226 1 FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE R Let noble thoughts come to us from every side VOL 51 ISSUE 18 07 15 G C S E results 2022: Number of top grades drops World’s Biggest Half Marathon in a sari 130 Indian Americans hold key posts in Biden administration Gujarat thwarted conspiracies to defame the state: P M Modi A very special way to celebrate the older people in our lives SEE PAGE 1 6 3 - 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 Full story on page 05 Ethnic pay gap makes cost- ofliving crisis harsher for minorities Anusha Singh T h e c o s t o f l i v i n g c r i s i s h a s majorly affected the UK, but it is the BAME communities that have taken the harsher brunt of these difficult times. Recent research by a n o n p r o f i t , P e o p l e L i k e U s r e v e a l e d t h a t w h i l e t h e c o s t o f living crisis affects everyone, the effects are not similar for everyone and the Ethnic Minority pay gap is to be blamed for it. According to the report, working professionals from diverse ethnic backgrounds are twice more likely to be denied a p r o m i s e d p a y r a i s e d u e t o inflation, the proportion being 19 per cent as compared to the 10 per cent of white professionals. “ B R I T A I N I S R E A D Y ” Continued on page 08 E XCLUSIVE Rupanjana Dutta & Shefali Saxena O n t h e 5 t h o f S e p t e m b e r , t h e U K w i l l h a v e a n e w Prime Minister to critique a n d h o l d a c c o u n t a b l e While the contest is going neck to neck between Rishi S u n a k a n d L i z T r u s s , o n e c a n n o t r u l e o u t t h e possibility of a small dream the ethnic minorities may h a v e h a d d u r i n g t h e # R e a d y 4 R i s h i c a m p a i g n Seeing someone like them in both origin and colour of skin, inevitably fuels hope within the community that i s a l w a y s s t r i v i n g t o f i g h t f o r i t s r i g h t s a n d a g a i n s t racism. Sonam, Anand share hidden meaning behind art used to announce son’s birth SE E PAGE 28
What Reagan and Thatcher Would Say Today
Will Congress be able to survive?
Alpesh
03AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www asian voice com 3 9 Sepember 2022
T h e e x i t o f s e n i o r l e a d e r G h u l a m N a b i A z a d f r o m t h
The only saving grace that he and his fellow dissidents have is that they are willing to acknowledge that there is a problem
The newspaper wrote that Matthew Taylor, the chief execu tive of the NHS Confederation lobbying group, called for an “honest conversation” with the public about the capacity of the health service this winter Mr Taylor admitted the health service may not be able to provide “ some of the services that we would like to”, urging peo ple to appreciate the pressures on doctors and nurses with hos pitals already experiencing levels of strain usually seen in winter Likely measures include services being moved between hos pitals to free up capacity and internal market competition being put aside to enable more collaboration Hospitals may also be encouraged to focus on specific treat ments where appropriate, helping to keep patients away to pre vent overcrowding Third, education Rishi Sunak during an interview with Asian Voice in the last few months spoke about the importance of education Attributing his success to the values of hard work and education among immigrants in the UK, he said, “I was brought up to believe in hard work Because if you work hard, there is nothing that you can't achieve in life I was brought up to believe in the power of education to transform people's lives, that it was worth sacrificing for because that's how you build a better future ” With the universities asking for an increase to the tuition fees to £24,500 from £9000, and with the cost of living crisis, even Asian families that usually save for the rainy days will strug gle In that scenario, easier student or personal loans and a pos sibility to pay back slowly The other major requirement is to have skill based jobs available more widely, so that youngsters can work and earn to pay back their loans, without burdening their parents According to the ONS, the UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3 8%, 0 1 percentage points lower than the previ ous three month period, and 0 2 percentage points below pre coronavirus pandemic levels Fourth extra help for the small businesses In an interview, Rishi Sunak had said, “I was brought up to understand the power of small business, I worked in my mum ’ s shop, I worked in her pharmacy, I delivered medicines for her, I worked in an Indian restaurant as a waiter And I saw first hand doing books or accounts or payroll, just how powerful small companies are in providing jobs and opportunities for people in their com munity ” Reduction of VAT to 15% may be a lucrative proposal, but it will not help as long as there is no constant support from the government to help small businesses to keep afloat It is impor tant that SMEs are singled out and extra helps are provided to them by a Prime Minister who understands these values and the challenges the past two years bring It is important if you are a Tory member, you must vote to ensure your voice is heard in making the right choice for a lead er The fate of this country is in your hands for the coming two very crucial years (See p1, 8 and 9 for m ore on Rishi Sunak)
The
T he ghos t of Margaret Thatcher has been often resurrec ted d uring thi s lead ers hip c ampai gn Tru ss says she would h ave l owered taxes and Sunak s ays she woul d be fo r no t fuelli ng i nflati on and not i nc reasing publi c d ebt Of course she would be for all these things but timing would be the issue She had a great relationship with Ronald Reagan and this is what Reagan said in the speech which set him on the Presidency it’s one of the greatest speeches and these are edited highlights relevant to today For those of you considering doing anything in life learn to communicate like this If you can do that, the world is your oyster Verbal and written communications skills will place the world at your feet "I have an uncomfortable feeling that this prosperity isn't something on which we can base our hopes for the future No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income "Today, 37 cents out of every dollar earned in this coun try is the tax collector's share, and yet our government con tinues to spend 17 million dollars a day more than the gov ernment takes in We haven t balanced our budget 28 out of the last 34 years We've raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months, and now our national debt is one and a half times bigger than all the combined debts of all the nations of the world We have 15 billion dollars in gold in our treasury; we don't own an ounce Foreign dollar claims are 27 3 billion dollars " That speech was given in 1964 The man to deliver it became President in 1980 And the economy he spoke of in 1964 continued growing relentlessly despite all the eco nomics cited By the way, if you ’ re going to talk economics and keep people rivetted, do it like Reagan You could argue that 60 years is too soon to judge ever increasing budget and trade deficits or that America is different Liz and Rishi are both in Ronald’s camp they would argue But the former would say that means cutting taxes and the size of the State and the latter would say it means cutting debt They’re both right Moving from economics to politics Reagan was on the money from the threat from foreign powers We again as pointed out by Truss and Sunak face China as a number one threat Reagan’s words apply again Alexander Hamilton said, “A nation which can prefer dis grace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one ” There’s no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there’s only one guaranteed way you can have peace and you can have it in the next second surrender You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery If nothing in life is worth dying for, when did this begin just in the face of this enemy? Or should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn’t die in vain Where, then, is the road to peace? Well it’s a simple answer after all Winston Churchill said, “The destiny of man is not mea sured by material computations When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we ’ re spirits not animals ” And he said, “There’s something going beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty ” You and I have a rendezvous with destiny We're at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it s been said if we lose that war, and in so doing lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening We’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness Patel
The Conservative party leadership contest is closing on 2 September On 5 September Britain will know if Tory party members have been progressive enough to choose their first Prime Minister from the ethnic minority community or if we will have our third female Prime Minister till the 2024 general elec tions Many members in the Conservative party have been wait ing for the last day to decide on their leader While the Labour party allowed the newest members to choose their leader during the term of Jeremy Corbyn, the Conservative party has been allowing no younger than 3 month old members to vote for their leader Interestingly, Boris Johnson’s popularity continues to remain as it was, despite all that has happened over the last few months In 2024, if he stands as a prime ministerial candidate, high possibility members of the public will still choose him over others Rishi Sunak made his stand known, so did Sajid Javid He resigned as the Chancellor and the rest is history The members of the Conservative party, need to think logically, beyond the ethnicity of a leader Mr Sunak was the Chancellor, during the Covid period He is aware of the risks this economy is facing With 11% inflation, reducing VAT to 15% may not be the only solution Whoever becomes the Prime Minister, the cost of living cri sis will be the first hurdle to cross This problem has been con tributed by various factors and no government can be blamed for it Lockdown, income losses, people working from home (hence more consumption of energy at home), Brexit and the Ukraine Russia war all have contributed little by little to the mounting issues Anyone in a ministerial position in the past cabinet knows what has been at stake Nadhim Zahawi himself has admitted to the extremities of the situation As we went to press, Sky News reported, that brewery bosses have warned that pubs across the UK will be forced to close due to energy costs soaring by as much as 300% Leaders of six of the country's largest breweries called on the government for "immediate government intervention" on sky high energy bills this winter The landlord of one pub in Essex told BBC his energy costs has gone up from about £13,000 a year to £35,000 Pub owners have therefore admitted that the energy crisis would cause "real and serious irreversible" damage to the indus try if there was no financial support extended In an open letter to the government, they urged immediate intervention, including a support package and a cap on the price of energy for businesses Families have already been hit with £400 bills in summer, which can go up to a minimum of £800 by winter An average family in the UK earns no more than £25,000, and studies say even with a salary of £45,000 people will not be able to afford energy prices without government intervention Second is NHS A pride of the country since 1948, The Daily Telegraph on 28 August reported an NHS boss has said some measures taken by hospitals at the height of the Covid pandemic could be needed again to deal with the winter crisis
The one thing the party does not need is further diagnosis, for the problem is clear for everyone The party is stuck with a leadership that is just not up to the task Rahul Gandhi will neither lead nor follow and will instead teeter on the edge of indecision The old guard lacks imagination and the new set of leaders are invisible and lack a political base The old style of politics that the Azads of the world knew their way around is now irrelevant and what Rahul and his coterie think of as a new style is at its heart, nothing but a tantrum that they are throwing against the old The Congress lacks any coherent marketable ideals and is devoid of any core strategy; it lives day to day among the crumbling remains of a political empire In contrast, the BJP understands the grammar of today’s politics having invented it, and can run rings around the Congress, old or new That is the problem the party has; the battle between the old guard and the new, which takes up so much energy inter nally, is itself of little consequence for no matter who wins, the party loses The Congress’ problem has always been that it is occupied with its internal issues and has lost sight of what the external political environment needs today The answer for the Congress sadly does not lie within the party as it exists, and that is a truly difficult problem to solve If by some divine intervention, the family was to cede its position at the helm of affairs, the party still has nowhere to go No leadership that inspires hope, let alone confidence, no vision for the country that has any electoral resonance, and barely anything by way of a functioning cadre at the grassroots level, nothing that com pares with the BJP in any case Contrast that with Kejriwal, who has in a very short time learned to play by the new rules In an environment over whelmingly dominated by the BJP, he has still managed to carve out a political constituency that he has successfully defended against tremendous odds The manner in which pro establishment Congress leaders reacted substantiates the alle gations made by Azad in his letter to Sonia Gandhi The party leaders are unwilling to think about the core issues that Azad and his colleagues had raised Asian Voice is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Units 207 208, Harrow Business Centre, 429 433 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 4HN Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup com Website: www abplgroup com
Thought for the week Political Sketchbook country’s fate is in your hands e Congress party marks the fall of another strong pillar of the Grand Old Party While resigning from the primary member ship of the party, Azad wrote a five page stinging, no holds barred, letter to the party interim president Sonia Gandhi, and told her in plain words that her son Rahul Gandhi was ‘imma ture’, ‘childish’ and ‘surrounded by inexperienced sycophants’ Describing Rahul’s behaviour as ‘childish’, Azad wrote: “unfor tunately after the entry of Rahul into politics, and particularly after January 2013, when he was appointed as Vice President by you, the entire consultative mechanism which existed earlier was demolished by him All senior and experienced leaders were sidelined and a new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the party One of the most glar ing examples of this immaturity was the tearing up of a gov ernment ordinance in the full glare of the media by Rahul The said ordinance was incubated in the Congress Core Group and subsequently unanimously approved by the Union Cabinet p r e s i d e d o v e r b y t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r o f I n d i a a n d d u l y approved even by the President of India ‘This childish’ behaviour completely subverted the authority of the Prime Minister and Government of India This one single action more than anything else contributed significantly to the defeat of the UPA Government in 2014 which was at the receiving end of a campaign of calumny and insinuation from a combi nation of the forces of the right wing and certain unscrupu lous corporate interests ” But, instead of taking remedial measures, there has been an instant public reaction, in such a concert and with such force, that it confirms every terrible thing you suspected about the party The sad truth is that the only time that the party looks even remotely like a political entity is when the family is attacked, and the party rises to the defence of its anointed masters It is easy to call Azad names, and it is entirely possible, going by the noises he has been making in the last few months, that he has built bridges with the BJP While it does not speak volumes for his so called commitment to an ideology that he professes to believe in for the last 50 years, it does make talk of betrayal ring hollow because he has not exactly been quiet about his disenchantment, and as always, the party has done nothing about any problems that he, along with 22 other lead ers, has articulated Not that Ghulam Nabi Azad is an answer in any way to the problems that the party is facing, he is merely another facet of the issues that have bedevilled the Congress
Winning isn't everything but wanting to win is V ince Lombardi
A s per the latest crime fig u re s, t h e We s t M i d la nd s neig hbourh oods are most at risk of burg laries L ast year, ac ro s s Bi rm in g h am , th er e were 8, 489 burglaries, a 3 5 per cent rise from 8,1 99 in 2020 21 , according to hyper local police d ata The Selly Oak area suf fered 293 burglaries in the c i t y f o l l o w e d b y K i n g s H e a t h a n d t h e n S t i r c h l e y North and Selly Park S e p a r a t e H o m e O f f i c e f i g u r e s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e number of house break ins traditionally increases from July, and continues to rise until after Christmas when the number of bur g l a r i e s d r o p s o f f again Jeffrey DeMarco, assistant director at t h e c h a r i t y V i c t i m Support, said: “The impact of a burglary goes beyond just the f i n a n c i a l l o s s e s although these can be devas tating Home should be the place where we feel most safe “A burglary is an inva sion of that space and can d e e p l y u n s e t t l e p e o p l e ’ s sense of security For some, it could mean the loss of t r e a s u r e d b e l o n g i n g s a n d memories that can never be replaced “Sadly, too many people still fall victim to burglary Support services like Victim Support also offer free prac tical and emotional support to victims call the charity’s f r e e 2 4 / 7 S u p p o r t l i n e o n 0808 16 89 111 "
A Sprint spokesper son said: "The first Sprint vehicles will be running a l o n g t h e r o u t e o n c e phase 2 is completed in 2024 This is because the f u n d i n g w a s s p l i t i n t o t w o p a r t s , t h e f i r s t o f which allowed the bus priority infrastructure to be installed in time for t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h Games "All local bus services along the route are now b e n e f i t t i n g f r o m u s i n g t h e S p r i n t c o r r i d o r w i t h cross city services linking Walsall with Solihull set to begin in the new year "
04 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 3 9 Septermber 2022 NORTH/MIDLANDS
A mir Kh an was m ocked by netizens after po sting about a m eet i ng w i th S i r A le x F er g u s o n S o c ia l m e d i a users claimed that the bo xer c o p y p as te d t h e in fo r m a ti o n fr o m t h e f o rm e r M anchester U nited bosses Wikipedia pag e and used it in an accomp anying tweet Khan posted a video of himself chatting with Fergie and sharing a joke "Lovely to meet Sir Alex Ferguson at M a n c h e s t e r O l d T r a f f o r d Stadium," Khan tweeted "Best known for manag ing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013 He is widely regarded as one of the great est football managers of all time @ManUtd " Twitter users stated that Khan had posted the infor m a t i o n f r o m t h e U n i t e d great s Wikipedia page One Twitter user said: "Amir copy and pasted from W i k i p e d i a ' A n o t h e r s a i d : " L o o k s l i k e A m i r d i d n ’ t know who he was so had to Google him " While another t w e e t e d : " G l a d y o u explained who he is Would have never known " Green Lane Masjid raising funds amid Pakistan flooding Green Lane Mas jid h as co me f orward in s up port o f p eop le w ho have been lef t withou t h omes in Pakis tan by rais ing f unds P akistan h as declared f loo ds a "climate c atas trop he" and mo re than a tho usand p eop le h ave los t th eir lives The Small Heath mosque and community centre has l a u n c h e d a n e m e r g e n c y a p p e a l T h e d o n a t i o n s a r e being collected via Task Force GLM, the humanitarian arm of Small Heath's Green Lane Masjid It comprises volunteers from the professional sector, who work closely with NGO charity partners to oversee the distribution of aid Green Lane Masjid wrote on Facebook: "Over 34,000 homes have perished! In the h a r d e s t h i t a r e a s o f B a l o c h i s t a n , S i n d h , K h y b e r Pakhtunkhwa, and *Punjab, over 34,000 homes and tens o f t h o u s a n d s o f l i v e s t o c k have perished " I n B a l o c h i s t a n a l o n e , over 150,000 people are in urgent need of humanitarian a s s i s t a n c e a n d , a c r o s s a l l regions, thousands of vulner able people are facing inter nal displacement Our teams are on the ground right now, already working in local com munities that urgently need f o o d , s h e l t e r , b e d d i n g a n d hygiene items "
A34 Sprint bus will not be ready until 2024
T h e h i g h ly an ti ci p at ed an d t h e m os t aw a it ed A 3 4 s p ri nt b u s se rv i c e th a t li nk s Wa ls al l, B ir m i ng h a m a nd Solihull, will no t be read y u nti l 2 0 24 T h e S p ri nt s ch em e i n v o lv es env i ro n m en tal ly fr ie nd l y bu s es ru nni ng d ow n a continu ous route along the A 34 and A4 5 Residents along the A34 corridor have been facing traffic issues due t o t h e w o r k d o n e t o a c c o m m o d a t e t h e s e r v i c e , including road works and the installation of bus shel ters
Historic pub was demolished 10 years ago and this is how the site looks now 1 0 ye ars ag o th i s m o nt h , K in g E d w ar d V I I, on e o f B ir m i ng h a m 's m o st re co g ni s abl e c o rne r sto ne pubs was demol i sh ed Hi st or ian C arl C h i n n c o m p ar ed th e loss of the p ub to St L uke's C hu rch wh ic h w a s d em o l i sh e d o n Bristol S treet in 20 18 W h e n t h e p u b w a s demolished in 2015, the site was left derelict for years Community historian Prof Carl Chinn said: "The city council said the pub had to be demolished to widen the road for an 'advanced manu facturing hub' "But what has replaced it is a typical, modern prefab ricated style building that's what it looks like now I u n d e r s t a n d t h a t w e n e e d m o r e j o b s a n d i n d u s t r i a l units, but could we not have kept the pub when the a c t u a l ' h u b ' i s a c r o s s the road? " A f t e r l o s i n g t h e Fox & Grapes, Eagle & Tun and King Edward VII, is The Woodman another historic place that could have a prob l e m a f t e r i t r e c e n t l y ceased trading?" Prof Chinn added: "The C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s have rightly been hailed as a brilliant success for the city, but, looking ahead, where is the social housing provision in all of the new buildings going up?
Amir Khan mocked for Sir Alex Ferguson ‘Wikipedia post’
The relics ‘Temples of Relief' around Birmingham lie in sad state T hese days find ing toilets is a task fo r many, however, there was once a time when V ictorian g entlemen in the city co uld stroll u p to any n u m be r o f s tr eet co r ner s a nd re li ev e th em s elv e s i n o r nat e, p u r p o se bu i lt u ri nals Few ones are left in the c i t y a n d o n e m i g h t s p o t t h e m o n t h e i r t r a v e l s Green, cast iron panels form these little temples of relief, c u t w i t h e l e g a n t p a t t e r n s a n d f u n c t i o n a l a i r v e n t s The remaining urinals from the time are Grade II listed by Historic England O n e ' s p e r c h e d o n t h e c o r n e r o f G r e a t B a r r a n d L i v e r p o o l S t r e e t i n B o r d e s l e y , a l l b r o k e n a n d c o v e r e d i n g r a f f i t i O n Livery Street, next to the Lionel Street tunnel under Snow Hill, is another The one in Balsall Heath i s h i d d e n i n p l a i n s i g h t a m o n g s t t h e s h o p s o f Edward and Court Road is all tagged up and rusting Many of the urinals have d i s a p p e a r e d w h i l e s o m e have ended up in museums and private hands
And the scheme which was initially due to be in p l a c e d u r i n g t h e Commonwealth Games has now been split into phases
The West Midlands neighbourhoods most at risk of burglaries
Are you on the wrong bus?
At th e beginning o f June, C ovid 19 infectio ns in the UK saw a 43 per cent spike, p robably caused by p eop le who cam e to g e th er to c ele br ate th e Q ue en ’ s P la ti nu m J ub i le e th roug hout a four day weekend Driven by the BA 4 and BA 5 sub variants of Omicron, cases rose to a peak of around 4 6m cases in mid July before gradually beginning to decline According to the ZOE Health Study, in terms of infec tions, while August finds Britain in a much better place, closer to just 120,000 per day, the recent spike was a timely reminder that Covid is present and that we still need to be vigilant as new mutations continue to emerge around the world
A senior NHS consultant is urging people to “beg , bo r row or steal” to pay for p ri v ate treatment because th e h e alt h s erv i c e i s “ o n th e brink of disaster” “From a s af et y p o i nt o f v i ew , m y d e p ar tm en t i s st ret ch e d beyond capacity T he sam e is true for almost every A&E i n th e U K at al m o st an y g iven time,” Dr Em ma Jones w arned Every day she saw evi dence in her hospital and beyond that the whole NHS, not just accident and emer gency, is at breaking point, she said Analysis of the lat est government figures sug gests up to 500 people are dying every week in England because of the collapse of NHS emergency care Dr Jones, an experienced casualty consultant in a hos pital in the Midlands, writ ing under a pseudonym for U n h e r d c o m , w a r n e d o f “ A r m a g e d d o n ” w h e n demand rises in the autumn, given the strain departments are under in summer “Even as a senior employee and stalwart sup p o r t e r o f t h e N H S , m y advice to patients is this: f o r g e t i t B e g , b o r r o w o r steal to go private instead,” she wrote She said after 25 years of s p e c i a l i s i n g i n A & E t r e a t ment, she could testify that a decade of austerity had e r o d e d “ e v e r y s t r u c t u r e ” supporting the health ser vice Ambulances are held up from attending emergen cy cases because they are forced to wait for so long outside hospitals because of bed shortages Waits are so bad that last week one patient reportedly w a i t e d 4 0 h o u r s f o r a n ambulance and another 87 y e a r o l d m a n w a i t e d 1 5 hours on the ground outside i n t h e r a i n A m i l l i o n patients waited 12 hours in casualty between April last year and March this year, according to data from NHS Digital Britain signs new immigration deal with Nepal to rescue NHS Am id a s h ort age o f nu rs es and docto rs here, an initial p il ot pro jec t wil l begin im me d ia te l y w it h H a m p s h ir e Ho s p ital s N HS F o u ndat ion T rust and its partners But ministers are hoping to widen the scheme across the nation Britain has recruited the hard as nails Nepalese war r i o r s , w h o h a i l f r o m t h e Himalayan foothills, into the Army for 200 years But the new healthcare a c c o r d i s t h e f i r s t f o r m a l l a b o u r s u p p l y a g r e e m e n t s i g n e d b e t w e e n t h e c o u n tries N e p a l e s e h e a l t h c a r e workers will have the same rights as UK citizens working in the NHS C a m p a i g n e r s h a v e warned that Britain faces a s h o r t a g e o f 3 8 , 0 0 0 n u r s e s , e v e n i f i t h i t s t h e Government’s targets of hir ing an additional 50,000 by the next election in 2024 The Health Foundation w a r n e d N H S t r u s t s c o u l d f a c e a s h o r t f a l l o f a r o u n d 140,600 nurses by 2030 Student, 18 becomes victim of fraud, has to pay £50,000
A husba nd has been found guilt y of tr ying to mur der his w ife b e ca u se sh e ' de l a y e d ' giving him mon ey when he was in deb t with a drug deal e r But t he defe ndant Shar az Al i, who was on b ail, was not in cour t to receive the ver dict b eca use he ha s disa ppe ared w it ho ut e v e n h is l a w y e r s k nowing where he is H e t o o k a k n i f e a n d m a c h e t e t o h i s p a r t n e r a t t h e i r h o m e i n S t e c h f o r d stabbing her multiple times causing the smaller blade to snap off and become lodged i n h e r c h e s t , a t r i a l a t B i r m i n g h a m C r o w n C o u r t heard T h e 4 1 y e a r o l d t h e n 'pretended' to call an ambu l a n c e w h i c h o n l y a r r i v e d more than two hours later after the victim managed to dial 999 herself When asked what happened she initially went along with Ali's bogus account that an intruder had sneaked into the house and committed the attack, but w h e n i n h o s p i t a l s h e r e v e a l e d h e r i n j u r i e s h a d been inflicted by her hus band Ali, now of Hermitage Road, Croyden, maintained his innocence claiming he was listening to music on YouTube in the living room before going upstairs to find his wife in a bloodied state H e d e n i e d a n o f f e n c e o f attempted murder but a jury found him guilty after just one hour and 36 minutes worth of deliberation
(Expressed opinions are personal)
Take the example of Sophie who always desired to be a musician and had a passion for playing the piano but her family wanted her to handle the family business and become a successful career woman She was advised to pursue music as a hobby, not as a career and not as her main activity Based on the advice and suggestions given by her own people, she bordered the wrong bus and could never reach her desired goal post Sometimes we board the wrong bus just because it is the first available bus or because of the availability of seat on it It might not be possible for many people to wait for the bus that takes them to their destination and therefore whatever bus is available is taken by them This is the most common reason for being on the wrong bus After completing graduation or a pro fessional degree in education, one jumps to the first a v a i l a b l e j o b w i t h g o o d p e r k s N o t g i v i n g m u c h thought to the long career path ahead, the comfort in the bus makes us much more complacent about the future
The Judge confirmed he had executed a warrant for the arrest of Ali who is now d u e t o b e s e n t e n c e d o n F r i d a y , S e p t e m b e r 2 3 'whether he is here or not' Prosecutor Jennifer Knight QC, opening the case, stated Ali would have attacked his partner some time before he m a d e t h e f i r s t o f s e v e r a l ' a b a n d o n e d ' 9 9 9 c a l l s a t 6 16pm on September 10 last year T h e w o m a n , w h o w a s t a k e n t o t h e Q u e e n Elizabeth Hospital, had suf f e r e d m u l t i p l e i n j u r i e s including a fractured skull, cut to her neck which pene t r a t e d h e r w i n d p i p e , a wound to her armpit while the 8cm blade which was stuck inside her punctured her lung and heart Judge Bond today paid t r i b u t e t o d o c t o r s a t t h e Q u e e n E l i z a b e t h H o s p i t a l and said: "The only reason t h i s l a d y i s s t i l l a l i v e i s because of the skill of the surgeons at the hospital I have no doubt if she was not taken to hospital she would be dead now and this defen d a n t w o u l d b e f a c i n g a charge of murder "
Citizens urged to go for private health service
06 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 3 9 September 2022
T u s a n s a i d h e w a s stunned when he first start ed receiving repayment let ters last September, and the case is now in the hands of a d e b t r e c o v e r y f i r m , d e s p i t e t h e t e e n a g e r p r o t e s t i n g h i s i n n o c e n c e with the bank and telling p o l i c e h e i s a v i c t i m o f fraud Fraud experts said more should be done to protect scam victims facing reper cussions which should be f e l t b y t h e c r i m i n a l s responsible S a d l y , T u s a n ’ s e x p e r i ence and HSBC’s conduct is far from unique Tusan was o n e v i c t i m o f a w a v e o f f r a u d t h a t g o v e r n m e n t accountants have estimated to be worth in total around £3 5 billion Study Warning: Recordbreaking heatwave will be considered average by 2035
Many people are pushed or influenced by family members or friends to be on the wrong bus because they all are going on that particular bus It happens that if some of your friends are choosing a particular college, you also tend to be influenced by their decision to join the same college Because that keeps you in your comfort zone The common tenden cy of everyone is to find a comfort zone to accept the earliest available reward and comfort rather than wait ing for delayed success Who knows what will happen in the future and therefore it's best to find your place on a bus people often advise It is not easy to decide your destination and wait for the required time and withstand all the difficulties that come while waiting for the right bus People laugh at those who do not board a bus and let them go while waiting for their bus when they are not sure when it will arrive So ask yourself, are you on the wrong bus?
A n 18 year old stud ent h as been to ld he must repay a £ 50 ,00 0 C ovid Bounce Back b u si n es s lo a n is s u ed b y HSBC which he claims to kno w no thing abo ut T u s a n w h o a s k e d f o r h i s s u r n a m e t o r e m a i n a n o n y m o u s believes he was the victim of a Snapchat scam which allowed fraudsters to set up a H S B C b u s i n e s s account in his name T h e s t u d e n t , w h o l i v e s a t h o m e with his parents in Sussex, says he was stunned when he started receiving letters asking for repayments of a loan granted to a food com pany that was set up using his details C o m p a n i e s H o u s e records show the company was formed in September 2 0 2 0 a n d p o s t e d n o accounts or record of any turnover before being dis solved in March this year T h e l o a n a p p e a r s t o have been granted despite rules suggesting the compa ny should have been posting r e v e n u e s o f a t l e a s t £200,000 a year, and should have been able to prove it was negatively affected by t h e C o v i d p a n d e m i c H o w e v e r , a p p l i c a n t s w e r e able to “self declare” their eligibility, with lenders not required to check a busi ness ’ s viability The £47 billion Bounce B a c k L o a n s s c h e m e w a s i n t r o d u c e d b y t h e Government in April 2020, b u t i t i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t almost £3 5bn was wrongly c l a i m e d , w i t h t h e m a x i mum amount of £50,000 b e i n g g i v e n t o s c o r e s o f ineligible firms
The record breaking heat w a ve e x pe ri e n c e d a c r os s E urope this summer will be c o n s i de r ed “ a ve r ag e ” b y 2 035, even i f countries meet c l i m a te c om m i tm e n ts agreed under the 2015 Paris A g re e m en t , a n e w s tu dy warns R e s e a r c h b y t h e M e t Office Hadley Centre, com missioned by the Climate C r i s i s A d v i s o r y G r o u p ( C C A G ) , f o u n d t h a t , according to current pre dictions, an average sum mer in central Europe will be over 4C hotter by 2100 t h a n i t w a s i n t h e p r e industrial era T h e r e s e a r c h c o m e s a f t e r s w a t h e s o f E u r o p e were gripped by blistering heat waves over the past few months, with tempera tures well into the high 30s for days on end Almost all of France was s u b j e c t e d t o w a t e r u s e restrictions due to drought, along with large parts of England and Wales Earlier this month France experi enced its third heatwave of the summer, during which thousands of people were e v a c u a t e d f r o m t h e i r homes because of wildfires
Spain is also in the grip o f a “ c r i p p l i n g ” d r o u g h t with crops such as avocados and olives affected Along with Portugal, the countries are facing their driest con ditions in 1,200 years, and m o r e t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e h a v e r e p o r t e d l y d i e d i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e e x c e s s i v e heat this summer For their study, scien tists examined temperature data for the past 170 years The analysis looked at how rapidly rising temperatures are changing across Europe and tracked observed aver age summer temperatures since 1850 and compared them to future predictions They say the findings serve as an urgent reminder of the need for countries to g o w e l l b e y o n d t h e i r nationally determined con t r i b u t i o n s p l e d g e d u n d e r the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warm ing to under 1 5C Sir David King, chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, said: “The science is clear that extreme weather currently faced across the world is at least in large part a consequence of human induced climate change Ali of Croyden on run after killing wife
Top Covid symptom is ‘sore throat’
Rohit Vadhwana Winn er of the Nob el peace prize Wanga ri Maathai , in her book ' T h e C ha l l e n g e f o r A f r i c a ' , s tarts the in troducti on title as 'On the w rong bus ' T he phras e refer s to an acti on of movi ng in the wrong di rection by tak ing the wrong bus, bei ng there and bei ng led by others in mov ing away from your de sired plac e Whi le her contex t is completely diffe rent but the subj ect i s relevan t to all of us i n our personal an d profess ional lif e as well Have you ever thought if you are on a bus which is leading you towards your goal, in the same direction where you always have intended to go? Or somehow you have been on the wrong bus which is taking you in the wrong direction and farther away from your goal?
Q Shalby is number 1 in joint replacement today and performs more than 12,000 joint replacement surgeries in a year, which is highest in the world. How have you achieved this?
Having said this, Europeans and Africans are more prone to hip joint disease than Indians and we get many cases from African countries as well as USA, UK, Canada etc for this
Shrijit Rajan He has performed world’s highest 1,25,000 joint replacement surg eries of patients from across the world Dr Vikram Shah is a world renowned joint replacement surgeon and Chairman & Managing Director of Shalby Hospitals, which is head quartered in Ahmedabad He has per formed more than 1,25,000 joint replacement surgeries, which is high est in the world He talks about why people from across the world flock to Shalby for their joint replacement and other complex orthopedic surgeries
Meghan says she and Prince Harry were 'happy' to leave the UK
The exceptional results come a m o n g a m y r i a d o f p u r s u i t s beyond the classroom It is no surprise that our pupils, who are involved in any number of sport ing, artistic, dramatic and musi cal activities, continue to excel in their examinations Their grades are a testament to our belief that busy pupils are happy students, who thrive across the board A v i , w h o a c h i e v e d s t r a i g h t nine 9s, is a county cricketer and second highest 1st XI run scorer in 2022 (average of 55, comprising f o u r h a l f c e n t u r i e s a n d a n unbeaten century) and will be r e c e i v i n g a J o h n L y o n Scholarship Award A v i s a i d : “ I a m e x t r e m e l y happy as I have worked so hard I t ’ s a g r e a t f e e l i n g w h e n t h e effort you have put in has paid o f f M y t e a c h e r s a n d p a r e n t s h a v e r e a l l y h e l p e d m e T h r o u g h o u t t h e w i n t e r , m y coaches supported me with my preparations and enabled me to p e r f o r m a t m y b e s t o v e r t h e s u m m e r c r i c k e t s e a s o n T o achieve these results and play my favourite sport at the same time is amazing I want to continue to excel in my subjects on and off the field as I look for ward to my sixth form studies at John Lyon ” K a s s e m s e c u r e d eight 9s, one 8 and one 7, with an additional A* in HPQ (Higher Project Qualification) Outside o f t h e c l a s s r o o m , Kassem is a keen musi cian With grade 8 in classical guitar, he is currently the School’s Young Musician of the Year Kassem said: “I am delighted to see my results and I am really glad that I achieved all 9s in the three A Level subjects I will be s t u d y i n g : B i o l o g y , C h e m i s t r y and Maths I would like to thank my parents for being very sup portive and my teachers for help ing me to get where I am today T h e e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s have helped supplement my aca demic achievements ” Shaan, who holds a black belt in karate, was awarded three 9s, five 8s and one 7, with an A in HPQ Shaan said: “I’m thrilled with my results It’s nice to see that the hard work has paid off I would like to thank my teachers f o r h e l p i n g m e a c h i e v e t h e s e results and my family for their continuous support ” Note: If your child has fared well in their GCSE or A level results, do write to us at shefali saxe na@abplgroup com with a few lines, proof of result and a pho tograph We will be happy to publish it free of cost in the next two weeks
In anot her t el l a l l int er view, t he D uchess of Susse x cla imed t hat she a nd Prince H arry were " h a p py " t o l e a v e t h e U K b ecause "just b y existing, we wer e upsett in g t he dynamic of t he hier archy " S p e a k i n g t o N e w Y o r k Magazine's The Cut, Meghan said the couple were prepared to escape their life in Britain and were considering Canada, New Zealand and South Africa before the actor and filmmaker T y l e r P e r r y o f f e r e d t h e m a home in California S h e t o l d t h e m a g a z i n e : " A n y t h i n g t o j u s t b e c a u s e just by existing, we were upset ting the dynamic of the hierar chy So we go, 'Okay, fine, let's get out of here Happy to '" Meghan said that she has forgiven both her in laws and members of her own family a n d t h a t s i n c e s h e s t e p p e d b a c k f r o m r o y a l d u t i e s s h e "hasn't had to sign anything that restricts me from talking", but she is "still healing" from the ordeal She also claimed that in private, the Duke of Sussex has referred to "losing my dad in this process", suggesting he no longer associates himself with Prince Charles S p e a k i n g a b o u t s h a r i n g pictures of their son Archie when he was a newborn, she said: "Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child? It is being speculated that the Sussexes will not be able to visit the Queen at Balmoral on their visit to the UK due to security issues The couple now lives in Montecito, a small coastal vil lage north of Los Angeles She termed her relation ship with Prince Harry as like "salt and pepper" because they "always move together" A c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r spokesperson, on their upcom ing trip to the UK, the couple will make appearances to "sup port several charities close to their hearts"
07AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 3 9 September 2022
A I started with a small hospital in Ahmedabad way back in 1994 In those days people believed that joint pain with age can not be treated and one has to live with it In the initial years, we concentrated on giving good results and creating awareness that osteoarthritis (arthritis of joints) that causes joint pain can be treated People who got surgery at Shalby spread word about us and we grew very fast and today we do about 12,000 joint replacements a year Our Ahmedabad hospital has won Medical Tourism award five times in a row, including this year
Q How many patients from over seas seek treatment at Shalby? We have treated about 50,000 over seas patients in last five years or so We get patients from USA, UK, Canada, Australia as well as from a large num ber of African countries, both NRIs as well as people of foreign origin Q Besides Ahmedabad where are your hospitals in India? Is joint replacement done at all Shalby Hospitals? Totally we have 11 hospitals and we are present in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vapi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Indore, Jabalpur and Mohali We have expe rienced joint replacement surgeons at all our hospitals However, highest number of overseas patients come to our hospitals in Ahmedabad Q How long is the recovery period after joint replacement? Patient starts walking and going to washroom within hours of surgery Next day stair climbing training starts and third day you usually go home Q Tell us about challenging cases of recent past that were treated successfully at Shalby We did hip replacement surgery of a Ghana woman whose earlier six surgeries had failed She had suffered for 3 4 years due to this and finally our revision surgery treated her suc cessfully Recently, we did knee replacement surgery of a 165 kg woman from Sudan She is the heav iest person ever to have had this surgery
GCSE results 2022: Number of top grades drops
T h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t o p g r a d e s a t G CS E d r o p p e d f ro m r eco rd h ig hs d ur ing t he p ande mic af ter a ret urn t o e xa minat ions f or t he first t ime in thre e ye ars R e s u l t s a w a r d e d i n E n g l a n d , W a l e s a n d Northern Ireland revealed that GCSEs marked Grade 7 or above equivalent to the former A and A* were d o w n b y 2 6 p e r c e n t a g e points on last year ’ s record results The level was lower than the 28 9 per cent of students who a c h i e v e d t o p g r a d e s i n 2 0 2 1 , w h e n r e s u l t s w e r e b a s e d o n teacher assessments while exams were halted during the pandem ic, but higher than the 20 6 per cent who achieved top marks in 2019 The proportion of students who attained standard passes in their GCSEs also dropped this year, with 73 2 per cent of pupils achieving Grade 4 or above e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e f o r m e r C compared to 77 1 per cent last year However, top grades fell by only 2 6 percentage points this year despite a government pledge to clamp down on inflation Pr iva te sch ools in Engla nd accused of ‘gaming t he system’ on lo ckdo wn e xa m re sults According to a report pub lished in The Guardian, dramatic drops in top GCSE and A level r e s u l t s i n E n g l a n d ’ s p r i v a t e schools this summer have led to accusations that they “gamed” the system last year when teach ers awarded grades Official figures show the pro portion of GCSEs graded 7 to 9 in private schools fell from 61 2% last year to 53% this year when pupils had to sit exams an 8 2 percentage point drop T h e d i f f e r e n c e w a s t h r e e times greater than that of com prehensives, which saw a 2 7 per centage point decline, from 26% last year to 23 3% this year T h e p a t t e r n w a s r e p e a t e d w i t h A l e v e l s , w h e r e p r i v a t e schools saw a more dramatic fall in A*/A grades than other types of schools following the reintro duction of public examinations after three years The proportion of A*/A entries at private schools fell from 70% in 2021 to 58% this s u m m e r A c r o s s g r a m m a r s c h o o l s , A * / A g r a d e s d r o p p e d from 57% to 50% At some private secondaries and sixth form colleges, where as m a n y a s 9 0 % o f r e s u l t s w e r e given A*s by teachers last sum mer, the grade level crashed by 25 30 percentage points O n e a n a l y s i s o f A l e v e l r e s u l t s b y E d u c a t i o n D a t a l a b concluded that the claim that private schools “fiddled” results was “ a little harsh” It said that, while the absolute difference in percentages of A*/A grades in 2022 compared to 2021 showed o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s t d e c l i n e s across independent schools in relative terms, privately educated students were around 20% more likely to receive an A/A* grade in 2021 than in 2022, but the same was true for pupils at academies, c o m p r e h e n s i v e s c h o o l s and secondary moderns Anger ov er the north south d ivide a s the pr o po rtion of top gra de s a nd pa ss rate f all H e n r i M u r i s o n , t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f t h e N o r t h e r n P o w e r h o u s e
Avi Shaan Dr. Vikram Shah: World’s No. 1 Joint Replacement Surgeon
Q Is joint replacement needed for all joint diseases? In early stage osteoarthritis some dos & don’ts and taking supplements help delay the disease But, if it is in advanced stage the only treatment is joint replacement
Partnership, which speaks for business and civic lead ers across the north, said: Once again, we ’ re see i n g e v i d e n c e o f g a p i n g r e g i o n a l d i s p a r i t i e s i n today’s GCSE results, par t i c u l a r l y b e t w e e n t h e north and London in grade 7 and above results S a d l y , t h i s i s n o t a l l that surprising when we consider the triple wham my of factors that will have had an impact on this attainment gap existing long term disad v a n t a g e , l e a r n i n g l o s s d u r i n g Covid and DfE failures in catch up and the national tutoring pro gramme all of which affect the north of England disproportion ately Our young people cannot go o n p a y i n g t h e p r i c e f o r Department for Education fail ure, nor can our economy As they consider study in the future, the most competitive routes such a s f u t u r e u n i v e r s i t y e n t r y o r d e g r e e a n d w i d e r a p p r e n t i c e ships have young people compet ing from across the UK Northern kids will be at a dis advantage in those processes as a result of the failings of the cur r e n t g o v e r n m e n t , a n d c u t t i n g Opportunity Areas is a recipe for them to make it worse in years to come not better Jo hn Lyon p upils achieve supe rb GCSE results to p rogr ess to sixth f orm John Lyon pupils have once again been rewarded for their w o r k w i t h t r e m e n d o u s G C S E results, enabling them to take up their places in our Sixth Form
Q What is osteoarthritis? Who is more prone to it? Strictly speaking it is not a dis ease, but degeneration of joints due to aging Almost 30 % of people over 60 suffer from it severely Women are more likely to suffer from it than men
Dr Vikram Shah with 165 kg Sudanese patient after her knee replacement at Shalby She is the heaviest patient ever to go under this surgery
Q You have treated a large number of patients for joint diseases In your experience which is most com mon joint disorder? Knee joint osteoarthritis is the most common disorder in Indian and people of Indian origin and women are more prone to this More than 80% of our joint replacement cases are for knee replacement, and women form almost 80% of joint replacement cases
L R: Asian Voice Managing Editor Rupanjana Dutta, Rishi Sunak, Kokilaben Patel, Managing Editor Gujarat Samachar and ABPL Group Editor Mahesh Liloriya
With just a few days away from k n o w i n g t h e o u t c o m e o f t h e Conservative Party leadership race, it is imperative to reiterate, that if Rishi Sunak wins, the 42 year old will be the first Asian origin or British Indian Prime Minister of the country Whether or not he wins, the community will always remember this time, when a per son of colour rose to fight an egali t a r i a n b a t t l e f o r a p o s i t i o n o f power in a country with majority of white population
While his bureaucratic views and approach towards tackling the looming socio economic crisis in the UK are the prime parameters for most critics, for the British Indian community, Sunak is still the young man with his roots in S o u t h a m p t o n w h e r e h e w o r k e d with his parents in their pharmacy and delivered medicines to homes H e c o n t i n u e s t o m a i n t a i n h i s stance on tackling inflation over cutting down taxes and has gone on record in the media to say that he’d rather lose than win on false promises Rishi Sunak’s laurels, accom plishments and economic stature are arguably a result of his political and business acumen and have cer tainly not emerged from a pot of gold at the end of a r a i n b o w H i s w i f e serves tea to guests who come home, he d r o p s h i s k i d s a t school in the morn ing and together, the Sunaks have seen a gradual rise in their status and popularity, despite being heavily criticised during his t e n u r e i n B o r i s J o h n s o n ’ s g o v e r n ment In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Asian Voice on Tuesday, as Rishi Sunak looked through the copies of our newspapers and mag azines, he spoke to us about his understanding of his perception within the community, the politi cal gamble he continues to navi gate and more A V : Ev e r si nce you be ga n th e #Ready4Rishi cam paign, th e ho pes o f Ind ians at home and the diaspo ra soared toward s your candid a ture as the leader of the Tory party and our future PM Do you sense that pressure at all? Wh at d oes this m ean to you?
I have been honest with people throughout this contest that the number one challenge that we face is inflation Inflation is the enemy that makes everyone poorer and we must bring it under control as a p r i o r i t y W e m u s t a l s o s u p p o r t people with the cost of living this winter as it’s going to be really tough for working families and pensioners Covid and Putin’s war is not their fault and we have to support people through this chal lenging winter, whilst improving our domestic energy security so we have secure affordable energy for winters to come As Thatcher showed, you have to do the hard work first, to create a firm foundation for growth I will cut taxes sustainably and reform public services, but I won’t borrow billions to do this as that’s not fair on our children which will have to pay it off I’ve been humbled that Thatcher’s economic advisers are supporting my approach A V: Yo u ' v e m ai ntained th e f act th at you truly are a Briton at heart while hav ing ro ots in Ind ia Shou ld yo u w in the lead ership race, wh at measures are you loo king to imple ment to cater to the suffering s of th e ethnic m inority comm unity in th e UK ? This country did something incredible for my family, by wel coming my parents and grandpar ents and providing an opportunity to start a new life here I want everyone, regardless of their eth nicity, gender or background, to feel the same way, so they know that opportunities exist for people I want everyone in this country to feel they have the opportunity to succeed if they work hard and do the right thing That’s why edu cation would be a big focus for me as Prime Minister a good educa tion is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet when it comes to making peoples’ lives better AV: Y ou were bru tally criticised for you r financial statu re and state m ent s ab o u t t h e w o rki ng c las s t h a t y o u ma de a s a yo u ng st er w h i le gro wi ng u p i n B r i ta in working at your parents’ p harma cy Do yo u think Brito ns have the acumen to differentiate and p ossi bly fo rgive a you nger Su nak from t h e l ea de rs h i p p a rt y c an di da te who h as much mo re to o ffer to the co untry with h is experience and intent? My grandparents and parents worked incredibly hard when they moved to this country They set up a h o m e , s t a r t e d a f a m i l y a n d played an important role in some key public services, such as the local GP surgery and pharmacy in Southampton I believe people in this country a p p r e c i a t e t h a t w o r k e t h i c a n d want to see everyone making the most of the opportunities before them, so they too can own a home, start a family and give their chil dren the best education possible I’m very grateful for the oppor tunities I’ve had and if I’m elected as Prime Minister, I would do my level best to spread opportunity across the country AV: You recently told the BBC that “ One thing I have reflected on quite a bit being in government, in the cabinet the last few years you need to agree with the big things " Could you elaborate on w ha t th os e b i g t hi n gs w ou ld potentially be and how will that c ulture change within the sys tem i f you win the leadership race? The biggest issues facing our great country now are the rising c o s t o f l i v i n g a n d i n f l a t i o n Tackling these issues should be the priority for any incoming gov ernment and I have a plan to grip this moment I’ve spoken quite a lot on the campaign trail about the need to restore trust in our politics, and I would lead by example I want the wider public to see a Government squarely focused on getting a grip on inflation, tackling NHS back logs and spreading opportunities across our great country My promise to Conservative members above all else is that the government I lead would be run properly, competently and seri ously
“Inflation is the enemy that makes everyone poorer and we must bring it under control as a priority.”
Rishi Sunak with Asian Voice Managing Editor Rupanjana Dutta
Mr Sunak addressing the members at the Conservative Friends of India reception Rishi Sunak at Bhaktivedanta Manor to celebrate Janmashtami
I’ve really enjoyed being out across the country, campaigning and meeting members from across the Party People have been asking some incredibly pertinent ques tions and haven’t been shy about sharing their views, so it’s been really interesting having that time to connect with the grassroots of the Party Whether at a cricket club in a small rural village or at the Conservative Friends of India event in Harrow which was attend ed by over 600 people, each inter action has been helpful, and they have reaffirmed my view that we must grip inflation, tackle the NHS backlogs and restore trust in our politics I hope Members have also been able to get to know more about me and my values I’m conscious that the first time most people saw me was during the difficult times of the pandemic Hopefully, over this campaign period, people have been able to learn a bit more about what I stand for and how I want to help Britain to thrive AV : Does being a p ro ud British Hind u and British Ind ian h ind er yo u r a m bi ti o n t o b e a P ri m e Minister of a country that is so d i v er se and h as m a jo r ity w h i te popu lation? Do yo u th ink Britain is ready for a Prime M inister fro m an ethnic/A sian commu nity after all? Yes, the country is ready I don’t think it hinders it all, and the commentariat probably said the same thing about a female Prime Minister before Mrs Thatcher and were wrong then I’ve been very open that my faith means a great deal to me Again, I don’t see this as a hin drance in the slightest rather a strength as millions of people in our country have faith My experi ence is that people respect one a n o t h e r ’ s f a i t h s a n d b a c k g r o u n d s i n t h i s c o u n t r y A s w e l l a s being proud of my faith I am proud of the tradi tions and history of this great country that we are all fortunate to call home T h i s l e a d e r s h i p contest has also shown the breadth of talent we h a v e w i t h i n t h e Conservative Party We had a slate of great can didates throughout the c o n t e s t , f r o m a w i d e range of different back g r o u n d s , a n d t h a t ’ s s o m e t h i n g w e s h o u l d all feel very proud of It would only happen in the Conservative party In an earlier inter view, speaking to Asian V o i c e a b o u t h i s upbringing and family, attributing his success to the values of hard work and education among immi grants in the UK, he said, “I'm standing here because like many of you, this country did something incredible for our families And it w e l c o m e d t h e m h e r e a s i m m i g r a n t s M y m u m r a n t h e l o c a l chemist in Southampton where I grew up, my dad was an NHS GP, and I was brought up with a certain set of values I was brought up to believe that family is everything and family provides the bond that n o g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d h o p e t o replicate “I was brought up to believe in hard work Because if you work hard, there is nothing that you can't achieve in life I was brought up to believe in the power of edu cation to transform people's lives, that it was worth sacrificing for, because that s how you build a bet ter future And I was brought up to u n d e r s t a n d t h e p o w e r o f s m a l l business, I worked in my mum ’ s shop, I worked in her pharmacy, I d e l i v e r e d m e d i c i n e s f o r h e r , I worked in an Indian restaurant as a waiter And I saw first hand doing books or accounts or payroll, just how powerful small companies are in providing jobs and opportuni ties for people in their c o m m u n i t y N o w , those are my values I know, they're all your values, too Those are the values that we cher ish that we hold dear B u t t h e y a r e a l s o C o n s e r v a t i v e v a l u e s And that is why I want to be Prime Minister, b e c a u s e t h i s c o u n t r y did something great for m y f a m i l y , e n a b l e d them and all of us to build a better life for our children ” AV: Yo u continue to stand by you r mission to control inflation as av er se to yo u r o p p o ne nt M s T ru s s w h o w an ts to c u t d o w n taxes Is the d ifference in the sensibility of the party bigg er than the fate of the British econom y? If not ad h e re d to w it h th e ri g h t ap proach, what will this mean for UK’ s financial future?
Continued from page 1
08 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 3 9 September 2022 “BRITAIN IS READY”
I t w a s D a v i d C a m e r o n w h o said that we would be the first Party to deliver a British Indian Prime Minister He was right, and I’m immensely proud to be in the final two for the top job I’m grateful to all of those who have helped me along the way It has been humbling to receive the backing and endorsements of so many people from different walks of life and backgrounds I d o f e e l a g r e a t s e n s e o f responsibility I am asking people to put their faith in me to lead our country, through what is going to be an incredibly challenging peri od Throughout this campaign, I have been honest with people and told the country not what it wants to hear, but what it needs to hear That hasn’t made things easy, but I believe that it is the right thing to do A V : Wh a t h as yo u r ex p eri e nc e been while camp aig ning w ithin th e British Ind ian comm unity? Hav e yo u gotten to know their percep tio n of you better w hile interacting more w ith them?
No matter how much financial support the government shov els our way we will still feel overwhelmed by the soaring cost of living Now is the time to review how we can cut corners and somehow manage to keep going in the incredibly difficult times about to confront us Regarding food, do we need three substantial meals a day or could we survive on two, like a late breakfast and an evening meal? I heard years ago that some south Indians ate just one big meal a day at midday, nothing else, and enjoyed good health but I think this would require a great deal of willpower Some people “ graze ” , eating small light snacks only when they feel hungry My favourite snack is chunks of crusty bread ripped from those long thin loaves and dipped in a small bowl of olive oil flavoured with a sprinkling of diced garlic Absolutely delicious and quite filling too Maybe the Japanese have the right idea about food which they regard as a “medicine for the body”, only eating small quanti ties of what will nourish them and ignoring everything else Rudy Otter
Bhup endra M Gandh i
I f t h a t w a s n o t e n o u g h , h e b r o k e h i s p r e v i o u s Guinness World Record by climbing Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu within 2 days and 30 minutes Yes my friends, he climbed 3 mountains in less than 3 days The table below gives an indication of how many mountains Nirmal has climbed Check it out and you’ll see he has climbed Mt Everest no less than 6 times I mean doing it once is often the pinnacle for any leading mountaineer
7Dhaulagiri (8167 m) 18 May 2014, 12 May 2019, 8 October 2021 8Manaslu (8163 m) 27 September 2019, 27 September 2021 9 Nanga Parbat (8125 m) 03 Jul 19 10Annapurna (8091 m) 23 Apr 19 11 Gasherbrum I (8080 m) 15 Jul 19 12 Broad Peak (8051 m) 26 Jul 19 13Gasherbrum II (8034 m) 18 Jul 19 14Shishapangma (8027 m) 29 Oct 19
T h e r e i s a m o v i e c a l l e d ‘ 1 4 P e a k s : N o t h i n g i s I m p o s s i b l e ’ w h i c h c h a r t s t h e i n c r e d i b l e j o u r n e y o f Nirmal’s incredible steadfastness in his own conviction that nothing is impossible Can you imagine what a mother goes through knowing that her son is about to climb not just the highest mountain in the world, but all 14 of the highest, and that also in 6 months? How incred ible must the confidence of his wife Suchi be that she stands by his side knowing that he is only a moment away from harm’s way? If you get an opportunity, I suggest strongly that you watch the movie Get ready to be amazed and get ready to have your mind blown It is currently available on Netflix Nirmal is to mountaineering what Bolt is to athletics, Serena Williams and Federer are to tennis, Hamilton and Schumacher to Formula One, Woods to golf, Ali to box ing, Maradona and Pele to football, Phelps to swimming, and Bradman and Tendulkar to cricket Nirmal is unique even amongst these giants In my view Nirmal Purja deserves a knighthood Only four mountaineers have been bestowed such an honour They are Sir Edmund Hillary, Sir John Hunt, Sir Chris Bonington and Sir Graeme Dingle I ask one question to our Prime Minister and to HM the Queen, what does Nirmal have to do to get a knight hood? Many with lesser accomplishments have been granted this honour, but not Nirmal This Nepali man has served in the British Army with the Brigade of Gurkhas, followed by the Special Boat Services (SBS) and the special forces unit of the Royal Navy, and then he conquers the world of mountains It’s 2022, it’s time for this nation to stand up and honour this man, nay, this superhuman Arise Sir Nirmal Purja Moon: Here we come NASA ’ s annou ncement th at it is testing a giant rocket named “Star s hip MK 1 ” is welcome news for scientists, as wel l as sp ace enthusi as ts, as since the l as t Apo llo 13 mi ssi on in April 1970, described as a “ Successf ul Fai lure” sp ace explo rati on has been in hibernation, mai nly d ue to enormous cost and space race between S ovi et Union (R ussi an) and America was all but over Under President Putin, Russia is more interested in devel oping hyper speed rockets that no one can shoot down, flies in space and comes down on the target vertically, thus giving Russia an edge if it comes to an unimaginable all out war between two superpowers, now China has joined this exclu sive club with India patiently waiting on the side! The space race started in earnest when the US landed their first astronauts on Moon in 1969, using the Apollo Ten rocket which was a miniature compared to the present day giant rockets capable of taking astronauts to Mars and far into the space that is the final frontier for human beings So why there is sudden interest to reignite space explo ration? The answer is simple It is China’s entry into space exploration China is a dangerous adversary and carries out its objectives with determination, as in a totalitarian State, they are above restriction when it comes to cost and sacrifice! America fears that now Russia and China have become allies, both spending billions, making Moon landing a priority America has realised that it needs a solid, capable partner and has chosen Modi’s India as its new and reliable partner, having bypassed Britain and the EU who are more interested in economic development at the cost of losing their demo cratic freedom and Western way of life India is also well advanced in space technology building rockets that can land their astronauts on Moon Moreover, it is ten times cheaper to manufacture in India than in US and US is already building, and manufacturing the latest models of warplanes in India, transferring until now secret technol ogy to Indian scientists This shows how much PM Modi is trusted throughout the world!
Is Rishi Sunak the best candidate for PM?
Dear r eader, Royal Mail has informed that 115,000 postal workers will go on strike on four separate days Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) went on strike on 26 and 31 August They will be on strike again on 8 and 9 September The union has warned customers that deliveries and collections will be affected in many parts of the UK Following the strike, we apologise for the delay in the delivery of our newsweeklies We are sure that you will understand the true situation and as always give your valu able support Meanwhile, you can continue to read our e papers online for no extra cost on www abplgroup com For more details feel free to contact our customer sup port team Ph: 020 7749 4080 Email: suppor t@abplg roup com
The stall of Sard ar Patel Memo rial Society UK was th e centre of attractio n in the 'Azad i Ka A mrit Mahotsav ' h eld at Nav nat Centre A selfie po int the spirit of unity was made by placing a statue of Sard ar Patel, replicas of Sard ar Patel, Gandh ij i and PM Narendra M odi L R Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice Chairman Editor in Chief CB Patel Sardar Patel Memorial Society UK Vice President PG Patel NCGO Treasurer Deepak Patel Hum berside Pol ic e have reopened an inve stigation into or gan is ed c hild abus e in the c it y of Hul l that was wound down in June 2 02 1 The Humbers ide police rele ased a st atement say ing they have "tak en the dec ision to es tablish a new inves tigative team and rec om menc e the invest igation" and the a lleged vic tim s we re inform ed of the s ame As the case reopens, Assistant Chief Constable David Marshall said: “Humberside Police understand the significant public interest in any allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation within our communities ” The investigation, Operation Marksmen, was initially carried out for two years by the Humberside police It led to the arrest of thirty four peo ple, while 200 digital devices were seized for forensic examina tion and more than 100,000 text messages were reviewed Black wins payout after suing the school for race discrimination
10 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 3 9 Sepember 2022
Investigation reopens into the organized child abuse case
•
The Ch arity C ommission has op ened a statu tory inquiry into Du dley Central M osque and M uslim C omm unity C entre after it failed to file its accounts fo r four co nsecu tive years Its last annual accounts filed with the regulator were for the financial year ending 31 March 2017 The Commission said these failings are “symptomatic of wider administration and governance issues that persist at the charity” despite the regulator’s efforts to guide it The charity was part of the Commission’s “double defaulters” class inquiry in March Dudley Central Mosque has been subject to three regula tory compliance cases in the past four years, which examined an ongoing dispute between two groups that represent it The Commission issued formal advice to the charity to seek legal guidance to establish official trustees According to the regulator’s website, seven trustees were appointed in January 2020 with no other trusteeships on record It asked the two sides of the dispute to mediate and hold an election overseen by an independent committee Though an election took place, one side disputed how independent the election was and governance issues at the charity remain The statutory inquiry will examine whether the charity is being managed by its governing document and why it has failed to comply with legal obligations like filing accounts and annual returns The scope of the inquiry may change if additional issues emerge A spokesperson from the charity told Civil Society News: “We welcome the involvement of the Charity Commission I think it's a great way to finally get this sorted It’s a shame that it’s come to that, but it turned out to be the last resort and there was no other option so we welcome that We're supportive of it “We are looking to work with the old trustees and hoping to finally get this in order so we can move forward ”
Listening to the conservative leader contest debates, it comes across that Rishi Sunak is listening to the vulnerable sections of the community and coming up with workable, common sense solutions The latest figures on the cost of living crisis are showing that his proposed interventions will help the people who need it most Despite that, the polls are showing that it is unlikely he will win the contest Is it because the UK is not ready for a leader from minority communities? Or is it because Rishi is a victim of his success? His vast fortune sets him apart from those struggling financially on low incomes Does he need shoes worth £400 00 or other unnecessary material luxuries? Would he have won the sympathies of the nation if he was living a minimalistic, humble life? If he wants to serve this country as he says, maybe he needs to tone down on flaunting his wealth and living an ordinary modest life Hansa Pankhan ia , UK
The spirit of unity became the centre of attraction
The GOAT of Mountaineering K A P I L’ S K H I C H A D I It’s not ev ery day that yo u come across som eo ne who is on a d ifferent planet to the rest of humanity Nirmal Purja is the GOAT [Greatest of all Time] in question Let me tell you of his achievement upfront This is the man who dared to take on the challenge of climbing the worlds 14 highest mountains (above 8000 metres) in 6 months Yes, you read that correctly, he indeed completed this superhuman feat by climbing 14 mountains in 6 months and 6 days I cannot even begin to fathom the enormity of what Nirmal has achieved These are the mountains he climbed: Annapurna (8091m), Dhaulagiri (8167m), Kangchenjunga (8586m), Mount Everest (8848m), Lhotse (8516m), Makalu (8485m), N a n g a P a r b a t ( 8 1 2 6 m ) , G a s h e r b r u m I ( 8 0 8 0 m ) , Gasherbrum II (8034m), K2 (8611m), Broad Peak (8047m), Cho Oyu (8188m), Manaslu (8163m) and Shishapangma (8027m)
Date of as ce nt 1 Mount Everest(8848 m) 13 May 2016, 15 May 2017, 27 May 2017, 22 May 2019, 31 May 2021, 15 May 2022 2 K2 (8611 m) 24 July 2019, 16 January 2021, 22 July 2022 3 Kangchenjunga (8586 m) 15 May 2019, 7 May 2022 4 Lhotse (8516 m) 27 May 2017, 22 May 2019, 16 May 2022 5 Makalu (8485 m) 1 June 2017, 24 May 2019 6 Cho Oyu (8188 m) 23 Sep 19
115,000 postal workers' strike delays deliveries
We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit Please keep contributing as always If you are new, then write to Shefali at shefali saxena@abplgroup com Kapil D udakia
Tough times ahead
A black teach ing assistant w ins a payou t of £ 17,0 00 after sh e was banned from w orking from home while her white col leagues were allowed remote work Abi Balo gun w orked as a sp ec ial need s and d isabili ti es assi stant at Cu bitt T ow n Infants' School in Isle of Dog s, Londo n She had asked to stay at h ome as her yo ung son w as und ergoing cancer treatment Balogun was ordered by the school's deputy head, Emmy Alcock, to attend and was threatened with non payment A less qualified white assistant, carrying out a similar role was permitted to work from home as her mother was a vulnerable person After she complained about the same, she was fired within the hour Abi Balogun successfully sued the school for race discrimination and victimisation and the school has since closed and become part of Cubbit Town Primary School Mosque and Muslim Community Centre faces statutory inquiry
UK’s oldest book awards announced W ri t e r s Am i t C h a ud h ur i and Kei th R eidgway were nam ed am ong the authors whose work won the J ames Tait B lack Pri ze The prize is awarded annually by the U n i v e r s i t y o f Ed i n b u r gh a n d s ep a r a te a wa r d s a re ann ounc ed for ficti on and bi ographies A m i t C h a u d h u r i ’ s F i n d i n g t h e R a g a : A n I m p r o v i s a t i o n o n I n d i a n Music has won the biogra phy prize Biography judge D r S i m o n C o o k e , o f E d i n b u r g h U n i v e r s i t y , described it as a “work of great depth, subtlety, and resonance, which unobtru sively changed the way we thought about music, place, a n d c r e a t i v i t y ” , r e p o r t e d E v e n i n g S t a n d a r d Meanwhile, Dublin born Keith Ridgway claimed the fiction prize for his book A Shock Judge Dr Benjamin B a t e m a n , o f E d i n b u r g h U n i v e r s i t y , s a i d i t w a s a “ s e n s i t i v e , c r e a t i v e , a n d h i g h l y h u m a n e e x a m i n a t i o n o f l i v e s t h a t , i n s o much other fiction, would be relegated to the status of minor characters” The awards were first given more than a century ago and the format is still evolving, with this year wit nessing a greater involve ment of students Author a n d b r o a d c a s t e r S a l l y Magnusson announced this year ’ s winners during a spe cial event at the Edinburgh I n t e r n a t i o n a l B o o k Festival Eastenders star Ashvin Luximon dies from an aneurysm F o rm er E as te nd e rs s ta r A sh vin Lu xim on died on 23 July from an aneurysm at the age of 38 H e i s b e s t k n o w n f o r p l a y i n g A s i f M a l i k ( t h e n a u g h t y s c h o o l f r i e n d o f Martin Fowler) in the BBC soap from September 1999 to October 2003, appearing in 146 episodes His family set up a trib u t e p a g e a n d a r e r a i s i n g money for various charities in his name T h e y s a i d i n a s t a t e m e n t : “ A s h ’ s u n e x p e c t e d passing has hit us all hard, but we want to take the time t o r e m e m b e r h i s l a r g e r than life spirit “He loved and was loved by so many He sang a mean k a r a o k e t u n e a n d h a d a voice loud enough to hear f r o m s p a c e ! H e b r o u g h t laughter and the best cud dles “Please use this space to share thoughts, photos and m e m o r i e s P l e a s e b e respectful ” They added: “As a fami ly, we would like to ask any one who would have made a f l o r a l t r i b u t e t o i n s t e a d donate to our chosen chari ties, the NSPCC (Ash was t h e u l t i m a t e U n c l e ) a n d Andy’s Man Club ( a charity aimed at helping men talk) “He lov ed you ” Apart from EastEnders, the Enfield born actor also appeared in Grange Hill and Hope and Glory
New community airline to connect Birmingham and Amritsar H ans Ai rwa ys is prepa rin g t o launch f lights con ne ct i n g Bi r mi n g h a m a n d A mrit sa r as a f ir st of it s k in d “communi ty a irli ne ” T he compan y ha s appoi nt e d l ead in g Bri ti sh In di an p e e r Ba r o n e ss Ush a P rash ar to i ts board Prashar is Chair of the UK Federation of Indian C h a m b e r s o f C o m m e r c e and Industry (FICCI) and also Chair of Cumberland Lodge She is known for her senior roles with sever al international organisa tions in Britain, including t h e N a t i o n a l L i t e r a c y T r u s t , a n d B B C W o r l d Service Trust She has also s e r v e d a s H o n o r a r y P r e s i d e n t o f t h e U K C o m m u n i t y F o u n d a t i o n s (UKCF) Baroness Prashar told iGlobal, “I am delighted to join Hans Airways’ Board and feel privileged to be part of this community air line at the start of its jour ney I am very impressed with its vision and plan ning to date and hope to make a meaningful contri bution to its success ” Hans Airways CEO Satnam Saini is of the opinion that the Baroness’ vast experience in the private sector and philanthropy work is the right fit for their commu nity airline H e a d d e d , “ B a r o n e s s P r a s h a r s h a r e s a k e e n i n t e r e s t i n a v i a t i o n a n d connecting people We are d e l i g h t e d s h e s h a r e s o u r v i s i o n a n d w e a r e v e r y much looking forward to her valuable contribution ”
Rise in drop off fees at UK airports
At two thirds of the UK’ s m a j or a i rp or ts , d r op o f f f ee s ha ve i nc re as ed s i nc e 2 019, according to res earch A R A C i n v e s t i g a t i o n found out that in the past three years, sixteen of the 2 2 a i r p o r t s h a v e e i t h e r i n t r o d u c e d o r r a i s e d c h a r g e s f o r d r o p p i n g o f f passengers The motoring services company have claimed that drivers will be “stunned” by some of the “sky high” fees A m o n g s t m a n y o t h e r airports, the Stansted air port continues to remain in t h e t o p p o s i t i o n f o r t h e m o s t e x p e n s i v e s o c a l l e d “kiss and fly” charges, which are typically levied for drop ping off someone as close to the terminal as possible In 2019, the Essex air port used to charge £4 fee for 10 minutes and now it has gone up to £7 for up to 15 minutes A Stansted spokesper son said the charge “makes an important contribution to encouraging alternative, more sustainable transport options and reducing con gestion on the airport and surrounding roads” Eight airports including the UK’s two busiest air p o r t s , H e a t h r o w a n d Gatwick charge £5 for drop ping off passengers They introduced the charge last year N i c h o l a s L y e s , t h e RAC’s head of roads policy, said considering the train strikes and limited public transport options for some airports, many passengers are asking a friend or rela tive to give them a lift He said: “Anyone drop ping a loved one off at the terminal this summer will be stunned by some of these s k y h i g h k i s s a n d d r o p charges “And for those using the UK’s two busiest airports, the luxury of free drop offs outside the terminal build ing has been replaced by some pretty high fees “Minute for minute and pound for pound, some of these charges could almost be as high as the airfare itself ”
D ue to su rging energy cos ts, th ousands of corner sh op s will be fo rced to close unless t h e go v er n me nt s te p s i n with emergenc y su pp ort, a trade body has said T h e A s s o c i a t i o n o f Convenience Stores (ACS) w r o t e t o t h e c h a n c e l l o r , N a d h i m Z a h a w i , s a y i n g t h a t t h e y n e e d f i n a n c i a l support as its members will be driven out of business “We will see villages, hous i n g e s t a t e s , n e i g h b o u r hoods and high streets lose their small shops,” the letter says The trade body, which includes 48,000 local shops, said collectively, its mem bers were facing energy bills worth £2 5bn, and needed a support package worth at least £575m to stay in busi ness S p e a k i n g t o A s i a n V o i c e , D e e p e n P a t e l o f Meet and Deep Newsstore, T w i c k e n h a m s a i d , “ T h e cost of living crisis is affect ing our consumer ’ s buying habits, they are repeatedly s e e k i n g c h e a p e r a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e i r f a v o u r i t e products And we are hav i n g t o n o t o n l y c o m p e t e with the supermarkets now but also reduce our prices to remain competitive and a f f o r d a b l e t o t h e c o n sumers who are facing the c o s t o f l i v i n g c r i s i s However, at the same time, w e h a v e t h r e e l a r g e i c e c r e a m a n d f r o z e n f o o d freezers in our store and we h a v e t h r e e l a r g e d o u b l e doored chiller cabinets for soft drinks, wines and beers and all of these items we are s e e k i n g t o r e d u c e o u r prices, so we're losing prof it, but at the same time, our energy bills are going high er and higher So we're also h a v i n g t o p a y o u t m o r e which means we are strug gling to remain competi tive ”
11AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www asian voice com 3 9 September 2022
Rising energy costs will close down corner shops
Indian nationals continue to be at the top to be granted skilled worker visas Accor din g to the lat est UK gove rnment figures, Indians c on t i n ue t o b e t h e t o p n a t i o n a l it y t o b e g r a n t e d skill ed worker v isas Indians a ccount for 46 pe r cen t of all s k il l e d w or k vi sa s gr a n t e d g l ob a l l y T he r e po r t w a s r e l e a se d l a st w e e k a n d a c co r d in g t o i t , n e a r l y 1 0 3 , 0 00 In d i a n s r e ce i v e d work visas by June 2022, a148 pe r cent in cr ease ov er the pr evious y ear The latest UK immigra tion statistics also show an e x p e c t e d t r e n d a n d t h e Indians have overtaken the C h i n e s e a s t h e l a r g e s t n a t i o n a l i t y b e i n g i s s u e d sponsored study visas With an 89 per cent increase from t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r , 1 1 8 , 0 0 0 I n d i a n s r e c e i v e d s t u d e n t visas by the end of June 2022 Additionally, the UK remains a popular holiday destina t i o n f o r I n d i a n s I n d i a n nations account for the high e s t p r o p o r t i o n o f V i s i t o r visas, with over 258,000 visas g r a n t e d i n a y e a r I n d i a n industry also welcomed the U K ’ s n e w S c a l e u p V i s a , which is aimed at attracting m o r e s k i l l e d p r o f e s s i o n a l s from around the world Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said: “ I n d i a f i r s t a g a i n I ' m delighted that Indian nation als were issued the largest number of UK study, work and visitor visas in the year e n d i n g J u n e 2 0 2 2 M o r e strength to the unique living b r i d g e t h a t c o n n e c t s o u r people ”
Field day for pickpockets in Dwarka Janmashtami celebrations at the Dwarka temple in Gujarat was a field day for pickpockets A large number of devotees who visited the temple lost nearly Rs 500,000 to a gang of pickpockets The gang of eight including two women, all from Andhra Pradesh, was camping in the town, anticipating a massive rush due to the festival The police had received specific inputs of the gang members coming to the town to pick pockets in the heavy rush outside the Dwarkadhish temple The gang had stolen Rs 468,000 in cash on August 18 and August 19, the day of Janmashtami Interestingly, the gang members did not keep the cash with them and instead deposited it in their bank accounts through ATMs Police said they had deposited Rs 300,000 out of the total Rs 468,000 stolen in two days using several ATM cards All arrested people are native of Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, K K Gohil, police inspector of the local crime branch, said they were caught near a bus depot Police recovered Rs 158,000 cash from them Cops also verified their bank accounts based on the ATM cards found from their possession and they could not provide satisfactory answers about money recently deposited (The Times of India)
Raising a family is not an easy job To successfully overcome the challenge, people have to toil really hard The story of a cycle rickshaw puller in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur is an inspiration in this regard. Rajesh carries his toddler son in one hand while driving a cycle rickshaw on the streets of the city A video of the man's hard work is going viral on social media where users have come forward to help him The man leaves the house every day, carrying his son on the shoulder. The infant sleeps in between but the father works hard to earn a livelihood and provide food to his family Rajesh roams across Jabalpur looking for passengers and after getting a ride, he drives a rickshaw with one hand to take them to their destination. Twitter users were moved by the strong resolve shown by the rickshaw puller "He definitely needs help It's unsafe and sad," said one user Rajesh has two sons he leaves the elder one at home and performs his duty while carrying the little one with him. (Agency)
A new take on 'Kala Chashma'
SCRUTATOR’S
Google pays tributes to India's first female scientist
The hit Bollywood track 'Kala Chashma' is making noise on social media and for all the right reasons The party number from Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra's 'Baar Baar Dekho' has everyone, including people in foreign countries, on the dance floor From a group of Peppa Pigs to the dance troop 'The Quick Style', people are trying their hands at giving cool spins to the hit number We have found a new version and it is said to be the “best one so far ” The clip, which was shot at an indoor volleyball court, features a group of girls shaking a leg to the peppy beats The act is electrifying, to say the least The clip has, so far, garnered more than 14 million views on social media People have followed the comment space with fire emojis One person called it “rocking” Another claimed that she had watched the video on loop “Watched this way too many times,” she wrote Some wanted to know the name of the song This user spoke on behalf of all of us, when he said, “Kala Chashma going worldwide ” Meanwhile, a person thought that the music is from Marvel Cinematic Universe's Ms Marvel series “Wait Is this audio from Ms Marvel?” (Agency) Man takes his grandfather to movie theatre after 42 years
Finally, India condemns attack on Rushdie India finally condemned the attack on author Salman Rushdie with the foreign ministry describing it as horrific and also wishing him speedy recovery This was effectively India’s first official reaction to Rushdie’s stabbing in New York on August 12 When asked about the attack a few weeks ago, foreign minister S Jaishankar had said in Bengaluru that it was something that “the whole world has noticed and the whole world has reacted to such an attack” Last week, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India had always stood against violence and extremism “We condemn the horrific attack on Salman Rushdie and we wish him a speedy recovery, ” he added (Agency) Pilot's announcement delights passengers An IndiGo pilot's in flight announcement went viral on social media recently While it is customary to make announcements in Hindi or English, the captain of the Bangalore to Chandigarh flight delighted people on board by giving an in flight announcement in a Punjabi English mix At the beginning, the pilot was heard speaking in English The pilot hilariously added that people sitting on the aisle seat can only turn left and right and look at each other This left passengers in splits "Lesson learnt is what? Take a window seat," the captain jokingly added He said that during the flight, while passengers sitting on the left side would be able to show off their photography skills, people sitting on the right would, meanwhile, see Hyderabad He then switched to Punjabi and said that later, passengers on the left would see Jaipur, while the other side would be able to see Bhopal He then went on to give a special mention to all passengers from defence, para military and veterans onboard He even urged people to keep their masks on and remain seated until the plane lands in Chandigarh "Your luggage is safe Till the time the doors don't open, kindly remain seated Luggage is totally safe with you, the pilot stated (Agency) Long fingered bat species discovered An international team of researchers has found a new species of long fingered bats in India and Sri Lanka, close on the heels of the discovery of a thick thumbed bat species in Meghalaya, officials said The team led by Tharaka Kusuminda of University of Rohana in Lanka and Uttam Saikia of the Zoological Survey of India, named the new species as Miniopterus Phillipsi It was named after W W A Philips (1892 1981) in recognition of his contributions to studies on the mammals of Sri Lanka and South Asia The specimens for this species were collected from Idulgashinna cave in Uva Province in Sri Lanka and are now deposited in the Natural History Museum of the neighbouring country The initial research was carried out in Sri Lanka in 2019 and it took three years to be completed in both Sri Lanka and India The discovery has been published in Acta Chiropterologica , an international scientific journal, the researchers said During investigations, researchers found that the population of long fingered bats in Robber’s cave in Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats of India also belongs to this species which was earlier mistaken as Eastern bentwing bats, Kusuminda said (Agency)
Google has paid special tributes to one of India's first female scientists, Anna Mani, with a doodle on her 104th birth anniversary Anna Modayil Mani born in 1918 was a physicist and meteorologist from Kerala She also served as former deputy director general of the Indian Meteorological Department She has a huge interest in reading books and made up her mind to go on with her passion rather than getting stuck in a mundane life Younger Anna was interested in physics and so, she did B Sc honors in physics and chemistry from Chennai After her graduation, she worked with the Nobel laureate Professor C V Raman and researched on the optical properties of ruby and diamond Step by step, meteorology passionate her, and that’s when in 1945 she went to Imperial College, London where Anna ended up specialising in meteorological instruments Before this, she also went to the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru for research in 1940 Anna was always inspired by the nationalist movement and so by the activities of Mahatma Gandhi Inspiration was to a level that she later was only wearing khadi clothes Anna’s life story was inspiring even before she fully entered her higher education (Agency)
Children have a different kind of bond with their grandparents They are raised listening to the lullabies and stories from them Their love is just unconditional A heartwarming video is making rounds on the internet that shows an elderly man going to the movie theatre after 42 years with his grandson It was shared by a user named Dr Deepak Anjana on Instagram The video shows Anjana taking his grandfather to a movie theatre after years The elderly man can also be seen wearing dhoti and kurta a traditional attire with a white turban on his head The old man is seen using an escalator before moving through the theater's lobby and eventually entering the theatre to watch a movie Since being shared, the video has amassed over 640,000 views and more than 54,000 likes on Instagram Some users were left overwhelmed after watching the video and made heartfelt remarks in the comment section of the post One user wrote, Heart touching and overwhelming", while another said, "Give my love to your grandpa " (Agency) Purple cloud over Chile town puzzles locals A mysterious purple cloud appeared over a town in Chile, baffling locals and officials, according to a report in Philadelphia based news outlet Al Dia Locals posted the images on social media platforms like Twitter showing the vibrant purple clouds hanging low over Pozo Almonte, while the sky appears to be clean Local authorities launched an investigation to understand the phenomenon, which generated fear in the community, the outlet further said The cloud cover originated at the Cala Cala mine, very close to the town “We are carrying out an inspection process, which shows us that this fact is due to the failure of a motor of the booster pump," Al Dia quoted Deputy Regional Director of Tarapaca, Christian Ibanez, as saying Environmental official Emanuel Ibarra said the pump failure had caused iodine at the plant to change from a solid to a gaseous state, according to the outlet "Until now, there have been no medical consultations or affectations as a result of the situation we are experiencing," it quoted Tarapaca Region Representative Daniel Quinteros as saying (Agency)
Story of a cycle rickshaw puller moves Internet
12 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 3 9 Sepember 2022
Any relationship with the media is a corruption risk
Double stabbing in East London East Ferry Road on the Is le of Dogs b ecame the scen e of a double s ta bbing in Eas t L on d o n o n 2 8t h A ug us t The in cident has left a 23 y ear old man fi ghti ng for hi s life while the condi ti on o f th e o t he r re m a i n s unk now n N o arres ts have b een ma de as yet T h e E a s t F e r r y R o a d r e s i d e n t s h a v e b e e n i n s h o c k s i n c e t h e v i o l e n t incident The crime scene is still in place and blood can be seen on the pave ment One local took to Facebook to describe the presence of “lots of armed p o l i c e ” a n d i m a g e s f r o m the scene showed emergen cy services in attendance A w i t n e s s t o l d M y L o n d o n that she saw the police try ing to save a person lying on the floor in front of a bar and first thought it was a bar fight It was after she saw the other person cov ered in blood and the whole street bloodied with knives left behind, that the attack registered She added: "Currently t h e r e a r e s t i l l r e d t a p e s around the scene, but they took the knives Also, two p h o n e s a r e s t i l l o n t h e ground even though they w e r e r i n g i n g t h e w h o l e night [ ] We usually don’t have too much of an issue with a crime around here, b u t i t h a s b e e n g e t t i n g worse "
As da ha s iss ue d a warning about the UK wide c ha nge th a t wil l b e i m pl e m en t e d from Se ptem be r 1 a nd t he c ha n ge w il l im p a c t c on sumers al l a round the UK The company wil l be axing the ‘b est bef ore ’ dat es f rom 2 5 0 f r ui ts a n d v eg e t a b l e item s inc luding citrus f ruits , pot a t oe s , c au l if l owe r s a n d c a rr o t s a c ro s s a l l it s UK stores Asda head of technical, A n d y K i c k s h a w t o l d B i r m i n g h a m L i v e t h a t t h e c o m p a n y ’ s p r i o r i t y w a s t o reduce food waste in its busi n e s s a n d t h e i r c u s t o m e r ’ s homes The decision became m o r e i m p o r t a n t g i v e n t h e cost of living crisis and peo ple looking to save wherever they can Catherine David, director of collaboration and change at Wrap, said: “We are delighted by this develop ment from Asda to help tack le food waste in our homes Our research has shown that date labels on fruit and veg are unnecessary getting rid o f t h e m c a n p r e v e n t t h e equivalent of seven million s h o p p i n g b a s k e t s ’ w o r t h from our household bins ” She also said that no date label will have a huge influ ence on what is used and what is thrown She asks more supermarkets to take this decision and allow peo ple to use their judgment on w h a t t o u s e a n d w h a t t o throw away Princess Diana’s Ford Escort sells for £650,000 at auction T he black F ord Escort R S T u rb o o w ne d by D i an a, P ri n ce ss o f W al es h as so l d fo r £ 650 , 0 0 0 at au c ti o n Driven by Diana from A ugust 23 1985 to M ay 1 1 988, it w as sold to a U K b uy er at th e S i l v er st o ne A u ct i o ns sale th at took place on S aturd ay Earlier she was pictured with the RS Turbo Series 1 outside the boutique shops of Chelsea and the restau rants of Kensington She often drove her own car and had a member of the R o y a l t y P r o t e c t i o n C o m m a n d ( S O 1 4 ) i n t h e passenger seat T h e c a r i s s a i d t o b e unique as the first and only black RS Turbo Series 1, as agreed by S014 and the Ford PR department for reasons of discretion, instead of the o n l y w h i t e m a n u f a c t u r e d model The Ford factory’s spe c i a l v e h i c l e e n g i n e e r i n g department fitted a regular five slat front grille to assist in the “stealth makeover”
T he UK’ s decisio n not to buy a p otentially life sav ing treatment for hig h risk Cov id p atients is a “crushing disappointm ent” and “ disability d iscrimination”, lead ing charities and cam paig ners say The chief executives of Blood Cancer UK, MS Society and Leukaemia Care are a m o n g t h e s i g n a t o r i e s u r g i n g H e a l t h Secretary Steve Barclay to think again over Evusheld, a Covid drug for people with w e a k e n e d i m m u n e s y s t e m s w h o c a n n o t h a v e t h e v a c c i n e I t w o u l d c o s t a r o u n d £1,500 a year per patient “This announcement was a crushing dis appointment to many in our community, who are feeling forgotten and left behind,” the charity leaders write Meanwhile, Dr Adrian Warnock, a blood cancer patient and a leading campaigner for access to Evusheld, said, “I am not holding my breath for the Government to release an answer to this excellent letter or the reasons for their withholding Evusheld I’m more and more convinced that this amounts to disability discrimination and it leaves people like me condemned to being in a prison without bars ” Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people remain in limbo as the pandemic continues, they said The refusal to buy Evusheld is exacerbated by the fact that the rationale behind the decision is unclear, the charities say in their letter They point to latest real world data, published on July 29, and collected in Israel during the BA 1 and BA 2 waves, showing that immunocompromised people who took E v u s h e l d w e r e h a l f a s l i k e l y t o b e c o m e infected with Covid, and 92 per cent less likely to be hospitalised and/or die A G o v e r n m e n t s p o k e s p e r s o n s a i d : “Following a robust review of the available data, our clinical experts advise there is cur rently insufficient data on the duration of protection offered by Evusheld in relation to the Omicron variant and the Government will not be procuring any doses at this time Discussions however continue
Asda to issue a UK- wide change from September 1
Journal ists are b eing t reat ed a s cr imin a ls e q uiv al e nt b y t he pol ice with secre t guid a nce t o office rs to declar e a ny r e l a t io n sh ip wi t h t h e med ia as a corruption risk Most of t he police forces in E n g l a n d a n d Wa l e s h a v e a dopt ed the rule s to include j o ur n a l i st s in t h e l is t of “ n ot ifiabl e associa tion ” t ha t can le ad to corruption a nd oper ational compromise The policy was recom mended by the College of Policing without consulting j o u r n a l i s t g r o u p s T h e S o c i e t y o f E d i t o r s , w h i c h f i g h t s f o r m e d i a f r e e d o m , said the inclusion of journal i s t s g a v e t h e “ w r o n g f u l i m p r e s s i o n ” t h a t r e p o r t e r s sought to corrupt or deceive, and equated the profession w i t h t h e w r o n g d o i n g a n d dishonesty that it worked to u n c o v e r , r e p o r t e d T h e T i m e s T h e S o c i e t y o f Editors, in a joint letter with C r i m e R e p o r t e r s ’ A s s o c i a t i o n , s a i d t h a t t h e media had a “vital role” in keeping the public informed about the work of the police a n d t h a t p r o p e r s c r u t i n y prompted transparency The Index on Censorship said the m e a s u r e s s m a c k e d o f “ a u t h o r i t a r i a n r e g i m e s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d r a t h e r t h a n a d v a n c e d d e m o c r a cies” The College of Policing said that, with the guidance of the National Police Chiefs Council, it was reviewing the guidance and that it would l i s t e n “ v e r y c a r e f u l l y ” t o issues raised by the media A spokesman said: “Journalists have an important role in h o l d i n g t h e p o l i c e t o account and supporting the service with news stories ”
13AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 3 9 September 2022
The new Covid strain can cause night sweats
A n i m m u n o lo g i s t h as warned of different symp tom s that can be a result of the new strain of Cov id 1 9 O m i c ro n BA 5 h as caused concerns across th e globe as it contributes to a fres h w av e of i nfe cti on Scientists are find ing th e d i ff er enc es be tw e en t h e p rev i o us s tra i n an d th i s strain, including the ability to reinfect a person with in weeks of h av ing Cov id A new symptom to be caused by the BA 5 strain is n i g h t s w e a t s , s u g g e s t s Professor Luke O’Neill from Trinity College, Dublin It has become the dominant v i r u s i n t h e U K a n d h a s d r i v e n a s u r g e i n c a s e s , along with BA 4, in several countries across Europe and A u s t r a l i a T h e d i s e a s e i s slightly different as a result of alteration in the virus and hence new symptoms like n i g h t s w e a t s c a n b e o b s e r v e d P r o f e s s o r O ’ N e i l l a l s o p o i n t s o u t that there is some immu nity to the disease already and what is important is that if people are vacci nated and boosted, the disease does not become severe BA 5, like BA 4 was dis covered in South Africa in F e b r u a r y a n d h a s s i n c e spread around the world It has sparked concerns over t h e r e s u r g e n c e i n C o v i d infections
The car has just 24,961 miles on the clock A n o t h e r F o r d Escort used by Diana was sold at auction for £52,000, in June 2021 A r w e l R i c h a r d s , classic car specialist at S i l v e r s t o n e A u c t i o n s , said it was “ an incredi ble result” with “fierce bidding” and a packed room “ T h e c a r e x c e e d e d a l l e x p e c t a t i o n s , ” h e s a i d , adding that it was a “top ten world record for its type” Mr Richards said: “The s e l l i n g p r i c e o f £ 6 5 0 , 0 0 0 plus 12 5% buyer’s premium shows that a unique Ford c a n s e l l f o r s u p e r c a r money ” I n c l u d i n g t h e b u y e r ’ s p r e m i u m , t h e b u y e r p a i d £730,000 in total
Charities demand answers for refusal to buy Evusheld
Actio n will be taken to m ake su p p l i es o f h o rm o ne replacement th erap y (HRT) more resilient as Head of th e HR T T as kf o rc e Mad elaine M cT ernan p re sents her key recom m en d at io n s t o su p port fu ture manag e m en t o f t h e s u p p l y chain T h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s w i l l i n f o r m t h e w o r k o f t h e department and the UK wide menopause taskforce as Ms McTernan has returned to working full time as the Director General of the Vaccine Taskforce as preparation for the autumn booster campaign ramps up I m p r o v i n g a c c e s s t o HRT forms part of the gov e r n m e n t ’ s w i d e r c o m m i t ment to tackle the gender health gap, including sup p o r t f o r m e n o p a u s a l w o m e n T h e W o m e n ’ s Health Strategy, published e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , i n c l u d e s t h e m e n o p a u s e a s a k e y area A c c e s s t o H R T h a s improved following decisive actions to increase supply and manage demand includ ing issuing Serious Shortage Protocols on HRT products to limit dispensing to three months’ supply and allow specified alternative prod ucts to be supplied if neces sary F o l l o w i n g p o s i t i v e engagement across the sup p l y c h a i n , s u p p l i e r s h a v e also moved to secure addi t i o n a l s t o c k a n d e x p e d i t e deliveries of HRT products experiencing supply issues S u p p l i e r s a r e b u i l d i n g future capacity to support c o n t i n u e d g r o w t h i n demand These combined actions have resulted in improve ment in supply of products including Oestrogel gel The n u m b e r o f p a c k s o f Oestrogel delivered to the UK in July was double the monthly average for the first q u a r t e r t h i s y e a r d e m o n strating a very substantial increase
T ho us a n ds of B ri t i s h w om e n a r e b e i ng de n i e d the bes t treatment for heart attacks as a result of sexism i n medic ine, a major study has revealed Research suggests that nearly 12,000 women in the U K h a v e m i s s e d o u t o n appropriate care over the p a s t t w o d e c a d e s , w i t h some dying as a result The study, led by scien t i s t s a t I m p e r i a l C o l l e g e L o n d o n , l o o k e d a t d a t a f r o m 4 2 0 , 0 0 0 h e a r t p a t i e n t s a c r o s s E u r o p e between 2005 and 2017 It found that 5 per cent of women who suffered a heart attack were wrongly classified as not at high risk of death This equates to 1 1 , 6 5 1 w o m e n i n t h e U K being incorrectly told they were not at high risk in the past 19 years Some will have missed out on lifesaving emergency treatment as a result, such as surgery to restore blood flow to the heart or clot dissolving drugs D r S o n y a B a b u Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart F o u n d a t i o n , c o m m e n t e d : “We live in a world where inequalities in heart attack care are costing women ’ s lives every day Again and again, data from large num bers of people in different c o u n t r i e s s h o w t h a t t h e odds of surviving a heart attack are stacked different ly if you are a woman “To end this injustice requires c h a n g e W e m u s t e n s u r e that heart tests and treat ments are as equally well proven in women as they a r e i n m e n a n d t h a t w e tackle the persistent biases t h a t p e r v a d e s o c i e t y a n d h e a l t h c a r e , b e c a u s e h e a r t attacks happen to women too ” Britain remains committed to improving the lives of ordinary Afghans, says Lord Ahmed Minister for Sout h Asia Lord Ahmad wrote in The Times tha t the UK gov er nme nt 's co mmit m e n t t o A fg h a n i s t a n and its pe ople re main s st ron g He said, “The dete riorating human rights s i t u a t i o n a c r o s s A f g h a n i s t a n i s a l s o a tragic reality we face We will continue to press the Taliban on human rights and work with our interna t i o n a l p a r t n e r s t o l o b b y against violations and abus es including on women ’ s r i g h t s , g i r l s ’ e d u c a t i o n , minorities and freedom of expression Helping all girls g e t b a c k t o s c h o o l a n d Afghan women back into the workplace is a top priority We are determined t o e n s u r e t h e g a i n s made in Afghanistan in the last 20 years are not all in vain The Taliban in my view have not changed, but the coun try and people have It’s a collective responsibil i t y o f t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l community to ensure we use every lever at our dis posal to improve stability, safety and the future for the people of Afghanistan ”
14 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly 3 9 September 2022 www.asian-voice.com
Provisions for at home ea rly me d i ca l a b o r t io n s t o b e ma d e p e r m a n e n t fr o m 3 0 Au g us t 2 02 2 W o me n in Eng land and Wal es will be abl e to per ma nentl y access ea r l y me d ica l a b or t ion s at home from 30 August The new legislation will allow women to access pills for early medical abortion via teleconsultation, and for b o t h p i l l s t o b e t a k e n a t home for the gestation of up to 9 weeks and 6 days The update comes as all independent sector abortion clinics in England have been reapproved ensuring abor tion services continue to be available to women across t h e c o u n t r y A l l c u r r e n t approvals are valid until 31 July 2026 M i n i s t e r f o r P u b l i c H e a l t h , M a g g i e T h r o u p , s a i d : “ T h e w e l l b e i n g a n d safety of women requiring access to abortion services is paramount With these mea sures, women will have more c h o i c e i n h o w a n d w h e r e they access abortion services, while ensuring robust data is c o l l e c t e d t o e n s u r e t h e i r continued safety To ensure the continued safety of children and young people, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health w i l l p u b l i s h s a f e g u a r d i n g g u i d a n c e f o r u n d e r 1 8 s accessing early medical abor tion services The guidance, which will be published shortly, rein f o r c e s t h e p r i n c i p l e s t h a t every young person should have access to early medical abortions promptly and that their holistic and safeguard ing needs must be addressed by providers ” T o e f f e c t i v e l y m o n i t o r the impact and use of at h o m e e a r l y m e d i c a l a b o r t i o n s , d o c t o r s w i l l b e required to include informa tion on the place of termina tion, place of consultation as well as whether the consul tation was fully remote on abortion notification forms This data will allow for anal y s i s o f t r e n d s i n a b o r t i o n provision as well as monitor ing pathways for home use abortions D o c t o r s w i l l a l s o b e required to certify in ‘good faith’ that the gestation peri o d i s b e l o w 1 0 w e e k s f o r a b o r t i o n p i l l s p r e s c r i b e d from home and if one or b o t h p i l l s a r e t a k e n a t a woman ’ s home The amendments to the notification forms and certi fication requirements are set o u t i n t h e A b o r t i o n ( A m e n d m e n t ) R e g u l a t i o n s 2022 These changes follow a free vote by MPs in March 2022
Thousands of British women are being denied the best treatment for heart attacks
At home early medical abortions made permanent in England and Wales
HRT Taskforce presents recommendations to support future supply
Anusha Singh A ccording to UNICEF, period s affect 1 8 bi l li o n p eo p le , i n cl u d i ng g i rls , wo men, transgend er m en and non binary peo ple A part from the hor mo nal ch anges and the physical d is com fort, th is m ino rity of the popula ti o n a ls o h a s to d ea l w i th p eri o d pov erty and taboos This makes it impossible to man age their menstrual cycle in a dignified and healthy way What is supposed to be a vulnerable time where young individuals need to be taught about health and hygiene is marked by dis crimination and exclusion from soci ety Ruby Raut is one such woman, who has faced this social stigma and is on a mission to make a difference for others She is the founder of the UK’s first period pants company, WUKA The brand has been hustling, not only to help people overcome the conserva tive identity given to periods, but also to reduce the impact of unsustainable period products on the environment Asian Voice reached out to Ruby and here’s what she had to say about peri od health: You are o n a mission to reduce the deterioration of the environm ent caused by period produ cts by helping wo men sw itch to sustainable alterna tives However, reu sing p eriod prod ucts can be problem atic for menstru ating ind ividuals, like for the So uth A sian co mmu nity, co nsidering taboo s and embarrassment around the cycle How do you try to approach people fr om th ese co m m u ni tie s r eg ard i ng perio d pants? WUKA is on a mission to change the narrative around periods, for them to be celebrated We want to educate people about what periods are and why they should be talked about not shamed or stigmatised Period pants are universal and accessible They look and feel like regular underwear, so when you wash, dry and care for them, no one would know you are on your period We want to invest more in e d u c a t i n g o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n s a n d adults, for a greater impact on period dignity How can comm unities rise abov e th e taboos and prej udi ces and help them with this situation? Why, ac c o rd i n g to yo u , i s i t ex tre m el y i m p o rt ant fo r c o m m u n it ie s t o b e mo re sensitive mov ing forward? We can start with targeting school education around periods At WUKA, w e v i s i t s c h o o l s a n d c o m m u n i c a t e about periods and the use of period pants with girls and boys, so there is an awareness from a young age across genders At a community level, open ing up conversations about periods in community forums and social media groups targeted at South Asian com m u n i t i e s i s c r u c i a l t o h e l p p e o p l e understand periods and, further, cele brate them You’ ve talked about you r experience w i th pe rio d s in Nep al a nd th e taboos you ’ v e had to face Have you witnessed or exp erienced , similar or different taboos in the UK? If so, wh at? A d d itio nally, are w es tern co untries mo re open minded wh en it comes to perio ds? Myths around periods exist In a recent survey, we found that 1 in 6 women believe that exercising during their period is harmful These myths can sometimes be believed as truth, which can be dangerous and mislead ing I’ve found that, in the UK, there can be a culture of keeping periods discreet, be that not talking about it or hiding period products, and this needs to change Period poverty is a serio us issue, d ue to which, women have to skip day to day life, steal tam pons and relent to using cloth , tissu es or socks Th ese are som e of th e commo n consequ ences o f perio d poverty that we find on new s and are quick to dismiss Wh at are som e o f the g rave consequences that you know o f? Pain and discomfort felt by many young people when on their periods can stop them from going to school, a n d e n g a g i n g i n s o c i a l a n d s p o r t s activities, affecting a child’s physical and mental health and experience of life Sco tland recently became the first co untry to offer free perio d prod ucts How crucial is it fo r th e rest o f the world to fo llow in its footstep s and make period prod ucts available free o f cost? How big o f a step will it be towards end ing period p overty? I t i s a g r e a t s t e p f o r w a r d t h a t Scotland has taken, especially putting periods in the public eye and encour aging conversation Period products should be treated like essential items, so it would be wonderful to see other countries make period products freely available in every public service, e g , toilets, schools, libraries, universities etc I hope that other countries follow suit How will you d escribe your journey sp anning yo ur life in Nepal, the U K and your achievements? How has your commu nity, bo th back h ome and the south Asian com munity in Britain, supp orted and inspired you? It’s difficult to be an immigrant in the UK and start a successful business because there is a little support net work to go to and rely on So, I’ve had to be a self starter and seek support when needed, which I still do now Whenever I share my journey, particu larly in forums for South Asian com munities, I feel commended and sup ported from afar People personally write to me, which I find so encourag ing and keeps me motivated I hope more media outlets find stories like mine and support them from early on in their journey
The pause around periods
A very special way to celebrate the older people in our lives
New government scheme to promote next generation of UK artists around the world
“The project will create a programme of g a l l e r y a n d o n l i n e a c t i v i t i e s a r o u n d t h e Bucks heroes themes, support community e v e n t s a n d p r e s e n t a B u c k s H e r o e s Exhibition in 2023 Watch this space for more news and What’s On for forthcoming events ” Y o u c a n r e a d m o r e o n https://silversunday org uk/
Kantha Katha-K at Birmingham Hippodrome Th e s to ri es o f lo ca l wo me n sh ared in traditio nal Kanth a embro idery retold as K ath ak dance by Amina Kh ayyam Kantha Katha K is a unique d a n c e p e r f o r m a n c e a n d i n s t a l l a t i o n n a r r a t i n g l o c a l w o m e n ’ s s t o r i e s A m i n a K h a y y a m D a n c e C o m p a n y e n g a g e d l o c a l B i r m i n g h a m women with creative activity using traditional Kantha a S o u t h A s i a n f o r m o f e m b r o i d e r y R e a c h i n g t h e m d u r i n g lockdown through WhatsApp and Zoom p a r t i c i p a n t s w o r k e d w i t h A r t i s t A b e d a Begum to share their personal experiences and stories The Kanthas form the installation and in the final part of the project they have been progressed kinetically to Kathak, a South Asian storytelling dance, by Amina Khayyam to a music score of Borodin’s Nocturne specially adapted by Jonathan Mayer to Indian instrumentation Artistic Director Amina Khayyam said: “We are delighted to present all the kanthas c r e a t e d n a t i o n a l l y b y t h e w o m e n a t Birmingham Hippodrome as part of our promise to share their amazing works with the wider audience and bring the women together in one space to meet (for most for the first time in person), share and watch the movement aspect of their invaluable works “We hope we are able to transform their work through movement and have done justice to their thoughts and emotions felt during the pandemic “For this performance we explored the most common theme emerged from their e x p e r i e n c e i s o l a t i o n / l o n e l i n e s s , d e a t h , mental health/anxiety, domestic violence, hope and freedom “We hope as audiences you’ll recognise the experience felt by the women and their work will remind us how vulnerable we are a s a h u m a n r a c e a n d t h o u g h w e a r e s e p a r a t e d b y g e o g r a p h y , y e t w e a r e a l l children of the one world with much in common ”
Initially launch ed as a local campaign to tackle loneliness and isolation, Silv er Sunday is now a national day where peop le of all g enerations can come together by hosting f u n a nd f re e ac ti v i ti es f o o ld er p eople It is a day where o ld er people can m eet new p eop le, visit new places, try new activ iti es and co nnec w ith th eir local commu nitie and the g enerations around them S i l v e r S u n d a y a r t w o r k represents a very special way to celebrate the older people in our lives It encourage s p e n d i n g t i m e w i t h grandparents knowing more a b o u t t h e i r l i v e s , l e a r n i n g f r o m t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e a n d a p p r e c i a t i n g t h e i r l i f e s t r u g g l e s T h e a r t w o r k i created as part of Discove Bucks Museum's Bucks Heroes project It acts as a visual encouragement for us to become oral historians for a day and get empowered through family stories
16 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly 3 9 September 2022 www.asian-voice.com
Musical set to tour England and Wales for the first time this Autumn L e i ce st er ’ s C u r v e th e at re an d B i rm i ng h am Hi p p o d ro m e h av e a nno u n ce d th e c as t o f th ei r co p rod uction of the acclaimed musical T he C olor Purple, which is set to tour England and Wales for the first time this autum n thanks to suppo rting from Arts Council England ’ s National Lottery Funding L e a d i n g t h e c o m p a n y a s t h e downtrodden but full hearted heroine Celie is Me’sha Bryan, whose previous r o l e s h a v e i n c l u d e d R o m a n t i c s Anonymous (Bristol Old Vic), Caroline, or Change (The Playhouse Theatre) and The L i o n K i n g ( U K t o u r ) T h e r o l e o f g l a m o r o u s s i n g e r S h u g A v e r y w i l l b e played by Bree Smith (The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre), Aaliyah Zhané (The Comedy of Errors, Mercury Theatre) joins as Celie’s sister Nettie, Harpo will be played by Ahmed Hamad (The Addams Family, UK Tour and The Boy in the Dress, RSC) and S q u e a k w i l l b e p o r t r a y e d b y J i m a n d Allotey, who makes her professional stage debut in the production
BFI London Film Festival 2022 announces complete ‘LFF expanded’ immersive art & extended realities lineup 20 Projects from 17 Countries, a new LFF Commission, 5 World Premieres and 8 UK Premieres presented across multiple venues on London’s South Bank
The X UK project initially ran as a successful pilot scheme in 2020 21 when more than 90 pieces by 45 contemporary v i s u a l a r t i s t s w e r e a c q u i r e d f o r t h e collection These works are now on display i n g o v e r n m e n t b u i l d i n g s a r o u n d t h e c o u n t r y a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y i n B r i t i s h embassies and residences including Paris, Ankara, The Holy See in Rome, and 10 Downing Street The pilot revealed the impact that an a c q u i s i t i o n b y t h e G o v e r n m e n t A r t Collection can have on an artist’s career by helping to bring their art to new audiences and raising their profiles Glasgow based artist Alberta Whittle went on to represent Scotland at the 59th Biennale di Venezia in 2022 and currently h a s p i e c e s o n d i s p l a y i n t h e N a t i o n a l Galleries of Scotland following the pilot scheme’s acquisition of her work The acquisition of work by Manish Harijan led to his being granted a global talent visa by the British Council, and Ghanian born artist Harold Offeh saw his art join a national collection for the first time in his career
The tour sees several cast members f r o m C u r v e a n d B i r m i n g h a m H i p p o d r o m e ’ s o r i g i n a l a w a r d w i n n i n g p r o d u c t i o n r e t u r n , i n c l u d i n g A k o Mitchell as Mister, Anelisa Lamola as Sofia, KM Drew Boateng as Pa, Rosemary A n n a b e l l a N k r u m a h a s D a r l e n e a n d K a r e n M a v u n d u k u r e a s D o r i s a n d Alternate Celie The cast also includes Kyle Birch, Kayla Carter, Joshua Clemetson, Esme Laudat, DeeArna McLean, Monifa James, A l e x O k o a m p a , N e i l P a t t e r s o n a n d Kellah M Spring The Color Purple will once again be directed by Tinuke Craig, with Lakesha A r i e A n g e l o a s R e v i v a l D i r e c t o r A l s o resuming their roles on the production team are Musical Supervisor Alex Parker, O r c h e s t r a t o r M a r t i n H i g g i n s , C h o r e o g r a p h e r M a r k S m i t h , S e t a n d Costume Designer Alex Lowde, Video Designer Joshua Pharo, Sound Designer Tom Marshall, Wigs, Hair and Make Up Designer Cynthia De La Rosa and Casting D i r e c t o r K a y M a g s o n C D G , w i t h I a n O a k l e y a s M u s i c a l D i r e c t o r , R i c a r d o Pardo as Associate Designer, Gail Parmel a n d I o n a W a i t e a s A s s o c i a t e Choreographers, Kev McCurdy as Fight Director, Hazel Holder as Voice Coach, G e r r a r d M a r t i n a s I n t i m a c y D i r e c t o r , N a o m i T h o m p s o n a s C o s t u m e Supervisor, Nicole Iroh as Wigs, Hair and Make Up Supervisor and Nigel Bailey as Wellbeing Practitioner also joining (L R) Ako Mitchell (Mister), Me’sha Bryan (Celie) and Aaliyah Zhane (Nettie) Photography by Ellie Kurttz
C ont emp orary Bri ti s h a rti st s ar e se t to b enefi t from a new s cheme whic h wi ll s ee t h ei r w or k di s p la y e d i n t he c o un t ry ’ s n e t wo rk of em b a s s i e s a n d g ov e rn m e n t b uildings around the world
Silver Sunday artwork has its roots in lockdown times, when we couldn't meet to celebrate older people in our lives We ended up celebrating online by participating in a tory writing competition u n b y H a r s h a B a s u P a i n t i n g s B u c k s H e r o e s project has given my idea a bigger platform and we are e x p e c t i n g w i d e r participation this year What is the Bucks Hero es project all about? Amersham based artist H a r s h a W a d h w a n i B a s u ells us, “We are working w i t h u n d e r s e r v e d c o m m u n i t i e s a r o u n d Buckinghamshire to collate and curate stories from the ocal people and landscape B u c k s H e r o e s p r o j e c t i s about celebrating ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things making them everyday heroes, who have contributed to the history of Bucks “ F u n d e d b y t h e N a t i o n a l L o t t e r y
Heritage Fund, this project will collaborate with the local community to showcase our many heroes through exciting and unusual activities in the new Discover Bucks People gallery once opened later in 2021 and online We are looking for local heroes and would love to hear your story or that of your family or friends If you would like to nominate an individual from Bucks who is a local hero please get in touch with our Bucks Heroes P r o g r a m m e M a n a g e r o n bucksheroes@discoverbucksmuseum org “We are also currently converting our ground floor temporary exhibition room into a flexible community and learning space to be used by schools, community groups and visitors while they go round the new galleries
The Government Art Collection (GAC), which is part of the Department for Digital, C u l t u r e , M e d i a a n d S p o r t ( D C M S ) , i s launching a five year acquisitions project to acquire works from exciting talent and showcase the best of British creativity promoting further interest in the country’s globally renowned creative sector GAC will work with the Contemporary V i s u a l A r t s N e t w o r k i n E n g l a n d , t h e Scottish Contemporary Art Network, and networks in Wales and Northern Ireland to identify the next generation of potential artistic stars
T h e 66t h B F I L o n d o n F il m Fe s ti v al , i n partnership with Am erican Express, tod ay anno unces th e com plete line u p fo r L F F E xp an d ed , th e Festival’s Im mersiv e A rt and E xte nd e d R eal i ti es s tra nd , which runs from 5 16 October 2022 P r o g r a m m e d b y U l r i c h Schrauth, the BFI’s Immersive Art and XR Curator, this year ’ s programme showcases a rich selection of works from c r e a t o r s w o r k i n g a t t h e f o r e f r o n t o f emerging technologies, including interactive virtual reality, screen based installations, augmented reality, mixed reality, immersive audio experience and live performance The programme is presented in partnership with the National Theatre, and takes place across multiple venues on London’s South Bank; 17 projects will be showcased at LFF Expanded @ 26 Leake Street, the award winning venue located in the Leake Street graffiti tunnel, while additional projects will be presented at the National Theatre and at BFI Southbank T h e B F I L o n d o n F i l m F e s t i v a l i s delighted to announce t h e W o r l d P r e m i e r e , c o m m i s s i o n e d b y t h e L F F , o f G u y M a d d i n ’ s H a u n t e d H o t e l : A M e l o d r a m a i n A u g m e n t e d R e a l i t y P r e s e n t e d a t B F I S o u t h b a n k , t h i s e v o c a t i v e , i m m e r s i v e exhibition transports the audience into a surreal paper world, created from an eclectic selection of clippings drawn from Maddin’s own personal archive, set to an intricate soundscape by acclaimed composer Magnus Fiennes
The festival concludes with people greeting each o t h e r ‘ M i c c h a m i Dukkadam’ which means, "may all the evil that has been done be fruitless " On t h e l a s t d a y , w h i c h i s k n o w n a s S a m v a t s a r i , p e o p l e g r e e t f a m i l y , friends and all others with this phrase, thus seeking forgiveness for any kind of hurt or harm caused intentionally or unintentionally By saying this phrase, you are forgiving those who have done wrong to you and those to whom you have done wrong
17AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 3 9 September 2022
A s h k i n M i t ta l f e l l i n l o ve w i t h Palladian archi tec ture while s tudyi ng a n c i e n t hi s to r y a t M a r l b or ou g h College in Wiltshire “Tha t’ s where I got my love of buildin gs ” After a gap year travelling around I n d i a a n d E u r o p e , M i t t a l , w h o s e grandfather was a lawyer, returned to Britain and studied law at university “I didn’t want to do it but my dad wanted me to,” he said M i t t a l ’ s f a t h e r , w h o r a n a building materials company, bought him his first property in the mid 1990s Mittal, 23 at the time, had to find the flat he wished to buy and put together a pitch to convince his father to part with the money “That taught me a lot about what to look for in properties,” Mittal said “It was during the 1990s when the rates of interest were very high and a lot of stu was being repossessed It was a good time for me to learn “I had to make sure that I got it right because I knew that if I messed it up I was going to have to be a lawyer and I really did not want to do that ”
Vinod Kapashi, OBE The month o f S hravan in th e V i kr am C a len d ar which is being observ ed in ce ntral and N or th In d ia mainly falls d uring A ugust or S eptem ber This mo nth is a Holy m onth as p er the Hind u, Bu ddh ist and Jain calendars T he m onth of S hravan is one of the four months of the Rainy season T he water gets contaminated and travelling becom es a bit difficult du ri ng thi s time Jain m onks and nu ns usually stay in one p lace and d o no t travel during the rainy season to av o i d h a rm to th e ti ni es t liv ing being s S o, this is the perio d o f concentrating on relig ious activ ities Also, our dig estiv e system gets sluggish during this period and we are ad vised to observe fasts and lim it our intake of food Jain monks and Acharyas have advocated that before they (Monks and nuns) begin t h e i r m o n s o o n s o j o u r n , a l l J a i n s should come to gather and celebrate the holy days with great devotion These days of religious observance a r e c a l l e d P a r y u s h a n o r D a s L a k s h a n a P a r v a S h v e t a m b e r a s celebrate this for eight days and call i t P a r y u s h a n a n d D i g a m b a r a s celebrate this for 10 days and call it a Das Lakshana Parva This is the time for introspection a n d l o o k i n g i n w a r d s A t i m e f o r repenting for any mistakes and any sins committed during the whole y e a r a n d b e g f o r e a c h o t h e r ’ s forgiveness This is the time when J a i n s c u l t i v a t e h u m i l i t y a n d brotherhood by coming together and forgetting conflicts and differences between their nearest and dearest ones Fasting is a very important part of Paryushan Some Jains fast during the entire period of Paryushan and some fast only on the first and last day On the days of fasting, they d r i n k b o i l e d / p u r i f i e d w a t e r o n l y They avoid green leafy vegetables T h e y r e a d h o l y J a i n b o o k s a n d scriptures They meditate and pray to God They sing devotional songs and listen to speeches and lectures by the Jain monks
Betting your future on bricks instead of pension
The flat, which was located on Q u e e n ’ s G a t e P l a c e i n S o u t h K e n s i n g t o n , L o n d o n , c o s t a b o u t £ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 H a v i n g r e n o v a t e d i t , Mittal sold the flat two years later for £150,000, repaid his father, went to t h e b a n k f o r a l o a n a n d b o u g h t another flat on his own just around the corner in Elvaston Place T o d a y , M i t t a l h a s a l a r g e property portfolio His investments i n w e s t L o n d o n p r o v i d e h i g h e r p o t e n t i a l f o r c a p i t a l g r o w t h b u t lower rental yield
Th e grand finale celebrations of His Holiness Pram ukh Swami M a h ar aj ’ s c ent en ni al bi r th a nni v ers ar y i n th e U K an d Europe were held in th e pres e nc e of A nan d s w ar u p d as Sw am i a senior sw am i v isiting from India on the weekend of 27 28 A ugust 2022 at BA PS Sh ri S w a m i na ray an M and ir , L ond on The celebrations were held across four performances over the two days, which allowed over 9,000 registrants to pay t r i b u t e t o P r a m u k h S w a m i Maharaj’s untiring efforts, lim itless love, and a life lived for others hence the programme was fittingly titled ‘Jivyā Amāre Kāj’ U p o n a r r i v a l , v i s i t o r s enjoyed a unique opportunity to perform the abhishek (cere m o n i a l b a t h i n g ) o f a s p e c i a l m u r t i o f P r a m u k h S w a m i Maharaj placed at the foot of the staircase leading up to the Mandir, one of Pramukh Swami M a h a r a j ’ s i c o n i c g i f t s t o t h e world The special sabha inside the assembly hall included moving b h a j a n s , v i b r a n t d a n c e s a n d uplifting narrations describing Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s tire l e s s e n d e a v o u r , h i s l i m i t l e s s love, and the priceless attain ment of such a Guru P r a m u k h S w a m i M a h a r a j travelled tirelessly and selflessly for the benefit of society, devot ing his entire life in the service of others He connected univer sally with individuals through letters, phone calls and person al meetings, transcending sim p l e h u m a n d i s t i n c t i o n s T h e profound impact of this physi c a l e n d e a v o u r a n d p e r s o n a l i n t e r a c t i o n s u p o n r e c i p i e n t s from the UK and Europe was remembered through a series of presentations and videos that delved deeper into the sacrifices that he made, and the lifelong memories that these exchanges forged His borderless love touched the lives of millions young and old, literate and illiterate, rich and poor This uncondi t i o n a l l o v e w a s a r t i s t i c a l l y depicted through excerpts from emotive bhajans performed by swamis and youths, and further revealed through the eyes of swamis who had travelled with Pramukh Swami Maharaj and witnessed this divine love first hand over decades Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s love was fur ther brought to life with a series o f p e r s o n a l t e s t i m o n i e s , explaining how it restored faith and provided solace in times of tremendous adversity and chal lenge, and, ultimately, it was his love that guided countless souls towards the highest spiritual enlightenment Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s love and labour for the sake of others provides a perspective of his greatness Hindu scriptures reveal the true greatness of the S a t p u r u s h A m o n t a g e o f S a n s k r i t v e r s e s e x t o l l i n g t h e divine glory of Pramukh Swami M a h a r a j w e r e s u n g a n d d i s played These verses were sup p o r t e d b y p e r s o n a l r e c o l l e c t i o n s b y s e n i o r s w a m i s w h o shared inspiring incidents from t h e i r t r a v e l s w i t h P r a m u k h Swami Maharaj in the UK and Europe They also reinforced t h e c o n t i n u e d p r e s e n c e o f Aksharbrahma through Mahant Swami Maharaj A poem, specially composed for the finale celebration, guid ed the programme throughout, in which it gave voice to every o n e ’ s w i s h t o e x p e r i e n c e P r a m u k h S w a m i M a h a r a j ’ s presence “ one more time” At t h e c o n c l u s i o n , t h e p o e m moved to pray: “O Pramukh Swami Maharaj! How can we experience you all of the time?” T o t h i s , M a h a n t S w a m i Maharaj wrote in an emotional a n d f i t t i n g v i d e o c l i m a x : “ P r a m u k h S w a m i M a h a r a j i s forever present Just remember him and you will feel his divini t y a n d p r e s e n c e T h i s i s m y promise Let us together cele b r a t e P r a m u k h S w a m i Maharaj’s shatabdi ”
Jains follow the 24th enlightened beings The last one was Mahavir Swami who lived from 599 BCE to 527 BCE He laid down and preached the principles of non violence, truth, n o n s t e a l i n g , n o n p o s s e s s i v e n e s s and celibacy There are 60,000 Jains in this country and 33 Jain organisations The beautiful temple in Potters Bar and the one in Leicester are large t e m p l e s O n e i s b e i n g b u i l t i n Colindale which will be a big place for all the Jains There is a temple in Kenton, Harrow area of London and is quite popular amongst local Jains There is a temple in Harrow for the Digambar sect and there are a few small shrines in other places Jains are strict vegetarians and they follow the diet rules like what to eat and when to eat very strictly Jains do not believe in harming or cutting down trees and plants They say that as there is life everywhere we must look after our resources and our environment with great respect and care Jains further say that all life is interdependent and it is in our interest to look after other living beings This is a great Mantra for the environment when we need to save our planet from climate change 13 year boy Arya Himanshu Shah completed 8 days of fasting (Aththai) during Paryushan Ganesh
Chaturthi festival of wisdom, prosperity
Ganesh C haturthi is one of the m ajo r festivals of Hindus and i s a ls o k no w n as V i na ya ka C haturthi The festival rejoices i n th e bi rt h d ay o f L o rd Ganesh, the sup reme God of w is d o m and p ro s p er i ty Ganesh is th e ‘Lord of begin nings’ and is considered to be the Lord of all creatures, the L ord of success and the Lo rd of edu catio n, kno wledg e and wis d om E v e r y y e a r G a n e s h Chaturthi is celebrated with great enthusiasm It is an 11 day festival that begins on the C h a t u r t h i o f t h e S h u k l a P a k s h a i n t h e m o n t h o f B h a d r a p a d a a n d e n d s o n Anant Chaturdashi, according to the Hindu lunar calendar It usually falls in August or September It is a day celebrating the creation of a little boy, Ganesh, by his mother, Parvati, as a personal gana Popular belief has it that Ganesh visits earth during these 11 days to bless his devotees This fes tival is celebrated with pomp and show by the peo ple across India However, it is mainly celebrated in M a h a r a s h t r a , T e l a n g a n a , A n d h r a P r a d e s h e t c Preparation for the festival begins months earlier, with idol makers crafting clay idols of Ganesh in different sizes These idols are placed in homes or s p e c i a l l y d e c o r a t e d p a n d a l s T h e i d o l i s w o r shipped, morning and evening, with simple recita t i o n s o f d e v o t i o n a l s o n g s , offerings of flowers, incense and lamps He is offered a spe cial sweet called modakas This festival is filled with joy and c h e e r , a n d t h e c h a n t i n g o f Ganapati Bappa Morya This festival ends with the Visarjan or immersion of the idols in water T h e f e s t i v a l s i g n i f i e s togetherness as thousands of people come together to cele brate this festival The famous story of Lord Ganesha's birth is mentioned in some historical s c r i p t u r e s w h i c h s t a t e d t h a t G o d d e s s P a r v a t i m a d e L o r d Ganesh with the sandalwood paste that she used for bathing She asked him to watch the entry gates until she comes While performing his duty, Lord Shiva came and tried to meet his wife He was denied by Lord Ganesh to meet Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva got angry and separated Lord Ganesha's head from his body On seeing this, Goddess Parvati was infu riated in anger and asked to destroy everything if she doesn't get her son back Lord Shiva was asked to bring the head of a baby animal whose mother was facing the other way from her child Fulfilling this condition, a baby elephant's head was chosen for the task, after which Lord Shiva attached the elephant head to Lord Ganesh's body Since then, the day is celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi
He took advantage of property market weakness around the time of t h e B r e x i t r e f e r e n d u m t o b u y a townhouse that had been split into flats for nurses just on Fulham Road in London for £4 million H a v i n g c o n v e r t e d t h a t i n t o a single property, Mittal now rents it o u t a n d t h i n k s t h e p r o p e r t y h a s doubled in value since then What Mittal does not have is a pension and he is not the only one Britons have a penchant for property wealth and feel secure owning bricks and mortar, but are more reluctant to venture into the stock market
Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi
Grand Finale Celebrations UK & Europe
JAIN FESTIVAL OF PARYUSHAN
The deal is to be sold at a blended price of £276 per sq ft this leaves a good margin between the entry price and the end value The objective is to transform the property from one to the other, with minimum cost involved This too in an environment where property prices are looking wobbly and finance costs have increased substantially relative to what they used to be Therefore, this deal needs to be based on a buy, develop and hold basis; as banking on a resale may not be the wisest exit In my opinion this needs to be a yield play, where the finished development is yielding a solid income month on month, based on the rent flow This could mean this deal is only slightly leveraged, to avoid a high Loan to Value, and thus the high monthly cost associated with it This will also keep the deal well under the radar of the lender, if they ever look to call in loans
Most will shy away from doing a deal in the current environment This is when the real deals will start to surface; when there is a lack of ready buyers Those who are cash rich and focus on the bigger picture will profit in the coming times There are a number of metrics to measure a deal upon, not just one; such as the return on the cash used in the deal, the internal rate of return etc This deal would require a large proportion of cash to be buried into it, perhaps with no possibility of retrieving it back out in the short term Therefore, what needs to be looked at is how hard its working for you while it’s buried in the deal This will also stop one from moving on to other deals, all the more reason for a solid month on month return I would look for the money which has been buried in the deal to return at least 25% per annum This will be by adding value and renting the whole building out We refinance and release cash when things improve, assuming they do Otherwise, we simply hold on to the high performing asset, not a bad position to be in This deal is priced at £2M
I’m due t o see a c oupl e of propert ies this week, on the other side of London I have s een them pr evious ly, the be st pa rt of a year ago This was when t he agent was not inst ruc ted, the vendor was just fishing around However, due t o our relationship the agent gave m e the heads up and I ca rried out an informal sc out of the property They have bot h now c om e on to the market I will be vis iting them in a few days For one of them, Foxtons, who do some good research on local areas have advised the blended price of the locality is about £840 per sq ft The opportunity which has been presented to me is a stone throw away from this location, b u t c l o s e e n o u g h t o t a k e t h e s e n u m b e r s i n t o consideration
JV to buy Essar group's strategic infrastructure Airtel to buy Singtel's 3.3% stake in Bharti iPhone may now be manufactured in Chennai
19AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 3 9 September 2022 FINANCE & REAL ESTATE
Importantly, private final consumption expenditure in real terms had declined s i g n i f i c a n t l y b y £ 4 7 7 billion in Q1FY21 owing to the pandemic recovered by 46 per cent in Q1FY22
Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd
Richest Indian Gautam Adani 's ports to power to cement conglomerate is "deeply overleveraged" with the group predomin antly usi ng debt to in ve st aggressively ac ross existing as well as new busi nes ses, CreditSights, a Fitch Group unit, s aid In a report titled 'Adani Group: Deeply Overleveraged', CreditSights s a i d , " I n t h e w o r s t c a s e s c e n a r i o , overly ambitious debt funded growth plans could eventually spiral into a m a s s i v e d e b t t r a p , a n d p o s s i b l y culminate into a distressed situation o r d e f a u l t o f o n e o r m o r e g r o u p companies " S t a r t i n g o u t a s a c o m m o d i t i e s trader in the late 1980s, the Adani g r o u p h a s d i v e r s i f i e d f r o m m i n e s , ports and power plants into airports, data centres and defence Recently, it forayed into the cement sector with acquisition of Holcim's India units as well as into alumina manufacturing M o s t o f t h i s e x p a n s i o n h a s b e e n funded by debt Over the past few years, the Adani G r o u p h a s p u r s u e d a n a g g r e s s i v e expansion plan that has pressurised its c r e d i t m e t r i c s a n d c a s h f l o w s , " CreditSights said "The Adani Group is increasingly venturing into new and/or unrelated businesses, which are highly capital i n t e n s i v e a n d r a i s e s c o n c e r n s r e g a r d i n g s p r e a d i n g e x e c u t i o n oversight too thin," it added W h i l e t h e r e i s e v i d e n c e o f promoter equity capital injection into group companies, the Adani Group is e x p o s e d t o m o d e r a t e l e v e l s o f governance and environmental, social, a n d g o v e r n a n c e ( E S G ) r i s k s " T h e Adani Group has a strong track record o f c h u r n i n g o u t s t r o n g a n d s t a b l e c o m p a n i e s t h r o u g h i t s A d a n i Enterprises arm, and boasts a portfolio of stable infrastructure assets tied to the healthy functioning of the Indian economy," the report said "In general, the Group has been i n v e s t i n g a g g r e s s i v e l y a c r o s s b o t h e x i s t i n g a n d n e w b u s i n e s s e s , p r e d o m i n a n t l y f u n d e d w i t h d e b t , r e s u l t i n g i n e l e v a t e d l e v e r a g e a n d solvency ratios," it said Gautam Adani
Adani Group 'deeply overleveraged', warns CreditSights Arcelor-Nippon
Soumya Kanti G hos h, the gr o up c hi e f e c on o m i c ad vi s er a t St ate B an k of India, said he expects the GDP to grow up to 15 7 per cent in the first qua rter of 2022 2 3 wi th m ore c hances of t h e f i n a l n um b er s prin ti ng i n hi gher , w hile A di ti N a y a r , th e c hi ef e c on o m i s t a t th e r a ti n g a ge n c y I c r a, s a i d t he economy wi ll grow m uc h lower at 13 per cent in the June quarter While GDP declined by 23 9 per cent in June 2020 due to the first wave of the p a n d e m i c , t h e s a m e h a d g i v e n a h i g h e r b o o s t i n June 2021 clipping at 20 1 per cent, despite the period being more devastating in terms of loss of lives from the second wave of Covid 19 The Reserve Bank of India led monetary policy committee in the August 5 policy review projected the economy to grow to 16 2 per cent in the April June q u a r t e r T h e h i g h b a s e e f f e c t a l o n g w i t h t h e impact of the heat wave on wheat output, geo political i s s u e s a n d e l e v a t e d c o m m o d i t y p r i c e s o n d e m a n d / m a r g i n s w i l l t e m p e r t h e p a c e o f growth in Q1 at 13 per cent, Nayar of Icra said, adding the gross value added to come in at 12 6 per cent I c r a e x p e c t s s e c t o r a l growth to be driven by the services sector which will l o g i n 1 7 1 9 p e r c e n t g r o w t h , f o l l o w e d b y t h e i n d u s t r y ( 9 1 1 p e r c e n t ) The SBI report said that of t h e 4 1 h i g h f r e q u e n c y leading indicators that it tracks, as much as 89 per c e n t a c c e l e r a t e d i n Q 1 compared to 75 per cent in Q1FY22, indicating strong a n d b r o a d b a s e d g r o w t h m o m e n t u m I n Q 2 F Y 2 3 , l e a d i n g i n d i c a t o r s continue to accelerate with 8 1 p e r c e n t o f t h e indicators, for which data i s a v a i l a b l e s h o w i n g a n u p t r e n d o v e r Q 1 F Y 2 2
A r c e l or M i t t a l N i pp on S t e e l In d i a (AM/ NS In dia ) has inked an agree me nt with India's Essa r Group to buy cer tain infrastructure asse ts t ha t are “strat egic” t o its steel mak in g operat ions in the coun try Foll owing this pact , t he t wo pa rties are expected to wit hdraw al l c as es a g a in st e a ch o th e r i n v a ri ous cour ts A M / N S I n d i a a j o i n t v e n t u r e between ArcelorMittal SA and Japan’s Nippon will buy three ports, two p o w e r p l a n t s a n d a n e l e c t r i c i t y transmission line from Essar for $2 4 b i l l i o n , w h i c h w i l l s t r e n g t h e n t h e integration of its manufacturing and logistics operations
Using the right lens India's GDP likely to grow above 15% in June quarter
The port assets located in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are either captive or allied to AM/NS India’s steel making and gaining full ownership of them will ensure seamless connectivity for movement of raw materials and f i n i s h e d g o o d s b e t w e e n t h e manufacturing facilities as well as for exports, AM/NS India has said On the other hand, Essar will use most of the sale proceeds to retire debt a n d s o m e f o r g r o w t h c a p i t a l requirements With this deal, Essar will c o n c l u d e i t s p l a n n e d a s s e t m o n e t i s a t i o n p r o g r a m m e a n d “complete the debt repayment plan of $25 billion with the Indian banking sector”, the group said AM/NS India and Essar have been involved in legal disputes with each other after the former acquired the later’s steel unit in Hazira, Gujarat through the bankruptcy route in 2018 19 While AM/NS India got the steel plant, the complex also houses other infrastructure assets such as a port terminal and two power plants but t h e s e w e r e e x c l u d e d f r o m t h e bankruptcy proceedings despite being critical to the steel making operations AM/NS India claimed that its Essar Steel acquisition gave it the right to use the captive infrastructure, but Essar opposed it saying that they were not part of the bankruptcy process The m a t t e r r e l a t i n g t o t r a n s f e r o f ownership of these assets is pending before the courts The dispute will end now after Essar inked an agreement to s e l l t h e a s s e t s t o A M / N S I n d i a Moreover, the steel company will now be able to modernise and expand the infrastructure capacities Separately, Essar has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with ArcelorMittal SA (and not AM/NS India) to build a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Hazira As and when it is operational, it will cater to the needs of AM/NS India, a person in the know said Bharti Airtel promoter Bh arti T elecom will bu y a 3 3% Airtel stake from S ingtel (Singapore T e le c o mm u n i c ati o ns ) f o r abo u t £1 2 8 9 milli o n i n 90 da y s, a c c o rd i ng to a s ta te me n t by th e te le c o m c o m p an y Bh ar ti Gr o u p c h a i rm an S u n i l B h a rt i M it ta l’ s fa m il y an d S i n gte l h a ve b e en c o i n ve s to r s i n I n di a' s t el ec o m c o mp an y Bharti T elecom S i n g t e l s a i d t h a t a f t e r t h e transaction, the group is expected to own an effective stake of 29 7% in Airtel, which is estimated to be worth about £12 6 billion “After this interse t r a n s a c t i o n , B h a r t i T e l e c o m w i l l remain the principal vehicle to hold c o n t r o l l i n g s h a r e s i n A i r t e l B h a r t i E n t e r p r i s e s a n d S i n g t e l t o w o r k towards equalising their effective stake i n A i r t e l o v e r t i m e , ” M i t t a l s a i d S i n g t e l , s o u t h e a s t A s i a ’ s l a r g e s t telecom firm, at present holds 50 6% stake in Bharti Telecom and Mittal family holds 49 4% Bharti Telecom at present holds 35 9% stake in India's s e c o n d l a r g e s t t e l e c o m s e r v i c e provider Bharti Airtel “Bharti and Singtel have agreed to work towards equalising their stake in Airtel over a period of time,” the filing said Singtel also has plans of partial d i s i n v e s t m e n t o f A i r t e l A f r i c a T h e transaction is expected to crystalise an e s t i m a t e d n e t g a i n o f a b o u t £ 3 4 3 9 million, on divestment for Singtel Singtel CFO Arthur Lang said that as l o n g t e r m s t r a t e g i c i n v e s t o r s a n d partners, the value of Singtel’s stake in r e g i o n a l a s s o c i a t e s h a s r i s e n substantially over the years but has not been properly reflected in the company ’ s share price “The sale in Airtel will be our first ever and seeks to address this gap by illuminating the sizable value of our shareholding in Airtel It is also part of our capital management approach to take monetisation opportunities that a l l o w u s t o i n c r e a s e o u r r e t u r n o n i n v e s t e d c a p i t a l a n d e n h a n c e t o t a l shareholders returns,” Lang said App le has planned to begin m an u fa ct ur i ng i ts la tes t mo del iPh one 14 in Ind ia about tw o mo nths after the pro duct’ s initial release out of China, narrowing the g ap betw een th e tw o cou ntries but not closing it com pletely as some had anticip ated Apple has been working with suppliers to ramp up manufacturing in India and s h o r t e n t h e l a g i n p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e n e w iPhone from the typical six to nine months for previous l a u n c h e s , a c c o r d i n g t o s o u r c e s A p p l e , w h i c h f o r l o n g m a d e m o s t o f i t s iPhones in China, is seeking alternatives as Xi Jinping’s administration clashes with t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t a n d imposes lockdowns across t h e c o u n t r y t h a t h a v e disrupted economic activity Analyst Ming Chi Kuo o f T F I n t e r n a t i o n a l Securities Group has said they anticipate Apple will ship the next iPhone from both countries at roughly the same time, which would h a v e b e e n a s i g n i f i c a n t b e n c h m a r k i n A p p l e ’ s efforts to diversify its supply chain and build redundancy F o x c o n n , t h e p r i m a r y m a n u f a c t u r e r o f i P h o n e s , s t u d i e d t h e p r o c e s s o f shipping components from C h i n a a n d a s s e m b l i n g i P h o n e 1 4 a t i t s p l a n t outside Chennai, said the p e o p l e A s p o k e s m a n f o r Apple declined to comment Foxconn did not respond to requests for comment
TEXTBOOK SKETCH China has punished more than 27 education officials over a series of math textbooks drawings that an investigation found portrayed the nation’s children as ugly” The overall style of the illustrations do not conform to the aesthetic tastes of the public the ministry of education said The People s Education Press primary school books sparked outcry in May over drawings of students with small eyes that some called racist, the apparent depiction of male genitalia on boys pants, and children wearing clothing bearing stars and stripes, which was seen as pro America attire brief toll floods HC bench to try Imran Khan for contempt IMF team holds talks with Lanka prez on debt restructuring Nepal stalls recruitment of Gorkhas under Agnipath scheme from floods reached 1,061 on Monday while rising levels of the g ushing Indus river threat ened more delug es in the lower lying p lains of Punjab and Sindh pro vinces before emptying into the Arabian S ea Data released by t h e Na ti o na l D is as te r M an ag e m en t A u th o r it y ( ND M A ) s tat ed 1 , 6 0 0 p eo p l e were injured and over 7, 19,0 00 liv estock h ad p erished P a k i s t a n f i n a n c e m i n i s t e r Miftah Ismail said the floods have inflicted an estimated “loss of at least $10 billion” on the c o u n t r y S h e r r y R e h m a n , Pakistan’s climate change min i s t e r , s a i d i n a v i d e o t h a t Pakistan is experiencing a “seri ous climate catastrophe, one of the hardest in the decade” She s a i d a t h i r d o f P a k i s t a n w a s under water as a result of flood ing caused by record monsoon r a i n s c r e a t i n g a c r i s i s o f “ u n i m a g i n a b l e p r o p o r t i o n s ” “It’s all one big ocean, there’s no dry land to pump the water out,” she said “We are at the moment at ground zero of the front line of extreme weather e v e n t s i n a c a s c a d e o f h e a t waves, forest fires, flash floods, multiple glacial lake outbursts and now the monster monsoon of the decade ” A s e x p e r t s b l a m e c l i m a t e change for the flooding, people are criticising govern ment and local author i t i e s f o r a l l o w i n g b u i l d e r s t o c o n s t r u c t hotels and houses on the banks of rivers “These hotels and markets block the natural waterways Much of the devasta tion would have been avoided if we had not blocked the paths of rivers,” said Khaista Rehman, a resident of Kalam in Swat “I haven’t seen destruction of this scale, I find it difficult to put it into words it is over w h e l m i n g , ” P a k i s t a n f o r e i g n minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said, adding that many crops that provided much of the pop ulation’s livelihoods had been wiped out “Going forward, I’d expect not only the IMF, but the i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y t o grasp the level of devastation,” he said Flooding from the Swat river had affected northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where thousands of people have b e e n e v a c u a t e d K a m r a n B a n g a s h , a n o f f i c i a l f o r t h e p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n m e n t , s a i d 180,000 people have been evac u a t e d f r o m v i l l a g e s i n C h a r s a d d a a n d 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 f r o m villages in Nowshera
The Maldivian environment minister Ali Solih was stabbed by a knife wielding individual in Hulhumale, north of capital Male He sustained injuries on his left arm The attacker was arrested soon after the violent incident Solih is also the spokesperson of the Jumhooree Party (JP) which is a coalition partner of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party of President Ibrahim Solih According to Times of Addu Solih was attacked while he was riding his motorcycle in Hulhumale Maldivian media reported that the perpetrator recited some verses of the Quran before launching the attack on Solih s neck from behind The knife missed the neck but slit part of his left arm Solih got off the motorcycle and ran away to save himself from the attacker He is being treated at the Hulhumale Hospital Maldiveswas in the news in May 2021 after former president Mohamed Nasheed was critically attacked through a bomb blast outside his home in Male The explosive had been planted on a bike parked near his car Maldives is facing a threat from rising Islamic radicalism as well as recruitment for global militant organisations
CHINA PUNISHES 27 OFFICIALS OVER ‘UGLY’
from
The PTI chairman also warned addi tional district and sessions judge Chaudhry, who had approved the two day physical remand of Khan's aide Shahbaz Gill on the request of the Islamabad Police, that she would also face dire consequences Gill was arrested a fortnight ago on charges of sedi tion
MALDIVES ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, STABBED WHILE RIDING BIKE
th e
The show cause notice to Khan men tioned that the statement was made in a sub judice matter to get ‘favourable' verdict and prima facie, this act was tantamount to obstructing the course of justice and due process and undermining public confidence in the court of law According to the news paper, prima facie Khan committed “crimi nal as well as judicial contempt, punishable under section 5 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 ” Imran Khan O L O M BO : A n I nterna tio nal M onet ary F und (IMF) team m et Sri L anka’s presid ent for talks on a bailo ut, including restructur i ng debt o f abou t $29 billio n, am id th e nation’s wo rst financial crisis in more than seven d ecades Th e seco nd su ch visit in th ree m onths com es as the nation scrambles to lock d own a staff level pact for a po ssible $3 billion program me “It was further decided to hold another round of discussions, and to discuss techni cal issues with the officials of the Central Bank in the future,” the president’s office said The main sticking point is how to find a sustainable track for Sri Lanka’s unwieldy debt, which stood at 114% of GDP at the end of last year Sri Lanka has $9 6 billion in bilateral debt and its private credit, which includes international sovereign bonds, stands at $19 8 billion, finance ministry data show Japan and China are the largest holders of bilateral debt, with the latter accounting for about $3 5 billion Overall, when commercial debt is added, China holds about a fifth of Sri Lanka’s debt portfolio Facing flak over student arrests L a n k a a n n o u n c e d t h a t i t w i l l s o o n r e p l a c e t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a l P r e v e n t i o n o f Terrorism Act (PTA) with a new security law, a day after the US and the EU raised concern o v e r C o l o m b o ’ s u s e o f t h e d r a c o n i a n counter terrorism law to detain student activists “PTA has been there since 1979 The justice minister informed the cabinet that a new National Security Act would be drafted by deleting the undesirable parts of the PTA,” cabinet spokesman and minister Bandula Gunawardena told reporters T h e t h r e e s t u d e n t s o f t h e I n t e r University Students Federation have been detained since August 18 when it staged an anti government demonstration The Sri Lankan police began a probe into their pos sible links to an anti government conspiracy a n d i n c i t i n g v i o l e n c e a n d a r s o n a t t a c k s across the country “Using laws that don’t conform with international human rights standards like the PTA erodes democracy in Sri Lanka , ” US ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung tweeted The EU too voiced similar concern K ath m and u : Ne p al h as f o r now stalled the recruitment of Go rkhas in the Indian Army u nd e r A g n ip a th s ch e m e, putting a qu estion m ark on the future of a practice that began 75 years ago The p rac tice o f A rmy chiefs of the tw o co untries being th e Honorary General of the oth er side on reciprocal basis is as o ld as Gorkha recru itm ent in the Ind ia n A rm y In di an army chief Gen Mano j Pand e o n S eptember 5 for this pu rpose coincides with th e emerg ing uncertainty over recruitm ent of Nep al dom iciled Gorkhas into the Ind ian A rmy as ‘Ag niv eers ’ N e p a l ’ s F o r e i g n M i n i s t e r N a r a y a n K h a d k a i n f o r m e d I n d i a ’ s a m b a s s a d o r t o Nepal Naveen Srivastava that recruitment of Gorkhas under Agnipath scheme does not f o l l o w w i t h p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e t r i p a r t i t e a g r e e m e n t s i g n e d b y N e p a l , I n d i a a n d B r i t a i n o n N o v e m b e r 9 , 1 9 4 7 , d o e s n o t recognise India’s new recruitment policy under Agnipath scheme, and thus Nepal will “require to assess the impact of the new arrangement” Khadka is learnt to have said that Kathmandu will take a final decision on the issue after wider consultation with polit ical parties and all stakeholders
DHAKA PRUNES WORK DAYS
TO SAVE ELECTRICITY Schools in Bangladesh will close an additional day each week and government offices and banks will shorten their work days by an hour to reduce electricity usage amid concerns over rising fuel prices In Bangladesh most schools are closed on Fridays but now will also close on Saturdays cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said He said government offices and banks will cut their work days to seven hours from eight hours, but that private offices will be allowed to set their own schedules Supply disruptions caused by the Ukraine war have led to soaring world prices for energy and food Bangladesh has been taking measures to ease pressure on its declining foreign currency reserves Last month, fuel prices were raised by more than 50% The government says it is exploring options to get cheaper fuel from Russia under a special arrangement The decision has drawn criticism, but the government said it is necessary to cut losses amid rising international fuel prices
I S L A M A B A D : Th e d e ath tol l
20 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 3 9 September 2022
I SLA MA B AD : A five j udge b enc h of the Islamabad high court will hear the con tempt case against Pakistan's former prime minis ter Imran Khan for his controversial remarks threateni ng a female judge during a rally here, a media report sai d The bench headed by Islamabad HC C h i e f J u s t i c e A t h a r M i n a l l a h c o m p r i s e s J u s t i c e M o h s i n A k h t a r K a y a n i , J u s t i c e Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq M e h m o o d J a h a n g i r i , a n d J u s t i c e B a b a r Sattar, the Dawn newspaper reported Initially, the case was heard by a three member bench The court, however, forwarded the mat ter to the IHC Chief Justice seeking the inclusion of more judges on the bench, the report said The IHC earlier issued a show cause notice to Pakistan Tehreek e insaf (PTI) chairman Khan and summoned him in his personal capacity on August 31 in con tempt proceedings for threatening the dis t r i c t a n d s e s s i o n s c o u r t j u d g e Z e b a Chaudhry At a rally in Islamabad on August 20, K h a n t h r e a t e n e d t o f i l e c a s e s a g a i n s t Islamabad's inspector general of police and d e p u t y i n s p e c t o r g e n e r a l o f p o l i c e a n d declared: “We won't spare you ” He then warned the judiciary for its “biased” attitude towards his party, saying that it should brace itself for the consequences
C
3rd of Pak ‘under water’, death
reaches 1,061 5-member
As a result, the month long recruitment process, which will conclude on September 29 at dif ferent centres across Nepal, has been stalled indefinitely New D e l h i h a d a p p r o a c h e d Kathmandu six weeks ago for cooperation and approval for the recruit ment, taking place after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic The state relations committee of the Nepal Parliament, which was scheduled to discuss different issues, i n c l u d i n g t h e A g n i p a t h s c h e m e a n d i t s i m p a c t o n G o r k h a r e c r u i t m e n t , w a s adjourned due to a lack of lower limit Minister Khadka said it is necessary to gather opinions of all sides, including that of m a j o r p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s a n d s t a k e h o l d e r s This is not a final decision of the govern ment We will get back to India after a b r o a d e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g i s f o r m e d Recruitment of Gorkhas from Nepal began in the British Indian army after the Treaty of Sagauli was signed in 1816 between the gov ernment of Nepal and the British East India Company It became a tripartite arrange ment in November 1947 after India became independent and Gorkhas in Nepal were given a choice to serve in the Indian Army or go to the UK
in
PAK ALLOWING US DRONES TO USE AIRSPACE: TALIBAN Taliban’s acting defence minister said Pakistan had allowed American drones to use its airspace to access Afghanistan Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob said US drones have been entering Afghanistan via Pakistan Pakistan s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment Pakistani authorities have denied involvement in or advanced knowledge of a drone strike the US said it carried out in Kabul in July that killed al Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahiri Yaqoob’s comments could exacerbate tension between the neighbouring nations at a time when the Afghan Taliban is mediating talks between Pakistan and a Pakistani Taliban militant group
Kim Kardashian and celebrity neighbours including Sylvester Stallone, have been handed warnings for repeatedly flouting water restrictions at their homes in drought hit California the Los Angeles Times reported Strict water limits imposed as the western US endures its 23rd successive year of drought, worsened by human caused climate change are in place across swathes of southern California including the affluent neighbourhoods of Calabasas and Hidden Hills Celebrity reality stars Kim and Kourtney Kardashian were among repeat offenders in June, the newspaper reported, citing notices obtained via a Public Records Act request A Hidden Hills home and adjacent lot owned by a trust linked to Kim Kardashian exceeded their water allowance by a combined 232 000 gallons for the month while her sister Kourtney’s property was around 100 000 gallons in excess
The foundation stone laying ceremony for what has been described as an “architectural masterpiece” will take place over the weekend of 3 4 September 2022 at the Esplanade des religions et des cultures in Bussy Saint Georges the multifaith and multicultural heartland of Paris The new building, France’s first traditional purpose built ‘mandir’ (Hindu temple) with intricate stone carvings and community facilities, has been chosen for its commitment to promoting culture, integrity and harmony Paris is home to some of the world’s most iconic monuments and beau tiful buildings, with some of the most prolific minds in philosophy, litera ture, poetry, theatre, painting, sculpture and architecture having emerged from France The new ‘BAPS Hindu Mandir’ will supplement this rich array of architectural beauty and artistic expression, and become an ambassador of Indian culture and wisdom, bringing the ancient art and science of tra ditional Indian architecture to the country The temple is the vision of Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS He shared that the temple “will serve as a beacon of peace, spiri tuality, family values and community service” through its exhibitions, learning and sports areas, landscaped gardens, and a restaurant offering a variety of delicious vegetarian food This vision will begin to materialise through a special ceremony signifying the start of the temple’s construc tion Hundreds of guests from various parts of France, other countries of Europe and even India are expected to participate in the ancient Vedic cer emony The celebrations will include a vibrant cultural programme of dance, videos and presentations delivered in French and Hindi
25,000 Yogis participate in world convocation on self-realisation
The number of monkey pox cases reported globally dropped by 21% in the last week, reversing a month long trend of rising infections and a possible signal the outbreak in Europe may be starting to decline, according to a WHO report Cases in the Americas accounted for 60% of cases in the past month WHO said while cases in Europe comprised about 38% It said infections in the America showed “a continuing steep rise ” In early July, just weeks before the agency declared the international spread of the disease to be a global emergency WHO’s Europe director said countries in the region were responsible for 90% of all laboratory confirmed cases of monkey pox British health authorities said last week after seeing a decline in the number of new cases getting reported daily that there were “early signs” the country’s monkey pox outbreak was slowing
Joe Biden
A Belgian British teenager became the youngest person to fly around the world solo in a small aircraft after he landed in Bulgaria where his global journey kicked off five months ago Mack Rutherford who turned 17 during the trip landed on an airstrip west of Bulgaria’s capital Sofia to complete his task and to claim two Guinness World Records Along with becoming the youngest person to fly around the world by himself, Rutherford is the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe in a microlight plane His sister, Zara, who finished her own trip global flight in January at age 19, previously held the ultralight record Rutherford took the age record from Travis Ludlow of Britain, who was 18 when he made a solo flight around the world last year
FACEBOOK FEEDS FLOODED WITH CELEBRITY SPAM
Mexican- American woman held for abuse of Indians in US BAPS to lay foundation for its traditional temple in France
Police arrested her nearly 20 hours after the incident as clips of the attack went viral, causing many people online to ask why she was not arrested on the spot and why the cops gave her so much time M a n y p e o p l e o f M e x i c a n and Latino heritage condemned the attack and said the incident was not representative of how the community thought or felt about immigrants, considering they themselves constitute the largest group of immigrants in the US For the Indian women, the shock was severe enough to share on social media “I have l i v e d i n D F W ( D a l l a s F o r t Worth area) for 29 years and never have I felt so humiliated, threatened, and scared for my life,” she added in an update
Z U RIC H: More than 25,00 0 spiritual seekers fro m 13 8 coun tries signed up for the self realization fellowship (SRF ) world conv ocation (Au gust 14 20 ), a week long imm ersion in the Kriya Yog a teachings of Sri P aram ahansa Yoganand a who started the annual conv ocation m ore th an 70 years ago For the third year in a row, the SRF convocation was offered completely online and free of charge, and for the first time via a convocation app, according to a press release from the organizers “In recent years, we needed a huge 30 storey hotel to accommodate the world convocation, says a press release Although a few meditation technique classes were only open to students of the SRF lessons, most of the events were open to the general public, including the evening classes taught by SRF monasteries Topics aimed at strengthening the spiritual life in practical ways, the press release said “What is needed is a new scientific spirituality for our modern age, ” Chidananda said He pointed to the liberating power of Kriya Yogaan, an advanced yoga technique “which deals directly with energy and consciousness, and which enables one to glimpse from the very beginning of one ’ s endeavors the ultimate goal conscious union with the inex haustible blissful Spirit,” the press release said In his speech about how everyday thoughts can change our lives, Brother Prafullananda spoke of the impact that scientific techniques of meditation and affirmation can have on one ’ s ability to transform life’s obstacles through positive thinking
“Our thinking patterns make a difference,” he said “What we think changes the outer situation Just as negative thoughts produce negative circumstances, positive thinking produces what we do want Learn how to go deep into these meditation techniques This way we can create the positive blueprint ”
7 YEAR OLD BECOMES YOUNGEST PILOT
WA S HI NGT ON: US President Joe Bid en has appointed o ver 1 3 0 I nd ia n A m eri c ans t o key positions in his adm inistration till now , the best depiction fro m th e comm unity that makes up around 1 % of th e A merican p op ulation By d oing so he has no t only ach iev ed his promise to the comm unity th at he h ad m ad e as a p re si d e nt ia l c an d i d ate in 20 20 , bu t also ov ertaken the rec o rd o f h is p red ec es s o r Do n al d T r u m p w h o h a d ap pointed mo re than 8 0 Indian A m e ri ca ns and h i s p r ev i o u s bo ss Barack Obama, wh o had ap p o i nt ed o v er 6 0 I nd i a n Am ericans to key po sitions du r ing his eig ht years of p residen cy A r o u n d 4 0 I n d i a n Americans are elected at various state and federal levels, includ ing four in the US House of Representatives and more than 20 Indian Americans are leading top US companies Though the first ever presidential appoint ment was done during the time o f R o n a l d R e g a n , t h i s t i m e B i d e n h a s a p p o i n t e d I n d i a n A m e r i c a n s t o a l l m o s t a l l departments and agencies of his a d m i n i s t r a t i o n M R R a n g a s w a m i , S i l i c o n V a l l e y based philanthropist and ven t u r e c a p i t a l i s t s a i d , “ I n d i a n Americans have been imbued with the sense of seva ( s e r v i c e ) a n d t h i s i s r e f l e c t e d i n t h e i r enthusiasm to pursue p o s i t i o n s i n p u b l i c service instead of the private sector The Biden admin i s t r a t i o n h a s n o w a p p o i n t e d o r n o m i n a t e d t h e l a r g e s t group to date and needless to say we are proud of our people and their accomplishments in the US” Rangaswami is creator and head of Indiaspora, a US based global organisation for I n d i a n o r i g i n l e a d e r s I n d i a s p o r a k e e p s a t r a c k o f I n d i a n o r i g i n l e a d e r s B i d e n , w h o h a s s u s t a i n e d c l o s e t i e s with the community since his Senator days, often jokes about h i s I n d i a n r e l a t i o n s h i p H e made history in 2020 by select ing Indian origin Kamala Harris as his running mate The list of Indian Americans in the White H o u s e a s a s s e m b l e d b y Indiaspora reflects that there would be only a few meetings inside the White House or in Biden’s Oval Office that would not have an Indian American presence His speech writer is Vinay Reddy, while his main adviser on Covid 19 is Dr Ashish Jha, his adviser on climate poli cy is Sonia Aggarwal, special assistant on criminal justice is C h i r a a g B a i n s , K i r a n A h u j a heads the office of personnel management, Neera Tanden is his senior adviser and Rahul Gupta is his drug czar Vedant Patel is currently the deputy spokesperson at the department of state, while Garima Verma is the digital director in the office of the first lady
W A S H I N G T O N : P o li c e i n P la no , T ex as , ar res te d a M exi can A m erican w o man o n charges o f assault and “terroris tic th reats” after she allegedly attacked four Ind ian w omen in a parking lot as they came out of a res ta u ra nt T h e i nc i d en t w a s captu red on v id eo s th at hav e since gone v iral Authorities said the woman, identified as Esmeralda Upton, i s a l s o b e i n g i n v e s t i g a t e d f o r h a t e c r i m e , a n d a d d i t i o n a l c h a r g e s m a y b e f o r t h c o m i n g She is being held on a bond of $10,000, police said, releasing w h a t t h e y d e s c r i b e d a s “ j a i l photo” T h e a s s a u l t t o o k p l a c e i n Plano, a Dallas suburb with a s i z e a b l e I n d i a n p o p u l a t i o n , when the four Indian women left a restaurant and were head ing towards their cars in a large ly empty parking lot T h e y a r e a c c o s t e d b y Upton, who launched into a racist rant saying “We don’t want you here Go back to India ” “You curry assed people are ruining this country,” she rages When the Indian women ask her why she did she walk up too them to talk uninvited, she r a g e s , “ B e c a u s e I h a t e y o u f***ing Indians, that’s why ” As the bewildered Indian women recover and ask her how she could be talking like that when s h e h e r s e l f i s a L a t i n a , t h e w o m a n s a y s , “ I ’ m M e x i c a n American I speak English,” the irony totally lost on her B y t h i s t i m e t h e I n d i a n w o m e n h a v e b e e n r e c o r d i n g t h e e x c h a n g e o n t h e i r c e l l phones, agitating Upton, who strikes out repeatedly at the women in an effort to grab the p h o n e s A t o n e p o i n t s h e threatens them with dire con sequences and dips her hand into a large handbag seeming to reach for a weapon Amid much panic, one of the Indian women r e a c h e s 9 1 1 a n d r e l a t e s t h e ongoing incident to the police, beseeching them to rush to the spot One of the women tells t h e p o l i c e t h e y a r e b e i n g attacked by a white woman in a black dress Towards the end of the five minute video, Upton, probably having realised she is in trouble, says she has overreacted, tries to m a k e a m e n d s , a n d o f f e r s a handshake, but she is rebuffed
21AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 3 9 September 2022
IN HIT CALIFORNIA, KIM & STALLONE GET NOTICE FOR WASTING WATER
DROUGHT
NUMBER OF MONKEY POX CASES DOWN
P A R I S : BA P S S w am i n ara yan Sansth a (BAP S) an international socio spiritual org anisation affili ated to the UN and with m ajor centres in London, New Y ork, Los A ng ele s, C h i c ag o , Ne w D el h i , Nairobi, Abu Dhabi and Sydney is b eg i nn in g w o rk o n it s n ext major project, in Paris
Facebook users globally were left in awe and shock when celebrity posts filled their main feeds with musicians and actors like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise, Nirvana, and The Beatles tagged The company later said it was a bug and fixed that Several Facebook users also faced outage, as per DownDetector “It’s carnage out there folks ” posted a user Some users sent memes to celebrities who allegedly posted on their main feed The Beatles apparently sent a picture of a turkey sandwich with the caption If you see this share it to another celebrities Facebook page keep the turkey sandwich moving Some users even took advantage of the situation by spamming PayPal donation links or promoting cryptocurrency projects We are working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible, a Meta spokesman said in brief 130 Indian Americans hold key posts in Biden administration
Six people died in an incident when a truck rolled into a neighbourhood party in the town of Nieuw Beijerland in the south of the Netherlands Dutch police said on Sunday Seven other people were in hospital with injuries due to the incident with one of them in critical condition police said The incident happened around 30 km south of Rotterdam when a heavy truck rolled off a dyke into a field where neighbours were holding a party It was still unclear what had caused the accident, police said The driver of the truck from Spain, was detained as he was suspected of having caused a fatal car accident
MODERNA SUES
NAJIB BACK IN COURT FOR SECOND GRAFT TRIAL
Pak may import food items from India, says minister Indian-American family installs Amitabh Bachchan’s statue
Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech alleging that their Covid 19 vaccine copied its groundbreaking technology Moderna said in a statement that Pfizer and BioNTech infringed on patents filed between 2010 and 2016 that covered its mRNA technology Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, sued in US court in Massachusetts and the regional court of Dssseldorf in Germany, where BioNTech is based “We are filing these lawsuits to protect the innovative mRNA technology platform that we pioneered, invested billions of dollars in creating, and patented during the decade preceding the Covid 19 pandemic, ” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said t t e r , ” a clearly furious Patel said in a statement late Friday I n a m e s s a g e p o s t e d o n Truth Social, Patel called it a “ v i c i o u s a t t a c k f r o m t h e D O J / F B I w h o i n t e n t i o n a l l y jeopardized my safety by un redacting my name in the most reviewed search warrant in the history of the United States ” The “DOJ is on the line for m y s e c u r i t y w i t h t h e i r dangerous actions,” Patel a d d e d “ T h e s e g a n g s t e r s are on notice ” P a t e l , a f o r m e r t o p Pentagon staffer, quickly d e f e n d e d t h e f o r m e r president after FBI agents s e i z e d s e v e r a l b o x e s o f documents at Mar a Lago, i n c l u d i n g c l a s s i f i e d a n d e v e n t o p s e c r e t information In an interview with B r e i t b a r t , P a t e l c l a i m e d that he was “there with Trump w h e n h e s a i d , ‘ W e a r e declassifying this information ’” H o w e v e r , t h e r e i s n o w r i t t e n e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t that In addition, experts say Trump followed a process and d e c l a s s i f i e d d o c u m e n t s , a n d t h e n s h a r e d h i s d e c i s i o n s o o t h e r o f f i c i a l s w o u l d k n o w There doesn’t appear to be any evidence of that Meanwhile, former Justice Department prosecutor Andrew W e i s s m a n n s a i d s i n c e t h e release of the affidavit, Patel m a y n o t b e i n d a n g e r f r o m death but the document does indicate that he could be at legal risk Patel “really needs to be g e t t i n g a l a w y e r , ” s a i d Weissmann
PFIZER BIONTECH
Jailed Malaysian ex PM Najib Razak returned to court for a second corruption trial over the pilfering of the 1MDB state fund two days after he began a 12 year prison term for graft The current trial began in August 2019 and is the most significant as it ties Najib directly to the 1MDB scandal that has prompted investigations in the US and several other countries Prosecutors allege Najib pilfered billions of dollars from 1MDB through an “elaborate charade” and then sought to cover his track
Kash Patel says his life's in danger
NEW J E RS EY : An Ind ian Am erican couple, Rinku and Gopi Sheth, unveiled the statue of the legend ary actor on Aug ust 27 and even o r g an is e d a n i nau g u rat io n c er em o n y E n cl o se d i n a g la ss c as ke t, A m i ta bh Bachchan is seen sitting on a chair wearing a traditional black band hgala suit The statue is placed o utsid e the new hom e of th e family In photos, posted on Twitter, the family is seen wearing traditional attire as they pose next to the statue of the actor Many people f r o m t h e I n d i a n A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y participated in the inauguration ceremony “You have done good job Amitabh love by all His statue will be attraction point in U S A , ” c o m m e n t e d a T w i t t e r u s e r “Congratulations SIR!! Salute you & your F a m i l y ’ s r e s p e c t t o t h e S t a r o f t h e millennium,” said another Talking to a news agency, Gopi said, “He is nothing less than a god to me and my wife The biggest thing that inspires me about him is not only his reel life but also his real life and how he manages himself in public, how he conveys and communicates everything you know He is very down to earth He takes care of his fans He is not like so many other stars This is why I thought I should have his statue outside of my house ” Gopi, who came to the US from Gujarat’s Dahod in 1990, has also been running a website dedicated to Amitabh Bachchan for t h e p a s t t h r e e d e c a d e s T h e w e b s i t e h t t p : / / w w w B i g B E F a m i l y c o m c a l l s i t s e l f “Big B Extended Family” The life size statue of Amitabh Bachchan was designed and made in Rajasthan before being shipped to the US Gopi is quoted as saying that the entire project cost him more than US$ 75,000 KO N G: The US navy s ai d that two of i ts warshi ps were saili ng through th e Taiwan Strait o n S und ay, th e first s uch p as sage by American shi ps since Ch ina began large scale mil itary exerci ses i n response to a vi si t to Taiwan by s peaker Nancy Pelo si early this month The guided missile cruisers Antietam and Chancellorsville were conducting what the navy called “ a routine Taiwan Strait transit ” American officials said this month that the n a v y w o u l d c o n t i n u e t o o p e r a t e a r o u n d Taiwan, despite China’s claims to control the waterway The Chinese military said in a statement that it had monitored the ships’ passage but did not indicate any additional response “Eastern theater forces remainon high alert, ready to thwart any provocation,” it said After Pelosi visited Taiwan on August 2 3, China launched missiles into waters that are part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone and carried out 72 hours of live fire exercises around Taiwan Chinese officials have called on the US to h a l t m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e r e g i o n a n d a c c u s e d t h e A m e r i c a n s o f e x a c e r b a t i n g tensions The US navy said its ships did not sail through any territorial waters while transiting the Taiwan Strait and that the passage was meant to uphold the freedom to navigate the high seas “These ships transited through a c o r r i d o r i n t h e s t r a i t t h a t i s b e y o n d t h e territorial sea of any coastal state,” the navy said “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo Pacific The US military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows ” Taiwan’s military said the two US w a r s h i p s h a d s a i l e d f r o m n o r t h t o s o u t h t h r o u g h t h e s t r a i t a n d t h a t t h e i r v o y a g e appeared “normal ”
H O N G
in brief W A S H I N G T O N : F o rm er Donald Trum p ally Kash Patel h as claimed that his life is in d ang er because h is nam e has appeared in the heavily red acted affid av it th at w as released on F r id ay s u p p o rt in g th e F B I s e arc h o f M a r a L ag o e arl i er this month “ B r o w n L i v e s M a
S African prosecutors arrest ex Transnet officials in Zuma case
22 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 3 9 Sepembar 2022
I S L A M A B A D : Pakistan’s finance minister M i f t a h I s m a i l o n M o n d a y s a i d t h e g o v e r n m e n t c a n c o n s i d e r i m p o r t i n g vegetables and other edible items from India following the destruction of standing crops due to massive floods, three years after Islamabad downgraded trade ties with New Delhi over the Kashmir issue Pakistan is witnessing a massive surge in the prices of vegetables and fruits due to d e v a s t a t i n g f l o o d s a s t h e s u p p l y o f v e g e t a b l e s f r o m B a l o c h i s t a n , S i n d h a n d south Punjab has badly been affected Ismail s a i d t h e g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d “ c o n s i d e r importing vegetables and other edible items from India” to facilitate people after recent floods destroyed crops across the country, state owned Radio Pakistan reported He made the comment in response to a question When a journalist told him that in the past, ministers advocating trade with India had to go home, Ismail said he was not afraid of it “If people have to go home to protect themselves from inflation, then it is f i n e A s m u c h a s I a m w o r k i n g f o r t h e improvement of the economy, I hope I will not be fired,” he said “If the supply is affected, the import of vegetables (from India) will have to be opened If we have to import vegetables f r o m I n d i a , w e w i l l d o s o ” P a k i s t a n downgraded its ties with India in 2019 after India’s decision to revoke Article 370 that granted a special status to J&K Citing a source, Dawn reported that former security a d v i s e r M o e e d Y o u s u f w a s w o r k i n g o n proposals regarding trade with India In May this year, after the government of PM PM Shehbaz Sharif came into power, there was widespread speculation on social media that the government was considering to resume trade with India However, a statement from the commerce ministry denied the rumours a n d s a i d t h a t t h e r e w a s n o c h a n g e i n Pakistan’s policy on trade with India
6 KILLED AFTER TRUCK ROLLS INTO HOLLAND PARTY
LIBYA CLASHES TOLL RISES TO 32 Clashes between backers of Libya’s rival governments killed at least 32 people, the health ministry said in a new toll, after a battle that sparked fears of new conflict Armed groups had exchanged fire that damaged several hospitals and set buildings on fire the worst fighting in the Libyan capital since a landmark 2020 ceasefire A cautious calm had set in by Saturday The fighting came after months of mounting tensions between backers of Abdulhamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha whose rival administrations are vying for control of the country which has seen over a decade of violence since a 2011 uprising Bashagha was appointed by Libya s eastern based parliament earlier this year and is backed by powerful eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar, whose 2019 attempt to seize Tripoli by force turned into a year long civil war
JOH A NNE SB U RG: South A frican p rosecutors have arrested sev eral f o rm e r exe cu t i v es a t p ub li c log istics comp any T ransnet, w hich is at th e centre o f a h igh profile i n v es ti g a ti o n i nto c o rru p t io n d u ri ng J a co b Z u m a ’ s te nu re as p resident O n M o n d a y , S o u t h A f r i c a ’ s N a t i o n a l P r o s e c u t i n g A u t h o r i t y (NPA) said Transnet’s former chief executive officer Brian Molefe and f i n a n c e c h i e f A n o j S i n g h w e r e a m o n g f o u r p e o p l e h e l d i n connection with a multimillion dollar corruption case “ S e v e r a l a r r e s t s o f f o r m e r T r a n s n e t e x e c u t i v e s h a v e b e e n e f f e c t e d t h i s m o r n i n g , t h r o u g h a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h t h e i r l e g a l representatives,” the NPA said in a statement The arrested appeared before a court in Johannesburg on Monday and were granted 50,000 rand (about $3,000) bail A n N P A s p o k e s p e r s o n confirmed that the executives are f a c i n g c h a r g e s o f f r a u d a n d b r e a c h i n g p u b l i c f i n a n c e regulations, linked to a 93 million r a n d ( $ 5 5 m n a t t h e c u r r e n t e x c h a n g e r a t e ) c o r r u p t i o n a n d fraud case surrounding the 2015 procurement of more than 1,000 locomotives T r a n s n e t o w n s a l l o f S o u t h Africa’s rail, ports and pipelines t h e l o g i s t i c a l b a c k b o n e o f t h e c o n t i n e n t ’ s m o s t a d v a n c e d economy Lawyers for Molefe and Singh said their clients intended to plead not guilty
After Pelosi visit, US ships sail Taiwan Strait defying China pressure
A report into state corruption under Zuma published earlier this y e a r d e s c r i b e d T r a n s n e t a s a “primary site” The investigation l e d b y C h i e f J u s t i c e R a y m o n d Zondo found more than 41 billion rand ($2 42 bn) in contracts had been “irregularly awarded for the benefit of entities linked to the Gupta family”, a business family of Indian migrants with close ties to Zuma The opposition Democratic A l l i a n c e p a r t y w e l c o m e d t h e arrests, saying it hoped it was the “beginning of justice” “ W h i l e o t h e r s h a v e a l r e a d y been charged in this case, it seems that the last chickens have now f i n a l l y c o m e h o m e t o r o o s t , ” party’s senior lawmaker Glynnis Breytenbach said in a statement Jacob Zuma
LOOKOUT NOTICE AGAINST TMC MLA
Ferozepur SSP
BE NGA L U RU : Two associations representing at least 1 3, 000 schools in Karnataka h av e written to Prime M inister Narend ra M odi, accusing the Bom mai led BJ P g o v er nm e nt o f co r ru p ti o n T h e A s s o c ia ted M anagements Of Primary And S econdary Schoo ls and T he Registered U naided Priv ate Scho ols Management A ssociation hav e u rged PM M odi to look into alleg ed bribes that are being d em anded by the state education d ep ar tm e nt to is s u e rec o g n it i o n c e rti f ic at es t o edu catio nal institutions " U n s c i e n t i f i c , i r r a t i o n a l , d i s c r i m i n a t o r y a n d noncompliance norms are applied to unaided private schools and huge corruption is in place," the letter read The associations claimed that multiple complaints and pleas to state education minister BC Nagesh have gone unattended, and demanded Nagesh's resignation "The education ministry is impatient to listen and understand the actual pathetic situation of the whole system and resolve the issues Two different BJP ministers literally caused lots of damage to budget s c h o o l s r a t h e r t h a n t h o s e s c h o o l s t h a t a r e commercialising education by allowing more and more investors to set up, directly costing more fees per child for parents," the letter added The associations also alleged that government prescribed textbooks have still not reached the schools despite the beginning of the new academic year "The education minister has no concern to liberalise the rigid norms and frame rules and regulation that both p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e s c h o o l s c a n p r a c t i c a l l y a n d physically implement without burdening parents and students," read the complaint
K O L K A T A : T h e Bh a ra ti ya Janata P arty (BJP) is all set to h o l d a th r ee d a y tra i ni ng p rog ramm e starting for all its Wes t Beng al M P s, M L A s and o ther state lead ers at th e Ved ic V illag e resort near Kolkata The e v en t w i ll p r es en t an o p p o r tu ni ty fo r BJ P g e ner al secretary Sunil Bansal, wh o has been tasked with org anisational a ff ai rs i n W es t B eng al a nd T elangana, to interact w ith state lead ers o n comm on forum Bansal was recently relieved from his duties as the party’s Uttar Pradesh general secretary (organisation) and elevated as a national general secretary He takes over the charge for West B e n g a l f r o m K a i l a s h Vijayvargiya Both Bengal and Telangana are particularly important in the BJP’s political plans But while the party believes it has bright p r o s p e c t s i n T e l a n g a n a , i t s f o r t u n e s s e e m t o h a v e g o n e down in Bengal after the loss in 2021 Assembly elections Several leaders who had switched over f r o m t h e r u l i n g T r i n a m o o l Congress have returned to the mother ship BJP sources say the training camp will focus on educating a n d f a m i l i a r i s i n g t h e B e n g a l rank and file with the party’s i d e o l o g y a n d g o a l s S p e a k i n g , B e n g a l c o i n c h a r g e A m i t M a l v i y a s a i d : “ C o n s t a n t l y learning and upgrading the skills o f o u r p o l i t i c a l w o r k e r s i s i n h e r e n t t o t h e B J P ’ s f u n c t i o n i n g T h e t h r e e d a y r e s i d e n t i a l P r a s h i k s h a n V a r g aims to bring senior workers across the state together for a d e e p , i m m e r s i v e l e a r n i n g e x p e r i e n c e o n p o l i t i c a l a n d ideological issues shaping the p o l i t i c a l d i s c o u r s e i n W e s t Bengal It also gives people an o p p o r t u n i t y t o i n t e r a c t w i t h
senior leaders in an informal environment ” Welcoming the programme, BJP general secretary Jaganath C h a t t o p a d h a e s a i d : “ T h i s i s routine organisational training program In an ideology based party, leaders and cadre need to upgrade themselves within the ideological framework We shall t a k e t h i s p r o g r a m u p t o t h e m a n d a l l e v e l t o s e n s i t i s e o u r ground force ” The Vedic Village resort is l o c a t e d i n a T M C d o m i n a t e d area near Kolkata Sources say B J P l e a d e r s m i g h t b e s h o w n black flags enroute the venue
13,000 schools accuse Karnataka govt of corruption
SOUTH INDIA PUNJAB WEST BENGAL 24 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 3 9 September 2022
Five members of a family lost their lives after a landslide, triggered by heavy rains, hit their house on Monday at a village near Thodupuzha in Kerala's Idukki police said The hilly regions of Kerala have been receiving heavy rains for the last two days The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for all districts except Kasaragod Besides the hilly regions of Malappuram Kozhikode and Kannur districts have been receiving heavy rains over the last two days but no untoward incidents have been reported from there so far In Malappuram district Olipuzha was spilling over its banks forcing the authorities to shift the residents along the bank of the river to relief camps
PANEL PROBING JAYA'S DEATH SUBMITS REPORT TO GOVT
Two former cops of Punjab police were sentenced to life imprisonment in a 30 year old fake encounter case The quantum was pronounced by the court of special CBI judge Rakesh Kumar Gupta The two convicts were also fined Rs 235,000 each and the court ordered the authorities to pay Rs 100,000 compensation to the family members of each of the three victims of the fake encounter from the fine money CBI public prosecutor Ashok K Bagoria said that the convicts then additional SHO inspector Kishan Singh (who retired as DSP) and sub inspector Tarsem Lal (who retired as inspector) posted at Mehta police station near Amritsar were sentenced to life imprisonment under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) Bagoria said that the prosecution had sought capital punishment for the convicts but the CBI court sentenced them to life CBI ISSUES
CHA ND IG ARH : A cou rt in Pu njab restrained the release o f the song “J aandi V aar ” of late singer S idh u Moo sewala, along with a direction for taking down all promotional content and advertisements with resp ec t to the song on all media platforms The order came after arguments at length before the district court of Mansa on the plea of the parents of Moosewala, who were successful in securing an ex parte ad interim order against S a l i m S a d r u d d i n M o l e d i n a M e r c h a n t a n d S u l a i m a n S a d r u d d i n M o l e d i n a M e r c h a n t , popularly known as Salim Sulaiman The parents have instituted a suit for permanent injunction a g a i n s t S a l i m S u l a i m a n a n d t h e i r c o m p a n y Merchant Records Pvt Ltd along with certain other entities and digital platforms The suit has been f i l e d s e e k i n g r e s t r a i n t f r o m t h e u n a u t h o r i s e d proposed release of Moosewala's song “Jaandi Vaar” on various social media and online platforms on account of copyright infringement as well as illegal and unauthorized use of late Moosewala's name and image to generate publicity The release was announced by Salim Sulaiman on their YouTube and Instagram accounts They had further announced sale of merchandise as well as digital signature of Moosewala along with sale of NFT rights to the song for the public at large
The CBI issued a lookout notice for TMC MLA and former chairman of West Bengal Board of Primary Education Manik Bhattacharya in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in primary teachers’ appointment after he was not found at his residences in Kolkata and Nadia, an official of the agency said Bhattacharya, who is a lawmaker from Palashipara in Nadia district had earlier been interrogated by Enforcement Directorate which is tracking the money trail in the case “The MLA could not be found at his residences in Jadavpur and Nadia district over the past several days following which he was served a lookout notice by the central agency the official said Meanwhile a suspected middleman arrested on charges of facilitating jobs to ineligible candidates in state government sponsored and aided schools in exchange of money, was remanded in CBI custody in brief indicts for PM security lapse
SC issues notice to Karnataka govt over hijab ban
The much awaited report of a panel that probed the circumstances surrounding late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's death, was submitted to the Tamil Nadu government and it will be placed before the state cabinet meet Justice A Arumughaswamy, who led the probe while hearing over 150 witnesses, submitted the report to Chief Minister MK Stalin and said it was now up to the government to decide on making it public An official release from the state government said the Chief Minister has directed that the report be placed before the Cabinet and take due action The ruling DMK had ahead of the April 2021 Assembly polls in the state promised a proper inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa and initiation of legal action again "anyone" found guilty
Court stays release of Moosewala’s song ‘Jaandi Vaar’
5 KILLED IN KERALA
BJP to hold training workshop for Bengal leaders
LANDSLIDES
SC panel
New Delhi: The S uprem e Co urt o n M o nd a y is s u ed a no ti c e to t h e K a rna ta ka g o v ern m en t o v er a p le a c h a lle ng i n g th e h i g h c o ur t’ s o rd e r u pholding a ban on h ijab in edu catio nal institutio ns of th e state The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 5 A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia were hearing the matter The apex court said it will not accept a plea s e e k i n g a d j o u r n m e n t , a s a n e a r l y hearing was sought, and issued a notice to the Karnataka government on the plea "You wanted urgent hearing and when the matter is listed, you seek a d j o u r n m e n t W e w i l l n o t p e r m i t f o r u m s h o p p i n g , " J u s t i c e H e m a n t Gupta told the petitioners Several petitions have been filed in the apex court against the Karnataka H i g h C o u r t v e r d i c t h o l d i n g t h a t wearing of hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice which can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution T h e K a r n a t a k a H i g h C o u r t d i s m i s s e d a c l u t c h o f p e t i t i o n s c h a l l e n g i n g a g o v e r n m e n t o r d e r barring hijabs (headscarves) in schools a n d c o l l e g e s i n t h e s t a t e A t h r e e member bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said the wearing of hijabs is n o t ‘ e s s e n t i a l r e l i g i o u s p r a c t i c e ’ i n I s l a m a n d t h a t s t u d e n t s c o u l d n o t object to ‘reasonable restrictions’ in the form of uniforms The court upheld the state's February 5 ‘incompetent and manifestly arbitrary’ order and said it d i d n o t v i o l a t e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l provisions Earlier in December, a government school in the Udupi district barred six students from entering the classroom because they were wearing hijabs As t h e c o n t r o v e r s y s p i r a l l e d , s t u d e n t s from a college in the Mangaluru district made similar claims S l o w l y , m o r e s t u d e n t s a c r o s s Karnataka spoke up as schools imposed curbs Muslim students said they were being deprived of their fundamental rights to education and religion New Delh i: A com mittee ap p o i nt ed b y t h e S u p re m e C o u rt u nd e r Justice Indu M alhotra has in d ic ted F ero zep u r S S P Harmand eep Singh Hans for serious lapses in duty which resulted in Prim e M i ni s ter N are nd r a M o d i ’ s c o nv o y getting strand ed ov er a flyo ver in Punjab am id hostile groups “Harmandeep Singh Hans, then SSP F e r o z e p u r , f a i l e d t o d i s c h a r g e h i s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t o m a i n t a i n l a w a n d o r d e r H e d i d n o t t a k e s t e p s f o r deployment to strengthen the route in F e r o z e p u r e v e n t h o u g h h e w a s f u l l y aware there were large hostile groups who had come to block the route of the carcade,” former CJI N V Ramana read out from the report The report emphasises that the SSP failed to act despite having been asked to strengthen the security for the PM on the contingency route the PM was going to t a k e b e c a u s e o f b a d w e a t h e r w h i c h prevented his helicopter from taking off “Hans failed to augment and strengthen the route in Ferozepur even though there were sufficient forces available with him T h e r e w a s s u f f i c i e n t time available with him w h e n ( A D G P ) G N a g e s w a r a R a o i n f o r m e d H a n s a b o u t t h e P M t a k i n g t h e contingency route and that the route should be adequately strengthened ” “Despite clear instructions from Rao, at least two hours before the PM entered Ferozepur, the SSP failed to act on the instructions of Rao,” the Committee said The finding repudiates the stand of the P u n j a b g o v e r n m e n t t h a t t h e P M ’ s c a v a l c a d e w a s s t r a n d e d , a n unprecedented instance and a security nightmare considering the “ very high” risk perception for Modi, police did not get time to make arrangements on the “contingency route” The report of Justice Malhotra ( retd) delved deep into lapses o n t h e p a r t o f H a n s w h i c h s e r i o u s l y jeopardised the PM’s security The bench said Justice Malhotra committee has also g i v e n r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r strengthening and improving the security mechanism for the PM and VVIPs as detailed in the “Blue Book’, which is issued by the home ministry
LIFER FOR TWO EX PUNJAB COPS IN FAKE ENCOUNTER CASE
SC seeks views of Centre, Gujarat on Bilkis remission case T he S upreme Co urt sough t responses from the Centre and Gujarat gov ernm ent in two weeks on a PIL demand ing cancel lation of rem ission of sentence to 11 lifers who were conv icted for murdering 14 people and gang raping women, including Bilkis Bano, d uring the 20 02 post God hra comm unal riots A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath sought responses from the two gov ernments and said, “The only question arising in this case is whether the Gujarat government was justified in granting remission to these lifers ” They scheduled the next hearing after two weeks Justice Rastogi said, “The question also is whether the committee applied the provisions of the Remission Rules to the facts of the case and whether the members of the Remission Committee applied their minds correctly or not Was the grounds considered by the committee sufficient to warrant their release on grant of remission?” Appearing for the three petitioners, politician social activist Subhasini Ali, journalist turned author Revati Laul and human rights activist Roop Rekha Verma senior advo cate Kapil Sibal said these are only issues that are needed to be considered by the SC “For considering these issues, the court should summon the records of the Remission Committee,” he suggested The SC also directed the petitioners to implead the 11 convicts as parties in the PIL after their advocate, Rishi Malhotra, protested against their omission and accusd the PIL petitioners of committing an improperiety by filing the plea without making those who were granted remission a party Ind i a ’ s firs t ind ig eno usly bui lt air craft carrier INS Vikrant will be able to play a ro le in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo P acific region, V i ce C h ie f o f I nd i an N av y V i c e Ad miral S N Ghormade said, ah ead of th e w ar sh i p ’ s c o m m i ss i o ni ng o n September 2 He said the aircraft landing trials on board INS Vikrant will begin in November and they will be completed by mid 2023, adding MiG 29K jets will operate from the warship for the first few years Vice Admiral Ghormade said the c o m m i s s i o n i n g o f I N S V i k r a n t i n Kochi on September 2 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not only make India enter an elite group of nations capable of manufac turing aircraft carriers above 40,000 tonnes category but will also reflect the country’s unity and diversity The vice chief said equipment for the aircraft carrier has been manufac tured in 18 states and union territo ries including places such as Kolkata, Jalandhar, Kota, Pune, Delhi, Ambala, Hyderabad and Indore “It will be an unforgettable day for India It will reflect India’s growing prowess in defence manufacturing,” he said V i c e A d m i r a l G h o r m a d e s a i d India now has an eco system to build the next aircraft carrier and noted that deliberations are underway for it The Navy has been pitching for three aircraft carriers to deal with China’s growing naval prowess and its grow ing influence over the Indian Ocean region At present, India has only one aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is a Russian origin platform Explaining the scheduled launch of trials of aircraft landing on board INS Vikrant from November, Vice Admiral Ghormade such an exercise after commissioning of an aircraft carrier is a normal practice in all a d v a n c e d n a t i o n s V i c e A d m i r a l Ghormade said the Navy is currently undertaking a comprehensive evalua tion process of two aircraft, but added the procurement would be for an interim period as the government is looking at an indigenously developed deck based jet for the aircraft carrier
SC agrees to review PMLA judgment
25AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 27 Aug 2 Sep 2022
The Suprem e Cour t referred to a five judge be nc h f or c ons titution al ques tions arising from the cross petit ions f iled aft er the rebel lion in Shiv Sena, l eading to t he c oll apse of the Uddha v Thackeray led M aha V ik as Agha di government in M ahara shtra and instal ation of the Eknath Shinde led governm ent with BJP’s suppor t A bench of former Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli said the five judge bench would begin and restrained the Election Commission from passing any orders The bench justified the reference on two counts; one, the important constitutional questions raised by the warring factions of Sena; and second, possible reconsideration of SC’s 2016 judg ment in the Nabam Rebia case, where it had ruled that a speaker cannot decide disqualification petitions against MLAs if a petition for his removal is pending The bench said, “This court is of opinion that the present batch of petitions raise important constitutional questions relat ing to interpretation of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution pertaining to disqualification, as well as the powers of the Speaker and the Governor and the power of judicial review thereof At the outset, it may be necessary to highlight one particular question raised in these matters relating to the power of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker to initiate disqualification proceedings, when proceedings for removal from the said office has been initiated against them “We are, therefore, of the view that constitutional purpose and constitutional harmony would be maintained and preserved, if a Speaker refrains from adjudication of a petition for disqualification under the Tenth Schedule, whilst his own posi tion, as the Speaker, is under challenge This would also allow the two provisions to operate in their individual constitutional space, without encroaching on the other ”
Bilkis Bano
Uddhav Thackeray & Eknath Shinde
The Su preme C ourt decided to hear in open co urt reg arding a petition by Karti C hidambaram seeking review of its July 27 judgm ent up holding strin gent provisions of the Prev ention of Money Laundering A ct (PML A) and sw e ep i ng p o w e rs g iv en t o t h e Enfo rcem ent Di re cto rate, a v erd ic t that w as wid ely criticised Deviating from the norm of reject i n g t h e o v e r w h e l m i n g m a j o r i t y o f review petitions in chambers without h e a r i n g t h e c o u n s e l f o r p a r t i e s , a bench of of former CJI N V Ramana and Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar, in its order said, “The application for oral hearing is allowed List the matter in the court ” Decision came a day after the CJI led three judge bench, while dealing with the constitutionality of certain provisions of Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, had said the PMLA judgment, without further clar ifying, could be a tool for arbitrary application of confiscation provisions under the stringent law against money laundering The CJI led bench said, "In Vijay Madanlal Choudary vs Union of India (the July 27 judgment), this court dealt with confiscation proceed ings under Section 8 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and limited the application of Section 8 (4) of PMLA concerning interim posses sion by authority before conclusion of final trial to exceptional cases ” A c r i t i c a l i s s u e r e l a t i n g t o t h e Justice A M Khanwilkar authored July 27 verdict, as flagged by legal experts, was the ruling that it is not mandatory t o g i v e a n E n f o r c e m e n t C a s e Information Report (ECIR) in every case to the person concerned Much to the chagrin of legal experts who cited the principles of arrest laid down by the SC in a series of judgments, the SC h a d s a i d , I t i s e n o u g h i f t h e Enforcement Directorate, at time of a r r e s t , d i s c l o s e s g r o u n d s o f s u c h arrest ”
5-judge SC bench to hear Sena rebellion cases
India-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant to be commissioned on Sept 2
Gujarat thwarted conspiracies to defame the state: PM Modi
26 3 9 Septembar 2022 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww asian voice com
Noida Supertech twin towers demolished, end to 9-year-old battle
S o r e n s l a m m e d t h e o p p o s i t i o n B h a r a t i y a Janata Party (BJP) in the state and accused it of i n d u l g i n g i n p o l i t i c a l h o r s e t r a d i n g H e s a i d “they only buy and sell MLAs but we work for the public and don't do h o r s e t r a d i n g P e o p l e w i l l give answers to those who a r e d o i n g b u s i n e s s i n politics I'm never worried about the chair I only worry a b o u t t h e D a l i t s , A d i v a s i s and people of the state ” Congress’s Banna Gupta alleged that the recent turn o f e v e n t s w a s p a r t o f a conspiracy to destabilise the J M M l e d c o a l i t i o n government in the state "A conspiracy was hatched to d e s t a b i l i s e o u r s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t ” C o n g r e s s i s firmly standing against it and t h e r e ' s n o c r i s i s i n g o v e r n m e n t , a s s u r i n g alliance partner JMM of full support
The Supreme Court has said that the date of demolition may be confirmed as August 28, with a “bandwidth of seven days” between August 29 to September 4, to take into account any marginal delay on account of technical reasons or weather conditions "Our overall loss is around £50 million, taking into account the amount we have spent on land and construction cost, the charges paid to authorities for various approvals, interest paid to banks over the years and the 12 per cent interest paid back to buyers of these two towers, among other costs," the company's chairman RK Arora said New Cong president to be elected on Oct 17
Veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quits Cong Narendra Modi
A mid the polit ica l t ur moil in J h a r k ha n d , M L A s o f t h e r ul in g U n i t e d P r o g r e s si v e A l lia n c e g ov e r n me n t w e r e s h i ft e d t o R a i p u r in C hhatt isg arh, in what could be the st art of resor t politics t ill the time t he CM Hem ant S o r e n 's d i s qu a li fi ca t i on m att er ha ngs in the bala nce The ML As of t he r ulin g UPA coa lition (Jhark han d Mukt i M o r ch a C on gr e ss a lli a n ce ) i n J h a r k h a n d a r r i v e d in R aipur by a cha rte re d flight The rulin g coa lit ion has 49 M L A s i n t h e 8 1 m e m be r A sse mbly The MLAs were taken to a r e s o r t i n N a v a R a i p u r JMM has alleged that the BJP is attempting to poach MLAs from it and the Congress in a bid to topple the Hemant S o r e n l e d g o v e r n m e n t S o r e n h a d c a l l e d a n i m p o r t a n t m e e t i n g o f t h e ruling alliance to chalk out the future strategy A state m i n i s t e r t o l d t h a t t h e m e e t i n g w a s c o n v e n e d a s the Raj Bhavan has so far r e m a i n e d s i l e n t o n t h e E l e c t i o n C o m m i s s i o n ’ s r u l i n g o n S o r e n ' s continuance as an MLA After the meeting ended, U P A M L A s m o v e d t o t h e R a n c h i a i r p o r t f r o m t h e CM's residence in buses, and they left the state capital by a chartered aircraft for Raipur O n t h e u n f o l d i n g development, Soren said No unforeseen incident is going to take place We are ready for everything; the situation is under our control I will let you know if I will also go with the MLAs (to Raipur)”
Jharkhand ruling party MLAs shifted to resort in Raipur
Supe rte ch's twin towe rs in Utt ar Pr ade sh's Noida we re fin ally demolished on Sun day , e nding the n ine y ea r saga The demolition of t he Ape x (3 2 st orey s) and Cey an e (29 st ore ys) t owers would lea ve behin d ap prox im ate ly 35,00 0 cubic met re s of debris tha t would t ake a t le ast thr ee mon ths to be clea red The controled implosions using 3,700 kg of explosives were India's biggest demolition to date Thousands of people, as well as stray dogs, had to be evacuated before the blast, including from neighbouring high rises, one of which was reportedly just nine metres away The go ahead for demolishing the twin towers with explosives was given by the Supreme Court On Saturday, the Noida Police commissionerate issued an advisory, on the eve of the demolition of the Supertech twin towers in the city, asking the media personnel to station at the designated place for the media coverage, while also making sure to bring an ID card of the organisation The exercise was earlier supposed to start on August 21 but the court accepted the Noida Authority's request and extended its date of demolition to August 28 The twin t o w e r s a r e s e t t o b e r a z e d o v e r g r a v e violations of building norms The top court had said that it was a result of "nefarious complicity between the Noida Authority and Supertech and ordered that the company shall carry out the demolition at its own expense under the supervision of the Noida Authority and an expert body like the Central Building Research Institute T h e o r d e r h a d c o m e o n a b a t c h o f p e t i t i o n s f i l e d b y h o m e b u y e r s f o r a n d against the April 11, 2014 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which had ordered r a z i n g o f t h e t w o b u i l d i n g s w i t h i n f o u r m o n t h s a n d t h e r e f u n d o f m o n e y t o apartment buyers
Th e C ong ress Working Com mittee (C WC ) approv ed th e sched ule fo r th e el ec ti o n o f th e n ew p a rty presid ent, with the p rocess starting with nominations on S eptember 24 and cu lm inating w ith v o ti ng on October 17 The discussion of the apex body was, howev er, marred by d o u b ts rai s ed b y G 23 d i ss i d en t A nand Sharm a ov er th e electoral rolls and the electio ns at the blo ck and district lev els T h e A I C C e l e c t i o n s s e t t h e s t a g e f o r t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f t h e n e w leadership after three years of drift since Rahul abruptly quit the top post in the wake of party’s disastrous defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls But the passage of time has not c h a n g e d t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a s C o n g r e s s continues to be in the grip of a protracted churn, the latest being the resignation of senior leader and G 23 head Ghulam Nabi Azad by stating that an attempt by the Rahul Gandhi camp to foist “proxies” as the party p r e s i d e n t , a n d t h e p o t e n t i a l l e a d e r a s “puppet on a string” A t C W C m e e t i n g w h e r e o n l y t h e e l e c t i o n s c h e d u l e w a s d i s c u s s e d a n d i n which Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined on the same screen (they are abroad for Sonia’s annual medical checkup), Sharma claimed he had received complaints that no election was held at the lower rungs of block, district and state level a r e m a r k s e e n a s a m p l i f y i n g A z a d ’ s allegation that organisational polls were a “giant fraud” He also claimed that state committees had not received the list of delegates who form the electoral college for the AICC president’s election, terming it a violation Congress Election Committee chairman Madhusudan Mistry responded that all the meetings were held, and the list of delegates w e r e r e a d y , a p p r o v e d b y t h e A I C C appointed election observers He said over 9,000 members will vote and the lists will be p r o v i d e d t o c a n d i d a t e s w h o f i l e nominations It is to be seen if the dissident b l o c k m u d d i e s t h e w a t e r f u r t h e r b y contesting the polls, or by even seeking legal recourse Sharma was said to be consulting his camp followers
T he v eteran Co ng ress lead er G h u la m N ab i A z ad h a s r es i g ne d f ro m th e p ar ty, alleging that “ a coterie was running the party” and th at t h e p a rty s h o u ld e xe rc is e ‘ Congress Jo do’ before g oing ahead with ‘Bharat Jodo ’ He sent his resig nation letter to C o ng r es s p re si d e nt S o ni a Gand hi Azad said that he h as sev ered all ties with the C ongress I n r e s i g n a t i o n l e t t e r , A z a d s a i d t h a t h e w a s t e n d e r i n g h i s r e s i g n a t i o n with a “heavy” heart One of the most unbelievable exits f r o m C o n g r e s s i n t h e c o n t i n u i n g p o s t 2 0 1 9 exodus, Azad has accused Rahul Gandhi of reducing to “ r u i n s ” w h a t w a s o n c e a “ n a t i o n a l m o v e m e n t ” t h a t w o n t h e c o u n t r y i n d e p e n d e n c e H e t r a c e d the decline of Congress to the induction of the Gandhi scion in politics in 2004 and s p e c i f i c a l l y t o h i s a p p o i n t m e n t a s v i c e president of AICC in 2013 m o c k i n g h i m f o r “ i m m a t u r i t y ” , “ c h i l d i s h behaviour”, and calling him “ n o n s e r i o u s ” w h o i s surrounded by “ a coterie of sycophants” Azad, who served over h a l f a c e n t u r y w i t h Congress, gave a five page resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, saying the party has b e e n “ c o m p r e h e n s i v e l y destroyed” and the situation is “irretrievable” He alleged t h a t t h e u p c o m i n g p a r t y election consists of a plan to f o i s t “ p r o x i e s ” a s t h e C o n g r e s s p r e s i d e n t “ p u p p e t o n a s t r i n g ” H e called the internal polls a “ f a r c e a n d s h a m ” a n d a “giant fraud”, as no election t o o k p l a c e i n a n y b l o c k , district or state A z a d s a i d R a h u l h a s d e m o l i s h e d t h e “ c o n s u l t a t i v e m e c h a n i s m ” that existed in the party, and now the decisions are taken by his “security guards and P A s ” H e t o l d S o n i a t h a t Rahul has upheld a ‘remote c o n t r o l m o d e l ” a f t e r resigning as party chief in 2019, she is “just a nominal f i g u r e h e a d ” f o r t h e l a s t three years in her capacity as interim president Targeting R a h u l , A z a d s a i d , “ T h e r e m o t e c o n t r o l m o d e l demolished the institutional i n t e g r i t y o f t h e U P A government ” Rahul wanted Azad to go back and take the r e i n s o f J & K C o n g r e s s , which he declined He said u n d e r R a h u l , “ a l l e x p e r i e n c e d l e a d e r s w e r e sidelined and a new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the party ”
P rim e Minister Narend ra Mo di o n S und ay said that Gujarat not only d ealt with natural calam ities like d rou ght and earthquake bu t also thwarted conspiracies to defam e and stop investm ents in the state “ Gujarat ov errod e all of these to c h ar t a ne w p at h o f p ro g re ss , ” M o d i s ai d , w h i le ad d res s i ng a p ublic m eeting after inaug urating and laying the foundation stone of d ev elopm ent w orks in Bhuj The PM said that in 2001 he h a d r e s o l v e d t o r e b u i l d K u t c h , w h i c h s u f f e r e d u n p r e c e d e n t e d d e s t r u c t i o n f o l l o w i n g t h e k i l l e r quake, and now it has become a r e a l i t y H e a d d e d t h a t h e h a s similarly resolved to make India a developed country by 2047 and h o p e d t h a t i t t o o t u r n s i n t o a reality On the second day of his visit to his home state, Modi launched several projects worth about £440 million in Bhuj, including that of the 2001 earthquake memorial Smriti Van to honour those who lost their lives during the calamity The memorial cum museum was envisioned by Modi when he was the chief minister of the state More than 13,000 people had died during the January 26, 2001 e a r t h q u a k e i n K u t c h S p e a k i n g about the Smriti Van Memorial in B h u j a n d V e e r B a l S m a r a k a t Anjar, Modi said that these were s y m b o l s o f t h e s h a r e d p a i n o f Kutch, Gujarat and the entire country “ A m i d s t t h e d e a t h a n d d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e d e a d l y 2 0 0 1 K u t c h e a r t h q u a k e , I h a d resolved to rebuild K u t c h a n d w e worked hard for it There were many who said that Kutch will never be able to stand again It was a challenge for us But we proclaimed that we will turn disaster into an opportunity and we achieved it Today, you are witnessing the results,” he said Modi said that Gujarat was the first state in the country to enact t h e D i s a s t e r M a n a g e m e n t A c t “Based on Gujarat’s law, similar laws were enacted for the entire c o u n t r y T o d a y , t h e A c t h a s helped every government in the c o u n t r y d u r i n g t h e C o v i d 1 9 pandemic,” the PM said Self reliant to meet energy needs India must become self reliant to meet its energy needs over the next 25 years, said PM Modi, while addressing the commemoration c e r e m o n y m a r k i n g 4 0 y e a r s o f Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in India held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar SMC announced investments worth £1 04 billion in Gujarat PM Modi also laid the f o u n d a t i o n o f a n E V manufacturing plant in Hansalpur and an EV battery manufacturing unit According to the PM, electric v e h i c l e s a r e u s h e r i n g a s i l e n t revolution to India No power can stop khadi M a k i n g a f e r v e n t p i t c h f o r promoting and embracing khadi, PM Modi said on Saturday that no power can stop khadi from going global He was speaking at ‘Khadi U t s a v ’ o n t h e b a n k s o f t h e Sabarmati, where a record was c r e a t e d w i t h 7 , 5 0 0 w o m e n simultaneously spinning charkhas to mark the 75th year of India’s Independence Modi himself spun a charkha on this occasion “We must take pride in our heritage a n d t h e w o r l d w i l l r e s p e c t i t D u r i n g t h e f r e e d o m s t r u g g l e , khadi offered the inspiration to fulfil the promise of a developed and self reliant India ” He added: “I foresee the day when khadi will be available at all leading clothing o u t l e t s o f t h e w o r l d ” C o m m e n t i n g o n t h e U n i o n g o v e r n m e n t ’ s p r o j e c t s s u c h a s ‘Khadi for Transformation’, ‘Khadi f o r N a t i o n ’ , a n d ‘ K h a d i f o r F a s h i o n ’ , M o d i s a i d t h a t successful experiments with khadi have been implemented across the country
•
T h e f r e e N H S b o w e l c a n c e r screening test is for
• A
Hig h cholesterol is one of the m ost com mon issues these days It can w reak h av oc on you r heart health a nd i nc rea se th e ri s k o f h ear t attack and other cardiac ailments It stem s from poo r foo d h abits, an inactive lifestyle and lack of exer cise could lead to an unhealth y i n cr eas es i n ch o l es te ro l l ev els w hich could further im pact many i n ter nal fu nc ti o n s T o c o ntr o l ch olesterol levels, A yurveda offers a holistic approach which includ es d iet changes, Yog a asanas, breath ing techniques, and herbal su pple m ent s ap a rt fr o m o t h er u s ef u l tech niques In her recent Instagram post, nutritionist and wellness expert K a r i s h m a S h a h s a i d , “ A y u r v e d i c t r e a t m e n t s f o r h i g h c h o l e s t e r o l consist of dietary restriction, mas sage, yoga, breathing techniques, behavioural modifications, exer cise, cleansing, heat therapy, ene m a s , a n d h e r b a l s u p p l e m e n t s A y u r v e d i c p r a c t i t i o n e r s u s u a l l y create a treatment plan based on your individual needs ” Cholesterol is a wax like sub stance that the body makes for important functions like building cells, hormones and other vita mins The problem starts when we accumulate excess cholesterol by eating fatty foods which the body is not able to remove and which end up forming a plague on our a r t e r i e s c a u s i n g b l o c k a g e s a n d impacting our heart health H er e a re so m e t ip s t o m a nag e cho lesterol as p er A yu rv ed a: 1 Dietary and lifestyle ch anges To manage cholesterol, it's cru cial to manage Kapha A Kapha bal ancing diet is essential in this case Plus, a lazy lifestyle may not be healthy for cholesterol 2 Coriander seed s C o r i a n d e r s e e d s h a v e l o n g been finding their place in the list o f v a r i o u s A y u r v e d i c r e m e d i e s This is because these seeds are rich i n f o l i c a c i d , V i t a m i n A a n d
E x p e rt s ha v e w a r n e d mi l lions of Brit ons ar e at risk of a poten tial kille r if the y ta ke t his common form of pain r e li e f Ex pe r t s c la im t h a t p eople living with t ype 2 d ia bet es in crea se their chan ces of e ndin g up in hospita l wit h h ear t fa ilure if the y tak e the a n t i i n f la m m a t o r y d r ug , Ibuprofen Pe ople with t ype 2 dia bet es who ta ke ibup ro fe n a re most lik ely t o de vel op he ar t failur e tha n t hose wh o ha d not t ake n the m According to the charity Diabetes UK, one in 10 peo ple over 40 in the UK are now living with the disease and they are more likely to experience pain than those w h o d o n ’ t a n d t h e r e f o r e might be inclined to take painkillers more often This is because high blood sugar levels can cause nerve dam age which leads to health problems ranging from mild n u m b n e s s t o p a i n , w h i c h can make it hard to do nor mal activities H o w e v e r , n e w D a n i s h r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t s p e o p l e w i t h t y p e 2 d i a b e t e s w h o t a k e i b u p r o f e n a r e m o r e likely to develop heart fail ure than those who had not taken them A study from C o p e n h a g e n U n i v e r s i t y found diabetes patients who t o o k i b u p r o f e n a n d w e r e over the age of 65 were at much greater risk of heart failure than those younger than 65 Of those, 50,000 t o o k a n t i i n f l a m m a t o r y drugs including ibuprofen and half of those were hospitalised with heart fail ure for the first time The lead author of the s t u d y D r A n d e r s H o l t o f C o p e n h a g e n U n i v e r s i t y Hospital, Denmark, said the r e s u l t s s u g g e s t t h a t increased risk of heart fail u r e s h o u l d b e t a k e n i n t o account when considering the use of these medications On the contrary, the data indicate that it may be safe to prescribe short term non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for patients below 65 years of age and those with well controlled diabetes ” The findings, from the D a n i s h r e g i s t r y s t u d y , a r e b e i n g p r e s e n t e d a t t h e E u r o p e a n S o c i e t y o f Cardiology (ESC) Congress O v e r t h e c o u n t e r painkillers such as ibupro fen, paracetamol and aspirin have previously been linked to a 20 per cent higher risk of developing tinnitus
Vitamin C These nutri e n t s m a k e c o r i a n d e r seeds an excellent rem edy for pacing up your body's detox process 3 Fenugreek seeds Methi seeds, a k a f e n u g r e e k s e e d s h a v e long been used to add f l a v o u r t o f o o d , b u t t h e i r u s e g o b e y o n d that Fenugreek seeds have been used for their medicinal properties since ancient t i m e s T h e s e s e e d s a r e r i c h i n Vitamin E and have various anti d i a b e t i c , a n t i o x i d a n t , a n d a n t i inflammatory properties
number
•
Addiction to news can be harmful to health, says study
27AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com Available from Superdrug, Holland & Barrett, Lloydspharmacy, GNC, supermarkets, health stores independent pharmacies, www vitabiotics com CALCIUM + Magnesium + Vit D3 MOST TRUSTED UVITAMINS K’ S AWA R D W I N N I N G N O.1 S K I N, H A I R , N A I L S B e a u t y T a b l e t s Most trusted for pregnancy TA B L E T S For all women over 40 years M e n o p a u s e Ta b l e t s HEALTH & VITALITY GTablets entle IRON+Vitamin syrup sponsored by: 3 9 September 2022 Your questions about bowel cancer screening answered by an expert D r S a s B an er j ee , C o l o re ct al S u rge o n at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University H ospitals NHS T ru st, is u rging Londoners who have been sent a free NHS bowel cancer sc reening kit to comp lete and return the test when th ey receive it “Do ing the test is quick and easy It is fo r p eo ple with no symptoms and most peop le do not requi re any furth er i nvestigatio ns So , if you are sent a kit, please u se it ” B o w e l c a n c e r s c r e e n i n g c a n p r e v e n t bowel cancer or find it at an early stage when it’s easier to treat Research shows that those who complete their test are 25% less likely to die from bowel cancer However, uptake of bowel cancer screening is lower in L o n d o n t h a n t h e r e s t o f E n g l a n d , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n b o r o u g h s w i t h a h i g h population of ethnic minority communities Who is eligible fo r bowel cancer screening? It is for anyone aged 56 to 74 Anyone eligible in England who is registered with a GP is automatically sent the test kit to their home address Why is it imp ortant fo r eligible So uth Asians to complete bowel cancer screening?
•
A d u l t s f r o m t h e S o u t h A s i a n community in the UK are typically less l i k e l y t o t a k e p a r t i n s c r e e n i n g B o w e l cancer screening is one of the best ways to prevent bowel cancer or diagnose it at an earlier stage when it is easier to treat How is the test completed? C o m p l e t i n g y o u r b o w e l c a n c e r screening test is simple and easy to do You do not need to touch your stool You use a container or toilet paper to catch your stool Then you simply collect a small sample of it using the plastic stick provided You put the stick in the sample bottle, seal it shut and send it to the NHS for testing in a lab no stamp needed You can watch a brief tutorial on doing the test at www nhs uk/bowel Wh at does th e lab look for? Stool samples are checked in a lab for tiny amounts of blood Blood can be a sign o f p o l y p s o r b o w e l c a n c e r P o l y p s a r e growths in the bowel They are not cancer but may turn into cancer over time Can someone give th eir bowel cancer screening kit away if th ey don’t use it? No, the bowel cancer screening kit you receive is specific to you and must o n l y NHS What are the sym ptoms of bo wel cancer? people you have any of the following symptoms for more than three weeks, please contact your GP, even if you have recently completed a bowel cancer screening test: persistent and unexplained change in bowel habits causing you to go to the toilet more often with looser, runnier stools Blood in your stool or bleeding from your bottom P a i n i n y o u r s t o m a c h o r bottom Unexplained weight loss • A straining feeling from the bottom l u m p i n y o u r b a c k p a s s a g e o r abdomen Tiredness at shou ld so meone do i f th ey need mo re i nfo rmatio n? Visit
Accordin g t o a st udy, people who hav e an obse ssive d esire t o con stan tly check the ne ws a r e m o r e pr on e t o su ff e r f r o m st r e ss , c on ce r n , a n d ph ysica l illn ess The stu dy wa s publishe d in the Journa l of Hea lth Communicat ion In the past t wo ye ar s, we h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d se v e r e globa l eve nt s, includ ing the C ovid pa n de mic t o R ussia i n v a d i n g U k r a i n e , la r g e scale prot ests, ma ss shoot ing s, an d de vasta ting wild fires Being exposed to a 24 hour news cycle of continu ally evolving events can have serious impacts on mental a n d p h y s i c a l w e l l b e i n g Bryan McLaughlin, associate professor of advertising at the College of Media and C o m m u n i c a t i o n a t T e x a s T e c h U n i v e r s i t y , s a i d , “ W i t n e s s i n g t h e s e e v e n t s unfold in the news can bring a b o u t a c o n s t a n t s t a t e o f high alert in some people, k i c k i n g t h e i r s u r v e i l l a n c e motives into overdrive and making the world seem like a dark and dangerous place ” "For these individuals, a vicious cycle can develop in which, rather than tuning out, they become drawn fur ther in, obsessing over the n e w s a n d c h e c k i n g f o r updates around the clock to alleviate their emotional dis tress But it doesn't help, and t h e m o r e t h e y c h e c k t h e news, the more it begins to interfere with other aspects of their lives ” McLaughlin and his col leagues, Dr Melissa Gotlieb and Dr Devin Mills, anal y s e d d a t a f r o m a n o n l i n e survey of 1,100 US adults to s t u d y t h i s p h e n o m e n o n People were asked about the extent to which they agreed w i t h s t a t e m e n t s l i k e “ I become so absorbed in the news that I forget the world around me ” , “ my mind is fre q u e n t l y o c c u p i e d w i t h thoughts about the news ” , and “I find it difficult to stop r e a d i n g o r w a t c h i n g t h e news ” , and “I often do not pay attention at school or work because I am reading or watching the news ” R e s p o n d e n t s w e r e a l s o asked about how often they experienced feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as physi cal ailments such as fatigue, physical pain, poor concen tration, and gastrointestinal issue The results revealed that 16 5% of people surveyed s h o w e d s i g n s o f s e v e r e l y problematic' news consump tion Such individuals fre quently became so immersed and personally invested in news stories that the stories dominated the individual's waking thoughts, disrupted time with family and friends, made it difficult to focus on s c h o o l o r w o r k , a n d c o n tributed to restlessness and an inability to sleep A c c o r d i n g t o M c L a u g h l i n , t h e f i n d i n g s show that there is a need for focused media literacy cam paigns to help people devel op a healthier relationship with the news “While we w a n t p e o p l e t o r e m a i n engaged in the news, it is important that they have a healthier relationship with t h e n e w s I n m o s t c a s e s , treatment for addictions and compulsive behaviours cen tres on complete cessation of the problematic behaviour, as it can be difficult to per form the behaviour in mod eration ”
4 Red uce oil consum ptio n Palm oil and coconut oil are h i g h i n s a t u r a t e d f a t w h i c h increases LDL cholesterol and the risk of heart disease
with no symptoms If
https://www healthylondon org/BCS or call the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 6060 Common form of painkiller may be fatal to diabetics, say scientists Ayurvedic tips and remedies to reduce cholesterol
•
b e u s e d b y y o u I t c o n t a i n s p r i v a t e i n f o r m a t i o n , s u c h a s y o u r
• A
Wh
Arjun Kapoor posts funny comment on Anushka’s new picture
Sonam, Anand share hidden meaning behind art used to announce son’s birth
In the photos, the actress is posing next to a cricket ball, wearing purple joggers with a white t shirt as she appeared resting under the clear rest two pictures In the last one, she p o s e d w h i l e s m i l i n g f r o m e a r t o e a r R e f e r r i n g t o h e r g r u e s o m e c r i c k e t p r a c t i c e t o e s s a y t h e r o l e o f J h u l a n Goswami, she wrote in the caption, “Don’t be fooled by that smile” Arjun took to the comment section to point something out that left fans in split Referring to his birthday wish for the actor where Arjun called her “India’s nature girl” for always posing in natural surroundings, the actor commented, “See I was right in my bday post ” For the unversed, on Anushka s birthday, Arjun treated her to a collage of his photo In it, Arjun recreated Anushka’s pose amidst nature from an old photo shoot and captioned it, “Mera Nature yeh hai ki main India’s very own Nature Girl Anushka Sharma ko ek Natural sa wish karun on her birthday from among phool, patti and lots of ped paudhe! Have the best life @anushkasharma! There is no one like you!" In response to the fun banter, Anushka teased him saying, “I know that this picture of you was already in your photo albums” and called it a ‘tribute ’ On the work front, Anushka’s ‘Chadka Xpress’ will be directed by Susanta Das The film will revolve around the life of Jhulan as one of the fastest female pacers in world cricket and how she moved ahead in her career The first look of the film was unveiled in January 2022 with a teaser video which was criticised by some for Anushka’s exaggerated Bengali accent Many also expressed slammed the movie as Anushka appeared in heaps of makeup to tone down her skin tone
The actor also shared his concerns about halting the filming of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' He is currently hosting the 14th season of the quiz show He wrote, "The sudden issues of the work front and their adjustments if at all they can be, of how to catch up with lost time, especially in the matter of the TV programme which as we are well aware, takes an immense amount of time and energy to coordinate and set up it is the helplessness that invades the system and the assurance that many give that all shall be well, is most courageous of them b u t e v e r t h e r e a r e e t e r n a l a p p r e h e n s i o n s f o r t h e i r fructification ” The 79 year old added that he feels it is 'pointless' to share the details of his medical condition He wrote, "I have no intent of giving health bulletins but yes I shall and I should keep you updated what that update shall be, will be my prerogative hahahahaha ” Amitabh had battled the coronavirus back in 2020 and even had to be hospitalised for a couple of weeks His son Abhishek Bachchan was the first in the family to test positive, following which his daughter in law Aishwarya Rai was also diagnosed with the illness
Jacqueline
28 www.asian-voice.com 3 9 September 2022 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly
Actor Anushka Sharma is back in Mumbai, cricket training for her upcoming film ‘Chakda XPress’ She shared multiple pictures from the green pastures of a training ground and flashed her biggest smile for the camera. Her picture amid the greenery reminded Arjun Kapoor of his “nature girl” remark on Anushka’s post a few months ago.
Amitabh opens up about getting Covid-19 again
Actor Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja have opened up about using a unique art piece to announce their son’s arrival The couple welcomed their first child in Mumbai on August 20 To share this news, Anil Kapoor shared a customised art and said, “Sonam and Anand have been blessed with a healthy baby boy and we couldn’t be more elated ” Sonam and Anand have now shared on Instagram that the art represents the union between the ‘Sky Father’ and ‘Earth Mother’ The picture features a bird and a deer Sonam wrote, “It refers to the universal concepts of a union between the Sky Father and the gentle, attentive and watchful Earth Mother, r e p r e s e n t e d h e r e b y t h e E a g l e a n d t h e D e e r respectively ” Talking about the inspiration behind it, Sonam continued, “Eagles or hawks are associated with f a t h e r h o o d a n d o t h e r w o r l d l y c r e a t i o n ( t h e overarching concept of the Dyeus Pita/Sky Father) Deer are associated with motherhood They are gentle, attentive and watchful creatures They are always on guard and can move, adapt, and survive even in the most challenging conditions ” “Ever since the early Neolithic, when the earth was much colder and reindeer more widespread, the female reindeer was venerated by northern people She was the “life giving mother”, the leader of the herds upon which they depended for survival, and they followed the reindeer migrations for milk, food, clothing and shelter She was a revered spiritual f i g u r e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f e r t i l i t y , m o t h e r h o o d , regeneration and the rebirth of the sun, ” she added Sonam and her baby boy were discharged from the Mumbai hospital last week They received a grand welcome at Anil Kapoor’s house upon arrival Rhea Kapoor shared a glimpse of décor arrangements a t t h e i r p l a c e , w h i c h i n c l u d e d b l u e a n d y e l l o w b a l l o o n s , w h i t e f l o w e r a r r a n g e m e n t s a n d m u c h more She also revealed that the family nicknamed the little one Simba for the time being Sonam and Anand have not yet revealed the face or name of their baby boy
Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who recently tested positive for Covid 19 for the second time, has opened up about his health and feeling disappointed after the diagnosis He told his fans that though he does not intend on giving routine bulletins about his health as he deals with the illness, he will keep them updated about it The veteran actor, who had revealed his diagnosis in a tweet last week, shared a detailed blog about it on his Tumblr account He started his note by thanking those who have sent him their concern, prayers, and love Amitabh wrote on his blog, "Yes despite all the precautions and the dosage for its prevention the injection one and two and the booster thereafter the care to not be in the presence of the public realm Covid 19 did win and come out victorious! To say that I am disappointed would be an understatement it is the concern I bring on those that are near and dear ”
Lost more than what can be measured: on ED action
Actor Jacqueline Fernandez has said she was conned and manipulated by Sukesh Chandrasekhar and asked the authorities to release her assets attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The 36 year old actor, who was charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act said she could, at best be accused of having received gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekhar In April this year, ED ordered provisional a t t a c h m e n t o f h e r f i x e d d e p o s i t s w o r t h £20,000 Last week, ED also filed a charge sheet against the actor, accusing her of laundering proceeds of crime In her reply to a notice issued following the provisional attachment order before the appellate authority of PMLA in New Delhi, J a c q u e l i n e s a i d , “ J u s t b e c a u s e s h e i s ( a ) recipient of certain gifts which were forced on her for forming a connect, can’t be used to ignore the fact which the record otherwise clearly shows that she was conned by Sukesh C h a n d r a s e k h a r T h e a p p r o a c h o f E D , u n f o r t u n a t e l y , s e e m s t o b e h i g h l y mechanical and motivated, hence, blinded towards the fact that respondent (Jacqueline) has lost more than what can be measured in money ” A s s e r t i n g t h a t s h e w a s a v i c t i m o f manipulation, for which the ED should take a humane approach, Jacqueline has said “what she has lost and suffered as a woman cannot be calculated in monetary terms” About the FDs attached by ED, the actor said these were created through reinvestment of maturity proceeds of already existing FDs and “ was her professionally earned income generated through blood and sweat and working in the industry for so long” Jacqueline also accused ED of malafide “ W h a t i s s u r p r i s i n g i s t h a t l i k e t h e r e s p o n d e n t ( J a c q u e l i n e ) , s o m e o t h e r celebrities, notably Norah Fatehi were also conned by Chandrasekhar and Fatehi and other such celebrities who received gifts f r o m t h e a c c u s e d , a r e m a d e w i t n e s s e s whereas she is sought to be dragged as an a c c u s e d T h i s c l e a r l y s h o w s a m a l a f i d e , motivated and biased approach on the part of investigation authority which cannot be ignored,” the actor added She said she was lured into forming a connection with Chandrasekhar, but never abetted his activities To lure her, Jacqueline says, Chandrasekhar used Pinki Irani alias Angel (another accused) to connect with her and claimed himself to be the “nephew of Jayalalitha (former chief minister of Tamil Nadu) and owns Sun TV” Claiming that Chandrasekhar insisted on showering her with gifts despite her repeated refusals, the Sri Lankan citizen, who moved to India to work in Bollywood, said “he would just go on a rampage and if not accepted by the respondent, he would just instruct his men to leave the gifts with the watchmen or outside the gate”, adding that she never had an opportunity to check the source of these gifts P o i n t i n g t o E D ’ s c h a r g e s a g a i n s t Chandrasekhar, who allegedly cheated the r i c h o f 2 0 0 c r o r e b y i m p e r s o n a t i n g a n i n f l u e n t i a l p e r s o n h a v i n g p o l i t i c a l connections including in the Union home ministry, Jacqueline said, “the conduct of a c c e p t i n g g i f t s f r o m a p e r s o n w h o h a d impersonated himself makes her a victim and maximum a prosecution witness” C h a n d r a s e k h a r , c u r r e n t l y l o d g e d i n Tihar prison, had given several expensive gifts including three designer bags from Gucci and Chanel; two Gucci outfits for gym wear, a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi coloured stones and two Hermes bracelets other than a Mini Cooper car to Fernandez, which she said she had returned He was arrested by the Delhi Police in April 2017 in the Election Commission (EC) bribery case where it was alleged that he took money from AIADMK (Amma) leader T T V D h i n a k a r a n t o b r i b e E C o f f i c i a l s i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h a d i s p u t e o v e r t h e AIADMK’s “two leaves” poll symbol
Actor Hrithik Roshan won a lot of hearts recently for the way he treated a fan at an event At a fitness event over the weekend, the actor took to the stage in a yellow tee and white pants paired with a yellow shirt and white cap. As a f was called to the stage to receive a goodie bag from Hrithik, the fan went ahead and touched the actor’s feet. The actor also touched the fan’s feet in return A clip of the interaction made its way to the internet and fans showered a lot of lov O n e w r o t e , “ S o s w e e t o f @ h r i t h i k r o s h a n ” A n o t h e r f a n commented on the video, “So down to earth” Complimenting him, fans called him a “ very good superstar” and the “most humble superstar” Hrithik recently saw the teaser release of his upcoming film, ‘Vikram Vedha’ It is the Hindi adaptation of the Tamil Neo noir action thriller of the same name It is directed by director duo Pushkar a n d G a y a t r i , w h o a l s o h e l m e d t h e o r i g i n a l T h e 2 0 1 7 h i t f i l m s t a r r e d R M a d h a v a n a n d V i j a y Sethupathi in titular roles The Hindi film revolves a r o u n d V i k r a m ( S a i f A l i Khan), a tough cop who sets a p for a dreaded but revered angster Vedha (Hrithik) But t a b l e s t u r n w h e n V i k r a m ' s perception of the difference between the good and the e v i l g e t s b l u r r y a s h e i s caught in the web of stories spun by Vedha Also starring adhika Apte, Rohit Saraf, and adeep Misra, ‘Vikram Vedha is slated to be released in theatres on September 30 Hrithik has also signed ‘War’ director Siddharth Anand's ‘Fighter’ He will star opposite Deepika Padukone in the film for the first time It is set to release in theatres n e x t y e a r H i s l a s t f i l m ‘ W a r ’ w a s a blockbuster with a box office collection of around £30 million Sushmita pens emotional post for daughter Alisah on her birthday
yanka shares daughter Malti’s bing to ‘Sasural Genda Phool’ 29AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceN oice.com 3 9 September 2022 MON 5 SEP FRI 9 SEP 2022 6:00 MIJAAJ 9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9:30 SUR PRABHAT 10:00 DESHI BEATS 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) SATURDAY 10 SEP 2022 6:00 MAA TARA HAIYA NA HET 9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9:30 SUR PRABHAT 10:00 DESHI BEATS 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 SEP 2022 6:00 SHREE NAGDEV KRUPA 9:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 10:30 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM ® 12:00 DALDA LIDHA CHORI RAJ 15:00 MARI LADKI RE ® 17:00 RASOI SHOW ® 18:00:00 RASOI SHOW ® 19:00:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 20:30:00 RASHI RICKSHAWALI ® MON 5 SEP FRI 9 SEP 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 SASURAL SIMAR KA 18:30 SHAKTI 19:00
Actor Sushmita Sen took to Instagram to wish her daughter Alisah a happy birthday with a series of photos She also shared an emotional note, saying that she was a “better person” as she’s her mother In the photos, Alisah goes scuba diving with Sushmita, spends time with her godchild Amadeus, and is also seen with her grandparents S u s h m i t a c a p t i o n e d p o s t , “ H a p p p y y y y y 1 3 Birthday to the love of m l i f e ! ! ! ‘ A l i s a h ’ m e a n s Noble, protected by God and a gift of God all of w h i c h s h e t r u l y i s ! ! ! I c o n t i n u e t o p r o u d l y witness, the purity of love and the power of divinity i her eyes, in her beliefs, e m b r a c e a n d m importantly, in her action better person because I am Alisah s m o t h e r ! ! T o y o u r h e a l t h a n d h a p p i n e s s always Shona!!! Didi & I love you infinity!! # p a r t y t i m e # b i r t h d a y g i r l # d u g g a d u g g a #foreverinlove Maa @sensubir @subhra51 @pritam shikhare @reneesen47 #Amadeus #Ziana ” Fans instantly commented on the photo and wished Alisah a happy birthday One wrote, “Happy birthday, shine on!” Another added, “A true strong mother, more power to you Sush Love you ” Sushmita has two adopted daughters, Renee and Alisah, and the actor often shares photos of their time together
Actor Anupam Kher has shared his take on why Bollywood films have majorly failed to perform at the box office while South Indian films have become blockbusters in the same period He said it’s because South films prioritise content while Bollywood films focus on stars In a recent interview, Anupam said, "You make things for consumers (Problem starts) t h e d a y y o u s t a r t l o o k i n g d o w n o n consumers, that, ‘we're doing you a favour by making a great film Now you are watching a g r e a t f i l m ’ G r e a t n e s s i s a c h i e v e d b y a collective effort and that I have learnt by doing films in Telugu I just did another film in Telugu, I did a film in the Tamil language, and I’m going to do a Malayalam film ” The actor added, "I think over there, I’m not differentiating between the two but I think (their) cinema is relevant because they are not aping Hollywood They are telling stories, over here we are selling stars ” A n u p a m ' s l a t e s t f i l m ‘ K a r t h i k e y a 2 ’ , w h i c h l e f t ‘ L a a l S i n g h C h a d d h a ’ a n d ‘Dobaaraa’ behind at the Hindi box office, is a Telugu film starring Nikhil Siddhartha in the lead role Anupam praised the approach of South Indian films in a new interview about the film ‘Karthikeya 2 ’ is a mystery adventure film written and directed by Chandoo Mondeti, the sequel to the 2014 film ‘Karthikeya’ The plot follows Nikhil's Dr Karthikeya who is on a quest to find the lost anklet of Lord Krishna Anupam, who has a supporting role in the film, had celebrated its success in a post on his Instagram account writing, "Meri to nikal padi dosto (I am on a roll) The Kashmir Files ke baad meri Karthikeya 2 film bhi blockbuster hai!! (After The Kashmir F i l e s , m y f i l m K a r t h i k e y a 2 i s a l s o a blockbuster) ” DESI BEATS 19:30 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20:00 SWARAN GHAR 20:30 KAWACH MAMTA KA 21:00 AJNABI BANE HUMSAFAR 21:30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 SATURDAY 10 SEP 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17:30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 19:30 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20:00 DESI BEAT RESET 20:30 DANCE DEEWANE JUNIORS 22:00 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 SUNDAY 11 SEP 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17:30 SWARAN GHAR 19:30 THE ANUPAM KHER SHOW SEASON 2 20:30 DANCE DEEWANE JUNIORS 22:00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL * Schedule is subject to change * Schedule is subject to change
TV Listing
Actress Priyanka Chopra recently shared a video featuring her daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas She also played Sonam Kapoor Abhishek Bachchan’s film ‘Delhi 6’s' song ‘Genda Phool’ in the background Priyanka can also be heard giggling in the video Malti is also seen to b enjoying the music, as she kept nodding her head to the beats of the song Priyanka captioned the post, “Saturday mornings be like ” Actors Farhan Akhtar and Dia Mirza dropped heart emojis in the comments section of the post One fan commented, “Cutest post on internet today ” Another one said “The way she is enjoying the music is woah!” One more fan said, “She is the cutest baby”, many others dropped eart emojis On the work front, riyanka has a couple of nternational projects in he pipeline such as, ‘It's A l l C o m i n g B a c k T o M e ’ , a n d t h e s e r i e s Citadel’ Produced by R u s s o B r o t h e r s , ‘Citadel' will release on Amazon Prime Video The upcoming sci fi drama series is being directed by Patrick Morgan and stars R i c h a r d M a d d e n a l o n g s i d e P r i y a n k a Priyanka will also be seen with Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif in Farhan Akhtar's ‘Jee Le Zaraa’ Anupam Kher shares his views on South films
Hrithik wins hearts by touching fan's feet
o
When I look at a Shobana or Kanchana, that's completely not me: Nithya Menen
Actress Nithya Menen is currently basking in the phenomenal response for her latest Tamil release ‘Thiruchitrambalam’. The movie has grossed over £5 million in its opening weekend worldwide. Nithya’s character of Shobana, who plays Dhanush’s ever positive neighbour and best friend has been one of the most loved characters. In a recent interview, the actress said it’s not always the char acter alone that gets her excited to sign a project “When I hear something, it needs to be sensible, needs to be real, needs to be an actual film It’s very simple It needs to be a real story that wants to be told,” she said Nithya added there are two ways to package a film “When it comes to commercial cinema, you pick and choose what you want and package it in a way that you can sell it to the audience That is not something that excites me I choose films that make a little more sense with a genuine story that wants to be told ” She further explains that she doesn’t follow a process when it comes to picking a role “From a creative perspective, an artist will never over analyse anything You just go with your feeling and instinct If I look at an Ok Kanmani, I say that's so me and I could play it But when I look at a Shobana or Kanchana, that's completely not me and I tell myself how challenging it'd be to play these roles I don’t really plan it out Acting is not a profes sion for me I see acting as an extension of who I’m ” Nithya also revealed directorial plans and is hopeful of fulfill ing them soon “There are ideas and I ve spoken about them But these are not things that can happen like that I need to make sure it's something worthwhile and good I've always been a writ er and filmmaker by spirit It'll definitely happen at some point On the work front, Nithya is looking forward to the release of two Malayalam films ‘Aaram Thirukalpana’ and a project with Anjali Menon She also has the third season of Amazon Prime’s ‘Breathe’ and a Telugu original titled ‘Kumari Srimati’
None of my Bollywood films worked, says Ramya Krishnan
‘ J a i B h i m ’ i s a p e r i o d d r a m a directed by TJ
One of the longest standing actors in Telugu cinema, Ramya Krishnan says she can’t say the same about the effect she had in Bollywood Speaking in an interview recently, Ramya has accepted that things were not working out for her in Bollywood She said, “None of the films did well (here) and I was already a star or a leading heroine in the Telugu industry So I didn’t have the guts to leave that industry and come and fight my battle (in Hindi cinema) I didn’t have the courage to give it all away ” She added, “For you to do more films in a certain industry, you need A successful movie Unluckily, that also didn’t happen in Hindi and I was com fortable doing Telugu films ” Ramya worked in films such as Dayavan, Parampara, Khalnayak, Chaahat, Banarasi Babu and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan But she was never the one to rake most praises for her small roles in these films In her latest release 'Liger', she plays leading man Vijay Deverakonda’s mother Balamani It is directed by Puri Jagannadh and is about an underdog fighter (Deverakonda) from Mumbai, who competes in an MMA champi onship with his mother's support She will be seen next in Rajinikanth led movie ‘Jailer’, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and the second season of the MX Player series ‘Queen’
30 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 3 9 September 2022
Actor Suriya’s critically acclaimed film ‘Jai Bhim’ has landed in legal trouble again Last week, Chennai police registered an FIR against the director and producers of the movie for allegedly stealing the film’s story The FIR was filed by a man on whom a character in the film is based, under the relevant sections of the Copyright Act, as per a report. Gnanavel with police brutality and discrimina tion against a marginalised commu nity in Tamil Nadu The film is loose ly inspired by a true incident from 1993 when tribal individuals were arrested and allegedly tortured by the p o Chandru), who was i According to a media report, the complaint against the film has been filed by V Kulanjiyappan, on whom a character in the film is based Chennai Police registered a case after a direction from the magistrate court In his complaint at the Sastri Nagar police station in Chennai, Kulanjiyappan alleged that the makers of the film used his story but did not pay him any royalties, which they had allegedly promised The report states that an FIR has been regis tered under Sec 63 (a) of the Copyright Act against the film’s director, T J Gnanavel a n d t h e p r o d u c t i o n h o u s e , 2 D Entertainment Kulanjiyappan claimed that Gnanavel met him at his residence in January 2019 asking for details about the 1993 incident He claimed he was promised 50 lakh as royalty and also share in the profits, none of which he claims have been fulfilled till now The complainant also alleged that the film showed his community in a bad light and that the filmmakers have economically boycotted and exploited the victims This isn t the first legal controversy the film has faced Right after its release, the film was dragged to court by Vanniyar S a n g a m , t h e p a r e n t b o d y o f t h e T a m i l N a d u b a s e d p o l i t i c a l p a r t y P M K , f o r allegedly portraying the Vanniyar commu nity in a bad light, following which the director had to apologise to the community 'Jai Bhim’ was released on Prime Video on November 2, 2021, and received univer sal acclaim from critics with praise for Suriya’s acting as well as the film’s direc tion and story It was India’s official entry to the 94th Academy Awards but failed to make the shortlist
n s t r u m e n t a l i n g e t t i n g t h e m released
Case filed against Suriya’s ‘Jai Bhim’ for alleged story theft
l i c e S u r i y a p l a y s A d v o c a t e C h a n d r u ( b a s e d o n J u s t i c e Krishnaswami
and deals
Danny Devito praises SS Rajamoul’s ‘RRR’ Hollywood veteran Danny Devito is the latest International star to praise SS Rajamouli’s epic Telugu hit ‘RRR’ In a recent interview, Danny talke about his love for Bollywood, unaware that Bollywood is different from Telugu cinema. Speaking in an interview, Devito said, “Oh, I love Bollywood big time. In fact, as a matter of fact, a few days back, I watched RRR and another one R Rajkumar, it was really good! I think if I had my way next season or whenever I could talk everybody into it, we should definitely bust into a big number ” D a n n y a d d e d , " I t will be amazing to see p e o p l e i n t h e r e a l m s doing the moves But also, what I love about B o l l y w o o d i s i t k e e p s the story intact If it's a love story, then the two romantic leads will be seen going at it Like in RRR, it's about the battles between every body but they keep up the story even in the singing And I love that aspect of it I think it's great ” ‘RRR’ is a period, fictional epic film based on the lives of freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama, played by Ram Charan, and Komaram Bheem, essayed by Jr NTR Released theatrically in March, the film has raised over 1,200 crore at the global box office The Hindi version of the film miered on Netflix on May 20 nd soon became the most pop ular movie in India on the streamer globally Edgar Wright, the direc t r b e h i n d ‘ B a b y D r i v e r ’ , ‘Scott Pilgrim vs the World’ and ‘Last Night in Soho’, said he recently saw ‘RRR’ at the British Film Institute (BFI) and found it an " e n t e r t a i n i n g " w a t c h " F i n a l l y s a w @RRRMovie on the big screen at the @BFI with a great crowd What an absolute blast So entertaining The only film I have ever seen where the intermission card itself got a round of applause," the 48 year old film maker tweeted on Saturday
w31 ww.asian-voice.com 3 9 September 2022 CROSS-PLATFORM
Right representation is the most important thing for me: Rish Shah
Ryan Reynolds wants to slide into Ranveer’s DMs Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds has once again expressed his admiration for Ranveer Singh He recently said that he would like to slide into Ranveer’s DMs (direct messages), like many others in India Ryan recently joined hands with Rob M c E l h e n n e y f o r D i s n e y + H o t s t a r s e r ‘ W e l c o m e t o W r e x h a m ' , w h i c h s e e s t h e i r journey toward becoming partners and taking over the o w n e r s h i p o f t h e N a t i o n a l L e a g u e f o o t b a l l c l u b W r e x h a m A F C T h e i r j o u r n e y o f b e i n g b u s i n e s s partners had originally started with a DM In a recent interview with a leading Indian news agency, Ryan and Rob were asked to name any Indian actor, whose DMs they would like to slide into While Rob said he won’t take any names as his wife Kaitlin Olson would also be watching the interview, Ryan promptly responded with Ranveer’s name Ryan said, "Ranveer Singh for me," prompting Rob to say, "He would be the Ryan Reynolds of India, would he not, and vice versa " A modest Ryan replied, "I don't know if I am Ranveer Singh I am trying to be " Ryan also said, "Pretty sure eryone in India wants to do it too ” Previously in 2018, after Ranveer had lent his voice for the Hindi version of Deadpool 2, he had tagged Ryan in a tweet calling the actor his Canadian c o u n t e r p a r t H e h a d w r i t t e n , “ A s t o n i s h i n g h o w effectively I’ve managed to out crass my Canadian counterpart @VancityReynolds Never realised how fulfilling and rewarding foul Hindi language can be! #Deadpool2Hindi " To this, Ryan had replied, "Well if I tried to curse in Hindi, pretty sure there would be an international incident ”
For years, ‘Ms Marvel’ star Rish Shah turned to Bollywood to watch the South Asian community get the right representation on screen while growing up in the UK He is now glad that the West is closing the gap and making it a more inclusive world for “brown people”. His acceptance of the global project, ‘Ms Marvel’, which is a story of a Muslim superhero, and r e v o l v e s a r o u n d t h e c u l t u r e o f Pakistan and India, is proof of his love for representation Speaking in an interview, Shah said, “The show represents just one p a r t o f t h e c h a n g e w i t h i n t h e industry in the West It is just one s t o r y a b o u t o n e g i r l a n d o n e community Growing up, I would have killed to have seen Ms Marvel on a global platform I have grown u p o n B o l l y w o o d I r e m e m b e r watching ‘RaOne’, and watching ‘Krish’ featuring Hrithik Roshan N o w , i t i s r e a l l y e x c i t i n g t h a t p e o p l e g e t t o s e e o u r c u l t u r e r e p r e s e n t e d i n a r e a l l y p o s i t i v e light Hopefully, it just allows for m o r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r o t h e r stories to be told And that’s the most important thing ” He adds, “With the show, I h a v e g o n e o n t h i s j o u r n e y o f wearing my culture and just being proud of it The whole team has been on the journey We would listen to Bollywood songs And that was the first instance when I could share a song, say by Atif Aslam, with my co star, and just sing it together It’s not often we get to do that ” Shah, who is seen in the role of Kamran in ‘Ms Marvel’, asserts that it is super important for him t o s t a y t r u e t o h i s r o o t s a n d identity in the projects he picks going forward “ R i g h t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s t h e most important thing to me But I wish for a world in which it’s not the most important thing where we have to talk about it I hope that the industry is starting to make a change And hopefully, it’s starting to make a change towards a world in which it’s normalised Like, the w o r l d c a n i m a g i n e a l i e n s , w h y c a n ’ t w e i m a g i n e a b r o w n superhero? It is an exciting time,” he says, adding, “Now, we hope, we get to see more stories Apart from M s M a r v e l , t h e r e a r e s o m a n y more stories to be told ” For Shah, the most important thing is to “play roles that don’t play into stereotypes But rather subvert them, so to be able to do that is the most important thing for me, and to be a working actor is i m p o r t a n t f o r m e , I w a n t t o continue to learn and grow Hope I can continue to do so, ” he ends
While the world knows Quentin Tarantino as a cinema legend, actor Adil Hussain does not agree Tarantino spoke about a bunch of his contemporaries and their work in the September issue of Sight & Sound Talking about French filmmaker François Truffaut, he said, “[Claude Chabrol’s] thrillers are drastically better than the abysmal Truffaut Hitchcock movies, which I think are just awful I’m not a Truffaut fan that much anyway There are some exceptions, the main one being The Story of Adele H But for the most part, I feel about Truffaut like I feel about Ed W o o d I t h i n k h e ’ s a v e r y passionate, bumbling amateur ” Responding to a news piece on the same comment, Adil took to Twitter to give his own opinion of Quentin "Quentin Tarantino is one of the most Overrated Film Makers in the History of Cinema H i s c o m m e n t s T r u f f a u t n o t b e taken seriously," he wrote For the unknown, Quentin has s e v e n A c a d e m y A w a r d s t o h i s n a m e H e h a s a l s o d e l i v e r e d c r i t i c a l l y a c c l a i m e d H o l l y w o o d f i l m s s u c h a s ‘ P u l p F i c t i o n ’ , ‘ I n g l o r i o u s B a s t e r d s ’ , ‘ D j a n g o Unchained’, ‘Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 ’ , ‘ O n c e U p o n A T i m e I n Hollywood’, and more He is also no stranger to controversies He recently mentioned the Val Kilmer c a m e o i n ‘ T o p G u n : M a v e r i c k ’ looked a bit too cheap, even if it ended up working for the film He t h e n a d d e d , “ B u t i t a b s o l u t e l y w o r k s I t ' s a b i t l i k e C h a r l i e Chaplin dying on stage for the last scene of Limelight but it f***ing works You're waiting for it and the f***ing scene delivers ”
Adil Hussain calls Quentin Tarantino the most 'overrated filmmaker'
The Indian adaptation of the popular South Korean series ‘Flower Of Evil’, Zee5’s ‘Duranga’ has received support from the original’s lead actor Lee Joon gi One of the top Hallyu stars, Joon gi took to Instagram and shared a post, wishing the team luck He wrote, “Happy to see you, (Indian flag) friends! Looking forward!” The series revolves a r o u n d a s e e m i n g l y p e r f e c t f a m i l y m a n , w h o i s o n t h e r u n from his dark past His wife is a cop and is s l o w l y p i e c i n g t o g e t h e r h e r husband’s mysterious past while saving him f r o m t h e l a w ‘Duranga’ stars Drashti Dhabi and Gulshan Devaiah in the lead roles In the original, Joon gi and Moon Chae won played the roles of Do Hyun soo and Ji won Earlier, Devaiah had revealed that he didn’t watch the original show as he wanted to have his own interpretation of the character He said, “I told Goldie Behl I won’t watch the original show I had some ideas and I shared them with the directors and Goldie, and they seemed to like them It seemed like a good idea for me from both a c r a f t a n d career point of view ” H o w e v e r , he added that t h e r e i s p r e s s u r e t o s a t i s f y t h e v i e w e r s w h o have watched and liked the Korean series “ I h o p e o u r interpretation o f t h e c h a r a c t e r s i s a l s o n o t i n f l u e n c e d B u t t h e r e i s t h a t pressure also from the people who have watched the original show They like it for a certain reason and there is always pressure when people are fans of yours, ” he said ‘ D u r a n g a ’ i s n o w s t r e a m i n g o n Zee5
‘Flower of Evil’ star Lee Joon gi cheers Indian remake
Nadia Jagessar reacts to internet hate on 'breaking Shekhar’s heart'
Season two of Netflix’s ‘Indian Matchmaking’ is back and let’s just say, it is saucier than the first It opened with Nadia Jagessar and Shekhar’s prospective relationship not having progressed much Shekhar paid a visit to Nadia’s home and met her folks, who seemed to be very impressed by him. However, later it appeared that he was blindsided when Nadia hit it off with another single, Vishal, at a party she threw for matchmaker Sima Talaria Shekhar saw them kiss and later communicated his heartbreak to her over a FaceTime call The plot received a lot of hate o n t h e i n t e r n e t w i t h e v e r y o n e siding with Shekhar Now, in an interview, Nadia s a i d s h e a n d S h e k h a r w e r e n ’ t dating, and so she did what any single woman in her 30s would do after getting along with a “cute guy ” She also said that Shekhar’s d i s a p p o i n t m e n t w a s n ’ t communicated to her until much later and that she was “hurt” by the kind of criticism being thrown her way When asked about the whole s i t u a t i o n , N a d i a s a i d , “ A t t h e mixer, I obviously invited all my friends, and you get to meet the new cast members It was just a really fun way to bring everyone together I remember when Vishal w a l k e d i n , I w a s l i k e , ‘ O h m y goodness, who is this guy? He’s cute’ At the end of the night, we kissed Shekhar and I were never together at any point in the two and a half years we ’ ve known each other And so, I did what any single girl in her 30s would do I saw a cute guy and we hit it off, and that was it If feelings were hurt, it was never communicated to me until very much later I’m just living my life ” When Nadia was told that it c a m e a c r o s s o n s c r e e n a s s h e broke Shekhar’s heart, she said, “ D u r i n g t h e t i m e I ’ v e k n o w n Shekhar, I had a boyfriend for a y e a r t h a t h e k n e w a b o u t T h e t h r e e o f u s w o u l d l i t e r a l l y FaceTime So if you weren’t upset a b o u t t h e f a c t t h a t I h a d a boyfriend, how could you be upset about me kissing a boy?” S h e s a i d t h a t s h e w o u l d ’ v e appreciated some communication f r o m S h e k h a r i f h e w a s u p s e t about something she did She also noted that it is ‘unfortunate’ that the ‘show edited it to look’ like she had broken Shekhar’s heart “It w a s h u r t f u l t h a t p e o p l e w o u l d think that I would kiss another g u y i n f r o n t o f t h e g u y t h e y thought I was with,” she said
AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www asian voice com3 9 Septemer 202232
LAXMAN IS INDIA'S INTERIM COACH
Neeraj Chopra makes history, wins Diamond League Racism row put to restEngland’s win sets benchmark: Stokes H a r d i k P a nd y a p r o d u c e d a spe ci al a llround e ff ort as Ind ia h e l d ne r v e s t o p u l l o f f a n e xcit ing fiv e wi cket win over a r c h ri v a l s Pa k i st a n i n th e i r Asia Cup op ener at Duba i on S u n d a y H a r d i k ( 3 / 2 5 i n 4 o vers) showed hi s hig h v alue u nd er ext reme pre ssure as hi s w e l l d i r e c t e d s h o r t b a l l s h elpe d Indi a bowl ou t Pa ki st an f or 14 7 It should have been straight f o r w a r d c h a s e b u t I n d i a ’ s experienced top three faltered, putting extra pressure on the middle order Hardik (33 not out off 17) and Ravindra Jadeja (35 off 29) then shared a 52 run stand to t a k e I n d i a o n t h e c u s p o f a f a m o u s w i n T h e s t a r a l l rounder’s three fours off Haris Rauf off the 19th over effectively sealed the game for India With the team needing 6 off three balls, Hardik finished the game with a six off left arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz The focus was on India’s top three going i n t o t h e t o u r n a m e n t a n d a l l three K L Rahul (0), Rohit S h a r m a ( 1 2 o f f 1 8 ) and Virat Kohli (35 off 34) did not have the best of times in t h e m i d d l e R a h u l w a s o u t f i r s t b a l l w i t h a t e n t a t i v e away from the body s t r o k e o f f N a s e e m Shah that saw him p l a y i n g o n t o h i s stumps Virat, who did hit a couple of confident pull shots in his innings, was dropped in the first over He also played and missed a few times and also got lucky when a mistimed pull went all the way for six With luck going his way, it seemed Kohli will finally get a much awaited big score but he was caught at long off off Nawaz In his previous over, Rohit was t o o d i s m i s s e d i n a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n a s h e a t t e m p t e d t o clear the long off fielder With P a k i s t a n i p a c e r s l e d b y d e b u t a n t N a s e e m t r o u b l i n g the Indian batters with extra pace and spinners keeping it tidy, 86 runs off the last 10 overs seemed a tough task W h e n S h a h r e t u r n e d t o r a t t l e S u r y a k u m a r Y a d a v ’ s stumps, India were reduced to 8 9 f o r f o u r B r i e f S c o r e s : Pakistan: 147 all out in 19 5 overs (Mohammed Rizwan 43, H a r d i k P a n d y a 3 / 2 5 , B h u v n e s h w a r K u m a r 4 / 2 6 ) India 148 in 19 4 overs (Hardik P a n d y a 3 3 n o o f f 1 7 b a l l s , Ravindra Jadeja 35 off 29 balls)
Amid the hectic activities in the All India Football Federation over the filing of nomination for the Executive Committee election, the posterboy of Indian Football, Bhaichung Bhutia has filed his fresh nomination for post of President After the termination of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), as demanded by the international football federation (FIFA), the returning officer issued fresh dates for the elections to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Executive Committee
ANDERSON IS WORLD'S MOST SUCCESSFUL PACER
James Anderson became the most successful pace bowler in the history of international cricket The 40 year old pace legend accomplished this feat in the second Test against South Africa in Manchester’s Old Trafford when he dismissed Simon Harmer for 16 The wicket helped Anderson overtake Glenn McGrath (949 wickets) to become the sport s leading pacer In 287 matches, Anderson has taken 951 wickets He is also the fourth most successful bowler in international cricket The most successful bowlers are Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralidaran (1 347 wickets) late Aussie spin great Shane Warne (1 001 wickets) and Indian spin great Anil Kumble (956 wickets)
The Supreme Court had removed voting rights previously given to 36 eminent players and confirmed that only state association representatives will form the electoral college and elect the next AIFF president “As foreseen in the decision of the Bureau of 14 August 2022, a further communication to the AIFF will follow shortly with respect to the next steps to be taken towards holding elections Fifa and the AFC will continue to monitor the situation and will support the AIFF in organising the elections in a timely manner, ” the Fifa secretary general said
Tonight, has given me a lot of confidence to finish the season on a h i g h , w i t h a s t r o n g performance in Zurich DL Final ” N e e r a j q u a l i f i e d f o r t h e D i a m o n d League finals in Zurich on September 7 and 8, and also became the first Indian to do so Despite the win, he remained on fourth spot w i t h 1 5 p o i n t s w i t h t h e addition of eight points The top six after the Lausanne leg qualify for the Zurich finals He also q u a l i f i e d f o r t h e 2 0 2 3 W o r l d C h a m p i o n s h i p s i n B u d a p e s t , H u n g a r y b y b r e a c h i n g t h e 85 20m qualifying mark He had f i n i s h e d s e c o n d i n t h e Stockholm leg of the prestigious e v e n t b e h i n d P e t e r s w i t h a n a t i o n a l r e c o r d t h r o w o f 89 94m, just 6cm short of the 90m mark, the gold standard in the world of javelin throw E ngland batsm an Gary B allance h as apo log i sed to h is form er teammate in Yorkshire for racist language used while they played together at Yorksh ire A statement by the Club said: "Yorkshire County Cricket Club is delighted that Gary Ballance and Azeem Rafiq have cleared the air Gary’s contrition is admirable and marks a big step forward for the sport and the Club Azeem is right to say that Gary must now be allowed to continue with his career We will undoubtedly support Gary in all he does, and we hope to see many more runs flow from his bat for Yorkshire " E n gl and ’ s e m p h at ic v ic t o r y o ve r S o u t h Africa in the seco nd T est at Old T raf ford h as s e t t h e “benchmark” f or the t e a m , c a p t ai n B en Stokes said after th ey defeated the visitors by an innings and 85 runs w ith in three days Having taken a first innings lead of 264, England bowled out South Africa for 179 to earn their fifth win in six Tests and bounce back from the disappointment of losing the series opener at Lord’s Stokes scored 103 in England’s f i r s t i n n i n g s a n d w i c k e t k e e p e r Ben Foakes smashed an unbeaten 113, while veteran bowler James A n d e r s o n b e c a m e t h e l e a d i n g w i c k e t t a k e r a m o n g p a c e b o w l e r s a c r o s s a l l formats “Cricket is about h o w y o u b a t , b o w l and field and I think that the way we batted, bowled and fielded this whole game is like the benchmark of the standards of what we set,” said Stokes “I think what we did incredibly well with the bat was assess that we didn’t feel this was a wicket where we could go out and play in the way that we spoke about I think that is real progress for the side ” The teams will now meet in the series decider at The Oval from Sept 8
SMRITI DAZZLES WITH 50 AT THE HUNDRED India vice captain Smriti Mandhana struck a scintillating half century to help Southern Brave crush Trent Rockets by 10 wickets and book their place in the knockout stages of The Hundred in Southampton Mandhana impressed with a 31 ball 57 after Lauren Bell (4/10) picked up the best figures of the season to restrict Rockets to 88 for eight at the Ageas Bowl last week Chasing a below par total, Mandhana joined forces with fellow opener England's Danni Wyatt (36 off 25) as the hosts cruised to victory with 44 balls to spare The star Indian batter looked in imperious touch as she slammed the very first ball of the chase for a boundary
BHAICHUNG FILES NOMINATION FOR AIFF PRESIDENT POST
N ee raj C h o p ra , O ly m p i c ch amp ion made athletics history in Lau sanne, becoming th e first Indian to w in a Diam ond Leag ue ev ent T he 2 4 year old jav elin thrower who wo n th e silv er at t h e Wo rl d C h am p i o ns h ip s i n the U SA last m onth also a first for the country opened w ith an i m p r es s iv e 8 9 0 8 m an d t h at turned out to be th e winning throw in the end The victory helped Neeraj to qualify for the Diamond League f i n a l s i n Z u r i c h n e x t m o n t h Neeraj, who skipped the recent C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s i n Birmingham with an injury, had t h r e e v a l i d t h r o w s ( 8 5 1 8 i n second and 80 04 in sixth) in the event after passing his third and fifth attempts Czech Republic’s J a k u b V a d l e j c h , t h e T o k y o O l y m p i c s i l v e r m e d a l l i s t w h o b e g a n a s t h e t o p s e e d i n Lausanne with a season best of 90 88m, finished second 85 88 w h i l e A m e r i c a n C u r t i s Thompson was third with 83 72 Neeraj said after the event “I am delighted with my result 89m is a great performance I am specially pleased as I am coming back from an injury and tonight was a good indicator that I have recovered well I had to skip Commonwealth Games due to injury and I was a bit nervous
VVS Laxman has taken over as India’s interim coach for the Asia Cup after head coach Rahul Dravid tested positive for Covid 19 the BCCI said Laxman who is also the head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy had led the second string side that beat Zimbabwe in a three match ODI series this month Laxman will oversee the team s preparation in the absence of Rahul Dravid, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement Laxman has linked up with the squad in Dubai along with vice captain KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda and Avesh Khan, who travelled from Harare ” India began their Asia Cup defence with Sunday’s clash against Pakistan
Fifa lifts suspension, India to host U-17 WC Fifa, the gove rnin g body for world footba ll, ha s lifte d the suspe nsion imposed on the All In dia Football Fe der ation (AIFF), pav ing t he count ry ’ s re tur n t o in ter na tiona l foot ball a nd t he hosting of Fifa U 17 Wome n ’ s World Cup lat er t his y ear Fifa had suspended AIFF recently for “undue interference by a third party”, a first for the federation in its 85 year history As a result of the suspension, the hosting rights of the U 17 Women’s World Cup were set aside According to a letter from Fifa secretary g e n e r a l F a t m a S a m o u r a t o A I F F ’ s a c t i n g g e n e r a l s e c r e t a r y S u n a n d o D h a r , “ T h e Bureau of the Council decided on 25 August 2022 to lift the suspension of the AIFF with immediate effect ” As a consequence, Samoura said in the l e t t e r , t h e U 1 7 W o m e n ’ s W o r l d C u p , scheduled to take place from October 11 to 30, can be held in India as planned The decision was communicated to AIFF recently “ T h e d e c i s i o n w a s t a k e n a f t e r F i f a received confirmation that the mandate of the committee of administrators, that was set up by the Supreme Court to assume the powers of the AIFF executive committee, had b e e n t e r m i n a t e d a n d t h a t t h e A I F F administration had regained full control of the AIFF’s daily affairs,” the governing body for world football said in a statement Fifa has reminded India that it now needs to fulfil more conditions to ensure that the federation does not get suspended again First, the AIFF constitution needs to be revised in accordance with the requirements of Fifa and the AFC Second, the federation needs to carry out the upcoming electoral process as per the statutory requirement, which includes voting rights only to state associations
PUJARA SCORES THIRD TON OF ROYAL LONDON CUP Cheteshwar Pujara smashed his third hundred of the Royal London One Day Cup in Hove last week Representing Sussex, Pujara hammered 132 off 90 balls to help his team reach 400 for four in 50 overs against Middlesex His knock included 20 fours and couple of sixes Earlier Pujara had blasted a 79 ball 107 against Warwickshire He then smashed his career best List A score of 174 against Surrey in briefIndia beat Pak by 5 wickets in Asia cup opener