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August 24, 2011

Job cuts not happening, says gov. spokesperson

A public service union and the federal government are at odds over whether there will be any public service job cuts in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the federal government plans to make cuts at Employment Insurance offices across the province, including cutting 29 positions in Gander and 27 jobs in other towns across the province.
The cuts affect more than workers, said Jeannie Baldwin, Atlantic vice president of PSAC.
"The community has to understand what 29 positions means," she said. "That's about $1.5 million of revenue that's in that community. And the business and the community will be affected by the loss of 29 jobs."
According to Baldwin, the jobs will be phased out by 2014. She said workers in Gander received the news about the cuts in an email on Friday.
But a federal government spokesperson, in an email to CBC News, said while there will be changes to make the offices more efficient and cost-effective, no jobs will be lost.
"There will be no offices closing, no impact on in-person services offered, and absolutely no jobs cuts at Service Canada locations across the province," wrote Celyeste Power, director of communications for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Peter Penashue. Instead of cutting jobs, the department will look at reassignment, training for different roles, and attrition to minimize impacts on employees, she said.


Suspect arrested for 1999 murder of Poonam Randhawa

A decade-long search for a man wanted for the 1999 murder of an 18-year-old woman has come to an end.
Ninderjit Singh, 33, was arrested Friday by U.S. authorities in Riverside County, Calif., for the murder of Poonam Randhawa.
Randhawa, a student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary, was found shot dead near Granville Street and 47th Avenue on Jan. 26, 1999.
“I can’t remember when any announcement has ever given me this much pleasure,” said VPD Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke. “We got him. After years of searching, near misses and heartbreaking attempts, we got him.”
Investigators believe Randhawa got into a car with Singh, her ex-boyfriend, outside her school. He allegedly drove to a deserted part of the street, shot her and left her body at the scene.
“Police always suspected the killer was Ninderjit Singh, a man she knew who had apparently been stalking her for years,” Lemcke added.­­­­

Accused killer of Vancouver woman did not act alone

The man suspected in the 1999 shooting death of a Vancouver teen had help from another man who witnessed the slaying, according to extradition documents obtained by CBC News.
Vancouver police announced Tuesday the arrest in Los Angeles of B.C. native Ninderjit Singh for the killing of 18-year-old Poonam Randhawa in Vancouver in January 1999.
A deposition filed Wednesday by a California assistant U.S. attorney alleges that Singh was driving with a friend when he spotted Randhawa and asked the young woman to get in the back of their car with him.
As the friend drove, Singh shot Randhawa in the head dumping her body on the street near Granville Street and 47th Avenue West, where a woman discovered her body minutes later, the deposition claims.
The deposition was purportedly based on information supplied by a Vancouver police investigator.
The document also said the same friend allegedly drove to Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle with Singh and another associate, who gave him money to buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles.
The deposition said a search of Singh's residence in Los Angeles last week turned up a shotgun, a rifle and two handguns — one of which was allegedly stolen.
The documents also revealed that Singh is also wanted in connection with a separate attempted murder allegation in Vancouver in 1997 in which a man was shot in the leg outside a movie theatre.
Police in Los Angeles arrested Singh, 33, last Friday after confirming his real identity with fingerprints obtained after a traffic stop.
Vancouver police had been pursuing Singh since the killing of Randhawa — who allegedly had assumed a false identity — nearly capturing him on a few occasions, police said Tuesday.
Without providing any details, Vancouver police also alleged Tuesday that Singh's family — who live in both Canada and the U.S. — helped him "evade justice."
Canadian authorities will apply for the extradition of Singh, who remains in custody in Los Angeles.

Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO

Here is the just released letter from Steve Jobs:***

PRESS RELEASE: Letter from Steve Jobs

August 24, 2011–To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

***

  • August 24, 2011, 6:49 PM ET




  • Meet Tim Cook: Apple’s New CEO

    Steve Jobs, the heart and soul of Apple Inc., just resigned as CEO. Apple’s board said it named Tim Cook to replace Jobs as CEO. Cook has been filling in for Jobs since he took a medical leave earlier this year.
    Jobs brought Tim Cook on board in 1998 to oversee the manufacturing of Apple’s computers.
    The Alabama native is an industrial engineer by training, and also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University. Before joining Apple, Cook worked at IBM and at Compaq, the computer company now owned by Hewlett-Packard.
    Cook also filled in for Jobs for two months in 2004, when Jobs recuperated from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas. Jobs later turned over to Cook responsibility for Apple’s worldwide sale and its Mac computer division. He was appointed chief operating officer of Apple in 2005, and stepped in for Jobs again in 2009 when the Apple CEO took a medical leave.
    (Read Steve Jobs’s resignation letter HERE.)

    Text of Apple's announcement that Steve Jobs resigned as CEO

    Text of Apple Inc.'s announcement that Steve Jobs resigned as CEO:
    Apple's board of directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive officer, and the board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple's chief operating officer, as the company's new CEO. Jobs has been elected chairman of the board and Cook will join the board, effective immediately.
    "Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. "Steve has made countless contributions to Apple's success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple's immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as chairman of the board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration."
    "The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," added Levinson. "Tim's 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does."
    Jobs submitted his resignation to the board today and strongly recommended that the board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.
    As COO, Cook was previously responsible for all of the company's worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple's supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple's Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.
    Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

    Sentences can differ for immigrants, say lawyers

    August 24, 2011
    P.E.I lawyers say that as the immigrant population on the Island grows, the cases in which newcomers receive lighter sentences to avoid criminal records — and possible deportation — are becoming more frequent.
    On Wednesday two P.E.I. lawyers said that recent cases illustrate an emerging issue on courtrooms on the Island.
    Yetunde Oluwo, who immigrated from Nigeria to attend UPEI in 2009, appeared in court on Monday for sentencing after she pleaded guilty in June of assault causing bodily harm. She was accused of stabbing her younger sister — also her roommate — in the abdomen.
    Oluwo received a conditional discharge. Judge John Douglas said one consideration was the fact that a criminal record could have created “immigration issues” for Oluwo.
    Douglas said as long as she stays out of trouble and reports to a probation officer, the assault causing bodily harm will not be on Oluwo’s criminal record.
    “When a foreign national in Canada comes before the Criminal Justice system, the possibility of being removed from Canada if a conviction is entered against that person is very real,” said Lee Cohen, an immigration lawyer.
    It's not that immigrants are committing more criminal behaviour than everyone else. Rather, landed immigrants face punishment that could send them back to their home countries, from which many leave for safety reasons.
    It's why judges have the discretion to prevent immigrants from having criminal records.
    On Monday, Douglas granted Oluwo and another Island immigrant conditional discharges.
    Defence lawyer Jonathan Coady said that as the immigrant population rises, preventing criminal records for newcomers is an increasingly frequent factor in sentencing.
    “It just represents the reality that their status in Canada is different,” he said. “The court is required to inquire into their individual circumstances and tailor the appropriate sentence to them.”
    Cohen said that lawyers and judges in the province need to become more familiar with immigration law.
    “Far too often, foreign nationals or people with permanent residence status are appearing before our criminal courts when none of the major players in the court have a sufficient enough understanding, or in some cases any understanding, of where criminal law and immigration law intersect,” Cohen said.
    As a result, Cohen said that the risk of deportation can be ignored. Alternatively, a discharge could be granted without sufficient evidence.
    “I think it is proper for a judge to consider the fact that a conviction may cause the removal of a person from Canada,” Cohen said.
    But he acknowledged that when immigrants are charged with indictable offenses, judges must balance precedent with the special circumstances of the harsher penalty at stake.
    Coady expects to see more cases involving new Canadians.
    “Given the number of permanent residents and non-citizens in P.E.I., and given the reality that our population is changing, it's an issue bound to land on a lawyer’s desk more often going forward,” he said.
    The issue with respect to the consequences of a criminal record is raised on a fairly regular basis, not just with new Canadians, but also with citizens who must travel out of the country.
    The consequences of a criminal record now are much greater than they were certainly a decade ago.
    "The issue is usually raised by defence council, and the judges do take it into consideration. I have no recollection of any particular case where an individual from Citizenship and Immigration Canada gave direct evidence to the court on the consequences of a criminal record, either for a new Canadian, or for a Canadian citizen," said Crown attorney John McMillan.
    In addition to being removed from Canada, the person's ability to return to Canada as a visitor or as a permanent resident, is also significantly imperiled.
    "That is where the tension does exist. If a Canadian citizen were to commit that act, the likelihood of a discharge is quite remote. If a foreign national commits that offence, as happened in P.E.I., the result in court yesterday was a discharge," said McMillan.

    6,000 immigration firms making false claims: Police

    Chandigarh, August 24
    Exploiting the loopholes in the system and in the absence of any stringent checks from the government, over 6000 immigration firms are active in Punjab, Chandigarh and Panchkula. A majority of these firms are exploiting the loopholes and duping their clients of huge amounts of money on false promises of easy migration abroad.
    Disclosing this today, the UT SSP Naunihal Singh said investigations into the cheating case registered against the owners of Healthyway Immigration had revealed that such firms had mushroomed in every nook and corner of the region.
    “We have gathered this figure on the basis of information received from foreign embassies, complaints received by the police of other states as well as our own inputs. One in every two documents prepared by the agents are forged and their tall claims are falsified. In all, over 50 per cent of the documentation process done by the firms is forged,” he said.
    The SSP said it was not mandatory for the firms processing a student visa to procure a licence. “The travel agents prepare bank documents to show financial capabilities of applicants by depositing money in their accounts, only to take out the amount at later stage,” he said, adding that a large number of visa applications were thus rejected. “Most embassies do not verify loan document and whether the bank is authorsed to sanction education loan. The firms do not require a licence, which is another reason for their mushrooming,” added the SSP.
    Healthyway fraud estimated at Rs 5 cr
    With 30 franchisees across North India, liasoning with 133 colleges abroad, the estimated fraud by owners of Healthyway is estimated to be Rs 5.01 crore. The accused raked in lakhs from their clients and prepared forged documents, resulting which their visas were rejected. The UT police said it had received around 150 complaints against the firm following the registration of the case and recovered 262 fake loan documents from the premises of the company. “We are receiving at least 15 complaints daily ever since the registration of the case,” said the police.
    Two more arrested
    The police today arrested two financers of the company Rajat, a city resident and Anil Verma, a resident of Jalandhar for the fraud. DSP Anil Joshi said the two used to open fake accounts for their clients in banks and were part of the conspiracy. “From filling of the forms to opening of accounts, the agents knew everything and used to charge huge amounts,” said Joshi. Meanwhile, the police remand of prime accused Amit Kakkar, owner of Healthyway, was extended by another two days today.


    Mohali, August 24
    Two more cases have been registered by the police against an immigration firm on a charge of cheating.
    According to the police, Davinder Kumar, a resident of Rajpura, had complained that he had allegedly given Rs 1 lakh to the owner of the company, Deepak Arora, for going abroad. He was neither sent abroad and nor was the money returned to him.
    In another case Jaswinder Singh of Dhobar village in Ludhiana district had complained that he had given Rs 1.20 lakh to the owner of the company for sending him abroad. The needful was not done and even the amount was not returned to him.
    The police has registered cases under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 24 of the Immigration Act in this regard.

    Source:TNS

    Human rights of undertrials discussed

    Chandigarh, August 24
    Justice KG Balakrishnan, chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, today inaugurated a three-day training programme on “Human rights and custody management of undertrials” organised by the Institute of Correctional Administration (ICA) here.

    Upneet Lalli, deputy director, ICA, said the aim of the training programme was to sensitise participants on human rights aspects on custody management of the undertrials.
    Ram Niwas, Home Secretary, Chandigarh Administration-cum-Director ICA, mentioned that the institute has been a flag bearer in organising the training programmes.

    HC asks CHB, Parsvnath Builders to clear stand on refund


    Chandigarh, August 24
    The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) and Parsvnath Developers Limited to make clear their stand on the issue of refunding the depositors.
    The High Court has, in fact, asked their counsels to file detailed affidavits. Taking up the matter, the High Court asserted: “The dispute, in brief, is for the refund of amount deposited by the petitioner for the allotment of a plot. For reasons that need not be dilated, the project between Parsvnath Developers Limited and the CHB could not reach fruition, leaving the allottees without a flat and without hope of ever recovering their money.”
    “As admitted by the CHB, they have received Rs 516 crore from Parsvnath Developers Limited towards the bid amount and Rs 81.93 crore from the allottees and deposited in an escrow account operated jointly by the builders and the CHB. The money in this account is to be shared in the ratio of 70:30 between the builder and the CHB. The counsels for Parsvnath Developers and the CHB are directed to file their respective affidavits with respect to the assertions,” the court held.
    The developers and the CHB are in the dock before the Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission also for not repaying money to the depositors, despite orders.
    One of the depositors, Sudeep Budhiraja, has again moved the Commission by filing an execution application against the developer and the CHB.
    Acting on the application, the commission has issued notice to the respondents. The application seeks directions to the developer and the CHB to comply with the commission order of October 27, 2010.
    In the application filed through counsel Naresh Kumar Bansal, Budhiraja has asserted that his application for repayment of money was decided in his favour on October 27, 2010. Directions were issued for the payment of amount with interest and compensation.
    However, both Parsvnath and the CHB filed appeals before the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission.
    On April 29, the national commission passed an interim order in favour of complainant and other depositors with a direction to the housing board to return 85 per cent amount to the depositors within six weeks.
    Bansal added that the balance was to be deposited with the UT State Commission within eight weeks. The hearing on both the appeals before the national commission was also adjourned to September 8. However, both the parties failed to deposit the amount as per the interim order dated April 29. They even failed to pay amount with interest and compensation, as per order passed by the UT State Commission Chandigarh on October 27.

    Clinics liable to provide emergency services: HC

    Chandigarh, August 24
    Medical practitioners running treatment centres will have to provide “facilities for stabilising emergency medical condition of individuals brought to clinics”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear.
    For, a Division Bench has upheld the provisions of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, which makes such a facility mandatory.
    The ruling came on a petition filed by Dr Ramneek Singh Bedi and another medical practitioners having their clinics.
    In their petition, they had sought declaration that the Act was ultra vires or beyond the powers of the Constitution.
    They had contended the Act lays down the requirement of seeking registration, and provides for penal consequences in the absence of registration.
    Quoting Section 12 (2) of the Act, the petitioners contended it requires “facilities to stabilise the emergency medical condition of any individual who is brought to clinical establishment”.
    Taking up the matter, the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice AK Mittal observed: "According to the counsel for the petitioners, the requirement of providing facilities for stabilisation of emergency medical condition of an individual is arbitrary and interference with the right of the petitioners to carry on their profession.
    “The petitioners are only running their clinics and they may not be able to provide for facilities for stabilising the emergency medical condition of individuals who are brought to such clinics. Those who cannot provide such facilities cannot be debarred from carrying on their medical profession”.
    After considering the submissions, the Bench asserted: “We are unable to accept the submission…. An individual medical practitioner may not be expected to do something impossible by providing facilities at par with a big hospital.
    Interpretation of a statutory provision depends upon situation which may arise.
    The provisions of the Act do not create any impossible situation so as to affect the right of the petitioners to practice the medical profession.
    “There is, thus, no ground to interfere at this stage. The individual fact situation can be considered as and when the same arises. The writ petition is dismissed”. 

    Duronto Express starts between Chandigarh-Amritsar

    But upset at departure timing from Holy CitySanjeev Singh Bariana
    Tribune News Service
    On board Chandigarh-Amritsar Duronto Express
    City passengers on board the first Duronto Express felt that the "excellent service" launched by the Indian Railways for commuting between Chandigarh and Amritsar from today needed a little fine tuning for better results.

    A majority of passengers travelling to the Holy City (barring those from Amritsar on their return journey) felt that minus the train stoppages at Jalandhar and Ludhiana, the train stood to lose out on account of a sizable number of passengers.
    They also said that travelling to Harmandar Sahib was the major attraction for a sizable number of passengers from the city. They wanted the morning departure time from Amritsar a little delayed, as visitors to the Golden Temple would find it very difficult to complete their morning prayers and rush back to the station, in case they planned so.
    A number of travellers felt that Mohali was a better destination than Chandigarh, as the bulk of travellers to the major city of Punjab were based in Mohali. "Conceding the reality", a senior railways official, wishing anonymity, said "for obvious reasons, a majority of travellers to Amritsar will be from Mohali".
    Harjeet Kaur, a resident of Sector 16, said, "I could not resist the temptation to travel on the train to Amritsar as soon as I read about it. My only concern is that the morning prayers start around 4 am with the ‘parkash of Guru Granth Sahib’. We will barely manage to complete our prayers and will have to rush back to the station.The time gap between the two trains needs to be increased."
    Kunal Dhingra, an engineer, said, "I had gone for a conference and my friends from Jalandhar and Ludhiana were also expected to join us, but the train does not stop there. Honestly speaking, in case the train stopped at both these stations, the passenger number will swell to maximum within less than two weeks."
    Train Superintendent Ashwani Suri said the return train to Amritsar was carrying 46 passengers in the air-conditioned chair car and 94 in the second class compartments. "The response has been very satisfactory on the first day and the service will definitely catch up in the coming days.
    At the same time, the train was carrying at least four different groups in the first train towards the Holy City. Jagjit Singh, with his group of seven from Mohali, Sunderpal Singh, with his group from Kurali, Taranjeet with his friends and Gian Jyot Kaur from Sector 38, talking to The Tribune correspondent separately, said "They had made the programme after reading the news about the train service in the newspapers yesterday. The response of our friends has been impressive. However, they could not come at such a short notice. The numbers will swell gradually".

    Human Trafficking Case

    Warrants against complainant
    Patiala, August 24
    The court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Balwant Singh, has issued non-bailable warrants of Bakhshish Singh - one of the complainants in the infamous human trafficking case, in which Punjabi pop icon Daler Mehndi is the main accused.
    As the court proceedings in the case, which dates back to year 2003 started today, it was informed that Bakhshish Singh has not come, notwithstanding the fact that he had not taken any exemption from personal appearance in the court.
    Giving details about the court proceedings, Brijinder Singh Sodhi, counsel for Daler Mehndi, said on the last date of hearing in the case on July 16, 2011, the court had summoned Bakhshish Singh and Harcharan Singh (both complainants) along with Balwinder Singh, Pyara Singh and Bhupinder Singh (all witnesses).
    Daler was present in the court today but the complainants and the above-mentioned witnesses failed to turn up in the court today. The next date of hearing has been fixed for September 22 and non-bailable warrants for Bakhshish Singh have been issued. “For Harcharan Singh, Balwinder Singh, Pyara Singh and Bhupinder Singh, the court has issued bailable warrants and they have been directed to be personally present in the court on the next date of hearing,” informed Sodhi, while speaking to TNS.
    Notably, the Patiala police had registered a case under various sections of the IPC and the Indian Passport Act on September 19, 2003, at the Sadar police station on the complaint of Bakhshish Singh of Balbehra village. Bakhshish, along with 24 other complainants, had blamed Daler Mehndi and his brother, Shamsher Mehndi, for allegedly taking money and promised their inclusion in his troupe during foreign trips. The complainant had also alleged that the Mehndi brothers failed to return their money and threatened them to keep quiet about the issue.
     
    The case
    • The case was registered under various sections of the IPC and the Indian Passport Act on September 19, 2003
    • Daler Mehndi is the main accused
    • The complainant had not taken exemption from personal appearance in the court
    • The next date of hearing has been fixed on September 22.
    Source:TNS