The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 30

www.luxurylights.ca 

905-856-9999 

Lamps LED Pendants Bathroom Lights 

Wall Sconces Semi-Flush Mounts 

Chandeliers & Accessories 

4220 Steeles Ave. West, A8 Woodbridge L4L 3S8 

www.canadianparvasi.com 

Issue No : 31 

Email: editor@canadianparvasi.com Contact Number : 905-673-0600 February 02, 2018 | Pages 24 

BUDGET 2018 

Nobody dare 

misbehave 

with women 

on my set: 

Shah Rukh 

Khan 

Page 12 

Eyeing 2019 polls, Jaitley extends 

sops to poor, squeezes middle class 

Indo-Asian News Service 

New Delhi : With an eye on the 

next Lok Sabha elections, Finance 

Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2018- 

19 budget on Thursday proposed 

a major health insurance scheme 

for the poor, a higher minimum 

support price and a step up of Rs 

1 lakh crore as institutional credit 

for farmers along with a spend of 

nearly Rs 6 lakh crore on infrastructure 

development. 

To pay for this seeming bout of 

generosity, albeit with votebanks 

in mind, the finance minister has 

mopped up huge sums through 

three or four simple steps, mostly 

Skywatchers relish 

'Super Blue Blood 

Moon' spectacle 


New Delhi: The much 

awaited "Supermoon" 

became visible here on 

Wednesday a little later 

than expected, but when 

it did at around 7. 10 pm, 

the enthusiastic stargazers 

here relished the rare 

spectacle with a sense of 

awe. 

The "Super Blue Blood 

Moon", is a rare celestial 

triple treat. The Janaury 

31 sighting of a "blue 

Moon" and a total lunar 

eclipse occurred in India 

for the first time after 

1982. 

Many organisations 

across the country 

stepped in to enhance the 

show which was also visible 

to the naked eye. 

Continued on page 07 

ASAP 

ASAP Staffing Solutions 

STAFFING 

LOOKING FOR A-Z DRIVERS 

Pay 

upto $ 24/hour 

Call: 647-390-8002 

www.asapstaffingsolutions.com 

2 Melanie Dr. Unit # 7A, Brampton ON L6T 4K9 

Trudeau holds town hall 

meeting in Winnipeg 

The Canadian Press 

WINNIPEG: Prime Minister 

Justin Trudeau faced questions 

on immigration, pipelines and 

Indigenous issues — and dealt 

with a few disruptions — during 

a town hall meeting with some 

1,800 people at the University of 

Manitoba Wednesday night. 

Trudeau was asked by some 

people whether he would boost 

the number of immigrants accepted into 

Canada every year. 

NORTH STAR PEST CONTROL 

25 + years of experience 

Wild Life, Rodents, Insects, 

Birds, Bats, Bed Bugs, Cockroches 

Check our reviews on homestar.com 

Shakeel Sajjeel 

Call: 416-540-2694 / 647-224-7679 

27 Vista Green Cres Brampton,ON L7A 2S3 

www.northstarpestcontrol.ca 

info@northstarpestcontrol.ca 

Some people had personal questions, 

such as one woman who said 

a Nigerian friend was facing 

deportation and faced great 

danger if she returned to the 

African nation because she is 

a lesbian. 

One questioner asked 

Trudeau whether he was concerned 

about the number of 

people crossing the border illegally 

and claiming refugee status. 


aimed at the middle class. While 

providing some sops to salaried 

individuals and pensioners, it has 

aimed to raise Rs 11,000 crore by 

increasing cess on income of individuals, 

from three to four per 

cent. Additionally, it has aimed to 

raise money by imposing a 10 per 

cent Social Welfare Surcharge on 

all imported goods. 

At the same time, the finance 

minister has eyed the share-owning 

and investing class by removing 

an exemption on long term 

capital gains to possibly raise 

over Rs 36,000 crore in a full year 

-- by taxing at 10 per cent shares 


6.2-magnitude 

earthquake hits 

Pak, child killed 

Agencies 

LahorE: At least one child was 

killed and nine others injured as a 

powerful earthquake with a magnitude 

of 6.2 jolted parts of Pakistan 

on Wednesday, Pakistan's National 

Seismic Monitoring Centre 

said. 

The child died and others sustained 

injuries after a couple of 

mud houses and a school building 

collapsed in the Bela town of Lasbela 

district of the country's 


Safety Deposit Box Rentals 

CALL TO RESERVE NOW! 

905-789-8808 

www.thelockerinc.ca

The International News Weekly REGIONAL 

February 02, 2018 | Toronto 02 

Zero-tolerance on sexual 

misconduct: Kenney 


EDMONTON: The leader of the United Conservatives 

in Alberta says the party will rigorously vet prospective 

candidates for conduct related to sexual harassment or 

aggression. Jason Kenney was sworn in on Monday as 

a member of the legislature after winning a Calgary 

byelection in December. 

The United Conservative Party's caucus has been 

meeting in Edmonton for the last two days. 

Kenney says he has re-emphasized to his caucus 

that the party has a zero-tolerance approach toward 

sexual misconduct. 

He says there will be a rigorous pre-screening of 

potential United Conservative candidates who want to 

run in the next provincial election. 

Kenney also says the party will attempt to attract 

more women candidates, but notes he doesn't believe 

in quotas. 

Toxicologist testifies 

about girl whose body was 

dumped in Winnipeg river 


WINNIPEG: A toxicologist has testified that a 15-yearold 

girl had drugs and alcohol in her system when she 

was killed and thrown into the Red River in Winnipeg. 

Christopher Keddy, who works at the RCMP 

national forensics lab, told court that tests showed Tina 

Fontaine had levels of alcohol slightly above the legal 

limit for driving. 

Keddy also said there was a relatively high level of 

THC — the active ingredient in marijuana. 

He added that the amounts might have registered 

artificially high because of decomposition and because 

the tests were done on chest-cavity fluids instead of 

blood. Fontaine was killed in August 2014 after she 

ran away from a hotel where she was being housed by 

Child and Family Services. Raymond Cormier, who is 

55, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and 

his trial is scheduled to run five weeks. 

Senate votes to approve gender neutral 

wording for Canada's national anthem 


OTTAWA : The Senate has 

passed a bill to make the national 

anthem more gender 

neutral, fulfilling the dying 

wish of Liberal MP Mauril 

Belanger. 

The Senate has given its 

final approval to the legislation, 

which would change 

the second line of the anthem 

from "in all thy sons command" 

to "in all of us command." 

The legislation now 

only requires formal royal 

assent before it becomes law. 

Belanger pushed the legislation 

for years, but it took 

on far greater urgency after 

he was diagnosed with ALS, 

or Lou Gehrig's disease, following 

the 2015 federal election. 

The Commons passed 

the bill in June 2016, with the 

ailing Belanger in the House. 

The longtime Liberal 

died just over two months 

later. 

The bill had stalled in 

the Senate as Conservatives 

fought its passage, but it won 

Senate approval on a voice 

vote Wednesday after a pair 

of procedural votes. 

Following the vote, the 

office of Conservative Senator 

Larry Smith sent out a 

statement saying "so-called 

Independent senators" had 

shut down debate "using tools 

never before applied by individual 

senators. 

"In protest of these illegitimate 

actions, the Senate 

Conservative caucus refused 

to participate in a series of 

votes this evening," a spokesman 

for Smith said in the 

statement. 

Halifax removes contentious statue 

of port city's military founder 


HALIFAX : Crews have removed 

a statue of Halifax's 

controversial military founder 

from a downtown park, 

less than a day after Halifax 

council decided it should be 

taken down at least temporarily. 

Scaffolding was set up 

around the bronze figure of 

Edward Cornwallis Wednesday 

morning, and the statue 

was lifted off its pedestal with 

a crane by late afternoon. 

An eagle flew overhead 

in a cloudless sky, as the removal 

was met with cheers 

from a few dozen people gathered 

to watch what many felt 

was an historic moment. 

"I feel like my ancestors 

can finally rest. It's a great 

day to be Canadian and First 

Nation," Isaiah Bernard, 

from Nova Scotia's Potlotek 

First Nation, said as crews 

prepared to remove it. 

He said he has always 

avoided driving by the statue 

on his way to the nearby 

Saint Mary's University, and 

was relieved to see it come 

down. "Every time I look at 

and think of Cornwallis, I 

just think of the scalping of 

my people, the planned genocide 

he did," he said. 

Crews wrapped the statue 

in yellow straps, hoisted it 

upwards and placed it on its 

back on a flatbed truck. 

Council voted 12-4 on 

Tuesday to temporarily place 

the bronze figure in storage 

until a decision is made on 

its long-term fate. 

Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq 

chiefs had called Friday for 

the statue to be taken down 

immediately, because a 

panel appointed in October 

to study how the city commemorates 

Cornwallis had 

not even met yet. 

Cornwallis is a disputed 

character seen by some as 

a brave leader who founded 

Halifax, but by others as the 

commander of a bloody and 

barbaric extermination campaign 

against Mi'kmaq inhabitants. 

"I feel pretty good 

right now, pretty happy. A 

lot of us, we've been waiting 

a long time for this — since 

longer than I've been alive," 

Mi'kmaq activist Rebecca 

Moore said as she watched 

workers make preparations 

for removal. 

"What it means to me 

is that it's really showing 

that violence against Indigenous 

people and Indigenous 

women is not OK and it's not 

acceptable and that we won't 

stand for it. That's what it 

symbolizes to me." 

Leo Deveau, director of 

the Halifax Military Heritage 

Preservation Society, said 

he feels that "Cornwallis has 

become a lightning rod for a 

number of things, which we 

think is unfair." 

"It's not just about Cornwallis. 

He came with 2,500- 

plus people, settlers, and 

many of whose names exist 

in the city today. That's what 

has drawn me into this for 

a long time — the stories of 

those settlers," he said over 

the sound of a saw cutting 

into the base of the statue. 

Nova Scotia plans 'modest' start on marijuana sales 


Halifax : Cannabis will 

be sold at only nine Nova 

Scotia Liquor Corporation 

stores when the drug is officially 

legalized in July, 

the province announced 

Tuesday. Pot will be sold 

at four outlets in the Halifax 

area and at stores in 

Amherst, Truro, New 

Glasgow, Sydney River, 

and Yarmouth, Justice 

Minister Mark Furey said. 

The province's plan 

leaves out two significant 

regions altogether — the 

South Shore and Annapolis 

Valley. 

Furey said while he 

realizes there are "gaps in 

the map," the liquor corporation 

will offer online 

sales with home delivery 

and the public will also 

be able to grow up to four 

plants per household. 

"I think the model of 

delivery and the numbers 

of stores is one factor 

in the availability," 

said Furey. "We believe 

the alternate options of 

purchase are reasonable 

and will afford those Nova 

Scotians who choose to 

consume an opportunity 

to access product." 

By contrast, neighbouring 

New Brunswick 

plans to open 20 standalone 

stores in 15 communities, 

while Ontario has 

plans for 40 stores in 14 

municipalities. 

Furey was asked by 

reporters whether people 

in underserviced areas 

would simply go to the 

black market rather than 

drive long distances to 

buy their weed. 

The minister said 

there are still a lot of 

"market unknowns" when 

it comes to who will consume 

the legalized product. 

"There's no switch that 

we are going to flip and 

transition to the legal recreational 

market," he said. 

"This is going to take time. 

I would be naive to think 

that we are going to eliminate 

the black market." He 

said cost was also a factor 

in selecting the stores, 

which will have to renovate 

their spaces. 

Furey didn't rule out 

more retail stores in the 

future, saying the province 

would do an analysis 

after the first year to determine 

sales and market 

demand. 

"From our standpoint 

we want to be modest and 

we want to be conservative 

and at the same time 

evolve with the industry," 

said Bret Mitchell, the liquor 

corporation's president 

and CEO. 

Mitchell said the 

chosen stores would use 

space formerly taken up 

by make-your-own wine 

products, which would be 

discontinued. 

Product will be sold in 

enclosed areas by trained 

staff who will dispense it 

from behind the counter 

— there will be no open 

displays. One of the Halifax 

locations will see the 

reopening of the former 

Clyde Street store in the 

city's downtown, which 

will sell cannabis exclusively. 

Mitchell said the liquor 

corporation doesn't 

expect to make a profit in 

the first few years of operation. 

"Having said that, ultimately 

what's going to 

matter is the cost of acquisition 

of the actual product 

itself, and that will 

determine if there's going 

to be any (profit)," he said. 

Mitchell also said 

price will also be a factor. 

He said prices will vary 

depending upon the strain 

and characteristics of the 

cannabis, but in general 

they will likely have to 

be less than $10 per gram 

"for sure." Karla MacFarlane, 

the Interim leader 

of the Opposition Progressive 

Conservatives, questioned 

why certain areas 

of the province are being 

left out.She said it appears 

the government is opting 

for cost considerations 

over health and safety.

The International News Weekly REGIONAL 

February 02, 2018 | Toronto 

03 

Trudeau holds town hall meeting in Winnipeg 

Continued from page 01 

Trudeau responded that 

Canada has obligations under 

international treaties to 

give asylum seekers a hearing, 

but also has the resources 

to ensure that people who 

are deemed not to be refugees 

are dealt with appropriately. 

"We always make sure 

that security is the first thing 

that is checked," Trudeau 

said. One woman interrupted 

another questioner 

by shouting out opposition 

to the Kinder Morgan pipeline 

expansion project that 

would carry diluted bitumen 

from Alberta through British 

Columbia. She swore at the 

prime minister and security 

before leaving. 

Another man asked 

Trudeau to respect the British 

Columbia government’s 

plans to ban increased shipments 

of diluted bitumen off 

its coast until it can determine 

that shippers are prepared 

and able to properly 

clean up a spill. The move 

would limit expansion of the 

Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain 

oil pipeline. He then 

Former BC govt aide 

to be sentenced over 

vote-getting scandal 

shouted that Trudeau wasn't 

providing a direct answer. 

A woman criticized 

Trudeau for the federal government's 

summer-jobs program 

that requires groups to 

respect abortion rights. 

The crowd applauded 

loudly and drowned out the 

woman when Trudeau said 

groups that specifically hire 

students to oppose abortion 

Parents of man charged in Quebec City 

mosque shooting make first public statement 


QUEBEC : The parents of the 

man accused in the slayings at a 

Quebec City mosque have made 

their first public statements since 

his arrest. 

In a letter to Radio-Canada 

published today, Manon Marchand 

and Raymond Bissonnette 

describe the killings at the Islamic 

cultural centre in Quebec City on 

Jan. 29, 2017 as inexcusable and 

totally inexplicable. 

rights should not be federally 

funded. "There are certain 

groups that are specifically 

dedicated to fighting abortion 

rights for women and 

inclusion of LGBT communities. 

And that is wrong," 

he said. 

"That is not certainly not 

something the federal government 

should be funding 

summer students to do — to 

roll back the clock on women's 

rights. That's not going 

to happen." The meeting, 

which lasted more than 90 

minutes, also saw Trudeau 

questioned on the troubled 

inquiry into missing and 

murdered Indigenous women. 

He was asked what he 

would consider a successful 

outcome. "Ideally, it will 

provide closure and healing 

for the families, a measure of 

justice for victims, and most 

importantly, show us how to 

put an end to this ongoing 

national tragedy." 

Trudeau is to hold town 

halls in Edmonton on Thursday 

and in Nanaimo, B.C., on 

Friday. 

Alexandre Bissonnette is 

facing 12 charges, including six 

counts of first-degree murder, and 

his trial is expected to begin in 

late March. His parents write they 

feel like they're living a nightmare, 

but add the accused is their 

son, so they love him and he will 

remain part of the family. 

They also told the Frenchlanguage 

broadcaster in a phone 

interview that they visit their son 

every week at the detention centre 

in Quebec City, where Alexandre 

Bissonnette has been since 

his arrest, but they don't know if 

they'll attend the trial. 

The family says they stayed 

away from the media in the past 

year and instead sent a letter of 

condolence directly to the families 

of the victims of the attack 

through the mosque. 

Since the tragedy, the couple 

and the suspect's twin brother 

have been receiving psychological 

help and they also thanked 

those who've supported them. 


VANCOUVER : A former British 

Columbia government employee is 

expected to be sentenced today for 

his part in a vote-winning scheme by 

the provincial Liberals. 

Brian Bonney pleaded guilty 

last October to breach of trust for 

the partisan use of taxpayer money 

in an attempt to convince minority 

groups to vote for the B.C. Liberals 

in the 2013 election. Bonney's lawyer, 

Ian Donaldson, told a sentencing 

hearing that his client was "an 

instrument of others" in the scheme, 

including former premier Christy 

Clark. Special prosecutor David 

Butcher said the case goes to the 

heart of the democratic process as 

Bonney tried to manipulate election 

results across the province. 

Donaldson asked the judge to impose 

a suspended sentence, while the 

special prosecutor called for a 12 to 

23 month conditional sentence to be 

served in the community. 

A review found public officials 

misused government resources and 

Bonney was among those who spent 

a considerable amount of time during 

his time working for the government 

on Liberal party activities. 

Clark apologized after the report 

was released and the Liberals 

returned $70,000 of taxpayer money. 

Politicians scrambling to adapt to new 

environment on sexual harassment: PM 


OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concedes he, like all political 

leaders, is struggling to figure out how best to deal with allegations 

of sexual misconduct against members of his own caucus or cabinet. 

He says there's been no rule book handed down to him from the time of 

Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's sixth prime minister. 

Indeed, he says politicians are just now establishing processes and 

support systems to deal with complaints of sexual harassment or sexual 

assault, processes which have not existed until recently. 

He says politicians are doing the best they can on a case-by-case basis. 

Trudeau is offering that explanation in response to questions about 

why Kent Hehr — who resigned from the federal cabinet last week pending 

an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct — is still a 

member of the Liberal caucus. 

Trudeau says those accused of misconduct are entitled to due process 

to defend themselves, but it's essential to start from a position of believing 

and supporting complainants.

The International News Weekly CANADA 


1,422 people died of illicit drug 

overdoses in 2017: BC Coroner 

The Canadian Parvasi 

VANCOUVER : Illicit drug 

overdoses claimed 1,422 

lives in British Columbia 

last year, setting a new 

threshold for the crisis that 

has been fuelled by the powerful 

opioid fentanyl. 

The BC Coroners Service 

says last year's death 

toll is 43 per cent higher 

than 2016 when 993 overdose 

deaths were recorded. 

Chief coroner Lisa 

Lapointe says the public 

health crisis is affecting 

people from all walks of life 

and government agencies 

need to continue working 

Former BC govt aide gets nine-month 

conditional sentence in vote scheme 


VANCOUVER : A former government 

communications director has 

been given a nine-month conditional 

sentence for using his public job 

to woo ethnic votes for British Columbia's 

Liberal party. 

Provincial court Judge David St. 

Pierre told Brian Bonney he made 

"certain choices" that landed him to 

be in court. 

Bonney's lawyer told a sentencing 

hearing earlier this month that 

his client was an instrument of others 

in the scandal, including senior 

officials in former premier Christy 

Clark's office. 

The conditional sentence will be 

served in the community and Bonney 

will live under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. 

curfew. 

together to help reduce the 

stigma of drug addiction 

and increase awareness. 

The province declared a 

state of emergency in April 

2016 over the crisis, allowing 

more safe consumption 

sites to open and the distribution 

of the overdose-reversing 

drug naloxone. 

The coroner says there 

appears to be more overdose 

deaths in the five days 

after income assistance payments 

are issued, with the 

average of six deaths per 

day. 

More than half of the 

2017 deaths involved those 

between the ages of 30 and 

49. The coroner says four 

out of five of those who died 

were male. 

The province began 

distributing free kits containing 

naloxone through 

pharmacies in December 

in an effort to curb overdose 

deaths. About 1,900 

kits were made available 

through 220 pharmacies 

provincewide. 

He must also do 60 hours of community 

service work. 

Bonney pleaded guilty to breach 

of trust last October in the so-called 

quick wins scandal for the partisan 

use of taxpayer money in an attempt 

to attract support from minority 

groups. 

Special prosecutor David Butcher 

presented a series of emails during 

the sentencing hearing showing 

Bonney used a private account to 

communicate with liaison workers 

who were tasked with gaining support 

from various ethnic organizations 

before the 2013 election. 

Bonney's lawyer, Ian Donaldson, 

had asked for a suspended sentence, 

saying his client crossed a line but 

was directed to do so. 

Clark appointed her deputy 

minister, John Dyble, to conduct 

a review and it concluded public 

officials misused government 

resources. It said Bonney was among 

those who spent a considerable 

amount of time during his workday 

on party activities and used private 

emails. 

Clark apologized and the Liberals 

returned $70,000 of taxpayers' 

money. 

Appeal Court orders new 

trial for Halifax taxi driver 

acquitted of sex assault 


HALIFAX : Nova Scotia's highest court has ordered 

a new trial for a taxi driver acquitted of sexually assaulting 

a highly intoxicated passenger, saying the 

trial judge erred in law by finding there was no evidence 

of lack of consent. 

In a unanimous decision, the Nova Scotia Court 

of Appeal found the judge ignored or disregarded circumstantial 

evidence that would have allowed him 

to infer the complainant did not voluntarily agree 

to engage in sexual activity, or that she lacked the 

capacity to do so. Under the law, the Crown was obligated 

to prove the complainant was not capable of 

understanding the nature of the sexual act. 

The woman, who was found unconscious in the 

cab, told police she couldn't remember what happened. 

During Bassam Al-Rawi's trial, an expert testified 

that the young woman was extremely intoxicated 

after drinking five draught beers, two tequila shots 

and one vodka-cranberry drink while at a downtown 

bar. In an oral ruling delivered last March, provincial 

court Judge Gregory Lenehan said there was no 

evidence of a lack of consent or a lack of capacity to 

consent to the sexual act that took place in Al-Rawi's 

cab on May 22, 2015. 

Lenehan's decision — now the subject of a judicial 

council investigation — sparked public outrage 

when he concluded: "Clearly, a drunk can consent." 

The appeal court found Lenehan's statement was 

correct in law, but the three justices concluded the 

judge's application of the consent test revealed a legal 

error when he equated incapacity only with unconsciousness. 

Alberta's new Opposition 

leader Jason Kenney sworn 

in at legislature 


EDMONTON : Alberta's new 

Opposition leader has officially 

been sworn in during 

a ceremony at the provincial 

legislature. 

Jason Kenney, leader of the 

United Conservative Party, 

won a byelection last month to 

become the legislature member 

for the constituency of Calgary Lougheed. The seat 

became available when UCP member Dave Rodney 

stepped down to allow Kenney to run. 

Kenney, a former federal cabinet minister, won 

the leadership of Alberta's Progressive Conservatives 

in early 2017. 

He successfully arranged a merger with the 

Wildrose Opposition and then beat its leader, Brian 

Jean, to become head of the new party. 

Kenney will take his seat in the legislature 

when the spring sitting begins on March 8. 

Manpreet Minhas 

Barrister & Solicitor 

REAL ESTATE 

Rupinder Minhas 

Barrister & Solicitor 

Sale/Purchase of Residential & Commercial Properties 

Mortgage Enforcements & Lease 

Refinance & Private Mortgages 

BUSINESS LAW 

Incorporation & Shareholder agreements 

Sales & Purchase of Assets & Shares 

Notarization & Affidavits 

First 

Consultation 

FREE 

WILLS & ESTATE 

www.minhaslawyers.ca 

Wills 

Certificate of Estate Trustee with/without will 

Power of attorney for Property & Personal care 

CRIMINAL LAW 

Drink & Drive offences 

Bail Hearings 

Domestic Assaults 

Every Client Matters 

Tel: 905-671-9244 

Fax: 905-671-9245 

IMMIGRATION 

Skilled Worker Category 

Spousal & Family Sponsorships 

Students permit Visas & Renewals 

138-2960 Drew Road Mississauga, ON. L4T 0A5 (Airport/Drew Rd, Near Malton Gurughar)

The International News Weekly CANADA 


05 

Halifax is not the garrison town 

of Edward Cornwallis: Mayor 


Halifax : Halifax council 

has voted to immediately 

remove a statue of 

Edward Cornwallis from 

a downtown park, with 

several councillors calling 

the bronze figure of the 

city's controversial military 

founder a barrier to reconciliation. 

After just over an hour 

of debate, it took less than 10 

seconds for council to vote 

12-4 to temporarily place the 

statue in storage until a decision 

is made on its long-term 

fate. 

"The Cornwallis statue 

has become a powerful 

symbol," Mayor Mike Savage 

told council. "I believe 

its continued presence on a 

pedestal in the middle of a 

city park is an impediment 

to sustained progress and 

forging productive, respectful 

and lasting relationships 

with the Mi'kmaq in the 

spirit of truth and reconciliation." 

He added: "Halifax is 

not the garrison town of Edward 

Cornwallis. It's a thriving, 

diverse, modern city 

that I believe will be largely 

shaped by those who've been 

here the longest and those 

who are finding it for the 

first time." 

Morley Googoo, regional 

chief of the Assembly of 

First Nations, said the decision 

to take down the statue 

is a "huge opportunity for 

the city." 

"Other municipalities 

across the country are dealing 

with the same very 

question about how to have 

a new relationship with Indigenous 

Peoples," he told 

reporters following council's 

decision. "Being here today 

and witnesses how we talked 

about it and the progress 

we've made in Halifax, I'm 

very proud to be here." 

Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq 

chiefs had called Friday for 

the statue to be taken down 

immediately, because a 

panel appointed in October 

to study how the city commemorates 

Cornwallis had 

not even met yet. 

"If we want reconciliation, 

we pull down the statue 

immediately," said Coun. 

Richard Zurawski. "Let's 

end the 500 years of broken 

promises and take away this 

visual symbol of supremacy." 

Savage told council that 

the issue of truth and reconciliation 

has been a long 

time coming. Speaking from 

prepared notes, he said "we 

are all a product of our history," 

but we do not have to 

be a prisoner to it. 

The mayor told council 

that removing the statue is 

not about re-writing history, 

but acknowledging that 

history is also not "cast in 

bronze." 

Cornwallis is a disputed 

character seen by some as 

a brave leader who founded 

Halifax, but by others as 

the commander of a bloody 

and barbaric extermination 

campaign against Mi'kmaq 

inhabitants. 

"The status quo is completely 

untenable. The statue 

is a barrier to reconciliation," 

Coun. Sam Austin said 

during the debate. "Cornwallis 

will always be in the history 

books. This is about 

how we commemorate him." 

A staff report suggested 

the Cornwallis statue could 

be taken down and stored at 

a cost of about $25,000. 

It said it is concerned 

about rising tensions 

around the statue, citing a 

planned protest Sunday that 

could result in "damage to 

the statue, conflicts among 

protesters and counter-protesters 

and personal injury." 

"The statue has increasingly 

become a flashpoint 

for protests," states the document, 

dated Jan. 27. 

"Clashes arising from 

protests and counter-protests 

of controversial statues 

in other jurisdictions have 

in some cases resulted in 

injury and damage to public 

property and in a worst case, 

death. There is a reputational 

risk to Halifax from the attention 

associated with this 

unrest." 

One councillor, Steve 

Adams, called instead for 

leaving the statue but adding 

statues of Acadians, 

Mi'kmaqs and others in a 

"Founders Plaza" with interpretive 

panels. 

"This is not the way to 

run a city, based on threats 

of violence," he said. 

Halifax councillors 

voted last fall to launch a 

special advisory committee 

that would provide council 

with advice on what to do 

with Cornwallis commemorations, 

as well as make recommendations 

for honouring 

Indigenous history. 

But the Assembly of 

Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs 

has said it was frustrated 

with a process that has 

dragged on for "far too long." 

The assembly said it 

submitted names of potential 

Mi'kmaq panellists, but 

the committee has yet to be 

formed. The council report 

also called on the mayor to 

"re-engage" the assembly in 

the committee. 

"Removing the statue 

offers the opportunity to 

reduce the current volatility 

around discussions of 

commemoration, protect 

the statue, and undertake 

a public engagement in a 

less charged environment 

than is currently the case," 

it states. 

Three gunshots fired the 

night Indigenous man died 

on Saskatchewan farm 


BATTLEFORD : The Crown says evidence will show that 

three shots were fired the night a 22-year-old Indigenous 

man was killed on a Saskatchewan farm. Crown prosecutor 

Bill Burge told the trial of Gerald Stanley on Tuesday 

that court will hear from the farmer's son, Sheldon, who 

came out running when he and his father thought someone 

was trying to steal a vehicle from their yard in August. 

2016. 

Burge told the jurors they will hear that Sheldon Stanley 

went inside to get his keys because a grey Ford Escape 

SUV was starting to drive away when it hit another vehicle 

in the yard. "As he was running into the house, he heard 

two gunshots. When he got out of the house with his car 

keys, he heard another gunshot. He looked. He saw his father 

standing by the driver's door of this vehicle with a gun 

and a clip in his hand," Burge told court. 

"Sheldon Stanley approached the vehicle and saw Colten 

Boushie in the driver's seat slumped toward the steering 

wheel." Burge said there were two females in the back 

seat of the vehicle. Two other males had jumped out of the 

SUV and ran away. Burge told the jury an autopsy found 

Boushie died from a gunshot wound that entered behind 

his left ear and exited through the side of his head. Police 

recovered a Ruger-style handgun. 

Stanley, who is 56, has pleaded not guilty to seconddegree 

murder. RCMP Cpl. Terry Heroux was called to 

the Stanley farm the night of the shooting and took several 

photos. Some of them show the SUV, its front left wheel 

worn down to the rim, with the doors open and a body under 

blankets on the ground. Dark blood stains can be seen 

on the seat and dashboard. A broken .22-calibre rifle was 

found next to the vehicle. Heroux said the barrel was bent 

but there was a bullet in the chamber and five in a clip. 

Confidentiality an issue in whether to release Hehr report: Trudeau 


OTTAWA : Prime Minister 

Justin Trudeau says confidentiality 

will be a factor in deciding 

whether to release the findings of 

an investigation into allegations 

of misconduct levelled against 

Liberal MP Kent Hehr. 

When asked today whether 

the results of the probe will be 

made public, Trudeau was noncommittal, 

saying each case 

must be handled differently. 

He says that while confidentiality 

is important in some circumstances, 

it may not be as important 

in others. Hehr resigned 

from federal cabinet last week after 

he was accused of making inappropriate 

sexual remarks during 

his time as a member of the 

Alberta legislature.The Prime 

Minister's Office has engaged 

lawyer Christine Thomlinson 

to conduct an independent investigation 

into the allegations. 

Trudeau says he wants to get 

to bottom of the allegations, but 

also wants to ensure the probe is 

carried out properly. "Every situation 

has multiple factors that 

we look into. Confidentiality is 

important in some cases, less so 

in others," Trudeau said as he entered 

the weekly Liberal caucus 

meeting in Ottawa.

The International News Weekly World 


Ready to talk to India on CPEC: China 

Agencies 

BEIJING : China on Monday 

said it is ready to talk 

to India over its concerns 

on the China-Pakistan Economic 

Corridor (CPEC), 

which passes through Pakistan-administered 

Kashmir. 

Beijing's reaction came in 

response to India's Ambassador 

to China Gautam 

Bambawale telling Global 

Times that CPEC is a major 

problem and it must not be 

pushed under the carpet. 

China again maintained 

that the multi-billion dollar 

project is "merely an economic 

cooperation" and not 

aimed at India. "Regarding 

the CPEC, China has reiterated 

its position. As to the 

differences between China 

and India, China stands 

ready to communicate and 

talk with India to seek proper 

solution so that these differences 

don't affect our general 

national interests. 

This best serves the interests 

of the two countries," 

Chinese Foreign Ministry 

spokesperson Hua Chunying 

said here. The over $50 

billion project, a key artery 

of Beijing's mega Belt and 

Road initiative, has caused 

much friction between India 

and China over the past 

few years. The CPEC links 

China's Kashgar in Xinjiang 

province with Pakistan's 

Gwadar port in Balochistan 

through a network of roads, 

railways and highways. 

India strongly objects 

to the route of the corridor, 

which goes through Pakistan-administered 

Kashmir 

claimed by India. 

Asked how China will 

address India's concerns 

over territorial sovereignty, 

Hua said: "As to any differences 

arising between the 

two countries, it calls for sincerity 

and mutual respect 

for these parties to seek 

proper solution and management 

of differences." 

"We should not just ask 

one party alone to solve this 

problem, and as I said we are 

willing to work with the Indian 

side through dialogue 

and communication for a 

better solution," she added. 

"CPEC is merely an economic 

cooperation project, 

it is not targeted at any third 

party. We hope the Indian 

side can put this in perspective." 

Indian-origin CEO in US indicted for bribery 

Washington : An Indian-American 

owner and 

CEO of an IT firm in the US 

city of Detroit has been indicted 

for his alleged role in 

orchestrating a scheme to 

bribe a city official to obtain 

benefits for his company, the 

Justice Department said. 

Parimal D. Mehta, 54, 

of Northville, Michigan, 

was charged in a 11-count 

indictment with five counts 

of honest services mail and 

wire fraud, one count of federal 

programme bribery and 

five counts of unlawfully 

using interstate facilities to 

commit bribery, said Acting 

Assistant Attorney General 

John P. Cronan on Wednesday. 

Between 2009 to August 

2016, Mehta made multiple 

cash payments to Charles 

L. Dodd, the former Director 

of Detroit's Office of 

Departmental Technology 

Services, according to the 

indictment. 

This included two cash 

bribes hand-delivered by 

Mehta to Dodd in the restrooms 

of Detroit-area restaurants 

in 2016. Mehta is also 

alleged to have employed 

Dodd's family members at 

his firm FutureNet and its 

subsidiaries. Dodd previously 

pleaded guilty to bribery 

on September 27, 2016. 

The indictment alleged 

that Mehta paid the bribes to 

Dodd in exchange for preferential 

treatment for his company, 

which received $7.5 

million from Detroit in 2015 

and 2016. 

US adds Hamas leader 

to terrorist list 

Agencies 

Washington: The US State Department on Wednesday 

added Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh into its terrorist 

list. Haniyeh, leader and chief of the Political 

Bureau of Hamas, was designated as Specially Designated 

Global Terrorists (SDGTs) together with three 

other groups, Xinhua reported. 

All of their property and interests in property subject 

to US jurisdiction will be blocked, and US persons 

are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions 

with them. They will also be denied of access 

to the US financial system. 

Islamic Hamas movement slammed on Wednesday 

the US decision to list Hamas chief among the terrorist 

list. The movement's leaders said they considered 

the U.S. decision as "ridiculous." 

It was a failed attempt to keep pressure on the Palestinian 

armed resistance, Hamas spokesman in Gaza 

Hazem Qasem said. 

Lotus Funeral Home 

& Cremation Centre Is The 

Only Funeral Home 

Owned And Operated By 

A Licensed South Asian 

Funeral Director, Kamal Bhardwaj 

FUNERAL AND CREMATION CENTRE INC. 

Comfortable 

Seating for 500! 

Adaptable rooms 

for any size funeral. 

CREMATORIUM 

INSIDE OUR BUILDING! 

Special Lotus Room 

for witnessing & option 

to broadcast cremation. 

Our Staff 

understand the 

South Asian 

languages, dialects 

& cultures 

We cater to 

all rituals & 

religions. 

Ask about our 

affordable 

pre-arrangement 

plans 

121 City View Drive, Etobicoke 

(On east side of Highway 27) 

www.lotusfuneralandcremation.com

The International News Weekly World 


07 

Weinstein uses emails from Affleck, Messick to deny claim 


Los Angeles : Disgraced 

Hollywood producer Harvey 

Weinstein has gone 

public with emails from 

Rose McGowan's former 

manager and actor Ben Affleck 

as evidence to deny 

claims of sexual misconduct 

levelled by the actress. 

Weinstein has chosen 

to defend himself this time 

as McGowan started her 

press tour to promote a 

show as well as the publication 

of her book "Brave", 

reports deadline.com. 

McGowan has long 

maintained that Weinstein 

raped her. In her book, she 

has written of an assault by 

Weinstein at the 1997 edition 

of the Sundance Film 

Festival. 

Weinstein's lawyer 

Ben Brafman disputed Mc- 

Gowan's version of what 

happened in that hot tub 

being non-consensual, and 

what happened in its aftermath. 

He has offered as evidence 

emails from Messick 

and Affleck. 

McGowan said she told 

Affleck of the assault moments 

after it happened 

and he responded with anger. 

Affleck's email was sent 

to Weinstein on July 26, 

long before the New York 

Times broke stories on the 

several allegations made 

by actresses and assistants. 

"As a general matter, 

Harvey Weinstein and his 

attorneys have refrained 

from publicly criticising 

any of the women who 

have made allegations of 

sexual assault against Mr. 

Weinstein despite a wealth 

of evidence that would 

demonstrate the patent falsity 

of these claims," read 

a statement from Brafman. 

Brafman has called 

McGowan's comments a 

"publicity stunt" pulled to 

promote her new book. 

He claims that Mc- 

Gowan had described her 

1997 experience with Weinstein 

as a "consensual" act 

of "sex" to her own manager 

whom she self-admittedly 

confided in after the alleged 

assault. 

"In an email to Mr. 

Weinstein regarding the 

encounter, Jill Messick 

says the following, 'When 

we met up the following 

day, she hesitantly told me 

of her own accord that during 

the meeting that night 

before she had gotten into a 

hot tub with Mr. Weinstein. 

"She was very clear 

about the fact that getting 

into that hot tub was 

something that she did 

consensually and that 

in hindsight it was also 

something that she regretted 

having done'," read the 

statement. 

"Ben Affleck expressed 

the following in an email 

to Mr. Weinstein, 'She 

never told me nor did I 

ever infer that she was attacked 

by anyone. Any accounts 

to the contrary are 

false. I have no knowledge 

about anything Rose did 

or claimed to have done'," 

Brafman added. 

6.2-magnitude earthquake 

hits Pak, child killed 


southwest Balochistan province, the media reported. 

The strong tremors were felt in different areas 

of the southwest province of Balochistan, capital Islamabad, 

northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province 

and eastern Punjab province at 12.07 p.m. 

The quake's epicentre was determined in the Hindu 

Kush Region of Afghanistan, with a focal depth of 

169 km, the Seismic Centre said. 

The tremors created panic among people who 

rushed out of their houses to the open places. 

Pakistan is among the most earthquake-prone 

regions of the world with high vulnerability to earthquakes, 

because the country lies in the collision zone 

of the India tectonic plate to the south and the Eurasian 

plate to the north. 

In October 2015, an earthquake of 7.5-magnitude 

struck parts of Pakistan, killing at least 280 people, injuring 

over 1,900 others and damaging 100,552 houses 

and 1,426 schools. 

Skywatchers relish 'Super 

Blue Blood Moon' spectacle 


SPACE India, a start-up focused on astronomy education 

and astro-tourism services, organised events to 

observe the phenomenon from 6p.m.-9.30 p.m. at various 

locations across India, including at India Gate. The 

event was organised in five other cities, namely Chennai, 

Bengaluru, Surat, Dehradun and Meerut. At India 

Gate, SPACE India used the Dobsonian telescope which 

gave a very clear and crisp view of the super moon. 

The instrument allowed skywatchers to view the 

Moon 20 times bigger than it appears to the naked eye. 

Hundreds of people, including young children and older 

adults, turned up at the India Gate to view the event. 

People turned out for the events in large numbers as 

this full moon is special for three reasons -- a "supermoon", 

a "blue Moon" and a "blood Moon" coinciding at 

once. The lunar eclipse already started when the Moon 

became visible at around 6.45 pm. 

The lunar eclipse began at 4.21 p.m. It will be completely 

over by 9.38 p.m., when the Moon will exit the 

Earth's shadow entirely.While the Moon was in the 

Earth's shadow it took on a reddish tint, known as a 

"blood Moon." Additionally, during this eclipse, the 

Moon was just a day past perigee which is the closest 

point to Earth in its orbit, making it appear very large 

and bright (about 14 per cent) -- and so a "supermoon". 

And lastly, it is also the second full moon of the 

month, commonly known as a "blue moon". The last 

full Moon of the month was on January 2. 

Pakistani medico 'names her 

killer' before death 

Agencies 

Lahore: A day after a video 

of a Pakistani girl allegedly 

naming her killer surfaced, 

one suspect was arrested in 

the country's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 

province on Tuesday, 

police said. 

The footage that emerged 

on Monday evening purportedly 

shows Asma Rani in hospital 

shortly before her death, 

naming one Mujahid Afridi 

as her killer. 

Rani, a third-year medical 

student, was shot on Saturday 

afternoon in Kohat, 

and died in hospital on Sunday. 

Her family alleges that 

Afridi killed Rani after she refused 

to marry him, having 

also made previous threats 

against her. 

The country's Supreme 

Court also took suo motu notice 

of the murder on Tuesday. 

Chief Justice Mian Saqib 

Nisar ordered that a report 

on the case be submitted in 

the court by Wednesday. 

"We heard tales that the 

JAIN DENTAL 

Family, Cosmetic, Implant & Sedation Dentistry 

STRAIGHTER,BRIGHTER & 

HEALTHIER SMILES 

In Just A Few Appointments Not Months Or Years! 

Brampton Location 

905.794.0100 

3938 Cottrelle Blvd. Unit #1 

Brampton, ON L6P 2R1 

Woodbridge Location 

Email: info@jaindentalclinic.ca 

905-832-0050 

3971 Major Mackenzie Dr. W, Unit 5 & 6, 

Woodbridge, ON L4H 4G1 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police 

has become a lot better; what 

is the force doing after this 

girl was murdered in Kohat?" 

the Chief Justice asked, adding 

that there seems to be no 

mechanism set for the investigation. 

When first reporting the 

attack, Rani's brother Muhammad 

Irfan named two 

brothers - Afridi and Sadiq 

Dr. Meenakshi Jain 

BDS, DDS 

Ullah - as the attackers. 

Ullah was arrested in 

Kohat on Tuesday but his 

brother was yet to be found. 

Afridi is believed to have fled 

to Saudi Arabia. A red notice 

has been issued by Interpol 

for his arrest, Pakistan Today 

reported. 

Posting the video of his 

cousin seeming to name Afridi 

as her killer, Zaheer Khan 

Burki wrote on Facebook: 

"We demand the quick capture 

of Mujahid Afridi and 

want justice for Asma bibi." 

Protesters gathered in 

several locations across Pakistan 

on Tuesday to demand 

urgent action to locate and 

arrest Afridi. 

Dr Bhushan Jain is a General Dentist & also provides: 

» Difficult and Complicated root canal treatments 

» Retreatment of previously done root canal treatments 

» Dental Implants 

» All kinds of complicated & wisdom teeth extractions 

Dr. Bhushan Jain 

BDS, DDS, FICOI, Cert. IV Sedation 

• Friendly Treatment For Children 

• Complete and Partial Dentures 

• Emergency & Walk-in patients are Welcome 

• Crown & Bridge Work 

• All Insurance Plans Accepted 

• Sleep Dentistry for Kids & Adults 

• Weekend & Late Evening Appointments Available

The International News Weekly EDIT 

08 


The 

w w w . canadianparv asi. c o m 

Publisher & CEO 

Associate Editor 

Editor (India) 

Online 

Graphic Designer 

Official Photographer 

Contact 

Editorial 

Sales 

Rajinder Saini 

Meenakshi Saini 

Gursheesh 

Kshitiz Dalal 

Naveen 

Bashir Nasir 

editor@canadianparvasi.com 

sales@canadianparvasi.com 

Budget 2018-19: Balancing 

populism with economics 

The Budget is finally out and to put it simply, Mr. Jaitley 

did not disappoint. In fact, a majority of it was along 

expected lines. Most importantly, as promised, the governmentmanaged 

to do a commendable job of balancing 

economic populism with prudent economics. However, 

as is always the case, the good did come with a tinge of 

bad. It was a no-brainer that the Budget would focus on 

the agricultural sector after BJP's electoral performance 

in rural Gujarat. Mr. Jaitley went a step further and, in a 

major departure from the past, began his Budget speech 

with the government's plan for the farming community. 

He unveiled a litany of measures in line with the government's 

aim of doubling farmer incomes by 2022. 

First, the Budget allowed for setting the minimum 

support price (MSP) at 1.5 times the production cost for 

kharif crops. Even though this support to farmers will 

help increase their incomes, there are two questions that 

need to be asked. Will the effect of this jump in MSP be inflationary? 

Also, will it take away the incentive to reduce 

production costs? The answer to both of these questions is 

probably in the affirmative. Only time will tell if the move 

has any such negative externalities for the economy, but 

the government should be prepared with commensurate 

remedies to tackle the eventuality. 

The second significant move on the agricultural front 

has been a push to boost agri-business activities across 

the country and improve agricultural markets. Allocation 

has been doubled for enhancing food processing and 

specialised agro-processing networks from Rs 700 crores 

to Rs 1,400 crores. The government has also decided to follow 

a cluster-based approach for stimulating agricultural 

production. Further, in a bid to formalise agricultural 

markets, the 470 Agriculture Produce Market Committee 

(APMC) promoted markets would be connected to 

the e-nam market platform and over 22,000 rural agricultural 

markets would also be developed. These are positive 

moves to remove the middle man and ensure farmers receive 

the bulk of the prices paid by the consumer. 

However, the e-nam platform is still in its formative 

stage and its performance has not been adequately 

tested. A bulk of the sale of agricultural products is still 

done through commission agents and it is doubtful that 

the practice will be done away with any time soon. On 

the other hand, the development of agri-business clusters 

provides a viable solution to formaliseagricultural markets. 

The gains from all of these measures, however, can 

only be expected in the long-run. 

Another major highlight of the budget has been its 

focus on the social sector. Healthcare and education received 

their fair share of budgetary focus. In fact, Mr. 

Jaitley took pride in announcing the "world's largest 

healthcare programme" that would provide Rs 5 lakhs 

per family per year for medical reimbursement under 

National Health Protection Scheme for around 10 crore 

families across India. This is a positive move by the government 

towards universal health coverage in the future. 

As for education, digitalisation of education and training 

of teachers was given a boost. 

No roof for patients at AIIMS, 

scores brave cold in the open 


New Delhi : Fouryear-old 

Aashirvaad Kumar 

has had the hole in 

his heart fixed by the doctors 

at the All India Institute 

of Medical Sciences 

(AIIMS), the country's 

premier government-run 

research and referral hospital, 

but he is still trying 

to the fix the hole over 

his head to find a shelter 

in the national capital's 

chilling winter. 

The reason? He is back 

in Delhi four months after 

his heart surgery for 

consultation and is unable 

to find a shelter to 

brave the bitter chill. 

This is because the 

night shelters near the 

hospital are completely 

packed. But his grandfather 

finally found a space 

for him and his mother 

near the gate of the AI- 

IMS Metro Station gate 

-- where scores of other 

patients and their attendants 

are huddled. 

Grandfather Mahendra 

Singh, covering his 

face with a blanket and 

pointing towards Aashirvaad, 

told IANS: "We 

came here some days ago 

for some medical checkups. 

But we cannot find 

a shelter to protect ourselves 

against the winter 

nights. So we spend the 

night here." 

Dimshri Mukhiya, a 

resident of Darbhanga in 

Bihar, is suffering from 

some nervous disorder 

and is unable to walk 

or even stand. Now the 

street outside the hospital 

has become her permanent 

abode. 

"I have been getting 

treatment at AIIMS for 

over the last two years," 

she said. "And due to me, 

my husband Pradeep, 

who was a good farmer, 

has become a labourer." 

"When we were in our 

village, we never slept on 

the streets, but for the 

last two years we had to 

brave all this," she said. 

Mukhiya and her 

husband too are sleeping 

under the open sky with 

plastic sheets over their 

blankets for added protection. 

Asked why she was 

using plastic sheets, she 

replied: "Due to the dew 

and the rain, the blanket 

Four-year-old Aashirvaad Kumar has 

had the hole in his heart fixed by 

the doctors at the All India Institute 

of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the 

country's premier government-run 

research and referral hospital, but 

he is still trying to the fix the hole 

over his head to find a shelter in the 

national capital's chilling winter. 

gets wet but the plastic 

sheet saves it from that." 

Several patients, 

along with their attendants, 

were found sleeping 

at the bus stop near 

the hospital's gate. 

The Delhi government 

has opened four 

night shelters near AI- 

IMS, one even in the subway 

connecting AIIMS 

and Safdarjung Hospital 

across the road. Mobile 

toilets have been stationed 

outside the night 

shelters, but this IANS 

correspondent could not 

find a single attendant 

manning them. 

Enqiries revealed that 

all the night shelters are 

packed by 9 p.m. 

Lokendra, a resident 

of Baghpat in Uttar 

Pradesh, said: "By the 

time we got free from the 

hospital, all the night 

shelters were full." 

Lokendra, a daily 

labourer, said that he 

had arrived in the city 

for his wife's treatment. 

"My wife has some intestine 

problem and I had 

to come here for better 

treatment," he said. 

The AAP government's 

Delhi Urban Shelter 

Improvement Board 

(DUSIB), while announcing 

its Winter Action 

Plan on December 15, 

2017, said it is running 

251 shelters -- 83 of them 

housed in permanent 

buildings and 113 operating 

out of porta-cabins. 

Fifty-five temporary shelters 

in tents have also 

been put up for the winter 

season. 

Although the Board 

claims that the night shelters 

can accommodate 

close to 20,000 people, 

only about 10,000 homeless 

people are using 

them. The Delhi government 

has also announced 

that it will serve breakfast 

of "tea and rusk" till 

the end of January to 

those occupying the night 

shelters. 

The DUSIB said that 

to bring the homeless 

to the night shelters, 20 

rescue teams have also 

been pressed into service 

and will be doing 

the rounds every night. 

They can be contacted 

by citizens who want to 

report on the homeless 

by dialling a 24X7 control 

room number (011- 

23378789/8527898295/96) 

and a "Rain Basera" mobile 

application. 

To check the effectiveness 

of the DUSIB 

helpline, the IANS correspondent, 

who was accompanied 

by Sunil Kumar 

Aledia, Executive 

Director of the NGO Centre 

for Holistic Development, 

clicked the picture 

of a man sleeping in the 

open at AIIMS' gate No. 1 

and shared it on the Rain 

Basera app. But even after 

30 minutes, no rescue 

team arrived to take that 

man to any of the nearby 

shelters. 

To the contrary, the 

status of the complaint 

was shown as closed after 

30 minutes. 

Thousands of people 

in the national capital 

are still forced to live 

on the streets of the 

city. According to a 2014 

DUSIB survey, the number 

of homeless in Delhi 

is 16,000, while various 

NGOs estimate that the 

number may run up to 

100,000 or more. 

"At least 40,000 homeless 

people have died between 

January 1, 2004, 

and December 31, 2017," 

Aledia said. 

He also said that in 

the first two weeks of 

January, over 50 people 

have died. In December 

last year alone, over 200 

people have died in Delhi. 

The Bharatiya Janata 

Party (BJP) and the Congress 

have earlier attacked 

the Arvind Kejriwal 

government over the 

deaths of the homeless 

people in the city. 

Delhi BJP unit chief 

Manoj Tiwari has accused 

Chief Minister Kejriwal 

of being insensitive, 

while city Congress 

chief Ajay Maken has 

accused the government 

of not taking any steps 

to provide them help or 

relief. 

Parvasi weekly & people associated with it are not responsible for any claims made by the advertisement & do not endorse any product or service advertised in Canadian Parvasi. Please consult your lawyer before buying/hiring/contracting through the 

advertisement Publised in this newspaper. The Canadian Parvasi is in the business of selling space and the clains made by the advertisement are not tested/confirmed by an independent source.

The International News Weekly INTERVIEW/OPED 


09 

With menacing eyes, 

eccentric mannerisms and 

powerful acting, Ranveer 

Singh has upped his own 

ante as Delhi Sultan Alauddin 

Khilji in "Padmaavat". 

But the actor says it's a 

character whose ambitions 

and greed he does not relate 

to, even though he has 

his eyes on building a vast 

legacy of filmography to be 

proud of. 

After captivating cinegoers 

with his powerful 

performance in films like 

"Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram- 

Leela", "Bajirao Mastani" 

and the latest "Padmaavat", 

actor Ranveer Singh is set 

to dive into projects that 

are as different as chalk and 

cheese. There's "Gully Boy", 

"Simmba" and a biopic on 

India's 1983 Cricket World 

Cup victory. 

"I have a very large vision 

for myself, my body of 

work, my career. I hope to 

build a vast legacy with a 

filmography which I can be 

proud of when I am done. I 

want to look back and feel 

like I made a significant 

contribution to the art 

and yes, keep pushing the 

envelope and keep exploring 

to things that have not 

been done before," Ranveer 

told IANS over phone from 

Mumbai. 

With Khilji, Ranveer 

has achieved that. Where 

did the inspiration for his 

eccentric antics in the Sanjay 

Leela Bhansali directorial 

come from? 

"There's no references 

(for the character) as such 

and it definitely didn't come 

from within. I cannot really 

relate to Alauddin Khilji at 

any level. I am not as ambitious, 

as greedy and as manipulative," 

Ranveer said. 

However, the actor, 32, 

believes "there's no end to 

what you can achieve". 

"The more work I do, I 

realise how much I can do 

because it is limitless. So, 

I hope to keep going," he 

added. 

Ranveer made his acting 

debut in 2010 with "Band 

Baajaa Baaraat", and by 

his own admission, he has 

"grown leaps and bounds as 

an artiste" ever since. 

"I think the past seven 

and a half years have been 

I'm not as 

ambitious, 

greedy as 

Khilji: 

Ranveer 

very solid. It has been an 

amazing journey from 

'Band Baaja Baaraat' to 'Padmaavat'. 

I have learnt a lot. I 

have been able to showcase 

my versatility and I have 

been able to learn and work 

with very different styles," 

he said. 

Wasn't it a risk to play 

an anti-hero? 

"It was a huge risk. I was 

very apprehensive about 

taking the risk but Bhansali 

was very persistent in his 

pursuit of me and he is the 

one who convinced me that 

I would be able to pull it off. 

I went with his conviction. I 

can never say no to Bhansali, 

given the amount he has 

contributed to my career 

and to me as an artiste. 

"Once I committed, I put 

my everything into it. But, 

yes, initially there were apprehensions," 

said Ranveer, 

who found the character 

"mentally, physically and 

emotionally" draining. 

The movie was mired 

in a row as protests erupted 

over alleged distortion of 

facts. After the film released 

following a long-stretched 

battle, reviews pointed out 

at how Khilji's character 

has been demonised. 

"As an actor, I just have 

to stick to the character that 

I find in the script," Ranveer 

justified, saying he used the 

film's bound script "as my 

textbook and my bible" to 

create a character around 

it. 

Ranveer says he can always 

choose to add to the 

script from the "research 

and homework" he does 

during the prep phase, but 

his job as an actor is to do 

justice to the character. 

Excited about his upcoming 

slate of films, Ranveer 

said: "I am working 

with films and filmmakers 

who are very different from 

each other. 

Zoya Akhtar, Rohit 

Shetty and Kabir Khan... It 

is again a very good opportunity 

to showcase my versatility... 

In my own estimation, 

I am attracted towards 

actors who are able to transform 

themselves with each 

character. 

"I always hope to be that 

way. I always endeavour to 

be that way." 

North America’s Largest Punjabi Culture & Sikhism Store 

Wedding Decor Available for Rentals 

Tel: 905-791-1515 / 905-799-9400 

30 Malenie Drive, Unit 10, Brampton, ON L6T 4L4

The International News Weekly india 


Punjab DSP Baljinder Singh shoots himself dead 


Faridkot: Baljinder 

Singh Sandhu, posted as 

DSP, Jaitu in Punjab’s Faridkot 

district, shot himself dead 

on Monday afternoon during 

a clash between two student 

unions at Punjabi University, 

Patiala’s regional centre 

located in the area. While 

Sandhu, who was in his late 

40s, died in the incident, his 

gunman, Lal Singh, also 

died. Lal Singh was hit by the 

same bullet after it passed 

through the DSP’s body. 

The incident happened 

during a dharna by students 

against Jaitu SHO Gurjit 

Singh, whom they accused of 

beating up a few students after 

taking them to the police 

station. 

While a protest was being 

staged by students from the 

Inqalabi Manch, some students 

led by another student 

leader Rahul reached the 

spot and allegedly clashed 

with the Manch protesters. 

As per a purported video 

of the incident, as the DSP 

tried to pacify both groups 

of student unions during the 

clash, he suddenly pulled out 

his service weapon and shot 

himself in the head. The same 

bullet then hit Lal Singh, and 

both then collapsed in a pool 

of blood at the spot inside the 

campus. Both victims were 

rushed to the hospital, while 

the protesting students dispersed 

immediately after the 

incident. 

Mukhwinder Singh 

Chhina, IG Bathinda range, 

said,” The DSP shot himself 

dead, while students were 

raising allegations against 

the department. He was an 

honest and hard working officer 

and had worked hard 

in solving many cases in 

Jaitu in the recent past. We 

are in deep shock after this 

incident. He was perfectly 

fit and was not under any 

kind of medication.” 

Dr Nanak Singh, SSP 

Faridkot, added: “We are 

lodging an FIR under Section 

306 IPC (abetment to 

suicide) against the students 

sitting on dharna. 

They are being identified.” 

According to sources, 

student union leaders were 

raising allegations against 

police for not acting against 

the SHO. Sources added 

that raids were being conducted 

to arrest the main 

union leaders behind this 

dharna. 

SC 'concerned over 

8-month-old's rape', wants 

baby shifted to AIIMS 

3rd Scorpene-class submarine, 

INS Karanj, launched in Mumbai 



New Delhi : Expressing concern over the rape of an 

eight-month-old baby girl allegedly by her cousin in Delhi, 

the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that two AIIMS 

doctors visit the child in the hospital, where the victim is 

admitted and assess if the she can be shifted to premeir 

medical facility. 

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ordered 

that in case the infant could not be shifted, the doctors shall 

tender personal assistance to the baby. 

The bench told the All India Institute of Medical Sciences 

(AIIMS) that it is "very much concerned" about the 

alleged rape of the infant and sought a report from the doctors 

by Thursday. The court also asked a member of the 

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to accompany 

the doctors when they visited the infant. 

The court was hearing a plea filed by a practising advocate 

of the court, who sought directions to the authorities 

to immediately shift the child to AIIMS and to ensure best 

possible medical facilities for her. The 28-year-old cousin 

confessed to raping the baby on Sunday under the influence 

of alcohol. The child's parents, residents of northwest 

Delhi's Netaji Subhash Place, used to go out for work and 

leave their daughter in the custody of their sister-in-law. 

Since it was a Sunday, their sister-in-law's son was at 

home, and when he saw that his mother was not around, 

the accused allegedly forced himself on the baby, the police 

have said. When the child's mother, who works as a maid, 

returned home at around 12.30 p.m, she saw blood stains on 

her daughter's clothes and informed her husband. 

Mumbai : The third 

indigenously-built dieselelectric 

Scorpene-class 

submarine, INS Karanj, 

was launched at the 

Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders 

Ltd (MDL) here 

on Wednesday morning 

by Reena Lanba, wife of 

the Indian Navy chief, 

Admiral Sunil Lanba. 

Another three Scorpenes 

being built by MDL 

in collaboration with 

DCNS of France under a 

Transfer-of-Technology 

contract, are in the pipeline. 

The first of the vessels, 

INS Kalvari, was commissioned 

into the Indian 

Navy on December 14, 

2017 while the second, INS 

Kandhari was launched 

in January of that year 

and is undergoing sea trials. 

Speaking on the ocassion, 

Admiral Lanba 

said that the launch of 

INS Karanj marked a significant 

departure from 

the manning and training 

philosophy that was 

adopted for the first two 

submarines, adding that 

from the present vessel 

onwards, the Navy would 

be fully self-reliant in the 

training and certification 

processes. 

The previous INS 

Karanj had served the nation 

for 34 years from 1969 

to 2003 and had also participated 

in the 1971 war, 

he added. 

The state-of-the-art 

technology utilised for 

constructing the Scorpene 

class submarines 

has ensured superior 

stealth features such as 

advanced acoustic silencing 

techniques, low radiated 

noise levels, hydrodynamically 

optimised 

shape and the ability to 

launch a crippling attack 

on the enemy using precision 

guided weapons. 

The attack can be 

launched with both torpedoes 

and tube launched 

anti-ship missiles, whilst 

underwater or on surface. 

The stealth of this potent 

platform is enhanced by 

the special attention given 

to various signatures. 

These stealth features 

give it an invulnerability, 

unmatched by most submarines. 

A sophisticated and 

state-of-the-art Shore Integration 

Facility has 

been developed at MDL 

for integration and simulation 

of various equipment 

of the Scorpene submarine 

combat system 

for which there was no 

facility available in the 

country. 

However, in a setback 

to the programme, the indigenous 

AIP will not be 

incorporated in vessels 

five and six as orignally 

planned but retrofitted 

on all six boats at a later 

stage. 

Air Independent Propulsion 

(AIP), being 

developed by the Maharashtra-based 

Naval Materials 

Research Laboratory 

(NMRL), is a fuel cell 

that replaces diesel in 

the conventional submarines. 

With this system, a 

conventional submarine 

that needs to surface every 

three to four days for 

oxygen, can stay under 

water for up to two weeks. 

IAF officer held on charges of spying 


New Delhi : An Indian 

Air Force officer, posted 

at the Air HQs here, has 

been taken into custody on 

charge of spying, sources 

said on Wednesday. 

According to a source, 

during a routine counter 

intelligence surveillance 

carried out by the IAF's 

Central Security and Investigation 

Team, the officer, 

who is a group captain, was 

found indulging in "unwanted 

activities through 

unauthorised electronic 

devices". 

The case, said the 

source, was of "honey trapping" 

after the officer is 

said to have befriended a 

woman on Facebook. 

The source added that 

the officer has been taken 

into custody for further 

questioning. 

The services have a 

strict code on engaging 

on social media, which restricts 

soldiers from sharing 

their identity, rank, 

posting and other professional 

details. The restrictions 

include posting pictures 

in uniform. 

In December, 2015, a 

dismissed IAF official was 

arrested by the Delhi Police 

for allegedly passing on 

information to intelligence 

operatives suspected to be 

backed by Pakistan's Inter 

Services Intelligence (ISI).

The International News Weekly india 


11 

Arun Jaitley unveils Budget 

2018 aiming faster growth 

The Modi government said on Thursday that it expected economic growth to surge above 8 percent as it announced a 2018/19 budget 

that allocated billions of dollars for rural infrastructure and unveiled a health insurance programme for around 500 million poor. 

Budget Highlights 

• Education and health cess to be increased from 3 per cent to 4 per cent 

• Standard deduction of Rs 40,000 introduced in lieu of transport and medical reimbursements 

for salaried employees 

• All senior citizens can claim benefit of reduction Rs 50,000 year for any general health 

expenditure and health insurance premium 

• Exemption of interest income on bank deposits raised to Rs 50,000 for senior citizens 

• Long-term capital gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh to be taxed at 10 per cent 

• Electronic IT assessment will be rolled out across the country, leading to greater efficiency 

and transparency 

• No change in personal income tax rates for salaried class 

• Tax buoyancy more than expected, thanks to greater compliance 

• Demonetisation was received by honest tax-payers as 'Imaandari ka Utsav' 

• Measures on rationalising long-term capital gains 

• Companies with turnover of upto Rs 250 crore to be taxed at 25 per cent 

• Government has identified 372 specific business reform actions to improve ease of doing 

business; Evaluation of performance under this programme to be based on user 

feedback 

• Revised fiscal deficit estimate for 2017-18 is 3.5 per cent of GDP, fiscal deficit of 3.3 per 

cent expected for 2018-19 

• 12.6 per cent growth in direct taxes in 2017-18; 18.7 per cent growth in indirect taxes in 

2017-18 

• 100 per cent tax deduction for the first five years to companies registered as farmer 

producer companies with a turnover of Rs 100 crore and above 

• Revised emoluments for President - Rs 5 lakh, Vice President - Rs 4 lakh and Governors 

- Rs 3.5 lakh; Automatic revision of MPs' emoluments every five years, indexed to inflation 

• UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme will connect 56 unserved airports and 31 

unserved helipads 

• Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment target for 2018-19, target for 2017-18 has been exceeded and 

will reach Rs 1 lakh crore 

• Government insurance companies to be merged into a single entity, and subsequently 

listed in the stock exchange, as part of the disinvestment programme 

• National Logistics Portal as a single online window to link all stakeholders, to be developed 

by Department of Commerce 

• Foundation stone of the bullet train was laid in September 2017. An institute is coming 

up in Vadodara to train the manpower required for the high speed railway projects 

• 12,000 wagons, 5160 coaches and 700 locomotives being procured. There is significant 

achievements of physical targets by railways 

• Road construction has scaled new heights, confident that 9000 km highway construction 

will be complete by 2017-18 

• National Committee chaired by PM, including CMs, Gandhians and representatives 

from various walks of life for year-long commemoration of 150th birth anniversary of 

Mahatma Gandhi 

• Rs 1,48,528 crore capital expenditure for Indian Railways for 2018-19 

• All trains to be progressively provided with Wi-Fi, CCTV and other state-of-the-art amenities 

• NITI Aayog will establish a National Programme to direct efforts in the area of Artificial 

Intelligence towards national development 

• Five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots to be set up in rural areas to provide easy internet access 

• Government to take all steps to eliminate use of cryptocurrencies which are being used 

to fund illegitimate transactions 

• Individual enterprises too to have unique ID 

• Government plans to construct two crore more toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission 

• Rs 7,148 crore outlay for textile sector in 2018-19 

• One government medical college to be ensured for every three parliamentary constituencies 

by upgrading 24 district-level colleges 

• Hard work of farmers resulted in a record production of more than 275 million tonnes 

of foodgrain and about 300 million tonnes of horticultural produce 

• Not only focussing on 'Ease of Doing Business' but also 'Ease of Living' 

• 70 lakh formal jobs have been created this year. Government will contribute 12 per cent 

of the wages as EPF in all sectors for the next three years 

• Mass formalisation of MSME sector is happening after demonetisation and GST 

• Have decided to take healthcare protection to a new aspirational level. Launching a 

flagship National Health Protection Scheme to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families, 

benefiting approximately 50 crore people 

• Providing Rs 5 lakh per family per year for medical reimbursement, under National 

Health Protection Scheme. This will be world's largest health protection scheme 

• Government is slowly but steadily progressing towards universal health coverage 

• Air pollution in Delhi NCR is a cause for concern; special scheme will be implemented 

to support Haryana, Punjab, UP and Delhi NCT to address this and subsidise machinery 

for management of crop residue 

• Scheme for revitalising school infrastructure, with an allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore over 

four years. Called RISE - Revitalizing Infrastructure in School Education 

• Eklavya schools to be started for Scheduled Tribe population 

• By 2022, every block with more than 50 per cent ST population and at least 20,000 tribal 

people will have 'Ekalavya' school at par with Navodaya Vidyalas 

• Integrated B.Ed programme to be initiated for teachers to improve quality of teachers 

• India is firmly on path to achieve 8 per cent plus growth 

• Propose to raise institutional credit for agriculture to Rs 11 lakh Crore for 2018-19 

• Rs 14.34 lakh crore to be spent for rural infrastructure 

• Eight crore free gas connections to women under UJJWALA and 4 crore electricity 

connections to the poor under Saubhagya Yojana 

• Fishery and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund and Animal Husbandry 

Infrastructure Fund to be set up with corpus of Rs 10,000 crore 

• Restructured National Bamboo Mission to be launched with allocation of Rs 1,290 crore 

to promote sector in a holistic manner 

• Rs 500 crore for Operation Green 

• Agri-Market Development Fund with a corpus of 2000 crore to be set up for developing 

agricultural markets 

• 470 APMCs have been connected to #eNAM network, the rest to be connected by March 

2018 

• Minimum Support Price of all crops shall be increased to at least 1.5 times that of the 

production cost 

• From ease of doing business, government has moved to ease of living for the poor and 

middle class 

• Allocation in for Ministry of Food Processing is being doubled; specialised agro-processing 

and financial institutions to be promoted by the government 

• India now a $2.5 trillion economy and firmly on path to achieve 8% plus growth soon 

• Will focus on agriculture and rural economy, health, infra, senior citizens 

• Hope to grow at 7.2 per cent-7.5 per cent in the second half of 2017-18 

• Allocating natural resources in a more transparent manner, there is a premium on 

honesty now 

• Government led by PM Modi has implemented a series of fundamental structural reforms

The International News Weekly ENTERTAINMENT 

12 


Nobody dare misbehave with women 

on my set: Shah Rukh Khan 


Mumbai: Superstar 

Shah Rukh Khan, known 

for his chivalrous attitude, 

says nobody has dared to 

misbehave with a woman 

on his film sets. 

The actor, who was 

feted with a Crystal Award 

at the World Economic 

Forum summit in Davos 

along with Hollywood celebrities 

Cate Blanchett 

and Elton John, spoke to 

BBC World News at length 

on gender equality in Bollywood 

and the cultural 

differences in India. 

In the midst of the raging 

debate over sexual 

misconduct allegations 

against powerful men in 

Hollywood, Shah Rukh 

was asked if he has witnessed 

sexual misconduct 

in the Hindi film industry 

and done anything about 

it. 

"At a level when I'm 

making films or working 

in films, we are very clear 

about the attitude to women. 

Even the smallest aspects, 

of the names coming 

first in title, which is not 

going to do anything, but 

the kind of respectability," 

Shah Rukh said on the 

"HARDtalk on BBC World 

News" show. 

"Even this small thing 

needs to be done just to 

bring about the equality... 

Just see what we've 

reduced ourselves to. You 

know, to put a girl's name 

in front just to show what 

little guys we are, thinking 

of them as equals. And that 

is sad and that is strangely 

dichotomous when you're 

talking about creativity, 

and you have boys and 

girls working together. 

"I have never personally, 

first hand and nobody, 

if I may say, nobody dared 

misbehave with a woman 

on my set, I am very clear 

on that," he added. A transcript 

of the interview was 

provided to IANS by BBC. 

On inter-communal 

tensions and divisions 

that the world has been observing 

in modern-day India, 

the actor said: "There 

will be dissent for everything 

and I think, like you 

would also believe and we 

all believe, there has to be 

a discussion on it." 

Shah Rukh believes 

there cannot 

be a radical 

standoff when 

there is dissent. 

"I think you 

can have a discussion 

and 

then you can talk about it 

in our country - we are the 

biggest democracy - and if 

you are the biggest democracy, 

dissent is a part and 

parcel of that and as much 

is discussion. 

"So, when you have a 

story and you know when 

you go out sometimes, 

there's dissent, but as a 

filmmaker, as a citizen of 

a country and the world, 

you know when there's 

dissent, can we just have 

a little bit of discussion 

about it and sort it out 

instead of you know taking 

standoff positions... 

So it is possible," he added. 

Questioned if there is 

a kind of Hindu nationalism 

that is 

not fostering 

good intercommunal 

ties, 

S h a h 

R u k h 

said: "Because 

of 

social media, whenever a 

certain thing, when small 

factions or fractions of 

things happen now, they 

seem a little bigger. But 

the beauty of all this is that 

within all this trolling and 

anger and people expressing 

themselves, they're all 

also connecting. 

"I just see it on social 

media. I don't see it live 

anywhere and I would be 

wrong to comment on it 

that way, but I think if 

you have this kind of dissent 

or whatever if people 

claim it, I think just a bit 

of discussion especially, finally, 

if it's not going to be 

inclusive, everybody will 

suffer. But I think we're 

not at that stage at all in 

our country," he added. 

The episode will air on 

Wednesday night. 

Telugu actor arrested for theft in estranged wife's flat 


Hyderabad : Telugu actor 

Samrat Reddy has been 

arrested for alleged trespassing 

and theft in the house of 

his estranged wife, a police 

official said. 

Acting on a complaint 

by K. Haritha Reddy, police 

on Tuesday booked him for 

trespass, theft and causing 

disappearance of evidence. 

Samrat Reddy, whose 

real name is GVS Krishna 

Reddy, allegedly broke into 

Haritha's flat in Madhapur 

and stole her belongings. 

The complainant alleged 

that he also damaged CCTV 

cameras and took away 

DVR, which consisted of the 

footage of his entering the 

house. 

Samrat played the lead 

role in "Panchakshari" 

(2010) with Anushka Shetty. 

He also acted in "Kittu Unnadu 

Jagratha", starring Raj 

Tarun as the male lead. 

Haritha, 29, alleged that 

Samrat and his sister Sahithi 

Reddy committed the 

theft on January 13 when 

she was out of town. 

Madhapur police inspector 

R. Kalinga Rao said the 

case was booked against the 

actor and his sister on January 

25. While the actor was 

arrested on Tuesday, the 

police were waiting for his 

sister's return from Goa. 

Samrat and Haritha, an 

interior designer, had married 

in 2015 but the couple 

had marital disputes. She 

had also complained to police 

that the actor harassed 

her for dowry. A court had 

recently granted him anticipatory 

bail in the dowry harassment 

case. 

Haritha alleged that 

Samrat is a drug addict and 

is also in a relationship with 

another woman. The actor, 

however, had denied the allegations. 

Samrat claimed that 

Haritha is making baseless 

allegations as he had rejected 

her condition that he stop 

acting in films. 

Preity Zinta celebrates 

her birthday with 

husband LA 

Guru Randhawa's 

'Lahore' makes 

it to Billboard 

charts 


Mumbai : Singer Guru Randhawa's single "Lahore" 

has secured a spot in the Billboard Top 25 on YouTube. 

He says it was a dream to make it to the international list. 

The song has been placed 21 on Billboard Top 25 on You- 

Tube this week. "It was my dream to feature on Billboard 

charts with my independent music. And that day is here. 

It gives me immense happiness. My entire team and fans 

who loved 'Lahore' are feeling very proud about our entry 

into Billboard world charts. I'm living the dream now," 

Randhawa said in a statement. "My independent 

singles were doing well. They made it to Bollywood 

and now in Billboard," added the "Tu meri rani" 

hitmaker. 

The list has songs by artistes like Ed Sheeran, 

Luis Fonsi and Bruno Mars. Randhawa's 

song "High rated Gabru" will be featured in the 

"Nawabzaade" movie. 

Agencies 

Los Angeles : Preity Zinta, who turned 43 on Wednesday, 

celebrated her birthday in three different cities across 

the globe, Mumbai, Dubai and Los Angeles, and wrapped 

up the celebrations with a cute picture with her husband, 

Gene Goodenough. Earlier, close friends Salman Khan, 

Bobby Deol and Sonakshi Sinha paid a surprise visit to Preity 

to mark her 43rd birthday in Mumbai. The actor also cut 

a cake in the presence of her friends and shared pictures 

from the celebrations. 

Sharing a picture on her Instagram account, Preity 

called this her “longest birthday” and wrote, “So it’s a Super 

Blue Blood Moon Tonight & it’s my longest birthday so 

far. Celebrated it in Mumbai, Dubai & now with my Pati 

Parmeshwar in LA! I’m loving it #longestbirthday #love 

#happiness #travel.” Preity and Gene tied the knot in a secret 

ceremony in May 2016 in Los Angeles. Though Preity 

hasn’t completely quit films, she is rarely seen in movies 

these days and mostly concentrates on her cricket team, 

Kings XI Punjab.

The International News Weekly Sports 


13 

U-19 WC: India thrash Pak in semi-final 


Christchurch : India set their date with Australia for 

the 2018 Under 19 Cricket World Cup summit clash after 

thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by 203 runs in the second 

semi-final at the Hagley Oval here on Tuesday. Young Shubman 

Gill set things up with an unbeaten 94-ball 102 that 

helped India post 272/9 after opting to bat, before pacer Ishan 

Porel's 4/17 dismantled Pakistan for 69 runs -- their lowest 

total in U19 CWC history. 

Pakistan had a few moments in the first innings, especially 

with Muhammad Musa (4/67) and Arshad Iqbal (3/51) 

running through India's middle order to give the batsmen a 

few jitters. However, Gill's mesmeric century, his sixth consecutive 

fifty-plus total in U19 ODIs, helped the three-time 

U19 World Cup champions reach Saturday's final. 

Opting to bat, skipper Prithvi Shaw (41 from 42 balls; 

4X3, 6X1) and Manjot Kalra (47 from 59; 4X7) gave India a flying 

89-run start, before the former was run out attempting a 

quick single. Three overs later, Manjot's dismissal by Musa 

reduced India to 94/2. Gill came in and took charge after that, 

virtually ensuring Pakistan were better off just focusing on 

the other end. 

It yielded some success, with Arshad Iqbal running 

through the middle order, dismissing Harvik Desai (20), Riyan 

Parag (2) and Abhishek Sharma (5). 

Gill did most of the scoring though, putting on 54 with 

Desai to revive the innings after the openers' dismissal, and 

a crucial 67 with Anukul Roy (33 off 45), who himself plundered 

the Pakistan bowlers in the final stretch. 

Roy was caught behind down the leg side off Musa, but 

Gill carried on to complete his century in dramatic circumstances. 

The one-down batsman was on 99 when he got on 

strike with one ball remaining. He got to three figures after 

he was dropped by Hassan in the deep. It turned out that it 

was a no-ball, although it yielded just one run from the freehit 

that followed. In response, the Indian pacemen proved 

hard to handle, zipping and shaping the ball around. 

The Pakistan batsmen's temperament has been suspect 

all through the tournament, and on Tuesday, it was laid bare 

for all to see. With Shivam Mavi putting pressure from one 

end with three consecutive maidens, Porel capitalised at the 

other end -- he had Zaid Alam (7), Imran Shah (2) and Ali 

Zaryab (1) dismissed in consecutive overs as Pakistan were 

reduced to 20/3. Ammad Alam (4) became Porel's fourth victim, 

holing out after slicing an attempted drive. 

The Indian spinners complemented their pace partners 

well with Shiva Singh and Parag claiming Mohammad Taha 

(4) and Rohail Nazir (18), respectively in quick succession. 

A similar fate awaited skipper Hassan Khan (1) and Shaheen 

Afridi (0), and it was telling that Pakistan's only positive 

in the innings was a 20-run ninth-wicket partnership 

between Saad Khan (15) and Musa (11 not out), which wasn't 

enough to avoid that unwanted record - their lowest total in 

U19 World Cup history. 

Brief Scores: India 272/9 (Shubman Gill 102 not out, Manjot 

Kalra 47, Prithvi Shaw 41; Mohammed Musa 4/67, Arshad 

Iqbal 3/51) against Pakistan 69 (Rohail Nazir 18, Saad Khan 

15; Ishan Porel 4/17, Riyan Parag 2/6, Shiva Singh 2/20). 

Mary Kom, Sarita among 

18 local boxers in finals 


New Delhi: Five-time world champion M.C. Mary 

Kom spearheaded the Indian contingent with 18 of them 

-- including 10 men and eight 

women -- entering the finals 

of their respective categories 

at the India Open International 

boxing tournament 

at the Thyagraj Indoor stadium 

here on Wednesday. 

Running a distant second 

was classy Uzbekistan, 

who saw all their seven boxers 

sailing through smoothly 

from the semi-finals. World boxing giants Cuba, who had 

four in the semi-finals, saw three of them take their places 

in the title round; only Toirac Yohandi Ortega was ousted 

in the superheavyweight final, losing 0-5 to the towering 

Uzbek Bakhodir Jalolov. 

India's charge into the final was led by none other 

than Mary, Sarita Devi and Pinki Rani in the women's 

session while Manish Kaushik and Dinesh, who upset 

Manoj Kumar, led the men's charge. 

Shiva Thapa fell by the wayside in the men's semi-finals. 

Hindered by a slight wrist injury, he failed to unravel 

Manish, just like he couldn't during the recently-held 

nationals. Southpaw Manish looked in fine fettle and used 

his speed and power to win 5-0 in the lightweight category. 

"I had no pressure on me so I fought freely. I instigated 

him and then went on the attack," he said after his 

victory. Mary suffered some early hiccups in the opening 

round against her taller and stronger Mongolian opponent 

Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the light-fly category. 

She promptly changed her strategy in the second to turn 

the bout on its head. She began by fighting from close 

quarters only to realise that it wasn't a good tactic against 

the aggressive Mongolian, who cleverly used her height, 

reach and power to her advantage. 

In the next rounds, the Manipuri pugilist opted to 

maintain a safe distance, before launching into shortburst 

attacks.That was enough to throw the Mongolian 

out of her rhythm and Mary piled on the points for a 4-1 

victory.Mary will take on Josie Gabuco, an impressive 

all-round boxer from the Philippines, in the final. 

Sarita overcame her Indian counterpart Priyanka 

Choudhary 4-1 in the light-weight category while Thai girl 

Chuthamat Raksat found Pinki Rani too hot to handle, going 

down 0-5 in the flyweight division. Sarita next meets 

the strong and aggressive Finnish girl, Potkonan Mira 

Marjut, who more than packs a punch, in the final while 

Pinki takes on Ochirbat Jargalan of Mongolia. 

Core squad for 2019 World Cup 

is more or less sorted out: Kohli 


Durban: With around 

15 months to go for the 2019 

cricket World Cup, India 

skipper Virat Kohli on 

Wednesday asserted that 

barring the No. 4 spot, the 

core of the squad is more 

or less sorted out for the 

quadrennial tournament in 

England. 

Kohli also maintained 

that the ones who did well 

during the home season 

last year might not necessarily 

impress in England 

and wants the players to 

cash on the opportunities 

in the run up to the World 

Cup. 

"We are going to play 

the World Cup in England, 

which is going to be very 

different from what we get 

back home as well. People 

who might be doing well at 

home might necessarily not 

repeat their performances 

in England, so we will have 

to figure out which player's 

game suits the team 

best in particular 

conditions," Kohli 

said on the eve 

of the opening 

ODI against 

South Africa 

at the 

Kingsmead 

Stadium 

here on Thursday. 

"We feel that the 

core of players is more or 

less sorted (out). It's about 

who takes that one particular 

spot (No.4), which the 

guys who get the opportunity 

need to capitalise and 

string in performances that 

convinces the management 

and the team. 

"Obviously changes can 

happen at any stage, you 

never know who is in form 

or not at that stage, but 

what I see is that the core 

is more or less formed," he 

added. 

The 29-year-old also 

seemed to be satisfied with 

the balance of the side, 

which includes the two 

wrist spinners in Yuzvendra 

Chahal (leg-break) and 

chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. 

"We are probably 

the only team 

in world cricket 

who are blessed 

with two wrist 

spinners and 

with Kedar 

(Jadhav) doing 

the conventional 

job really 

well, 

that's why I said the balance 

of the side is pretty 

good at the moment," he 

said. 

"Wrist spinners help 

you in any conditions, 

in any part of the world. 

They can go for six an 

over but they will pick you 

two-three wickets as well, 

which makes the difference 

at the end. 

"We are very happy 

to have two wrist spinners 

who are very different 

from each other. Both 

are versatile in their own 

way. I think 

that's going 

to be a major 

strength for 

the team going 

forward," 

he added. 

On being 

asked about his 

team's approach 

for the upcoming 

series against 

the Proteas, 

which could 

potentially 

be a good 

preparation 

going into the 2019 World 

Cup, Kohli said: "We have 

explored a lot of options in 

the last few months. Since 

we don't have much time 

and have only a few series 

before the World Cup, we 

want to try as many combinations 

as possible." 

"I don't think the quality 

of the team will be compromised 

anyway regardless 

of who takes the No.4 

position because of we have 

strong batsmen above and 

below to stabilise the innings. 

I am pretty confident 

of all the guys in the team. 

Kohli also indicated 

that Ajinkya Rahane could 

be the potential candidate 

for the coveted No. 4 slot despite 

the team management 

looking at him as the third 

opener. 

"Rahane can be considered 

as the third opener but 

may change since he batted 

at No. 4 in the World Cup 

and in seamer-friendly conditions 

he can be a good option 

for the No. 4 slot. 

"We have Manish (Pandey), 

Shreyas (Iyer), Kedar 

(Jadhav) who can bat at 

No. 5 and 6, besides Hardik 

(Pandya) and MS (Dhoni). 

We don't want to be one 

dimensional and would go 

by whose technique suits 

the best in the given conditions," 

he added. 

Kohli also wished 

the best for the Prithvi 

Shaw-led India colts, who 

thrashed Pakistan by 203 

runs in the semi-final to set 

up the ICC Under-19 final 

against Australia on Saturday.

The International News Weekly February 02, 2018 | Toronto 14

The International News Weekly February 02, 2018 | Toronto 

15

The International News Weekly February 02, 2018 | Toronto 16 

Eyeing 2019 polls, Jaitley extends sops to poor, squeezes middle class 


held for more than a year, 

exempting only profit of up to 

Rs 1 lakh. The stock markets 

reacted sharply initially to the 

move, later recovering. 

The four per cent health 

and eduction cess replaces the 

2 per cent cess for primary education 

and 1 per cent cess for 

secondary and higher education 

on individuals and corporates 

to take care of the needs 

of education and health of BPL 

and rural families. 

Similarly, the Social Welfare 

Surcharge of 10 per cent 

on all customs duties replaces 

the education cess on imported 

goods. He also raised the customs 

duty on mobile phones 

by 5 per cent to 20 per cent. He 

also levied a 15 per cent duty 

on some of the parts and accessories 

of mobile phones and 

TV sets to promote creation of 

more jobs under the "Make in 

India" programme. 

In line with the BJP's poll 

promise before coming to power 

in 2014, the Finance Minister 

announced that the Minimum 

Support Price (MSP) for 

unannounced kharif crops 

will be 1.5 times the input cost 

and stepped up the institutional 

credit for the sector to Rs 11 

lakh crore -- 1 lakh crore more 

than last year. 

"Now, we have decided to 

implement this resolution as a 

principle for the rest of crops. 

I am pleased to announce that 

as per pre-determined principle, 

the government has decided 

to keep MSP for the all 

unannounced crops of kharif 

at least at one and half times 

of their production cost. I am 

confident that this historic decision 

will prove an important 

step towards doubling the income 

of our farmers," Jaitley 

said. 

The opposition reacted 

sharply to the government's 

proposed budget with Congress 

leader P. Chidambaram 

saying Jaitley had failed the 

fiscal consolidation test that 

will have "serious consequences" 

on the economic growth 

rate. 

CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury 

said the budget was "unconnected 

to ground realities" 

and "is a textbook exercise in 

post-truth". However, the India 

Inc largely welcomed Jaitley's 

budget. 

Leaving the individual 

taxation slabs and rates untouched, 

Jaitley in his last full 

budget before the 2019 elections 

proposed to reintroduce 

a standard deduction of Rs 

40,000 for salaried tax payers 

in lieu of present exemption of 

transport allowance and reimbursement 

of miscellaneous 

medical expenses that will involve 

a revenue sacrifice of Rs 

8,000 crore to benefit 2.5 crore 

people. 

In a bid to help senior citizens, 

the budget proposes to 

increase the exemption of interest 

income on deposits with 

banks and post offices from Rs 

10,000 to 50,000 and there will 

be no TDS deducted on them. 

The limit for health insurance 

premium and medical expenditure 

will go up to Rs 50,000 

from Rs 30,000. 

For certain illnesses, in 

case of senior citizens and very 

senior citizens, the limit will 

go up to Rs 60,000 and Rs 80,000 

respectively, The concessions 

will cost the government Rs 

4,000 crore. 

In keeping with his earlier 

announcement of reducing 

corporate taxation rate, the 

Finance Minister reduced the 

rate for all companies with 

turnover of up to Rs 250 crore, 

up from Rs 50 crore. He said 

this would take care of almost 

99 per cent of the companies 

and would have a negative 

impact of Rs 7,000 crore on government 

finances. Only about 

250 companies would have a 

turnover above the cut-off level 

and would continue to pay 

30 per cent tax. An ID on lines 

of Aadhaar would also be set 

up for companies, Jaitley said. 

For the Railways, whose 

budget was merged with the 

general budget since last year, 

the capital expenditure has 

been fixed at Rs 1,48,528 crore 

for 2018-19 with a large part 

devoted to capacity creation. 

Some 18,000 km of doubling, 

third and fourth line works 

and 5,000 km of guage conversion 

will be taken up to transform 

almost the entire network 

into broad guage. 

Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi hailed the Finance 

Minister for presenting an 

all-friendly budget 2018-19 

with the focus on agriculture, 

health and small businesses. 

"This budget is farmer-friendly, 

common citizen-friendly, 

business environment-friendly 

and development-friendly." 

Announcing the flagship 

National Health Protection 

Scheme, which he billed as 

the world's largest government 

funded healthcare programme, 

Jaitley said the government 

proposed to cover 

over 10 crore poor and vulnerable 

families (approximately 50 

crore beneficiaries) providing 

coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per 

family per year for secondary 

and tertiary care hospitalisation. 

In another populist measure, 

the Finance Minister announced 

that as part of Prime 

Minister's Ujjwala Scheme the 

government proposed to increase 

the target of providing 

free LPG connections to eight 

crore poor women, three crore 

up from the original target. 

He said the focus of the 

government in the next fiscal 

will be on providing maximum 

livelihood opportunities in the 

rural areas by spending more 

on livelihood, agriculture and 

allied activities and construction 

of rural infrastructure. 

"In the year 2018-19, for 

creation of livelihood and infrastructure 

in rural areas, 

total amount to be spent by the 

ministries will be Rs 14.34 lakh 

crore, including extra-budgetary 

and non-budgetary resources 

of Rs 11.98 lakh crore. 

Apart from employment due 

to farming activities and self 

employment, this expenditure 

will create employment of 321 

crore person days, 3.17 lakh 

km of rural roads, 51 lakh new 

rural houses, 1.88 crore toilets, 

and provide 1.75 crore new 

household electric connections 

besides boosting agricultural 

growth." 

In a labour welfare measure, 

the minister announced 

extension of contribution of 

8.33 per cent of employee provident 

fund for new employees 

by the government for three 

years to all the sectors and 

raised it to 12 per cent. 

In order to create employment 

and aid growth, the 

Finance Minister said, the 

government's estimated budgetary 

and extra budgetary 

expenditure on infrastructure 

for 2018-19 was being increased 

to Rs 5.97 lakh crore against estimated 

expenditure of Rs 4.94 

lakh crore last year. 

The Finance Minister 

indicated a slippage in fiscal 

deficit for the current year revising 

it from 3.2 per cent to 3.5 

per cent and from 3 per cent to 

3.3 per cent (Rs 5.95 lakh crore) 

of the GDP next year, implying 

that the government will be 

borrowing more to balance its 

books. 

The government has set 

a target of Rs 80,000 crore divestment 

target for 2018-19, 

the finance minister said adding 

that target for 2018-19 had 

exceed the target of Rs 72,500 

crore and would touch Rs 1 

lakh crore. Despite that, he did 

keep his aim low for the next 

year. He announced that the 

three public sector insurance 

companies would be merged. 

The merged entity is expected 

to be listed at some stage. 

The minister started his 

speech by reading out the 

achievements made by the 

government, saying: "We"are 

now a $2.5 trillion economy, 

and we are firmly on path to 

achieve 8 per cent plus growth 

soon. We hope to grow at 7.2 

per cent to 7.5 per cent in the 

second half of 2017-18. Our exports 

are expected to grow at 

about 15 per cent in 2017-18." 

Speedy Transport - we deliver Customer Satisfaction 

SPEEDY TRANSPORT 

LTL CARRIER BASED IN BRAMPTON 

NOW HIRING 

City Drivers, City Owner Operators, 

Linehaul Owner Operator & Dock Workers 

Premier Team Runs Offer A Minimum of 

5000 Miles A Week 

Run loads into Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Buffalo and Montreal 

Drivers Get Home Every Night 

STEADY WORK 

HIGH RATE OF PAY 

CALL ANTHONY 

416-510-2035 X 2267 

email jobs@speedy.ca

The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 30

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?