The Asian Star March 20 2021 by The Asian Star Newspaper

www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 7

Why Indians should call out western world’s vaccine hypocrisy during a pandemic

n early February this year, there were two incidents that involved the people of India and the people of Barbados. The first was a tweet from Barbadian performer Rihanna. It went out to her hundred million followers, raising awareness about the supposedly undemocratic ways of the elected government of India. The second, much lesser known, was a thank you letter that Prime Minister Narendra Modi received from the Prime Minister of Barbados. That week, India had donated 100,000 free doses of vaccine to Barbados, enough to cover more than a third of that country’s Continued on page 8

Surrey’s Vaisakhi parade cancelled 2nd year in a row due to Covid-19 One of Metro Vancouver’s largest parades is once again not going ahead this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers for the annual Surrey Vaisakhi Khalsa Parade announced Tuesday they are committed to ensuring a “safe and healthy environment” and therefore decided to cancel this year’s event scheduled for April 24. “It is clear that there is no path for an event the size and magnitude of our parade to occur safely within the next three months,” said Moninder Singh, president of Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, in a news release. Last year’s Vaisakhi parade was also cancelled, as the province began its ban against large gatherings in the early days of the pandemic. Organizers call it one of the largest events of its kind in the world, with the day-long celebration typically drawing crowds of up to 500,000 people.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

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Surrey Police hires three more inspectors Surrey Police Service has hired three additional inspectors. The force has added Tony Farahbakhchian, Rachel Milne and Benoit Rodrigue to its “leadership cadre,” according to an SPS release Thursday (March 18). Farahbakhchian has 29 years of policing service with the RCMP, with a “wide range of assignments that were local, provincial, national, and international in scope.” He is currently an inspector with “E” Division RCMP for the federal

serious and organized crime unit’s financial integrity program. Milne started her 25-year career in Saskatchewan, later transferring to B.C. and serving in several communities in the Lower Mainland. She currently oversees “all operational and administrative aspects of frontline policing” for the City of Burnaby and sits on “numerous” multi-jurisdictional policing committees. Continued on page 7

Minister defends BC vaccine rollout despite few details and surprise shots By now, many people in BC know a construction worker, dental hygienist or even office worker who’s received a Covid-19 vaccine – but the Ministry of Health isn’t providing a list of companies where employees have been offered immunization. At some businesses, workers said they were surprised to learn they were eligible for a vaccine. On Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian

Dix echoed the same rationale the province’s top doctor had invoked a day earlier when asked about why certain businesses and workers were getting vaccinated ahead of other occupations, which was in line with the policy outlined for essential workers and discussed for many weeks.

Time for India and Pakistan to bury the past and move forward: General Bajwa Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (pictured) said that it was time for India and Pakistan to “bury the past and move forward” as he asserted that the peace between the two neighbours would help to “unlock” the potential of South and Central Asia. Addressing a session of the first-ever Islamabad Security

Dialogue, General Bajwa also said the potential for regional peace and development always remained hostage to the disputes and issues between Pakistan and India - the two “nuclear-armed neighbours”. “We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward,” he said, adding that the responsibility for a Continued on page 6

Variants could dash BC hopes for indoor religious services, experts say Growing COVID-19 case numbers from variants of concern in British Columbia could dash the province’s hopes for indoor religious services or any other return to normal life in the near future, experts say. Sally Otto, a University of British Columbia professor who has done COVID-19 modelling, said cases of the

variant first detected in the United Kingdom have doubled nearly every week since the beginning of February. Just looking at the past four weeks, she pointed out there were 81 cases of the variant on Feb. 22, 137 on March 1, 363 on March 8, and 818 on Monday. The Continued on page 7

Extended relief for jobless Canadians to cost Ottawa an extra $5 billion: PBO report Ottawa’s extension of income support for unemployed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic will tack on more than $5 billion in government spending costs, Parliament’s budget watchdog says in a new report.

The government announced last month it would add 12 weeks of eligibility to the $500-a-week Canada Recovery Benefit in an attempt to get ahead of a looming panic

Continued on page 4

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Vol 20 - Issue 7

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Man sentenced to 18 years in prison after shooting Transit police officer The man who shot a transit police officer twice at a SkyTrain station in Surrey, B.C., in 2019 has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his offences. Daon Glasgow, 38, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years behind bars for shooting Const. Josh Harms in the hand and arm on the Scott Road SkyTrain platform in January 2019. A provincial court judge handed Glasgow an additional eight-year sentence for robbing a cannabis store in Vancouver three days before the shooting. A customer was shot in the leg during the robbery. With credit for time served, Glasgow has 15 years and 10 months left to serve in prison. Glasgow was convicted of aggravated assault in the 2019 shooting, along with three other charges — firing a gun with the intention of endangering the officer’s life, reckless discharge of a firearm and possessing a gun without a licence. He was acquitted of attempted murder. Harms and his partner, Const. Chris Elvidge, were in plainclothes when they encountered Glasgow in the parking lot of the Scott Road

station on the day of the shooting. According to the case judgment last year, Glasgow was unlawfully at large from his halfway house and carrying a restricted firearm at the time. When he spotted the officers, he ran into the station, forced his way through the gates without paying, removed a blue hoodie he had been wearing and sat on a seat on the platform to wait for a train. The officers tracked Glasgow to the platform. When Harms spotted Glasgow, he walked toward him with one arm out, saying something like “hey police,” according to the judgment. Investigators were able to identify Glasgow from surveillance footage, and he was arrested five days later. Harms required surgery to remove the bullet from his right arm, but was eventually able to return to work. Transit police spokesperson Sgt. Clint Hampton said the sentence Wednesday was “another step in the process of healing” for the force. “It’s been a long journey for Cst. Josh Harms,” he said in a tweet.

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OPINION From page 1

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Extended relief for jobless Canadians to cost Ottawa an extra $5 billion: PBO report

around pandemic relief. Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux says the move will cost an additional $5.2 billion, bumping the total price tag of the program to $22.9

billion. The government’s three-month extension of aid for parents who must stay home with children because of the virus will add an extra $470 million

in spending in the coming fiscal year, boosting total expenditures on the caregiver benefit to $3.3 billion, according to the report. Giroux projects a further $235 million will be spent on the $500-per-week sickness benefit after it was expanded to four weeks from two so workers can stay home if they’re feeling ill or have to isolate due to COVID-19. That will nudge the total price tag to $899 million. The extra weeks for the recovery benefits will provide income support to June, roughly the same time that business support like the wage subsidy is also set to expire. Labour groups have asked the Liberals to extend benefits until the end of the year, which is how long they believe it might take before the workers in hardest-hit industries get back on the job. One year into the pandemic, Canada’s labour market is 599,100 jobs short of where it was in February of last year, or 3.1 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. The job market in December and January reversed months of gains, as lockdowns sent employment rates back to where they were in August, leaving the country short 858,300 jobs of pre-pandemic levels. But the economy came roaring back in February with 259,000 additional jobs, surpassing expectations to pull the country closer to employment levels seen prior to March 2020.

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Saturday, March 20, 2021

Homicide investigators in Burnaby after human remains found in park Homicide investigators have been called out to the 4300-block of Garden Grove Drive in Burnaby where human remains have been found in Greentree Village Park. RCMP said they were called to the area around 2 a.m. There is a large police

presence in the area and a large swath of the area has been blocked off. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said it will provide more information later Thursday morning.

Canada expands use of AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors even as other countries pause its rollout Canada has expanded its rollout of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, reversing an earlier recommendation that it not to be given to seniors, even as more European nations moved to suspend its use. Citing recent real-world evidence from the United Kingdom, a Canadian expert advisory panel on Tuesday updated its recommendation on the vaccine to now include people over age 65. The recommendation by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) can be used by leaders of Canada’s provinces and territories to decide how best to deploy the vaccine. The nation’s health regulator had authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for widespread use in late February, though until now the NACI did not recommend it for people 65 and older due to what it called an insufficient amount of evidence for that age group. The two-dose vaccine is authorized in Canada for patients older than 18. Unlike in Canada, the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine has ground to a standstill in recent days in virtually all of western Europe. France, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Italy and more than a dozen other

countries have paused rollout of the shot, calling it a precautionary measure following concerns that it could be linked to blood clots. Those decisions go against the advice of global health agencies and Europe’s medicines regulator, and they have prompted myriad questions among people who have had or are in line to get the shot. The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the AstraZeneca vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks and vaccinations should continue. “Vaccination against COVID-19 will not reduce illness or deaths from other causes,” WHO said. “Thromboembolic (clotting) events are known to occur frequently. Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally.” You asked, we’re answering: Your top questions about Covid-19 and vaccines While Canadian public health officials say they are keeping a close eye on the situation in Europe and awaiting more information from its regulators.

Vaccinated people will get flexibility to do more in BC, premier says Premier John Horgan says he expects people in British Columbia who receive the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to participate in more activities as provincial health restrictions are relaxed. But he says he’s not prepared to speculate on what limits could be placed on people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine. Last week, Horgan said he supported the concept of vaccine passports to prove international travellers have had COVID-19 vaccines, but he was lukewarm on similar certificates for people in B.C. to attend

local sports and entertainment events. Horgan told a news conference today that he expects more health restrictions to be lifted as the number of people receiving COVID-19 vaccines increases. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says she’s looking at allowing indoor religious services next month after allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people. B.C. has been vaccinating those over 80 years old over the past two weeks, and the government says it is on track to complete its provincial vaccine program in July.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

From page 1

a meaningful dialogue rested with India. India last month said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. India has said the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free

Time for India and Pakistan to bury the past and move forward: General Bajwa of terror and hostility. India has also told Pakistan that “talks and terror” cannot go together and has asked Islamabad to take demonstrable steps against terror groups responsible for launching various attacks on India.

“Our neighbour will have to create a conducive environment, particularly” in Kashmir, Gen Bajwa said, adding that any effort to improve ties without addressing the core issue would be vulnerable to external political factors. “The Kashmir issue is

at the heart of this. It is important to understand that without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, the process will always remain susceptible to derailment to politically motivated bellicosity,” he said. The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy. General Bajwa’s remarks came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan made a similar statement at the same venue. General Bajwa also said peace between Pakistan and India would help to “unlock the potential of South and Central Asia” by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday said India will be benefitted economically by having peace with Pakistan as it will enable New Delhi to directly access the resource-rich Central Asia region through Pakistani territory. “India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much,” Khan said while delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the twoday Dialogue. Imran Khan said having a direct route to the Central Asian region will economically benefit India. Central Asia is rich in oil and gas. Central Asia, in the modern context, generally includes five resource-rich countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. General Bajwa also said peace between Pakistan and India would help to “unlock the potential of South and Central Asia” by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia. Though, both Prime Minister Khan and Gen Bajwa didn’t specify the minimum steps that India should take but many experts in Pakistan believe that some positive measures in Kashmir could ease pressure on the Pakistan government before entering into talks or restoring the normal diplomatic ties.

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Saturday, March 20, 2021 Variants could dash BC hopes for indoor religious services, experts say From page 1 number of cases grew to 921 on Tuesday. “What we’re doing is not enough to stop the spread of the new variant — nowhere close, it’s doubling so fast,” Otto said. “It’s just a couple more weeks of doubling before we see a spike in cases in the province. “I don’t know what they’ll have to do in order to bend that curve down, but I predict more indoor restrictions.” Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday that she has received advice from an expert panel and will soon allow small outdoor religious services, including at Easter and Passover. The province is also working on a phased reopening of indoor services. She said she is “hopeful” that indoor services will resume in mid-April, but the timelines are flexible based on transmission levels and the advice of the panel led by Robert Daum, an adjunct professor of religious studies at UBC. Henry has also said sports could return in the coming weeks. She has already announced that groups of up to 10 people can gather outside, as long as people who are not from the same household remain physically distanced. The loosening of restrictions comes as the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases in B.C. stands at 543, an increase from 408 a month ago on Feb. 17. The province is also in the early

Surrey Police hires three more inspectors From page 1

With more than 28 years of experience, Rodrigue has served with both the Vancouver Police Department and RCMP, playing an “instrumental role with the formation of the Surrey Gang Enforcement Team.” He is currently a district inspector with the Canadian Pacific Police Service, where he oversees police operations and logistics of five departments. The SPS release adds the department is now in the process of hiring officers for sergeant and staff sergeant positions. For more information, visit surreypolice.ca/careers.

Surrey city council approves design contract for 84th Avenu connection The road will cost $12.25 million to build. Surrey council is making haste to punch an extension of 84th Avenue, from King George Boulevard to 140th Street, through a hydro rightof-way at the southern end of Bear Creek Park. But there’s a wide gulf on council about the pros and cons of this project, which had been abandoned by a former council in 2007. The project received both bouquets and brickbats from supporters and opponents on council during debate on Monday. “There is big support – big support for this – in our community,” Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum said. “Certainly I have received unbelievable support for this.” McCallum said the project will help ease traffic problems at nearby 88th Avenue and King George Boulevard.

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stages of vaccinating its general population, with people over 90 and Indigenous people over 65 getting their shots this week. Otto said allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people might be a “risk worth taking” while the vaccine rollout continues, given that the possibility of transmission outside is low, as long as people wear masks and avoid crowds. She also said she hasn’t heard of any super-spreader events linked to outdoor sports. However, Otto said she doubts that indoor religious services will return in the coming weeks. She predicted that the variants would drive a spike in cases and hospitalizations in two weeks, with only a moderate rise in deaths because the oldest members of B.C.’s population will have been vaccinated.

8 From page 1

Saturday, March 20, 2021 Why Indians should call out western world’s vaccine hypocrisy during a pandemic

population. Since early January, India has exported doses of vaccine to over 70 countries around the world. A number of poorer nations, including several of our neighbours, have received these doses free of cost. In fact, India has already exported nearly 5.84 crore doses of vaccine, in contrast to the slightly over 3 crore doses used at home. India is serving the world instead of lecturing. If this is Hindu nationalism, does the world need less of it or more? The United States is the richest and most powerful nation on earth, run by a supposedly ‘liberal’ government. How many doses has it given away? That would be zero. Canada, their friendly next-door neighbour, is struggling to vaccinate its people. Yet, whatever Justin Trudeau thinks about our record on freedom of expression, he had to call India for help instead of his close friends in the US. Right now, a bitter fight has broken out among rich western nations over who gets the vaccine first. The European Union is threatening to block vaccine exports to the UK. The EU may have a point. While the UK has been number one in receiving (mostly Pfizer) vaccines from the EU, very few doses of the UK-made AstraZeneca vaccine have flowed back to the EU. Meanwhile, the Australians had ordered (and already paid for) a million doses of vaccine from Europe. The Australians intended to give these vaccines away to their neighbour Papua New Guinea, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. The EU has blocked the export. There are no words strong enough to describe how mean-spirited this is. Incidentally, the World Health Organization had set up a global fund intended to help poor countries with their vaccination programmes. Richer nations were supposed to contribute, while the less developed ones would draw from it. This is the international pool from which

Pakistan will receive 45 million doses of vaccine made in India. While every nation is technically a member, the global pool was supposed to operate on the lines of an honour system. Or, so they thought. Instead, Canada and New Zealand dipped their hands into the pot and made away with it. We have all seen their concern for human rights. What about their humanity? Not so much. Bear in mind that the administrations of Canada and New Zealand have numerous admirers around the world, including many vocal sections here in India. On the other hand, India had appealed that in view of the truly unprecedented global situation, countries around the world should temporarily suspend intellectual property rights with regards to the vaccine. The West would not hear of it. It is time for Indians everywhere to recognize that there is something fundamentally good about our country. We may be ranked very poorly on fictitious indices set by Freedom House or some institute based in Sweden, but when it comes to helping human beings, we are ranked number one. This is a product of our Indian values. We should not hesitate to announce this loudly to the whole world. This is a form of Indian exceptionalism, if you will. Why are the rich nations of the West fighting with each other over vaccine? These are all democratic countries. Their governments are simply catering to popular sentiments. Our sentiments are different because we Indians just think differently. The values enshrined in our civilization are—to wish good health and prosperity on everyone, not just ourselves, or ‘Sarve bhavantu sukhina, Sarve santu niraamaya.’ These values are not just different. They are better. This is not to spite anyone nor insult any other nation or culture. But Indians everywhere, including the diaspora, have a duty to recognize the once-in-a-century opportunity to project India’s soft power across the world.

Canada suffers slowest population growth since World War I Canada’s population grew last year at the slowest pace in more than a century as COVID-related restrictions curbed immigration. The nation’s population rose by just 0.4 per cent in 2020 to 38,048,738, Statistics Canada reported Thursday in Ottawa. That was the slowest annual growth since 1916, during World War I. In absolute numbers, the 149,461 annual increase was the smallest since 1945. A drop in international migration from closed borders was the main contributor. Canada recorded 184,624 immigrants in 2020, down by almost half from 2019. Also, more non-permanent residents left the country last year than came in, resulting in a loss of 86,535 people. That’s the largest net loss of foreign residents such as workers and students on record. Over the past five years, immigration has accounted for more than three quarters of Canada’s total population growth but that figure dropped to 58 per cent in 2020. Immigration has been a key pillar of the country’s overall economic growth, impacting everything from the housing market to banking services. The number of deaths last year also increased to a record, surpassing 300,000 for the first time in the country’s history. COVID-19 was responsible for one in 20 deaths, the report said. The natural rate increase in population — the difference between births and deaths — also fell to 62,834, the smallest increase since at least 1922. Strong population growth in Canada is halted by the pandemic “Safely resuming population flows is critical to

Canada’s recovery from Covid-19,” Marc Desormeaux, an economist at Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto, said by email. Immigration numbers started to tick up again at the start of 2021, he added. “It’s just one month of data, and not every province has seen as much of an improvement, but it’s still encouraging.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has prioritized immigration, seeing it as necessary to counter the impact of aging demographics on the labor force. This year, the government is targeting 401,000 permanent residents to make up for missing its 2020 goal of 341,000 due to the pandemic. With borders closed to all non-essential travel since last March, the government is now focused on converting temporary residents -- foreign workers and international students -to permanent ones. While January numbers suggest that effort is off to successful start, it’s still early days. “I don’t think we’ll know until at least the summer what the full impact of the government’s recent push to dramatically increase permanent residents, and to what extent these will actually reflect an increase in the number of people as opposed to just a change of status,” Andrew Agopsowicz, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said by email. Population growth in Canada was also impacted by the deadly nature of the coronavirus. The number of deaths last year increased to a record, surpassing 300,000 for the first time in the country’s history. Covid-19 was responsible for one in 20, the statistics agency said. The natural increase in population -- the difference between births and deaths -- also fell to 62,834, the smallest increase since at least 1922.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

ICBC rebate cheques delayed due cyberattack on vendor Vehicle owners will have to wait a little longer for their ICBC rebate cheques because of a cyberattack. The Crown corporation was planning on sending cheques this week, but said a vendor hired to print and distribute the cheques was hacked. ICBC said information given to the vendor is limited to customer names, addresses and the amount on their rebate cheques. The corporation said there is no indication any information was obtained.

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ICBC did not confirm when the cheques will be sent out, only saying the delay should be minimal. Last month, the provincial g ov e r n m e nt said ICBC customers will a one-time rebate averaging $190. rebates were offered after saved $600 million due to a decrease in crashes and costs to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday, March 20, 2021 Covid-19 outbreak at British Columbia long-term care home includes vaccinated residents

An outbreak continues to grow at Kelowna’s Cottonwoods Care Centre as 23 people have now tested positive for COVID-19. Three staff members and 20 residents have so far tested positive at the facility where vaccines had already been offered. It’s believed the outbreak started in a short-stay unit, where people may be placed between time in hospital and long-term care. Last week, Interior Health revealed roughly 65 per cent of staff at the care centre had received a shot, leaving about 35 per cent of staff unvaccinated, despite the rollout starting at the facility in December. The health authority did not share how many workers at the facility may have refused the vaccine, or for what reasons. Roughly 82 per cent of residents at the large facility had received a vaccine by Feb. 15. When the outbreak was announced last week, Dr. Bonnie Henry said it served as a reminder that vaccines won’t stop all transmission, but will help prevent serious illness and death. “We need to be mindful right now when we still have high levels of transmission in our communities,

how important it is to continue those precautions particularly with older people and in care homes,” she said at the time. Interior Health conducted broad surveillance testing last week on residents and employees who had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic. The health authority says this is part of ongoing measures to control the spread of the virus and that the latest cases don’t represent a single-day spike, but an increase over time since a previous report. “Finding additional cases is not unexpected as we are conducting surveillance testing of residents and staff as part of the outbreak measures to ensure we limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Albert de Villiers, Interior Health’s chief medical officer, in a news release. “Vaccines remain an effective tool for fighting the pandemic and I encourage everyone to book an appointment when they are eligible.” Interior Health also says efforts to boost vaccination rates at Cottonwoods are ongoing, despite the current outbreak.

BC increases welfare and disability assistance by $175 per month The British Columbia government is increasing disability and income assistance rates by $175 per month, but is falling short of making the $300-per-month COVID-19 boost permanent. Social Development Minister Nicholas Simons said Tuesday the increase will cost about $400 million per year and benefit more than 300,000 people. It’s the largest ever permanent hike to income assistance and disability assistance rates in the province and will be applied starting in April. “This past year has been challenging for everyone, and especially so for those British Columbians already relying on assistance to make ends meet,” Simons said. “Now that we are seeing signs of some economic recovery from COVID-19, it’s essential we provide the stability of a permanent rate increase for people and families, including 49,000 children who live in poverty.” The province is also raising the seniors’ assistance supplement, by $50 a month per resident, for the first time since 1987. This lifts the maximum rate for a single person from $49.30 to $99.30 per month and benefits up to 20,000 more low-income

seniors. The temporary $300-permonth disability and income assistance benefit to help recipients deal with the pandemic expired in December. Eligible British Columbians can still access the COVID-19 Recovery Benefit, which helps people based on income. “This increase — the largest that people on income assistance and disability assistance have seen – is a critical piece in working toward the fulfilment of our province’s poverty reduction goals,” Together Against Poverty Society executive director Doug King said. As of April 1, a single person on income assistance will receive $935 per month and a single person on disability assistance will receive $1,358.42. A couple on income assistance will receive $1,427.22 per month and a couple on disability assistance will receive $1,947.56, after increases of $350 per month. A single parent with one child will receive $1,270.58 if on income assistance and $1,694.08 if on disability assistance, plus up to $697 in federal and provincial child benefits.

Random attack on dog walker under investigation; Vancouver police release video of suspect A random attack on a dog walker in downtown Vancouver is under investigation, local police say, and officers have released video of a suspect. In a news release Thursday, the Vancouver Police Department said the alleged attack happened on Jan. 19 at about 4:20 p.m. Officers say a 22-year-old woman was walking a dog near the Orpheum Theatre at Seymour and Smithe streets “when she was punched in the face by a man for no apparent reason.” Police say the suspect fled and a witness briefly confronted him. The video released Thursday shows two men walking. One man is highlighted in the video and he’s wearing a blue zip-up jacket, light blue jeans and dark shoes. He is also wearing a pale blue face mask and has short, grey hair. In their news release, police say

the video is of the suspect and they’re hoping to identify him. Police say the suspect appears to be about 50 years old and is around 5’10”. “VPD investigators have been working to solve this crime since it occurred in January, but we have not been able to identify the person responsible,” said Sgt. Steve Addison in the release, calling the incident “very concerning.” “We’re asking people to take a good look at the person in this video and to give us a call if you know who it is.” The woman was traumatized but wasn’t seriously injured physically, police say. “We don’t know why this woman was targeted, or what the suspect’s motivation was,” Addison said. Anyone with information should call 604717-4021. Tips can also be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Teachers, grocery store workers, first responders next in line for AstraZeneca vaccine dose in BC As BC’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout continues, the province’s top health officials and premier revealed who is next in line to receive a dose in the province including teachers, grocery store employees and child-care workers. Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix was joined in a news conference Thursday by Premier John Horgan and Dr. Penny Ballem, who is the executive lead of B.C.’s immunization rollout team. In the update, Henry explained the rollout plan for the AstraZeneca vaccine for the next few weeks. Unlike the Moderna and Pfizer doses, the top doctor had previously said that specific industries would be targeted for AstraZeneca first, especially where there’s a greater risk of outbreaks. On Thursday, Henry said the following groups would start receiving their first dose of AstraZeneca starting in April: “Our age-based rollout is ahead of schedule and with the AstraZeneca/SII supply arriving, we can protect people working in specific, front-line industries,” Dix said in a news release. “Following the latest science and data to identify high-risk industries or critical services will allow us to protect even more people from COVID-19, which in turn, gives our entire communities and our province greater protection from the virus.” Those groups are in addition to what was announced earlier this week by Henry. Those groups include employees at food processing plants, agricultural operations with congregate

living arrangements and large industrial camps. “The workplaces that we’re talking about are ones where we have large numbers of people … where there’s ongoing risk,” Henry said. “They’re not the workplaces that are small.” The health ministry says booking arrangements for front-line workers will be set up in the coming weeks and will be communicated to each sector. Workers identified as “front-line” and prioritized for an AstraZeneca dose should not call in to regional health authorities right now. “We’re looking at a bounty of vaccine, which is a remarkable opportunity,” Ballem said, estimatingthataboutaquarterofB.C.’spopulation will be vaccinated by the end of next month. “We’re working very hard to respond to that and move up our population and accelerate their protection.” Henry and Ballem also announced the age-based distribution of vaccines is also accelerating. The next groups eligible are: age 79 and Indigenous peoples 55 and older - Saturday, March 20 at noon age 78 - Monday, March 22 at noon age 77 - Tuesday, March 23 at noon age 76 - Thursday, March 25 at noon age 75 - Saturday, March 27 at noon All other ages have also been moved up in the schedule as well. Phase 3 includes people aged 79 to 60, in five-year increments: 79 to 75 (April) - 74 to 70 (April) - 69 to 65 (April) - 64 to 60 (April/ May) People aged 69 to 16 who are clinically extremely vulnerable (March/April)Then, Phase 4 will begin in May

Continued on page 13

Saturday, March 20, 2021

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LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Suspected impaired driver crashes into Surrey RCMP cruiser on Hwy 99 during shooting roadblock A suspected impaired driver was taken into custody Monday night after crashing into a parked RCMP cruiser on Highway 99 in Surrey. The collision happened after 10 p.m. just west of the Highway 91 interchange, in the eastbound lanes. The police cruiser was part of a road closure relating to an earlier shooting that had happened on Highway 99.

The officer and driver of the vehicle received non-life-threatening injuries. The driver was also arrested for the impaired operation of a motor vehicle. That person has now been released from custody and the investigation is ongoing, RCMP confirmed. Apart from the collision, it is believed the impaired driving arrest and the shooting investigation are not related.

Teachers, grocery store workers, first responders next in line for the vaccine From page 11 Phase 4 will begin in May and includes people aged 59 to 18, in five-year increments: People aged 59 to 18, in five-year increments: 59 to 55 (May) 54 to 50 (May) 49 to 45 (May) 44 to 40 (May/June) 39 to 35 (May/ June)

34 to 30 (June 29 to 25 (June) 24 to 18 (June) Health officials said an online booking system for vaccine appointments will launch on April 6. Until then, call centres are still being used but Ballem said wait times on those phone lines have nearly disappeared.

‘We really had to change everything’: Surrey schools continue to adapt to Covid-19 changes A year ago Wednesday, the province suspended in-class learning indefinitely less than a week after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, and just as students and staff across B.C. were starting their spring break. “To say it was a scramble is really an underestimation of what it was like,” said LA. Matheson Secondary teacher Annie Ohana, adding that on the last day before spring break, the high school was on lockdown when a staff member was stabbed. “We were in a very different headspace.” Ohana, who teaches social studies, said it was “tumultuous” at the start. “We really had to change everything. The curriculum we taught, things we had to cut out, learning all kinds of new systems that we really hadn’t been using as much before,” she said.

“But it really was, how do we come together as a staff to really understand what we’re trying to do, but with the really real understanding that with all these adaptations, the biggest thing we had to adapt to was the fear and the anxiety that Covid-19 was causing ourselves and our students.” Beyond the curriculum, Ohana said staff had to figure out how to connect virtually with students that were really fearful. “So all of that, and by the way, we want you to teach. “That was just March.” Surrey school district Superintendent Jordan Tinney said he doesn’t think people look back and realize the scope of changes on schools.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Why is BC one of the few provinces not using pharmacies for Covid-19 vaccinations? The head of one of Canada’s largest pharmacy companies is asking the B.C. government to speed up the process to utilize them for COVID-19 vaccinations. Shoppers Drug Mart president Jeff Leger said he appreciates the work government is doing to vaccinate British Columbians but they aren’t taking full advantage of the resources at their disposal. “This channel could do a lot as more volume comes into the country,” Leger said. “There are 10,000 pharmacies in Canada and we think there are two to three million doses that could be administered per week.” Alberta has been using pharmacies for immunizations since the beginning of March.

Ontario started using pharmacies last week and in Montreal registrations started on Monday for vaccination appointments at pharmacies. There are almost 1,400 pharmacists in B.C. and most people in the province live within a 10-minute drive of one. Leger said using pharmacies could help address some concerns around vaccine hesitancy. “We have millions of customers who use our stores, who know the pharmacists… it is an element of trust,” he said. More than one million people in B.C. received a flu shot in pharmacies in the fall.

Vancouver City Council, TransLink nominated for most ‘government waste’ The Canadian Taxpayers Federation today held its 23rd annual Teddy Waste Awards ceremony and a couple of Metro Vancouver institutions were included in the nominations. The Teddy Waste Awards celebrate the “best of the worst in government waste uncovered in the past year” and this year the ceremony was held in a virtual presentation. The Teddy, a pig-shaped award given annually by the CTF to government’s worst waste offenders, is named for Ted Weatherill, a former federal appointee who was fired in 1999 for submitting a panoply of dubious

expense claims, including a $700 lunch for two. Vancouver City Council was nominated for spending a staggering $316,000 on designer office furniture at the same time Mayor Kennedy Stewart publicly complained that the city was facing a COVID-related cash crunch. A shipment of Herman Miller Furniture chairs, which typically sell for more than $1,000 each, were spotted being hauled into city premises at 453 West 12 Ave in the fall of 2020. TransLink was also included in the roundup of wasteful nominees for reversing the pay cuts agency executives took in the spring of 2020.

Why is BC one of the few provinces not using pharmacies for Covid-19 vaccinations? The head of one of Canada’s largest pharmacy companies is asking the B.C. government to speed up the process to utilize them for COVID-19 vaccinations. Shoppers Drug Mart president Jeff Leger said he appreciates the work government is doing to vaccinate British Columbians but they aren’t taking full advantage of the resources at their disposal. “This channel could do a lot as more volume comes into the country,” Leger told Global News. “There are 10,000 pharmacies in Canada and we think there are two to three million doses that could be administered per week.”

Alberta has been using pharmacies for immunizations since the beginning of March. Ontario started using pharmacies last week and in Montreal registrations started on Monday for vaccination appointments at pharmacies. There are almost 1,400 pharmacists in B.C. and most people in the province live within a 10-minute drive of one. Leger said using pharmacies could help address some concerns around vaccine hesitancy. “We have millions of customers who use our stores, who know the pharmacists… it is an element of trust,” he said.

Sturdy raises the importance of food security in the midst of pandemic Press release This week West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA is an issue that every grower faces. Believe Jordan Sturdy emphasized the importance me, as an elected official, I have heard a great of British Columbia’s food security in the deal from growers ever since this current midst of the pandemic: “As you may be government was elected four years ago. As aware, I’ve long been a vegetable and berry the hon. member opposite is no doubt aware, grower, along with producing some proteins, agricultural producers have been consistently and am required to make forecast choices weighed down by increasing regulation at the beginning of the season if I am to be and, frankly, a crushing tax burden.” successful in getting product to market. This

Sturdy raises the importance of food security in the midst of pandemic Press release getting product to market. This is an issue that every grower faces. Believe me, as an elected official, I have heard a great deal from growers ever since this current government was elected four years ago. As the hon. member opposite is no doubt aware, agricultural producers have been consistently weighed down by increasing regulation and, frankly, a crushing tax burden.”

This week West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy emphasized the importance of British Columbia’s food security in the midst of the pandemic: “As you may be aware, I’ve long been a vegetable and berry grower, along with producing some proteins, and am required to make forecast choices at the beginning of the season if I am to be successful in

NATIONAL

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Housing markets set records in February: CREA Low mortgage rates, a lack of inventory, and a shift in preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic helped propel Canada’s housing market to yet another record month in February. Prices, as measured by the MLS Home Price Index were up a record 3.3 per cent month-over-month according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Sales were also up a record 6.6 per cent led by the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

and other Ontario markets along with Calgary, and a number of B.C. markets. Montreal saw a slowdown as new listings fell. Compared to last year, sales jumped 39.5 per cent for the busiest February on record by a wide margin. The MLS Home Price Index is up 17.3 per cent for the biggest gain since April 2017 The largest year-over-year prices gains (more than 35 per cent) were in the Lakelands region of Ontario cottage country, Tillsonburg District and Woodstock-Ingersoll. Barrie, Niagara, Bancroft and Area, Grey-Bruce Owen Sound, Kawartha

Lakes, London & St. Thomas, North Bay, Northumberland Hills, Quinte & District, Simcoe & District and Southern Georgian Bay were up between 30 and 35 per cent. “The two big challenges that continue facing Canadian housing markets are the same ones we’ve been facing for months – COVID-19 and a lack of supply,” said CREA chair Costa Poulopoulos. “With luck, potential sellers will feel more comfortable listing their homes in the short-term. A housing supply and d e m a n d imbalance S u p p l y constraints did ease in February with the number of newly listed homes rebounding by 15.7 per cent, but CREA says everything that becomes available sells. The national sales-to-new listings ratio dropped to 84 per cent from 91.2 per cent in January, but is still the second-highest on record. Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, says even though prices are rising rapidly, the imbalance means the current market isn’t good for realtors because there are so few listings available. He says representing clients who get caught up in bidding wars is also costly because it’s a commission-based business

Moderna to begin Covid-19 vaccine trial on Canadian children as young as 6 months Moderna says clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine will include Canadian children, but experts say it’s unlikely students will receive one before the next school year in September. The company announced details of its Phase 2/3 study of Covid-19 earlier this week. It’s expected to involve 6,750 healthy pediatric participants aged six months to 12 years. Moderna says initial participants are based in the United States but that Canadian sites will be added as the trial progresses. The biotech company says it hasn’t yet chosen the Canadian sites, nor Canadian participants. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel says it’s an important age group to study. The trial will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of two doses given 28 days

apart. Participants will be followed for one year after the second vaccination. In addition to Moderna, Canada has approved vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and OxfordAstraZeneca for adult use, although the Pfizer product can be used by people as young as 16. Dr. Caroline Quach of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said Tuesday that she expected to see trial data from Pfizer involving 12-to-15-year-olds in two-to-three months. But she said she didn’t expect one would be ready and approved for Canadian children before the end of the year. AstraZeneca has also started a trial with younger age groups, while Johnson & Johnson is expected to run a vaccine trial involving teens this spring in Toronto and Burlington.

Total compensation may top $600K for ousted PHSA CEO who was on the job just 1 year The head of a B.C. health authority, who led the organization for just one year, can collect upwards of $595,750 for his time at the helm, with thousands more likely paid out in expenses and benefits. Documents obtained by CTV News Vancouver through a Freedom of Information request found Provincial Health Services Authority president and CEO, Benoit Morin, was hired at a salary of $352,000 per year with 7 weeks vacation (35 days per year). The position is described as requiring flexible hours, with overtime “not compensable,” according to the employment agreement. The agency describes its mandate as “a unique role in B.C.’s health authority system: to ensure that B.C. residents have access to a coordinated provincial network of high-quality, specialized health-care services.” Morin was removed from his position after a spending

scandal involving questionable expenses for PHSA offices and $7 million for respirators that didn’t meet minimum standards. The expenses prompted a two-month Ministry of Health investigation and probe by Ernst and Young. Morin was on the job from Feb. 3, 2020 to Feb. 9 of this year and is therefore entitled to nine months’ severance pay: $243,750. While the contract stipulates Morin has a duty to “actively seek and obtain employment,” making it possible the full amount may not have to be paid out, B.C.’s health minister had already revealed Morin will get a golden parachute. “He’s being fired, specifically – or dismissed, I should say – without cause, which means he will be receiving severance consistent with his contract, which is, I believe, about 9 months,” said Adrian Dix on Feb. 9. “I think there’s significant concerns. Clearly, PHSA believed there needs to be a change at the head of the organization and they did that today.”

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

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

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Saturday, March 20, 2021

Saturday, March 20, 2021 Advertorial

TELUS announces new brand promise: Let’s make the future friendly TELUS is evolving its brand promise and elevating its commitment to drive social change through the power of technology

As the global leader in social capitalism, today TELUS is announcing the evolution of its brand promise, ‘let’s make the future friendly’. Over the last two decades, TELUS’ brand promise of ‘the future is friendly’ has helped Canadians embrace new technologies like 4G LTE, 5G, Fibre, IoT, virtual health and artificial intelligence. As we continue to navigate a global health pandemic and experience significant social change, we want to work together with Canadians to continue to make a positive social impact. By placing an invitation at the heart of our new brand promise -- let’s make the future friendly -- we invite all Canadians to help create a friendlier future with us. Canadians will also see some exciting new changes to the brand’s iconic visual identity in advertising and communications. The lovable critters that Canadians have come to adore over the years will remain, but will appear more natural and authentic allowing their charm and beauty to shine. “For 20 years, we have been guided by our brand promise, the future is friendly, as we leverage the power of technology to create positive experiences and meaningful social outcomes for our customers, team members and communities around the world,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, TELUS. “The global pandemic and ongoing social injustices have prompted us to reflect on what is truly important, including the values we hold dear. TELUS remains passionate in our commitments to the many stakeholders we serve and more inspired than ever to embrace the incredible accomplishments that are possible when we come together to amplify the good we can do in helping our fellow citizens in need. Our refreshed brand promise, let’s make the future friendly, welcomes everyone to join us as we strive to make the world a better place.” At TELUS, we believe that our brand is a living embodiment of our values in action. For more than two decades, together with the support of our customers, team members and retirees in Canada and worldwide, TELUS has been driving social change and creating remarkable outcomes around the world for those who need it most: t 4JODF UIF 5&-64 UFBN IBT contributed $1.3 billion in value, time, and financial support to charities and grassroots community organizations in

Canada and in global communities where we operate, including $820 million and 1.6 million days of volunteerism. Last year alone, TELUS contributed $85 million -- 5 percent of its pre-tax profits -- in support of charitable organizations and community programs around the world. Each year, TELUS team members and retirees worldwide volunteer more than one million hours in their local communities and support more than 4,000 charities and community organizations. t 5&-64 MBVODIFE 5&-64 1PMMJOBUPS Fund for Good, a $100 million social impact investment fund created to power the biggest, boldest, bravest ideas in new responsible and sustainable startup businesses. One of the largest corporate impact funds in the world, the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good is fuelling greater social innovation in Canada through investments in companies that generate both financial and social returns benefiting our society. t 8JUI B EFTJSF UP JNQSPWF UIF HMPCBM GPPE system, we launched TELUS Agriculture, a new business dedicated to leveraging our world-leading technology to provide innovative solutions to support the agriculture industry to deliver better outcomes. t 5&-64 )FBMUI $BOBEB T MBSHFTU IFBMUI IT company, is revolutionizing access to healthcare and bringing care directly to Canadians. We have invested $3.2B over the past 10 years to help transform our healthcare system and with the support and guidance of a dedicated team of national medical experts, TELUS Health has brought essential virtual and digital healthcare capabilities to the industry, which was catapulted to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. t 8F BSF QSPVE UP SFBDI OFBSMZ NJMMJPO vulnerable Canadians every year through our Connecting For Good programs, which use technology to bridge digital divides and create meaningful change for Canadians in need. t -BTU ZFBS BT UIF HMPCBM QBOEFNJD gripped the world, TELUS sprang into action launching a number of initiatives to support millions of Canadians across the country, dedicating more than $150 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com follow us @TELUSNews on Twitter and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.

Mumbai sees highest 1-day Covid-19 surge since pandemic broke, 2877 new cases in 24 hrs Clocking its highest 1-day rise in COVID-19 cases since March 2020, Mumbai on Thursday, reported 2877 new cases and 8 new deaths. With 1193 new recoveries, the city’s cured tally rose to 3,21,947 cases. Currently, Mumbai has 3,52,835 cases of which 18,424 are active and 11,555 fatalities. To curb the daily surge in Maharashtra’s Covid-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided

to temporarily shift the Dadar wholesale vegetable and flower market, as decided in a meeting between Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar and other G North ward officials. This move occurred after several people were found crowding the markets, not wearing masks, and not following social distancing. A final decision on the issue will be taken by the Mayor after meeting members from the market association.

Investigation agency conducted search operation at police officer’s residence The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at the residence of suspended Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze in connection with the recovery of an explosives-laden SUV near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’’s house last month, an official said. A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted the searches at Sachin Waze’s place in

Saket area of neighbouring Thane city in Maharashtra in the afternoon, he said. “Later, another NIA team took Waze to his residence from Mumbai around 8 pm as part of the probe,” the agency official said. “The team, which took Waze to his house, was there for some time and left for Mumbai again,” he added.

Saturday, March 20, 2021 Tensions between Sikhs and Hindus simmer in Australia on the back of farmers’ protests in India

In the western Australian city Sydney ‘ssuburb of Harris Park, men armed with wooden bats and hammers attacked five Sikh students in their 20s who were driving home from dinner, on February 28. They escaped unhurt, though their car suffered severe damage. One of the victims told This Week in Asia he believed the group – clearly identifiable as followers of the Sikh religion because of their turbans and beards – had been targeted by supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi .The episode has cast a spotlight on growing tensions within the Indian community in Australia, following a pattern in countries across the world with a sizeable Indian diaspora, such as

Delhi most polluted among 22 of World’s most polluted cities in India

the United States.Analysts say one factor behind the situation is that Hindu nationalists around the world have been emboldened by the erosion of civil liberties among members of minority faith groups in Hindu-majority India, particularly Muslims. Another, they say, has been the demonstrations against the Modi government’s new farm laws by mostly Sikh farmers outside New Delhi, who have been accused by Indian police of having links to a movement rallying for an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan. “A couple of Sikh students have received calls from public phone booths [threatening] them with dire consequences if they don’t stop supporting farmers,” said the Sydney attack victim.

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Bangladesh, India and Pakistan share 42 of the 50 most polluted cities worldwide, the report revealed. New Delhi has been ranked as the world’s most polluted capital, said a new report by IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality. According to the report, India is home to 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities, with Delhi being the most polluted capital in the world. All Indian cities showed air quality improvements in 2020, owing to the pandemic-induced lockdown. Meanwhile, 63 percent Indian cities saw improvements compared to 2019, said the 2020 World Air Quality Report on Tuesday that was based

on the PM2.5 data from 106 countries. Twenty-one other cities includes Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Bisrakh Jalalpur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, Faridabad, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bandhwari, Gurugram, Yamuna Nagar, Rohtak and Dharuhera in Haryana, and Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The report revealed that Xinjiang in China was the world’s most polluted city, followed by Ghaziabad in the second spot and then Bulandshahr, Bisrakh Jalalpur, Noida, Greater Noida, Kanpur, Lucknow and Bhiwadi.

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Saturday, March 20, 2021

INDIA

BJP MP from Himachal, found dead at his Delhi residence BharatiyaJanataParty (BJP)MPfromHimachal Pradesh Ram Swaroop Sharma was found dead at his residence in Delhi on Wednesday, police said. The circumstances of the death are in the initial stages of investigation, police added. “It looks like a case of suicide, but we are continuing to probe. We’ll know better once we have the autopsy report and have questioned people,” said Chinmoy Biswal, Delhi Police spokesperson. Born at Jalpehar village in Mandi on June 10, 1958, Sharma was a two-time MP from the district. He was elected to the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019, respectively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the ‘untimely’ death of the leader and praised him for working tirelessly for the betterment of society. “Shri Ram Swaroop Sharma was a dedicated leader, who was always committed to solving people’s problems. He worked tirelessly for the betterment of society. Pained by his untimely and unfortunate demise. My thoughts are with his family and supporters in this sad hour. Om Shanti,” PM Modi tweeted.

India plans to cut Saudi oil import as stand-off escalates India’s state-owned refiners are planning to cut oil imports from Saudi Arabia by about a quarter in May, in an escalating stand-off with Riyadh following OPEC’s decision to ignore calls from New Delhi to help the global economy with higher supply. Two sources familiar with the discussions said the move was part of the government’s drive to cut dependence on crude from the Middle East. Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd are preparing to lift about 10.8 million barrels in May, the sources said on condition of anonymity. State refiners, which control about 60% of 5 million barrels per day (bpd) refining capacity, together import an average 14.7-14.8 million barrels of Saudi oil in a month, the sources said. India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, imports more than 80% of its oil needs and relies heavily on the Middle East. Hit hard by rising oil prices, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has repeatedly called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, to ease supply curbs.

INDIA

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Plea against attempt to remove signs of Lord Krishna temple in Mathura Mathura court admitted a plea alleging an attempt to remove signs of a temple from a mosque claimed to have been built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna within the premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple here. The plea was filed by a temple priest, apprehending removal of signs of the temple by officebearers of the Shahi Idgah mosque, District Government Counsel Sanjai Gaur said. The court has entertained the application

as part of a suit, demanding the annulment of a 1967 court ruling ratifying a land deal between the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and Shahi Idgah Management Committee, allowing the existence of the mosque near the temple. The suit was filed by Pawan Kumar Shastri, the priest of the Keshav Dev temple on February 2. The next hearing in the case is on April 8.

PAN-Aadhaar linking to avoiding double taxation The government had extended the deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar to March 31 2021 from the previous deadline of June 30 2020 due to the outbreak of the pandemic. In case the PAN is not linked to the Aadhaar by March 31 2021, then the PAN will become inoperative on April 1 2021. In case you link your Aadhaar with the PAN after the same becomes

inoperative, then it will become operative from the date of linking. Filing declaration: The CBDT had asked the foreign nations and NRIs facing double taxation on income earner in FY 2020-21 due to forced stay in India due to coronavirus to file the information by March 31 2021. Individuals facing double taxation even after taking into consideration the relief provided by the DTAAs, can submit

BJP paid Rs 7 crore to buy a film star, claims Bengal actress Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra alleged that BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) offered to pay Rs 7 crore to rope in a famous star ahead of the Bengal Assembly elections. She made these allegations on social media. The post has, since, gone viral. The post by Sreelekha, who is a supporter of Leftist ideology, has not gone down well with many. Actor and BJP member Rimjhim Mitra had challenged

Sreelekha to reveal the identity of the actor. Later on, Sreelekha wrote that she will soon release the name along with the evidence. To which, Rimjhim replied that if Sreelekha isn’t able to come up with something substantial, her party will take legal action against her. The election in West Bengal will be held in eight phases starting 27 March and end with the final round of voting on 29 April. Meanwhile, votes will be counted on 2 May.

Record highest daily spike in Covid-19 cases this year: Gov’t India recorded its highest daily tally of coronavirus cases this year with 28,903 new infections, taking the total COVID-19 tally to 1,14,38,734, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated today. The number of deaths increased to 1,59,044 with 188 new fatalities, the highest in around two months, the data updated at 8 am showed. Registering an increase for the seventh day in a row, the total active caseload has increased to 2,34,406 which now comprises 2.05 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.56 per cent, the data stated. As many as 30,254 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 13. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,45,284, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.39 per cent, the data stated.

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Woman dies after being slapped by her son

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Over a month after the comprehensive golocal strategy by Jeep brand was announced, Jeep India has today launched the locally assembled Wrangler in the country. Prices for the Madein-India 2021 Jeep Wrangler starts at Rs 53.90 Lakh (ex-showroom). The new Wrangler is available in two variants – Wrangler Unlimited and off-road focus Wrangler Rubicon which is priced at Rs 57.90 Lakh (Ex-showroom). The production for the locally-assembled 2021 Jeep Wrangler commenced at its Ranjangaon joint venture manufacturing facility on February 23. The pre-booking for the 2021 Jeep Wrangler also commenced on February 23 with the start of the local production in 26 dealerships across the country. Jeep India is also offering exclusive curated trail experience to its Wrangler buyers, much like the ones in the US.

A 76-year-old woman died after she was slapped by her son following an argument between them in Dwarka, the police said. In the CCTV footage of the incident occurred on Monday afternoon, the woman, can be seen being slapped by her son on the face, after which she became unconscious and fell on the ground. After the video emerged, the police registered a case against her 45-yearold son under section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Bindapur police station and arrested him. According to the police, before the incident, there was an argument between the woman and one of her neighbour over parking vehicles. A PCR call was also made by the neighbour, but when the police reached the spot, the complainant told them that the issue was sorted out and she did not want to pursue the matter anymore.

FIJI

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Punjab 38 die in Punjab as India sees highest one-day Covid-19 cases India recorded its highest daily tally of coronavirus cases this year with 28,903 new infections, taking the total COVID-19 tally to 1,14,38,734, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll increased to 1,59,044 with 188 new fatalities, the highest in around two months, the data updated at 8 am showed. Registering an increase for the seventh day in a row, the total active

caseload has increased to 2,34,406 which now comprises 2.05 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.56 per cent, the data stated. As many as 30,254 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 13. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,45,284, while the case fatality rate has dropped to 1.39 per cent, the data stated.

Suspect arrested after girl shot dead in Moga A girl was killed and another seriously injured after they were reportedly shot at from point-blank range with a revolver in a car at Manuke village in Nihalsinghwala sub-division of the Moga district on Thursday evening, police sources said. The suspect identified as Gurveer Singh, son of Jagdev Singh, a resident of Sekha Khurd village, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of an Alto car, was later arrested from Ludhiana district. The car

used in the crime has been recovered from him. The weapon has also been recovered, the local police officials confirmed. Moving metres away from the bus stand, Gurveer Singh allegedly pushed out one of the girls sitting on the front seat by opening the window of the car. The other girl sitting on the rear seat opened the window of the car and fell down in a bid to escape when he pointed a revolver and fired at her, eye-witnesses said.

CM Amarinder asks Cenral gov’t to forget ego & scrap farmers’ law Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged the Centre to leave its ego, scrap the three farm legislation and bring in new laws after fresh discussions with farmers. Singh was addressing the media on the completion of four years of his government. “Bring new bills after discussion with farmers. Sit with them, talk to them and then bring a new bill. Why are you sitting

on prestige and ego,” he asked the Centre. Referring to the amendment bills passed by the state assembly last year to “negate” the Centre’s farm laws, Singh said, “We will go to the Supreme Court if the President does not give assent to the state amendment bills.” The Chief Minister, however, noted that the amendment bills are yet to be forwarded to the President by the governor of Punjab.

Pakistan Covid-19 pandemic smart lockdown in most hit areas Gov’t imposed smart lockdowns in areas worst hit by Covid-19 as the country recorded sharp increase in Covid-19 cases. All markets, shopping malls, offices, and restaurants will remain closed in the areas of smart lockdown. However, hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, bakeries, milk & meat shops will be allowed to remain open. Smart lockdowns are imposed in Punjab’s Gujrat, Sialkot, and Hafizabad areas, which will remain in effect till March 30 in Gujrat, March 24 in Sialkot and March 26 in Hafizabad.

Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said “We have to save more people from the danger of being infected. The coronavirus is spreading rapidly because of not taking precautions,” Rashid said. Minister for Planning Asad Umar, who is also head of National Command and Control Centre that deals with the pandemic, warned that stricter restrictions on activities might be enforced if the compliance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) did not improve.

Peace with Pakistan will give India access to Central Asia - Imran Khan Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Wednesday said India would be benefited economically by having peace with his country as it would enable New Delhi to directly access the resource-rich Central Asia region through Pakistani territory. Delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the two-day Islamabad Security Dialogue, Khan said his government after

coming to power in 2018 did everything for better ties with India and it was for India to reciprocate. “India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much,” he said. Central Asia, in the modern context, generally includes five resource-rich countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Food security, climate change part of national security: PM “Any country could be secure only when all people believe in its government and own their country. The army alone can’t secure a country,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Islamabad Security Dialogue. “The national security means that the entire nation stands and has a stake to save the country,” the premier said. “We see the national security from just

one point that is the more we will strengthen our security forces and army, the more secure we will be. But, now we are realising that the national security is about things that no-one ever thought of in the past such as climate change,” the prime minister said. “Climate change is something that can overshadow all given Pakistan’s vulnerability to it,” he pointed out. “I am proud that our government took action over this,” he added.

Imran Khan gov’t incapable of running country - Supreme Court Pakistan’s Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure with the Imran Khan government, saying it was incapable of running the country or taking decisions. Hearing the local bodies case, a two-judge bench, headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa and

comprising Justice Sardar Tariq, expressing annoyance over the issuance of an ordinance on delimitation of constituencies by the Punjab government, referred the matter to the Chief Justice, the Express Tribune, Pakistan, reported.

National Kidney Centre opens in Nadera Good news for Fijians with any form of kidney diseases or relatives of those suffering from this disease as the National Kidney Centre in Nadera was opened today. While opening the new dialysis centre, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says this centre will provide dialysis treatment to approximately 40 patients a week with 180 dialysis sessions.

Bainimarama says the treatment will also be directly subsidized by the government to ensure that it is available for all Fijians Bainimarama says Fijians suffer from noncommunicable diseases like diabetes at an unacceptable rate and that is one of the main reasons why the centre is in such high demand.

India will provide Fiji with AstraZeneca vaccines Good news as India will be providing a considerable number of the AstraZeneca vaccines to Fiji. This has been announced by the Acting Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, Sukanta Sahoo. Sahoo says this will be facilitated through the COVAX facility. COVAX is a partnership between the

World Health Organization and two international groups – the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations which aims to send vaccines to developing countries. He adds that more details will be announced soon.

ICU ready at Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital Work has been completed on the Intensive Care Unit at the Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Heart Hospital in Nasese. \Highly specialized equipment on the state of the art ICU has been installed by US Biomedical Engineer Roy Morris and his son, Sam. The hospital’s Director, Doctor Krupali

Tappoo says in the next few months, work is expected to be completed on the other wards. The entire project is expected to cost $25 million. When completed, the hospital will be run and operated by the Sai Prema Foundation in association with the Fijian

Fijian-Indians fight to be recognised as Pasifika, not Asians Fijian-Indians are facing an identity crisis and missing out on key support and opportunities in areas like education and health because they are being classified as Asians and not Pacific Islanders in New Zealand, a community leader says. Krish Naidu, president of the Fiji Girmit Foundation of NZ, said by not recognising Fijian- Indians as a Pacific community, the Government was disqualifying the community from sharing any of the resources

and support allocated to these communities. Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio, in a letter to Naidu last December, said that Statistics New Zealand’s specific classification for Fijian-Indians falls under “Asian” followed by an “Indian” sub-classification”, not Pacific peoples. Fiji Girmit Foundation of NZ president Krish Naidu says failure to recognise FijianIndians as a Pacific people is deeply distressing.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Indian cities can have intelligent growth, not become urban horrors like Gurugram, Mumbai There may be an opportunity before India to urbanise in a healthy, happy and profitable way, especially as we try to resolve the crisis created by Covid-19 pandemic in big towns and the farmers’ agitation in the countryside. This could be just the right window for the government to shed its hesitation in setting up greenfield towns by roping in farmers as partners, introducing a robust auditing framework and bringing on board builders as executors of such projects. The recent grant of Rs 8,000 crore by the Fifteenth Finance Commission to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to incubate eight new cities has come at just the right time. Given the positivities that such projects could generate, perhaps the only thing holding them back is lack of trust. Lack of trust between government and farmers, lack of trust between farmers and builders, lack of trust between the common public and builders. One way to deal with this would be to build cities as a straight expenditure procurement contract — the government assumes all the risk and pays for the project in instalments. This way, the farmers are under no pressure to look for builders who are willing to bear the risk. Such a strategy would also considerably lower the cost of the city. Once land cost and risk to the builder is zero, our estimate is that a greenfield township for five lakh people can conceivably be built at a cost of Rs 9000 crore. This cost would also include the cost of building 30,000 houses in the low-income category. It is only when the cost of risk is added, that infrastructure costs balloon ten times this amount. Still, this might not be enough. All farmers are not savvy, like the

Magarpatta people evidently were. They fear they would be taken for a ride. To assuage such fears, farmers could be offered the services of a consultancy firm they might like to hire for a given period, at government cost. If the government can hire knowledge partners, they can assist the farmers in doing so too. Builders and public: another key interface The third key interface is between the common public and builders. In real estate projects across the country, builders have squeezed every ounce of profit out of the project while sacrificing public utility services. If Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru are urban horrors today, much of the responsibility for the situation lies with such builders. It is rare to find a private township where 30 per cent of the space is devoted to urban amenities. Often, open spaces are easily converted to commercial use. This is the knottiest problem. The only way out is for the government to suggest the town plan, frame bye-laws and audit the project consistently. It could be argued that government auditors can be just as corrupt and can collude with builders. But then in societies, where it is believed that everyone can be suborned and no one has any morality to speak of, nothing works anyway. Developing small, modern townships as greenfield settlements can create intelligent, socially inclusive, green cities. Urbanisation that depended on densification and going vertical, made sense in a time when communication technologies were poor. In the day and age of connectivity, optic fibre cable and artificial intelligence, development models that suit such technologies make better sense. During lockdown, we saw how quickly companies switched to work-from-home.

Uttarakhand CM Says Women Wearing ‘Ripped Jeans’ Pave the Way for ‘Societal Breakdown’ Barely a week into office, newly sworn-in Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat found himself in a controversy after commenting during a child rights workshop on the kind of example “women wearing ripped jeans” set before the society and expressed his strong dislike for exposure of “bare knees” by children. The remarks by Rawat have been slammed by opposition leaders and women activists. Rawat made these comments while speaking at a workshop organised by the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun on Tuesday. According to the Times of India, Rawat said that ‘ripped jeans’ pave the way for ‘societal breakdown’ and are the result of ‘bad example’ set by parents. He said he was “shocked” to see a woman wearing ripped jeans running an NGO. He asked what kind of an example she would set before society when she meets people. “If this kind of woman goes out in the society to meet people and solve their problems, what kind of message are we giving out to society, to our kids? It all starts at home. What we do, our kids follow. A child who is taught the right culture at home, no matter how modern he becomes, will never fail in life,” Rawat said. Apart from women, Rawat also had a word of advice for children. He spoke of how he disliked the display of “bare knees” by them and how “we run towards nudity” when the West has been covering up and following India’s yoga. “Kaynchi se sanskaar (culture by scissors) – showing bare knees, wearing ripped denim and looking like rich kids – these are the values being given now. Where is this coming from,

if not at home? What is the fault of teachers or schools? Where am I taking my son, showing his knees and in tattered jeans? Girls are no less, showing their knees. Is this good?” he asked. “You’ve come to the university, and showing your body, what will happen?” Rawat said, while lecturing what women should (and should not) wear. Rawat was not alone at the workshop to speak his mind on the issue. A minister in his government, Ganesh Joshi, demanded that women should give priority to raising their children. “Women talk about all things they want to do in life, but the most important thing for them is to look after their family and children,” he demanded, according to NDTV. The remarks of the two BJP leaders have been criticised by opposition leaders and women activists alike. Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal, who was earlier advisor to Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, tweeted that Rawat was probably selected for the post because of this kind of the thought processes he possessed. She wondered if a leader with such “corrupt mentality” could represent the people well. “He is enjoying himself while commenting on how a woman close by should be looked at from bottom to top and is resorting to character assassination of women who wear ripped jeans,” she said. In another tweet, Maliwal remarked that the day was not far when Singh would probably impose Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on those wearing ripped jeans. Congress leader Sanjay Jha reacted strongly to Rawat’s statement and asked BJP if it endorsed these comments.

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Saturday, March 20, 2021