The Asian Star - May 30, 2020

www.theasianstar.com

Vol 19 - Issue 18

Saturday, May 30, 2020

‘Vancouver model’ specializes in mixing dirty money with funds moved out of China, inquiry hears Metro Vancouver appears to have developed an industry with the “sole purpose” of laundering money and moving cash across borders, a public inquiry heard Monday. Criminologist Stephen Schneider said that while criminal organizations have traditionally laundered the proceeds of crime as part of their broader operations, separate money service businesses are now facilitating them. “The whole sort of ‘Vancouver model’ revolves around professional money laundering,” said Schneider, an associate professor at St. Mary’s University in Halifax. Schneider made the comments to commissioner Austin Cullen as the first expert witness during the part of the inquiry dedicated to an overview of money laundering and regulatory models

Continued on page 6

China-India tensions mount as troop stand-offs along disputed border cause speculation to swirl Tensions at the border between India and China have spiked in recent weeks amid flurry of media reports pointing to a series of skirmishes and military build-up by both sides.

Neither countries’ leadership has issued an official comment on the stand-offs so far, which analysts say points to a shared desire not to heighten tensions further. Yet speculation has still been rife into the other side’s motives, with both trading allegations of attempted military incursions, bringing the seven-decade old border dispute between the two Asian giants firmly back into focus. According to Indian media reports, Indian and Chinese troops clashed in early May at two different sections of the Line of Actual Control that separates the two countries.

Continued on page 7

India’s worst locust attack in 26 years

Some families with members of dual-citizenship have become separated due to the pandemic . Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that the federal government is mulling over the idea of allowing U.S. border-closure exceptions for families split between the neighbouring countries. Due to COVID-19, border restrictions on travel between the U.S. and Canada have been in effect since mid-March. During his news conference outside Rideau Cottage on Friday (May 29), Trudeau told reporters that his government has received reports about families separated by the ongoing border closing to all but essential travel, specifically those with partners or children stuck in the U.S. because of work.

“We have taken unprecedented measures at U.S. border to prevent non-essential travel.. but there has been a numbers of stories in the media of families who have been separated because of dual citizenship,” Trudeau said.

Kerala-grown ‘superfood’ jackfruit goes global as a meat substitute Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in India’s south coast into the meatsubstitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West. Part of South Asia’s diet for centuries, jackfruit was so abundant that tonnes of it went to waste every year.

But now India, the world’s

Standing crops and vegetables in at least five states in the country face a major threat as swarms of locust have been reported a month in advance.

The Union environment ministry warned in a statement last week that locust swarms have entered Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. It said Rajasthan is the most affected state and added the swarm has entered the country earlier than expected. Uttar Pradesh has also reported the attacks and there is an alert for Maharashtra Continued on page 7

Surrey to pay TransLink $39M for cancelling LRT Surrey taxpayers will have to repay TransLink nearly $39 million for the work that was done on the Surrey-NewtonGuildford LRT project, which the present council cancelled after the 2018 civic election in favour of expanding SkyTrain. Councillor Steven Pettigrew pointed this out as council considered a city staff report on the city’s 2019 annual financial statements, during Monday’s “virtual” council meeting. “The city has to repay TransLink $38.8 million, and that the

Tel:604-591-5423

Feds looking at ways to reunite families amid COVID-19 border restrictions with USA

SkyTrain will only be going to Fleetwood – we all know that – but we were told that we would get SkyTrain to Langley for $1.6 billion, and we were also told that we would not have to repay TransLink, so that was misinformation,” Pettigrew noted.

Councillor Jack Hundial asked staff if cash has to be given back. Kam Grewal, Surrey’s general manager of finance, replied that about $9 million will be in cash and the rest in land.

biggest producer of jackfruit, is capitalising on its growing popularity as a “superfood” meat alternative -touted by chefs from San Francisco to London and Delhi for its pork-like texture when unripe.

“There are a lot of enquiries from abroad... At the international level, the interest in jackfruit has grown manifold,” Varghese

Continued on page 6

Not wearing a mask will cost you Rs 500 in Punjab If you are not wearing a mask, be ready to pay a fine of Rs 500 in Punjab. Coming down heavily on those who fail to comply with the COVID-19 guidelines, the state government on Friday notified penalties—ranging from Rs 500 to 3,000—for violations. Penalties for violating guidelines Rs 500: Spitting or not wearing a mask in public places Rs 2,000: Violation of social distancing norms by owners of shops/commercial places. Rs.3,000: Violation of social distancing norms by bus owners Rs.2,000: Violation of social distancing norms by car owners Rs 500: Violation of social distancing norms by auto-rickshaws/two-wheeler owners As per a notification issued by the Director, Health Services, those who don’t wear a mask in public places will

THINKING OF BUYING OR SELLING YOUR HOME ???

RAJDEEP SINGHH SEKHON B.A. (Hons.), MA., LLB

778 320 5359 59 SRS Panorama Realty

Suite #103 - 12030, 80 Ave, Continued on page 7 Surrey, BC

BRING US ANY OFFER, BRING US ANY TRADE IN! NEW PATHFINDER AWD LEATHER

swfy kol koeI vI Aw&r ilAwE, koeI vI tRf y ilAwE!

NAVIGATION PLUS ALLPOWER & LUXURY OPTIONS,7 PASS

$ 36,988

3 ONLY

NEW QASHQAI SUV 4X4 Intelligent AWD Moonroof •••Alloy Wheels Transmission ••Auto Rear Camera And Much More!

•

$ 24,988

NEW ROGUE SUV SAVE THOUSANDS

24,988

$

OVER 50 NEW & OVER 30 PRE-OWNED ROGUES ALL SALE PRICED!

GENUINE

2

Saturday, May 30, 2020

AT HONDA

e ciency comes

natural

From how we make it to how you drive it, we’ve continued our + year commitment to reducing our impact on the environment with our new and lineup. improved

CIVIC SEDAN

GET A

TOURING

PLUS LEASE FROM

.

HONDA BONUSβ

%

to help maximize performance and fuel-economy for increased efficiency and power CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION for optimal shifting and efficiency

Driven to reduce emissions since

TOURING

INSIGHT HYBRID

LEASE FROM

.

%

CR-V REDESIGNED

LEASE FROM

.

%

TOURING

OR FINANCE YOUR HONDA WITH

Call us at 604.583.7421

15291 Fraser Hwy, Surrey, BC Timings: Mon - Thu: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm; Fri - Sat: 8:30 am - 6:00 pm; Sun: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

#1 Car Dealer in Surrey

#Limited time lease offer is from Honda Canada Finance Inc. (HCFI), on approved credit. Lease example: New 2020 4D Civic Touring CVT (FC1F9LKN)/2020 Insight Hybrid Touring (ZE4F7LKN)/2020 CR-V Touring (RW2H9LKNS) for a 24-month period, for a total of 104 weekly payments of $122/$161/$177, leased at 0.99%/2.99%/1.99% APR. 20,000-kilometre annual allowance (12 cents/km excess charge). Total lease obligation is $12,681/$16,744/$18,386. Lease payments include freight and PDI of $1,655/$1,655/$1,815 and applicable fees, but do not include lien registration fee (up to $85 in certain regions) and lien registering agent fee (up to $6), which are due at time of delivery. No down-payment required. Taxes, insurance, license, and registration fees (all of which may vary by region) are extra. β "Honda Bonus" lease or finance cash of $750 on select in-stock 2020 Civic Sedan models is available on lease or finance transactions from HCFI on approved credit only, deducted from the negotiated selling price after taxes. Excludes Coupe, Hatchback, Si and type R models. *No payments for 90 days (payment deferral) offer is available on any new and unregistered Honda vehicle financed through Honda Financial Services (on approved credit), and delivered at a participating Honda dealer, between January 3, 2020 to February 29, 2020. Monthly payments are deferred for 90 days from the start of the finance contract, and the term of the contract will be extended accordingly. Applicable interest charges will not accrue during the first 60 days of the contract. After 60 days applicable interest will start to accrue, and no later than 90 days from the start of the contract the purchaser will begin to repay principal and applicable interest over the scheduled term of the contract. Offer ends February 29, 2020 and is subject to change or cancellation without notice. Dealer may sell/lease for less. Dealer order or trade may be necessary. Offer available only at participating Honda dealers in BC. Offers valid on select new in-stock 2020 vehicles. Models may not be equipped as shown and are for illustration purposes only. For additional feature information, limitations and restrictions, please visit www.honda.ca/disclaimers and refer to the vehicle’s Owner’s Manual. © 2019 Honda Canada Inc. Visit Honda.ca or your Honda dealer for details.

3

www.theasianstar.com

Vol 19 - Issue 18

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Feds & provinces pursuing talks ‘without delay’ for 10 paid sick leave days Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government “will continue discussions with the provinces without delay” to secure paid sick leave for Canadians.

Ottawa will be looking to ensure workers can land 10 paid sick days a year, Trudeau said Monday (May 25) during his daily media briefing outside his home in Ottawa. Further details were sparse on what such a program would entail or how much it would cost.

But the prime minister called out B.C. Premier John Horgan as the provincial leader pushing for the introduction of mandatory paid sick leave, acknowledging other premiers are now jumping on board with the idea.

Concerns over paid sick leave have been top of mind for British Columbians as COVID-19 outbreaks have unfolded at various foodprocessing plants across Metro Vancouver.

“When the fall comes and flu season starts up, we don’t want people who develop a sniffle to suddenly worry that while they really shouldn’t go into work, but they can’t afford to not go into work, and therefore the risk of contributing to a second wave significantly could be a real

problem,” Trudeau said.

“These are things that will be essential in our recovery if we are to control the spread of COVID-19. The mechanisms are challenging and that’s why we have to work with the provinces.”

It’s unclear at this point whether the potential for mandatory paid sick leave would apply only to those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.

The prime minister said discussions between Ottawa, the provinces and the private sector remain ongoing.

Meanwhile, applications for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program opened Monday.

Applications are being staggered but B.C., Alberta, Quebec and Atlantic Canada landlords with up to 10 tenants may begin applying for rent relief as of Monday.

Applications open Tuesday for landlords in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the territories.

Those with more than 10 tenants will have to wait until later in the week to go to the Canada Mortgage and

Housing Corporation’s website to apply.

The program sees provinces and the federal government covering 50% of rent for small businesses.

It’s up to landlords, not

Tel:604-591-5423 tenants, to apply for the program.

Landlords that apply are expected to absorb 25% of the rent due, while Trudeau

Continued on page 6

As a Sun Life Financial advisor since 1990, I have the experience to help you attain your goals. I provide holistic financial advice to help people make sound decisions for their future. A proper strategy can help build your assets and protect your savings so you can retire your way.

Don’t put off today what can help secure tomorrow. Call me for an appointment to talk about your future.

Life Insurance • Critical Illness Insurance • Employee benefits • RRSPs • RESPs*

Charanjeet (CJ) Sidhu* CFP®, CLU®, CH.F.C., CHSTM* Tel: 604-789-1555 cj.sidhu@sunlife.com www.sunlife.ca/cj.sidhu

*Mutual funds distributed by Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada) Inc. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a member of the Sun Life group of companies. © Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2020.

4

OPINION

By Jason Clemens and Milagros Palacios, The Fraser Institute

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Federal COVID-19 assistance lacks targeting

There was a time when the policy debate in Canada focused on how generous government assistance should be for those in ‘need,’ mainly low-income Canadians. That resulted in targeted programs such as welfare for the working-age population, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for those over 65, and other forms of assistance

including housing allowances, subsidies for prescription drugs and education subsidies.

In light of the federal government’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 crisis, it’s legitimate to question whether this principle – targeting assistance to those in need – is still a consideration. While amplified during the

economic shutdown, Ottawa’s reduced focus on targeting assistance predates the current recession. Early in their first mandate, this Liberal government created a new expanded benefit for families with children under 18, the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which they argued would largely benefit middle-income families. Part of the new benefit was financed by effectively raising personal income taxes on over 80 per cent of middle-income households.

More importantly, substantial benefits are paid to upper-income households where ‘need’ is questionable. For instance, a two-parent family earning $140,000 in Ontario with two children under the age of six receives approximately $4,471 from the federal government or $372 monthly (tax-free). Many programs enacted in response to the recession reflect the government’s apparent disinterest in targeting assistance. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), one of the centre pieces of the government’s response, has quite broad eligibility criteria: over the age of 15, stopped working for COVID-19-related reasons, and earned at least $5,000 in 2019 or the previous 12 months. Recipients are also allowed to earn up to $1,000 per month while still receiving CERB, which provides $2,000 per month plus provincial top-ups, if available. CERB is expected to cost $35.0 billion over a fourmonth period. Several weeks ago, the federal government also announced new measures to aid post-secondary students and recent graduates at an estimated cost of $9 billion.

Like many other initiatives announced in response to COVID-19, these programs have been light on detail, but available details suggest very little targeting of assistance.

If you’re a student or recently graduated, regardless of your economic circumstances such as whether you live with your parents or not, it appears you qualify for a host of new benefits and subsidies. Most illustrative of the shift away from targeted assistance is the government’s most recent announcement: a $300 one-time, tax-free payment to seniors receiving Old Age Security (OAS) and an additional $200 for those receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

www.theasianstar.com # 202 - 8388, 128 St., Surrey, BC V3W 4G2 Ph: 604-591-5423 Fax: 604-591-8615 E-mail: editor@theasianstar.com Editor: Umendra Singh Associate Editor: Chhavi Disawar Marketing and Sales: Ravi Cheema........604-715-3847 Shamir Doshi....................604-649-7827 Harminder Kaur...............778-708-0481 Parminder Dhillon..........604-902-2858 Pre-Press: Iftikhar Ahmed Design: Avee J Waseer Contributing writers: Jag Dhatt, Akash Sablok, Kamila Singh, Jay Bains

Publication Mail Agreement No 428336012 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept.

New address: # 202 - 8388, 128 St., Surrey, BC V3W 4G2 All advertising in The Asian Star is subject to the publishers’ approval and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publishers against claims arising from publication of any advertisement submitted by the advertiser.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

5

“Simpson, Thomas & Associates is proud to support the CKNW Kids’ Fund. CKNW Kids’ Fund has granted millions of dollars to support hundreds of thousands of children with a variety of challenges by providing grants for essential specialized medical equipment, therapies, and programs for at-risk youth. For more information or to make a donation please visit: cknwkidsfund.com/donate or call 604 331 2711.”

6

Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kerala-grown ‘superfood’ jackfruit goes global as a meat substitute

Feds & provinces pursuing talks ‘without delay’ for 10 paid sick leave days

From page 1 has grown manifold,�

Varghese Tharakkan tells AFP from his orchard in Kerala’s Thrissur district. The fruit, which weighs five kilogrammes (11 pounds) on average, has a waxy yellow flesh when ripe and is eaten fresh, or used to make cakes, juices, ice creams and crisps.

When unripe, it is added to curries or fried, minced and sauted. In the West, shredded jackfruit has become a popular alternative to pulled pork and is even used as a pizza topping. “People love it. The jackfruit tacos have been a hit at each and every location. The jackfruit cutlet -- every table orders it, it’s one of my favourites!,� Anu Bhambri, who owns a chain of restaurants in the US and India, explains.

James Joseph quit his job as a director at Microsoft after spotting Western interest in jackfruit “gaining momentum as a vegan alternative to meat�.

Jack of all fruits The COVID-19 crisis, Joseph says, has created two spikes in consumer interest. “Coronavirus caused a fear for chicken and people switched to tender jackfruit.

In Kerala, lockdown caused a surge in demand for mature green jackfruit and seeds due to shortage of vegetables due to border restrictions,� he explains.

Global interest in veganism was already soaring pre-pandemic, buoyed by movements such as Meat Free Mondays and Veganuary, and with it the business of “alternative meats�.

Concerns about health and the environment -- a 2019 UN report suggested adopting more of a plant-based diet could help mitigate climate change -- mean consumers are turning to brands such as Impossible and Beyond Meat for plantbased replications of chicken, beef, and pork.

But they are also using substitutes long popular in Asia such as soy-based tofu and tempeh, and wheat derivative seitan, as well as jackfruit. This boom has meant more and more jackfruit orchards have sprung up in the coastal state. “You get a hard bite like meat -- that’s what is gaining popularity and like meat it absorbs the spices,� comments Joseph.

His firm sells jackfruit flour which can be mixed with or used as an alternative to wheat and rice flour to make anything from burger patties to local classics

such as idli. Joseph worked with Sydney University’s Glycemic Index Research Service to establish any health benefits. “When we did a nutritional analysis, we found jackfruit as a meal is better than rice and roti (bread) for an average person who wants to control his blood sugar,� he adds. India has one of the highest diabetes rates in the world and is expected to hit around 100 million cases by 2030, according to a study by The Lancet.

As global warming wreaks havoc on agriculture, food researchers say jackfruit could emerge as a nutritious staple crop as it is drought-resistant and requires little maintenance. Tharakkan has not looked back since he switched from growing rubber to jackfruit on his land, and has a variety that he can cultivate ye ar-round. “When I cut down my rubber trees everyone thought I had gone crazy. But the same people now come and ask me the secret of my success,� he smiles.

In Tamil Nadu and Kerala alone, demand for jackfruit is now 100 metric tonnes every day during the peak season yielding a turnover of USD 19.8 million a year, says economics professor S. Rajendran of the Gandhigram But there is rising competition from countries such as Bangladesh and Thailand.

Jackfruit’s newfound international fame is a massive turnaround for a plant that while used in local dishes, has long been viewed as a poor man’s fruit. Each tree can yield as 150-250 fruits a season.

In Kerala, where it is believed to have originated, deriving its name from local word “chakka�, Tharakkan recalls it was not unusual to see notices in private gardens asking people to take away the fruit for free because they were so plentiful, they would simply rot and attract flies.

And while India’s jackfruit growers -- like the wider agriculture sector -- have been hit as the nationwide coronavirus lockdown causes a shortage of labour and transport, international demand shows no sign of slowing.

Sujan Sarkar, the Palo Alto-based executive chef of Bhambri’s restaurants, believes even meat-eaters are becoming jackfruit converts.

He adds: “It’s not only vegetarians or vegans,

From page 3 urged small businesses to tap other federal programs to cover the final 25%.

The assistance covers the months of April, May and June and can be applied retroactively.

The prime minister was also pressed on growing concerns about the erosion of human rights in Hong Kong after Beijing put forward legislation last week to tackle what it describes as treason, secession and sedition.

The new security law could see mainland Chinese intelligence agencies setting up inside the semi-autonomous city that had been promised a “one country, two systems� model of governance when the U.K. returned it to China in 1997. “It’s important to support the citizens of Hong Kong, including 300,000 Canadians who really want to see the one country, two systems approach to Hong Kong and China continue. It is going to be important for the Chinese government to engage in constructive conversations with citizens of

From page 1

Hong Kong to ensure that they de-escalate the tension,� Trudeau said.

The prime minister was later questioned on when his government would be making a decision on whether to allow Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to provide equipment to develop Canada’s 5G infrastructure.

Various allies have raised concerns that the Chinese technology could be used by Beijing for espionage purposes. “We have been taking advice from our security officials. We’ve been working with them to ensure [that] what is the right path forward for Canada is followed,� Trudeau said. “We are working closely with our allies and watching what they do to make sure that we are all doing the things necessary to both create economic opportunities and growth for our country, while making sure that the safety and security of our infrastructures, our businesses and our people is tantamount.�

‘Vancouver model’ specializes in mixing dirty money with funds moved out of China, inquiry hears

during the next 3 1/2 weeks.

How Vancouver became the world’s ‘laundromat for foreign organized crime’ Dirty money has warped the economy, B.C. government says as laundering inquiry starts Opinion: Why Canada’s money-laundering problem is far bigger than we think The Cullen Commission heard opening arguments in February and the main hearings in September will delve into specific industries.

Schneider’s testimony is based on his review of commissioned reports, media clippings and academic studies, including his own research into RCMP investigations on money laundering.

In addition to cleaning dirty money, British Columbia’s third-party businesses are also alleged to facilitate “capital flight� from China, or the movement of funds out of the country beyond the US$50,000 per-person limit imposed by the Chinese government.

It’s estimate that billions or even trillions of dollars have been moved out of China against local rules in the phenomenon known as “capital flight,� Schneider said.

While those funds may not have been earned through crime, they are intermingled with criminal proceeds via third-party businesses, he said. “This is something that is fairly new in the context of money laundering,� Schneider said.

“It’s inextricably part of the so-called Vancouver model and contributed to investments in the real estate market being intermingled with the proceeds of crime.�

In order to enjoy the fruits of their labour they need to be able to take that cash and try to convert it into more of an asset that’s less suspicious Broadly speaking, money laundering is a “tactical imperative� that criminal entrepreneurs, drug traffickers and organized crime have developed to avoid suspicion, he said. “In order to enjoy the fruits of their labour they need to be able to take that cash and try to convert it into more of an asset that’s less suspicious all the while trying to hide the illegal source.�

British Columbia is an attractive place to do that, he said. Not only is it near California, which is an entry point for the Mexican drug trade, but the Port of Vancouver provides a trade hub with Asia and B.C. has a homegrown marijuana industry of its own. Metro Vancouver is also home to many substance users, providing a built-in clientele, he said.

Although you might think mass amounts of money would require intricate plans to clean or conceal it, a lot of money is literally carried in suitcases across borders, he said.

Full-Service Notary Public

6 < = >

, & - . / / %& . . . 0& 1 & 2 3 - 4 - & / %& 2 . &5 &3 & 0 ) 6 . 7 8 &8 6 + 4 - & 4 3 . 4&- )

#

$

6 96

6 : 6 ;

! "

%& ' ( ) * ( +)

( ) * ( +)

7

Saturday, May 30, 2020 The United Nations (UN) has warned that armies of locusts swarming across continents pose a “severe risk” to India’s agriculture this year.

What are locusts? Locusts are the oldest migratory pests in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

These insects differ from ordinary grasshoppers in their ability to change behaviour and form swarms that can migrate over large distances.

The most devastating of all locust species is the Desert Locust (schistocerca gregaria), according to the FAO. The locusts, which are considered to be among the most dangerous pests known to humanity, reproduce fast — 20-fold within three months — the FAO experts noted.

An adult locust can eat quantity equal to its weight daily, and just a single square kilometre of the swarm can contain up to 80 million adults, they said.

Locusts can fly up to 150km daily and a one square km swarm can eat as much food as 35,000 people in terms of weight in a single day.

What has pushed the outbreak?

The recent locust outbreak along the IndiaPakistan border may have been driven by the longer-than-usual monsoon across the region, and frequent cyclones in the Indian Ocean, scientists say.

“The current locust outbreak is the biggest in 25 years in Ethiopia and Somalia, 26 years in India, 70 years in Kenya,” Keith Cressman, locust

India’s worst locust attack in 26 years From page 1 forecasting officer at FAO said.

“The outbreak started after heavy amounts of rains over east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula,” Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune added.

Koll noted heavy rains, which drove the locust outbreak, occurred due to intense storm activity sourced from the Arabian Sea during the last two seasons.

“Heavy rain triggers the growth of vegetation in arid areas where desert locusts can then grow and breed,” he said. Koll explained that recently climate change accentuated the phenomenon called the “Indian Ocean Dipole”, with warmer than usual waters to its west, and cooler waters to its east. “On top of that, the rising temperatures due to global warming made the Western Indian Ocean particularly warm,” he said. Cressman said the current locust invasion in India by an unprecedented number of swarms originated in southern Iran from their breeding in spring

Not wearing a mask will cost you Rs 500 in Punjab imposed with a penalty of Rs 500. For violating home quarantine instructions, a fine of Rs 2,000 will be applicable. Those who are found spitting in a public place will be charged a penalty of Rs 500. Apart from that, the health department has also notified a penalty of Rs 2,000 if owners of shops/commercial places violate social

distancing norms.

Vehicle owners will also be fined for violating social distancing norms. As per the notification, violations in buses will attract a penalty of Rs 3,000, cars Rs 2,000 and auto-rickshaws/twowheelers Rs 500.

last year. “Summer breeding along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border was much higher than normal due to the swarm invasion and the monsoon rains lasting one month longer than normal, allowing up to three generations of

breeding,” Cressman said. What is the government doing? Authorities across the country have said they have stepped up vigil, deployed drones to detect their movement and held talks with Pakistan, the most likely gateway for an invasion by the insects, on ways to minimise the damage.

The government is also considering importing

equipment from the UK, apart from deploying drones, satellite-derived tools, special fire-tenders and sprayers at pre-identified border locations.

What’s the latest status? On Monday, locusts were seen flying over Jaipur even as officials of the agriculture department said the swarm over the city was on its way to Dausa. Officials said the swarm that flew over Jaipur city came from Nagaur. More than half of Rajasthan’s 33 districts are affected by invasion by these insects, which are traditionally known to be attacking western Rajasthan districts bordering Pakistan. Swarms of locusts arrived in Malhargarh area of Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district on Sunday.

“Scientists from central locust team and agricultural science department conducted an exercise and removed around 60% of them by spraying,” said Manoj Pushp, Mandsaur District Magistrate. The Jhansi district administration in Uttar Pradesh has directed fire brigade to keep its vehicle ready with chemicals following a sudden movement of a swarm of locusts.

“The villagers along with the common public has been told to inform the control room about the movement. The locusts will go places where there is green grass or greenery. Hence, details about the movement at such places must be shared,” Andra Vamsi, Jhansi’s district magistrate, said.

China-India tensions mount as troop stand-offs along disputed border cause speculation to swirl From page 1 trespassing incident” and, on Sunday, reported that Beijing is likely to put its first domestically developed unmanned surveillance helicopter into service along the border. Indian media reports, meanwhile, claim it was Chinese troops that intruded in their thousands, pitched tents and dug trenches.

The skirmishes near Pangong lake in India’s Ladakh and the Naku La mountain pass in Sikkim resulted in injuries on both sides, the reports said.

Chinese state-owned tabloid has characterised China’s actions at the Line of Actual Control as a strong military response to “India’s illegal

8

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Canada’s COVID-19 hot zone is even deadlier than Chicago or L.A. The city’s death rate has been staggering: higher than those of almost every U.S. state, higher than in greater Chicago, Los Angeles or Toronto.

The place is Montreal, the business and cultural center of Quebec, where the coronavirus pandemic has struck the elderly with unusual savagery.

The struggle to contain the outbreak has forced the provincial government to resort to desperate measures.

Montreal’s virus toll -- the city accounts for more than half of Canada’s deaths from Covid-19 -- is a story of lack of preparation, early mistakes and a bit of bad luck.

It has also exposed gaps in how Canada cares for its older citizens, despite a government-funded health care system that is sometimes praised by U.S. progressives as

a model. The city’s elder-care homes are so short of workers that Premier Francois Legault brought in Canadian troops and pleaded for volunteers to assist.

That has left it up to people like Nicolas St-Onge to help quell an outbreak that has killed more than 3,800 people in greater Montreal, with dozens more still dying every day.

St-Onge, 25, usually works as a pharmacist.

Lately he’s been spending his days feeding, washing and grooming residents of facilities in the suburbs. He isn’t trained for it. His first day involved changing a patient wearing seven layers of diapers. “It’s a 100 per cent exit out of my comfort zone,” he said in an interview. “But it’s the most gratifying thing I’ve done in my life -- we can see our impact on the ground immediately.”

Thursday was typical.

The province announced 74 new Covid-19 deaths in the previous day; 70 lived in homes for seniors.

Since the pandemic started, four in five fatalities have been residents of retirement and long-term care homes.

Some 90 per cent of Quebec’s virus deaths have occurred in the Montreal region, where almost half of the province’s population lives.

Montreal has recorded 762 deaths per million people, nearly three times the rate of Toronto and 50 per cent higher than the greater Chicago area, according to the Montreal Metropolitan Community.

One factor in Quebec’s plight was an ill-timed school break in the first week of

March, when international borders were still open. By the middle of March, when many Canadian provinces and U.S. states began lockdown measures, infected travelers returning from the U.S., France or the Caribbean had already been back in Quebec for days. That may have been enough to boost the so-called “force of infection” and increase the chances of getting sick, according to Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

“It doesn’t take that much more, because it’s an exponential spread,” Furness said.

“One week and a few dozen cases can make a huge difference.” Asymptomatic virus carriers probably introduced it in longterm care facilities. Among them were staff members, who spread the infection long after family visits were banned. Other virus hot spots have had similar problems with long-term care facilities. In this U.S., more than one-third of Covid-19 deaths have been linked to them, a New York Times analysis found. In Quebec, care staff were allowed to continue to work at multiple locations.

The practice was banned early on in the pandemic by the province of British Columbia, which is one reason it boasts one of the lowest Covid-19 death rates of any jurisdiction in North America with more than 5 million people. On the island of Montreal, which excludes some suburbs, one in five infected people are health workers.

The government ramped up testing in the hardest hit neighborhoods, which are densely populated and among the city’s poorest.

Quebec hardest hit by health crisis, tops 50,000 COVID-19 cases Quebec has reached another grim milestone in the novel coronavirus outbreak as cases topped 50,000 on Friday.

The province, which is the epicentre of the pandemic in Canada, recorded 530 new infections of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, from the previous day. Quebec now has 50,232 cases.

The novel coronavirus has been linked to 4,363 deaths since the health crisis began, up 61 from the day before.

The number of hospitalizations has dropped by 66 to 1,265. As of Friday, 172 patients are in intensive care — a decrease of six. Montreal, a hot spot for the disease, accounts for more than half of the province’s cases at 25,043. There have been 2,690 fatalities recorded on the island.

Premier François Legault said on Thursday that while Quebec is slowly re-emerging from the crisis, long-term care homes are still grappling with outbreaks and deaths.

“The situation remains fragile,” he said.

Montreal hitting targets in COVID-19 projections but future uncertain, public health says.

Quebec’s public health institute also released updated projections on the virus’ progression on Thursday, but said it was still too difficult to determine the trajectory of the pandemic across the hard-hit Greater Montreal area.

Hospitalizations and deaths attributed to COVID-19 are currently going down in the city. However, the models vary widely for the summer, with scenarios mostly dependent on whether Montrealers adhere to public health guidelines such as keeping two metres apart and frequently washing their hands.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

What you need to know about COVID-19 Large cruise ships now banned from Canadian ports until Oct. 31. Health officials will give their daily update in a written statement at 3 p.m. PT. To date, 2,558 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in B.C. 164 people have died of the illness. 2,153 people have recovered. There are currently 241 active cases of COVID-19.

As of Thursday, 33 patients were in hospital with COVID-19, including six in intensive care.

The federal government has extended a ban on large cruise ships docking at any Canadian ports until at least Oct. 31. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said any ship with overnight accommodations carrying more than 100 people will be not be allowed to operate in Canadian waters. In March, Ottawa initially banned cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers until July 1. The extension is another blow to the tourism

sectors in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria, which gleaned around $840 million and $130 million, respectively, during cruise-ship season in recent years. Earlier this month, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said cruise ship passengers would not be permitted to disembark in B.C. even if the ships were allowed to dock at the province’s ports to prevent the spread of COVID-19. B.C. has now had 2,558 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Fewer than one-tenth of those cases are still active. As of Thursday, there were 241 active cases in the province, while 2,153 people have recovered. Sadly, 164 people have now died from the novel coronavirus, including 93 residents of long-term care homes.The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital has fallen to 33, including six who are in intensive care.

‘No likely end in sight’ as BC state of emergency extended BC’s state of emergency was extended for two weeks on Wednesday, making it the longest on record. “People will remember back in 2017,” said Premier John Horgan. “The horrific fire season that year led to 10 weeks of emergency status in the province. We are now exceeding that with, I have to say, no likely end in sight.”

The extension is to June 9, part way through the current phase of B.C.’s restart plan.

There are 244 known active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., with nine new cases and one death reported between noon Tuesday and noon Wednesday. There are 37 people in hospital with COVID-19, including seven in intensive care.

These numbers continue to fall.

Horgan said a second urgent and primary care centre had opened in Surrey on Tuesday.

“The new Surrey urgent and primary care

centre will connect people who don’t have a family doctor with the health care they need,” he said.

There are 90,000 people in Surrey without a family doctor. The centre — on the 6800-block of King George Blvd. — will operate Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Horgan said the B.C. legislature would resume sitting on June 22.

“MLAs will be returning to Victoria, so we can conduct the business of the province,” he said. “Some will be here in person, some will be beaming in with technology, but at the end of the day debate will take place, votes will be cast, and democracy will be well served.”

Horgan said he was grateful for the lack of partisanship among the NDP, Liberal and Green parties in B.C. during COVID-19 crisis.

BC considering plan to self-isolate NHL teams in bid to match Alberta BC is considering a plan to quarantine entire teams together, in an attempt to match Alberta’s bid to become one of two hockey hub sites when the National Hockey League season resumes in the summer. Public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday she thinks Alberta’s “cohort quarantine” proposal to isolate entire teams in hotels near a hockey rink could work in British Columbia. “We certainly have been talking about how it could be done safely in British Columbia as well,” said Henry. “I do see how we could potentially have small numbers of people cohorting together in self-isolation, for example in a hotel, and management monitored regularly.

And I know if anybody could do that then the NHL is probably set up to do it. I can see how we could have something like that work in British Columbia as well.” But Henry said she has yet to hear directly from the NHL about the idea.

“The bottom line is I have not seen any proposal, certainly not any written proposal by the NHL, about how this could be proposed to work.”

Vancouver Canucks chief operating officer Trent Carroll was in meetings all day and couldn’t go into detail on their plan. “We’ve been working all along to develop a plan with the B.C. government, Dr. Bonnie Henry and the NHL,” said Carroll in a statement. “We all want to see hockey come to Vancouver this summer and our plan will make sure we do this in a way that keeps British Columbians safe and healthy.” While B.C. waits for communication from the NHL, the Alberta government on Wednesday sent a proactive plan to the league that it said would balance the risk of inviting international hockey players into the province during a pandemic, with the economic benefits of being a host city as the NHL resumes operations.

LOCAL

9

10

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou loses major court battle as BC judge rules extradition bid should proceed A B.C. Supreme Court judge has delivered a major blow to Meng Wanzhou, ruling that extradition proceedings against the Huawei executive should proceed.

In a widely anticipated decision on socalled double criminality, Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes said the offence Meng is accused of by American prosecutors would be considered a crime if it occurred in Canada.

The 48-year-old chief financial officer of the telecommunications giant is charged with fraud in the United States for allegedly deceiving banks into a possible violation of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.

In a 23-page ruling released Wednesday, Holmes said that the essence of Meng’s alleged crime is fraud.

And the fact that Canada doesn’t have the same economic sanctions against Iran as the U.S. wouldn’t stop someone being prosecuted in Canada for the same offence.

“Canada’s law of fraud looks beyond international boundaries,” Holmes wrote in her decision.

“Ms. Meng’s approach to the double criminality analysis would seriously limit Canada’s ability to fulfil its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes.”

Meng appeared in court shortly after the public release of the decision, showing no visible reaction to the loss. She wore a mask as she took her place beside her defence lawyers

in the courtroom. The executive was arrested at Vancouver’s airport in December 2018 on an extradition warrant. She is accused of lying to an HSBC executive in Hong Kong about Huawei’s control of a company that was said to be violating U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.

Prosecutors claim that Meng’s alleged lies put banks at risk of prosecution and loss because they would be violating U.S. sanctions themselves in handling Huawei’s finances.

The judge still has to hold hearings to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant extradition, and Meng has also claimed that her rights were violated at the time of her arrest. Holmes pointed out that

Canada’s Minister of Justice will also have a chance to weigh in on whether a decision to commit Meng for extradition would be contrary to Canadian values. Today’s court decision on Meng Wanzhou’s extradition could rattle the Canada-China relationship The federal Justice Department confirmed in a statement that extradition proceedings will go ahead. “Justice lawyers are committed to moving ahead with this process and court dates as expeditiously as possible, and will work with defence counsel and the court to do so,” the department said in an email on Wednesday. “The minister does not personally make any decisions related to an extradition proceeding until and unless the judge commits the person for extradition.”

11

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Khalsa Business Centre

128th Street, 84th Ave., Surrey, BC

12

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Playgrounds are reopening across Metro Vancouver next week Municipalities across Metro Vancouver are beginning to reopen playgrounds as the number of active COVID-19 cases in the province continues to drop.

Vancouver, Surrey, Delta and the Tri-Cities announced Thursday their playgrounds will be open again for children as of June 1.

New Westminster said a handful of its play areas will also open that day, while Burnaby said it would begin its reopening slowly.

Parks across the region were taped off in March as the province reached the first peak of infections. Many were sealed off with yellow caution tape, with slides boarded up and swings tied together. Skate parks and other similar recreational areas were also closed to keep crowds from gathering together.

The number of active coronavirus infections and the provincial hospitalization rate has declined over the past several weeks. But as B.C. begins to reopen, officials are still urging the public to stick with physical distancing efforts, continue washing their hands and stay home if they feel the slightest bit unwell.

The playgrounds reopening in New Westminster were chosen based on whether a public bathroom is nearby, so people can easily wash their hands before and after using equipment. The city said the rest of its public playgrounds will be opened again over time.

The City of Burnaby said parks equipment cannot be sanitized regularly, and called on visitors to keep their hands clean.

BC agriculture sector bracing for 8,000 worker shortfall this year B.C.’s agriculture industry is facing a major worker shortage this year as the longterm ramifications of COVID-19 take hold.

The pandemic has triggered a shortfall of 6,000 to 8,000 seasonal agricultural labourers provincewide, threatening a backlog in local food production.

“COVID-19 has meant there is no such thing as business as usual — it has disrupted the workforce,” said Agriculture Minister Lana Popham at a news conference Thursday.

That’s why the B.C. government has announced it is launching an online job portal to match farmers with workers in an attempt to fast-track hiring.

The website, called the B.C. Farm, Fish and Food Job Connector, is designed

to be a quick and easy tool to attract new employees in time for the summer.

B.C. berry growers are facing a serious labour shortage this season due to COVID-19 “We recognize the workforce challenges ... and are helping to address the need to establish a secure agricultural labour force so we can generate economic activity and maintain food security in our communities,” Popham said.

The site will connect to agriculture, food processing, aquaculture and marine fisheries jobs posted on Work BC, industry sites and the B.C. Food and Beverage websites.

The site will showcase current job vacancies throughout the province, including those for crop and seafood

LOCAL

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Canada’s no more vulnerable to money laundering, BC inquiry hears A senior police officer from UK who specializes in money laundering says he believes Canada is no more vulnerable to the crime than other Western jurisdictions.Simon Lord of the National Crime Agency, who is also part of a Five Eyes group dedicated to international money laundering controls, began his testimony before a public inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia on Thursday.

Inquiry commissioner Austin Cullen heard in February from a coalition of tax fairness groups that hiding ill-gotten cash behind shell companies is so widespread in Canada that it’s known globally as “snow washing.”

However, Lord says that the money laundering situation in Canada looks similar to that of the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries with similar legal and economic frameworks.

He says aspects of an economy designed to attract investment or “good money,” like having a developed financial system and global trade links, typically have the effect of attracting “bad money” at the same time.

Generally, he says Canada is “pretty well run” and referenced a 2016 review by the Financial Action Task Force, an international organization founded to combat money laundering, that found some deficiencies in regulation.

“I wouldn’t say Canada is any more or less vulnerable to money laundering, and certainly British Columbia, than any other large Western country,” Lord says.

There are consequences to being perceived as a country that is vulnerable to money laundering.

Lord gave the example of the United Arab Emirates, which he says he believes has been unfairly portrayed as a “hot bed” for money laundering.

“There’s no doubt that money laundering does take place there, but people can perceive that everybody who lives in a country is somehow tied up in that criminality,” which he says is untrue.

“As soon as you are seen as a bad place to do business, if your regulatory structures aren’t in place, if there are lots of ways in which your country can be abused, then people simply don’t want to put their money there.”

Man convicted by Surrey judge in hatchet attack near SkyTrain station loses appeal bid A man convicted in Surrey provincial court of attacking another man with a hatchet near a SkyTrain station has lost his bid for an extension to file a notice of appeal against his convictions.

Andrew Eugene Agopsowicz was convicted of assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace. He has already served his sentence.

The victim, Shalendra Prasad, was attacked with a hatchet near a SkyTrain station. The issue at trial was identity.

“The identification at trial by Mr. Prasad was, as acknowledged by the trial judge, insufficient to convict Mr. Agopsowicz,” Appeal Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett noted. “However, he was located within five minutes or so of the

incident with a bloody hatchet in the waistband of his trousers. There was also a trail of blood from where Mr. Agopsowicz was arrested, directed towards the location of the offence.”

Bennett denied Agopsowicz’s application, in which he cited “mental disability, lack of a lawyer, legal aid sending a booklet, and lack of access to information.” He had applied for legal aid within the 30 days he had to appeal, but was denied assistance on Oct, 10, 2018, the court heard.

“In my view, the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming,” she stated in her reasons for judgment. “Having read the reasons, I do not see any ground of appeal that would justify granting an extension of time for the conviction appeal.”

13

Surrey has second urgent and primary care centre in Newton - Premier says Surrey now has a second urgent and primary care centre, in Newton.

Located at 6830 King George Blvd., and operated by Fraser Health, this new centre provides same-day care for people needing help within 12 to 24 hours but who don’t require an emergency department. This includes patients with sprains, minor cuts and burns, high fevers and minor infections.

Premier John Horgan noted that some 90,000 people in Surrey don’t have a family doctor.

“For too many people the struggle to find a doctor has now been relieved,” he said, “because of these community endeavours.”

“The urgent and primary care centre we’re announcing today will alleviate a great deal of pressure on those families.”

He said this second centre would have been opened sooner, but for the pandemic.

It opened Tuesday.

“It’s going to be initially for 44 hours a week and by the end of July we’re hoping that it will be seven days a week, 12 hours a day,” Horgan told the Now-Leader. “This is going to greatly relieve the pressure, again, increasing pressure on Surrey Memorial and provides this alternative

approach to health care to the people of Surrey.”

It’s currently open Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

Horgan said Surrey’s first such centre, opened November 2018 in Whalley, has already served over 29,000 patients, “and that’s extraordinary.”

“Those are 29,000 patients that did not clog the emergency room at Surrey Memorial Hospital.”

Horgan said these centres have urgent health care practitioners, RPNs and a “whole host of other health care providers” like dietitians, social workers “and a network behind those that are on the front lines, to make sure people get the services that they need.”

“It’s not always a doctor, of course, that you need.”

Horgan added that work is continuing on the city’s second hospital, to be located in Cloverdale.

“We’re going to continue of course with our plans to build a second hospital in Surrey, centred in Cloverdale, to put all the health care needs, acute care, urgent primary care, as well as expanding and developing culturally sensitive and appropriate care for seniors in that great community of Surrey,” Horgan said.

Winner sought after $24M-winning Lotto 6/49 ticket sold in Aldergrove Did you recently buy a Lotto 6/49 ticket in Aldergrove? Better check your numbers.

The winning ticket for the May 27 draw was sold at an undisclosed location in Aldergrove and matched all six numbers: 7, 17, 18, 22, 28, and 34.

The best number of all is the winning total: $24 million.

The B.C. Lottery Corporation is not releasing the name of the retail shop where the ticket was purchased until a winner comes forward to

15

draw

claim the grand prize.

The winner has 52 weeks from the date of the draw to claim their cash, the corporation said Thursday.

The most recent B.C. winner for the Lotto 6/49 was Tibor Tusnady, who snagged $16 million in the April earlier this year.

Last year, BCLC awarded more than $85-million to winning Lotto 6/49 players.

14

LOCAL

Saturday, May 30, 2020

RCMP officer ‘falsely arrested, falsely imprisoned, assaulted and battered’ elder with walker, judge rules Irene Joseph awarded $55K in lawsuit over incident involving Mountie in Smithers, B.C., in 2014 The B.C. Supreme Court has awarded $55,000 in damages to an Indigenous elder the judge ruled was “falsely arrested, falsely imprisoned, assaulted, and battered” by an RCMP officer during an incident in northern B.C. in 2014.

Irene Joseph, then 61, was injured in a struggle with the officer, who suspected her of shoplifting. No stolen merchandise was found, and Joseph never faced charges.

Joseph sued RCMP Const.

Darrin Meier and the Attorney General of Canada, in a case a judge has now ruled on, more than five years later.

On Dec. 6, 2014, Joseph, a Wet’suwet’en elder, was shopping at Mark’s Work Warehouse in Smithers, B.C. Because of chronic pain and a fused ankle, she was using her walker.

Outside the store, Joseph was approached

by Meier, who’d been called by a store manager concerned about shoplifting.

Joseph declined to speak with the officer and didn’t allow him to handcuff her, saying she’d done nothing wrong.

The court judgment states the RCMP constable then forced Joseph down on the ground on her stomach, and climbed on top of her, as he struggled to handcuff her.

Irene Joseph’s lawsuit against an RCMP constable and the Attorney General of Canada was heard in the Smithers’

court house. (Submitted by Jim Oud) The court ruled Joseph was injured in the struggleNo stolen merchandise was found.

Lawyers for the defendant argued the RCMP constable had reasonable grounds to suspect that Joseph had shoplifted and that he had used reasonable force.

But Justice Brenda Brown stated that Meier, then a sevenyear RCMP veteran, acted improperly though “he did not do so maliciously or high handedly.”

“Things rapidly escalated when Const.

Meier decided to handcuff her,” stated Brown. “It would have been obvious to all she had limited mobility and ... used a walker.

“It was simply not necessary to physically subdue a woman of Ms Joseph’s age and limited mobility.... She was arrested and restrained in a very public manner and was humiliated.”

IIO recommends charging 4 Mounties over man’s death following struggle with officers The court backed Joseph’s claim that she suffered bruises and scrapes, as well as a sore neck, ribs, and back. The judge noted that the police incident also aggravated pre-existing conditions, including chronic pain and anxiety.

“She still experiences anxiety when leaving her house, as she is afraid she might be attacked,” said the judge.

Dozens of Canadian children treated for inflammatory condition possibly linked to COVID-19 Canada Post workers are grappling with a record surge in bulky parcels at a time when reduced staffing due to physical distancing makes it impossible to meet delivery dates, even as online shoppers grow impatient for purchases to arrive.

The postal service told customers this week to brace for delays into the forseeable future as demand and distribution centres that weren’t designed to keep people two metres apart clash.

“We’re having higher than Christmas volumes right now with a reduced staff,” said Derek Richmond, who works at the York Distribution Centre in Scarborough. “Because of the crisis there has been a lot of special leave for members who are at high-risk and single parents, so we’re having some challenges.”

In simple terms: “We are backlogged,” said Richmond.

“A lot of our members are working overtime, six days a week, to help us catch up,” he added.

Parcel deliveries grew at a record pace from April to May — hitting an all-time, one-day record of 2.1 million parcels delivered May 19. Numbers are roughly three times the norm for this time of year.

Jon Hamilton, Canada Post spokesperson, said while some items sent via priority postage meet delivery dates others “may take an extra day or two.”

Orders made online could be processed at various distribution centres, which could impact delivery dates, he said.

Suspected cocaine seized at South Surrey border Twenty bricks of suspected cocaine were seized from a northbound commercial vehicle at the Pacific Highway border in South Surrey on May 1.

Canada Border Services Agency officials announced the find – which weighed approximately 20 kilograms – today (May 27).

According to a news release, the bricks were discovered after officers examining a commercial tractor-trailer noticed anomalies.

“With the help of a CBSA detector dog, 20 bricks of suspected cocaine were discovered,” the release states.

“The CBSA estimates that this

quantity of suspected cocaine would be worth over $2.5 million.”

One person was arrested in connection with the find, which was turned over to the RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit for further investigation.

“Our border services officers and intelligence officers are working around the clock to make sure that goods continue to enter Canada and that the illegal goods stay out,” Daniela Evans, CBSA’s Pacific Highway director, said in the release.

“This seizure of suspected cocaine demonstrates their dedication to keep our communities safe and I am proud to be working alongside them.”

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, May 30, 2020

15

Vancouver teacher suspended again after kids told to ‘go back to working on rice farms’ A high school teacher who made sexually explicit, racist, and violent comments toward students has received a three-day suspension.

Klaus Hardy Breslauer’s teaching licence is invalid from Wednesday until Friday after the commissioner for teaching in B.C. released on Tuesday their judgement on Breslauer’s behaviour, detailing how he was negative, aggressive, and racist toward students.

According to Howard Kushner’s report, Breslauer made disparaging comments toward many of his students, and in one case even told exchange students “they should go back to working on rice farms.”

“He told a student whose father was from Iran that in Iran, if you do not get good marks, you get sent out into the minefields,”

the report adds, citing other inappropriate comments made.

The decision outlines a number of events, which date back to the 2017-2018 school year, including Breslauer frequently discussing his personal life during class. That “included making comments to the students about his family, his previous job as a bouncer, gambling, his travels, paranormal activity and his sex life,” Kushner’s report reads.

Hit-and-run leaves Vancouver cyclist in hospital with serious injuries: police Collision happened at intersection of Nanaimo Street and East 24th Avenue on Tuesday night, VPD says Police are looking for witnesses after a hit-and-run involving a cyclist in East Vancouver on Tuesday.

The cyclist was hit at the intersection of Nanaimo Street and East 24th Avenue, near the Nanaimo SkyTrain station, around 8:45 p.m. PT, according to a statement. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Police said the driver left the scene without checking on the cyclist and drove north on Nanaimo Street.

Officers said the vehicle is believed to be a two-door Honda Civic coupe or a similar model from the early- to

mid-2000s. It might be silver or beige and will have a damaged windshield.

“The collision occurred at a busy intersection so we know there are witnesses out there who have not yet spoken with police and may also have dashcam footage that our investigators can use,” Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Aaron Roed wrote in the statement.

Roed said it was still light out at the time of the collision.

Anyone with a dashcam who was driving in the area of the intersection or to the north on Nanaimo Street, including side streets, around the time of the crash is asked to call police at 604-717-9363.

Study finds lower COVID-19 death rate in Metro Vancouver ICUs than other cities People admitted to intensive care at Lower Mainland hospitals were less likely to die of COVID-19 than patients in other regions around the world, according to a new study.

The case series, published Wednesday in the Canadan Medical Association Journal, looked at the outcomes of 117 COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs in six Metro Vancouver hospitals between Feb. 21 and Apr. 14.

It found that 15 per cent of those Metro Vancouver patients died.

That’s compared to 23 per cent in New York, 26 per cent in Lombardy, Italy and 50 per cent in Seattle. In Wuhan, China, where the novel coronavirus was first detected, the ICU death rate was a whopping 62 per cent.

Local patients and those in comparative regions had similar

demographics and severity of illness.

The study highlights the province’s decision to cancel thousands of scheduled surgeries in mid-March, before the first wave of the pandemic hit B.C. in earnest, as a key difference from those other jurisdictions.

“Because we postponed elective surgeries we were able to build and repurpose those other beds to critical care beds,” said Dr. Donald Griesdale, senior author of the study and critical care physician at Vancouver General Hospital.

“So we were greatly able to increase our amount of available space, and when you have space, you’re able to then admit patients, you’ve got lots of capacity so that patients who need the care you can actually provide the care to.”

Breslauer resigned from his role with the Vancouver School Board in 2018 and is now listed as a selfemployed “deep learning” expert on LinkedIn. The commissioner has the ability to cancel teachers’ licenses, but chose to suspend Breslauer’s temporarily in this case.

Hundreds of memes, some of which

Breslauer is said to have made, were also found on his school-issued computer, the judgement reads, “and many of which were homophobic, transphobic, sexist, and racist.” He is said to have shared many of these images with his students.

The Vancouver educator has been suspended without pay twice before for making “discriminatory offensive and threatening” comments to students and using physical force against another.

16

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Premier John Horgan shares highest approval rating in Canada with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe It appears the honeymoon isn’t over yet for Canada’s two newest premiers.

According to the latest Angus Reid Institute poll, Horgan’s approval rating has increased three points in the last quarter to reach 52 per cent, while Moe’s rating fell one point to match Horgan.

Horgan (NDP) became premier in July 2017, while Moe (Saskatchewan Party) came into office in late January 2018 following former premier Brad Wall’s retirement.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball (Liberal) is in third place, after his rating increased seven points to reach 42 per cent. Manitoba’s Brian Pallister (Progressive Conservative) is in fourth place, increasing three points to reach 37 per cent.

VANCOUVER, B.C.: MARCH 21, 2018 – B.C. Premier John Horgan has Canada’s

highest approval rating among premiers.

He shares the honour with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. This comes as part of an Angus Reid poll released on March 21, 2018. [PNG Merlin Archive] While Horgan and Notley have been tied up in a very public spat over pipelines and wine in recent months, it appears neither premier’s approval rating was affected, with Horgan increasing in approval and Notley’s approval remaining statistically unchanged.

The poll was conducted online between March 6 and 15 among a randomized, representative sample of 5,423 Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison, a probability sample of this size with this sample plan would have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

PM Trudeau agrees to Premier John Horgan’s push for national sick-pay program Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to launch a national sick-pay program, citing the persistent influence of B.C. Premier John Horgan who has been championing the issue for weeks.

Trudeau said he’ll work with the premiers to create a program to provide 10 paid sick days a year during the pandemic, so workers without sick-pay won’t be financially penalized for following public health advice to stay home if they are feeling unwell in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus.

“The issue of paid sick leave is one that was first brought up a number of weeks ago on our first ministers call by Premier Horgan of British Columbia, who pointed out, quite rightly, when the fall comes and the flu season starts up we don’t want people

who develop a sniffle to suddenly worry that they shouldn’t really go into work but they can’t afford to not go into work,” said Trudeau.

The announcement came after several weeks of lobbying by Horgan, who forced the issue onto the agenda of the past two weekly conference calls between premiers, territorial leaders and Trudeau. Horgan said he’s grateful Trudeau listened.

“It was quite a breakthrough,” Horgan told Postmedia News on Monday. “We talked about this on Thursday, and the prime minister said he’d go away and think about it.

“A lot of work left to do but it’s an acknowledgment and recognition that if we are going to provide confidence in the market place for workers, for businesses and for customers, they need to have a sense they are safe. And this is a key delivery for that.”

The premier was bolstered in his efforts by a broad coalition of B.C. business leaders, who lined up in support of the idea after Horgan said it would be unfair to force the cost of a paid sick day program onto the back of employers already struggling to reopen their businesses.

“I just kept reinforcing my argument, trying to be as persuasive as I can,” said Horgan.

“And it appears we’ve hit some success.”

Canada does not have a guaranteed sickpay law. B.C. passed emergency legislation in March to give workers three unpaid sick days without fear of being fired. While some workers do get sick-pay through union collective agreements or contracts with their employers, many others do not. The Ministry of Labour could not provide an estimate Monday of those in B.C. who do not have paid sick days.

3 people still dying every day after using illicit drugs, says BC’s chief coroner The BC Coroners Service is reporting some of the highest numbers of deaths due to illicit drug overdoses in the four years since the province declared a public health emergency.

In a statement sent out Wednesday, the service said there have been 112 deaths recorded in March alone. In April that number climbed to 117, marking the first time B.C. has recorded over 100 illicit drug toxicity deaths in back-to-back months since November and December 2018.

“We remain in a public health emergency, with more than three British Columbians dying each day from illicit drug toxicity deaths,” said Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe.

Lapointe also said Illicit drug toxicity death rates in B.C. are still the highest of any jurisdiction in Canada, with Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria recording the highest number of deaths in the province.To date, the coroners service has recorded 382 illicit drug deaths in B.C. The more than 100 deaths in each month of March and April show about a 40 per cent increase over the same period last year.

In April 2020, there were 117 deaths compared to 84 in the same month last year.

The Northern Health Authority has the highest rate of illicit drug toxicity deaths at 28 per 100,000 people in 2020. Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has the second highest at 26 deaths per 100,000 people.B.C. averages 22 deaths per 100,000 people 71 per cent of those dying are aged 19 to 49. 79 per cent of those are men. Lapointe said recent efforts to improve access to a regulated and safe supply of drugs are encouraging, but the coroners service will continue to recommend an evidence-based, supportive treatment and recovery system.

“The BC Coroners Service continues to work with our partners to collaboratively share information to better understand the situation.”

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Shah Rukh Khan contributes donation for cyclone Amphan Actor Shah Rukh Khan has now extended his support for Cyclone Amphan relief in West Bengal. The official Twitter handle for his IPL (Indian Premier League) team, Kolkata Knight Riders, posted that they would be planting five thousand trees and an undisclosed amount

has been transferred to the relief fund set up by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the state.

“We must stay strong through these testing

times until we can smile together again,” in a statement issued by the team.Another initiative has been launched by SRK and KKR, named KKR Sahayta Vahan where volunteers will be going to four badly affected districts in West Bengal, namely Kolkata, North and South Parganas and Purba Medinipur and essential items like ration and hygiene products will be distributed to those who need it. The statement also says that social distancing will be followed by the volunteers and masks and sanitisers will be used by them. May 20, Cyclone Amphan pummeled through West Bengal and Odisha and caused unimaginable damage and at least 80 people lost their lives. In the aftermath of the cyclone, SRK had tweeted his condolences saying, “My prayers, thoughts & love to those affected by the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan in Bengal & Odisha.

The news has left me feeling hollow.

Kat’s stunning smile at her social media post Katrina Kaif whose unmissable banter with Parineeti Chopra over a throwback picture feature their other Bollywood pals had grabbed everyone’s attention but it looks like the mesmerising ‘Bharat’ actress is here to give win over the internet with her beautiful smile.

Taking to Instagram, Katrina shared a new post wherein she can be seen sporting a white tee with a denim dungaree as she poses for the lens showing off her radiant smile. Check out her post here: The 36-year-old diva, who has been accompanied by her younger sister Isabelle in Mumbai amid the lockdown,

have been bonding over household chores like cleaning, cooking and washing utensils. Not only that but Kat has even been sharing pictures of her quarantine diary with her fans as well.

Meanwhile, on the professional front, Katrina’s film ‘Sooryavanshi’ been postponed due to COVID-19 crisis. Rohit Shetty directorial features Akshay, Ajay and Ranveer Singh making a special appearance in the film.

Kat is celebrity spokesperson for number of brands including Slice, Nakshatra, Lux, Panasonic, Lakmé and L’Oréal.

She is ranked India’s second most prominent endorser in 2012.

In 2014 she received ₹50 million (US$700,000) to ₹60 million (US$840,000) for each endorsement, making her one of India’s highest-paid celebrity.

18

Bollywood Preity Zinta making the most of self quarantine

Preity Zinta like many other celebrities is using the time of lockdown due to Covid-19 is a productive matter.

On Friday, she posted a picture of herself where she revealed she had learnt to make masala dosa. She wrote: “Yesss !

Finally learnt how to make Masala Dosa It’s incredible how we have not gone out for 16 days nor met anyone. Feels strange, but I’d rather be home safe than sorry. Its really nice to hang with mom & learn recipes of some of my fav. Dishes.

Trying to stay positive & productive while we stay in #day16 #quarantine #cooking #dosa #lockdown #stayhome #staysafe #ting.” The picture shows Preity with a plate in her hand (held the way waiters in restaurants do) and in it

is a nicely made masala dosa with a green chutney and a bowl (the contents of which are not visible).

The post got quite a few comments with one person (possibly a friend) saying Preity was in fact a rather good cook. She wrote: “Yum!!

Btw guys she’s a brilliant cook. Made delicious dal, subzi and mixed vegetable rice for me when we were in london together.” Actor Ananya Pandey’s aunt Deanne Pandey reacted to it and wrote: “Yummy @realpz’ followed by a bunch of appreciative emojis.

Few days back Preity posted a video of her mother giving her an oil massage, sitting out in sun. The video has been shot by Preity’s husband who addresses the elderly lady as ‘sasuma’.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Shilpa considers cleaning as one of the best workouts amid COVID-19 lockdown Shilpa Shetty considers sweeping as one of the best workouts during coronavirus lockdown. On Friday, she posted a video on her Instagram account in which she is seen cleaning her garden area. “This is a workout guys. Maid nahi ayi hai... garden ho... ghar ho... safai karo. Isse better workout nahi ho sakta. Aur self isolation mein occupation bhi mil jaata hai. ...Yeh ho gaya aaj ka cardio (The maid isn’t here today. So whether it’s your home or your garden, clean it up. There cannot be a better work out than this. It also keeps you occupied throught the selfisolation. Here’s enough cardio for today),” Shilpa said in the video. Not only this, she also took out a moment to appreciate the efforts of house helpers.“Cleaning and tending to the garden

for these last few days.

This lockdown time has made me realise and remember that having help in any form is one of those few things we should always appreciate.

Our lives become so much easier because of all our house help/ staff but unfortunately, sometimes we only realise this in times like these.

“Today, I’m grateful for every single person who has made life easier for us in their own way. It is because of them that we can enjoy the gift of time to go out and pursue our dreams. When life gets back to normal, don’t forget to let them know that you value them,” she added.

Shah Rukh Khan wins Hyundai Creta 2020 Shah Rukh Khan raved about the 2020 Hyundai Creta when he had unveiled the SUV for the first time at Auto Expo 2020.

The King of Bollywood has now become the first customer in India of the secondgeneration Creta with the company handing

over the keys in a small ceremony. Shah Rukh Khan already has a garage-full of ultra luxury vehicles but had previously said that his fleet also includes the firstgeneration Creta that was launched in India back in 2015. Interestingly, he was also the first owner of a Creta in the country at

the time. He had previously said he loves to drive the car and that his children also enjoy themselves in it. Taking the opportunity, he had lavished praise on the second-generation Creta as well. Shah Rukh Khan has been a brand ambassador for Hyundai for over two decades. “It’s an honour to be with my Hyundai family,” he said. Auto Expo 2020.

“Two things happened in the last 22 years - I had a son and became the brand ambassador of Hyundai India. So I am like the father of Hyundai in India.” The Bollywood superstar who has an unmatched fan following around the world, while praising Creta, had admitted that it is the Santro that is his all-time favourite car. 2020 Creta, however, has the potential to become the new favourite. The car received more than 14,000 bookings in the first two weeks since these were opened. Hyundai officially launched 2020 Creta on Monday at a starting price of ₹9.99 lakh. It is offered in three BS6-compliant engine options - 1.5-litre petrol,1.5-litre U2 CRDi diesel and a 1.4 turbo petrol. In its latest avatar, the Creta gets significant design

Meet model, actor Satparwan Singh Meet Satparwan Singh, 6 years old model and actor who rose to fame as a child and gained great fame on all the social networking sites after posting his turban tying videos as well as candid photos. He was born in Dasuya, Punjab.

At the age, when most of the children spend their time, playing, watching cartoons, cultivating and honing their skills, the exceptional ones like Satparwan leaving the marks in the world with his glamorous looks and unique talent of tying all the styles of turban and winning millions of heart with his versatility.

Satparwan has already done several fashion shows, short films, bhangra shows, turban competitions, photo shoots for catalogs and commercials for many children’s clothing. This glamorous Singh loves being on stage. His journey started when he was just 1.5 years and his parents took him in a kids modelling contest, he won the tag of best gorgeous eyes and title of Mr. little master. We all know children learn what they see hear n listen, they imitate us likewise this cute little boy learnt this skill from his father just by watching him how he ties the turban. He started imitating when he was

just 1.5 and started trying tying turban from the todler age and became a pro at the age of 5. At the age of 5, Satparwan began his career in the fashion industry, he has taken part in different fashion shows (India’s kids modelling contest and junior’s fashion week Ludhiana ). This cutie singh has been face of M3 entertainment, BMP fire, Ludhiana talkies and also the brand ambassador of various brands like Shreem India, 999 fitness club and Sikh fashion TV. He did a ramp walk for one of biggest clothing brand - US Polo. He has worked in various short films and music videos. He has also participated in many turban competitions and won numerous honours too. Satparwan is very popular for his unique turban styles, many popular actors and superstars like Diljit Dosanjh shared his video on his social Networks, where he got more than 7lakh views and lot of love from audience.

He is working on many projects which are yet to come. We hope he will revolutionise the fashion and film industry in future. We are wishing this little cutie superstar All the best for his future journey. Blessings

19

Saturday, April 4, 2020 BC Liberals call for more PPE and safety supports in classrooms

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor was born on June 9, 1985.

She received National Film Award and Filmfare Award, from 2012–2016, she appeared in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list based on her income and popularity. Kapoor, the daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, began her career as an assistant director on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2005 drama Black. She later made her acting debut in Bhansali’s romantic drama Saawariya (2007), a box office flop, and had her first commercial success with the romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010).

However, this was followed by a series of commercial failures and repetitive roles, which garnered her negative reviews. The 2013 box office hit Raanjhanaa marked a turning point in Kapoor’s career, garnering her praise and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. Kapoor had her biggest commercial successes with supporting roles in the biopics Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and Sanju (2018), and a leading role in the romance Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015); the latter two rank among the highestgrossing Bollywood films.

Her acclaimed portrayal of Neerja Bhanot in the 2016 biographical thriller Neerja won her the National Film Award – Special Mention and a Filmfare Critics

Award for Best Actress, and she followed it with a starring role in the 2018 female buddy film Veere Di Wedding, both of which rank among the highest-grossing female-led Hindi films.Kapoor supports the raising awareness of breast cancer and LGBT rights. Known in the media for her outspoken personality, she is frequently credited as one of India’s most fashionable celebrities. She is married to the businessman Anand Ahuja. Kapoor was born in the Bombay suburb of Chembur on 9 June 1985.

Her father is actor and producer Anil Kapoor, the son of the late filmmaker Surinder Kapoor and the founder of the Anil Kapoor Films Company.

Her mother, Sunita, is a former model and designer. Kapoor has two younger siblings: film producer Rhea and brother Harshvardhan.

She is the niece of film producer Boney Kapoor and actor Sanjay Kapoor; actress Sridevi and producer Mona Shourie (Boney’s wives) are her aunts. Kapoor’s paternal cousins are actors Arjun Kapoor and Mohit Marwah, and maternal second cousin is actor Ranveer Singh During the production of Black, Kapoor developed an interest in acting when Bhansali professed that he wanted to cast her in the lead in his next film, Saawariya. She was advised to lose weight; at the time, she weighed about 80 kilograms (180 lb).

Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir & Alia Bhatt made their relationship official at Sonam‘s wedding reception after months of speculation, many started assuming this time Ranbir will definitely reach the mandap. They looked very much in love, caring for each other. Then the many photos from the sets of Brahmastra in Bulgaria also started doing the rounds of the internet.

While people were speculating a wedding, there were also those who had this question in their head… will Alia Bhatt quit acting after getting married? There is no reason why she should but the thought persisted because bahus of Kapoor khandan don’t really work in films. But now we can feel relieved because the actress has addressed the question and made it clear, she has no intentions of quitting anything except for her status. (Also read: Ranbir Kapoor holds Alia Bhatt closer at a birthday.

Alia did ‘Ask me anything’ session on Instagram and graciously answered this question of one of her fans. We are glad she decided to address this question Alia, you have no idea how happy this answer made us. It will be a shame to lose you to marriage because you are the best that

we have today. Every time you are on the big screen, you prove you are a rare talent.

We wouldn’t want anything or anyone to take you away from us. Alia has returned to the bay while Ranbir is still shooting.

Bhatt was featured by Forbes Asia in their

30 Under 30 list. She has appeared in Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list since 2014, peaking at the eighth position in 2019.

That year, the magazine estimated her annual income to be ₹592.1 million (US$8.3 million) and listed her as the highestpaid actress in the country.In 2018 and 2019, the Indian edition of GQ featured her among the nation’s 50 most influential young people and credited her for “striking a balance between big-budget, all-star blowouts and more script-oriented films”.

Press release Dan Davies, MLA for Peace River North and Opposition Critic for Education, is calling on Education Minister Rob Fleming to enhance health and safety measures for students and teachers in classrooms across British Columbia, including more resources and guidelines for personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitation stations. “Despite the release of COVID-19 health and safety guidelines for schools, my colleagues and I continue to hear from parents, educators and support staff from across this province who feel that more needs to be done to ensure our schools can conduct proper health and safety practices when students return to classrooms,” said Davies. “Schools are being instructed to implement enhanced safety measures but exactly how the government intends to help provide these supports, such as handwashing stations and PPE, remains uncertain.”

In a letter to Education Minister Rob Fleming,

Dan Davies and the Official Opposition Caucus are calling for the NDP government to ensure all classrooms have access to handwashing and hand sanitation stations, either directly in the classrooms or through converted drinking fountains. Davies is also calling for the ministry to allocate funds to support schools with the purchase of PPE for teachers and staff.

“Although we are excited to see students returning to our classrooms, the safety of our students and staff must remain the top priority,” added Davies. “Orders and guidelines aren’t enough — this government has a responsibility to ensure classrooms are provided with the necessary resources to operate as safely and efficiently as possible. We hope government will listen to the concerns of teachers and families so that our children’s safety and education is not compromised as we continue to adapt to this challenge together.”

BC Liberals seek clarity on ICBC road test restarts The BC Liberals are asking John Horgan and the NDP government to provide clarity on when ICBC driver’s license road tests will resume after other provinces have restarted the service. “As we begin to slowly reopen our economy many people, especially front line workers, are waiting to take the necessary road tests to receive their driver’s licenses,” said MLA Jas Johal, the Official Opposition Critic for ICBC. “Countless British Columbians rely on being able to drive, whether for work, taking elderly family members to medical appointments, or picking up children from school. People are looking for certainty as to when these tests will resume so they can begin planning their lives.” Other provinces such as Saskatchewan and Manitoba have restarted road tests. Meanwhile, B.C. MLAs are receiving correspondence from constituents on this important matter but are being told

by ICBC that they have not decided on when road tests will begin again. BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson penned a letter to Premier Horgan today asking for clarity on the issue.

“This is an important issue for people in our province and ICBC has so far been unable to provide us with any timelines for the resumption of road tests,” added Johal. “The safety of ICBC employees, as well as those needing to take tests, must be made a priority as we follow the lead of other provinces like Saskatchewan and Manitoba that have already resumed road tests. People here in B.C. deserve to know when our province will follow suit.”

On top of failing to provide answers on driver’s licensing, ICBC has also still failed to offer any rebate to British Columbians during the pandemic, which has seen savings from over 50,000 fewer claims than expected.

20

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Small local businesses are essential economic recovery

By Stephanie Cadieux, MLA Surrey South and BC Liberal Co-Critic for Finance

45% of BC businesses are facing difficulty paying their rent without assistance according to a recent CFIB poll. As MLAs we’re hearing too frequently from businesses in our community that are concerned their business won’t survive the pandemic.

When you consider that about 98% of businesses in BC are small businesses, and that they employ about 500,000 British Columbians, things get real, very quickly. The recovery is going to be challenging enough for our economy – we can’t afford to lose countless small business employers to bankruptcy.

That’s why the Official Opposition has encouraged government to provide additional relief targeted for small business owners. The

suggested measures include a short-term commercial rent relief plan that includes a no-eviction backstop to help small businesses; funding to provide access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safety upgrades; a 60-90-day holiday on Provincial Sales Tax, hotel tax and Employer Health Tax; and a moratorium on new regulations and policies that would add costs for B.C. businesses.

As a result of COVID-19 we’re now in a deep recession with hundreds of thousands of people out of work and businesses in peril. We need an economic recovery and job creation plan for BC. British Columbians deserve a government that will be bold and brave and the time is now. We can’t wait and see.

Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) honored to accept in-kind donations in the amount of nearly $100,000 from IKEA Canada Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) was honored to accept in-kind donations in the amount of nearly $100,000 from IKEA Canada. This initiative is part of IKEA’s commitment to provide approximately $2.3M in product and supply donations to support local communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These products will support vulnerable communities, including newcomers, refugees, children and seniors to ensure they have a safe and comfortable home during these challenging times. Since 2018, PICS has been working closely with IKEA as part of IKEA Canada’s Refugee Employment Program. During this pandemic, PICS and IKEA are working together to provide 400 home furnishing kits to those in need.

“At PICS, our vision is to promote harmony and intercultural understanding for the purpose of building a more inclusive society. Now more than ever, we know that families are in dire need

of essentials” Satbir Cheema, CEO of PICS. “By providing items from kitchen and bath supplies, bedding and duvets, and even soft toys to the most vulnerable and at-risk communities, we ensure that their basic necessities are being met and also that they are feeling less isolated in their homes” Raj Hundal, Director of Employment Programs and Planning of PICS. PICS is committed to support the communities in which we serve and we strive to do all that we can to support the most vulnerable people during these unprecedented times.

Fraser Health provides update on COVID-19 outbreaks Press release Fraser Health is sharing the following updates on Langley Lodge and Nicola Lodge: Langley Lodge The COVID-19 outbreak has been challenging to control at Langley Lodge due to complex factors such as the outbreak being on a behavioral stabilization unit. We offer our sincere condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones during this time.

Over the past several weeks, Fraser Health has been supporting and offering guidance to Langley Lodge, a contracted long term care facility owned by the Langley Care Society. Today, we have appointed our own Director of Pandemic Response to provide oversight of COVID-19 response at Langley Lodge. We have been working very closely with Langley Lodge and this decision was

made to further support the facility leadership and staff. In addition to the COVID-19 outbreak control measures, we are deploying our ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) machine to the site with infection control specialists. Additional nurses and care staff are also deployed to ensure resident care needs continue to be met.

Nicola Lodge A resident has tested positive for COVID-19 at Nicola Lodge, a long term care facility. The site is located in Port Coquitlam and is owned by Sienna Senior Living. The resident is in isolation in their home in long term care. To support this contracted service provider, Fraser Health is taking a number of actions to support and guide the site during their outbreak. With the support of a SWAT team, Fraser Health has implemented enhanced control measures to be followed at this site.

MLAs condemn NDP plan to open up hunting moose calves and their mothers BC Liberal MLAs Donna Barnett and John Rustad are condemning John Horgan and the NDP for opening up the hunt for moose calves and their mothers in the province.

“At a time when moose populations are struggling, it makes little sense to put pressure on mother and their calves,” said CaribooChilcotin MLA Barnett and Opposition Critic for Rural Development. “I don’t know what’s gotten into the minds of the NDP and Premier Horgan. This is a step in the wrong direction and it has to stop immediately.”

A grassroots campaign called the Cow Moose Sign Project came together to raise awareness about the threat to moose populations by opening up the hunt to moose cows and calves. As many as 30 First Nation communities have signed on to the conservation project.

“I can’t emphasize how irresponsible it is

to open up the hunt on moose calves and their mothers,” said Nechako Lakes MLA Rustad who, as former minister, fought to restore moose populations. “The record wildfire seasons throughout the province in 2017 and 2018 have significantly reduced moose habitat, making them far more susceptible to predators such as wolves.”

“The Guide Outfitters Association of British Columbia has been a supporter of the Cow Moose Sign Project for many years because of the impact antlerless harvest has on a population,” said executive director Scott Ellis. “The GOABC is concerned about moose populations in many areas of our province. Normally antlerless tags are only issued when a population needs to be reduced. Since this is not the case, we would hope the increase in ‘Cow or Calf ’ Limited Entry Hunting authorizations is an oversight that can be corrected before the fall hunting season”

Benefits of paneer It is tough to imagine Indian cuisine without cottage cheese or paneer. If the non-vegetarians have their ever-so-versatile chicken, then vegetarians have for long taken pride in their most beloved ‘paneer’ which can blend in any dry or gravy preparation. Cottage cheese makes way into so many of our desserts too. Apart from these indulgent preparations, paneer can make for a healthful food too. Many people also consume raw cottage cheese with black pepper or add it to their salads for its milky flavour and numerous health benefits. Cottage cheese is fresh curd cheese which is mildly flavoured. In processing paneer, whey (remaining liquid after curdling) is drained but the curd is not pressed due to which a certain amount of whey is left in it. If you haven’t known the many benefits of paneer, it’s time you get to know what wonders it can do to your body. We tell you all the benefits it has to offer. Health benefits of paneer (cottage cheese) that will make you add more of the creamy wonder to your diet. Benefits of paneer:

Rich In Protein According to Bangalore based nutritionist, Dr. Anju Sood, “Cottage cheese is a dense source of protein”. She says, “It depends upon the kind of milk from which the paneer is churned. If it is from full cream milk, it is high on fat too, in addition to being a protein dense food. Other than iron, almost all essential minerals like calcium and magnesium are present in cottage cheese.”

100 grams of cottage cheese contains 11 gm of protein, according to USDA. Cow’s milk contains the highest amount of casein protein among various kinds of milk. Therefore cottage cheese derived out of cow’s milk is one rich source of protein you can load up on. Another highlight of cottage cheese is that it does not require any cooking and can be consumed directly. A cube of raw paneer therefore makes for a powerhouse of protein. Cottage cheese derived out of cow’s milk is one rich source of protein 2. Strengthen bones & teeth

Cottage cheese is one of the best sources of calcium.

Experts say that cottage cheese can fulfil 8% of the daily recommended value. 100 grams of cottage cheese has a whopping 83 grams of protein!

Adequate calcium levels ensure healthy bones, teeth, healthy heart muscles and smooth nerve functioning too.bones3. Maintains blood sugar levels Cottage cheese can help regulate blood sugar levels too. Cottage cheese is packed

with magnesium which can not only check the untimely spikes but also ensure better heart health and immune system. The high protein component of paneer also helps slow release of sugar into the blood and prevents abrupt hike and decline in blood sugar levels.

4. Good for heart Cottage cheese can do wonders for your heart health too. Paneer contains potassium which has been known to play a key role in fluid balance of body. Your kidneys play a crucial role in managing your blood pressure by controlling the amount of fluid stored in your body.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

21 17

18 22

Saturday, May 30, 2020

How BC controlled COVID-19 while Ontario, Quebec face disaster Supporting workers and providing protective gear helped to mitigate the spread of infection.

As COVID-19 continues to sweep through long-term care facilities, Ontario and Quebec are struggling hard to contain outbreaks — while British Columbia and other provinces have managed to keep infections under control.

Experts say that’s because B.C. took swift, coordinated and decisive actions to stop the transmission of the virus, such as providing adequate protective gear and financially supporting front-line staff to restrict their movement between sites.

There have been 111 deaths in longterm care facilities in B.C., including hospitals, compared to more than 2,500 in Quebec and 1,500 in Ontario.

This week, the military issued separate reports on the conditions inside 30

homes in Quebec and Ontario where more than 1,600 Canadian Armed Forces members have been deployed to assist in the crisis.

In five Ontario longterm care homes, the military reported incidents of neglect, aggressive treatment toward residents and cases of residents being improperly fed, left in soiled clothing or going unbathed for weeks. There were also reports of insect infestation and the smell of rotting food.

The situation appears less dire in the 25 homes where the military is deployed in Quebec — yet even there the military reported improper use of protective equipment and staffing shortages.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with

Canada Post tells why you can expect to wait longer for everything you bought online during COVID-19 Canada Post workers are grappling with a record surge in bulky parcels at a time when reduced staffing due to physical distancing makes it impossible to meet delivery dates, even as online shoppers grow impatient for purchases to arrive.

The postal service told customers this week to brace for delays into the forseeable future as demand and distribution centres that weren’t designed to keep people two metres apart clash.

“We’re having higher than Christmas volumes right now with a reduced staff,” said Derek Richmond, who works at the York Distribution Centre in Scarborough. “Because of the crisis there has been a lot of special leave for members who are at high-risk and single parents, so we’re having some challenges.”

In simple terms: “We are backlogged,”

said Richmond.

“A lot of our members are working overtime, six days a week, to help us catch up,” he added.

Parcel deliveries grew at a record pace from April to May — hitting an all-time, one-day record of 2.1 million parcels delivered May 19. Numbers are roughly three times the norm for this time of year.

Jon Hamilton, Canada Post spokesperson, said while some items sent via priority postage meet delivery dates others “may take an extra day or two.”

Orders made online could be processed at various distribution centres, which could impact delivery dates, he said.

An ‘urban explorer’ entered Barry and Honey Sherman’s home before demolition and saw papers that ‘looked like evidence’

reporters during a United Nations web cast on Thursday. 0:30 P a t Armstrong, a sociology professor at York University who led the 10-year international project Reimagining Long-term Residential Care, said the military has drawn attention to deficiencies that existed long before the pandemic hit.

She said one important way B.C. limited the spread of the virus was by taking over staffing — ordering that personal support workers each work in only one facility, instead of multiple locations. Wages were boosted to compensate for the loss of second jobs.

“They’ve had fewer deaths and fewer outbreaks, I think primarily because they acted so quickly and in the way they did to take over the employment of these people in long-term care. And they stopped extra people from coming into the homes.

That was another factor,” Armstrong said.

Another factor reducing the risk in B.C.’s long-term care facilities is the fact that more nursing homes in the province have modern infrastructure with fewer four-bed units.

They also provided more personal protective equipment to staff early on, Armstrong said.

Officials should have made special efforts with long-term care homes because their residents have complex needs and are often in congregate living arrangements, she argued. Instead, she said, Ontario and Quebec focused on ensuring that hospital front-line workers were equipped first.

Harbour Air to resume flights out of Vancouver International Airport Harbour Air will soon resume service out of Vancouver International Airport with more flights to return in the weeks ahead.

Harbour Air resumed some of its flights on May 11 and will add more to its schedule on Monday. On the list are flights between YVR and Victoria and Nanaimo as well as flights between Vancouver and Maple Bay. The seaplane company temporarily stopped all flights in March to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. “We have seen the impact COVID-19 has had on the communities

we service,” said Chad Wetsch, executive vicepresident of Harbour Air, in a news release.

“We didn’t want to leave anyone stranded, so we responded quickly, changing how we operate to get people and supplies where they needed to go.”

As flights resume, Harbour Air has introduced new safety measures for passengers and employees including changing its flight schedule and reducing available seating, giving gloves and mask to passengers and asking passengers to sign a health declaration form before travel.

Housing market will take years to climb out of the hole brought on by economic shock: CMHC Construction on new housing will be slashed by at least half this year as prices and sales on existing homes plunge due to the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation predicted in its housing market outlook released Wednesday.

Housing starts, prices and sales won’t start to recover until mid next year, with levels likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels

until 2022, according to the forecast, which

is admittedly “a little on the pessimistic side,” CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan said on a conference call with media.

“We don’t expect this to be a very quick recovery from COVID-19,” he said.

The CMHC blamed massive declines in employment — 3 million jobs disappeared across Canada in March and April — along with drops in economic activity due to stay-at-home orders, a halt to immigration and lower oil prices for the additional risks to the housing market.

Posthaste: Realtors say on-theground activity defies CMHC’s ‘panic-inducing’ price plunge forecast The unintended consequences of doubling the minimum down payment on a house Why housing sales and prices are marching to different tunes The CMHC predicts housing prices will fall between 9 and 18 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, with prices falling as much as 25 per cent in oil-producing provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Sales volumes are expected to fall between 19 and 29 per cent as potential buyers stay home instead at a time when social distancing makes it difficult to look at homes and uncertainty makes them more inclined to wait before a big purchase.

Reduced construction activity means housing starts could drop from 51 to 75 per cent, with the CMHC

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Why BC’s containment and recovery from COVID-19 is going smoother than Ontario’s At the end of a news conference on Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix seemed to reference the troubles Toronto was facing during this stage of the response to the pandemic.

“The past few days have offered some images from other jurisdictions, where efforts to stop the spread appeared to have paused,” said Dix. “These images can make it seem like others have drifted.”

It was hard to imagine Dix wasn’t talking about the now infamous photos of people crowded in Toronto’s popular Trinity-Bellwoods park.

Those pictures gave an image to the struggles Ontario has had in reducing positive cases and transitioning to its restart stage, a contrast to what’s taken place in B.C. over the past month.

Over the past seven days, Canada’s westernmost province announced 84 new COVID-19 cases, continuing a steady week-over-week decline since late March.

In Ontario, over the same period, there were 2,807 cases.

Some of that can be explained by testing and population volumes, but even when adjusted per capita, it’s a tremendous difference.

Epidemiologists say there are likely a number of reasons for that divide.

The reasons Ontario suffered more than B.C. during the initial containment phase are complex — and include an element of luck — but it also made the province’s recovery more difficult.

“Ontario got hit with more cases early than B.C. did, and I say that not to be defensive, but it made the job harder,” said Dr. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and

assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

“B.C. had the wind at their back in terms of not having the same volume … but I don’t think that’s the main story here.”

Furness said it appeared B.C.’s policies and daily messaging were being driven by public health experts, while in Ontario they appeared to be driven by politicians.

“I don’t find any evidence that we’ve got a strong epidemiological voice [at the table] saying this is a good idea and that’s a bad idea,” he said.

“In B.C., [Provincial Health Officer] Bonnie Henry is famous, at least across the country now, as the expert who really is an expert, who really can answer those questions and is clearly involved in decision-making.”

Furness also said Ontario had suffered by having several different people — both health officials and politicians — act as the lead spokesperson, focusing on different hot button issues of the day, often with changing advice.

That, he said, could contribute to an overwhelmed and skeptical public.

“It’s firefighting. It’s playing whack-amole,” he said. “It erodes trust, it erodes public confidence, and that’s really damaging.”

Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and science communicator at the University of Ottawa, said there were a number of reasons Ontario had suffered, including beginning its restart strategy before active cases significantly declined, failures in slowing down the spread in care homes, and a lack of effective contact tracing for people who have contracted the virus.

Dozens of Canadian children treated for inflammatory condition possibly linked to COVID-19 Canadian doctors are seeing new cases of a rare inflammatory illness in kids believed to possibly be linked to COVID-19.

Clusters of what is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), or pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS), have been reported at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children as well as CHU Sainte-Justine hospital in Montreal.

Symptoms of the condition are similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare blood vessel disorder that causes rashes and a prolonged fever.

The case definition for this syndrome continues to evolve, said a spokesperson for the Hospital for Sick Children, but the hospital has seen approximately 20 patients over the past three weeks with “unexplained fevers for three or more days and whose blood tests show high inflammatory markers.”

“The relationship between these patients and COVID-19 is still unclear as all have tested negative for COVID-19 with a nasopharyngeal swab and very few had any confirmed contact with COVID-19 cases,” the spokesperson said.

“The children we have seen have all responded well to our current therapies for severe inflammation.”

Dr. Marie-Paule Morin, a pediatric rheumatologist at CHU Sainte-Justine hospital in Montreal, said there’s been a slight increase in cases since early May. Morin said there are probably about 20 patients who fit the criteria of the inflammatory syndrome being treated at the hospital.

Morin said the exact definitions used by the Canadian Pediatric Society are “pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS)” and “Kawasaki disease temporally associated with COVID-19.” [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ] Morin said it appears there is a connection between the condition and COVID-19, but experts still need to conduct more research.

She said a Canadian study is currently underway.

“We still do not have the proof that it is related (to COVID-19) in terms of serology,” she added.

1:47 Parents of children with compromised immune systems asking for help with schooling Parents of children with compromised immune systems asking for help with schooling

LOCAL / NATIONAL

23 19

Three charges laid for gatherings of more than five people in Waterloo After a busy but penalty-free Victoria Day weekend, three more charges have been laid for people not following the province’s emergency orders.

Municipal by-law officers in Waterloo handed out the charges between May 20 and May 27.

During a Wednesday media briefing, Chief Administrative Officer Mike Murray said that the charges were all given at private residences where more than five people were gathered.

Under the province’s emergency orders, which were extended until June 9 on Wednesday, people are not allowed to gather in groups of over five unless they’re part of the same household.

Murray said that these tickets are typically given to one person who was responsible for the infraction.

In these cases, that would mean either the tenant or the property

owner who facilitated the gathering.

The fine comes with a $750 price tag.

A total of 15 charges have been laid for not complying with the province’s emergency orders.

These range from non-essential businesses staying open to people using closed basketball courts.

Over the past week, Murray said that there were a total of 156 site visits where people were educated on the orders or warnings were given.

Three hundred site visits required no action. In these cases, either people were in compliance, or the issues were resolved by the time compliance officers arrived.

The site visits are conducted by regional and municipal by-law officers, public health inspectors and police officers.

There are currently 1,095 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Waterloo Region.

That number includes 775 resolved cases and 113 deaths.

Teen stopped for stunt driving had 14 previous traffic charges in 2020 - Ottawa Police Ottawa Police say a 17-year-old driver with 14 previous traffic charges in the first five months of 2020 was stopped for speeding this week. Sgt. Mark Gatien tweeted the G2 driver was stopped on Heron Road near Prince of Wales Drive on Monday going 135 kilometres an hour in a 60 kilometres an hour zone. The driver was charged with stunt driving. The vehicle was seized

for seven days and the driver’s licence was suspended for seven days.

Gatien said the driver had 14 previous traffic charges since January.

Ottawa Police launched “Operation Overwatch” in late April to crack down on speeding and stunt driving on Ottawa’s roads during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police said there had been an increase in speeding infractions and related complaints during the pandemic, while traffic volumes on roads had decreased. On Monday, Police

24 20

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Trudeau defends suspending regular House sittings, downplays chance of snap election Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the decision to suspend all regular sittings of the House of Commons until September, with the special all-party COVID-19 committee acting as a standin over the next few weeks, and then four special House sittings over the summer.

Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday that he thinks under the hybrid model that’s been adopted— where a limited number of MPs participate in-person inside the House of Commons in Ottawa, while the remaining representatives are shown from their ridings on two large video screens on either side of the Speaker’s chair—Parliament is still working.

On Tuesday, Liberal, NDP and Green

MPs voted in favour of the government’s proposal for the structure of what remains of the spring parliamentary session.

Though, many of the usual functions of the House, from private members’ bills to mechanisms that force government responses, are not able to be advanced while the House is suspended. That has prompted the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois to call the move a shutdown of Parliament and an abdication of accountability in the middle of a pandemic.

“I think it’s extremely important that we continue to have a well-functioning Parliament and functioning democratic institutions during this crisis,” Trudeau said.

Inflation remote risk compared with Bank of Canada’s bigger worry, depression-inducing mix of deflation and debt Theory states that a big increase in the money supply will result in runaway prices, and there are those who are adamant that the hundreds of billions of dollars the Bank of Canada intends to create over the next year can only end in a rerun of the 1970s.

Government debt has a long association with inflation, so the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s April 30 forecast that debt will spike to about 50 per cent of gross domestic product in 2021 from about 30 per cent last year is making some people nervous.

The Consumer Price Index declined in April for the first time since the Great Recession.

Nonetheless, anyone fearful of hyperinflation could use the Statistics Canada’s latest price survey to show what happens when too much money chases too few goods: the cost of cleaning products jumped 4.6 per cent from April 2019 and the paper supplies sub-

index, which includes toilet paper, surged six per cent, the largest gain on record.

Stephen Poloz is seeking to allay those fears as he wraps up his tenure as Bank of Canada governor.

One point he likes to make is that policymakers learn from their mistakes, so errors of the past won’t be repeated. He went so far as to tell the House finance committee last month that he would welcome inflation because upward price pressure would imply the economy was recovering from the COVID-19 recession.

Poloz, who will retire next week at the end of his seven-year term, also told the committee that central bankers know what to do when costs break free of the two-per-cent inflation target: raise interest rates. They are less confident about how you cleanly beat the opposite problem, which is why they have emptied the armory fighting the coronavirus crisis.

Canada braces for economic retaliation from China following Meng Wanzhou court ruling The federal government said a B.C. judge’s refusal on Wednesday to end an extradition case against Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou was entirely out of its hands as it braced for economic retaliation from Beijing.

The high profile case has placed Canada in the middle of a global power struggle between the United States and China. It has stranded Ms. Meng, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., in Vancouver for more than 18 months, and led to the retaliatory arrest in China of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and punishing sanctions on farm goods from Canada.

China’s embassy in Ottawa expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the court decision and accused Canada of acting in concert with the U.S., which is pushing its allies to ban Huawei

equipment from 5G wireless networks.

“The purpose of the United States is to bring down Huawei and other Chinese hightech companies, and Canada has been acting in the process as an accomplice of the United States. The whole case is entirely a grave political incident,” the embassy said in a statement.

The full ruling from the B.C. Supreme Court What the Meng Wanzhou ruling means, and how it could have gone the other way Meng Wanzhou lost her B.C. ruling on extradition. What now? A guide to the Huawei executive’s case so far “We once again urge Canada to take China’s solemn position and concerns seriously, immediately release Ms. Meng Wanzhou to allow her to return safely to China, and not to go further down the wrong path.”

Canada initiates dumping investigation of steel imports from five countries The Canada Border Services Agency says it has initiated an investigation in alleged dumping of some steel imports from Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Malaysia and Turkey.

The investigation relates to certain hot-rolled carbon steel heavy plate and high-strength low-alloy steel heavy plate.

The reasons for the investigation will be issued June 11, with a preliminary determination and potential provisional duties in force by Aug. 25 and a final determination Nov. 23.

Anti-dumping duties will be applied for an initial period of five years if the Canadian International Trade

Tribunal subsequently concurs that the imports injured domestic producers.

Algoma Steel Inc., which filed the complaint last month, says it is pleased with the investigation because the imports were “causing injury to Canadian producers and workers.”

The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based company says the five countries have sold large volumes of heavy plant into Canada at very low prices.

“Maintaining a strong Canadian trade defence system is especially critical in today’s volatile trading environment,” stated Algoma Steel CEO Michael McQuade in a news release.

NATIONAL

25

26

INDIA

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Coronavirus-battered India is now battling a plague of locusts India is scrambling drones, sending teams to spray insecticide and issuing alerts as swarms of locusts descend on its western states. The drones are helping track the voracious insects as they destroy crops, increasing fears over food security and economic malaise in a country already battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Swarms of desert locusts have attacked parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh states.

Delhi, in central India, also issued alerts after suggestions the swarms could reach the Indian capital, too, given forecast wind directions.

As if the dual menaces of COVID-19 and crop-killing insects wasn’t enough, a wide swathe of India was also suffering under record heat. As the locusts ravaged fields in Rajasthan, farmers already reeling from the effects of a national coronavirus lockdown were left to watch helplessly in 122-degree heat. It’s the worst locust infestation India has seen since 1993, according to the country’s Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), but the swarms aren’t new to the nation. Usually they arrive from Pakistan between July and October and remain focused in Rajasthan.

This time, however, weather conditions have helped the swarms spread into neighboring states. Videos posted on social media show swarms not only in the farm fields but also in urban areas, including the popular tourist city of Jaipur, where they’ve never been seen before.

Locusts are similar to grasshoppers, but can migrate over much large distances: A swarm can cover about 90 miles in a day. The desert locusts

are known to form particularly dense, and highly mobile swarms, according to the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) desert locust information center.

They don’t attack people or animals, but they’re considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world, with a small swarm of about 40 million locusts capable of gobbling up enough food for 35,000 people.

Damage in India A 1-kilometer swarm (covering just under half of a square mile) can have up to 80 million locusts, and at least 10 such swarms were chewing through crops in India as of Wednesday, according to the LWO. According to media reports about 123,500 acres of cropland had already been destroyed in Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh.

The crop damage comes as many farmers were already struggling with COVID-19.

Impact of India’s 2-month coronavirus lockdown, which left them largely without the workers to tend to their crops. The double crisis could pose a serious threat to India’s food security in the coming months.

Experts have warned that more swarms, still devouring crops in Pakistan and the Horn of Africa, could migrate to India in June.

Scientists have said extreme weather is to blame for the unusually large and widespread swarms this year.

“The outbreak started after warm waters in the western Indian Ocean in late 2019 fueled heavy amounts of rains over east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula,” explained Dr. Roxy

No backing down say sources on stand off with China India will not back down from the standoff with China and will also not allow any alteration of Indian territory. We will face the Chinese challenge with strength, officials have told OneIndia. The Prime Minister met with the National Security Advisor (NSA), Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to assess the situation along the Line of Actual Control. India and China have been locked in a tense stand off, especially at the Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh.

India says that it will not allow any change in status quo on the LAC. We have faced similar situations in the past and will face this one too with strength, the officer also said.

The Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road

once complete will give a major advantage. The Chinese resistance is against us completing this. It is the Chinese troops who are hindering this and we will not back down, the official cited above said. Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh held a security review meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff and the three Service Chiefs. The meeting discussed various aspects on India’s response to the provocation by China at the border. During the meeting, Singh was briefed by the Army Chief M M Naravane about the situation at the Line of Action Control. The Army Chief had two days back had taken stock of the situation.

Since the first skirmish on May 5, Chinese and Indian troops have held talks six times.

However, with solution in sight, both sides continued to maintain aggressive posturing.

Chaos reigns as Delhi-Gurugram border is sealed There was chaos on the Delhi-Gurugram border on Friday after the border was sealed, leading to long queues of vehicles, commuters arguing with police and staging a protest.

Acting on Home Minister Anil Vij’s order, the Gurugram police sealed the Delhi-Gurugram-Sirhaul border on NH 8, Chakkarpur border on Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) road, old Delhi road at Kapashera and other stretches connected to Delhi.

Police were deployed in great numbers and barricades put up, blocking entry of people barring those with valid passes and involved in essential services.

Chaos started at around 8 am when social media went abuzz with reports of a free run at the border despite Vij’s order. Within minutes the administration and local police swung into action allowing restricted entry. Soon a group of around 50 cyclists who claimed to be industrial workers blocked the road after being stopped from crossing the border.

They alleged that while cars were being allowed to go they were stopped. The blockage led to a massive jam and police refused entry to all others, including those having daily travel passes by Gurugram, Delhi and Noida administrations.

India now ninth-worst hit country in world with 1,65,799 cases The Health Ministry said the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,706 in the country while the number of cases climbed to 1,65,799, registering an increase of 175 deaths and a record jump of 7,466 cases since Thursday 8 am. According to Worldometer, India has now overtaken Turkey as the ninth worst-hit country in terms of total number of cases.The Health Ministry said the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 89,987 while 71,105 people have recovered and one patient has migrated.

“Thus, around 42.89 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior Health Ministry official said.The total confirmed cases include foreigners. Of the 175 deaths reported since Thursday morning, 85 were in Maharashtra, 22 in Gujarat, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Delhi,

12 in Tamil Nadu, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, four in Telangana and one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. Of the total 4,706 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,982 deaths followed

by Gujarat with 960 deaths, Madhya Pradesh with 321, Delhi with 316, West Bengal with 295, Uttar Pradesh with 197, Rajasthan with 180, Tamil Nadu with 145, Telangana with 67 and Andhra Pradesh with 59 deaths.

The death toll reached 47 in Karnataka and 40 in Punjab. Jammu & Kashmir reported 27 fatalities due to the disease, Haryana has 19 deaths, Bihar has 15 while Odisha and Kerala have reported seven deaths each.

PUNJAB

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Punjab CM seeks cash transfers to migrant workers & poor Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday appealed to the Prime Minister for cash transfers to all migrant workers and poor, and providing greater employment to rural poor under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

“My appeal to PM Narendra Modi, seeking government of India’s immediate intervention for cash transfer to all migrant workers and poor, providing greater employment to rural poor under MGNREGS and financial assistance for MSMEs, other than loans,” he said in a tweet.

Amid mounting economic woes, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday decided to seek a fiscal stimulus of Rs 51,102 crore from the Centre to help the state tide over the financial

crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the prolonged lockdown that ensued.

To contain the contagion in the rural areas, assistance of Rs 5,068 crore has been sought by the state in a draft memorandum for liquid and solid waste management in the villages, in addition to the upward revision of capital outlay and targets under MGNREGA. For urban development, the state has proposed a National Urban Employment Guarantee Act (NUEGA) to guarantee employment in urban areas, along with an additional capital outlay of Rs 2,302 crore under schemes like AMRUT, Smart City, PMAY etc, with certain relaxations.

‘Good work Sonu’, Punjab CM appreciates actor’s charity Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday praised Bollywood actor Sonu Sood, who was born and brought up in the state, for his charity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“It fills me with immense pride whenever I read about my fellow Punjabis going beyond their call of duty to help those in need and this time it is our Moga boy Sonu Sood who has been actively helping migrant workers by arranging for their food and transportation,” the Chief Minister said in a tweet.

“Good work Sonu!” he added.

Last week, Chef Vikas Khanna prepared a

special dish and named it ‘Moga’ after the town in Punjab where actor Sonu Sood was born.

This is because Khanna is impressed with Sonu’s charity work amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

Khanna shared a photo of the special dish with a tweet message: “Dear @SonuSood everyday you are inspiring us.

Can’t cook for you right now in appreciation of your work. So sending you a dish. Im going to name “MOGA” after your birthplace. #Respect #RealHero.”

Sonu was overjoyed naturally, and he called Khanna the “world’s best chef ”.

27

Financial package for farmers a hoax: Unions Farmer organisations observed the “Save Farmers and Save Country Day” on Wednesday and submitted memorandums of their demands at the district level across Punjab. The day was observed on the call given by the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee.

“The Centre has announced a package for farmers, but actually not a single rupee has been allotted to farmers,” said Dr Darshan Paul, executive president, Krantikari Kisan Union.

Farmer leaders alleged that under the garb of financial package, the Centre had abolished the Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committee Act and Essential Commodities Act, introduced Contract Farming Act, centralised agricultural e-marketing (eNAM), abolished subsidies and paved the way for corporatisation of land acquisition by following the dictates of the WTO.

Punjab & Haryana High Court sets up 7-judge panel to streamline hearings More than three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court went into restricted functioning mode, it today constituted a high-level committee of its senior judges for further streamlining the process of hearing cases before it and the subordinate courts in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Available information suggests Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha ordered the setting up of a seven-judge committee to work out the modalities for hearing matters and adoption of preventative measures, making clear the

High Court’s intent to prevent the period from turning itself into denial of justice phase.

The committee, headed by Justice Rajiv Sharma, would comprise Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, Justice Jaswant Singh, Justice Daya Chaudhary, Justice Rajan Gupta, Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa and Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill.

Among other things, the committee would look into the procedure of filing and hearing cases, besides regulating entry into the court complexes.

Chief Secretary apologises, Punjab logjam ends The face-off between Punjab ministers and Chief Secretary (CS) Karan Avtar Singh has ended with the officer apologising at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh at the Civil Secretariat here today. Senior Congress

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

leaders, including PPCC Chief Sunil Jakhar, had flayed the bureaucracy’s “complete control over governance” in the state.

Finance Minister Manpreet Badal called it a win for democracy. “In a democratic set-up, elected representatives have more say and importance than the bureaucracy”,

28

INDIA

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Andhra BJP chief’s daughter-in-law dies mysteriously at friend’s party Andhra Pradesh BJP president Kanna Lakshmi Narayana’s daughterin-law died under mysterious circumstances in Raidurgam area.

According to information, N Suharika Reddy (32) had gone to a friend’s house for a party.

After dancing for some time, she reportedly collapsed and died at Minakshi Towers, which falls under Madhapur police station in Hyderabad. Suharika was married to Narayana’s second son Phanindra.

She was immediately shifted to a local hospital where she was reportedly

declared brought dead.

The police have registered a case and started investigation.

The police said the exact cause of the death would be known after post-mortem, but there was a possibiluty she may have died of cardiac arrest.

At the party, Suharika danced for about an hour and her relatives, who are in a shock, said she enjoyed dancing. The incident took place around 11.30 am on Thursday.

Raidurg police Inspector S Ravinder said the statement of the hospital staff had been recorded, which confirmed that she was dead on arrival.

Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to all CMs, seeks their views on extension of lockdown Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to all chief ministers on Thursday, and sought their views on extension of the ongoing nationwide lockdown beyond May 31, officials said.

The telephonic conversations of the home minister came just three days before the end of the fourth phase of the lockdown.

The nationwide curbs, which were first imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, and has been extended thrice.

“The home minister spoke to all chief ministers and sought their views on extending the lockdown beyond May 31,” a Home Ministry official said.

Security forces avert ‘Pulwama-like attack’ in JK after explosives-laden car jumps naka A ‘Pulwama-like attack’ was averted by the timely action of security forces on Wednesday night here in Pulwama district.

According to police sources, the incident took place between 8.45 pm and 9.15 pm at Ayangund village.

“A naka was set up by the joint forces.

While vehicles were being checked, one of them jumped the barricade and tried to flee the spot,” a police source said.

He said the vehicle did not go far and was abandoned after around 200 metres.

“Security personnel who were chasing the car found it abandoned by the roadside.

On further checking of the car, it was found to be laden with explosives,” sources said.

The explosives were disposed of on Thursday morning by a bomb disposal squad.

The car (a Santro) had a fake number plate.

Sources told The Tribune that the case would be

handed over to the National Investigation Agency.

A security personnel inspects the wreckage of a Santro car in south kashmir’s Pulwama district on May 28, 2020. Tribune Photo: Amin War Police are yet to issue an official statement.

As many as 40 CRPF men were killed on February 14 last year after a similar car bomb was used by militants in Lethpora area of the district. The attack is referred to as the Pulwama attack. The gruesome attack had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war.

Later, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said the militants driving the car jumped two nakas and abandoned it at Ayegund area of Rajpora.

“After preliminary investigation, it was found the vehicle was laden with at least 40 kg to 45 kg of explosive material. The vehicle went up 15 metres when the IED was defused,” Kumar said in a press conference in Srinagar.

Babri mosque demolition:

CBI court to record statements of Advani, Joshi, Bharti from June 4 The special CBI court hearing the Babri mosque demolition case is set to record the statements of the accused, who include BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, from June 4 onwards.

Special judge S K Yadav on Thursday asked the defence to start producing the 32 accused from that date.

It is not immediately clear if they have to be present in court or can appear through a video conference due to restrictions imposed to fight the spread of coronavirus.

The court will record their statements under section 313 of the CrPC, giving them a chance to claim innocence.

This stage of the trial is also meant to explain to the accused the evidence gathered against them by the prosecuting agency,

the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992 by “karsevaks” who claimed that the mosque in Ayodhya was built on the site of an ancient Ram temple.

The accused include former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, former deputy prime minister L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Sadhvi Rithambara, Sakshi Maharaj and Ram Vilas Vedanti.

The prosecution had wrapped up the examination of its witnesses by March 6 and the court asked some of the accused to appear before it on March 24 for recording their statements under section 313 of the CrPC. But the proceedings did not take place as the court in Lucknow closed due to the coronavirus crisis.

When the proceedings resumed on May 18, the defence counsel moved an application to summon three prosecution witnesses in order to cross examine them. This was allowed.

Provide free food, shelter and travel to migrant workers: SC to states The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered states to provide free food and shelter to lakhs of migrant workers stranded in various parts of the country due to COVID-19 lockdown.

A three-judge Bench headed

by Justice Ashok Bhushan also ordered that no fare either by train or bus shall be charged for migrant workers and railway fare will have to be shared by states.

“All Migrant workers who are stranded at various places shall be provided food by the concerned state and UT at places which shall be publicised and notified to them for the period they are waiting for their turn to board a train or a bus, said the Bench -- which also included Justice SK Kaul and Justice MR Shah.

It said originating state shall provide meal and water at the station and during the journey, railways to provide meal and water to migrant workers.

It emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to deal with the crisis. “There are different mechanisms for different states.

How do you ensure that nobody asks the migrant to pay or troubles him? What we are saying is that

the migrants should be least concerned with the means of payment,” it said.

“The state shall oversee the registration of migrant workers and states to ensure that after registration, they are made to board the train or bus at an early date,” the Bench said.

“We further direct that those migrant workers found walking on the roads, immediately be taken to shelters and provided food and all facilities should be provided to them,” it said, adding, “As and when the state governments put in a request for trains, railways has to provide them.”

“All necessary details regarding number of migrants, plan for transportation mechanism of registration and other details should be brought on record in the reply,” the Bench said.

After hearing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, Colin Gonsalves, Indira Jaising, PS Narsimha and other advocates representing various states, the Bench went on to issue the directions saying, “At present we are looking at the miseries of the migrant workers, we are of the view that some interim directions need to be issued.”

“We believe that the centre and state governments require to be given some time to bring the steps taken by them on record, it said directing them to file detailed replies

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Trump offers to ‘’mediate or arbitrate’’ between India and China In a surprise move, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered to “mediate or arbitrate” the raging border dispute between India and China, saying he was “ready, willing and able” to ease the tensions, amid the continuing standoff between the armies of the two Asian giants. Trump previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, a proposal rejected by New Delhi which maintains that there is no role for any third party in bilateral issues. “We have informed both India and China that the United States is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute. Thank you!” Trump said in a predawn tweet. Trump’’s unexpected offer came a week after a senior US diplomat accused China of engaging in border clashes with India in an attempt to shift the status quo.

Alice Wells, the top US diplomat for South Asia, had also encouraged India to resist China’’s aggressive behaviour.

“If you look to the South China Sea, there’’s a method here to Chinese operations, and it is that constant aggression, the constant attempt to shift the norms, to shift what is the status quo. “It has to be resisted,” said Wells, on May 20 at the Atlantic Council here, days before she retired. China dismissed the statement of Wells as “nonsense” the next day. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that consultations were going on through diplomatic channels between Beijing and New Delhi, and Washington has “nothing to do” with it. The nearly 3,500-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the de-facto border between India and China. Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the

Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs. But on Wednesday, China took an apparently conciliatory tone by saying that the situation at the border with India is “overall stable and controllable,” and both the countries have proper mechanisms and communication channels to resolve the issues through a dialogue and consultation.

India has said the Chinese military was hindering normal patrolling by its troops along the LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim and strongly refuted Beijing’’s contention that the escalating tension between the two armies was triggered by trespassing of Indian forces across the Chinese side.

The Ministry of External Affairs said all Indian activities were carried out on its side of the border, asserting that India has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management. At the same time, it said, India was deeply committed to protect its sovereignty and security.

“Any suggestion that Indian troops had undertaken activity across the LAC in the Western sector or the Sikkim sector is not accurate. Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas and abide by it scrupulously,” MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at an online media briefing last week.

Singapore court sentences drug suspect to death on Zoom video conferencing app Singapore has sentenced a drug suspect to death on the popular videoconferencing app Zoom because of the city-state’s coronavirus lockdown, in a move slammed by a human rights group as callous and inhumane.

Defense lawyer Peter Fernando said the Supreme Court announced the penalty to his client, Punithan Genasan from Malaysia, in a virtual hearing Friday. Genasan was in jail, while Fernando and prosecutors participated in the hearing from different locations.

A Supreme Court spokesperson said courts have been conducting hearings and delivering judgments remotely to minimize the spread of the virus. The spokesperson, who declined to be identified under court policy, confirmed Genasan’s case was the first “where a death sentence was pronounced by remote hearing in Singapore.” “This has been the arrangement made by the court ... with essential hearings conducted via Zoom. We have no complaints,” Fernando said Wednesday. He said he will meet Genasan on Friday to discuss an appeal. The Singapore court ruled that Genasan, 37, was involved in drug trafficking in October 2011.

Court documents said the judge found he recruited two drug couriers and directed them to transport and deliver 28.5 grams of heroin.

Singapore applies the death penalty to a range of offenses including drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, waging war against the government and use of firearms. It has defended capital punishment as a deterrent for the most serious crimes. Most of the cases are drug-related. The city-state imposed a partial lockdown in early April after it was hit by a second wave of virus infections sparked by foreign workers living in crowded dormitories. It has reported more than 29,000 virus cases, among the highest in Asia,

but only 22 deaths. It plans to gradually lift restrictions next month.Human Rights Watch said the death penalty is already cruel and inhumane, and the use of Zoom to announce it made it worse. “It’s shocking t h e prosecutors and the court are so callous that they fail to see that a man facing capital punishment should have the right to be present in court to confront his a c c u s e rs ,” said the g r o u p’s deputy Asia d i r e c t o r, P h i l Robertson.

He said it raised concerns about why Singap ore is rushing to conclude

29

Four dead, 15 missing as boat sinks in Bangladesh At least four labourers were dead and 15 remained missing after a boat capsized in the river of Jamuna in Bangladesh’s Sirajganj district, a senior police official said on Wednesday. The district’s police chief Hasibul Alam told Xinhua over phone that the boat carrying some 70 people, mostly day labourers, sank at about 11:30 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday amid inclement weather.

“The bodies of three labourers were recovered Tuesday night,” he said.

Masud Parvez, officer-in-charge of Sirajganj’s police station of Enayetpur where the accident happened, said: “The body of another illfated labourer of the boat was recovered this (Wednesday) morning.”

He said divers of the fire service and civil defence and local people resumed search and rescue operations from Wednesday morning.

“At least 15 people are still missing,” he said.

Officials said at least 50 people swam to shore as the boat capsized in a strong current and

choppy river waters.

They said rescuers have been struggling against a strong current and choppy waters of Jamuna, one of the three main rivers in Bangladesh.

Monsoon onset over Kerala on June 1: IMD The southwest monsoon is likely to make an onset over Kerala on June 1, thanks to a cyclonic circulation, the India Me t e o r o l o g i c a l Department said on Thursday.

The India Me t e o r o l o g i c a l Department (IMD), in its onset date forecast on May 15, had said the monsoon is likely to hit the southern state on June 5, four days after its normal onset date.

The normal onset of monsoon over Kerala is June 1. However, a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal is likely to help in the progress of monsoon. “A

low pressure area is likely to form over southeast and adjoining east central Arabian Sea during May 31 to June 4. In

view of this, conditions are very likely to become favourable from June 1 for onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala,”

30

INDIA

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Yogi who claimed to live without food or water dies aged 90 An Indian yogi whose claims he spent decades without food or water earned him a band of devotees and the scepticism of doctors died on Tuesday, his neighbour said. The long-haired and bearded Prahlad Jani - who dressed in red and wore a nose ring - hailed from Charada village in the western state of Gujarat, where he spent his life in a routine of yoga and mediation.

He was 90 based on his claim that he was born in August 1929.

“He died early Tuesday morning at his residence due to old age,” Sheetal Chaudhary, who lived next door to Jani, said.

“He was rushed to hospital after midnight, but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors there.” Jani’s body was taken to Ambaji, a town renowned for its temples and where he had built a small ashram and was known as “Mataji”.

“The body will be kept at the ashram for the next two days for people to pay their last respects,” Chaudhary said, adding that Jani would be cremated on Thursday. Jani’s tale that he was blessed by a deity when he was a child, which enabled him to survive without sustenance, won him a small group of followers

- despite the doubts of medical professionals.

He told AFP in 2003 he got the “elixir of life from the hole in my palate, which enables me to go without food and water”.

There was no way of verifying Jani’s claims, but doctors have said a person cannot go for long periods without food or water without organ damage and the body breaking down.

Nevertheless, Jani’s claims attracted the interest of India’s medical community.

In 2010 a team of military doctors studied him for two weeks at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s biggest city. Jani was watched with cameras and closed circuit television. Doctors took scans of his organs, brain and blood vessels, and conducted tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity. They said he did not eat, drink or go to the toilet, and his only contact with fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically. “We still do not know how he survives,” neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters then. “It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is.” The results of the study, initiated by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, were never published or submitted for peer review.

GDP growth slows to 11-year low of 4.2 per cent in 2019 - 20 India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 has been provisionally estimated at 3.1 per cent as against a rise of 5.7 per cent in the same period last year. In another set of data, output in eight core sectors was estimated to have contracted 38.1 per cent in April which suggests economically much bleaker days ahead.

Economic growth during the full financial year of 2019-20 was also slow. GDP grew by 4.2 per cent as compared to 6.1 per cent expansion in 2018-19, the slowest growth in GDP in 11 years. The earlier estimate by various arms of the government was 5 per cent growth in ‘1920.

Wedding ceremony turns into disco with 1000 guests A wedding ceremony turned into a discotheque with over 1000 guests amid lockdown 4.0. Incident took place during a wedding ceremony of a government servant in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur. Social distancing norms and other precautionary measures went

for a toss. Against MHA guidelines, over 1,000 people were present in the ceremony. Crowd was enjoying dance and music keeping aside all the precautions for Covid-19. An FIR has been registered against the family.

Hamirpur admn sent home 15 COVID patients without waiting for test reports Fifteen people, out of the 43, who had come to Hamirpur district from Mumbai and were sent home before their coronavirus test reports were recieved, tested positive for the deadly disease late on Wednesday night.

The moment the report was received late last night, the administration went into a tizzy to bring back the 15 people to the quarantine centre from their homes. It was between 10 pm to 3 am in the morning that the infected, 11 men and four women, were brought back in a haste to the quarantine centre, where they had been lodged before

being sent home. Majority of the people belonged to Barsar, Nadaun and Bhoranj.

The highest number of coronavirus cases in Himachal-93- have been reported from Hamirpur district, which currently has 85 active cases.

“The mistake happened due to a miscommunication and I have sought a report in this regard,” said Harikesh Meena, Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur.

The infected people were sent back to their villages despite their being highly vulnerable after returning from COVID-hotspot Mumbai.

How patients in Mumbai are losing crucial hours running between hospitals for ICU beds When Andheri resident Avinash Kathare’s brother-in-law, Namdeo Waghmare, complained of breathlessness on 18 May, he was rushed to Mumbai’s Cooper Hospital around noon. Kathare waited at the facility with 60-year-old Waghmare for over 12 hours, but they weren’t able to get a bed.

“We took him home and arranged oxygen support. But his condition deteriorated and we rushed him to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital where we were told that he could have Covid-19. But the hospital didn’t have an isolation bed,” Kathare told ThePrint.

Throughout the day, Kathare called “20 hospitals” only to be told there weren’t any available beds. He finally got one at King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Parel, and was able to take him there after nearly six hours in a private ambulance hired for Rs 7,500. His Covid-19 test came positive and Waghmare was shifted to an isolation ward on 22 May where he died on 25 May. While

Kathare alleged negligence on part of KEM, Dean Hemant Deshmukh said all patients admitted to the hospital “are given attention”.

He said no patient is admitted if they have mild or moderate symptoms, adding all Covid beds in KEM Hospital “are equipped (with oxygen and other accessories) as these are for serious critical patients”.

As of 25 May, there were 25,956 “total suspected patients admitted” in Mumbai hospitals — more than half of the total 36,881 active cases in Maharashtra. Though not every patient requires critical medical attention, the high number of cases has filled up the limited number of intensive care units (ICUs) across the city.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 5 per cent of all cases need critical care. Going by the number of active cases in Mumbai, 1,298 patients

With more than 1 lakh cases, India’s Covid infections are rising at the fastest pace in Asia India’s coronavirus infections crossed the 100,000 mark and are escalating at the fastest pace in Asia, just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi further relaxed the country’s n at i o nw i d e lockdown to boost economic activities.

Infections in the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people were at 100,328, including 3,156 deaths, as of Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. As many as 5,242 new cases were added on Tuesday, according to the health m i n i s t r y.

India is now among the nations worst hit by the epidemic, with a 28% increase

in cases since last week according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker.

Neighbor and nuclear rival Pakistan has 42,125 cases including 903 deaths. Its cases increased by 19% over the same period, the tracker showed. “The challenges are huge, but a two-fold strategy would help reduce infections and flatten the curve,” said Rajmohan Panda, additional professor at the Public Health Foundation of India, adding the rise in infections is expected with the opening of the economy. “The focus should now be prioritized in low income settlements, with an emphasis of sub district level containment measures.”

Since Monday, states have further eased restrictions for industries, shops and offices and reopened public transport, while the lockdown in the worst affected areas of the country — including a ban on interstate and international air travel — has been extended until May 31.

The government is hoping to ease the economic impact of the world’s biggest lockdown, which has crippled business activity and left millions jobless.

Still, companies are facing difficulties reopening factories — primarily because of travel restrictions, conflicting rules, broken supply chains and a shortage of workers.

The movement of millions of migrant workers from the cities where they had jobs to their homes in rural villages — and their reluctance to return — is one of the key challenges for the economy, which could be heading for its first full-year contraction in more than four decade. –

31

Saturday, May 30, 2020

UK extends visa reprieve till July 31 for foreigners stranded

by COVID-19

NRI 150,000 Indians register to be repatriated from UAE More than 150,000 Indians in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have registered to fly home during Coronavirus pandemic, as per the latest figures with the e-registration launched by the Indian missions.

“As of 6 p.m. on Saturday, we received more than 150,000 registrations,” Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul said.

A quarter of them want to return after losing their jobs, he said.

“About 40 per cent of the applicants are workers and 20 per cent are professionals.

Overall, 25 per cent have cited job-loss as the reason for leaving the country.”

About 10 per cent of the applicants are visit/tourist visa holders who were stranded after the flight suspension and lockdown in India. The rest of the applicants

include those with medical emergencies, pregnant women and students, Vipul said.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai on Wednesday night began the e-registration for forming the database of their citizens wishing to fly home.

While there are Indians registering to return to various states, the Consul-General told Gulf News that 50 per cent of the applicants were from the state of Kerala.

Keralites comprise more than one million of the 3.4 million Indians in the UAE. Vipul however, said the missions have not yet received intimations from the Indian government about the mode of transporting the stranded citizens, the pricing of the tickets or how the COVID-19 test results of applicants would be assessed for their journey.

Indian-origin doctor found dead in UK hotel An Indian-origin doctor working in UK found dead in hotel earlier this week where he was staying to protect his family from Coronavirus.

Rajesh Gupta had gained medical qualifications from Jammu University in 1997, moved to the UK in 2006 and was working as a specialist pain medicine and consultant anaesthetist .

Many medical staff have been living away from homes while working in hospitals as the National Health Service grapples with the pandemic. As of Thursday evening, there have been 37,837 deaths and 269,127 cases in the UK. The Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust on Friday paid tributes to Gupta, who was working in its hospital near London.

“Rajesh, who worked as a consultant at Wexham Park Hospital, was found dead on Monday afternoon in the hotel where he had been staying to protect his

family while he worked with us during the coronavirus pandemic. At this stage the cause of his death is not known”.

“Rajesh was a popular and well-known figure across the trust, described by colleagues as an outstanding clinician with a passion for pain medicine. He had recently been appointed to a substantive post at Wexham after working for a period as a locum consultant at Frimley Park”, the trust said.

Colleagues described Gupta as a gifted poet, painter, photographer and cook who was known for his enthusiasm and kindness. He wrote several books and contributed to a number of publications.

The trust added: “He will be greatly missed. On behalf of the whole trust we would like to pass our deepest condolences to Rajesh’s family and loved ones, including his wife and young son.

2 Indian-origin men jailed for drug bust in UK Two Indian-origin men have been sentenced to a total of 34 years in what Scotland Yard described as one of its biggest drug busts in the UK, worth more than 20 million pounds.

Shakti Gupta, 34, from

Birmingham and Baldev Singh Sahota, 54, from Oldbury in West Midlands were jailed for 18 years and 16 years, respectively, following a haul of 172 kg of cocaine, one of the largest land seizures of Class A or illegal drugs in the country.

The UK government on Friday announced a further extension of all expiring or expired visas of foreign nationals, including Indians, unable to return to their home countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, until July 31.

The extension, initially announced until May 31, has been extended by two months and will apply to anyone whose leave to remain in the UK expired after January 24 and they are still unable to leave the country because of travel restrictions or self-isolation.

“By extending people’s visas further, we are giving them peace of mind that they are able to stay in the UK until the end of July if they are unable to leave the country safely,” said UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.

“This is one of a number of unprecedented measures the government has made to support people during this time, however,

as we begin a cautious return to normality those currently in the UK on expired visitor visas should return home as soon as possible,” the Indian-origin Cabinet minister said.

The Home Office said that while extension is offered to help all who are unable to get

home prior to 31 July, those currently in the UK on temporary visas, such as visitor visas, should return home as soon as it is safe and possible to do so. It said that a dedicated coronavirus immigration team is continuing to work with individuals to make the process as “straightforward” as possible.

“Those who contact the Home Office for these visa extensions will be expected to return to their home countries as soon as possible once flight and border restrictions are lifted.

32

FIJI

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Pandemic is man made and China is not in heaven - Anthony Fiji Trades Union Congress National Secretary Felix Anthony is sending a strong message to the government saying the pandemic is manmade, and China is not located in heaven.

Anthony’s statement comes following parliament passing the Employment Relations Bill that allows employers to let go of their workers if they cannot provide work due to an act of God which includes COVID-19 – as the definition of an act of God in the passed bill now also includes a pandemic

declared by the World Health Organisation.

He says the lockdowns were imposed by Governments, not God. Anthony says the Government has moved to assist businesses with a reduction in FNPF contributions and other tax incentives, and now the reduction of Paternity and Family Care leave, and finally decided to blame God for the pandemic.

He says this is outrageous.

2,982 arrests for breach of COVID-19 related restrictions however there is a significant drop in other A total of 2,982 arrests for breaching COVID-19 related restrictions were made from March to yesterday however Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho says there is a significant drop in other offences.

He says the total number of arrests in breach of social gathering so far is 1,586 while the total number of curfew breaches is 1,355.

Other arrests for other offences between March and yesterday was 37.

Qiliho also confirms that as they continue to monitor these breaches, other crimes are also on their radar like drugs.

He says Kadavu was thought to be the main supplier of marijuana, but suppliers have also

moved into areas of Tailevu and Vanua Levu.

The Commissioner says with this in mind, they have introduced body cameras and drones to help them in monitoring.

Qiliho says they will be acquiring more drones and body cameras.

He also says the drug dealers are now being rattled as Police have a lot more information on how the drugs are being packed and distributed.

Qiliho says there are also social issues that comes with the COVID-19 pandemic and this is what they are working hard on as this can affect the criminal landscape, which will fall on the responsibilities of the police.

Survey done at three companies reveals over 20 percent of the staff experienced harassment A survey done on 563 staff from three private companies in Fiji has revealed that over 20 percent of the women and men have experienced harassment at work.

Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa says this is according to a study done by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank done.

She says the same study made findings on

employees who have experienced domestic and sexual violence outside workplaces which translated into loss of staff time, reduced productivity that is equivalent to almost 10 days of loss of work per employee each year.

The Parliament has today ratified the International Labour Organisation Violence and Harassment Convention 2019.

Govt allows employers to let go of their workers if they cannot provide work due to an act of God, includes COVID-19 Parliament has today passed the Employment Relations Bill that allows employers to let go of their workers if they cannot provide work due to an act of God which includes COVID-19 - as the definition of an act of God in the passed bill now also includes a pandemic declared by the World Health Organization.

Attorney General, Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum stresses that the employer has to clearly prove that they have to let go of their employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill sets out the employers’ duty to provide work unless the worker has broken his or her contract, the contract is frustrated or its performance is prevented by an act of God. Sayed-Khaiyum also says National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad should stop thinking that money is just lying around for the government.

The Minister for Economy says government revenue is down by $1 billion, expenditure is only down by $300 million, and most of the tax revenue is down as there are no more tourists at this stage.

Sayed-Khaiyum also says they are fully aware and have already said that as the weeks and months go ahead, things will get tougher if the economy does not bounce back and the travel bubble does not open up.

National Federation Party Leader, Professor Biman Prasad believes the government needs to do more as civil servants have already sacrificed a total of $40 million due to the reduction in their FNPF contributions.

He also says the FNPF Withdrawal Scheme and government subsidy is being done in a progessive, sustainable and deliberate manner, rather than just giving money out.

64 Fijians in India repatriated Sixty-four Fijians left India last night and are on their way home after being stranded there for 76 days because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

The group consists of 11 patients who travelled to India for medical treatment and the rest are family members who accompanied them and students.

“They have gone through a lot of financial and psychological distress,” said Medivisor Health director Kumar Sushant, who was at the

airport in New Delhi to see off the group.

“Please give them a warm welcome when they arrive.”

Mr Sushant claimed all the departing passengers were confirmed to be Covid-19 negative.

Each passenger paid $3500 for the New Delhi-Sydney flight on Air India and the Sydney-Nadi route will cost them $1500 each.

They arrive into the country on a Fiji Airways repatriation flight at 7pm tonight

Thanks for Voting us your BEST EYEWEAR STORE IN SURREY!

WE CARRY ALL THE TOP BRANDS OF EYEGLASSES, SUNGLASSES & HEARING AIDS

Direct Billing Available to most Insurance Companies

Open 7 Days a Week

PAKISTAN

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Preliminary probe on PIA plane crash to be presented before the parliament The preliminary investigation report on PIA’s plane crash last week will be presented before the parliament on June 22, aviation minister said after Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed anger over the delay in the probe.

The domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed in the residential area near Karachi international airport last Friday, killing 97 people on board. Two passengers miraculously survived the crash.

The Airbus A320 aircraft of the national carrier had 91 passengers and crew of

six when it crashed into the residential area on Friday, minutes before its landing.

Eleven people on the ground also injured.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan told the media in Islamabad that Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his anger over delay in such probes and ordered to expedite it and share the findings with the people.

“We have decided that the preliminary report will be presented before parliament on June 22,” the minister said.

33

Foreign experts recover missing cockpit voice recorder of the plane crashed in Karachi A team of foreign experts on Thursday recovered the missing cockpit voice recorder from the debris of the crashed PIA plane in Karachi. Two passengers miraculously survived in the crash. 97 on board killed. The team of foreign experts on Thursday recovered missing cockpit voice recorder from debris of crashed PIA plane, nearly a week after one of the worst aviation disasters in country’s history. The domestic flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed in a residential area near the Jinnah International Airport here last Friday,

killing 97 people on board. Two passengers miraculously survived the crash. The Airbus A320 aircraft of the national carrier had 91 passengers and a crew of eight when it crashed into the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir on Friday, minutes before its landing.

Eleven people on the ground were also injured.

An 11-member team of foreign experts, which includes Airbus company representatives, visited the crash site and the runaway again on Thursday and found the cockpit voice recorder.

176 Pakistanis return home from India via Wagah Border amidst travel ban A group of 176 Pakistani nationals, including women and children, stranded in India due to the coronavirus-induced global travel restrictions returned home via the Wagah Border on Wednesday, officials said.

With the arrival of 176 people, a total of 400 Pakistanis have so far been repatriated from India via the AttariWagah border since March 20, 2020.

The Pakistani Rangers received them from the Border Security Force (BSF).

They were stranded in different parts of India for about three months due to the lockdowns and travel restrictions put in place by the government to contain the raging coronavirus disease.

“Upon their arrival, the Pakistani citizens including women and children were screened and transferred to quarantine centres in Lahore where they will stay for 72 hours,”

Mohammad Younis of Edhi Foundation said..

“If their corona test comes in negative, they will be allowed to go home after 72 hours otherwise they will be quarantined for 14 days,” he said.

Traditional Massage for Your Health Health

Plane crash survivor recounts horrifying ordeal: ‘All I could see was fire’

0m

18

A miracle survivor of the Pakistan plane crash that left 97 dead saw fire everywhere and heard nothing but screams when he finally regained consciousness and bolted to safety.

Muhammad Zubair, a 24-year-old mechanical engineer, recounted his story, describing in detail how the Airbus A320 hurtled down from sky into residential neighborhood near Karachi airport on Friday .

Another person on board Karachi bound flight survived, His name is Zafar Masood, president of Bank of Punjab, Lahore.

“I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was fire. I couldn’t see any people — just hear their screams,” Zubair said in a video filmed from his hospital bed.

“I opened my seat belt and saw some light, I went towards the light. I had to jump down about 10 feet to get to safety.”

As residents shrieked in horror, the plane plowed into their homes, destroying or damaging almost 20, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The crash sent up a fireball that could be seen for miles. Late in the evening, an emergency worker pulled a baby from the rubble — alive.

M. Zubair and Zafar Masood were in seats 10C and 1C, respectively.

Zubair was hospitalized with minor injuries. Zafar Masood suffered fractures but was “conscious and responding well” in the hospital, according to media reports.

Zafar Masood being pulled from the burning wreckage by rescue crews.

“Thank you so much. God has been merciful,” Masood said to officials who spoke to him at the hospital.

Zara Abid, a model and Instagram influencer is also dead according to news reports.

Many of the victims – both in the plane and on the ground — were charred beyond recognition, forcing officials to identify them using DNA tests, the New York Times reported.

Seconds before the crash, the pilot told air traffic controllers he had lost power in both engines, Reuters reported.

Flight PK8303 carried 91 passengers, including many families traveling ahead of Sunday’s Eid al-Fitr holiday, and eight crew members.

The pilot was attempting to land at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport about 2:30 p.m. local time when the plane came down. He made one try before the airliner crashed 10 minutes later, Zubair told the BBC. Security cameras showed the plane moments before the crash and locals uploaded videos they shot as the Airbus plummeted.

BBig i Feet, F Over 20 Stores thoughout BC assa

ge b e

ep g a s s dsθ180 m a assage chairsθover 300 m

ra

er n o i c tit

s

Reflexology

Acupressure

Acupuncture

$38 / 50 mins +GST

$43 / 50 mins +GST

See Price in Store

102-7655 Edmonds St. Burnaby Tel: 604-544-6777

10% OFF

1470 Johnston Road White Rock, Tel: 778-291-3555

When you buy VIP Pre-paid package

5258 Imperial St. Burnaby Tel: 604-998-8711

20483 Fraser HWY 2 Langley Tel: 604-427-3382 T

5-3229 South Fraser Way 5-32298 Abbotsford Te 604-744-8898 Tel:

110-8240 Lansdowne Rd. Richmond Tel: 604-303-0665

1300-8888 Odlin Cr Richmond Tel: 778-297-8788

Suite 1118 7318 137 St. Surrey Tel: 604-503-5288

105-15155 101 Ave. Surrey Tel: 604-497-0888

19-46030 Yale Rd West Chilliwack Tel: 604-392-7270

34

Saturday, May 30, 2020

CARETEL MEDICAL NOW OPEN in

SURREY

Dedicate yourself to a higher quality of life!

After serving community for the past 7 years in the old location, we have MOVED to a new Location with a Modern Clinic

ipCly s`q swlW qoN purwxI lokS y n qoN kimaUintI dI syvw krn ipCoN hux AsIN nvIN Aqy AwDuink shUlqW vwly klIink ivc iSPt kr gey hW We have an experienced team of Family Physicians available every weekday.

Our doctors have access to specialized facilities.

Our doctors work closely with leading consultants too.

Dr. Samina Hamid Dr. Hamid Shabbir

Call for Appointments

604 547 2623

Looking forward to continued serving the community.

Unit 102 - 8488, 160 Street, Surrey, BC (Near Fraser Highway)

Saturday, May 30, 2020

35

36

Saturday, May 30, 2020

REDEEMABLE *

Inv Invest in future yo you

Get ready to ** WIN $2,500 for your savings!

Get advice that works for you Our G&F financial experts can offer you personalized advice and a SMART MONEY PLANTM that’s custom-made for you.

Anand Sharma Financial Planner, CPA Main Street

Raman Takhar Investment Specialist Nordel

AVAILABLE BY PHONE

AVAILABLE BY PHONE

604-549-5382

604-549-5384

604-419-8888 gffg.com/BrightTerm *Conditions apply, redeemable after 180 days, early redemption rates apply. **See complete contest rules and regulations.