The Indian Weekender, Friday 21 August 2020
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<strong>21</strong>AUGUST<strong>2020</strong> | Vol 12 Issue 23<br />
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2 NEW ZEALAND<br />
Was Alert Level 4 lockdown<br />
legal? High Court says first<br />
nine days not legal, but justified<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
<strong>The</strong> High Court has settled the question<br />
around the legality of Alert Level 4<br />
complete lockdown by saying that the<br />
first nine days did not have a legal basis under<br />
Bill of Rights, though the move was completely<br />
justified then as the government dealt with a<br />
rapidly growing public health pandemic.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Court was delving into the Borrowdale<br />
v Director-General of Health and the Attorney-<br />
General case that sought to challenge the<br />
government’s decision to ask people stay at<br />
home on the basis of no legal basis in the Bill<br />
of Rights.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> court did find that there was a breach<br />
of the Bill of Rights Act in the first 9 days of<br />
the Alert Level 4 lockdown because the original<br />
oral request for people to stay home and in their<br />
bubbles was not put in a formal order until 3<br />
April,” Attorney General David Parker said.<br />
Notably, the government had first issued<br />
a directive on March 25 whereby closing<br />
premises providing non-essential services and<br />
prohibiting outdoor congregating in preparation<br />
for going into Alert Level 4 complete lockdown<br />
at 11.59 pm, Wednesday, March 26.<br />
Despite being the most commonsensical<br />
approach, the government decision was<br />
contested by a Wellingtonian lawyer<br />
Borrowdale for not having any legal basis for<br />
ordering people to remain at home.<br />
“While there is no question that the<br />
requirement was a necessary, reasonable and<br />
proportionate response to the Covid-19 crisis<br />
at the time, the requirement was not prescribed<br />
by law and was therefore contrary to s 5 of the<br />
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act,” the threejudge<br />
judgement said.<br />
RIZWAN MOHAMMAD<br />
<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> High Commission of India in New<br />
Zealand hoisted the <strong>Indian</strong> tricolour flag<br />
on Saturday, <strong>August</strong> 15, celebrating the<br />
74th <strong>Indian</strong> Independence Day.<br />
New Zealand being the first country to see<br />
the sunrise geographically is also the first<br />
country in the world to raise the <strong>Indian</strong> flag and<br />
celebrate Independence Day.<br />
Present at Bharat Bhawan in Wellington, the<br />
High Commissioner of India Muktesh Pardeshi<br />
along with his team and joined by community<br />
members and leaders standing at two metres<br />
apart from each other maintaining social<br />
distancing unfurled the tricolour and sang the<br />
national anthem.<br />
Most of the community members gathered at<br />
the flag hoisting ceremony in Wellington clad<br />
in tricolour dresses in their effort to enhance the<br />
limited yet joyous celebrations.<br />
Post flag hoisting, High Commissioner<br />
Muktesh Pardeshi and his wife Rakhi Pardeshi<br />
honoured the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the<br />
Bharat Bhawan lobby, followed by a brief<br />
program that included singing performances<br />
and speeches for the community members<br />
gathered at the occasion in the hall.<br />
Earlier, several <strong>Indian</strong> Independence Day<br />
celebrations were planned throughout New<br />
Zealand, but most of them were withdrawn due<br />
to Covid-19 Alert Level 2 and 3 restrictions.<br />
High Commissioner of India, Muktesh<br />
Pardeshi conveyed his wishes on occasion<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
to the Kiwi <strong>Indian</strong> community via video<br />
message through the <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> and<br />
thanked them for their contributions during the<br />
lockdowns earlier this year, and support for the<br />
Vande Bharat Mission.<br />
HEALTH MINISTER CHRIS HIPKINS RULES<br />
OUT AUCKLAND MOVING TO ALERT LEVEL 4<br />
RADIO NEW ZEALAND<br />
<strong>The</strong> health minister says<br />
alert level 3 restrictions in<br />
Auckland are helping get to<br />
the bottom of the cluster and the city<br />
would not go into level 4.<br />
Following the positive case of the<br />
hotel maintenance worker, health<br />
officials are being urged to use<br />
serology testing which could reveal<br />
if a person has had the disease even<br />
if they haven›t had a positive Covid<br />
test.<br />
Health Minister Chris Hipkins<br />
said serology tests were used but not<br />
routinely.<br />
He told Morning Report it had been<br />
used for the Auckland cluster but<br />
wasn’t sure if the test had been used<br />
for the Rydges Hotel maintenance<br />
worker.<br />
“We use it where it can help us to<br />
slot new pieces into the puzzle.”<br />
He said the government didn’t yet<br />
have a good understanding of how<br />
the hotel maintenance worker caught<br />
Covid-19.<br />
“It remains a bit of a mystery.”<br />
At this stage, he couldn’t rule<br />
anything out - “surface transfer<br />
certainly possible”, he said adding<br />
that an investigation was still<br />
ongoing.<br />
So far tests of all coworkers, close<br />
contacts, family and household have<br />
returned negative results, Hipkins<br />
said.<br />
“That’s promising ... we got that<br />
one early enough that it hasn’t been<br />
passed on or if it has been passed<br />
on, it won’t spread further because<br />
we’ve isolated all the people that<br />
person could have potentially passed<br />
it on to.”<br />
He said the workmates would be<br />
tested again, but a decision on testing<br />
the household members again was<br />
yet to be made.<br />
“We’ll be making sure there’s no<br />
risk of any of those contacts passing<br />
it on to someone else if they’ve<br />
picked that up.”<br />
He said everyone at the facility<br />
was being tested, and if there was a<br />
spread, it would have almost certainly<br />
showed up in testing results.<br />
“This is the system as it should<br />
operate.”<br />
Hipkins ruled out Auckland<br />
moving to alert level 4.<br />
That’s because there was no spread<br />
at the Rydges Hotel, and though<br />
there was an unidentified spread of<br />
"That’s<br />
promising ... we<br />
got that one early<br />
enough that it<br />
hasn’t been passed<br />
on or if it has<br />
been passed on,<br />
it won’t spread<br />
further because<br />
we’ve isolated all<br />
the people that<br />
person could have<br />
potentially passed it<br />
on to<br />
the ‘Auckland <strong>August</strong> cluster’, the<br />
government was trying to get ahead<br />
of it.<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> High Commission<br />
celebrates Independence Day<br />
in Wellington in Alert Level 2<br />
He said level 3 restrictions were<br />
helping get to the bottom of the<br />
cluster.<br />
However, National Party leader<br />
Judith Collins would not say if<br />
Auckland should stay in level 3 or<br />
not.<br />
Covid-19 border controls were<br />
front and centre yesterday in the<br />
first sitting of Parliament since the<br />
postponement of the election.<br />
Collins told Morning Report not<br />
testing all border staff was «a<br />
massive failure» for the government.<br />
“I’m not going to blame [Director-<br />
General of Health] Dr [Ashley]<br />
Bloomfield.”<br />
Collins said Prime Minister Jacinda<br />
Ardern should take responsibility,<br />
first for letting David Clark stay on as<br />
health minister for three months, and<br />
then appointing Chris Hipkins - who<br />
already holds several portfolios - as<br />
the new minister.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> buck stops at the top and it<br />
stops with her. She’s responsible, she<br />
needs to explain it.<br />
“You don’t as prime minister put<br />
out a press release on 23 June saying<br />
we’re testing frontline staff at the<br />
border and then find out eight weeks<br />
later ... the public finds out that was<br />
not true.”<br />
Collins said there should be<br />
mandatory testing for border staff.<br />
“Once every two weeks is better.”<br />
She said National health<br />
spokesperson Shane Reti had advised<br />
her that about 30 percent of tests<br />
could return false negative results,<br />
which is why she said frequent<br />
testing was necessary.<br />
“It’s not just about testing, it’s also<br />
about contact tracing.”<br />
She said the government’s NZ<br />
Covid Tracer was not working<br />
competently and only 6 percent of<br />
the population was currently using it.<br />
“We will be putting out our policy<br />
in relation to this,” she said.<br />
By 1pm yesterday afternoon,<br />
Bloomfield said nearly 1.5 million<br />
people, or 37 percent of the<br />
population, had downloaded the app.<br />
Collins said people risked losing<br />
their jobs after a “total and systemic<br />
failure at the border”.<br />
“What I believe is that when<br />
Covid-19 comes in through the<br />
border that we have to have a system<br />
in place that immediately can find<br />
out where this has gone.”
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 3<br />
NO OFFICIAL TALKS YET BETWEEN NZ AND<br />
INDIA ON THE POSSIBILITY OF AIR TRAVEL<br />
BUBBLE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
Laying rest to a lot of speculations<br />
dominating the social media in the last<br />
couple of days the Ministry of Foreign<br />
Affairs and Trade had confirmed that there<br />
were yet no talks between the two countries<br />
on a possible air travel bubble.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> has approached the<br />
office of the MFAT for a comment following<br />
a tweet by India’s Civil Aviation Minister<br />
Hardeep Puri on Wednesday, <strong>August</strong> 19,<br />
which said that India was in talks with 13<br />
countries for expanding their global air travel<br />
arrangements, which included New Zealand.<br />
Mr Suri had tweeted. “We continue<br />
to further strengthen the reach and the<br />
scope of Vande Bharat Mission. Air Travel<br />
arrangements are already in place with the<br />
USA, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar &<br />
Maldives.<br />
“We are now taking these efforts forward<br />
& are negotiating with 13 more countries to<br />
establish such arrangements.”<br />
Responding to the <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong>’s<br />
enquiry, an official spokesperson of the MFAT<br />
said, “New Zealand has been working closely<br />
with India since the outbreak of COVID-19 to<br />
support repatriation flights in both directions.<br />
"We are aware of a recent <strong>Indian</strong> Government<br />
announcement about establishing air bubbles<br />
with a range of countries, including possibly<br />
with New Zealand.<br />
"<strong>The</strong>re have not been any discussions to<br />
date on the possibility of an air bubble with<br />
India,» the spokesperson said.<br />
"We are now<br />
taking these<br />
efforts forward & are<br />
negotiating with 13 more<br />
countries to establish<br />
such arrangements<br />
This news will expectedly shatter hopes<br />
for a large number of people who are<br />
currently stranded in both countries amidst<br />
global travel restrictions and limited travel<br />
opportunities and are keen to travel between<br />
the two countries.<br />
India has been working aggressively in<br />
expanding air travel arrangements along<br />
with operationalizing the world’s biggest<br />
repatriation mission - Vande Bharat Mission.<br />
New Zealand, on the other hand, had<br />
been following one of the world’s stringent<br />
elimination strategies for managing Covid-19<br />
health pandemic and progressing very<br />
carefully in forming any air travel bubbles,<br />
including a Trans-Tasman bubble.<br />
However, the fact that the two governments<br />
(New Zealand and India) continues to engage<br />
closely, including on facilitating maximum<br />
possible travel of stranded people between<br />
the two countries augurs well for any talks<br />
at the official level for any possible future air<br />
travel bubble between the two countries.<br />
New election<br />
date announced<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has<br />
announced new election date on October<br />
17, giving political parties a tentative<br />
nine-week times after Auckland moves out of<br />
Alert Level 3.<br />
<strong>The</strong> dissolution of Parliament will now take<br />
place on 6 September and 3 October is when<br />
advanced voting will begin.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Electoral Commission, via the Ministry of<br />
Justice, has advised me that a safe and accessible<br />
election is achievable on this date. This short<br />
delay gives the Commission more time to prepare<br />
including freeing up facilities for early voting<br />
during school holidays,” Jacinda Ardern said.<br />
“Moving the date by four weeks also gives<br />
all parties a fair shot to campaign and delivers<br />
New Zealanders certainty without unnecessarily<br />
long delays.<br />
“With the re-emergence of Covid-19 in our<br />
community these are not ordinary times and<br />
so while the decision as to the election date sits<br />
with me, I spoke with all party leaders to seek<br />
their views.<br />
No future change in election date<br />
Prime Minister has ruled out any future change<br />
one election date regardless of any potential<br />
Covid-19 related situation.<br />
“Covid will be with us for some time to<br />
come. Continuously pushing out an election<br />
does not lessen the risk of disruption and this is<br />
why the Electoral Commission has planned for<br />
the possibility of holding an election where the<br />
country is at Level 2, and with some parts at<br />
Level 3.<br />
“I will not change the election date again,”<br />
Ardern said.
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
Govt brings in 500 more defence personnel<br />
to strengthen border management<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
<strong>The</strong> government has moved-in another<br />
500 personnel of the defence forces to<br />
coordinate what is being described as<br />
“multi-agency tasks” required to speed up the<br />
testing at the managed quarantine facilities.<br />
<strong>The</strong> decision was announced by Prime<br />
Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday, <strong>August</strong><br />
19, public health briefing.<br />
Revealing more details about the nature of<br />
the new deployment a press release from, the<br />
office of Minister of Managed Isolation and<br />
Quarantine (MIQ), Megan Woods further said,<br />
“It is important we do all we can to strengthen<br />
the layers of security systems in our facilities.<br />
“This boost in defence force personnel<br />
will be progressively rolled out over the next<br />
six weeks and will see the number in each<br />
managed isolation and quarantine facility<br />
increase from around 4 people to 19 people, and<br />
also see around 80 extra personnel stationed<br />
at the maritime border to assist Customs,” Dr<br />
Woods said.<br />
Currently, there are 32 managed isolation<br />
and quarantine facilities.<br />
Notably, recently the government has<br />
come under increased pressure for its alleged<br />
shambolic management of quarantine<br />
facilities at the border and<br />
"While<br />
the current<br />
community cluster<br />
has not been sourced to<br />
a managed isolation and<br />
quarantine facility, nothing<br />
is fail-safe and strengthening<br />
security is a<br />
step we believe is<br />
useful."<br />
being inconclusively<br />
linked to the reemergence<br />
of the<br />
second wave of the<br />
Covid-19 in the<br />
country.<br />
Minister of Health<br />
Chris Hipkins had earlier<br />
accepted a damning media<br />
report revealing that almost<br />
60 per cent of frontline border staffs have<br />
not been tested, despite the government’s<br />
earlier expectations for rigorous testing of<br />
everyone involved in border management.<br />
Since then the government has taken a<br />
number of steps to bolster border management,<br />
including rigorous testing.<br />
Minister Woods has however strongly<br />
rejected the allegation that the second wave<br />
of Covid-19 in the country can be linked with<br />
shambolic border management.<br />
“While the current community cluster has<br />
not been sourced to a managed isolation and<br />
quarantine facility, nothing is fail-safe and<br />
strengthening security is a step we believe is<br />
useful,” Megan Woods said.<br />
Thirty staff will deploy to Auckland this<br />
Thursday to staff the first two MIQ facilities.<br />
Currently, there are around 1200 Defence<br />
Force personnel supporting the Covid-19<br />
response, with 990 at Managed Isolation<br />
Facilities and 70 in Police traffic management<br />
services.<br />
National promises to<br />
create a special border<br />
agency as a safeguard<br />
against Covid-19<br />
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SANDEEP SINGH<br />
<strong>The</strong> National Party has released a<br />
border safety plan against Covid-19<br />
virus promising to create a dedicated<br />
border agency in the first 100 days of coming<br />
into government and regular testing of<br />
frontline staff.<br />
In a press release on Thursday, <strong>August</strong><br />
20, the National Party has avowed to put the<br />
responsibility on future international travellers<br />
to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test<br />
before arriving in New Zealand.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> threat of Covid-19 will be with us for<br />
years to come and National is committed to<br />
safeguarding the health of all New Zealanders,<br />
as well as the wider economy,” Judith<br />
Collins said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> party had also avowed to bring<br />
comprehensive oversight in day to day<br />
operations of the border security management<br />
along with a promise to use compulsory contact<br />
tracing technologies by agency employees,<br />
border facility workers, and District Health<br />
Board staff who treat or test patients.<br />
Judith Collins has criticised the government<br />
for its alleged ineptitude in border security<br />
management.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> current ad-hoc system of managing<br />
Covid-19 at our border – putting various<br />
agencies in charge of different facets – has led<br />
to a disorderly and confused response, putting<br />
the health and livelihoods of five million New<br />
Zealanders at risk,” Ms Collins says.<br />
“More than 1.6 million Aucklanders<br />
are locked down right now because the<br />
Government dropped the ball on testing, tracing<br />
"<strong>The</strong> current<br />
ad-hoc system<br />
of managing Covid-19<br />
at our border – putting<br />
various agencies in<br />
charge of different facets<br />
– has led to a disorderly<br />
and confused response,<br />
putting the health and<br />
livelihoods of five million<br />
New Zealanders at risk<br />
and managing people in isolation. It’s not good<br />
enough,” Collins said.<br />
National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane<br />
Reti said that the Party recognises the need to<br />
also prepare a second line of defence, behind<br />
our border, so any incursions can be identified,<br />
traced and isolated quickly.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> first line of defence must be strong<br />
border management, but a high-quality contact<br />
tracing system is a vital second line.<br />
“With strong contact tracing systems and<br />
a more sophisticated testing and compliance<br />
structure we can minimise the impact of further<br />
incursions and protect those vulnerable to<br />
the disease.”<br />
National will follow international models<br />
and require people coming into the country to<br />
not only quarantine but also test themselves<br />
for Covid-19 three days before departure, and<br />
provide the results of that test to airline staff<br />
before boarding their plane, Dr Reti says.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 5<br />
Auckland under Alert Level<br />
3 lockdown: What happens<br />
If your visa expires after<br />
July 9, and you are in NZ?<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
<strong>The</strong> latest lockdown and change of Alerts<br />
levels in Auckland has expectedly<br />
generated some anxiety among<br />
temporary visa holders, both who are ordinarily<br />
living in New Zealand on a long-term basis and<br />
particularly who are visiting on a short-term<br />
basis.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> had been approached<br />
by a number of such anxious temporary visa<br />
holders, specially those who were in the<br />
country at the time of the first lockdown in<br />
April when the government had extended<br />
different categories of visas, and believed that<br />
their visas will again be automatically extended<br />
on this occasion.<br />
In this regard, here is the most updated info on<br />
visa situations as updated by the government’s<br />
Covid-19 all response team.<br />
<strong>The</strong> government says that it remains<br />
sympathetic to individuals who are in New<br />
Zealand and unable to return home at the<br />
moment and following provisions are in place<br />
to help such people.<br />
Employer-assisted temporary work visa<br />
Your employer-assisted temporary work visa<br />
is extended by 6 months if you:<br />
• are in New Zealand, and<br />
• your visa is due to expire before 31<br />
December <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
This includes employer-assisted temporary<br />
work visas that:<br />
• expire after 9 July<br />
• were previously extended to 25 September<br />
under the Epidemic Management Notice.<br />
This extension does not apply to any partner<br />
or dependent child who holds a visa based on<br />
their relationship with you. <strong>The</strong>ir expiry date<br />
will remain the same.<br />
If you were in NZ on 2 April and your<br />
visa expired before 9 July<br />
Your work, student, visitor, limited or interim<br />
visa was extended to 25 September <strong>2020</strong> if:<br />
• you were in New Zealand, and<br />
• your visa had an expiry date between<br />
00:01am, 2 April to 11:59pm 9 July <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
This extension was made under the original<br />
Epidemic Management Notice. A confirmation<br />
of this was emailed to all visa holders.<br />
If your visa expires after 9 July and you<br />
are in NZ<br />
Certain visas have not been extended. This<br />
applies if your visa expires after 9 July and you<br />
have:<br />
• an open work visa<br />
• a student visa<br />
• a visitor visa<br />
• a limited visa, or<br />
• an interim visa.<br />
Your current visa expiry remains the same.<br />
You need to:<br />
• leave the country before your visa expires,<br />
or<br />
• apply for a new visa<br />
This includes partners or dependent children<br />
who hold a visa based on the relationship with<br />
an employer-assisted work visa.<br />
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi<br />
National List MP based<br />
in Manukau East<br />
1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland<br />
09 278 9302<br />
bakshi.mp@parliament.govt.nz<br />
bakshiks<br />
bakshi.co.nz<br />
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Police tighten security<br />
operations in Christchurch<br />
IWK BUREAU<br />
Police will have<br />
an increased<br />
and highly<br />
visible presence around<br />
Christchurch ahead of, and<br />
during, next week’s High<br />
Court sentencing for the<br />
offender convicted of the 15 March terrorist attacks. Canterbury<br />
District Commander Superintendent John Price says Police have<br />
been working closely with other agencies in preparation for the<br />
sentencing hearing, which is expected to last several days.<br />
“This is an unprecedented event with a large number of<br />
victims and their families expected to attend court.<br />
A number of them will read victim impact statements in court<br />
or have them read on their behalf.<br />
“A major security operation has been planned to help ensure<br />
the safety of everyone involved.<strong>The</strong>re will be visible, heightened<br />
security in and around the Justice and Emergency Services<br />
Precinct/Te Omeka (JESP), including parking restrictions and<br />
vehicle barriers in Tuam and Lichfield streets. Anyone entering<br />
the Christchurch Law Courts will be subject to usual court<br />
screening measures and is encouraged to arrive early.<br />
“Please leave bags at home, if possible.<br />
“Police would like to thank the community for their<br />
understanding and cooperation as we work together to ensure a<br />
safe environment for these proceedings.”<br />
Police front counter services at JESP have been suspended for<br />
the duration of the sentencing hearing.<br />
Papanui and Christchurch South stations will extend their<br />
front counter hours until 9pm, and Police are always available<br />
24/7 by calling 105, or in an emergency, 111.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re will also be changes to public access and services<br />
available from the Christchurch Law Courts during the<br />
sentencing hearing.<br />
New Wage Subsidy Scheme announced:<br />
Here’s what you need to know<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has<br />
announced a new wage subsidy scheme<br />
today after the earlier wage subsidy and<br />
subsequent extension of wage subsidy scheme.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new wage subsidy scheme will cost $510<br />
million. <strong>The</strong> costs are expected to be covered by<br />
the previous underspend on the extended wage<br />
subsidy. <strong>The</strong> new wage subsidy scheme will<br />
save 470,000 jobs and along with the original<br />
wage subsidy and extension schemes will save<br />
a total of 930,000 jobs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> criteria for the new wage subsidy will<br />
remain similar with businesses required to<br />
experience or predicted to have a 40 per cent<br />
revenue drop due to COVID-19.<br />
<strong>The</strong> revenue drop, for the purpose of<br />
eligibility under new wage subsidy should be<br />
for any consecutive period of at least 14 days<br />
within 12 <strong>August</strong> and 10 September compared<br />
to last year.<br />
Mr Robertson said, “<strong>The</strong> new wage subsidy<br />
will help support cashflow and confidence.<br />
Along with the existing wage subsidy extension<br />
– which is open until 1 September for eligible<br />
businesses – the Treasury estimates that about<br />
930,000 jobs will be covered by the two<br />
schemes.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> wage subsidy will cover a two week<br />
period (the time Auckalnd has been moved into<br />
Alert Level 2), which businesses can apply for<br />
any stretch of consecutive 14 days where they<br />
have experienced a 40 per cent fall in revenue<br />
anytime between 12 <strong>August</strong> and 10 September.<br />
Mortgage deferral scheme is also<br />
extended<br />
<strong>The</strong> mortgage deferral scheme<br />
is also being extended from<br />
its current end-date of 27<br />
September, to 31 March 20<strong>21</strong>.<br />
Further details will be made<br />
available by the Reserve Bank<br />
and the retail banks.<br />
"To<br />
further<br />
support wide-scale<br />
testing, we’ve removed<br />
the revenue-drop and<br />
‘negatively impacted’ tests<br />
for the COVID-19 Leave<br />
Support Scheme."<br />
MSD has advised the new wage subsidy<br />
scheme will be open for applications by the end<br />
of the week, <strong>Friday</strong> <strong>21</strong> <strong>August</strong>.<br />
COVID-19 Leave Support<br />
Scheme to encourage<br />
widespread testing<br />
Finance Minister also announced<br />
strengthening of Covid-19 Leave Support<br />
scheme to help businesses with wage subsidies<br />
for staff who have been asked for self-isolation<br />
after testing by appropriate medical officers and<br />
public health officials.<br />
“To further support wide-scale testing, we’ve<br />
removed the revenue-drop and ‘negatively<br />
impacted’ tests for the COVID-19 Leave<br />
Support Scheme. This means businesses with<br />
workers who have been told by health<br />
officials or their medical practitioner<br />
to self-isolate will receive the<br />
equivalent of the wage subsidy to<br />
help cover that person’s wages<br />
for the time they cannot be at<br />
work,” Mr Robertson said.<br />
<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
Additional security systems<br />
announced for managed isolation<br />
IWK BUREAU<br />
Additional security systems, including thermal CCTV that<br />
triggers an alarm if returnees break out, will be rolled<br />
out to all Managed Isolation and Quarantine Facilities,<br />
Housing Minister Megan Woods announced today.<br />
<strong>The</strong> estimated $6 million rollout is part of an ongoing<br />
programme of continual improvement in the managed isolation<br />
and quarantine system and follows yesterday’s announcement of<br />
a 500-person boost to defence force personnel in manage<br />
isolation and quarantine facilities, and previous<br />
"We<br />
are mindful<br />
of the privacy of<br />
returnees and any<br />
additional surveillance<br />
will take place only in<br />
the public areas of the<br />
facilities, not in<br />
rooms."<br />
increases to Police and security fencing.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Government will also be commencing<br />
a pilot of the COVID card with staff inside a<br />
managed isolation facility, with a view to a wider<br />
roll out in the coming months. This technology<br />
will add a layer of assurance to ensure we can<br />
track movements within facilities to enable rapid<br />
contact tracing and builds on the various other<br />
initiatives we have been rolling out to minimise risk of an<br />
outbreak coming from our facilities.<br />
“Managed isolation and quarantine facilities are commercial<br />
hotels with security systems that support the hotel function but<br />
there is room to improve these systems to better protect our<br />
communities from COVID-19,” Megan Woods said.<br />
Whilst each facility is very different it is proposed to add the<br />
following security enhancements where feasible:<br />
• <strong>The</strong>rmal CCTV (night and day vision) around the perimeter<br />
with geo-fenced alarming. This technology would create an<br />
alarm when people move within a defined area;<br />
• CCTV in public and exercise areas to monitor distance<br />
breaches;<br />
• CCTV in accommodation corridors to monitor any breaches<br />
between rooms;<br />
<strong>Indian</strong>s stranded in NZ<br />
urged to buy ticket on Air<br />
India website for <strong>August</strong><br />
25 repatriation flight<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> High Commission has issued<br />
a new directive urging all <strong>Indian</strong>s<br />
stranded in New Zealand and keen to<br />
travel back home on the next Vande Bharat<br />
Mission repatriation flight (<strong>August</strong> 25) to<br />
keep an eye on the Air India website and<br />
purchase ticket.<br />
<strong>The</strong> directive was issued by the <strong>Indian</strong> High<br />
Commission in a social media post earlier today<br />
guiding the next steps to all those keen to return<br />
to India on the next repatriation flights under<br />
NZ leg of the Vande Bharat Mission.<br />
<strong>The</strong> interested passengers are being urged<br />
to first register on a weblink http://<br />
repat.videshapps.gov.in/regis. that will<br />
automatically generate a registration number<br />
that they will need further for purchasing flight<br />
tickets to India.<br />
It seems that this automated process will be<br />
working on a first come first serve basis as the<br />
users who can timely register themselves, get<br />
a registration number and further log-in on Air<br />
India’s website will be able to purchase a ticket.<br />
<strong>The</strong> office of <strong>Indian</strong> High Commission<br />
has stated that they are focused on sending<br />
stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s home expeditiously and have<br />
been continuously trying to streamline the<br />
procedures to make that easy.<br />
Paramjeet Singh, Second Secretary at the<br />
office of the <strong>Indian</strong> High Commission told the<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong>, “This process is designed<br />
after some serious deliberations between our<br />
Mission and Air India with a focus on reducing<br />
anxiety and increasing satisfaction of people<br />
experiencing distress.”<br />
• Security Control Room/Desk,<br />
• Audible alarms on fire exits<br />
Electronic access systems to restrict or track<br />
movement around a facility.<br />
“Benefits include an increased ability to quickly<br />
detect and respond to perimeter breaches and incursions,<br />
and breaches of managed isolation and quarantine facility rules<br />
and security such as physical distancing and use of PPE. It will<br />
also enable better evidence collection to support enforcement<br />
action and if necessary police prosecution for non-compliance.<br />
“Keeping COVID-19 at the border is a priority for the<br />
Government and these security enhancements are another tool<br />
in our toolbox to ensure returnees stay in the facilities and limit<br />
risk to the community.<br />
“While no system is fool proof these additional security<br />
arrangements add an extra layer of protection to help keep<br />
COVID at the border.<br />
“We are mindful of the privacy of returnees and any additional<br />
surveillance will take place only in the public areas of the<br />
facilities, not in rooms,” Megan Woods said.<br />
"This process<br />
is designed<br />
after some serious<br />
deliberations between<br />
our Mission and Air India<br />
with a focus on reducing<br />
anxiety and increasing<br />
satisfaction of people<br />
experiencing distress<br />
Mr Singh refused to divulge any further<br />
information.<br />
Meanwhile, some of the lucky passengers<br />
who have been able to purchase and book<br />
tickets on the <strong>August</strong> 25 flight have told the<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> that the cost of an economy<br />
class ticket was NZD $2,478.85.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 7<br />
Kiwi <strong>Indian</strong> among the<br />
doctor-duo who lost<br />
lives in a road accident<br />
RIZWAN MOHAMMAD<br />
THIS MONTH’S SPECIAL<br />
OFFER VALID : 01/08/<strong>2020</strong>~31/08/<strong>2020</strong><br />
Two resident doctors of Palmerston<br />
North Hospital died in a horrific road<br />
accident on Wednesday, <strong>August</strong> 12.<br />
Names of the two men were released by<br />
police, 27-year-old James Huang and 26-yearold<br />
Kiwi <strong>Indian</strong> Vinay Angadi Rudresh<br />
who were as resident medical officers at<br />
the emergency department of Palmerston<br />
North Hospital.<br />
Police were called at around 7:45 a.m. at the<br />
intersection of Roberts Line and Railway Road,<br />
Milson when the duo travelling in their sedan<br />
crashed on to a truck.<br />
Friends of the deceased have started a<br />
Facebook page in their memory and shared<br />
their most fond memories with the duo and<br />
extending their condolences with their families.<br />
Deceased Vinay Angadi was brought up<br />
in Auckland, New Zealand and did his early<br />
schooling at Auckland Grammar School and<br />
completed his higher studies at Auckland<br />
University of Technology.<br />
Rahul Chopra, a close friend of Vinay whom<br />
he met at a youth group and association at<br />
Chinmaya Mission New Zealand, told <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> that Vinay was a smart,<br />
humble and intelligent person.<br />
He added that Vinay’s family earlier lived<br />
in Auckland, New Zealand but had moved<br />
overseas a few years ago.<br />
Taking approval from his family, Rahul has<br />
started a Givealittle page to raise funds for<br />
Vinay’s family with travel and funeral cost.<br />
“I met him around eight years ago; he<br />
was a smart and intelligent man with loads<br />
of potential. We were associated in several<br />
programs, camps and youth groups,” friend<br />
Rahul Chopra said. Rahul added that Vinay<br />
had recently completed his medical studies and<br />
lived in Palmerston North working at a hospital<br />
there for a few years.<br />
Hospital staff at Palmerston North posted a<br />
video on social media sobbing and praying their<br />
lost colleagues who they said ‘their smiles will<br />
be missed dearly by us’.<br />
Friends of James Huang are also hosting<br />
a separate Givealittle page to raise fund to<br />
support James’ funeral and family.<br />
Residents in Palmerston has in the past<br />
claimed the intersection to be potential high<br />
accident zone with near misses, crashes in the<br />
last few years.<br />
A resident in Palmerston North has started a<br />
petition on change.org to Palmerston North City<br />
Council to make the intersection of Railway<br />
Road and Roberts Line safer, either by lowering<br />
the speed limit or creating a roundabout.<br />
An accident at the same intersection killed a<br />
63-year-old Kusum Sarin, a tourist from India<br />
on December 31, 2018. Sarin had died at the<br />
scene, and four other fellow passengers were<br />
taken to Palmerston North Hospital then, two<br />
with moderate and two with serious injuries.<br />
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<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
<strong>Indian</strong> High Commission gives Certificates<br />
of Appreciation to mark support provided<br />
to communities during the lockdown<br />
RIZWAN MOHAMMAD<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> High Commission has on the<br />
occasion of 74th <strong>Indian</strong> Independence<br />
Day acknowledged and felicitated<br />
nine individuals and organisations for their<br />
exceptional contributions towards stranded<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> nationals and temporary migrant<br />
workers out of resources during the first Alert<br />
Level 4 lockdown in the country.<br />
<strong>The</strong> names were announced and presented<br />
certificates at the Independence Day celebration<br />
event under Alert Level 2 in at Bharat Bhawan<br />
in Wellington on Saturday, <strong>August</strong> 15.<br />
Prominent charitable organisations such as<br />
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Supreme Sikh<br />
Society of New Zealand, Ekta Foundation, Jeet<br />
Suchdev of Bhartiya samaj Charitable trust,<br />
along with noted individuals within community<br />
such as Mahesh Ranchhod, Monty Patel,<br />
Prithipal Singh Basra, , and Dr Vikas Sethi<br />
from Prana Health were amongst those who<br />
received the certificate of appreciation.<br />
During the national lockdown in New<br />
Zealand earlier this year, approximately,<br />
3000 <strong>Indian</strong> nationals, who had come to<br />
NZ for tourism, visiting their families, for<br />
business, and temporary workers were left<br />
stranded without many financial resources to<br />
support themselves.<br />
<strong>The</strong> issues then ranged from running out<br />
of money to pay necessary living expenses<br />
and bills, people having medical conditions<br />
and ran out of their prescriptions, there a few<br />
bereavements, the mortal remains of whom had<br />
to be sent back home (India), and many were<br />
desperate to be able to return to their homes<br />
and families.<br />
In such times, the High Commission of<br />
India assured to help the needy with essentials,<br />
accommodation, food up until a repatriation<br />
flight was organised to take those stranded<br />
nationals back home.<br />
In this endeavour, several <strong>Indian</strong> community<br />
organisations and individuals came forward<br />
offering money, food, shelter, medicines, and<br />
some even to transport essentials to the doors<br />
of the needy individuals and families.<br />
“Many volunteered to deliver food, medicines<br />
and other essentials to their doorsteps, doctors<br />
offered their services free of charge, and It<br />
was a collective victory of the human spirit,”<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> High Commissioner Muktesh Pardeshi<br />
said at the felicitation ceremony in Wellington<br />
last weekend.<br />
“It is obviously not possible for us to name all<br />
those who came forward to help, but we have<br />
identified nine organisations and individuals,<br />
the ‘Navratnas’, who rendered yeoman’s<br />
service to the stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s and we recognise<br />
their contribution by way of ‘Certificates of<br />
Appreciation’,” Mr Pardeshi added.<br />
<strong>The</strong> recipients were:<br />
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha<br />
BAPS Swaminarayan has always been<br />
proactive in helping the communities, and<br />
apart from providing spiritual succour in these<br />
stressful times (lockdown), they gave 50 kits<br />
of food items and other basic needs to High<br />
Commission of India for distribution in the<br />
Wellington area and 100 kits to our Honorary<br />
Consul in Auckland for distribution in the<br />
larger Auckland area.<br />
Ekta Foundation<br />
Ekta NZ has been at the forefront in helping<br />
the homeless and the deprived with<br />
RIZWAN MOHAMMAD<br />
Fate took a drastic turn for a<br />
young migrant couple living in<br />
New Zealand when the wife of a<br />
migrant worker got hospitalised due to a<br />
terminal illness and husband left work to<br />
be by her side during the last days of his<br />
sick partner.<br />
A 31-year-old woman temporary<br />
migrant worker from India, Manwinder<br />
Kaur died in Auckland last week ending<br />
her four months trial with blood cancer.<br />
Community mourned the loss of a<br />
young life to Leukaemia, who worked<br />
as a healthcare professional in an<br />
Auckland company.<br />
Manwinder was diagnosed with the<br />
illness earlier in April this year and spent<br />
her last days in Auckland Hospital with<br />
her husband, Gagandeep Singh by her<br />
community kitchens, distribution of clothes and<br />
in so many other ways.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y closely coordinated with High<br />
Commission of India in reaching out and helping<br />
stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s in the larger Wellington area.<br />
Jeet Suchdev<br />
President of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust<br />
from Auckland has been the voice of ethnic<br />
senior citizens for more than two decades.<br />
During the first lockdown, he provided every<br />
possible assistance to HCI and Consulate in<br />
Auckland with the stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s and while<br />
seeing them off from Auckland airport.<br />
Mahesh Ranchhod<br />
Mahesh Ranchhod comes from a family<br />
with a long history of philanthropy,<br />
which firmly believes in giving back to society.<br />
A flourishing businessman who came together<br />
with Honorary Consul in Auckland to provide<br />
food and other basic needs to the stranded<br />
community.<br />
Bhav Dhillon<br />
Honorary Consul of India, Bhav Dhillon led<br />
the mission in Auckland dedicating not<br />
just his time and but also resources, directing and<br />
side.<br />
Manwinder hailed from Kotkapura<br />
district of Punjab, India and got married<br />
to Gagandeep in 2015.<br />
She was on Essential Skills Work Visa<br />
in New Zealand and the couple visited<br />
by their in-laws earlier in 2019.<br />
Being the only family member to his<br />
sick wife here in Auckland, Gagandeep<br />
left work supporting her with hospital<br />
visits, medications and taking care<br />
of Manwinder.<br />
Adding to the stress of being the sole<br />
breadwinner out of work amid Covid-19<br />
pandemic, Gagandeep applied for visa<br />
exemption of her family members in<br />
India earlier in April to visit their loved<br />
one, but Immigration New Zealand<br />
declined the application.<br />
Manwinder lost the battle to her illness<br />
on Tuesday, <strong>August</strong> 11 at Auckland<br />
coordinating relief efforts including arranging<br />
food items, bringing community organisations<br />
and individuals together, managing volunteers<br />
and distributing food bags to needy individuals.<br />
Monty Patel<br />
Owner of a chain of restaurants and food<br />
processing businesses in the Wellington<br />
area, Monty Patel when came across the news<br />
that foodbanks in the region were running low<br />
on supplies- he came forward and donated<br />
22 tonnes of rice worth around hundreds of<br />
thousands of dollars, which have been finding<br />
their way to the people in need through various<br />
charities.<br />
Prithipal Basra<br />
Lack of accommodation was one of the<br />
biggest challenges that the stranded <strong>Indian</strong><br />
nationals faced.<br />
A prominent Auckland hotelier came forward<br />
and opened the doors of his motels and gave<br />
shelter to the stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s for weeks<br />
that included meals for both individuals and<br />
families living there.<br />
Supreme Sikh Society of New<br />
Zealand<br />
<strong>The</strong> Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand<br />
embodied this teaching of serving<br />
humanity as they distributed thousands of food<br />
packets not only to the stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s but to<br />
all those in need in the community, spread from<br />
Auckland to several small cities and towns in<br />
North Island.<br />
Dr Vikas Sethi<br />
As per the SOPs for international travel<br />
in these Covid times, passengers had to<br />
undergo medical screening before they could<br />
board the Vande Bharat Mission led Air India<br />
flights back home.<br />
Dr Vikas Sethi and his colleagues from<br />
Prana Health came forward and helped the<br />
High Commission of India in meeting this vital<br />
requirement and offered free medical services<br />
to many stranded <strong>Indian</strong>s travelling back home.<br />
Temporary migrant<br />
worker loses battle to<br />
terminal illness, rested in Auckland<br />
Hospital last week.<br />
Husband had Gagandeep applied for a<br />
short-term visa exemption for her family<br />
members from India to attend the funeral<br />
but said he did not receive any response<br />
from Immigration New Zealand.<br />
Gagandeep, having been out of work<br />
for months since he was taking care<br />
of his wife, reached out to the High<br />
Commission of India to help cover some<br />
funeral costs.<br />
Gagandeep conducted his wife<br />
Manwinder’s funeral on <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong><br />
14 at Ann’ Funeral in South Auckland in<br />
the presence of friends and community<br />
members which was limited to ten due to<br />
Alert Level 3 in Auckland.<br />
A prayer ceremony was held at Sri<br />
Guru Nanak Dev Sikh Sangat Gurdwara<br />
in Otahuhu for the peace of the departed<br />
soul earlier on Monday, <strong>August</strong> 17.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 9<br />
<strong>The</strong> Govt’s resurgence<br />
plan with COVID-19<br />
Priyanca Radhakrishnan<br />
Labour List MP based in Maungakiekie<br />
and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the<br />
Minister for Ethnic Communities<br />
We currently have cases of COVID-19 in<br />
our community once again. As a result, the<br />
Auckland region will remain in Alert Level<br />
3 until 11:59pm Wednesday 26 <strong>August</strong>, while the rest of<br />
New Zealand will remain in Alert Level 2 for the same<br />
duration.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Prime Minister has recently announced<br />
that the General Election will now be held on<br />
17 October <strong>2020</strong>. This short delay gives the Commission<br />
more time to p repare, including freeing up facilities for<br />
early voting during school holidays.<br />
<strong>The</strong> government’s focus right now is on keeping New<br />
Zealanders safe from COVID-19, while minimising<br />
the ongoing economic impact of the virus – and not on<br />
electioneering.<br />
We will face this together. We’ve done it before and<br />
we’ll do it again.<br />
Our strong systems have kept us COVID-free almost<br />
longer than anywhere else. We had more than 100 days<br />
without community transmission, in which time we<br />
were able to learn from incidents of resurgence in other<br />
countries.<br />
But there was always a chance the virus would<br />
reappear here.<br />
That’s why we developed a plan for dealing with<br />
it. This was based on lessons from overseas and we<br />
activated it immediately. It is a rapid response to break<br />
the chain of transmission. <strong>The</strong> aim now is to quickly<br />
identify cases and stamp them out.<br />
We said from the start that the best economic response<br />
was a strong health response. And so we are prepared to<br />
go hard now with our plan, in the knowledge that this<br />
can save lives in the short term and soften the economic<br />
blow in the long term.<br />
In addition, the government has moved quickly<br />
with a further economic package to cushion the blow<br />
for businesses and workers that includes a new wage<br />
subsidy scheme and a simplified leave scheme.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new wage subsidy will help support cash flow and<br />
confidence.<br />
Along with the existing wage subsidy extension –<br />
which is open until 1 September for eligible businesses<br />
– the Treasury estimates that about 930,000 jobs will be<br />
covered by the two schemes.<br />
Practising good hygiene, keeping track of where you<br />
go, and staying home if you feel sick are all still among<br />
the best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19. At higher<br />
alert levels please use a mask when accessing essential<br />
services.<br />
At lower alert levels we advise their use in places<br />
where social distancing can be difficult. Also, please<br />
download the NZ COVID Tracer app to enable more<br />
efficient contact tracing when required.<br />
You will see and hear from the Government daily as<br />
we move cautiously through this period. What we do in<br />
the coming days will determine what the coming months<br />
look like for us.<br />
Let’s be calm, kind and supportive.<br />
As a team of five million, we’ve done it before and<br />
together we’ll do it again.
10 NEW ZEALAND<br />
<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
Shri Radha Krishna Mandir celebrated<br />
festival of Janmashtami in its full glory<br />
SUPPLIED CONTENT<br />
<strong>The</strong> catering team handed out<br />
This week we celebrated<br />
prasad to every devotee visiting<br />
the most awaited festival<br />
the temple on the day who couldn’t<br />
of the year, Shri Krishna<br />
stay till midnight. We thank each<br />
Janmashtami. It’s an auspicious<br />
and every devotee who came and<br />
occasion for all.<br />
who made various offerings at the<br />
Shri Krishna is the eighth avatar of<br />
temple. We are also grateful to all<br />
Lord Vishnu who was born on earth<br />
the committee members into<br />
to restore peace and dharma in the<br />
"Stay making this celebration a<br />
dwapar yug.<br />
home if grand one.<br />
Janmashtami is observed on the<br />
possible, maintain <strong>The</strong> day ended with<br />
eighth-day of ashtami of the Krishna<br />
social distancing, an announcement<br />
paksha in the month of Shravan.<br />
wear a mask, wash of lockdown level<br />
hands frequently.<br />
On Tuesday, <strong>August</strong> 11, we<br />
3 from Wednesday<br />
Stay healthy and<br />
celebrated one of the world’s<br />
midday.<br />
safe."<br />
most widely observed spiritual<br />
“We urged everyone to<br />
festivals Shri Krishna Janmashtami<br />
strictly follow the guidelines<br />
also known as Gokul Ashtami.<br />
given by government officials<br />
Preparations were in full swing a<br />
regarding Covid19. Together we<br />
week before the celebration. Temple<br />
will win over Covid19. Stay home if<br />
was open all day.<br />
possible, maintain social distancing,<br />
People offered flowers, fruits<br />
wear a mask, wash hands frequently.<br />
and sweets and took blessings.<br />
Stay healthy and safe” Pandit<br />
Janmashtami, celebrations started<br />
Devrambhai said. <strong>The</strong> holy month of<br />
with bhajans from 7.30 pm conducted by Acharya Shri Dr seemed like we had Lord Krishna Krishna in the decorated cradle.<br />
Shravan ended on <strong>August</strong> 19.<br />
<strong>The</strong> temple will be closed until<br />
onwards by the Pushpanjali group Devrambhai Raval. <strong>The</strong> idol of Shri amongst us. <strong>The</strong> atmosphere was Devotees broke their fast by<br />
further notice. For updates,<br />
followed by RK Mandir group until Krishna was placed in a cradle after absolutely divine.<br />
traditional and favourite foods of please like the Radha Krishna<br />
after midnight.<br />
the pooja.<br />
Maha Aarti was performed after Lord Krishna: panjiri, makhan, Mandir Facebook page, or if you<br />
have any enquiries, you may<br />
Krishna’s ritualistic pooja At midnight we replicated midnight by hundreds of devotees malpua, kheer, moong curry<br />
kindly ring Acharya Shri Dr<br />
includes 16 steps which are part baby Krishna in a basket taken by present at the temple. Devotees etc. which was prepared by the Devrambhai Raval on 3794463.<br />
of the shodashopachara pooja was Vasudev from Mathura to Gokul. It lined up to have one glance of Lord catering team.<br />
INDIAN AUCKLAND MEETUP: A great<br />
way to meet new people and have fun<br />
SUPPLIED CONTENT<br />
On Sunday, <strong>August</strong> 9, Rachit<br />
Kushwaha and his team<br />
hosted 180 people from<br />
various cultures, backgrounds<br />
and experiences at their 8th<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> Auckland Meetup. With<br />
a photo booth, food, chocolate<br />
stall, performances, and engaging<br />
activities, people made some<br />
wonderful memories and friends to<br />
cherish a lifetime.<br />
“Sometimes all it takes is leaving<br />
the boxes we live in, day in, day<br />
out and meet people from different<br />
walks of life and learn to live out of<br />
the box. It’s a simple yet powerful<br />
idea of bringing all <strong>Indian</strong> living in<br />
Auckland (New Zealand) under one<br />
roof every month to engage with each<br />
other in a positive and supportive<br />
way,” organiser of the event Rachit<br />
Kushwaha said.<br />
Over the past eight events, the<br />
meetup had an amazing bunch<br />
of enthusiastic people willing to<br />
participate in activities. Through<br />
these meetups, many networks were<br />
built, received offers of opportunities,<br />
built long-lasting friendships; people<br />
met like-minded friends, found a<br />
new confidence, developing people’s<br />
skills and a lot more.<br />
In <strong>Indian</strong> Auckland Meetup’s<br />
Facebook group, one can easily see<br />
members post explaining how this<br />
meetup impacted them positively<br />
and how some came out of their shell<br />
rediscovered themselves.<br />
In conversation with <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong>, founder Rachit<br />
Kushwaha gives more insight about<br />
the group and the meetup, how it<br />
has become popular and their future<br />
plans.<br />
IWK: What is <strong>Indian</strong> Auckland<br />
Meetup and why one should<br />
join it?<br />
Rachit: A common platform to<br />
wake up the social butterfly inside<br />
you and meet a potential future best<br />
friend, your employer, perhaps a<br />
network that might bring a dream<br />
opportunity. Most importantly, our<br />
meetup aims to “get people off the<br />
internet” and make it a family event<br />
where we care, we nurture one<br />
another and celebrate who we are.<br />
IWK: How this meetup started?<br />
Rachit: It all started by the saying<br />
of 14 people “Khoob jamega rang<br />
jab mil baithenge kuch yaar, hongi<br />
kuch batien aur kuch mastie”.<br />
This basically means there will be<br />
colourful happenings and beginnings<br />
when those amazing friends will<br />
come together, talk about life and<br />
have some fun. <strong>The</strong>se 14 people<br />
dreamed of this and converted the<br />
meetup into a 100 then to a 1000 and<br />
today we are 4000 altogether! How<br />
amazing is that? Ah! I know you<br />
want to join in!<br />
IWK: Why this meetup is different<br />
from others?<br />
Rachit: <strong>The</strong> uniqueness of this<br />
meetup is that we welcome people<br />
from various walks of life. Not only<br />
that, but the fun activities we organize<br />
also encourages everyone to interact<br />
with each other, and become more<br />
open-minded and accepting towards<br />
others. As we all know, moving to<br />
and settling in a new country can be<br />
hard. <strong>The</strong>se meetups have been<br />
especially helpful for the new<br />
immigrants as it allowed them to<br />
open up about their experiences,<br />
which in turn has also helped others.<br />
IWK: What were the highlights<br />
of your recent meetup?<br />
Rachit: Our event was a 3-hour<br />
long event. We scheduled and<br />
designed everything carefully simply<br />
to wake up the social butterfly inside<br />
the attendees. Yes! It was a paid event<br />
($10), but as per the reviews we<br />
received, people found it worthwhile.<br />
We did two ice-breaking activities,<br />
a free mingling session while our<br />
amazing DJ KAZ (Karan Bhatia),<br />
played his tunes in the background.<br />
A photo booth was also stationed to<br />
allow<br />
participants to capture selfies with<br />
new-found friends. <strong>The</strong>re were also<br />
some fun group activities organized<br />
- a comedy standup (Gaurav Juneja),<br />
a singing performance (Ashish<br />
Ramakrishnan), a group dance<br />
performance (Aaja Nachle NZ) and<br />
a jam session to end the evening<br />
smoothly with.<br />
We were also accompanied by some<br />
well know personalities like Priyanca<br />
Radhakrishnan (MP, NZ Labour<br />
Party), Jeet Suchdev (Bhartiya Samaj<br />
Charitable. Trust), Mit Patel (Page 3),<br />
Jilesh Desai (Radio Tarana), FitNit<br />
(Fitness Influencer), Ashima Singh<br />
(Legal Associates Papatoetoe) and<br />
Giridharan Giri (Relianz Forex NZ).<br />
Last but not least, I was amazed<br />
to see the dedication and hard work<br />
that group moderators showed to<br />
make this meetup a successful one.<br />
A shoutout to Sabiha Patel, Kanika<br />
Rakheja, Yasmeen, Apoorva Ch,<br />
Sanjana Macwan, Mayuri Mahadik,<br />
Rohit Guglani, Palak Malhotra,<br />
Gaurav Juneja, Supreet Kaur and<br />
Sarableen Singh.<br />
IWK: What are your future<br />
plans with the meetup?<br />
Rachit: That’s a good question!<br />
"Given that we have had such a<br />
success with the meetups, I plan to<br />
organize nationwide meetups, that<br />
is, a separate meetup for each city.<br />
This means you don’t have to travel<br />
too far plus it will allow people to get<br />
to know each other from their own<br />
community/city so they can meet up<br />
with each other if they want to.<br />
"I am also thinking of a meetup<br />
app to make it easier for everyone to<br />
access the meetup information. We<br />
are on a lookout for people who can<br />
help us build this community app.<br />
"Furthermore, my objective is<br />
to promote unity and accepting<br />
diversity. This will set the right<br />
example for the young generation<br />
in NZ. <strong>The</strong>re is a need for everyone<br />
to understand and learn that when<br />
we are united, we can achieve great<br />
things!<br />
If you have read this far, I am sure<br />
you are interested in joining us at our<br />
next <strong>Indian</strong> Auckland Meetup. Click<br />
the link below to join our Facebook<br />
group and keep an eye on our next<br />
meetup’s updates. Also, don’t forget<br />
to look at our albums from previous<br />
events to understand what to expect<br />
in our upcoming meetups! See you<br />
then!<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> Auckland Meetup<br />
Facebook Group:<br />
https://www.facebook.com/<br />
groups/<strong>Indian</strong>aucklandmeetup/
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 11<br />
Second wave of Covid-19 in NZ:<br />
Undeterred Jacinda Ardern<br />
holds nerve and continues<br />
with elimination strategy<br />
SANDEEP SINGH<br />
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has held<br />
her nerves and opted to continue with<br />
the government’s elimination strategy<br />
by keeping Auckland’s current lockdown and<br />
rest of New Zealand’s Alert level 2 status for<br />
12 more days.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re were concerns in some quarters that<br />
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will be under<br />
pressure especially after the astounding attack<br />
by the opposition leader and her deputy last<br />
week and compounded by some aggressive<br />
probing in the mainstream media around<br />
alleged ineptitude in border management, and<br />
eventually blink from her focus of eliminating<br />
the Covid-19 virus from the country.<br />
To be fair to the government and her caucus<br />
colleagues, including the coalition partners<br />
who are collectively behind the decisions<br />
of continuing with the elimination strategy.<br />
However, in the end, it is left for Prime Minister<br />
Ardern - their ultimate sales-person – to sell<br />
those seemingly hard decisions that can cause<br />
much inconvenience, distress and weariness<br />
among a section of the public – a task that she<br />
has repeatedly accomplished with aplomb.<br />
Her detractors, including the leader of<br />
the Opposition Judith Collins and National<br />
Party’s deputy leader Gerry Brownlee, have<br />
so far not succeeded in making a successful<br />
hit on her political persona, despite many<br />
repeated attempts.<br />
<strong>The</strong> suggestions coming from Gery Brownlee<br />
about the government’s lack of sharing of<br />
accurate information about the second wave<br />
of Covid-19, which dangerously bordered<br />
closed to conspiracy-theories going around that<br />
are already weakening our collective human<br />
response to a virus that is far from being tamed<br />
MontayKart: Revolutionising the way we buy groceries<br />
SUPPLIED CONTENT<br />
Last decade has seen steady and continuous<br />
growth in the e-commerce business as<br />
people are getting used to buying things<br />
online rather than going to the stores. Every<br />
range of products is available online; however,<br />
buying groceries online remains a challenge for<br />
many.<br />
It is not due to the demand; it is because not<br />
many groceries businesses have gone online<br />
as there are many challenges like logistics,<br />
marketing, request, etc.<br />
Covid-19 made things challenging for all of<br />
us. Everything was being purchased online by<br />
the majority; however, the options for groceries<br />
was minimal, especially ethnic <strong>Indian</strong> groceries.<br />
For many, this was a challenge, but for Sameer<br />
and Jasmit, it was an opportunity as collectively<br />
they build MontayKart which offered a solution<br />
to this problem.<br />
MontayKart launched its website with a<br />
limited range of products like many startups<br />
do; however, soon, it became the first choice<br />
of many, and people started suggesting and<br />
demanding more products.<br />
Looking at the demand, both worked their<br />
way out and increased the inventory five times<br />
within two months and met the requirements of<br />
the majority.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y still feel that they need to grow even<br />
more prominent so that MontayKart can keep<br />
or managed, has not gone down well with<br />
experts and the public.<br />
<strong>The</strong> members of the public despite having<br />
all valid interest in continuous probing of<br />
the government, in pursuit of excellence and<br />
consistent improvement in our public health<br />
response, does not favour a line of attack that<br />
ultimately undermines the credibility of the<br />
public health system.<br />
Our public health system, along with the<br />
scientific community who have been providing<br />
the cutting edge research and advice to the<br />
system, who eventually are preparing official<br />
advice to the Minister of Health and eventually<br />
to the cabinet and the Prime Minister are<br />
the core basis of New Zealand’s successful<br />
response to the Covid-19 virus so far.<br />
<strong>The</strong> success that our system had so far<br />
achieved in being ahead of the curve in<br />
managing the virus or pacing up quickly where<br />
the virus had been smart enough to deceive us<br />
is also a matter of appreciation and attention.<br />
<strong>The</strong> repeated attempts of castigating the<br />
same public health system that has so far not<br />
let us down, appears politically motivated,<br />
and not hidden from the anxious eyes of the<br />
New Zealanders.<br />
National has to be mindful, and so should<br />
be the section of media that is relishing the<br />
opportunity of casting aspersions on a public<br />
health system that is consistently rising to the<br />
occasion every time the virus has raised its ugly<br />
head in the community.<br />
<strong>The</strong> testing capacity was ramped up<br />
significantly in Auckland region ever since<br />
the decision of moving the supercity to Alert<br />
Level 3 was taken on Tuesday, <strong>August</strong> 11<br />
with a number of pop-up test centres being<br />
made available for mass-testing, while several<br />
mobile test centres chasing the close and casual<br />
up with the demands they are getting.<br />
Startups are nothing but a sack full of<br />
challenges, and this team has so far overcome<br />
all the hurdles they have faced and are<br />
dedicated to face anything that comes their way.<br />
Currently, Montaykart is offering the majority<br />
of the <strong>Indian</strong> grocery items, including dairy and<br />
frozen products. It is a feat in itself as only big<br />
players have been able to do that so far.<br />
MontayKart offers delivery options all across<br />
Auckland, where you can get your groceries<br />
delivered at your door within 24 hours and all<br />
that with the comfort of ordering while sitting<br />
on the cosy couch of your living room.<br />
contacts of the family of South Auckland<br />
region who are yet believed to be the first<br />
case of the second wave of Covid-19.<br />
<strong>The</strong> performance is indeed<br />
immaculate and deserves the backing<br />
of the nation, and any probing and<br />
scrutiny though desirable, should not<br />
be seen as politically motivated.<br />
So is the performance of Prime<br />
Minister Ardern, which is standing<br />
out even further, because of<br />
clear shortcomings of her main<br />
political adversaries.<br />
<strong>The</strong> seeming political immaturity<br />
of her opponents is giving her ample<br />
political space to successfully<br />
manoeuvre through any period<br />
of inconvenience within the<br />
nation’s politics.<br />
<strong>The</strong> second wave of Covid-19<br />
in the country was never meant<br />
to be politically comfortable<br />
for Jacinda Ardern and was the<br />
opportunity that many political<br />
pundits had ascribed to the<br />
opposition National party as<br />
their opportunity to win back<br />
the voters confidence.<br />
However, it seems Prime<br />
Minister Jacinda Ardern<br />
has been able to deal with<br />
the crisis so far, like a walk<br />
in the park - at least for<br />
now - while the National<br />
Party remains as clueless<br />
as it was a few months ago<br />
when the country had entered<br />
into complete lockdown.<br />
Covid-19 in New Zealand,<br />
Round 2 also goes to Prime Minister Ardern.<br />
Visit www.montaykart.co.nz and be the next<br />
to try its exceptional service.<br />
Why Online grocery shopping is a need<br />
of the hour<br />
Buying your groceries online is the New<br />
Normal. <strong>The</strong>re are many benefits of buying<br />
groceries online.<br />
Firstly it saves you a lot of time. On average,<br />
every week for a household, it takes from 2 to<br />
3 hours for buying groceries and travel. Just<br />
imagine if you spend that time with your family<br />
or doing something more productive.<br />
Secondly, Not just time it saves you the<br />
transportation cost or petrol for your car.<br />
Sometimes you need the particular grocery<br />
item which is not available in the nearest<br />
grocery store and for that, you’ll have to travel<br />
some distance<br />
Buying groceries at Montaykart will save<br />
you that hassle and save you some money.<br />
Thirdly, Many times when you are in the<br />
grocery store, you buy things that you don’t<br />
need and regret later on why you wasted money<br />
on that product.<br />
Buying your groceries online saves you from<br />
that hassle as you do not get carried away by<br />
seeing a product physically. It is another way<br />
of saving money and another benefit of buying<br />
groceries online at www.montaykart.co.nz.<br />
Fourthly, At www.montaykart.co.nz you can<br />
create your account which you can personalise.<br />
Once you buy the products from Montaykart,<br />
you can save your favourite products for<br />
future purchases. It saves you more time when<br />
you purchase the next time because you have<br />
already saved your favourite products which<br />
you buy regularly.<br />
You can select those products by default and<br />
then add on the extras that you want to buy that<br />
time. Again, it saves a lot of time and a lot of<br />
effort in travelling, looking for a product and<br />
making a list every week.<br />
Lastly, we guarantee you the satisfaction<br />
of quality and service when you purchase<br />
groceries from www.montaykart.co.nz.
Editorial<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> cricket<br />
guidelines - ‘age<br />
is just a number’<br />
<strong>The</strong> Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come out with guidelines as to how<br />
cricket will operate at this time of COVID-19 pandemic. This is essential as the safety of<br />
the players and the people involved in cricket needs to be foremost protected.<br />
<strong>The</strong> world is reeling under the spread of this unexpected virus attack and the uncertainty of<br />
being able to deal has put a threat to all. “<strong>The</strong> show must go on” and therefore cricket as a sport<br />
has taken the plunge to get back on track.<br />
England, by creating a bio-bubble and isolating teams from the outside world, so as to greatly<br />
minimise the risk of getting an infection, proved that it could be done successfully. This has been<br />
a huge positive where cricket is concerned as countries around the world now have a template<br />
to follow. <strong>Indian</strong> cricket finally breathed a sigh of relief as the popular and financially lucrative<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> Premier League (IPL) can be played finally. This they plan to do in the UAE as India is still<br />
not ready to hold a major tournament given the current circumstances.<br />
<strong>The</strong> IPL is a very important tournament in world cricket, especially for India. <strong>The</strong> glamour and<br />
glitter that it brings along with the cricket uncertainties is a script that is unique as every match<br />
creates an excitement similar to what one feels when reading a murder mystery. This is what<br />
makes T20, the shortest official format of the game, so absorbing.<br />
<strong>The</strong> BCCI will have a major challenge in ensuring that the 53-day tournament goes through<br />
without any blemish. <strong>The</strong> only way this will be possible is for all the participants to take the<br />
responsibility on themselves and follow the rules and regulations to the tee. A single error could<br />
burst the bubble and jeopardise the whole tournament.<br />
With eight participating teams, the controls to ensure that nothing goes awry will be a humongous<br />
task for each franchise. <strong>The</strong> IPL has been one event which has always brought out the BCCI with<br />
flying colours. One hopes and prays that this edition showcases that India has the capabilities of<br />
hosting a major sporting event successfully even in such a difficult time.<br />
BCCI has also in the meanwhile issued very elaborate guidelines for domestic cricket. Each<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> cricket association has been told to follow them. One is a bit skeptical as to how effectively<br />
it will be implemented. A bio-secure bubble to create around India is a huge challenge. This<br />
requires players, support staff as well as all the people involved, to be ensconced in a secured<br />
space for two months or more.<br />
<strong>The</strong> BCCI has announced that they will be only playing two tournaments this season -- the<br />
Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. A domestic cricketer is paid on a match-fee<br />
basis and hence many of them will be affected financially. With the reduction in the number of<br />
matches, their annual income will be reduced quite drastically. One hopes that the BCCI and the<br />
state associations will take this into consideration and compensate them suitably.<br />
However, the U-19 and junior tournaments will be played as usual. This is rather unusual as<br />
creating a safe environment for them, especially as they do not stay in five-star comfort like their<br />
seniors, would be an enormous task.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tournament, that one cannot understand as to why it is being omitted this season, is the<br />
prestigious Irani Trophy. This is a match between the winner of the Ranji Trophy and the Rest<br />
of India. <strong>The</strong> match is very important for players from the winning Ranji Trophy side, in this<br />
case Saurashtra, because a good performance in this encounter could catapult one into the <strong>Indian</strong><br />
team. <strong>The</strong> Rest of India side also has players vying for a place in the <strong>Indian</strong> side. Depriving the<br />
Saurashtra players and the rest is definitely unfair.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Irani Trophy should have been the first match of the season. Most of the players would<br />
already have been a part of the IPL whereas the players missing could have been put into a safe<br />
bubble at a stipulated venue.<br />
This would have been an ideal game for selecting players for the difficult tour that India will be<br />
embarking on Down Under against Australia at the end of the year.<br />
<strong>The</strong> recent guidelines issued by the BCCI also has one more controversial regulation which<br />
needs to be enforced. It states that no coaching or support staff can be 60 years or over. Many<br />
of the teams have former cricketers as coaches, mentors and advisors who are above the age<br />
stipulated. Some of them have done extremely well for their respective state sides and for them to<br />
lose their job just because of the age factor is simply not acceptable.<br />
<strong>The</strong> age barrier is one area that has been the bone of contention even in the Lodha committee<br />
proposed recommendations that were approved by the Supreme Court and inserted into the BCCI<br />
Constitution. <strong>The</strong> BCCI also has put their own age criteria as regards selectors, match referees,<br />
fitness coaches and even administrative staff.<br />
It is rather unfortunate to enforce the age barrier of 60 or 70 years on people who are fit and<br />
capable of bringing experience and knowledge and are a valuable asset.<br />
<strong>The</strong> BCCI cricket administrators like J. Dalmia, N. Srinivasan and Sharad Pawar and many<br />
others have shown the way <strong>Indian</strong> cricket can flourish off the field even after they have passed<br />
their golden age.<br />
Arun Lal for Bengal and Karsan Ghavri for Saurashtra, both former cricketers and above the<br />
magic age limit, have shown what they can do with their bunch of cricketers on the field. All these<br />
stalwarts have proven that it is how one thinks, feels and behaves that is important and that age as<br />
one says “is only a number”.<br />
Thought of the week<br />
"People who are crazy enough to think<br />
they can change the world, are the ones<br />
who do.” – Rob Siltanen<br />
14 <strong>August</strong> – 20 <strong>August</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Thu<br />
On-and-off<br />
rain and<br />
drizzle<br />
16°<br />
9°<br />
Partly<br />
sunny<br />
15°<br />
8°<br />
17°<br />
9°<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> : Volume 12 Issue 23<br />
Publisher: Kiwi Media Publishing Limited<br />
Content Editor: Sandeep Singh | sandeep@indianweekender.co.nz<br />
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Parlty<br />
sunny<br />
Clouds and<br />
sun<br />
14°<br />
10°<br />
A touch o<br />
dafr<br />
15°<br />
10°<br />
This week in New Zealand’s history<br />
<strong>21</strong> <strong>August</strong> 1915<br />
New Zealanders attack Hill 60<br />
Copyright 2017. Kiwi Media Publishing Limited. All Rights Reserved.<br />
Sunshine<br />
and pactcy<br />
clouds<br />
16°<br />
9°<br />
A few<br />
morning<br />
showers<br />
Hill 60 was the last offensive action fought by the New Zealanders during the Gallipoli<br />
campaign. <strong>The</strong> ‘abominable little hill’, as it was dubbed by Brigadier-General Andrew<br />
Russell, saw bitter fighting between New Zealand and Ottoman troops in late <strong>August</strong> 1915.<br />
22 <strong>August</strong> 1969<br />
First 'Young Farmer of the Year' chosen<br />
Held at the South Pacific Hotel in Auckland, the competition was open to all members of<br />
the Young Farmers’ Club. <strong>The</strong> inaugural winner was Gary Frazer from Swannanoa, near<br />
Christchurch. <strong>The</strong> contest has become an established part of the farming calendar.<br />
23 <strong>August</strong> 1920<br />
New Zealand's first female Olympian<br />
On 23 <strong>August</strong> 1920, 15-year-old Violet Walrond entered the chilly waters of an outdoor<br />
swimming pool adjoining a canal in Antwerp and became New Zealand’s first female<br />
Olympian.<br />
23 <strong>August</strong> 1947<br />
Assisted immigration resumes after war<br />
<strong>The</strong> first draft of 118 British immigrants arrived in Auckland on the New Zealand Shipping<br />
Company liner Rangitata. <strong>The</strong>y were among 77,000 men, women and children who arrived<br />
from Great Britain under the assisted immigration scheme between 1947 and 1975.<br />
24 <strong>August</strong> 1878<br />
Wellington steam-tram service opened<br />
<strong>The</strong> governor, the Marquess of Normanby, formally opened the new service, which was said<br />
to be the first in the southern hemisphere.<br />
25 <strong>August</strong> 1916<br />
New Zealand soldier executed<br />
After being found guilty of desertion, 28-year-old Private Frank Hughes was killed by a<br />
firing squad in Hallencourt, northern France. He was the first New Zealand soldier executed<br />
during the First World War.<br />
25 <strong>August</strong> 1920<br />
First flight across Cook Strait<br />
Captain Euan Dickson completed the first air crossing of Cook Strait, flying a 110-hp Le<br />
Rhone Avro from Christchurch to Upper Hutt with the first air mail between the South and<br />
North Islands.<br />
15°<br />
9°
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong> FIJI 13<br />
Fijians in NZ in good state amidst COVID-19 outbreak<br />
Fijians currently residing in<br />
New Zealand are in good<br />
health amidst the COVID-19<br />
outbreak recently.<br />
This has been confirmed by the<br />
New Zealand High Commissioner<br />
to Fiji Jonathan Curr as there are<br />
on-going consultations regarding the<br />
safety of Fijians and the safe return of<br />
citizens through repatriation flights.<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> Government reaffirms commitment<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> government has reaffirmed its<br />
commitment to further strengthen Fiji-India<br />
bilateral engagements.<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> High Commissioner to Fiji Padmaja highlighted<br />
this while donating $15, 000 to the Prime Minister’s<br />
Relief Fund.<br />
She says the relationship can be strengthened through<br />
robust consultations on the potential development<br />
opportunities for the two nations. Padmaja says the<br />
He says that a decision is yet to be<br />
made on safely re-opening ports of<br />
entry.<br />
“I’ve been in touch with the<br />
Fijian community that lived in New<br />
Zealand that makes New Zealand<br />
their home. <strong>The</strong>y’re in a good state<br />
at the moment. We’ve been working<br />
with Fiji on helping to repatriate<br />
Fijians who are in other countries<br />
trying to get home and whether they<br />
needed to transit Auckland. Again try<br />
and help each other out.”<br />
Meanwhile, Australian High<br />
Commissioner to Fiji John Feakes<br />
says with an influx in cases in<br />
Australia, the Federal government<br />
has imposed stringent measures<br />
to safeguard its people, including<br />
Fijians.<br />
assistance is also in recognition of the commendable<br />
work by the Fijian Government to increase outreach to<br />
revive the livelihood of communities who have been<br />
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />
While receiving the assistance permanent secretary for<br />
the Prime Minister Office Yogesh Karan conveyed his<br />
gratitude. Karan says the assistance signifies the enhanced<br />
bilateral cooperation in advancing the development<br />
priorities of Fiji and India.<br />
Education is the greatest investment: PM<br />
Prime Minister Voreqe<br />
Bainimarama says while the<br />
effects of COVID-19 has put<br />
a tremendous strain on government<br />
revenues, they believe that education<br />
is the greatest investment.<br />
He made the comments while<br />
opening the new teacher’s quarters at<br />
Tailevu North College.<br />
Bainimarama says they’ve thought<br />
carefully about every dollar spent<br />
and in a way, this crisis has revealed<br />
where the Government’s greatest<br />
priorities lie.<br />
He says they have not cut<br />
the salaries of any civil servant,<br />
including teachers and neither<br />
have they removed free education,<br />
free textbooks, or subsidized<br />
transportation to school.<br />
Bainimarama says education<br />
is usually seen as a long-term<br />
investment; something that pays off<br />
returns a generation on from now<br />
as young people grow up and apply<br />
their knowledge throughout their<br />
careers.<br />
“No teacher should spend their<br />
days making long, difficult treks just<br />
to get to work. Your community has<br />
seen how unreliable that can be.<br />
"On days with heavy rains, your<br />
teachers could find themselves<br />
stranded on the wrong side of<br />
floods affecting the Nausori and<br />
Korovou highways.<br />
"But reports or rain shouldn’t<br />
Fiji PM conveys well wishes<br />
on India’s Independence Day<br />
Prime Minister Voreqe<br />
Bainimarama has conveyed<br />
his good wishes to India on<br />
their 74th Independence Day.<br />
In his congratulatory message<br />
to <strong>Indian</strong> PM Narendra Modi,<br />
Bainimarama conveyed the<br />
governments and the people of Fiji’s<br />
best wishes. Bainimarama says the<br />
two countries have enjoyed warm<br />
and friendly relations over the years<br />
based on our historical ties, shared<br />
values and aspirations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Prime Minister is confident<br />
that this will provide a foundation for<br />
deeper bilateral engagements and cooperation<br />
during these unprecedented<br />
times and into the future.<br />
determine whether or not a class<br />
at the Tailevu North College is<br />
in session.<br />
"So, we’ve built these new<br />
quarters to give your teachers a home<br />
on this campus, making each of them<br />
full members of the Tailevu North<br />
College community.”<br />
Over half-a-million-dollars<br />
has been invested in the new<br />
teacher’s quarters.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Ministry of Health<br />
confirms there is an outbreak<br />
of dengue and leptospirosis.<br />
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi<br />
Waqaibete confirms fourteen people<br />
have died from Dengue Fever and<br />
Leptospirosis so far this year.<br />
Speaking to FBC News, Dr<br />
Waqainabete confirmed four people<br />
have died from Dengue Fever and 10<br />
from Leptospirosis.<br />
“My thoughts are with Australians<br />
particularly with those in Melbourne<br />
at the moment. And of course with<br />
the Fijian community there. But<br />
obviously, it’s a very difficult times<br />
for all Victorians and our hearts<br />
are with them and all the Fijian<br />
community not only in Victoria and<br />
other places.”<br />
Prime Minister Voreqe<br />
Fijians urged<br />
to download<br />
careFIJI app<br />
following cases<br />
in NZ<br />
Minister for Economy,<br />
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is<br />
once again emphasizing<br />
the need for Fijians to download the<br />
careFIJI App.<br />
This comes as there has been a reemergence<br />
of COVID-19 cases in<br />
New Zealand.<br />
<strong>The</strong> careFiji App uses the<br />
Bluetooth technology to make<br />
contact tracing faster and accurate<br />
and it notifies users if they are<br />
exposed to the Coronavirus.<br />
Sayed-Khaiyum stresses that<br />
digital contact tracing is efficient.<br />
“If for example, we do have a<br />
situation like what’s happened in<br />
Auckland, we very quickly need to<br />
be able to trace where the source is<br />
and the reality of the matter is as you<br />
have seen in Auckland if you aren’t<br />
able to trace it you have to go into<br />
lockdown and that’s an enormous<br />
economic impact on your towns,<br />
cities and indeed on your country”<br />
Bainimarama recently stated that<br />
Fijian hearts ache with new closeness<br />
as we watch the Australians and New<br />
Zealanders contend with outbreaks<br />
of the pandemic.<br />
Bainimarama also conveyed our<br />
heartfelt prayers for the two countries<br />
and says Fiji will continue to render<br />
support where possible as we strive<br />
to overcome COVID-19.<br />
He reiterates that with more Fijians<br />
downloading the App, it will be<br />
easier for the government to market<br />
Fiji and generate interest among<br />
holidaymakers.<br />
“When countries like Australia<br />
and New Zealand, when you have<br />
a tourist sitting now planning their<br />
holiday, planning when the borders<br />
will open because they know there<br />
will be very good rates available they<br />
not only going to look at what’s the<br />
cost of going to Fiji in terms of hotel<br />
rates or air travel they will see what<br />
kind of health measures they have in<br />
place.”<br />
Forty percent of the country’s GDP<br />
is driven by the tourism industry.<br />
Sayed-Khaiyum says once more<br />
Fijians download the App, the<br />
government will be able to promote<br />
Fiji as a safe destination for tourists<br />
from Australians and New Zealand.<br />
Fiji will come out of dark period<br />
stronger than ever: PM<br />
Prime Minister Voreqe<br />
Bainimarama says while<br />
the Fijian economy has<br />
slowed down due to the effects of<br />
COVID-19, the country will come<br />
out of this dark period stronger than<br />
ever. <strong>The</strong> Prime Minister highlighted<br />
that a lot has been sacrificed and hard<br />
decisions have been made, but these<br />
were necessary steps.<br />
He made the comments while<br />
commissioned the Nayavu<br />
Community Police Post in Tailevu.<br />
With the economy slowing<br />
down due to the pandemic and the<br />
society struggling for its health, the<br />
Prime Minister says it is up to the<br />
Government to be the locomotive<br />
that keeps us going.<br />
“We are sacrificing a lot right now,<br />
but there are limits to how much I will<br />
ask my fellow citizens to sacrifice.<br />
We have established a curfew, and<br />
we ask our Police to enforce it, which<br />
they do. And we were forced to close<br />
the country to visitors. Both of those<br />
Permanent Secretary Dr James<br />
Fong says they have recorded around<br />
3, 300 Dengue Fever cases and 1,<br />
100 Leptospirosis cases to date.<br />
“We have an outbreak of dengue<br />
and leptospirosis at the moment.<br />
Our health inspectors are on to it.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y doing their various cleanup<br />
campaigns. We have had a few<br />
adverse outcomes in terms of<br />
mortality but most of that has been in<br />
were hard decisions, but they were<br />
necessary. But building and creating<br />
jobs is also necessary, and we will<br />
move forward wherever we can. “<br />
Bainimarama says rebuilding<br />
facilities and infrastructure are<br />
critical to stimulating economic<br />
growth.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>y provide good jobs for<br />
Fijians. <strong>The</strong>y provide jobs for Fijians<br />
who do the building. <strong>The</strong>y provide<br />
jobs for Fijians who supply building<br />
materials and services. And when<br />
those people get paid, they buy<br />
things they need. <strong>The</strong>y buy food and<br />
clothing and school supplies and<br />
household good. And that creates<br />
more jobs and more income for<br />
Fijians. “<br />
<strong>The</strong> Prime Minister opened the<br />
Nayavu Community Post which<br />
sustained structural damage during<br />
Tropical Cyclone Winston.<br />
Extensive renovation has been<br />
carried out on the post.<br />
14 deaths from Dengue Fever and Leptospirosis<br />
those who presented late and severe.”<br />
Dr Fong adds majority of the cases<br />
have been recorded in the Central<br />
Division and there are also cases of<br />
Dengue Fever and Leptospirosis in<br />
the Northern Division.
14<br />
INDIA<br />
<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
India: Coronavirus cases<br />
Confirmed: 2,767,273<br />
Deaths: 52,889,<br />
Recovered: 2,037,870<br />
Active: 676,514<br />
NEWS in BRIEF<br />
‘Take the right precautions’: PM Modi cautions<br />
citizens amid dengue season<br />
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to be cautious about tropical<br />
and vector-borne diseases and asked them to take steps to be safe amid<br />
the country’s battle against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).<br />
“This is the season of tropical and vector-borne diseases. I urge you all<br />
to take the right precautions. <strong>The</strong> Government is also closely monitoring<br />
the situation and ensuring care to those affected. Stay safe, be happy!”<br />
PM Modi tweeted. PM Modi’s tweet comes at a time when India is likely to<br />
face challenges during the dengue season, prompting state governments to<br />
prepare protocols and find ways to ease the burden on country’s healthcare<br />
infrastructure.<br />
India tests record 8.97 lakh swab samples in a day<br />
India continues to aggressively ramp up its daily testing count for<br />
coronavirus disease (Covid-19), as 8.97 lakh swab samples were tested.<br />
<strong>The</strong> country is close to achieving the daily testing target of around a<br />
million swab samples. India has conducted 309,38,400 Covid-19 tests to<br />
date since the first swab sample was diagnosed on January 23. <strong>The</strong>re has<br />
been a threefold rise in conducting Covid-19 tests, as compared to a month<br />
ago, when 10 million samples were tested.<br />
“A new peak was achieved following 8.97 lakh Covid-19 tests in the last<br />
24 hours. Even with such a high level of testing, the positivity has remained<br />
low at 8.81%, as compared to the weekly national average of 8.84%,” said a<br />
release from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW).<br />
Will the superfast 'Sputnik V' vaccine put<br />
citizens at risk?<br />
With over 175 Covid-19 vaccines currently in<br />
different stages of development, the entire<br />
human race is hoping that eventually one of them<br />
would work and enable us all to return to normal life.<br />
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently<br />
announced the first ever approved Covid-19 vaccine<br />
"Sputnik V" and inoculated it to one of his own<br />
daughters, stating that it was "safe".<br />
This however has not gone down too well with the World Health<br />
Organization (WHO) that feels that the "hasty" vaccine needed rigorous<br />
safety review. <strong>The</strong> medical fraternity and the scientists are dealing with<br />
uncertainty as they cannot be sure yet if any vaccine could permanently<br />
prevent people from contracting Covid-19 and help eliminate the virus or<br />
at least limit its outbreak. <strong>The</strong> novel coronavirus continues to spread at an<br />
alarming rate even as <strong>21</strong>.9 million people have tested positive for the disease<br />
so far worldwide, while over 7,74,000 have died.<br />
13 airlines to repatriate <strong>Indian</strong>s to Bengaluru<br />
from overseas<br />
Thirteen airlines will connect Bengaluru to 14 international destinations<br />
as part of the latest air bubble, Vande Bharat Mission and repatriation<br />
programmes to bring back <strong>Indian</strong>s stuck in foreign countries because of<br />
Coronavirus pandemic, an official said.<br />
"International repatriation flights as well as Government of India's Vande<br />
Bharat Mission and air bubble programmes have enabled Kempegowda<br />
International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB) to connect Bengaluru to 14<br />
international destinations," Official said. As many as 13 airlines, domestic<br />
as well as international, will operate in these sectors from the city airport<br />
<strong>The</strong> destinations connected directly from Bengaluru include Abu Dhabi,<br />
Dubai, Amsterdam, Doha, Frankfurt, Kuwait, Kuala Lumpur, London,<br />
Muscat, Narita, Paris, Riyadh and Singapore. <strong>The</strong> Central government is<br />
repatriating thousands of <strong>Indian</strong>s stuck in various countries because of the<br />
Coronavirus pandemic and earlier lockdowns through Vande Bharat flights.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se repatriation flights are bringing back <strong>Indian</strong>s to multiple <strong>Indian</strong> cities.<br />
Malaysia detects coronavirus strain that’s<br />
ten times more infectious<br />
Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus that’s been found<br />
to be 10 times more infectious. <strong>The</strong> mutation called D614G was found<br />
in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant<br />
owner returning from India and breaching his 14-day home quarantine.<br />
<strong>The</strong> strain was also found in another cluster involving people returning<br />
from the Philippines. <strong>The</strong> strain could mean that existing studies on vaccines<br />
may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation, said Director-General<br />
of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah.<br />
“People need to be wary and take greater precautions because this strain<br />
has now been found in Malaysia,” he said. “<strong>The</strong> people’s cooperation is<br />
very needed so that we can together break the chain of infection from<br />
any mutation.”<br />
India’s Covid-19 recoveries<br />
cross 2m; daily recoveries<br />
higher than new infections<br />
India’s coronavirus disease<br />
(Covid-19) recoveries have<br />
crossed the two-million mark, as<br />
the number of recovering patients has<br />
outnumbered new viral infections,<br />
the Union Ministry of Health<br />
& Family Welfare (MoH&FW)<br />
data showed.<br />
At present, the number of active<br />
Covid-19 cases are less than 25%<br />
of the total number of the viral<br />
infections reported since January 30.<br />
“When we talk about the viral<br />
caseload of a particular country, it<br />
is always the active cases that are<br />
counted. It is never the total number<br />
of positive cases,” said Rajesh<br />
Bhushan, secretary, MoH&FW.<br />
Around 60,000 Covid-19 patients<br />
are recovering daily from their viral<br />
infection. While around 55,000<br />
new Covid-19 cases are being<br />
reported a day.<br />
A continuous uptick in average<br />
daily recoveries has led to India’s<br />
recovery rate at 73.18% and a low<br />
case fatality rate (CFR) at 1.92%.<br />
Higher number of recoveries and<br />
declining fatality has shown that<br />
the country’s graded strategy has<br />
worked, according to the ministry.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> number of hospitalisation<br />
cases has also reduced. A small<br />
percentage of Covid-19 patients<br />
With international air travel still out of bounds<br />
due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India has<br />
proposed air bubbles with five neighbouring<br />
countries, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri<br />
said. Air bubbles seek to restore commercial passenger<br />
services to pre-pandemic levels. Pakistan is not on the list<br />
of five countries.<br />
“Air bubbles have also been proposed with our<br />
neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal<br />
& Bhutan. Going forward, we will consider such<br />
arrangements with other countries also. It is always our<br />
endeavour to reach out to every stranded citizen. No<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> will be left behind,” Puri tweeted.<br />
India’s international flight operations are currently<br />
largely limited to evacuating its residents from various<br />
countries under the Vande Bharat mission (VBM).<br />
“We continue to further strengthen the reach & scope of<br />
VBM. Air Travel arrangements are already in place with<br />
need to be admitted to hospitals.<br />
Most of them recover from their<br />
viral infection under home isolation.<br />
Few Covid-19 patients are in need<br />
of a ventillator support. A majority<br />
of those who get admitted make<br />
a smooth recovery. However, the<br />
problem is by and large with highrisk<br />
cases such as senior citizens and<br />
those with comorbidities,” said Dr.<br />
Rommel Tickoo, senior consultant,<br />
department of internal medicine,<br />
Max Healthcare.<br />
<strong>The</strong> government’s target is to bring<br />
down the percentage of Covid-19-<br />
related deaths to either 1% or below.<br />
“As a result of collaborative<br />
and focussed efforts by the Centre<br />
and state/UT (Union Territory)<br />
governments built on effective<br />
implementation of the test, track<br />
and treat strategy of the Union<br />
government, 30 States/UTs are<br />
reporting lower CFR than the<br />
national average,” said the ministry<br />
in a statement.<br />
Aggressive testing leads to early<br />
identification and isolation of<br />
positive cases. Besides, efficient<br />
clinical treatment has ensured the<br />
country’s Covid-19 fatality rate is<br />
low, said ministry officials.<br />
India is testing around 900,000<br />
swab samples daily and three million<br />
people have undergone Covid-19<br />
tests since January 23, when Pune’s<br />
National Institute of Virology, under<br />
the <strong>Indian</strong> Council of Medical<br />
Research (ICMR), conducted the<br />
first test.<br />
India plans air bubbles with five neighbours,<br />
Pakistan not among them<br />
USA, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar & Maldives.<br />
We are now taking these efforts forward & are negotiating<br />
with 13 more countries to establish such arrangements.”<br />
“<strong>The</strong>se include Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand,<br />
Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia,<br />
Singapore, South Korea & Thailand,” he said in another<br />
tweet. <strong>The</strong> latest air bubble was the one with Canada that<br />
became operational on <strong>August</strong> 15.<br />
Supreme Court orders CBI investigation<br />
in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case<br />
<strong>The</strong> Supreme Court on<br />
Wednesday rejected<br />
actor Rhea Chakraborty’s<br />
petition to transfer the investigation<br />
from Patna to Mumbai in Sushant<br />
Singh Rajput’s death case. <strong>The</strong> court<br />
said that said Bihar government was<br />
competent to give consent to CBI for<br />
probing into the Patna FIR.<br />
A single-judge bench of Justice<br />
Hrishikesh Roy pronounced the<br />
judgement.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bench held that the contents<br />
as disclosed by the FIR registered<br />
in Patna indicate that even Mumbai<br />
Police has jurisdiction.<br />
<strong>The</strong> apex court had reserved its<br />
judgement on Chakraborty’s petition<br />
after a hearing on <strong>August</strong> 11.<br />
In her petition, Chakraborty<br />
said that the Bihar Police have no<br />
jurisdiction in the case and that the<br />
actor’s death was being used for<br />
political gains ahead of elections<br />
in the state. Heightened media<br />
attention and sensationalising of the<br />
case is another ground on which<br />
Chakraborty has sought the transfer<br />
of the case to Mumbai.<br />
Based on Rajput’s father KK<br />
Singh’s complaint that Rhea<br />
Chakraborty was responsible for<br />
abetment of his son’s suicide, Patna<br />
Police registered an FIR on July 25.<br />
Singh also alleged that Chakraborty<br />
illegally transferred Rs 15 crore from<br />
Rajput’s bank account. However, the<br />
actor has denied all allegations and<br />
maintained that she will cooperate<br />
with an investigation launched by<br />
the Enforcement Directorate (ED).<br />
Meanwhile, Singh was quizzed by<br />
the ED on his son’s finances.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Central Bureau of<br />
Investigation (CBI) also registered<br />
a case against Chakraborty and three<br />
members of her family members.<br />
Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was<br />
found dead in his Mumbai apartment<br />
on June 14.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
WORLD 15<br />
Pandemic now driven by<br />
20s, 30s, 40s group, many<br />
asymptomatic: WHO<br />
<strong>The</strong> World Health Organization<br />
said it was concerned that the<br />
novel coronavirus spread was<br />
being driven by people in their 20s,<br />
30s and 40s, many of which were<br />
unaware they were infected, posing a<br />
danger to vulnerable groups.<br />
WHO officials said this month the<br />
proportion of younger people among<br />
those infected had risen globally,<br />
putting at risk vulnerable sectors<br />
of the population worldwide,<br />
including the elderly and<br />
sick people in densely<br />
populated areas with<br />
weak health services.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> epidemic is<br />
changing,” WHO Western<br />
Pacific regional director,<br />
Takeshi Kasai, told a virtual<br />
briefing. “People in their 20s, 30s<br />
and 40s are increasingly driving the<br />
spread. Many are unaware they are<br />
infected.”<br />
“This increases the risk of<br />
spillovers to the more vulnerable,”<br />
he added.<br />
A surge in new cases has prompted<br />
some countries to re-impose<br />
curbs as companies race to find a<br />
vaccine for a virus that has battered<br />
"What<br />
we are<br />
observing is not<br />
simply a resurgence. We<br />
believe it’s a signal that we<br />
have entered a new phase<br />
economies, killed more<br />
than 770,000 people<br />
and infected nearly 22<br />
million, according<br />
to a Reuters tally.<br />
Surges were reported<br />
in countries that had<br />
appeared to have the<br />
virus under control,<br />
including Vietnam, which<br />
until recently went three months<br />
without domestic transmission due<br />
to its aggressive mitigation efforts.<br />
“What we are observing is not<br />
simply a resurgence. We believe<br />
it’s a signal that we have entered a<br />
new phase of pandemic in the Asia-<br />
Pacific,” Kasai said.<br />
He said countries were better<br />
able to reduce disruption to lives<br />
of pandemic in the<br />
Asia-Pacific,"<br />
and economies by combining early<br />
detection and response to manage<br />
infections.<br />
While mutations had been<br />
observed, the WHO still saw the<br />
virus as “relatively stable”, Kasai<br />
said.<br />
WHO also reminded drugmakers<br />
to follow all necessary research and<br />
development steps when creating a<br />
vaccine.<br />
Socorro Escalante, its technical<br />
officer and medicines policy advisor,<br />
said the WHO was coordinating with<br />
Russia, which this month became<br />
the first country to grant regulatory<br />
approval for a COVID-19 vaccine.<br />
“We hope to get the response in<br />
terms of the evidence of this new<br />
vaccine,” Escalante said.<br />
Biden, Harris maintain double-digit<br />
lead over Trump, Pence: Poll<br />
Democratic presidential<br />
candidate Joe Biden and<br />
his running mate Kamala<br />
Harris are maintaining a double-digit<br />
lead in the country over incumbent<br />
President Donald Trump and<br />
Vice President Mike Pence, as the<br />
presidential election draws closer,<br />
says a Washington Post-ABC<br />
News poll.<br />
As the Democrats<br />
kicked off their<br />
National Convention<br />
on Monday, Biden and<br />
Harris lead Trump and<br />
Pence by 53 per cent<br />
to 41 per cent among<br />
registered voters, <strong>The</strong><br />
Washington Post reported.<br />
Among voters, Biden’s current<br />
national margin over Trump is<br />
slightly smaller than the 15-point<br />
margin in a poll conducted last month<br />
and slightly larger than a survey in<br />
May when he led by 10 points. As<br />
the pandemic was in its initial stage,<br />
Biden and Trump were separated by<br />
just two points, with<br />
the former having a<br />
statistically insignificant<br />
advantage.<br />
Nearly 9 in 10 of Trump’s<br />
supporters are enthusiastic to cast<br />
ballots for him and 65 per cent saying<br />
they are “very enthusiastic”. Slightly<br />
over 8 in 10 Biden supporters stated<br />
they are enthusiastic about voting<br />
for the former Vice President, with<br />
48 per cent saying they are “very<br />
enthusiastic”, the poll said.<br />
Overall, 54 per cent of registered<br />
voters said they are following the<br />
presidential election “very closely”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> share of Republicans and<br />
Republican-leaning independent<br />
voters stands at 58 per cent, the same<br />
as it was in September 2016.<br />
53 per cent of Democrats and<br />
Democratic-leaning independent<br />
voters are also saying they are very<br />
closely following the campaign, a<br />
jump of 13 points around this time<br />
four years back.<br />
Australia locks in coronavirus<br />
vaccine deal as new cases ease<br />
A<br />
fresh<br />
outbreak of infections<br />
in Australia’s coronavirus<br />
hot zone of Victoria appeared<br />
to have eased, as the country signed a<br />
deal to secure a potential COVID-19<br />
vaccine that it intends to roll out free<br />
of cost to its citizens.<br />
Australia has signed a deal with<br />
British drugmaker AstraZeneca<br />
to produce and distribute<br />
enough doses of a potential<br />
coronavirus vaccine for its population<br />
of 25 million, Prime Minister Scott<br />
Morrison said late on Tuesday.<br />
"Slightly<br />
over 8 in 10<br />
Biden supporters<br />
stated they are enthusiastic<br />
about voting for the<br />
former Vice President,<br />
with 48 per cent saying<br />
they are “very enthusiastic"<br />
All Australians will be offered<br />
doses but a medical panel will<br />
determine the priority list of vaccine<br />
recipients, Health Minister Greg<br />
Hunt said.<br />
“Naturally you would be focusing<br />
on the most vulnerable, the elderly,<br />
health workers, people with<br />
disabilities in terms of the speed of<br />
roll out, but I think there would be<br />
widespread uptake in Australia,”<br />
Hunt told Sky News on Wednesday.<br />
AstraZeneca last month said good<br />
data was coming in so far on its<br />
vaccine for COVID-19, already in<br />
large-scale human trials and widely<br />
seen as the front-runner in the race for<br />
a shot against the novel coronavirus.<br />
<strong>The</strong> vaccine, called AZD1222, was<br />
developed by Britain’s University of<br />
Oxford and licensed to AstraZeneca.<br />
A flare up in infections in<br />
Australia’s second most populous<br />
state of Victoria forced authorities<br />
two weeks ago to impose a nightly<br />
curfew, tighten restrictions on<br />
people’s movements and order large<br />
parts of the state’s economy to close.<br />
World: Coronavirus cases<br />
Confirmed: 22,308,044<br />
Deaths: 784,365<br />
Recovered: 15,050,063<br />
Active: 6,473,616<br />
NEWS in BRIEF<br />
Infectious Covid-19 mutation may be a<br />
good thing, says disease expert<br />
A<br />
mutation of the novel coronavirus<br />
increasingly common throughout<br />
Europe and recently detected in<br />
Malaysia may be more infectious but<br />
appears less deadly, according to a<br />
prominent infectious diseases doctor.<br />
Paul Tambyah, senior consultant at<br />
the National University of Singapore<br />
and president-elect of the U.S.-based<br />
International Society of Infectious Diseases, said the D614G mutation has<br />
also been found in Singapore.<br />
<strong>The</strong> city-state’s health ministry did not immediately respond to a request<br />
for comment. Tambyah said there is evidence the proliferation of the<br />
mutation in Europe has coincided with a drop in death rates, suggesting it<br />
is less lethal. <strong>The</strong> mutation is not likely to impact the efficacy of a potential<br />
vaccine, despite warnings to the contrary from other health experts, he<br />
added. “Maybe that’s a good thing to have a virus that is more infectious but<br />
less deadly,” Tambyah told Reuters.<br />
China, U.S. will allow air carriers to<br />
double flights between nations<br />
China and the United States will each allow air carriers to double current<br />
flights to eight per week between the world’s two largest economies, the<br />
U.S. Transportation Department said on Tuesday.<br />
<strong>The</strong> department said it will allow four Chinese passenger airlines currently<br />
flying to the United States to double flights to eight weekly round-trips, as<br />
China has agreed to allow U.S. carriers to double flights to China.<br />
U.S. carriers voluntary halted flights to China after the coronavirus<br />
outbreak. President Donald Trump on Jan. 31 barred nearly all non-U.S.<br />
citizens from traveling to the United States from China.<br />
Argentina exceeds 300,000 coronavirus cases,<br />
6,000 deaths – health ministry<br />
Argentina confirmed 6,840 new cases of coronavirus and 172 new<br />
deaths, taking it simultaneously over the 300,000 case and 6,000 death<br />
threshold as the Latin nation battles a surge of contagions in recent weeks.<br />
<strong>The</strong> country’s health ministry reported a total of 305,966 cases and<br />
6,048 deaths. Dr Luis Camera, a member of the Argentine government’s<br />
health advisory group, said while cases, intensive care admissions and<br />
hospital bed occupancy rates were not still climbing, they had settled at an<br />
unsustainable level.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> highest points for the City of Buenos Aires could have been the<br />
last days of July and the first days of <strong>August</strong>,” he told Reuters TV. “Now<br />
the infection curve has stabilized at a plateau, but a high plateau. In South<br />
America, you call it the altiplano, as opposed to the lowlands.”<br />
WHO calls for widespread flu vaccinations this year<br />
<strong>The</strong> world must administer widespread<br />
anti-flu vaccinations this year to<br />
help to ward off the risk of complicating<br />
coronavirus infections, World Health<br />
Organization senior adviser Bruce<br />
Aylward said on Tuesday.<br />
More than <strong>21</strong>.9 million people have<br />
been reported to be infected by the novel<br />
coronavirus globally and 772,647 have<br />
died, according to a Reuters tally. WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove<br />
told a briefing in Geneva that studies to date showed that less than 10% of<br />
the population has evidence of antibodies against the virus<br />
US Covid-19 cases surpass 5.5 million<br />
<strong>The</strong> total number of Covid-19 cases in the US surpassed 5.5 million,<br />
according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE)<br />
at Johns Hopkins University. <strong>The</strong> US case count rose to 5,505,074, with the<br />
national death toll reaching 172,418, according to the media<br />
<strong>The</strong> hardest-hit US state of California reported 640,722 cases, followed<br />
by Florida with 584,047 cases, Texas with 569,331 cases, and New York<br />
with 426,571 cases, the tally showed.<br />
Other states with over 180,000 cases include Georgia, Illinois, Arizona<br />
and New Jersey, according to the CSSE.<br />
By far, the United States remains the worst-hit nation, in terms of both the<br />
caseload and death toll.
16 SPORTS<br />
<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
MS Dhoni: team: Rohit on Dhoni<br />
<strong>The</strong> man who turned<br />
Rich tributes<br />
poured in as MS<br />
dreams into reality<br />
Dhoni announced<br />
his retirement from<br />
international cricket,<br />
posting a simple montage<br />
Ahead of the India-West Indies encounter at last Sachin Tendulkar.<br />
of images from the high<br />
year’s World Cup, MS Dhoni was undergoing Since his absence from cricket last year, the belief is<br />
and low points of his<br />
his routine nets session at the Old Trafford in that everyone knew the time had come – Virat Kohli, Ravi<br />
international cricketing<br />
Manchester. Over the years, Dhoni has had a fixed pattern Shastri, his friends, even a section of his fans. Although<br />
career over the years<br />
– usually stepping into the nets late and facing the spinners it was never said out loud, the fact that MSK Prasad, the<br />
with a short caption:<br />
first. Slowly, he brings out the big shots, readying himself former BCCI chief selector had stated in October that the<br />
to face the pacers, and if need be, take some throwdowns. panel had decided to ‘move on’ from Dhoni, was a huge<br />
"He is calling time on<br />
June 27, 2019 wasn’t much different. Dhoni batted for indication in itself.<br />
it."<br />
around half an hour and packed his kit.<br />
Hark back to 2004, the year Dhoni<br />
It marked the end of<br />
<strong>The</strong> moment he stepped out, Dhoni was mobbed by burst on to the scene. Long before<br />
a trophy-laden career<br />
a plethora of journalists – reporters and photographers the LEDs, UHDs and 4K came into<br />
spanning nearly 15<br />
alike. Seeing almost 25 of them, quite literally, charging existence, a young Dhoni was<br />
years, in which<br />
towards him, Dhoni took a step back and said: “Arrey!<br />
Kya ho gaya? Abhi retirement nahi announce kara maine.<br />
(What’s the matter? I haven’t announced my retirement<br />
yet). <strong>The</strong> words got lost amid the cheers as Dhoni<br />
acknowledged almost everyone. A few autographs and<br />
selfies later, he was given his space. <strong>The</strong>se are the same<br />
people who’ve had the privilege of covering him for<br />
years – some of them were in Chittagong on December<br />
23, 2004, the day Dhoni had marked his ODI debut.<br />
You’d think this kind of mobbing by the press must<br />
be pretty normal, right? Wrong! Veteran journalists had<br />
seldom seen this kind of madness from their younger<br />
presented to us on our TV screens.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>21</strong>-inch Flatron was the best<br />
available in the market and that’s<br />
the first memory of an exuberant<br />
Dhoni for many. MAX (now Sony<br />
Max) aired India A’s tour of Kenya,<br />
and I in particular, happened to catch<br />
both of Dhoni’s centuries against<br />
Pakistan A (119 and 120)<br />
for a much-refreshing<br />
experience.<br />
He had brute force.<br />
Dhoni also<br />
peers. Little over a year later, Dhoni has indeed called <strong>The</strong> sixes reminded<br />
time on his international career. This time, there was no<br />
big ICC event, nor a flock of journalists. Dhoni went out<br />
and how? Through a post on Instagram. A video montage<br />
that’s, to be honest, rough around the edges. I find the<br />
announcement surprising.<br />
Despite being aware deep down that the semi-final<br />
against New Zealand on July 10 was his last in India<br />
colours, I felt Dhoni would never officially announce his<br />
retirement, and that it would be understood – when he<br />
wouldn’t have played another game for India in the next<br />
year – that he’s done.<br />
Afterall, that’s how it’s always been with him. Even<br />
when he walked away from Test cricket, helping India<br />
save the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, legend has it<br />
that no one had even the slightest of ideas about it. After<br />
wrapping up the press conference, Dhoni returned to the<br />
change room and dropped a bomb on his teammates.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n again, he does give you those subtle hints, and it’s<br />
up to you whether you can crack it.<br />
At the MCG, Dhoni had walked off holding a stump,<br />
while at the World Cup 2019, Dhoni, pretty articulately,<br />
thanked his sponsors – SG, Spartan, BAS – for their<br />
onlookers of Ricardo<br />
Powell’s magical knock<br />
of 124 against India in<br />
Singapore in 1999.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sight of an <strong>Indian</strong><br />
batsman tonking huge sixes<br />
was, quite simply, unheard of.<br />
And of course, the fabled long<br />
hair was an early sign of his<br />
cavalry.<br />
Back in the day, seldom did you<br />
hear a player mentioning a cricket<br />
website, let alone acknowledged<br />
reading it during a presentation<br />
ceremony.<br />
Nor did one ever imagine an<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> captain asking the players<br />
to simply ‘enjoy themselves’ in<br />
a crunch final.<br />
Dhoni was the maverick of<br />
a new Team India, that would<br />
go on to achieve incredible<br />
support over the years by sporting different logos on his things, including reaching<br />
bat. But perhaps Dhoni owed it to his fans, who’ve had a<br />
huge role in making him an icon – perhaps next only to<br />
the pinnacle of the ICC Test<br />
rankings for the first time.<br />
Dhoni one of the best leaders<br />
I have come across: Kirsten<br />
Gary Kirsten, who was the coach of the 2011<br />
World Cup-winning <strong>Indian</strong> team, has hailed MS<br />
Dhoni, saying it was a privilege for him to work<br />
with one of the best leaders that he came across.<br />
Dhoni retired from international cricket last Saturday,<br />
thus bringing an end to an illustrious career<br />
spanning more than 16 years. Kirsten<br />
expressed gratitude to Dhoni for all the<br />
good memories that he made during his<br />
tenure with the <strong>Indian</strong> team.<br />
"A privilege to work with one<br />
of the best leaders I have come<br />
across. Thanks MS for many fond<br />
memories with the <strong>Indian</strong> cricket<br />
team," said the 52-year-old in a<br />
tweet.<br />
Kirsten was handed an initial<br />
two-year deal from March 1,<br />
2008. He was then handed<br />
over a one-year contract<br />
extension that saw him lead<br />
India to their second World Cup<br />
title. Under his stewardship, India<br />
also took over the numero uno spot<br />
in Tests in 2009. <strong>The</strong> former South<br />
Africa opener also revisited<br />
a past statement, which<br />
described their bond.<br />
"I would go to war with<br />
Dhoni by my side."<br />
Dhoni, who made his ODI debut<br />
in 2004, played a whopping<br />
number of 350 ODIs, 9 0<br />
Tests and 98 T20I<br />
matches for India.<br />
He was the first<br />
and is still the only<br />
captain till date to<br />
have won all three<br />
ICC Trophies.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 39-year-old from<br />
Ranchi holds the record for<br />
most international matches as<br />
captain (332).<br />
Unarguably the quickest<br />
man behind the wicket,<br />
Dhoni affected a<br />
staggering 829 dismissals<br />
behind the<br />
stumps.<br />
Man with vision, master<br />
who knew how to build<br />
oversaw the rise of the likes of current <strong>Indian</strong><br />
captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.<br />
"One of the most influential man in the history of<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> cricket. His impact in and around cricket<br />
was massive. He was a man with vision and a<br />
master in knowing how to build a team. Will<br />
surely miss him in blue but we have him<br />
in yellow. See you on 19th at the toss @<br />
msdhoni," limited overs vice-captain Rohit<br />
tweeted with a pic of him with Dhoni in the<br />
IPL.<br />
Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane,<br />
who also made his debut under Dhoni's<br />
captaincy, tweeted: "Thanks for<br />
everything Mahi Bhai... you will always<br />
be special for me, have learnt so much from<br />
you! Always wishing you the best!"<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> head coach Ravi Shastri tweeted:<br />
"Massive boots to fill. It's been a privilege and honour<br />
to be part of the dressing room and seeing you as a<br />
thoroughbred professional at work. Salute one of<br />
India's greatest cricketers. Second to none. Enjoy.<br />
God Bless MS DHONI."<br />
Shastri also tweeted a video of Dhoni famously<br />
hitting the six over long-on at the Wankhede<br />
Stadium in the final of the 2011 World Cup against<br />
Sri Lanka to win the title. <strong>Indian</strong> women's T20<br />
captain Harmanpreet Kaur also paid tribute to<br />
batsman Suresh Raina, who also announced his<br />
retirement from international cricket minutes<br />
after Dhoni.<br />
"Legends of the game. Learnt so much<br />
from you. Watching you guys on the field was<br />
an amazing experience. Thank you for all the<br />
memories #7 #3 @msdhoni @ImRaina," she<br />
tweeted.<br />
Her teammate and ODI captain Mithali Raj said:<br />
"<strong>The</strong> man who immortalised jersey no.7, whose<br />
sharp mind and a cool head earned him the tag of<br />
#CaptionCool, the man who fulfilled billion <strong>Indian</strong><br />
dreams by lifting two World Cup trophies and who bid<br />
adieu in his inimitable style. Congratulations #MSDhoni<br />
on an outstanding career #Thala." All-rounder Hardik<br />
Pandya tweeted: "<strong>The</strong>re's only one #MSDhoni. Thank you<br />
my friend and elder brother for being the biggest inspiration<br />
in my career. Will miss playing with you in the blue jersey but<br />
am sure you will always be there for me and will keep guiding<br />
me #7."<br />
Rishabh Pant, who has been touted as Dhoni's long-term replacement<br />
as India's wicketkeeper, tweeted: "A little boy had a dream of batting<br />
on the other end of the pitch with you. That little boy's dream came<br />
true, learning from you and being close to you has been the highest<br />
privilege. India will always be proud of @msdhoni. Enjoy the journey<br />
ahead Mahi bhai. Legend #7."<br />
Australian batsman David Warner has faced Dhoni a number of<br />
times on the field during the often intense matches between<br />
India and Australia. He is set to do s o<br />
again whenever his Sunrisers Hyderabad<br />
meet Dhoni's Chennai<br />
SuperKings in the upcoming<br />
season of the <strong>Indian</strong> Premier<br />
League (IPL). He tweeted:<br />
"Congrats @msdhoni on a fantastic<br />
career, he is one of the coolest<br />
guys I've played against on the<br />
park. #greatknock #calm #finisher."<br />
"One<br />
of the most<br />
influential man in the<br />
history of <strong>Indian</strong> cricket.<br />
His impact in and around<br />
cricket was massive. He<br />
was a man with vision and<br />
a master in knowing<br />
how to build a team."
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
FEATURES 17<br />
KOREAN CHICKEN BAO BUNS<br />
Tofu Bao Buns<br />
INGREDIENTS:<br />
FOR BUNS<br />
• 450gm - flour<br />
• 1/2tsp - salt<br />
• <strong>21</strong>0ml - water, warm<br />
• 2tbsp - castor sugar<br />
• 2tsp - dry yeast<br />
• 3tbsp - milk, room temperature<br />
• 3tbsp - butter, room temperature<br />
• FOR TOFU<br />
• INGREDIENTS:<br />
• 200gm - tofu, organic<br />
• 1/2cup - gochujang sauce<br />
• 1cup - spring onions, chopped<br />
• 2tbsp - ginger paste<br />
• 2tsp - garlic paste<br />
• 1/4cup - sugar<br />
• 1/4cup - soy sauce<br />
• 1/4cup - dark soy sauce<br />
• 2tbsp - Chinese five spice or 1tsp - red chilli powder<br />
TO ASSEMBLE:<br />
• 1cup - salad (Super slaw with beetroot, carrot, Italian<br />
parsley).<br />
• 2tbsp - sesame seeds<br />
• Hoisin sauce, optional<br />
• Few chopsticks<br />
METHOD:<br />
• In a medium bowl add flour and salt, mix well using<br />
the fork.<br />
• In a seperate bowl add water, sugar and dry yeast, mix<br />
until incorporated.<br />
• Add milk and melted butter to the yeast mixture and<br />
mix it with the fork.<br />
• Pour water mixture onto the flour mix and knead it into<br />
a pliable dough.<br />
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and<br />
knead for 10-15 mins, or until smooth.<br />
• Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth<br />
and leave to rise for 2 hrs, or until doubled in size.<br />
FOR TOFU<br />
METHOD<br />
• Cut tofu into long strips and set aside.<br />
• In a medium size bowl add gochujang, chopped spring<br />
onions, ginger paste, garlic paste, sugar, soy sauce,<br />
dark soy sauce and Chinese five spice, mix well with<br />
the fork.<br />
• Pour the mixture onto the tofu and make sure all the<br />
pieces are well covered.<br />
• Cover and keep aside for 1 hour to marinate.<br />
FOR DOUGH<br />
• Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead<br />
for 5 mins.<br />
• Divide it into 20 equal size balls.<br />
• In the palm of your hand, roll each piece of dough into<br />
a ball and leave to rest for 2-3 mins.<br />
• Use a rolling pin to roll out each ball, one by one, into<br />
an oval shape about 3-4mm thickness.<br />
• Rub the surface of the dough ovals with oil and brush<br />
a little oil over a chopstick.<br />
• Place the oiled chopstick in the centre of each oval.<br />
• Fold the dough over the chopstick, then slowly pull out<br />
the chopstick.<br />
• Cut 20 squares of baking parchment and put a bun on<br />
each.<br />
• Transfer to a baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel<br />
or lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove in a warm<br />
place for 1 hr 30 mins, or until doubled in size.<br />
• Heat a large steamer over a medium-high flame.<br />
• Steam the buns for 8 minutes or until puffed up (In a<br />
small steamer you’ll need to do this in batches). Set<br />
aside.<br />
FOR TOFU<br />
• Heat frypan over medium flame, fry tofu in batches<br />
along with its sauce until the edges are brown on both<br />
the sides.<br />
• Transfer fried tofu onto a plate.<br />
TO ASSEMBLE<br />
• Prise open each bun and spread some hoisin sauce.<br />
• Fill with tofu and salad and sprinkle some sesame<br />
seeds on top.<br />
• Eat while they are still warm.<br />
• TIP; frozen bao buns can also be used.<br />
• To warm the frozen bao buns or store bought:<br />
• Place the bao into a steamer and cover with the lid.<br />
• Fill a wide saucepan with a 1 inch depth of water and<br />
bring to the boil over a medium flame.<br />
• Turn the flame down to low then place the steamer into<br />
the pan.<br />
• Steam for 5-6 minutes if they were frozen, or 2-3<br />
minutes if they’re fresh.<br />
SHRIMP BAO BUNS<br />
INGREDIENTS:<br />
• 20 - bao buns<br />
• 3 - chicken thighs<br />
FOR MARINATION:<br />
• 240ml - butter milk<br />
• 1/2tsp - salt<br />
• 1/4tsp - white pepper powder<br />
• 1/4tsp - garlic powder<br />
FOR FRYING:<br />
• 180gm - flour<br />
• 1tsp - salt<br />
• 1tsp - black pepper powder<br />
• 1/2tsp - garlic salt<br />
• 1.2tsp - celery salt<br />
• 1tsp - dry thyme<br />
• 1tsp - baking powder<br />
• 1tsp - red chilli powder<br />
• Oil for frying<br />
FOR KOREAN SAUCE:<br />
• 2tbsp - Korean gochujang sauce<br />
• 2tbsp - honey<br />
• 4tbsp - brown sugar<br />
• 4tbsp - dark soy sauce<br />
• 2tsp - garlic paste<br />
• 2tbsp - ginger paste<br />
• 1tbsp - sesame oil<br />
• 2tbsp -vegetable oil<br />
TO ASSEMBLE:<br />
• 1cup - salad ( Super slaw with<br />
beetroot, carrot, Italian parsley ).<br />
• 1 - red onion, small and sliced<br />
• 1tbsp - sesame seeds<br />
• Sriracha sauce, optional<br />
METHOD<br />
• Wash and cut chicken into thin<br />
strips.<br />
• In a large bowl add butter milk,<br />
salt, white pepper powder and<br />
garlic powder, mix well.<br />
• Add chicken, mix well, cover<br />
and keep aside for 2 hours.<br />
• In a seperate bowl add flour,<br />
salt, black pepper powder,<br />
garlic salt, celery salt, dry<br />
theme, baking powder and red<br />
chilli powder, mix well and set<br />
aside.<br />
• Again in a seperate bowl add<br />
Korean sauce, honey, brown<br />
sugar, dark soy sauce, garlic<br />
paste, ginger paste, sesame oil<br />
and vegetable oil. Mix well until<br />
incorporated, cover and keep<br />
aside for later use.<br />
• Heat oil over medium flame for<br />
frying.<br />
• Add marinated chicken to the dry<br />
flour mixture ( Make sure that all<br />
the chicken pieces are well coated<br />
with the dry mixture ).<br />
• Fry chicken pieces in batches<br />
until brown and crisp on both the<br />
sides, then transfer them into the<br />
bowl.<br />
• Pour Korean sauce over the fried<br />
and hot chicken pieces and mix<br />
until all the pieces are well coated<br />
with the sauce.<br />
TO ASSEMBLE<br />
• Prise open each bun and spread<br />
little sriracha sauce in the inside<br />
of the bun. Optional.<br />
• Fill the bun with chicken, salad<br />
and red onions.<br />
• Sprinkle some sesame seeds on<br />
top.<br />
• Eat while they are still warm.<br />
TIP: Siracha sauce can be the<br />
substitute for gochujang sauce in the<br />
sauce mixture.<br />
INGREDIENTS:<br />
• 12 - bao buns<br />
• 24 - shrimps, large<br />
• 1/4tsp - baking soda<br />
• 11/2tsp - salt or according to taste<br />
• 1/2tsp - sugar<br />
• 1tsp - garlic paste, divided<br />
• 2tbsp - vegetable oil, divided<br />
• 1 - red hot chilli, thinly sliced<br />
• 2 - spring onions, thinly sliced<br />
• Freshly ground black pepper<br />
FOR SAUCE:<br />
• 11/2tbsp - sriracha sauce<br />
• 5tbsp - mayonnaise<br />
• 1tsp - lime juice<br />
TO ASSEMBLE:<br />
• 1cup - salad ( Super slaw with beetroot,<br />
carrot, Italian parsley ) or shredded cabbage.<br />
• Pickled cucumber<br />
METHOD<br />
• Shell and devein the shrimps then transfer<br />
them into a bowl.<br />
• Combine shrimp, baking soda, salt, and<br />
sugar in a medium bowl and toss to coat.<br />
• Transfer to refrigerator and allow to rest for<br />
1 hour.<br />
• Meanwhile, combine half of garlic and half<br />
of oil in a small bowl. Set aside to baste<br />
shrimps before cooking them.<br />
• Combine remaining garlic, oil, chili, and<br />
spring onions in a large bowl. Set aside.<br />
FOR SAUCE<br />
• Combine sriracha, mayonnaise, and lime<br />
juice in a small bowl and stir ( Add more<br />
sriracha until desired level of spiciness is<br />
achieved ). Cover and refrigerate.<br />
• When shrimps are ready to grill, brush both<br />
sides with garlic and oil mixture.<br />
• Place shrimps directly over hot side of<br />
grill and cook, turning occasionally, until<br />
shrimps are just cooked through and well<br />
charred for 4 to 5 minutes total ( You can<br />
also slightly cook them in the fry pan over<br />
medium flame ).<br />
• Transfer shrimps to bowl along with its<br />
garlic and oil mixture.<br />
• Pour chili and spring onion mixture, toss to<br />
coat.<br />
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.<br />
TO ASSEMBLE<br />
• Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons sriracha mayonnaise<br />
on the bottom of each bun.<br />
• Top with pickles and mixed salad ( Shredded<br />
cabbage ).<br />
• Top with 2 shrimp each and close buns.<br />
• Serve immediately.<br />
• TIP; shredded cabbage can be an option for<br />
salad.<br />
• NOTE; Gochujang is a spicy, Korean<br />
fermented chilli paste. It can be found in<br />
many Korean or Chinese grocers and even<br />
in larger supermarkets.<br />
• If you want to make this even easier, you<br />
can buy the ready made Bao Buns from your<br />
local supermarket bakery.
18<br />
ENTERTAINMENT<br />
<strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> 14, <strong>2020</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
'Sholay' turns 45:<br />
Big B, Ramesh Sippy, Hema<br />
on why it remains special<br />
<strong>The</strong> blockbuster Sholay turned 45 on<br />
<strong>August</strong> 15. Amitabh Bachchan, Hema<br />
Malini and director Ramesh Sippy looked<br />
back to dissect how and why the film stays fresh<br />
and relevant in the minds of people even after so<br />
many decades.<br />
"Sholay starred Amitabh Bachchan,<br />
Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini<br />
and Jaya Bachchan among others. <strong>The</strong> film<br />
is remembered for Amjad Khan's iconic<br />
performance as the film's arch villain, dacoit<br />
Gabbar Singh.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> way Sholay was written, and the detail<br />
in which each and every character of the movie<br />
was etched, all the characters of Sholay are still<br />
fresh in people's mind – be it Gabbar's dialogue<br />
"Sholay<br />
or Basanti's non stop babbling. Even a character<br />
beautifully<br />
like Sambha, who in the entire movie spoke only<br />
in three hours<br />
two words, is till today fresh in the memory of<br />
encapsulated the<br />
people," Sippy said.<br />
victory of good<br />
Big B, who played Jai, spoke of how the film,<br />
over evil. "<br />
India for the film, and then the film was<br />
besides creating new records, was about many edited in the United Kingdom – so many<br />
production firsts.<br />
firsts occurred. Ramesh Sippy ji as a director<br />
"Sholay beautifully in three hours encapsulated made many unconventional changes in its<br />
the victory of good over evil. It was the first reproduction and its making – the location, the<br />
time ever that a dialogue CD for an <strong>Indian</strong> film action coordination, the camera work, the 70 mm<br />
was released.<br />
and the scale – I guess it all worked out fine,"<br />
"Action sequences were for the first time said Bachchan.<br />
directed by a British crew, specially invited to <strong>The</strong> film was released on Independence Day<br />
Karisma recalls Raja Hindustani days with Aamir Khan<br />
Actress Karisma<br />
Kapoor went<br />
down memory<br />
lane and shared a picture<br />
with Aamir Khan from the<br />
days of their 1996 superhit,<br />
Raja Hindustani.<br />
In the still that Karisma<br />
posted on Instagram, she is<br />
seen posing with Aamir in a<br />
red dress.<br />
<strong>The</strong> actor wears a tuxedo.<br />
"Guess the film #flashbackfriday<br />
#guessinggameon" Karisma<br />
captioned the image.<br />
Raja Hindustani, directed<br />
by Dharmesh Darshan, tells<br />
the tale of a smalltown cab<br />
driver who falls in love with a<br />
rich heiress.<br />
<strong>The</strong> film is loosely based<br />
on the 1965 superhit, Jab Jab<br />
Phool Khile that starred Shashi<br />
Kapoor and Nanda.<br />
Karisma was last seen in<br />
Ekta Kapoor's digital show<br />
Mentalhood, which explores<br />
the multitasking nature of<br />
different types of mothers, and<br />
their efforts to ensure the best<br />
upbringing for their children.<br />
Sonu Sood recalls his initial days of struggle in Mumbai<br />
Actor Sonu Sood is being hailed as<br />
messiah of migrants lately, due to his<br />
efforts in helping them reach home<br />
during the pandemic-induced lockdown.<br />
However, there was a time when<br />
things were not so rosy for him here.<br />
Talking about his days of<br />
struggle, Sonu said: "I am an<br />
engineer, and after my graduation<br />
when I went back to my family,<br />
I thought I would start a family<br />
business there. But I always wished<br />
to come to Mumbai. Initially I thought<br />
that my parents would stop me from going to<br />
Mumbai as I am their only son, but my mother<br />
asked me to go and achieve my dreams."<br />
Actor Chunky Panday says it was all<br />
about heroes doing the right thing<br />
on screen when he ventured into<br />
Bollywood in the eighties.<br />
Far from his greenhorn days in Bollywood,<br />
the actor is now all set to portray a grey role in<br />
the web series Abhay 2, and he sees it as a great<br />
change that actors today are exploring the dark<br />
side of characters.<br />
"When I came into films in the late 1980s<br />
and early 1990s, it was all about these heroes<br />
doing all the right things. <strong>The</strong> hero couldn't<br />
"I still remember when I first came to Mumbai,<br />
I had Rs 5,500 which I had saved. I went to Film<br />
City, paid Rs 400 to get an entry because<br />
I was stopped at the gate. I thought<br />
that if I roamed around in Film<br />
City, a director or a producer<br />
would spot me and cast me<br />
in their project, which never<br />
happened. It is only because of<br />
my parents' blessings that I am<br />
here now," added the actor, who<br />
had started his film career with the<br />
1999 Tamil movie Kallazhagar.<br />
Sonu opened up on his film journey while<br />
shooting for the Azadi special episode of the<br />
show "India's Best Dancer".<br />
dream of doing anything negative, but then<br />
came SRK and he attempted films like Darr<br />
and Baazigar, and now slowly I have seen that<br />
even Akshay (Kumar) is doing it, and Aamir<br />
(Khan) is doing it. Ranveer (Singh) has done it<br />
so convincingly in Padmaavat," Chunky said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> actor, who has been in the industry for<br />
over 30 three years, says he made his transition<br />
in 2000 because he realised he wouldn't play<br />
the hero anymore. "I did this transformation<br />
in 2000 when I came back from Bangladesh.<br />
I realised that I wouldn't be playing the hero<br />
1975. Looking back, Sippy has an interesting<br />
anecdote.<br />
"I spoke to a theatre owner in south Mumbai<br />
after the film released at the box office, and<br />
he showed me the popcorn and refreshments<br />
counter and said look, it's empty.<br />
"At first, that upset me a little because I<br />
thought my film wasn't doing well and that's why<br />
there were no people at these counters.<br />
"But then, he told me that all the audience<br />
was glued to their seats inside the theatre, and<br />
they didn't want to leave the hall. That is how<br />
capturing the film was. I couldn't have been<br />
happier!" he recalled.<br />
"A lot of technological advancements<br />
were done way back then, be it the<br />
action sequence, or the editing or the<br />
way the film was shot. Hence people<br />
enjoy Sholay even today," Sippy<br />
noted.<br />
Hema Malini, who played Basanti,<br />
said: "Before we started shooting, I was<br />
told that there is a dance sequence where my<br />
character would be dancing on glass on a rough<br />
mountain.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> shoot took place over the month of April<br />
when it is extremely hot. I remember Ramesh ji<br />
being very particular about it, but that sequence<br />
went on to become an epic."<br />
Dev Patel: My love affair with India<br />
started with 'Slumdog Millionaire'<br />
India celebrates its 74th Independence<br />
Day, Slumdog Millionaire fame Dev Patel<br />
recalled how his affair with the country<br />
began while shooting for the film.<br />
"I had been to India a couple of times as<br />
a child but my real exposure to the country<br />
happened when I shot for'Slumdog Millionaire.<br />
My love affair with India started while working<br />
on the film. I did not understand <strong>Indian</strong> culture<br />
properly while growing up in London. I feel<br />
blessed that through Slumdog Millionaire I got<br />
the opportunity to witness India's beauty and its<br />
people in a detailed way," Dev said.<br />
British filmmaker Danny Boyle's 2008 film,<br />
Slumdog Millionaire, casts Dev in the title<br />
role, recounting the travails of an orphan who<br />
grows up in the slums of Mumbai and uses his<br />
common sense and general awareness to win<br />
the <strong>Indian</strong> version of "Who Wants To Be A<br />
Millionaire?" <strong>The</strong> global hit won eight Oscars<br />
and helped Dev earn a name for himself.<br />
"Slumdog Millionaire changed my life in<br />
many ways. <strong>The</strong>re were not many roles for us<br />
in the West that time. I think what it did for me<br />
is what it also does for the industry. Winning<br />
several Oscars was a big thing. I think there<br />
was a tectonic plate that shifted, which was<br />
incredible. It gave me exposure to a big world<br />
out there and started my obsession with India,"<br />
he shared.<br />
anymore -- even though I never played the<br />
main hero except in a couple of films," he said.<br />
Chunky mostly worked in films that had several<br />
actors, and he was cast as one of the many<br />
leads. "I was always in multistarrer films and<br />
I was one of the lead actors, but when I made<br />
a conscious effort to get back into characters, I<br />
realised how enjoyable it is to play characters.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no pressure on you. Once you get into<br />
that character, it becomes you." Abhay 2, an<br />
eight-episode series, marks the return of Kunal<br />
Kemmu as an investigative officer who has a<br />
Jiah Khan's mother<br />
calls Mahesh Bhatt<br />
mouthpiece of<br />
Bollywood mafia<br />
Rabia Khan, mother of late actress<br />
Jiah Khan, says filmmaker Mahesh<br />
Bhatt is a mouthpiece of Bollywood<br />
mafia. She has also claimed that Bhatt once<br />
threatened her.<br />
Jiah was found dead at her Mumbai<br />
residence in June 2013. Her family accused<br />
Sooraj Pancholi, Jiah's then boyfriend, for<br />
her death.<br />
About Jiah being declared depressed,<br />
Rabia told India Today Television: "Who<br />
said it? Except Mahesh Bhatt? At my<br />
daughter's funeral, he came to me and said<br />
that Jiah was depressed. I said, 'Excuse me<br />
sir. She was never depressed.'<br />
He told me, 'Tum chup ho jaao varna<br />
tumhe bhi injection deke sula denge' (You<br />
shut up, else you too will be put to sleep with<br />
an injection)."<br />
Earlier, Rabia had shared a post on social<br />
media demanding a CBI probe into the<br />
ongoing Sushant Singh Rajput death case.<br />
Talking about Mahesh Bhatt being vocal<br />
about Sushant's mental health, she said: "He<br />
is a mouthpiece of Bollywood mafia. He<br />
knows nothing.<br />
He is so pathetic that I have no words<br />
to express. He was intimidating when my<br />
daughter worked for him at the age of 16.<br />
He told me to leave her alone.<br />
How could I leave her alone? I will speak<br />
for justice. I will tell the world what these<br />
people are."<br />
Dev, who has shot several films in India<br />
since then, is eagerly waiting to shoot again in<br />
the country for his next film.<br />
"I was actually in India just before things got<br />
really crazy with the coronavirus. I was about<br />
to shoot a film in India.<br />
" I really would love to be in India when<br />
the borders open up again and it becomes safe<br />
for everyone to travel, especially for the film<br />
crew," he added.<br />
Dev has recently donned the hat of narrator<br />
for the National Geographic series "India From<br />
Above", which showcases unique stories from<br />
India from an aerial perspective. <strong>The</strong> two-part<br />
series uses drone cameras to let people see the<br />
country's geographical, cultural, technological<br />
and historical aspects from the aerial view.<br />
Chunky Panday: In '80s and '90s, heroes couldn't dream of doing negative roles<br />
knack for solving<br />
crimes by<br />
thinking like<br />
the offender.<br />
Directed<br />
by Ken<br />
Ghosh, the<br />
show will<br />
premiere<br />
on Zee5 on<br />
<strong>August</strong> 14.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> <strong>Friday</strong>, <strong>August</strong> <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
FEATURES 19<br />
<strong>21</strong><strong>August</strong> – 27 <strong>August</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | By Manisha Koushik<br />
ARIES (MAR <strong>21</strong>-APR 20)<br />
This is the right time to spell out your ideas, if you<br />
want them implemented. You may not have much<br />
to do at office, since you will either delegate your<br />
tasks to someone else or sidestep them! Care needs<br />
to be exercised on the academic front. You will<br />
need to be careful with your money, as spending it<br />
on frivolous things cannot be ruled out. Someone’s<br />
insistence on something on the home front may<br />
make you relent. Lucky No.:22 / Lucky Colour: Sky Blue<br />
TAURUS (APR <strong>21</strong>-MAY 20)<br />
A popular location is likely to be enjoyed by some.<br />
You spend well, but you earn well too, so expect this<br />
happy situation to persist on the financial front. An<br />
old ailment is likely to disappear, as you start taking<br />
the required precautions. Leaning too heavily on<br />
luck is a formula for disaster, so remember that on<br />
the academic front. Mental pressure at work may<br />
increase for some. It may become difficult to endure the idiosyncrasies<br />
of lover. Lucky No.:4 / Lucky Colour: Dark Slate Grey<br />
GEMINI (MAY <strong>21</strong>-JUN <strong>21</strong>)<br />
You need to have some balance, so stop oscillating<br />
from one extreme to the other. Some work may<br />
come up and dash your hopes of enjoying the<br />
week, but you will manage to wriggle out of it!<br />
Shopping will be fun, but keep a tab on spending,<br />
as chances of going overboard look real. Give a<br />
more professional look to your outfit, if you want<br />
to attract clients. You are likely to double your<br />
efforts on the academic front. Lucky No.:1 / Lucky Colour: Light<br />
Yellow<br />
CANCER (JUN 22-JUL 20)<br />
Maintaining secrecy over a matter with those<br />
around may not be the best course of action, so give<br />
it a rethink. Romance beckons you and how! But<br />
in your anticipation don’t cross the line as you can<br />
get into an embarrassing situation. You are likely to<br />
remain strong on the academic front and be able to<br />
take the competition head on. Your helpful nature<br />
will be appreciated and help boost your image on<br />
the social front. Lucky No.: 4 / Lucky Colour: Lavender<br />
Manisha Koushik is a practicing astrologer, tarot card reader, numerologist, vastu and<br />
fengshui consultant based in India with a global presence through the online channels. She is<br />
available for consultations online as well. E-mail her at support@askmanisha.com or contact<br />
at +91-11-26449898 Mobile/Whatsapp: +91-9716145644 • www.askmanisha.com<br />
LEO (JUL<strong>21</strong>-AUG 20)<br />
You may leave something unattended at work and<br />
become answerable for it, so take care. Nervousness<br />
cannot be ruled out for those meeting lover for the<br />
first time. Carry adequate cash for a transaction as<br />
you may need it. Your attempts to infuse fun and<br />
gaiety to make a celebration lively may meet with<br />
partial success. Those ailing for long may take<br />
some more time to recover totally, but recover they<br />
will. A pat on the back awaits some. Lucky No.:18 / Lucky Colour:<br />
Saffron<br />
VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 23)<br />
This is an excellent time for you to invest, as you<br />
are likely to get fantastic returns. You are likely to<br />
fare well on the academic front, irrespective of how<br />
you have prepared. Your efforts on the home front<br />
will be lauded by all. Networking is likely to get<br />
you places on the social front. Chances of finding<br />
an expensive item look bright. Taking up a fitness<br />
course is on the cards and will prove highly beneficial. Lucky No.:1 /<br />
Lucky Colour: Light Brown<br />
LIBRA (SEP 24-OCT 23)<br />
You may have to seek alternatives, if you are unable<br />
to accomplish something at work. Efforts on the<br />
academic front put in now will pay rich dividends<br />
later. You are likely to benefit immensely by making<br />
health your priority. Despite rising expenses, you<br />
will be able to remain fairly well off financially. You<br />
will feel loved by those around you. On the social<br />
front, it is better to accept your mistakes, than defend them and be<br />
labelled stupid! Lucky No.: 8 / Lucky Colour: Violet<br />
SCORPIO (OCT 24-NOV 22)<br />
Someone may go out of his or her way to help you<br />
out. You can remain in wonderment at your good<br />
fortune ! <strong>The</strong>re is every possibility of securing<br />
a position or achieving the unexpected on the<br />
academic front. Consistency and performance on<br />
the professional front is likely to take you places.<br />
Love can happen at the oddest of places and you<br />
are likely to realise it soon! Financial worries<br />
become a thing of the past. Lucky No.: 1 / Lucky Colour: Light<br />
Brown<br />
SAGITTARIUS (NOV 23-DEC <strong>21</strong>)<br />
An impending expenditure may seem way beyond<br />
your pocket, but you will be able to tackle it<br />
somehow. Much appreciation is in store for you<br />
on the social front for something that you have<br />
achieved. If you are in love, you can expect a most<br />
fulfilling time with your beloved. Wriggling out<br />
of a job that entails travel will be in your interest.<br />
Street food can have serious consequences on your health, so desist.<br />
Lucky No.:15 / Lucky Colour: Grey<br />
CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN <strong>21</strong>)<br />
You may be given the go ahead for venturing into something new. Giving<br />
quality time to family is indicated in this week, so<br />
expect a highly rewarding time. Some of you may<br />
decide to take your romance to the next level. A<br />
trip with friends will not only be exciting, but<br />
refreshing too. Something new may be procured<br />
for the house. Easing off on the academic front is<br />
possible, so it is time to tighten your belt. Lucky<br />
No.:7 / Lucky Colour: Pink<br />
AQUARIUS (JAN 22-FEB 19)<br />
YYou just need to give time for things to settle down on their own.<br />
Your efforts on the social front will need a push<br />
for things to work out. Good time management<br />
will hold you in good stead on the academic front.<br />
Avoid any kind of argument, as it may go against<br />
you. Someone is trying hard to highlight your<br />
shortcomings on the professional front. Money<br />
may become a problem. You are likely to enjoy<br />
good health. Lucky No.:11 / Lucky Colour:<br />
Yellow<br />
Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)<br />
Keep track of whatever resources you have at your<br />
disposal, as you may need them at a later date. You<br />
may take steps to improve your health. A short break<br />
from the routine will help you unwind. Restlessness<br />
needs to be guarded against on the academic front.<br />
If there is something pending at work, it will be in<br />
your interest to complete it the soonest. You may<br />
resent someone’s ways in the family, but it is best to ignore. Lucky<br />
No.:6 / Lucky Colour: Chocolate<br />
CROSSWORD FreeDailyCrosswords.com<br />
NO: 60<br />
ACROSS------------,<br />
I) Diamond weight<br />
6) One of the Three Bears<br />
10) Chutzpa<br />
14) Linguist's concern<br />
15) Old orchard spray<br />
16) Succulent plant<br />
1 7) What a witch might do<br />
20) _ chi ch'uan<br />
<strong>21</strong>) Skirt feature<br />
22) T-bones<br />
23) Keats title opening<br />
25) Freedom from difficulty<br />
26) Well-qualified<br />
28) Striking scene<br />
32) Seems imminent<br />
34) British blue blood<br />
35) Tennis redo<br />
38) Steppenwolf classic<br />
WHEE!<br />
14<br />
17<br />
20<br />
32<br />
38<br />
2<br />
BREAK TIME<br />
2 3 4 5 7<br />
42) Where supper is slop<br />
43) In need of a shampoo<br />
44) Nettle rash<br />
45) Delicateness<br />
48) Red coin?<br />
49) Actor's handful<br />
51) Word with "lock" or<br />
"barrier"<br />
53) Like the North Pole<br />
55) Norwegian city<br />
56) Something to pitch<br />
59) Endure difficulties<br />
62) Experiencing jitters<br />
63) Suspicious of<br />
64) Full complement of Wise<br />
Men<br />
65) Tiger's pegs<br />
66) Squirrel away<br />
67) _ Hall University<br />
8 9<br />
Dennis E. Mitchell<br />
11 12 13<br />
May 10th<br />
DOWN<br />
I) Terse<br />
2) Where Myanmar is<br />
3) Branch of medical science<br />
4) Add years<br />
5) Rib<br />
6) Boater's haven<br />
7) Oodles<br />
8) Big name in communism<br />
9) <strong>The</strong>y're taken up in war<br />
10) French pastry<br />
11) Blotter entry<br />
12) English thinker John<br />
13) Albanian coins<br />
18) Use absorbent paper<br />
19) Cat quality<br />
24) Prefix meaning "half'<br />
26) Charitable offerings<br />
27) Gravy container<br />
29) Green gem<br />
30) Place for a computer<br />
31) Literary "before"<br />
33) Zodiac sign<br />
35) Flowerless plant<br />
36) Garden of good and Eve?<br />
37) Midterm, e.g.<br />
39) Espionage grp.<br />
40) "Rumble in the Jungle" victor<br />
41) Law feared by the fugitive financier<br />
45) Long-in-the-tooth types<br />
46) Boob tube offering<br />
47) Eli's school<br />
49) Joy companion<br />
50) Long narrow crest<br />
52) Appointments<br />
53) Not have peace of mind<br />
54) Some pop groups<br />
55) Germany's von Bismarck<br />
57) Cookie brand<br />
58) A sign of a kind<br />
60) Nitro's cousin<br />
61) An article<br />
ANSWERS CROSSWORD NO: 60<br />
FreeDailyCrosswords.com<br />
ACROSS------------,<br />
I) Diamond weight<br />
6) One of the Three Bears<br />
10) Chutzpa<br />
14) Linguist's concern<br />
15) Old orchard spray<br />
16) Succulent plant<br />
1 7) What a witch might do<br />
20) _ chi ch'uan<br />
<strong>21</strong>) Skirt feature<br />
22) T-bones<br />
23) Keats title opening<br />
25) Freedom from difficulty<br />
26) Well-qualified<br />
28) Striking scene<br />
32) Seems imminent<br />
34) British blue blood<br />
35) Tennis redo<br />
38) Steppenwolf classic<br />
WHEE!<br />
1<br />
c<br />
2 A 3R 4A<br />
S T<br />
1<br />
tJ s<br />
1<br />
'"<br />
I<br />
2 A<br />
2i l L E<br />
3l 0 0 M 1;<br />
3ftn A G<br />
!; T y<br />
HITORI NO: 60<br />
I<br />
42) Where supper is slop<br />
43) In need of a shampoo<br />
44) Nettle rash<br />
45) Delicateness<br />
48) Red coin?<br />
49) Actor's handful<br />
51) Word with "lock" or<br />
"barrier"<br />
53) Like the North Pole<br />
55) Norwegian city<br />
56) Something to pitch<br />
59) Endure difficulties<br />
62) Experiencing jitters<br />
63) Suspicious of<br />
64) Full complement of Wise<br />
Men<br />
65) Tiger's pegs<br />
66) Squirrel away<br />
67) _ Hall University<br />
A<br />
Dennis E. Mitchell<br />
l; 1 A 1 l 1 l<br />
L 0 E<br />
I C<br />
I D E<br />
I V E s<br />
RM<br />
H R E E<br />
67S E T ON<br />
May 10th<br />
DOWN<br />
I) Terse<br />
2) Where Myanmar is<br />
3) Branch of medical science<br />
4) Add years<br />
5) Rib<br />
6) Boater's haven<br />
7) Oodles<br />
8) Big name in communism<br />
9) <strong>The</strong>y're taken up in war<br />
10) French pastry<br />
11) Blotter entry<br />
12) English thinker John<br />
13) Albanian coins<br />
18) Use absorbent paper<br />
19) Cat quality<br />
24) Prefix meaning "half'<br />
26) Charitable offerings<br />
27) Gravy container<br />
29) Green gem<br />
30) Place for a computer<br />
31) Literary "before"<br />
33) Zodiac sign<br />
35) Flowerless plant<br />
36) Garden of good and Eve?<br />
37) Midterm, e.g.<br />
39) Espionage grp.<br />
40) "Rumble in the Jungle" victor<br />
41) Law feared by the fugitive financier<br />
45) Long-in-the-tooth types<br />
46) Boob tube offering<br />
47) Eli's school<br />
49) Joy companion<br />
50) Long narrow crest<br />
52) Appointments<br />
53) Not have peace of mind<br />
54) Some pop groups<br />
55) Germany's von Bismarck<br />
57) Cookie brand<br />
58) A sign of a kind<br />
60) Nitro's cousin<br />
61) An article<br />
Eliminate numbers until there are no duplicates in any row<br />
or column. Eliminate numbers by marking them in Black.<br />
You are not allowed to have two Black squares touching<br />
horizontally or vertically (diagonally is ok). Any White square<br />
can be reached from any other (i.e. they are connected).<br />
SUDOKU SOLUSIONS AND ANSWERS NO: 60<br />
59<br />
62<br />
64<br />
65<br />
67<br />
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE<br />
QUESTIONS AND<br />
ANSWERS<br />
1. What is the capital city of Australia? Canberra<br />
2. Which US state was Donald Trump born in? New York<br />
3. If you completed the Three Peaks challenge, which three<br />
UK mountains would you have climbed? Ben Nevis,<br />
Snowdon, Scafell Pike<br />
4. Which UK city is situated further west – Bristol or<br />
Edinburgh? Edinburgh<br />
5. How many countries are there in the region of Europe?<br />
(Recognised by the United Nations) 44<br />
6. What is the capital of Finland? Helsinki<br />
7. What is the currency of Vietnam? Vietnamese dong<br />
8. What language is spoken in Brazil? Portuguese<br />
9. What do the French call the English Channel? la Manche<br />
10. How many permanent members are there on the<br />
UN security council? Five: China, France, Russian<br />
Federation, United Kingdom, United States<br />
11. How many notes are there in a musical scale? 7<br />
12. What temperature centigrade does water boil at? 100<br />
degrees centigrade<br />
13. What company is also the name of one of the longest<br />
rivers in the world? Amazon<br />
14. What in the animal kingdom is a doe? A female deer<br />
15. What is the tallest mountain in the world? Mount Everest<br />
16. How many centimetres in a metre. 100<br />
17. What language is spoken in Norway? Norwegian<br />
18. What is the busiest airport in Britain called? London<br />
Heathrow<br />
19. Who is next in line to the British throne after Queen<br />
Elizabeth II. Prince Charles<br />
20. What number is a baker’s dozen? 13