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www.theasianstar.com Vol 21 - Issue 25

Savitri Jindal, India’s richest woman’s net worth is $17.7 Billion Savitri Jindal, who never went to college and took over her husband’s business only after his sudden demise, saw her fortune rise by $12 billion in just 2 years. In fact, her net worth has tripled more than 3 times in these last 2 years from $4.8 billion in 2022 to $17.7 billion in 2022. This was after it dipped by 50% in 2019 and 2020. From $8.8 billion in 2018, her net worth dropped to $5.9 billion in 2019 and $4.8 in 2020. Continued on page 7

High schoolers received $636 million in CERB relief benefits Statistics Canada says hundreds of thousands of teenaged students received payments of up to $5,000, which was money intended for COVID relief aid for jobless taxpayers facing eviction or foreclosure, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Access to Information documents show in 2021 a total $636 million was paid to high schoolers. “Pandemic related benefits included new programs like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit,” said André Bernard, StatsCan chief of income statistics.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

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Attorney General David Eby running to become next premier After weeks of speculation, B.C. Attorney General David Eby is set to formally announce this evening he is running to become the next leader of the BC NDP. Eby, the front-runner in the race, would become premier if he wins the leadership race or is the only candidate to enter

the race before the October deadline. The 44-year-old announced his intention to join the race in front of caucus colleagues and supporters on Tuesday evening in Kitsilano, part of his Vancouver-Point Grey riding. Eby says 48 MLAs are supporting his bid to lead the party and replace Premier John Horgan.

“I think I can deliver consistency and certainty at a very inconsistent time,” Eby said. “If I am successful British Columbians should not expect any radical Continued on page 7

Nobody in Surrey got the memo from David Eby that only one person is allowed to run for leadership. Former White Rock Mayor Gordie Hogg announced Wednesday that he’d like to be leader of a second city, putting his hat into the increasingly crowded ring to become mayor of Surrey in this October’s elections. “When it comes to the election in October, the question for Surrey voters is clear: have you had enough yet, and

5-way Surrey mayoral race

Punjab ancestry, Oxford graduate, ‘proud Hindu’ — all eyes on Rishi Sunak in UK PM race The eyes of the world are now on Rishi Sunak, a 42-year-old Indianorigin man who is now a top contender for the post of UK prime minister. His ancestry, political rise and wealth have amped up curiosity not only among Continued on page 8

the Britishers but among Indians too. On Monday, Rishi topped the third round of voting among the Conservative Party members of Parliament. If he wins this race, Rishi would be the first Indian-origin man to become Britain’s prime minister. The final decision will

do you believe we can do better, together?” said Hogg. Hogg (a former Liberal MLA and MP) joins Brenda Locke (a former Liberal MLA), Sukh Dhaliwal (a Liberal MP) and Jinny Sims (an NDP MLA) in hoping to usurp incumbent Doug McCallum, who wants to be re-elected. Continued on page 6

Warming temperatures expected to fuel BC wildfire activity this weekend As temperatures heat up across British Columbia, the wildfire situation is becoming more of a concern. There are nearly two dozen active fires burning across the province, a growing number, with the largest just northwest of Lytton. The Nohomin Creek wildfire was aerial mapped on Monday and estimated to be 2,058 hectares. However, the BC Wildfire Service expects warmer temperatures and lower humidity over the next few days will create more fuel for the fire.

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Saturday, July 23, 2022

Agritech heralded as future of BC farming as farmers grapple with climate change With robotic milking machines and automated calf-feeding systems, Bill Vanderkooi’s Abbotsford dairy farm has been one of B.C.’s early adopters of agricultural technology. The second-generation dairy farmer said last year’s heat dome and atmospheric river flooding was a wake-up call for farmers to embrace agritech as a way to produce the food British Columbia needs in the face of the disruptions brought by climate change. That means farmers could be swapping boots for lab coats to boost crops and improve B.C.’s food security, Innovation Minister Ravi Kahlon said ahead of

his announcement Thursday about more funding for agritech education. Kahlon is announcing today that a new centre for agritech innovation will open at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus in September and will focus on developing and testing agritech innovations in both simulated environments and on the farm. Dairy cows wait their turn at the robotic milker, left, at Bakerview Farm’s EcoDairy in Abbotsford. The excitement around the burgeoning industry, Kahlon said, is enticing people working for Microsoft and Google to take jobs in high-tech farming.

More than $220K income needed to buy a home in Toronto or Vancouver: analysis You’ll need to be making more than $220,000 to buy a home in Toronto and Vancouver with a 20 per cent down payment, according to new housing affordability data from Ratehub.ca. While home prices have been going down in cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Hamilton, the income required to purchase a home in these markets still remains higher due to stress test rates and rising mortgage rates. Ratehub.ca says it used March 2022 and June 2022 real estate data to make the calculations.

Read more: Here’s what it takes to buy a home in Canada’s ‘soul-crushing’ housing market Homebuyers in Toronto need to earn an extra $15,750, or seven per cent more, compared with March, with those in Vancouver needing to make $31,730, or 16 per cent, more. Across all Canadian cities, the annual income needed to buy a home has jumped by $18,000 on average in just the last four months. Victoria, B.C. saw the biggest increase in June compared to March, with $35,760 or

2 men charged after assault & armed robbery in New West Two men have been arrested and charged in relation to a New Westminster assault and armed robbery that sent one person to hospital. Police allege two men with firearms committed a robbery and an assault on the corner of Clarkson and McKenzie streets in downtown New Westminster on July 13. “The New Westminster Police Department patrol officers soon identified two suspects at which time the Major Crime Unit assumed conduct of the investigation,” Sgt. Justine Thom said. “These two suspects were located and safely arrested. At the time of

the arrest, one of the suspects was in possession of a loaded handgun.” Danielle Levesque, 33, of New Westminster, has been charged with robbery with a firearm and assault with a weapon. Eugene Cottrelle, 36, of New Westminster, has been charged with robbery with a firearm, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and possession of a loaded firearm. New Westminster police said additional charges are anticipated as the investigation is ongoing.

South Asian man sentenced to 15 years jail for drug trafficking & conspiracy to commit murder A B.C. man has been convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison after being charged with 17 criminal offences. Brandon Nandan, a 28-year-old man from Surrey, has received a 15year sentence after he pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including counselling a person to commit the indictable offence of discharging a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking. The conviction came after a combined forces special enforcement unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) investigation that “proactively targeted” an alleged drug trafficking network, which involved

conspiracy to commit murder. CFSEU investigators said that in collaboration with Surrey RCMP and Burnaby RCMP, they learned of a conspiracy to commit murder in late 2020. After an investigation, one suspect was identified as the person who was believed to be plotting the murder. “In December 2020 CFSEU-BC, with assistance from Burnaby RCMP, Surrey RCMP, and Lower Mainland District Integrated Emergency Response Team, executed search warrants in multiple jurisdictions around the lower mainland,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said. “The suspect was found at one of the search locations and was arrested.”

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Saturday, July 23, 2022 BC expands speculation tax on vacant homes to 6 more regions British Columbia is expanding the speculation tax on homeowners who keep their properties vacant to six more municipalities starting next year. The B.C. government first introduced the tax in 2018. Currently, any homeowner with a vacant residence will pay 0.5 per cent of their property’s assessed value under the tax, with the tax jumping to two per cent for foreign homeowners. The tax applies to most municipalities in the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island, as well as Kelowna, West Kelowna, Nanaimo and the District of Lantzville. Now, the provincial government says it will expand it to Lions Bay and Squamish, as well as the Vancouver Island communities of North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith and Lake Cowichan. “People in these communities have been vocal. They’ve been vocal about the intense housing pressures that they are facing, including speculation and near zero vacancy rates,” said B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson on Wednesday. “This expansion will help prevent speculation from moving from one community to another in a region.”

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Vernon doctor charged with 2 counts of sexual assault A Vernon city doctor has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, following what Mounties say was a comprehensive investigation into a patient complaint. Now police are asking anyone who may have more information about Dr. Peter Inkpen, 41, to contact them. The investigation into Inkpen started when a female patient reported being sexually assaulted by her physician during treatment. Inkpen is a doctor in physical medicine and rehabilitation. His website and practice appear to be closed, as of early July, and according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, his registration is “temporarily inactive.” The details of the assault have not been disclosed but the findings led them to submit a recommendation to the BC Prosecution Service, which approved two charges of sexual assault against the accused in relation to two victims. Inkpen was arrested July 14 and has since been released from custody on conditions to have no contact with the victims. He is next scheduled to appear in a Vernon court on July 28.

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Saturday, July 23, 2022

OPINION By David Macdonald

Summer heat isn’t the only thing making Canadians sweat this summer; abnormally high inflation and rising interest rates are putting the heat on many Canadians. We’ve gone from 0 per cent inflation in August 2000 to 8.1 per cent in June 2022. That’s really fast. The last time we saw anything like

Summertime and inflation ain’t easy it was 1970-73 when inflation rose from one per cent to eight per cent over three years. It was a full 360-degree head turner, like The Exorcist, which also came out in 1973. Following that rise, inflation stayed between six per cent and 13 per cent for a decade, when it finally broke with the crushing

double recessions of 1980 and 1981. So what do you do when inflation soars to nauseating heights? If you’re the Bank of Canada, you try to suppress inflation by raising interest rates. The problem is the bank is using a very blunt tool. If you’re hoping for a soft landing, I have bad news for you: it’s never worked. Not once in 60 years has the Bank of Canada managed to lower inflation through interest rate hikes without causing a recession. If a pilot told me, “I’ve only attempted this landing three times in 60 years, and I failed every time,” maybe they’ll land it this time, but it’s definitely not a plane I’d want to be on. But here we are, in a fairly rare moment in history where rising inflation and rising interest rates are on a collision course. What can you do? Rifle through the coupon drawer for sales, maybe. Ask your boss for an 8.1 per cent raise this year. Good luck with that. When you think about inflation, what comes to mind is higher food and gas prices. The trouble with gas prices is that most of what drives them isn’t determined here. They are based on the price of oil and gasoline refining capacity. Oil prices are up due to the Russian war in Ukraine, and refining capacity in the U.S. is down because several refineries didn’t re-open after the pandemic. The trouble with interest rate hikes is that they won’t decrease food and gas prices. They’re more likely to cause a recession. Controlling inflation with interest rates can work, but at a terrible cost. There are plenty of other things to try if governments are interested. Governments don’t control the price of food and gas, but they do have control over other consumer prices. They need to exercise that control.

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Saturday, July 23, 2022

BC speculation tax turned 20,000 condos into rentals in Metro Vancouver: report Over the first three years of the provincial government’s implementation of the speculation and vacancy tax (SVT), the interventionist policy helped catalyze the conversion of about 20,000 condominium homes within Metro Vancouver into unsecured rental homes. This is the finding based on the provincial government’s recently released commissioned analysis, which was independently produced by UBC professor Tsur Sommerville and Jake Wetzel of Stada Analytics The SVT rate is 0.5% of the assessed value of a home deemed vacant by Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and 2% for foreign owners and satellite families. Between 2018 and 2020, the provincial government also raised about $230 million in revenues through its SVT regime, with foreign owners and satellite families paying

an average of five times more SVT than BC residents. The revenue generated goes towards building affordable housing projects. The provincial government’s independent findings also align with a 2020 report by CMHC that estimated a record 11,100 condominium homes were added to the rental housing supply in Metro Vancouver in 2019, including 8,800 rental homes converted from existing condominiums, and 2,300 rental homes from new condominiums completed in 2018 and 2019. The conversion of condominiums into rental homes was the single largest contributor to rental housing supply — far exceeding the supply created by new purposebuilt secured rental housing developments. However, in their report, Sommerville and Wetzel believe that further expansions of the SVT may be needed

Coquitlam drug lab found and dismantled: RCMP A clandestine laboratory in Coquitlam, B.C., has been found and dismantled by the Mounties. Officers were alerted by the Coquitlam Fire Services on July 15, that they had discovered the laboratory at a warehouse unit at 86 North Bend Street. The Coquitlam RCMP drugs and organized crime unit, with help from the federal RCMP clandestine laboratory enforcement and response team, forensic identification section and Health Canada,

dismantled the laboratory over a four-day period. Health Canada is analyzing seized materials from the site to identify the nature of the potential drugs that were making their way out of the illicit drug lab. A 43-year-old man has been arrested in connection to the laboratory but it is unclear if the man has been charged. He was released and police said there is no further risk to public safety.

Surrey Board of Trade wants business vote reinstated for municipal elections The Surrey Board of Trade is planning to lobby the provincial government to reinstate a business vote in municipal elections. In a release Wednesday (July 13), the board said local elected officials should be accountable to business taxpayers through the electoral system. “Businesses bear the burden of taxation, even though they create jobs, give back to their communities, and make significant investments in the city, but they are not allowed to participate in the election process,” said Anita Huberman, president and CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade. Until 1993, a business – or corporate – vote existed in B.C.’s municipal elections. According to a 2010 discussion paper

by the B.C. government and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, there have been two types of corporate votes: one until 1973 and then another iteration between 1976 and 1993. The corporate vote until 1973 was significantly different from the later vote. It allowed all corporations, regardless of corporate structure,” there were no residency restrictions so foreign-owned corporations could vote and there was an unrestricted number of votes so an individual could vote in relation to as many corporations as they owned. The 1976 to 1993 vote, however, allowed for “one corporation, one vote,” so if a personal controlled more than one

Inflation rises again, to new 39-year high of 8.1% Canada’s inflation rate rose to 8.1 per cent last month, Statistics Canada says, the fastest annual increase in the cost of living in decades. The data agency said gasoline was the biggest single contributor to the overall rate going up, as pump prices were up by 54.6 per cent compared to the same month a year ago. If gasoline is stripped out, the inflation rate would be 6.5 per cent. Another major source of inflation this year has been food prices, which rose by 8.8 per cent in the past year. That’s the same pace of increase seen the previous month, but economist Tu Nguyen with audit, tax and consulting

agency RSM Canada says it’s too soon to conclude that food prices may have peaked. “Part of that can be attributed to the fact that Canada consumes more domestically grown food in the summer, which helps keep costs down,” she said. On top of higher prices for food and gasoline, the data agency documented a surge in demand and prices for travel-related services. “The return of sporting events, festivals and other large in-person gatherings has resulted in higher demand for accommodation, particularly in major urban centres,” Statistics Canada said. Prices for accommodation rose by about 50 per cent across the country compared with a year ago, and the cost of air transportation

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From page 1

5-way Surrey mayoral race

The five candidates have differences when it comes to ideology and promises: Sims is the only person running on the traditional left of the political spectrum, Locke is the only one explicitly promising to return to the RCMP for policing, Hogg is the only one promising that “voters have the final say” on the matter, Dhaliwal the only one promising to roll back a $200/year increase to the city’s parcel tax. But in this race, political ideology and specific promises may not matter as much. Former Surrey councillor Barinder Rasode, who ran for mayor in 2014 and finished third, believes traditional political ideologies matter less to Surrey voters. “Partisan political support at either the federal or provincial level doesn’t translate into the municipality,” she said. “All of the traditional targets, whether it be voter turnout from neighbourhoods like South Surrey and Cloverdale, to involvement in Newton, this is all being put into the mix in a very unusual way.” Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal joins crowded race for Surrey mayor Rasode said that while McCallum has amassed plenty of controversy, his ability to follow through on his two promises around policing and transit means he could still retain much of the 41 per cent of votes he got in 2018. However, she pointed out there is room for other candidates to chip away at his voter base with residents questioning taxes introduced by his council, and his openness. “I think transparency and ethics at City Hall is definitely an issue that keeps making the headlines in Surrey,” said Rasode. With four candidates fighting over the antiMcCallum vote, each with slightly overlapping ideologies or platforms, the ability for one

candidate to stand out could prove difficult. Which is why turnout and organization will be key. Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he’s still the man for the job despite criminal charge and council unrest “Whoever has the best ground game will likely emerge victorious in October,” said University of the Fraser Valley political scientist Hamish Telford. “This will come down to the slates that the candidates put together. Do they have attractive-looking slates with reputable people that appeal to the different parts of the city and help push the mayoralty candidate over the top?” It has created a scramble across Surrey to create the broadest team possible: in organizers, in candidates, in supporters. Consider Dhaliwal’s announcement earlier this week: one of his council candidates, Jasbir Sandhu, was an NDP MP. One of his key organizers is Brad Zubyk, a longtime B.C. Liberal operative. His opening event had large amounts of the city’s South Asian media present. At the same time, Sims had an opening event with hundreds of people in attendance. Locke’s team has been campaigning for over a year. And Hogg brings with him a sitting councillor and plenty of connections from his 30 years in local, provincial and federal politics.

Saturday, July 23, 2022 From page 1

Attorney General David Eby running to become next premier

changes from what John is doing. But if I am successful I definitely see some opportunities to respond to needs in fast growing communities. Around housing. Around essential infrastructure. Around awarding those cities that are approving that we need.” Over the past few weeks, nearly a dozen potential candidates have turned down the opportunity to take on Eby. Jobs minister Ravi Kahlon and Minister of State for Infrastructure Bowinn Ma both told supporters not only were they not running for leadership but were encouraging Eby to run. Have the right people been held accountable due to money laundering practices in B.C.? – Jun 15, 2022 David Eby thanks Premier John Horgan for his leadership Ministers Selina Robinson, Josie Osborne, Nathan Cullen, George Heyman, Melanie Mark, Katrina Chen

and Adrian Dix have all publicly ruled out a bid for the leadership position. Eby is one of the province’s bestknown politicians and recently helped overhaul ICBC, launched a public inquiry into money laundering in the province and is leading the province’s response to the ongoing housing crisis. He says he would be happy to see others join the race as well. “It is a democratic party. If someone can get the signatures then they can run, my team is preparing for a race,” Eby said. ‘I will never ever forget my first briefing by the gaming policy enforcement branch’: David Eby – Jun 15, 2022 Over the weekend the BC NDP announced the leadership rules to replace Premier John Horgan.

Savitri Jindal, India’s richest woman’s net worth is $17.7 Billion And, the woman, who had once said women in Jindal family remain in charge of the house while men take care of everything outside, entered 10 top clubs in 2021 when her net worth touched $18 billion in 2021. She has been considered the richest Indian woman for the past few years, according to Forbes. In India’s richest women list, she is followed by Kiran Mazumdar and Crishna Godrej. In the global billionaire list, she jumped from 349 in 2020 to 126 in 2022. Savitri Jindal was 55 when her husband, Om Prakash Jindal, the founder of the Jindal Group, died in a helicopter crash in 2005. She took over the business thereafter, joined active politics. She became a billionaire at a stage of life when most people plan to retire. “Where others saw walls, he saw doors” - with this success mantra of her late husband OP Jindal, Savitri Jindal is taking the Jindal Group forward and even helping the common man in every possible way. She was born on March 20, 1950 and grew up in Assam’s Tinsukia town. She got married to OP Jindal in 1970. They have 9 children together. OP Jindal, founder of the Jindal Group, a steel and power conglomerate, was a minister in the Haryana Government and a member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha from Hisar constituency.

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Saturday, July 23, 2022 From page 1

Punjab ancestry, Oxford graduate, ‘proud Hindu’ — all eyes on Rishi Sunak in UK PM race will be announced on 5 September. Allegations that his resignation, as the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, had triggered Boris Johnson’s downfall have further made him a point of interest. ThePrint takes a look at his family history, education and cultural affiliations. Move from Punjab to Africa and UK The Sunaks are a Punjabi Khatri family from Gujranwala, now in Pakistan. Ramdas Sunak, Rishi’s paternal grandfather, left Gujranwala to work as a clerk in Nairobi in 1935. According to Michael Ashcroft, Rishi’s authorised biographer, the move to Nairobi was linked to deteriorating Hindu-Muslim relations. Ramdas’ wife, Suhag Rani Sunak, moved to Delhi first from Gujranwala, along with her mother-in-law, before travelling to Kenya in 1937. According to a source familiar with the family, Ramdas was an accountant who later became an administrative officer with the colonial government in Kenya. Ramdas and Suhag Rani had six children, three sons and three daughters. One of them was Rishi’s father Yashveer Sunak, born in 1949 in Nairobi. Yashveer arrived in Liverpool in 1966 and went on to study medicine at the University of Liverpool. He now lives in Southampton. All three daughters of Ramdas and Suhag Rani studied in India. Rishi’s maternal grandparents also hail from Punjab. His maternal grandfather, Raghubir Berry, grew up in Punjab and moved to Tanzania as a railway engineer. He married Tanzania-born Sraksha Sunak. According to Ashcroft, Sraksha moved to the UK in 1966 with a one-way ticket that she bought after selling her wedding jewellery. Berry also moved to the UK soon after and worked for many years in the UK’s Inland Revenue department. He became a Member of the Order of the British Empire or MBE — an award for significant contribution to society — in 1988.

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Saturday, July 23, 2022

Woman charged, victim identified after fatal stabbing in Vancouver A woman has been charged with seconddegree murder following a fatal stabbing that Vancouver police say happened between two people who didn’t know each other. The Vancouver Police Department gave an update Tuesday on its investigation into a stabbing that happened last week in Yaletown. A 29-year-old victim, Justin Mohrmann, was stabbed while he was walking near Smithe and Homer streets on July 11. Police closed Smithe between Mainland and Homer streets while responding to the incident. Clothing and blood could be

seen on the sidewalk in the aftermath of the stabbing. Police said their investigation led them to arrest 34-year-old Lindsay Scott on Sunday. She was charged this week with one count of second-degree murderandremainsincustody. “Investigators have found no evidence to suggest the victim and accused knew each other,” said Sgt. Steve Addison Tuesday. “We believe they were strangers.” Police said they’re still working to gather evidence in the homicide and released a photo of the victim with the hope people will come forward with more information.

Okanagan town could hit 41C next week Heat warnings are possible across B.C. this weekend into next week, the government cautioned Wednesday. Towns and cities may choose to open cooling centres with temperatures set to soar, particularly in the Interior. By July 28, the temperature will reach 41 C in Osoyoos and 37 C in Kelowna, according to The Weather Network. But conditions are unlikely to reach the blistering levels recorded during last summer’s heat dome, when Kelowna set an all-time high temperature of 45.6 C on June 29.

“B.C. is not currently expecting an extreme heat emergency,” the government said in a release. People should be aware of the possibility of suffering heat stroke or heat exhaustion, the government says, with symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, headache, and rapid breathing. If someone experiences these symptoms, they should move to a cooler place and drink liquids. If symptoms are not mild or last more than an hour, they should seek medical attention.

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Police find 2 loaded guns on trio who drove stolen truck from Abbotsford to Maple Ridge Police located two loaded handguns after a stolen vehicle was tracked from Abbotsford to Maple Ridge on Monday night (July 18). Sgt. Paul Walker, media officer with the Abbotsford Police Department (APD), said the incident began when a resident in the 34900 block of Cassiar Avenue in Abbotsford reported just before 8 p.m. that their truck had been stolen from their driveway. APD officers were dispatched to the scene and, a short time later, a member of the Integrated Police Dog Service located

the truck travelling along Highway 1. Walker said the vehicle was covertly followed into the Maple Ridge area, with the assistance of Langley, Surrey and Ridge Meadows RCMP, as well as the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Walker said the three suspects who had left the vehicle were arrested after a short dog track. The three males – ages 17, 20 and 24 – are from Abbotsford, Maple Ridge and Vancouver.

Fake cop demanded money from driver in North Van Mounties in North Vancouver are asking for the public’s help to identify a suspect after a driver was pulled over in what police are describing as a “fraudulent traffic stop.” In a statement Tuesday afternoon, RCMP said at approximately 3:30 a.m. Monday, a driver going eastbound along E 13th Street near Moody Avenue in the City of North Vancouver was pulled over “after seeing red and blue flashing lights displayed on the vehicle behind them.” “Moments later, a man who was wearing a vest and hat displaying ‘POLICE’ approached the driver and identified himself as ‘NVPD,’” the Mounties said in a statement. “The suspect did not appear to be wearing a fully equipped police duty belt, but did appear to be wearing a baton-type tool on his belt.” According to the police, the suspect told the driver that he had been pulled over for using a GPS device on his cell phone, and

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then produced a debit/credit machine and demanded payment for the alleged violation. RCMP says the driver sensed the situation was “highly suspicious,” drove away, and called police immediately. “It is alarming to us anytime someone pretends to be a police officer. Especially in our situation where that person tried to use that position to take money from someone,” North Vancouver Cpl. Melissa Jongema said. Driving a navy or dark grey Chevrolet Tahoe with flashing red and blue lights on the dashboard, the suspect is described as being in his late 20s. He was wearing a black crewneck t-shirt and navy cargo pants. He was also wearing a vest and hat both of which had ‘POLICE’ written in white letters. North Vancouver RCMP released this image of the vehicle police believe the suspect used to pull over the member of the public.

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Majority of British Columbians support return of COVID-19 mask mandate, poll suggests With COVID-19 cases going up across British Columbia, a majority of British Columbians would support the return to a mask mandate, recent polling has found. In a poll released by the Angus Reid Institute, 55 per cent of people in the province would be in favour of requiring masks in public indoor spaces. The national average was 51 per cent approval, with Alberta the lowest in the country at 36 per cent. British Columbians are also the most likely to support a return to a vaccine passport with 30 per cent of those polled supporting the measure, higher

than the 25-per cent national average. Themaskmandatepopularityhasdecreased over time as vaccination rates have gone up and COVID-19 measures have been eased. In November 2020, 86 per cent of people in B.C. supported the mandate compared to 55 per cent now. B.C.’s government is also leading the way on the public’s perception on how the pandemic is being managed. To the question of whether the premier is handling the pandemic well, 68 per cent of British Columbians reacted positively. Just 24 per cent of British Columbians think the government has done a poor job.

BC Ministry of Transportation publishes list of truck carriers ‘cancelled for cause’ A Questions are A A being raised about

trucks hitting overpasses in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley after another truck hit the Glover Road overpass in Langley Monday, snarling traffic for hours. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said over the last 12 months there have been eight incidents in those regions of overheight trucks hitting overhead bridges. It has now published a list of carriers that havebeen“cancelledforcause”undersection

118.96 (2)(a) of the Motor Vehicle Act. The carrier has been given an unsatisfactory safety rating, meaning it is not allowed to operate any commercial motor vehicle. The list will be updated monthly. “In response to the recent spate of overpass collisions, the ministry has increased its Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement patrols with an emphasis on enforcing height restrictions,” the ministry said in a statement.

CRA penalized just 185 companies for misusing COVID money, while targeting 1M Canadians The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has penalized only 185 out of 460,060 companies that received funds from a controversial pandemic support fund, figures released to The Breach reveal. The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program paid out $101 billion to companies and was widely criticized for lax eligibility that turned it into a corporate cash cow. Although the funds were supposed to protect jobs, many companies used them to pad their profits and pay large dividends and bonuses to executives or shareholders. Despite pledges from the Finance Minister’s

office to crack down on the abuse, with threats of full repayment and even prison time for fraud, only 185 companies have now been issued “gross negligence penalties.” According to the CRA’s website, these penalties would force companies to pay back just half of the misused funds. The CRA refused to disclose to The Breach how much money has to date been repaid, and by whom. As the agency has gone easy on companies that cashed in on the program, they are simultaneously pushing over a million Canadians to repay their pandemic income assistance.

Coca-Cola’s vaccination policy for B.C. employees upheld by arbitrator after union’s challenge A legal challenge by the union representing more than 400 Coca-Cola employees in B.C.’s Lower Mainland regarding the company’s vaccination policy has been shot down by an independent arbitrator. In October 2021, Coca-Cola implemented a nationwide policy that required employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If employees were not fully vaccinated by Jan. 1, 2022, they could face discipline including suspension and termination. Teamsters Local 213 argued the policy should be struck down because it’s unreasonable for an employer to force employees to undergo medical procedures

to continue working. It also claimed CocaCola failed to consistently enforce the policy. The challenge related to workers in factories in Richmond, Coquitlam and Chilliwack. Ruling that upholds B.C. Hydro’s staff vaccine mandate reveals toll COVID-19 has taken on corporation Coca-Cola argued the policy was necessary to protect employees. The policy was introduced following major outbreaks at numerous facilities. Across Canada there have been many similar challenges to vaccination policies, as unvaccinated employees face precarious futures with their employers.

5-year-old girl critically injured in Vancouver crash A five-year-old girl has been critically injured in an accident in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver Wednesday. Vancouver police said the girl was standing

with her father and siblings waiting to cross the road at Cornwall Avenue and Arbutus Street when two vehicles collided in the intersection. The crash caused the vehicles

to mount the sidewalk and strike the girl. The girl was rushed to the hospital and all drivers stayed behind, police added.

Anyone with information who has not yet spoken to the police is asked to call the VPD’s Collision Investigation Unit at 604-717-3012.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Woman died of cardiac arrest in interior BC where ER was closed, only ambulance was half an hour away The mayor of Ashcroft, B.C., is raising major concerns about health-care staffing shortages after a local woman who found her friend unresponsive was told by 911 operators that the only ambulance on call was a halfhour drive away. The incident happened Sunday after Ashcroft resident Debbie Tuohey visited her friend, a senior who CBC is not naming out of respect for her privacy, and found her unresponsive in her home. Tuohey said she called 911 and found that the community’s only ambulance was stationed in Clinton, about 50 kilometres north, because of staffing challenges. The woman died, despite

Tuohey’s efforts to save her. “I did do CPR on her, but unfortunately was not successful in saving her life,” said Tuohey, who later found out her friend had suffered a cardiac arrest. The emergency department at Ashcroft Hospital and Community Health Care Centre had also been closed over the weekend due to limited physician availability, according to Mayor Barbara Roden. Had ambulance service been running at regular levels, the closest hospital open would have been the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, over an hour’s drive away — and currently facing its own staffing challenges.

Prime Minister Trudeau announces Oceans Protection Plan 2.0 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on Bowen Island Tuesday morning to make an announcement about the federal government’s Oceans Protection Plan. Trudeau announced the next stage of the plan, calling it 2.0 with another two billion dollars in funding allocated for the project. “We’ll take action to combat emerging threats to our marine safety and ecosystems and we’ll strengthen partnerships with Indigenous peoples who must be our partners and in many ways, our leaders, as we move forward on protecting these extraordinary ecosystems,” Trudeau said. The plan also includes the Salish Sea Strategy, which Trudeau said will continue to protect and restore the ecosystem in a way that respects Indigenous and

treaty rights and traditional knowledge. “It will deploy technologies that reduce the impact of underwater noise so that marine mammals can safely communicate with each other and safely navigate these waters,” Trudeau added. Story continues below advertisement Click to play video: ‘Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes several stops in Metro Vancouver Tuesday’ 0:58 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes several stops in Metro Vancouver Tuesday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes several stops in Metro Vancouver Tuesday Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, said this expansion means they can make marine shipping safer, protect marine

Doctors say health system has ‘collapsed’ as patient surges fuel ER closures With surging demand forcing emergency room closures across the country, frontline physicians say more immediate help is needed before things get worse. Dr. Raghu Venugopal, an emergency room physician in Toronto, says he believes the health system is not collapsing, but rather that it has “already collapsed.” “Nurses and doctors across Ontario and Canada who are working in emergency departments are greatly dismayed, honestly, by the human situation that patients and families have to face on a daily basis,” he said. “The wait times are exceedingly long. Nurses are overwhelmed by the number of orders that they’re being asked to carry out… There is no metric or no nothing that your eyes can’t see as a patient or family

member in the ER that says the system has not anything but collapsed as we know it.” Hospital emergency rooms across the country — from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and Labrador — have had to temporarily close their doors this summer. In Alberta, there have been 19 disruptions to emergency and ambulatory care facilities since the beginning of June. A number of the ER closures have been in smaller, rural hospitals, such as the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater, B.C., which has experienced over 20 closures this year, says Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell. On Saturday, the hospital’s emergency room closed again, but this wasn’t announced until the following day, Blackwell said.

Hockey Canada dropping reserve fund is good first step, but more action needed: Trudeau Hockey Canada took a “step in the right direction” Wednesday by announcing it would no longer use a reserve fund to settle sexual assault claims, but it needs to do more to regain Canadians’ trust, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says. Hockey Canada’s “National Equity Fund” came to light earlier this week as the sport’s national body finds itself embroiled in a controversy over its handling of an alleged 2018 sexual assault in London, Ont., involving eight unnamed players on Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team. Hockey Canada had a fund, which was maintained by membership fees collected

across the country, to pay for any “uninsured liabilities as they arise,” including “potential claims for historical sexual abuse,” said Glen McCurdie, Hockey Canada’s former vice-president of insurance and risk management, in a July 2021 sworn affidavit in response to a lawsuit launched by an injured player in Ontario Its secretive nature sparked outrage from many, including Trudeau on Wednesday who called the news “unacceptable.” Later in the day, Hockey Canada said effective immediately, the fund “will be exclusively dedicated towards safety, wellness and equity initiatives, as well as insurance across our organization — activities which comprised 98 per cent

LOCAL / NATIONAL

Richmond Police Chief Dave Chauhan visits Gurdwara Nanak Niwas It was a great honour for the Gurdwara Nanak Niwas (aka as #5 Road Gurdwara) Management to welcome newly appointed Chief Superintendent of the RCMP Richmond Detachment Dave Chauhan. Mr. Chauhan was accompanied by a number of his senior management team. Invited guests were welcomed by a number of Executive Committee Members including President Ubed Sidhu, Vice President Balbir Jawanda , General Secretary Balwant Sanghera, Chain Batth and Kanwarjit Sihota. After enjoying a delicious vegetarian langar , the two sides had a very cordial discussion about a number of items of mutual interest. The Committee members congratulated Mr. Chauhan for his achievements and rising through the ranks

since he joined the RCMP in 1991. Dave mentioned that he is very happy to head the RCMP Detachment in Richmond and looks forward to working with the Gurdwara management in promoting peace and harmony in the community. The Committee was pleased to offer Dave and his team an open invitation to visit the Gurdwara at any time convenient to them. Dave thanked the management for the warm welcome given to him and his team members...

BC Housing moving ahead with warehouse renos to create new homeless shelter Renovations are going ahead at a former BC Tree Fruits warehouse in Kelowna’s north end to make it the home of a new temporary homeless shelter. It will be operated by Kelowna Gospel Mission. In a statement to Global News, BC Housing said it collaborated with the City of Kelowna, spending several months searching for an appropriate location. “The Bay Avenue shelter was the only property available to be leased that met BC Housing criteria. Given the housing crisis, the immediate need for a new shelter, and no other options available to us, we

made the decision to lease this space.” One of the issues local residents brought forward after the initial announcement was safety. “They are promising that they’re going to put every effort into the safety of the public and everything. And to keep it as low-key as possible so there’s not so much of a disruption in the neighbourhood for the children,” Roy Paulson, who lives next door to the market. “The main concern is our neighbourhood is a tent city because it’s not controlled by anyone. This is monitored by security

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Malaika ’s karaoke session Malaika Arora’s Instagram timeline has always been one fun place. From glamorous photo shoots and fitness videos to loved up photos with friends and family, Malaika likes to keep it real on social media. Giving us a glimpse of her fun side, the model-entrepreneur has now shared a set of fun videos on Instagram Stories. In it, Malaika is seen enjoying a karaoke session at a cafe in Mumbai with

friends Delnaz Daruwala, Vahbiz Mehta and actress, Dr Aditi Govitrikar. In the videos, the girl gang is seen singing the 1958 classic hit Oh! Carol by Neil Sedaka. Sharing the video on Instagram Stories, Malaika Arora wrote, “#sistersledge in the house.” Recently, Malaika Arora dropped another fun Reels with her friends Delnaz Daruwala, Vahbiz Mehta and Pressy Nathan. In the caption, she said, “Sunday madness with my gurls.”

Community news Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society of BC invites South Asian Adults and Senior members to join and play Bingo on the House on 24th July 2022 (Sunday) from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at Shant Niketan hall. Please bring only 2 dollars with you for 2 games, don’t worry if you do not know how to play, members seating next to you will explain the game to you just for the sake of fun. Please use facemask and keep the social distance while seating for personal & other’s safety. Tea and light snacks will be served after the two games are over. In Person Yoga classes will continue by Mr.

Ashwini Bansal expert Yoga Instructor on 25th July 2022 (Monday) & 28th July 2022 (Thursday) both days from 10.00 am to 11.15 am. Members already vaccinated at least Two doses against COVID - 19 should join for Bingo & yoga classes, please use Facemask for safety. Project funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program for Hindi speaking seniors. Please contact Surendra Handa Coordinator , Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre, Lakshmi Narayan Temple, 8321 - 140th street Surrey V3W5K9, BC Tel. 604 - 507 - 9945 for registration & for further information.

Katrina Kaif back in Mumbai Katrina Kaif ’s birthday bash in the Maldives with her close gang of friends has been the talk of the town for several days now. With social media being flooded with images from the happy vacation, fans cannot help but stay hooked to the superstar’s Instagram timeline. Not one to disappoint, Katrina has shared two new images on social media from the Maldives. Dressed in a simple black and white slip dress, the actress is glowing – as always – in the image. In the caption, Katrina declared, “Such an amazing time.” Replying to the post, Sharvari Wagh, who was a part

of the holiday group, dropped two heart emojis. Katrina Kaif and her husband, Vicky Kaushal were joined by a large group of friends including Sharvari who is reportedly dating Sunny Kaushal, Kabir Khan and wife Mini Mathur, Anand Tiwari and wife Angira, Ileana D’Cruz as well as Katrina’s siblings Isabelle and Sebastian Laurent Michel. On Monday, Katrina Kaif even shared a video of the friends group having the time of their lives on a waterslide. In the caption, she said, “Yeh dosti (This friendship).”

Is SRK the benchmark for every newcomer? Taapsee Pannu was recently seen on the big screen in Shabaash Mithu. While the film continues to run in theatres, the actress is already prepping for her next venture. Interestingly, Taapsee has been cast opposite none other than Shah Rukh Khan in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki. Recently in an interview with Pinkvilla, Taapsee spoke about what she thought of stardom, success and failure at the box office. If that wasn’t enough, Taapsee also spoke about Shah Rukh Khan, and how each success and loss is personal for the mega star. Talking about Shah Rukh Khan first, Taapsee claimed that SRK is quite literally the benchmark for every newcomer from Delhi. The actor’s success and fame are benchmarks that newcomers

strive to achieve. Further revealing Taapsee added, “I’ve told him (Shah Rukh Khan) that h e is the benchmark or the person that every outsider especially coming from Delhi looks up to. I’m not a superstar but he is the superstar. I don’t really feel like when you work with people like him or superstars like him you realise that’s what the stakes of the word stardom or star are. That is when paanch saal se koi picture nahi aayi hai (he didn’t have a release in the last five years) but one move of his just creates a storm everywhere. His victories are personal, his loss is personal, that’s stardom. Not what we feel star is.”

Bollywood celebrities attend Bhupinder’s funeral Veteran singer Bhupinder Singh passed away on July 18 due to suspected colon cancer and Covid-related complications.

on July 18. His prayer meet took place on July 21 in Mumbai. An official statement can be read, “Our dearest, the legendary singer

He had worked with the biggest names in the music industry, such as Mohammed Rafi, RD Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Bappi Lahiri, and others. His funeral took place at Oshiwara crematorium in Mumbai on July 19. A prayer meet in memory of the veteran singer took place on July 21 in Mumbai, where many known faces from the music industry arrived to pay their last respects. Bhupinder Singh passed away

and musician Bhupendra Singh left for his heavenly abode on Monday, 18th July, 2022. Please join us to pay homage to him and pray for his soul.” Many from the music industry arrived at a gurudwara in Andheri, Mumbai to pay their last respects. Sonu Nigam, Madhur Bhandarkar, Poonam Dhillon, Rekha Bhardwaj, Jessey Lever, Varun Badola, Rajeshwari, Shashi Ranjan, Rakesh Bedi, and others arrived to pay their last respects.

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Saturday, July 23, 2022

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Bhupinder Singh - a singer par excellenc Renowned singer Bhupinder Singh died on July 25, at the age of 82 due to suspected colon cancer and Covidrelated complications. The singer was best known for his bhajans, ghazals, geets, and songs like “Naam Gum Jayega” and “Dil Dhoondta Hai”, “Do Diwane Shehar Mein”, “Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Aasman”, among many other famous and heart touching songs. The year 2022 marred by the deaths of many renowned singers, such as Lata Mangeskar, Bappi Lahiri and KK passed away. Bhupinder was born in Amritsar on January 6, 1940, to Natha Singhji, a musician and his introducer to music. Bhupinder’s father was a stern teacher, and at one point, he detested music and its instruments. Bhupinder started his career as casual artist for All India Radio under the direction of Satish Bhatia. He also worked at Doordarshan Center, New Delhi. He also learnt guitar. In 1962, music director Madan Mohan saw him at a dinner hosted by Satish Bhatia in his honour (Satish Bhatia was Producer in AIR Delhi and Bhupinder was working under him as a guitarist), and called him to Bombay. He was given the opportunity to sing the song Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bhulaya Hoga alongside Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood and Manna Dey in Chetan

Anand’s Haqeeqat. He was given a solo by music director Khayyam in film Aakhri Khat. Bhupinder’s voice one of the most unique in playback singing. He has sung few popular duets with Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi also. Thereafter Bhupinder started releasing private albums wherein his first LP had three self-composed songs and was released in 1968, a second LP of ghazals wherein he introduced the Spanish guitar, bass and drums to the ghazal style, released in 1978 and his third LP titled Woh Jo Shair Tha, for which the lyrics were written by Gulzar in 1980. Entering wedlock with Bangladeshi singer Mitali, he moved away from playback singing in the mid-1980s and since then has been singing jointly for several albums and live concerts. Together they have produced many ghazal and geet cassettes. His famous songs include “Dil Dhoondta hai”, “Do diwane shahar mein”, “Naam gum jayega”, “Karoge yaad to”, “Meethe bol bole”, “Kabhi kisi ko mukammal”, “Kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi”, and “Ek akela is Shehar Mein”. He sang the song Duniya Chute Yaar Na Toote picturized on Rajesh Khanna. R. D. Burman made him sing songs like Raat Banoo Mein Geet Bano Tum, Naam Gum Jayega, Kahiya Kahan Se Aana Hua and Beete Na Bitaai Raina which made him famous.

Dharmendra shares memories of Raj Kapoor talking about his films Dharmendra first got a chance to act alongside Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker and later did Manmohan D e s a i ’s multi-starrer film Naseeb with him. Raj Kapoor is one of the legends of Indian cinema who took the industry to absolute new heights. His movies were not just pure entertainment but also depicted some harsh realities of life with often subtle social messages. The Showman has inspired a whole generation of actors with his films as well as his philosophy in life. And it looks like another veteran actor, Dharmendra is one of them. Dharmendra recently shared an old clip of Raj Kapoor speaking about his films. In the clip, Raj Kapoor is presumably asked to name the most favourite among his films, to which he compares films and filmmakers to a mother and her children. Just like a mother loves all her children equally, a filmmaker does not distinguish between his films

as well, he is heard saying. He goes on to say that just like some children are weaker than the rest and hence are a bit more loved by their parents, movies that fail to do well become dearer to their makers. Raj Kapoor named Mera Naam Joker and Jaagte Raho, two films that failed to do well, as close to his heart. Dharmendra first got a chance to act alongside Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker and later did Manmohan Desai’s multi-starrer film Naseeb with him as well. Raj K a p o o r passed away on June 2, 1988 at the age of 64. Dharmendra will soon be making a comeback to films after a long hiatus with Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Apart from this, he will also be seen in his home production film Apne 2 starring Sunny, Bobby and Karan Deol in the lead roles.

Sonakshi Sinha, shared her late-night cardio experience through a funny video. Taking to Instagram, the ‘Dabangg’ actor shared a boomerang video on her Instagram story, in which she can be seen walking on a treadmill with a funny crying filter applied to her face. The ‘Noor’ actor captioned the video, “Late night cardio got me like...” followed by an angry avatar. Earlier, the actor had faced a lot of backlash on social media due to her weight, every time she stood strong and gave it back to the trollers for mocking her. The ‘Rowdy Rathore’ actor recently stepped into the business world with her new nail brand ‘Soezi’.

Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter, actor Sonakshi Sinha made her Bollywood debut alongside Salman Khan in ‘Dabangg’. Meanwhile, the ‘Akira’ actor will be soon marking her OTT debut with upcoming series ‘Fallen’ in which she plays the role of a cop for the first time in her career. The series will stream later this year. Apart from this she also has ‘Double XL’ alongside Huma Qureshi and her rumoured boyfriend Zaheer Iqbal. The official release date of the film is still awaited. A horror comedy film ‘Kakuda’ along with Riteish Deshmukh and Saqib Saleem.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Home sales down more than 20% from June 2021: CREA Far fewer homes changed hands across Canada last month as interest rates rose and buyers adopted a wait-and-see approach. According to recent statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales fell 23.9% in June on a yearly basis, and declined 5.6% month-over-month. Although larger monthly dips were seen in April and May, June activity dropped slightly below average levels normally seen for the month. Sales were down in threequarters of all markets, the CREA said, with the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton at the helm. “Sales activity continues to slow in the face of rising interest rates and uncertainty,” said Jill Oudil, chair of CREA. “The cost of borrowing has overtaken supply as the dominant factor affecting housing markets at the moment, but the supply issue has not gone away. While

some people may choose to wait on the sidelines as the dust settles in the wake of recent rate hikes, others will still engage in the market in these challenging times.” Nationally, the number of newly listed homes rose 4.1% monthover-month in June, driven particularly by new supply in Montreal. New listings in the GTA and Greater Vancouver declined slightly, however. The dip in sales combined with the rise in new listings pushed the sales-to-new listings ratio to 51.7% last month, its lowest level since January 2015. The figure is also below the long-term national average of 55.1%, the CREA noted, and nearly three quarters of local markets have entered balanced territory. The number of new listings also pushed home prices down in June. The aggregate composite MLS Home Price Index (HPI) dipped 1.9% on a monthly basis, although it was up 14.9% from June 2021.

With rents soaring across Canada, some people are getting priced out For months, Nathan Armstrong has been scrolling through apartment listings from a tiny motel room in Woodstock, Ont. He and his wife have had to live there for more than a year as they desperately look for a place to rent. “There’s not a lot out there, and they seem to be going up. Fifteen, seventeen, nineteen hundred dollars for a one bedroom apartment,” he said. “Our price range is disappearing.” Armstrong described the situation as frustrating and costly. The couple couldn’t even prepare their own meals in the motel. “It is very, very difficult,” he said. “Hard to cook as we’re not allowed to have our own cooking material. No toaster oven, that’s against the fire code.” The couple says they faced denial after denial, losing out on dozens of apartments amid stiff competition during their 16-month search for stable housing. Rents are indeed rising quickly in the area, according to a recent report by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research and Consulting. Average apartment rents for the nearest major city — London, Ont. — climbed to $1,933 in June, up 28.5

per cent from the same time last year. WATCH | How Canadians are being priced out of rental housing: Some Canadians are finding themselves increasingly priced out as the cost of rent soars across the country. Some analysts predict that the rental market may get even hotter throughout Canada. Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting, a real estate advisory firm, says higher interest rates are pushing potential homebuyers to the sidelines, putting more strain on the rental market. “These two factors will keep renters in their properties, further reducing rental supply,” Myers said. Rental supply has also been an ongoing issue in Halifax. There, the vacancy rate is less than one per cent, among the lowest in the country, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. “We have new construction and existing construction, but they cannot keep up with the pace of the number of people who are looking for rental units,” said Lesley Dunn, program director for RentersEd,

GTA faces ‘unprecedented surge’ in terminated condo listings of 643 per cent in six months GTA faces ‘unprecedented surge’ in terminated condo listings of 643 per cent in six months GTA faces surge in terminated condo lisitings The housing market in the GTA is continuing to cool as it faces a surge in the number of terminated condo listings. The Greater Toronto Area is facing an “unprecedented surge” in the number of terminated condo real estate listings, which indicates that the region’s housing market is continuing to slow down, experts say. Strata, a Toronto-based real estate platform, issued a report this month, saying that cancelled listings across the GTA spiked by 643 per cent since the start of the year. Homeowners may terminate a listing if they no longer want to sell or if contracts between the sellers and listing agents expire before an offer is accepted. The number of terminated listings jumped from 380 in January to 2,822 in June, which represents the 643 per cent increase in the past six months.

“Many sellers are still operating under the impression that this is a seller’s market, so they are listing too high and not seeing any action,” Alex Hood, a realtor at Strata.ca, said. “At the same time, rising inflation and interest rates are making buyers feel uncertain about the trajectory of the market, which is causing them to be more conservative with their bids.” He added that the terminations are increasing at a time when there is a near-tripling of total condo inventory since the start of 2022. Hood said he believes the number of terminated listing will wane as sellers’ expectation start to “align with realities of the current market.” Strata real estate agent Anna Wong said that most sellers who have terminated their listings are waiting for a better time to relist, or have “shrewdly” decided to lease their property instead. Unlike the GTA’s oversupplied sales market, real estate experts say that condo rental inventories are down nearly 60 per cent from January levels.

Toronto condo rents hit record high as renters face ‘extreme’ affordability challenge It’s a landlord’s market in Toronto once again. Condo rents hit a record high in the second quarter of this year, as soaring borrowing costs pushed residents into the rental market and more people flocked back to the city. Across the Toronto region, the average monthly rent rose 17 per cent to $2,533 over the past four quarters, according to industry research firm Urbanation Inc., with rent for a typical studio condo climbing 25 per cent over that period. Rental rates have been increasing rapidly since the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates to get inflation under control. The benchmark interest rate is up 2.25 percentage points over five months, making it harder for prospective homebuyers to qualify for a mortgage, cooling the real estate market and raising the spectre of an economic slowdown. According to Urbanation calculations, condo owners shouldered an average monthly cost of $3,125 during the second quarter, when mortgages had an interest rate of about 3 per cent. The average rent for a similar condo unit was $2,533.

That means the average monthly rent was nearly $600 less than the average monthly ownership cost. And that was before last week’s massive onepercentage-point interest rate increase. Now, with mortgage rates near 5 per cent, Urbanation said condo owners are likely paying an average of $1,100 more a month than renters. “This will provide further fuel for the rental market as more first-time buyers become shut out of the ownership market,” the report said. Report shows sharp jump in Toronto rents, echoes findings on other major cities This relatively new group of renters is upping demand for rentals in a city that was already dealing with a shortage of affordable housing units. “It’s an extreme challenge to secure even a semi-affordable property,” said Reuben Labovitz, a sales representative with real estate brokerage Fox Marin, who has brokered nearly 100 rental leases in the city so far this year. Mr. Labovitz said rental properties are fetching multiple offers and describes the situation as 100 per cent a landlord’s market. In addition to buyers turned renters, postsecondary students are returning to in-person classes and employers are pushing their staff to return to the office.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Real Estate

One of Canada’s most expensive homes for sale in Montreal

Canadian houses now selling at $200K discounts The once-red hot Canadian real estate market is beginning to witness a trend that would have been unthinkable just months ago: Homes are starting to sell at a discount. In Victoria, a luxury five-bedroom listed at $2.25 million ended up selling at $1.93 million — a drop of $320,000. In the same month, a home on the other coast — in Halifax — sold at $140,000 below its list price of $900,000. The Toronto suburbs, in particular, are yielding a near-daily stream of homes sold at discounts of more than $100,000. A detached home in Mississauga, west of Toronto, went on the market in April at $1.6 million. After two months, the sellers let it go for $1.38 million. A four-bedroom mini-mansion in Brampton, 40 km northwest of Toronto, hit

the market at $1.8 million but ultimately sold for $1.5 million, a price reduction of $300,000. A similar Brampton home spent 35 days on the market at a list price of $1.4 million before sellers accepted an offer that was more than $250,000 lower. Another phenomenon to hit Canadian real estate in recent weeks has been a spike in “delistings,” homes that are taken off the market after failing to attract any bids. In some regions of Ontario right now, more homes have been delisted in the past 30 days than have been sold. If sellers are chronically overestimating the values of their homes, it’s largely because Canadian home sales had spent more than a year being defined by the exact opposite phenomenon. This time in 2021, virtually

you’re in the market for new home, why not go big? And when we say big, we mean like the most expensive homes in the country big. Point2, a publication that covers real estate market trends, is highlighting the most expensive homes across Canada, one of which is right here in Montreal. A $35 million home at 3165 Place De Ramezay is good for the third-most expensive home for sale in the country. According to the Realtor listing, the eight-bedroom home is “one of the most extraordinary homes to hit the market.” The 15-bathroom residence was “meticulously renovated top-to-bottom” and the result is nothing short of exceptional. a

If you don’t believe us, check out the real estate agent’s listing of the spectacular property. “Canada’s real estate landscape is no stranger to pricey homes – especially with the skyrocketing values of the past two years,” says Point2. “As the market finally shows signs of cooling off, the asking prices of the country’s luxury homes remain as astounding as the homes themselves.” Here are the most expensive homes currently for sale in every Canadian province: Province Price A d d r e s s British Columbia $39,000,000 5462 Stonebridge Drive, Whistler

Cooling housing market shows short supply didn’t fuel COVID price surge: BMO economist Canada’s massive run-up in housing prices during the COVID-19 pandemic had more to do with investor demand and rock-bottom interest rates than ofttalked about concerns of insufficient housing supply, according to the Bank of Montreal’s top economist. Doug Porter published a short note Wednesday morning exploring the surging home prices seen in Ontario cities such as Chatham-Kent over the two years of the pandemic. Home prices there ballooned roughly 90 per cent in that time, Porter wrote, contrasting the city with Edmonton, which experienced more moderate growth during the pandemic.

Though the value of homes in Chatham briefly surged past those of Edmonton, prices have seen a sharp decline in the southwestern Ontario town since the Bank of Canada began hiking interest rates earlier this year. Porter concluded that with little change in the supply of housing units in towns like Chatham over the course of the spring, while rising interest rates dampen buyer demand, the ultimate cause of higher prices during the pandemic was not a lack of homes to go around. “Our view, and I know this is not a popular one, is that this was more of a

demand story than a supply story,” he told Global News in an interview Wednesday. Canada’s housing supply gap is regularly raised as a barrier to affordability in Canada’s residential real estate market. Click to play video: ‘CMHC report: no quick fix to Canada’s affordability crisis’ 4:09 CMHC report: no quick fix to Canada’s affordability crisis CMHC report: no quick fix to Canada’s affordability crisis – Jun 24, 2022 The Canada Mortgage and Housing

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Corp. (CMHC) released a report in June projecting that, when it comes to the goal of affordable homes for all residents, Canada will be short 3.5 million units by 2030. Scotiabank chief economist JeanFrancois Perrault released an analysis at the start of 2022 showing that Ontario’s housing supply deficit is the worst in the country — and Canada already sits at the bottom of the G7 in per capita housing stock. “If we don’t fix this, if we don’t right-size the number of homes in Canada or Ontario relative to population needs, things are never going to be more affordable,” Perrault told Global News at the time.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

The Haifa port now belongs to an Indian investor, is China the reason?

Sri Lanka’s parliament picks Wickremesinghe as new president Sri Lanka’s acting president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, won a vote in parliament on Wednesday to be the next president until 2024, taking over from former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa who resigned after fleeing the country last week. Hundreds of thousands of protesters had flooded the streets of the island nation to demand Rajapaksa’s resignation over his government’s handling of a crippling economic crisis. Here are some reactions to the victory. “We now have to consider how we ended up here, in the middle of a presidential term, to elect a new president. “It was because of a massive public wave against an elected president. This is now an outdated parliament, with a mandate given for an ousted president. “We must work according to the constitution. The reality is people are struggling without fuel, food and basics. “We must have a national policy with clear timelines to put the economy on track and save this country. As the opposition we will give our utmost support for this.”

“The occupy movement shall continue, the struggle shall continue. The reason why people came out against Gota (Rajapaksa) was not a personal grudge. “It was protesting ideals and values he held. We see those same values, corruption and oppression in Ranil. We will continue the protest until Ranil goes home. “It might take us a week, a month, two months, or 98 days. But we know people in Sri Lanka are not going to stand for it. We will get back on the streets and continue.” “What does it mean for the struggle? For one thing, it means that the struggle will have to be satisfied with its primary demand, i.e. resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. “It also means that the struggle, in one form or another, will have to find new ways to win our remaining demands. “Unlike Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil is not a populist: he’s known to be a ruthless pragmatist. I think the immediate concern is the possible prosecution of leading members of the struggle.”

This month, the port of Haifa was acquired by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, a close associate of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a joint bid with Israeli company Gadot. To many, the purchase constitutes a success in US-backed efforts to counter China’s infrastructuredriven Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The port deal, in which Adani has a 70 percent stake, puts the duo in charge of the port until 2054.! Under US pressure, Israel backed away from allowing China to manage the Haifa port, which the US Sixth Fleet frequents. The port also straddles the exit from an adjacent naval base that hosts Israel’s submarine fleet, believed to have a second-strike nuclear missile capability. The acquisition also suggests that the United Arab Emirates, one of China’s closest partners in the region, and a member of I2-U2 alongside the United States, Israel, and India, is hedging its bets the most. The hedging stems from Gulf uncertainty

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and President Biden’s failure to convince the United States’ allies that Washington would be a reliable security partner in the future. The Gulf states want to see binding defense arrangements, rather than verbal ones. Confidence in US reliability has been undermined in recent years by the identification of China as the United States’ main strategic challenger, prompting Washington to seemingly attribute less importance to the Middle East. In Gulf minds, that translated into a US failure to respond robustly to attacks on critical Saudi and Emirati infrastructure by Iran and its allies. For its part, the UAE distanced itself from the security-focused anti-Iran tenor in Biden’s talks with regional leaders. Instead, the Emirates said it wished to cooperate rather than target the Islamic Republic, and was seeking to return its ambassador to Tehran. The I2-U2 aims to increase entrepreneurial cooperation between the four countries through joint investments in water, energy, transportation, space,

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Saturday, July 23, 2022

Uttar Pradesh govt ropes in Deloitte to make state $1-trn economy The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to appoint Deloitte India as a consultant to suggest plans for bringing the state’s economy to the USD 1 trillion mark, officials said here. The decision in this regard was taken on the recommendation of a high-power committee, at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth on Tuesday, an official release said. To fulfil the Prime Minister’s resolve to make India a USD 5 trillioneconomy,theroleofthemostpopulous

state of Uttar Pradesh is very important. A sector-wise action plan is being prepared by the state government to fulfil the goal of bringing the economy of Uttar Pradesh to 1 trillion US dollars. In the light of the current global economic scenario and to adopt the best practices of different countries, the need to engage the services of consultants was felt, it said. The tenders for the selection of consultants were invited on March 15, 2022, and the last date for receipt of tenders was fixed till May 24.

Droupadi Murmu is India’s next president Presidential Election 2022 Result Live Updates: Droupadi Murmu has been elected as 15th president of India, becoming the first tribal politician to occupy the top constitutional post in the world’s largest democracy. Murmu, who belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition, defeated the opposition nominee and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, by getting more than 50% of the votes. She will take the oath of office on Monday after the current incumbent -- Ram Nath Kovind’s -- term ends. Modi, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Sinha congratulated Murmu on her appointment. The BJP has planned a mega ‘Abhinandan Yatra’ from the Delhi BJP office on Pant Marg which will be led by party chief JP Nadda to mark Murmu’s victory, if she is elected. 21 Jul 2022, 10:10:23 PM IST Returning Officer hands over certificate to President-elect Murmu Secretary General of Rajya Sabha and the Returning Officer for Presidential Election 2022, PC Mody, hands over the certificate to President-elect Droupadi Murmu at her residence in Delhi. President-elect Droupadi Murmu greets Union Ministers, political leaders and media outside her residence in Delhi. - Droupadi Murmu got 6,76,803 votes as compared to her rival Yashwant Sinha’s 3,80,177 votes. - Murmu got 64% of votes in presidential poll against Yashwant Sinha’s 36%, Returning Officer PC Mody said today. 21 Jul 2022, 09:38:57 PM IST Election of Murmu great pride for India: Amit Shah Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday congratulated Droupadi Murmu for her election as the President

of India and said it is a moment of great pride for the entire country. NDA’s Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is officially declared as the President of the country. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday congratulated NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu after she emerged victorious in the election. The Trinamool Congress supremo said that the country will sincerely look up to Murmu as the “Head of State to protect the ideals of the Constitution and the custodian of our democracy”. The TMC has supported Yashwant Sinha, the joint candidate of major non-BJP parties, in the election held on July 18. “I would like to congratulate Hon’ble Presidential-Elect Smt Draupadi Murmu. The country will sincerely look up to you as the Head of State to protect the ideals of our Constitution & be the custodian of our democracy, especially when (the) nation is plagued with so many dissensions (sic),” she tweeted. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla joined the various leaders in congratulating Murmu on her election as President of India. In his congratulatory message, Birla said that Smt. Murmu has always given voice to the hopes and aspirations of the people, understood their grievances and resolved them Assam’s tea-tribe community erupted in joy with many breaking into the traditional dance after it became clear that NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader of Odisha, is going to be the new President of the country. 21 Jul 2022, 09:04:56 PM IST Inspiration for everybody, says Droupadi Murmu’s Tarinisen Tudu Tarinisen Tudu, brother of the newly elected President Droupadi Murmu said, “I am overjoyed that my sister, a tribal woman, has been elected as the President. She has struggled a lot since her childhood.

Cheetahs to prowl India for first time in 70 years The cheetah is set to return to India, having disappeared from the subcontinent some 70 years ago. Years of negotiations and legal hurdles later, Namibia and India signed a pact yesterday (July 20) to relocate eight African cheetahs to the Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. The world’s fastest land animal was officially declared extinct in India in 1952. Namibia has the world’s largest population of big cats. Its government, along with India’s, has been planning the first trans-continental cheetah relocation project for months. The cheetahs are expected to arrive in India on or before Aug. 15 marking

the country’s 76th Independence Day. Prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce the arrival during his customary speech from the Red Fort in Delhi. The return of cheetahs to India, however, hasn’t come easy. India was earlier supposed to get 20 of the animals, but the Madhya Pradesh government ran out of funds and the number had to be decreased to eight. The lack of suitable space was another problem. “The Kuno enclosure can house 10 to 12 cheetahs. The problem is where to keep the rest,” an officer at the sanctuary told The Times of India. Besides, Kuno was also a difficult location to arrive at amid the row over the transfer of some Asiatic lions to the same sanctuary from the jungles of Gir in Gujarat.

INDIA

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Next Chief Justice wants to ‘school’ Supreme Court The next Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit has plans to ‘school’ the apex court of the country, contrary to the general belief of government offices starting late in a day. On Friday, the Supreme Court of India started at 9.30 am, an hour earlier than the usual working hour of the apex court. “If children can go

to school at seven in the morning, why cannot judges and lawyers start their day at 9 am” the next Chief Justice of India remarked. UU Lalit is set to take charge from Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana in August this year. A bench of Justices Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia on Friday started Friday’s work at 9.30 am.

Rupee falls to all-time low of 80.06 The rupee depreciated 1 paisa to its alltime low of 80.06 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday , July 21, 2022, amid demand for dollar from oil importers and firm crude oil prices. Forex traders said the rupee is hovering around 80 level as the overall gains in crude prices in the last few days, wherein

Brent has risen above $106 per barrel mark, is putting pressure on the local unit. Moreover, rising current account deficit and trade deficit also weighed on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 80.03 against the US dollar, then fell to a record low of 80.06, registering a decline of just 1 paisa over the last close.

What became of loudspeakers taken off temples & mosques by Yogi govt? With the cacophony over their removal from atop temples and mosques having died down, loudspeakers in Uttar Pradesh have found a new place and role — in schools that plan to put them to use during cultural programmes and public awareness rallies.

Over the past two months, several such loudspeakers have been handed over to government, aided and private schools, as well as tehsil offices across the state. However, a number of loudspeakers are also lying unused, pending repairs.

Eknath Shinde appointed leader of Shiv Sena, dissolves national executive formed by Uddhav Thackeray The Eknath Shinde-led faction on Monday held a meeting with Shiv Sena MLAs in Mumbai and passed a resolution electing Chief Minister Shinde as the leader of Shiv Sena. In the meeting, 14 MLAs, who extended their support to Uddhav Thackeray during Eknath Shinde’s rebellion against the Sena leadership, also adopted resolutions for the appointment of executive members of the party. Following the meeting, the Shinde faction

announced the formation of a new national executive of Shiv Sena and dissolution of the earlier executive formed by Uddhav Thackeray. CM Eknath Shinde was elected as the chief leader of the Shiv Sena party. However, Shiv Sena party chief, a post held by Uddhav Thackeray, has not been dissolved. MLA Deepak Kesarkar has been appointed as a spokesperson and Ramdas Kadam and ex-MP Anandrao Adsul have been appointed as leaders of the Shiv Sena party.

India on course to become world’s fastest-growing economy, says RBI India’s economy has remained resilient in the face of global headwinds and with inflation coming off its recent peak is expected to stay on course to become the world’s fastest-growing economy, the Reserve Bank of India said on Saturday. The recent revival of the southwest monsoon

and renewed planting raised expectations that rural demand will soon catch up with urban spending and consolidate a recovery, the RBI said in a bulletin. “Knock-on effects of geopolitical spillovers are visible in several sectors, tapering the pace of recovery,” the central bank said.

Only 5 US Democrats voted against India’s CAATSA waiver With a 330-99 vote, the US House of Representatives agreed to adopt Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna’s amendment Thursday, calling for an India-specific waiver under the Countering America’s Adversaries

Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). CAATSA imposes sanctions on countries which do trade, especially military trade, with countries such as Iran, North Korea, and Russia, considered as “adversary” under the law that was passed in 2017.

Dalai Lama’s Ladakh visit irks China The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, arrived in India’s remote mountainous Ladakh region bordering China last week for a monthlong visit. He received a rousing reception, with thousands of people lining up on both sides

of the road outside the airport in the cold desert region’s town of Leh to welcome him. “Tibet and Ladakh share rich cultural and religious ties. The people of Ladakh — including Buddhists, Muslims and Christians — have huge respect for His Holiness, the

1,000 complaints against Air India in 3 months: Centre Around 1,000 passenger complaints have been received against Tata Group-owned Air India during the last three months, minister of state for civil aviation V K Singh said on Monday. The complaints were related to issues such as refund of fares, overbooking of flights

and staff behaviour among others, he added. The Tata Group on January 27 took control of Air India after winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year. “Ministry of Civil Aviation has been receiving grievances related to air transport,

Saturday, July 23, 2022

FIJI

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann discharged from hospital after day-long admission high-level multi-disciplinary team of medical experts. The CM was stable throughout his admission. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Mann in the hospital on Wednesday.

Hospital sources said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had arrived to the hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday complaining of abdominal discomfort and was kept under the observation of

Heavy gunfire reminded villagers of terror-struck days It was a blast from the past, quite literally, for the people of Bhakna and nearby villages in Amritsar, when they were asked to abandon their fields on Wednesday morning as police rained bullets at a house where the alleged killers of Sidhu Moosewala were hiding. The villagers said the sound of gunfire reminded them of the 1980s, when terrorism was at its peak in Punjab.

Gangsters Jagroop Singh Roopa and Manpreet Singh alias Mannu Kusa were killed by the Punjab Police in Amritsar in an encounter that went on for around five hours on Wednesday, police said. Farmers, who usually go to their fields in the morning, were asked to rush back to their homes as police and the gangsters exchanged gunfire.

Strong winds & rain in Chandigarh Parts of Delhi witnessed rain bringing down the mercury level on Thursday morning even as the weather office predicted moderate rain during the day. The minimum temperature was recorded at 24.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 56.6 mm rainfall from 8.30am on

Wednesday to 8.30am on Thursday. Due to the rain, heavy traffic was reported on several key stretches, including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Bhairon Marg-Ring Road junction, Vikas Marg, DND and Sarai Kale Khan. “There will be generally cloudy sky with moderate rain on Thursday. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 35 degrees Celsius,” an IMD official said.

Pakistan Former PM Imran Khan stuns rivals with Punjab by-elections upset Former PM Imran Khan renewed his call for early elections after stunning by-election upset saw his party took control of crucial Punjab province. His party won 15 of 20 seats up for grabs in Punjab, beating their archrivals PML-Noon on their home ground. The result is foretaste of what could happen in general election

due in 2023, but could be sooner. Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister in no-confidence vote in April. The results in Punjab is major blow for current interim govt and PM Shehbaz Sharif. His already weak coalition’s fate now hangs by a thread. Imran Khan’s party gets required numbers of seats to form govt in Punjab.

Pakistan hoping to get $4 billion from ‘friendly nations’ to balance forex reserves shortfall Left with less than two months’ worth of foreign reserves to cover exports, Pakistan is likely to get $4 billion from “friendly nations” to bridge the gap in foreign reserves, highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s finance minister Miftah Ismail told the Dawn.

“We think that we will get $1.2 bn in deferred oil payment from a friendly country. We think that a foreign country will invest between $1.5 bn to $2 bn in stocks on a G2G (government-togovernment) basis, and another friendly country will perhaps give us gas on deferred payment

Land allocated to build IT University turns into ‘Bakra Mandi’ Land was allotted for Information Technology University which is now currently used for eid shoppers and cattle market. Not all big plans to build research institutes materialise — and in some cases, they take on a whole new avatar. In

2013, Pakistan decided to build an IITlike institute, believing it to be the reason behind India’s success story. The government even allocated land in Lahore to build the main campus of Information Technology University, or ITU. For local people in

Imran Khan warns of economic ‘collapse’ Former prime minister said Wednesday that the government of premier Shahbaz Sharif is mismanaging the country’s fragile economy. Imran Khan’s remarks to journalists at his residence in Islamabad came hours after Pakistan’s currency plummeted to an all-time low of 225 rupees against the U.S. dollar, amid

increasing political instability. The delay in the release of a crucial $1.17 billion installment from the International Monetary Fund to Islamabad has also added to the existing economic crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Tennessee newlywed accused of killing wife on Fiji honeymoon Fijian authorities have arrested and charged a Tennessee man with the murder of his new wife found dead in a hotel room after the newlyweds traveled from the U.S. to the South Pacific nation for their honeymoon. Christe Chen Dawson, a 36-year-old graduate of the University of Tennessee who worked as a pharmacist for Kroger, recently married 38-year-old Bradley Robert Dawson, an IT professional at the child welfare system non-profit Youth Village, in Memphis, Tennessee, before traveling to Fiji for their honeymoon.

Chen Dawson’s body was reportedly found on July 9 inside a hotel room at the Turtle Island Resort in the Yasawa Islands — though the cause and manner of her death remain unclear. Bradley Robert Dawson was arrested for the murder of his wife, but his defense attorney recently told FOX 13 Memphis that his client maintains his innocence and is working with his legal team to hopefully get out on bond during his next court appearance before Fiji’s High Court in Lautoka, which is scheduled for July 27

Reduction in entry marks weakens education system’ The reduction in entry marks into universities has weakened the education system and affected students’ abilities to perform well at the tertiary level, says Monash University academic and Fiji Higher Education Commissioner Professor Paresh Narayan. He said this while addressing delegates from the University of the South

Pacific, University of Fiji, Fiji National University and the Ministry of Education. “One example is several years ago, the major universities actually reduced their intake based on the marks that you get in Form 7 to actually enter universities,” he said. “I know when I was applying for admission to USP, the minimum mark was 280. “I think it has gone down to 210.

Hundreds gather at Howell Rd temple to celebrate the 95th annual fire walking ceremony Hundreds of people gathered at the Sri Raj Maha Mariamman Temple in Howell Road, Suva today to celebrate the 95th annual fire walking ceremony. People were seen with friends and families in their traditional attire while there were some people who had come all the way from places such as New Zealand, Australia and the USA to attend the event. We spoke to some of these people who told us that they could not travel to

Fiji in the last few years due to border restrictions and it was good to be back. Similarcelebrationswereheldinotherplaces and temples throughout the country today. Today marks the end of almost 2 weeks of prayer for devotees, most of them who were staying in the temple for more than a week. While speaking at the event, Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says these annual events are important for us as a nation as it brings people

Saturday, July 23, 2022 Press release

No inflation relief on the horizon under NDP

Despiterepeatedpromises,theNDPcontinues to leave British Columbians without any relief from rising inflation. This, as recent numbers from Statistics Canada show a staggering 7.9 per cent inflation rate in B.C. in June. “Another month has passed by without action from the NDP to provide people with relief from rising inflation,” said Peter Milobar, BC Liberal Critic for Finance. “It was more than three months ago now that the NDP told people they would put forward initiatives to assist with inflation, and yet this government has failed to do anything substantive to help people make ends meet. The affordability crisis is worse than ever, and even though we know that high gas and housing prices contribute to inflation, the NDP has consistently failed to address these issues. Everything from groceries, to rent, to fuel, is more expensive under this NDP government that promised to make life more affordable.” Last month, B.C.’s inflation rate hit 7.9 per cent. The cost of groceries is up 7.7 per cent year-

over-year, gas is up 44.9 per cent, and the cost of shelter has increased 7.8 per cent. Under the NDP the cost of living has skyrocketed, especially

when it comes to housing. Since David Eby became housing minister the average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver has risen by $511 per month to $2,412. Under Eby’s direction, Vancouver has become the most expensive rental market in the country. “Despite saying he was working on it, David Eby also failed to deliver his $400 annual renters’ rebate and is in no rush to follow through on that broken promise. It’s no wonder that as inflation worsens and prices soar, people feel increasingly abandoned by Eby and this NDP government,” added Milobar. “Across the province, people are struggling to make ends meet, and yet government continues to just stand by and watch. This government led British Columbians to believe that it was serious about addressing affordability. BC Liberal Caucus

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