average detached house in toronto edging at a...

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

Average detached house in Torontoedging at a million dollars

TORONTO - Toronto Real EstateBoard President Paul Etheringtonannounced that Greater TorontoArea REALTORS® reported 6,338home sales through theTorontoMLS system in February2015. This result represented asubstantial 11.3 per cent year-over-year increase compared toFebruary 2014. Large annual in-creases in transact ions werenoted for most major home types,in the City of Toronto and sur-rounding GTA regions."Even with the record low tem-peratures last month, we still sawan increase in the number ofpeople purchasing homes in theGTA. This speaks to the impor-tance households place on homeownership and the fact that buy-

ers continue to view ownershiphousing as a quality long-terminvestment in which they canlive," said Mr. Etherington.The overall supply of homes forsale, as measured by the countof active listings at the end ofFebruary 2015, was down by 8.7per cent compared to the samecount in February 2014. Thismeans that market conditionsbecame tighter, leading to morecompetition between buyers.The overall average selling pricefor February 2015 home saleswas $596,163 - up by 7.8 per centcompared to the average for Feb-ruary 2014. Driving this increasewas the detached market seg-ment. In the City of Toronto, theaverage detached selling price

moved above $1 million dollarsfor the first time in a calendarmonth. "The strong year-over-year price growth we experiencedin February points to the robustdemand for ownership housing inthe GTA, coupled with a con-

strained supply of homes for salein some market segments, espe-cially where low-rise home typesl ike s ingles, semis andtownhouses are concerned," saidJason Mercer, TREB's Director ofMarket Analysis.

PAKISTANI HINDUS CELEBRATE HOLI IN LAHORE (IANS).

INDIAN PARLIAMENTOKAYS LAND BILL AMIDOPPOSITION'S PROTESTNew Delhi, (IANS) The Lok Sabha here on Tuesday passed the con-tentious land acquisition bill amid a walkout by opposition par tieseven as the government moved nine amendments to address con-cerns raised by farmers.Shiv Sena, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Par ty, abstained during thevoting.The proposed legislation removes the need for obtaining consent ofland-owners and carrying out social impact assessment (SIA) foracquiring land under cer tain categories -- precisely the provisionswhich had raised the heckles of critics.Rural Development Minister Birender Singh, who took potshots at theCongress, his former party, moved nine official amendments, whichwere adopted.With opposition members repeatedly insisting on division to registertheir disagreement, it took more than an hour for the bill to be passedafter the minister's reply to nearly eight-hour debate.The Right to Fair Compensation, Rehabilitation and Transparency inLand Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2015 faces atough call in the Rajya Sabha where the government is in minority.Opposition leaders in the upper house have already hinted that theywould try and send the bill to a Standing or Select Committee.The Congress, which had moved a number of amendments in the LokSabha -- all were negated -- demanded that the bill be sent to theStanding Committee."They have not accepted even a single amendment proposed by us.This bill is anti-farmer. So we are walking out," said Congress leaderof the house Mallikarjun Kharge.The CPI-M, CPI, AAP, RJD, JD-S and Samajwadi Par ty, TrinamoolCongress members did the same.Biju Janata Dal members had walked out minutes earlier. Shiv Senaleader and union minister Anant Geete indicated that the party waslikely to abstain during voting in the Rajya Sabha also."We wanted to convey that land of farmers should be taken with theirconsent. The decision (to abstain) was not to put the government introuble. It will continue (in Rajya Sabha)," Geete told IANS.Road transpor t minister Nitin Gadkari told IANS that the bill will speedup development and create new employment.

Yadav, Bhushan wanted AAP tolose in Delhi: Kejriwal loyalistsNew Delhi, (IANS) The AAP crisis worsened on Tuesday, withfour leaders known to be close to par ty chief Arvind Kejriwalaccusing senior colleagues Yogendra Yadav and PrashantBhushan of having attempted the par ty's defeat in the Feb 7 Delhiassembly polls.The allegation was levelled in a statement by deputy chief minis-ter Manish Sisodia, minister Gopal Rai and two other Aam AadmiPar ty (AAP) leaders Pankaj Gupta and Sanjay Singh.It prompted Yadav to say that he hoped the charge would lead toan "open, transparent dialogue" for the truth to prevail.Prashant Bhushan said: "Time has come for the country to knowthe whole truth about the matter and the truth will come out soon."In a joint statement, the four leaders on Tuesday said the AAPNational Executive decided on March 4 to "release" Bhushan andYadav from the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) -- the party'shighest decision-making body -- and assign them new responsi-bilities."While all workers were struggling to ensure the par ty's victory,the trio - Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Shanti Bhushan- were making all-out effor ts for the par ty's defeat (in Delhi)," thestatement said."The PAC did not publicise the reasons behind the move as itcould affect the senior duo's reputation," it said, in reference toPrashant Bhushan, an AAP founder member and a senior Su-preme Cour t advocate, and Yadav, widely seen as a leading po-litical exper t.Shanti Bhushan is Prashant Bhushan's father and also a leadingadvocate."But the manner in which an atmosphere has been created thatthe National Executive was undemocratic and irresponsible, andthe questions raised in the minds of the AAP activists, we arecompelled to give this explanation," the statement added.

Sydney murder: Sushma Swaraj speaks to Australian counterpart

New Delhi/Sydney (IANS): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday took up with her Australian counterpart the murder of an Indian ITconsultant in a Sydney street. Australian police have released CCTV footage of the woman minutes before she was stabbed to death three days ago. PrabhaArun, 41, employed with Bengaluru-based technology firm MindTree, was attacked at Amos Street in western Sydney on Saturday evening. She was on the phonewith her husband Arun Kumar, who lives in Bengaluru with their 10-year-old daughter, when she was stabbed and was around 300 metres from her Westmeadhome. She was treated at the scene for stab wounds to her neck from a sharp-edged weapon and later died at Westmead Hospital.

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (IANS)41-year-old Prabha Arun Kumar stabbed to death in Australia (IANS)

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Liberals Host an InternationalWomen's Day Brunch in Brampton

Party has nominated 70 women candidates across the country, including 3 in Peel RegionBRAMPTON - Local Liberals gathered in Brampton to cel-ebrate the contributions of women in Canadian politics. Theevent, which highlighted local Liberal candidates KamalKhera (Brampton West), Ruby Sahota (Brampton Nor th) andIqra Khalid (Mississauga-Erin Mills) was headlined byspecial guest Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke Nor th)."International Women's Day offers us all the oppor tunity torecommit to the ongoing work for equality everywhere," saidLiberal MP Duncan. "Today's event reminds us of theprogress we have made as a society and also the need to

continue to push for equality."Par ticipants at this year's brunch were impressed with theLiberal commitment to engaging women in politics. LiberalLeader Justin Trudeau has made it a priority to nominatewomen to run in this year's election."I am proud to be one of 70 female candidates ?alreadynominated by the Liberal Par ty," said Kamal Khera. "InBrampton half of the Liberal Par ty's nominated candidatesare female.""Having women in leadership roles, as candidates, MP's and

in par ty leadership is an impor tant step for our par ty, " saidRuby Sahota. "Today's brunch served as a reminder to all of usof the profound work we have done already, and as a rallyingcall for the work that still needs to be done to reach trueequality.""To receive the suppor t from those in attendance builds on along tradition in our region of suppor ting equality," said IqraKhalid. "Coming from a city that elected Mayor McCallion forover 30 years, we have seen first hand the impor tance femaleleadership can have in our city."


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015s p e c i a l r e p o r t

Brampton's Mayfield Village Taking Shape

BRAMPTON - Construction is in full swing and some familieshave already begun to take possession and many more familiesare looking forward to moving into their beautiful new MayfieldVillage homes.It's exciting to see the first glimpses of a young new commu-nity. Inspire Boulevard is the main entrance to the communityoff of Dixie Rd. It's here that you'll get your first glimpse of theunique urban village feel with live work retail units lining thestreet. With a little imagination, you can already see familiesshopping, friends meeting at the local coffee shop and kidsplaying at one of the many parks along Mayfield Village's maincorridor.The well-appointed live work towns that line Inspire Boulevard,best demonstrate the unique urban villagelifestyle that hasdrawn residents to Mayfield Village. Upscale storefront facadespresent a welcoming feel to residents who will no longer worry

about commuting to get many of their everyday necessities. Aquick stroll to Inspire Boulevard represents that new urbanvillage feeling that Mayfield Village will quickly become knownfor.With five award winning builders, what's immediately apparentis the sheer variety of new homes now nearing completion.Different models, sizes and designs provide various choices forevery type of buyer. From first homebuyers to those looking toexpand their families and living space; Mayfield Village catersto everyone.The neighbouring business park is also beginning to takeshape. Next to the Mayfield Rd exit off Highway 410, you cansee the beginnings of Brampton's new premier auto mall. On thenor th side of Mayfield Rd. you'll notice the new AcklandsGrainger head office; Testament to the beginnings of Brampton'snext big business park. With many other businesses set to

begin building just to the south, it won't be long before theconvenience of living in Mayfield Villagebecomesobvious.Restaurants, commercial and industrial businesses will beginto line Dixie Rd. directly across the street from the mainentrance to Mayfield Village.This past summer, Mayfield Village also announced its plans toexpand the community East, all the way to Airpor t Road makingMayfield Village one of Brampton's largest newneighbourhoods.With move in dates available now, the oppor tunity to call thisunique urban village,home, is just around the corner. Thebuilders are also offering $10,000 in bonus incentives for alimited time. Visit www.mayfieldvillage.ca and see the beautifulfloor plans and designs for this community. You can alsovisitthe Presentation Centre in person at 4585 Mayfield Rd- just Eastof HWY 410.

Pakistani activist honored with InternationalWomen of Courage Award

Islamabad (IANS): After young-est ever nobel peace prize win-ner Malala Yousafzai, the scenicSwat valley is again in the lime-light on the world scene due toanother brave woman from thearea -- the founder of an NGO.In recognition of her service forwomen's r ights, the US hasawarded Adnan the 2015 Secre-

tary of State's International Womenof Courage Award, Dawn repor ted.Deputy Secretary Higginbottompresented 10 extraordinarywomen from 10 countries theaward. US First Lady MichelleObama would join Higginbottomand the award winners as a spe-cial guest.A victim of child marriage, Adnan

was married at the age of 13. Themarriage and spike with domesticabuse, ended after 20 years whenshe gathered courage to divorceher husband. Later she star ted herNGO, Khwendo Jirga, or Sister'sCouncil, a women-only Jirga,where women meet weekly todiscuss issues such as honor kill-ings, acid attacks, and swara, or

giving women as compensationfor crimes.The Jirga launched awarenesscampaigns on women security,right to vote and offer free legalhelp to victims of violence. Ac-cording to a press release by theUS Depar tment of State, "theSecretary of State's InternationalWomen of Courage Award annu-ally recognises women aroundthe globe who have demonstratedexceptional courage and leader-ship in advocating for peace, jus-tice, human rights, gender equal-ity and women's empowerment,often at great personal risk."The award was launched in 2007,and since then, 86 women frommore than 50 different countrieshave been honored. "This year'srecipients reflect women's rolesas agents of change and leadersin many of the crises and chal-lenges facing the world today,from countering violent extrem-ism to promoting security andrecovery from the Ebola VirusDisease," said the press release.

MUMBAI (PTI): Thir ty of India's 68 billionaires live inMumbai, making the country's financial capital sixth onthe list of 20 global cities surveyed in the Knight FrankWealth Repor t 2015 released on Monday.On top of the billionaire population list is New York with114 followed by Moscow (91), Hong Kong (53), London(49) and Beijing (37). With 68 billionaires, India has beenranked seventh of the 97 countries surveyed in the repor t.USA heads the list with 515 billionaires (see char t). Therepor t stated that Mumbai's billionaire population willgrow 110% by 2024.Over the next decade, only USA, China and Russia willhave more billionaires than India, said the repor t.Globally, 830 people joined the ranks of the billionaireclub in the past decade, with 53 individuals becomingbillionaires in 2014 alone. Total number of billionaires inthe world now stands at 1,844, an 82% increase from tenyears ago.''The most rapid growth in wealth will be seen in Ho ChiMinh City, Jakar ta, Mumbai and Delhi,'' said Liam Bailey,global head of research at Knight Frank. The repor t hasalso done a separate survey on Ultra High Net Wor thIndividuals (UHNWI). These are people having net wor thof $ 30 million and more. India ranks 20 with 1,652UHNWI. Within India, Mumbai is expected to see thefastest rise in UHNWI followed by Delhi and Hyderabad.Watches, ar t and jewellery are the top draws for wealthyIndians to invest in their passion.Said Shishir Baijal, chairman & MD, Knight Frank India,''Wealth creation in India is expected to accelerate withthe number of UHNWIs expected to double over the nextdecade. This reflects a more positive outlook for India'seconomy after 2014 was marked by capital outflows anda sharp devaluation of the rupee.''About 80% of wealth advisors expect their super richclients' net wor th to increase in 2015; Hong Kong's ultra-rich, at 94%, is the most bullish about prospects in 2015.Globally, family succession issues were the number oneworry, with 85% of respondents saying their clients wereconcerned about the handover of family wealth to the nextgeneration. However, for China and Hong Kong, politicalinter ference stood out as the number one concern.A potential increase in wealth taxes (81%) and increasedgovernment scrutiny of wealth (80%) were the second and thirdmost vexatious issues, according to the survey results.The ultra wealthy in Asia now hold more wealth with netassets of $ 5.9 trillion or 7% more than those in Nor thAmerica with $ 5.5 trillion. ''However, with a $ 6.4 trilliontreasure chest, European UHNWIs still control the mostwealth,'' said the repor t. In 2014, around 15 people a dayjoined the ranks of the ultra-wealthy or those with a networ th of over USD 30 million.

THIRTY OF INDIA'S68 BILLIONAIRESLIVE IN MUMBAI

Indian-origin entrepreneur among top 10 under-40 rich listNew York (IANS): Indian billionaire chief executive officer of Malay-sia-based Celframe Technology Group of Companies, Arun Pudur, isamong the world's top 10 richest individuals under 40, according to alist published on Wednesday by Wealth-X, a global wealth intelli-gence and prospecting company. Pudur, 36, is ranked at 10th positionon the list with a personal for tune of $4 billion. His company has over500 clients, including Boeing, MTV, Nortel, General Motors and Delta.An investor with a passion for solving consumer problems, Pudur beganhis career at the age of 13 fixing bikes, and breeding champion dogsbefore he graduated to start his technology business. He made his firstmillion at the age of 21, first billion at the age of 26 and never looked back.Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, 30, topped the list. The list isdominated by other male technopreneurs, with four of them deriving theirfor tunes from their early involvement in Facebook. Zuckerberg's wealthis estimated at $35.1 billion, more than 40 percent of the combined networth of all the other billionaires on the list.Four other individuals from Facebook -- Dustin Moskovitz, Sean Parker,Eduardo Saverin and Jan Koum -- also appear on the list. Koum is alsoco-founder and CEO of mobile messaging application WhatsApp, whichwas acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion. Koum's personalfor tune of $7.7 billion earns him third place on the list. The list alsofeatures two under-40 female billionaires. Yang Huiyan, of China, a34-year-old Country Garden Holdings heiress, whose net worth totals$5.1 billion, makes her Asia's richest woman. Biotech entrepreneurElizabeth Holmes, 31, who has amassed a for tune of $4.5 billion, isAmerica's youngest female billionaire.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015 breaking news

Moscow (IANS): RussianPresident Vladimir Putinadmitted that he ordered theannexation of Crimea hours afterthe ouster of Ukrainian presi-dent Viktor Yanukovych, and aweek before the regionalauthorities of the peninsularebelled against the governmentin Kiev calling for an indepen-dence referendum, Efe newsagency repor ted.State-owned Russia TVreleased late Sunday the trailerof a documentary film sched-uled to be broadcast in thecoming days in which Putin willdisclose the details of Crimea'sannexation and the specialoperation to take out the formerUkrainian president from hishometown of Donetsk, where hetook refuge upon fleeing Kiev inthe early hours of February 22."Heavy machine guns wereinstalled there to act without

fur ther parley. We got ready topick him up directly fromDonetsk: by land, by sea and byair. It was the night of (Febru-ary) 22 to (February) 23, wefinished at about seven o'clockin the morning. And whenpar ting, I told all my colleagues:'We'll have to star t working onbringing Crimea back toRussia'," Putin says in thetrailer. Although Putin hadalready revealed the par ticipa-tion of Russian troops inCrimea's incorporation, he hadalways claimed that theintervention was made toensure the reunificationreferendum process, organisedby pro-Russian authorities inthe peninsula on March 1."We did use our armed forces,but only to give the people livinghere the oppor tunity to expresstheir views regarding theirfuture," Putin said in the

Crimean city of Yalta lastAugust.Moreover, the Russian presi-dent consistently argued thatCrimea has always beenRussian territory but wasunfairly transferred to Ukraine in1954, when both were par t ofthe Soviet Union.On March 16, 2014, Crimea heldan independence referendum,unrecognised by the authoritiesin Kiev and the internationalcommunity, in which approxi-mately 97 percent of those whovoted were in favour of Crimeaacceding to Russia.Two days later, Russia annexedthe Ukrainian territory in aceremony at the Kremlin, wherePutin and the leaders of theregion signed a bilateral treaty,declaring the Republic ofCrimea and the city ofSebastopol as members of theRussian Federation.

Putin admits to ordering Crimea'sannexation before referendum


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015community

PREMIER WYNNE AND MINISTER COTEAU VIEWED THE PAN AM & PARAPAN AM GAMES MEDALS AT THE TO2015 OFFICES. (PREMIERPHOTOS)

Post-secondary educationnot a dream any more

TORONTO - Over 1.4 million lower-income children are unableto receive government education funding they're eligibleforbecause they don't have a Registered Education SavingsPlan (RESP). A new online engine www.Smar tSAVER.org haslaunched a new online application form specifically created tohelp the families of these children open RESPs and access theCanada Learning Bond.The Bond is a contribution of up to $2,000 to kick star t thesavings for a lower-income child's future education. It is a jointinitiative of BMO, Meridian, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, TDand Vancity who have committed to establish RESPs for lower-income families with no fees and no minimum contribution tohelp them access the federal government's Canada LearningBond.Families can apply for the Canada Learning Bond throughSmar tSAVER's online application form in less than 10 minutesand choose any of the six participating credit unions and banksto establish their RESP with $0. The user-friendly application issupported in five languages - English, French, Spanish, Man-darin and Punjabi. The bond is available to families with a netfamily income of $44,701 or less, can provide the first contri-bution into an eligible child's RESP. Research shows that thismodest seed-money can be an enormous boost for both chil-dren and their families.

Conservatives keepmillions in their coffersinstead of investing inSouthern Ontario: NDP

ONTARIO - With the recent wave of jobs losses in SouthernOntario and the province's uncer tain economic outlook, theNDP is troubled to learn that the Conservative governmentdecided to leave millions of dollars intended for job creationin government coffers, rather than invest the money.From 2010 to 2014, the Minister of State for the Federal Eco-nomic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, GaryGoodyear, lef t a total of $270 million in available funds un-touched."The Development Agency's purpose is to promote job creationbut in 2013-2014, $12.4 million from their budget went unused,"said NDP Federal Economic Development Agency for SouthernOntario critic Brian Masse (Windsor West). "I'm asking theminister to invest the funds that Parliament allocated for South-ern Ontario in the current fiscal year immediately-not use themoney to embellish their fiscal outlook for April. Our regionaleconomies need it."Local organizations rely on these funds to help boost economicdevelopment and improve the standard of living in SouthernOntario. "We know that each year, the Conservatives have beenleaving funds that Parliament voted on, just sitting in the bank.This sneaky austerity is hurting young entrepreneurs and stall-ing job creation in Canada," added Masse.Source: ndp.ca

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTEROF PUBLIC SAFETY ANDEMERGENCY PREPAREDNESSOttawa - Media are repor ting that several Quebec Cabinet Min-isters have received envelopes containing suspicious powdersubstances. Below is a statement on this matter by theHonourable Steven Blaney, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safetyand Emergency Preparedness:"Envelopes containing suspicious powder substances have beenreceived by some Quebec Members of Parliament. The safetyof Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament and their staff isa primary concerns at all times. We thank the sécurité du Que-bec and local law-enforcement for their swift response.

Parliamentary Secretary Gill DiscussesCanada-India Education Ties

TORONTO - Parm Gill, Parliamen-tary Secretary to the Minister ofInternational Trade, (right) held around table with education stake-holders focusing on promotingCanada as a study destination forIndian students. Canada's Inter-national Education Strategy (IES),a key element of the Global Mar-kets Act ion Plan, is thegovernment's blueprint to main-tain and enhance Canada's glo-bal position in higher education.There are more than 35,000 In-dian nat ionals studying inCanada, and over 400 memoran-dums of understanding for aca-demic par tnerships are currentlyin place between Canadian andIndian education institutions. Un-der the IES, Canada's goal is todouble the number of internationalstudents choosing Canada by2022.The strategy helps Canada to

build on its already strong educa-tion advantages. Capitalizing onthese vast opportunities will cre-ate jobs and economic growth and

will help Canada retain and en-hance its global leadership posi-tion and become a more prosper-ous, innovative and competitive

economy. Parliamentary Secre-tary Gi l l was in Delhi andChandigarh, India, from March 2to 5.

Take a Break From Winter: Visit VaughanCommunity Centres for Leisure FunVAUGHAN - If you are staying in the city during March Break,then take a trip to the City of Vaughan's community centres fordrop-in leisure activities and registered camps, offered fromFriday, March 13 to Sunday, March 22.Free recreational swimming, sponsored by Tim Hor tons, is sched-uled during various afternoons and evenings at select pools.Outdoor rinks will be open for free recreational skating and shinnyhockey, weather permitting.A variety of drop-in leisure activities, suitable for all ages andinterests, is available throughout the week at a nominal fee.Highlights include:" Spor ts: ball hockey, basketball, bocce, soccer, volleyball,dodgeball and glow-in-the-dark bowling" Skating and shinny hockey: available at indoor arenas" Vaughan fitness centres: cardio and strength-training equip-ment, indoor tracks, squash cour ts and saunas for ages 13 yearsand older" Fitness classes: power cycling, yoga, Pilates, boot camp,Zumba and more for ages 13 years and older" Games rooms: Wii, Xbox, pool tables, foosball, air hockey andping pong for ages 10 years and older" Swimming: aquafitness, parent and tot, and length swimmingChildren ages four to 16 years can spend their school break atone of the City's five-day camps, which feature fun-filled ar tsand crafts, games, drama, fitness, music, spor ts and swim-ming. Camp details can be found in the 2015 Spring and SummerRecreation eGuide in the School Break section. Spaces are lim-ited. Register at vaughan.ca/RecOnline.March Break activity schedules are online at vaughan.ca/recre-ation and at all community centres. For more information, con-tact the Recreation and Culture depar tment at 905-832-8500 oremail [email protected].

Oakville Fire reminds residents: changeyour clocks, change your batteries

OAKVILLE - The Oakville Fire de-par tment is reminding residentsto change their smoke and car-bon monoxide alarm batterieswhen they change their clocks fordaylight savings time this Sun-day, March 8. "Nearly half of allfatal fires in Ontario occur be-cause there are no working

smoke alarms in the home," saidDeputy Fire Chief George Bir tig."Switching the batteries in youralarms twice a year - when theclocks change - is a simple andeffective way to prevent housefires and keep your family safe."Ontar io law requires workingsmoke alarms on every storey of

a home and outside each sleep-ing area. As of October 15, 2014,all homes are also required tohave carbon monoxide alarms.For added protection, the OakvilleFire department recommends in-stalling a smoke alarm inside allbedrooms.Smoke alarms should be re-

placed every 10 years. Replace-ment times for carbon monoxidealarms vary from five to 10 years.Always follow the replacementschedule posted on eachalarm.Tampering with or permanentlyremoving batteries from a smoke alarmis illegal. Failure to comply with the FireCode smoke alarm requirements canresult in a ticket for $235 or a fine of upto $50,000.All residents should have a home firesafety and escape plan that includesthe following steps." Ensure all smoke and carbon mon-oxide alarms are installed properlyand working." Keep all exits unobstructed andeasy to access." Practice two ways out of eachroom, when possible." Determine who will be respon-sible for helping young children,the elderly, or others requiringassistance." Identify a meeting place outside,where all household memberscan gather." In case of fire, get low and moveunder the smoke to the closestsafe exit." Call 9-1-1 once outside the homeusing a cellphone or neighbour'stelephone." Stay outside where it is safe;never re-enter a burning building.To learn more about the mainte-nance of smoke and carbon mon-oxide a larms, and home f i resafety, visit the Fire Safety page.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015 community

PREMIER WYNNE AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION OF PROSPECTORS AND DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION. (PREMIERPHOTOS)

KC GROUP CELEBERATES HOLIWITH ZEAL AND ENTHUSIASM

DESK REPORT

Brampton - It was beautiful sunny morning looked like nature was permittingKC Group to celebrate Holi Rang Barse at the National Banquet Hall,Mississauga, Ontario with highest of zeal and enthusiasm. Months of effortsand hard work of KC Group Ex committee came out with marvelous resultswhen the Crowd of over 500 witnessed the biggest Holi event with excellentfood, music, dance and color.People with friends and families from all overthe GTA gathered at National Banquet Hall and celebrated Holi, the festival ofcolors. Among VIPs, Chief Guest, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie andGuest of Honor, Ontario PC Leader contestant, Patric Brown had not onlyshown their presence but enjoyed the show for quite a period of time. Al-though, Mississauga Mayor had very busy schedule because of Interna-tional Women's Day but she delivered speech and appreciated KC Group and

Public art workapplications sought fornew Hamilton GO StationHamilton - The City of Hamilton is seeking ar tists and ar tist-ledteams to submit proposals to create a permanent public ar twork to be installed on the plaza of the new Hamilton GO Station,presently under construction on James Street Nor th.This public ar t project was initiated by and is par tly funded byMetrolinx. Ar tists will be selected by a citizen jury through atwo-stage process, involving a concept and preliminary designproposal followed by the submission of a detailed proposal byselected ar tists. Shor t-listed proposals will be presented forpublic comment before the jury selects the winning ar tist.The successful ar tist will receive $75,000 for the design, fabri-cation and delivery of their public ar t work to the site.Submission deadline is Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 3 pm. Formore information including the project goals, adjudication pro-cess and submission requirements please see the City ofHamilton website at www.hamilton.ca/publicar t. The City ofHamilton defines public ar t as ar t created by ar tists, or in col-laboration with artists, through a public process and existing on pub-licly owned and accessible property. Public art helps strengthen thecity's visual identity, stimulates the economy, and enhances tourismand community pride. Since 2010, the City's public art program hasreceived over 175 artist proposals, consulted with over 5000 membersof the public and awarded 14 public art commissions.Source: hamilton.ca

UNITED STATES FIREDEPARTMENT PRAISESBRAMPTON FIRESAFETY VIDEOBRAMPTON - An unexpected and pleasant surprise packagearrived at the Fire/Life Safety Education Centre in Brampton theother day.Fire Safety Education Officers opened a parcel containing a plaquefrom De Pere Fire Rescue in appreciation of the Fire SafetyEducation Video that Brampton Fire and Emergency Services(BFES) produced and put on YouTube. The Fire Depar tment inDe Pere, a small town in Wisconsin, plans to use it for fireprevention education in their community.Dan Hermans, a De Pere Firefighter with Public Education re-sponsibilities, was impressed with the video. "It has done agreat job at sending the message out to the kids through a rel-evant and quality video," he said in an email. "Keep up the goodwork!" The video is aimed at children, and features two school-aged children. With the help of some animated characters, theylearn impor tant fire safety and prevention lessons about smokeand carbon monoxide alarms, escape plans, what to do if thereis fire and the proper use of 911.The video has gained more interest south of the border, asBrampton Fire personnel were recently approached by a repre-sentative from Garland, Texas, a large city that is part of theDallas-For t Wor th metropolitan area, about using it in their edu-cation programs. Since it was posted on YouTube in June 2013,the Fire Safety Education Video has garnered more than 77,000views from all over the world.

MARCH 13 LAST DAY FORCANDIDATES TO REGISTERFOR MUNICIPAL BY-ELECTIONMississauga - The last day a candidate can register to becomea candidate in the 2015 Municipal By-Election is Friday, March13. The nomination forms must be filed along with the requiredfee by 2pm.To be a qualified candidate you must:o be a Canadian citizen, ando be at least 18 years old, ando live in Mississauga; or be the owner or tenant of land inMississauga or the spouse of an owner or tenant.There are reasons why you may not be able to be a candidate. Ifyou are thinking about becoming a candidate, it is your respon-sibility to find out if you are eligible. Visit mississaugavotes.caor call 905-615-VOTE for more information.

Mississauga - The following are remarks by Mississauga MayorBonnie Crombie to formally launch the Mississauga InternationalPar tnership Program (MIPP) Committee, at Pearson International Air-port. MIPP will focus on creating new and existing connections withcultural business associations to help attract foreign direct invest-ment, generate economic development oppor tunities, and improvethe City's international competitiveness."Thank you to Howard Eng; Hillary Marshall, and the entire team fromthe GTAA for hosting today's launch of the Mississauga InternationalPar tnership Program. As Mayor, I am repeatedly asked: how the Cityof Mississauga can help generate new economic development op-portunities. Local government does not have the same the powers assenior levels of government."We cannot offer tax cuts; tax credits; or sign treaties. Like entrepre-neurs, local government must think outside the box. We need to brain-storm our own innovative solutions to build a 21stcentury economyfor our city's promising future. So how do we achieve this? My an-swer has been clear: we leverage existing assets; strengthen profes-sional networks; invest in human capital; build knowledge infrastruc-ture; and bring people together."The new Mississauga International Par tnership Program Committeewill leverage Mississauga's international exper tise, cultural diver-sity and networks to help our local economy reach its full potential. Icampaigned on a plan to form an international advisory committeeand I am proud to deliver on this today, as I hit my first 100 daymilestone in office. Growing Mississauga's connections to marketswill lead to local business oppor tunities, in this increasingly inter-connected world.

"The Committee will identify strategies and set goals to elevateMississauga's globally renowned reputation as a leading destinationfor entrepreneurs and established businesses to invest; develop andtest new marketable concepts; expand service offerings; create localjobs; and achieve unrivalled success. Strengthening connections withglobal communities will better prepare us to welcome internationaldelegations of incoming trade missions to Mississauga."I have already met with the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce; theMississauga Chinese Business Association; and just last week I metone-on-one with China's new Consul General. If we are competing ona global stage against other jurisdictions, we must be proactive toattract the businesses and industries we want. And as Honorary Chairof the MIPP, I will proactively engage international delegations to seefor themselves all Mississauga has to offer."We are here at the arrival gates of Pearson International Airpor t -Canada's largest airpor t. Each day a wealth of human capital; eco-nomic oppor tunity; and investment potential, flows from the doorsdirectly behind me and right into our community. It is absolutely criti-cal that we seize upon every investment oppor tunity; position our-selves to compete effectively in the global market place; and createnew employment oppor tunities for residents."Mississauga is home to 63 For tune 500 companies; almost 60,000businesses; and 1,400 multinational firms. Our economy is strongwith a GDP that now exceeds $40 billion annually. We are a net im-por ter of jobs - yes, more people come to work in Mississauga dailythan leave. Entrepreneurs and established businesses chooseMississauga to reach higher. And Pearson is our gateway to the world."So why do job creators come to us to do business?

Mississauga International Partnership Program launchedICCC TO ORGANIZE ABUDGET EVENTTORONTO - Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce is organiz-ing an interactive session on, "Economics and Strategiesfollowing the Budget", on Wednesday, March 25. The guestspeaker on the occasion is Avery Shenfeld, Managing Di-rector and Chief Economist. Avery Shenfeld has been withCIBC since 1993 and is widely recognized as one of Canada'sleading economists for his perceptive analysis and insighton economic developments and their implications for finan-cial markets. Shenfeld is a four-time winner of the DowJones Market Watch forecasting award and has receivedawards for forecast accuracy on the U.S. and Canadianeconomies by Bloomberg Markets. He has also been con-sistently ranked as one of the top Canadian economists byinstitutional investors.Shenfeld's prior background includes experience in man-agement consulting. He was on the economics faculty atthe University of Toronto and in the summer program atHarvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He hasaddressed numerous business groups and has been quoted inthe media in the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.Shenfeld holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

recognized by giving the Certificate of Leadership.Apart from fun and frolic with social aspects, Holi is also celebrated towelcome spring - one day before offerings of thankfulness to God during theHolikadehen (Holika Fire) with religious aspect. One more aspect is to en-courage feelings of brotherhood and friendship without any discriminationand to remove the feelings of hatred and bitterness if happened inpast….perfect way of heading towards the betterment of society.KC Group is a community based organization started fourteen years ago witha small group of people. The objectives were to maintain Indian heritage andkeepthe culture alive for future generationwhile living far away from India.With the result of showcasing in past several years,the festivals HoliandDiwali have become so popular that can be seen celebrating by many otherorganizations and amazingly children are getting familiar with Indian cultureand festivals and started knowing different aspects and reasons.


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Jammu (IANS): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti MuhammadSayeed will need more than over 50 years of experience as a maturepolitician to keep the ruling PDP-BJP alliance on an even keel ascontroversies rattle the coalition even before it star ts delivering onpromises of peace and development.The very first media conference Mufti Sayeed addressed after takingover as the chief minister last Sunday in winter capital Jammu rockedParliament over his remarks that gave credit to Pakistan, the separat-ist Hurriyat and militants for the smooth conduct of the state assem-bly elections.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had to make a statement in theLok Sabha contradicting Sayeed's statement. Rajnath Singh said thecredit for the successful and fair conduct of the Jammu and Kashmirassembly elections went to the country's Election Commission, thearmy, the paramilitary forces and, above all, the people of the state.Sayeed's daughter and Peoples Democratic Par ty (PDP) presidentMehbooba Mufti defended her father's statement saying Sayeed wasnot like his arch rival, National Conference patron, Farooq Abdullah,who Mehbooba said had specialised in the ar t of self-denial.Sayeed has followed up his statement on separatists and militants byordering the release of political prisoners.State police chief K. Rajendra Kumar has confirmed that the releasewill begin soon.The problem for Sayeed and his par ty is that not all those he calls'political prisoners' are considered to be so by his ruling alliancepar tners in the Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP), at both the state and

central levels. Sayeed is obviously trying to keep his Valley-centricpolitical constituency intact by ordering the release of political pris-oners and also trying to prove that an alliance with the BJP could befar more Valley friendly than his adversaries want the people to be-lieve. But the problem for Sayeed is that in this case what is sauce forthe goose might not be sauce for the gander.The BJP dismisses the PDP idea that some of the top separatist lead-ers like Masrat Alam and Mushtaq-ul-Islam are political prisoners.Masrat Alam, the chief of a militant outfit, was arrested during the2010 unrest in the Valley. Both state and central intelligence agenciesslam him for inciting thousands of youths to violence during 2010.As many as 112 youth were killed during the 2010 unrest when unrulymobs torched public proper ty, vandalised government offices andbrought life to a grinding halt for nearly six months."These people are not political prisoners. They have committed crimesagainst the state and need to be dealt with in accordance with the law

of the land. We will not allow their release at any cost," a top BJPleader told IANS here.The problem for Sayeed is that his par ty's political interests are atconflict with those of his alliance partners in the BJP, despite the twohaving taken over two months to work out a common minimumprogramme (CMP)."Development and peace are our CMP, but that cannot happen bycompromising the sovereignty and integrity of the country," said an-other top BJP leader in New Delhi.With aberrations like these, Sayeed definitely needs much more thanfive decades of political experience to run the coalition governmentsmoothly in the state.Stitching an alliance with the BJP had been a tough call for Sayeed,but keeping it intact while delivering on peace and development prom-ises would be a feat the 79-year old, wily Kashmiri politician mightnot find easy.

PDP-BJP ALLIANCE: MUFTISAYEED FACES A BALANCING ACT

PROTECTING CANADIANS AND HOLDINGWHITE-COLLAR CRIMINALS ACCOUNTABLE

BY MP PARM GILL

Protecting Canadians and helping them feel safe in their communitiesremains an impor tant focus for our Conservative Government. Sincecoming into office, we have worked hard to deliver measures thatcombat crime and prioritize the rights of victims.Fraud, like other crimes, can have a devastating impact on its vic-tims. The financial loss of entire life savings can ruin lives, and causesignificant psychological and emotional harm. Our Government hastaken strong action to combat white-collar crime and stand up for itsvictims, as we firmly believe that all criminals should be held toaccount for their offenses.By passing the Abolition of Early Parole Act, our Conservative Gov-ernment put an end to the system of Accelerated Parole Review thatallowed white-collar criminals to obtain day parole after only servingone-sixth of their sentence and full parole after serving one-third.This legislation eliminated leniency for white-collar crimes, mov-ing Canada's parole system away from granting parole indiscrimi-nately towards a system of earned parole.And, to fur ther help ensure that white-collar criminals serve asentence that better reflects the severity of their crime, our Con-servative Government also passed the Standing up for Victims ofWhite-collar Crime Act. This legislation created tougher sentenc-ing for fraud, creating a mandatory minimum penalty of at leasttwo years in prison for fraud over $1 million and adding aggravat-ing factors for cour ts to consider in sentencing. These new ag-gravating factors include the impact on the victims in consider-ation of the victim's par ticular circumstances, including their age,health and financial situation, the offender's failure to comply withapplicable l icensing rules or professional standards and, themagnitude, complexity and duration of the fraud.This legislation also takes significant action to stand up for victims

of white-collar crime. A judge must now consider imposing a restitu-tion order in sentencing, which would require the offender to pay backtheir victims. Victims of fraud can now also submit a CommunityImpact Statement, describing the harm or loss they have suffered,for the cour ts consideration in sentencing. And, to prevent fur thervictimization, the cour ts are now permitted to prohibit an offenderfrom taking employment or volunteering in any capacity wherethey are in authority over the finances of others.Our Conservative Government takes white-collar crimes seri-ously, recognizing that those who commit fraud harm individualsand communities. We have ended indiscriminate leniency for earlyparole, created tougher sentencing and we are standing up forvictims of white-collar crime. Our Government is committed tokeeping our streets and communities safe, and we will stay fo-cused on protecting the safety and security of Canadians.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


416-907-4420

canada OFFICIAL DRAW FOR THEFIFA WOMEN'S WORLDCUP CANADA 2015 IP10

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER HELD A MEETING WITH JIM PRENTICE, PREMIER OF ALBERTA.

NDP and Official Opposition leader, TomMulcair on International Women's Day

"Today, we celebrate the amazing and courageous effor ts of Canadian women who fought to improve the status of women over the lastcentury. Their successes have gained access to education, civil rights, the right to vote and the right to choose.We also honour the strength, courage and tenaciousness of our mothers, grandmothers and ancestors who worked so hard to raise theirfamilies and contribute to building our country.On this International Women's Day, the NDP is proud to celebrate this progress and our shared values. Of course, we also recognize thatwork remains to be done in order for women to reach equal status, especially in the area of income equality and female representationin politics.The fight for equality is a major concern for the NDP and we will continue to push for a national inquiry into missing and murderedAboriginal women. We are also committed to better representation of women in the public sector, establishing an affordable nationalchildcare program, and passing proactive pay equity legislation.This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the visionary Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for gender equality. We affirm ourcommitment to the Beijing agenda and its goal of "advancing the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere inthe interest of all humanity."Today, we commend the work of all the women who have contributed to building a more equitable Canada, and we remain committed tocontinuing our fight for women's equality."

Minister of NationalDefence Jason Kenneyon death of a Canadian

soldier in Iraq

ONTARIO - The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of NationalDefence, issued the following statement today on the death of aCanadian soldier in Iraq."As Minister of National Defence, I extend my deepest sympa-thies to the family and friends of Sergeant Andrew Joseph Doironof the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, based at Garri-son Petawawa, Ontario."Sergeant Doiron was a true Canadian patriot, whose braveryand dedication to Canada's security is an inspiration to us all.May he rest in peace."Sergeant Doiron was killed while conducting advise and as-sist operations in Iraq when he and other members of the Spe-cial Operations Forces were mistakenly engaged by IraqiKurdish forces following their return to an observation post be-hind the front lines."Three other Canadian Special Operations Forces personnelwere also wounded, all of whom are in stable condition. Ourthoughts and prayers are with them for their recovery."We remain committed to our mission of suppor ting our alliesin the fight against ISIL's campaign of hatred and terror."

NEW PLANNING RULES PUTOTTAWA COMMUNITIES FIRSTONTARIO - The Ontario government is moving forward withnew planning rules to ensure that growth and developmentoccur in a way that suppor ts economic prosperity, protectsthe environment and helps communities achieve a highquality of life in Ottawa and across the province."We have incredibly vibrant communities across Ottawa Centrethat want to make sure development happens in a responsibleand community-focused way," said MPP Yasir Naqvi. "By mak-ing sure the local design plans developed with our communitiesare respected, reducing the number of applications to the OMBand promoting and protecting our green space we will makesure we maintain our vibrancy, diversity and our quality of life."The proposed Smar t Growth for Our Communities Act builds onMPP Naqvi's extensive advocacy promoting community-inspireddevelopment. These include several planning roundtables,policy proposals, and his Anti-Slapp Private Member's Bill thatwas later introduced as government legislation to make surethe public's voice is always heard on matters of public impor-tance like new residential and commercial developments."Today's announcement is a great step forward and will make abig difference for our neighbourhoods and communities acrossOttawa Centre," said Old Ottawa East local planning advocateNick Masciantonio. "They ensure that the community's voicewill be entrenched in the planning process and that the hardwork and consultations community groups do will be reflectedany new developments."Today, the Ontario government introduced legislation that willfur ther help communities determine how their neighbourhoodsgrow. If passed, this legislation would:" Ensure citizens are consulted sooner and have moreinput into the land use planning process through citizen repre-sentatives on municipal planning advisory committees;" Enhance respect and protection for local official planswhen municipalities do comprehensive, up-front planning andzoning;" Establish a community planning permit system to en-courage innovative ways to plan;" Reduce the number of development applications thatgo to the Ontario Municipal Board; and" Require communities to create parks plans to ensurean adequate amount of green space is protected and created ingrowing neighbourhoods.

CELEBRATE OAKVILLE'S 2015COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS!

OAKVILLE - We all have friends and colleagues who spend count-less hours volunteering and suppor ting the many activities of ourdiverse community. This generous spirit is evident all around us.What better way to acknowledge their contribution than to nominatethem for an Oakville Community Spirit Award!

Nominate a community champion now! Complete the onlinenomination formtoday. The nomination form is also available inprintable pdf format (pdf, 2 MB). Hard copy nomination forms canbe picked up at Town Hall and all town-owned recreation andculture facilities.

WINNERS OF 2014 COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD.


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015c a n a d a

Canadian exports declineONTARIO - Canada's expor ts declined 2.8% in January whileimpor ts were largely unchanged from December. As a result,Canada's merchandise trade deficit widened from $1.2 billion inDecember to $2.5 billion in January, the largest since the record $2.9billion deficit in July 2012.Export prices declined 1.5% on lower prices for energy products, andvolumes were down 1.3% on lower volumes of metal and non-metallicmineral products. Meanwhile, import prices edged up 0.1%, whilevolumes edged down 0.1%.Trade surplus with the United States narrowsExports to the United States declined 3.1% to $31.8 billion in January.Exports to countries other than the United States were down 1.9% to$10.9 billion. This decrease was widespread across most principaltrading partners, led by lower exports to the Netherlands (-$184 mil-lion) and Italy (-$172 million). Conversely, exports to the United King-dom increased by $357 million.Imports from the United States edged down 0.1% to $30.5 billion. Im-ports from countries other than the United States edged up 0.2% to$14.5 billion. Higher imports from China (+$250 million) were par-tially offset by lower imports from the United Kingdom (-$174 million)and Saudi Arabia (-$111 million).Consequently, Canada's trade surplus with the United States narrowedfrom $2.2 billion in December to $1.2 billion in January, the lowestsurplus since 1992. Canada's trade deficit with countries other than theUnited States widened from $3.4 billion in December to $3.7 billion inJanuary. Exports declined 2.8% to $42.6 billion in January, as 4 of 11sections decreased. Energy products, mainly crude oil and crude bitu-men, were the main contributor to the decline. Excluding crude oil andcrude bitumen, exports increased 0.2% in January. Year over year, totalexports were up 3.4%. Exports of energy products fell 14.7% to $7.0billion in January, the eighth consecutive monthly decrease. Crude oiland crude bitumen exports declined 23.0% to $4.4 billion, as prices fell23.2%. Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products were down8.6% to $5.1 billion. Unwrought precious metals and precious metalalloys (-13.5%) and unwrought, basic and semi-finished aluminumand aluminum-alloy products (-20.4%) were the main contributors tothe decrease. Overall, volumes declined 8.0%.Meanwhile, expor ts of motor vehicles and par ts were up 3.1%to $6.9 billion in January. Expor ts of passenger cars and lighttrucks rose 8.6% to $4.8 billion. This increase was par tiallyoffset by lower expor ts of motor vehicle engines and motor ve-hicle par ts, down 11.5% to $1.6 billion.

OFFICIAL DRAW FOR THE FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP CANADA 2015 (CANADASOCCER)

BRAMPTON - Recently a group of 65 par ticipants from commercialand industrial development, international trade and local businessmet with Councillors to review and help prioritize the seven eco-nomic development themes approved by City Council in January ofthis year. The session was an impor tant step as the City of Bramptoncontinues to forge ahead with a new economic development strategyto engage key business stakeholders in a conversation about creat-ing a strong, cer tain, and prosperous future."Today we heard about the top priorities for Brampton that can helpgrow businesses while providing them with the tools needed to sellBrampton to other investors and continue to move Brampton forwardthrough sustainable growth," said Mayor Linda Jeffrey.During the half-day session, Economic Development Committee Chair,Councillor Jeff Bowman, remarked, "In the first 100 days of this Coun-cil term, we have made unparalleled gains in reaching out to thebusiness community, and gathering their invaluable feedback is a toppriority for us.""By listening to the people who have direct experience in buildingsuccessful Brampton businesses, we will fine tune and enhance ourkey priorities," said Economic Development Committee Vice-Chair,Councillor Doug Whillans. "These are oppor tunities to build broadcommitment to our plan for Brampton's future economic success."According to Bowman, "Our goal is to come out of this process with astrategy that key players have helped create, that way everyone canactively par t icipate in achieving i t , and col lect ively share inBrampton's economic success."Through the workshop and brainstorming sessions, the City received

input from influencers on priorities, direction and actions for eco-nomic development in Brampton. The input is currently being com-piled, and will be used to inform decision-making at the City andfuture engagement.The City's Economic Development Committee has four key intendedoutcomes for 2014-2018. The Committee wants to stimulate eco-nomic growth and vital i ty through business and employmentgrowth, increased domestic and foreign investment, generatingwealth and prosperity, and increasing assessment/tax revenue.The Committee is committed to creating a positive business cli-mate and business experience, which parallels the intended out-come of building a constructive business profile and city imageas an investment location. Finally, it will monitor and measureeconomic per formance and results and repor t them regularly tokey stakeholders.The Economic Development Committee's seven themes reflectthe 2014-2018 outcomes and are focused on (1) Downtown andQueen Street Corridor business growth initiatives; (2) business en-gagement - growing business from within; (3) suppor t advocacy forinfrastructure expansion; (4) innovation and entrepreneurship; (5) in-ternational and domestic business investment/attraction; (6) foster-ing a positive business climate and city image; and (7) suppor tinginnovative and tourism-focused festivals and special events.The City wants to keep the conversation on economic developmentgoing, and has set up a shor t online survey to help capture your input.Addi t ional ly, you can send your feedback by emai l [email protected]

BRAMPTON ENGAGES BUSINESSSTAKEHOLDERS TO PLAN FOR FUTURE

Loblaw to invest $1.2-billion, createmore than 20,000 jobs in 2015BRAMPTON - Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's food andpharmacy retail leader, will invest more than $1.2 billion intoits Canadian business in 2015. The investment includes con-struction projects for dozens of new and existing stores, e-commerce expansion, and continued investment in supply chainand IT infrastructure.As Canada's largest network of corporate and independentlyowned retail stores and formats, each employing between 20 and 300employees, Loblaw's investment is expected to create more than 20,000jobs through store staffing and construction. "While we continue to invest inthe IT and infrastructure engines of our business, we're increasingly mak-ing investments that Canadians will see with their own eyes - improvingour offer, adding stores, and creating jobs locally," said Galen G. Weston,Executive Chairman and President, Loblaw Companies Limited. "True toour strategy, our investment will create better access to fresh food, wellnesssolutions closer to home, e-commerce convenience, and a fam-ily of stores that elevate grocery, pharmacy, apparel and bank-ing experiences."Source: Loblow.ca



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


I AM BEING TARGETEDBY LEADERS IN AAP:MAYANK GANDHIIP12india

AAP MP BHAGWANT MANNDEMANDS EXPULSION OF YOGENDRA

YADAV, PRASHANT BHUSHAN

AAM AADMI PARTY (AAP) LEADER SANJAY SINGH ADDRESSES A PRESS CONFERENCE IN VARANASI (IANS)

LUDHIANA (PTI): Accusing AAP's founder leaders PrashantBhushan and Yogendra Yadav of damaging the par ty, its MPBhagwant Mann on Sunday demanded their expulsion from AAP.Stating that the par ty was supreme, Mann said early actionagainst them would be in the interest of the par ty.Talking to repor ters here, the Sangrur MP said both the leaderswere hatching conspiracies against the par ty during DelhiAssembly elections.

He alleged that both the leaders left no stone unturned todamage par ty as well as the image of Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal and said such leaders have no place in thepar ty."We should not forget that par ty is supreme and not anyindividual who so ever he may be," he said, adding that theirremoval from the Political Affairs Committee of the par ty was avery mild action. "They deserve more."

Kejriwal asks Delhi men to learn from womenNew Delhi, (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturdaycalled on men "to learn from women" and make the national capitala city where "every woman feels free and lives happily".Kejriwal, currently in Bengaluru for naturopathy treatment for highblood sugar and cough, made the appeal in a nearly one-minuteradio message on the eve of the International Women's Day (March8).The Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) convenor gave all the credit to his wifeand mother for his success."Two women are behind whatever I am today. They are my wife andmother. During my fight against corruption, my wife ran the housewhile my mother suppor ted me," Kejriwal said.Stating that his message is for "all the men in the city", Kejriwal

said: "It is admirable how women fulfil their responsibilitieshonestly and without making any fuss.""They play many roles such as that of a mother, daughter, wife,sister and daughter-in-law. They do their job and also take care oftheir families."Saluting the tolerance of women, he said: "I salute their rock solidtolerance. There are a lot of things that men should learn from them(women), but I have seen that some men comment on their dressesand do an assessment of their character...they talk absurd thingsabout women and also molest them.""Men who do not respect women outside can never respect womenin their homes," he said while urging men in the capital to make thecity a safe place for women.

New Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on afive-day visit to three island nations -- Seychelles, Mauritius and SriLanka -- on Tuesday in an outreach that will see unveiling of develop-ment projects while boosting economic ties.Briefing reporters ahead of prime minister's visit, Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar said India has historical linkages with the three countriesand "very strong" people-to-people bonds.He said India's commercial cooperation has grown significantly withthe three ocean nation economies and they offer new possibilities ofcooperation. "We are very bullish about the relationships."In Sri Lanka, which Modi will visit on March 13-14 on the last leg of hisvisit, he will unveil some projects done with India's assistance.Modi, who will be the first Indian prime minister to make a bilateral visitto Sri Lanka in over two decades, will flag off a train in a section fromTalaimannar which has been built with assistance from India.He will unveil a plaque at Jaffna cultural centre and also hand overhouses that have been built by India for the internally displaced personsin Sri Lanka."We have been a fairly significant contributor to rebuilding (process) inSri Lanka," Jaishankar said.The prime minister will have talks with Sri Lankan President MaithripalaSirisena on March 13 during which some agreements are expected tobe signed. He will attend a lunch hosted by his Sri Lanka counterpartRanil Wickremsinghe.Jaishankar said the prime minister will address the Sri Lankan parlia-ment later in the day. "It is an unusual honour," he said. The primeminister will also visit IPKF memorial to pay his homage.During his visit, Modi will meet leaders of Tamil National Alliance.Jaishankar said India suppor ts democracy and reforms in theneighbouring country as also process of reconciliation.Modi will also meet former president Chandrika Kumaratunga.Asked if the prime minister will meet former Sri Lankan presidentMahinda Rajapaksa, Jaishankar said he did not have anything on thatyet. In Seychelles, the first stopover of Modi's visit, the Indian primeminister will hold bilateral discussions with President James AlexisMichel to strengthen maritime ties and enhance bilateral developmentcooperation.Modi will be the second Indian prime minister to visit Seychelles afterIndira Gandhi's visit in 1981.India's bilateral cooperation with Seychelles is mainly in the field ofhealth, education, defence and maritime security.

Modi's Seychelles,Mauritius, Sri Lanka

visit begins today

Arun Jaitley to meet PSUbanks' chiefs on WednesdayNew Delhi, (IANS) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet theheads of public sector banks (PSBs) on Wednesday to reviewtheir per formance, par ticularly with regard to passing on theReserve Bank of India's recent interest rate cuts to borrowers."During the meeting, the finance minister will review the publicsector banks' performance with regard to overall credit growth,"a finance ministry release said on Tuesday."The finance minister will also review the performance of PSBsand financial institutions (FIIs) with regard to the new projectsand proposals, stalled projects and possible remedial measuresamong others," it added.Jaitley will also review the banks' per formance in their han-dling of non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans, the minis-try said.The RBI has cut the repo rate at which it lends to commercialbanks by 0.5 percent in the last two months, but the banks havenot followed up on that yet by reducing their lending rates.Last week, the RBI reduced the repo rate from 7.75 percent to7.5 percent. This was the second rate cut after January 15,when the central bank had also cut the rate by a similar 25basis points.At Wednesday's meeting, Jaitley would also review the progressmade on decisions taken at the two-day Gyan Sangam bankersretreat held in Jamuary in Pune.


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015i n d i a

Restore budget for women and childdevelopment: Maneka Gandhi

New Delhi (IANS): Women and Child Development Minister ManekaGandhi on Sunday urged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to restorepar t of the budgetary allocations slashed in the union budget forcer tain schemes.At an interaction with women journalists at the Indian Women's PressCorps here, the minister, however, said there has been no cut inbudgetary allocations for her ministry as such."It is not a cut in the budget but just a reappropriation. A large par thas gone to the states as per the recommendations of the financecommission," she said replying to a question."It is not that the money has disappeared," she said.

However, the minister said in areas where "we cannot do without themoney, I have asked the finance minister to restore part of it".The allocation for the ministry has been slashed by 44 percent in thebudget for 2015-16 presented by Jaitley on February 28.While the allocation for the ministry in 2014-15 was Rs.18,588 crore,it was reduced to Rs.10,382 crore for the current financial year.Maneka Gandhi said that among the several programmes which wouldbe affected by the budget cut was the launching of a national nutritionmission.The mission would have entailed training Anganwadi workers in nu-trition facts of children and providing tablets for them.

VINOD MEHTA DEAD, MODICALLS HIM 'FINE JOURNALIST'New Delhi, (IANS) Vinod Mehta, one of India's best known jour-nalists, died here on Sunday of multi-organ failure, doctors said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him "a fine journalist".The 73-year-old Mehta, who at one time worked as factory handin Britain, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sci-ences (AIIMS), its spokesperson Amit Gupta told IANS.AIIMS said Mehta suffered from several neurological issues andhad been bed-ridden for three to four months. He was admittedto AIIMS in critical state last week.Outlook group, which was the last major media group Mehtafounded, announced the death of its founder-editor-in-chief "withdeep sadness". Even after ceasing to be its editor, he was itseditorial chairman.Modi said in a tweet: "Frank and direct in his opinions, VinodMehta will be remembered as a fine journalist and writer. Con-dolences to his family on his demise."President Pranab Mukherjee also offered his condolences andtweeted that "the eminent journalist made immense contributionto journalism".Born in Rawalpindi before India's partition, Mehta's family movedto India when he was only three years old. He grew up in Lucknow,studying in the La Mar tinere school and Lucknow University.His big moment came in 1974 when Mehta, at age 32, took upediting "Debonair", a men's magazine in India which boasted ofserious ar ticles as well as centre-folds.He later went on to launch other successful publications such asSunday Observer, The Pioneer and Outlook. He also founded theIndian Post and The Independent newspapers.A gifted writer, Mehta authored a biography of Bollywood ac-tress Meena Kumari and Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son ofslain prime minister Indira Gandhi. His much acclaimed mem-oir, "Lucknow Boy", came out in 2011.Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Par ty MPfrom Lucknow, said: "I express my hear tfelt condolences... Hisdemise has left a big void in the field of journalism."

Sydney murder: Sushma Swarajspeaks to victim's husband

New Delhi, (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj onMonday said she has spoken to the husband of Indian woman ITconsultant Prabha Arun, who was stabbed to deathin Australia's Sydney city. The central governmentalso said the Indian consulate in Sydney wasproviding all necessary help to the family. SushmaSwaraj said in a tweet that she has spoken to ArunKumar, husband of the victim, and he was satisfiedwith the assistance from the consulate.The ministry's spokesperson Syed Akbaruddinlater said he was in constant touch with theconsulate. "I am in constant touch with ourconsulate in Sydney. The consulate is providing all

help," Akbaruddin said in a tweet. Prabha Arun was employedwith Bengaluru-based tech firm MindTree. Prabha Arun, in her

40s, was attacked at Amos Street in the westernpar t of Sydney about 9.30 p.m. on Saturday, Austra-lian police said on Sunday.She was on the phone with her husband ArunKumar, who lives in Bengaluru with their 10-year-old daughter, when she was stabbed. She wasaround 300 metres from her Westmead home whenshe was attacked.Chillingly, the husband heard her tell him that "Ithink I've been stabbed", before she collapsed in apool of blood. The phone line then went dead.

SHELL OPENS GLOBAL ITCENTRE IN BENGALURUBengaluru (IANS): Global energy major Royal Dutch Shell plchas opened its global information technology (IT) centre in thistech hub for developing and delivering IT projects in-house."The in-house global IT centre will provide jobs for thousandsof techies by 2020, as we invest in the centre to be an integralpar t of our global IT project delivery and suppor t network,"Shell India's chairman Yasmine Hilton said here Friday.The Hague-based Anglo-Dutch oil and gas multinational is oneof the leading investors in India's energy sector among globalintegrated energy firms."We aim to attract the best talent in the industry and provideoppor tunities for them to build world-class business solutions,"Hilton said on the occasion. Shell has projects and technologycentre in the city, employing about 1,000 scientists and engi-neers as par t of its projects & technology business worldwide."We have selected Bengaluru because of its competitivenessand availability of a skilled, diverse IT talent pool coveringvarious disciplines," Hilton asser ted.The hitech centre will provide IT services to all of Shell's busi-nesses - upstream, downstream and projects & technology- and associated suppor t functions. The company decidedto set up the centre in India after reviewing its global ITprojects and operations suppor t capability for deliveringprojects in-house.Employment oppor tunities at the centre will be posted soonon the company's Indian subsidiary website www.shell.in."Bengaluru's IT talent will improve our abil ity to providetop-quality project delivery and selected operations sup-por t the world over," Shell's projects and technology direc-tor Harry Brekelmans said in the statement.The centre will re-locate next year in a 52-acres of dedicatecampus near Devanahall i and closer to the internationalairpor t. The company's 2,000-strong back office in Chennaiprovides business and financial suppor t to its firms world-wide. Besides a thriving lubricants and retail business andpresence in integrated gas through its liquefied natural gasregasification plant and por t at Hazira in Gujarat, Shell hasan agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Gas DevelopmentCorporation, GDF Suez and GAIL (Gas Authority of India) on afloating storage regasification unit project at Kakinada in theneighbouring state's coastal region.With 93,000 employees in 90 countries worldwide, Shell helpsto meet the world's growing demand for energy in economi-cally, environmentally and socially responsible ways.

BJP leader Satish Upadhyay celebrates Holi during a Holi Milan programme organised at BJP office in New Delhi (IANS)

I am being targeted by leadersin AAP: Mayank GandhiMumbai/ New Delhi, (IANS) Senior AAP leader Mayank Gandhicomplained on Saturday of being targeted by a section of hispar ty for challenging a gag order on March 5 and also revealingabout the proceedings of the AAP national executive meet.On the same day, former par ty member Anjali Damania alsosaid that she had quit the par ty last year because she was"frustrated" with the par ty's functioning.Gandhi claimed a "concer ted attempt" was being made inthe social media to label him "anti-par ty and anti-AK (ArvindKejriwal)" and reiterated his statement that a price mighthave to be paid (by him)."A small group of par ty decision makers in Delhi has al-ready removed me from the informal BBM group. Attackshave begun against me from AAP leader Ashish Khetan andothers. Some dissatisfied members from Maharashtra havestar ted giving interviews against me, some old cases arebeing re-opened," Gandhi said in a blog.He wrote that the Aam Aadmi Par ty (AAP) may decide not tofight the BMC polls (Mumbai) or delay the decision for thesame, the leadership of Maharashtra will be challenged anddiscredited by some individuals and information would beleaked to the media.

SEPARATIST'S RELEASE ROCKS PARLIAMENTNew Delhi, (IANS) The release of separatist leader Masrat Alam in Jammuand Kashmir created uproar in both houses of parliament even as PrimeMinister Narendra Modi clarified that the central government was not con-sulted on the decision. The prime minister, in a statement in the Lok Sabha,said it was legitimate for the house to show its anger on the issue. "There isan anger in the country, and in the house and I join them... I assure the nation,whatever is happening in the state, it is not being done in consultation with the

central government, nor has the central government been informed," Modisaid. He asked leaders in the Lok Sabha not to make a political issue of thematter, and said: "At least on the issue of separatists and terrorism, thecountry should not think along party lines." Home Minister Rajnath Singh, insimilar statements made in both houses, informed the members that a clari-fication was sought from the state government, but the Centre is not satisfiedwith the reply. "We have been informed that he has been released, but we are not

satisfied with the response and have sought clarifica-tions," Singh informed parliament. While giving clarifica-tions on his statement in the Rajya Sabha, the homeminister said Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part ofIndia. "I am happy that the whole house is concerned. If Ican understand their feeling, the whole house agrees thatJammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and willalways be," he said. "...I want to assure the house, and Iam speaking on behalf of the prime minister, we will notallow anyone to disintegrate the nation, howsoever bigthe power may be," he added.

Modi conveys disapprovalover separatist's releaseNew Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modion Monday conveyed his strong disapprovaland sense of outrage of the entire Lok Sabhaover the release of Kashmiri separatist leaderMasrat Alam on the directions of Jammu andKashmir Ch ie f Min is te r Muf t i MuhammadSayeed.Modi said his government has sought clarifi-cations on the issue. Responding to the con-cern of members on the issue in the house,Modi said his government will take all stepsnecessary to preserve the unity and integrityof the country.He said there was no division among politicalpar ties in the country on the issue of terrorismand separatism.The Bharatiya Janata Par ty is a par tner in theruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir with thePeoples Democratic Par ty.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015 i n d i a

UNION HOME MINISTER RAJNATH SINGH AND ACTRESS JUHI CHAWLA DURING A PROGRAMME ORGANISED TO FLAG-OFF `NBTALL WOMAN BIKE RALLY` IN NEW DELHI (IANS).

RALLY FORROAD SAFETY

AMONG WOMENHELD IN DELHI

NEW DELHI, (IANS) A rally to promote road safety awareness amongwomen was organised here on Sunday by International two-wheelermaker Honda in collaboration with the Delhi Traffic Police.Organised on the occasion of International Women's Day, the rallywas flagged off by Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi in thepresence of senior officials from Honda."It is our strong belief that strong and empowered women are thebackbone of flourishing societies," said Yadvinder S. Guleria, vicepresident, Sales and Marketing, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter In-dia Pvt. Ltd."We want to permeate the message of road safety among womenriders by encouraging the use of helmet while riding two-wheelers."Stating that there is alarming rise among women to not wear hel-mets, Guleria said: "We are hopeful such initiatives will help increating awareness and sensitising the society towards the use ofhelmets." "We are thankful to the Delhi traffic police for their contin-ued suppor t in our joint effor ts for making Delhi roads safe for all,"he added.A traffic safety training session was also organised for the womenafter the rally.

New Delhi ( IANS) PresidentPranab Mukher jee and Pr imeMinister Narendra Modi on Sun-day called for gender equity anddecried violence against womenas the government said it has ini-tiated one-stop crisis centres thatwill provide assistance to womenwho face violence in any form.In his statement on InternationalWomen's Day, Mukherjee termedequality, liber ty and dignity aswomen's "sacred rights".He asked the people to reaffirmthe i r commi tment to ensuregender equi ty and empower-ment of womenfolk in India.The president also presentedthe 'Stree Shakti Puraskar' and'Nari Shakti Puraskar ' for theyea r 2014 a t a func t ion i nRashtrapati Bhavan here.In a separate statement, Modisaid: "Our heads hang in shamewhen we hear of instances ofcrime against women."Modi said his government hasinitiated several steps to helpwomen who face violence andabuse.The prime minister said he "sa-lutes the indomitable courageand s te l l a r ach ievements o fwomen. We must walk shoul-der-to-shoulder to end all formsof discriminat ion or injust ice

against women".He said the central governmentis setting up 'One-Stop Centres'that will provide assistance, le-gal advice and psychologicalcounselling to women who faceviolence or abuse.Elaborating on the same, unionWomen and Child DevelopmentMinister Maneka Gandhi saidthe centres would in the firstphase come up one in eachstate."If they are successful, then wewill go in for more such cen-tres," she said. The ministersaid the centres would be sepa-rate from police stat ions andhospitals and would also havefacilities where women can stayfor sometime if needed.Gandhi also said she has askedthe finance minister to restoresome par t of the allocations forimpor tant schemes slashed in theunion budget this year.In other events, over 30organisations and NGOs cametogether to "assert women's free-dom" and asked the prime minis-ter to take action against thosethreatening the rights of women.The event, titled "Aath (8) March,Saath (together) March", includedstreet plays and interactions toempower the women residents of

the national capital and to informthem of their r ights. I t wasorganised at Jantar Mantar.Bol lywood stars l ike AmitabhBachchan, Karan Johar andSonakshi Sinha and ShabanaAzmi also came together andurged the society to treat womenas equals throughout the year andnot just assign them one day ofthe year.Veteran actress-social activistShabana Azmi said rather thantreating women like goddesses,the society should treat them asequals.Bachchan tweeted: 'Woman'sDay' .. ?? A single day dedicatedto women? But a woman dedi-cates every day of her life!!!"In Gurgaon, the administrationgi f ted 'Women only ' cabs towomen.The initiative is par t of memo-randa of understanding (MoUs)signed on the occasion of Inter-national Women's Day on Sundayby Deputy Commissioner T.L.Satyaprakash with private firmsto ensure safety and security ofwomen in this Haryana city bor-dering Delhi.One MoU was signed for intro-ducing 'women only' cabs andanother for launching a mobilesafety app.

PRESIDENT, PM CALL

FOR END TO VIOLENCE

AGAINST WOMEN

PLEASE DON'T TEACH USPATRIOTISM, SAYS MODINew Delhi, (IANS) Kashmiri separatist leader Masrat Alam was re-leased without taking the central government into confidence, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said on Monday, and asked the oppositionnot to teach him "patriotism".Making an intervention in the Lok Sabha, Modi said it was legitimatefor the house to show its anger on the issue."I assure the nation and the house that after the Jammu and Kashmirgovernment was formed, proceedings are taking place without takingthe Indian government into confidence," the prime minister said."I associate with the concern and anger in the house," he said.Modi asked leaders in the Lok Sabha not to make a political issue ofthe matter, and said: "At least on the issue of separatists and terror-ism, the country should not think on party lines."The BJP is in a coalition with the PDP government in Jammu andKashmir. You should criticise the government, but the world shouldnot get a message that the country is divided on the issue of its unityand integrity.""I want to assure that the government will not accept any such inci-dent. We will not compromise on the country's unity and integrity," headded.Alam, who was arrested during the 2010 unrest in the Kashmir Valleyfor allegedly inciting youth, was released by the newly-installed PDP-BJP coalition government on Saturday.Modi said there is no reason for his government to keep quiet on thematter. "We have sacrificed Shyama Prasad Mukherjee for this...Please do not teach us patriotism.""We have asked for cer tain clarifications from the Jammu and Kash-mir government as the home minster (Rajnath Singh) said and afterthat comes, we will inform the house."


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015w o r l d

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAYCELEBRATED ACROSS WORLDLondon, (IANS/EFE) Various events were held across the worldon Sunday to celebrate the International Women's Day.British singers Annie Lennox and Paloma Faith were joined byactress Gemma Ar ter ton at a march in London to demandrespect for women's rights.Hundreds of feminists, including some dressed like the suffrag-ettes of the early 20th century, marched from city hall toWestminster.Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of British suffragetteEmmeline Pankhurst, and her daughter Laura also marched inthe British capital."The suffragettes of old would say that the vote was only everthe beginning," Helen Pankhurst said.London-based Amnesty International marked the day by callingfor an end to the abuses still endured by women and girls 20years after the signing of the Beijing Declaration and Platformfor Action."Women and girls continue to suffer gender-based violence andother human rights violations in the belief that they werejustified by tradition, custom or religion, such as forcedmarriage, female genital mutilation and crimes committed inthe name of so called 'honour," the Amnesty International said.In Washington, President Barack Obama called for protecting

the right to education of girls and teenagers around the world."Women and girls are human beings, full and equal in rights anddignity. They deserve to be treated that way, everywhere, everyday," Obama said.Obama is the father of two teenagers, Sasha, 16, and Malia, 13."This gap between women's inherent value and how many ofthem are treated every day is one of the great injustices of ourtime. On this International Women's Day, we recommit our-selves to closing that gap," the president said.Pope Francis, meanwhile, praised the role played by women insocieties around the world and said a world in which they weremarginalised was "a sterile world".Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed into law a billcreating the Women's ministry, calling the Cabinet depar tment"a new institution, more robust, with more tools" than otheragencies.More work must be done to "modify minds and hear ts that keepan unjust system" in place, the president said.Meanwhile, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for gender equity anddecried violence against women as the government said it hasinitiated one-stop crisis centres that will provide assistance towomen who face violence in any form.

ISRAEL'S OPPOSITION SEEKSDIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENTWITH PALESTINEJerusalem, (IANS) The center-left Zionist Union, Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu's main political rival in the March 17elections, presented on Sunday its platform with an emphasis onachieving diplomatic settlement with the Palestinians.The platform, launched at a press conference in Tel Aviv, set two maingoals: ending Israel's diplomatic isolation and curbing the rise of thehousing prices, Xinhua reported.The Zionist Union, a coalition of Isaac Herzog's Labour party and formerjustice minister Tzipi Livni's HaTnua party, said it will present a peaceinitiative to the Arab League in order to restart the peace talks, whichwere ceased in 2013.The 40-page-long document proposes demilitarisation of the Palestin-ian state, keeping the settlement blocs in the West Bank under Israelisovereignty, preserving Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, andguaranteeing religious freedom and access to the Holy Places of allreligions while maintaining Israeli sovereignty."This initiative reflects Israel's core values, which are expressed in thecall for peace and good relations between Israel and its neighbours,alongside the unequivocal definition of the State of Israel as the nationof Jewish people," according to the platform.The platform also promises to implant an economic plan that willrestrain the high cost of living in Israel, and par ticularly thehousing prices.

Modi will certainly visitPakistan next year: Sartaj AzizIslamabad, (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will"cer tainly visit" Pakistan next year, the country's top foreign affairsadviser Sartaj Aziz said on Sunday.Pakistan will host the summit of the South Asian Association for Re-gional Cooperation (SAARC) in 2016, of which India is a memberalong with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal,Pakistan and Sri Lanka."We are fully hopeful that the Indian prime minister will come to Paki-stan for the SAARC summit," Sartaj Aziz said in Islamabad, accordingto Xinhua.India last year suspended planned talks with Pakistan in August afterthe Pakistani ambassador met Kashmiri separatist leaders in NewDelhi.India's Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar visited Pakistan last week aspart of his trip to the SAARC member states, and the visit has raisedhopes for the resumption of the official bilateral talks. That was the firsthigh level diplomatic contact between the two countries in sevenmonths.Sartaj Aziz said that although the visit of the Indian foreign secretarywas in the reference of the SAARC countries, both sides used theopportunity to discuss bilateral issues.Pakistan's foreign secretary would visit India for more talks if theIndian government extends invitation, he told reporters after a confer-ence of the Muslim Think Tanks Forum of Islamic Countries.

Kurdish peshmerga forces inspect a destroyed building on the outskirts of Tel Ward, west of the city of Kirkuk, Iraq (IANS)



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


SRK LEARNS NEW SKILL- TO MAKE RANGOLI

DHAWAN LEADSINDIA TO VICTORYAGAINST IRELAND

KUDESSAN - A SORDID TALE

OF UNFAIRNESS TO FAIR SEX

AYUSHMANN KHURRANA AND BHUMI PEDNEKAR DURING THE HOLI CELEBRATION IN MUMBAI (IANS)

A.R. Rahman to embark on 'special' US tour

Mumbai, (IANS) Acting is all about new learning. Shah Rukh Khanendorsed this when he decided to learn the ar t of making 'rangoli' inan episode of "India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun", a reality gameshow hosted by the superstar himself.In an earlier episode of the show, he had learnt to drape a sari, andwhen he got a chance to pick the skill of 'rangoli' -- creating colourfulpatterns on the floor -- he was up for it, in the pursuit of becoming an"ideal son-in-law".On the show, SRK would be seen calling a contestant on stage toteach him the ar t of making a rangoli."I had a dream to be the ideal son-in-law, which I think I can becomeif I learn some rangoli," SRK said while waiting for the 'rangoli' car t.As the contestant began working on her rangoli, Shah Rukh watchedintently. The actor also tried his hand at the ar t and made a smiley.Later, he joked that the beautiful rangoli made by the contestant washis and the smiley is what the contestant made. Ultimately, SRK leftthe judgment of the rangoli to the audience.The show airs on &TV everyday at 9pm.

New Delhi (IANS): The sordid tale of unfairness to the fair sex in ruralIndia hit the screens last Friday, ahead of the International Women's Day.The two-hour bilingual movie in Hindi and Punjabi, "Kudessan" or "Womanfrom the East", depicts the plight of poor women from Bihar who are beingpurchased by rich landlords of Punjab."The movie is basically based on true human trafficking stories and triesto narrate the plight of women, especially the teenagers, who have to

face sexual exploitation and abuse just for a few thousand rupees," direc-tor-cum-actor Jeet Matharru told IANS.The film is based on a Punjabi play, "The Namesake", written by JatinderBrar, the man behind Punjab Naatshala, a theatre in Amritsar. "It took sixyears for me to make this social drama which will definitely leave ques-tions for society," Matharru, whose maiden Punjabi movie "Adi Tapa"was quite hit."Kudessan" is the story of a rural girl from Bihar, who is sold by her fatherto a 65-year-old farmer from Punjab under the grab of a domestic help.There she is a "Kudessan" or "Woman from the East" and suffered atroci-ties and abused. She finally decided to fight it out. It's just an attempt toportray the real life into reel life," Matharru said.He said in eastern India the practice of selling girls is still prevalent. Theprosperous people in rural areas of Punjab and Haryana, which are infa-mous for skewed sex ratio, still prefer to buy girls from Bihar in lust ofbearing boys. Such girls often face humiliation and torture throughouttheir life.According to Matharru, the idea of depicting the tale of trafficked womencame in the mind of Brar, Punjabi play 'Kudessan' writer, during his visitto Bihar 25 years back. "During his visit to Bihar, Brar was curious whena dhaba (roadside eatery) owner offered him a girl for Rs1,000, Rs2,000and Rs5,000," he said."Even one of his friend bought a girl for Rs2,000. When Brar sahib askedhis friend that what will he do with this girl? He replied: 'Nothing. We willhave fun and leave her," said Matharru. Noted Bhojpuri actor PakkhiHegde will in the role of Ganga, who is sold by her father. This is hermaiden Punjabi film. Singer Kailash Kher sang a promotional song for themovie titled "Beti", which narrates the tale of girls and women in thecountry. The movie was released simultaneously in India and Canada.

Hamilton (IANS): Guided by Shikhar Dhawan's dominating century, India'ssmooth eight-wicket victory over Ireland here on Tuesday ensured thatthe defending World Champions will finish at the top of Pool B.India bowled Ireland for 259 at the Seddon Park. In reply, India had noproblem chasing down the target as Dhawan scored his second hun-dred of the tournament, in only 84 balls, to guide the Asian team to itsninth consecutive Cup win with 13.1 overs to spare. Openers RohitSharma (64) and Dhawan exploited the inexperienced Irish bowlers tostrike India's highest World Cup opening stand of 174 runs to more orless settle the matter for their side. The par tnership completely tookaway the game from the Irish. While Rohit hit three boundaries andsixes each in his knock, Dhawan exemplified his form by stroking 11boundaries and five sixes in his 85-ball 100.

New Delhi (IANS): Music maestro A. R. Rahman will kick star t histhree month long North American tour March 21. He promises to de-liver "special performances".The tour will begin May 21 in Huntington, NY at TheParamount before travelling to major cities acrossthe US, including the Beacon Theatre in New YorkCity, Bass Concert Hall in Austin, The AuditoriumTheatre in Chicago and the Nokia Theatre at LosAngeles."I've been wanting to return to North America toperform for a while now, and I'm excited to be com-ing back for a series of concer ts this spring,"Rahman said in a statement on his Facebook page."These are going to be very special performancesand I'm grateful to have the chance to share themwith you," he added.The Oscar-winning composer will perform various tracks from his 20-year career on the 13-city tour, which will stop on May 28 at the

Beacon Theatre in New York and Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on June10. Titled "A.R. Rahman: The Intimate Concert Tour" and sponsored by

JBL, the tickets for the show will go on sale March6, with VIP packages available on March 4. The 48-year-old is also the subject of a new documentaryabout his music, titled "Jai Ho", which premiered onFebruray 25 at the Museum of the Moving Image inNew York.Rahman has won two Academy Awards, twoGrammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globeand six honorary doctorates. He has delivered land-mark scores in films like "Roja", "Bombay", "DilSe..", "Taal", "Lagaan", "Delhi 6", "Slumdog Million-aire", "127 Hours", "Rockstar", "Highway", "MillionDollar Arm" and "The Hundred-Foot Journey". He iscurrently working on a composition for the for th-

coming film "Pele", a biopic chronicling the legendary Brazilian soccerplayer's life.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015 b o l l y w o o d

Movie Review

'Dirty Politics' - givingpoliticians a bad name

CAST: MALLIKA SHERAWAT, OM PURI,

NASEERUDDIN SHAH, JACKIE SHROFF,

ASHUTOSH RANA, ATUL KULKARNI AND

SUSHANT SINGH

DIRECTOR: K.C. BOKADIA

RATING: *1/2

2 Hawaizaada Maaza My Lord

3 Badlapur Jeena Jeena

4 Roy Tu Hai Ki Nahi

5 Shamitabh Pidly

6 Dir ty Politics Ghagra

7 Shamitabh Sha Sha Mi Mi

8 Dolly Ki Doli Phatte Tak Nachna

9. Dum Laga ke Haisha Dard Karara

10 Badlapur Jee Karda

top

10

HIT OR FLOP MIDWEEKDUM LAGA KE HAISHA HIT

DIRTY POLITICS AVERAGE

BADLAPUR HIT

AB TEK CHAPPAN 2 AVERAGE

QISSA HIT

FILM

songsSONG

KHAMOSHIYANFilm: Khamoshiyan

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The pot-bellied grotesque politician from Rajasthan used to be theface of politics in India at a time when the Chautalas were doing their'ghotalas'. With a new crop of smar ter netas, hopefully less suscep-tible to corruption, the era of the 'bad' politician seems blessedlybehind us.And that's precisely why producer-director K.C. Bokadia's 'dir ty' lookat the filth in Indian politics is hopelessly outdated. This is the murkyMachiavellian world of Prakash Jha's politicians stuck in a time-warp. Denuded of all intellectual sensibility, it harks back to the 1970swhen netajis in our films were so caricatural that they belonged tocar toons in vernacular newspapers.Om Puri plays his role of the lecherous politician with lip-smackingrelish. Like a diabetic man whose wife is away to her mother's house,while he gorges on forbidden junk food.This is junk food for the audience that believes cinema is about se-ductive heroines, lascivious villains, loud over-punctuated backgroundmusic, camera angles and cinematography that seem to adhere tothe gimmicky treatment, like an annoying snivelling child clinging toits mother's bosom.Bokadia's cameraman Paneer Selvam seems to know exactly whatthe director wants. Fleets of politicians' cars are shot in high-speed tosave time. Or is it to make the frames look more exciting than theyactually are? God knows, this film desperately needs a reason tosurvive its lengthy playing time. Actors of the calibre of Atul Kulkarniand Sushant Singh grapple with a script and lines that are so outra-geously didactic that they sound like messages written on the wallsof the loo at a government office visited week after week by tiredpensioners.Curiously, Kukarni and Singh play honest policemen, brothers namedNischay and Nirbhaya. Get it? They work together to eradicate the dir tfrom politics. But who's going to clean out Indian mainstream cinemafrom the lingering legacy of a distastefully pungent past that films ofthis kind stubbornly cling to?It is hard to say which is a funnier sight. Mallika Sherawat trying toact in a sari. Or Mallika Sherawat trying to act coy while Om Puritakes off her sari. Either way she cuts a 'sari' figure trying to do whatshe was never cut out to do - act.As the dancer-turned-politician Anokhi Devi, Mallika tries to compen-sate for her lack of acting chops with facial vigour and physical en-ergy. There is a par ticularly unaesthetic lovemaking sequence donein deliberately bad light which can't hide Puri's flab and Sherawat'sdisinterest. Can a film about a horny politician and a wily item girl bemade without the two looking interested in each other?Reduced to the indignity of playing a lecherous over-libidinous politi-cian who has the hots for an ambitious siren, Om Puri does what he

can, given the constraints of a corny script that relies on sleaze andshock value to get our attention. Other talented actors like NaseeruddinShah (playing an honest journalist stuck with a daughter whom thepoliticians kidnap), Anupam Kher (playing a straight-faced honestCBI officer), and Ashutosh Rana (very effective as Om Puri's righthand man) Aseem, seem to be in it for fun. Nothing that we see in"Dir ty Politics" justifies the presence of these talented actors. A verypoorly executed film which makes you feel sorry for the body-politicof the nation. Surely things are not so bad in politics?

I'D LOVE TO PLAY INDIRAGANDHI: MALLIKA SHERAWATMumbai (IANS): After starring in "Dir ty Politics", actress MallikaSherawat says she would love to feature in a biopic on lateprime minister Indira Gandhi."Biopics are very challenging. I have not really thought aboutit but, if given a chance I would love to play Indira Gandhi,"Mallika said in reply to a query."I really enjoyed 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', one of the best biopics,and was very impressed by it."Directed by K.C. Bokadia, "Dir ty Pol i t ics" a lso featuresNaseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Anupam Kher.There were repor ts that Mallika had shif ted her base to theUS. Clarifying this, she said: "I'm very much here and havenot shifted to America. I am hoping this film will open doors forme and hope directors take me seriously and offer me performance-oriented roles."

STILL OF UPCOMING MOVIE REY (IANS)


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015b o l l y w o o d

NASSERUDDIN SHAH, PARESH RAWAL AND ANNU KAPOOR DURING THE TRAILER LAUNCH OF FILM DHARAM SANKAT MEIN INMUMBAI (IANS)

Not compromised on 'NH10' storyfor certification: Anushka SharmaMumbai (IANS): Actress-producer Anushka Sharma feels re-lieved that her co-production "NH10" didn't have to suffer much over cusswords and has been cleared with few audio cuts and one visual cut byCensor Board. She asserts that despite an 'A' certificate to the film, they havenot compromised with the film's story."We don't want to compromise withour film. We have got an 'A' certificate, one visual cut and few audio cuts,which we have accepted," Anushka said here Wednesday during the launchof Spring Summer collection inspired by the film NH10. As far as we could,we have not compromised with the story, with what we are trying to show tothe audiences. Somewhere we are happy with whatever has happened,"she added. Recently, CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) issued acontroversial diktat blacklisting 'offensive' words from Indian films. Thedecision has left many Bollywood celebrities in shock and disagreement.

Took 'Margarita With A Straw' asa test for myself: Kalki KoechlinMumbai (IANS): Actress Kalki Koechlin, who essays the roleof a cerebral palsy affected girl in Shonali Bose's directorial"Margarita With A Straw", says the audition for this film wastoughest for her and she took it as a test for herself."I loved the script. Shonali (Bose) e-mailed it to me and imme-diately I wrote back to her that I loved the script. It scaredthe hell out of me that she could even think that I could dothis," Kalki told repor ters here Wednesday at the trai lerlaunch of the film. The audition for this film was toughestfor me," she added."Margarita With A Straw" is a gentle coming-of-age story of ayoung Indian woman effected with cerebral palsy (played by KalkiKoechlin) and it also explores the sexuality of disabled people.Kalki's performance was appreciated on the international arenaand she bagged Best Actress Award for Kalki at Tallinn BlackNights Film Festival held last year. In India, "Margarita With AStraw" is expected to release on March 13.

Mumbai (IANS): Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who will beseen in K.C. Bokadia's "Dir ty Politics", says his character inthe film is somewhat like Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal."I play an idolised version of Delhi's Chief Minister (ArvindKejriwal)...like him, this character also stands for right thingsand succeeds thereaf ter," the actor said here Tuesday during apress conference to promote the film.Kejriwal, who has become Delhi's chief minister for thesecond time, was a team member of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement. He then took the political route andformed the Aam Aadmi Par ty. He first became the chief

minister after the 2013 Delhi assembly polls but stepped downafter 49 days. He made a historic comeback in the assemblypolls this year.Like Kejriwal, Naseeruddin's character in "Dir ty Politics" is a"political activist and always believes in taking action againstwrong doings"."Somewhere he is a witness of everything that happens in thestory and at last he is the one who decides to take the positiveaction," he added."Dir ty Politics" also features Mallika Sherawat, Jackky Shroff,Anupam Kher, Ashutosh Rana and Om Puri in key roles.

I play idolised version of Kejriwalin 'Dirty Politics': Naseeruddin

Emraan Hashmi turns invisible in 'Mr X' trailerMumbai (IANS): The first trailer of Emraan Hashmi's upcoming 3D thriller "Mr X" sees the actor taking on the role of an invisible copnamed Raghuram Rathod, who takes revenge from people who did wrong to him.Directed by Vikram Bhatt, the story of the film revolves around Raghuram, who is forced to become a vigilante and gets entangled intoa treacherous scheme. He is left to die in a chemical factory by people who blow it up with the intention to kill him. However, thechemicals in the factory cause a reaction that turns him invisible and this unique quality allows him to take revenge from his killers.Emraan, who has previously starred in films like "Murder", "Gangster", "Jannat" and "The Dir ty Picture" has received a positive responsefor the trailer."Great to see Amazing MrX Trailer trending.. Thanks for the lovely response... #MrX @emraan_team," he tweeted.Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt also took to Twitter to say 'hello' to the film. "Say hello to Mr Invisible! Trailer of #MrX http://youtu.be/5nCicl_EFnE is out!!! @foxstarhindi," he wrote. Produced by Vishesh Films, "Mr X" also stars Amyra Dastur, Arunoday Singh and NoraFatehi. It will hit screens on April 17.

India-set 'Marigold Hotel'opens strong at US box officeWashington, (IANS) India-set comedy "The Second Best ExoticMarigold Hotel" opened strong at number three at the US boxoffice with an estimated $8.6 million in its first weekend ofrelease. India-themed films rarely climb this high on the USbox office char ts, according to data released by its distributorFox Searchlight. Even Hollywood studio films such as "Life of Pi", "TheHundred Foot Journey", and "Million Dollar Arm" never made it to the topthree at any time during their runs despite playing in more theatres thanMarigold. "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is the follow-up to the2012 hit "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" which opened in the US in limitedrelease in 27 theatres before building up interest word-of-mouth andeventually reaching nearly 1,300 theatres nationwide. It spentseven weeks in the top ten -- peaking at number six -- andfinished its US run with $46.4 million. Judi Dench, Maggie Smith,Dev Patel, Tina Desai and Lillete Dubey, among others, re-turned for the sequel which added Richard Gere to the cast.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


80 PERTOSA DRIVE, UNIT 12,BRAMPTON ONT., L6X 5E9



HOLLYWOOD

SINGER RANJIT BAWA DURING THE PROMOTION OF HIS LATEST ALBUM `MITTI DA BAWA` IN AMRITSAR (IANS)

e n t e r t a i n m e n t

LMGA Awards:'Wild','GrandBudapest Hotel' win bigLos Angeles, (IANS) Actress Reese Witherspoon-starrer "Wild"won the top honour for Outstanding Locations in a ContemporaryFilm and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was bestowed the trophyfor Outstanding Locations in a Period Film at the second Loca-tion Managers Guild of America (LMGA) awards.The show took place at the Wallis Annenberg Center for thePerforming Ar ts in Beverly Hills Saturday, repor ts variety.com.The biographical drama film, "Wild", was shot mostly in Oregonand along par ts of the Pacific Crest Trail, with Nancy Haecker aslocation manager."The Grand Budapest Hotel" achieved its authentic look by film-ing in Germany and Poland. Location manager Klaus Darrelmanntook the prize.Among the television categories, "True Detective" was awardedfor contemporary series and "Boardwalk Empire" won for periodseries. Other winners included Coca-Cola spot "America is Beau-tiful" for Outstanding Locations in a Single Commercial (JimmyAyoub, Cyndy McCrossen, Peter Or th, Stephen Pherigo), and"Ram Trucks" for Outstanding Locations in a Commercial Cam-paign (David McKinney and Peter Or th).The City of Long Beach Office of Special Events and Filming wonthe prize for Outstanding Film Commission.LMGA was star ted last year to recognise the creative contribu-tions of location professionals in seven categories of film, tele-vision and commercials.Actress Alfre Woodard presented the Humanitarian Award toproducer Caroline Baron, founder of NGO FilmAid International.Actors Debbie Allen and Ted Lange handed out the LifetimeAchievement Award to veteran location manager Kokayi Ampah,who has collaborated with directors like Clint Eastwood andSteven Spielberg.

JACKIE SHROFF WOULD 'LOVE'TO WORK WITH SON TIGER

Mumbai (IANS): Actor Jackie Shroff says hehas been inundated with queries about whenhe'll share the frame with his talented son Ti-ger. He says it will happen when the "rightscript" comes their way."As a father I am really proud of my son. He'sdoing really well. People have been coming upto us and asking, 'When would we be seen shar-ing the screen?', but it all depends on the scriptand if we come across a good one then I'd loveto work with him," said Jackie.Jackie, who was last seen in Farah Khan's"Happy New Year", is now caught up promot-ing the for thcoming "Dir ty Politics", directedby K.C. Bokadia."I'm playing a powerful man in the film. As thetitle says, the film is all about politics. I hopethe audience enjoys watching the movie asmuch as we enjoyed making it," he said."Dir ty Politics" also features Mallika Sherwatand veteran actor Om Puri.

Bieber roasters includeMartha Stewart, Snoop DoggLos Angeles (IANS): Shaquille O'Neil, Mar tha Stewar t, SnoopDogg, Ludacris, Hannibal Buress, Chris D'Elia, Natasha Leggero,and Jeffrey Ross are ready to 'roast' singer Justin Bieber on ashow. Comedy Central's "Justin Bieber Roast" will be taped onMarch 14 at Sony Studios and it will air on March 30, repor tsaceshowbiz.com. Kevin Har t is the 'roast master' for theprogramme. The last Comedy Central roast special was in 2013with James Franco as the butt of the jokes and Seth Rogen asthe roast master.

Demi Lovato keen tocollaborate with EminemLos Angeles (IANS): Singer Demi Lovato hopes she and famedrapper Eminem can make "something awesome", inspired bytheir experiences as recovered drug addicts. Lovato expressedher desire to collaborate with the rapper as she spoke of heranticipated fif th studio album, repor ts aceshowbiz.com. "I'mexcited to explore with different sounds which is what I'm doingin the studio right now and to see what comes about," she said.Lovato went on to talk about her dream collaborators, whichincluded Eminem. I can relate to him with being in recoveryand things like that so I think we could make something awe-some together," she said. A few years ago, the 22-year-old popstar sought treatment for an eating disorder as well as drug andalcohol addiction. She previously also battled an addiction topainkillers and other drugs.

KATE BOSWORTH'SCHALLENGING 20SLos Angeles (IANS): Actress Kate Boswor th says she struggledto cope with her stardom in her twenties, before turning to herclose friend Helena Christensen for advice.The 32-year-old actress, who shot to fame in the US TV series"Young Americans" in 2000 aged just 17, struggled to copewith the pressures of stardom as she grew up and was lucky tofind solace in the model, who gave her valuable guidance,repor ts femalefirst.co.uk."I was quite armoured for a lot of years. I had been going throughsuch a hard time (in my 20s). I felt like it was me and myexperience was unique, when actually everyone goes throughthese challenges. "'I just said to her, 'God, I am struggling... I'mfeeling quite lost.' And she replied, 'You should have called me.I have been through that so many times.' And that was whenthe penny finally dropped. I don't think I'd be where I am with-out her," Boswor th told The Edit magazine while talking aboutthe 46-year-old Christensen.

JLO THINKS 'SINGERS ORDANCERS' ARE BEST LOVERSLos Angeles (IANS): Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez feels "sing-ers or dancers" make the best lovers. The "On the floor"hitmaker was previously married to Ojani Noa, dancer CrisJudd and singer Marc Anthony; was engaged to actor Ben Affleck;and dated dancer Casper Smar t and rapper P. Diddy. She hasnow suggested that not all the men in her life have been im-pressive in the bedroom, repor ts femalefirst.co.uk.Asked who makes the best lovers, she told Loaded magazine:"I would say singers or dancers."The 45-year-old beauty, who has seven-year-old twins Maxand Emme with Anthony, also admitted she has been left feel-ing inadequate after being cheated on the past."I've been in relationships where there has been infidelity andyou're left to feel like you did something wrong, like there'ssomething wrong with you, you're not enough, all of those feel-ings that we struggle with. Men and women go through this bythe way, it's not just a woman thing."

Priyanka to star in a documentary on Bollywood?

diverse as Anil Kapoor, PriyankaChopra, and Irr fan are now eas-ily melding both East and Westand catering to mass audiencesaround the world. The documen-tary will feature other Bollywoodactors as well. Storm Productionsis a US based production housethat is currently developing sev-eral film and media projects withIndian par tners."This is a film that needs to bedone at this time. It's sor t of adebutante stor y, whereBollywood is the beautiful youngwoman making her grand ap-pearance on the world stage. In-dians have always appreciatedBollywood, and now justifiably,the world will as well. It parallelsquite nicely with India's comingof age and hyper-growth over thelast decade along with its globalambitions," said a source closeto the project.When we contacted AJ Roy, thefounder of the production housewho is also directing the docu-mentary he said, "Yes I'm work-ing on the documentary which isa passion project. Having beenborn in India, but then raised inthe West, it was very impor tantfor me to share the beauty ofBollywood with the world. Wehave approached many actors topar take in this project, and ofcourse Priyanka tops our list asshe is an international star now.

Hol lywood insiders indicatePriyanka Chopra might be seenin a documentary which is being

produced by US based productionhouse, Storm Productions.The documentary is an in depth

look at the evolution of Bollywoodwith a specific focus on its talentas global phenomena. Talent as



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


DUAL INJURY BLOWFOR SRI LANKA AHEADOF AUSTRALIA CLASHSydney (IANS): Sri Lanka will be forced to make at leasttwo changes for Sunday's crunch cricket World Cup clashwith Australia here, with veteran spinner Rangana Herathruled out and batsman Dimuth Karunaratne being sidelinedfor the rest of the tournament.The 36-year-old, left-armer Herath has been ruled out aftersplitting the webbing between his spin fingers in the side'slast win over England, repor ts cricket.com.au.Officials are hoping Herath will return before the knockoutphase of the tournament, with Sri Lanka scheduled to playtheir quar ter-final here.However, young batsman Karunaratne will miss the rest ofthe World Cup after fracturing his little finger duringThursday's training session. "He has to undergo surgeryand will be out for about four weeks. He will return home,"Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors and former captainSanath Jayasuriya said.The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday approvedall-rounder Seekuge Prasanna as a replacement for theinjured Karunaratne. Prasanna, on the other hand, hasplayed 22 One-Day Internationals (ODI) in which he hasscored 181 runs and taken 21 wickets. His last appearancefor Sri Lanka was earlier this year when he played againstNew Zealand in Wellington.Sri Lanka, placed in Pool A, have played four matches,winning three. Prasanna had been flown over as cover forHerath. ICC rules stipulate any injury-enforced changes ina squad are permanent.As such, Prasanna would only have played againstMichael Clarke's men if Herath was ruled out of thetournament. Karunaratne's injury has seemingly solvedthat issue, ensuring Sri Lanka will field a frontline spinnerfor Sunday's game. It leaves the squad shor t a batsman,with Jayasuriya revealing Kusal Perera will travel toSydney as a "precautionary measure". The loser of theweekend's fixture at the SCG will almost cer tainly finishthird in Pool A. That would come with the challenge of alikely quar ter-final against South Africa, then a potential semi-final against New Zealand in Auckland.

BANGLADESH ENTER WC QUARTERS,ENGLAND OUSTED

ADELAIDE, (IANS) Bangladesh cre-ated history on Monday by oustingEngland from the cricket World Cup'sleague stage and securing aquarterfinal berth for the first timewith a 15-run victory in a Pool A gameat the Adelaide Oval.In the process, they cleared the pathfor Sri Lanka to join New Zealand andAustralia from their pool in the lasteight. New Zealand are sitting prettyat the top with 10 points, whileBangladesh and Australia have sevenpoints each. Sri Lanka have sixpoints, while fifth-placed Englandslumped to their fourth loss in fivematches. They have two points, thesame as Afghanistan.Bangladesh had posted 275/7 in 50overs thanks to MohammadMahmudullah (103) who became firstbatsman from his country to score acentury in the World Cup. He forged a141-run partnership with MushfiqurRahim (89).In reply, England were bowled out for260 in 48.3 overs. Ian Bell (63), JosButtler (65) and Chris Woakes (not

out 42) did their best, yet they fellshort by 15 runs.For Bangladesh, medium pacersRubel Hossain (4-53), skipperMoshrafe Mortaza (2-48) and TaskinAhmed (2-59) did all the damageagainst the much-vaunted Englishteam. England were going good tillthe 26th over when they were 120/2with experienced Bell holding the in-nings together but he edged the firstball of the 27th over to wicketkeeperRahim off Hossain.The left-arm seamer dealt a hugeblow when he got rid of skipper EoinMorgan (0) three deliveries later toreduce the opponents to 121/4 andpegged them back.Right-armer Taskin bagged JamesTaylor (1) to leave England reeling at132/5. Young and relaible batsmanJoe Root (29) perished againstMortaza to make it 163/6 in 35.4overs. Afterwards, Buttler andWoakes exercised damage controland brought England into contentionwith a 75-run stand. They pushed theirteam to 238/6 till the fourth ball of the

46th over. But with a mounting re-quired run rate, it was a tall ask forthem and they lost their wickets inthe process. Chris Jordan (0) wasrun out. Hossain returned to dismissStuart Broad (9) and James Ander-son (0) to win it by 15 runs and trig-gered a wild celebration in theBangladesh camp. Earlier, coming atthe fall of two wickets for just eightruns in the third over, Mahumudullahheld the innings together and scoredhis maiden One-Day International(ODI) ton. When two more wicketstumbled with his team at 99/4 in the22nd over, he was joined by Rahim.The right-hander duo not onlywriggled the team out of trouble butalso enabled the team to post a com-petitive total despite a poor start.At the start, pacer Anderson starredfor England. The right-armer forcedan edge from left-hander Imrul Kayes(2) to Jordan at third slip. OpenerTamim Iqbal (2) could only managedan edge to Root at second slip inAnderson's second over.It left the Asian side reeling at 8/2

and in walked Mahmudullah. Hejoined Saumya Sarkar (40) and theyexercised a damage control with a86-run stand. With five fours and asix, Sarkar was looking good beforehe edged a Jordan delivery towicketkeeper Buttler in the 21st over.In the next over, experienced ShakibAl Hasan (2) perished against off-spinner Moeen Ali to leave his sidein deep waters at 99/4.Former skipper Rahim joinedMahmudullah and the duo kept thescoreboard ticking. They upped theante in the later part of their partner-ship. Rahim was more aggressiveas he hit eight fours and a six in the77 balls he faced.The 29-year-old Mahumudullah hitseven fours and a six to notch up his100 in 131 balls. He was run out by adirect throw from Chris Woakes.Anderson and Jordan picked twowickets apiece, while Chris Broadand Ali took a wicket each.Brief scores: Bangladesh 275/7 in 50overs (Mohammad Mahmudullah103, Mushfiqur Rahim 89; JamesAnderson 2-45, Chris Jordan 2-59)beat England 260 all out in 48.3 overs(Jos Buttler 65, Ian Bell 63; RubelHossain 4-53, Moshrafe Mortaza 2-48, Taskin Ahmed 2-59).

BANGLADESH CRICKET FANS CHEER AFTER THE NATIONAL TEAM DEFEATED ENGLAND IN THE INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL(ICC) WORLD CUP GAME IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH (IANS)

Unbelievablydisappointing to beknocked out: MorganAdelaide, (IANS) A dejected England skipper Eoin Morgan onMonday said it is "unbelievably disappointing" that they crashedout of the World Cup after losing to Bangladesh in their fifth WorldCup Pool A game at the Adelaide Oval.Needing a win to stay alive in the contest, England began wellwith both bat and ball but lost the game by a mere 15-run margin."Pretty poor to be knocked out this early from a World Cup. Unbe-lievably disappointing. We bowled reasonably well, but wecouldn't quite match it up with the bat. I can't pick where it wentwrong. I am gutted at the moment," said Morgan who once againfailed to get off the mark.Chasing a formidable total of 275 for seven, England were bowledout in the penultimate over of the match as Bangladesh mediumpacer Rubel Hossain (4/53) clean bowled tail-ender James Ander-son with a yorker.The skipper said his team tried addressing the problems butcould not rectify them. He added he don't know what is in storefor the future but they will definitely look back at the perfor-mances and ponder on what went wrong."It ultimately comes down to the performance, and some of themdid, but not all of us as a unit. We have tried to address theproblem, but obviously it hasn't worked. Our expectations werehigher than the way we performed, so it is obviously disappoint-ing," he said."No idea what will happen from here. Again, there will be aninquest over the next few weeks to see what went wrong, andthen we will go from there," he added.In their last inconsequential group game England will face min-nows Afghanistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 13.

INDIA MOST LIKELY TOFACE BANGLADESH INWC QUARTERSHamilton, (IANS) Bangladesh's 15-run win over England hasmore or less settled the question of who India will face in thequar ter finals.With the win at the Adelaide Oval in a Pool A match, Bangladeshcleared the path for Sri Lanka to join New Zealand and Australiafrom their pool in the last eight. New Zealand are sitting pretty atthe top with 10 points, while Bangladesh and Australia haveseven points each.Sri Lanka have six points, while fifth-placed England slumped totheir four th loss in five matches. They have two points, the sameas Afghanistan.India are on top of Pool B with eight points and they have a strongchance of finishing on top. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men areexpected to beat Ireland and Zimbabwe and advance with fullpoints from the six matches.Second-placed South Africa have six points from five matchesand even if India lose both the matches and the Proteas win one,the defending champions will be on top on better run rate. Third-placed Pakistan, who have six points with one match remaining,have a lower run rate as compared to India.

India can '99percent' win WorldCup: Madan Lal

Greater Noida, (IANS) One of the1983 World Cup-winning heroes,Madan Lal is mightily impressedwith the current Indian cricketteam and believes that they can"99 percent" retain the presti-gious title. "I must say that In-dia is playing very good cricketat the moment. The way theyare playing is the best I haveseen in a long time," the formerbowling al l-rounder said hereon Monday."India can 99 percent win thisWorld Cup. If one day goes bad,that is another thing and if theydon't win, then it will be due totheir own mistakes. But hats offt o t hem fo r how they haveplayed so far."India have star ted their WorldCup campaign on a brilliant noteby defeating Pakistan, South Africa,the United Arab Emirates and theWest Indies on the trot to qualify forthe quarter-finals. In the process,they won their eighth match in arow in World Cups which equalstheir previous longest Cup streak,established in 2003."The team has done well in allthe depar tments -- bowling, bat-ting and fielding. The turnaroundthat they made following their tourof Australia is remarkable," addedLal, who inaugurated his newcricket academy at Gaur Cityhere on Monday.

GLENN MAXWELL ACKNOWLEDGES THE CROWD AFTER SCORING A TON, AUSTRALIA V SRI LANKA.

MAXWELL GUIDES AUSTRALIATO 376/9 AGAINST SRI LANKA

IRELAND SNATCH 5-RUNWIN OVER ZIMBABWE

Sydney, (IANS) Glenn Maxwell's maiden One-Day Interna-tional (ODI) century helped Australia rack up an imposing376/9 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in a World Cup Pool Aencounter at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here onSunday.Maxwell's blitzkrieg knock of 102, the fastest century by anAustralian in ODIs and the second fastest in World Cups, aswell as two-century run par tnerships between skipperMichael Clarke (68) and Steven Smith (72) and Shane Watson(67) and Maxwell helped the four-time champions to mass thehighest Cup total against Sri Lanka by any team.Australia did not star t well as they lost openers Aaron Finch(24) and David Warner (9) by the ninth over to be at 41/2.However, a 134-run third-wicket partnership between Clarke andSmith settled the innings before Maxwell and Watson went ballisticin the end to power them to this significant total.Clarke scored his 57th half-century while Smith his fifth togive themselves a brilliant platform at 175/2 in the 31st over.However, both got out in a span of five balls which brought

out Maxwell and Watson.The duo went berserk in the death overs to smash a 160-runfif th-wicket par tnership to propel the run rate.Maxwell's 53-ball 102 included 10 boundaries and four hugesixes as he brought up his century in only 51 balls.On the other hand, Watson, dropped from their last match due topoor form, gave a 'good' worry to the Australian managementwho will think twice before dropping him.The all-rounder hammered 67 off 41 deliveries, his inningsstudded with seven fours and two sixes.A nine-ball, 25-run cameo by wicketkeeper-batsman BradHaddin also helped Australia push their total.The Sri Lankan bowlers did not have much to boast about aseveryone who rolled their arms, apar t from Lasith Malinga,gave away 6.5 or more an over. Pacers Lasith Malinga (2/59)and Thisara Perera (2/87) picked up two wickets each.Brief scores: Australia 376/9 in 50 overs (Glenn Maxwell 102,Steven Smith 72, Michael Clarke 68; Lasith Malinga 2/59,Thisara Perera 2/87) vs Sri Lanka.

Napier, (IANS) New Zealand bowled out Afghanistan for 186 andoverhauled the target with six wickets to spare in a cricket WorldCup Pool A match at McLean Park here on Sunday.Veteran left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori(4/18) and pacer Trent Boult(3/34) had reduced Afghanistan to 59/6 in 20th over. However,Samiullah Shenwari (54) and Najibullah Zadran (56) forged an 86-run partnership for the seventh wicket to bail the team out of theslump. Yet they were bowled out for 186 in 47.4 overs.In pursuit of an easy target, the host hardly broke a sweat and gotover the line with ease in 37th over. Skipper Brendon McCullumraced to a 19-ball 42 to provide a sparkling start.After he lost his wicket to his Afghanistan counterpart MohammadNabi, Martin Guptill (57) was joined in middle by in-form KaneWilliamson (33). They stitched a 58-run stand before youngWilliamson was caught by Shenwari at mid-wicket off pacerShapoor Zadran. Guptill, 28, registered his 22nd One-Day Interna-tional (ODI) fifty. Later, experienced Ross Taylor (not out 24), GrantEliott (19) and Corey Anderson (not out 7) completed formalities togive the co-host their fifth win in as many matches. They are on topof Pool A, while the Afghans are sixth with one win in five matches.New Zealand are expected to make it six out of six as they will faceBangladesh on March 13. Afghanistan, who are already out of racefor the quarterfinals, will have to battle it out against England fortheir second win. Earlier, Afghanistan innings got off to a poor star twith two openers Javed Ahmadi(1) and Usman Ghani (0) perishingto pacer Boult and Vettori. From 6/2 in the third over, they stoopedto 59/6 in 20th over. Asghar Stanikzai (9) lost his wicket to left-armer Boult. Vettori dismissed in-form Nawroz Mangal (27), Nabi(6) and wicket-keeper-batsman Afsar Zafai (0) as the cup debutantsstumbled to 59/6. Afterwards, a seventh-wicket partnership be-tween Shenwari (54)and Najibullah (56) for 86 runs rescued them.Their stand became the fifth highest for the seventh wicket in thehistory of the quadrennial event. The 22-year-old left-handerNajibullah recorded his second ODI half-century. He hit eight foursand two sixes before offering a catch to Vettori at third man offpacer Adam Milne. For 28-year-old Shenwari, it was his 10th fiftyand second in the tournament. He had scored 96 in a winningcause against Scotland. On Sunday, the right-hander played it slowand during his 110-ball knock, he hit five fours and a six.Shenwari offered a simple catch to Ross Taylor and square leg offmedium pacer Anderson, who ended the Afghanistan innings bytaking the wicket of Hamid Hassan (16). They were bowled out for186 which was not at all a task for the strong batting line-up of NewZealand. Brief scores: Afghanistan 186 all out in 47.4 overs (SamiullahShenwari 54, Najibullah Zadran 56, Daniel Vettori 4/18 and Trent Boult 3/34)lose to New Zealand 188/4 in 36.1 overs (Martin Guptill 57, BrendonMcCullum 42; Mohammad Nabi 1/39, Shapoor Zadran 1/45).

NEW ZEALAND THUMPAFGHANISTAN BY SIX WICKETS

Hobart, (IANS) Ireland snatched athrilling five-run win from the jaws ofdefeat when they beat Zimbabwe ina Pool B match to keep alive theirchances of qualifying for the WorldCup quarter-finals.Two brilliant innings from Ed Joyce(112) and Andy Balbirnie (97) guidedIreland to a mammoth 331/8 at theBellerive Oval here on Saturday. Inreply, Brendan Taylor (121) played acaptain's knock with the assistanceof Sean Williams (96) to leave Zim-babwe needing just seven runs of thelast over with two wickets in hand.However, Ireland picked both thewickets in the first three balls of thelast over to claim the second victoryover a Test playing nation in thisWorld Cup, having beaten the WestIndies earlier.Chasing a mammoth target of 332,Zimbabwe were tottering at 74/4 inthe 17th over when wicketkeeper-batsman Taylor and Williams strucka magical 149-run fifth-wicket part-nership to not just steady their shipbut also give themselves a strongchance.Taylor's blistering 91-ball knock, hisseventh One-Day International (ODI)century, also included 11 boundariesand four huge sixes. He also becamethe joint highest century maker forZimbabwe, equalling AlastairCampbell.Though Taylor got out with the scoreat 223 in the 38th over, Williams stillkept going to help his side reach the

300-run mark. It looked like the left-hander would go on to score hismaiden ODI hundred and help his sideto victory. But he got out in controver-sial fashion with the score at 300/6 inthe 47th over.Just when it was looking that Zimba-bwe would snatch a fantastic victorywith Williams at the helm, the 28-year-old smashed a Kevin O'Brien (2/90) delivery only to be caught by JohnMooney right at the edge of the deepmid-wicket boundary.However, reviews showed thatMooney's foot might have touched theboundary line but the third umpireruled in favour of Ireland which provedto be the turning point. The Africanside received another jolt when theylost another wicket to go eight downin 47.4 overs.With 26 required from two overs andeight wickets down, it looked like Ire-land would come out on top but 19runs from Kevin's 49th over changedthe scenario with Zimbabwe need-ing a mere seven off the last over.However, Alex Cusack (4/32) provedto be the hero for the Irish as twowickets in his first three deliverieshanded the minnows an incredibletriumph. Pacer Cusack was the pickof the bowlers, scalping four wicketswith a brilliant economy rate of 3.36.Earlier, asked to bat, man-of-the-match Joyce scored his third cen-tury while Balbirnie smashed a quick-fire 97 off 79 deliveries.Ireland started poorly, losing opener

Paul Stirling (10) early in the thirdover. Captain William Por terfieldstuck it out in the middle to score apatient 29 off 61 but eventually giftedhis wicket to left-arm spinner Will-iams (3/72) with Ireland at 79 in the21st over.Thereon, a brilliant 138-run third-wicket s tand between Joyceand Balbirnie gave the Irish theplatform to put up a big total.Joyce st roked n ine beaut i fu lboundaries and three sixes inhis 103-ball knock while Balbirniehammered his second ODI half-cen-tury which included seven fours andfour huge sixes.Right-hander Balbirn ie had asuper chance of scor ing h ismaiden hundred in his 15th ODIbut was run out while trying toaccelerate on the first ball of thelast over.Kevin (24) and wicketkeeper-batsman Gary Wilson (25) alsoplayed impor tant cameos at thefag end of the innings to takeIreland to the highest total byan Associate team in World Cups.The Zimbabwean bowlers looked to-tally unimpressive though TendaiChatara (3-61) and Williams pickedup three wickets each.Brief scores: Ireland 331/8 in 50 overs(Ed Joyce 112, Andy Balbirnie 97;Tendai Chatara 3-61, Sean Williams3-72) vs Zimbabwe 326 all out in 49.3overs (Brendan Taylor 121, Sean Wil-liams 96; Alex Cusack 4/32).

Ian Gould becomes 15th umpire to stand in 100 ODIsSydney, (IANS) Ian Gould became the 15th umpire to stand in 100 One-Day Internationals (ODIs)when he took the field in the Australia versus Sri Lanka match in World Cup 2015 at Sydneycricket ground on Sunday. On completing 100 ODIs, Gould said in a statement: "I love umpiringand really consider it a great honour to be on the field with the some of the greatest players in theworld. Cricket is just such a great game."Gould joined the first-class umpires' panel in England in 2002 and was elevated to the EmiratesInternational Panel of International Cricket Council (ICC) Umpires in 2006.He made his international umpiring debut in an ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Oval inJune 2006, while he made his Test debut two years later in Bloemfontein in a match betweenSouth Africa and Bangladesh.In 2009, he was promoted to the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. Apar t from his 100 ODIs, hestood in 43 Tests and 29 Twenty20 Internationals. Gould has also umpired in World Cup 2007 and2011, as well as in the Champions Trophy 2009 and 2013. During his playing days, he was awicket-keeper-batsman for Middlesex, Sussex and England in a career that ran from 1975 to1996. He kept wickets for England in 18 ODIs in 1983, including seven during the World Cup 1983in which he scored 66 runs and accounted for 12 batsmen behind wickets. The umpire with mostappearances in ODIs is Rudi Koer tzen who stood in 209 matches.



PAKISTANI PLAYER MOHAMMAD IRFAN CELEBRATES FALL OF A WICKET DURING AN ICC WORLD CUP 2015 MATCH BETWEENPAKISTAN AND SOUTH AFRICA AT EDEN PARK, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (IANS)

BOWLERS HELP PAKISTANBEAT PROTEAS BY 29 RUNSAuckland, (IANS) Skipper AB de Villiers' spirited knock of 58-ball 77 went in vain as South Africa lost to Pakistan by 29 runsvia the Duckwor th-Lewis method in a World Cup Pool B matchat the Eden Park here on Saturday.Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (56) had registered his four th half-century in the tournament but that didn't stop South Africa frombowling Pakistan for 222 runs in 46.4 overs. Pakistan weredecently placed at 197-5 in 40.1 overs when rain halted the playand it shor tened the innings by three overs.Due to the Duckwor th-Lewis rules, the target was revised andSouth Africa needed 232 in 47 overs. But they were bowled outfor 202 runs in 33.2 overs as three young Pakistan left-armseamers Mohammad Irfan (3-52), Rahat Ali (3-40) and Wahab Riaz (3-45) made life difficult.Even though Hashim Amla (38) and Faf du Plessis played well in theearly part of the innings, they kept losing wickets regularly.De Villiers once again stamped his authority and kept his sidein hunt with his 43rd One-Day International (ODI) fif ty. He hitseven fours and five sixes and became highest run-scorer (318)in the World Cup so far.However, he edged a medium pacer Sohail Khan delivery to thehands of wicketkeeper Sar fraz Ahmed with the win still 32 runsaway and only one wicket remaining. De Villiers' wicket endedthe South Afican hopes and they fell shor t by 29 runs.Wicketkeeper Sar fraz, playing in his first match of the tourna-ment, scored 49 crucial runs and plucked six wickets tobecome man-of-the-match. The 27-year-old also equalled therecord of most catches in an ODI.With this win, Pakistan boosted their chances of reaching thequar ter finals with three wins from five matches and they willplay Ireland in their final Pool game on March 15. South Africaslumped to their second loss in five games but still stand a

strong chance of last eight ber th. They will face the United ArabEmirates (UAE) on March 12,Earlier, Ahmed Shahzad (18) perished early to pacer Kyle Abbot.But Sar frar (49) did well to forge a 62-run stand with experi-enced Younis Khan (37).Sar fraz, looked in fine form. Despite being promoted as amakeshif t opener, his shot selections were good against bothpace and spin. He milked five fours and three huge sixes beforebeing run out at his personal score of 49.Skipper Misbah, who will quit ODI cricket post this World Cup,made full use of his experience. Even though Younis, SohaibMaqsood (8) and Umar Akmal (13) perished in front of him, the40-year-old once again rose to the occasion.Mixing with ones and twos and odd boundaries, he kept thescoreboard ticking. He recorded his four th half-century in fivematches and also scored 41st fif ty before rain halted the play.South Africa bowled exceedingly well after the rain, andexecuted the slow bouncers and yorkers in the death overs toper fection. Pace spearhead Dale steyn dismissed both theunbeaten batsmen Misbah and veteran Shahid Afridi (22) andthe lower-order batsmen failed to contribute.Afridi meanwhile played a cameo of 22 in 15 balls as theProteas choked runs at the death overs.For South Africa, Steyn showed them the way by picking threecrucial wickets, while fast bowlers Abbot and Morne Morkelpicked up two wickets apiece. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir and deVilliers took a wicket each.The Proteas bowlers good work was equally matched by thePakistan bowlers, who ended up on the winning side.Brief scores: Pakistan 222 in 46.4 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 56,Sar fraz Ahmed 49; Dale steyn 3-30, Morne Morkel 2-25, KyleAbbot 2-45) beat South Africa 202 in 33.3 overs.

INDIA DEFEAT WINDIES,ENTER WORLD CUPQUARTERSPerth (IANS): A superlative bowling performance and a coolMahendra Singh Dhoni eventually helped India muster afour-wicket win against the West Indies to notch theirfour th consecutive World Cup Pool B victory on a trickyWACA pitch here last week.A brilliant bowling per formance helped the defendingchampions skittle out the Windies for 182 in 44.2 overswith Man-of-the-Match Mohammed Shami clinching 3-35.In reply, India struggled throughout their chase but level-headed captain Dhoni saw the team through in 39.1 oversto qualify for the quar ter finals.Chasing a meagre 183, India lost both openers RohitSharma (7) and Shikhar Dhawan (9) cheaply. Vicecaptain Virat Kohli (33) took India out from the earlytrouble and looked solid at the crease as he stroked fiveboundaries in his 36-ball innings.However, the Windies pacers were in with a mission andsome lethal pace backed by aid from the fast pitch ledthem to clinch the wickets of Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane (14),Suresh Raina (22) and Ravindra Jadeja (13) at regularintervals to put India in more than a spot of bother.However, a patient Dhoni, coming in at No.6, stuck it outin the middle to score a crucial, unbeaten 45 to see Indiahome with Ravichandran Ashwin (16 not out) beside him.But the Windies bowlers tested India throughout theirinnings.Earlier, asked to bowl, India obliged by packing off theformer two-time champions with pace spearhead Shamibeing the pick of the bowlers. Shami and Umesh Yadav(2/42) bowled superbly in tandem with accurate line-and-length to restrict the Windies at 8/1 in five overs. In fact,explosive opener Chris Gayle (21) struggled and took 11balls to get off the mark, that too in the sixth over.Gayle looked a little dangerous when he smashed twoboundaries and a six but once he got out, Indian bowlersripped apar t the Windies batting line-up. The burly lef t-hander gave three difficult chances to India but eventuallygifted his wicket when he slashed hard a shor t ball onlyto be caught by Mohit Sharma at mid-wicket.Shami, who did not play in India's last match against theUnited Arab Emirates due to injury, and Yadav madeper fect use of the pacy and bouncy WACA wicket to takefour wickets to reduce the Caribbean side to 35/4 by the10th over. Some poor shot selection by Windies batsmenalso aided the defending champions.Third pacer Mohit (1/35) was also impressive whilespinners Ashwin (1/38) and Jadeja (2/27) choked theWindies and consequently the batsmen gave away theirwickets.The Indian fielding proved to be two sides of the samecoin. While some fielded brilliantly to stop runs andclinched impressive catches, a couple of sitters werealso dropped by Jadeja and Rohit which helped theWindies go beyond the 150-run mark.Windies captain Jason Holder (57) offered the onlyresistance down the order with his highest One-DayInternational (ODI) score. The 23-year-old all-roundershowed the WACA wicket was a good one to bat on as hehammered three sixes and four fours in his 64-ballinnings before being caught on the last ball of the innings.India next play Ireland on March 10 at Hamilton.Brief scores: West Indies 182 all out in 44.2 overs (JasonHolder 57; Mohammed Shami 3/35, Ravindra Jadeja 2/27,Umesh Yadav 2/42) vs India 185/6 in 39.1 overs(Mahendra Singh Dhoni 45 not out, Virat Kohli 33; JeromeTaylor 2/33, Andre Russell 2/43).

DHONI CREDITS BOWLERS

FOR WIN OVER WINDIESPerth (IANS): After beating the West Indies in a World Cup Pool B encounter at the WACA here on Friday, an elated Indian skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni credited his bowlers for keeping the opposition batsmen on a tight leash.The Indian bowlers were upto the mark from the very first over of the day, as they rarely hurled a bad delivery to the rival batsmengiving away just eight runs from the first five overs.Mohammad Shami, later adjudged the Man-of-the-Match, was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-35 from his eight overs.Pacer Umesh Yadav (2-42) and lef t-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (2-27) chipped in to take two wickets each, as the West Indieswere bowled out for a paltry 182.India chased the total down with four wickets and 65 deliveries to spare. They registered four th straight victory and qualified tothe quar ter finals. "It was a difficult wicket, even initially with the new ball. There was some variable bounce, it was doing a bit.It settled down later, there was some swing for the West Indies bowlers as well, with the new ball," Dhoni, who scored unbeaten45 from 56 balls, said at the post-match presentation ceremony."Our bowlers didn't try too much. They stuck to their line and length. It (wicket) had a bit more bounce and we gave quite a fewwides bowling bouncers. But we also got wickets with the shor t-pitched delivery, so overall very happy with our per formance,"Dhoni added.Dhoni added the target was a tricky one to chase down on such a dicy strip but said it was also a good chance to test out themiddle-order."It is a difficult target, because you don't know whether to go and play your shots. It was a good chance to test out lower middle-order. Ashwin played well.""Jadeja will have to step up and if he star ts scoring runs, it will be a very difficult line-up to contain."Asked about the challenges they will face against Ireland and Zimbabwe when they travel to New Zealand, he said: "The last timewe were in New Zealand, there were true wickets. We'll have to see what kind of wickets are provided, but generally the ballcomes on, there is some bounce.""The grounds are small so that is one area where we will have to adjust," concluded the skipper. India next play Ireland on March 10 inHamilton, followed by their trip to Auckland where they play Zimbabwe on March 14.

INDIA BOWL OUT

IRELAND FOR 259Hamilton, (IANS) Despite a brilliant star t, Ireland were be-fuddled by the spinners as some clever tactics from captainMahendra Singh Dhoni helped India bowl out the Associateteam for 259 in a World Cup Pool B match at Seddon Park hereon Tuesday.It was a mixed sor t of innings from Ireland who got off to ablazing star t via openers William Por ter field (67) and PaulStirling (42). However, they stuttered against the spinners andfrom what seemed as a 300 plus total at one point, Irelandcollapsed to being all out in the 49th over.This is the first time ever that India have bowled out theiropposition in five consecutive One-Day Internationals (ODI).Electing to bat, captain Por terfield and Stirling looked in goodtouch as they hammered the Indian pacers all over the smallground. The confident star t from Ireland made Dhoni bring inthird pacer Mohit Sharma (1/38) in only the fifth over.Despite the change, Ireland still scored quite easily off thepacers, who looked impeccable in the previous four matchesof the tournament. However, the Irish duo seemed to handlethe pace very well.Dhoni, understanding this, brought in spinners Ravindra Jadeja(1/45) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/38) in the ninth over on-wards. The change took some time but finally yielded successin the 15th over, bringing an end to the opening-wicket par tner-ship of 89.Realising that the minnows were struggling against the slowerbowlers, Dhoni brought in par t-time off spinner Suresh Raina(1/40) and it immediately yielded success. Just three runslater after the fall of the first wicket, Ed Joyce, who scored asensational century against Zimbabwe in their last match, wasbowled by Raina.Seeing the ball turn and the Irish struggle against the spinners,the Indian skipper kept Ashwin and Raina bowling in tandemand the duo slowed down the run rate, which was run-a-ball tillthe 15th over.



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