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2 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017

RUNNING SUCCESSFULLY

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

ICCC organises Canada- India Business Symposium, hold successful Awards Gala

CHANNEL Y PRESENTS CHAMPIONSTROPHY FINAL ON SUNDAY

MISSISSAUGA MAYOR BONNIE CROMBIE WITH NADIR PATEL, CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA AND JORDAN J. REEVE,CANADIAN CONSUL GENERAL IN MAXIMUM CITY AT THE ICCC CANADA-INDIA BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM PROMOTING TRADE AND FDI.

ICCC held its high-heeled event – the Annual Awards Gala Night - recently that was attended by the who’s who of Canada andIndia. The event is organized every year to honour outstanding individuals in their respective fields. Y Media was the exclusivepartner of the programme that was covered through a special supplement in Midweek newspaper and event coverage was alsoaired at Channel Y. Seen in the image are from L to R: ArunShrivastava, President of ICCC; Bardish Chagger, Leader of theGovernment in House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Kundan Joshi, award winner in technologystream; Nadir Patel, Canadian High Commissioner in India and Venki Raman, CIBC district vice-president retail distribution.

I MORE DETAILS IN MIDWEEK SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

UK ELECTION: 2 SIKH MPS ELECTEDTO HOUSE OF COMMONS

8 JEE Toppers in from Tricity:Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula

UK ELECTIONS: 12 PAKISTANI-ORIGIN CANDIDATES WIN SEATS

DESK REPORTBRITAIN - The British Sikh com-munity is happy as Preet KaurGill - the first Sikh woman MP -and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi - thefirst turban-wearing Sikh MP -have been elected in the recentlyheld elections and will be sittingin the House of Commons increasing the Indian-origin group from 10 to 12. Thedozen include seven from the Labour Party and five from the Conservative Party.All 10 Indian-origin lawmakers in the previous Parliament retained their seats, withDhesi (Slough) and Gill (Birmingham Edbaston) - both Labour - have carried thetradition of being part of the British politics that began with DadabhaiNaoroji being elected in Finsbury Central in 1892. There were morethan 50 Indian-origin candidates from various par ties in the fray.

DESK REPORTBRITAIN - As many as 30 candidates of Pakistani origin contested in the June8 elections in the United Kingdom, of which 12 have been successful inreaching the House of Commons. Of the 12 successful British-Pakistanis,which include five women candidates, nine belong to the Labour while threerepresent the Conservative party. Afzal Khan from Gorton area of Manchesterand Muhammad Yaseen from Bendford have been elected on Labourpar ty's tickets for the first time. Labour par ty candidate YasminQureshi was re-elected as MP from Bolton South East. Dr RosenaAllin-Khan from Labour won from Tooting, London with a 15,000majority. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, sent his congratulationsto the emergency room doctor for her "incredible result." ShabanaMahmood contesting from Birmingham, Ladywood was re-elected as theLabour MP from her constituency. From Bradford West, Labour party's Naz Shahwas elected with over 29,000 votes. Labour Party's Mohammed Yasin defeatedConservative Richard Fuller in Bedford.

DESK REPORTTORONTO - Following its tradition, Y Media will present live analysisand reviews of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final match that com-mences at 5:30am Toronto time. Live commentaries and analysis ofthese matches at various Y Media platforms had community on its toeswho also call in and participate live while enjoying these matches.Discussion during the live match on Sunday will star t at 9am whilematch analysis will be presented at 1pm along with a panel of experts.All cricket buffs can call in and be part of this interactive show. Thediscussion will be headed by Yudhvir Jaswal, CEO and Group Editor of YMedia will head the discussion. A number of guests have also beeninvited to the Channel Y studios who will join the discussion.The show will be presented in association with YuppTV that is airing allmatches. All those who wish to enjoy the final can tune in to YuppTV.Channel Y can be viewed on Rogers 857, Bell 828, YuppTV, Jadoo TV andonline, www.southasiandaily.coms.

CHANDIGARH - From only two students securing positions in top 100 last year,eight Tricity students have made it to top 100 All India Ranks (AIR) of JEE (Ad-vanced) this year, including a national topper with AIR 1. Tricity comprises ofChandigarh and bordering districts -- Panchkula (Haryana) and Mohali or SASNagar (Punjab). Chandigarh also serves as capital of Punjab and Haryana. Be-sides, two more students have bagged positions in top 10 category with AIR 7 and9 respectively. Panchkula boy Sarvesh Mehtani, who is the national topper withAIR 1 with 339 marks out of 366, had scored 95.4% in Class 12 and a perfect CGPA10 in Class 10. The second topper Aashish Waikar with AIR 7, who has secured329 out of 366 in Advanced results, was not even in top 100 AIRs in JEE (Mains). Hehad secured AIR 101 in JEE (Main). Similarly, the third topper Rachit Bansal withAIR 9 has secured 327 out of 366. The other toppers in the top 100 list includeShashij Gupta AIR 30, Manthan Jindal AIR 32, Himanshu Sheoran AIR 59, SakshamDhull AIR 66, and Shivam Bansal AIR 68.

Canada- India Trade to grow in coming years:International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne

Canada- India Business Symposium- 150 Companies from India par ticipatedInternational trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne while speaking to Y Media at Canada-India BusinessSymposium said ties will strengthen fur therCanada-India bilateral relationship has great potential for growth: Minister BainsBusiness & Corporate leaders join ICCC Awards Gala Night, 10 winners announcedMinister of Small Business & Tourism and Government House Leader Bardish Chagger praised impact of Indo-Canadian business community at ICCC Awards GalaEvent attended by Toronto Mayor John Tory, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Markham Mayor Frank ScarpittiNadir Patel, Canadian High Commissioner to India: Canada-India relations stand on strong footingThe $8 billion trade between India-Canada has increased to 30%Canada has also made a $14 billion investment in IndiaNumber of Indian students coming to Canada increased in 2016 and in last five months seen 70% growthOverall number of Indian students coming to Canada grown by 200%In 2006, 4,899 students came to Canada while in 2015, 32, 000 students arrived

MORE DETAILS INSPECIAL SUPPLEMENT


TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017s p e c i a l r e p o r t

SHIROMANI AKALI DAL (SAD) AND BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP) MEMBERS TAKE PART IN PROTEST DHARNA AGAINST ALLEGEDFAILURE OF CONGRESS GOVERNMENT AND NON FULFILMENT OF ITS PRE-POLL PROMISES, IN AMRITSAR ON MONDAY. SEEN INTHE IMAGE IS BIKRAM SINGH MAJITHIA WITH OTHER SUPPORTERS.

'Are you with us or with Qatar,' SaudiKing asks Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD (IANS) "Are you with us or with Qatar?" Saudi KingSalman raised this question during a meeting with PakistanPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had visited the Gulf Kingdomfor finding a diplomatic solution to the Qatar crisis. The Saudimonarch asked Sharif to take a clear position on Qatar duringtheir meeting in Jeddah on Monday, The Express Tribunerepor ted, citing diplomatic sources."Pakistan has told Saudi Arabia it will not take sides in thebrewing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East after Riyadh askedIslamabad 'are you with us or with Qatar'," the paper said.Pakistan has been treading a careful path since Saudi and otherGulf countries snapped diplomatic ties with Qatar after accus-ing the oil-rich country of suppor ting terrorist groups. But Saudiwants Pakistan to side with the kingdom, it said.Citing a senior government official, who was briefed on thetalks at the monarch's palace in Jeddah, the paper said thatPakistan would not take sides in any event that would createdivisions within the Muslim world. "Never theless, in order toplacate Saudi Arabia, Pakistan offered to use its influence overQatar to defuse the situation. For this purpose, the primeminister will under take visits to Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey," itsaid. Sharif, accompanied by army chief General Qamar JavedBajwa and other senior officials, travelled to Jeddah on Mondayto discuss the emerging situation in the Gulf world. PrimeMinister Sharif's mediation visit to Saudi did not achieve anyimmediate breakthrough. According to an official statement,

Sharif met King Salman in Jeddah and urged an early resolutionof the impasse in Gulf in the best interest of all Muslims.Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said King Salman and Sharif dis-cussed the "latest regional developments" in addition tobilateral relations. Salman told Sharif that "the fight againstextremism and terrorism is in the interest of all Muslims andthe Ummah". The SPA, while announcing the severing ofrelations with Qatar, had said it had been done for "protection ofnational security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism".Qatar, meanwhile, has indicated that it was willing to addressconcerns of the countries that ended diplomatic relations withit. The current crisis in the Gulf is said to be the gravest that theGulf Cooperation Council has faced in its nearly four decades ofexistence, although Qatar's relations with Saudi and some otherArab neighbours have not always been good. Other diplomaticeffor ts have so far not been successful in defusing tensionseither.Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad, who has been leadingthe diplomatic initiative, vowed to continue his effor ts toresolve the ongoing crisis despite remaining unsuccessful inhis earlier bid. Saudi, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt had cut offdiplomatic ties and transpor t links with Qatar on June 5 on thepretext that its policies are fuelling extremism and terrorism.The crisis erupted late last month over fears that Qatar wastrying to improve its ties with Iran, which Saudi Arabia and itsallies wanted to be isolated.

AAP protests in UP districts over MP farmers' killing

LUCKNOW (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) on Monday held dem-onstrations at all district headquar ters in Uttar Pradesh to protest thekilling of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh. SlammingMadhya Pradesh's BJP-led government, the AAP demanded the res-ignation of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan or his sacking by thePresident.AAP leader Gaurav Maheshwari said Chouhan, a Bharatiya JanataPar ty leader, was dictatorial in his attitude towards his political oppo-nents as well as the farmers and had lost the right to remain in office.

The AAP also submitted to senior district officials a memorandumaddressed to President Pranab Mukherjee.The AAP protest in state capital Lucknow was led by District Secre-tary S.P. Bagi. The AAP also flayed the Madhya Pradesh governmentfor preventing a par ty delegation of Sanjay Singh, Lok Sabha memberBhagwant Mann, Ashutosh, and Somnath Bhar ti from visit ingMandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and meeting the families of the killedfarmers. The AAP also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi'ssilence on the police firing and farmers' deaths.

ISLAMABAD, (IANS) The two Chinese nationals abducted fromQuetta last month and later killed were involved in "preach-ing" instead of business activities — the declared purpose fortheir visit to Pakistan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar AliKhan was informed in a high level meeting, a media repor tsaid. Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abductedfrom Jinnah Town Quetta on May 24 and later murdered by themilitant Islamic State. It was not immediately clear what theinterior ministry suspected them of 'preaching', Dawn repor ted.The interior ministry confirmed the two Chinese had been killedbut it was not clear if their bodies have been found. The InteriorMinister has also ordered an initial review, followed by regulationand the streamlining of the visa process to avoid the misuse ofbusiness visas by foreign nationals. The Interior Minister wastold that the two Chinese had gone to Quetta and were engaged inpreaching under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national,Juan Won Seo, who is the owner of ARK Info Tech.The Minister was informed that the two were part of a group ofChinese citizens who obtained business visas from the PakistaniEmbassy in Beijing and entered Pakistan. Nisar expressed his displea-sure at the laxity often shown in granting visas by Pakistani mis-sions abroad. He directed all Pakistani missions to undertakeproper scrutiny of visa application forms and acquire all neces-sary details before exercising their powers, Dawn reported. Atpresent, Chinese citizens are able to obtain visas faster than other nation-als, and for longer periods when their work relates to CPECprojects. He also called for a data bank of Chinese nationalspresent in the country to be maintained.This data bank, to be prepared by National Database Registra-tion Authority (Nadra), should be shared with all security agen-cies, ordered the minister in the meeting, which was attendedby the secretary interior, advocate general, director general ofimmigration and passpor ts, the deputy chairman Nadra andothers. The minister also said that ensuring the security offoreign nationals is a shared responsibility and that the Paki-stani government was doing its bit to secure foreigners.However, he was quick to point out that the visitors held someresponsibility as well, and should inform local authorities abouttheir movements and activities. The Minister observed that itis "highly unfor tunate that a misuse of the terms of businessvisa contributed to the unfor tunate abduction and subsequentmurder of two innocent Chinese". Last Thursday, the IslamicState militant group said it was responsible for the killing ofthe two Chinese language teachers. The killings come at atime when Beijing is focusing its massive One Belt, One Road(OBOR) project, especially the CPEC, which has drawn manyChinese to the country.

The two Chinese abducted inPakistan were 'preaching', Minister told

12 dead in massive fire atLondon residential tower

BY ADITI KHANNA AND H S RAOLONDON, (PTI) A huge blaze today engulfed a 24- storeyresidential tower block in west London housing over 100families, killing at least 12 people and injuring 74 others,with police suspecting the death toll could rise fur ther. Thefire at Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in LatimerRoad was repor ted at 01:16 local time. About 600 peoplewere believed to have been inside the tower's 120 flats whenthe blaze ripped through the building.The Metropolitan Police, which previously had put the num-ber of fatalities at six, now raised the death toll to 12. Com-mander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police earlier saidthe recovery operation would be complex "over a number ofdays." He said it was likely to be some time before policecould identify the victims, and it was too early to speculateon the cause of the fire. The fire is thought to have star tedbecause of a faulty refrigerator on the 3rd or 4th floor of thebuilding soon after midnight and destroyed flat after flat. Bynoon, the building looked to be just smoking ruins but thefire again took hold, and cladding began to fall to the ground.Eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning tower,in nor th Kensington, screaming for help and yelling for theirchildren to be saved. Firefighters rescued many people andare still trying to put the fire out in the 24-storey block 12hours on. Police say there may still be people in the buildingwho are unaccounted for. Eyewitnesses said they saw lights- thought to be mobile phones or torches - flashing at the topof the block of flats, and trapped residents coming to theirwindows - some holding children.

134 New Parking Spaces Open at Square One GO Bus TerminalONTARIO - Metrolinx has completed improvements to the Square One Bus Terminal - including the opening of 134 new parking spaces- that will make it easier for customers to access the GO Transit network. The upgraded terminal was completed in March 2016,and now features a new station building to better serve customers and meet growing demand. The building includes three GOservice windows, accessible public washrooms and a climate-controlled waiting area.These investments in public transit help residents of Mississauga as they travel for work, study or play. The province andMetrolinx are investing in and building modern, integrated transit infrastructure that keeps the people of Ontario moving,including projects like GO Regional Express Rail (RER), the Mississauga Transitway and theHurontario light rail transit (LRT)line. Improving GO Transit is par t of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives."Improvements at the Square One GO Bus Terminal, including additional parking spaces, will make accessing transit easier forMississauga residents and commuters. Our commitment to expanding and improving transit helps manage congestion, connectpeople to jobs and improve our economy." - Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transpor tation. "The addition of 134 new parkingspaces is exactly what is required at the Square One GO Bus Terminal. These improvements will benefit our entire communityand help us meet the growing demand for transit. I'm thrilled to see the province making investments in making the daily commute moreefficient and comfortable." - Dipika Damerla, MPP Mississauga East-Cooksville

One killed, 4 injured in Haryanaas roof of Sikh shrine collapsesCHANDIGARH (IANS) At least one person was killed and fourothers were injured when the roof of a structure within aSikh shrine in Haryana's Panipat collapsed on Mondayevening, police said. Five persons were rescued from thedebris. A search and rescue operation was on to rescuethose feared still trapped, police said. Construction wasgoing on in the shrine, located on the National Highway,when the accident occurred. "Five persons trapped underthe debris have been rescued. The injured have been ad-mitted to hospital," Deputy Superintendent of Police AtmaRam told IANS on phone.

MidWeek 5MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017 s p e c i a l r e p o r t

CONGRESS VICE-PRESIDENT RAHUL GANDHI REACHED AMRITSAR OVER THE WEEKEND. HE PAID OBEISANCE AT THE GOLDENTEMPLE AND AKAL TAKHT AS A COMMON DEVOTEE AND REFUSED TO ENTER FROM THE VIP ENTRANCE.

As Opioid Crisis Deepens More Front-LineWorkers Hired in Ontario to Combat ThreatONTARIO - Ontario is stepping up its fight against the nationalopioid crisis with new front-line addiction and mental healthworkers for every community in the province and the distribu-tion of almost 80,000 additional naloxone kits per year to front-line organizations. Dr Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health andLong-Term Care, was joined by John Tory, Mayor of Toronto atThe Works Needle Exchange Program in Toronto recently toannounce new measures to tackle Ontario's opioid crisis.The province is providing funding for every board of health inOntario to hire more front-line workers, such as addictionoutreach workers and nurses, to help municipalities expandsuppor ts for people impacted by opioid addiction and overdose.This will allow communities to improve addiction outreach,education and planning while working on early warning andsurveillance of opioid overdoses.More than 6,500 additional naloxone kits per month will bedistributed in the community to those at risk of opioid overdoseand their friends and family, through community organizationssuch as shelters, outreach organizations, AIDS Service Organi-

zations, Community Health Centres and withdrawal manage-ment programs. This will broaden the reach of existing harmreduction programs that are currently offered by Public HealthUnits and community par tners.Dr Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Marie-France Lalonde, Minister of Community Safety and CorrectionalServices, John Fraser, Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministerof Health and Long-Term Care and Sophie Kiwala, ParliamentaryAssistant to the Minister of Children and Youth Services will bemeeting with mayors from across the province to discuss theunique experiences of individual communities dealing withopioid addiction and overdose and to continue working togetherto address this impor tant issue. "The devastating impact ofopioid use disorder and overdose has reached every commu-nity across the province, and crosses all demographics. Ourgovernment is committed to working together with our partners acrossthe province to combat this issue through a collaborative, evidence-based,comprehensive approach that will help save lives." - Dr EricHoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

WASHINGTON (IANS) US President Donald Trump's wife Mela-nia, and their youngest son, Barron, have officially moved intothe White House, the First Lady's spokeswoman said. "It'sofficial! @FLOTUS and Barron have made the move to DC!"Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump's Communications Direc-tor, tweeted on Sunday night.Melania Trump had continued living in Trump Tower in NewYork while Barron Trump, 11, finished the academic year athis New York school, repor ts NBC News. Barron will be thefirst boy to live in the White House since 1963, when John F.Kennedy Jr. was three-years-old. The First Lady also tweetedon Sunday night: "Looking forward to the memories we'll makein our new home! #Movingday." It featured a picture frominside the Executive Residence, past the Truman Balcony, over-looking the South Lawn.On what appeared to be a set dining room table, two tall, ta-pered candles in silver holders were lit, repor ts CNN. Barron,along with his parents arrived at the White House earlier onSunday aboard the Marine One. Melania Trump's parents, Viktorand Amalija Knav, were also on board. In February, Trumpannounced she had selected an interior designer, ThamKannalikham, to decorate the family's private living quar-ters in the White House, a job that presumably is now com-plete. Meanwhile, the First Lady is planning a lavish bir th-day for her husband President Donald Trump, repor ts CNN.On June 9, Trump got in on the fundraising par t of the gig,putting her name to a letter asking suppor ters to sign abir thday card for her husband, who turns 71 on June 14 --signing requires a donation to the Trump Make AmericaGreat Again Committee. "I need your help to make it a bir thdaymy husband will never forget," said the letter. "Our celebra-tions always include family and close friends." This year, thatcelebration could likely take place at the White House, withthe entire Trump family in attendance.

MELANIA TRUMP,SON BARRON MOVESINTO WHITE HOUSE

MODI'S VEILEDMESSAGE TO PAKISTANON TERROR AT SCOASTANA (KAZAKHSTAN), (IANS) Sharing the round table withPakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif amidst the ongoing In-dia-Pakistan chill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Fridaycalled for coordinated and strong effor ts to fight terror andradicalisation, par ticularly on recruitment, training and financ-ing - in a veiled message to Islamabad."Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human val-ues. The fight against terrorism is an impor tant par t of theShanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Whether it is theissue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their trainingand financing, unless we take coordinated and strong effor ts,it is not possible to find a solution," Modi said, addressing aday-long meeting of the SCO to which India was admitted as afull member along with Pakistan on Friday.On Thursday night, Modi and Sharif exchanged pleasantries ata cultural function hosted by Kazakhstan President NursultanNazarbayev. The informal interaction came 17 months afterModi's surprise stop over in Lahore to greet Sharif on his bir th-day and attend a pre-marriage function at his residence onDecember 25, 2015. Hailing the SCO's effor ts in the fightagainst terror, Modi expressed the hope that the eight-mem-ber Eurasian bloc will give a new direction and strength tothis fight.Noting that India may have gained membership only today,Modi said its relationship with the SCO countries were his-torical. This, he said, would give new dimension to therelations among the SCO countries. The Prime Ministeralso said that energy, education, agriculture, defence, se-curity, minerals, capacity building, development par tner-ship, trade and investment are the main drivers of the SCO.India's membership "will take our relations with SCO coun-tries to a new level", he said.Modi pointed out that this was a historic day in the history ofSCO and India is determined to cooperate in a proactive andpositive manner. In his speech that immediately followedModi's, Sharif said, "We fully endorse the SCO's resolve tofight the twin evils of terrorism and extremism. Pakistan hasfought its own fierce war in the fight against international ter-rorism and with the grace of God it has been able to achieve aturnaround in the security and economic situation in our coun-try," Sharif said.Sharif also congratulated India on joining the SCO and said theorganisation was now truly continental, linking East Asia, WestAsia, Asia Pacific and the Atlantic region. The SCO, whichincludes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan andUzbekistan, now has India and Pakistan as its newest mem-bers. India has been a observer to the SCO since 2005.

PAKISTAN HOPES INDIA WILL ATTENDSAARC SUMMIT THIS YEAR

BY GAURAV SHARMAPakistan hopes India will attend the Saarc Summit expected to beheld in Islamabad later this year, a top Pakistani diplomat said onMonday, adding the two countries need to move beyond differences.Speaking on the sidelines of a Shangani Cooperation Organisation(SCO) event in Beijing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the deputy head of thePakistani mission, said it is impor tant for both countries to strengthenthe South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc)."We really hope that Saarc, which is our regional organisation tomove beyond the differences…that India would be able to come toPakistan for the summit because in the end we are neighbours,"Baloch said. India pulled out of last year's Saarch Summit in Pakistanafter a string of terror attacks blamed on Pakistan-based militants,leading to a pullout by Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Bhutan,Nepal and Sri Lanka. The summit was subsequently cancelled.It's still not clear whether the summit will be held at the end of thisyear either, given India's position on Pakistan's involvement in cross-border terror. Baloch, however, indicated that Islamabad is working toholding the summit. She played down speculation that the inclusionof India and Pakistan in the SCO would lead to disruptions in the

Beijing-led security bloc's agenda. "It is an impor tant organisation forPakistan and it is an impor tant organisation for India. This is not anorganisation to settle disputes. This is an organisation to work for theregion and for common challenges and work for common develop-ment," she said.Pakistan, she said, hoped the inclusion of the two countries will con-tribute to our "region's development and more understanding betweenall par ties in the SCO." Talking about possible cooperation within theSCO framework, Baloch said: "Of course, when you work together (inthe same organisation), you are in the same organisation, you haveoppor tunities to resolve many of the issues. With the increase of themembership with the inclusion of Pakistan and India, we have madethis organisation more inclusive and we will be able to work togetherto fight common challenges." Speaking earlier, secretary generalRashid Alimov said the SCO's convention on "countering extremismhas become the collective response of the SCO member-states to thegrowing threat of this dangerous phenomenon for humanity." He added,"The convention is aimed at improving the mechanism for counteringextremism in the SCO area (and) developing the provisions of theSCO Development Strategy until 2025."

FROM SAJJAD HUSSAINISLAMABAD, (PTI) Pakis tan Pr ime Min is ter Nawaz Shar i f 'syounger brother and Punjab chief minister has been summonedby a Joint Investigation Team probing the high- profile Panamagategraf t case against his family. The JIT summoned Shehbaz Sharif,65, to record his statement on June 17 and face questioning by thesix-member team, sources said.The JIT was set up by the Supreme Cour t last month to investigatethe Sharif family about its proper ties in London. It had questionedSharif's sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the family'salleged improper business dealings. His eldest son Hussain wasquestioned five times while Hasan, the younger son, was sum-moned twice.The cour t last year took up the case and issued a split decisionover allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime min-ister in 1990s. The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 daysunless it is granted additional time. Prime Minister Sharif hasbeen asked to appear before the JIT tomorrow.It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appearbefore a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to inves-tigate high-profile criminal cases. The JIT alleged that the gov-ernment was using its official machinery to hamper its investiga-

tion. It also identified five government depar tments, includingMinistry of Law, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the In-telligence Bureau (IB), which were trying to influence the JIT work.The Supreme Cour t has asked the government to respond to theallegations against the depar tments.

SHARIF'S BROTHER SUMMONED TO APPEARBEFORE PANAMA PAPERS PROBE PANEL


TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017c o m m u n i t y

The City of Mississauga, in partnership with the Older Adult Advisory Panel and the Community Centre Older Adult Committees, hostedthe Older Adult Expo recently. The expo kicked off Seniors' Month celebrations in Mississauga. The event featured more than 50vendors, an exciting Seniors' Got Talent Show, technology advice, information sessions, fitness demonstrations and more.

TORONTO FIRE SERVICES LAUNCH MONTHOF SAFETY AWARENESS PROGRAMMINGTORONTO - Toronto Fire Services kicked off its 11th annual SafetyAwareness Month initiative today with a safe seniors symposium atToronto City Hall. The recent event in the council chamber openedwith an address by Councillor Josh Matlow (Ward 22 St. Paul's),Toronto Seniors Advocate, and by Fire Services Division Chief StephenWelowszky. Other Fire Services staff and the Toronto Police Service,Toronto Public Health, the City's Transpor tation Services division andthe Office of Emergency Management made presentations. Interac-tive displays were another feature of the event."Toronto Fire Services is committed to ensuring the fire and life safetyof all seniors in Toronto," said Fire Chief Matthew Pegg. "During SafetyAwareness Month, Toronto Fire Services will be placing additionalemphasis on unattended cooking and careless smoking, as they are

two of the leading causes of fires in the home." Toronto Fire Services'Safety Awareness Month includes a full range of programming dedi-cated to the safety of older adults. Activities include another safeseniors symposium, taking place at North York Civic Centre on June 20, deliv-ery of "Remembering When" fire and life safety workshops to more than 50 groupsof seniors by Toronto Fire Services public educators, and door-to-door visits toabout 70 Toronto Community Housing seniors' buildings every Wednesdayevening in June. Fire prevention inspectors conducting the visits willprovide information and safety tips to address the leading causes ofhome fires. Toronto Fire Services has also par tnered with TorontoPublic Library to ensure fire and life safety information is available ineach of its 98 branches and delivered through the home library deliv-ery service and all Bookmobile stops in June.

TRANSFORMING AUTISMSERVICES FOR CHILDRENAND THEIR FAMILIESONTARIO - The province is transforming the way that childrenand youth with autism, and their families, receive servicesand suppor ts through the new Ontario Autism Program(OAP), beginning later this month. Minister of Childrenand Youth Services Michael Coteau made the announce-ment today at the ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment andDevelopment in Mississauga. The new OAP will ensureautism services for children and youth are delivered con-sistently across the province, al low for f lexibi l i ty andchoice based on each child's needs, and give familiesconfidence in receiving quality services.On June 26, families will begin to transition into the newOAP. The key components of the new program, beginningthis month, include:" A single point of access. There will be one entrypoint to the OAP in each of the nine service areas to makeit easier for families to access services for their child." Family-centred decision making. As key par tnersin their child's care, families will be actively engaged inthe assessment, goal-setting and intervention planningprocess for their child." Collaborative approach to service. A foundationof the new OAP will be the collaborative approach takenby community suppor t service providers, clinicians andeducators to suppor t children's needs at home, duringservice and in school." Service based on need. Services will be flexibleand individualized. The intensity and duration of the ser-vices a child or youth receives is based on their needsand strengths, regardless of age. Each child's service planwill be determined by clinical assessment." A direct funding option. A new direct funding optionwill be implemented by the end of this year. This will provideall families with a choice between receiving direct service orreceiving funding to purchase their child's service." Safe, effective autism services. The province in-tends to regulate ABA practitioners to help ensure familiesreceive safe, high-quality services, have confidence intheir providers and know where to go if they have a con-cern."Our government is committed to ensuring that the newOAP will be co-ordinated, family-centered and respon-sive to children's unique needs, strengths and goals. I'mconfident that families will be well-suppor ted through thetransition into the new program. For several months, I'veworked directly with parents and caregivers to ensurethis program is one that helps their child succeed andthrive. The regulation of ABA practitioners will also givefamilies confidence in their providers and create consistentservices across the province. I look forward to following youngpeople's success through the new program." - Michael Coteau,Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Supreme Court approves $8m as compension for blind schoolOTTAWA - The Superior Cour t of Justice has approved an $8 million settlement agreement which will provide compensation toindividuals who suffered harm while attending the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind between 1951 and 2012. Established in 1872as the Ontario Institution for the Education of the Blind, the W. Ross Macdonald School is a day and residential program for students whoare visually impaired, low vision and deafblind. The settlement is the result of a class action lawsuit brought against Ontario by a formerstudent of the school. Eligible individuals will be able to apply as early as this summer. The claims administrator, Crawford Class ActionServices, will provide current and former students with fur ther information about the claims process and how to apply for compensation.The W. Ross Macdonald School is a provincially operated elementary and secondary school for children with visual disabilities, whichis under the control and authority of the Ministry of Education.

Indo-Canadian Community Hosts ReceptionFor Maharana Pratap descendent in Toronto

TORONTO - The Indo-Canadian community leadership hosted a dinnerreception in honor of Lokendra Singh Kalvi, 24th generation descendentof the legendary Hindu hero Maharana Pratap, while on a visit to Canada.Shri Kalvi, an Olympian and a historian, is also the President of RajputKarni Sena, an organization that suppor ts accurate por trayal of In-dian history in popular media, as distor tion of history is commonin the Mumbai cinema industry and the popular electronic media.As a beholder of Hindu values, Shri Kalvi is much sought afterinternationally as a celebrated community leader. Shri Kalvi iscurrently on a visit to the United Nations where his non-governmentalorganization will be honoring friends and supporters of India across theworld with the prestigious 'Bharat Gaurav' awards. The World BrahmanFederation Canada (WBF Canada) and Rajput Association of North America(RANA) invited Kalvi in Toronto to speak on the 'Challenges and Opportu-nities for India in the 21st Century World' and led the community recep-tion in his honor together with a number of community organizationssupporting the event.Many influential grass root leadership of the community including SardarGurdev Singh Mann, Kuldeep Sharma, Arun Srivastava, VandnaAggarwal, Anu Srivastava, Vidya Bhushan Dhar, Shambhoo Gupta,Ranbir Dogra, Naresh Chavda, Santosh Choubey, Ajaay Modi, AmishBhatt, Sanjeev Malik, Ashish Sachan and others led the reception on behalf ofIndoCanadians in the Greater Toronto Area. The program began with a formalwelcome by the RANA President Hitendrasinh and his team together

with the WBF Canada team.Dr Azad K. Kaushik in t roduced the ce lebrated speaker Shr iLokendra Singh Kalvi not only as the 24th generation descendentof the legendary hero Maharana Pratap but also as an impor tantmember of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's team engaged inpromoting history, culture and civilization of India. Kalvi spokeabout the strength of India on the world stage, be it culture,economy and polit ics, under the leadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. He emphasized the legacy of the former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who gave pride not only to Indiansbut the entire 30 million strong Indian diaspora around the 2 worldwho earlier had an identity crisis.Kalvi called upon the Indo-Canadian leadership to remain united,lead by example and help enhance Canada-India friendship. Hespoke at length at the glorious history of India, and for these rea-sons alone India has a bright future with a world leadership in the21st century. As an anecdote, he explained the metaphor associ-ated with the '56 inch chest', often referred by the Prime MinisterModi, to the war costume of the legendary Maharana Pratap. Anopen discussion forum coordinated by Arvind Bhardwaj andPratima Singh where Indo-Canadians asked questions about In-dia, diaspora and international affairs followed the inspiring speech.The program ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Ashish Sachan followedby a sumptuous dinner befitting the occasion.

MP Raj Grewal with Gurpartab at the Turban-Up event in Toronto.

Sikh volunteers feeding homelessabused by far-right activists in UKLONDON, (PTI) Sikh volunteers providing meals for the home-less in Manchester were allegedly abused by far-right activ-ists after getting caught in a demonstration against Sharia laws.Members of the Sikh Sewa Organisation (SSO) said they hadto flee from Piccadilly Gardens for "their own safety" after "EDL(English Defence League) members" became "abusive" towardsthem. The SSO provide meals for the homeless every Sundayin the same spot but were forced to move on to StevensonSquare after thousands repor tedly descended on the area in aprotest against Sharia law, The Independent repor ted. "As perevery Sunday our team went to feed the homeless in Manches-ter. Sadly our usual spot in Piccadilly Gardens was over run by theEDL mindless thugs and we had to scarper for our own safety, as they werebecoming abusive to the volunteers. It became really scary for us," theSSO wrote on its Facebook page.. "Our usual homeless crowd came to ussaying they were starving so the volunteers decided to move to StevensonSquare. They continued there tirelessly serving food despite their ownsafety," it said. Eight people were arrested when demonstrators with UKAgainst Hate, headed by former EDL leader Tommy Robinson, clashedwith counter-protesters. Greater Manchester police advised residents toavoid the area after the protest turned "nasty".



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ONTARIO - As par t of a year-long line-up of events marking Ontario's150th anniversary celebrations, Ontario's free ONtour concer t serieswill provide the soundtrack for the Summer of 2017, stopping in morethan 20 communities across Ontario and showcasing some of theprovince's brightest homegrown musical talent. From Peterboroughto Blind River, from Ajax to Kenora, from Hamilton to Sudbury, audi-ences will have the oppor tunity to attend a free concer t featuring atleast three acts.More than 50 Ontario ar tists will be par t of the ONtour roster, includ-ing the Jim Cuddy Band, Serena Ryder, Kim Mitchell, The Tea Par ty,Magic!, Tom Cochrane, James Barker Band, Our Lady Peace, BigWreck, Kardinal Offishall, The Philospher Kings, Barenaked Ladies,Mélanie Brulée, USS, Alx Veliz, Anjulie, Jonathan Roy, Coleman Hell,Scott Helman, River town Saints, Michelle Treacy, Francesco Yates,DJ Shub, Karl Wolf, Next Generation Leahy, Tyler Shaw, Midnight Shine,Mia Mar tina and others.ONtour kicks off June 25, with a performance celebrating Alderville

First Nation's 180thanniversary and wraps up in Petawawa on Sep-tember 17. All of the ONtour concer ts are free and open to music-lovers of all ages and there are no tickets required. Check the ONtourschedule often for updates online at www.ontario.ca/ontour Investingin programs and events for Ontario's 150th anniversary is par t of ourplan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their every-day lives."Music is magic - able to cross generational, cultural, and linguisticboundaries. ONtour is an oppor tunity for people from all walks of lifeto share in this communal experience, to build community pride, andto create cherished memories for years to come." EleanorMcMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Spor t"Music is a fundamental, much-loved par t of any celebration, and itbrings people out to meet and have fun together. Our community loves everyopportunity to come together and ONtour is going to be a great part of our 150thsummer." Harinder Malhi, MPP (Brampton-Springdale), Parliamentary Assis-tant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

ONTARIO MOVING FORWARD ONHURONTARIO LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECTONTARIO - Ontario is continuing to make progress on the HurontarioLight Rail Transit (LRT) project, which will offer more transit options and improvecommutes for people travelling to, from and within Mississauga and southernBrampton. Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx have announced the shortlist ofthree teams to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Hurontario LRTproject:Hurontario Light Rail Connection PartnersMobilinxTrillium Transit PartnersThe new LRT line will bring 20 kilometres of new, reliable rapid transit betweenPort Credit GO Station in Mississauga and the Brampton Gateway Terminal atSteeles Ave. in Brampton. It will serve 22 surface stops connecting one urbangrowth centre, four mobility hubs, two GO Transit rail lines and a number of

interchange stops with Brampton Transit and Miway (Mississauga Transit)."Our government is focused on delivering better rapid transit options to get Ontariomoving. We're making progress and it shows with this next step for the HurontarioLRT. Providing a seamless customer service experience between the newHurontario LRT line and the Mississauga and Brampton transit systems is proofthat we are committed to making your daily commute and travel faster and moreconvenient than ever before." - Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation."I have heard from residents in my riding on the need for more investment in rapidtransit options. This announcement of the investment in the Hurontario LRT willcreate more connections to the Mississauga and Brampton transit systems. It isespecially great news as it will create a shorter daily commute for residents, witha faster and integrated regional network." - Harinder Malhi, MPP, Brampton-Springdale

MP Ramesh Sangha and MP Sonia Sidhu joined fellow veterans from Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 609, on Decoration Day.

PICNICBRAMPTON - The annual Shaheed Udham Singh Picnic willbe held on Sunday July 2, at Wild Wood Park Malton from12pm to 6pm. The picnic claims to be a lot of fun with activi-ties for both kids and adults including volleyball and musicalchairs and best of all free food is provided. So come out toenjoy the day with your family and friends. If you have anyfurther questions please feel free to contact Gurmail Kambojat 416 471 5618 or Bhupinder Turna at 416 818 9194.

SUPPORTING FASTER DISCOVERY OF NEW MEDICINESONTARIO - Ontario is investing in medical research and open science to help speed up the development of new treatments fordiseases and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, obesity and rare diseases. Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation andScience, was joined by Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, to announce suppor t for the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at theChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute in Ottawa.The SGC is a public-private partnership based on the principle of open science -- making research data open and accessible to researchers everywhere,to speed up the discovery of new medicines. The SGC also helps Ontario attract pharmaceutical investment, build a stronger commercialization pipeline for newtreatments and create and retain high quality jobs. Supporting research and innovation is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people intheir everyday lives. "Ontario is a long-time supporter of the Structural Genomics Consortium and open science. The contributions our province's scientists,and projects like CARE for RARE, are making to the SGC and open science are helping drive the discovery of new, improved and more affordable medicines."- Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation and Science"The Government of Canada is pleased to renew its longstanding investment in the Structural Genomics Consortium. The initiative is a vanguard for openscience, demonstrating the huge potential for innovation that comes from successful scientific collaborations and the resulting benefitsdelivered to patients in Canada and around the world. We are proud to suppor t such projects that have a real and positive impact onour health, economy, communities and the growing middle class." - Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science

ONTARIO STRENGTHENSTIES WITH WASHINGTONWASHINGTON - Premier Kathleen Wynne released the fol-lowing statement on her mission to Washington,DC, includ-ing work with Canada's Premiers: "This mission to Wash-ington, D.C. comes at a crucial moment for people and busi-nesses across Ontario. Our relationship with the U.S. hasnever been more top of mind, and I am pleased with theoutcomes of my first official visit to the U.S. capital thisyear. Over three days, I met with government and businessleaders to promote Ontario's economic interests and to re-inforce just how impor tant our relationship is to the U.S.economy as well."The trade relationship between Canada and the United Statesis one of the world's most prosperous and mutually benefi-cial partnerships, and Ontario plays a central role. The USis Ontario's top trading par tner, and Ontario is a top cus-tomer for more than half of the American states. With theimpending renegotiation of Nafta, US federal lawmakers aremaking decisions that could have a significant impact onthis relationship, and on Ontario. As I have said, we will nottake a wait-and-see approach to these discussions. Thismission and the meetings I held in Washington providedanother opportunity to engage with US officials and ensureOntario's position on free trade is well understood."We talked about how trade is benefitting people on bothsides of the border, and how Ontario and Canada continue tobe strong, reliable par tners with the US. I highlighted oureffor ts to drive innovation, connect businesses across theborder, deliver supply-chain efficiency and ensure that theUS and Ontario continue to be closely integrated, creatingmore opportunity for both economies. I also reiterated theneed to resist protectionist Buy American policies that willultimately harm businesses and workers in the US and inCanada. "Having these conversations at the US federal levelallows us to build on our strong trade relationship and con-tinue to advance the issues that matter most to both the USand Canada. I look forward to continuing this engagementover the summer, including at the National Governors Asso-ciation meeting in Rhode Island this July. As Premier, I willcontinue to stand up for the people of Ontario and championthe free trade and open borders that create good jobs for ourworkers and serve as the foundation of the most successfulbilateral partnership in the world."

MAJOR UPGRADES COMINGTO THE BARRIE GO LINEONTARIO - Ontario is making major upgrades to the BarrieGO Line to bring all-day, evening and weekend GO serviceto Barrie residents, helping to manage congestion and makeit easier for commuters to take transit. Steven Del Duca,Minister of Transportation, was joined by Ann Hoggar th, MPPfor Barrie, to announce major new upgrades coming to theBarrie Line to accommodate more frequent trains.Planned upgrades include:" Double track expansion on the Barrie GO Line, in-cluding grading between Union Station and Aurora GO Sta-tion" Track and signals upgrades to suppor t double trackexpansion" Noise and retaining walls" Bridge expansions at Sheppard Avenue West, Ma-jor Mackenzie Drive and Yonge Street.To accommodate additional service, the province will alsobuild a new layover facility and make modifications toBarrie's two existing stations, including 139 new parkingspots at the Barrie South GO station. The Barrie Rail Corri-dor Expansion - Grading Project suppor ts GO Regional Ex-press Rail (RER). GO RER will provide faster and morefrequent service across the GO rail network and is the larg-est commuter rail project in Canada. It includes electrifyingon core segments and expanding the rail network, and bring-ing more two-way, all-day service to commuters and fami-lies, increasing the number of weekly trips from about 1,500to nearly 6,000 by 2025.Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment inhospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in theprovince's history. To learn more about what's happening inyour community, go to Ontario.ca/Build ON. Building betterpublic transit to improve commuting is par t of our plan tocreate jobs, grow our economy and help people in their ev-eryday lives."Our government is focused on delivering a world-class tran-sit and transpor tation system that keeps Ontario moving.We are making continued progress, as demonstrated withthe star t of procurement for infrastructure upgrades alongthe Barrie GO Line. This is proof that we are committed tomaking your daily commute and travel faster and more con-venient than ever before." - Steven Del Duca, Minister ofTranspor tation.


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WHY, DESPITE BOUNTIFUL HARVEST,FARMERS ARE IN DESPAIR

BY PRACHI SALVE, ALISON SALDANHA AND VIPUL VIVEK

RESPECT SOVEREIGNTY, REGIONAL INTEGRITYIN CONNECTIVITY PROJECTS: MODI

VIEW POINT

A plentiful harvest in 2016 but impor ts drive some prices down 63 percent. A shor tage of cash because of demonetisation. Despite Rs 3.5lakh crore -- enough to build 545 Tehri-sized dams -- invested onirrigation over six decades to 2011, more than half of all farms dependon rains. These are the three factors agitating Indians who depend onfarming -- 90 million families, or 54.6 per cent of countrys 1.2 billionpeople.As anger sweeps rural Madhya Pradesh after the death of six farmersin police firing, farm protests roil rural Maharashtra -- wholesalemarkets are shut, produce is being dumped on streets -- and govern-ments of the debt-ridden states struggle to respond to demands forloan waivers, an IndiaSpend analysis and repor tage from ruralMaharashtra explores why farmers are both angry and desperate.The primary reason farming is unviable is that farms here are nowamong the world's smallest (the global average land-holding size is5.5 hectares). Since 1951, the per capita availability of land has de-clined by 70 per cent, from 0.5 hectares to 0.15 hectares in 2011, andis likely to decline fur ther, according to Ministry of Agriculture data.Such "small and marginal land-holdings", as they are called, nowconstitute 85 per cent of the number of operational farms in the coun-try and have little access to credit. Those are the larger issues. Hereare the three reasons for the current turmoil:1. After back-to-back droughts, a good harvest, but incomes fallAs 2017 rolled in, news from farms appeared good. After droughts in2014 and 2015, a good monsoon in 2016 reversed two years of ruraleconomic decline. Agricultural growth, which contracted 0.2 per centin 2014-15 and grew no more than 1.2 per cent in 2015-16, rose by 4.1per cent in 2016-17.Across many states growing pulses, such as Maharashtra, Karnataka,Telangana and Gujarat, markets were flooded with produce, espe-

cially tur (pigeon pea), which witnessed the highest growth among allpulses. India is the world's largest pulses producer. However, aninflux of pulses from Myanmar, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi -- growing 20 per cent over two financial quar ters, from September2016 to March 2017 -- caused the price of Indian tur to plunge.From Rs 11,000 per quintal (December 2015), the price of tur fell 63per cent to Rs 3,800-4,000 per quintal -- 20 per cent below the mini-mum suppor t price (MSP) of Rs 5,050 per quintal (including a bonusof Rs 425). Production of pulses rose 29 per cent, from 17.15 milliontonnes in 2014-15 to 22.14 million tonnes in 2016-17. Tur productionincreased 50 per cent, from 2.81 million tonnes to 4.23 million tonnes,over the same period.2. How demonetisation -- and red tape -- left farmers short of cashOn May 18, 30-year-old Prashant Lande waited under a harsh sum-mer sun to sell 800 quintals of tur at the Amravati agricultural producemarket committee (APMC). Lande said he refuses to sell his tur to thegovernment procurement centre, although the state buys tur at a higherrate. At the market, Lande could sell his tur at Rs 3,800 to Rs 4,000per quintal, while the government buying centre offered Rs 5,050 perquintal."We don't sell to the government centre because the process of sell-ing takes one month -- from standing in line for the token to the sale tofinally when the payment reaches the account," said Lande. "Ourfellow farmers who have sold their produce at the procurement cen-tre on March 22, are yet to receive their payments and it is nearlyJune!" It does not help that the effects of demonetisation continue tobe felt across the rural economy.Right after demonetisation, tomato farmers in Karnataka and TamilNadu, and onion farmers in Maharashtra and Gujarat, were the worsthit as prices fell by 60-85 per cent. With little respite more than sixmonths later, the experiment has aggravated the circumstances lead-ing to the current farmers' strike. "By now we should have begunpreparing our fields for the monsoons, but because of demonetisation

and the unavailability of cash, we are still struggling to find moneyfor sowing," said Lande.At such a time, farmers like Lande turn to credit. Up to 57 per cent offarm families in Maharashtra are indebted; the figure for India is 52per cent, according to the National Sample Survey Organisation's2013 situation assessment survey of farm households, the latestavailable data. This indebtedness has widespread consequences.More farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra (4,291) in 2015than any other state, rising seven per cent from 4,004 in 2014, fol-lowed by Karnataka (1,569) and Telangana (1,400). Now, after UttarPradesh's new government waived Rs 30,792 crore of farm loans,pressure is building on the governments of Maharashtra, MadhyaPradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to do the same.3. In an era of climate change, 52% of farmers without irrigationThe basic agri problem is that despite the spread of irrigation -- asector plagued by unfinished projects and corruption - 52 per cent offarms still depend on the vagaries of rain, which is becoming in-creasingly uncer tain in an era of climate change. Extreme rainfallevents in central India, the core of the monsoon system, are increas-ing and moderate rainfall is decreasing. The droughts of 2014 and2015 in rural Maharashtra were mitigated by the plentiful rains of2016, but many par ts of the state also endured floods.On July 1, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PrimeMinister's Farmer's Irrigation Programme, with a budget of Rs. 50,000crores over five years. In 2015-16, less than a third (Rs 312 crore) ofRs 1,000 crores set aside for micro-irrigation was released, re-veals a government repor t. Of this, up to April 2016, no morethan Rs 48.3 crore, or less than five per cent, was actually spent,according a micro-irrigation financial progress monitoring re-por t. The government set Rs 1,763 as the 2016-17 micro-irriga-tion target, but no data on results have been released. The micro-irrigation programme covers an area of 6,51,220 hectares, or 0.46per cent of net cultivated area.

India and China on Friday acknowledged that they have differenceson issues like OBOR, NSG and Masood Azhar which have to be ad-dressed seriously by them even as Prime Minister Narendra Modiasser ted that sovereignty and regional integrity should be respectedon connectivity, in remarks that come against the backdrop of opposi-tion to Beijing's One Belt, One Road initiative.Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shang-hai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here and held discus-sions on a range of issues, including China's reservations over India'sentry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and UN sanctioning of Paki-stan-based terrorist Masood Azhar. "The sense of the meeting wasthat the two countries have great benefit, great interest in workingwith each other and we will have differences."But where we have differences, how do we work through those dif-ferences, find common ground where they are possible. And also asense that wherever we have concerns, each side will look at it witha degree of seriousness," Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said whilebriefing the media about the talks between the two leaders. He wasasked about the various areas of differences between the two coun-tries including India's reservations on OBOR, the China-Pakistan Eco-nomic Corridor (CPEC) forming par t of it and Beijing's opposition toIndia's membership of the NSG and UN sanctions on Pakistan-basedterrorist Masood Azhar.Jaishankar said the broad thrust of the meeting was that at a time ofglobal uncer tainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability. "Ithink there was also an understanding that where we have differ-ences, it was impor tant that these differences should not becomedisputes and, in fact, if they were handled well, they could even beoppor tunities," he said.On India keeping away from the OBOR forum, the Foreign Secretarysaid these were the discussions on connectivity and how the twocountries could work together. In fact, the Asian Infrastructure Invest-ment Bank and the BCIM corridor came up for discussion, he said.With Xi listening to him, Modi, in his speech at the summit, madeoblique reference to India's concerns over OBOR and CPEC sayingsovereignty and regional integrity should be respected while Paki-stan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose country is par tnering China,hailed the project."For connectivity initiatives and for success and approval of theprojects, sovereignty and regional integrity must be respected whileinclusivity and sustainability are essential," Modi said. Avoiding anydirect reference to OBOR and and CPEC, he said India joining theInternational North South Transpor t Corridor and the Chabahar por tagreement and the decision to join the Ashgabat Agreement will bringIndia closer to these places.Sharif said the Belt and Road initiative transforms the global eco-

nomic landscape. "And in Pakistan we are diligently implementingthe China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is the flagship of theBRI. What is more, these mega projects will benefit the entire SCOcommunity," he said. The issue of terror also figured at the summit.Amidst the ongoing India-Pakistan chill, Modi called for coordinatedand strong effor ts to fight terror and radicalisation, par ticularly re-cruitment, training and financing, giving a veiled message toIslamabad."Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. Thefight against terrorism is an impor tant par t of the Shanghai Coopera-tion Organisation (SCO). Whether it is the issue of radicalisation,recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we takecoordinated and strong effor ts, it is not possible to find a solution,"Modi said.On Thursday night, Modi and Sharif exchanged pleasantries at a cul-tural function hosted by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.The informal interaction came 17 months after Modi's surprise stopover in Lahore to greet Sharif on his bir thday and attend a pre-mar-riage function at his residence on December 25, 2015.Hailing the SCO's effor ts in the fight against terror, Modi expressedthe hope that the eight-member Eurasian bloc will give a new direc-tion and strength to this fight. Sharif, whose speech followed that ofModi, said: "We fully endorse the SCO's resolve to fight the twin evilsof terrorism and extremism. Pakistan has fought its own fierce war inthe fight against international terrorism and, with the grace of God, ithas been able to achieve a turnaround in the security and economicsituation in our country," Sharif said.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017 c a n a d a

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GROWING FOODS FROM AROUNDTHE WORLD IN ONTARIO SOIL

ONTARIO - Ontario is kicking-off Local Food Week by engaging con-sumers, farmers and agri-food processors to find ways to make lo-cally-grown foods as diverse as the people who call this provincehome. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeff Leal was atHeydon Park Secondary School in Toronto this morning to launchconsultations for Bring Home the World, Ontario's strategy to helpbring more locally-grown and processed world foods to markets,grocery stores and dinner tables across the province.Ontario is the most culturally diverse province in Canada, and ourfarmers and agri-food manufacturers are already growing and pro-ducing many world foods, such as bok choy, napa cabbage, Chinesebroccoli and goat meat. This strategy will increase access to an evenwider variety of Ontario-grown and made produce, meats and foodproducts from other cultures and places around the world to bettermeet the needs of families and communities across the province.Minister Leal also held the first consultation session today, wherepar ticipants shared their ideas on how the province can help diver-sify the foods grown and produced in Ontario.People can share their input into the strategy by:" Taking the world foods survey at Ontario.ca/worldfoods

" Reading the Bring Home the World discussion paper andsubmitting your comments via e-mail" Watching and sharing the Bring Home the World videoExpanding the diversity of locally-grown and processed foods in theprovince is par t of Ontario's plan to create jobs, grow the economyand help people in their everyday lives.

"Ontario has the most culturally diverse population in Canada - wehave roots in more than 200 countries around the world and growmore than 200 diverse foods right here in Ontario. I encourage every-one to get involved and share your views on what World Foods meansto you. Together, we will Bring Home the World and grow Ontario'sbooming agri-food sector in a way that meet the needs of a growingand diverse population." - Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food andRural Affairs"Thanks to the terrific suppor t from the Government of Ontario, theGreenbelt Fund grant program is able to help farmers, businessesand not-for-profits successfully increase the amount of Ontario foodpurchased and enjoyed across the province - including more deli-cious world crops." - Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of the Greenbelt Fund

SAJJAN UNVEILS CANADA'SNEW DEFENCE POLICY BUT

NO WORD ON FUNDSGAGETOWN - Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada's new defencepolicy, recognizes that the long-term success of Canada's militarydepends on the women and men who make up the Canadian ArmedForces (CAF). Our people, across all ranks, and from all walks oflife, are our most important asset, and they are at the core of ournew policy.Obehalf of Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan, Matt DeCourcey, Par-liamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, met withCAF members to highlight new initiatives that will improve thesupport and care that CAF members and their families can expectas a result of the new policy. The new policy is an ambitious yetrealistic plan that outlines the Government's defence priorities overthe next 20 years, and provides stable, predictable, and long-termfunding. This includes:" Growing the Regular Force by 3500 (to 71,500) and theReserve Force by 1,500 (30,000), improving recruitment practicesand retention strategies, and providing competitive career-longtraining that meets or exceeds industry standards;" Ensuring all CAF members have access to a compre-hensive first-rate health care system that addresses not only amembers' physical ailments, but also supports their mental well-being; and" Committing to a streamlined and fully-supported transi-tion process back into civilian life at the end of a career in uniform." Strong, Secure, Engaged will grow annual defence spend-ing from $18.9 billion in 2016/17 to $32.7 billion in 2026/27, on acash basis, an increase of over 70 per cent.

China Mission: Deal worth $5million signed with largestsolar thermal company in worldOTTAWA - Deepening Canada's clean technology relation-ship with China is a priority for the Government of Canada.Canada can play a key role in helping China meet its greengrowth demand and climate change objectives while creat-ing benefits for Canadians. Jim Carr, Canada's Minister ofNatural Resources, oversaw the signing of a $5-millionagreement in Beijing between Natural Resources Canada'sCanmetENERGY and Jiangsu Sunrain Solar Energy Ltd., thelargest solar thermal company in the world.Through the agreement, CanmetENERGY will provide tech-nical suppor t for Sunrain's development of solar seasonalstorage district heating systems in China, from initial screen-ing and feasibility assessment studies to detailed engineer-ing design and performance monitoring of large-scale solarseasonal storage sites. The agreement is an oppor tunity toaccelerate the commercial development of solar-heated com-munities across China and the world.CanmetENERGY is Canada's leading research and technol-ogy organization in the field of clean energy. With three labo-ratory research centres located across Canada,CanmetENERGY has the exper tise and unique facilities towork on projects with key stakeholders to drive cleaner pro-duct ion and use of energy resources. ApplyingCanmetENERGY's technological exper tise on larger-scalecommunities in densely populated China could have a sig-nificant positive impact on reduced greenhouse gas emis-sions. "This deal represents a great scientific and technicalcol laborat ion between Natural Resources Canada'sCanmetENERGY and China. It demonstrates Canada's cleanenergy technology leadership. Some of the very best mindsin the world will work together across oceans, languagesand cultures toward a large-scale outcome in China that willsignificantly benefit everyone with its ultimate goal of hugeenergy savings and emissions reductions." - Jim Carr, Min-ister of Natural Resources.

HELPING VETERANSFIND GOOD, WELL-PAYING JOBSOttawa - Canada's Veterans haveserved our country with bravery,honour and dignity-putting theirlives at risk to protect our free-dom. Canadian Armed Forcesmembers and their families de-serve our gratitude and continuedsuppor t when they transition frommilitary to civilian life.Enhancements introduced to theGovernment of Canada's Job Bankwebsite will help Veterans in find-ing the information they need toplan their career or find good, well-paying civilian jobs. The new updatesmake the website more user-friendlyand also include resources and tools tohelp employers and organizations thathelp Veterans in transitioning to ci-vilian employment. Job Bank, theGovernment of Canada's free andbilingual website helps connectjob seekers and employersacross the country.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

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Amarinder urges PM to waive farm debt

FARMERS AND NCP ACTIVISTS THROW AWAY MILK ON THE ROAD OUTSIDE COLLECTOR'S OFFICE DURING A PROTEST OVERFARMERS' ISSUES IN THANE, MUMBAI.

Maha BJP prepared formid-term polls: FadnavisMUMBAI, (PTI) The BJP unit in Maharashtra is prepared formid-term polls, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.Fadnavis made the remarks in reference to repor ts specu-lating mid-term polls in Maharashtra amid farmers' stirseeking loan waiver in view of the agrarian crisis. TheFadnavis dispensation had announced the long-standingdemand of the waiver last Sunday."Some people said (when the agitation was on) that theywill bring the government down, will withdraw suppor t. Isaid we are ready for mid-term polls. "If someone wants toimpel us to go for mid-term polls, I am confident we will beable to form the government again," Fadnavis told report-ers here without naming any par ty. Buoyed by the BJP'ssuccess in Maharashtra local governing bodies' polls, heldin the recent past, Fadnavis exuded confidence that peopleof the state were with the saffron par ty notwithstandingvarious agitations against the state."This success was unprecedented and no other par tyachieved such success. The Congress-NCP couldn't attendthe success even during their hay days. So, people believein the government," he said. Talking to a Marathi news chan-nel recently, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had suggested thatthe Shiv Sena would withdraw suppor t to the government ifthe loan waiver was not announced.

Kejriwal urges PM to restoresugar subsidy in entiretyNEW DELHI, (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hasurged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the sugarsubsidy in its entirety keeping the "hardship" of the poor inmind. Kejriwal, in a letter to Modi dated June 13, said thedecision of the Centre comes at a time when earnings ofthe poor as well as of the rich have taken a hit."There has been a rise in unemployment and incomes havecome down irrespective of the rich or the poor. In thesecircumstances, the decision to end sugar subsidy is notright," he wrote. The sugar subsidy was discontinued witheffect from March 2017. The Union food ministry as well assome states had been keen on its continuance for at leastfamilies covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).Subsequently, the government recently decided to restorethe subsidy for states to ensure sale of 1 kg of sugar at acheaper rate for 2.5 crore AAY families, the poorest of thepoor, under the public distribution system (PDS). A deci-sion in this regard was taken at the meeting of the CabinetCommittee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by the primeminister. In the 2017 Budget, the government withdrew thesugar subsidy and earmarked only Rs 200 crore to clearpast claims. For the last fiscal, Rs 4,500 crore were allo-cated for the scheme that covered BPL families too.

PUNJAB POLICE SEIZE DEMONETISED CURRENCYPATIALA, (PTI) Rs 80 lakh in demonetised currency were seized from the occupants of two different cars on way from Zirakpur toPatiala, the police said. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhman Randhawa said that the police intercepted two cars andrecovered Rs 54 lakh in demonetised currency from one of them and arrested a person identified as Vinod Kumar. From another car,the police recovered Rs 26 lakh in demonetised notes and arrested two persons identified as Gurdial Singh and Manoj Kumar. He saidthe demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were seized from these persons. The matter is being investigated, the official said.

CHANDIGARH, ( PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh todaywelcomed the Centre's decision to lower interests on shor t term croploans for farmers for the 2017-18 fiscal. He said this step will substantiallyalleviate the woes of small and marginal farmers, and urged the prime minister togo all the way to waive the existing farm debts of cultivators. In a statement issuedhere after the Union Cabinet's approval of the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) forfarmers, Amarinder said the central government should move forward to waivethe loans of at least the small farmers, who were resorting to "extreme measures"to escape their mounting debts."The situation is critical," Amarinder said, claiming that the entire nation was "in thegrip of a humanitarian crisis" due to the unrest among the farmers, who had takento the streets in many states to draw the government's attention to their plight."Caught in a vicious cycle of debt, farmers around the country, including in Punjab,are resorting to suicide," the chief minister said. Given the nationwide repercus-sions, the situation merits urgent intervention by the Centre, he said. The entirefarming community, across states, is in the "grip of a serious financial crisis" as aresult of their debt cycles, coupled with low MSP for their produce, the chief

minister claimed. The farmers, who feed the nation, are unable to make both endsmeet and they need the government's support to wade them through the crisis,Amarinder stressed. The chief minister demanded immediate implemen-tation of the Swaminathan Commission report to fix the MSP to ensureremunerative prices for farm produce, saying the implementation of therecommendations "were the only real solution to the problem in the longrun". While reiterating his government's commitment to waive farm loans,as promised by the Congress in its poll manifesto, Amarinder said, "Knee-jerk reactions by individual states, most of which were struggling to copewith the agrarian crisis, could not lead to a permanent resolution of theproblem." "The central government needs to take a holistic view of the problemfrom a national perspective and intervene immediately to bring the farming com-munity back from the brink of disaster to the path of development and progress,"the chief minister said. Amarinder warned that failure to address the issuecould lead to a serious food crisis for the country, which could lose itsself-sufficiency in food grains and regress to the state in which it wasbefore the green revolution.


TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017i n d i a

Sikhs in US not feeling safe, raise it withTrump: Capt Amarinder Singh to Modi

CPI-M WORKERS STAGE A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST SAHARANPUR VIOLENCE IN NEW DELHI.

Modi visit to US: Talks withTrump on June 26NEW DELHI, (PTI) In his first visit to the US after the newadministration took over, Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill hold talks with President Donald Trump on June 26on a range of issues, including India's concerns overpossible changes in H1B visas. Announcing the visit fromJune 25, the external affairs ministry today said the Modi-Trump discussions will provide a new direction for deeperbilateral engagement. This will be the first meeting be-tween the two leaders, the ministry added. "Prime Min-ister will hold official talks with President Trump on June26. Their discussions will provide a new direction fordeeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interestand consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic par t-nership between India and the US," the ministry said.During her annual press conference last week, ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said Modi will raisethe issue with Trump. Regional security situation includ-ing Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other internationalissues are expected to figure prominently during themeeting between the two leaders.

Kejriwal asks Modigovernment to ImplementSwaminathan ReportNEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Mondayasked Education Minister Manish Sisodia to explore thepossibility of giving 80 per cent reservation to studentsof the national capital in the Delhi government-aidedcolleges. Kejriwal also asked him to see if 80-85 percent of guest teachers could be inducted from the na-tional capital through a drive being conducted to ap-point 9,000 teachers. This move would help generatejobs for the people of Delhi. Kejriwal also demandedthat the Centre waive farm loans and implement theSwaminathan Commission repor t. If the Centre canwaive loans of industrialists, then it can also write offthe debt of farmers. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal visitedhis constituency of New Delhi and interacted withpeople.Women staff of pub beat up molester; video goes viralNew De lh i (PT I ) Women employees o f a pub inGurgaon beat up an alleged molester with slippers infull public view, a video of which has gone viral onsocial media. The incident occurred on MG Road onSaturday night. A man in an inebriated condition ap-proached a woman employee of a pub and grabbedher from behind. Soon af ter, some of her colleaguesrushed to her rescue and star ted thrashing him withslippers. The video of the incident rocketed aroundthe internet. Eyewitnesses alleged there was no po-liceman around when the incident took place. "We havedeployed male and female constables in civil dress totake action against miscreants. We have issued strictdirections to police personnel to file an FIR for thwith ifthe victim approaches police," Manish Sehgal, ACP andPRO of Gurgaon Police told PTI.

CHANDIGARH - Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh expressedconcern over alleged racial assaults on Sikhs in the US and urged theCentre to take up the issue of security of Indians with the US PresidentDonald Trump. On Thursday, a Sikh-American post-doctoral fellow atNew York University, Simran Jeet Singh, was called "Osama" by ateenager. "Shocked as another Sikh abused in the US, no place forsuch intolerance in a democracy...," Amarinder said in a series oftweet. In another tweet, he said: "Indians, Sikhs in the US are notfeeling safe" and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and externalaffairs minister Sushma Swaraj to take up their security with Trump.Later in a statement, the CM said the governments in both the US and

India needed to address the issue urgently. Urging the Union govern-ment to discuss the matter of security of Indians, and Sikhs in par-ticular, with the US government, Amarinder said the two countriesneeded to collaborate to ensure the safety of the Indians through allpossible measures.The CM said there was a need for sensitising people on the culturalidentity of Sikh's and their contribution to global economic develop-ment and progress. "With many racist attacks traced to mistakenidentity, as a result of Sikhs being taken to be Muslim fundamental-ists, it is impor tant that awareness about Sikh identity be createdamong the Americans by the Trump government," he added.

Sonia should apologise over Dikshit's 'gunda' remarks: BJPNEW DELHI, (IANS) The BJP on Monday demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the remarks of par tyleader Sandeep Dikshit, who described Army chief Bipin Rawat as a "sadak ka gunda" (street thug). "The Congress par ty consis-tently questions the integrity of the Indian Army to shame and demoralise the Indian Army," Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saidat a press conference here. "'Sadak ka gunda'? Is that the language a senior politician uses against our Army chief?" she asked.The Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) leader also said she wondered if there was a strategy of the Congress to "undermine the IndianArmy. Sonia Gandhi should come out and apologise for the remarks made against the Indian Army by Congress leaders," Sitharamansaid. The Commerce Minister's remarks came a day after Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit stoked a controversy with his descrip-tion of Army chief General Rawat as a "sadak ka gunda", leading to outrage.

Government forcing everyone into silence: Rahul GandhiBENGALURU (IANS) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the government was forcing everyone into silence andthat people were threatened and/or beaten up in case they tried to speak the truth. He said thousands of journalists in the country arenot being allowed to write what they wish to write. "Anybody who attempts to say the truth, or stand by truth, is pushed aside indifferent forms. The Dalits are beaten up; minorities are frightened; journalists are threatened; and bureaucrats are threatened,"Gandhi said. He was speaking along with Vice-President Hamid Ansari at the launch of a commemorative edition of National Heraldnewspaper here. "Journalists told me they are not allowed to write what they want.



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Kumar Vishwas Quits 'Responsibility'As AAP's Overseas Fundraiser

NEW DELHI (IANS) Senior AAPleader Kumar Vishwas on Satur-day said he has volunteered toleave the "responsibility" of be-ing the main overseas fundraiserfor AAP, which has been acceptedby the par ty's National Executive.He denied any rumour of beingsacked from the post.The Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP)leader said he was not lookingafter fund raising affairs for thelast one-and-a-half years but his

name was there as mainfundraiser for the party from over-seas. "I never tried to know aboutthe funds and nor do I want toknow. Other par ty colleagueswere looking after fund raisingaffairs so I requested the par tyleadership to allow me to leavethis responsibility so that I couldfocus more on the additional re-sponsibi l i ty of Rajasthan,"Vishwas told repor ters here, onthe sidelines of a meeting with

par ty workers from Rajasthan."The National Executive (NE) ofthe par ty accepted my requestand I thank the NE for that,"Vishwas said. Vishwas was lastmonth made Rajasthan in-chargeof the AAP after he threatened to quitthe party over attacks on him by sus-pended legislator Amanatullah Khan,who termed his as a "BJP agent." Khanwas later suspended from thepar ty's Political Affairs Commit-tee (PAC) for three months.

AAP alleges malpractice in Goa panchayat pollsPANAJI (IANS) The AAP in Goa on Sunday alleged malpractice in the ongoing village panchayatpolls in the coastal state, claiming that identity of voters is allegedly being compromised at thetime of casting ballot. "The serial numbering of ballot paper leaves it open for the politicalestablishment to identify which voter has voted for whom. Dozens of AAP volunteers haveregistered written complaints with presiding officers at their respective booths," Goa's AamAadmi Party spokesperson Ashley Rosario told repor ters.Nearly 7.49 lakh voters were eligible to cast ballot in Sunday's polls to elect grassroots repre-sentatives in 186 panchayats in the state. AAP said a formal complaint had been made to theState Election Commission, adding that the decision to add the serial number to the ballot paperamounted to "jeopardising the secrecy of balloting in the panchayat polls held today." Whilepanchayat polls in Goa are not held on political lines, the AAP and other political par ties haveinformally backed individual candidates and panels of candidates in the polls.

SIX FARMERS KILLED IN POLICE FIRING DURING PROTESTS IN MADHYA PRADESH. MP HOMEMINISTER BHUPENDRA SINGH ADMITTED TO POLICE FIRING.



LUXURY VEHICLES: AUDI, BMW, MERCEDES, SPORTS CARS ANDCONVERTIBLE CARS. WE ALSO HAVE 7, 8, AND 9 PASSENGERS VEHICLES

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BJP WORKERS LED BY DELHI BJP CHIEF MANOJ TIWARI STAGE A DEMONSTRATION OUTSIDE CHIEF MINISTER ARVINDKEJRIWAL'S RESIDENCE IN NEW DELHI.

GOVERNMENT WILL SOLVE KASHMIRISSUE: RAJNATH SINGH

JAIPUR, (PTI) Home Minister Rajnath Singh today exuded confidencethat the Centre will be able to find a solution to the Kashmir as heaccused Pakistan of creating unrest in the Valley. He said that certainpeople are misleading and provoking the youth of Kashmir. "Our gov-ernment will solve the Kashmir issue. Our government wants a per-manent solution while taking people in confidence," Singh said at aprogramme here."Pakistan is creating unrest in Kashmir and wants to divide the na-tion. Terrorists infiltrated into India from Pakistan and attacked on our

soldiers but our Army gave befitting reply by carrying out strike onterrorists (across LoC)," he said. The Union minister said that thereare cer tain elements who are misleading and provoking the youth inKashmir and giving them stones (for pelting on the Indian forces) andsuch people are playing with their future. Singh said that insurgencyin the nor theast and Maoism has reduced during the NDA government'srule. "The Centre has a strong government and under the leadership ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi, India has emerged as a strong na-tion," he said.

POLICE STOPS AAP LEADERS FROM ENTERINGINTO RIOT-HIT MANDSAUR

NEW DELHI/MANDSAUR (IANS) An Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) team onFriday left for Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur to meet the families of thefarmers who were killed in police firing, but authorities said nobodywould be allowed to visit the violence-hit district. AAP leadersAshutosh, Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Sadhu Singh and SomnathBhar ti reached Indore in the afternoon on their way to the tenseMandsaur. But Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh saidthe AAP leaders would not be allowed to visit Mandsaur town, wherecurfew was par tially lifted on Friday from 9am to 6pm. "We will notallow anybody to visit Mandsaur. It will create law and order situationfor us," Manoj Singh told IANS. Five farmers, according to the govern-

ment, were killed in police firing on Tuesday when hundreds of farm-ers staged protests, demanding debt relief and price hike of their produce. How-ever, farmers' association said that at least eight protesters were killed when thepolice opened fire at them. The AAP said its leaders would meet thefamilies of the victims to express their solidarity with them.

Kapil Mishra stopped by police fromentering Kejriwal's Janata DarbarNEW DELHI, (IANS) Sacked Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, along with25 suppor ters and the mother of a deceased AAP volunteer, was

stopped by police from attendingChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal'sJanata Darbar. Mishra wasstopped by police deployed out-side the Aam Aadmi Party nationalconvenor's residence. The sus-pended AAP leader tried to bargethrough the police barricades, butwas stopped.Mishra and his supporters then satdown on protest outside the ChiefMinister's residence. He said hewould not budge till the 'Darbar' wasover. "Why isn't Kejriwal allowingme to meet him in the JanataDarbar? If he is clean, then what isthe problem in meeting me in theJanata Darbar?" asked Mishra,who has levelled a series of cor-ruption charges against Kejriwal.Mishra also took a potshot atKejriwal, and said: "Why is Kejriwalnot sacking Satyendar Jain (HealthMinister) despite several seriousallegations against him?"Mishra arrived at the ChiefMinister's residence along with themother of AAP volunteer SantoshKoli, who died in a road accident inAugust 2013. He demanded aCentral Bureau of Investigation(CBI) probe into Koli's death.

Lalu, Mishra appear in courtin fodder scam casesRANCHI, (IANS) Bihar former Chief Ministers Lalu Yadavand Jagannath Mishra on Friday appeared in the specialCBI cour t of Ranchi in the fodder scam case. "I have fullfaith in judiciary. I will appear in cour t whenever asked,"Lalu Prasad told repor ters here. He appeared in two casesrelated to fraudulent withdrawal from Deoghar district trea-sury and Doranda Ranchi treasury. Mishra appeared inthe CBI cour t in Deoghar case. Lalu was issued summonin connection with a case related to fraudulent withdrawalof Rs 95 lakh from Deoghar treasury.

'Opposition to decide onpresidential candidate onBJP's decision'CHENNAI, (IANS) DMK Working President M.K. Stalin onFriday said the opposition par ties would decide on theirjoint candidate for the presidential election after the rulingBharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) declares its candidate.Speaking to repor ters here, Stalin said: "Congress Presi-dent Sonia Gandhi had called a meeting of all the opposi-tion par ties and decided to take a decision based on theannouncement made by the ruling BJP government at theCentre." He said the opposition par ties would decide oncethe BJP decides on whom it will field for the presidentialelection slated for July 17.

Rahul demands 'martyr' statusfor farmers killed by policeNEEMUCH (MADHYA PRADESH), (IANS) Congress VicePresident Rahul Gandhi on Thursday sought a compre-hensive inquiry into the killing of five farmers here in po-lice firing and sought "mar tyr" status for them. Gandhi,who was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police here whileon way to Mandsaur and subsequently released, said thepar ty would aggressively raise the issues concerning farm-ers in parliament and seek loan waiver for them.He used different routes as well as modes of transpor tand changed his strategies in an effor t to reach Mandsaur- the epicentre of farmers' agitation in Madhya Pradesh -as the state government denied him permission fearingfurther worsening of situation. He flew from Delhi to Udaipurand entered Madhya Pradesh by car from Rajasthan in acavalcade of Congress leaders and activists. As he en-tered Neemuch, he saw a group of policemen near a tollplaza deployed to stop him. He immediately switched overto a motorcycle and gave them - as well as his own NSGpersonnel - the slip. A par ty activist drove the bike.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017 w o r l d

SESSIONS CALLS ALLEGATIONS OFCOLLUSION WITH RUSSIA APPALLING

A DEMONSTRATOR WEARING A US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP MASK PROTESTS DURING A DEMONSTRATION ON THE FIRST DAYOF A G7 SUMMIT OF ENVIRONMENT IN BOLOGNA, ITALY.

Modi Meets Sharif In Kazakhstan,exchange pleasantriesASTANA (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Paki-stani counterpar t Nawaz Sharif here on Thursday ahead ofFriday's Shanghai Cooperation Organisatipn (SCO) Summit.According to a source here, Modi enquired about Sharif'shealth after an open hear t surgery in London in May last year."Both leaders greeted each other at the Leaders' Lounge at theAstana Opera on Thursday evening before the SCO concer t,"the source said.India and Pakistan are expected to be granted full member-ship of the SCO at the summit in the Kazakhstan capital, mak-ing them the seventh and eighth members of the Eurasianbloc that includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This is the first time that the Indianand Pakistani Prime Ministers have met since Modi made asurprise visit to Lahore on December 25, 2015, on his wayback to India from Kabul because of Sharif's bir thday. Thishappened after India and Pakistan decided to star t a compre-hensive bilateral dialogue during External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad earlier that month.

BY LALIT K JHAWASHINGTON, (PTI) Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vehementlydenied any personal involvement in Russias interference in the 2016US presidential campaign, calling accusations that he discussed suchan effor t with Russian officials an "appalling and detestable lie".Sessions appeared before the Senate intelligence committee as part ofits investigation into possible ties between Trump campaign officialsand Russia.He angered Democrats on the panel by refusing to answer questionsabout conversations with President Donald Trump."Let me state this clearly, colleagues. I have never met with or had anyconversation with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning anytype of interference with any campaign or election in the United States,"Sessions told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligenceduring a hearing on Russia."Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyoneconnected to the Trump campaign," he said.

Not sure if Indians abductedex-Colonel: PakistanISLAMABAD, (IANS) There is no evidence that the Indian in-telligence is to blame for the repor ted abduction of a retiredPakistani Colonel in Nepal, a minister has said. Minister forStates and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch informed theSenate on Wednesday that the purpor ted kidnapping of retiredLt Colonel Mohammad Habib could not be taken to the Inter-national Cour t of Justice (ICJ) or the UN on the basis of as-sumptions. It was yet to be established that Col Habib hadbeen picked up by the Indian intelligence agencies, he said."No final repor t suggesting that the Indian intelligence agencyor the Indian government was involved is available with theForeign Office or the government," the Dawn newspaper quotedhim as saying. Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani asked ifthe statement meant that the Foreign Office was exoneratingIndia from the alleged kidnapping.Baloch added: "We are hundred per cent sure that Indian intel-ligence agency RAW is behind the kidnapping but the evi-dence to this effect is not final." But he said the Habib issue appearedto be linked with the conviction of alleged Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav inPakistan. "But material was required to legally prove" this. He said theForeign Office was trying to obtain "solid evidence" and Nepal had beenasked to get in touch with three Indian nationals who hadreceived Habib at the airpor t when he flew into Kathmandu.

"I was your colleague in this body for 20 years, at least some of you, andthe suggestion that I participated in any collusion -- that I was aware ofany collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country, which Ihave served with honour for 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of ourdemocratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie," Sessions said.Sessions testimony came days after fired FBI Director James Comeytestified that he believed he was fired as part of an effor t to influence theagencies investigation into Russian meddling.Sessions, the former Senator from Alabama, said Russian interferencewith Americas democratic processes can never be tolerated."I encourage every effort to get to the bottom of any such allegations," hesaid. He told members the committee that the deputy attorney generalhas appointed a special counsel to investigate the matters related to theRussian inter ference in the 2016 election.American intelligence agencies believe that Russian hackers weredirected by the Kremlin to try to sway the presidential election inTrumps favour.

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