The Asian Star January 6 2018

www.theasianstar.com Vol 16 - Issue 49

Saturday, January 6, 2018

PM Modi to inaugurate first Indian-origin MPs’ conference

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o further strengthen its diaspora connect, Delhi will host Indianorigin serving Members of Parliaments and Mayors from across the globe on January 9. Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the first ever PIO (Person of Indian Origin) Parliamentarian Conference on the day earmarked to celebrate the return to India of the most respected Pravasi Bharatiya — Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa in 1915. As many as 141 PIO lawmakers and mayors of 23 countries will participate in the conference where each country will make representation on their experience and expectations of the India connect. The first thematic session will focus on ‘PIO

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South Asian woman killed by Canada Post Family, friends rally to return her body to her family in Mumbai wanted her to come to Canada Family, friends and and sold their house to make it community are working together possible, he said. “She could see to find a way to return to a family a very bright future for herself ... in India the body of a pedestrian like her life was just starting to who died a day after being brighten up,” Kuhendrarajah said, struck by a Canada Post truck. adding that Achari had joined his Esthersita Anthonyraj Achari, 27, family for a homecooked meal was a nurse from Mumbai, India.

Esthersita Anthonyraj She had been studying in B.C. to Achari, 27, was studying the day before the accident. Her aunt, Sathia Rajaratnam, said she upgrade her nursing credentials nursing in BC would miss Achari’s sweet voice. to a Canadian nursing licence.

“She was a very beautiful person,” she said.

Her cousin Shathesh Kuhendrarajah said Achari had recently started working as a care “She wanted to do so much... she said in 2018, aide in Richmond Hospital. Her parents had she was going to achieve many things in her

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Indian arrested for sexually assaulting passenger on US flight A 34-year-old Indian national has been arrested in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman sitting next to him while on a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit, according to a media report.

Prabhu Ramamoorthy was charged with aggravated sexual abuse and held without bail after an appearance in federal court in Michigan on Thursday, Washington Post

reported.

Ramamoorthy is accused of abusing a 22-year-old sitting in a window seat next to him, while his wife was on his other side, on a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit on Wednesday. The victim told investigators that she woke up to find her pants and shirt unbuttoned and the man’s hand inside her pants. The victim went to the Continued on page 6

South Asian family welcomes BC’s first baby of 2018 The first baby to be born in British Columbia this year made her way into the province just nine seconds after midnight.

The baby girl, who doesn’t have a name yet, was delivered at Surrey Memorial Hospital weighing eight pounds, seven ounces. She’s the first child for parents Manpreet Kaur Nijjar and Hardip Singh Shergill, who moved to Canada two years ago.

“It’s great,” said mom Manpreet of having the province’s first baby of the year. “I’m happy. Before I

Manpreet Kaur Nijjar holds her new baby girl on New Year’s Day. The baby was born just seconds after midnight, making her B.C.’s first baby of 2018.

was nervous [about being a firsttime parent,] but now I’m happy.”

The baby was born by C-section, more than a week after missing her due date on Christmas Eve. It’s the second time in a row that B.C.’s first baby of the year has been born moments after the countdown ends — 2017’s first baby, Montgomery, was also born right at midnight. He was delivered at B.C. Women’s Hospital to parents Dana and Peter Harlos, weighing eight pounds, 14 ounces.

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

Muslim group asks Trudeau to designate Jan. 29 day of remembrance for Quebec City mosque shooting

BC government asks Surrey community centre society for progress report Jagmohan Singh (left) and Satnam Johal are listed as directors for New Horizons Village Society. The province is asking the directors of a Surrey society for evidence of what it has done with a $200,000 government grant it was awarded nine months ago.

In November, Delta-North MLA Ravi Kahlon began looking into why the previous Liberal government gave New Horizons Village Society, which is run by three men with ties to the B.C. Liberal party, the grant just 16 days after the society was incorporated.

The society had proposed to do a feasibility analysis, including preparing a business plan, to build a community centre for the Fraser Valley and Surrey. In a statement last month, the society said that none of the money had been spent and the project was “in the infancy stages.” “The fact that nothing has happened so far … it raises more questions about the whole process,” said Kahlon.

Kahlon has since passed his findings on to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which sent a letter to two of the society’s directors, Satnam Johal and Kulwinder Singh Badesha. Jagmohan Singh is also a director.

“The Ministry has recently understood, from information attributed to the Society through media, that no funds have been expended to advance the project. Could the ministry please receive a status update?” assistant deputy minister Tracy Campbell wrote.

A copy of the letter also went to Deputy Minister Jacqueline Dawes.

Kahlon said that to his knowledge the ministry has not yet received a response, but he hopes to hear something early in the new year.

He said his phone has been ringing off the hook since the story came out in South Asian and mainstream media, with calls from both concerned citizens and community groups.

“For me, it’s just trying to get to the truth of this thing — to find out what happened, and why they were given this money, and what the decision making was around it because ultimately, we need to ensure that if there is a flaw in system that it gets corrected,” Kahlon said. During his investigation, Kahlon also found that another Surrey-based society, SPARK Education Foundation, commissioned a feasibility study for a similar cultural and wellness centre in 2011. The study was prepared

by SHAPE Architecture Inc. and done in consultation with the City of Surrey.

The proposed Sports, Arts, Culture and Harmony (SACH) Centre was envisioned to be a recreation and community centre for Newton and a destination for members of the South Asian community.

The idea was to include a gym, fitness area, restaurant, lounge, kitchen, computer labs, multipurpose rooms, daycare and leased office space.

SPARK Foundation president Amarjit Samra said the project, which was well-known in the community because of the consultation that was done, did not proceed because the provincial government rejected the foundation’s funding request in 2012.

However, Samra hopes it will become a reality some day and would be happy to work with anyone interested in making it happen.

“Certainly the idea is there, and it’s much needed, and the community wanted it. We would like to give it another try if it will fly,” said

One of Canada’s most prominent He says the call for a day of remembrance Muslim groups is asking Prime Minister is supported by dozens of other Canadian Justin Trudeau to designate the Muslim groups and community partners. anniversary of the 2017 Quebec City Elected leaders like Trudeau need to mosque shooting as an official day of work to ensure that such a tragedy is remembrance. not repeated, Gardee writes. “We must The National Council of Canadian Muslims wants Trudeau to endorse Jan. 29 as a national day of remembrance and action on Islamophobia.

In a letter to the prime minister released today, executive director Ihsaan Gardee says such a designation would help Azzedine Najd and Fadwa Achmaoui stand by a memorial near their enhance public mosque, which was site of last January’s deadly shooting, in this Jan 31, 2017 education about hate, bigotry and Islamophobia. not allow voices of hate, even ones that Last January, six Muslim men were shot initially appear to be on the margins, and killed and 19 others were wounded in to permeate our public discourse and an attack on the mosque during prayers. damage our social fabric.”

Alexandre Bissonnette of Quebec City is You might be interested in The 4-yearto stand trial in March on six charges each old boy talked of sneaking away from the of first-degree murder and attempted closet and that his punishment was being murder. forced to sit on top of a refrigerator where Gardee says Canadian Muslim he was afraid he would fall after nodding communities are still feeling the off, according to an attorney representing aftershocks of the attack. the child’s interests.

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

South Asian man sentenced to two years following explosives charge A Nanaimo man will spend two years behind bars for illegally making or having explosives.

Hamzah Subhan Khan, 27, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced on Thursday in Nanaimo to two years in a federal penitentiary.

Khan also pleaded guilty to possessing a controlled substance with the intent of trafficking.

In addition to the prison sentence, Khan was ordered to submit his DNA and has a

lifetime firearm ban. Khan originally faced one charge of intending to cause an explosion resulting in harm, but elected to plead guilty to the lesser charge of making or possessing explosives.

Nine other charges against Khan, including two counts of unauthorized use of a credit card, were dropped. According to court documents, Khan either illegally made or possessed explosives sometime between October 2014 and January 2015.

Immigration & Family Law Services

Storm transforms Fraser Valley into land of snow and ice Many Fraser Valley residents are digging out from an ice storm that left thousands without power.

Large parts of the region were hit with a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow.

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The weight of the ice also caused power lines to come down in multiple areas.

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OPINION

By Michael Taube

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Trudeau faces his biggest challenges in 2018

After a wonderful and relaxing Christmas, my thoughts turn to politics (as they often do). In particular, why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will find 2018 to be just as challenging as 2017. The PM’s political honeymoon pretty much ended late this year, and many Canadians are considering political alternatives. We shouldn’t be surprised: aside from the fickleness of the modern voter, the Liberals have done a superb job in starting to dig their political graves.

The Trudeau government, unlike the more fiscally responsible Liberal governments under Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, is closely aligned with the old tax-andspend agenda that drives Canadians up the proverbial wall. The inability to keep spending in check, rein in the deficit (breaking a major campaign promise), the $10.5-million payout to war criminal Omar Khadr, wasting valuable time and resources to create a “progressive” North American Free Trade Agreement, unnecessarily delaying the Trans-Pacific

Partnership agreement and not arranging an important trade deal with China, among other things, have helped reduce voter confidence.

That’s only the tip of the political iceberg.

When it comes to openness and transparency, the Trudeau Liberals seem to be just as bad (or worse) than the Conservative government led

by Stephen Harper was ever accused of being.

In one notable example, Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s decision to not put his substantial assets in a blind trust has deservedly earned much public ridicule. This includes the story of his mysterious French villa, which wasn’t originally disclosed to the federal ethics commissioner but magically reappeared during the controversy. Funny, that.

Even worse, Trudeau became the first Canadian prime minister to violate this country’s Conflict of Interest Act. This was primarily related to last year’s vacation with his family and prominent Liberals to the Aga Khan’s private island, unknowingly paid for by Canadian taxpayers. The PM initially

claimed he didn’t mention this trip because of his long-standing friendship with the spiritual leader. Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, however, stingingly noted in the report she “determined that Mr. Trudeau and the Aga Khan cannot be characterized as friends within the meaning of the Act.” Dawson also chastised Trudeau for not recusing himself during private meetings last May related to a $15-million grant for the Aga Khan’s Global Centre for Pluralism. Friend or no friend, the PM’s decision to attend these discussions was an obvious conflict of interest. That’s why a Dec. 15 Angus Reid Institute quarterly poll of 5,413 respondents showed, for the first time, the PM’s approval rating below 50 per cent.

Trudeau’s approval rating sits at 46 per cent, with 49 per cent of respondents displeased with his leadership. While his overall popularity may be higher than Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, his overall disapproval rating is substantially larger than his main political rivals. Meanwhile, 46 per cent of respondents believe it’s “time for a change” in government, versus 32 per cent who are content with the Liberals in power. That’s a significant statistic when you consider Trudeau only assumed office on Nov. 4, 2015.

Is this poll the end of the world for Canada’s 23rd prime minister? Of course not. The next federal election doesn’t have to be held until October 2019. And even if one was called tomorrow (for whatever reason), the Liberals would still be re-elected. Here’s the difference: It would likely be with a minority government at this point and, with the way the pendulum is swinging, it could be much smaller next year. If you don’t think the Tories and NDP taste blood, you’re sorely mistaken. They see a somewhat wounded prime minister and they’re going to pounce on him with great gusto.

Troy Media columnist and political commentator Michael Taube is also a Washington Times contributor.

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

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LOCAL

Saturday, January 6, 2018

South Asian woman killed by Canada Post truck From page 1 life.” Achari was hit by the Canada Post truck near the intersection of Garden City Road and Sea Island Way shortly after 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27. Police say she died of her injuries on Thursday night. “For this to happen the next day it was so heart wrenching,” said Kuhendrarajah. Cousin Shathesh Kuhendrarajah said Achari was looking forward to her future in nursing. Now Achari’s family and friends are trying to raise funds to return her body back to her parents in India.

“In order to send her body to India, it’s going to cost anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000,” Kuhendrarajah said.

“She doesn’t have any immediate family here and obviously we don’t want to burden her family in India with the expenses.” Kuhendrarajah says the response so far has been overwhelming. An online fundraiser had already reached more than $18,000 by Monday night. “She wasn’t alone here in Canada ... that she touched so many people’s lives [is]

Indian arrested for sexually assaulting passenger on US flight back of the plane to report the incident to a flight attendant, the criminal complaint was quoted as saying by the report.

Ramamoorthy was arrested after the plane landed, according to court documents. He said in a written statement that he had taken a pill and fallen into a deep sleep, and that he hadn’t done anything.

Magistrate Judge R Steven Whalen, who said it was a “very unusual case”, ordered Ramamoorthy to be held pending trial after the Federal prosecutor successfully argued that he was a flight risk and a potential danger to others around him.

The prosecutor said that Ramamoorthy’s wife, who was also living in the United States on a temporary visa, would not make a suitable custodian for him.

“It seems that she’s either colluding with the defendant to cover up his actions or she’s completely oblivious to what he did,” the prosecutor argued.

Ramamoorthy’s lawyer, Richard O’Neill, had offered to turn over his client’s passport.

He said Ramamoorthy had worked as a project manager at a technology group for about two and a half years.

Stephen Schuler, a spokesman for Spirit Airlines, said that it was cooperating with law

South Asian family welcomes BC’s first baby of 2018 More ‘firsts’ Other health authorities also announced the first babies of 2018 for their regions on Monday morning.

The first for southwest B.C. arrived at Squamish General Hospital at 12:50 a.m., weighing six pounds, eight ounces. On Vancouver Island, another baby was born in Nanaimo at 1:23 a.m.

The newborn weighed nine pounds, 11 ounces.

A baby girl named Camilla was born in northern B.C. at 7:25 a.m. She arrived in Dawson Creek to parents Tricia and Ryan, as well as her big brother Emmett.

“Congrats to the proud parents and their families,” Island Health wrote in a tweet.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

PM Modi to inaugurate first Indian-origin MPs’ conference From page 1

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ession will focus on ‘PIO parliamentarians -- journey of struggle to parliament’ with Shashi Tharoor as special guest. The second session will be themed around ‘Resurgent India-- role of PIO parliamentarians’ with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar as special guest. VicePresident Venkaiah Naidu will address the valedictory session while Sushma Swaraj will host dinner for delegates.

“In the long term we will see how this diaspora family could contribute to furthering bilateral relations and people to people ties,” said Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Secretary, C o n s u l a r Passport Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs.

Guyana with 20 MPs and 3 Mayors will have the largest representation, followed by Trinidad and Tobago with 16 MPs and 4 Mayors. Fifteen lawmakers and one PIO Mayor from UK and 5 MPs from Canada will also attend the conference.

United States though is sending two mayors and no MPs as the US Congress will be in session. Invitations were not sent out to Heads of States, Governments and Ministers to avoid any sensitivities involved. Among SAARC nations, only Sri Lanka was sent an invitation which will see four MPs attend the conference.

“Diaspora members have become ambassadors for us and get reflected in economic, cultural and people to people links .They have played a major role in improving India’s image on the global stage,” says Mulay.

Of the confirmed delegates Bharrat Jagdeo is a former president of Guyana while Kamla Persad-Bissessar was the former PM of Trinidad and Tobago. India has second largest diaspora globally with some 31.2 million overseas Indians of which 17 million are NRIs. Some 270 people of Indian descent today occupy seats and various positions in world parliaments with Indian origin heads of governments and states in countries like Portugal, Ireland and Mauritus.

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BC’s LNG region experiences assessment deflation with projects on pause In a province of mostly rising property assessments, the one-time LNG boom town of Kitimat in British Columbia’s north west is in its third year of assessment deflation

soon

as plans to develop natural-gas liquefaction plants in the region remain on hold.

Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Terrace and Tumbler Ridge are all among the northern communities to see property assessments

slide by about one to almost five per cent, according to data released by B.C. Assessment this week.

Kitimat, however, the terminus for two major LNG proposals awaiting investment decisions from their backers, saw residential property assessments drop in the range of 20 per cent, for 2018, according to B.C. Assessment. The average residential assessment in Kitimat was $233,000 for the 2018 property roll, down 16 per cent from 2017 and 30 per cent from an average of $331,000 in 2015. That is a contrast from 2014 when the community posted a province-leading 27-per-cent increase in assessments, but that was close to the market’s peak on the speculation of

immanent LNG developments, said area realtor Sheila Love. “Then in 2016, it just died as soon as all the projects were put on hold,” said Love, managing broker for Re/Max Kitimat Realty and Re/Max Coast Realty in Kitimat and Terrace. “It was like somebody turned the tap off.” Gone are the days when out-of-town speculators were buying up properties sight unseen and driving rents up, said Love. “Kitimat had a bit of a speculative bubble around LNG projects, or prospective projects,” said Cameron Muir, the B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist. “Now, we’ve seen prices come down.” Despite the steep drop in assessments for 2018, which are a measure of value that B.C. Assessment sets as of July 1 every year, Muir said market activity for the region has looked more stable since then. Fort St. John in B.C.’s north east saw assessments deflate 4.6 per cent on B.C. Assessment’s 2018 property roll. There the average assessment fell to

$369,000 from $387,000 the previous year.

Economically depressed Fort Nelson also experienced a sharp drop in assessments, 8.4 per cent, to $164,000 from $179,000 a year ago. The central-interior service centre of Prince George, on the other hand, saw a 5.2-per-cent increase in the value of property assessments to hit an average $302,000.

Generally, however, Muir said assessments mirror the relative economic conditions around the province.

“B.C.’s economy has had four consecutive years of real economic growth over three per cent,” Muir said. “And we’re forecasting 3.8 per cent for 2018.

On Vancouver Island, homeowners saw

assessments climb anywhere from 10 to 25 per cent for detached houses or 15 to 35 per cent for condominiums, according to B.C. Assessment, and Muir said some of the value was driven by the desirability of communities as retirement destinations.

Parksville and Qualicum, for example, saw average assessments rise 22 per cent to $440,000 and $546,000 respectively. Further north in Courtenay, average assessments were also up 22 per cent to $440,000.

“It’s the same in Kelowna,” Muir said, where average assessments rose 17 per cent on detached homes to $725,000.

Assessments on strata condos were up 16 per cent to $377,000, according to the provincial agency.

Homeowners have until Jan. 31 to file an appeal of their assessment with the B.C. Assessment if they feel the change in their property value, which can influence property taxes, is out of line.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Man in hospital after hatchet attack outside Surrey Central Mall A man is in custody and another is in hospital after an assault involving a hatchet on Thursday afternoon.

Surrey RCMP responded to an assault outside Surrey Central Mall at City Parkway and 102 Avenue at approximately 12:45 p.m.

A 34-year-old man was arrested, while a 50-year-old man was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Police said the two men involved knew each other, and they’re still determining what led to the altercation.

Driver in alleged road rage shooting out on bail The driver involved in an alleged road rage shooting incident that ended in a minor crash on 200 Street last November, was released on bail just before Christmas. Joseph Morgan, 21, of no fixed address, was released Dec. 22 on $2,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 12. The other accused, who is believed to have been the vehicle’s passenger, Andrew Nofield, also 21 and of no fixed address, remains behind bars. His next court appearance is also Jan. 12.

Surrey RCMP said two guns were seized in the alleged “road rage” shooting on Nov. 9.

The two men face a slew of charges in connection to the incident.

Morgan is charged with one count of discharging a firearm with intent, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, one count of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, and one count of driving while prohibited.

Nofield, has been charged with one count of discharging a firearm with intent, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm. On Nov. 9, a woman called 911 at 10:25 a.m. alleging that another vehicle was being driven erratically. She said someone inside the vehicle had shot at her vehicle in the 19200-block of 72 Avenue. The suspect vehicle drove off and she pulled over to call police. The woman was not injured during the incident, Surrey RCMP confirmed.

The same suspect vehicle was involved in a relatively minor accident nearby at the intersection of 200 Street and 72 Avenue a short time later. Officers, who initially said they believed impairment was a factor in the crash, discovered this was the same vehicle reported in the alleged road rage incident and

Vancouver Island father charged in Christmas Day double homicide of daughters The father of two young girls found dead support and memory of Aubrey Berry, 4, on Christmas Day in Oak Bay has been and her sister Chloe, 6, during a vigil held at Willows Beach in Oak Bay, B.C., on charged.

Andrew Berry, 43, has been released from Saturday, December 30, 2017.

Aubrey and Chloe’s mother Sarah Cotton hospital and is now charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection had been separated from Berry since 2013. with the deaths of his daughters Aubrey, 4, The couple shared custody of the two and Chloe, 6. The charges were announced children.

A decision from the B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon.

The Vancouver Island Integrated Major shows Berry and his estranged commonCrime Unit are still investigating the double law wife had a dispute over custody of the girls. homicide.

Court documents “From the show the girls’ mother, moment the Sarah Cotton, was Va n c o u v e r concerned about their Island Integrated father’s parenting Major Crime abilities.

Unit arrived, The documents say they have been Berry wanted to split compassionate, Chloe Berry, left, and Aubrey Berry custody of the girls professional, and evenly with their mother. diligent. We’ve Instead, in a decision last May, the been engaged with them throughout this investigation and we’re very grateful for court granted Cotton more parenting time their tireless effort,” said Deputy Chief Ray because of her flexible work schedule and because she had been the girls’ primary Bernoties of the Oak Bay Police.

The bodies of the two young girls were caregiver for most of their lives.

Second-degree murder is ordinarily found the evening of Christmas Day inside defined as an intentional killing that is not Andrew Berry’s home.

Trisha Lees, who was acting as a premeditated or planned, nor committed spokeswoman for the family, has said the in the heat of passion, or as a killing caused children’s mother notified police when her by dangerous conduct and the offender’s former common-law spouse hadn’t returned obvious lack of concern for human life.

First-degree murder is planned and the girls as scheduled.

The father was taken to hospital with self- deliberate, involves the killing of a police officer or other person employed to inflicted injuries.

A woman fights back tears as she joins maintain the public peace, or a death caused hundreds of people in holding candles in during the commission of a hijacking, sexual

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Liberal MP Majid Jowhari’s Iran tweets roil his heavily Iranian riding The Liberal MP for Richmond Hill is facing the ire of many of his Iranian-Canadian constituents after posting a tweet many see as an attempt to legitimize the theocratic government in Iran.

Iranian-born Majid Jowhari (pictured) was elected in the 2015 election to represent Canada’s most Iranian riding. But his IranianCanadian constituents, many of whom strongly oppose Iran’s regime, have become some of his fiercest critics. On Dec. 30, as the protests in Iran were building, Jowhari put out two tweets containing Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s official statement supporting the right of Iranians to protest “As our government is closely monitoring the ongoing protests in Iran; it is my sincere hope that the brave nation of #Iran have the opportunity to air their legitimate financial, social and political concerns with the support of their elected government, in a secure environment and without the fear of persecution.” That seemingly innocuous statement raised a number of flags for IranianCanadians, starting with Jowhari’s use of the word “elected.” Many also were astonished by Jowhari’s description of Iranians protesting “with the support” of their government.

One of the most popular chants, as heard in videos of the protests emerging from Iranian cities, has been “marg bar diktator” or “death to the dictator.”

Mr Jowhari responded: “Having had the opportunity to hear from a broad range of perspectives over the past few days, it’s clear to me that the word ‘elected’ has overshadowed my

intent: that I implore all levels of the Iranian authorities to exercise utmost restraint and fully respect the rights of the Iranian people to freely assemble and to express themselves without fear of persecution or retaliation.”

For some of his constituents, though, the damage was already done. “If I can put it in one word: disgusted,” says Richmond Hill realtor Hamid Gharajeh, who says Jowhari’s actions since his election have shocked his Iranian-Canadian constituents.

“Ever since he’s been elected, all he’s been doing is trying to work with the existing government of Iran, and trying to get them involved in Canadian politics, inviting members of parliament of this so-called government that has not been elected by the Iranian people.”

The Iranian diaspora in Canada is mostly deeply mistrustful of the Iranian government. Many Iranian-Canadians fear its ability to harm dissidents overseas, and fear even more its power over their families and friends in Iran. Gharajeh says that’s why the “elected” comment has caused particular outrage. “The entire world, not only the Iranians, know this was a sham election. It’s not a democratic process.” In Iran, candidates are vetted by an unelected Guardian Council, and only those deemed loyal to the principles of the Islamic Revolution and to unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are permitted to stand.

Canada’s unemployment rate plunges to lowest in 40 years

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anada’s unemployment rate plunged to the lowest in more than 40 years, suddenly raising the odds of a Bank of Canada rate hike this month. The jobless rate fell to 5.7 per cent in December, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa, the lowest in the current data series that begins in 1976. The number of jobs rose by 78,600, beating expectations and bringing the fullyear employment gain to 422,500. That’s the best annual increase since 2002. The economy showed unexpected resiliency as the year came to an end, with the figures indicating rapidly diminishing slack in the labor market that may quicken the expected pace of interestrate increases by the Bank of Canada. Since September, Canada added 193,400 jobs — the biggest three-month gain since at least 1976.

“The latest data in hand support a rate hike” in January, said Bill Adams, senior international economist at PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. “Broad-based growth is still the dominant theme.” Canadian bond yields and the currency soared on the surprisingly strong

jobs data. The loonie strengthened to 80.90 US cents, the strongest since September.

Bond prices plunged on expectations the jobs report may prompt the central to raise rates as early as this month. The yield on the two-year government of Canada bond jumped six basis points to 1.77 per cent, close to a sevenyear high. The odds of a rate hike at the Bank of Canada’s next meeting on Jan. 17 soared to 70 per cent, from 40 per cent yesterday, based on trading in the swaps market. The good news Friday wasn’t just relegated to the jobs market.

Statistics Canada reported separately the nation’s exporters are beginning to exit from a months long slump, with shipments jumping by 3.7 per cent in November, the biggest one-month gain in more than a year. All of a sudden a January rate hike is looking a lot more possible Toronto’s housing market could be in deep freeze for longer than we think Five things to fear in a strong global economy While the current jobs data series begins in 1976, the jobless rate may be the lowest since 1974.

Coast Mountain Bus company changes policy to protect employees from abusive calls The Coast Mountain Bus Company is taking steps to protect call-centre staff from abusive phone calls. Staff answer about 4,000 calls per day from the public, answering questions about everything from schedules, bus routes and fares to lost and found items. The company previously had a policy requiring staff to give callers three warnings before they could hang up. Staff are now allowed to terminate calls after one warning and report them to their work leader for investigation. Alicia Gallo, a

Move Up union representative, used to work at the Coast Mountain Bus Company call centre.

She said she encountered verbal abuse from callers on a daily basis. “I’ve been called stupid, I’ve been told that I’m probably ugly,” she said.

Gallo mounted a campaign for the company to address the abuse and change the policy.

‘When you’re trapped in a situation where somebody is berating you on the phone and you have no recourse to hang up that phone call, it can do a lot of damage,” she said.

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

Elderly man injured in Surrey accident

Fatal collision shuts down Lougheed Hwy near Mission One person died in Mission on Thursday after a collision on the Lougheed Highway according to RCMP. The collision between a semi-truck and a car took place around 7 p.m. between Shook Street and Dewdney Trunk Road. Const. Alyn Beerda said the passenger in the car has died.

“At this point, we’re still investigating the cause of the accident. There were also witnesses that witnessed the collision which helps us in the

Scene of the pedestrian accident in Surrey on Thursday evening.

A 90-year-old man is in hospital with serious injuries after Surrey recorded its first major pedestrian-related crash of the year early Thursday evening. It happened shortly before 6 p.m., at 72nd Avenue and 130th Street in Newton. He was struck by a Ford pickup truck.

“It looks like the driver turned left into the pedestrian there, didn’t see him for whatever reason,” Surrey RCMP Corporal Scotty Schumann said Friday. “The driver remained on scene and is cooperating with police.”

Schumann said the victim is in serious condition, still in hospital.

“Visibility will be considered,” Schumann said. “Nothing is being discounted right now except for speed and impairment.

Those are not being considered as factors.”

In 2017, seven pedestrians were killed and 11 were seriously injured on Surrey’s streets. All told, there were 19 traffic fatalities and 23 serious injuries in Surrey in 2017.

In comparison, 10 pedestrians were killed in Surrey in 2016 and 20 were seriously injured. That year, Surrey recorded 14 fatalities and 29 people seriously hurt in crashes.

South Asian rapist denied parole but allowed visits with family in Vancouver A dangerous sexual offender who was dubbed the Marpole rapist has been denied parole but allowed short visits with his family. The Parole Board of Canada found that Gary Jagur Singh, 62, convicted of sexually assaulting 11 women in Vancouver, poses an undue risk to reoffend. The board denied him both day and full parole.

But the board also said that he did not pose a risk to reoffend if he is allowed temporary unescorted absences with relatives under special conditions.

The board said the temporary visits would let him build his supports and strengthen his ability to manage his risk. “You have a strong support structure in place and the (unescorted temporary absences) plan is gradual and structured with specific reporting mechanisms built in.” The special conditions for the visits include that Singh is not to drink, buy or possess alcohol, is to immediately report all intimate sexual and non-sexual relationships and friendships with women, and not be in the company of sex workers.

“You sexually offended against many women; reporting relationships with women is needed to ensure their protection and to manage your risk,” said the board’s report. “Imposing restrictions on your access to sex trade workers is needed given how your offending cycle began and considering the vulnerability of these women.”

Singh is also banned from driving and is to have no direct or indirect contact with his victims or their families. “The victims remain deeply affected by your actions; they have a right to be free from unwanted contact with you,” said the report. The victims, who opposed any kind of release for Singh, requested that he be banned from going to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The board restricted his authorized temporary absences to the Lower Mainland.

The board’s decision was made Dec. 20, with the written decision provided on Tuesday.

Singh was convicted of the offences in 1994, designated a dangerous offender and ordered jailed indefinitely. The majority of the crimes involved women in Vancouver’s Marpole neighbourhood and occurred between January of 1988 and August of 1991. Some of his victims

he forcefully grabbed off the street, while others were attacked when he entered ground-floor apartments through windows or sliding patio doors. He denied the offences at trial but DNA evidence linked him to the crime scenes.

In November 2006, Singh was granted day parole but had his parole revoked when Vancouver police observed him with a woman they believed to be a prostitute.

Singh was classified as a minimum-security offender in May 2016 and in May 2017 was authorized to participate in escorted temporary absences with his family, both at private homes and at a care facility.

investigation,” Beerda said.

He said driving conditions were good. The roads had been freshly brined and there was no ice or fog. Beerda said police are waiting to hear back from the toxicology report to see if drugs or alcohol were a factor. The highway remains closed in both directions at that section as police investigate.

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Twisted path for China-to-B.C. funds revealed in real estate deal The CEO of a Chinese company moved $750,000 from China to Metro Vancouver for a real estate deal with the help of nine strangers who each brought $50,000 into Canada for “tourist purposes,” according to a B.C. Supreme Court judgment.

The judgment sets out the method through which Hong Jie “Anita” Wang, an executive in Shandong, China, transferred money for the purpose of buying a five-acre Port Coquitlam property with a B.C.-based partner.

The B.C. realtor who acted as the buying agent on the 2011 deal, Ravi Panwar, told Postmedia that such land deals — where offshore investors partner with B.C.-based counterparts — are “quite common,” though he didn’t know how often they involve money shipments like those outlined in this case.

Last week’s judgment is in a civil claim filed by Wang in 2016, accusing Yong Li “William” Wang, her B.C.-based partner in the 2011 purchase, of fraud and breach of contract. She sought sole ownership of the property. The defendant denied the allegations, and the matter went to trial in September.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow, in reasons for judgment last week, did not find either party to be credible, said there should be an accounting between the parties, and each should bear their own legal costs.

The two Wangs are not related, according to court filings, but both come from Shandong.

Coquitlam businessman William Wang, who has lived in B.C. since 2001, returned to his home province in 2011 as a member of a B.C. trade delegation, according to court filings. While there, he met Anita Wang, head of a large food

manufacturing company, and the two agreed to invest together in land in Metro Vancouver.

The judge did not accept Anita Wang’s claim that she entrusted her new business partner absolutely and, that as a “sophisticated” businesswoman, she “paid little if any attention to the documents.”

“The plaintiff ’s story that she completely trusted the defendant even though she had just met him because he was from her home village — including testifying ‘that there is a saying in China that when you meet someone from your home village, tears come to your eyes’ — is totally incredible,” Gerow wrote in her judgment. “Particularly when the ‘home village’ has a population of nine million.” The court heard evidence that after Anita Wang visited B.C. and returned to China in October 2011, she told her new partner “she was having trouble transferring her share of the funds.” The judgment didn’t state the reason she had “trouble” moving the money, and her lawyers did not reply to emails asking that question.

China’s capital control measures allow citizens to export only US$50,000 a year, which means, as Bloomberg News reported in 2015, “When Chinese nationals move money overseas, they often do it the way drug traffickers or terrorists do: They break down cash into small amounts below what would trigger official scrutiny.”

It’s reasonable, Gerow wrote, to infer that Anita Wang “would have known whether she could transfer money legally from China to Canada for investment purposes, and what steps were necessary to do so,” and that “money being transferred through nine individuals for tourist

Three months in jail for man who obtained nude photos of teen girl, threatened to share them KAMLOOPS — A former junior hockey goaltender who obtained nude photos from a 13-year-old Kamloops girl on Snapchat and then threatened to show them to her family members has been handed a three-month jail term.

Connor Neurauter pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference of a person under 16 and was sentenced in provincial court in Kamloops on Thursday to 90 days behind bars. The 21-yearold’s time in jail won’t begin until May, allowing him to complete his spring semester at the University of Calgary.

Court heard Neurauter was 18 when he began a brief relationship with the young girl, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

The two met in person a handful of times during the summer of 2015 and engaged in sexual contact but never had intercourse. The 13-year-old girl told police on one occasion Neurauter placed his hands around her neck and choked her before giving her a bra as a gift.

Following those meetings, court heard, Neurauter began soliciting nude photos from the girl.

Neurauter threatened to share the girl’s photos with her family if she did not keep their prior relationship a secret.

Contact between the two continued via text message and Snapchat into late 2015.

At that point, she sought help from a 14-yearold friend who began sending nude photos to Neurauter in early 2016 in hopes of distracting him, court heard.

The 14-year-old girl eventually told her mother about the situation and police became involved.

Neurauter was arrested on March 30, 2016. He was later released on conditions, but police seized his phone, which contained nude photos of both teenagers and text messages between him and the girls. Through tears and with her mother’s arm around her back, the 13-year-old girl read a victim-impact statement in court.

“I’ve been depressed on and off since the offence happened,” she said. “Riding the school bus was hard because I could always smell what I thought he smelled like. I saw his car, or what I thought was his car, everywhere. I was very scared because he knew where I lived and knew where my room was.” Neurauter, who is from Kamloops, did not address the court. Now studying science in Calgary, he had no previous criminal record.

In addition to the jail sentence, he will also be bound by a two-year probation term including conditions barring him from contacting either teen girl, visiting public parks and pools and being alone with anyone under 16.

Neurauter was also ordered to surrender a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

His time behind bars will begin on May 4 at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre.

Neurauter played parts of three seasons at various levels of junior hockey between 2013 and 2016, including a brief stint in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, a season with a team based in Sweden and a handful of games with clubs in

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Fraser Health warns about rise in flu cases in seniors’ homes After a recent rise in flu cases, public health officials are reminding people that most health issues can be dealt with away from the region’s busy emergency rooms.

Over the last week, Fraser Health has confirmed five cases of the flu in local residential care facilities and suspects another four people are suffering from the flu as well. “ W h i l e seasonal increases in flu activity are expected, we remind people that if they have a non-emergency health concern they have many options in the community to help them avoid a trip to the emergency department to ensure emergency services are available for those who need them,” Fraser Health’s Dr. Martin Lavoie said in a media release.

Lavoie and his colleagues want to remind everyone that the symptoms of the flu are fever, headache, fatigue, muscle aches and cough.

If you are feeling these symptoms, its best to avoid vulnerable people, like seniors and children.

Older people and people with heart, lung or other health conditions are also at risk of developing complications like pneumonia.

Health officials also recommend flu shots for anyone six months of age or older. Flu shots are free in B.C. for children between six months and five years of age, people over 65, pregnant women, Aboriginals people with chronic health conditions or c omprom i s e d i m m u n e systems.

People who work with people who are at a higher risk of infection — like health workers and teachers — are also eligible for a free vaccine.

Flu shots are available at your doctor’s office, walk-in clinics and pharmacies.

If you have a non-emergency health problem, officials urge people to seek care from their doctor or nurse practitioner first, or to visit a walk-in clinic. You can also call 811 for free health advice from a public health nurse.

Former PoCo city worker faces criminal charges for alleged embezzlement A former Port Coquitlam city employee has been charged with fraud and theft connected to the embezzlement of thousands of dollars in a tools-for-cash scheme.

Dean Lawrence McIntosh, 51, was the city’s facility maintenance coordinator until last spring. Two criminal charges were approved against him in December.

Last April, the city revealed that an unnamed employee had confessed to embezzling $175,000 by buying tools with public funds and then reselling them for cash.

The thefts had been going on since 2014.

A whistleblower alerted officials to the scheme in February, and the employee responsible came forward a few days later, according to the city.

The worker had had access to city accounts and a credit card.

After a forensic review, the employee repaid all of the stolen money and resigned.

Police investigation RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin confirmed that the charges for fraud and theft over $5,000 were approved after an investigation into the scheme that began last May. He said he was unable to comment any further while the case is before the courts.

John Leeburn, the city’s chief administrative officer, told CBC News that since the theft was uncovered, the city has brought in a new whistleblower policy, reviewed purchasing limits for employees and trained managers in recognizing fraud.

McIntosh earned a base salary $78,802 in 2016, and had a total compensation of $90,428, including benefits and expenses.

He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Port Coquitlam provincial court on Jan. 24.

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Family escapes a house fire in Coquitlam A roaring fire gutted a home in Coquitlam overnight.

The family that lives in the home on Grayson Avenue was able to escape with their dog. However, one cat died in the fire and a second cat is still missing.

Crews arrived on scene at 12:30 a.m. Thursday and found flames shooting out of the back of the house.

The fire was burning so hot firefighters determined it was too dangerous to go inside.

“When these fires get into the attic spaces and they start compromising the roof structures and firefighters have to back out of

the structure, it becomes a defensive, keeping your firefighters safe and the guys want to get in there and do their job and get that thing out, but sometimes you have to be methodical and take it slowly,” said Asst. Fire Chief Gary Mulligan with Coquitlam Fire Rescue.

There is also some damage to the duplex next door to the home.

In total, nine people are displaced due to the fire and it could be some time before they can go home. Fire investigators will be trying to determine how the fire started but it’s believed it began in the carport.

Freezing rain remains in BC forecast Environment Canada is warning people in many areas of BC about “arguably the worst of all precipitation types.”

Why loud, old foghorns are still necessary in the 21st century The weather service says beginning Thursday afternoon, freezing rain in the Howe Sound, Whistler, inland North Coast and Bulkley Valley areas could cause ice to build up and make roads and sidewalks a slippery mess.

“Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery,” it said in a statement.

“Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions.”

Freezing Rain, arguably the worst of all precipitation types, is forecast for the #SeaToSky corridor including

Man injured in hatchet attack outside Surrey Central Mall

A man was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after being attacked by a hatchet outside Surrey Central Mall Thursday afternoon. Surrey RCMP were called at approximately 12:45 p.m. to City Parkway and 102 Avenue. With help from witnesses they found both the suspect and the victim

nearby. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody. Police say both parties are known to each other but it’s unknown what led to the altercation.

The victim is a man in his 50s while the suspect is a 34-year-old man.

Washington state residents rattled by Mount St. Helens tremors

#Squamish Residents are also warned to be careful of ice-laden tree branches snapping and falling.

It is estimated several millimetres of ice could accumulate before temperatures rise above the freezing mark Friday afternoon.

In the Bulkley Valley area and North Coast region, freezing rain could turn to rain Thursday afternoon.

Mount St. Helens is rumbling again, but it’s not the volcano that worries Washington state seismologists the most. A 3.9-magnitude jolt Wednesday morning, about 11 km northeast of the volcano, was the strongest tremor in the seismically active area since 1981.

It was followed by a swarm of up to 150 smaller earthquakes.

In 1980, an eruption blew out the side of the volcano, killing 57 people and devastating the landscape. Cascades of water, mud, and rock raged down valleys and knocked down forests. But the latest quakes do not signal that the volcano is moving closer to another eruption, seismologist Seth Moran told On the Island host Gregor Craigie. “There are earthquakes that are occurring at Mount St.

Helens kind of continuously,” said Moran, who is a seismologist and scientist-in-charge at the United States Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory. The most hazardous volcano in Wa s h i n g t o n state is considered by s e i s m ol o g i s t s to be Mount Rainier, where volcanic mud flows, called lahars, roar down the Puyallup River drainage system every 500 to 1,000 years. A view of Mount Rainier in Washington state January 1, 2012. USGS volcanic seismologist Seth Moran said it is considered the most hazardous volcano in Washington State. “That’s a long time from a humanity perspective, but from a geologic perspective that’s pretty frequent and a really good reason for believing it’s going to happen again,” Moran said.

Tens of thousands of people are in the path of a large lahar, including the Washington communities of Orting, Sumner and Puyallup.

In a worst-case scenario the lahar could reach Tacoma, though related flooding is more likely to affect the city. Moran said the lahar detection system set up two decades ago by Pierce County with USGS assistance is now old technology, but it can be updated to provide more effective and earlier warning for the “bump in the night” event that could give residents as little as 45 minutes to escape to safety. \“We’ve done studies of the volcano itself and there are parts of the volcano, of the cone, that we know are somewhat unstable and have the potential to let loose again with one of these things,” Moran said. “The likely scenario is it wouldn’t happen unless the volcano is in a state of unrest or eruption.”

While the recent earthquake close to Mount St. Helens might seem alarming, Moran said it is not cause for concern.

If magma was moving in the volcano, Moran said, “It would be different. We’ve seen Mount St. Helens wake up twice and in both cases it was pretty obvious what was happening in terms of how different things were or how different things quickly became.”

When the volcano became active again in 2004, he said, the earthquakes started small and increased in strength and frequency over

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

Woman sues Douglas College for “Mickey Mouse” certificate A former Douglas College student is suing courses and a practicum taken part-time over the New Westminster school because she said eight months. Course credits can be applied to she was misled into believing an Aboriginal two diplomas and a certificate program. studies program would earn her an official Tong said that red flags went up when after a certificate, not the “Mickey Mouse” sheet of delay of months she received “a sheet of paper” paper she received. that listed the courses she took.

Agnes Tong took the college to small claims “That sheet, it’s so Mickey Mouse coming court in New Westminster alleging breach out of a college,” she said. “It wasn’t an official of contract to force the college to present Douglas College document.” her with an official certificate or refund her The certificate issued to Agnes Tong after $1,732 tuition plus pay she completed four course in her damages of twice the Aboriginal stream within that. The case was heard the Faculty of Child, Family and on Wednesday and will Community Studies at Douglas continue on Thursday.

College.

“I’m willing to stand She was further angered when up for myself when I she noticed the document was see something that’s not “quite wrinkled and it had a right,” said Tong, a defence small little rip in the corner. lawyer who is representing “So much time and effort and Agnes Tong herself in the trial. money went into that course and “It’s worth my time to ask the college to the least they could have done was to provide answer to this,” she said. “For me not to say us with a document that isn’t all damaged.” anything, it’s just not me.”

The college replaced the document but The college in its response to Tong’s claim wouldn’t provide what Tong said she and the denied all allegations and said students in the other 19 students in her 2015-2016 school year part-time Aboriginal stream program were were promised, an official college certificate. given an “informal certificate” at an “informal Tong, a Richmond lawyer and former ceremony” at its end. public prosecutor in Labrador, said the official “Students are expressly told this informal document would provide her with more certificate is not a credential but is simply credentials to apply for jobs in the child welfare recognition from the instructors of the field, where she intends to work. student’s achievements and hard work during “I wanted to have that recognition, the year,” the statement of defence said. a document that showed I know about Tong claims that when she applied to take Aboriginal history and residential schools and the Aboriginal stream within the Faculty of their effect on Aboriginal people,” she said, Child, Family and Community Studies, she adding she was happy with the course. was promised a “completion certificate” and She filed the claim because the college wouldn’t have enrolled if she wasn’t going to “refused to correct or address my concerns.” receive it, she said.

“I’m not overly confident but I feel strongly The Aboriginal stream comprises four in what I believe,” said Tong.

2018 home sales in B.C. expected to decline, but prices climb, economists say An upward trend in housing prices isn’t expected to significantly change in British Columbia despite an anticipated slowdown in sales this year, economists say.

The B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist said Wednesday that new housing stock, slightly higher interest rates and tighter mortgage regulations will result in about a 10 per cent decline in sales compared with 2017. But demand continues to outpace supply in most markets from Vancouver Island to the Okanagan, which spurs rising

prices, Cameron Muir said. “We would need a combination of a pretty substantial decline in demand as well as significant increases in overall residential supply in order to get to the point in which prices would decline,” Muir said.

Nationally, the Canadian Real Estate Association has said tighter mortgage regulations imposed on Monday, including a stress test for uninsured mortgages, would result in fewer sales and reduced prices by about 1.4 per cent to an average

selling price of $503,100 this year. Bryan Yu, economist with Central 1 Credit Union, said the changes may slow the pace of firsttime buyers entering the market or lead to adjustments in what people choose to buy.

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Maritimes hits by high winds, rain, snow and winter storm A massive winter storm making its way through the Maritimes has closed roads, halted ferry and air service, and thousands of power customers, mostly in Nova Scotia, are without electricity.

“For the Maritime provinces, there’s a gradual improvement in weather conditions

as we move through tonight and through Friday,” He said the heaviest snow and rain will be moving out of the Maritimes during that time. Outside of snow in northern New Brunswick, it’s mostly rain now falling in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

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Police continue to investigate head-on Sea to Sky collision that killed two Police continue to investigate after a headon collision Tuesday evening on the Sea to Sky Highway that killed two and put six others in hospital. Around 7:30 p.m., the driver of a pickup truck crossed the centre line near the Cheekye River Bridge and collided head-on with a minivan carrying seven passengers.

The driver and one passenger in the minivan were declared dead at the scene, while the remaining five passengers from the van were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious; one of the five

remains in critical condition.

The driver of the pickup truck was also taken to hospital and remains in serious condition.

No further information was released about the ages of those involved, though police said they were all adults. Const.

Mike Halskov with the RCMP’s traffic division said the highway was closed following the crash and wasn’t reopened until about

Peak flu season hits BC with officials warning about outbreaks Peak flu season has now hit B.C. and there are concerns about outbreaks across the province.

attributed to the outbreak” of influenza at

Island Health says there are outbreaks of Influenza A already in long-term care facilities in the Nanaimo and Parksville areas, along with reports from across Vancouver Island and the mainland of people with confirmed cases of the flu.

In the interior, four deaths “directly

care facilities have been reported so far this flu season.

2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

He could not comment on whether weather or poor road conditions were a factor. “In this case here, we’ve got so many people involved, with fatalities and things like that — we only have one chance to gather all the evidence that we can,” he said Wednesday.

“So we’d like to thank the public, the people that were stuck up there for their patience while this investigation was undertaken.” A witness, who didn’t want to be identified, told Postmedia he was travelling south from Whistler when he came upon the accident scene. “I came around the corner (just south of the Cheekye River Bridge) and I saw a vehicle sideways in the middle of the road, so I slowed down,” he said. “Then I had to swerve to avoid debris all over the road.”

Metro Vancouver’s first murder victim of 2018 identified Police have identified 47-year-old and had a criminal record that included a Jwada Hedar-Kadhim as the victim in 2016 conviction for criminal harassment Metro Vancouver’s first homicide of 2018. and a pair of 2012 convictions for assault On Tuesday, just before 9 p.m., Burnaby causing bodily harm and uttering threats.

RCMP responded to a report of a fight inside an The Integrated Homicide Investigation apartment building in the 6500-block of Telford Team (IHIT) has been called Avenue near Metrotown Station. to investigate a murder neat Hedar-Kadhim was found incident which occurred lying inside the lobby, suffering on Tuesday evening. On from wounds sustained in the night of the killing, one a violent confrontation. neighbour reported hearing a “Despite all attempts to loud argument coming from revive the individual, he inside the apartment building, succumbed to his injuries while which was a common at scene and his death was occurrence at the residence. deemed a homicide,” said Cpl. “I heard the yelling and Meghan Foster, spokesperson the arguing which goes on for the Integrated Homicide every day … The guy who Investigation Team, which has rents that (place) was yelling taken over the investigation.

Jwada Hedar-Kadhim, 47 to some guy that it was his Foster would not comment house and ‘to get out, get out,” when asked if a weapon was involved or specify said Orval Bye, who lives across the street. what the type of injuries Hedar-Kadhim received.

“One girl that was over there partying with The victim of a Jan. 2 homicide near them, she came out and said ‘he’s dead, he’s Metrotown has been identified as 47-year-old not breathing, do something, do something.’”

Jwada Hedar-Kadhim of Burnaby IHIT Handout Anyone with information can contact the “It remains early in the investigation, but IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT police believe there was a conflict leading (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc. up to the homicide and that this was not a gc.ca. Tipsters wishing to remain anonymous random act of violence,” Foster said in a release. can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Hedar-Kadhim was known to police

Surrey RCMP finds 15 yrs old missing girl Megan Shields has been found safe.

Surrey RCMP is asking for the public’s

help to find a missing 15-year-old girl.

Megan Shields was reported missing by her parents, who last saw her at around 10:30 p.m. on January 2nd in Cloverdale, specifically around 180th Street.

Megan was also seen on s u r v e i l l a n c e Megan Shields video leaving the Tim Horton’s at 176th Street and 64th Ave. in Surrey at 3:52 a.m. on January 3rd. She has never gone missing in the past and her family and friends are concerned. She may be avoiding communication with them, but this behaviour is said to be out of the ordinary.

Megan is a caucasian female, 5’ in height and is 80 pounds. She has a slim build with blond and brown hair.

She was last seen wearing a royal blue hoodie, grey leggings, no shoes and no jacket.

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Cold snap makes Niagara Falls an especially hot tourist attraction Diane Zhao has made the journey from China to Niagara Falls three times before, but she has never seen it like this – a veritable ice palace, straight out of a fairy tale.

“I just wanted to see the ice and the frozen falls,” Ms. Zhao said of her fourth trip to the Southern Ontario tourist attraction. “It’s so huge and beautiful.”

About 14 million people visit the Niagara Region each year, most of them in the summer months, according to local authorities.

The Canadian side of Niagara Falls, the region’s star attraction, has seen more visitors than usual this winter, the Niagara Parks Commission says, as record cold temperatures in recent weeks have turned the surging waters and their surroundings into an

icy winter wonderland.

“This has been wonderful,” parks commission chair Janice Thomson said. “Just in the past week we’ve seen [such a] flow of people.”

Word of the wintry spectacle has spread across the globe in recent days as stories about the icy falls have been published by the likes of CNN, The Washington Post, BBC and news outlets in continental Europe.

Many visitors hear the falls have frozen and want to see the mighty flow of water brought to a standstill, Ms. Thomson said. “Of course

we know the falls aren’t frozen over,” she noted.

Rather, spray and mist freeze into a crust over top of the water, creating the illusion that the falls have stopped falling, she explained.

Niagara Falls has only truly stopped once in recorded history, the Niagara Parks Commission says – for 30 hours in March, 1848, when millions of tonnes of ice temporarily clogged the source of the Niagara River. While the falls aren’t truly frozen, the effect is still stunning, and

the same mist that freezes over the falls has formed an icy casing over every tree branch, railing and lamppost in the surrounding area.

Huge blocks of ice are pushed over the falls and into the frigid waters below, where they swirl in whirlpools or freeze into a glacier-like “ice bridge” that sometimes reaches 10 storeys high. “It’s amazing,” said Australian Maya Oxley, who is in Canada visiting relatives and made a trip to the falls this week. Ms. Oxley said she saw the falls in winter 14 years ago and had to come back. “It’s beautiful in winter, and not many crowds,” she said. For Ariana Durgadeen, who was visiting from Trinidad with her mother, the ice was an introduction both to Niagara Falls and to a real Canadian winter.

Former Afghan captive charged with sex assault, forcible confinement Joshua Boyle, rescued along with his family in October after five years in captivity in Afghanistan, is now in an Ottawa jail on charges of sexual assault, forcible confinement

and administering a noxious drug.

Boyle, 34, spent New Year’s Day at the Innes Road jail after Ottawa police arrested him after an alleged series of disturbing crimes dating back to Oct. 14 — two days after Boyle called his family in Canada to tell them he had been freed.

Boyle was abducted by a Talibanlinked group while on what he described as a backpacking trip. His children were born and raised in captivity until their rescue by Pakistani commandos.

The son of an Ottawa tax court judge, Boyle had previously been in the public spotlight because of his brief marriage to Omar Khadr’s older sister and the work of the Canadian government to secure his release. He and his family met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month following their rescue.

Boyle is also charged with misleading police on Dec. 30 after reporting that someone was suicidal and missing.

Police are alleging that Boyle concocted the story to “divert suspicion from himself.”

In all, Boyle is facing 15 criminal charges, ranging from assault, to sexual assault, to forcible confinement and administering a noxious drug (trazodone, an antidepressant with anti-anxiety and sleep-inducing effects).

A lawyer for Boyle, meanwhile, called the situation “a completely new experience for Mr. Boyle, as he has never been in trouble before.

“He is presumed innocent of all of the charges. At this early stage, we have not received any of the evidence in this case, but we are eager to receive any evidence there is and look forward to defending Mr. Boyle against these charges in court.

“He is eager for the full story to be presented at the appropriate time in court.”

NATIONAL

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Multiple Tim Hortons franchises, other businesses cut pay, benefits, citing minimum wage hike Employees at nearly a dozen Tim Hortons outlets across Ontario tell CBC News they are facing the loss of paid breaks, benefits, and perks by franchise owners citing Ontario’s minimum wage increase.

The cuts go beyond the iconic coffee chain, with minimum wage workers at other businesses being told they’re also going to take a hit as a result of the hike.

Tims franchise owners are taking similar action in Leamington and Port Hope and at multiple locations in the Cobourg area.

One family that owns six franchises in Durham Region, east of Toronto, is cutting paid breaks at its locations because of what it calls a “massive” increase in labour costs. Ontario’s minimum wage rose to $14 an hour from $11.60 on Jan. 1, and it will go to $15 next year.

Employees say this memo was sent to workers at six Tim Hortons locations in Durham Region. It says, ‘Effective January 1, 2018 we will no longer be able to provide the benefit of paid breaks.’

“I’m sure some of you have wondered that with such a dramatic increase in wages if some or many of you will be laid off or lose your job. I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to eliminate that concern,” the owners wrote. “Unfortunately when wages rise at such a fast pace we cannot raise our prices at the same rate to offset the costs and something has to give.”

“Effective January 1, 2018 we will no longer be able to provide the benefit of paid breaks.” This follows revelations first reported by CBC about actions taken

by Ron Joyce Jr. and Jeri Lynn HortonJoyce, the son and daughter respectively of Tims co-founder Ron Joyce and the late Tim Horton and the married owners of a franchise in Cobourg. Jeri Lynn HortonJoyce, daughter of Tim Horton, is served in the Shaikh Zayed Road location in Dubai.

This photo was taken for a story published in the Gulf News, a daily English language newspaper in Dubai.

Ron Joyce Jr. Enterprises Ltd. gave staff members a letter to sign indicating that they agreed to a series of compensation changes, including eliminating paid breaks,

and asking them to pay the majority of costs associated with benefits.

Ontario Premier calls Tim Hortons heir ‘a bully’ A spokesperson for the Great White North Franchisee Association, which represents Canadian franchise owners who have been squabbling with Restaurant Brands International, their corporate head office, says they have been in touch with Ron Joyce Jr. and Jeri Lynn Horton-Joyce since this story broke.

“They have made it clear to me that because of RBI’s statements in the past that they do not want to put themselves in jeopardy by speaking with the media,” said the spokesperson, who did not want to be identified.

‘Hard-working small business owners’ But in a later statement the spokesman defended Ron Joyce Jr. and Jeri Lynn HortonJoyce. “They, like many Ontarians, are hard-working small business owners who are striving to keep their business viable and keep all of their employees employed.” The move by the two prompted a sharp response from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“To be blunt, I think it’s the act of a bully,” said Wynne in an interview with CBC News. “And if Mr. Joyce wants to pick a fight, pick that fight with me and not the people who are working at the service window of the stores.” “Tim Hortons is a really important part of daily life of millions of Canadian families. But so is having a decent living wage,” she said.

The franchisee association responded that Ron Joyce Jr. and Jeri Lynn Horton-Joyce have “chosen to make a business decision based on the fiscal realities that have been thrust upon them by the premier and her government. People stand outside a Tim Hortons location in downtown Toronto.

Actions taken by the son and daughter of the chain’s co-founders to cut employee benefits at a franchise in Cobourg are ‘the act of a bully,’ Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said. Tim Hortons franchises are not the only businesses responding to the minimum wage increase by cutting in other areas.

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Elderly couple dies in cold after wife goes searching outside for husband Provincial police say extreme cold weather played a factor in the death of an elderly couple in Huron County.

Police officers were called to a residence on Airport Line in Bluewater, Ont. at about 9 a.m. on Wednesday to check on the well-being of its occupants.

Upon arrival, police found the bodies of two people on the property.

Police said 83-year-old Ada Triebner and 90-year-old Grant Triebner, both of Bluewater, were each pronounced dead in the home by Huron County paramedics.

Police released the cause of their deaths on Thursday.

The 90-year-old man had sustained

a medical incident which resulted in his death, police said.

He was found inside an open barn on the couple’s property.

The 83-year-old woman went to check on her husband when she fell victim to the extreme cold temperatures that resulted in her death. Her body was found outside on the property.

Investigators say foul play is not suspected. The Huron County OPP Crime Unit assisted with the investigation.

Police said the victims’ family is seeking privacy to deal with the losses of their loved ones.

A funeral service will be held at the Haskett Funeral Home in Exeter on Monday.

Planes, trains and automobiles: how deep freeze impacts Ottawa travel It’s no secret: today is so cold it could freeze the buttons off a snowman. The wind chill is making it feel like -39, meaning Ottawa feels colder than Winnipeg, Edmonton, Yellowknife and Whitehorse.

It may be cold here, but there’s one Ontario town that has us beat. Sioux Lookout, Ont., feels like -45 with the wind chill so we can’t claim the icy throne for the province.

Via Rail tweeted that due to the winter

storm conditions, all trains in the Quebec City to Windsor corridor may be impacted. Be sure to check their website for updates, delays and cancellations.

There were over 40 flights cancelled Thursday due to the weather, and the delays are continuing today. The Ottawa airport is warning passengers to check their flight status before leaving

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NATIONAL

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Andrew Scheer removes Sen. Lynn Beyak over ‘racist’ letters about Indigenous people Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer has removed Sen. Lynn Beyak from the Conservative National Caucus, in the wake of a Global News report which found Beyak’s website to have published several letters containing language that First Nations advocates call racist or offensive. Beyak, who prompted a string of controversy in 2017 for her remarks defending residential schools, published over 100 “letters of support” on her Senate website, many of which were found to contain what could be described as racist or anti-Indigenous sentiments. “Do not back down, the Indians, First Nations or whatever they want to be called have milked this issue to their decided advantage,” reads one letter dated Mar. 30, 2017.

“The handouts have taken their people nowhere, and their constant backward-looking mentality serves no useful purpose,” states another, dated Mar. 10, 2017. “Aboriginals seem to be well schooled in getting media pity and they have become very good at getting media coverage.” On Thursday, Scheer’s office released a statement in response to the Global News report. “On Tuesday, January 2, 2018, I learned that Senator Lynn Beyak posted to her Parliamentary website approximately 100 letters from Canadians in support of her position on residential schools,” Scheer said.

The statement highlighted one specific comment as being “offensive and unacceptable.”

The comment in question read:

Ontario premier Wynne accuses Tim Hortons founders’ heirs of bullying staff after minimum-wage increase Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the children of Tim Hortons co-founders are bullying their employees by reducing benefits after the province increased its hourly minimum wage to $14 on Jan. 1. Employees at two Tim Hortons locations in Cobourg, Ont., learned in a December letter that they would no longer be entitled to paid breaks and a number of other perks, and would need to cover at least half of the cost of their dental and health benefits after the minimum wage increased from $11.60 to $14 at the start of 2018. The two locations are owned by Ron Joyce Jr. and his wife, Jeri Horton-Joyce, who are the respective son and daughter of Ron Joyce and Tim Horton, the co-founders of the iconic Canadian chain. On Thursday, Ms. Wynne said that she was upset to learn of how the couple was responding to the rise in

the minimum wage. “Asking minimum-wage workers to sign a pledge acknowledging that their breaks will now go unpaid or agreeing to only receive eight hours pay for a nine-hour day is not decent and it’s not fair,” she said. “It is the act of a bully.” Ms. Wynne’s response comes days after the Bank of Canada warned that minimum-wage hikes could cost nearly 60,000 jobs across the country by 2019, despite any benefits workers will receive. Ontario now has the highest minimum wage in Canada and the Premier has faced months of pushback from business leaders after announcing her plan in May to hike the hourly minimum wage to $14 this year and $15 in 2019. Some businesses have warned that they’ll need to increase prices and reduce staffing levels owing to the rapid increase, while others have threatened to leave the province.

4,000 new immigrants called Nova Scotia home in 2017 The Nova Scotia government says 2017 was a banner year for attracting immigrants to the province, with nearly 4,000 newcomers calling Canada’s Ocean Playground home.

By late October, 3,845 immigrants had settled here, said Immigration Minister Lena Diab. She expects that number to pass 4,000 when the full 2017 numbers are in.

The top three countries of origin were India, the Philippines and China. “The more the merrier, as far Nova Scotia is concerned,” she said. Unable to find work, many Syrian refugees reluctantly turn to social assistance Syrian refugees bump N.S. population to record high — but will they stay?

The growing quest to understand the

Syrian refugee experience The number of newcomers is down from 2016, when 5,483 immigrants came, including 1,500 Syrian refugees.

“Immigrants do well in Nova Scotia and they do much better in Nova Scotia than other parts of the [country],” said Diab, who is the daughter of immigrants.

Lena Diab said “the more, the merrier,” when it comes to immigrants choosing Nova Scotia. Lena Diab said “the more, the merrier,” when it comes to immigrants choosing Nova Scotia. She was born in Nova Scotia, moved with her family to Lebanon when she was two, and then returned to Nova Scotia when she was 11.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Five things you need to know about Canada’s new mortgage rules Crazy high prices are no longer the only thing keeping prospective buyers in B.C. from jumping into the real estate market or trading up for bigger or better pads. As of Monday, all borrowers will need to pass a stress test before they are allowed to take out mortgages from federally regulated institutions such as banks, regardless of how large their downpayment.

People who fail the test won’t be able to buy, and estimates have put the ratio of those who will flunk as high as one-in-five.

What is a stress test? It’s all about subjecting prospective home purchases to

a “What if?” scenario. Specifically, what would be the shape of a given buyer’s finances if interest rates were to suddenly spike.

The concept is relatively new. Insured mortgages in Canada were already subjected to such tests, but they now apply to uninsured mortgages as well, explained Samantha Gale, the CEO of the Mortgage Brokers Association of B.C. How high is the bar? Potential buyers will be tested against the greater of either the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate (now 4.99 per cent) or the rate offered by a lender plus another two per cent. “For example, if they were to get a mortgage with an interest rate of three per cent, they now need to

qualify to show that they can afford five per cent,” Gale explained.

What if the bar is too high? Those who fail the test will need to look for something cheaper on the market. “If you were to buy a home worth $700,000 last year, this year you might only be able to afford a home worth $560,000. That’s quite a big discrepancy,” Gale said, adding that it is probably more important than ever to speak to a mortgage broker to see what the options are. Why put buyers to a test?

The federal government is concerned about Canadians’ debt levels, Gale said. Because it has the tools to regulate banks, it is easy for Ottawa to impose mortgage rules rather than rules on other forms of borrowing, she said.

Gale said she did not believe a housing crash like that experienced in the U.S. a decade ago is in the cards. “Generally speaking, people want to stay in their home. They find a way to pay their bills, to pay their mortgage,” she said. Do the new rules affect you?

Quite possibly. If you are buying and need to borrow from a bank, they will, and they will also apply to anyone looking to refinance.

While those seeking to renew mortgages under existing terms will not need to requalify and be stress tested, those shopping around for a better rate will. “One of the challenges might be that a certain lender might not offer a competitive rate at renewal time, knowing that buyers can’t really shop around,” Gale said.

Canada 150, doomed from the start, now ends with a whimper Canada’s sesquicentennial has revealed a of the gathering momentum of the Quebec lot about this country. For some Canadians, sovereignty movement. General de Gaulle’s it has been a year of celebration – I’ve never “Vive le Quebec libre!” speech from the seen so many “I (heart) Canada” T-shirts. But Montreal City Hall balcony in July that year for others, it was a bust. And it highlighted came as a profound shock. some uncomfortable questions.

Most significantly, in 1967 there was little We should have expected these sense of an authentic Canadian identity. contradictory responses. Canada 150 In the words of historian Chad Gaffield commemorated an event of the University of – the passage of the British Ottawa, the centennial North America Act, which celebrations were “all established Confederation about boosterism, in 1867 – that for vast and weren’t based numbers of Canadians on much evidence was either irrelevant or, of Canada itself.” more seriously, damaging.

Those were the years, The attempt to have a argues Prof. Gaffield, Canada 150 coast-to-coast carnival president of the Royal was doomed from the Society of Canada, start. when “everything was The sesquicentennial could never equal imported – ideas, university teachers, culture.”

Canada’s centennial, which included the Canadians went elsewhere for postgraduate heart-pounding excitement of Expo 67, studies, and Canadian university faculties recalled with misty-eyed nostalgia by older were populated by Americans who had fled the Canadians. Those festivities took place in a Vietnam War. CanLit was still in its infancy. country with a population of little more than So the 100th anniversary of the British North 20 million, where Indigenous people were America Act was marked with ingenuous largely ignored and in which most citizens relief that the country had survived, and pride were of British or French origin, spoke in the few national symbols that had emerged one of the two official languages and were – the Mounties, the Maple Leaf flag and, of predominantly churchgoers. Most English- course, maple syrup. speaking Canadians were blithely unaware

FINANCE

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SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Bangladesh willing to send 100,000 Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar The two Bangladesh wants to send up to 1,00,000 governments signed an Rohingya back to agreement in Myanmar in the first batch of repatriations N o v e m b e r allowing for of Muslim refugees repatriations who fled ethnic violence this year, from January 23.

Many aid groups officials said on Friday. and diplomats Senior minister Obaidul Quader doubt that Rohingya refugees fearful Rohingya said a list of agree to return.

1,00,000 names was to be sent to Myanmar will The Rohingya have been the target authorities on Friday so repatriations could start in late January under an of past pogroms in Buddhist-majority accord between the two governments. Myanmar, which does not recognise More than 6,55,000 Rohingya from the group as a genuine ethnicity and Myanmar’s Rakhine state have sought refuge has stripped them of citizenship.

Quader said repatriations would start as in Bangladesh since a military crackdown in late August, fleeing what the US and United soon as a working group of officials from Nations have described as ethnic cleansing. the two countries finalise a list of names.

“Based on the decision of the joint working That added to more than 3,00,000 in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing earlier group, a first list of 1,00,000 Rohingya violence in the Buddhist majority state. will be sent to the Myanmar government

Trump makes Pakistan pay for ‘lies, deceit’, blocks $255 million military aid USA has suspended its $255 million military aid to Pakistan, the White House has confirmed, saying the fate of such assistance will depend on Islamabad’s response to terrorism on its soil.

The confirmation comes on the same day when US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US+ but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

“The United States does not plan to spend the $255 million in FY 2016 in Foreign Military Financing for Pakistan at this time,” a senior administration official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

“The president has made clear the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan’s actions in support of the South Asia Strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance,” he said.

The US administration continues to review Pakistan’s level of cooperation, the official said.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump, in his first tweet of the New Year,

blasted the Pakistan leadership by saying that they have given America “nothing but lies and deceit” despite having received more than $33 billion in last 15 years.

“They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Trump said, clearly indicating that Pakistan would no longer receive any security aid from the US till the time it sees a change in behaviour from them in fight against terrorism.

Within hours, the Pakistani Defence Ministry fired back alleging that it has got “nothing but invective and mistrust” for all the actions it took in support of America’s war against terrorism.

“Pak as anti-terror ally has given free to US: land & air communication, military bases & intel cooperation that decimated al-Qaida over last 16 years, but they have given us nothing but invective & mistrust.

They overlook cross-border safe havens of terrorists who murder Pakistanis,” the Pakistan Defence Ministry said in a tweet.

Trump who returned to the White House from Mar-a-Lago in Florida where he spent his Christmas and New Year vacation did not respond to shouted questions from

18 dead in attack on Afghan funeral: Officials An explosion at a funeral in Afghanistan killed 18 mourners and wounded another 13, officials said, capping a deadly year for ordinary Afghans.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast which authorities initially said was caused by a suicide attacker but now believe was triggered by explosives attached to a motorcycle.

The Taliban said on Twitter they had nothing to do with the incident -- the latest violence to claim the lives of civilians in the wartorn country.

“The explosion was caused by a motorcycle bomb our investigation has concluded,” Nangarhar governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. The governor’s office put the death toll from the attack near the provincial capital Jalalabad at 18, with 13 wounded.

Provincial health director Najib Kamawal confirmed the new toll.

The explosion happened during the funeral ceremony for a former governor of Haska Mina

district who died recently of natural causes, a statement from the governor’s office said.

The twisted wreckage of a motorcycle -- a popular mode of transport in impoverished Afghanistan -- lay in the dirt at the cemetery.

Photos posted on social media purportedly of the scene showed bodies lying in blood and a plume of black smoke rising into the sky. Terrified mourners, mostly elderly men, could be seen running from the scene.

While the Taliban is still responsible for the majority of attacks and casualties across Afghanistan, Islamic State militants have been on a rampage this month.

The incident in Nangarhar, a volatile province bordering Pakistan and a stronghold for IS, comes days after the group claimed an assault on a Shiite cultural centre in Kabul that left 41 people dead and more than 80 wounded.

That followed a Christmas Day attack, also claimed by IS, near an Afghan intelligence agency compound in the Afghan capital that left six civilians dead.

On December 18 militants from the group stormed an intelligence training compound

Stop Afghan supply lines for US troops passing via Pakistan: opposition leader Imran Khan Aftermath of Donald Trump’s tweet Pakistan’s opposition leader and chief of Justice party (Tehreek-e-Insaaf) Imran Khan said that the US is using Pakistan as a “gun for hire” and proposed a series of measures to give a strong response to recent Washington’s accusations, including denying Washington the use of the vital air and land supply lines for its troops stationed in Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Imran Khan said that Pakistan has suffered seventy thousand deaths and $100 billion in losses to the economy because of its support to the US-led war on terror.

He proposed two immediate measures to counter the latest US accusations. “...Two immediate measures can be taken

by Pakistan to send an unambiguous message to the US: One, we must immediately remove excessive US diplomatic, non-diplomatic and intelligence personnel from Pakistan,

so that diplomatic parity is established according to international legal norms governing diplomatic relations between two states. Two, we must deny the US GLOC and AIRLOC facilities which we were providing free of cost to the US,” Khan said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

Imran Khan was responding to the accusations levied by the US President Trump in a tweet on January 1. In the tweet, he had accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years, thinking of American leaders as “fools”.

A day later, the White House said that an already-delayed $255 million military aid to Pakistan had been blocked, the fate of which will depend on Islamabad’s response to terrorism on its soil.

PUNJAB

Saturday, January 6, 2018

High Court stays order on closing 19 tanneries in Jalandhar Ruling that the shutting petitioners down of leather industries against the in Punjab would have NGT and other grave implications, the respondents Punjab and Haryana against the High Court today stayed interim order the operation of the passed on National Green Tribunal’s December (NGT’s) recent order on 18, 2017.

The Bench the closure of 35 units, including 19 tanneries was told that the NGT’s in Jalandhar district.

Workers at the Leather Complex in Jalandhar Principal Bench The Vacation Bench of Justice Kuldip Singh and Justice Rajbir directed the closure of 19 “non-compliant” Sehrawat also stayed further proceedings industries and 16 others already lying closed. before the NGT’s Principal Bench in New Challenging the order, the counsel for the Delhi. The order will remain in operation at petitioners pointed out that an appeal, least till March 9, when the matter would be converted into a public interest litigation taken up by a High Court Division Bench. (PIL), was pending before the High Court.

The directions came on a petition filed by As such, the latter was seized of the matter the Punjab Leather Federation and other

Woman kills husband with lover’s help A woman with the help of her paramour allegedly killed her husband at Adhnian village in Lambi Assembly segment yesterday.

The police said that acting on the complaint of the sister of deceased Tarsem Singh (38), a case of murder was registered today against Inderjit Kaur and Ramandeep Singh, both natives of the same village.

Jasveer Singh, SHO, Lambi police station, said, “The accused had cremated the body yesterday. But when the deceased’s sister Sarbjit Kaur came to the village today, she got some clues that her brother was killed. She then lodged a police complaint.”

He said that during preliminary investigation, the police had come to know that the deceased was aware of his wife’s illicit relations and used to tell her to mend her ways. —

Expelled CKD chief’s son shoots himself in the head Inderpreet Singh, son of expelled Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) president Charanjit Singh Chadha, booked in a sexual harassment case, allegedly shot himself in the head. Amrik Singh Powar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), said a five-page suicide note had been found in the deceased’s bag. Sources claimed it carried the names of several police officials.

Inderpreet, a former vice-president of the CKD Charitable Society, asked his driver Raj Kumar to take him to a clinic on Ajnala road. On reaching there, he found the doctor absent. He returned to his Toyota Fortuner. Minutes later, he shot himself in the head. He was taken to a nearby hospital by his driver where doctors declared him “brought dead.”

The deceased’s father was booked by the local police on charges of outraging the modesty of a principal of a school run by the CKD Charitable Society after a ‘sleaze’ video went viral on the social media. Inderpreet was charged with criminal intimidation after the principal complained she had been threatened by him over the phone.

Granted interim bail by a local court, Inderpreet was asked to join police

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Plans to make Punjab world-class tourism destination Navjot Singh Sidhu, Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, released a vision document with the aim to establish Punjab as a worldclass tourism destination.

The minister said that on an average, Amritsar sees daily visitors to the tune of 1.25 lakh.

Batting for making Punjab a favourable destination for shooting movies, the minister said that a film city would come up in the state which would go a long way in ensuring increased avenues of employment.

It would also revive the otherwise neglected and dilapidated spots that are crying over their fate owing to the callous attitude of the previous dispensation, Sidhu alleged.

Programmes would be chalked out

to promote diminishing handicrafts, art forms besides creating job avenues for the people connected with these arts under ‘Hunar Naal Rozgar’, Navjot Singh Sidhu said. A food street would also come up at Amritsar.

The minister said the 550th Gurpurb of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019 would be observed on a large scale. In the same year, the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy would be observed as per a specially chalked-out programme.

The Sufi Mela, heritage melas at Patiala, Kapurthala, Amritsar and Bathinda and the Military Literature Festival would be held too, the minister added.

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INDIA

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Cold wave claims 52 lives in Uttar Pradesh in two days At least 52 persons have died due to severe cold conditions in 20 districts of Bundelkhand, Central UP and Purvanchal in the past two days.

Kanpur reported the maximum casualties at 10 The north-westerly winds have brought down daytime temperature in the state. However, TP Gupta, Project Manager, Relief Commissioner’s Office, denied that the deaths were due to cold conditions. “We have sought reports from the District Magistrates (DMs). Till we receive the reports confirming that the deaths were due to the cold wave, we cannot say for sure,” he said.

Me a n w h i l e , Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a surprise visit to check facilities at two night shelters at Jiamau and Chakbast Road in Lucknow last night.

Last week, the CM had announced relief measures for the homeless and the poor as the state has been reeling under cold conditions. According to the Relief Commissioner’s office around 3.5 lakh blankets have already been distributed. The state government has also allotted Rs 50,000 each to the 350 tehsils for bonfires. Taking a note of free sweaters not being distributed to the 1.5 crore students of government schools, the Education Department has decentralised

3 girls from Punjab rescued from Kenya: Sushma Swaraj External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said three Indian and seven Nepalese girls, who were victims of trafficking, had been rescued from Kenya.

“We have rescued three Indian girls from Kenya. The girls were victims of an organised crime syndicate that indulged in trafficking...Seven Nepalese girls were also rescued. Their passports and phones were taken and they were held captive in Mombasa,”

the minister tweeted.

“We have flown our girls back to India. We are sharing details with the Punjab government so that a case is registered against the agents and people involved.

“I appreciate the efforts of Indian High Commissioner in Kenya Suchitra Durai...

We thank the Kenyan Police for their help,” she said.

Sushma Swaraj

Jignesh Mevani and Umar Khalid charged with ‘inciting passions’ in Pune riots Police have registered an FIR against fight for the public causes must find a place in Gujarat Dalit leader and MLA Jignesh the legislatures in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Mevani and JNU student leader Umar Khalid and also in Parliament. However, caste for allegedly inciting passions between system can be uprooted only by taking the communities, an official said. fight to the streets. The dominance of one The FIR was lodged late on Wednesday caste over the other can only be destroyed following a complaint by a 22-year-old by battling it out on the streets,” Khalid student, Akshay G Bikkad, of allegedly said. The complainant Pune who took objections to the said such inflammatory speeches speeches by Mevani and Khalid at could create a wedge and enmity Shaniwarwada on December 31. between communities and that In his complaint, Bikkad said provoked by these utterances that at a Yalgar Parishad held some unknown miscreants that day, the two speakers made attacked the Victory Pillar (Vijay inflammatory speeches that could Stambh) in Koregaon-Bhima, create misunderstanding between resulting in riots and arson on communities.

The complainant January 1. Hours after the FIR Jignesh Mevani added excerpts from the speech by the Pune police, the Mumbai

by Mevani: “The (January 1, 1881) battle of police denied permission for a Chhatra Koregaon-Bhima can be a war of tomorrow. If Bharati-sponsored All India National they attack, it is time to retaliate, and winning Students Summit scheduled in Vile Parle on this war will be a tribute to the martyrs. Thursday morning. The developments came Crushing the new Peshwai can be a homage in the wake of a series of disturbances in to the heroes of the Koregaon-Bhima battle.” Maharashtra starting with the desecration of The alleged excerpt from Khalid’s speech: a monument in Vadhu Budruk on December “If we want to win this war against the new 29, followed by the riots in KoregaonPeshwai, we must carry forward the battle of Bhima that left one dead on January 1, the Koregaon-Bhima. If we want to carry ahead Maharashtra Shutdown that killed a boy and the struggle, it cannot be achieved merely by left a trail of destruction across the state. electoral politics. “I believe that people who

Rs 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details It was only last November that the UIDAI asserted that “Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure and there has been no data leak or breach at UIDAI.” A newspaper “purchased” a service being offered by anonymous sellers over WhatsApp that provided unrestricted access to details for any of the more than 1 billion Aadhaar numbers created in India thus far.

It took just Rs 500, paid through Paytm, and 10 minutes in which an “agent” of the group running the racket created a “gateway” for this correspondent and gave a login ID and password. Lo and behold, you could enter any Aadhaar number in the portal, and instantly get all particulars that an individual may have submitted to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), including name, address, postal code (PIN), photo, phone number and email.

What is more, The Tribune team paid another Rs 300, for which the agent provided “software” that could facilitate the printing of the Aadhaar card after entering

the Aadhaar number of any individual.

When contacted, UIDAI officials in Chandigarh expressed shock over the full data being accessed, and admitted it seemed to be a major national security breach.

They immediately took up the matter with the UIDAI technical consultants in Bangaluru.

Sanjay Jindal, Additional Director-General, UIDAI Regional Centre, Chandigarh, accepting that this was a lapse, told The Tribune: “Except the Director-General and I, no third person in Punjab should have a login access to our official portal.

Anyone else having access is illegal, and is a major national security breach.”

Investigations by The Tribune reveal that the racket may have started around six months ago, when some anonymous groups were created on WhatsApp. These groups targeted over 3 lakh village-level enterprise (VLE) operators hired by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (ME&IT) under the Common Service Centres Scheme (CSCS) across India, offering them access to UIDAI data.

INDIA

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Border Security Force kills 10 Pakistan Rangers on International Border A day after a BSF jawan was killed in unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Rangers, the BSF hit back hard and claimed having killed around 10 Rangers.

The BSF also foiled an infiltration bid in Ranbir Singh Pura sector by killing an intruder early this morning.

During the retaliation, the BSF first marked and targeted the mortar positions of Pakistan Rangers.

“During the process, we got information that around 10 Pakistan Rangers have been killed. There was no fire from the Pakistani side after that,” sources said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The BSF said after Head Constable RP Hazra was injured in unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces on the Jammu

International Border in Samba sector yesterday, the retaliation continued till late night. Hazra was evacuated to a medical facility, but succumbed to his injuries.

“Initially, Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing using small arms, but later they also used mortars. BSF troopers consolidated their positions, located and marked Pakistani firing positions and started precisiontargeted fire. Two Pakistani mortar positions were located, targeted and destroyed by BSF troopers yesterday night only,” the BSF PRO said.

He said troopers noticed an intrusion attempt around 5.45 am in the RS Pura area.

“The intruder was neutralised around 7 am and the entire area was cordoned off,” he added. Meanwhile, rich tributes were paid to Hazra at the BSF frontier headquarters, which was attended by J&K DGP SP Vaid, Jammu IG SDS Jamwal and BSF IG Ram Awtar.

Flights, trains affected as intense fog envelops region Hundreds of passengers at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and the railway stations were stranded after operations of trains and flights continue to be affected as dense fog prevails in the National Capital Region (NCR).

As many as 62 trains in Delhi have been delayed, 20 rescheduled and 18 cancelled due to low visibility as fog continues to grip the region. As many as 17 flights have been delayed at the Delhi Airport, at the time of filing this report.

had installed a fog-safety device in the trains to prevent their long delays in winters.

The air quality in the national capital has been keeping under ‘very poor’ category as the fog has not been allowing the particulate matter to disperse.

Hundreds of passengers at several railway stations in north India have been left stranded after multiple trains have been cancelled, delayed and rescheduled for the past couple of days.

( F o l l o w The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) On Thursday, Northern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Nitin Chowdhary told ANI that the Indian Railways

The weather condition is likely to remain the same for the next few days. A

25

US suspends over USD 1.1 bn security assistance to Pakistan The US has suspended more than USD 1.15 billion security assistance to Pakistan, accusing Islamabad of harbouring terror groups like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network within its border and showing unwillingness to take “decisive actions” against them.

The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes days after President Donald Trump in a New Year tweet accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

Prominent among the suspended amount include USD 255 million in Foreign Military Funding (FMF) for the fiscal year 2016 as mandated by the Congress.

In addition, the Department of Defence has suspended the entire USD 900 million of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) money to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017.

“Today we can confirm that we are suspending national security assistance only, to Pakistan at this time until the Pakistani government takes decisive action against groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. We consider them to be destabilising the region and also targeting US personnel.

The US will suspend that kind of security assistance to Pakistan,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters.

The US, she said, would not be delivering military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan unless it was required by law.

Referring to the new South Asia Policy announced by Trump in August, Nauert said despite a sustained high-level engagement by this administration with the government of Pakistan, the Taliban and the Haqqani Network continued to find sanctuary inside Pakistan as they plotted to destabilise Afghanistan and also attacked the US and allied personnel.

Department of Defence Spokesperson Lt Col Mike Andrews told PTI that the National Defence Authorisation Act, 2017, provided up to USD 900 million for Pakistan in CSF. Of these funds, USD 400 million can only be released if the Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis certified that the Pakistan government had taken specific actions against the Haqqani Network.

“At this stage all Fiscal Year 17 CSF have been suspended, so that’s the entire amount of USD 900 million,” Andrews said.

During an interaction with Pentagon

reporters, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis did not respond to question if he was in favour of cutting off the aid to Pakistan.

“I prefer not to address that right now because it’s obviously still being formulated as policy. But I’ll give my advice on it to the President. I also agree on some confidentiality there,” he said.

According to a senior State Department official, no decision has been taken on the fate of USD 255 million security assistance to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017.

Mattis, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, had travelled to Pakistan in recent months to deliver tough message to their leadership. So, this action should not come as a surprise to them, Nauert said.

“They may say it’s a surprise, but what is no surprise is that the President has expressed his concerns, Secretary Tillerson has expressed his concerns, as has Secretary Mattis, and I imagine many other government o f f i c i a l s having those conversations with Pakistan,” Nauert said.

Now, the money that had been suspended at this time did not mean that it would be suspended forever, she said.

“Pakistan has the ability to get this money back, in the future, but they have to take decisive action. They have to take decisive steps,” she added.

“People have long asked, why don’t you do more about Pakistan, and I think this sort of answers that question. Obviously, Pakistan is important, an important relationship to the US, because together we can work hard to combat terrorism. Perhaps no other country has suffered more from terrorism than Pakistan and many other countries in that part of the region,” she said.

“They understand that, but still they aren’t taking the steps that they need to take in order to fight terrorism,” she said.

In an interaction with reporters, two senior state department officials asserted that such a move is not a punishment, but to provide an incentive to Pakistan to take more action against terrorist groups.

“We have not done anything that’s irreversible here. All this funding is available to Pakistan, if they undertake to take the measures that we’ve asked of them,” a senior administration official said in response to a question.

26

SOUTH ASIA

Saturday, January 6, 2018

January 1 marks mass birthday in Afghanistan January 1 is Samad Alawi’s birthday. It’s also the birthday of his wife, his two sons, 32 of his friends and thousands of other Afghans -- a date chosen for convenience by a generation who do not know when they were born.

In the absence of birth certificates or official records, many Afghans have long used the seasons or historical events to help determine their age. But the explosion of social media networks such as Facebook, which require users to register their birthday, and the growing demand for passports and visas have forced Afghans to pick a day -- any day.

January 1 has become a common choice, although the date is more about practicality

than parties.

“It seemed all Afghans had birthdays on January 1,” Samad Alawi, who is 43, said.

Even those who know their real birth date often choose January 1 because they do not want the hassle of converting their birthday from the Solar Hijri, an Islamic calendar used only in Afghanistan and Iran.

The first day of the year in Hijri usually corresponds to March 21.

“When I first created my Facebook account in 2014 it was just easier to choose January 1 as my birthday from the drop down list,” Alawi told AFP. “The internet was also slow and it was difficult to convert the date to a Western calendar.”

Party over for Pakistan for now as US suspends $1.2 billion assistance The American party is over for Pakistan, for now. Uncle Sam has turned off the music, turned down the lights, and taken down all bells and whistles by suspending more than $ 1 billion in security assistance, all of which will resume only if Pakistan takes ‘’decisive action’’ against terror groups that it has long nurtured and harbored. “We can confirm that we are suspending national security assistance only to Pakistan at this time until the Pakistani government takes decisive action against groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the

Haqqani Network. We consider them to be destabilising the region and also targeting US personnel,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Thursday. Other US officials said suspended assistance includes $ 900 million in Coalition Support Funds (CSF) authorized for 2017, in addition to the $ 255 million in foreign military sales assistance from 2016 that already stands frozen. Pakistan believes CSF is reimbursement for services and logistics it provides to the US, and not assistance.

A Sivanandan, novelist, intellectual giant dies Ambalavaner Sivanandan, novelist and intellectual giant of Sri Lankan origin has passed away. He was 94.

For his novel, ‘When Memory Dies’, Sivanandan won the 1998 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in the ‘Best First Book category for Europe and South Asia’.

Sivanandan was also director emeritus of London’s Institute of Race Relations (IRR) and published scholarly articles on race, class and imperialism in ‘Race & Class’, a peerreviewed academic journal.

Sivanandan was born on December 20, 1923, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He left Sri Lanka for the UK after the 1958 riots, says a note about him on the IRR web site.

On coming to the UK, after a short stint as a clerk in Vavasseur and Co., Sivanandan took a job in Middlesex libraries and trained as a librarian. He worked variously in public libraries, for the Colonial Office library and in 1964 was appointed chief librarian at IRR in central London, says IRR. The library on race relations built up by Sivanandan was, in 2006, moved to the University of Warwick Library, where it is today known as the Sivanandan Collection.

Tributes to Sivanandan poured in on social media today. About his writings, chief editor at LeftWord books, Vijay Prashad said: “This was Marxism at its most creative.

His novel - When Memory Dies - stands the test of time.”

Pakistan’s relationship with China and America not the same: US official The US has appeared unperturbed that its suspension of security aid to Pakistan would bring Islamabad closer to China and insisted that the two relationships are different.

“I believe they (Pakistan) do want to build strong relations with both countries. But what they get from China is not necessarily going to be the same thing to get from the US and vice versa,” a State Department official told reporters. “We (US) don’t have the capacity to direct state banks and state companies to invest USD 55 billion dollars in Pakistan. But at the same time China does not have the capacity to

provide the highest quality military equipment in the world,” the official said. The official was responding to question that the latest American move would push Pakistan towards China. “We have no problem with Pakistan and China’s relationship. China has invested a significant amount and plans to invest significant amount more,” the official said.

“Pakistan is in need of economic development and economic growth. In so far as China’s able to contribute to that that will contribute to Pakistan’s stability and security and economic well-being. And that’s perfectly.

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FIJI

Saturday, January 6, 2018

10,000-plus officials trained for 2018 general elections A total of 10,281 election official applicants have been trained in all divisions.

And the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) is calling on individuals who had already applied to work as election officials in the 2018 general elections and had not attended the half-day training to come forward.

FEO director Corporate Services Sanjeshwar Ram said they were moving ahead election preparations and could not afford to be held back because some persons were having difficulty in making time for the training.

He said 1539 applicants who had been selected for training had been unable to confirm a training date. The next round of training begins from January 22 this year.

All applicants who have been unavailable for training so far are encouraged to contact the Fijian Elections Office to book their date, time and venue.

The final round of election officials recruitment will begin next week Monday January 8, 2018.

Nakarawa rated 3rd best rugby player in the world by magazine Rugby World magazine has rated Flying Fijians lock Leone Nakarawa as the third best rugby player in the world. All Blacks fly-half and World Rugby’s player of the year Beauden Barrett was rated the second-best player, with the All Blacks getting just two players in the top 10 list while England fly-half Owen Farell sits at number one. Farrell played a big role in England’s Six Nations win last year as well as the British and Irish Lions’ drawn series on New Zealand soil.

Woman fails to appear in court for theft charge A 20-year-old woman charged with stealing a mobile phone worth $600 failed to appear yesterday at the Suva Magistrates Court.

Meredani Ross is charged with one count of theft where she followed an Ante natal clinic nurse to a restaurant on March 21, last year between

10:45am and 1pm. Ross had allegedly gone to the hospital to enquire about two doctors from the complainant and was on her way to the bus stop when they met again and the complainant offered to pay her fare to town.

Wanted man surrenders Daniel Amitesh Chand who was wanted for questioning in relation to a case where he is alleged to have obtained up to $6000 from an Australian citizen is now being questioned at the Sigatoka Police Station. He surrendered himself on Tuesday It is alleged the victim had been

sending up to $6,000 whereby an agreement was reached for the suspect to pay the victim back which to date he has allegedly failed to do.

Police thank the media for disseminating their request for information.

Investigations into the case continue.

Businessman, Priest remanded in custody for their alleged involvement in assisting escapee Two people have been remanded in custody by the Nadi Magistrates Court for their alleged involvement in assisting escapee Deshwar Dutt. 44-year-old Abinesh Singh who is a businessman from Nadi has been charged with one count of Harboring a Prisoner at Large.

41-year-old Yogesh Prasad Sharma who is a Priest and a driver have been charged with one

count of Harboring a Prisoner at Large and one count of giving false information to a public servant. Police prosecutor Anil Prasad strongly to objected bail for both accused. The defence lawyers have asked for the plea to be deferred.

The case has been adjourned to the 17th of this month for a mention.

Fiji Labour party reaches out to public The Fiji Labour Party has opened an office in Lautoka in a bid to better understand people’s needs. The office will be manned by the party’s assistant general secretary Aman Singh and will cater for the Lautoka and Vuda districts.

The move is also an initiative by the party to help ordinary people liaise better with party representatives and those who will likely be candidates in this year’s elections. Labour leader and former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said the districts would be divided into six zones.

“We hope to build a good team and the intention is to provide service to people in need,”

he said.

“We have noticed that we no longer have a single member constituency and this hasn’t served our people well.” Mr Chaudhry said in the national constituency, people were unable to relate to members of Parliament or vice-versa.

“People aren’t able to identify a particular candidate as their MPs. Likewise, the MPs are also unable to relate to the people in a particular constituency.” He said localising their approach would help people better relate to them and their efforts. “We will be exclusively campaigning those areas and if elected to parliament, we will be serving people in those particular areas.

ATS workers and management now at a deadlock The ATS workers and management dispute are now at a deadlock as the Federated Airlines Services Association says the 200 workers will not sign the Return to Work letters and the management standing by its statement that they need to sign the letters to have the assurance that they won’t walk off their jobs again.

The union has the option to report all it’s grievances to the Ministry of Employment for formal mediation and go to the Employment Tribunal, however, the association’s General Secretary Vilikesa Naulumatua says they are not sure whether they will do that at this stage.

He says they will only take that approach if the workers are allowed back to work without signing the Return to Work letters saying that they were misguided.

Naulumatua says the workers want to return to work and it was right for them to walk off their workstations during working hours on December 16th to attend an ATS Employees Trust meeting.

The 180 suspended workers did not get paid yesterday and Fijivillage has asked Naulumatua how the union will look after the welfare of the workers and their families as school also starts in two weeks. He says they have support.

When questioned on the amount of money to be given to the workers by the union to assist them, Naulumatua said they do not have the actual amount however he believes that there will be a resolution soon.

27 workers have returned to work after signing the Return to Work letters while 180 workers remain suspended without pay.

ATS has a total workforce of 639. Acting CEO of ATS Hare Mani says the suspended workers will not get paid because they did not work and maintains that they can sign the Return to Work letters and return to work while the management and union can have discussions on the pay and work conditions.

Meanwhile National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad has questioned the ATS Management and Board to come out clean on whether they are victimising those locked

Dengue outbreak An outbreak of dengue fever in the Labasa Town area. Yesterday, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services confirmed the outbreak of dengue which is in the Macuata subdivision, mainly localised to the Labasa Town area in the past four weeks. In helping control the spread of dengue, the ministry has started working with stakeholders. Acting national adviser communicable diseases Dr Aalisha Sahukhan said they had started spraying mosquito breeding areas.

“The Ministry of Health and Medical Services continues to work closely with our stakeholders in the Northern Division, including municipal councils in our efforts to control the spread of

dengue fever by reducing mosquito breeding in and around homes and places of work,” she said.

“However, it is not possible for the ministry to conduct weekly clean-ups of every household and workplace and so we urge the general public to be vigilant in protecting yourselves and your families during this outbreak.

“Please maintain regular clean-ups of your surroundings through the weekly disposal or emptying of water carrying receptacles in and around your homes and places of work.”

This week, the ministry, stated the Labasa Hospital received 39 to 78 confirmed cases of dengue every week since November 20 last year.

PAKISTAN

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Islamabad summons US envoy after Trump’s tweet about Pakistan’s ‘lies and deceit’ President’s comments.

Pakistan last night Earlier, the US Embassy summoned US Ambassador confirmed to the Tribune that David Hale to officially lodge Hale was summoned by Pakistan’s its protest US President Donald foreign office at 9pm Pakistan Trump accusing Pakistan of time Monday. Trump had tweeted “lies and deceit”+ in his first bright and early on January 1 that tweet of the new year, reported Pakistan offers “lies and deceit” The Express Tribune. and safe haven for terrorists in A day later, Trump acted on return for the aid the US bestows his criticism of Pakistan+ , by Donald Trump on it. “The United States has blocking $255 million in aid until Islamabad demonstrates it is serious foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 about cracking down on terrorism, reported billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, Pakistan’s prime minister Shahid Khaqan and they have given us nothing but lies and Abbasi has meanwhile summoned a deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They meeting of the country’s National Security give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Committee (NSC) today, to discuss what Afghanistan, with little help. No more!,” action needs to be taken following the US warned Trump in his tweet.

US to announce specific actions against Pakistan The White House has said it would announce specific actions against Pakistan this week to force it to crack down on terrorists on its soil, reflecting president Donald Trump’s tough stance against the country over the issue.

The remarks by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders came after Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit”+ and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

“They can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that,” Sanders said.

The White House said it would likely announce actions to pressure Pakistan within days. “We’ll continue to keep you posted as those decisions are finalised,” Sanders said.

“In terms of specific actions, I think you’ll see some more details come out on that in the next 24 to 48 hours...” Sanders told reporters on Tuesday during a news conference in which she asked Pakistan to step up its actions against terrorists and militant groups operating from its soil.

However, there was no response from the White House on the timing and nature of such an announcement.

In his first tweet of the year, Trump said that the US has “foolishly” given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid+ over the last 15 years.

A day later, the White House said that it was suspended $255 million financial security assistance to Pakistan as mandated

by Congress in its 2016 budget.

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Foreign minister attacks US President Donald Trump In a series of tweets, Pakistan’s the war initiated by you,” he foreign minister Khawaja Asif tweeted in Urdu. hit back at US President Trump’s In a series of tweets, he further wrote, “We considered diatribe and listed the services his your enemy as our own-...we country had rendered for US. filled the Guantanamo Bay, “You ask what did we do? A we served you with such an military dictator (Gen Pervez enthusiasm that you left our Musharraf) surrendered before you country with load shedding (the US) on a single phone call, and gas shortage. We tried to unleashed the worse bloodbath in Khawaja Asif please you on the cost of our (our) country, you carried out 57,800 attacks on Afghanistan from our bases, your economy ... For the past decades, we have been forces were supplied arms and explosives clearing the debris. We are feeling sorry as you through our soil, thousands of our civilians are not happy but we will not compromise on and soldiers, including generals, brigadiers our prestige any more.” and young lieutenants, became victims of

The decline and change in US aid to Pakistan In his first tweet of 2018, Donald Trump said US “has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit...

No more!”

Following this, US ambassador to UN confirmed US would withhold $255m in aid.

Pakistan had already lost around half of the aid ($1118 million) it was

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

Autopsy reveals Sherin died of ‘homicidal violence’ The much-awaited autopsy report in the death of 3-year-old Sherin Mathews says she died of “homicidal violence,” US media reported on Wednesday, nearly three months after the adopted Indian girl was found dead in a culvert in suburban Dallas.

Sherin went missing from her home in Richardson on October 7 and her body was found on October 22 in a culvert in suburban Dallas by a cadaver dog after an intense search. The toddler’s body was identified days later using her dental records. Sherin died of “homicidal violence”, a law enforcement official in Dallas, Texas, confirmed to WFAA TV station, indicating the manner of death for the girl. A cause of death could not be determined due to extensive decomposition, the official said.

Steven Kurtz with the Dallas County medical examiner’s office said that Sherin was a victim of homicide, the Associated Press reported.

An earlier report had said that the autopsy

report of Sherin has been handed over to the attorneys for the adoptive Indian-American parents of Sherin - Wesley Mathews and Sini Mathews. During a child custody hearing in late November, a doctor testified before a court that Sherin, who was adopted from India, had broken bones and had injuries in various stages of healing, indicating abuse.

Initially, Sherin’s foster father Wesley told police that he put her outside their home at 3am to discipline her for not drinking her milk.

His story changed after her body was found in a culvert, telling police that he “physically assisted” with pouring the milk down Sherin’s throat and then moved her body after he realised she had choked and died. Wesley also admitted to police that he removed Sherin’s body from the home after changing his story multiple times on the events leading up to her death.

Indian doctor sentenced for sex offenses in USA An Indian doctor has been sentenced to 10 months behind bars in the US for groping two teenage female patients and faces deportation to India after the completion of his jail term.

Dr Aggarwal, 40, was sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to four counts of gross sexual imposition.

Aggarwal, formerly a doctor at Dayton Children’s Hospital in Ohio, inappropriately touched two teens during medical examination between 2013 and 2015, the

government attorney said.

Designated as a Tier I sex offender, Aggarwal was arrested when he was trying to flee the country. It is very shamefult such a doctor brings this noble proffession to disrepute.

Doctors are class apart & enjoy a special category in society.Doctors ought to uphold this nobility.Rajinder singh Gulati In a statement, the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Leon Daidone alleged that the local hospital did not report the incident to the police.

29 Indian workers died in Kuwait in December 2017 Many Indians workers are dying in Kuwait.

Suicides, heart attacks, illness, accident at work site or traffic accidents are the causes of deaths.

29 people died in December 2017 itself, according to figures available with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait. The Indian Embassy in Kuwait helps in transporting the bodies to India. Or if the victim’s families chose, the bodies are buried locally.

An analysis of the deaths showed that 14 people died due to heart attacks, two committed suicide, seven because of sickness, one at a work-site accident, one was a natural death, one died in a traffic accident, one died falling from a height and two died in road accidents.

A 24-year-old worker Manikanta Sabbithi of

Hyderabad committed suicide on December 6, 2017 and the body was transported to India.

Another, 39-year-old worker from the city, Srinivas Rao Kokka died of a heart attack on December 11. A woman worker, Damayanthi Gorrela from the city who was 41 years old, suffered a heart attack and died. A 24-yearold worker Kishore Nagendra, also of the city committed suicide on November 23. All the bodies were transported to India.

Of the 29 who died due to various reasons, eight were buried locally itself in Kuwait. The bodies of others were transported to India to Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jammu and Kashmir, Ahmedabad, Tiruchirapalli, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kolkata and Kozhikode.

Indian-origin man charged with stabbing his wife in Singapore An Indian-origin man in Singapore was today charged with fatally stabbing his wife using a knife with a 10cmlong blade. Jayselan N Chandrasegar, 29, used the knife which is likely to cause death to stab Mayuri Krishnakumar, 26, twice in her abdomen and twice on her lower back, according to the court documents.

He allegedly stabbed Mayuri twice in her abdomen and twice on her lower back, causing her to suffer punctured wounds, Channel News Asia reported.

Jayselan, however, alleged that he did not stab his wife more than twice.

“Mayuri is my wife. For the mistake that she did, I admit that what I did to her was wrong. I only stabbed her twice, (and) not more than that, Jayselan told the court through a Tamil interpreter. “I did not think that I would do such a thing to my wife. I have a child at home. I couldn’t take it that she did this to me and my child,” he said. The incident, which was captured on video by a bystander and shared on social media, happened took place on December 30. Jayselan was arrested shortly after by the police. According to report, Mayuri had just parted ways with her husband and was taking a walk with another person when the incident occurred.

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FRUITICANA

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Take a look at Vidya Balanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best films

V

i d y a Balan is a name to reckon with.

The powerhouse of talent, who began her Bollywood career with Pradeep Sirkarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parineeta in 2005, hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worked with Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan yet.

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As the actress turned a year older today, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taking a look at some of her best performances over the years: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Parineetaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; She played the strong character of Lalita in the film and was applauded by the critics for her breathtaking performance. Lalita is a dignified woman and her love remains

Anil Kapoor joins hand with cast of Salman Khanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Race 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

firm for Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan) through thick and thin.

Parineeta also starred Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles.

Vidya received the Filmfare Award for Best Debut(Female) c ategor y. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; B h o o l Bhulaiyaaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; As Avni, Vidya pulls off an awe - i ns pi r i ng role. She suffers from a rare psychological problem she herself is oblivious of. She gets enamoured by Manjulika ( a dead dancerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life story) and gets possessed by her ghost. As Manjulika, Vidya sent shivers down the spine of the audience. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Paaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The 2009 drama starred Vidya, Abhishek Bachchan

Continued on page 5

A

fter gaining success in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tiger zinda haiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Salman Khan is now currently busy shooting for his upcoming high octane action flick â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Race 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which is being directed by Remo Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza.

The film is the third instalment of the Race film series.

Rumours about Anil Kapoor being a part of the flick were doing the rounds for quite a while. Today, Salman took to his Twitter account to make the official announcement.

The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dabanggâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; actor shared a picture of himself along with Anil Kapoor and producer Ramesh Taurani with a caption which read as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inke Aane se Race3 ka cast aur ho gaya jhakas @AnilKapoor @

RameshTaurani #Race3â&#x20AC;?. The film also stars Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah, Bobby Deol, Saqib Saleem and Pooja Hegde and is scheduled to release on May

4, 2018. Race 3 is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language film directed by Remo Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souza and produced under Tips Films & Salman Khan films . It is the sequel to the 2013 film Race 2 and the third installment of the Race film series.

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

16

mid-day Friday, December 29, 2017 | www.mid-day.com | twitter.com/mid_day | epaper.mid-day.com

have you heard?

The tightly under wraps title of Aanand L Rai’s upcoming film starring TITLE Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, is likely to be TATTLE unveiled on January 1. SRK plays a dwarf in the 2018 Christmas release

Rekindling the flames?

Personal world

Ever since they teamed up for Aashiqui 2 (2013), Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur set tongues wagging about their relationship. Over a year ago, there was buzz about their breakup, after Shraddha was said to be in a relationship with another actor. Looks like, the two have ironed out their differences.

Recently, Shraddha was spotted outside Aditya’s house. So, should we assume all is well between them? Or is there a film on the cards? Your guess is as good as ours.

Superman Salman ke fans To the land of elephants

Gauahar Khan has ventured into the digital space with her YouTube channel. The first video gives a sneak peek into the actor’s personal life. Last seen in the Vidya Balanstarrer Begum Jaan, she was keen to try something new. She feels, this is the best way to interact with fans.

Members of a fan group from Salman Khan’s hometown, Indore, have not missed a single film of the actor over the past 14 years.

They have made certain to catch the first day, first show of every Khan starrer.

The New Bombay Gym Group, also a bunch of fitness freaks like their screen idol, began watching Khan’s films since 2003. Tere Naam marked the onset of this trend for them. The group also apparently extends a helping hand to children from the marginalised sections of society, under his name. Khan was born in Indore, before shifting to Mumbai. Some of his family members still live there.

Cake-cutting spree Twinkle Khanna celebrates her 43rd birthday today.

She is in Cape Town, holidaying with hubby Akshay Kumar and kids — Nitara and Aarav. The Kumars love South Africa — they were in Cape Town last year too, to ring in Twinkle’s big day. The actorturned-writer has lots to celebrate as she turned producer this year with Padman. It is also her late dad, Rajesh Khanna’s 75th birth anniversary today.

TELLY TATTLE

Dual talk Hrishikesh Pandey says he’s lucky to bag a double role in Porus. The small screen, he says, doesn’t offer such opportunities to actors often. He plays a pirate and a warrior in the historical. “When I am playing a warrior, the moustache is up, and when I am playing a pirate, the moustache is down,” he says. Genius!

Although they missed Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma's star-studded Mumbai reception, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone never miss an opportunity to pack in a holiday together. If the grapevine is to be believed, the love birds are set to ring in the New Year together in 2018.

While Singh was spotted in Sri Lanka yesterday, where he was shooting for a commercial, Padukone will apparently join him soon. A source close to Singh says that the duo intends to stealing some time, and get away from the prying eyes of the paps to go snorkeling.

Friends no more?

There was a time when Sara Ali Khan and Rhea Chakraborty were inseparable. They would be spotted together at the gym, salon and even at late-night parties. But, it’s been a while since the two have been seen together. Sara may be tied up with Kedarnath, while Rhea, with her commitments. But, is their busy schedule the only reason behind their distance, or is there more to it than meets the eye?

10

Classifieds / Jobs

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Matrimonial Match for Jat Sikh, male, 50 years old, never married, city job in NY (USA), excellent health, looking for

compatible, homely, life partner 35 to 40 years of age. Pls contact: e-mail: harminder1229@gmail.com

Community news South Asian Seniors - Group Birthday of 20 Senior Members, Celebration on January 6th 2018 from 11.00 am to 2.30 pm. Vedic Senior Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian Senior members to attend group Birthday of 20 Senior members born from 23rd October to 6th January, will be celebrated on January 6th 2018 ( Saturday ) from 11.00 am to 2.30 pm at Shanti Niketan hall of Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple 8321 - 140th street Surrey BC. The program will start with serving snacks, tea, fruit juice, and there will be live entertainment with hilarious jokes by members and Hindi songs will be sung by talented

singers, Harmesh Sidher, Balraj Basi, Mohan Bhojwani will sing & play Hindi song tunes on Violin and Amarjit Singh will play on Tabla. We have invited well known guest Singer Tejaswita Mohan also who will be singing melodious old songs . Cake cutting ceremony will take place and slice of cake will be served to all participants. Special vegetarian lunch will be served along with the dessert.

Registration required for non members.

The project is funded by Government of Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi speaking Seniors.

Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator Tel. 604- -507- -9945 for prior registration.

Community / News

11

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Vol. 8 No. 49 - Saturday - January 6, 2018

Vancouver’s tough real estate market just got a little tougher

Tel: 604-591-5423

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Taxes for 2018 increased to 4.24%, higher than proposed in draft budget

Some home buyers might have to reconsider what they can afford in Vancouver as of Jan. 1. New mortgage lending rules issued in 2017 by Canada’s banking regulator set a new qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (those with at least a 20 per cent down payment on the home price).

Home buyers who have qualified for a mortgage at a rate of 2.9 per cent, for example, will now have to prove they could absorb a rate hike of two percentage points or the five-year average rate posted by the Bank of Canada — whichever is higher.

The tougher new rules on mortgage

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lending are aimed at protecting lenders and borrowers; the federal government wants to make sure borrowers can afford a potential rate hike.

“If you’re looking at a qualifying standard that has a higher interest rate, that means that for the same income you’re going to be able to borrow less,” UBC Real Estate Economist Tsur Somerville said.

Previously, only insured borrowers had to undergo such a test.

Proposed mortgage rules aim to reduce financial risk in Canada’s hot housing markets Vancouver real estate agent Chris Ryan says the new rules will hit some local buyers harder than others.

“People who were looking at homes in the 2.5’s now are going to be coming down and closer to the 1.9’s, and so everyone is going to jump down a bit,” Ryan said.

“Where that leads to, it’s hard to predict,” he added.

Vancouver Real Estate Agent Chris Ryan says the new rules will affect the market and says it’s hard to predict how. The change comes as Canadians face record-high levels of debt. “While this is going to be difficult for borrowers, particularly young borrowers in certain markets, what you want from your federal regulator is essentially to pay attention

E-mail: ads@theasianstar.com

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14

Real Estate

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Latest property assessment data shows big increases for many condo and townhouse Condominium and townhouse owners throughout Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley will likely get a shock when they open their property assessment notices this week, thanks to a region-wide increase in strata property values. On Tuesday, B.C. Assessment released its 2018 property assessment data, that showed across Greater Vancouver there were assessment increases in the five- to 35-per-cent range between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017. In the Fraser Valley, the increases ranged from 10 to 40 per cent. “The strata market is quite different. It’s been very robust — it’s really outstripped the single-family market,” said B.C. Assessment spokesperson Tina Ireland.

Last month, the authority sent warning letters to 67,000 homeowners, telling them to expect above average increases on their 2018 property assessment notices.

According to B.C. Assessment data, Vancouver strata homes went up on average 15.2 per cent over the previous year’s assessment, while in Surrey they went up 23.8 per cent. The City of Langley saw an even bigger jump — 26.2 per cent. A typical strata townhouse in Whistler Village went up 30 per cent, while a townhouse in Squamish’s Garibaldi Estates saw a 20-per-cent increase. “I think the extent to which things really cooled down in single family but not in condos was very, very striking because we tend to think of condos as something where you can add more supply, and single family it’s harder to add more supply,” said Tsur Somerville, professor and director of the University of B.C.’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate.

Since the assessments took place on July 1, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Jill Oudil said the trend has

continued. “Detached has calmed a bit, although it’s still what we consider a balanced market,” she said. “Condos and townhomes haven’t changed as far as both being in high demand.” Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, who also chairs the Metro Vancouver board of directors, said it’s not a surprise to see condo and townhouse assessments going up. It happened in Vancouver a number of years ago, and now the suburbs are catching up. Strata residential values went up about 20 per cent in PoCo, and a typical low-rise condo in the city’s downtown saw a 28 per cent increase.

“What I hear most about is not necessarily the assessment percentage going up, it’s how unaffordable it is for people to now even afford a condo in the suburbs,” Moore said.

Somerville agreed that the affordability of condos and townhomes is “worrisome.”

“When you see a lot of price appreciation in the thing that’s really the entry level product, then you’re really more concerned about people being shut out, particularly when you see these kind of increases out in the Fraser Valley,” he said.

The single-family home market was “really quite stable, especially in the core areas of Vancouver — Vancouver, Richmond, North Shore, Burnaby,” said Ireland.

Urban areas of Greater Vancouver saw changes that ranged from a decrease of five per cent to an increase of 15 per cent. Rural areas of Greater Vancouver saw a similar range, with the upper end hitting 25 per cent.

For example, in Vancouver single-family home assessments went up on average 1.6 per cent, Richmond went up 2.5 per cent and Burnaby went up 2.6 per cent.

Continued on next page

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Real Estate

Tips about how to sell your home

BC raises homeowner grant threshold to $1.65 million The BC government has raised the 2018 homeowner grant threshold to $1.65 million.

The property tax relief, designed to help property owners deal with sharp increases in assessment, offers $570 to owners of properties worth less than $1.65 million.

The province has steadily increased the threshold over the last few years as the value of real estate has climbed, from $1.6 million last year and $1.2 million in 2016.

Dramatic gains in B.C. assessed property values mean twice as many homeowners no longer qualify for grant How do I appeal my property assessment?

These are B.C.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five most expensive properties The government says raising the

threshold means the grant would be applicable to 91 per cent of B.C. homes, the same percentage as last year.

Eligible homeowners must apply for the homeowner grant each year. The homeowner HSBOU BNPVOUT BSF t GPS UIF CBTJD IPNFPXOFS HSBOU t JG UIF IPNF JT MPDBUFE JO B OPSUIFSO PS SVSBM BSFB t 6Q UP GPS homeowners who are 65 years or older, or the IPNFPXOFS JT B QFSTPO XJUI B EJTBCJMJUZ t 6Q to $1,045 for homeowners who are 65 years or older, or the homeowner is a person with a disability if the home is in a northern or rural area.

Latest property assessment data shows big increases for many condo and townhouse â&#x20AC;&#x153;We start moving out to the Fraser Valley â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so even out Coquitlam way, into Surrey and Abbotsford â&#x20AC;&#x201D; seeing more in the 10- to 20-per-cent range for the 2018 assessment,â&#x20AC;?

Ireland said.

Detached homes in the Fraser Valley (which runs from Richmond, past Hope and Boston Bar) saw anything from a decrease of five per cent to an increase of 25 per cent.

Single-family homes in Surrey increased an average of 10.6 per cent, Maple Ridge went up 14.1 per cent, Abbotsford went up 16.3 per cent and Chilliwack went up 19.1 per cent.

The overall residential housing market in Vancouver saw â&#x20AC;&#x153;nominalâ&#x20AC;? changes in value, said Ireland.

The city saw a 5.63 per cent average increase in residential property assessments. The only municipalities in the Greater Vancouver or Fraser Valley areas that saw lower percentage changes were West Vancouver (1.12 per cent), Delta (2.9 per cent), District of North Vancouver (4.11 per cent) and White Rock

(4.35 per cent). Some rural areas saw even smaller increases or overall decreases.

Two dozen municipalities saw double-digit increases in their average residential property values, as did some rural areas. Municipalities on the fringes of the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley areas â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Pemberton, Whistler, Chilliwack, Kent, Mission, Hope and Harrison Hot Springs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; saw increases of about 20 per cent.

Tsawwassen First Nation saw the largest average increase: 44.94 per cent.

Property owners should note that just because their assessed property value went up, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll face a big property tax increase this summer. What matters is how much your property increased compared to others in your property class.

About two million property owners are expected to receive their assessments by mail in early January. They have until Jan. 31 to appeal their assessments.

#106 - 7565 132 St. Surrey, BC 604.572.3005

15

16

Saturday, January 6, 2018

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Saturday, January 6, 2018

Bollywood

New year 2018

HOROSCOPE Aries

Libra

March 21 - April 20

Sept. 24 - Oct 22

The full moon at the start of the week could see you enjoying time with family and friends, as well as looking ahead to your plans for the future. Try to give yourself a reduced schedule on January 1. The full Cancer moon says make the most of this opportunity for fun and relaxation. However, other aspects this week could alert you to new possibilities.

in your sector of shared resources, a business idea could be potentially lucrative and worth

Taurus April 21 - May 20 As 2018 gets underway, the full Cancer moon on January 1 in your sector of communication suggests that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be busy interacting with others and having a fabulous

travel and other adventures, especially those that are a little bit out of your reach. But as

insights into your mindset could encourage you to move out of your comfort zone and perhaps venture along new paths to see what is possible.

Gemini

May 20 - June 21 Although the January sales may beckon, "#$% &

you decide to splurge. Therefore, go easy if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re shopping, and keep track of all receipts.

Visions of what might be possible can reveal

'

harder and perhaps set yourself a few goals that are outside your comfort zone. However, you also need to be practical. Having said that, '

* inspire you to take a leap of faith.

Cancer

You might have bold ambitions as 2018 gets underway, and it could be a very positive experience to contemplate all you hope to achieve. However, there is also a very strong focus on home and

&

As luscious Venus aligns with nebulous <

& to help out and get more involved in

Scorpio ` E{ | \ EE A part of you may wish you were traveling as the new year gets underway.

However, a very potent focus on communication and your local environment suggests that you could be kept very busy in your own area. There might be some creative opportunities you can turn your hand to. As the glowing sun aligns with ethereal Neptune, one encounter could prove fated and might even enhance your reputation.

You could be feeling bold as the red planet in your sign encourages you onward and upward.

Sagitarius \ E{ | EE Although you might have expenses from the holidays to handle, January 1 and beyond could still see you eager to splurge, especially if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re tempted by items in the post-holiday sales. Say yes to such purchases as investments, and try to make them as wise and useful as you can.

Be sure to keep the receipts just in case. At

expansive Jupiter in a spiritual sector of your chart, helping others can bring rewards even though you expect nothing.

Capricorn

June 22 - July 23

Dec 23 - Jan 20

With a full moon in your sign on January $

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very nurturing and satisfactory start. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll enjoy being with family and close friends as 2018 gets underway. Your thoughts could also linger on opportunities to get away from your everyday routine and perhaps enjoy a short break or longer vacation. If you have the chance, go for it. At the same

+

lucky Jupiter could coincide with a fortunate

With a full moon in your sector of relating, January 1 could be a very heartfelt and soulful occasion. You may feel a connection with family and loved ones very acutely, and this could leave you quite emotional. At the same time, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be eager to get key projects underway and be very excited at the possibilities open to you. Your social life positively sparkles. When dynamic

=

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Leo June 24 - August 23 The full Cancer moon in a more secluded sector of your chart encourages you to forget about work or duty for the day and take time out to celebrate the new year. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have plenty of opportunities to get back into the swing of things during the rest of the week. In fact, this could be a particularly busy time of year for you, so making chances for relaxation is very important. There is also dynamic activity on the home front, which could lead to positive change.

Virgo August 24 - Sept 24 /

"#$% &

with a full Cancer moon in your social sector encouraging you to enjoy any New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebrations. At the same time, you could be busy with creative projects or enjoying a budding

6

very inspiring over the coming days, particularly as luscious Venus ties with ethereal Neptune.

Remember, however, that they are only human

7

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encourage you to ask others for assistance with

Aquarius Jan 21 - Feb 19 If you can lighten your schedule on January 1, consider doing it. The full Cancer moon

&

and listen to your feelings. With a major focus on your spiritual sector, you might need time '

them. If you can talk about them with a close friend, it might help you let them go. Relieving yourself of any emotional baggage can help "#$% &

Pisces Feb 20 - March 20 Your social life seems to be extremely lively, and the full Cancer moon on January 1 adds to /

"#$% & +

and this could fuel your intention to make it the best year ever. At the same time, you could be eager to explore new paths and ready to move out of your comfort zone. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no need to do this alone, though, as there are friends who may be willing to join you. Whether you are traveling or studying, sharing the experience can make it more enjoyable.

Hot and Sunny, Leone dressed in black to warm your winter-crushed hearts

H

ot and Sunny starlet shared her 2018 New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve celebration pictures on social media, where she can be seen partying with hubby Daniel Weber, and got us drooling over her black ensemble. Exuding a mesmerising blend of class and glamour, the halterneck, maxi dress had perfection written all over it.

Out of the all

brilliant things that Sunny Leone does it to be actively participating in PETA campaigns (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) or simply being honest about her career choices, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s her sense of style that enthralls us the most.

All those whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been keeping a hawkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye on celebrity-fashion would know how most celebs like Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor also chose black outfits to ring in the new year, and so did Sunny.

Birthday girl Deepika Padukone proved that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NOT just a pretty face!

Birthday boy Salman, family and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tiger team had adventure at his farmhouse has turned 31 today and is ruling Bollywood. After ruling the industry, she is ready to take on the West with her upcoming xXx: Return Of Xander Cage, alongside global icon Vin Diesel. After working in a

in 2012â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cocktail along side Saif Ali Khan and since then there was no looking back for the babe. In fact, 2013 was the biggest year for her as she became the only Indian star

Rs 100 crore grossers. And ten years into the industry she has become a force to reckon with. On

that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than just a pretty face. Take a lookâ&#x20AC;Ś

empowerment when you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how to respect women!â&#x20AC;? > ? @ EQUY she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shy away from showing her true emotions.

She shed a tear or two portraying how she felt about

% Z [ Padukone is so spectacular, I think

# She is one of the few who

successfully transforming from a model to a known actress. # The actress spoke about depression in 2015 . Ms

spoke about her condition

also started a foundation

! !

Laugh Foundation, which is dedicated to taking care of mental health. Deepika had said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Foundation and the cause we are championing are deeply personal to me. When we set up the Foundation, our intention was to reduce the stigma, spread awareness and change the way we look at Mental Health.â&#x20AC;? (Also read: Deepika Padukone will " Sri Lanka) # The Piku actress shut The Times Of India after they posted a story on their Twitter handle talking $ % '* + / /

+ * ++;;< further added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t talk about womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

the spot as 8th wonder of the world > \ ] ^

_ ]

was great at it courtesy her father Prakash Padukone. who was a professional badminton player.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to many more years of being badass.

Happy Birthday Deepika!

Bollywood Personalitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthdays

VIDYA BALAN JANUARY 1

DEEPIKA PADUKONE JANUARY 5

BIPASHA BASU JANUARY 7

HRITHIK ROSHAN JANUARY 10

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Bollywood

Film: Tiger Zinda Hai hit by the strike in Maharashtra

S

alman Khan and Katrina Kaif-starrer Tiger Zinda Hai is performing phenomenally well at the box office. After enjoying a great run during the New year weekend, the film remained rock-steady during the week days. While the dip from Tuesday to Wednesday was just around Rs 2 crore, the film witnessed a huge fall in Maharashtra due to the bandh yesterday. Since the theatres were shut, the owners of the cinema halls even refunded the ticket amount to the people who had booked online. As per a report on Box Office India, Tiger Zinda Hai lost around

Rs 1 crore due to the disruption in the state.

Since now the situation is normal, we can expect some kind of growth in today and tomorrow’s collections. As there no new releases this week, and Tiger Zinda Hai will remain the first choice for moviegoers.

The film has already become Katrina Kaif ’s highest grosser of all time and will cross the Rs 300 crore mark by its third weekend. With this feat, it will also become Salman’s third Rs 300 crore movie after Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan. (Also Read: Tiger Zinda Hai beats Dhoom 3 to become Katrina Kaif ’s highest grosser of all time) Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, the film also stars Angad Bedi, Girish Karnad, Paresh Rawal, Kumud Mishra and Sajjad Delafrooz in pivotal roles. The story of the film revolves around RAW agent Tiger, who takes down an army of enemies as he goes on an impossible mission to save nurses held hostage in war-torn Iraq. The film is a sequel to 2012’s blockbuster, Ek Tha Tiger which was helmed by Kabir Khan. As Tiger Zinda Hai has complete one week open to perform, we are expecting this espionage thriller to beat the collections of Bajrangi Bhaijaan and become the biggest grosser of Salman Khan. Do you think it can happen?

Share your thoughts in comment section below.

Jan

12

KAALAKAANDI *ing: Saif Ali Khan and Sobhita Dhulipala

Jan

12

Udanchhoo

*ing: Prem Chopra, Ashutosh Rana, Rajneesh Duggal

New Released Bollywood Films Jan

05

Jan

12

MUKKABAAZ

*ing: Vineet Kumar Singh, Jimmy Shergill

Dec

15

KULDIP PATWAL

BHANGOVER

*ing: Jameel Khan, Gulshan Devaiah

*ing: Jimmy Sharma, Aradhya Taing

3

4

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Swap your cosmo for Bholi Punjaban

‘It’s great to be around SRK sir’

City club to serve cocktail named after Richa’s character from Fukrey

Katrina Kaif on her second outing alongside Shah Rukh Khan, and working on her upcoming film, Zero MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com MOST seasoned actors sign a film depending on the importance of their role in it. But, for Katrina Kaif, the makers, crew members and script are sacrosanct. “If I like the team, technicians and story, I’ll do a film. It doesn’t matter if I am the only one in it or there are 25 other actors. While working on Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012, she played the protagonist in it), I also did Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which had six principal characters. I can’t sign a film that offers me a great part but has an average script,” says Kaif, who has spent over 14 years in B-Town.

Close on the heels of Tiger Zinda Hai’s success, she is looking forward to her next project, Aanand L Rai’s Zero, which also stars Shah Rukh Khan. “Initially, I was supposed to play myself in Zero. The film was titled Katrina Meri Jaan. There was a different cast on board and Shah Rukh sir wasn’t part of it. Now, it’s a satirical take on an actress,” says Kaif.

The film will mark her second outing with SRK, after Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

Sharing her fondness for the star, Kaif says, “Shah Rukh sir is one of the best

actors in the industry. His drive, energy and passion are commendable. It’s great to be around him on a set.”

Though she doesn’t divulge details, it’s apparent that Kaif doesn’t share screen space with Anushka Sharma, who also stars in Zero. Heaping praise for the film’s director, she says, “Aanand sir is fantastic. He helps you as an actor.

You get to learn a lot from him.”

Chadha in Fukrey; (below) the cocktail MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com

‘If I like the team, story and technicians, I’ll do a film. It doesn’t matter if I am the only one in it or there are 25 other actors’

Katrina Kaif; (left) Shah Rukh Khan

Ash demands 10 crore for Raat Aur Din remake?

MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com

tensive preparation. It will be a time-consuming project, which means she will have to let go of the THE debate on gender-based pay other films that come her way. The disparity in Bollywood has been fee she has quoted is fair. The proon for a while. But 2018 seems to ducers have agreed to the amount have started on a good note for without any negotiation,” a source female actors. Apparently, Aish- tells mid-day.

The film will see the Jodhaa Akbar warya Rai Bachchan has demanded 10 crore for her next actor step into Sanjay Dutt’s mother, film, Raat Aur Din (1967) re- late Nargis Dutt’s shoes. The source make. “Since Aishwarya adds, “The makers have discussed has a double role, the the tribute film with Sanjay. Since film will require ex- Aishwarya has wrapped up her parts

‘It’s a time-consuming project, which means Ash will have to let go of the other films’ A source

Raat Aur Din; (left) Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for Fanne Khan, she will start prepping for the film soon. Though trade insiders are squirming at the possibility of a 44-year-old female actor walking home with a fat pay cheque, producer Prernaa Arora believes that Ash is putting a lot at stake for her film, and the fee is warranted.”

PRAISE continues to roll in fo Richa Chadha, who played the boisterous Bholi Punjaban in Fukrey (2013) and Fukrey Returns (2017) A source tells mid-day that a city pub has named a cocktail afte her character.

“The owners reached out to her The drink, called Bholi Bhali Punjabi fits the bill because they like to adap to pop culture and Richa’s characte from Fukrey has become popula among the youth.”

The drink is a concoction o whisky, litchi, cranberry and mint. I will be served to patrons from Janu ary 8. The owners had invited Chadha to launch the product, but given her packed schedule, she won’t be able to make it.

When contacted, Chadha tells mid-day, “I am happy that my character from Fukrey will make people happy. It’s a great idea. I’m flattered.”

‘The drink fits the bill because they like to adapt to pop culture and Richa’s character has become popular among the youth’ A source

5

y

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Tuning in with Nawazuddin

On a new dat

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has lent his voice for a specially made film, Look Who’s Watching, for the launch of an upcoming Hindi entertainment channel. The film captures the evolution of television — from the blackand-white era when the family used to sit together every evening and enjoy limited content to the present-day plethora of options at the flick of a button.

The film took the actor back to his growing up days when the antenna would have to be manually fixed for better reception. Nawaz, however, feels the fervour for TV is no more the same and it is time to get it fixed with the right mix of content.

Rumoured lovebirds Ti Shroff and Disha Patan upcoming film Baaghi 2 a new release date. Ah Khan’s directorial venture was suppo to release on April but it will now hit marquee on Marc Producer Sajid Nadiadwala made annoucement yesterday. There ha been talk that Rajku Hirani was eyeing March 30 for the relea the biopic on Sanjay D But there is no officia announcement yet.

Hirani is known to pl his cards close to his chest, so we will hav wait and watch.

Work mode There is talk that Kapil Sharma will be back on the tube with a new show in a couple of months.

Yesterday, the comedian put up a video on social media playing Junior Arora saab (inset). This has led to speculation that he is working on a fresh set of characters. His last B-Town outing Firangi proved to be a damp squib, it seems he has realised that he’d rather stick to the small screen than chase Bollywood.

Ek bangla bane nyara Kangana Ranaut’s newly constructed bungalow in hometown Manali has become the talk of the town. Locals are taking selfies outside it, even though the actor is still putting the final touches. Neighbours have been extending a helping hand, by sending milk, vegetables and foodstuff to make her stay comfortable in the new place.

Referred to as Himachal ki beti, Kangs is touched by the love she has been receiving from people.

She is slated to resume shooting for Manikarnika — The Queen Of Jhansi in Rajasthan later this month.

ON THE SET

15 years on Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souzastarrer Tujhe Meri Kasam released on January 3, 2003.

Fifteen years later, Riteish revealed on Twitter that Genelia did not speak to him on the set as his father (the late Vilasrao Deshmukh) was the chief minister of Maharashtra then. She felt he would have security around him. Later, the ice was broken and how. She went on to become his ‘baiko’.

Yesterday, Anil Kapoor was spotted shooting for Remo D’Souza Race 3 at Film City, Goregaon. The actor sports a grey beard as of his look. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE

Let’s get talking

Going strong Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010) actor Anshuman Jha will deliver a speech at Josh Talks, the desi version of Ted Talks in the cit toda The actor ill

Milind Soman’s latest snapshot wit girlfriend Ankita Konwar, who is le than half his age, has yet again put social media in a ti The 52 ear

6

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Bollywood

PICS/SATEJ SHINDE, SHADAB KHAN, YOGEN SHAH

WHAT ARE YOU PAPPIN’?

Caught off-guard by shutterbugs while in conversation with Mahek Chahal, Ashmit Patel and Manjari Phadnis, Arbaaz Khan charms with a smile

k for Shahid It’s just another day in the par er Misha. ght dau Kapoor’s wife, Mira and she pins as rts The toddler warms our hea playtime oys enj her eyes on ducks and

Sidharth Malhotra

Ananya Pandey Janhvi Kapoor Alia Bhatt

Shraddha Kapoor

Fatima Sana Shaikh

BATTLE OF THE FITTEST Aditya Roy Kapur

If your fitness resolutions seem to be dwindling already, let B-Town folk inspire you to work up a sweat. While an array of celebrities turn to the good ol’ gym to burn calories, others hit the streets or shake a leg to stay in shape

7

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Aditi to play ‘Priya in Sanjay Dutt’s latest project Rajkumar Hirani’s biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt has been hitting headlines ever since the time of its announcement.

While reports of actors essaying some of the key characters are already out, it wasn’t clear as to who will play the role of Dutt’s sister Priya Dutt. According to latest reports, southern star Aditi Seiya has been roped in to play the role of Priya by Hirani. Versatile actors Paresh Rawal and Manisha Koirala will be

seen essaying the role of S a n j a y ’s parents Sunil Dutt and Nargis respectively.

Starring R a n b i r Kapoor in titular role, the film will also see actors like Anushka Sharma and Sonam Kapoor making special appearances in the film.

Mahira Khan rings in her birthday with son Azlaan Mahira Khan turned a year older today, and the star rang in her special day with an intimate celebration.

The beauty, who made her Bollywood debut in Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Raees’, blew out the candles and cut her cake with her special man her son Azlaan, by her side.

Pictures and videos doing the rounds on Instagram, see the mother-son duo enjoying the intimate mid-night celebration. Mahira is seen cutting the cake while notorious Azlaan

r u n s around.

He is seen trying to blow the candles before his d o t i n g mom cuts the cake, but settles on blowing out the candles together.

Also sending Mahira good wishes was filmmaker Rahul Dholakia and Farhan Akhtar, who took to their social networking handles to greet the birthday girl.

Did Sunny Leone beat all?

Got #1 in top 10 hottest actresses The most searched celebrity on internet, former adult actress Sunny Leon born on May 13, 1981 in Ontario, Canada. She made her Bollywood debut by Jism 2 (2012). The movie was blasted by the critics, and protests were held over India because of promotion of an adult star. In addition, Maxim named her as one of the 12 top adult stars in 2010. She has married to musician Daniel Weber.

After her performance in London, Sunny will fly down to South Africa on Christmas to resume shooting for her film. Sunny Leonne will celebrate the festival with her family there and will ring in the New Year in Dubai. Talking about her plans, Sunny said, “It’s always good to be working and I’m excited to kick in Christmas and the

New Year with family.”

Apart from Sunny’s acting career she has been part of activism campaigns including the Rock ‘n’ Roll Los Angeles HalfMarathon to raise money for the American Cancer Society and has also posed for a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) ad campaign with a rescued dog, encouraging pet owners to have their cats and dogs spayed and neutered. Since 2011, Leone has been married to Musician Daniel Weber.

Jacqueline Fernandez Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez, born on 2 June 1985 is a former model and beauty queen who won Miss Sri Lanka Universe in 2006. She has received an International Indian Film Academy Award for Best Female Debut and Stardust Award for Lux Exciting New Face in 2010, for her role in Aladin. In 2012

she gave 2 major hits, namely Murder 2 and Housefull 2. Fernandez is most popular celebrity endorser for various brands. Also, she has participated in stage shows, and is active in humanitarian work.

She is one of the highest paid actresses in India also.

Here’s how SRK wished Salman Khan on his 52nd birthday Salman Khan has turned a year older and to make his special day even better, Actor Shah Rukh Khan sang a song to wish Salman Khan on his 52nd birthday. While present during the announcement of the 63rd Jio Filmfare Award, when asked if he wants to send a birthday wish to his friend and colleague Salman who turned 52 today, he replied, “Tum jio hazaaron saal. I wish him all the best. I won’t be able to meet him tomorrow because my children are here and I want to spend time with them. But we will celebrate when he comes back. We can celebrate Salman Khan’s birthday month long!”

The bromance continues: Shahrukh Khan’s special birthday wish to Salman Khan The Bhai of Bollywood kept the big day low key by spending time with close friends and family members.

Salman and co-star Katrina Kaif arrived at his Panvel farmhouse late on Tuesday night to ring in his 52nd birthday. Twinning in black, Katrina and Salman were all smiles for the shutterbugs and looked in the celebration mood.

Celebs like Himesh Reshammiya, SajidWajid, Athiya Shetty were also present at the celebration. Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni too came in to celebrate Salman’s birthday.

Nargis Fakhri and Sanjay Dutt shoot in Kyrgyzstan for ‘Torbaaz’ It came to light recently that Nargis Fakhri is making a comeback in Bollywood with Sanjay Dutt in ‘Torbaaz’.

The project has taken the two leads to some exotic locations, which Nargis was happy to share with her fans.

Taking to Instagram, Nargis posted a picture of herself with Dutt. Clad in heavy winter gear the two can be seen posing against a snow-covered backdrop of

the Chuy region. The actress seems just as surprised as we are with the unique location as she captioned the click as, “My life has taken me many places but I still wonder how I got here.

A girl from the projects in #Queens to #Bollywood & now this.... #kyrgyzstan with @duttsanjay #shooting - #journey #adventure #work.”

Nargis will be essaying the role of an NGO

8

Saturday, January 6, 2018

‘Will give people a fair chance’ Salman on working on his talent management firm SONIL DEDHIA sonil.dedhia@mid-day.com MONTHS after reports of his apparent decision to launch a talent management firm hit headlines, Salman Khan tells mid-day he is indeed creating a “talent pool” for aspiring artistes.

The actor’s decision to part ways from a manager of nine years had fuelled speculation that he was venturing into creating a firm of his own. And now, referring to the rumours, Khan says, “Hiring new talent is necessary. There are so many people who come to the city and still don’t get a chance to work in films. Sometimes, even if they do land a film, they aren’t noticed enough. The idea is to create a talent pool and give everyone a fair chance to make it big in this world.”

Among Khan’s first finds will be a female actor for his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma’s Bollywood debut. A source says, “Salman plans to launch a female lead opposite Aayush for his debut venture, Loveratri. In order to get the work started, he has introduced an audition section on his app, BeingInTouch, where people can send videos showcasing their talents.”

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, says the source, will play a vital role in this venture, even taking the “final call” on giving the nod to aspirants.

“There will also be seasoned casting veterans on board, who will spot talent and hone their

skills.” In order to connect with a wider audience, the team will encourage responses from social media platforms as well, says the source. Apart from scouting acting talent, Khan will also encourage works by musicians. “He will curate a music bank comprising works of aspiring composers. He may decide to use those songs in his forthcoming projects.”

Senior members of Khan’s production house, Salman Khan Films, will share their expertise to enhance this venture. “The team is finalising a location for the creation of an office where members of SKF will take charge of the company’s new wing. Salman will overlook the day-to-day affairs.”

Given that Khan has played a vital role behind launching successful faces like Katrina Kaif and Sonakshi Sinha, this new venture comes as a natural progression. “As a superstar, he wants to create a new line-up of stars for the industry.”

This development comes close on the heels of the actor’s decision to open the doors of his production house to writers and directors, who wish to venture into tele production.

‘Salman will also curate a music bank comprising works of aspiring composers. He may use those songs in his films’ A source

Radhika too busy to promote Akki’s film

Actor may be missing from Padman promotional work as she locks dates for international film with Dev Patel

MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com

Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte; (inset) Dev Patel

WHILE Akshay Kumar’s decision to pre-pone the release of Padman to the Republic Day weekend has averted an expected clash with his other outing, 2.0, the reshuffling has caused havoc for Radhika Apte instead.

Apte, who stars in the former, a fictionalised biographical account on social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganatham, will have to skip the promotions owing to her chock-a-block schedule. She tells mid-day, “I was looking forward to

‘The club is open for everyone’ Sushant Singh Rajput on his recently launched social media book club that inspires members to “share great reads” MOHAR BASU mohar.basu@mid-day.com SUSHANT Singh Rajput, known to be among the league of A-listers often found buried under books, has taken his passion for reading a notch higher by creating a book club on social media. Running by the Twitter handle @intoxillectual, Rajput, almost apologetic for coining the name, says the platform will enable members to “discuss great books” and “share ideas.”

Rajput says launching the club is only one among the series of things he intends to do this year. “This book club is open to anyone who is interested to join it. On the forum, we will discuss which books should be read, a timeline to finish them, and then share the takeaways. People could cough up suggestions of other reads as well.”

A source tells mid-day, “Sushant is an avid reader.

He has a personal library comprising over 1,000 books. While on a vacation with friends in Europe, he was quoting lines from something he had read. It was then he thought of opening his own book club.”

Launched on Wednesday, the account, which has already acquired 2,722 followers, will be managed by Rajput. “I will handle it personally. It will see active participation and discussions by members.”

being there to support Padman.

Given that it revolves around the subjects of menstrual hygiene, there would have been a lot of ideas tossed around during the promotions.

However, I have a big project linedup, the filming for which will roll this month.”

While Apte chooses to remain silent about the venture, she reveals that the international outing pairs her alongside Dev Patel. “I am not sure if I will be in the country when promotional work picks up,” says the actor, further

What Rajput reads, then “reads again” Nausea (Jean-Paul Sartre) The Physicist and the Philosopher — Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time (Jimena Canales) The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) Eighteen Best Stories (Edgar Allan Poe) Leonardo Da Vinci (Martin Kemp)

heaping praise on her co-star, Kumar. “Akshay and I come from different schools of thought, but he is more experienced. As co-actors, we learnt from one another. That’s how we created work that was new.

I enjoy working with new people.”

While Padman was to hit screens in March, Kumar also has Rajinikanth-starrer 2.0 in the pipeline. With production work for the latter underway, Kumar pre-poned the release of his home production to allot time for the sci-fi later.