AV 09th January 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

R

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

9 - 15 JANUARY 2021 - VOL 49 ISSUE 35

CHILDREN FIGHT FOR THEIR FUTURE

inside: Ban on unhealthy food and drinks not enough to combat obesity SEE PAGE - 5

Record number of Asian heroes awarded in the New Year Honours list SEE PAGE - 15 - 17

NO BAN ON EXPORT OF VACCINE FROM INDIA

Priyanka Mehta

Doctors are reassuring parents that there has been no increase in the severity of Covid-19 cases among children because of the new variant after rumours abound that the new coronavirus strain which is 70% more transmissible was particularly harmful to children. Their renewed efforts appear after London a hospital matron told BBC Radio 5 Live of having a ward full of children with coronavirus stating that the surge in cases was "much scarier" than the first wave.

Continued on page 6

India will begin exporting locally-made coronavirus vaccines within a fortnight of their launch, a foreign ministry official said. In the wake of a controversy after it was reported that Serum Institute of India has been barred to export vaccines to other countries, India's health ministry on Tuesday clarified that no such decision was taken ever. On Tuesday, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla too clarified that there was no ban on the exports of vaccine.

Continued on page 23

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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9 - 15 January 2021

with Keith Vaz

Mother dies after attending a wedding

Abdul Hai Abdul Hai is an elected Councillor for King’s Cross Ward. He is the Cabinet Member for Young People, Equalities, and Cohesion for the London Borough of Camden. He gained a BA in Informal & Community Education, Canterbury Christ Church University College.

Abdul has a passion for local government. Abdul has sought to make local government legitimate and relevant to those he represents, creating bridges between the many diverse communities. His political involvement in local government has led to local and national campaigns including reforming the Coroner’s Service.

He has a strategic understanding of the Voluntary and Community Sectors (VCS) at a local and national level. He has have been involved in fundraising, consultations, supporting disadvantaged young people, regeneration programmes, social policies and developing successful partnerships working with voluntary and statutory sectors.

1

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

London. Having a sense of belonging to a place is important to me. London is my home city and is one of most multicultural cities on the planet and is renowned for innovation and creativity. There are few other places which represent such a broad spectrum of international culture, history and food.

What are your proudest achievements?

2

In 2017, I co-chaired a Youth Safety Taskforce together with Sir Keir Starmer QC MP to investigate the causes of youth violence and knife crime in the London Borough of Camden. We presented our report with recommendations to keeping young people safe. I genuinely believe it made a big difference to the lives of young people and their families.

Covid-19 has exposed the deep structural inequalities in the UK. I worked with key agencies including public health for Camden and Islington to establish a working group to implement a six-week programme to review the disproportionate impact on Black, Asian and other ethnic groups. Building Equal Foundations report was launched with over 140 actions to tackle the systemic inequalities.

What inspires you?

3

People’s resilience and perseverance to succeed in order to make our society a better place for everyone.

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

4

Overcoming discrimination and inequality.

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

No single individual but there have been numerous good friends and mentors who have helped and guided me in navigating the political path.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

Being able to give voice and influence to underrepresented groups. Creating opportunities and removing obstacles to services and improving life chances.

And the worst?

5

6 7

Making difficult and challenging decisions on financial savings especially when certain groups feel their needs are being overlooked.

What are your long-term goals?

8

Working towards a better and an equal society for all.

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

End the austerity agenda once and for all then focus on eliminating structural inequalities.

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

Mahatma Gandhi. He was a true social reformer, and it would be great to know how he would have tackled today’s challenges. His non-violent resistance was a powerful statement to the oppressors and an inspiration to civil rights movements around the world.

9

10

Woman arrested after alleged abuse of worshippers On 30th December, Wednesday a 30-year-old woman was arrested after Hare Krishna worshippers were allegedly verbally abused and spat at in a hate crime in Leicester city centre.

The Leicester woman was detained after an incident in which police said that books used by the worshippers were also damaged and a container containing change was kicked. She was later arrested on suspicion of common assault, religiously aggravated public order and criminal damage and has now been released on bail.

PC Luke Eden-Walker, the investigating officer, in a statement to Leicester

Clock Tower in Leicester

Mercury said, “This incident happened in the middle of the city centre when an evening where people will have been out shopping or perhaps making their way home from work.

I would, therefore, like to speak to anyone witnessed it. From my enquiries so

far, I believe some people may have filmed the incident on their mobile phones.

“If you were one of those people, then please get in touch. Any information or footage you can provide could help my investigation.”

The daughter of a mother who died from coronavirus at a Birmingham hospital has issued a heartfelt plea to the public to stay safe as she advised against huge gatherings.

Dalvinder Kaur-Kelly's 67-year-old mother Joginder died after contracting coronavirus at a wedding in mid-September which was reportedly attended by over 100 guests and in clear breach of Covid-19 restrictions. Apparently over 50 guests were infected with the virus.

The wedding took place in Derby on September 19, when up to 30 people were allowed to attend.

Dalvinder, whose mum was cared for at the Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said, "My mum should still be here, but she felt pressured to go. If you are worried, don't keep quiet - speak up. It is so senseless. My mother went from the wedding to being admitted to hospital in less than 10 days. A few weeks later we were arranging her funeral."

After the ceremony Joginder went to the reception 35 miles away in Walsall. Guests at the event had reportedly travelled from as far afield as Essex, London and Liverpool.

Joginder tested positive on September 24 and was admitted to hospital four days later, and died in October. Now, her daughter has started a fundraiser for the hospital’s critical care unit and she said, "I just want to tell people not to go to huge gatherings. "If you're going to host something, a gathering, be compliant - if you can, please don't involve clinically vulnerable people in your plans. A mere invitation from somebody can

be pressure, please don't feel pressured and speak up. Covid is real. It's there and it's destroying lives. There is a vaccine on its way, so make sure your loved ones are here to celebrate next Christmas and New Year."

The GoFundMe page, Dalvinder also noted, "In her final days my mum was cared for by amazing doctors and nursing staff. I will forever be grateful to them for their kindness to her. My last conversation with

her was in a Zoom call. The call was made using one of the Hospital's iPads. We were able to tell her we loved her and she said she loved us too.

“Being unable to be with a family member who is critically ill, is devastating for all concerned, particularly the patient. Family contact is so important, especially as part of end-of-life care. I hope through this fundraising request, we can help others to maintain family contact with their loved ones during their time of need. My Mother received excellent care. I hope this appeal will go some way to assist others to also receive such care."

Con artist speaks about jewellery heist A reformed con artist from Cheetham Hill has spoken about his double life as an international fraudster, and how he pulled off an elaborate $2m jewellery heist.

48-year-old Saqib Mumtaz and his accomplices persuaded jewellers Bijan that the brother of the Sultan of Brunei was planning a lavish wedding and was in the market for precious stones.

Saqib and his fellow fraudsters were eventually caught and jailed and says that he has turned over a new leaf. His jewellery heist scam involved telling the Beverley Hills-based jewellers the ‘prince’ wanted to purchase a selection of watches and necklaces to wear at a wedding. Staff were completely blindsided flew to London and handed over a bag of jewellery to the fraudsters, which was never seen again.

In his interview with Liverpool Echo, he said, “I was living a double life - at home I was a good little Asian lad who was studying and working part time. We found out the Sultan of Brunei had been there (the jewellers) a few months before on a shopping spree, so I thought let's give them a call. Before we did, we

gained as much information as we could - it took weeks and when we rang the jewellers we said we are interested in a selection of jewellery. We said we’re having a wedding in England and we wanted them to come here.

Saqib Mumtaz We said we would arrange going to get me. You can’t and pay for everything and go through the years of asked could they bring a doing what we did and not selection of jewellery. I got paying for it. It’s just that arrested and put on remand. when you’re young, you In the end, I knew they were think you’re invincible.

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COMMENTS

3

9 - 15 January 2021

Is Starmer ready to replace PM Johnson?

Applauds for Sir Keir Starmer who put Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a spot, on last Sunday. He also criticised Mr Johnson over his handling of the pandemic during what was probably the last PMQs of 2020. The Opposition leader asked the Prime Minister why the UK had among the highest numbers of Covid deaths in Europe. Even on Sunday 3 January, as confusions grew about closure of schools, he warned Mr Johnson to call for a national lockdown to save lives. As we went to press, the Opposition leader was meant to challenge the Prime Minister, asking that UK should be the first country to vaccinate its population against coronavirus.

The government has committed to vaccinating 13.9 million of the most vulnerable people by the middle of next month.

When Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty was asked if it was a realistic target, he answered with a keen determination.

While Sir Starmer continue to ask pertinent questions, reports say that his own party MP in Birmingham, Khalid Mahmood received the Covid-19 vaccine by joining a queue for ‘leftover’ doses, usually used by nurses at the moment.

Mr Mahmood said he was apparently visiting the Queen Elizabeth Hospital vaccination hub, with a relative when he joined a queue in the hope, he would be offered a jab not taken up by others.

The MP for Perry Barr for 20 years, who was accompanying a frail and anxious relative getting a vaccine, was in luck and received the Pfizer injection. But this has raised many eyebrows.

Another Labour MP, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, was forced to apologise and delete a series of tweets that falsely accused a Tory minister and his family of jumping the queue for the coronavirus vaccine. Dr Rosena Allin-Khan made the public allegation against MP Nadhim Zahawi on Twitter on Saturday evening

despite acknowledging she had only heard “rumours” and did not know if it was true.

Sir Starmer has been believed to have gained an increasing popularity that Mr Johnson is otherwise losing. It is believed the Prime Minister may even lose the North votes that helped him to win the 2019 election, should the country call for another general election. But having said all of this, if Sir Starmer is failing to keep a check on his own MPs, leading to a constant struggle of people’s faith in Her Majesty’s Opposition, can he do Mr Johnson’s job?

During the farmers’ protest, many Labour MPs have supported the sentiment of thousands of Khalistani protesters who gathered in front of Indian embassies in different locations across the UK, breaking the lockdown rules. The growing anti-India sentiment- what has Sir Starmer done to stop such feelings to grow among his party members, who are often very vocal?

Success for any country’s government depends on the strength of its Opposition. Sir Starmer who has so far supported Mr Johnson’s decisions, needs to ask the Prime Minister for an exit strategy – a decision on how many people need to be vaccinated before restrictions can go and a timeline. People should be reluctant to go on the Prime Minister’s word alone.

Once the pandemic is over, as inews has pointed out, calls for a public inquiry will grow. With reports that Mr Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings is willing to testify that Mr Johnson ignored his advice to lock down early, the event has the potential to be politically damaging for the Prime Minister for sure. But the question remains, can Sir Starmer replace him as Britain’s true leader in these trying times? An answer only time will tell.

Don’t play with our future Children and parents have had it up to their eyeballs with the Tory Government’s back and forth. Schools will re-open or they will remain closed. Parents have faced more disruption and uncertainty as local authorities across the country scramble to delay schools reopening in the face of rising coronavirus infection rates.

In the meantime, there is no clarity if A-levels and GCSEs are to be cancelled or delayed even as the government has delayed the reopening of secondary schools across most of England by one week for exam-year pupils and two weeks for other school students. But the education secretary Gavin William is insisting that higher exams will go ahead as planned. This is despite Scotland and Wales last year announcing the cancellation of GCSE and A-Levels exams in 2021. There are widespread social media campaigns and petitions where pupils are “ramping up the pressure” on the Tory government by emailing their MP and signing the petition, ‘Cancel GCSEs and A Levels in 2021 – which has so far amassed over 203,270 signatures. Hasan Patel had earlier tweeted, “BTEC students are still expected to sit exams this week despite a national lockdown. Please we need the media to help us students. Share this.” But the government’s previous strategy around predicted grades is not a viable solution either.

Prof Kalwant Bhopal, director of the centre for research in race and education at Birmingham University, has consistently warned that predicted grades were often wrong, to the detriment of some categories of students.

She had previously cautioned, “There’s a lot of evidence to show that there are stereotypes around particular types of students, so their predicted grades are lower, and when they do the exam they do better than their predicted grade. Students who are from white, middle-class, affluent backgrounds will do very

well from these predicted grades, especially those from private schools.”

And this is not the first time that the education secretary has found himself on the other side of the debate with the parents.

At the beginning of the last year as well Williamson had faced considerable backlash from both parents and the children at the controversy around Centre Assessed Grades. Widespread students’ protests were then successful in pressurising the government to scrap the Ofqual algorithm. But the government’s Uturn had not helped all students to study the course they had initially been offered as seats in universities have already been filled up. Academics were even more concerned that black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students might once again be the ultimate sufferers of the constant changing dynamics.

This back and forth is especially concerning in the aftermath of the economic impact of coronavirus which has resulted in mass unemployment that the pandemic has unleashed. A recent report published by the Resolution Foundation had already showed that people from ethnic minorities are more likely to work in the hospitality industry – the hardest hit industry.

According to the same report, one in 12 (8 per cent) BAME people in the UK are employed in hospitality jobs – amounting to 300,000 overall - compared to just one in 20 White British workers (5 per cent). As the hospitality industry limps through a series of national lockdowns, most organisations have stated that they will take years to recover from the economic downturn, provided they have not fully collapsed. The fundamental point remains that BAME students and workforce are once again at the short end of the rope. Now, the parents who are already struggling to keep their businesses afloat are concerned about whether to send their children to school.

Stakes high for BJP in coming Assembly elections The assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are due in April-May 2021. A high stake political battle is expected in most states. The intensity has been particularly high in West Bengal, where BJP is making a determined bid to end the ruling of Trinamool Congress'10-year reign after emerging as its main rival in the last few years winning 18 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 polls. The ruling BJP is in direct contest with the Congress in Assam, while the political scene in Tamil Nadu, which has been traditionally dominated by the two regional parties. In Kerala, the main contest is expected to be between the ruling LDF, headed by the CPI(M), and the Congress-led UDF. After the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections, its victory was primarily based on its success in India's north and west. It has decided to expand, first in the east and then the south. Over the last six years, this strategy has paid dividends, especially in the east - where the party’s win in the Assam state elections of 2016 . The party also put up a robust performance in West Bengal and Odisha. While Karnataka has been an older stronghold, it was not able to translate itself as a major force in the south. The BJP was hoping to join hands with the party which Rajinikant was supposed to launch in January. But, he finally decided not to launch the party after he fell ill in Hyderabad in December. BJP is in alliance with the ruling AIADMK, but as a minor partner.

Now the big battle for BJP is in West Bengal - where it is pitted against the Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee.

No other local leader in Bengal matches Banerjee’s brand value.

But,the Trinamool also suffers from a set of weaknesses, which

is being targeted by the BJP. The Trinamool has been portrayed as a party too close to the minorities. The BJP is now banking on the Hindu votes. After her setback in the 2019 polls, Mamata also has made a conscious effort to pander to Hindu aspirations.

But the BJP believes that this messaging is too little and too late, and the ground in Bengal is ripe enough for a “polarised election”. The party believes that its push for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will help rally Hindu voters in bordering areas with links to the east. Its leaders are banking on constituencies with over 60% Hindus to be able to polarise the landscape and win. The BJP has steadily built its organisation in the state aided, in no small measure, by the entry of former Trinamool heavyweights, the latest being Suvendu Adhikari. In Bengal’s politics, the key is having control of the local machines on the ground. Local election machines - loose grids populated by influential panchayat leaders and others quite comfortable with using violence to intimidate rivals and coerce voters - shifted from the Left to the Trinamool, and the big question is whether they will now move to the BJP. This history of violence also makes the election particularly sensitive, and has already seen a spate of political killings, with the Opposition being targeted.

The BJP was also hoping to attract BCCI president and former India captain Saurav Ganguly into its fold. Ganguly is an educated, sophisticated and articulate man with a distinction of leading the Indian cricket team to glory. He has mass appeal cutting across politics, religion, caste or creed in West Bengal. But the BJP's hope is also dashed as Ganguly has to undergo an angioplasty and is in the hospital.

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.

– Will Rogers

Alpesh Patel

A Worthy New Year’s Resolution – the microdonation My New Years Resolution: to make money to solve big world problems.

Most people want to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others but have a hard time putting pencil to paper and committing to change.

This New Year, I’m making a resolution to help people find a solution for this problem!

Investment and entrepreneur lessons from the best investors on earth and my own personal experiences is how I can help others to make money.

There is a ‘Superman Syndrome’ everywhere in life (or Superwoman), in this day and age where everyone wants to become Superman that we do not give enough time to become the Man or Woman of Steel. It’s hard with lockdowns to manage family, kids, work, our futures.

I think a worthy New Year’s Resolution is therefore to join the dots of our life so far, and “To make money, so I can solve all the big world problems single-handedly.” Okay not single-handedly but it is making money which will pay tax for the NHS. It is making money that will allow giving to homeless through great charities like GoDharmic, who through my Chairmanship of City Hindus Network we’ve promoted and donate in a small way.

Teaching you how to make money - successful – entrepreneur –this is what a worth New Year Resolution can be. I am not a doctor after all.

We live in uncertain times. Global financial markets let alone the real work does look increasingly fragile, and it seems like innocent people are often the victims of greed, political or religious manipulation or just bad luck.

Why not take a little bit of control and make a New Year's Resolution for yourself to meet your financial goals. I’ll help you by making my international best-selling book Investing Unplugged free.

I've shared my journey from a small town boy with big dreams to a globe trotting investor and entrepreneur who's taken on the biggest banks in the world. So why not make your New Year’s Resolution like mine - My New Year's resolution this time around was very simple: to make money and help solve big world problems at the same time.

This has been a dream of mine for sometime now, but I knew that it would take time and effort to achieve it. Luckily, I am a trader by profession, and have made some great friends along the way.

So through TiE-UK.org we help entrepreneurs and through my own www.tech2great.com which helps companies solving the world’s big problems like climate change and clean air from viruses!

This is not greed of the 1980s. This is closer to the communism of Marx – from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs.

Perverse that coming from a hedge fund manager.

It’s a real dilemma, isn’t it? We all want to help those less fortunate than us – yet we don’t have enough time or money. Or do we? Most of us can afford to give a little money or time. And if we all do it, we can make a big difference! I’m talking about giving micro-donations or time or money to help fund big world problems - from fighting poverty to saving the Amazon rainforest. Hope you will join me in a similar New Year Resolution.

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9 - 15 January 2021

The Globalisation of Calamities

Points of Lights award for coronavirus warriors On 30th December, Wednesday two Asians were presented with the prestigious Points of Light award. Reena Popat, has been volunteering alongside her cousin and fellow Point of Light Chandni Sejpal Shah to deliver over 1,700 care packages across London to vulnerable people in response to the pandemic.

In the meantime, 8year-old Milan Kumar, from Bolton, has written and self-published his own book, ‘Covid Christmas Parade’, about a young boy spreading festive cheer during the pandemic. This is raising money for the National Literacy Trust to support other children whose literacy and learning have been most affected by Covid-19.

Reena said, “With the gloom and despair of Covid-19, my cousin Chandni Sejpal Shah and I wanted to show our support for the community and those most in need.

With the considerable donations received from our families, friends, colleagues and virtual strangers we were able to deliver meal deals to the homeless and care packs to front line workers.

With so much generosity and kindness we have been able to continue our efforts for nine very challenging months.

Reena Popat and Chandni Sejpal Shah

“I am honoured to receive the Points of Light Award from the Prime Minister and equally proud to be part of this community. So many people have come together in these vital times to show unity and provide cheer not only to those most in need but also to those who continue to work tirelessly.”

Together with Chandni and a team of volunteers, they have delivered food and supplies to homeless people, working with mother and baby hostels, women’s hostels, young people’s hostels and hostels with residents that are entrenched rough sleepers with very complex needs. They have also delivered over 700 care packages to NHS staff and patients across hospitals in London, the ambulance service, fire service, hospices and a nursing home, as well as provided more than 450 activity

packs to support children in local hospitals and for

Milan Kumar

their siblings, as well as for neonatal families at the Neonatal intensive care unit and special care baby units.

Milan was inspired to write his book after completing a lockdown challenge in the spring of 2020 to read 50 books over three months, which received praise from the patron of the National Literacy Trust, the Duchess of Cornwall. He has also supported the charity by joining their summer fundraising challenge, #FitforLit, by cycling 50 laps a day (one for each book he read)

over ten days around the University of Bolton stadium, and has become a Premier League Reading Stars Ambassador for Bolton Wanderers Football Club, as part of the programme the charity runs in partnership with the Premier League to inspire children to get into reading through their love of sport.

Proceeds from his book are also going towards the National Literacy Trust.

Milan said, “I am greatly honoured that the Prime Minister has recognised my fundraising efforts for the National Literacy Trust.

“My newly published children’s book on Amazon called ‘Covid Christmas Parade’ is all about a young boy who is determined to bring back his town’s Christmas cheer in light of the pandemic.

“I feel proud knowing I have made a difference to the lives of other children affected by Covid-19 because reading promotes health and wellbeing. I love reading and learning about the world through books and I want to help as many children as possible discover the magic of reading and all the great benefits it comes with.

Clothing manufacturer banned for unpaid taxes On 30th December Wednesday, a 62year-old clothing manufacturer from Leicester was banned from acting as a company director for six years it has emerged.

Surinder Singh was the director of Lady Fashion (UK) Ltd, which began trading in the city after being incorporated in September 2017 and

Singh was banned over an unpaid tax bill. According to the Insolvency Service, the company failed to pay £98,000 in tax dating from April 2018, and was wound up in July last year.

An investigation found Singh "had failed to ensure Lady Fashion kept accounting records" and could

not explain why he withdrew £180,000 from company accounts.

In a statement to the BBC, Robert Clarke, Chief investigator, Insolvency Service, said, “Surinder Singh tried to cloak his actions through a lack of records and attempted to gain an unfair competitive advantage by not paying the tax due.”

BAME workers at higher risk of unemployment Recent research by a thinktank has highlighted that the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities face a disproportionate risk of losing their jobs once the government’s furlough scheme ends in the Spring.

According to a report published by the Resolution Foundation ethnic minorities are more likely to work in the hospitality industry, sector that has been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

One in 12 (8 per cent) BAME people in the UK are employed in hospitality jobs – amounting to 300,000 overall compared to just one in 20 White British workers (5 per cent). The think tank said the ability of the hospitality sector to weather the pandemic and recover quickly would be crucial to the living standards of many BAME workers and their families.

Commenting on the report, Dr Halima Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, in a statement to The Independent said, “The hospitality

Halima Begum

sector is highly reliant on ethnic minority workers, particularly in lower paid jobs within the gig economy.

Efforts need to be made to support those who face long-term unemployment as a result of furlough being wound down, whether we’re talking about White or BAME staff. With the right funding, this would not only alleviate household poverty in the short to medium term, it will support longerterm national growth as we emerge out of the pandemic.”

Data from the Office for National

Nitin Mehta Plagues and other deadly pandemics have ravaged the human race for thousands of years. However, for the last 70 years the Western world also known as the first world has been relatively free of major disasters.

The poorer nations suffered the double whammy of extreme poverty and unrelenting disasters. In the West we kept hearing of the miseries that befell the people of the third world.

Draughts, hurricanes, diseases, hunger and other catastrophes seem to be never ending in the poor countries of the world. In 1855 a plague that started in China killed 10 million people in India.

Though the West has been relatively from major pandemics over the last 70 years this was not always the case. In 1348 Britain had the Black Death pandemic which was a bubonic plague.

According to Professor Tom Jones Black Death turned the society upside down in England. Between 1347 and 1351 it killed about half of all Londoners and between 30 to 60 percent of all Europeans.

The French lost half of its population. People were buried in communal graves. There were hardly enough living to care for the sick and bury the dead. The plague returned regularly between 1361, 1370's and 1380's. In 1665 London had the Great Plague. It spread by the bite from the black rat flea. It spread to other people through coughing and sneezing. It killed 75,000 Londoners. According to Marth Henry writing in the Cambridge Today there was a Smallpox pandemic in 1721 followed by Cholera in 1849 and Influenza in 1918. Around 500 million people worldwide were infected with Influenza and it killed around 50 million people worldwide.

The relative peace that the people in the West experienced from these miseries has shielded the populace and left them not best placed to face the terrifying Covid-19 pandemic. It is estimated that almost 10 million people in the UK could be suffering from mental health issues. The parameters of the society that we were used to have been changed fundamentally. The economic slump, job losses, the zoom technology which has radically changed the work culture all have created fear and anxiety. We are still in the midst of a ravaging Covid-19 and the both the short term and long term consequences could be devastating. The gains made over the last 70 years in reducing poverty and inequality could be reversed and cause social unrest. Some media outlets which routinely report on the disasters in India and its failures to manage pandemics are finding it hard to comprehend that we are all in this together!

Covid-19 is not the only catastrophe to hit the Western or developed countries. Last year Australia was devastated by raging fires. The United States of America is constantly plagued by natural disasters. Now that we are seeing the return of the globalisation of calamities we need to urgently correct our ways as a human race.

The first and foremost correction has to be our relationship towards the animal kingdom. We need to change from being the tormentors of the animal kingdom to being compassionate and partners in the fight to save the future generations from living on an inhabitable planet. It is said that Covid-19 started with experiments on bats in China which went wrong. Then there are the socalled wet markets where wild animals are sold for meat. Around 80 billion animals are raised for meat. All of them spend their short lives in utterly cruel conditions before being killed mercilessly.

Bizarre experiments are carried out on animals to satisfy some human foible. Trillions of fish are trapped in vast nets which also trap and kill all kinds of aquatic animals. Millions of animals are exported around the world in horrific conditions only to be brutally killed on arrival. So blase' we have become that we fed herbivorous cows with meat of infected sheep. Thousands of lives were ruined as people consumed the meat of these cows and were infected with the CJD virus. When the horror of this dawned on lawmakers they decided to slaughter tens of thousands of cows. We are facing an existential crisis and the solution to save ourselves is starring us in the face. Make peace with the animal kingdom. Grant them fundamental rights. Return to a plant based diet. It is now or never.

Statistics (ONS) shows the number of jobs in hospitality in June 2020 were down by 4.2 per cent compared to December 2019, compared to a fall of 0.8 per cent in the rest of the economy. This results in a loss of 106,000 jobs in hospitality over a sixmonth period, which is similar to the total fall in hospitality jobs which took place following the 2008 financial crisis – although then it occurred over a twoyear period.

A separate report by the Resolution Foundation in September found that one in five (21 per cent) workers from an ethnic minority background had either lost hours or pay, been furloughed or were no longer working slightly higher than the rate among workers overall (18 per cent). BAME workers were also more likely to no longer be working than the general working population, at 11 per cent compared to 7 per cent.

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9 - 15 January 2021

in brief V&A MUSEUM TO RETURN INDIA’S TREASURES On Sunday 2nd January, it was reported that the Victoria & Albert museum is expected to lend all contentious treasures of the East India Company back to their native countries and homeland for the first time.

The V&A collection boasts of 19,000 objects amassed by officials from the East India Company including the famed Tipu’s Tiger organ. In a lecture last year Mr Tristram Hunt, the museum’s director said that “as a museum born of this imperial moment we are working hard to open up and discuss the V&A’s colonial past”.

Now, The Times has reported that the anniversary of India’s Independence Day in 2022 would be an “opportune” moment to “share” objects taken during the colonial era. The museum has already offered Ethiopia a loan of the Magdala treasures which were looted by the British Army during the 1868 Abyssinian Expedition. It also hopes to lend items of Asante gold to Ghana which were acquired after they were seized by a British expeditionary force in 1874. Mr Hunt added, however, that the museum was keen to share the antiquities “amassed” by the East India Company with Indian institutions and that removing the museum’s colonial inheritance would make “no sense” given how woven it was into the Victoria & Albert’s history.

The museum, however, it is understood was not allowed to remove items permanently and despite their limitations they were “trying to work really hard with nations seeking restitution” of objects.

He said, “Quite understandably communities to whom we are seeking to lend these items say: ‘Hold on, you are asking us to borrow items from you that you took from us’ and at the moment legally that’s all we can do.”

CHILDCARE PROVIDERS AT RISK OF CLOSURE Recent analysis has revealed that nearly 20,000 childcare providers are at a risk of closure because of government funding changes.

Tulip Siddiq According to Labour’s analysis, these childcare providers could close within six months if the government continue to push ahead with changes to the early years funding system in the new year.

Since March, the impact of Covid-19 has led to a stark decline in the number of families accessing childcare places. Government plans to change funding for nurseries, childminders and pre-schools, to match these current low levels of attendance from January 2021, and it could see 25% of providers close within six months according to a survey by the Early Years Alliance. Mass closures of early years providers would lead to many parents being unable to access the childcare they need, making it harder for many parents to return to work.

Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, in a statement said, “The government have repeatedly failed to give the early years sector the support that it needs throughout this pandemic, and now many thousands are facing a cliff-edge. The government’s plans to change funding in the midst of a pandemic and while childcare attendance is down could put thousands of providers and jobs at risk.

They must urgently rethink these plans."

Ban on unhealthy food and drinks not enough to combat obesity Priyanka Mehta As part of a proposed government crackdown on obesity, Downing Street barred supermarkets in England from displaying unhealthy food and drinks at checkouts or using them in buy one, get one free offer.

The latest restrictions follow suit of Boris Johnson’s pledge earlier in the year to reduce levels of excess weight and obesity. The Prime Minister had made the commitment after his recovery from coronavirus, which he believed was exacerbated by the fact that he was overweight. The seriousness around addressing increasing obesity and diabetes levels among Britons became more pronounced ever since research highlighted that overweight people are at a greater risk of serious illness from covid-19.

Deprivation and poverty root cause of obesity Dr. Partha Kar is a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology and a National Speciality Advisor for Diabetes with NHS England.

Speaking about the high deprivation factor in the UK, he said, “Obesity has been a major impact on coronavirus. Type II diabetes is linked to obesity which reduces your survival rates if you are infected with coronavirus. There are multilayered problems when address-

ing diabetes and deprivation is the biggest factor where people can live on unhealthy diets because a meal from McDonald’s is cheaper and affordable in comparison to nutritious diets.

“Policies like sugar taxation or banning advertisements of junk food may make a difference. But it does not address the root cause of deprivation. There is also a lot of stigma around obesity and in the process, we lose out on being able to help those who are actually suffering from obesity. Also, we need to factor in the diverse cultural groups co-existing in the UK. A bulk of the policy framework that is designed around combatting diabetes is subconsciously catered towards certain majoritarian groups of people. But there is no specific messaging designed specifically for ethnic minorities in alignment with their cultural practices.”

As part of the government’s strategy, checkout restrictions will apply to other sales-boosting locations such as the entrances to stores or at the end of aisles and similar rules will apply for websites, banning sales links to unhealthy foods on places such as homepages, or at checkout or payment pages. In what is seen as government’s attempt of addressing this deprivation, restaurants will also no longer be

able to offer free refills of sugary drinks. The restrictions will not come into force until April 2022, and will be subject to a consultation process first. The rules about promotions – which would also stop all bulk buy offers on high-fat or high-sugar food and drinks – would only apply to larger retailers, those with 50 or more employees.

Role models need to shift the dial on diabetes The proportion of adults in England diagnosed with diabetes trebled between 1994 and 2019, as obesity rates soared, according to a latest UCL report. The same study also noted that 16 per cent of people in the lowest income group had diabetes in comparison to only 7 per cent in the highest income group. In the meantime, an NHS study notes that diabetes affects around 3million people in the UK, half a million of these are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities those who have suffered a disproportionate impact of Covid-19. Yet, obesity and diabetes are a stigma and hardly discussed about within South Asian families.

Speaking about the need for celebrities to raise awareness around Diabetes, Dr. Kar said, “Stephen Fry changed the dial around mental health and started speaking about his own expe-

Dr. Partha Kar

rience around depression and mental health. Other celebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Deepika Padukone have broken that stigma around mental health and it is no longer a “taboo”. The same needs to be done around diabetes. We need role models in the form of religious leaders, local community members and celebrities like Sanjeev Kapoor or Meera Syal to shift that dial around diabetes as well.”

Combined with the government’s campaign to address diabetes, up and coming MedTech companies such as GlucoRx are also harnessing the power of technology to provide painless treatment options for diabetics.

But the multi-pronged approach in tackling diabetes and obesity begins with first bringing about “behavioural” and “lifestyle” changes. The government must remember that their policies cannot be one size fits all.

Rakesh Kapoor joins NHS England A former chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser has joined the board of NHS England.

62-year-old Rakesh Kapoor, who had stepped down as the CEO of the UK multinational consumer goods company in September 2019 after a troubled couple of years due to a cyberattack, criticism over his pay and factory disruption is now expected to help shape the “strategic agenda” of the NHS. He was one of the top paid executives in the UK. He wrote, “For over seven

decades, the National Health Service has provided high quality, affordable care to the British people. It employs around 1.3 million people and spends around £130 billion each year, making it one of the largest organisations in the world and one that plays a huge role in our lives.

“There are unprecedented challenges to our healthcare system-dealing with the backlog of healthcare needs from the pandemic, while creating a system that addresses the ongoing

Rakesh Kapoor

issues of health and social care equitably. I am hugely honoured to play a small role in helping shape the strategic agenda to

tackle these challenges and contribute to a sector that I am passionate about.”

He joined Reckitt & Colman in 1987, before the merger with Benckiser, serving in various roles. In January 2019, the company announced that Kapoor is set to retire by the year end.

Kapoor was the boss of the firm behind brands from Dettol to Durex. He had worked for the firm for 32 years, including eight years in the top job and was one of the UK’s highest-paid chief executives.

Home Secretary accused of forgetting about the police On Monday 4th January, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner accused the Home Secretary of forgetting about the “practical issues” facing the police forces as she remains too focused on cutting illegal immigration.

Lord Blair expressed his frustration at how recently negotiated Brexit deal had resulted in the UK having less crime-fighting powers especially after Priti Patel promised that police and security services would get “tougher powers” to keep the country safe post Brexit. She had previously claimed that the Government would ban foreign criminals from entering, reject unreliable national identity cards, and

crack down on smuggling from Europe.

Speaking at BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lord Blair, said, “I am afraid it is basically the fact that we have lost powers, we have lost the European Arrest Warrant which we used to send 12,000 suspects back to Europe for trial in the last decade and (bring) 1,600 of our own offenders back.

“We have lost full access to Europe-wide interrogatable databases on criminal records, DNA, fingerprints, criminal intelligence. I think what the Home Secretary has been doing is concentrating on illegal immigration and this new idea about shortening the amount of time

Priti Patel

somebody has to spend in prison before they can be deported, here, and has forgotten the real, practical issues facing officers in their cars as we speak today.”

However, a Home Office source in a statement to The Daily Mail said, “The EU took the position throughout that it was legally impossible for them to offer SIS II (the Schengen Information System II database) to any third country outside the Schengen area. We will therefore use tried and tested mechanisms of cooperation via Interpol and bilateral channels, which we already use with the rest of the world – and which we used with EU Member States until 2015.”

The EU and UK have implemented limited information sharing and other measures to maintain security functions under the new trade deal.

Man arrested on suspicion of making an explosive device A 52-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of making an explosive device in Manchester, the BBC has

reported.

Army bomb disposal officers were reportedly called following the "discovery of suspicious

items" at a property in Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield.

According to the Greater Manchester Police it was an iso-

lated incident and there was no wider threat to the community.

The arrested man remains in custody for questioning.

6 UK

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9 - 15 January 2021

Continued from page 1

Dr. Prabhu Rajendran

Rajendran, exclusively told Asian Voice, “As of now we are not seeing significant pressure from Covid-19 in children across the UK. So, children are by and large, safe from coronavirus, but still get normal illness during winter.

As cases in the community rise there will be a small increase in the number of children who we see can be affected by Covid-19. But the overwhelming majority of children and young people have no symptoms or very mild illness only.”

Dismissing rumours about children being infected by coronavirus “Please do not believe the rumours around the furore about kids being hospitalised with Covid-19.

There will obviously be some children admitted with Covid-19 symptoms, but this appears to be the same small number as during the first wave. Schools are safe for kids, but we might have to close them to protect adults/community when the rates are high. So, it is not the increase in the severity of Covid-19 cases among children, because of the new variant; but it is the increase in the rate of transmission,” he said.

There has been an ongoing debate around the reopening of schools even as some reports indicated that schools were the latest Covid-19 hotspots.

Education minister Gavin

Williamson had also previously stated that he wanted school closures to be as "short as possible" after delaying their re-opening amid surging amid surging coronavirus cases. The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) UK had previously raised concerns about the safety of children going back to schools amid surging Covid-19 infections.

In his letter, earlier last year, Dr Ramesh Mehta OBE, Paediatrician and President of the BAPIO said, “We are extremely worried that as schools reopen, not only BAME children will be exposed to Covid-19 and serious “Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome” (MIS) but also BAME teachers and others staff will be exposed to Covid-19 disease”. We are writing to the Chief Medical Officer and Secretary of State for Education on the urgent need for risk assessment is carried out for all staff and children from BAME backgrounds and given additional protection, until our knowledge of vulnerabilities improves and effective vaccination strategies are implemented. If not, we are likely to see a new dimension in this Covid-19 pandemic.”

Professor Chris Whitty responds to BAPIO’s concerns about BAME children Responding to their concerns, in his letter addressed to Dr. Ramesh Mehta and Dr. J.S. Bamrah, Professor Chris Whitty,

posed to children from Covid-19 is small, with the great majority having only mild or no symptoms at all; this is the view of SAGE and of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health among others.

Therefore, it is a priority wherever possible to get children safely back into school this year, following the disruption they faced last academic year. This is probably even more important in disadvantaged groups.”

In the meantime, reintroduction of tough new lockdown measures across England mean schools are now closed to most pupils and GCSE and A-Levels have been cancelled. This has left most parents in a lurch at the last minute as they device new routines around home-schooling and parenting. This is expected to be particularly difficult for working parents especially those in the hospitality industry who are already struggling to keep their businesses afloat amid a series of lockdowns and lost businesses.

Difficulties of home-schooling for working parents Speaking about the difficulties around homeschooling Mallika Basu, CoFounder of SIZL said, “I started a food, drink and destination communications consultancy last year

Mallika Basu

Dr. Ramesh Mehta

wrote, “As you’ll be aware, it is well documented that a lack of schooling has a significant negative impact on a child’s overall health and wellbeing, as well as their future prospects. In addition, we know that the risk

and co-founded a spice startup just before the pandemic started. I am also a single mum, who co-parents. To say I woke up feeling a blind sense of panic about home-schooling would be an understatement. School is not childcare, but it certainly helps keep children more than just educated.

“This is an anxious and

difficult time for the children too. For them to be stuck at home with anxious parents who are struggling to find time to make ends meet is a double whammy.

My heart does go out to teachers who are committed and passionate key workers, now having to completely reimagine education provision. Parents like me should be supported to help Britain "Build Back Better" but sadly, have simply fallen through the cracks.”

Campaigns to scrap GCSEs and A-Levels While the government has delayed the reopening of secondary schools across most of England by one week for exam-year pupils and two weeks for other school students, the education secretary Gavin William is insisting that higher exams will go ahead as planned. This is despite Scotland and Wales last year announcing the cancellation of GCSE and A-Levels exams in 2021.

There are widespread social media campaigns and petitions where pupils are “ramping up the pressure” on the Tory government by emailing their MP and signing the petition, ‘Cancel GCSEs and A Levels in 2021 – which has so far amassed over 203,270 signatures.

Principal Kully Uppal headteacher of Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury has been fielding a series of questions from pupils since the lockdown was announced and in light of the uncertainty around GCSEs and BTEC exams.

In his statement to Sky News, he said, “Our GCSE students are naturally curious about what the future will hold for them now and what will happen in summer," he said. "Our message to students and families is clear: the learning must continue and it's not just about getting qualifications but gaining knowledge and equipping the students with the necessary tools to embark on work or training when they leave school."

(Addition reporting by Rupanjana Dutta)

Institutional racism cause of death On Tuesday 5th January, the family of a 12-year-old refugee schoolgirl who drowned in a river sued the police force which investigated her death, claiming institutional racism.

Shukri Abdi first arrived in the UK in January 2017 and was found in the River Irwell in Bury, Greater Manchester on 27 June 2019.

A group of children were with her at the river in the period before she died. In December 2020 a coroner concluded that Shukri died by drowning and that it was an accident. Joanne Kearsley, senior coroner for Manchester North, concluded that there was no evidence that the first child had

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PROFILE OF THE WEEK

CHILDREN FIGHT FOR THEIR FUTURE While Prime Minister Boris Johnson pulled England into a third national lockdown, Healthcare professionals set about diffusing concerns of anxious parents around the risk of their children catching the virus. Dismissing all such claims, Consultant Paediatrician Dr Prabhu

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any intention to kill Shukri.

She also rejected claims that anyone had pushed Shukri into the water.

The solicitors have lodged a civil action for breach of the Human Rights Act against Greater Manchester police on behalf of Shukri’s mother, Zamzam

Arab Ture.

The lawyers argue that police should have investigated more thoroughly before deciding the drowning was an accident because the incident involved a child who could not swim, who had never been to a river before, had for the first time

in her life not come home from school and was with children she had never before been with after school. They add that institutional racism played a part in the way the case was investigated because Shukri came from a family of black, Muslim refugees.

Lord Dolar Popat hosts ‘Realising Africa’s potential’ On Thursday 7th January, a House of Lords peer explored Africa’s true potential provided at a virtual event. Lord Dolar Popat discussed ‘Realising Africa’s potential’ considering his special interest in Parliament is Africa and is currently the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to

Lord Dolar Popat

Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

He presented the prospect in realising what possibilities can be achieved out of Africa, along with how the UK Government can assist bussinesses in trade and investment through the Department for International Trade, including financing through UK Export Finance.

Rikesh Shah: Hailing diversity in Tech and Innovation Priyanka Mehta His father was a first-generation immigrant to the UK who served as a station supervisor at Redbridge for London Underground for 38 years. Now, Rikesh Shah is head of commercial innovation at Transport for London, sits on the Mayor of London’s Smart London Board and is a non-executive director at the London Transport Museum.

And recently, Rikesh has been recognised as one of the top five Asian Stars in Tech for sustainability in 2020. Perhaps, Rikesh’s story best tells the spirit of London as a city where ethnic minorities foster integration and multi-culturalism.

But there are not many British Indian who have succeeded in climbing up the ladders in this industry much less become recognised for their work.

Discussing the positive work culture of Transport for London, Rikesh said, “There is an under-representation of the black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) individuals in senior tech and innovation roles. While there is much more to be done to ensure greater representation of BAME staff and that there are diverse and inclusive workspaces. But, awards such as these illustrate that there are people like us doing incredible things for the UK. More fundamentally, we need greater awareness and encouragement among South Asian families to steer their children in the right direction such that they are able to pursue their career in tech and innovation right from when they are in school.

Paying tribute to his father’s efforts he further continued, “My father arrived in the UK back in late 70s and was conscious of passing the integral values of hard work, passion and dedication onto me. I grew up with London’s community spirit and with constant encouragement from my team, this award belongs as much to my father as to my team members.”

Rikesh is accountable for TfL’s engagement with market innovators that includes start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, academics, R&D institutes, accelerators, venture capitalists and large corporates. He was previously responsible for TfL’s world leading open data strategy and set up a digital and data partnerships function. As a result of TfL’s open data, there are nearly 700 apps used by 42% of Londoners with over 14,000 registered users, mainly developers. This also resulted in shaping innovative partnerships with leading platforms including Apple, Google, Waze and Twitter aligned to the city’s goals. A recent study illustrated the overall value of open data to London to be worth £130m per annum.

Speaking about the strides that TfL has made over the last few decades with the help of digitisation and open data networks, Rikesh said, “Design and innovation is in the DNA of TfL. Whether it is the first traffic light that was developed and built in London, the first metro train.

Or whether it is more recent innovations like smart ticketing such as the Oyster card and contactless ticketing, or the open data policy, we have always been innovating. So, with our open data, we essentially release that data, and in return, innovators have developed products — primarily customer information products — and now there are 700-plus apps out there that use that data. So, you might be Apple or Google, using TfL’s data to tell people where a bus is, when a train is coming, or where there is heavy traffic on a road network. Or you might be a start-up using our data for something innovative.”

Additionally, Rikesh is also conscious in delivering the Mayor’s vision of a smarter, cleaner and greener London. Among the projects that he oversees, he is also instrumental in running a trial with German multinational Bosch as TfL works on improving air quality modelling to assess the impact of different traffic measures.

“With Bosch, we thought why don’t we try something where we share problem statements along with some data and subject matter expertise while they have their best R&D folk look at those problems and also give them an opportunity to test them on our network,” Shah said.

Based on the experience from the Bosch trial, TfL is developing the new framework to use as a blueprint for partnering with other firms on new co-innovation projects. Achieving its vision zero targets – the elimination of all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility – is one of the key areas the transit operator wants to address through the scheme.

Rikesh also is a member of the Smart London Board which is charged helping the Mayor shape his vision and strategy for London’s smart city agenda and investment in data infrastructure.

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9 - 15 January 2021

in brief INCREASE IN QUEER MPS IN PARLIAMENT There are total of 56 Queer MPs in the House of Commons with three more MPs coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual or queer.

The Labour MPs 24-year-old Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East), Nadia Whittome 28-year-old Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) and 30-year-old Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam) came out as queer and bisexual.

The average age of an MP is 52 years but that of a queer MP is 45. Today, nine per cent of the 650 MPs identify as LGB+ but a remarkable 21 per cent of the 130 MPs aged 40 or younger say they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual or queer. When it comes to the 20-somethings who were elected in the general election of 2019 the proportion is one-third.

In contrast, only five per cent of MPs over 50 identify as queer. An Ipsos Mori poll found that eight per cent of UK citizens 18 and above said they were only attracted to the same sex (gay or lesbian), three per cent said they were mostly attracted to the same sex, while four per cent were equally attracted to both sexes. Another eight per cent said they were mostly attracted to the opposite sex but not uniformly. In sum at least 15 per cent of Britons identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, alongside another eight per cent who, in theory, could because they acknowledge their own same-sex attractions.

There is no clear data or statistic which notes the percentage of British Asians who identify themselves as members of the LGBT+ community. But there continues to be stigma and prejudiced associated around the concept especially among South Asian families. With young MPs such as Nadia Whittome identifying themselves as Queer, the narrative is expected to change.

1,700 PRESENTS FOR CHILDREN IN HOUNSLOW A Hounslow-based community project has successfully delivered over 1,700 presents for children in Hounslow this Christmas. Started by Seema Malhotra MP, Member of Parliament for Seema Malhotra Feltham and Heston and Chair of the Hounslow Education Partnership Victoria Eadie, the Hounslow Christmas Project has raised over £14,000 from business and community donations to bring happiness to children whose parents may be unable to afford gifts themselves.

Local businesses including DPD, Russell Finex, SEGRO, Sprint Logistics, Heston Hyde Hotel, Shetson Property Development, Cygnet, Oasis Accounting and solicitors Universal Fortunes Ltd generously supported the project, whilst community donations to the project’s Just Giving page totalled over £3,000.

Commenting on the success of the project Seema Malhotra said, “After a very difficult year, every child deserves a gift this Christmas. Thank you to all of those who helped us to give Children in Hounslow a Christmas to remember.”

In the meantime, Victoria Eadie, “The response from our local community has been overwhelming and we’ve raced against the clock to buy, wrap and deliver over 1,700 presents to children in 42 schools across Hounslow. It was a huge challenge but everyone involved from students to teachers gave it their all and enjoyed the shared Christmas spirit of caring and giving. Thank you to everyone involved.”

Healthcare staff worried about vaccination Priyanka Mehta Frontline NHS workers continue to express their frustration with the government’s vaccination campaign describing the rollout amongst staff a “shambles” as they struggle to access the jab.

Doctors and nurses have yet again, accused the government of compromising patient safety as a result of “failing to protect the workforce”.

Earlier last week healthcare professionals including British Medical Association (BMA), British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) had sounded alarm about lack of clarity in the government’s strategy of vaccinating frontline doctors. These organisations had particularly raised concerns prioritising around healthcare workers from black, Asian and Ethnic

Anton Sebastianpillai and Kevin Sebastianpillai

Minority (BAME) backgrounds especially as the new strain of virus means that these healthcare professionals are at 70% higher risk of contracting the infection than they were during March last year.

Dr Arjun K Ghosh, Consultant Cardiologist, Barts Heart Centre and University College London Hospital, said, “The vaccine roll-out has been haphazard and we have had instances where non-clinical staff have received the vaccine before clinical staff

which is difficult to explain or understand.

The Covid-19 situation is quite bad nationally especially in London with some hospitals at maximum hospital capacity and running out of oxygen. The roll out of the vaccine and stricter lockdown may help prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.”

The lack of clarity in the vaccination programme is seen as another grave error after the government’s failure of protecting the NHS staff during the first wave of

Covid-19 when they were not provided with sufficient Personal and Protective Equipment.

Despite working face-toface on a daily basis with Covid-19 patients, as well as with others who could be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, healthcare workers say they have been left in the dark about the details of how to get the vaccine and the timelines.

The son of the oldest NHS frontline doctor who died after contracting Covid-19 says health and care workers should be the first to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

Dr Anton Sebastian’s son Kevin told Sky News, "When you've got a frontline worker - a nurse or doctor going into those environments - at the very least you would hope they would be protected more than anyone in society. They

Dr. Arjun Ghosh

are going to be worrying every day. Each time they go into work they will be worried about what they might be bringing home to their families.” In the meantime, Dr Zainab Najim, a GP trainee in Norfolk, and a GP adviser for the Doctor’s Association UK (DAUK), said: “My personal experience would be that a nearby trust have patchily offered vaccines out to hospital staff. GP staff haven’t been told at all what’s going on. We may or may not be being sent slots in the new year.”

Labour to send a delegate to Biden’s presidential inauguration The Labour party is reportedly going to send a delegate to Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration later this month in their attempts at strengthening ties with the Lisa Nandy incoming administration.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy have made a concerted effort over the past nine months to build relationship with the incoming administration especially as the UK pulled itself out of the EU and is now vying for a Free Trade Deal with its American counterpart. This will be the first time that a British delegate will potentially attend the American presidential inaugurations as there is currently no precedent.

A Labour source told The Times, “It’s

obviously difficult to arrange an inauguration during a pandemic but it is more likely than not that Labour will send a member of its frontbench team to Washington for the event. Obviously, that will depend on the travel restrictions.”

In the meantime, Lisa Nandy said, “The Democrats are our sister party and so over the nine months since I was appointed as

shadow foreign secretary I have been reaching out to members of the Obama and Clinton administrations, but also members of the incoming Biden administration because developing these relationships is not only important to Labour, it’s important to Britain, especially considering how strained the relations are with the Conservative government at the moment.”

Jewish man in solidarity with Uighur Muslims An Orthodox Jewish man has been protesting in front of a Chinese Embassy building in Hampstead, in northwest London against the alleged atrocities taking place in China’s far-west Xinjiang province.

According to the Haaretz, Andrew, a northwest London resident and a businessman in his 50s, married with children, and fears potential repercussions from the Chinese especially for millions of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities who are reportedly being detained in camps or used as forced labor.

In his, statement to the Haaretz, he said, “It’s more for security than for any other reason; we’re dealing with serious matters and people disappear – but we can’t sit idly by. I am a typical Haredi Jew, I’m not an activist.

This isn’t my normal day-to-day life.

Growing up, my mother said to me ‘The world let the Holocaust happen’ – that they could have stopped it but it wasn’t a priority.

So, I had to do something.”

Earlier last month, councillors in Tower Hamlets had also protested against China’s new embassy in the borough in their support of the Uighur Muslims, many who have sought political asylum or refuge in the UK.

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Gita Jayanti celebrated by Shree Jagannatha Society and Aylesbury Hindu Temple Trust Gita Jayanti, the anniversary of the auspicious day on which the Srimad Bhagavad Gita was bequeathed by Sri Krishna to Arjuna on the first day of the famous 18-day Kurukshetra War in the Mahabharata was celebrated with passion and fervour in the United Kingdom (UK). At a grand spiritual ceremony organised online on 28 December 2020 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic induced restrictions in the UK by the Shree Jagannatha Society UK (also known as Jagannath Temple Trust UK) and the Aylesbury Hindu Temple Trust UK (AHTT UK), scores of devotees from across the UK and the world joined together to observe the 5157th anniversary of the Bhagavad Gita, that is considered the most important and influential Hindu scripture containing the essence of Vedic knowledge.

The programme began with stirring bhajans, mellifluously sung by devotees. Dr. Sahadev Swain, an eminent medical General Practitioner (GP) in the UK, and President of the Shree Jagannatha Society UK (SJS UK), welcomed devotees to the celebrations, and reminded everyone that despite being over 5000 years old, the teachings of the Gita are immortal, providing guidance and solutions to human life problems. The Bhagavad Gita is not simply a philosophical treatise, but rather a call to action – to be read, understood, and ultimately lived. Dr. Swain commended medical professionals across the world, who have lived the values taught in the Gita this year, often engaging in superhuman selfless service to alleviate the sufferings of Covid-19 patients.

CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice, recapped the three main themes in the Bhagavad Gita: knowledge (jnana), action (karma), and love (bhakti). In a year that has seen the entire world face a pandemic that has claimed millions of lives, Mr Patel asserted that Lord Krishna’s exhortation to human beings to restrain the mind and the senses, withdrawing them from the sense objects through the practice of yoga, whilst performing actions without desire, attachment or expectation of reward – leaving the outcome to

the cosmic soul, Purushottama – are even more relevant.

Pujya Swami Madhavanand Ji, Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Ranchi, India delivered the keynote address elucidating the importance of balance in body, mind and intellect as propounded in the Gita. He averred that Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate practical manual that guides us in mind management.

He explained how the five Pandavas represented the five properties of the mind – calmness, strength, simplicity, penetration and good company – and the Gita emphasises the importance of withdrawing the mind from sense objects, controlling it by the intellect, and merging it with the Atman (soul) to achieve Samadhi Yoga. Swamiji patiently answered questions from participating devotees and stressed that the profound wisdom imparted by Lord Krishna in the Gita can be experienced as a perceptible reality only when we practically implement the teachings and spiritualise different aspects of our daily life.

Guest Speaker, Prof. Dr. Harekrishna Satapathy, renowned educationist and eminent Sanskrit scholar, Vice Chancellor Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) University in Odisha, India explained that the Bhagavad Gita is the journey from Vishaada (state of bewilderment or delusion) to Prasada (confidence), and it teaches us the technique to convert a crisis or challenge into an opportunity with confidence. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna imparts his teachings to Arjuna through discussion and dia-

logue, and through the millennia it has similarly helped confused devotees address contemporary issues and find solutions to their everyday problems. Enlightening devotees about Purushottama Yoga, Prof. Satapathy remarked that the Gita urges us to establish connection with the Purushottama (Ultimate Being) to become peaceful, happy and self-realised – and in the Kali Yuga this can be done through devotion to Lord Jagannatha (lord of the universe), who is the presiding deity in the Purushottam Kshetra, Puri.

Bri. Nandana Chaitanya, Founder of Arsha Dipa, UK addressed young children in the audience and led them in the chanting of some of the most important shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita. Explaining their meaning, she reiterated the relevance of the Gita in the modern world as an essential guide to better living, conducting business, and communicating. Smt. Sreemarani Das, joining the meeting from Ireland, enthralled the audience with her rendition of soulful devotional songs to Lord Krishna and Lord Jagannatha.

Dr. Chetan Shatapathy, Trustee of Shree Jagannatha Society UK (SJS UK), gave a detailed PowerPoint presentation on the construction of a grand Jagannath Temple in London that is expected to become a prominent landmark and the epi-centre of Jagannath culture in Europe, attracting thousands of devotees annually from across the world. SJS UK (also known as Jagannath Temple Trust UK) has been rec-

ognized as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Charity No.1191544) by the Charities Commission of England and Wales. The Temple project will be a community-led affair, and SJS UK has initiated an active Membership Drive, kicked-off fundraising activities, and is in the process of acquiring a large piece of land close to the M25 motorway in North West of London for construction of the Temple. Construction of the temple is expected to commence by 2022 with completion projected in 2024. Mr. Lok Nath Mishra, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, UK encouraged all the participants, and devotees across the world, to join in the pious mission of constructing a grand Lord Jagannatha Temple in London by joining as members of the SJS UK and through donating generously for the cause. He thanked the eminent speakers at the programme for their erudite discourses on the everlasting importance of the Bhagavad Gita and its significance to the world we live in and drew proceedings to a close.

The Gita Jayanti programme was ably organised by Dr. Prakash Dey, General Secretary of the SJS UK and AHTT UK, who also felicitated Shri.

Prakash Sahu and Shri. Srikant of Sanket Communications, India for supporting the endeavours of the Trusts and their programmes. The function was expertly compered by Shri Hrusikesh and Smt. Sudipta Panigrahi. Besides the UK, the programme saw participation from devotees from several countries including Ireland, USA, Bahrain, Nigeria, Oman, and India.

SJS UK and AHTT UK are registered charitable incorporated organisations in England, seeking to spread Sanatana Dharma in the UK through the construction of a grand Jagannatha Temple in London and a Hindu Temple in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Gita Jayanti falls on Vaikuntha Ekadashi, the Ekadashi day of Shukla Paksha (the waxing phase of the moon) of the Margashira month (November-December) in the traditional Hindu calendar – this year it fell on 25th December, coinciding with Christmas.

in brief WATERCOLOURS COLLECTED BY QUEEN VICTORIA AND PRINCE ALBERT TO GO ON DISPLAY IN EDINBURGH Watercolours collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, an evocative record of their public and private lives together, will go on display at The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse from 5 March to 5 September 2021.

Throughout their marriage Victoria and Albert were passionate patrons of watercolour painting and formed a collection of thousands of works. Victoria & Albert: Our Lives in Watercolour will feature 80 of their treasured watercolours, including several by Scottish artists, some of which will be on display in Scotland for the first time.

The watercolours the Queen and her consort acquired together captured moments of significance, from the christenings and birthday parties of the royal children to glittering court balls, views of the cities and landscapes they saw on their travels at home and abroad, and records of the places they lived, such as Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle. The royal couple spent happy evenings together organising their watercolours into albums, as recorded by the Queen in her journal.

The colourful, dynamic watercolours collected by Victoria and Albert illuminate aspects of both Victoria's reign and the royal couple's passions.

NEW BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA APPOINTED

Alex Ellis CMG

Alex Ellis CMG has been appointed as the new British High Commissioner to India in succession to Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE. Mr Ellis will take up his appointment during January 2021.

He has previously been posted in the past in Lisbon and Brasilia as Her Majesty’s Ambassador. He has also worked in Madrid and EU. Alex was a part of the British Government negotiation team on euro, EU Budget framework, Treaty of the EU and EU Enlargement. He has also worked on South Africa’s transition to multi-party democracy.

Before his new appointment, he has been in the Cabinet Office as the Deputy National Security Advisor.

Inspiring entrepreneur helps vulnerable children with meals and presents during Christmas Minal Patel founder of Red Tower, has worked with 20 schools in London Borough of Brent and during this pandemic she has provided pasta, pasta sauce, baked bin tins and Christmas presents to vulnerable children.

Minal set up the Nourishment for Children – meal packs for children at Christmas project during this Covid pandemic in

December.

She was joined by 20 volunteers from different community groups. She also set up a fundraising page and Crystal Units, a glazing company made a large financial contribution to it. A lady donated £300 worth of sweets and Mandhata Youth and Community Association donated the use of their hall for this project.

Minal who was born in 1970s, learnt from her parents the importance of helping others in need, being there for family.

She spent much of her childhood weekends and evenings participating in a host of activities - drama, poem festivals, bhajans, rangoli, dance and sport at the Mandhata Youth and Community Association -

Wembley.

She taught at her school as an adult and then created the Inspiring Gujarati Team to help keep the school relevant. All voluntarily.

Minal has had jobs with charities, working with young people from lowincome families and difficult upbringing, engaging them via music and media.

She started her own

business Red Tower, consulting in the creative industries, events, music, radio broadcast, sports.

Her clients engage Minal with meal packs thousands of children and young peowith those who understand ple. your vision. Volunteering is Speaking to Asian Voice, not easy, and this should not Minal said, “Look after yourbe stressful for those volunself well, then help others. A teering with you – it should balance is needed. Work not be political.”

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in brief FORMER CHANCELLOR TO RETURN TO CABINET? Recent reports suggest that former chancellor of exchequer is expected to be reinstated in the Cabinet and help the government Sajid Javid recover from the economic aftershocks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Boris Johnson will reshuffle his top team as Britain gets ready to host a United Nations climate change conference later this year and has reportedly agreed to make Business Secretary Alok Sharma full-time president of the Cop26 summit, the Daily Mail reported.

This means that Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid who had previously resigned as Chancellor last February following a clash with Boris Johnson’s then chief adviser Dominic Cummings, is slated to replace Mr Sharma at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Johnson has declared that 2021 will be a “hugely important year” for the UK on the world stage as it takes over the presidency of the G7 group of powerful industrial nations and hosts the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.

Reports also note that prime minister and Mr Sharma have talked recently about choosing one of the roles full-time yet no concrete decision has yet been made. The Cop26 conference will be attended by world leaders in November – a year later than planned because of the pandemic.

LORD SUGAR JOINS ISSA BROTHERS On Sunday 3rd January it was reported that Amstrad founder Lord Sugar has joined hands with the Issa Brothers' in a bid to takeover Caffe Nero.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa are presently funding an attempt by Caffe Nero's landlords to block the coffee chain's insolvency arrangements, which would see them lose outstanding rent payments.

The Blackburn-born billionaire brothers are funding the challenge so that the coffee chain is left with no option but to sell itself to EG Group. Now, if Lancashire Telegraph’s reports are to be believed then Lord Sugar's company has also reportedly filed its involvement in the challenge on Christmas Eve. Commenting on the report, a Caffe Nero spokesperson to the newspaper said, "We intend to defend the challenge vigorously. In the meantime, we remain focussed on managing the business through the current Covid-19 enforced trading restrictions, and re-growing our sales in the months and years ahead."

Lord Sugar's representatives are yet, to have issued a statement on the matter but have confirmed the Amstrad founder's involvement in the bid.

Euro Garages Group which employs around 5,000 people across the UK and has branches in Clitheroe and Preston expressed their interest in the coffee chain earlier last month. Their offer was however, rejected by founder Jerry Ford who instead opted for insolvency. Under current proposals, Caffe Nero's rents are set to be slashed as part of a company voluntary arrangement agreed as part of the insolvency process. However, such arrangements are controversial as landlords to the coffee chain’s outlets are set to lose much of their outstanding rent if this were to proceed.

In response the Issa Brothers and their backers, now including Lord Sugar, hope that by backing landlords' legal challenge to this process, the entire insolvency process can be derailed allowing the chain to be taken over by EG Group.

Mayor wants a “grip” on foreign arrivals On Monday 4th January, as the Prime Minister announced that England will be slipping into a national lockdown for the next few weeks, the Mayor of London demanded that they needed to “get a grip” on the “ease” with which foreign travellers and arrivals entered the UK. Sadiq Khan expressed his frustration about the “ease” with which foreign travellers can come into the capital as he demanded stricter quarantining and testing regimes be implemented. To stop the spread of coronavirus, the Mayor has

insisted that these rules be toughened. According to him, powers relating to quarantine rules lie with the Government, rather than the Mayor’s Office, and that his calls have so far “fallen on deaf ears”.

Mr Khan also criticised the Government for failing to be clear with its messaging on what people need to do – and insisted that police are enforcing the rules. He said, “Other countries that have been affected have not allowed people to come in unless they properly quarantine for a period of time and there is proper testing. If

Sadiq Khan

you compare and contrast what happens at our airports in relation to the airports in, for example, Seoul, there is a big

difference.

“So I’m really frustrated, as the mayor of a city with a number of airports serving us – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, City, plus the Eurostar – at the ease with which people can come in to our city, potentially with new strains of the virus. I am asking for much more strict controls in relation to those arriving in our country, including not least far more testing at the point of arrival and proper quarantining before they leave the airport firstly for the testing and before they can leave their homes.”

Federation of Small Businesses plead for more support from the Chancellor Businesses have demanded for more support and relief measures after Prime Minister Boris Johnson plunged England back into another national lockdown in an attempt of curbing the surge of Covid-19 infections.

U.K. clothing retailer Next had previously stated that recent minimal gains from the holiday period will almost entirely be eroded by the new lockdown. Already, 178,000 jobs have been lost in the retail industry and more could go without additional support, if statistics provided by the British Retail Consortium are to be believed. The group is calling for the government to extend business-rates relief, a form of property tax, from April, Commenting on further lockdown restrictions in England, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Mike Cherry said, “Current business support is plainly insufficient – There must now be a step change in support to equal the compensation offered during the first lockdown.

The level of government grants is off the mark by an order of magnitude and has not kept the pace with events.

Scheme, a Directors Income Support Scheme and help for the more recently selfemployed at the same time as the SEISS Grant, and extended repayment and limits for bounce-back loans.

“It must not be forgotten that all this comes at a time where Rishi Sunak Mike Cherry 69% of small business“Schemes such as the business rates es are now in debt, with 40% saying the level 100% relief expire within weeks to be of debt is “unmanageable”. Many are trying replaced by the next year’s bills landing on to navigate the UK’s new trading relationthe doorsteps of shuttered businesses. FSB ship with the EU, which to avoid tariffs adds wrote to the Chancellor just before further bureaucracy and cost pressures. This Christmas with a five-point plan to save the is why support should be given to small small business community and help it get businesses through £3,000 transition vouchthrough the toughest Quarter One of any ers for tech, training or expertise. Small year that they have ever faced, providing a businesses are the lifeblood of communities bridge to a vaccine-enabled recovery from and the economy, accounting for 60 per Easter. This includes a full second round of cent of private sector employment in the £10,000/£25,000 Small Business Cash UK.” Grants, a German-style Revenue Loss

£4.6bn in new lockdown grants to support businesses and protect jobs Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced.

This follows the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday that these businesses will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the virus, and, together with the wide range of existing support, provides them with certainty through the Spring period.

The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK. Chancellor Sunak said, “The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge - and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.

“Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods

and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring.

“This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.”

A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions.

Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities.

The new one-off grants come in addition to billions of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.

The government has also provided 100% business rates relief for retail, hospi-

tality and leisure businesses, £1.1 billion existing discretionary funding for Local Authorities, the furlough scheme now extended to April and 100% government backed loans, extended until March.

The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows: - £4k for businesses with a rateable value of £15k or under - £6k for businesses with a rateable value between £15k and £51k - £9k for businesses with a rateable value of over £51k Small businesses in the devolved administrations should also be able to benefit from other UK-wide measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the various business lending schemes (where the repayment terms were made easier as part of the Winter Economy Plan), and the extension of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme.

OYO opens first hotel in Plymouth OYO has opened its first 94room hotel in the centre of Plymouth under the OYO brand in the UK. OYO Plymouth Central is located on New George Street in the city's commercial centre, above the Poundland retail store and occupying 50,000 ft² over two storeys. Before being con-

verted into a hotel this year, the building was used as office space; and for many years before

that it was the open-plan stockroom for Plymouth's branch of Woolworths . The site was bought and developed into a three-star hotel by Red Lions Estate Ltd, which will operate the property in partnership with hotel brand OYO, with OYO providing services including revenue management, customer

services, technology and brand.

10 READERS' VOICE

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Indian Farmers Bill protests

Cull of beautiful parrots

Having read a little about the recent bill passed in India to make changes to the structure of how farmers do business, and the resulting protests that have occurred, I find it very interesting that foreign governments and their representatives have taken sides on the issue. Namely the Canadian Prime minister and certain members of the British Parliament and political party.

I find this rather perplexing, in that India is a democracy a republic, where elected officials voted by Indian citizens take office in both chambers of the Indian parliament. Now these same have passed this farm bill that affects India and the Indian farming industry and Indian farmers. What business is it to the Canadian prime minister or certain members of the British parliament and political party who have voiced their supposed concerns-none at all!

I am glad the Indian government informed the Canadian Prime minister to mind his own business. The only people who have the right to protest are Indian citizens as it concerns them and their country and their government and their elected officials and their laws.

Britain is not only a beautiful country but is indeed a kind and caring host as well! So we, East African Asians are not the only newly arrivals. It has also attracted beautiful tropical birds like parrots, parakeets, dove and few more popular birds that have enriched our countryside, as well as cities.

No one is sure how parakeets established themselves in this country, as these are tropical birds, mainly found in Africa and South East Asia. They thrive on hot and humid tropical climate, unlike ours, cold, damp, dark and short winter days with sunshine at a premium.

One theory is that they were deliberately released from a film studio by nature loving actors or escaped from domestic environment, but reality may be completely different from such theories and there may be several reasons for their presence here in Britain. One thing is certain that these beautiful, colourful birds with their iridescent plumage is a rare delight to watch, especially in flight, flying in tandem in the open blue summer sky! This is in sharp contrast to our dull and somewhat regular sightings of native birds that hardly draws any attention or curiosity amongst our children.

It is estimated that there may be some forty thousand birds, scattered in England and Wales but will soon invade Scotland as well. This number is insignificant compared to millions of native birds that we saw, feed and appreciate in our gardens and parks. Many of us may not have seen a flock of feral parakeets flying freely in open sky.

So why there is a talk of culling these beautiful birds or stopping their spread further north is a mystery to most bird lovers! It is nice to know that RSPB is against the cull. Let nature take its course without human interference that has ruined wildlife in Africa, Australia and many other places. No one has appointed us as guardian; best not to interfere and let nature takes its course!

Visvas Patel By email

Online rip off Since Coronavirus shutdown, our economic activity, high street shopping has declined, taken over by online shopping, increased its’ popularity by leaps and bounds, especially a bonus to those elderly people confined to their homes. Unfortunately, not many elderly persons are IT wise, depending on their children and friends to go on-line.

It is a pity that none of these online retailers try to make their online shopping elderly friendly, who in fact have more spending power than the younger generation, although they spend wisely compared to younger online shoppers.

It seems some online retailers, especially garden centres; try to rip-off shoppers, using every trick in the trade, the most popular is to price an item, one penny short of free delivery, like £39.99 when it is free over £40. The delivery charges normally vary from £7 for small item to over £50 for heavy, bulky items like 3-piece suit and beds.

In order to avoid delivery charges, shoppers are obliged to spend more, so often buying items they may never need or use. It is human nature to save a penny by spending a pound! The worse practice is that these businesses remove cheap items, under £10 that we can add and avoid delivery charges, forcing shoppers to pay either delivery charges or spend over the odds to avoid it! Either way, it is “No Win” situation for consumers!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Touching lives Whenever Christmas comes, our family always goes through the pain of the memory of losing my father in Tanga, Tanzania on 26 December 1959. At that time our family was travelling. My older sister Sarla and my father were in Tanga. My mother had gone to Karamsad, India to make arrangements for the upcoming wedding of my sister Sarla. My younger brother Subhash and I were at a Christmas vacation in our uncle’s town Madhi, Gujarat.

Sad news of my father’s sudden death came after two days by express telegram. Funeral arrangement was done by our close relatives and with the unforgettable support of my father’s boss and partner Stephen Emmanuel of Kwalukonge Sisal Estate, Mombo, Tanzanian, where my father used to work as an accountant.

Mr Emmanuel even gave an airplane ticket to my mother to come back to Tanga and cleared all the monies owed to my father, which helped us to finish education, pay for wedding expenses and other day to day expenses.

We built a house in Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat. To pay a fitting tribute to my father’s hard work, we named our house as ‘Pitru Mandir’.

Till Mr Emmanuel died in Tanzania, I was in touch with him. Once he told me that whenever he went to church on Christmas, he prayed for Raojibhai Patel, my father, as his honesty and integrity were valued as a reason behind the company’s success.

Similarly, during our visit to England, my late cousin Kantibhai Patel gave me a cheque of £2000 he owed to my father which he borrowed to start a photography studio in Arusha, Tanzania, thanking my father for all the help to start his life.

Every Christmas it reminds us of all the lives my father has touched through his service or with his duty as a family member.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Markham, Canada

Kumudini Valambia By email

India’s economy It is really good news to hear that “India to become 5th Largest economy by 2025” as reported in AV dated 2-8 January 2021. Due to Covid19 India has slipped back to the 6th position. But keeping in mind the forward-looking policies backed by robust infrastructure, firm commitment of the government on developmental activities, it may be possible to get 5th position earlier. It has been rightly pointed out that the 3rd position will be achieved by 2030. At present India has a golden opportunity to achieve the above-mentioned objectives due to China’s deteriorating international diplomatic relationship. We have all the ingredients needed to become an economically successful nation. We have firm democratic roots, independent judiciary, strong and stable government, competitive financial structure, educated and young English-speaking manpower. Boris Johnson’s R-Day visit will also give fillip to the joint ventures for mutually beneficial longer-term economic and political relationship.

This will surely bring India-UK ties to a new height.

UK leaving the EU may benefit both the countries in the long run as there are many common areas for progress.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab’s visit to India in December must have a laid a foundation stone for a strong relationship between both the countries so when Mr. Boris Johnson goes to India, he can utilise his visit in cementing an already strong relationship between both the countries. There are many common areas like defence, defeating terrorism, infrastructure development, health, climate change, education and above all developing and sourcing vaccine for Covid19 at a competitive price. Let us hope that the muchawaited visit of the PM of the UK is not cancelled at the last moment due to on-going Covid19 crisis here in the UK. Hitesh Hingu London

New Year’s Day New Year’s day according to the Gregorian calendar (January 1) is one of the most popular occasions in India. Many people throughout the world celebrate this festive occasion with their loved ones or in large gathering. Exchanging messages, greeting cards and gifts are a part and parcel of the New Year celebration. The media too covers many New Year events which are showcased on prime channels for most of the day.

People who decide to stay indoors resort to these New Year shows for entertainment and fun. The age-old tradition of planning new resolutions for the coming year is a common sight among children and adults.

In some places, a figure resembling an old man is made.

The figure signifies all that should be dispensed with, such as evil thoughts, bad behaviour, and so on. The figure stands on a road or in lanes and passersby often drop money into the box that is kept beside it. The effigy is set on fire at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. The burning of the effigy signifies the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one.

The money collected is used for partying by the people who have made the effigy. Most of us have forgotten that the New Year is not only a time for revelry but also for a time for reflection.

Jubel D'Cruz Mumbai, India

KHICHADI Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG Kapil’s

I want to break free Kapil Dudakia Big Ben bonged to declare that the UK was finally free from the clutches of the unelected eurocrats. It reminded me of the words of a song by Queen and sung by Freddie Mercury – ‘I want to break free’. How apt, who would have thought that in 1984 (yep, that year comes up time and again, does it not!) a group called Queen would have a song with the very first line, ‘I want to break free’? In 1949 Orwell’s book titled ‘1984’ talks about totalitarianism and the repressive control of people and their behaviour within a state, controlled by faceless bureaucrats. In the end, the British people woke up from their slumber and in that moment of unique national awakening in 2016, they set a course for our nation to break free.

Big Ben bonged to declare that the UK was finally free from the clutches of the unelected eurocrats. It reminded me of the words of a song by Queen and sung by Freddie Mercury – ‘I want to break free’. How apt, who would have thought that in 1984 (yep, that year comes up time and again, does it not!) a group called Queen would have a song with the very first line, ‘I want to break free’? In 1949 Orwell’s book titled ‘1984’ talks about totalitarianism and the repressive control of people and their behaviour within a state, controlled by faceless bureaucrats. In the end, the British people woke up from their slumber and in that moment of unique national awakening in 2016, they set a course for our nation to break free.

In the intervening years since 2016, the undemocratic remainer element tried every trick in the book to undermine the nation and democracy itself. At every turn, their wild fake outrage of the impending disaster got wilder and wilder. In the end, it reached a peak when as far as they were concerned, the world for the UK would end on 1st January 2021. The nation waited with tense apprehension for all hell to break loose. The woke mediawala that had driven the anti-national agenda had their fingers on the keyboard ready to tweet every disaster that was about to visit the UK. It all fell apart within hours.

Great Britain carried on as normal. People woke up on New Year’s Day, maybe with a hangover from the night before, but as far as the nation was concerned, no one noticed any difference to their daily routines. The world was still there, we were still here, and life was continuing. The dishonesty of the remainers was squashed for good. Even Sadiq Khan’s attempt to play politics with the New Year’s fireworks display failed epically and turned into a total waste of public money.

So, in 2021, I want to break free and I hope so should you all. Break free from this disease of the left with its toxic brand of politics geared not for governance, but to destabilise the very fabric of this nation.

It seems they do the bidding for China. The Chinese Empire is growing with its power to buy out people and organisations anywhere in the world. Its international cabal stretches the continents and oceans. They have, it seems, even bought off the American Presidency by getting their man Biden in the big chair (unless commonsense visits America soon). The only nation that can stop China now is India and PM Modi. The question arises, how many countries will wake up in time to give him the support that he will need to bring this monster under control?

Some of you might react with a ‘wow’, ‘what’, has he gone mad? Maybe, but mark this piece down so in future years you can refer back and say, yes Kapil did raise the issue and got it right.

Back home, Brexit does mean huge opportunities and to secure them, we will have to face off many hurdles and emerging issues. If that was not enough, we also have Covid-19 to see off as well. That’s life.

However, give it time and you will witness the UK racing well ahead of the EU. I am reminded of a saying, ‘Nothing threatens a corrupt system more than a free mind’. So, who will be next, the Dutch, the French or some other country?

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit. Please keep contributing as always. If you are new, then write to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com - AV

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson postpones trip to India Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 5 January spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was meant to attend India’s Republic Day

including in response to the pandemic.

The Prime Minister said that he hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK’s G7 Summit that Prime Minister Modi is due to attend as a guest.

celebration in New Delhi on 26 January 2021.

In light of the national lockdown announced on 4 January, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the Prime Minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus.

The leaders underlined their shared commitment to the bilateral relationship, and to continuing to build on the close collaboration between our countries –

In December Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met Prime Minister Modi to discuss the UK and India working together as a force for good and launching the pioneering new vaccines hub which will share best practice for regulation and clinical trials, and foster innovation.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the Foreign Secretary signalled his ambition for a closer UK-India relationship as part of a wider UK

India joins the fight against the Pandemic Ruchi Ghanashyam The pandemic is almost one year old in the UK. It was in January last year that I first became conscious of Covid 19.

Until then, knowledge of it was from newspaper reports about suffering it was causing in Wuhan, China. About a year ago, as I was walking down Oxford Street with a friend visiting from India, we passed a group of tourists from the fareast. They stood out as they were wearing masks, a somewhat unusual sight in London those days.

One of them suddenly had a vicious bout of coughing, prompting a fearful comment from my friend about Covid 19.

The moment is now etched in my memory, though I remember laughing it off at that time. One year later, with almost 86 million cases and over 1.85 million deaths globally, masked faces are no longer out of place; tourists and large crowds are more likely to raise eye brows.

The new variant of the virus found in UK and several other countries has added a new sense of urgency to the fight against the pandemic. Some cases of the new variant have also been found in India. Aggressive contact tracing and isolation of the affected persons may avert a major surge of cases in India by the more infectious version of this virus. Expedited and swift vaccination, starting with frontline workers to the more vulnerable categories, moving to rest of the population, seems the only possible way to put a break on this virus caused roller coaster that our world is currently going through.

It is in this scenario that the approval in India for two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, for restricted use against Covid 19 has opened the way for mass vaccination against this virus in India. The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) is called Covishield in India. While some questions have been raised about the approval process for Covaxin, the indigenously produced vaccine by Bharat Biotech International Limited, has been defended by Chairman and MD of this Hyderabad based Indian biotechnology company, engaged in drug discovery, drug development, manufacture of vaccines, bio-therapeutics, pharmaceuticals and health care products.

It has been reported that SII’s Covishield will be given at Rs 250 (£2.51) to the government and will be available in the private market in India for Rs 1,000 (£10.51). It is cheaper than

focus on the partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. They also spoke about the 10-year roadmap which heralds a new era for the UK and India with an ambitious plan for an Enhanced Trade Partnership.

Online event to promote Gujarati culture and literature UK has undergone a complete lockdown since 4 January 2021. There were no celebrations of Christmas and New Year last year. But with availability of technological resources, people are now staying connected with each other, following the stay-at-home guidelines by the UK Government. Many charity organisations are

using Zoom as a formal means of communication.

CB Patel, Publisher / Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar has decided to conduct an online panel discussion to promote Gujarati literature and culture. On 17 January 2021, Asian Voice along with the Brighton Gujarati Cultural Society, will be

hosting this Zoom event to discuss about the beauty of Gujarati literature. The keynote speakers from the UK are: Dhirubhai, Mahesh, Dhruv and Pratap Gadhvi.

Ram Gadhvi from the USA will be also a part of the event, in turn helping to strengthen the cultural ties between India, UK and USA.

Covid pandemic could lead to tens of thousands more liver disease cases in 2021, warns charity The British Liver Trust is calling for every person in the UK to consider their liver health and take a simple quiz to assess their risk during January after adults across the UK admit to making unhealthy lifestyle choices in 2020.

Over a million adults in the UK may currently have the early stages of liver disease but are unaware and have no symptoms.

Worryingly, rising rates of

obesity means that 150,000 children could also have non-alcohol related fatty liver disease. January is often a time that people take stock after the Christmas period but this year it is even more important as the numbers at risk have also increased during the Covid pandemic. Many people have increased their alcohol consumption and gained weight during lockdown – the two biggest risk factors

for developing liver disease.

28% of people admitted to drinking more during lockdown. 42% have gained weight during the past year.

The charity has issued the stark warning after one in five adults are thought to be at risk due to either being overweight or drinking too much alcohol. 4000 people in 2020 missed a free liver scan as the charities Love Your Liver Roadshow had to be cancelled.

the vaccine developed by PfizerBioNTech and its transportation is easier. SII is based in Pune and is said to be making 50-60 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine every month. The UK has earlier approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and started vaccination of its frontline workers. Recently, it has also granted approval for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. With the new variant of the virus leading to rising cases in the UK and tougher lockdowns being resorted to, the Oxford-AstraZeneca and SII vaccine would add to the massive vaccination effort.

The Pune based SII is now the world’s largest vaccine producer. It is estimated that about 65% of world’s children receive at least one vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute in around 170 countries through their respective national immunisation programmes. SII vaccines are accredited by the World Health Organization and save millions of lives throughout the world. SII has tied up with AstraZeneca to develop Covidshield in India and produce over 1 billion such vaccines. It is, thus, expected to play a vital role in the global fight against the pandemic.

The pandemic has highlighted the resilience of Indian pharmaceutical industry. Not only did this industry ensure that there were no shortages of medicines in India, it enabled India to send out supplies of essential drugs like paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine to a large number of countries around the world, including USA and the UK. The phrase ‘Pharmacy of the World’ is increasingly being used for India.

The problem of the Covid 19 pandemic originated with the coronavirus in China and has since ravaged large parts of the globe and the global economy. Like the UK, India had no part in the creation of the pandemic, but together through the vaccine and other lifesaving medicines, we can be a part of the solution!

(Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK-India relations).

12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S Taunts by in-laws part of married life: Court Observing that “talking sarcastically and taunting by in-laws is part of married life” which every family witnesses, a sessions court recently granted anticipatory bail to a Mumbai-based couple, aged 80 and 75, who were accused of ill- treatment by their estranged daughter-in-law. The court also refuted the woman’s arguments that their plea should be rejected on grounds that her in-laws were on the list put together by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists of people who had offshore entities. Observing that this was an independent crime, the court said, “There may be a probe pending under ICIJ against the applicants which has no concern while deciding the application. It is not shown if any crime is registered against the applicants for alleged involvement. So at this juncture, there is no need to get impressed by the proceedings.” The 30-year-old woman got married to her now Dubai-based school friend in 2018. She claimed that it was only a few days before the wedding that her family realised that her husband was actually the biological child of the domestic help and was adopted and raised by her purported in-laws. The woman alleged, among other things, that while her in-laws did not gift her anything at the wedding, her parents gave her costly gifts. She claimed that she was not allowed to touch the fridge, was given stale food and made to sleep in the living room. She further added that she was not allowed to go to her mother’s home. The woman said that every time she complained to her husband, he would sarcastically ask her to obey his parents. (Agency) India’s highest Met centre set up in Leh

A meteorological centre was inaugurated in the Union Territory of Ladakh recently which would provide localised weather forecasts thus strengthening weather-related early warning system for the region. At 3,500 metres, this centre is the highest such facility in India, Union earth sciences minister Harsh Vardhan said at the inauguration of the facility.

He said it will provide short range (three days,) medium range (12 days) and long range (one month) forecast for the two districts - Leh and Kargil - of the Union Territory. The region is unique in terms of weather, climate, topography with extreme temperatures, he said.

Ladakh also experiences various kinds of extreme weather events like cloud bursts, flash floods, glacial lake outbursts, avalanches and drought. “To avert losses due to such weather events, the government of India felt the need to establish a meteorological centre at Leh,” Vardhan added. The centre will also give weather forecasts about tourist places such as Nubra, Changthang, Pangong Lake, Zanskar, Kargil, Drass, he said.

(Agency) Good news for bird lovers New species of migratory birds have arrived at Wadhwana lake near Vadodara. The forest department has decided to organize bird census. “The winters are on and migratory birds have arrived here in large numbers. So we have decided to conduct bird count at Wadhwana Lake and Simaliya lake nearby. Our teams will count the birds in two sessions – in morning and at sunset,” said Baldevsinh Waghela, divisional forest officer (wildlife), Vadodara.

The forest officials have formed

14 teams that include about 170 persons including the staff members as well as volunteers from different NGOs. The birds will be counted as per their species and a detailed report including the total count of birds along with the variety of the winged guests will be prepared by the forest department. In the last census conducted in January 2020 over 83,000 birds were counted in and around the lake.

“This time we are expecting the bird count to reach 90,000 as a large number of birds have arrived in the lake. The census also depends on the weather.

Sometimes lot of birds prefer to flock the open fields near the lake and then fly in at the lake,” Waghela said. The forest department has also adopted a new way of counting birds wherein the teams now note the direction from which the birds fly in, the spot where they settle and later fly away. As the lake become popular among the tourists and bird lovers, the forest department built watch towers and installed signboards around the wetlands. (The Times of India) Sikh groups seek apology from Sidhu

Another political controversy has wrapped itself around Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu as he is bashed for wearing an offensive piece of clothing while he meets protesting farmers. Akal Takht has demanded Sidhu to apologize for wearing a shawl with symbols of Sikhism, which has hurt Sikh sentiments. Sidhu faced flak on social media after a video showed him wearing a shawl with the

symbols of khanda and Ik Onkar.

Sidhu had posted the clip on his YouTube channel. People had expressed their disappointment and asked him to respect Sikh tenets. (Agency) Kerala man spends 6 years to sculpt 58-foot tall Shiva structure Kerala's biggest Shiva

sculpture was unveiled for public on 21 December 2020. It has constructed in the cliff of Azhimala beach where the Shiva temple is located. The mesmerising sculpture is 58 feet tall. Visitors are flocking the beach to watch the marvelous structure. It took six years to complete the gigantic statue.

Devadathan, the man behind the beautiful sculpture is only 29 years old. He had started the work at the age of 23. He continued the work of the sculpture along with his graduation in fine arts. A native of Azhimala, Devadathan spends more of his free time at the beach. The temple administration has given full freedom to him to construct the sculpture and the chief priest had given all support and suggestions to complete it. (Agency) Punjabi bizman who bought house in Srinagar shot dead A 70-year-old jeweller from Punjab settled in Srinagar for four decades was shot dead by terrorists in the city's congested Sarai Bala locality last week, months after he got a domicile certificate and purchased a shop and a house. Claiming

responsibility for the killing of Satpal Nischal, whose roots are in Amritsar, the fledgling Pakistan-backed terror outfit TRF said the new domicile law was "unacceptable" and everyone other than indigenous Kashmiris would be treated as "occupiers" if they acquired property in J&K. "More to come," TRF said in a statement circulated through Facebook. A little-known outfit that calls itself the United Liberation Front of J&K praised TRF, an amalgam of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-eTaiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, for going hard at "occupiers and stooges". Nischal, the first domicile certificate holder to be targeted by terrorists since the new law took effect, was the owner of Nischal Jewellers in Srinagar. Police said he took three gunshots on his chest and was declared dead on arrival at SMHS Hospital. As soon as he got his domicile certificate earlier this year, Nischal purchased a shop at Hanuman Mandir in the heart of Srinagar and a house at Indira Nagar, near the Army headquarters in Badami Bagh.

"His shop in Saria Bala is a popular one among customers because of its reasonable rates," a family friend said. (Agency) Alert cop saves elderly man and slaps him later

In a nerve-chilling video, an elderly man was about to be crushed by an approaching train while he was on the track, but had a rather miraculous escape, thanks to the prompt action of an alert cop on the railway platform in Mumbai. The incident was reported from Dahisar Railway Station and the

video of the incident has been going viral. The CCTV footage shows the 60-year-old man, identified as Ganpat Solankhi, jumping a barricade following which one of his shoes comes off.

He picks that up, moves to the other side of the track to wear it while the police is seen alerting him about an approaching train.

However, not paying much heed to the alarm, the man walks on the track thinking he can make a jump on the platform right in time. He could have been crushed under the train had the alert cop not acted on time and pulled him up immediately. It was a close shave! While the man landed on the platform, the police is seen giving him a tight slap out of frustration. (Agency) Cong- Sena tussle to rename Maharashtra city Tension between the Shiv Sena and the Congress - unlikely allies in Maharashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government in - appear to have re-emerged as the Sena's three-decade-old campaign to rename the city of Aurangabad (named after Mughal ruler Aurangzeb) to Sambhajinagar (after Chhatrapati Shivaji's son, whom Aurangzeb had killed) gathers pace once more. Despite state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat saying his party would "strongly oppose" any such proposal, the Sena said it was confident the issue would be resolved once all MVA members (including Sharad Pawar's NCP) hold talks. "This demand was (made by the) late Balasaheb Thackeray. He changed the name to Sambhajinagar... only the paper work is renaming," Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, adding, "There is no rift within the MVA partners.

We will sit together and solve this issue." The Sena also mounted a veiled attack on the opposition BJP via party mouthpiece 'Saamna', declaring that the Congress' stance had "made the BJP happy", adding, "...

Congress's opposition (to the renaming proposal) is not new and therefore, linking it to the MVA government is foolishness."

(Agency)

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Shefali Saxena

‘It’s okay to fail and to learn from it every time, in everything you do’

Arya Taware

Arya Taware, the Founder and Managing Director of Future Bricks dot com is all of 27 years of age, and is probably the youngest, alternative lending leader in the UK. Born in Mumbai, Arya spent her childhood visiting construction sites with her property developer father. Before she was 18 years of age, she had moved to London to study urban planning and real estate at the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL. She went straight from university into a job with architectdeveloper Solid Space and it was there that she discovered the limitations faced by small and medium-sized (SME) house builders.

Arya launched FutureBricks, a fintech firm, with an online platform and mobile application in 2018, offering fully-fledged automated lending. FutureBricks has grown its loan book to £2.8 million, from retail lenders across 16 projects, via bridge loans as well as site acquisitions across the UK. So far, the platform has secured over 650 registered users and processed over 340 loan applications to date.

In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Arya shared her learnings and vision for women entrepreneurs and leadership.

What is the right approach to start your own venture at a young age? What kind of planning and management does it take?

Starting your own venture at a young age means two sides of the same coin: like everything, it comes with advantages and disadvantages. The approach that worked for me was to stay well-informed, knowledgeable about the subject and to master clear communication skills.

When you’re young, you have more risk appetite. That comes with a sense of determination and also means you’re facing people who might not take you so seriously. Throughout it all, the goal is to stay focused and to know your subject matter inside out. Age, at the end of the day, doesn’t come in the way at all. If someone can recognise you are talking about, your depth of knowledge, then age doesn’t matter. It’s one of these elements that seems to be something at the surface level,

but ultimately, it’s how you carry yourself and how you build a track record for yourself.

In the post-Covid era, what is your take on housing, it's evolution and accessibility?

While during Covid, FutureBricks made a lot of changes to its lending criteria as security is paramount to the company. This, through the changing economic climate, is a value we have been keeping since security is at the centre of everything FutureBricks does.

While we are taking on the assuredness of more security provided, on top of first charge, PG (personal guarantee) and debenture over the SPV, we have also restricted our lending criteria by capping the LTV (loan to value) to 65% (from 75%).

There has been more stress testing as we have, to date, a rejection rate of 80% for housebuilders’ inquiries. Given that the stamp duty holiday ends on March 31st 2021, there have been significant activities (buying and selling), and we’re well aware this is only temporary. That is the reason why even as we transition from the current Covid period into the post-Covid era, it’s important to keep our lending criteria in check and remain aware of security in our decision-making.

Commercial and retail sectors have been hit hard. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens to commercial properties post-Covid as the economy readapts around e-commerce. Maybe these properties will be converted into warehouses? As we’re seeing a clear surge for online consumerism with businesses now shifting to answer these growing needs, it’s interesting to ponder whether commercial spaces will be converted into warehouses or even residential flats. This will not be a fast change but will be part of the evolution of e-commerce’s impact on the property development’s landscape.

Where do you go to seek advice on leadership and management at a young age as an entrepreneur?

As I had to raise external capital for the company from day 1, I had the opportunity to raise £1 million from 35 shareholders, allowing me to build a shareholder advisory panel consisting of successful

business people (including Alan Gross, CEO and Wes Nolte, CTO). With an active group of experts who take part in meetings, they have offered me invaluable insight.

It’s important to remember that age is irrelevant. Even an experienced person when faced with starting a business will require advice.

What is your perspective on encouraging and guiding women to take up a career like yours?

Entrepreneurship is a unique choice.

It’s meaningful in the way that you have to love what you do. That’s passion. If you’re set on that front, then the second thing is your mindset. It is a test of grit, of mental endurance, especially at the beginning. It’s time for perseverance and determination.

It’s okay to fall. It might take you three ventures before you succeed. It’s okay to fail and to learn from it every time, in everything you do.

Follow the path that is your calling.

Entrepreneurship in itself is a very special career. Make sure what you choose is meaningful to you.

How long did you take to launch FutureBricks? Tell us your story.

FutureBricks was first established in 2016 and went live in 2018. With an academic background in Urban Planning from UCL, I was working for an SME housebuilder and that’s when I spotted the house market gap. While SME house builders had the right site, we had limited access to mainstream finance, the size of our project being too small to be notable with large institutions to pick up. As a financial consumer, I saw my own funds sitting inside a savings account which could barely make it past the inflation rate. That’s when the idea came to me to address the challenges that both SME housebuilders and investors were facing.

This is only the beginning of my story.

My vision is to make asset-backed investments the new normal. At FutureBricks, our mission is to back SME housebuilders as we aim to reach a loan book of £100 million in the next few years. We are proud that our message has resonated with such a wide audience since the over-

Shopper reveals that you could be wasting your money at the supermarket

Those without permanent homes to get the coronavirus vaccine in Oldham

28-year-old Leicester based shopper Maneet Kaur who has 10,000 followers on TikTok unde the name @minismeals has revealed that by choosing more expensive items in a supermarket (while the lower priced version looks pretty much the same) is a waste of money.

Maneet Kaur has revealed how you can use batch codes to find out if a food sold for difference prices – pasta shapes, for instance – is actually all from the same supplier.

She watched a video on how medication is marketed and decided to look into the food industry – and said she was stunned at what she found.

"I work in the food industry

Health experts have reportedly said that those without a permanent home and rough sleepers “will be prioritised alongside the elderly and the vulnerable.”

Reports suggest that more than 3,700 people have had the jab since the vaccination programme started in Oldham in December.

Coun Zahid Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said, "Unfortunately Oldham, like towns and cities across the country does have people who are homeless – many through no fault of their own. People living on the streets, or those who have no permanent address, are some of the most vulnerable people in society and need help and support. Because they live on the streets they can also come

so know that whatever product we make will have a supplier code on it for traceability.

I went into a supermarket and looked at staple foods like beans, Maneet Kaur pasta and bread and looked at the codes,” Maneet told Jam Press.

She explained that she wasn’t surprised and added, "Essentially, it’s all about how these brands market it to the consumer."

Sharing some of her learnings, she said, “We need to be more conscious about the tricks supermarkets use. The only thing

I can do is make people more aware that buying branded is not always the best option. Branded food will most likely be at eye level, while unbranded, cheaper items will be either on the top or bottom shelf. I'm sure if people had the time and were interested, the same could be applied to many other items."

into contact with a large number of people, which means if they have coronavirus there is a big risk they could pass it on to others.

That’s why it is important they are offered the vaccine. We also know that most people who are homeless have experienced a lot of trauma, both prior to and during homelessness. That means they may have good reasons for not trusting healthcare providers and people in authority.

They may also hear misinformation on the street. But our message is the same to everyone – the vaccination is safe and if you are offered it please take it up as you are helping protect yourselves, your family, friends and the wider community."

University of Leicester supports students who turn to adult jobs Two years ago, the cap on university tuition fee was removed, which saw many students finding solace in adult jobs to fund their education. Hence, the University of Leicester is requiring all its staff to support any students who turn to prostitution and other sex work to fund their studies.

Last year a survey by Save the Student website found (conudcted on over 3,300 students) that one in 25 had engaged in adult work of some kind, ranging from

selling intimate photographs to offering full sex for money – up from about one in 50 in 2017, when fees were capped at £9,000 per year.

It states: “The university is firmly committed to sustaining an inclusive learning, working and research environment for all students, this includes students earning money or other commodities through sex work. We recognise the social stigma associated with sex work and support students

who earn a living through sex work. Students may increasingly turn to sex work to fund their studies.”

The policy also requires all university staff to support any student sex workers being harassed on campus for being sex workers and also had “a duty to support students undergoing disciplinary action by a professional body” over their sex work.

Noticeably, while soliciting sex and running brothels are both

crimes, selling sex for money in itself is not illegal in the UK if it’s entirely consensual.

The policy states: “All members of staff are responsible for providing a safe, non-judgmental response and environment to any student who discloses their status as a sex worker if necessary and if they choose to do so.”

Staff at the university are also required to help create an “environment in which incidents of unacceptable interpersonal

behaviours towards student sex workers are not tolerated or unchallenged”.

The policy concludes: “The purpose of these is to ensure that all students, including student sex workers, are supported to experience a university community that is free from unacceptable behaviour and characterised by respect and dignity and that where unacceptable behaviour occurs, it is managed, investigated and sanctioned as appropriate.”

14 UK 9 - 15 January 2021

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‘100 Years of Indian History’ as her free academic area where fellow secondary-school teachers have been encouraged to branch out into the world history of their expert personal choice. “Exploring it during my undergrad, I wanted the opportunity to be able to unpack South-Asian chronology, such as the Mogul Empire and Indian Independence, highlighting the particulars. In addition to Mahatma Gandhi, there were many significant figures involved in fighting for the autonomy of the country.”

Indeed, Subhas Chandra Bose was another prominent nationalist while the time of the Moguls heralded its own foundational influences on the nation’s contemporary culture.

From cuisine to class structure, India’s ancient influencers had as much impact as the Medieval or Victorian era on Britain. *** “There’s so much history: that’s the great thing about it.

You always find a new source that surprises you. There is no, one person in the world who knows everything – even us history teachers!” In short, as opposed to simply listing a long line of dates, Shalina actually emotionally invests in her humanistic discipline. Indeed, Complementing the detailed

Shalina Patel: The History Corridor depth, her fun and colourful delivery has also elevated the expressive teacher. Shalina is known for dressing up in distinctive costumes and sporting quirky props in the classroom. This has recently evolved into an online resource, The History Corridor, which the teacher launched on the graphic platform of Instagram, initially to keep her students inspired as they made the tricky switch to working from home. “With its first post published in March,” the site has gained universal traction.

“An extension of my lessonplanning, the typical demo-

“

History is vast: you will always be exchanging and expanding your understanding; it is recalibrated

”

graphic of The History Corridor is now the age-range of 18 - 45!

The readers are usually comprised of people who either loved history at school and want to build on it, reclaiming the subject, or those who didn't really enjoy it at school, but have developed a new appreciation.”

Shalina even schedules her posts

according to momentous times of the year for maximum effect: “I’m currently working on an entry in line with the anniversary of Queen Victoria’s death

which is happening later this month. Trawling through a few books, I’ve discovered that she was buried with some strange stuff e.g., a plaster cast of Prince Albert’s hand! Also, she insisted on being buried with as much jewellery as possible. There must be so many historians lamenting, wanting to exhume this amazing jewellery, which I’ll bet is linked to the empire!

That’s definitely going into the intro.”

Indeed, with its bright, magazine-like headlines, The History Corridor vividly recovers insights into the very margin of cultural context to offer readers articles not otherwise available in the journalistic mainstream. This includes an empathetic spectrum of stories. From accounts of immigration to the US’ famed Ellis Island to homages to politically powerful women such as Barbara Beese of the British Black Panthers, Shalina widely covers the deeper world of the socially unsaid. No wonder then that The History Corridor came to the fore this year during the BlackLivesMatter protests, fundamentally committed to the progressive core of the cause.

“People have been amazing at sharing articles – the response has been immense.” Indeed, Shalina also drives open-mindedness within her own department. She collaborates copiously with colleagues to discuss previously underrepresented viewpoints so that minority voices can be incorporated into the communication of their history.

“We’d recently read ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’ by David Olusoga. This completely changed how we taught the slave trade. Similarly, we’ve read Hallie Reubenfold’s The Five, which is a take on Jack-theRipper’s victims from the perspective of the women.

Not every school is willing to adapt, accepting a variety of answers and constantly reflecting on what they’re teaching. It’s

important not to be too precious. History is vast; you will always be exchanging and expanding your understanding and re-calibrating your knowledge e.g., Emma Clark was apparently first-known BlackBritish footballer, but a couple of years ago it came to light that historians had wrongly identified her: it was another woman entirely.” And so, more than demonstrating the strength of modern teaching, Shalina’s passionate pedagogy shows how history itself is the ultimate storyteller. Arguably the grandest narrative, it is then crucial to make it the most objective and robust.

“Inevitably, told accounts will be shaped by the morals of the time.” In forging an increasingly multifarious bridge with the past, we enhance the chance of achieving true inclusivity in the future.

“An extension of my lessonplanning, the typical demographic of The History Corridor is now the age-range of 18 - 45!

The readers are usually comprised of people who either loved history at school and want to build on it, reclaiming the subject, or those who didn't really enjoy it at school, but have developed a new appreciation.”

@thehistorycorridor

Hachette helps BAME writers to grow their story Hachette network for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees Thrive launched the fiction development programme in partnership with David Higham Associates, The Future Bookshelf, Spread the Word and Hachette UK’s adult trade divisions.

Now, 10 writers will be supported through the programme commencing from this month.

Writers joining Hachette UK's inaugural Grow Your Story programme include Charlotte Forfieh, Indigo Griffiths, Remi

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Sunetra Senior Facts meet feeling through Shalina’s all-encompassing, exciting approach to teaching.

Winner of Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School from the Pearson Teaching Awards Trust in 2018, she and her team of educators at Claremont High School, based in North London, have worked diligently to bring diversity into the national curriculum for History. “The key has been to give our students as broad a variety of perspectives as possible,” she stated. “Many textbooks don’t lend themselves to that. There may be some limitation in teaching this way with GCSEs, which have set materials, but there’s flexibility at ALevel.”

Here, Shalina opted to teach

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Graves, Ramya Jegatheesan, Ismail Karolia, Amina Makele, Lola Okolosie, Sara Sehdev and Sumerah Srivastav, whose novels-in-progress span crime, historical, sci-fi, fantasy and literary fiction. Unpublished writers from BAME backgrounds were encouraged to apply, including a 3,000-word sample of their work, if they had a novel they hoped to submit within three to six months of completing the workshops. Now, the chosen writers will have the opportunity to develop their manuscripts

through a series of online workshops with industry professionals. Each writer will receive oneto-one mentoring with both a Hachette UK editor and a David Higham Associates agent for up to nine months, complete with fortnightly check-ins with fellow writers and the opportunity to read their work at a special showcase event in spring 2021.

Commenting about the programme, Emad Akhtar said, "It’s been such a joy to read new voices with fresh takes, creating memorable characters and cov-

ering groundbreaking subject matter. The submissions have spanned the globe from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe – and hopscotch just as easily between past, present and future as they do between crime, historical, sci-fi, fantasy and literary fiction. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come as the industry broadens its own horizons, as well as those of the millions of readers it aims to reach and reflect. If this is a glimpse into the future, then we have so much to look forward to."

in brief BROADCASTERS MUST FOLLOW NETFLIX’S LEAD AND REPRESENT BAME ARTISTS In his latest publication, a British TV star has urged that the BBC and other traditional broadcasters follow streaming service Netflix’s lead in casting actors that represent Britain's ethnic diversity.

Sir Larry Henry 62-year-old Sir Lenny Henry, who has relished a successful career in television for forty years, said that he still felt “very lonely” in the industry as someone from a minority background.

In his new book, actor and comedian, examines issues of race and diversity in British TV whilst warning that the BBC that it could find itself losing black and Asian viewers to on-demand streaming services that “do a better job at representing their lives”, The Times reported.

He wrote, “If British broadcasters don't tackle the diversity grey rhino now, they run the risk of losing large parts of their audience forever.”

He also stated that one in five Britons will be from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background by 2031. He pointed to research which showed that BAME audiences were watching on-demand streaming services more than others as they feel the shows “do a better job at representing their lives” than terrestrial broadcasters such as The BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV. The actor makes the call for diversity in all aspects of TV, on screen and behind the camera, in his new book, Access All Areas: The Diversity Manifesto for TV and Beyond, which was co-written by Marcus Ryder, a media diversity expert, and will be released on Thursday by Faber.

Sir Lenny appeared to take a swipe at the lack of diversity in ITV's hit show Downton Abbey, which has a largely white cast, writing in his book that the nominee list at the Royal Television Society's annual awards was like 'a Downton Abbey Christmas special', The Times reported.

The comedian said more needed to be done to increase the number of minority writers, producers and directors, behind the camera as well as on screen. He added that only having diversity on-screen was “fake diversity”.

BANITA SANDHU HOSPITALISED FOR COVID-19 On Monday, 4th January, actress Banita Sandhu tested positive for novel coronavirus and was admitted to a Kolkata hospital soon after.

The actress had arrived in Kolkata Banita Sandhu from the UK on Dec 20, to celebrate Christmas and New Year in India.

Banita's co-passenger from the flight had tested positive for Covid. It was at the time when UK strain was found. She had come to Kolkata to shoot for her movie, 'Kavita & Teresa'.

Apart from 'Kavita & Teresa', Banita Sandhu will also be seen in Sardar Udham Singh. The movie is directed by 'October' helmer Shoojit Sircar and features Vicky Kaushal in the lead role.

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NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST 2021 RECORD NUMBER OF ASIAN HEROES AWARDED Shefali Saxena The New Year Honours List 2021 was published on Thursday 31 December 2020, demonstrating the incredible efforts of hundreds of public sector and community workers throughout 2020 and beyond. In a year that tested the resolve and determination of those on the frontline, the New Year Honours List includes 1,239 recipients, recognised for their extraordinary contributions in all four nations of the United Kingdom. Included in the List are 123 (10%) health and social care workers - from British Red Cross Ambulance Crew to care home managers - all have played a part in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The list comprises approximately 27 British Asian women and 55 British Asian men of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan origin.

The honours system continues to champion diversity at all levels and celebrates the breadth of service given by people from all backgrounds from all across the UK. Of the 1,239 people who receive an award:

u 1,123 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level: 397 at BEM, 476 at MBE, 250 at OBE u 803 (65%) of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity. u 603 women are recognised in the List, representing 49% of the total. u 14.2% of the successful candidates come from a BAME background. u 6.9% of the successful candidates consider themselves to have a disability (under the Equality Act 2010); and u 4% of recipients identified as being LGBTQ+.

Most ethnically diverse honours list yet The New Year Honours List is the most ethnically diverse honours list yet, with 14.2% of recipients coming from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background. Public sector workers make up 14.8% of the list and include firefighters, medical professionals, teachers, police officers and local government workers -

all of whom are being recognised for making a huge individual impact, and in particular in the response to Covid-19. The youngest recipient is 20-year-old Samah Khalil, the Youth Mayor of Oldham. She received a BEM for her work in empowering young peoDavid ple.

Architect Chipperfield is awarded a Companion of Honour, for services to architecture.

A BEM was awarded to Cath Fitzsimmons from Greater Manchester, a former palliative care nurse who came out of retirement for Covid-19.

Charity Helpline Housing Adviser for Shelter Nadeem Khan received a BEM - unable to return to the UK because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he worked from his personal laptop from a rooftop in Lahore, Pakistan delivering housing advice to over 500 people over three months via web chat to people over 5,000 miles away in the UK. Dr Azeem Alam, 28 years old from Harpenden, Herts received the BEM for founding BiteMedicine, which provides free medical education for medical students, physician associates and

Malini Nebhrajani, Order of the Bath

aspiring doctors during Covid-19, teaching over 10,000 students worldwide via online, live webinars.

Gaj Wallooppillai the former Deputy Leader in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his enormous contribution to equality and community cohesion. Uganda born Harilal Patel of Cardiff has been recognised in the New Year Honours list with the award of a British Empire Medal for the Services to Community Cohesion in Cardiff. Asha Day received the British Empire Medal for “services to the NHS and minority ethnic equality during the Covid response.”

More notable names from Sikhs and people of Sikh heritage include, Tanjit

Singh Dosanjh, OBE who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Prison Opticians Trust, Daljit Singh Grewal for services to the community in West London, particularly during the Covid-19 Response and Charandeep Singh - Founder, The Sikh Food Bank for services to Charity during the Covid-19 Response (Paisley, Renfrewshire) among ten awardees.

Britain’s business sector has stepped up This Honours List highlights how Britain’s business sector has stepped up to deliver for the country during Covid-19. From small business owners diverting their resources or changing business models to support the response effort to supermarket workers making sure all their vulnerable customers were stocked up with essential items - this Honours List showcases 111 recipients (9%) being recognised for services to business and the economy.

The majority of awards are for the contributions people have made in their communities. Of those receiving an award, 65% are recognised for their community work.

Dr Mina Golshan OBE

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “In a year when so many have made sacrifices to protect our NHS and save people’s lives, the outstanding efforts of those receiving honours today are a welcome reminder of the strength of human spirit, and of what can be achieved through courage and compassion.

The 2021 New Year Honours offer us an opportunity to salute their dedication and recognise many who have gone above and beyond in their contribution to our country. As we begin a new year and continue to come together to fight this virus, may their service and stories be an inspiration to us all.”

Please turn to Page 16 to see the full list of Asian recipients.

Former Deputy Leader Gaj Wallooppillai awarded for his contribution to equality and community cohesion Gaj Wallooppillai the former Deputy Leader in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames was awarded by the Queen for his enormous contribution to equality and community cohesion.

Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice Lord Dolar Popat said, “I was thrilled to see Gaj recognised for all his

hard work across communities here in the UK. He has worked incredibly hard to promote diversity and equality within the community and I am pleased that his efforts have been acknowledged.”

Gaj caught the attention of the British Asian community when he won a landslide victory in 2012 on the

same day as Boris Johnson got re-elected Mayor of London. Lord Jitesh Gadhia added, “I am delighted to see Gaj Wallooppillai recognised in the New Year Honours list. Gaj has played an active role, often behind the scenes, in championing political engagement with the British Indian community. His efforts have made

a real difference in promoting diversity, inclusion, meritocracy and community cohesion across the UK.” This good news has been warmly welcomed by temples across the UK, who have come to know Gaj as the one of the most influential Tamils in the UK. Lord Rami Ranger CBE said, “It’s great to see a British Tamil

recognised by Her Majesty the Queen for his sterling work on diversity and equality in the UK.” Baroness Sandy Verma also paid tribute to Gaj saying, “I was absolutely delighted to see Gaj, a brilliant force for diversity and inclusion be recognised by the Queen. I know the South Asian community,

Gaj Wallooppillai OBE

especially the Tamil community will be especially proud of this recognition.”

Cardiff Businessman awarded in the Queen's Honours list Harilal Patel of Cardiff has been recognised in the New Year Honours list with the award of a British Empire Medal for the Services to Community Cohesion in Cardiff. Born in Uganda, Harilal was three years old when he lost his father. At 12 years old he had to balance school and work to support his family. He got married in 1970 and came to the UK in 1972, penniless.

Arriving in the UK he went to a camp in Yeovil. In search for a job, he moved to Cardiff and worked in a petrol station, eventually managing and owning some of the sites. He employed staff from all backgrounds including drug addicts and ex-offenders with the aim of changing their lives for the better.

He also trained people, helping them get

various jobs in the process.

Patel has served his community as a volunteer since he arrived as a Ugandan Refugee in 1972. He is a Trustee and a founder member of Sanatan Dharma Mandal & Hindu Community Centre (SDM & HCC), since 1984, giving voluntary services to the community.

He was instrumental in purchasing the premises to serve as their temple and community centre which is well used by many people and organisations in Wales. He raised the profile of the organisation and integrated it within the Welsh Society.

Harilal is always happy to help the wider community, both young and old, and the disabled with any issues they may have. He is a great advocate for promoting equality, diversity, tolerance, and inclusion

Harilal Narandas Patel, BEM

amongst the communities.

He was also a prominent member of the business community, providing guidance to budding entrepreneurs and starting a business club. He was a chairman of BP Retailers club with his expertise earning him BP holidays in many countries.

Harilal doesn’t have any

regrets for the misfortunes imposed on him as the adversity gave him new opportunities. He treasures the generosity of this country and harbors no ill will towards others. He has integrated himself into the Welsh society, worked hard and paid his dues.

Harilal involves himself with few other charities helping with fundraising & promoting them.

During the pandemic, Harilal made sure the vulnerable were well looked after by phoning them regularly to see if they needed anything. He moved most of the events of the SDM & HCC online which has proved invaluable to the lonely and those who are house-bound. He has provided emotional support to the families of the deceased and helped with funeral arrangements. He has also

supported stranded overseas students caught up in the chaos of the pandemic; helping them find accommodation and a means of financial stability during the pandemic.

Receiving this honor, Harilal says “Success is never a one man show, but is the efforts and sacrifices of so many behind the scenes.

I would therefore like to thank my family members, friends and volunteers for their unconditional support. In particular I am very grateful to my late mother who instilled good qualities in me. I'm not convinced that I've done anything to deserve such an accolade but it does reflect the kindness and generosity of the people I'm surrounded by. In this I feel truly blessed and am proud to serve the community at large.”

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NEW YEAR HON Companion of Honour Sir David Alan Chipperfield CBE. Architect, David Chipperfield Architects. For services to Architecture. (London, Greater London) ORDER OF THE BATH Companions of the Order of the Bath Malini Nebhrajani.

Legal Director, Department for Health and Social Care Legal Advisers, Government Legal Department. For public service. (London, Greater London) CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fayyaz Afzal OBE. Circuit Judge, England and Wales. For services to the Judiciary and to Diversity and Inclusion. (Leicester, Leicestershire) Dr Mina Golshan. Deputy Chief Inspector, Office for Nuclear Regulation. For services to Nuclear Regulation. (Helsby, Cheshire) Professor Usha Claire Goswami FBA. Professor of Cognitive Developmental Neuroscience, University of Cambridge. For services to Educational Research.

(Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) Preetha Ramachandran. Group Director, South East Universal Credit Operations, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to the Unemployed. (London, Greater London) Professor Raad Shakir.

Professor of Neurology (Visiting), Imperial College London. For services to Global Neurology. (Pyrford, Surrey) Professor Sembukuttiarachilage Ravi Pradip Silva. Director, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey. For services to Science, to Education and to Research. (Camberley, Surrey) OBE Officer of the Order of the British Empire Anwar Ali. Founder and Director, Upturn Enterprise Ltd. For services to Social Enterprise.

(Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester) Prof Partha Kar. Diabetes Consultant at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHST, National Specialty Advisor, Diabetes at NHS England, Diabetes lead at NHS Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT). OBE for services to people with diabetes.

Councillor Azhar Ali. Leader of Labour Group, Lancashire County Council. For services to the community in North West England.

(Brierfield, Lancashire) Professor Farah Naz Kausar Bhatti. Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon. For services to Diversity in the NHS in Wales. (Swansea, West Glamorgan) Narmada Helen De Silva.

Deputy Director, Strategic and Cross Cutting Policy Group, H.M. Revenue and Customs. For public service. (London, Greater London) Tanjit Singh Dosanjh. Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Prison Opticians Trust. For services to Optometry in Prisons and Reducing Re-Offending.

(Rochester, Kent) Professor Mohan Jayantha Edirisinghe FREng. Bonfield Chair of Biomaterials, University College London. For services to Biomedical Engineering. (London, Greater London)

Nadim Ednan-Laperouse MBE. Co-founder and Trustee, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. For services to People with Allergies.

(London, Greater London) Tanya Ednan-Laperouse. Cofounder and Trustee, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. For services to People with Allergies.

(London, Greater London) Dipanwita Ganguli. Principal, Sutton College. For services to Adult Education in London.

(London, Greater London) Professor Suneetha Ramani Moonesinghe.

Professor of Perioperative Medicine and Consultant Anaesthetist, University College London. For services to Anaesthesia, Perioperative and Critical Care. (Uckfield, East Sussex) Lord Diljit Singh Rana MBE. Chairman, Andras House Ltd. For services to Business and to the Economy in Northern Ireland.

(Belfast) Asiyah Ravat.

Executive Principal, Star Academies. For services to Education in Birmingham.

(Walsall, West Midlands) Mrunel Sisodia. Co-chair, National Network of Parent Carer Forums. For services to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, particularly during the Covid-19 Response. (Bedford, Bedfordshire) Nina Minoo Wadia. For services to Entertainment and to Charity.

(Staines, Surrey) MBE Member of the Order of the British Empire Professor Alka Surajprakash Ahuja. Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Royal College of Psychiatrists (Wales). For services to the NHS during Covid19. (Cardiff, South Glamorgan) Malique Jamal Al-Shabazz.

Constable, Merseyside Police. For services to Policing and Ethnic Minority Communities in Merseyside. (Prenton, Merseyside) Dr Nisreen Ala-Din Sahib Alwan. Associate Professor in Public Health, Southampton University.

For services to Medicine and Public Health during Covid-19. (Eastleigh, Hampshire) Humza Arshad. Comedian and Writer. For services to Education.

(London, Greater London) Rabinder Nath Bhanot JP. For services to Wellbeing and Community Action, particularly during the Covid-19 Response.

(Chigwell, Essex) Dr Harnovdeep Singh Bharaj.

Consultant, Diabetes and General Medicine, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust. For services to People with Diabetes in the South Asian Community. (Bolton, Greater Manchester) Dr Anand John Chitnis. General Practitioner, The Castle Practice, Birmingham. For services to the NHS, Mental Health and Disabilities. (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands) Ismail Mohammed Gangat.

Founder and Proprietor, Azhar Academy Girls' School, Forest Gate.

For services to Education in East London. (London, Greater London) Dr Mohammad Tayyab Haider.

Medical Director, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS, particularly during the Covid-19 Response and to

the community in Essex.

(Brentwood, Essex) Mohammad Imran Hamid. For services to Youth Empowerment and Social Welfare Projects.

(London, Greater London) Dr Amir Simon Hannan.

General Practitioner, Haughton Thornley Medical Centre. For services to General Practice in Hyde and Haughton Green, Metropolitan Borough of Tameside. (Altrincham, Greater Manchester) Syeda Islam. For services to the community in Battersea, Greater London particularly during the Covid-19 Response. (London, Greater London) Moinul Islam. Founder and Project Manager, Outta Skool North West. For services to Sport and Education in the community, particularly during the Covid-19 Response.

(Oldham, Greater Manchester) Shravan Jashvantrai Joshi. For services to Diversity and to the British Hindu community.

(London, Greater London) Dr Shikandhini Kanagasundrem.

Director, Infection Prevention and Control and Consultant Microbiologist, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. For services to Microbiology, infection Prevention and Control, particularly during the Covid-19 Response. (Loughton, Essex) Harjinder Kaur Kandola. Chief Executive, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust. For services to Mental Health, particularly during the Covid-19 Response. (Arlesey, Bedfordshire) Ruchi Nanda. Lately Account Manager, Department for International Trade. For services to Trade, to Investment and to Business Support. (Hockley, Essex) Satyesh Parmar. Consultant Surgeon, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. For services to Oral and Maxillofacial Cancer Surgery.

(Solihull, West Midlands) Bhaven Pathak. For services to Business and British Hinduism.

(London, Greater London) Niraj Kumar Sharma.

Immigration Liaison Officer, Immigration Enforcement, Home Office. For public service. (Abroad, Abroad) Sunita Ben Singal. Diversity and Equality Lead, National Employer and Partnership Team, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to Diversity and to Inclusion.

(Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands) Sasi Srinivasan. Early Years Manager, London Borough of Brent. For services to Education.

(London, Greater London) Dr Asha Thomson. Speciality Dentist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Senior Clinical Leadership Fellow East Anglia NHS England and Senior Clinical Teacher in Oral Surgery, Kings College Hospital London. For services to the NHS, particularly during the Covid-19 Response. (Chelmsford, Essex) Anjuu Trevedi. Head, Regional Business Engagement, University of Leicester. For services to Business Innovation and to the Economy in Leicestershire.

(Leicester, Leicestershire) Rajinder Tumber.

Cyber Security Executive, Ernst and Young. For services to the Cyber Security Industry. (London, Greater London)

Shahab Uddin. Director of Legal, British Olympic Association.

For services to Sport during the Covid-19 Response. (London, Greater London) Manoj Varsani. Founder, SOS Supplies. For services to Protective Care during the Covid-19 Response.

(London, Greater London) Haleema Yousaf. Team Leader, Fair Access and School Exclusions, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. For services to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

(Solihull, West Midlands) BEM British Empire Medal Samira Ahmad. Assistant Scientific Officer, Animal and Plant Health Agency. For services to Animal Health during the Covid-19 Response and to the community in Woking, Surrey. (Addlestone, Surrey) Dr Azeem Alam. Co-Founder, BiteMedicine and Junior Doctor, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Medical Education during Covid19. (Harpenden, Hertfordshire) Anand Bhatt. Co-founder, Aakash Odedra Company. For services to Dance and to the community in Leicester.

(Leicester, Leicestershire) Salma Bi. For services to Cricket and to Diversity in Sport.

(Birmingham, West Midlands) Swaran Chowdhary. For services to Kidney Research UK, Organ Donation and South Asian communities in Scotland. (Glasgow, Glasgow) Imran Ahmed Chowdhury. For services to Community Cohesion in Northampton.

(Northampton, Northamptonshire) Golam Mahbab Alam Chowdhury. Refugee Support Staff and Emergency Responder, British Red Cross. For services to Healthcare during the Covid-19 Response.

(Portsmouth, Hampshire) Asha Rani Day. Nurse, Health Visitor and Clinical Team Leader; Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. For services to the NHS and to Minority Ethnic Equality during the Covid-19 Response. (Fleckney, Leicestershire) Daljit Singh Grewal. For services to the community in West London, particularly during the Covid-19 Response. (London, Greater London) Maya Joshi. For services to the Vulnerable in Leicestershire.

(Leicester, Leicestershire) Sanjay Jayenedra Kara. Trustee, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (Neasden Temple). For services to community cohesion and public and charitable service in the UK. (London, Greater London) Ziaul Khan. For services to the community in Sheffield. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire) Nadeem Sadiq Khan. Charity Helpline Housing Adviser and Team Leader, Shelter. For services to the Homeless during the Covid19 Response. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire) Haroon Mahmood. Relief Manager, Wells Pharmacy, Darlaston. For services to the community in the West Midlands, particularly during Covid-19.

(Coventry, West Midlands) Aakash Odedra. Co-founder, Aakash Odedra Company. For ser-

vices to Dance and to the communiin Leicester.

(Leicester, ty Leicestershire) Ayesha Pakravan-Ovey.

Founder, The Plattery and Vital Meals. For services to charity and to Vulnerable People during the Covid-19 Response. (London, Greater London) Harilal Narandas Patel. For services to Community Cohesion in Cardiff. (Cardiff, South Glamorgan) Khakan Munir Qureshi. Senior Independent Living Officer, Midland Heart. For services to LGBT Equality. (Wednesbury, West Midlands) Dr Aminur Khosru Rahman.

Chair, Kent Area Committee, Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

For services to Education. (Chatham, Kent) Syedur Rahman. For services to Charity in Leicester. (Leicester, Leicestershire) Azizur Rahman. Foods Section Manager, Marks and Spencer. For services to the community in London during the Covid-19 Response.

(London, Greater London) Mohammed Usman Rakq.

Senior IT Assistant, Glasgow Caledonian University. For services to Education and to Students with Hearing Impairments.

(Bonnybridge, Stirling and Falkirk) Charandeep Singh. Founder, The Sikh Food Bank. For services to Charity during the Covid-19 Response. (Paisley, Renfrewshire) Diplomatic Service and Overseas LVO Shutica Patel M.V.O. lately Head of Photographic Services, Royal Collection, Royal Household.

ARMY ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Members of the Order of the British Empire Major Priyum Patel Sergeant Sarvjit Pal Singh Officers of the Order of the British Empire Professor Sayed Nader AzamAli. Chief Executive Officer, Crops for the Future. For services to Underutilised Crops and improving Food Security.

Dr. Raghu Rama Pillarisetti.

Director and Consultant Breast Surgeon, KIMS-USHALAKSHMI Centre for Breast Diseases. For services to Breast Cancer Sanjay Patel. Founder Station Soccer. For services to Social Mobility, the promotion of Prosperity and to Education in Atlanta through Football.

Aminullah Safi. Team Leader, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For services to National Security.

DIPLOMATIC SERVICE BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL Nargus Akhtar. lately Training and Exercise Officer, Crisis Management Department, Consular Directorate, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For services to British Nationals overseas.

Predeepkumar Parmar. Desk Officer, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Services.

For services to British foreign policy.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH QUEEN'S AMBULANCE SERVICE MEDAL (QAM) Araf Saddiq.

Paramedic, Scottish Ambulance Service

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NOURS LIST 2021 Asha Day BEM One of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT)’s employees has been honoured by the Queen.

Asha Day received the British Empire Medal for “services to the NHS and minority ethnic equality during the Covid response.” Asha has worked for the NHS for 36 years, and is in her third spell at LPT. She is a clinical team leader based in Leicester, leading a team of public health nurses (health visitors).

She said, “It is great to start the new year off with something so nice. I don’t know who has put me forward, they don’t tell you. I will probably celebrate with a takeaway, because I can’t go anywhere!”

During the pandemic she helped design a risk assessment, which looked at factors including staff members’ ethnicity and medical history before deciding what role they should play in caring for patients. Members of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities are likely to suffer significantly worse outcomes if they contract Covid-19 than white colleagues.

Asha also helped design race and cultural awareness training for the Trust’s 6,500 staff. She chairs the Trust’s BAME staff support group, co-chairs The British Indian Nurses’ Association, is vice-chair of the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA), and is a Fellow of the Institute of Health Visiting.

Anand Bhatt BEM Anand Bhatt, Artistic Director and Chief Executive at Dance City has been honoured by The Queen as he receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) in The 2021 New Year Honours List.

Published today, the list recognises the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people across the UK. Hundreds of ordinary people are recognised alongside stars of sport and show-business for their contribution to public life in the UK. Anand Bhatt has received the honour in recognition of his services to dance and community, in particular, his successes as executive producer at Aakash Odedra Company (AOC) in Leicester, which he jointly founded with Aakash Odedra in 2011. Aakash Odedra, still at AOC in Leicester, has today also received the BEM honour in recognition of his services to dance.

In July 2020 Anand became Chief Executive and Artistic Director at Dance City in Newcastle.

Anand Bhatt said: “Firstly, I would like to thank my Gurus and elders who have guided me and blessed me on this journey. I have a great passion for the power of dance and the role it can play in transforming lives and communities. Hundreds of people have dedicated their time on this journey, so thank you to all of them. I am humbled to be recognised in this way, and at this stage of my career, when there is still so much to do, gives me great confidence and an energy boost.

“My work in Leicester was driven by a passion for what today is called ‘levelling up’. I believed the talent locally was as good as anywhere. The philosophy was always to create the conditions and structure to allow it to develop and flourish.

“In 2020 I started a new journey in the North East.

I am motivated and excited about working with an incredibly passionate team at Dance City and work together to ensure that dance continues to play a great role in people’s lives. The North East has a world-class dance facility, one of the best in the UK, and together we will make sure it continues to enable artists to make their best work, for students to learn and for participants to feel invigorated.

Anand founded his first dance school in Leicester, Desi Masti, in 2003, where he trained more Boogie Woogie national champions than any other. His work with Aakash Odedra took Leicester produced work to world-class institutions around the world. This success enabled the local investment which was so important to Anand.

Partnering with Shiamak Davar International, the world’s largest Bollywood dance school, the Leicester organisation was the HQ for classes all over the country from Manchester to Dartford reaching over 1000 people per week.

Golam Chowdhury BEM Golam Chowdhury, a British Red Cross worker from Portsmouth has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year Honours List 2021 for his work during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Initially joining as a volunteer in 2012, Golam became a staff member with the charity five years ago, helping refugees and people seeking asylum. As the UK’s largest provider of refugee support, the Red Cross sees how hard it is for people seeking asylum to make ends meet on only £5 a day, especially during the pandemic. This leaves people choosing between buying food, basics like soap and mobile data to connect with loved ones.

As well as working for the Red Cross full time, Golam continues to be a local emergency response volunteer for the charity.

He explained: “After I finish my day

job, I check my phone to see if there are any alerts. During the Covid-19 pandemic I have been on standby to deliver food and medicines to vulnerable people across Portsmouth that need extra support. “I found out about my New Year Honour by email, but I thought it was spam,” Golam said.

“I had no idea that I had even been nominated. When the second email arrived I started to think that maybe it was real. It is so humbling that someone took the time to put me forward.

“It’s been challenging this year, both personally and professionally,” he said.

“But I am always amazed by human resilience and community spirit. Watching how people have come together to support each other has been incredible. I don’t do my job - or my volunteering - for the praise; I do it because if the tables were turned and I was the one that needed help, then I would hope that there was someone

out there to support me.”

When Covid-19 hit, Golam selflessly led much of the newly organised support services for vulnerable migrants in Hampshire. He mobilised and delivered food, medicine and other essentials to dozens of isolated, shielding households, as well as making welfare checks, assessing people’s hardship needs and pioneering ways to safely provide destitute members of the community with Tesco e-vouchers so they could buy the basics with dignity and choice.

Golam continueD: “My main motivation has always been to help fellow human beings, but during the Pandemic I have the added incentive of being a role model for people from ethnic minorities across Hampshire, I want to show how we can all follow the guidelines to stay safe, whilst supporting each other and showing how people can seek the help and assistance they need.”

Recipients of Sikh heritage shine in Queen’s Honours List Sikhs and people of Sikh heritage are amongst the many being honoured by Her Majesty the Queen in the New Year Honours List of 2021.

Amongst the notable individuals is Tanjit Singh Dosanjh, who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Prison Opticians Trust, providing eyecare services across British prisons and which has helped rehabilitate prisoners by providing them training in Optics as well as helping them secure paid work with opticians upon release.

His leadership has helped to reduce reoffending levels, and he receives an OBE for his visionary work.

When he was asked about his honour, Tanjit said, “I’m very proud that my work has been recognised by the Queen. I started work in this field in 2011, and in the early years, it was extremely difficult, but I managed to turn the negative of my father going to prison into a positive for wider society. Being a Sikh means having the resilience and strength to do

•

Tanjit Singh Dosanjh OBE

what’s ultimately right, and I’m glad to have been able to make a bit of a difference. I’d like to thank the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for their support over the years”.

Jinjer Kandola is Chief Executive of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust. She joined the Trust in 2018, and she has led an impressive response to the impact of the pandemic in the three North London boroughs on the mental health of patients, a significant proportion of whom are people of colour, and she receives an MBE for her work.

Another recipient is Dr Harnovdeep Singh Bharaj, who is a

Consultant in General Medicine, Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Bharaj pioneered the role of lay educator and diabetes support nurses for South Asians and developed a multidisciplinary clinic for young people with diabetes.

He receives an MBE for his work in this field.

Other recipients of Sikh heritage in the list include: OBE • Lord Diljit Singh RANA MBE Chairman, Andras House Ltd. For services to Business and to the Economy in Northern Ireland (Belfast, Belfast)

Sanjay Kara, BEM Sanjay Kara, the trustee of B A P S Swaminarayan Sanstha (Neasden Temple) has been awarded the Queen’s honour of a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year 2021 Honours List for his services to community cohesion and public and charitable service in the UK. “Congratulations to Sanjay, his

Dr Harnovdeep Singh Bharaj MBE

Jinjer Kandola MBE

family, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and the entire Hindu community for inspiring thousands of volunteers to serve the community under the visionary blessings of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and the current inspiration of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj,” read the official website of BAPS as it congratulated Kara.

MBE • Gary GREWAL - UK Liaison Officer. For services to Defence (London, Greater London) • Rajinder TUMBER Cyber Security Executive, Ernst and Young. For services to the Cyber Security Industry (London, Greater London) BEM • Daljit Singh GREWAL - For services to the community in West London, particularly during the Covid-19 Response (London, Greater London)

Balbir SEIMAR - For services to the Homeless and to the community in Walsall, West Midlands (Walsall, West Midlands) • Charandeep SINGH - Founder, The Sikh Food Bank. For services to Charity during the Covid-19 Response (Paisley, Renfrewshire) Jasvir Singh OBE, Chair of City Sikhs, said “This year has seen all of us across the country and around the world find a renewed sense of appreciation for people involved in the healthcare professions, and as we come to the end of 2020, it is entirely fitting that the New Year Honours shines a light on people who have given their all for the health and wellbeing of society as a whole.”

Notable interfaith allies of City Sikhs who have received honours from the Queen include Bhaven Pathak from the Yog Foundation who receives an MBE.

Partha Kar, OBE

Professor Partha Kar, from Southsea, was awarded an OBE for services to people with diabetes. Based at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, Prof Kar has not only restructured the way diabetes is treated in Portsmouth, but also helped develop an app to help people manage their health.

He is a Diabetes Consultant at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHST, National Specialty Advisor, Diabetes at NHS England, Diabetes lead at NHS Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT). On winning this honour, Professor Kar told Asian Voice, “A huge honour and a long way from the streets of Goabagan in Kolkata to one of the highest civilian honours in the UK. A thank you to all my colleagues especially in Portsmouth - as well as those living with diabetes - who have been an incredible source of support and encouragement.”

18 FINANCE - UK

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel Investing in the stock market is a lucrative way to become a millionaire potentially – and like all money making has risks. The key is to follow best investing practices to increase your chances of success.

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Key rules – should your money be in a bank account?

The risk of say a 20% drop may not be something for your after all. There are no risk free returns in investing in stocks.

Once you know you want to invest, then you need to work out the level of safety. For instance, I think Microsoft is safe. And you may want stocks more like that. If you’re younger and can wait and make up for market falls, then you may want something riskier. Personally, that’s not for me. Building your portfolio is more involved than just picking a stock or two.

It requires understanding its components, interconnectedness, and how they interact with one another.

Build a portfolio that will help you achieve your financial goals. So that means in my view holding for 12 months, then reviewing. 15 stocks.

Getting in, is not the problem. Barclays Stockbrokers, HL, Halifax, all make it easy to do that. It’s people don’t know the process after that. Which is why I have my 12-1525 rule. 12 months, 15 stocks, and if any drops 25% from the highest since you bought it, then sell to protect your profits or capital. Do not simply assume fund managers will protect you and are experts. They too often blow up like Neil Woodford. Financial advisors in my experience have conflicts of interest and ignorance often blocking their way.

Not recommendations, but I own Square, Microsoft, TechTarget, Apple, Amazon, Globant, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard among others.

EU firms refuse UK deliveries over Brexit tax changes Some EU specialist online retailers have said they will no longer deliver to the UK because of tax changes which came into force on 1 January. Bicycle part firm Dutch Bike Bits said from now on, it would ship to every country in the world except the UK. "We are forced by British policy to stop dealing with British customers," it said on its website. Another firm, Belgium-based Beer On Web, said it was now shunning the UK "due to the new Brexit measures".

The companies are angry because they now face higher costs and increased bureaucracy in order to comply with UK tax authorities. However, it is unclear how many have taken the drastic step of refusing all UK orders. At the same time, international shipping companies, including Federal Express and TNT, have said they are levying additional charges on shipments between the UK and the EU. They said this reflected the increased investment they had had to make in adjusting their systems to cope with Brexit.

The moves follow changes in VAT rules brought in by HM Revenue and Customs on 1 January. VAT is now being collected at the point of sale rather than at the point of importation.

This essentially means that overseas retailers sending goods to the UK are expected to register for UK VAT and account for it to HMRC if the sale value is less than €150 (£135). A government spokesperson said: "The new VAT model ensures goods from EU and non-EU countries are treated in the same way and that UK businesses are not disadvantaged by competition from VAT-free imports. "The new system also addresses the problem of overseas sellers failing to pay the right amount of VAT on sales of goods already in the UK at the point of sale, raising an anticipated £300m every year.

"Many EU businesses which currently sell goods to UK customers will have already registered for UK VAT under existing rules and HMRC is working very closely with those who haven't to ensure they can comply with the changes."

Tackling evasion Adam French, consumer rights expert, said consumers would be "frustrated" if the new VAT rules were applied in a way that causes significant inconvenience. "It's vital the government makes it clear to consumers as well as traders what the changes as a result of Brexit mean for them and how they shop. It should also work to ensure UK consumers can retain access to a wide range of competitively priced and quality goods."

British Airways gets UK govt loan to boost liquidity British Airways parent IAG SA tapped UK governmentbacked loans to boost liquidity, in a sign of the damage wrought by the coronavirus on even the industry’s strongest players. IAG accessed 300 million pounds from the Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility in the second week of April, it said taking state-supported funding to $1.45 billion including Spanish backing.

The group, which initially signaled it wasn’t seeking aid, said it’s essentially grounded until July, when it’ll start restoring flights.

Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said Londonbased IAG needs to restructure in all areas as it slims down for a tougher future.

British Airways is planning to slash 12,000 jobs or 30% of the workforce, and is considering plans to close its secondary hub at London Gatwick airport. “We do not expect passenger demand to

recover to the level of 2019 before 2023 at the earliest,” Walsh said. “This means group-wide restructuring is essential in order to get through the crisis and preserve an adequate level of liquidity.” reserves had IAG increased to 10 billion euros ($12.4 billion) at the end of April. That puts the company in a “very strong liquidity position” and means it should be able to “outlast many peers” in an extended slump, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in a note.

Walsh, who will leave on Sept. 24 after delaying his

retirement due to the pandemic, said British Airways is consulting with employee representatives at Gatwick after initiating a formal and legal process there. BA’s announcement of some of the industry’s deepest job cuts has met with hostility from UK politicians and labor groups, especially since it’s tapped furlough funds meant to safeguard workers.

IAG reiterated that it’s too early to provide an earnings outlook. That’s after it last week reported an operating loss of 535 million euros for the first quarter even before a hit from fuel

hedges, and warned that the result for the current three months will be worse again.

Walsh initially said IAG wasn’t applying for bailouts and earlier in the year opposed a proposal to help nowdefunct Flybe, one of the virus’s first airline victims.

He said in March he thought airlines should be expected to “look at self-help before they would call on governments to provide state aid.”

Spanish aid IAG’s Spanish units Iberia and Vueling have since tapped 1 billion euros in loans backed by a state bank. Walsh said the British funding is commercial paper that IAG was able to access because of its “great credit rating.” He said the company will avail itself of general facilities where they are available. Other airlines are scrambling to secure bailouts, with governments worldwide devoting more than $85 billion to rescue plans.

UK names Tesco and Pizza Hut for breaches in minimum wage law Tesco and Pizza Hut were the two biggest offenders among 139 employers who failed to pay staff the minimum wage between 2016 and 2018, British government announced after it resumed a policy of publicly naming firms that broke rules. Supermarket chain Tesco, Britain's largest private-sector employer, underpaid 78,199 staff by a total 5.1 million pounds ($7.0 million), while Pizza Hut failed to pay staff 845,936 pounds which they were due.

"It is never acceptable for any employer to shortchange their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know

better on this list," business minister Paul Scully said.

Other employers, mostly smaller businesses, underpaid staff by around 700,000 pounds in total, with some individual workers losing thousands of pounds.

Britain's minimum wage stands at 8.72 pounds an hour for workers aged 25 and over, and will rise by 2.2% from April as well as being extended to workers aged 23 and 24. Younger workers and apprentices receive a lower minimum wage. The list published by Britain's business ministry did not distinguish between employers who deliberately broke the law and those who made errors applying the sometimes complex rules.

Tesco said it was "extremely disappointed and surprised" at being publicly named for making what it described as a technical error that it had self reported to tax authorities. "We take our obligations to our colleagues very seriously and all colleagues were reimbursed in full in 2017," it said in a statement.

The government said underpayments by employers often reflected deductions for the cost of food, parking costs, clothing or equipment which took wages below the legal minimum. Pizza Hut said tax authorities had alerted it

and other businesses in the sector to errors relating to deductions for staff uniform costs, which it corrected in 2018. "It is important to stress that there was never any intent to underpay our employees," a spokesperson for Pizza Hut Restaurants said. British government temporarily suspended naming firms that broke rules in 2018, before deciding to restart the practice in 2020 after issuing new guidance.

UK businesses seek more govt support during new Covid lockdown The business lobby group the CBI has urged the government to come up with a comprehensive support package to help firms survive the latest Covid-19 lockdown. As England and Scotland enter another lockdown, business groups said the government must step in with further support measures.

Tony Danker, the CBI’s director general, said the government should not wait until the March budget to announce more support for businesses, and that he was expecting the Treasury and business department to do so in the coming days.

He said that the economic impact of these new

restrictions is very significant. “Demand in the economy falls again, high streets and physical businesses lose footfall, recovery is on hold in terms of a big hit to trade and business investment.

We’ve seen lockdowns before, we know the impact they have and so more comprehensive restrictions do require a more comprehensive economic response.”

He said it was vital to ensure firms had the cash flow to make it through the winter, and pointed to VAT deferrals, other tax relief and more generous grants as possible measures. The hospitality industry had already lost out on its “golden quarter” over Christmas and for gym operators the current

quarter was crucial, he said.

With pubs closed across the UK and takeaway sales of alcohol now banned in England, the pub industry said the current level of grants was not enough to cover ongoing costs such as rent. The Campaign for Pubs called for closure grants to be increased to at least £1,000 a week; a statutory rent code to stop unreasonable rents; a business rates holiday in 2021-22, VAT of 5% on all pub sales, not just at places that sell food; and business rates relief for small brewers and other suppliers.

Greg Mulholland, the director of the Campaign for Pubs, said: “Without urgent, adequate support, many pubs – including pubs that

have survived for centuries and two world wars – will be lost.” The Federation of Small Businesses called for a second round of cash grants, help for the more recently self-employed and extended repayment and limits for bounce back loans, among other measures.

Danker said the government must review and plug any gaps from existing support in supply chains, and that firms must have the “assurance that support will be there for as long as Covid19 restrictions are in place” so that they can plan ahead.

The government’s job retention scheme is due to expire on 30 April, and unemployment is expected to rise sharply after that.

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REAL ESTATE VOICE & INDIA FINANCE 19 9 - 15 January 2021

Tata group gets AirAsia stake at 20% discount The AirAsia Group Berhad on December 29 sold 32.67% of its stake in the Indian subsidiary to their joint venture partner Tata Sons for $37.66 million. Analysts believe that the Tata Group got a 20% discount on the airline’s value. One may argue that the prospects for airlines may have been hit by the pandemic, but on the other hand, the market value of Air Asia India’s peers like IndiGo and SpiceJet has doubled since the pandemic broke out in March.

Multiple factors may have played into the discount on Air Asia. “Either AirAsia has a significant amount of liabilities, which you know is yet not known since this year Covid has been a big impact on the airline sector. Second, the prospect of recovery which the Tatas see within AirAsia

India might not be that great,” Ansuman Deb, a research Analyst at ICICI Securities said.

The Malaysian parent was also desperate for some cash.

While selling its stake AirAsia Group President (Airlines), Bo Lingam also highlighted that “this transaction is in line with our initiatives towards reducing cash utilisation for the Group and will allow us to use cash to grow market share in our core markets in Asean, particularly in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as for our future expansion into Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.”

More importantly, Air Asia wasn’t doing very well even before the pandemic. It has been making losses, and its balance sheet has never been strong. “In terms of

operations also the airline barely has 6% market share. When it comes to flying internationally, they are not allowed to do so at this point of time, so there are a variety of reasons that led to this,” said another analyst.

Air Asia India in 2018 was accused of bribery and violation of India's aviation laws, which the company refuted. There are other legal tangles that AirAsia India has been caught in, like, ownership undertakings to fly abroad to DGCA’s investigation on safety violations. The Tata Group wants to buy out India’s national carrier, Air India, and they planned to bid for it via Air Asia India.

There are many within the ruling establishment in New Delhi and their political

affiliates, who want Air India to be sold to an Indian company, and not to a foreign one.

The second phase of Air India’s strategic disinvestment will start on January 5, with the announcement of the names of the qualified bidders.

According to the ICICI Securities report, “If Tatas successfully acquire Air India and consolidate Vistara and AirAsia India under its brand, the industry will convert from a 6 to 4 player industry comprising Tata group.

IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.”

BPCL, AI selloff to be delayed further The Indian government may not be able to close the BPCL and Air India disinvestment transactions

by March 31, although it is pushing the sale of five large public sector companies, including BEML, for which it sought interest from potential buyers. With BEML and Shipping Corporation last week, four large state-run entities have been put on the block, and Concor is to be offered for sale as soon as the Railways can decide on the policy. A proposal for the land use policy, a key to Concor disinvestment, is pending for Cabinet approval, sources said.

Although this will mean that the Narendra Modi government will close another year without a

significant strategic sale, official sources said the process has now been set in motion. Against a target of £12 billion, the Centre has so far mopped up £1.38 billion with the sale of some shares held by SUUTI, along with a few public issues and buyback of shares expected to yield another £1.3 billion during the remaining 12 weeks of the current financial year.

In addition, LIC stake sale through the initial public offer route will

remain incomplete this year as the government needs to amend the law.

Similarly, a final call on IDBI Bank stake is yet to be taken.

Through the two entities, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had hoped to rake in another £9 billion when she had budgeted for record disinvestment receipts of £21 billion for 2020-21.

Officials blamed Covid-19 as the key factor as nearly six months were wasted due to the lockdown.

Besides, the government wanted the process to have sufficient takers and several of the sectors hit by the pandemic to recover before treading on the disinvestment path.

The Department for Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey had indicated that the BPCL sale may go through this year.

Besides, the government was striving to list LIC during the current fiscal year but the absence of the winter session of Parliament added to the Covid woes on disinvestment as the Bill to amend the law could not be introduced. In case of BEML, the Centre has decided to sell a 26% stake out of its shareholding of 54%, along with management control. As is the case with other PSU selloffs, non-core land and assets will be hived off and will not be a part of disinvestment.

Sebi slaps £7 mn fine on RIL, Mukesh Ambani in 2007 case Markets regulator Sebi fined Reliance Industries, its main promoter Mukesh Ambani and two other entities a total of £7 million for alleged manipulative trading in the shares of Reliance Petroleum which has since been merged with RIL - in a case that dates back to 2007. Sebi, in its 95page order, said that in November 2007, RIL and several other entities closely associated with it, simultaneously traded in RPL in the cash and derivatives segments to profit from it. RPL was merged with RIL in 2009.

Sebi imposed a fine of £2.5 million on RIL, £1.5 million on Ambani, the company’s chairman & managing director, £2 million on Navi Mumbai SEZ and £1 million on Mumbai SEZ. The order said that “any manipulation in the volume or price of securities always

Mukesh Ambani

erodes investor confidence in the market when investors find themselves at the receiving end of market manipulators”.

RIL had not commented on the Sebi order. The regulatory order said that between October and November 2007, ‘RIL admittedly appointed 12 agents’ to undertake transactions in RPL derivative contracts on its behalf. During November 2007, these 12 agents took short positions in the derivatives segment on behalf of RIL, while the company traded in RPL

shares in the cash segment.

“From November 15, 2007 onwards, RIL’s short position in the derivatives segment constantly exceeded the proposed sale of shares in the cash segment. On November 29, 2007, RIL sold a total of 22.5 million RPL shares in the cash segment during the last 10 minutes of trading resulting in a fall in prices of RPL shares, which also lowered the settlement price of RPL November Futures.

RIL’s entire outstanding position of £97,000 in the derivatives segment was cash settled at this depressed settlement price, resulting in profits on the said short positions. The said profits were transferred by the agents to RIL as per a prior agreement,” the order noted. “A common person connected with RIL had placed orders in the cash segment on behalf of RIL and

in the derivatives segment on behalf of the agents.” The funding for the margin payments for the 12 agents was provided by Navi Mumbai SEZ and Mumbai SEZ, it added. Sebi order also said that being the CMD of RIL, Ambani was “responsible for the manipulative activities of RIL”. Earlier, on March 24, 2017, Sebi had ordered RIL and some of its associated entities to disgorge nearly £45 million plus interest on it (which could work out to over £100 million) in the same case. In November 2020, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) had dismissed the company’s appeal against the order. RIL was to challenge SAT’s order in the Supreme Court. In its March 2017 order, Sebi had also prohibited RIL from dealing in equity derivatives for one year.

Forewarned is forearmed

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

We are about to start the planning process for a corner property purchased, for a client, in Cricklewood, North West London. The property consists of a commercial on the downstairs and residential on the upstairs.

When purchased the upstairs was used as an HMO, but without a licence. The local council have signed what’s known as an Article 4, which means you cannot have an HMO without going through full planning.

Ordinarily, one can convert a house into an HMO without the need for planning, under permitted development, which is granted by central government. So, what we were actually purchasing was an illegal HMO. However, normally to be classed as an HMO you need more than two unrelated people occupying the property. Luckily, at the time of purchase, there was only one; partly due to the lock down.

Given the current situation, all independent business will be struggling. Being pressured from business rates and rent on one side and on the other a drastic drop in business, this will topple most businesses over the edge.

We bought this property with this in mind. You have to envisage what will happen in time to come. This being a corner property it lends itself well to conversion into residential. The residential element can be accessed from the side street and it can be integrated into the rest of the apartments above.

The conversion will be carried out under Permitted Development, therefore, it can be done with certainty and within a set time period.

A very small retail element will be kept on the High Street, this is classed as zone A and is the most valuable portion of a commercial property. The idea being it will be appealing to a small one man business, which will be exempt from business rates due to its size, and will only have a small element of rent to it.

The deal was done with this level of forethinking built into it, as it is a very likely scenario of this plandemic.

The aim is to push upwards and to the rear from the 1st floor upwards. This will add a further 60% to the property, thereby increasing the value by a similar amount. We have a planner who is advising us on what can and cannot be done with the property, and in what order. Once we have added the square foot, there is a possibility to turn this into an HMO. Though it will need to go through planning. This is a very good location for a good HMO to be, given its proximity to Central London.

The article 4 doesn’t necessarily mean the council does not want HMOs, merely that you need to go through planning to get the permission. This could mean they want a tighter control on the process and what gets approved.

I’m pretty sure if you designed a good scheme and had interest from the local Royal Free hospital, you could get the required scheme to be passed.

ZHONG SHANSHAN REPLACES AMBANI AS ASIA’S RICHEST MAN Zhong Shanshan, founder of bottled water company Nongfu Spring has overtaken Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani as the richest person in Asia, with a net worth of $77.8 billion. According to The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhong’s net worth has surged $70.9 billion making him the richest man in Asian above both Mukesh Ambani and China's Jack Ma. Two major factors behind the surge in his wealth are the mega listings of his vaccine manufacturing company Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co in April followed by that of his bottled water company Nongfu on the stock markets. Nongfu Spring turned out to be one of Hong Kong’s best listings and its shares have jumped 155 per cent since their debut, and the shares of the vaccine company have increased over 2,000 %. The 66-year-old has tried his fortune in several spheres and has even worked as a journalist, a construction worker, a beverage sales agent before getting on with his own business.

INTERUPS OPTS OUT OF AI BIDDING PROCESS New York-based Interups Inc has withdrawn from the Air India bidding process. Last Tuesday was the last day for filing an expression of interest (EoI) physically by those who had submitted the same online by the deadline of December 14 and the retirement fund of NRIs did not do the same, ostensibly due to a clause that could have led to a “potential legal disqualification”. The Interups EoI submitted on December 14 had proposed 49% ownership for it and remaining 51% for the employees. However, a consortia of 209 AI employees, led by the airline’s director (commercial) Meenakshi Mallik, have filed their own EoI. Interups chairman Laxmi Prasad said a clause of the AI sale mandates that “no two interested bidders either individually or as a member of consortium shall be entitled to take the benefit of financial strength of the same affiliate for the purpose of participating in the proposed transaction either directly or indirectly”.

20

WORLD

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India protests demolition of temple in Pak New Delhi: India has registered a strong protest with Islamabad over the destruction of a Hindu temple in Pakistan, conveying serious concerns to Pakistan high commission at repeated instances of atrocities against the members of the minority community.

India asked Pakistan to investigate the matter and take strict action against those responsible for the vandalisation and demolition of the temple in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“It was also impressed upon the Pakistan government that this was not the first time the temple was destroyed in Pakistan. This has been ongoing since 1997,” said a source, adding that India also asked Pakistan to share the investigation report of the attack. More than 30 people, mostly members of a radical Islamist party, were arrested over the attack, Pakistani officials said.

According to sources, India reiterated that the Pakistan government, in discharge of its responsibilities, is expected to look after the safety, security

and well-being of its minority communities including protection of their religious rights and cultural heritage. The attack on the temple in Terri village of Karak district drew strong condemnation from human rights activists and Hindu community leaders, said a report. Pakistan Supreme Court took note of the attack and ordered the local authorities to appear before the court.

Pakistan pledges to rebuild demolished shrine The government of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province announced the reconstruction

of the demolished Hindu temple in Karak district. KP chief minister Mahmood Khan claimed that the provincial government has issued directives to the authorities concerned to make all preparations for the reconstruction of the temple.

He said police have arrested suspects involved in the incident.

The KP police has named over 350 people in the FIR filed under Section 7 of the AntiTerrorism Act. The charges framed against the accused included defiling a place of worship, hurting religious sentiments, robbery, arson, and

assault. According to the FIR, a local cleric, Maulana Mohammad Sharif, during a protest rally directed the participants, of whom there were more than 1,000, to destroy the shrine. He said the demolition of a Hindu place of worship on Muslim land was a sacred duty, The FIR noted that about 400 people led by Sharif attacked and set the temple ablaze. The cleric who led the mob has political association with Jamiat Ulema Islam Fazal, a rightwing party. He has already been arrested by the police.

8 police officials suspended Eight police officials were suspended for dereliction of duty following the vandalisation of the temple. So far, 100 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident, police said, adding that 45 were arrested on Sunday. Over 350 people have been named in the FIR. Superintendent of police (investigation) Zahir Shah said seven leading figures have also been arrested. An anti-terrorist court sent all the accused into police custody.

Pak arrests Lakhvi on terror-funding charges ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI: Pakistan has arrested 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi on terror-financing charges, almost six years after he got bail apparently because local authorities were economical in presenting before court evidence of his role in perpetrating the terror strikes in India.

Indian authorities see his arrest as intended more to dodge global terror watchdog FATF’s Black List than to bring to justice the LeT commander for the 2008 attacks that left 166 dead. While acknowledging that Islamabad had made significant progress in addressing issues related to terrorfinancing and money laundering, the Paris-based FATF had still retained Pakistan on its Grey, or Increased Monitoring,

List, in October last year. This was mainly because of its failure to address six important items, one of which related to action against UNSC-proscribed terrorists, in its 27point action plan to check terror-financing.

Pak action comes ahead of FATF review Pakistan’s action against Lakhvi comes ahead of the FATF review of its case next month when the agency will decide whether or not Pakistan had done enough to comply with these six items. Lakhvi’s arrest comes at a time FATF wants Pakistan to demonstrate “effective implementation” of targeted financial sanctions against all UN 1267 and 1373 designated terrorists and those acting for or on their behalf.

After Lakhvi was held, a spokesman for the Counter

Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province said his arrest was linked to terrorismfinancing and not to any specific attack. A case of terrorism financing was registered against him in a police station of CTD in Lahore.

Lakhvi is said to have been running a medical dispensary to collect and disburse funds for militant activities, the spokesperson added.

Confirming Lakhvi’s arrest, Imran Gill, his lawyer, said his case would be taken up for hearing next week. The UN Security Council sanctions committee has declared Lakhvi as LeT’s chief of operations and accused him of being involved in militant activities in a number of other regions and countries, including Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Indian authori-

Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi

ties had claimed that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the 2008 Mumbai siege, had told interrogators before his execution that the assailants were in touch with Lakhvi. India has long called on Pakistan to bring Lakhvi to trial, but Islamabad always claimed that New Delhi has not provided concrete evidence to try the LeT leader. He was first arrested in 2008 but was later released on bail.

PDM determined to rid Pak of Imran govt: Fazlur Rehman ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the opposition's movement would no longer be directed only at the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government but also "his backers". The opposition alliance chief said that rifts within the PDM are a campaign run by the media and added that the PDM is more determined to rid the country of Imran Khan and his illegitimate government.

After a meeting of PDM leaders in Raiwind, Rehman said it was decided after detailed discussions that the opposition will participate in the upcoming by-elections but there had been no decision on contesting in the Senate elections. "In principle, we are not opposed to the elections of any institution but there is some time until Senate polls," he said, adding that the final decision will be taken in future PDM meetings

Maulana Fazlur Rehman

while keeping in view the prevailing conditions.

"PDM has come out stronger than before and is more determined than before to rid the nation of this illegitimate government," said Rehman and added that all PDM constituent parties had reported to the meeting that the resignations of "all" opposition lawmakers had reached their party leaderships, in accordance with the Dec 31 date given for this purpose by the alliance, as reported by Dawn.

"So one of the targets has been achieved today," he said, reiterating that the government

had one month to resign.

Rehman said if the premier refused to step down by January 31, the PDM leadership will announce the long march to Islamabad and decide its date. "It will also decide whether the long march should be staged towards Islamabad or to Rawalpindi," Rehman added. Rawalpindi is a metonym for the headquarters of the Pakistan Army.

"We agree that the establishment has held the entire system hostage by turning Pakistan into a deep state. Imran Khan is a pawn and the people who did rigging and imposed him upon the nation, we want to make it clear to them that we blame the establishment and army leadership for this," the PDM chief said.

He continued: "The direction of our criticism will now be manifestly aimed at them (establishment). Now it is for them to decide whether they will further sink their claws on Pakistan's pol-

itics or retreat and move towards their constitutional responsibilities." The PDM chief said that the alliance considered the army "as our army" and it respected all generals. "But when this defence power interferes in politics forgoing its professional duties, it creates confusions". "All parties are unanimous that the movement's direction should not be turned only towards the pawn but also against his backers," he said further. He announced that the alliance would stage a demonstration in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan offices in Islamabad on January 19, while a similar protest was being planned to be held in front of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) headquarters as well.

According to Dawn, Rehman said that all opposition members summoned by NAB had appeared before it but said that "it has been proven that this is not accountability but revenge".

in brief INDIA GETS CONSULAR ACCESS TO DETAINED FISHERMEN IN LANKA Indian fishermen, apprehended in Sri Lanka for allegedly poaching in its territorial waters, have been provided consular assistance by the Consulate General of India in Jaffna, the Indian High Commission said. The high commission said it was in touch with the Sri Lankan Government to facilitate the early release of the detained fishermen. “High Commission @CGJaffna were provided Consular Access to Indian fishermen who are apprehended in Sri Lanka and extended all possible support to them. They were given daily use items and offered legal and other forms of assistance,” it said in a tweet.

JAPAN TO CONSIDER NEW COVID-19 EMERGENCY DECLARATION Japan will consider issuing a new emergency declaration after governors in the capital region urged action to tackle a record surge in Covid-19 cases, the head of the nation's pandemic response said.

The government needs to consult with health experts before deciding on a new declaration, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said after a meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and leaders from three neighbouring prefectures. "The national government and the three governors shared the view that the situation in the Tokyo area is getting more severe such that an emergency declaration may be necessary," Nishimura said. As an interim measure, restaurants and karaoke parlors in the Tokyo area would be asked to close at 8 pm, while businesses that serve alcohol should close at 7 pm, he said. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has resisted calls to reinstate a national state of emergency, which the government had introduced in April during an earlier wave of the pandemic.

GUNMEN KILL AFGHAN RADIO JOURNALIST An Afghan radio journalist was shot dead in a car ambush in the province of Ghor, officials said, the fifth media worker to be killed in two months. Besmullah Adel Aimaq, editor-in-chief of Voice of Ghor radio, was killed en route to Firoz Koh city, the capital of Ghor, said Aref Aber, the governor’s spokesman. In recent months, other prominent Afghans have been ambushed by gunmen or killed in bomb attacks. No group has yet claimed responsibility for Aimaq’s murder. The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a group working for the security of journalists in the violence-wracked nation, confirmed the incident. It comes weeks after the December 12 killing of journalist Rahmatullah Nekzad, who was shot dead with a silenced pistol in the restive Ghazni.

The Taliban had denied responsibility.

PAKISTAN HIKES PETROL PRICE Amid accusations by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) that the Imran Khan-led government cannot control inflation, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has increased the prices of petrol by Pakistani Rupees 2.31 per litre. Petrol will now be available for Rs 106 per litre while diesel will be sold for Rs 110.24 per litre. Meanwhile, the new price of kerosene oil is Rs 73.65 per litre and light diesel oil will be available for Rs 71.81, Geo News reported. While speaking in Larkana on the occasion of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's 13th death anniversary, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz targeted Imran Khan and said that while people are "killing themselves out of hunger and desperation due to inflation" he said, 'What can I do, I have no magic button'."

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in brief CHINA JAILS 10 HK ACTIVISTS OVER ATTEMPT TO FLEE China sentenced 10 Hong Kong activists who made a dramatic attempt to flee by boat to up to three years in prison, defying calls for their release from the US and others. Tang Kai-yin was sentenced to three years while Quinn Moon was jailed for two years over their roles in organising an illegal border crossing, the court in Shenzhen said. Eight others who participated in the attempt to flee to Taiwan in August were handed terms of seven months, the court said. Two minors who also made the trip were sent back to Hong Kong without charge.

REPUBLICAN-LED SENATE REJECTS TRUMP'S VETO President Donald Trump suffered a stinging rebuke in the US Senate last week when fellow Republicans joined Democrats to override a presidential veto for the first time in his tenure, pushing through a defense policy bill he opposed just weeks before he leaves office. Meeting in a rare New Year's Day session, senators voted 81-13 to secure the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. Eight previous Trump vetoes had been upheld and until last week's vote, he had been on track to be the first president since Lyndon Johnson with none overridden.

The Senate also ended for now a push by Democrats to increase Covid-19 financial relief checks from $600 to $2,000, a change sought by Trump. The effort was blocked by Republicans. Republican lawmakers have largely stood by the president during his turbulent White House term.

RUSSIA TELLS NAVALNY TO RETURN OR FACE JAIL Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was given a last minute ultimatum by his home country Russia: Fly back home at once or face jail.

Navalny - a leading opponent of President Vladimir Putin - collapsed on a plane in August and was airlifted to Germany for treatment soon after. Western nations allege he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. Russia said it has seen no evidence he was poisoned and denied any involvement in the incident. Russia's Federal Prison Service - or FSIN - accused Navalny of violating the terms of a suspended sentence he is still serving from 2014. They also said he had evaded the supervision of Russia's criminal inspection authority. It used an article from British medical publication The Lancet about Navalny's treatment. It said he had been discharged from hospital in Berlin on September 20th and that all symptoms of what it called his illness had vanished by mid-October. Navalny is serving out a suspended three-and-a-half-year prison term over a theft case, a conviction he says was politically-motivated.

AMERICA’S ‘MOST PROLIFIC’ SERIAL KILLER DIES AT 80 Convicted murderer Samuel Little, who confessed to strangling 93 people and was considered by the FBI to be the most prolific serial killer in US history, died last week. He was 80. Little had been serving three consecutive sentences of life without parole for the killing of three women during the late 1980s, murders to which he was linked through DNA that matched samples found at the crime scenes.

According to the FBI, Little ultimately admitted to killing 93 people by strangulation between 1970 and 2005.The FBI said investigators have since verified 50 of those confessions, with many more pending confirmation, making him the deadliest US serial killer on record.

Jubilee to expel rebels after Wahome attack NAIROBI: President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to crack the whip on errant Jubilee Party (JP) members, Vice Chairman David Murathe has revealed. Murathe, a key ally of the president, also told Deputy President William Ruto to choose whether he wants to be in opposition or government. He was categorical that Kandara MP Alice Wahome, who has consistently criticised the president, would serve as an example to the rest of the Tangatanga brigade. Without giving specifics, Murathe said the disloyal JP MPs take Uhuru as a lame-duck president yet they do not know what is in store for them.

“The disrespectful and disloyal members will receive show cause letters this week. Some cases will end up in expulsion.

Their actions go contrary to Article 13 of the JP constitution,” said Murathe. "This will extend

said Tuju. But even as the party goes after Ruto's allies, Murathe also called on the DP to rein in his troops whom he accused of disrespecting Uhuru.

Provocation “He must rein in his troops or ship out. They are busy Uhuru Kenyatta insulting the first family in the presto members advancing ideoloence of the DP,” said Murathe, gies of other political outfits not making reference to a recent affiliated to JP. We will not hesihomecoming event for tate to expel them from the Msambweni MP Feisal Bader, party.” Jubilee Secretary General where disgruntled JP members Raphael Tuju, when contacted, lashed out at the president. “This said Chairman Nelson Dzuya is is a provocation of the highest seized of the matter. order and the president’s “The disciplinary committee patience is running out.” At the works independently of the Msambweni event, the DP asked office of the SG. The committee his allies to refrain from director the chair initiates the disciing their anger at their oppoplinary process. The chair is nents, as "revenge is for the already dealing with the matter,” Lord". Murathe said Uhuru was

also rattled by the scathing attack by Wahome.

The Kandara MP accused the president of plotting to retain control of state power after his term ends next year. She, however, praised the ‘Hustler nation’ associated with Ruto for focusing on the peoples’ plight. “The DP must make up his mind whether to remain in government or join the opposition. He cannot have both ways. That when it is convenient for him, he is in government and when not, he is playing opposition politics,” said Murathe.

“He cannot be speaking from both sides of the mouth. Party discipline must be observed at all times. Indiscipline conduct will not be tolerated in the party.”

Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura is already in trouble as he has been singled out as one of the legislators who will get a show-cause letter for attacking the president.

Dahal faction asks Oli to reinstate House to restore unity Kathmandu: As China seeks to keep the Communist alliance together, despite the split in the ruling NCP party, the P K Dahal Prachanda-Madhav Nepal faction of the party said that the only way to restore unity was through the reinstatement of the House of Representatives

by PM K P Oli. The NCP is now divided into 2 factions, one led

by Oli and the other by Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal.

While addressing a rally, Madhav Nepal had said the party could still be united if Oli accepted his mistake.

Senior leader of the DahalNepal NCP and former minis-

ter Ram Karki said there was no other way for Oli to accept his mistake other than rolling back the decision to dissolve the Lower House. While denying any interference by China, he also said Dahal’s party will continue to follow a “policy of balance” with India and China.

“Oli has left no space for unity with his decision to dissolve the House...,” said Karki. Karki had accompanied Madhav Nepal to the meeting with the Chinese delegation which visited Nepal apparently to mediate between Oli and Dahal. The delegation led by vice minister Guo Yezhou left Nepal but the Chinese ambassador Hou

Ugandan campaigns have been the most peaceful: NRM’s Sanjay Tanna KAMPALA: Former Tororo county member of parliament and NRM cadre Sanjay Tanna has described the 2021 Ugandan general election campaigns as most peaceful compared to the previous campaigns.

Tanna said, “If you compare this election to the previous one, I think this has been more peaceful, except that one big incident where there was rioting that took place simultaneously in many of the cities that caught security unaware.”

The countrywide pro-Bobi Wine protests claimed over 50 lives and President Museveni has since promised that the government will compensate the victims. Tanna was appearing on media along with Kiira municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda to discuss the police brutality exhibited in campaigns ahead of January 2020 polls.

Sanjay Tanna

Ssemujju disagreed with Tanna, urging that this is the most violent campaign in Uganda’s history. He cited confrontations by security stopping candidates to campaign, which he says has never been witnessed. “The last election I moved with Dr Besigye, the only invention by security was to go seal off health facilities so that Besigye doesn’t visit them again, but we did not have police and military physically stopping campaigns,” Ssemujju said.

Yanqi remains in touch with both sides to, in what reports from Kathmandu described as Beijing’s plan B, keep the alliance intact for the elections next year.

While many in Nepal have accused China of interfering in the country’s internal affairs, Karki emphatically denied this saying it was only natural for Beijing to assess the situation when uncertainty prevailed.

“What we saw from China was silent diplomacy. They seemed more interested in listening than talking. Communist parties from other countries, including India, have also expressed similar sentiments

about party unity,” said Karki, adding that there was no mention of India or the US in the meeting with the Chinese delegation. While denying that there was any pressure on the PM from any foreign country, a leader of the Oli faction, said Oli had no option but to dissolve the House because of the “destructive role” played by his rivals. Oli had also worked actively in the past few months to improve ties with India leading to a resumption of bilateral engagements. Even in the middle of the current instability, his government has said that ties with India will not be affected.

Ugandan soldiers praised for restoring peace in Somalia

Kampala: The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has commended Ugandan soldiers for their outstanding role in restoring peace and stability in Somalia. Soldiers from Battle Group 28, under AMISOM were awarded medals and certificates at the ceremony presided over by the AMISOM Force Commander. Lt. Gen. Diomede Ndegeya and attended by the new Ugandan Contingent Commander Brig. Gen. Don William Nabasa.

The group under the command of Col. Wilberforce Sserunkuma, will rotate out of the mission, having completed their tour of duty, and will be replaced by Battle Group 31, commanded by Col. Francis Aragmoi. “I want to thank the

Battle Group 28 Commander and his staff, and the troops of the whole battle group for a job well done in operational activities, and in fighting Covid-19,” Lt. Gen Ndegeya said.

The Gen praised the soldiers, who have concluded their tour of duty in Somalia for their gallantry, leading to the capture of several key bridge towns, such as Awdhegle and Janaale in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia, from the militant group Al-Shabaab, and winning the hearts and minds of the local communities by implementing Quick Impact Projects. Brig.

Gen. Nabasa also presided over a handover ceremony in which Col. Sserunkuma handed over instruments of power to Col. Aragamoi.

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US Congress slams China’s LAC hostility WASHINGTON: A bipartisan Congressional provision condemning China’s aggression towards India has become a law as the US Congress overrode President Donald Trump’s veto on the $740 billion defence policy bill which among other things included calling out the Chinese government for its actions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2021, which became a law after Congress overrode Trump’s veto, included a resolution urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression towards India along the LAC. President Trump on December 23 vetoed the NDAA, which had bipartisan support, arguing it had provisions that would

damage national security.

As Congress dealt a humiliating blow to Trump in his last days in office, IndianAmerican Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said: “Through today’s New Year’s Day vote in the Senate, Congress has made the National Defence Authorisation Act into law, including elements of my resolution calling on China to end its military aggression towards India and others in the

broader Indo-Pacific region.”

The US House of Representatives and the Senate on December 15 passed the $740 billion NDAA, which included key components of Krishnamoorthi’s resolution language urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression against India along the LAC. China and India have been locked in a military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since May this year. Several rounds of talks between the two countries to resolve the standoff have not yielded any concrete outcome.

Krishnamoorthi said: “The Chinese military’s violent aggression along the Line of Actual Control with India and elsewhere is unacceptable, and the passage into law of this

legislation sends a clear message of support and solidarity to India and our other partners across the world as we enter the New Year.” The inclusion of this provision, which Krishnamoorthi led as an amendment when the bill passed the House of Representatives, reflects the American government’s strong support for its allies and partners like India in the IndoPacific region and beyond.

Expressing “significant concern” over the continued military aggression by China along the border with India, the NDAA says that China “should work with” India toward deescalating the situation along the LAC through existing diplomatic mechanisms and refrain from attempting to settle disputes through coercion or force.

Islamists attack Muslim boy for attending Christmas lunch BELFORT (FRANCE): A bunch of Islamist radicals attacked a fellow Muslim for posting photos online of a Christmas party he had attended. The incident occurred in the north eastern city of Belfort, France, where the 20-year-old man was assaulted by Islamists for participating in a Christmas party.

Soon after the victim uploaded photos, he was threatened by an acquaintance, an Islamist fundamentalist, who was reportedly angry about the man attending non-Muslim festivities. The victim is the son of law enforcement officer.

The acquaintance reportedly rebuked the victim as a “dirty son of a white, son of a snake, son of police” and vowed to show him what a “real Arab” should be. Even though the tone of the conversation was rather belligerent, the young man still

agreed to meet his accuser inperson to sort out their differences.

French authorities while condemning the violence, spoke against Islamist separatism. As per the report, the incensed man showed up with four other men, who beat up the 20-year-old and threatened him with dire consequences if he reported the violence to the police. Despite the threat dished out to him, the young man lodged a complaint against his assaulters and his mother has promised to bring the culprits to book. “He walked right into an ambush”, she said as quoted by the local media.

With France already reeling from an extremist Islamism, the incident did not escape the notice of top French officials, prompting many to condemn the violence and reaffirm their commitment to continue fighting the Islamic “separatism.” Interior Minister

France continues to reel under a spate of Islamist terror attacks Paris: France is recently grappling with a bout of terror attacks by Islamist radicals, including the gruesome beheading of the teacher outside Paris.

Samuel Paty, the teacher who was decapitated by the rabid Islamists, had shown in his class the infamous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Following Paty’s beheading, another attack rocked France in which three people had died, of which at least two were reportedly beheaded in a terrorist attack at Notre Dame Church in Nice.

As per local French media, the Islamic terrorists who carried out the attack frenziedly kept shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while carrying out the attack.

In the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s beheading, French authorities launched a severe crackdown against extremist Islamists across the country, closing down mosques considered as centres of indoctrination and deporting individuals with suspicious credentials. French President Emmanuel Macron also took a hardline against the menace of Islamism bedevilling France and Europe which triggered outrage from several Muslim-majority nations.

Gérald Darmanin confirmed the attack and informed that a probe has been launched in this regard. He denounced the antipolice sentiments apparently exhibited by the suspects and called Islamist “separatism” unacceptable. He also took to Twitter to condemn the violence and shared pictures of the same on his social media.

“In Belfort, a young man was assaulted because he celebrated

Christmas and was not a ‘good Arab’.

‘Aggravating’ circumstance: being the son of police officers,” the minister wrote on Twitter. The victim, is reportedly the son of a Muslim mother of Arab origin. His stepfather is a non-Muslim man. Both his parents are law enforcement officers. The man had shared photographs of a Christmas lunch he had enjoyed with family members.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma goes missing Beijing: Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s absence from public view in the past two months, including missing the final episode of a TV show on which he was to appear as a judge, has fueled social media speculation over his whereabouts amid a Chinese regulatory clampdown on his sprawling business empire.

China’s highest-profile Jack Ma entrepreneur has not appeared in a public since a late October in Shanghai where he blasted China’s regulatory system in a speech that put him on a collision course with officials, resulting in the suspension of a $37 billion IPO of Alibaba’s Ant Group fintech arm. According to reports, Ma was replaced as a judge in the final episode in November of a game show for entrepreneurs called Africa’s Business Heroes.

An Alibaba spokeswoman said that the change was due to a scheduling conflict, declining further comment.

in brief COVID-19 DOMINATES ANNUAL LIST OF BANISHED WORDS Even as vaccines are being rolled out to battle coronavirus, wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula say they want to kick any trace of it from the English language. “Covid19” and “social distancing” are thrown in with “we’re all in this together,” “in an abundance of caution” and “in these uncertain times” on the school’s light-hearted list of banned words and phrases for 2021. Out of more than 1,450 nominations sent to the school, about 250 words and terms suggested for banishment due to overuse, misuse or uselessness had something to do with the virus. Seven of the 10 selected are connected to the virus, with “Covid-19” leading the way.

“Unprecedented,” which was banished back in 2002, has been restored to list. “To be sure, Covid-19 is unprecedented in wreaking havoc and destroying lives,” Banished Words List committee members said in a release.

ISRAEL COULD BECOME 1ST NATION TO VACCINATE ALL ITS CITIZENS Israel could well become the first country to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, health officials said, with over 10% (1 million) of the population already having received the first of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the 12th day of a vaccination programme, which began on December 20. The rapid pace and scope of the programme has far outstripped the rest of the world, according to international vaccination data. Israel, with a population of 9 million, is followed by the tiny Gulf nation of Bahrain, which has vaccinated some 3.4% of its population of 1.5 million people. Less than 1% of the population of the US has been vaccinated, and in many European nations only tiny fractions of the population have got the vaccine.

CANADIAN POLITICIAN HIDES CARIBBEAN HOLIDAY, RESIGNS The finance minister for Canada’s most populous province resigned after going on a Caribbean vacation during the pandemic and seemingly trying to hide the fact by sending social media posts showing him in a sweater before a fireplace. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had accepted Rod Phillipss resignation hours after Phillips returned home from a more than two-week stay on the island of St Barts despite government guidelines urging people to avoid nonessential travel.

“Travelling over the holidays was the wrong decision, and I once again offer my unreserved apology,” Phillips said in a statement confirming his resignation. In a video posted on Twitter on Christmas Eve, the sweaterwearing finance minister was shown drinking eggnog beside a fireplace with a gingerbread house and a little Christmas tree.

HINDU GIRLS TORTURED; FOUND DEAD IN PAK POLICE OFFICER'S ROOM While news coverage of Ma’s absence from public view triggered speculation on Twitter, which is blocked in China, it was not a significant trending topic on social media in mainland China, where sensitive topics are subject to censorship.

Chinese regulators have zeroed in on Ma’s businesses since his October speech, including launching an antitrust probe into Alibaba and ordering Ant to shake up its lending and other consumer finance businesses, including the creation of a separate holding company to meet capital requirements.

Two Hindu girls were found dead in the house of a police officer of ASI, in Pakistan.

Reportedly the two girls were tortured before being hanged in his house. Shocking images that are a clear indication of how minorities are treated in Pakistan have scarred the nation. The saddest part is that the news comes from the house of the person whose duty is to protect people irrespective of their religion. Two days back temples and chambers were demolished and set on fire, yet no one from the administration of Pakistan tried to stop these actions. Cries of justice from minorities have pierced through the nation but Pakistan seems to have fallen deaf.

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Outbreak of bird flu in 23 killed as roof of shelter at Himachal, Kerala, Rajasthan crematorium caves in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan confirmed bird flu (avian influenza) to be the cause of death of hundreds of birds as several other states including Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand sounded alerts on the disease. The death of migratory birds 2,300 till Monday - in the Pong Dam reservoir area in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was due to avian flu, chief conservator of forests, Dharamshala, Upasana Patiyal confirmed.

As a precaution, the state government has banned the sale, purchase and slaughter of poultry in Fatehpur, Dehra, Jawali and Indora sub-divisions of Kangra district.

Veterinarians collect samples from where the birds were found.

Poultry products, fish export from Kerala stopped Export of poultry products and fish from Kerala

At least 23 people were killed and more than 30 injured after the roof of a shelter at a crematorium in Ghaziabad’s Ukhlarsi village collapsed on them last week. Most of them had come to attend a funeral and had taken shelter under the concrete roof as it was raining. Sources said the shelter had been constructed recently by a private contractor engaged by the Muradnagar municipality and was used by those attending the crematorium as a waiting hall. At least 60 people had come to participate in the last rites of Jai Ram, a 55-year-old fruit seller from Muradnagar who had died the previous evening.

has also been stopped. The animal husbandry department staff has been directed to constitute rapid response teams to tackle the spread of the disease.

Kerala’s minister for forests, wildlife and animal husbandry, K Raju said bird flu was reported in Kottayam and Alappuzha and that 12,000 ducks were killed by the disease.

Authorities have been instructed to cull all birds within one-km radius of the

areas in which bird flu was reported.

This would include all types of poultry and ornamental birds. Raju said 36,000 birds will have to be culled to avoid further spread of the disease.

Soon after Bird Flu attack was confirmed in Alappuzha, the collector directed officials to take all possible steps to prevent the spread of the disease.

This is the third outbreak of bird flu in Alappuzha over the past seven years.

After US and India, China now blames Australia for Covid-19 pandemic

No ban on export of vaccine from India

BEIJING: Amid a brewing diplomatic spat between China and Australia, the former has claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic started with cold-chain storage imports from Down Under, among other countries.

An ‘investigative’ report

by Global Times, considered the mouthpiece of the Chinese government, suggested the idea of the novel coronavirus having been imported into the Huanan wet market in 2019 “cannot be ruled out”. However, it did add that “more evidence is needed” to ascertain the origin of the SARSCoV-2 virus.

Beijing has been pushing the theory that the virus was imported into China from another country since October when experts tracing an outbreak in Shandong province’s Qingdao city, found living virus samples on packets of imported frozen cod.

“Global Times reporters found from media reports that stores in the Huanan Seafood Market used to sell imported cold-chain seafood, such as king crab and arctic shellfish, as well as meat products from Brazil and Germany,” the report said.

“The city also imported Australian steak, Chilean cherries and Ecuadorian seafood before 2019, according to the information from the website of the city’s commerce

Pradeep, the elder son of Jai Ram, said he and the other family members were in the middle of the rituals a few metres ahead of the shelter when the roof came crashing down. “I had just lit my father’s pyre. My son, younger brother and I were supposed to walk to the shelter as it was raining. We had just touched the priest’s feet and were about to walk when the roof collapsed with a deafening sound. We turned back and there was a cloud of dust. The entire shelter had been reduced to rubble and at least 50 people were under the debris,” he added.

Pradeeep alleged there was a delay in police reaching the spot. “We didn’t get any help despite making several calls to the cops,” he said.

A few labourers working at a Rapid Metro site nearby were among the first to help.

“They sent their excavator to the crematorium, but it could not enter through the main gate as there was a mountain of debris. A wall had to be broken so that the machine could enter and remove the rubble so that the injured could be rescued,” Pradeep said.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived and started the rescue.

More than one and a half hours had passed by then and scores of people were still buried under the rubble. District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey and police chief Kalanidhi Naithani also rushed to the spot.

SP (rural) Iraj Raja refuted allegations that the police had delayed reaching the spot.

He claimed police had rushed to the crematorium within 10 minutes of getting the call.

“We started the rescue around noon and called it off by 7pm. The injured were sent to various hospitals in the vicinity. The bodies were taken to MMG District Hospital. We have asked all health facilities to be equipped for emergencies,” the officer said.

The contractor who had built the shelter has come under police scanner for allegedly using substandard material. Raghu, a local resident, said though the crematorium had existed for eight years, the shelter had been constructed in October last year. “It’s been only a few months and the entire roof collapsed. This proves that the contractor had used poor quality materials. He should be arrested immediately,” he added.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and announced a financial assistance of Rs 200,000 to the dependents of each. He also instructed the divisional commissioner and ADG (Meerut zone) to submit a report on the roof collapse.

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bureau,” the report added.

Canada, Brazil and Spain were the other countries identified as having trade relations with Hubei Province in China.

This is not the first time China has pointed the finger of blame elsewhere.

Earlier, Chinese authorities had blamed Italy and the United States, largely without evidence, for the outbreak. In November too, a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences had argued that the novel coronavirus may have possibly originated in India, among other countries, in the summer of 2019. They further pointed to eight other countries: Bangladesh, the United States, Greece, Australia, India, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia or Serbia – from where, they claimed, the virus may have originated.

The Chinese scientists claimed the deadly virus emerged by transferring

from animals to humans via contaminated water before travelling unnoticed to Wuhan, where it was first detected.

In March, a Chinese diplomat claimed the virus may have originated in the United States. “It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian wondered in a tweet. The first known case of the novel coronavirus infection was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in November-December 2019, before the disease – later named Covid-19 – spread rapidly across the world.

The pandemic, having spread to around 200 nations and territories, has not only led to a healthcare crisis but also wreaked a major economic havoc.

A team from the World Health Organization (WHO) has been tasked to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.

“The Union government has not banned the export of any of the Covid-19 vaccines. This should be absolutely clear. When I say Union government, I mean ministry of health and family welfare, ministry of commerce, the department for promotion of industry and internal trade, directorate general of foreign trade. These are the departments which can ban the export of vaccines in any hypothetical situation. They have not taken any action regarding this. So, this is my earnest request to media friends that we should be on guard when such misinformation is spread,” health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

Exports allowed to all countries Referring to the joint statement issued by the companies - Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech - which have got restricted, emergency-use approval, the secretary said, “Among other things, the statement said vaccines are a global public health good and that the companies are considering it as their duty to the nation and the world at large. So what does it mean? It means that neither the government and nor the vaccine makers are talking about any ban.”

Some news agency has recently quoted Poonawalla as saying that the government has asked the world’s largest vaccine maker to not export vaccines to any other country.

Serum Institute has earlier agreed to supply millions of doses of vaccines to Bangladesh, global vaccine alliance Gavi etc. Hence, the report led to confusions as

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too reiterated that India’s ‘Make in India’ pledge has to translate to ‘Make for the world’. On vaccine too, specifically the prime minister had earlier said that India will be ready to supply vaccines to other countries. On Tuesday, both Adar Poonawalla and the health ministry clarified that there was no such ban.

The official dismissed reports that India would ban exports of vaccines it is producing to meet local demand. India makes about 60% of vaccines globally and many countries are eagerly waiting for it to begin shipping doses. "Within a fortnight of the rollout of the vaccines we will allow exports to some of our South Asian neighbours.

Some of these exports will be paid by us as gifts, and the others will be supplied at roughly the same price the government will be buying the vaccines at," the foreign ministry official, who preferred to remain unnamed, said.

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SOUTH INDIA

Rajinikanth won't be launching political party due to ill health CHENNAI: Actor-turnedpolitician Rajinikanth announced that he would not be entering politics owing to his ill health and the pandemic situation. His announcement came two days before he was to reveal details of the launch of his political party. In a threepage statement that he posted on Twitter, the actor expressed regret and said it pained him to make such an announcement after having said he would contest the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in 2021. “It is with profound regret that I have to say that I will neither be launching my political party nor entering politics. Nobody can understand my pain in making this decision,” he wrote.

Rajinikanth

was

briefly

hospitalised in Hyderabad for three days for fluctuations in blood pressure. He was discharged recently.

Rajinikanth, whose political entry has been rumoured since 1996, acknowledged that he had promised to enter politics “even if there was a risk to my life”. However, in his statement, he said he did not want to sacrifice the lives of others by taking the plunge. “ A f t e r announcing that I would be starting a party in January, I participated in the shooting of Annaatthe in Hyderabad against the advice of doctors. We were taking all

necessary precautions during the shoot with 120 people. In spite of that, four people tested positive for Covid-19. I tested negative but had fluctuations in my blood pressure. Medically, I should not have any fluctuations because of my k i d n e y transplant. I was under the supervision of doctors for three days.”

The actor said that once he forms a Rajinikanth political party, he will not be able to win by only campaigning virtually. “All those with enough political experience will not deny this fact… I might have to attend

several meetings, go for campaigns and meet large number of people. With a small shoot of just 120 people, I had to spend three days in the hospital.

With the mutation of Covid-19, even if there is a vaccine, I will be putting people at risk while campaigning,” he said.

The actor apologised to the people who had been looking forward to his political debut and the functionaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) for his decision. Lauding the efforts of the RMM in helping people amid the lockdown, the actor said their good deeds would not go in vain. Rajinikanth said he would continue to serve the public without entering politics and ended his letter by urging the people of Tamil Nadu and his fans to accept his decision.

PUNJAB

Governor summons Punjab officials over damage to mobile towers CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Taking a serious view of the damage caused to over 1,600 mobile towers of Reliance Jio during the ongoing farmers’ protest in the past few days across the state, Punjab governor V P Singh Badnore has summoned chief secretary Vini Mahajan and DGP Dinkar Gupta to the Raj Bhawan to seek a report on the matter.

Sources said the governor is concerned about the failure of law enforcement to prevent such attacks on communication installations which are vital to the economy and the mainstay of online education during the pandemic. Sources said BJP leadership has raised the issue with the governor.

Centre has also been keeping a wary eye on the targeting of Reliance Jio, intrigued that assets of Reliance

V P Singh Badnore

should have been exclusively targeted when they are not into contract farming or foodgrains.

The escalation of protests against the three farm bills has been marked by attacks on the mobile towers of Jio, threats and forcible closure of 40-50% Reliance retail stores and petrol vends, which has prompted the company to often pull down shutters to ensure safety of workers in these outlets.

The targeting of the company has caught the attention of central agencies who are also keeping a vigil on specific unions that are seen to be exerting pressure. “The focus of the vandals on Reliance Jio is baffling, considering that you cannot tell the tower of one service provider from another and that the parent company is not into coroproate farming or agriculture”, said a senior government functionary.

Agencies said that local intelligence had alerted them to the possibility of the attacks.

“We promptly raised the flag”, said another high ranking source. He said that the singling

out of the Reliance Jio was being intensely monitored because of the company’s plan to roll out an indigenous 5G network: a goal which the government has been looking forward to because of its anxiety to dodge having to depend on China’s Huawei which agencies consider to be a “security risk.”

In all, 2,000 towers were targeted, of which around 1,500 were damaged. Optic fibre cables were also targeted in some areas, disrupting services.

In fact, it is more difficult to fix glitches in these cables than reviving the towers. Sources said, several complaints had been filed resulting, in some cases, to registration of FIRs. Police in some districts have helped in restoring connectivity and now some villagers are also coming forward to help, which wasn’t the case earlier.

WEST BENGAL

One killed as BJP workers attacked in Bengal CONTAI/KALYANI: A BJP worker’s father died while trying to defend his son during an attack by suspected Trinamool supporters on their home at Patashpur in East Midnapore, while a party booth president had his wrist hacked off in Nadia’s Chakdah. Both Patashpur and Chakdah are tense. Amulya Mondal (80) was pushed to the ground when suspected TMC supporters attacked his son Shankar, a BJP worker, at their Gopalpur home. The senior citizen was pronounced brought dead at the local hospital. His family alleged that one Kinkar Hazra had shoved Amulya that led to his death.

Shankar had on January 1 organised a meeting of BJP supporters in Gopalpur.

Trinamool organised a meeting the next day. BJP’s Contai leader Anup Kumar Chakraborty blamed Trinamool for Amulya’s death. Patashpur’s Trinamoool leader Piyush Panda, however, said the old man had been bedridden and died much before the party meeting. In Chakdah’s Shimurali area, BJP booth president Ratan Barman (35) was attacked in front of his home. He is also associated with the fish trade and doubles as a pawn broker.

Barman was returning home, which is around 100 yards from the market. “He was opening the gate when three persons attacked him from behind,” his wife Tithi said. “He was hit on the head and then randomly with a sharp weapon. They tried to gag him and poke fingers into

his eyes.

He collapsed.

The attackers then hacked off his right wrist,” Tithi added.

BJP’s Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar, who visited Barman in hospital, blamed Trinamool for the attack.

Trinamool leaders refuted the charge. Police said an investigation was on, but no complaint had been had received. BJP blocked a local road in protest against the attack.

Violence mars Suvendu’s rally Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari’s first public rally in Nandigram after defecting to BJP was marred by violence after party supporters travelling in a bus from Sonachura were

in brief BJP, CONG CLAIM VICTORY IN PANCHAYAT POLL Ruling BJP and Congress both have claimed victory in panchayat elections in Karnataka.

As per reports, BJP-backed candidates have won 29,478 seats while the Congresssupported candidates have bagged 24,560.

The JD(S) candidates have won 15,825 panchayat seats. Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said the results were a testimony of people's faith in Narendra Modi government's polices. He said that 60 per cent of seats have been won by BJP-backed candidates. Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah said that rural India is frustrated by the policies implemented by the BJP. “Farmers are against anti-farmer laws and they found gram panchayat elections as the perfect opportunity to teach BJP a lesson. Reports suggest that Congress backed candidates are winning,” he said.

KERALA ASSEMBLY PASSES RESOLUTION AGAINST FARM LAWS The Kerala Assembly has passed a resolution against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws on 31 December, following the nationwide stir by the farmers.

The resolution said that the genuine concerns of the farmers should be addressed and that the Centre should withdraw all three farm laws. The Kerala legislative assembly held a one-day special session to discuss the farmer’s agitation against the Centre’s farm laws and its implications for the state’s food security. If the agitation continues, it will seriously affect Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The lone BJP member in the 140-member House, O Rajagopal, defended the agri-marketing laws during the debate but did not oppose the resolution.

THREAT TO KILL PUNJAB CM, CASE REGISTERED Mohali Police have registered a case against an unidentified person who has announced a reward of $ 1 million for killing Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh by putting up a printed poster on the guide map near the Sector 66/67 traffic lights. On the poster, it was written that a reward of $ 1 million would be given to the person who kills the Chief Minister. According to the sources, a case has been registered against the unknown person under Sections 504, 506, 120 B, 34 of the IPC and 3, 4 and 5 of the Punjab Protection of Defacement of Property Ordinance Act at the Phase 11 police station. A senior police officer said the investigation was on after registering an FIR and the accused would be nabbed soon. CCTV footage from around the area is being scanned. An email address ibrahim@hotmail.com has been found on the poster and the cyber team is on it, said the officer.

2 KILLED IN STAMPEDE AT MUSICAL EVENT

attacked nearly a km from Nandigram.

The incident prompted Suvendu to blame the attack on “jihadis” and warn that the “implications will not be good”. Trinamool Congress chose not to respond but some members blamed it on infighting between Suvendu supporters and those against him. All 15 BJP supporters injured in the attack were treated at a hospital. The bus was vandalised.

At least two people were killed and four others are said to be in critical condition after a stampede broke out during a musical event at Mela Ground in Kalimpong in West Bengal on Sunday evening.

Nepalese singer-rapper Ashish Rana aka Lahure performed at the musical night where the stampede broke out. According to reports, all the injured were immediately rushed to a district hospital where 2 persons succumbed to their injuries. Among those who are critical are between the age group of 14 and 30. The injured are being treated at District Hospital in Kalimpong. The police have registered a complaint against the organisers of the event.

The administration is in touch with the families of the deceased and injured persons and is offering all possible assistance.

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9 - 15 January 2021

In the joy of others lies our own

Nitin and Kamu Palan The end of 2020 brought joy to a small group of friends that came together, as a result of an impromptu invite, to perform the last arti of the year in the village of Chansad, the humble birthplace of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

During a conversation with sadhus in Chansad, we thought that it would be a good idea to have our close friends finish the year at Bapa’s birthplace. 70 invites were sent and in half an hour, we had 120 acceptances!

Frankly, we should not have been surprised at all.

After all, Bapa has brought so much joy to so many people, both directly and indirectly. Just remembering his name continues to bring joy even today.

The arti took place in Chansad at the home of his actual birthplace. We were incredibly lucky and privileged enough to have both Narayancharan Swami and Hariprakash Swami performing the arti. Both had been personal sevaks of Bapa for many yeAfter a short discourse, they showed us all the exact spot where Bapa (Shantilal) was born on Wednesday 7 December 1921 at 8.20am. They showed us the window from

where he would see the village lake and the Hanuman Temple that he visited. We were shown the school where he studied and other mandirs that he visited. Most importantly, we saw the cricket ground where he was playing with his friends when he received a letter from his guru Shastriji Maharaj asking him to come to Bochasan to join the fellowship of sadhus. With the full blessings of his parents, Shantilal immediately left without any further thoughts!

It was an incredibly auspicious evening for all of us as we were about to enter the year of Bapa’s centenary in 2021.

Jay Swaminarayan.

Green signal for EC plan to India asks China to help sailors stuck let NRIs vote from abroad at Chinese ports for months The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has written to the Election C o m m i s s i o n favouring its recent proposal to allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) to vote remotely through electronicallytransmitted postal ballot system (ETPBS) from their country of residence. However, it has suggested that the poll body hold consultations with all stakeholders before rolling out the facility.

NRIs, as per the current election laws, must cast their vote in person at their respective constituencies in India. Sources in EC indicated that the poll panel will, as indicated by MEA, start consultations soon with NRI associations and various ministries and departments that will be involved in the exercise.

The ETPBS facility is already extended to service voters that include members of the Armed forces and para-military forces as well as government employees serving abroad. EC had, in its November 27 letter addressed to the law secretary, proposed that necessary amendments be made in the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, “at the earliest” to enable the Indian diaspora to vote through postal ballot, adding that it is “technically and administratively ready to extend this facility in general elections to legislative assemblies of Assam, West

Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry” due in April-May. There are around 117,000 NRIs registered as voters in the electoral rolls. EC in its letter stated that it has been receiving several representations from the Indian diaspora to facilitate voting through postal ballot since such overseas electors are not in a position to be present in their polling area. The protocols associated with Covid-19, have further compounded the problem, it added.

As per EC proposal, an NRI may be issued a postal ballot electronically after he intimates his wish to vote through Form 12 to the returning officer, which must be received at least five days after notification of election. The duly filled up postal ballot – attested by an officer to be appointed by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where the overseas elector is resident - must be returned by post to the returning officer of the NRI’s constituency in India such that it is received latest by 8 am on the counting day.

India has asked China to allow two Indian freighters stranded for months near two Chinese ports because of the pandemic to rapidly unload their cargoes or replace their 39 crew members, an official said. "There is growing stress on the crew members on account of the long delay," India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said. The vessels are among ships from various countries waiting to unload their cargoes at Jintang and Caofeidian ports, Srivastava said.

"We expect that this assistance will be provided in an urgent, practical and timebound manner, given the grave humanitarian situation that is developing onboard the ships," he said in a statement.

Srivastava said Chinese authorities have conveyed that a crew change is not permitted at the ports because of Covid-19related restrictions. Beijing has suggested that the shipping company may apply for a crew rotation at Tianjin port, he said.

The MEA spokesperson said the Indian Embassy in Beijing continued to remain in close and continuous touch with the Chinese authorities in Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin, adding the government is also following up on the matter through the Chinese Embassy in India for "an early resolution". He said the Indian Embassy has repeatedly taken up the issue with both the

Chinese ministry of foreign affairs and the local provincial authorities, requesting that the ships be allowed to dock and/or the crew be allowed to be changed.

C h i n e s e Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said local authorities have been maintaining close communication with the Indian side and providing necessary facilities and assistance. "Some Chinese ports allow crew changes under the premise of complying with the relevant epidemic prevention regulations, but Jintang port and Caofeidian port are not included in this list. It is up to the freighter to decide whether to adjust its operating arrangements," Wang said last week. The Indian cargo vessel MV Jag Anand of Great Eastern Shipping Co. has been at anchor near Jingtang in Hebei province since June 13 with 23 Indian crew members on board. Another vessel, MV Anastasia, with 16 Indian crew members, has been near Caofeidian since Sept. 20.

Both are waiting to discharge their cargoes before leaving the ports.

One attempts suicide For 13 months, he had been patient while his time on the ship kept getting extended. First, when the Covid-19 outbreak

began and, then, when China would not let his ship into the Caofeidian port. But when his wife and two sons tested positive for Covid-19, the 47-year-old on the crew of MV Anastasia knew he had to get out. He made a case, relentlessly, before his captain, his company. After a month of futile attempts, he slashed his wrist. “He was saved just in time,” navigation officer Gaurav Singh, 29, said. “We are all losing our minds here.” For 146 days, their cargo ship has been stranded in Chinese waters.

Another carrier, MV Jag Anand, has been stuck off Jingtang port since June with 23 Indian sailors on board - 199 days. The arrival of these ships coincided with an escalating altercation between China and Australia which eventually led to a “ban” on coal imports from the latter.

China said this is because of Covid prevention. “But if that were true, ships from Russia, Canada and Europe would not be allowed to offload and leave,” Singh said. Those on the ships have not set foot on land for months.

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India all set to start Covid -19 Bharat Biotech chief lashes out at Serum vaccination in 10 days The Serum Institute of India’s Covishield is likely to be initially used in India's vaccine drive against Covid19, with the Drugs Controller General of India formally waving the green flag for the shot’s use along with Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. Vaccination is likely to be launched simultaneously in most states that were part of the dry run on January 2, even as the final contours are being worked out. DCGI V G Somani announced the emergency use approval for the Pune-based SII, which is manufacturing Covishield developed by Oxford University and Astra Zeneca, and the indigenous Covaxin which will have to fulfil additional conditionalities.

In the case of Covaxin, the emergency use authorisation is in clinical trial mode which means that monitoring of recipients will be in the same mode as persons participating in a trial.

Though it can be used, Covaxin may be introduced in the vaccination programme a little later. SII and Bharat Biotech have speeded up manufacture of the vaccine and have a substantial stockpile.

For the rollout of the vaccine, the government is likely to follow an electionlike process and identify session sites in particular districts in almost all states on particular dates.

Depending on vaccine availability, beneficiaries will be called for inoculation on specified dates in a phased manner.

“Limited number of beneficiaries may be inoculated during the first

Bharat Biotech founder and chairman Dr Krishna Ella lashed out at detractors who criticised the speed at which emergency use authorisation (EUA) was given to Covaxin, the company’s Covid-19 vaccine. “We don’t deserve this backlash,” he said and urged people to stop politicising the issue.

few days on each of the identified sites depending on vaccine availability, much like the way elections are conducted,” an official said.

Govt has registered priority beneficiaries The government has already registered over 75,00,000 priority beneficiaries on Co-WIN the IT platform developed by the Centre to implement the mega vaccination drive.

The nationwide vaccination dry runs were conducted at 286 session sites across 125 districts. The government is likely to place a formal supply order with Serum Institute of India in order to facilitate mobilisation of vaccines to cold chain hubs, another senior official said.

The vaccines will be further distributed to particular districts as per the final plan for vaccine administration.

While the plan is to inoculate 300 million “priority population” with anti-Covid vaccine by July, the government aims to vaccinate the first 30 million, including healthcare and frontline workers, over next two months and vaccination process is likely to pick up pace with simultaneous inoculation of the over 50 population and those who are younger but have serious comorbidities.

Since in-principle approvals for SII were in place with the government expecting it to be the first vaccine in the country, it is expected to be easier for the government to procure immediate supplies of Covishield though soon supplies of Covaxin may follow, an official said.

India approves Oxford and Bharat Biotech vaccines Earlier, India last week formally authorised the emergency use of AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and by Hyderabadbased pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech, Somani said at a virtual briefing. It is now expected to start a massive immunisation programme within about a week and hopes to inoculate 300 million of its 1.35 billion people free of charge in the first six to eight months of this year.

The AstraZeneca/Oxford shot, already approved in Britain, Argentina and El Salvador, will take the lead and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin will be administered under stricter conditions given no efficacy data has been released for it.

Somani said the overall efficacy of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine was 70.42%, while Bharat Biotech's Covaxin was "safe and provides a robust immune response".

Obituary Natvarlal Bhimbhai Desai (Natubhai) Died 17th December 2020, Vadodra, India.

Born 23rd March 1927, Jalalpore, India Natubhai lost his father in his childhood.

He and his younger brother were brought up by their mother. On completion of his matriculation, he joined Bank of Baroda in 1947 to support his family rather than pursue further studies. He was married to Indiraben in 1948.

He was posted to Kampala in 1959.

From there he served the bank in Mombasa, Moshi, Jinja, and finally Kampala. He was in Kampala when Idi Amin expelled most of the Asians in 1972.

He had the distinction of being one of the few to have stood up to Idi Amin. He remained in Kampala for 2 more years.

In 1974, he was posted to London as General Manager of the bank. He was given the task of helping the Ugandan

Asian diaspora. As a result of this, the bank expanded its branch network in the UK. After leaving Bank of Baroda he established Equatorial Bank. He retired from this bank in 1992, having served as Managing Director from its inception.

After retirement he moved to India, dividing his time between Mumbai and Vadodra. He had been living in Vadodra for the last 12 years. In 2010 he sustained the devastating blow of losing his eldest son Ashok to cancer. He was diagnosed with Oesophageal Cancer in late October 2020, and passed away on 17th December 2020.

He is survived by his wife Indiraben, daughter Pragna, son Asootosh, grandson Hiren, and granddaughters Gira and Jaymini.

Without naming Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala, Ella said, “We do 200% honest clinical trials and yet we receive backlash. If I am wrong, tell me.

Some companies have branded me (our vaccine) like 'water'. I want to deny that. We are scientists."

Poonawala had said in an interview that there were only three vaccines with proven efficacy – Pfizer, Moderna and OxfordAstraZeneca and the rest were just "safe like water". Ella said the US and Europe had refused to accept the Astra-Zeneca-Oxford vaccine trial data from the UK because it was not “clean”, but no one was questioning Oxford data. He alleged that volunteers in the AstraZeneca-Oxford trials were administered paracetamol tablets before being given the vaccine shot and that if his company had done something like that, it would have been shut down by the Indian regulators. “We have not given paracetamol to volunteers so whatever adverse reaction is captured it is exactly 100% even if it is good or bad. It is captured in real-time,” he said.

When contacted for reaction to Ella's comments, an SII spokesperson said: "No comments. We do not get into public arguments." Ella also appeared to take on AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria who had suggested that Covaxin could be a back-up for other vaccines. “It is a vaccine. It is not a backup. People should be responsible before making such statements,” he said.

Bharat Biotech: We put all data transparently Ella claimed Covaxin had as many

publications in international peer reviewed journals as Pfizer and more than many of the other Covid-19 vaccine candidates. He said the Covaxin Phase III trials were being handled by an American MNC IQVIA, formerly Quintiles, and IMS Health Inc and that patients in Phase III trials will be monitored for 12 months after the dose administration. “As an Indian company, Bharat Biotech has been struggling alone without any backup of MNCs like AstraZeneca or Pfizer,” he said.

“We put all (data) transparently. We submitted to each committee and then we got the approval,” he said. “I put everything in black and white and people still question me because Indian scientists are cheap people. People ask why we don’t have any data in the public domain. In fact, we are the only company to have published five articles.

We are the only Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) production facility in the world. We are proud to say that even the US government does not have that, even the UK government does not have that.”

He insisted that their work was in no way inferior to Pfizer in terms of publication. “It’s there on the internet, somebody has to go there and read it and then come back and ask questions. They don’t read that and immediately say on TV that it's not in the public domain, they create a doubt, throw stones on Indian science.”

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Impasse continues over three farm laws The seventh round of meeting between representatives of protesting farmers and the Central government failed to resolve the impasse against the three farm laws. The government remained firm on not repealing the contentious laws and is believed to have suggested a panel to take the matter forward. The farmer groups also stuck to their demand for the repeal of the laws.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who is participating in the meeting, said that the first hour of discussion remained focussed on the three laws. “Our demand is the repeal of the laws. We will not agree to any alternatives such as the setting of the committee,” he said. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, are present at the meeting with the representatives of 40 farmer unions. The representatives of protesting farmers had their own food, arranged from langar (community kitchen), as they have been doing for the last few times. However, unlike the last round of talks on December 30, the ministers did not join the union leaders for the langar food and were seen having their own discussion separately during the break, which lasted for more than one and half hours. The farmers had earlier threatened to intensify protest by shutting malls and petrol pumps if talks with the Centre fail. “Our demands remain the same. The farm laws must be repealed. The two amendments need to be rolled back and the government must listen. Our agitation will continue,” Jageer Singh Dalewal, a Bharat Kisan Union member said.

They even threatened to shut malls and petrol pumps if the talks with the Centre fail.

Need a forward movement: Tomar As the stalemate continued, participating ministers assured they would get back

after further consultations (within the government as well as farm unions from other parts of the country).

“We wanted farmer unions to discuss three laws clause wise. There is a need to take a forward movement from both sides. The government is ready to discuss, keeping all alternatives in mind. We could not reach any solution as farmer unions remained adamant on repeal of the laws,” said Tomar after the meeting. Asked whether farmers should also relent to end the stalemate, Tomar said, "Svabhaavik roop se taaliyaan donon hee haath se bajtee hain (naturally you need to use two hands for clapping)." He, however, said he still hoped that there would be a meaningful discussion during the next meeting and both sides “will come to a conclusion”.

During the meeting, Tomar again appealed to farm leaders to think about alternatives to repeal of laws.

Farm unions, however, rejected the suggestion, saying there is "no alternative to repeal and the government can withdraw it quickly through ordinance" when Parliament is not in session.

The minister also wanted them to talk on MSP issues which were discussed though the unions concentrated on the laws. “We only took up the repeal issue. We told them unequivocally that the farmers first want repeal of laws. It’s not just about demand of 40 unions who have been engaged through talks. It’s, in fact, wish of over 450 farmer organisations from across the country,” said Kavitha Kuruganti of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch after attending the talks.

Govt, unions agree on 2 issues Earlier, the govt and farm

unions narrowed their differences with the former agreeing to decriminalise stubble burning and shelve the proposed electricity amendment bill even though the “core” issues raised by the unions remain unresolved. The renewed discussions between the agitating unions and the govt saw some progress despite the bleak optics that preceded the talks. Importantly, the two sides agreed to remain engaged with discussions.

Following the Centre’s “in principle” decision on the two “non-core” issues after over five hours of talks, the unions expressed satisfaction, claiming the Centre was on the back foot and the concessions were a “half victory” for them. They are hopeful of prevailing completely in the next meeting and deferred the proposed tractor march from Singhu to Tikri and Shahjahanpur on December 31.

India isolates, cultures new UK strain In a first, Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) has isolated and cultured the new UK variant of SARSCoV2, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said underlining that no other country has so far reported isolation and culture of the latest UK strain. “UK-variant of the virus, with all signature changes, is now successfully isolated and cultured at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) from the clinical specimens collected from UK-returnees,” ICMR said.

Vero-cell lines were used by the scientists to culture the UK-variant of the virus, it added.

Isolation of the virus is the first step towards expediting development of drugs, vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits in the country. SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19, was being tracked through countrywide network of ICMR laboratories since early days of the pandemic in India. India has reported at least 29 cases of the new coronavirus variants. While the new variant has higher transmissibility, it has prompted comprehensive contact-tracing for co-travellers, family members and others of those who have travelled to the UK in the last 38 days. From November 25 to December 23, 2020, midnight, about 33,000 passengers disembarked at various Indian airports from the UK. All these passengers are being tracked and subjected by states to RTPCR tests to detect Covid-19.

Some mutations can also save lives: Study At a time when the ‘UK strain’ of Covid19 has fuelled fear due to its reputation as a highly infectious strain, a research on mutations in coronavirus has found that not all mutations are bad. Some can even be beneficial for humans! A recent ‘in-silico’ (computer simulation) study by researchers from Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) along with other institutions claimed that C241T mutation – found in a large section of infected persons – could be responsible for lower mortality and

improved recovery rates.

Researchers from Gujarat University, Institute of Advanced Research from India and University of Tennessee also contributed to the research. “This specific mutation was chosen for in-depth study due to its very high frequency not only in Gujarat and India, but globally. In our earlier study, it was found that over 80% of the positive cases in Gujarat had this mutation present,” said a senior GBRC official. “The study simulated its docking with the human cell on two parameters and found that it affects folding of RNA – in turn reducing efficiency of the virus to replicate in a host. In simpler terms, it can reduce viral load, which can reduce mortality and improve recovery rates.”

India split into 6 regions in hunt for UK strain India has now been split into six regions for a massive molecular hunt for the new UK variant of the coronavirus in positive samples. The search has expanded to include everyone, not just those recently back from foreign countries. Ten regional labs will genetically sequence all positive samples via RT-PCR - that have had a cycle threshold (CT) value of 30 or less. The CT value is the number of cycles an RT-PCR device has had to run to amplify viral RNA for it to reach detectable levels. A CT value of 30 or less indicates high viral load in the infected person’s throat/ nasal swab samples.

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Over one million people in UK have now received Covid vaccine More than one million people in the UK have received a Covid-19 vaccine, health secretary Matt Hancock has revealed. He said the "end is in sight" as the country reached the milestone in its race to vaccinate the population against coronavirus. Vaccinations began almost a month ago after the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNtech jab that was developed in the US. Hancock tweeted: "Huge thank you to everyone playing their part in the national effort to beat coronavirus.

Over a million people have been vaccinated already. With the vaccine roll-out accelerating, the end is in sight & we will get through this together."

It comes after the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use earlier this week, meaning the UK will soon have enough vaccine doses to immunise the entire population. The first 530,000 jabs are expected to be rolled out soon with the potential for 24 million people to get the jab before Easter. By the middle of January, two million doses of the Oxford vaccine are expected to be supplied weekly, a source said.

A member of the Oxford/AstraZeneca team said: "The plan is to build it up fairly rapidly - by the third week of January we should get two million a week." Second doses

of either vaccine will now take place within 12 weeks rather than 21 days as initially planned. Deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), Professor Anthony Harnden, defended the plans. "I think the country is all in this together. And, I think we really, really want to pull together to try and do the best strategy possible." Meanwhile, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned that Covid vaccine shortages “will last for months” despite the newly approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine improving supply issues. But both Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZenica have refuted reports of shortages.

Pfizer said in a statement: "We do not have any supply issues from our side at this point with regards to what has been agreed with the UK." Meanwhile, Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at PHE, said that mixing is not recommended and should only happen on "rare occasions. We do not recommend

mixing the vaccines - if your first dose is the Pfizer vaccine you should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine for your second dose and vice versa," she said.

"There may be extremely rare occasions where the same vaccine is not available, or where it is not known what vaccine the patient received.

“Every effort should be made to give them the same vaccine, but where this is not possible it is better to give a second dose of another vaccine than not at all." Meanwhile, medical experts and public officials said the North of England is bracing for a devastating Covid-19 wave as the new variant continues to spread across the UK. The mutant coronavirus strain was first detected in the South East before Christmas and has been found to be 70% more transmissible.

It has since been driving up new infection rates, putting the NHS on the brink of being overwhelmed.

Several London hospitals like UCH and the Royal London have issued desperate pleas for more staff as Covid wards fill up rapidly. A nurse, who works at the Whittington Hospital in north London, described the "unbearable" conditions as Covid-19 patient numbers continue to rise. The nurse described patients being left in corridors, some spending up to three hours in ambulances because of a lack of beds and one left without oxygen when their cylinder ran out.

Worse pandemic may lie ahead, warns WHO The World Health Organization urged the world to get “serious”, warning that worse pandemics could lie ahead.

WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan spoke at a briefing marking a year since it first learned of the new virus spreading in China. Covid-19 has since, killed almost 1.8 million people around the world, and over 80 million infected. Ryan said, “This is a wake up call. This pandemic has been very severe. It has spread around the world extremely quickly and it has affected every corner of this planet, but

this is not necessarily the big one.”

He said that while the virus is “very transmissible, and it kills people, its current case fatality is reasonably low in comparison to other emerging diseases. We need to get ready for something that may even be more severe in the future.” WHO senior advisor Bruce Aylward also cautioned countries saying that while huge scientific progress has been made, they remained far from prepared to ward off future pandemics.

He said, “We are into

second and third waves of this virus and we are still not prepared to deal with and manage those. So while we are better prepared... we are not fully prepared for this one, let alone the next one.” Also speaking at the briefing, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “time now to be really serious.”

He said, “In terms of awareness, I think we are now getting it. More ambition will be necessary.”

Tedros hailed scientists around the world for working closely together to help bring the pandemic to

an end. He mentioned the two new strains of the virus that have emerged in Britain and South Africa. “We are working with scientists in the UK and South Africa who are carrying out epidemiologic and laboratory studies, which will guide next steps. Only if countries are looking and testing effectively will you be able to pick up variants and adjust strategies to cope. We must ensure that countries are not punished for transparently sharing new scientific findings.”

EU kicks off multi-national vaccine roll-out Nations in the European Union kicked off a coordinated effort to give Covid-19 vaccinations to the most vulnerable among the bloc's nearly 450 million people. Some of the first shots were given to healthcare workers, seniors, and leading politicians from across the 27-nation bloc to reassure the public that the vaccinations are safe and represent the best chance to emerge from the pandemic.

Italian virus czar Domenico Arcuri said it was significant that Italy's first

vaccine doses were administered at Spallanzani.

Speaking with reporters, he said, “Today is a beautiful, symbolic day: All the citizens of Europe together are starting to get their vaccinations, the first ray of light after a long night.”

However, he cautioned, “We all have to continue to be prudent, cautious and responsible. We still have a long road ahead, but finally we see a bit of light.”

The vaccines, developed

by Germany's BioNTech and US drugmaker Pfizer, arrived in super-cold

containers at EU hospitals recently. All those getting shots will have to come back in three weeks for a second dose.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a video celebrating the vaccine rollout and called it “a touching moment of unity.”

The rollout, however, came with its issues. In one mishap, eight workers at a care home in Stralsund on the north German coast were injected with five times the recommended dose of

the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Four were hospitalised.

Meanwhile, in southern Germany, officials said they would not use some shots after temperature trackers in cool boxes showed they may not have been kept cold enough.

This year "be more" and "do less" Psychologist Mamta Saha Dear Readers, 2021 has arrived, you got there! The moment that everyone was waiting for, the New Year stands before you, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. You can help write your story by writing down your intentions and goals.

I’ve been reflecting on what my goals and intentions will be for this year and from my first-hand experience with coaching clients I have found that intentions help us to leverage beautifully into our goals which effectively gives us direction. I have learnt that when we take the time to create intentions and goals a powerful force comes into play on a universal, conscious and subconscious level.

Resolutions are made but fall away very quickly as it can be challenging to make such drastic internal changes.

One way to do it is by changing one thought, with good intentions whilst holding our vision with hope and joy.

My intention is to ‘be’ more and ‘do’ less by slowing down and taking time to notice my breath. I will ask myself, how it is and why it is like it is (without judging it or myself). To remind myself that just as my breath cannot be stopped, life and the way it unfolds also cannot be controlled, together with time, which cannot be paused, however the quality of this experience is something that can be influenced. By breathing in and out deeper and more consciously I can create the opportunity to relax, become calmer and be more authentic to who I am. What are your goals and intentions for 2021?

There is Power within each of us that can lovingly lead us to good health, strong relationships and fulfilling careers. Firstly, we must believe that this is possible, and secondly, we have to release the patterns and habits in our lives that create experiences that we do not want. We must also be grateful and the philosophy of identifying with happiness as opposed to searching for it is one of the many things I recently learnt when I interviewed Harnaam Kaur, a Guinness World Record Holder and a Body Positive advocate. You can find our interview on YouTube (search Bold Affirmation Harnaam Kaur and Psychologist Mamta Saha). Remember this year, things will happen that are out of your control. Sometimes, these events are welcomed; sometimes, they are of another nature, but they are a part of the chapter that will be this year in your life and will lead you forward in your story.

For more tips and tools download your free e-book ‘Just in time’ from www.mamtasaha.com, tune into Saha Mindset podcast on Spotify and follow me on Instagram: Saha_Mamta.

Any questions, email: mamta@mamtasaha.com As always, I wish you peace and happiness.

Covid-19 survivors should go for heart test before returning to normal life For patients who have recovered from Covid-19, the desire to return to normal life can be overwhelming. But before jumping back into your usual routine, specifically your usual exercise routine, doctors are urging survivors of Covid-19 to have their hearts checked first.

“We know that patients that had Covid-19, depending on medication treatments and severity of disease, have experienced a lot of inflammatory and clotting phenomenon in hearts and lungs that could impair blood flow to those organs,” said Dr Thomas Gut, associate chair of medicine at Staten Island University Hospital.

“If you were to start becoming active again, and the heart and lungs start demanding more output, you can run into issues because of it,” Gut said. That is, while we typically associate Covid-19 with pulmonary symptoms, the cardiac side effects are just as important to be aware of. Exercising with heart issues related to Covid-19 can lead to irregular heartbeats or sudden cardiac death.

Covid-19 and the heart Nearly a quarter of people hospitalized with Covid-19 develop myocardial injury or injury to the heart tissue.

People with Covid-19 have also developed thromboembolic disease or blood clots and arrhythmias. “We’re concerned about the heart because there is a lot of data that has come out in people hospitalized with Covid-19 that demonstrates heart muscle involvement with the virus,” said Dr. Sean Heffron, assistant professor at the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

“With that knowledge, we’re concerned about long-term implications of Covid-19 infections on heart structure and function, and safety of exercise after infection,” Heffron said. Starting to exercise too quickly, or taking on too much too soon, without being aware of the condition of your heart can have negative effects. This is due to the long-term effects of Covid-19, which are still being researched.

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9 - 15 January 2021

Deepika deletes all Instagram, Twitter posts Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone shocked fans and followers by deleting all posts from her social media platforms. The actress deleted all her tweets and Instagram pictures on December 31, and now has zero posts and tweets.

Initially, netizens wondered if Deepika's social media platforms had been hacked. However, it subsequently came to notice that it was the actress who changed her

display images. It is not clear why Deepika took the step of wiping out her social media platforms.

Currently, Deepika has 27.7 million followers on Twitter and on Instagram she has a fan following of 52.5 million.

She did share a new video with fans on her account where we could hear her voice, describing how the year 2020 was and what to expect in 2021. The

actress is currently vacationing with husband, actor Ranveer Singh, in Rajasthan. Deepika will next be seen in Kabir Khan's "83" where Ranveer plays former World Cup-winning captain of the Indian cricket team, Kapil Dev. Deepika plays Kapil's wife Romi Dev. She will also be seen in Shakun Batra's yet-untitled next, which also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday.

Bhumi Pednekar likes to spice up her filmography Actor Bhumi Pednekar has had a fantastic year, with her list of films featuring an interesting variety of choices. The actress, in a recent interview, said she likes to spice up things because she thinks her fans would want the same from her.

Pednekar said, “It comes with a lot of responsibility, a responsibility towards the audiences. The idea is to keep reinventing, keep trying and challenging myself while doing things outside of the box. That's more for personal growth, plus that's also something expected out of me from the audience. I also want to keep entertaining my fan base and keep increasing it.”

The actor starred in two horror movies this year – 'Bhoot-Part One: The Haunted Ship', and

'Durgamati', and a slice-of-life film 'Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare'. She said, “I want good stories to reach out to the audience. I am glad that they associate good content with me because that means that I must have done something right.”

However, is that level of expectation creating a pressure on her?

Pednekar says “No”. “I am just reacting to the story and the characters that come my way. I don't believe in the length of the role or whether it will be a commercial hit ... These are stories I really want to do. I don't have a set formula and a way of choosing my films; it is just about if I like it, I do it.”

Bhansali's 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' lands in a soup Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali lands in hot water yet again, this time for his upcoming Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'. The movie, which traces the journey of a brothel madam hasn't gown down well with the namesake's son Babuj Rawji Shah. Babuji has registered a case against Bhansali, his production company Bhansali Productions, and Bhatt who plays the titular role. Babuji has also filed a case against writer Hussain Zaidi, on whose novel 'The Mafia Queens of Mumbai', the film is based. He has also filed a case against reporter Jane Borges whose research was the premise of the book.

If media reports are anything to go by, Babuji has alleged that certain portions of the book are defamatory

and an infringement upon his right to privacy, self-respect and liberty. He sought permanent cessation of printing and circulation of the book, deletion of chapters pertaining to Gangubai's life and stoppage of production of the film.

The first hearing was held at the Bombay civil court last week, and the defendants are yet to respond to the allegations levelled against them.

'Gangubai Kathiawadi' marks Alia's

Amitabh apologises to a woman for using her poem without credit Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's love for social media is no secret.

The actor keeps in touch with his fans regularly through pictures of himself or words of wisdom.

Amitabh also shares poems and snippets including those of his father, late Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

He recently shared a poem about preparing a special 'tea' called Life on micro-blogging website Twitter. The tweet garnered 16,000 likes and a thousand comments, one of which was by a woman who claimed the poem to be hers. Tisha Agarwal tweeted to AB Sr, and said,

“Sir, seeing my poem on your wall is a matter of great fortune for me.

My happiness and pride would have been double had you given me the credit for it. Looking forward to your response.”

Amitabh was quick to apologise for the mistake, and wrote, “Tisha Ji, I just came to know that one of the tweets that I shared was your poem. I apologize, I did not know it.

Someone sent me this on my Twitter or WhatsApp, I liked it, and I published it. I apologize.”

Touched by the response, Tisha wrote back, “Thank you sir for your greatness. I did not want your

apology but your love. This is your blessing, which is my pride now.”

Amitabh shared the tweet again, adding the correction. “This tweet credit should go to @TishaAgarwal, I was not aware of its origin .. someone sent it to me, I thought it to be good and posted ..apologies.”

On the work front, Amitabh is currently seen on the latest season of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'. He will be next seen in 'Brahmastra', 'Chehre', 'Mayday', and 'Jhund'.

first collaboration with Bhansali.

Scheduled to hit the theatres in September, it has been delayed due to the pandemic.

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Khushi Kapoor sports brand new tattoo Younger daughter of late actor Sridevi and filmmaker Boney Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor sure knows how to stay in style. The young social media star took to Instagram to share a new picture showing off her brand new stylish tattoos.

Khushi is seen sitting on the floor in a white top and beige pants, with her two tiny tattoos in full display.

She captioned the picture, “Sunday funday”.

Khushi's friends and followers called her a “tattoo queen” in the comments.

Her cousin Anshula Kapoor left a heart-eyes emoji,

while friend and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's daughter Aaliyah called her a “model”. Khushi has previously revealed she has three tattoos. A cheeky one on her behind saying 'Khud ki raah banao (Make your own path)”, another with the birth dates of her family members in Roman numerals, and a third one is her best friend's name.

Appearing on an episode of Neha Dhupia's chat show, she had once said that her

Duration: 3 Seasons, 30 Episodes Genre: Martial Arts Comedy Drama

Cobra Kai is set 34 years after the original Karate Kid film from the point of view of Johnny Lawrence and his decision to reopen the Cobra Kai karate dojo.

late mother did not approve of her love for tattoos and her sister Janhvi feels the same.

Sonu Sood takes an indirect dig at Kangana We all have witnessed how Kangana Ranaut had declared an open war against the Bollywood industry. While criticising the members of the film industry, she had said that 99% of the industry people consume drugs. The claim was strongly refuted

by Jaya

Bachchan, Raveena Tandon, Hansal Mehta and others. And it seems like Sonu Sood is also not pleased with Kangana speaking against her own industry people.

Without naming anyone while speaking about the constant media trial, Sonu Sood said, "Of course I was bothered, but what really upset me was seeing some of our own people speak against the industry.

This is that industry for which he leave our homes and families. It is an industry that fulfils dreams. And now, to see people point fingers at it, you can imagine how it must have affected us.”

Talking about how the film industry is not united even if they keep calling

themselves as a big family, Sonu said, "We all like to think we’re one big family, but the chains that can bind us are missing. People align themselves with others, no one reaches out to praise you or to offer advice. Everyone is constrained. They say they are a part of Bollywood, but they’ve created barriers around themselves.”

Johnny Lawrence is now in his 50s and working as a handyman, a far cry from what should have been a wealthy lifestyle. It was following his defeat in the 1984 All-Valley karate tournament.

Lawrence has a son who he abandoned as his mother died on the same day as the birth. After losing his job Lawrence helps a neighbour, Miguel, out by using his karate skills and Miguel then asks Lawrence to teach him karate.

After much convincing Lawrence decides to re-open his Cobra Kai karate dojo but this means he must face a past rival Daniel LaRusso who is now an owner of a successful car dealership.

The re-opening of the karate dojo gains the attraction of a lot of out of cast kids who are bullied in school and

Nawazuddin appreciates audience response to his movies The year 2020 had been a difficult year for everyone, however, when it comes to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, it has been absolutely incredible with regards to his work as an actor. Siddiqui, in an interview, said the response to his movies 'Serious Men', and 'Raat Akeli Hai' made him happy.

“I am glad to see that people are now aware and educated about content around the world. It is not about a hero-heroine, damsel in distress or boy meets girl formula but it was surprising and wonderful that audiences are appreciating stories from everywhere,” he said.

With the lockdown prompting theatres to close, quite a few movies released on multiple OTT platforms. Siddiqui managed to stand out with roles in the new space too. He said, “The reach of OTT platforms is huge and if an original film releases online, it is seen by a world-wide audience. I have got reactions from people in New York, Rome, and many other places about my films.

he builds a relationship with Miguel a lot like that of Mr.Miyagi and Danny.

Stuck in the past the seasons move forward with the tension that is still vivid and clear as it was 34 years ago between Danny and Johnny, that neither of them are able to get over or move on.

Season 1 and 2 were already streaming on Netflix and after the popularity the new season 3 was introduced in Jan 2021. If you haven’t seen the first 2 seasons, then now is the time to binge watch them and catch up so you can enjoy Season 3.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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9 - 15 January 2021

Vijay's 'Master' prepares for theatrical release Vijay-starrer Tamil film 'Master' has been certified U/A by the CBFC,

festival this year. Makers of the film have been aiming for a theatrical

and the movie is reportedly set to release in cinemas for the Pongal

release for quite some time now.

They released a new poster with the

Dhanush joins hands with his brother after a long gap Actor Dhanush is happy to reunite with filmmaker brother Selvaraghavan after a long gap.

Taking to Twitter to share the news, he wrote he hopes to impress his brother at least this time. The siblings are all set to team up for the fourth time. Their previous collaborations include 'Kadhal Kondein', 'Pudhupettai', and 'Mayakkam Enna'.

Dhanush wrote, “ Selvaraghavan + Yuvan + Aravind Krishna. Well, well…right where I started. Very happy to join my maker, my creator and the only reason I’m here today. My brother @selvaraghavan again. I hope this time at least I impress him”. To be bankrolled by Kalaipuli S Thanu for V Creations, the yet-untitled

film. However, they haven't officially announced the release date yet.

'Master' features Vijay in the role of a college professor with a violent past. It also stars Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist, along with Malavika Mohanan, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Andrea Jeremiah in major roles. Produced

by Xavier Britto, it marks the maiden collaboration of Vijay and director Lokesh Kanagaraj.

Producers have clarified multiple times that the film won't skip its theatrical release. Reports had emerged a couple of months ago that 'Master' has offered a £12.5 million deal by Amazon Prime for an exclusive release. The report was, however, denied by the film's executive producer Lalit.

Bharath and Janani join hands for a romance drama!

Actor Bharath was last seen on screen in the thriller movie 'Kalidas' which was released last year and this movie which had him playing a police officer received good reviews and critical acclaim. Currently Bharath is acting in a number of movies including the Bollywood movie 'Radhe' and has now signed his next movie, which has been titled 'Yaakai Thiri' and produced

by Meraki films.

'Yaakai Thiri' is directed by Bharath Mohan who had directed the movie 'Igloo' starring Anju Kurian earlier. 'Yaakai Thiri' also stars Janani Iyer and debutant Sonakshi Singh Rawat and is a romance drama which will have music by Arrol Corelli.

project will go on the floors this year. If grapevine is anything to go by, it is a sequel to Selvaraghavan's cult gangster drama 'Pudhupettai'.

On the work front, Dhanush has multiple projects in the offing.

He currently awaits the release of Karthik Subbaraj directed 'Jagame Thandiram'.

He recently completed shooting for Mari Selvaraj's 'Karnan', and also has films with Karthick Naren and Ram Kumar.

TV Listing

Top award for Ajith Kumar, Mohanlal, Dhanush and Nagarjuna The prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Awards South 2020 has

(Asuran); Best Actress: Jyotika (Raatchasi). Best Director: R

Nagarjuna Akkineni; Best Actor: Naveen Polishetty (Agent Sai * Schedule is subject to change

MON 11 JAN FRI 15 JAN 2021 16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:30 NAMAK ISSK KA 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 SHAKTI 20:30 MOLKKI 21:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14)

been announced. The awards, which is held to honour the finest talents of the four film industries of South India, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannad, were announced on the occasion of New Year 2021. The biggest names of the South film industries, including Ajith Kumar, Mohanlal, Dhanush, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Shivrajkumar, and so on won the top honours.

Tamil Most Versatile Actor: Ajith Kumar; Best Actor: Dhanush

Parthiban (Oththa Seruppu Size 7); Best Film: To Let ;Best Music Director: Anirudh Ravichander.

Malayalam Most Versatile Actor: Mohanlal; Best Actor: Suraj Venjaramoodu (Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25); Best Actress: Parvathy Thiruvothu (Uyare); Best Director: Madhu C Narayanan (Kumbalangi Nights); Best Film: Uyare; Best Music Director: Deepak Dev. Telugu Most Versatile Actor:

Srinivasa Athreya); Best Actress: Rashmika Mandanna (Dear Comrade); Best Director: Sujeet (Saaho); Best Film: Jersey; Best Music Director: S Thaman.

Kannada Most Versatile Actor: Shivrajkumar; Best Actor: Rakshit Shetty (Avane Srinamnnarayana); Best Actress: Tanya Hope (Yajamana); Best Director: Ramesh Indira (Premier Padmini); Best Film: Mookajjiya Kanasugalu.

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 11 JAN FRI 15 JAN 2021 8:30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30 DIL KA RISHTA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE 22:30 MERE HUMRAHI

23:00 NAMAK ISSK KA SATURDAY 9 JAN 18:30 DESI BEAT RESET 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 NRI HAADSA 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR SUNDAY 10 JAN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:00 CHOTI SARDARNI 19:30 NRI HAADSA 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 NRI HAADSA 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR

SATURDAY 9 JAN 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) 20:30 BARRISTER BABU 21:00 BALIKA VADHU SUNDAY 10 JAN 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 21:00 BALIKA VADHU

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Ganguly stable, may not need another angioplasty soon BCCI president and former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly’s condition was reviewed by experts from across the country and USA through a video conference and over phone on Monday morning, resulting in a decision to defer another angioplasty to unclog two of his blocked coronary arteries.

While two of the experts well-known cardiac specialists Devi Shetty and RK Panda joined the virtual conference with a 10-member medical board at Woodlands Hospital where Ganguly has been admitted, opinion was sought from interventional cardiologist of Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital Samuel Mathew and Sharmin K Sharma of The Mount Sinai Hospital of New York. Since the 48-year-old remains stable, further surgical intervention won’t be needed

immediately, it was decided.

Shetty is set to arrive in Kolkata and will examine Ganguly.

Earlier, Ganguly suffered a ‘mild heart attack’ soon after a workout session at the gymnasium of his Behala residence last week. He was rushed to Woodlands Hospital in Alipore where he underwent an emergency angioplasty. A stent was implanted in one of his blocked arteries. According to a five-member medical board formed for his treatment, Ganguly is stable and will remain under observation for the next 48 hours. He will not require any further surgical intervention, according to hospital authorities. The hospitalisation, though, has come as a surprise to fans and observers, considering Ganguly is just 48 years old and has been a super-fit sportsman. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee,

who called on Ganguly, said, “It’s difficult to accept that such a young and fit Sourav Ganguly sportsperson like him could have a condition like this. Sourav is now relieved of his chest discomfiture. He is doing well now and I wish him a speedy recovery. Doctors have done a good job,” said Mamata.

“Sourav Ganguly felt dizzy after a gym session and consulted his family physician who advised hospitalization,” cardiologist Aftab Khan, a member of the medical board, said. “He reached the hospital within the golden hour, which helped us begin treatment on time. Preliminary investigations indicated a cardiac condition and an angiography was done.

It revealed three blockages, including a 90% block in one of the arteries. An angioplasty was done to remove it and a stent

in brief RAVINDRA JADEJA JOINS EXCLUSIVE CLUB OF KOHLI, DHONI

has been implanted.”

Ganguly has ‘triple vessel disease’ which is triggered when the major arteries are choked by plaque.

He also has a family history of ischemic heart disease. His father Chandidas Ganguly passed away in 2013 at the age of 75 after a heart attack. The ex-cricketer has responded well to the treatment and procedure, said hospital sources. Governor Jagdeep Dhankar visited the hospital and expressed relief after meeting a “smiling Ganguly”.

Past and present cricketers, including Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, took to Twitter to wish the former skipper a speedy recovery.

Former umpire sues ECB over alleged racial discrimination The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been sued by former umpires John Holder and Ismail Dawood for alleged racial discrimination during their time in the board’s employment, a report said. The duo had accused the ECB of insitutional racism and demanded an independent inquiry into the lack of match officials from ethnic minority groups in the country last month.

“Holder lodged his claim at the London central office of the employment tribunal two days before Christmas,” according to a report. A former Hampshire cricketer, Holder has officiated in 11 Tests and 19 ODIs in a career spanning almost three decades. “The legal action against the ECB relates to his employment as a first class umpire between 1983 and 2009.

“Holder was dropped from the

Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Glamorgan and Yorkshire but could never make umpiring a career after failing to win promotion to the panel following the end of his playing career in 2005, said that there were John Holder and Ismail Dawood “systematic ECB’s Test match list in 1991, a failings.” “I was told I was going few weeks after he reported an to get promoted one year in an incident of alleged ballappraisal, it was verbal. It didn’t tampering by an England player transpire,” Dawood said. “On six in a Test against West Indies at different occasions I was the Oval,” the report said. superseded in terms of getting Holder and former U-19 promotion. My reports and cricketer Dawood “are seeking statistical data by various compensation and a different people who do the recommendation on the ECB’s reports were all of a sound future conduct under s.123 (3) (b) manner and I wasn’t given the of the 2010 Equality Act.” opportunities to gain Dawood, who has played for promotion, which of course I felt

aggrieved about. I still don’t know why my career was cut short. We believe there has been systematic failings within, a type of bullying, harassment and cronyism which I was involved with in terms of the umpiring fraternity, was terrible,” he added. An ECB spokesperson, in response said: “We are not aware of the detail of this claim from John Holder and are therefore unable to comment upon it. The ECB is absolutely committed to ensuring there is no place for discrimination, of any kind, in our sport. As with all areas of our game, we want our match officials to represent and reflect everyone who supports and plays cricket. We have been arranging to meet with John Holder and others to listen to their experiences so as to better inform our future approach to recruiting and developing umpires and match officials.”

Indian cricket officials agree to ‘strict’ protocols in Sydney The Indian team management has agreed to abide by all biosecurity protocols upon reaching Sydney on Monday for the third Test of the series.

This comes after speculation over the team’s reluctance to adhere to stringent protocols in the fourth Test in Brisbane.

Sydney, which hosted two ODIs and two T20Is earlier in the tour, now has more stringent protocols for players because there has been a spurt in Covid-19 cases around the city. “The Indian squad has been handed the protocols.

The team management has agreed to it and all players and support staff have been asked

not to go out of the hotel except for scheduled training.

The team has also been asked to follow all social-distancing practices,” a BCCI said on Monday. Earlier, the players were allowed to go for walkarounds and outdoor meals.

The entire squad including the five players who were placed in ‘isolation’ for having dined in an indoor restaurant in Melbourne tested negative for Covid-19 after undergoing RT-PCR tests before travelling to Sydney.

The squad is likely to undergo another round of tests before the Test match begins on January 7.

The BCCI is in touch with

Cricket Australia over the arrangements in Brisbane, where the teams are likely to be put in quarantine. Sources said that there has never been any doubt over Brisbane hosting the final Test of the tour. The Indian team management hasn’t been handed the protocols for the fourth Test yet. However, there is talk of offering some relaxation to the players in Brisbane. “Putting the players into hard quarantine in Brisbane is a bit tough. We have been told they won’t even be allowed to leave their rooms other than travelling to the grounds. Like in Sydney, the

team should have access to the hotel floors too,” a senior BCCI official said.

As for the ‘investigation’ to find out whether Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Navdeep Saini, Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw had breached any protocol, board sources claimed it’s safe to assume that the negative tests will settle the matter. On Monday, CA’s interim CEO Nick Hockley gave a statement saying there has been no objection to protocols. “We speak to our counterparts at the BCCI daily.

We have had nothing formal from the BCCI to suggest anything other than they’re supportive,” Hockley said.

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has become the only the third Indian cricketer to play 50 games across all three formats. He has joined MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in the elusive club.

Jadeja has played 50 Tests, 168 ODIs, and 50 T20Is and thanked BCCI in a tweet. "It's a great honour to join Mahi Bhai and Virat as the only others to have played 50 games across all 3 formats for India. A big thank you to the BCCI, my team mates, the brilliant support staff for showing faith in me and for always backing me.

Onwards and upwards. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted. Earlier India beat Australia by 8 wickets and levelled the four match Test series 1-1. Jadeja played a huge role in India's win. He scored a solid 57 and alongside Ajinkya Rahane laid the foundation for India's win. Chasing 70 to win in the second session of the fourth day, India managed to get the runs needed in 15.5 overs despite losing two early wickets. A 51-run stand between Ajinkya Rahane and Shubman Gill ensured the visitors got home with minimal fuss despite an early double strike giving the hosts a glimmer of hope. However, no one can argue that India's win was anything but deserves given they dominated for most parts of the Test match.

AZHAR ESCAPES UNHURT IN ROAD MISHAP Former India captain and president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) Mohammed Azharuddin escaped unhurt in a road accident in the Soorwal region of Rajasthan last week. Azharuddin was on his way to Ranthambore when the car in which he was travelling was badly damaged in an accident on Kota highway. HCA vice-president John Manoj said that Azhar was unhurt. “I spoke to his son and he told me that the car was badly damaged but Azhar is unhurt,” he added.

ARJUN TENDULKAR GETS CALL Young left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar, son of Sachin Tendulkar, has been picked in Mumbai's senior team for the first time. The squad which is in an extended 22-member on for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was picked last week. Apart from Arjun, another pacer, Krutik Hanagavadi, was also added in the squad. He has been playing agegroup tournaments for Mumbai and also has been part of the team, which plays invitational tournaments. Earlier, the pacer has bowled at the Indian national team nets and also represented the India U-19 team, when they had toured Sri Lanka in the past. The Mumbai squad is led by batsman Suryakumar Yadav and will be playing all their matches in the state capital. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the national T20 championship, will begin from January 10, commencing the delayed 2020-21 domestic season.

STELLAR SHOW BY INDIAN MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM The Indian men’s hockey team’s stellar start to their FIH Pro League campaign this year has gone a long way in helping them finish 2020 at fourth spot in the world rankings - their highest since the system was introduced in 2003. India played six games in the Pro League before the hockey calendar ground to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March. They beat Olympic silver medallists the Netherlands 5-2 and 3-3 (3-1) and followed up with a 2-1 win over reigning world champions Belgium before losing 3-4 in the second leg of the tie. They lost 3-4 loss to Australia, but then went on to beat them 2-2 (3-1) in the second leg.