The Indian Weekender, Friday 11 January 2022

11FEBRUARY2022 • VOL 13 ISSUE 47
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Two shots were great protection against Delta,
but boosters are the best way to fight Omicron.
They help slow the spread of the virus,
so more of us can stay well – and that helps
free up our hospitals for other people who need care.
That’s why it’s critical that everyone who can
gets boosted in February.
If you had your 2nd vaccination at least 3 months ago
and you’re 18 and over, get your booster ASAP.
BookMyVaccine.nz
For whānau bookings call 0800 28 29 26

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
NEW ZEALAND 3
Workers left in lurch as
company shuts without notice
How one WhatsApp message changed the destiny of many people at once
IWK Exclusive
NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH
More than 45 Auckland
employees of KB Project
Management Limited
as well as KB Projects Ltd – both
construction companies owned
by Ankit Budhiraja – got a shock
of their life when they were sent
a WhatsApp message by that the
company was closing operations
with immediate effect.
The message that was sent on
February 1 read: “With a very heavy
heart, I would like to announce that
KB will need to stop its operations
with immediate effect.
" This has been a extremely difficult
decision for me, we have built KB
from scratch and to see it fall apart.
It’s been very painful. I have tried
very hard to keep things going but
unfortunately time has come upon
us. We have had to fly overseas due
to unforeseen circumstances. This is
not the way we wanted to end KB. I
am extremely sorry for everything. I
will be in touch very soon.”
Indian Weekender spoke to
many team members who were
on employer-assisted visas for the
now-disestablished company, and
they all revealed that it was wholly
unexpected. They are still trying to
come to terms with it.
Gurjinder Singh, who had been
working in this company as a
carpenter since 2017, is holding an
essential visa through the company,
which is valid till 2025, says, “I am
still shocked at what has happened as
it was totally unexpected. We didn’t
have the slightest idea as everything
seemed to be going fine with the
company. I even tried calling him, but
it went answered, as I’d expected.”
He adds, “I have my wife and two
small kids aged six and two to look
after. I am so stressed about what
I will do. My last salary as well as
holiday pay … all is gone now. I am
working hard to get another job asap.
I wish something like this does not
happen to anyone. I was thinking
of lodging my residency, but now
I have no idea.”
Another employee, Hardeep, who
worked as a carpenter/builder and
held an essential skill visa till October
2023, says, “I can’t understand why
this has happened.
“
I am still shocked at what has
happened as it was totally
unexpected. We didn’t have the
slightest idea as everything seemed
to be going fine with the company.
I am so stressed about what I will
do. My last salary as well as holiday
pay … all is gone now.
Screenshot of the
message sent by Ankit
Budhiraja
"It was a real shock as everything
was so normal. I was blank. I can’t
tell you how upset I am. I have a
seven-month-old son, and my wife
is also not working at present. I
have to think about them. I am in a
financial crisis as I didnot receive
my last salary. I am trying to find
another job and will put in my
variation of condition application
with Immigration NZ asap.”
Arsh, who worked as Building
Associate with the company and had
his essential skill visa through the
company says he couldn’t believe the
message when he read it.
“We all have our expenses to
pay, especially the ones who have
their family dependent on them like
me. We have rent, groceries and
other things to pay. With no income
coming in suddenly, I don’t know
what to do. All my plans of lodging
residency in March are shattered. I
feel cheated.”
Indian Weekender tried contacting
Ankit, but he didn’t respond to our
calls or messages. Undoubtedly, it is
difficult for an employee to lose their
job while on an employer-assisted
visa. So, what should they be doing
if they are stuck in such a situation?
Himang Bhardwaj, Licensed
Immigration advisor and Ex-
Warranted Immigration Officer, says,
“Losing a job is a difficult experience
to go through for anyone.
However, for visa holders, loss
of employment can sometimes
severely impact their well-being
and livelihood.
If a person holds an employerspecific
work visa (commonly
referred to as a ‘closed visa’) and
loses employment, they are in breach
of their visa conditions.
• Continued on Page 8
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4 NEW ZEALAND
‘This govt
has treated
migrants
horrifically’
Friday, February 11, 2022
The Indian Weekender
National Party’s MP and Immigration and Education
spokesperson Erica Stanford talks to Indian
Weekender on various issues concerning the
community, from the border announcement to the
fate of those stuck offshore and why reuniting the
split families should be the priority and much more
IWK BUREAU
On border opening
announcement:
The government hit what I call a reality
brick wall as they knew that they
couldn’t keep the borders closed
anymore. There was enormous heartbreak
for Kiwis trying to get home, migrants trying
to leave and families who had been split for
around three years. They knew they couldn’t do
this anymore.
And the Covid risk now isn’t our community
as it’s not so much at the border. I am pretty
pleased that they finally realised that we have
to open up to the world.
On people’s reaction:
I think there’s a little bit of trepidation. I think
people are a bit untrusting of this government.
We’ve had this before, where we’ve had plans,
and then they haven’t gone as people expected.
Therefore, people are feeling a little bit cautious
and think whether they can really believe the
government this time. Kiwis are pretty happy
that the borders are going to be open, and we’re
going to get back to some form of normality. Of
course, that’s a different story for migrants. I’ve
been flooded with really upset emails from split
families and people offshore who don’t have
any certainty or have been pushed to the bottom
of the queue. So, there’s some real heartache
out there for migrants.
On what the government should
be doing for split families:
I would have prioritised them. Frankly, I would
have put them up there with Kiwis coming
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home. I would have put all split migrant
families in stage 2. I feel they’ve been given it
a bit of lip service and said all if you earn over
1.5 times the median wage, then you can be
reunited with your family at stage two. Firstly,
that’s a slap in the face for migrants; you don’t
miss your kids more if you earn more money.
Most split migrant families will miss out on that
category as most split migrant families earned
between the median wage and 1.5 times the
median wage.
So, they won’t be able to reunite at stage
two and will have to wait until stage five.
So basically, the government yet again is
relegating them right to the bottom of the pile.
What’s particularly galling is the fact that they
split migrant families who haven’t seen their
children and partners for coming up three
years, are going to watch the course of this
year, they’re going to see working holiday visas
people come in before the sports teams come in
before them.
And what’s a real big kick in the guts is that
even tourists from visa waiver countries
will come in before split families. And I
think it proves that this government does
not value migrants.
On 5000 students being able to
come from April:
We need to get students back. And I think it’s
a great move. I’ve got a couple of concerns.
Rather than leaving it to the market, I read
today that the Ministry of Education will be
selecting who those 5000 students are, which
is a worry. We have a trashed reputation around
the world in terms of immigration. When the
government says, ‘oh, we’re going to attract all
these migrants,’; I want to ask what are you
actually doing to attract them? Just saying you
can come is not particularly attractive when you
look at the last two years.
And even before that, with long queues, like
families, people trapped here not being able to
get out and come back.
People are trapped offshore and unable to
get back, and we’ve really treated migrants
horrifically in the last couple of years. I think
probably the biggest one for me is it’s all very
well to say we’re welcoming all these people
back. But the question is, do Immigration
NZ have the resources to process the
visas right now?
The wait time for a student visa is three
months. So these guys are talking about getting
students back for term two; I’m like, well, who
will process the applications.
We could have invited back our students
much earlier; you can see Australia has targeted
them. The same with working holiday visa
holders as well. In Australia, they say if you
get into Australia, we’ll give you a cashback on
your visa before a specific date.
Also, when you look at Australia, where
there are greater certainties around pathways to
residents, that treat migrants a lot better in their
incentives to go there. We seem to be the poor
cousin.
And in a world where we’re all competing
for the same types of migrants. We don’t have
a lot to offer, you know, we need to concentrate
on what we are providing that will make people
come here rather than Australia or Canada? I
haven’t heard anything from the Immigration
Minister about how he’s going to attract these
people.
For migrants stuck offshore:
The government has said from April that you
can come back in if you have a valid visa. But
of course, what about people whose visas have
expired and the government have said nothing
about them.
And I have said this a number of times that I
predict that the government will allow those
visas to expire and then do nothing about it
quietly. I don’t expect them to renew their
visas at all. I think the government has got
this new immigration reset, where we’re
after much more highly paid, much more
highly skilled people.
And I think the chances of them going back
and saying, oh, we’ll renew, renew your poststudy
open work visa is quite slim as it doesn’t
match their goals of this artificially pushing
up this higher wage economy. I feel for these
people, they have spent a lot of money here on
education with the promise of working to pay
some of that debt back. And so, it’s a real kick
in the guts for them.
On expanding one-off
eligibility criteria:
I know the frustration that many people who
have not been eligible mainly because of visas
or being offshore are facing. The minister really
dug his heels in at the beginning and said this is
the category it’s not changing.
There are some blatantly obvious categories
that need to be added; for example, every year
we bring in, I think it’s maybe 100 or 200
Filipino nurses; it’s a specific Filipino nurse
visa. They’re not included. Why not? I mean,
that is a complete no brainer. But I think, you
know, he doesn’t like to be called out and like,
he hasn’t thought through things. But we’re
going to go pretty hard on a few of those real
no brainers like PhD students. We want them
here to stay.

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
NEW ZEALAND 5
Are we going to have to live with boosters?
Now that we’re living amidst the Covid-19 global pandemic for a third year running, Indian Weekender
asked Covid-19 experts if taking regular boosters jabs is the only way forward.
IWK Exclusive
NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH
As the world faces the third year of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the latest data by
Johns Hopkins University revealed
that global Covid-19 cases had surpassed 400
million, with more than 5,761,208 deaths
worldwide.
The global caseload reached the grim
milestone of 100 million on January 26, 2021,
rose to 200 million on August 4, 2021, and
exceeded 300 million on January 6, 2022.
If one talks about Covid-19, one can’t escape
mentioning the importance of vaccination and
now booster shots for many of us. Presently,
the New Zealand government has been urging
all eligible New Zealanders to get themselves
a booster shot to combat the ongoing threat
of Omicron. It is believed that being fully
vaccinated with two shots provides great
protection against Delta, but boosters are the
best way to fight Omicron.
According to the Ministry of health, as of
February 10, 2022, 1,722,179 booster doses
have been administered across NZ.
Earlier, the government stressed the
importance of being fully vaccinated and is now
focussing on getting more and more people to
the booster vaccine. Many people have many
questions about whether we will need to take
boosters as and when a new variant of Covid-19
spreads –or will it be safe to take booster shots,
and how frequently it should be taken.
Indian Weekender spoke to experts for
answers....
‘We may need an annual
Covid-19 vaccination’
Michael Baker - Epidemiologist and Professor,
Department of Public Health, University of Otago.
On the need for boosters:
Boosters add an important additional layer of
protection for those already vaccinated. They
reduce the chance that vaccinated people will
get infected with the Omicron variant and
get seriously ill from it. They also reduce
transmission of the virus so will slow the
pandemic and protect the healthcare system.
On requiring boosters as and when a
new variant emerges:
We will need to plan for the emergence of new
variants. It may not be necessary to roll out
new boosters for each new variant as current
vaccines and boosters are likely to provide at
least partial protection against them. Ultimately,
we may need an annual Covid-19 vaccination
as we do for influenza, where this vaccine is
reformulated regularly to keep ahead of virus
evolution.
On how frequently booster shots should
be taken:
Covid-19 boosters currently use the same
vaccines as the primary vaccinations (i.e.
vaccine doses one and two). Therefore, they
have been through the same rigorous safety
checks as all Covid-19 vaccines. We are still
learning about the optimal timing of vaccine
doses and boosters to produce the best possible
protection from Covid-19 infection. The
interval from the second dose to booster dose
has been reduced from the original six months
to three months in New Zealand to ensure as
many people as possible can receive a booster
before the Omicron wave of infection peaks
here. All people eligible for a booster dose
should get one as soon as they are eligible.
‘The frequency of booster will depend
on how much of a problem the virus is.’
Helen Petousis-Harris - Vaccinologist and
Associate Professor, Dept of General Practice and
Primary Health Care, University of Auckland.
On the need for boosters:
Boosters help prevent people from getting
infected. While there is still such a big
challenge with Covid-19, they will help slow
down the number of sick people and the spread.
Once the pandemic has ended, most people
will have resistance to the virus and boosters
or new formulations might be more critical for
people at high risk of complications rather than
everyone.
On requiring booster as and when a
new variant emerges:
Ongoing boosters or new versions targeting
variants of concern will depend upon the
effectiveness of existing immunity to prevent
severe disease”.
On how frequently booster shots
should be taken:
The boosters have a very good safety profile.
The frequency will depend on how much of a
problem the virus is.
‘As the virus continues to evolve, vaccines
will be updated periodically to
provide immunity against the latest
variants’
Michael Plank - Covid-19 Modeller and Professor,
School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of
Canterbury.
On the need for boosters:
At the moment, all adults in New Zealand are
strongly recommended to take a booster dose
three months after their second dose. This is
especially important for the Omicron variant,
as the third dose boosts your immunity higher
than after two doses and reduces your risk of
needing hospital treatment.
On requiring booster as and when a
new variant emerges:
The booster dose is exactly the same as the first
two doses and is very safe. More than a billion
people worldwide have had the booster, and
serious side effects are extremely rare. At the
moment, there are no plans for a fourth dose,
with the possible exception of high-risk groups
like immuno-compromised people.
On how frequently booster shots should
be taken:
It’s uncertain what vaccines be needed in
the long term. It’s possible that, as the virus
continues to evolve, vaccines will be updated
periodically to provide immunity against the
latest variants. This is very similar to what
happens with the annual flu jab.
‘Further boosters may be needed, and
they will likely be for certain high-risk
groups particularly.’
Joan Ingram - Medical Advisor, Immunisation
Advisory Centre and infectious disease specialist.
On the need for boosters:
Booster doses are essential because our
antibody levels wane or reduce for most
adults over time. Protection against any
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infection, especially infection with minimal
or no symptoms, wanes relatively quickly
(within a few months), but protection against
severe disease lasts longer. Booster doses can
assist in building protection back up. Booster
doses are significant for highly vulnerable
people such as the frail elderly or those with
significant health problems.
The other group for whom boosters are
particularly needed is people with continued
occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and/
or caring for people with Covid-19 disease,
such as health care and border workers. They
are more likely to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2
infection and have a higher potential to transmit
the infection to people at risk of severe disease.
On requiring booster as and when a
new variant emerges:
We can’t know how the virus will evolve in the
future or what other vaccines may be developed.
Still, I can say that we review the safety data
and real-world effectiveness of further boosters
before decisions are made to use them. If they
are needed, their safety and efficiency will
be checked in the same way they are for all
vaccines, including influenza.
On how frequently booster shots should
be taken:
Further boosters may be needed, and they will
likely be for certain high-risk groups. ​
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6 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, February 11, 2022
The Indian Weekender
People doubt border reopening
will happen as scheduled
IWK Exclusive
NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH
On February 3, Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern led government announced
New Zealand’s five-stage plan
to re-open the border, commencing from
February 27.
The NZ border will re-open to vaccinated
Kiwis and other current eligible travellers from
Australia at 11.59 pm on February 27 without
staying in MIQ and to the same groups from
the rest of the world only two weeks later on
March 13.
Also, from March 13, the border will open
to skilled workers earning at least 1.5 times the
median wage as well as for Working Holiday
Scheme visas.
From April 13, the border will open to current
offshore temporary visa holders, who can still
meet the relevant visa requirements and to up
to 5000 international students for semester two.
Further class exceptions for critical workforces
that do not meet the 1.5 times the median wage
test will be considered in this stage.
In stage 4, in July, the plan is to have borders
open for anyone from Australia and visa-waiver
travel. In the last stage 5, the government is
hopeful that the border re-opens to visitors from
anywhere in the world and all visa categories
fully re-open.
Despite the announcement, people are still
doubtful that the government will stick to its
promise of re-connecting NZ to the world.
One of the reasons for people doubt is the
fact that even on November 24 2021, Jacinda
Ardern announced a border re-opening plan that
stated that fully vaccinated New Zealanders and
other eligible travellers can travel to NZ from
Australia without staying in MIQ from 11:59
pm on January 16, 2022, and from February 13
for rest of the world, but the Omicron outbreak
in New Zealand led to the postponement of the
re-opening. When Indian Weekender contacted
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins
regarding the apprehensions that people have
regarding the border re-opening going ahead as
planned, he said, “The first two of the five steps
in our re-connecting New Zealand strategy
are now as certain as it’s possible to be in the
context of COVID-19.
“That means that Kiwis and current eligible
travellers will be able to come to New Zealand
If you require any assistance
I and my office are always happy
and ready to provide advice
and support.
Please get in touch on 09 520 0538 or at
MPLee@parliament.govt.nz to make an
appointment.
Melissa Lee
National List MP based in Auckland
MPLee@parliament.govt.nz
melissalee.co.nz
mpmelissalee
Authorised by Melissa Lee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington.
from any country without going through MIQ
from March 13.
“From that date, we will also start re-opening
Working Holiday Visa schemes. This will
supply urgently needed workers for the tourism,
hospitality, wine and horticultural sectors and
provide some much-needed visitor spending.
“Also, from March 13, we’re simplifying
the application process for the critical worker
border exception.
Skilled workers with job offers paying at
least 1.5 times, instead of double, the median
wage will be able to come in without the need
to demonstrate that their skills aren’t readily
obtainable in NZ.
“The dates for steps three, four and five are,
as has been carefully set out, not yet finalised.
They could be brought forward, depending on
factors including the pace at which visas can be
processed and the impact of Omicron in New
Zealand through February and March.”
Indian Weekender spoke to people from
the community about whether they trust
that borders will actually re-open as per the
announcement.
South Auckland-based Kiwi Indian Rohan
says that an assurance from the Prime Minister
saying that the re-opening plan will not change
is needed no matter what.
He says, “I want a guarantee from Jacinda
Ardern that she will not change her mind to
re-open border irrespective of any new variant
and irrespective of any new domestic outbreak.
I also want assurance that she will not separate
India as she did before by putting it at high risk
and telling people coming from India that they
will still need to go through MIQ. It is only then
that I will book my ticket to my hometown of
Delhi.”
Gurjit Kaur, a resident of Papatoetoe, who
wants to travel to India to meet her family, says,
“Though I would love to bank on and believe
that border opening will happen as announced.
But the previous experiences with this
administration tells me to curb my enthusiasm
because you don’t know when Jacinda Ardern
will change her mind.”
Another Kiwi-India, Neha Sharma, says, “To
be honest, as much I want to believe that the
borders will open as per the schedule. But there
is something that is stopping me from booking
my ticket. I am scared to leave NZ without
booking a MIQ slot in case the rules revert
while I am offshore”.
We also checked with the travel sector about
whether people have been planning travels ever
since the announcement was made.
Victoria Courtney, General Manager of
Product, Flight Centre Travel Group NZ, says,
“Following the government’s announcement
on February 3, 2022, regarding when New
Zealand’s border will re-open, within a day
Flight Centre saw a 75 percent increase in
travel enquiries compared to the day prior and
in-store bookings were up by just over 60 per
cent in that same period.
“The more popular destinations (other than
domestic and the Cook Islands) were London,
Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Additionally,
we had several bookings to Mumbai and Delhi.
“We expect a small amount of hesitation
from the public, considering the re-opening
plan has been changed by the government
before. Still, we expect traveller confidence
to grow even further once February 28 comes
around. We have plenty of customers desperate
to re-connect with family and friends and
many hanging out for an overseas holiday. It’s
exciting that travel is finally returning in 2022.”
Pradeep Kumar of Eco Travels feels that
there is clearly a lack of trust regarding this
government adhering to its border reopening
dates. Sharing his thoughts at our show
Weekender@5, he says, “We are excited and
looking forward to a great time going ahead.
However, truth is that people still do not have
full trust in this government’s announcement
about the border opening dates.
The reason behind it is that the government
did announce the border reopening plan a
couple of months ago, but then it went back on
its words after Omicron hit the world.
They kept people without any answers from
December till January. So, now when they
announced new dates, most of the people are
not trusting and they’re still thinking that there
may be a date change again.
“
I want a guarantee
from Jacinda Ardern
that she will not change
her mind to re-open
border irrespective of
any new variant and
irrespective of any new
domestic outbreak.
At present, people are just calling us like
and we are receiving heaps of calls just for the
information. But for around 90% of the calls,
they just say that we’ll wait for some more time
like maybe one more or two more months. Then
we plan our travel because we don’t want to get
stuck without any answers and things like that.”
“Earlier, when the government announced
dates in November, we did a lot of bookings as
people had belief in the government but since
they did not stick up to that, the trust level has
deteriorated.”
Rob Beecher from the Global Travel
Network, too, acknowledged that there has
been a sudden increase in queries from clients
who wish to travel to India.
“Our travel agents have been inundated with
queries from customers wanting to reunite
with their families in India from the minute
the Prime Minister committed to reopening the
border. There is a lot of pent-up demand which
is now materialising.
With changing border restrictions, airline
schedules, testing, and quarantine requirements,
most travellers now recognise the value of
booking through a travel agent who has the
expertise to navigate through these complexities
and is always on hand to assist if there are lastminute
disruptions along the way.”

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
NEW ZEALAND 7
High Commissioner
Muktesh Pardeshi
now accredited to
Vanuatu as next HC
DEV NADKARNI
India’s High Commissioner to
New Zealand, Shri Muktesh
Pardeshi, has been concurrently
accredited the next High
Commissioner of the Republic of
Vanuatu.
This follows Shri Pardeshi’s
accreditation to the New Zealand
realm of the Cook Islands announced
by the Government of India’s
Ministry of External Affairs in
November last year.
Shri Pardeshi now represents India
in five countries – New Zealand,
Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands
and Vanuatu. While the first four
countries are geographically placed
in Polynesia, Vanuatu is in Melanesia
and is a part of the Pacific Islands
Forum grouping.
Shri Pardeshi has worked hard
toward building and strengthening
diplomatic relations across the
Pacific Islands region. During his
present tenure he also helped appoint
a Honorary Consul of India in Samoa
for the first ever time.
A 1991-batch officer of the Indian
Foreign Service Shri Pardeshi has
earlier served as Ambassador to
Mexico. He has been one of the most
accessible and popular Indian envoys
in New Zealand and has brought
about many positive changes in
the services rendered by the Indian
High Commission in Wellington and
through the Consulate in Auckland.
He has brought in his considerable
knowledge and experience in
e-governance in the efficient delivery
of consular services.
Prior to being the Ambassador in
Mexico, Shri Pardeshi had played an
instrumental role as Joint Secretary
(Passport Seva Project) and Chief
Passport Officer of India for about
five years in the transformation
of passport services in India. His
leadership role has been widely
acclaimed.
An alumnus of Delhi University,
Shri Pardeshi holds a Bachelor and
Master of Arts from Hindu College
and Delhi School of Economics
respectively (both with the first
position in the University) before
entering the diplomatic service in
1991. In a diplomatic career spanning
over 28 years, Shri Pardeshi has
served in numerous postings in
the Ministry and overseas stations
around the world.
Shri Pardeshi has also served
as Minister/Deputy Head of
Mission at the Embassy of India
in Jakarta (2007-10) and Deputy
Secretary (South East Asia &
Pacific) in the Ministry of External
Affairs, New Delhi.
NZ Sikh community rallies to
send aid for volcano hit Tonga
SANDEEP SINGH
New Zealand’s Sikh
community has rallied
together, like the rest of
New Zealanders, to organise and
send relief for the twin disasterhit
Tonga, which was ravaged by a
sudden volcanic eruption, followed
by Tsunami, on Saturday, January 15.
South Auckland-based Takanini
Gurudwara of Supreme Sikh
Society of New Zealand had sent
out a call within the community in
early February to chip in with relief
materials in the form of dry goods,
canned food, flour, blankets, shirts,
household items, and bottled water
immediately after the natural disaster
last month.
“The local whanau
had responded
with great vigour
and passion as we
were able to collect
a large amount of
relief material worth
tens of thousands
of dollars within a
few days of putting
out the call,” Daljit
Singh, spokesperson
of Supreme Sikh
Society of NZ said.
“A full truck
loaded with relief
material was handed
over to the local
NZ Police Tāmaki
Makaurau team
in Auckland to be
further donated to
the Tongan Police,” Daljit Singh
said. Relief material sent by New
Zealanders begins to get unpacked
in Tonga. Meanwhile, local Tongan
media is reporting that the first
shipment of aid sent to Tonga by New
Zealand community members and
businesses is finally being unpacked
now after completing mandatory
quarantine on Tongatapu.
Fifty-one containers have so
far arrived at Queen Salote Wharf
in Nuku’alofa, however, local
authorities only have enough
manpower to manually upload two
containers a day and is estimating
that it will take up to four weeks to
complete the unpacking.
21,000 temporary visa holders currently outside of NZ border
IWK Exclusive
SANDEEP SINGH
Immigration New Zealand has told the
Indian Weekender that currently there are
21,000 temporary visa holders outside
New Zealand border.
An official spokesperson of Immigration
New Zealand said, “there are around 21,000
current temporary visa holders offshore.”
“Under Step 3, from 12 April 2022, current
offshore temporary visa holders, who can still
meet the relevant visa requirements, will be
able to enter New Zealand and self-isolate.
This includes current student visa holders,” the
spokesperson said.
Immigration New Zealand was responding
to the Indian Weekender’s query on how many
temporary migrant workers and international
students who were initially locked out of NZ
borders in March 2020 could potentially return
in the third stage of the government’s recently
announced 5 stage border re-opening plan
starting from the end of this month.
What does “who can still meet the relevant
visa requirement” means?
The govt has announced that on April 13,
2022, the border will re-open for current
offshore temporary visa holders, who can still
meet the relevant visa requirements.
It is this “who can still meet the relevant visa
requirement” part of the announcement that is
causing much confusion and false hope among
temporary migrant workers, including poststudy
work visa holders stuck overseas.
Notably, for most of the temporary migrant
workers who were first locked out of NZ
borders in March 2020, their visas would have
expired in the two-year period.
Apparently, a miniscule category of such
temporary migrant workers whose visas had
survived for this two-year lock-out period, they
still need to have valid employment with the
same employers – which is an exceptionally tall
order, given that most of the employers would
have moved on and found a replacement after
getting no indication from the government that
it had any intentions to let those workers back
into the country.
As late as on January 19, Immigration
Minister Kris Faafoi has told the Indian
Weekender that there was no plan to extend or
revive the expired visas of temporary migrant
workers stuck overseas.
"
In April 2022, around
800 people overseas will
have current student visas,
but not all will still meet
visa requirements or wish
to travel. We do not expect
significant numbers
of current student visa
holders to enter New
Zealand
Last, but not the least, even if there are
a small number of such temporary migrant
workers still having a couple of months left
on their existing work visas, then by April
2022 (they would have lost another valuable
2 months of visa tenure) they might have one
or two months left on their visas, which might
prompt immigration officials at the border to
not allow their entry into the country.
Notably, under current immigration laws,
an immigration officer at the borders has to
be convinced that the person seeking entry
into the country has a valid reason and a valid
visa to enter in NZ, and with only 1-2 months
of valid time left on their visas could not be
enough to convince IO’s to allow their entry
into the country.
Only 800 current international students
outside NZ borders
Additionally, border will also be open for
up to 5000 international students for semester
two.
The Indian Weekender had already clarified
with the Immigration New Zealand if this
will largely comprise of existing international
students locked out of the country since March
2020 or new fresh fee-paying international
students.
“In April 2022, around 800 people overseas
will have current student visas, but not all will
still meet visa requirements or wish to travel.
“We do not expect significant numbers
of current student visa holders to enter New
Zealand,” the spokesperson said.

8 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, February 11, 2022
The Indian Weekender
Proposed ACC-style unemployment
insurance scheme explained
MAHESH KUMAR
The recent news of 45 employees of the
construction company KB projects left
in the lurch as the owner announced
ceasing of operation via WhatsApp message
(see full story on page 3) highlights the need
for a social unemployment insurance scheme.
Most other developed countries have such a
scheme in some form or shape. According to
data shared by NZCTU (New Zealand Council
of Trade Unions) President Richard Wagstaff,
nearly 100,000 Kiwi employees lose their jobs
every year.
There were also big number of jobs lost
due to Canterbury earthquake and recent
Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Grant
Robertson released information about proposed
income insurance scheme, initially talked about
in Budget 2021.
Scheme proposal is now in public domain for
consultation. People can submit their responses
before the consultation closes on April 26.
Designed jointly by the Government,
Business New Zealand and the NZCTU, the
scheme will be administered by Accident
Compensation Corporation (ACC), with an aim
to provide a cushion for people made redundant,
laid off and lose their job due to disability or a
health condition.
Under the scheme such workers will receive
80 per cent of their salary for up to seven
months as well as support for re-training.
The scheme will be funded by levies on wages
and salaries, with workers and employers both
contributing an estimated 1.39 percent each.
Under the scheme, permanent employers
would need to give four weeks’ notice to the
employee, and provide four weeks pay at 80
percent after the job end.
The employee will then receive 80 per cent
of the income for up to six months.
People would be encouraged to take on
casual or part-time work to earn up to 20 per
cent of their previous income.
The scheme would be capped at salaries of
$130,911 a year.
The scheme is still a work-in-progress with
active consultation submissions sought from
public with a target of implementation in 2023.
Scheme Eligibility:
• Workers would be eligible after having
made six months of contributions within the
previous 18 months.
Parental leave is covered
• Fixed-term and seasonal work is covered up
until the original end date of employment
• Casual workers who can show reasonable
expectation of future income will be treated
like permanent workers
Opinion sharply divided on social insurance scheme
More ‘nays’ than ‘ayes’ in responses
received by Indian Weekender
IWK BUREAU
The announcement of the
consultation for a social
insurance scheme for all
New Zealanders by the Labourled
government has raised
many eyebrows.
Since everyone is likely to get
affected by the scheme if it comes
into play – business organisations
to political parties – everyone has
reacted sharply to it.
While a few believe it will be a
good idea and will help employees,
there are many who think otherwise.
Indian Weekender spoke to people
from different sectors to find out
what they think.
Louise Upston, National Party
spokesperson for Social Development
& Employment
Under Labour wages are not keeping
pace with inflation and the proposed
scheme will reduce take home wages
even further. Now, in the midst of a
cost-of-living crisis, is not the time to
saddle hard working New Zealanders
with more taxes.
Ricardo Menéndez March,
Green Party Social Development
& Employment spokesperson
The proposed Income Insurance
Scheme will benefit some, but will
create a two-tier support system.
An adequate welfare system,
guaranteeing liveable incomes
through individualised benefits,
should protect all workers. I wish
the Government showed the same
level of urgency to fully implement
the Welfare Expert Advisory Group
recommendations as they do creating
Finance Minister Grant Robertson
a new income support system that
will not benefit everyone. This is a
call to action to fight for a Guaranteed
Minimum Income, individualising
benefits, removing sanctions, and
an urgent boost to income support.
A strong welfare system means
people do not feel forced to commit
to a lower paid job just to make ends
meet. The Greens are committed to
fighting for liveable incomes for all,
not just some
Karen Chhour, ACT Party
Welfare spokesperson
Labour’s income insurance plan will
hurt productivity and make welfare
dependency even worse. Our welfare
system is due for an overhaul. Labour
is proposing an almost three percent
tax increase on workers when Kiwis
are already struggling with cost of
living.
Labour appears to be encouraging
workers to take as long as they like to
find work. Slowly but surely, Labour
is transforming welfare in a way that
will increase dependency – by making
benefits more generous and removing
obligations on welfare recipients.
ACT welcomes a debate about
employment insurance, but Labour’s
plan will effectively punish work
and subsidise unemployment. New
Zealanders shouldn’t tolerate that.
Kerry Davies, National
Secretary, Public Service
Association
“Creating sustainable solutions is
achievable when government, unions
and business are on the same page.
We know that over the coming years
some industries are going to wind
down while others start up. A social
insurance scheme will give workers
security and space to retrain, upskill
and transition into good quality,
sustainable jobs. A social insurance
scheme and a well-functioning
welfare system go hand in hand.
Putting in place a social insurance
scheme doesn’t mean that welfare
reform is unnecessary; we still
believe that the government should
act on the Welfare Expert Advisory
Group’s recommendations.”
Sunny Kaushal, Chairman,
Dairies and Business Owners
Group NZ
The latest announcement by the
government to introduce a New
Zealand Income Insurance Scheme,
unfortunately appears to be another
ill-conceived policy.
Actually, it wipes out the
incentive to re-enter the
workforce, and adds another tax on
workers and employers.
Rather than a
social insurance scheme it is a
new form of tax, call it a ‘job tax’,
this would put another burden on
hardworking New Zealanders and
Small Businesses.
The small businesses across NZ
have already been going through
a hard time over the last two
years, they are still crying out for
help and struggling to survive. In
such unprecedently difficult and
trying times we were expecting
the government to come up with a
brilliant policy and announcement
for a targeted support and relief
to mobilise economy, not another
tax to fund another ideologically
driven spending.
Andrew Hoggard, President,
Federated Farmers
The nation is in the Red setting and
on the cusp of an expected Omicron
surge that will be a stressful period
for many who will be impacted by
this scheme.
The government should recognise
that people’s wellbeing, and good
process, are more important than
legislative timeframes to clear the
books of anything contentious before
election year.
Acute cost pressures are
hammering businesses and high
inflation is eroding individuals’
real wages. Another tax to absorb
will just add to this pressure,”
Andrew says.
“Unemployment is rock bottom
and is forecast to stay low. People
who do lose their jobs are unlikely
to be out of work for long but if
they can take a seven month break
between jobs that might change.
There will also be administrative
costs, including to make sure the
scheme isn’t rorted.”
• People working multiple jobs are eligible if
they lose a job that provides more than 20
percent of their income
• Feedback is being sought on coverage for
contractors and self-employed people. “We
want to protect people who genuinely lose
work for reasons beyond their control, while
not covering people who may choose to
close their work down in order to access the
scheme.”
• Health and disability-related job losses
will also be covered, helping address
the disparity between support offered
for accidents compared to other health
conditions or disability
You can have your say by completing
a short survey or a detailed submission
before 26 April 2022.
Proposal documents are available at
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/
• Continued from Page 3
"This is because the purpose for
which the visa was issued is no longer
there. In some instances, this can
lead to the visa holder being liable
for deportation. Migrants can find
Himang Bhardwaj
themselves in a difficult position as
there are limited options available for
them under the current immigration
legislation. While there is a visa class
– ‘Dismissed workers visitor visa’ –
it only applies to someone who lost
their employment during the threemonth
trial period.
However, there are no such
options for long-term employees.
Realistically, the only option they
would have would be to either apply
for a different visa (for example,
a visitor visa) or find alternative
employment and apply for either a
variation of condition or a new work
visa, depending on the situation.
“The migrant in such a situation
should first and foremost contact
Immigration NZ to advise them of
the change of circumstances. This is
an obligation every visa holder must
comply with as per Section 58 of the
Immigration Act 2009.
“Considering the one-off
residence, if a migrant applies
for a different visa (visitor or
student), they may not qualify for
residence anymore. In my opinion,
the migrant should err on the side
of caution by either discussing their
situation with Immigration NZ or
engaging with an immigration adviser
to discuss their next steps.”

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
NEW ZEALAND 9
Who are 5000 international students
allowed to enter NZ in third step of border
re-opening – existing or new students?
SANDEEP SINGH
Confirming the worst fear of many, an
official spokesperson of MBIE has told
the Indian Weekender that most of the
international students that the government is
envisaging to come to New Zealand in third
stage of border reopening in April this year will
not comprise of those locked out of borders
since borders were first closed in March 2020.
This latest announcement is about bringing
new – international-fee paying students.
The MBIE official was responding to the
Indian Weekender’s query on the number of
international students who has been locked out
of NZ’s closed borders since last two years will
finally be able to enter back into the country.
Responding to the query, an MBIE
spokesperson said, “We do not expect
significant numbers of current student visa
holders to enter New Zealand.”
Explaining further the rationale behind the
assertion, the official spokesperson said, “The
Government has already allowed students to
return under border exceptions, such as 1,000
places for returning Bachelor’s degree and postgraduate
students to return to New Zealand to
complete their studies.”
The spokesperson further revealed that “In
April 2022, around 800 people overseas will
have current student visas, but not all will still
meet visa requirements or wish to travel.”
International students urged to seek proper
advice before putting new application
Meanwhile, Education NZ has welcomed the
Kids' jab queries addressed at Orb360
Foundation Trust’s vaccination event
SANDEEP SINGH
An interactive educational event on
Covid-19 vaccinations, including
booster and children’s vaccine,
organised by the Orb360 Foundation Trust
witnessed many questions answered and
concerns allayed by a vaccination expert.
Hosted in collaboration with the Ministry
of Health in Auckland on February 8, the
vaccination event had a gathering of some fifty
enthusiastic people and asked a diverse set of
questions following the expert’s presentation.
Sally Schnauer - from the Immunisation
Advisory Centre - a nationwide organisation
based at the School of Population Health at The
University of Auckland – gave an elaborate
explainer about different types of vaccines,
including boosters and children’s vaccine and
shared the definite science behind vaccinations.
The event started with a welcome speech
from Jay Changlani, Founder & Director of
Orb360 Foundation Trust, who shared the
vision and motivation behind this particular
event and the goal of reaching out to every
member of the Kiwi-Indian community with
evidence-based information in support of
Covid-19 vaccination.
“Sathi hath Banana is loosely translated as
‘Let’s get jabbed,’” Jay said, explaining the
rationale of the event.
“It is not the time to rest on our laurels, so
let’s continue to spread the awareness and the
need for Covid-19 vaccination,” Changlani said
referencing the high vaccination rates within
the Kiwi-Indian community.
Notably, the Kiwi-Indian community was the
first ethnic community to reach the milestone of
100 per cent double vaccination in November
2021 and is again leading in the booster
vaccination rates with 34–49-year age group
within the community already having achieved
100 percent Booster rates (among those eligible
to get booster shot). This fact was one of the
most oft-repeated themes of the evening –
“
In addition, from 14 March
2022 students entering
New Zealand through the
border exception cohorts
will have the opportunity to
self-isolate, rather than going
through Managed Isolation
and Quarantine facilities -
subject to complying with
all the required health and
border requirements.”
Jay Changlani, Founder & Director of Orb360
Foundation Trust
the high vaccination rates in the Kiwi-Indian
community – and almost every speaker touched
upon the issue.
Narendra Bhana, the former President of
Auckland Indian Association, and Navtej
Randhawa of Radio Spice station were other
prominent speakers who shared their wisdom
and intent on continuously educating the
community about the need for vaccination.
The audience engaged with the vaccination
expert asking several intriguing questions
related to the safety of the children, including
those on the autism spectrum and pregnant
women and their unborn babies.
Facilitator Sally Schnauer said, “I am really
pleased with the level of participation and
the fact that I was able to provide the right
information and address their concerns.”
“From the vaccination point of view,
every view matters and we ensure to provide
as much information as possible in a clear
comprehendible manner to everyone,” Sally
said. Changlani told the Indian Weekender that
his trust is planning to hold similar events in
Wellington (February 18) and Christchurch
later this month to continue to reach out to
the last possible Kiwi-Indian and ensure
they have the right information to assist in
making an informed decision on booster and
children’s vaccination.
latest announcement to reopen New Zealand’s
borders as a positive step for international
education.
ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson says
this announcement is an important step towards
rebuilding a strengthened and sustainable
international education sector.
“The border reopening steps outlined today
enable the international education sector
to progressively open through 2022 for the
existing cohorts, with a new much larger cohort
able to enter New Zealand for study before
semester two. More details of the new student
cohort will be determined by the Ministers of
Education and Immigration and advised in due
course,” Mr McPherson said.
Mr. McPherson said education providers
could now plan with greater certainty for the
year ahead.
“In addition, from 14 March 2022 students
entering New Zealand through the border
exception cohorts will have the opportunity to
self-isolate, rather than going through Managed
Isolation and Quarantine facilities - subject
to complying with all the required health and
border requirements.”
Mr McPherson stressed the importance of
seeking advice before moving forward with
applications for enrolment. Students who have
questions about this border class exception
should contact their agent or preferred
education provider in the first instance.
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10 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, February 11, 2022
The Indian Weekender
NZ businesses cautiously
welcome border reopening
MAHESH KUMAR
Last week the New Zealand government
finally made the much-awaited
announcement about the reopening of its
borders in phased manners.
There were a variety of reactions to the
announcement from various industries.
Specifically, exporters, businesses in travel
and tourism industry who welcomed the
announcement while expressing some concerns.
On the political side, the National Party
welcomed the decision, “It’s also good news
for businesses and workplaces that rely on NZ
being open to the world so that they can get the
critical workers they need into the country,”
National leader Christopher Luxon said.
Business community reacts
Exporters and business community across
NZ expressed their relief over the phased
border reopening. Employers & Manufacturers
Association (EMA) chief Brett O’Riley said
removal of cumbersome and outdated MIQ
system will come as a big relief as exporters
will now be able to meet their clients face-toface,
build relationships, gain from travelling,
swapping ideas and trends.
O’Riley also expressed his concern over
the ongoing skills shortages across many NZ
business sectors, asking for a faster immigration
reset to meet the skill shortage gaps.
The India New Zealand Business Council
(INZBC) which facilitates India-New Zealand
trade also welcomed the announcement.
INZBC Chair, Earl Rattray said “The
border closure has been one of the biggest
obstacles for many NZ businesses who have
invested overseas, making it difficult to operate
remotely. The announcement which came after
almost two years of border closure will give
those who need to travel a lot more confidence
to plan ahead.”
INZBC also shared data from research
conducted by Export NZ, where more than
319 NZ exporters, cited increased costs along
with unpredictable transport options and the
inability to travel due to the Covid-19 / Border
MIQ restrictions as major barriers to exporting.
Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of
Commerce pronounced border reopening as a
great news for Canterbury businesses which
have been suffering from shortage of workers.
Leeann Watson, Chief Executive of
Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce,
said, “Reconnecting with the rest of the world
and addressing the constrained labour market
by attracting new skills to New Zealand is the
first step in our economic recovery as Covid-19
becomes a normal part of our day-to-day lives.
“Other countries have welcomed immigration
as part of their economic recovery plans, and we
need to move quickly to ensure New Zealand
can be globally competitive.”
Travel & Tourism industry
welcomes announcement
While generally international airlines welcomed
the announcement, they still want a clearer plan
around the removal of self-isolation which
is still a requirement for returning travellers.
They want to know when will the self-isolation
requirements be removed for travellers.
In December 2019, there were 29 airlines
that connected Auckland to 43 international
destinations whereas currently only 12 airlines
fly to 22 international destinations from
Auckland Airport. This flight movement is
the same as it was 35 years ago! International
passenger volumes are now down by 96 percent
since December 2019.
The Queenstown economy, which is vastly
dependent on tourism, took a severe beating
with a relatively quiet summer season and
many major events getting cancelled.
In a statement, Queenstown Lakes District
Mayor Jim Boult welcomed the phased
reopening of NZ’s borders saying, “For many
in our community, especially those working in
tourism, hospitality and related sectors, it can’t
come soon enough especially after a relatively
quiet summer season and the recent cancellation
of so many major events,” he said.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa spokesperson
Ann-Marie Johnson said the staged opening
of the border announced by Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern is a positive step towards
reconnecting friends and family, and industries
will benefit from people coming on working
holiday visas from March. But she added that
the Government’s willingness to remove selfisolation
requirements ahead of schedule will
be crucial to revive the tourism industry as
international travellers will be hesitant to come
to NZ only to spend seven days in self isolation.
Expressing similar sentiments, Mary-
Elizabeth Tuck of Auckland Airport said,
“While the (self-isolation) requirements are in
place, airlines say their customers will not want
to fly long-haul to NZ for the trip of a lifetime
or on business, only to spend their first week
sitting in a hotel.”
Ms Tuck said Auckland Airport had spoken
to 10 airlines and their feedback had been
that they would not be able to get sizeable
bookings to sustain long-haul flights to and
from New Zealand.
“The single biggest issue for restarting
international tourism is to remove the selfisolation
requirements. Requiring international
visitors to spend the first seven days in isolation
will mean very limited arrivals.
Most tourism operators will have to survive
through another long winter before they can
expect potential visitors,” she said.
National’s Tourism spokesperson Todd
McClay also demanded self-isolation
requirement to be reconsidered saying “The
Government’s current policy that vaccinated
visitors won’t be able to come NZ until after
October and will have to self-isolate for up to
seven days means few tourists will come.”
Immigration Reset needed
Leeann Watson, Chief Executive of Canterbury
Employers’ Chamber of Commerce also
mentioned the immigration reset, “The
Government has indicated there are significant
changes to immigration coming and we want
to see an emphasis on supporting employers.
Rapidly increasing the speed of processing
visa applications particularly through the new
Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme is
crucially important.
The process needs to be quick, simple and
straightforward.
“It is positive to see that skilled workers
will be able to enter New Zealand in March,
however the requirement of 1.5 percent median
wage is adding unnecessary wage pressure to
business. Skilled workers should be allowed in
based on their skill, and nothing else.”
Immigration lawyer Aaron Martin in
his comments was more critical saying the
government has underestimated the damage
that has been done to this country’s reputation
through our Covid-19 management.
“Given our recent history of essentially
abandoning working tourists and leaving them
with no income and no support, it’s going to
take a lot of courage for people to decide to
come to New Zealand and risk that happening
again,” he said.
“Right now, it seems we have a dual
approach which is out of step with the rest of
the world. Other countries are learning to live
with Omicron by opening the borders, relaxing
restrictive conditions, and minimising selfisolating
time.
"Yet visa holders entering NZ are still subject
to restrictive Covid-related conditions including
the potential for weeks of self-isolation with no
income. What we need is a relaxation around
the ability to get workers into New Zealand. It’s
what’s needed for the development of business
and to boost economic activity, and it’s what
businesses want.” Martin said.
Community fitness enthusiasts enjoy picturesque walk
IWK BUREAU
Some two-dozen members of
the Mount Roskill Bollywood
dance group and the Mahatma
Gandhi Centre Health and Fitness
group and partners undertook a trek
along the beautiful Tama Lakes over
the Auckland Anniversary.
Led by Ella Kumar, who has been
Puketapapa Local Board Member
for 11 years and is a passionate
fitness instructor and enthusiast, the
group ranged from 13 years to 70
plus with various fitness levels.
“The walk was six hours long over
17km and it was another awesome
wow factor with two beautiful
lakes formed through old explosion
craters on Tama saddled between
Mt Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. You
get to see the beautiful Taranake
falls on your return from the Tama
Lakes walk,” Kumar told Indian
Weekender, sharing pictures of the
walk. The walk is one many would
love, not as strenuous as Tongariro
but does require some fitness and
long walking endurance, Kumar
said. “My Husband Hitesh and I
love seeing the faces of many when
they achieve walks like this which
enquires mental and physical fitness.
"We had half the group that were
doing something like this a walk of
this calibre for the first time. A great
achievement for all.
“This might be one you would
like to walk so add to your list to
do,” Kumar added.
More on the walk: https://
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-
recreation/places-to-go/central-
north-island/places/tongariro-
national-park/things-to-do/
tracks/tama-lakes-track/
“
The single biggest
issue for restarting
international tourism is to
remove the self-isolation
requirements. Requiring
international visitors to
spend the first seven days
in isolation will mean
very limited arrivals. Most
tourism operators will have
to survive through another
long winter before they can
expect potential visitors

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
NEW ZEALAND 11
Partners of onshore temporary
migrant workers last in queue
SANDEEP SINGH
Temporary migrant workers living and
working in the country for years are
disappointed that their partners living
overseas would be the last ones in the queue
to be able to enter NZ under the government’s
latest five-stage border reopening plan.
They are left with no option except agonizing
wait for another additional nine months before
their overseas-based partners will eventually
get eligibility to apply for visas to enter the
country and join them.
Notably, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has
announced on Thursday, February 3, a fivestage
border allowing fully vaccinated New
Zealanders living in Australia to return from
February 27 and allowing different categories
of visa holders, new fee-paying international
students, and new temporary migrant workers,
and finally for all foreigners in October 2022.
There is a palpable disappointment within
such temporary migrant workers onshore who
have been living and working in the country for
years and are now also eligible to apply for the
one-off Residency 2021 visa that will set them
for permanent residency in this country that the
government is leaving their partners last in the
queue to be eventually allowed to enter NZ.
“I have been separated from my wife for
more than two years as I had to return back
to NZ immediately after my marriage in early
2020 to continue with my work just before
the beginning of Covid pandemic and border
closure,” Manjit Singh said.
“Since then I have seen many announcements
by the government allowing different categories
of partners and family reunion, but we have
been left out again and again leaving me and
my wife distraught and heartbroken,” Manjit
said.
“This is not what we signed for when I
took the decision years ago to live, work and
eventually settle in New Zealand,” Manjit said.
What is “not right” for separated partners of
temporary migrants?
“What disappoints me the most is that
the government is allowing new fee-paying
international students, new migrant workers,
who will be coming along with their partners,
but have got no mercy for migrant workers
like me who are already onshore for years and
separated from partners,” Manjit said.
Under the government’s latest border reopening
plan, migrant workers earning 1.5
times the median wage will be allowed in the
second stage (March 13), and 5000 international
students, and considering class exceptions for
critical workforces that do not meet the 1.5
times the median wage test in step 3 (April 13)
and followed by new migrant workers under
Accredited Employer Work Visa category.
It is expected that under current immigration
rules the majority of them will be able to bring
their partners and families.
However, many onshore temporary migrants
and the majority of those within the Kiwi-
Indian community would be forced to remain
separated from their partners, because of the
inherent bias within immigration rules towards
relationships based on Indian marriages.
Immigration NZ is not processing any visas
from overseas till August 2022 except for those
who have a “critical purpose” to enter NZ,
which although includes partnership visas,
however, most of the Kiwi-Indian migrants
are unable to get their partners under this visa
category.
Technically most of the relationships based
on Indian marriages, where the individual has
to travel overseas from NZ to get married and
return to continue with their work and lives
while they wait for their spouse to arrive in
the country, do not qualify under the current
restrictive definition of partnership visas.
Govt’s previous decisions on critical health
workers had also created “anomaly”
Notably, this is not the first time when the
government’s decision around allowing new
set of migrant workers from overseas (with
eligibility to bring their families) had created
an anomaly in the border policy.
Earlier in 2021, when the government
opened exceptions for “critical health workers”
– allowing them to enter the country along
with their families – while onshore migrant
health workers were being kept separated from
their overseas-based families due to border
restriction regime, forcing the Prime Minister
to front-up and announce a relief.
Following Prime Minister’s intervention,
Minister for Immigration Kris Faafoi had to
announce a new “exception” allowing nurses
and health sector workers already working
onshore to bring their overseas-based families.
It seems there is a new anomaly in the
making when the new temporary visa holders
(including international students, temporary
workers, accredited employer work visa
holders) will be able to bring their partners
and families – while those already living in the
country will be forced to remain separated from
their own partners.
The Indian Weekender has reached out to
the office of the Minister of Immigration Kris
Faafoi for a response at the time of publishing
of this story and a response is awaited.
Why NZ tourism may lose millions as Australia reopens borders
MAHESH KUMAR
Last week, Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern announced
the NZ will be reopening
its borders in a five-phase
manner starting from 11.59pm
on 27 February.
The announcement sent NZ’s
travel industry in a tizzy with
various stakeholders largely
welcoming the decision.
While international airlines
welcomed the announcement, they
still want a clearer plan around the
removal of self-isolation which is
still a requirement for returning
travellers. They want to know when
will the self-isolation requirements
be removed for travellers.
In December 2019, there were 29
airlines that connected Auckland
to 43 international destinations
whereas currently only 12 airlines
fly to 22 international destinations
from Auckland Airport. This flight
movement is the same as it was 35
years ago! International passenger
volumes are now down by 96 percent
since December 2019.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa
spokesperson Ann-Marie Johnson
said the staged opening of the border
announced by Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern is a positive step towards
reconnecting friends and family, and
industries will benefit from people
coming on working holiday visas
from March. But she added that the
Government’s willingness to remove
self-isolation requirements ahead of
schedule will be crucial to revive
the tourism industry as international
travellers will be hesitant to come
to NZ only to spend seven days
in self isolation.
Expressing similar sentiments,
Mary-Elizabeth Tuck of Auckland
Airport said, “While the (selfisolation)
requirements are in place,
airlines say their customers will not
want to fly long-haul to NZ for the
trip of a lifetime or on business,
only to spend their first week
sitting in a hotel.”
Ms Tuck said Auckland Airport
had spoken to 10 airlines and their
feedback had been that they would
not be able to get sizeable bookings
to sustain long-haul flights to and
from New Zealand.
“The single biggest issue for
restarting international tourism
is to remove the self-isolation
requirements. Requiring international
visitors to spend the first seven days
in isolation will mean very limited
arrivals. Most tourism operators
will have to survive through another
long winter before they can expect
potential visitors,” she said.
Australia steals New Zealand’s
thunder: Announces reopening from
21 February
On 7 February, Australia made an
announcement which took most in
New Zealand by surprise. Australian
Prime Minister Scott Morrison
announced that the country will
be ending its 704-day old border
closure and is ready to welcome fully
vaccinated international visitors back
from 21 February.
While the news was expectedly
welcomed by not just the tourism
industry in Australia but the world
over, reactions from NZ tourism
businesses were one of dismay.
Nobody in the industry was expecting
Australia to open its borders so early.
Sometime in July, vaccinated
visitors from visa waiver countries
such as Australia and the United
States will be able to travel to NZ.
Now with Australia opening in
February, the difference of five
months might put NZ tourism
industry at a disadvantage.
The reason that the NZ tourism
industry is feeling left out is that about
40 percent of visitors to Australia and
NZ were people who planned to visit
both destinations. Particularly visitors
from North American countries,
UK and European countries who
only come to this part of the world
every 5-10 years.
The requirement for seven-day
self-isolation may further be a
dampener for those planning to travel
both the countries.
Tourism Export Council of
NZ chief executive Lynda Keene
expressed extreme concern that New
Zealand is going to be left behind
and its global reputation will take
another hit besides potentially losing
on millions of dollars.
Leeann Watson, Chief Executive
of Canterbury Employers’ Chamber
of Commerce said, “We would have
liked to hear that tourists would be
welcomed back to our shores earlier
than October, given the huge impact
a lack of tourism is having across
our region. It reinforces the need
for the Government to provide clear
information and financial support to
those sectors that continue to be hit
by restrictions. A date for the end
of isolation requirements will be
crucially important for our tourism
sector, so they can start to plan for
the return of visitors.”
Reacting to Australia’s
announcement, National’s Tourism
spokesperson Todd McClay
criticised the government, “The lack
of certainty from the Government
over dates could see airlines and
travel companies directing tourists
to Australia rather than to NZ. Once
again, we’re the poor cousins.
“NZ should be following Australia
by providing a desperately needed
lifeline to our tourism sector – paying
visitors. Our remaining tourism
businesses need a clear timeline,
now,” he said.
The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) welcomed
Australia’s reopening of international
border and urged other Asia Pacific
government to also look at easing
their border restrictions similar to
Australia to enable recovery in the
aviation and tourism industry.

Editorial
Govt’s trust
deficit grows
The recent announcement on border re-opening has opened a new front for the
government – to manage the issue of fast growing trust deficit in the government.
Following the five-step phased border re-opening plan, both citizens and residents
and temporary migrants are coming to terms with the issue of trust, or not trusting, this
government.
For citizens and residents, the trust deficit in government is around keeping the promise
of MIQ-free entry if and when they choose to travel overseas and return back to the country.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had rightly said that the anguish of MIQ has been real and
heart-breaking in the last two years while taking another shot at border re-opening last week
after having to roll back the initial plan amidst Omicron-scare in the community.
Ardern never acknowledged that it’s not the system of Managed Isolation and Quarantine
per se that the onshore and offshore New Zealanders along with temporary migrants detest
equally. It is the appalling management of the system that has caused much heartache and
frustration amongst the prospective travellers and different stakeholders within the travel
industry.
There is a palpable sense of trust deficit amongst those who want to plan their future travel,
out and in the country, which is widely corroborated by travel operators who continue to
live on the long rope of hope of resumption of normal international travel soon than actual
certainty.
This trust deficit gets further exacerbated within the migrant communities, who often have
lives and families scattered around different corners of the world and depend on unhindered
international travel, and certainty of rules and regulations across international borders – and
unfortunately, both have become distorted in the current environment of a global pandemic.
Undeniably, the NZ government has been far more conservative and risk-averse than any
comparable country in the world towards controlling the border and entry into the country –
to the extent that not only temporary visa holders (both offshore and onshore) but also NZ
citizens (offshore and onshore) have felt severely constrained.
However, it is most difficult for temporary visa holders to trust this government as it
continues to take decisions reactively and make rules on the go, often creating unintended
consequences of its policies, which aggravates their plight.
The latest anomaly in the making that the Indian Weekender had earlier pointed out is
leaving the partners and families of onshore temporary migrants last in the queue to enter into
the country, only when all foreigners would eventually be allowed in October this year.
A potential new anomaly is waiting to happen when new incoming temporary migrants have
the ability to bring their partners, while those on shore still are not being able to do so.
The undue emphasis on the “living together” clause of the immigration rules for partnership
visa – which has been causing tremendous problems for a large number of temporary migrants
wanting to bring their overseas-based partners into the country, particularly the Kiwi-Indian
community since mid-2019, but it has become a great disruptor in the last two years of the
border closure.
Apparently, there are hundreds of partners split from Kiwis (and temporary migrants) whose
applications have been assessed as genuine and credible but were living together criteria are
not met and therefore not allowed in the country.
Sadly, the government has failed to prioritise them ahead of holidaymakers, tourists, and
travellers from visa-free countries that the government is envisaging to bring from the third
stage of border re-opening on April 13.
Soon after the Prime Minister’s border opening announcement on 3 February, there was
criticism about keeping the onshore temporary migrant workers locked inside the country
when it was gearing up to open borders for foreigners and tourists.
Following that line of criticism, the government had quietly pushed the announcement of
letting currently onshore temporary migrants travel overseas without losing the ability to enter
NZ as long as their visa conditions are met.
Interestingly, not many among those 200,000-odd temporary visa holders currently in the
country have any inkling that they have been given this ability to leave NZ and be allowed
back into the country after April 13 – the third stage of border re-opening.
So million dollar question is should temporary migrants trust the government on this “act of
kindness” hurled their way – without any fanfare.
The answer from any temporary migrant worker on the road may not be hard to guess – as
learning from the sad plight of those who have been permanently locked out of the country
when borders were first closed in March 2020 – they would not budge to leave the country
without getting their residency sorted.
However, there seems to be no one worried about the trust deficit in the government.
The recent polls that came out on 7 February do not point toward any massive dent in
confidence in the government, which continues to be comfortably placed with Labour and
Green poised to form government again, the issue of receding trust deficit cannot be easily
pushed under the carpet.
Thought of the week
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish
by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its
whole life believing that it is stupid.”
— Albert Einstein
11 February – 17 February 2022
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Thu
On-and-off
rain and
drizzle
24°
18°
Fine
and
sunny
24°
17°
24°
17°
This week in New Zealand’s history
Indian Weekender : Volume 13 Issue 47
Publisher: Kiwi Media Publishing Limited
Editor: Dev Nadkarni | dev@indianweekender.co.nz
Chief Technical Officer: Rohan deSouza | rohan@indianweekender.co.nz
Graphic Designer: Yashmin Chand | design@indianweekender.co.nz
Accounts and Admin.: 09-2173623 | accounts@indianweekender.co.nz
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Reporter: Navdeep Kaur Marwah: | 021 952 246 | navdeep@indianweekender.co.nz
Reporter: Sandeep Singh: | 021 952 245 | sandeep@indianweekender.co.nz
Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher
is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication
Views expressed in the articles are solely of the authors and do not in any way represent
the views of the team at the Indian Weekender
Kiwi Media Publishing Limited - 133A, Level 1, Onehunga Mall, Onehunga, Auckland.
Printed at Horton Media, Auckland
Cloud
increasing.
Rain
Rain,
possibly
heavy
25°
19°
12 February 1909
SS Penguin wrecked in Cook Strait
Partly
cloudy
25°
20°
Copyright 2020. Kiwi Media Publishing Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Partly
cloudy and
winds
24°
20°
Partly
cloudy
24°
20°
On the evening of 12 February 1909, the Union Steam Ship Company passenger
steamer Penguin left Picton for Wellington in fine weather.
13 February 1974
New Zealand soldier's brave sacrifice
Sergeant Murray Hudson died attempting to save the life of another soldier during a live
grenade training exercise at Waiōuru military camp. For this selfless act, the 35-year-old
received a posthumous George Cross – one of only three awarded to New Zealanders since the
medal’s establishment in 1940.
15 February 1882
First frozen meat shipment leaves New Zealand
New Zealand’s first successful shipment of frozen meat to Britain in 1882 had a huge impact
on the colony, paving the way for the trade in frozen meat and dairy products that became
the cornerstone of New Zealand’s 20th-century economy.
15 February 1978
NZ beats England in a cricket test for the first time
New Zealand suffered many test defeats at the hands of England’s cricketers before finally
winning for the first time at Wellington’s Basin Reserve in February 1978.
16 February 1770
James Cook sights Banks 'Island'
Cook concluded that the land he had sighted was an island and named it after the expedition’s
botanist, Joseph Banks. The mistake was not realised until 1809, when Captain Samuel
Chase of the Pegasus tried to sail between Banks ‘Island’ and the Canterbury mainland.
16 February 1986
Sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov
At 5.37 p.m. on 16 February 1986, the Soviet cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov hit rocks off
Cape Jackson in the Marlborough Sounds.
18 February 1957
New Zealand's last execution
Walter Bolton, a 68-year-old Whanganui farmer, became the last person executed in NZ.
Convicted for the murder of his wife, Beatrice, he was hanged at Mt Eden prison following
a controversial trial.

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022 FIJI 13
Quarantine and Covid test
for travellers under review
The more expensive PCR
tests are no longer required
to board flights to Fiji.
Minister for Economy,
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum
has clarified that travellers
12 years and above entering Fiji
from a Travel Partner Country may
produce a negative Rapid Antigen
Test taken within 24 hours of the
flight’s scheduled departure.
This as Australia recently made
a change to its testing requirements
for their citizens returning from
international travel by accepting
rapid antigen tests as an alternative
to PCR tests.
“Details of acceptable test kits
are published online. The Ministry
of Health and Medical Services
will continue to monitor the global
epidemiological situation and may
re-introduce more stringent risk
reduction measures if required.”
Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji is
also reviewing the requirement
of a three-day Care Fiji Certified
Accommodation requirement for
arrivals into Fiji in favour of an
entry system that allows passengers
to submit confirmation of a booked
COVID-19 test within 48 hours of
landing in Fiji.
However, he says before that
change is made, more testing sites
need to open in Fiji.
“We’ve put out an Expression of
Interest for the private sector and
we encourage more people to apply
so that we can open as many testing
sites as possible. We’ll have more
details to announce on that policy
shift soon.”
Sayed-Khaiyum stresses all
Care Fiji Certified hotels, transport
operators, and businesses must
welcome this flexibility with
stronger adherence to the measures
that are required to maintain their
certifications.
He warns if they fail to meet the
high bar of COVID safety they’ve
set for the visitors, the COVID safe
Ambassadors and Police will shut
them down.
He says they cannot tolerate one
bad apple in the tourism sector
spoiling the bunch for all those who
are following the rules.
New Zealand and Fiji share strong relations: Darlow
New Zealand High
Commissioner to Fiji,
Charlotte Darlow says this
year’s Waitangi Day is a chance to
reflect on their relationship with Fiji.
Sunday marks the 181st
anniversary of the signing of Te
Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of
Waitangi, and Darlow says Fiji and
NZ share a strong partnership that
will continue to adapt and grow as
we face current and future global
challenges together.
In her first public message as NZ
Commissioner, Darlow says she
is proud to serve in Fiji alongside
New Zealand High Commissioner to
Fiji, Charlotte Darlow
her family. Darlow says 2021 was
another incredibly tough year for
everyone with the impacts and
ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19.
She adds the start of 2022 has also
tested our strength and resilience,
with Tropical Cyclone Cody, the
Omicron wave, and the Tonga
volcano eruption.
However, the High Commissioner
says they stood stronger together,
and New Zealand has been proud
to work alongside Fiji to respond to
these crises.
She says New Zealand has been
able to sustain its engagement with
Fiji in all areas.
This includes a new Trade
Commissioner now resident in
Suva, defence training opportunities,
police cooperation, the work of
dedicated immigration officials to
move thousands of people across
the border into or through New
Zealand, and ongoing outreach with
community organizations across the
country.
Darlow says as the two countries
begin to resume more familiar
economic and social activities, she
is confident the partnership between
Fiji and New Zealand will continue
to be strong, resilient, and adaptable.
New Zealand and Fiji are
planning to conclude a Statement
of Partnership, demonstrating the
importance they both place on a deep
and enduring bilateral relationship.
Pfizer to
be used as
booster: Health
minister
The consignment of Pfizer
vaccines that arrived into the
country on Tuesday night
will also be used as a booster vaccine
against COVID-19.
This was confirmed by Minister
for Health and Medical Services Dr
Ifereimi Waqainabete yesterday.
He said the Moderna dose numbers
were going down and thus the Pfizer
vaccines would also be used as a
booster dose. The Pfizer doses would
also help vaccinate children over 12
years.
“This is a practice that has been
used elsewhere, some places are
using Pfizer boosters and also
Moderna.
“This has been very well studied
and the evidence provides proof
that it was safe. We are working
with UNICEF and our multilateral
partners in this area.”
Dr Waqainabete said the vaccine
was likely to be administered from
next week.Permanent Secretary Dr
James Fong was on hand to receive
the latest consignment of Pfizer
vaccines when they arrived on
Tuesday night.
It was the first delivery of 175,000
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Australia would provide over
530,000 doses of Pfizer to Fiji, in
partnership with New Zealand and
UNICEF Pacific.
This would bring the total number
of vaccines supplied by Australia to
over 1.6 million.
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14 INDIA
Friday, February 11, 2022 The Indian Weekender
Jaishankar to attend Quad
Sri Lanka’s
interests
meet in Australia on Feb 11 best served
Minister of External Affairs, Dr S.
infrastructure etc, said the ministry statement. by peace
Jaishankar will be on an official visit to
The EAM and the Australian Foreign Minister
Australia and Philippines from February
will co-chair the 12th Foreign Ministers' for Tamils:
10 to February 15.
Framework Dialogue on February 12. The
The EAM will participate in the 4th Quad
Ministers will review the progress of the India- Jaishankar
Foreign Ministers' Meeting on February 11 in
Melbourne, along with the Foreign Ministers of
Australia, Japan and the United States. The EAM
would also be on a bilateral visit to the Philippines
from 13-15 February.
The visit is expected to give further momentum
to bilateral relations with our key partners in the
Indo-Pacific, Australia, and the Philippines, which
is also a leading member of the ASEAN, said the
Ministry of External Affairs.
On the invitation of his Australian counterpart
Marise Payne, the External Affairs Minister will be
visiting Australia on 10-13 February. This will be
Jaishankar's first visit as External Affairs Minister
to Australia.
It would be the first high level visit to Australia
after the opening of its borders which were closed
following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic,
informed the Ministry of External Affairs.
It will be an opportunity for the Ministers to
follow up on their virtual meeting held in February
2021 and will exchange views on regional strategic
issues given their shared vision of a free, open and
inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
The Ministers will review ongoing Quad
cooperation and build on the positive and
constructive agenda announced by the leaders at
the two Summits in 2021, to address contemporary
challenges such as the COVID pandemic, supply
chains, critical technologies, climate change,
Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
and discuss bilateral, multilateral and regional
issues of mutual interest.
On the same day, EAM will co-chair the
inaugural Foreign Ministers' Cyber Framework
Dialogue (FMCFD) with Australian Foreign
Minister Marise Payne.
The Ministers will assess the progress made
towards implementation of the India-Australia
Framework Arrangement on Cyber and Cyber-
Enabled Critical Technology Cooperation and the
subsidiary Plan of Action which they signed in
June 2020 on the sidelines of the Virtual Leaders'
Summit held between Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott
Morrison.
Jaishankar is also likely to meet with Australian
political leaders, academics and businessmen, as
well as the Indian diaspora and students. Jaishankar
to attend Quad meet in Australia on Feb 11
Some terror groups
re-brand themselves
as humanitarian
organisations to
evade sanctions:
India at UNSC
Some terrorist groups have
made a “mockery” of the UN
Security Council’s sanction
regimes by taking full advantage of
carve-outs given for humanitarian
purposes, India said as it made
a veiled reference to Pakistan,
saying proscribed terrorist groups
in the neighbourhood have rebranded
themselves as humanitarian
organisations to evade sanctions.
“It is imperative that sanctions do
not impede legitimate humanitarian
requirements. However, it is
important to exercise due diligence
while providing humanitarian carveouts,
especially in cases where
terrorism finds safe-havens,” India’s
Permanent Representative to the UN
Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti said.
Speaking at the UN Security
Council Open Debate hosted
by Council President Russia on
‘General issues relating to Sanctions:
Preventing their humanitarian and
unintended consequences’, Tirumurti
said there have been examples of
terrorist groups taking full advantage
of humanitarian carve-outs, “making
a mockery of sanction regimes,”
including that of 1267 Al Qaeda
Sanctions Committee.
“There have also been several
cases of terrorist groups in our
neighbourhood, including those
listed by this Council, re-branding
themselves as humanitarian
organisations to evade these
sanctions,” he said.
“These terrorist organisations use
the umbrella of the humanitarian
space to raise funds, recruit fighters
and even use human shields. Under
the garb of the humanitarian cover
provided by such exemptions, these
terrorist groups continue to expand
their terror activities in the region and
beyond. Due diligence, therefore, is
an absolute must,” he said.
4,844 foreigners granted Indian citizenship
in 5 years, 1,773 in 2021 alone: Govt
According to the government
data, 817 foreigners were
granted Indian citizenship in
2017, 628 in 2018, 987 in 2019, 639
in 2020 and 1,773 in 2021.
Foreigners have
been granted Indian
citizenship in the
past five years, the
government told
the Lok Sabha
Tuesday. In 2021,
the government
granted almost
three times the number of Indian
citizenships compared to 2020, the
House was informed.
“The citizenship of India is
governed under the provisions
of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Citizenship to eligible foreigners
is granted by registration under
section 5, by naturalization under
section 6 or by incorporation of
territory under section 7 of the
Citizenship Act, 1955.
The reasons for taking Indian
citizenship vary in terms of specific
circumstances of each applicant
subject to the provisions contained
in the Citizenship Act, 1955 and
rules made thereunder,” Minister of
State for Home Nityanand Rai said in
reply to a question.
While rules for Citizenship
Citizenship to eligible foreigners
is granted by registration under
section 5, by naturalization under
section 6 or by incorporation of
territory under section 7 of the
Citizenship Act, 1955.
A significant majority of those granted Indian citizenship since 2018 were
minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and belonged to Hindu,
Sikh, Jain and Christian faiths. (File)
Amendment Act (CAA) are yet to
be framed, government data, earlier
presented in Parliament, shows
a significant majority of those
granted Indian citizenship since
2018 were minorities from Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Bangladesh and
belonged to Hindu, Sikh, Jain and
Christian faiths.
According to data provided by the
government in Parliament earlier, as
many as 8,244 people from Hindu,
Sikh, Jain and Christian faith from
the three countries applied for Indian
citizenship of which 3,117 were
granted the same till December 2021.
Interestingly, between 2018 and
2020, the total number of foreigners
from across the world who were
granted Indian Citizenship stood at
2,254. The overall data for 2021 was
not available.
“Number of citizenship
applications received from Hindu,
Sikh, Jain and Christian minorities
groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Afghanistan during the year
2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 is 8244.
The number of Indian citizenship
granted to people belonging to Hindu,
Sikh, Jain and Christian minorities
groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Afghanistan during the years
2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 is 3117,”
MoS Home Rai told the Rajya Sabha
in a written reply to a question.
Meet India’s newest mammal: White Cheeked Macaque
The White Cheeked Macaque
has distinct white cheeks,
long and thick hair on the
neck and a longer tail than other
Macaque species. It is the last
mammal to have been discovered in
Southeast Asia. Scientists from the
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)
have found a new mammal species
in the country — the White Cheeked
Macaque. While the Macaque was
first discovered in China in 2015,
its existence was not known in India
before this — it is only now that
Indian scientists have discovered its
White Cheeked Macaque
presence in the remote Anjaw district
in central Arunachal Pradesh. That is
barely 200 km aerial distance from
where it was first spotted in China —
in Modog in Southeastern Tibet.
The discovery has been
published in the February 3 issue of
international journal ‘Animal Gene’.
“The discovery was entirely
accidental. We were not looking for
the White Cheeked Macaque; we had
received a grant of Rs 10 crore for a
project to study Himalayan species —
this involved exploring biodiversity
of the Himalayas and studying large
threatened species in the region,” ZSI
scientist Dr Mukesh Thakur, also the
Recalling the positive impact
of India’s developmental
and rehabilitation support,
External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar told his visiting Sri
Lankan counterpart G L Peiris that
Colombo’s interests are best served
by ensuring equality, justice, peace
and respect for Tamil people within
a united Sri Lanka.
“Devolution of power is an
important aspect of this process,” the
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
said in its official statement after two
days of meetings between Peiris and
top Indian officials.
Besides meeting Jaishankar, Peiris
also met NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign
Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
The Sri Lankan statement did not
mention anything about these Indian
concerns.
But the Indian statement said,
“The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister
expressed gratitude for India’s recent
assistance and updated External
Affairs Minister on steps taken by
Government of Sri Lanka on human
rights and reconciliation.”
During the talks, the Lankan
statement said, Peiris raised the
fisheries issue with Jaishankar.
“Terming it as a ‘flashpoint’, the
Foreign Minister pointed out that
it has become a recurring issue,
assuming a different complexion.
The two sides agreed on urgent need
to convene all bilateral mechanisms
in this regard,” it stated.
The Indian statement said that “both
sides reiterated the longstanding
consensus to handle fishermen issue
through humanitarian approach and
refrain from the use of violence in
dealing with incidents along the
IMBL”. It stated, “They agreed that
bilateral mechanisms should meet
early, starting with the Joint Working
Group on Fisheries.”
Peiris extended an invitation to
Jaishankar to undertake an official
visit to Sri Lanka in March. He
also stated that Sri Lanka is looking
forward for Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s visit to the island-nation
for the forthcoming BIMSTEC
Summit in March 2022, the Lankan
statement said.
lead author of the study carried out
under recently retired director of ZSI,
Dr Kailash Chandra.
Thakur said they were tracking
the Red Panda and the Arunachal
macaque in the eastern Himalayas.
“One of my students, Avijit Ghosh,
was tracking the Arunachal macaque
that we have been studying. He
collected faecal and skin samples of
the macaque and when we carried
out DNA sequencing at ZSI lab,
expecting it to be the Arunachal
macaque, we realised it was actually
the White Cheeked Macaque.”

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
WORLD 15
Appeals court rules
in Biden’s favour on
abortion referrals
At issue are new rules from President Joe Biden's
Department of Health and Human Services that
returned the federal family planning program,
called Title X, to how it ran under
the Obama administration, when
clinics were able to refer women
seeking abortions to a provider.
Federally funded family
planning clinics can continue to
make abortion referrals for now,
a federal court ruled Tuesday, in
Meta not 'threatening' to pull FB, Insta from Europe over data transfer
After reports surfaced that
Meta, formerly Facebook,
is 'likely' to pull Facebook
and Instagram apps from Europe
if prevented from transferring data
from the EU to the US, the company
has clarified that it is not wanting or
"threatening" to leave Europe and
any reporting that implies "we do is
simply not true".
The clarification came after Meta
comments made headlines across
the globe, with German Economy
Minister Robert Habeck and French
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire
reportedly clapping back at Meta's
"threat" by saying they would be
okay with Facebook not having a
presence in Europe.
In Meta's annual 10-K filing to
"
The principle that
money is fungible must
have theoretical limits
or else no government
appropriations for specific
purposes could ever be
feasible
a setback for a dozen Republican attorneys general who
have sued to restore a Trump-era ban on the practice.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati
denied a request by the 12 states to pause rules for the
federal government’s family planning program while their
case is heard. The states were eager to stop implementation
before the next round of federal grants starts rolling out in
March. At issue are new rules from President Joe Biden’s
Department of Health and Human Services that returned
the federal family planning program, called Title X, to
how it ran under the Obama administration, when clinics
were able to refer women seeking abortions to a provider.
Rules that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who
brought the lawsuit, wants permanently reinstated were
put into place in 2019 under former President Donald
Trump. One required federally funded family planning
clinics to be physically and financially independent of
abortion clinics. The other required them to refrain from
referring patients for abortions.
He argues the rules were intended as firewalls between
family planning clinics, which can receive taxpayer
funding, and their abortion services, which cannot.
States joining the challenge are Alabama, Arizona,
Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri,
Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia.
Not all states participate in Title X.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Black rejected that
argument in a ruling last month, denying a preliminary
injunction that would have temporarily paused the rules.
The 12 states appealed his decision to the 6th Circuit,
which said they failed to prove they’d be irreparably
US regulators, the company wrote:
"If a new transatlantic data transfer
framework is not adopted, we will
harmed by the rules going into effect.
Black said opponents centered their case on a policy
disagreement, not a legal one.
“The principle that money is fungible must have
theoretical limits or else no government appropriations
for specific purposes could ever be feasible,” Black wrote
Dec. 29. “Title X no more subsidizes abortions than
funding a homeless shelter subsidizes substance abuse.”
The Biden administration’s reversal of the Trumpera
rules in October came as political and legal battles
over abortion grow sharper amid burgeoning efforts by
Republicans to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade at the
U.S. Supreme Court. Yost emphasized that his lawsuit
does not challenge the right to an abortion as guaranteed
under Roe. The prohibition against family planning clinics
funded under Title X using public funds for abortions was
contained in the Family Planning Services and Population
Research Act of 1970, Yost said. Black pointed out that
the Trump-era rules were in place for less than two years,
during which time 1.5 million fewer patients participated
in Title X-funded services.
The program makes available more than $250 million
a year to clinics to provide birth control and basic health
care services, mainly to low-income women, many of
them from minority communities.
likely be unable to offer a number
of our most significant products and
services, including Facebook and
US to remind China of Pacific
interests amid Ukraine tension
Blinken's three-day stop in
Australia will also be the
highest-level U.S. visit to the
country since the two nations along
with Britain signed a broad security
pact last year that pointedly canceled
a major submarine deal between
Australia and France.
The Biden administration is
making a push to remind China
that the U.S. remains involved and
active in the Indo-Pacific despite
Washington and the West’s current
preoccupation with a possible
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As tensions between Washington
and Moscow continue to escalate over
Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony
Blinken will visit Australia this
week on a trip designed to reinforce
America’s interests in Asia and its
intent to push back on increasing
Chinese assertiveness in the region.
He will also visit Fiji and discuss
pressing concerns about North Korea
with his Japanese and South Korean
counterparts in Hawaii.
In Melbourne on Friday, Blinken
will attend a meeting of foreign
ministers from the so-called “Quad”
_ Australia, India, Japan and the U.S.
_ a bloc of Indo-Pacific democracies
created to counter China. While China
Instagram, in Europe."
According to Markus Reinisch,
Vice President, Public Policy
Europe, much like 70 other EU and
the US companies, we are identifying
a business risk resulting from
uncertainty around international data
transfers.
"This is not new. We've raised
international data transfers in each
of our earnings since at least Q2
2018, and highlighted the specific
risk to our services in Europe and the
need for a safe, secure EU-US data
transfer mechanism in our last four
earnings," he said in a statement late
on Tuesday.
"Like all publicly-traded
companies, we are legally required
to disclose material risks to
will top the agenda, U.S. officials say
Ukraine and the relationship between
Beijing and Moscow will also be a
topic for discussion. As White House
and State Department spokespeople
are fond of saying, the administration
“can walk and chew gum at the same
time.”
With the Quad, Blinken is expected
to highlight the benefits of Indo-
Pacific nations aligning themselves
with democracies and democratic
values, officials said. “That part
of that discussion will relate to the
challenges that China poses to those
values and to the rules-based order,”
said Daniel Kritenbrink, the top U.S.
diplomat for Asia.
The most visited Indian news
website in New Zealand
For online advertising options:
Contact: MAHESH on 021 952 216 or
Email: sales@indianweekender.co.nz
our investors. Last week, as we
have done in our previous four
financial quarters, we disclosed that
continuing uncertainty over EU-US
data transfers mechanisms poses a
threat to our ability to serve European
consumers and operate our business
in Europe," he elaborated.
For several years, the legal
framework supporting the transfer
of data across the Atlantic has faced
severe disruption.
The Safe Harbour Agreement was
struck down by the European Court
of Justice in 2015.
Last summer, Privacy Shield,
which was used by more than 5,000
companies on both sides of the
Atlantic, was also invalidated by the
European Court of Justice.
Global Covid caseload tops 400 million
The global coronavirus caseload has at 400,487,672 and 5,762,582, respectively, and 504,062 deaths), followed by Brazil (5,160,767), the CSSE figures showed.
topped 400 million, while the deaths while the total number of vaccine doses (26,793,497 infections and 634,118 deaths). The nations with a death toll of over 100,000
have surged to more than 5.76 million administered has increased to 10,096,476,161. The other countries with over 5 million are Russia (329,951), Mexico (309,752),
and vaccinations to over 10.09 billion, The US continues to be the worst-hit country cases are France (21,174,600), the UK
Peru (207,114), the UK (159,220), Italy
according to Johns Hopkins University. with the world's highest number of cases and (18,055,318), Russia (12,946,888), Turkey
(149,512), Indonesia (144,719), Colombia
In its latest update on Wednesday morning, deaths at 77,051,222 and 908,816, according (12,446,111), Italy (11,765,767), Germany
the University's Center for Systems Science to the CSSE.
(11,411,464), Spain (10,439,302), Argentina (136,197), France (134,609), Iran (133,048),
and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the
current global caseload and the death toll stood
The second worst hit country in terms
of cases is India (42,339,611 infections
(8,648,075), Iran (6,657,842), Colombia
(5,985,516), Poland (5,217,106) and Mexico
Argentina (123,227), Germany (119,023),
Ukraine (108,417) and Poland (106,894).

16
SPORTS
Friday, February 11, 2022 The Indian Weekender
Rohit Sharma closes in
on Virat Kohli in ICC
ODI batting rankings
India's white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma edged closer to
his teammate Virat Kohli in the latest ICC Men's ODI
Batting Rankings, released on Wednesday, after scoring
a half-century in the first ODI against the West Indies.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam (873 points) and former
India captain Kohli continued to hold on to the top two
spots, but Rohit, with 807 rating points after his fifty in the
first ODI of the three-match series against the West Indies,
is sneaking in on Kohli, who is at No. 2 in the ODI Batting
Rankings with 828 rating points.
On the other hand, West Indies batter Shai Hope lost out
on valuable points and slipped out of the top 10 of the ICC
Men's ODI Batting Rankings after the first ODI against
India.
As a result, Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman and England's Joe
Root broke into the top 10 of the batting rankings.
Meanwhile, in a major leap, Oman's Jatinder Singh, who
made a hundred in the first match of the UAE series, part of
Mandhana rises
to 5th, Mithali
maintains 2nd
spot in ICC ODI
batting rankings
Australia's Alyssa Healy
remained at the top spot
with 742 points. Other
Australians Beth Mooney (719) and
Amy Satterthwaite (717) are at third
and fourth places respectively.
India opener Smriti Mandhana
gained two places to rise to fifth while
her captain Mithali Raj maintained
her second spot among batters in the
latest ICC women’s ODI rankings.
Mandhana has 710 rating points
in her kitty while Raj has 738.
Australia’s Alyssa Healy remained at
the top spot with 742 points. Other
Australians Beth Mooney (719) and
Amy Satterthwaite (717) are at third
and fourth places respectively.
Among the bowlers, veteran
Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami
retained her second spot with 727
rating points, behind Australia’s Jess
Jonassen (773).Australia’s Ellyse
Perry was back at the top of the list
of all-rounders after a fine show in
the second ODI of their three-match
series against England. India’s Deepti
Sharma is unchanged at fourth with
299 points while Goswami (251) is
at 10th.
the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League
2, jumped 26 places to break into the
top-100 of the batting rankings. Jatinder
is the second-highest run-scorer in
the League 2 tournament with 594
runs in 23 matches. However, there
was no movement in the top-10
of the bowling rankings, but
West Indies' Jason Holder,
following his half-century
in the first ODI against
India, went up four
places in the allrounder
rankings
to get into the
top-20.
Australia-NZ T20I series abandoned due to travel restrictions
The T20I series between
Australia and England,
which was scheduled to be
played in Napier next month, has
been abandoned due to the ongoing
travel restrictions between the trans-
Tasman neighbours.
The three-match series was set to
take place at McLean Park in Napier
between March 17 and 20 but the
COVID-enforced restrictions at the
New Zealand border have meant
Cricket Australia (CA) and New
Zealand Cricket (NZC) mutually
calling off the mini-series.
A statement issued by NZC on
Wednesday said, "The short, fourday-long
series, set down for McLean
Park, Napier on March 17, 18 and 20,
was initially arranged on the basis
Four Australian
cricketers put
on standby
ahead of
Pakistan series
Former Australia batter and
chair of the National Selection
Panel (NSP) George Bailey
has put four cricketers on "standby"
in case any player is down with
illness or injury ahead of
the month-long away
series against Pakistan,
beginning with the first
Test at Rawalpindi on
March 4.
Bailey, who
had announced an
18-member squad for
the Pakistan tour on
Tuesday, said on Wednesday
that Queensland's Matt Renshaw
and Victoria's Nic Maddinson in
batting and Sean Abbott and Mark
Steketee in bowling had been kept as
standbys.
Australia have retained 14 of the
15 players, who recently won the
Ashes series, for the three Tests
against Pakistan, with pace bowler
Jhye Richardson being the only
of the New Zealand Government's
plan to relax restrictions at the trans-
Tasman border. However, with those
plans now substantially delayed,
and no MIQ (Managed Isolation
and Quarantine) accommodation
available for the Australian side on
their scheduled arrival into New
Zealand, NZC has been given no
choice but to abandon the series.
"As a consequence of this (and
"They've
both been
around the Australian
group at different
times. Any of those four,
when they do get their
opportunity, I'm really
confident they'll do a
great job."
exception. Besides,
Ashton Agar, Josh
Inglis, Mitchell
Marsh and
Mitchell Swepson
have also been
included.
"We've got four
guys on standby,"
Bailey said on SEN 1170 The
Run Home on Wednesday. "That's
because of the risk of COVID and
injury risk with some domestic
cricket, plus these five internationals
(T20s against Sri Lanka) over the
next couple of weeks as well.
"Matt Renshaw and Nic
Maddinson on the batting front I
think are two guys that we're really
given the cancellations would have
left the Hawke's Bay region with a
substantially reduced international
programme) the BLACKCAPS-
Netherlands T20 on March 25,
previously scheduled for Bay Oval,
Tauranga, will now be played
at Napier's McLean Park," the
statement added.
NZC chief executive David White
said the move was inevitable given
happy with how they're going at the
moment. We're looking forward to
them continuing their form over the
next little period," said Bailey.
Already donned the baggy greens,
while the bowlers, Sean Abbott and
Mark Steketee, are yet to play Test
cricket.
In the bowling front," Bailey
said. "They've both been around the
Australian group at different times.
Any of those four, when they do get
their opportunity, I'm really confident
they'll do a great job."
This will be the first series on
Pakistani soil between the two
cricketing powerhouses in 24 years,
with the crucial ICC World Test
Championship points up for grabs.
"
The short, fourday-long
series, set
down for McLean Park,
Napier on March 17, 18
and 20, was initially
arranged on the basis
of the New Zealand
Government's plan to
relax restrictions at the
trans-Tasman border.
the border restrictions.
"At the time we scheduled the
visit there was a lot of hope that the
trans-Tasman border would be open
for those who met the right criteria.
However, the advent of Omicron has,
unfortunately, changed everything at
India outclass
France to open
Pro League
campaign
Harmanpreet Singh and Varun
Kumar got the first two
goals from penalty corners
before Shamsher Singh, Mandeep
Singh and Akashdeep Singh found
the target to secure a thoroughly onesided
verdict.
After the high of the Olympic
bronze medal in Tokyo, the Indian
men’s hockey team started 2022 in
style, thrashing France 5-0 in their
opening match of the FIH Pro League
at Potchefstroom, South Africa, on
Tuesday.
Harmanpreet Singh and Varun
Kumar got the first two goals from
penalty corners before Shamsher
Singh, Mandeep Singh and
Akashdeep Singh found the target
to secure a thoroughly one-sided
verdict. India face hosts South
Africa in their next FIH Pro League
encounter on Wednesday.
The Indians, under head coach
Graham Reid, took time to get into
groove as the French exerted some
pressure in the opening quarter, which
ended goalless. The few opportunities
that India got – including two
successive penalty corners – were
repelled by resolute defending or
wasted by errant shooting. It was in
the second period that the floodgates
opened with Harmanpreet (21st
minute) and Varun (24th) getting on
the scoresheet through set-pieces,
both finding the target with low shots
to the goalkeeper Arthur Thieffry’s
right. and Shamsher capping a quick
counterattack with India’s third goal,
the final pass coming from Abhishek.
The second half started with
Mandeep Singh making it 4-0 from
an assist by skipper Manpreet Singh
in the 32nd minute. Akashdeep,
playing his 200th match for India,
then found the target with a reverse
hit in the 41st. France tried to make
some sort of comeback in the final
quarter and earned back-to-back
penalty corners in the 48th minute,
but could not reduce the margin. The
Indians too couldn’t add to their tally
in the last 15 minutes but the final
scoreline would be a satisfactory
one against a team ranked 13th in
the world which entered the FIH Pro
League after Canada pulled out due
to Covid-19 concerns.
the border, and has made it impossible
for us to continue with the series. It's
disappointing -- but we know it's the
same for businesses and individuals
and other sports, and we're grateful
for the international schedule we
have," said White. White added the
series was a late addition to New
Zealand's summer schedule.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick
Hockley said, "We thank NZ Cricket
for making every effort to host the
series but unfortunately it wasn't
possible given the border restrictions
and quarantine requirements."
New Zealand are currently gearing
up for a two-Test series against South
Africa at home, while Australia will
travel to Pakistan for a Test and
limited-overs series next month.

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
FEATURES 17
Healthy cooking every day
Coconut marinated chicken
Coconut Marinated Chicken
is a delectable recipe. The
specialty of this chicken is that
it is marinated in coconut milk for a
whole night, barbequed and grilled.
Ingredients
• 375 gm chicken thighs
• 1/2 tablespoon refined oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cloves crushed garlic
• black pepper as required
• 1 tablespoon red chilli sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 6 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• salt as required
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
For Garnishing
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
leaves
Method
• To make this delicious recipe, take
a deep bowl, add coconut milk,
lime zest, lemon juice, curry
powder, paprika, ginger, chilli
sauce, salt and black pepper.
• Mix the ingredients well to
incorporate with each other.
• Then, take chicken thigh
fillets, which should be
skinless and boneless and
marinate in the mixture.
• Put the marinated chicken in
a ziplock bag for an overnight
to set.
• When done, take out the chicken
from bag and brush off the extra
marinade mixture on it. Now, take
a little amount of oil and brush the
BBQ and cook chicken on it over
a medium heat from about 6-7
minutes.
• Then, flip gently and cook for
another 5-6 minutes.
• When the chicken is cooked,
arrange on a serving plate and
garnish with coriander leaves.
Honey garlic coated chicken chops
Chicken recipes are the most
versatile recipes of all time
and nothing can beat their
wonderful taste. Kick off your
dinner party with this chic starter
recipe, blended with honey and
garlic.
This is an easy starter
recipe cooked in the
amazing soya sauce with
the goodness of honey.
Honey Garlic Coated
Chicken Chops will
turn out to be a star dish
amongst all other dishes
on your table and we bet
your family members are
sure to fight for the last piece
of this moist and juicy chicken.
• Meanwhile,
for the
preparation of sauce
take a saucepan and cook the
marinade over a medium flame and
add water to it.
Chicken Teriyaki
Chicken
Teriyaki,
originally from Japan, has
now started appearing in
the menu cards of leading hotel
chains and restaurants all over the
world. The best thing about this
Asian recipe is that you can make
it at home without much hassle.
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 8 pieces chicken breasts
• salt as required
• 4 tablespoon virgin olive oil
• 2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup fresh cream
• ground black pepper as required
• For Garnishing
• sesame seeds as required
Ingredients
• 3/4 cup honey
Method
• 6 cloves garlic
• To prepare this main dish recipe,
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce
take the mayonnaise and fresh
• 6 pieces chicken breasts
cream together in a bowl, and mix
mixture for basting (pouring over them well.
Method
the chicken pieces while cooking • Add the soy sauce, salt and
• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk in order to keep it moist).
ground black pepper to it and mix
together honey, garlic and soya • Place these coated chicken pieces them in. Make sure that they form
sauce well.
on a greased grill over medium a smooth and creamy mixture.
• One by one coat the chicken high heat. Close the lid and cook, • Dip the chicken pieces in the
breast pieces in this mixture basting twice in between. Serve cream mixture and keep aside
evenly and reserve left over hot and enjoy.
for about 20 minutes so that the
Mexican lime chicken
chicken softens, and acquires the
creamy texture.
• Meanwhile, preheat a grill at high
temperature and lightly grease it
with oil.
• When the chicken is ready, place
it on the grill and let it cook.
Make sure that the chicken is no
longer raw and pink.
• Keep flipping the pieces to make
sure that they don’t burn. Grill the
chicken for about 20 minutes.
• Once done, Garnish with sesame
seeds and serve it hot with some
steamed rice to enjoy!
Lighter Takes
• Bring
it to simmer
and cook for about 10
minutes.
• Serve it with marinated chicken.
&
Easy Tips
Cheddar cheese crust
sandwich
Sandwiches are the ultimate
answer to even the most
stubborn hunger pangs and if
they are oozing with cheese insideout,
then there’s no point trying to
resist them.
Ingredients
• 4 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• powdered black pepper as
required
• 4 slices bread- white
• salt as required
Method
• Take a frying pan, add butter and
toast the bread slices on both
the sides, until they are crisp.
Now, sprinkle two tablespoons
grated cheese on two of the
bread slices, while adding salt
and pepper, and place the other
two slices on the top of them,
forming a sandwich.
• Use the rest of the cheese by
putting it on the top of the
sandwiches. Keep flipping
the sandwiches until they turn
crispy and golden-brown in
colour. Serve hot and fresh.
Banana and butter
sandwich
Ingredients
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• chopped mixed dry fruits as
required
• 4 bread slices
• 2 tablespoon butter
• honey as required
Method
• Spread butter on a bread slice
and sprinkle some powdered
sugar on it. Afterwards, peel the
banana and cut into slices.
• Arrange a few banana slices on
the bread and add a few chopped
nuts over it, cover with another
slice of bread.
• Put a grill pan on medium flame
and apply some butter on both
the sides of the sandwich, when
the pan is hot enough put the
sandwich on it and cook for 5 to
8 minutes.
• Cook from both sides and place
the prepared sandwich on a plate
and drizzle some honey over it.
Repeat the procedure to cook
more such sandwiches.
If you are a non-vegetarian who loves
to gorge on chicken meat, then you
must try this Mexican Lime Chicken
recipe. Prepared with chicken wings
marinated in lemon, lime zest, garlic and
a melange of spices, this appetizer recipe
is grilled to perfection.
Ingredients
• 5 chicken wings
• 5 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon garlic
• salt as required
• 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoon paprika powder
Method
• Wash the chicken wings thoroughly
before proceeding further. On a
chopping board, chop the garlic and
add them to a bowl.
• In the same bowl, add olive oil, lemon
juice, lime zest, coriander seeds,
paprika and salt as per your taste.
• Mix these well and add the chicken
wings to it.
• Brush well with the marinade and coat
the wings evenly and put them in a
large bowl.
• Place this bowl in a refrigerator and let
the chicken marinate for an hour.
• Cover this bowl with a cling film and
refrigerate the mixture for an hour to
marinate the chicken well.
• Meanwhile, preheat the grill to
medium-high temperature.
• Take out the marinated chicken out
from the refrigerator and place the
wings on the preheated griller for
about 10 minutes or until it is moist
and brown on every side.
• Once done, remove from the griller
and transfer the wings in a plate. Serve
these hot with a dip of your choice to
enjoy!

18 ENTERTAINMENT
Friday, February 11, 2022 The Indian Weekender
LATA MANGESHKAR:
India's singing Goddess
1949
Aayega
Aanewala
(Mahal)
Melodious of
seven decades
Pyar hua Ikrar
(Shree 420)
She was awarded India's highest civilian
award Bharat Ratna in 2001 in recognition of
her contributions. She is is only the second
vocalist, after MS Subbulakshmi, to receive
"Bharat Ratna".
1955
1960
Pyar kya
toh darna
kya
Narendra Modi - Indian PM:
I am anguished beyond words. The
kind and caring Lata Didi has left
us. She leaves a void in our nation
that cannot be filled. The coming
generations will remember her as
a stalwart of Indian culture, whose
melodious voice had an unparalleled
ability to mesmerise people.
Tribute from across the globe
Imran Khan -
Pakistani Prime
Minster:
With the death of
Lata Mangeshkar, the
subcontinent has lost
one of the truly great singers the
world has known. Listening to her
songs has given so much pleasure
to so many people all over the
world," Khan said in a tweet.
Bangladesh Prime
Minister - Sheikh
Hasina:
In a message of
condolence, Hasina
said Mangeshkar will
remain alive forever in the hearts
of the people in the region through
her work. “A great void has been
created in the subcontinent’s musical
arena with the demise of the ‘Sur
Samraggi (empress of music)’,”
the prime minister said, praying for
the salvation of the departed soul
and conveying sympathy to the
bereaved family.
Sri Lanka
President: Gotabaya
Rajapaksa:
“Rest In Peace Srimathi
#LataMangeshkar,
India’s Queen of Music
who touched billions of hearts
through her golden and unparalleled
voice,” he said, sharing a photograph
of the legendary singing icon.
Nepal President
- Bidya Devi
Bhandari:
“I am saddened by
the news of the demise
o f famous Indian singer Lata
Mangeshkar, who has also lent her
melodious voice to many Nepalese
songs,” Bhandari tweeted in Nepali
language. “I offer my heartfelt tribute
to genius Lata Mangeshkar with
extraordinary talent,”.
Meri Awaaz hi,
Pehchaan hai
1929–2022
Her voice worked for any one,
any situation and any era
We prayed for her immortality. Her voice
registered our strengths and frailties.
She soothed us when everything was
lost, her aural sensuality was present in our first
kiss, and her pleading for unity cut through a
sharply divided society. Each one of us created an
unbreakable personal bond with her.
We often associate playback singers with
specific actors. The singer becomes the musical
expression — an extension — of the actor. This is
so well established that when an actor completes a
dialogue and the scene segues into a song, we do
not notice a difference; the voices merge.
Lata Mangeshkar’s voice did not belong to any
one actor; she was every actor’s voice. It would
be appropriate to say her voice was theirs! She
did not hide her presence behind the actors; you
always knew it was her. The actor became Lata’s
expressive moving picture. Yet, her personality
never mediated our relationship with the story.
It was as if her voice worked for any one, any
situation and any era. Hence, there was no need
for that illusionary trick. This seems contradictory,
even impossible, but it did happen. We speak of
playback singers being influenced by the voice,
mannerisms and accent of actors they represented.
In Lata’s case, I would argue that every actor’s
acting improved when they heard her track being
played for a song they were filming. How could it
not? Watch any scene of a song she rendered and
it is as if she coaxed the actors to come up to her
standards of emotivity.
Emotion in music is spoken of in esoteric terms,
or as something that happens through experience
and maturity. Otherwise, we are told, internalise
the meaning, understand the context, the melody
French Ambassador to India
Emmanuel Lenain: “Deeply
saddened by the demise of
Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar.
An institution in herself, she was
conferred Officier de la Legion d’Honneur’
in recognition of her incomparable singing career.”
“Our heartfelt condolences to her loved ones and
fans across the world
and involve yourself in the singing and
emotionality will be transferred into
the song. We may feel the song in our
bones but our rendition can still lack
the needed emotive layering. Emotional
communication in music is a technique.
It exists in the way we use our voice; we
enunciate each syllable and our treatment
of the melodic and rhythmic cadences in
the song. With Lata, every second oozed
emotion; it was in the way she sang. The
minor shifts in tonality, the timbral and
decibel control over a musical phrase and
the way the words were enunciated.
Reading a line of poetry has little to
do with singing it. When I say ‘mohabbat’, I
am speaking of love; when I sing, it is the essence
of love. That inner resonance appears because the
word is not tightly bound by its own construction.
It spreads its wings inviting us to romance its every
consonant and vowel. Lata gave musical life to
every syllable she sang. The meaning of the word
was felt even before the word was completed.
And then there was the last note! That tantalising
drop at the end of a musical turn, curve, statement
or question. The line was over but Lata’s voice
remained for just that extra micro-second, gifting
that last notea memory. The next line began from
its silent listening. I can still hear that dissolving
note, it was magic.
Speed is often overglorified. Singers deliberately
direct our attention towards it, and the felicity of their
voice. But the brilliance of speed is when the rush,
the adrenaline, is not known. Lata sang supersonic
phrases without bravado. When you watched the
song sequence, you did not even know that she
had executed something demanding. It seemed as
Ambassador of Afghanistan
to India - Farid Mamundzay:
“Saddened by the tragic death of
#LataMangeshkar, one of India’s
greatest playback singers for over
seven-decades. As the Queen of Melody,
her songs spanned every genre & connected
cultures through music. She would be remembered
for her lasting legacy for generations to come.”
Chalte Chalte
(Pakeezah)
1972
1981
Yeh kahaan aa
gaye hum (Silsila)
Tujhe Dekha
toh yeh
(Dilwale
Dulhania Leh
Jayenge)
1995
2004
Tere liye hum hai
jiye (Veer-Zaara)
easy as the actor’s mime. The sheer control behind
these renditions should not be categorised just as
technical proviso. The complexity of the melody
never came in the way of her emotive power. In
the case of other singers, emotion would wane and
wax within one song. There would be moments
when their hearts were present in the music, and
times when they were only aiming for musical
accuracy. That was never the case with Lata. She
did not make her vocal virtuosity obvious. She just
made us smile, cry, love and celebrate, unaware of
the musical brilliance.
Through the decades, Lata’s voice aged and all
of us recognised that. But the voice never became
old! Another paradox. There are voices that do not
age; there are those that become old. But to age
yet remain young is rare. The ageing was physical,
her vocal cords did tire, there was a perceptible
tremble in the voice, but she did not sound old. Her
musical expression was young. By young, I am not
referring to youthfulness, but rather the quality of
being alive. This spirit gave her voice bloom.
Ambassador and permanent
representative of India in the
United Nations - T.S. Tirumurti:
“An irreplaceable loss to the nation.
An irreplaceable loss to the world of
music. Bharat Ratna #LataMangeshkar
will live in our hearts forever. Our heartfelt
condolences to her loved ones and fans across
the world.”

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 11, 2022
FEATURES 19
India plans
to launch
e-passports
in 2022
AVINASH SEN
We all dislike the long
immigration queues at
airports for our passport
verification, don’t we? Well, that is
soon to change for all Indian passport
holders. During her presentation
of India’s Union Budget 2022,
finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman
announced that India would begin
issuing e-passports this year.
These new e-passports will contain
an electronic chip which will store
all the important information which
is available on a printed passport,
like the holder’s name, date of birth,
country of issuance, and so on.
The e-passport will be using
Radio Frequency Identification and
biometrics for identity verification.
How e-passports work
An e-passport comes with an inbuilt
micro-chip that stores all the personal
information of the passport holder.
The chip has 64 kilobytes of storage
space and a small antenna embedded
in it. Initially, the chip will contain
data from upto 30 international trips;
later, the chips are expected to store
even more information.
The application procedure and
forms for getting new passports will
still remain the same as before.
E-passports won’t be completely
paper-free though, since procedures
like visa stamping will still be in
effect. But the need for paper will be
reduced wherever possible.
The advantages of
an e-passport
One of the major advantages that
would come with the introduction
of e-passports is the elimination of
standing in long queues in front of
the immigration counter. This is
because an e-passport can be scanned
and verified in a much shorter time
compared to physical documents.
Are e-passports secure?
E-passports comply with ICAO
(International Civil Aviation
Organisation) standards, which
means it is difficult to tamper with
and/or destroy the microchip.
Attempts to alter the chips will result
in a failure of passport authentication.
This also helps deter the making of
fake passports since scammers won’t
be able to manipulate the data in the
chip easily. The chip’s infrastructure
can also be upgraded against identity
theft or forgery.
A little history
E-passports are not something new.
In 1988, Malaysia became the first
country to launch an e-passport;
a good ten years before the ICAO
adopted any plans to integrate
biometrics into passports. The first
ICAO-compliant e-passport was
issued by Belgium in 2004.
In India, the first e-passport with
biometric details was issued to
former President Pratibha Patil in
2008. Since then, India has already
issued about 20,000 e-passports to
diplomats and other officials under a
pilot project.
Following the success of that
programme, the Indian government
is now confident about issuing these
to the general public.
India’s present High
Commissioner in New Zealand, Shri
in India (2010-16).
Shri Pardeshi was Joint Secretary
(Passport Seva Project) and Chief
Passport Officer of India. His
leadership role in the transformation
of passport services in India (which
doubled from 6 to 12 million during
2010-15) has been widely acclaimed.
As the Mission Leader of the
Passport Seva Project, he received
numerous awards, including the
prestigious National Award on
e-Governance (Gold) 2014-15 and
Web Ratna (Platinum) Award 2014.
During 2010-16, he also served on
the Board of Directors of the Security
Printing and Minting Cooperation of
India Limited (SPMCIL).
Over 150 countries use e-passports.
Future Market Insights states that at
least 1,000 million e-passports are in
circulation all over the world.
What the officials
have said
The secretary to the government
of India in the Ministry of external
affairs, Mr. Sanjay Bhatacharya,
announced how India would soon be
introducing e-passports in a twitter
post. In his tweet, he mentioned
how e-passport would securely
store biometric data, help people go
through immigration smoothly, and
is compliant with the standards of the
ICAO.
Regarding the manufacture of
the microchips, External Affairs
Minister S. Jaishankar noted that the
ministry is talking with the ‘India
Security Press’ in Nashik. “We
propose to pursue the manufacture
of e-passports on priority so that a
new passport booklet with advanced
security features can be rolled out in
the near future,” he said.
Apart from India Security Press,
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),
who had succeeded in securing the
second contract for running the
Passport Seva Programme, will also
be making the chips.
Tej Bhatla, business unit head
for public sector at TCS, said,
Muktesh Pardeshi played a pivotal
“We will bring in the technology
role as Joint Secretary (Passport Seva
(for e-passport), but the sovereign
Project) and Chief Passport Officer
functions like granting or printing
of India for about five years in the
of the passport booklet will continue
transformation of passport services
with the government.”
US Hacker takes down North Korea’s internet!
AVINASH SEN
No, you didn’t read the
headline wrong.
As reported by WIRED in
early February, a lone US man, “in
a T-shirt, pajama pants, and slippers,
sitting in his living room,” effectively
took down the entire internet service
of North Korea.
Observers had noticed that North
Korea’s internet was acting strange.
Almost all of the country’s websites
had gone down and at least one of
its central routers was completely
immobilized; digitally cutting off the
country from the rest of the world.
Since the outages came right after
the country had carried out a series of
missile tests, experts thought that the
problems were caused by a foreign
government agency.
But the real answer shocked
everyone; these were not the actions
of a foreign agency’s cyber division,
but of one US man who goes by the
internet handle “P4x”.
“P4x”, who wouldn’t use his real
name for fear of retaliation and being
prosecuted, is a whitehat hacker, who
usually carries out cyber-attacks on
clients who have hired him in order
to reveal vulnerabilities in their
network. A little over a year ago, P4x
was the victim of hacking by North
Korean spies via a campaign aimed
at Western security researchers.
In late January 2021, P4x received
an ‘exploitation tool’ file from a
fellow hacker.
A day later he saw a blog post
from the Google Threat Analysis
Group warning security researchers
that hackers from North Korea were
targeting them.
P4x then decided to examine the
file he had received, and sure enough,
he found it contained a backdoor that
would allow a hacker to get a remote
foothold onto his computer.
Thankfully, P4x was able to
prevent the attackers from getting
away with anything of value
by opening the program in a
virtual machine, quarantining it
from his system.
Shocked that he was being
targeted by North Korean hackers,
he contacted the FBI. Unfortunately,
they did not provide him with any
real help.
He let his resentment stew for a
year before he decided that he needed
to take matters into his own hands.
Said P4x, “It felt like the right thing
to do. If they don’t see we have teeth,
it’s just going to keep coming.”
P4x told WIRED that he found
multiple vulnerabilities in the North
Korean systems that allowed him
“denial-of-service,” attacks.
These attacks can flood a system
with false internet traffic, consuming
available bandwidth so that websites
become inaccessible.
He has declined to publicly
reveal these vulnerabilities,
stating that it would allow
North Korea to set up defenses
against his attacks.
“For me, this is like the size
of a small-to-medium pentest
(penetration test),” he said.
It is unclear if these attacks will
have a significant effect on the North
Korean government.
A researcher for the Stimson
Center think-tank’s North Koreafocused
38 North Project, Martyn
Williams, said that most of the North
Korean population doesn’t even have
access to the internet.
What’s more, most of the sites that
P4x took down are mainly used for
propaganda, targeting international
audiences.
“
We will bring in
the technology (for
e-passport), but the
sovereign functions
like granting or
printing of the
passport booklet will
continue with the
government.”
Williams also said that the hackers
that targeted P4x may likely be based
in other countries like China.
“But if he just wants to annoy
North Korea, then he is probably
being annoying.”
P4x has said that he counts
annoying the North Korean regime
a victory and that the population in
the country who lack internet access
weren’t his targets.
“I definitely wanted to affect the
people as little as possible and the
government as much as possible.”
Former NSA hacker and founder
of the security firm ‘Immunity’ Dave
Aitel, however, questioned P4x’s
approach, stating he might get in
the way of stealthier intelligence
efforts that are targeting North
Korean systems.
Though he does acknowledge
that the government’s response to
North Korea’s actions leaves much
to be desired.
When asked what his goal for the
attacks were, P4x said, “I just want to
prove a point. I want that point to be
very squarely proven before I stop.”
In this brave new world, tech
programs by a single person can
disrupt the internet of an entire
country!

1
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