AV 03rd December 2022

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak w a s o n c e a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t . H e w a s a F u l l b r i g h t Scholar at Stanford University in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w h e r e h e p u r s u e d h i s M B A d e g r e e H e f a t e f u l l y m e t h i s w i f e A k s h a t a M u r t y a t S t a n f o r d w h o w a s p u r s u i n g t h e s a m e c o u r s e P a r a d o x i c a l l y , S u n a k i s n o w m u l l i n g o v e r t h e i d e a t o b r i n g down immigration numbers by l i m i t i n g a d m i s s i o n s t o t o p universities as well as restricting visas for students' dependents.

Shefali Saxena

PM Sunak faces criticism from Indian students in the UK, organisations and the community on his plans to restrict visas to bring down immigration

but it also incorporates art, and digital art and this art is transferred onto household items like crocker y, wallpaper, upholster y etc The unique aspect of the business is that anyone can get involved by becoming an agent to sell the products from the DMCI catalogue and earn a commis sion in the process

1). Which place or city or country do you most feel at home in?

I feel most at home in my home city of Manchester where I was born

However, I have made London my home now where it is full of inspiration and opportunities

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My p r o u d e s t a c h i e v e m e n t s h a v e been being able to sustain my passion for fashion and art and sharing my knowledge through teaching voluntarily to pass on my skills and expertise

3) What inspires you?

I am inspired by ever ything around me: people, nature and all art forms

Ultimately, I am inspired when one of my paintings or designs is purchased; this is the greatest inspiration

Also, seeing people offer their time and knowledge freely also makes me happy

4). What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

The biggest obstacle for any creative is acquiring funding; this can limit the speed of progress

5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

The biggest influence on my career to date are my customers who vindicate what I am aspiring to achieve and who inspire me to continue to evolve

6) What is the best aspect about your current role?

The best aspect about my current role is that as the Creative Director, I have total autonomy over all the designs and products that I create 7). And the worst?

Fortunately, I love my role and I am passionate about what I do , so I do not have any complaints

8) What are your long term goals?

My long term goals are to grow and expand the business

I would also like to teach voluntarily 9). If you were prime minister what one aspect would you change?

I would offer more support to cre ative small businesses since we are a sta ple for the economy 10

) If you were marooned on a desert island which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why ?

Martin Luther King would be my choice since he was for me the greatest advocate for civil rights through peace ful means

Birmingham L abour’s BAME officer quits

The resignation of black, Asian and minority ethnic ( B A M E ) o f f i c e r o v e r a planned review into a racism r o w t h a t o t h e r s h a v e labelled a potential “white wash arranged by white peo ple”, has caused damage to t h e l a b o u r g r o u p i n Birmingham

T h e c o u n c i l l o r, S a i m a Suleman, has resigned from her role owing to concerns about the terms of reference

of the review, which do not include any mention of race

She said she was “disap pointed and hurt that as the B A M E o f f i c e r, m y v i e w s w e r e d i s r e g a r d e d b y t h e l e a d e r ” , a d d i n g : “ S o m e would argue [the review] is a feeble attempt to whitewash t h e m o s t s e r i o u s a l l e g a tions ”

E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r Suleman carried out a sur vey of BAME councillors in

the city, with respondents claiming that “toxic culture” prevailed in the local party, and leaders were accused of “not taking racism and dis crimination seriously”

In response to the sur vey results, the leader of the L a b o u r g r o u p i n B i r m i n g h a m , I a n Wa r d , a n n o u n c e d t h a t h e h a d o r d e r e d a n i n d e p e n d e n t review into the culture of the party

Chess whiz-kid Advik becomes youngest in UK to complete Abacus Mental Maths programme

Chess whi z kid, Advik Mittal, 8, a pupil at Glasgow’s St Patrick’s Primary School who has been selected to repres ent ed Sc otland in the under 12 categor y at the forthc om ing Liverpool Quadrangular International Chess Tournament, has also become the youngest per son in the UK to complete The British Youth International College ( BY ITC) Supermaths

greatly helped his ability to learn more about numbers and develop his analytical think ing skills

National Abac us Maths programme

Abacus Mental Maths is recognised as the most advanced mental arith metic programme in the countr y and covers not only the Abacus maths concepts but also the wider arithmetic operations of mathematics

These include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentage, frac tions, square roots, decimal arithmetic and BODMAS, a means of decoding a math ematical expression

Advik, who joined the BYITC’s programme at just 5 years of age, said: “I am pleased that I am the youngest person in the UK to complete the mental maths programme

“I have enjoyed it all The teachers are ver y nice and friendly and help you a lot, and I’m sure that learn ing Abacus Mental Maths has also helped me improve my abilities as a chess play er ”

Sachin Mittal, Advik’s father, said: “Advik started playing with numbers and loved them He can calcu late large sums rapidly in his head without the use of a calculator and this has

“We are ver y grateful to Dr Rashmi Mantri and her col leagues at BYITC for pro viding this brilliant oppor tunity for Advik to advance his knowledge and under standing of numbers I have no doubt at all that it has helped him achieve success also in chess ” Abacus Mental Maths has 11 levels, each of which runs for 3 months Students learn under the super vision of a certif ied teacher through out the programme which was developed in the UK and is considered suitable for the UK’s school curricu lum

BYITC’s Founder Dr Rashmi Mantri, said: “We know that working on arithmetic problems alone can be monotonous, so we have introduced a competi tive element so that stu dents can improve their analytical skills in a more dynamic way

“We have been delight ed by Advik’s progress throughout the programme and anticipate that he will now go onto further explore his love of numbers by developing yet more sophisticated mathematical skills

“Our overall aim is to f ind the next generation of mathematics prodigies, to kindle their competitive spirit, and to nurture their true potential ”

A core component of the BYITC’s approach to Maths teaching, Abacus Maths training is intro duced to students through the Supermaths pro gramme

Kids are taught to cal

culate sums by visualising an Abacus board and use their f ingers to manipulate imaginar y beads This not only allows them to do rapid mental arithmetic, but also stimulates cogni tive development, improves memor y and focus, and develops problem solving skills

The BYITC is now the UK’s largest provider of Abacus Maths classes Split into a junior and senior track, Supermaths is taught through a mix of weekly teacher led classes, online learning tutorials and activities Pupils can also make use of the world’s f irst digital Abacus maths learning App, developed by the BYITC for its students

BYITC now plans to organise an International Abacus Maths Olympiad and the same students will now be moving to compete in this global competition

The Liverpool Quadrangular is made up of three sections U12s, U14s & U16s, each comprising teams from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the English regions This year the tournament will take place on 10 11 December 2022 at Liverpool College, L18 8BG

Advik made his interna tional debut in chess when he represented Scotland in the World Cadets Chess Championships in Batumi, Georgia earlier this year Here, 800 youngsters from over 70 countries partici pated across different cate gories (U8, U10, U12 open and girls)

Advik secured 4 draws and 2 wins against some of the best players across world, with some of his games lasting for more than 3 5 hours

Shamima Begum would face death in Bangladesh

If Shamima Begum is s ent to Bangladesh, her parent's c o un tr y o f o ri g i n , s he m i g ht fa c e t he de a th penalty, and is now effec tively stateless, a court has heard

The then home secre tar y, Sajid Javid, had failed t o c o n s i d e r t h e “ s e r i o u s practical consequences ” of removing Begum’s UK citi zenship in 2019, the 23 year old’s legal appeal at t h e Sp e c i a l I m m i g r a t i o n Appeals Commission (Siac)

was told “It is clear that he gave n o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t o t h e prospect that the depriva tion decision would render t h e a p p e l l a n t d e f a c t o stateless,” Dan Squires KC, for Begum, told the hear ing

At the age of 15, Begum l e f t h e r h o m e i n e a s t London and travelled to Syria, where she married an Islamic State f ighter

Ho m e O f f i c e d o c u m e n t s t h a t w e r e s h a r e d

with the court showed that Begum’s “de jure stateless ness ” was conf irmed only the day before her citizen ship was revoked

I n M a y 2 0 19 , Bangladesh’s foreign min i s t e r c o n f i r m e d t h a t B e g u m c o u l d f a c e t h e death penalty for involve ment in terrorism if she went to Bangladesh

Begum’s lawyers said: “It is clear that, had the h o m e s e c r e t a r y m a d e inquiries as to the practical

e f fe c t o f d e p r i v i n g t h e a p p e l l a nt o f h e r c i t i z e n ship, he would likely have understood that the appel lant could be left without t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f a n y state ”

“It w a s , o r o u g h t t o have been, known to the home secretar y, that even w h e r e d e p r i v a t i o n d o e s not result in de jure state lessness, it may render a person de facto stateless, w i t h e x t r e m e l y s e r i o u s practical consequences ”

Creative Director

Care, but at what cost?

Money can buy happiness But, sometimes, no amount of money can be enough to get you the help and care you really want

The return of the State Pension triple lock is a welcome move by the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt The government’s pledge to raise the State Pension by 10 1% for 2023/24, will ben efit nearly 12 million pensioners across Great Britain So more than eight million pensioner households will get an additional £300 to help with rising costs next year

Many elderly people in the South Asian community, fortu nately, have the means and monetary resources to afford better care Pension is a cherry on top However, when money and resources fail to acquire the right care and help when needed, all stupendous plans look meek Quality care at home and find ing skilled carers are worrying subjects for many old aged peo ple in the community

Care is not always about the money one needs to shell out Especially post the pandemic, it’s the skill which is paramount as also the ease of language, adapting to the culture of the per son at the receiving end of the care and building trust With Brexit driving thousands of skilled carers away from the UK, the state of social care is pitiable Withstanding more harsh truths like Dementia, Loss of hearing, Parkinson's, Cancer, Long Covid, Arthritis, Liver and Kidney dysfunction, cardiovas cular diseases and also the loss of key members of the family to the pandemic, care given at home by care workers has never been more instrumental in shaping the society than it is at the moment

It’s also important to reflect on the fact that south Asians are differently affected by physical ailments and comorbidities due to their genetics, lifestyle and also culture So the right care worker to soothe their pain and help them navigate through day to day chores while overcoming obstacles due to old age can be a hard task at hand A suitable care worker most impor tantly needs to be patient, spontaneous, and a good communi cator who can decipher the demands of the person as a caregiv er Moreover, this caregiver has to be willing to deliver these services with full devotion and be aware of the challenges

Caregiving is an intimate task The South Asian communi ty has its cultural and pragmatic reservations against the regu lar norms of caregiving A male patient or elderly male person may not be comfortable seeking help and care from a female care worker for his daily chores that require physical proximity and invasion of privacy Similarly, a woman from a South Asian household may not be comfortable with a male caregiver for her respective tasks These reservations are always misquoted and misinterpreted in the garb of orthodox thinking, but there’s a larger hidden narrative there

From an emotional perspective, a family or a person that is seeking care from a professional caregiver does not necessarily have an extended family or children to take care of them Hence the need to hire outside help Those who have children and family, may not always be able to seek their support since everyone has their own battle to fight, not to forget that the cost of living crisis is a curse for the younger generation and the middle class More often than not, youngsters and children who hire caregivers or put their elderly in care homes remain

guilt ridden and emotionally helpless The pressures of the modern day work culture and economic crisis are not alien, but definitely not easy for the elderly to completely under stand

So families who opt for care workers, already make an emo tional compromise It is common knowledge in the communi ty, especially within those families who are actively looking for carers that youngsters or even adults who would previously take up caregiving jobs are not interested in doing it anymore They would rather wait tables and work as bartenders at pubs, than give their time and energy to the elderly which to them is clearly a more demanding task, sometimes beneath them It is unfair to critique them for their choices, but with the given shortage of labour, NHS backlog and pressure on the health care system, the future of caregiving looks grim

PM Sunak has promised to cut overall immigration while assuring the CBI that he would “unapologetically create one of the world’s most attractive visa regimes for entrepreneurs and highly skilled people” Opposition leader, Sir Keir Starmer, believes that it would be “pragmatic on the basic lack of peo ple”, but that any loosening of visa rules would come with new conditions for business to “help the British economy off its immigration dependency” There are more speculations than solutions at hand

Citing reasons for the surge in immigrants, the latest Home Office figures on visa issuance confirm that this increase was chiefly due to a surge in recruitment of doctors, nurses and care workers, with smaller numbers coming into the tech sec tor, financial services and other professional roles

With over 1 2 mn job vacancies open (source: ONS), on the face of it this looks like a very workable solution to include some much needed ‘less skilled occupations such as care workers or chefs, for employers this list is not as attractive as it once was due to the Immigration Skills Charge payable by them (between £364 £1,000 per year, per worker)

There is some silver lining in there for people across England who are being encouraged to join the adult social care workforce with the government launching its annual recruit ment campaign The government has affirmed that social care is a top priority for the government, backed by £5 4 billion and the 10 year People at the Heart of Care plan to reform social care so there has never been a better time to join the sector Recognising the current challenges faced by the social care sec tor and local government, the government has also committed £500 million to support discharge from hospitals This funding will ease pressure and build a stronger NHS to ensure the peo ple of our country get the care they need and deserve

Should the opposition come to power later in the 2024 gen eral elections, Sir Starmer’s stance of moving towards “days when low pay and cheap labour are part of the British way on growth must end” and his goal to help the British economy off its immigration dependency and investing more in training up workers from within the UK is all a dream

Irrespective of the people and party in power, the UK has very little time to nurse its elderly and train its youngsters to fill the gaps in the care sector If suitable actions and approaches are not taken, we may not have a dream to dream after all

Studying abroad a distant dream?

The dream of a successful global career inspires many Indian students to seek international education from some of the most reputed institutions in the world Indian students travel abroad to pursue courses in foreign universities to acquaint themselves with the global curriculum in order to get a foot in the door at globally competitive firms which promise a brighter future and more salaries

Students with international qualifications or experience are a better asset to fast growing companies that may or may not have a global footprint Internationally educated students do not just bring new skill sets to the table, but also act as more polished candidates who can drive growth and communication between teams across the globe with a more nuanced perspective In countries like the USA and UK, many students apply with the end goal of immigration to that country Students aim to secure employment as they strive to find opportunities to apply for per manent residency The prime reason is that most students need to repay a hefty student loan back home A decent part time job or the promise of contractual full time employment does won ders for their anxious families back home

The global pandemic did not dramatically alter the perspec tive of Indian students looking to study abroad Countries and universities made changes to make the entry and admission pro cesses easier, suggesting that pandemics are temporary, but edu cation is here to stay As per information received from Bureau of Immigration (BoI), the number of Indian students, who departed India for higher education in the current year, is 1,33,135 so far while there were 4,44,553 students in 2021 and 2,59,655 in 2020, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told Rajya Sabha in a written reply He also said that according to information received from the BoI, the top preferred coun tries for education in 2021 were the US, Canada, and the UK

There is a growing disconnect between pent up demand for study abroad and significant visa processing delays in the coun tries students want to study in As a result, the students have to plan well in advance and file visa applications much in advance than in a typical year for study programmes A number of factors

are behind the delays, but the most impactful are pandemic related backlogs and new visa streams opening up for the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine

If international students don’t think they have a chance of having their visa processed in a timely way, they may opt for another destination In Canada, the visa processing backlog has doubled in the past two years to the point that 2 1 million people are waiting for decisions Overall, there are worries that a slug gish immigration system will have a negative impact on the Canadian economy UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) reports that its backlog is also related to its decision to prioritise the applications of Ukrainian refugees As a result, the processing times for all over seas UK visa applications are expected to exceed 3 weeks from the appointment date UK PM Rishi Sunak is now mulling over the idea to bring down immigration numbers by limiting admis sions to top universities as well as restricting visas for students' dependents (Turn to P1 & 6 to read more)

In the US, it has been suggested that visa processing backlogs are driven in part by a post pandemic hangover and the immi grant visa bans carried out by the Trump administration However, the US government is promising to prioritise student visa processing this summer In Australia, an Indian PhD student at Macquarie University said that he has been waiting for a deci sion on his Subclass500 visa for 15 months Wait times are vari able depending on the applicant, the completeness of applica tions, and the visa class Even as the number of Indian students opting for higher education overseas grows annually, their abroad spending is set to grow from the current annual £23 39 billion to £66 83 billion by 2024, the latest 'Higher Education Abroad' report estimates

The rising layoffs across the globe by big companies will have deleterious effects on the demand to study abroad Those who are studying abroad will be worried a lot now If there are less employment opportunities abroad, how will they repay the hefty loans they have taken for overseas education? In that sce nario scholarship and education loans will dry up

Thought for the week

More Women Entrepreneurs

No Problem?

My wife is t he G lobal H ead of Ve nture Capital in the UK Govern me nt She used t o work at D eutsche Ban k and the Cabine t Office and is often at Number 10

But ask her about women entrepreneurs and she will tell you there are more hurdles for them than men And that without more women in the workplace, our GDP and hence tax take and hence the NHS and all the things we care about suffer

So I was fascinated to read the comments in the Times this week to the article “Female Entrepreneurs ‘sidelined by boys club’ ”

First the data from the column, then the comments to it

“Four fifths of those polled by the Female Founders Forum (FFF), a project backed by Barclays and which aims to encourage female entrepreneurship, believe that men have access to better networks, while 72 per cent said it would have been easier to raise equity finance if they were a male entrepreneur ”

Just over half, or 59 per cent, of the women surveyed felt that they had been discriminated against because of their gender

“The number of women not returning to work after they have kids is on the increase because childcare costs are making it impossible,”

Now the comments you can see the problem women face from these comments alone!

W r o t e P a u l L : “ I f f e m a l e e n t r e p r e n e u r s c a n ’ t g e t financed, there is an opportunity Presumably other female entrepreneurs will know this and know money is being left on the table and can fill the gap in the finance market ”

Paul is a believer in the magic power of the markets that everything fixes itself by itself

James writes “What about boys not promoted because of the fear of companies not promoting girls, to simply tick boxes/be seen to do the right thing This nonsense needs to stop Promote the right person, irrespective of male / female ”

James thinks the right person is always able to get to the interview stage Again, he’s in the ‘ no problem, it’s all imag ined’ Why you would ignore the voice of the women? Maybe you just don’t like them

Chris writes, “This narrative is becoming very tedious Why would lenders or investors, who are seeking to achieve a return on their investment while managing risk, system atically misallocate their capital in order to ‘favour’ men?”

Chris too assumes only the good are in front of them, and the women don’t get the funding not due to prejudice, but because they’re not good enough Again, he thinks peo ple are rational, non prejudiced, profit maximising Faith in the markets It is the Times Newspaper after all

Writes Alan Pechey, “"Making excuses" doesn't tend to b e h i g h i n a t t r i b u t e s m o s t w o u l d g i v e t o s u c c e s s f u l entrepreneurs ”

Alan possibly feels, like the others, women are whing ing In fact anyone claiming any problems is whinging Wonder where the term ‘privilege’ came in?

Anyway there are more But there is a benefit to social media anonymity which allows people to feel emboldened you also see the true thinking of so many people

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Alpesh Patel

Boy, 5, dies after he was sent home from hospital

A f i v e y e ar ol d b oy wh o d ie d a fter he was sent home from the hospit al, would still ha ve been a live , bel ie ve s the grieving fam ily Z a h e e r A h m e d s a i d h e " b e g g e d a n d b e g g e d " f o r h i s nephew Yusuf Mahmud Nazir to be admitted to the hospital but he was told that "there are no beds and not enough doc tors"

On 13 November, Yusuf first complained of a sore throat, f o l l o w i n g w h i c h , h i s p a r e n t s took him to their GP, who pre scribed antibiotics

T h e f o l l o w i n g d a y , w h e n t h e i r s o n ' s h e a l t h d i d n o t improve, they took him to the e m e r g e n c y d e p a r t m e n t o f Rotherham General Hospital After Yusuf was examined, he was sent home even though the doctor treating his nephew said "it was the worst case of tonsil litis he had ever seen"

H e s a i d h i s n e p h e w w a s struggling to breathe, could not swallow and was clearly in a distressed state

Back at home, his condition d e t e r i o r a t e d f u r t h e r a n d h i s p a r e n t s c a l l e d a n a m b u l a n c e and insisted he be taken to see the specialist paediatric team at Sheffield Children's Hospital However, it was too late and Yusuf died of pneumonia

Dr Richard Jenkins, chief e x e c u t i v e o f t h e R o t h e r h a m N H S F o u n d a t i o n T r u s t , h a s o f f e r e d h i s c o n d o l e n c e s t o Y u s u f ' s f a m i l y a n d t o l d S k y

News: "We have commenced a t h o r o u g h i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o Yusuf's care, which will include l i a i s o n w i t h S h e f f i e l d C h i l d r e n ' s N H S F o u n d a t i o n Trust

" W e h a v e c o n t a c t e d t h e family and will continue to do so as part of the investigation "

Culture of racism, misogyny revealed in London Fire Brigade

Sop hie, a firefighter, was d iag no s e d w i th p o st t rau m a ti c stress d isord er (PT SD) due to th e r ac i sm s h e f ac ed w h i le w o rk i ng at th e L o n d o n F i re Bri gad e (L F B) H er anecd o tes al o ng w i th d o z en s o f o th er examples o f racism, bu llying and misog yny, will be a p art of a damning 88 p ag e investig ation, wh ich w ill reveal the “toxic cul ture” in the co untry’s largest fire service

T h e r e p o r t i n c l u d e s a Muslim firefighter witnessing a terrorism hotline sticker placed near his belongings At some stations, semen was smeared on women ’ s tunics

Nazir Afzal, the former chief c r o w n p r o s e c u t o r i n t h e Rochdale grooming gang case, was asked to conduct the LFB independent review He said the s t o r i e s h e h e a r d o v e r m a n y m o n t h s w e r e “ s t o m a c h t u r n ing”

Although Afzal highlighted that “ our review is rooted in a deep respect for the work of LFB s t a f f ” , h e c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e

b r i g a d e w a s i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y misogynistic and racist

O v e r 2 5 0 i n t e r v i e w s w e r e c o n d u c t e d b y A f z a l a n d h i s team, with former and current staff as well as a dozen focus groups More than 100 written submissions were received and surveys were completed by 1,672 employees

Following the death of Jaden F r a n c o i s E s p r i t , a t r a i n e e a t Wembley fire station who took his own life aged 21 in August 2 0 2 0 , t h e r e p o r t , t i t l e d t h e Independent Cultural Review of London Fire Brigade was com missioned

T h e f a m i l y o f F r a n c o i s E s p r i t b e l i e v e s t h e r e i s s t i l l much work to be done at the b r i g a d e S p e a k i n g t o T h e G u a r d i a n , h i s m o t h e r L i n d a said: “We want organisational change in Jaden’s honour so no other employee experiences the t r a u m a w h i c h l e d a h e a l t h y vibrant passionate young man at the prime of his life to experi ence a mental health crisis and untimely death ”

Asylum seekers live in inhumane conditions

Overflowing b ins with rotting f oo d R ub b i s h pi l e d hi g h i n hotel corridors Mouldy, damp rooms w ith wate r c ons tant ly dri pping near a chi ld’s cot

These are all Home Office run hotels across the UK, where asylum seekers say they are liv ing in dirty and at times unsafe a c c o m m o d a t i o n T h e c o n d i tions are so bad at one hotel in Greater Manchester that there have been reports of a scabies o u t b r e a k M e a n w h i l e , i n London, one charity says it is d i s t r i b u t i n g 5 0 0 r a p e a l a r m s after a series of sexual abuse claims from women living in t h e s e h o t e l s H u m a n r i g h t s g r o u p s h a v e s h a r e d f o o t a g e exclusively with ITV News to s h o w t h e i n h u m a n e c o n d i t i o n s " t h a t p e o p l e a r e b e i n g subjected to for long periods of time, in some cases years

There’s a huge backlog in asylum applications As of June 2022, official figures show there were 127,026 cases awaiting an initial decision or "pending fur t h e r r e v i e w " a f o u r f o l d increase compared to 2018 Just 4% of people who arrived in small boats in 2021 have had a d e c i s i o n T h o s e p r o c e s s i n g delays result in long and expen sive stays in hotels, at a huge cost to the taxpayer The gov ernment is currently spending almost £7 million a day on hotel bills, yet there’s growing evi dence that living conditions can be wretched

There are also serious safety concerns Hersana, a London b a s e d c h a r i t y , w a r n t h a t w o m e n h a v e b e e n s e x u a l l y h a r a s s e d i n a s y l u m s e e k e r hotels for months and fear for their safety

Time to invest in Indian, South Asian languages

To bolste r bilat era l re la tions, UK M P G are th Thomas ha s said tha t it 's time to inve st in la ngua ges like G ujara ti, Hindi an d Tamil " T h e r e h a s b e e n a s t e e p decline since 2015 in the number o f U K s t u d e n t s s t u d y i n g Gujarati, Urdu and other lan guages prevalent across South Asia at GCSE level," Thomas, a Labour Cooperative Party par l i a m e n t a r i a n f o r t h e G r e a t e r London constituency of Harrow West, tweeted

"It's time to invest in the lan guages of South Asia," he said At the end of compulsory e d u c a t i o n , t h e G e n e r a l C e r t i f i c a t e o f S e c o n d a r y Education (GCSE) is a qualifica tion normally taken by most UK

students

As per the UK's Department of Education, between 2019 to 2022, there were no students taking Hindi GCSE, whereas, in 2015, 19 students had sat for this exam From 2015 to 2021, the n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s e n t e r i n g G C S E s i n B e n g a l i , G u j a r a t i , Persian, Punjabi, and Urdu dras tically fell with Gujarati seeing a 77 per cent fall in entries, fol lowed by Bengali, which saw a 66 per cent drop, Punjabi a 45 per cent, and Urdu a 37 per cent decline

The MP's comments come at a time when India's economy has overtaken the UK's in terms o f s i z e , m a k i n g i t t h e f i f t h biggest

Ronny Chieng called out for saying Indians aren’t Asian

I n d i an A m eri c an co m ed i an , A bb y G o v i nd an ca ll ed o u t M ala ys i an C h in es e c o m ed i a n Ronny Ch ieng, w ho is based in the US, for saying that Indians aren’t A sian on one of his seg m ents on Com ed y C entral’s Th e Daily Sho w

Taking to her Twitter page to share a video of herself stat ing her opinion on the matter, she wrote, “Hey Ronny Chieng, my producers and I are huge fans of yours so we were a little d i s a p p o i n t e d w h e n y o u s a i d Indians aren’t Asian That’s OK though, we ’ re rallying the troops around a cause we really care about, #MapsforRonny ”

In a segment of The Daily Show, while mentioning UK’s first Asian Prime Minister Rishi S u n a k , R o n n y s a i d , “ I k n o w

everyone is really excited that t h i s i s t h e f i r s t A s i a n P r i m e Minister (of the UK), but let’s be c l e a r , I n d i a n s a r e n o t A s i a n s okay? Okay, they’re still people, great people, they’re just not Asian people, okay?”

Then while pointing at an image of Rishi Sunak, he added, “Answer me this, if this guy is A s i a n , h o w c o m e w h e n h e became Prime Minister (of the UK) I felt absolutely nothing? I mean, when I was down at Dim Sum Palace this morning, me and the fellas weren’t like ‘Oh sh*t, that’s me up there I feel seen ‘ ”

He went on to share that he feels Indians should ‘pick a lane’ instead of wanting things both ways, to be seen as both Asian and Indian

Dehumanised Picker’s job exposed

A journalist who worked und er cov er at a Boohoo warehouse has criticised the ‘dehum anis ing’ way h e and h is colleagues were treated

Tom Ball said he was told to wear thick socks to avoid blis ters and leave his watch at home b e c a u s e k n o w i n g t h e t i m e would make the shift go slower He worked as a picker at the fashion giant’s depot in Burnley, L a n c a s h i r e , f o r a m o n t h between August and September T h e ‘ d e m o r a l i s i n g ’ r o l e s a w Tom filling a trolley with prod ucts customers ordered online and then handing it to a packer to put together for delivery The system reportedly takes

n o t e o f a n y o n e w h o s p e n d s more than 10 minutes in the bathroom Tom claims he was told ‘ one or two’ toilet breaks were fine but more than that would lead to a talking to from the manager Pickers work 12 hour shifts with only two half hour breaks, one of which is unpaid, on £11 an hour Tom said the warehouse was too big t o r u n i n t o c o l l e a g u e s v e r y often, but found others ‘reluc tant to talk for long, knowing t h a t e v e r y s e c o n d w a s b e i n g counted’

T h e y a r e r e p o r t e d l y n o t allowed to listen to music, lead i n g t o ‘ l o n e l y w o r k ’ w i t h ’ 1 1 hours in your own company ’

in brief

TOP UNIVERSITY TELLS STUDENTS

TO

DROP OUT IF THEY DON'T FIND ACCOMMODATION

Fearing students are sleeping rough due to a lack of housing, the University of Glasgow is being urged to cap its intake Student publication The Tab reported, the Glasgow University Students Representative Council (SRC) has demanded a public commitment to capping numbers for the next five years, and claimed the institution was considering doing so With the university recommending dropping out if housing cannot be found, a housing crisis described as “unprecedented” by letting agents has seen students unable to find accommodation this year In October, 70 students were reported to be homeless where the university was paying for hotel accommodation in some instances The SRC has demanded a cap on student numbers for the next five years a review of policies regarding admissions for 2023 and 2024 and better support for existing students by increasing funding of teaching spaces, societies and student services The SRC s letter will be shared with the principal and at court following which the university s response will be shared with the public

FARMERS WARN OF SHORTAGES IN SUPERMARKETS

Due to soaring energy costs, Britain’s vegetable industry could be under threat as farmers warn they re not being paid enough to grow stables, including tomatoes With retailers opting to import produce from abroad shortage of labour for picking crops is also affecting industry demand within the country Owing to the use of heated greenhouses, energy prices have affected tomatoes in particular Lea Valley which stretches from Hertfordshire and Essex to north London, produced around 75 per cent of Britain s cucumbers and peppers in 2020 Lea Valley Growers Association secretary Lee Stiles told the Times there will be shortages of British produce next year “across the board Mr Stiles said: “Backing British growers by paying fair prices doesn’t seem to be a priority for supermarkets The amount of British fresh produce on the shelves from our growers has reduced by at least half this year already but consumers haven’t noticed it or don’t care ” Martin Emmett of the National Farmers Union said: The viability of producing fruit and vegetables is under the greatest strain I’ve ever seen “A continued lack of a reliable workforce both in permanent and seasonal roles combined with sharply rising input costs, particularly for energy, has put many businesses on a knife edge “If this pressure continues it will be simply unsustainable for some businesses to continue as they are In these unprecedented times, stability and confidence are critical ”

50 migrants diagnosed with Diptheria in UK this year

After a large i ncreas e in diphtheria cas es was reported this month, a v a c c i n e p r og r a m m e h a s b e e n stepped up in m igrant process ing cen tres

The immigration minister said public health is the government's utmost priority and they are going above and beyond to prevent cases from spreading T h e i m m i g r a t i o n m i n i s t e r

revealed that around fifty migrants who arrived in the UK this year have been diagnosed with diphthe ria, with the vast majority being reported in the last two months

Robert Jenrick told MPs that the number has risen significantly since he first gave an update on 1 November

I n O c t o b e r , t h e l a t e s t U K

Health Security Agency (UKHSA)

data identified 18 new diphtheria cases and 27 so far this month w i t h a t o t a l o f 5 0 c a s e s s i n c e February this year

M r J e n r i c k s a i d t h e H o m e Office and the UKHSA are going to w o r k a l o n g w i t h p u b l i c h e a l t h directors in areas where migrants are being sent to make sure they have the guidance to protect people from the disease

“WE ARE NOT MIGRANTS”

According to the UK government, in the year ending September 2022, t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f s p o n s o r e d s t u d y v i s a s g r a n t e d ( i n c l u d i n g d e p e n d a n t s ) w a s 5 9 2 , 7 1 0 , m o r e than double (+108%) the number in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, and 39% higher than the previous year 80% of study visas were issued to main applicants and 20% to dependents

U K h o m e s e c r e t a r y S u e l l a Braverman had previously com p l a i n e d a b o u t f o r e i g n s t u d e n t s "bringing in family members who can piggyback onto their student visa" and "propping up, frankly, substandard courses in inadequate institutions"

Government data shows that in the year ending September 2022, o n e f i f t h ( 2 0 % ) o f s p o n s o r e d study related visas issued were to f a m i l y m e m b e r s o f s t u d e n t s (116,321), compared to 6% (16,047) in 2019 Since 2019, both the total n u m b e r o f d e p e n d a n t s a n d t h e proportion of all sponsored study r e l a t e d v i s a s g r a n t e d t o d e p e n dants have increased Sunak is allegedly considering curbs on foreign students taking "low quality" degrees and bringing dependents into the country, BBC reported quoting Downing Street said The PM’s spokesman said the idea was being looked at after offi cial figures showed net migration to the UK had climbed to a record half a million

Rahul Roy Ch aud hury, S enior F el lo w f o r S o u th A s ia , T h e I nt ern ati o na l I ns ti tu te f o r Strategic Stud ies (IISS) told Asian Voice, “Before rushing to judge ment, we need greater clarity on such a proposed action How are "low quality" degrees to be defined? Which institutions provide such degrees? Are these institutions to b e ‘ n a m e d a n d s h a m e d ’ ? F r o m what date will such a policy be i m p l e m e n t e d ? W i l l f o r e i g n s t u dents currently in such institutions be able to complete their degrees? While any such policy is likely to be disappointing to a number of stu dents (we will not know student numbers till the institutions are identified), it is institutions that are responsible for this, not the students It is in the best interests of foreign students to apply and pay for admission to institutions t h a t p r o v i d e “ h i g h e r q u a l i t y degrees” In the globalised compet itive world of academic institu t i o n s , t h e “ h i g h e r q u a l i t y ” t h e degree the better the prospect of employment and a higher starting salary Why should foreign stu dents, largely unaware of the vary ing credibility and quality of UK i n s t i t u t i o n s , s u f f e r i n t h e i r prospective career from admission to “low quality” degree providing UK institutions? In effect, if such a p o l i c y w i t h g r e a t e r c l a r i t y i s revealed and implemented sensi tively, it could serve the interests of a future generation of students seeking to apply to UK educational institutions ” International students are o ur soft pow er

In h i s e xcl u si v e c o lu m n fo r A sian Vo ice, Lo rd Karan Bilimoria C B E D L , C h a nc el lo r o f t h e U n i v er si ty o f B i rm i ng h a m , C o c h ai r fo r th e A P P G f o r I nt ern ati o na l S tu d en ts a nd P re s id ent o f U K C I S A s a i d t h a t international students add hugely to UK universities by enriching the

experience of our domestic stu dents In addition, they build gen eration long links with their coun tries and there are more world leaders who have been educated at UK universities than in any other country in the world along with the USA UK universities and our international students are one of the strongest ele ments of our soft power as a country “If you exclude international students, the net migration figure comes d o w n d r a s t i c a l l y a n d i s nowhere near as alarming as it is being made out to be,” he wrote (Read full column on P7)

Imm igratio n im portant for the economy

However, a government migra t i o n a d v i s e r w a r n e d i t w o u l d b a n k r u p t m a n y u n i v e r s i t i e s Moreover, an adviser on immigra tion policy has warned that some universities could go bankrupt if there is a clampdown on so called "low quality" degrees

In an interview on BBC Radio, P rofesso r Brian Bell, the Chair of t h e U K ’ s M ig rat io n A d v i s o ry C om mittee, said that this move could “send many universities over the edge,” especially those in poor er regions

H ers h a P and ya, E x ec u ti v e Director of UK Partner Relations o f M Square M ed ia, an education management company, has also aired her concerns over this new development “Firstly, it was the UK government that set a target of 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t s which was met and delivered well in advance through the hard work of universities, agents, and third party providers,” Pandya noted

“Now, the UK government is once again putting international students under the spotlight when t h e s e s t u d e n t s s h o u l d n e v e r b e i n c l u d e d i n t h e n e t m i g r a t i o n s t a t i s t i c s T h e U K g o v e r n m e n t must stop this yo yo effect if it wishes to promote the country as the number one choice for interna tional students,“ added

Last week, Chancellor Jeremy H u n t i n s i s t e d t h a t i m m i g r a t i o n w a s r e q u i r e d t o b o o s t g r o w t h , underscoring the need for "a long term plan if we're going to bring d o w n m i g r a t i o n i n a w a y t h a t doesn't harm the economy " Hunt said that migration would be need ed "for the years ahead that will be very important for the econo my "

In the 2020/21 school year, the number of international students at UK universities totalled 605,130, up by 48,505 or 8 71% from the pre vious year ’ s total of 556,625 stu dents International students paid a total of £9 95 billion in tuition fees for the school year 2020/21

Scotland Deputy First M inister Jo hn S winney described the pro posals as "stupid" while Education Minister Jamie Hepburn warned that the proposal would be "deeply damaging to Scotland's world class

university sector " Moreover, the Scottish National Party has consis t e n t l y p r a i s e d t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n m a d e b y f o r e i g n s t u d e n t s a n d other migrants to Scotland Indian nationals h ad the second hig hest num ber o f d ependants

According to the latest data by

contribution to the UK They help make our campuses and cities the vibrant, thought provoking places they are known for being They sustain jobs in towns and cities up and down the country," Vivienne Stern said "Beyond this, the finan cial contribution they make has been very significant for U K u n i v e r s i t i e s L i m i t i n g international students would be an act of self harm that would damage many parts of the UK," she added

the Office for National Statistics (ONS), net migration to the UK rose from 173,000 in the year to June 2021, to 504,000 in the year to June 2022 an increase of 331,000 post Brexit International students were a large contributory factor to this s p i k e , w i t h I n d i a n s o v e r t a k i n g C h i n e s e s t u d e n t s a s t h e l a r g e s t cohort of student visas for the first time Nigeria had the highest num ber of dependants (51,648) of spon s o r e d s t u d y v i s a h o l d e r s i n September 2022, increasing from 1,586 in 2019 Indian nationals had t h e s e c o n d h i g h e s t n u m b e r o f dependants, increasing from 3,135 to 33,239 Visas issued for the top 5 nationalities for sponsored study d e p e n d a n t s ( N i g e r i a , I n d i a , P a k i s t a n , B a n g l a d e s h a n d S r i Lanka) were over 100,000 for the year ending September 2022

Looking at all sponsored study r e l a t e d v i s a h o l d e r s ( i n c l u d i n g main applicants and their depen dants), Nigeria saw a large increase in the proportion of visa holders who were dependants, from 19% in 2019 to 50% in the year ending September 2022 Indian nationals a l s o s a w a n i n c r e a s e i n t h e i r dependant proportion from 8% to 21%

Stud ents are no t mig rants NISAU U K C hair Sanam Arora told The Indian Express, “Students who are in the UK temporarily, s h o u l d n o t b e c o u n t e d a s migrants ”

"We are hopeful that the gov ernment will ensure that there is n o a r b i t r a r y d e f i n i t i o n o f w h a t counts as a ‘top’ university"

NISAU UK is calling for a “ cre ative and innovative policy solu tion" that addresses the UK’s skills and labour shortages through its international graduates

T h e U n i v e r s i t i e s U K International (UUKi), which repre sents over 140 UK universities, also sounded a note of caution over any policy moves to cut down interna tional student numbers “Cutting i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t n u m b e r s would run directly counter to the UK government’s strategy to wel come more students from around the world," UUKi Chief Executive Vivienne Stern told the press

“International students make an enormous cultural and financial

T h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n o f S t u d e n t s ( N U S ) r e p o r t e d l y s a i d that it would be "laughable" if the government made it harder for international students to study in the UK, given the country's skills s h o r t a g e , a c c u s i n g m i n i s t e r s o f " s t a r v i n g " h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n o f f u n d s , w h i l e e n c o u r a g i n g t h e exploitation of foreign students as "cash cows through astronomical fees and violent visa regimes" International stud ents bring m uch to so ciety, university and th e econom y

Reacting to the new s, Rich ard McC allum , Group C EO, of the UK Ind ia Business Council wrote, “It has recently been reported that the Government is considering intro ducing restrictions to foreign stu dents entering the UK, as a means of controlling net migration The UK India Business Council believes that this would be a retrograde step

“Our universities sector is one of the nation’s greatest exporters International students are critical t o t h e a c a d e m i c a n d r e s e a r c h strength the sector and essential to u n i v e r s i t i e s ’ f i n a n c i a l h e a l t h Levelling up is a priority and for it to succeed, universities across the country must thrive in their com munities International students contribute an estimated net posi tive contribution of £26 billion per year to the UK economy, creating j o b s a n d s u p p o r t i n g g r o w t h i n cities and towns across the coun try

“Reducing their number would harm the economy in the short , medium and long term

N e w r e s t r i c t i o n s w o u l d a l s o resurrect negative perceptions of the UK in India a key strategic, business, security, and political ally j u s t a s I n d i a n s t u d e n t s h a v e become the largest cohort of inter national students in the UK and at a time when India is: a member of t h e U N S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l ; President of the G20; an increas ingly influential actor in geopoliti c a l m a t t e r s R u s s i a / U k r a i n e , C h i n a , a n d b r o a d e r s e c u r i t y i n Asia Pacific; and, of course, the world’s 5th biggest economy with which the UK is currently negoti ating an FTA ”

T h e C E O m e n t i o n e d t h a t Indians studying in the UK under p i n t h e b r o a d e r r e l a t i o n s h i p , e n c a p s u l a t e d i n t h e C o m p r e h e n s i v e S t r a t e g i c Partnership agreed by the Prime

Ministers of the two countries in M a y 2 0 2 1 a n d c o v e r i n g c l i m a t e a c t i o n , d e f e n c e a n d s e c u r i t y , healthcare, trade and investment and, importantly, the people to people connections that bring so much energy, dynamism, and trust to the bilateral partnership

A c c o r d i n g t o h i m , t h e U K n e e d s a c o n s i s t e n t s t u d e n t v i s a p o l i c y t h a t b o t h t a c k l e s a b u s e w h i l s t a l s o e n a b l i n g m a n a g e d growth in international student recruitment For its part, India is currently implementing its own N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n P o l i c y i n

which UK universities wish to par ticipate

“Education is a fundamental building block for the future rela tionship, and at a time when the UK seeks to establish new relation ships with fast growing economies s u c h a s I n d i a , a n d i n c r e a s i n g geopolitical uncertainty, extending a warm, well managed welcome to Indian students makes sound eco nomic and strategic sense, ” he said

While PM Sunak has been a s t a u n c h s u p p o r t e r o f B r e x i t , a r e p o r t i n t h e T e l e g r a p h a r g u e d t h a t i f o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n s r e j e c t immigration on cultural grounds, and the young continue to suffer disproportionately from the eco n o m i c k n o c k o n e f f e c t s , w h e r e does this leave the Conservative Party? “No amount of statistical m a n i p u l a t i o n c a n c o n c e a l t h e truth that whenever the British people have been consulted about immigration they have demanded g r e a t l y r e d u c e d n u m b e r s T h e post Brexit belief that the govern ment had finally ‘taken back con trol’ has been destroyed by the ONS statistics, and immigration has once again risen to the second m o s t i m p o r t a n t i s s u e f o r Conservative voters,” it said That said, it is no secret that failing uni versities have become dependent o n f o r e i g n s t u d e n t s f u e l i n g immigration

Em pty promises?

I t w a s o n l y r e c e n t l y w h e n Sunak met India’s PM Narendra Modi in Bali and the two discussed ways to increase commercial link ages, raise the scope of security c o o p e r a t i o n i n t h e c o n t e x t o f India’s defence reforms and make p e o p l e t o p e o p l e t i e s e v e n stronger While this proposed plan b y t h e U K P M h a s n o t b e e n received well by the Indian student community, it is important to rec ollect that Indian students com p r i s e t h e b i g g e s t p e r c e n t a g e o f International students, raking in net revenue of £30 billion in the UK economy Under the new UK India Young Professionals Scheme, t h e U K w i l l o f f e r 3 , 0 0 0 p l a c e s annually to 18 30 year old degree educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work in the UK for up to two years It was reported that the scheme will be reciprocal Will the UK fulfil the promise of reciprocation or in the g a r b o f i t s i m m i g r a t i o n w o e s , i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t s w i l l n o t benefit from UK’s top universities? Only time will tell

Lord Karan Bilimoria

Sanam Arora

Rahul Roy Chaudhury

I am a 3 rd gener at io n international stu dent ; bo th m y grandfather s stu died in the UK gradu ating in the earl y 1 930s, my mo ther gr aduated in the 19 50s and I gradu ated in t he 19 80s For the past few years, I have been President o f UKCISA (UK Cou ncil o n Inter national S tudent Affair s) which lo oks after the interests of all international stu dents across all u niversit ies in the U K, and I am al so Co chair of t he All Par ty Parl iamentary Gr oup (APPG) fo r International St udent s

UK universities are the highest ranked in the world along with the USA and historically the UK has been the 2nd most popular destination for international students in the world with America leading the way In recent years we have increasingly had to compete not only with the USA but also with Australia and Canada as well as EU countries, it is a global race When I lectured at Dhaka University last month and asked the students there how many of them wanted to study in the UK, most if not all hands went up During the State visit of the South African President in November, the President said on more than one occasion, how keen he was for more South African students to study in the UK International students contribute £30 billion to the UK economy directly and indirectly including through their fees, living expenses as well as the revenues brought in by their fam ily and friends who visit them while they are in the UK HEPI (Higher Education Policy Institute) reports that on average every part of the UK is financially better off, aver age, by £390 per person as a direct result of international students They also add hugely to UK universities by enriching the experience of our domestic students In addition, they build generation long links with their countries and there are more world leaders who have been educated at UK universities than in any other coun try in the world along with the USA UK universities and our international students are one of the strongest ele ments of our soft power as a country

In 2007 I initiated and spearheaded the implementa tion of the 2 year postgraduate work visa for internation al students This was taken away in 2012 when Teressa May was Home Secretary and in our 2018 report, the APPG for International Students called for a reinstitution of the two year postgraduate work visa and for the gov ernment to have a target for the number of international students The government listened and imposed a target of 600,000 international students, we have now beaten that target despite the pandemic The government also listened and last year reinstated the 2 year postgraduate work visa and 3 years for PhD students As a result, the n

a

a s increased exponentially and the Indian students have now overtaken the Chinese as the largest number of international students in the UK All international stu dents must pay a fee to use the NHS and postgraduate international students are allowed to bring dependents for the tenure of their degree

The reality is that the vast majority of international students go back to their country of origin, and it is a tiny minority who overstay Based on Home Office data from exit checks, the Oxford Migration Observatory reports that at least 98% of non EU students leave the UK on time and before their visa expires Last week the govern ment released the latest net migration figures showing net migration for the year until June 2022 exceeding 500,000 and there has been a knee jerk response with suggestions of international student numbers to be reduced including only elite universities This is very worrying and completely damaging to our economy and to our universities and is backward looking For a start, the APPG has been saying for years that international students should not be included in the net migration fig ures The government responds by saying that they have to include them as immigrants as international students stay in the country for at least 1 year however many other countries when calculating their net migration figures do not include them as on the whole they are not immi grants and return to their home country after their stud ies

If you exclude international students, the net migra tion figure comes down drastically and is nowhere near as alarming as it is being made out to be In fact, we need to do the opposite, I have been calling for the government to increase the target of international students from

students to elite universities is completely wrong as all the approximately 150 certified and authorised universi ties in the UK are relatively of a very high standard glob ally And of course, our best universities are amongst the best in the world; in the latest QS rankings, 4 out of the top 10 universities globally were from the UK, including my alma mater Cambridge University and 17 out of the top 100 in the world are UK universities including the University of Birmingham where I am proud to be Chancellor Isn’t this amazing given that the UK is less than 1% of the world’s 8 billion population? To this day my 86 year old mother keeps in touch with her friends from Birmingham University from over 6 decades ago These are life and generation long friendships and rela tionships which are priceless International students in their future careers will always have an affinity towards the UK and London has been ranked as the number 1 city for international students overall, they have a wonderful experience in the UK We should be grateful for and proud of our international students

Lord Bilimoria CBE DL, Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Co chair for the APPG for International Students and President of UKCISA

600,000 to 1 million by 2030 Over and above all of this the fees international students bring into all universities is crucial to their finances as international students pay a much higher amount, at least more than double that of domestic students To talk about restricting international

of the strongest elements of

power as a country

a

Virendra Sharma MP joins call for government ban on routine preventative use of antibiotics on UK farms

a n t i b i o t i c u s e d t o t r e a t p o t e n t i a l l y d e a d l y M R S A infections

A n t i b io t i cs a t t h e Par liament ary launch of the l if e t h r e a t e n in g su pe r b u g s r epor t Mr Sharma support e d cal ls for urg ent action t o pr event a huma n heal th cri sis cause d b y super bug poll u t i o n a r o un d U K fa ct o r y farms

The report reveals con c e r n i n g n e w f i n d i n g s t h a t a n t i b i o t i c r e s i s t a n t s u p e r bugs were found in rivers and waterways in areas with high levels of factory farming in Sussex, Norfolk and the Wye Valley

Resistance was found in dangerous bacteria like E coli and S aureus to antibiotics i n c l u d i n g c e f o t a x i m e a n d vancomycin, both classified b y t h e W o r l d H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n a s c r i t i c a l l y i m p o r t a n t i n h u m a n medicine Vancomycin is the

Around 80% of all ani mals in the UK live on facto r y f a r m s T h e s e f a r m s ’ squalid, cruel and cramped conditions force the need for w i d e s c a l e p r e v e n t a t i v e a n t i b i o t i c u s e w i t h o u t which those animals would not survive Superbugs from factory farms reach people in many ways via our rivers, for example, in drinking water; swimming and recreational activities; or the consump tion of fish from contami nated waters Unless the gov e r n m e n t t a k e s a c t i o n , t h e UK faces a human health cri sis whereby disease can no l o n g e r b e t r e a t e d d u e t o antibiotic resistance

The UK farming industry has managed to reduce its antibiotic use by 55% since 2014, but far greater reduc t i o n s a r e s t i l l n e e d e d Unfortunately, the UK gov

Non-native English speaking students outperform others in Maths

C hildren wh o do no t s p e ak E ng li s h as a first language outper formed their p eers in m aths skills, the first s et of natio nal d ata o n ch i l d ren ’ s t i m es tables has shown T h e n e w l y p u b lished multiplication table checks of more than 625,000 year four pupils in England also showed disad vantaged pupils had a lower a v e r a g e s c o r e t h a n t h e i r counterparts Of pupils who took the check in summer, the average score for those w i t h a f i r s t l a n g u a g e o f English was 19 4 out of 25, while the average score for pupils with a first language

other than English was 21 2

Students aged eight or nine in England were faced with 25 times tables ques tions, up to 12 x 12, with a maximum of six seconds to answer each one The aver age score for disadvantaged pupils was 17 9, while the average score for pupils not known to be disadvantaged was 20 5

Sadiq Khan to face another grilling in Cressida resignation

S ad iq Khan has been f o rm a ll y s um m o ne d to ans w er qu estio ns f ro m t h e L o nd o n A ssem bly over his role in C ressid a Dick’s res ig natio n for a second time

M e m b e r s o f t h e Assembly’s police and c r i m e c o m m i t t e e t o d a y voted in favour of using a unique legal power to sum mon the Mayor of London to appear at a meeting on December 13, where failure to attend could result in a fine or a three month prison sentence The Assembly has a l s o i n v i t e d f o r m e r M e t r o p o l i t a n P o l i c e C o m m i s s i o n e r C r e s s i d a D i c k a n d f o r m e r H o m e

S

ernment has refused to ban p r e v e n t a t i v e g r o u p t r e a t ments as the EU has done d e s p i t e h a v i n g p r e v i o u s l y p r o m i s e d t o d o s o T h e World Health Organisation estimates that 1 27 million people die globally each year as a direct result of antimi c r o b i a l r e s i s t a n c e ( A M R ) , and this will rise to 10 mil lion by 2050 if action is not taken now This would far o u t w e i g h t h e i m p a c t o f Covid 19 and make minor i n f e c t i o n s a n d c o m m o n surgeries potentially deadly

This week the govern ment launched a call for evi dence on the antimicrobial r e s i s t a n c e n a t i o n a l a c t i o n plan It is imperative that a m u c h n e e d e d b a n o n t h e o v e r u s e o f a n t i b i o t i c s i n healthy herds will be intro duced as a part of the action plan

S h a r m a s a i d , “ I a m pleased to support a ban on the routine preventative use

of antibiotics on UK farms The inhumane and abhor rent conditions farm animals are being kept in is a direct threat to the health of my constituents If we continue t o o v e r u s e a n t i b i o t i c s t o compensate for cruel animal welfare standards found on f a c t o r y f a r m s , t h e n t h e antimicrobial resistance that is produced as a result will become one of the biggest d a n g e r s t o h u m a n h e a l t h This report makes the link between animal welfare on farms, the environment, and h u m a n h e a l t h c l e a r w e must improve welfare condi tions in factory farms if we are to stop antibiotic resis tance That is why I am call i n g o n T h é r è s e C o f f e y , S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e a t t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f E n v i r o n m e n t , F o o d a n d Rural Affairs to bring in an i m m e d i a t e b a n o n t h e overuse of antibiotics on UK farms ”

Phone number spoofing site taken down

A phone num ber spo ofing site used by criminals has bee n tak en d o w n i n t h e U K 's bi g g e s t ev e r fr au d sting Website ispoo f cc was being used to scam thou sands of v ictims o ut o f m il li o ns o f p o u nd s b ef o re a global p olice op eration to bring it do wn

T h e w e b s i t e w a s described by police as an online fraud shop, with as m a n y a s 2 0 p e o p l e e v e r y m i n u t e b e i n g t a r g e t e d b y c a l l e r s u s i n g t e c h n o l o g y bought from the site at one point One victim lost £3 million and the average loss among the 4,785 people who have reported being target e d t o A c t i o n F r a u d i s £10,000

A r o u n d 7 0 , 0 0 0 U K

phone numbers were called by criminals who used the site and were alerted by the Metropolitan Police via text message recently and asked t o c o n t a c t t h e f o r c e U K police began investigating the site in June 2021, opting f o r i s p o o f a s t h e l a r g e s t criminal site that was based i n t h e c o u n t r y D e t e c t i v e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t H e l e n Rance, who leads on cyber crime for the Met, said: “By taking down ispoof we have prevented further offences and stopped fraudsters tar geting future victims “Our message to criminals who have used this website is we have your details and are working hard to locate you, r e g a r d l e s s o f w h e r e y o u are ”

Alok Sharma backs bid to lift ban on onshore wind farms

The president of the Cop 26 cl i ma te s u m m it A lo k Sharma h as been added to th e li s t o f th e la te s t Co nservative p arty MPs to supp ort lifting the ban o n new onsho re wi nd farms

Liz Truss signed the pro posal Clarke’s amendment would pressurise the gov ernment to change its poli c y w i t h i n s i x m o n t h s t o a l l o w n e w w i n d f a r m schemes

Conflict of choice

Co nflict of choice is a situation we face frequently in life While sit ting in a restaurant, looking at the menu, there a re a n um ber of con flict in g choices in mind, hustlin g wit h e ach othe r t o get priority W hen d ecid in g on a ca ree r, get ting ma rrie d, buy in g an apa rtm ent or in vestin g in a ny compa ny e ve ry t ime t here ar e mult iple choices an d our mind faces a dile mma to choose on e fr om t hem Ev en whe n we know t hat we hav e e xer cised all pre caut ions and applie d t he be st crite ria in makin g the fin al d ecision, t he mind r emain s in a situa tion of pr edicame nt

A friend asked about a locality for purchasing a house This advice was being sought after he had already pur chased one Just to make sure that his choice was correct! Has it ever happened to you that you have pondered over different choices even after having made one? Are you con stantly in a catch 22 situation for your future? Did you ever think that you would have done better if you were not in a job but doing a business? Or that you would have made a better academician, not a practising lawyer? This enigma troubles almost everyone, especially someone who thinks a lot If you happen to be an easy go lucky person, there are fewer chances of facing such riddles, but otherwise, hardly anyone can remain unaffected by them

The confusion arises not because of any particular log ical reason but mainly based on a fear of choosing the wrong option or missing out on the better one Having no reason to believe that the choice we have made is in any way inferior to what we have left out, there should be no conundrum in the mind But it is almost impossible to make a choice and then not think over its merit again This may be also a result of the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) In case you are frequently facing this situation, be sure you are not the only one It is important to accept the choices we have made in life or to make a firm decision to change the course of the future Just pondering over conflicting choices is not a solution To reduce anxiety arising out of conflict of choices in mind, it is better to pick up a pen and paper and put down the decision we have already made on one side and note down other choices that are puzzling us Then analyse whether any of them will be better and viable option What will it take to change the decision and what will be the final outcome Do an analysis of pros and cons of conflicting choices and than make the decision once again If the mind says that what you had decided earlier is a better option, strike out all other conflicting choices and give rest to your mind

(Expressed opinions are personal)

Warm hubs in Harrow will be a great help for strugglers

Harrow Giv ing has help ed set up a num ber of warm hubs in Harro w for those struggling d uring the cost of liv ing crisis

Warm Hubs are warm, safe places where residents can expect a friendly and inclusive welcome People c a n c o m e a l o n g o n t h e i r own, or with a friend, and talk to others over a hot drink and meal There are a n u m b e r o f h u b s s e t u p across Harrow to help those in need this winter Harrow

Giving are asking for dona tions which would be match funded by Aviva, who are supporting the initiative

H a r r o w G i v i n g h a s launched a campaign to help fund the Warm Hubs with A v i v a A v i v a w i l l m a t c h donations pound for pound u p t o £ 2 5 0 u n t i l 3 1 D e c e m b e r , o r u n t i l t h e entire £2 million is allocat ed So, if you donate £50, Aviva will donate £50 If you d o n a t e £ 5 0 0 , A v i v a w i l l donate £250

Firefighter who faced racism doubts things will be better

o attend the meeting, though they have no obligation to do so It is the second time the c o m m i t t e e h a s u s e d t h e legal power to put questions to Sadiq Khan over the cir c u m s t a n c e s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e f o r m e r M e t

Commissioners resignation, having never been used on a sitting mayor before

In backing an amend ment to government legis lation in an attempt to drop the moratorium on onshore wind, Sharma has joined his former boss Boris Johnson, who nominated him for a peerage

With Sharma’s support, t h e a m e n d m e n t t o t h e Levelling Up bill, led by for mer levelling up secretary Simon Clarke, now has the support of 22 Tory MPs

T o l i f t t h e b a n , b o t h Johnson and his successor

In privately supporting the calls to lift the ban, the l e v e l l i n g u p s e c r e t a r y i s believed to have been joined by the business secretary, Grant Shapps, and Graham Stuart, the climate change minister

Under a tightening of r e s t r i c t i o n s i m p o s e d b y D a v i d C a m e r o n ’ s g o v e r n ment after pressure from Tory activists, since 2014, planning rules have in effect b a r r e d a n y n e w o n s h o r e wind farms in England

F ir ef ig h ter Ga ret h D aw e s d es c ri be d h o w h e f ac ed racism in different form s in the service and was left frus trated w ith bosses w hen he tried to help tackle th e issu e

The damning indepen dent report found that the London Fire Bridge (LFB) was "institutionally misogy nist and racist"

Though fire chiefs have p l e d g e d t o d e a l w i t h t h e p r o b l e m h e a d o n , G a r e t h Dawes, who left the LFB in September after more than 2 0 y e a r s ' o f s e r v i c e , f e e l s t h i n g s c a n n o t c h a n g e f o r the better

Mr Dawes said a serving

f i r e f i g h t e r d i r e c t e d a n offensive term at him at a wedding, where the groom was also a fellow fireman

He said: "There was an argument that occurred and I went in to split up the argument and I was called a b l a c k b * * * * * d i n t h a t moment by a serving col l e a g u e f r o m a d i f f e r e n t watch "

Speaking on fire bosses' pledges to stamp out racism a n d m i s o g y n y , h e s a i d "unless they are willing to look at themselves and the parts that they play into it t h e n I b e l i e v e t h a t n o change will come about"

Rohit Vadhwana

Winter vaccination champions come to the streets of London

( UK Health Security A gency) are working with local co m m unities to sh are the impor t an ce o f p ro te ct in g o u r s e lv e s th i s w i n ter M ultiling ual street cham pi o ns will be located in the streets of L ond on over the next few w eeks to g iv e free a d v i c e a nd in fo r m at io n a bo u t C O V ID 1 9 a nd fl

v accinations

The winter street teams are inviting people in the

Pension age to increase to 68 earlier than planned

Mini sters want to raise the s tat e p e ns i o n age to 68 several years earlier than planned in a “big bazo oka” bid to raise billio ns for the T r ea s u ry , i t h a s b ee n rep orted

Under current legisla tion, the retirement age is set to rise to 67 in four to six years ’ time, and then to 68 by 2046, although the government’s stated plan is for the latter to happen by 2039 But it is claimed that relevant ministers and o f f i c i a l s i n e a c h o f t h i s year ’ s three Conservative governments led by Boris J o h n s o n , L i z T r u s s a n d n o w R i s h i S u n a k h a v e been inclined to bring that d a t e f u r t h e r e v e n f o r wards A date of the mid 2 0 3 0 s i s n o w w i d e l y f a v o u r e d , w i t h m i n i s t e r s keen to leave a gap of at least a decade between leg islating for the policy and it coming into action, cit ing multiple current and

former government offi cials

Even raising the pen sion age just one year earli er than currently planned c o u l d r a i s e m o r e t h a n £ 9 b n f o r t h e T r e a s u r y , with some £8bn saved in pension payments and an additional £1 3bn taken in t a x e s o n e x t r a e a r n i n g s , pensions consultancy LCP told Sir Steve Webb, the David Cameron era pen sions secretary who is now a partner at LCP told the paper that “it is tempting f o r t h e T r e a s u r y t o s e e increases in state pension ages as ‘ easy money ’” “ B u t a n a g g r e s s i v e schedule of pension age rises is simply not justifi able based on the latest evidence on life expectan c i e s , ” h e s a i d “ T h e i m p r o v e m e n t s i n l i f e e x p e c t a n c y , w h i c h w e r e expected when this issue w a s l a s t r e v i e w e d , h a v e simply not materialised ”

Queen suffered bone marrow cancer

T he Qu een h ad battled p ainful cancer in the final year of her life, a friend of P rince Philip h as claim ed in a new bo ok

G y l e s B r a n d r e t h , writing in Elizabeth: An I n t i m a t e P o r t r a i t , s h e d l i g h t o n t h e l a t e monarch’s ‘stoicism’

He claimed she had suffered from a form of bone marrow cancer over t h e c o u r s e o f h e r f i n a l years

The Queen’s death cer tificate had stated that she died of ‘old age ’ It also con f i r m e d t h a t o n l y t h e Princess Royal would have been by Her Majesty’s side in her final moments

T h e d e a t h c e r t i f i c a t e , r e l e a s e d b y N a t i o n a l Records of Scotland, noted t h e t i m e o f t h e Q u e e n ’ s d e a t h o n T h u r s d a y September 8 as 3 10pm The b i o g r a p h y d e t a i l e d t h e Queen’s ‘determination’ to be with Prince Philip when he died It claimed she ‘bare ly left his side’ in the final few weeks of his life

A period of ‘intense per sonal grief’ soon followed,

but the Queen was said to have found huge comfort in her loved ones and believed it was her ‘Christian duty’ to carry on Her Majesty’s love for Line of Duty helped dis tract her, with such TV dra mas working to ‘keep her spirits up ’ after the Duke of Edinburgh’s death

But, it’s thought that she sometimes struggled to keep up with the plot, which saw s t a r s i n c l u d i n g V i c k y M c C l u r e , M a r t i n C o m p s t o n , a n d A d r i a n D u n b a r a t t e m p t t o f i g h t corruption,

The Queen also disliked the constant ‘mumbling’ on it and other programmes

ous If you get both at the same time, the chance of being very unwell or going into hospital is even greater

G e t t i n g y o u r v a c c i n e s when invited gives you and your loved ones the best protection from serious ill

n e s s a n d h o s p i t a l i s a t i o n COVID 19 vaccines can be b o o k e d o n l i n e a t w w w n h s u k / g e t v a c c i n a tion, calling 119 for free, or in some areas you can find a l o c a l v a c c i n a t i o n w a l k i n centre To find out more

about the flu vac cine and who is eli g i b l e i n c l u d i n g c h i l d r e n , v i s i t w w w n h s u k / f l u jab

S t r e e t t e a m s w i l l b e available at the following

Getting your winter vaccines in pregnancy is just as important

Pregnancy can be an exciting, yet vulnerable time for any woman, but Covid 19 fears and isolation have added an extra strain It feels like it is all behind us now, but viruses like Covid 19 and flu can spread more easily in winter when we all mix more indoors, so healthcare experts are advising expectant mums to make sure they get their vaccines Over a million babies were born in the UK during the height of the pandemic. We talked to three mums about their decisions on vaccination and experiences of having a baby in the pandemic

risks from both viruses during preg nancy

locations over the coming weeks:

as ever

held my son when he was 12 weeks old It is so sad to think I missed out on these important early months Had the vaccine been available whilst I was pregnant, I would have definite ly accepted it, and my experience could have been avoided”

As a scientist, Tanviha believes it’s so important for people in the Asian community to make sure they get their information about vaccines from a reliable source like the NHS website there’s far too much misin formation out there and you shouldn’t trust everything you read on social media

SAMIRA

“I was lucky enough to have my baby in the latter part of the pandemic,” says Paediatrician and mum of three Dr Kiran Rahim, “Lots of things felt weird and strange at a time of happi ness, like my husband not being allowed in for a scan Many services like drop in weight clinics and breast feeding support were cancelled due to Covid restrictions The worst part was the lack of contact with health visitors ”

“I had my two Covid vaccines and then a booster and a flu jab while pregnant”, says Dr Rahim “And as a frontline healthcare worker, I am eli gible for Covid 19 booster and flu jab this winter which I have just had, whilst still breastfeeding Both immu nisations are safe at any stage of preg nancy, and many millions of doses have been administered worldwide to pregnant women ”

While the vaccines are safe, there are

local

“Complications from Covid and flu while pregnant can be very dangerous for both mother and baby In the very worst cases, they can lead to death or stillbirth,” says Dr Rahim “There are new variants of Covid all the time, it’s unpredictable and the risks are still out there The flu virus can also change each year, so it’s important to boost your protection to both viruses before winter ”

“This is not the time to be compla cent,” says Dr Rahim Falling ill pre sents additional risks while pregnant Vaccines are our best line of defence, which are freely available on the NHS and easy to get TA NVIHA

Unfortunately, trainee clinical scien tist Tanviha Quaraishi Akhtar experi enced some of these complications first hand Tanviha had an emergency C section after falling seriously ill with Covid, giving birth at just 33 weeks She was so unwell with Covid that she couldn’t hold her premature son before he was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit

“Just a week later, I was in ICU alone, in a medically induced coma I almost died and was kept unconscious for over two months I finally met and

“I got the Covid vaccine while preg nant last year, and I’d do it again,” says influencer and blogger Samira Ahmed “I was really sick with the Delta variant in my first trimester and was lethargic for months after recov ering I was so worried that getting sick had harmed my baby I wanted to avoid catching it again and got vacci nated it was a load off my mind ”

Samira also makes sure her four year old gets the flu vaccine as a nasal spray “I don’t want him to miss out on school and vaccines make these things avoidable ” I also had him vac cinated each autumn when he was a pre schooler

A UK study found that pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid infection having received 2 or 3 vaccine doses, were less likely to have more severe disease or require inten sive care admission than women who had not been vaccinated However, uptake of vaccines is lower in Asian communities last winter for exam ple, just 29% of Pakistani pregnant women had the flu jab

Studies show that protection provid ed by Covid 19 vaccines decreases over time, even if you ’ ve had previ ous doses of the vaccine So, it’s important you ‘top up ’ your immuni ty this autumn Pregnancy alters how the body handles infections such as flu, which is why you are advised to get the flu vaccine too It’s safe to get both vaccines together They do not contain live viruses and cannot infect the baby

DR RAHIM

Pregnant women are eligible for both a free flu and Covid 19 booster vaccine this winter

Samira

Tanviha

Bali Brahmbhatt: One to OneAsian Voice

I read the above One o One interview of Bollywood singer Bali Brahmbhatt in Asian Voice and went down memory lane of more than 10 years ago when he with another leg endary my favourite Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik came to Canada and my home town Markham, Ontario at Markham fairground in summer South Asian festival live free evening concert on very warm weather and more than 5000 thousand fans from India, East Africa, The West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan enjoyed so much that they all continually danced on each and every song

I t w a s a v e r y w e l l o r g a n i s e d f a i r a n d w h e n B a l i Brahmbhatt sang his hit song Tera Munda Bigda Jaye there were very loud cheers from the crowd and many of our West Indian friends sang with him too Music and art have no boundaries of caste, creed, language or country of origin Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik also sang many of their hit Bollywood songs and the crowd danced to every tune and lyrics

But I was very touched when he sang a very meaningful song Jab Koi Bat Bigad Jaye, Jab Koi Muskil Pad Jaye, Tum Dena Sath Mera meaning when something goes very wrong, when you are in deep trouble then you give me full support so I can lean on your shoulder (loose translation) Kumar Sanu told that England’s Sunrise radio for two years continually played this song every day upon request of a lady who was very down in her life and depressed but by lis tening to this song she gets a boost to ease her depression and feel good What a nice gesture from Sunrise Radio to be part of her daily life to live nicely Our long time friends Mr Yashubhai and Mrs Vinuben Patel during the first dance at their daughter Toral’s wedding reception danced with this song

Last but not least as Bali Brahambhatt joined Lyca Radio as a host and what a coincidence! During winter time here in Canada I always walk into my basement and play both radios online and they both are part of my life and give me much needed company from winter blue

Though during summer while sitting in our backyard and sipping drinks I do play both radios during different time slots

Thank you Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar, Lyca Radio and Sunrise Radio for coming into my life God bless all

Suresh P atel, C anad a

Make our Christmas environmentally friendly

Christmas and New Year are the most popular holidays in a calendar year It is celebrated with panache and enthusi asm not seen in any other holidays, whether it is Diwali, Eid, Vaisakhi or Jewish New Year Then the world follows the year based on Christianity, the birthday of Lord Jesus Christ

One tradition that I would like to see confined to the dustbin is the Christmas Tree, a favourite of children and adults alike Decorating with colourful lights, toys and whatever one may fancy; provides unintended pleasure and enthusiasm not associated with any other holiday!

In countries like America and many in Europe, people spend a small fortune buying these trees, so often they go to the farm where it is grown and let children pick their favourite tree These trees are for the most part five to seven years old before they are harvested Growing these trees take up valuable land much needed for agriculture and pasture, as with ever bulging population, feeding them is a constant struggle

Unless we have visited America during this festive period, it would be difficult to appreciate the American people’s love, respect and appreciation of this age old tra dition Hardly any home misses outputting a well deco rated tree in the lounge window for everyone to see and enjoy the festive season

To visit and pick one ’ s own tree from the mini forest is a treat child love, especially as there are all sorts of attractions, like toy shops, cafes and other attractions to make such a trip for children an occasion to remember

Now we can buy artificial trees that look as good as the real ones and can be used year after year that do not dam age our fragile ecosystem So please encourage everyone to buy an artificial plastic tree and help the environment

Bhupendra M Gandh i

Diwali magazine praised

My congratulations to all of you at ABPL Group, publish ers of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, for producing a magnificent Diwali Special magazine bristling with warm messages from well wishers as well as a wide range of interesting articles and eye catching advertisements based on the wonderful annual festival of lights theme As a long retired journalist, I know just how much time and effort is devoted to creating a production of this kind, so step forward everyone concerned and take a prolonged bow

Otter

The Guardian Editorial Sunday 27th

November is at its breast beating best

An OpEd in The Guardian, titled ‘The Guardian view on Modi’s India: the danger of exporting Hindu chauvinism’ warns Narendra Modi's Hindu party from exporting Hindu chauvin ism, presumably to Leicester! The inquiry set up by Leicester Council to look into the riots that erupted can be dismantled

The mighty Guardian has given its verdict that it was the Hindus who are to blame! The Guardian loves to give moral lectures to Narendra Modi a democratically elected leader of the world's largest democracy

Dear Editor, Hindus are the majority of India and will always be pre eminent just as Scottish people will be pre emi nent in Scotland The Guardian takes the help of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom which accus es India of, 'religious freedom violations' Maybe this US body and the Guardian are ignorant of the fact that there are many persecuted religious groups who have found a safe haven in Hindu India

The Baha'is, Zoroastrians, Tibetans Buddhists and Jewish people The Indian government has given a fitting reply to the US body on religious tolerance It has the organisation to look into the situation of minorities in the US, including “racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun vio lence ”

The Guardian should stop trying to be so anti Hindu and anti India

With the appointment of a Hindu Prime Minister in the UK you are at a loss to understand what is happening and are underwhelmed

N itin Mehta

Religion & Ethnicity: Census 2021

Th is week we saw the publication o f m ore d ata related to religion and society from Census 2021 A nd it m akes inter esting reading

For the first time, one can describe England and Wales as not wholly Christian Less than half of the population ( 4 6 2 % , 2 7 5 m i l l i o n p e o p l e ) d e s c r i b e d t h e m s e l v e s a s

“Christian”, this is a massive decrease of 13 1 percentage point from 59 3% (33 3 million) in 2011

It seems people are getting fed up with religion “No religion” was the second most common response, this saw a rise of 12 0 percentage points to 37 2% from 25 2% in 2011 A thought does come to mind, ‘ are Christian denouncing their faith’?

So what about other faiths? Interestingly, there were increases in the number of people who described them selves as “Muslim” (3 9 million, 6 5% in 2021, up from 2 7 million, 4 9% in 2011) and “Hindu” (1 0 million, 1 7% in 2021, up from 818,000, 1 5% in 2011) This represents a massive increase in the Muslim population No wonder the Labour Party are working overtime in accommodating the whims and wishes of this community

Scams and scandals

During the past few years, the images of our country have been defaced beyond redemption A large number of scams and scandals, involving top politicians, administrators and VVIPs have come to light These scams and scandals, most of which have been unearthed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) involve huge sums of money running into thousands of crores of rupees They have shaken the entire conscience of the country to the bones In my opinion, all ministers and public servants should be made to declare their assets The vigilance department should also keep a constant eye on corrupt officers and other public servants Ministers and senior officials must set a noble example of an honest living free from corruption, bribery, nepotism and immorality The laws of the land should be provided with more teeth to deal with the corrupt elements Corruption, at any level, is bad The government must launch a vigorous campaign against this social evil

Jubel D C ruz, Mum bai, India

Scotland Yard will be launching a h otline for peop le and police to anonymou sly report officers w ho are racist, m iso g ynistic, corrup t or v iolent

From Tuesday onwards, anyone who has concerns about a Metropolitan Police officer can give a call on a confidential number that is manned by trained staff from Crimestoppers, an independent charity

Information will then be passed to detectives in the new Anti Corruption and Abuse Command, who will investigate the allegations Along with members of the public, the hot line will be open to serving staff and officers who have con cerns about their colleagues

As per Baroness Casey’s report, up to 60 per cent of mis conduct allegations made against Met officers resulted in a “ no case to answer decision and line managers and supervi sors would often warn people against making complaints

King Charles may be the Time’s Person of the Year

King Ch arles is o n the long list fo r T ime magazine's Person of the Year go ing up against Volodymyr Zelensky, Elon Musk and Rish i Sunak

The US publication has announced that voting for the 2022 prize was officially open, allowing readers to support “the person or group who had the greatest influence on 2022 for better or worse ” The King is up against 60 global fig ures and the winner will feature on the front cover of the magazine's iconic annual issue The Person of the Year is ultimately chosen by Time's editors and will be revealed next month Queen Elizabeth II was voted Time’s Woman of the Year in 1952, the same year she ascended the throne

According to Time, Mr Zelensky is currently ahead of Charles III, as 24 per cent of people have voted for Ukraine’s president to receive the honour Two per cent of people have voted for the King Elon Musk, who won last year, is up for the award again this year, and currently, five per cent have voted for the new Twitter boss

Religiou s com position chart: T h e p i c t u r e becomes even more i n t e r e s t i n g w h e n you take ethnicity i n t o a c c o u n t I n 2 0 2 1 , 8 1 7 % i n England and Wales identified their eth n i c g r o u p a s "White", a decrease from 86 0% in the 2 0 1 1 C e n s u s Therefore 18 3% are non white!

The next most c o m m o n e t h n i c group was Asian, A s i a n B r i t i s h o r A s i a n W e l s h " accounting for 9 3% of the overall popu l a t i o n , t h i s g r o u p also saw the largest p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t increase from 2011, up from 7 5% Of course we all know that under the term ‘Asian’, much is hidden The reality of what this means becomes clearer when we consider the spread within the group itself

Eth nic pro fil e ch art 2: T h e " O t h e r e t h n i c group" category saw some b i g c h a n g e s a s w e l l ( 1 6 % , 9 2 4 , 0 0 0 i n 2 0 2 1 , u p f r o m 0 6%, 333,000 in 2011), and "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African: African" (2 5%, 1 5 million in 2 0 2 1 , u p f r o m 1 8 % , 990,000)

As in 2011, the area with the highest percentage of the p o p u l a t i o n w h o d e s c r i b e d themselves as “Muslim” was Tower Hamlets (39 9%, up from 38 0% in 2011) Other areas with high percentages of people responding as “Muslim” included Blackburn with Darwen (35 0%) and Newham (34 8%)

Harrow remained the highest percentage for “Hindu” (25 8%, up from 25 3% in 2011), but Leicester, the second highest percentage, had a greater increase of 2 7 percentage points (17 9%, up from 15 2% in 2011)

The census releases a huge amount of data It will take some time to do some interesting analysis and this I will re visit in due course For the time being, I am sure the above will keep all groups busy in discussing the state of play with respect to British society and where it is heading I wonder where we will be in 2031 if the present rate of change is maintained I am certain of one thing, as a society we better come to terms with these seismic changes quickly to avoid a societal meltdown

Note: Data/information courtesy of Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census 2021

Rudy

Kapil D udakia

Ethnic profile chart 1 :

Scotland Yard launches hotline to report ‘racist and corrupt’ officers

Terrorism could not derail India’s March to development

Hotel, Karambir Singh Kang adminis tered the evacuation of guests from the hotel despite losing his own wife and son who were stuck in the sixth floor Separately, Mallika Jagad, a hotel staff, led about 60 guests to safety Along with other staff, Jagad locked the banquet doors, turned off the lights, and asked the guests to remain silent, until they were spotted by the fire crew and helped to escape through the window

T e a m c o m m a n d e r o f 5 1 S p e c i a l A c t i o n G r o u p , M a j o r S a n d e e p

Poorer women in UK have the sixthhighest cancer death rates in Europe

A n i n de p t h n e w W o rk Health Organ izati on s tudy h a s f o un d th a t p oo r e r w o m e n i n B ri ta i n h a v e som e of the highes t death r a t e s f ro m c a n c e r i n Europe

Ruchi Ghanashyam

Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK She was o n l y t h e s e c o n d w o m a n H i g h Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she w i t n e s s e d a n u m b e r o f s i g n i f i c a n t developments in the UK India relations

@RuchiGhanashyam

Last week, on 26 November, In dia rememb ered t he vict ims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror att ac ks on their 1 4t h an niversary On this day in 2008, 10 t errorist s ent ered the cit y of M um b a i t h ro ug h se a ro ut e fr om Pakist an, ravaging it for 4 days, killing 166 people, incl uding 26 foreign nat ion als, in juring more than 300 peopl e, and t e rr or is i n g n ot j us t t h e p eo p l e of Mumbai, b ut t he rest of India t oo

"It is incumbent on us, as responsi ble members of the international com munity to remember their trauma and to persevere in our efforts to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice," I n d i a ’ s E x t e r n a l A f f a i r s M i n i s t e r S Jaishankar said He asked that "those who planned and oversaw this attack must be brought to justice", and said "We owe this to every victim of terror ism around the world”, as terrorism threatens humanity He reminded that I n d i a ’ s e f f o r t s t o s a n c t i o n t h o s e involved in the 26/11 terror attacks have been blocked in the past for "political reasons", enabling them to walk free and organise further cross border assaults against the country

China, has over the years, put on hold proposals submitted by India to the U N S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l t o b l a c k l i s t P a k i s t a n b a s e d t e r r o r i s t s , i n c l u d i n g L a s h k a r e T a i b a l e a d e r H a f i z S a e e d , S h a h i d M a h m o o d , S a j i d M i r , s e n i o r Jaish e Mohammed (JEM) leader Abdul Rauf Azhar and Abdul Rehman Makki under the Al Qaeda Sanctions regime

While the terrorist attacks of 26/11 changed India forever, there were sever a l p e o p l e w h o s e u n m a t c h e d b r a v e r y r e m a i n s a n i n s p i r a t i o n e v e n t o d a y A m o n g s t t h e m , w a s A n t i T e r r o r i s m Squad (ATS) Chief Hemant Karkare, who led from the front and fought bravely till his last breath In 2009, he was posthumously given the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gal l a n t r y d e c o r a t i o n T h e o t h e r b r a v e hearts who made the ultimate sacrifice were encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and senior police officer Ashok Kamte martyred outside the Cama Hospital Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Tukaram Omble singlehandedly nabbed Ajmal Kasab alive despite heavy injuries after being shot multiple times This later exposed Pakistan’s involvement in the heinous act

There were several bravehearts at the Taj hotel, whose courage saved the lives of several guests The GM of Taj

Unnikrishnan defended his fellow com mandos and guests trapped in the Taj H o t e l u n t i l h e w a s s h o t d e a d i n

Operation Black Tornado

Stories of courage emerged from other quarters too, even as many tales of bravery will go unknown! Nanny Sandra

S a m u e l s a v e d 2 y e a r o l d M o s h e

Holtzberg from terrorists who opened fire at the Nariman House that killed many including his parents She was employed as a caretaker at a Jewish out reach centre known as the Nariman House, which was targeted by terrorists

S t a f f n u r s e A n j a l i K u l t h e i n t h e Cama and Albless Hospital for Women and Children, Mumbai saved 20 preg n a n t w o m e n f r o m t e r r o r i s t s t h a t stormed into the hospital As she saw two terrorists, identified later as Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail, storm into the gates of the hospital and kill the guards, she closed the heavy double doors of the a n t e n a t a l c a r e w a r d a n d m o v e d t h e pregnant women along with their fami ly members to a small pantry space, at the far end of the ward She and the doc tors, helped one of the pregnant women to successfully give birth while fighting was going on between police and terror ists

The 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks did not derail the progress of the coun try India has burst upon the global scene after 2008 Earlier in November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accept e d t h e c e r e m o n i a l g a v e l f r o m Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a handover event during the conclusion of the G20 summit in Bali In an article i n ‘ T h e P r i n t ’ d a t e d 2 7 N o v e m b e r , Antara Baruah recalls that G20 compris e s 1 9 c o u n t r i e s a n d t h e E u r o p e a n Union, and that the G20 members rep resent more than 80 percent of world GDP, 75 percent of international trade and 60 percent of the world’s popula tion

I n d i a ’ s G 2 0 p r e s i d e n c y w i l l b e “ i n c l u s i v e , a m b i t i o u s , d e c i s i v e , a n d action oriented”, PM Modi said as he thanked President Widodo at the event He held separate meetings with the leaders of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the U K Speaking at the closing ceremony, PM Modi said, “India is taking charge of the G20 at a time when the world is simultaneously g r a p p l i n g w i t h g e o p o l i t i c a l t e n s i o n s , economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices, and the long term ill effects of the pandemic,” adding that India would give priority to “ women led development” in its G20 agenda, which would be driven by the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future” India’s geographical and cultural diversity will b e s h o w c a s e d d u r i n g t h e y e a r , i n approximately 200 G20 meetings at dif ferent locations across the country

Countries supporting, nurturing or sposonsoring terrorism need to take a leaf out of India’s book India’s confi dent march to development and greater prosperity shows the benefit of a posi tive and focussed agenda

I n c o m p a r i s o n w i t h b e t t e r o f f w o m e n i n t h e UK and women in poverty i n m a n y o t h e r E u r o p e a n countries, they are much more likely to die from the disease

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e s e a r c h b y t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l A g e n c y f o r

Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO’s specialist can cer body, women in the UK from underprivileged back grounds are particularly at risk of dying from cancer of the lungs, liver, bladder and oesophagus (food pipe)

Data from 17 European countries were analysed by I A R C e x p e r t s l e d b y D r Salvatore Vaccarella look i n g f o r s o c i o e c o n o m i c i n e q u a l i t i e s i n m o r t a l i t y rates for 17 different types of cancer between 1990 and 2015

Britain had the sixth worst record for the num ber of poor women dying of cancer, out of the 17 coun tries studied

“ E v e r y w h e r e , l o w e r e d u c a t e d i n d i v i d u a l s s y s t e m a t i c a l l y s u f f e r f r o m higher mortality rates for nearly all cancer types, rela tive to their more highly e d u c a t e d c o u n t e r p a r t s , with a social gradient of i n c r e a s i n g r i s k o f d e a t h w i t h d i m i n i s h i n g e d u c a tion level,” the study con cluded

UK commemorates Mumbai terror attacks

Whil e addr essing a spe ci al e ve n in g a t In d ia Ho use in London to co m mem or ate the 26/11 ter ror ist att acks in Mu mbai, In di an Hi gh Comm issio ner to the UK Vikr am Doraiswami said, "Ever y o ne o f u s remem bers and comm em or ates on t his day t he cou rage, for titude and resil ience of Mum bai and ever y citizen o f t h e w o r l d wh o h as kno wn ter ro r and has had to see it in its face and has

no t b l in k ed b u t h as st ar ed back ”

O n N o v e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 0 8 , I n d i a ’ s f i n a n c i a l c a p i t a l , M u m b a i , c a m e under the brutal attack of terrorists who unleashed 1 2 c o o r d i n a t e d s t r i k e s across parts of the city and claimed 166 innocent lives

P r i t i P a t e l , B r i t i s h I n d i a n C o n s e r v a t i v e Party MP and former UK H o m e S e c r e t a r y s a i d : “There is one strong mes

sage that we must all take away: that terrorism will never win because we will always stand in the face of terrorism and perpe trators of terrorist activi ties That is the one thing that unites us all ”

A P h o t o E x h i b i t i o n curated to capture some o f t h e m o s t p o i g n a n t images from the attacks marked the 14th anniver sary of the attacks at the Indian High Commission in London

Bride dances to 'Sajna', surprises groom

Marijuana eating rats of Mathura!

Mathura police in a submission told the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act court that rats “ate” over 500 kg of marijuana confiscated and stored in the warehouses of Shergarh and Highway police stations. The bizarre claim was made after the court asked the police to produce the marijuana recovered in a case registered under the NDPS Act Hearing this, the additional district judge first ordered SSP Mathura Abhishek Yadav to get rid of the “mice menace” and then deliver proof that rats actually consumed 581kg, to be precise, of marijuana worth Rs 60,00,000. The court has also issued five point directions for the auction/disposal of weed stored in police warehouses On intimation by the court, the Mathura SSP ordered a probe, but the weed was not recovered. Agency)

transactions The photograph the accused had submitted while opening his account with the private bank, where Kapoor also has an account, also matched, he added Police recovered some documents and two mobile phones from Paswan (Agency) Ex boy friend chops girl's body

into pieces

Weddings are an extravagant affair, and many couples plan a surprise for each other on their big day While some may express love through letters, others may have different plans And one such video of a bride surprising a groom by dancing has gone viral on the internet In a video shared by Meghna Kalwani, you can see her dressed in a bright red and silver lehenga As she walks into the wedding, the bride breaks into a dance to the songs 'Sajna' and 'Makhna ' While the bride is dancing, the groom seems to be happy and passes on a wide smile

Since being shared, the video has gone viral One person in the comments wrote, "She looks so elegant and calm Damn, the perfect bride I mean, I like the girl who's the definition of calmness, and the groom is such a vibe to her " (Agency)

Drunk falls into pyre, charred to death

An inebriated man was charred to death when he accidentally fell on a pyre in a cremation ground near Jolarpet in Tirupattur district The man was identified later as Ashok Kumar, 60, an alcoholic, who was abandoned by his family 30 years ago after he was booked in a theft case Police said the man, who was staying in a shed inside the cremation ground, might have come close to the pyre after the relatives of the deceased left the ground and might have accidentally slipped on the pyre (Agency)

Man held for cheating actor Annu Kapoor

Azamgarh police in Uttar Pradesh claimed to have solved the mystery behind the brutal killing of a woman, whose dismembered body was recovered from a well of Pashchim Patti village of the district by arresting her former boyfriend Police said Prince Yadav (24) strangled Aradhana Prajapati (22) with the help of his cousin, Sarvesh, and hacked her body into pieces before dumping them into a well on November 10 Her head was disposed of six km away Police say the two were in a relationship and Prince got upset after Aradhana’s family married her off to another man in February Prince’s parents and other relatives, including two maternal uncles, aunts, cousin brother and sister have been made accused in the case for hatching conspiracy and sheltering the two alleged killers All of them are absconding and police have announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 on Sarvesh (Agency)

Army jawan loses legs after TTE throws him out of train

police said The man was identified as Balasubramanian Following his death, the woman, fearing that she could be implicated for murder, called her husband and brother for help According to the police, the trio then wrapped the body in a plastic bag before dumping it in JP Nagar Call records of the man proved that he had visited the domestic help at her home several times in the past According to his family members, he had undergone an angiogram recently On the day of the incident, he left home, saying he had some personal work, his family said (Agency)

Miffed over land compensation, man blows up rail track

The investigation revealed that a 32 year old man nursing a grudge against the railways and a mining company was allegedly behind the explosion on the Udaipur Ahmedabad rail route last week He was agitated as his family was not compensated against 70 bigha of acquired ancestral land Investigators claimed to have cracked the case after detaining Dhool Chand Meena, a resident of Eklingpura, 18 year old fellow suspect Prakash Meena and another boy aged 17 The police later took into custody a fourth suspect identified as Ankush Suvalka for allegedly selling the explosives used in the blast Additional DGP Ashok Rathod said Dhool Chand and his alleged accomplices planted the explosives on the Odha rail bridge around 35km from Udaipur after the newly introduced Udaipur Asarwa Intercity Express passed that stretch (Agency)

Atheist wants identity neutral name

No power lines, but UP villagers get Rs 60,000 bills

People of 12 villages in Jhinjhana region of Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh recently started getting electricity bills of up to Rs 30,000 60,000 each though power connection has not been given to them The rude shock has now left these poor people angry, and they don’t know what to do or whom to approach

According to reports, electricity meters were first installed in their houses a few years ago, after power department officials assured them that they would get electricity connections and the power meters for free The promised power supply never came Now the "senseless power bills” have left them worried These remote villages are populated mainly by the Bawaria tribe Successive governments have been trying to bring the backward Bawaria society into the “mainstream” (Agency)

Parents kill Delhi student for ‘pride’

Two days after the body of a young

A 28 year old man has been arrested from Mumbai, almost two months after he allegedly cheated Bollywood actor Annu Kapoor of Rs 436,000 under the pretext of updating his bank KYC details, police said The accused, Ashish Paswan, was arrested He is a native of Darbhanga in Bihar Paswan earns commission by helping people open bank accounts, an official said A special team identified Paswan through technical evidence, his mobile phone number and the details of online

A 29 year old Army jawan, Sonu Kumar Singh, lost both his legs and is battling for life at a military hospital after he was allegedly pushed off the Rajdhani express by a TTE at Bareilly station recently He is yet to regain consciousness and is “critical”, doctors said The incident took place when the Dibrugarh New Delhi Rajdhani Express was leaving the station following a stopover Sonu, a resident of Balia district, boarded the train in Bareilly and was on his way to Delhi, where he is currently posted An FIR has been registered against the TTE Desh Raj, a station vendor who witnessed the incident, said, “I was selling tea when I saw a man trying to board the train The TTE, however, blocked the door and pushed him out The man fell straight down between the moving train and the platform (Agency)

Man dies during sex with domestic help

The body of a 67 year old Bengaluru based businessman, who reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest and died while having sex with his domestic help, was found at an isolated place in the city,

This Ahmedabad based autorickshaw driver has run into several bureaucratic dead ends in his quest to change his name from Rajveer (Brave King) to ‘RV155677820’, a moniker that smothers all signs of caste and religion But now he plans to give his ideology a free run by contesting in the Gujarat assembly poll as an independent candidate from Gandhinagar South He said his political plank will be shorn of all community labels, which political parties value greatly in their ‘winnability’ appraisal In May 2015, Rajveer who calls himself RV155677820 had filed pleas with the Ahmedabad district collectorate and the gazette office in Rajkot to have his name changed By 2017, both his petitions were rejected He approached the Gujarat high court in 2019 and the case is pending Recently, this 38 year old resident of Chandkheda filed his nomination to stand in the election from Gandhinagar South Rajveer, a self professed atheist and a student of clinical psychology, is mentally prepared for a legal battle before the electoral clash In his affidavit filed with the Election Commission, he has not mentioned his caste, community, or religion (Times of India)

woman, identified as Aayushi Chaudhary, was found inside a red trolley bag on the service lane near Yamuna expressway in Mathura, police arrested her father Nitesh Kumar Yadav, 49, and mother Brajbala, 45, for the murder Officiating SSP (Mathura) Martand P Singh said, “The 21 year old, who was pursuing bachelors in computer applications from a private college in Delhi, was living with her family in Modband area of southeast Delhi On November 17, she had an altercation with her parents over her marriage with a man her father disapproved of Subsequently, she was beaten and shot twice in the chest with a licensed revolver by her father ” The police sad, “the parents kept the body hidden in their house for a day The next morning, they stuffed the body in a suitcase, loaded it in their car and then dumped it near the expressway After the girl’s body was recovered, 14 police teams were deployed to identify the body ” An unknown caller informed police about the identity of the body When police interrogated the parents, they gave contradictory which led to their arrest Later, during interrogation, Nitesh broke down and confessed that he was forced to kill Aayushi for the sake of family pride as she married a man from another caste, without telling her family (Agency)

Honorary Professorship for Leicestershire Philanthropist and Business Leader

DL H e h a s b e e n a p p o i n t e d P r o f e s s o r o f E n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p , Innovation & Philanthropy for the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, some 35 years after he completed his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry

Dr Kotecha has become a well k n o w n e n t r e p r e n e u r , h a v i n g f o u n d e d L o u g h b o r o u g h b a s e d Morningside Pharmaceuticals in 1 9 9 1 , w h i c h h e d i v e s t e d o f i n October this year In 2017 he estab lished his own charitable founda t i o n , t h e R a n d a l C h a r i t a b l e Foundation, which has an aspira tion to directly save 1 million lives in the UK and globally

Dr Kotecha, who is also a Pro Chancellor at DMU, said: “I was carefully considering a career in academia after university, and with 3 0 y e a r s i n b u s i n e s s i n s t e a d , I never thought I would be receiving the title of ‘Professor’

For Dr Kotecha the honorary professorship is particularly special b e c a u s e h i s f a m i l y c a m e t o Leicester 50 years ago as refugees, when he was a child, after the Ugandan Asian community were expelled by the Dictator Idi Amin

Talking about his ambition to share his own experiences, in the hopes of inspiring the next genera tion of entrepreneurs, Dr Kotecha s a i d : “ E d u c a t i o n o p e n e d m a n y d o o r s a n d g a v e m e i m p o r t a n t chances in life I would be hum bled if today’s students would see my story as an inspiration to raise

their aspirations and follow their own dreams It takes passion, com mitment, hard work; but can be achieved by anyone who has the will and a positive attitude ”

This experience as a regional and national leader in the business world includes being Chair of the East Midlands CBI, a Department f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r a d e E x p o r t Champion; and a Board Member for the Midlands Engine Council, the Centre for Social Justice, the B r i t i s h A s i a n T r u s t a n d t h e L e i c e s t e r a n d L e i c e s t e r s h i r e Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) Congratulating Dr Kotecha on h i s a p p o i n t m e n t , P r o V i c e C h a n c e l l o r a n d D e a n o f t h e F a c u l t y o f H e a l t h a n d L i f e S c i e n c e s , S i m o n O l d r o y d , s a i d : “DMU is so proud to welcome Dr K o t e c h a a s a P r o f e s s o r o f Entrepreneurship, Innovation and P h i l a n t h r o p y H e i s o n e o f Leicestershire’s great business suc cess stories and he has helped mil lions around the globe ”

Doctor takes her own life

A Birmi ng ham Que en Eli za be th H osp ita l d oct or who fe lt 'be lit t led' a t work a nd endure d a fam i ly be rea veme nt trag ically took h er own li fe , an i nquest f ound M u c h l o v e d a nd g i f t e d D r V a i shn av i K um a r ' str u gg le d t o c o p e ' wi t h wo r k s t r e ss e s a n d o ften r eturned ho me cryi ng

The 35 year old junior doc tor, known as Vaish, who previ ously told how the Covid pan demic had "taken its toll", took a l e t h a l c o c k t a i l o f m e d i c a t i o n before waiting more than three hours to call for an ambulance By the time she arrived at City H o s p i t a l s h e w a s c r i t i c a l l y i l l

D e s p i t e r e s u s c i t a t i o n a t t e m p t s over 90 minutes and a bid to reverse the effects of the over dose, she sadly passed away, just after 7am on June 22 Her father Ravi Kumar, who is also a doctor, t o l d B i r m i n g h a m C o r o n e r ' s Court on November 28, that her d a u g h t e r f e l t t h e Q E w a s a " h y p e r c r i t i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t t o work in "

G i v i n g e v i d e n c e a t t h e inquest, he said: "She used to say it was a very hypercritical place They used to pick up small little things Belittle and be a bit con descending in the way they used to behave there

Fatal stabbings of two 16-year-old boys in London interconnected police

T he Met Po lice confirmed that the fatal stabbings of two 16 year old boys wh o were attacked ju st a m ile ap art in so uth east L o nd on are linked

Officers received a call at about 17:10 GMT on Saturday about peo p l e w h o h a d b e e n i n j u r e d o n Sewell Road, Abbey Wood, and Titmuss Avenue in Thamesmead Police and medics attended, h o w e v e r , b o t h b o y s w e r e p r o nounced dead and a murder inves tigation was launched

T h e b o y s h a v e b e e n n a m e d K e a r n e S o l a n k e a n d C h a r l i e B a r t o l o N o a r r e s t s h a v e b e e n made so far

Speaking at one of the crime s c e n e s , D e t S u p t R i c h a r d

McDonagh, said: "Homicide col leagues are investigating and are treating the two murders as linked

"I can assure everybody affect ed by these murders that skilled detectives will work tirelessly to discover what happened and pro vide answers to the young victims and families "

He added: "Officers are espe cially keen to hear from anyone w h o m i g h t h a v e s e e n a d a r k coloured SUV or 4x4 type with dis tinctive silver roof bars in the areas around Sewell Road or Titmuss Avenue in the days prior to the murders

We have already heard from a number of witnesses and I m grate ful to them "

NHS abdominal and urological cancer symptoms campaign

A n N HS c am p ai g n bac k ed b y South Asian healthcare profession als i s en co u ra g i ng p eo p le w i th p o ten ti al c an ce r sy m p to m s to co m e f o rw a rd fo r l i fe s av in g ch ecks

Despite abdominal and urolog ical cancers making up nearly half of all cancer diagnoses in England, as well as two in five cancer deaths, new data reveals that most South Asians are less likely to recognise c a n c e r s y m p t o m s , w h i c h c o u l d prevent them from seeking help

Cancers in the abdominal area include bowel, oesophageal, stom ach, pancreatic, ovarian and uter ine cancers, while urological can cers include prostate, kid ney, and bladder cancers

Even when symptoms such as persistent tummy troubles or diarrhoea are r e c o g n i s e d , m o r e t h a n half of the South Asians surveyed said they would put off going to see their d o c t o r d u e t o f e e l i n g e m b a r r a s s e d H o w e v e r , loved ones may play a cru cial role to change this, as over 50% of South Asians were more likely to talk to their family and friends f i r s t i f t h e y w e r e c o n c e r n e d a b o u t p o s s i b l e cancer symptoms

“There is clearly a lot o f w o r k t o b e d o n e i n South Asian communities to increase awareness of c a n c e r s y m p t o m s , ” s a y s Dr Anant Sachdev, CRUK GP and TVCA Clinical Lead Prevention & Early Diagnosis, who is backing the c a m p a i g n “ I f y o u n o t i c e y o u r l o v e d o n e s e x p e r i e n c i n g t h e s e

symptoms, please urge them to contact their GP immediately and get c h e c k e d o u t r i g h t away ”

T h e d a t a b y Censuswide found that awareness of a range of potential cancer symp toms was in each case considerably low among South Asians (42% on average), including: u Feeling bloated for three weeks or more (44 % unaware) u N e e d i n g t o p e e u r g e n t l y ( 4 3 %

unaware)

u Diarrhoea for more than three weeks ( 40% unaw are)

In addition, respondents were asked about bladder and bowel

cancer specifically u Blood in pee or stools as symptoms of b l a d d e r a n d b o w e l cancers (4 3% unaware for bo th)

Most South Asians ( 8 1 % ) h o w e v e r d i d recognise tummy dis comfort as a possible symptom of urological a n d a b d o m i n a l c a n cers

T h e ' H e l p U s , H e l p Y o u ’ c a m p a i g n c o m e s a s r e s e a r c h s h o w s m a n y S o u t h Asians are conscious of wasting their doc tor’s time

T o a d d r e s s t h i s , S o u t h A s i a n h e a l t h care professionals are coming together to back the cam paign and to let the community know that the NHS is open and that people can access the health services they need when they need them

100 UK firms back 4 day work week

A group camp aig ning for a four day working week announced that 100 U K com panies have sig ned up for the sch em e, wh ich w ill enable em p l o yee s to w o rk f o u r d a ys instead of the traditional fiv e with out im pacting their pay

A g l o b a l P i l o t P r o g r a m m e being run by the group until next month aims at measuring the pro ductivity and well being of staff over six months as they work one day less on the understanding of

delivering similar results

"The 4 Day Week Campaign offers accreditation to UK employ ers who have moved all of their employees to a four day working week, with no loss of pay, ” the group said

"In order to achieve four day w e e k a c c r e d i t a t i o n , e m p l o y e r s m u s t b e a b l e t o c o n f i r m t h e i r o r g a n i s a t i o n h a s p e r m a n e n t l y reduced its full time hours, with n o l o s s o f p a y f o r w o r k e r s , t o

either: a 32 hour or less four day week (gold standard) or a 35 hour or less four day week (silver stan dard),” it said

T h e g r o u p s o n g o i n g p i l o t scheme of its kind involves aca d e m i c s f r o m O x f o r d a n d Cambridge universities, as well as experts at Boston College in the US as they coordinate the experiment in partnership with the think tank A u t o n o m y A n d n o t f o r p r o f i t coalition 4 Day Week Global

Minister Anne Marie Trevelyan reaffirms UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific

U K M i n is te r fo r th e I nd o P a ci f ic A nn e M ar ie T rev ely an re af fi rm e d t h e U K ’ s co m m i tm en t to Australia and the wider regio n at Australia’s National Press Club in Canberra

"The article asked if the UK would have the “strategic bandwidth” to focus on the Indo Pacific, in light of our immense support for Ukraine It is a fair challenge And one that I want to address head on

"As the UK’s newly appointed Minister for the Indo Pacific, my answer is that we cannot afford to do anything other than focus on this region "

She said it is home to half the world’s people and half of the projected global growth It will have a huge hand to play in the global economy for decades and centuries to come, especially through rules setting alliances such as the Comprehensive a n d P r o g r e s s i v e A g r e e m e n t f o r T r a n s P a c i f i c

Partnership (CPTPP) It is a glittering hub of inno vation, full of natural partners for British scien tists, researchers and tech developers "With the right policies and support, the high

growth economies of the Indo Pacific can help lead the world to net zero And with 60% of global shipping passing through the region security and stability here, has a direct impact on British homes and on British businesses", she added

wed by De M ontfort

Nik Kotecha OBE

Elimination of Violence Against Women, the ‘Enough’ campaign

The 'Enough’ campaign shares four sim ple ways to help people safely intervene that c a n b e r e m e m b e r e d u s i n g t h e S T O P mnemonic

Say someth ing

You can show your disapproval at what is going on, for example saying 'I don’t think that’s funny' or you could be more direct, if you feel it’s safe to do so, by saying it’s unacceptable and tell them to stop

Tell som eone

You could tell someone in charge, like Human Resources (HR) if you ’ re at work, or the train guard or bus driver if you ’ re on public transport You could also tell another member of the public or a passer by and see if they’re willing to help working together can be a safer, more effective way to intervene

Offer suppo rt

Saloni shines with her new video for women empowerment

U K based Ind o British artist Saloni Boyina released h er latest p op leaning bi li ngu al single “Chali M ein'' that she w rote as an anthem for wom en's em powerm ent Over the years, she has performed across the U K s u p p o rti n g le g en d s su c h a s S P B ala su b ra m an yam , K S C h i tra a nd U K artists Arjun, Tasha Tah, A pach e Indian and m o r e In fl u enc e d b y C arn at ic m u si c , Bharatanatyam, and g eneral Bollywoo d, and Tollyw ood music, her songs hav e been a m ix of eastern and w estern sound s rep resenting herself

“Chali Mein'' is a manifesto for all South Asian women It’s a party track for every o c c a s i o n w i t h e m p o w e r i n g l y r i c s a n d a

memorable chorus I speak on the need for us women to break barriers together, moti vate one another and embrace the power of our femininity It is a bi lingual track featur ing a catchy Hindi chorus as I embrace my roots With a current sound, uplifting pro duction, and an infectious beat, “Chali Mein'' sets the tone for the perfect dancefloor hit,” she said

She is on a mission to popularise Telugu within the western music scene and wants to sing in 10 different South Asian languages

“I hope my listeners can resonate with my music and I want to show the rest of the world the beauty of my culture through my eastern western influenced music ”

Sikh Women’s Aid launches “From Her Kings are Born 2022” campaign

“When abuse towards women and girls goes unchecked, it becomes normalised, and we all have a role to play to stop this Women f r o m t h e S o u t h A s i a n c o m m u n i t y already face a number of barriers and c h a l l e n g e s s e e k i n g s u p p o r t T h e ‘Enough’ campaign is shining a light on the different forms of abuse and how small acts of recognition and support can help prevent this from happening ” Malika victim of co ntrolling o r coer cive behaviou r

“I was in an abusive marriage, my partner controlled every aspect of my l i f e I w a s s o l o n e l y a n d f e l t t o o ashamed to speak to anyone about it, not even my family A friend of mine s h a r e d s o m e i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h m e about domestic abuse and that helped me to see that what my partner was doing was wrong I am so glad she stepped in

Whilst most people recognise that intervening to stop violence against women and girls is important, some people worry about putting themselves at risk or making the situation worse However, witnesses can play a powerful role in stopping abuse from taking place and intervening doesn’t have to be dramatic or confrontational

It’s important to remember that it might not be safe to intervene in the moment and if you think someone is in immediate danger you can call 999 to report to the police

You can ask the victim if they’re OK You could capture what’s happen ing on your phone and ask if they want the footage to report the incident, and you could offer to help report it You could also help others already giving support If it’s someone you know, check in with them when they are alone and offer to help them to report it if they want If you think they might be in an abusive relation ship, you can call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free and confidential advice

On da y 1 of 16 Day s of Activism a gainst Gen der Based Viole nce is an ann ua l cam paign, UK ba se d Award Win ning ‘b y & for ’ support service for v ictims of domestic a nd s e x ua l v i ol e n ce in t h e S ik h & Pa n j a b i Co mmuni ty , Sik h Wom en 's A id l au nche d “From Her , Kings are Born 2022 ” to e vidence the impact a nd preva lence of domestic a nd s e x ua l a b us e i n t h e U K S i k h Pa n j a b i

Community

For the very first time, within their sur vey, they translated 15 forms of abuse into Panjabi/Gurmukhi Many of the respondents commented that they were unaware of what was happening to them S o f o r t h e s e # 1 6 d a y s o f a c t i v i s m , S i k h Women’s Aid has decided to give Sikh Panjabi women & children the words they need to understand what may be happening to them For each day, they will be sharing translations of 25 forms of abuse which will be available to download at the end of the 16 days

According to their survey, 56% of the respondents confirmed they've suffered from physical abuse To help such people, Sikh

Women Aid has insisted on calling on their helpline number, i e 0333 090 1220

32% of the respondents confirmed of experiencing sexual abuse Of those that said yes, 62% said they were underage when the abuse first started

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e C r i m e S u r v e y f o r England and Wales (CSEW), 7 5% of adults aged 18 to 74 years experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16 years (3 1 million people); this includes both adult and child perpetra tors

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence is an annual campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against W o m e n , a n d r u n s t h r o u g h I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Human Rights Day on 10 December

Led by civil society, the campaign is sup ported by the United Nations through the Secretary General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative This year, the UN marks the 16 Days under the theme “UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women and girls”

Labour asks government to commit police response for domestic abuses

Prov ide a d iversion

Sometimes what's best in the moment is creating a distraction, giving the person being targeted a chance to move away or giv ing others the opportunity to get help You could strike up a conversation with the vic tim, e g ask for directions, or where the next stop is on the bus, or pretend you know them

For more information, visit http://www gov uk/enough

W om en a r e b ei n g i gn o r ed b y t he po l ic e “today and eve ry day ” when they cal l to re por t domestic a buse, Labour has warn ed Shadow Home Office minist er Jess Phil lips call ed on the Governmen t t o commit that eve ry singl e domestic ab use incident will receive a police re sponse

A s k i n g a n u r g e n t q u e s t i o n i n t h e Commons following the end of an inquest about the murder of two women in Solihull in 2018, Ms Phillips said: “Since this case in 2018, far from improving, domestic abuse incidents have risen and prosecutions have fallen The Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) s a i d W e s t M i d l a n d s P o l i c e ( W M P ) l e t chances to “take positive action” slip for

Khaola Saleem, 49, and her daughter Raneem Oudeh, 22, in the months before they were stabbed to death by Ms Oudeh’s ex partner on August 27 2018

Following the conclusion of a three week i n q u e s t i n t o t h e i r d e a t h s o n F r i d a y , t h e watchdog said they had served nine officers with misconduct notices and found a case to answer for five, who all received management action The other four were found to have no case to answer although it was agreed one should receive additional training

Janbaz Tarin, who was 21 at the time of the attack on Northdown Road, Solihull, was jailed for life in December 2018 with a mini mum term of 32 years

£15 million funding boost for women who are victims of violence

tic abuse, and improve refer ral pathways for victims to access support services

T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t comes on the International D a y f o r E l i m i n a t i o n o f V i o l e n c e A g a i n s t W o m e n and Girls, which the Home Secretary marked yesterday (24 November) with a visit to Refuge, to see first hand the support needed for domestic abuse and sexual assault victims to rebuild their lives

through the Government Call for Evidence on Violence Against Women and Girls, the g o v e r n m e n t c o m m i t t e d t h r o u g h t h e T a c k l i n g V A W G S t r a t e g y a n d T a c k l i n g

Domestic Abuse Plan to ensure the provision of tailored victim support This highlighted the importance of ‘by and for’ services, as well as trauma informed provision and other victim support which is tailored to specific forms of VAWG

T h e D o m e s t i c A b u s e C o m m i s s i o n e r , Nicole Jacobs said:

In addition, in recognition of the impor tant role healthcare workers play in identify ing domestic abuse and signposting victims to support, the government is also investing up to £7 5 million of funding for domestic abuse interventions in healthcare settings This funding will aim to equip more health care professionals with the right tools to be able to better identify and respond to domes

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: It is paramount that victims of insidious crimes like domestic abuse and sexual assault receive the support they need to rebuild their lives, and we know that those with other vul nerabilities need dedicated support

This funding comes in addition to an incredibly wide range of work across the board to ensure victims are supported and criminals are brought to justice

A f t e r c o n s u l t i n g t h e p u b l i c i n 2 0 2 0

We know these services have been woe fully underfunded, so I am delighted to see this additional money being made available f o r ‘ b y a n d f o r ’ o r g a n i s a t i o n s D o m e s t i c abuse survivors tell us that getting support from their own community is the most effec tive way to help them recover and rebuild their lives

As part of its commitment to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls, the Home Office is also granting an addi tional £70,000 of funding for rapid forensic

testing of samples from reported incidents of drink and needle spiking

T h i s i s p a r t o f o u r s u p p o r t f o r t h e

National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work to determine the nature and scale of spiking

The funding will cover testing of additional urine samples taken by the police, to allow us to build on our understanding of spiking, including improving geographical data on what substances are used and where

These are some of the many measures the government has taken to support vic tims, bring perpetrators to justice and pro tect women and girls across the country Last month the ‘Enough’ campaign to tackle vio l e n c e a g a i n s t w o m e n a n d g i r l s , w a s launched This gives bystanders safe ways to intervene if they witness an incident of vio lence against women and girls, ranging from s e x u a l h a r a s s m e n t o n t h e s t r e e t , p u b l i c transport or at work, to unwanted touching, sharing intimate images of someone without their consent and coercive control in a rela tionship

T h e U N’ s In ter na ti o nal D a y fo r th e E lim in ati on of Vi olence Ag ai nst Wo men coincides with the UK gov ernm ent’s second p hase o f its ‘Enough ’ campaign The cam p aig n is encouraging p eop le to take sim ple step s to safely take actio n when th ey see dif ferent types o f h arassment or abuse

Polly Harrar Founder o f the S haran Project a U K based charity p rov iding suppo rt and adv ice to v ulnerable women, particu larly o f outh Asian origin

Exclusive roundtable meeting of CFI

s t i t u e n t s w e r e s t r u g g l i n g t o s e c u r e v i s a s a n d c a l l e d f o r t h e return of e visas The H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r p r o m i s e d t o a d d r e s s c o n c e r n s a n d w o u l d revert back

CF India took the l e a d i n h o s t i n g t h e m e e t i n g t o u p d a t e P a r l i a m e n t a r i a n s o n t h e p r o s p e c t s o f a l o o m i n g F r e e T r a d e A g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n the UK and India

T h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r t o o k t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o b r i e f M P s a b o u t t h e f u t u r e o f U K India relations, as well as an update on the geo political s i t u a t i o n , c l i m a t e c h a n g e and economic growth

A particular issue raised by MPs was the process of s e c u r i n g v i s a s M P s m e n t i o n e d t h a t m a n y c o n

T h e H i g h Commissioner congratulat ed Conservative Friends of India on the role they played i n s t r e n g t h e n i n g b i l a t e r a l links between the UK and India

CF India is currently the largest affiliate group of the Party chaired by Ameet Jogia M B E a n d R e e n a R a n g e r OBE

Renters facing homelessness

P ro perty hunters trying to rent fear being made hom e less because soaring com pe tition among tenants is leav ing so many at risk of losing o ut

Prospective renters are often finding viewings can c e l l e d a t s h o r t n o t i c e b e c a u s e t h e p r o p e r t y h a s already been let to someone else, leaving them back at square one for months at a time

Others are being forced o u t w h e n t h e i r r e n t s increase to unaffordable lev els The gap between avail a b l e r e n t a l h o m e s a n d demand has widened this year, partly because rising i n t e r e s t r a t e s h a v e m a d e buyers postpone house pur c h a s e s , r e n t i n g i n s t e a d

while they bide their time At the same time landlords h a v e p u t u p r e n t s i n response to soaring infla tion

P r o p e r t y w e b s i t e R i g h t m o v e r e v e a l e d t h a t numbers of people seeking homes to rent were 23 per cent higher in October than the same month last year Demand from prospective t e n a n t s n a t i o n a l l y h a s increased every month since M a y 2 0 2 0 , t h e R o y a l I n s t i t u t i o n o f C h a r t e r e d S u r v e y o r s s a y s B u t t h e r e w e r e 2 6 p e r c e n t f e w e r homes available to rent in J u l y S e p t e m b e r t h a n t h e p r e p a n d e m i c a v e r a g e , according to Rightmove In L o n d o n t h e s h o r t f a l l w a s even greater, at 30 per cent

9000 restaurants at risk of closure

C urry restaurants are sh ut ting in dro ves as rocketing costs go throu gh the roof

Britain is facing a kor m a g e d d o n w i t h c l o s u r e s threatening to reach one a day One in four has gone under since 2007 and the remaining 9,000 are fight i n g t o k e e p t h e i r h e a d s above water during the cost of living crisis

Yadav Bhandari, owner o f t h e E v e r e s t I n n , i n B l a c k h e a t h , S o u t h E a s t London, said: “The price of everything is going up The cost of creating dishes has skyrocketed ” Energy, ingre d i e n t s a n d l a b o u r a r e a l l c o s t i n g f a r m o r e C u r r y houses are feeling the heat and may soon close at the

rate of one a day, an expert fears Restaurants are devas t a t e d b y s o a r i n g e n e r g y , labour and ingredient costs

And Britain’s favourite dish, c h i c k e n t i k k a m a s a l a , i s under threat as many busi n e s s e s p u t u p t h e c l o s e d sign

Jeffrey Ali, whose family founded the British Curry Awards, said 3,000 restau rants have closed since 2007 a q u a r t e r o f a l l c u r r y restaurants and takeaways

T h e 9 , 0 0 0 s t i l l o p e n , which contribute £3 6billion to the economy, are in peril Mr Ali said curry has com paratively high labour and i n g r e d i e n t c o s t s a n d “ t h e industry desperately needs support”

Together UK

Foundation, a new organisation launches in London

Sangeeta Waldron, Founder of Serendipity PR & Board Trustee at Together UK Foundation

O n 2 3 N o v e m b e r , T o g e t h e r U K F o u n d a t i o n f o u n d e d b y f o r m e r F i r s t M i n i s t e r o f N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d B a r o n e s s A r l e n e F o s t e r P C , l a u n c h e d i n London at a private event, to a packed room of who’s who from the world of poli tics, business, and media The evening was attended b y M i n i s t e r o f S t a t e f o r N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d S t e v e B a k e r M P , t h e I n d i a n D e p u t y H i g h Commissioner, the Deputy Ambassador of Israel to the UK, and dignitaries from a c r o s s t h e p o l i t i c a l s p e c trum

The Foundation was set up to with the purpose to p r o a c t i v e l y i n f o r m a n d engage debate on the bene fits for all constituent parts of the United Kingdom to remain together, and it is important to stress that we are inclusive of all cultural and political backgrounds within the UK, with the aim to provide a unifying voice

that is informed, indepen dent and factually based

We had different speak

e r s o n t h e n i g h t , w h i c h i n c l u d e d B a r r i s t e r R a v i Nayer, Minister of State for N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d S t e v e Baker MP, and a particular ly rousing speech from Neil Lal, Chair and President of t h e I n d i a n C o u n c i l o f Scotland Neil has recently been voted the fifth most powerful British Indian in the UK and talked passion ately about why keeping the UK together was critical

The Foundation is a not for profit and is non party political, and I am proud to s a y w e a r e a n a l l f e m a l e board of trustees, which is a r a r i t y a n d c o m p r i s e s o f Baroness Foster as chair, S h e i l a D a v i d s o n , A l i s o n Rankin Frost and Melanie Hampton, Farrah Sassoon, and myself, with Patrons Lady Jane Grosvenor and Jeff Edwards MBE In her speech on the

n i g h t , B a r o n e s s F o s t e r e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e F o u n d a t i o n w a n t s t o engage with the public in every part of the UK and o f f e r i d e a s f o r o u r b e s t future such as how do we tackle the common prob lem of low productivity and how we deepen relation ships with a rising econom i c s u p e r p o w e r s u c h a s India

B a r o n e s s F o s t e r a l s o made a special mention of CB Patel and gave thanks for his support and recog nised the influential work of Asian Voice

W e a t T o g e t h e r U K Foundation want to engage with everyone and you can find out more about us by v i s i t i n g o u r w e b s i t e a t w w w t o g e t h e r u k f o u n d a tion com

The PM faces growing rebellion over onshore wind

Rishi S unak is facing a g row ing rebellion ov er onshore wind after form er C abinet minister A lok Sh arma joined Boris Jo hnso n and Liz Tru ss in opp osing the ban Mr Sharma, who was the president of the Cop26 cli m a t e s u m m i t , b a c k e d a n amendment to Government legislation in an attempt to lift the moratorium on new

o n s h o r e w i n d f a r m s H i s support takes former level l i n g u p s e c r e t a r y S i m o n Clarke’s amendment to the Levelling Up Bill to having t h e p u b l i c b a c k i n g o f 2 2 Tory MPs Mr Sharma said h e s u p p o r t s l e t t i n g “ l o c a l communities decide”, back i n g r e s i d e n t s b e i n g g i v e n r e d u c e d e n e r g y b i l l s i n exchange for their support

of new developments

Onshore wind is one of t h e c h e a p e s t f o r m s o f renewable power and will h e l p t o b o l s t e r t h e U K ’ s e n e r g y s e c u r i t y , ” S h a r m a t w e e t e d T h e P r i m e Minister is facing a major challenge over planning pol i c y f r o m w i t h i n t h e Conservative Party on mul tiple fronts He was forced

to pull a vote on the legisla tion that would set a target of building 300,000 homes per year when around 50 T o r y M P s t h r e a t e n e d t o rebel

Mr Johnson did not seek t o o v e r t u r n t h e e f f e c t i v e m o r a t o r i u m o n n e w onshore wind projects, in place since 2015, during his time as prime minister

Nepali student wrongly detained, loses uni place

An i n t e r n a ti o n a l s tu d en t who f lew to the UK to take up a uni ve rs ity sc holarshi p was deta ined at the borde r and held in cus tody for 12 days after bei ng un able to answ er detai led ques tions about his course

S u l a v K h a d k a s a i d h e felt as though he had been “treated like a criminal” by Border Force officers who accused him of being a fake student after he landed at M a n c h e s t e r a i r p o r t i n October The 23 year old, f r o m N e p a l , h a d a v a l i d

visa, proof of his university place and paperwork show ing he had paid his first year ’ s fees in full But, on arrival in the UK, he was i n t e r r o g a t e d a b o u t i n t r i cate details of his course, i n c l u d i n g b e i n g a s k e d t o list the titles of the six mod ules he would be studying

After a 16 hour journey and having not yet started the degree, he could name only two He was also asked the name of the exam body that would award his quali fication but did not know

That and the fact a letter f r o m h i s b a n k i n N e p a l contained a spelling error led Border Force officers to conclude that he was seek ing to evade immigration controls, was not really a student and that he had “ l i t t l e i n t e r e s t ” i n h i s course, according to docu ments

The experience of being detained, threatened with d e p o r t a t i o n a n d b l o c k e d from his studies has been t r a u m a t i s i n g f o r K h a d k a , who was to be the first in

his family to study abroad He says he cried each night in detention while waiting to learn of his fate

For him, the offer of a place studying hospitality and tourism at York St John University was an opportu nity to transform his fami ly’s future He had hoped to return to Nepal to work in t h e c o u n t r y ’ s g r o w i n g tourism industry after com pleting the £13,000 a year course, for which he had received a partial scholar ship

UK’s most vulnerable at the risk of collapse

For s everal years now, as au s t e ri ty s u c k e d b i l li o n s out of soci al care, the hi ghly speciali sed UK social care system for adults wi th com pl e x ph y s i c al d i s a b i l i t y , le a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t y a n d au t i s m h a s b e e n q u i e t ly held together by the benev olenc e of chariti es

Charities and not for p r o f i t f i r m s h a v e p o u r e d m i l l i o n s o f p o u n d s o f reserves into propping up t h e s u p p o s e d l y t a x p a y e r funded services they pro

v i d e u n d e r c o n t r a c t t o councils and the NHS That subsidy seemed sustainable when inflation was low and subbing underfunded pub lic services did not put the c h a r i t y ’ s o w n s u r v i v a l a t risk This year, as the cost o f l i v i n g c r i s i s e x p l o d e d , w a g e s a n d e n e r g y p r i c e s soared and the social care s t a f f i n g c r i s i s w o r s e n e d , many of those charities at risk themselves of becom ing unviable have realised they can no longer afford to

run at a loss The system, as Mencap argues, is “broken” and it is not clear when or how it will be fixed

P r i v a t e p r o v i d e r s w o u l d b a u l k a t s u c h u n p r o m i s i n g f i n a n c i a l pickings, yet charities in the sector say they stay in the market to protect the people they serve: highly vulnerable individuals who thrive on stable relation ships with skilled, trusted, e x p e r i e n c e d c a r e r s , w h o know the people they care

for inside out

Cutting back on care f u n d i n g , a l o n g w i t h t h e bare minimum service that results once charities and their subsidies disappear, d i s r u p t s t h o s e r e l a t i o n ships and offers a dismal p r o s p e c t u s f o r s e r v i c e users “It would be a case of: washed, fed, dressed, stick people in front of the TV Is that the quality of life anyone would want?,” s a i d M e n c a p ’ s J a c k i e

T h e Hi g h C o m m i s si o ner of I nd i a, H E V i k ram D o rai s w am i add ressed Conservativ e M Ps in P arliament last w e ek in an ex cl us i v e r o u nd t abl e m ee ti ng h e ad e d by th e

C onservative Friends of India

ICAI UK Chapter commemorates Diwali

tion exchange agreements etc She requested Narayan to speak a few words about HCI’s current initiatives in the UK

grammes including poetry, solo dance and group dance a n d d e l i c i o u s l y a m a z i n g food

Hindustani Music Festival

Last weekend, the Bhavan’s res i d ent Hi nd u st ani v o ca l te ac h er S m t C h a nd r i m a M i s ra p re se nte d h e r s tu dents w ith a dazzling disp lay of talent In this two day f es ti v al c o nc ei v e d an d organised by her, we w ere treated to solos, duets, and group perform ances by her stu dents

f r o m d a w n t o n i g h t a n d c o m i n g b a c k f u l l c i r c l e , b e f i t t i n g e n d i n g w i t h a morning raga again

The second evening was aptly titled ‘Evening Ragas’ and took the audience on a j o u r n e y t h r o u g h m e l o d i e s

at The Bhavan

The second part of the

Over 100 members gath e r e d l i g h t e n i n g , g o r g e o u s stunning attires, and a flow e r r a n g o l i b y C A J a l p a Bhadrecha filled the envi ronment with enthusiasm

Among the dignitaries, t h e U K I C A I C h a p t e r marked the first ever repre s e n t a t i o n f r o m t h e H i g h Commission of India repre s e n t e d b y S h r i L a k s h m i N a r a y a n a n R F i r s t S e c r e t a r y o f I n c o m e T a x Overseas Unit

C A M e e n a l S a m b r e o p e n e d t h e f l o o r w i t h a w a r m w e l c o m e t o a l l t h e members and admired the u n i t e d s p i r i t a m o n g C A Fraternity She introduced the Chief guest and digni tary HCI representative Shri L a k s h m i N a r a y a n a n R highlighting his career with I n d i a n R e v e n u e S e r v i c e s , Ministry of Finance and his c u r r e n t r o l e i n t h e U K i n v o l v i n g r e v i e w i n g t a x treaties and Tax informa

British

Shri Lakshmi Narayanan R initiated the speech with a t h a n k y o u n o t e t o C A Meenal Sambre for the invi tation He mentioned that h i s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h I C A I UK goes back a long back and started with a positive note that he would admit that discussions have been ever engaging ICAI is the financial watchdog of the economic outlook and busi n e s s e s , y o u r c e r t i f i c a t i o n ensures the financial health of the entire finance ecosys tem He was part of OECD negotiations of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2, and he especially looks forward to ICAI’s asso ciation on Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 w h i c h s h o u l d n o w b e designed on IFRS standards and looks forward to syner gy and a smooth transition He also spoke about MOU between ICAI and ICAEW C h a i r m a n K r i s h n a P r a s a d D a h a l o p e n e d t h e floor for the cultural pro gramme, CA Amit Mathur and CA Tabassum Nathani hosted the event, the pro g r a m m e s t a r t e d w i t h # G a n e s h V a n d a n a b y C A Shikha Mathur, a classical d a n c e d e d i c a t e d t o L o r d S h r i R a m b y C A S u s h m a Madhusudan and Gargi

The afternoon was filled with excitement with pro

K r i s h n a P r a s a d D a h a l closed the curtains with a thank you note for each and

T h e f i r s t e v e n i n g w a s titled ‘Bhairav to Bhairavi’ and showcased a range of Ragas that are sung from morning time till evening

B e g i n n i n g w i t h a G a n e s h a V a n d a n a , t h e evening saw performances by young students as well as masterful solo renditions by s e n i o r s t u d e n t s S t a r t i n g with Raag bhairav, the per formers followed up with m o r n i n g R a g a s i n c l u d i n g G u n a k a l i , A h i r B h a i r a v , G u j r i T o d i , B h a t i y a r , Bilaskhani Todi; afternoon Ragas Bhimpalasi, Shuddh Sarang; and evening ragas i n c l u d i n g M u l t a n i a n d Puriya

sung in the evening It was also an evening of gratitude as Chandrima ji dedicated it to her late mother, Smt Gita Samanta ji who passed away last year

every member of the com mittee who has worked tire lessly to make this happen and work on details Special thanks were given to Vinitaji and the cultural event team who took over the responsi bility of arranging cultural activities Hope we will keep on doing such wonderful He further extended Many t h a n k s t o s p o n s o r s I C I C I bank Shri Suraj Kumar, Shri A r u p A n a n d , S h r i P r a t a p Singh, ICICI UK Deputy MD Shri Raghav Singhal, ICICI U K C E O S h r i L o k n a t h M i s h r a , S B I U K R e g i o n a l Head designate Shri Sudhir Sharma and SBI UK RH Shri Sharad Chandak and Asian Voice and Shri C B Patel

The Ragas to be sung at n i g h t i n c l u d e d G o r a k h kalyan, and Bihag

The audience was sere naded through the different t i m e s o f t h e d a y s t a r t i n g

Y a m a n R a a g , s u n g b y her youngest students was a great beginning followed by soothing solo renditions of S h u d d h a K a l y a n , M a d h u v a n t h i , J o g , a n d Bageshri

A few students also took the opportunity to speak of their experiences of training

e v e n i n g w a s d e d i c a t e d t o Rabindra Sangeet and had a p e r s o n a l t o u c h a s Chandrima ji herself sang a few verses of a song taught to her by her mother

This part was a unique c o m b i n a t i o n o f k h a y a l s i n g i n g a n d R a b i n d r a S a n g e e t o r T a g o r e S o n g s , s o n g s t h a t C h a n d r i m a j i learnt from her mother

The first was the song ‘ T u m i R o b e N i r o b e ’ i n Behag, followed by the clas s i c a l K h a y a l i n t h e s a m e R a a g s e t t o t e e n t a a l ‘Jhoom Jhaam’

The festival concluded with a grand finale in Raga Desh

B o t h e v e n i n g s s a w P t Rajkumar Misra ji on Tabla accompaniment along with a few of his students, and S m t C h a n d r i m a M i s r a j i herself on the harmonium

Melodies of Bhoole Bisare Geet deposited in the Warm Bank!

After th e pand em ic, there is a c o nti n u ou s a tta ck o f inflatio n, loneliness, stress, anx i ety and d ep re s si o n amo ng some peo ple, espe cially the eld erly This win ter a v ery u nique service Warm Bank has been start

by Sangat Centre started last Monday and in the first week, 22 people took bene fit of this unique service W e l l k n o w n s i n g e r R a j G a m b h i r w a s e s p e c i a l l y present on Wednesday and p r e s e n t e d t h e G o l d e n

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ed by th e Sang at C entre Harrow for the needy peo p le o f th e A s i an C o m m u ni t y and o t h er mino rity com munities The motto is to keep people warm th is w inter w ith a blanket of w arm s up p ort and encourag em ent

T h e d a y b e g i n s w i t h p r o v i d i n g a W a r m s p a c e with Tea Coffee and ends with delicious warm food

From 10 am to 4 pm Sangat Centre is open to help and with warm space and food, there is a warmness of sup port, advice and encourage ment which is given by the CEO of Sangat Centre Shri Kanti Bhai Nagda MBE and the team The Warm Bank

M e l o d i e s o f B o l l y w o o d Bhoole Bisare Geet These

melodies took all the peo p l e i n t o a n o t h e r w o r l d where there was no stress or worry Sangat Advice Centre is situated at Sancroft Road, Harrow HA3 7NS In order to overcome the immediate impact of the cost of living c r i s i s , S a n g a t C e n t r e h a s opened its doors and pro v i d i n g a s a f e a n d w a r m space to the most vulnera ble people in our neigh bourhood this winter The C e n t r e g i v e s a d v i c e a n d d i r e c t l y s u p p o r t s p e o p l e and helps prevent home lessness through advice and advocacy Apart from hot food and drinks, people can access iPads for free There is special accessibility and provision for disabled peo ple

Sang at Ad vice C entre, Sancroft Road , Harrow HA3 7NS Telepho ne: 0 20 84 27 0 659

O n 6th N o v em ber 2 0 2 2, IC AI U K Ch apter, the Indian C h art ere d A cc o u nt anc y bod y in the U K, org anised c el eb rat i o ns at O st erl ey Banqueting S uite to c om m em orate the celebration of the Hindu festiv al of lights D i w al i T h e ev e nt w a s o r g an is e d b y IC A I U K C h ap te r K ri s h na P r as ad D ah al, M een al S am b re , T abassu m Nathani, V ineet Jain

Sangat Centre is keeping people warm with a blanket of warm support and encouragement

Vital aid leaves UK for Pakistan

Vir gin A tla nt ic join s h and s with Best way G r o up t o d e li v e r m e d ic in e s t o t h e v ic t i m s o f h um anit aria n cr isis Over 20 tonnes o f v i t a l m e d i c i n e s , h a s l e f t t h e U K heading for Pakistan w h e r e i t w i l l b e d i s t r i b u t e d t o victims of the recent f l o o d i n g d i s a s t e r a n d r e s u l t i n g h u m a n i t a r i a n disaster

The medicines, donated by Bestway Group is being flown to Islamabad by Virgin A t l a n t i c C a r g o w h o i s t r a n s p o r t i n g t h e medication

The medicines will help the 3 2 million people who have lost their homes and l i v e l i h o o d s a n d b e e n d i s p l a c e d b y t h e f l o o d i n g which left more than a third of the country under water, a n d d a m a g e d m o r e t h a n 4 m i l l i o n a c r e s o f c r o p s O n g o i n g h e a v y r a i n s a r e c o n t i n u i n g t o c o m p l i c a t e rescue and recovery efforts a n d d i s e a s e h a s b e e n w i d e s p r e a d a s t h e h u m a n i t a r i a n d i s a s t e r increases

Bestway Group is one of the largest privately owned businesses in the UK and the leading overseas investor in Pakistan Haider Choudrey, Chief Financial Officer of Bestway Group, says:

“Our teams are on the ground in Pakistan and are s e e i n g f i r s t h a n d h o w desperately these medicines are needed to help combat disease that has taken hold where fresh water supplies

h a v e b e e n d e s t r o y e d a n d f a m i l i e s h a v e l o s t their homes along w i t h e v e r y t h i n g they own

“We would like to thank the team a t V i r g i n A t l a n t i c C a r g o w h o h a s helped us make this h a p p e n a n d a r e t r a n s p o r t i n g w h a t i s a s i z e a b l e c a r g o o f medicines out to where it is needed the most”

Virgin Atlantic Cargo is one of the leading players in t h e g l o b a l c a r g o i n d u s t r y and played a vital role in the airline’s survival following t h e C o v i d 1 9 p a n d e m i c , keeping global supply chains r u n n i n g a n d t r a n s p o r t i n g essential goods around the world On 21st March 2020, t h e f i r s t e v e r c a r g o o n l y f l i g h t i n V i r g i n A t l a n t i c ’ s history took to the skies and over the next 12 months, the airline’s cargo business went from strength to strength operating over 5,000 cargo only sectors, launching 12 n e w r o u t e s a s w e l l a s c a r r y i n g o v e r 8 5 m i l l i o n kilos of PPE and essential equipment for the NHS N o w , t h e a i r l i n e ’ s e s s e n t i a l a s s i s t a n c e w i l l facilitate the delivery of the m u c h n e e d e d a i d t o t h e m o s t v u l n e r a b l e w i t h t h e onset of the winter season in Pakistan

Virgin Atlantic dedicated s p e c i a l c l i m a t e c o n t r o l vehicles for the collection a n d d e l i v e r y o f t h e m e d i c i n e s t o i t s c a r g o handling facility at London Heathrow

NHS nurses to walkout over pay disputes

NHS nurses are to strike for two d ays in December in a d ispute ov er pay and p atient s a fet y M em b er s o f t h e R o yal C o lle g e o f Nu rs i ng ( RCN) wi ll take ind ustrial a ct i o n o n 1 5 a nd 2 0 D ecem ber acro ss Eng land , W al es , an d No r th er n Ireland

I n S c o t l a n d , i n d u s t r i a l action is being paused while pay negotiations continue T h e s t r i k e b a l l o t a m o n g m o r e t h a n 3 0 0 , 0 0 0

members of the RCN was the biggest in the union's 106 year history The union has demanded its members receive a pay rise of at least 17%, adding that years of low pay is "pushing nursing staff out of the profession and putting patient care at risk"

N u r s e s h a d g i v e n t h e government a deadline to open "detailed negotiations" and threatened to announce strike dates for December

‘An emphasis on people and culture’: Goodwin names Pathak as new London co-head

Good win has named funds p art ner A j ay P a th ak (pictured ) as its new London co c h ai r to re p la ce P a ul L yo ns , w h o i s s tep p in g down after five years in th e role

Pathak, who is ranked as a leading individual in The L e g a l 5 0 0 , w i l l l e a d t h e office alongside current co chair Gemma Roberts, who succeeded Samantha Lake Coghlan in 2021

During Lyons’ tenure as c o h e a d s i n c e 2 0 1 7 , t h e Boston bred firm’s City arm has grown significantly Last y e a r t h e o f f i c e g e n e r a t e d 8 2 % o f t h e f i r m ’ s g l o b a l revenue after a 63% spike in t u r n o v e r t o $ 1 6 1 8 m f r o m $99 1m in 2020

This year, the firm has c o n t i n u e d i t s g r o w t h t r a j e c t o r y I t a d d e d n e w practices to its UK offering w i t h t h e h i r e o f c a p i t a l m a r k e t s p a r t n e r A r i e l White Tsimikalis in January from Bryan Cave Leighton P a i s n e r , a n t i t r u s t a n d

competition partner Sarah J o r d a n i n M a r c h f r o m Kirkland & Ellis, and this m o n t h , e x e c u t i v e compensation partner Saba Rais from Macfarlanes and e m p l o y m e n t p a r t n e r A l e x Fisher from Travers Smith

Other significant hires for 2022 included real estate p a r t n e r E r i c L i m , l i f e s c i e n c e s l i c e n s i n g p a r t n e r Morag Peberdy, regulatory partner Andrew Henderson a n d f i n a n c e p a r t n e r E d Saunders This followed its 2 0 2 1 n i n e p a r t n e r h i r i n g spree

P a t h a k t a k e s o v e r t h e role as the firm prepares for its move into a larger City office next year, he said: ‘We now have over 200 lawyers

compared to just shy of 40 when I joined in 2017 That g r o w t h h a s b e e n v e r y f o c u s e d a r o u n d f i v e k e y client industries, namely life sciences, technology, private e q u i t y , r e a l e s t a t e a n d financial services, and the convergence between them This strategy has allowed us to better serve our clients globally and puts us in a strong position as we look forward to the next chapter for the London office ’

A c c o r d i n g t o P a t h a k , one of his top priorities over t h e c o m i n g y e a r w i l l b e maintaining a strong firm culture following the office’s recent growth: ‘We have real e m p h a s i s o n p e o p l e a n d culture When you grow as q u i c k l y a s w e h a v e i n L o n d o n , i t ’ s e v e n m o r e important to ensure that we don’t forget the importance o f o u r c u l t u r e a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f c r e a t i n g a diverse firm

‘We’re living in a new w o r l d n o w o f h y b r i d

working, which is clearly a positive in many ways, but is another reason why we need to maintain our focus on our relationships with our p e o p l e , a n d i n d e e d o u r clients ’

Since joining the firm f r o m K i n g & W o o d Mallesons in 2017, Pathak has also played an active role i n c h a m p i o n i n g y o u n g t a l e n t a t t h e f i r m H e h i g h l i g h t e d i t s r e c e n t 1 0 strong London promotions round as a testament to the quality of its people and how o p t i m i s t i c t h e f i r m f e e l s about its growth potential in the city

L o o k i n g f o r w a r d , Pathak is confident about where the firm is positioned

He concluded: ‘We do not know as yet exactly what the next year holds in store, but we are confident that our deep industry focus means that we are well placed to h e l p o u r c l i e n t s n a v i g a t e through what could be more challenging times ’

70,000 staff of UK University join strike

The University and C olleg e Unio n (U C U) has clai med that record numbers of its mem bers took part in picket lines at univ ersities around the U K, on the first d ay o f strikes affecting mo re than 1 50 h i g h e r e d u ca ti o n institutions

A n e s t i m a t e d 7 0 , 0 0 0 s t r i k i n g r e s e a r c h e r s , a c a d e m i c s a n d administrators were joined

b y s t u d e n t s , a s w e l l a s caterers, cleaners and other s u p p o r t s t a f f f r o m t h e U n i s o n a n d U n i t e u n i o n s w h o a r e a l s o s t r i k i n g f o r b e t t e r p a y a n d w o r k i n g conditions at a number of u n i v e r s i t i e s J o G r a d y , U C U ’ s g e n e r a l s e c r e t a r y , j o i n e d a b o u t 1 0 0 u n i o n m e m b e r s a n d s t u d e n t s picketing an entrance to the U n i v e r s i t y o f M a n c h e s t e r ,

s a y i n g s t a f f w e r e “ a t breaking point” and had no a l t e r n a t i v e T h e i n d u s t r i a l action means that as many as 2 5 million students face d i s r u p t i o n t o t h e i r education in what has been billed as the biggest strike in t h e h i s t o r y o f U K h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n T h e s t r i k e c o n t i n u e s o n F r i d a y a n d n e x t W e d n e s d a y , a n d further action is planned

UCU’s demands include a pay rise in recognition of the cost of living crisis, after this year ’ s 3% interest rate i n c r e a s e , a n d a n e n d t o i n s e c u r e a n d s h o r t t e r m c o n t r a c t s O n p e n s i o n s , U C U w a n t s e m p l o y e r s t o r e v e r s e r e v i s i o n s i m p o s e d this year that it claims will lead to the average member losing 35% of their future retirement income

Manchester United to be sold

T h e G laz er f am i ly h a s ann o u nc ed i t i s “commencing a process to exp l o re s tra te g i c alternatives” fo r Manchester United, p otentially bringing an e nd to i ts 1 7 ye ar ownership of the club

On the day it was also confirmed that Cristiano R o n a l d o h a d l e f t O l d

T r a f f o r d b y m u t u a l consent, a statement from United on Tuesday night revealed plans to identify new investment that could lead to a potential sale The club said the process led by their American owners will c o n s i d e r a n u m b e r o f o p t i o n s “ i n c l u d i n g n e w investment into the club, a

sale, or other transactions i n v o l v i n g t h e c o m p a n y ” The Raine Group, which o v e r s a w t h e s a l e o f Chelsea earlier this year, has been appointed as the exclusive financial adviser United were most recently v a l u e d a t £ 3 7 5 b n b u t would expect to fetch far m o r e g i v e n t h a t a

consortium led by the US businessman Todd Boehly paid £4 25bn for Chelsea in May

The Glazer family can expect to attract a number of interested suitors as the s u c c e s s f u l b i d d e r w o u l d h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o m a r k e d l y i n c r e a s e t h e club’s value

Covid grants recipient sent help to IS fighter

The

Royal Mail’s

series of strikes will delay deliveries

Postal w orke rs are se t to hold a s eri e s o f stri k e s, d e la y i ng le tter a nd parcel de live rie s in t he ru n u p to C hr i st m a s Ab out 11 5,000 me mbe rs of the C o m m un i ca ti o n W o rk e rs Uni on (CWU) a re ta kin g part i n the d ispute w ith Roy al Mai l

A 48 hour strike affecting t h e d i s c o u n t s h o p p i n g d a y known as Black Friday was c a l l e d f o r 2 4 a n d 2 5 November Further action will follow on 30 November and 1 December Another wave of strikes is planned for 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December some of the busiest days for pre C h r i s t m a s d e l i v e r i e s P o s t a l w o r k e r s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e

CWU voted overwhelmingly in favour of strikes on 19 July, and first took action on 26 August

On strike days the Royal Mail says it will not be able to deliver first and second class l e t t e r s H o w e v e r , i t w i l l deliver as many parcels and S p e c i a l D e l i v e r y l e t t e r s a s possible Priority will be given t o p r e s c r i p t i o n s a n d C o v i d test kits where possible The g u a r a n t e e s o n S p e c i a l D e l i v e r y G u a r a n t e e d i t e m s w i l l b e s u s p e n d e d t h e d a y before the strike People will n o t b e a b l e t o c l a i m c o m p e n s a t i o n f o r l a t e deliveries

A ba rbe r w h o re ce iv ed tax p aye r fu n d ed C o v i d g ran ts al le g ed l y s e nt £25,000 to an Islamic State fi g h te r i n S yr i a, a c o u rt heard

T a r e k N a m o u z , 4 3 , i s accused of making at least s e v e n t r a n s f e r s t o Y a h y a

A h m e d A l i a b e t w e e n N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 0 a n d M a y 2 0 2 1 s o A l i a c o u l d b u y weapons and explosives to c o m m i t t e r r o r a t t a c k s i n S y r i a T h e p a i r c o n s p i r e d o v e r W h a t s A p p a b o u t b u y i n g s n i p e r r i f l e s a n d K a l a s h n i k o v s , s l a u g h t e r i n g

“ non believers” and staging public executions, Kingston crown court heard Namouz, who ran Boss C r e w B a r b e r s i n H a m m e r s m i t h , w e s t L o n d o n , r e c e i v e d g r a n t s under a scheme launched d u r i n g t h e U K ’ s f i r s t

c o r o n a v i r u s l o c k d o w n Namouz’s phone contained IS propaganda material and his WhatsApp conversations w i t h A l i a c o n d u c t e d between 15 May and the day of the raid The prosecution a l l e g e s t h a t N a m o u z h a d deleted earlier messages

Seven industries may go on strike this winter

The UK is facing a w av e o f st ri kes th i s w i nte r a s w o rke rs f ro m d i f fe re nt indu stries are set to walk out over p ay and cond itions

From transport to the NHS, education to delivery drivers, tens of thousands a r e e x p e c t e d t o t a k e i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n a s a recession grips the UK and t h e c o s t o f l i v i n g r i s e s A

couple of different unions have planned rail strikes this winter The Rail, Maritime a n d T r a n s p o r t W o r k e r s ( R M T ) u n i o n r e p r e s e n t s Network Rail workers, who o p e r a t e r a i l w a y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e s u c h a s signals, and workers at 14 of the UK's 28 train companies RMT general secretary Mick Lynch is arguably the most

w e l l k n o w n u n i o n o f f i c i a l and said his members are striking in response to the g o v e r n m e n t c u t t i n g j o b s and refusing to increase pay in line with inflation

H e a l s o s a i d t h e government wants to make c h a n g e s t o t h e R a i l w a y Pension Scheme by reducing b e n e f i t s a n d m a k i n g s t a f f w o r k f o r l o n g e r w h i l e

p a y i n g i n c r e a s e d contributions so they will h a v e l e s s m o n e y i n t h e i r pension pots

W o r k e r s f r o m s e v e n d i f f e r e n t i n d u s t r i e s h a v e v o t e d t o s t r i k e , o r a r e balloting to strike soon, as most call for pay rises in line w i t h o r a b o v e i n f l a t i o n while the cost of living soars across the UK

Dear Financia Voice Reader Alpesh Patel OBE

S o how h as 20 22 been for UK stocks and a ny r eason to be opti mistic i n 20 23 ?

Let’s look at the data Yes, I am data obsessed Too many people speak twaddle without looking at the facts or data By the way, here’s a good trick on social media when you find annoying twaddle, just put this into the comments “Data?”

Out of the 350 largest quoted companies on the London Stock Exchange this the data year to date:

RPS group is up 77% and the best performer Energean is second with Pearson both at 61% returns this year Telecom plus come in at 57%

I will share my pics of the year on www alpeshpa tel com/sharescope on January 5th

Of the 350 stocks, only 75 have risen so far this year

The worst fallers are Aston Martin (down 75%) tied with ASOS and 888 coming in at down 65%

Household names have had a mixed year The ones which are down a lot include Ocado (down 62%), Moonpig (down 58%) and Dr Martens (halved in price) You also lost have your money with Wizz Air and Wetherspoons

Household names that did well include BP, Shell, BAE Systems all benefiting from the Ukraine war and giving you a 50% return

But none of the data gives you wisdom on where to put your money Where is that then?

Well the UK FTSE 350 is down (just) for the year The Mumbai BSE 100 is up 5% by comparison The Dow is down 7% and the China 50 index down 32%

The FTSE 350 is at 2017 levels It’s up 25% from the lows of Covid in 2020 And it’s now far of all time highs

The company giving the best cash return on capital i n v e s t e d ( t h e c o m p a n y ’ s c a s h o n i t ’ s c a p i t a l ) i s

Rightmove with 175% cash return on the capital the company invests

The least volatile is Capital Gearing Trust Hmm None of these are factors to buy The most volatile are Tullow Oil, National Express and Ocado I don’t like volatility

One measure of value is share price compared to the growth in profits BP, Shell are cheap on this measure So is Harbour Energy

Companies hitting all time highs are Homeserve, Pearson, Unilever and Burberry

Those giving the best dividend yields look like Persimmon, Ferrexpo

Over the past 10 years you would have made the most money by having bought JD Sports (1,600%) and Ashtead (1200%) You would have lost almost all your money in Tullow, Petrofac and Harbour Energy over the same period

Right, enough of the data I will in as we approach January and my annual picks give you more idea of which companies look good for a pension, SIPP or ISA Check out my www campaignforamillion com too

UK bans Chinese surveillance cameras from sensitive sites

H i kv is i o n, a l ead in g C h i nes e s u rv e il la nc e c o m p a ny, h as d en i ed sug gestions that it poses a t h re at to Br it ai n ’ s n at io n al s ec u ri ty a fte r t h e U K g o v ern m en t b an ned t h e u se o f i ts camera system s at “sensitive” sites

T h e r e s t r i c t i o n s , a n n o u n c e d r e c e n t l y , w i l l p r e v e n t authorities from installing technology that is produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law, w h i c h r e q u i r e s C h i n e s e c i t i z e n s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e c o u n t r y ’ s i n t e l l i g e n c e a n d s e c u r i t y s e r v i c e s H i k v i s i o n s a i d i t w a s “ c a t e g o r i c a l l y f a l s e t o represent Hikvision as a threat to national security ” The company said it was hoping to engage with UK officials “urgently” to understand the decision, and had previously spoken with the UK government to clear up what it saw as misunderstandings about its business

“Hikvision is an equipment manufacturer that has no visibility into end users ’ video data,” the Hangzhou based company said “Hikvision cannot access end users ’ video data and cannot transmit data from end users to third parties We do not manage end user databases, nor do we sell cloud storage in the UK ”

Earlier this year, a UK health minister disclosed that there were 82 Hikvision products in use in his department Hikvision, in its statement, said its cameras were compliant with UK laws and “subject to strict security requirements ”

UK-India hopeful of signing FTA by middle of 2023

H ec t i c n eg o ti a ti o n s a re o n go i n g be tw ee n th e United Kingdo m and India for a F ree Trade Agreement ( F T A ) , w h i c h c o u l d be s i gn ed b y th e m i dd le o f 2 02 3 A fr am ew o rk t o strengthen economic coo p er ati o n b et wee n th e t wo c o u nt ri e s, th e F T A co m prises 26 ch apters, o f wh ich negotiatio ns have closed on 14

The earlier deadline to close the talks was October end, but this was missed d u e t o p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p ments in the UK The key sectors that are likely to b e n e f i t f r o m t h e F T A include textiles and handi

crafts “The UK has a big c o n s u m e r m a r k e t a n d appetite for Indian textiles and handicrafts This FTA w o u l d a l s o c r e a t e m o r e employment opportunities for women who work in these sectors,” according to Kevin McCole, MD, UK India Business Council

Digitally driven services w o u l d b e a n o t h e r f o c u s area “Digital trade would b e t r a n s f o r m a t i v e B o t h c o u n t r i e s a r e k n o w l e d g e based economies and both stand to gain, McCole said India’s new data bill, which has eased data localisation n o r m s , w h e r e i n n o t i f i e d c o u n t r i e s c a n s t o r e d a t a ,

also creates opportunities for India and the UK to work on data together, he i n d i c a t e d B o t h c o u n t r i e s are hopeful of bringing in the FTA by early next year, for it to be implemented before 2024 Gain for Indian liqu or bu siness

India exported about $ 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 w o r t h o f a l c o holic beverages in 2021 22 against imports to the tune of $192 million from the UK, according to govern ment data

The Indian liquor sec tor stands to benefit from t h e ( F T A ) , a n a l y s t s s a y Among the many proposals

as part of the FTA, the sec tor is likely to see a steep cut in the import duty for whiskey which is currently at 150 per cent and it will be gradually brought down to 30 per cent over the years

The government would gradually slash import duty on high end products from 150 per cent to 100 per cent in the first years, 50 per cent in the second and 30 per cent by the end of the third year once the FTA is s i g n e d b e t w e e n t h e t w o countries This move is also e x p e c t e d t o o p e n a b i g export market for liquor in the UK, according to media reports

Chip shortage affects JLR production

Jag uar Land Rov er, o wned by Tata M otors, is cutting prod uction at its U K facto ries till March 2023 as it con tinues to face chip sho rtag e, said a rep ort " The carmak er, w h o s e C E O T h i err y Bo ll o ré l as t w ee k annou nced his resig nation, has d ecid ed to cu t produ c tion at factories in Solihull and H al ew o o d be tw ee n Ja nu ar y an d th e en d o f March as it tries to prioritise its most pro fitable mo dels ”

JLR and other carmakers have been plagued by short a g e s o f s e m i c o n d u c t o r s since early 2021 JLR's per f o r m a n c e i s k e y t o T a t a M o t o r s a s i t c o n t r i b u t e s

JLR last year announced a n e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n s t r a t e g y

2024 and an electric option would be offered across its e n t i r e p o r t f o l i o , i n c l u d i n g Land Rover JLR has been loss making for the past 18 months, but at the compa n y ’ s p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e most recent financial results this November Bolloré said he believed that semicon d u c t o r s u p p l y w o u l d i m p r o v e i n t h e c o m i n g months JLR hired former Renault boss Bollore as CEO i n 2 0 2 0 , m a n d a t i n g h i m with the task of returning Britain's biggest carmaker to profit after it took a big hit from the Covid 19 pandem ic His resignation is effec tive Dec 31, JLR said

Lawsuit against Meta launched in UK court

Hum an ri gh ts c amp aig ner T any a O’ C arr o ll h a s launch ed a law suit against Meta in th e UK High Court, alleging th e technolog y con glomerate is continuing to use her perso nal d ata f or targ eted advertising on its Faceboo k serv ice d espite h er objections

U n d e r t h e U K ’ s d a t a p r o t e c t i o n r u l e s , p e o p l e have the “right to object” to the collection and process ing of their personal data for direct marketing purposes, i n c l u d i n g a n y a s s o c i a t e d p r o f i l i n g O ’ C a r r o l l ’ s l a w

suit, filed on 16 November 2 0 2 2 , c l a i m s t h a t d e s p i t e exercising her legal right to object, Meta is continuing to collect, process and use her information for these pur poses Rather than seeking m o n e t a r y c o m p e n s a t i o n , O’Carroll is seeking a yes or no decision on whether she can opt out of being profiled for advertising purposes

If successful, O’Carroll’s litigation could set a prece dent for people who object to Meta’s surveillance based business model, by allowing them to more easily chal

lenge the firm’s ability to t r a c k a n d p r o f i l e t h e m Meta’s third quarter earn i n g s , r e l e a s e d i n O c t o b e r 2022, show the firm’s adver

tising revenue came in at $27 2bn This is in line with what the company said it expects when it announced second quarter earnings

UK and Singapore to deepen financial ties

The U nited King dom ( UK) and Singapore h eld the 7 th U K S in g ap o r e F i nan c ia l Dialogue in Sing apo re Bo th co u n tri es re ne w ed t h ei r co mm itm ent to deepening the U K Singapore F inancial Partnership that w as agreed in 2 02 1, d i scu ss ed m utu al priorities such as sustainable finance, FinTech and inno vation, and ag reed on fur the r co o p erati o n i n th es e areas

A t t h e f i n a n c i a l d i a logue, the UK and Singapore agreed on a Memorandum o f U n d e r s t a n d i n g o n t h e U K S i n g a p o r e F i n T e c h

Bridge The FinTech Bridge seeks to support continued g r o w t h , i n v e s t m e n t , a n d technological innovation in

t h i s s e c t o r , b u i l d i n g o n active interest of FinTech players in the areas of pay ments, RegTech and wealth m a n a g e m e n t B o t h c o u n tries strongly welcomed this deepened co operation on FinTech and the opportuni ties the industry can deliver

i n r e l a t i o n t o f i n a n c i a l inclusion, enhanced innova t i o n , a n d i m p r o v e d o u t comes for consumers Both c o u n t r i e s r e c o g n i s e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e U K Singapore Digital Economy

A g r e e m e n t ( D E A ) s i g n e d e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , a n d t h e

principle of the free flow of data which is enshrined in it They noted the significance of this agreement in under pinning the development of respective FinTech sectors and supporting future digi tal and innovation partner ships

Mitsubishi chemical plant plans to end production

More than 200 jobs are at ris k after Mitsu bi shi C hemi cal UK announced pl ans to end pro d uctio n on Teessid e I t had begun a cons ulta ti on with workers at its plant in Bil lingh am

It added "rapidly escalating" gas prices, a downturn in the European economy caused by inflation and weaker demand meant UK manufacturing was no longer viable A final decision is expected to be made in January

The firm said production of methacry lates, which are used in acrylic products and

January as part of a planned over h a u l a

d h a d

d h a

d

i n c e September because of worsening economic factors In a statement, it said it had explored options included a temporary mothballing of the site but had concluded it was not viable

Malcolm Kidd, vice president of the firm's methacrylates business, described it as a "very sad day for everyone associated with our busi ness on Teesside"

nearly 60% to the latter's r e v e n u e f r o m o p e r a t i o n s "JLR, the UK’s biggest car m a k e r , t h i s N o v e m b e r r e p o r t e d a r e c o r d o r d e r book of more than 205,000 cars, but the chip shortage has complicated its efforts to ramp up production of

new versions of its Range R o v e r a n d R a n g e R o v e r Sport, which are both made in Solihull, and its Defender, which is made in Slovakia "

under which all Jaguar cars would be fully electric by

Adani looks to raise

from wealth funds

n i E n t e r p r i s e s announced that the board of t h e c o m p a n y w i l l d i s c u s s raising capital on November 25 The sources claimed that discussions are still ongoing and that no decisions have been made They added that Adani's group is looking to C a n a d a a s w e l l a s o t h e r s i z a b l e M i d d l e E a s t e r n i n v e s t m e n t f u n d s f o r i n v e s t m e n t O n e o f

Amazon to shut down online learning academy in India

A mazon com said th at it w ou l d s h u t d o w n i ts o nline learning p latform for h igh school students i n I nd ia les s th an t w o y ea rs o f i ts la u nc h , w itho ut citing a reason

T h e A m a z o n A c a d e m y p l a t f o r m , l a u n c h e d e a r l y l a s t y e a r a m i d a b o o m i n v i r t u a l learning during the Covid 1 9 p a n d e m i c , o f f e r e d c o a c h i n g f o r c o m p e t i t i v e e x a m s i n c l u d i n g J o i n t E n t r a n c e E x a m i n a t i o n ( J E E ) , w h i c h a l l o w s e n t r y i n t o t o p e n g i n e e r i n g colleges across India

Based on an assessment, the e commerce giant said in a statement that it had m a d e t h e d e c i s i o n t o d i s c o n t i n u e A m a z o n A c a d e m y " i n a p h a s e d

I n d i a n m a r k e t s m a r c h t o n e w e r h e i g h t s r e ma in s u n a ba t e d d e sp i t e we a k g lobal cue s S&P BSE Sen se x a nd Nifty ope ne d ca ut iously a nd m om ent um pick ed up a s t he session progr essed S e n s e x w a s t r a d i n g a t 62,864 29, up 359 49 points o r 0 5 8 p e r c e n t w h i l e N i f t y 5 0 w a s t r a d i n g a t 18,668 40, up 105 65 points

m a n n e r t o t a k e c a r e o f current customers

T h e w i n d i n g d o w n c o m e s a t a t i m e w h e n m u l t i p l e e d t e c h f i r m s a r e reeling under the pressure o f s c h o o l s a n d c o a c h i n g c e n t r e s r e o p e n i n g a c r o s s India after Covid induced l o c k d o w n s L a s t m o n t h , industry leader Byju's had said it would lay off 2,500 employees as it pushes to t u r n p r o f i t a b l e O t h e r players Unacademy, Toppr, WhiteHat Jr, and Vedantu had also announced layoffs earlier this year

o r 0 5 7 p e r c e n t T h e

intraday highs for the 30 stock Sensex was 62,877 73 while 18,671 60 for Nifty50 The rally was led by metal and FMCG stocks The top g a i n e r s w e r e H i n d u s t a n U n i l e v e r ( H U L ) , N e s t l e India, Hero MotoCorp, JSW Steel and Tata Steel while the top losers were Indusind B a n k , P o w e r G r i d , B a j a j

t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s c l a i m e d t h a t t h e g r o u p h a s e v e n d i s c u s s e d r a i s i n g a s m u c h a s $ 1 0 billion

A d a n i E n t e r p r i s e s , t h e c o m p a n y ' s f l a g s h i p , m a y issue between $1 8 and $2 billion worth of new shares a s e a r l y a s n e x t y e a r A c c o r d i n g t o o n e o f t h e p e o p l e , t h e $ 5 1 0 b i l l i o n t a r g e t w o u l d i n c l u d e t h e m o n e y r a i s e d f r o m a

potential share offering by

Preparing for the storm

P rop erty pric es are s till very bu oyant Au ctio ns in general are achieving well above gu ide prices Th e interest rates have recently dip ped slightly, a five year fixed can be o btained for ju st u nder 5% Th is is actu ally a reaso nable rate H isto rically lo oking, if you lo ok at r at es b ef o r e 2 0 09 w h en e ve ry o n e g o t sp o i lt an d conditioned with th e very lo w rates, the cu rrent rate o f borrowi ng is reasonable

A g e n t s i n C e n t r a l L o n d o n r e p o r t m a n y c a s h buyers are still active in the market

I do not believe we are going to come out of this well The interest rate decrease is temporary in my opinion One will start to see distressed stock coming to the market post January 2023

Nearly all shareholders approve HDFC merger

Shareholders of HDF C have ap prov ed the merg er of the ho u sin g fin ance c om p any wi th its bank ing arm i n an extraordinary general m eeting (EGM) Over 99 9% of the vo tes were po lled i n favo ur of the m erg er Ad d ressi ng sh areh old ers in the EGM , HDFC chairm an Deep ak Parekh said that HDFC Bank h as written to the RBI for fo rbearance in respect of inv estment in all subsidiaries

“Discussions are currently on with RBI and we are awaiting the final response, ” said Parekh He added that all investments, including shares in Yes Bank and Bandhan Bank, will be held by HDFC Bank

“All employees of HDFC will be transferred to HDFC Bank on terms not less favourable Those over 60 will retire” said Parekh He added that he would not be part of the board of the bank as the maximum age limit for bank directors was 75 years Also, agents of HDFC are proposed to be hired by the bank subject to regulatory approval

“ T h e m e r g e d e n t i t y i s e x p e c t e d t o h a v e s u f f i c i e n t l i q u i d i t y a n d a l t e r n a t i v e s t o m e e t t h e r e g u l a t o r y requirements Even if RBI does not grant forbearance on priority sector, the targets will not be immediately applicable and HDFC Bank will have 12 months to meet the target in terms of the priority sector norms ” said Parekh He said that all the existing deposits of HDFC will continue to have the same terms and conditions including date of maturity “From a regulatory perspective, we anticipate the merger to be effective by June 2023, ” said Parekh

Finserv, Coal India a n d L a r s e n & Toubro S i n g a p o r e b a s e d S G X N i f t y f u t u r e s , a n e a r l y i n d i c a t o r o f movement in Nifty50 also recovered its early morning losses and were trading at 18,806, up 77 points or 0 41 per cent while Dow Futures

Paytm’s crash is world’s worst for big IPOs in a decade

O n e 97 C o mm un i ca t i on s , t he o pe r a t or o f di g it a l pa y me n t s pr o v id e r P a y t m , has capped the worst first y e a r sh a r e pl un g e a mo n g l a r g e I P Os o v e r t h e pa s t d e ca d e a n d t he p a i n is wor sen in g

One year after its $2 4 billion IPO, the largest ever i n I n d i a a t t h e t i m e , t h e c o m p a n y , w h o s e f o u n d e r V i j a y S h e k h a r S h a r m a l i k e n e d i t s d i f f i c u l t i e s t o those faced by Tesla shortly after the listing, has seen its stock lose 75% of its market value

P a y t m ' s d i s m a l f i r s t anniversary highlights a loss o f f a i t h i n t h e c o m p a n y ' s capacity to turn a profit after making its debut when the n a t i o n ' s I P O m a r k e t w a s

e n a m o u r e d w i t h t e c h startups It is one of many businesses that listed with valuations that many people believed to be inflated

T h i s w e e k , t h e s t o c k s losses have gotten worse as w o r r i e s a b o u t t h e development of a potential rival controlled by Reliance h a v e g r o w n A s a l o c k u p period stipulated in the IPO came to an end last week, Japan's SoftBank sold shares

i t h a d i n P a y t m , causing a three day decline November’s 30% slide has taken its decline from the IPO price of Rs 2,150 to 79%

T e c h s t o c k s g l o b a l l y h a v e b e e n sold off as investors s h u n l o s s m a k i n g f i r m s a m i d a d e t e r i o r a t i n g macroeconomic environment, JM Financial analysts said this week “This feedback has been well received by c o m p a n y m a n a g e m e n t s a n d w e a r e s e e i n g a l l Indian internet companies n o t j u s t p r i o r i t i s i n g p r o f i t a b i l i t y b u t a l s o c o m m u n i c a t i n g t h e p a t h f o r w a r d e x p l i c i t l y , ” t h e y wrote

also gained and were trading at 33,930 40, up 56 70 points or 0 24 per cent Rupee rises 8 paise to 81 60 against US dollar in early trade

How exactly the property market will respond will be interesting UK property has in previous times of uncertainty been used as a hedge, a safety deposit box Not even necessarily to make huge profits but to keep the funds safe, against the economic elements

This is not only on a national level but on an international level The middle class and wealthy have a strong appetite for UK property investment One time one of the strongest segments of demand came from India

It will be an interesting few years If you ’ re an investor there will be opportunities, the likes which haven’t been seen for many years However, if you happen to be owning property, where the mortgage will be expiring in the next couple of years, be prepared for a shock; your monthly payments will likely be multiple times higher than what you have been used to paying For those who are highly geared and have no other recourse this will be a serious issue The time to start planning for this is now, not to put your head in the sand

One client who has a few blocks up in the north, was quite highly geared, with one lender and on a variable rate We advised him to fix up for a five year period, and sell some of his stock, so he is not so highly leveraged Our advice resonated and he took action to sell some of the developments he was planning to execute in the coming year

We’re doing a few mortgages for a local estate agent; his view is quite pragmatic He was in the middle of a deal when the interest rates increased He reasoned the extra he will be paying in interest over the next five years could be deducted off the sale price; convincing the seller that he will experience the same issue with another b u y e r T h e d e a l w a s a g r e e d i n a v e r y d i f f e r e n t environment

One thing is for sure, properties do not collapse Values may decrease in certain geographical areas and price points A property cannot disappear; this is one of the reasons why they are used as a hedge

Property investment should have a positive cash flow, as there is no certainty prices will not carry on decreasing from the point one has made the purchase

If it is cash flowing positive, you will be able to weather the storm and any further declines will be justified

A b o ut 1 0 , 0 0 0 " l o w p er fo rm in g " em p lo ye es would app arently be let go by Alph abet, Google s parent fi rm A r o u nd 6 % o f i ts w o rk fo rc e i s m ad e u p o f th e m T h e d ec is i o n w as made du ring the Big Tech Layo ff Seaso n, wh ic h was launched by M eta, Am azon, T w i tte r, S ale sf o rc e, an d m o re as a r es u lt o f ch all en g i ng g l o bal cond itions

Google is to gradually let g o o f 1 0 , 0 0 0 e m p l o y e e s u s i n g a n e w r a n k i n g a n d performance improvement plan, according to a report S t a r t i n g e a r l y i n t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r , m a n a g e r s m i g h t b e a b l e t o f i r e t h o u s a n d s o f

u n d e r p e r f o r m i n g w o r k e r s w i t h t h e a i d o f a n e w p e r f o r m a n c e m a n a g e m e n t system The report stated that managers could use the r a t i n g s t o a v o i d g i v i n g e m p l o y e e s b o n u s e s a n d stock grants

Managers are required t o d e s i g n a t e 6 % o f

e m p l o y e e s , o r a r o u n d 1 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e , a s l o w performers under the new a p p r o a c h b a s e d o n t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e company The number of employees who can receive a h i g h r a t i n g h a s l i k e w i s e d e c r e a s e d u n d e r t h e n e w approach

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

A d a n i E n t e r p r i s e s A d a n i G r o u p , M u b a d a l a , A D Q , a n d A D I A r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s declined to comment When contacted for comment, a QIA spokesperson declined, and Royal Group did not immediately respond

Gautam Adani

Former ISI chief Asim Munir named new Pak army chief

ment) ” Calling the presiden tial nod a good omen, he said:

try

P r e s i d e n t A r i f A l v i a p p r o v e d t h e a p p o i n t m e n t

despite rumours that he might not do so or might delay it because he is a member of the opposition PTI party, which is led by former prime minister Imran Khan

Defence minister Khwaja M u h a m m a d A s i f s a i d : “ T h e president has signed the sum m a r y ( s e n t b y t h e g o v e r n

“ T h e p r o c e s s o f t h e a r m y c h i e f ’ s a p p o i n t m e n t h a d caused unrest in the country, but the matter is now settled ” A crippling economy and o t h e r i s s u e s a r e p r e s e n t i n Pakistan at the start of Munir's tenure as chief of army staff His appointment comes amid a conflict between the military a n d f o r m e r p r i m e m i n i s t e r Khan, who accuses them of aiding in his ouster in April Imran had removed Munir as ISI chief when he was PM Munir is currently posted at the army HQ in Rawalpindi as

q u a r t e r m a s t e r g e n e r a l i n charge of supplies for the entire military Imran had accused the government of t r y i n g t o c h o o s e a favourite

His supporters said that the brother of the current p r e m i e r a n d t h r e e t i m e p r i m e m i n i s t e r , N a w a z Sharif, oversaw of choosing the next army chief The gov ernment retorted that Imran w a s a t t e m p t i n g t o u s e t h e appointment for political gain M u n i r w a s c h o s e n b y P M Sharif from a list of six senior generals that the defence min istry supplied

H e a l s o n a m e d L t G e n S a h i r S h a m s h a d M i r z a , t h e second senior most general, as chairman of the joint chiefs of s t a f f c o m m i t t e e ( J C S C ) , a n inter services forum that coor d i n a t e s b e t w e e n t h e t h r e e armed forces

Former Pak PM Imran calls off march to avoid ‘chaos’

IS L A M A BA D: Former P akistan P rim e M inister Im ran Khan has called off th e ‘long m arch’ to th e capital Islam abad fearing ch aos and anno unced his party would resig n fro m state assem blies in a new bid to push for early elec tions

“I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be havoc, and the loss will be to the country,” Khan said in his first public address in the garri son city of Rawalpindi, near the c a p i t a l s i n c e a n a s s a s s i n a t i o n attempt earlier this month

Khan fervently pleaded with h i s s u p p o r t e r s , s t a t i n g t h a t " c h a o s " w o u l d n o t s e r v e P a k i s t a n ' s i n t e r e s t s g i v e n t h e nation's current economic situa

tion

The South Asian nation has been facing a dire economic sit uation with galloping inflation and a nosediving rupee It also had to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to avert default

S i n c e h e w a s o u s t e d a s prime minister in a vote of no confidence in April, the crick eter turned politician and his Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI)

Deuba’s party emerges as single largest party in Nepal poll

KAT H MA ND U : The governi ng N epali Congres s led by PM Sher B a h ad ur D e ub a o n S un d ay mai ntained its lead as the s ingle largest party by winning 53 s eats i n the parliamentary polls held to end the prolonged politic al i nstab ility that has plagued the H imalayan nation

Elections to the House of R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a n d s e v e n provincial assemblies were held on November 20 The counting of votes started on Monday last N e p a l i C o n g r e s s h a s w o n 5 3 seats and the Communist Party o f N e p a l ( U n i f i e d M a r x i s t Leninist) (CPN UML) secured 42 seats in the elections The CPN Maoist has emerged as the third largest party with 17 seats w h i l e t h e C P N U n i f i e d

Socialist has bagged 10 seats

The newly formed Rastriya S w a t a n t r a P a r t y a n d p r o H i n d u R a s t r i y a P r a j a t a n t r a Party have won 7 seats each Independent and other smaller parties have emerged victori ous on 21 seats

T h e g o v e r n i n g f i v e p a r t y a l l i a n c e h a s w o n 8 5 s e a t s , a g a i n s t 5 5 s e a t s w o n b y t h e alliance led by CPN UML The g o v e r n i n g a l l i a n c e i n c l u d e s Nepali Congress led by Deuba, C P N M a o i s t l e d b y Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda, CPN Unified Socialist headed by Madhav Nepal, Mahantha T h a k u r ' s L o k a t a n t r i k Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya J a n a m o r c h a l e d b y C h i t r a Bahadur

party have been organis ing nationwide protests to pressure the govern ment for early elections

He has claimed he was r e m o v e d a s p a r t o f a U n i t e d S t a t e s l e d c o n spiracy Though earlier this month, he said the US was not behind his ouster in a major U turn

The protests were to culmi nate in a march to Islamabad, w h i c h t h r e a t e n e d t o w o r s e n political turmoil in the nuclear armed country which is battling an economic crisis

In the November 3 assassi n a t i o n a t t e m p t , a g u n m a n opened fire from close range as K h a n ’ s o p e n t o p c o n t a i n e r

truck made its way through a crowded street in Wazirabad city in Punjab province

Tight security was in place, and a police official told local television channel that a total of 1 0 , 0 0 0 p e r s o n n e l h a d b e e n deployed for the event, with s n i p e r s p o s i t i o n e d a t v a r i o u s points for Khan’s security

The former prime minister has named PM Shehbaz Sharif and a senior military official for plotting his assassination, but both the government and mili tary have denied involvement Sharif has called for a transpar e n t i n q u i r y O n e p e r s o n h a s been arrested over the incident a n d c l a i m e d t o h a v e a c t e d alone

More than 300 killed in Iran anti hijab protest: UN rights chief

G E N E V A : T h e UN H i g h C om m is s i on er fo r H u ma n Rights described a harden in g of the government's response to protests that have resulted in more than 300 deaths in the last two months w hen she dec lared the situation in Iran "critical " Spokesperson for UN hu m a n ri gh t s c hi e f Vol kerTurk stated that “ The rising number of deaths from pr ot es t s in I r an , i n c l u d in g those of tw o children at the wee ken d, an d harde nin g of res pon se by s ecurity forces, underl ine the critical s itua tion in the coun try ”

Since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old Kurdish w o m a n , i n m o r a l i t y p o l i c e

custody on September 16 after she was detained for wearing clothing deemed "inappropri ate," the Islamic Republic has been rocked by widespread protests The protests, which have evolved into a popular uprising by Iranians from all s o c i a l s t r a t a a n d r e p r e s e n t one of the most audacious c h a l l e n g e s t o t h e c l e r i c a l rulers since the 1979 revolu tion, have been orchestrated, according to Tehran, by for e i g n e n e m i e s a n d t h e i r agents

Last week, Iran’s football team declined to sing their anthem before their opening World Cup match as a sign of support for the protesters

3 women among dozen publicly flogged in Afghanistan

K A B U L : T w e lv e p eo p le, in cl u d in g th r ee w omen, were publicly flogg ed in front of a large audience at an Afgh an football stadi u m Th is is reportedly the second time in a m onth that the Islamist organisation has p erfo rm ed pu blic beating s The actio n mig ht p ortend a return to the rigid policies that m arked the Taliban's prior rule in the 1990s

O m a r M a n s o o r M u j a h i d , a T a l i b a n s p o k e s m a n f o r L o g a r r e g i o n i n e a s t e r n Afghanistan, where the lashings happened, said that all three women were freed after they were punished Some of the men were jailed, he said, but it is not clear how many The men and women received between 21 and 39 lashes each The maximum num

b e r a p e r s o n c a n r e c e i v e i s 3 9 , a n o t h e r Taliban official said Nineteen people were also punished last week in a similar flogging in Takhar province in northern Afghanistan, reports say

The flogging in Logar province comes a week after the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordered judges to enforce punishments for certain crimes in line with the group's strict reading of Islamic Sharia law

T h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f I s l a m i c l a w includes public executions, public amputa tions and stoning although exact crimes and corresponding punishments have not been officially defined by the Taliban

The supreme leader's order is the most r e c e n t i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e T a l i b a n , w h o promised to rule more moderately when they came to power last year, is adopting a tougher stance on rights and freedoms

During their rule from 1996 2001, the Taliban were condemned for regularly carry ing out punishments in public, including floggings and executions at the national sta d i u m i n K a b u l T h e g o v e r n m e n t a l s o promised that it would not subject women t o s u c h b r u t a l r e p r e s s i o n i n t h e f u t u r e However, since the group came back to power, women's freedoms have been severe ly restricted, and some have even been phys ically assaulted for calling for rights

in brief

INDIAN ORIGIN TEENAGER KILLED IN CANADA SCHOOL

An 18 year old Indian origin teenager was stabbed to death at a high school parking lot by another teenager in Canada’s British Columbia province, the police said The victim, Mehakpreet Sethi, was stabbed at the Tamanawis Secondary School’s parking lot in Surrey by a 17 year old following a fight between the two, the Vancouver Sun newspaper reported The 17 year old suspect is an Indian origin student “It is believed the suspect and the victim were known to each other and that this was an isolated incident,” Integrated Homicide Investigation Team’s Sgt Timothy Pierotti was quoted as saying

ANOTHER INDIAN STUDENT DIES AFTER BEING HIT BY TRUCK

A 20 year old Indian student was killed after he was hit and dragged by a pickup truck while crossing a road on a cycle, according to a media report Though the police have not yet identified the victim, news website cbc quoted the victim s cousin Parveen Saini as saying that Kartik Saini came to Canada from India in August 2021 Parveen Saini spoke from Karnal, Haryana, where their family is from, the report said The family is hoping that Kartik’s body will be sent to India as soon as possible for proper burial, Parveen said Sheridan College has confirmed that Kartik was a student there, the report said

PAKISTAN GETS A NEW WARSHIP

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have jointly inaugurated a corvette warship built by Turkiye for the Pakistan Navy under a strategic cooperation project between the two nations Sharif said during the inauguration that the launch of PNS Khyber represents a strengthening of defence cooperation between the two countries Sharif along with a delegation of ministers and officials was in Turkey for a two day visit at the invitation of the Turkish president It was high time that Pakistan and Turkiye transform their ties into a strategic partnership as the world was envious of the relationship between two brotherly countries, Sharif said

INDONESIA QUAKE TOLL RISES TO 310

The death toll from last Monday s catastrophic earthquake in Indonesia s most populous province has risen to 310, officials said, after days of rescue efforts that had been impeded by heavy rains, landslide blocked roads and disrupted communication lines Twenty four people remained missing Indonesia is frequently hit by earthquakes, many much stronger than the recent one But experts said the shallowness of the quake and inadequate infrastructure contributed to the severe damage The worst affected area is close to several known faults, said Gayatri Marliyani, an assistant geology professor

CHINA FACTORY

FIRE KILLS 38

Investigators said that sparks from welding work appears to have been the cause of a fire that killed 38 people at a company dealing in chemicals and other industrial goods in central China s Henan province Two other people were injured in the blaze that tore through the building in the city of Anyang It took firefighters about 3 1/2 hours to bring the flames under control the Wenfang district government said One or more welders operating in violation of safety rules appear to have let loose sparks that ignited cotton fabric in the building according to officials cited by the official Xinhua news agency The investigation was ongoing and local government officials being questioned Xinhua said

Asim Munir

in brief China relaxes Covid curbs after mass protests

ANWAR IBRAHIM CHOSEN AS MALAYSIA PM

King Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah of Malaysia has chosen Anwar Ibrahim, 75, as the tenth prime minister the sixth in less than five years ending the deadlock brought on by a hung parliament following the general elections It was the culmination of a stunning comeback for Anwar, whose career has included a stint as deputy prime minister, two jail terms that were considered politically motivated, and, finally, the role of longtime opposition leader The nation of over 33 million people, which is multiracial and multiethnic, has endured more than two years of political unrest, economic hardship and corrupt leaders

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT CONTESTS POLL LOSS

Over three weeks after losing a re election bid, President Jair Bolsonaro has blamed a software bug and demanded the electoral authority annul votes cast on most of Brazil’s electronic voting machines though independent experts say the bug doesn’t affect the reliability of results Such an action would leave Bolsonaro with 51% of the remaining valid votes and a re election victory a lawyer for the president and his Liberal Party said The electoral authority has already declared victory for leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa and an auditor hired by the party said their evaluation found all machines dating from before 2020 lacked individual identification numbers in internal logs

TANZANIA BEGINS RATIONING ELECTRICITY

Tanzania has begun rationing electricity due to a drop in hydroelectric output after a severe drought, the national power company said, with some areas facing nine hour blackouts The East African country can produce nearly 1,695 megawatts of power from hydroelectricity and natural gas, among other sources But it is currently facing a shortfall of 300 to 350 megawatts, said Maharage Chande, managing director of Tanesco, the national power company "There are two main reasons for the drop in production: a prolonged drought and ongoing maintenance of certain sites," he told reporters

POPE LINKS UKRAINIANS’ PLIGHT TO STALIN’S ‘GENOCIDE’

Pope Francis linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the 1930s genocide artificially caused by Stalin , when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man made famine in Ukraine believed to have killed over 3 million people The Pope linking of the plight of Ukrainian today to those killed by starvation 90 years ago, and his willingness to call it a “genocide” caused by Josef Stalin, marked an escalation in papal rhetoric against Russia As of this year, only 17 countries have officially recognised the famine “Saturday begins the anniversary of the terrible genocide Let us pray for the victims of this genocide and let us pray for so many Ukrainians,” he said

BEN GVIR TO BE ISRAELI'S POLICE MINISTER

Israeli far right politician Itamar Ben Gvir is to become police minister under a coalition deal with PM designate Benjamin Netanyahu s Likud party that is set to create the most right wing government in the country’s history The agreement comes after Netanyahu’s right wing alliance won a comfortable victory in this month’s parliamentary election Netanyahu is continuing talks with three other parties on forming the new government We took a big step towards a full coalition agreement toward forming a fully fully right wing government ” Ben Gvir said

BE I J I NG : Ch inese au tho ri ties eased som e anti v irus rules but aff i rm e d t h ei r se v er e “ z er o C o v i d ” st rat eg y o n M o n d ay after p rotesters demanded the resig natio n President Xi Jinping in the big gest sho w of opp osi tion to the ruling C omm unist Party in d ecades Th e go vern ment m ad e no co mment on the protests or the criticism of Xi, but the decisio n to ease at least so m e o f th e re st ri ct io n s ap p ea red to be ai m e d at qu elli ng an g er S ti ll, an alys ts don’t exp ect the gov ernm ent to back d own on its Cov id strategy and note au thorities are adept at stifling d issent It wasn ’ t clear h o w m a ny p eo p l e w e re detained since protests began on Friday and spread to cities including Sh anghai, the coun

try’s financial centre, and the capital, Beijing

T h e c i t y g o v e r n m e n t o f Beijing announced on Monday it would no longer set up gates to block access to apartment c o m p o u n d s w h e r e i n f e c t i o n s are found It made no mention of a deadly fire last week that set off the protests following ques tions about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were b l o c k e d b y l o c k e d d o o r s o r

o t h e r a n t i v i r u s c o n t r o l s “ P a s s a g e s m u s t r e m a i n c l e a r f o r m e d i c a l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , e m e r g e n c y escapes and rescues, ” said a c i t y o f f i c i a l i n c h a r g e o f epidemic control In addi tion, the southern manu f a c t u r i n g a n d t r a d e metropolis of Guangzhou, t h e b i g g e s t h o t s p o t i n China’s latest wave of infec t i o n s , a n n o u n c e d s o m e r e s i dents will no longer be required to undergo mass testing It cited a need to conserve resources Urumqi, where the deadly fire occurred, and another city in t h e X i n j i a n g r e g i o n i n t h e northwest announced markets and other businesses in areas deemed at low risk of infection would reopen this week and

p u b l i c b u s s e r v i c e w o u l d resume

“Zero Covid,” which aims to isolate every infected person, has helped to keep China’s case numbers lower than those of the US and other major coun tries But it has confined mil lions of people to their homes f o r u p t o f o u r m o n t h s , a n d some have complained about a lack of reliable food and medi cal supplies The ruling party promised last month to reduce disruption by changing quaran tine and other rules But public acceptance is wearing thin after a spike in infections prompted cities to tighten controls On Monday, the number of new d a i l y c a s e s r o s e t o 4 0 , 3 4 7 , including 36,525 with no symp toms

Indian American detained for crypto currency fraud

court documents, Giri misled investors about the causes of delays when they attempted to cash out their investments or otherwise obtain the return of t h e i r " g u a r a n t e e d " p r i n c i p a l This included a long history of l o s i n g i n v e s t o r s ' p r i n c i p a l investments

A c c o r d i n g t o c o u r t d o c u m e n t s , G i r i ( 2 7 ) f r o m N e w A l b a n y a l l e g e d l y m i s l e d t h e investors by fraudulently pro m o t i n g h i m s e l f a s a n e x p e r t crypto currency trader, with a s p e c i a l i t y i n t r a d i n g B i t c o i n derivatives

Federal prosecutors claimed t h a t t h e a c c u s e d m i s l e d t h e investors by claiming that he

w o u l d g e n e r a t e p r o f i t a b l e returns with no risk to their p r i n c i p a l i n v e s t m e n t a m o u n t , which he guaranteed to return In reality, Giri often allegedly

used

a

the prosecutors said A d d i t i o n a l l y , a c c o r d i n g t o

a Ponzi

Indictment against Giri lists five charges of wire fraud He could receive a maximum sen tence of 20 years in jail on each count if found guilty According to a press release, a federal dis trict court judge will decide on any sentence after taking the US S e n t e n c i n g G u i d e l i n e s a n d other legal considerations into account

Australian parliament ratifies India trade deal

Canberra: T he trad e agreement betw een A ustralia and India w as ap p r ov ed by th e A u s tra li an Parliam ent, paving the way fo r th e first phase of the treaty's i m p le m en tat io n U n d er th i s phase, C anberra w ill elim inate all im port taxes and offer a m ore lenient v isa policy in exchange for Ind ia low ering its tariffs on a num ber of g oods

T h e I n d i a A u s t r a l i a E c o n o m i c C o o p e r a t i o n a n d T r a d e A g r e e m e n t ( I n d A u s E C T A ) , w h i c h w a s s i g n e d i n

April, needed to be cleared by the Australian Parliament, and is expected to be operationalised over the next couple of months after the procedural formalities are completed Separately, nego t i a t i o n s f o r a c o m p r e h e n s i v e t r e a t y a r e e x p e c t e d t o c o m mence in January, the commerce department said in a presenta tion

“ T h e e n t r y i n t o f o r c e o f I n d A u s E C T A w i l l b e g r e a t l y welcomed by our business com m u n i t i e s , a n d w i l l f u r t h e r

strengthen the India Australia C o m p r e h e n s i v e S t r a t e g i c P a r t n e r s h i p , ” P M N a r e n d r a Modi tweeted, hours after his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese announced the green l i g h t f r o m P a r l i a m e n t T h e A u s t r a l i a n P a r l i a m e n t a l s o cleared the trade deal with the UK C o m m e r c e a n d i n d u s t r y m i n i s t e r P i y u s h G o y a l t o l d media that “It reflects the confi dence and trust between two countries It is a big recogni

Violent crimes in SA claims more than 7,000 lives in 3 months

unacceptable,” Police Minister Bheki Cele told a news conference

tion of India’s growing stature and the capability that our busi n e s s e s p r o v i d e t o t h e w o r l d , both in goods and services ”

According to industry group Nasscom's estimation, the dou b l e t a x a t i o n a v o i d a n c e a g r e e ment, which was also finalised, will save Indian IT companies about $200 million, the minister added He said the agreement is likely to push the bilateral trade to $45 50 billion in the next five six years from the current level of around $31 billion

2 students from Telangana drown in Missouri

South Africa’s parliamentary port folio committee on police heard details of the crime statistics, recording those crimes reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) from July 1 to September 30, 2022

According to quarterly statistics, there were 14% more murders between July and September than there were during the same period in 2021, when 6,163 individuals were killed Nearly 1,000 women were among those who were killed in the year 2022 Additionally, 1,277 women were the targets of attempted murder and more t h a n 1 3 , 0 0 0 w o m e n w e r e a s s a u l t e d with the aim to cause serious bodily harm

“ T h e r a t e a t w h i c h w o m e n a r e abused, violated and some killed in South Africa remains worrying and

The statist ics also revealed that k i d n a p p i n g s d o u b l e d t o m o r e t h a n 4,000 from the same time last year, and rapes increased by 11% with 10,000 cases reported nationwide in a nation n o t o r i o u s f o r s e x a s s a u l t s a g a i n s t women and children

“The crime statistics again show that we as communities continue to fail to protect some of the most vulner able in society: our children,” Cele said

The data also revealed that kidnap pings doubled to more than 4,000 from the same time last year, while rapes increased by 11% with 10,000 cases reported nationwide in a nation known for sex assaults against women and children

The country’s largest labour con federation, COSATU, said last month that the force’s headcount has declined b y n e a r l y 3 0 , 0 0 0 d u r i n g t h e p a s t decade from more than 200,000 to 172,000

H

Telangana minister KT Rama Rao in a tweet said that he has asked his team to assist the victims’ fami lies in getting the mortal remains back as soon as pos sible First responders received a call on Saturday r e q u e s t i n g a s s i s t a n c e i n l o c a t i n g t h e t w o , t h e Missouri state highway patrol said on Sunday The incident took place when Kunta who went swimming in the lake failed to surface His friend Kelligari then jumped into the lake to rescue Kunta but failed to come back up too, the police statement said Kunta’s body was recovered two hours after the incident by the rescue services while Kelligari’s body was recovered later on Sunday, police said Both were p r o n o u n c e d d e a d o n s c e n e , a c c o r d i n g t o p o l i c e records The manager of the Airbnb where the two were staying said that he called the emergency ser vices after hearing cries for help

OH IO: Rath anakishore Giri,

money provided by new investors to repay old ones

hallmark of

scheme,

OU S TO N : Two In di an stud en ts f rom Telang ana d rowned in the Lake of the Ozarks in the US state of M issouri during the Than ksgi vi ng weekend, police said The vi cti ms, i den ti fied as 24 year old Uthej Kun ta, an d 25 year old Sh iva Kelli gari , died on Saturday D etai ls of the v ictims were not i mmed iately kn own

Gujarat election: parties focusing on the tribal belt

G ujarat’s trib al be lt stretches ac ros s 1 4 d i s t ri c ts , f r om A m b a j i i n th e n orth to U mbergaon in the south Though Adi vasis c onstitute 14 per c ent of the electorate, in the past they have been one of the b iggest c on tri butors to the Con gre ss ’ s tally i n the Ass embly The party found elec toral succes s i n the 1980s with i ts K HA M ( K s h a tr i y a , H ar i j a n , A divasi, and M us lim comm unities ) s oc ial allian ce s trategy

T h i s b e l t h a d t r a d i t i o n a l l y remained a Congress preserve, until t h e B h a r a t i y a J a n a t a P a r t y ( B J P ) finally started making inroads in the year 1990s BJP has been ruling the state for more than two decades after winning six Assembly elections in a row, feels that in the coming elections; it can win at least 20 out o f t h e s e 2 7 s e a t s a s t h e t r i b a l population wants development and also given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity

A senior Congress leader said the absence of the Gandhis from the campaign would hamper the party’s c h a n c e s “ T h e t r i b a l p o p u l a t i o n does look up to the Gandhi family e v e n t o d a y , ” s a i d a C o n g r e s s functionary “So far, we have not heard if Rahul Gandhi or Priyankaji will arrive to campaign in tribal areas Last time, Rahul Gandhi’s yatra through the tribal seats and his interaction with students had worked in the party’s favour Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has cashed in on Rahul Gandhi’s absence ”

A f t e r f o r m i n g a p r e e l e c t i o n agreement with the BTP earlier this year, the AAP got off to a solid start

in its campaign for the Adivasi seats However, the collaboration failed after Kejriwal's party announced its o w n s l a t e o f c a n d i d a t e s a n d e x p e l l e d s o m e o f t h e B T P ' s t o p officials Former BTP leader Chaitar Vasava has been nominated by the AAP, forcing incumbent BTP MLA M a h e s h V a s a v a t o s w i t c h t o h i s f a t h e r C h h o t u b h a i V a s a v a ' s

Jhagadia constituency BJP’ S strategies

In 2020, the BJP orchestrated a wave of tribal leaders leaving the Congress This included the two current MLAs from the southern Dangs and Kaprada seats

This year, they have sparked a brand new wave of tribal defections from the Congress These include the current representatives for the Congress held Khedbrahma, Jhalod, and Chhota Udepur constituencies T h e m o s t v a l u a b l e c a n d i d a t e i s Mohansinh Rathwa, 11 time Chhota Udepur Congress MLA

Lastly, the BJP’s heavyweights a r e c a m p a i g n i n g s t r o n g l y i n t h e tribal belt The Prime Minister has b e e n s e t t i n g t h e s t a g e f o r s o m e months now, with repeated visits to t h e r e g i o n , i n a u g u r a t i n g d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s , a n d s h o w c a s i n g t h e p a t e n t e c o n o m i c b o o m a r o u n d t h e S a r d a r P a t e l Statue of Unity R epres entation in Poli ti cal Parties Of the 182 candidates who will c o n t e s t f r o m B J P , 5 9 b e l o n g t o O t h e r B a c k w a r d C l a s s e s ( O B C s ) These candidates belong to the Koli, Ahir, Thakor, Karadiya, Chaudhary, V a g h e r , M e r , K h a r a v a , R a n a g o l a ,

Madi, Panchal, Barot, Modi, Mistri, Rabari and Satvara communities

The party has given 28 Scheduled T r i b e a n d 1 5 S c h e d u l e d C a s t e candidates tickets in this election M e a n w h i l e , o n l y 1 8 w o m e n candidates have been fielded by the BJP

C o n g r e s s p a r t y h a v e g i v e n tickets to 13 Scheduled Caste and 25 Scheduled Tribe candidates in the e l e c t i o n T h e y h a v e f i e l d e d 1 4 women although that figure was 10 in the last assembly Forty eight candidates belong to OBCs Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded its candidates on all 182 from which 13 are Scheduled Caste and 26 from Scheduled Tribe and only six w o m e n c a n d i d a t e s w e r e g i v e n tickets

2 016 Assem bly Election R esults

According to preliminary data, t h e C o n g r e s s g a i n e d a b o u t o n e percentage point more rural seats than the BJP The BJP won or led in 54 rural assembly segments, while the Congress was firmly saddled in 67 Opposite trends held in urban seats as the Congress managed to win or was winning in only 10 urban seats, compared to the BJP’s 46

T h e C o n g r e s s ’ l a r g e s t g a i n s c a m e f r o m t h e c o u n t r y s i d e , p a r t i c u l a r l y S a u r a s h t r a , a p r e d o m i n a n t l y r u r a l b e l t comprising 11 districts and a third of the state’s area In this region, the Congress won or was leading in 32 seats, compared to 27 of the BJP This translates to a loss of 15 seats for the BJP and a gain of 13 for the Congress

After protest, SC collegium stalls transfer of Gujarat HC judge

After stro ng protests from the Gu jarat High Co urt bar a s s o c i at io n o v er t h e p ro po sed transfer o f Justice N i k h i l S K ar ie l , t h e S C co llegium led by CJ I D Y Ch andrach ud h eld back its week o ld info rmal deci sion as the ju dge do es no t fi gure a mo ng t h e na me s recommended for transfers

I n t h e f i r s t m e e t i n g u n d e r n e w C J I C h a n d r a c h u d , t h e collegium also comprising J u s t i c e s S a n j a y K K a u l , S Abdul Nazeer, K M Joseph a n d M R S h a h h a d o n N o v e m b e r 1 6 d e c i d e d t o transfer both Justice Kariel and Telangana HC’s Justice A Abhishek Reddy to Patna

HC It had sparked protests f r o m b o t h H C b a r associations

Gujarat HC bar leaders h a d m e t t h e C J I a n d submitted a memorandum terming Justice Kariel as an u p r i g h t a n d b r i g h t j u d g e a n d r e q u e s t e d r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e d e c i s i o n S o m e o t h e r l e a d e r s h a d a d d r e s s e d letters to the CJI S o u r c e s s a i d a f t e r G u j a r a t b a r l e a d e r s g a v e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a g a i n s t J u s t i c e K a r i e l ’ s p r o p o s e d transfer, the CJI decided to c o n s i d e r t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s “ T h e proposal relating to Justice Kariel’s transfer was not put

in the agenda of collegium meeting,” they said

But the collegium stuck t o i t s e a r l i e r d e c i s i o n t o t r a n s f e r J u s t i c e T R a j a , a c t i n g C h i e f J u s t i c e o f Madras HC, to Rajasthan HC It also remained firm o n t r a n s f e r r i n g J u s t i c e Reddy from Telangana HC t o P a t n a H C d e s p i t e protests from advocates in the state HC

T w o w o m e n j u d g e s J u s t i c e V M V e l u m a n i o f M a d r a s H C a n d J u s t i c e L a l i t h a K a n n e g a n t i o f T e l a n g a n a w e r e a l s o t r a n s f e r r e d A m o n g t h e s e v e n t r a n s f e r r e d , f i v e belonged to Telangana and two from Andhra Pradesh

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ATS nabs IIT grad for threatening email to PM Modi

G uja ra t ant i t err orist squad (ATS) a rr ested a 25 y ea r old ma n from Ba daun in Utt ar P r a d e sh fo r a lle g e d ly sen ding a thr ea ten ing e mail t o Pr ime Ministe r Nar en dra Modi a few da ys ago

As per the Gujarat ATS o f f i c e r s r e p o r t , t h e m a n identified as Aman Saxena, a resident of Adarshnagar in Badaun, had sent that email threatening an attempt on M o d i ’ s l i f e a t a r a l l y i n Jamnagar recently

Saxena is a BTech degree holder from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and had sent that email to t a k e r e v e n g e f r o m a m a n w h o w a s c l o s e t o a g i r l whom Saxena loved

Assam, Meghalaya lift travel curbs 5 days after border clash

B o th As s a m an d M eg ha l ay a w it hdre w t rav el adv is ori es that r estri cted arri val and depart of v e hi c u la r mo ve m e nt f ol lo wi n g the aftermath of the violence in W est Karbi Anglong of Assam in w h i c h s i x p e opl e w er e k i ll e d Sources said that the decisi on was t a k en fo ll ow i n g a m e et i n g of D GPs of the two states

Five days after the interstate border clash at Mukroh village, the bustling Jorabat transit route o n t h e o u t s k i r t s o f G u w a h a t i r e t u r n e d t o n e a r n o r m a l c y a s unhindered vehicular movement w a s r e s t o r e d B o t h c o m m u t e r s

and tourists prefer to take the J o r a b a t r o u t e w h i l e t r a v e l l i n g from Guwahati to Shillong and vice versa

A p o l i c e o f f i c e r s t a t e d t h a t

“Entering Meghalaya was never fully restricted from Day 1 We were only issuing advisories to the t r a v e l l e r s a g a i n s t v i s i t i n g t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g s t a t e , u n l e s s absolutely necessary But we have withdrawn the advisories on the instructions of the higher state police authorities ”

B e s i d e s t h e s m a l l e r e n t r y points to Meghalaya that falls in Kamrup (Metro), travel advisories

have also been withdrawn from the key routes between the two s t a t e s t h a t p a s s t h r o u g h t h e neighbouring Kamrup in lower Assam

“ W e h a v e w i t h d r a w n a l l advisories that were being given to vehicles, especially those bearing A s s a m r e g i s t r a t i o n n u m b e r s , w h i l e e n t e r i n g M e g h a l a y a , ” Kamrup SP Hitesh Ray said From Sunday, all vehicles have started m o v i n g i n s i d e M e g h a l a y a T h e Meghalaya police are giving escort w h e r e v e r n e c e s s a r y E x t e n s i v e p a t r o l l i n g i s b e i n g c a r r i e d o u t along highways

A n A T S o f f i c e r s t a t e d t h a t “ T h e h o m e m i n i s t r y entrusted an investigation to the Gujarat ATS regarding the threatening email to the P M O ( P r i m e M i n i s t e r ’ s office) After which, the ATS began an inquiry and traced the sender of that email in A d a r s h n a g a r o f B a d a u n ” The ATS officer said that two cops went to Badaun and acting on technical and human surveillance, nabbed Saxena from his house

S a x e n a w a s t a k e n t o police lines in Badaun for f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n "Saxena confessed that he had sent that email under the identity of a man who w a s c l o s e t o a g i r l t h a t

Saxena loved during detailed q u e s t i o n i n g b y A T S T h a t individual was to be falsely a c c u s e d b y S a x e n a However, we will investigate t h e i s s u e f r o m e v e r y viewpoint, stated a top ATS officer The officer said that the agency will file an FIR against Saxena for sending threats through anonymous communication along with o t h e r c h a r g e s o f t h e I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y Act According to police, the p r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n indicates that only Saxena s e n t t h a t e m a i l , b u t i f i t t u r n s o u t t h a t a n o t h e r p e r s o n w a s a l s o i n v o l v e d , t h a t p e r s o n w i l l a l s o b e questioned

Cong likely to hold plenary session in mid-Feb to

Congress is likely to h old the AICC p lenary ses sion i n mid F ebruary to c o m p l et e th e p ro c e s s o f o r ga ni s a ti o n al p o ll s w h i c h la st month gave the p arty th e fi rst non G a nd h i p r es i d en t i n o ve r tw o d ec a de s i n Ma ll i k ar ju n K h ar ge T h e p le na ry i s t h e p ar ty ’ s c o n s ti t u ti o n al r eq u i re me n t t o r at i fy t h e el ec t i o n o f th e n e w p resident and p ut in place new bodies like th e Congress working co mmittee (CWC)

As per the report, the plenary is likely to be organised during the mandatory budget session interval o f t h e p a r l i a m e n t t h a t u s u a l l y

revamp of CWC

happens in the second week of February Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra will also finish by then s i n c e i t i s m o v i n g a h e a d o f schedule

The plenary, likely to be held in the national capital, will be a mega affair with keen interest among l e a d e r s a n d w o r k e r s , a s i t w i l l w i t n e s s a c o m p l e t e r e v a m p o f party bodies like the CWC, the central election committee (CEC) and also see the appointment of key managers in charge of state affairs Much of the general focus w i l l b e o n t h e n e w t e a m t h a t Kharge will pick to assist him

As part of the special summary revision with October 1, 20 22 as the qualifying date, app roximately 51 0 , 0 0 0

ad ded to the electo ral ro lls in J&K The form er state of J&K, which also inclu ded Lad akh, underwent its last rev isio n in 201 9, and th ere were an ad ditional 1 80, 000 voters According to the revised rolls for J&K published the first after reorganisation of the erstwhile state and delimitation of its par

E a r t h O b s e r v a t i o n S a t e l l i t e ( E O S 0 6 ) a n d 8 n a n o s a t e l l i t e s were launched during this mis sion The nano satellites are the Nano Satellite 2 for Bhutan (INS 2B), Anand, Astrocast (four satel lites), and two Thybolt satellites

T h e E a r t h O b s e r v a t i o n Satellite 6 (EOS 6) is the third generation Indian satellite of the Oceansat series launched for mon itoring the oceans It was devel oped by the ISRO in partnership w i t h t h e M i n i s t r y o f E a r t h Sciences and others This mission is a follow up to OceanSat 1 or IRS P4 and OceanSat 2 that were launched in 1999 and 2009 respec tively

It is the first in the series to host three ocean observing sensors the Ocean Color Monitor (OCM 3 ) , S e a S u r f a c e T e m p e r a t u r e M o n i t o r ( S S T M ) , a n d K u B a n d scatterometer (SCAT 3)

Its purpose is to observe ocean color data, sea surface temperature and wind vector data that are used f o r o c e a n o g r a p h y , c l i m a t i c a n d meteorological applications The OCM 3 is expected to improve the accuracy of the daily monitoring of p h y t o p l a n k t o n , w h i c h w i l l t h e n assist in several activities like fish ery resource management, ocean c a r b o n u p t a k e , h a r m f u l a l g a l bloom alerts, and climate studies

T h e S S T M w i l l p r o v i d e t h e temperature of the ocean surface, an important parameter to provide f o r e c a s t s f o c u s i n g o n f i s h e r i e s aggregation, cyclone genesis and movement etc

SCAT 3 provides a highly accu

rate wind speed and direc tion at the ocean surface

A R G O S p a y l o a d o n t h i s satellite was developed in partnership with France It is used for energy efficient communications, includ ing marine robotic floats ( a g r o f l o a t s ) , f i s h t a g s , drifters, and distress alert devices that are used for e f f e c t i v e l y c o n d u c t i n g search and rescue missions

What i s INS 2B?

INS 2B is a collaborative mis sion between India and Bhutan It has 2 payloads the NanoMx (a multispectral optical imaging pay load) and APRS Digipeater India provided capacity building assis tance for the development of this m i s s i o n B h u t a n e s e e n g i n e e r s were provided hand on training at the UR Rao Satellite Centre, in Bengaluru to build and test satel lites as well as process and analyse satellite data This newly launched satellite will provide high resolu tion images to Bhutan to help the country effectively manage its nat ural resources

MEA slams US report on religious freedom in India

I nd ia c r i ti c is e d t h e U S C o m m i s s io n f o r I nternatio

The MEA described the observations made in the report as biased and inaccurate observa tions about India by USCIRF Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that “They (USCIRF) have a tendency to consistently misrepresent facts and this shows their lack of understand ing of India, our constitutional framework, plurality and our robust democratic system ” He added “given its past record, we are not

surprised to see that USCIRF continues to be guided by its prejudices and pursues a motivat ed agenda that calls into question its own cred ibility ” In its 2022 annual report earlier this year, the USCIRF had recommended that the US department of state designate India as a “country of particular concern ” for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egre gious religious freedom violations, as set forth by the International Religious Freedom Act

The US state department has refused to incorporate the commission’s recommenda tions so far It is not mandatory for the state department to implement USCIRF's recom mendations

No law above judicial scrutiny: Shah on Places of Worship Act

Union home m inister Amit Shah s tated that no l aw is above judicial review before the Suprem e Court's deadl ine of Decem ber 12 for t he Cent re to e xplain its position on the Plac es of Worship Act, 199 1

Shah declined to comment specifically on the law that was passed in response to the campaign for the Ram Mandir and that has been contested on the grounds that it violates the right to freedom of religion and worship when asked what the government's position was on the Places of Worship Act, which has frozen the character of all places of worship as they were on August 15, 1947

“After the Ayodhya judgment, a few more disputes have cropped up and the law enacted in 1991 has also been challenged I should not

speak about these issues from a public plat form because these are sub judice However, I must say that every law should pass the legal scrutiny,” he said during the Times Now S u m m i t o n t h e t h e m e " I n d i a : V i b r a n t

Democracy, Global Bright Spot"

Shah also dealt with the sensitive issues of Uniform Civil Code, stressing that the coun try might have it by 2024 but there would be a healthy and open debate on the subject, as well as the CAA and NRC On the CAA NRC, Shah refuted the claim that the legislation change which caused irate protests to pro vide citizenship to those who have suffered religious persecution in the Islamic neigh bouring nations of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan has been put on ice

claimed that there were attempts to swell the J&K voter list with " o u t s i d e r s " a f t e r t h e t h e n J & K chief election officer forecast an a d d i t i o n a l 2 5 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 v o t e r s (though he later revised the fig ure) The final numbers should allay these worries, according to an EC official

The Election Commission will be able to start thinking about holding assembly elections in J&K once the updated rolls are pub lished Elections may not be possi b l e b e f o r e M a r c h 2 0 2 3 , e v e n though all parties and political figures in the UT have called for early elections

For the first time in the histo ry of J&K, more than 11,00,000 names were included in a single special summary revision period A total of 301,961 claims of inclu s i o n w e r e f r o m v o t e r s a g e d between 18 and 19 years A total of 412,157 requests for deletion were r e c e i v e d o u t o f w h i c h 3 5 8 , 2 2 2 were accepted and 53,935 rejected O v e r a l l n e t a d d i t i o n o f 770,000 electors in final rolls, i e more than 10% of the electors in d r a f t r o l l s p u b l i s h e d o n September 15, 2022, is the highest till date Even in an election year, t h e i n c r e a s e i s u s u a l l y b e l o w 200,000

J&K registers over 500,000 new voters amid row over 'outsiders' ISRO launches 9 satellites aboard PSLV-C54

India upset at ‘unnecessary’ reference to PM Modi by US official

India is outraged that a U S State Dep artment rep res entative m ade a re m a rk ag ai ns t P r im e M in is t e r Narendra Mo di wh ile s up porting the imm unity granted to Sau di Arabian king Mo hammad bin Su ltan, wh o is accus ed of killing jou rnalist Jamal Khash oggi

E x t e r n a l A f f a i r s M i n i s t r y spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said “Frankly, I fail to understand how t h e c o m m e n t o n P r i m e M i n i s t e r Modi was either relevant, necessary o r c o n t e x t u a l , ” b y r e s p o n d i n g t o questions about a US official refer ring to Modi while explaining the reasons for granting immunity to the Saudi ruler

“Our two countries enjoy a very special relationship which is growing from strength to strength and we look forward to working with the US to further deepen it,” he said, refer ring to the bilateral ties between India and the US

According to reports, US State D e p a r t m e n t p r i n c i p a l d e p u t y spokesperson Vedant Patel stated in a briefing that the US has granted immunity to a number of heads of

state in the past, including PM Modi, when asked about the Saudi Crown Prince's killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi Bagchi also said reports about the prime minister’s visit to the US in December were incorrect “No proposal for a visit by the Prime Minister to the US in December has b e e n m a d e b y o u r s i d e M e d i a reports in this regard are incorrect,” Bagchi said

A d d i t i o n a l l y , h e d e n i e d " f a l s e comments" made on social media about the recent bilateral meeting between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden on the fringes of the G 20 summit in Bali, which were attribut ed to White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar

“We have seen some incorrect social media posts which attribute f a l s e s t a t e m e n t s t o t h e E x t e r n a l Affairs Minister, who has not made any comment on this to the press or on social media It also attributes false statements to the White House press secretary So, I would request you all not to lend credence to such incorrect information,” Bagchi said

around 690,000, way less than the anticipated increase in J&K voters post delimitation Many parties

T

Kerala govt pressuring me to

sign

illegal papers: Governor

ij ayan led Kerala go

Karnataka 'seriously' thinking of UCC implementation: Bommai

brief

HC SETS TERMS FOR TELANGANA BJP MARCH

w

p re ss u ri n g h i m to s i g n p apers th at w ere “irreg ular and i lleg a l”, Kera la g o v erno r A ri f M ohamm ed Kh an alleged at a m eet in g K h an w a s p articipating in a d iscussion on t h e ro l e o f g o v e rn or s i n a d em o c ra cy an d w h y th e c o ns ti t u ti o nal o ff i ce w a s i n cr eas i ng l y g e tti n g m i red in controv ersies, especially in op position ruled states

Insisting that the rule of law, not the law of the ruler must prevail in a democracy like India, Khan said the mandate of a government is to run a state in accordance with the rules of law and the Constitution “ I n m y t h r e e y e a r s a s K e r a l a g o v e r n o r , I h a v e c h a l l e n g e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o s h o w m e a s i n g l e instance when I interfered with any policy matter or in any appointments or transfers But when it comes to universities, the law clearly states that Governor is chancellor and running universities falls under his jurisdiction They were asking me to sign on things

that are, according to me, irregular and illegal I could not look the other way because the decisions could then be struck down by court,”Khan said R e f e r r i n g t o h i s r u n i n w i t h K e r a l a ’ s e l e c t e d g o v e r n m e n t o v e r appointments at various universities in t h e s t a t e , K h a n s a i d h e w a s “ e x a s p e r a t e d a n d f r u s t r a t e d b y t h e continued irregularities” and nepotism in appointments and wanted to resign H o w e v e r , K e r a l a c h i e f m i n i s t e r Pinarayi Vijayan, in successive letters to him, asked him not only to continue as c h a n c e l l o r , b u t a l s o g a v e h i m a n “unqualified assurance ” that irregular appointments at Kerala varsities would stop Khan alleged though, that Vijayan did not keep his word

Setback for BJP in Haryana panchayat election

CH AND IG ARH : T he BJ P suffered a setback in the Haryana Zila P arish ad p olls winning o nly 22 o f th e 1 00 seats i t contested, while the AAP was at the s eco nd sp ot by bagging 1 5 seats o ut of th e over 1 00 it contested on t h e p ar ty s ym bo l T h e p o ll s, th e results of wh ich were declared on S unday, also saw th e Indian Natio nal Lok Dal making some gai ns T he Congress and the BJP 's ally Jannayak J a na ta P art y di d n o t co n tes t th e p anch ayat polls on party symbols

According to political experts, the poll outcome has come as a wake up call for the ruling BJP ahead of the 2024 state assembly polls The party, however, claimed that more than 150 BJP backed candidates also w o n i n t h e e l e c t i o n s i n o t h e r districts of the state

T h e z i l a p a r i s h a d p o l l r e s u l t came as a shocker for the BJP in Panchkula where it lost all 10 seats which it contested The party also suffered a setback in Sirsa where it failed to win a single seat out of 10 it contested

The major embarrassment came

for the party after BJP MP from K u r u k s h e t r a N a y a b S i n g h S a i n i ' s wife Suman Saini was defeated from w a r d n u m b e r 4 o f A m b a l a z i l a parishad

The ruling party also could not perform well in Ambala, which is the home district of Home Minister Anil Vij, where it could win only two seats out of total 15 zila parishad seats In Gurugram, the BJP could win four o u t o f 1 0 z i l a p a r i s h a d s e a t s However, in Yamunanagar, Nuh and Kurukshetra, the ruling party won s i x , s e v e n a n d t h r e e s e a t s respectively

H a r y a n a B J P s p o k e s p e r s o n S a n j a y S h a r m a a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e party performed very well in the zila parishad polls He claimed the BJP supported 151 candidates won in 15 districts

Apart from this, Sharma said the majority of 126 independents who won the polls are supporting the BJP Therefore, out of total 411 members in 22 zila parishads, the BJP has the b a c k i n g o f a r o u n d 3 0 0 w i n n i n g candidates

B E N G L A U R U / S H I V A M O G G A : K a r n a t a k a C M Basavaraj Bommai said his government is ‘seriously’ mulling implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state to ensure equality Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on the occasion of Indian Constitution Day, he said his “government was very seriously considering implementing the UCC as it was part of the main manifesto of the BJP at the n a t i o n a l l e v e l " A c c o r d i n g t o B o m m a i , t h e s t a t e government is looking at the various committees formed in different states to implement the UCC to study all the aspects before taking a call on it “In a s e c u l a r c o u n t r y , l a w s s h o u l d n o t b e b a s e d o n religion,” Bommai said “If a nation and its states are secular, how can laws be based on religion? For every b e l i e v e r , t h e r e s h o u l d b e o n e l a w p a s s e d b y Parliament or state assembly ” But the CM insisted that the anti cow slaughter a n d a n t i c o n v e r s i o n l a w s w o u l d b e “ e f f e c t i v e l y implemented” Justifying a uniform code, Bommai said the Constitution also says the government shall not deny to any person in India equality before law or the equal protection of laws “It means that laws apply equally to all, regardless of a person ’ s status or religion,” he said In an apparent dig at Congress, Bommai said both the state and the Centre are focusing on development and not appeasement politics

NRI wanted for

The Telangana High Court on Monday accorded permission to state BJP chief and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar to take up the fifth phase of his 'Praja Sangrama Yatra' and a public meeting in Bhainsa town of Nirmal district with certain conditions including that the padayatra should be held outside the town The Telangana BJP approached the High Court against the police denying permission to Telangana BJP chief for the padayatra (foot march) and public meeting scheduled in Bhainsa citing the "communally sensitive situation" there After hearing the petition that sought clearance for the padayatra and the meeting, the HC gave conditional permission to the foot march and the meeting

MAN SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE TO PROTEST HINDI IMPOSITION

killing

Australian woman arrested in Delhi

A M RIT S A R/N EW D EL H I: A mritsar based NRI Rajwinder Sing h, who h ad fled Queensland in Au stralia after allegedly killing a woman four years ago and w as carrying a reward of 1 million A ustralian dollars (ov er £540, 000 ), was arrested by the Delhi Police on Friday He was prod uced before a Delhi court, wh ich sent him to five day jud icial custod y Rajwinder (38), who moved to Australia two decades ago, originally hailed from Butar Kalan village, near Mehta, 4 5 k m f r o m A m r i t s a r H e a l l e g e d l y m u r d e r e d T o y a h Cordingley (24) on a beach in Queensland in October 2018, and was on the run since then

Rajwinder worked as a nurse in Innisfail Following the crime, he left his wife and three children in the town and fled His father Amar Singh and brother in law Harpreet Singh also live there

He was not the only suspect The Queensland Police had earlier said there were “several persons of interest” who were being actively investigated Since Rajwinder’s location was found near the crime spot, the police had enough circumstantial and documentary evidence to name him as the prime suspect The Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against Rajwinder, following which a non bailable w a r r a n t w a s i s s u e d b y t h e P a t i a l a H o u s e C o u r t o n November 21 under the Extradition Act A senior police officer said based on inputs shared by the CBI and their Australian counterparts, the accused was nabbed from near GT Karnal Road on Friday

SC stays CBI probe in Bengal teachers recruitment scam

N E W D E L H I : T h e S u p rem e C ourt stayed the Calcu tta hig h c o u rt o r d er s d i r ec ti ng th e C entral Bureau of India (CBI) investig ation into th e filing of an application by the West Beng al C ent ral S c h o o l S er v i ce C o m m i s si o n ( S S C ) i n a ca se r el ate d to th e tea ch e rs ’ recruitm ent scam

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli also stayed the part of the order by which the single judge bench of the high court had summoned West B e n g a l p r i n c i p a l s e c r e t a r y Manish Jain before it in relation t o t h e f i l i n g o f t h e f r e s h application by the West Bengal

“ P r e s e n t l y , w h e n I a m a r g u i n g h e r e , t h e p r i n c i p a l secretary is in the dock before the high court,” senior advocate

A M Singhvi, appearing for the s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t , t o l d t h e bench “There shall be a stay on the high court orders,” the CJI said

and listed the plea of the state government after three weeks On November 23, the high court had ordered the CBI probe into t h e f i l i n g o f a b e n a m i application’ and had asked the central agency to investigate at whose behest the plea was filed by the SSC to secure the jobs of staff illegally recruited for state g o v e r n m e n t s p o n s o r e d a n d aided educational institutions by creating extra posts

T h e h i g h c o u r t h a d a l s o sought the personal appearance of Jain before it The CBI is a l r e a d y p r o b i n g i l l e g a l appointments in such schools on earlier orders of the high court

An 85 year old DMK man immolated himself in Salem district of Tamil Nadu to protest what he called the Centre’s moves to impose Hindi in the state Police said MV Thangavel of Thalaiyur village went to the local DMK office and left a suicide note addressed to CM MK Stalin before pouring petrol on himself and lighting a match He died on the spot In the suicide note, he said the future of the youth and their employment opportunities would be spoilt if Hindi came to Tamil Nadu I had opposed Hindi from my childhood I have taken this decision with an intention to not allow Hindi in Tamil Nadu,” Thangavel wrote Thangavel s wife Janaki said that he left home around 10 30 am telling her he was going to meet some partymen

Thangavel was later buried on his own land A case was registered

NRI LYRICIST HELD FOR 2019 ‘ANTI DERA’ SONG

An NRI lyricist was arrested for an “anti Dera” song he wrote in 2019 Spain resident Pawan Mehmi who follows Bhimrao Ambedkar was picked up from Hadiabad near Phagwara in Punjab where a Dalit group was celebrating the Constitution Day In March 2019

Jalandhar based Guru Ravidas Tiger Force president Amit Jassi Talhan had lodged an FIR under IPC Section 295 A (hurting religious sentiments) at the Patara police station against singer Jiwan Mehmi, alleging that he had abused Deras in a song Later, lyricist Mehmi was also booked Ambedkar Sena Moolniwasi chief Harbhajan Suman, who supports Mehmi, said: “While the singer got bail, Pawan was declared a proclaimed offender since he was abroad ”

CLASHES IN SCHOOL OVER HIJAB, SAFFRON SCARVES

A group of students who demanded that they be allowed to wear a ‘namabali’ (saffron scarf) in class apparently to retaliate the permission another group received to wear hijab in school came to blows with each other last week prompting the authorities to cancel exams Police along with RAF entered Dhulagori Adarsha Vidyalaya in Howrah s Sankrail to defuse tension The school has convened a meeting of the managing committee, parents and the local administration to ensure peace Dhulagori Adarsha Vidyalaya is a 50 year old school affiliated to the West Bengal Board

Arif Mohammed Khan

Central SSC

Technology must make justice accessible to all: PM, CJI

On th e Constitution Day, bo t h P r i me Mi n is t er Narendra Mo di and Chief J u s ti c e DY Ch an dr ac h u d emph asised the importance of tec hnology in ensuring th at th e delivery o f jus tice and governance reach the mo s t m ar gi n al i s ed a nd re mo t e wo m en a n d th e poo rest of the poo r “ P r o p e o p l e p o l i c i e s h a v e s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e p o o r , w o m e n a n d m a r g i n a l i s e d L e g i s l a t i o n s and laws are being simpli fied The judiciary is taking many meaningful steps for timely justice E initiatives of the Supreme Court and the attempts towards ease of justice must be carried forward,” the PM Modi said a t t h e f u n c t i o n a t t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t t o c o m memorate adoption of the Constitution on November 26, 1949

T h e j u d i c i a r y m u s t m a k e s u r e t h a t e v e r y o n e may access the justice deliv ery system Challenges call f o r c o m m i t t e d a c t i o n According to Martin Luther King Jr , the Indian judicia ry has implemented a num ber of reforms to bend the arc of the moral universe

t o w a r d s j u s t i c e , " t h e C J I said, promising to increase t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f w o m e n a n d o t h e r marginalised groups in the judiciary

“The world is looking up to India today because of its rapid development, f a s t e x p a n d i n g e c o n o m y and the influential position of India in the international stage The world is looking with expectation at India, a country about which there were apprehensions that it w o u l d n o t b e a b l e t o r e m a i n i n d e p e n d e n t a n d would wither away because of its vast diversity,” the PM said

The youth have a fan t a s t i c o p p o r t u n i t y t o d e m o n s t r a t e w h y I n d i a ' s growth story is capturing

the attention of the world and how the "mother of all democracies" brought all of her citizens together while respecting their diversity to o v e r c o m e i s s u e s d u r i n g India's G20 chairmanship, he continued

“Today with all its ener gies and taking pride in its diversities, this country is m o v i n g f o r w a r d B e h i n d this success, the most pow e r f u l t o o l i s t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n ‘ W e t h e People’ is not merely three words, it is exhortation, a promise and a belief This c o n s t i t u t i o n a l e t h o s i s rooted in the Indian ethos e m b e d d e d i n e v e r y o n e f r o m a n c i e n t t i m e s a n d that is why India is known as the mother of all democ racies,” he added

Pay realistic compensation to Morbi victim's families: HC

The Gujarat High Cour t ordered the s tate governme nt to incr ease the am ount, rec om m e nd in g t ha t i t s h oul d b e c l os e t o R s 10,00,000, s aying that the Rs 400,000 c om pens ation for death in the Morbi s us pens ion b ridge c oll apse disas ter is insuff ic ient The governme nt was ordered by the c ourt to pro vide a r easonable est im ate that ref lec ted the t im e s dem ands

The HC further requested that the gov ernment announce a plan for dealing with tragedies like drunken deaths, capsized boats, etc , and stated, "Since this has come up, you can visualise something This is the process used to create policies

The HC ordered the government to docu ment "the policies it would formulate to meet exigencies both by way of regulatory mecha

nism as well as the steps that would be taken in terms of rehabilitation "

T h e b r i d g e c o l l a p s e o n O c t o b e r 3 0 claimed the lives of 135 people The HC had started the process by taking suo motu notice of a report that was released the following d a y T h e b e n c h o f C h i e f J u s t i c e A r a v i n d Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri insisted that the compensation should be at least dou ble what has been given, and suggested that it should be nearly Rs 10,00,000

The court stated that “compensation by state to kin of victims and to those seriously injured is abysmally on the lower side We hope and trust that by the next date of hear ing, the said compensation would be realistic It is also the need of the hour to pay appropri ate compensation ”

RBI to introduce e-rupee on Dec 1 for retail consumers

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the launch o f the m uch awaited first p hase of the dig ital form of the Ind ian currency for the retail seg ment The merchants and retail customers in fo ur cities, includ ing Mum bai and Delhi, will be able to u se d igital rup ee ( e₹ R), or e rupee, from Decem ber 1

The central bank stated that the pilot would initially take place in four cities M u m b a i , N e w

launch the first phase in four different cities across the nation Four additional banks will l a t e r j o i n t h i s p i l o t , i n c l u d i n g B a n k o f Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, it said

SC seeks Center's response on allowing same-sex unions

The Supreme Court agr ee d to look in to le gal ising sa me sex mar riage s in In dia four y ea rs a ft er de cr iminalisin g adult con sensual pri va te sex ual r elation ships be twee n LGBTQ+ com mun iti es The cour t w as se e kin g the Un ion g over nme nt 's r esponse to t wo gay c ou p le s' r e qu e s t s t ha t t h e 1 9 54 S p e ci a l Ma rria ge Act (SMA) be made g end er n eutr al

Two petitions were filed, one by Delhi based partners Parth Phiroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj and the other by Hyderabad based partners Supriyo aka Supriya Chakraborty and Abhay Dang A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli gave notice to the Centre and requested that it submit its response in four weeks

A p p e a r i n g f o r t h e p e t i t i o n e r s , s e n i o r advocates NK Kaul, Mukul Rohatgi, Menaka G u r u s w a m y a n d S a u r a b h K i r p a l t o l d t h e bench that the SC, in its September 6, 2018 judgment in the Navtej Singh Johar case, had

said that members of the LGBTQ community cannot be prosecuted or persecuted under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as they have a right to individual sexual orientation After Kaul informed the court that there are currently nine petitions on the same issue pending before the high courts in Delhi and Kerala, and that the Union government had informed the Kerala HC that it would seek transfer of all these cases for a unified ruling by the Supreme Court, the SC decided to hear the two petitions from same sex couples

The SC had also said, “The choice of whom to partner, the ability to find fulfil ment in sexual intimacies and the right not to be subjected to discriminatory behaviour is intrinsic to the constitutional protection of sexual orientation Members of LGBTQ are entitled to the benefit of an equal citizenship, without discrimination, and to equal protec tion of law ”

PM Modi seeks to correct historical inaccuracies

Prime Minister Narendra M odi e mphas is ed the need to c elebrate the nation's heritage and its hitherto unrec ognised uns ung b rave hearts while c alling for the correct ion of his torica l inacc urac ies that, in his words, were penned as part of a conspiracy during the colonial er a The grand celebrations commemorating t h e 4 0 0 t h b i r t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f l e g e n d a r y Ahom general Lachit Barphukan culminated with a clarion call by the PM to follow the life p r i n c i p l e o f t h e h e r o o f t h e ‘ B a t t l e o f Saraighat’

Remembering the great hero from Assam who stalled the march of the Mughals, Modi said, “The history of India is not just about slavery The history of India is about emerging victorious, it is about the valour of countless

g r e a t s I n d i a ’ s h i s t o r y i s a b o u t s t a n d i n g against tyranny with unprecedented valour and courage ” "Our collective perspective of history should not be constrained to a few centuries or decades, he remarked at the valedictory speech He also advocated for the north eastern area to serve as the centre of India's growth narrative Sadly, the history that was written as part of a plot during the colonial era, according to the PM, was still taught even after India gained her indepen dence "After independence, there was a need to modify the goals of the foreigners who had made us their slaves, but this did not occur As per Modi, the accounts of ferocious anti tyranny resistance in every region of the nation were purposefully repressed

B h u b a n e s w a r a n d

a t e r e x t e n d t o A h m e d a b a d , G a n g t o k , G u w a h a t i , Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla The scope of the pilot may be expanded gradually to include more banks, users and locations as needed, the RBI said

According to the RBI, a closed user group (CUG) made up of participating customers a n d r e t a i l e r s w o u l d c o v e r a f e w s i t e s throughout the pilot The e R would take the shape of a digital token that serves as money

Eight banks have been chosen by the RBI to take part in this pilot project in stages Four banks State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank will

E rupee would be issued in the same d e n o m i n a t i o n s t h a t p a p e r c u r r e n c y a n d coins are currently issued It would be dis tributed through intermediaries, i e , banks According to the central bank “Users will be able to transact with e₹ R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones and devices

Both person to person (P2P) and person to merchant (P2M) transactions are possible QR codes are used to make payments to mer chants at their physical locations "The e R would provide characteristics of physical money, such as trust, safety, and settlement finality Similar to cash, it won't accrue inter est and can be changed into other forms of payment like bank deposits, according to the RBI According to the central bank, the pilot will test the robustness of the entire process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real time

The daughters of Madurai

Shefali Saxena

M adurai , 1992 A young mother in a poor fami ly, J anani is told she is useless if s he c a n ' t p ro du c e a s on or w or s e , b e ar s daughters They let her keep her first baby girl, but the rest are taken away as s oon as they are born murdered before they have a c h a nc e to l i ve T he f a te o f he r c hildren has never b een in her hands B u t J a n a n i c an ' t f o rg e t th e daughters she was n ever a llowed to love

S y d n e y, 2 0 1 9 Nila has a secret, o n e s h e ' s b e e n keeping from her parents for far too l o n g B e f o r e s h e can say anything, her grandfather in India falls ill and she agrees to join her parents on a trip to Madurai t h e f i r s t i n o v e r t e n y e a r s G r o w i n g u p i n A u s t r a l i a , N i l a knows very little about where she o r h e r f a m i l y c a m e f r o m , o r w h o t h e y l e f t b e h i n d W h a t s h e ' s a b o u t t o l e a r n w i l l c h a n g e h e r forever

A u t h o r R a j a s r e e V a r i y a r s a i d , " T h i s novel was born from a clear memory from my childhood I was around nine or ten, watching the evening news at home in Sydney with my parents when I caught a segment on the evening news about the murder of a baby girl in Bangalore the city where I was born It was the first time I heard the term for an act I couldn’t believe existed female infanticide

That could have been me was my first thought, one that has driven a passion for giving voice to the women and girls whose stories have gone unheard In writing The Daughters of Madurai, I wanted to explore the whys of such an unthinkable act

My research took me to Madurai, where some of my extended family still live I was

fortunate enough to spend time with a w o n d e r f u l g r a s s r o o t s c h a r i t y , W o m e n ’ s E m a n c i p a t i o n a n d D e v e l o p m e n t T r u s t , who have spent decades tackling the root c a u s e o f f e m a l e i n f a n t i c i d e a n d o t h e r gender based violence in the Madurai area

"The women I met on my trip were warm, strong, and resilient I met women w h o h a d b e e n b e a t e n b y t h e i r husband’s families u n t i l t h e y h a d a boy, women whose baby girls had been t a k e n f r o m t h e m a n d k i l l e d , a n d w o m e n w h o h a d had their foetuses a b o r t e d b e c a u s e they were female A n d a l l t h i s w a s h a p p e n i n g t w e n t y minutes down the r o a d f r o m w h e r e my own extended f a m i l y l i v e d m o d e r n , h i g h l y educated lifestyles

B u t d e s p i t e the grim nature of t h i s c u l t u r a l context, what was overwhelming was t h e w a r m t h a n d l o v e i n t h e s e f a m i l i e s , t h e vibrancy and joy in their communities, and their desire to break down old ways of thinking It was the stories of these families that I wanted to explore through Janani and Nila their fears, loves, motivations, and their fight for a future for their daughters "

'The Daughters of Madurai is a novel t h a t s p a n s g e n e r a t i o n s a n d c u l t u r e s something that is fundamental for so many of those growing up in the South Asian d i a s p o r a W e ' r e c a u g h t b e t w e e n w o r l d s w h i c h c a n b e w i l d l y , i n c o n c e i v a b l y different Trying to reconcile those worlds can be hugely significant in shaping who we are I hope very much that that resonates with Asian Voice readers!' Rajasree Variyar told Asian Voice

THE DAUGHTERS OF MADURAI by Rajasree Variyar published 28th April 2023 available in Hardback, eBook and audio £14 99

Museum unveils

diaspora

M an c h es t er Mu s e u m ’ s n ew S o u t h As i a Gallery, a Bri tish Mus eu m partnership , is t h e fi r s t p er ma ne n t g al le ry i n t h e UK dedicated to the experi ences and h istories of S outh Asian diaspo ra communities

M a n c h e s t e r M u s e u m , p a r t o f t h e University of Manchester, will reopen to the public on 18 February 2023 following a major capital redevelopment and this new m u l t i l i n g u a l g a l l e r y w i l l e x p l o r e t h e

c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n S o u t h A s i a a n d Britain’s legacy of Empire, and present fresh perspectives on British Asian and South Asian culture and creativity

T h e g a l l e r y h a s b e e n u n i q u e l y c o curated by the South Asia Gallery Collective, a group of 30 inspiring individuals including c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r s , e d u c a t o r s , a r t i s t s , h i s t o r i a n s , j o u r n a l i s t s a n d m u s i c i a n s Showcasing over 140 historic artefacts from the collections of the Manchester Museum a n d B r i t i s h M u s e u m , a l o n g s i d e n e w contemporary commissions and personal o b j e c t s p r o v i d e d b y t h e C o l l e c t i v e , t h e gallery will present a range of personal stories that provide visitors with a window i n t o S o u t h A s i a T h e g a l l e r y ’ s s t o r y l e d d e s i g n w i l l r e f l e c t m u l t i p l e v o i c e s a n d p e r s p e c t i v e s o n S o u t h A s i a t h r o u g h s i x overarching themes: Past & Present, Lived E n v i r o n m e n t s , I n n o v a t i o n & L a n g u a g e , Sound, Music & Dance, British Asian, and Movement & Empire

In Past & Present; the public will explore t h e a n c i e n t I n d u s V a l l e y C i v i l i s a t i o n t h r o u g h a c o n t e m p o r a r y l e n s , s h a r i n g p e r s p e c t i v e s b e y o n d a r c h a e o l o g i s t s ' perceptions of that time It will also present p o w e r f u l f e m a l e f i g u r e s o f t h e M u g h a l

Jaipur Music Stage all set to rock

T h e J a i p u r L it er at u re Festival 2023 is all set to b ri n g a ra ng e o f exh ilarating p erformers to th e J a i p u r M u s ic S ta ge , wh ic h wi ll b e r u n ni n g p a ra ll el to t h e F e s ti v al Infusing the au dience with a melodic exub erance at th e literary extravaganza, th e J aip ur Mu sic S tage will b e a 3 da y l o n g p r o gr am me , s e t to ru n fro m 1 9t h 21 s t J anu ar y, 202 3 featu ring a range of ce leb rate d a rti ste s fro m al l a ro u nd th e globe

Just like every year, the music stage will live up to its motto of variety, discovery and collaboration through its exemplary line up of artistes Bringing together a diverse mix of genres and artistes on one platform, J a i p u r M u s i c S t a g e a i m s t o t r a n s c e n d borders, genres and prejudices through its breathtaking performances ranging from world music, ghazals and jazz to rock and the blues

T h e m u s i c a l e x t r a v a g a n z a w i l l showcase acclaimed artistes, including the u l t i m a t e f u s i o n b a n d P a k s h e e ; contemporary electronic music production house Lifafa; Rhythms of India featuring

Talking about the festival, Avik Roy, Senior Executive Producer, Teamwork Arts, said, “The Jaipur Music Stage takes a voyage into a world of music beyond boundaries The much awaited musical fiesta features a r t i s t e s f r o m a l l a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y , representing diversity of genres, styles and musical sensibilities This year, the Jaipur M u s i c S t a g e w i l l s e e u n b e l i e v a b l e collaborations between diverse artistes and genres ”

A p a r t f r o m s e v e r a l e l e c t r i f y i n g performances, the Jaipur Music Stage will a l s o p r o v i d e o n e o n o n e i n t e r a c t i o n opportunities to all the music lovers, giving the audience a chance to celebrate music with the icons of the industry

I n n o v a t i o n & L a n g u a g e w i l l l o o k a t S o u t h A s i a n i n n o v a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e contribution of three iconic individuals that h a v e o f t e n b e e n o v e r l o o k e d , i n c l u d i n g Satyendra Nath Bose, one of the seminal f o u n d e r s o f m o d e r n q u a n t u m s c i e n c e Collective member, Fal Sarker, grandson of Bose will share the story of his impact on the s c i e n t i f i c p r o f e s s i o n s , i n c l u d i n g correspondence between Bose and Einstein as “ a labour of love to my famous ancestry and his impact on quantum physics”

A n o t h e r a n t h o l o g y , S o u n d , M u s i c & Dance, will feature various forms of musical expression from ancient instruments such as the hakgediya, a Sri Lankan conch shell, to the secret South Asian Daytimers raves of the 80s and 90s A listening station will play work by Aziz Ibrahim, a musician in the Collective, recognised for playing with the Stone Roses and Simply Red, as well as developing South Asian blues which mixes English and Punjabi, whose album describes a f a m i l y j o u r n e y f r o m L a h o r e t o Manchester

British Asian explores identity through a range of expressions from pop music to art, a n d c e l e b r a t i n g s t o r i e s n o t u s u a l l y represented by mainstream British Asian c u l t u r e i n c l u d i n g w o m e n a n d q u e e r c o m m u n i t i e s A p o w e r f u l c o n t e m p o r a r y painting by female painter Azraa Motala, will explore what it means to be British A s i a n t o d a y , w h i l s t T a s l i m a A h m a d , a Collective member will discuss garment manufacture and South Asian working lives in Manchester

Finally Movement & Empire will look at South Asian identity in relation to voluntary and involuntary migration, including as a result of war and the trauma of Partition, which was one of the largest migrations in h u m a n h i s t o r y A n N H S d i s p l a y w i l l celebrate the importance of the South Asian community to UK medicine, from the 1950s movement of medics to the UK to the significant contribution of the community during the Covid pandemic

N u s r a t A h m e d , S o u t h A s i a G a l l e r y Curator at Manchester Museum, says: “As a first generation British born South Asian person, it is really exciting to be part of such a groundbreaking project The co curated South Asia Gallery envisages a collaborative, i t e r a t i v e s p a c e t h a t w i l l g e n e r a t e n e w perspectives and connections We hope to engage further diaspora communities on its o p e n i n g a n d s u p p o r t i t s c o n t i n u a l e v o l u t i o n T h i s p e r s o n a l i s e d a p p r o a c h humanises the gallery, telling stories about real people and their objects ”

Manchester

first permanent gallery to celebrate the experiences and contributions of South Asian

Empire such as Nur Jahan to reflect on the role of women and reveal the impact of Gandhi’s visit to the cotton mill town of Darwen, Lancashire in 1931 through the connection of Manchester’s cotton industry to the Indian independence movement

Lived Environments will illustrate the importance of care within South Asian life, and the impact of the British Empire on the regions’ environments, featuring postcards

of tea plantations, tea tokens from the 18th century, an opium pipe and a film showing the Bangladeshi environmental resistance through floating gardens

BC Manjunath, Darshan Doshi, Nathu Lal Solanki, Pramath Kiran, and Praveen D Rao; the trans cultural musical factory of i d e a s P e t e r C a t R e c o r d i n g C o m p a n y (PCRC), Neo classical band Shadow and Light, and Neo Folk Fusion band Kabir Café

The healthiest way to eat 14 vegetables

Wh i le so m e v eg etables are bes t serv ed raw, in others th e vitamins, m inerals and beneficial p lant com p o u n d s ar e m o re ef fe ct i v el y absorbed into our system when w e co ok them To cook, or not to coo k? th at is the questio n

Carrots best eaten C ooked Eating a raw carrot stick might seem virtuous, but you’d be better off cooking them, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry by food scientists at the University o f A r k a n s a s T h e y f o u n d t h a t cooked then pureed carrots had up to 34 3 per cent higher levels of beta carotene

Beetroot best eaten Raw Beetroot contains vitamin C, f o l a t e a n d b e t a l a i n s p i g m e n t compounds that give the root veg e t a b l e i t s p u r p l e h u e a n d h a v e powerful antioxidant properties Boiling or roasting beetroot for lengthy periods can cause a drop in all of these It is nitrates, however, t h a t a r e b e e t r o o t ’ s U S P T h e s e compounds are converted by the body to nitrite, which not only relaxes and widens blood vessels but influences how efficiently our cells use oxygen

Green beans best eaten cooked

They are sometimes added raw to salads but cooking green beans c a n i n c r e a s e t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f nutrients in the vegetable Indeed, f o o d t e c h n o l o g i s t s a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f M u r c i a a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C o m p l u t e n s e i n Spain who studied the effects of six

A re cen t st udy from the University of South Austr alia re veal ed that a handful of al monds ca n hel p prev ent we ight g a in Re s ea r ch er s, wh o st ud ie d how a lmonds can a lter human a ppet it e, dis covere d t hat a snack of 30 50 gra ms of a l m on d s co ul d e n cou r a ge p e op l e t o consume fewer kilojoul es e ach day

The study found that those who ate almonds instead of an energy equiva lent carbohydrate snack reduced their energy consumption by 300 kilojoules at the next meal, the majority of which came from junk food Dr Sharayah C a r t e r f r o m U n i S A ' s A l l i a n c e f o r R e s e a r c h i n E x e r c i s e , N u t r i t i o n a n d Activity (ARENA) says the research pro vides valuable insights into weight man agement

"Rates of overweight and obesity are

cooking methods boiling, pres sure cooking, baking, microwav ing, griddling and frying on nutri ent levels of different vegetables found green beans to be one of the few to have increased antioxidants after being cooked by any of these methods except boiling

Kale best eaten raw

K a l e i s l a b e l l e d a s u p e r v e g with reason It provides fibre and vitamins A, K, B6 and C, plus calci um, potassium, copper and man g a n e s e f o r a n a l l r o u n d h e a l t h b o o s t W h a t m a k e s i t a s t a r , though, is the presence of glucosi nolates, which are converted into metabolites with anti inflammato r y a n d a n t i o x i d a n t p r o p e r t i e s when it is chopped or chewed While it might be tough to swal low, cooking kale can destroy an enzyme called myrosinase

C elery best eaten co oked

It’s not the most inspiring veg etable, but crunchy celery stalks do c o n t a i n f i b r e , a n t i o x i d a n t s t h a t may have anti inflammatory prop erties, potassium and vitamin K, w h i c h i s i m p o r t a n t f o r h e a l t h y

bones Before you think of tossing it into a salad, b e a r i n m i n d t h a t t h e S p a n i s h f o o d t e c h n o l o gists found that pressure c o o k i n g , b a k i n g , g r i d d l i n g o r f r y i n g c e l e r y increased its antioxidant levels

Tom atoes best eaten cooked

A l l t o m a t o e s a n d t o m a t o b a s e d p r o d u c t s c o n t a i n the powerful antioxidant lycopene, consumption of which has been linked to reduced risk of some can c e r s , c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e a n d n e u r o d e g e n e r a t i o n P l e n t y o f research has shown that lycopene b i o a v a i l a b i l i t y i s h i g h e r w h e n t o m a t o e s h a v e b e e n h e a t e d o r cooked, and especially if prepared with a dash of oil

Potatoes Best eaten coo ked, but cooled

The humble spud is an impor tant supplier of vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate and iron, potassium and even fibre in the diet It’s unthink able to serve them raw, not just because they taste appalling but because uncooked potatoes con tain resistant starch, which is diffi cult to digest and can cause gas trointestinal issues Cooking will reduce levels of some watersoluble nutrients, such as vitamin C, and a l i t t l e f i b r e b u t p o t a t o e s r e t a i n enough to remain beneficial M ushrooms best eaten cooked Mushrooms contain fibre and most varieties have an array of B

vitamins and are a source of potas sium, chloride and copper, as well as being high in selenium nutri ents that are lacking in many UK diets But they also have tough cell walls and some find raw mush r o o m s d i f f i c u l t t o d i g e s t E v e n common edible mushrooms can contain potentially hazardous tox ins You are better off cooking them, but how? The best way to preserve nutrients is cook under the grill or in a microwave Spinach best eaten cooked

An excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, magnesium, calci um and iron, spinach is also packed w i t h o x a l a t e , a s u b s t a n c e t h a t blocks the absorption of iron and calcium by the body Boiling and steaming for even a minute or so have been shown to reduce oxalate by up to 87 per cent, meaning there is more calcium available for the body to absorb although cooking in water will result in the loss of some vitamin C G arli c/onions be st eaten raw

The benefits of garlic and onions are most potent in their uncooked form, which is bad for your breath but good for your b o d y B o t h c o n t a i n a l l i c i n a n active compound responsible for the strong odour that is released when they are chopped, sliced or s m a s h e d A l l i c i n a c t s l i k e a n antioxidant and has been impli cated in healthy cardiovascular function, immune function and protection against disease, but is deactivated when cooked

T h i n l y s l i c e d o r m a r i n a t e d raw asparagus spears are a super food salad staple But you’d be better off cooking it to boost its nutrient value Researchers have s h o w n t h a t l i g h t l y c o o k i n g a s p a r a g u s i n c r e a s e s i t s t o t a l antioxidant activity by 16 25 per cent with levels of two super antioxidants

Peppers b est eaten raw

P e p p e r s p r o v i d e v i t a m i n C , c a r o t e n o i d s a n d b e n e f i c i a l polyphenols, but lose up to 75 per c e n t o f t h e i r n u t r i e n t s w h e n cooked according to the Spanish scientists If you do cook them, stick to dry heat methods such as stir frying or roasting Brocc oli Be st eaten raw

With its high levels of the ben e f i c i a l g l u c o s i n o l a t e s n a t u r a l substances that break down dur ing chopping and digestion into biologically active compounds broccoli is a star of the vegetable world However, researchers have shown that heat, particularly boil i n g a n d m i c r o w a v i n g , d a m a g e s the beneficial enzyme myrosinase C auli flower best eate n raw

In the Spanish study, the high est antioxidant losses of all vegeta bles were observed in cauliflower a f t e r b o i l i n g a n d m i c r o w a v i n g Griddling described as cooking on a flat metal surface with no oil o r s t i r f r y i n g w e r e t h e b e s t options if cooking Avoid boiling, w h i c h d e s t r o y s t h e b e n e f i c i a l compounds of cruciferous veg

a major public health concern and mod ulating appetite through better hor monal response may be key to promot ing weight management Our research examined the hormones that regulate a p p e t i t e a n d h o w n u t s , s p e c i f i c a l l y almonds, might contribute to appetite control,” Dr Carter said

"We found that people who ate almonds experienced changes in their

appetite regulating hormones and that these may have contributed to reduced f o o d i n t a k e ( b y 3 0 0 k J ) , " h e s a i d According to the study, consumption of almonds was associated with lower lev els of C peptide responses (47 per cent lower), higher levels of the glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (18 per cent higher), glucagon (39 per cent higher), and pancreatic polypep t i d e r e s p o n s e s D r C a r t e r s a i d , ”Almonds are high in protein, fibre, and unsaturated fatty acids, which may con tribute to their satiating properties and help explain why fewer kilojoules were consumed ” He said the findings of this study show that eating almonds pro duce small changes in people’s energy intake, adding that this may have clini cal effects in the long term

How to cope with mood swings during PCOS

Wom en wit h polyc ys tic ovary sy n drome ( PC OS) often report sign s of m ood swin gs, depressi on an d anx iety M ood swin gs c an feel li ke rapidly fluc tuating emoti on s that can mani fest as i r ri ta b i li t y, t em pe r , sa d ne s s an d /o r an xiety that results from horm on al i mbalanc e However, there are plen ty of ways by which you can man age and c ope with your m ood s wings: Eat we ll

What you eat impacts your physi cal and mental health Research sug gests that eating complex carbs, pro tein, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds can help keep your blood sugar levels s t a b l e w h i c h h a s b e e n l i n k e d t o improved mood Exercis e E x e r c i s i n g r e g u l a r l y c a n h e l p lower insulin levels and keep blood

sugar levels stable which is critically important for improving your mood; however, it may also help you lose w e i g h t I t h e l p s r e d u c e s t r e s s a n d r e l e a s e e n d o r p h i n s t h a t c a n h e l p improve mood Find a form of exer cise that makes you happy Improve d sleep

Studies indicate that poor sleep can produce a 50 per cent increase in insulin resistance within just a few days This means that a woman with PCOS will experience a 50 per cent rise in blood glucose levels, despite following a healthy diet, if sleep is not proper Practising sleep hygiene such as going to bed and waking up at a fixed time, putting out devices before sleeping, practising relaxation tech niques and avoiding the use of sub stances before bedtime is important

Practice stre ss ma nagement t echniq ues

P r a c t i s i n g m e d i t a t i o n , m i n d f u l ness, journaling and taking up a hobby or leisure activity can help improve y o u r o v e r a l l m o o d a n d w e l l b e i n g Knowing your triggers and managing them beforehand will help Educate yourself about everything related to PCOS to know how to manage the con dition and improve your emotional well being Cog nitive Behaviou ral Th erapy CBT is a type of psychotherapy that c a n h e l p y o u i d e n t i f y a n d c h a n g e unhelpful or negative thought patterns a n d l e a r n p r a c t i c a l s e l f h e l p t e c h niques It is used for many emotional health issues, from anxiety to depres sion When handling PCOS, getting a holistic approach while treating the symptoms is important

Drinking tw o litres o f water a day to stay healthy and h yd ra ted i s a m yth , w i th p eop l e nee d ing u p to si x litres depending on job, cli mate and sex, scientists have fo und

In recent decades, the need to drink eight glasses of water a day has become standard advice, yet there is little evidence to back it up R e s e a r c h e r s a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f W i s c o n s i n Madison in the US studied thousands of people from 26 countries to find out how m u c h w a t e r t h e y n e e d e d , a n d d i s c o v e r e d i t v a r i e d widely

They found that daily averages ranged from as lit tle as one litre per day to six litres, which included water from other drinks like tea and coffee, and also water in food

“The science has never s u p p o r t e d t h e o l d e i g h t glasses thing as an appropri a t e g u i d e l i n e , i f o n l y b e c a u s e i t c o n f u s e d t o t a l water turnover with water from beverages and a lot of your water comes from the food you eat,” said Prof Dale Schoeller, emeritus profes sor of nutritional sciences

“ B u t t h i s w o r k i s t h e

best we ’ ve done so far to measure how much water people actually consume on a daily basis the turnover of water into and out of the body and the major factors that drive water turnover ”

Unlike previous studies which had asked people to s e l f r e p o r t w a t e r i n t a k e , researchers measured water a s i t m o v e d t h r o u g h t h e body They found big differ ences depending on temper ature, sex and levels of phys ical activity

Weig ht g ain and exercise a m ajor facto r

For example, a 20 year old man, weighing 11 stone who lived at sea level in a d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r y l i k e Britain where the mean air temperature was 10C (50F), and who did average physi c a l a c t i v i t y , w o u l d n e e d around 3 2 litres per day

A nine stone woman of the same age and activity level, living in the same area, would need just 2 7 litres

When people doubled their energy expenditure in a day they required an extra one litre, the researchers found, while a 50 per cent i n c r e a s e i n h u m i d i t y required an extra 0 3 litres a day

Almonds can help cut calories, says study Drink six litres of water a day to stay healthy, say researchers

Asparagus b est eaten cook ed

Kartik Aaryan reacts to relationship rumours

ActorKartik Aaryan is one of the busiest actors in Bollywood and has hit high popularity notes in recent years Being in the limelight has attracted much attention to his personal life and alleged relationships Most recently, there were rumours that Kartik was dating Hrithik Roshan’s cousin Pashmina Roshan, who is set to make her Bollywood debut.

In a new interview, Kartik opened up about the rumours surrounding his personal life In the past, Kartik’s name was linked to actor Sara Ali Khan The two had worked together in Imtiaz Ali’s 2020 film ‘Love Aaj K a l ’ W h i l e b o t h S a r a a n d K a r t i k n e v e r a n n o u n c e d t h e i r a l l e g e d r e l a t i o n s h i p o r break up, filmmaker Karan Johar recently confirmed they were dating and had broken up Speaking about his personal life being discussed publicly, Kartik said in a recent interview that he was starting to ‘get used to’ people labelling his relationships “I have come to terms with the fact that

VGN COOKS AMAZING KHICHDI

R KAJOL, RECIPE A SECRET

Kajol was a guest on a recent episode of the TV show ‘Sare Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs’, which celebrated her 30 years in the industry. In a segment, Kajol praised her husband, actor filmmaker Ajay Devgn for being a good cook and even makes “amazing khichdi” for her When host Bharti Singh asked Kajol about Ajay’s cooking skills and her favourite dish that he cooks, she said, “As unbelievable as it may seem, Ajay loves cooking We often say that some people have taste in their hands, Ajay is one of those cooks you know, who prepare any dish and it turns out to be delicious ” S h e a d d e d , " C o o k i n g i s s o m e t h i n g A j a y enjoys very much, and he shuts the kitchen door when he is cooking Even when he is cooking, he doesn't share his recipes or what he is preparing He often cooks amazing khichdi for me and that is his specialty ”

Actress

my life will be out there but the other side of t h a t i s i f t h e r e i s a g e n u i n e f r i e n d s h i p somewhere, they will still label it So that kind of labelling sometimes creates many problems between people, which is not fair I am starting to get used to it but I’m not t h i c k s k i n n e d y e t , ” K a r t i k s a i d i n a n interview Kartik further spoke about how the comments on social media and headlines about his life affect him He said, “It still

affects me if there is anything negative And it affects me even more when I have not done anything and it is completely baseless ”

On the work front, Kartik will soon be seen with Alaya F in Shashanka Ghosh's ‘Freddy’, which features him as a murderous dentist It will be released on Disney + Hotstar on December 2 He will then feature alongside Kriti Sanon in the film ‘Shehzada’, w h i c h i s s c h e d u l e d t o b e r e l e a s e d i n February next year Kartik is also filming ‘Satyaprem Ki Katha’, where he will reunite with his ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 ’ co star Kiara Advani

‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs’ also features musicians Shankar Mahadevan, Anu Malik and Neeti Mohan on the judges' panel The TV show airs on weekend nights on ZEE TV On the work front, Kajol most recently featured in the period action film ‘Tanhaji An Unsung Hero’ alongside Ajay Devgn Next up, she has Revathy's ‘Salaam Venky’ The film is all set to hit the theatres on December 9 She also has the upcoming web series ‘The Good Wife’ an Indian adaptation of the American courtroom drama starring Julianna Margulies in the pipeline Kajol will play the role of a housewife who goes back to working as a lawyer after her husband's scandal lands him in jail in the web series that is being directed by S u p a n V e r m a a n d i t w i l l s t r e a m o n D i s n e y Hotstar

On the other hand, Ajay Devgn is riding high on the critical acclaim and commercial success of his latest outing, ‘Drishyam 2 ’ , which saw a theatrical release earlier this month

Bollywood cannot be 'original', says Abhishek Sharma

Filmmaker

Abhishek Sharma rec questioned the originality of th Hindi film industry Speaking during a session at the ongoing International Film Festival of India in Goa, Sharma attributed to how the term Bollywood is derived from Hollywood and not the original itse When asked about the difference t corporates have brought in the film industry, Abhishek said, “Corporatisation is the best thing that happened to the industry because at least cheques are getting encashed now.”

Sharma added, “Pehle kaha se paisa ata tha aur kaise ata tha (The kind of money that

in films and how it came) We o w T h a t c h a n g e i s g o o d o r p o r a t i s a t i o n h a s h e l p e d leanse the money being invested n films ”

He said, “Bollywood must be o m e j o u r n a l i s t ’ s j o k e t h a t mained If the name is a mimicry o m e t h i n g e l s e , h o w c a n y o u p hem to be original? The suits are here to pay up but are you ready to be creative enough? Are we truly an organic industry? We need to introspect We need to come together keeping aside personal profit and loss and think about the industry as a whole ”

Tahira Kashyap borrowed money from Ayushmann for debut short film

Filmmaker

Tahira Kashyap is known for her earnest depiction of women in the most hilarious manner in her books ‘The 12 Commandments of Being A Woman’ and ‘The 7 Sins of Being a Mother’ Speaking in a recent interview, the author director said, “I’m a compulsive storyteller. It was a part of my growing up process. All that I used to do as a kid was tell stories I’ve loved telling stories, be it whatever medium theatre, radio, podcasts, novels, short films and now feature I have inherently been a storyteller all my life and I absolutely love it ”

S h e s a i d t h e r e a l i s a t i o n that she had what it takes to be a professional storyteller came later in life after she w o r k e d m u l t i p l e j o b s T a h i r a s a i d , “Everyone has their journey We do four five things, and then we realise that this is what I want to do A huge section of people knows what they want to do ever since they are young But I was lost for most of my life I picked various jobs in the c o r p o r a t e s e c t o r , t e a c h i n g , r a d i o a n d e v e n t s a n d a f t e r a p o i n t , I r e a l i s e d whenever I was involved with a creative job or storytelling, I would really excited about it ”

Tahira said she made her first short film ‘Toffee’ in 2017 with the help of her h u s b a n d , A y u s h m a n n K h u r r a n a , w h o served as a producer on the project She said, “I borrowed money from my husband

But after a point, you are on your own ”

After directing the short film, Tahira said there was a sense of doubt, but her “big moment of realisation” came when her w o r k w a s a p p r e c i a t e d a t v a r i o u s i n t e r n a t i o n a l f i l m f e s t i v a l s , i n c l u d i n g C i n e k i d I n t e r n a t i o n a l F i l m F e s t i v a l , Amsterdam, Bahamas International Film Festival and MAMI, and later picked by streamer Eros Now She said, “Once I made the film I was really sceptical, but to my surprise it got picked up at various festivals and by Eros, so I got to return the entire money to my initial producer I was debt f r e e T h a t w a s m y b i g m o m e n t o f r e a l i s a t i o n N o w , t h e r e i s a l o t o f acceptance towards myself ”

to make my first short film, about which I was very conscious I knew this is what I wanted to be but I needed a sort of push I’m very grateful for those little openings

Amitabh Bachchan remembers Vikram Gokhale, Tabassum

Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan has penned a small note on his blog in remembrance of veteran actor and friend Vikram Gokhale and actor and famous television host Tabassum He said the “days are lined with sadness” as they all “played their parts and left the stage empty ” Vikram Gokhale died of multiple organ failure on November 26 in Pune, while Tabassum died of cardiac arrest on November 19

Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Agneepath’ in 1990 and ‘Khuda Gawah’ in 1992 In 2020, Amitabh Bachchan played himself in the Marathi film ‘AB Ani CD’ starring Vikram Gokhale The duo played childhood friends in the Milind Lele directorial It was Vikram who had convinced Amitabh to take up the role

Tabassum is known for her work as a child artiste in several Hindi classics such as

'Drishyam2' earnings cross £20mn worldwide

Ajay Devgn and Tabu starrer 'Drishyam 2' is continuing its golden run at the box office. The film crossed the £20 million mark at the global box office on Sunday, the 10th day of the film’s release. This means it is already among the top 5 highest grossing Bollywood films of the year and given its earnings over the weekend, it is likely to enter the top 3 soon enough

Remembering the two of them and some other close ones, Amitabh wrote on his blog, "the days are lined with sadness friends and colleagues artists of huge merit, leave us day by day and we listen see and pray Tabassum Vikram Gokhale and some dear ones that are close and known they came to us in our lives they played their parts and left the stage empty forlorn and desolate by their absence ”

V i k r a m G o k h a l e , k n o w n f o r s e v e r a l Marathi and Hindi films died last week at a Pune hospital, where he was undergoing treatment He was 77 He had worked in

‘Baiju Bawra’ and ‘Mughal e Azam’, and also as host of the popular Doordarshan talk show ‘Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan’, died earlier She was 78

Remembering her, he had earlier written in another blog post, “ they all leave us one by one and it is beyond comprehension you only recollect the times of their presence and life before the eyes and the mind and they ever remain an image of the time unchanged, unfettered and in the freedom of free and then they leave, and it cannot be fathomed ”

The film, directed by Abhishek Pathak, is the sequel to Ajay and Tabu’s 2015 hit ' D r i s h y a m ' , a n d a l s o a r e m a k e o f Mohanlal’s 2021 Malyalam film, also titled D r i s h y a m 2 T h e f i l m t o o k a s t r o n g opening at the box office, registering the s e c o n d b e s t o p e n i n g w e e k e n d f o r a B o l l y w o o d f i l m t h i s y e a r , b e h i n d o n l y 'Brahmastra' Even as bulk of its earnings are in the domestic territory, the film has done well in its second weekend, courtesy strong word of mouth A s p e r i n d u s t r y t r a c k e r S a c n i l k ,

'Drishyam 2' has earnings of £17 million gross in the domestic market and £3 3 million overseas, giving it a worldwide gross of £20 3 million in its first 10 days The film has outperformed new release 'Bhediya' despite the latter getting good reviews and gaining via word of mouth itself In the list of highest grossing Hindi films of the year, Drishyam 2 is just below Gangubai Kathiawadi (which earned £21 1 million) and is likely to surpass it soon

A b o v e i t t h e n a r e ' B r a h m a s t r a , ' , ' T h e Kashmir Files' and 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2'

I n d u s t r y i n s i d e r s a r e p r e d i c t i n g ' D r i s h y a m 2 ' t o b r e e z e p a s t ' B h o o l

Bhulaiyaa 2' soon and also cross the £30 million mark soon after that However, whether it can overhaul 'The Kashmir Files' completely depends on how well it holds in December 'Drishyam 2' also stars Shriya Saran, Akshaye Khanna, and Ishita Dutta There are now talks of a possible part 3 in the making soon

Asha Parekh disapproves of western dress for Indian wedding

Veteran actress Asha Parekh said she finds it hurtful that Indian women prefer to wear western dresses and gowns for their weddings instead of traditional dresses Speaking at a session at the ongoing 53rd International Film Festival of India in Goa, Asha said, “Everything has changed (since the time when she worked in films) The films that are being made are I do not know, we are so westernised. Gowns pehen ke wedding pe aa rahi hain ladkiyan. Arre bhaiya, humeri ghaghra choli, saurian aur salwar kameez hai aap wo pehno na (Dear, we have

ghaghra choli, salwar kameez and saris, wear those) ”

She added, “Why don't you wear those? They just watch the heroines on the screen (and wish to copy them) Screen pe dekh ke wo jo kapde pehen r a h e u s t a r a h k e k a p d e h u m b h i pehnenge mote ho, ya jo, hum wahi phnenge Ye western ho raha hai mujhe dukh hota hai (They just want to wear the clothes they see heroines wearing o n s c r e e n E v e n i f t h e y a r e f a t o r whatever, they do not care if the clothes will look good on them, whether they are fat or anything I get hurt when I see

this westernisation) We have a such a great culture, dance and music we could get it all back in pop culture ”

Asha also addressed the rumour that she did not like Dilip Kumar, which was why she never worked with him “Four five years ago, some press gentleman wrote that I did not work with him (Dilip Kumar) because I did not like Dilip Kumar I adored him and always wanted to work with him There was a film called 'Zabardast' which I signed with h i m W e w e r e s u p p o s e d t o w o r k together but I was unlucky and the movie got shelved ”

In her recent podcast, Navya Naveli Nanda recalled her school days, when she was in a UK boarding school. In the latest episode of her podcast ‘What The Hell Navya’, she told her mother Shweta Bachchan that she could never speak to her the way some of her school friends spoke to their mothers, and said that they had “full on fights” with their moms Navya’s grandmother Jaya Bachchan too chimed in and said, “But that’s our culture ”

Navya said, “I remember when I was in school, obviously the cultures are very different, we were in boarding school in England, I used to see the way some of my friends used to speak to their moms, and would be like ‘haw’ Like ‘how can you say that?’ I was like ‘if I ever said this to my mom ’ Like I would never, I would never dare get into a full argument ”

She further said, “I still don’t think I would (get into an argument) out of respect more than fear I wouldn’t back answer to you (Shweta) about certain things Sometimes I saw some of

my friends get into full on fights and I was like ‘how can you say this to your mom?’ I would never even dare to speak to my mom like that ” In response to Navya’s statement, Jaya Bachchan said, “But that’s our culture I don’t think you should use the word dare you wouldn’t do it because you ’ ve been raised to respect your parents or guardians ”

In the same episode, Navya also revealed that her ‘ mamu (uncle)’ Abhishek Bachchan ‘always played some house tech music’, when he saw ‘tensions rising’ at home Shweta had also spoken about how she ‘loved it’ when her mother and daughter praised her on the podcast, calling it her ‘favourite part’

Jaya and Shweta had been joining Navya on her podcast in recent months, where they had been sharing details of their personal lives and their relationships with each other Navya is the granddaughter of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the daughter of Shweta Bachchan and Nikhil Nanda Navya is an entrepreneur who co founded Aara Health last year

amantha is healthy and fine, her pokesperson confirms

MON 5 DEC FRI 9 DEC 2022

6:00 MARI NANDI NO VEER

9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT

9:30 SUR PRABHAT

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17:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR (O)

17:30 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:00 RASOI SHOW (O)

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19:00 JODE REJO RAAJ (O)

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU (O)

20:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI (O)

20:30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU (O)

21:00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (O)

21:30 GEETA (O)

22:00 MARI LADKI RE (O)

SATURDAY 10 DEC 2022

6:00 MAA TE MAA BIJA VAGDANA VAA

9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT

9:30 SUR PRABHAT

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MON 5 DEC FRI 9 DEC 2022

Refuting

rumours, Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s spokesperson has confirmed that the actor has not been hospitalized, is absolutely fine and currently at home. The actor suffers from the autoimmune disease Myositis and it was reported last week that she was rushed to a hospital after her health deteriorated.

“There’s absolutely no truth in Samantha b e i n g h o s p i t a l i s e d T h e s e a r e b a s e l e s s reports She is healthy and fine at home,” the spokesperson said

D u r i n g t h e p r o m o t i o n o f h e r l a t e s t release 'Yashoda', Samantha had opened up about her health condition An emotional Samantha had said in a promotional inter view, “As I said in my post (on Instagram), some days are good, some are bad Some days, I’ve felt even taking one more step would be difficult But when I look back, I wonder I’ve gone through so much and have come this far I’m here to fight ”

In the same clip, Samantha clarified she’s

TV Listing

17:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR (O)

17:30 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:00 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:30 SURI (O)

19:00 JODE REJO RAAJ (O)

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU (O) 20:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI (O)

20:30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU (O) 21:00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (O) 21:30 GEETA (O)

22:00 MARI LADKI RE (O)

SUNDAY 11 DEC 2022

6:00 RASOI SHOW ®

7:00 GEETA ®

8:30 MARI LADKI RE ®

10:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR ® 12:00 PALAVADE BANDHI PREET 15:00 MARI LADKI RE ® 17:00 RASOI SHOW ® 18:00 RASOI SHOW ®

19:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 20:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 20:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ®

21:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 21:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 22:00 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU ®

22:00 NAAGIN SEASON 1 SATURDAY 10 DEC 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17:30 BALIKA VADHU 19:00 DESI BEAT 19:30 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20:00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL 21:30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 22:00 VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA SUNDAY 11 DEC 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17:30 BALIKA VADHU 19:00 THE KHATRA KHATRA SHOW 22:00 COMEDY NIGHT WITH KAPIL 22:00 VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA

not at a stage where her condition is life threatening “I want to clear one thing I saw a lot of articles describing my condition as life threatening The stage I’m in, it’s not life threatening At the moment, I’m not dead yet I don’t think those headlines were very necessary, ” she said

In ‘Yashoda , Samantha played a surro gate mother who won’t stop at anything to

protect her child The film turned out to be a hit at the box office and has grossed around £3 3 million in 10 days since its r e l e a s e g l o b a l l y B e s i d e s S a m a n t h a , ‘Yashoda’ also stars Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, U n n i M u k u n d a n , R a o R a m e s h , M u r a l i Sharma, Sampath Raj, Shatru, Madhurima, Kalpika Ganesh, Divya Sripada, Priyanka Sharma and others

‘RRR' becomes the fastest Indian film to cross JPY300 mn in Japan

SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR’, which was released in Japan on October 21, has become the second highest grossing Indian film in Japan, overtaking the filmmaker’s own ‘Baahubali 2’. The film, starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, which was released on 209 screens and 31 Imax screens across 44 cities and prefectures in Japan, has become the fastest Indian film to breach the JPY300 million club, reportedly earning more than £1 7 million

According to box office tracker T2BLive on Twitter, the movie reportedly collected JPY305 million, approximately £1 76 mil lion, in 34 days and has registered over 2 0 0 , 0 0 f o o t f a l l R a j i n i k a n t h ’ s ‘ M u t h u ’ , which was released 24 years ago, remains the highest grossing Indian film of all time in Japan with a box office collection of JPY400 million, approximately £2 35 mil lion ‘RRR’ is in the second position with JPY305 million Rajamouli and Ram Charan and Jr NTR

Actor

were in Japan to promote their film three weeks ago The movie is a fictional story set in the 1920s pre independence era and is based on the lives of two real heroes and w e l l k n o w n r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s A l l u r i Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem While Ram Charan played Ram, JR NTR was seen as Bheem

Mahesh Babu remembers his father Krishna in an emotional post

The actor mentioned that even though all that mattered to him is now gone, there’s strength in him that he never really felt before The 79 year old veteran passed away last week after he was hospitalised following a c a r d i a c a r r e s t K r i s h n a w a s p o p u l a r l y known as Telugu cinema’s first superstar

Sharing an unseen picture of his father, Mahesh’s post read: “Your life was celebrat

Mahesh Babu shared a heartfelt post on Instagram about his father Krishna who died last week In the note, he said he would carry his legacy forward Calling his father an inspiration, Mahesh also added that his life was celebrated and it’s been celebrated even more after his passinged your passing is being cele b r a t e d e v e n m o r e S u c h i s your greatness You lived your l i f e f e a r l e s s l y d a r i n g a n d dashing was your nature My inspiration my courage and all that I looked up to and all that really mattered are gone just like that But strangely, I feel this strength in me which I never really felt before Now I’m fearless Your light will shine in me forev er I will carry your legacy forward I will make you even more proud Love you Nanna My Superstar ”

The year 2022 has been a year of back to back blows for Mahesh Babu He lost his brother at the beginning of the year This was followed by his mother's demise very recently

Manjima Mohan, Gautham hold hands in pre wedding photoshoot

Actors

Manjima Mohan and Gautham

Karthik are all set to tie the kno in an intimate ceremony in Chennai Ahead of their wedding, the two took to Instagram to share pictures from her pre wedding photoshoot, where the to be bride and groom looked smitten with each other

Manjima wore a green ethnic Indian look in the pictures, wh Gautham looked dapper in a matching kurta with white churidar pyjama The couple added a green heart emoji to the caption of their Instagram post Many fans dropped heart emojis on Manjima and Gautham’s loved up photos that were clicked in an outdoor setting in Chennai as the two held hands and posed for the camera

In a media interaction, the actors said that they’d been in a relationship for about two years now and were marrying soon with the

wishes and permission of their parents a n j i m a a n d G a u t h a m w o r k e d ogether in the 2019 Tamil film ‘Devarattam’, which was directed by Muthaiah Gautham Karthik revealed that they didn’t fall in love while shooting for the film However, it happened a year later “ A f t e r w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r i n varattam, we became good friends

She was always there to lift me up when ever I felt low After a year, I proposed to her and she took a couple of days to accept my proposal,” Gautham said He further added that Manjima turned him into a man from a boy “My dad used to say that when you find the right person, they make you a man, and that’s Manjima for me ” Manjima also said that she will continue acting post marriage and has no plans of quitting

SS Rajamouli attended the Governor’s Awards earlier this week in Los Angeles, and the Oscars campaign begins in full force with the Governor’s awards A day after ‘RRR’ was ignored for India’s entry for Oscars 2023, SS Rajamouli was signed by American talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for the film’s Oscars campaign

Shehnaaz Gill hugs crying fan, wins hearts

Avideo of actress Shehnaaz Gill’s recent interaction with a fan has made its round on the internet after it was shared by a paparazzi account on Instagram. In the clip, a fan is seen getting down on her knees, reacting to which Shehnaaz says, “Ye kya hai? (What is this?) Utho. (Get up).” When the fan says meeting her is a dream come true, the actress hugs her.

In the clip, Shehnaaz gave her a couple of kisses and consoled her after the fan got down on her knees The actor told her fan in Hindi, “What happened? Get up now ” When the fan wanted to give Shehnaaz a ring, the actor refused and said in Hindi, “No way, I have taken this,” as she pointed to a bracelet the fan had gifted Shehnaaz moments earlier The actor is also seen stopping a female security guard from trying to whisk away the fan, while Shehnaaz spoke to her

Fans of the actress reacted to the video, with an Instagram user writing, “She's a down to earth woman with no pretension ” A person commented, “She s giving invisible healing vibes to the fan; she understood that the fan maybe needs it ” Another one said, “This is the real world and how much love is there in this world for Shehnaaz Gill we all consider her our family and are always wishing for her good health, happiness and success ”

On the work front, Shehnaaz is busy with her upcoming Bollywood debut, ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ Directed by Farhad Samji, the film also stars Salman Khan, Venkatesh Daggubati and Pooja Hedge At the recent Filmfare Middle East Achievers Night, Shehnaaz was honoured with an award, which she had dedicated to the late actor and rumoured boyfriend Sidharth Shukla She had also thanked him for investing his time in her

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ had an Indian connection

Ang Lee says Irrfan’s farewell speech should have won more praise

AngLee’s critically acclaimed 2012 film ‘Life of Pi’ was just as technically proficient as visually impressive. The movie saw Sooraj Sharma make his acting debut alongside Irrfan Khan, Tabu, and Adil Hussain. The movie centres around the titular Pi who suffers a disaster at sea and embarks on an adventure

One

was none other

Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor revealed their daughter Raha Kapoor’s name with her name printed on a unique Barcelona jersey. Every Ranbir fan knows the actor is an ardent FC Barcelona fan, and a few years ago, the club gifted him a team jersey with Lionel Messi’s signature

In a surprise turn o f e v e n t s , F C Barcelona’s official Twitter page shared the name announcement photo e a r l i e r p o s t e d b y A l i a o n I n s t a g r a m T h e y c a p t i o n e d t h e p o s t , “Congratulations, @aliaa08 and Ranbir Kapoor!! A new Barca fan is born (baby emoji) We can’t wait to meet you all in Barcelona ” After the football club shared the same picture and congratulated the couple, fans reacted to the tweet "This is big! FC Barcelona wishing Ranbir and Alia," a person commented Another fan said, "Just the greatest club in the world blessing a child ”

Alia and Ranbir welcomed their first newborn, a baby girl on November 6 Last week, Alia shared a picture on Instagram In the blurry photo, Ranbir held the newborn with a small football jersey of FC Barcelona hanging on the wall that read Raha She wrote, "The name Raha (chosen by her wise and wonderful Dadi) has so many beautiful meanings Raha, in its purest form means divine path, in Swahili she is Joy, In Sanskrit, Raha is a clan, In Bangla rest, comfort, relief, in Arabic peace, it also means happiness, freedom & bliss And true to her name, from the first moment we held her we felt it ALL! Thank you Raha, for bringing our family to life, it feels as though our lives have only just begun ”

Romona While her acting skills did not go

her outfits in the movie also thrilled fans and fashion enthusiasts What not many know, executed by Oscar award winning costume designer Ruth E Carter, the impeccable outfits have an Indian connection ‘Wakanda Forever’ saw some unique and stylish ensembles including the white pearl embellished dress during King T’Challa’s funeral, were created by one of India’s most renowned brands House of Valaya, founded by the ace designer JJ Valaya JJ Valaya’s design genius is projected in some of the most powerful scenes in the movie For example, in the movie's opening scene, Queen Ramona is seen at the UN, wearing a purple velvet dress with gold embellishments and accessories that adorn the newly appointed queen of Wakanda

The Indian creative, known for his intricate designs and stone works, didn’t shy away from using his signature style in the costumes for the movie For example, in the scene where Queen Ramona holds a meeting with her council members, she is spotted in a red dress with brown embellishments and a cape

The designer who has just made his mark in Hollywood has long been loved by his Bollywood counterparts The designer founded House of Valaya in 1992 and has been spotted on famous A listers like Cate Blanchett, Vidya Balan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Kiara Advani, and many more

FC Barcelona congratulates Alia, Ranbir on daughter Raha

Announcing the baby's arrival, Alia posted on Instagram, "And in the best news of our lives: Our baby is here and what a magical girl she is We are officially bursting with love Blessed and obsessed PARENTS!!!! Love love love Alia and Ranbir ”

The couple announced the pregnancy in June this year Alia and Ranbir tied the knot on April 14, 2022, after dating for a few years The wedding was an intimate ceremony at Ranbir's Mumbai residence Vastu

F i l m m a k e r L e e h a s a l w a y s admired Irrfan and has been quite vocal of his acting prowess In author Aseem Chhabra’s book on the beloved late actor, titled ‘Irrfan Khan’, Lee reveals that he had always wanted to collaborate with the acting legend He says, “There were only a handful of actors to pick from in India, and he was the ultimate candidate I wanted to direct an international film, but I a l s o c h o s e h i m b e c a u s e o f h i s acting ability It’s not like I was p r e s e n t e d w i t h a l i s t o f f i v e options ”

He also praised Irrfan’s acting in the film “When it comes to actors, I want to see the results I don’t care how they do it They can k e e p w h a t e v e r e x p e r i e n c e t h e y used to emulate their onscreen emotions to themselves But that was the effect I was going for; it was what the speech intended for me That’s something I appreciate Many people all over the world f i n d i t v e r y i n s p i r i n g H i s m o n o l o g u e w a s a f i l m m a k e r ’ s d r e a m H e d e s e r v e d t o b e nominated He deserved to win an award for that speech,” Lee said

Iran bars filmmaker Reza Dormishian from attending IFFI

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian was set to attend the International Film Festival of India for the premiere of his new film ‘A Minor’, however, his passport was reportedly taken away at the Tehran airport by authorities and referred to an Iranian court for prosecution.

Directed by Dariush Mehrjui, the Iranian film ‘A Minor’ is produced by Reza Dormishian and was screened at the competition section of the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Reportedly, he was barred from leaving the country because of his recent posts on Instagram where he expressed his support for the people speaking out during Iran’s nationwide protests Reza condemned the government's actions on imprisoning filmmakers and even shared several posts on his Instagram expressing solidarity with imprisoned directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof "Throughout the nationwide protests in I r a n , D o r m i s h i a n s h a r e d v a r i o u s p o s t s o n h i s I n s t a g r a m a c c o u n t t o s h o w s u p p o r t f o r t h e significant developments," reported Variety, with the

s o u r c e s c l o s e t o t h e d i r e c t o r

producer

The film tells the story of a woman who is torn between her free thinking daughter, who wants t o s t u d y m u s i c , a n d h e r m o r e c o n s e r v a t i v e h u s b a n d R e z a h a d b e e n i n v i t e d b y t h e I F F I t o accompany the film However, the film screenings went ahead without him

The ongoing turmoil in Iran following the death of 22 year old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini while in police custody has sparked nationwide protests The action taken against Reza is not the first government action to curb filmmaking community In October, filmmaker Mani Haghighi's passport was confiscated when he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival Earlier this month, co directors Farnaz Jurabchian and Mohammadreza Jurabchian, who had made the documentary ‘Silent House’, were also blocked from visiting the Netherlands for the premiere of the film at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam

Marvel’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ saw a series of iconic roles played by spectacular actors in a tribute befitting the former King of Wakanda, T’Challa, played by late actor Chadwick Boseman

of the most notable performances in the latest edition of the movie

than Angela Bassett, who portrayed Queen

unnoticed,

PT Usha to become first woman president of IOA

L eg end ary s p ri nt er P T U s h a is se t t o becom e the first wom an p resid ent of the Ind ian Olymp ic Association (IOA) in the sports body’s 95 year lo ng h istory

Usha will also be the first Olympian and a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l m e d a l i s t t o h e a d t h e national Olympic committee, which goes to polls on December 10

The 58 year old multiple Asian Games g o l d m e d a l l i s t e m e r g e d a s t h e l o n e candidate to file the nomination for IOA president’s post Returning officer Umesh Sinha didn’t receive any nominations on first two days of filing the papers, but 24 c a n d i d a t e s a p p l i e d f o r v a r i o u s o f f i c e bearers’ posts on Sunday

Usha, who will be elected unopposed, is a l s o o n e o f t h e e i g h t ‘ S p o r t s p e r s o n s o f Outstanding Merit’ (SOMs) selected by the M C Mary Kom led Athletes Commission of IOA

Usha was congratulated by several BJP

p o l i t i c i a n s f o r h e r u n o p p o s e d e l e c t i o n

Usha was nominated by the BJP to the Rajya Sabha in July this year Fondly known as the ‘Payyoli Express’, Usha will be the first sportsperson to have played for the country at the highest level and also become the IOA chief since Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who featured in a cricket Test match in 1934 Usha retired in 2000 after dominating the Indian and Asian athletics for close to two decades

S h e w o n 1 1 A s i a n G a m e s m e d a l s , including four gold in a single edition at the 1 9 8 6 S e o u l m e e t , w h i l e c l i n c h i n g a n astonishing 23 medals, including 14 gold, at the Asian Championships from 1983 to 1998

S i m i l a r l y , I n d i a n W e i g h t l i f t i n g Federation (IWLF) president, Sahdev Yadav, is set to be elected as the new treasurer of the IOA, with All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey as the male joint secretary

England cricketers in Pakistan for first Test series in 17 years

E n g l a n d ’ s c r i ck e t t e a m a r r i v e d in P a k is t a n o n Sun day t o play thr ee Test s f o r t h e f ir s t t i m e i n t h e count ry sin ce 2005 En gla nd p l a y e d a su c ce s s fu l T 2 0I s er ie s t w o mo n th s a go in Pa kista n but hav e declin ed t o pla y a Test ma tch the re for 1 7 y ea rs be ca use of the p r e ca r io u s se cu r i t y situa tion

They were due to visit Pakistan last year but pulled o u t a f t e r N e w Z e a l a n d a b a n d o n e d t h e i r t o u r minutes before the first one d a y i n t e r n a t i o n a l , c i t i n g security alerts There were fears of a similar pull out earlier this month following an attack on former prime minister Imran Khan during a p r o t e s t m a r c h i n Wazirabad

B u t E n g l a n d ’ s T e s t skipper Ben Stokes quashed

all fears following a positive security advice “It’s been a l o n g t i m e s i n c e E n g l a n d have played Test cricket in Pakistan,” Stokes said in Abu Dhabi on Friday “With what happened with Imran Khan recently, there was a little bit of concern, but we have Reg Dickason, who has been the security man for many years with England, and we left it in his capable hands ” “ I n t e r m s o f t h e t o u r

i t s e l f , I ’ m r e a l l y l o o k i n g forward to it,” Stokes added The squad and support staff were whisked to the team hotel under heavy security w h i c h P a k i s t a n h a s b e e n putting in place since the r e v i v a l o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l cricket in the country since 2 0 1 5 B u t P a k i s t a n h a v e hosted multiple teams in the last seven years, the most n o t a b l e b e i n g A u s t r a l i a earlier this year

India New Zealand second ODI called off

I ndia New Zealand sec on d wa s ca lled off due to he avy r a i n s i n Se d d on P a rk s ta d i u m T h e I n di an b at s m a n w e re gi v i n g a tough tim e to Kiwi b owlers w i t h Su r ya k u m a r Ya d a v s m a s hi n g t hr e e s i x e s , i n c l ud i n g o n e w i t h hi s f avorite re ve rs e sweep

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl The I n d i a n b a t t i n g l i n e u p started slow and made 22 runs for no loss in 4 5 overs when the rains disrupted the play for the first time After a while, the match resumed and was cut short into just 29 overs

A f t e r M a t t H e n r y dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, S h u b m a n G i l l a n d S u r y a k u m a r Y a d a v w e r e looking in good sync with

Yadav playing daring shots against the pace of New Z e a l a n d T h e m a t c h w a s a g a i n d i s t u r b e d a n d w a s called off after 12 5 overs

India was 89/1 when the m a t c h w a s c a l l e d o f f

Suryakumar Yadav made 34 r u n s i n 2 5 b a l l s w h i l e Shubman Gill made 45 on 42 balls

In the last ODI between b o t h t e a m s a t A u c k l a n d , N e w Z e a l a n d d e f e a t e d India by 7 wickets India can now only hope to level u p t h e s e r i e s a t C h r i s t c h u r c h w h e r e t h e final ODI will be played on Wednesday

Earlier, the Indian team l e d b y s k i p p e r H a r d i k Pandya won the T20 series against New Zealand by 1 0

In the first ODI of the

series at Auckland, Indian players scored a good total of 306 against New Zealand w i t h S h r e y a s I y e r contributing 80 runs to the total Shikhar Dhawan and S h u b m a n G i l l a l s o m a d e t h e i r m a r k i n t h e g a m e with a score of 72 and 50 B u t , I n d i a n p a c e r s s t r u g g l e d a g a i n s t N e w Zealand batsmen like Tom L a t h a m a n d K a n e Williamson

L a t h a m s i n g l e h a n d e d l y t o o k t h e K i w i s towards victory and scored 145 runs of 104 balls and the s k i p p e r K a n e W i l l i a m s o n just missed his century and was not out at 94 Indian p a c e r U m r a n M a l i k managed to get 2 wickets while Shardul Thakur got only one

There will be contest for the lone female joint secretary’s post between Alaknanda Ashok, Shalini Thakur Chawla and Suman Kaushik

L o n d o n O l y m p i c s b r o n z e m e d a l l i s t shooter Gagan Narang, one of the SOMs, is the only candidate for the post of one male vice president Two candidates, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and Alaknanda Ashok, have filed nominations for the post of vice president (woman)

Youth World Boxing Championships: Indian boxers win 11 medals

Reigning Asian Youth Ch amp io n Ravina sh owcas ed s ple nd id tenacity to eme rg e vic torious in h er finals bout and a dded another gold to Ind ia's total m edal tally o f 1 1 a t th e I B A Y o u th Me n ' s a nd Wom en s World Box ing Cha mpionship s 2022 in L a Nuc ia, Spain

Ravina (63kg) was up against Megan deCler of Netherlands in her finals bout In spite of not getting off to the best of starts, the Indian pugilist utilised her technical ability and quick movement to mount an impressive comeback against h e r D u t c h o p p o n e n t T h e f i e r c e l y contested bout finished in favour of the 2022 Asian Youth gold medalist who won 4 3 by split decision after the bout was reviewed

In the other final, Kirti (81+kg) went d o w n f i g h t i n g a g a i n s t t h e 2 0 2 2 E u r o p e a n Y o u t h c h a m p i o n C l i o n a Elizabeth D'Arcy of Ireland and secured silver after suffering a 0 5 defeat

India was a dominant force at the e v e n t a s t h e 2 5 m e m b e r c o n t i n g e n t b a g g e d a t o t a l o f 1 1 m e d a l s w h i c h include four gold, three silver and four bronze medals Overall, 17 Indians had qualified for the quarter finals of the tournament which was more than any other country at the 2022 edition of the tournament

The women pugilists' total tally of eight medals was the highest among all countries at this year's edition of the championships followed by Kazakhstan (5) and Uzbekistan (4)

R a v i n a ( 6 3 k g ) , D e v i k a G h o r p a d e (52kg) clinched the gold, Kirti (+81kg), Bhawna Sharma (48kg) won silver while M u s k a n ( 7 5 k g ) , L a s h u Y a d a v ( 7 0 k g ) , Kunjarani Devi Thongam (60kg) and T a m a n n a ( 5 0 k g ) c l a i m e d t h e b r o n z e medal

In the men's category, Youth Asian champs Vanshaj (63 5kg), Vishwanath Suresh (48kg) grabbed gold while Ashish ( 5 4 k g ) a t t a i n e d s i l v e r T h i s y e a r ' s championships in La Nucia witnessed participation of close to 600 boxers from 73 countries

in brief

RUTURAJ HITS 7 SIXES IN

AN OVER!

Maharashtra batter Ruturaj Gaikwad created a world record by hitting seven sixes in an over in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh He had scored a total of 220 and remained unbeaten against the team total of 330 in the quarterfinals in Ahmedabad on Monday It swelled his credentials for a comeback into India s ODI and T20 teams Pune based Ruturaj left the India team after the white ball home series against South Africa The opener now has four hundreds for Maharashtra spread over both white ball formats within a span of eight innings The sequence reads: 112, 114, 124* and 220* Brief scores: Maharashtra 330 5 (Ruturaj 220; Kartik Tyagi 3 66) bt Uttar Pradesh 272 in 47 4 (Aryan Juyal 159; Hangargekar 5 53)

NARENDRA MODI STADIUM SETS WORLD RECORD

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the maximum spectator attendance during the 2022 IPL final BCCI secretary Jay Shah said The stadium has a capacity of 110 000 which is nearly 10,000 more than Melbourne Cricket Ground with an official capacity of 100,024 “Extremely delighted & proud to receive the Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a T20 match when 101 566 people witnessed the epic IPL final at @GCAMotera s magnificent Narendra Modi Stadium on 29 May 2022 A big thanks to our fans for making this possible Shah tweeted

TEEN SPINNER AHMED SET TO MAKE HISTORY FOR ENGLAND

Teenage leg spinner Rehan Ahmed could become England s youngest men s Test cricketer after being added to the squad on Wednesday for the three match tour of Pakistan Leicestershire’s England under 19 international is 18 and 102 days and if selected would beat Yorkshire’s Brian Close, who represented England at 18 years and 149 days against New Zealand in July 1949

UNMUKT BECOMES FIRST INDIAN TO PLAY IN BPL

Unmukt Chand, the captain of India’s 2012 Under 19 World Cup winning team and the first Indian to play in the BBL, will begin the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season by taking the field for Chattogram Challengers Chand will become the first Indian to feature in the Bangladesh Premier League The franchise was looking to have an Indian player to draw into the fan base in the nation

AF QUALIFY FOR 2023 WC

Afghanistan have cemented their place in next year s ICC ODI World Cup in India after the second ODI against hosts Sri Lanka in Pallekele was abandoned due to rain Afghanistan received five extra points in the World Cup Super League standings because of the no result that took their total to 115 points in the current cycle

Afghanistan are sitting safely in seventh place on the current standings with the top eight sides at the end of the Super League earning automatic spots Lanka are in 10th place on the standings

UAE TO HOST AFGHANISTAN'S 'HOME' MATCHES

The UAE will host Afghanistan's home' matches over the next five years the Afghanistan Cricket Board said Security concerns have kept touring teams away from Afghanistan, who played their 'home' matches in India in recent years That perception has only deepened since the country's Taliban takeover in August 2021

P T Usha