AV 04th February 2023

’

l s , s

r

i r

e r e recorded as India celebrated its 7 4 t h R e p u b l i c D a y o n Thursday last. It was also the first time that the Republic Day parade was held on the newly renamed Kartavya Path.

Among the special features were a contingent from Egypt, t h e d i s p l a y o f o n l y M a d e - i nIndia military armament and a contingent of newly recruited Agniveers. ‘Nari shakti’ was the dominant theme, from several contingents to tableaux

Continued on page 16-17

u n c e d a £ 1 5 0 million funding boost up to April 2025 to the mental health services as a part of the NHS’s Long Term Plan commitment to boost mental health spending by £2.3 billion a year

Diaspora across the U K protests against B B C documentary on P M Narendra Modi

Awards celebrate successful Indians who studied in the U K

Egypt supports India on its fight against cross-border terrorism

Adani group loses 29% market value following Hindenburg report

Contribution by living bridge celebrated at India’s

in

‘Funding

Glimpses of Indian Navy, Indian Air Force & DRDO contingents march during the 74th Republic Day parade on January 26, 2023.

Mental health in UK’s South Asian community during the cost-of-living crisis needs collaboration on well-designed services

with Keith Vaz

PA RV E E N A SH R A F

Par v ee n Ashra f wa s bo rn in Bra dford She is th e m id dle chil d of 7 and was raise d by her Pa kist ani Imm igr ants pa rents S he ha d a wonde rfu l childh ood r aise d on mot her s ’ au the nt ic d ishe s Par ve en ha ve be en mar rie d for 3 5 yea rs a nd ha ve 3 ad ult child ren, all o f whom su ppor t h er in h er business

She wrote her f irst book 10 years ago, then she f ilmed her T V show 4 years ago Her IT V series 'Par veen's Indian Kitchen' was aired on Sunday mornings in 2019 The show was shown around the world and translated into many languages Par veen is also a food writer and wrote a local column for 3 years and was often guest blog for a supermarket She now lives in East London, and travels around Europe teaching Indian cooking and she is just f inishing her 2nd book

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

I am lucky that I actually have 3 places I call home 1 The city in which I was born and raised, Bradford Many of my family still live there and it is linked to my childhood I also consider Peterborough to be my home, as I raised my 3 children there I often still visit my friends who live there And f inally, I also look upon East London as my home as I moved there as a young new bride, and it holds lovely memories for me

2) What are your proudest achievements?

One of my proudest moments is when I gave my 'Thank You' speech at my book launch My husband and children were in the audience and it’s the f irst time he saw me speak publicly After wards, my publisher told me that ever yone was watching me, but she was watching him - as he was beaming with pride So, just knowing that he was proud of me, made me proud of what I had achieved i e , becoming an author

3) What inspires you?

That’s easy - my late mother She inspired me

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

The biggest obstacle for me was being a female in a male dominated profession It seems that most professional chefs are men, whereas as we know the best home cooks are women And in the world of T V chefs - it’s the same.

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

Nigella Lawson was the f irst T V chef who I admired and wanted to emulate I also wrote my books in her style, informative and informal Sometimes certain newspapers would call me the Asian Nigella, and that is a huge compliment

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

Tory Chairman sacked

Nad hi m Za haw i h as b een sacked as Tory party chairman after an ethics inqu iry into the hand ling of h is tax af f ai rs fo u n d a "s e rio u s breac h" of th e m ini steri al cod e

said it is "clear that there has been a serious breach of the m i n i s t e r i a l c o d e" a n d announced the removal of the Tor y chairman from his ministerial position

The best aspect of my current role as a T V chef, author, and Cooker y teacher, is that I get to be myself I celebrate ever ything that is wonderful about by culture as well as my cuisine I feel it’s my job to represent South Asian women in a positive light I also represent women over 50 plus I want to show the world that we can still be glamorous at our age

7) And the worst?

The worst thing is tr ying to believe in who I really am I sometimes have imposter syndrome, then once I am on stage or doing a demo - I feel f ine The other aspect of my job is that when people see me, they expect to see the person who they see in T V or social mediaThe most common comment I receive is - aren't you small

8) What are your long-term goals?

My long-term goals are to write another book, which is my 3rd, hopefully tr y and f ilm a second series Then I want to travel to teach people the wonders of South Asian flavours Then at some point I am hoping to build a school for Girls in Africa (in some of the poorest areas in Ghana) I know the area as my eldest son Imran works there I will be building the school in honour of my parents

9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

If I was PM, I would change the curriculum to include home economics I think cooking is a skill and it’s becoming a lost skill I would like to bring it back

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

I would probably spend time with Elvis Presley because of the energy he executed. Plus, he was one famous individual who was so respectful of his mother I love his musicality, his handsome face Also if I got bored, he could sing to me!

P r i m e M i n i s t e r R i s h i Sunak had resisted earlier calls from opposition parties to sack Mr Zahawi as Tor y p a r t y c h a i r m a n fo l l o w i n g reports that he had paid a penalty as part of an estimated £4 8m settlement dispute with HMRC He had instead asked his new ethics adviser - Sir Laurie Magnusto assess whether the settlement amounted to a breach of the ministerial code

In a letter written by Sir Laurie to the PM this morning following the conclu-

s i o n o f t h e i nv e s t i g a t i o n , the ethics adviser said Mr Zahawi had "shown insuff icient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code" and had not fulf illed the requirements of being a n " h o n e s t , o p e n a n d a n exemplar y leader" In a second letter written by the PM to Mr Zahawi following Sir Laurie's f indings, Mr Sunak

M r Z a h a w i h a d f a c e d pressure in recent days to q u i t a s q u e s t i o n s s w i r l e d a b o u t h i s f i n a n c e s e v e n a f t e r h e re le a s e d a s t a t ement to "clear up some of the confusion" He admitted he paid what HMRC said "was due" after it "disagreed about the exact allocation" o f s h a r e s i n t h e Yo uG o v p o l l i n g c o m p a n y h e c ofounded - an error he said was "careless, not deliberate" But he did not disclose the size of the settlement or whether he paid a f ine

Can B oris Johnson become Tory chairman?

Senior Tory MP Jacob ReesM ogg ha s b a c ke d for m er P ri m e Mi n i s t e r B or i s Johnson to replace s acked Na d hi m Z ah a wi a s Co ns e r va ti ve Pa rt y c ha i rman

The ex-business secret a r y p r a i s e d t h e fo r m e r prime minister for having 'all the right attributes' to f ill Mr Zahawi's role

'He is charismatic, he rallies the troops,' Mr ReesMogg told GB News of Mr Johnson He's a sort of fullyloaded Conser vative So I think that type of personality would be a ver y good one for a party chairman ' B u t M r R e e s -Mo g g admitted it is doubtful if Rishi Sunak would appoint

Mr Johnson to his Cabinet d u e t o t h e i r p a s t d i f fe rences

He added: 'The former P M a n d t h e P M a r e inevitably not going to be the closest of political allies, j u s t u n d e r t h e c i r c u mstances of the summer '

After being sacked from Government by the Prime Minister after he was found to have committed a 'serious breach' of ministerial r u l e s , Na d h i m Z a h a w i i s facing calls to quit as an MP

T h e To r y c h a i r m a n s exit comes as a result of a f u r i o u s r o w o v e r h i s t a x affairs

The sum that was handed over to the tax authorities by Mr Zahawi is report-

ed to be at least £4 8million, i n c l u d i n g a £ 1 1 m i l l i o n penalty

The revelation that Mr Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC pushed Rishi Sunak to order an investigation by his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus

Sir Laurie has now ruled t h a t M r Z a h aw i o u t l i n e d seven breaches of ministerial rules in a damning fourpage report

Sadiq Khan dodges questions about council opposition

M ay o r o f L o n d o n S a d i q Khan d id not say what he w o u l d d o ab o u t co u nc i ls refusing to let Transp ort for L o n d o n ( Tf L ) in s tal l L o n d o n U L E Z c am e ras , Romford Recorder repo rted T h e m a y o r p l a n s t o e x p a n d t h e U l t r a L o w E m i s s i o n Z o n e s ( U L E Z ) effective 29 August this year, l e a d i n g t o d r i v e r s f a c i n g d a i l y c h a r g e s o f £ 1 2 5 0 i f their vehicle is not compliant Petrol cars registered

before 2005 and diesel cars registered before 2015 w i l l f a l l u n d e r that categor y

Tf L plans to s e t t h e b a l l r o l l i n g fo r t h e ULEZ expansion t o t h e w h o l e o f G r e a t e r London by installing CCT V cameras, and as of now, nine boroughs have opposed the move While Tf L claimed it d i d n o t n e e d p e r m i s s i o n

Hunt appeals older people to rej oin workforce

B r i ti s h f i n a n c e mi n i s t e r J e re m y H un t h a s u rg e d older people to rejoin the workforce saying the countr y n eede d them an d he w a s lo ok i n g a t w a ys t o m a ke " w o rk wo rt h y ou r while"

"We will never harness t h e f u l l p o t e nt i a l o f o u r countr y unless we unlock it for each and ever y one of our citizens Nor will we f ix o u r p r o d u c t i v i t y p u z z l e

unless ever yone who can participate does," he said " S o t o t h o s e w h o retired early after the pandemic or haven't found the r i g h t r o l e a f t e r t h e f u rlough, I say Britain needs you and we will look at the c o n d i t i o n s n e c e s s a r y t o m a ke w o r k w o r t h y o u r while"

This year, the British economy is expected to fall into a recession held back

b y d o u ble d i g i t i n f l a t io n and a tight labour market that has been marked by an exit of older workers during the COVID-19 pandemic It was time for a fundam e n t a l p r o g r a m m e o f reforms to also encourage those with long-term conditions or mental illness to overcome barriers and reenter the workforce, Hunt said

f r o m c o u n c i l s t o carr y out the install a t i o n s , He r t s m e r e C o u n c i l l e a d e r Mo r r i s B r i g h t s a i d t h a t i f U L E Z i s e n fo r c e d “ w e a r e going to make sure it is done with as much n o i s e f r o m r e s i d e n t s a n d councillors of this borough” The councils that opposed t h e e x p a n s io n pl a n s w e re R i c h m o n d u p o n T h a m e s , H a r r o w, H i l l i n g d o n , Croydon, Sutton, Bromley, B e x l e y, H a v e r i n g a n d

Kingston Three of them are Liberal Democrats and six are Conser vatives

In response to charges of putting f inancial burdens on t h o s e w h o w e r e a l r e a d y struggling, Sadiq Khan said, “ T h e l a r g e s t n u m b e r s o f p e o p l e w i t h r e s p i r a t o r y

issues are in outer London

T h e l a r g e s t n u m b e r o f deaths are in outer London

The councils that are opposing it are councils with the largest number of deaths ” He , h o w e v e r, d i d n o t s ay wh a t h e w o u l d d o i f t h e councils blocked his plans to install the cameras

Republic Day with a difference

India celebrated its 74th Republic Day on Thursday, January 26 The main function was held at Kartavya Path in New Delhi from where President Droupadi Murmu led the nation in celebrating the occasion Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the Chief Guest at the parade The ceremony started with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the National War Memorial where he led the nation in paying solemn tributes to the brave-hearts by laying a wreath As per the tradition, the National Flag was unfurled followed by the National Anthem with a booming 21-gun salute This time, the gun salute was given with 105-mm Indian Field Guns replacing the vintage 25 pounder gun which reflects the growing Aatmanirbharta in defence Four Mi-17 and V5 helicopters showered flower petals on the audience present at Kartavya Path The Republic Day parade began with the President taking the salute

During the march past, Indian Army was represented by a M o u n t e d C o l u m n o f 6 1 C a v a l r y , n i n e M e c h a n i s e d C o l u m n s a n d s i x m a r c h i n g c o n t i n g e n t s I n d i g e n o u s l y developed equipment like Arjun Tank, Nag Missile System, K9 Vajra-Howitzer Gun, and Akash Weapon System were showcased during the parade The marching contingent of the Indian Air Force consisted of four Officers and 144 air warriors The Naval contingent of 144 young sailors was led by women officer Lieutenant Commander Disha Amrith

For the first time ever, the marching contingent consisted of three women and six Agniveers Marching contingents of Indian Coast Guard, Central Reserve Police Force, Railway Protection Force, Delhi Police, NCC, NSS also took part in the parade For the first time, female camel riders of BSF p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e p a r a d e s h o w c a s i n g w o m e n empowerment A t a b l e a u o f t h e I n d i a n C o u n c i l a n d A g r i c u l t u r a l Research on the theme International Year of Millets 2023 w a s a m o n g t h e s p e c i a l a t t r a c t i o n s d u r i n g t h e p a r a d e P r a d h a n M a n t r i R a s h t r i y a B a l P u r a s k a r a w a r d e e s a l s o participated in the parade The grand finale and the most eagerly-awaited segment of the parade was the Fly Past In this segment breath-taking air show was performed by 45 aircraft of Indian Air Force, one from the Indian Navy and four helicopters of Indian Army Vintage as well as current modern aircraft and helicopters including Rafale, MiG-29,

S u - 3 0 , S u - 3 0 M k I J a g u a r , C - 1 3 0 , C - 1 7 , D o r n i e r , L C H

Prachand, Apache roared in the skies above Kartavya Path Various formations, including Baaz, Prachand, Tiranga, Tangail, Vajrang, Garud, Bheem, Amrit and Trishul were displayed by them

India's military prowess, cultural diversity, self-reliance initiatives, women empowerment and emergence of a New India was showcased during the parade For the first time, an Egyptian Military contingent took part in the parade Eight marching contingents including six from the Indian Army, one each from Indian Air Force and Indian Navy took part in the parade Twenty-three tableaux from 17 States and Union Territories and six from various Ministries and Departments were rolled down the Kartavya Path during the parade

heritage, socio-economic development, Nari Shakti, military might and economic progress

Cultural performances by 479 artists selected through the nationwide Vande Bharatam dance competition also added colour to the parade The grand finale of the parade was the fly past segment in which breath - taking air show was performed by 45 aircraft of Indian Air Force, one from the Indian Navy and four helicopters of the Army The concluding Vertical Charlie manoeuvre was performed by Rafale fighter aircraft The ceremony culminated with the national anthem and the release of Tri-colour balloons This year's Republic Day celebration was planned in a way to ensure maximum public participation in the various events as envisioned by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi

It was this day in 1965 when Hindi was declared as the official language of India After attaining independence from the British rule, the new constitution was enrolled by the drafting committee under the deanship of Dr BR Ambedkar

The Indian Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950, which declared India’s occurrence as an independent republic January 26th was chosen as the date because on this day in 1930, the Indian National Congress revealed Purna Swaraj, the declaration of India’s independence from the colonial rule Republic Day signifies the right spirit of Independent and individual India The important symbols of the festival include the exhibition of military equipment, the national flag and military equipment

Pak economy is South Asia's weakest

Pakistan's economy is in dire straights The World Bank forecast Pakistan’s economic growth to slow further to two per cent during the current year This will mark a drop of two percentage points from its June 2022 estimates The report said that Pakistan’s economic output was not only declining itself but also bringing down the regional growth rate as well Forecasting Pakistan's GDP growth rate to improve to 3 2 per cent in 2024, the report said, “Policy uncertainty further complicates the economic outlook” of Pakistan The report also cited devastating floods in 2022 as a reason for the precarious economic situation in the country Floods deluged almost one-third of Pakistan and d i r e c t l y i m p a c t e d a b o u t 1 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s p o p u l a t i o n “ R e c o v e r y a n d r e c o n s t r u c t i o n n e e d s a r e e x p e c t e d t o b e 1 6 t i m e s t h e F Y 2 0 2 2 - 2 3 n a t i o n a l development budget,” the report said This comes as food prices spiked rapidly in Pakistan in the past one month

The Pakistani rupee continued to depreciate in the interbank market closing at Rs 262 6 per dollar, down Rs 7 1, or 2 7%, from a day’s earlier close But the rupee ’ s two-day decline slowed following news that an IMF team was v i s i t i n g I s l a m a b a d n e x t w e e k t o d i s c u s s u n l o c k i n g a suspended bailout package The sharp devaluation occurred after the government removed an unofficial cap on the exchange rate of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar to revive the stalled IMF loan programme The local currency ’ s value had tumbled by Rs 24 54 to a record low of Rs 255 4 l a s t w e e k , t h e l a r g e s t s i n g l e - d a y d e p r e c i a t i o n i n b o t h absolute and percentage terms since the new exchange rate system was introduced in 1999 The latest devaluation, which surpassed the previous all-time high of Rs 240 last y e a r , c o m e s s o o n a f t e r t h e P M ’ s a n n o u n c e m e n t t h a t Islamabad is ready to accept all IMF demands to revive the long-stalled $1 8 billion tranche of a $6-billion bailout package

Khuraam Schehzad, CEO of a financial consultancy in Karachi, said a “substantial” amount of remittances started f l o w i n g i n t o t h e c o u n t r y t h r o u g h f o r m a l c h a n n e l s “Remittances are expected to cross $2 5 billion per month again to gradually reach close to $3 billion in the coming m o n t h s , w h i l e e x p o r t s p r o c e e d s a r e a l s o e x p e c t e d t o improve by at least $500 million in the next few months,” S c h e h z a d s a i d M a l i k B o s t a n , h e a d o f P a k i s t a n F o r e x Dealers Association, said depreciating foreign reserves and a $60 billion import bill had left the State Bank of Pakistan with no option but to lift a de facto cap that artificially controlled the rate of local currency Financial expert Malik Bostan said the value of the rupee dropped mainly due to the delay in the revival of the IMF’s bailout talks, amid

depleting foreign exchange reserves, but expected it to stabilise as the negotiations pick up again

A successful visit by IMF team is critical for Pakistan, which is facing an increasingly acute balance of payments crisis and is desperate to secure external financing, with less than three weeks’ worth of import cover in its foreign exchange reserves Multilateral and bilateral financing pledges for Pakistan’s effort to rebuild after devastating floods last year are also tied to the country getting the green l i g h t f r o m t h e I M F P a k i s t a n a l s o s u f f e r e d f r o m a nationwide electricity outage earlier this week, linked to a cost-cutting measure, estimated to have cost the textile industry alone Pakistan was also hit by catastrophic floods, even as political rivalries were rendering the government virtually dysfunctional Monsoon rains poured on the country, seriously affecting the lives of 33 million people, while leaving 1,730 dead Floodwaters drenched one-third of the country, washing away more than two million houses, and displacing eight million people There has naturally been a spread of water-borne diseases, and serious damage to 13,000 km of roads International studies have indicated that the floods have inflicted damages amounting to an estimated $30 billion

According to recent World Bank reports, Pakistan’s economy is expected to grow at around 2 per cent in the current financial year, ending June 2023 Moreover, the r e c o v e r y r a t e w i l l b e g r a d u a l , w i t h r e a l G D P g r o w t h anticipated to touch 3 2 per cent, in fiscal 2024 While large sums are said to have been pledged to Pakistan, the actual disbursement can commence only after the IMF clears the measures the government has proposed On January 11, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar revealed that 90 per cent of pledges made by international donors were project loans, which will be rolled out over the next three years Most importantly, Crown Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia has now indicated his readiness to help Pakistan Saudi Arabia is ending its virtual boycott of Pakistan, imposed during the Imran Khan years, and returning to the days of close cooperation with the Nawaz Sharif family While the Biden Administration has agreed to provide $450 million to Pakistan to maintain its fleet of US supplied F16 fighters, there is no sign that the Administration will bear the costs of these arms transfer for the virtually bankrupt Pakistan

Realists in Pakistan recognise that tensions on its borders with India can have disastrous consequences on the national effort needed to restore a measure of political normalcy and a climate conducive to economic growth It is also clear now that Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban are becoming uncertain and tense

Thought for the week

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain -

Dolly Parton

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh Patel

I Know a Way Out of Hell

Nah ari : I'm going to Hell! I killed a child! I smashed his head against a wall Gandhi : Why?

Naha ri : Because they killed my son! The Muslims killed my son!

Gandhi : I know a way out of Hell Find a child, a child whose mother and father have been killed and raise him as your own Gandhi : Only be sure that he is a Muslim and that you raise him as one

On the anniversary of his death, a reminder of his legacy No nation is ideal There will always be those who drag it backwards, and the critic on the sidelines will be the first to point that out, and do little else But w i t h t h i s f o u n d a t i o n a n d h e r i t a g e , g r e a t n e s s i s inevitable Think of it Inevitable

1 Nonviolence as a political tool: Gandhi is widely recognized as the father of the Indian independence movement and his philosophy of nonviolent resistance has inspired countless political activists and leaders around the world, including Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela A study by the Journal of Peace Research found that nonviolent resistance is a more effective means of achieving political change than violent resistance Yet, the world still does not learn

2 Concept of Satyagraha: Gandhi's concept of Satyagraha, meaning "insistence on truth," emphasizes the power of moral and ethical principles in bringing about social and political change This philosophy has influenced movements for justice and equality in many countries

3 Ahimsa (Nonviolence): Gandhi s philosophy of nonviolence, or ahimsa, extends beyond politics and is a central tenet of Hinduism and Jainism It holds that all life is sacred and violence only begets more violence

4 Simple living: Gandhi lived a life of simple living and advocated for the rejection of materialism and consumerism He encouraged people to live in harmony with nature and prioritize their spiritual and ethical values over their material needs

5 Swadeshi movement: Gandhi s promotion of the swadeshi movement, which encouraged the use of locally-made goods had a significant impact on the Indian independence movement and inspired similar movements in other countries

6 Education for all: Gandhi believed that education should be accessible to all, regardless of class or caste, and emphasized the importance of education in personal and social transformation

7 Interfaith harmony: Gandhi was a strong advocate for interfaith harmony and believed that all religions should coexist peacefully He promoted the idea of sarva dharma sambhava, meaning "equality of all religions," and emphasized the importance of tolerance and understanding between different communities

8 Vegetarianism: Gandhi was a lifelong vegetarian and advocated for the ethical and spiritual benefits of a meat-free diet His beliefs have influenced the vegetarian movement in many countries and have helped raise awareness about the ethical and environmental implications of meat consumption

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Rishi Sunak convenes political cabinet at Chequers

P rim e Minister Rishi Sunak and his ministers gath ered at his retreat in Chequers two d ays ago for his first p o l i ti ca l c ab in et s i nc e a ss u m in g o ff i ce, th e B BC rep orted In a po litical cabinet, political officials attend t o s tr ate g i ze , a nd u nl i ke o f f ic i al g o v e rnm e nt bu s iness, it is not minuted

I t h a p p e n e d d u r i n g a p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r e s s f u l t i m e f o r t h e g o v e r n m e n t w i t h more than one cabinet minister under investigation for their conduct and polls suggesting a significant Labour lead in the run-up to the general elections to be held in the latter half of the next year

The primary focus of the

political cabinet at Chequers was the five priorities that Sunak set out in his new year ’ s speech- halving inflat i o n , c r e a t i n g n e w j o b s , reducing the national debt, cutting NHS waiting lists, a n d s t o p p i n g s m a l l b o a t s crossing the Channel A m o n g t h e s u p p o s e d a t t e n d e e s w a s N a d h i m Z a h a w i , t h e C o n s e r v a t i v e P a r t y c h a i r m a n w h o w a s sacked on the 29th because o f t h e r o w o v e r h i s t a x affairs It is not known what

transpired in the political c a b i n e t b e t w e e n Z a h a w i , who was not expected to have a formal role in the a g e n d a a n y w a y , a n d t h e o t h e r m i n i s t e r s l e d b y Sunak Sunak had already i n i t i a t e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a g a i n s t h i m t h r o u g h h i s e t h i c s a d v i s e r , a n d o t h e r ministers had publicly commented on sticking by the f i n d i n g s o f t h e i n v e s t i g at i o n s , e v e n i f i t c a m e t o sacking C o n s e r v a t i v e s t r a t e g y guru Isaac Levido was also in attendance After leading the party to its 2019 victory, he has returned to play a central role in getting Sunak and his team ready for the upcoming elections

Johnson paid advance of £510,000 for book but taxpayers to bear his legal fees

B oris Johns on has pic ked up a n a d va n c e o f m o r e th a n £5 00,000 for his forthcoming mem oir, as it em erged t a x p ay e r s f a c e a bi l l of £2 22,000 f or his l ega l f ees to def end hims elf in the partygat e inquiry

The former prime minist e r ’ s l a t e s t e n t r y i n t h e R e g i s t e r o f M e m b e r s ’ I n t e r e s t s s a y s t h a t h e “ r e c e i v e d £ 5 1 0 , 0 0 0 a s a n a d v a n c e o n a n u p c o m i n g book yet to be published” –even though he has so far done just 10 hours work on it It follows the announcement by publishers HarperCollins earlier this month that they had acquired the rights to

w h a t w a s d e s c r i b e d a s a p r i m e m i n i s t e r i a l m e m o i r “like no other”

Earlier MPs were told the estimated legal bill – to be paid by the taxpayer – for lawyers representing him in the Commons inquiry into whether he lied over lockdown parties in No 10 has r i s e n t o £ 2 2 2 , 0 0 0 T h e P r i v i l e g e s C o m m i t t e e i s i n v e s t i g a t i n g w h e t h e r t h e former prime minister comm i t t e d c o n t e m p t o f P a r l i a m e n t b y t e l l i n g t h e Commons on several occas i o n s t h a t t h e r e w e r e n o lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street

The contract with Peters

Bridgen sues Hancock for £100,000 over Twitter comments

MP Andr ew Brid gen sue d fe llow MP and fo rmer hea lth se cr eta ry Matt Hancock a fte r losing th e Conser vat ive wh ip this month f or writ ing on T witte r, “As o ne consultant card iolog ist said to me, th is is the bigge st crime a g a in st h u m a ni t y s in ce t h e H o l o c a u st ” a bou t the Covid-19 va ccine Ha ncock ha d re sp ond ed on T witter the same da y, “Th e d i sg u s t in g a nd d a n g e r o u s a n t i- S e m it i c, a nti-vax, anti-scie nt ific conspira cy th eor ies spoute d by a sitting MP this morning ar e unaccep table and ha ve absolute ly no pl ace in our society ”

BIDEN GOOFED UP SUNAK’S NAME IN PUBLIC

Joe Biden just mispronounced Rishi Sunak s name in a public announcement about united Western support for Ukraine He was declaring the US’s decision to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine shortly after Germany confirmed it would provide the highly sought-after Leopard 2 tanks as well when he made the unfortunate mistake The US president said:

and Peters has already paid for legal advice from leading KC Lord Pannick, who has produced two opinions on t h e i n q u i r y T h e f i r s t w a s p u b l i s h e d o n t h e G o v e r n m e n t ’ s w e b s i t e i n September 2022 and said the P r i v i l e g e s C o m m i t t e e w a s adopting an “unfair procedure” and a “fundamentally flawed” approach

King Charles wants Harry at Coronation despite resistance from elder son

Kin g Char le s ha s repor ted ly a sk e d t h e A r ch b is h op o f C ant er bury to brok er a de al t o a ll ow P r in ce Ha r r y t o a t t e n d hi s c or o n a t io n , d espite r esistan ce fr om elder son W illia m

He wants Justin Welby to strike an agreement with t h e w a r r i n g b r o t h e r s t h a t would allow the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to attend t h e c e r e m o n y i n M a y , s o u r c e s c l o s e t o L a m b e t h

Palace claimed The coronation will take place on May 6 and will be part of a weekend of celebrations including a

p r o c e s s i o n f r o m Buckingham Palace, a day of volunteering for the nation and a concert at Windsor Castle Speculation has been r i f e a b o u t w h e t h e r t h e Sussexes would attend the event after Harry criticised s e n i o r r o y a l s i n h i s t e l lm e m o i r S p a r e e a r l i e r t h i s month

I n t h e b o o k , H a r r y accused William of physically attacking him and claimed the Palace planted negative stories about Meghan in the media It comes after a poll found that two thirds of the

p u b l i c t h i n k t h e D u k e o f Sussex should be invited to t h e K i n g ’ s c o r o n a t i o n A m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e p o l l e d believe Prince Harry should a t t e n d t h e c e r e m o n y i n Westminster Abbey in May, according to an Ipsos survey for the Evening Standard Buckingham Palace and K e n s i n g t o n P a l a c e h a v e declined to address the allegations he levelled against other members of the Royal family in his autobiography S p a r e , b u t t h i s h a s n o t stemmed a decline in public opinion polls

Cap on paid working hours for foreign students may be removed

The B ritish governmen t is looking at plans to a llow f ore ign s tud ents to work longer hours to b oost the e c on o m y b y pl u gg i n g vac anci es

Ministers are looking at ways to encourage British a n d o v e r s e a s s t u d e n t s t o take more part-time jobs to deal with shortages in areas s u c h a s h o s p i t a l i t y a n d retail, the report said, citing g o v e r n m e n t s o u r c e s D i s c u s s i o n s h a v e b e g u n w i t h i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t

about either raising the cap on paid work hours on foreign students to 30 hours per week from 20 hours c u r r e n t l y o r r e m o v i n g i t entirely, the report added G o v e r n m e n t s o u r c e s t o l d t h a t m i n i s t e r s w e r e

Bridgen posted on Twitter on January 13, “ I will allow Matt three days to apologise publicly for calling me an anti-Semite and racist or he will be contacted by my legal team” Hancock evidently did not pay heed, as his post is still up on Twitter On January 1 8 , B r i d g e n ’ s t e a m s e n t a ‘ l e t t e r b e f o r e action’ to Hancock which said, “By inclusion of the phrases ‘anti-Semitic’, ‘anti-vax’, ‘anti-scientific’ and ‘conspiracy theories’ the words are defamatory at common law ”

T h e £ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 d a m a g e s s o u g h t b y

Bridgen were for a legal fund for “people seeking collective redress for vaccine harms ( u n d e r t h e U K G o v e r n m e n t ’ s V a c c i n e Damages Payment Scheme)”, according to the letter Bridgen’s legal action is funded by t h e R e c l a i m P a r t y a n d t h e “ B a d L a w

Project”

H a n c o c k ’ s s p o k e s m a n t o l d T h e Telegraph: “ Rather than wasting his time and money on an absurd libel case he will undoubtedly lose, let’s hope Bridgen does the right thing and apologises for the hurt he’s caused and keeps his offensive view to himself in future ”

Ex-MP charged over football club loan

With failing to p rov ide information in relation to p olitical party donations totalling £39, 000 , a former Tory M P app eared in court Dav id Mackintosh who appeared at North am pton C rown Court has been charg ed w ith offences al le g ed l y co m m i tte d u n d er th e P o l it ic al Parties, Elections and Referendum s ( PERA)

A ct

Over the disappearance of a £10 25million loan to Northampton Town FC, he has been charged alongside three people from Harrow

It is believed that the offences took place in 2014, months after Mackintosh was selected to fight the constituency of Northampton South at the end of the previous year and relate to nine donations

“The United States and Europe are fully united “This morning I had a long conversation with our Nato allies – Mr Scholz French president Macron and prime minister Sanuk [instead of Sunak] and the Italian prime minister uh Meloni to continue our close coordination and fully support of Ukraine And, credit to him, the slip-up did not disrupt the flow of his speech He quickly moved onto the idea that Russia wants Western alliances to weaken over their support for Ukraine, and talked about how presenting a united front is very important when it comes to the ongoing war And Sunak is not the only name Biden has slipped up on Biden previously called French president Emmanuel Macron ‘President Macrone’ and his own Vice President Kamala Harris as both “first lady” –the name reserved for the president’s wife –and the “president” (his own title) The president does have an unfortunate record of tripping himself up during speeches and has acknowledged it in the past having spoken openly about the stutter he had in his youth

In October Biden called to congratulate Sunak on his election as the Tory Party leader (and subsequently as PM) especially as the first UK prime minister of Asian descent but added a d to his first name

BRAVERMAN DROPS CRUCIAL REFORMS, DISAPPOINTING WINDRUSH CAMPAIGNERS

Crucial reform commitments made by Priti Patel based on a formal inquiry into the Home Office s Windrush scandal were dropped by current Home Secretary Suella Braverman leaving Windrush campaigners disappointed, the Guardian reported The 30 recommendations based on the inquiry were accepted by the government three years ago and would have increased independent scrutiny of immigration policies and facilitated reconciliation among the Windrush families A spreadsheet released with Braverman’s statement showed that only eight have been entirely enacted with 13 more being partially met Nine were not delivered at all, out of which three were dropped Braverman released a written ministerial statement:

looking at "what more we can do to remove barriers and encourage students to work" and lifting the cap on foreign students' hours was "part of a swathe of i d e a s b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d "

The idea is at an early stage and has yet to be agreed a c r o s s g o v e r n m e n t , t h e report said

The plans come amidst B r i t a i n ' s H o m e S e c r e t a r y Suella Braverman's proposals to reduce illegal migration in the country

In 2015, Mackintosh was first elected as N o r t h a m p t o n S o u t h M P b e f o r e l a t e r announcing he would not contest his seat in the June 2017 General Election

In relation to donations to a registered p o l i t i c a l p a r t y , N o r t h a m p t o n S o u t h Conservative Association (NSCA), the 43-yearold, who is also former leader of the now defunct Northampton Borough Council and c o - d e f e n d a n t , p r o p e r t y d e v e l o p e r H o w a r d Grossman, each face two allegations of failing to provide information

Mackintosh appeared for a brief hearing over a videolink while 61-year-old Grossman did not appear but was represented in court by his barrister Chantel Gaber Both men are on bail

“After considering officials advice I have decided not to proceed with recommendations 3 (run reconciliation events) 9 (introduce migrants commissioner) and 10 (review the remit and role of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration) in their original format This, despite a government minister dismissing a Guardian article in early January revealing this move as fallacious and inaccurate speculation during a debate in the House of Commons In response, Wendy Williams who led the Windrush inquiry, issued a rare statement saying, I am disappointed that the department has decided not to implement what I see as the crucial external scrutiny measures, namely my recommendations related to the migrants’ commissioner (recommendation 9) and the ICIBI (recommendation 10) as I believe they will raise the confidence of the Windrush community, but also help the department succeed as it works to protect the wider public, of whom the Windrush generation is such an important part ”

Richard Sharp: BBC chair was shareholder in firm awarded £600k while he was a No 10 adviser

T h e re p o rt h a s e m er g ed w hich sugg ests that Richard

S h a rp w o rke d in N o 1 0 w hen a health care comp any, w here Sharp owned a mu ltim il li o n p o u nd st ake , w a s g ran ted nearly £ 60 0 , 00 0 for Cov id research

The chair of the BBC, Sharp is the second-largest shareholder in Oncimmune

It is a cancer detection company which received funds i n 2 0 2 0 t o a i d r e s e a r c h Covid-19 vaccines and treatments Previously, he was a director at the company

In recent days Sharp has come under fire over allegations that he helped organise an £800,000 loan facility for Boris Johnson, while he was working as an economic adviser in Downing Street at t h e t i m e O n c i m m u n e ’ s

Richard Sharp

grant was approved by UK

R e s e a r c h a n d I n n o v a t i o n , which is part of the business department

T h e a n t i - c o r r u p t i o n campaigner who uncovered the shareholding, Ni Wilson, said: “It is n prise that a medical n o s t i c s c o m p a n y s h a v e r e c e i v e d a c o n but for Sharp to be a

Union chief calls teachers undervalued, underpaid and overworked

shareholder just stinks ”

O

R o n K i r s c h n e r ,

counsel, said: “Richard was not on the board when the a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e g r a n t was made, which was subject to scientific evaluation

We did not discuss our decision to apply with Richard Sharp, nor seek his assistance at any point in the process ” The BBC chair insisted that on merit basis he

s e l l i n g i l l i c i t m a k e - u p ,

a l c o h o l a n d u n c e r t i f i e d pornographic DVDs, and illicit cigarettes, cigars and Indian tobacco in 2020

I n N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 , licensing officers and the Home Office immigration enforcement team found two men working in the store who should have left the UK in 2004 and 2005, with one of them having ‘illicit packets of cigarettes h i d d e n i n h i s s o c k s ’ , MyLondon reported Kapoor sold the shop to Tajbir Singh Arora after l o s i n g h i s l i c e n s e A r o r a paid £5,000 as a deposit as the shop was in a lucrative location, but his licensing

consultant told him not to b u y t h e s h o p o u t r i g h t w i t h o u t a c q u i r i n g a license

On 25 January, Arora a p p e a l e d t o t h e E a l i n g C o u n c i l ’ s l i c e n s i n g s u bcommittee to let the shop s e l l a l c o h o l o n c e a g a i n under his ownership He pledged to obey the law and said he was experienced and that his family was helping him acquire t h e s h o p f o r £ 2 5 , 0 0 0 , which he would run himself He also said that the shop would not be as profitable without selling alcohol His request, however, was turned down

T eachers are at “ the end o f their tether”, Mary Bousted o f th e Natio nal Ed ucation U nio n h as said, as th e g ove rn m ent c al le d l as t- d i tc h t al ks o n M o n d ay in a n attempt to avert this week’s scho ols strikes in E ngland

Teachers are expected to be among up to half a million workers across the publ i c s e c t o r t a k i n g s t r i k e a c t i o n o n W e d n e s d a y 1 February, as Rishi Sunak’s g o v e r n m e n t c o n t i n u e s t o f a c e a r e l e n t l e s s w a v e o f industrial unrest They will be joined by civil servants across government departments, train drivers and university lecturers and staff

The NEU is demanding an a b o v e - i n f l a t i o n p a y r i s e , fully funded by the Treasury s o t h a t s c h o o l s a r e n o t forced to dip into already t i g h t b u d g e t s B o u s t e d a d d e d t h a t t h e N E U h a d signed up more than 34,000

n e w m e m b e r s s i n c e t h e result of the strike ballot w a s a n n o u n c e d “ T h a t shows the strength of feeling,” she said T h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f H e a d T e a c h e r s a n n o u n c e d l a s t week that it would reballot its members on industrial action if pay talks with the DfE broke down or failed to r e a c h a c o n c l u s i o n T h e strike ballot that the NAHT b e g a n l a s t y e a r f a i l e d t o reach the 50% voting thresho l d , w i t h m a n y m e m b e r s complaining that they were unable to vote because of disruption to postal services

T h e N A H T a l s o p u blished its evidence to the S c h o o l T e a c h e r R e v i e w B o a r d i n d e p e n d e n t p a y body for next year ’ s (202324) pay round, which said i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f school leaders were leaving the profession

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‘Funding alone cannot solve our problems’

Too often, they end up in A&E when they should be receiving specialist treatment elsewhere This important funding will make sure they get the help they need, while e a s i n g p r e s s u r e s o n e m e r g e n c y departments and freeing up staff time – which is a huge priority for the government this winter ”

The funds are supposed to aid in procuring up to 100 new m e n t a l h e a l t h a m b u lances, building cri c a f e s a n d s h e l t e r s n e w o r i m p r o v e d s a f e s p a c e s f o r people with spec i a l n e e d s d e t a i n e d b y t h e p o l i c e , c r e a t i n g s p a c e s o u t s i d e A & E , a n d c r e a t i n g up to 150 new pro jects In a winter never before, the government is doing all it can to relieve the NHS from the stress that it is creaking under B u t h o w e f f e c t i v e a r e t h e s e measures likely to be in addressing problems related to mental health in the South Asian community? Sure, any help is good help, but regardless of the differences within it, the community as a whole is not only conservative but also encounters multiple repressions in a new land and culture Asian Voice spoke to a few experts to understand how the current cost-of-living crisis has impacted South Asians, to identify what keeps South Asians away from s e e k i n g h e l p w h e n t h e y c a n n o t buck up and adopt the stiff British u p p e r l i p , a n d w h a t i s t h e w a y ahead for them

Theimpact of the crisis on South Asians Dr So hom Das, who specialises i n c r i m i n a l p s y c h i a t r y ( T w i t t e r : @Dr S Das) and has a YouTube channel that examines the crosssection between mental illness and offending, has the following to say on the situation, “As a psychiatrist working on the front line, I have directly observed how the cost-ofliving crisis has damaged the mental health of many people, particul a r l y t h o s e p u s h e d t o w a r d s t h e p o v e r t y l i n e s F r o m m y c l i n i c a l experience, there seems to be a particularly troubling impact within the South Asian community As w e l l a s w o r s e n i n g p r e - e x i s t i n g depression and anxiety, those who are struggling financially, tend to have obsessive rumination about money In the worst cases I’ve seen, t h e y o f t e n c a n n o t e n j o y o t h e r aspects of life, such as spending time with family because they are preoccupied with constantly calcul a t i n g h o w m u c h t h i n g s c o s t A n o t h e r s i d e - e f f e c t i s i n s o m n i a , with people literally not being able to sleep with these concerns, or even having nightmares This leads to utter exhaustion, which exacerbates mental health issues Another i n d i r e c t i s s u e t h a t I ’ v e s e e n i n South Asian patients is being forced to cut down on activities that help their mental well-being (such as going to the gym and socialising) I found their mental health deterior a t i n g d u r i n g t h e c o l d w i n t e r m o n t h s , w h e n p e o p l e ’ s o v e r a l l mood is often worse, due to lack of sunshine and of course with heating bills being even higher ”

The statistics fully support Dr Das’s views According to a report by the Office of National Statistics

titled ‘Impact of increased cost of l i v i n g o n a d u l t s a c r o s s G r e a t Britain: June to September 2022 ’ , said, “Around 4 in 10 (44%) White adults reported finding it difficult to afford their energy bills, com-

p a r e d w i t h a r o u n d t w o - t h i r d s

(69%) for Black or Black British adults and around 6 in 10 (59%)

Asian or Asian British adults ” A n d f u n d i n g a l o n e w i l l n o t solve these problems The nonp r o f i t o r g a n i s a t i o n eople Like Us’ surv e y e d o v e r 2 0 0 0 w o r k e r s f r o m a B A M E b a c kground and found t h a t m o r e t h a n half (52 per cent) s a i d g o v e r n m e n t s u p p o r t w i l l n o t s e e t h e m t h r o u g h he next six months, c h w a s s e v e n p e r cent higher than their white c o u n t e r p a r t s f e l t T h e s u r v e y r e v e a l e d t h a t p r o f e s s i o n a l s f r o m ethnic minorities were more likely to borrow money, move in with family members and skip meals due to the costl i v i n g c r i s i s Redundancy worries were also worse for these workers with 41 per cent worried t h a t t h e y w o u l d lose their job due to r i s i n g c o s t s , c o mp a r e d w i t h 2 7 p e r cent of those from w h i t e B r i t i s h b a ground More than half (56 per cent) felt despondent about the increased cost of living

P ro f es s o r J S B am r ah C B E , FRCP sych, Senior NHS Consultant Psychiatrist and Co-Chair, Mental Health Working Group, NHS RHO told Asian Voice how embattled NHS service providers themselves a r e a t t h e m o m e n t H e s a i d , “ M e n t a l h e a l t h s e r v i c e s w e r e already stretched during the pandemic, and this crisis has pitted many services to stress levels we have not seen in a generation In this regard, it is worth noting that almost 40% of the NHS medical workforce comes from an Asian background We are the backbone of the NHS, with Indians constituting the largest majority And yet p e o p l e f r o m B l a c k , A s i a n a n d Minority Ethnic groups are more likely to be subjected to disciplinary procedures, less likely to get jobs of their choice, more likely to fail their examinations, less likely to get promotions, more likely to be disciplined by the regulator, and less likely get awards ”

Why don’t South Asian seek help for their mental health problems?

Talking about the challenges that are unique to the South Asian c o m m u n i t y i n s e e k i n g h e l p f o r mental health issues, all the experts Asian Voice spoke to mention the s t i g m a a s s o c i a t e d w i t h m e n t a l health issues within the community P rofesso r Dinesh Bhu gra CBE, p r o f e s s o r o f m e n t a l h e a l t h a n d d i v e r s i t y a t t h e I n s t i t u t e o f

P s y c h i a t r y a t K i n g ’ s C o l l e g e London, honorary consultant psychiatrist at the NHS, and a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, broke it down further

“There is the aspect of bringing shame on the family Some of the work that we did a few years ago

showed that people wouldn't seek help because they were frightened that if it got out that they'd been to seek help, nobody would marry into t h e f a m i l y , n o b o d y w o u l d v i s i t them Also, quite often, particularly among the older population, there are still those explanations which are to do with the evil eye and eating something cursed or bad, rather t h a n a c k n o w l e d g i n g d e p r e s s i o n w i t h a p s y c h o l o g i c a l s o c i a l cause So those individu als are more likely seek help from pundits or ‘gyanis’ or imams than seeking medical help We did a series of focus groups with P u n j a b i w o m e n some time back to g e t t h e i r i d e a o f depression And the just saw depression part of life's ups and downs So, they would rather go and pray or listen to the sermons or sing h y m n s o r b h a j a n s o r w h a t e v e r , rather than go and see their GP or a psychiatrist ” Professor Bhugra also mentioned the s t r u c t u r a l d e f ic i e n c i e s w i t h i n the NHS “The N H S d o e s n ' t have the competence to understand the cultural values If people et admitted to the pital, quite often, they will not get the right kind of food, like vegetarian food, and may get pork or ham instead Also, it's not always possible, for example, to find an interpreter at a short notice or to provide the right kind of makeup or food or environment- things like having informat i o n i n o t h e r l a n g u a g e s , h a v i n g access to books, or a library for people who don't read English So, there is an overwhelmed NHS on one hand, and pressures related to cultural expectations on the other ”

It becomes even more difficult for people from sexual minorities

Dr Bhugra added, “What people experience and have continued to experience can be called double jeopardy or triple Jeopardy So, if you are South Asian and you're sexual minority, and you've got mental illness, that's three things that may feed into each other that you may be dealing with Though the services are sensitive, the South Asian community may not be sensitive to your sexual identity so two out of three are acknowledged and the third one does not get acknowledged And similarly, if you are gay and old and have mental illness, again, that's triple jeopardy because there's a different perception of how the old people should be, how t h e y s h o u l d b e h a v e , h o w t h e y should seek help ”

However, while some action is taken at a local level by individual NHS Trusts according to affordability, in the absence of long-term comprehensive investments, they amount to very little A rati Das, I n t e r

O f f i c e r a t B u c k i n g h a m s h i r e Healthcare NHS Trust who had also worked in a mental health and community hospital Trusts in the past, said, “As a finance professional in the public sector, and particularly within the NHS, I am also testimony to the attempts being made

by employers to support staff experiencing hardship However, at the end of the day, with rising inflation, t h e s e a r e j u s t t o k e n g e s t u r e s Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are partnerships of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services, and to improve the lives of people who live and work in their area

Real investment is needed at ICS level in supporting those families at risk of financial cria n d w i t h i t t h e m p a c t o f m e n t a l h e a l t h w h e t h e r i t b e s t a f f o r t h e patients and carers coming within t h e c a r e o f t h e l o c a l I n t e g r a t e d c a r e s y s t e m s

( I C S s ) W h a t t h e urrent financial crihas highlighted is the i m p a c t o n t h e m i d d l e i n c o m e o r p r o f e s s i o n a l w o r k e r s w h o c a n ' t g e t f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t other than through additional borrowing or making serious lifestyle decisions such as moving into joint family arrangements or going without meals ”

Staff at her Trust have been invited to make financial hardship applications in the workplace for buying essentials like fridges, cooke r s a n d w a s h i n g m a c h i n e s i n a world where gas and electricity bills have gone up by as much as 80 per cent

In her locality, she has seen p e o p l e w h o p r e v i o u s l y d o n a t e d t h e i r e x t r a h o u s e h o l d i t e m s t o charity now actively selling them on eBay and other selling portals for a pittance to cover their expenses She referred to her own experie n c e w h i l e t a l k i n g a b o u t h o w health outreach work can positively support a family through difficult times

“Almost 12 years back, when I had my first child after an emergency c-section, as a new mother, I wasn't that familiar with the concept of postnatal depression, let alone identify my situation as that I had my baby, and I wasn't happy It was the routine after-care provided by District Nurses to new mothers that addressed my situation

“My ‘low mood’ was detected by one such nurse while taking my blood pressure and chatting to me The nurse motivated me to cheer up, to celebrate for having given birth to a healthy baby and enjoy the time that was not going to come back This level of support is particularly important in this country for South Asian families as there isn't a wide family network People a r e u s u a l l y l i v i n g i n i n d i v i d u a l nuclear families So young parents don't have that network

“Even as a professional individual, I wouldn't have gone for ment a l h e a l t h s u p p o r t f o r p o s t n a t a l depression immediately after birth, but I did benefit from the early intervention through the District Nursing before it became a more serious issue I was never diagnosed with postnatal depression but was h e l p e d b y t h e o u t r e a c h w o r k t h r o u g h t h a t s y s t e m f o r y o u n g mothers where during the first few weeks, the nurses used to visit and all of that, that was so important to me as a young mother There are cost implications for provision of such services now ” What is the way out?

The experts we talked to rec-

ommend a holistic approach which i n v o l v e d l o o k i n g b e y o n d t h e stereotypes For example, religion, which is often considered a barrier t o a c k n o w l e d g i n g p r o b l e m s a n d seeking scientific help, can provide structure and present people with m u c h - n e e d e d s o c i a l s u p p o r t People of South Asian descent can personally attest to the efficacy of support groups formed over communal activities like cooking, performing rituals, chatting, and gossiping, especially among women who are often at the receiving end of mental health problems among other members in close-knit families and are themselves vulnerable to severe mental health problems due to poverty, lack of nutrition, domestic violence, and the like

P r o f e s s o r B h u g r a s u g g e s t e d integrating community leaders and places of religious worship into the process as it would be less stigmatising to visit religious places to seek help for mental health probl e m s t h a n h o s p i t a l s a n d c l i n i c s “ H a v i n g c u l t u r a l m e d i a t o r s o n mental health teams who can educate the team about what the needs of the community are, and who can educate the community in terms of r e a l i s t i c e x p e c t a t i o n s i s a g o o d m o d e l t o f o l l o w W o r k i n g w i t h n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l v o l u n t a r y organisations, community organisations, teachers, religious leaders, community leaders, is the way forward”

A r a t i a d d e d t h a t f u n d i n g o r community integration by themselves would not be enough in the long run Merely putting in a lot of money would create unhelpful situations like hospitals competing to get funds without addressing core i s s u e s C o l l a b o r a t i o n o n w e l ldesigned services is the key to using funds effectively and sustainably, she added

Professor Bamrah emphasised the need of being early when it c a m e t o m e n t a l h e a l t h i s s u e s , whether it be in seeking help, or in learning about them “We need a l o t o f e d u c a t i o n s t a r t i n g f r o m schools to de-stigmatise mental illness Sadly, we cannot escape the fact that almost one in four adults w i l l e x p e r i e n c e a m e n t a l h e a l t h problem in their lifetime, so it is pretty common Also, more and more children are now showing symptoms of mental illness And because of the stigma, many will not seek help until their illness is advanced But as we well know, e a r l y t r e a t m e n t m e a n s a b e t t e r prognosis A range of voluntary and c h a r i t a b l e o r g a n i s a t i o n s l i k e Samaritans and MIND offer free advice and support

“Also, there is a range of psychological and pharmacological treatments that we know work in reversing or containing mental illness, r e g a r d l e s s o f w h e t h e r t h a t i s a s e v e r e m e n t a l d i s o r d e r l i k e schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or stress, anxiety, or depression My advice is to seek help early Ask the GP for advice and support or go to your NHS crisis services if things are escalating Make your mental health a priority for all your life and you will reap the rewards of happiness, contentment, satisfaction in relationships and work, and what’s m o r e , y o u r p h y s i c a l h e a l t h a l s o i m p r o v e s i f y o u r m e n t a l h e a l t h does There is no health without mental health Indeed, I would go further – there is no financial health either without good mental health!”

Dr Sohom Das

Professor Dinesh Bhugra CBE

Professor JS Bamrah CBE

Around 11,000 years old human

remains found in South Cumbria

A n a rc h eo lo g is t fr o m C u m bria has d is co vered the rem ains of so me of northern Britain’s earliest h u m ans F o u n d at H ea ni ng Wo o d B o ne C a v e i n G reat U rsw i ck , sou th Cum bria, th e cave h as been confirmed as a burial site by experts fro m a n i nt ern ati o n al t ea m f ro m t h e U ni v e rs i ty o f C entral Lancashire L o c a l a r c h e o l o g i s t M a r t i n S t a b l e s h a s b e e n w o r k i n g a t t h e s i t e s i n c e 2 0 1 6 , w i t h a c a d e m i c a n alysts brought in to interpret the evidence Mr Stables has p r e v i o u s l y d i s c o v e r e d h u m a n a n d a n i m a l b o n e , stone tools, and prehistoric

pottery at the site He told reporters: “After six years digging it’s all ended up in a place I never expected it to get to ” Previous excavations at the site in the 1950s, and existing archeological work by Liverpool John Moores University has dated some material from the site to the e a r l y B r o n z e A g e , a r o u n d

Ofsted slams Islamic Midlands boarding school

4,000 years ago Before this recent discovery, the earliest ‘northe r n e r ’ e x c a v a t e d w a s a

1 0 , 0 0 0 - y e a r - o l d b u r i a l f r o m t h e n e a r b y K e n t ’ s Bank Cavern, Morecambe Bay discovered in 2013 Dr Peterson said: “To put it in p e r s p e c t i v e , t h e l a s t I c e

A g e l a s t e d u n t i l a b o u t

11,600 years ago After that period, the global temperat u r e w a r m e d r a p i d l y o v e r about 100 years to give us the climate we ’ ve got today

Further research at the site is set to continue to establish what happened to the individuals discovered, t h e i r o r i g i n s a n d i f t h e y were related

One in 14 young people in England identify as LGB+ : Census

As per the 2021 census, nearly one in 14 young people in England an d W a les i de nti fy a s lesb i a n, ga y, b i se x ual o r another mi nority sexual o ri e n t at i on ( L G B + ) , m o re t ha n t wi c e t he l e ve l f or th e ov e ra ll population

Across the country, there are sharp variations with some local areas recording as many as one in six 16 to 24year-olds identifying as LGB+

On March 21, 2021, the c e n s u s t o o k p l a c e i n England and Wales and the O f f i c e f o r N a t i o n a l Statistics (ONS) is releasing its findings in stages

According to the latest data, 6 9% of 16 to 24-yearolds identify as LGB+, the highest proportion of any age group and more than twice the figure for the total population (3 2%) There is a slightly high-

er proportion of LGB+ males in England (3 0%)

t h a n W a l e s ( 2 7 % ) , while for females the figure is similar (3 3%), the census suggests “ L o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s with a relatively high p r o p o r t i o n o f p e o p l e aged 16 to 24 who identified as LGB+ tended t o h a v e o n e o r m o r e universities,” the ONS said I n E n g l a n d a n d Wales, the proportion of people saying that their gender identity is different from their sex registered at b i r t h d e c r e a s e s a s a g e groups get older, reflecting the trend for sexual orientation

Teachers and parents voice fury over crumbling classrooms

M inis ters sp arked a fu rio us ro w o ver the s af ety of th o u sa nds o f dilapidated sch ool bu ildings in England o n S aturday night by a b an do n i n g th e i m mi n en t p u b l i cation of data sh owing t h o s e j u d ge d to be mos t at ris k of collapse L a b o u r r e s p o n d e d t o t h e U - t u r n b y s a y i n g i t would use a rare parliamentary device to force publicat i o n o f t h e d o c u m e n t s about the perilous state of m a n y s c h o o l s a c r o s s England, so that parents can judge whether it is safe to send their children to classes T h e h e a d t e a c h e r s ’ union, the NAHT, meanwhile, described the decision to hold back on publication as “shocking”

M i n i s t e r s s a i d f o r m o n t h s t h a t t h e y w o u l d p u b l i s h t h e s o - c a l l e d B u i l d i n g s C o n d i t i o n s

n a l d o c u m e n t s r e v e a l e d showed that some buildings were judged a “risk to life”

Leaked internal emails showed that a battle was r a g i n g b e t w e e n t h e Department for Education (DfE) and the Treasury last spring for more funds to d r a m a t i c a l l y e x p a n d t h e r e b u i l d i n g p r o g r a m m e a s c o n c e r n s r o s e a b o u t t h e dangers

I n i t s l a t e s t a n n u a l r e p o r t , p u b l i s h e d i n D e c e m b e r , t h e D f E c o nf i r m e d t h e c r i s i s , s a y i n g “there is a risk of collapse of one or more blocks in some s c h o o l s w h i c h a r e a t , o r a p p r o a c h i n g , t h e e n d o f t h e i r d e s i g n e d l i f e -

O fs t e d in s pe c t or s ha v e slammed a pr iv ate Midla nds boar din g school for je opardising its pupil s' lives and not giving t he m a proper education Ofsted judge d the feepaying school to be "inadeq u a t e " a n d sa i d i mp r o v ement s had to b e ma de Last year, inspectors made a v i s i t t o t h e b o y s - o n l y M a d i n a t u l U l o o m A lIslamiya Islamic College and now has published its report All areas were judged to be 'inadequate' At the time of the inspection

last October, the fee-paying school in Kidderminster had 219 pupils aged between 11 and 28 Of these, 190 were boarders, with 154 of these being under the age of 18 Earlier this month, Ofsted published its report into the W o r c e s t e r s h i r e s c h o o l I t concluded it was inadequate i n a l l a r e a s a n d w a r n e d : "There are serious failures, w h i c h m e a n t h a t c h i l d r e n and young people are not protected, or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded "

O f s t e d s a i d : " T h e y h a v e made a start, but there is a c o n t i n u i n g j o u r n e y o f i m p r o v e m e n t t o b r i n g a l l areas up to a good standard There are areas where there are cracks in plaster work, dents in walls, rotten woodwork, and rusty radiators "Carpets also need replacing in many areas of the boarding houses The school has a plan to address these works Leaders are making a significant financial commitment to improve the environment for children "

Austerity measures in UK exacerbated racism: UN

Racism in th e U K is system ic and erod ing the rights of Black people, a group o f U nited Nation exp erts h av e w arned f ollow ing a landm ark tour o f the cou ntry

The experts documented the “trauma” felt by people of African descent who they said were suffering racial discrimination and injustice, with one woman asking: “Will this ever end?” They also found that a decade of austerity measures had exacerbated racism, racial discrimination and other intolerance people of African descent encounter, which had an adverse impact on their fundamental rights, the experts observed “ F r o m t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f p e o p l e o f

African descent, racism in the UK is structural, institutional and systemic, the group said in a statement “ W e h a v e s e r i o u s c o n c e r n s a b o u t

impunity and the failure to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, deaths in police custody, ‘joint enterprise’ convictions and the dehumanising nature of the stop and strip search,” they added

The findings from the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which is part of the UN’s Human Rights Council, come following the conclusion of a “factf i n d i n g v i s i t ” t o t h e U K a n d N o r t h e r n Ireland between 18 to 27 January

e x p e c t a n c y , a n d structural integrity is i m p a i r e d ” I t a d d e d t h a t “ t h e r i s k p r edominantly exists in those buildings built in the years 1945 to 1970 which used ‘ syst e m b u i l d ’ l i g h tframe techniques” Leaks from inside t h e D f E l a s t y e a r showed officials calling as a matter of urgency for the Treasury to make billions more available to ensure the number of renovation proj e c t s f o r s c h o o l b u i l d i n g s could be increased from the current 50 a year to more than 300

R e f u s i n g t o c o m m e n t on publication of the data, the DfE said on Saturday night: “The condition data c o l l e c t i o n i s o n e o f t h e largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK public sector, which helps us to understand the condition of t h e s c h o o l e s t a t e i n England, and informs prioritisation of funding

Priti Patel criticises police groups

V eg an a n d p a ga n p o l i c e g ro u p s ar e a mo n g m o r e th an 200 “staff networks” c ri ti ci se d f o r “ di s trac ti ng ” o fficers from figh ting crime i n a repo rt backed by P riti P atel

T h e f o r m e r h o m e secretary said some of the so-called staff networks had blurred the lines between politics and policing as they campaigned on issues from v e g a n i s m a n d c l i m a t e change to Islamophobia and trans rights The report by t h e t h i n k t a n k P o l i c y Exchange, which is close to the Government, found the staff networks had “strayed well beyond the acceptable b o u n d s o f p o l i t i c a l i m p a r t i a l i t y r e q u i r e d o f those in policing ”

They included examples o f g r o u p s w h i c h h a d criticised the police’s use of t h e t e r m “ I s l a m i s t ” f o r Muslim extremists, linked u p w i t h a n o r g a n i s a t i o n t h a t h a s c a l l e d f o r t h e

a b o l i t i o n o f t h e G o v e r n m e n t ’ s c o u n t e rt e r r o r i s m P r e v e n t p r o g r a m m e a n d a t t a c k e d trans critics like JK Rowling

In a foreword to the report, Ms Patel said it was “deeply concerning” that at a time w h e n p o l i c e c h i e f s c o m p l a i n e d o f “ s t r a i n e d resources, ” many of the staff networks were engaging in “ a n u n h e a l t h y i n t e r n a l c o m p e t i t i o n f o r a t t e n t i o n and resources rather than pursuing a relentless focus on serving the public ”

The report found staff n e t w o r k s h a d g r o w n b y more than 83 per cent since 2010 including the Vegan N e t w o r k a t C l e v e l a n d

Police, slated in 2022 as the country’s worst performing f o r c e , W e s t Y o r k s h i r e

Police’s Green Network set up “primarily to lobby” on p o l i c y a n d t h e N a t i o n a l P o l i c e P a g a n A s s o c i a t i o n P o l i c y E x c h a n g e s a i d t h e g r o u p s m i g h t h a v e a

“ p o s i t i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n ” t o m a k e w i t h s o m e c e n t r e d around nationality, religion i n c l u d i n g h u m a n i s t s a n d background such as Gypsy R o m a b u t w a r n e d t h e y risked being “ a significant distraction from policing’s core mission” of keeping the public safe

The think tank said this w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e c a s e w h e r e t h e g r o u p s a t t e m p t e d t o i n f l u e n c e policy or the Government, c i t i n g t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f M u s l i m P o l i c e ( N A M P ) a n d t h e N a t i o n a l L G B T + P o l i c e Network The NAMP had urged the Home Office to

Patient jailed for groping paramedic

ditch terms such as Islamist o r J i h a d i s t , a s i t c l a i m e d t h e s e i n c r e a s e d l e v e l s o f I s l a m o p h o b i a , r i s k e d g r e a t e r r a d i c a l i s a t i o n a n d l o w e r e d t r u s t a n d c o n f i d e n c e I t s u g g e s t e d alternatives such as “antiWestern extremism ” A s p o k e s m a n f o r t h e N a t i o n a l L G B T + p o l i c e n e t w o r k s a i d : “ W e h a v e c o n d u c t e d n o p o l i t i c a l c a m p a i g n s M e m b e r s u p a n d d o w n t h e c o u n t r y p r o v i d e c o r e p o l i c i n g services first and foremost Secondary and in the main v o l u n t a r y t o t h i s i s t h e s u p p o r t t o s t a f f a r o u n d welfare, wellbeing issues ”

Heathrow workers will find other jobs if charged further, GMB London says

G MB Lond on a nd the Ma yor of Lon don have see mingly g otte n int o a t ussle over the imposition of fee s for nonc o m pl ia n ce t o U L E Z r e g u la t i o n s o v e r v e hi c le e m is si o n s , M y L o n d o n r e p or t e d T he U lt r a L ow Emission Zon e (ULEZ) will b e co m e e ff e ct i v e in ou t e r L ondon in August, a nd will i nc lu de He a th ro w A ir po rt This would r equir e a ny one n ot h a v i n g e n v i r o n m e n tfrie ndly cars to pay £1 2 50 pe r da y to d rive a round the c i t y , in cl ud i n g lo w -p a i d w o r k e r s a t He a t hr ow A irport who cann ot acce ss public t ran sport due to t heir od d workin g hours

T r e v l y n M c L e o d ,

G M B L o n d o n R e g i o n O r g a n i s e r s a i d , “ G M B has members paying £135 to park the car that got them to work and those who are dropped off or picked up at Heathrow must pay £5 a day The f r e e p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t t r a v e l p a s s e s f o r H e a t h r o w w o r k e r s t h a t applied to zones around the Airport were suspended at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 2 0 2 1 Another hit of £12 50 a day w i l l p r o v e t o o m u c h f o r many of our members who w i l l s e e k a l t e r n a t i v e employment outside of the ULEZ zone Our members

a r e s o a n g r y a b o u t t h i s , w i t h o u t s o m e k i n d o f concession or exemption for o u r l o w - p a i d m e m b e r s , Heathrow may once again face major ground staffing shortages ”

T h e s p o k e s p e r s o n f o r the mayor said, “The Mayor has listened to Londoners t h r o u g h o u t t h i s p r o c e s s ,

w h i c h i s w h y h e ’ s a n n o u n c e d t h e b i g g e s t scrappage scheme yet£ 1 1 0 m - t o h e l p t h e Londoners who need it m o s t , i n c l u d i n g c h a r i t i e s , l o w i n c o m e and disabled Londoners, m i c r o - b u s i n e s s e s a n d sole traders This is on t o p o f t h e £ 6 1 m i l l i o n p r o v i d e d f o r p r e v i o u s scrappage schemes Four out o f f i v e v e h i c l e s i n o u t e r London are already ULEZ compliant and will not need to pay the ULEZ Any money received from the scheme w i l l b e r e i n v e s t e d [ i n ] L o n d o n ’ s t r a n s p o r t network "

Gambling company fined £6.1m for 'social responsibility and money laundering failings'

A regulator has fined m illions to Gambling firm In T o u c h G am e s fo r " s o c ia l r es p o ns i bi li t y an d m o ne y laund ering failings"

T h e G a m b l i n g

Commission said the company had been given a £6 1m p e n a l t y A c c o r d i n g t o t h e Gambling Commission, the company operates a number o f o n l i n e s i t e s i n c l u d i n g bonusboss co uk

The watchdog said the issues at In Touch Games included not having appropriate policies, procedures and controls in place and not sufficiently considering or implementing the regulator's money laundering and t e r r o r i s t f i n a n c i n g r i s k assessment or guidance

The firm has also been accused of not acting in customers' best interests

It is the third time the company, whose brands also i n c l u d e c a s h m o c o u k , d r s l o t c o u k , j a m m y m o nk e y c o m a n d

s l o t f a c t o r y c o m , h a s b e e n penalised It paid a £2 2m s e t t l e m e n t f o r f a i l u r e s i n

In its long -running d isp ute ov er jobs, pay and pensions, th e bi g g e st c i v i l s er v i ce u ni o n h as d e c id ed t o p ro t es t D u ri ng th e February h alf term, membe rs o f th e P u b li c and Co mmercial S ervice u nion ( P C S ) a t t h e B ri ti s h Mu seum will take ind ustrial action

From February 13, more than 100 members of the m u s e u m ’ s v i s i t o r s e r v i c e s and security teams will take seven days’ action

2019 and in 2021 it received a £3 4m fine and warning for further failures

Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the G a m b l i n g C o m m i s s i o n , said: "Considering this operator's history of failings we expected to see significant improvement when we carried out our planned com-

A par amedic sa id she fe l t ‘ fr i g h t e n e d, sca r e d a n d v ul n e r ab l e ’ whe n a p a ti e nt g r op e d he r a n d expose d himse lf N a v e e d A h m e d , 35, is currently serving a nine-month sentence for s e x u a l l y a s s a u l t i n g h e r i n E d g w a r e R o a d , c e n t r a l London, last October Now the victim, Charlotte Miller, h a s d e c i d e d t o w a i v e h e r a n o n y m i t y a n d s p e a k o u t a b o u t h e r e x p e r i e n c e t o encourage others to report assaults She said: ‘My crewmate and I were encouraging the patient to get into the a m b u l a n c e s o w e c o u l d assess him but he grabbed my crotch and tried to grab me again Then he pulled his pants down ” Charlotte used her radio t o c a l l p o l i c e a n d t h e y showed up within less than a minute She added: ‘I would u r g e e v e r y o n e t o r e p o r t these things because I was well supported by my management team and by the police It’s only by reporting this sort of behaviour and helping police to prosecute

t h a t t h e m e s s a g e w i l l g e t through that there are serious consequences ’ S t a f f a t t h e L o n d o n Ambulance Service are no strangers to having a difficult time at work Last year there were a total of 49 sexual assaults on workers or volu n t e e r s a n d 5 1 6 p h y s i c a l assaults, including kicking, punching, head-butting and a t t a c k s w i t h a w e a p o n There were also 601 reports of verbal abuse or threats of violence T h e s e r v i c e h a s s p e n t m o r e t h a n £ 3 m i l l i o n i n e q u i p p i n g i t s a m b u l a n c e s with video cameras Footage has helped with several prosecutions, including Ahmed’s C h i e f p a r a m e d i c D r J o h n Martin said: ‘Our ambulance c r e w s a n d c a l l h a n d l e r s should be able to work without fear of violence, sexual violence or threats ’

Diaspora across the UK protests against BBC documentary on PM Narendra Modi

Hu nd reds of people including th ose representing severa l I nd i a n o rg ani s ati o n s joined demonstrations outside BBC studios in Londo n, Bi rm i n g h am , M anc h e st er, Newcastle and Glasg ow, to pro test agai nst wh at th ey ter m ed as a “ p o o r ly researched, biased and antiIn d i a ” d o c u m en tar y o n In d i an P r im e M in i st er Narend ra M odi, aired in two parts on BBC

p l i a n c e a s s e s s m e n t "Disappointingly, although m a n y i m p r o v e m e n t s h a d been made, there was still more to do

This £6 1m fine shows that we will take escalating enforcement action where failures are repeated and all licensees should be acutely aware of this "

The protesters demanded an independent inquiry i n t o t h e s e r i e s a i r e d l a s t month and carried placards calling for a boycott of the c o r p o r a t i o n , a l l e g i n g i t i s spreading “communal division” in the UK

O r g a n i s a t i o n s b e h i n d t h e U K w i d e p r o t e s t s included Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) UK), Friends o f I n d i a S o c i e t y I n t e r n a t i o n a l ( F I S I ) U K ,

Staff at British Museum to walk out

The union said the strike that will take place between February 13 and 17 is likely to disrupt the p r i n t i n g o f d r i v i n g licences and impact on other print jobs at His M a j e s t y ’ s R e v e n u e a n d

C u s t o m s ( H M R C ) a n d D e p a r t m e n t f o r W o r k and Pensions (DWP)

I n a s e p a r a t e d i s p u t e , from February 3, PCS members working as legal advisers and court associates in more than 80 courts across

w a r n e d m i n i s t e r s t h a t our action would spread i f t h e y i g n o r e d o u r

d e m a n d s , a n d w e ’ r e good to our word

“In failing to come to the table with any n e w m o n e y , t h e Government has failed its own workforce – the very people they praised f o r k e e p i n g t h e c o u n t r y r u n n i n g d u r i n g t h e p a ndemic

“If the Government was serious about resolving the

National Council of Hindu

T e m p l e s U K ( N C H T U K ) , Hindu Council UK (HCUK), V i s h w a H i n d u K e n d r a Southall, Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB), REACH UK, Indian Diaspora UK (IDUK) and Insight UK

The BBC has however d e f e n d e d t h e p r o g r a m m e s a y i n g i t h a s “ r i g o r o u s l y researched according to the highest editorial standards”

d i s p u t e , m i n i s t e r s c o u l d resolve it tomorrow

“Instead, they’re shamefully hiding their heads in the sand, hoping we’ll go away We won’t

“Wednesday will see the largest action by our union in a decade, with 100,000 of o u r m e m b e r s a l l o v e r E n g l a n d , S c o t l a n d a n d W a l e s t e l l i n g t h e Government they demand a pay rise now to help them through the cost-of-living crisis and beyond ”

King’s old video surfaces after Harry’s claims

King Cha rle s III’s de ca desol d comments about pick in g a wife ha ve r esurfaced foll owing Prince H arry ’ s claims a bout marr ia ges in the royal family

In a recent video posted to TikTok, user @icon vintage shared a snippet of the royal’s 1969 interview with B B C - I n d e p e n d e n t T e l e v ision The conversation featured the now-king as a 20year-old and took place days b e f o r e h e w a s o f f i c i a l l y crowned the Prince of Wales

The video began with the y o u n g p r i n c e s h a r i n g h i s thoughts, at the time, about

Youngsters fear not earning enough to support family

how difficult it was for him to choose a woman to marry “ W h e n y o u m a r r y i n m y p o s i t i o n y o u ’ r e g o i n g t o marry somebody who perh a p s o n e d a y i s g o i n g t o become queen And you ’ ve got to choose somebody very carefully,” he said T h e c l i p q u i c k l y switched to a famous 1995 i n t e r v i e w w i t h P r i n c e s s

Diana, whom the king married in 1981 During the conv e r s a t i o n w i t h B B C

Panorama, she said that her marriage was “ a bit crowded” since there were “three people” in it, referring to the

p r i n c e ’ s o n g o i n g r e l a t i o nship with Camilla, the now Queen Consort Before the King and his first wife split in 1996, they welcomed two c h i l d r e n , n o w 4 0 - y e a r - o l d W i l l i a m a n d h i s n o w 3 8y e a r - o l d y o u n g e r b r o t h e r , H a r r y T h e k i n g m a r r i e d Camilla in 2005, years after Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997

Priest barred from ministry for 12 years

A C hurch of England priest w h o s h ar ed v i ru l ent ly a nt is em it ic m at eri al h a s been barred from m inistry for 12 years

T h e R e v e r e n d D r Stephen Sizer, 69, was found by a church tribunal to have e n g a g e d i n c o n d u c t "unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders" The Archbishop of Canterbury said Dr Sizer's b e h a v i o u r h a d g i v e n " e n c o u r a g e m e n t t o c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s a n d tropes" Dr Sizer declined to c o m m e n t H e p r e v i o u s l y told the tribunal he strongly denied the allegation he was a n t i s e m i t i c a n d s a i d a n y

distress he had caused was unintentional and he had been misquoted T h e a c t i n g B i s h o p o f Winchester said the penalty handed down on Monday reflects "the seriousness of the misconduct" Dr Sizer was vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water, in Surrey, f o r 2 0 y e a r s , u n t i l h i s retirement in 2017 The ban, which includes the time he has already served since the

complaint was brought in 2 0 1 8 , w i l l l a s t u n t i l December 2030 It means Dr S i z e r c a n n o t f u l f i l a n y priestly roles, such as taking c o m m u n i o n o r m a r r i a g e services, until he has served his sentence

T h e B i s h o p ' s D i s c ip l i n a r y T r i b u n a l f o r t h e Diocese of Winchester ruled in December that he had "provoked and offended the J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y " a n d " e n g a g e d i n a n t i s e m i t i c activity" The case had been brought by the President of t h e B o a r d o f D e p u t i e s o f British Jews, Marie van der Zyl, who cited 11 examples between 2005 and 2018

Home Secretary says amendments will help curb protesters blocking roads or slowing down traffic

H o m e S ec ret ary S u el la Brav erman has urged peers to bac k "p ro per penalties" for d isruptive p rotesters in a p rop osed new law

The new powers would a l l o w p o l i c e o f f i c e r s t o i n t e r v e n e b e f o r e p r o t e s t s become "highly disruptive" and give them greater clarity about when they can intervene to stop demonstrators b l o c k i n g r o a d s o r s l o w marching, the government s a i d T h e a m e n d m e n t s t o t h e P u b l i c O r d e r B i l l a r e a i m e d a t c u r b i n g t a c t i c s used by groups such as Just S t o p O i l , I n s u l a t e B r i t a i n

a n d E x t i n c t i o n R e b e l l i o n , according to the home secretary Under the proposed changes, police would not need to wait for disruption to take place and could shut d e m o n s t r a t i o n s d o w n before they escalate

Ahead of the debate, Ms

Braverman said: "Enough is e n o u g h B l o c k i n g m o t o r -

Ne ar ly half of all 16 t o 25y ear -olds in t he UK fea r th ey will ne ver ea rn e nough to support a fa mily amid the c os t o f li v i n g c r i si s a n d looming recession, a youth char ity’s re port r eve als

The Prince’s Trust said t h e a g e g r o u p ’ s h a p p i n e s s and confidence is at its lowest level since it started the r e s e a r c h 1 4 y e a r s a g o R e l e a s i n g i t s 2 0 2 3 y o u t h index, the charity said young p e o p l e a r e m o s t u n h a p p y about their money and mental health The report reveals 57% of young people said the cost of living crisis is their biggest worry for the future,

while 34% said the coming r e c e s s i o n i s t h e i r g r e a t e s t concern

Some 46% overall said

e c o n o m i c u n c e r t a i n t y

m a k e s t h e m f e e l h o p e l e s s about the future, rising to 55% for those from poorer b a c k g r o u n d s N e a r l y h a l f , 45%, worry they will never earn enough to support a f a m i l y , r i s i n g t o 5 3 % f o r t h o s e f r o m l e s s a f f l u e n t backgrounds

T h e d a t a i s f r o m a n online YouGov poll of 2,025 16 to 25-year-olds in the UK, c a r r i e d o u t b e t w e e n November 22 and December

7 Young people’s happiness

and confidence with money

i s n o w l o w e r t h a n w h e n polling began in 2008 during t h e g l o b a l f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s , the charity said While 35% agreed that thinking about money depresses or stresses them, this rose to 39% when t h o s e f r o m l e s s a f f l u e n t backgrounds were asked The Prince’s Trust’s UK c h i e f e x e c u t i v e J o n a t h a n T o w n s e n d s a i d : “ H a v i n g already lived through one of the most turbulent times to be young, this year ’ s Prince’s Trust NatWest Youth Index is a warning sign that, postp a n d e m i c , y o u n g p e o p l e ’ s wellbeing has not recovered

London could bid for 2040 Olympics

T h e i c o ni c O lym p ic Gam es could return to Lo nd on with in the next 20 years City Hall and the UK Government are ex p lo r in g o p ti o n s f o r submitting a form al bid f o r a n at io n w i d e O lym p ic s c en tred i n Lo nd on in 2040 S a d i q K h a n s a i d t h e y were "exploring a bid", with the potential for it to be "the greenest games ever" The Mayor of London sees the prospect of the games as a p o s t - C o v i d m o r a l e b o o s t which could extend beyond t h e c a p i t a l , b u t a l s o h e l p

address some of London's l o n g - t e r m t r a n s p o r t a n d infrastructure issues, simil a r l y t o 2 0 1 2 w h i c h g a v e birth to a host of developments in Stratford

This is the first time Mr K h a n h a s t a l k e d a b o u t a potential Olympic bid since he spoke about it while on a trip to the US in 2022 He

t o l d m e d i a t h e c o s t “ w o u l d n ’ t b e h u m o ngous ” because the capital already has the facilities

T h e U K

Government also indicated Britain's long and successful track record

o f s t a g i n g m a j o r s p o r t i n g events could spur on a 2040 d e a l e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r t h e Commonwealth Games in B i r m i n g h a m l a s t y e a r Sustainability and the environmental impact will be a key feature of any bid and could involve using some of the 2012 venues

ways and slow walking in roads delays our life-saving e m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e s , s t o p s people getting to work and drains police resources

"Around 75 days of Just Stop Oil action alone cost the taxpayer £12 5m in policing response This is simply not fair on the British public ”

The Public Order Bill is c o n s i d e r e d a s u c c e s s o r t o t h e c o n t r o v e r s i a l P o l i c e , C r i m e , S e n t e n c i n g a n d Courts Act passed last year, w h i c h w a s c r i t i c i s e d f o r i n t r o d u c i n g c u r b s o n t h e right to protest

Man killed in heart of London on a busy street

A day tripper killed a stranger in a “ferocious” knife attack on London’s busy Oxford Street , a court has heard

Tedi Fanta, 27, allegedly brandished a blade and jumped onto 60-year-old Stephen Dempsey from behind just before 8pm on July 1 2021

Two passing skateboarders hit the defen-

dant with their boards in a bid to disarm him, the Old Bailey was told

They then helped to restrain the attacker

until armed police arrived while other members of the public tended to the victim, jurors heard

When police arrived, the defendant was noted to be speaking in an “incoherent manner ” and had a head injury from a blow from a skateboard which was checked in hospital

Demand for a detailed plan to save the NHS

Most of us who came here in sixties, have already retired or on the verge of retirement, many with poor health, suffering from illness associated with old age and climate We were the first wave of immigrants who moved here after East African countries gained independence

Although I am a regular user of NHS, I never had the urgency to visit A&E, although we all have been there to accompany elderly or young children But last week’s visit was an eye opener I never thought A & E could be overflowing with patients, hardly a space to stand, new arrivals were politely requested to attend the next one, all the way to Royal Free, not easy for elderly to travel, even in a car

I have never seen such a chaos in any country, so why here, one of the six most developed countries in the world, or it is all cheap propaganda! As we say there are statics, more statics and outright lies! As it was a bad fall and the patient was well over eighty, we were advised to call ambulance

It came promptly, within half an hour and the diligent staffs spent half an hour examining her As it was a second fall within 24 hours, they advised her to go to hospital Fortunately it was a rare off-peak period, so waiting in ambulance was not too long, although we were told it will be at least an hour or even more

By 4pm, she was transferred to a cubicle and taken for CT scan at around 9 pm, five hours after our arrival, saw Consultant at 11 pm and was admitted to a ward early in the morning I left hospital at 9 pm when my nephew took over

While passing through A & E waiting room, my heart was filled with sorrow, sadness with tears flowing from my eyes, seeing so many helpless people, well over 100, including women and children accommodated in a room that could hardly accommodate 75 at the most When my nephew left at 4 am, there were even more patients waiting, not less! I wonder how MPs and Ministers could have felt if they were in the room, as ordinary patients without using their privileged position!

I never thought in a million years that the country that once ruled one third of the globe will be so hopeless at looking after their own! Would people in France, Germany and Scandinavian countries accept such a poor standard? One reason is that government closed A & E at Central Middlesex recently and at Edgware long time ago when it was downgraded from General to Community hospital Why, so that we can build more hospitals overseas using Overseas Aid and send our patients there!

With ageing population and GP shortages, demand on NHS will be increasing; it is already on the verge of collapsing One solution is for government to encourage people to go private, with tax incentive and some NHS contribution, the rest to be paid by the patient from their savings This will reduce waiting time and save lives, especially those of elders This scheme is operated in some countries with great effect But we are brainwashed it should be free Is it!

I urge voters to demand for a detailed plan on how the two main parties are going to improve our beloved NHS, starting with A&E at CMH and ECH I doubt anything will change unless people rise-up and demand a fair and functional NHS, as NHS is a holy cow no one dare to touch, unless it is a joint approach

Bhupendra M

Gandhi

India is not a white man’s burden

“India is not a white man ’ s burden” – Asian Voice dated 28 Jan – 3 Feb 2023, clearly shows that the BBC has been deliberately trying to tarnish the image of Mr Narendra Modi by reminding people about what happened 21 years ago

This has been discussed and debated in all the courts of India for many years Even the Supreme Court of India has exonerated Mr Modi Who is the BBC to judge or criticise the democratically elected Prime Minister of the largest democracy of the world?

When the UK – India relationship is going into a critical phase of trade agreement, it is important for the media and the politicians to act and react responsibly India is now the fifth largest economy – ahead of the UK A harsh reality is that the UK needs India more than India needs UK

As mentioned in the article, the very job of media is to ensure that fake messages can be combatted, the BBC has done exactly the opposite to prompt anti-India sentiments Freedom of speech or freedom of reporting does not mean that anybody can report anything they like to fulfill their narrow political agenda The government of India should not hesitate to ban the BBC from operating from its soil if they continue to use the freedom to broadcast what suits them but is dangerous for the people of India Firm action is needed, merely condemning the BBC is not enough We have many news channels in India to report and provide factual information to the people of India / to the world

Calling attention to climate crises

It is really disturbing to note that climate change and its impacts have been playing havoc with agriculture and global economic growth one way or another First off, Mother Earth has been host to plenty of natural resources from rivers to seas to mountains to trees to food crops – to mention a few In other words, almost all the countries and continents in the world have been home to such natural resources Well, this is true of even continents like Africa where deep forest areas have been quite common

On the other hand, the same African continent has long been reeling from severe economic crises and food shortage problems caused by bad elements like corrupt governments, not to mention climate change crises The East or the West, the fact of the matter is that there have still been severe climate consequences up ahead

In this context, extensive climate change awareness is the need of the hour First up, younger generations like students must be made aware of climate change crises and related ramifications in this connection For instance, what Greta Thunberg has been doing worldwide right up till date as a young climate change activist is just a matter of great pride and has been inspiring to the core

In my native areas like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Marthandam and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, students have usually been engaged in various activities like planting saplings/trees as part of their social awareness programmes After all, they have all the verve and vigour to spread the right messages across the board Way to go indeed!

On the whole, it is all about more climate actions on the ground through rigorous green activities globally Well, it is 2023 now and the global population has been growing by the day So it is very important to encourage robust agricultural activities in order to feed all the humans out there at the same time To give an example, my native places like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu h a v e b e e n t h e m a j o r h u b s o f f a r m i n g a c t i v i t i e s l i k e cultivating paddy, bananas, betels and other food crops To top it all, countries, governments and other international forums must swing into action in this connection

Above all else, serious and stringent measures must be t a k e n t o n u r t u r e g r e e n b e l t a n d f o r e s t a r e a s , t h e r e b y

protecting the global green ecosystems in toto In addition, the international community must always come forward to utilize money and technological advances to fight off the i m p a c t s o f c l i m a t e c h a n g e a p a r t f r o m s t r e n g t h e n i n g agricultural activities all year round P S enth il Saravana Durai Mum bai

Be responsible citizens

It is disheartening to see our national flag being strewn on the streets soon after the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations gets over

The national flag is a symbol of the nation’s pride and it should be respected But plastic and paper flags sold during the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations, often end up in the garbage or are strewn on the streets It is the duty of every citizen of India to maintain the dignity of the national flag Not only the national flag, but the national anthem and the national song should also be respected Jubel D’C ruz Mum bai

Food, glorious food!

Your reporter Shefali Saxena wrote an excellent article in Asian Voice (issue dated 21/27 January, page 09) regarding a popular food website, Eater, that named Kolkata as one of the world’s top 10 food destinations I agree wholeheartedly with Eater’s rating Our family, visiting relatives in that great city from our Maharashtrian home, were treated to a mouthwatering array of food and snacks, including spicy fish meals We also quickly discovered that lip-smacking Bengali sweets like jelabis, gulab jamuns, doodh peras, halwa and rasgullahs were out of this world and earned our fingertip-kissing approval Kolkata certainly teems with the world’s top culinary kings and queens

Rud y Otter

Charity department store at Brent Cross debuts in the UK

Ten UK charities, including

B a r n a r d o ' s a n d C a n c e r

R e s e a r c h , s e l l d o n a t e d

c l o t h i n g t h r o u g h t h e

C h a r i t y S u p e r m a r k e t a t

B r e n t C r o s s S h o p p i n g

Center It comes as secondhand fashion is gaining in popularity amid the rising cost of living and a higher d e m a n d f o r s u s t a i n a b l e shopping The pop-up shop in the north London shopping centre will be open for a m o n t h a n d o p e r a t e d e n t i r e l y b y v o l u n t e e r s

Other charities contributing clothes include Age UK, All

A b o a r d , E m m a u s , H a v e n s Hospice, SCT, Marie Curie, T R A I D a n d S h e l t e r T h e d e p a r t m e n t s t o r e i s t h e b r a i n c h i l d o f W a y n e Hemingway, founder of the Red or Dead fashion brand, and Maria Chenoweth, the C E O o f T R A I D ( T e x t i l e R e u s e a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Development)

A c c o r d i n g t o M s Chenoweth, charity stores "weren't getting the respect t h e y d e s e r v e d , " w h o s a i d that this was what motivated them to organise the project She claimed that this was due to larger corporations "hijacking" used clothing in order to appeal to consumers who are socially concerned

As per Mr Hemingway, one of the main reasons for launching the pop-up shop was to challenge the "outdated idea that High Street charity shops were signs of deterioration " "When you look at the demographic of people who are shopping in charity shops, it's the people who are leading the way in thinking," he said, adding that 65% of people across the UK wear second-hand clothes at least once a week

Britain writes off 15bn in Covid-19 medical items costs

Bri tai n h as wri tten do wn al mo s t 1 5 b i ll i o n p o u nd s ( $ 1 8 6 2 b i ll i o n ) i n c o s t s related to Co vid-19 p ersonal protective equ ipment (P PE) an d o th er m ed i c al i t em s o ve r th e l as t tw o y ea rs , prompting censure from its spending watchdog

T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f

H e a l t h a n d S o c i a l C a r e (DHSC) estimates there has b e e n a 6 b i l l i o n p o u n d reduction in the value of items procured in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021-2022, the National A u d i t O f f i c e ( N A O ) h a s said Out of the 6 billion, a w r i t e d o w n o f 2 5 b i l l o n p o u n d s r e l a t e s t o i t e m s

Problems, problems

I feel sorry for prime minister Rishi Sunak He has all the right ideas for turning Britain into a dynamic and highly successful country but is being let down by some of his Tory colleagues who are getting themselves into various scrapes Now Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, spotting an opportunity to exploit the situation, is accusing Sunak of being a "weak leader" which of course he is not, When the dust has finally settled, I think Rishi Sunak will make great progress and show the country, and the world, why he deserves to be prime minister

A sh Gupta

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

already purchased by the D H S C t h a t i t n o l o n g e r e x p e c t s t o u s e T h e r e s t relates to items the DHSC has committed to purchase, but no longer expects to use The DHSC reported an impairment of 8 9 billion p o u n d s i n 2 0 2 0 - 2 0 2 1 , totalling 14 9 billion pounds for two financial years "It is misleading to say that 14 9 billion pounds of taxpayers' money has been wasted," a government spokesperson said in a statement, adding i t h a d t o c o m p e t e i n a n o v e r h e a t e d g l o b a l m a r k e t t o p r o c u r e i t e m s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f w h i c h i t h a s used

10m customers of JD sports at risk of cyber-attack

Sportswear chain JD Sports has said stored data relating t o 1 0 m i l l i o n c u s t o m e r s might be at risk after it was hit by a cyber-attack

T h e c o m p a n y s a i d information that "may have been accessed" by hackers included names, addresses, e m a i l a c c o u n t s , p h o n e numbers, order details and the final four digits of bank cards The data related to o n l i n e o r d e r s b e t w e e n

November 2018 and October 2020 JD Sports said it was c o n t a c t i n g a f f e c t e d customers The group said t h e a f f e c t e d d a t a w a s "limited" It added it did not h o l d f u l l p a y m e n t c a r d

details and did not believe

t h a t a c c o u n t p a s s w o r d s w e r e a c c e s s e d b y t h e hackers

"We want to apologise to those customers who may have been affected by this i n c i d e n t , " s a i d N e i l Greenhalgh, chief financial o f f i c e r o f J D S p o r t s

"Protecting the data of our c u s t o m e r s i s a n a b s o l u t e priority for JD "

T h e a t t a c k r e l a t e d t o online orders placed for the J D , S i z e ? , M i l l e t s , B l a c k s , S c o t t s a n d M i l l e t S p o r t brands and it is understood i t w a s d e t e c t e d b y t h e company in recent days, but only the historical data was accessed The company said it was working with leading cyber-security experts" and w a s e n g a g i n g w i t h t h e U K ' s I n f o r m a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n e r ' s O f f i c e ( I C O ) i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e i n c i d e n t M r G r e e n h a l g h said affected customers were being advised "to be vigilant a b o u t p o t e n t i a l s c a m e-mails, calls and texts"

C y b e r - a t t a c k s h a v e h i t s e v e r a l U K c o m p a n i e s i n r e c e n t t i m e s R o y a l M a i l b e c a m e t h e v i c t i m o f a r a n s o m w a r e a t t a c k e a r l i e r this month which led to it h a l t i n g p o s t a n d p a r c e l deliveries overseas

Coronation street visitor’s centre now open

I TV h a s a n n ou n c e d t h e comple tion of the fir st e ver purpose built , public facing building, which feat ures ong oin g d e ve lo pm e nt o f t he lo n g e s t - r u n n i n g s oa p, Coron at ion Stre et The Coronation Street V i s i t o r C e n t r e a n d E v e n t Space is now the entrance to the soap ’ s tour, which sees members of the public and Corrie fans taken around the live working production set

O p e n i n g n e x t m o n t h , the building is situated on the corner of the show’s 7 7 acre production facility at M e d i a C i t y , G r e a t e r Manchester

The centre is also home to a café, ITV shop, cinema, Corrie exhibition tour and t h r e e c o n f e r e n c e s s p a c e s c a l l e d T h e I n k e r m a n , R o s a m u n d a n d V i a d u c t Suites

I T V ’ s D i r e c t o r o f

2 million video streaming subscribers choose to quit

W o r k p l a c e S e r v i c e s & Estates, Ian Jones, said ‘The ability to create this kind of space as a live viewer experience, as well as for our own business use, is brilliant

The exciting growth of C o r o n a t i o n S t r e e t c o m e s just weeks after the opening o f t h e s o a p ’ s b r a n d n e w precinct set, which features a r e a s i n c l u d i n g a p l a yg r o u n d , c h a r i t y s h o p a n d bakery

Country’s first ever Indian drive-thru launched

T he first ever Indian d riv e-thru in the UK h a s o p e ned , s er v i ng a n arr ay o f s tre et f o o d , h o t a nd c o ld ch ai drinks and an alld ay breakfast

Chaiiwala, a chain of restaurants serving I n d i a n s t r e e t f o o d , h a s o p e n e d i t s f i r s t drive-thru branch in Bolton, Greater Manchester

T h e e x t e n s i v e m e n u offers street food ranging f r o m B u t t e r C h i c k e n a n d C h i l i P a n e e r t o C h i c k e n

T i k k a B i t e s a n d a n A l o o

Tikki Burger

C u s t o m e r s c a n a l s o choose from a selection of

hot and cold drinks, including a Garam Chocolate, a Rose Falooda or the brand's famous Karak Chaii Standing on Manchester Road with a height restriction sign declaring: chaii is t h e l i m i t ' , t h e r e s t a u r a n t s e r v e s a l l - d a y b r e a k f a s t

o p t i o n s s u c h a s t h e O m e l e t t e W r a p , Sweet Bombay Toast a n d t h e E n g l i s h - i s h breakfast - featuring l a m b b a c o n r a s h e r s and masala beans

After starting out serving cups of chaii on the streets of Delhi in 1927, the franchise opened its first Sip of East in Leicester in 2016 and is now looking for further possible destinations for a Chaiiwala drive-thru

C o - f o u n d e r S o h a i l A l i told: 'This is the first time we have offered this concept and are delighted with the results ’

Covid sickness policy change affects pay of thousands of NHS staff

T h o u s an d s o f NH S s taf f across the UK are facing pay cuts because of a change in C ovid sickness policy

A n a l y s i s b y B B C P a n o r a m a s u g g e s t s t h a t between 5,000 and 10,000 NHS workers could be off s i c k w i t h l o n g C o v i d U n i o n s a r e a c c u s i n g t h e g o v e r n m e n t o f f a i l i n g t o s u p p o r t h e a l t h s t a f f w h o worked during the coronavirus pandemic

T h e g o v e r n m e n t s a y s the Covid-19 public inquiry w i l l e x a m i n e t h e s e i s s u e s when it begins taking evidence in May Changes to special sick pay rules introduced during the pandemic mean that some NHS staff unable to work due to long Covid may soon no longer

receive full pay

E n h a n c e d p r o v i s i o n ended last year Many had a s i x - m o n t h t r a n s i t i o n , s o e x p e c t t h e i r w a g e s t o g o down soon Rachel Hext is hoping she will get better after developing long Covid and being unable to work for more than two years

But really, she's not sure t h a t s h e w i l l e v e r b e t h e same again The 35-year-old is a nurse at a small commun i t y h o s p i t a l i n B r i x h a m , Devon A g o v e r n m e n t s p o k e s -

person says: "The Covid-19 inquiry has been set up to examine the government's response to the pandemic and we will respond openly a n d t r a n s p a r e n t l y t o t h e inquiry "In total, we have i n v e s t e d £ 3 1 4 m i l l i o n t o establish specialist services t h r o u g h o u t E n g l a n d t o direct people experiencing long Covid into the right t r e a t m e n t a n d r e h a b i l i t at i o n s e r v i c e s , i n c l u d i n g o c c u p a t i o n a l h e a l t h s e rvices " But the government accepts that long Covid is h a v i n g a n i m p a c t o n t h e NHS, contributing to workforce inactivity

T h e i n q u i r y w i l l s t a r t hearing evidence in May It has a huge scope and could last for years

More at-home care offered to shorten waiting times

I n England, s o- called virtual wards f or patients wi ll b e an noun ced b y the governm ent

This will enable doctors using the video and other t e c h n o l o g y t o m o n i t o r some, particularly the frail elderly at home

Along with this, there will also be more community teams that will visit people in their homes

T h e d e v e l o p m e n t comes amid intense pressure on the health service

and a dramatic deterioration in waiting times for urgent care

On Monday, the government and NHS England published the Urgent and E m e r g e n c y C a r e P l a n , highlighting steps intended to bring waiting times back down Health and Social Care

S e c r e t a r y S t e v e B a r c l a y s a i d : " B y e x p a n d i n g t h e care provided in the community, the most vulnerab l e , f r a i l a n d e l d e r l y

P e o p l e c u t b ac k o n video streaming services in th eir droves last year as th e co st of living ro se sh arply

Analysts Kantar said the number of paid-for v i d e o s t r e a m i n g s u bscriptions in the UK fell b y t w o m i l l i o n , f r o m 30 5 million to 28 5 million

D e m a n d h a d p i c k e d u p again at Christmas, Kantar s a i d , b u t p e o p l e w e r e "quickly looking to cut back again"

I n f l a t i o n , t h e r a t e a t which prices rise, is at its highest level for about 40 y e a r s , h i t t i n g p e o p l e ' s finances

"Brits' love of streaming remains as strong as ever, but the effect of high inflation meant consumers were

f o r c e d t o m a k e d i f f i c u l t

c h o i c e s t o b a l a n c e t h e i r

f i n a n c e s , s a i d D o m i n i c

S u n n e b o , K a n t a r ' s g l o b a l d i r e c t o r o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t on demand

"That financial pressure increasingly meant cutting b a c k o n v i d e o s t r e a m i n g s u b s c r i p t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y where households often had three or more different serv i c e s i n t h e s a m e h o u s ehold " Gregory Bortkiewicz, 36,

and his partner Tanya Kant, 37, from Brighton subscribed to Netflix a decade ago and chose to c a n c e l t h e i r s u b s c r i pt i o n l a s t s u m m e r I n N o v e m b e r , t h e m e d i a giant said it had added m o r e t h a n 1 2 m i l l i o n subscribers globally to its Disney+ streaming platform in the three months e n d i n g i n S e p t e m b e r H o w e v e r , K a n t a r s a i d growth at Disney+ in the UK was slowing, with the p l a t f o r m a c c o u n t i n g f o r 11 7% of all new subscribers in the last three months of 2022 - down from 19 3% in the same period a year earlier New subscriber growth also slowed at Now TV and Britbox, it said

Foetus found, police urge woman to come forward

The Met ropolit an Police is u rg i n g a w om a n t o co me forwa rd a ft er a foet us was found in a box outside a hospita l in n orth Lon don

O f f i c e r s w e r e c a l l e d when the box containing a 16-week-old foetus was discovered Police said a man in his 30s, wearing dark clothi n g , l e f t t h e b o x o u t s i d e

Barnet Hospital

The force said the matter is being treated as unexplained, and said it was concerned for the woman's welfare Det Insp Matt Coad said: "At this moment, our priority is to ensure that the mother is OK, and that she r e c e i v e s t h e a p p r o p r i a t e m e d i c a l a t t e n t i o n T h i s i s

likely to be a traumatic time for her, and I would ask that s h e m a k e s c o n t a c t e i t h e r with us, her local GP or a hospital "

He also appealed for the man to come forward so that he could be helped Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference CAD 1599/30Jan

Thinktank calls government to help people struggling with costs

The Re solution Foun dation says the shar e of UK wor king a g e h o use h o l d s w h o a r e be hind on or st ruggling with their housin g costs has rise n by almost 70% compare d to the peak of t he pandemic They incre ase d fr om 26% in J a n ua r y 20 21 t o 4 4 % i n Novembe r 2022 It says the cost-of-living crisis has left over two-infive working age households s t r u g g l i n g w i t h o r f a l l i n g b e h i n d o n t h e i r h o u s i n g c o s t s R e n t e r s a r e a t t h e sharp end of the crisis, as private and social rents are rising at their fastest rates in a

decade, on top of wider cost of living increases One-in-12 p r i v a t e r e n t e r s r e p o r t e d f a l l i n g b e h i n d o n h o u s i n g costs in the three months l e a d i n g u p t o N o v e m b e r 2022, while over half (53%) r e p o r t e d s t r u g g l i n g w i t h their housing costs N e a r l y o n e - i n - f i v e r e n t e r s i n s o c i a l h o u s i n g report falling behind while a n o t h e r f o u r - i n - 1 0 w e r e struggling The foundation s a y s t h e s i t u a t i o n f o r a l l households is set to worsen i n t h e m o n t h s a h e a d a s h o u s i n g c o s t s c o n t i n u e t o r i s e – w i t h p r i v a t e r e n t a l

prices expected to continue increasing and interest rate rises pushing up mortgage costs for the 2 million househ o l d s f l o w i n g o n t o n e w f i x e d - r a t e m o r t g a g e s n e x t y e a r C a r a P a c i t t i , s e n i o r economist at the Resolution F o u n d a t i o n , s a i d : ‘ W i t h many renters reaching the l i m i t s o f a l r e a d y d e p l e t e d finances, this squeeze is havi n g p r o f o u n d i m p a c t s o n their household budgets and wellbeing As housing costs are set to continue rising, the s i t u a t i o n f o r r e n t e r s w i l l worsen without further policy intervention ’

‘Operation Bonda’ will target beggars

patients can be better supported to continue living independently or recover at home "

N H S E n g l a n d c h i e f e x e c u t i v e A m a n d a Pritchard said the plan was to build on initiatives introduced this winter " B o o s t i n g c a r e i n t h e c o m m u n i t y a n d t r e a t i n g more people at home is key to recovery," she said "It is better for patients and their families, as well as easing pressure on NHS services "

Begg ars at L ondon Brid ge h a v e b ee n ta rg e ted by B ri ti s h T r ans p o rt P o l i ce ( B T P ) a s p ar t o f a t w om o n th c rac kd o w n F ro m D ec em b er to J anu a ry, ‘Operation Bonda’ has seen B ri ti s h T r ans p o rt P o l i ce sto p people from “actively be g g ing and ac ti ng i n an an ti - so c i al m ann er ” o n board trains

According to a report by Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner Andy Lord, not everyone who begs is h o m e l e s s a n d t h e r e i s a problem of “organised begging”

In his report, he wrote:

“ M a n y a s s o c i a t e b e g g i n g

with homelessness but this is not always the case We have issues with passive begg i n g , a g g r e s s i v e b e g g i n g

Where there are issues with aggressive or organised begging, our police partners will use enforcement powers to

d e a l w i t h t h e b e h a v i o u r ”

According to the report ‘tissue sellers’ – people who sell low-value items on trains –a r e a l s o b e i n g s o u g h t b y p o l i c e A c c o r d i n g t o M r

Lord’s report, rough sleeping is a “safeguarding priority” for TfL It says TfL has its own outreach team, operated by homelessness charity Thames Reach, which aims to help rough sleepers find long-term housing

So far this financial year, Thames Reach has engaged w i t h 1 1 6 i n d i v i d u a l s w h o w e r e r o u g h s l e e p i n g o n

TfL’s network and have conducted 136 shifts

Sadiq Khan commits £14m for Met’s turnaround plan

The May or of London pla ns t o s pe n d £ 1 4 2 mi lli o n t o r e fo r m t h e M e t r op o li t a n P olice Se rv ice Sa diq Khan o ut li n e d t he n e w fun d in g p r o p o sa ls o n W e d n e s d a y , J a n ua r y 2 5, t o r a i se st a nd ard s, improve per for man ce a n d r ebu ild th e t ru st a nd c o n fi d e n c e i n t h e p o li ce force

The funding - as part of the Mayor's budget proposals for 2023/2024 - would be used to support the Met's ' T u r n a r o u n d P l a n ' , w h i c h sets out how the force will rebuild trust, reduce crime and improve its standards over the next two years The Mayor's funding proposals are part of a package of measures designed to support

t h e M e t t o e x i t S p e c i a l

Measures as quickly as possible and to accelerate reforms and systemic change in the Met's performance and culture Of the funding, Sadiq Khan said he will 'not be satisfied until Londoners have

22 gets medal for their long service at Guy’s and St Thomas’

t h e p o l i c e s e r v i c e t h e y deserve' Nearly £12 million of the p r o p o s e i n v e s t m e n t f r o m

City Hall would be used to support the Commissioner's drive for higher standards in t h e p o l i c e f o r c e I t w i l l include the creation of a new M e t L e a d e r s h i p A c a d e m y , which would improve training for Met leaders and line managers to ensure the standards expected by policing and the public are achieved

It forms part of the Met's r e c e n t l y a n n o u n c e d T u r n a r o u n d P l a n , w h i c h f o c u s e s o n m o d e r n i s i n g police training and developing a strong cohort of leaders in every policing department across the capital

Camden rapist sent for 31 years

Ca mde n man who groome d women through a n empl oymen t website be fore r apin g t hem has bee n jailed for 3 1 y ears

Nuruzzaman Shahin was p r e v i o u s l y f o u n d g u i l t y o f eight counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration, three counts of sexual assault on a female and seven counts of controlling prostitution for gain The offences w e r e c o m m i t t e d a g a i n s t e i g h t w o m e n b u t t h e M e t r o p o l i t a n P o l i c e h a s appealed for others to come forward who may have been exploited by him

S h a h i n , 4 0 , o f N o r t h V i l l a s w a s f o u n d g u i l t y a t

Snaresbrook Crown Court in December and returned later to hear his fate The court heard how he set up a business called Soul Mates Escort Agency which operated prior to his initial arrest in 2018 H e t r a w l e d o n l i n e e m p l o y m e n t w e b s i t e s f o r women who were looking for work across a variety of industries and would contact them in an effort to r e c r u i t t h e m i n t o e s c o r t work, promising up to £500 a day F r o m t h e r e , S h a h i n would invite applicants to a face to face interview in north London - where he t h e n c o m m i t t e d s e r i o u s

sexual offences, including various instances of rape a n d o t h e r s e r i o u s s e x u a l assaults against them

Following Shahin’s initial arrest in 2018 a decision was made to take no further action in 2019, due to i n s u f f i c i e n t e v i d e n c e t o proceed But further investigations in 2020 led to his a r r e s t a n d s u b s e q u e n t charge in 2021

Man charged with assault for attacking Hancock in London underground

6 1 -y ea r- o ld Gez a T ar ja ny i f rom Leyland, Lancas h ire, was charged with assau lting th e former health secretary M a tt H a nc o c k a t t h e L o n do n Un de rg ro u nd o n T u es d ay , N e ws S h o p p e r r ep o rt ed H a nc o c k i s t h e c u r re n t MP fo r W es t S u f fo l k H e was i n i ti a ll y e lec te d a s a C o ns erva ti ve MP but no w sits as an indep en de nt a f te r h av i ng t h e w h i p s u s p e n de d i n

No vember 2022

The incident was caught on camera in a 10-minute video which was recorded by Tarjanyi and then shared on social media It showed t h e m a n f o l l o w i n g t h e p o l i t i c i a n ( w h o h a d a p p e a r e d i n ‘ I ' m A

Celebrity Get Me Out Of

Here’ last year) on Tuesday, 24 January He approached H a n c o c k a t t h e Westminster underground station and started harassing him, calling him a ‘ murderer’ and ‘fraud’ multiple times and attacking his hand l i n g o f t h e c o r o n a v i r u s p a n d e m i c T h e v i d e o s h o w e d H a n c o c k b e i n g

Twenty-two Guy’s and St T hom a s ’ s t a ff m e m b er s , including a cons ultant who cured H epatitis C in lots of pa t ie n ts , ha v e b ee n c e leb r at e d f or c o ll e c ti v e ly working 550 years for the Trust

A total of twenty-two members of staff from areas spanning pharmacy to food service have been celebrated for working more than 550 years for the Trust at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hosp i t a l s T h e l o n g - s e r v i n g staff who have been with Guy’s and St Thomas’ for at least twenty-five years each included midwives, nurses,

doctors, IT technicians, a speech and language therapist, and a catering finance manager, among others

Professor Ian Abbs was also honoured for his long association with Guy’s and St Thomas’, having worked at the Trust for thirty-two years From training as a junior doctor at St Thomas’,

Prof Abbs has been a cons u l t a n t r e n a l p h y s i c i a n , Medical Director and Chief M e d i c a l O f f i c e r b e f o r e becoming Chief Executive in 2019 He presented the medals to each long-serving staff member at St Thomas’ Hospital, noting some of t h e i r a c h i e v e m e n t s a n d career highlights

Among those celebrated w a s D r R a n j a b a b u Kulasegaram, a consultant i n H I V C o l l e a g u e s h i g hl i g h t e d h i s w o r k i n v i r a l Hepatitis where he managed to cure Hep C in the vast majority of co-infected patients

Harry Takhar four-month search ends in tragedy

Last year in earl y October, th e d i s a p p ea ran ce o f H a rji nd er 'H arry' Takhar c ame as a huge sh ock to hi s fami ly For th e 5 8 - y ea r- o l d d a d - o f - f o u r, a f f ec t i o na te l y kn o wn as H arry, his wi fe, R an, s ai d it was 'c ompletely o ut of character' fo r hi m to go mi ssi ng Ran said he was a 'family m a n ' a n d w a s a ' v e r y j o l l y character and full of energy and life

O u r s e l v e s a n d H a r r y s family remain extremely conc e r n e d a n d w e a r e d o i n g everything we can to try and f i n d h i m , " s a i d D e t e c t i v e Inspector Jo Whitehead at the t i m e , l e a d i n g t h e s e a r c h

Harry was a well-respected member of the community

From Telford, Shropshire, Harry was often seen walking

around the local park with his two black Labradors

A F a c e b o o k g r o u p w a s l a u n c h e d a m a s s i n g 8 , 5 0 0 members and a social media campaign was also launched, u s i n g t h e h a s h t a g

#HelpHarryHome

H e d i s a p p e a r e d i n t h e S t i r c h l e y P o o l s a r e a o f T e l f o r d a n d w a s l a s t s e e n running towards a wooded area after suffering a panic attack

O n M o n d a y a f t e r n o o n , January 23, a body was disc o v e r e d i n i s o l a t e d w o o dland, off Bridgnorth Road in Telford, which West Mercia Police believe is Harry

I n a s t a t e m e n t i s s u e d today (January 25), Det Insp

W h i t e h e a d , w h o l e d t h e enquiries into Harry’s disap-

pushed when at the top of an escalator, prompting him to tell the man sitting next to him, "I don't think this aggression is appropriate " H a n c o c k w a s a p p a r e n t l y not hurt during the attack

The video also showed a s t a t i o n s t a f f m e m b e r repeatedly telling Tarjanyi, "Please stop doing this " T h e B r i t i s h T r a n s p o r t Police released a statement s a y i n g t h a t o f f i c e r s w e r e called to the spot after they received a report that a man being harassed just before 9 AM

Mr Tarjanyi faces three counts with one of common assault and two public order offences He was released on bail and will appear in court next month for his sentencing

pearance, said: "This is a sad outcome to what has been a c h a l l e n g i n g a n d e m o t i o n a l search, but I’m pleased that H a r r y ’ s f a m i l y n o w h a v e s o m e c l o s u r e I ’ d l i k e t o t h a n k t h e p u b l i c f o r t h e i r i n c r e d i b l e r e s p o n s e t o o u r appeals to locate Harry and all the information that they provided to us during our enquiries ”

Man poses as taxi driver, abducts and rapes woman

2 7 - y e a r- ol d Y us e a b W ol d e a b , f r om Wi l t on Street, Plymouth, was s entenc ed to 18 years in prison at Plymouth Crow n Court for raping a woman after ki dnappi ng her while posin g as a taxi dri ve r He was found guilty of two counts of rape and on e of kidnap

The victim, a woman in h e r 2 0 s , h a d s p e n t t h e evening of 24 April drinking in bars and at a friend's house before heading home i n t h e e a r l y h o u r s , i T V r e p o r t e d W o l d e a b , w h o h a d b e e n ‘ p r o w l i n g t h e streets’ for some time, was c a u g h t o n C C T V c a m e r a passing the heavily intoxicated victim as she stumbled along Union Street He

t h e n p u l l e d i n t o O c t a g o n S t r e e t a n d p a r k e d t o observe the victim before taki n g a U - t u r n a n d m o v i n g t o w a r d s t h e victim along Union Street

At around 4 am, he pulled

u p n e a r t h e v i c t i m a n d offered to take her home after identifying himself as a taxi driver

Inside the car, the victim blacked out due to her intoxication She was then taken to Woldeab’s home a d d r e s s a t W i l t o n S t r e e t where he raped her She

f l e d t h e l o c a t i o n o n c e Woldeab left the room and

m e s s a g e d h e r f r i e n d f o r h e l p a f t e r r e a c h i n g h e r address The police arrested Woldeab 30 hours after the victim contacted them R e b e c c a S u t h e r l a n d , Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS South West, told iTV: “This was a shocking case in which the defendant deliberately targeted and abducted a lone, vuln e r a b l e y o u n g w o m a n before subjecting her to an appalling attack ”

Two or three Met officers to face court a week: Met commissioner Mark Rowley

Sir Ma rk R owley has appealed to the pe ople of London to n ot to l o s e he a r t ov e r “ p a i n f ul ” a n d “ghastly” new c rimes b y M et off ic ers that will be unearthed as he trie s to clean up his force

Trying to uncover new cases, the Met Commissioner said he was determined to root out rogue o f f i c e r s a n d t h a t p r o g r e s s w a s already being made

However, as he expressed his dismay at the “ghastly” crimes of

M

e t r a p i s t D a v i d C a r r i c k a n d another Pc convicted of child sex offences, he warned it will take time to purge his force and expose further troubling cases that will dismay the public

He also warned that in the coming weeks and months, two or three Met Police officers per week are expected to appear in court on criminal charges

“There’s a trickle of them and more are going to be surfacing,” he added

While giving the latest update on his efforts to restore his force’s

b a t t e r e d r e p u t a t i o n , S i r M a r k said, “We need the support of the people of London: please don’t lose heart as we confront these issues, as we do this necessary a n d p a i n f u l w o r k , t o r i d t h e organisation of those who corrupt our integrity,”

“You will see progress from us step by step “We must improve dramati-

cally for London But lifting the stone and revealing painful truths will not be resolved overnight and I mustn’t pretend it will and I hope you understand that can’t be done ” T o i m p r o v e s t a n d a r d s a n d rebuild trust in the Met, Sir Mark published his two-year plan In an effort to “root out” officers such as Carrick, he has promised a thorough review of the force’s culture and standards

Consulate General of India, Birmingham organises event to apprise businesses about the upcoming UP Global Investors Summit 2023

T he Co nsu late General of India, Birmingh am organised a business

e ve n t o n 2 8 J a n u ar y 2 02 3 , at

B i r mi n gh a m E v en ts a nd

C o n fe re n ce Ce nt re to ap p ri s e b u s i n es s es i n B ir mi n gh am a nd N o r th E n gl an d ab o u t t h e UP Global Investors Summit 202 3, the f la gsh ip In ves tm ent S u mm it o f th e Go vernment of Uttar Pradesh

T h i s e ve n t bo u gh t t o ge th er i nvesto rs, businesses and responded to th e qu eries regarding the flagsh ip market entry supp ort init i at i ve s p ro v i de d b y t h e U tt ar P radesh Government

UP Global Investors Summit

2023 will take place in Vrindavan Colony, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh from 10 until 12 of February 2023

The 3-day long Investors Summit will bring together policy makers, corporate leaders, business delegations, academia, think-tanks and Political and Government leadership from across the globe, to collectively explore business opportunities and forge partnerships

The event commenced with w e l c o m e a d d r e s s b y C o n s u l G e n e r a l D r S h a s h a n k V i k r a m where he highlighted the initiatives taken by the Government of India to improve regulations and a t t r a c t f o r e i g n c a p i t a l D r Shashank also stated that UP is on the trajectory of becoming a $1 trillion economy and substantial support is being offered to industrialists intending to be part of UP's growth story

S o o n , a p r e s e n t a t i o n b y

Suresh Kumar Khanna, Hon ble F i n a n c e M i n i s t e r o f U P a n d

A r v i n d K u m a r , A C S U P Government on the benefits of investing in Uttar Pradesh followed The detailed presentation elaborated on how UP has become the preferred investment destinat i o n , u n d e r H o n ’ b l e C h i e f Minister, Shri Yogi Adityanath, where projects are not just conceptualised but also actualised It also included details of the various reformative steps taken in creating a holistic ecosystem for indus-

Awards celebrate successful Indians who studied in the UK

Marking 75 years of Ind ia’s ind ep end enc e a nd 1 0 yea rs o f t h e Nat io n al In d i an S tu d e nts an d Alumni Union (NIS AU ), the firsto f- i ts -k i nd g a la c er em o n y w as o rg an i se d i n L o nd o n o n Wednesd ay 25 January, to celebrate the ach iev em ents o f Indians who hav e studied in the UK

trial development, through policy driven governance by formulating 25+ policies to attract investment

a c r o s s D e f e n c e & A e r o s p a c e

M a n u f a c t u r i n g , E V

Manufacturing, Warehousing & L o g i s t i c s , E l e c t r o n i c s

Manufacturing, Tourism, Textile, MSME, etc Through this flagship

I n v e s t m e n t S u m m i t , t h e S t a t e Government aspires to reinforce the investment attractiveness of U t t a r P r a d e s h a m o n g s t t h e investor’s community and create o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r a n i n c l u s i v e development of the State

This was followed by a Special a d d r e s s b y H o n ’ b l e C h i e f Minister, Shri Yogi Adityanath, where he highlighted the progress of Uttar Pradesh and mentioned that it is the growth engine of India, and country’s third largest economy growing at a fast rate H e a l s o m e n t i o n e d a b o u t t h e investor friendly policy direction of the Government and the Good Governance initiatives, complementing the inherent strengths of the state, which will definitely go a long way in transforming the state into a preferred investment destination

Thereafter, the Q & A session followed where the queries of the investors were addressed by the UP Government Finally, the letters of Intent worth about 350 million USD of investment in UP w e r e s i g n e d b y t h e i n v e s t o r s before they attend the summit in February 2023 About 60 businesses benefitted from the event and lauded the ease of doing business, better law & order, & policy-based good governance in UP

Bosses want to stop WFH

M ost bosses want staff back i n t h e o ff i c e rat h er t h an w orking from home, a business chief says Companies have put up with workers only going in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - if at all Tony Danker, the director general o f t h e C o n f e d e r a t i o n o f B r i t i s h I n d u s t r y , s a i d t h e w o r l d o f w o r k h a d “ g o n e crazy ” since the pandemic

Mr Danker, whose group r e p r e s e n t s 1 9 0 , 0 0 0 b u s i n e s s e s , t o l d : “ Y o u a s k m o s t b o s s e s everybody secretly wants everyone to come back into the office I just don’t think that’s going to happen overnight I think we are all coping with this but we ’ re going to be talking about this for a few years ”

Around 38 per cent of workers a r e s t i l l d o i n g s o f r o m h o m e , according to official figures Before the pandemic, just 5 7 per cent worked from home but that rose to

43 1 per cent just a month into lockdown A recent poll found a quarter of workers wanted to work f r o m h o m e p e r m a n e n t l y w h i l e another quarter wanted to return to the office full-time The remaining 50 per cent prefer a hybrid arrangement

Many enjoy the flexibility of a couple of days a week working from home, allowing them to walk t h e d o g , a v o i d c o m m u t e s , t a k e exercise or juggle parenting and caring responsibilities

A breakfast reception at the Parliament was followed by a gala ceremony near Trafalgar Square in the evening, ringing in India’s 74th Republic Day

Organised by NISAU UK in p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h t h e B r i t i s h Council in India, the India UK Achievers Honours recognised the a c h i e v e m e n t s o f y o u n g I n d i a n s w h o h a v e u n d e r t a k e n a B r i t i s h programme of study and made significant contributions to their field and society

S a n a m A r o r a , C h a i r o f t h e NISAU UK, who has conceptualised and led the delivery of the A c h i e v e r s H o n o u r s s a i d , “ A s i s d e m o n s t r a t e d f r o m o u r l i s t o f Achievers, the truly outstanding i m p a c t t h a t y o u n g U K I n d i a n alumni are having in India, the UK and globally can be seen in every field Working on the Honours has been an unforgettable experience for the NISAU UK team We have always known that the work of Indian graduates of British universities was extraordinary, but I don’t think even we realised just how profoundly world-changing it is

We are delighted to have been able to shine a spotlight on some of these brilliant individuals In doing so, we want to be able to take policy decisions around international students away from numbers & statistics to these human stories of success which demonstrate why international education must be cherished ”

A c c e p t i n g t h e L i f e t i m e

A c h i e v e m e n t H o n o u r , D r Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India and MP (Rajya

S a b h a ) , w h o s t u d i e d a t t h e

U n i v e r s i t i e s o f O x f o r d a n d Cambridge and was credited with the transformation of the Indian economy, said, “ The India-UK relationship is indeed especially defined by our educational partnership The founding fathers of

o u r n a t i o n , M a h a t m a G a n d h i , J a w a h a r l a l N e h r u , D r B R Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and many others studied in the UK and went on to become great leaders, leaving a legacy which continues to inspire India and the world Over the years countless Indian students have had the opportunity to study in the UK

I am delighted that a number of exceptional alumni have been honoured as Achievers tonight I congratulate them all I urge all of you to work hard to excel in your fields and to strive towards building not only a good career but a better world ” B e s t o w e d w i t h t h e L i v i n g Legend Honour, the Lord Karan

Bilimoria CBE DL said, “All of you here who have won awards are the living bridge that is spoken about by both countries Your achievements create inspiration here in the UK and in India That inspiration creates aspiration, that aspiration creates achievement; and this

is a virtuous circle NISAU has created this virtuous circle and none of us can leave here tonight witho u t b e i n g u t t e r l y , u t t e r l y impressed ” W h i l e s o m e a c h i e v e r s w e r e based in the UK, many flew in from India and other parts of the world

Also bestowed with the Living Legend Honour, Virendra Sharma MP said, “India and the UK are natu r a l c o l l a b o r a t o r s , a l l i e s a n d friends Where once was a relat i o n s h i p b a s e d o n e x p l o i t a t i o n , now rests a partnership of equals, representing democracy, industry and technology ”

Award recipients also included, a c t o r P a r i n e e t i C h o p r a , S e r u m I n s t i t u t e o f I n d i a ’ s C E O A d a r P o o n a w a l l a , R a g h a v C h a d h a , M e m b e r o f P a r l i a m e n t , R a j y a Sabha, India, Film Director Anu M e n o n , A c t o r P a r a m b r a t a Chatterji and Soha Ali Khan to name a few U K - I n d i a T O E F L ® N I S A U Scholarships worth $75,000 which will be awarded to 25 outstanding Indian students for higher education at any UK university was also launched on the day

Shared banking hubs announced after branch closures

L o cati on s fo r n ine new , sh ared b an ki ng h u b s h av e bee n announced - days after a ho st o f branch closures were revealed The hubs, which allow people from different banks to deposit and withdraw money, will open only after suitable premises have been found In total, plans for 38 of these shared branches have been o u t l i n e d , b u t o n l y f o u r h a v e o p e n e d T h o u s a n d s o f r e g u l a r b a n k b r a n c h e s h a v e c l o s e d i n recent years, as many customers

move online

A total of 87 branches have been slated for closure by High S t r e e t b a n k s s o f a r t h i s y e a r , i n c l u d i n g a n n o u n c e m e n t s b y L l o y d s B a n k i n g G r o u p a n d NatWest

That has raised concerns that many people who struggle with digital services, and small businesses that need to deposit their taki n g s l o c a l l y , w o u l d b e s e v e r e l y i m p a c t e d M a n y c o u l d s t r u g g l e with getting access to any cash

Consumer groups have given a guarded welcome to the introduction of new hubs, but said the time taken to set them up was too slow as bank branches were closing at a rapid rate L i n k a l s o a n n o u n c e d t h e p l a n n e d i n t r o d u c t i o n o f c a s h deposit machines in Keswick in C u m b r i a , R i p l e y i n D e r b y s h i r e , L i t t l e h a m p t o n i n W e s t S u s s e x , Whitstable in Kent, Dagenham in Greater London, and Colwyn Bay in Conwy

UK will train Ukrainian soldiers on using tanks

Ta nks bei ng supplie d b y the UK to Ukrai ne are expected to arrive i n t he c o u n tr y b y t h e e n d of March

s

i n

e Commons, defence minister Alex Chalk said the UK will be training Ukrainian soldiers in how to use and fix the contingent of tanks

He said: The intention is that it will be at the end of March, and between now and then a really significant programme of training, not just for the tank crews who are to operate this vehicle,

but also for those who will be charged with maintaining it " Mr Chalk stressed that equipping Ukraine to push Russia out of its territory is as important as equipping them to defend what

t h e y a l r e a d y h a v e " P r i m e

Minister Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, said "everything's going according to plan" when asked about the latest round of British military aid being sent to Ukraine

Lord Karan Bilimoria bestowed with Living Legend Honour

Virendra Sharma MP recipient of the Living Legend Honour with Dr Andrew Fleming and Dr Mukulika Banerjee

Actor Parineeti Chopra winner of Outstanding Achiever for Arts, Entertainment & Culture speaking as Sanam Arora, Chair, NISAU UK looks on

Consul General Dr Shashank Vikram addressing the guests

Jatinder Kaur: Lions Club

Sunetra Senior

The Lio ns C lub of Heston is ably led by Jatinder Kaur Sh e h as a passion to make a d ifference and d oing charitable work is em bedd ed in her DNA

Her grandparents and parents were passio nate and caring about helping others She has continued their legacy by ensuring that her fellow club m embers m ake Lions International motto a reality –“where there is a need there is a lion” and “WE Serv e ”

Cabinet told about bleak outlook for governing party in next elections

T h e C o n s e r va t i v e s m us t

“ re l e n t le s s ly f oc u s ” o n i nflation and the NHS if they are to have a chanc e at the next elec ti on , c abinet m inis ters have been told

partially sighted and deaf and we continue to organize medical and sight camps all over the world Her leadership encourages club members to propose and implement service activities close to their heart

So, what is Lions International?

It’s the largest service NGO in the world It has humanitarian focus and works collaboratively with stakeholde r s r a n g i n g f r o m U n i t e d N a t i o n s , World Health Organization and other voluntary and community groups Its

Recently this has included the hot meals to schools for children, books for primary school, a bus for a library, and providing opportunities for children which they may not have otherwise, such as going to the theatre We took 30 special needs children and their carers to see Frozen in theatre

Children and their families were taken out for a day to the KIA Oval cricket ground to be play with the Surrey Cricket team and entertained for the day We have competitions and pro-

R i s h i S u n a k g a t h e r e d m i n i s t e r s a t h i s c o u n t r y retreat Chequers recently or a midday political cabinet – where a number of m i n i s t e r s g a v e p r e s e n t ations on the government’s key priorities and took a fresh look at the strategy f o r t h e n e x t e l e c t i o n

Sources said that ministers would be given a bleak pict u r e a b o u t t h e p a r t y ’ s u n p o p u l a r i t y , b u t t h a t there was some reason for o p t i m i s m a s p o l l i n g s h o w e d t h e p a r t y w a s r e g a i n i n g c o n f i d e n c e o n the economy

The chancellor, Jeremy

H u n t , h e a l t h s e c r e t a r y , Steve Barclay, the work and p e n s i o n s s e c r e t a r y , M e l Stride and the home secret a r y , S u e l l a B r a v e r m a n ,

clubs also work in partnership with elected members and local authorities, community and charitable organizations, hospitals, and schools hence where there is a need there is a lion In short, its efforts are concentrated both nationally and internationally to support those in need For example, providing aid when international disasters occur such as tsunamis, war torn countries and endemics such as polio J a t i n d e r o u t l i n e d s o m e o f t h e activities she has been involved in: from cooking and working with Food

For all an organization that was cooking 5,500 meals a day during COVID and delivering at least 1000 to 1200 meals to hospitals, food banks and community kitchens; collecting surplus food and customer donations f r o m s u p e r m a r k e t s a n d d e l i v e r i n g them; providing meals, warm clothes, tents, sleeping bags etc for the homeless; raising awareness of diabetes and s u p p o r t i n g t h o s e w h o a r e v i s u a l l y impaired or blind

Lions have continued to take up t h e c h a l l e n g e s e t b y H e l l e n K e l l e r (1925) to be the knights of the Blind,

g r a m s f o r c h i l d r e n w i t h i n t h e i r schools to think outside of the box and see the opportunities available beyond their immediate circle

In May for world hunger day our

London’s bus drivers again to strike over pay offer

L ond on bus drivers w ill go o n strike after rejecti ng a s e co n d p a y o f fe r On F ebruary 1,2 and 3, arou nd 1 ,900 d riv ers, employed by A bellio, are expected to walk o ut U n i t e h a s s a i d , m o r e than 50 routes around the capital will be hit, mainly in s o u t h a n d w e s t L o n d o n A f t e r m e m b e r s r e j e c t e d a new pay deal from Abellio, the union announced the decision to go ahead with

the strikes

G e n e r a l s e c r e t a r y S h a r o n G r a h a m s a i d : ‘ A b e l l i o i s a n i n c r e d i b l y w e a l t h y c o m p a n y , w h o s e success is based on the hard graft of its workers It can fully afford to make a fair pay offer which meets our members’ expectations, but it has failed to do so

‘Unite is unstinting in its commitment to defend the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the work-

District Governor, Kavaljit, is organizi n g a n e v e n t “ F e e d i n g T h e F i v e Thousand”; an amazing service activity Jatinder said that when we carry out these activities it “grounds you, making you realise what you have in life but most importantly the love and gratitude received back from those served is absolutely wonderful”

Membership is open to all because a n y o n e w a n t i n g t o v o l u n t e e r a n d serve others is most welcome and appreciated In the UK, Lion clubs are operating in almost every borough Lions Club offers individuals participation in fellowship, fun and helping others The constitution of our clubs is inclusive with diverse individuals who are committed to preserving the continuity of community service and fundraising to those in need You will receive a warm welcome as a volunteer who will be valued for supporting people, being just you If you’d like to learn more visit:

W: https://www lionsclubs org/en

F: https://www facebook com/lionsclubs

force at Abellio will continu e t o r e c e i v e t h e u n i o n ’ s unwavering support ’ D u r i n g t h e i r p r e v i o u s strike, Abellio offered its bus d r i v e r s a 1 2 % p a y r i s e

According to Jon Eardley, t h e c o m p a n y ’ s m a n a g i n g director, under the deal bus driver’s basic pay would rise on average £100 per week and over £5,000 a year This would bring established bus driver’s salaries to around £40,000 per year

spoke at the summit on the delivery of the priorities At t h e a w a y d a y , S u n a k a n d Hunt said that inflation is o n l y p r e d i c t e d t o f a l l “because of the tough decisions the government had taken at the autumn statement to stabilise the economy ” But in a strong signal that the forthcoming budget will be restrained on both spending and tax cuts, Hunt said that it was necessary to maintain fiscal discipline

Tories spent money on overpriced or defective PPE

In a recent o pini o n p i e ce u nd er the title Voice of the mi rror, To ry d o n o r S te ve P a rki n h as b een accu sed of rec eiving £1 1 million to deli ver PP E to the N HS du ring the p an de mi c a nd a no th er £4 5mi ll i o n o f tax p ay er c ash to inc inerate go wns M r P ar ki n h as g iv en £730, 000 to the To ries, as p er the op inion piece

It also highlights how of £12billion in PPE contracts doled out as the pandemic t o o k h o l d , m o r e t h a n a q u a r t e r w e n t t o T o r y donors or the mates of ministers

It has been alleged in the opinion piece that while n u r s e s a n d c a r e w o r k e r s were struggling to source enough protection to stay safe, the Tories were busy s p e n d i n g m o n e y o n P P E

t h a t w a s s u b s t a n d a r d , defective or overpriced

‘It would be like soldiers going into a weapons arsenal and picking duff ammo a n d j a m m e d g u n s e v e n though their lives depended o n t h e m T h e d i f f e r e n c e with the Tories making bad choices is that they were p l a y i n g R u s s i a n r o u l e t t e with other people’s lives

We hope the Covid public inquiry will uncover all those responsible for this s c a n d a l S o t h e y c a n b e brought to book’, mentions the opinion piece

4-year-old dies after doctors dismiss mother’s warnings

A little boy wh ose h eadaches tu rned o u t to be a brai n tumour died in his parent’s arm s just four m onths after his diagnosis Rayhan Majid, aged four, died after doctors d i s co v ere d an ag g res s iv e g r ad e t h re e m ed u llo b la stoma tum our touching his brainstem

His mother Nadia, 45, took Rayhan to see four different GPs on six separate occasions after he started having bad headaches and

being sick in October 2017

No one thought anything

w a s s e r i o u s l y w r o n g , b u t when his headaches didn’t clear up Nadia rushed him

t o A & E a t t h e Q u e e n

E l i z a b e t h U n i v e r s i t y

H o s p i t a l i n G l a s g o w A n

MRI scan revealed a 3cm x 4cm mass in Rayhan’s brain

R a y h a n u n d e r w e n t surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible and was told he would need six weeks of radiotherapy

a n d f o u r m o n t h s o f chemotherapy

Despite completing the r a d i o t h e r a p y a n d h i s f i r s t r o u n d o f c h e m o t h e r a p y , Rayhan died soon on April, 7, 2018 in the arms of his mum Nadia and dad Sarfraz

JATINDER KAUR

"Service to the community grounds you, making you realise what you have in life but most importantly, the love and gratitude received back from those served is absolutely wonderful”

Lions Club Members

Picking up the surplus from Lidl

Contribution by living bridge celebrated at India’s Republic Day festivities in the UK

The Guildhall at the City of London was decorated beautifully to welcome guests celebrating India’s Republic Day on Thursday 26 January 2023. With an exhibition to go with the theme, people walked on the red carpet to enter the grand venue, where Ministers representing various departments of the High Commission of India, waited to greet and meet the guests Delicious canapes

s p i r i t b e h i n d t h e Constitution of India, and what it truly means for the country He said, “The defin i t i o n o f a C o n s t i t u t i o n doesn’t quite cover the sen-

“As it currently stands, our Constitution obviously sets out the promises that we Indians made to ourselves, on our own as a free n a t i o n , t o e n s u r e f u n d am e n t a l r i g h t s , t o e n s u r e

ple But it was also much more than that; it was the context of the adoption of the Constitution of India and the spirit it instilled in I n d i a n s f o r g e n e r a t i o n s that makes it most remarkable ” He further went on to say, “As India rises, it does so through its global partn e r s h i p s , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h f r i e n d s s u c h a s t h e U K With the British people, we share history, values, culture, trade and investment f l o w s , a l i v i n g b r i d g e o f people of Indian origin who have contributed so much to British industry, healthcare, sport, politics and cuisine ” A special mention was made to the ongoing UK-

prepared by Ragasaan

were making rounds, as the invited guests mingled with each other Non-alcoholic drinks, reflecting the tricolour, were also making rounds

The Brigade of Gurkhas band kick started the formal evening, by playing the national anthem of India, followed by that of the UK

HE Vikram Doraiswami who was accompanied by h i s w i f e , a d d r e s s i n g t h e guests reflected upon the

timent and the meaning of the Constitution of India as it is for 1 4 billion people

justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to all of our peo-

Middle East, North Africa, S o u t h A s i a a n d U n i t e d

N a t i o n s a t t h e F o r e i g n ,

C o m m o n w e a l t h a n d Development Office, who represented the UK government made a special refer-

between us, we are stronger for the globe ”

There was a medley of dances by Bollywood Dance School of UK including to the tune of music composer A R Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ and

‘

ence to UK's 1 7mn Indians and spoke about his own roots in Punjab

Lord Ahmad said, “We welcome our close alignment with India, our close b i l a t e r a l w o r k i n g w i t h India and wish India well as it hosts the G20 meetings

“ I d o b e l i e v e t h a t through India’s leadership at the G20 we will continue to strengthen our resolve t h r o u g h t h e U N S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t Goals for the benefit not just for our two nations,

V a n d e M a t a r a m ’ T h e evening ended with a lavish dinner for all those present K e y g u e s t s p r e s e n t included Lord Swraj Paul, L o r d R a m i R a n g e r , L o r d R a n b i r S u r i , L o r d K a r a n Bilimoria, Virendra Sharma MP, Navendu Mishra MP, L o r d M a y o r N i c h o l a s Lyons, to name a few Earlier in the day, India H o u s e a t A l d w y c h a l s o played host to the annual f l a g h o i s t i n g c e r e m o n y , with a huge tricolour displayed on the main build-

I n d i a F T A , t h e 2 0 3 0 Roadmap and living bridge L o r d T a r i q A h m a d , Minister of State for the

but for the whole world

When India and the United K i n g d o m s t a n d t o g e t h e r , w e a r e n o t j u s t s t r o n g e r

ing Many Indian organisat i o n s a l s o c e l e b r a t e d t h e occasion and contributions of the diaspora to the ongoi n g r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the two countries

UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who visited India in November, took to T w i t t e r t o s e n d h i s b e s t wishes to his Indian counterpart, the diaspora and people of India He wrote, “Happy Republic Day to my friend Dr Jaishankar and t h e p e o p l e o f I n d i a W e l o o k f o r w a r d t o a n o t h e r y e a r o f f r i e n d s h i p a n d cooperation!”

Mahatma Gandhi remembered on Martyr's Day in London

The High Commissioner a n d D e p u t y H i g h

Commissioner Sujit Ghosh w e r e j o i n e d b y L o r d M e g h n a d D e s a i , L o r d

Navnit Dholakia, Virendra

S h a r m a M P , L o r d R a m i

Ranger, Lord Raj Loomba, V a l e r i e V a z M P , H i g h

t y l e a d e r s t o m a r k t h e occasion While addressing t h o s e g a t h e r e d , H E Doraiswami reportedly said, “ I t ’ s a l w a y s a p o i g n a n t

m o m e n t t o r e m e m b e r

Mahatma Gandhi on the day of his martyrdom “ M a h a t m a G a n d h i ‘ s message was his life and his

life was his message To be able to do what he did and to live it on a daily basis ought to be an inspiration to all of us ”

C o m m i s s i o n e r o f Bangladesh to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem, to name a few S p e a k i n g a b o u t

G a n d h i a n i n f l u e n c e o n

B a n g a b a n d h u S h e i k h

M u j i b i r R e h m a n , M s

Tasneem reportedl y s a i d , “ I n B a n g l a d e s h , w e b e l i e v e i n t h e Mahatma’s message of Ahimsa or nonv i o l e n c e a n d S a t y a g r a h a , w h i c h means passive and peaceful resistance

“That is the ideo l o g y t h a t o u r F o u n d i n g F a t h e r ,

B a n g a b a n d h u w h o w a s a

Gandhian at heart, believed in ” She later hosted an event

the

51st anniversary of the h i s t o r i c m a i d e n v i s i t o f

Flag hoisting ceremony at India House on the Republic Day

HE Vikram Doraiswami, the High Commissioner of India to the UK addressing the guests

Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office speaking at the event

Guests at the Republic Day celebration at Guildhall

Exhibition at the celebration

The Brigade of Gurkhas band performing at the venue

Performance by Bollywood Dance School of UK

Lord Ahmad Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami with wife Sangeeta and Deputy High Commissioner Sujit Ghosh (back)

at

House of Lords with Lord Ranger to commemorate

MPs and Peers pay tribute at Gandhi statue in Parliament Square

HE Vikram Doraiswami paying floral tribute at Gandhi statue in Tavistock Square, London

India has succeeded as a democratic republic because various creeds and different languages have not divided it, but only united the country, President Droupadi Murmu said, in her address on the eve of Republic Day “That essence was at the heart of the Constitution, which has withstood the test of time,” she said

In her first such address as President, ahead of the 74th Republic Day, President Murmu also said that those w h o s h a p e d t h e m o d e r n Indian mind had welcomed p r o g r e s s i v e i d e a s f r o m abroad and from all directions, “following the Vedic advice, ‘Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions’” “A long and profound thought process culminated i n o u r C o n s t i t u t i o n , ” s h e added

Freedom fighters led by M a h a t m a G a n d h i h a d n o t j u s t s e c u r e d I n d e p e n d e n c e but also freed the country f r o m “ i m p o s e d v a l u e s a n d n a r r o w - w o r l d v i e w s ” , M u r m u s a i d “ R e v o l u t i o n a r i e s a n d reformers joined hands with visionaries and idealists to help us learn about our ageold values of peace, brotherhood and equality ”

The President lauded the fact that “the spirit of India” h a d n o t b e e n d a u n t e d b y countless challenges such as high levels of poverty and illiteracy“ among the many i l l - e f f e c t s o f l o n g f o r e i g n rule” - or by its diversity “Such a diverse multitude of people coming together as one nation remains unprecedented We did so with a belief that we are, after all, one; that we are all Indians ”

The first President from the tribal community, who took over in July, Murmu lauded the Central governm e n t ’ s i n i t i a t i v e s f o r t h e w o m e n a n d m a r g i n a l i s e d , and said gender equality was n o l o n g e r a m e r e s l o g a n “During my visits to various

Woman power on full disp

The Republic Day celebrations commenced at the National War Memorial where Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs Then, President Droupadi Murmu was escorted by the President’s Bodyguard on dark bay coloured mounts to Kartavya Path, where Egyptian president Abdel Fattah elSisi was received by Modi

Wom an power on full dis play

s t a t e s , e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t utions and while meeting delegations of various professionals, I am amazed by the confidence of young women I have no doubt that they are the ones who will do the most to shape tomorrow’s India What miracles cannot be achieved if this half of the population is encouraged to contribute to nation-building?”

She urged people to learn from the tribal communities, especially about protecting nature, and said like women, the government is working t o e m p o w e r m a r g i n a l i s e d c o m m u n i t i e s s u c h a s t h e Scheduled Castes and Tribes

The President also lauded the economic growth the country had achieved despite the pandemic crisis “Most sectors of the economy have s h a k e n o f f t h e p a n d e m i c effect India has been among t h e f a s t e s t - g r o w i n g m a j o r e c o n o m i e s T h i s h a s b e e n made possible by timely and proactive interventions from the Government,” she said W h i l e t a l k i n g a b o u t Coronavirus, the President said India had no reason to fear the virus as “ we have learned in this period that our leadership, our scientists and doctors, our administrators and ‘Corona Warriors’ w i l l m a k e e v e r y p o s s i b l e effort to meet any situation”, while remaining on the alert Speaking about the comm i t t e e t h a t p r e p a r e d t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , M u r m u referred to jurist B N Rau, w h o p r e p a r e d t h e i n i t i a l d r a f t , a l o n g w i t h B R

Ambedkar She recalled that the panel included “all the regions and communities of India and that they included 15 women too”

T h e P r e s i d e n t a d d e d :

“While Babasaheb Ambedkar and others gave us a map and a moral framework, the task of walking that path remains our responsibility We have l a r g e l y r e m a i n e d t r u e t o their expectations, and yet we realise that much remains t o b e d o n e t o r e a l i s e

G a n d h i j i ’ s i d e a l o f ‘Sarvodaya’, the uplift of all Yet, the progress we have

made on all fronts is encouraging ” Among the government p r o g r a m m e s M u r m u m e ntioned was the ‘Atmanirbhar B h a r a t ’ i n i t i a t i v e , t h e

P r a d h a n M a n t r i G a r i b K a l y a n A n n a Y o j a n a , t h e New Education Policy (NEP), and Digital India Mission She said the NEP has introd u c e d a m b i t i o u s c h a n g e s , appreciates the role of techn o l o g y a n d a d d r e s s e s t h e two-fold aims of education as an instrument of economic and social empowerment and as a means “to explore truth”

M u r m u s a i d t h a t s u c h initiatives“meant to transf o r m a l l a s p e c t s o f g o v e rnance and unleash creative energies of the people” - have made the world look at India with new respect She mentioned the G20 presidency in this regard as an opportunity, “to promote democracy a n d m u l t i l a t e r a l i s m ” T h e G20 represents about twothirds of the world population, Murmu noted Identifying global warming and climate change as a m o n g t h e m o s t p r e s s i n g global issues, she said: “To m a i n t a i n t h e b a l a n c e b e t w e e n d e v e l o p m e n t a n d e n v i r o n m e n t , w e h a v e t o l o o k a t a n c i e n t t r a d i t i o n s with a new perspective We need to reconsider our basic priorities Mahatma Gandhi was a true prophet of our t i m e s , a s h e f o r e s a w t h e calamities of indiscriminate i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n a n d c a utioned the world to mend its ways ”

Murmu also appreciated the UN for accepting India’s suggestion to observe 2023 as t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Y e a r o f

M i l l e t s C o a r s e g r a i n s l i k e millets were eco-friendly as they require less water and provide high levels of nutrition, she said W r a p p i n g u p h e r address, she commended the r o l e s o f f a r m e r s , w o r k e r s , s c i e n t i s t s a n d e n g i n e e r s , “whose combined strength enables our country to live up to the spirit of ‘Jai Jawan, J a i K i s a n , J a i V i g y a n , J a i Anusandhan’ ”

The 23 colourful tableaux from different states and ministries - many with the common theme of women empowerment and devotion - mesmerised the audience

During the grand parade, 479 artistes in the age group of 17-30 years won the hearts of the audience with their vibrant and energetic performances Their dance depicted the ‘ power of women ’ through five elements - earth, water, air, space and fire comprising classical, folk and contemporary fusion Though the focus of the Narendra Modi government has been to put women in the leading roles in the R-Day parade for the last few years, this was the first time they were seen in large numbers dominating the parade

Squadron leader Sindhu Reddy, who has served the IAF for over nine years and flies an Mi-17 helicopter which is considered the workhorse of the air force, led the all-male marching contingent of the IAF Her contingent comprised 144 air warriors and four offi-

cers

It was followed by motorcycle display wherein dare devils formed varied formations like yoga, signal fighter, signal rath, Abhimanyu, cluster of bird flying and pyramid

The event concluded with a Rafale aircraft flying at 900 kmph carrying out several acrobatic turns, the singing of the national anthem and the release of tricolour balloons into the air

Women were in the forefront throughout, be it

in marching contingents or the tableaux presented The naval contingent of 144 young sailors was led by 29year-old Lt Cdr Disha Amrith as contingent commander and Lt Ashwani Singh, Sub Lt Priyanka Sharma and Sub Lt M Aditya as platoon commanders Amrith is an engineering graduate in computer science from Karnataka and was, in 2008, a part of the NCC R-Day team Her dream of leading the Republic Day parade came true on Thursday last Another special feature of

MSY and Zakir Hussain a

Samajw ad i Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, iconic architect Balkrish na Do shi and pioneer of ORS Dilip M ah alanabis have been p osthu mously award ed P ad ma Vibhu shan, India’s second-high est civ ilian award Other recip ients of the award are tabla m aestro Zakir Hussain, mathem atician S rinivasa Varadhan and former U nion minister and K arnataka CM S M Krishna

Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, has been conferred on industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, philanthropist and Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty, playback singers Vani Jairam and Suman Kalyanpur, Kannada novelist and screenwriter S L Bhyrappa, Pune-

based academic Deepak Dhar, Telangana-based erudite Vedic scholar Swami

Chinna Jeeyar, spiritual leader Kamlesh D Patel and former Pro-Vice Chancellor of JNU Kapil Kapoor

On the Padma Shri list is late business magnate and ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Bollywood

actress Raveena Tandon and RRR music director M M Keeravaani Only recently, the ‘Naatu naatu’ from the blockbuster movie got the Golden Globe award for the best song and has now been nominated in ‘best original song" category of the Academy Awards (Oscar)

Former founder chair-

President lauds constitution, says it ‘has withstood test of time’

Mulayam Singh Yadav Balkrishna Doshi

lay at India's Republic Day

Pakistan, joined the parade as part of the camel contingent The Delhi Police women pipe band comprising 35 women constables too was part of the parade and played the ‘Delhi Police Song’

The theme adopted by various states and the paramilitary force was largely on ‘nari shakti’ The West Bengal tableau depicted Durga Puja in Kolkata and celebrated its inclusion in the Unesco’s

R-Day celebrated in different states, Indian missions abroad

India celebrated its 74th Republic Day on January 26 The main function was held at Kartavya Path in New Delhi R-Day was also celebrated in different states, Union Territories and Indian Missions abroad.

the naval contingent was that for the first time, it consisted of three women and six newly recruited male Agniveers

In a first, the marching contingent of the CRPF, which has the distinction of raising the first-ever

Lt Chetna Sharma from Army Air Defence Corps was part of the Akash missile defence system and saluted the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, President

G u j a r a t c e l e b r a t e d i t s state-level function at Botad district Governor Acharya Devvrat hoisted the national f l a g C h i e f M i n i s t e r Bhupendra Patel inspected t h e p a r a d e S o l d i e r s f r o m

Intangible Cultural Heritage List

celebrated with full patriotic f e r v o u r G o v e r n o r P r o f

G a n e s h i L a l u n f u r l e d t h e national flag and took salute of the parade at a function in

B h u b a n e s w a r C h i e f M i n i s t e r N a v e e n P a t n a i k

women-armed police battalion in the world, had all women personnel in the ranks Also for the first time, BSF women soldiers in colourful uniforms, who have been deployed along the desert border with

Droupadi Murmu, as the DRDO-developed surfaceto-air missiles went past the VIP gallery Lt Dimple Singh Bhati jointly led the Corps of Signals’ Daredevil Team, which exhibited acrobatics on running motorcycles

Assam’s tableau showcased the legendary Ahom General Lachit Borphukan and its cultural landmarks, including the famous Kamakhya Temple The Union ministry of culture, too, presented Shakti Rupena Samsthita tableau to celebrate the divine feminine, who resides in and empowers all living beings Kerala presented the tableau on folk tradition of women empowerment that includes Kalaripayattu, a martial art with a more than 2000-year-old history, percussion and tribal traditions The tableau from Tamil Nadu was also based on women empowerment and culture of the state, from the Sangam era to present day The Navy’s tableau showcased India’s first passenger drone Varuna, which has been developed by a core team of women experts of a Punebased defence startup

among Padma awardees

different 28 platoons painted the colors of patriotism b y s a l u t i n g t h e t r i c o l o r t h r o u g h a d i s c i p l i n e d p a r a d e O n t h i s o c c a s i o n , under the special initiative of Prime Minister Modi, the p o l i c e p l a t o o n o f M a d h y a P r a d e s h t o o k p a r t i n t h e parade and highlighted the message of national unity

The day was celebrated a c r o s s C h h a t t i s g a r h w i t h gaiety and enthusiasm The main function was held at the Police Parade Ground in t h e c a p i t a l R a i p u r

G o v e r n o r A n u s u i y a U i k e y unfurled the national flag and addressed the State The Governor received the guard of honour from the conting e n t s C h h a t t i s g a r h C h i e f M i n i s t e r B h u p e s h B a g h e l unfurled the flag at Lal Bagh g r o u n d i n J a g d a l p u r , t h e d i v i s i o n a l h e a d q u a r t e r s o f Bastar

and many other dignitaries were present on the occa-

sion

I n M a h a r a s h t r a ,

G o v e r n o r B h a g a t S i n g h

flag at Governor House and a l s o t o o k t h e s a l u t e o f Parade in the main function held at Lucknow in which C h i e f M i n i s t e r Y o g i Adityanath was also present I n B i h a r , G o v e r n o r P h a g u C h a u h a n u n f u r l e d t h e t r i c o l o u r a t h i s t o r i c Gandhi Maidan in Patna In his address, Chauhan stated that the state government is committed to good govern a n c e a n d p r o v i d i n g employment to the youth

In Madhya Pradesh, RD a y f u n c t i o n s w e r e o r g anized at all district headquarters, educational institutions and various government offices Chief Minister S h i v a r a j S i n g h C h o u h a n h o i s t e d t h e t r i c o l o r i n Garrison Gound in Jabalpur, while governor Mangu Bhai Patel hoisted the national flag at Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal

man of Rasna group Areez Khambatta (posthumous), mathematician of Super-30 programme fame Anand Kumar and former BJP

Manipur state unit president and ex-Union minister

Thounaojam Chaoba Singh are the other names in the list

Eight people from

Gujarat received Padma awards Besides B V Doshi, who passed away on January 24, was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, while Areez Khambatta, the founder of Rasna, was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri

Other awardees include

Arunachal Pradesh also celebrated the day with great enthusiasm The main function was held at IG Park in t h e C a p i t a l c i t y , I t a n a g a r C h i e f M i n i s t e r P e m a K h a n d u u n f u r l e d t h e National Flag on the occasion, which was followed by the ceremonial March Past by various uniformed cont i n g e n t s , N C C C a d e t s ,

Scouts & Guides and School Children

O n t h e o c c a s i o n , t h e Chief Secretary announced the ‘State Awards’ and ‘Chief M i n i s t e r ’ s A w a r d f o r t h e Cleanest Village in the state’

T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y a colourful cultural show by f o l k d a n c e t r o u p e s a n d school children

In Odisha, the day was

K o s h y a r i u n f u r l e d t h e n a t i o n a l f l a g a t t h e Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj M a i d a n i n D a d a r I n h i s address, the Governor highl i g h t e d v a r i o u s a c h i e v ements of the state in last one y e a r H e m e n t i o n e d t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e H i n d u H r i d a y S a m r a t B a l a s a h e b T h a c k e r a y M a h a r a s h t r a S a m r u d d h i E x p r e s s Highway between Mumbai to Nagpur and the 521-km long route between Nagpur to Shirdi He also mentioned t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f t h e

Metro route- 2A and Metro r o u t e - 7 o f t h e M u m b a i Metro inaugurated by Prime M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i recently I n U t t a r P r a d e s h , Republic Day functions were o r g a n i z e d a t a l l d i s t r i c t h e a d q u a r t e r s , e d u c a t i o n a l institutions and various gove r n m e n t o f f i c e s C h i e f Minister Yogi Adityanath, in his message, appealed to the p e o p l e t o p e r f o r m t h e i r duties with honesty while keeping in mind the nation first Governor Anandiben Patel hoisted the national

In Assam, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma u n f u r l e d t h e t r i - c o l o u r a t K h a n a p a r a i n G u w a h a t i Addressing the gathering, he s a i d I n d i a ’ s s o v e r e i g n t y i s n o n - n e g o t i a b l e H e appealed to banned militant g r o u p U n i t e d L i b e r a t i o n Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) to shun the path of v i o l e n c e a n d u r g e d i t t o come to the discussion table for the development of the state U n b r i d l e d e n t h u s i a s m a n d p a t r i o t i c f e r v o u r m a r k e d t h e R e p u b l i c D a y celebrations across Kerala A t t h e S o u t h e r n N a v a l Command headquarters in K o c h i , F l a g O f f i c e r Commanding in Chief Vice Admiral M A Hampi Holi l a i d a w r e a t h a t t h e W a r Memorial and inspected the ceremonial parade to mark the occasion

Meanwhile, the Indian missions in different parts of the world also celebrated the day with different functions T h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n o f India in Colombo also celeb r a t e d t h e d a y i n a l l i t s diplomatic offices in Lanka

Remembering the sacrifices of the Indian peacekeeping f o r c e i n L a n k a , H i g h

Commissioner Gopal Baglay laid a wreath at the IPKF memorial He also unfurled t h e n a t i o n a l f l a g a t I n d i a House in Colombo

CELEBRATION OF 74TH REPUBLIC DAY AT BOTAD GUJARAT

CELEBRATION OF 74TH REPUBLIC DAY AT BOTAD, GUJARAT

CELEBRATION OF 74TH REPUBLIC DAY AT BOTAD, GUJARAT

Hemant Chauhan, Bhanubhai Chitara, Mahipat Kavi, Hirabai Lobi, Prof Mahendra Pal, and Paresh Rathwa

Dilip Mahalanabis S M Krishna Zakir Hussain

Dear Financia

Voice Reader Alpesh Patel OBE

Well, the big finance sto ry is Adani of course Let’s lo ok into that

Wh at strategies are available to sho rt stocks?

If you are looking to short stocks, there are a few strategies available to you The two main strategies are short selling and derivatives trading Short selling involves borrowing shares and then selling them with the intention of buying them back at a lower price in the future and returning them to the lender

Derivatives trading involves taking a position on a certain asset, such as Adani stock, without having to physically own the asset This can be done by using o p t i o n s , f u t u r e s , o r o t h e r d e r i v a t i v e i n s t r u m e n t s Whichever strategy you choose, it is important to do your research to ensure that you have an understanding of the risks and potential rewards involved

S ome Hi sto ry

You may have seen the Hollywood blockbuster "The Big Short" when a few prescient hedge funds sold short banking stocks and precipitated the financial crisis of 2008, as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns crashed Were these firms committing fraud? Some scheme which was not legal? Or accounting fraud? Were the investors in them victims of manipulation?

M o r e r e c e n t l y t h a n k s t o s o c i a l m e d i a i n c l u d i n g Twitter private investors humbled a hedge fund, a short seller firm, Melvin Capital, which was shorting a company which they thought was overvalued - only to see the stock rally and wipe off billions from the short-seller's capital

Of course, George Soros shorted GBP and 'broke the Bank of England' – well, cost it about a billion poundsprofit to him

Some Context

Adani stock at the time of writing is only at the same levels it was at in August of last year Still up 10x since 2020 Given that Paypal and Facebook (Meta) fell over 70% last year you may think the relatively small falls in Adani stock means the market does not consider Hindenburg credible

E q u a l l y , n o o n e a l l e g e s P a y P a l a n d M e t a w e r e undertaking a huge fraud Some of the most popular stocks are the most shorted worldwide, such as Tesla, Apple, and Amazon But to short, because you believe the market has overvalued a stock is one thing; to do it alleging fraud is rare - especially in such a visible company One thinks of exceptions such as Enron

O f t h e m o s t f a m o u s s h o r t s e l l e r s ( B i l l A c k m a n , Michael Burry, John Paulson, David Einhorn), Hindenburg would not be on the top 10 of anyone's list, which begs the question of why the others did not see what Hindenburg claimed

Now Bill Ackman claims Adani is like Ackman's short on Herbalife, which he continues to claim is a frauddespite years of having lost $760m as another billionairebacked the shorted Herbalife to make a billion (Carl Icahn)

Even famous short sellers like Bill Ackman get it wrong He famously last year confessed to losing $400m on shorting Netflix No legal action was threatened, and no claims of a 'meritless' market value to the company It was just a hedge fund manager betting against shares

Curi ous

Short sellers need to be vocal They must be because they need the price to fall in order for them to profit So, getting onto CNBC and Bloomberg is essential Some consider this stock manipulation through their short position, which is illegal and the US Department of Justice/SEC, backed by the strongarm of FBI raids, is investigating 30 short sellers in the US presently, including Hindenberg

Luxury property selling

reach highest level in UK

A record num ber of mansio ns w ere sold in Lo nd on in 20 22, in sig ns the cap ital’s super-rich are shrugg ing off an econom ic d ownturn to get th eir hands on luxury prop erty with a seven-figure price tag

Over 600 homes over the value of £5 million were sold in the capital last year, t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l s i n c e records began in 2006 Over 60% of second hand sales t o o k p l a c e i n t r a d i t i o n a l

p r i m e c e n t r a l L o n d o n h o t s p o t s , l e d b y C h e l s e a (12 6%), Kensington (10 3%) and Knightsbridge (9 0%), p r o p e r t y b u s i n e s s S a v i l l s data showed But the £5 million-plus price tag is now increasingly b e i n g a c h i e v e d i n o u t e r prime locations – including C l a p h a m , B a t t e r s e a , Bayswater and Putney – prim a r i l y d r i v e n b y w i d e r regeneration and redevelopment, the opening of new

JLR back in profit after two years

Jaguar La nd Rove r (JLR ) ha s post ed its first profit in two yea rs after bumper sa les of it s ne west Ran ge Rov er The In d i a n - o w n e d c a r ma k e r , which has a hea d office in Cove nt ry , said it had sold 5, 0 0 0 o f i t s n e w R a n g e Rove r SV lux ur y 4x4 since it s la un ch i n O ct obe r A t a n a v e r a g e se lli n g p r i c e o f £ 18 0 , 0 0 0 , t h e m o d e l ha s net ted £900 mn for the business an d helped JLR r ecord it s fi r s t p r o f it s in ce t h e Covid-19 pan demic

T h e c o m p a n y m a d e a post-tax profit of £261 mn in the third quarter of its financial year as supply of computer chips, vital for production of its advanced vehicles, improved after bottlenecks

A d r i a n M a r d e l l , i n t e r i m chief executive, said: “These improved results are testament to the hard work and d e d i c a t i o n o f o u r p e o p l e a c r o s s t h e b u s i n e s s w h o

h a v e d e l i v e r e d a f u r t h e r i n c r e a s e i n p r o d u c t i o n o f our New Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models ”

Along with other global automotive manufacturers JLR had blamed chip shortages for causing production i s s u e s o v e r t h e p a s t t w o years Last year the company halved production at its Solihull factory from two shifts to one, affecting output of its Range Rover Velar and Jaguar F-Pace models

At the time, sources said JLR would concentrate production on top-end vehic l e s s u c h a s t h e R a n g e Rover Sport The company said it had forged “ one on o n e ” r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h major chip manufacturers to help ease pressure on supplies of the vital items, which power computerised control of everything in its cars from spark plugs to air conditioning

tube and Cross rail

s t a t i o n s , a n d demand for larger family homes with more space inside and outside of the home

More than 50 London neighbourhoods saw activity in the over-£5 mil price range in 2022, with the reach of this price tag likely to grow even further in 2023

The boom in sales of t o p - e n d p r o p e r t y c o m e s amid a slowdown in the rate

of house price growth in the capital more generally The average London home grew

2 9 % i n v a l u e i n 2 0 2 2 ,

a c c o r d i n g t o t h e H a l i f a x H o u s e P r i c e I n d e x , w e l l b e h i n d f i g u r e s f r o m t h e E a s t o f E n g l a n d ( + 5 5 % ) , West Midlands (+9 1%) and Wales (+6 1%)

BoE on course to raise interest rates

T he Bank of England looks o n co urs e to raise i ts main interest rate by h alf a p erc enta ge p o in t to 4%, b u t econo mists will be lo oking keenly for signals th at this

1 0th co nsecu ti ve rate rise will be o ne of the Bo E's last

The BoE was the first major central bank to begin tightening after the Covid19 pandemic, lifting rates from a record-low 0 1% in

D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 1 B u t Britain's inflation rate hit a

4 1 - y e a r h i g h o f 1 1 1 % i n

O c t o b e r , d r i v e n i n l a r g e part by Russia's invasion of U k r a i n e A t 1 0 5 % i n

December, inflation is further from its 2% target than equivalents in the United States or the euro zone

A f t e r t h a t , m o s t economists see just one rate r i s e m o r e - t o 4 2 5 % i n M a r c h - w h i l e f i n a n c i a l markets price in the tightening cycle ending in the

middle of this year at 4 5%

The US Federal Reservewhich also meets next week - is similarly expected to e n d i t s t i g h t e n i n g c y c l e s o o n w h i l e t h e E u r o p e a n Central Bank is seen further a w a y f r o m r e a c h i n g t h e l i m i t o f i t s r a t e h i k e s Economists expect the BoE to trim its forecast for end2023 inflation to 3-4% from over 5% in November Also pushing down on inflation is a weak economic outlook - even if it seems to have avoided a recession in the second half of 2022 - and much of the effect of the BoE's rate rises so far is yet to be felt

About 2 7 million homeo w n e r s w i t h s h o r t - t e r m f i x e d - r a t e m o r t g a g e s w i l l p a y a t l e a s t 1 0 0 p o u n d s ($124) a month more after t h e y r e f i n a n c e a t h i g h e r rates this year, the BoE predicts

Hunt, Sunak favour tough decisions to stabilise economy

C ha n ce llo r J e r e my Hu n t sa id t ha t t he G ov e r n me n t mu s t m a i n t a in it s “ d i sc ipline d appr oach” to t he public fin an ce s if it is t o ge t in f la t io n u n d e r c on t r o l Hun t is fa ci n g ca l ls f r om some Tory MPs t o cut ta xe s in his Budget in March in a bid t o kick-star t gr owth in the fla gging U K e con omy

At a Cabinet meet, Rishi Sunak and the Chancellor b o t h e m p h a s i s e d i n f l a t i o n was only predicted to fall

because of the “tough decisions” taken in the autumn s t a t e m e n t t o s t a b i l i s e t h e economy

“The Chancellor said it w o u l d b e n e c e s s a r y t o r e t a i n t h i s d i s c i p l i n e d approach in order to reduce inflation, because it is the greatest driver of the cost of living,” according to a No 10 readout of the meeting The g a t h e r i n g , a t t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r ’ s r e s i d e n c e t o o k p l a c e a m i d f r u s t r a t i o n

among some Conservative M P s w h o b e l i e v e c u r r e n t t a x p o l i c i e s a r e s t i f l i n g growth and investment

The Chancellor, however, is reported to be determined to stick to his guns after former prime minister

Liz Truss’s disastrous minibudget tanked the pound

The Bank of England was forced to make an emergency intervention in the markets after then chancellor

Kwasi Kwarteng’s £45 bil-

O ff i ci a ls w o rk i ng f ro m h ome are not to blam e for long waiting times on HM Revenue and C ustom ’ s selfa s se ss m e nt h elp l i ne, th e d ep artm ent has said T h e T r e a s u r y C o m m i t t e e a s k e d H M R C e a r l i e r t h i s m o n t h i f i t recognised reports that taxp a y e r s c a l l i n g t h e d e p a r tm e n t ' s h e l p l i n e i n e a r l y January were being kept on hold for hours before being cut off without speaking to any staff – and what steps it had taken to prevent this from happening The MPs also asked if the delays were linked to call-centre officials

working from home

Responding in a letter to the committee, HMRC permanent secretary Jim Harra d e n i e d s t a f f w o r k i n g p a tt e r n s w e r e t o b l a m e a n d s u g g e s t e d c u s t o m e r s ’ actions were instead the reason for long waits Harra also denied that a technical i s s u e i n e a r l y D e c e m b e r ,

which led to HMRC susp e n d i n g s e v e r a l p h o n e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e s e l f - a s s e s sment line, had any bearing on the January wait times

H M R C l a u n c h e d a review of the resilience of its contact-centre system last m o n t h , b r i n g i n g m a n a g ement consultancy Baringa P a r t n e r s i n t o l e a d t h e a s s e s s m e n t o n a t h r e em o n t h c o n t r a c t w o r t h

£37,000

“The root cause of the i n c i d e n t , a n d t h e a c t i o n s required to prevent a recurrence, remain under investigation with the supplier,” Harra said

lion package of unfunded tax cuts sent sterling into free fall

The Liberal Democrats accused ministers of trying t o e v a d e s c r u t i n y a s t h e c o u n t r y g r a p p l e d w i t h a series of crises “While Rishi Sunak and his scandal-hit ministers hold a ‘hideaway’ day at Chequers, the rest of the country is suffering from t h i s e n d l e s s C o n s e r v a t i v e chaos,” said Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper

UK economy to shrink in 2023: IMF

The Inte rna tiona l Monet ary Fund (IMF) has sa id t hat UK econom y will s h r in k a n d pe r fo r m w o r s e t h a n othe r a dva nced e con omies as the c os t o f li v i n g c on t in ue s t o h it households

The IMF said the economy will contract by 0 6% in 2023, rather t h a n g r o w s l i g h t l y a s p r e v i o u s l y predicted However, the IMF also s a i d t h a t a f t e r t h e A u t u m n S t a t e m e n t i t t h i n k s t h e U K economy is now "on the right track"

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK outperformed many forecasts last year

In its World Economic Outlook update, the IMF, which works to stabilise economic g r o w t h , s a i d t h e U K ' s G r o s s D o m e s t i c Product (GDP) would shrink rather than grow by 0 3% this year It predicted the UK w o u l d b e t h e o n l y c o u n t r y - a c r o s s t h e world's advanced and emerging economiesto suffer a year of declining GDP

The IMF said its new forecast reflected the UK's high energy prices and financial c o n d i t i o n s , s u c h a s h i g h i n f l a t i o n I M F

Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said that for 2022, the UK had had "fairly robust" growth at 4 1%, which he said was "one of the strongest growth numbers in Europe But it is true that we are forecasting a sharp slowdown in 2023, with growth that would turn even negative for the year

HMRC clarifies its stand on waiting times on self-assessment helpline

India’s electric vehicle market glides into gear

I n d i a ’ s e le c t r i c v e hi c l e s e c t or i s gearing up from a standi ng s tart The EV i n du s t r y i s o n e o f C h i n a ' s deve lopin g tec hnologi es, s upported by governm ent s ub sidi es, some early sales of deli ve ry vehi cles a nd buses , a n d p ol i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c f e a r regardi ng the country's technologi cal he gem ony

Along with semiconductors and renewable energy, Narendra Modi's a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i s p r o v i d i n g incentives to EV manufacturers in an effort to boost manufacturing, lessen r e l i a n c e o n C h i n e s e i m p o r t s , a n d

Online

Robbery

draw in foreign investors

“As companies across the world look increasingly at a ‘China Plus

O n e ’ s t r a t e g y , I n d i a i s i n a g r e a t p o s i t i o n t o b e c o m e a g l o b a l

manufacturing powerhouse, and that journey has begun,” said Anjali Singh, executive chair of Anand, an Indian auto components and systems group pushing into EVs and other emerging

a u t o m o t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s “ I t m a y take some time, but the aim is to match China soon ”

T a t a M o t o r s w a s o n e o f t h e automakers exhibiting EVs at Auto

Railways, roads likely to get fresh capex push

Ind ia's finance minister Nirmala Sith aram an is set to go for a fresh p ush for capital expenditu re, especially for sectors such as railways and roads, in her fifth Bud get, as she seeks to ensure that global head winds d on’t take a toll o n the Indian eco nom y

While the private sector was anticipated to step up and invest in building new infrastructure, the conflict in the Ukraine and rising borrowing rates to combat inflation in some regions of the world have forced various industries to postpone this capex

As a result, economists as well as industry bodies have made a case for retaining the focus on public spending by the Centre to generate demand for key inputs, such as cement and steel, and in the process create demand

T h e M o d i a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s i n c r e a s e d c a p i t a l expenditures since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, and all central government ministries and divisions are prepared to employ the increased funding

According to the most recent data made public by the Controller General of Accounts, departments like road transportation, highways, and railroads have used about 80% of their annual budget For instance, the ministry of road transport and highways spent about £15 billion of its capex budget between April and November, which is 80% of the allotted amount for 2022–23

Expo 2023, India's premier biennial auto show The company anticipates selling 45,000 to 50,000 of them this year, making it the country's biggest seller of battery-powered vehicles

I n d i a i s b e i n g t a r g e t e d b y international companies as well, such as China's own EV market leader BYD, which stated its intention to sell 15,000 vehicles this year and overtake Tesla as the country's top-ranked EV brand

India-made BharOS to take on Android, iOS

Wi th a m o r e s ec u re platform, BharOS (sho rt for Bharat OS), d ev eloped by an In d i an s tar tu p w it h m en to rs h i p fro m I I TMad ras, is read y to compete wi th G oo g le A nd ro id an d Apple iOS

The OS, introduced by e d u c a t i o n a n d communications ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw, aims to make it possible for private b u s i n e s s e s a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n s t o p u t u p s p e c i a l i s e d o p e r a t i n g systems in accordance with t h e i r r e q u i r e m e n t s T h e move comes at a time when G o o g l e f a c e s l e g a l c h a l l e n g e s i n I n d i a o v e r a b u s e o f d o m i n a n c e a n d unfair practices in relation t o i t s A n d r o i d o p e r a t i n g

system J a n d K O p e r a t i o n s (JandKops), a 30- member team that was incubated at t h e I n d i a n I n s t i t u t e o f Technology (IIT), Madras, c r e a t e d B h a r O S I t i s a n Indian 'Operating System' created at IITMadras, has b e e n t e s t e d V a i s h n a w t w e e t e d , " A m a j o r s t e p f o r w a r d i n P M N a r e n d r a M o d i ' s A a t m a n i r b h a r Bharat mission BharOS does not come with any default apps and gives users access to only trusted apps from private store services Users are not forced to use apps that they may not be familiar with or t h a t t h e y m a y n o t t r u s t “This is a Linux-based OS,” p r o f e s s o r V K a m a k o t i , director of IIT-Madras said

Bank fraud: CBI registers case against GTL Ltd directors, bankers

The CBI has re corde d a ca se a g a i n st G TL L t d , s om e u n k n o wn ba n k e r s a n d d i r e ct o r s fo r a ll e g e d ly d efra ud ing a con sor tium of ban ks for an a mount to the t un e o f £ 4 7 6 m i lli o n by c r e a t i n g a n a r r a y of sh e ll firms to div ert ban k mone y According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the c o m p a n y f r a u d u l e n t l y

obtained loans from a bank c o n s o r t i u m o f a b o u t 2 4 lenders and then conspired with vendors and some bank employees to syphon off the majority of the loan money I n q u i r i e s r e v e a l e d t h a t G T L w a s e x t e n d i n g advances to vendors year on y e a r w i t h o u t s u p p l y o f m a t e r i a l a n d g o o d s A n d e v e n t u a l l y t h e s e a d v a n c e s

Biyani steps down as chairman of Future Retail

K ish ore Biyani has resi gned from h is p osition as chairm an o f the board of the i n so l v en t F u tu re R eta i l, w h i ch i s c u rr ent ly u nd e r s u s p en si o n F u tu re Retail stated in a reg ulato ry filing that B i ya ni h a d " ten d er ed a l ett er o f h i s r es i g na ti o n f ro m th e ro le of th e 'executiv e chairman and d irector' of the firm " H i s r e s i g n a t i o n “ s h a l l b e p l a c e d before the committee of creditors, as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016”, the company added

On January 24, 2023, their Future Retail Ltd (FRL) solution professional received notification via email It further stated that "nothing above should be r e g a r d e d a s a n a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e contents of the resignation letter offered by Kishore Biyani, especially in respect to his submissions in the resignation letter on information handover "

were provisioned, the agency said The CBI said that the f r a u d s t e r s c o n s p i r e d w i t h GTL Ltd to form a number of vendor firms to further t h e c r i m e O f t h e b a n k s , ICICI Bank has a £65 million exposure to GTL Ltd , Bank of India has £46 7 million exposure, and Canara Bank has a £41 2 million exposure

T h e c o m p a n y r e c e i v e d short-term loan amounts for a v a r i e t y o f c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s b y f a l s e l y r e p r e s e n t i n g t h a t t h e y would all be used for the s p e c i f i e d p u r p o s e s However, the CBI claimed t h a t i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r disbursement, the majority of the loan cash was not used for the intended purpose

Google adjusts India app store policy after CCI command

After failing to receiv e any quick remedy from th e co urts against the CC I ord er, w hich ruled th at it had abused its dom inant positio n and en g ag e d in ant icompetitive conduct in In d ia , Go o g le h as be g u n to m a ke mod ificatio ns to its policies regard ing ap ps and the d igital ecosystem

The US tech giant will now permit smartphone manufacturers to licence certain apps from its catalogue rather than the entire collection Users will be given the option to use a different s e a r c h e n g i n e a s t h e i r d e f a u l t , i n addition to Google search Though s o m e c o m p e t i n g I n d i a n a p p d e v e l o p e r s , l i k e M a p m y I n d i a , c o n t i n u e t o c a l l f o r a d d i t i o n a l c l a r i f i c a t i o n , t h e m o v e i s b e i n g p e r c e i v e d a s a s i g n i f i c a n t backpedalling by Google

A £ 1 3 3 8 m i l l i o n fine was levied against Google for exploiting i t s p o s i t i o n o f d o m i n a n c e t h r o u g h t h e w i d e l y u s e d A n d r o i d o p e r a t i n g system, and a further £ 93 6 million was demanded in a case involving its Play Store policy It is now making the adjustments after the S u p r e m e C o u r t a n d t h e N a t i o n a l

C o m p a n y L a w A p p e l l a t e T r i b u n a l (NCLAT) both rejected its requests for a stay of proceedings “ W e t a k e o u r c o m m i t m e n t t o c o m p l y w i t h l o c a l l a w s a n d regulations in India seriously The CCI’s recent directives for Android a n d P l a y r e q u i r e u s t o m a k e s i g n i f i c a n t c h a n g e s f o r I n d i a , a n d today we ’ ve informed the CCI of how w e w i l l b e c o m p l y i n g w i t h t h e i r directives,” Google said

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

As time has gon e on there has b een an agen da to wipe out ca sh from the sy stem; this has b een so it, an d we, c an be controll ed As a conseq uenc e of this so much is n ow tran sacted onl ine and cybercrime is rapidly on the rise Onl ine no cars, arm s, or threat of immediate capture ex is t Th ieves n ow have the whole world to operate from, and have time to evade capture

A r e c e n t c r i m e w h i c h c a u g h t m y e y e w a s published in a well known consumer magazine A couple were purchasing a property and were nearing close to exchange The accounts department from the solicitor’s office called them up and said they were now in a position to accept the monies for e x c h a n g e T h e c o u p l e a s k e d a f e w q u e s t i o n s , although the answers were unclear, this was simply put down to the accounts department not knowing the intricacies of the transaction Consequently, on a F r i d a y a f t e r n o o n t h e e x c h a n g e m o n e y w a s transferred

Come Monday morning when they called the solicitor’s office they discovered the monies had not been received It appeared they had been scammed This scam typically happens on a Friday giving the thieves a couple of days of breathing space to wipe their foot prints and ‘ escape ’

It transpired their emails had been intercepted, and they had been targeted When they contacted the bank, after some investigation the bank only gave back half of the £80K they had lost, citing that there was a warning message which appears before the transfer which advises them to ring the solicitor’s office before doing the transfer To be fair, one hardly reads these messages nowadays, and they are so common it almost becomes like background noise The consumer magazine who published the article chose to intercede and managed to get the bank to recompensate them with the full amount T h e r e a s o n g i v e n w a s t h a t t h e e l a b o r a t e a n d sophisticated nature of the crime outweighed the bank’s in app warning

There are a couple of things one can do to avoid being the victim of crimes such as these Although, of course it’s easy to advise in hindsight When you are in the heat of a deal, these are not the first things which pop up in your psyche The first is for you to ring the lawyer’s office when making the transfer; the second is to transfer £1 check this has gone through to the correct account, before transferring the whole amount

The above is meant more for buyers who are using a solicitor for the first time When we use the same lawyers regularly, we would have the sort code and account number in the system, and often would know the key personnel in the firm

As time goes on crimes like this will become more and more wide spread

India sells its first green bond, raising $1 billion

In a well-recei ved $1 b illion of fering, I ndia sold its fi rst "green bonds" is sued by a s ov e r e i g n n a ti on , a developmen t that analys ts sai d wa s en coura gin g for the c oun try 's c a pac i ty to f i n a n c e th e s i g n i f i c a n t

i n v es tm e n t s r e q ui r e d t o meet its clim ate goals

T h e g o v e r n m e n t s o l d

Rs 80bn ($1bn) worth of f i v e - a n d 1 0 - y e a r d e b t , achieving a “greenium”, or

a l o w e r b o r r o w i n g c o s t

t h a n i t w o u l d f o r a

c o n v e n t i o n a l b o n d o f

similar maturity

The 10-year bond was priced at a coupon of 7 29 per cent, which was 0 06 p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t s l o w e r t h a n f o r c o m p a r a b l e s o v e r e i g n d e b t I n d i a , which has 1 4 billion people

a n d i s t h e t h i r d - l a r g e s t e m i t t e r o f g r e e n h o u s e g a s e s i n t h e w o r l d , i s expected to surpass China a s t h e m o s t p o p u l a t e d nation this year

It has also stated that being a tropical nation with a lengthy coastline and the Himalayas in the north, it f a c e s a g r e a t e r d i f f i c u l t y than most other nations in a d j u s t i n g t o r i s i n g temperatures and altered weather patterns By 2030, t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f N a r e n d r a M o d i h a s p r o m i s e d t o r e d u c e t h e intensity of emissions in I n d i a ' s g r o s s d o m e s t i c product by 45% and boost the contribution of nonfossil fuel sources of energy to 50% of installed capacity from the current 40%

Petrol costs Rs 250, diesel 263 per litre in Pak now

I S L A M A B A D : C as h - s tra p p ed

P ak is ta n ’ s g o v er nm e nt o n Sunday raised prices o f petrol and diesel by Rs 35 each, giving anoth er j olt to th e c ou ntry’s inflati on-stricken peo ple Th e decisio n com es d ays before an Inte rnatio nal M o netary F u nd mission will visit Pakistan later this month to d iscuss the stalled ninth rev iew of th e country’s cu r ren t fu n d i ng p ro g ram m e Last w eek, the Pakistani rupee lost close to 1 2% of its v alue after the remo val of price caps that were imposed by the g overn m en t bu t w h ic h w e re opposed by the IMF

Finance minister Ishaq Dar made the announcement in a t e l e v i s e d a d d r e s s o n S u n d a y m o r n i n g , s p o i l i n g p e o p l e ’ s

weekly holiday as prices in the past had been adjusted on a fortnightly basis from the first to 16th of every month

“

W e h a v e d e c i d e d t o increase the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 35 each The price of kerosene oil and light diesel oil h a s b e e n i n c r e a s e d b y R s 1 8 each,” Dar said, adding that the new prices would come into effect on Sunday After the rise, the price of petrol was set at Rs 249 8 per litre, high-speed diesel at Rs 262 8, kerosene oil at Rs 189 8, and light diesel oil at Rs 187 per litre

L a s t w e e k , P M S h e h b a z Sharif had said that the ruling alliance led by his party was ready to swallow the bitter pill of the IMF’s “stringent” condi-

tions to revive the loan programme and it has clearly conveyed intentions to complete the n i n t h r e v i e w t o t h e IMF A successful IMF v i s i t i s c r i t i c a l f o r Pakistan, which is facing an increasingly acute balance of payments crisis and is d e s p e r a t e t o s e c u r e e x t e r n a l financing, with less than three weeks' worth of import cover in its foreign exchange reserves

T h e P a k i s t a n i r u p e e s a w devaluation last week and now we are seeing an 11% increase in the prices of petroleum products in the international market,” Dar said Pakistan’s currency depreciated to its lowest against the US dollar on Friday

INDIAN SHOT DEAD IN US; FAMILY INJURED

in the inter bank and open market and closed at Rs 262 6 Dar said the government had not increased the price of petrol since October last year until January 29 and also decreased t h e p r i c e s o f d i e s e l a n d kerosene oil Ahead of the hike in the prices, long queues of motorists were seen at the filli n g s t a t i o n s T h e r u s h w a s fuelled by reports of shortage a n d m a s s i v e i n c r e a s e i n t h e prices

Peshawar mosque blast toll mounts to 100

PES HA WA R : The de ath t ol l has r i se n t o 10 0 p e op l e a ft e r a mosque suicide b ombing which t arget ed pol icemen in t he city of P e s ha w a r in P a k i st a n T he mosque is within a high-se curity z on e a n d a n in v e s t ig a t i on i s unde r wa y into how the bomber g o t in T he a t t a ck , o n e o f Pa kista n's bloodiest in y ears, has l eft scores more injured

A Pakistani Taliban claim to have carried out the bombing was later denied by the militant g r o u p , w h i c h b l a m e d i t o n a splinter faction In the past the Pakistani Taliban have refrained from claiming some attacks on m o s q u e s , s c h o o l s o r m a r k e t s because they say they are at war with security forces and not the P a k i s t a n i p e o p l e , b u t m a n y doubt such denials

O n T u e s d a y , r e s c u e r s s c r a m b l e d t o r e t r i e v e

worshippers buried in the rubble, pulling out nine people alive but recovering more of the dead Noo n e r e m a i n e d t r a p p e d , l o c a l officials said

" T e r r o r i s t s w a n t t o c r e a t e f e a r b y t a r g e t i n g t h o s e w h o perform the duty of defending Pakistan," said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif He declared a national day of mourning

T h e B B C s a w a m b u l a n c e s

Lanka lauds India’s assurances to IMF over its debt restructuring bid

N E W D E L H I : M il in d a Moragoda, Sri Lan ka s high commissioner, pr aised India for prov id ing the IMF wit h fin an cia l a ssur an ces a nd for suppor t ing t h e is l a n d n a t i on 's e f fo r t s t o r estruct ure its debt, saying that if Ne w Del hi ha d not a cte d quickl y, t he social consequen ces of the e conomic crisis would have b een worse an d that its support would h a v e r e du ce d a n y m i st r u st b etween t he t wo nat ions

S p e a k i n g t o m e d i a , Moragoda said no other country would have helped Sri Lanka the way India did and that its external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s recent visit to Colombo, his third in the past 12 months, marked the entry of the bilateral relationship into a new phase It also marked, he said, the beginning of Lanka’s economic recovery

J a i s h a n k a r , w h o w a s i n Colombo this month to show support for Sri Lanka, stated duri n g h i s v i s i t t h a t N e w D e l h i expected all bilateral creditors to b e t r e a t e d s i m i l a r l y a n d t h a t India's financial pledges to the IMF were intended to open the way for Sri Lanka to go forward

Similar guarantees from China and Japan, two other significant

bilateral lenders, are currently being sought by Sri Lanka

Despite the fact that Beijing has written to Sri Lanka offering a two-year debt moratorium and assistance in securing the IMF's p r o p o s e d $ 2 9 b i l l i o n b a i l o u t package, reports from Colombo indicate that it is still unclear w h e t h e r t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l

lender, unlike in the case with India, is satisfied with China's assurances “The timing was very important India’s support overall and the fact that it took the lead can be hailed as an example of India’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy There would have been more social fallout of the crisis otherwise,’’ said Moragoda

racing in and out of the c o m p o u n d e v e r y f e w minutes More than 50 remain wounded, some of them critical Meanwhile, funerals have been carried out for m o r e t h a n 2 0 p o l i c e o f f i c e r s , t h e i r c o f f i n s draped with the Pakistan flag Most of the dead were members of the security forces

Hundreds packed the funeral of Irfan Ullah, a police inspector killed in the explosion Only a few days before, he had survived a n o t h e r a t t a c k - a n a m b u s h w h e r e s o m e o f h i s c o l l e a g u e s died Armed security guarded the p r a y e r s S o m e a t t e n d i n g c r i e d quietly

Between 300 and 400 police officers had been in the area at

the time, Peshawar police chief M u h a m m a d I j a z K h a n e a r l i e r told local media The mosque is i n o n e o f t h e m o s t h e a v i l y c o n t r o l l e d a r e a s o f t h e c i t y , w h i c h i n c l u d e s p o l i c e h e a d q u a r t e r s a n d i n t e l l i g e n c e a n d c o u n t e r - t e r r o r i s m o f f i c e s

On Tuesday, local media lined the road outside the gates - the closest that security would allow Sharif said those behind the attack had "nothing to do with Islam" He added: "The entire nation is standing united against the menace of terrorism " The Pakistan Taliban ended a c e a s e f i r e i n N o v e m b e r , a n d violence has been on the rise in the country since It is separate to the Afghan Taliban but shares t h e s a m e h a r d - l i n e I s l a m i s t ideology

41 killed as bus falls into Balochistan ravine

I SLAMA BAD: At least 41 peo ple were kil led and th ree c ritical ly injured after a p assenger bu s fell into a ravine and caught fire in La s be l a d is t r ic t o f P a k is t a n ’ s s o u t h w e s t er n B al o c h is t a n province o n Su nday l ast

L a s b e l a ’ s a s s i s t a n t c o m m i ssioner Hamza Anjum said that the vehicle, with 44 passengers on board, was travelling from Quetta to Karachi “Owing to speeding, the coach crashed into the pillar of a bridge in Bela area of Lasbela while taking a U-turn The bus subsequently fell into a ravine and then caught fire,” he said Anjum said only four people, including a child and a woman, were rescued alive and moved to civil hospital in Lasbela “However, one of the four injured succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospi-

tal,” he said T h e o f f i c e r s a i d n e a r l y 4 0 bodies were burnt beyond recognition “They are being transported to Karachi for DNA sampling and after identification, the bodies will be handed over to their relatives,” Anjum said Images from the site showed what was left of the charred vehicle lying down the bridge The recovered remains of some of the dead were lined up in rows nearby The rescue operation was carried out by firefighters and worke r s f r o m t h e L a s b e l a W e l f a r e T r u s t a n d t h e E d h i W e l f a r e Foundation Balochistan’s chief m i n i s t e r M i r A b d u l Q u d o o s Bizenjo expressed his grief over t h e l o s s o f l i f e a n d o r d e r e d authorities to provide the best medical facilities to the injured

Nepal top court removes deputy PM over citizenship

K A T HM A N DU : N e pa l’s S upr em e Cou rt r uled t hat dep ut y PM R abi Lamichhan e had stood for e le ct ion with inva lid citizenship pape rs, an nulling his stat us a s a la wmak er a nd e ffect iv ely re moving him from office Lamichhan e be ca me de puty PM for home affairs - he adin g the ministr y tha t oversee s iden tity card s - in a seve n-par ty allia nce t hat t ook power last mon th

A five-member constitutional panel of the highest court ruled that the 48-year-old had run in the November elections with a certificate of citizenship that was unlawful since he had renounced

his US citizenship Sunil Pokhrel, Lamichhane's attorney, stated that "he loses his ministerial position and there will be a by-election in his seat "

The departure of the minister was unlikely to affect the future of the ruling alliance, political analyst Krishna Khanal said Lamichhane, who hosted a popular television show before entering politics, could not be immediately reached for comment Pokhrel said Lamichhane will now seek to get a regular citizenship card and contest the by-election from the same constituency in south Nepal

A 52-year-old Indian man died in the US after three masked men opened fire at him, leaving his wife and child injured, police said Pinal Patel and his family had arrived home from work when three masked individuals with guns targeted them last week on Thoroughbred Lane in Georgia the Bibb County Sheriff s Office said Upon arrival deputies found Patel his wife Rupalben and child Bhakti suffering from gunshot wounds in the driveway of their home The family was transported to Atrium Health where Patel was pronounced dead on arrival by Deputy Coroner Luann Stone Rupalben and her daughter were listed in stable condition, the police said

STUDENT FROM ANDHRA DIES

A 23-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh died after being struck by a police patrol vehicle in Seattle Jaahnavi Kandula, a student of Northeastern University campus in South Lake Union, was walking near Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street when she was hit by a Seattle Police vehicle, media reported Just after 8 pm, police came on the site and began performing CPR as soon as they discovered Kandula had serious injuries Later, she was taken in serious condition to Harborview Medical Center where she passed away from her wounds

TWO INDIANS DROWNED IN NZ

Two Indian men, who were roommates in New Zealand, drowned when a rogue wave hit them while trying to swim in one of the most dangerous spots at Piha Beach, according to media reports The deceased, identified as Saurin Nayankumar Patel, 28, and Anshul Shah, 31, spent 30 minutes at the beach in North Island last week before tragedy struck New Zealand Herald newspaper reported They were described as “non-swimmers” by their families The two hailed from Ahmedabad in Gujarat and were roommates in Auckland A friend of the two Hiren Patel said another friend, Apurv Modi was also in the water when a rogue wave pulled the trio apart Patel was an electrical engineer who arrived in New Zealand in August last year, while Shah worked as a cashier at a gas station and came here in November

IMRAN ALLY SENT TO JAIL FOR TWO WEEKS

A Pakistani court sent to jail for two weeks a senior ally of former PM Imran Khan, after his arrest over allegations that he threatened the chief of the elections oversight body and other government officials Khan s supporter Fawad Chaudhry was arrested from Lahore following a complaint from the Election Commission of Pakistan which has accused him of threatening its head, Sikandar Sultan Raja, and other officials The government says Chaudhry’s threats were meant to prevent the commission’s officials from performing their duties and inciting people to violence against them a charge Chaudhry s lawyer Babar Awan denied 10

CHILDREN DIE IN PAK BOAT CAPSIZE

At least 10 children were killed when a boat carrying school students capsized in Pakistan, officials said Around eight students were still missing while seven injured had been taken to hospital, according to officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the accident took place Kohat district commissioner Mahmood Aslam said 50 students from a religious school, had gathered near Tanda lake for a picnic Twenty-five had ventured out on the water - which was closed by authoritieson a boat The pupils who died were aged between seven and 12 years old

in brief

3RD SHOOTING IN 8 DAYS IN CALIFORNIA KILLS 7

A gunman killed seven people at two agricultural businesses in Northern California plunging the state into mourning again in the wake of its third mass killing in eight days Officers arrested a suspect 67-year-old Chunli Zhao after they found him in his car in the parking lot of a sheriff s substation San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said Seven people were found dead and an eighth injured at a farm and another location several miles away the Sheriff’s Office said Officials believe Zhao worked at one of the facilities and that the victims were workers as well, Corpus said Officials haven t determined a motive for the shooting

FINNISH ZOO PLANS TO RETURN GIANT PANDAS TO CHINA

A cash-strapped Finnish zoo said it was preparing to return two giant pandas on loan from China as it could no longer afford their upkeep The pandas were brought to Finland in January 2018, nine months after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Nordic country and signed a joint agreement on protecting the animals Ahtari Zoo a private company which had hoped the pandas would bring visitors said it had instead accumulated mounting debts as the pandemic curbed travel

META TO REINSTATE TRUMP’S FB AND INSTA ACCOUNTS

Facebook parent Meta is reinstating former President Donald Trump s personal account, ending a two-year suspension it imposed in the wake of the January 6 insurrection The firm said it was adding “new guardrails to ensure there are no “repeat offenders who violate its rules, even if they are political candidates or world leaders “The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box ” wrote Nick Clegg, Meta’s vice-president of global affairs He said that when there is a “clear risk” to real-world harm, Meta would intervene

MAN ATTACKS 2 CHURCHES IN SPAIN, KILLS 1

One clergyman was killed and another seriously injured when a 25-year-old Moroccan wielding a machete attacked two churches in southern Spain The suspect was arrested after the man attacked several people at the churches of San Isidro and Nuestra Senora de La Palma in the southern port city of Algeciras Police said they took the suspect to his home for detectives to conduct a search a spokesman for Spain’s National Police said He is expected to be transferred to the Spanish capital Madrid to appear before an HC judge on terrorism charges police and court sources said Police denied reports that the suspect had been under surveillance before the attack

TEACHER SHOT AT BY 6YEAR-OLD TO SUE SCHOOL

An American elementary school teacher shot by her six-year-old student plans to file a lawsuit against school authorities saying they ignored multiple warnings over the threat, her lawyer said In the hours before the boy shot his teacher, administrators at the Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, were warned three times that the boy might have a gun, attorney Diane Toscano said, including requests from employees to search the boy’s pockets and a report from another child who said that the boy had shown him the gun Toscano said that on January 6 her client Abigail Zwerner, 25, told school administrators that the boy had threatened to beat up another child “But the school administration could not be bothered,” she said

Pro-Khalistan elements attack people waving Indian flag in Australia

Me lbo u r n e : P r o - K ha li st a n i fo r ce s h a v e a t t a ck e d I n d ia n s ca r r y i n g t h e n a t i on a l f la g i n Aust ra lia, injurin g a t lea st five of th e m Vi de os of t he i nc id en t have gon e vira l on social media show a n ind iv idual bre ak ing tr icolor an d thr owing it on the floor

A video of Indians attacked in Melbourne was tweeted by B J P l e a d e r M a n j i n d e r S i n g h Sirsa which shows the Indian group running away from the scene while the pro-Khalistani group continued to hit them S i r s a c o n d e m n e d a n t i - I n d i a activities by pro-Khalistanis and said that acts of anti-social elem e n t s m u s t b e d e a l t w i t h strongly

“I strongly condemn antiI n d i a a c t i v i t i e s b y p r oKhalistanis in Australia Anti-

social elements that are trying to disrupt the peace & harmony of the country with these activities, must be dealt with strongly and culprits must be brought to books,” Sirsa tweeted

The attack on Indians come mere days after Hindu temples w e r e v a n d a l i s e d i n A u s t r a l i a T h r e e t e m p l e s w e r e d e f a c e d w i t h p r o - K h a l i s t a n a n d a n t iIndia slogans in the past few weeks in Melbourne

Also Read: Hindus Under A t t a c k i n A u s t r a l i a : S h i v a -

V i s h n u t e m p l e a t t a c k e d j u s t days after vandalism at another; Khalistanis suspect

Footages show that Hindus carrying tricolour were beaten and assaulted by pro-Khalistan f o r c e s o n a b u s y M e l b o u r n e Street One of them was also seen charging towards Indians

with a sword Director of Hindu

H u m a n R i g h t s

A u s t r a l a s i a , S a r a h L

Gates, in a tweet said:

"Khalistanis now sharing footage of a Khali

m o b a p p r o a c h i n g a lone Indian youth with Tiranga and assaulting them near Federation Square Khalistan Referendum I hope @AusFedPolice will not turn a blind eye " Two a rre sted for v iolen t at tack s T h e V i c t o r i a P o l i c e c o ndemned the attack and said that so far, two people have been arrested following the violent attack on Indians carrying the national flag The arrested men are in their 30s and have been i s s u e d a p e n a l t y n o t i c e f o r "riotous behaviour" The Indian

Indian-origin astronaut nominated for the post in US air force

W A S H I N G T O N : I nd i an - Am er i c an as t ro n au t R a j a J C h ar i h a s b e en nominated by P resident Joe Biden fo r the appo intment to the grade of Air Fo rce brigadier general

As per the US Defence Department, the nomination was announced and will have to be confirmed by the Senate which approves all senior civilian and military appointments

The 45-year-old Air Force Colonel Chari was recommended for promotion to the rank of brigadier general At the m o m e n t , h e i s t h e c o m m a n d e r a n d astronaut for Crew-3 at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, which is operated by the N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p a c e Administration

H e e a r n e d a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e i n a e r o n a u t i c s f r o m the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland Chari served as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35

Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California

He was motivated to pursue a better education and a successful profession by his father Srinivas Chari, who left Hyderabad for the US to pursue an engineering degree He met his wife and spent his entire career at John Deere in Waterloo NASA and the European Space Agency chose Chari to lead t h e S p a c e X C r e w - 3 m i s s i o n t o t h e International Space Station (ISS) in 2020 He brings a wealth of test pilot experience to his endeavour In his career, he has flown for more than 2,500 hours total

Police unit disbanded after death of Black man from brutal beating

M E MP H IS ( U S ): The Memp his police ch ief disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion u nit, citi ng a “clou d o f dish onor ” from new ly released v ideo that show ed so me o f its officers beating T yre Nich ols to death after stop ping the Black mo torist Police director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis acted a day after the harrowing video emerged, saying she listened to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision Her announcement came as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also Black The video renewed doubts about why fatal encounters with law enforcement keep happening despite repeated calls for change Protesters marching though downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved One protestor said that “the unit that killed Tyre has been perman e n t l y d i s b a n d e d ” R e f e r r i n g t o “ t h e heinous actions of a few” that dishonored the unit, Davis contradicted an earlier statement that she would keep the unit She said it was imperative that the department “take proactive steps in the healing process It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,” she said She said the officers assigned to it agreed “ unre-

servedly ”

The unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim is to target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime It had been inactive since Nichols’ January 7 arrest

High Commission in Canberra c a l l e d t h e a t t a c k s b l a t a n t attempts to promote animosity and discord among the Indian community The Indian Mission added that such incidents signal that pro-Khalistan elements are stepping up their activities in A u s t r a l i a , a c t i v e l y a i d e d a n d “abetted by members of proscribed terrorist organisations” such as the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and other “inimical agencies” from outside Australia

9 Indian-Americans charged with fraud, conspiracy in US

WA S HING TO N: Twelv e people have been accused in the US state of P ennsylvania inclu ding nine Ind ian-Am ericans and Indian nationals fo r alleg ed ly particip ati ng in a m u lti f ac ete d r ac ket ee ri ng co n sp i ra cy through a multistate network of dentistry o ffices and allied d ental enterprises

A c c o r d i n g t o c o u r t d o c u m e n t s , T h e S a v a n i G r o u p , a c o l l e c t i o n o f d e n t i s t r y offices and affiliated businesses operated and were involved in by the 12 people, engaged in visa fraud, healthcare fraud, wire fraud involving federal tax evasion, and money laundering

According to a news release from the US Department of Justice, six of them have b e e n c h a r g e d w i t h p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a racketeer-influenced corrupt organisation ( R I C O ) c o n s p i r a c y b a s e d o n t h e i r i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e S a v a n i G r o u p , a n d a n o t h e r t h r e e h a v e b e e n c h a r g e d w i t h obstructing justice Bhaskar Savani, 57, and Niranjan Savani, 51, from Pennsylvania and both licensed dentists, owned and controlled the Savani Group dental practices

Arun Savani, 55, owned and managed the S a v a n i G r o u p c o m p a n i e s a n d w a s responsible for the Savani Group s financial a f f a i r s , t h e p r e s s r e l e a s e s a i d B h a s k a r , Niranjan, and Arun, the three brothers, are alleged to have worked together to solicit foreign nationals for US work visas while hiding the actual job titles and duties of the a p p l i c a n t s T h e t h r e e m a d e t h e i r i n i t i a l court appearances on January 20

Protests over Quran burning in Sweden, the Netherlands

B EIR U T: Pr ot est s were hel d in se veral pr edomin antl y Musl im countries t o denounce the r ece nt desecration of Qur an by far -r ight activist s in Swede n and the Nether lands

In Pakistan, Iraq, and Lebanon, among other nations, the protests came to an end with a calm dispersal of the crowds Police in I s l a m a b a d s t o p p e d s o m e p r o t e s t e r s w h o w e r e m a r c h i n g i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e

Swedish embassy

The Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party gathered about 12,000 supporters in Lahore t o p r o t e s t t h e t w o E u r o p e a n n a t i o n s destruction of the Quran TLP leader Saad R i z v i u r g e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o l o d g e a s t r o n g p r o t e s t w i t h S w e d e n a n d t h e

Netherlands in his remarks to the protesters Similar rallies were also held in Karachi and in northwest Pakistan In Beirut, 200 angry

protesters burned the flags of Sweden and the Netherlands outside the blue-domed Mohammed Al-Amin mosque at Beirut’s central Martyrs Square P o l i c e g a v e a p p r o v a l f o r a f a r - r i g h t extremist from Denmark to hold a protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm earlier this month during which he burnt the Quran Days later, near the Dutch parliament, Edwin Wagensveld, the Dutch head of the extreme right-wing Pegida movement, tore pages out of a copy of the Quran and trampled on them Protests were sparked by the actions, which infuriated millions of Muslims around the world Swedish governm e n t h a v e e m p h a s i s e d t h a t f r e e d o m o f expression is guaranteed by the Swedish C o n s t i t u t i o n a n d g i v e s p e o p l e e x t e n s i v e

Raja J Chari

Egypt supports India on its fight against cross-border terrorism

Co u nter-terro ris m eff orts , i n c re as i ng r ad i ca li s a ti o n a nd cy b er s e c u ri t y we re a mo n g th e i s s u es t h at dominated Prime Minister Narendra Mo di’s dialogue w it h E gy p ti a n P r es i de nt Abdel F attah E l-Sisi, with t h e P M s ay i n g i n a statement later th at bo th l ea de rs a gre e d c o n ce r ted action is neces sary to end cross-bo rder terrorism

T h e s u m m i t a l s o s a w India and Egypt elevating t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e l e v e l o f s t r a t e g i c partnership in an effort to ramp up defence, political, energy and economic ties

T h e t w o c o u n t r i e s a l s o signed five MoUs, including o n e f o r c o o p e r a t i o n i n c y b e r s e c u r i t y a n d d i s c u s s e d w a y s t o s t r e n g t h e n f o o d a n d

healthcare security

The mention of cross-

border terrorism is essential for India since it aids in the g o v e r n m e n t ' s e f f o r t s t o draw attention to Pakistan f o r i t s s p o n s o r s h i p o f t e r r o r i s t o r g a n i s a t i o n s operating in Pakistan with an eye toward India It also j i v e s w e l l w i t h I n d i a ' s p e r c e p t i o n t h a t E g y p t i s one OIC nation that has r e s i s t e d P a k i s t a n ' s p r o p a g a n d a a g a i n s t I n d i a over the Kashmir dispute

A c c o r d i n g t o M o d i , both India and Egypt are

India unveils world’s first govtapproved nasal Covid vax

I n d i a's h e alt h m i ni st er M ans u k h M and av i y a la u nc h ed i N C OV A C C , th e w o rl d ’ s f ir st g o v ern m en t- ap p r ov ed intranasal Cov id-19 vaccine, for a p rimary tw o-shot schedule four w eeks ap art as well as a booster d ose for tho se who have earlier taken C ovaxin or Cov ish ield

According to Durgesh Nandan Jha, it was created by Bharat Biotech International Limited and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance, a PSU Vaccine utilises a vector-based platform that can be easily updated with emerging variants making quick large-scale production easy It will be initially available in some private hospitals and later at government-approved centres

In contrast to the already available injectable Covid-19 vaccinations, iNCOVACC must be given twice, four weeks apart There should be an administration of eight drops (total 0 5 ml each dose), four drops into each nostril

concerned about the rise of terrorism around the world and agree that it continues to pose the greatest security threat to humanity

“ B o t h c o u n t r i e s a l s o agree that concerted action is necessary to end crossborder terrorism And for t h i s , t o g e t h e r w e w i l l continue to try to alert the international community,” said Modi

Foreign secretary Vinay K w a t r a l a t e r s a i d b o t h l e a d e r s s t r o n g l y

IAF jets collide in MP, instructor killed

c o n d e m n e d t h e u s e o f terrorism by countries as a foreign policy instrument a n d c a l l e d f o r z e r o tolerance to terrorism and f o r “ a l l t h o s e w h o e n c o u r a g e , s u p p o r t a n d finance terrorism, provide s a n c t u a r i e s t o t e r r o r g r o u p s , w h a t e v e r t h e i r motivation may be” Modi added that there is a great deal of room to grow Egypt a n d I n d i a ' s d e f e n c e a n d security cooperation Our f o r c e s c a p a c i t y b u i l d i n g a n d c o m b i n e d e x e r c i s e t r a i n i n g h a v e i n c r e a s e d significantly during the past f e w y e a r s W e h a v e a l s o decided in today’s meeting t o f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n o u r d e f e n c e i n d u s t r i e s , a n d enhance the exchange of i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i n t e l l i g e n c e r e l a t e d t o counter-terrorism,” he said

Two front lin e IAF fig hter s cr ashed a ft er a mid-air collision ove r M ore na distr ict of Mad hya Pr ade sh, k illing a Win g Comma nde r while two othe r pilots man age d to eje ct sa fely

When the disaster happened, the unfortunate Sukhoi30MKI and Mirage-2000 aircraft were practising combat m a n o e u v r e s , i n c l u d i n g b o m b i n g s o r t i e s , a s p a r t o f t h e curriculum of the IAF's "Top Gun" school, Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), at Gwalior

The Mirage-2000 pilot, Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, who as an instructor at TACDE was tasked to train the cream of younger fighter pilots in advanced air combat skills, lost his life in the mishap

T h e t w i n - s e a t S u k h o i - 3 0 M K I s t w o S q u a d r o n L e a d e r pilots, who both suffered minor injuries after ejecting from their aircraft, have been taken to a military hospital Even though flying machines are pushed to their absolute limits during military aviation, the Indian armed services have had an unusually high crash rate over the years

For instance, in just the past five years, mishaps involving aircraft and helicopters have claimed the lives of almost 50 military people In order to determine the precise reason for the accident, the IAF has mandated a court of inquiry

Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari briefed defence minister R a j n a t h S i n g h a b o u t t h e d e t a i l s “ W e s t a n d b y W i n g Commander Sarathi’s family in this difficult hour,” Singh said Both the fighters had taken off from the Gwalior airbase, along with other aircraft, for the routine operational flying training mission “While it was not a head-on collision, the wings of the two jets seemed to have clipped each other,” an official said

India sends notice to Pak about Indus Waters Treaty amendment

India has n otif ied Is lamabad that it wants the 1960 I ndus Wate rs Treaty ( I W T) m od i f i e d d u e to P a k i s t a n 's "i nt ra n si g en c e" an d un i la te ra l a c ts Islam abad's re fus al to rai se the matter with Indi a led to the governmen t's n ot i c e , d e s p i te t he Wo rl d B a n k 's request that In dia and Pakistan find a m ut ua ll y ag re e a b le s ol ut i on ra t he r than pursue se parate procedures to address Pakistan s c on cerns about the Kishenganga and R atle hydroelectric projec ts in J& K

T h e W o r l d B a n k , i s a l s o a signatory to IWT, in October last year appointed not just a neutral expert to e x a m i n e t h e i s s u e b u t a l s o , a t P a k i s t a n ’ s i n s i s t e n c e , a c o u r t o f

a r b i t r a t i o n c h a i r m a n , d e s p i t e acknowledging India’s concern that c a r r y i n g o u t t h e t w o p r o c e s s e s concurrently posed practical and legal challenges

The case is being heard in The Hague by the court, which Pakistan believes was established in accordance with IWT requirements India also hopes that the change will result in an u p g r a d e o f I W T b y t a k i n g i n t o account the "lessons learned" over the previous 62 years India and Pakistan had negotiated for nine years before finally signing in 1960 the IWT, which facilitates cooperation and exchange of information between them for use of river waters The International War

on Terrorism is still regarded as one of t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r e a t i e s s i n c e i t h a s w i t h s t o o d conflicts, including wars, despite calls for the government to reassess its position in the agreement from many quarters because to Pakistan's support for transnational terrorism

India has provided Pakistan 90 days to enter into negotiations for r e c t i f y i n g t h e “ m a t e r i a l b r e a c h ” o f I W T W h i l e I s l a m a b a d h a d i t s e l f requested appointment of a neutral expert in 2015 to examine the designs of the projects, a year later it proposed t o W o r l d B a n k t h a t a c o u r t o f arbitration look into its objections instead

India shows its swadeshi muscles Egyptian army contingent steals the show

Fro m th e B ra h mo s s u p e rs o n i c c ru i s e mi s s i le an d t an k d es t ro y er N a g m i s si l e s y s te m to th e A ka s h ai r defence system, India flexed i ts swadesh i mu scle at th e 7 4 th Re p u b l ic D a y o n K artavya Path o n Th ursday last A m i d c h e e r s , s e v e r a l s o p h i s t i c a t e d m i l i t a r y hardware followed on the heels of the 61 Cavalry Army M o u n t e d c o n t i n g e n t , t h e only active cavalry regiment in the world As President D r o u p a d i M u r m u , w h o a r r i v e d a t K a r t a v y a P a t h w i t h h e r E g y p t i a n counterpart and chief guest Abdel Fattah elSisi, unfurled the national flag, 21 guns t h u n d e r e d i n a n a t i o n a l salute And not surprising, these were the indigenously made 105 mm Indian field g u n s w h i c h h a d r e p l a c e d t h e v i n t a g e B r i t i s h 2 5p o u n d e r g u n s o n t h e occasion T h e r e c e n t l y d e p l o y e d

L i g h t C o m b a t H e l i c o p t e r

(LCH) Prachanda, a madein-India attacking chopper, then flew overhead, leading a f o r m a t i o n o f t h e A m e r i c a n - b u i l t A p a c h e h e l i c o p t e r s a n d t w o d e s i

helicopters in a r r o w f o r m a t i o n T h e

p a r a d e a l s o s a w p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e f i r s t I n d i g e n o u s A k a s h a i r defence system, a defence p r o d u c t t h a t t h e I n d i a n government hopes to export too Main battle tank Arjun, t h e 1 , 4 0 0 h o r s e p o w e r vehicle with a speed of 70 kmph and equipped with a 1 2 0 m m m a i n r i f l e d g u n , 7 62 mm machine gun and a n a n t i - a i r c r a f t g u n d e v e l o p e d b y D e f e n c e Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), then rolled by Alongside, there was the Nag missile system, a fire and forget anti-tank g u i d e d m i s s i l e w i t h a n effective range of 5 km The people also got to see the K9 Vajra-T, a self-propelled h o w i t z e r b e i n g b u i l t b y L a r s e n & T o u b r o v i a t e c h n o l o g y t r a n s f e r f r o m

South Korea

T h e 8 6 1 m i s s i l e r e g i m e n t s h o w c a s e d t h e Brahmos supersonic, highp r e c i s i o n c r u i s e m i s s i l e ,

while 27 Air Défence Missile Regiment exhibited the first ever indigenously developed Akash weapon system “The system has the capability of carrying out surveillance of air space up to 150 km and effectively engaging hostile a e r i a l p l a t f o r m s u p t o 2 5 k m , ” r a n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n g i v e n d u r i n g t h e p a r a d e

The Akash weapon system is capable of keeping Indian skies protected and safe and w a s u s e d a s a p o t e n t deterrent in 2019 when it w a s d e p l o y e d a s a c o u n t e r m e a s u r e t o Pakistan’s Air Force after the air strikes on terrorist camps in Balakot in Pakistan

Meanwhile, the Made in I n d i a 8 x 8 i n f a n t r y a m p h i b i o u s a r m o u r e d v e h i c l e , d e s i g n e d a n d developed in the country, drove down Kartavya Path T h e s p e c i a l l y e q u i p p e d vehicle is capable of crossing rivers and canals and has a maximum on-road speed of 100 kmph

Th e Repu blic Day p arad e s aw a sp e ct ac le o f c o m bi n ed b an d an d march ing contingent from Eg ypt, wh ich made its first ap p ear anc e i n In d i a o n

Th ursday last The p arad e w a s ki c ke d o ff w i th a march of the Eg yptian arm ed forces amid a thunderous applause from the crowd

Since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi joined the country in celebrating the 7 4 t h R - D a y , t h e c o n t i n g e n t f r o m E g y p t made a debut at Kartavya Path There was excitement among the public to watch a foreign contingent The combined band and marching contingent of the oldest regular army known to humanity ‘The Egyptian A r m y ’ , w a s l e d b y C o l o n e l M a h m o u d Mohamed Abdel Fattah El Kharasawy The

Egyptian armed forces have considered it as an honour and privilege to participate in India’s Republic Day Parade T h e m i l i t a r y p a r a d e g r o u p c o n s i s t e d o f 1 4 4 soldiers who represented the m a i n b r a n c h e s o f t h e E g y p t i a n a r m e d f o r c e s T h e E g y p t i a n contingent carries the legacy of one of the oldest regular armies known to humanity Its history goes back to 3200 BC when King Narmer unified Egypt The Old Kingdom was considered to be the height of Egyptian civilisation The modern Egyptian Army was established during the rule of Muhammed Ali Pasha (1805-1849) The Egyptian armed forces were significantly involved in many e x p e d i t i o n s a n d w a r s b e t w e e n t h e 1 9 t h century and 20th century

Macron, Putin and other leaders greet India

French President Emmanuel

M a c r o n a n d h i s R u s s i a n counterpart Vladimir Putin were among the leaders who conveyed their greetings to P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f

Republic Day

“ A s I n d i a c e l e b r a t e s Republic Day, I convey my warmest wishes to my dear friend @NarendraModi and t h e I n d i a n p e o p l e I l o o k

f o r w a r d t o s e t t i n g n e w ambitions together for the G 2 0 a n d f o r o u r I n d o -

a s i t t u r n s 2 5 t h i s y e a r , ”

t w e e t e d M a c r o n W h i l e Macron is likely to visit India soon, the two sides have not b e e n a b l e t o f i n a l i s e t h e dates for his visit

I n h i s m e s s a g e , P u t i n said India’s achievements in t h e e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l , scientific, technological and o t h e r s p h e r e s a r e w i d e l y

k n o w n a n d t h a t I n d i a i s m a k i n g a s u b s t a n t i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o e n s u r i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y a n d security and to addressing vital issues on the regional

and global agenda

“We set a high value on the relations of privileged s t r a t e g i c p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n o u r s t a t e s I a m c o n f i d e n t b y w o r k i n g together we can ensure the c o n t i n u e d g r o w t h o f mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in all areas This u n d o u b t e d l y m e e t s t h e fundamental interests of the f r i e n d l y p e o p l e s o f R u s s i a and India,” said Putin Modi a l s o r e c e i v e d s i m i l a r messages from the leaders of UAE and Saudi Arabia

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, & Narendra Modi

French strategic partnership

Odisha minister shot dead by on-duty police officer

O d i sh a h e a l t h mi n i s t e r Na ba Kisor e Das was fata lly shot by an on -duty police of fice r wh o w a s a lle ge d ly t a k in g m e d i ca t io n fo r bi p o la r d i s or d e r j us t mome nts a ft er he got out of h i s ca r t o m e e t p e o p le wait ing to w elcome him at a n of fi c ia l e v e n t i n Braja rajn aga r, in h is nat ive Jhar sug uda distr ict Assistant sub-inspector

G o p a l D a s , 5 4 , f i r e d t w o s h o t s , o n e o f w h i c h p u n c t u r e d t h e 6 1 - y e a r - o l d m i n i s t e r a n d t h r e e - t i m e Jharsuguda MLA’s heart and l e f t l u n g A n o t h e r b u l l e t injured a bystander, officials said

Naba Das was airlifted to Bhubaneswar to undergo surgery at Apollo Hospitals,

where he succumbed to his wounds a few hours later

T h e u n i f o r m e d a s s a i l a n t , who was quickly subdued after the shooting, was on duty at the Gandhi Chhak p o l i c e o u t p o s t w h e n h e allegedly opened fire on the m i n i s t e r I n v e s t i g a t o r s w e r e n ' t a b l e t o c o m e u p with a motivation for the attack on a sitting MLA by a n A S I w h o h a d a distinguished career prior to it, including being awarded

India shining with govt of ‘average’ talent, PM Modi tells students

service awards

G o p a l ’ s w i f e J a y a n t i t o l d m e d i a that her husband had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was being treated for it over the past few months She said her husband made a video call t o t h e i r d a u g h t e r a r o u n d 11am, more than an hour b e f o r e t h e s h o o t i n g , b u t h u n g u p i m m e d i a t e l y , saying he was busy “I have no idea what prompted him to fire at the minister,” she s t a t e d N a b a D a s w a s a c o n f i d a n t o f C M N a v e e n P a t n a i k , w h o t e r m e d t h e m i n i s t e r ’ s d e a t h “ a g r e a t l o s s ” a n d i n s t i t u t e d a n inquiry by the state

Not just Joshimath, fissures appear in many other town in Uttarakhand

M any other hill towns in Uttar akhand are hearing the al arm bell s that have bee n bla ring s inc e the catas trophe in Joshimath, with its c itizens pointing out that they, t oo, are a t risk due to fiss ures in buildings and roadway s

Since the beginning of January, when the crisis in Joshimath worsened as a result of an a q u i f e r b u r s t i n t h e 5 2 0 M W T a p o v a nVishnugad hydropower project's under-construction tunnel, cracks in the town's buildings have widened and panicked residents have demanded action This issue of collapsing buildings has echoed in many other locat i o n s i n t h e H i m a l a y a n s t a t e , i n c l u d i n g

Karnaprayag, Uttarkashi

In Rishikesh, cracks have developed in at least 85 houses in Atali village Locals claim it was due to the ongoing railway tunnel work as part of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project Villagers said cracks have appeared in almost

all houses and agricultural fields

Another region experiencing fissures and earth subsidence is Tehri Garhwal, particularly in and around the teeny hamlet of Chamba Residents have been pushing for rapid action due to their fear of landslides The majority of the impacted homes are close to a 440-meterlong tunnel being built for the Char Dham road project in the central market area of Chamba Veteran environmentalist Anil Joshi, a Padma Bhushan awardee, who is founder of D e h r a d u n - b a s e d H i m a l a y a n E n v i r o n m e n t Studies and Conservation Organisation, said, “Owing to repeated negligence by the authorities concerned, the Joshimath issue does not come as a shock to me The matter had been flagged in 1976 but no one took note of it It is time that we focus on our hill towns as a priority and take immediate steps to prevent further deterioration ”

Oreva Group promoter among 10 charged in Morbi bridge collapse case

Th ree mo nths after 135 people d ied in th e M orbi suspension brid ge co llap se, the local po lice filed a charg esheet against 10 persons, includ ing Jaysukh P atel, the promoter of Or ev a G ro u p , w h os e sh o d d y rep ai r an d re no v a ti o n w o rk o f t h e V i ct o ri an er a s tru c tu r e w as e xp o s ed b y i nv es ti g at o rs W h il e n i ne p eo p l e h a v e a lr ead y b een arrested , P atel is still o n the run and has filed for anticipatory bail

The IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336, 337, and 338 (negligence acts endangering people's lives), as well as section 114, have been used to charge all 10 of them In all 367 witnesses, including relatives of the deceased and those hurt in the October 30 catastrophe, have testified in the 1,262-page chargesheet The police have also included the comments of the medical professionals who treated the injured at public and private institutions

T h e s t a t e m e n t s o f o t h e r c o n c e r n e d p e o p l e l i k e t h e c h i e f o f f i c e r o f M o r b i

m u n i c i p a l i t y w e r e a l s o a p a r t o f t h e c h a r g e s h e e t S t a t e m e n t s o f f o u r p e o p l e recorded by the magistrate under CrPC 164 that provided crucial information to police in collecting evidence were also included

I n v e s t i g a t o r s a l s o c o l l e c t e d c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e c o l l e c t o r ' s office, the municipality and Oreva Group as well as a number of documents pertaining to m a i n t e n a n c e c o n t r a c t s i s s u e d t o t h e c o m p a n y s i n c e 2 0 0 7 f r o m R a j k o t mamlatdar, Morbi municipality and Oreva Group's office

S e n i o r c o u n s e l N i r u p a m N a n a v a t i a p p e a r i n g f o r O r e v a G r o u p s u b m i t t e d ,

“Something has happened at the end of the municipality Some wrong was committed by the company Ultimately unprecedented damage has been done ” He offered to care for seven orphaned children until they were adults and found suitable employment, as well as to provide recompense to the injured and the injured's family members They might be accommodated by the business

Winners of Bal Puraskar share their views with PM Modi

During a m eeting with th e 11 recipients of t h e " P ra d h an M an tri Ra sh tri ya Bal P uraskar, " Prime Minister Narendra M odi sp oke about su bjects including eradicating the stigm a associated with mental illness, the d ifficulties children experience, and th e crucial role that families play in resolving these challenges

In addition to praising the students' accomplishments, Modi advised those who received awards to begin by tackling little i s s u e s , t h e n p r o g r e s s i v e l y i n c r e a s e t h e i r

capacity, capability, and confidence as they move through life Later on, the prime minister tweeted that they "had a wonderful interaction "

D r e s s e d i n t r a d i t i o n a l a t t i r e s , t h e awardees, earlier in the day, shared their goals and aspirations during an interaction with women and child development minister Smriti Irani as they took a tour inside the the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya - a museum built as a tribute to all Prime Ministers of India since independence

you don’t need to take those levelling allegations seriously,” he said

don't worry if you are not e x c e p t i o n a l S i m p l y f i n d something amazing in even the most regular people

Talkatora Stadium, PM Modi said it is his “firm conviction” and “article of faith” that criticism is a purification exercise for a robust democracy

The Prime Minister was responding to questions by s t u d e n t s M a n n a t B a j w a (Chandigarh) and Astami Sen Rangit Nagar (South Sikkim) on how he deals with criticism “Criticism is a nutrient that makes us strong But

W h e n a s k e d h o w s h e c o u l d c o n c e n t r a t e o n h e r studies as an average student by Jovita Patra of Jawahar

N a v o d a y a V i d y a l a y a (Gurgaon), the PM responded, "Two to three years ago, people used to write that this government doesn t have an economist and the PM has no grasp of economics But d e s p i t e b e i n g r e g a r d e d a s m e d i o c r e , t h i s c o u n t r y i s now a shining example for other countries Therefore,

T wenty-two p eo ple accused o f killing 1 7 p eo ple fro m th e mino ri ty co mmunity in Delol village of P anch mah al district i n 2002 were acqui tted due to lack of evidence by the additional sessio ns court in Halo l Eight of th e 22 had died during th e course of the 1 8-year long trial

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) e x a m i n a t i o n s o n t h e b o n e s t h a t w e r e a l l e g e d l y f r o m t h e v i c t i m s w e r e i n c o n c l u s i v e , d e s p i t e t h e c o u r t ' s e x a m i n a t i o n o f a l l t h e e v i d e n c e

A d d i t i o n a l l y , o v e r 1 0 0 w i t n e s s e s w e r e q u e s t i o n e d , m a n y o f w h o m " b e c a m e hostile," according to counsel Gopalsinh Solanki, who was in charge of defending

The PM responded in a l i g h t h e a r t e d m a n n e r t h a t such questions are "out of syllabus" when another student questioned him on how h e v i e w s t h e o p p o s i t i o n ' s criticism and accusations as a benefit and an opportunity

He informed them that the majority of successful people in the world were previously o r d i n a r y H e c l a i m e d t h a t one does not have to be a "tees maar khan," a term for a person who has a very high opinion of himself that is frequently used in jest in Hindi H e c o n t i n u e d t h a t m a n y people who consider themselves "tees mar khan" are actually below average

each defendant Communal unrest spread throughout the state in 2002 as a result of the Sabarmati t r a i n m a s s a c r e i n G o d h r a t o w n , w h i c h claimed 59 lives

On March 1, 2002, rioting broke out at Kalol town's Delol hamlet, some 30 km away from Godhra, a day after the tragedy Several h o m e s w e r e b u r n e d d o w n d u r i n g t h e v i o l e n c e , w h i c h c l a i m e d t h e l i v e s o f 1 7 members of the minority community

Police investigations came under the scanner in this case with one of the cops in Kalol being accused of not registering the F I R d e s p i t e r e q u e s t s b y v i c t i m s a n d witnesses

28th May 1920 - 31st January 2023

Once in a generation a rare soul is born whose mere existence is for the humble upliftment of others Pujya Rambapa was born in Gujarat, India in a village called Jeera From this young age he felt a profound and mystical connection with Lord Hanumanji and set about learning everything about Hanumanji’s life, living for His ideals - humility, selfless service, discipline and being the perfect devotee of the Lord

In 1930 he moved to Uganda where he met his Sat Guru, Pujya Shree Hirjibapa and he spent the next 40 years serving him in East Africa While in Uganda, Rambaba intimately learned every verse of the Ramayana and wholeheartedly committed himself to many service projects including the construction of the Sanatan Hindu Temple in Kampala which remains today as a landmark of the town and still holds Hanuman Chalisa Yagnas weekly

In 1970, anticipating violence from Idi Amin’s government, Pujya Rambapa moved to London with his family He established Shri Jignyasu Satsang Seva Trust to lay the foundation for the practice of Hinduism in this country Scores of community and faith based organisations in the UK have benefited from Pujya Rambapa’s guidance, grace and financial support over the past fifty years and the number of life size deities donated by his trust amount to several thousand

A divine soul, a fatherly figure, a guru, a guide- Pujya Shri Rambapa (Maganlal Vallabhdas Bhimjiyani)- left for his heavenly abode peacefully at the age of 102 at his home with his family by his side and ‘ ram naam ’ on his lips

Beloved Bapa will live on forever through his teachings, his utmost devotion, his humility and his tireless determination to serve His insightful thoughts ignited the fire of spiritual inquisitiveness in many seekers The seeds that Pujya Bapa has sown over his long and dedicated life have laid the foundation for what many Hindus globally enjoy today We celebrate his truly inspiring life and no doubt the story of this true bhakta, saint and father figure will be told for generations to come His life and service are an inspiration to all of us A strong proponet of Hindu culture, Ram Bapa spread the message of love and compassion through his tireless work

At this onset ‘Gujarat Samachar– Asian Voice’ family prays to God to help his soul rest in peace and give his family members the strength to face the sad demise

Om Shan ti.. Shanti. . Shant i…

22 accused of killing 17 in post-Godhra riot freed

Jai Siya Ram Jai Bajarangbali Pujya Shri Rambapa

Visakhapatnam to be Andhra's new capital

HY DE R A B A D : V is ak hapa tna m w il l b e A n d hr a P r a de s h' s c a pi t a l , a n d

C hi ef Mini ster Jagan Mohan Reddy w ill shift there "in the m on ths to c om e " , h e a n n ou n c e d , a p pa r e n t ly s ticki ng to the three-c apital plano the r tw o b ei n g Kur n ool a nd the ex istin g capi tal Amaravati - despite the Hi gh Court having ruled last year that it can't mak e a law for that

T h e c a s e i s p e n d i n g i n t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o n a n a p p e a l b y Reddy's YSRCP government Reddy, w h o m a d e t h e a s s e r t i o n a b o u t Visakhapatnam while marketing an investment summit to be held there, has consistently favoured the coastal city as the Executive Capital He has said in the past too that he would work from there " H e r e I a m , t o i n v i t e y o u , t o Visakhapatnam, which is going to be our capital in the days to come," he said, announcing the global summit scheduled for March 3 and 4 He did not set out a timeline, but added, "I m y s e l f w i l l b e s h i f t i n g o v e r t o V i s a k h a p a t n a m i n t h e m o n t h s t o come "

When Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the new state got Hyderabad as its capital The Andhra government in 2015 led by T D P ' s N C h a n d r a b a b u N a i d u ,

operating out of Hyderabad in the interim, had declared that Amaravati, in the Vijayawada-Guntu region on the banks of the river Krishna, would come up as the new capital

Then in 2020, the state planned to h a v e t h r e e c a p i t a l c i t i e s -

V i s a k h a p a t n a m f o r t h e e x e c u t i v e ,

A m a r a v a t i f o r t h e l e g i s l a t u r e , a n d

K u r n o o l f o r t h e j u d i c i a r y T h a t legislation was later withdrawn and

A m a r a v a t i f o r m a l l y r e m a i n e d t h e capital Amaravati has been at the centre of an alleged land scam, for which Reddy's party YSRCP has demanded a p r o b e a g a i n s t t h e p r e v i o u s c h i e f minister, Naidu Reddy's party alleges that some p e o p l e w h o w e r e t o l d i n a d v a n c e about the location of the new capital had bought land there to benefit from a n i m m i n e n t b o o m I n a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t o t h e C e n t r e , t h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t s a i d o v e r 4 , 0 0 0 acres were bought by such people in 2014 Favoured as a capital by Jagan

R e d d y , t h e c o a s t a l c i t y o f V i s a k h a p a t n a m i s t h e l a r g e s t a n d m o s t p o p u l o u s c i t y i n A n d h r a Pradesh After Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, it is the second largest city on the east coast of India

Paroles to Dera chief spreading discord: SAD leader

C H A N D I G A R H : S A D l ead er H ar si m r at K a ur Bad al s ai d r ep e ate d p aro l es to rap i s t G u rm e et R am Ra h i m by th e r u li ng d i sp ens at io n w e re s p re ad i n g c o m m u na l d isharmo ny

Harsimrat, giving her views at the all-party meeting on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament, said, “There should be one law for all ” She said the manner in which paroles and remissions were being granted to rapists and murderers was disturbing “ T h e S i k h c o m m u n i t y i s h u r t t h a t w h i l e a l l t h i s i s h a p p e n i n g , t h e c o m m i t m e n t made by PM Narendra Modi on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019 to free a l l t h e S i k h d e t a i n e e s ( B a n d i S i n g h s ) h a s n o t b e e n implemented till now, ” she said C uts cake with sw ord

Meanwhile, the Dera chief was seen celebrating by cutting a

KCR, governor hold separate R-Day events

H yd e rab ad : T el an g an a c h ie f m i n is te r K

Ch andrasekh ar Rao follow ed the hig h court’s orders and ensured that the official Republic Day parade took place at Raj Bhavan on Th ursd ay last But he d id no t tu rn up for the flag-ho isting nor send any of his cabinet colleagu es for the ev ent, fu rther straining th e relatio nshi p between h im and g o verno r Tam i lisai Sounderarajan

KCR sent only his newly appointed chief secretary, Santhi Kumari, for the event He also skipped the “At Home” event at Raj Bhavan in the evening even as BJP politicians and a handful of bureaucrats turned up

This is the third year in a row that the Telangana chief minister has skipped the official Republic Day event In 2021 and 2022, the government had cited Covid-19 restrictions for not holding the traditional police parade and speech by the governor A full-scale Republic Day parade was last held at Parade Groundsthe traditional venue - in 2019

With the state government not giving her a speech for the occasion, the governor read out her own in which she attacked the state government on the one hand and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the other She alleged that the constitutional spirit was being violated in the state Citing B R Ambdekar, she said, “Constructing buildings is not important, nation-building is important Only a few should not have farmhouses, all the farmers in the state should have farms and houses ” She was referring to KCR inviting a host of opposition leaders t o i n a u g u r a t e t h e n e w s e c r e t a r i a t b u i l d i n g i n Hyderabad on February 17

Punjab cop honored for promoting India-UK ties

DEFYING BAN, 200 DALITS ENTER TN TEMPLE

In a historic move, over 200 people from a community of Scheduled Castes in Tamil Nadu who were denied entry into a temple for around eight decades were taken into the temple for worship by the police and district administration in the Tiruvannamalai district As police led the Dalits towards the temple, the community was excited Women carried garlands for the deity, besides firewood and ingredients to prepare Pongal The issue came to light during a parent - teachers association meet following which the district administration held a series of peace meetings to pave the way for a smooth entry

CONTEMPT WARNING TO TOP KARNATAKA OFFICER

giant cake with a sword in a v i d e o t h a t h a s g o n e v i r a l o n social media In the purported clip, he can be heard saying, “I should cut at least five cakes as I got a chance to celebrate after a five-year gap ” Ram Rahim, serving a 20y e a r j a i l t e r m f o r r a p e a n d murder, arrived at his ashram in Baghpat last week - the premises quickly turning into some sort of a fortress - where he has been h o l d i n g o n l i n e “ s a t s a n g ” sessions attended among others b y s e v e r a l B J P f u n c t i o n a r i e s from Haryana, including MPs and MLAs

C H A N D I G A R H : G u rj o t S in g h K ale r, w o rki ng as a senior police officer with the Punjab Po lice in the current ro l e o f A I G- E xc i se A nd Taxation, has been awarded with ‘India UK Outstanding Achievers A ward’ in Londo n, celebrating Ind ia@ 75 in the U K P ar li am e nt o n 25 th January, 2023 H e h a s s t u d i e d M S c I n t e r n a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t and Security in the UK at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i s t o l a n d d o n e c o u r s e s i n o r g a n i s a t i o n a l l e a d e r s h i p and emotional intelligence from the University of Oxford, UK Kaler has also worked with Avon and Somerset police as well as UK college of policing H e h a s a l s o w o r k e d w i t h S i n g a p o r e P o l i c e F o r c e a n d R o y a l C a n a d i a n M o u n t e d Police Kaler is a 2012 batch p o l i c e o f f i c e r a n d h a s a l s o authored a book called, "New

India- The Reality Reloaded" This award has been given to him at the UK Parliament for o u t s t a n d i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o s o c i e t y a n d f o r g i n g g o o d relations between India and UK

K a l e r w a s a l s o b e s t o w e d with the Chief Minister's Medal f o r o u t s t a n d i n g d e v o t i o n t o duty on the eve of Republic Day 2023 at Bhatinda in Punjab

Encroachment row: Didi gives Amartya Sen land deed

KO LK A T A : Bengal CM M am ata B an erj e e o n M o nd ay h and ed o ver land record do cu ments o f No bel lau reate A martya S en ’ s resid ence in Santiniketan to the c el eb rat ed ec o no m i s t, d is m i s s in g t h e c la im s o f t h e c u rr ent V is v a - Bh ar ati d is p e ns ati o n th at h e w a s illeg ally o ccup ying a part of that land

No one should harass the 89-year-old economist, Mamata said, after announcing that the state government would provide him Z-plus security and post a p o l i c e c a m p o u t s i d e h i s

r e s i d e n c e S e n ’ s r e s i d e n c e , Pratichi, stands on 1 38 acres of land The economist has said his father, Asutosh Sen, took 1 25 acres of land on 99 years ’ lease in 1943 The remaining 0 13 acre of land was bought by his father later, Sen has said The current

Visva-Bharati dispensation u n d e r v i c e - c h a n c e l l o r B i d y u t C h a k r a b o r t y h a s q u e s t i o n e d S e n ’ s ownership of this portion o f t h e l a n d I t s e s t a t e s d e p a r t m e n t s e r v e d t w o n o t i c e s t o t h e N o b e l

laureate on January 24 and 27, urging him to return the “ 13 decimals of land” and proposing a joint inspection and survey Mamata, while handing over t h e l a n d r e c o r d d o c u m e n t s

r e t r i e v e d f r o m t h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t ’ s b l o c k l a n d

r e v e n u e o f f i c e t o S e n a t h i s

Santiniketan home on Monday, stressed that the economist was “the rightful owner of the 1 38 acres of land” The documents the CM gave to Sen dated from 1 9 5 6 a n d 1 9 8 4 , o f f i c i a l s s a i d “ Y o u d o n ’ t w o r r y a b o u t a n y more letters and notices as you have the proper legal documents with you now, ” Mamata told Sen d u r i n g t h e 3 0 - m i n u t e c o n v e r s a t i o n o n M o n d a y afternoon Mamata “wondered” w h e t h e r B i d y u t C h a k r a b o r t y was fit for the vice-chancellor’s position

The High Court of Karnataka warned that it would be forced to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the Chief Secretary if the state fails to implement its order of providing land for graveyards in all villages and towns within two weeks A Division Bench of the court is hearing a civil contempt petition filed by one Mohammed Iqbal who has alleged that the state has failed to follow an earlier order of the High Court in 2019 that had directed it to provide land for graveyards in all villages within six weeks In September 2022, the State had informed the HC in a compliance report that it had handed over 23,815 burial grounds to local authorities and the process of handing over 3,765 burial grounds was still pending

257 PUNJAB DRUG SMUGGLERS HELD IN ONE WEEK

Punjab Police have arrested 257 drug smugglers after registering 198 first information reports (FIRs), including 19 commercial, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act across the state in the last week Inspector General (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said while addressing his weekly press conference The IG said police have also recovered 16 36 kg heroin 6 70 kg opium 1 94 quintal of poppy husk, and 78918 tablets/capsules/injections/ vials of pharma opioids besides recovering Rs 115,300 drug money from their possession He said that with 12 more proclaimed offenders (POs)/absconders in NDPS Act cases arrested in the last week, the total number of arrests reached 648 since the special drive to arrest POs/absconders was started on July 5 2022

CENTRAL TEAM VISITS SCHOOLS IN BENGAL

A 13-member central team on Monday started a review of the midday meal scheme in schools in West Bengal, a senior official said The joint review mission consisting of Union education ministry officials one nutritionist, and a representative of Unicef along with the director of PM Poshan Scheme, V Bhaskar, also held a meeting with state education department officials The officials who are scheduled to conduct their review till February 6, visited several schools in North and South 24 Parganas districts on Monday The team, which reached the city on Sunday evening will check school infrastructure and the quality of food served to school children under the mid-day meal scheme

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Gurjot Singh Kaler

Adani group loses 29% market value following Hindenburg report

T he m a s s i ve s e ll of f i n Ad a ni G roup stoc ks c ontinued for the t hi r d c o ns e c ut i v e s e s s i on o n

M onday, wiping out nearly £14 b illion worth of i nvestors’ wealth

I n all, nearly a thi rd of the group ’ s m ark et ca pital is ati on, or a bout £56 billion, has been c umulatively eroded in the last three sessions

T h e s t e e p s l i d e i n t h e c o n g l o m e r a t e ' s s t o c k s - w h i c h started on Wednesday after USb a s e d s h o r t s e l l e r H i n d e n b u r g R e s e a r c h r e l e a s e d a r e p o r t criticising the group - also pushed its chairman Gautam Adani to the eighth spot among the world’s richest, down from seventh on Friday and third a week earlier

With a net worth of $88 2 billion (about £72 billion), Asia’s richest

person is just $4 1 billion (about £ 3 3 b i l l i o n ) a h e a d o f R e l i a n c e

I n d u s t r i e s c h a i r m a n M u k e s h

Ambani, who’s at the 10th spot, a c c o r d i n g t o F o r b e s ' r e a l t i m e billionaire index

T h e s h a r p s e l l - o f f i n t h e s e stocks came despite the group on Sunday night releasing a 413-page document to answer 88 queries that Hindenburg Research had raised

O v e r t h e l a s t t h r e e d a y s ,

Adani Total Gas has lost nearly

4 0 % o f i t s v a l u e w h i l e A d a n i Transmission and Adani Green

E n e r g y a r e d o w n 3 8 % e a c h During this period, each of the s t o c k s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e g r o u p h a v e l o s t i n d o u b l e - d i g i t percentages, BSE data showed

N D T V , t h e m e d i a c o m p a n y recently acquired by the group, is the least affected with a drop of about 14%

C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e g r o u p ’ s shareholders have also incurred a massive erosion in their wealth with the total figure at nearly £56 billion or $68 3 billion From £192

During Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul unfurls national flag at Lal Chowk

A s part of th e Kanyakum ari t o K a sh m i r " Bh a rat J o d o Y a tra , " C o ng r es s l ea d er Rahul Gandhi u nfurled the national flag at the iconic L al Cho wk clock tower in S rinag ar and declared that a " pro mise" made to India h ad been kept

The security for the 10minute event was at its peak a s a l l r o a d s i n a o n e - k m radius leading to the chowk, w h i c h h o l d s s y m b o l i c i m p o r t a n c e f o r t h e c i t y , w e r e s e a l e d o f f f r o m S a t u r d a y n i g h t a n d n o v e h i c u l a r m o v e m e n t w a s allowed

Shops, businesses, and the weekly flea market were closed as part of the security drill, and concertina wires and barricades were put up at all entry points with a sign i f i c a n t d e p l o y m e n t o f security personnel Gandhi resumed the final lap of the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir

f r o m S r i n a g a r ' s P a n t h a Chowk with the help of his s i s t e r , P r i y a n k a G a n d h i Vadra, the Congress general secretary, as well as other party leaders and workers

That part of the march walked for about eight km to Sonwar raising slogans such as Jodo Jodo Bharat

Jodo", and along the way, were cheered and greeted by locals Within a multi-layer security ring, Gandhi, in a white T-shirt which he has sported for most of the over 4,000-km yatra from India's southern tip, waved at peop l e a s y a t r i s , i n c l u d i n g a l a r g e n u m b e r o f w o m e n , carrying the tricolour and C o n g r e s s f l a g s , m o v e d towards Sonwar G a n d h i , P r i y a n k a a n d o t h e r t o p p a r t y f i g u r e s arrived at their destination and then drove to the party's headquarters at M A Road Later, they travelled to Lal Chowk, where Rahul raised t h e f l a g o f t h e c o u n t r y " T o d a y ' s c o m m i t m e n t t o India was kept by raising the tricolour at Lal Chowk Love w i l l a l w a y s t r i u m p h o v e r hate India will experience a n e w d a w n o f o p t i m i s m , "Gandhi tweeted about the incident in Hindi

Former PM Manmohan conferred

Lifetime Achievement Honour in UK

F orm er prime m inister Dr Manm ohan Sing h w as rec e ntl y c o nf er red a L i f eti m e

A ch i e v em e nt Ho n o u r b y t h e I nd ia - U K

A chiev ers Ho nours in London fo r his contribution to econom ic and political life

The Honour, announced at an awards ceremony last week, will be handed over to Dr Singh in New Delhi by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK at a later date

T h e I n d i a - U K A c h i e v e r s H o n o u r s b y NISAU UK, in partnership with the British Council in India and the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT), celebrate the achievements of Indian students who studied at British universities and the Lifetime Achievement Honour is a nod to Dr Singh’s academic achievements at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge

“I am very touched by this gesture, which is especially meaningful coming from young people who are the future of our country and of the ties between our two countries,” Dr Singh said in a written message

“The India-UK relationship is indeed especially defined by our educational partnership The founding fathers of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr B R Ambedkar, Sardar Patel and many others studied in the UK and went on to become great leaders, leaving a legacy which continues to inspire India and the world Over the

years countless Indian students have had the opportunity to study in the UK,” said the 90year-old economist, who served as prime minister from 2004-2014

To mark 75 years of India’s independence, the first-ever India UK Achievers

H o n o u r s c o v e r e d 7 5 h i g h a c h i e v e r s a n d some key Outstanding Achievers who bolster the India-UK diaspora living bridge

British Indian peer Lord Karan Bilimoria received the Living Legend Honour at the awards ceremony on January 25

billion on January 24, the group ’ s

m a r k e t c a p i t a l i s a t i o n i s n o w down to £136 billion, according to BSE data In percentage terms, the group has lost 29% of its total

m a r k e t c a p i t a l i s a t i o n s i n c e Hindenburg released its report late on January 24

B ets on big funds for £2 bn FPO

f

I n s t i t u t i o n a l i n v e s t o r s a r e

u l l y b a c k i n g t h e £ 2 b i l l i o n follow-on public offer (FPO) for A d a n i E n t e r p r i s e s ( A E L ) e v e n though the stock is below the offer price The reason for this

c o n f i d e n c e i s t h a t t h e institutional investors see high value in the companies AEL is incubating within its fold, a top Adani Group executive said W h e n i t c o m e s t o r e t a i l

investors, the company is not sure how they will look at the issue at t h e c u r r e n t m a r k e t p r i c e However, it is confident some high net worth and ultra-high net w o r t h i n v e s t o r s ( U H N I s ) w i l l participate in it “ P e o p l e i n v e s t i n A E L n o t because they see value, but in the incubating assets Adani Airport, A d a n i N e w I n d u s t r i e s , A d a n i Roads, Adani Digital and Adani Data centres have value,” group CFO Jugeshinder Singh said “If t h e y a r e s h a r e h o l d e r s o f A E L , then when these businesses are d e m e r g e d , t h e y w i l l g e t t h o s e shares The underlying value has not changed at all they want to get those (infrastructure) assets in the future,” Singh said

PM Modi tells ministers to spread word of our good work

P r i me Mi n i s te r N ar en dr a Modi urged ministers to u se soc ial media mo re frequentl y a nd i nf o r m a ll de mogra p h ic gr o up s a bo u t th e p olicies and p rogrammes o f h is administration that have b en e fi t ed t h em Additi o nally, s ou rces s aid, h e u rged them to i nform p eo ple abo ut how the BJPled go vernment has made deci sions with th e "p oorest of the p oor" in mind, withou t discriminating o r using vote- bank tactics

He also asked them to pay attention to the middle class The statement comes a few days after he instructed BJP officials to engage people "from all strata of s o c i e t y " t h r o u g h o u t t h e course of the next 400 days leading up to the next gene r a l e l e c t i o n S o u r c e s revealed that the PM’s reference during the meeting was how welfare schemes

Narendra Modi

s u c h a s P M A w a s Y o j n a , Ujjwala and free foodgrain to over 810 million people have benefited the needy from all castes and regions

“ T h e r e i s a n e e d t o s p r e a d t h e s e g o o d w o r k s done by the government in t h e p a s t e i g h t a n d - a - h a l f years We are guided by the p r i n c i p l e o f ‘ a n t y o d a y a ’ (taking benefits to the poore s t o f t h e p o o r ) W h i l e doing so, there has been huge investment in physical a n d s o c i a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e

The PM said we can take all these to the people,” according to source Cabinet Secretary R a j i v G a u b a g a v e a t h o r o u g h p r e s e n t ation on the government's overall efforts in the social, economi c , e d u c a t i o n a l , a n d h e a l t h s e c t o r s throughout the meeting's more than five hours A c c o r d i n g t o s o u r c e s , h e d i s c u s s e d h o w I I T s a n d IIMs had been established across the nation for the b e n e f i t o f s t u d e n t s i n remote areas The ministers w e r e g i v e n c o p i e s o f G u a b a ' s p r e s e n t a t i o n a s well as those of DPIIT secr e t a r y A n u r a g J a i n a n d I n f o r m a t i o n a n d B r o a d c a s t i n g s e c r e t a r y A p u r v a C h a n d r a s o t h e y c o u l d r e v i e w t h e m a n d make plans if necessary

Life term for Asaram on charges of

rape, unnatural sex

A Gandhinagar sessions cour t on Tue sday s e n t e n ce d se l f -s t y l e d go d ma n A s hu ma l Ha rpala ni al ia s Asar am Bapu t o life impr isonment on charges of r ape and unnat ur al sex, a day a fte r the court had held him guilty of t he offences On t he q ua ntum of sente nce , t he prosecution had de ma nded tha t Asaram be given t he ma ximum impr isonment of life imprisonment and had also cited his April 2017 con viction and life imprisonment sente nce by a Jodhpur cour t to e sta blish that he was a hab itual offender

Ahmedabad resident booked in Dingucha human smuggling case

A US co urt found a resident of Ah medabad guilty o f hu man smuggling in July 201 9 He returned to Indi a after serving a year in p riso n just to carry o n wi th h is illicit enterp rise, according to detectives lo oking into the state's h uman smuggling netwo rks

Bhavin Patel’s name has now cropped up in the Dingucha case in which four of a family froze to death while crossing illegally to the US from Canada last January, said the investigators

The city crime branch booked Bhavin, a l o n g w i t h h i s a i d e s J a s m i n P a t e l a n d Ronak Soni, for forging documents and using fake stamps on documents to procure visas Sources in the city police said,

“Bhavin, 43, was convicted in 2019 by a district court in New Jersey for ‘alien smuggling’ ”

Bhavin Patel, a resident of Ghatlodia in Ahmedabad, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for his part in an international conspiracy to smuggle foreign nationals into the United States via commercial airline flights, according to an official statement from the Department of Justice, US Attorney's Office in the district of New Jersey Police sources said that Bhavin’s aide, Atul Patel, who runs a tour operating firm from a commercial building on Ashram Road, was also involved in the case

T h e c o u r t h a s a l s o o r d e r e d t h a t t h e accused pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to the complainant, as was sought by the prosecution, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the case R C Kodekar said

The court of sessions judge D K Soni held Asaram guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (2)(c) (being on the management or on the staff of a place of custody established by or under any law for the time being in force or of a woman ’ s or children’s institution takes advantage of his official position and commits rape on any inmate of such place) and 377 (unnatural sex) The court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment for these two offences and imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 each for each of the offences, Kodekar said

Asaram was also held guilty for offences under sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 506(2) (criminal intimidation), 354 (assault with intent to outrage modesty of woman) and 357 (assault to wrongfully confine a person) of the IPC

Kodekar said that the court took into consideration the prosecution’s argument that “the offences are not only crimes against women, but crimes against society which has resulted in women not feeling safe in the s o c i e t y ” T h e c o u r t a c q u i t t e d f i v e o t h e r accused of all charges, including Asaram’s wife Laxmi Harpalani, Nirmalaben Lalwani, M i r a b e n K a l v a n i , D h r u v b e n B a l a n i , a n d Jashvantiben Chaudhary

Gautam Adani

Maruti to use cow dung for green solutions

Cow dung has made its way into the future agenda of Japanese auto giant Suzuki and its Indian subsidiary Maruti As the company looks at sustainable mobility solutions for the coming decade, one of the ambitious programmes that it has chalked out revolves around cow dung The effort is aimed at tackling the growing CO2 emissions from vehicles and finding new solutions to counter its growth. “Suzuki’s unique initiative to tackle this challenge is the biogas business, in which biogas derived from cow dungs, which are dairy wastes that can be seen mainly in India’s rural areas, will be produced and supplied This biogas can be used for Suzuki’s CNG models that account for approximately 70% of CNG car market in India,” the Japanese auto major said in a global presentation ‘growth strategy for 2030’. Suzuki is looking to develop CNG automotive solutions around biogas not only for India, but is planning to export the business to other regions, including Africa, Asean, and Japan in the future. (Agency)

IndiGo shares pic of ‘Poha,’ calls it fresh salad

Poha, the name of the humble food, began to trend on Twitter, inspiring varied comments from users Why? The airline IndiGo posted a snapshot of the dish, which is where it all began However, instead of calling it poha, they used the name ‘fresh salad ’ The error wasn't overlooked, and people soon began using the dish's name in their comments A few Twitter users also addressed the error in the post uploaded by the airline's comments section “Salads that are prepared and served on the same day, do try them You’ll toss everything else away # A i r o m a t i c F r e s h , ” I n d i G o t w e e t e d T h e i m a g e t h e y s h a r e d s h o w s a p e r s o n squeezing a few drops of lemon on a plate of poha And the caption on the image reads, “Fresh salads Made today, served today ” The post has more than 300,000 views since it was shared, and the numbers keep rising The share has also gotten a tonne of comments People responded by saying that the food is named poha, but they also left other comments, when they shared the tweet “ H o w d a r e t h e y c a l l t h i s b e a u t y a salad???” wrote a Twitter user “Google be like: Did you mean ‘Poha’?” joked another “Flattened Rice, potato and toasted Peanut s a l a d w i t h a d r e s s i n g o f p e a n u t O i l , turmeric and lemon Juice,” joined a third (Agency)

Street performer's sweet gesture in Paris

Paris Busker asked where she belonged to and then treated her with the beautiful song in front of Palais Garnier "This guy asked me where I am from I told from Pakistan and he started singing this in front of opera garnier Paris, Ms Ghani wrote in the caption of her post Internet users praised the man for giving his best to thrill Ms Ghani Several users even appreciated how beautifully he sang the Hindi song in his foreign accent While some called the man's performance "beautiful," others called it "amazing" That's amazing Our subcontinent travels with us, deep in our subconsciousness, and spills out to catch and infect many we meet," wrote one user "He is so melodious," said another A third user commented, "To his credit he is singing well in a foreign language!" (Agency) Man throws his 4 kids into canal

after immigration officials asked him to sing the national anthem, which he failed to do The police identified the arrested man as G Anwar Hussain (28), a native of Mymensingh district of Bangladesh “He landed at the city airport from Sharjah on an Air Arabia flight He produced an Indian passport, which showed he was a resident of Kolkata,” a police officer said Since he didn’t land in Kolkata, officials started questioning him “He gave contradictory answers He also produced his birth certificate and Aadhaar card, both issued by the government of India Immigration officer M Krishnasree asked Hussain to sing the national anthem Unable to sing it, Hussain admitted that he was a native of Bangladesh,” the officer said Preliminary inquiry revealed that Hussain came to Tamil Nadu in 2018 and worked as a tailor till 2020 “During this time, he visited Bengaluru and forged a birth certificate He obtained the Aadhaar later,” the officer said (Agency)

India

A 35-year-old man was arrested for allegedly throwing his four children from a 30 ft-high bridge into a canal following an argument with his wife One of the children he flung to her death, his 12-yearold daughter, not only managed to swim to safety but rescued two of her siblings The fourth child, a five-year-old and youngest of the lot, is still missing The incident occurred at Sheikhupur Hunda under Sahawar police limits in UP's Kasganj district The accused, Pushpendra Kumar, after a domestic dispute, went to drop his wife at her father’s place, 15 km away from the village On his return, Kumar told his children that he would take them to a fair at a nearby shrine On the way, though, he stopped at the bridge and threw his four kids into the canal What happened next was a show of sheer courage and presence of mind on the part of a 12-year-old, who not only swam ashore but also brought along to safety two other siblings Once ashore, she hollered at her elder brother Sonu, who was drowning, and told him to hold on to a bridge column till she "ensured" that help arrived She then began screaming at the top of her lungs and waving frantically at passersby All the three children are in a stable condition, villagers said, adding that divers have now been deployed to trace the youngest child, who is missing (Agency)

Not knowing ‘Jana gana’ exposes Bangladeshi

A Bangladeshi national with a valid Indian passport was exposed at Coimbatore airport and later arrested,

now home to 70% of world’s tigers

Projecting the grand success in saving tigers from the brink of extinction to now becoming home to 70% of the global population, the government told the Supreme Court that there is an annual growth of 6% in the big cat’s population, which offset natural losses India achieved the target of doubling the tiger population in 2018, four years ahead of schedule of the St Petersburg Declaration on tiger conservation, it said The government said that steps are being taken to protect the big cats and the number of tiger reserves has gone up to 53 with 2,967 tigers in the country now In an affidavit, the National Tiger Conservation Authority ruled out the artificial breeding of big cats It said scientific management of wildlife is done in the natural ecosystem in the country and artificial breeding interventions are not endorsed here The process is highly effective as evident in the findings of quadrennial all tiger estimation conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 (Agency)

Relief not paid; HC blocks

DM’s pay

acquisition officer and a zilla parishad chief executive officer for not complying with repeated directives to pay compensation for land taken 61 years ago for an irrigation project An annoyed bench of Justices BR Sarangi and Justice BP Satpathy noted that the Angul DM and the other two district officials were in breach of several payment orders passed by the high court between October 2021 and October 2022 “This court directs that till payment of compensation to the petitioners is made for the land acquired by the state government, the salary of collector and district magistrate, land acquisition officer, and chief development officer-cum-executive officer shall not be released in their favour,” the bench said in its order The HC set payment of compensation as a pre-condition for the release of the salaries “However, only on payment of compensation, if any application is filed that the petitioners have been paid their compensation, then release of salary of the concerned officers shall be considered by this court,” the bench said The order came on a petition filed by one Pramod Kumar Pradhan and others (Agency)

Man flies to Antwerp to buy ring for partner

A video showing a man's extravagant proposal has gone viral on social media

The clip, shared by user Divyadeep Bhatnagar on Instagram, showed how he went to Antwerp, the world's diamond capital, to get a ring for his partner, and then prepared a dance number with his friends before surprising his girlfriend

The Orissa high court has blocked the salaries of a DM, a land

In the clip, Bhatnagar said that he wanted to do something special for his girlfriend which is why he decided to fly to Antwerp to buy a diamond ring Once he reached the Belgium city, he researched and purchased the ring after seeing some options When he returned home, Bhatnagar then gathered his friends and family to make a big proposal Meanwhile, speaking on extravagant proposals, previously a video of a man proposing to his girlfriend midair on an Air India flight had gone viral online The video was posted on LinkedIn by user Ramesh Kotnana and it showed the man going down on one knee to propose to the woman, who is taken aback by the romantic gesture The clip delighted the internet users as they gave thumbs up to the man for his effort (Agency)

A video of a street performer in Paris singing Lata Mangeshkar's famous song 'Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh' from the 1960 Bollywood film 'Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai' is winning hearts online Twitter user Maheera Ghani took to the microblogging site to share about the street performer's sweet gesture in Paris In the caption of her post, she revealed how the

Cardiovascular illness linked to poor brain health in middle age

Anew s tu d y h as l in ke d card iov ascular illnesses to poor brain health in midd le age S tud y author X iaqing Jiang , P h D , o f th e U n i v er si ty o f C ali fo rni a, S an F ranc is co , s ai d , “Card io vascu lar diseases such as heart d isease and stroke h av e been associated with an increased risk fo r c o g ni ti v e i m p a i rm en t an d dem entia in older ad ults, but less is know n about ho w h av ing these di seases before ag e 60 i mp acts co gnition and brain h ealth ov er the course of life Our stu dy found that cardiov ascular ev ents earlier in life are associated with worse cog ni tio n, acc elerated co g nitiv e decline and poo r brain health in midd le ag e ”

T h e s t u d y e x a m i n e d 3 , 1 4 6 p a r t i c i p a n t s w h o r a n g e d i n g e

from 18 to 30 at the outset and were monitored for up to 30 years They were on average 55 years old at the conclusion of the study

Early cardiovascular disease was defined as having coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, carotid artery disease, or

Fingernails can tell a lot about your overall health

Hea lt h e xper ts ofte n spe ak a bout listen ing to y our body a nd its signs Just like skin, y our fin ger nails too can te ll a lo t a b ou t y ou r o v e r a ll h e a lt h , a n d A y u r v e d a ca n o f fe r g r e a t h e l p H e a lt h y n ails have pink na il bed s and a r e n ’ t e a sily br o k e n wh ile w h it e - loo k in g M e a n wh ile , b r i t t le n a i ls ma y m e a n n utr it ional de ficien cy or a ny ot her he alth proble m

Low levels of zinc or iron and thyroid problems can also cause brittle nails Weak nails may also be a sign of a g i n g N a i l a n a l y s i s , o r N a k s h a P a r i k s h a , i s a c o m m o n l y p r a c t i s e d

Ayurvedic diagnostic tool It is used because the nails are a by-product of the bones as w e l l a s o t h e r a s p e c t s o f health

In her recent Instagram p o s t , A y u r v e d a e x p e r t D r Nitika Kohli talks about 4 signs of ill health that are apparent on your nails

Lon gitudina l lines on the nails

T h e s e l i n e s i n d i c a t e a clear sign of malabsorption

t h e n a i l , r e p r e s e n t s o n e ' s Agni or fire in the body If y o u n o t i c e n a i l s a n d f i n d there are no moons (lunula)

peripheral arterial disease before a g e 6 0 a n d a f f e c t e d 1 4 7 participants, or five per cent of the total After being followed for three decades, participants were given f i v e c o g n i t i v e t e s t s T h e t e s t s measured thinking and memory skills, including global cognition, p r o c e s s i n g s p e e d , e x e c u t i v e function, delayed verbal memory and verbal fluency Researchers found that people with early cardiovascular disease p e r f o r m e d w o r s e t h a n t h o s e without on five out of five tests In a test of recalling a list of words a f t e r 1 0 m i n u t e s w h e r e s c o r e s ranged from zero to 15, those with e a r l y c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e compared to those without had an a v e r a g e s c o r e o f 6 4 v e r s u s a n

a v e r a g e s c o r e o f 8 5 I n a t e s t assessing global cognition where scores ranged from zero to 30, those with early cardiovascular disease had an average score of 21 4 compared to others without c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e w i t h a n average score of 23 9 A score of 26 or higher is considered typical, while people with mild cognitive impairment have an average score of 22

"Our research suggests that a person's 20s and 30s are a crucial t i m e t o b e g i n p r o t e c t i n g b r a i n h e a l t h t h r o u g h c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e p r e v e n t i o n a n d i n t e r v e n t i o n , " J i a n g s a i d " P r e v e n t i n g t h e s e d i s e a s e s m a y d e l a y t h e o n s e t o f c o g n i t i v e decline and promote a healthier brain throughout life "

Poor literacy linked to worse mental health problems

A ccording to a review of stu dies which used data from nine countries, people w ith p oo r li teracy f ace m o re m ental h e alt h p ro bl em s s u ch as lo ne li ne ss , depression and anxiety Published in the j o u rn al M e nt al H ea lth a nd S o c ia l Inclusion, the research is th e first to examine the g lobal picture of literacy and mental health The research ers from the U niv ersity of East Anglia (U EA) in the UK found that little or no literacy disp ropo rtionately affects w omen, who acco unt for two-third s of the w orld’ s illiterate

Bonnie Teague from UEA’s Norwich

of nutrients in the body The deeper the lines, however, the stronger the deficiency

Horizont al line s or t ran sver se groove

According to Ayurveda, a d e e p l i n e t h a t r u n s horizontal to the nail is an indication of a strong illness, infection, or depletion that occurred

Abse nce of moons (Lunula ) Ayurveda, the lunula of

or extremely small moons, this is a sign that there is weak digestion or fire in the system La rge m oon s If they seem larger than normal, this may show an overactive fire in the body, w h i c h c a n l e a d t o P i t t a issues such as loose stools, hyperacidity, inflammation a n d m a l a b s o r p t i o n o f nutrients

Practise gratitude to reduce stress: Study

R e s e a r c h e r s f r o m I r i s h i n s t i t u t i o n s d i s c o v e r e d t h a t g r a t i t u d e h a s a u n i q u e s t r e s sbuffering effect on reactions to a n d r e c o v e r y f r o m a c u t e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t r e s s , w h i c h c a n c o n t r i b u t e t o b e t t e r

cardiovascular health

Authors Brian Leavy, Brenda H O’Connell and Deirdre O’Shea propose that, although previous research suggests that gratitude and affect-balance play key stressb u f f e r i n g r o l e s , l i t t l e h a s b e e n known to date about the impact of these variables on cardiovascular recovery from acute psychological stress The argument was made in a n a r t i c l e , ‘ G r a t i t u d e , a f f e c t balance, and stress-buffering: A g r o w t h c u r v e e x a m i n a t i o n o f c a r d i o v a s c u l a r r e s p o n s e s t o a laboratory stress task’, published i n J a n u a r y i n t h e J o u r n a l o f

Psychophysiology

The research carried out at the I r i s h U n i v e r s i t y o f M a y n o o t h i n v o l v e d 6 8 u n d e r g r a d u a t e students (24 male and 44 female), aged between 18 and 57 years This s t u d y u s e d a w i t h i n - s u b j e c t s experimental design with lab tasks in which stress was induced to p a r t i c i p a n t s , a n d t h e n c a r d i o v a s c u l a r r e a c t i v i t y a n d recovery in response to this were measured

The results showed that state gratitude predicted lower systolic b l o o d p r e s s u r e r e s p o n s e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e s t r e s s - t e s t i n g period, which means that the state of gratitude has a unique stressbuffering effect on both reactions t o a n d r e c o v e r y f r o m a c u t e psychological stress It was also found that affect balance amplifies the effects of state gratitude

M e d i c a l S c h o o l s a i d , “ D e s p i t e r i s i n g literacy rates over the past 50 years, there are still an estimated 773 million adults globally who can’t read or write Literacy rates are lower in developing countries and those with a history of conflict, and women are disproportionately affected ”

The researchers noted that people with more literacy tend to have better social outcomes like finding employment, being paid well, and being able to afford better food and housing Unable to read or write holds a person back throughout their life, and they often become trapped in poverty or more likely to commit crimes, they said

"We also know lower literacy is related to poorer health, chronic diseases and shorter l i f e e x p e c t a n c y T h e r e h a s b e e n s o m e research examining the potential association between literacy and mental health, but this is the first study looking at the issue on a global scale,” Teague said

The team reviewed data from 19 studies that measured literacy and mental health T h e s e s t u d i e s t o o k p l a c e a c r o s s n i n e countries -- the US, China, Nepal, Thailand, Iran, India, Ghana, Pakistan, and Brazil, and involved almost two million participants

These foods could improve your brain's health

E verything we eat always has an impact on o ur bodies Wh eth er it is o ur cardio vascu lar h ealth o r our co gnitive functions, ou r nutrition intake boo sts vario us functions in the body As we age, o ur brain, too , needs prop er care to prevent co gnitive decline

N u t r i t i o n i s t A n j a l i M u k e r j e e shared a post about foods that help with memory and concentration, and are linked to better brainpower

"The foods we eat can have a big impact on the structure and health of our brains So eating a b r a i n - b o o s t i n g d i e t c a n s u p p o r t b o t h s h o r t a n d l o n g - t e r m b r a i n f u n c t i o n s a n d i m p r o v e m e n t a l tasks, such as memory and concentration," the nutritionist wrote S h e r e c o m m e n d e d h a v i n g foods that are rich in lecithin, a nutrient which is a mixture of fats essential for the brain Foods like whole wheat, egg yolks, nuts and s o y b e a n s c o n t a i n l e c i t h i n T h e

n u t r i t i o n i s t a l s o a d v i s e d h a v i n g f o o d s r i c h i n c h o l i n e , f o u n d i n fruits She added that adding herbs to the diet can help improve brain functions "Herbs like ginkgo, gins e n g , a n d a y u r v e d i c h e r b s l i k e

Brahmi and Shanka Pushpi can help reduce memory loss and improve

mental functioning," she wrote

The most important activity to ensure better brain health is sleep

She adds that to ensure a good night's sleep, drink chamomile tea "Relax and calm the mind with chamomile tea, which can help you sleep better and feel more rested," she wrote

Alia responds to wood boycott with ‘Pathaan’ success

Bollywood

actress Alia Bhatt gave a major shout-out to actors Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s latest release, ‘Pathaan’ Taking to her Instagram Stories, she shared the ‘Pathaan’ poster over the weekend and wrote, “Because love always wins (heart emoji) What a blast ” The movie was released in theatres worldwide last week and is breaking records at the box office with its whopping collections daily

Alia is not the only actor to relay a message following the movie’s success The early response to the stylish spy thriller appears to be a shot in the arm for Bollywood reeling under the pandemic-induced losses, a series of box-office failures in 2022, and calls for a boycott by a section of people on social media and a few politicians and pressure groups Karan Johar had written about Pathaan in a similar

Vicky Kaushal set to play DJ Mohabbat in ‘Almost Pyaar’

tweet, "Hits beyond

century!!!

GOAT mega star SRK, visionary and legendary YRF and Adi Sid, Deepika, John!!! Wow Love forever trumps hate! Mark this date " Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub had tweeted, "Love wins and

d e e p i k a p a d u k o n e s u p e r b #JohnAbraham terrifying Kudos to the whole team @yrf #SiddharthAnand Thanks!" Pooja Bhatt had tweeted, "Love in action! #Pathaan Thank you @iamsrk for far more than the movies ”

Directed by Siddharth Anand, ‘Pathaan’ recorded an opening of £5 7 million at the domestic box office The screen count was increased by looking at the response It is currently being screened at 8,500 screens, as per trade analyst Taran Adarsh It marks Shah Rukh's return to the silver screen after four years and is his fourth film with Deepika

Actor

Vicky Kaushal is all set to play DJ Mohabbat in Anurag Kashyap’s upcoming movie ‘Almost Pyaar’ with the original DJ Mohobbat The filmmaker took to Twitter over the weekend, to share a post and inform fans of the project He also posted a motion poster showing Vicky as DJ Mohabbat He also revealed that the film’s song ‘Mohabbat Se Kranti’ will be released on Monday He captioned the post, “Dharti ka seena phaad ke, aasman ke baadal chhant ke… Aa gayi mohabbat… Jo jaayegi kranti!

Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohobbat in cinemas February 3…”

Out Now ”

Anurag had earlier said, “‘Almost Pyaar’ with DJ Mohabbat, is very close to my heart as it’s something which has taken shape over the years from my conversations with my daughter It’s a true labour of love with some amazing young actors, great energy, great music by Amit Trivedi with the help of some amazing collaborators like my DP Sylvester and my PD Shazia plus everyone else ”

Anurag Kashyap says mainstream Indian cinema 'stopped being original'

The official trailer of the upcoming romantic drama was unveiled earlier this month Alaya F had shard the trailer on her I n s t a g r a m

He added, “It's my going back to my constant exploration of relationships vis a vis the generation which actually defines us and is our future It's about love and all kinds of prejudices that plagues it I feel great to move to the next phase of my life with this film ”

‘

t i o n e d , “ T R A I L E R I S

H E R E ! ! ! ! ! ! M o h a b b a t s e h i t o h K r a n t i aayegi yeh hai uski ek jhalak! Picture aur k r a n t i d o n o s h u r u F e b 3 r d s e ! # A l m o s t P y a a r W i t h D J M o h a b b a t T r a i l e r

A l m o s t P y a a r ’ w i t h D J M o h a b b a t i s touted as an ode to modern love It looks at modern-day young relationships, and their e x p l o r a t i o n i n a w o r l d p l a g u e d w i t h prejudices, predatory behaviour, and the unwillingness of older generations to accept

Kangana says India biased towards 'Khans and Muslim actors'

Shah

Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ has unravelled as a massive commercial success, emerging as the fastest Hindi film to enter the £20 mn club With most of Bollywood praising the movie, actress Kangana Ranaut has tweeted about the film’s box office success, saying the country is biased towards “Khans and Muslim actresses ”

Kangana, who recently marked her return to Twitter after her account was banned in 2020 for violating the social media platform's rule, retweeted a post made by another user, who had analysed why ‘Pathaan’ emerged as a box office success Reacting to the tweet, Kangana wrote, "Very good analysis this country has only and only loved all Khans and at times only and only Khans And obsessed over Muslim actresses, so it’s very unfair to accuse India of hate and fascism there is no country like Bharat (Indian flag emoticon) in the whole world (heart eyes, joined hands emojis) ”

The original tweet, to which the actor had reacted, had shared that Pathaan was a success because Hindus and Muslims love Shah Rukh equally, and there are no ‘Boycott tendencies' that can harm Bollywood films; instead, they help them Many users reacted to Kangana's latest tweet and said that the actor was desperately seeking attention by tweeting about Pathaan

One user tweeted, "So you ’ re saying you ’ re not part of this country? All you did is attack the Khans for no reason (and others too to be fair to you) and have always played the religion card by calling anything and everything Hinduphobic " Another tweet read, To look at everything thru a jaundiced eye of Muslim and non-Muslim is the disease you have Its deep and it rots the inside of ones being When do you divide Indians into Khans/ Muslims IT IS HATE you are displaying at the core They are merely Indians Why are you labeling them?" Another person tweeted, "If you really think like this Kangana, let’s change your name from Kangana to Kainaat (Urdu name, which means universe) for just one movie and let’s see if that movie works out or not "

Earlier Kangana had also tweeted, "It is the love of India that has triumphed hate and petty politics of enemies Lekin (but) all those who are having high hopes please note Pathaan sirf ek film ho sakti hai goonjega toh yahan sirf Jai Shri Ram Jai

Filmmaker

Anurag Kashyap shared his thoughts on mainstream Indian cinema, saying that mainstream Hindi films “stopped being original.” He also praised filmmaker SS Rajamouli and his film ‘RRR’. Talking about the film’s award-winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’, he said it is “incredibly” hard to pull off

In an interview, Anurag said, "They have liked films from India for a very long time But they like one kind of a film There was a t i m e I n d i a n f i l m s r e l e a s e d w o r l d w i d e Awara, Disco Dancer, everybody singing Jimmy Jimmy You go to Africa, you go to Arab countries, India has a very massive i m p a c t o f t h e m a i n s t r e a m S o m e w h e r e within our mainstream, we stopped being original Our mainstream started to become cheap copies of Hollywood action movies or something else ”

He added, "Whereas movies from down South are still grounded, they still look like Indian films A lot of Hindi mainstream doesn't look like Indian films, it's not even shot in India It's not even about India, which is why RRR surprises them and scores ‘RRR’ takes them totally by surprise Within the context of an Indian film, it does those very things at a much lower cost than them ”

Anurag's next project is ‘Almost Pyaar’ with DJ Mohabbat featuring Alaya F and Karan Mehta It is touted to be a romantic musical The film will hit the theatres on February 3

Shri Ram (Pathaan is only a film, the country will only hear cries of Jai Shri Ram) ”

Wrinkles are a 'reminder of battles we have survived': Twinkle Khanna

In a recent Instagram post, author Twinkle Khanna shared her thoughts about age and how it is only a “mathematical problem.” She called wrinkles “general’s medals” pinned to the skin as they remind one of the battles a person has survived and even won.

Sharing a video of herself relishing a chocolate pastry, Twinkle wrote on Instagram, “Age is a mathematical problem There are numbers that need to be tackled It is not a division sum though, where we are reduced to a fraction of what we once were It is a multiplier At 40, you are still the pigtailed girl who once climbed trees and beat up all the boys The young woman with a disdain for convention The new mother with leaky breasts and fierce ambition ”

She added, "As you go along, you carry every version of you inside You don’t have one heartbreak, one breakdown, one true love, one success; you have a mountain of them And those wrinkly-crinkly lines? How about we consider them the e q u i v a l e n t o f a g e n e r a l ’ s m e d a l s , p i n n e d t o o u r s k i n , a reminder of all the battles we have survived, and the ones we have won Agree? Disagree?”

Most of her fans said they strongly agreed with her caption A fan wrote in the comments section, “Totally!!! Accept it and age gracefully ” Another wrote, “Yes darling agree totally getting better smarter wiser, forget my creeky bones, or my weight issues, am still the best at my age & yes alwaz thanking God!” One more fan wrote, “You are right it’s a mathematical problem! When the age number comes in mind then you start thinking, start bothering and assuming you are getting old I believe we should rather eat healthy, exercise and stay young ”

Twinkle is married to actor Akshay Kumar and the two have a son, Aarav, 20, and a daughter, Nitara, 10 She is c u r r e n t l y p u r s u i n g M a s t e r ' s i n F i c t i o n W r i t i n g a t t h e prestigious Goldsmiths, University of London She is an actorturned-writer and also produces films She also founded a health and wellness website, Tweak India

Bollywood lauds 'legend' Sania Mirza after final Grand Slam

Emraan Hashmi replaces Saif in recreated song from ‘Selfiee’

Akshay Kumar has unveiled the teaser of his upcoming song ‘Main Khiladi’ from the movie ‘Selfiee’ It is the recreation of his hit 90s song ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anari’ from the film of the same name, which had him and Saif Ali Khan dance to the tunes The new song has Akshay with Emraan Hashmi as they dance to the hit dance number

Bollywood celebrities took to their social media accounts to praise Tennis “legend” Sania Mirza after she announced her final Grand Slam at Melbourne Park last week. Sania and Rohan Bopanna came second to Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos of Brazil in the Australian Open mixed doubles final.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, Priyanka Chopra shared a video of Sania with her son Izhaan Mirza Malik She wrote, "Legend @mirzasaniar (folded hands, red heart, and eyes with tears emojis) ”

Kajol shared a video of an emotional Sania breaking down after her final Grand Slam match She captioned the post, "You have always made India and women everywhere look up to you and you always will (red heart and national flag emojis) @MirzaSania " In the video, Sania said, "I am still gonna play a couple of tournaments The journey of my professional career started in Melbourne ”

"It started in Melbourne in 2005 when I played Serena Williams in the third round here as an 18-year-old That was scary enough 18 years ago I have had the privilege to come back here again and again and win some tournaments here and play some great finals I couldn't think of a better arena to finish my career in a Grand Slam," said an emotional Sania in the post-match interview

Abhishek Bachchan shared a photo of Sania, on Twitter, holding the National Flag and smiling He captioned the post, "To a glorious career, @MirzaSania! You’ve always made India proud & been an inspiration for many of us Best wishes for a fun-filled & relaxing retirement You’ll be missed, but never forgotten ”

Sania won two Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian Open She won the Australian Open women's doubles title with Martina Hingis in 2016 and the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2009 On Friday, Sania was competing in her final Grand Slam with Rohan Bopanna, where the duo was defeated 7(7)-6(2), 6-2 by Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos

Sharing the teaser of the new song, Akshay Kumar wrote on Instagram, “Munh se seeti aur haath se taali bajaane ko ho tayyar (are you ready to whistle and clap)?

Here’s a teaser of #MainKhiladi Song drops 1st Feb!!” While the original had Akshay in a black blazer and tie and Saif in a brown jacket, the new song has Akshay in a s h i m m e r y g r e e n b l a z e r a n d E m r a a n H a s h m i i n a shimmery black jacket They are also seen doing one of the original dance steps that has Emraan doing Saif's step by grooving while lying on the floor with Akshay dancing in front of him

The original was sung by Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Udit Narayan and Anu Malik and had Johny Lever in the frame Maya Govind wrote it Kader Khan also made a brief appearance in the song from the 1994 film, which had Shilpa Shetty in a dual role along with Raageshwari

Directed by Raj Mehta of ‘Good Newwz’ fame, the film stars Akshay and Emraan together on screen for the first time Nushraatt Bharuccha and Diana Penty play the female leads in the film The trailer introduced Emraan as a cop who wishes to have a selfie with his favourite actor Vijay (played by Akshay) But the two find themselves in a tussle, leading to a cold war between a fan and a star The film is the official Hindi remake of the Malayalam film ‘Driving License’, which starred Prithviraj and Suraj Venjaramoodu in lead roles

It will release in theatres on February 24 this year It is produced by the late Aruna Bhatia, Hiroo Yash Johar, Supriya Menon, Karan Johar, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Apoorva Mehta and Listin Stephen

Shah Rukh makes first public appearance since ‘Pathaan’ release

Actor Shah Rukh Khan surprised his fans gathered outside his house ‘Mannat’ as he stepped out of his Mumbai home. This marks the actor’s first public appearance after the release of his film ‘Pathaan’. A video shared by a paparazzi account on Instagram featured the actor standing on the balcony and greeting his fans.

In the video, Shah Rukh blew kisses to the huge crowd outside ‘Mannat’ The actor also folded his hands, smiled, and mouthed “thank you ” many times as he looked at the fans cheering for him The actor also waved at his fans and flashed the thumbs-up sign Shah Rukh was dressed in a black sweatshirt, matching pants and shoes

Shah Rukh's youngest son, AbRam Khan, also greeted the people outside Mannat Dressed in a black and white outfit, he stood near the balcony and waved at the crowd, seemingly a few minutes before Shah Rukh appeared for his fans This was Shah Rukh's second appearance on Mannat's

balcony within a week

Last week, he greeted his fans ahead of ‘Pathaan's release He also posted a video on Twitter and wrote, "Thank you for a lovely Sunday evening sorry but I hope ki laal gaadi waalon ne apni kursi ki peti baandh li thhi (those in the police cars had put on their seat belts) Book

your tickets to #Pathaan and I will see you there next ” Shah Rukh's latest release, ‘Pathaan’ has been breaking records at the box office since its release last week On Sunday, Pathaan crossed £40 million gross globally The film made £31 3 million at the global box office within three days of its release Pathaan also became the fastest movie to hit £25 million in India

Rajinikanth warns against using his name, image or voice

Dhoni announces Tamil project 'Let’s Get Married’

Rajinikanth is one of the most unique movie stars ever for his sheer ability stay right at the top for close to five decades now The thespian at the age of 72 is still the most sought after and his call sheet diary is filled for the foreseeable future

Superstar

Over the years Rajini's stylish poses and his mimiced voice has been extensively used by businesses to promote their things To stop that illegal exploitation the thespian has sent a legal notice warning dire legal consequences Rajinikanth's lawyer Ilambharathi in the legal notice has warned that legal and criminal action will be taken against those who use Rajini's name, photograph and voice for commercial purposes without his permission A part of the notice reads His charisma and nature as an actor and a human being has earned him the title Superstar called upon by millions of his fans worldwide The sheer proportion of his fan base and his respect across the film industry is unmatched and indisputable Any damage to his reputation or personal would entail a great loss to our client,

Currently, Rajinikanth is busy shooting for the last schedule of his upcoming movie 'Jailer' produced by Sun Pictures and directed by Nelson Dilip Kumar The film has music by Anirudh and also stars Mohan L a l , S h i v a r a j k u m a r , J a c k i e S h r o f f , S u n i l , R a m y a Krishnan and Yogi Babu He is also set to make a spec i a l a p p e a r a n c e i n h i s d a u g h t e r A i s h w a r y a Rajinikanth's 'Lal Salaam', which is being produced by Lyca Productions Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth play the lead roles while A R Rahman is scoring the music

Actor Amala Paul allegedly denied entry to Kerala temple

Actor Amala Paul has alleged that she was denied permission to enter Thiruvairanikulam Mahadeva temple in Kerala’s Ernakulam district by the authorities due to “religious discrimination ” The actor visited the temple on Monday when she was allegedly refused darshan by temple authorities, citing customs which allow only Hindus inside the premises The actor claimed she was refused darshan, forcing her to glimpse the Goddess from the road in front of the temple

Amala shared her experience in the temple’s visitors register, saying she “felt the spirit even though she didn’t see the Goddess ” "It is sad and disappointing that religious discrimination still exists in 2023 I couldn't go near the Goddess but could feel the spirit from a distance I hope there will be a change in religious discrimination soon The time will come and we all will be treated equally and not on the basis of religion, Amala wrote in the temple visitor s register

The temple administration has been under the scanner ever since the incident came to light "Many devotees of other religions have come to visit the temple, but no one knows that However, when a celebrity comes, it becomes controversial,"

Trust secretary Prasoon Kumar said

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna dies in Hyderabad

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna passed a a last week at her residence in Hyd due to age-related ailments She was Her sudden death sent shockwaves across the Telugu film fraternity, wit actor Mahesh Babu and filmmakers such as Bobby Kolli and Sreenu Vaitla as well as politicians paying their tributes in heartfelt social media posts

Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministe YS Jagan Mohan Reddy shared a co d o l e n c e m e s s a g e o n T w i t t e r , w

read, “CM Sri YS Jahan Mohan Red expressed grief over the demise of Jamuna garu t h e f i l m s t a r o f y e s t e y e a r s a n d f o r m e r M P Jamuna’s death brings an e n d t o t h e g o l d e n e r artistes of Telugu cinema the CM said and conveye h i s c o n d o l e n c e s t o t h b e r e a v e d f a m i l y m e m

bers ”

Several Telugu celebr ties took to Twitter to pa t h e i r t r i b u t e s M a h e s Babu tweeted, "Saddene to hear about the demise Jamuna garu Will fond remember her for all h

i i l and her immense contribution to the My condolences to her family and ones " Producer Neelima Guna tweet“ R e s t i n p e a c e l e g e n d a r y a c t r e s s m u n a g a r u , y o u r p o r t r a y a l o f Satyabhama’ will forever be etched in our hearts A woman of grace and substance, you shall remain iconic ” A c t o r V i s h n u M a n c h u t w e e t e d , “Jamuna Garu One of most beautiful woman with a childlike heart, a legend n Telugu cinema Will miss her dearly ” tor Nandamuri Balakrishna shared a i n T e l u g u r e m e m b e r i n g J a m u n a aker Sreenu Vaitla wrote, “We have lost nds recently and it is unfortunate that e legendary actress Jamuna garu is no more er and her classic movies will always remain in ur hearts I pray for the strength of her family m Shanthi ” Filmmaker Bobby Kolli tweeted, a d d e n e d t o h e a r t h e d e m i s e o f l e g e n d a r y ctress Jamuna garu, May her soul rest in peace ”

Jamuna began acting at 16 in Dr Garikapati ajarao's ‘Puttillu’ in 1953 However, it was LV rasad’s ‘Missamma’, which was released two ears later, that turned out to be her breakhrough performance She went on to work in 98 films over an active career spanning decades Having predominantly worked in Telugu films where she worked with all the leading male stars – from NT Rama Rao to Akkineni Nageswara Rao; she had also worked in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films

Former

Indian captain MS Dhoni is all set to enter the movie industry, as he recently announced his film production venture, Dhoni Entertainment. The production house officially unveiled its first project, an upcoming Tamil romantic drama titled ‘Let’s Get Married’ The first look of the movie was released via a motion poster ‘Let’s Get Married’ will be directed by Ramesh Thamilmani It will star Harish Kalyan and Ivan in the lead roles

Announcing the title, Dhoni Entertainment took to Instagram and wrote, “We’re super excited to share, Dhoni Entertainment’s first production titled #LGM#LetsGetMarried! Title look motion poster out now ” Going by the motion poster, the film is seemingly based on a road trip Harish Kalyan, a former Bigg Boss Tamil contestant, is best known for projects such as ‘Pyaar Prema Kadhal’, ‘Dharala Prabhu’ and ‘Oh Manna Penne’ Ivana, on the other hand, was recently seen in Tamil comedy, ‘Love Today’

The rest of the cast and crew are yet to be officially announced The movie, which has already gone on the floors, has been conceptualised by Sakshi Singh Dhoni, the managing director of Dhoni Entertainment

As per a statement, the film’s concept was written by Sakshi It was developed into a story by director Ramesh Thamilmani “From the moment I read the concept written by Sakshi, I knew it was special It was fresh and had all elements to be a fun family entertainer,” Thamilmani said Thamilmani had earlier created Atharva - The Origin, a graphic novel starring M S Dhoni

Meanwhile, there were reports about Dhoni backing Nayanthara in an upcoming Tamil project last year However, Dhoni Entertainment rubbished it as a baseless rumour via a report “Dhoni entertainment is currently not working with anyone named Sanjay We deny such hiring of any person and we request everyone to be cautioned of these fraud claims However our team is currently working on various exciting projects that we will be shortly sharing with you all Stay tuned and watch this space for more, ” their statement read

Hindi documentary ‘All That Breathes’ bags BAFTA nomination

AHindi language documentary has bagged a nomination to the 2023 edition of the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) Directed by Delhi-based filmmaker Shaunak Sen, ‘All That Breathes’ is nominated in the Best Documentary category and already has the credit for being the only film to have won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival.

The British Indian chair of BAFTA, Krishnendu Majumdar, said, “The EE BAFTA Film Awards are at the heart of our mission to recognise exceptional storytelling and the immensely talented people who bring those stories to the big screen, inspiring both audiences and future filmmakers alike ” He adde “The range of films recognised by our 7,500 voters, spanning blockbusters to independen debuts, offers a uniquely British perspective on this year ’ s best films from around the world It is a huge achievement to reach this

Guneet Monga’s ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ gets an Oscar nomination

al stage – congratulations to today’s nomies. ”

he documentary follows two brothers, adeem and Saud, as they devote their lives to e quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosysm of New Delhi that has been falling from e sky at alarming rates They spend time aring for the creatures in their makeshift vian basement hospital amid environmental oxicity and social unrest roduced by London-based Rise Films, the lm follows the brothers in their mission to elp the birds return to the skies, offering a hronicle of inter-species coexistence

A total of 45 feature films have received BAFTA nominations in the 2023 list, includng a record 14 nominations for anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front’, 10 nominaions each for ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ and nine for the biopic ‘Elvis’

Pak actor calls Shah Rukh 'universal superstar'

Priyanka spends week-end with Hollywood A-listers

Actress Priyanka Chopra appears to have had a funfilled weekend as she partied with Hollywood A-listers, including Sofia Vergara, Jessica Alba, Heidi Klum and Rita Wilson The actor attended the 25th-anniversary bash of makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills Sofia took to Instagram to share a few pictures from the bash A picture shows all of them in one frame While Priyanka and Jessica are seen pouting for the camera, Sofia remains stills and Rita and Heidi flash big smiles for the lens

Filmmaker

Guneet Monga’s documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ has found a place in the nominee list of the Documentary Short Film category at the 95th Academy Awards She said she is “manifesting” the win and calls it “the epitome of joy” and feels all surreal. Monga said, “The feeling is still sinking in. I hope the universe and everything aligns. There is definitely a lot of luck and support for the film. I am very grateful to be nominated and reach in the top 5 of the world ” W h e n a s k e d i f t h e I n d i a n a u d i e n c e t a k e s I n d i a n c i n e m a m o r e s e r i o u s l y a f t e r t h e y a r e recognised abroad, Monga said, “Documentary world is a newer g e n r e f o r I n d i a b u t g l o b a l platforms are pushing it We are such a star system which is not a b a d t h i n g b u t i t i s h o w o u r industry is built Documentary p e r s e , t h e f o r m a t i s n e w f o r consumption but it is now freely available And, of course, awards help highlighting it Any kind go a w a r d o r f e s t i v a l r e c o g n i t i o n brings validation with it ”

Speaking about the movie, the

39-year-old reveals that every new film is a start-up, and she hopes her next film is funded as it is the s a m e k i n d o f h u s t l e , f u r t h e r adding that she never makes films for festivals Speaking about India at the Oscars this year, Monga said, “I think this is the first time when we have a chance to show o u r d i v e r s i t y o f c i n e m a , t h e number of languages, at least for

Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the big screen has been a massive success The actor, who was last seen in a full-fledged role in 'Zero' in 2018, has been creating waves ever since ‘Pathaan’ was released on January 25 Among people praising the actor was Pakistani actor and VJ Anoushey Ashraf, who took to her social media accounts and called Shah Rukh a “universal superstar”.

b u s y t h i n k i n g I want to get noticed b y h i m ( S h a h R u k h ) H a h a I m e a n , t h e r e a r e many ways to get n o t i c e d M a n y many many than a mere opinion on my own story Stars have universal love, respect and appeal and so we speak about them But Pakistanis in general have this hate deep seated in them Even for their own They just cannot be nice in general Everything makes them want to put another down God knows what satisfaction they get from that but to an outsider it s p e a k s v o l u m e s o f a h a r d e n e d , d e p r i v e d a n d n e g a t i v e m i n d s e t Good luck hating losers!”

“We love you @anastasiasoare happy aniversary!!! [star emoji],” V e r g a r a w r o t e F a n s l o v e d t h e s e l f i e t h a t u n i t e d s o m e o f H o l l y w o o d ' s b i g g e s t s t a r s O n e u s e r w r o t e , “ L o o k a t a l l t h e s e s t r o n g w o m e n , l o v e ! ” A n o t h e r added, “ICONIC ”

On the work front, Sofia is best known for her role in hit TV series ‘Modern Family’ and has been the highest-paid American T V a c t o r f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s Meanwhile, Priyanka will now be s e e n i n h e r d e b u t w e b s e r i e s ‘Citadel’ on Amazon Prime Video She will be seen alongside Richard M a d d e n i n t h e R u s s o B r o t h e r s production, which will also have its Indian adaptations She also has ‘Love Again’ and ‘Ending Things’ in her Hollywood lineup and a Bollywood film ‘Jee Le Zaraa’ in h e r k i t t y T h e l a t t e r w i l l b e directed by Farhan Akhtar and will a l s o s t a r K a t r i n a K a i f a n d A l i a Bhatt

Vivian Richards, Neena Gupta bless daughter

Masaba on her wedding day

the world to know that it is just not Bollywood and so much more than India has to offer and make I n d i a p r o u d T h i s i s a g r e a t moment in history when a movie l i k e R R R a n d a d o c u m e n t a r y s h o r t f i l m b o t h i n d i f f e r e n t categories, are at the Oscars at the b e s t s t a g e i n t h e w o r l d , ” s h e concludes

She added she will always be a fan of the actor In her recent Instagram post, Anoushey wrote, "As much as people dislike him, as much as Pakistanis feel we should not promote Bollywood, for me SRK is a universal superstar As artists we believe we connect to people beyond borders (which is an a w f u l m a n - m a d e c o n c e p t ) , t h e world only knows us as humans and this human (Shah Rukh) has done remarkable stuff and speaks ever so eloquently! Forever a fan (of) Shah Rukh Khan ” Her comments, however, did n o t g o d o w n w e l l w i t h s e v e r a l social media users who said she only made the comments to get Shah Rukh’s attention However, A n o u s h e y s l a m m e d t h e m f o r “hating” her She wrote, "Man, I share things on my wall, as my opinions but the people in the c o m m e n t s s e c t i o n h e r e a r e remarkable they can’t even take an opinion Like just ‘in my eyes ’ an opinion is lost because they’re

Designer Masaba Gupta recently tied the knot with her actor Satyadeep Mishra in what appears to be an intimate ceremony Masaba shared several pictures from the wedding, as did her mother, Neena Gupta and now-husband Satyadeep.

Neena posted an adorable picture in which the mother-daughter duo can be seen twinning in lime green.

Sharing the picture, in which Neena has her hands on Masaba's s h o u l d e r s , N e e n a w r o t e o n

I n s t a g r a m , " A a j b e t i k i s h a a d i

huee dil mein ajeeb see shanti

khushi abhaar aur pyaar umda hai s h a r i n g w i t h y o u f r i e n d s @ m a s a b a g u p t a @ i n s t a s a t t u

(today my daughter got married, there is a strange peace, happiness gratitude and love in my heart, sharing with you friends) ”

In the family picture, she sat next to her husband, Vivek and Masaba smiled while looking at her dad Vivian Richards

Both Satyadeep and Masaba

a n n o u n c e d t h e i r w e d d i n g o n

Instagram Masaba wrote along

w i t h t w o p i c t u r e s f r o m t h e wedding, “Married my ocean of c a l m , t h i s m o r n i n g H e r e ’ s t o m a n y m a n y l i f e t i m e s o f l o v e , p e a c e , s t a b i l i t y & m o s t

importantly laughter And thanks for letting me pick the captionthis is gonna be great!”

S a t y a d e e p i s a n a c t o r a n d appeared in the first season of M a s a b a ' s d e b u t w e b s e r i e s ‘ M a s a b a M a s a b a ’ H e d i d n ' t a p p e a r i n t h e s e c o n d s e a s o n , which arrived last year He was recently seen in a prominent role o f a s p y i n t h e w e b s h o w ‘Mukhbir’ and will now be seen as an IPS officer in the upcoming web series, ‘Jahanabad - Of Love & War’ He was also seen in Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan-starrer ‘Vikram Vedha’

in brief India win inaugural ICC U19 women’s T20 World Cup

India d ominated Eng land in the final to get th eir hands on the i nau g u ral I C C U 1 9 Wo m en' s T20 World Cup title Hav ing won th e toss and d ecided to put

E ng l an d i n to b at, I nd ia ’ s bowlers more than justified the decision with a ruthless disp lay

O p e n i n g b o w l e r s T i t a s

Sadhu and Archana Devi ripped through the England top order, reducing them to 22/4 after six overs, with key batter Grace Scrivens one of those to fall

Sadhu bowled her four overs straight through, going for just s i x r u n s a n d p i c k i n g u p t w o wickets Devi was slightly more expensive, but her 2/17 included the crucial dismissals of Scrivens and Niamh Holland (10)

W i c k e t s c o n t i n u e d t o

tumble, with England not able to see out their full allocation of overs despite resistance from Ryana MacDonald-Gay (19)

A n d t h e f i n a l w i c k e t f e l l with 17 balls still remaining, leaving India a target of just 69 to win England had pulled off a great escape in the semi-final against Australia, but lightning did not strike twice

Shafali Verma’s aggressive 15 from 11 balls cut into the target early on, but the removal of both openers gave India a temporary scare Hannah Baker h a d V e r m a c a u g h t , b e f o r e S c r i v e n s r e m o v e d S h w e t a

Sehrawat

B u t S o u m y a T i w a r i a n d Gongadi Trisha settled things d o w n w i t h a n e x c e l l e n t a n d

composed partnership The pair got to within one hit of the target when Trisha went for glory and was cleaned up by Alexa Stonehouse B u t I n d i a d i d n ’ t h a v e t o w a i t l o n g f o r t h e w i n n i n g moment, with Soumya Tiwari

MURALI VIJAY RETIRES FROM INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

k n o c k i n g a s i n g l e t o s e e i t through with an unbeaten 24* from 37 balls, exactly what her side required on the big stage And the celebrations were huge as India claimed the title i n t h e f i r s t - e v e r I C C U 1 9

Women’s T20 World Cup

India win thriller in Lucknow to keep T20I series alive

In d ia n spi n ne r s r e v e lle d o n a turn ing t rack be for e the ba tte rs made hea vy we athe r of a sm all ta rge t to reg ist er a scrappy se ries le vellin g win over Ne w Zealan d in the se con d T20 In ter na tional at Luckn ow on Sunda y The t rio o f Yu z v e n d r a C h a h a l , W a s hi n g t o n S u n d a r a n d Kulde ep Ya dav impre ssed on a helping surfa ce to limit a selfdestr ucting N ew Zea la nd to 99 fo r e i g h t , t h e i r lo we st t o t a l a g a i n s t I n d i a i n t h e s h o r t e s t for mat

I t s h o u l d h a v e b e e n a straight-forward run chase but the top-order comprising Ishan Kishan (19 off 32), Shubman Gill (11 off 9) and Rahul Tripathi (13 off 18) had a tough time again in spin-friendly conditions

In the end, Hardik Pandya (15 not out off 20) and Suryakumar Yadav (26 not out off 31) took the

team over the line with a ball to spare and six wickets in hand

The series decider will be p l a y e d i n A h m e d a b a d o n

Wednesday W i t h t h e l i k e s o f R o h i t S h a r m a a n d V i r a t K o h l i n o t playing T20s since the World Cup last year, opportunities have been presented to the younger p l a y e r s w h o a r e y e t t o m a k e them count Kishan has gone off t h e b o i l s i n c e h i s d o u b l e h u n d r e d i n B a n g l a d e s h w h i l e Gill has not been able to carry on

Mithali Raj roped in by Gujarat Giants as mentor

F ormer India cricket captain

M it hali Raj has been roped in a s m en t o r a n d a dv i so r b y W o m e n' s P r em i er Le ag u e ( W P L) si de G u j ar a t G ia nt s ahead o f the inaug ur al seaso n, w h i c h w il l t ak e p l ac e in M ar ch -Ap ril t his year M it hali, t h e h ig h es t r u n- g e t t er in wo men's international cricket, h ad ret ir ed l ast year f rom all f o rm at s af ter a 23 -year -lo ng

career

As mentor of the side, the 40-year-old cricketer will also promote women s cricket and help develop the sport at the g r a s s r o o t s l e v e l i n G u j a r a t T h e A h m e d a b a d f r a n c h i s e had emerged the costliest of t h e f i v e t e a m s d u r i n g t h e auction recently, with Adani Sportsline shelling out £128 9 million

Mithali said the new BCCI initiative will help women's c r i c k e t g r o w s t e a d i l y a n d encourage young players to take up cricket professionally

"The inaugural season of the Women's Premier League i s a f a n t a s t i c m o v e f o r

w o m e n ' s c r i c k e t a n d t h e i n v o l v e m e n t o f t h e A d a n i Group is a massive boost for t h e s p o r t a s w e l l , " s a i d

Mithali

" W o m e n ' s c r i c k e t i s growing steadily, and this kind of impetus will undoubtedly encourage young women to c o n s i d e r t a k i n g u p c r i c k e t professionally "I believe that the high-impact participation of corporates will help hasten t h e p r o c e s s o f e v e n t u a l l y bringing more glory to India

This level of influence can help strengthen the sporting e c o s y s t e m a n d e n h a n c e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r w o m e n a t h l e t e s , " s h e a d d e d A d a n i

E n t e r p r i s e s d i r e c t o r P r a n a v A d a n i c a l l e d M i t h a l i a r o l e model and hoped her presence will help attract new talent in n o t j u s t c r i c k e t b u t o t h e r sports as well

"Mithali Raj is a role model for the young generation and we are delighted to have such a n i n s p i r a t i o n a l a t h l e t e o n board to mentor our women's cricket team," said Pranav

his scintillating ODI form into T20s The stylish right-hander fell while trying to pull a spinner for the second game in a row but was surprised by the amount of turn Tripathi, who is getting to play at number three in Kohli’s absence, was unable to take the a t t a c k t o t h e N e w Z e a l a n d spinners The Indians felt the pressure and that was evident with the run out of Washington

S u n d a r , w h o s a c r i f i c e d h i s wicket to ensure Surya’s stay in the middle S i n c e t h e a s k i n g r a t e w a s never an issue, India could afford to stutter in the chase A four a f t e r 4 5 b a l l s , c o m i n g f r o m Hardik’s bat in the 19th over, released a lot of pressure before the skipper completed the job a l o n g s i d e S u r y a w h o h i t t h e winning four

Earlier, Hardik decided to employ spinners from both ends in the powerplay after opening t h e b o w l i n g h i m s e l f W r i s t s p i n n e r s K u l d e e p ( 1 / 1 7 ) a n d Chahal (1/4), playing in a T20 together after a while, extracted a lot out of the Lucknow surface while finger spinner Washington ( 1 / 1 7 ) p r o d u c e d a n o t h e r t i d y spell Chahal was left licking his lips after the first ball of his opening spell It was a ripper that p i t c h e d o n l e g s t u m p b e f o r e beating the outside edge of Finn Allen’s bat The opener perished two balls later trying to reverse sweep with the ball thudding into his back leg before crashing on to the stumps The in-form D e v o n C o n w a y t o o f e l l t o a reverse sweep as the ball kissed h i s g l o v e s o n w a y t o

wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan

Rishabh only Indian named in ICC Test team of 2022

Wicket keep er- batter Ris habh P ant, who is recovering from th e inju ries he s ustained in a serio us car crash two days befo re the new year, is the only Indian to be p icked in the I CC Men’s Test team of 2022 The 25year-o ld had a glorious year with th e bat, am as sing 680 runs fro m 12 innings at an average o f 61 81 and a s trike rate of 90 90 He had two centuries and f our fifties in th e year

He smashed 21 sixes in Tests in 2022 and was decent with the gloves, producing six stumpings and taking 23 catches England skipper Ben Stokes, who transformed the side with his aggressive brand of cricket, has been named captain of the Test XI that also has his teammates Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson The ICC Test XI features four Aussies, including skipper Pat Cummins forming a pace combination with South African ace Kagiso Rabada and Anderson

P a k i s t a n c a p

Brathwaite complete the lineup

IC C Tes t T eam: Ben Stokes (c), Usman Khawaja, Kraigg Brathwaite, Marnus Labuschagne, Babar Azam, Jonny Bairstow, Rishabh Pant (wk), Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Lyon and James Anderson

I yer, Siraj earn berth s in Babar-l ed ODI team

Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer and young pacer Mohammed Siraj are the only two Indians who found a place in the ICC ODI Team of 2022 captained by Pakistan’s Babar Azam In a fruitful 2022, Iyer played the role of anchor in India’s star-studded batting lineup in the 50-over Mostly slotting in at No 4, Iyer played 17 games during the calendar year and scored 724 runs at an average of 55 69 He scored his runs at a brisk pace of 91 52, which included one century and six fifties to cement his place in India’s ODI scheme of things ahead of the World Cup in October-November Siraj finished as the leading wicket-taker for the Men in Blue with 24 scalps in 15 ODIs in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah

IC C ODI Team: Babar Azam (c), Travis Head, Shai Hope, Shreyas Iyer, Tom Latham (wk), Sikandar Raza, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj, Trent Boult and Adam Zampa

At the age of 38 veteran Indian batter Murali Vijay announced the end of his international playing days Tamil Nadu stalwart announced his decision via a statement over Twitter on January 30 Vijay, was once India's go-to Test opener, had lost favour after a succession of subpar performances in the 2018 session Vijay was dropped by the Indian team management during the second Test match in Australia after he only managed to record one Test century against Afghanistan in Bangalore He was one of the most elegant batters in the opening positions In 61 Tests he amassed 12 Test hundreds and 15 half-centuries He completed 3 982 runs averaging 38 28 While playing with Chennai Super Kings the Tamil Nadu player also made an impact on the Indian Premier League The IPL s top batsman earned 2 619 runs at a strike rate of 121 87 from 106 games while scoring two hundreds

SURYA IS MEN’S T20 CRICKETER OF THE YEAR

Swashbuckling Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav was named the ICC Men s T20 Cricketer of the Year for his ridiculously good run in the shortest format of the game Surya had a stellar 2022, breaking an array of records and setting a benchmark in the format He beat the likes of Sam Curran, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and Zimbabwe s batting allrounder Sikandar Raza for the top honour However, India vice-captain and last year’s Cricketer of the Year Smriti Mandhana lost out to Australia’s Tahlia McGrath in the women s category Popularly known as ‘SKY’, the 32year-old became just the second batter to make more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year in T20Is and ended the year as the highest rungetter, scoring 1,164 runs at a strike-rate of 187 43 Surya hit a stunning 68 sixes during the year easily the most recorded by anyone in a year in the format s history The Indian was the key batter for his team through the year smashing two hundreds and nine half-centuries

EMERGING PLAYER AWARD FOR YOUNG RENUKA SINGH

India’s fast bowling star Renuka Singh clinched the ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year award with her magnificent displays of seam and swing bowling in 2022 International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Renuka bagged 18 ODI wickets at 14 88 economy 4 62 while the pacer scalped 22 T20I wickets at 23 95 economy 6 50 Renuka beat Australia s Darcie Brown, England s Alice Capsey and compatriot Yastika Bhatia to become the recipient of ICC Emerging Women s Cricketer of the Year 2022 The 26-year-old has generated a lot of noise as a result of her meteoric rise during a hectic year for the India team In just 29 matches across the two white-ball forms in 2022, the rightarmer claimed 40 wickets for her nation, stepping into the shoes of the legendary Jhulan Goswami Renuka was very effective in the ODI game, taking 18 wickets at just 14 88 per game, eight of which came in two matches against England and seven in India’s series versus Sri Lanka

TOP ICC AWARDS FOR PAK’S AZAM

It was double delight for Pakistan skipper Babar Azam as he was picked for both the ‘ODI Cricketer of the Year and the ‘Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of 2022 A year after he won the ‘ODI Cricketer of the Year’ in 2021, the charismatic batter continued to dominate world cricket and was the only player to breach the 2 000-run mark in 2022 across all formats Babar went past that milestone in style amassing 2 598 runs at an imposing average of 54 12 The Pakistani cricketer’s eight hundreds and 17 fifties during the calendar year was the best of his career so far