www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 39
Saturday, November 6, 2021
87-year-old South Asian woman becomes oldest person to receive master’s degree from York University She’s a mother of four, grandmother of seven, and now the oldest person to receive a master’s degree from York University. Varatha Shanmuganathan, 87, received her masters of arts from the Ontario university on Tuesday afternoon in a virtual convocation due to the pandemic.
“I am humble and proud,” she said. It’s actually Shanmuganathan’s second master’s degree, but although her achievement at this age may seem surprising to some, her family said it’s in line with the woman they know. “We’re very proud of her,” Continued on page 8
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Premier John Horgan says growth in throat is cancer He says he will need to start radiation treatment in the next couple of weeks, which will conclude near the end of December. Premier John Horgan said Thursday that the growth in his throat is cancerous and he will have to undergo radiation treatment. “The surgery and biopsy that were done last week were successful and I am grateful to the amazing health-care team for all the support I’ve received,” he said in a statement. “The pathology confirmed that the growth in my throat was cancerous.” Horgan stressed that his prognosis is good and he expects to make a full recovery. He will need to start radiation treatment in the next couple of weeks. The premier expects to have completed the treatment toward the end of December. Continued on page 3
Investigation against Hong Kong immigrant earning $40K/Yr bought $32M worth of real estate in Vancouver
Lest we forget
Lest We Forget
November 11, 1919
A man who was making $40,000 a year was flagged by authorities after purchasing $32 million of real estate in Vancouver. The Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. examined the man, who bought nine properties after $114 million was transferred from offshore accounts. According to a case study, the man reported a “steady annual income peaking at the CAD equivalent of $40,615,” and a family member
“was employed as a clerk with undisclosed income.” The document said that together they were able to amass the equivalent of $1.26 million to come to Canada from China. Authorities were alerted to possible money laundering when they noticed a discrepancy between the amount transferred and the amount of their income. The document said it was not only the man’s personal bank account that had suspicious transfers — he also used Continued on page 5
Elon Musk is willing to give UN $6 billion to fight world hunger — on one condition Elon Musk, whose net worth has ballooned by more than $140 billion this year, thanks largely to the skyrocketing value of his electric automaker — tweeted Sunday that he was willing to consider a proposal from a United Nations official who said that a $6 billion donation from one of the world’s wealthiest people could help stop world hunger. Last week, David
Beasley, the director of the UN’s World Food Programme, told CNN that it was time for the ultra-wealthy to “step up now, on a one-time basis” in order to “help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them.” He specifically mentioned Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the two richest men in the world.
Late Jassi Sidhu’s widower gives evidance in Punjab Court against his slain wife’s mother & uncle Jassi Sidhu was murdered while visiting the man she secretly married against the wishes of her family, her husband has appeared in a Punjab courtroom to give his testimony and be cross-examined as a witness in the case. This marked the first time Sukhwinder Singh, known as Mithu, was face to face with his slain wife’s mother and uncle since he and his wife were ambushed and attacked on June 8, 2000. Jassi’s mother, Malkit Kaur Sidhu and her maternal uncle, Surjit Singh Badesha, who were both extradited to India in 2019, are accused of ordering the killing of the 25-yearContinued on page 10
Deeply unfair’ to blame climate crisis on India and China, campaigners say Campaigners have condemned “deeply unfair” attempts to “shift blame” for the climate crisis onto middle-income countries including India and China. Global Justice Now, a British-based NGO campaigning for a just transition to a sustainable world, said today that, while India
and China have important climate action to take, rich countries have “a moral and historic obligation to act first.” The group pointed out that this country’s cumulative historic emissions per capita are 5.5 times higher than those of China and 20 times higher than India’s.
Global Justice Now called for Britain to “build trust” by making emissions cuts of its own, committing to contribute a fair share of climate finance and reforming the global trade system to prevent fossil fuel companies from “suing their way out of climate action.”