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

Tendulkar, Warne andmany others coming toNorth America to play

T20 League

Majority of Canadians say they arecomfortable with their debt: CIBC Poll

Indian appointed Vancouverpolice deputy chief

I CONTD. ON PAGE 9

TORONTO - Despite household debt in Canada remaining near recordhighs, a recent CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) poll finds that two-thirdsof Canadians are comfor table with the amount of debt they have.The poll also found that nearly a third (31 per cent) of those with debt havegone deeper in debt in the past year, citing a mix of necessary and discre-tionary purchases, which included buying a new car, going on vacation,and repairing or renovating their homes.Highlights of the poll include:" 66 per cent of Canadians say they are comfortable with theirdebt level, comprised of:o 25 per cent who say they are very comfortable and could takeon more debt if neededo 41 per cent who say they are fairly comfortable but would pre-fer not to take on any more debt" 34 per cent of Canadians say they are uncomfortable with theirdebt level, comprised of:o 23 per cent who say they are somewhat uncomfortable - theyare making it work but any change to their current situation would presenta problem;o 10 per cent who say they are very uncomfortable - they havemore debt than they can handle and are feeling financially squeezed"It's clear that some Canadians feel they are on top of their debt whileothers are reaching their limit," says Christina Kramer, Executive Vice-

President, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC. "With household debt lev-els still hovering at record highs, it's important for Canadians to stay ontop of their debt. Managing debt isn't just about keeping up with yourpayments, it's about working towards longer-term goals, such as build-ing savings for retirement, and that's where seeking financial advice canhelp."A CIBC poll conducted earlier this year found that more than half of allCanadians have struggled with financial decisions and two-thirds agreedthat they would benefit from additional advice on financial matters.Canadians 65 and over more comfortable with debtThe comfor t level with debt increases with age, with 81 per cent ofCanadians with debt who are 65-plus saying they are comfortable com-pared to 62 percent of 18-to-24 year olds.Those 65 years and over were less likely to hold a mor tgage (16 percent) than other age groups and were more likely to be debt free (56per cent). Among younger Canadians 18-to-24 years just star ting outand with generally lower salaries, the most common type of debt wasstudent loans (37 per cent) and credit card debt (20 per cent).Some Canadians say debt should be avoided altogetherThe poll also looked at how Canadians view debt in general, findingthat 67 per cent of Canadians think debt is okay if it is managedcarefully, while 28 per cent say debt should be avoided at all costs.

OTTAWA, (IANS) India-born SteveRai has been appointed the newdeputy chief of Canada'sVancouver Police Depar tment,according to a media repor t. Po-l ice chief Adam Palmer an-nounced that Rai has joined thedepar tment's executive team asthe new deputy, Vancouver Cou-rier repor ted on Thursday.Born in Punjab but raised in thiswest coast seaport city of BritishColumbia state, Rai has been servingthe department for the past 25 years."I'm proud for my father because hewas another unsung hero. As an immi-grant, he encouraged his kids to stay onthe right path. And 25 years later, I'mstanding here," the report quoted Rai assaying at a press conference on Tues-day. "I just wanted to come out andcatch criminals and put them injail... Never in my mind did I think25 years later that I'd be standing

here as the deputy chief," headded. Vancouver is amongCanada's densest and most eth-nically diverse cities, which ishome to a large number of Indian-origin people. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi visited a templeand a gurdwara in the city in thefinal leg of his official visit toCanada in April this year.

SYDNEY, (IANS) Australian cricket legend Shane Warneon Monday confirmed the booking of three of the UnitedStates' most famous baseball venues as par t of his andIndian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar's proposedglobal cricketing tour.According to Warne, the ambitious concept is close tobecoming a reality with interest also being shown by thecity of Las Vegas about hosting one of the legendarypair's 'All Star' matches.Warne and Tendulkar have targeted the US - whichboasts a sizeable sub-continental ex-pat population - asthe first in a number of traditionally non-cricket regionsthey are looking to introduce their roadshow, with HongKong and Singapore also on the hit-list."At this stage we've booked three stadiums, (Chicago's)Wrigley Field, (New York's) Yankee Stadium and (LosAngeles') Dodger Stadium," Warne was quoted as sayingby cricket.com.au."We're going to have Bollywood theme nights and it's allshaping up pretty well. We're looking at ourselves as aFormula One team. Myself and Sachin had an idea - whynot take cricket to America and be the HarlemGlobetrotters, go around and do free exhibitions atschools, help grow the game of cricket?"The Mayor of Las Vegas (Carolyn Goodman) came up tome while I was playing in the World Series of Poker andasked me would we put a game on there and that they'dlove to build a stadium and have a proper game in LasVegas. I know the MGM Grand want some stuff to be puton too," Warne added.Warne and Tendulkar's enterprise - separate from theDubai-based T20 Masters tournament that was launchedearlier this month and is scheduled to be played nextFebruary - would see the legends of the game competein three Twenty20 exhibition matches in November.The duo has already attained the signatures of a slew ofgreats, including Glenn McGrath, Rahul Dravid, JacquesKallis, Adam Gilchrist, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman,Brian Lara and Wasim Akram."We've signed around 28 players who have all said, 'Ifyou and Sachin are doing it, we'd like to do it as well,"Warne said."We've got all the players you'd want to see from thepast 20 years. Par t of the all-stars idea is we go aroundand the people who haven't had the oppor tunity to seethese guys play over the years because they're based inthe States can come.""We want to go there live, promote the game of cricketfor children, put on some events and have some funplaying cricket," Warne concluded.Warne insisted the concept has the full suppor t of theInternational Cricket Coucil (ICC) while discussionswere ongoing with the American Cricket Association topave the way for its involvement also.

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI PARTICIPATES IN THE MASS YOGA DEMONSTRATION AT RAJPATH ON THE OCCASION OFINTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY IN NEW DELHI (PIB).

BAL GOSAL, MINISTER OF STATE FOR SPORT ALONG WITH OTHER GUESTS AT MISSISSAUGA'S CELEBRATION SQUARE TO CELEBRATETHE 1ST EVER INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA IN CANADA.

Most can manage their debt, with only a third saying they have reached their limit

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MISSISSAUGA – As the summer solstice day started (first day of summer), nearly 2,000 came out on a beautifulFather's Day Sunday at Mississauga's Celebration Square to celebrate the 1st ever International Day of Yoga. Hostedas a free event by Art of Living, International Yoga Day Canada (IYDC), Overseas Volunteers for a Better India (OVBI)Canada, Patanjali Yoga Peeth Canada and the Consulate General of India, Toronto, many other like-minded organiza-tions also partnered in this inaugural event which was completely organized by a group of dedicated communityvolunteers. All sponsors are to be acknowledged for their support towards this historic initiative including the mediaat all levels. Television Media ATN provided comprehensive live coverage of the event to Canadians nationally on fourof their channels, a first to broadcast yoga live across this vast country.The day began with registration starting at 9:00 a.m. onwards, followed by an opening prayer, a special video greetingfrom India's Prime Minister Narender Modi, and official presentations by elected officials including Bal Gosal -Minister of State - Sport, MPs Bob Dechert, Wladyslaw Lizon, and Brad Butt, Dipika Damerla - Associate Minister forHealth and Long Term Care for the Province of Ontario, Patrick Brown - Leader of the official opposition for theProvince of Ontario, Ron Starr - City of Mississauga Councillor for Ward 6 along with Akhilesh Mishra - ConsulateGeneral of India - Toronto. The day then was followed with yoga sessions and demonstrations led by qualified yogainstructors and ending with a cultural performance. Many vendors were on hand to showcase their programs,various services and products.This year marks the first ever International Yoga Day celebrations across the world as United Nations declaredannually June 21st as International Day of Yoga, this year taking place on Father's Day. The resolution, proposed onSeptember 27, 2014, by India’s Prime Minister, Narender Modi, during his maiden UN speech, had 177 nations(including United States and Canada) joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for any General Assemblyresolution. Secretary-General of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said the International Day of Yoga would bring attentionto yoga’s holistic benefits. “Yoga can contribute to resilience against non-communicable diseases. Yoga can bringcommunities together in an inclusive manner that generates respect,” Ban had then said in a statement.

GTA celebrates 1st official International Day of Yoga on Father’s Day

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TORONTO: Mayor John Tory and City staff congratulated the 12Toronto youth selected for the eighth annual Cricket Across thePond program. Par ticipants in today's ceremonial event at City Hallincluded Mar tin Saxton, Chair of CIMA Canada; Myriam Madden,Global President of CIMA; Mehul Adhvaryu, RBC, Vice-President ofCommercial Markets, York Region; Tom Mihalik, owner of Tom'sPlace; and Kanish Thevarasa, Kanish & Par tners Char teredAccountants. Dwight Drummond, of CBC News Toronto, was the MCfor the event."Being a member of this team is an honour and an accomplishmentto be remembered as you represent Toronto in Sri Lanka," saidMayor John Tory. "All those selected today to be par t of the CIMAToronto Mayor's Cricket Team should be proud of their hard work,training and spor tsmanship."The City of Toronto is CIMA's par tner in promoting the CricketAcross the Pond (CAP) scholarship program. CAP uses cricket as avehicle to reach out to youth from Toronto's diverse neighbourhoodsby giving them a sense of hope, increased self-esteem andoppor tunities to become positive role models in their communities.CAP provides young cricketers in the Greater Toronto Area with theoppor tunity to travel to Sri Lanka to represent Toronto and learn

2015 CIMA TORONTO MAYOR'S

CRICKET TEAM ANNOUNCEDleadership skills as ambassadors for the city. The aim of the SriLankan tour of the 2015 CIMA Mayor's Cricket Team is to developthese Toronto youth into role models for their communities. The SriLanka tour showcases the power of spor ts to cross cultural andgeographic borders and strengthen the bonds between nations.The High Commissioner of Canada to Sri Lanka and Maldives,Shelley Whiting, will host a welcome reception to the team prior tothe star t of tour matches. The tour matches will take place in thesouthern and northern provinces in Sri Lanka, providing greatoppor tunities to engage youth and develop social cohesion andinteraction through cricket.Players for the 2015 CIMA Mayor’s Cricket Team include:Salman Khan, Glendale Secondary School, HamiltonSyed Shaheer Izhar, Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School,BurlingtonGazenfar Syed, Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, AjaxHarikrishna Somaskanda Sarma, Alber t Campbell CollegiateInstitute, ScarboroughKrishen Samuel, Saint John Paul II Catholic Secondary School,ScarboroughMohamed Asad Sikandar, John Fraser Secondary School,

MississaugaJamit Kumar Patel, Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute, TorontoRohan Kundlas, Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School,MississaugaArminder Atwal, Alber t Campbell Collegiate Institute, ScarboroughEmanual Khokar, Cardinal Leger Catholic Secondary School,BramptonLakshan Geegana, North Park Secondary School, HamiltonMeigha Perera, Bill Crothers Secondary School, MarkhamThe tour itinerary, from June 30 to July 10:June 30 – Welcome reception hosted by High Commissioner ofCanada to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Shelley WhitingJuly 3 and 4 – Games against Colombo schoolsJuly 7 and 8 – Games against Jaffna schoolsJuly 10 – Game against Kingswood College, KandyCIMA is a leading membership body that offers an internationallyrecognized professional qualification in management accountancywith over 227,000 students and members in 179 countries. CIMAmembers and students the world over are involved in communityactivities. A significant majority of CIMA members in Toronto haveroots in cricket playing nations around the world.

The Nepal Ear thquake Relief Fundraiser event was orga-nized by Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li in collabora-tion with the local ar tists from the Canada DiversityCelebration Team to raise awareness for the Nepal ear th-quake disaster. The event was held on Friday June 12, 2015at the Century Palace Chinese Restaurant in Markham.Joe Samion & Santha Tsang hosted the evening featuring 19talented ar tists who sang a variety popular of Western,Bollywood and Chinese songs. While the guests enjoyed adelicious 10 course meal, dancers enter tained them withtraditional Chinese per formances in elaborate dancecostumes. A shor t documentary film was shown by ourpar tner World Vision and Reverend Byoung Cho to illustratethe devastation of the two major ear thquakes and theinitiatives that are currently taking place in Kathmandu,Nepal.Regional Councillor Joe Li far exceeded his original target of$20,000-$30,000 with the generous suppor t of the commu-nity. The net proceeds raised for this humanitarian causewas over $42,000. Mayor Frank Scarpitti sang a fewChinese songs and raised an additional three thousanddollars in donations, net total of over $45,000 raised forcharity.The evening was a great success and well attended withover 250 attendees including Regional Councillor NirmalaArmstrong, Hon. Consul General for Nepal Dr. KunjarSharma, and Mr. Shome Chaurasia- Friends of Nepal. Thefundraiser event concluded with a universal prayer of hopeand peace from Neera Chakravor ty. Regional CouncillorJoe Li thanked everyone and was sincerely grateful to theguests and the community in coming forward and suppor t-ing the humanitarian relief effor ts for Nepal.

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUNDRAISER

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KURDISH FORCES GAIN FOOTHOLDAGAINST IS IN SYRIADamascus, (IANS) Kurdish-led forces backed by US coalitionwarplanes gained a foothold in Syria on Tuesday after they captured atown from the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria's al-Raqqa province,according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The People's Protection Units (YPG) and allied forces from Syrian rebelgroups succeeded in taking control of Ain Issa town in al-Raqqa, theradical group's main stronghold in Syria, Xinhua quoted the Britain-based rights group as saying.Earlier in an overnight operation, the Kurdish fighters captured the IS-held Brigade-93 military base, which was taken from the Syrian gov-ernment troops last year. The IS militants withdrew toward the easternoutskirts of Ain Issa and the northern countryside of Raqqa.The aerial bombardment of the US-led anti-terror coalition has helpedthe Kurds achieve their new victory. Tuesday's achievement cappedother victories the Kurds have recently scored against the IS militants inthe heart of their stronghold in Syria. Last week, the YPG-led forcescaptured the city of Tal Abyad on the Syrian-Turkish border. The head ofthe Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, saidthe Kurds victory in Ain Issa pushed the defences of the IS back to theoutskirts of the provincial capital of Raqqa, adding that the city of TalAbyad, which was captured last week by the Kurds, constitutedthe economic backbone of the IS.

WORLD LOSES 6 MN UNDER-FIVECHILDREN EVERY YEAR: UNICEFGeneva, (IANS) The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) onTuesday warned that millions of children worldwide continue tolive in poverty, lack access to education while suffering from chronicmalnutrition and about six million die before they turn five.Focusing on child-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) estab-lished by the UN in 2000, Unicef's report -- Progress for Children: BeyondAverages: Learning from the MDGs -- highlights the importance of placingthose most in need at the centre of the post-2015 Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs) agenda, Xinhua reported.If progress remains at current levels, and if projected population growthproves to be accurate, Unicef estimates that 68 million more children underfive will die from mostly preventable causes by 2030 while some 119million children will still be chronically malnourished in 2030. These figurescome despite the headway made since MDGs implementation, as under-five mortality has dropped by over half, underweight and chronic malnutri-tion among under-fives has decreased by 42 and 41 percent respectivelyand maternal mortality has decreased by 45 percent. Amid the progressmade in child survival, nutrition, reduction in mother-to-child transmission ofHIV, and primary school enrolment, Unicef considers these achievements tobe "only part of a story".Figures show that 47 percent of the one billion people living in extremepoverty today are 18 years or under, while the poorest children are not onlyalmost twice as likely to die before age five than their richestcounterpar ts, but also five times more likely to be out of schoolthan the latter.

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER, JOINED BY HIS WIFE LAUREEN, LAYS A WREATH IN THE HALL OF HONOUR ON PARLIAMENTHILL TO MARK THE NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TERRORISM. (PMO PHOTO BY JASON RANSOM)

NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCEFOR VICTIMS OF TERRORISM

Ottawa - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has issued the followingstatement to mark the National Day of Remembrance for Victims ofTerrorism:"Thir ty years ago today, in June 1985, a terrorist attack took place thatkilled all 329 passengers and crew members aboard Air India Flight182. On this sombre anniversary, we stand in solidarity with the friendsand families who lost loved ones in that heinous attack and honourthose lost. On this sad day, let us also remember all those who werevictims of such senseless acts of hate and empathize with the fami-lies left to mourn."Today, Laureen and I had the privilege of laying a wreath in the Hall ofHonour on Parliament Hill in remembrance. We were deeply movedby this solemn tribute as well as by our meeting with families im-pacted by acts of terror."It is no secret that we live in troubled times. The world is now facedwith an enemy who opposes the values we hold most dear: freedom,democracy, tolerance and openness. This enemy is violent jihadismand we cannot and will not ignore the threat it presents to Canadianshere at home and abroad."That is why we have joined our allies in a broad international coali-

tion to fight the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). It is why we haveprovided our law enforcement and security agencies with significantnew resources, legislation and other tools to fight terrorists and keepCanadians safe. The brave men and women of our military, our secu-rity agencies and our local law enforcement are the frontline thatstands between peace and order, and fear and turmoil. We thank themfor their vigilance and dedicated service."On days such as this, I cannot help but cast my mind back to theCanadians who perished in Air India Flight 182 and in the World TradeCenter attacks, to last year's cowardly murders of Corporal NathanCirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, and to the many terroristactivities that have been foiled by the vigilance of our security agen-cies. These recollections serve as a reminder that Canada is notimmune to the threat of terrorism and that continued vigilance isessential."As we mark the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terror-ism, let us renew our resolve to continue responding to the terroristthreat with vigilance and decisive action. We owe this to the manyvictims lost to terrorism."Source: pm.gc.ca

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Ramadan greetings from leaders

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPEROttawa - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the fol-lowing statement to mark the beginning of Ramadan: "Thisevening at sunset, Muslims in Canada and around the world begin animportant spiritual journey as they observe the holy month of Ramadan.Ramadan takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar tocommemorate the revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad."For those observing this holy month, it is a time for reflection, personalsacrifice of material comforts, and spiritual devotion through prayer, fastingand charity. Ramadan is also a time to celebrate and reconnect with family,friends and communities, as well as to reaffirm one's commitment touplifting humanity by further assisting those who are less fortunate. Onbehalf of all Canadians, I wish Muslims in Canada and around the world apeaceful Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak." Source: pm.gc.ca

NDP LEADER TOM MULCAIR"On behalf of all New Democrats, I would like to offer my best wishes to allMuslims here in Canada and around the world who will begin their Ramadancelebrations. This month-long observance is dedicated to prayer, fastingand personal reflection, but it is also a time to celebrate among family andfriends. "New Democrats are proud of their strong relationship with Mus-lim communities across the country. That is why we continue to defendhuman rights here in Canada and around the world and fight against racismand Islamophobia. I would also like to acknowledge the many positivecontributions that Canadian Muslims continue to offer to our society. To-gether, we form a stronger, more inclusive nation. Ramadan Kareem."Source: ndp.ca

LIBERAL PARTY LEADER JUSTIN TRUDEAU"On the first day of Ramadan, Muslims in Canada and around the world willbegin their month-long journey of fasting, prayer, and spiritual reflection. It isan occasion characterized by empathy, discipline, compassion, and char-ity. During this blessed month, we are reminded of the many ways ourvibrant Muslim community helps to enrich our national fabric each andevery day. It is an opportunity for all Canadians to reflect on how veryfortunate we are to live in a nation where people from every imaginablefaith, culture, and country, who speak every language, live, work, build, andthrive together. I look forward to joining Muslim communities across Canadain the weeks to come in observance of this holy month. On behalf of theLiberal Party of Canada and our Parliamentary Caucus, Sophie and I wishall those observing Ramadan much peace and happiness. RamadanMubarak!" Source: liberal.ca

Etsy marks 10thanniversary with across-Canada summerfestival circuitTORONTO - Ringing in a decadeof connecting makers, curatorsand buyers offline and in per-son, Etsy will celebrate its 10thanniversary by par tnering withtop summer fest ivals nat ion-wide throughout the summer.Kicking things off with Pr ideToronto on June 28, Etsy will popup across Canada taking par ti n f es t i v i t i es a t the Ca lga ryStampede, Khatsahlano StreetPar ty, Niagara Jazz Festival andWayHome Music & Ar ts Festi-val. "We are so proud to mark adecade of entrepreneur empow-erment and responsible com-merce th i s yea r, " says E r i nGreen, Managing Director, EtsyCanada. "There's no better wayto continue our suppor t of localsellers and community buildingthan to par ticipate in a seasonfull of festivals throughout thecountr y." From Etsy 's begin-nings in June 2005, the ever-growing online marketplace hassince reached 20.8 million ac-tive buyers and 1.4 million ac-tive sellers, with over 23 mil-l i on handmade and v in tageitems for sale. What star ted asa website crafted in a Brooklynapar tment , has now evolvedinto a sophist icated platformconnecting creat ive businessowners and buyers around theworld.

OATH OF CITIZENSHIPACT INTRODUCED

BILL TO ENSURE ALL CITIZENSHIP CANDIDATESSHOW THEIR FACE WHILE TAKING OATH

OTTAWA - The Government of Canada has introduced the Oathof Citizenship Act, to ensure Canadian citizenship applicantsshow their face while taking the Oath of Citizenship during citi-zenship ceremonies.The Oath of Citizenship Act will ensure that candidates are seen and heardreciting the Oath in community with others, to confirm their commitment asnew citizens to Canada's laws, values and traditions.Swearing or affirming the Oath is a legal requirement, a public declarationthat a citizenship applicant is committed to adopting and upholding Cana-dian values. The Oath of Citizenship Act will require that the Oath be swornor affirmed publicly and openly, and in a way that others can verify: aloudand with face uncovered.Quick facts:*In 2014, 3,121 citizenship ceremonies were held across Canada, wheremore than 262,000 new citizens were welcomed - this is more new Cana-dians than in any year in Canada's history and more than double thenumber from 2013.*Canada has one of the highest naturalization rates in the world: more than85 percent of eligible permanent residents in Canada go on to becomecitizens.*The Citizenship Oath is a solemn declaration in which citizenship candi-dates promise to obey Canadian laws, while fulfilling their duties andresponsibilities as Canadian citizens.*The Oath recognizes that Canadian citizenship confers both rights andresponsibilities, and one cannot gain citizenship or any of the privileges thatgo along with citizenship without taking the Oath of Citizenship.*A majority of Canadians believe new citizens should be seen and heardtaking the Oath of Citizenship.Tim Uppal, Minister of State for Multiculturalism said: "Canadians expectthat new citizens should show their face when swearing or affirming theOath in community with others, at the very moment they become part of theCanadian family. This means they are committing publicly toembracing Canada's values and traditions, including the equal-ity of men and women."

Ontario Science Centres ignites scientificcuriosity and experimentation with

MythBusters: The Explosive ExhibitionTORONTO - Don't try this at home;try it at the Ontario Science Centre!Straight from the DiscoveryChannel's Emmy - nominated series,MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibi-tion that came to life on June 5 at theOntario Science Centre, uncoverstruths behind popular myths by mix-ing scientific method with gleeful cu-riosity and old-fashioned ingenuity.In MythBusters, co-hosts Adam Sav-age and Jamie Hyneman take scien-tific investigation to exciting new lev-els by proving or busting myths us-ing their highly experimental ap-proach and extensive backgroundsin special effects. Savage andHyneman were heavily involved in

developing the exhibition to ensurevisitors experience a trueMythBusting encounter. The result:hands-on, interactive experiences forguests of all ages by combining popu-lar scientific facts with innovative,family-friendly displays."All MythBusters share a similardrive: curiosity," said Dr MauriceBitran, CEO, Ontario Science Centre."We invite our visitors to unleash theirnatural spirit of inquiry and becomeMythBusters for a day to discoverthe central role science plays in ev-eryday life and experience just howmuch fun science experiments canbe." Visitors will be able to see gad-gets, props and blueprints from the

MythBusters' television stage set.They'll also learn how to test mythsusing the scientific method by par-ticipating in a series of fun, hands-onexperiences and live demonstrations.Experiments cover topics such asflight, friction, gravity, speed and com-bustion."Science has never been more en-tertaining and Mythbusters is a greatway to encourage science, technol-ogy, engineering and math (STEM)education," said Dr Imogen Coe,Dean, Faculty of Science, RyersonUniversity. "As the exhibition's edu-cation par tner, we applaud howMythBusters: The Explosive Exhibi-tion encourages curiosity and experi-

mentation, which are traits we en-courage in our own students as theybuild their careers and go out to ef-fect positive change in the world."Also, from June 29 to September 7,visitors will get an extra measure ofMythBusting when Ontario ScienceCentre experts conduct daily live ex-periments, delving into a world of ex-plosions and chemical changes toexplore the difference between sci-ence fact and science fiction. Tick-ets are on sa l e now a tO n t a r i o S c i e n c e C e n t r e . c a .MythBusters: The Explosive Ex-hibit ion. Admission, includinggeneral admission to the Sci-ence Centre's exhibition halls,is $27 for adults; $21 for seniorsand youth (ages 65+ and 13-17);$15.50 for children (ages 3-12). Allmembers pay $2.50 each. The tourwill visit 15 total cities within the USand Canada. For more informationabout MythBusters: The Explosive Ex-hibition, visitMythBustersTheExhibition.com

MERCEDES-BENZ THORNHILLFLAGSHIP RETAIL FACILITY NOWOPEN TO SERVE COMMUNITYToronto– Mercedes-Benz Canada has announced that its brand newflagship retail facility in Thornhill is ready for operations now.This week marks the beginning of a new chapter for the corporately-owned dealership, which is located in the upper northwest quadrantof the Greater Toronto Area at 228 Steeles West in Thornhill, Ontario.When Mercedes-Benz Thornhill opened in 1988, the dealership be-came a pioneer in its own right, proudly serving and keeping pacewith the active community that surrounds it. Over the years, thedealership experienced sustained growth and in 1996, an expansionof the store became necessary. Again in 2013, due to an exponentialproliferation of new products and a rapidly expanding local commu-nity, Mercedes-Benz Thornhill finally outgrew its existing infrastruc-ture and a massive from the ground-up rebuilding project began inNovember, starting with the demolition of the original building on the3.2 acre property.Over the course of the year, the elaborate construction process wentthrough many phases, which has now culminated into a more than130,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that is sure to set a newbenchmark in automotive retail excellence.The overall design of the building was conceived to maximizesustainability and efficiency, and to also reduce CFC’s and the spaceused for the HVAC equipment.

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INVESTING UP TO $47.8 MILLION INTHUNDER BAY HOSPITAL EXPANSIONONTARIO - Ontario is investing in a new wing at St. Joseph's Hospitalin Thunder Bay that will improve care for people with mental healthissues across nor thwestern Ontario.Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement during thegroundbreaking ceremony for the new East Wing. The province willinvest up to $47.8 million to cover about 90 per cent of the capitalcosts of the wing, which will house a Specialized Mental Health Pro-gram providing programs and services for people with mental illnessor who require related services such as active and long-term psychi-atric rehabilitation and geriatric psychiatry.This project is par t of the government's record investment in infra-structure. Ontario is investing more than $130 billion over 10 years inroads, bridges, transit, hospitals and schools to strengthen theeconomy and improve quality of life across the province.Improving mental health care is par t of the government's plan to buildOntario up. The four-par t plan includes investing in people's talentsand skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure inOntario's history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment wherebusiness thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.

"Our government is making an unprecedented investment in infra-structure to improve quality of life for people across Ontario. We areproud to suppor t this infrastructure project at St. Joseph's Hospital.The new wing will ensure that people in nor thwestern Ontario canaccess the high-quality mental health care they deserve," said KathleenWynne, Premier of Ontario.Quick Facts" The new wing of St. Joseph's Hospital will offer 38 inpatientbeds, outpatient programs, community suppor t services andvideoconferencing to enhance access to specialized mental healthcare across nor thwestern Ontario." This project wil l suppor t the government's effor ts todestigmatize mental illness by integrating mental health care intomainstream health care." About 30 per cent of Ontarians will experience a mental healthor substance abuse issue in their lifetimes." The government plans to provide more than $11 billion inhospital capital grants over 10 years to build adequate infrastructurecapacity in the health care sector.

PREMIER WYNNE AT THE CEREMONIAL GROUNDBREAKING OF ST. JOSHEPH'S SPECIALIZED MENTAL HEALTH REHABILITATIONPROGRAM DURING HER VISIT TO THUNDER BAY. (PREMIERPHOTOS)

ONTARIO - The Ontario government is investing $3 million in PepsiCoFoods Canada's Cambridge manufacturing plant, joining the companywhich is also making a significant investment in a project to modern-ize the plant, increase productivity and protect good jobs in the agri-food sector.Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the funding today in Cam-bridge. The plant, which manufactures Frito-Lay products, em-ploys more than 550 people. The investment, provided throughthe Rural Economic Development program, is expected to securethese jobs. The investment will be used by the PepsiCo FoodsCanada plant in Cambridge to:" Modernize the food processing facility to meet world-class food safety standards in seasoning and delivery and im-prove product quality" Modify the plant in preparation for the future installationof a high-speed packaging system that will deliver more efficien-cies and growth" Improve the Cambridge plant's competitiveness in theFrito-Lay Nor th America manufacturing network.PepsiCo Foods Canada has operated the plant in Cambridge forover 50 years, and suppor ts the local economy through employ-ment; procurement of local raw materials (primarily potatoes fromAlliston and Leamington); packaging and contract manufacturing;and spending on utilities, fuel, common carriers and other goodsand services.Suppor t i ng the ag r i - food sec to r i n On ta r io i s pa r t o f t hegovernment's four-par t plan to build Ontario up by investing inpeople's talents and skills, making the largest investment in pub-lic infrastructure in the province's history, creating a dynamic,

$3 Million for PepsiCo Foods Canada Plantinnovative environment where business thrives, and building asecure retirement savings plan."A strong agri-food sector is crucial for ensuring strong and pros-perous rural communities across Ontario. By investing in thisvital sector today, our government is making sure the agri-foodsector plays a key role in Ontario's economy for years to come,"said Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario. "The Rural EconomicDevelopment program helps grow local economies, create jobsand attract long-term investment. With this suppor t, agri-food pro-cessors in rural communities will in turn contribute more to theprovincial economy," said Jeff Leal - Minister of Agriculture, Foodand Rural Affairs."Modernizing our Cambridge plant will improve our already world-class product quality and safety standards, drive operating effi-ciency and ensure we are well positioned for future growth at thesite. We are proud members of the Cambridge community and weare appreciative of the government suppor t as we look ahead tothe future of PepsiCo Foods Canada," said Marc Guay - President,PepsiCo Foods CanadaQuick Facts" In 2013, Premier Kathleen Wynne challenged the agri-foodsector to double its annual growth rate and create 120,000 new jobsby 2020." With $14.5 million in annual funding, the Rural EconomicDevelopment program helps rural communities and regions growtheir economic base, attract investment and invest in the skills oftheir residents." Since 2003, this program has generated $1.2 billion in eco-nomic activity and created over 37,000 jobs across rural Ontario.

MULTI-USE PATHWAY ALONGTHE O-TRAIN TRACKS

BY MPP YASIR NAQVIGreat news! The Ministry of Transpor tation (MTO) has madechanges in design for the replacement of the O-Train bridgenear Somerset Street West that leave enough room for theCity of Ottawa to build multi-use pathway along the westernside of the tracks.I am very glad that the City of Ottawa and MTO workedtogether, and as such, MTO has changed the design to ac-commodate a multi-use pathway along the west side of thetracks. A similar pathway already exists on the easternside, and the installation of a parallel route would help toincrease connectivity within our community's cycling net-work. Note that the changes in design do not currently in-clude a path, however the plans leave enough room for theCity to build one in the future.I want to thank the community for your advocacy of thisissue. You spoke up and we listened!We are lucky to live in a community that boasts such a vastnetwork of multi-use pathways and infrastructure to sup-por t an active lifestyle, and the creation of this pathwaywould serve to enhance this network.Source: yasirnaqvi.onmpp.ca

LAYING OF THE FIRST SECTION OF TRACK FOR THE O-TRAIN CONFEDERATION LINE LRT PROJECT.

A MESMERIZING DANCEPERFORMANCEBRAMPTON - Hema Kukreja, a trained Indian classical dancer,presented the story of the Goddess Mahamaya with fivemesmerising dances during a musical that took place over theweekend. The event was held at the Cyril Clark Library Theatre,20 Loafers' Lake Lane, Brampton.The dance told the story of Mahamaya - the great Goddess of Illusion.This divine principle has three powers that are disguised to give coolbreeze that is healing and nourishing to human beings. Due to theGoddess' illusionary aspect, she cannot be easily recognized by hu-man beings. It is necessary for human beings to break away fromillusions to attain the truth and liberation.For the occasion Hema had prepared a solo dance theatre inBharatnatyam and Kuchipudi and was assisted by three great artists:Sitar player Anwar Khurshid - music featured in the Oscar Awardwinning movie, Life of Pi; Ranjit Singh on Tabla and Madhuri Gulati, asinger and actress originally from Austria who narrated the story.

SENIORS RIDE MIWAY FOR ALOONIE BEGINNING JUNE 29Mississauga - Beginning June 29, MiWay, Mississauga's tran-sit service, will offer one dollar cash fares to seniors as a six-month pilot program approved by City Council.The one dollar cash fare for seniors will begin Monday, June 29during off-peak hours:" Weekdays from 9:30am - 3:30pm" Weekdays after 7 pm" Anytime on weekends or holidaysOn request, senior riders (age 65+) must present a piece ofvalid photo identification or a MiWay issued senior identifica-tion card to the bus driver to receive the one dollar fare. MiWaywill bring Transit By-Law 287-14 to Council on June 24 to makechanges required to MiWay senior fares. For more informationon the MiWay one dollar fare, visit miway.ca/busfares

Mahotsav SummerFest set to become thelargest South Asian event of its kind in GTAMISSISSAUGA - Mahotsav, the South Asian SummerFest is all set to provide a wholesome family enter tainment in the GTA. This day-long event is scheduled to take place on July 11 at The International Centre (Hall 5) in Mississauga, Ontario.Mahotsav, is a public event showcasing the finest in South Asian ar ts, music, food, and culture. It is also a fund-raising eventfor Maple Diversity Foundation, a not-for-profit organization formed under Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (NFP Act). TheMaple Diversity Foundation is committed to meaningful and early settlement of new immigrants and promotion of culturaldiversity in Canada. This event is being managed and promoted by Maple Diversity Communications Inc., one of Canada'sprominent multicultural adver tising agencies."We want to give people in the Greater Toronto Area a wholesome enter tainment along with their friends, family and the lovedones," said Niraj Sinha, Managing Director of Maple Diversity Foundation. "There will be international and local per formers,best of South Asian food, music and fashion." The headline per former at this event will be Kanika Kapoor, who recently won thebest female playback singer award at the recently concluded IIFA Awards in Malaysia. Another notable per former is ShwetaSubram, who recently per formed live at an event jointly addressed by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and theCanadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper at Ricoh Coliseum. The PropheC and Parichay are among key per formers at thisevent besides other local Canadian ar tists and per formers.

CONSERVATIVES MUSTDO MORE TO ENSURERAIL SAFETY: NDPNDP Transpor t critic Hoang Mai (Brossard-La Prairie) is ap-palled by the Conservative government's inability to enforcebasic measures recommended by the Transpor tation SafetyBoard (TSB) to ensure public safety.Details of an investigation into a CP Rail train transpor ting 57cars near Revelstoke, British Columbia, - some of which con-tained dangerous goods - indicates that hand brakes were notactivated at the direction of CP and over the concerns of em-ployees."The Lac-Mégantic tragedy, which saw new charges laid today,made it clear that hand brakes are essential to ensuring publicsafety. The TSB repor t clearly indicated that an insufficientamount of hand brake force directly contributed to the derail-ment. The fact that the government is still unable to enforcethese measures is appalling."This CP incident in British Columbia reminds us of the impor-tance of increasing the number of unscheduled inspections byTranspor t Canada, as well as penalizing companies that don'trespect the rules.Source: ndp.ca

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CANADA'S ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN2015: ECONOMIC STRENGTH

BY MP PARM GILL

Our Conservative Government recently tabled Canada's Economic Ac-tion Plan 2015: a low-tax plan that will help to create jobs, spur economicgrowth, and ensure long-term prosperity for all Canadians. It's a budgetthat focuses on the priorities of hard-working Canadian families.It's also the budget that returns us to balance. Just a few short years ago,Canadians faced a storm in the world economy. The Great Recessiondid not star t in Canada, but it hit us hard none the less. As the worsteconomic crisis since the 1930's, the recession demanded a nearlyunprecedented response.Our Conservative government tackled the challenge head-on. Welaunched our Economic Action Plan: a low-tax plan to create jobs,growth, and long-term prosperity. We invested in infrastructure - over30,000 projects from coast to coast to coast - that created jobs justwhen Canadians needed them most.At the same time, we cut taxes across the board - for individuals,families, and businesses - so that Canadians had more money intheir pockets to spend on their priorities. The results are clear. Our

plan worked. We have recovered all of the jobs lost during the GreatRecession. More than that, we have created over 1.2 million net newjobs. These are overwhelmingly full-time, high-paying, private sectorjobs. This is a record Canadians can be proud of.But the job is not done yet. We live in an era of profound global eco-nomic uncer tainty. The world economy is fragile. That is why wemust continue to bring to focus on the priorities of Canadians: creat-ing jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity. For that we need a plan and a strongleader who see it through. Economic Action Plan 2015 is that plan - and PrimeMinister Stephen Harper is that leader.This budget works for Canadians. We made a promise in the dark days of therecession that we would follow a plan to return to balanced budgets once the crisispassed. We are fulfilling that promise. For the first time since the downturn, thebudget is balanced. With the fiscal flexibility that comes with a budgetary surplus,we can continue making targeted investments to create jobs andgrowth, while cutting taxes fur ther for hard-working Canadians.

BY AMULYA GANGULI

Till the quicksand of indiscretions enveloped Sushma Swaraj andVasundhara Raje, the Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) had the advantageover its principal rival, the Congress, of not being the victim of anymajor scandal.Hence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had the chutzpah of telling anaudience abroad that while he was associating India with "skill", theprevious government had shamed the country with the appellation of"scam India". Only a few months after this display of effrontery whichignored the tradition of not raising domestic issues on foreign soil, theModi government has had its comeuppance.Instead of focussing on ways to emerge from the "prudent gradual-ism", in economist Jagdish Bhagwati's words, of the reforms, whichthe government's critics interpret as a dragging of the feet, the primeminister and his government are immersed in an episode which,according to the Congress, is marked by "nepotism, abuse of author-ity and violation of procedure".Notwithstanding the attempts to emphasize the Good Samaritan as-pect of the external affairs minister's intervention on behalf of theformer Indian Premium League (IPL) administrator, Lalit Modi's ailingwife, the fact that Lalit Modi is a fugitive from Indian justice hasundermined Sushma Swaraj's acts of "good intentions", as financeminister Arun Jaitley has said.To make matters worse for the BJP, Rajasthan Chief MinisterVasundhara Raje has joined Sushma Swaraj in demonstrating herproximity to Lalit Modi. Their explanation for their camaraderie is thatModi is a family friend. But the acts of hobnobbing recall the adage

that a person is known by the company he or she keeps.Interestingly, the BJP is seemingly keener on standing by the externalaffairs minister than the chief minister, who has apparently been leftto fend for herself over an allegation that she endorsed Lalit Modi'sapplication for immigration to Britain on the condition that the Indianauthorities should not know about it.Although the document bears no signature, the chief minister and herpar ty will have considerable difficulty in wriggling out of this instanceof playing hide and seek. Fur ther complications have been caused bythe charge of dubious business links between Lalit Modi and Raje'sson, Dushyant, which has made the BJP's critics dub Dushayant asits Rober t Vadra, the controversial son-in-law of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi.Scams are not only about thieving as the scandals involving the 2Gtelecom spectrum, the allocation of mining blocks for coal and othersduring Manmohan Singh's tenure suggest. They can also damage apar ty by showcasing the subterranean links between powerful min-isters and sleaze operators.Considering that Narendra Modi had once taunted Congress leaderShashi Tharoor for having a Rs.50 crore girl friend because of SunandaPushkar's IPL deals, the repor ts about how prominent BJP leadershave gone out of their way to help the tainted former IPL czar cannotbut be an embarrassment for the prime minister.The BJP rode to power not only on the basis of promising economicgrowth but also by stressing its commitment to a clean public life.Now, both the pledges have failed to materialize. Unless NarendraModi demonstrates his fabled capacity to act decisively, the dailyunfolding of the bonhomie between ministers and a person under thescanner of the Enforcement Directorate will only provide more juicygrist to the Congress's mill.Taken together with the disquiet among farmers about the proposedamendments of the land acquisition law, and among ex-servicemenover the delay in implementing the one-rank, one-pension rule, theSushma Swaraj-Vasundhara Raje-Lalit Modi saga can have damag-ing consequences for the BJP on two fronts.First, the inevitable stalling of parliament on the issue will be a fur-ther setback to the prime minister's reforms agenda. Secondly, theBJP will not find it easy to launch an effective election campaign inBihar when its hands are not clean and when it faces various disaf-fected groups.

Moreover, in view of the attacks from multiple fronts, the BJP seemsto have lost some of its fighting instincts. Otherwise, it is not clearwhy it backed off from attacking the Congress on the affairs of OttavioQuattrocchi and Warren Anderson after a few initial forays.Though several years old, these issues still have the potential toembarrass the Congress, and par ticularly the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.If the BJP has erred by befriending a vir tual absconder, the Congresshad committed a worse sin by allowing Quattrocchi, an Italian friendof the dynasty, and Anderson, the Union Carbide chief, escape fromthe country without facing the consequences of their offences in theBofors howitzer deal and the world's worst industrial disaster in Bhopal.Instead of raising these issues, the BJP has chosen to opt for a Cen-tral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a dispropor tionate assetscase against the Congress's chief minister in Himachal Pradesh,Virbhadra Singh, presumably to show that its rival is also not squeaky-clean.The move will appear all the more to be a tit-for-tat exercise consid-ering that the government has stopped the CBI for pursuing the inquir-ies into the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter case apparently in view of thelikelihood that an investigation can turn the needle of suspicion to-wards senior BJP leaders.For the BJP, the euphoria of May last year must now seem far away.

FOR BJP, EUPHORIA OF LASTMAY SEEM FAR AWAY

THEY CAN ALSO DAMAGE A PARTY BYSHOWCASING THE SUBTERRANEAN LINKSBETWEEN POWERFUL MINISTERS ANDSLEAZE OPERATORS. CONSIDERING THATNARENDRA MODI HAD ONCE TAUNTED CON-GRESS LEADER SHASHI THAROOR FORHAVING A RS.50 CRORE GIRL FRIEND BE-CAUSE OF SUNANDA PUSHKAR'S IPL DEALS,THE REPORTS ABOUT HOW PROMINENT BJPLEADERS HAVE GONE OUT OF THEIR WAY TOHELP THE TAINTED FORMER IPL CZAR CAN-NOT BUT BE AN EMBARRASSMENT FOR THEPRIME MINISTER.

“

MidWeek 9MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

canada STRONGCONSERVATIVERECORD ON SUPPORTFOR FAMILIES IP10

416-907-4420

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER, JOINED BY JOHN TORY, MAYOR OF TORONTO,ARRIVES AT THE EXHIBITION STATION ON THE GOTRAIN LINE PRIOR TO ANNOUNCING FURTHER DETAILS REGARDING THE NEW PUBLIC TRANSIT FUND. (PHOTO BY JILL THOMPSON)

PM WELCOMES THE CREATIONOF A CANADIAN POLAR MEDALOTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper welcomed theannouncement of the creation of a Canadian Polar Medal. AsSovereign and font of all honours, Her Majesty Queen ElizabethII has given her approval to this addition to the CanadianHonours System.The Polar Medal will recognize individuals who have madeextraordinary contributions to the Canadian Nor th across adiverse range of endeavours.The design of the new medal was released earlier today by HisExcellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, GovernorGeneral of Canada. The medal program will be managed by theChancellery of Honours as par t of the Office of the Secretary tothe Governor General, which is responsible for administeringthe Canadian Honours System.The first recipients of the new medal are expected to be an-nounced later this year.Quick Facts" The timing of today's announcement is fitting as ittakes place on the 145th anniversary of the transfer of the vast

nor thern land mass of Ruper t's Land and the Nor th-WesternTerritory to Canada." The Governor General presents honours and awards inthe name of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of allCanadians to recognize those people who have demonstratedexcellence, courage or exceptional dedication to service inways that bring special credit to this country." Each year, hundreds of Canadians earn our applauseand gratitude: from community volunteers to astronauts, fromactors to members of the military, from scholars to everydaycitizens. Our Canadian Honours System gives them the oppor tu-nity to join an order or to be granted a decoration or a medal inrecognition for their tremendous contributions to our society."I am delighted that we as a country, through the CanadianHonours System, will now publicly recognize outstandingcontributions to the Nor th, a vital par t not only of our geographybut of our collective identity and pride as Canadians." - PrimeMinister Stephen HarperSource: pm.gc.ca

OTTAWA – Canada needs real change in our relationship with theUnited States if we are to build our future economic success,said Liberal Par ty of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau today at aCanada 2020 event. “Under the Harper Conservatives, we haveless influence in Washington and our relationship with the US isworse than it was a decade ago. This has to change if we want toensure prosperity for all Canadians,” said Mr. Trudeau. “Mr. Harperhas been divisive and hyper-par tisan, and consequently, Canadahas missed vital oppor tunities to work with the United States onmajor economic and environmental issues.”Mr. Trudeau asser ted that one of the most impor tant responsi-bilit ies of a Prime Minister is to successfully manage ourcountry’s relationship with the US, by seeing where our uniquenational interests and theirs overlap. This includes makingprogress on issues like climate change and clean prosperity,and our relationship with Mexico. Mr. Trudeau committed a Lib-eral government to: restoring cooperation by speaking regularlywith the US President, and hosting a trilateral summit with ourNor th American par tners; immediately working to lif t Mexicanvisa requirements; pushing for a Nor th American agreement onclean energy and the environment; working together to fur therreduce impediments to trade and commerce, and increase con-tinental security; and establishing a cabinet committee to over-see Canada’s relations with the US.

Trudeau lays out visionfor real change in

Canada-US relationship

Canada Establishes External AdvisoryCommittee on Religious Freedom toAdvise Office of Religious Freedom

OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada RobNicholson, P.C., Q.C., MP for Niagara Falls, Minister of ForeignAffairs, has announced the establishment of an External Advi-sory Committee (EAC) on religious freedom.The Committee comprises 23 prominent leaders from a widevariety of Canadian faith and belief communities represen-tative of Canada’s diversity. It will advise the Office of Reli-gious Freedom on the exercise of its mandate to promoteand defend religious freedom internationally as a centralelement of Canada’s principled foreign policy.The inaugural meeting of the EAC was hosted today at Foreign Affairs, Tradeand Development Canada in Ottawa by Minister Nicholson, and AndrewBennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom.The EAC will meet semi-annually. It is chaired by Father Raymond J. deSouza, a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Kingston and Chap-lain at the Newman Centre, Queen’s University. Corinne Boxof the Bahá’í Community of Canada and Malik Talib, Presi-dent of the Aga Khan Council for Canada, serve as vice chairsof the EAC.

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER, JOINED BY JASON KENNEY, MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE AND MINISTER FORMULTICULTURALISM, TIM UPPAL, MINISTER OF STATE (MULTICULTURALISM), AND SENATOR SALMA ATAULLAHJAN, DELIVERSREMARKS AT AN IFTAR RECEPTION AT 24 SUSSEX DRIVE. (PHOTO BY JILL THOMPSON)

MAJORITY OF CANADIANSSAY THEY ARE COMFORTABLEWITH THEIR DEBT: CIBC POLL

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1Another five per cent think debt is a tool to help them get thethings they want."If your level of debt is causing you to lose sleep at night, it's asign you really need to talk to an exper t to ensure you are man-aging your debt as efficiently as possible," says Ms. Kramer."For most Canadians, debt can be used to fund major purchasessuch as a home or a car and still fit within a long-term financialplan to retire debt free and maximize your cash flow."Tips to Take Charge of Your DebtPaying down debt can be daunting if you don't have a financialplan in place. Here are some tips on how to manage and pay offyour debt successfully:1. Talk to an Advisor - Work with your financial advisor tocreate a budget and ask about what you can do to reduce yourinterest costs and accelerate your debt repayment.2. Refine your debt payment strategy - Pay off higher in-terest debt first to reduce interest costs, or apply for a debt con-solidation loan or a line of credit, which can lower your interestrate. You can pay your debt off faster if you pay less interest asmore of your money will go towards your principal.3. Use free budgeting tools to help you stay on track CIBCCreditSmar t, available to CIBC credit card holders, allows you toset customized budgets and receive spend aler ts if you exceedyour planned budget for the month, helping you stay on top ofyour everyday budgeting and spending.4. Stick to your plan - Once you have a financial plan inplace, stick to it. If you fall off track, get back to your plan as soonas possible and keep making progress towards your goal.

10 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015c a n a d a

PEOPLE VISIT THE DINOSAURS EXHIBITION AT THE SCIENCE WORLD MUSEIUM IN VANCOUVER (IANS).

ECONOMIC ACTIONPLAN 2015

TORONTO - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced fur therdetails regarding the new Public Transit Fund (PTF), the Government's largestdedicated infrastructure program to promote public transit infrastructure invest-ment in a manner that is affordable for taxpayers and efficient for consumers.Announced in Economic Action Plan 2015, the new PTF will provide significantpermanent support for large-scale public transit projects to address traffic conges-tion, reduce travel time for goods and people, and support economic growth in

Canada's largest cities. The PTF also frees up funds underthe New Building Canada Plan and the P3 Canada Fundthat might have been used up by large-scale transit projects.This will ensure that more funding under the Plan is avail-able for infrastructure projects in municipalities acrossCanada, including smaller-scale transit projects insmaller communities.In order to be eligible for support under the PTF,projects must have a minimum of $1 billion in totalestimated eligible costs. Federal contributions un-der the fund will be up to one-third of the total eli-gible costs and lever the expertise, ingenuity andfinancing of the private sector and alternative fund-ing mechanisms.The Prime Minister also announced that funds willbe made available within the PTF for Toronto'sSmar tTrack regional express rail surface line. Ascurrently proposed, the line will provide relief for the over-crowded Yonge-University-Spadina Subway Line and con-nect Toronto to major employment centres in Mississaugaand Markham. The Government will contribute up to one-third of the costs for the SmartTrack public transit systemproposal, approximately $2.6 billion, once a formal ap-plication has been received and approved.

BY MP PARM GILL

STRONG CONSERVATIVE RECORDON SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES

Ontario - As Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, "Strongfamilies make a strong country." It's just one of the reasonswhy our Conservative Government has delivered a strongrecord of suppor t for families since we were first elected in2006. It's a record that includes cutting the GST, creating theUniversal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), delivering the Children'sFitness and Ar ts tax credits, and introducing the Tax-FreeSavings Account, among other measures.However, Canadian families who are struggling to make endsmeet cer tainly know that there is always more that can bedone. Our Government wants to ensure Canada remains thebest country in the world in which to raise a family.That's why we've kept our promise to introduce a number ofnew initiatives that will help all families with children, fromcoast to coast to coast. Every single family with children up toage six will receive an enhanced UCCB payment of $1,920 peryear. Also, new for families with children aged 6 to 17, ourGovernment is delivering a payment of $720 per year. Thisdirect suppor t will continue to ensure that choice in child careis lef t in the hands of the real exper ts: Mom and Dad.Our Government has also delivered the new Family Tax Cut.Available for the 2014 tax year, the Family Tax Cut makes lifemore affordable for hundreds of thousands of Canadian families.Under the new initiative, families with children under the age of18 will be able to transfer up to $50,000 of income from the

higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse, therebysaving up to $2,000 a year in federal taxes.We're also increasing the amount families can claim for thecost of child care under the Child Care Expense Deduction by$1,000. This is on top of the previously announced doubling ofthe Children's Fitness Tax Credit. Parents are now able to takeadvantage of the new $1,000 claim limit and, as of this year, thecredit is now refundable.Only our Conservative Government can be counted on tosuppor t families. That's shown by our record of always puttingCanadian families first.

PREMIER WYNNE TO LEADMISSION TO ISRAEL IN 2016Premier Kathleen Wynne will lead a business delegation to Israel inspring 2016 to build on Ontario's existing relationships, create newpar tnerships and promote investment in the province.The Premier announced the mission during her remarks at the June22 Words & Deeds Leadership Award Dinner in Toronto. The Premieris the 2015 recipient of the Words & Deeds Leadership Award, whichis presented by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the UnitedJewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto to leaders who promotetolerance, inclusion and civil discourse.Ontario and Israel already have a successful Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) on Industrial and Technological Research and Devel-opment Cooperation, which was renewed in May. The agreement,first signed 10 years ago, supports collaborative research and develop-ment projects between Israel- and Ontario-based companies. It includesprojects that help create jobs, advance the commercialization of new prod-ucts and improve existing products and services in Ontario and Israel.Ontario is also in the process of situating an International Economic Develop-ment Representative (IEDR) in Israel. The IEDR's responsibilities would in-clude investment lead generation, export promotion, innovation collaborationand helping to explore areas of opportunity for Ontario.During the mission, Premier Wynne is expected to visit centres, including TelAviv and Jerusalem, to meet with Israeli business and government leadersto discuss areas for future collaboration.Providing more opportunities for Ontario companies to compete internation-ally is part of the government's economic plan. The four-part plan is buildingOntario up by investing in people's talents and skills, making the largestinvestment in public infrastructure in the province's history, creating a dy-namic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a se-cure retirement savings plan.Ontario and Israel have worked together on research and development initia-tives for many years. This mission will lead to more opportunities for us tostrengthen that partnership and forge new ones. I am excited to share Ontario'sstory on the world stage and build on our reputation as a leader in innovation.Kathleen Wynne, Premier of OntarioQuick Facts" With the leadership of the late Joseph Rotman, Ontario committed$115 million to the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI), which has cementedOntario's reputation as a global neuroscience powerhouse, while in-creasing collaborative effor ts in order to improve outcomes for pa-tients in Ontario and around the world. Israel was one of the OBI's firstinternational par tners." Companies project that technologies funded under the MOUwill generate over $1 billion in revenues upon successful completionand commercialization." Israel invests 4 per cent of its GDP each year in researchand development." Over 60 per cent of Canada's Israel-born immigrants live in Ontario. Theprovince is also home to about 200,000 people of Jewish faith.Source: premier.gov.on.ca

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

KEJRIWAL JOINS MODIFOR YOGA IP12india

Lalit Modi-Vasundhara Rajefriendship, once talk of the town

BY ANIL SHARMAJAIPUR, (IANS) The friendship between former IPL boss Lalit Modiand Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje may have dimmed butthere was a time when people in Rajasthan used to talk about thecloseness between the two.Lalit Modi in his interview to a TV channel has acknowledged thefact of h is long f r iendship wi th Raje. "My re lat ionship wi thVasundhara Raje goes back 30 years. She is a close friend of thefamily and my wife," Modi told India Today TV this week.Raje, in a statement issued recently, has accepted the fact thatshe knows the family of the former India Premier League com-missioner who is charged with financial impropriety and moneylaundering. People of Rajasthan came to know about Modi whenhe became Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president in 2005,when the Raje-led BJP government was in power in the state. Andafter that there was no looking back for Modi, who eventuallybecame the first IPL chairman.After Raje became chief minister in 2003, and remained in thepost till 2008, Modi was accused of running a parallel govern-ment. He was known to have booked a suite for himself in a five-star hotel where he would come and stay. Congress leaders ac-cuse him of even inter fering in running of the government at thattime. "At times the officers met him in his (hotel) suite with files,but Raje never stopped them even though she knew about it,"Ashok Gehlot, former chief minister of Rajasthan, had alleged in2010 while addressing a press conference when he was the chiefminister.Gehlot of the Congress in a statement issued recently said, "Ihave been constant ly ra is ing the corrupt ion nexus betweenVasundhara Raje and Lalit Modi since 2003-04."The relationship was so close between the two that Raje, who ac-cording to Modi had accompanied his wife to Por tugal for her cancertreatment in 2012 and 2013, signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU) with the same cancer institute in 2014 to set up a moderncancer institute in Jaipur.

As per a government of Rajasthan press release, the Raje-ledBJP government entered into a memorandum of understanding onOctober 2, 2014 with the Champalimaud Foundation of Por tugalwhere Lalit Modi's wife was treated. The MOU was signed in thepresence of Raje where she also spoke and said that cancer pa-tients will get better treatment and the centre will prove to be aboon for people who cannot afford the high cost of cancer treat-ment.According to an official statement issued on that day, the stategovernment allotted 34,400 sq metre land in the Rajasthan HealthScience University premise atPratap Nagar, Jaipur for this in-st i tute. As per the MOU, theChampalimaud Foundation willextend technical suppor t in de-signing the infrastructure of thecentre. It will also provide tech-n ica l suppor t i n f i na l i z i ngspecifications and selection ofequipment for diagnosis, treat-ment and research.The close fr iendship betweenthe two, however, turned sour.Though no one is sure of thereason but one of the reasonswas repor tedly also the ticketdistribution in the 2013 assem-bly elections. The name of Rajecropped up on Tuesday in con-nection with the Lalit Modi af-fair over al legat ions that shetestified in favour of the formerIPL chief's British immigrationapplication in 2011.

RAJASTHAN BJP CHIEF ASHOK PARNAMI ADDRESSES A PRESS CONFERENCE IN JAIPUR (IANS).

Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb calls on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi (IANS).

DELHI RESIDENT DOCTORSCALL OFF THEIR STRIKENew Delhi (IANS) Over 20,000 resident doctors, who were onstrike over a slew of reforms, late Tuesday called off their strikeafter a meeting with the union health ministry officials.The doctors will resume their duties from Wednesday morning."We have called off the strike as we have been given propertime-frame within which the government will fulfil all our de-mands," Pankaj Solanki, Presdent of the Federation Of ResidentDoctors Association (FORDA) told IANS.FORDA is an association of doctors of 25 Delhi-based govern-ment hospitals.Asked if the doctors would return back on strike if the demandswere not fulfilled, Solanki said: "This time we have been givenproper time-frame and we are pretty sure that they will imple-ment the demands as they would not want patients to sufferagain."The meeting between the health ministry officials and FORDArepresentatives was chaired by Health Secretary B.P. Sharma.

BJP ATTACKS AAP OVERTOMAR, KEJRIWAL DEMANDSSUSHMA'S SACKINGNew Delhi, (IANS) The first day of the Delhi assembly budgetsession witnessed several disruptions by the BJP MLAs overformer minister Jitender Singh Tomar's alleged fake degree evenas Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked Prime Minister NarendraModi to sack External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for al-leged impropriety.BJP legislator O.P. Sharma leapt towards Kejriwal's bench andturned his mike, triggering panic among AAP lawmakers in thehouse.Kejriwal remained unruffled, while the BJP legislator was forcedout of the house by marshals. Sharma returned to the house later.Meanwhile, the AAP tabled three bills in the house which had tobe adjourned over the fake degree row in the beginning for 15minutes.Speaking on the arrest of former law minister Jitender SinghTomar, Kejriwal told the Delhi assembly that Modi too must actagainst his ministers the way he did vis-a-vis Tomar."We removed Tomar from the cabinet when he was arrested," hesaid, after one of the only three BJP legislators, Sharma createda din over the arrest and jailing of Tomar.Kejriwal compared the Tomar development with the demandsnow being raised for External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj'sresignation.Modi, Kejriwal said, should take a cue from the Aam AadmiPar ty (AAP).

INDUSTRY OF RED TAPETHRIVES ON DOUBT: MODINew Delhi, (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesdaysaid the "industry of red tape" thrives on doubt, while the "roadwith red carpet" is built on trust as he highlighted the people-friendly reforms initiated by his government to ease the regula-tory environment in India.In his remarks at the India release of the book "Red Tape to RedCarpet... and then some" here, the prime minister said the mostimpor tant reform for him has been to allow self-certification invarious activities.The book has been written by Gina Rinehar t, the chairperson ofthe Australian mining company Hancock Prospecting Group.Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb, andformer Australian prime minister Paul Keating were present onthe occasion."I believe that a human being is inherently good and he or shehas to be given full freedom to make choices. This is the founda-tion of our steps which we have taken towards easing the regu-latory environment in India. The most impor tant reform for me sofar is to allow self-cer tification in various activities. From stu-dents to entrepreneurs, we have allowed self-cer tification of docu-ments and processes," said Modi.

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EASE OF DOING BUSINESS CRITICALFOR INVESTMENT: IACC CHIEF

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI ADDRESSES WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA, JAKAYA KIKWETE ATTHE JOINT PRESS BRIEFING IN NEW DELHI AS THE TWO SIDES SIGN DEAL ON COUNTER-TERRORISM (IANS).

Kejriwal joins Modi for yogaNew Delhi, (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joinedPrime Minister Narendra Modi and thousands of others atRajpath here to mark the International Yoga Day. "Yoga is agood thing. Everyone should do it," Kejriwal said, adding hefinds it to be a great stress-buster.Kejriwal had attended a Vipassana meditation camp after atough campaign for the Delhi assembly election in February.After assuming office, he also attended a naturopathy course inBengaluru which included yoga. Delhi's Lt. Governor NajeebJung and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also attendedthe yoga session at Rajpath. The International Yoga Day eventswere held in cities, towns and districts across the country andwas also celebrated in 192 countries.

PUNJAB SETS UP PANEL TOLOOK INTO FARMER SUICIDESChandigarh, (IANS) Punjab has set up a high-level task force togive a new direction to the state's agricultural economy and tolook into reasons for suicide by farmers, it was announcedrecently. The task force will be headed by Punjab Farmers Com-mission chairman G.S. Kalkat, an official statement said. Thefirst meeting of the task force would be held in the next month inwhich top government functionaries, progressive farmers, ag-ricultural exper ts, sociologists and others will prepare a draftto restructure state's agriculture. It would also address prob-lems faced by the agriculture sector, including rising number offarmer suicides, increasing input costs, falling water table andincreasing use of chemicals. The NITI Aayog has directed thestate governments to set up a task force for preparing a detailednote on agriculture. Two debt-ridden farmers have committedsuicide by consuming poison in the state this month, an officialtold IANS.

RAHUL GANDHI'S CONCERN FOR FARMERS APOLITICAL STUNT: BADALPunjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday saidCongress vice president Rahul Gandhi's sudden concern forthe farmers was nothing but a "political stunt". "The long spellof Congress par ty's misrule under the Gandhi family had bro-ken the backbone of farmers," he told repor ters at Muktsar,some 250 km from Chandigarh. He said the anti-farmer stanceof the Congress and its regressive policies ruined the farmersin the country and they were now reeling under mounting debt.Badal said the ever escalating costs of farm inputs coupledwith non-remunerative minimum suppor t price of the cropshave rendered agriculture a non-profitable venture. The chiefminister's remark came four days after Gandhi met the familyof a debt-ridden farmer who committed suicide in a Punjabvillage after his crops were destroyed by unseasonal rains. Surjit Singh,a 60-year-old debt-ridden farmer, who had met the Congress vice presidenton April 28 after his crops were destroyed by unseasonal rain, committedsuicide on June 10 by consuming poison.Badal said it was ironic that the ones responsible for farmers' agony werenow shedding crocodile tears over the crisis caused due to their ill-con-ceived policies. "The sole purpose of entire gimmick of Gandhi during hisrecent tours to the state was to score brownie points before the media ratherthan solving any issue of farmers," he said. Gandhi, on April 28, hadboarded a train from Delhi to Ambala in Haryana to see theircondition. He also visited Punjab to look at farmers' situation.Badal's Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Par tyhave been running an alliance government in Punjab since 2007.

BY APARAJITA GUPTANew Delhi, (IANS) A lot of positive vibes were generated on both sidesfollowing US President Barack Obama's visit in January, but the Indiangovernment needs to expedite ease of doing business to strike the rightinvestment chord, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) presi-dent Asoke K. Laha feels."The vibes that (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and Obama sharedhad helped a lot in generating trust among the business community in theUS. But ease of doing business is the most important and the criticalthing that the Modi government should address to attract investment,Laha told IANS in an interview during a visit here.Laha, who went to the US in the 1970s, has his own comprehensivesoftware consultancy based out of San Jose, California, with operationsin India as well.

Terming the Modi-Obama vibes as "just the beginning", he said: "If I aman American and I see that my president has good relations with theprime minister of another country then that makes me feel comfortable.""That feeling has to be inculcated among US investors that their money isin a secure place. Bureaucratic nuances during the setting up of a busi-ness has to be curtailed and tax laws need to be predictable."He noted that Modi, during his US visit last September, had mentionedthat the government is making effor ts to improve India's ranking from134 in the ease of doing business index."US companies are eager to come to India. To get the growth momentum,the US companies need to look beyond the country. There they do nothave enough skilled people and the cost of labour is also very high," Lahasaid. The IACC, which predominantly promotes small and mediumentreprises (SME) in India, will be taking a 15-20 member business

delegation to the US on July 5."These are mainly SME companies.The delegation will hold business-to-business (B2B) meetings withlocal business community andchambers of commerce in Hous-ton, Atlanta and some other cities."IACC will also hold two confer-ences in India in September in Delhiand Mumbai on 'How to increaseIndia-US trade to $500 billion?'The bilateral trade now stands at$100 billion.Taking about the Make in Indiaprogramme as envisaged by thepresent National Democratic Alli-ance government, he said: "Itmakes sense for India to become amanufacturing superpower. Indiacan't only be a trading country. Itmakes sense for India to be anotherglobal manufacturing hub likeChina. It has all the advantages. Butto do that India needs automationand to provide that US technologyis required."

WHO CALLS FOR STEPPINGUP VIGIL FOR MERS VIRUSNew Delhi, (IANS) The World Health Organization urged SouthEast Asian countries to step up their vigil and review prepared-ness to respond to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS) coronavirus disease. "Strong health systems using strict in-fection control measures would be the key to prevent the spread of the virus,and protect healthcare workers and others," said Poonam Khetrapal Singh,regional director of WHO South East Asia region, on Thursday.Earlier in the week, Khetrapal Singh wrote to the health ministers of the 11countries in the WHO South East Asia region to review and strengthenpreparedness against the deadly disease in view of its recent spread. Theregional director urged the countries to enhance surveillance for severeacute respiratory infections, focus on early diagnosis, and step up infectionprevention and control procedures in healthcare facilities. MERS coronavirusdisease is caused by a virus. Typical symptoms include fever, cough andshortness of breath. Pneumonia is common, but not always present. Gas-trointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported. MERScoronavirus was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, from where themajority of cases have been repor ted.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015 i n d i a

Rajnath Singh praises Sikhs for promotingsecularism; Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar offers

support; Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje absentAnandpur Sahib (Punjab), (IANS) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhon Friday praised the Khalsa Panth, the Sikh community, for promot-ing secularism and the cultural heritage of the country. Addressing agathering at the conclusion of the three-day celebrations of the 350thanniversary of the foundation of this historic Punjab town, he said theSikhs and the Khalsa Panth played a great role not only in defendingIndia but also promoting secularism and cultural heritage.He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to come here to payhomage but could not do so because of his meeting with visitingTanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. Rajnath Singh said the Sikhgurus made sacrifices fighting against injustice and for the welfare ofthe entire society. "The country cannot forget the supreme sacrificesmade by the Sikh gurus and the Sikh community."Describing Punjab as the land of freedom fighters and mar tyrs, RajnathSingh said: "We have to rise above the petty politics of communal-ism."BJP national president Amit Shah was among the prominent person-alities present on the occasion. Rajasthan Chief Minister VasundharaRaje did not attend the celebrations, citing health reasons. On thisoccasion, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was the only par ty in the country whichwas a staunch votary of 'unite and rule' by dispelling the image ofpolitical outfits so far which believed in the policy of 'divide and rule'.Seeking expeditious trials, justice and relief to the victims of the Sikhcarnage in 1984, Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal said for 30years Sikhs had been waiting for justice. He appealed to the National

Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to ensure justice for Sikhs aswell as Punjab. He also sought that the legitimate issues per tainingto Punjab should be resolved at the earliest with due consultationwith all stakeholders.Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar offered his suppor t to thePunjab chief minister in resolving common issues so that people ofboth the states could be benefited. "There are some common issuesbetween both the neighbouring states which need to be addressed forthe benefit of people. This will strengthen brotherhood and acceleratethe pace of development of both the states," he said. Khattar said theSikhs had a history of making supreme sacrifices for the country.Union Food Processing minister Harsimrat Kaur, union minister ofstate for social justice Vijay Sampla, Chhattisgarh Governor BalramjiDass Tandon and yoga guru Ramdev were also present on the occa-sion. The foundation of Anandpur Sahib was laid by the 9th Sikh guruTegh Bahadur on June 19, 1665. Anandpur Sahib, 85 km fromChandigarh, is home to the second most important Sikh shrine, TakhtKeshgarh Sahib, after the Harmandar Sahib (popularly known as theGolden Temple) in Amritsar.

REFORMS TO PUSH GROWTHOVER 7.5 PER CENT: JAITLEYNew York, (IANS) Wooing investors in the US, India's Finance Minis-ter Arun Jaitley has said economic reforms being currently shaped

through the legislative processcan push India 's growth rateabove 7 to 7.5 per cent range."Neither the government, nor thepeople, nor the industry whoserepresentatives, some of whomare here, nobody is very excited abouta 7-7.5 per cent growth rate in India,"Jaitley said here at the Council on For-eign Relations (CFR), a leading thinktank. "Because a series of reform fixeswhich are in the pipeline and are to beimplemented, we have now identifiedall the problem areas," he said in a con-versation with Timothy Geithner, presi-dent of investment firm Warburg Pincus.I think one by one as we go resolvingmost of them, hopefully we should reachwhat our destination targets are," Jaitleyadded.Earlier on Thursday, he told the WallStreet Journal: "The India story can nowbe brought back to centre stage.

PUNJAB DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER SUKHBIR SINGH BADAL ADDRESSES DURING A FUNCTION TO MARK 350TH FOUNDATION DAY OFSRI ANANDPUR SAHIB IN ANANDPUR SAHIB. ALSO SEEN ARE UNION HOME MINISTER RAJNATH SINGH, BJP CHIEF AMIT SHAH ANDPUNJAB CHIEF MINISTER PARKASH SINGH BADAL (IANS).

TWO GUINNESS RECORDSSET ON FIRST YOGA DAYNew Delhi, (IANS) The first International Yoga Day at Rajpathsaw two Guinness World Records being set - for the largestnumber of par ticipants in a yoga lesson at a single venue andfor the most number of nationalities in a yoga lesson. An offi-cial statement said that in the first category, for the largestnumber of participants in a yoga lesson at a single venue, theearlier record was 29,973.The congregation at Rajpath on Sunday was 35,985, breakingthe previous record. The second category was the most num-ber of nationalities in a yoga lesson. To achieve this, par tici-pants from at least 50 countries were required to perform. "To-day, par ticipants from 84 countries performed yoga at Rajpath,"the statement said. The awards were received by Ayush Min-ister Shripad Yesso Naik from representatives of GuinnessWorld Records -- Victoria from Britain and Marco Frigatti fromItaly.

Over 40 per cent Indians deprivedof basic rights: SC judgeAgartala, (IANS) Over 40 per cent Indians were deprived ofcer tain basic rights and oppor tunities, Justice Tirath SinghThakur of the Supreme Cour t has said here. "Over 40 per centout of 1.25 billion Indians are acutely deprived of cer tain basicrights and oppor tunities," said Justice Thakur, who is also theexecutive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority(NALSA).Delivering his speech at a symposium here on Saturday night,the apex cour t judge said: "Over 40 per cent of Indians areliving below the pover ty line. They also are surviving with lackof literacy, lack of basic oppor tunities and scopes besides eco-nomic deficiencies." He said the NALSA and State Legal Ser-vices Authorities were working to provide various legal ser-vices and conducting awareness programme for the benefit ofthe people specially those are deprived, tribals and scheduledcaste."As a rule, judges are governing the justices and legal matters,but a father also must do justice to his children, a husbandor a wife must do justices to each other, a parliamentarianor a legislator must do justice to the people of their con-stituencies and a minister do justice to all his subjects," hesaid."All of our target must be to suppor t neglected people of oursociety. Injustice cannot be tolerated in our system," Jus-tice Thakur said, adding that pover ty should not be an im-pediment in providing justice to the weaker section of soci-ety. NALSA's executive chairman said it was a challenge tomake disadvantage and illiterate people aware of their rightsin a country where legal literacy percentage was much be-low the expected level."There is a commitment to ensure that poor people haveequal access to justice. We have been devising our ownways to reach out to them. In this mission, students are ourambassadors," Justice Thakur said. Tripura High Cour t ChiefJustice Deepak Gupta said that according to a survey con-ducted by a Guwahati-based NGO, over 86 percent of tribalswere not at all aware about the legal aid services.

Jaitley assures US investors ofa stable policy regimeBY ARUN KUMARWashington, (IANS) Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley iswooing American investors with twin assurances -- more eco-nomic reforms and a stable policy regime with no intention tolegislate or apply laws retrospectively.Jaitley has held talks with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew,Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and US Trade Represen-tative Michael Froman in Washington and met investors, in-cluding some CEOs on a one-on-one basis, and New York.In his interactions with investors, the Finance Minister told reportershere Saturday, he had explained the progress on the reforms front since theModi government came to power last year and all those in the pipeline."The government is determined to continue on the reform path to give afurther boost to the economy," he said outlining "several game changingsteps" including opening up, structural changes, subsidy rationalisationand direct taxation reform. Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime was"probably the most important tax reform," undertaken by the Modi govern-ment, he said.Jaitley, who is headed to San Francisco Sunday to meetmore investors, said he was "carrying back a clear mes-sage tha t i nves to rs need a s tab le po l i cy r eg ime asunpredictability is never investor friendly."

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BAN KI-MOON, SECRETARY GENERAL OF UNITED NATIONS, JOINS HUNDREDS IN PERFORMING YOGA AT THE UN HEADQUARTERS, NEWYORK, THE UNITED STATES, ON THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA (IANS).

TRANSIT OF GAS VIA UKRAINEOF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCEBratislava, (IANS) The transit of gas via Ukraine is of strategicimpor tance and needs to be maintained even in the future, saidMaros Sefcovic, the v ice-president of the EuropeanCommission's Energy Union, at the GLOBSEC security forumhere. "It's an enormous gas highway with a capacity of 140billion cubic metres yearly. The capacity of Ukrainian transit tothe EU cannot be fully replaced, regardless of any other projectcurrently discussed," stressed Sefcovic, Xinhua repor ted onSunday. The infrastructure for gas transit from Russia to theEuropean Union is used to only 57 percent of full capacity. Ac-cording to the EU, the alternative routes proposed by the Rus-sian side either lack sufficient infrastructure, feature bottlenecksthat do not allow adequate supplies or, as in the case of theTurkish Stream pipeline, are still in the planning stage."Is it necessary to star t new large projects with the sole intentbeing only to bypass Ukraine? Ukraine is prepared to under takevery painful reforms: it passed a new bill on gas that copiesEuropean legislation," said Sefcovic.

SERVICE STARTS AT CHARLESTONCHURCH AFTER MASSACRE Washington, (IANS/EFE) Charleston's historic Emanuel AfricanMethodist Episcopal Church reopened its doors and held its firstservice four days after a 21-year-old white man gunned downnine black church members in one of the worst tragedies of itskind at a US religious institution."A lot of folks expected us to do something strange and to break out in a riot.Well, they just don't know us," Reverend Norvel Goff said, on Sunday, beforehundreds of worshippers. "We are a people of faith." One of the victims of themassacre was the church's pastor, Rev. and Democratic state senatorClementa Pinckney, whose seat in the church was draped in black. At 10amchurch bells all over Charleston, known as South Carolina's "Holy City" forits heavy concentration of churches, peeled to recall the nine victims.The number of worshippers exceeded its maximum capacity of 1,200. Inrecent days, the church and vicinity have seen many signs of local andnational support for the families of the slain. Heavy police personnel weredeployed in and around the church, and people were not allowedto br ing backpacks inside and had their handbags andfannypacks searched by officers.

47 ISLAMIC NATIONS JOININTERNATIONAL YOGA DAYBy Chaitanya MallapurNew Delhi, (IANS/IndiaSpend) There are 47 Islamic nationsamong the 177 countries of the United Nations General Assem-bly (UNGA) that officially co-sponsored with India a resolutionto establish June 21 as "International Day of Yoga". Yoga is a5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice rooted inHindu tradition, a religious origin that has caused disquiet amongsome Indian Muslim clerics.This is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UN Gen-eral Assembly resolution, according to the Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA). The resolution was passed unopposed without avote. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted yoga as ameans to project India's soft power. Some critics accuse him ofsubtly fur thering a Hindu agenda, while some representativesof Indian Islamic organisations suppor t Yoga Day, saying thatnamaz includes yogic postures.

Reconsider international military forcepullback from Afghanistan: India

BY ARUL LOUISUnited Nations, (IANS) Within hours after terrorist suicide bomb-ers attacked Afghanistan's parliament on Monday, India askedthe international community to reconsider pulling troops from therebecause of the worsening security situation.Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji told the Secu-rity Council: "Given the critical phase that the political transitionhas entered, and the deteriorating security situation, we feel there is astrong case for the international community to take a fresh look at themanner in which the drawdown of the international military presence inAfghanistan is being planned out."He cited the latest report on Afghanistan by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which said that armed clashes have increased by 45 percentcompared to last year and 71 percent of the violence has been concen-trated in the southern, south-eastern and eastern regions.These statistics "only reinforces our view that terrorism, and not tribaldifferences or ethnic rivalries is the main source of insecurity andinstability in Afghanistan," he said.The NATO-led coalition, International Security Assistance Force(ISAF), which had 140,000 troops at the height of the deployment,formally ended its operations in Afghanistan at the end of lastyear and pulled out most its personnel.Only about 12,000 troops have been left behind in a non-combatrole to advise and continue training the Afghan military in an op-

eration named Resolute Suppor t Mission.Ban's repor t also said that, according to Afghan government esti-mates, there are 7,180 foreign fighters in the country. "It is obvi-ous that they could not have entered Afghanistan, or continue tosus ta in the i r t e r ro r a t t acks w i thou t suppor t f rom beyondAfghanistan's borders," Mukerji said in a diplomatically couchedreference to Pakistan which it did not name.At the star t of the Council debate on UN Assistance Mission inAfghanistan (UNAMA), its head Nicholas Haysom also referred tothe role of the foreign fighters and expressed concern that IslamicState (IS) was trying to establish a foothold in the troubled nation.Haysom called for greater regional involvement and collabora-tion to meet the threat from these forces.Turning to the tattered economy of Afghanistan, Mukerji said thatnation could be the "natural land bridge" connecting the econo-mies of Central Asia and South Asia. To enhance Kabul's roleIndia has taken three steps, he said: "We have indicated our will-ingness to join the an expanded PATTTA (Pakistan, Afghanistan,Tajikistan Trade and Transit Agreement), we are working with thegovernment of Iran to see how the Chahbahar Por t in Iran can beused to provide Afghanistan with an alternate access to the searoute, and have unilaterally offered Afghanistan access to the fa-cilities of the Integrated Check Post at Attari on the Wagah-Attariborder crossing point on the India-Pakistan international border."

Parliament attack: Afghan lawmakershail security, blame PakistanKabul, (IANS) The Afghan parliament on Tuesday praised the security forces for their effor ts infoiling Monday's Taliban suicide attack on the parliament complex here, while some membersaccused Pakistan of being involved in the dastardly assault, media repor ted.At least seven militants on Monday attacked Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parlia-ment). One militant detonated a car bomb at the gate while others tried to storm the building.However, aler t security forces managed to prevent them from entering.Five people were killed and 31 others were injured in the brazen attack. All the Afghan lawmakersinside the parliament complex escaped unhur t in the assault.Despite damage to the parliament building, lawmakers returned on Tuesday to the national assem-bly for a special sitting to discuss Monday's attack, TOLONews repor ted.The parliamentarians praised the security forces' effor ts, but a few members criticised the govern-ment over its meetings last month with Pakistani security and intelligence officials."Pakistanis are killing our sons every day but we remain silent. Government officials should giveus details about what they discussed at these recent meetings," parliamentarian Daoud Kalakanisaid. Another member, Almas Zahid, said Monday's "attack was organised very well and they knewfrom which side to attack", adding that "our security forces are committed to fighting off the attack-ers. But security officials should be asked how they (Taliban militants) attacked the House of thePeople". A number of lawmakers also accused cer tain government officials of being behind therecent upsurge in Taliban insurgency in the nor thern parts of the country where marauding Talibanelements have made signal advances in the nor thern Kanduz province.They accused these officials of plotting the insurgency claiming it was a "project" of theirs.Monday's attack took place at about 10.20 a.m. -- minutes before second vice president MohammadSarwar Danish was to introduce minister of defence nominee Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai tothe lawmakers for a vote of confidence.

TURF WAR BETWEEN IS, TALIBANESCALATES IN AFGHANISTANLondon, (IANS) Islamic State militants have executed three fighters accused of defecting to theTaliban as a brutal tur f war escalates between the rival organisations in Afghanistan. Thekillings come days after the Taliban sent a letter to IS warning them to stay out of the country, saying therewas room for only "one flag, one leadership" in their fight to re-establish strict Islamist rule, a Daily Mail reportsaid. One video posted on pro-IS accounts shows a line of armed fighters standing behind two kneeling menwho are shot dead by one of the militants with a handgun. In a separate execution, pictures appeared to showanother alleged defector being beheaded. The groups declared war against each other in April after theAfghan Taliban branded IS's self-declared caliphate illegitimate and refused to declare allegiance to itsleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. IS responded by launching recruitment drives deep into Taliban territory,allowing them to expand rapidly -- even reportedly replacing the Taliban as the dominant controlling forcein one district.The warning letter from the Taliban came amid heavy fighting this week in eastern Afghanistan betweenthe Taliban and breakaway factions who now swear allegiance to IS, which in the past year seized largeswathes of Iraq and Syria. The entry of IS, while its numbers remain small, has complicated Afghanistan'salready escalating war following the withdrawal of most foreign troops at the end of last year.

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MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

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WILL SALMAN'S 'BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN'GET BANNED IN PAKISTAN?

NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQI, KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN, SALMAN KHAN AND FILMMAKER KABIR KHAN AT THE TRAILER LAUNCH OFFILM BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN IN MUMBAI (IANS).

Why Kat is worriedthese days?

Indian superstar Salman Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", which isabout a man discovering love during a journey from India toPakistan, may release across the border due to its positivemessage, says a Pakistani film distributor.Zain Wali, representative of a film distribution companyEverready Pictures, said that he is extremely positive about thefilm's release in the country, repor ts Dawn.com."The film is set to release on Eid and this is 102 percentconfirmed. There are no objections in the film and we areconfident that it will make it to the cinemas with 'Bin Roye' andother films," Wali said.The Kabir Khan directorial narrates a story of a Hindu man outon mission to take a young Pakistani girl, who is dumb andmute, back to her country. It chronicles the adventures andexperiences he stumbles upon during his road trip.The film also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and NawazuddinSiddiqui and is slated to hit the screen on the occasion of Eid,which is likely on July 18.

Salman's films are popular for gravity defying stunts and'masala' content. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" stands true to this image,but also runs high on emotional content.A slew of Indian films like "Baby", "Ek Tha Tiger" and "AgentVinod" faced a ban in Pakistan. But Wali says that may not bethe case for "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"."The reason censor board raised objections over 'Baby' wasbecause the film painted a controversial picture of Muslims.'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' is not against Pakistan and the trailer alonecan give a clean-cut depiction of the message it is giving out,"Wali said. Wali points out that though he is positive about thefilm coming to Pakistan, censor board, will take the last call."Most impor tantly, we have faith that the film will see the lightof the day in cinemas. The last stage regarding the release ofany film, be it local or international, is the approval from censorboard. We are positive that the film will not face any challengesin this regard because we haven't heard anything dubious aboutit," he added.

Katrina Kaif had coloured her hair a deep shade of red for her film,'Fitoor'.But now that she has begun shooting for her long-in-the-makingother project, 'Jagga Jasoos', she has been caught in a dilemma.The film requires her to go back to her original hair colour forcontinuity reasons.When co-star Rekha had walked out of Fitoor, Kat needed to main-tain the look for the reshoot with replacement Tabu.So Kat has been facing some literal hair-raising issues.

BANGLADESH PLAYERS CELEBRATE AFTER WINNING THE 2ND ODI MATCH FROM INDIA AT SHERE BANGLA NATIONAL STADIUMIN MIRPUR, DHAKA (IANS).

Pakistan thrash Sri Lanka in first TestGalle, (IANS) Pakistan raced to a 10-wicket win over Sri Lankato complete a remarkable turnaround in the first Test here on Sun-day.Openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad knocked off avictory target of 92 in just 11.2 overs after leg-spinner Yasir Shah'sseven-wicket haul set up Pakistan's first win in Sri Lanka since2006.Pakistan were five down and 204 runs behind Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 300 on the fourth day morning. Some superb counter-attacking by Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed allowed them to se-cure a 117-run lead.Yasir then confirmed that was a decisive advantage as he made fulluse of a final-day pitch offering enough help - despite the first daybeing washed out - to return with his Test-best figures of 7/76.The 29-year-old leg-spinner now has 46 wickets in eight Tests sincemaking his debut against Australia last October.Sri Lanka were 63/2 when they began their fifth day action.Yasir began the final day by fooling Dilruwan Perera into leaving atop-spinner that bowled the nightwatchman although the bulk of hiswork came after lunch when he claimed five wickets.He first removed Angelo Mathews to an edge the Sri Lanka skipperunsuccessfully reviewed before half-centurion Dimuth Karunaratne'spatience ended, after a 173-ball stay, as he was stumped.When Yasir then also had Dinesh Chandimal stumped to comlpetehis seven-wicket haul, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 206 andPakistan's openers quickly set about ensuring a 1-0 lead in a three-Test series that resumes in Colombo on Thursday.Brief scores: Sri Lanka 300 and 206 (Dimuth Karunaratne 79, YasirShah 7/76).Pakistan 417 and 92/0 (Mohammed Hafeez 46).

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JOHN ABRAHAM AND BOMAN IRANI DURING THE JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL A DATE WITH DAD IN MUMBAI (IANS).

SALMAN KHAN GOES GAGA OVER'BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN' TEAM

Case against Amitabh,Abhishek over tricolour insultGhaziabad, (IANS) A case has been filed against Bollywoodstar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan in aGhaziabad court, saying they were seen covering their bodieswith the national flag in a manner insulting to the nation. Com-plainant Chetan Dhiman in his complaint before the judicialmagistrate's court said the actors were seen with the nationalflag during the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match inAdelaide on February 15. Dhiman's lawyer Sanjeev Sharmasaid the complainant and five of his friends saw the mega starwearing the national flag in an insulting manner. He said thatby such an act, the internationally acclaimed cine star and hisson downgraded India's reputation. He said the actors' act wascovered under The Prevention of Insults to National HonourAct, 1971, and the Flag Code of India, 2002, and both should besummoned before the court to face trial.

I WAS THROWN OUT OF'SHUDDHI': SALMAN KHANMumbai, ( IANS) SuperstarSalman Khan says he was"thrown out of" Karan Johar'sproduction "Shuddhi". Earlier,Hr i thik Roshan and KareenaKapoor Khan were supposed tostar in the movie, but laterSalman was roped in. ActorVarun Dhawan has now beenlocked in place of the "Dabangg"star. The actor ta lked about"Shuddhi" after launching thetrailer of his film "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", which also stars Kareena,here on Thursday."I was thrown out of the film, why are you out of the film?"Salman said while questioning Kareena about her reason fornot doing "Shuddhi". "I agreed because Hrithik was in the film.And eventually he didn't do the film," said Kareena. The 49-year-old actor also noted that Kareena had already opted out ofthe film when he agreed to do the film. "Shuddhi", being helmedby Karan Malhotra, also stars Alia Bhatt. Meanwhile, Salman isalso gearing up for Sooraj Barjatya's "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo".

SAIF INVOLVED IN BRAWLWITH NRI BUSINESSMANMumbai, (IANS) Nearly fouryears after Bollywood actor SaifAli Khan was involved in a brawlwith a South African NRI busi-nessman, a Mumbai cour t onThursday referred the case formediation. While Saif and theprosecution have agreed to themediat ion, the NRI Iqbal M.Sharma's response is awaited,said public prosecutor WajidSheikh. The cour t also directedappointment of a mediator between the two par ties by themediation centre attached to the Esplanade Cour t and the rap-prochement matter will now come up on July 27. Saif and hisfriends and co-accused, Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak, werepresent in the cour t but Sharma remained absence on accountof prior business commitments. Advocate Girish Kulkarni, rep-resenting Saif, said that on the date of mediation, if the twopar ties fail to conclude and arrive at a settlement, then the next dateof trial will be given by the court. Sharma had lodged the complaint onFebruary 22, 2012, against Saif, Amrohi and Ladak after the trio assaultedhim in the Wasabi restaurant in Hotel Taj Mahal.

Mumbai, (IANS) Salman Khanwill be seen embarking on anaction-filled journey from India toPakistan in for thcoming film"Bajrangi Bhaijaan". The superstarlauded the film's script and praisedfilm's director Kabir Khan and his fe-male lead Kareena Kapoor Khan.The 49-year-old actor shared hisviews about the film's cast at thetrailer launch here. "I really lovedthe script. The director is superband heroine is superb. ButNawazuddin (Siddiqui) is theek-thaak (average). The casting waspretty simple as all of them arequite professional. There wasonly one person who was a bitunprofessional, who would comelate on the sets -- the producerSalman Khan," he said.The "Dabangg" star is also pro-ducing the film under his bannerSalman Khan Films. And Salmansays he didn't get between thecreative process of the film. "I

didn't have much of an involve-ment in the production matters ofthe film," he said. The film nar-rates a tale of a man's journeyout on a mission to take young

Pakistani girl, who is mute and islost in India, back to her country.The film spins a story around hisexperiences and the people hewi l l stumble upon dur ing his

travel. Nawazuddin plays role ofa Pakistani journalist in the film."Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is slated tohit the screens on Eid this year,which is likely to be on July 18.

SALMAN AND KAREENA IN A SCENE OF THEIR UPCOMING MOVIE BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN (IANS).

SHAHID KAPOOR TO REPLACE MADHURIDIXIT ON 'JHALAK DIKHHLA JAA'

Mumbai, (IANS) Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor will replace veteranactress Madhuri Dixit as a judge on the upcoming eighth season ofdance reality show “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa”.Colors channel CEO Raj Nayak took to Twitter on Monday to announceShahid’s entry.“Colors welcomes the King of dance and actor par excellence@shahidkapoor to #JhalakDikhlaJaa Coming soon #YouthIcon,” hetweeted.The 34-year-old actor, who has starred in films like “Jab We Met”,“Kaminey” and “R…Rajkumar”, star ted his career as a student oface choreographer Shiamak Davar. He has shown his dancing skillsat different stages -- both in India and abroad.This will be the first time the “Haider” actor will be seen as a judge ona reality show. The names of his co-judges are yet to be announced.Earlier, Madhuri, who was associated with the show for last threeseasons, announced her depar ture in a statement saying she optedout of the show “to concentrate on another project” with the channel."I have been on 'Jhalak...' for three years now and I am taking a breakto focus on other projects. I will be back shor tly with probably some-thing even more exciting. I wish 'Jhalak...' the very best for a spec-tacular season,” she said.The upcoming eighth season of “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa” -- the Indian

version of the internationally-acclaimed reality show "Dancing withthe Stars" -- will feature celebrities like Shamita Shetty, Raftaar, VivianDsena, Radhika Madan, Kavita Kaushik, Sanaya Irani, DeepikaSamson, Ashish Chowdhry, Mohit Malik, Scarlett Mellish Wilson andFaisal Khan.The show is expected to go on air in July.

HARSHALI MALHOTRA REAL STAR OF'BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN': KAREENA Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) Since the launch of the teaser of Salman Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", a little girl has caught the fancy of fans.This girl appeared in the teaser before powerhouses Salman and Kareena Kapoor Khan, which proves how crucial she is to theplot of the film. Kareena said the girl was the "real star of the film" and she didn't mind it.This girl is Harshali Malhotra and Kareena is floored by her. "Harshali is amazing and director Kabir Khan might have had adaunting task to find someone as talented as her. She is a wonder ful actress." Kareena said that Harshali was "also a diva"."When she didn't want to shoot for 2-3 hours, we wouldn't shoot. With kids, it's anyways difficult to shoot. I think she will be thereal star of the film. Her per formance is amazing and she is the most impor tant par t of the film." Bajrangi Bhaijaan, directed byKabir Khan is slated to release this Eid on 17 July.

NARGIS FAKHRI IN FIRSTCROSSOVER MOVIE SPYNew Delhi, (IANS) Nargis Fakhri has shared screen space withOscar-nominated actress Melissa McCarthy in her first cross-over project "Spy". Elated by the oppor tunity, the actress saysit was a privilege to team up with the Hollywood icon."Being able to work alongside such a talented and influential actor asMelissa in my first Hollywood movie is a moment I feel blessed to havehad," Nargis told IANS in an email interaction from New York. The "Rockstar"fame actress can be seen jumping over cars in the film's trailer as sheplays an agent from a terrorist group who is on a mission to seal a deal overa nuke bomb. In the trailer of the Paul Feig-directorial, Nargis isalso seen embroiled into a funny food fight scene. She pointsout that she had a lot of fun while shooting the fight sequencefor the action comedy. "She (McCar thy) was great around theset and our chemistry on screen made our fight scene reallyspecial," added Nargis, who has been a par t of Hindi films like"Main Tera Hero" and "Madras Cafe". "Spy" revolves around aplus-size CIA operative, who takes up the challenge to go out inthe field to fight the wrong and save the world. It chronicles heradventures and narrates obstacles she finds during the mis-sion. The film also stars Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Jude Lawand Miranda Har t. Nargis considers Feig, who has also helmedfilms like "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids", as her guiding force inthe international world of cinema.

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2 HAMARI ADHURI KAHANI HAMARI ADHURI KAHANI

3 GABBAR IS BACK TERI MERI KAHAANI

4 TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS MARI GALI

5 PIKU LAMHE GUZAR GAYE

6 DIL DHADAKNE DO DIL DHADAKNE DO

7 BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN SELFIE LE LE RE

8 BEZUBAAN PHIR SE ABCD - ANY BODY CAN DANCE - 2

9 HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABCD - ANY BODY CAN DANCE - 2

10 SUN SAATHIYA 2 ABCD - ANY BODY CAN DANCE - 2

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10

HIT OR FLOP MIDWEEKBOMBAY VELVET AVERAGE

HAMARI ADHURI KAHANI HIT

TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS HIT

DIL DHADAKNE DO HIT

GABBAR IS BACK HIT

FILM

songsSONG

ZAROORI THA

FILM:HAMARIADHURIKAHANI

MIDWEEK BOX

OFFICE REPORTTANU WEDS MANU IRS 144.99 CRORESDIL DHADAKNE DO IRS 71.62 CRORESHAMARI ADHURI KAHANI IRS 40.00 CRORESABCD2 IRS 40.00 CRORESISHQEDARRIYAAN IRS 1.25 CRORES

1

'ABCD 2' - COLLAGE OFELECTRIFYING DANCES

BY TROY RIBEIRO

CAST: VARUN DHAWAN, SHRADDHA KAPOOR, PRABHUDEVA,

LAUREN GOTTLIEB, DHARMESH YELANDE, RAGHAV JUYAL,

SUSHANT PUJARI, PUNIT PATHAK AND TISCA CHOPRA;

DIRECTOR: REMO D'SOUZA;

RATING: **1/2

Movie Review

"ABCD 2" is motivational dance film with a tinge of patriotism thrown in.Everyone makes mistakes in life, but "Life is all about the next step,"sums up director Remo D'Souza. The film is inspired by the trials andtribulations of 'The Fictitous Group', a dance group from Nalasopara, asuburb in the outskir ts of Mumbai."ABCD 2" showcases the journey of the Mumbai Stunners, a local dancegroup, from a television reality show to the World Starz - Hip Hop Compe-tition, in Las Vegas. Helmed by Suresh aka Suru (Varun Dhawan), theteam is disqualified from the TV show on grounds of plagiarising the hip-hop dance of a renowned group from Philippines. Branded as "cheaters",scorned by everyone, the team disintegrates. It is only his childhoodfriends and co-dancers Vinnie (Shraddha Kapoor), Vernon, Raghu andJack who stay back.Dejected and low on self-esteem, a guilt-ridden Suresh learns about theWorld Hip-Hop Competition in Las Vegas and tries convincing his friendsthat participating in this competition is their only chance to win back theirlost prestige. A chance meeting with a brilliant dancer Vishnu Sir(Prabhudeva), revives his hopes. Since the original team has dispersed,Suresh along with his friends and Vishnu Sir conduct auditions to form anew team. Dharmesh from Baroda and Vinod, his deaf and mute friend,are selected. Realising their folly, some of the original teammates comeback.After qualifying the preliminary round in Bengaluru, the Mumbai Stunnersare now 'Indian Stunners' as they land in Las Vegas to be a part of thefinale. The storyline is superficial. The plot, strewn with spectaculardance sequences, is formulaic and relatable. The script is flowing, butunimaginative. It offers no dramatic moments and the surprises are moreof duds. The film centres around dance and the director ensures that thedances; breaking, krumping, locking and popping are flamboyantly por-trayed. In the bargain, his characters take a backseat. While most of thecharacters are two-dimensional, their emotional sub-plots are underde-veloped.Humour along with melodrama, in equal measure, are perfunctory andthose scenes drag. What keeps you glued are the dance pieces, whichare well-choreographed and captured brilliantly. The skills of the dancersare sure to bowl you over. Varun Dhawan as Suresh performs compe-tently, displaying his dancing skills effectively, but it is Shraddha Kapoor,as Vinnie, who is the surprise package. With lithe and graceful dancingskills, she makes her mark as a dancer, for the first time ever. And how.

Lauren Gottleib as Olive, who comes as a substitute for Vinnie, is phe-nomenal as a dancer. Prabhudeva, as Vishnu Sir, is expectedly spectacu-lar in his opening dance sequence. However, with his weak dialoguedelivery and negligible emoting skills, he is not convincing in the emo-tional and drunken scenes. Mounted on a magnificent scale, the visualsby cinematographer Vijay Arora are captivating, especially the ones inLas Vegas. Several frames are picture-perfect, showing his masteryover his craft.The film is jazzy and vibrant, but drags in par ts, specially thenumerous dances, which were unwarranted. This makes the filmseem like an unending collage of dance sequences, sans theemotional quotient. The last act plays the patriotic theme fullthrottle and gets the audience emotionally involved. Anybody whoremotely loves dancing, should watch "ABCD 2".

ONLY KARAN JOHARCOULD'VE TAKEN 'BAAHUBALI'PAN-INDIA: PRABHAS RAJUMumbai, (IANS) The Hindi version of S.S. Rajamouli's epic film"Baahubali", will be presented by the powerhouse of Bollywood,Karan Johar. The movie's lead actor Prabhas Raju says only abanner as big as Dharma Productions could have ensured amammoth release for the movie. Prabhas said: "It's an honour forthe entire 'Baahubali' team to be associated with Karan Johar ashe is the biggest name in the country as a producer and directorwith his brand Dharma Productions." "The reach that Dharma Pro-ductions has given this film, no one else can give it. We have the bestproduct with us but it is only because of Karan Johar's Dharma Produc-tions that 'Baahubali' is going to reach everywhere in the country," headded. The film is an epic action drama, which also stars TamannaahBhatia, Anushka Shetty and Rana Daggubati in key roles.

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JUHI CHAWLA DURING ON THE LOCATION OF HER UPCOMING FILM CHALK N DUSTER IN MUMBAI (IANS).

h o l l y w o o d

RAM GOPAL VARMA STARTSSHOOTING 'KILLING VEERAPPAN'Mumbai, (IANS) Filmmaker Ram GopalVarma has started shooting his upcom-ing Kannada directorial debut "KillingVeerappan", about the killer of the mostwanted forest brigand. Varma took to mi-cro-blogging website Twitter on Thurs-day to announce the film's shooting bysharing some images of the film. A mul-tilingual project, "Killing Veerappan" willalso be made in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.The film features Rajkumar's sonShivrajkumar in the lead. Shivarajkumarwill play the central role of the officerwho kills Veerappan and Sandeep, anaspiring youth from National School ofDrama was selected to play the role of theSandalwood smuggler. The film, producedby BV Manjunath and co-produced by BSSudhindra and Shivaprakash. E, is a crimethriller and also features actresses YangaShetty and Parul Yadav.

Prabhudheva hashigh expectationsfrom 'ABCD 2'Mumbai, (IANS) Prabhudhevasays a lot of hard work hasgone behind the making ofdance-based film "ABCD 2",and that he hopes it doeswell. At a special screeningorganised by the film's di-rector Remo D'Souza,Prabhudheva said: "I expectthe film to be well-received.The buzz is already good. Ihope it does well... we haveworked really hard." "ABCD2", which is a sequel to 2011film "ABCD", is said to bebased on a true story. Talk-ing about the movie,Prabhudheva said: "The sec-ond par t is totally differentfrom the first.

Britney Spears spent almost$25,000 on her dogsLos Angeles, (IANS) Singer Britney Spears repor tedly spentalmost $25,000 on her dogs last year, including $14,720 on asitter to watch them while she was busy working. The "Per-fume" hitmaker is still under her father Jamie Spears's care viaa conservatorship following her public breakdown in 2008.According to new financial records filed in her conservatorshipcase, the 33-year-old star, who adopted a teacup Yorkie calledHannah and a white Maltese in 2013 and spent $31,000 onthem that year, also spent more than $12,000 on 12 visits to aveterinary clinic and $300 on a groomer, reports tmz.com.Spears, who has sons Sean Preston, nine, and Jayden James,eight, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, spent a total of $5.9million last year, including $15,270 on food and enter tainment,$71,629 on hair, makeup and clothing, $6,000 on gifts and$10,000 on holiday decorations, but the blonde beauty unlikelyto miss the money, as the conservatorship made $14 million ingross profits, which is just a small por tion of her personalfor tune. The documents claim her assets are currently valuedat $49 million

NICOLE RICHIE REGRETSNECK TATTOOLos Angeles, (IANS) Designer Nicole Richie calls herself an"idiot" for getting a tattoo of a pink bow and her name on thenape of her neck when she was a teenager. "I was a 19-year-old idiot when I got this tattoo on the back of my neck. You cansee it now with the short hair but people aren't asking about it,which is nice. I haven't gotten a new one since I was 21,"Richie, who is married to former Good Charlotte rocker JoelMadden, told online publication Into The Gloss, repor tsfemalefirst.co.uk.Richie has eight other tattoos, including a rosary around herankle, a tiara on her hip, a cross on her lower back, balletslippers on her abdomen and the word "virgin" on her rightwrist. The 33-year-old designer previously confessed she isno longer fond of the "virgin" design either. She had said: "It'sembarrassing and desperate. Now, I am a Virgo so when I was16, I thought, 'Oh I'm going to be different and I'm going to putvirgin, because the Virgin is the sign for Virgo.' 'I'd add an 'i' andan 'a' and say I'm from Virginia, but I just don't think people aregoing to believe me. So I'm just stuck."

TAYLOR SWIFT, SELENAGOMEZ MAY COLLABORATELos Angeles, (IANS) Singers Taylor Swift and Selena Gomezrepor tedly "always" talk about collaborating together on a track."Selena and Taylor talk about music all the time. It wouldn'tsurprise me if they collaborate on something soon. "But whenthey do decide to work on something together, they want it to beout of this world, and be about friendship, boys, and overcom-ing anything. They always talk about this when they see eachother," a source was quoted as saying by hollywoodlife.com.The duo are said to have even sat down together to discusssongwriting, with Gomez taking musical inspiration from the25-year-old star. "Taylor has sat down with Selena a few timesto talk about the writing process. Despite all her success, shenever comes off as arrogant or like a know-it-all. She justsuggested a few things that helped her along the way, and nowSelena has incorporated them into her music. Selena's writtena lot more songs based on her personal experience and hear t-breaks. It was Taylor that she drew inspiration from in thatsense, who told her that's something she should really focuson, because it's what young people, especially young femalefans, can relate to," the insider added.

Baby shower for Jamie KingLos Angeles, (IANS) Singer Taylor Swif t invited a string offriends, including Gigi Hadid, Jessica Alba and Alana Haim tocelebrate her friend actress Jaime King's baby shower. The"Blank space" hitmaker took time out from performing in Phila-delphia over the weekend to return here to celebrate with heractress friend, who is expecting her second child with husbandKyle Newman, repor ts femalefirst.co.uk. Swif t, who will begodmother to the unborn baby, took to Instagram to share anumber of photographs from a photo booth from the party. With oneimage, she posted: "Baby shower/ major throwdown for @jaime_kingfeat @gigihadid @babyhaim (sic)." Other guests in attendance forthe party included Hailee Steinfeld, Sarah Hyland, Selma Blair, NinaDobrev, Emma Roberts and Alana's Haim bandmates.

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MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

$50 million rebel cricket contractwould be tempting: Warner

Telecast Date Match Details Start Time ET*June 18, 2015 1st ODI 5:00 AMJune 21, 2015 2nd ODI 5:00 AMJune 24, 2015 3rd ODI 5:00 AM

MATCH VENUEShere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

BANGLADESH VS INDIA ODIS

WORLD HOCKEY LEAGUE SCHEDULE-2015

London, (IANS) Australia's hard-hitting batsman David Warner saidhe would consider taking up a mega contract offer from a rebel cricketleague, in l ine with the way many ofAustra l ia 's greats defected to KerryPacker's World Series Cricket in the late1970s.In May, Indian billionaire Subhash Chandrawas, through his Essel Group empire, pre-pared to offer Warner and Australia Testcaptain Michael Clarke a 10-year contractwor th $50 million each to spearhead theproposed rebel Twenty20 league."I don't like pointing things at people, butsay for instance if someone puts out acouple of extra thousand dollars on thetable, nine times out of 10 they do takethat," Warner was quoted as saying bySydney's Sky Spor ts Radio on Monday."It's about being honest. You can't rule itout, you can't say no, because we love

playing the spor t we do but we also love getting paid for what we do,so if we can be honest and up front (that it is better)."

"If I say I'd never take it and all of a sudden I doit looks stupid on your behalf. I'm just beinghonest in saying it's not out of the question, andI'd cer tainly have to think about it," he added.Warner agreed players from countries wherecentral contracts are dwarfed by those on offerwould be more susceptible to offers from a rebelleague."You have three or four teams where the aver-age wage is going to be fantastic and someother teams are going to be not as for tunate,and if you're putting them (offers) out there it'sa no-brainer for some of those teams," the 28-year-old said. "At the end of the day people haveto survive in this world, and it's either work andbe paid for what you love doing or work and bepaid for something you don't like doing. There'san option there," Warner concluded.

INDIA THUMP POLAND 3-0 FORSECOND WIN IN HWL SEMI-FINALAntwerp, (IANS) India registered their second consecutive victory in theHockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final defeating Poland 3-0 in a pool Acontest at the Brasschaat Municipal Park here on Tuesday.For India, Yuvraj Walmiki (23rd minute), skipper Sardar Singh (42nd) andDevindar Walmiki (52nd) scored to give them the second back-to-back winafter Saturday's 3-2 win over France.World No.9 India started on an aggressive not as they made circle penetra-tion at least seven times but without any results in the first quarter. The 2014Asian Games champions attacked from both the flanks with Birendra Lakra,Gurbaj Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Nikkin Thimmiah, centre-half Sardar andWalmiki on the forefront of the strategy. Akashdeep Singh got two goodopportunities to tap in.World No.17 Poland got their moment and came close to scoring off a pen-alty corner in the 21st minute. Pawel Bratkowski flicked the ball high andIndian custodian P.R. Sreejesh was up for the challenge, thrusting his rightshoulder to ward off the danger.After several moments that saw Indian forwards lacking finishing touches,they scored in the 23rd minute. Lakra drove the ball inside the circle, only tobe deflected by a defender. Yuvraj, lurking in front of goalkeeper ArkadiuszMatuszak, pounced on it, lifting the ball into the net to make it 1-0.In the dying moments before the half-time, India were rewarded with apenalty corner but Manpreet Singh's strike was palmed away by Matuszak.Indian players organised their attack more purposefully in the third quarterbut they messed up a penalty corner variation. However, they recovered andgot their second goal as Sardar surged ahead and exercised a reverse handstrike from the top of the circle to gave India the 2-0 comfort in the 42ndminute. Into the final quarter, Paul van Ass-coached India played with muchmore freedom and expressed themselves more.The biggest positive for India was the performance of theirn defenders.Unlike Saturday's show, they were more disciplined, combining well amongthemselves and they put up a good show in boosting the attack, too. Lakra,Manpreet and Jasjit went few yards ahead, supplying more balls as com-pared to the first three quarters.

12 ATHLETES NOMINATED TO REPRESENT CANADA AT THE PAN AMERICAN GAMESTORONTO — On Monday, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canada Basketball announced the 12 athletes and three alternatesnominated to represent Team Canada at the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games from July 16 to 20.The nominated athlete roster is comprised of experienced professionals, Olympians and up-and-coming talent.The Canadian Women’s Basketball Team is coming off a 5th place finish at the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Turkey – their best finish inalmost 30 years. Ten athletes from that squad will represent Canada at TORONTO 2015: Miranda Ayim, Nirra Fields, Kim Gaucher, Miah-MarieLanglois, Lizanne Murphy, Kia Nurse, Katherine Plouffe, Michelle Plouffe, Tamara Tatham and Shona Thorburn. Rounding out the 12-athleteroster are Natalie Achonwa and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe.

CANADIAN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM NOMINATEDFOR TORONTO 2015 PAN AM GAMES

22 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

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GOLD MEDALIST PAULA PARETO (2ND L) OF ARGENTINA, SILVER MEDALIST FUNA TONAKI OF JAPAN (1ST L) WITH BRONZEMEDALISTS NATALIYA KONDRATYEVA (2ND R) OF RUSSIA AND TACIANA LIMA (R) OF GUINEA-BISSAU ATTEND THE AWARDCEREMONY FOR WOMEN'S -48 KG CATEGORY AT GRAND PRIX BUDAPEST 2015 IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (IANS).

SIXTH ANNUAL INDO-ONTARIO CUP 2015 BALLHOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP A HUGE SUCCESS

Brampton - The largest South Asian ballhockey tournament in the western hemi-sphere ended on Sunday. The 6th an-nual Indo-Ontario Cup 2015 Ball HockeyChampionship was another success.Around 30 teams played in over five di-visions and 650 athletes par ticipate inthe tournament this year. Five newchampions were crowned this year.Brampton represented the city productby bringing home four out of five cham-pionships. The organizers congratulatedall the champions and the teams thatpar ticipated in this year's tournament.Here is a recap of all the winners fromthis weekend:

MANU-SUMEETH'S IMPRESSIVE RUNEXTENDS TO US OPEN FINALNew York, (IANS) Continuing their impressive run, Indian men'sdoubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy advanced to thefinal, while singles shuttler B. Sai Praneeth and the women's doublespair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the semi-finals ofthe $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold here.Manu-Sumeeth stunned Japanese four th seeds Takeshi Kamura andKeigo Sonoda 21-17, 21-17 in 34 minutes in the semi-final at theSuffolk County Community College on Saturday. The Indian pair ear-lier defeated Japanese second seeds Hirokatsu Hashimoto andNoriyasu in the pre-quar ter-finals.They will now face China's Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen, who moved pastJapanese pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-17, 18-21, 21-11in 49 minutes.

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MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015

INDIA AND BANGLADESH MATCH AT SHERE BANGLA NATIONAL STADIUM IN MIRPUR, DHAKA (IANS).

BANGLADESH BEAT INDIA BY 6 WICKETS,CLINCH THREE-MATCH SERIES 2-0

INDIA AND NEW ZEALAND MATCH AT THE FINTRO HOCKEY WORLD LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL 2015 IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM. NEWZEALAND WON. (IANS)

Indian hockey team matcheson Star Sports till 2018NEW DELHI, (IANS) Hockey India (HI) has announced that thetelecast rights of the Hockey India League (HIL) and allinternational matches with Indian teams has been extendedwith Star Spor ts for a period of another three years, from 2016to 2018. Star Spor ts and HI had agreed to join hands topromote the spor t in 2012 for an initial period of three years.The agreement comes on the heels of Star Spor ts being theglobal broadcast par tner for the International Hockey Federa-tion (FIH) for the next eight years, star ting from January 2015."Star Sports is known for its strong content and productionquality which helps increase viewers experience. They are theideal choice and we are happy that we have mutually agreedto continue this association for the next three years," HIpresident Narinder Batra said. Speaking on the association,Star India chief executive Uday Shankar said, "The decision tocontinue our association with HI is in line with our commit-ment towards development of a multi spor ts culture in India.This association signals our commitment towards thistransformation, through world class production of all interna-tional matches and the vibrant HIL."

BANGLADESH ENHANCECHANCES OF FEATURING IN2017 CHAMPIONS TROPHYMIRPUR (BANGLADESH), (IANS) Bangladesh have enhancedtheir chances of securing a Champions Trophy berth after theirbrilliant win over India in the first One-Day International (ODI)of the three-match series that took them to seventh spot in theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) rankings.Mustafizur Rahman's five-wicket haul on debut helpedBangladesh outplay the two-time world champions by 79 runsat the Sher-e-Bangla National here on Thursday. The hostsscored an impressive 307 after electing to bat before theirbowlers bundled out India for 228 to take a 1-0 lead in theseries in style, repor ts bdnews24.com. The win tookMashrafe Bin Mor taza's side past West Indies in the ODI teamrankings. Both Bangladesh and West Indies had 88 pointsbefore the match. While the Caribbean side remain with thesame number of points, Bangladesh have jumped to 91.The top eight ODI teams will take par t in the 2017 ChampionsTrophy that will be held from June 1 to 19 in England andWales. Bangladesh will qualify for the competition if theyretain their place in the top eight until September 30 this year.As a result, the qualification battle is mainly betweenBangladesh, the West Indies and Pakistan in the bottom half ofthe table.West Indies have been reduced to the role of spectators withno ODIs scheduled before September. Their chances dependon performance of others. Bangladesh are set to play four th-ranked South Africa after the series with India while Pakistanwill take on Sri Lanka in a five-match series after the ongoingTests. These series' will decide the Champions Trophy fate ofthe three sides. Bangladesh, however, can secure a place inthe competition by winning any one of the five remainingmatches before September - the remaining two against Indiaand three against South Africa.

ALL BENGAL WOMEN'SCHAMPIONSHIP ON JUNE 27KOLKATA, (IANS) In a first of its kind competition involvingwomen's safety, about 500 students from 100 schools willtake par t in a two-day All Bengal Girls and Women's Karateand Self Defence Championship which will be held here fromJune 27. The event at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra willinvolve two types of the ar t, namely 'Kata' and 'Kumite' (free-style). Asian Games Bronze Winner boxer Sarita Devi wouldbe the chief guest for the event. The various age categoriesinvolve students from six years to more senior women. "Theevent has been organized with the sole aim of helping womenand girls protect themselves.. we should have done this a lotearlier. It would give them a lot of self confidence. They willhugely benefit from the event," said Joydeep Mondal, secre-tary of Karate-Do Association of Bengal.

Mirpur (Bangladesh), (IANS) Bangladesh produced a clinical performance withthe ball and then backed it up with the bat to claim a remarkable six-wicketvictory against India in the second One-Day International (ODI) and thus clinchthe three-match series 2-0 here on Sunday.The hosts created history as they, for the first time, clinched a bilateral ODIseries against their neighbours.Chasing a meek total of 200 in a rain-hit 47-overs-a-side match posted by thevisitors, Bangladesh scored 200/4 in 38 overs.Bangladesh's left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman (6-43) was the star of thematch. He picked up a back-to-back five-wicket haul after his 5-50 in the firstODI. While chasing, Shakib Al Hasan top scored and remained unbeaten on 50.It was Bangladesh's only fifth win in 31 ODI matches against their mightyneighbours, which also avenged their controversial World Cup quarter-final lossthat started hostility among the two cricketing boards, and culminated with theresignation of Bangladesh's Mustafa Kamal as International Cricket Council(ICC) president.The run chase began on a positive note when openers Tamim Iqbal andSoumya Sarkar took the India bowlers on in the first couple of overs.But Dhawal Kulkarni hit the brakes in the scoring as Tamim (13) was caught inthe slips in the seventh over.Incoming batsman Litton Das and his partner Sarkar took it from where Tamimleft. Quick singles, twos and a couple of boundaries brought pressure back onIndia.As the hosts scored freely, India broke the short partnership when Sarkar wasdismissed in the 17th over. Litton Das too fell soon.But two experienced batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, pitchedin at the right time to take Bangladesh close to the victory line.A 54-run partnership between the duo helped the hosts inch closer to the historicwin.Rahim's wicket in the 30th over, when the score was 152/4, brought somesmiles in the faces of the Indians as they thought of making a comeback in thegame.But Shakib had other plans, and with his experience, steered his team to victory.All the Indian bowlers went for runs without being amongst the wickets.Earlier on in the innings, opting to bat first, the visitors got off to a worst possiblestart, losing opener Rohit Sharma without scoring in the very second ball.Incoming batsman Virat Kohli (23), who was looking to get back runs under hisbelt, was dismissed as he was given leg before off the bowling of NasirHossain.With the dismissal of India's vice captain, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni madea surprise entry at four. India's score at that time was 74/2 in 12.3 overs.

Shikhar Dhawan (53), who opened the innings, was looking good to get someruns when it mattered most for the team, but was caught behind while trying tostep out after giving a sharp edge to the wicket-keeper off the bowling off spinnerHossain.Incoming batsman Ambati Rayudu also gave his wicket away without scoring.India was tottering at 110/4 in 21.4 overs.Suresh Raina (34) and Dhoni held on to pile up a 50-run partnership but Rainatoo fell in the third ball of the batting powerplay in the 35th over.Dhoni (47), Axar Patel (0), Ravichandran Ashwin (4) fell in clusters after rainstopped play.The match was stopped for an hour and 45 minutes due to heavy showers.When play resumed, it took the hosts two overs to finish the visitors innings.Ravindra Jadeja (19) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3) fell to the pacers.

INDIA'S ZIMBABWE TOUR MAYBE POSTPONED TO NEXT YEARHarare, (IANS) India's upcoming tour to Zimbabwe could bepostponed to next year if the ongoing issues between the Boardof Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the series broadcasterTen Spor ts are not resolved, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said onSunday.India is scheduled to tour Zimbabwe from July 7, for three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationalmatches.There have been repor ts that an issue over Zimbabwe Cricket'sbroadcasting par tner is threatening the for thcoming tour.ZC said in a release that it is in constant contact with both theBCCI and Ten Spor ts over the issues, which should be resolvedbefore the tour."If the matters take too long to resolve, ZC and the BCCI mightmutually agree to push the tour to next year," Wilson Manase,ZC chairman, said.Manase and ZC chief executive officer Wilfred Mukondiwa wouldbe discussing these issues with their BCCI counterpar ts on thesidelines of the 2015 International Cricket Council (ICC) annualconference, to be held in Bridgetown, Barbados, from Mondayto Friday of this month.Manase also said that repor ts of the BCCI's difficulty in getvisas on arrival for its players are unfounded because ZC areyet to approach the immigration officials for the tour as the twoboards are yet to finalise the tour memorandum of understand-ing. "Cricket is a national spor t and ZC enjoys a cordial relation-ship with all relevant government offices so the acquisition ofvisas is not an issue. The substantive issues are what we willdiscuss in Barbados," said Manase.

Brazil to appeal Neymar suspensionSantiago, June 21 (IANS) Brazil will appeal their star striker Neymar'sfour-game suspension that has ruled him out of the rest of the ongoingCopa America. Brazil coach Dunga said on Saturday his confederation's"legal depar tment will file a counterpoint to Neymar's sanction."Dunga said in a news conference here that Neymar was of hugeimpor tance in football, and therefore the sanctions against him werealso huge. Dunga said Brazil were seeking only "what's fair."A disciplinary panel of South American football's governing body,Conmebol, on Friday fined Neymar $10,000 and banned him for fourmatches for misconduct after being sent off after Brazil's 0-1 loss toColombia on Wednesday.The Copa America board originally suspended the star for two gamesearly on Thursday, then Conmebol reduced the ban to a single gamebefore Friday's final ruling.Neymar was given the strong punishment after the referee's repor tsaid Neymar waited in the tunnel to the team's dressing room formatch official Enrique Osses and verbally abused him.Neymar was already set to miss Brazil's final Group C match afterreceiving a yellow card earlier in the game for a handball.Brazil coach Dunga has defended the behaviour of his attacking spear-head. "Neymar was hit 20 times during the game. After, he lost controland touched the ball with his hand, and he got a yellow card. Is thisfair?" Dunga asked on Saturday. "Just like (Alexis) Sanchez, (Lionel)Messi and (Angel) Di Maria, these players have to be protected fromso many fouls," he was quoted as saying by espnfc.com on Saturday.

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