AV 04th March 2023

COMMUNITY GEARS UP TO FIGHT TOMATO CRISIS

Amid a crisis that may last up to four weeks, British Asians gear up with alternate options to run their kitchens amid tomato and vegetable shortages.

Britain’s supermarkets are facing a severe shortage of vegetables and salad items like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, including some fruits, caused by ruined harvests by extreme weather abroad, disrupted travel routes, Brexit and high energy costs. Customers witnessed empty shelves at Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons, while Lidl also limited its sales of certain fruit and vegetables due to the shortage of fresh produce

A Lidl spokesperson told the BBC that "adverse weather conditions in Spain and Morocco" impacted the availability of certain salad items. Former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King attributed this crisis of British food production to the hurt caused by a combination of the Government leaving producers at the mercy of high energy prices and Brexit shrinking its supply of workers

“No woman or girl should ever have to feel unsafe in her home or community and I a m d e t e r m i n e d t o s t a m p o u t t h e s e appalling crimes,” PM Rishi Sunak said last week as the detailed measures of tackling domestic violence were released by the government. Under the current scheme of measures, domestic abusers will face tags a n d t o u g h e r m a n a g e m e n t u n d e r n e w measures to protect women and girls

Continued on page 07

A Tribute to our Culture, Community and Motherland

There is a national epidemic of violence against women and girls, says London Mayor

Priyanka shares first look of ‘Citadel’ character Nadia Sinh

Delhi Dy C M Sisodia to remain in C B I custody till 4th March

Moving back with parents boosts adult mental health, study finds

Chancellor attends his first G20 finance meeting in India

Inclusivity at the heart of morals

Include Indian languages in U K curriculum diaspora demands

Shefali Saxena

with Keith Vaz

DR A L PE SH PAT E L

Dr Alpesh Patel h old s a PhD from Maharaja Sayajirao Univ ersity of Baroda (India) and Post Doctorate from Imperial College Lo ndo n and has over 22 years of experience in the f ield of biotechnolo gy He is th e founder of the Hasu Group of Co mpanies wh ich provid es div erse products and serv ices

He is a philanthropist, helping local schools, government hospitals, and the poor and disadvantaged people in India, especially during the pandemic, by providing free food, and other essentials, including large supplies of oximeters and oxygen concentrators He has so far earned many patents and conducted breakthrough research with two nature journal publications in gene therapy, DNA sequencing, and diagnostics care

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

I feel at home in my birthplace in a village called Varnama near Vadodara, in the state of Gujarat in India It’s the most beautiful place holding great memories of lots of old village life, historical architectural places, loving friends, and neighbours

As my entire career developed in the UK, Burnham Village, in Buckinghamshire where I live, is now my second home

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievement was making my dream come true and becoming a succ e s s f u l s e r i a l e n t r e p r e n e u r b y fo r m i n g Hasu Groups Today we are on a successful path with products and ser vices in biotechnology, healthcare, travel business, and s t a r t i n g a d v a n c e d g e n e r a t i o n b a t t e r y research

3) What inspires you?

I am always inspired by the thought of positivity Having a positive attitude or mindset to achieve a better lifestyle with modesty, and humility I am also inspired by people who sacrif ice or think about others before themselves Continuing innovations in science and technology and thinking of new ideas, innovation, and complexity to bring up new things in the world or to solve complex problems in science to make human life better also inspires me

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

The biggest obstacle in my career and life was the sudden death of my father when I was a teenager His death had a profound and traumatic impact on me and my family emotionally, f inancially, and socially We had to rebuild our lives with no father f igure present

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

It was a great sacrif ice for my mother 'Hasumati' and so I dedicated my company's name to start with 'Hasu' after my mother My mother raised me and my o t h e r t w o s i b l i n g s w i t h v e r y l i m i t e d resources after my father suddenly passed away My mother supported me to get the best education possible that anyone can wish for As a result, I went to one of the world's top universities: Imperial College London, to do my post-doctorate

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

The best aspect of my current role is

Woman blames husband before dying, witnesses say otherwise

A wom an died af ter pouring white s pirit on her hea d and s e t t in g h er s e l f on f i re , an inque st has heard Nosheen Akhtar, 31, died on July 23, 2021, after suffering burns outside her home in Bur y Rochdale Coroner's Court heard Ms Akhtar told p a r a m e d i c s h e r h u s b a n d "threw liquid on her" before "s e t t i n g h e r o n f i r e , " b u t other witnesses claimed she set herself alight

that my dream to become a successful entrepreneur came true, by turning my ideas into reality I have developed skills, and experience, and developed innovative ideas that I am now able to implement to d e v e l o p t h e m fo r b e t t e r p r o s p e c t s i n healthcare and environmental sustainability

7) And the worst?

The worst part is that while I am by passion an innovator but I wanted to c h a n g e t h e i n n o v a t i o n s i n t o entrepreneurship so I am getting less time to think of newer and novel ideas

8) What are your long-term goals?

My goal now is to come up with three innovative ideas in biotechnology, healthcare, and chemical technology to develop and commercialize, in order to provide the best preventative healthcare ser vices and support the NHS and environment s u s t a i n a b i l i t y My fo c u s i s a l s o g o i n g toward my childhood ambition to develop innovative batter y technology for environmental sustainability I am looking to set up an advanced batter y research centre in India I believe this will be groundbreaking for electrical vehicles and other users such as the Army and remote areas without a national electricity grid

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

If I ever become Prime Minister, I believe education is the one major contribution and tool to change the prospects of today's generation and work to remove the negativity and darkness in people's life I would make changes, so that disadv a n t a g e d p e o p l e g e t t h e s u p p o r t a n d incentives to raise their standard of living which is sustainable and life-changing To provide more opportunities to the disadvantaged for a more equal society

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

I would like to sit with Lord Krishna and get all the knowledge from him for the 'Moksha', as he is the ultimate God and Guru who teaches the art of living in ever y stage and condition of life and learn how to achieve the 'Moksha'

Ultimately, we may or may not be successful or we may fail; but the key is to keep going and believe one day we will achieve it

He r b r o t h e r-i n - l a w, Hasnain Mahmood, said Ms Akhtar "wanted to kill herself " and poured a bottle of w h i t e s p i r i t o v e r h e r o w n head Hasnain said he had

been talking to his brother Waqas Mahmood and their nephew Murtza Safeer when

M s A k h t a r s u d d e n l y b u r s t

i n t o t h e r o o m a n d b e g a n accusing her husband of contacting his ex-wife He then told the inquest that he and Mr Safeer left the property to allow the couple to sort out their differences, and was on

t h e p h o n e o u t s i d e w h e n

Wa q a s M a h m o o d r a n o u t and shouted that Ms Akhtar was "going to light the house on f ire"

H a s n a i n s a i d h e w e n t into the kitchen and found Ms Kahtar pouring bottle of white spirit over her head,

another bottle was already empty on the floor She did not have a lighter on her at the time, he said, but was tr ying to use to gas hob to set f ire to herself Hasnain said this prompted him to take her out into the backyard of the property, talk to her and then convince her to take a bath, which she agreed to He added: “I asked her ‘what are you doing?’ She said ‘I want to kill myself I want to light myself on f ire' " CCT V footage was played to the court that showed Mr M a h m o o d t a l k i n g t o M s Akhtar and "pulling" her back inside the house

Widespread racism, sexism and bullying among NHS Ambulance staff

NH S A m bu l anc e s e rv ic es have a “fear of speaking up ” am id p er v a si v e “ c li qu e y ” , sexist, racist and hom ophobic cultures, a w atchdog has warned

A national guardian has warned of negative cultures in trusts preventing workers from raising concerns as she called for a “cultural review” of ambulance organisations

The review into whistleb l o w e r c o n c e r n s , b y t h e Fr e e d o m t o Sp e a k Up Guardian’s off ice, has found widespread cultural issues i n c l u d i n g c l i q u e - l i ke

behaviour and bullying and harassment

Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, the NHS National Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, has now called on ministers and the NHS to independently review ambulance ser vices, after speaking with ambulance staff across f ive NHS

trusts

The report has called for a c u l t u r a l r e v i e w o f t h e ambulance ser vice by NHS England, the Care Quality C o m m i s s i o n , t h e A s s o c i a t io n o f A m b u l a n c e Chief Executives and ministers

It said an independent review should consider leade r s h i p w i t h i n t h e s e c t o r, b u l l y i n g a n d h a r a s s m e n t including sexual harassment and issues of discrimination, p a r t ic u l a r ly i n re l a t io n t o sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity and disability

Old man dies in a suspected street attack by teenager

A t e e n a g e b o y ha s b e e n cha r ge d wi th mu rde r ove r t he de at h of a 61 -yea r-old ma n wh o di ed fr om h ea d injuries in a suspected st reet at tack 18 months ago

Mehmood Shamshi was fo u n d s e r io u s ly i n j u re d i n Staines Road, in Hounslow, in the early hours of August 18, 2001, and died in hospital three days later A boy, 17, has now been charged with murder and was due to appear in court for the f irst time The

teen, who cannot be identif ied due to his age, is accused of Mr Shamshi’s murder and was expected to appear at Uxbridge magistrates court

In the aftermath of Mr S h a m s h i’s d e a t h , Metropolitan Police detectives said they believed he h a d s u s t a i n e d t h e f a t a l i n j u r i e s i n a n “ a s s a u l t ” i n Staines Road, near the junction of Cromwell Road, at around 10 30pm on August 17 "Mehmood’s family and

friends have been left devastated by his death and we are working hard to work out the sequence of events that l e d t o h i m s u s t a i n i n g i n j u r i e s , w h i c h w e b e l i e v e ultimately led to his death", s a i d D e t e c t i v e C h i e f I n s p e c t o r K a t h e r i n e Goodwin, who was leading the investigation

The teenage boy’s case is expected to be sent to the Old Bailey for a preliminar y hearing next week

Demand for inquiry into BAME NHS workers who took their own lives

Rel atives of black , Asian and m in o r it y e t h n i c ( B AM E) N H S w or ke r s w ho ha v e

No proper examination after race related killings

The r ole racism m ay have played is no t being pro perl y exam ined after black p eo pl e a r e k il l e d b y p o l ic e , ch ar it y In q u e s t has said in repo rt I Can' t Breathe: Race, Deat h and Br it ish Policing

It said the system for investigating deaths after police contact was "not f it for purpose" and families of those killed felt

they had to "defend not only their loved one but t h e m s e l v e s a g a i n s t r a c i a l i s e d s t e r e o t y p e s " during the investigation process

In response, the IOPC said: "The work we do to shine a light on the numbers of people who die in c u s t o d y o r fo l l o w i n g p o l i c e c o n t a c t i s r e a l l y important ”

take n their own lives are ca lli n g fo r a n i n d e pe n d e n t inquir y into the t reatmen t of staff

Campaigners say an investigation would help the NHS learn lessons and ensure that “i n j u s t i c e s ” d o n o t h a p p e n a g a i n T h e y i n c l u d e Te r r y S k i t m o r e , w h o s e p a r t n e r Amin Abdullah, 41, an awardwinning nurse, died after setting himself on f ire outside Kensington Palace in 2016 An inquest into his death heard t h a t h e s u f fe r e d a “ m e n t a l b r e a kd o w n ” o v e r h o w h i s NHS employers handled his dismissal

A petition has been set up b y t h e c h a i r o f t h e Br i t i s h

I n d i a n Nu r s e s A s s o c i a t i o n , M a r i m o u t t o u C o u m a r a-

ssamy, calling for the government to launch an “independent inquir y into injustices suffered by BAME NHS staff ” Campaigners have demanded t h e a b o l i t i o n o f w h a t t h e y describe as “kangaroo courts” and the splitting of the Care Q u a l i t y Co m m i s s io n [C Q C ] regulator into two entities - a Patient CQC and a Healthcare Staff CQC They also called fo r a St a f f We l l b e i n g C o m m i s s i o n e r w h o w o u l d examine issues that impact on staff wellbeing

K a p u r, S k i t m o r e a n d Coumarassamy plan to hand in the petition to Downing Street on Friday It is timed t o c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e 7 anniversar y of the death of Abdullah

Sunak chooses the Gandhian ways to resolve Brexit challenges

Rishi Sunak is being hailed a hero by the community, for his efforts to solve the impasse around Northern Ireland protocol, that seems to finally resolve issues since the Referendum in 2016 The Prime Minister did not tackle the gridlock with aggression, but with humbleness, which has triggered severe criticism from hardcore Brexiteers within the Conservative party

The Windsor Framework, which is agreed by the UK Prime Minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who was visiting, replaces the old Northern Ireland Protocol, providing a new legal and UK constitutional framework Rewriting the Treaty with new ‘Stormont Brake’ will mean that UK can vote on new EU goods laws, especially if they are not supported in Northern Ireland

The ITV reported that Mr Sunak has said his new Brexit deal puts Northern Ireland in an "unbelievably special position" because it gives the nation access to both the UK and European Union markets - making it the "world’s most exciting economic zone "

Criticism has come in about how Rishi Sunak lauded Northern Ireland’s position in having easy trade access to both the UK and EU markets, prompting critics to note that this was the case for the entire country before Brexit was voted in 2016

A report said how one user on twitter wrote: "We all had this privilege before you and your Brexiteers dragged us out if it I am astounded at you actually saying this out loud "

Another also reportedly said: Business across the whole of the UK used to have access to what this man now calls the world's most exciting economic zone' "

Mr Sunak's spokesman reportedly said the PM's remarks should not be viewed as him validating single-market benefits for the whole of the UK, reiterating that "the British people made a decision in 2016 "

One must look at the positive outcomes of the discussions There has been a gridlock for the longest time that is on its way to being fully resolved, despite infightings and Tory party right-wing trying to start a rebellion against Mr Sunak

Second, there has been no unnecessary ego on display, and Mr Sunak chooses the Gandhian way of problem solving –showing how even polite and kind words, or praises can do the job

Third, despite all the criticism against PM Sunak, and his inability to be a boisterous leader, beating around his own drum of achievements, with ample provocation by jealous and over ambitious colleagues, Mr Sunak keeps calm and carries on Everyone says this is his only opportunity to be UK’s Prime Minister While an Indian-origin man may not be Britain’s first choice, this is the man who is delivering what Britain’s heart-

throbs failed to keep up to

In the meantime, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is in India making progress on the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) Reports suggest that both countries have agreed to swiftly organise the next bilateral Economic and Financial Dialogue soon At a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both sides agreed to make further progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and deepen bilateral economic and financial ties," the UK Treasury department said in a statement (see p8)

Last week Mr Sunak also declared a ground-breaking development for bilateral trade between UK and India when a deal between the Tata Group owned Air India and international manufacturing giants Airbus and Rolls-Royce were linked at the Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru, India

Ireland and India have had a historical and unique relationship During the freedom struggles from colonial rule, Indian and Irish "nationalist movements were linked by a history of rebellion against British rule ”

Studies have often compared to the two independence struggles Independence leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Éamon de Valera were said to be in touch with each other

Likewise, Vithalbhai Patel and Subhas Chandra Bose were also said to be in touch with Irish leaders The strongest tie between the two was the link of Annie Besant from an Irish family but firm supporter of Indian self-rule or Home Rule Movement Both countries held economic, political, and strategically important ties to the British empire In both cases, the independent struggles led to other movements within the British empire for independence A significant number of Irish people joined the imperial civil service and the Indian Army during the nineteenth century

The Hindustan Times reported, within the EU, Ireland is a key trade and investment partner for India In the year 2020, India’s exports to Ireland accounted for 1 6% of India’s total exports to the EU and imports accounted for 1 2% of India’s total imports from the EU India is a net exporter of goods to Ireland and there is potential for increasing trade further Total trade between the two countries went from €363 5 million in 2005 to €447 3 million in 2007 Indian exports counted for €279 8 million to Indian imports of €167 5 million in 2007 Overview In November 2022, Ireland exported €48 6mn and imported €101mn from India, resulting in a negative trade balance of €52 8mn

Between November 2021 and November 2022, the exports of Ireland have decreased by €-1 3mn (-2 6%) from €49 9mn to €48 6mn, while imports increased by €13 7mn (15 6%) from €87 7mn to €101mn

Modi's offer to mediate in Russia- Ukraine war

An ongoing international conflict involving the Russia-Ukraine war recently marked its first year The entire world is watching India, which was extremely "well placed" economically, using its G20 presidency to gather world leaders, including Ukraine, for a "frank and open conversation" on the best course of action for ending the conflict

The G20 group includes the world s major and emerging economies, and it accounts for nearly 85 per cent of the world's Gross Domestic Product, 75 per cent of world trade, and nearly two-thirds of the world's population It includes India, the USA, the UK, European Union, China, Russia, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and South Africa

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz requested assurances from India that it will help, or at the very least not obstruct, western attempts to isolate Russia for fighting a catastrophic war against Ukraine due to the great calamity that had a severe influence on many nations During a private conversation with Prime Minister Modi, Scholz stated that the repercussions of the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine conflict have had an adverse effect on all of humanity, with developing nations suffering the most He continued by saying that India has always emphasised conversation and diplomacy to end this war, and it is now prepared to contribute to any peace efforts to do so

Most of the major economies that are part of the G20 are facing two big crises: the Russia-Ukraine war and the economic consequences of that war Modi has clearly outlined a strategy for dealing with both of these conflicts

PM Narendra Modi brought up the Ukraine problem at the G20 summit in Bali in November, which was hosted by Indonesia He remarked about finding a way to the path of truce and diplomacy in Ukraine and urged the world's leaders to make a serious effort to take the path of peace He was sure that the G20 meeting in the holy land of Gandhi and Buddha would send a clear message of peace to the entire world

In other words, PM Modi was conveying the message to the Western, Chinese, and Russian leaders present at the summit that war will not benefit anyone and that cooperation and peace are necessary if we are to advance humanity and create a paradise on earth Moreover, Modi advised the leaders to find a solution to the Ukraine conflict and said the fighting must end quickly He added that India was prepared to take the lead in bringing the war to a conclusion

Modi is aware that although India's inflation rate is now lower than that of many European nations, if the global economic crisis continues, India may face difficulties in the coming months After taking over the G20 presidency, the

responsibility of the Indian Prime Minister has grown manifold

Last week, foreign ministers from all over the world gathered for the G20 summit in New Delhi under the shadow o f R u s s i a ' s c o n f l i c t i n U k r a i n e a n d e s c a l a t i n g U S - C h i n a tensions India, the summit's host, hoped that issues like climate change and third-world debt would not be overlooked, which is why Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, also in Bali, after the West strongly denounced the war

In a recent two-day meeting in Bengaluru, finance chiefs o f t h e w o r l d ' s l a r g e s t e c o n o m i e s s t r o n g l y c o n d e m n e d Moscow for its war on Ukraine, with only China and Russia i t s e l f d e c l i n i n g t o s i g n a j o i n t s t a t e m e n t T h e l a c k o f consensus among G20 members meant India resorted to issuing a "chair's summary and outcome document," in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements

The sanctions imposed by the United States, European nations, and other nations to punish Russia for the invasion and deprive it of money were described as having "alternative opinions and various appraisals of the situation and sanctions "

Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it was causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy They cited disruption of supply chains, risks to financial stability, and continuing energy and food insecurity

Similar to this, the G20 meeting concluding statement from Bali last November acknowledged differences The G20, which was established more than 20 years ago to address economic crises, is finding it harder and harder to reach the kind of a g r e e m e n t r e q u i r e d t o i s s u e a f o

, remained optimistic despite the stressful circumstances, saying that having all the ministries on board had advanced their cause However, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said China's refusal to join the declaration was "regrettable "

The world is criticising India for its neutral position towards the conflict, its refusal to attribute the invasion to R u s s i a , i t s p u r s u i t o f a d i p l o m a t i c r e s o l u t i o n , a n d a substantial increase in its imports of Russian oil But, it is evident that the G20's goal is to put an early end to the conflict in Ukraine India is ready to take the reins as the G20 group's new president The world will be relieved and India's reputation will rise if Modi is able to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the upcoming weeks

Thought for the week

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh Patel

India from Economics to Political Philosophy

W ow To hea r the a mazin g figure s ab out India ’ s infrastructure growth in the se ssi ons I moderated for the India n Hi gh Commi ssion recently

Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and India was £34 0 billion, in current prices, in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, an increase of 51 7% or £11 6 billion from the four quarters to the end of Q3

2021 Of this £34 0 billion:

• Total UK exports to India amounted to £14 8 billion, in current prices, in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022 (an increase of 75 5% or £6 4 billion compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021);

• Total UK imports from India amounted to £19 2 billion, in current prices, in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022 (an increase of 37 3% or £5 2 billion compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021)

India was the UK’s 12th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022 accounting for 2 1% of total UK trade

Following in from my visit to Paris with my son and wife, I thought I better share with him the might of Indian political philosophers Especially since clearly the future is Indian

The FATHER stands before his SON, his eyes ablaze with passion and his voice a symphony of conviction

"My beloved son, listen to the wisdom of the great Indian philosophers They have gifted us with timeless advice that has the power to transform our lives and the world around us "

He pauses for a moment, allowing the weight of his words to sink in

"Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate poet and philosopher, spoke of the interconnectedness of all living things, reminding us that we are not just individuals but are intimately connected with the world around us He believed in the power of love and creativity to bring about positive change in society "

He draws closer to his son, his voice now a soothing balm

"Sri Aurobindo, the spiritual visionary, believed that every human being has the potential to evolve into a higher consciousness, one that transcends the limits of the ego and embraces the universal consciousness He taught us the importance of self-reflection and spiritual practice to attain this state of being

His voice rises, imbued with a fervent zeal

"And then there is Mahatma Gandhi, the great leader who led India to independence from the British Empire He believed in the power of non-violent resistance to achieve social and political change, and his life serves as an inspiration to millions around the world "

He looks deep into his son's eyes, his voice now trembling with emotion

"Son, the words of these great Indian philosophers are not just mere words, but a summons to awaken our deepest selves, to strive towards a world that is more equitable, more just, and more compassionate "

He stretches forth his hand, his voice soft and tender

"Remember their teachings, son, for they have the power to guide you through life's darkest moments and inspire you to achieve greatness "

Father and son embrace, united by the vision of the great Indian philosophers, whose words echo down through the ages, a source of wisdom and inspiration to all who would seek to transform themselves and the world

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ca ions

In a gentle way, you can shake the world - M ah

Film made on a woman in turban

A sho rt film has been m ad e by a S ikh wom an w ho said she's had to w ai t to o l o ng to s ee m o v i es f ea tu ri ng w o m en w h o loo k l ike h er A c t o r , w r i t e r a n d p r o d u c e r P a r v i n d e r Shergill said "Kaur" told t h e s t o r y o f a S i k h w o m a n w h o c h o s e t o defy her father's wishes by wearing a turban She s a i d B e n d i t l i k e Beckham, 20 years ago, was the last mainstream film to feature women from her background "I didn't want to wait a n o t h e r 2 0 y e a r s , " D r Shergill said She decided to take on the responsibility of making her film herself and recruited Nina Wadia, who is known from her appear-

ances in Goodness Gracious M e a n d E a s t e n d e r s T h e s t o r y t e l l s o f t h e c o n f l i c t between the main character a n d h e r f a t h e r , w h o i s reminded of the trauma he e x p e r i e n c e d a s a t u r b a nwearing Sikh Punjabi immigrant in Britain

Dr Shergill grew up

i n C o v e n t r y ,

B i r m i n g h a m a n d

L e i c e s t e r a n d n o w

w o r k s a t S t M a r y ' s

Hospital in London She co-wrote the film script

w i t h J u g g y S o h a l a n d worked with more than 70 South Asian women o n i t , i n c l u d i n g T h e

A p p r e n t i c e w i n n e r

Harpreet Kaur

The film is currently

t o u r i n g f e s t i v a l s a n d

G u d w a r a s a n d s h e hopes to take it around schools and then turn it into a feature-length film She said: "I thought how visually striking and stunning it is to see a woman in a turban in a H o l l y w o o d p o s t e r " S h e hopes to bring more stories told by Asian women to a mainstream audience

Landlords coning government by falsely claiming housing benefits

R o g u e l and l o rd s are co nning th e g overnment out of m illions of pounds by fraudu l en tly cl ai m i ng h o u s i ng benefits for so -called “ g host t en ant s ” , i t h as be en rev ealed

C r i m i n a l g a n g s a r e among those buying cheap p r o p e r t y t o c o n v e r t i n t o housing for vulnerable people, in some cases claiming welfare payments for tenants who do not live there

P o l i c e h a v e s a i d t h a t owners of a collection of these properties are making up to £500,000 a month by providing supported exempt accommodation for people s u c h a s c a r e l e a v e r s a n d domestic abuse survivors

Now it has emerged that s o m e l a n d l o r d s a r e a l s o c l a i m i n g h o u s i n g b e n e f i t s for people who have moved out of the property, or never e x i s t e d i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , known as “ghost tenants”

O n o n e s t r e e t i n

Birmingham nearly a quart e r o f t h e p r o p e r t i e s h a d been converted into exempt accommodation for vulnerable people, yet at least three were found to be ghost tenancies and a fourth was a cannabis farm

Shabana Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham L a d y w o o d , s a i d : “ R o g u e providers have found a new way to defraud taxpayers of cash – by inventing ‘ghost’

t e n a n t s a n d c l a i m i n g e n h a n c e d h o u s i n g b e n e f i t for supporting them In one property in my constituenc y , h o u s i n g b e n e f i t w a s being paid in support of a property growing cannabis T a x p a y e r s w e r e p a y i n g c r i m i n a l s t o g r o w d r u g s T h i s s c a n d a l m u s t b e stopped ” I n r e c e n t y e a r s Birmingham has become a hotspot for exempt accommodation and this type of benefit fraud, but experts

have said it is difficult to o b t a i n a n a t i o n a l p i c t u r e because of a lack of data T h e n u m b e r o f e x e m p t a c c o m m o d a t i o n c l a i m a n t s in the city increased from 3 , 6 7 9 i n 2 0 1 4 t o n e a r l y 22,000 last year

W e s t M i d l a n d s p o l i c e said in evidence to MPs last y e a r t h a t i t h a d s e e n a n “ e x p l o s i o n ” i n s u p p o r t e d a c c o m m o d a t i o n i n Birmingham It said there were 22,500 beds in these houses of multiple occupancy, costing the public £5m a week if all were occupied, a n d s a i d o p e r a t o r s w e r e “ p r o v i d i n g v e r y l i t t l e i n terms of support, and in fact c o n t r i b u t i n g t o v a r i o u s forms of harm and abuse”

Man fined for parking longer at McDonald’s without any such signage

A d ad c l ai m s h e w as ‘ scammed’ after he was hit with a fi ne while vis iting a M cDonald’s with his family

M a r c u s W a r d h a d parked near a branch of the r e s t a u r a n t i n W a l s g r a v e ,

Coventry The 35-year-old and his wife had taken their t w o y o u n g c h i l d r e n f o r

lunch and an afternoon at the McDonald’s soft play A f e w d a y s l a t e r t h o u g h , a p a r k i n g f i n e a p p e a r e d through their front door

Marcus said the charge, from UK Parking Control, s t a t e d t h a t h i s w i f e a n d children had exceeded the limit 90-minute limit for

DIPL OMAT IC CAR F OR S SAL E

MERCEDES-BENZ VIANO AMBIENTE

BLACK, 2014 MODEL, DIESEL variant MILEAGE: 157,501 miles

Sealed envelopes (headlined ‘BIDS FOR CAR’) must be addressed to: HOC

HCI, India House, Aldwych London- WC2B 4NA

For further details, please contact protocol.london@mea.gov.in

A w o m a n s a y s s he h a s e ate n a hear t-shape d crisp t hat could hav e won her £10 0,000

D a w n S a g a r , f r o m Oswestry in Shropshire, says she pulled the potential prize-winner from a bag of Walkers ready salted But although she took a photo to send to friends, she was unaware there was a competition - so then ate it The brand is currently holding a contest to see who can find the best heart-shaped crisp

"I was on my break at w o r k , h a v i n g a p a c k e t o f crisps, and I was just eating [ t h e m ] , t a l k i n g a w a y , a n d then I suddenly thought 'oh, a heart, and I'll take a picture

of it', because it was the day after Valentine's Day," said Ms Sagar "So I sent it to everybody on Snapchat to s a y ' l o v e y o u , V a l e n t i n e ' s Day' " She said she was then i n u n d a t e d w i t h m e s s a g e s f r o m p e o p l e s a y i n g " y o u haven't eaten it?" and she replied saying, "yeah, why not?" When she went back to work and her friend told

her it was "the Walkers heart crisp", she began to realise her error "I googled it and went 'oh y e a h , t h a t ' s i t T o o late " Walkers says both the crisp and the packet need to be kept to be eligible for the prize M s S a g a r f i s h e d t h e bag out of the bin but said she had given up on winning the cash and not bothered to send the photo in "It's fine, isn't it," she said "I was gutted at the time but it's just one of those things "

A Walkers spokesperson said they were sorry to hear of Ms Sagar's "mishap" but said "all is not lost" as the competition was continuing

T h e C o ns erv at iv e M P f o r Stafford, Th eo C larke, has been d eselected Ms Clarke, who has repr e s e n t e d t h e t o w n s i n c e 2019, said she was "deeply disappointed" not to have been adopted as candidate by a constituency association committee In a statement posted on Twitter, the politician said she had faced a b u s e a f t e r a n n o u n c i n g p l a n s t o t a k e m a t e r n i t y l e a v e S h e s a y s s h e n o w intends to seek the support of rank and file members

"Living at home in the new constituency and working here, I stood on a record o f s u c c e s s f u l l y b r i n g i n g i n v e s t m e n t i n t o S t a f f o r d such as millions for mental health services and crucial infrastructure," Ms Clarke said She added: "Our town

w i l l s o o n s e e i n v e s t m e n t from the Levelling Up Fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund is already transforming the town centre with the S h i r e H a l l d u e t o f u l l y r e o p e n s o o n I t i r e l e s s l y campaigned for these wins, they will make a difference and make Stafford an even greater, better place to live, work and raise a family

Ms Clarke, the niece of f o r m e r b u s i n e s s s e c r e t a r y a n d N o r t h E a s t S o m e r s e t Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, w a s e l e c t e d a s M P f o r S t a f f o r d i n 2 0 1 9 w i t h a m a j o r i t y o f m o r e t h a n 1 4 , 0 0 0 d u r i n g B o r i s

Johnson's landslide victory Her deselection comes less than a week after the new m o t h e r r e t u r n e d t o Parliament on 20 February, having spent six months on

maternity leave after giving birth to her daughter

In December last year, s h e r e v e a l e d s h e h a d r e c e i v e d d o z e n s o f p h o n e c a l l s f r o m a n g r y c o nstituents who had berated her for taking time off

Former Lord Mayor Muhammad Afzal facing calls to strip him of titles

the customer car park by around 10 minutes A lack of signage meant the family did not realise the rules, he claimed

H e h a d n o w b e e n informed he will have to fight the parking charge in court with the fine having reached £170

F u ri o u s co u n ci l lo rs h av e called on city leaders to strip f o rm e r L o r d M a yo r o f B ir m i ng h a m M u h am m ad

A fzal of h is honorary titles He was 'not fit' to carry the historic titles granted to him af ter s erv in g as the ci ty's first citizen, city L ib Dems and Tories have said

The calls come after a

RESIDENT MINISTER OF RELIGION: Two priests to perform all the poojas all ceremonies weddings & funerals, give pravachans, participate in festivals and cultural activities Attend the school classes visiting the temple Should have ablity to get on with everyone Salary + Accommodation, other amenities and benefits comes to £1600 pm

judge ruled Mr Afzal, then L a b o u r L o r d M a y o r , h a d lied about gifting dates to residents in the Aston ward while unsuccessfully seeki n g r e - e l e c t i o n a s a c i t y c o u n c i l l o r l a s t y e a r , a n d then tried to impugn the r e p u t a t i o n s o f L i b e r a l D e m o c r a t r i v a l s A y o u b Khan and Mumtaz Hussain in an election petition he pursued afterwards He was only caught out when Mr Khan tracked down doorb e l l f o o t a g e s h o w i n g M r

A f z a l o n d o o r s t e p s c a mpaigning when gifts of dates w e r e p r e s e n t e d , w i t h L a b o u r s t i c k e r s a t t a c h e d

Today Mr Khan, a criminal barrister, said it was time for Afzal to 'face the music' He was backed by Lib Dems group leader Cllr Jon Hunt, who said it was 'time for justice' He said he has written to the city council's City Solicitor asking what

mechanism is available to formally press for Afzal to be asked to relinquish or lose his remaining roles as a l i f e t i m e L o r d M a y o r ' s d e p u t y a n d a n h o n o r a r y alderman of the city Afzal, 7 8 , i s u n d e r s u s p e n s i o n , p e n d i n g i n v e s t i g a t i o n , b y t h e L a b o u r P a r t y , i n t o claims that emerged in the course of hearings into the e l e c t i o n p e t i t i o n W e s t M i d l a n d s P o l i c e a r e a l s o now investigating, and the case has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions They will decide if there is a criminal case to answer Addressing the underlying issues for the first time, C o u n c i l l o r I a n W a r d , Labour leader of the city council, said of the case: "Mohammed Afzal has been suspended from the Labour Party, who are investigating his conduct ”

Woman eats heart-shaped crisp, by mistake, losing £100k

MP who had won with landslide victory in Stafford deselected

COMMUNITY GEARS UP TO FIGHT TOMATO CRISIS

Meanwhile, Britain’s fruit and vegetable crisis could last up to four weeks, a former environment secretary has warned National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters said if the shortages persist, it will d r i v e u p f o o d p r i c e i n f l a t i o n E n v i r o n m e n t S e c r e t a r y T h e r e s e C o f f e y s u g g e s t e d e a t i n g t u r n i p s instead of tomatoes, but both got sold out in stores within minutes

Tomato supplies are among the worst affected and are a matter of grave concern for the Asian community, with a vast majority who are vegetarians and vegans The households typically cannot function without tomatoes in their food and curries, so Asian Voice reached out to businesses (shops, vendors a n d r e s t a u r a n t s ) a n d c h e f s t o understand how this shortage of vegetables will impact them Local S o u t h A s i a n v e g e t a b l e v e n d o r s a c r o s s L o n d o n a n d n e a r b y b o roughs, mentioned that their stocks w o u l d l a s t u p t o f o u r d a y s H o w e v e r , v e n d o r s i n K i n g s b u r y , London confirmed that they were already facing a shortage of tomatoes and vegetables Members of the community told the newsweekly that British Asians are resilient in o v e r c o m i n g a n y k i n d o f c r i s i s , therefore we can tackle the shortage with alternate options and careful planning Some restaurants preempted this and have made alternate arrangements to beat the crisis while it lasts

The alternative for Sou th A sian hou seholds

Rohini Bajekal, nu tritionist and board -certified Lifestyle Med icine p rofessio nal shared her two cents on the shortage and how Asians can cope with it She said, “There has been a serious shortage in popular fruit and vegetables imported from abroad including peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, c a u l i f l o w e r a n d r a s p b e r r i e s a n d tomatoes, with some supermarkets rationing the number of items a customer can buy This is expected to last until at least May According t o t h e B R C , U K s u p e r m a r k e t s import 95% of their tomatoes and 90% of their lettuce in December and typically the same proportions in March ”

She further said that the shortages have inflamed the cost-of-living crisis and overall anxiety levels among consumers It is important to also consider alternatives in the s h o r t t e r m F o r e x a m p l e , e a t i n g more frozen fruit and vegetables c a n b e c o s t - e f f e c t i v e a s w e l l a s often equally nutritious For example, frozen blueberries have even been shown to have higher levels of a n t i o x i d a n t s t h a n f r e s h o n e s Canned tomatoes and tomato paste are an alternative to fresh although these have also gone up in price

“This is a good time to try more seasonal produce such as cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, carrots and spring greens which all feature in South Asian cooking Herbs and spices are packed with antioxidants and are a great way to add more flavour to dishes Choosing a variety of plants is also beneficial for o u r h e a l t h , p a r t i c u l a r l y o u r g u t health, and immunity While there are a number of reasons for these issues, poor weather conditions are a major cause The climate crisis remains the most substantial risk to human health in the 21st century

Opting to eat more meals without meat and dairy is a powerful change

we can all make to help to avert further disasters associated with the g l o b a l c l i m a t e e m e r g e n c y

Adopting a predominantly or exclusively plant-based diet will improve human health whilst supporting the food system to keep within planetary boundaries,” Rohini said

The Indian restaurant that pre-em pted this scarcity

Ro o p P art ap C h o u d h ar y o f

Colonel Saab Restaurant of Cov ent Garden sp oke to us in detail about the ongoing crisis According to him, the Hospitality and Catering industry is the largest consumer of edible commodities due to its magnitude of business This is not only limited to hotels or restaurants but includes cruises, flights, hospitals, clubs, care homes, student halls, and Army messes to name a few

Choudhary told Asian Voice, “As a fine dining Indian restaurant, Colonel Saab in this short span of 18 months has bagged 3 prestigious awards, huge accolades from the industry veterans, guests of this city and those who visit London for various reasons Availability of fresh produce is key to bringing the best to the table, this not only helps our guests have a great dining experience, repeat business or referral but also ensures our guests are free from any kind of food-related aftereffects Non-availability or scarcity of fresh produce would definitely have an adverse impact on the food industry, this means pressure to p i c k t h e b e s t a t a p r i c e H i g h d e m a n d a n d i n a d e q u a t e s u p p l y would lead to other market-related issues that are known to all

“Procurement of commodities in crisis would increase operating and cost of production and leaner margins or bottom lines This may also affect the operation hours and availability of dishes due to scarcity If the situation is not mitigated immediately, restaurants may then p l a n f o r a l t e r n a t i v e m e n u s t h a t don't depend on fresh produce or

have a complete menu planned in the interim till the situation eases out For example, a butter chicken may get replaced by creamy chicken or korma or yoghurt-based gravies which don t rely on the vegetable market

“Colonel Saab's kitchen brigade had pre-empted this scarcity and had stocks in hand Our chefs had organised the ingredients that can be used as a substitute without compromising on the quality and t a s t e a n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y t h e visual appeal The alternatives for fresh tomatoes can be a canned tomato, tomato puree or concasse for gravies If tomatoes are used for imparting sour taste, then multiple ingredients like dried Pomegranate, sweet tamarind, and dry mango powder can be used however it may not impart the right colour ”

He further added, “As we say in our industry, a guest savours the dish first with the eyes However, there are certain dishes that possibly would have no alternates for example a fresh green salad, it may have to cut down on certain ingredients or add others to compensate i n t e r m s o f i t s s i z e , n u t r i t i o n a l value, a good adjunct to the dishes and of course value for money To sum it up, the hospitality industry, in particular, was the worst hit during the pandemic Covid and if this doesn't get sorted soon or in time it may have serious impacts on smaller-scale operators ”

S harmistha Roy from Sh armi’s Kitchen told us, “Most vegetables we use are bought from Indian and Sri Lankan stores, which so far have enough stock available If there is a shortage later, I may have to offer alternative dishes to my customers

“We froze tomatoes in bulk, and a r e n o w u s i n g t h e m t o c o o k , though wherever possible we are u s i n g s u b s t i t u t e s B u t w i t h t h i s s h o r t a g e , t h e p r i c e o f t o m a t o e s keeps changing every other day, making it very difficult for us as a b u s i n e s s , b e c a u s e w e c a n n o t change the price of the dish on the menu Hopefully, this problem of shortage will resolve soon ” Resilient sub-continent

Praising the community for its resilient ways of living and survivi n g a n y a d v e r s i t y , A s m a K h an , fo u n d er o f Da rj eel i ng Ex p re ss London told Asian Voice, “We have a long tradition in the sub-continent of “Jugadu” - basically pivoting and finding innovative solutions! I think everyone cooking Indian food has had to substitute something at some point- it is almost something we do naturally in the east as tradit i o n a l l y y o u d i d n o t h a v e e a s y access to fresh fruit and vegetables all day Tomatoes do not need to be fresh- tinned tomatoes or tomato purée work well I know frozen vegetables are looked down upon by m a n y , b u t y o u c a n a l w a y s a d d f r o z e n p e p p e r s t o y o u r k a d h a i chicken and it would taste good!”

Aadit Shankar of Atcha U K told us, “Although vegetable shortages have recently become a hot topic in r e t a i l n e w s , e r r a t i c s u p p l y a n d weekly price fluctuations for vegetables and other ingredients have been a theme of the year so far Most recently, aside from tomatoes, we ’ ve found that the price of c a u l i f l o w e r a n d a u b e r g i n e h a s increased to such an extent that we are looking at taking them off the menu – which is a huge shame because they are two of our most popular sabzis!”

T omato Free Pizza British grocery inflation hit a record 16 7% in the four weeks to Jan 22, dealing another blow to consumers battling an escalating cost-of-living crisis, industry data s h o w e d F o o d s u p p l i e r s - f r o m m a j o r p l a y e r s i n c l u d i n g N e s t l e (NESN S) to smaller firms like Eosta - have raised prices amid tough n e g o t i a t i o n s w i t h s u p e r m a r k e t s , Reuters reported Wholesalers and independent grocers, however, say t h e r e i s p l e n t y t o g o a r o u n d i f retailers are prepared to pay the extra cost I t a l i a n r e s t a u r a n t s a c r o s s B r i t a i n h a d t o r a t i o n t o m a t o e s , increase prices and in some cases remove the Pomodoro from their menus entirely as costs soared The p r i c e o f t o m a t o e s i n c r e a s e d a s much as fourfold in the past year, from £5 a case to £20 a case, accordi n g t o t h e F e d e r a z i o n e I t a l i a n Cuochi UK (FIC UK), a chefs’ association The price of canned tomatoes has doubled, it said, from £15 a c a s e t o £ 3 0 T h e c o s t o f t h a t Insalata staple iceberg lettuce has also soared, from around £7 a box to £22 Some restaurants in the UK had to market tomato-free pizza b e c a u s e o f t h e o n g o i n g c r i s i s Italian restaurants were forced to replace classic dishes with ‘white’ versions as the cost of their staple ingredient soared

However, The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs s a i d t h a t t h e U K h a d a “ h i g h l y resilient food supply chain and is well equipped to deal with disruption”

While the current scenario in the UK is expected to last only for a few weeks until the UK growing s e a s o n b e g i n s a n d s u p e r m a r k e t s find alternative sources of supply, according to the BRC However, one UK producers group has said shortages of some fruit and vegetables could last until May, reported BBC

Hindu community helps to raise vital awareness of living kidney donation

T he im portance of donating living kidneys was hig hlig hted at a large g athering o f around 400 people at t h e BA P S S h ri S w am i na ra yan

M andir, in Ch igwell – through an event organised jo intly by BAP S S hri S waminarayan Sansth a, the Royal Free Hospital and the Jain a nd Hi nd u Or g an D on at io n

A lli a nc e ( J HO D ) o n S un d ay 26

February 2023

Hindus and Asians patients on average have to wait longer compared to the general population for an organ, due to a shortage of donors from the Asian community and receiving a living kidney transplant is a very good option for many patients

In the case of kidney transplant, there were 1079 patients of Asian heritage waiting for an organ transplant in the UK in March

2022 and there were 70 Asian living kidney donors in the year 2021/22 It was emphasised during the gathering, t h a t a r e a l p o s s i b i l i t y f o r patients waiting to receive a l i v i n g k i d n e y c o u l d c o m e from a family member or a friend

Through various expert p r e s e n t a t i o n s , t h e i m p o rtance of organ donation was e x p l a i n e d , i n p a r t i c u l a r f r o m a Hindu context, that giving the gift of life, or helping others to live, is seen as a form of ‘daan’ or donation

E l a b o r a t i n g f u r t h e r o n t h e Hindu perspective, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, Spiritual H e a d o f B A P S S w a m i n a r a y a n Sanstha, through a video message said: “Living organ donation is a

very important form of seva [self-

less service] It should be done selflessly, without expecting anything in return if we can donate an organ – usually it is the kidney –this is a very valuable and great form of seva, by which you will receive the blessings of God ” D r N i r a j B a r o t , S p e c i a l i t y D o c t o r i n A n a e s t h e t i c s a n d

Intensive Care, Barts Health Care Trust, and a volunteer at BAPS Shri

S w a m i n a r a y a n M a n d i r ,

Chigwell said: “It was great for our congregation at BAPS C h i g w e l l M a n d i r t o h e a r about organ donation in a c u l t u r a l l y r e l e v a n t a n d appropriate manner through messages from a Hindu perspective as well as the medic a l a n d p a t i e n t r e l a t e d aspects We hope that for someone in the future the event was inspiring to make a lifechanging organ donation ” K i r i t M o d i M B E , C h a i r o f J H O D a n d a k i d n e y t r a n s p l a n t r e c i p i e n t s a i d : “ I e n c o u r a g e Hindus and Jains in the UK to find o u t m o r e a b o u t l i v i n g k i d n e y donation and transform the lives o f l o v e d f a m i l y m e m b e r s a n d friends waiting for a kidney transplant ”

Sharmistha Roy Asma Khan Rohini Bajekal

Roop Partap Chaudhary Aadit Shankar

Bradford man jailed for supplying drugs worth £4.2 million

A man in Bradford wh o was r ep o rt ed l y i nv o l v ed i n a w h oles ale d ru g traffic king enterprise acro ss the U K has been jailed for 15 years

R e p o r t s s u g g e s t t h a t F a i z R e h m a n s u p p l i e d c o c a i n e , h e r o i n a n d cannabis worth more than £4 2 million within a short period of 11 weeks in 2020, using the encrypted messaging platform Encrochat to traffic the drugs

Bradford Crown Court heard the 37-year-old man communicated with people i n c l u d i n g a s u p p l i e r i n L i v e r p o o l c o d e n a m e d ‘ S t o c k y g i a n t ’ a n d a u s e r known as ‘Hippocrown’

Rehman allegedly sold 1 k g o f c o c a i n e t o a n o t h e r Encrochat user on April 20, 2020, and the following day, he told Stockygiant that he needed 50 kg on each delive r y H e w a s a r r e s t e d o n February 11 last year after

Moving back with parents boosts adult mental health, study finds

Shefali Saxena

West Yorkshire Police offic e r s s t o p p e d a b l a c k Mercedes in which he was the passenger Investigators also gathe r e d s o m e h i g h l y - p r i c e d w a t c h e s a n d w e i g h i n g which held traces of cocaine and heroin in his home Rehman pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring with others to supply class A drugs and admitted to one c o u n t o f c o n s p i r a c y w i t h o t h e r s t o s u p p l y c l a s s B drugs

R e p o r t e d l y , R e h m a n used encrypted communications to traffic drugs across the country

Indian student from Kerala dies in road accident in Leeds

A n I nd i an st u d ent A th i ra

A nilkumar Laly Kumari, 28, from T hiruv ananthapuram, K erala was killed in a fatal r o ad tr af fi c c o ll i si o n i n L eeds last week

S h e w a s p r o n o u n c e d d e a d a t t h e s c e n e a t t h e junction of Stanningley road a n d C o c k s h o t t L a n e i n Leeds on last Wednesday

A t h i r a w a s a s t u d e n t a t

Leeds Beckett University in January 2023 and lived at Armley Road Her husband

Rahul Sekhar is in Oman

The couple have a one-yearold daughter, Yamika

Athira suffered serious i n j u r i e s i n t h e c o l l i s i o n , w h i c h i n v o l v e d a b l a c k Volkswagen Golf and caused d a m a g e t o t h e b u s s t o p Along with Athira, a man in his forties, was also injured in the accident He continues to recover at the hospital Police arrested the Golf driver, who is a 25-year-old w o m a n , o n s u s p i c i o n o f causing death by dangerous d r i v i n g S h e h a s b e e n

released on bail as enquiries continue into the collision

W e s t Y o r k s h i r e P o l i c e said: “On Wednesday, police were informed by the ambulance service of a road traffic collision at the junction of S t a n n i n g l e y R o a d a n d C o c k s h o t t L a n e , L e e d s where injuries were reported

“ E m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e s a t t e n d e d a n d f o u n d t h a t t w o p e d e s t r i a n s h a d s u ffered serious injuries followi n g t h e c o l l i s i o n , w h i c h involved a Volkswagen Golf car and caused damage to a bus stop

“One of these, a woman, w a s s a d l y p r o n o u n c e d deceased at the scene The second person, a man in his

The fi ndin gs of the fir st study in the UK to look at the mental health impact of moving home on adult children surprised demographers at the Institute for So c i al a nd E c o no m i c Research (ISER) , who were expecting to find it had the op po s i te ef f e c t on w el lb e i ng A c c or d i ng t o th e research, moving bac k i nto the paren ta l home as an a du lt w a s o n c e s e en b y many youngsters as a retrograde step and even someth in g to b e a sh am ed o f Now, a new s tudy suggests that such a move actually improves the mental health of t he s e “ b oom e ra n g adults”, thanks in no small pa r t t o a s tr e s s f ul a n d i n c re a s i n gl y e xp en s i v e rental market

W h i l e p r e v i o u s research found that parents experience a dip in mental health when their adult children return to live at the family home, the new study by ISER, part of t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f E s s e x , found that for their children it was associated with an improvement in mental health scores – despite losing independence

Nearly 5 million adults

forties, was taken to hospit a l H i s i n j u r i e s a r e n o t believed to be life threatening

“The Golf driver, a 25year-old woman, has been a r r e s t e d o n s u s p i c i o n o f causing death by dangerous driving ”

R e p o r t e d l y , t h e L e e d s Malayalee Association offic i a l s h a v e s a i d t h a t t h e Indian High Commission in London has passed over the case to the Indian Consulate in Birmingham The association said that relatives have been informed and they are working to bring the dead body, which is kept in the Bradford hospital mortuary, home

Preet Gill MP allegedly undermined Sikh victims of sexual violence

S i k h m e m be rs o f L a bo u r P arty have reported a comp laint to th e party against sh ad ow d ev elopment secretary Preet Kaur Gill after she sent a series of WhatsApp m essages undermining v ictims of sexual violence within gurdw aras, accord ing to a rep ort I n t h e m e s s a g e s , G i l l a l l e g e d l y s a i d t h a t t h o s e who are calling gurdwaras unsafe are using a ‘ very dangerous language’ and urged t h e m t o s u b m i t w r i t t e n apologies to their places of w o r s h i p , t h e G u a r d i a n r e p o r t e d a f t e r r e v i e w i n g those messages

The MP posted a series o f m e s s a g e s o n t h e WhatsApp group, Sikhs in L a b o u r , f o l l o w i n g t h e

release of a report by UK charity and victim support service Sikh Women’s Aid ( S W A ) w h i c h f o u n d t h a t

Sikh women in Britain were abused by faith leaders

“Where is your Evidence guru ghars (Gurdwaras) are n o t s a f e ? ? ? T h i s i s o u t r ageous you should apologise to the sikh community,” she allegedly wrote in one of the messages

“

C a l l i n g g u r u g h a r s u n s a f e i s v e r y d a n g e r o u s language Please submit a w r i t t e n a p o l o g y t o g u r u ghars ”

The Labour MP is said to have alleged that victims of rape at one gurdwara had been in consensual relations h i p s w i t h t h e i r a c c u s e d attacker

live with their parents, according to the 2021

U K c e n s u s , a 1 4 7 % increase from 2011

‘Boomerang’ Moves

a n d Y o u n g A d u l t s ’

M e n t a l W e l l - b e i n g i n

t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m , published in Advances

i n L i f e C o u r s e Research, suggests that t h e s o - c a l l e d “ b o o m e r a n g g e n e r ation” may find parental support beneficial – especially if it enables them to escape the stress of the private rental sector

B e t w e e n 2 0 0 9 a n d 2020, it found, 15% of the 9 , 7 1 4 B r i t i s h a d u l t s a g e d b e t w e e n 2 1 a n d 3 5 t h e y studied moved back in with their parents at least once

P s y c h o l o g i s t M a m t a Saha told the newsweekly, “There are many benefits f o r A s i a n c h i l d r e n a n d adults moving in with their parents Obviously, there's financial saving Secondly, it's an opportunity to heal relationships A lot of my clients come to me with childhood trauma, with a very orthodox upbringing that forced them to be a doctor or a certain way or have a social standing in society This has left a lot of trauma and scars in people

in Asian adult children, and I've certainly seen people moving in with their parents being with their parents enables an opportunity to heal that trauma by speaking by sharing by getting the parents to understand the impact and just talking things out

“What happens is if you don't move back in with your parents, often people can really harbour negative f e e l i n g s t o w a r d s t h e i r u p b r i n g i n g a n d c r e a t e a d i s t a n c e a d e t a c h m e n t from their parents, which I t h i n k p a r e n t s c a n f i n d q u i t e c o n f u s i n g b e c a u s e t h e y ' v e d o n e a g o o d j o b raising their kids, the kids are standing on their own t w o f e e t s u c c e s s f u l , a n d t h e n t h e y a c t u a l l y d o n ' t m a i n t a i n a r e l a t i o n s h i p with their own biological parents This doesn't make

sense

“So moving in, h e l p s p e o p l e t o r e f o r m r e l a t i o ns h i p s , r e c o n n e c t r e a l l y i n f r e s h ways There's also f i n a n c i a l s a v i n g It’s an opportunit y t o v a l u e a n d a p p r e c i a t e p a rents as well and a c t u a l l y j u s t spend time with them because once you've got your career under your belt, you re an adult You ve g o t y o u r j o b , y o u ' v e g o t your career qualifications, then you can actually get to know your parents and you can they can get to know you for who you are as an a d u l t A n d y o u c a n a l s o s u p p o r t t h e m a n d h e l p t h e m o u t a n d a l s o j u s t repay all the care that they gave you forward So there are loads of loads of benefits

“I think that at the end of the day, if we can create safety in our homes and that feeling of safety, which o f t e n c o m e s w i t h b e i n g with your biological parents when the relationship i s h e a l t h y , t h e n i t ' s v e r y good for our emotional and psychological well-being It really is ”

Labour councillor Nav Johal, who was a member in Sikhs in Labour, told The Guardian, “I was very surprised by her comments, as there are genuine concerns w i t h s a f e g u a r d i n g a t U K g u r d w a r a s H e r m e s s a g e s were even more surprising given Gill [a former social worker] comes from a child protection background ”

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e Guardian report, those who criticise Gill’s claim suggest t h a t h e r v i e w s c o u l d r i s k d a m a g i n g r e l a t i o n s w i t h India

“ T h o u g h w e c a n n o t c o m m e n t o n l e a k e d WhatsApp messages, Preet w o u l d n e v e r d o w n p l a y abuse or violence,” said a Labour spokesperson

UK schools need to be truly inclusive for the welfare of BAME communities

Paramita Purkayastha

I n a w orld w h ere 59% o f t eac h e rs c o ns i d er l eav in g t h e te ac h i ng p r o fe ss i o n ( a cc o rd in g to th e 2 0 22

T eacher Wellbeing Index) to focus on th eir mental health and well-being, and wh ere being a teach er in a public scho ol means having to bear the brunt of ch ronic gov ernm ent underfunding in p ublic education, it is a g iven that being a teacher from co mm unities that are d iscriminated against would be a difficult job And that is p r ec i se ly w h at re se arc h from the UCL Institute o f Ed ucation (IOE) and the UK c harity Ed ucatio n Su pp ort found According to the UCL s t u d y , 4 6 % o f S c h o o l s i n England did not have a single teacher from the Black a n d M i n o r i t y E t h n i c (BAME) communities In a r e c e n t p i e c e , T h e Conversation cited governm e n t d a t a a c c o r d i n g t o

which only 2 5% of teachers are Black, even though Black people made up 4 6% of the w o r k i n g - a g e p o p u l a t i o n , a g a i n s t w h i c h 9 0 3 % o f teaching staff and 96% of h e a d t e a c h e r s a r e w h i t e , while making up 79 7% of the working-age population This could lead schools in the UK to become ‘white s p a c e s ’ , w h i c h a r e s o c i a l spaces where whiteness is the norm and any deviation from that is considered inferior and threatening The f i n d i n g s o f a 2 0 1 9 r e p o r t from the National Union of Teachers (now part of the National Education Union) support this, according to which BAME teachers were regularly given roles deemed non-intellectual, and were criticized for voicing their opinions

Teacher Asif Haque concurs He told Asian Voice, “Over the years, I have variously found myself involuntary spokesman for: forced m a r r i a g e s , t e r r o r i s m , d i a -

betes, caste, Sikhism, hijab, H i n d u i s m a n d t u r m e r i c D u t i f u l l y , t h i s " e x p e r t i s e " gets supplied the usual way, o n e P o w e r P o i n t s l i d e p e r topic

A few years ago, perhaps as ghee to my ego, I was offered some extra "responsibility", ostensibly to "help i n t e g r a t e r e c e n t e t h n i cminority arrivals into school life” I had little idea of what this involved and requested support Here is my summarised recollection of the discussion that followed

‘ W e ' v e t a k e n o n t h e s e c h i l d r e n , b u t d o n ' t k n o w who they are ’

‘Yes, and?’

‘ W e n e e d y o u t o f i n d out ’

‘I wouldn't really know where to start ’

‘Don't worry too much You are one of them- You'll figure it out ’

C h a l l e n g e a c c e p t e d I meet the class some days l a t e r , a n a s s o r t m e n t o f C h i n e s e , V i e t n a m e s e ,

PM’s poster sold for £25,000 at Tory fund-raising

E a s t e r n E u r o p e a n a n d Djiboutian girls and boys Apparently, all of us "ethnics" looked alike to senior management ”

W h i l e t e a c h e r s f r o m B A M E c o m m u n i t i e s a r e indeed important to provide infrastructural and systemic support to BAME students who are often alienated in the ‘white spaces ’ in their crucial development years, H a q u e ’ s p o i n t s a l s o h i g hlight a risk overlooked by t h o s e m e r e l y w i l l i n g t o d i v e r s i f y t h e i r s p a c e stokenism As is often experienced by people from BAME c o m m u n i t i e s , m e r e i n c l usion is not enough, as it can instead compound the problems brought on by racism and lack of awareness What is needed is willingness and resources for school authorities to educate themselves, develop systems of support a n d c a r e a n d b e a c t i v e l y r e s p o n s i b l e i n n u r t u r i n g inclusive spaces in a world that is already difficult

Chancellor attends his first G20 finance meeting in India

Je re my Hun t ha s concluded his fir st inte rn ationa l visit a s C h a n ce l lo r t o B e n g a lu r u , I n d i a , f or t he fi r st G 20 F i n a n c e M i n i st e r s a n d C e n t r a l B a n k G o v e r n or s m eet ing held unde r India’ s 2023 Pr esiden cy

The Chancellor, alongs i d e A n d r e w B a i l e y , t h e G o v e r n o r o f t h e B a n k o f England, attended a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on Thursday 23 February They w e r e j o i n e d v i r t u a l l y b y Ukrainian Finance Minister S e r h i y M a r c h e n k o T h e i r statement sent a strong mess a g e o f c o n d e m n a t i o n f o r Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, announced an increase of financial support for the Ukrainian government to a total of US$39 billion in 2023 and committed to continue supporting vulnerable countries hardest hit by the economic impact of the war

O n F r i d a y , t h e U K announced a fresh wave of internationally co-ordinated s a n c t i o n s a n d t r a d e m e as u r e s , t o f u r t h e r r e s t r i c t Russia’s capability to wage war in Ukraine both now and in the future

T h e C h a n c e l l o r a l s o a t t e n d e d t h e f i r s t G 2 0 F i n a n c e M i n i s t e r s a n d C e n t r a l B a n k G o v e r n o r s meeting under the Indian Presidency He condemned Russia’s brutal acts in the strongest terms, emphasisi n g – l i k e m a n y o t h e r

M i n i s t e r s p r e s e n t – t h a t securing peace was the most important action for global growth He also underscored the need for bilateral official creditors and private sector to urgently help address low and middle-income country

debt vulnerabilities in developing countries; the importance of multilateral develo p m e n t b a n k s b o o s t i n g lending from their existing balance sheets; and called on the G20 to fulfil its pledge to channel $100 billion of IMF

Special Drawing Rights in support of developing countries T h e I n d i a n P r e s i d e n c y issued a Chair’s statement at the end of the meeting It h i g h l i g h t e d , a m o n g o t h e r things, the continued need to fight inflation, and the i m p o r t a n c e o f s u p p l y - s i d e policies, especially those that increase labour supply, boost growth and alleviate price p r e s s u r e s T h e r e w a s a l s o G 2 0 c o n s e n s u s , i n c l u d i n g China, on the need for swift resolution of existing debt restructuring cases and to work on the impacts of food and energy insecurity on the global economy

While in Bengaluru, the Chancellor had productive bilateral meetings with U S T r e a s u r y S e c r e t a r y J a n e t Y e l l e n , F e d e r a l R e s e r v e

C h a i r m a n J e r o m e P o w e l l , French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire a n d K r i s t a l i n a G e o r g i e v a ,

M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y

F u n d H e a l s o m e t w i t h

A u s t r a l i a n T r e a s u r e r J i m

Chalmers At a meeting with Indian

make real progress on the key global economic issues of our time

“I first visited India 38 years ago, and it’s been fascinating to see how much the country has changed in this t i m e – t h e r e a r e p o s i t i v e l e s s o n s t o b e l e a r n t f r o m their successful rapid development

“It’s been great to hear f r o m I n d i a n t e c h n o l o g y b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s h e r e i n B e n g a l u r u h o w t h e y a r e

A S w aro v sk i c ry st alencrusted portrait o f Rish i Sunak has sold at a Tory party fu nd-raisi ng auc tio n fo r £25,0 00

T h e p i c t u r e , m a d e b y the London artist San B, was among the prized items auct i o n e d o f f a t t h e Conservative winter party at t h e g l i t z y S a v o y h o t e l i n London The Guido Fawkes w e b s i t e r e p o r t e d o t h e r prizes included a shooting party at Warter Priory in Yorkshire, which went for £40,000, and a trip to watch the F1 Abu Dhabi grand prix, which went for £50,000

T o r t o i s e M e d i a a l s o reported four tickets to an Elton John concert went for £25,000 and “approaching” £1million was raised ahead of next year ’ s general election The lavish spending c o m e s a s m o s t B r i t s a r e f i n a n c i a l l y s t r e t c h e d b y a cost-of-living crisis fuelled b y s t u b b o r n l y - h i g h i n f l a -

tion It follows environment

T h e r e s e C o f f e y – w h o r e p o r t e d l y a t t e n d e d t h e event with Sunak and other cabinet ministers – suggested people struggling with f o o d b i l l s s h o u l d “ w o r k some more hours”

Coffey also said people s h o u l d “ c h e r i s h ” s e a s o n a l vegetables such as turnips as the country faces a shortage of tomatoes and other fresh produce

UK-India FTA moves forward

I nd i a a nd th e U K ar e finally making progress o n th e o ngoi ng negotiatio ns for a free trade agreement ( F T A ) R ep o rt s s u gge s t th at bo th cou ntries have agreed to swi ftly organise

t u n i t y t o m a k e r e a l progress on the key global e c o n o m i c i s s u e s o f o u r time,” said Hunt

“I first visited India 38 years ago, and it’s been f a s c i n a t i n g t o s e e h o w

F i n a n c e M i n i s t e r N i r m a l a S i t h a r a m a n , b o t h s i d e s a g r e e d t o m a k e f u r t h e r p r o g r e s s o n t h e U K - I n d i a Free Trade Agreement and d e e p e n b i l a t e r a l e c o n o m i c a n d f i n a n c i a l t i e s T h e y a g r e e d t o m a k e s w i f t progress on setting up the n e x t U K - I n d i a E c o n o m i c and Financial Dialogue

The Chancellor took the o p p o r t u n i t y w h i l s t i n B e n g a l u r u t o m e e t w i t h b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s , h o m e t o

I n d i a ’ s f a s t - g r o w i n g t e c h hub He visited the offices of Indian consultancy and tech multinational Wipro, which employs over 4,000 people in the UK

Cha ncellor of the Ex ch eque r Jer emy Hunt sa id:

“Meeting fellow Finance Ministers face to face is an e x c e l l e n t o p p o r t u n i t y t o

pushing the country’s economy forward, and I look forward to further collaboration between India and the UK as we continue to trade and create jobs – delivering on the government’s plan to grow the economy ”

W h i l e s p e a k i n g a t t h e meetings, the Chancellor set o u t t h e U K g o v e r n m e n t ’ s i n t e n t i o n t o p r o t e c t t h e most vulnerable from costo f - l i v i n g p r e s s u r e s , w h i l s t maintaining fiscal sustainability with debt falling and not adding to inflationary pressure

H e a d d e d t h a t t h e upcoming Spring Budget on 15 March will drive economic growth, focusing on skills, business and infrastructure investment and research and i n n o v a t i o n , a s w e l l a s reviewing regulations of the UK’s key growth industries

th e n e xt b i la te ra l Ec o no mic and F ina nci al D i al o gu e s o o n " At a me et i ng wi th I n di a n Financ e Minis ter Nirmala S i th ar am an , bo t h s i des ag ree d to mak e fu rth e r progress o n the UK-India F re e T r ad e Ag re em en t and deep en bilateral economic and fi nancial ties," th e UK Treasu ry department said in a statement

"They agreed to make swift progress on setting u p t h e n e x t U K - I n d i a Economic and Financial Dialogue," it said UK chancellor Jeremy H u n t d u r i n g h i s I n d i a visit said the finance mini s t e r h e l d t a l k s w i t h

I n d i a n c o u n t e r p a r t

Nirmala Sitharaman with a f o c u s o n d e e p e n i n g

b i l a t e r a l e c o n o m i c a n d financial ties

“ M e e t i n g f e l l o w finance ministers face to face is an excellent oppor-

m u c h t h e c o u n t r y h a s c h a n g e d i n t h i s t i m e –there are positive lessons t o b e l e a r n t f r o m t h e i r successful rapid development “It’s been great to hear f r o m I n d i a n t e c h n o l o g y business leaders here in Bengaluru how they are p u s h i n g t h e c o u n t r y ’ s economy forward, and I look forward to further c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n India and the UK as we continue to trade and create jobs – delivering on the government’s plan to g r o w t h e e c o n o m y , ” h e said

O f f i c i a l s f r o m I n d i a and the UK began the seventh round of FTA talks earlier this month, picki n g u p f r o m t h e s i x t h r o u n d o f n e g o t i a t i o n s conducted in New Delhi i n D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 w i t h the visit of UK trade secretary

Jeremy Hunt with Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji

Jeremy Hunt with Aiyyo Shraddha (Shraddha Jain), a comedian in India

Photo courtesy: Instagram @vicsethi

Kemi Badenoch

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Senior NHS staff encourage South Asians to consider a career in nursing ahead of National Careers Week

Thi s National Careers Week, the 'We Are the N HS' c ampaign is highlighti ng the inspiring stori es of senior South Asian staff and the exc iting an d varied nursi ng roles available across the NH S

When Asha Day’s younger siblings were born prematurely, she knew she had to step up to help her mother “There were always hospital appointments we needed to take the twins to Despite only being 10 years old, I knew how important a good healthcare system was to their survival,” says Asha It was this early experience that inspired Asha to join the NHS She describes how the care, compassion, and kindness shown to her siblings by the NHS nursing team made her want to pursue a career where she could help people too

Now after 40 years of working as a nurse in the NHS, Asha can’t see herself anywhere else “I’m currently in a senior nursing role that I never imagined reaching at the start of my career, ” says Asha, H ead of Internati onal Recruitment, Leicestershi re Partnership NH S Trust / H ead of Nursing, Midwifery & AH Ps I nclusi on, LLR ICB In her day to day role, Asha supports internationally recruited nurses start their career with the NHS

“As part of this, I provide them with clinical training, mentoring, and both emotional and pastoral support,” she says Today, Asha is not only in a job she loves but is helping others pursue their dream job at the NHS too “When I first went into public health, I did notice disparities but there has been a lot of positive change since,” says Asha “Look at all the fantastic international nurses we now have strengthening our workforce!” she says proudly Dr N avina Evans, Chief Workforce O fficer at NHS England, agrees Navina began her career as a psychiatrist with-

in East London Foundation Trust, progressing to consultant psychiatrist, before taking on senior management responsibilities She worked her way up to clinical director and is now the first Asian woman to lead Health Education England

Navina sees the task of correcting racial inequality in the NHS as far greater than a mere boxticking exercise “Diversifying leadership is a start and repeated studies have shown diverse leaderships often perform better,” says Navina To be successful in the NHS, Navina believes in building a meaningful connection with patients and staff, engaging with staff at all levels

of the organisation and keeping patient care at the core of decision making “Nurses are the backbone of the NHS and will always be in high demand” says Navina “The pandemic has highlighted the need for greater versatility and adaptability within healthcare, and we must prioritise senior nursing roles that will help us plan for the long term Right now, there’s a great opportunity for people with the right skill-set and values to join the NHS ”

Like Navina, Asha’s family have been extremely supportive of her career “My family had experienced medical emergencies and understood the importance of nursing so they fully supported my decision as they saw the positive impact I could make,” says Asha, who thinks nursing is a great career option for those thinking about what to do next “Patients often remember the nurse; the encouraging words often spoken, and the daily acts of kindness and compassion shown to them has a lasting impression,” says Asha “The NHS has a range of positions available and plenty of opportunities for you to excel We are the largest employer in the UK and there is a role here for everybody ”

This National Careers Week, the 'We Are the NHS' campaign is highlighting the inspiring stories of senior South Asian staff and the exciting and varied nursing roles available across the NHS.

Could Russia China alliance dominate the world?

As usual, the West is sleep walking into disaster, allowing these two mighty but troublesome giants on economic front, China dominating the world on consumer side while Russia has inexhaustible supply of oil and gas the world needs badly to survive and make progress Moreover Russia is willing to undercut oil prices to make North Sea oil and gas unmarketable without making huge losses that no private enterprise could afford

So where is the West going wrong? One fault is our obsession to be policemen of the world, still dreaming of glory days when sun never used to set on British Empire! Our politicians are weather proof, conscious-proof; indulge in any on-going conflict; whether it is appreciated or not, getting involved in conflict, such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and now Ukraine, a backyard of Russia and integrated part of the old Soviet Union

Now we want to increase our defence budget by a hefty £10 billion when our NHS is starved of finances to acquire the latest equipment that we badly need, still using pre WW2 theatres and equipment unsuitable for 21st century health-care

Sajid Javid, a forward looking former Health and Home Minister at one time; suggested £20 charge for “Face To Face” GP appointment and similar amount while visiting A&E that most GPs have been advocating for a long time, along with B&B charges for hospital admission This is the norm in many countries that enables them to provide NHS on demand, with no waiting list!

These measures will not only exclude time wasters but will provide additional funds to improve our health care after being discharged from hospital where some badly needed 10% beds are occupied by patients who are ready to go home but could not be discharged without appropriate home care, especially elderly patients who live on their own!

It is time for our politicians to wake-up, concentrate on home front and give us NHS we need and deserve!

Bhupe ndr a M Ga ndhi

Growth trajectory of India

Air India orders can boost India’s prowess (AV dated 25 Feb –3 Mar 2023) shows the growth trajectory India is on The l a r g e s t o r d e r o f 4 7 0 a i r c r a f t i s a l i v e e x a m p l e o f t h e commitment of Tata group as well as the opportunities the country is going to provide to not only Indians but also to o t h e r t o u r i s t s a n d t r a v e l l e r s O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , U K Secretary of State Ben Wallace discussed ways to enhance defence industrial cooperation with Rajnath Singh, the defence minister of India

T h e s e e x a m p l e s s h o w t h e e x p e c t e d g r o w t h a n d prosperity India is going to offer in this decade Private sector companies do not invest money only in promises but in prospects They check the fundamentals, long-term growth plan and vision of its leaders, their clarity of thoughts and ease of doing business India has provided all of them

There are people and organisations working against the c o u n t r y t h r o u g h d i f f e r e n t t e c h n i q u e s b y u s i n g N G O s , charities etc but strong and determined leadership will not allow them to fulfil their “dreams” In 2023 and in 2024 till the Loksabha elections these forces will try to damage the country as much as they can but the electorate of India knows very well what is good and what is bad for themselves and for the country

Hitesh Hingu

Earthquakes are unpredictable

Despite greater scientific understanding of earthquakes and the development of various monitoring and warning systems, the disaster in Turkey and Syria shows that earthq u a k e s r e m a i n l a r g e l y u n p r e d i c t a b l e a n d c a n c a u s e tremendous damage to the shoddy infrastructure in most developing countries

We should ensure that our buildings are constructed to the current earthquake-resistant standards which can help reduce damage during an earthquake In most cities in India too, the building codes are not strictly enforced

This can lead to significant damage and loss of life in the event of an earthquake It is important that the municipal a u t h o r i t i e s w o r k t o g e t h e r t o i m p r o v e b u i l d i n g c o d e enforcement and ensure that all buildings, including new constructions and older buildings can withstand earthquakes

Jubel D'C ruz M umbai, India

1983 Cricket World Cup

The 1983 Cricket World Cup victory, 40 years ago is still evergreen We still get goosebumps recalling the visuals, Kapil Dev lifting the world cup, seen in black and white television and colour photos in newspapers and sports magazines which were collectors edition Sports teaches life lessons on leadership and team spirit which cannot be taught in a classroom or YouTube

TS Karthik

C hennai, India

PM Sunak solves the biggest Brexit problem

PM Rishi Sunak succeeds in solving one of the biggest problem facing the United Kingdom

Ever since he became the Prime Minister, Rishi has hardly put a foot wrong Some sections of the British media have been trying very hard to portray him as a failure Not having much luck in their endeavours they have adopted a different approach which is to ignore him Most of the media failed to highlight Rishi’s confident, p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d a r t i c u l a t e p e r s o n a b o t h i n s i d e a n d outside of the parliament His youthful looks camouflages a very sharp, intelligent and a pragmatic individual He has been quietly stamping his authority on the vision he has for the country One of the biggest problem facing the country after leaving the European Union was to resolve the contentious issue of Northern Ireland For those who are unfamiliar with the history of Northern Ireland a little introduction is necessary Northern Ireland has two big communities made up of Catholics and Protestants The Catholics want to merge with Ireland and the Protestants are vehemently opposed to the idea They want to remain part of the United Kingdom Massive violence has taken place between these communities over the last three decades

A s p a r t o f t h e B r e x i t w i t h d r a w a l a g r e e m e n t a Northern Ireland Protocol was signed between the UK and EU This meant that goods from the mainland UK to Northern Ireland would need customs clearance This massively increased the red tape There are 500 pieces of legislation that apply to Northern Ireland but do not apply to the rest of the UK The Protocol was opposed by t h e U n i o n i s t s b e c a u s e t h e y s a w i t a s u n d e r m i n i n g N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d ' s p o s i t i o n w i t h i n t h e U K T h e Democratic Unionist Party in February 2022 withdrew from the Northern Ireland assembly in Stormont The assembly has since been suspended It is the Ministers and civil servants who are managing the affairs of Northern Ireland now This political vacuum has the potential to reignite past troubles It was a matter of urgency to tackle this matter There was an added urgency as on 15 June 2022 the European Union took legal action against the UK for not keeping to the Protocol

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak started to focus on the issue taking advantage of a parliamentary break when MPS were away He engaged with Northern Ireland b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s T h e y f o u n d h i m e n c o u r a g i n g a n d impressive He had intense negotiations with the EU president Ursula Von der Leyen Rishis proposal is to create Green and Red lanes The green lanes would remove all checks and customs controls as well as security and safety certificates for goods going to Northern Ireland from the mainland UK The red lane would be for goods going on to Ireland and the rest of the Europe These would have to go full checks and customs controls The agreement will mean that for the first time since Brexit the UK Parliament will be able to set the Northern Ireland VAT and spell out the state aid policy

A joint statement by PM Rishi Sunak and the EU president Ursula Von der Leyen on Monday 27 February 2023 spelled out the resolution of the dispute It was welcomed by the former Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of the Labour Party Keith Starmer The Northern Ireland minister and hardline Brexiteer Steve Baker said: 'The PM is on the cusp of securing a really fantastic result for everyone involved' The Democratic Unionist Party is studying the agreement closely and it will be under pressure from the business leaders to accept the same quickly

PM Rishi Sunak's diplomacy has brought about a much needed thaw in relations between the UK and the EU It might pave the way to resolving other issues In contrast former PM Boris Johnson wanted to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol unilaterally This was certain to lead towards a trade war between the UK and EU Rishi Sunak has proved himself to be an able leader whose stature is bound to rise on the world stage

Easier reading

I was delighted to see that Asian Voice published three Comment editorials in issue dated 25 Feb-3 March 2023 (page 03) which made for easier reading Better still, why not run four short editorials each week (in larger print, please) to attract more readers to this highly informative page which I find gives useful background to major news developments What is more, on the same page, who can resist the expert views expressed by Alpesh Patel in his “Political S k e t c h b o o k ” I a l w a y s l e a r n s o m e t h i n g n e w a n d interesting from his column

Ash Gupta

£800mn lost in robberies last year

Brit s l ost more t han £800mill ion to robb erie s l ast yea r, research revea ls

The whopping figure is £200million higher compared to five years ago, according to Labour analysis The party blasted Tory cuts to interventions like youth centres that once diverted people away from a life of crime

Shadow Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe in their homes but far too often when robberies happen no action is taken and victims are let down What we need to try and do is make sure people don't commit the crime in the first place And then if they do, we're also trying to pull them out of carrying on with that criminal lifestyle ” Each robbery costs the public an average of £11,320 in public service costs, according to Home Office data The figure includes the losses suffered by victims in lost or damaged property, as well as physical or emotional harm

There were more than 70,000 robberies recorded last year, up from just over 50,000 in 2015 Robbery is the action of stealing something from someone by force or threat of force, as opposed to domestic burglary or theft

Boris Johnson accused of sparking diplomatic rift with President Biden

Bori s Johnson has been accused of sp arking a di plomatic rift wi th U S Pres id ent Joe Bi d en after an extraord i nary “ f*** Ameri ca!” outburst i n the Co mmo ns

He made the remark after being urged to support moves by Rishi Sunak and the EU to solve Brexit problems in Northern Ireland – which are supported by the US President Allies of Mr Johnson have not disputed he made the remarks about the US in a heated exchange with his former Lord Chancellor Sir Robert Buckland It sparked a backlash from Mr Sunak’s supporters who claim Mr Johnson, and his allies are determined to wreck the PM’s Northern Ireland deal “out of spite”

There are also claims that his “f*** America!” comment could hit Mr Johnson’s hopes of earning a fortune in America on the lecture circuit He was paid £277,000 for a speech to a New York bank in November and is in talks with agents to attend further money-spinning events in the US Insiders say this could be damaged if he is seen by patriotic Americans as “anti-US”

The controversy is a repeat of another Brexit rant by Mr Johnson in 2018 when he reportedly said “f*** business!’ in his days as foreign secretary He used the words at a Foreign Office reception to mark the Queen’s birthday after being told businesses were opposed to his proposed so-called “hard Brexit” His response was condemned as “wildly irresponsible” by leading business figures His remark was in response to Sir Robert who had told him it was vital to support Mr Sunak’s drive to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol, partly to smooth relations with the White House

James Bond novels edited following sensitivity review

Racial r efere nces ha ve be en rem ov ed fr om Ian Fle ming’s Jame s Bond nov els following a sen sit ivity r evie w Terms such as the n-word, which featured in his writing from the 1950s and 1960s, have been edited out of new editions of the 007 books, which are set for reissue in April Some depictions of Black people have also been reworked or removed, but references to other ethnicities, including the use of a term for east Asian people and Bond’s mocking views of Oddjob, Goldfinger’s Korean henchman, remain Revised lines include Bond’s assessment in Live and Let Die that African would-be criminals are “pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they’ve drunk too much”, which has been changed to “pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought” However, references to the “sweet tang of rape ” , “blithering women ” , doing a “ man ’ s work”, and homosexuality being described as a “stubborn disability” have been kept in A disclaimer accompanying the new editions is expected to read: “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace ”

The word “fat”, for example, had been cut from every book Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is i n s t e a d d e s c r i b e d a s “ e n o r m o u s ” R e c e n t l y , t h e Q u e e n

Consort forced publisher Puffin UK to back down on its censorship of the author’s work, after she intervened in the row The decision to edit Dahl’s words also attracted criticism from a number of leading literary figures, including Salman Rushdie, who called the edits “absurd”

always If you are new then write to Shefali at shefali saxena@abplgroup com

University of Birmingham launches

Lord Karan Bilimoria (Chancellor’s) Scholarship in India

T h e U ni v e rs it y o f Birmingham is launch ing a unique and p restigiou s new fully-fu nd ed sch olarsh ip, includ ing acco mmod ation expenses, fo r stud ents in Ind ia – offering the w inner a m entoring o p p o r tu ni ty w it h th e U ni v e rs it y ’ s C h a nc el lo r L ord Karan Bilim oria and lead ing alumni

T h e L o r d K a r a n B i l i m o r i a ( C h a n c e l l o r ’ s ) Scholarship will include a full tuition fee waiver and accommodation costs up to the duration of the programme for the winner, as well as four runner-up awards of a £5,000 tuition fee waiver The scholarship is only open to Indian students applyi n g f o r p o s t g r a d u a t e s t u d y p r ogrammes at the University’s campuse s i n B i r m i n g h a m a n d D u b a i Candidates must have a valid offer of s t u d y f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Birmingham

Candidates should have an excell e n t a c a d e m i c t r a c k r e c o r d a n d demonstrate that they have overc o m e c h a l l e n g i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s They should also have an innovative idea that can solve some of the complex challenges facing both the UK and India Successful applicants who reach the final round will be asked to submit a three-minute video answering two key questions:

• What challenges have you overcome in life?

• What innovation would you suggest to solve a challenge faced by India and the UK?

Launching the Scholarship, Lord Bilimoria commented: “I am hugely p r o u d o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B i r m i n g h a m ’ s e d u c a t i o n p a r t n e rs h i p s i n I n d i a a n d d e l i g h t e d t o launch this exceptional opportunity to encourage outstanding individuals to join us – whether at our iconic new campus in Dubai or our beautiful historic campus in Birmingham

“Our University’s motto is ‘ per ardua ad alta’ which translates as ‘through adversity to high things’ This is a sentiment which inspires us, as we begin our search for scholarship candidates who have beaten the odds to achieve academic excellence and can demonstrate an innovative idea with the potential to solve any of the complex challenges facing both India and the UK

“I look forward to meeting the

2400 UK visas for Indians available under Young Professionals scheme

L as t T u es d ay , th e U K

successful candidate and it will be a particular pleasure to mentor them as they set out on their voyage of educational discovery with the University of Birmingham and become successful leaders ” Applications are now o p e n T h e U n i v e r s i t y ’ s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h I n d i a dates to 1909 when the first cohort of Indian stud e n t s a r r i v e d i n Birmingham to study for degrees in Mining and Commerce It now has more than 2,000 Indian alumni and some of India’s most distinguished and finest minds were educated at Birmingham, including Mr Ajit Kumar Seth, 30th Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of India, and acclaimed writer and critic, the late Dr U R Ananthamurthy

The University of Birmingham has several significant partnerships in India, underpinned by its India Institute which aims to increase the visibility, impact and coherence of B i r m i n g h a m ’ s e n g a g e m e n t i n t h e country

A l e x E l l i s , B r i t i s h H i g h Commissioner to India, said: “I am d e l i g h t e d t h a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Birmingham is further strengthening its engagement in India with this scholarship What a fantastic opportunity for the successful candidate in being mentored by an icon of UKIndian business, Lord Bilimoria ”

Shamim Begum’s fight to get back cancelled citizenship will continue

S h a m i m a B eg u m , th e British -born teenag er w ho travelled from her hom e in Bethnal Green, east Lo nd on, to join th e terror group ISIS in 20 15, has lost an app eal to restore her British citizensh ip S h a m i m a B e g u m ' s lawyer has declared the fight is "nowhere near over" after her bid to have her British c i t i z e n s h i p g i v e n b a c k failed Ms Begum's lawyers have insisted the legal battle i s " n o w h e r e n e a r o v e r " adding that "there's no limit to the challenges" that can be undertaken

In a statement, Gareth Pierce and Daniel Furner, f r o m B i r n b e r g P i e r c e S o l i c i t o r s , s a i d : " W e , t h e lawyers entrusted with the representation of Ms Begum in circumstances of extreme difficulty, register our prof o u n d d i s a g r e e m e n t w i t h the decision taken by the home secretary in 2019 and t h e d i m i n u t i o n b y t h e Supreme Court of the ability of the Special Immigration A p p e a l s C o m m i s s i o n t o c o n s i d e r h e r l e g a l c h a l -

lenges

" T h e o u t c o m e i s t h a t there is now no protection for a British child trafficked out of the UK if the home secretary invokes national security Regrettably, this is a lost opportunity to put into reverse a profound mis-

take and a continuing injustice

Devyani Prabhat, a professor at the University of

Bristol Law School, said the ruling in Shamima Begum's case is far from the end of the legal issues, as this will be followed by appeals and o t h e r p r o c e e d i n g s b y h e r team", adding: "It only highlights the complexity of the issues and is one step in a l o n g j o u r n e y i n B e g u m ' s cancellation of citizenship proceedings " T h e " w i d e d i s c r e t i o n " given to home secretaries to d e p r i v e s o m e o n e o f t h e i r B r i t i s h c i t i z e n s h i p o n n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y g r o u n d s makes it "quite difficult to c h a l l e n g e t h i s , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n t h e r e i s e v i d e n c e which is secret or not publicly available", she said

Gov ernm ent invited 2,40 0 visa applications for Indians und er t h e U K - In d i a Y o u n g P ro fessi onals Sch em e U nder t h e sc h em e, In d i an c i ti ze ns between 1 8 and 30 years old can live and work in the U K for up to tw o years

A n I n d i a Y o u n g P r o f e s s i o n a l s S c h e m e v i s a allows Indian citizens between 18 and 30 years old to live and work in the UK for up to 2 y e a r s A c a n d i d a t e m u s t b e s e l e c t e d i n t h e I n d i a Y o u n g P r o f e s s i o n a l s S c h e m e b a l l o t before they can apply for this visa To enter the ballot they must declare that they’re eligible for the visa

To be eligible for the visa, a candidate must be an Indian citizen, be between 18 and 30 years old, have an eligible qualification and have £2,530 in savings There is an Indian Young P r o f e s s i o n a l s S c h e m e b a l l o t system under which there are 2 , 4 0 0 v i s a s a v a i l a b l e i n t h e February ballot The results of the ballot are final One cannot appeal if they are unsuccessful T h e s u c c e s s f u l c a n d i d a t e will need to apply for their visa by the deadline given in the invitation to apply This is usually 30 days after you get the invitation He or she must travel to the UK within 6 months of applying for your visa After

applying online, proving identity and providing documents, the candidate usually gets a decision on their visa within 3 weeks

Every successful candidate will need to pay the application fee of £259, pay a healthcare surcharge of £940, and prove that they have £2,530 in personal savings The application fee w i l l n o t b e r e f u n d e d i f t h e a p p l i c a t i o n i s r e j e c t e d Candidates will be given a visa to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months

If a candidate turns 31 after their visa is issued, then they can stay in the UK for as long as the visa is valid

Successful candidates can: study - for some courses you’ll need an Academic Technology

A p p r o v a l S c h e m e c e r t i f i c a t e , w o r k i n m o s t j o b s , b e s e l femployed and set up a company - as long as your premises are rented, your equipment is not worth more than £5,000 a n d y o u d o n o t h a v e a n y e m p l o y e e s T h e y c a n n o t , e x t e n d t h e i r s t a y , a p p l y f o r most benefits (public funds), or include family members on the application - they must apply separately and work as a prof e s s i o n a l s p o r t s p e r s o n ( f o r example as a coach) Eligibility can be checked on the UK government website

Chaotic scenes at schools after a rule requires girls in period to use toilet pass

A sch ool w as d am aged after riots broke out over a rule expecting girls on their period to use a “red card pass ” to go to the toilet

O n e p a r e n t s a i d h e r d a u g h t e r , w h o a t t e n d s C a s t l e V i e w S c h o o l i n Canvey Island, Essex, was denied the use of a toilet during lesson time while on h e r p e r i o d T h e p a r e n t a d d e d t h a t h e r s e c o n d d a u g h t e r , e n r o l l e d a t t h e s a m e s c h o o l , w a s a l s o denied access, despite havi n g a n i n c u r a b l e a u t o i mm u n e c o n d i t i o n a f f e c t i n g h e r b o w e l s T h e m o t h e r told: “There are long queues to use the toilets at break t i m e s w h i c h m e a n s k i d s can’t get lunch and use the toilet in the same allocated

time ”

Videos posted to social m e d i a c a p t u r e d c h a o t i c scenes at the school, with children crowding in a field chanting: “Free our bladders because we matter”

More footage shows stud e n t s f i l i n g o u t o f c l a s sr o o m s i n t o h a l l s , b e f o r e gathering in corridors

S t e v e D u r k i n , t h e school’s head teacher, told: “Pupils are able to access all toilets before school, break times and after school If a pupil requires access to the t o i l e t d u r i n g l e s s o n t i m e , t h e y r e q u e s t a p a s s f r o m t h e i r t e a c h e r a n d a r e allowed access ”

Meanwhile, in Banbury, Oxfordshire, The Warriner School was forced to close

Demand for free school meals to all London primary schools

A g ro w i n g nu m b er o f Labour MPs are calling for S ad i q K h a n ’ s d e ci s io n to pro vid e free scho ol meals for all primary sch ool pu pils in Londo n to be rolled out acro ss England

T h e L o n d o n m a y o r a n n o u n c e d t h e y e a r - l o n g £ 1 3 0 m i l l i o n s c h e m e , describing it as an emergency measure in response to t h e r i s i n g c o s t o f l i v i n g " T h e c o s t o f l i v i n g c r i s i s means families and children across our city are in desperate need of additional support,” said Khan

"I have repeatedly urged the government to provide free school meals to help already stretched families, but they have simply failed to act " He added: "The difference they can make to children who are at risk of going hungry – and to families who are struggling to make ends meet – is truly game-changing " London has some of the highest rates of child poverty rates in the country –w i t h 5 6 % o f c h i l d r e n i n

Tower Hamlets below the poverty line, according to

t h e J o s e p h R o w n t r e e Foundation (JRF) A numb e r o f L a b o u r M P s h a v e welcomed Mr Khan’s intervention, urging the governm e n t t o i m p l e m e n t t h e same policy nationwide A c o a l i t i o n o f c h a r i t i e s –

i n c l u d i n g S a v e T h e

Children and Shelter – have warned that one in four UK homes are going without essentials amid the worsening cost of living crisis

A D o w n i n g S t r e e t spokesperson defended its record on the issue – but d i d n o t r u l e o u t f u t u r e changes

According to the JRF, 4 3m children in the UK live in poverty – with data from t h e F o o d F o u n d a t i o n i n

September 2022 revealing

4m children living in food insecurity in the UK

a f t e r a n g r y p r o t e s t s f r o m parents and students over a ban on girls wearing skirts and a “gender neutral” PE kit that led to police being called

Optician saves girl’s life during a routine eye test

9 - ye ar- o ld P o p p y -M ay L eeds’ fatal brain condition was accid entally yet fortunately spotted by optician M rud ang Patel when she came to visit him during a r eg u la r c h ec k- u p

A cco rding to Patel’ s observ ation, P oppy was close to h a v i ng a se iz u re d u e to hydrocephalus, a build-up of flu id in the brain

A f t e r c h e c k i n g h e r , Patel sent her to an emergency eye clinic for an MRI s c a n T h e r e s u l t s c o nfirmed his fears, and Poppy w a s r u s h e d t o K i n g ’ s C o l l e g e H o s p i t a l i n London for an operation to drain the fluid

P a t e l , o f S c r i v e n s

Opticians & Hearing Care branch in Herne Bay, Kent, told The Metro: “We are trained to look for a range of conditions, but this was rare I was concerned when I s a w a n a p p e a r a n c e o f p a p i l l o e d e m a T h i s i s

swelling of the optic nerves at the back of the eye as a r e s u l t o f i n c r e a s e d intracranial pressure ”

10 year old embarks on a humanitarian journey to support Ukrainian children

1 0 -y ea r- o ld M i lan P au l K u m ar , w ho is in Krako w Poland, on a h umanitarian journey to su pport U krainian children and show them they still have our support a year o n

"Last year I washed cars with Greater Manchester Fire Service and donated my pocket money to F i r s t N e w s U k r a i n e S c h o o l s Appeal," said Milan

M i l a n a d d e d , " A y e a r h a s passed and I wanted to do more for

amounts of stationery and books

T r a i l f i n d e r s a n d J e t 2 A i r w a y s a r r a n g e d f o r a n e x t r a l u g g a g e allowance

Price of London's transport maps are soaring like stock prices

It was an honour and privilege t o m e e t w i t h W i a c z e s l a w W o j n a r o w s k y j i n K r a k o w T h e whole world #StandwithUkraine "

Old London Undergro und maps are soaring in price, wi th some no w f et ch i n g n ear ly £ 1 , 0 0 0 according to an exp ert In the past fiv e years, Tube maps have gone up by 20 -25 per cent ev ery year and th e trend is conti nu ing , a staff member at Storey's, a shop that sp e ci a li s es i n r are an d a nti q ue o ri g i nal m ap s and p r in ts , h as revealed

A map of the Piccadilly line dating back to the 1970s could go for as much as £950, whereas five years ago it would only have sold for around £150, according to the staff member who didn't want to b e n a m e d A f u l l 1 2 m x 9 4 c m

p e r s o n , f o r g e t s t a m p s - c o l l e c t London transport maps because they are going up regularly more than stocks and shares "

Ukraine and for them to know they still have our support " A s a D i a n a A w a r d 2 0 2 2 R e c i p i e n t a n d 2 0 2 2 # i w i l l A m b a s s a d o r f o r s o c i a l a n d humanitarian action, Milan asked his parents to arrange a visit to Poland to help support Ukrainian children

Milan started his humanitarian journey at the Ukrainian Centre in B o l t o n T e s c o s t a f f a n d t h e N a t i o n a l L i t e r a c y T r u s t , a l o n g with authors, have donated huge

M i l a n w a s i n v i t e d f o r h i s e f f o r t s t o t h e c o n s u l a t e b y W i a c z e s l a w W o j n a r o w s k y j , General Consulate of Ukraine in Krakow

Milan was then taken to visit a newly built school for Ukrainian c h i l d r e n , v i s i t e d c l a s s r o o m , interacted with Ukrainian women a n d c h i l d r e n , r e a d b o o k s a n d handed out the donated stationery and books which was gratefully received

Most importantly I made lots of new Ukrainian friends who I will visit again," beamed Milan Daxa, Milan's mum added, " Our support means so much to the U k r a i n i a n p e o p l e w h o o n e d a y soon hope to rebuild Ukraine " Milan concluded, " Ukrainian c h i l d r e n h a v e r e s i l i e n c e t h a t I admire Imagine having to flee y o u r h o m e , c o u n t r y , l e a v e e v e r y t h i n g b e h i n d a n d i n m o s t cases your dads and brothers " M i l a n h a s d o c u m e n t e d h i s journey on social media and had thousands of views

Mayor announces funding for up to 600 new homes for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees

Th e M a y or of Lo n do n, Sa di q Khan, has announced funding for up to 600 new homes in London for Ukrai nians and Afghans who ha ve f le d c o n fl i c t a n d a r e homeles s, at ri sk of homelessness or living in unsuitable temporary accommodati on City Hall, Trafalgar Square, t h e L o n d o n E y e a n d o t h e r London landmarks were lit up to join an international moment of s o l i d a r i t y w i t h U k r a i n i a n s i n London and abroad

T h e N a t i o n a l T h e a t r e , O x o T o w e r a n d S o u t h b a n k C e n t r e were lit up in Ukrainian colours, a n d t h e c a p i t a l ’ s w o r l d - f a m o u s screens at both Piccadilly Circus and Outernet sent a message of solidarity to all those impacted by the invasion of Ukraine S a d i q a l s o a t t e n d e d a c o m m e m o r a t i v e s e r v i c e a t t h e U k r a i n i a n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h , w h i c h w a s a t t e n d e d b y t h e U k r a i n i a n A m b a s s a d o r , f a i t h leaders and Ukrainian refugees

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

Mayor has been allocated £126m f r o m t h e G o v e r n m e n t ’ s £ 5 0 0 m

Local Authority Housing Fund to e n a b l e b o r o u g h s a n d h o u s i n g a s s o c i a t i o n s t o d e l i v e r 6 0 0 affordable homes for Ukrainians and Afghans fleeing conflict In London the programme will be known as the Refugee Housing Programme (RHP), and will run until 31 March 2024

H o u s i n g a s s o c i a t i o n s a n d l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s w h o h a v e a n

ambition to develop RHP homes will be able to bid for funding f r o m e a r l y s p r i n g T h e programme will fund new home a c q u i s i t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g r e f u r b i s h i n g e x i s t i n g o r n e w l y acquired homes, purchasing newb u i l d p r o p e r t i e s o r d e v e l o p i n g new homes Individual funding allocations will be approved and administered by City Hall

T h e p r o g r a m m e w i l l a l s o make funding available for local a u t h o r i t i e s a n d h o u s i n g a s s o c i a t i o n s t o p r o v i d e b e t t e r q u a l i t y a n d m o r e s u s t a i n a b l e accommodation for households currently in Home Office bridging accommodation This will often be for larger homes, given the average family size of those in bridging accommodation

In the longer term, the homes delivered through the RHP will be returned to councils and housing associations to become social or affordable rented homes available f o r L o n d o n e r s o n t h e h o u s i n g w a i t i n g l i s t o r w h o r e q u i r e

temporary accommodation

Rents charged to refugees will be affordable All Ukrainian and Afghan scheme arrivals have the right to work, receive benefits and access public services

The Mayor of London, Sadi q K ha n , s a i d : “ O n t h i s t r a g i c milestone - the first anniversary o f t h e R u s s i a n i n v a s i o n o f U k r a i n e - o u r c i t y s t a n d s i n solidarity with millions around t h e w o r l d i n s u p p o r t o f t h e

innocent people of Ukraine Our l a n d m a r k s h a v e b e e n l i t i n Ukrainian colours and our worldf a m o u s b i l l b o a r d s a r e p o s t i n g messages in honour and solidarity with all those impacted by the o n g o i n g w a r , w h i c h t r a g i c a l l y c o n t i n u e s t o c a u s e s o m u c h suffering

“I’m committed to supporting refugees who have come here to r e b u i l d t h e i r l i v e s a n d d o everything I can to help them thrive in their local community That’s why I’ve announced a new programme which will see City Hall deliver up to 600 affordable h o m e s f o r U k r a i n i a n s a n d Afghans fleeing conflict, giving t h o s e w h o h a v e b e e n t h r o u g h s u c h h a r r o w i n g u p h e a v a l t h e stability they deserve

“I’m doing all I can to build a b e t t e r a n d f a i r e r L o n d o n f o r e v e r y o n e b y h e l p i n g c o u n c i l s h o u s e r e f u g e e s t h r o u g h m y existing Right to Buy-back fund, a n d I ’ m h e l p i n g m i g r a n t s a n d r e f u g e e s n a v i g a t e t h e c o m p l e x immigration system by funding advice services to provide new a r r i v a l s w i t h k e y i n f o r m a t i o n about their rights However, there are still too many refugees living i n u n s u i t a b l e a c c o m m o d a t i o n W e n e e d t h e G o v e r n m e n t t o urgently step up and provide the right funding to local authorities, t h e v o l u n t a r y s e c t o r a n d i m m i g r a t i o n a d v i c e s e r v i c e s s o that every refugee in need has the home and support they need ”

London Underground map quad p o s t e r d a t i n g b a c k t o 1 9 7 3 i s available for £950, and Tube maps meant to go up inside trains from as recent as 2016 are selling on the Storey's website for £200 - such as this Circle and Hammersmith & City Line map L o n d o n U n d e r g r o u n d m a p s are selling so well that the staff member advised: If you want to collect something now as a young

The staff member explained that it's not unusual for a company not to realise the collectible value of the items they use every day He u n d e r s t a n d s t h e m a p s a r e supposed to be destroyed when the n e x t b a t c h i s p r i n t e d , b u t t h i s clearly doesn't always happen as some maps make it out and stores like Storey's pick them up Vintage Tube maps in general appear to be gold dust, but certain maps prove more difficult to find than others For example, Storey's haven't been able to get a Victoria line map dating back earlier than 2012 The mystery continues

Britons head to Greece in postpandemic revenge tourism

UK t ra ve ll er s a re le a di ng an extraordinary rebound in tou rism to Greece with arrivals up by 18 1% la s t y e ar , a c co rdi n g to th e country’s central bank A l m o s t 4 5 m i l l i o n B r i t o n s w e r e r e g i s t e r e d a t G r e e k e n t r y p o i n t s , a r e c o r d n u m b e r a n d nearly 3 million more than in 2021

For the first time, UK tourists edged out Germans – who have topped the visitor league tables in Greece for decades – in what some are calling a defiant display of post-pandemic “ revenge ” tourism

“In terms of Greece, the Brits are leading the way, ” the nation’s tourism minister, Vassilis Kikilias, told the Guardian “And they’re b i g s p e n d e r s ” C e n t r a l b a n k figures released recently showed UK visitors generating over €3bn (£2 65bn) in tourism revenues in 2022, more than twice the amount they spent the previous year

“Yes, there may be an energy crisis, and very high inflation and a

war in the heart of Europe with h o u s e h o l d s f o r c e d t o m a k e savings,” said Kikilias “But the d a t a s h o w s t h a t B r i t s a r e n ’ t s a c r i f i c i n g t h e i r s u m m e r holidays ” Prior to the pandemic, just under 3 5 million UK citizens v i s i t e d G r e e c e i n 2 0 1 9 , i t s e l f a r e c o r d y e a r i n w h i c h a s t i l l u n p r e c e d e n t e d 3 3 1 m i l l i o n tourists descended on the country – more than three times Greece’s entire population

Greece was among the most visited places on Earth in 2022 US travellers returned en masse, with t h e p r o l o n g e d t o u r i s t s e a s o n beginning in March and ending in late November

P o s t - B r e x i t , A n g l o - G r e e k relations have additionally evolved – with both governments, for the first time, engaging in talks over the possible return to Athens of t h e w e s t e r n w o r l d ’ s m o s t contested piece of art: the fifthcentury BC Parthenon marbles

Mayor asks for medical appointments after 9am for over 60s

S ad i q K h an h as w ri tte n t o NH S ho sp itals and d o ctor su r g eri e s ac ro s s Londo n u rg ing them to o f fe r af te rno o n ap p o i nt m en ts t o eld erl y p eo p l e He pitched th e idea as an alt ern at iv e t o reinstating free trav el be fo re 9a m fo r h o ld e rs o f th e 60 + Oys te r o r F r eed om Pass

Sadiq Khan

A research previously found that most journeys made by elderly people in London before 9am were not for leisure, with two in three journeys made to attend a health a p p o i n t m e n t ( 3 1 p e r c e n t ) , f o r work (28 per cent) or due to caring r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ( 8 p e r c e n t ) I t s C E O A b i g a i l W o o d t o l d

MyLondon in January that it was d e v a s t a t i n g t h e v o i c e o f o l d e r

L o n d o n e r s h a d b e e n 'ignored' by City Hall

Mr Khan defended his decision, as he explained t h e C o n s e r v a t i v e government said it was u n f a i r L o n d o n e r s o v e r 60 had free bus travel but in most of the rest of England, free bus travel is only available after the state pension age H e a d d e d t h a t h e "wasn't willing" to inflict further financial damage o n o l d e r L o n d o n e r s b y p r o g r e s s i v e l y i n c r e a s i n g t h e eligible age for free bus travel until it matched the rest of the country H e c o n c l u d e d : " D i a l - A - R i d e c o n t i n u e s t o s e r v e o l d e r Londoners, but it is the case I'm afraid that we aren't able to bring back free travel for those above the age of 60 between 4 30am and 9am

Paramita Purkayastha

Jay Th ap ar d oes no t consider himself a celebrity But he is a trailblazer alright- sh irki n g t h e t rad it io n al c are er ch oices expected o f a man b or n i n a B rit is h P un jab i f am il y, h e d id h i s BA H o no u r s i n F a sh i o n P rom otion & Im ag ery at the U niv ersity of C reative A rts in Epsom He th en went on to w ork for Diesel, Prem ier M o d el M a nag em e nt, S uperdry, and Instinct, with a s le w o f b ig na m es l i ke R ep l ay J ean s an d M a li bu R u m Re ce ntl y, h e w a s appo inted by L’ Oréal as the S enior A dv ocacy Manager to launch its recently-acquired lu xu ry v eg an and cru eltyfree skincare brand ‘ Youth T o T h e P eo p le ’ i n th e U nited Kingd om He had an e xcl u si v e c h at wi th A si an V oice about what m ad e him s u rv iv e h is d i ff ic u l t l if e c h o i c es , w h at m ak es h i m d ifferent, and wh at driv es h im

To raise aw areness in h idden com munities and push activ ism

Speaking of what motivated him to take up fashion as a career, he told us: “I w a n t e d t o c h a l l e n g e t h e industry and even my own communities- the LGBTQ space, as well as a South

A s i a n s p a c e , b y b r i n g i n g these hidden voices to life

And that's what inspired me s o m u c h o n m y j o u r n e y

That's what's led me to join

L ’ O r e a l & Y o u t h T o T h e

People as I want to raise awareness in hidden communities and push activism

It's beyond beauty for me

And if I can help change the f a c e o f b e a u t y , a n d h e l p d i v e r s i t y a n d i n c l u s i v i t y , that would make me proud

That's my mission in life ”

A leadership role

B e i n g i n a l e a d e r s h i p role only enables him to give more “I feel like being in PR, you have the power to fuel racism, you are able to have the casting eye for what is on trend and setting new

Inclusivity at the heart of morals

Telling stories for all: An interview with Jay Thapar

trends and for me, I want to b r i n g c o m m u n i t i e s l i k e I n d i a n , P a k i s t a n i , B l a c k , C h i n e s e , t o t h e f o r e f r o n t because they're so neglected in representation in the UK Having one person of colour o n a c a m p a i g n i s n o t enough Like why is there only one influencer or one m o d e l w h o ' s r e p r e s e n t i n g ‘diversity’ on a campaign?

There are thousands of peop l e w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s W h y can’t they also be on that campaign? I am at the table as one of the decision-makers, and I can impact that, and that's why I chose that pathway The reality is in t h o s e o f f i c e s S o m e t i m e s you have brands that crea t i v e l y c a s t a n d p r o d u c e ‘ d i v e r s e ’ c a m p a i g n s b u t internally their staff do not r e p r e s e n t t h e m a r k e t i n g they are portraying

In my early days, my cultural experience wasn't seen as valid enough And then when it came to influencer c u l t u r e a n d c e l e b r i t y c u lture, within PR, these people weren't even looked at The honchos were like, “Oh, we don't need them They don't drive sales ” I've faced s o m u c h r a c i s m i n t h e s e roles in my previous jobs, I ' v e h e a r d h o r r i b l e t h i n g s where they said Indian peo-

ple don't generate sales and white, blonde girls do The rates have always been lower for people of colour And I really want to stress that ” On mentoring young people

He also told us that he w o u l d l o v e t o m e n t o r younger people who are different Coming out to his I n d i a n - b o r n m i d d l e - c l a s s parents at the age of seventeen as gay, and then pursuing a career in the flashy w o r l d o f f a s h i o n w i t h o u t a n y c o n n e c t i o n o r b a c kground deserves to be recogn i z e d a s i n s p i r a t i o n a l indeed “There is a lot of nepotism’, he says, “ just like Bollywood in India I interned for a year for free just to get in My family has absolutely no connection to t h i s w h e r e a s m o s t p e o p l e h e r e a r e c o n n e c t e d a n d t h e y ' r e f r o m b o a r d i n g s c h o o l s , a n d t h e y ' r e f r o m money And I had to face a lot in societies like these I was interning whilst I was at university in my final year I was only meant to be there for a month It was part of my module at university, but I s t a y e d o n f o r a y e a r b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e r e a l l y i m p r e s s e d b y m y w o r k W h e n y o u ' r e a j u n i o r i n f a s h i o n y o u t h i n k , w o w ,

Hamza Yousaf says he is not against gay marriages

One of three cand idates eyeing to take ov er from Nicola S turg eo n as th e lead er o f S NP says his absence from a key vote on g ay m arriage is being "dragged u p" for political reasons

Humza Yousaf said that his abstention from the final vote on equal marriage in Scotland in 2014 is being raised by "people who are s u p p o r t i n g o t h e r c a n d idates

That probably tells you a b o u t t h e m o t i v a t i o n behind it", he added

Asked twice whether gay sex is a sin, Mr Yousaf, a practising Muslim who says h e w i l l b e f a s t i n g d u r i n g Ramadan, replied: "No "

He told Sophy Ridge in

Humza Yousaf

an interview, "I believe that people's marriage, if they are gay, and they are married, t h a t t h e i r m a r r i a g e i s n o more inferior, or worth less, than my marriage as a heterosexual individual

"So no, I don't subscribe to that view (that gay sex is a

they must really love me I just stayed because, in my head, I was like, “I'm going stay till they give me a job” I was interning and working a S a t u r d a y j o b i n a c l o t h e s shop and studying on top of that So, it was a lot of pressure And the actual internship was basically a PR assistant role, which I'm glad I did I learned a lot and yes, it was rewarding because I got a job in the end, but it was a n e a r l y e x p e r i e n c e f o r sure ” T aking South Asian identity to o far He is wary about taking his South Asian identity too far though “In the UK when they pick talent or cast people who are Indian, they've got mehndi on their hands, b i n d i s o n t h e i r f o r e h e a d s and sarees with trainers to look more ‘indian’ I'm really conscious of that When I work with people, it doesn't a l w a y s h a v e t o b e a b o u t waving the Indian flag And let's be honest, no one is dressing in India by pairing trainers with a saree I try and bring all this into storytelling For example, I'm tryi n g t o b r i n g i n k e y U K moments and cast them in my projects and in my brand a c t i v a t i o n s O b v i o u s l y , India is so flamboyant, it's so extrovert in its display within fashion and textiles,

a n d i t ' s g o t a h e r i t a g e behind it I've always tried to bring that to my work We're very hot on loyalty and responsibility There is t h a t e l e m e n t t o i t t o o Within the craftsmanship, j u s t b e i n g f o u n d e d f o r a long time is a heritage to me, it's like family, age, with a variety of people, different experiences, and different l i f e s t y l e s I ' m f r o m a b i g family myself where I'm the only creative one ” Inclu sivi ty at the heart o f mo rals So what makes him diff e r e n t ? T r e a t i n g h u m a n b e i n g s a s s u c h , f r o m h i s words “For me, I genuinely care about inclusivity, it is at the heart of my morals I'm not here to be the next big name I want this to be a genuine representation and genuine storytelling I want t o m a k e o u r c o m m u n i t y proud We're not known and r e c o g n i z e d i n m a i n s t r e a m f a s h i o n o r b e a u t y i n t h e West I feel like we've got a long way to go for that In my early years, I got to work o n a n a n t i - b u l l y i n g c a mp a i g n w i t h D i e s e l t h a t starred Nicki Minaj From there I got to dress amazing talents like Stormzy, Stefflon Don, and Jorja Smith, and at that time, I was a really early adopter of VIP dress talent who was classed as ‘urban’

The reason why celebrities like or liked working with m e i n t h a t c a p a c i t y i s because a lot of brands don't d r e s s t h e m a n d r e f u s e t o d r e s s t h e m b e c a u s e t h e industry can be quite racist T h e y d o n ’ t w a n t ‘ t h a t crowd’, as they say So by doing that, I gained some r e a l l y g o o d c e l e b r i t y c o ntacts because I was the pioneer And then, other brands w o u l d p i c k t h a t u p A n d then as soon as I did it, those competitor brands suddenly jumped in on the wave Another cool example of u n c o n v e n t i o n a l c a s t i n g I worked on as PR I got to w o r k w i t h a t a l e n t f o r a m e d i a p u b l i c a t i o n S c r e e n S h o t f o r a n a n t i - b u l l y i n g campaign I cast talents such a s f a m o u s p o r n s t a r J o s h Moore, and beauty activists Harnaam Kaur, Zain Shah a n d S o p h i a H a d j i p a n t e l i who got to speak about hate and online bullying And it was a good awareness piece b e c a u s e o b v i o u s l y , w h o would normally cast a porn star? They also have a huge i n f l u e n c e , b u t t r a d i t i o n a l m a r k e t e r s w o u l d i g n o r e someone like this But those p e o p l e a l s o g e t s o m u c h hate Putting the spotlight on niche talent and cultural moments by challenging the m a r k e t i n g s y s t e m i s m y approach to PR ”

sin) " Regarding religious concerns about homosexuality, h e s a i d , " I c a n ' t c h a n g e what's in scripture What I can tell you is the approach I will take which is that I will not allow personal faith to be the basis of legislation "

Asked about his absence f r o m t h e 2 0 1 4 v o t e , M r Yousaf said he attended a m e e t i n g t o t r y t o g e t a Scottish citizen, who was in P a k i s t a n o n b l a s p h e m y , and who had been attacked o n d e a t h r o w , b a c k t o Scotland

O n e o f M r Y o u s a f ' s rivals, Kate Forbes, a practising Christian, has reportedly said she does not believe in "sex outside marriage"

Jay Thapar with Stefflon Don

House of Commons first female Speaker dies at 93

Baroness Betty Boo throyd, the f i rs t w o m a n t o be e le ct ed S p e ak er o f th e Ho u s e o f C omm ons, has d ied aged 93

T h e c u r r e n t S p e a k e r S i r

Lindsay Hoyle paid tribute to Lady Boothroyd as “ one of a k i n d ” S h e b e c a m e t h e f i r s t woman Speaker in April 1992, s t a y i n g o n i n t h e r o l e u n t i l

October 2000 Sir Lindsay said: “Not only was Betty Boothroyd an inspiring woman, but she was also an inspirational politician, and someone I was proud to call my friend ”

B a r o n e s s B o o t h r o y d w a s b o r n o n O c t o b e r 8 1 9 2 9 i n

Dewsbury, West Yorkshire She was the only daughter of mill workers and her father was a trade unionist Describing her political upbringing she once said: “I came out of the womb

parliament –in Leicester South East in 1957, Peterborough in 1959, Nelson and Colne in 1968, and Rossendale in 1970 - she was finally elected as Labour MP for West Bromwich in May

1973

Mohan Lal Kashmiri-A polymath & first Indian to be photographed

Baroness Boothroyd

into the Labour movement ”

A f t e r a b r i e f c a r e e r a s a dancer, she worked in Labour MP Barbara Castle’s office and on the campaign to elect John F Kennedy as President of the United States Following four unsuccessful attempts to enter

I n 1 9 8 7 B a r o n e s s Boothroyd became a Deputy S p e a k e r u n d e r t h e S p e a k e r Bernard Weatherill Five years later she was the first woman t o b e e l e c t e d S p e a k e r Traditionally everyone to hold to position wore a full bottom wig, however she chose not to No Speaker since has worn the headpiece B a r o n e s s B o o t h r o y d h a s been an integral part of the P o l i t i c a l a n d P u b l i c L i f e Awards, especially in 2013 The Awards held annually in the Parliament especially in 2013

Raab denies charges of bullying, offers to resign if found guilty

D ep u t y P r i m e M i n is te r D o m i ni c Raa b h as s ai d h e w ould resig n if an inquiry finds h e has bu llied civ il serv ants

A senior lawyer is investigating eight complaints of bullying against Mr Raab, who was appointed deputy prime minister and justice secretary last October When asked if he was a bully, on a TV show, Mr Raab r e p l i e d " n o " , s a y i n g h e h a d always "behaved professionally" He told "if an allegation of b u l l y i n g i s u p h e l d , I w o u l d resign"

A s k e d w h e t h e r t h e r e

should be "more plain speaking in politics", he replied: "Yes, a b s o l u t e l y " I t w a s r i g h t f o r m i n i s t e r s t o " c h a l l e n g e a s s u m p t i o n s a n d t e s t i d e a s " when working with civil servants, he added The bullying complaints relate to Mr Raab's previous periods as justice secr e t a r y a n d f o r e i g n s e c r e t a r y under Boris Johnson, and his time as Brexit secretary under Theresa May Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union - which represents civil servants - dismissed Mr Raab's comments

Abhiroop Sengupta

Abhiroop Sengupta is a Kolkata based entrepreneur, fencer, amateur historian and writer Also a devoted Freemason and Rotarian, he spends most of his free time researching about varied subjects, especially those which he feels did not get their deserved due in the course of history

Long long time ago, at a ti me when the world was a different place a man from India des ired an adventurous li fe H e was born a commoner, but he longed for a li fe which was not As a c hild he probably aspired to be a spy, an explorer, a states man, an author and a forerunner of female education and last but not least probably the first I ndi an ever to be photographed In the pages of hi s t or y , h e b e c a me k n ow n as Mohan Lal Kashmiri

Mr Penman told: "The picture he paints is that everything is fine in the civil service and the relationship between ministers and civil servants is OK That's not the picture civil servants speak of, that's not their experience "

Woman accused of fraudulently claiming £389k out on bail

A w oman who liv es two miles away from Grenfell Tower has appeared in court accused o f fraud ulently claim ing support for surv ivors of the 2017 fire

S a l m a S a i d , 4 8 , f r o m Kensington, allegedly pretended to have lost her home in the devastating blaze as part of a s t r i n g o f f a l s e c l a i m s w h i c h n e t t e d h e r m o r e t h a n £389,000 Prosecutors say her story was backed up by two o t h e r p e o p l e , 3 5 - y e a r - o l d R a w d a S a i d a n d 3 8 - y e a r - o l d Makrem Harzi, both also from K e n s i n g t o n , w h o a p p e a r e d a l o n g s i d e h e r c h a r g e d w i t h assisting an offender

Salma Said is also accused

of making a dishonest claim through the Right to Buy housi n g s c h e m e i n B a r n e t i n

September 2017, three months after the fire which killed 72 people She is charged with six counts of fraud by false repres e n t a t i o n s a i d t o h a v e b e e n committed between 2014 and 2 0 1 8 T h e t h r e e d e f e n d a n t s a p p e a r e d i n W e s t m i n s t e r M a g i s t r a t e s ’ C o u r t w i t h t w o

The Beginning

others accused of playing parts in the alleged offending Nura Abdulkader, 40, from Hackney, is accused lying about living in Grenfell on 14 June 2017 in o r d e r t o g a i n ‘ h o u s i n g a n d f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t ’ W i l l i a m I n g l e b r i g h t , 6 2 , f r o m Hammersmith, is accused of dishonestly claiming to meet t h e r e l e v a n t c r i t e r i a f o r t h e

Help to Buy scheme in Barnet in May 2017 in order to be granted an equity loan

All five defendants indicated they would plead not guilty to all offences All five were released on bail ahead of a furt h e r h e a r i n g a t I s l e w o r t h Crown Court

Pensioners do not like being asked for proof age to claim discounts

A pensioner was left unhappy when they were asked to show 'proof of age' to get a disc ount a t a n E a l i ng I c e l an d Th e s u pe r ma r k et i n t ro du c ed an over 60s di scount to offer pens ioners a helping hand duri ng the cost of living crisis

The scheme allows those aged over 60 the opportunity to get 10 percent off their shop every Tuesday, with no minim u m s p e n d , a c r o s s I c e l a n d a n d T h e F o o d W a r e h o u s e stores One man was frustrated with the store when he tried to access the scheme, but was asked for proof of age

Writing on a local West

London Facebook group, he said: "Just a little warning If you are going to Iceland on a T u e s d a y a n d e x p e c t i n g t h e over 60 10 per cent discount, you now need proof of your age Apparently they have a new manager [who] has taken it upon himself to enforce this new request I was lucky I had my driving license with me a n d m y T F L f r e e d o m p a s s

Your Iceland card I was told was not enough to prove your age " On the first day that the d i s c o u n t w a s l a u n c h e d l a s t May, over a third of shoppers who went through Iceland or

The Food Warehouse doors used the discount, which saw o v e r 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 e l i g i b l e c u stomers benefitting

Commenting on the initiative, Richard Walker, managing director at Iceland previously said: “We are so pleased with how well the over 60s discount has been received by the public and love hearing stories from customers who are benefiting from the discount The cost of living crisis continues to cause distress in the everyday lives of these customers and that’s why we want to keep doing what we can to support them ”

employer got involved in the politics involving Dost Mohammed Khan and Shah Shuja Mohan Lal went on to serve as a Commercial Agent for the British and his intellectual contributions during the First AngloAfghan War were beyond praiseworthy He even often worked as a negotiator on crucial occasions and was known for his kind attitude towards women This was further evident by his upbringing of his daughter, whom he had the courage to educate in England (thus becoming the first Indian lady to do so)

Foreign Visits

Mohan Lal travelled to Britain a n d E u r o p e v i a A f r i c a i n 1 8 4 4 During this journey, he met Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and even the King of Prussia He also travelled to Belgium He lectured in many places, made valuable connections but was probably not granted something he might have really treasured and that being a knighthood, which was then technically possible as it was already bestowed on an Indian, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy in 1842 This might have further fueled his desire to visit England as Mohan Lal would o f t e n s t y l e h i m s e l f a s M o h a n L a l , Esquire This showed a psychological t e n d e n c y i n h i m o f b e i n g a n Anglophile It was around this time

Mohan Lal Zutshi was born in the year 1812 in a Kashmiri Pandit family in Delhi belonging to the Zutshi subcaste His ancestors had served the Mughal court after their relocation to Delhi from Kashmir and in the course of generations had made and lost their fortune Thus, Mohan Lal in his early years was psychologically influenced by the turn of events and the tales of the past A golden opportunity came in his life when the Persian College at Delhi was restored and eventually, the Delhi English College came into existence as a part of the earlier-founded institution It was here that young Mohan Lal under the encouragement of his father Rai Brahm Nath also known as Budh Singh received his education comprising of both Western a n d E a s t e r n i n f l u e n c e s T h e r e h e made a great friend in a person named C E Trevelyan who always motivated Mohan Lal Among Mohan Lal's tutors was the great orientalist James Prinsep and because of being admired by the management of his college, he soon r e c e i v e d h i s f i r s t j o b o f b e i n g a n Assistant-Teacher

Spy, Traveler, Explorer, Language and Intelligence

Expert

Fate often acts in strange ways and so it did for Mohan Lal A chance encounter with Sir Alexander Burnes, who was on the lookout for a Persian Munshi/Translator, led to the young M o h a n L a l f i n d i n g h a n d s o m e a n d prestigious employment Thus, on the 21st of December, 1831 he set out on the first of his travels which eventually s h a p e d h i m i n t o t h e p e r s o n h e became During the course of this journey through Central Asia during T h e G r e a t G a m e p e r i o d w h i c h involved a period of a tussle between the British Empire & Russian Empire over Afghanistan and nearby regions, Mohan Lal went on to experience history, unlike anyone From enjoying the hospitality of Ranjit Singh in tents d e c o r a t e d w i t h F r e n c h s a t i n a n d Kashmiri carpets to fighting for dear life and seeing the assassination of Sir Burnes himself as he and his former

that he unknowingly created history That being the First Indian ever to be p h o t o g r a p h e d w h e n h i s ' c a l o t y p e ' photograph was taken by the Hill & Adamson photographer pair Mohan Lal also authored around half a dozen books and as a devoted diarist maintained a now-lost collection of diaries Because of his travels, education, place of birth and family background, it should be noted that Mohan Lal was probably also a polyglot But in spite of all his skills this erudite polyglot & polymath was forced to retire at the age of thirty-two Had he been born thirty years later, he would have probably become one of the highest-ranking Indian Civil Service officers but as fate had decided, his end was lost in obscurity as he died a probably dejected soul in Delhi in 1877 He had married a woman named Hyderi Begum in his forties and even had children who survived him The fact that his hono u r s i n c l u d e d b e i n g c o n f e r r e d t h e Order of the Durrani Empire by the Emir of Afghanistan, being made a Knight of the Persian Order of the Lion and Son by the Prince Royal of P e r s i a , b e i n g p r e s e n t e d a R o b e o f Honour by Maharaja of Punjab and Turban with jewels by the King of D e l h i a l o n g s i d e h a v i n g e a r n e d t h e respect of European royals and much later even of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, prove that his life in the pages of history was in reality not obscure at all

There is a national epidemic of violence against women and girls, says London Mayor

Continued from page 1

The new proposals go further than ever before in protecting women and girls from harassment, aggression and violence, and focus on stopping domestic abuse before it takes place

Asian Voice reached out to the community and MPs to know their assessment of the measures and how much faith they have in the g o v e r n m e n t f o r i m p l e m e n t i n g these measures

Bu t more m ust be d one

I n a s t a t e m e n t s h a r e d w i t h Asian Voice, the Mayor of London, S a d i q K h a n , s a i d , T h e r e i s a n a t i o n a l e p i d e m i c o f v i o l e n c e against women and girls which needs to be treated urgently That

Asian Voice, “The Government’s c o m m i t m e n t t o t r e a t v i o l e n c e a g a i n s t w o m e n a n d g i r l s a s a national threat is clearly needed But while Tories say one thing,

A third of parents will not have another child because childcare is too expensive

is why I am championing a public health approach to end the viol e n c e a n d m i s o g y n y t o o m a n y w o m e n f a c e a n d b u i l d a s a f e r London for everyone As part of this, I’m funding a new £1million toolkit available to every secondary school in London to help pupils recognise and tackle misogynistic behaviour City Hall is delivering a m u l t i - a w a r d - w i n n i n g ‘ H a v e A Word’ campaign which asks men to reflect on how they can help tackle violence against women and girls This is in addition to investing an additional £17 7m in support services and taking action to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and criminal justice system to ensure victims are supported and empowered to get the justice t h e y d e s e r v e M y G P S t a g g i n g crime scheme is also working to quickly identify those including domestic abusers, who break their license conditions, protect victims and crucially put the onus on perp e t r a t o r s t o c h a n g e t h e i r behaviour rather than victims and has surpassed 1,000 tagged offenders But more must be done We know the cost of living crisis is disproportionately impacting women, particularly those whose lives are impacted by abuse and inequality T h a t ’ s w h y I ’ v e r e c e n t l y announced a new £4million investment that will help women and girls access the help they need We need the Government to follow City Hall’s lead and deliver funding to support women and girls affected by violence as well as properly f u n d l o n g - t e r m p r o g r a m m e s t o prevent abuse from happening in t h e f i r s t p l a c e b y p u t t i n g t h e e m p h a s i s o n c h a n g i n g t h e behaviour of men and boys ” Rape surviv ors w ait for more than 1 000 days for their cases to comp lete in court L a bo u r & C o - o p M P f o r F e lth a m & H es t on , S h ad o w M in i st er fo r Bu s i nes s a nd C o ns u m er s and C o - F o u nd er &

they do another We are at a time when incidents of violence against women and girls are the highest on record, when the charge rate in rape cases has dropped to a historic low of 1 5%, and when rape survivors are in many cases having to wait more than 1,000 days to have their cases completed in court The G o v e r n m e n t ’ s P o l i c i n g Requirements commit to making u s e o f t h e e x i s t i n g l e g i s l a t i v e framework when it is clear that the current framework is failing so many victims of rape and domestic violence

As the former Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence against Women and Girls, I am proud that a Labour government would make tackling and eliminating violence against women and girls a national priority We would p u t s p e c i a l i s t d o m e s t i c a b u s e workers and a specialist rape unit in every police force, to make sure victims have access to support and trained investigators We would fast-track rape cases to bring down the unacceptable and traumatic w a i t i n g t i m e s a n d d e l a y s , a n d introduce a new statutory minimum sentence for rape of seven years We will introduce a new

D o m e s t i c V i o l e n c e R e g i s t e r t o track offenders and protect victims "

P olice h ave been slow to act

C o m m e n d i n g t h e g o v e r nm e n t ’ s s t a n c e a n d m e a s u r e s ,

A u th o r, an d C o mm u ni c a ti o n Ambassado r Lead, Th e Girls’ Net, Rabina Kh an told the newsweekly, “ T h e g o v e r n m e n t ’ s l a t e s t m e asures on tackling domestic abusers are a step in the right direction It w a s a l o n g t i m e c o m i n g L a w m a k e r s f i n a l l y h e a r d c a l l s from campaigners, women ’ s rights activists, services, and charities for domestic abuse to be treated in the same way terrorism is – a national t h r e a t H o m e O f f i c e M i n i s t e r

Sarah Dines recently promised in an interview that for the first-time violence against women and girls is going to be a national priority for policing At a time when the

police is unable to root out offenders among its own officers, this will be a challenge in rebuilding trust I know of women where h u s b a n d s a n d p a r t n e r s h a v e breached Non-Molestation Orders and the police have been slow to act The government’s promise of additional funding is welcomed but omits those with No Recourse t o P u b l i c F u n d s S p e c i a l i s t w o m e n ’ s c h a r i t i e s s u p p o r t i n g w o m e n f r o m B l a c k , A s i a n a n d m i n o r i t y c o m m u n i t i e s f a c e a financial crisis struggling to keep their services open to vulnerable women The funding isn’t immediate but is to be rolled out over a two-year period – at a time when the cost of living is forcing women to choose to stay with abusers it’s important for charities and services that need the lifesaving funds now In 2022, 2 4 million people in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse and one in four w o m e n e x p e r i e n c e d d o m e s t i c abuse before the age of 50 We won’t know if the measures will work until those working in the f r o n t l i n e , s u p p o r t i n g d o m e s t i c abuse survivors and the survivors themselves tell us there is hope ” No t a problem we can p olice our way ou t o f Ci ty H all Labour and London Cop-op Party, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Krupesh Hirani told us, “I welcome the package of measures brought forward by the government Any attempt to crack down o n v i o l e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y a g a i n s t w o m e n a n d g i r l s , s h o u l d b e applauded however, I do think that this is a bit of a missed opportunity Further measures could, a n d s h o u l d , b e i m p l e m e n t e d ; most notably the creation of a standalone domestic violence register, an action championed by the Labour Party both in Westminster and in City Hall There are provisions within the announcement to add the most serious offenders to Sexual and Violent Offenders but the threshold for being added to this seems high A standalone register would enhance the probability of the police identifying patterns in low-level offending; We know that those who commit relatively minor offences may sometimes progress into committing m o r e s e r i o u s o f f e n c e s a n d w e would want to catch that as early as possible Lastly, what I would say is that whilst offender management and police response is a c r u c i a l s t e p s i n r e s p o n d i n g t o domestic abuse, this is ultimately not a problem we can police our way out of Properly preventing violence against women and girls involves taking a public health approach and tackling the underlying attitudes, such as misogyny, that can lead to such horrendous crimes ”

The cost o f liv ing crisis is now apparently playing a major r ole in family planning fo r many peop l e R es ear ch h a s f o u n d t h at mo re th an a th ir d of parents wil l not have ano ther ch il d because childcare is to o exp ensiv e The research h ig hligh ts that th er e are n o w t wo c h i l dr e n f o r ev er y childcare place in Lo ndon, a new an al ys is su g g e st s , h ig h l ig h t ing th e “dire st ate” of th e p rov ision in t he capital Data shared by t he researchers online su ggests th at th er e are 1,226 f ewer regist er ed pl aces in Londo n compared with 2021, which was h eaping extra

p r e ss u r e o n w o r ki ng p a r en t s w h o w er e st r u g g l i ng t o f in d aff ordable care

The research suggests that Kingston, Hounslow, Hillingdon

a n d W a n d s - w o r t h s a w t h e biggest drop in the number of

childcare providers, with falls of more than 10 per cent It came as the cost of childcare spiralled, with a nursery place for a child under two rising by more than £600 in five years

A s p o k e s w o m a n f o r t h e Department for Education said:

“We recognise that families and early years providers across the country are facing financial pressures That’s why we have spent more than £20 billion over the past five years to support families with the cost of childcare

New marriage age law will provide greater protection to children

Young people aged 1 6 and 17 are now legally banned from m arrying in England and Wales

Under the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act, it is now a crime to exploit vulnerable children by arranging for them to marry, or enter a civil partnership, under any circumstances That will be the case whether force is used or not

"Traditional" ceremonies that are legally non-binding, but which are still viewed as marriages by the parties and their families, will be included

Anyone found guilty of arranging child marriages faces a sent e n c e o f u p t o s e v e n y e a r s i n prison

It is a "huge leap forward" in t a c k l i n g " t h i s u s u a l l y h i d d e n abuse", said Natasha Rattu, director of the Karma Nirvana charity, which is a member of the Girls Not Brides Coalition

Ms Rattu said she hoped the new law would "help to increase i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d r e p o r t i n g ,

a f f o r d i n g g r e a t e r p r o t e c t i o n t o children at risk" I n 2 0 2 1 , t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s f o r c e d m a r r i a g e u n i t p r o v i d e d a d v i c e o r s u p p o r t i n 1 1 8 c a s e s involving victims aged under 18 Forced marriage is more likely t o a f f e c t g i r l s t h a n b o y s , t h e Ministry of Justice said Figures for England and Wales i n 2 0 1 8 s h o w 2 8 b o y s m a r r i e d under the age of 18, compared with 119 girls

C o n s e r v a t i v e M P P a u l i n e Latham, who introduced the bill in parliament in 2021, said Monday is a "landmark day for the campaigners who have worked relentlessly for over five years to ban child marriage in this country"

Doctor admits to lie about taking Covid jab

A d o ctor h as ad mi tted lying to receive a C ovid jab for which he was not elig ible at a centre in West Yorkshire

A medical tribunal heard Dr Srinivasa Kummaraganti attended Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust's Covid vaccine

c e n t r e i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 D r

Kummaraganti said he had pretended to be a staff member to get his second dose of vaccine, something he told the tribunal he now "regretted" The hearing into his actions is expected to continue A

M e d i c a l P r a c t i t i o n e r s T r i b u n a l S e r v i c e p a n e l h e a r d D r

Kummaraganti had arrived at the centre on 21 February wearing an ID badge and a stethoscope

He told staff he had been called to come for his second dose and said he had received his first jab on 1 January, neither of which was true Elizabeth Dudley-Jones, for the General Medical Council, told the tribunal panel that at the time the trust was offering its staff their second doses to prevent waste, but only for employees who were eligible She said Dr Kummaraganti's

wife worked for the trust and was one of those called for vaccination

Ms Dudley-Jones said while Dr K u m m a r a g a n t i ' s d i s h o n e s t y w a s confined to one day, it was "clearly s e r i o u s m i s c o n d u c t " w h i c h involved "deliberate and purposeful dishonesties"

I n h i s e v i d e n c e , D r Kummaraganti said he had not practised medicine in the UK or India since 2018 and did not intend to return to practise in the UK

The panel heard his desire for vaccination was due to the fact he was returning to India to care for his elderly parents and was concerned he might get Covid and give it to them

T h e t r i b u n a l h e a r d D r Kummaraganti had since undertaken a series of courses on probity a n d e t h i c s , h a d w o r k e d w i t h a mentor, spoken of his actions with family and friends and written a letter of apology to the trust The t r i b u n a l w i l l l a t e r c o n s i d e r w h e t h e r t h e d o c t o r ' s a c t i o n s , which he has admitted, meant his fitness to practise was impaired because of his misconduct

Seema Malhotra MP

Krupesh Hirani Rabina Khan

Sadiq Khan

Include Indian languages in UK curriculum, diaspora demands

T he Indian diaspora subm itted a m em orandum to th e

D ep a rtm ent o f Ed u ca ti o n a nd S e cr eta ry o f S tat e Gillian Keeg an, calling for t h e i n cl u si o n o f m aj o r I n d i an la ng u a g es in t h e B ri ti s h s ch o o l c ur ri c u lu m o n In te rna ti o nal M o th e r L anguage Day This submission also m arked the United N ati o n s Ed u ca ti o na l, S c i en ti fi c an d C u l tu ra l O rg a ni s ati o n ( U N ES C O) d es i g nat ed I nte rna ti o na l M o th er L an g u ag e D ay i n

London last week

The memorandum was presented by Harmeet Singh

B h a k n a o f t h e P u n j a b i Language Awareness Board UK and CK Naidu of the Sanathan Sanstha UK, calling for Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, B e n g a l i , G u j a r a t i , T a m i l , Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi a n d N e p a l i w i t h i n t h e s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m T h e s e l a n g u a g e s a r e a p a r t o f South Asian languages spoken in England

A p a n e l d i s c u s s i o n

c h a i r e d b y N e h r u C e n t r e Director and author Amish Tripathi on ‘Status of South Asian Languages in the UK’, took place

I n d i a n H i g h C o m m issioner to the UK Vikram

D o r a i s w a m i s a i d : “ W e i n India are a nation of many languages Each of these is justly celebrated, not just in our currency notes, not just in our music, not just in our folklore, it is celebrated in every sense through sign a g e , t h r o u g h l i t e r a t u r e , and through films It has made India what it is – the world’s most multicultural c o u n t r y A n d , t h e I n d i a n diaspora are the people who h a v e b r o u g h t t h o s e l a nguages, that culture here c e l e b r a t i n g y o u r l i n k s t o your ancestral homeland in S o u t h A s i a t h r o u g h l a nguage Your efforts to sustain and protect your language and take it forward through your children and your grandchildren will be your legacy ”

Crisis pregnancy advice centres in the UK misleading women about abortions

A BBC Panora ma investigat ion has brought t o l ight t ha t some crisis pregna ncy advice cent res in the UK are misl e a d in g a n d ma n i pu l a t i n g women a bout ab or tion It is b el ie ved tha t these cent res oper ate as re gister ed charit ie s outside the NHS Most say t hey don't refer wome n for ab ortions, but offer supp o r t a n d c ou n se l l i n g fo r unpl anned pre gnancies But t h e B B C 's i n v e st i ga t i o n r eveal s more than a t hird of t hese services give misl eading medica l in formation or une thical a dvice, a nd somet imes both, BBC re port ed It is important to note

Salisbury surgeon accused of storing child abuse images gets suspended jail term

S ali s bu r y p la st i c surg eon M ansoor

K h an ( 5 4 - ye aro ld f ath e r o f fo u r) , w h o w a s accu sed o f sto ring more than a h u nd r ed s e ri o u s ca teg o ry c h i ld abu se i m ag es i n h is p h o ne h a s be en s en te nc ed to eigh t mo nth s of su spended jail

term

M a n s o o r K h a n w a s found guilty of three counts of making indecent images o f c h i l d r e n a f t e r h e w a s found with 106 images on h i s p h o n e i n D e c e m b e r

2022

He was a coach in a girls’ rugby team Khan reportedl y d o w n l o a d e d a n a n o n ymous browser in November 2020 to access the dark web for “abhorrent and perverte d ” p i c t u r e s , S a l i s b u r y Crown Court heard

While sentencing Khan last week, judge Adam Feest, however, noted his “ exemplary” personal and professional records

t h a t N H S i n E n g l a n d , S c o t l a n d a n d W a l e s h a v e o f f e r e d s a f e a b o r t i o n s f o r more than 50 years They have been legal in Northern Ireland since 2019 NHS provides Pregnancy counselling, as well as regulated abortion p r o v i d e r s , b u t s e a r c h i n g online, Panorama identified 5 7 c r i s i s p r e g n a n c y a d v i c e centres advertising

The BBC investigation r e v e a l e d t h a t o n e w o m a n who had visited such a centre said she had been "traumatised" and that the centre h a d t r i e d t o " m a n i p u l a t e " her into not having an abort i o n T h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n

revealed that some 21 centres gave misleading medical information and/or unethical advice about abortion

Seven centres said having a termination could lead to "post-abortion syndrome"a mental health condition likened to a post-traumatic stress disorder, which is not r e c o g n i s e d b y t h e N H S

Eight centres linked abortion to infertility and problems carrying future pregnancies to term Five centres l i n k e d a b o r t i o n t o a n increased risk of breast cancer As per NHS guidelines, like any medical treatment, there is a small risk some-

UK advertising industry over-representing women and ethnic minorities

A new su rv ey has revealed t h at th e U K ad v er ti si n g industry h as been ov er-repr es en ti ng th e nu m ber o f w omen and eth nic m ino rities following in a decad eslong push to im prove div ersity

Reportedly, a 2022 census found that an estimated 5 5 p c o f e m p l o y e e s i n t h e sector were women, comp a r e d t o 4 5 p c w h o w e r e m e n T h a t w a s a f t e r t h e number of women increased from an estimated 11,600 to 14,400, an increase of 24pc, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) said At the same time, the proportion of non-white employees increased by almost onethird to 24pc, compared to 18pc a year earlier

Women made up 51pc of the population in England and Wales in 2021, accordi n g t o t h e O f f i c e f o r N a t i o n a l S t a t i s t i c s , w h i l e

n o n - w h i t e e t h n i c g r o u p s comprised about 18pc

The IPA said there was more work to do on diversity, as women still only get just over one-third of executive jobs in the ad industry, while non-white individuals o n l y o c c u p y 1 1 p c o f t h e roles According to the IPA, for years, women and ethnic m i n o r i t i e s w e r e s e v e r e l y

under-represented in advertising and City jobs more b r o a d l y , p r o m p t i n g m a j o r initiatives to overhaul gove r n a n c e a n d h i r i n g p r a ctices

Paul

Bainsfair, director

g e n e r a l o f t h e I P A , s a i d :

“These latest results represent a much healthier pace of improvement than in previous years and demonstrate that our concerted collective efforts to improve diversity and inclusivity within our industry are beginning to pay off

“We must continue this great work to ensure our business is fully representative and inclusive for those w o r k i n g w i t h i n i t a n d attractive to those considering a career within the agency world ”

T h e G o v e r n m e n t a l s o wanted 40pc of leadership roles to be held by women, who currently only occupy one-third of them, by 2025

K e m i B a d e n o c h , t h e B u s i n e s s a n d T r a d e Secretary, said the figures s h o w e d t h a t “ c h a n g e doesn’t always require topdown interventions but can o c c u r w h e n e v e r y o n e i s pushing in the same direction”

S h e a d d e d : “ T h i s progress is very welcome, and I’d urge business to keep u p t h i s m o m e n t u m t o achieve a better balance in leadership positions as well as in boardrooms ”

thing could go wrong, and having an abortion does not increase the risk of breast cancer, infertility, or mental health problems

D u r i n g t e l e p h o n e a n d i n - p e r s o n c o n s u l t a t i o n s , one of the shocking pieces o f a d v i c e P a n o r a m a w a s given was: It’s “amazing" to have "your own child" and asked how it would feel to " a c t u a l l y h o l d y o u r o w n baby” While another centre said women could experience hallucinations involving babies crying and have " n i g h t m a r e s o f s o m e t h i n g happening to a child" after an abortion

He was identified foll o w i n g a r e f e r r a l t o t h e National Crime Agency as p o l i c e o f f i c e r s f o l l o w e d a digital trail from a Snapchat account

F u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n f o u n d t h a t n o n e o f t h e images in his phone were related to his patients or his clinical job at the University

H o s p i t a l S o u t h a m p t o n where he worked from 2012 to 2021

“The mitigating factors in this case outweigh the a g g r a v a t i n g f a c t o r s ” , t h e judge said “ U n t i l t h e e v e n t s t h a t led you to this court, you spent a lot of time dedicated to the local rugby team I have heard about you as a husband and father Your w i f e a n d c h i l d r e n r e m a i n s u p p o r t i v e t o y o u i n f u l l knowledge of your conviction ”

“It is against this background that I must regrettably sentence you for making indecent images of children,” Judge Feest

“I am able to impose a s u s p e n d e d s e n t e n c e ” because of the “real prospect of rehabilitation”, the judge said

UK ministers considering barring students from bringing families

PM Rishi Sunak declares new Brexit pact

P ri m e M i n is te r Ri s h i Sunak unveiled a d ecisive breakthrough in achieving a new d e al w i th th e Eu ro p ean Uni on ( EU ) to res o lv e th e p o s t- B rex it tra d e d i sp u t e rel ate d t o No rth ern I rela nd J o ine d by European C ommission President U rsula vo n d er Leyen, during an in-person tal k a t W i nd s o r, S u nak ad d r es s ed t h e m e d i a t o confirm a new “Wind sor Framework”

T h i s f r a m e w o r k r e p l a c e s t h e p r e v i o u s Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed by Sunak’s former boss Boris Johnson to prevent a hard border between U K t e r r i t o r y N o r t h e r n Ireland and EU memberstate Ireland but eventually p r o v e d u n w o r k a b l e a n d c a u s e d m u c h t e n s i o n between the UK and EU

A d d r e s s i n g t h e p r e s s ,

R i s h i S u n a k s a i d ,

As a part of Hom e Secretary Suella Brav erman ’ s attempt to curb illegal im migration and overstayers in Britain, ministers are contemplating w h eth e r t h ere s h o u ld be restrictions on th e number of d epend ants international stu dents can bring to the co unty as th e go vernment grapples to bring d own the net i m m ig rati o n lev e ls or not

“Today’s agreement is written in the language of laws and treaties But really, it’s a b o u t m u c h m o r e t h a n that It’s about stability in N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d I t ’ s about real people and real b u s i n e s s e s I t ’ s a b o u t showing that our Union, which has lasted for centuries, can and will endure A n d i t ’ s a b o u t b r e a k i n g down the barriers between us Setting aside the arguments that have for too l o n g , d i v i d e d u s A n d r e m e m b e r i n g t h e f e l l o w f e e l i n g t h a t d e f i n e s u s :

Ministers are considering barring students from bringing families unless they a r e s t u d y i n g a t a h i g h e r l e v e l , s u c h a s a m a s t e r ’ s degree or PhD, The Times reported

Official data showed UK v i s a s w e r e g r a n t e d t o 490,763 foreign students in 2 0 2 2 a n d t h e n u m b e r o f s p o u s e s a n d c h i l d r e n a c c o m p a n y i n g t h e m w e n t up to 135,788 from 16,047 in 2019 R e p o r t s s u g g e s t t h a t international students add £ 3 5 b i l l i o n a y e a r t o t h e economy

Experts have warned the government against curbing students coming to Britain hinting that this might hurt t h e U K ’ s u n i v e r s i t i e s a n d push them towards collapse

Mansoor Khan

A Tribute to our Culture, Community and Motherland

“Diamonds are Forever, so are Morals”: Meet Leading Indian Industrialist and Philanthropist Shree Govind Dholakia

As part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Gujarat Samachar, in the series of A Tribute to our Culture, Community and Motherland we will be having pleasure in Honouring A Visionary Leader, Diamond

Meet & Greet

This event will be a platform for all of us to come closer and understand each other in a better way to recall our Culture, Values and Morals Through this event, we want to Meet, Greet and Honour Shree Govind bhai Dholakia, a Visionary Leader, Diamond Baron, and Philanthropist from India

Shri Govind Dholakia is the Founder & Chairman of Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd (SRK), a global diamond company with 6,000+ team members

His contribution has touched several thousands of people’s lives through selfless social welfare work over five decades Under his various Trusts, over 3 million people have received financial support for Educational Scholarships and Medical exigencies

He is frequently invited by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Delhi and other nationally renowned institutions and universities as a Motivational Speaker SRK s state-of-the-art crafting facilities, USGBC green buildings, are situated in Surat, India, and its HQ is in Mumbai Driven by his far-sighted vision and entrepreneurial spirit, SRK boasts several domestic and international achievements, awards and recognition. He was born into an agrarian family in the village of Dudhala and has formal education till the 7th standard Thereafter, in 1964 he started working as a diamond cutter to support his family. With his two friends, he set up SRK in 1976, which now culminated as ‘Numero Uno’ in the diamond world

He instituted the Santokbaa Humanitarian Award’ in 2006 in memory and honour of his mother. This award has been conferred to 13 eminent personalities for their humanitarian work, including Ratan Tata, Dalai Lama, Kailash Satyarthi, Father Valles and others

He was honoured with the “Leadership Award” by US Green Building Council (USGBC) in the year 2017 in the presence of 42nd American President Mr Bill Clinton His ideologies like “I am nothing, but I can do anything” and “Problem is Progress” has laid the foundation for his success and inspired many in their lives

His life is held together by a guiding philosophy of life or

Celebrate International Women’s Day with the Festival of Colours

Baron, and Philanthropist from India- Shree Govind Bhai Dholakia.

The event is- “Diamonds are Forever, so are Morals”: Meet Leading Indian Industrialist and Philanthropist

P U B L I C E V E N T S

Morals Unwrapped

what he calls the Triads of life. This involves three fundamental beliefs, namely that honesty and ethics should inform all human activities, that there is a God or an unseen force that permeates everything, and, finally, that the family should be at the centre of one’s life His recently published autobiography, ‘Diamond are forever, so are morals’ narrates his life sketch including his proximity to the Indian Prime Minister, Indian Presidents and Indian Business Leaders He is a fine human being, warm-hearted, independently minded, thoughtful, decisive, concerned with those who are weak and vulnerable, proud of his workers whom he associates with the conduct of his business, and committed to his extended family It is common to think that a successful businessperson is rarely a morally decent human being His life shows the opposite and affirms the old maxim, “Yoga is being successful at managing one’s life”

https://govinddholakia com/

Date : 8 March, Wednesday

Time : 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Followed by Dinner

Venue : Dhamecha Lohana Centre Brember Road, South Harrow, Harrow, HA2 8FF

Please join us in the celebration of International Women’s Day with the Festival of Colours

The theme for International Women's Day is, “DigitALL: Innovation and echnology for gender equality” The event will recognise and celebrate the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education

-: DATE & TIME :-

8 March, Wednesday - 10:30 am to 1:00 pm

-: VENUE :Sattavis Patidar Centre

FORTY AVENUE, THE AVENUE, WEMBLEY PARK, MIDDLESEX - HA9 9PE

-: GUEST OF HONOUR :Mrs Sweety Dholakia

To join these celebrations, email us at : support@abplgroup.com

Shree Govindbhai Dholakia, A Visionary Leader, Diamond Baron, and Philanthropist from India is best known for his book "Diamonds Are Forever, So Are Morals: An Autobiography of Govind Dholakia".

Shree Amish Tripathi, Director of Nehru Centre London and Minister of Education & Culture at HCI, is known best for his Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series. His latest book is “War of Lanka”.

They are expanding the Santana Ideology globally, keeping Indian Morals, Values on top We will be having a Q&A with them on Morals.

Date : 8 March, Wednesday

Time : 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Followed by Dinner

Venue : Dhamecha Lohana Centre Brember Road, South Harrow, Harrow, HA2 8FF

Shree Govind Dholakia at the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace, House of Lords on 6th March 2023, Monday. The Chief Guest of the event is Lord Bhikhu Parekh. Entry is limited and with invitations only.

Shri Govindbhai Dholakia

A Visionary Leader, Diamond Baron, and Philanthropist from India

Dear Financia

Voice Reader Alpesh Patel OBE

Stock Ma rke t for the Rest of 2023 : Should You Be Cauti ous?

With the start of 2023 showing promise for US-centric portfolios, many investors may be feeling optimistic about the stock market However, a closer look at the outlooks and forecasts from major banks and analysts reveals a more complex and varied picture, with some cautionary notes and potential challenges on the horizon

I’ve had a great start to 2023 with my SIPP and ISA stocks As you will know I have a US centric portfolio But, should I be more cautious?

The 2023 outlooks for the stock market vary depending on the source and the region Some of the major banks and analysts that have published their forecasts are:

• Goldma n Sa chs: They expect global growth of just 1 8% in 2023, as US resilience contrasts with a European recession and a bumpy reopening in China They also see high-grade bonds as more attractive than stocks They provide various outlooks for different regions and asset classes in 2023 For example, they forecast that economic growth will start 2023 on the weak side across most of Asia-Pacific due to inflation pressures and slowing manufacturing cycle They also expect US stocks to have zero earnings growth and zero appreciation in 2023

• J P Morg an: They predict that the S&P 500 will fall to around 3,000 in the first half of 2023 as the Fed tightens monetary policy and economic growth slows down However, they also anticipate a recovery in the second half of 2023, driven by a Fed pivot and lower inflation

• U S Ne ws & W orld Re port: They report that only about 27% of investors have an optimistic outlook on the market for 2023, while nearly 48% have a negative outlook They also cite some of the stock market trends for 2023, such as recession risk, fixed income attractiveness, patient investing and diversification

• Ba nkrate: They suggest that while the market as a whole may tumble in 2023, some sectors may be poised to outperform amid a downturn, such as value stocks, energy stocks and consumer staples stocks They also advise investors to focus on their long-term goals and risk tolerance rather than timing the market

Tech: One of My Favouri te s Agai n

The tech sector is expected to face some challenges and opportunities in 2023, according to various sources Some of the themes that may influence the sector are:

• Ma croeconomic uncertainty: The tech sector may have to d e a l w i t h s o f t e n i n g c o n s u m e r s p e n d i n g , l o w e r p r o d u c t demand, falling market capitalizations and rising interest rates in 2023 However, it may also benefit from strong corporate earnings, low debt levels and innovation potential

• Global unce rtain tie s: The tech sector may have to navigate geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, regulatory changes and cybersecurity threats in 2023 However, it may also leverage its global presence, cross-border collaborations and digital transformation capabilities

• Industry tra nsforma ti on: The tech sector may have to adapt to changing customer needs, competitive pressures and environmental concerns in 2023 However, it may also transform other industries through technology solutions such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G and biotech

• I own Microsoft (2x leverage) and nVidia (2x leverage) as well as Tesla

As for Morgan Stanley's outlook for the tech sector in 2023, I could not find any specific forecast from them However, they do provide some insights on the global macroeconomic outlook for 2023, which may affect the tech sector indirectly For example:

• They expect global GDP growth to top out at just 2 2% in 2023 as inflation pressures weigh on growth

• They predict that US GDP growth will slow down to 0 8% in 2023 as consumer spending moderates and business investment contracts

• They anticipate that China's GDP growth will rebound to 5 5% in 2023 as policy easing supports domestic demand and exports recover

IAG that owns British Airways makes profit after long time

British A irways o wner IA G h as returned to profit as the airline industry continues to rebound from C ovid -19 Th e comp any said it made an operating profit of 1 26 billion euro (£1 1 billion) in 20 22, a swing from a 2 97-billion-euro (£2 62 billion) loss the year befo re All its airlines were pro fitable last year C ap acity across the group – w hich also includes carriers such as A er Lingus and Iberia – was at 87% of 20 19 lev els in the final quarter o f 2022

IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said the premium leisure travel segment “performed very well” last year, with leisure bookings ahead of pre-coronavirus levels He added that “demand continues to be strong” and the group is seeing “robust forward bookings at this point of the year across all routes This year, the business expects to make between 1 8 billion and 2 3 billion euro (£1 59 billion to £2 03 billion) We are transforming our businesses Revenue also soared in 2022, from 8 45 billion euro (£7 45 billion) in 2021 to 23 07 billion euro (£20 33 billion) ”

IAG announced it has agreed to buy the remaining 80% of shares it does not own in Spain’s third largest airline Air Europa for 400 million euro (£353 million)

UK's inflation may fall below 2%, say industry forecasts

B r i t a i n ’ s i n f l a ti o n ra t e could fall to below 2 % by t he e n d o f th e y e a r, acc ordi ng to new financ ial i n d u s tr y f o re c as ts , handin g the chanc ellor a

b o os t to th e p u b l i c fin ances before a general electi on in 2 024 Predictions that falling gas prices will accelerate the decline this year in the c o n s u m e r p r i c e s i n d e x ( C P I ) f r o m l a s t m o n t h ’ s level of 10 1% could also

s u p p o r t a r e c o v e r y i n household living standards and persuade the Bank of

E n g l a n d t o c u t i n t e r e s t rates earlier than expected

Investment bank Citi said the CPI was likely to fall to 2 3% in November, below

t h e B a n k o f E n g l a n d ’ s estimate of a 4% inflation rate in the fourth quarter of the year Fund manager Investec said it could slide to 1 6% by December

Inflation has remained

Tax raids may hinder economic recovery, warn economists

Jerem y Hunt risks ch oking o ff a p o ten ti al e co n o m i c reco very with his plans for a tax raid fo llowing a surprise ri se in co n su m e r c o nf idence, business lead ers and economists h av e warned E x p e r t s s a i d t h a t t h e C h a n c e l l o r ' s l o o m i n g increase in corporation tax will hold back growth, just as a closely-watched survey by the data company GfK found that confidence had unexpectedly bounced back t o i t s h i g h e s t l e v e l s i n c e A p r i l l a s t y e a r J a g j i t C h a d h a , d i r e c t o r o f t h e N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e o f E c o n o m i c a n d S o c i a l

Research, said the tax rise will damage growth both in the short and the long term He said: “It will act as an ongoing drag on the economy Business investment is much lower than it should

be and an increase in corporation tax is not going to help it recover ” Hunt is increasing the rate of corporation tax from 19pc to 25pc in April – a j u m p p r o j e c t e d t o r a i s e £ 1 6 b n p e r y e a r f o r t h e Treasury Martin Beck of EY I t e m C l u b s a i d t h e r i s e would damage the economy at a time when the outlook had improved significantly f o l l o w i n g f a l l s i n e n e r g y prices

But increasing numbers o f b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s h a v e expressed concern about the l o o m i n g t a x r i s e , w h i c h comes just as a generous policy enabling firms to offs e t i n v e s t m e n t s a g a i n s t their HMRC bill ends The hawkish policy-maker said m o r e r i s e s t o b o r r o w i n g costs would be needed to dampen inflation

BoE policymaker favoures hike in interest rates

Interest rates will need to rise again to prevent inf lation becoming a persistent prob lem in the UK, a Bank of Engl and policymaker has warned

A shortage of workers and high wage demands were likely to continue pushing up inflation, acting as a counterweight to falling energy prices, said Catherine Mann, a member of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC), which sets the base rate She said more tightening was needed and cautioned that a pivot on monetary policy towards interest rate cuts was not imminent, signalling that they were likely to rise again when the MPC meets next month

The MPC has increased its base interest rate 10 times since December 2021 to 4% to dampen consumer spending and limit the increase in the consumer prices index, which hit 10 1% in January In a speech at the Resolution Foundation’s headquarters in London, Mann argued that high interest rates were needed to prevent inflation becoming embedded in wages and prices She warned this could lead to “extended persistence of inflation into this year and the next”

A former investment bank economist who joined the ninemember MPC in 2021, Mann has consistently argued for a sharper increase in interest rates than her colleagues to quell inflation She was a lone voice calling for a 75 basis point increase, when the MPC lifted rates by half a per cent, from 3% to 3 5% in December

City analysts have forecast that inflation will fall to about 2% by the end of the year, well below the 4% prediction by the central bank They argue that despite a tight labour market, falling energy prices would bring down inflation, leading to lower wage demands

The MPC members Silvana Tenreyro and Swati Dhingra voted in December to maintain interest rates at 3%, arguing that the effects of high borrowing rates would feed through into the wider economy this year More than 1 5 million mortgage payers are expected to refinance their loans at much higher interest rates this year, eating into their disposable incomes

in double digits since last July – barring a brief drop t o 9 9 % i n A u g u s t –triggering a wave of pay d e m a n d s t o c o m p e n s a t e w o r k e r s f o r t h e l o s s o f spending power Most of the increase was due to r i s i n g e n e r g y a n d f o o d prices, which Citi’s chief UK economist, Benjamin

N a b a r r o , s a i d w e r e n o w falling at a faster rate than had been expected at the b e g i n n i n g o f t h e y e a r

Interest rate rises by the Bank of England are also e x p e c t e d t o h a v e a d a m p e n i n g e f f e c t o n c o n s u m e r s p e n d i n g , f u r t h e r r e d u c i n g t h e pressure on prices

A slide in inflation to 2% would allow the prime m i n i s t e r t o m o r e t h a n fulfill his pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year and make it easier to resolve a wave of public sector strikes over pay

UK overtakes India in market capitalisation

The UK r ece ntl y surpasse d In d i a a s t h e si x t h- l a r g e st co un t r y b y ma r k e t ca p it a l is a t io n , a s In d ia n ma rket gra ppl ed with a crash in st o ck p r ic e s of A d a n i G r ou p a n d a w e a k r u pe e t ha t ’ s p r o mp t in g fo r e i gn in vestors to turn net sel ler s This is the first time in nine months that the UK t o o k t h e s p o t o f s i x t hlargest market by value and India is at the seventh spot, a report said Compared to I n d i a , a w e a k p o u n d s t e r l i n g i s h e l p i n g U K c o m p a n i e s b o o s t t h e i r exports and that, in turn, is leading to a surge in their stock prices, it said At close of trading, the UK had a market cap of $3 11 trillion, about $5 billion ahead of

India’s, data showed The table is topped by the US with a market cap of almost $44 trillion, with China at the second spot with $11 1 trillion S o f a r t h i s y e a r , t h e sensex is down by about 2 3%, while the FTSE 100, the UK’s main index, is up by 5 % D e c l i n e s i n I n d i a n stocks have taken losses in MSCI India index from a December 1 peak to more than 10% as of Wednesday, p u t t i n g i t o n c o u r s e t o e n t e r a t e c h n i c a l correction Even so, market participants have said that investor concerns around t h e A d a n i c o m p a n i e s a r e f o c u s e d o n t h e g r o u p , r a t h e r t h a n t h e b r o a d e r Indian market

No firm offers to save Cineworld's global businesses

Shares in Cineworld pl unged further af ter the m ovie chain s aid it had received no all-cas h off ers from pot ential suit ors to save its glob al busines s, and any bankruptc y res cue deal would wipe out s hareholders

T h e L o n d o n - l i s t e d g r o u p , w h i c h w a s f o r c e d i n t o bankruptcy in the US despite a wider recovery in cinemagoing fuelled by sequels to 'Avatar' and 'Top Gun', said it has received non-binding proposals from a “number of potential transaction counterparties” for its business

However, the world’s second-largest cinema operator admitted week that it had not received any bids for its businesses in the US and UK, its two biggest markets

Cineworld shares slumped by 46% to 2 1p in early trading o n F r i d a y , b e f o r e r e c o v e r i n g t o b e 2 1 % d o w n a t 3 2 p Cineworld was trading above 220p at the end of 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic

While potential buyers have expressed “ some strategic interest” in its full business – Cineworld has said it is focused on proposals for the whole group – bids that have been submitted have mainly been for theatres in central Europe, eastern Europe and Israel

5-10% fall predicted in house prices

A tum ble in UK house p rices this year beg an to look a racin g c er tai nt y w h e n t h e big gest m ortgage bank forecast they would fall 7% That call fro m Lloyds Bank com es o n top of similar p redictio ns from Natio nwid e (5%) and S antand er (10 %)

At the fringes of finance, wilder talk of a spectacular crash has been heard but that seems unlikely to transpire given housing short-

ages and a recovery in the m o r t g a g e m a r k e t L l o y d s boss Charlie Nunn was talking as he unveiled profits of £ 6 9 b i l l i o n f o r t h e y e a r , which is flat on last year, though the fourth quarter was spectacular Profits for the last three months near doubled to £1 8 billion, figu r e s t h a t a r e u n l i k e l y t o r e d u c e c o m p l a i n t s t h a t banks are profiteering while interest rates rise

RBI in talks to extend UPI to UAE, Mauritius & Indonesia

F o llo w i n g S in g ap o r e, th e RBI is in d iscu ssions with sev er al nat io ns, inc lu d ing Ind onesia, the U nited Arab Emirates, and Mauritius, to establish a direct p ayment li nk o f t h e U ni fi ed P aym ent s I nte rf ac e ( U P I ) w i th ne tw o rk s in th e se natio ns to enable qui cker and l es s e xp en si v e fu nd tra ns fe rs us i ng m o bi le phones

Other Latin American nations have also expressed i n t e r e s t , a s e n i o r R B I official said on the sidelines o f t h e G 2 0 f i n a n c e

ministers and central bank

g o v e r n o r s c o n f e r e n c e I n a d d i t i o n t o a l l o w i n g foreigners to use UPI, the central bank is displaying UPI and the Central Bank D i g i t a l C u r r e n c y ( C B D C ) , c o m m o n l y k n o w n a s t h e digital rupee, to attendees

at the event

The regulator and

t h e g o v e r n m e n t a r e

k e e n t o e x p a n d U P I p a y m e n t l i n k s t o a i d fund transfers and do a w a y w i t h t h e h i g h costs charged by banks a n d r e d u c e t h e t i m e taken The move is seen to be especially beneficial for the Indian diaspora

The RBI official said use o f U P I f o r n o n - r e s i d e n t I n d i a n s w i l l a l s o b e o p e r a t i o n a l i s e d n e x t month, which will allow the u s e o f t h e t o o l t h r o u g h

Getting a discount without negotiating

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

i n t e r n a t i o n a l p h o n e numbers

Although the tool was e n a b l e d , i t c o u l d n o t b e i m p l e m e n t e d d u e t o t e c h n i c a l i s s u e s O f f i c i a l s from RBI stated that they a r e a t t e m p t i n g t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y s c a l e u p t h e pilot in order to cover as many cases in a closed user group as they can The RBI is now trying to extend to o t h e r l o c a t i o n s a n d incorporate more banks on the retail side, where pilots are already being conducted in a number of cities

Shailesh Pathak appointed as FICCI Secretary General

T h e F e d e r a t io n o f I n d i a n C hambers of Comme rce and I n d u st r y ( F IC C I ) , I n d i a ’ s a pe x bu si n e s s c h a m be r , a nn oun ced the a ppointme nt o f S h a i le s h P a t h a k a s S e c r e t a r y G e n e r a l w e f Ma rch 1st, 2023

In a career spanning 37 years, Mr Pathak has spent time in government as an IAS Officer as well as helmed l a r g e c o m p a n i e s i n t h e private sector His extensive i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x p o s u r e i n c l u d e s a n E i s e n h o w e r F e l l o w s h i p i n 2 0 0 0 a s a n emerging Indian Leader, an EU Visitor Program hosted b y t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n 2 0 0 3 , a n d a C h e v e n i n g s c h o l a r s h i p a t the University of Oxford in

2011

Mr Pathak has an MBA degree from IIM Calcutta in 1986 after graduating from S R C C D e l h i H e h a s c o m p l e t e d a n L L B , a n d a D i p l o m a i n O r n i t h o l o g y from BNHS He has scaled a 6831m peak in the Himalayas and has trekked extensively H e w a s a l s o t h e b e s t a l l -

Tata Motors in talks to raise $1 bn via stake sale

Acco rding to media repo rts, T at a Mo t o r s h as st ar te d discu ssions with sovereign wea lth fu n ds a nd p ri va te equ ity investors to raise up to $1 billio n th ro ugh a stake sale in its electric veh icle (EV) business

The company plans to sell a significant minority stake eyeing a valuation of about $10 5 billion

The funds and investors include Temasek Holdings o f S i n g a p o r e , A b u D h a b i I n v e s t m e n t A u t h o r i t y ( A D I A ) a n d M u b a d a l a I n v e s t m e n t C o m p a n y o f the United Arab Emirates, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and KKR and General Atlantic

T a t a M o t o r s p l a n s t o use the bulk of the proceeds t o r e t i r e a p a r t o f i t s o u t s t a n d i n g d e b t a n d

infuse a small portion as primary equity in the EV business, the report said

Earlier this week, Uber Technologies said it plans t o i n t r o d u c e 2 5 , 0 0 0 E V s over three years in India and will buy vehicles from Tata Motors With only 1% o f t h e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 million cars sold in India e a c h y e a r b e i n g e l e c t r i c versions, the country's auto m a r k e t i s m i n u s c u l e i n c o m p a r i s o n t o i t s p o p u l a t i o n B y 2 0 3 0 , t h e Indian government hopes to increase this to 30%

I n 2 0 2 1 , T a t a M o t o r s raised $1 billion from TPG a n d A b u D h a b i s t a t e holding company, ADQ, for its EV unit at a $9 billion valuation, pledging to invest more than $2 billion in its EV business over five years

round officer trainee in his F o u n d a t i o n C o u r s e a t LBSNAA, Mussoorie He has o v e r 4 0 p u b l i c a t i o n s o n infrastructure, cities, finance and public policy

C o m m e n t i n g o n t h e appointment Mr Subhrakant P a n d a , P r e s i d e n t , F I C C I s a i d , “ I a m d e l i g h t e d t o welcome Shailesh and look forward to working closely on a comprehensive agenda for FICCI which takes into account the interests of all stakeholders I am sure he will help me, and successive Presidents carry forward the organization’s rich legacy ” M r S h a i l e s h P a t h a k , Secretary General Designate said, “I am privileged to join the FICCI family With its

9 5 - y e a r h i s t o r y , F I C C I a s ‘Industry’s Voice for Policy C h a n g e ’ w i l l s e e a n e v e n brighter decade ahead India is going to become a much bigger economy, and Indian business and industry would p l a y a m a j o r r o l e i n t h i s growth ” F I C C I a l s o a n n o u n c e d t h a t M r A r u n C h a w l a , D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l , w i l l superannuate on June 30th,

2 0 2 3 a n d t r a n s i t i o n t o a n advisory role Mr Subhrakant Panda, President, FICCI said, “I would like to thank Arun for his dedicated service of o v e r t w o d e c a d e s , a n d s i n c e r e l y a p p r e c i a t e h i s s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o F I C C I c u l m i n a t i n g a s Director General ”

Air India to hire 5,100 this year as it expands fleet

A ir I n di a p l a n s t o a d d hund reds of ne w aircraft to it s f l e e t ov e r t he n e x t 1 0 year s, ther efore this ye ar it wi l l hi r e 5 , 1 00 c r e w me m b e r s , i n cl u d in g 4 , 20 0 ca b i n p e r s on n e l a n d 90 0 pi l o t s T h e a ir l in e h a s alr eady employed over 1,900 ca bin crew an d 285 pilots so fa r sin ce last April The Tata Group acq uir ed AI a nd AI Ex pr ess at the end of January 2022, an d l ast wee k it pl ace d a r ecord-br eaking firm order for 47 0 a ir cr aft (7 0 wi debody an d 400 singl e-aisl es), along wit h an option for an additional 370 aircr aft t ha t it ca n l ate r conver t in to a firm order

We are d oing a mortg age fo r a client who agreed th e deal a few mo nths ag o; the deal was d one on a five year fixed rate, to giv e the client som e security

These days most funding takes time, a lot more than previously, this is due to higher regulation both from a money laundering perspective and underwriting as well I remember one case we submitted pre credit crunch era, from submission to actual offer took less than three days! This was a mainstream lender, who used an automated valuation, and the income was based on self certification; so, as long as the client had good credit this case would be passed

Currently, even bridging loans take longer than this The industry should have speeded up, instead it’s been weighed down further

We got to offer stage for this client, however during this time although the base rates haven’t dropped the product rates have, especially the long term ones

His is a modest mortgage, a first time buyer, and bottom end of the scale When we did the calculations the difference between the two products was about £6,000 This is a significant enough sum to justify a parallel application The current application will stay in place; this will now serve as an insurance policy, in case the main application does not proceed

With two mortgage offers in place, it’s important to ensure the solicitor does not draw down on the wrong one This sounds like an obvious point, but I have seen it happen in practice

A client who was in the habit of shopping around, applied for a product with no early redemption charges, then he went somewhere else and applied again, this time for a product with a ten year tie in with an overdraft facility, which he did not want to draw upon However, it transpired his lawyer drew down upon the wrong deal, and he was committed for a decade with the product, unless of course he’s prepared to pay for the penalty A silly situation, but it happened

If offered everyone would be happy to gain a £6K discount on the purchase of their property However, most do not consider the impact a rate drop has; they would not quantify a reduction of say 0 5% as a present value

They will also be "coaxed to exemplify the best of Indian hospitality and Tata Group c u l t u r e " M o r e t h a n 1 , 9 0 0 cabin crew members were e n g a g e d b y A i r I n d i a b e t w e e n M a y 2 0 2 2 a n d February 2023

There is a method to lock into a mortgage rate in advance, there is often little or no downside to doing this If the rates rise you have saved money by having an offer in place, if they happen to decrease you can reapply at the current prevailing rates This obviously has a bigger effect on long term fixed rates This would be generally applicable for remortgage purposes If your current product is expiring say in the next 8 months, it’s worth locking in a product now, the offer generally has a validity period of 6 months, this can be drawn down upon on the expiration of the existing mortgage

Didn’t dodge any taxes in India, says Xiaomi

T h e w or l d ' s l a r g e s t ma n uf a ct u re r o f smartphon es, X iaomi, ha s cl a i m e d t h a t i t h a s

"

A

1 5 - w e e k t r a i n i n g programme will teach safety and service skills to the cabin crew, who will be selected f r o m a r o u n d t h e n a t i o n

S a n d e e p V e r m a , A I ’ s head of inflight services, said, “ W i t h a s i z e a b l e a i r c r a f t order that was announced earlier in the month, more flights on international and d o m e s t i c n e t w o r k s , a n d r e a l i g n m e n t o f d o m e s t i c r o u t e s w i t h A I X C o n n e c t , c a b i n c r e w w i l l p l a y a decisive role in shaping the present and future of the Air India Group We are also looking to step up hiring of more pilots and maintenance engineers ” The Tata Group e m p l o y s n e a r l y 1 0 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 people across its companies

NCLAT stays insolvency case against Zee MD

I n a re li e f to Z e e E nt er ta i nm en t E nterp rises (Z ee) MD Pu nit Goenka, th e Natio nal Company Law Ap pellate T ribu nal (NCLAT ) stayed insolvency p ro c e ed i ng s a ga i ns t t h e m e di a co mpany IndusInd Bank, a financial creditor, was told to submit a response within t w o w e e k s , a n d Z e e , a f o l l o w - u p submission, was told to do the same

The NCLT is determined that the order issued by the Mumbai bench of the NCLT on February 22 is on hold until

the matter is finally resolved, which was set for final disposition on March 29 IndusInd had initiated insolvency proceedings against Zee after its sisterconcern Siti Networks defaulted on a loan of £9 3 million The media major was the guarantor for the loan Last w e e k , t h e N C L T h a d a d m i t t e d IndusInd’s insolvency plea against Zee Subsequently, Goenka in his personal capacity challenged the NCLT order The issue occurs when Zee and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI),

n o w k n o w n a s C u l v e r M a x Entertainment, are in the advanced p h a s e s o f t h e i r m e r g e r A n a l y s t s predict a delay even though Goenka a n t i c i p a t e s t h e t r a n s a c t i o n t o b e completed on time

Zee's stock initially recovered as a result of the NCLAT order, but the sluggish trend eventually dragged it down to a lower closing The stock surged to an intraday high of Rs 205, up 3%, before falling to Rs 196, down

1 6%

a b s o l u te l y n o t " e v a d e d t a x e s i n I n d i a a n d h a s a tt ri b ut ed t he r eg ul at or y a ct i o n t o "mis un de rs ta nd in gs " T he bus ine ss is the sub ject of n umero us in q uir ie s fro m the income tax de partment an d ED

T h e s t a t e m e n t f r o m

X i a o m i I n d i a p r e s i d e n t

Muralikrishnan B comes at a time when the company h a s b e e n u n d e r s e v e r e stress due to tax raids on its India operations It has also lost market leadership

d u e t o i n c r e a s e d c o m p e t i t i o n f r o m S a m s u n g , a p a r t f r o m c o m p a t r i o t s V i v o a n d

Realme

According to Murali, as h e i s k n o w n w i t h i n t h e firm, Xiaomi is currently revising its business model w h i l e h i s l e g a l a n d

r e g u l a t o r y t e a m s h a n d l e the investigations, which h a v e r e s u l t e d i n a significant portion of the c o m p a n y ' s m o n e y b e i n g frozen

“ S o m e o f t h e t h i n g s that we've been accused of; it's just not possible It r e f l e c t s a c e r t a i n misunderstanding We’re a taxpaying company, and ( i n ) e v e r y y e a r o f o u r existence in India, we have p a i d t a x e s , ” M u r a l i t o l d m e d i a “ W e a r e a l a w abiding corporate citizen, a n d e v e r y t h i n g t h a t w e have done is in accordance with the law ” M u r a l i s t r e s s e d t h a t while Xiaomi is a Chinese firm, it has strong India leadership and it looks to strengthen local sourcing H e t o o k o v e r f r o m t h e c o n t e n t i o u s M a n u J a i n , who recently resigned the c o m p a n y a f t e r b e i n g transferred out of India to Dubai

Shailesh Pathak

Khalistan

supporters target Indian consulate in Brisbane

M E LB OU R NE : According to a medi a report, the latest in a s e ri e s o f ex t re m i s t a c ti on s agains t the Indian community, th e I n di a n c on s u la t e i n Brisbane, Australi a, was targeted by Khalistan supporters who even rais ed the Khalistan flag at th e bu i ld i n g Th e i n c i de n t came days after external affai rs mi ni ste r S J ai sha nka r v is ite d the c ount ry an d em phas i se d the need for vi gi lance agai nst “radical activities” targeting the Indian community in Aus tralia

T h e c o n s u l a t e a l l e g e d l y c a m e u n d e r a t t a c k o n t h e

evening of February 21 When Archana Singh, the Indian cons u l i n B r i s b a n e , a r r i v e d o n

F e b r u a r y 2 2 , t h e f l a g o f

Khalistan was still flying outside the building, according to the report Singh immediately notified the Queensland police, which on arrival confiscated the flag and swept the consulate of India to clear of any immediate threat “To keep us secure, police are monitoring the area We have a lot of confidence in the cops," Singh told the media

The incident comes follow-

ing the vandalism of three Hindu temples

i n A u s t r a l i a b y

K h a l i s t a n s u p p o r t e r s

On January 23, Iskcon temple in Melbourne found the walls of the b u i l d i n g v a n d a l i s e d w i t h a n t i - I n d i a g r a f f i t i O n

J a n u a r y 1 6 , t h e S h r i S h i v a Vishnu Temple in Victoria was vandalised in a similar manner a n d o n J a n u a r y 1 2 , t h e

S w a m i n a r a y a n t e m p l e i n Melbourne was defaced with anti-India graffiti D u r i n g t h e i r v i s i t s t o

Indian origin Vivek Ramaswamy announces US presidential bid

W A S H I N G T O N : Te ch e n tr e p r e n e u r a n d I nd i a n - A m e r i ca n Vi v e k Ramas wamy ha s announced h is 2024 pres ide ntia l bid with a p romise to "put me rit back a nd end de pe ndence on C h i n a , be co m i n g th e s e c o n d co m mu ni t y m e m b e r t o e n t e r th e Repu blican P arty 's pre sidential p rima ry after Nikki Haley R a m a s w a m y , 3 7 , w h o s e p a r e n t s m i g r a t e d t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s f r o m Kerala and worked at a General Electric p l a n t i n O h i o , h a s m a d e t h e announcement during a live interview

He said "We are in the middle of this national identity crisis, Tucker, where we have celebrated our differences for so long that we forgot all the ways we are really just the same as Americans bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion 250 years ago "

He calls "wokeism" a national threat

"That's why I am proud to say tonight that I am running for United States president to revive those ideals in this country, Ramaswamy announced

I think we need to put merit back into 'America' in every spirit of our lives," he said, adding that he will end affirmative action in "every sphere of A m e r i c a n l i f e " A s e c o n d - g e n e r a t i o n Indian American, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, it has many successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDAapproved products, according to his bio

"I'm all for putting America first, but in order to put America first, we have to first rediscover what America is And to me, those are these basic rules of the road that set this nation into motion from meritocracy to free speech, to selfgovernance over aristocracy ”

Sikhs second most targeted faith group for US hate crimes: FBI

W AS HIN G T ON : Accor ding to a re ce nt FBI r e p or t, S ik hs w e re t he s eco n d m ost v ict imise d re ligious g roup in hate cr ime s in t he U S in 2021 be hin d Je ws, while Hindus a nd M uslims a ccount ed for 1 % an d 9 5% of t he 1 ,005 offen ce s r eport ed in t hat y ear

T h e r e w e r e 2 1 4 ( 2 1 3 % ) h a t e c r i m e s against Sikhs and 10 against Hindus, according to FBI’s annual data Anti-Semitic crimes were the highest at 31 9%, while the count for Catholics was 6 1%

The shooting by a former worker at a FedEx plant in Indianapolis on April 16, 2021 was one of the crimes Four Sikh employees of the facility were among the eight people who were shot

Sikhs who first began arriving in the US in the late 1800s are a small religious minority American Sikhs have in the past been targeted in racist attacks, which escalated after

the 9/11 terrorist strike in 2001

Entrepreneur Balbir Singh Sodhi was killed at his Arizona gas station four days after the September 11 attacks by a man who declared he was “going to go out and shoot some towel-heads” and mistook him for an Arab Muslim

At a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on August 5, 2012, a white supremacist shot six Sikhs and injured four others Being the largest attack on the community in American history, requests were made for safety protocols to be in place at around 300 gurdwaras nationwide and to increase knowledge and understanding of their religion

FBI hadn’t tracked hate crimes specifically against Sikhs until 2015, according to a report, and many local law enforcement agencies fail to record bias attacks comprehensively

S y d n e y a n d M e l b o u r n e o n February 18, Jaishankar and his d e p u t y V M u r a l e e d h a r a n b r o u g h t u p I n d i a s c o n c e r n s r e g a r d i n g t h e s i t u a t i o n H e talked about this matter with h i s A u s t r a l i a n c o u n t e r p a r t P e n n y W o n g d u r i n g t h e i r meeting

Indian origin man in US sentenced to 51 months in wire fraud case

N E W Y O R K : A 2 2 - y e a r- o ld I nd i a n American man was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wi re fraud that targeted the elderly in the US by using call centres in India, an official statement said

According to a statement from the US A

f Virginia, Jeel Patel of South Carolina was a part of an international fraud scheme from February 2020 to June 2020 that started from call centres in India and predominately targeted elderly people

According to court documents, these call centres would initially contact victims using automated robocalls designed to create a sense of urgency with the recipients, it said

The statement dated February 14 states that after making initial contact with victims, closers would pose as government officers like FBI or DEA agents in order to deceive and pressure victims into sending money to bank accounts managed by the conspiracy

Jeel worked as a courier for the network who picked up cash stolen from unsuspecting seniors, saved a portion for themselves and forwarded the remainder to the call centre operators in India

H e w a s e m p l o y e d b y B h a v i n k u m a r "Sunny" Patel, who operated a cell of couriers in several states that was responsible for losses exceeding USD 3 million to more than 120 victims

For his part in directing the fraud, Sunny, 28, of Richmond, was given a 10year prison term last year During the brief four-month period that Jeel Patel worked for Sunny Patel, the defendant retrieved or attempted to retrieve 14 packages from 10 different victims, with total actual losses of USD 485,020, it said

58 dead as migrant boat smashes into rocks off Italy

R O M E : A u th o ri ti e s re p o r te d t h a t 5 8 p a s se n ge rs p e ri s h e d wh en th eir crammed woo den bo at slammed into jagged reefs and disintegrated o ff th e coast o f sou th ern Italy According to Manuela Curra, a representative o f th e regional government, th e p reliminary death toll was 58 E ig h t y- o n e p eo p le s u rv iv ed , with 20 h ospi talised including o ne pers on in intensive care, sh e said Su rvivors rep ortedly indicated th at do zens more cou ld be missing

T h e s e v e r a l p a s s e n g e r s aboard the boat at the time of

MURDER ATTEMPT ON PAK'S TRANSGENDER TV ANCHOR

Pakistan’s first-ever transgender TV host Marvia Malik escaped an assassination attempt, the local media reported The gunmen opened fire on her when she was returning home from a pharmacy in Lahore Pakistan After being "disowned" by her family, Ms Malik, then 21 years old, became Pakistan s first transgender newsreader in 2018, in a nation where discrimination is still pervasive Ms Malik made her debut appearance on Pakistan’s Kohenoor TV just days after becoming the first transgender model at a prominent fashion show held annually by the Pakistan Fashion Design Council, according to reports Ms Malik has left Lahore in order to keep safe following the incident on last week She admitted to authorities that she had been receiving threatening calls for some time because she had been speaking up for Pakistan's transgender community She said that the attack was motivated by her "activism "

BALOCHISTAN BLAST KILLS 4, INJURES 14

At least four people were killed and 14 others were hurt in a market explosion triggered by an improvised explosive device (IED) hidden on a motorcycle in Pakistan's unrest-ridden Balochistan region according to police The blast took place a day after two policemen were killed and another was injured in Balochistan s Khuzdar when an IED went off while police officers were patrolling the area According to Barkhan deputy commissioner Abdullah Khoso, the explosion was caused by an IED that was detonated on a motorcycle Volunteers are seen removing bloodied victims in social media videos that have not been authenticated Mangled motorcycles and charred vegetables can be seen strewn about on the road No terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for the blast

2 PAKISTANIS REACH HOME AFTER BEING FREED

According to sources, two Pakistani brothers who had been detained by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay for 20 years were released and sent back home According to security sources and a Pakistani senator they will be reunited with their families following a formal inquiry by Pakistani authorities Pakistan arrested Abdul and Mohammed Rabbani on suspicion of their links to al-Qaida in 2002 in Karachi, the country s largest southern port city The brothers were being returned to Karachi, where they already resided with their families, according to Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, the head of the upper house's human rights committee

US MAN ANONYMOUSLY DONATES £1 16 MN FOR TREATMENT

the reef collision in the ferociously choppy seas were also subject to varying estimations

Part of the debris washed up on a section of beach along the Ionian Sea coast of Calabria, where splintered fragments of vivid blue wood scattered the sand like matchsticks

According to survivors mentioned in media reports from the village of Steccato di Cutro, the boat left Turkey five days earlier with more than 200 passengers on board Italian PM

Giorgia Meloni said some 200 migrants had been crowded into

a 66-foot-long boat Italy’s coast guard, which was coordinating t h e r e s c u e , s a i d a b o u t 1 2 0 migrants were believed to have been on board Earlier, the mayor of Cutro, A n t o n i o C e r a s o , t o l d n e w s agency that women and children were among the dead He said the migrants’ wooden boat had “disintegrated” amid stormy sea conditions, with parts of the wreckage ruins strewn across some 300 metres of the coast Italian news agency Adnkronos said the migrants caught up in the shipwreck came from Iran,

Pakistan and Afghanistan, while ANSA said they came from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria Italian officials said that a r e s c u e m i s s i o n c o m p r i s i n g a helicopter, police aircraft, state f i r e m a n s q u a d v e s s e l s , c o a s t guard vessels, and border police v e s s e l s w a s u n d e r w a y o n S u n d a y F i s h e r m e n f r o m t h e area aided in the search for survivors As they pulled a body a s h o r e , t w o f i r e f i g h t e r w a t e r rescuers battled strong winds and waves that were smashing several metres high onto the beach

For the treatment of a Kerala couple's son who has a rare genetic condition termed spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2, which results in progressive loss of movement and limited lifespan if left untreated a US-based individual has anonymously gifted Rs11 6 crore Nirvaan’s parents, Sarang Menon and Adithi Nair, received Rs 5 crore through crowdfunding with contributions from 50,000 people as per media report They were informed by the doctors that the treatment for their child’s condition would cost around Rs 17 5 cr for a single drug named Zolgensma As per reports, upon diagnosis of this condition, the parents opened accounts for their 15-month-old baby on two crowdfunding platforms- Milaap and ImpactGuru Hailing from Kerala, but based in Mumbai, the couple was informed that their son requires a drug for gene replacement therapy

in brief

INDIAN AMERICAN CHARGED FOR SPREADING RUMOURS

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US has filed a complaint against Indian-American Milan Vinod Patel for disseminating more than 100 rumours that were untrue about publicly traded firms in order to earn more than $1 million through illegal trading According to the SEC s complaint, Patel received rumours about alleged market-moving events, like corporate mergers or acquisitions involving publicly traded businesses, from his accomplices that he was aware were untrue He then spread the rumours to his contacts at financial news services, chat rooms, and message boards

IRAN CURRENCY FALLS TO RECORD LOW AMID UNREST AND GLOBAL ISOLATION

Iran’s currency fell to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market on last week amid the country s increasing isolation over its disputed nuclear programme, human rights violations and the supply of drones to Russia

According to a foreign exchange website, the US dollar was trading for up to 601,500 rials on Iran s black market, up from 540,000 rials on Friday and 575,000 rials the day before Following months of unrest caused by the death of a woman on September 16 while she was being held in custody, Iranian officials have blamed the currency decline on "the enemies plot" to destabilise the Islamic Republic Since the beginning of the demonstrations the value of the rial has decreased by nearly 50%

DEATH PENALTY FOR ‘KIDNAPPED’ GERMAN

An Iranian court on Tuesday sentenced to death on terror charges an Iranian-German national who supporters say was abducted in the Gulf and forcibly returned to Iran for a show trial According to the news service, Mizan, the Tehran Revolutionary Court found Jamshid Sharmahd guilty in relation to the deadly bombing of a mosque in 2008

Sharmahd 67 a German national and a resident of the US was detained according to Iranian officials who made the announcement in August 2020 His family claims that he was kidnapped by Iranian security forces in Dubai while travelling According to Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, the leader of the Iran Human Rights group with a base in Norway, "They kidnapped Jamshid Sharmahd and now they ve sentenced him to execution after a sham trial "

KIDS TAKE AUSTRIA TO COURT OVER CLIMATE INACTION

On Tuesday, twelve kids filed a lawsuit against the government in Austria's highest court accusing it of failing to update a "inadequate" climate protection statute A growing number of organisations and people are using the legal system to protest what they believe to be the government s inactivity in combating climate change

LOWEST FERTILITY RATE IN S’ KOREA

The fertility rate or the average number of expected children per South Korean woman over the course of her reproductive life, decreased to 0 78 in 2022 from 0 81 a year earlier, according to data issued by Statistics Korea last week

According to experts the rate must be at least 2 1 to maintain the nation s 52 million population level The number of newborns declined last year to 249,000 from 260,600 a year earlier which is less than five per cent of the population The fertility rate in the South East Asian nation first dropped to lower than one child per woman in 2018 Experts believe that the trend will likely continue because of causes such as increased living expenses high real estate costs, the cost of education, increased economic worry, and more

Canada admits record 226,450 Indian students in 2022

T O R ON T O : I nd i a h a s overtaken China as the country sending the m ost new fo reign st u d en ts t o C ana d a i n 2 0 2 2, according to data made public by Im mig ratio n, Refug ees and Citizensh ip Canada (IRCC)

The North American nation set an immigration record by welcoming 551,405 international students from 184 countries in 2022 India was closely followed by China and the Philippines with 52,165 and 23,380 students, respectively

In 2021, a total of 444,260 new study permits took effect,

an increase from the 400,600 in 2019 I n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t s e n r o l l e d i n C a n a d a i n 2 0 1 9 totaled 637,860; this figure fell t o 6 , 1 7 , 3 1 5 i n 2 0 2 1 w h e n t h e C o v i d - 1 9 p a n d e m i c c a u s e d a drop in enrolment India was also among the top 1 0 s o u r c e c o u n t r i e s o f international students already living and studying in Canada as o f D e c e m b e r 3 1 , 2 0 2 2 , w i t h

319,130 students According to IRCC, most new study permits are now being processed within the 60-day service standard in

Canada T h e n a t i o n c o n t i n u e s t o b e a p o p u l a r c h o i c e f o r Indian students due to t h e q u a l i t y o f e d u c a t i o n , c h e a p e r e x p e n s e s , availability of employment, and immigration opportunities after graduation In 2022, the nation processed an all-time high of 4 8 million visa applications

Foreign students contribute more than $15 3 billion annually to the economy, according to the Canadian government Each y e a r t e n s o f t h o u s a n d s o f

g r a d u a t e s w h o c h o s e t o immigrate permanently to the c o u n t r y b e c o m e a s o u r c e o f young, educated workers A c c o r d i n g t o S t a t i s t i c s Canada, international students who get permanent residence tend to integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market due to their previous experience of living in the country on visas

Florida residents under fear of rare amoeba infection

F LOR ID A: A patient who co ntracted a "brai n-eati ng" amoeba may h ave been infected after rinsing their sinuses wi th tap water

Florida health officials reass u r e d C h a r l o t t e C o u n t y r e s idents that tap water in the area is still safe to drink because the r a r e s i n g l e - c e l l e d a m o e b aknown as Naegleria fowlerican only infect humans through the lining of the nose Florida's Department of Health (DOH) said the initial signs of a brain-

d e s t r o y i n g a m o e b a i n c l u d e fever, nausea and vomiting

L o c a l r e s i d e n t s a r e b e i n g advised to only use distilled or sterile water in sinus-rinse solutions, and to seek immediate m e d i c a l a d v i c e s h o u l d t h e y e x p e r i e n c e s y m p t o m s Headaches, fever, nausea, diso r i e n t a t i o n , v o m i t i n g , a s t i f f neck, seizures, loss of balance and hallucinations can all indicate the presence of the singlecell organism in the body All steps should be taken to prevent

New drug that's 'zombifying people's bodies' causing alarm in US

W A S H I N G T O N : D ru g ov e rdos es are a lwa ys been a bi gges t problem in Ameri ca As per federal reports, it s ugges ts that on e person dies of a drug overdos e every five m inutes i n Americ a Now a new drug in market is c a us i n g a l a r m on t h e U S streets, w hi ch literally rot people 's ski n T h e s u b s t a n c e k n o w n a s Xylazine, otherwise known as Tranq, is creating mayhem in major cities across the country w i t h i t s d e v a s t a t i n g e f f e c t s Media reported that Xylazine is an animal tranquillizer that is increasingly used as a synthetic cutting agent for opioids like heroin

T h e n e w s o u t l e t f u r t h e r said that in a report, it found that xylazine is popping up in cities all over the country Use o f t h e d r u g i s i n c r e a s i n g a t e x p o n e n t i a l r a t e s w h e r e i t lands, causing outbreaks of skin

infections and overdoses The national spread of xylazine is a p u b l i c h e a l t h t h r e a t I t a l s o foreshadows the future of the o v e r d o s e c r i s i s , i n c r e a s i n g l y driven by powerful synthetic compounds mixed into potent combinations

According to news agency, " T r a n q D o p e " i s a m i x o f Fentanyl, the opioid that has ruined America's youth, and the veterinary drug Xylazine It is sold on the street for just a few dollars per bag

Public health authorities are horrified by its spread and worried about the terrible scars that leave on individuals who use it A 28-year-old man named Sam claimed that "Tranq is basically zombifying people's bodies " He said that he has struggled with a s u b s t a n c e u s e d i s o r d e r s i n c e the age of 14, adding that he has been in and out of treatment for many years of his life

water entering the nose, with people being urged to take part i c u l a r c a r e w h i l e s w i m m i n g , bathing, showering or washing the face T h e u l t r a - r a r e N a e g l e r i a f o w l e r i a m o e b a , w h i c h w a s recorded just 31 times between 2012 and 2021, is often detected in divers and swimmers, and e n t e r s t h e b o d y t h r o u g h t h e n o s t r i l s T h e a m o e b a p a s s e s through the lining of the nostril before travelling up to the victim's brain Naegleria fowleri

causes an infection known as p r i m a r y a m e b i c m e n i n g o e ncephalitis (PAM) that destroys brain tissue Its first symptoms e m e r g e a r o u n d 1 2 d a y s a f t e r infection The infection is not thought to be contagious and c a n n o t b e s p r e a d b e t w e e n humans

The main line of defence against Naegleria fowleri is a c o m b i n a t i o n o f m e d i c a t i o n s that have been successful in the p a s t , p a r t i c u l a r l y a m o n g patients who survived

Punjabi-origin pleads guilty of smuggling migrants into US via Canada

WA S HI NGT ON: A ccording to local media so urces, a fraud ster of Punjabi origin who was th e subject of an RC MP inv estigation into the d eath of an Ind ian family at th e Canada-US bo rder last year entered a guilty plea to charges of people sm ugg ling th is w eek Rajinder Pal Singh, 49 admitted to receiving more than 500,000 US dollars (more than £400,000) for his part in coordinating a complex human smuggling ring moving migrants into the United States through Canada, media reported

On January 19 last year, the bodies of three-year-old Dharmik Patel, his 11-year-old sister Vihangi Patel, their mother 37-year-old Vaishali Patel, and their father 39-year-old Jagdish Patel were found in a field east of Emerson, about 100 km south of Winnipeg, according to the media Singh was arrested in May last year

In accordance with a plea deal, Singh admitted guilt to conspiring to launder money and to transport and harbour certain aliens for profit in US District Court, Western District of Washington, Seattle

To help migrants navigate their way over the Canadian border, Singh used the Life360 app, which allows users to share their physical location through their cellphone, according to a media report Singh would schedule pickups using the Uber ride-sharing app after they arrived in the States Frequently, migrants would be dropped off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport before being picked up by another Uber and sent to hotels or safe houses in the wider Seattle area According to the plea bargain, migrants would be driven or flown to their final destinations throughout the US Singh charged up to $11,000 per person for his services His rideshare scheme involved hundreds of trips, using more than 100 different Uber drivers, and cost more than $80,000

Bhutanese Prince Wangchuck becomes country's first digital citizen

T H I M P H U : B h u ta n' s R o yal

Hig hness the Gyalsey (Prince)

J ig m e N am g y el Wan g c h u ck , becam e the cou ntry's first digital citizen by onbo arding with th e

utan Natio nal

Bhutan's NDI uses cutting-edge technology to give citizens safe identity credentials that can be verified, protecting their privacy

D

e n t r

n t

t y ( D I D ) technology, allows users more c o n t r o l o v e r w h o c a n a c c e s s

their personal information J i g m e T e n z i n g , a c t i n g secretary for GovTech Bhutan, was quoted by The Bhutan Live as saying, "We are honoured and p r i v i l e g e d t o h a v e H i s R o y a l

H i g h n e s s a s t h e f i r s t d i g i t a l citizen of Bhutan The launch of

B h u t a n ' s N a t i o n a l D i g i t a l I d e n t i t y b a s e d o n t h e S e l f -

Sovereign Identity model, is a m a j o r s t e p f o r w a r d i n transforming the way services are delivered in both the public and private sectors This flagship i n i t i a t i v e o f G o v T e c h w i l l p r o v i d e s e c u r e a n d v e r i f i a b l e d i g i t a l i d e n t i t i e s t o c i t i z e n s , laying a strong foundation for o u r d i g i t a l f u t u r e W e a r e delighted to have worked closely with the excellent team at DHI on developing the technologies for Bhutan NDI We hope this example of using technology to t r a n s f o r m l i v e s w h i l e

safeguarding privacy will inspire and motivate others to follow s u i t " T h e m e d i a s a i d t h a t b e c a u s e N e w D e l h i h a s constantly assisted its neighbour i n d e v e l o p i n g a d i g i t a l infrastructure, relations between India and Bhutan are on track to reach new heights

B h u t a n a n d I n d i a a r e working together on a number of technological projects Under B h u t a n s f l a g s h i p p r o g r a m m e , "Digital Drukul," an optical fibre b a c k b o n e h a s b e e n m a d e available at the village level in each of the country's 20 districts, according to media reports

Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck

Delhi Dy CM Sisodia to remain in CBI custody till 4th March

M anish S iso dia, the deputy ch ief minister of Delhi, w as o r d er ed b y D el h i' s Ro u s e A venu e C ourt to be detained by th e C BI until March 4 In o p p o s i ti o n to S i so d ia 's d ete nti o n i n c o nn ec ti o n w i th th e p u rp or ted D elh i liquor excise policy case, th e A am A a d m i P a rty is o rg anis ing d em o nstrati ons acro ss the nation

On Monday, the party p r o t e s t e d o u t s i d e t h e B h a r a t i y a J a n a t a P a r t y ' s headquarters on Deen Dayal U p a d h y a y M a r g i n t h e c a p i t a l A r v i n d K e j r i w a l , C h i e f M i n i s t e r o f D e l h i , asserted on Monday that the C B I w a s u n d e r p o l i t i c a l pressure when Sisodia was d e t a i n e d I n a t w e e t , Kerjiwal claimed that most of the agency officers were a g a i n s t a r r e s t i n g t h e A A P leader but they were “under p r e s s u r e ” f r o m t h e i r

political bosses

S i s o d i a , n a m e d a s t h e primary suspect in the CBI's FIR, was taken into custody a t 7 1 5 p m o n S u n d a y According to the CBI, the a g e n c y c h o s e t o d e t a i n S i s o d i a a f t e r h e a l l e g e d l y provided evasive responses and refused to assist with t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n d e s p i t e b e i n g p r e s e n t e d w i t h e v i d e n c e t o t h e c o n t r a r y A f t e r p r e s e n t i n g h i m i n

court, the agency will ask for his remand for questioning

A c c o r d i n g t o a declaration made 164 CrPC by an officer who worked in t h e e x c i s e d e p a r t m e n t , S i s o d i a w a s i n v o l v e d i n editing the draughts "There was no file or discussion log describing how these clauses w e r e a d d e d t o t h e f i n a l d r a u g h t T h e s e p r o v i s i o n s were received on WhatsApp by an officer, according to

9 Indian states at high risk of damage due to climate change hazards

f o r e n s i c a s s e s s m e n t o f d i g i t a l d e v i c e s t h a t w e r e s e i z e d A s i g n i f i c a n t d e f e n d a n t w h o h a d previously been arrested in the investigation had access to the draught excise policy r e p o r t o n h i s p h o n e , a c c o r d i n g t o a d i f f e r e n t source AAP is to allot arrested m i n i s t e r M a n i s h S i s o d i a ' s p o r t f o l i o s t o r e v e n u e minister Kailash Gahlot and social welfare minister Raj K u m a r A n a n d M a n i s h Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who have been arrested in different cases, on Tuesday quit the cabinet

K e j r i w a l h a s a c c e p t e d the resignations of the two leaders, who played a pivotal r o l e i n i m p l e m e n t i n g h i s governance agenda of good e d u c a t i o n a n d h e a l t h f a c i l i t i e s i n t h e n a t i o n a l capital

BBC document a hatchet job to shape extremist image of India: Jaishankar

In d ia ’ s e x t e r n a l a ff a i r s m in is t e r S J a i sh a n k a r sl a m m e d t h e BBC fo r i t s do cum en t a r y o n th e 200 2 Guja rat r iot s a nd PM M od i’s alle ged role a s he ca lled it a hat che t job and “ p olitics by o t h e r m e a n s ” He a ls o criticise d R ahul Ga ndhi for que st ioning Ind ia an d China poli cy sa y in g i t w as M od i w ho d is p a t ch e d t r o op s t o the L AC to counte r Be ijin g “We are not debating a d o c u m e n t a r y o r a s p e e c h someone gave in a European city We are debating politics w h i c h i s b e i n g c o n d u c t e d ostensibly There is a phrase, ‘ war by other means ’ This is

S Jaishankar

politics by other means, ” he said in an interview “You do a hatchet job and say this is j u s t a m i s s i o n f o r t r u t h which we decided to put out 20 years later Do you think timing is accidental? Don’t know if election season has started in India, but for sure

i t h a s s t a r t e d i n L o n d o n a n d N e w York,” he added H e a g r e e d t h a t certain people in the W e s t a r e h a v i n g issues accepting the rise of India under P r i m e M i n i s t e r Modi “Do you doubt it? It’s like drip, drip, drip on a stone How do you shape a very extremist image of India, the government of BJP, of the PM? It has been going on for a d e c a d e L e t ’ s n o t h a v e illusions about it,” he said “ T o d a y , I n d i a ’ s g l o b a l standing is clearly very much

h i g h e r a n d q u i t e s t r o n g W e ’ v e b e e n a b l e t o d e m o n s t r a t e t o t h e w o r l d that we are an exceptional i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o w e r , ” s a i d Jaishankar In a rebuttal to C o n g r e s s o v e r a l l e g a t i o n s pertaining to China, he said, “I think they are deliberately m i s r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e situation The Chinese first came there in 1958 and the C h i n e s e c a p t u r e d i t i n October 1962 Now you are g o i n g t o b l a m e t h e M o d i government in 2023 for a b r i d g e w h i c h t h e C h i n e s e captured in 1962 and you don’t have the honesty to say when it has happened ”

Zahwah - the youngest journalist of Pakistan

Nischal Sanghavi

YouTubers were shocked to s e e a 1 2 - y e a r - o l d g i r l i n t e r v i e w i n g f o r m e r P a k i s t a n p r i m e m i n i s t e r Imran Khan with the ease of a s e n i o r j o u r n a l i s t a t h i s h o m e i n L a h o r e ’ s Z a m a n Park Khan himself was quite seriously assessing each and every question and replying the little girl with his wellt h o u g h t - o u t a n s w e r s T h e v i d e o h a s a l r e a d y c r o s s e d

21,000 views in three weeks

The 7th grader Zahwah Nuray Fatima may be still a kid, but has a fair idea of what Journalism is all about a s b o t h h e r p a r e n t s a r e leading journalists One day w h i l e u p l o a d i n g a documentary video of school project on YouTube, an idea struck in her mind - why not to have a channel specially f o r k i d s w h e r e t h e y c a n access content and solutions to various issues of children

Currently, the 13 -year-old Z a h w a h i s P a k i s t a n ’ s y o u n g e s t j o u r n a l i s t w i t h p r e s e n c e a c r o s s a l l s o c i a l media platforms With over

5 0 , 0 0 0 v i e w s a n d a r o u n d 1 , 5 0 0 s u b s c r i b e r s , Z a h w a ’ s YouTube channel has several viewers eagerly waiting for h e r n e x t v i d e o t o g e t uploaded

Z a h w a h h a s w o n a runner up award at UK based organisation’s Young Voices Award where there were 144 applicants from 36 countries There was also a cash prize of $500 She has also received t h e ‘ F r e e d o m o f s p e e c h ’ award by the Governor of Punjab and ‘Human Rights’ a w a r d Z a h w a h r e c e n t l y represented Pakistan in an online consultation with UN (Asia) regarding child rights mainstreaming

Zahwah gets tremendous encouragement from father

S h i r a z H a s n a t w h o i s t h e b u r e a u c h i e f o f P a k i s t a n ’ s l e a d i n g t e l e v i s i o n c h a n n e l H U M N e w s a n d m o t h e r Wara Haider who has been a f r e e l a n c e j o u r n a l i s t w i t h several television channels Zahwah who studies the IB board curriculum at Lahore’s B e a c o n H o u s e N e w l a n d school is also a champion footballer and athlete While her 10-year old brother also contributes to the channel with book reviews, Zahwah has got huge response from o t h e r k i d s a n d s c h o o l m a n a g e m e n t , w h i c h i s definitely motivating her to do even better In fact, the v i d e o o f Z a h w a h interviewing the former PM is endlessly travelling around

N i n e I n d i a n s t at e s a r e a m ong 5 0 r eg io ns i n th e w orld th at are at ri sk of d a ma g e “ b ui l t e n vi r on m e n t” du e to c l i ma t e ha z ar ds , a re por t s a i d B ui l t en v i ro nm e n t r e fe r s to as p e c ts o f s urroundi ngs that are built by humans to support their activities such as homes and workplaces

According to the report p u b l i s h e d b y C r o s s D e p e n d e n c y I n i t i a t i v e , a g r o u p t h a t w o r k s o n q u a n t i f y i n g t h e c o s t s o f climate change, India has t h e h i g h e s t n u m b e r o f s t a t e s t h a t a r e a t r i s k o f d a m a g e T h e s e a r e B i h a r (22nd spot), Uttar Pradesh (25), Assam (28), Rajasthan ( 3 2 ) , T a m i l N a d u ( 3 6 ) , M a h a r a s h t r a ( 3 8 ) , G u j a r a t (48), Punjab (50) and Kerala (52), according to the report

The maximum climate r i s k i n t h e b u i l t environment is in Assam, the report said The group c a l c u l a t e d t h e p h y s i c a l climate risk in over 2,600 states and provinces around the world in 2050

Eighty per cent of the 50 regions at the most risk are s i t u a t e d i n C h i n a , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d I n d i a Asia dominated the list of provinces at risk with 114 such regions in the top 200, as per the report Beijing, Jakarta, Ho Chi

M i n h C i t y , T a i w a n a n d Mumbai are among the top 100 cities that are at risk of damage In China, at-risk regions are concentrated in t h e g l o b a l l y - c o n n e c t e d eastern and southern parts o f t h e c o u n t r y , m e d i a reported

The Pakistani provinces o f P u n j a b , S i n d h a n d K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a a r e a l s o a m o n g t h e t o p 1 0 0 r e g i o n s a t r i s k F l o o d s between June and August had devastated impact on the 30% of the country and d a m a g e d o v e r 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 houses in Sindh alone O t h e r c o u n t r i e s w i t h multiple regions in the top 5 0 i n c l u d e B r a z i l a n d I n d o n e s i a F r o m E u r o p e , cities like London, Milan, Munich and Venice are at higher risk

650,000 drop out of board exams after crackdown on copying in UP

the internet, so much so that e v e n o n I m r a n K h a n ’ s c h a n n e l i t h a s b e c o m e a leading video by number of views Zahwah says that soon her YouTube channel would be qualified for monetisation a n d w i l l s t a r t g e n e r a t i n g r e v e n u e s b o o s t i n g i t s prospects to the next level S h e t a r g e t s t o c r e a t e a p l a t f o r m i n f u t u r e t h a t i s h u g e l y b e n e f i c i a l f o r t h e y o u t h s a n d c h i l d r e n o f Pakistan

S t r ic t e r m e a s u r e s a g a in s t a t t e mpt e d che a t in g in t he o n g o i n g h i g h sc h oo l a n d i n t e r m e d i a t e bo a r d e xa min at ion s in UP have led t o almost 6 50, 000 stude nt s sk ippin g va rious pa per s since last we ek , with 170,0 00 of t hem didn ’t t ur n up for 10th sta nda rd ma them atics test D i v y a K a n t S h u k l a , secretary of the secondary education council said, “We h a v e b e e n s u c c e s s f u l i n keeping the education mafia in check Using a network of C C T V c a m e r a s , t h e g o v e r n m e n t m a i n t a i n s a close watch on examination centres, superintendents and room invigilators ” T h e f i r s t s i g n o f n o na t t e n d a n c e a t t r i b u t e d t o s t r i n g e n t a n t i - c h e a t i n g m e a s u r e s i n i t i a t e d o n t h e s e c o n d d a y o f t h e b o a r d e x a m s , w h e n m o r e t h a n 450,000 students of classes

10 and 12 didn't turn up to w r i t e t h e i r H i n d i p a p e r s

O f f i c i a l s o f t h e B o a r d o f H i g h S c h o o l a n d Intermediate Education said t e a m s d e p l o y e d i n t h e

c o n t r o l r o o m m o n i t o r e d 7 , 0 8 3 e x a m i n a t i o n c e n t r e s d u r i n g t h e C l a s s 1 2 mathematics paper A c c o r d i n g t o s p e c i f i c complaints, FIRs have been r e g i s t e r e d a g a i n s t 1 4 “ s o l v e r s ” a n d m a n y i m p e r s o n a t o r s a c r o s s t h e state so far for their alleged i n v o l v e m e n t i n c h e a t i n g Twenty four students had been caught cheating Four impersonators were caught i n V a r a n a s i d u r i n g t h e mathematics paper Shukla s a i d , “ T h e e x a m i n a t i o n i s b e i n g c o n d u c t e d i n a f a i r manner this year, thanks to i n c r e a s e d v i g i l a n c e b y officers of the department of education ”

Terrorist killed Kashmir Pandit shot dead in an encounter

The ter ror ist who kil le d Ka shm ir i Pa ndit Sa n ja y Sh a r m a w a s ne u tr a l i s e d i n a n encounte r, inf orm ed Kas hmir Zone Police on Tuesday

The terrorist identified as Aqib Mustaq B h a t o p e r a t e d f o r T h e R e s i s t a n c e F r o n t , according to Kashmir Zone Police (TRF) He previously had ties to the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), which is based in P a k i s t a n K a s h m i r Z o n e P o l i c e t w e e t e d ,

" A w a n t i p o r a E n c o u n t e r U p d a t e : K i l l e d #terrorist identified as Aqib Mustaq Bhat of #Pulwama (A category) He initially worked for HM #terror outfit, nowadays he had been working with TRF #Killer of late Sanjay S h a r m a # n e u t r a l i s e d :

The first fatal attack on the community s i n c e O c t o b e r o f l a s t y e a r a l o n g w i t h migrant workers came in the Pulwama area of south Kashmir, where militants shot and killed a Kashmiri Pandit who was working as a bank guard

Sanjay Kumar Sharma, 40, of Achan in Litter village had stepped out of his home to buy groceries when terrorists fired at him He died on the way to the district hospital He is survived by his wife, Sunita Sharma (38)

This was the second targeted attack this year on a civilian after terrorists shot and wounded the son of a slain police officer in Bijbehara of Anantnag district on February 24 He is being treated at the military hospital in Srinagar

Zahwah receiving award from the Governor of Punjab Zahwah and family at Imran Khan’s residence

PM Modi invites green energy stakeholders to invest in India

P ri m e M i nis ter N arend ra M odi invited stakeh old ers across the world to inv est i n r enew ab le energ y and r ela ted s ec to rs , and th e po tential of solar, wind and biogas in India is no less than any g old mine or oil field for the priv ate sector w h i c h s e eks to e ns u re g r ee n e ner g y g ro w t h o f India

H e s a i d “ T h e B u d g e t (2023-24) will play a key role in establishing India as a l e a d p l a y e r i n t h e g l o b a l green energy market That is why, today, I invite every stakeholder of the energy to invest in India”, while n o t i n g t h a t I n d i a ’ s c o mm a n d i n g p o s i t i o n i n renewable energy space will e n s u r e a c o m m e n s u r a t e change in the world

He was addressing the first of a series of 12 postbudget webinars organised

by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementat i o n o f t h e i n i t i a t i v e s a n n o u n c e d i n t h e U n i o n budget

Stating the increase in p r o d u c t i o n o f r e n e w a b l e energy; reducing the use of fossil fuel in the economy; a n d r a p i d l y m o v i n g towards a gas-based econom y i n t h e c o u n t r y a r e “ t h r e e p i l l a r s f o r g r e e n growth and energy trans-

Canada-based terrorist’s aide, 5 others working for dons held

f o r K h a l i s t a n i o u t f i t s l i k e

mission”, he flagged vario u s p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e b u d g e t t h a t w i l l h e l p s t a k e h o l d e r s i n c l u d i n g

s t a r t s - u p a n d M S M E s tap the potential in various fields ranging from waste to energy, green h y d r o g e n , e n e r g y s t o rage and gas-based economic activities to the m u l t i - c r o r e v e h i c l e scrapping sector

“This budget is not only an opportunity, but it also contains the guarantee of our future security”, PM said as he urged stakeholders to act quickly to implem e n t a l l i t s p r o v i s i o n s Green growth is one of the s e v e n t o p p r i o r i t i e s o f Budget 2023-24 for ushering in industrial and economic transition, environmentally friendly agricul-

France seeks India's help to bring Ukraine-Russia war to end

Ahead of a resol ution in the UNGA on the Ukraine war a n n iv e r sa r y , Fr e n c h d ip l oma t ic so ur c e s s t a t e d t h a t they are in touch with India on the sla sh an d endorsed PM Nare ndra Modi’s st atement that t his isn’t t he e ra of war, eve n as the y admit ted India was un likel y to vote on the upcoming re solution in cr it icizing Russia

Noting that France and EU didn’t exactly share the s a m e p o s i t i o n o n t h e U k r a i n e i s s u e , F r e n c h sources also said that ties b e t w e e n I n d i a a n d R u s s i a can be used as a channel to work for peace

According to the source, “As you know, there is an important link between the Indian and Russian governments, and we ask the Indian g o v e r n m e n t t o u s e t h e s e links with the Russian counterparts to help us in a way

t o w a r d s p e a c e I t ’ s a l o n g way It’s a long process ” O n e o f t h e F r e n c h a u t h o r i t i e s s t a t e d t h a t France and India have a “ very fruitful” partnership and a history of intense political dialogue that allows them to discuss all issues, even the complex ones

A s k e d i f I n d i a w o u l d again abstain from voting in U N G A o n t h e U k r a i n eR u s s i a c o n f l i c t , t h e y s a i d India is not very likely to join one side or another but they are “working on it”

“It’s always a question of balance We do have contact with the political leaders of India At this stage, we still don’t know what will be the position of the government Most likely it will be abstention but we are still working on it We have a very candid discussion with them There is no secret agenda or what-

ever So then it’s their decision,” a French diplomatic source said

s i g n a t e d a s ‘ t e r r o r i s t ’ u n d e r t h e U n l a w f u l Activities (Prevention) Act due to his connection with smuggling of arms, ammunition, explosives and IEDs a c r o s s i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d inter-state borders in India

Khalistan Liberation Force, Babbar Khalsa International

a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l S i k h

Youth Federation

O t h e r s d e t a i n e e s a r e

Lakhvir Singh, r/o Muktsar, Punjab; Harpreet, r/o Moga, Punjab; Dalip Bishnoi, r/o of

F a z i l k a , P u n j a b ; S u r i n d e r

@ C h i k u C h a u d h a r y , r / o

M a h e n d r a g a r h , H a r y a n a ; a n d H a r i O m , r / o

Gurugram, Haryana

The raids had covered 76 l o c a t i o n s a c r o s s P u n j a b , H a r y a n a , R a j a s t h a n , U P ,

D e l h i N C R , M a h a r a s h t r a ,

G u j a r a t a n d M a d h y a

Pradesh Lucky Khokhar alia

D e n i s , a r e s i d e n t o f B h a t i n d a i n P u n j a b a n d n a b b e d f r o m S r i

G a n g a n a g a r i n R a j a s t h a n , had carried out recruitment for Dala and received funds f r o m h i m f o r c o n d u c t i n g t e r r o r - r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s Khokhar provided arms and ammunition to Dala’s associates in Punjab on his direct i o n s T h e f u n d s r e c e i v e d from Dala, NIA said, were also used for a recent killing i n J a g r a o n , P u n j a b u n d e r directions from Arsh

While Hari Om @ Titu was arrested, Lakhvir Singh was nabbed a day later in connection with a case regi s t e r e d a g a i n s t t h e m a n d their associates in August last for allegedly attempting t o m o t i v a t e a n d r e c r u i t youth for terror activities by using social media

Biden nominates ex-Mastercard CEO

Ajay Banga as World Bank chief

WA S HI NG TO N: After World B ank President D av id Malpass declared hi s in tention to step down early, US Presi dent J oe B i d e n a n n o un ce d t ha t Washi ngton is proposin g forme r M a s ter c ard C E O A ja y B an ga as th e org ani z atio n 's n ew lead er

BJP & RSS behaving like class bullies: Rahul

BJP and RSS are behaving like “clas s bullies” trying to im pos e their ideas on others for whom they have no respect, said Congress l eader Ra hul Ga ndhi

“Only a coward tries to impose his will on another person BJP is like a class bully, like there is one fellow in the class who thinks he is stronger than everybody, bullies everybody, and doesn’t really understand anything One fine day, someone in the class teaches him a good lesson and he stops bullying That’s what BJP and RSS are they are bullies who think they know everything, understand everything and have no respect for anybody,” Rahul said at an election rally in Shillong

He added “We have to fight them collectively and the way to fight them is through love, affection and through respect for each other’s tradition, culture, language and religion ”

“The reason I am here is because the ideology of BJP, specifically the RSS, is to attack and destroy your culture and tradition, and I am here to tell you that we are standing with you in this fight We are not going to allow the ideology of BJP and RSS that harm your language and culture For us, that would not be India That would be hatred, violence and anger, and our country is not a hateful, violent or angry country,” Rahul said

The development lender has just begun taking nominations for candidates, and the bank has stated that women candidates would be "highly" encouraged The nomination p e r i o d i s s c h e d u l e d t o g o through March 29

B a n g a , 6 3 , i s I n d i a nAmerican and currently serving as vice chairman at equity firm General Atlantic He was previously chief executive at Mastercard

Banga has "critical experie n c e m o b i l i z i n g p u b l i c - p r ivate resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our t i m e , i n c l u d i n g c l i m a t e change," said Biden in a statement

The current World Bank President, David Malpass, said

last week that he will leave the position almost a year early Malpass was appointed for the position by Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, in 2019 O r i g i n a l l y , h i s t e r m w o u l d have expired in 2024

B a n g a ' s n o m i n a t i o n comes amid a push for develo p m e n t l e n d e r s t o r e v a m p and address global problems l i k e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s s u e s more effectively

U S T r e a s u r y S e c r e t a r y Janet Yellen earlier said that lenders' core models, where c o u n t r i e s b o r r o w t o m a k e specific investments addressi n g d e v e l o p m e n t a l c o ns t r a i n t s , i s " i n s u f f i c i e n t t o meet the moment "

Speaking to reporters, a senior US administration official said: "At Mastercard and G e n e r a l A t l a n t i c , A j a y h a s m a d e c o m b a t i n g c l i m a t e change and mobilizing private c a p i t a l t o h e l p p o w e r t h e green transition a priority " " T h e s e a r e e x p e r i e n c e s and priorities that will guide and drive his work in the years ahead at the World Bank," the official said

Activist Sumaira creating awareness against sand mining, noise pollution

Subhasini Naicker

S u m ai ra A b d u la li , 6 1 , a n environmental activist, has been rai s i ng h er v o i ce a g ai ns t s an d mining and no ise p ollutio n She is th e f o u nd e r o f N GO A w aaz Foundation She h as also formed th e M o v em e nt ag a i ns t Intimid ation, Th reat and Reveng e ag a i ns t A c ti v i s ts (

She participated in the first round table of GRID - the Geneva U n i t e d N a t i o n s E n v i r o n m e n t Programme and gave her inputs to t h e i r f i r s t r e p o r t , ‘ S a n d a n d S u s t a i n a b i l i t y : F i n d i n g n e w s o l u t i o n s f o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l g o v e r n a n c e o f g l o b a l s a n d r e s o u r c e s ’ I n a n e x c l u s i v e interview with Asian Voice, she spoke about her involvement in t a k i n g p o s i t i v e a c t i o n a g a i n s t climate change

RA ) , " a n

mo vement for the safety of public interest activ ists

While talking about beginning of her journey, Sumaira said, “it all started when I witnessed an illegal sand mining operation close to my a n c e s t r a l h o m e I c r e a t e d a m o v e m e n t t o r a i s e a w a r e n e s s among the urban population in order to bring this issue to public a t t e n t i o n ” T o m i n i m i s e t h e

p r o b l e m o f n o i s e p o l l u t i o n " I engage in public interest litigation (PIL) at the Supreme Court and B o m b a y H i g h C o u r t I g a t h e r quantifiable information for PIL r e g a r d i n g n o i s e l e v e l s , p u b l i c c o m p l a i n t s , i n d e p e n d e n t oversight of statutory bodies, and on-the-ground evidence that has aided in the success of various l e g a l a c t i o n s a g a i n s t n o i s e violators, she stated D i s c u s s i n g a b o u t M u m b a i becoming second most polluted c i t y g l o b a l l y a s p e r S w i s s a i r t r a c k i n g i n d e x I Q a i r b e t w e e n January 29th and February 8th, she remarked that “The government is providing solutions to confront and contribute regarding poor IQ air, but it is high time to apply new and strict methods Buildings are

constantly being constructed and d e m o l i s h e d i n t h e c i t y , w h i c h g e n e r a t e s a l o t o f d u s t t h a t eventually becomes intolerable to b r e a t h e a n d c o n t r i b u t e s t o a i r pollution In order to prevent the c r e a t i o n o f d u s t o n d a y s w i t h s t r o n g w i n d s , t h e g o v e r n m e n t should construct water sprays and use green curtains, among other things ”

C reating aw areness among public S i n c e m o r e t h a n a d e c a d e , A b d u l a l i i s r a i s i n g h e r v o i c e against the environmental issues t h a t n e g a t i v e l y i m p a c t s o u r c l i m a t e “ T h e r e w e r e n o s o c i a l m e d i a p l a t f o r m s w h e n I f i r s t b e g a n o r g a n i s i n g t h e p u b l i c movement So I filed petitions in the court which attracted media attention and as a result, people

began to become aware of the issues ” In order to assist people r e c o g n i s e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f environmental concerns, she said, " I n o w u s e s o c i a l m e d i a , g i v e s p e e c h e s a t e d u c a t i o n a l institutions, and write columns ”

Future plans

Talking about her latest plans, she said, "I'm currently focusing m o r e o n n o i s e p o l l u t i o n a n d illegal sand mining In addition to that, I am concentrating on issues r e l a t i n g t o c l i m a t e c h a n g e , a i r pollution, and animal protection At the moment, I'm writing a book on the experiences I had during the movement, remedies to lessen the environmental problems, and p u b l i c i n t e r e s t l a w s u i t s I h a v e filed However, I’m still at first draft ”

Sumaira Abdulali

Ajay Banga

SC lets EPS to stay on as AIADMK interim gen secy

C H E N N A I : W h en E d a p p ad i K

P a la ni s w am i w as c h o s en i nt eri m g ene ral s ec ret ary an d O

P anneers elv am w as ou sted at the p arty's extraordinary general cou ncil m eet in g o n J u ly 1 1 , 2 0 2 2, th e f u nc ti o na l i m p a ss e w i t h in th e

A IADMK was finally resolv ed

M u l t i p l e r o u n d s o f l i t i g a t i o n revolved around questions like who was to convene the general council meeting, if the members had prior intimation and whether or not the 15-day advance notice mandatory

T h e d i v i s i o n b e n c h o f J u s t i c e D i n e s h M a h e s w a r i a n d J u s t i c e Hrishikesh Roy interpreted nearly e v e r y p o i n t i n f a v o u r o f t h e Palaniswami faction, stating that the meeting on June 23 had been "duly c o n v e n e d " a n d t h a t " e v e n i f t h e slated business was not transacted, a l l t h a t h a d h a p p e n e d i n t h a t m e e t i n g c o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n ignored

Noting that Panneerselvam and those backing him were present at the meeting, the bench said, “The g e n e r a l c o u n c i l c o n s i s t s o f 2 , 6 6 5 members If 2,190 out of these 2,665 c o n s e n t e d t o t h e g e n e r a l c o u n c i l

Karnataka is soul of India, says PM Modi

NE W D EL H I: A head of his v i s i t to p o ll - bo u nd

Karnataka, P rime M inister

Na re nd ra M o d i s a id th e state is th e soul of Ind ia and th e c o u ntr y c an no t be defined without it He said development of Karnataka is the first priority of BJP as p revious dispensations in the state h ad d iverted its money

brief

FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM AT TIRUPATI TEMPLE

meeting and the presidium chairman announced the date, in the given set of facts and circumstances, such an a n n o u n c e m e n t , a t l e a s t a t t h e p r e s e n t s t a g e , c a n n o t b e d u b b e d wholly redundant”

T h e b e n c h r e j e c t e d t h e Panneerselvam faction's argument that no notice was issued to the g e n e r a l c o u n c i l m e m b e r s 1 5 d a y s prior to the meeting, saying this clause was mandatory only for the annual general council I t a l s o a l l u d e d t o a p r e v i o u s occasion in which V K Sasikala, an i n t e r i m g e n e r a l s e c r e t a r y , w a s unable to carry out her duties in that capacity because she was imprisoned i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h a c r i m i n a l matter On September 12, 2017, the members requested a meeting, and the then office holders called it

Two Moose Wala murder suspects killed in jail clash

AM R IT SA R : Two ga ngst ers a rre st ed in conne ct ion with sing er Sid hu Moose Wa la ’ s murde r last yea r we re be at en to de ath d uring a clash at G oin dwal jail in Punjab’s Tar n Ta ra n d ist rict on Sun day Ot her t han t he sla in duo of Ma nde ep Singh, alia s

Toofan , an d Man mohan Sin gh, a lias Mohn a, a third suspect in t he case , Keshav , was critically injure d an d rushe d to a n Amr itsar hospita l, accordin g to Tarn Tar an SSP G ur mee t Sin gh Choha n

The jail fight ca me d ays a fter self-sty le d Sikh prea cher Amrit pal Sin gh laid sieg e t o Amrit sa r ’ s A jnala police sta tion a lon g with hun dre ds of we apon-wielding suppor ter s who cla shed with police for hour s, le avin g many cops injure d P r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n d i c a t e d t h a t p r i s o n c l a s h o c c u r r e d b e t w e e n g r o u p s o w i n g a l l e g i a n c e t o g a n g s t e r s

Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, SSP Chohan said

During the jail fight, sources said sharp-edged weapons, rods and even utensils were used All three were lodged in an isolated zone of the high-security prison and had been allowed out of their cells for a while when the clash occurred, the SSP said Sources said the inmates first faced off over some issue and the situation soon took an ugly turn

“ T h e r e w a s a t i m e w h e n p e o p l e a f t e r f o r m i n g government in Karnataka would take its money outside Today, the country's money and resources are honestly directed towards Karnataka's development,” he said after inaugurating the “Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava” cultural festival here in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other leaders including Union minister Pralhad Joshi

“The identity, traditions and inspirations of India c a n n o t b e d e f i n e d w i t h o u t t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f Karnataka,” the PM said

Asserting that India is guided by the ideals of the “Mother of Democracy” when it is presiding over a global o r g a n i s a t i o n l i k e G - 2 0 , t h e P M s a i d t h e v o w s a n d d e m o c r a t i c s e r m o n s o f L o r d B a s v e s h w a r a t h r o u g h

‘Anubhava Mantapa’ are like a ray of light for India

He expressed delight at getting the opportunity to inaugurate the idol of Lord Basveshwara along with a compilation of his vows in several languages in London Basava, also called Basaveshwara and Basavanna, was a 12th-century Lingayat social reformer and is considered as the most revered icon in the state

The Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirupati will be using the facial recognition system of devotees from March 1 The mechanism is being used to enhance transparency in darshan and lodging allotment according to the official website of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Through the technology it aims to provide more effective services to the thousands of pilgrims visiting the shrine The system is expected to be launched on a pilot project basis According to TTD, the facial recognition technology would also be employed at the "Sarva Darshan Complex and caution deposit return kiosks" to stop worshippers from obtaining more tokens

ROBOTIC SCAVENGERS TO CLEAN MANHOLES IN KERALA

Khalistan

sympathiser's aide freed from Punjab jail

C HA ND I GA R H: T h e P u nj ab police last week made peace with rad ical Si kh p reacher A m ritp al Sing h and released from thei r cu s to d y L o v ep r eet S i ng h a li as Toofan, a clo se aide o f A mritpal Lovepreet w alked out of A mritsar Central Jail after a court ordered his release follow ing the Punjab Police d isch arge plea, a d ay after

A m ri tp al’ s s u p p o rters s to rm e d Ajnala p olice station demand ing h is release

Lovepreet is an accused in a kidnapping case “Since the accused is no more required by the investigating officer for judicial custody, Lovepreet Singh is discharged from custody,” said Manpreet Kaur, Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Ajnala, in her order

“I had no role in the kidnapping I thank the community for their support My jathedar is Amritpal Singh and he is the general of the Sikh community,’’ said Lovepreet brimming with confidence Amritpal, who is often described as a Khalistan sympathizer and heads an organisation called ‘Waris Punjab De’, termed the release of his aide as a “victory of the Panth ”

Amritpal alleged that the police had used force against some of his supporters without any provocation “Yesterday’s situation could have been avoided had the police listened to us The consequences that arose were not created by me The administration had sought time earlier We gave them time,” he said

“Our aim for Khalistan should not be seen as evil It should be seen from an intellectual point of view as to what could be its geopolitical benefits It is an ideology and ideology never dies,” he said After being released from jail, Lovepreet along with Amritpal and others paid obeisance at Golden Temple

Bengal passes UP-like bill to attach vandals’ assets

f e c t i n U t t a r P r a d e s h , M P , Haryana, and Karnataka, all of which are states ruled by the

h a r m d o n e t o m e d i c a l f a c i l i t i e s a s a r e s u l t o f unrest in the community B y d e f i n i t i o n , t h e person who feels wronged can be either a resident or the state itself Within 60 days of the damage being d o n e , a n y o n e w a n t i n g compensation must file a claim with the designated c o u r t A n a d - i n t e r i m attachment ruling good for 180 days will come after this T h e p r o p e r t y ( o f t h e

accused) will be attached after a h e a r i n g i n v o l v i n g b o t h s i d e s There won’t be any violation of natural justice,” state finance m i n i s t e r C h a n d r i m a Bhattacharya said T h e B i l l f a c e d r e s i s t a n c e from the opposition BJP, which alleged that the state was trying to “ gag ” political movements

“We feel this is a regressive step a n d w i l l s e r v e t o c u r b democratic political agitation,” s a i d B J P c h i e f w h i p M a n o j

Tigga

The Kerala government launched robotic scavenger, Bandicoot, to clean sewages, becoming the first state in India to use this technology to clean all its commissioned manholes Water Resources Minister Roshi Augustine launched Bandicoot under the Guruvayur Sewerage Project in Thrissur district by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) as part of the 100-day action plan of the state government With the launch of the project in Guruvayur manual scavenging in Kerala has ended Now Kerala has become the first state in the country to use robotic scavengers to clean manholes, the Minister claimed in a release The robotic Tron Unit, which is the major component of Bandicoot, enters the manhole and removes sewage using robotic hands, similar to a man's limbs, the release, adding that the machine has waterproof, HD vision cameras and sensors that can detect harmful gases inside the manholes

PUNJAB GOVT MOVES SC OVER CONVENING ASSEMBLY

The standoff between Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and the AAP government led by Bhagwant Mann had intensified with Purohit indicating he is in no hurry to summon the session and reminding the chief minister about his derogatory” response to a letter from Raj Bhavan Purohit s letter to CM Mann had come two days after the Punjab Cabinet decided to call the assembly session from March 3 and requested the governor to summon the House It is a settled law that Governor has to summon assembly as per the advice of Cabinet We have been forced to move Supreme Court on something as basic as summoning budget session of Punjab Assembly,” the AAP said

UNION MINISTER’S CAR ATTACKED IN BENGAL

The convoy of Union minister Nisith Pramanik was attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters in Dinhata area of West Bengal s Cooch Behar district TMC dubbed the allegation as “baseless” The attack comes after TMC’s daylong sit-in near the residence of Pramanik at Bhetaguri in Cooch Behar seeking justice for an innocent Rajbanshi youth who was branded as cattle smuggler and shot dead by the BSF My convoy was not only pelted with stones but also shots were fired Bombs were also hurled The entire incident happened in front of the police Pramanik claimed The minister s convoy was attacked when he was on his way to meet party workers at a programme When contacted, the Union minister said that several BJP activists were injured in the attack

Edappadi K Palaniswami

Sidhu Moose Wala

Mamata Banerjee

Gujarat budget focuses on education, infrastructure and health

T h e f i rs t bu d g et o f th e B h u p en d ra P a te l 2 0 a d m i ni s tr ati o n w as d eliv ered by state financ e m in i st er K an u bh ai D es ai , w ho fo cu sed on exp anding investm ents and d ev eloping i nf ras tru c tu re, he alth c are , and tourism It is the big gest state bud get so far with an o utlay of £ 30 1 billion, up 23 3 8 % from £2 4 3 billion in 2 0 2 2 -2 3 Gi v i n g an o p t im i s ti c fo r ec as t, D es ai s a id th e g ro s s s tat e d o m es ti c p ro d u ct g ro w th clocked a C AGR of 12 56% i n t h e la st d ec ad e H e p ro jec ted rev enue su rpl us o f £ 91 68 millio n Pound 319 million has been allotted for Mission S c h o o l s o f E x c e l l e n c e A c a d e m i c a c h i e v e r s o f classes 1-8 under RTE will g e t R s 2 0 , 0 0 0 t o p u r s u e studies in private schools

Four medical colleges will be set up in tribal regions F a s t r a c k h i g h w a y a n d r o a d i m p r o v e m e n t s w i l l cost a total of £2 06 billion H i g h - s p e e d c o r r i d o r s w i l l b e b u i l t o n c o n g e s t e d h i g h w a y s B h a r u c h - D a h e j Road will be converted to an m o t o r w a y w i t h a c c e s s c o n t r o l s P a r i k r a m a P a t h links border regions I n d u s t r i e s r e c e i v e d a n £ 8 5 8 9 m i l l i o n b o o s t including sops for big-ticket

p r o j e c t s , i n c e n t i v e s f o r MSMEs and infrastructure support at SIRs Industrial p a r k s f o r c e r a m i c , b u l k d r u g s , v e h i c l e r e c y c l i n g , textile and IT and science parks will be set up

The agriculture sector would receive £2 16 billion F a r m e r s w i l l r e c e i v e P MKUSUM benefits, daytime e l e c t r i c i t y , a n d p o w e r c o n n e c t i o n s a t r e d u c e d rates

Families eligible under

Cong leader Khera gets bail after arrest for jibe against PM Modi

PM Jan Arogya-Ma Yojana will get annual cover up to

Rs 10,00,000, from existing

Rs 500,000

P o u n d 2 0 7 7 - m i l l i o n

b o o s t t o d e v e l o p t o u r i s t

c i r c u i t s a t S o U , W h i t e

D e s e r t , D h o l a v i r a , G i r , A m b a j i - D h a r o i , D w a r k aS h i v r a j p u r b e a c h , a n d S o m n a t h Y a t r a d h a m Corridor and new airport at Dwarka is on cards

T h e p o u n d 3 b i l l i o n metro projects in Surat and A h m e d a b a d g e t £ 9 0 5 m i l l i o n b o o s t t h i s y e a r W i t h p e a k l o a d p o w e r d e m a n d l i k e l y t o t o u c h 3 5 , 0 0 0 M W i n a d e c a d e , t a r g e t s f o r r e n e w a b l e energy consumption revised to 42% Pound 82 4 million a l l o c a t e d t o b o o s t s o l a r rooftop adoption and £1 2 million earmarked for EV subsidies

India’s most wanted terrorist killed in Pakistan

Pak istan has reported the death of one of India's most wanted terrorists - Hi zbul M u j ah i d ee n c o m ma n d er B a s h i r A hm a d P e er a li a s I mti yaz Alam outside a shop i n Rawalpindi Peer was desi g n a te d a s a te r ro ri s t b y I ndi a i n October last year for his role in sending terrorists and providing logi stic support for infiltrati on i n Jammu and Kashmir

P e e r w a s a h a r d - c o r e t e r r o r i s t c o m m a n d e r w h o r e l o c a t e d h i s b a s e t o Pakistan 20 years ago Peer was a resident of Babapora,

Aloosa village in Kupwara region of Jammu & Kashmir He was considered to be a close confidant of Hizbul Chief Syed Salahuddin

According to Pakistani media reports, motorcycleborne gunmen fired at Peer from point- blank He was standing outside a shop in R a w a l p i n d i w h e n h e w a s targeted

A c c o r d i n g t o s o u r c e s , Peer, the Hizbul leader who launched the organisation in Pakistan, was a significant player in enlisting infilt r a t o r s a n d d e l i v e r i n g

India, China hold in-person talks on disengagement

T o r e v i e w th e L A C si tuation i n eas tern Ladakh I n d i a a n d C h i n a h e l d a n ot h e r r ou n d o f d i pl o m a t i c t a lk s a n d d i s c u s s e d pr op o s a ls f o r d i s e n g a ge m e n t i n remai ning areas in an “ open and constructive” m anner B o th t he c ou n tr i e s h a v e agreed for another mee ti ng of s eni or com ma nder s to a d dr e s s th e s i tu a ti on , wh ic h is pre ve nti ng Ne w Delhi f rom res um ing twos i d e d e x c h a n g e s w i t h Bei jing W h i l e a b r e a k t h r o u g h f o r d i s e n g a g e m e n t i n remaining areas remained e l u s i v e , t h e t a l k s o n t h i s o c c a s i o n t o o k p l a c e i np e r s o n f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e since 2019 Significantly, an Indian delegation led by the MEA joint secretary (East Asia) travelled to Beijing for the discussions This was t h e f i r s t t i m e a n o f f i c i a l Indian delegation travelled to China for talks with their c o u n t e r p a r t s s i n c e t h e military stand-off in AprilMay 2020

T h e g o v e r n m e n t s a i d ,

“The two sides reviewed the situation along the LAC in

the western sector of IndiaC h i n a b o r d e r a r e a s a n d d i s c u s s e d p r o p o s a l s f o r d i s e n g a g e m e n t i n t h e remaining areas in an open a n d c o n s t r u c t i v e m a n n e r , w h i c h w o u l d h e l p i n r e s t o r a t i o n o f p e a c e a n d tranquility along the LAC in western sector and create conditions for restoration o f n o r m a l c y i n b i l a t e r a l relations ”

T o a c h i e v e t h i s o b j e c t i v e i n a c c o r d a n c e with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, the government added that the two countries decided t o h o l d t h e n e x t ( 1 8 t h ) r o u n d o f t h e s e n i o r commanders’ meeting at an early date

According to China, the t w o s i d e s r e v i e w e d t h e “ p o s i t i v e p r o g r e s s ” m a d e p r e v i o u s l y , a f f i r m e d t h e results of disengagement of the border troops of the two c o u n t r i e s i n t h e G a l w a n V a l l e y a n d “ o t h e r f o u r places in the early stage, and had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the next stage of consultation ideas” and reached a fourpoint consensus

weapons and ammunition into Kashmir While design a t i n g h i m a s a t e r r o r i s t u n d e r U n l a w f u l A c t i v i t i e s (Prevention) Act UAPA, the C e n t r e h a d a l s o p u t o u t P e e r ' s P a k i s t a n i C o m p u t e r i z e d N a t i o n a l I d e n t i t y C a r d N o 8 2 2 0 3 -

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Javed Akh tar blames P ak

The perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks are still roaming freely in P a k i s t a n , s o P a k i s t a n i s s h o u l d n o t f e e l o f f e n d e d when India talks about the 2008 carnage, poet and lyri-

cist Javed Akhtar said at a festival organised in memory of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Lahore

In viral video, he is seen making these comments in r e s p o n s e t o a n a u d i e n c e member who told him to take with him a message of peace and tell Indians that P a k i s t a n i s “ a p o s i t i v e , friendly and loving country ” “We should not blame e a c h o t h e r I t w i l l s o l v e nothing The atmosphere is t e n s e , t h a t s h o u l d b e d o u s e d , ” t h e 7 8 - y e a r - o l d lyricist said

SC starts live transcription of proceedings with AI

F o r t h e f ir s t t im e , t h e Sup reme C ourt began evaluating an o ral argu ment live tr an sc r ip t io n s ys t em de ve lop ed b y l awy ers em pl oy ing Ar ti f ic i al I n te l l ig e nc e ( AI ) to o l s an d t ec h no l o gy p o wer e d b y N a tu r a l La n gu a ge Proc es sing The Ch ief Justice of I ndia D Y C handrachu d, while heading a Cons titution Benc h, po inted to a screen placed facing lawyers in his courtro om He said, “We are ju st trying to exp lore the possibility of live transcription o f argum ents in the co urt We had to do it in a l ive environment So , it’s an exp eriment

We will just see how it w orks at l eas t in th e Cons titution Bench matters Th en, we will have a p ermanent reco rd o f ar gu me n ts w h i c h w il l o f c o u r s e h e l p l aw y e r s a nd ju dges, but als o our law colleges Th ey can analys e h ow matters are argued ” h e s aid

Justice M R Shah said in a lighter vein, “This also means do not interrupt each other during the arguments All will be recorded ” Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who hailed the move as historic, a milestone a n d a w o n d e r f u l i n i t i a t i v e ,

i n e d t h e b a n t e r t o s a y ,

T h e S u p rem e C ou rt g rante d i nteri m b ail to C o ng re ss spokesperso n Pawan Kh era hou rs after he w as dram atically deplaned at Delhi airport and detained by Assam p olice on an F IR ac c u si ng h i m o f r ep l ac in g ‘ D am o d ard a s ’ w i th ‘Gautam das’ in PM Narendra M odi’s name to em phasize th e oppo sition’s accusations that the gov ernm ent h ad co nnections with ind ustrialist Gautam Ad ani

A special bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices M R Shah and P S Narasimha, constituted within 30 minutes of senior advocate A M Singhvi seeking urgent hearing on Khera’s petition for quashing of FIRs lodged against him at Haflong in Assam, and Lucknow and Varanasi in UP, ordered his immediate release but refused to quash the FIRs while deprecating his utterances

The court said “Some level has to be maintained in public speeches ” Even Khera’s counsel disapproved of the language Khera tendered an unconditional apology for his mistake Singhvi said he had been the main Congress spokesperson for years and would not stand by use of such inappropriate language

The bench watched the video clip of Khera’s press conference at Mumbai on February 17, where he was heard saying Narendra Gautamdas Modi, despite someone prompting him to say ‘Damodardas’ instead After that he was heard asking, “Is it Gautamdas or Damodardas?” Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati said it was a clear case of insulting the country’s elected PM and abide to cause breach of public peace by inciting mischief through peddling lies

When the bench elucidated that the FIRs could not be quashed in a petition filed directly in the SC crutched on Article 32 of the Constitution, Singhvi said arresting a person in a democracy for utterances, howsoever deplorable and avoidable these may be, would ring the death knell for the right to free speech

SC rejects Uddhav faction's plea to stay EC order

T he S up r e m e C ou rt refused to s tay the Election Com mi ss ion’ s de cis ion to ass ign the Shiv Sena party n a m e a n d th e b o w a n d a r ro w s y m b ol t o t he Ekna th Shi nde- led group, recognis ing it as the real S hi v S e n a b a s e d o n i t s strength in the Lok Sabha a n d th e M a ha r a s h tr a ass embly

“Posterity will judge us what foolish arguments we made ” M o v i n g a w a y f r o m t h e banter, the CJI said “The only problem is when two or more persons speak at the same t i m e H o w e v e r , w e h a v e engaged personnel who will clean the transcription by the evening and provide a link to the counsel to go through the transcripts and suggest corrections After it is cleaned up and corrected, the transcripts would be given to the judges ”

A bench of Chief Justice D Y C h a n d r a c h u d a n d Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala constituted after curtailing proceedings before a five-judge constitution bench, also declined t o r e s t r a i n t h e S h i n d e group from taking over the assets and bank accounts of t h e S h i v S e n a , w h i c h i n turn could lead to a squeeze on the financial resources of the Thackeray faction

Shinde c amp may not push for rivals ’ di squalific ation

The SC bench accepted

senior advocate Devadatt Kamat’s plea to allow the Thackeray group to continue with the EC’s interim arrangement of using the S h i v S e n a ( U d d h a v B a l a s a h e b T h a c k e r a y ) n a m e a n d f l a m i n g t o r c h symbol till further orders T h e S C a l s o a l l o w e d Thackeray group to use the n a m e a n d f l a m i n g t o r c h symbol till completion of b y e l e c t i o n s t o t h e Chinchwad and Kasba Peth assembly constituencies For the Shinde faction, s e n i o r a d v o c a t e M a h e s h Jethmalani said there was a n e a r l i e r a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n t h e t w o g r o u p s not to precipitate the cross d i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n p r o c e e dings filed against legislators o f r i v a l f a c t i o n s T h e Shinde faction has the support of 40 of 55 MLAs in the assembly and 13 of the 19 Lok Sabha MPs

$3.9 bn hydropower project near China border in Arunachal

As part of its att empts to devel op ren ewable energy genera tion t o satisfy r ising power de m a n d , In d ia h a s a p p r ov e d t he con str uction of t he D iba ng hy dr opower pr oject, the la rgest of it s kind in the nat ion NHPC Ltd wil l cr eate the 2, 880-megawatt pr oject It will ta ke nine yea rs t o deve lop and wil l cost an estima ted $3 9 b il lion

H y d r o p o w e r h a s b e e n c l a s s i f i e d a s renewable energy in India and is seen as essential in the country's transition away from coal to help manage the fluctuations c a u s e d b y i n t e r m i t t e n t s o l a r a n d w i n d supplies When completed, the 278-metertall dam will be India's tallest structure The project is located on the Dibang River in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Dibang Valley

District

A 278 m high concrete gravity dam, six horseshoe-shaped head race tunnels with a 9 m diameter that range in length from 300 m to 600 m, an underground power house, and six horseshoe-shaped tailrace tunnels with a 9 m diameter that range in length from 320 m to 470 m are all part of the project According to experts, the Dibang project, which will be developed over more t h a n 5 , 0 0 0 h e c t a r e s o f f o r e s t l a n d , i s anticipated to face comparable risks The i n v e s t m e n t t h a t h a s b e e n a p p r o v e d includes government help for flood control a n d s u p p o r t i n g i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , s u c h a s r o a d s a n d b r i d g e s c o n n e c t i n g t h e construction site

Kartik Aaryan parks car in filmy style, cops slap him with fine

B o l l y w o o d a c t o r K a r t i k A a r y a n w a s p e n a l i s e d o f ₹1 , 2 5 0 f o r violation of two traffic rules in Mumbai He visited Siddhivinayak Temple with his parents around 1pm and violated the traffic rules by allegedly parking his luxury sports car in the wrong direction For this, he was issued a receipt of Rs 500 for wrong side parking The police said that before Aaryan entered the temple, he had been told not to park his vehicle at the spot, but the instruction was not heeded to So, another challan for Rs 750 was issued u n d e r a s e c t i o n o f t h e M o t o r V e h i c l e A c t w h i c h d e a l s w i t h ‘disobedience of police order/ direction’ (Agency)

Jharkahand rogue elephant kills 9

A roue elephant in Jharkhand has killed 9 people in two separate incidents In the first incident five people were killed in Lohardaga and one seriously injured In the second incident, four people lost their lives n e a r R a n c h i b y t h e s a m e e l e p h a n t A n alarmed Jharkhand forest department has constituted a committee to decide whether to officially declare the 16-year-old jumbo rogue At the same time, forest officials are verifying if the same tusker was behind seven other such deaths The elephantbelieved to be cast out from its herd and went on a rampage in Itki block, around 4 0 k m f r o m s t a t e c a p i t a l , f o r c i n g authorities to take prohibitory orders as crowd gathered and threw stones at it One villager was killed at dawn when he was out to attend the nature’s call, another when he tried to offer the animal water, the third was picked out from a mob throwing stones and the fourth, a woman, was wounded and died in hospital (Agency)

Passenger takes over as drunk driver deserted bus

A drunken d r i v e r o f a r o a d w a y s b u s c a r r y i n g 4 2 p a s s e n g e r s abandoned the vehicle on the

A g r a - D e l h i h i g h w a y w h i l e t r a v e l i n g f r o m A g r a t o

Mathura Passengers tried calling officials o f t h e U P S t a t e R o a d T r a n s p o r t Corporation (UPSRTC) but it was no use T h e r e a f t e r , o n e o f t h e b u s p a s s e n g e r s , K a p i l , a 4 0 - y e a r - o l d c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e graduate, took to the steering wheel and drove the bus for over 40 km and safely brought it to Mathura The video of the passenger, Sankalp Kapil, driving the bus went viral UPSRTC regional manager, VP Agarwal, said, “the driver has been removed a n d a n o t i c e h a s b e e n i s s u e d t o t h e contractor who owns the bus ” (Agency) Stuck in jam, Bihar girls run on NH to reach exam centres

dozens of girl students were seen running on NH 2 to reach examination centres after getting stuck in a heavy traffic jam The girls were to appear in the matriculation examination in Kaimur Witnesses stated that the girls were accompanied by their p a r e n t s b u t m u c h t o t h e i r s h o c k t h e i r vdehicles got stuck in traffic, leaving them immobile While some of the examinees were accompanying their parents on bikes, others were riding autorickshaws or cars As the time was running out fast and chances of the snarl easing looked bleak, the girls a b a n d o n e d t h e i r v e h i c l e s a n d s t a r t e d running down the highway; with admit cards and pens in their hands Videos of this incident went viral “We’re very shocked to know about this incident ” Kaimur district education officer Suman Sharma said they had been constantly reporting the issue of traffic jams to local administration but the problem persisted (The Times of India)

Bihar prisoner swallows cellphone during raid

A prisoner in Bihar’s Gopalganj s w a l l o w e d h i s c e l l p h o n e o u t o f f e a r o f g e t t i n g c a u g h t d u r i n g a s u r p r i s e c h e c k

Q a i s a r A l i , a c c u s e d i n a 2 0 2 0 c a s e o f smuggling narcotics, was rushed to the local government hospital but has now been referred to Patna hospital to extract the “foreign object” stuck in his abdomen R e p o r t s f r o m p r i s o n a n d h o s p i t a l a u t h o r i t i e s s u g g e s t e d Q a i s a r w a s b u s y talking on the phone when a police team c o n d u c t e d a s u r p r i s e c h e c k f o l l o w i n g complaints After swallowing the phone, he had severe abdominal pain and informed prison officials, who rushed him to the local hospital Qaisar has been in Gopalganj jail since his arrest in January 2020 There have been frequent reports of prisoners using cellphones in Bihar’s jails, leading to raids that have yielded hundreds of mobiles, SIM cards, chargers and wires (Agency)

Boy found in drain in 2018 adopted by Italian couple

A n e w b o r n w h o h a s b e e n f o u n d dumped in a drain in Ulhasnagar in Thane district in 2018 has been adopted by an Italian couple, said a functionary of a local organisation that rescued the child The child, with severe injuries to his head and i l l n e s s d u e t o c o n s u m p t i o n o f contaminated water, was found in a drain in Vadol village on December 30 that year by Shivaji Ragade and his wife Jayshree They filed a complaint with police to find out who had thrown the child in the drain, though that search is yet to yield results An a p p e a l f o r m o n e y f o r h i s t r e a t m e n t a t Wadia Hospital in Mumbai post the trauma yielded Rs 10, 42,000 in 24 hours, Ragade said “We wanted to adopt the child but could not do so due to some legal issues, so he was given in the care of Vishwa Balak Ashram and he was named Tiger,” Ragade said Now he has been adopted by an Italian couple (Agency)

£112,000 for a fancy vehicle number

An online bid of over £112,000 for a fancy registration number (HP-99-9999) has been received by the Registering and L i c e n s i n g A u t h o r i t y K o t k h a i , i n S h i m l a district of Himachal Pradesh This is the first time such an amount has been quoted for a fancy number in the state While the authorities are checking the credentials of the bidder, the details will be known only after bids close and the number is allotted (Agency)

Man goes for hydrocele operation, docs perform vasectomy

A 3 2 - y e a r - o l d m a n h a d g o n e t o a g o v e r n m e n t h o s p i t a l i n B i h a r ’ s K a i m u r district to undergone hydrocele operation, got the shock of his life when the doctor, p o s t - s u r g e r y , c o n g r a t u l a t e d h i m f o r a s u c c e s s f u l v a s e c t o m y T h e m a n , w h o c l a i m e d t o b e u n m a r r i e d , b l a m e d t h e d o c t o r s o f d e s t r o y i n g h i s l i f e M e d i c a l authorities insisted that he was married and g i v e n t h e c o n s e n t t o t h e s t e r i l i s a t i o n surgery, even as they instituted a probe into t h e m a t t e r T h e ‘ v i c t i m ’ , a r e s i d e n t o f Jagaria village, was persuaded by a local Asha worker to go under the knife for hydrocele and was admitted to Chainpur community health centre After the surgery, h e w a s d u m b s t r u c k w h e n t h e d o c t o r advised him to go to a private hospital for the hydrocele operation His father blamed the doctors for destroying the life of his son, and said he was planning to get married after the hydrocele surgery (Agency)

Woman returns to exam hall 3 hours after childbirth

I f w r i t i n g t h e C l a s s X b o a r d examination feels painful, ask 22-year-old Rukmini Kumari what it’s like to go into labour in the exam hall, rush to hospital in an ambulance and return three hours after giving birth to a baby for completing the science paper After she had taken the Bihar board’s maths exam, labour pains began at night But she was determined to write her exam the next day, and walked into the exam hall three hours in advance When her labour pains persisted, she informed her f a m i l y a n d t h e a u t h o r i t i e s a b o u t h e r decision to take the science exam the next day She was in labour when she walked i n t o t h e c e n t r e A s t h e p a i n b e c a m e unbearable, she alerted the officials and was taken to hospital After giving birth to a healthy boy, Rukmini requested the health and education officials to let her sit for the e x a m , w h i c h w a s h u r r i e d l y g r a n t e d (Agency)

This ‘bhindi’ will satiate your eyes!

‘ B h a r e l i b h i n d i ’ , ‘ d a h i b h i n d i ’ , p a n e e r s t u f f e d b h i n d i o r s i m p l y r o a s t e d spicy bhindis might have often satisfied your taste buds and tummy But here’s a range which you can turn into a feast just for your eyes! Scientists at the Department o f A g r i c u l t u r e B i o t e c h n o l o g y a t A n a n d Agricultural University (AAU) in Gujarat have created a novel variety of ornamental okra – Anand Shobha – or the Gujarat ornamental okra hybrid 1 through distant h y b r i d i z a t i o n I n t e r e s t i n g l y , t h i s o r n a m e n t a l v a r i e t y i s a n a c c i d e n t a l d i s c o v e r y S i x y e a r s a g o , a g r i c u l t u r a l scientists embarked on a project to develop a wide range of okra crop which is resistant to yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV) disease But, they ended up developing a hybrid ‘bhindi’ with attractive deep red coloured flowers Dr K B Kathiria, AAU’s V-C said, “We started a research scheme to develop unique types of new cultivated varieties that can withstand climate change and will be resistant to diseases and pests ” (Agency)

Gold coin for plastic waste

O n e m a n s t r a s h i s a n o t h e r m a n s

treasure - not just a fanciful idea, but in J&K village they had actually implement this proverb Village headman Farooq Ahmad Ganaie gives out gold coins by trading with p o l y t h e n e t o p r e v e n t h o u s e h o l d p l a s t i c waste being dumped into fields and water bodies "If we do not pay attention to cleanliness, you won't find any clean source of water and fertile land within the next 10 years," Ganaie, sarpanch of Sadiwara -A village said "While there is a lot of focus on cleanliness from the government and the administration, the citizens will also have to contribute their bit," he said Ganaie, is also an advocate, who started out last year by convincing the villagers to build garbage pits in their houses to ensure that solid w a s t e d o e s n o t g e t o u t A s s i s t a n t C o m m i s s i o n e r D e v e l o p m e n t ( A C D ) , Anantnag, Riyaz Ahmad Shah said, “This m o d e l w i l l b e i n c e n t i v i s e d a n d i m p l e m e n t e d i n a l l p a n c h a y a t s o f t h e district so that our villages are garbage-free and polythene-free " He said though the i d e a w a s c o n c e i v e d b y t h e S a d i w a r a - A panchayat, the district administration has extended all support (Agency)

Importance of maintaining your eye health

Nutritio n plays a vital role i n m ai nt ai ni n g g o o d eye h e al th C o ns u m i ng th e right d iet can h elp p revent a nd m a nag e v ari o u s eye d iseases Experts believ e the time to focus on yo ur vision h ealth is no w With peop le g lued to screens m ore often than before, it has become a necessity About 25 per cent o f th e I nd i an p op u la tio n h a s w e ake ne d e ye si g h t m ainly because of too m uch screen time

O u r e y e s w o r k constantly and use up a lot of energy Adding increased screen time to this makes t h e m s u s c e p t i b l e t o o x i d a t i v e s t r e s s E x p e r t s suggest that this is where c a r o t e n o i d s c a l l e d l u t e i n a n d z e a x a n t h i n b e c o m e important in maintaining eye health

Puneet Sood, Country Manager, Blackmores told HT Lifestyle, “However, it

is also true that in today’s f a s t - p a c e d l i f e , l a c k o f p r o p e r n u t r i t i o n i s a c o n c e r n f o r m a n y a n d therefore, leads to lifestyle d i s e a s e s w h i c h i n c l u d e weaker eye health Quality nutrition through diet and s u p p l e m e n t s i s t h e r e f o r e k e y t o b e t t e r e y e h e a l t h Another important thing to note here is that the body cannot make lutein on its own and must be obtained t h r o u g h f o o d o r

supplementation After all, it works as your personal pair of internal sunglasses a n d o f f e r s p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e b l u e l i g h t e m a n a t i n g f r o m s c r e e n s This is where a supplement like the blue light defence becomes essential ” Talking about blue light d e f e n c e s u p p o r t f o r e y e h e a l t h , P u n e e t e x p l a i n e d , "Blue light defence supports h e a l t h y e y e f u n c t i o n t h r o u g h i t s s c i e n t i f i c a l l y

Improving

sleep

f o r m u l a t e d a n t i o x i d a n t formula The antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin in it p r o m o t e e y e r e t i n a a n d macula health and protect the eyes against excessive exposure to devices and the s u n B l u e l i g h t d e f e n c e comes handy as we hardly g e t e n o u g h l u t e i n a n d zeaxanthin from our diet to be deposited into the eye, s p e c i f i c a l l y i n t o t h e m a c u l a r , w h e r e t h e y support and maintain eye h e a l t h b e c a u s e o f t h e i r ability to filter blue light They also help to reduce the d a m a g e c a u s e d b y f r e e radicals, which are harmful molecules produced during n o r m a l b o d i l y m e t a b o l i c f u n c t i o n s o r e x p o s u r e t o p o l l u t a n t s a n d c i g a r e t t e smoke It is a convenient one-a-day dose to support and maintain healthy eye f u n c t i o n f o r m o d e r n living ”

Extended exposure to air pollution tied to higher cardiovascular health risks

N ew K a is e r P e r m an en t e r e s e ar c h s h o w s th at l o n gt e r m ex p o s u re t o ai r p o l l u t io n is t ie d t o a n increased risk o f heart attack o r dying from h eart dis eas e T he stu dy is o ne of th e larges t to date to loo k at th e effects o f long-term expo sure to fine p artic le air po llution em itted f rom so urces suc h as vehicles , s mokestac ks , and fires

L e a d a u t h o r S t a c e y E

A l e x e e f f , P h D , a r e s e a r c h scientist and biostatistician at t h e K a i s e r P e r m a n e n t e D i v i s i o n o f R e s e a r c h , s a i d , “ W e f o u n d t h a t p e o p l e exposed to fine particulate air pollution have an increased risk of experiencing a heart attack or dying from coronary h e a r t d i s e a s e - e v e n w h e n those exposure levels are at or below our current U S air quality standards ”

She added, “Our work has t h e p o t e n t i a l t o p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n o n g o i n g national conversations led by

t h e E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o t e c t i o n A g e n c y o n whether and how much to tighten air quality standards to protect the public from p o l l u t i o n ’ s e f f e c t s ” F i n e p a r t i c l e a i r p o l l u t i o n , a l s o k n o w n a s P M 2 5 , i s f i n e particles 2 5 micrometres in diameter or smaller T h e s t u d y i n c l u d e d 3 7 m i l l i o n a d u l t s w h o w e r e m e m b e r s o f K a i s e r P e r m a n e n t e i n N o r t h e r n California from 2007 to 2016 and had lived in California for a t l e a s t o n e y e a r T h e researchers tied each adult's a d d r e s s t o a s p e c i f i c g e o g r a p h i c a l l o c a t i o n a process known as geocoding to establish annual average e x p o s u r e t o f i n e p a r t i c l e pollution so it could be linked t o a n n u a l P M 2 5 e x p o s u r e data Then they identified the p a t i e n t s d i a g n o s e d w i t h a heart attack or who had died f r o m h e a r t d i s e a s e o r cardiovascular disease

T h e E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection Agency's current a n n u a l r e g u l a t o r y s t a n d a r d for fine particle air pollution

PM2 5 is 12 micrograms per cubic meter, on average, over a year Long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution PM2 5 is a known risk factor f o r c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e

That's why the EPA initially i n s t i t u t e d a i r q u a l i t y standards

T h e s t u d y f o u n d t h a t

P M 2 5 e x p o s u r e s a t a concentration between 12 0 a n d 1 3 9 m i c r o g r a m s p e r cubic meter were associated with a 10 per cent increased risk of experiencing a heart attack and a 16% increased r i s k o f d y i n g f r o m h e a r t d i s e a s e o r c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e c o m p a r e d t o concentrations less than 8 micrograms per cubic meter

H e a r t d i s e a s e i s a c o n d i t i o n t h a t d e v e l o p s when cholesterol builds up inside the heart's arteries,

preventing the heart from g e t t i n g t h e b l o o d a n d o x y g e n i t n e e d s Cardiovascular disease is a broad category covering all the diseases that can affect the heart and blood vessels, such as heart failure, stroke, a n d p e r i p h e r a l a r t e r y disease

The researchers say their findings add important new i n f o r m a t i o n t o o n g o i n g p o l i c y d i s c u s s i o n s D r A l e x e e f f s a i d , “ O u r s t u d y clearly adds to the evidence that the current regulatory standards are not sufficient to protect the public Our findings support the EPA's analysis that lowering the s t a n d a r d t o a t l e a s t 1 0 0 micrograms per cubic meter i s n e e d e d t o p r o t e c t t h e p u b l i c O u r f i n d i n g s a l s o s u g g e s t t h a t l o w e r i n g t h e standard to 8 0 micrograms p e r c u b i c m e t e r m a y b e needed to reduce the risk of heart attacks ”

quality

may add years to your life

Wh ile we have long heard the benefits of getting good REM sleep, researchers now su g g est t hat qu ality slee p m ay e v en ad d y ear s t o peo ple’s liv es A stud y states th at m en w h o reg u lar ly sleep well could liv e almost fiv e years longer than those who do not, while wom en could benefit by two years Scientists fou nd that young p eo p l e w i th be tte r sl ee p habits w ere less likely to die ear ly H o w ev er, th e res ea rc h er s s ai d th ei r findings indicated quantity of sleep w as not enou gh to achieve th e possible health bene fi ts, qu ali ty m a ttered too

Good sleep was based on f i v e d i f f e r e n t f a c t o r s , i n c l u d i n g i d e a l s l e e p duration of seven to eight h o u r s a n i g h t , d i f f i c u l t y falling asleep no more than two times a week, trouble staying asleep no more than two times a week, not using any sleep medication, and f e e l i n g w e l l - r e s t e d a f t e r waking up at least five days a week

I n t e r n a l m e d i c i n e resident physician at Beth I s r a e l D e a c o n e s s M e d i c a l Center in Boston, America, Dr Frank Qian said, “We saw a clear dose-response r e l a t i o n s h i p , s o t h e m o r e beneficial factors someone h a s i n t e r m s o f h a v i n g higher quality of sleep, they a l s o h a v e a s t e p w i s e lowering of all cause and cardiovascular mortality ” He added, “I think these findings emphasise that just g e t t i n g e n o u g h h o u r s o f s l e e p i s n ’ t s u f f i c i e n t Y o u really have to have restful sleep and not have much trouble falling and staying a s l e e p ” E a c h s l e e p f a c t o r h a s a s s i g n e d z e r o o r o n e p o i n t f o r e a c h , f o r a m a x i m u m o f f i v e p o i n t s , which indicated the highest quality sleep

Q i a n s a i d , “ I f p e o p l e h a v e a l l t h e s e i d e a l s l e e p behaviours, they are more likely to live longer So, if we can improve sleep overall, a n d i d e n t i f y i n g s l e e p d i s o r d e r s i s e s p e c i a l l y important, we may be able t o p r e v e n t s o m e o f t h i s premature mortality ”

T h e r e s e a r c h e r s included data from 172,321 people with an average age of 50, 54% of whom were women, who participated in t h e N a t i o n a l H e a l t h I n t e r v i e w S u r v e y b e t w e e n 2013 and 2018 The survey looked at the health of the US population and included questions about sleep and sleep habits

The study found that, compared with people who had zero to one favourable sleep factor, those who had all five were 30% less likely to die for any reason, 21% l e s s l i k e l y t o d i e f r o m cardiovascular disease, 19% l e s s l i k e l y t o d i e f r o m cancer, and 40% less likely to die of causes other than heart disease or cancer

Among men and women who reported having all five q u a l i t y s l e e p m e a s u r e s ( a s c o r e o f f i v e ) , l i f e e x p e c t a n c y w a s 4 7 y e a r s g r e a t e r f o r m e n a n d 2 4 y e a r s g r e a t e r f o r w o m e n , compared with those who had none or only one of the factors One limitation of the study, presented at the A m e r i c a n C o l l e g e o f C a r d i o l o g y ’ s A n n u a l Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology, was that sleep h a b i t s w e r e s e l f - r e p o r t e d a n d n o t o b j e c t i v e l y measured or verified

German patient declared cured from HIV through stem-cell treatment

A 53 - y e a r - o l d G e r m a n ma n i s mo st li ke ly th e th ird pati ent in t h e wo rl d t o be cu re d of t h e H uman Immu nod efi ciency V irus ( H I V ) i n f e ct i o n A r e p o r t p ubl ished in t he journal Natur e M e d i c i ne st a t e s t h a t h e a l t h e xp erts det ected th e abse nce of a v i r al r eb ou nd and t h e la ck o f i mm u no l og i ca l si g ns o f H IV -1 a nt i g e n p e r si st e n ce f o l l o wi n g H e m a t o p o i e t i c S t e m C e l l T ransplantat ion (HSCT)

Scientists revealed that HSCT had been shown to substantially r e d u c e t h e v i r a l r e s e r v o i r H o w e v e r , s o m e r e s e r v o i rh a r b o u r i n g i m m u n e c e l l s a r e e x t r e m e l y l o n g - l i v e d , p a r t i a l l y r e s i s t a n t t o c h e m o t h e r a p y

r e g i m e n s u s e d d u r i n g H S C T procedures, and can cause viral rebound

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is used to treat HIV patients It

c o n s i s t s o f a c o m b i n a t i o n o f drugs that stop virus replication in the cells The Pan American H e a l t h O r g a n i s a t i o n ( P A H O ) states that it reduces mortality

and morbidity rates among HIV-

i n f e c t e d p e o p l e a n d i m p r o v e s their quality of life Researchers have said that while ART helps pope with HIV live longer, it can not fully cure them It reduces the viral load to an undetectable level, and such people have no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex

T h e G e r m a n p a t i e n t w a s d i a g n o s e d w i t h a c u t e m y e l o i d leukemia, a form of blood cancer, in 2011, months after he started antiretroviral therapy following his diagnosis of HIV In 2013, he received a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor to treat the blood cancer The transplant

i n t r o d u c e d h i s s y s t e m t o t w o copies of a rare genetic mutation called CCR5-delta32

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e H e i n r i c h H e i n e U n i v e r s i t y D u s s e l d o r f , where he was treated, in 2018, following careful planning and with constant, close monitoring, t h e a n t i - v i r a l H I V t h e r a p y –w h i c h h a d e n s u r e d t h a t a n y r e s i d u a l H I V w a s k e p t u n d e r control up to that point – ended D r B j o r n J e n s e n f r o m t h e University said, “Following our intensive research, we can now confirm that it is fundamentally p o s s i b l e t o p r e v e n t t h e r e p l i c a t i o n o f H I V o n a sustainable basis by combining two key methods ”

Actress Madhuri Dixit was once the undisputed queen of Hindi cinema in the 1990s She later married Dr Sriram Nene and moved to the US The couple has been married for over 23 years and has two children, Arin and Ryan. The couple has since returned to Mumbai, and while Madhuri has

Actors

Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra tied the knot at Jaisalmer’s posh Suryagarh Hotel after years of keeping their relationship extremely private The duo had posted a dreamy video featuring Kiara walking down the aisle under a “phoolon ki chaadar” and breaking into an adorable dance as Sidharth looked at his watch, hinting her to hurry up

At an awards show, when host Maniesh Paul asked Kiara about the moment, the actor replied that she was overwhelmed at the realisation that she was getting married to the love of her life “Main bahut emotional thi lekin jaise hi darwaze khule (I was very emotional,

Kiara reveals what she felt when she saw husband Sidharth at the aisle

Madhuri says marriage to Sriram Nene was 'tough'

husband for looking after his patients and “fighting for their rights” She told him, “I know in the heart of heart, you are a very good person In a marriage, it is important to know your partner ”

“We always had that partnership where we looked after each other and

but as soon as the doors opened), and I saw him, I was like, ‘Yay! I’m getting married!’ That’s the feeling I walked with And of course, if you marry someone you love then you will feel that way na?” she said at the event

Sidharth and Kiara first met during the wrap-up party of the 2018 anthology ‘Lust Stories’ and went on work in the 2021 acclaimed drama ‘Shershaah’ - their first movie outing together

Sidharth and Kiara have been sharing glimpses of their wedding on social media They recently shared p i c t u r e s f r o m t h e i r s a n g e e t , m e h e n d i a n d h a l d i ceremonies

Akshay Kumar breaks record for most selfies taken in 3 minutes

returned to acting in films, Nene is practising his career in medicine. However, they have a “partnership” where they look after each other and their children.

In a recent conversation on her h u s b a n d ’ s Y o u T u b e c h a n n e l , Madhuri spoke about being the wife of a physician She said, “It’s tough because of the kind of time you guys have to keep It’s hard because then you are the one who is looking after t h e k i d s , t a k i n g t h e m t o s c h o o l , getting them back and stuff like that Also, the timings; you might have something important happening but you are not there, you are in the hospital looking after someone else

Sometimes I might be sick and you have to take care of someone else ”

But Madhuri is also proud of her

m a d e s u r e t h e k i d s w e r e a l w a y s looked after and loved There are times when it is difficult but there are times when we know whatever we are doing in life is for the good and is something we both want,” she shared while adding how her married life has been a “lovely journey”

The actor also shared that before m a r r i a g e , s h e o n l y t h o u g h t a b o u t work But after marriage, she got to e x p l o r e o t h e r t h i n g s i n l i f e S h e shared, “After I got married, I lived my life because we went out, we travelled a lot, and we did a lot of adventure sports which I never did earlier It just enriched my life and made me a better person It also gave me a flight of fancy sometimes ” Nene also appreciated how Madhuri had b e e n a “ s u p p o r t i v e s p o u s e ” throughout their marriage

Actor

Akshay Kumar has broken the Guinness World Record for taking the most selfies in three minutes; 184 in three minutes Earlier to this, in 2015, global icon and Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson held this record with 105 self-portrait photographs in three minutes at the premiere of San Andreas in London

Crediting fans on social media for achieving the goal, Akshay said, “I am ecstatic at breaking this unique world record and sharing this moment with my fans! Everything that I have achieved so far and where I am at this moment of my life is due to the

acknowledging how they have stood by me and my work in my entire career ”

He added, “With the help of my fans, we have broken the Guinness World Record for Most Selfies in 3 minutes :) Ab selfies hi selfies hong See you all in cinemas on Friday @trzyinnovationz ”

Kumar’s recently-released movie ‘Selfiee’ is directed by Raj Mehta of ‘Good Newwz’ fame The story revolves around a famous actor Vijay Kumar who needs to renew his driver’s license and runs across a super-fan in the form of RTO Inspector Om Prakash, performed by Emraan Hashmi He tries to help his idol obtain a driving license provided he undertakes all of the necessary tests, which leads to a rivalry between the superstar and his superfan, attracting the media and public’s attention

Presented by Dharma Productions, the film has been co-produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Supriya Menon, Karan Johar, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Apoorva Mehta and Listin Stephen The film also stars Diana Penty and Nushrratt Bharuccha in primary roles ‘Selfiee’ was released in cinemas on 24th February 2023

Ranbir Kapoor confirms working on Kishore Kumar biopic

Bollywoodactor Ranbir Kapoor has confirmed he is w biopic of the late singe Kishore Kumar Speak event, Ranbir was ask he is doing a biopic on cricketer Sourav Ganguly He responded, “I think dada (Ganguly) is a living legend not just in India, around the world. A biopic on him will be very special.

Unfortunately, much yeh film offer nahi huyi hai (I have not been offered this film) I think the makers of Luv films are still writing the script ” Talking about being a part of the biopic of Kishore Kumar, Ranbir added, “Main 11 saal se

Kishore Kumar ke biopic pe kaam have been working Kumar's biopic for We have been g that with Anurag and I'm hoping at it's gonna be my ext biopic But maine abhi tak dada k upar jo biopic banrahi hai uske baare mein kuch suna nahi hai (But so far I haven't heard anything about the biopic being made on dada) So, I don't know ”

On the work nt, Ranbir will be in ‘Tu Jhoothi Makkaar’ alongside Kapoor and ubhav Singh ‘Animal’ in the pipeline alongside Rashmika Mandanna

Directed by Sandeep Reddy Bhanga, the film also stars Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, and Tripti Dimri

Ishaan Khatter wishes brother Shahid on his birthday

ActorIshaan Khatter took to Instagram to wish his brother and actor Shahid Kapoor on his 42nd birthday Ishaan shared a photo where he is standing next to Shahid, and both are sporting an unkempt hairdos He wrote in the caption, “My elder tree, I may grow taller or even bushier, but it’s all because of your shade and nurturing Love you and trouble you always Happy birthday bade mina @shahidkapoor ” Ishaan shared the same post in his story and wrote, “I also say tree because he is unshakeable,

Sara poses with granny Sharmila Tagore

Actor Sara Ali Khan shared a picture as she met her grandmother-veteran actor Sharmila

Tagore Taking to Instagram, Sara posted the photo as the duo smiled and posed for the camera

In the picture, Sharmila wore a blue saree and a matching blouse

She also carried a shawl Sara wore a blue and white suit and a white shawl Sharing the picture, Sara captioned the post, "Mere sapno ki Rani (The queen of my dreams) (crown emoji) Is my most stunning G r a n n y ( f a m i l y e m o j i ) ” ‘ M e r e Sapno Ki Rani’ is a song by Kishore K u m a r f r o m t h e f i l m A r a d h a n a

(1969) Directed by Shakti Samanta, the romantic drama film featured Sharmila and Rajesh Khanna in the lead roles

R e a c t i n g t o t h e p o s t , a f a n wrote, "Sharmila Tagore looking so b e a u t i f u l " A n o t h e r p e r s o n commented, "Your grand maa is sooo classy " "Wowwww wowwww A w s o m e e e e e s u p e r b b b b b , " s a i d another fan "Can't wait to see you shine and inshallah you'll make your dadi so so so proud of you," r e a d a c o m m e n t " G o r g e o u s granny's gorgeous granddaughter," said an Instagram user

Fans will see Sharmila next in t h e f a m i l y d r a m a ‘ G u l m o h a r ’ , which will mark her return to films

a f t e r 2 0 1 0 ' s ‘ B r e a k K e B a a d ’

D i r e c t e d b y R a h u l V C h i t t e l l a ,

‘

G u l m o h a r ’ a l s o s t a r s M a n o j

B a j p a y e e , A m o l P a l e k a r , S u r a j

Sharma, Simran Rishi Bagga, and Kaveri Seth Star Studios produce it i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h C h a l k b o a r d

Entertainment and Autonomous

Works It will release on Disney+

Hotstar on March 3

Sara was last seen in ‘Atrangi

Re’ (2021) directed by Aanand L Rai

Produced by T-Series Films, Colour Yellow Productions and Cape of G o o d F i l m s , t h e f i l m a l s o s t a r s

Akshay Kumar and Dhanush Sara alongside actor Vicky Kaushal will be next seen in director Laxman

U t e k a r ' s n e x t u n t i t l e d r o m a n t i c

drama film

S h e a l s o h a s ‘ G a s l i g h t ’ w i t h

Vikrant Massey and Chitrangada

S i n g h S a r a i s a l s o a p a r t o f

producer Karan Johar's next ‘Ae

Watan Mere Watan’, in which she will play a brave freedom fighter in

a f i c t i o n a l t a l e s e t a g a i n s t t h e

b a c k d r o p o f t h e Q u i t I n d i a

Movement in 1942 She will also be seen in director Anurag Basu's next film, an anthology, ‘Metro In Dino’ alongside Aditya Roy Kapur, Pankaj

Fatima Sana Shaikh and Ali Fazal

wise and grounded Love ya @shahidkapoor ”

On the work front, Shahid was recently s e e n i n t h e w e b s e r i e s ‘ F a r z i ’ , w h i c h w a s directed by ‘The Family Man’ creators Raj and DK Fans have been speculating that both these shows belong to the same universe, as a few easter eggs were spotted in the Shahid Kapoor series

Recently seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s short film ‘Fursat’, Ishaan is awaiting the release of ‘ P i p p a , ’ c o - s t a r r i n g M r u n a l T h a k u r a n d Priyanshu Painyulli

Kangana declares Akshay’s 'Selfiee' a flop, drags Karan Johar

Actress Kangana Ranaut took to her Instagram handle and slammed filmmaker Karan Johar coproduced film ‘Selfiee’ on its release day. Starring

Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi in the lead, the film is directed by Raj Mehta of ‘Good Newwz’ fame Reacting to a box office report of the movie which compared Kangana with Akshay, the ‘Queen’ actor lauded Karan Johar mockingly

Comparing the first-day business of her last outing ‘Dhakaad’ indirectly with ‘Selfiee,’ Kangana wrote, “Karan Johar movie Selfie has hardly made 10,00,000 on the first day I don't see even one trade or media person talk about it forget mocking or bullying him the way they harass me ”

In her next post, Kangana re-shared an article, the headline of which read, “'Male version of Kangana Ranaut!' Netizens react as Akshay's ‘Selfiee’ fails to impress viewers, maybe his 6th flop film in a row ” Adding to it, the actor said, “I was looking for news about selfie flop I found all the news is about me yeh bhi meri hi galti hai,” with some laughing emojis She added, “Wah bhai Karan johar wah (Congrats) ” ‘ S e l f i e e ’ i s t h e o f f i c i a l H i n d i r e m a k e o f t h e Malayalam film ‘Driving License ’ The original film featured Prithviraj and Suraj Venjaramoodu Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi have reprised their roles as superstars and a cop, respectively The film also

stars Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty Karan Johar's Dharma Production backs it along with Magic Frames, Prithviraj Productions, Cape of Good Films and Star Studios T r a d e e x p e r t s p r e d i c t e d t h a t ‘ S e l f i e e ’ w o u l d record a collection ranging between £400,000 to 500,000 on its opening day, Friday If it turns out true, it will be among the lowest openers for Akshay Kumar in the last 10 years of his career The film has got a limited release with just 1,200 screens across India

Meanwhile, Kangana's last outing, ‘Dhaakad’ was among the low-performing films of 2022 Directed by Razneesh Ghai, it was released on 20 May 2022 The film started poorly at the box office, with less than £100,000 on its opening day

Zeenat Aman recalls pay disparity between male and female actors

Veteran

actor Zeenat Aman has opened up about how the Hindi film industry has changed in the last few decades She, however, pointed out that the “gender pay gap” has remained the same Recalling the time she was the “highest paid female actor” in her career, Zeenat said that the disparity in the pay cheque between her and her male co-stars “was so vast it was laughable ”

Zeenat took a trip down memory lane and posted an old video The clip featured her rehearsing for her song ‘Laila O Laila’ from ‘Qurbani ’ The video also gave a glimpse of actor Feroz Khan behind the camera

As the scene ended, Feroz said, “Ya, I don’t like the frame ” Zeenat, in the video, then said to a person behind the camera, “ 90 per cent of the time, most of the women here are just playing ornamental roles, purely ornamental They sing and dance and sort of prance around the leading man That's about it What I feel is happening now is there are changes coming about ” She added, “There are women demanding good roles and refusing to work in films, let's say have p a r t i c i p a t i o n T h e y w a n t t o d o s o m e t h i n g , t h e y demand something, they are getting something to do I think that's exciting I think women in India should

h something to identify with, other than st ornamentation ”

The veteran actor captioned the post, “In the late 70s, Keith Adam from the A u s t r a l i a n B r o a d c a s t i n g C o m m i s s i o n popped by the set of Qurbani, where I was rehearsing for Laila O Laila, and snagged himself an interview It’s been nearly 50 years since this footage was shot, d the industry has changed immensely

The roles available to women are clearly not just ornamental anymore ”

She continued, “What hasn’t changed though is the gender pay gap In my time I was lauded as the 'highest paid female actor', but the disparity in the pay cheque between my male co-stars and myself was so vast it was laughable The Zeenat you see in this clip was quite certain that half a century would be enough time to even the scales So it disappoints me that even today women in the film industry don’t have wage parity ”

“Women have consistently put in the work, and I really think that the onus is now on our men - actors, directors, producers - to ensure that their female coworkers (not just stars) are paid fairly It seems such a s i m p l e a n d o b v i o u s t h i n g , a n d y e t i t w o u l d b e revolutionary if any man actually did this (purple heart emoji)," she concluded

Audience always wants to see their idol’s sons: Nani on nepotism

Actor Nani celebrated his 39th birthday last week He was recently featured in a Telugu celebrity talk show along with Rana Daggubati, where he spoke about nepotism The actor, who comes from a non-filmy background, has carved his niche in the industry

Shruti Haasan wraps up ‘Salaar’ shoot

ActorShruti Hassan took to Inst recently to confirm that she has completed shooting her portion in the upcoming Telugu actionthriller ‘Salaar.’ She also thanked her co-star Prabhas for being beyond wonderful and an absolute darling.

She wrote, “AND it’s a wrap o S A L A A R f o r m e T h a n k y o Prashant sir for making me you Aadya you are exceptional Than y o u @ a c t o r p r a b h a s f o r b e i n beyond wonderful the absolute da ling and @bhuvanphotography f just being so kind and being you @hombalefilms it was lovely wor ing on this special film with ALL the team that was filled with posit ity and truly felt like family by end of it So grateful ” Shruti will be seen sharing scr space with Prabhas for the first ti Tipped to be an action saga, the film features Prabhas in character called Salaar The movie is rumoured to be a

m a k e o f t h e K a n n a d a f i l m ramm ’

Last August, Prashanth took to itter to share that ‘Salaar' will ease worldwide in cinemas on p t e m b e r 2 8 , 2 0 2 3 T h e r e l e a s e te was announced with a poster ns lauded the team for announcg the release date one year in vance I n t h e p o s t e r , P r a b h a s s t a n d s th two swords in his hands A lot of ead bodies can be seen in the backound Prashanth’s tweet also conrmed that Prithviraj Sukumaran nd Sriya Reddy, who was recently een in Amazon Prime’s Suzhal, are art of the project

Meanwhile, Prabhas is simula n e o u s l y b u s y s h o o t i n g h i s upcoming multilingual sciencei c t i o n f i l m , ‘ P r o j e c t K , ’ w i t h d i r e c t o r N a g A s h w i n D e e p i k a s her Telugu debut with this project which Vyjayanthi Films will bankroll The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan in a key role

Hansika Motwani reacts to rumours of marrying best friend’s ex-husband

Actor Hansika Motwani finally addressed reports about her husband Sohael Khaturiya, being her alleged best friend’s ex-husband The two married in a lavish wedding ceremony on December 4 at Mundota Fort and Palace of Jaipur The two announced their engagement in November last year Talking about how she met Sohael, Hansika called him her “best friend” in a new interview

Vijay Sethupathi doesn’t believe in diets

ActorVijay Sethupathi, who recently made his OTT debut with Prime Video’s ‘Farzi,’ spoke up about how he doesn’t believe in the concept of diets His weight often comes up in interviews, and he has spoken about being conscious of his appearance when he posts photographs on social media.

Both the actors were part of the chat show ‘Nijam’ with Smita, which streams on SonyLiv In a promo that was released, Nani compared himself with Ram Charan as he talked about the difference between being an insider and an outsider, Nani compared himself with Ram Charan He said, “One lakh people will watch Nani’s first film, while one crore people will watch Charan’s first film It’s the audience who is responsible for encouraging nepotism as people always want to see their idol’s sons and daughters on the big screen ”

In the same promo, Rana also shared his opinion on nepotism He said it’s his pride to carry the legacy “If you can’t carry on your parents’ achievements and legacy, then you ’ re doing a disservice to your family,” Rana said

On the work front, Nani is getting ready for the release of his first pan-Indian project, ‘Dasara ’ Originally shot in Telugu, the movie will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam on March 30 At the teaser launch event of the movie in January, Nani opened up about the film and said it would be the movie of the year for Telugu cinema, like how RRR was from 2022

At the teaser launch, Nani said, “Last year, RRR came from Telugu cinema KGF and Kantara came from Kannada cinema I can confidently and with a lot of pride say that Dasara will come from Telugu cinema in 2023 ”

‘Dasara’ has been directed by debutant Srikanth Odella

It also stars Keerthy Suresh, Sai Kumar and Shine Tom Chacko The movie is set in Singareni coal mines near Godavarikhani in Telangana

Hansika and Sohael s wedding was turned into a show, Hansika’s ‘Love Shaadi Drama,’ in which they open up about their relationship, wedding ceremony and more burning questions about them Earlier in an episode, Hansika touched upon some allegations made against her as rumours of her breaking Sohael's first marriage surfaced online ahead of their D-day Now Hansika shared how she met Sohael, contrary to reports, and said in an interview, “The whole narrative media written--best friend, this friend and all I was like ‘ are baap re (oh my God)’ ” When the anchor mentioned reports of Hansika attending Sohael's first wedding, the actor quickly added, “No, but he is my brother's best friend He's always been around us ”

“I think I have said this in the series too--ye tha andekha, anjana sa iske baju me toh mai ghumti thi (He was the unknown, mystery man who was always with me)' So, he was always around me I think we both have dated other individuals, when we were around each other He was my brother's best friend and then eventually we became best friends and that's how it started There was a time when I used to tell people, they say ‘ marry your best friend, it is the most coolest thing, you will be comfortable’ I used to say ‘yeh sab jhoot bolte hai Aisa kuch nahi hota hai (This is a myth, people lie to you)’ And, when it happened to me I was like ‘I want to take back my words' because marrying your best friend is the most comfortable thing that can happen to your life I am just blessed,” Hansika added

After Hansika announced her engagement with Sohael, reports of social media hinted about Sohael s first marriage with one Rinky Reportedly, Rinky was best friends with Hansika, who also attended her wedding with Sohael a few years ago Sohael had said in an episode of Hansika's Love Shaadi Drama, “The news that I was previously married came out and it came out in a wrong light It came out as if the breakup was because of Hansika, which is absolutely untrue and baseless ”

The show premiered on February 10 It is available on Disney+ Hotstar Hansika was last seen in the Tamil film ‘Maha’ last year

A video of the actor shunning diets did the rounds on the internet In the video, Vijay said, "I don't believe in diet concept so I need to eat tasty food I love it I believe if I don't eat tasty foods, my life won't be in taste, so I like to eat tasty foods "

Twitter users positively responded to his video; one fan wrote, "This is wonderful actually " Another echoed his statement, saying, "Like me & my best friend always say Khana to control kar lenge lekin taste Kambakhat taste ka kya karein (we can control food, but what about the taste?) Love you @VijaySethuOffl Yet another fan said t h a t h e c o u l d r e l a t e t o t h e a c t o r , " @ V i j a y S e t h u O f f l i s m e " W h i l e a n o t h e r wrote, "Vibe match ho gayi (Vibes are matching) ”

In December, Vijay had put a photograph of himself, considerably slimmer than b e f o r e I n a n i n t e r v i e w , h e s a i d , “ T h e response from the fans has made me go like ‘ yaar, abhi main mota nahi ho sakta (I can't be big again) ’ It is a must for me to work out now Generally, I miss night workouts during shoots because of work pressure sometimes I am a very sensitive person, so I get hurt and then decide not to do anything I am very vulnerable that way ”

Vijay was recently seen in the TamilTelugu bilingual ‘Michael ’ In ‘Farzi,’ he stars as a police officer trying to track down a counterfeiting ring led by Shahid Kapoor's Sunny He has several releases lined up this year, including the Tamil film ‘Viduthalai,’ Sriram Raghavan’s ‘Merry Christmas’ with Katrina Kaif and Atlee’s ‘Jawan’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara

Two of the topmost institutes in the world - Harvard & FTII to celebrate Yash Chopra and YRF’s unmatched legacy

Themuch-talked-about Netflix docu-series The Romantics, which is a tribute to the legacy of Yash Chopra and YRF and their cultural impact on India and Indians for the past 50 years, was released on 14 February to unanimous acclaim and love globally

The national over-pouring of love for Yash Chopra and YRF was evident as The Romantics became the Number 1 trending title on Netflix within 48 hours of its drop, a rare feat for a documentary The Romantics is also in the Top 10 trending shows in 9 countries, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Mauritius, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka & UAE

Such is the appeal of the docu-series on Yash Chopra and YRF’s contribution to cinema and shaping India’s pop culture for decades that The Romantics are screening for the students of the prestigious Harvard University

While the Harvard screening was scheduled to happen on Tuesday 28 February, as we went to press, the Film, and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune - India's topmost institution to study cinema - has decided to make The Romantics part of their curriculum The docu-series has been included i n t h e W i n t e r F i l m A p p r e c i a t i o n C o u r s e a n d students of the institute will watch, dissect and debate Yash Chopra’s cinema and Aditya Chopra’s brand of film-making

The Romantics has been directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra, who returns to Netflix after the phenomenal success of Indian Matchmaking and the Never Have I Ever franchise

She confirms the developments saying, "As a former film student, I studied the work of auteurs from all over the world It always bothered me that

my peers and I weren't taught about the great filmmakers of Indian cinema The Romantics is my attempt to shed light on the craft, journey, and global impact of one of our most revered directors, Yash Chopra, and the generation of filmmakers and moviegoers he influenced "

Smriti adds, "I'm so pleased to join two of the topmost institutes of the world – Harvard and FTII - for a screening and robust discussion of The Romantics with students and put Yash Chopra in his rightful place as one of the world's great auteurs '

From Aamir Khan to Salman Khan, from Shah R u k

Bachchan to Ranveer Singh, from Rani Mukerji to Hrithik Roshan, from Katrina Kaif to Anushka Sharma, the mega-stars and icons of Hindi cinema have come together and spoken about Yash Chopra and YRF’s contribution to Indian cinema in The Romantics

in this four-part docu-series, will also f

through its 50-year glorious existence YRF is currently at an all-time high as their latest release Pathaan

Priyanka shares first look of ‘Citadel’ character Nadia Sinh

‘RRR’ claims four wins at Hollywood Critics Association awards

SSRajamouli’s ‘RRR’ bagged four awards at the Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards - including Best Action Film, Best International Feature, Best Original Song and Best Stunts trophies Rajamouli gave a speech about giving recognition to stunt directors at awards events In his speech after the Best Action Film win, Rajamouli said, "I think I need to go backstage and check I think I'll be starting growing wings already with the second one! Thank you so much it means a lot! I can't express in words how much it means "

P riya nka Chopr a h as sha re d t he first p hoto s of he r u pcoming Pr ime V id eo series

‘Cit ad el,’ which f ea ture s he r as a n e lite sp y Nad ia

S inh The ser ie s, se t o p remier e its f irs t wo ep isod es on Apr il 28, al so stars

Richar d Mad de n,

L esle y Manville , an

S tanle y Tucci

The actress shared pictures on Instagram, including her in a red dress pointing a gun at someone Other pictures feature some action shots, including her co-stars Priyanka wrote, “First look at @citadelonprime via @vanityfair

#CitadelOnPrime " Besides Priyanka, the new stills also show the other characters in the world of Citadel Actor Rajkummar Rao, who co-starred with her in The White Tiger, dropped red heart emojis and shared, "Awesomeeeeee " Fans added that they were 'so excited' for the upcoming series One fan commented, "Priyanka is about to slay as always " Another person said, "Excuse me?

WHAT!!! It's so good.”

According to reports, ‘Citadel’ is a spy thriller that begins after an organization has fallen, and it is up to the spies to find out why Priyanka said

er character as quite fferent from er in real life he told the magazine, “I’m goofball, so what was the iggest hallenge for me was to be really cool This was physically g, y g, but it’s such a fun show to be a part of ”

She added, “It kind of blew my mind This is something that’s never been attempted on television before, and just the social experiment and the audacity of it was just so exciting to me ”

The six-episode series will also tie into the Italian and Indian versions of the Prime Video show Helmed by Raj and DK, the Indian series, starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, is currently under production in India

On the work front, Priyanka will also be seen in the romantic comedy ‘Love Again’ opposite Sam Heughan and Celine Dion later this year She is also supposed to begin filming ‘Jee Le Zaraa’ directed by Farhan Akhtar, with co-stars Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt

He continued, This is the Best Action Film (award), we won the Best Stunts (award), but probably the Best Stunt (award) was for the best stunt choreographer and I really would have loved to have the stunt choreographers here to see this because I think that is the team that works so hard and puts their life on the line to entertain us I think I'll take this opportunity to ask all the major awards to make a special category for the stunt guys stunt choreographers, they really, really deserve that! This is for all the stunt choreographers, not only in my country but across the world who really work hard to entertain us all ”

After winning the Best International Feature award, Rajamouli brought Ram Charan on stage The actor promised to keep making good films, and Rajamouli dedicated his award to all his fellow filmmakers in India

With the win, fans have all their hopes pinned on an Oscar Team ‘RRR’ is currently in Los Angeles and will attend the Oscars on March 12 The hit song from the movie ‘Naatu Naatu’ has been nominated for the Oscars in the Original Song category It won the Golden Globes in the Best Original Song category in January this year

India: DJ Martin Garrix

Electronic dance music

star DJ Martin Garrix is set to kickstart his biggest-ever India tour next month - his first time since 2018 Speaking in an interview, he said the musical outing will surely rekindle his love affair with the country “I have been looking forward to this (coming t o t h e c o u n t r y f o r multi-city performances) for a very long time I can’t wait to be back in India and party together with all the fans I think especially after the pandemic we appreciate being able to go to live shows even more, so I have definitely been able to feel that in the crowd’s energy the past year, ” says Garrix

The Dutch DJ, known for tracks such as Animals and Don’t Look D

Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Ahmedabad For Garrix, performing in India is always special as “ a part of my most loyal, biggest fan base is out there in India, so touring there will always be special ”

Garrix said, “Indian fans are very loyal and really go next level when it comes to their support Even some of my biggest fan pages are from India ” He adds, “For me, India is such a special, unique country Every time I am here, I get inspired by the people, the culture and also at the shows, there is so much energy and love from the fans ”

The DJ looks forward to collaborating with an Indian musician during his tour When asked if he had a name in mind, he said, “I don’t have a specific artist that comes to mind right now, but I’m definitely always open to working with other musicians ”

I have the most loyal and biggest fan base in

in brief IPL to start from 31st March in Ahmedabad

The open in g match of the 16 th se ason of the I ndi an Pre mie r Lea gue (I PL) will ta ke pla ce on

M a r ch 3 1 i n A hm e d a b a d ' s

N a r e n d r a M od i S t a d i u m, f e a t u r i n g th e d e f e n d i n g champi on Guj arat Titan s an d t h e f ou r - t i m e ch a m pi on

Che nn ai Super Kin gs (CSK)

T h e 1 0 - t e a m l e a g u e w i l l feature 70 league games, 18 of which will be doubleheaders on the weekends On April 1, P u n j a b K i n g s a n d K o l k a t a Knight Riders in Mohali and L u c k n o w S u p e r G i a n t s a n d Delhi Capitals in Lucknow will f a c e o f f i n t h e i n a u g u r a l doubleheader

Rajasthan Royals will play

their first two home fixtures i n G u w a h a t i b e f o r e p l a y i n g the remainder of their home games in Jaipur Punjab Kings will play five home matches in

M o h a l i a n d t h e n t r a v e l t o

D h a r a m s a l a f o r t w o h o m e games against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals

T h e l e a g u e w i l l r e s u m e

home-and-away games in the following season after a threeyear break Due to Covid-19 t h r e a t , o n l y M u m b a i , P u n e , a n d A h m e d a b a d h o s t e d t h e p r e v i o u s e d i t i o n T h e 2 0 2 0 e d i t i o n o f t h e l e a g u ep o s t p o n e d t o S e p t e m b e rN o v e m b e r f r o m i t s u s u a l

M a r c h - M a y w i n d o w - w a s played in the UAE while the 2 0 2 1 t o u r n a m e n t w a s suspended midway and moved to the UAE later that year after t h e d e a d l y s e c o n d w a v e o f Covid-19 swept the country

The schedule and venues for the playoffs and final will b e a n n o u n c e d l a t e r , B C C I said

Oz women beat SA to clinch sixth T20 WC title

Th e Australian women ’ s team ex te nd ed i t s en vi a b le do m i na nc e i n wo rl d c ri c k et fu rth er b y wi n ni n g an unprecedented sixth T20 World Cu p trop hy with a co mfo rtable 19-run win over a fighting Sou th Africa in th e su mmit clash

A u s t r a l i a p o s t e d a challenging 156 for 6 at first, then held the host team to 137 for 6 thanks to Beth Mooney's u n b e a t e n 7 4 o f f 5 3 b a l l s Mooney's performance, which included nine boundaries and one over-the-fence hit, carried t h e A u s t r a l i a n i n n i n g s a l l b y herself and proved to be the deciding factor

C h a s i n g , o p e n e r L a u r a W o l v a a r d t ( 6 1 o f f 4 8 b a l l s ) played a valiant lone hand while wickets kept tumbling at the

other end for the hosts

W o l v a a r d t h i t f i v e boundaries and three huge sixes during her knock

T a z m i n B r i t s , w h o h a d a slow start for South Africa, was caught by Tahila McGrath at m i d - o n i n t h e f i f t h o v e r I n order to complete a catch over h e r h e a d o f f D a r c i e B r o w n ' s d e l i v e r y , M c G r a t h r a n backward

W o l v a a r d t a n d M a r i z a n n e Kapp (11) then shared a 29-run s t a n d f o r t h e s e c o n d w i c k e t before the latter was caught by B r o w n o f f t h e b o w l i n g o f

Ashleigh Gardner An over later, t h e r e w a s m o r e m i s e r y f o r South Africa as skipper Sune Luus fell to an unwanted run out to slump to 54 for 3 in 10 4 overs

Sania bids farewell to tennis

At th e Dubai Duty Free T ennis

C h am p io n sh ip s , S an i a M i rz a bid an emotional farewell to th e world stag e as a g old en glow lit u p t h e br eat h tak in g se tti n g That w as the kind of career it was In th eir first-ro und m atch, S ani a and h er c lo s e f ri en d Madison Keys lost to Vero nika K u d erm eto v a an d L i u d m i l a Sam sono va of Russia 4 -6, 0 -6

A TV audience that would span the continent was swiftly set up on Court No 3 at the tennis facility next to the Irish V i l l a g e B e c a u s e i t w a s t h e busiest day of the tournament, Sania's match had no alternative but to be played on a smaller court

The stand on the outside court was packed, friends from H y d e r a b a d , f a n s f r o m t h e Emirates and there was a huge queue at the gates, as the 36y e a r - o l d , a s i x - t i m e m a j o r winner, prepared for her last dance, both her calves taped

T h e I n d o - A m e r i c a n combination was the superior team for the first six games of the match

In the second game of the opening set, a Samsonova second serve that landed in the middle of the court gave the Indo-American combination an o p p o r t u n i t y t o b r e a k I t ' s impossible to predict how the match would have turned out if they had maintained their serve, but after they were broken in

the seventh game, everything started to go south

S h e c a m e i n t o t h e p r e s s shortly after and lit the lines For the one last time as a proathlete “If there was some way I c o u l d j u s t c o m e o u t a n d compete without having to put the work in, I would take it,” she s a i d s m i l i n g , h e r d a r k e y e s clearing dramatically

“The amount of work that goes in to taking care of my b o d y , t h e m e n t a l , e m o t i o n a l part of it, is just something that I don’t have the drive for ”

“If you love something so much, you shouldn’t have to push yourself that much ”

“ I f e e l a l o t o f g r a t i t u d e today To be able to do this on my own terms,” the 36-year-old s a i d , h e r f o u r - y e a r - o l d s o n perched on her lap

Wolvaardt went for a huge heave towards the onside off a Megan Schutt full delivery, only to miss it and be adjudged LBW

Electing to bat, Australia lost Alyssa Healy (18) early, caught at covers by Nadine De Klerk off the bowling of Marizanne Kapp (2/35) in the fifth over Then

TATA GROUP BAGS TITLE RIGHTS FOR WPL

Tata Group has bagged the title rights for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah took to Twitter to make the announcement expressing his confidence that the move will take the women s cricket to the next level I am delighted to announce the Tata Group as the title sponsor of the inaugural WPL With their support we re confident that we can take women s cricket to the next level, Jay tweeted Notably, Tata Group also has the title rights for the Indian Premiere League BCCI announced the schedule for WPL 2023 after the conclusion of the auction, which was held on Feb 13

SINDHU PARTS WAYS WITH COACH PARK

A s h l e i g h G a r d n e r ( 2 9 o f f 2 1 ) joined hands with Mooney and the pair’s 46 runs for the second w i c k e t s t a b i l i s e d t h e i n n i n g s before the former was brilliantly c a u g h t a t l o n g - o f f b y S o u t h Africa skipper Sune Luus off the b o w l i n g o f l e f t - a r m s p i n n e r Chloe-Lesleigh Tryon

ICC set to introduce women umpires in top panels

The Int ernat iona l Cr icket Coun cil (ICC) is dev eloping a plan to include women on its pa nel of umpir es, which now only includes me n, aft er successful ly hosting a Women 's T20 Wor ld Cup with an all -femal e mat ch-officials crew The gl obal organisation want s women t o ove rsee inte rnat iona l competitions for men

“The idea is to make umpiring a gender-neutral opportunity in cricket The first objective is to get women to officiate in a few of the men ’ s bilateral matches The purpose is for the Elite panel to have both men and women on it, also supported by opportunities being provided for members in their home matches,” an ICC source told media

Women served as match officials during the most recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar The ICC want to see more women competing in men's ICC events ICC currently has two umpire panels: Elite and International Currently, umpires for women's international bilateral matches are chosen by the host board

“A big part in the global growth strategy is for the increased coverage of female match officials There is an outline of that plan with commitments and aims to help develop this area This includes c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h m e m b e r s , r e d e v e l o p i n g t h e s e l e c t i o n c r i t e r i a p r o c e s s , g e t t i n g m o r e f e m a l e m a t

umpires,” the source said

Unwell Rudrankksh wins World Cup gold

Wo rl d ch a m p i o n Ru d r an kks h P at il b ra v ed exhaustion and fever to confirm his first World Cup ind ividu al go ld in men ’ s 10m air rifle ev ent at th e I S SF W or ld C u p i n C ai ro o n l ast w eek

Rud rankksh, 1 9, earned a 629 points to p lace sixth in the eight-man final In ord er to get to th e g old medal m atch , he later won the ranking ro und with a score of 262 I n t h e f i n a l , h e d i d n ’ t s w e a t m u c h a h e registered a comfortable 16-8 win over Germany’s Maximilian Ulbrich “I was down with fever and cold and I had exhausted myself during the mixed match earlier Normally, the individual matches are scheduled first, but it was the opposite here Nonetheless, it was an experience for me how to

utilize my energy well,” Rudrankksh told media Rudrankksh is starting to favour the Cairo range as a hunting location The Thane shooter has five gold medals after winning the World Championships title last year, including two gold medals in mixed events (one each from the WCH and the WC) and three individual medals (1 WCH, 1 WC, 1 WC Finals)

I t w a s t h e C a i r o r a n g e t h a t b r o k e R u d r a n k k s h ’ s h e a r t i n h i s f i r s t W o r l d C u p participation where he finished 11th “It looks like I have taken my revenge properly,” the teenager said “My first time here was disappointing as I couldn’t even make it to the final But after that I have won all the gold medals here ”

After a string of disappointing performances in the last few months, PV Sindhu decided to part ways with her South Korean coach Park Tae-Sang Park announced the decision on social media “She has made disappointing moves in all recent matches, and as a coach, I feel responsible So she wanted a change and said she would find a new coach I decided to respect and follow her decision I’m sorry that I can’t be with her until the next Olympics but now I’m going to support her from afar I will remember every moment with her I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting and encouraging me ”Park wrote on Instagram Sindhu will now train with Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim at the Suchitra Badminton Academy Hashim was the All England champion in 2003

ANISH WINS RAPID FIRE BRONZE MEDAL AT WC

Anish Bhanwal displayed both patience and swiftness to win his first World Cup medal, five years after he started competing in the senior category The Haryana shooter, 20 bagged the bronze medal in men s 25m rapid fire pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo Anish qualified for the ranking round after shooting 581 (294 + 287) In the ranking round, he shot 12, but was tied with French shooter Yan Chesnel The shooters had to go for three rounds of shootoff, as the first two were tied at 3 and 4 shots each In the last round of shoot-off, Anish hit 4 targets while the French shooter got only 2 “It is tough for any athlete to stay motivated without winning Not getting a medal at the World Cup was bothering me,” A nish said after the match

LUCKNOW PITCH ESCAPES SANCTION

The undercooked pitch at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium for the second T20I between India and New Zealand on January 29, which was dubbed as a “shocker” by India’s T20I captain Hardik Pandya has escaped sanctions or any demerit point by the International Cricket Council with former India fast bowler Javagal Srinath who was the ICC match referee for that game rating the pitch as average ” The match saw New Zealand manage to score just 99 for 8 in 20 overs while India managed to reach the target with just a ball to spare In a rare occasion in T20 cricket not a single six was hit during the match, which witnessed 30 out of 40 overs of spin on a track where the ball turned square "To be honest, this was a shocker of a wicket," Hardik had said at the post-match presentation Meanwhile, the spin-friendly pitches for the first two Tests between India and Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy at Nagpur and Delhi have been given an “average” rating by ICC match referee Andrew Pycroft