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Issue No : 32 

Email: editor@canadianparvasi.com Contact Number : 905-673-0600 February 09, 2018 | Pages 24 

Punjab CM welcomes Canadian 

Ministers’ stand on Khalistan 

Indo-Asian News Service 

Chandigarh : Ahead of Canadian 

Prime Minister Justim 

Trudeau's visit to Amritsar, 

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder 

Singh on Thursday welcomed 

a statement by two Canadian 

federal Ministers of Indian-origin 

that they did not sympathise 

with the Khalistan demand. 

Amarinder Singh, who had 

refused to meet Indian-origin 

Canadian Defence Minister 

Harjit Sajjan during his visit to 

Punjab in April last year, said he 

was looking forward to meeting 

Trudeau. 

Gas station owned by Sikh 

vandalised with racial slur 

In a statement here, Amarinder 

Singh welcomed the "categorical 

denial by Sajjan, the 

first Sikh to be Defence Minister 

of a western country, of taking a 

pro-Khalistani stance, and congratulated 

Trudeau for creating 

the necessary environment 

against secessionist forces (demanding 

separate Sikh homeland) 

believed to be operating 

from his country". 

"Sajjan's statement, carried 

by the WCanadian Press 

on Wednesday, that he and 

fellow Sikh Minister Amarjit 

Sohi, 'neither sympathise with 

nor espouse the Sikh nationalist 

movement, which is bent 

on creating a separate country 

called Khalistan in India's Punjab 

region' indicated that the 

Canadian Prime Minister had 

clearly sent out a strong signal 

within his party and government 

that he would not allow 

his country's soil to be used for 

any anti-India activities," the 

’84 riots: Tytler says video 

fake, to sue DSGMC chief 

Agencies 

Chief Minister said. "The latest 

statements by Sajjan and Sohi, 

who has also made it clear that 

he does not sympathise with the 

(Khalistani) cause, have paved 

the way for better relations with 

Canada, which shares strong 

roots with India in view of the 

large Sikh population settled 

there," Amarinder Singh said. 

Reiterating that he had always 

found Trudeau to be a fine 

human being, the Chief Minister 

said he looked forward to meeting 

the Canadian leader during 

his visit to India, including Punjab, 

in February. 

Continued on page 03 

Patrick Brown 

breaks silence, says 

'truth will come out' 

Agencies 

Washington: A gas 

station owned by a Sikh 

in the US state of Kentucky 

has been vandalised 

by a masked man 

with racist slurs and vulgar 

phrases, according to 

media reports. 

The station in Greenup 

County was hit by 

vandals last weeks, sending 

shock waves among 

community members. 

The vandals spray-painted 

vulgar phrases and 

symbols such as "white 

power, wastikas, and language 

too vulgar to air", 

the local WSAZ TV said. 

Store owner Gary 

Singh said he was 

shocked by the incident. 

The Kentucky State Police 

are investigating the 

incident. 


New Delhi: Senior Congress leader 

Jagdish Tytler said today that he 

would file a case against Delhi Sikh 

Gurdwara Management Committee 

(DSGMC) president and SAD leader 

Manjit Singh GK for circulating a 

“doctored” video in which the former 

purportedly admitted killing 100 Sikhs 

during the 1984 riots. 

In a statement, Tytler said, “I am 

extremely pained and distressed to 

learn about the morphed and doctored 

video circulated by certain political 

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The Canadian Press 

TORONTO: The former leader 

of Ontario's Progressive Conservatives 

says he's grateful for the 

support he's received since resigning 

last month amid allegations of 

sexual misconduct. 


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The International News Weekly REGIONAL 

February 09, 2018 | Toronto 02 

Sikh separatists in Canada 

drawing ire in Indian media 

before Trudeau visit 


OTTAWA: Less than two weeks before Prime Minister 

Justin Trudeau is set to land in India, a popular Indian 

magazine has dedicated an issue to stories accusing Canada 

of being complicit in a rise in Sikh terrorism. 

Trudeau is undertaking a week-long state visit to India 

later this month, his first trip to the country since becoming 

prime minister. The goal is to focus on trade and cultural 

ties, but a successful trip would surely be a re-election boon 

for Trudeau, who already enjoys a high degree of popularity 

among Canada's 1.2 million Indo-Canadians. Trudeau seems 

to have a friendly relationship with Indian Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi — the two have met on the sidelines of 

almost every international meeting they attended in the last 

two years, including just last month at the World Economic 

Forum in Switzerland. 

But some political forces in India are less enthusiastic. 

The latest edition of Outlook India features a photo of 

Trudeau, which appears to be from the Vaisakhi Celebration 

on Parliament Hill in April 2016. The headline on the cover 

reads, "Khalistan-II: Made in Canada." 

It continues: "Sikh religious successionism threatening 

the Indian Constitution assumes proportions of official 

policy status in Ottawa as Punjab Police books four 

Canadian residents for gun-running and terror-funding." 

The magazine has at least three articles about Canada's 

alleged connections to the Sikh independence movement, 

including a Q and A segment with Punjab Chief Minister 

Amarinder Singh, who last April refused to meet with 

federal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, calling him a 

"Khalistani sympathizer." 

The Sikh nationalist movement seeks to create a separate 

country called Khalistan within India's Punjab region. In 

the Outlook interview, Singh said he hadn't been contacted 

about a meeting, but that he would "be happy to meet Justin 

Trudeau or welcome him as per the protocol accorded to 

any state guest of his stature." Trudeau's office won't say if 

a meeting with Singh is on the agenda. The articles accuse 

Trudeau of having "Khalistani sympathizers" in his cabinet, 

and of allowing Sikh separatist movements to flourish. 

Singh claims that at least one case of Sikh extremism 

included an Uzi submachine gun bought with Canadian 

money; another article names four Sikh Canadians who 

are wanted by Indian authorities for allegedly supplying 

weapons and funding terrorism in India. 

'Everyone's scared': Alleged sex offender's 

return to school sparks protest 


STEPHENVILLE : A series 

of alleged sex assaults. A 

frightening two-hour police 

lockdown as Mounties patrolled 

outside classrooms. 

And now a student-led protest 

Wednesday to give voice 

to at least three girls who 

faced the prospect of being 

in school with the boy they 

say attacked them. Stress is 

running high at Stephenville 

High School, named for the 

pretty seaside town of 8,000 

people in southwestern Newfoundland. 

"Everyone's scared," said 

Faith Young, a Grade 12 student 

who helped organize the 

day of action in support of the 

alleged victims. Participants 

wore symbolic safety pins as 

a show of strength for those 

struggling to cope. 

Those familiar with the 

allegations say at least three 

girls at the Grade 9 to 12 

school say the same male student 

sexually assaulted them 

in separate incidents offsite. 

Young said she saw 

the accused student leaving 

through a side door last 

week after he was permitted 

to write mid-term exams in 

a room separated from other 

classmates. "It made me angry. 

I was disgusted knowing 

that he was allowed back in 

our school despite the fact 

there are other girls who 

can't even come to school for 

the fact that they might see 

him." On Friday afternoon, 

during a still-unexplained 

lockdown, students were kept 

in classrooms and other parts 

of the building for more than 

two hours as police circled. 

Local RCMP have released 

few details about an "external 

threat" that prompted the 

reaction and say they're still 

investigating. There were 

no injuries as students were 

safely evacuated. It's not clear 

to what extent, if any, that unsettling 

incident was linked 

to the alleged sexual assaults. 

Education officials say 

they'd need a court order to 

remove the male student who 

has chosen not to resume 

classes at Stephenville High 

— at least for now. 

The Newfoundland and 

Labrador English School District 

confirms he is accused 

of sexual assault and faces 

charges involving one female 

student and "possibly others." 

Details of the charges along 

with his identity are protected 

under the Youth Criminal 

Justice Act, the district said 

in a statement. There are 

limited circumstances under 

provincial law which allow a 

student to be removed from 

school, it explained. 

"A criminal charge, however 

serious, does not authorize 

removal," it says. 

"Safety is the paramount 

concern for the district and 

the safety plans may include 

alternate education plans 

and physical separation of 

students." Still, the district is 

working with several groups 

including the RCMP and the 

provincial advisory council 

on the status of women to improve 

what it calls "deficiencies 

in the process." 

"We have also discussed 

with these community partners 

how we can collaboratively 

develop a district sexual 

violence policy."Janice 

Kennedy, executive director 

of the local Bay St. George 

Status of Women Council, 

said there's no place for policies 

that risk re-traumatizing 

alleged victims. 

Other arrangements 

could have been made to continue 

the male student's education 

without putting him 

back in school with girls who 

say he assaulted them, she 

added. "It's not good enough," 

Kennedy said in an interview. 

"We know there are 

times the courts have failed 

victims of sexual assaults. We 

can't be depending on other 

systems to be doing that work 

to make sure the school is a 

safe space." Susan Fowlow's 

daughter is in Grade 12 at 

Stephenville High. "She's not 

a victim but she's certainly a 

friend of the girls who have 

come forward," she said in an 

interview. Fowlow said she 

knows of at least three girls 

who say they were assaulted. 

She declined to discuss 

details of the allegations except 

to say they happened 

away from the school. 

Fowlow, a former parent 

representative on the 

school council, resigned last 

month when she learned that 

parents of those girls were 

informed the accused boy 

would be allowed to return to 

class. One mother temporarily 

withdrew her two daughters 

from school because they 

didn't feel comfortable, Fowlow 

said. 

She said she understands 

the accused has the right to 

an education, but said those 

girls do too: "Where was their 

access?" Those girls were 

back in class as of Tuesday, 

Fowlow said. "He's not there. 

However, he could change 

his mind tomorrow and we're 

right back into this." 

Young said the day of action 

was not to demonize the 

accused. It's about support 

for those girls who came forward. 

"A lot of them are having 

nightmares, having a lot 

of issues," she said. "We want 

every student to feel safe 

where they are." 

BC and Airbnb reach tax collection deal 

to help fund province's housing plans 


VICTORIA : The British 

Columbia government says 

it will soon profit from the 

short-term rental market after 

reaching an agreement 

with Airbnb on the collection 

of taxes. 

The money will be used 

to fund housing and tourism 

initiatives. 

Finance Minister Carole 

James touted the deal 

with Airbnb as the first of 

its kind in Canada, saying 

it acknowledges short-term 

rentals are part of B.C.'s 

economy. 

"It recognizes the reality 

today, not only in B.C. 

but across the country, in 

fact across our world," she 

said. "The sharing economy 

is here. We need to make 

sure as governments, that 

we look at our tax systems, 

that we look at our arrangements 

we have in place and 

we make sure we create 

that level playing field." 

James said the government 

will introduce legislation 

that allows Airbnb to 

collect 11 per cent in taxes 

from short-term rentals 

and send the proceeds to 

the government. The taxes 

include the eight per cent 

provincial sales tax and municipal 

or regional district 

taxes of up to three per cent 

on accommodation. 

The estimated $16 million 

the province will get 

annually from the sales 

tax will be used to improve 

housing affordability, said 

James. 

She said her upcoming 

budget will include government 

plans to address 

the financial squeeze some 

are feeling on housing. Although 

the money from 

Airbnb isn't enough alone 

considering the province's 

housing issues, "every penny 

counts," said James. 

Premier John Horgan 

has promised to make housing 

the primary focus of the 

budget, saying B.C. must 

dampen speculation in 

the real estate market and 

increase the number of affordable 

family homes. The 

New Democrats promised 

during last year's election 

campaign to deliver 114,000 

housing units over the next 

decade. James said the portion 

of the revenue from 

municipal and regional 

taxes, estimated at about 

$5 million a year, will fund 

tourism programs. 

Airbnb spokeswoman 

Alex Dagg said the agreement 

allows the province to 

participate in the economic 

benefits of home sharing. 

"We've said for a long 

time that we want to work 

with governments," she 

said. 

Green party Leader Andrew 

Weaver said in a statement 

the deal is a good step 

toward tax fairness, but it 

will not improve the need 

for long-term rentals. 

The province should 

"proactively encourage and 

support local governments 

to take action to restrict and 

regulate short-term rentals," 

as Vancouver and Victoria 

have done, he said. 

"In our extremely tight 

rental markets, with near 

zero per cent vacancy rates, 

short-term rentals like 

Airbnb are taking many 

units out of long-term rental 

supply. We are in a crisis 

— we need to ensure that 

houses are used for homes 

for British Columbians first 

and foremost." 

Here are some facts of 

Airbnb's operations in 

B.C. and elsewhere: 

• There are 18,500 Airbnb 

providers operating in the 

province. 

• Airbnb also collects a 

3.5 per cent tax on lodging 

on behalf of its hosts in Quebec. 

• Airbnb collects and remits 

taxes on behalf of the 

states of Michigan, Nevada 

and California, as well as in 

France and India.

The International News Weekly REGIONAL 

February 09, 2018 | Toronto 

03 

PM orders review of Justice arguments 

against military sex misconduct lawsuit 

OTTAWA : Prime Minister Justin 

Trudeau put Justice Department 

lawyers on notice Wednesday for 

their response to a proposed classaction 

lawsuit on military sexual 

misconduct, saying their arguments 

are out of line. 

The lawsuit was brought forward 

last year by three former service 

members who say they were 

harassed or assaulted while in uniform. 

They are seeking $800 million 

for themselves and others in similar 

situations. Justice Department lawyers 

filed documents in late December 

in which they asked the Federal 

Court to quash the suit, which 

comes as military leaders are pushing 

for a culture change to eliminate 

all forms of sexual misconduct in 

uniform. 

The documents include a number 

of arguments for why the lawsuit 

has no reasonable chance of 

success, and should therefore be dismissed 

before going to trial. 

Officials for Justice Minister 

Jody Wilson-Raybould and Defence 

Minister Harjit Sajjan refused last 

month to comment on the federal 

lawyer's response because the case 

was before the courts. 

But Trudeau on Wednesday 

said that the arguments were "of 

concern to me, and I've asked (Wilson-Raybould) 

to follow up with the 

lawyers to make sure that we argue 

things that are consistent with this 

government's philosophy. 

"Obviously the lawyers' argument 

does not align with my beliefs 

or what this government believes." 

Trudeau did not say exactly 

which arguments were of concern, 

and his office refused to provide further 

information. 

But lawyer Rajinder Sahota, 

who is representing the three former 

service members involved in 

the lawsuit along with lawyers from 

five other legal firms, cited one statement 

as being of primary concern. 

It says the government does not 

"owe a private law duty of care to individual 

members within the CAF 

to provide a safe and harassmentfree 

work environment, or to create 

policies to prevent sexual harassment 

or sexual assault." 

That doesn't mean the government 

is arguing it has absolutely no 

obligation to create a safe workplace 

or prevent sexual misconduct, said 

University of Ottawa law professor 

Bruce Feldthusen. 

"What they're saying is: 'We 

have an obligation to do it under the 

Human Rights Act, we have an obligation 

to do something under the 

Criminal Code, but we don't have an 

obligation under negligence law,'" 

he said. 

"'We don't have an obligation to 

compensate individual victims.'" 

Feldthusen said it makes sense 

for federal lawyers to make such an 

argument as part of their attempt to 

get the lawsuit tossed out of court, 

but he didn't believe it had much 

chance of success. 

Won't escalate trade 

dispute with Alberta over 

pipeline: BC Premier 


VICTORIA : British Columbia Premier 

John Horgan doesn't intend to 

respond to any provocation from Alberta 

in the escalating trade dispute 

over the Trans Mountain pipeline. 

Horgan says he hope to see the 

end of the back and forth debate, saying 

he doesn't think it is in anyone's 

interests to have duelling premiers. 

The B.C. government is looking 

at restricting the expansion of bitumen 

through the province until it's 

satisfied a spill can be cleaned up, 

which was countered by the threat 

of a lawsuit from Alberta along with 

a ban on B.C. wine imports. 

Horgan says officials from Ottawa 

will meet with deputy ministers 

from the B.C. government on Thursday 

to clarify the province's rights 

over the jurisdictional dispute. 

He says while he and Alberta 

Premier Rachel Notley may both be 

New Democrats, that is secondary to 

his obligation to the people of B.C. 

He says he won't be distracted 

from his agenda while the government 

of Alberta retaliates. 

Patrick Brown breaks silence, says 'truth will come out' 

Continued from page 01 

Patrick Brown posted a 

brief message on Twitter on 

Tuesday afternoon — the first 

time he has spoken publicly 

since stepping down. 

Brown has vehemently 

denied the allegations, which 

were made to CTV News and 

have not been independently 

verified by The Canadian 

Press. 

He echoed that sentiment 

in his tweet, saying that while 

he applauds the #MeToo movement, 

false allegations "undermine 

that good work." 

Brown says "the truth will 

come out." 

His resignation plunged 

the Progressive Conservatives 

into turmoil in late January, 

forcing the party to select an 

interim leader and plan a leadership 

race that will be held before 

the spring election. 

Punjab CM welcomes Canadian 

Ministers’ stand on Khalistan 


"The (Trudeau) visit will give Canada and Punjab an opportunity to 

strengthen trade ties for mutual benefit," Amarinder Singh added. 

The Chief Minister was upset with Canadian authorities earlier as the 

Indian-origin Ministers and some MPs in Canada had openly supported 

the secessionists' agenda for Khalistan. 

The Canadian government, under Trudeau, had objected to Amarinder 

Singh's Canada visit in April 2016 to meet Non-Resident Indians ahead of 

Punjab's assembly elections in February 2017. 

Amarinder Singh was forced to cancel his visit abroad as Sikh radical 

elements and groups opposed it and represented to the Trudeau 

government."Divisive forces propagating terrorism should not be encouraged 

at any cost by any nation. Such activities pose a serious threat to 

global peace and hence not allowed to flourish in any part of the world. 

Nurturing or supporting separatist forces always proves detrimental in 

the long run, not only to countries against which they are unleashed but 

also to those which allow such elements to operate from their soil," the 

Chief Minister added. 

Amarinder Singh said Canada had always been a friend of India, especially 

Punjab, whose people had contributed significantly to the western 

nation's progress.

The International News Weekly CANADA 


Toronto cop denies sexually 

assaulting woman, court hears 

'Shot in the air:' 

Saskatchewan farmer 

describes shooting 

The Canadian Parvasi 

TORONTO : A Toronto police 

officer accused of sexually 

assaulting a woman 

nearly a decade ago told his 

trial Tuesday that he had 

consensual sex with his accuser. 

Const. Vincenzo Bonazza 

took the stand after 

emotional testimony from 

the woman who alleged the 

officer forced her to comply 

with his demands while they 

were at her apartment in 

September 2008. 

"It was consensual from 

the time it began to the time 

it ended," said Bonazza, 47, 

who has pleaded not guilty 

to one count of sexual assault. 

He told court he first 

met the woman, who cannot 

be identified, while sitting 

in his squad car sipping a 

coffee. The woman asked 

him about becoming a police 

officer and also asked 

for help dealing with her 

ex-boyfriend who had been 

charged with harassing her, 

he said. 

Bonazza said he asked 

the woman for her name 

and number, which she gave 

to him. 

"She was an attractive 

girl and I saw an opportunity," 

he told the court, adding 

that he pursued the woman 

despite the fact that he was 

married and had met her on 

the job. 

Bonazza said he used 

police databases to "run her 

file" and "conduct a history" 

of her. A day or two later, 

he called her to "chit chat," 

which is when she invited 

him to her apartment, he 

said. 

At the woman's home, 

Bonazza said the pair 

watched part of a movie the 

woman appeared in before 

he asked if he could kiss her. 

"She said 'I don't know 

what you've been waiting 

for,'" he testified. 

That led to consensual 

sex on her futon, he said. 

Bonazza said he left the 

woman's apartment five 

minutes after the sexual encounter 

ended, telling her 

he couldn't commit to seeing 

her again because he was 

married. 

Crown attorney Peter 

Scrutton scoffed at Bonazza's 

version of events. 

"I'm suggesting the fact 

you got out of there, you left 

quickly, because you sexually 

assaulted her and it would 

have been very awkward to 

hang around," Scrutton said. 

"That's entirely incorrect," 

Bonazza said. 

Earlier in the day, the 

woman burst into tears as 

she rejected a defence suggestion 

that she fabricated 

the entire incident. 

During cross-examination, 

Bonazza's lawyer, Gary 

Clewley, accused the woman 

of lying. 

"I'm going to suggest to 

you that you made it all up," 

said Clewley. 

"Absolutely not," the 

woman said through tears. 

The woman told court on 

Monday she ran into Bonazza 

a few times after first 

meeting him and then he 

called her — she's not sure 

how he got her number — 

saying he had bought sushi 

for her. Bonazza testified he 

didn't buy her sushi. 

A few days later, she testified, 

Bonazza came over to 

her house to watch a movie 

she acted in, and then he had 

sex and oral sex with her 

without her consent. 

Clewley focused his 

cross-examination on the 

finer details of the woman's 

recollection of the events before, 

during and after the alleged 

incident and, at times, 

pointed out statements that 

he said were inconsistent 

with what she initially told 

the Special Investigations 

Unit, which probes allegations 

of sexual assault involving 

Ontario police officers. 

"It makes no sense, 

based on your evidence, to 

buy sushi and go to your 

house if (Bonazza) he doesn't 

even know if you like sushi 

or even if you're home," 

Clewley said. 

"I'm going to suggest I 

am trying to do the right 

thing and I have nothing to 

gain by doing any of this," 

the woman said as she cried. 

At one point the woman 

broke down under the barrage 

of questions — her 

emotional distress prompting 

the judge to twice call a 

break. 

"Every time I tell my 

story, it comes out in different 

ways because that's real 

life," she said through tears. 

"This isn't a script I have 

memorized, so it comes out 

in different ways. It's a natural 

reaction, I'm just speaking, 

I'm just being a human." 

The woman previously 

testified she was afraid Bonazza 

was going to hurt her 

if she didn't have sex with 

him, and she only decided 

to come forward with her 

allegations after becoming 

a police officer in another 

jurisdiction. 


BATTLEFORD : A Saskatchewan farmer on trial for the 

shooting of an Indigenous man says he fired his gun to scare 

off a group of people who drove onto his farm. 

Gerald Stanley told the jury in his second-degree murder 

trial Monday that he and his son heard an SUV with a 

flat tire drive into the yard near Biggar, Sask., in August 

2016. He told court the pair heard an all-terrain vehicle start 

and thought it was being stolen. He said he grabbed a handgun, 

normally used to scare off wildlife, when the SUV didn't 

leave the yard and fired two or three shots into the air before 

popping the cartridge to make sure it was disarmed. 

He testified he went up to the SUV because he thought it 

had run over his wife and tried to reach for the keys in the 

ignition when the gun went off. Colten Boushie, who was 22, 

was sitting in the driver's seat of a grey Ford Escape when he 

was shot in the back of the head. 

"I was reaching in and across the steering wheel to turn 

the key off and — boom — this thing just went off," Stanley 

testified. "Was your finger on the trigger?" his lawyer, Scott 

Spencer, asked. "No," Stanley answered. Before the shooting, 

Stanley said he felt "pure terror." In the back of his 

mind, Stanley said, were two other farmers who had been 

murdered in the area when he first moved there. Court has 

heard an SUV carrying five people had a flat tire and drove 

onto the Stanley farm. The driver testified the group had 

been drinking during the day and tried to break into a truck 

on a neighbouring farm, but went to the Stanley property in 

search of help with the tire. 

Spencer told the jury in his opening statement earlier 

Monday that Boushie was the victim of "a freak accident 

that occurred in the course of an unimaginably scary situation." 

He told jurors Boushie's death wasn't justified, but 

they must put themselves in Stanley's shoes. 

"Is it unreasonable to fire warning shots when the 

intruders have tried to steal, taken a run at you with 

their vehicle, crashed into your vehicle — from Gerry's 

perspective intentionally — almost run over your wife?" 

Spencer asked. 

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. 

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The International News Weekly CANADA 


05 

Talks with premiers about Trans 

Mountain pipeline battle: PM 


OTTAWA : Just because 

Prime Minister Justin 

Trudeau is refusing to wade 

publicly into the emerging 

pipeline-induced trade war 

between British Columbia 

and Alberta, that doesn't 

mean things aren't happening 

out of the public eye, his 

environment minister suggested 

Wednesday. 

Speaking in French after 

the weekly government 

caucus meeting, Catherine 

McKenna said things sometimes 

happen behind closed 

doors and that solutions 

are often more easily found 

without drama. 

Maybe so — but when it 

comes to the Trans Mountain 

pipeline dispute, the 

no-drama ship has officially 

sailed. 

B.C. threw down the 

gloves last week when it 

proposed a regulation to restrict 

expanded flows of oil 

through the province without 

a guarantee spills can 

be cleaned up — a measure 

that would effectively halt, 

if not kill outright, the plan 

approved by Ottawa in 2016 

to triple existing pipeline capacity 

between Alberta and 

B.C. 

Alberta Premier Rachel 

Notley responded by threatening 

legal action, cancelling 

talks to buy electricity 

from B.C. and then, most recently 

on Tuesday, banning 

imports of B.C. wine. 

Politically, Notley needs 

the pipeline built to have 

any hope of re-election next 

year; B.C. Premier John 

Horgan campaigned on a 

promise to kill it off. His minority 

government's tenuous 

grip on power depends 

on keeping the Green party 

happy — which means Horgan 

can't back down. 

Pressure is mounting on 

the Trudeau government to 

intervene, and to do more 

to get the pipeline they approved 

actually built. Deputy 

federal Conservative leader 

Lisa Raitt said Trudeau 

has the constitution on his 

side when exerting federal 

power to get construction 

underway. 

Trudeau said in Edmonton 

last week he wasn't going 

to wade into "disagreements 

between the provinces in 

this case" but that his government 

approved the pipeline 

and was going to get it 

built. 

What remains unclear, 

however, is how the government 

plans to make that 

happen. 

"We're continuing to 

discuss and engage with 

the B.C. government, with 

the Alberta government," 

the prime minister said 

Wednesday before his weekly 

caucus meeting. "We're 

making sure we come to the 

right place that's in the national 

interest for Canada. 

"We're going to continue 

to engage with the premiers 

on a regular basis." 

Conservative Natural 

Resources critic Shannon 

Stubbs said it's unfair to 

Kinder Morgan, the company 

trying to build the pipeline, 

that it took four years 

to go through the federal 

assessment process, then 

another 15 months since federal 

approval — and its fate 

still hangs in the balance. 

Trudeau says the pipeline 

is in the national interest, 

but is doing nothing to 

make it happen, she said. 

Kinder Morgan had to 

ask the National Energy 

Board to intervene when 

the city of Burnaby refused 

to give permits to start construction 

on the pipeline and 

the marine terminal where 

it ends. The board had to 

override Burnaby's jurisdiction 

to grant the permits, 

saying it was withholding 

them incorrectly. 

Kinder Morgan is also 

awaiting approval on its 

final route for the pipeline 

expansion before it can begin 

construction. Initially, 

Kinder Morgan hoped the 

$7.4-billion expansion would 

be up and running by the 

end of 2019; last month it revised 

that to December 2020. 

At the very least, said 

Stubbs, the government 

needs to put hard deadlines 

on B.C. to make a decision. 

But Trudeau should have 

anticipated the standoff, 

since Horgan made clear 

he'd do whatever it took to 

stop the pipeline, she added. 

Stubbs said she suspects 

B.C. is trying to undermine 

the project enough to discourage 

Kinder Morgan 

from proceeding. 

The dispute comes just 

as the federal government 

prepares to unveil a longpromised 

overhaul of the 

environmental assessment 

process. 

After two years of consultations, 

focus groups, expert 

panels and discussion 

papers, McKenna and an 

army of other cabinet ministers 

will fan out across the 

country Thursday to promote 

the legislation, which 

is expected to create a single 

assessment system for all 

projects. 

The hope is to provide 

clarity for investors and 

project proponents to know 

exactly what they'll have to 

do to get a project approved 

and how long it will take. 

There will be no surprises 

in the legislation, McKenna 

said Wednesday. 

Feds order review of 

controversial helicopter 

deal with the Philippines 

Special prosecutor appointed after alleged threats at Nanaimo city hall 


VICTORIA : A special prosecutor 

has been appointed after 

threats were allegedly uttered 

at city hall in Nanaimo, B.C. 

The provincial prosecution 

service says Michael 

Klein was appointed after an 

individual was arrested as a 

result of incidents, though no 

details were provided. 

Its statement says a special 

prosecutor's role is intended to 

avoid any potential for real or 

perceived improper influence 

in the administration of justice 

in light of the allegations and 

because some complainants 

are elected municipal officials. 

Klein is a senior Vancouver 

lawyer who has been 

asked to provide legal advice 

to RCMP investigators, assess 

any charges and conduct the 

prosecution if charges are approved. 

It says Klein, the prosecution 

service and the RCMP will 

not comment while the investigation 

is underway. 


OTTAWA : International Trade Minister Francois- 

Philippe Champagne is ordering a review of the planned 

sale of 16 helicopters to the Philippine military amid concerns 

about the country's human rights record. 

Government officials initially defended the deal, which 

is being facilitated by the Canadian Commercial Corp., saying 

the helicopters would be used for search-and-rescue 

missions and disaster relief. 

But Champagne says he ordered a review following 

comments from a senior member of the Philippine military 

that the Montreal-made aircraft would be used for internal 

security operations. 

Human-rights and arms-control groups have accused 

the Philippine armed forces of extrajudicial killings and 

other atrocities in their fight against Islamic militants and 

communist rebels. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also raised concerns 

about extrajudicial killings while visiting the country in 

November, specifically those related to Philippine President 

Rodrigo Duterte's violent crackdown on illegal drugs. 

The Liberal government has previously been criticized 

for approving arms exports to countries with questionable 

human-rights records, most notably the massive deal for 

light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

The International News Weekly World 


India may target CPEC installations: Pakistan Interior Ministry 


Islamabad : India plans 

to attack installations along 

the China-Pakistan Economic 

Corridor (CPEC) to 

sabotage the multi-billion 

dollar mega project, Pakistan's 

Interior Ministry has 

claimed. 

The Ministry, in a letter 

to Gilgit-Baltistan's Home 

Department warned of possible 

terrorist attacks on 

the CPEC route, including 

bridges at Karakoram Highway 

and other important 

points. It issued directives 

for making foolproof security 

arrange ments to avoid 

any untoward incident, 

Dawn online reported on 

Monday. 

An official of the Home 

Department said that the 

letter claimed that "India 

had sent 400 Muslim youngsters 

to Afghanistan for receiving 

training to be able 

to carry out attacks". 

The Gilgit-Baltistan government 

said it enhanced 

security on the CPEC route, 

including two dozen bridges 

built on Karakoram Highway 

from Khunjerab Pass 

to Diamer district. 

Police officials said the 

movements of foreigners 

in Gilgit-Baltistan would be 

monitored and their documents 

would be verified. 

The letter said that police 

personnel deputed for the 

security of bridges at Karakoram 

Highway needed to 

be put on high alert. 

It said that local police 

officers should conduct 

combing operations, supervise 

checking at vulnerable 

points, hotels and guest 

houses. 

The 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. 

Japan launches world's smallest rocket 


Bengaluru: In what 

has been described as "a fantastic 

achievement", Japan 

successfully launched a satellite 

on Saturday using the 

worlds lightest rocket outsmarting 

nations trying to 

develop cheaper light-weight 

rockets to cash in on the 

booming market for microsatellites. 

The SS-520 rocket, about 

the size of a lamp post and 

50 centimeters in diameter, 

lifted off from the Uchinoura 

Space Center in Kagoshima 

and placed its payload in the 

intended orbit, according to 

Japan's space agency JAXA. 

The three-stage rocket 

carried a micro-satellite 

weighing about three kilograms 

developed by the University 

of Tokyo to collect 

imagery of the Earth's surface. 

JAXA's record-setting 

flight of the smallest satellite-carrying 

rocket follows 

an aborted launch last year 

when the flight of an SS-520 

had to be terminated shortly 

after liftoff due to a communications 

problem leading 

to loss of power in the data 

transmitter. 

Raghavan Gopalaswami, 

a retired aerospace systems 

analyst and former Chairman 

of Bharat Dynamics 

Ltd., under the defense ministry, 

said the Japanese use 

of a lightweight rocket for 

satellite launch is "fantastic". 

He said the Japanese 

may have used "extraordinarily 

high propellant specific 

impulse, extraordinarily 

high strength-to-weight ratio 

materials and micro-miniaturization 

of electronics 

which they are known for". 

According to Japanese news 

reports, the agency used 

commercially available components 

found in home electronics 

and smart phones 

for the rocket to lower the 

launch cost. 

The Indian Space Research 

Organization (ISRO) 

has also announced plans 

to develop small rockets to 

meet the growing demand 

for vehicles to take small satellites 

into space. 

Its Chairman, K. Sivan, 

has reportedly said that 

ISRO is planning to develop 

a small launch vehicle that 

could be assembled in just 

three days, will cost onetenth 

the cost of conventional 

launch vehicles, and will 

be much lighter. 

Gas station owned by Sikh 

vandalised with racial slur 


The TV channel said security footage showed a person 

wearing a ski mask approaching the store just after 11.30 pm.“I 

was really nervous about that. It happened to me for the first 

time in this store in four years time. I've never done wrong to 

the community here. I try to help the community all the time,” 

Singh said.According to local Daily Mail, there were obscenities 

and other crudely-lettered markings on the store that appear 

to say "leave".Singh says he came to America from India 

in the early 1990s to pursue the American dream, but what happened 

at his store is more of a nightmare.The Kentucky State 

Police say they are investigating the case as criminal mischief 

but they do plan on working with county prosecutors to discuss 

a hate crime charge on those responsible.Customers hope 

the disturbing images and hateful act do not reflect on their 

community.But despite the hateful comments, Singh says he 

could forgive the vandals, and hopes they do not strike again. 

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The International News Weekly World 


07 

Still committed to a three-country NAFTA negotiation, US insists 


WASHINGTON : The 

United States is stressing 

its support for renegotiating 

a three-country NAFTA 

agreement after comments 

from an American lawmaker 

suggesting it was considering 

splitting Canada and 

Mexico into separate talks. 

"The U.S. objective has 

been and remains renegotiating 

and modernizing NAF- 

TA on a trilateral basis," 

Amelia Breinig, a spokeswoman 

with the United 

States trade representative, 

said in a statement Wednesday. 

''With six rounds of renegotiations 

completed, some 

progress has been made, 

but not nearly enough. As 

we said (at the last round) in 

Montreal, we all must redouble 

our efforts at this crucial 

time.'' 

That statement came after 

a moment of confusion 

on Capitol Hill. 

U.S. trade czar Robert 

Lighthizer held a rare briefing 

on the state of NAFTA 

with American lawmakers, 

updating one of the two U.S. 

congressional committees 

overseeing trade. 

One of the congressmen 

left that meeting saying it 

appeared the American side, 

frustrated by the pace of 

talks with Canada, was considering 

concluding a quick 

agreement with Mexico — 

and sorting out a deal with 

Canada later. 

"He thinks more progress 

has been made with 

Mexico. And that there 

might be a way to wrap 

things up and down and 

just maintain ongoing negotiations 

with Canada at that 

point," said Ron Kind, a Wisconsin 

Democrat. 

"He would not be dissatisfied 

with just doing a 

bilateral with Mexico and 

continuing negotiations 

(with Canada)." That ambiguity 

lingered as three other 

lawmakers who left the 

meeting wouldn't confirm or 

deny what Lighthizer said. 

The U.S. trade czar, for his 

part, also refused to discuss 

it: "You know I don't talk," 

Lighthizer said as he left the 

meeting. 

Some meeting participants 

said any talk of 

splitting up the negotiations 

might be tactical — to 

simply up the pressure on 

Canada to accede to U.S. demands: 

''Negotiations are all 

about leverage,'' said Brian 

Higgins, a Democrat from 

upper New York state. 

Some Democrats called 

it strange to say things were 

going more smoothly with 

Mexico — when the most 

fundamental issues involve 

Mexico and have yet to be 

settled, including labour 

rights, outsourced jobs and 

auto rules of origin. 

Sander Levin said the 

U.S. administration might 

be annoyed at some of Canada's 

recent trade moves, 

but he doesn't see how the 

dynamics of the negotiation 

have changed much since 

the U.S. supposedly entered 

these talks to bring back 

manufacturing jobs from 

Mexico. ''I think Canada's filing 

the (World Trade Organization) 

complaint (against 

the U.S.) was very unsettling,'' 

Levin said. 

Pakistan raises Kashmir 

in UNSC, asks for review 

of 1948 resolution 

US military strikes kill 100 

pro-regime forces in Syria 


United Nations : Pakistan has brought up the 

Kashmir issue in the Security Council, accusing it of 

"selective implementation" of its resolutions. 

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council 

more than selective implementation of its resolutions," 

Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha 

Lodhi said on Tuesday during a session on its working 

methods. "The Council should therefore periodically 

review implementation of its resolutions, especially 

on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir 

dispute," she added. "Failure to enforce its own resolutions 

undercuts not just the Council's standing in the 

world, but the UN as well." 

Her reference was to a 1948 Council resolution that 

called for a plebiscite to determine the future of Kashmir, 

while also demanding the withdrawal of Pakistani 

"tribesmen" who entered the state. 

India has said that the "tribesmen" were Pakistani 

troops who tried to annex Kashmir. 

Given Pakistan's refusal to withdraw its troops, 

India could not hold hold a plebiscite and New Delhi 

maintains that by participating in the elections in the 

state the Kashmiri people have exercised their democratic 

rights integrating with India. 

Other Council resolutions relating to Kashmir 

were about a commission to oversee the plebiscite 

and, in 1957, on a UN representative mediating between 

the two neighbours. India also maintains that 

under the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister 

Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was 

then the President of Pakistan, the two countries have 

agreed to sort out their disputes between themselves 

without the intervention of third parties. 

In 2010, the Council removed Kashmir from its list 

of unresolved international disputes. 

At the beginning of every year, Pakistan also asks 

the Council to keep alive the question of the Hyderabad's 

integration with India based on a telegram 

from Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Asaf Jah VII 

asking it to keep India out of the princely state. The 

Nizam, however, withdrew the complaint after the 

princely state's integration into India. 


Washington: The US-led 

coalition fighting the Islamic 

State (IS) conducted air and 

artillery strikes against proregime 

forces in Syria, killing 

over 100 fighters, the coalition 

said in a statement. 

The coalition said Wednesday's 

strikes had been carried 

out after forces allied with Syrian 

President Bashar al-Assad 

"initiated an unprovoked attack" 

against a well-established 

Syrian Democratic Forces 

(SDF) headquarters where coalition 

advisers were working 

with US-backed Syrian fighters, 

reports CNN. 

Some 500 pro-regime troops 

carried out the attack using artillery, 

mortar fire and Russianmade 

tanks, a US military official 

said. "Syrian pro-regime 

forces maneuvered T-54 and 

T-72 main battle tanks with 

supporting mortar fire in what 

appears to be a coordinated attack 

on the SDF approximately 

8 kilometre east of the Euphrates 

River de-confliction line in 

Khusham, Syria," the military 

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The International News Weekly EDIT 

08 


The 

India's insular dilemma in Maldives 

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 

Trudeau's Amritsar visit, 

will Amarinder play host? 

With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's scheduled 

visit to the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in Punjab just 

over a fortnight away, it is still not clear whether Punjab 

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will play host to the visiting 

dignitary or not. 

Trudeau is visiting India from February 17 to 23 at the 

invitation of his India counterpart, Narendra Modi, with 

stops at Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New 

Delhi. 

Trudeau's Amritsar visit to the Golden Temple, the holiest 

of Sikh shrines, carries a political message to a huge 

constituency back home in Canada with a big Punjabi, especially 

Sikh, population settled there. 

While Trudeau will be feted by the central and state governments 

in New Delhi and other places, there is uncertainty 

on whether Amarinder Singh will hold a meeting with 

Trudeau or play host during the Amritsar visit. 

"There is nothing so far," Amarinder's media adviser 

Raveen Thukral told IANS here when asked about the status 

of Amarinder receiving or hosting the Canadian Prime 

Minister in Amritsar. 

Well-placed sources in the Punjab government say that 

the Chief Minister will have to go by the protocol issued by 

the Centre since Trudeau will be on a state visit. Punjab has 

a strong Canadian connection with hundreds of thousands 

of immigrants settled there and thousands of students from 

Punjab going to Canada annually. 

Amarinder had publicly refused to meet Canada's first 

Sikh Defence Minister, Harjit Singh Sajjan, who was born in 

Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, when he visited the state last 

April. 

The Amarinder government had cold-shouldered Sajjan, 

the first Sikh to be the Defence Minister of a Western 

country, as he visited various places in Punjab. No minister 

or senior officer of the Punjab government either went to 

welcome Sajjan or even accompany him during the visit. 

Amarinder had accused Sajjan and other ministers of 

Punjabi origin in the Trudeau government of links to radical 

elements demanding a separate Sikh state of Khalistan. 

Amarinder made it clear that he "would not meet any Khalistani 

sympathisers". "Not only Sajjan, but other ministers 

and MPs, including Navdeep Bains, Amarjit Sohi, Sukh 

Dhaiwal, Darshan Kang, Raj Grewal, Harinder Malhi, Roby 

Sahota, Jagmeet Singh and Randeep Sari, are well known 

for their leanings towards the Khalistani movement," Amarinder 

had said last year. 

The reasons for Amarinder's annoyance with the Canadian 

government are apparent. In April 2016, he had shot off 

an angry letter to protest the Canadian government's denial 

of permission for his interactive meetings with Punjabis in 

the cities of Toronto and Vancouver. He was forced to cancel 

his political rallies following objections raised by Sikh hardliners 

with the Canadian government. 

Amarinder, who was not the Chief Minister at the time, 

had protested the Canadian government's "gag order" on 

him. The Canadian government had officially raised its objection 

to Amarinder's visit through the Ministry of External 

Affairs (MEA). 

One hopes that Indian 

diplomats and national-security 

managers are doing 

some serious soul-searching 

about how and why events 

spun, so swiftly, out of control 

in neighbouring Maldives. 

Given India's self-assigned 

role of regional "net 

security provider", the Integrated 

Defence Staff, in New 

Delhi, must be reviewing 

their plans for launching 

what they term an out of 

area contingency (OOAC) 

operation, at short notice. 

Should our military be 

called upon to render assistance 

to the Republic of Maldives, 

this will certainly not 

be for the first time. 

Nearly three decades 

ago, in November 1988, a 

group of Maldivian dissidents, 

led by Abdullah Luthufi, 

and assisted by armed 

mercenaries of a Sri Lankan 

Tamil secessionist group, 

attempted to overthrow 

President Abdul Gayoom's 

government. Landing in a 

hijacked merchant ship, the 

mercenaries gained control 

of the capital, but failed to 

capture the President. 

Gayoom, who had earlier 

faced two abortive coups 

d'Ã©tat, sent out an urgent 

appeal for help to the US, the 

UK and India. Prime Minister 

Rajiv Gandhi having 

taken an instant decision, 

the Indian armed forces had 

launched "Operation Cactus", 

within nine hours of receiving 

the Maldivian SOS. 

Paratroops were landed in 

Hulhule airport by IAF strategic 

airlifters and soon regained 

control of the capital 

Male. Indian warships and 

naval aircraft undertook a 

dramatic high-seas chase 

of the hijacked merchantman 

and captured the fleeing 

rebels and mercenaries. 

The British Prime Minister, 

Margaret Thatcher, is reported 

to have commented: 

"Thank God for India; President 

Gayoom's government 

has been saved." 

Sixteen years later, the 

Maldives faced another 

dire emergency; this time, 

caused by nature's fury, and 

put out an urgent appeal for 

help. The Great Asian Tsunami 

hit the Maldives on 

December 26, 2004. 

An archipelago of 1,200 

coral islands, spanning 

roughly 115 square miles, 

Maldives is Asia's smallest 

nation, both by area and 

population (less than half a 

million inhabitants). Most 

of Maldives is so low that 

the tsunami surge sent seawater 

sweeping over nearly 

the entire nation. Again, it 

was the Indian Navy which 

reached out to our stricken 

neighbours, in spite of the 

catastrophe on India's own 

eastern seaboard. Within 

hours, Indian warships arrived 

off Male and began to 

deliver relief by helicopter 

and boats. 

Climate change looms 

over us, and rising sea levels 

could lead to similar 

crises in the future, leading 

to mass migrations. India's 

expeditious response in 2004 

was meant to carry reassurance 

to the Maldivians that 

they were not alone in their 

hour of need. 

The ongoing political 

turmoil in Maldives has 

placed India on the horns of 

a dilemma. Now, President 

Abdulla Yameen has not 

only coerced his country's 

Supreme Court into retracting 

its directive to release 

political prisoners but also 

placed the Chief Justice under 

arrest and declared a 

state of national emergency. 

It is possible that he may 

be within his rights to do 

all this, and the first round, 

therefore, goes to him. 

However, Mohammad 

Nasheed, the first democratically 

elected Maldivian 

President, currently in exile, 

termed the declaration of an 

emergency as being "tantamount 

to martial law... and 

illegal and unconstitutional". 

He has openly called for 

India's diplomatic and military 

intervention through 

"physical presence" and 

this could be seen by many 

as adequate justification or 

even an invitation for an attempted 

"regime change" in 

the island republic. 

But India needs to tread 

with extreme caution in this 

sensitive area because the 

developments, so far, in the 

Maldives are a domestic issue 

and remain within the 

ambit of the nation's "internal 

affairs". Both conventional 

wisdom and recent 

experience confirm that 

foreign-imposed regime 

changes, overt or covert, are 

doomed to failure. They not 

only fail to attain the objectives 

for which they are undertaken, 

i.e., improvement 

in bilateral relations, but 

invariably lead to domestic 

resentment and bitter opposition 

to the foreign-imposed 

leader. India needs to wait 

and watch how the Maldivian 

public and world opinion 

react to developments, 

before deciding its course of 

action. 

What also needs to be 

kept in mind is a Chinese 

statement on Wednesday 

indirectly cautioning India 

against intervening in 

the Maldives, saying any 

outside "interference" in 

the country's political crisis 

would "complicate" the 

situation. China also denied 

allegations that Maldivian 

President Abdullah Yameen 

had its backing and said Beijing 

follows the principles 

of non-interference in other 

countries' domestic affairs. 

"The current situation in 

the Maldives is its internal 

affair. It should be properly 

resolved through dialogue 

and consultation by relevant 

parties," said a Chinese Foreign 

Ministry spokesperson, 

adding a veiled warning; 

"The international community 

should play a constructive 

role based on the 

(principle of) respecting the 

sovereignty of the Maldives 

instead of taking actions 

that may complicate the current 

situation." 

India, apparently, started 

to lose the plot in the 

Maldives in 2012, when the 

Male airport modernisation 

contract with the Indian 

infrastructure giant GMR 

was aborted by the Maldivian 

government, which then 

handed over the project to a 

Chinese company. Although 

the subsequent arbitration 

tribunal held that the agreement 

was wrongfully repudiated 

by Maldives, India 

lost both "face" and influence 

in the island nation. 

The resignation of President 

Nasheed, under duress, the 

same year, caught India napping 

and coincided with the 

substantive rise of Chinese 

leverage in Maldives. This 

must be considered yet another 

failure of Indian diplomacy 

in our neighbourhood. 

As the strategic competition 

between India and 

China in the Indian Ocean 

gathers pace, we must be 

prepared to face such situations 

more frequently. Instead 

of complaining about 

China's farsighted maritime 

enterprises like the Belt & 

Road Initiative or military 

enclaves like Gwadar and 

Djibouti, we need to craft a 

creative and dynamic strategy 

to counter them. 

After Indian Navy's sterling 

performance in the 2004 

tsunami relief effort, the 

island neighbourhood has 

high expectations of maritime 

assistance -- in terms 

of hardware, training and 

security. Denied a corpus, 

by the Ministry of External 

Affairs as well as Ministry of 

Defence, for extending quick 

assistance to neighbours, 

the navy has been denuding 

its own inventory by transferring 

patrol boats, ships, 

aircraft and helicopters to 

boost the security of friendly 

neighbours and keep them 

out of the Chinese maw. 

Such a situation needs to be 

speedily remedied. 

As a post-script, a few 

statistics related to "time 

and space" may provoke 

some thought amongst 

both Maldivian and Indian 

decision-makers; not just in 

the immediate context, but 

also from a long-term "realpolitik" 

viewpoint. From 

Male, the nearest Chinese 

port, Haikou (Hainan), is 

2,700 miles as the crow flies 

and 3,400 miles by sea. An 

aircraft would take 7-8 hours 

to cover this distance, overflying 

three countries, and a 

ship would take 8-10 days to 

reach Male. Compare this to 

the flying time of just over 

an hour, and sailing time of 

a little over 24 hours to cover 

the 500 miles between Male 

and the nearest Indian port/ 

airport of Kochi. 

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 

BJP planning 'major assault' on Constitution: Tharoor 


New Delhi: The BJP government 

is looking to make a 

"major assault" on the Constitution 

if the ruling party gets 

a majority in both the Houses 

of Parliament, says Congress 

MP Shashi Tharoor, who feels 

the attack on various constitutional 

provisions, like Article 

370 on Kashmir and secularism, 

will be part of attempts 

to create a "Hindu rashtra" 

(nation). 

Tharoor, a second-time 

Lok Sabha member from 

Thiruvananthapuram in 

Kerala, also feels that the Congress 

and like-minded secular 

parties should come together 

on a common platform to resist 

the Hindutva onslaught in 

the next Lok Sabha elections. 

Even the Left parties could 

come on that platform post 

elections if necessary, according 

to him. 

"I think a lot of their real 

agenda is waiting for the time 

when they have both Houses 

under their control. And once 

they do, I think you can certainly 

look to a major assault 

on the Constitution. Then the 

question is, will the Supreme 

Court stand by the basic structure 

doctrine and interpret it 

to include these principles of 

equality, freedom of religion, 

freedom of worship, nondiscrimination, 

etc., which 

would make it impossible to 

reduce the Constitution to the 

document of a religiously-derived 

majoritarianism," Tharoor 

told IANS in an interview. 

He recalled that during 

the National Democratic Alliance 

(NDA) government 

under Atal Bihari Vajpayee a 

constitution review committee 

was formed under former 

Supreme Court judge M.N. 

Venkatachaliah, but it didn't 

work on the idea of a Hindu 

rashtra. 

But, Tharoor said, it 

seems a committee under K.N. 

Govindacharya, an ideologue 

of the Rashtriya Swayamseval 

Sangh (RSS), is working for 

the present dispensation, according 

to media reports and 

interviews, which have never 

been challenged. Govindacharya 

has already talked with 

some candour to journalists 

about what he is trying to do. 

"He says socialism, secularism, 

all that will have to go. 

If they are embarking on such 

a project, I think they are quite 

serious about it. The only 

thing is that they probably felt 

this would be too much of a 

risk to be taken on in the first 

term, unless they also have a 

majority in the Rajya Sabha." 

Tharoor said the BJP 

doesn't have a two-thirds majority 

now because almost no 

other party is going to go along 

with its approach. 

"So, I think they were 

really hoping, and perhaps 

unrealistically hoping, to consolidate 

two-thirds majority 

in both Houses and then go for 

the kill. Rather than fighting 

the battle prematurely, when 

they could lose." 

Meanwhile, he said, the 

BJP did some "test-drives" like 

the triple talaq bill as one way 

of trying to get an issue that 

they believe will both be dogwhistle 

at their hardcore base 

and at the same time test their 

strength on an issue of religious 

significance. 

"But once they get twothirds 

in both Houses, I do believe 

the Constitution, including 

Article 370 on Kashmir... 

on the Hindu rashtra concept, 

on use of words socialism, 

secularism, all of these would 

be up for grabs. There is little 

doubt about it." 

He said he was surprised 

by Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi prescribing that Jana 

Sangh leader Deen Dayal 

Upadhyaya's ideology is the 

one those in the ruling party 

should follow, as it was the 

same Upadhyaya who said the 

Constitution should be torn up 

because it is full of imported 

ideas. 

At the same time, the 

Prime Minister said the Constitution 

is the holy book for 

him, Tharoor said. 

Asked if Modi should not 

be holding this view because 

he is occupying high office, 

the Congress leader said: 

"That will be terrific, I think, 

if the Prime Minister were 

to say 'I admire many things 

about Upadhyaya, but I don't 

agree with him on the Constitution'." 

In the context of his latest 

book "Why I am a Hindu" 

(Aleph), Tharoor was asked 

whether he would like his 

party to counter the BJP on 

the lines of what he had written 

about Hinduism and Hindutva. 

He replied he would not 

like to overemphasise on this 

issue because of the inherent 

strength of Hinduism. 

"In other words, while we 

were behaving like we were 

good people who worshipped 

in private but thought it unseemly 

to demonstrate our 

faith in public, they (the BJP) 

were the ones ostentatiously 

being religious and saying 

to their voters 'see, we are 

Hindus like you and you 

should vote for us and those 

are godless secularists'. 

"So, by Rahul Gandhi 

going to temples in Gujarat 

and so on, what is he saying: 

He is saying they go to 

temples, we also go to temples. 

So, let's neutralise our 

issues. Now let's talk about 

vikaas, talk about development, 

let's talk about whether 

your life has become better 

in five years of the BJP 

ruling you." 

Tharoor said ultimately 

the key political arguments 

ought to be that these people 

made all sorts of promises 

five years ago that they have 

not fulfilled. 

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The International News Weekly india 


J&K Police accept security lapses led to terrorist's escape 


Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir 

Police on Thursday said the 

audacious attack and subsequent 

escape of a Pakistani terrorist 

from a Srinagar hospital two days 

back was a well planned and executed 

conspiracy that threw open 

chinks in the security setup. 

Director General of Police 

(DGP) S.P.Vaid said the militant 

attack and subsequent escape of 

Naveed Jat alias Abu Hunzullah 

on February 6 from the SMHS 

hospital was not possible without 

connivance at the Srinagar Central 

Jail. 

"An SIT headed by a Superintendent 

of Police is looking into 

this incident. I believe a magisterial 

probe is also being ordered to 

ascertain all that led to the attack 

and the subsequent escape," Vaid 

said. 

Asked why such a high value 

catch had been lodged in the Srinagar 

prison, and not outside the 

Kashmir Valley, as most other 

such detainees were, Vaid said 

Hunzullah had been shifted to 

Srinagar following a court order. 

Gaping holes in the security 

setup came to light following 

Tuesday's escape of Hunzullah 

from the Out Patients Department 

(OPD) of Karan Nagar's Shri 

Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) 

Hospital, in which two policemen 

were also killed. 

Several questions have been 

raised following the escape in 

broad daylight: Why were only 

two policemen escorting the terrorist 

when he was taken to the 

hospital along with other detainees 

for a medical check up? 

Was the standard operating 

procedure (SOP) prescribed for 

such visits strictly followed? Unless 

the exact movement, time 

and route was known to the militants 

planning the attack, could 

such a successful escape be executed? 

More important than anything 

else, unless exact details 

were leaked to the militants from 

the Srinagar Central Jail, the attack 

would not have taken place. 

As authorities battle answers 

to these embarrassing questions, 

intelligence reports here suggest 

that the escape was planned by 

the Lashkar-e-Taiba in tandem 

with the Hizbul outfit. 

An all-out effort has been 

launched by the security forces 

to hunt down the escaped terrorist, 

who has already joined back 

the militant ranks if a video clip 

released by Riyaz Naikoo, a top 

ranking militant commander active 

in south Kashmir is to be believed. 

Actor Jeetendra's cousin 

claims he sexually assaulted 

her when she was 18 


Shimla : Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra was on 

Wednesday accused of sexually harassing his cousin, who 

has come forward to file a police complaint 47 years after 

the alleged incident. 

Jeetendra, whose real 

name is Ravi Kapoor, is the 

son of the victim's father's sister. 

The victim made the allegation 

in a police complaint 

filed with Himachal Pradesh's 

Director General of Police. A 

copy of the complaint is with 

IANS. 

As per the complaint, the 

incident took place in January 

1971, when the victim was 18 

and Jeetendra was 28. It happened 

when he "arranged" for the victim to join him from 

New Delhi to Shimla on the set of his movie without the 

complainant's "awareness". 

The victim has claimed that on the night they reached 

Shimla, Jeetendra returned to the room in an inebriated 

state, joined the two separate beds and sexually assaulted 

her. 

The allegation comes amid the #MeToo campaign as 

part of which women have come out about facing sexual 

abuse at the hands of powerful men. While several ladies 

have accused Hollywood's powerful men, the Hindi film industry 

-- while admitting the prevalence of abuse -- have not 

named and shamed as openly. 

Jeetendra, now 75, is a well-known name in the Hindi 

film industry. He is also a film producer, and has daughter 

Ekta and son Tusshar with wife Shobhaa. 

PM should answer the nation in Parliament, 

not question opposition: Rahul 


New Delhi : Congress President 

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi should 

answer the nation on the Rafale deal, 

farmers issues and on employment generation, 

instead of questioning the opposition 

Congress. 

Talking to reporters outside Parliament, 

Gandhi said he can understand 

that before 2014 Modi was blaming the 

Congress for everything, but even after 

being in power for four years he was 

still questioning the opposition instead 

of giving answers to the people from the 

floor of the House. 

"I can understand that before 2014, 

the Prime Minister was talking about 

the 70 years of Congress rule. But today, 

the BJP is in government, Modi 

is the Prime Minister not opposition," 

the Congress President said, soon after 

Modi finished his speech in the Lok 

Sabha, in which he fiercely attacked 

the Congress, during his reply on the 

Motion of Thanks on the President's 

Speech. "He can talk about this in a public 

meeting, but in Parliament, you have 

to answer to the country," he said. 

Gandhi raised questions on the details 

of the Rafale fighter jet deal, alleging 

corruption, on the farmers' issues 

and employment generation in the 

country. "There is corruption in the Rafale 

deal, Prime Minister should answer 

on that," he said. 

The Prime Minister, in his more 

than one and a half hour long speech, 

questioned the previous Congress-led 

government and blamed them for "hastily" 

bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. 

Government ally Telugu Desam 

Party was staging a protest in the House 

as the Prime Minister came to reply. 

The TDP members later returned to 

their seats, but Congress MPs continued 

to protest. Modi also blamed the former 

governments under the Congress for 

not doing enough for the progress of the 

country, and said India is lagging behind 

because of them. 

Violence in Punjab town after 2 die in accident 


Chandigarh : At least four vehicles 

and one liquor vend were set 

ablaze in the violence that erupted 

following an accident in which two 

youth were killed in Punjab's Dera 

Baba Nanak town on Tuesday, police 

said. 

The two were killed while they 

were riding on their two-wheeler 

and it was hit by a pick up jeep in the 

town around 55 km from Amritsar. 

The speeding pick-up jeep belonging 

to a liquor contractor hit the 

victims' scooter from behind. Both 

died on the spot. Family members 

of the victims alleged that the liquor 

contractor had deliberately killed 

the youth. 

"We registered a case of murder," 

Batala Senior Superintendent of Police 

Upinderjit Singh Ghumman told 

the media. 

The police rushed to the spot after 

violence broke out. However, by 

then the mob had set the vehicles 

and the liquor vend on fire. 

A fire tender was rushed to the 

spot. Dera Baba Nanak town is 

around 255 km from here. It lies close 

to the international border with Pakistan. 

’84 riots: Tytler says video 

fake, to sue DSGMC chief 


Talking to The Tribune 

on the phone, Tytler said, 

“It (video) is all ‘bakwas’ 

(nonsense). It’s not my 

voice. It’s all concocted. I 

will file a case against Manjit 

Singh.”Meanwhile, GK, 

along with riot victims, today 

took out a candlelight 

march here, demanding 

Tytler’s arrest, even as BJP 

national secretary RP Singh 

met Delhi Home Minister 

Hansraj Ahir and sought an 

FIR against the Congress 

leader.GK said he would gherao 

the Delhi Police headquarters 

tomorrow if the 

police failed to take action 

against Tytler. He said, “I 

have submitted a complaint 

against Tytler at the Greater 

Kailash police station.” 

He added: “Even if I lose my 

life, the SAD cannot give 

up the fight for justice.”RP 

Singh asked Ahir “to ensure 

that the Delhi Police 

do not come under pressure 

and influence of Tytler and 

investigate and file an FIR 

as soon as possible and take 

required action to ensure 

justice to the Sikhs.”He had 

yesterday submitted a complaint 

to the office of the 

Deputy Commissioner of 

Police (New Delhi), seeking 

the registration of an FIR 

under Sections 302, 147, 149 

and 120-B of the IPC.

The International News Weekly india 


11 

Indian Army shall give proper reply to Pakistan: Rajnath 


New Delhi: Union Home 

Minister Rajnath Singh 

on Monday condemned 

the cross-border firing by 

Pakistan in which four Indian 

soldiers, including a 

Captain, were killed, saying 

he has full faith in the 

valour of the Indian Army 

and they shall "give proper 

reply" to the neighbour. 

"Have full faith in the 

valour of our soldiers, and 

they shall give proper reply," 

Rajnath Singh told 

reporters. 

Earlier, Minister of 

State for Home Affairs 

Hansraj Ahir also condemned 

Sunday's ceasefire 

violation in Jammu and 

Kashmir's Rajouri and 

Poonch districts saying 

that it shall "cost Pakistan 

dearly". 

"Pakistan has been 

violating ceasefire along 

the LoC. And this year the 

number of ceasefire violations 

are high," Ahir said. 

"Yesterday (Sunday) 

also, they again violated 

ceasefire. We will not forgive 

Pakistan's actions," 

the Minister said. 

"The ceasefire violations 

would prove to be 

Pakistan's foolishness and 

will cost them dearly," he 

added. 

Union Minister for 

MSME, Giriraj Singh also 

slammed Pakistan for the 

ceasefire violations and 

said, "Have faith in the Indian 

Army. When the right 

time comes they shall give 

a proper reply to them." 

Referring to the 2016 

surgical strikes, the Minister 

said, "When the Army 

carried out surgical strikes 

it didn't tell the media 

about it. Similarly they 

shall act accordingly at the 

right time." 

He said India has been 

following international 

laws. "There is a Hindi saying 

in Bihar 'latkhor' (addicted 

to being beaten), and 

similarly Pakistan is 'latkhor' 

and thus proper reply 

would be given to them," he 

added. 

The Minister's remarks 

came in the wake of the increased 

cross border firing 

in Kashmir valley. 

On Sunday, four Indian 

soldiers were killed and 

four others were injured 

in firing in Rajouri and 

Poonch districts. 

The killed soldiers included 

Captain Kapil Kundu, 

who would have celebrated 

his 23rd birthday on 

February 10. Hailing from 

Haryana's Gurugram, he 

is survived by his mother 

Sunita. 

The others were Riflemen 

Ramavatar, 27, from 

Baraka village in Madhya 

Pradesh's Gwalior, besides 

Subham Singh, 23, from 

Kathua and Havilder Roshan 

Lal, 43, from Samba in 

Jammu and Kashmir. 

Missing oil tanker with 

22 Indians aboard 

released: Sushma 


New Delhi : An oil tanker with 22 Indians on board 

that went missing off Benin coast in the Gulf of Guinea 

near West Africa on Saturday that was believed to have 

been hijacked by pirates has been released, External Affairs 

Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday. 

"I am happy to inform that Merchant Ship Marine 

Express with 22 Indian nationals on board has been released. 

We thank (the) governments of Nigeria and Benin 

for their help and support," the Minister tweeted. 

The ship is owned by Mumbai-based Anglo Eastern 

Shipping Company. 

AIMPLB demands action against those 

speaking of building Ayodhya temple 


Hyderabad : The All 

India Muslim Personal Law 

Board (AIMPLB) on Thursday 

demanded contempt of 

court proceedings against 

those speaking of building 

Ram temple at the site of the 

demolished Babri Masjid in 

Ayodhya. 

The apex body of the 

Indian Muslims, which is 

beginning its crucial threeday 

plenary here on Friday, 

said the court and the government 

should take action 

against those making such 

statements. 

"This is a clear case of 

contempt of court. The court 

and the government should 

take action," said Board 

spokesman Moulana Sajaad 

Nomani. 

He told reporters that 

the Board would present 

its case before the Supreme 

Court and would abide by its 

verdict. 

The apex court on 

Thursday began hearing petitions 

challenging the 2010 

Allahbad High Court verdict 

in Ayodhya dispute case and 

fixed March 14 as the next 

date of hearing. 

Nomani said the Board 

had not received any proposal 

from any organization 

regarding the Babri Masjid 

case to queries about reports 

that some organisations sent 

a proposal offering alternate 

land for building a mosque. 

The Babri Masjid committee 

of the Board will 

place its report before the 

plenary and the same will be 

discussed. 

Nomani said the meeting 

would review all the 

cases relating to Babri Masjid. 

The lawyers will brief 

the meeting on the developments 

in Babri Masjid demolition 

case. In April 2017, the 

Supreme Court had ordered 

that all cases relating to the 

demolition be transferred 

to Lucknow court for day to 

day hearing and they be dispose 

of in a year, he said. 

Another committee of 

the Board will present its report 

about the mosques under 

the Archaeological Survey 

of India (ASI). Nomani 

said it was very unfortunate 

that the ASI does not allow 

'namaz' in these mosques but 

"was blind to all illegal and 

immoral activities there". 

The committee, which 

has done a survey of such 

mosques, will place its report 

for debate. The Board 

will chalk out a strategy for 

a democratic and legal fight 

over the issue. 

Turkish hackers compromise Anupam 

Kher, Ram Madhav's Twitter accounts 


New Delhi : Twitter on Tuesday temporarily 

shut down the accounts of veteran 

actor Anupam Kher, RSS leader and BJP 

General Secretary Ram Madhav and senior 

Indian journalist and Member of Parliament 

Swapan Dasgupta after they were allegedly 

hacked by pro-Pakistani Turkish cyber army 

Ayyildiz Tim. 

"Our teams are working to resolve an issue 

affecting a small number of Indian users. We 

will notify affected account holders directly. 

Reminder: do not click on links in DMs coming 

from unknown accounts," Twitter posted 

on @TwitterSupport handle. 

Kher's account handle was changed from 

@anupampkher to @anupampkhertc and 

his tweets bore unusual messages. The messages 

were later deleted. 

When people tried to access Dasgupta's 

account, a message read, "Caution: This account 

is temporarily restricted. You're seeing 

this warning because there has been some 

unusual activity from this account. Do you 

still want to view it?"When users went ahead 

to see the profile, they could see nothing 

but promoted posts.Ram Madhav's account 

displayed a message saying, "Your account 

has been hacked by Turkish cyber army 

Ayyildiz Tim. Your DM correspondence and 

important data have been captured. I Love 

Pakistan." After the accounts were hacked, 

#AnupamKher became one of the top trending 

hashtags on the micro-blogging site with 

1,221 tweets bearing the actors name. 

Officer’s father urges SC to 

quash FIR against Army 


New Delhi The father of Major Aditya 

Kumar, named in an FIR by Jammu and 

Kashmir Police in civilian killings during 

a firing incident, on Thursday moved the 

Supreme Court to quash the case because it 

will hurt the Army's morale in fighting terrorism 

in the state. 

Major Kumar and other soldiers of 10 

Garhwal Rifles have been accused of opening 

fire and fatally injuring three civilians 

when a stone-pelting mob attacked an army 

convoy near Ganowpora village in Shopian 

district on January 27. 

The FIR would hurt the morale of 

Army personnel in discharging duty, Lt 

Col Karamveer Singh said in his plea filed 

through advocate Aishwarya Bhati. 

"The manner in which the lodging of the 

FIR has been portrayed and projected by 

the political leadership and administrative 

higher-ups of the State, reflects the extremely 

hostile atmosphere in the state. 

"In these circumstances, the petitioner 

is left with no other viable option but to approach 

this Court under Article 32 of the 

Constitution of India for protection of valuable 

Fundamental Rights of his son and 

himself, enshrined under Article 14 and 21 

of the Constitution of India," the plea said. 

It said that Major Kumar was wrongly 

and arbitrarily named as the incident relates 

to an Army convoy on bonafide military 

duty in an area under the AFSPA, 

which was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" 

stone-pelting mob.

The International News Weekly ENTERTAINMENT 

12 


Everyone has social responsibility, 

not just politicians: Manushi Chhillar 


New Delhi: Miss 

World 2017 Manushi 

Chhillar, who is on a humanitarian 

world tour 

on menstrual hygiene, 

on Tuesday said the 

onus doesn't lie on the 

politicians alone to drive 

change. 

Manushi said while 

there's a lot that can happen 

if all political parties 

prioritise menstrual 

hygiene in their manifestos, 

but it's not about 

"just politicians". 

"Every individual 

has a social responsibilty. 

That can push for 

change in the society," 

Manushi told the media. 

Se reminded how 

when she visited her 

home state Haryana after 

her victory at the beauty 

pageant, Haryana Chief 

Minister Manohar Lal 

Khattar had announced 

to arrange for free supply 

of sanitary napkins 

to girls in state schools. 

However, Manushi 

feels these are shortterm 

arrangements. Her 

vision is to be able to develop 

a "sustainable system" 

of manufacturing, 

selling and buying. 

A cause close to her 

heart, creating awareness 

on menstrual hygiene 

was a social project 

presented by Manushi at 

the Miss World contest. 

It also won her the Beauty 

with a Purpose title. 

Taking it forward 

globally, Manushi is 

moving city-to-city and 

country-to-country 

spreading the message 

that 'Freedom From 

Shame' of menstruation 

is 

essential for 

healthy and 

happier women. 

She was accompanied 

by 

Julia Morley, 

Chairman and 

CEO, Miss 

World, former 

Miss World 

Stephanie Del 

Valle and six 

Miss World Continental 

winners 

-- from England, 

Mexico, Kenya, Korea, 

Jamaica and New 

Zealand -- here. 

Also on the dias 

was Jaydeep Mandal, 

Founder Director, 

Aakar Innovations, 

which produces affordable, 

iodegradable and 

compostable sanitary 

napkins. 

Mandal wants the 

government to reconsider 

the 12 per cent tax 

imposed on sanitary 

napkins. 

"It is double the tax 

which was there earlier... 

At least for compostable 

and green products 

there should be no 

tax. This is something 

unique we are doing," he 

said. 

Mandal's company is 

also fighting to destigmatise 

menstruation in 

rural India. He said they 

try and educate men 

about the importance of 

menstruation as many of 

them are not even aware 

of its role in family planning. 

But as Valle, the Miss 

World 2016, put it: "Feminine 

hygiene is very 

important as not will it 

eventually create life, 

but also make women 

happier and healthier." 

Beauty queens from 

Kenya, Korea and Jamaica 

said the stigma 

around menstruation is 

a global problem, and 

they are confident that 

initiatives such as the 

world tour will bring 

about a change. 

My imperfections motivated me most: Gigi Hadid 


New Delhi : Model Gigi Hadid 

says that her mistakes made her 

a better individual and her imperfections 

motivated her the most. 

"Working out isn't only physical 

for me. It's mental. It helps me 

escape the noise in my head. It's 

the only time my mind goes quiet," 

Hadid, who is also the Reebok 

Brand Ambassador, said in a statement. 

"When I was a competitive 

athlete, I used to be so focused 

on being perfect that my coaches 

would take me out of competing all 

together. I'd focus on my mistakes 

which would breed more mis-steps 

- a domino effect. Until I learned 

to change the channel, to refocus, 


New Delhi : Sunny Leone will 

be coming out with her cosmetic 

brand StarStruck soon, and the 

actress says she has tried to create 

something which is good in 

quality and long lasting. 

"It's something I have wanted 

for a very long time. It has taken a 

lot of care, effort and time to get to 

this point and I'm so happy Star- 

Struck is in its final stage before 

it hits the consumer," Sunny told 

IANS. Sunny, whose real name 

is Karenjit Kaur Vohra, made a 

transition into Bollywood after 

reset. It was my mistakes, my 

imperfections that motivated me 

most," she added. 

Hadid is once again making a 

bold, hip statement with her versatile 

look in the all-new Reebok 

Pump Supreme which is a part of 

the brand's Spring Summer collection 

2018. 

Commenting on the launch, 

Silvia Tallon, Senior Marketing 

Director, Reebok India said: 

"Sneakers are an all-time favourite, 

especially for today's millennials 

as they can be teamed with 

just about anything making the 

sporty chic look the new trend 

setter. We are confident that the 

new launch will soon become the 

defining icon of fashion in India, 

as it has globally. " 

Sunny focussed on good quality, 

long lasting cosmetic line 

making a name for herself as an 

adult film actress abroad. 

She took the reality TV route 

with a stint in one of the previous 

seasons of Bigg Boss to come into 

the spotlight in India. She has featured 

in films like "Jism 2", "Ek 

Paheli Leela", "Kuch Kuch Locha 

Hai" and "One Night Stand". 

Sunny says she "created a 

line that I am happy wearing". 

The cosmetic range will be out on 

March 1. She said: "I work many 

hours and am always in front of 

a camera so I wanted to create 

something that is great quality 

and long lasting. 

Kylie Jenner gives 

birth to baby girl, 

names her Stormi 


Los Angeles : Reality TV personality Kylie Jenner and 

rapper Travis Scott have named their daughter Stormi. 

In an Instagram post, Kylie posted an image of her holding 

her daughter's hand with the caption: "Stormi", reports 

the thesun.co.uk. 

Although Kylie and her boyfriend Travis Scott have 

yet to reveal the reason they chose the moniker, some baby 

name websites say the name means having "charm" and being 

able to "attract money". 

Another website claims Stormi means someone who is 

a "free spirit" and has the "biggest heart". 

Kylie announced on Sunday that her child with Scott 

was born on February 1 and apologised for keeping her 

pregnancy secret from her 101 million Instagram followers 

and other fans. 

Stormi is the second of three additions to the Kardashian 

clan this year. Half-sister Kim Kardashian and her rapper 

husband Kanye West announced the arrival in January 

of their third child -- Chicago. Stormi joins Kardashian 

cousins North, Saint, Reign, Dream, Mason and Penelope.

The International News Weekly Sports 


13 

India overpower 

Proteas in 3rd ODI 

Cape Town : India dominated with both 

bat and ball to thrash South Africa by 124 runs 

in the third One-Day International (ODI) here 

on Wednesday. 

The Indians rode on skipper Virat Kohli's 

unbeaten 160 to post a total of 303/6 in their allotted 

50 overs. Left-arm spinners Yuzvendra 

Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav then ran through 

the South African batting line-up with four 

wickets each as the hosts folded up for 179 

runs in 40 overs. Fast bolwer Jasprit Bumrah 

bagged two wickets. 

India now lead the six-match series 3-0. 

Apart from Jean-Paul Duminy, who scored 

51 runs off 67 balls, the other South African 

batsmen were unable to cope with the Indian 

bowling. 

Brief Scores 

South Africa: 179 runs in 40 

overs (Jean-Paul Duminy 51; 

Kuldeep Yadav 4/23, Yuzvendra 

Chahal 4/46) 

'India: 303/6 (Virat Kohli 160 

not out, Shikhar Dhawan 76, 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 16 not 

out; Duminy 2/60). 

Winter Olympics 

Russia denies launching 

cyber attacks 


Moscow: The Russian Foreign Ministry has denied 

launching cyber attacks against the upcoming PyeongChang 

Winter Olympic Games slated to be held from 

Friday in South Korea. 

"We are aware that Western media are planning to 

throw in pseudo-investigations on the issue of the Russian 

trace in hacker attacks on information resources 

related to holding the Winter Olympic Games in South 

Korea," the ministry said in a statement late Wednesday. 

No evidence will be certainly produced to the world, 

as before." The statement said that the accusations of the 

"Russian threat" in cyber space were fuelled by "countries 

that are building up their own military cyber potential, 

while conducting illegal surveillance and violating human 

rights", reports Xinhua news agency. 

Media reports on Wednesday said that cyber security 

researchers had found indications that Russia-based 

hackers may be planning attacks against anti-doping and 

other Olympic organisations in retaliation for Moscow's 

exclusion from the Games scheduled to last till February 

25. The International Olympic Committee banned Russia 

following an investigation into scandals about Russian 

athletes doping in the 2014 Winter Games. 

The Russian athletes have to compete as neutrals in 

PyeongChang. 

Smriti stars in India's huge win 

over S Africa in women's 2nd ODI 


Kimberley: 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. 

Opener Smriti Mandhana 

struck 135 runs to help 

the Indian women's cricket 

team hammer South Africa 

by 178 runs as they took an 

unassailable 2-0 lead in the 

three-match One-day International 

series, part of the 

ICC Women's Championship, 

here on Wednesday. 

Smriti belted a 129-ball 

135, laced with 14 fours and 

a six, while vice captain 

Harmanpreet Kaur (55 not 

out off 69 balls; 4X2, 6X1) and 

Veda Krishnamurthy (51 not 

out off 33; 4X6, 6X1) pressed 

the accelerator to guide the 

visitors to a mammoth 302/3 

in the second game. 

India then rode on 

impressive spin bowling 

from leg-spinner Poonam 

Yadav (4/24), left-arm spinner 

Rajeshwari Gayakwad 

(2/14), off-spinner Deepti 

Sharma 2/34) to bowl out the 

hosts for 124 in 30.5 overs as 

India gained valuable points 

for the World Cup 2021 qualification. 

Right-handed opening 

batswoman Lizelle Lee 

waged a lonely battle for the 

hosts, scoring 73 off 75 deliveries. 

Apart from Lizelle, 

who notched her 13th fifty, 

Marizanne Kapp (17) was 

the only other South African 

who managed to reach 

double-digit score. 

Earlier, put in to bat, the 

visitors got off to a flier with 

Smriti and Poonam Raut 

(20 off 37; 4X3) putting on 56 

runs, before Poonam departed 

caught behind by Trisha 

Chetty off pacer Marizanne. 

Her dismissal brought in 

veteran skipper Mithali Raj 

(20 off 34; 4X1), who added 

51 runs in the company of 

Smriti, who by then had 

crossed her half century off 

64 deliveries. 

With India in a spot of 

bother losing two wickets 

for 107, Harmanpreet joined 

forces with Smriti and the 

duo frustrated the South Africans 

with quality strokeplay. 

Smriti, who struck a 98- 

ball 84 in the opening match, 

took her time and smartly 

got to the three-figure mark 

off 116 balls, before taking 

the attack to the opposition, 

resulting in a 134-run third 

wicket stand with Harmanpreet. 

Just when it appeared 

that the duo will bat the 

hosts out of the game, offspinner 

Raisibe Ntozakhe 

struck with the crucial wicket 

of Smriti, who registered 

her third ODI century. 

But the joy was shortlived 

for the Protea women 

with Veda going all guns 

blazing for her 33-ball half 

century, which resulted in 

a 61-run undefeated stand 

with Harmanpreet. 

Brief Scores: Indian 

women 302/3 (Smriti Mandhana 

135, Harmanpreet 

Kaur 55 not out, Veda Krishnamurthy 

51 not out) vs 

South Africa women: 124 

all out in 30.5 overs (Lizelle 

Lee 73; Poonam Yadav 4/24, 

Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2/14, 

Deepti Sharma 2/34). 

Kuldeep, Chahal could be the X-factor in 2019 World Cup: Kohli 

Cape Town : Virat Kohli has 

openly expressed his fondness for 

wrist spinners on numerous occasions, 

and after gaining an unbeatable 

3-0 lead in the six-match 

ODI series against South Africa, 

the India skipper feels the duo of 

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep 

Yadav will prove to be "massive X- 

factor" in the 2019 ICC World Cup. 

Continuing their dominance 

in the ongoing series, the spin 

twins picked four wickets apiece 

on Wednesday to bundle South 

Africa out for a meagre 179 after 

Kohli's 34th ODI ton propelled 

the tourists to a massive 303/6 in 

the third ODI at Newlands here. 

Chahal and Kuldeep have so far 

accounted for 21 wickets between 

them at an average of 9.05, in the 

three matches so far, prompting 

Kohli to admit that the duo are 

gradually making a strong case to 

feature in the five-day format. 

"Those are things that are 

quite a bit away from now," Kohli 

said when asked of the Test chances 

of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra 

Chahal, especially away from 

home. 

"Look they are obviously making 

a very strong case for themselves, 

bowling in these conditions 

and making breakthroughs 

like we haven't seen before. 

"It's outstanding to see two 

guys just totally spinning a web 

around the opposition. There 

doesn't seem to be a way out at 

all. It's unbelievable. Taking eight 

wickets today. Outstanding," the 

skipper told reporters after the 

124-run win over the Proteas on 

Wednesday. Kohli backed his 

wrist spinners saying the duo may 

get sometimes be belted for runs, 

but going by the way they bowl, 

both could turn out to be massive 

X-factor for the men-in-blue 

during the World Cup in England 

next year.

The International News Weekly February 09, 2018 | Toronto 14

The International News Weekly February 09, 2018 | Toronto 

15

The International News Weekly offbeat 

16 


Nearly 30 pc Indians experienced sexual risk online in 2017: Study 


New Delhi : Nearly three 

in 10 Indians experienced a 

sexual risk online, including 

unwanted sexting, in 2017 

with males reporting higher 

levels of harassment than females, 

a Microsoft study said 

on Tuesday. 

It found that 23 per cent 

males reported harassment 

as compared to 16 per cent females, 

which was driven by 

unwanted sexting. 

The Microsoft study, that 

examined the extent of negative 

behaviour and online 

interactions and their consequences, 

defined harassment 

as unwanted contact, 

unwanted sexting, online 

harassment, cyberbullying 

or misogyny. 

Ranking the country seventh 

— out of 23 countries 

surveyed — with a Digital 

Civility Index (DCI) of 61 per 

cent, the report, however, 

said that the consequences 

from harassment were higher 

for females than males. 

“Females were more 

likely to lose trust in people 

online and offline, have 

greater life stress and had 

higher rates of depression,” 

the report said. 

The report said that the 

exposure to online risks 

among family or friends was 

69 per cent — slightly above 

the global average (65 per 

cent). 

While, unwanted contact 

remained the top risk by a 

wide margin, hoaxes, scams 

and frauds was 10 points lower 

than the global average. 

“Nearly one-third of Indians 

experienced a behavioural 

risk which was eight 

points below the global average. 

Trolling declined and 

fell below the global average 

by six points. Reputational 

risks rose a combined three 

points led by damage to personal 

and work reputation,” 


The report found that in 

India 20 per cent online risks 

were facilitated by family 

and friends as compared to 

17 per cent globally. 

Nearly 77 per cent of respondents 

said they were 

treated in a safe and civil 

manner online which is 12 

points above the global average 

(65 per cent). 

Forty-four per cent of respondents 

had met their perpetrator 

in real life versus 53 

per cent globally. 

“Among those who had 

met their perpetrators, 75 per 

cent met before the risk occurred. 

The average number 

of risks was 72 per cent higher 

among those who had met 

the perpetrator in real life 

versus those who had not,” 


Familiarity with the 

perpetrator in real life also 

affected exposure to consequences. 

Two-thirds of respondents 

(67 per cent) suffered at 

least one consequence from 

online risks with loss of trust 

in people online and loss of 

sleep being the most common. 

“Among those who had 

met their perpetrator in real 

life, 40 per cent lost trust in 

people online and 37 per cent 

lost sleep. This compared to 

lost trust in people online (34 

per cent) and lost sleep (19 

per cent) for those who had 

not met the perpetrator in 

real life,” the report found. 

Most respondents said 

they practiced civil behaviour, 

with India (64 per cent) 

exceeding the global average 

(52 per cent) on standing up 

for themselves. 

Nearly 36 per cent Indians 

stood up for others as 

compared to the 27 per cent 

global average.Females (76 

per cent) were more likely 

than males (69 per cent) to 

treat others with respect and 

dignity. 


New York : Air pollution not 

only affects your health but may 

also lead to unethical behaviour 

such as crime and cheating, researchers 

have warned. 

A combination of archival and 

experimental studies indicated 

that exposure to air pollution, 

either physically or mentally, is 

linked with unethical behaviour. 

The experimental findings 

suggest that this association may 

be due to increased anxiety. 

"This research reveals that air 

pollution may have the potential 

Air pollution can contaminate your morality too 

ethical costs that go beyond its 

well-known toll on health and the 

environment," said lead author 

of the study, Jackson G. Lu of Columbia 

Business School. 

"Our findings suggest that air 

pollution not only corrupts people's 

health, but can also contaminate 

their morality," Lu added. 

For the study, published in the 

journal Psychological Science, researchers 

examined air pollution 

and crime data for 9,360 US cities 

collected over a nine-year period. 

The air pollution data included 

information about six major 

pollutants, including particulate 

matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen 

dioxide and sulphur dioxide. 

The crime data included information 

about offences in seven major 

categories, including murder, aggravated 

assault and robbery. 

The researchers found that 

the cities with higher levels of 

air pollution also tended to have 

higher levels of crime. 

This association held even 

after the researchers accounted 

for other potential factors, including 

total population, number 

of law enforcement employees, 

median age, gender distribution, 

race distribution, poverty rate, 

unemployment rate, unobserved 

heterogeneity among cities and 

unobserved time-varying effects. 

To establish a direct, causal 

link between the experience of 

air pollution and unethical behaviour, 

the researchers also conducted 

a series of experiments. 

According to the researchers, 

previous studies have indicated 

that exposure to air pollution 

elevates individuals' feelings of 

anxiety. Anxiety is known to correlate 

with a range of unethical 

behaviour. 

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