that the stolen phones were worth approximately $10,000 in total.

They said they soon identified a suspect and executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home on Feb. 9. There, officers found “a plethora of suspected stolen luxury goods,” as well as the stolen cellphones. Mounties estimated the value of the recovered items at between $20,000 and $30,000. \“Police seized nearly a hundred items from the residence including jewelry and high-end clothes and electronics,” RCMP said in their release.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022 From page 1

No more mask mandate in BC

lifted in the K-to-12 system following the March break, she added.

The removal of the mask mandate signals a substantial shift from the government requiring the public to obey certain rules to allowing individuals to make their own decisions on masking.

British Columbians have been required to wear masks in indoor, public spaces since last summer, and have been required to show proof of vaccination since September.

The province now has a double-vaccination rate of more than 93 per cent for adults.

In addition, faith gatherings will be moving to 100 per cent capacity at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Individual congregations can decide whether to put mask rules in place, Henry said.

On March 18, long-term care homes will be allowed to have more visitors. Vaccine cards and rapid testing will continue to be in place.

Overnight summer camps for kids are also no longer required to submit safety plans as of 12:01 a.m. Friday and can From page 1

plan for a normal return for campers.

B.C. aims to remove the requirement to show a vaccine card on April 8, Henry said.

On the same date, the province will remove all current COVID-19 work safety plans and transition back to communicable disease plans.

The post-secondary residence vaccine requirement will also be lifted then.

Meanwhile, regulated health professionals will still be required to report vaccination status by March 31.

“The decisions Dr. Henry is making is based on the best science we have. But the Gas prices pandemic does not end tomorrow,” Dix said. won’t ofgetthe Retail Greg Wilson, B.C. director Council of Canada, said retailers support better any Henry’s announcement, though they have some concerns. time soon “I am concerned the moment they announce a change, and that changes are upcoming, they will just stop wearing masks,” Wilson said.

Some retail workers and customers will want to continue wearing masks, he added, and that must be supported by the public.

Punjabi wedding

parties. “Punjabi as a culture is extravagant and out there…these weddings are a lot less conservative, and so the element of fun takes over any wedding,” says Karan Torani, founder and creative director of Indian clothing label Torani.

Most Indian weddings are held in a place of worship—a Hindu temple, a gurdwara, mosque, or church. Social and religious customs often prohibit things like alcohol and meat at such places, and the ceremony itself is more focused on religious scripture than an Instagram-worthy celebration.

But a Punjabi wedding offers a bridge.

The song-and-dance evening known as a sangeet, for example, has morphed into a cocktail and dance party that was once largely alien in southern India—but no longer.

Fireworks, choreographed performances, a song for the bride’s entry to the venue, some old school Punjabi dhol (drums), and an entire night dedicated to families feeling like celebrities on the stage are also fast being incorporated into regional traditions in Indian weddings beyond those in the north.

Gas prices won’t get better — the price of a gallon hit $4 a day early. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is being blamed for the staggering jump.

The record high for a national average is $4.11, which was set on July 17, 2008. That record could soon fall. Patric De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, tweeted the national average could be just one penny behind at $4.10 on Tuesday.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could leave Canadians on the hook for billions of dollars The ballooning cost of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could make the governmentowned project a money-losing enterprise for the Canadian public, according to a new report from a sustainable energy think tank.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Feb. 18 that the expected cost of the controversial oil pipeline project had skyrocketed 70 per cent from $12.6 billion to $21.4 billion. At the same time, Freeland vowed the government would stop putting public money into the expansion, and that the Crown corporation that is building it would raise the extra funds from the private market.

But a new report published Wednesday casts doubt on whether the completed project can be profitable enough to attract investors without more money from federal coffers.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a sustainable energy think tank based in the U.S. state of Ohio, analyzed

a range of financial reports from Trans Mountain and other agencies, as well as data from Canada’s federal pipeline regulator. Its conclusion is that the Trans Mountain expansion “is not profitable as a stand-alone project.”

The institute predicts Trans Mountain — the Crown corporation that owns the existing pipeline from near Edmonton to the B.C. coast, and is building the expansion beside it — will need to double the fees it charges oil companies to use its pipeline, a move that would undercut the project’s basic purpose of selling more Canadian fossil fuels overseas.

“A 100-per-cent increase in shipping costs, coupled with Canada’s already high production costs, would result in a price that would prevent Canadian oil from breaking into Asian markets,” the report says.

The institute also questions Freeland’s claim the government won’t need to put more public money into the project.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

4 new deaths in BC cases in hospital fall below 400 for first time in 2 months British Columbia announced another four COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, as the number of cases in hospital fell below 400 for the first time in two months.

Health officials said there were 388 positive cases in hospital, including 52 people in critical or intensive care.

The update came as the province unveiled plans to drop mask mandates for indoor public places on Friday and B.C.’s vaccine passport by April 8.

Officials also confirmed 336 new cases of COVID-19, however, daily case counts are no longer considered an accurate measure of the virus’ spread due to limitations on testing.

There were 14 ongoing outbreaks in health-care facilities, 12 of which were in long-term care facilities.

As of Thursday, 87.8 per cent of all British Columbians (90.7 per cent of those eligible)

had received one dose of vaccine, 83.8 per cent of B.C.’s population (86.6 per cent of those eligible) had received two doses, and 48.9 per cent of B.C.’s population (58.3 per cent of those eligible) had received three doses. People with two or more doses accounted for 82 per cent of new cases over the past week and 71 per cent of cases in hospital over the past two weeks.

Data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control continues to show the unvaccinated are at significantly higher risk of serious outcomes. From Feb. 5 to March 4, per 100,000 population, there were 120.9 unvaccinated cases in hospital, 32.2 unvaccinated cases in ICU and 14 deaths among the unvaccinated, compared to 40.5 vaccinated (two-dose) cases in hospital, 9.9 vaccinated cases in ICU and 6.6 deaths among people with two doses.

Master planning project ahead for three Fraser Health hospitals Fraser Health has started the process of building master plans for three of its hospitals.

They issued a request for proposals (RFP) on Feb. 15 for prime/architectural consultant services for “high level facilities master planning.” The closing date to apply was March 8. Only firms prequalified for acute care projects over $5 million were eligible to apply.

The hospitals involved are Abbotsford Regional, Ridge Meadows and Peace Arch.

“Investing in a facilities master plan is an opportunity to set a strategic direction for the future development of our facilities over a 10-year timeline,” Fraser Health’s

RFP states. “The challenge is to develop a strategy for future development which better positions our facilities to respond to current and evolving clinical needs, which reduces negative impacts on the environment, and which improves the overall condition of our facilities, and to do so in a way which recognizes the financial constraints that the (health) authority operates within.”

Fraser Health has already appointed Capex Project Advisory Services as project manager, and has started with some prep work.

They have identified three concepts to be the focus of the master plans – functionality, physical condition and sustainability.

Surrey Mounties investigating indecent acts by South Asian man near Newton high school Police say a student reported seeing a man expose himself in wooded area behind Princess Margaret Secondary School in the morning before school started. Mounties are investigating sevral indecent acts by the same person near a high school in Newton area. Surrey RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn says they received a report last Wednesday of a man exposing and touching himself in the bushes near Princess Margaret Secondary School.

Police say a student reported seeing a man in a wooded area to the south of the school property in the morning before school started.

They also allege the man was observed in the same area, doing the same thing on three separate occasions this year and and once last year.

All incidents occurred in the morning time between 8:20 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Police are working with a forensic sketch artist to draw a picture of the man.

The man is described by police as South Asian, 30 to 40 years old, with medium complexion, dark hair, 5-foot-10, average build, facial stubble and moustache.

“We understand that the close proximity to the school raises concerns, said Munn, in a statement. “We want the public to know that Surrey RCMP is actively investigating these incidents as well as liaising with Surrey School District as the safety of students and members of our community is paramount.”

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-2228477 or www.solvecrime.ca.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

Prime Minister Trudeau visits Berlin, silencing Russian propaganda machine In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 9 …

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Berlin today for private meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the NATO alliance continues to pressure Russia to end its illegal invasion in Ukraine.

It is the first time Trudeau and Scholz have sat down in person since Scholz replaced longtime chancellor Angela Merkel in December.

Their meeting comes 14 days after Russian troops began pouring into Ukraine in an invasion the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights says has now killed more than 400 civilians.

The discussions will likely include military spending and energy security.

Scholz said last month Germany would finally increase its military spending to hit the two per cent of GDP target NATO allies committed to eight years ago and Trudeau is under pressure to follow suit.

Germany and Europe are also looking for alternative sources of oil and gas to cut their dependence on Russian fossil fuel exports.

A Canadian military official says the war over Ukraine is being fought on two fronts — armed conflict and disinformation.

PM Trudeau talks to president Zelenskyy Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted an offer to address Canada’s Parliament on a day when his pleas to other global leaders to send fighter jets to his country’s aid appear to have run out of runway.

The Pentagon rejected an offer by Poland to give the U.S. its MiG-29 fighter jets for use

by Ukraine, the Associated Press is reporting.

At a news conference standing next to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed concerns and said it is not an option for Germany either.

“We have to consider carefully and weigh carefully what we deliver. And fighter airplanes are not amongst the goods we will deliver,” said Scholz, through a translator.

It was a rare display of disagreement among NATO allies who’ve tried to show unity and support for Ukraine.

Trudeau, who had earlier announced Canada would send sophisticated cameras to outfit surveillance drones for Ukraine, said his government would continue to send military assistance but Canada’s view is NATO must avoid escalation as it tries to help Ukraine.

“We will continue to send equipment and weapons as needed, as we have in Canada, we will continue to be aligned with our partners. We all have to be careful about not further expanding or escalating.

We want to de-escalate the conflict. We want to see an end of this conflict,” he said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Poland’s declaration that it intended to deliver the 28 jets to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany raised the concerning prospect of warplanes departing from a U.S. and NATO base to fly into airspace contested with Russia in the Ukraine conflict.

3rd straight BC wrestling banner for Surrey school team coached by returning Sahota brothers One Surrey school wrestling team has becomeaprovincialpowerhousewiththehelp of brothers who returned to coach studentathletes there, at Tamanawis Secondary.

The Newton high school’s male team has won three straight B.C. banners in wrestling, including another championship earned during a tournment held Feb. 2426 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

Five Tamanawis Wildcats earned medals, including Rohit Bal, Baltej Mundi, Karanjot Dhillon, Arjun Mandher and Manjot Sangha, helping the team narrowly edge Abbotsford’s W.J. Mouat for the provincial title, 75 points to 74. Nine of the Surrey team’s wrestlers placed top-six in the tournament.

Meantime, Queen Elizabeth Secondary’s team placed fourth in the male competition,

with 32 points, and Enver Creek’s female wrestlers placed second behind Maple Ridge.

The Tamanawis team’s community coaches are brothers Jessy Sahota and Paul (“Pola”) Sahota, along with Shaan Randhawa and others.

“Tamanwas has never won a provincial title in anything before, and this is the third year the boys have won provincials,” beamed Jessy.

“We’re very proud,” he added. “This has become a very competitive team, one of the top-ranked teams in the country. What started out as a recreational, fun program for kids in this neighbourhood, after school, has become a very high-level wrestling program. We’re proud not only of our kids who wrestled this year but also our previous alumni who have come back to coach here.”

Gasoline prices to keep climbing, in spite of crude oil pullback Gasoline costs across Canada are expected to keep rising despite a significant mid-week dip in the price of oil.

On Wednesday, the price of benchmark West Texas Intermediate closed at US$110.36, down nearly 11 per cent from the previous day’s trading. It marked the first significant pullback since the war in Ukraine started and sent oil prices soaring.

GasBuddy.com analyst Patrick de Haan says lower crude prices are good news for drivers, but will only serve to slow the rate of increase at the pumps.

He says retailers haven’t fully passed recent

cost increases on to consumers yet, so oil prices are going to keep rising for a while yet.

Natural Resources Canada data shows the daily national average retail price for gasoline Wednesday was $1.87 per litre. In parts of B.C., including Vancouver, prices have topped $2 per litre this week.

Gasoline price forecasting site GasWizard. ca predicts Montreal and Quebec City will break the $2 per litre threshold today, while many Ontario locations could see gas prices as high as $1.90 per litre.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Why Canada is losing affordable rental housing faster than it’s being built Large investors have been buying up Canada’s rental stock and increasing profits.

Everything seems to be getting more expensive. Food, gas and housing prices are on the rise while paycheques are slow to keep pace.

The CBC News series Priced Out explains why you’re paying more at the register and how Canadians are coping with the high cost of everything.

Kevin O’Toole rarely takes his dog, Stella, for a walk without two or three neighbours stopping him to chat.

“I love my neighbours, the community is great, I’ve got everything I want, and at 72, where am I going to go?” he said of his high-rise apartment in Hamilton.

O’Toole pays $825 per month for the two-bedroom rental he’s lived in since 2010.

He worked for 30 years as a waiter.

Now he collects his federal pension and works part time at McDonald’s to help keep his head above water.

With rental rates on the rise, he knows that losing his apartment would be a big financial blow.

“To find an affordable apartment, I’d have to go way the hell out to Sudbury or somewhere,” he told The Fifth Estate. “To find affordable housing, it’s unheard of here in Hamilton now.”

Tenant Kevin O’Toole says he likes his community, and will fight to stay in the apartment he’s rented since 2010. 0:38

O’Toole is right. Research shows that in the last decade, Canada has been losing affordable rental units, those available to individuals making $30,000 a year or less, far faster than new ones are being built, and it’s forcing some renters out of the homes and communities they know.

Neither the private market nor the public sector has articulated plans for how to deal with the large number of renters affected by the loss.

A key factor driving up rents in Canada is the shortage of supply, but it’s not just that new units aren’t being built fast enough.

According to research from Steve Pomeroy, a senior research fellow at Carleton University in Ottawa, rentals that were once considered affordable are seeing significant price increases.

He estimates that between 2011 and 2016, the number of rental units that would be affordable for households earning less than $30,000 per year — with rents below $750 — declined by 322,600 in Canada.

Because many provinces control how much rents can be raised on tenants who stay in the same unit, most of these increases occur when the unit turns over.

“If you’re a sitting tenant, then the rental rates only go up by the costs of inflation and so that’s great,” said Douglas Kwan, director of legal services at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. “That’s manageable.”

Douglas Kwan, director of legal services at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, says he is seeing an increase in landlords applying for ‘no fault’ evictions, which make way for a new tenant and new, higher, rents.

Bank of Canada hikes rates, signals more to come in fight against inflation The Bank of Canada hikes interest rates to 0.50%, the first increase since 2018, as it warns about higher inflation and a “major new source of uncertainty” related to R u s s i a’s invasion of Ukraine.

Anthony O k o l i e s p e a k s with James Orlando, S e n i o r Economist, TD Bank, about the central bank’s efforts to tame rising prices.

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Dollar decouples from oil, adding to central bank’s inflation headaches As the Russia-Ukraine crisis propels crude oil to its highest level in 14 years, the historic link between the Canadian dollar and energy prices has weakened, leaving the Bank of Canada with one less tool to fight inflation.

The normal tight relationship between the Canadian dollar and oil has typically meant the central bank could rely on a stronger currency to ease inflation pressures brought on by higher energy prices. Gains for the loonie would reduce the cost of Canada’s imports.

But not so in the current cycle, with the crisis also hurting the outlook for the global economy, a negative for risk-sensitive currencies like the loonie, and driving demand for the safe-haven U.S. dollar.

“There is a kink in the CAD-oil relationship,” said Eric Theoret, global macro strategist at Manulife Investment Management. “You are not getting the currency strength that would dampen inflation.”

The last time oil was above $100 a barrel, in 2014, the Canadian dollar was at 1.09 per U.S. dollar, or nearly 92 U.S. cents. It is currently at about 1.28.

Meanwhile, the 3-month rolling correlation between the Canadian dollar and oil has fallen to 0.3 from 0.9 in December, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, moving closer to the zero threshold that would indicate no connection.

“What we’ve seen over the last month or two has definitely been a quite significant outlier in what has been historically a very steady and pretty consistent relationship,” said Shaun

Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank.

“We would probably be in a situation here where the Bank (of Canada) would not be pushing back against the idea of a stronger Canadian dollar.”

Canada’s central bank has pledged to tame inflation, which reached a 30-year high of 5.1% in January. Last Wednesday, it raised its key interest rate for the first time in three years and made clear more hikes are on the way.

Inflation could move even higher over the coming months due to surging commodity prices, economists say.

Higher energy prices will ultimately benefit the loonie over the coming year, say strategists in a Reuters poll, but due to an improvement in Canada’s terms of trade, or the ratio of its export prices to import prices, rather than an expected increase in investment.

Canadian companies are wary of spending aggressively to grow oil production after the pain of 2020’s pandemic-induced oil price collapse. Investors are demanding strict capital discipline, while environmental opposition to new fossil fuel projects and the Canadian government’s plans to cap carbon emissions are also deterring growth. “The era of ‘drill, baby drill’ is over in America and it’s the same kind of discipline in Canada,” said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive, referring to a political slogan of the U.S. Republican Party.

“Oil isn’t the driver (of the Canadian dollar) it once was,” Button said.

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Star & Style

Saturday, March 12, 2022

When Hrithik quit smoking We often see disclaimers of No Smoking in theatres but despite that people still don’t give up smoking. Back in the day, there were a lot of actors like Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor among others, who were chain smokers. But soon these actors started living healthier lifestyles; similarly, Hrithik Roshan had also decided to quit the habit after he stumbled upon a book called The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr.

Back in 2012, the Krrish actor had said that he tried various ways to quit smoking but nothing worked, However, his life changed after he read the book. Interestingly, the actor got so encouraged by Allen’s work that he bought

40 copies so that he can distribute them to his industry friends, like, Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Bobby Deol.

As reported by IANS, Hrithik Roshan spoke about his smoking habit in an event, he told, “I wanted to give up smoking. I tried quitting five times before and failed. I tried nicotine patches and other methods, but nothing worked. I wanted to kick the habit so I began researching how to. I spoke to people who had quit, went online and read articles, saw testimonials of people on YouTube. I kept checking, and then finally I came across this book Alan Carr’s Easy Way To Stop Smoking, I ordered that book and the day I finished the book was the day I smoked my last ciggie.”

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao remain ‘friends’ Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, who recently celebrated their 15 th wedding anniversary, have announced divorce. They released an official statement and updated about the same. In a long statement, the couple said that they were planning their separation for some time. They said that they will continue to be ‘devoted parents’ to their son, Azad and they will raise him together. The statement also said that they will continue to work together for, Paani Foundation. The statement read, “In these 15 beautiful years together we have shared a lifetime of experiences, joy and laughter, and our relationship has only grown in trust, respect and love. Now we would like to begin a new chapter in our

lives - no longer as husband and wife, but as co-parents and family for each other. We began a planned separation some time ago, and now feel comfortable to formalise this arrangement, of living separately yet sharing our lives the way an extended family does.

We remain devoted parents to our son Azad, who we will nurture and raise together. We will also continue to work as collaborators on films, Paani Foundation, and other projects that we feel passionate about. A big thank you to our families and friends for their constant support and understanding about this evolution in our relationship, and without whom we would not have been so secure in taking this leap. We request our

Sushmita Sen sends love to Dharmendra Sushmita Sen got a compliment from veteran actor Dharmendra as she shared a selfie clicked inside her car. She covered her head with a scarf in the picture and wore large sunglasses. “The dancing lights, purple hues & reflecting mountains!!! A beautiful journey captured with a selfie,” she wrote.

Commenting on her picture, Dharmendra wrote ‘great’, along with a thumbs-up emoji. Replying to a Twitter user who had retweeted it, he wrote, “Ambreen, it gives me great happiness to read something loving and affectionate. Jeetie raho (Live long).”

Dharmendra also showered love on Sushmita.

“Ek nek rooh…ek himmat var khatoon (A

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pure soul, a courageous woman)…lots of love to her,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet.

Sushmita replied, “A blessing saved & cherished forever, sir @aapkadharam. Lots of love & huge respect from a dancing heart!!! Aap jaisa dil sab ko naseeb ho (May everyone be as large-hearted as you)!!!”

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

Vidya Balan all set to impress audience Vidya Balan ventured into the OTT universe with her film Shakuntala Devi back in July 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing. Her second OTT release was Sherni which got her a lot of rave reviews and now she is all set for her next OTT show with Shefali Shah in Jalsa. Recently an entertainment portal reported on Vidya’s perspective on the rise of OTT platforms, “Vidya is excited about Jalsa.

During 2020, Shakuntala Devi was one of the first films to hit OTT and it had a successful run. Vidya then followed it up with Sherni, where she played a wildlife conservationist and that outing got great feedback, too. Jalsa is a continuation of the same phase in Vidya’s career and its an all-new trend that she’s pioneering, the same way she did a few years ago when she championed and led the cause of women-oriented films and lead characters.”

This is her second collaboration with director Suresh Triveni for Jalsa after their film Tumhari Sulu. Jalsa is her first screen outing

with Shefali Shah which also has Rohini Hattangadi and Iqbal Khan playing important roles.

The magazine Verve featured her as one of India’s “Young Power Women” and wrote, “In a reel world peopled by size zero-toned bodies and prettyas-a-picture heroines, Vidya comes across as completely real and natural – a woman who has followed her own instincts and dared to live her destiny by being her own person and not morphing herself to fit into any conventional slot.” Two years later, the magazine listed her as a power icon.[196] In 2018, The Economic Times considered Vidya to be one of the most prominent celebrity brand ambassadors in India.

In 2014, Vidya was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.

The following year, she received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Rai University; the university also named a scholarship program for underprivileged girls after her.

‘Tiger 3’ release date out!

After announcement of the release date of Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’, fans were eagerly waiting for the big announcement of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif ’s ‘Tiger 3’. The wait is finally over as the superstar took to his Twitter handle to update his fans about the release date. The film will hit the big screens on Eid 2023. Yes, you read that right. Khan shared a teaser of the film. In the teaser, we can see Katrina pulling off some amazing action. Later, Katrina asks Salman if he is ready, to which he replies, ‘’Tiger is always ready’’. Taking to his Twitter handle, the actor tweeted, ‘’Hum sab apna apna khayal rakhen..

Tiger3 on 2023 Eid… let’s all be there ..Releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Celebrate #Tiger3 with #YRF50 only at a big screen near you on 21st April 2023. #KatrinaKaif | #ManeeshSharma | @yrf| #Tiger3’’.

Check out the tweet here: A few days back, the cast and crew were in Delhi for the shoot of ‘Tiger 3’. After wrapping the schedule, Salman had returned to Mumbai along with his co-stars Katrina

and Emraan. They shot the movie in several other foreign locations including Turkey, Austria and Russia.

‘Tiger 3’ is backed

by Yash Raj Films.

In the film, Salman will reprise his role as RAW (Research & Analysis Wing) agent Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger, while Katrina will be seen as Zoya.

Director Maneesh Sharma says when he was given the reign of the Salman Khan and Katrina-starrer ‘Tiger 3’, he had one vision to set a new benchmark for the highoctane actioner.

The director says, “When I was handed over the reins of Tiger 3, I had one singular vision – to take this massively popular and beloved franchise to a level that would set a new benchmark.”

“With the launch announcement, we wanted the personalities of the much loved jodi (couple) of Tiger and Zoya to shine through and I think that’s what’s made the announcement such a hit with fans.

Raaj Kumar One of the greatest actors of Indiam cinema Raaj Kumar was born as Kulbhushan Pandit on October 8, 1926. A great Indian actor who appeared in Oscar-nominated film ‘Mother India’ in 1957 and starred over 70 films in career that spanned over four decades.

He died on July 3, 1996.

Kulbhushan Pandit was born in Loralai, Baluchistan, now in Pakistan, into a Kashmiri Pandit family.

In late 1940s, he moved to Bombay, where he became an inspector in Police.

He married with Jennifer Pandit, an Anglo-Indian, whom he met on flight where she was an air hostess.

Later she changed her name to Gayatri Kumar.

They had three children, Puru Raaj Kumar (an actor), Panini Raaj Kumar and daughter Vastavikta Pandit, who also made her screen debut in films.

Raaj Kumar made his acting debut in the 1952 film Rangili and appeared in films like Aabshar, Ghamand and Lakhon Mein Ek, but it was as Prince Naushazad in Sohrab Modi’s Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) that he became famous. In 1957, he achieved prominence with

his brief role as the husband of Nargis in Mother India. He also worked alongside Shammi Kapoor in Ujala (1959). He followed this with the unglamorous role of a mill worker in Paigham (1959) alongside Dilip Kumar. In Sridhar’s Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Raaj Kumar played the role of a cancer patient for which he won the Filmfare Award in the Best supporting actor category. He was cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Balraj Sahni in Yash Chopra’s family drama Waqt in 1965. He became known for his distinct style of dialogue delivery.[6] His other notable films included Hamraaz (1967), Heer Raanjha (1971), Maryada (1971), Lal Patthar (1971) and Pakeezah (1972). After period of flops in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he had notable successes as supporting actor in Kudrat (1981), Ek Nai Paheli (1984), Marte Dam Tak (1987), Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987) and Jung Baaz (1989). In 1991, he reunited with fellow veteran actor Dilip Kumar after 32 years in Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar. His last most hit film was Tirangaa and his final film was 1995’s God & Gun.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Canadian wheat prices ‘highest ever in history of farming’ The Russian invasion of Ukraine is creating a spike in wheat prices around the world, but it could be a good sign for some Saskatchewan farmers who have leftover wheat to sell.

Benchmark prices for wheat have risen 106 per cent since March 2021.

Cameron Goff is a farmer near Hanley, Sask. and describes the fluctuating prices of wheat as “extremely volatile” over the last one to two weeks.

“I chose to sell almost all my remaining wheat when those prices had gone up to a good level but they certainly rose a dollar a bushel or more than that over the last 10 days,” Goff said. While he didn’t capture the high prices, he says he did well. With crop insurance, Goff made 10 per cent more income this year compared to 2021.

In the 50 years he’s been in the farming industry, Goff says the price of wheat is reaching record highs.

“All prices this year at some point basically have been the highest ever

in

the history of farming,” he said.

“High prices are always good for farmers, maybe not so good for consumers.”

Earth Bound Bakery & Kitchen in Saskatoon is already feeling the high cost of wheat.

Owner Drew Elder says the price of a bag of flour has risen $10 per bag in the last week.

The bakery goes through 80 bags of flour per week, costing him $800 more per week.

Last month, Statistics Canada reported bakery product prices rose 7.4 per cent in January, compared to 6.5 per cent the year before.

Statistics Canada says higher costs are also due to unfavourable growing conditions and supply chain disruptions.

“We’ve had to make adjustments, we try to do those adjustments so they’re not too crazy for the customer and we’re absorbing a lot,” Elder said.

The cost of a loaf of bread at his bakery has gone up 25 cents.

Stateless sexual predator who victimized women in Ottawa released A sexual predator who once plagued the ByWard Market has been released from immigration custody because Canadian officials cannot deport the stateless man. Magabi Suleiman, 40, has been designated as a danger to the public under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. But after spending the past two-and-ahalf years in immigration detention awaiting deportation, Suleiman was ordered released last month because two review bodies determined Canadian officials have no reasonable prospect of sending him to the country where he was born.

It means, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) said, that there’s no longer a legal connection between Suleiman’s detention and his deportation.

“The CBSA can continue looking at options ad infinitum, however, Mr. Suleiman cannot be held in detention indefinitely while awaiting results,” the panel concluded. “There must necessarily come a point where the impasse is accepted, and removal is no longer seen as achievable.”

Suleiman is now living in Ottawa under conditions imposed by the detention review panel.

He was released in late February after a Federal Court judge upheld the IRB panel’s January ruling.

Federal Court Justice Lobat Sadrehashemi dismissed an appeal by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, which sought to keep Suleiman in custody.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Armed and dangerous’ double shooting suspect’s photo released by Barrie police Police released an image of an 18-year-old man wanted for attempted murder in connection with a double shooting on Bayfield Street in Barrie last month.

Barrie police say Zia Mohammed Chaudhry is wanted in relation to the shooting on Bayfield Street near Grove Street on Feb. 15 that left two men in their 20s injured. The victims were airlifted to a Toronto trauma centre with gunshot wounds.

Police say Chaudhry is known by the street name Trey. He is five feet 10 inches tall

with a thin build.

Along with attempted murder, Chaudhry is wanted on charges of discharging a firearm with intent and two counts of aggravated assault.

He is known to frequent the Toronto and Barrie areas.

Police say Chaudhry is considered armed and dangerous and caution the public not to approach him if spotted. Instead, they suggest immediately contacting the police or 911.

Conservative MP petitions to ban COVID-19 vaccines for all Canadian adults of ‘Child-Bearing Age’ One of the Conservative Party of Canada’s sitting members of parliament presented a petition to the House of Commons that calls on the Government of Canada to ban COVID-19 vaccines for any Canadian who is capable of spawning children.

Niagara West Conservative MP Dean Allison, who previously sponsored other petitions relating to vaccines, gave his blessings to a petition that demands the federal government immediately “suspend the use of COVID-19 vaccines” for all “pregnant women, children, youth, and adults of child-bearing age.”

On March 2, Allison presented the House of Commons with a petition he sponsored calling for a ban on mRNA vaccines.

Allsion’s petition falsely claims that “vaccine nanoparticles”fromPfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine are accumulating in people’s “endocrine organs” and causing possible “infertility”:

“We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to suspend the use of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women, children, youth, and adults of child-bearing age.”

All House of Commons petitions carry a boilerplate disclaimer noting that while sponsoring a petition is not necessarily an endorsement, “there is no obligation on the part of the House of Commons or any Member of Parliament to authorize the publication of an e-petition or to present an e-petition or a paper petition to the House of Commons.”

Previously, Allison sponsored a petition to make Ivermectin “available to all Canadians” even though public health authorities stress should never be used to treat COVID-19.

Ivermectin made headlines last summer following a wave of poisonings caused by humans using a version of the drug designed for de-worming horses.

Saturday, March 12, 2022 Elite Canadian goes to Ukraine to fight Russia As Ukrainian families fled their war-torn country at its Polish border, an elite Canadian sniper went the other way, entering Ukraine in the dead of night. “I want to help them.

It’s as simple as that,” said the soldier, who only gave his nickname, “Wali,” in a recent interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “I have to help because there are people here being bombarded just because they want to be European and not Russian.”

The former member of the elite Royal

22e Regiment of Canada said it is a surreal experience — and that is coming from someone who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as joining Kurdish fighters several years ago to battle ISIS. Wali said he was greeted by Ukrainians with open arms when he came to fight.

“They were so happy to have us,” Wali said. “It’s like we were friends right away.

Get the latest updates in the RussiaUkraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.

How training by Canada helped give Ukrainian army fighting chance against Russia When Canadian troops began training counterparts in Ukraine five years ago, one of their key goals was deceivingly simple.

Millions of refugees flee Ukraine.

In place of the topdown style of leadership inherited from Soviet days, the Canadians and other NATO instructors tried to instill the idea of giving small-unit commanders the autonomy to make decisions on the fly.

It was a cultural transformation, but seems to be paying off in spades as the out-gunned Ukrainian forces perform remarkably well against a Russian onslaught, says one of those teachers from Canada.

The attacks that have helped stall a huge Russian convoy north of Kyiv, for instance, have been made possible partly by small-unit leaders taking the initiative to craft their own ambushes, says Capt. Hugh Purdon.

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

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Putin will pay for ‘war crimes he’s committed in Ukraine,’ Justin Trudeau says Canada and European leaders condemned Russia’s bombing of a Ukrainian maternity hospital as an atrocity. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be held accountable by the International Criminal Court for “war crimes he’s committed in Ukraine.”

Trudeau made the comment after delivering a foreign policy speech in Berlin on the need for democracies to make a “constant effort” to counter apathy, disinformation, low voter turnout and the rise of populism that may have strengthened the hand of authoritarian leaders like Putin.

But Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Canada and others to act now.

Zelenskyy called out global leaders who have refused a no-fly zone over Ukraine, posting video images of what he said was “Mariupol. Direct strike of Russian troops at the maternity hospital.”

“People, children are under the wreckage.

Atrocity! How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

Diplomatic efforts are intensifying to

find a solution to the crisis in Ukraine with Germany and France reaching out to China’s President Xi Jinping for help in appealing to Putin to stop the increasingly deadly invasion. China says it supports efforts to find a diplomatic solution and avoid escalation.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at an earlier news conference after a bilateral meeting with Trudeau, called the attacks on Ukrainian “cities, schools and houses” a “catastrophe.”

“What we need now is a ceasefire. We need the fighting to end,” said Scholz, who has spoken directly with Putin, a channel of diplomacy that is providing a glimmer of hope according to two senior sources, one Canadian and one German, who spoke to the Star.

Scholz said he, French President Emmanuel Macron and China’s Xi agreed “the military solution to the conflict doesn’t make any sense.

What we need now is a diplomatic solution.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Berlin where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and spoke at the Munich Security Conference about the need to defend democracy more

Ottawa announces $26.5m for improved foreign-credential recognition programs The federal government is investing $26.5 million over the next three years to bolster 11 foreign-credential recognition programs in order to expedite new immigrants’ integration into the Canadian economy.

The move was announced by Minister of Employment Carla Qualtrough in Vancouver

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today at a news event at the head office of non-profit immigrant settlement organization MOSAIC. The investment, Qualtrough said, is aimed at getting skilled newcomers to be able to work in their field of study or profession in Canada as soon as possible – which would yield both economic benefits for Canada and improve the quality of life for the immigrants.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

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INDIA

Saturday, March 12, 2022

BJP claims election victory in four states including Uttar Pradesh India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party has claimed victory in four significant state elections, in a sign of the power of Hindu nationalist politics across the country.

The BJP defied historical precedent and retained power in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous and politically significant state with more than 180 million voters. Early results on Thursday showed the party had won at least

266 out of 403 seats, giving it a clear majority.

It was the first win for an incumbent party in the state in more than three decades, and ensures the chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk known for his hardline views, will be the first in the state’s history to remain in power for a second consecutive term.

It secures Adityanath’s status as one of the

most powerful figures in the BJP and a potential successor to the prime minister, Narendra Modi, as well as offering a ringing endorsement for the hardline Hindu nationalist agenda that Adityanath has enacted over the past five years.

During his time as chief minister, Adityanath, who dresses in saffron robes and led his own “Hindu army”, often used communal rhetoric seen as targeting Muslims. He banned the

slaughter of cows, an animal that is holy to Hindus, and brought in an anti-conversion law to counter “love jihad”, a disproven conspiracy theory that Muslims are forcing Hindu women into marriage in order to convert them to Islam.

Journalists and activists were also routinely harassed and charged, and the Uttar Pradesh police have been accused of routinely murdering Muslims and Dalits under Adityanath’s watch.

Yogi Adityanath, the Hindu hardliner, who scripted election history India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set for a comfortable win in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), breaking a jinx of a quarter of a century for any party to win a second consecutive term there.

Leading the party’s campaign from the front has been incumbent Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the shaven-headed, saffronrobed Hindu monk-turned-politician.

of Gorakhpur, where he is the head priest of an influential temple.

As his “chariot” - a truck decorated with marigold flowers - snaked through the narrow congested streets, thousands of supporters lined up along the way to cheer him, many stood on balconies and rooftops for

His impending victory comes despite there having been no apparent electoral wave in his favour. He’s also been fighting antiincumbency after five years in office - and saboteurs reportedly acting against him within his own party.

Last week, I watched him campaign in his eastern constituency

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a glimpse, showering him with rose petals.

Mr Adityanath flashed the victory sign as loudspeakers blared party anthems and Hindu religious slogans rent the air. One BJP MP, standing alongside Mr Adityanath, called the roadshow “a celebration of victory”.

It seemed a little premature at the time, but Thursday’s results show their confidence was not misplaced.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

India Russian oil companies offer discounts to India Once again the flagship crude of Russia was offered at deeper discount in Europe amid tensions over Ukraine. Vitol Group offered 1 lakh tons of the nation’s Urals oil for delivery to Rotterdam at $7.25 a barrel less than Europe’s benchmark for physical cargo transactions Dated Brent.

There were no bids in a window organized

by S&P Global Platts. The grade had already been sold in a tender at $6 below the same measure and offered at minus $6.30. It is the largest discount in 11 years at least. Before the escalations this week, Traders flagged that the discounting wasn’t just about the tension over Ukraine. Oil prices don’t favor purchases

of the Russian grade. It is also more sulfurous than many other crudes that are popular in Europe, making it more expensive to process because high natural gas prices have driven up the cost of hydrogen that refineries use. Russia has also set out plans to export the most Urals oil from its western ports. Russia faces the threat of further sanctions from western nations following its recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. The President of Russia Vladimir Putin gave an order to deploy what he called ‘peacekeeping forces’ to the regions.

India star creates Test cricekt history with all-time first as Sri Lanka crushed within three days All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja starred with bat and bowl to lead India to a crushing innings and 222-run victory over Sri Lanka inside three days of the first Test on Sunday. In Virat Kohli’s 100th Test and Rohit Sharma’s first as captain, Jadeja hit an unbeaten 175 in India’s 574-8 declared and then claimed a match tally of nine wickets with his left-arm spin in Mohali.

Jadeja became the second player in history, and first man, to tally 150-plus runs and nineplus wickets in a Test match after England’s Enid Bakewell did it against the West Indies in 1979. Niroshan Dickwella stood unbeaten on 51 when Ravichandran Ashwin got the final wicket of number 11 Lahiru Kumara, who was struggling with his hamstring injury, triggering wild celebrations. Jadeja returned figures of

5-41 to help bowl out Sri Lanka for 174 in their first innings after the tourists resumed the day on 108-4.

Ashwin, who now has 436 scalps in 85 Tests, took four wickets in Sri Lanka’s second innings and surpassed pace bowling great Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 scalps.

He sent back Charith Asalanka for 20 with his off spin to become India’s second highest wicket-taker behind spin legend Anil Kumble who finished his career with 619 Test scalps. Ashwin rattled the toporder with two wickets on either side of the lunch break as he sent back Lahiru Thirimanne for nought and Pathum Nissanka caught behind for six. Pace bowler Mohammed Shami was rewarded for his consistency as he got skipper Dimuth Karunaratne caught behind

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Saturday, Feb12, 19,2022 2022 Saturday, March

India Covid-19 active cases declines to 148,359 daily positivity rate stands at 1.22% India logged 14,148 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,28,81,179, while the active cases dipped to 1,48,359, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 5,12,924 with 302 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The daily COVID-19 cases have remained below one lakh for 18 consecutive days. The active cases comprise 0.35 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 98.46 per cent, the ministry said. A reduction of 16,163 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 1.22 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded as 1.60 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,22,19,896, while the case fatality rate was recorded as 1.20 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 176.52 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the

20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. The 302 new fatalities include 188 from Kerala and 23 from Maharashtra. A total of 5,12,924 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,43,656 from Maharashtra, 64,591 from Kerala, 39,866 from Karnataka, 37,993 from Tamil Nadu, 26,109 from Delhi, 23,445 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,159 from West Bengal. The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

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MLA Stone urges NDP to bring property tax relief to small businesses The Opposition Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery, Trade and Innovation is once again asking the NDP government to put an end to a ridiculous practice that taxes businesses on the empty air above their establishments.

Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone has introduced his private member’s bill, the Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) Amendment Act, 2022, for a fifth time. By creating a new commercial property sub-class, this bill enables local governments to reduce property taxes for small businesses who are facing massive tax increases on the development potential of their unused airspace.

“Some small businesses continue to see property tax increases as high as 200 to 300 per cent because of this unfair tax practice. And with the NDP sitting idly by and letting the housing crisis spread to the rest of the province, even more businesses are at risk of being captured by it,” says Stone. “Just last year, property assessments rose as much as 40 per cent, on average. Businesses need real action to solve this problem, not the complete failure of a solution that was concocted by the NDP in February 2020. It isn’t what businesses asked for, and it’s not working for them.” Some of the neighbourhoods where this issue is particularly prevalent include Marpole and the West 4th,

Granville and Cambie Street corridors in Vancouver and Lonsdale in North Vancouver, but any community seeing skyrocketing housing prices could soon be affected. Stone notes many businesses, municipalities and organizations support the idea of split assessments.

“Death and air taxes go hand in hand.

Taxing properties for their development potential is killing small businesses and small business property owners that contribute to their community,” says Michelle Barile, Executive Director of the West Broadway Business Improvement Association. “Neither can afford the property taxes or the ultimatum to develop the property. We need a solution that works for both the independent business owner and the property owner — they are inextricably linked to the health and well-being of our communities.”

“B.C. has lost far too many businesses over the past couple of years due to the pandemic and the NDP’s delays in delivering supports. Many others are hanging on by a thread. We can’t afford to lose more local establishments which are fundamental to the vibrancy and character of our communities,” says Stone. “John Horgan and the NDP need to do the right thing, which is to call this bill for debate and deliver the flexible, common-sense solution that businesses and municipalities are asking for.”

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Voters reward Modi’s BJP despite covid mishandling and haphazard lockdown There have been murmurs in recent weeks of prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) losing its grip over Indian voters following the alleged mishandling of the pandemic over the past two years. All eyes were on elections held in five states, especially Uttar Pradesh, over the past month.

As results poured in today (March 10), the murmurs were firmly silenced.

Trends mid-way through the counting of votes showed the party romping home in at least four—Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur—of the five states. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seemed to have emerged as a strong alternative to mainstream political parties, with the year-long farm protests seeming to have worked in its favour

more than for any other entity.

Yet, it is not like the BJP did not face a backlash. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, the party was set to lose more than 50 seats from its previous tally. However, that simply may not be enough to dislodge it from power. In Uttarakhand, too, it may lose between 10 and 15 seats, yet form a government.

The results, overall, were in line with forecasts made by pollsters in the run-up to vote-counting.

What did not matter for India’s voters Nothing spoke more loudly about the government’s mishandling of the pandemic than images of mass pyres and bodies buried in river beds and flowing downstream in Uttar Pradesh—India’s most populous state and, politically, the most significant.

Flipkart’s message on Women’s Day draws flak for promoting stereotypes, apologises later nternational Women’s Day was celebrated across the globe on Tuesday, celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

In the celebration across, women were also seen holding placards and banners to claim equal stake in everything. The movement also gave a call “Break the Bias”.

However, in India, Flipkart’s message, wishing International Women’s Day, has drawn flak when the e-commerce

site asks people to buy kitchen appliances at lower price to celebrate the occasion.

“Dear Customer, This Women’s Day, let’s celebrate You. Get Kitchen Appliances from Rs299,” a promotional text message from the company said.

Soon after the message went viral, Flipkart was massively slammed for upholding the bias. Netizens found it offensive and strongly objected to the content of message.

‘Who will invest in India with scams like this?’

Court pulls up CBI on NSE case A special CBI court in New Delhi, hearing the National Stock Exchange (NSE) scam case, took an adverse view of the matter asking “who will invest in India with scams like this?”

The court pulled up the CBI for the tardy investigation in the NSE co-location scam case, saying that the magnitude of the case will be big and the reputation of the country was at stake.

CBI Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Rouse Avenue Court was hearing the matter in which Anand Subramanian, the ex-Group Operating Officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), was sent to 14 days

judicial custody, in connection with the colocation scam case. The judge observed that four years have lapsed after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began studying the scam and pointed out that the probe agency is not moving fast enough.

Will this go on for years? The CBI investigation is open-ended and goes on for years. All our credibility will go. They (investors) will all go to China, said Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal, who remanded Subramanian to judicial custody till March 23 after he was produced before him on the expiry of his police custody.

Indian Airlines hijacker shot dead in Karachi Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a “businessman” in Karachi, who Indian intelligence officials said was Jaish-eMohammed terrorist Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim, involved in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 and fatal stabbing of passenger Rupin Katyal. According to digital news agency ‘Chippa’, “one person died in firing near a shop at Akthar

Colony.” The same agency, had identified the “victim” as Zahid, 44, and later quoted Senior Police officer (Karachi east) as saying that initial investigation indicated it to be a case of personal rivalry. However, officials in India said the businessman killed was Ibrahim who was living under a false identity of Zahid Akhund for many years.

Court reserves its verdict on quantum of sentence to Vijay Mallya in contempt case The Supreme Court Thursday reserved its verdict on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya in a contempt case.

Mallya, an accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, has been in the UK since March 2016.

He is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017.

He was held guilty of contempt of court

in 2017 and the matter has been getting deferred as the top court wanted to hear him on the punishment to be awarded to him.

A Bench led by Justice UU Lalit reserved the judgment after hearing senior advocate and amicus curiae Jaideep Gupta. It allowed the counsel, who earlier represented Mallya, to file written submissions, if any, by Tuesday.

On February 10, the Bench had given the fugitive businessman the last opportunity to appear before it— either personally or through his lawyer.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022

Punjab Charanjit Channi, Navjot Sidhu, Amarinder Singh, Parkash Badal, Sukhbir, Bikram Majithia all lose elections In a major upset in Punjab elections, most of the stalwarts had to bite the dust.

Amarinder who contested from Patiala as Punjab Lok Congress candidate in alliance

with the BJP lost to Ajitpal Singh Kohli of AAP. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi lost both from Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur. Sukhbir Singh Badal lost in Jalalabad.

You will see change in Punjab soon - Bhagwant Mann After the victory of his party, Punjab AAP CM face Bhagwant Mann in his first address to locals from the rooftop of his house in Sangrur predicted a visible improvement in the working of the Punjab government within a month. He also announced to replace the CM’s photos in government offices with those of martyr Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar.

“People face harassment in government offices as officers do not meet them. But

from now on, officers would come to your villages as they are public servants. With your help, we would run the Punjab jointly as I am your CM. Though we need time as Punjab is amid a crisis, within a month, you would see a difference,” said Mann.

He said they would take oath at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh, and the date would be announced later.

Among 13 winning women candidates, 11 belong to AAP party in Punjab Thirteen of the 93 women who contested the Punjab polls tasted victory and 11 of them belong to the Aam Aadmi Party, which registered a landslide win bagging 92 of the 117 assembly seats.

Most of the AAP women candidates who won are greenhorns.

From Amritsar East, Jeevanjyot Kaur of AAP defeated Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu by a margin of 6,750 votes.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram

Singh Majithia was also contesting from the seat, but he ended up at the third spot.

However, Majithia’s wife Ganieve Kaur tasted victory from Majitha seat, from where she had entered the fray after her husband, a sitting MLA from there, decided to leave the seat and contest from Amritsar East.

Ganieve, a SAD candidate, defeated Sukhjinder Raj Singh of AAP by a margin of 26,062 votes.

‘Pad woman of Amritsar’ becomes giant-killer, beats Sidhu, Majithia and former IAS officer On 15 February, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Amritsar East, Jeevan Jyot Kaur, tweeted, “In a 5-star hotel in Amritsar, two big leaders of Congress and Akali have matchfixing regarding Amritsar East seat. So much fear of a common woman? Do as much fixing as you want, the defeat of both of you is certain”.

Kaur’s predictions about the defeat of these

big leaders proved true Thursday, as the firsttime candidate managed to defeat political heavyweights like Punjab Congress President (and sitting Amritsar East MLA) Navjot Singh Sidhu, Shiroman Akali Dal’s Bikram Singh Majithia (who is SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal’s brother-in-law) and former IAS officer and BJP candidate Jagmohan Singh Raju.

Pakistan Rattled over no-confidence motion, Imran Khan says former president Zardari is his ‘next target’ Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that after winning the trust vote in Parliament, he would target former President and Opposition leader Asif Ali Zardari for alleged corruption.

Khan visited Karachi to meet top leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to seek their support, a day after the Opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion to remove him from office after holding his government responsible for the uncontrolled inflation.

Khan, addressing the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers at the Governor House here, claimed that the motion is the “political death” of the Opposition, according to some media reports “I was telling my team that they (Opposition) have done what I was praying for,” he said while speaking to party workers during his day-long visit to Karachi.

“My hands were tied, so far. The shackles that were on my hand will be broken. My first target will be Asif Ali Zardari on whom my gun has been pointing at for a long time,” Khan said.

Prime Minister couldn’t have picked worse time to make friends with Putin PM Imran Khan seems to take pride in his own reversals, prompting some to give him the nickname of “U-turn Khan. ” But his latest policy shift has been a great shock for me and others who have known Khan since he started his political career in the 90s. Back then he positioned himself as a stalwart defender of

human rights. Yet now he has become the first foreign leader to meet Putin after his attack on Ukraine, even gushing about the presumed honor. I remember how Khan once organized a demonstration in Islamabad against the Russian Army’s massacres in Chechnya.

US Congress members write to Attorney General raising concerns about Pakistan’s newly-appointed Ambassador to United States US Congress members have written joint letter to the Attorney General of the US Department of Justice raising concerns about Pakistan’s newly-installed Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan.

The letter accuses the newly appointed Ambassador Masood Khan of supporting various US-designated terrorist groups in South Asia.

The US Congress member wrote in the letter saying, “On 27 January, I wrote a letter to President Biden raising concerns about

Pakistan’s newly-installed Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan. In that letter, I requested that President Biden “reject any diplomatic credentials presented by [Mr Khan]” due to Khan’s unmitigated sympathy and support for various US-designated terrorist groups in South Asia. While it defies reason that Masood Khan was approved, his close relationships with domestic actors linked with the Pakistani regime remains a critical concern.”

FIJI Fijian goalkeeper heads to Australian A-League There is some hope for the future for the Fijian football fans, especially when it comes to the goalkeeping position: recently it was announced

by Football Queensland that the Fijian goalkeeper Ryan Mudaliar moved from NPL’s side Brisbane Striker to the A-League club Western United.

The young goalkeeper caught interest from a club of the top-tier league in Australia and has now a big chance in rising career.

Oceania Football Center already featured Ryan Mudaliar, presenting the young goalkeeper to the Fijian football fans. Despite his quality, the player is still to be contacted by the Fijian FA in order to represent the country internationally.

Ryan Mudaliar – Brisbane Strikers Media The very young shot-stopper proved his capabilities with the Brisbane’s side and he is heading for a bigger challenge in his

Ritesh Singh appointed new Housing Authority CEO The Housing Authority board has appointed former ANZ Bank senior executive Ritesh Singh as its new chief executive officer.

According to the Housing Authority, it had searched for three months for a suitable candidate for the position.

Board chairperson Viliame Vodonaivalu welcomed Mr Singh’s appointment describing it a win for the authority’s

customers and the stock of affordable housing in the country.

“Mr Singh was brought up in the Nasinu Housing Authority development, so he knows personally that the authority’s customers, and most important priority, are Fijian families,” Mr Vodonaivalu said in a statement.

“Through the course of his life, he’s acquired

Australian medical co to operate 2 hospitals in Fiji Australia based Aspen Medical will take over operations at the Lautoka Hospital by the end of May. Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has confirmed that the health service provider is ready to begin

its pubic private partnership where it will be in charge of the Ba hospital as well.

He adds with this new partner, Fiji will be able to offer advanced medical procedures locally.

War in Ukrainian will increase fuel prices The Ukrainian war into its 9th day will increase the cost of living globally – and Fiji is no exception.

Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Trade Shaheen Ali says global sanctions on energy giant Russia has seen the price of oil sky-rocket meaning more fuel price hikes are on the horizon – but that’s not all of it. “The challenges to logistics that were existing would continue and we can mitigate this by again the

adaptation that the Fijian Business community had undertaken with regards to the pandemic.”

The US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Tony Greubel says the US is also mindful of how its sanctions on Russia will affect small economies like ours.

Its Embassy here is planning information sessions for Fijian businesses to identify export opportunities if the war escalates.

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Saturday, March 12, 2022 Liberal government must invest in health care and in front-line workers Press release NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NDP Deputy Health Critic Bonita Zarrillo called on the Liberal government to strengthen our public healthcare system and support healthcare workers. Throughout the pandemic, health care workers had our backs and kept us healthy and safe. They deserve more support from the government.

“Health care workers pushed themselves to exhaustion taking care of us and our loved ones these last two years. They were rightly called ‘heroes’ for getting us through an unprecedented public health crisis,” said Singh. “But now that cases are coming down, we need to take a hard look at how we treat our health care system and our health care workers. We need to start addressing some of the gaps that have grown from years of underfunding by Liberal and Conservative governments. It’s time the government offered health care workers more than praise.

They need to make the necessary investments in our health care system so that heath care workers and patients across the country have the support they deserve.” Before being elected in 2015, Justin Trudeau spoke out against the cut to health care transfers made by the Harper government. But after becoming Prime Minister, he continued Harper’s cuts to provinces and territories.

The NDP has been calling for an increase in financial support to help address staff shortages and increase capacity at local hospitals with more beds and equipment to treat Canadians. “The work that health care workers do is invaluable. The pandemic exposed gaps within our health care system that have been there for years,” said Zarrillo.

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