AV 09th October 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE Hospital cuts and trims Sikh man’s facial hair, calls it an “honest mistake”

US states to celebrate October as Hindu Heritage Month SEE PAGE - 22

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Gandhi Jayanti Special

R

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inside

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side Covid jabs: Community Pharmacies have begun taking load off the NHS and GPs SEE PAGE - 7

Will quit Congress soon but won’t join BJP: Amarinder SEE PAGE - 23

9 - 15 OCTOBER 2021 - VOL 50 ISSUE 23 Navratri and Durga Pujo: Continuing the tradition

Sachin Tendulkar named among several in 'Pandora Papers' investigation

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TIT FOR TAT? What do British Indians think about the change in quarantine rules imposed by India on those arriving from the UK during this festive season? We find out.

Editorial credit: YashSD / Shutterstock.com

L-R: Lord Dolar Popat, CB Patel, H.E. Gaitri Issar Kumar, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Harrow Mayor Cllr Ghazanfar Ali and Shantibhai Dhamecha

A unique gesture and grand ‘Seva Ratna Sanmman’ to recognise, honour and express our sincere gratitude to those who have served the community during the crisis period of the Covid-19 pandemic, was organised

by ABPL Group at the Dhamecha Lohana Centre on Sunday 3 October 2021.

Full story on page 8

What is our Plan B for a rainy day?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson in France on 25 August 2019

Shefali Saxena The Covid-19 pandemic is testing the UK-India partnership in more ways than one. While leaders of both countries across portfolios have been in perpetual contact with each other and signed some heavy-duty agreements and roadmaps that aim to benefit the partnership, India announced last week that British citizens coming from the UK will now have to quarantine for 10 days when they land in any Indian city.

The new rule came into force on 4 October which is being termed as a tit-for-tat move by India because the UK’s Covid protocols demand Indians to undergo a mandatory 10-day home quarantine upon arrival in the UK. Continued on page 6

The furlough scheme has ended and Chancellor Rishi Sunak hasn’t ruled out rising unemployment in the UK. He told Sky News that the government is "throwing the kitchen sink" at helping people find new roles and learn new skills.

He further said, "But what I do know is that the interventions we put in place have made an enormous difference. I think the plan is working.

Now of course some people have sadly lost their jobs and will lose their job.

Continued on page 6

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

9 - 15 October 2021

with Keith Vaz

Labour raise concerns that PM might trigger Article 16 to distract from negative headlines

Kamlesh C Darji Consulting and Coaching Kamlesh C Darji was born on a steamer ship (SS Sirdhana) somewhere in an expanse between Mumbai and Karachi. His father was an Accountant for the Madhvani Group in Mwanza, Africa. In the 1970's, they moved to Hull as his father wanted to pursue further studies. After this, they moved to London where Kamlesh graduated in Economics and took a different trajectory choosing to volunteer for his community at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in London. He also owned a consulting business and also worked for a Home-office driven community initiative.

He volunteered for many groups while there and it is something Kamlesh truly enjoy doing. In 2004, He went to the US on vacation and ended up getting married. He had since been in Tampa, Florida initially working for the family business as well as owning his own businesses. Over a decade ago, he started a podcast and system on self-mastery called Winning Karma, which is branching out into different areas including a soon to launch mastermind group.

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

The place I feel most comfortable with is the one I live in. I felt comfortable when I lived in England but have now found a home in the United States. I also love the wonder and spiritual enchantment of India when I visit. I am fairly simple so try to fit around the environment rather than the other way around.

2. What are your proudest achievements?

My belief in God as the one who empowers me. I managed to write my first short book as well. My proudest achievements aren’t the ones in monetary terms.

I am proud of my family; I am passionate about volunteering, giving back, coaching, and mentoring others. I have been fortunate to have held leadership roles in a number of organizations here in Florida.

3. What inspires you?

What inspires me are people who boldly stare in the face of adversity and overcome challenges whether they are mental or physical. To me, the triumph of the spirit spurs me to continue showing up in life no matter whatever happens.

4. What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Me! Juggling through full time responsibilities and my passions can be hard. We have a finite amount of time and sometimes I have deviated into areas where time was wasted, but lessons learned.

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

I believe we are the cumulative sum of many influences. My parents who worked hard have been influential, but the biggest influence for me -and they won’t mind me saying this- has been His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj who was a con-

stant in my life, accepted me with my rough edges and not only gave me spiritual guidance, but taught me to abide by principles and values no matter what I do in life whether it was in business, family or in the community. Today, that role is played by His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj.

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

Working with people, seeing seismic shifts in their lives and seeing breakthroughs is heartening to see.

7. And the worst?

To be honest, I know this may sound idealist, but nothing really. You take each day as it comes, and you make the most of it. Reframing and perspective are powerful things to have in your arsenal.

8. What are your long-term goals?

To continue develop myself and become a better person by working on my emotional intelligence. I also want to create ventures which will impact others in a positive way.

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

A very difficult question to answer to be honest. Leadership at that level thrusts an enormous responsibility upon one's shoulders. Hypothetically, I would always strive for unity based on the status quo at the time when I was leading.

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

Viktor Frankl, because of his experience in surviving the most trying of circumstances having lost so much.

Someone like that would be great to have around the fire especially during such times when you need to see a smidgeon of hope.

Shadow Chancellor promises biggest wave of insourcing if party wins next election Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor has said that if their party wins in the next general election, they would set up a team to review contracts awarded during the coronavirus pandemic to claw back every possible penny of taxpayers’ money from those that did not

deliver.

He also promised that the party would carry out the biggest insourcing in a generation under Keir Starmer.

She also noted that £2bn had been awarded in government contracts to ‘friends and donors’ of the

Conservative Party, which includes the controversial two waste disposal contracts.

She has promised that a labour government would lead a new era of industrial strategy working hand-inhand with trade unions and businesses.

Pressure mounting on Sunak to use next year’s national insurance raid The local government says that only providing the same level of services now requires at least GBP8 billion more in the budgets due to rising costs pressures.

This means that an average Band D home would see

their annual bill soaring by £475 to more than £2,370 by 2024.

With widespread bankruptcies of local service providers predicted by 2024, pressure is mounting on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to

use next year’s national insurance raid to pay for social care sooner. Also it is to be noted that the majority of the 12 billion the tax hike will raise is not due to be used for social care until at least 2024.

Concern has been raised by a senior labour figure that Boris Johnson might escalate tensions with the EU by triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to divert people’s attention from ongoing reports of labour shortages and everyday items like food and petrol running out.

Baroness Jenny

Chapman has said that she was ashamed to say this about the government, but she thinks this all makes it more likely that it will trig-

ger Article 16.

Cabinet Office Minister Lord Frost, who handles the UK's post-Brexit dealings with the EU, has threatened repeatedly in recent weeks to trigger Article 16, arguing that the Protocol is causing an unacceptable level of disruption to businesses and day-to-day life in Northern Ireland.

Unable to access an NHS dentist, a woman extracted six of her own teeth As more than 5000 people signed a petition of campaign group Toothless in Suffolk calling for improved access to NHS dentists, one woman said she had to extract six of her teeths as she could not find a dentist accepting NHS patients.

Campaigners met the commissioners of NHS

England and NHS Improvement for the East of England to discuss the issue on Monday.

According to a for the spokeswoman Department of Health and Social Care, there are hundreds of practices in East Anglia which are open and offering face to face services

and over 700 practices across the country providing additional emergency dental treatment.

Coventry MP Zarah Sultana emerges as a leading figure from Labour Party Conference Zarah Sultana, 27, received an overwhelming applause while addressing the crowd at a conference fringe event in Brighton this week. The audience at the event, which was a rally of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, chanted “Oh, Zarah Sultana” , an echo of the infamous Corbyn anthem.

Left titans like Corbyn, John McDonnell and Diana Abbott were among Sultan’s

It is to be noted that at his first in-person conference as leader on Wednesday, Starmer actively distanced himself from the Corbyn-era.

Former shadow cabinet minister and Corbyn ally Richard Burgeon accused Starmer leadership of being ‘missing in action’ and vowed the ‘Labour left will again one day win a leadership election’.

supporters.

Former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage hit by a van desperately searching for petrol Nigel Farage has said that on Thursday morning he went to 7 petrol stations only to find that there was no fuel at any of them. He claimed that while he was stationary at a roundabout frantically searching for petrol, he was hit by a van.

While the Tweet was mocked by several Twitter users, many others were

sympathetic to this staunch Brexiteer, who asked him to ignore the haters.

Earlier this week, Farage had claimed EU membership as the cause of the current HGV driver shortage saying that EU’s labour market had triggered a race to the bottom of driver’s salaries by haulage companies. He added that this

resulted in poor standards within the industry, leading it into a total mess.

Two young boys killed in a car crash In a BMW car collision on Wolverhampton’s Birmingham New Road, two young children of the mother who was driving were killed.

23 months old Pawanweer Singh and 10 years old Sanjay were travelling with their mother when the crash happened.

Both the kids were killed.

Mohammad Sullaiman Khan and Hamza Shahid appeared in court charged with driving dangerously and causing the crash. Two other cars, Audi and Bentley were also involved in the accident.

Apart from this Mohammed Adil Khan, 33 and Mohammed Asim Khan, 34 appeared in the court for perverting the course of jus-

tice and Rashane Henry, 30 and Tejinder Singh, 29 were also charged with assisting an offender.

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COMMENTS 3

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

9 - 15 October 2021

Double standards are for losers, Mr Johnson A colossal mistake. A wrong decision that will cost Britain 75 years of efforts to improve the already delicate relationship between UK and India. Vaccine diplomacy has hit its lowest point with UK not accepting India’s vaccine certificate as legitimate.

Let us analyse what happened chronologically. After much deliberation, India was taken out of the Red List in August.

People with OCI cards were allowed to travel while those with no such documents were asked to wait. However, visas for emergency purposes were then allowed. People started travelling back and forth, meet families, with almost two years of separation.

UK then decided to announce the opening of tourist visas for Indians. A move that was applauded in the beginning but soon found to be an empty gesture. Astra Zeneca, is a vaccine with formula from Jenner Institute at Oxford, manufactured widely in a few locations including India at Serum Institute. Known as Covishield in India, it has also been exported to the UK from India and used widely. A certain batch number (starting with mainly 41) was separated as India made, and passengers with those dosages were banned from flying to Malta.

However soon vaccine shortage in India hit, and Astra Zeneca stopped importing vaccines from India. Many people in India, went ahead and chose to get Covaxin for three reasons.

Youngsters believed this vaccine was created to combat Covid-19 from the start. Second it was more widely available in India and at a shorter waiting interval between two doses. Third, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the poster boy for an allin-all ‘Made in India’ product, making it highly recommendable among followers. He even travelled to the US with Covaxin dosages, as WHO promises to decide on the vaccine’s international status soon. NaMo has also remained Covid free, though his Cabinet members have contracted the disease, making him the ideal for vaccine efficiency.

But UK, in one of its typically racist moves, decided first to not accept India’s Covishield as an “approved” vaccine in the UK. Remember, the same Covishield formula has been prepared by a UK lab, only manufactured in bulk in India. This is the first time, and funnily after Brexit, this government has rejected its own product as “below standard”. Soon, there was a U-turn on the decision, and suddenly the vaccine certificate became “unaccept-

able” for UK standards.

The fear of a “fake” certificate is perhaps legitimate, especially as technology and AI take over our lives, but surely this piece of paper can be authenticated?

When one reached India before the 4 October rule change, there was a set of regimented requirements for international travellers. An RT-PCR at an Indian airport and seven days of advised home quarantine, if tested negative. India of course acknowledged the time crunch travellers faced and let their best senses prevail. But in no way was an international traveller discriminated on their vaccine status or certificate. In fact, our readers have complained to us, how their NHS vaccine QR code did not work, while filling in Home Office’s Passenger Locator Form, on their way back to the UK. India’s reciprocal decision to make 10-day home quarantine mandatory is unwelcome but justifiable. No country that deserves to stand on equal footing with UK, will or can accept discriminatory or one-sided decisions.

Let’s see what UK has now at stake. A disgruntled community, that ensured victory for Conservative government in 2015 and 19 and known as India’s Living Bridge by PM Modi are now at loss of words. The 2021 tracker, collated annually by Grant Thornton and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to weigh up the contribution of Indian businesses to the UK economy, found that the number of Indian companies operating in the country grew from 842 in the 2020 tracker to 850 and these firms employed 116,046 people. Clearly the distrust in India, its vaccine or certificate makes Indian companies weary of UK’s hostile environment?

The Indo-Pacific treaty that vests the responsibility of peace in the region on India, as the power trip of China, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka grows, clearly proves itself to be a one-sided demand. Mr Johnson, India is no longer a country living on others’ aids. It’s self-reliant and self-sufficient.

Friendships are between equals and the first principle is that of trust. It is about time; you separate your friends from foe and stand by the country that can single-handedly solve your Brexit problems in full-faith or solidarity. British hypocrisy is not in vogue anymore.

Six points to a safer society The great debate across Britain about safety of women is imperative. The issue isn’t only the threat a woman faces from a man or abuse of power or that of mistrust. Critics have said it was a lone case, but alarm bells were ringing way before Officer Wayne broke the law to arrest a woman and then kill her. The failure was not just that of safety of a woman but that of an institution’s inability to sack a man who was already believed to be a danger.

First, police bosses need to take a close look at the situation within their departments. Racism, sexism and bullying need to be removed with immediate effect. Age old bad habits, old men’s club of misogyny – everything needs a total detoxification.

Second, no use in firing Commissioner Cressida Dick now. Of course, she could have resigned, but a new Commissioner coming in, settle and act will only waste precious time. There is absolutely no opportunity left to waste.

Third, our society is conditioned to objectify women. Pop cultures have songs on Top charts in the UK with perverted meanings, pretty much looking at women as something to be “owned”.

Not acceptable. Change the narrative, change the language, change the mindset. Now. Fourth, children often learn what they see at home, growing up to be disturbed men with violent minds.

It is important for schools, social service to watch out for children who are being affected by broken systems and poverty.

Fifth, police forces need more money, to ensure proper and timely trainings to educate officers about the risks involved in misusing one’s power.

Sixth, police forces need to advocate fair representation, inclusion and equality. They also need education in culture. Currently only 27% of Met Police’s officers are women. 11% of them are BAME. Despite having a target of increasing that percentage to 40, by 2021, what has the Met Police done to communicate with the minority communities?

While the distrust is growing in the wider community, this is something that BAME community has faced for the longest time.

The Black Lives Matter movement would not have happened, if there was no breach of power from the authority.

What if Sarah Everard had the right to ask for a female officer to escort her instead of Officer Wayne on that fateful night?

Perhaps she would have been alive today.

Whilst the country bickers about how the police is failing, it is time for a societal overhaul. And honestly that starts from parents’ kitchen for a man, not just as adults in uniform.

Leadership vacuum heightens infighting in Congress In July 2019, Rahul Gandhi had announced quitting as the Congress president while taking responsibility for the party’s poll debacle in the Lok Sabha polls. Two years on, the party continues to struggle with the leadership crisis as it is yet to appoint a fulltime president. In fresh worry for the Congress, elections in key states are due next year. The unending wave of internal conflicts appears to have gripped the state units of the party where polls are due less than a year from now. What appears to be a bigger problem for the Congress is that in many such cases, the friction does not cease to end despite the intervention of the Gandhis.

With its footprint shrinking since 2014, the year the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre, the Congress is sharing power in six states, but has its chief ministers in only Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. In Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the party is just a junior partner. While in all the three states in crisis – Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – the reasons for the crisis and internal feud differ, there is one common thread that binds them together – the demand for a change in leadership.

The crisis in Punjab began right after the Congress came to power and Captain Amarinder Singh was appointed as the chief minister for a second term. Ever since then, the Captain and former state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is now the Punjab Congress chief, have been at loggerheads. While the battle appeared to have been resolved following the intervention of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, but it did not last long. Finally, Amarinder had to quit as CM and Charanjit Singh Channi was appointed as the new CM. Still the infighting continues. In Chhattisgarh, differences between two factions in the party became open after Health Minister TS Singh Deo reminded the party high command of its promise of rotational chief ministership soon after the government crossed the halfway mark. While Singh is demanding what he was appar-

ently ‘promised’, CM Bhupesh Baghel is not willing to give up the top position. The stalemate continues, despite the intervention of Rahul Gandhi. In Rajasthan Sachin Pilot is posing a challenge to Ashok Gehlot. When the Congress came to power in the state in 2018, Gehlot thwarted all possible challenges from his deputy Pilot. However, during the first wave of pandemic last year, Pilot revolted against the 70-year-old chief minister, claiming the support of over two dozen MLAs. This rebellion rang alarm bells for the party leadership as it came close to a similar revolt by Jyotiraditya Scindia against Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh which eventually led to the state slipping out of the Congress’ hands.

While a truce was called between the two after Priyanka Gandhi’s intervention, that did not seem to repair much damage.

Speculations are rife that Pilot may be preparing for a fresh showdown if Gehlot does not accommodate his loyalists in the government. Most analysts have argued that the leadership vacuum at the top is the core cause of the crisis faced by the Congress. It seems that the leadership crisis at the top is a bigger problem than the infighting at the state level. There is infighting in every party to some extent, but an authoritative leadership will be able to control the division. But Congress lacks any leadership at the top and Gandhis writ is not running. Unless there is unity, the chances of Congress retaining power in any state is doomed.

Strong opposition is essential for healthy democracy. The Opposition maintains constant vigil on the ruling party’s activities and provides the people with political choice for future elections. As the name suggests, the primary duty of the Opposition party is to oppose the policies and programmes of the party in power. However, the purpose of such opposition is not to impose its views in place of the ruling party’s. India now lacks a strong opposition. The opposition unity is lacking in India and it is a big loss for democracy in India.

If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost. - Barack Obama

Alpesh Patel

The Politics of The Security Council and India The United Nations Security Council has five permanent members, with the power of veto over UN resolutions. Those countries are UK, US, France, China and Russia. By rotation, India is presently a member of the UN Security Council, albeit a nonpermanent member.

India must project its influence globally, involve herself everywhere as the Permanent Members have chosen to do. Without a desire to project such power, influence, she will remain on the sidelines. India has to exert the global confidence which has given PM Modi a cult like status Indian PMs have never had; a cult like status sneered at by his foes, who have to deny and ignore that no other person in the history of the world has in free and fair elections won so many votes -ever, anywhere.

As Britain sends its naval strike force to dock in India, so too India must use its soft power. Just as Gandhiji became the conscience of mankind, and the US the ‘leader of the free world’ so too must India meet her destiny and take on the mantle as the world’s largest democracy as a promoter of plural, liberal values everywhere.

So consider that Britain has a sense of its history and heritage. This is not overreach, it is simply a case of, ‘if they do not do it, who will’?

India must stand against Burma – in its own back garden. India must stand against China over the Dalai Lama – where was the Indian message that Buddhism was the born in India and India has housed the world’s persecuted for two millennia since the Jews led by St Thomas. That is India’s heritage. If you wanna come around looking for trouble in attacking it, you will get some trouble.

Do not be like the Arab League. Once again the West has to clear up their mess. They have oil, but instead of being civilised and cleaning up their own house, they kill each other. Make no mistake, so did the West until 1945. I am not saying all things Western are good, but the Arab world, Saudi Arabia in particular, needs to take the lead for once and show some moral courage too in it’s back garden.

The worst kind of country or person is one who has someone else do their dirty work for them. It is tantamount to cowardice. So it was Samuel Johnson said, ‘Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.’ Add Ambrose Redmoon, ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear’.

There was a time when Indian politicians could stand up to a Churchill – just ask Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Nehru. Or ask the 5 million Commonwealth soldiers fighting in Western wars – cleaning up the West’s mess in the past.

So the next time someone shows you a chart of how India will be the third largest economy in the world in 30 years – say a prayer for the rest of the world.

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9 - 15 October 2021

More than 600 devotees walk across London in a historic ‘Smruti Pad-Yatra’ As part of the centennial birth anniversary celebrations of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, and to mark the 88th birth anniversary of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, a special smruti pad-yatra (pilgrimage by foot) was organised

by BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London – popularly known as ‘Neasden Temple’ – on Sunday 3 October 2021.

More than 600 people of all ages, including resident swamis of the mandir, walked a distance of 13.5 miles to visit historic and sanctified places that encompass a period of more than 50 years of significance.

The pilgrimage began in warm

autumnal sunshine from Alexandra Palace – where, in 1974, a grand reception, comprising almost 4,000 devotees and a Royal Air Force musical band, honoured Pramukh Swami Maharaj for his first visit to the UK as the Guru.

The historic month-long ‘Cultural Festival of India’, inspired and

attended by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, was also held here in 1985.

The pad-yatra continued to 77 Elmore Street, Islington, where Yogiji Maharaj inaugurated the first BAPS mandir in the UK, and one of the UK’s first Hindu mandirs, on 14 June 1970.

The walkers also visited Dollis Hill – the place of Yogiji Maharaj’s residence during his visit to London in 1970 – before arriving at the old Neasden hari mandir, the site opposite the current Neasden Temple, inaugurated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1982, and then

concluding the journey at the first shikharbaddha mandir outside of India, opened by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1995.

The journey of around 4 hours and 30 minutes of walking time rekindled cherished memories for senior devotees and provided an opportunity for youths and children to become part of BAPS’s rich history in London.

Keyur Bhatt, one of the lead

volunteers who helped organise the pad-yatra, shared his experiences after the conclusion: “Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj have given so much to London and the UK. Their tireless efforts have laid the foundations for Hindu values and culture to be embedded and celebrated here in the UK. This walk has given us all an opportunity to commemorate their hard work. We were also inspired by the blessings of Mahant Swami Maharaj who reflected on his own memories and encouraged us all to immerse ourselves in this unique and rich history.”

Campaigner embarks on epic 400-mile walk to UN climate summit in Glasgow Climate campaigner Pushpanath ‘Push’ Krishnamurthy is making an epic journey from London to Glasgow – on foot – to raise awareness of climate change.

Push, who will be 70 in January, started his 400-mile (650km) walk at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in London on 2 October noon and is set to arrive in Glasgow to coincide with the crucial 26 th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place

with local communiin the city, 1-12 ties along my route’. I November, attended have seen for myself by world leaders. the world’s most vulPush, who previnerable countries, that ously worked for have contributed the Oxfam for 29 years, least to climate said: “My walk is change, are the ones about making sure suffering most from that the voices of effects.

With those most impacted Pushpanath Krishnamurthy its COP26 just days away by the climate crisis there has never been a more urgent are heard so it’s fantastic to be time to demand action on climate.” sharing stories and inspiration

Averaging about 15 miles (25km) a day, Cambridge resident Push is visiting communities, schools and Oxfam shops along his route as he makes his way north.

In 2009, Push walked from Oxford to Copenhagen for another major climate change conference, COP15. 12 years later the devastating effects of climate change are even more apparent with extreme weather wrecking lives, homes and liveli-

hoods, and pushing people deeper into poverty. The climate summit in Glasgow, is a critical make or break moment for global leaders to commit to decisive action to cut carbon emissions and to support countries that are hit hardest by the effects of the climate crisis.

Push added: “The more people we can reach out to and connect with along the way, the faster we will reach our destination together.”

Lord Mayor of London calls on India Conservatives announce new funding to get around the table at COP26 to level up access to public tennis courts and improve school sport

The Lord Mayor of the City of zero emissions. It will look at a London William Russell has number of crucial topics, called on India to participate in including barriers to acceleratdiscussions on climate financing the mobilisation of capital, ing at the UN Climate Change financing both transition and Conference – better known as growth, and how to price carCOP26 – taking place in bon and nature. It will also disGlasgow next month. cuss how to mobilise investSpeaking at the Federation ment into emerging and develof Indian Chambers of oping economies like India.

In his speech, Lord Mayor Commerce & Industry [FICCI] Thematic Businesses Forum on Lord Mayor William Russell William Russell said, “Our window to act is finite and Climate Change at the World closing quickly. That’s why I am calling for Expo in Dubai, the Lord Mayor urged action, action now and action through Indian stakeholders to register for the COP26 later this year. I believe we all have upcoming hybrid Green Horizon Summit it within ourselves to be part of the soluat COP26, which the City of London tion and create a sustainable foundation Corporation is holding alongside the Green for our society. The UK and India are great Finance Institute. partners – which has been proved time and The Summit will bring together figures time again. And I believe that if we embrace from the financial and professional services the opportunity ahead of us, we can tackle sector across the world to discuss how best climate change and build a world which to mobilise finance in the transition to net will support us for centuries to come.”

His remarks follow an announcement by the City Corporation of its support for Bloomberg’s Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI), co-chaired by Macquarie and Tata Group and supported by governments on both sides. It aims to drive capital into India through public, private, and multilateral initiatives to help the country meet its 2015 Paris Agreement commitments, which include a pledge to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35% by 2030.

The City Corporation has a longstanding programme of work in India, and opened a representative office in Mumbai 13 years ago. More than 15 Indian financial firms have offices in London and many have branches across the UK.

The Conservatives will open their party conference by setting out new funding for school sport and tennis courts across the nation as the party set out its mission to build back better and healthier following the pandemic.

The Government and Lawn Tennis Association have announced a £30 million package to refurbish public tennis courts across Britain, and support a new generation of players to get into the sport. Nadine Dorries has committed £22 million of new Government funding alongside a £8.5 million commitment by the Lawn Tennis Association to revive over 4,500 park courts at more than 1,500 venues owned by local authorities.

At the same time the Education Secretary has announced further investment in school sport to help children stay active.

This will build on the £10.1 million existing investment to keep school sports facilities and swimming pools open outside of the school day.

The Government will invest an additional £30m a year to help schools build new sport facilities; upgrade existing facilities (e.g.improving drainage so pitches withstand rain, meaning fewer cancelled activities); and improve community access to facilities (e.g. creating a secure out-of-hours entrance). This will help schools offer a richer sporting experience to children - both during and outside the school day. And it will help communities as a whole benefit from better access to great facilities.

Both announcements are designed to level up access to sporting facilities across the UK, helping improve participation and support the nation’s future sporting success.

Park courts are some of the most accessible to those wishing to pick up a racket, yet 45% of courts in England, Scotland and Wales are in need of investment as their condition is unplayable, very poor, or poor.

Currently 50% of unplayable venues are in the areas of highest deprivation. This new investment will pay for resurfacing and repainting tennis courts. The funding will

also be used to increase the use of Gate Access Systems that allow the public to access courts via smartphone apps. The LTA will work with local authorities to put in place sustainable models to help ensure courts can be used by communities on an ongoing basis. The investment will be rolled out in 2-3 years with local communities benefiting from an immediate transformation of facilities and boosts to participation.

The move is designed to open up the sport to people of all backgrounds, support the Government’s commitment to levelling up sports provision across the nation, and provide greater opportunities for everyone to follow the Chief Medical Officer’s guidance on physical activity. The guidance makes clear that children should aim to carry out 60 minutes of physical activity a day, and adults 2.5 hours a week.

Commenting, Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries said: "The whole country watched in awe as Emma Raducanu succeeded in winning the US open. I want more people to follow in Emma’s footsteps and find success on the court, whether that's winning an international tournament or just picking up a racket to keep fit. That's why we are going to invest £22m to repair and improve access to park tennis courts across the country as part of the Conservative’s efforts to level up our sporting success."

Commenting, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “It’s fantastic news that the Government is investing over £30 million to boost sports activities and PE at schools in England. Sport plays such a vital role in the education of our children and helps to build their character and broaden their opportunities. This funding shows that we are serious about improving access to quality sports facilities to keep kids active. We know the next Harry Kane, Emma Raducanu or Mo Farah is out there, but they need the right facilities and support to display their talent. This Conservative government will help children realise their full athletic potential.”

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9 - 15 October 2021

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TIT FOR TAT? for UK nationals as there is no valid arguThis news came few days after the hint of ment to treat fully vaccinated people as reciprocal action against the UK by India’s ‘unvaccinated’ and only weakens the global Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in fight against the virus. India is the technoloSeptember. Travellers coming in from the gy hub of the world and the world’s largest UK will also have to undergo a mandatory democracy which has its vaccination proRT-PCR Test for Covid-19, within 72 hours gram digitised from day one so casting of landing in India. There’ll be an RT-PCR doubts on its vaccine or certification process test on arrival as well and on the eighth day is nothing else but superiority complex by the UK. The Indian diaspora in the UK has after arrival.

Reacting to the announcement, Sanam been greatly affected by this move including my family because many are due to travel Arora, NISAU UK Chairperson tweeted: soon to see their loved ones for “There continues to be so much conDiwali festivities. The cost of travfusion over the scrapping of el between the two countries is Amber list. Yes, Covishield is already high enough during recognised now but the adminpandemic & adding additionistration isn't yet - so quaranal expensive tests and long tine rules continue to apply.” quarantine compounds the Deputy Mayor of London hassle people have to face for Business Rajesh Agrawal especially those travelling said, “I urge the UK and the with children. The UK governIndian authorities to work closeAnkit Goel ment should be aware that the ly together and resolve this situaIndian community is closely tion ASAP. It’s causing a huge amount watching & currently feels let down as of economic loss on both sides as well as inconvenience to tourists, business visitors, this could have been handled better."

Aastha Kapoor told the newsweekly, “I students and families.”

As many British Indians plan to visit agree that the Indian government took this India for the upcoming festivals of Durga step in retaliation to the UK not recognizing Puja, Dussehra and Diwali, Asian Voice Covishield as an approved vaccine but I feel reached out to them for their comment. that it is going to end up inconveniencing Many of those who are hoping to travel, the Indian diaspora more than the British haven’t been home in two years due to the populace. Especially with Diwali and other festivals just around the corner, loads pandemic. of people who would have been Some individuals (who do not planning to visit their families wish to be named) told Asian after not being able to travel Voice that they have cancelled for two years would be their tickets to India because of impacted by this move.” this new rule. “People have not Sohel Modi said that this seen their families for years. is an absolutely absurd move.

This is not helping. We can“Don’t think there is any celled our tickets due to so explanation to this other much uncertainty,” a London than,” he added. based family told us.

Bhaskar Bhattacharjee “Just returned from India and Saddened by this decision saw how testing is a total farce, which Bhaskar Bhattacharjee, who is originally from Kolkata, is living in the UK for the makes one doubt their certification. Totally last 15 years. Speaking to Asian Voice, he said, with the UK on this,” Shikha Wadhwa said.

Shilpa Garg who recently returned to the “I haven’t been to India for almost 3 years now. And in October we had a 2-week win- UK from India said, “I also got back recently dow (due to school half term) and we and got my testing done at Max hospital. You planned for a much-awaited India trip. For should be going through the right channels. me holiday In Christmas is difficult as I work If you are trying to find a shortcut, it is your in the hospitality industry and it’s one of the fault and not any Government. Moreover, CoWin has been approved by WHO.” busiest times of the year.

Sagar Srivastava said, “I find Indian test“We got even excited when UK relaxed ing cheaper, hygienic & timely as compared the rules for British citizens coming back to the UK from 4th October onwards. But due to the UK. And if someone wants to do some to the new guidelines from the Indian gov- forgery, they can do it through Photoshop ernment (which I presume is a tit for tat), we irrespective of the country.

Meanwhile, as India and UK navigate had to drop the plan. We were saddened by through what one may possibly call, the last this decision by the Indian government.” leg of the pandemic (with soaring vaccinaRidiculous rules which should be abolished Aditya, who stays in London told Asian tion rates and controlled cases), it is apparVoice, “Don’t think it was tit for tat but a ently being said that British Prime Minister weird rule to harass people of Indian origin. Boris Johnson might personally visit Indian Tourist visa route for British citizens unless Prime Minister Narendra Modi sometime emergency is still not open. So people who this month. Allegedly, Johnson wants to are travelling to India at the moment are make peace with Modi and put a band-aid on Indians (maybe with or without a British this tit-for-tat tussle amid vaccine racism passport) to meet their family especially dur- and quarantine rules, in order to welcome ing major festivals like Durga puja and Modi to the Cop26 climate summit in Glasglow in November.

Diwali.

Continued from page 1

“The UK government does not ask travellers coming to the UK to go through RTPCR at the airport. But the Indian government does ask this. Because of this rule, people must wait at the airport to catch a connecting flight. If someone reaches at odd hours and connecting flight is only once a day, then the wait could be up to 24 hours!

Imagine the pain of travellers with infants or senior citizens.

“The UK does not ask for RT PCR of infants coming to the UK while the Indian govt does ask for this even for babies who are months old.

“Moreover, India already has 7-day advisory quarantine for international travellers even before the announcement which now has been changed to 10.

India has correctly reciprocated quarantine rules Ankit Goel from Harrow told us, "India has correctly reciprocated quarantine rules

What is our Plan B for a rainy day?

Continued from page 1 But that's why I want them to be reassured that we are throwing literally the kitchen sink at helping them get a new job, new skills, new opportunities and we know that's been working over the past 12 to 18 months and that's why we're doing more of it today."

Asian Voice reached out to Asian businesses to get a sense of their plan b for a rainy day if in case there are further job losses, staff shortages or even another pandemic like calamity.

Indian hotelier and founder of Speciality Restaurants Limited, Anjan Chatterjee told

Anjan Chatterjee

Asian Voice that the majority of his staff for his restaurant Chourangi in London will be hired locally.

While Britain continues to grapple with staff shortage, and understandably skilled labour, Chatterjee added, “Our head chefs have been selected from Oh! Calcutta, our restaurant in Kolkata.”

When asked how long he thinks he’ll be able to suffice amid several kinds of shortages in the UK, Mr Chattejree said, “While getting the right quality of staff has been challenging, but due to Speciality Restaurant’s longstanding credibility, we have been able to attract the right talent. As of the present we have not faced any food shortage but I am sure that the UK government will handle this in an appropriate manner so that the restaurant or F&B industry is not impacted.”

How are Asian businesses surviving amid food, staff, fuel shortages? Sanjay Aggarwal, co-founder and director of Spice Kitchen

Sanjay and Shashi Aggarwal

told us, “We can only speak for our business, but for us, the planning we have done to ensure that we are as flexible and agile as possible as a business means we are doing ok.

We ensure all staff are multi-skilled and trained so that if anyone is off sick, particularly with Covid, we can all step in and support the overall operation. This all hands-on deck approach is certainly a huge factor in our ability to ride the current waves.

“We are offering staff flexibility to work from home if they can, and everyone is set up

with a workstation both in the office and at home should they need to switch quickly.

For those staff who have to be in the office to do their jobs, we have implemented car-sharing and have even paid for public transport for some team members during the fuel shortages.”

Spice Kitchen has a team of 16 people and around 25% are Asian. “Luckily for us, the staff we need are available right now, as we predominantly require warehouse/packing staff. We've been fortunate enough to take advantage of the government's Kickstart programme. We now have eight employees on kickstart placements, and they are all excellent: the whole scheme has been brilliant, and we are pleased to see an extension in yesterday's news,” Sanjay said.

Since the pandemic has established that no business or individual can take their setup/job for granted, we asked Sanjay if he as a business owner, has thought of a Plan B or contingency plan should any other future pandemic or calamity hit us. He said, “The apprentice employer support grant is excellent, and we are looking to convert some of the staff from kickstart to apprenticeships once they finish their six months. This helps us with our longer-term planning and will hopefully give us resilience in terms of any future issues, such as a pandemic.”

Industry body The City UK, an industry body, has meanwhile called for the introduction of a short-term business visa to allow staff to work in Britain for up to six months without the red tape needed for a full work visa. The body also said that nine months on from the introduction of Britain's post-Brexit immigration system, financial and professional services firms were seeing "significant cost increases to securing the high-skilled talent that they need to compete on the global stage".

In a joint report with Ernst and Young and London Corporation, City UK said, "While real progress has been made in removing unnecessary barriers and expanding the immigration routes available to skilled talent, businesses continue to struggle with process-related issues. In many cases, relatively minor tweaks to the UK's current mobility framework could go a long way to help UK businesses access the highly-skilled international talent they need to grow and compete globally."

There is also less respite for families as c Council tax will soar over next three years adding £500 to average yearly bills, Daily Mail reported.

Britain needs an extra £8bn to keep social care services at the same quality as a present which is because the UK has a large ageing population that means more will need social care.

“Such an increase would see the average band D council tax bill in England soar from the present £1,898 to £2,372 – a rise of £474. The recently-announced rise in national insurance will cost those on £50,000 a year an extra £500 annually while rising inflation, the end of the stamp duty holiday and the £20a--week universal credit boost all mean bad news for personal finances,” Sky reported.

Up to 100,000 care home workers could lose their jobs About 100,000 care home workers could leave the sector if they are not fully vaccinated by November 11.

Figures released last month by NHS England showed that 92.7 per cent of staff at care homes for older adults had had a first dose of vaccine as of September 12, while 84.8 per cent had been fully jabbed.

There was a 0.8 percentage point rise in first dose uptake over the seven days to September 12 — the largest weekly rise for two months, suggesting that the deadline has had some impact.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “If you want to work in a care home, you are working with some of the most vulnerable people

in our country, and if you cannot be bothered to go and get vaccinated, then get out and go and get another job.

“If you want to look after [care home residents], if you want to cook for them, if you want to feed them, if you want to put them to bed, then you should get vaccinated. If you are not going to get vaccinated then why are you working in care?”

He added: “If you think about elderly relatives you might have in care homes, and the idea that someone wants to look after them and they don’t want to take a perfectly safe and effective vaccine that has been approved by our regulators, been used all over the world, because somehow they have got some objection to this vaccine ... then really, honestly, they shouldn’t be in our care homes.”

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NHS delivers more than 850,000 ‘top up’ jabs to most at risk

Covid jabs: Community Pharmacies have begun taking load off the NHS and GPs Shefali Saxena It wasn’t long ago when reports on how Community Pharmacy is going to change the UK's healthcare system and help take off the load from GPs and the NHS. Starting October, Shital Patel’s L.Cameron & Son has been acknowledged to administer Covid booster jabs. Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, Shital said, “We've been one of the clinics that's been offered in the south east of London.”

Patel agreed that the NHS took notice that community pharmacies play a vital role in patient care.

Talking about how successful the actual services are, given the opportunity community pharmacies provide, including easy access to patients, with all the facilities available train stations, parking. Patel said that this will help GPSs get on with the normal work as well.

“Patients can be seen for appointments that they've been waiting to see throughout the pandemic,” Shital Patel told Asian Voice.

Her clinic is not just administering Covid vaccine and its booster doses, but also serving flu shots. She said, “It is approved that now pharmacies can give patients with the flu jab and the Covid booster together.

So that's an additional benefit to the patient that can come and have one treatment at both times.

Shital Patel

But how can you approach a pharmacy to get a jab? Explaining the procedure, Shital said, “People need to book it through the National Booking System. Any healthcare professionals can walk in with a valid ID and have the jab at the clinic. We're encouraged to do it through the National Booking System, so that the NHS has an accurate record, and we can monitor the appointments of people who don't have access. We can always help them with booking appointments.”

When asked about what kind of age groups are turning up more for the jabs, Shital told the newsweekly, “Actually, everybody, really, everybody. We're seeing more patients who are not taking the jab, but are reconsidering to take it, so some

people are first time appointments as well. There are a lot of people coming for the booster who have already taken both the doses of the Covid vaccine.”

Amid staff shortages and fuel crisis, how is Patel managing the influx of people? She said, “We're quite ready. We've got a fully staffed team and we're aiming to do 350 Covid boosters a week. That's our target. But that's the target by the NHS as well. We are already quite booked up. So it's a popular service.

And all our regular patients are continuously asking for it at the clinic.

It is very successful. And the staff as well as our patients are very appreciative of the service.”

Patel mentioned that the NHS is providing every possible support to her clinic and other community pharmacies to run this smoothly.

“The NHS is there to support us. So like yesterday, they rang me to say, are you all set up? Do you need us to do anything else? Have you got any questions? They have regular online meetings to give us clinical updates.

So the NHS itself is very supportive.

We have all the contact numbers if it goes down, because obviously we need to enter all these records in the NHS. So the NHS works very closely with us in all departments from clinical use to the regional team, just to make sure the service is running as smoothly as possible.”

The NHS has administered more than 850,000 vital 'top up' jabs, as the biggest and most successful vaccination drive in health history continues.

A total of 863,460 people have already had their top-up jab, including boosters and some third doses, since the NHS launched its booster programme.

More than a million people have already been quick to book in for their booster since the online service opened for bookings just last week.

The NHS has sent a further one million invites to eligible people this week including those who are clinically vulnerable, health and care workers and people aged 50 and over – throughout the week.

Hundreds of thousands of text messages and letters have also been sent to people who har their second jab at least six months ago.

More than 79 million vaccinations have been delivered and nearly 9 in 10 adults have had their first dose since the NHS in England made history when Margaret Keenan received the first jab outside of a clinical trial in Coventry, in December 2020.

Eligible individuals can quickly and conveniently book an appointment via www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

People that can’t go online can book by phoning 119.

The NHS has been vaccinating 16- and 17-year olds with a single dose, with hundreds of thousands coming forward through the NHS ‘grab a jab’ campaign.

NHS staff have also started vaccinating young people aged 12 to 15 at schools after the government accepted the UK Chief Medical Officers’ recommendation to extend the vaccine offer to this age group.

Racism existed despite high death rate According to the official data revealed by ONS, black people who died from Covid in the first half of 2020 were two and a half times higher than white people.

Yet Government officials and scientists did not include them on the vaccine priority list.

Earlier in 2021, medical groups

representing ethnic minority NHS staff had called for ethnic minorities to be prioritised in the Covid vaccine rollout with a letter backed by 33 healthcare organisations and called on the Government to include them in category six out of the nine priority groups for the vaccine.

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Please note video coverage of this event will be broadcast on Colors Gujarati (Sky 794/Virgin Media 825) on Sunday 10 October, 2021 at 7 PM (BST) in Dhruv Gadhvi’s weekly Gujarati show 'Shu Chale Che’.

‘Seva Ratna Sanmman’ organised by ABPL Group at the Dhamecha Lohana Centre on Sunday 3 October, 2021, was one of its kind special event which was well received by our audience and various communities. A unique gesture by us to recognise, honour and express our sincere gratitude to the those who have served the community during the crisis period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

H.E. Gaitri Issar Kumar, High Commissioner of India to UK, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Lord Dolar Popat, Harrow Mayor Cllr Ghazanfar Ali, Pradip Dhamech , Ashok Kumar Chauhan MBE, Sqn Ldr Amir Khan (RAF), Dr Kartar Lalwani of Vitabiotics Ltd, Dr R R Gandecha representing NHS and many more dignitaries participated in this event.

A detailed report will be published in our next week's edition.

LtoR: Lord Dolar Popat | CB Patel | H.E. Gaitri Issar Kumar | Lord Bhikhu Parekh Harrow Mayor Cllr Ghazanfar Ali | Shantibhai Dhamecha

Harrow Mayor Cllr Ghazanfar Ali

Shradh Bhajans history Chandu Tailor Shradh is a time in the Hindu calendar where families and friends mourn in memory of the departed souls of their loved ones.

For families we have serviced since 1993, we decided to hold bhajans annually on their behalf since 1997. At first, we started holding the bhajans in our premises in New Southgate and realised that we needed a larger venue as we were overwhelmed by the response that we received.

The event had to be in planning for 6 months to the due date within the Hindu calendar which has just two weekends dur-

New plan to strengthen West Midlands-India relations A new strategy aimed at strengthening links between the West Midlands and India has been unveiled by the West Midlands India Partnership (WMIP) – the region’s official engagement body.

Developed in collaboration by the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC), PwC and the UK India Business Council, the Stronger Together strategy identifies a five-year programme of activity to unlock mutually beneficial and sustainable economic opportunities between the region and India, as both territories look to rebuild from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An official event held at PwC’s Midlands office One Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, launched the strategy to market, hosted by WMIP Chair and local businessman, Dr Jason Wouhra.

Over 70 delegates attended in person as well as hundreds across the globe who tuned in to a live stream online.

The strategy outlines five key priorities for establishing closer links with India. These include: - Promoting the West Midlands’ pivotal role at the beating heart of the UK’s living bridge with India

-

Accelerating R&D innovation through enhanced science and education collaboration - Increasing two-way trade and investment within the existing West Midlands-India corridor - Further investing in WMIP to boost engagement between the region and India; and - Maximising the economic potential of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games The West Midlands is the UK’s leading location for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) outside London and the South East, landing 145 projects during the 2020/21 financial year – 9.4% of the UK’s total. India is a leading source of the region’s FDI, with 76 Indian investments worth over £3.5bn secured in the region in the last 10 years.

Among the notable Indian investors to choose the region over the last decade are Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Infosys, Microland and, more recently, TVS Motors, which in January 2021 announced a multi-million pound relocation of the UK Headquarters for subsidiary Norton Motorcycles to a new stateof-the-art facility in Solihull.

ing the Shradh days when offering prayers to the departed.

2019 was the last fully attended event with approximately 1000 clients attending.

Sadly due to restrictions in 2020, we were only able to live stream the bhajans with 1200 devices connected during the live stream. This first live stream and recording to date has been watched 18,000 times via YouTube.

It was from the feedback of this live stream event in 2020 during Covid lockdown, we realised that more people can join us for this event from around the UK & Worldwide.

Sunday 3rd October 2021 was our 25th

H.E. Gaitri Issar Kumar Annual Shradh Bhajans which was led by Bhavik Haria alongside Bhavya Raval, Robin Christian, Dhani D, Ghanshyam Makwana, Shrikunj Gadhvi and Otis Lawrence. Sound

by Raj Pindoria - Professors of Sound, and live streamed by Rupesh Savani - Cookies Production, which was viewed by over 750 devices during the live bhajans. At time of writing this article there has been over 6000 views after the event which remains on Bhavik Haria’s YouTube channel.

I take this opportunity to thank all those who helped Jay Tailor and Bhavik Haria in putting the event together, hoping you can join us again in 2022 for the 26th Annual Shradh Bhajans.

Nationwide silent vigil held against the persecution of Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan On 2nd October, the international non-violence day, INSIGHT UK organised a nationwide vigil across 40 places in the UK with an appeal to stop violence against Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan.

Some of the locations included Edinburgh, Leeds, York, Manchester, Warrington, Bolton, Liverpool, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, London, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Rugby, Sheffield, West Bromwich, Bristol, Swindon, Salisbury, Cheltenham, Swansea, Reading, Slough, Basingstoke, and Cardiff.

The situation of Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan is becoming increasingly dire. They face regular violence, kidnappings, forceful religious conversion, attacks on businesses and religious places and persecution. It is reported that each year more than 1,000 minor Hindu girls are abducted, forced to convert, married to people twice or thrice of their age or pushed into the sex trade, never to be seen by their family again.

Some seminaries teach that forcibly converting Hindu girls is equivalent to the greatest religious duty. Minorities in Pakistan face the constant threat of blasphemy laws.

Islamic law introduced in 1977 imposes regulations and constitutional injunctions that deny equal protection and religious freedom to non-

Muslims. Additionally, the Pakistani Constitution states that only a Muslim can be the president of the country and that all high officers must take the oath of office by invoking an Islamic prayer, regardless of their religion.

In the last 2 years alone there have been 7 attacks against Hindu places of worship. The latest one happened on August 4, 2021. The Hindu temple in Bhong City in Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab province was destroyed by a mob.

The latest State Department report on International Religious Freedom 2020 depicts a very precarious situation for minorities in Pakistan. At the time of independence in 1947, Pakistan had a minority population of about 31%. Of these 24%, i.e. or 7.5 million of the minority population were Hindus. In 75 years, the minority population has dwindled to 4% of which Hindus form merely 1.6% i.e.2.5 million.

Pakistan’s State-sponsored genocide, pogroms and torture instituted and engineered by the state apparatus resulted in this precipitous decline.

Many Hindus in Pakistan continue to flee to India to protect their human rights and dignity Below are some ongoing examples of media coverage on the topic: British Hindus across the United Kingdom gathered today to highlight the helpless condition of these

minorities in Pakistan and particularly the minor girls in Pakistan.

After the vigil, the community members petitioned their local MPs to take up this humanitarian issue with the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth and ask for below: 1. The UK Govt should raise these concerns with the Pakistan Government to protect the minorities and safeguard their human rights.

2. The UK Govt should take up this matter with the Indian Government to ensure that the citizenship application of the minorities from Pakistan who have taken refuge in India should be expedited.

Tory donor scandal: Electoral Commission must launch investigation Responding to reports about a prominent Conservative donor in the leaked 'Pandora papers', Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: "It is simply wrong that wealthy donors get privileged access to Conservative Ministers, while millions of people and small businesses have been excluded from their support throughout the pandemic. It’s even worse when those donors are seemingly implicated in corruption themselves.

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Whether it is the celebration of nine nights of Navratri or the festival of lights Diwali, it is our responsibility to keep you updated with the most recent national and international developments. We will be publishing our regular issues of 16th October, 23rd October, 30th October, and 6th November. In addition to the regular issues, all our esteemed subscribers will also receive a special Diwali magazine with inspiring stories, articles, features, and a lot more.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Subscribe today and avail special offers.

For more details call: 020 7749 4080 or email us: support@abplgroup.com

Labour Party Conference supports British Hindus A Labour Party Conference that took place in Brighton last weekend witnessed a debate with Labour MP of Pakistani origin Naz Shah, who reportedly described Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “butcher” but failed to gain votes for a Kashmir motion.

According to a report in the Times of India, the Kashmir motion was put forward

by Bradford West CLP constituency of the Labour Party.

Dr Neeraj Patil, Chairman of Hindus for Labour told Asian Voice, “We are pleased to inform you that the Labour Party conference has not supported the Kashmir motion. The motion passed by Bradford CLP was not successful in getting through the priorities ballot. This motion received zero votes in the affiliate section and 20413 in the CLP section Hindus for Labour voted against this motion and campaigned during the conference to defeat this unilateral, partisan Dr Neeraj Patil at the and anti-India Labour Party Conference motion.”

The Labour Party Conference was supported by shadow health secretary of Britain,

Sadiq Khan supporting British Hindus

Jonathan Ashworth and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan who came to the stall and extended wholehearted support to Hindus for Labour. Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham extended his support too.

MP Steve Reed, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government reportedly said at the event that he acknowledged that the Labour Party has not done enough to secure or win the support of the Hindu community.

“I think, establishing Hindus for Labour is a major contribution to re-establishing and opening contacts, friendship, communication and mutual understanding between our party and the Hindu community,” Reed told TOI.

Hospital cuts and trims Sikh man’s facial hair, calls it an “honest mistake” A 71-year-old Sikh stroke victim’s facial hair was removed by Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation without any clinical reasoning. His family was left shocked when they saw his moustache had been cut and trimmed.

“My Sikh father has had his beard trimmed in a London hospital without any valid reason. The nurses are rude and refuse to help. I'm genuinely concerned about him now!

“There was no medical reason/consent for my dad's beard to be trimmed,” his daughter tweeted.

A spokesperson for the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust told Asian Voice, "We would like to apologise to the family for any distress we may have caused - this was an honest mistake made during our care for this patient and we have carried out an investigation into the

incident, to learn from it and help ensure it does not happen again.

"We are in ongoing contact with the family and our Chief Executive, Patricia Wright, has also reached out to the Sikh Federation to discuss any broader concerns they may have.”

The Hosptial also mentioned that their Trust takes equality and spiritual wellbeing extremely seriously and has policies in place to safeguard religious beliefs and cultural practices.

Reacting to the incident, Sikh Federation UK tweeted, “Shocking violation of Human Rights committed against elderly Sikh stroke victim who has had his facial hair illegally removed in @HillingdonNHSFT without any clinical reasoning. The incident is unexplained to the family. We have written to the CEO of the hospital & @sajidjavid for answers.”

9 - 15 October 2021

UK

NHS urges South Asians to come forward for life saving checks A

new NHS campaign backed by South Asian healthcare professionals is encouraging people with potential cancer symptoms to come forward for life saving checks.

The ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign raises awareness of symptoms of cancers in the abdominal area, urological cancers and lung cancer. The campaign highlights that the NHS is open and ready to treat people.

Cancers in the abdominal area include bowel, oesophageal, stomach, bowel, pancreatic, ovarian, and uterine cancers, and urological cancers includes prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers. Symptoms that could be possible signs of these cancers include persistent diarrhoea, prolonged discomfort in the tummy area, or blood in your urine – even just once.

Despite abdominal and urological cancers accounting for nearly half (44%) of all cancer diagnoses and two in five (41%) cancer deaths in England, new research findings show that many South Asians are less likely to recognise cancer symptoms – which could prevent them seeking help.

The research found that awareness of a range of potential cancer symptoms was in each case lower among South Asians than for the general public. Only 58% of South Asians knew that tummy troubles for three weeks or more could be signs of cancer (compared to 71% for the general public), and only 59% were aware diarrhoea for three weeks or more could also be a sign (compared to 73% for the general public).

More than half of South Asian respondents (55%) would be put off going to see their doctor if they had symptoms such as tummy troubles for three weeks or blood in their urine due to feeling embarrassed.

The campaign also highlights common signs of lung cancer - the third most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in

Dr Jyoti Sood the UK, with around 39,000 people diagnosed each year.

Whilst 65% of South Asians know coughing regularly for three weeks can be a symptom of cancer, this was 15% less than the awareness

amongst the general public (80%).

Over half (58%) of South Asian respondents said they would be more likely to speak to a GP about this if someone close to them told them to do so.

Anant Sachdev, CRUK GP and TVCA Clinical Lead Prevention & Early Diagnosis said: “The research findings show that there is a lot of work to be done in South Asian communities to increase awareness of cancer symptoms; the Help Us

Dr

Dr Anant Sachdev Help You campaign can play an important role in helping to close the knowledge gap and encourage more people to come forward if they notice any of the symptoms.

“I urge people to contact their GP if you see blood in your stool or urine just once or have diarrhoea or tummy trouble for three weeks or more, you should get it checked out straight away. Likewise, if you’ve had a cough for three weeks or more, and it isn’t Covid-19, it could be a warning sign. Don’t ignore these symptoms and don’t worry about wasting our time or feeling embarrassed, contact your GP straight away – we want to see you!”

The research also finds that 81% of South Asians put other things before their physical health compared with 75% of the general public, with half of South Asians putting family life before their own physical health compared with 41% of the wider public.

Jyoti Sood, GP Partner at Newbury Park Health Centre and Clinical Director at Redbridge said: “South Asians tend to put their family first, even above their own health. Yet finding out about the symptoms of cancer and seeking treatment early is the best way to ensure you can be with your family for as long as possible. If you see any unusual changes like lumps, bleeding, weight loss, tiredness or loss of appetite, get it checked immediately – it could be a sign of cancer, finding cancer early makes it more treatable and can save lives.”

Your NHS wants to see you, for further information please visit nhs.uk/cancersymptoms

Dr

10 UK 9 - 15 October 2021

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READERS' VOICE

Banking industry is the backbone of any economy “India needs 4-5 banks like SBI,” says Sitharaman (AV 2-8 Oct 2021) shows the importance of a banking network in the development of a country. For the overall development of the region, banks provide a vital link for businesses and for the general public.

When the government is insisting on putting money directly into the bank account of the beneficiaries to avoid commission and harassment of middlemen, having enough branches in rural areas is a primary requirement.

People in rural areas especially with limited transport facilities will have to waste a lot of time accessing the banking facilities which may tempt middlemen to interfere.

The banking industry is the backbone of any economy.

Sometimes it may not be commercially viable to have a branch in the rural area from the bank’s point of view but for the overall development of the region, a strong network of the banks, as well as cash machines, must be there.

Like in the UK, post offices should be empowered and equipped to accept and deposit cash on behalf of banks.

This way the banks may reduce the number of branches.

A sound network of banks is required to support businesses and to provide long term as well as short term financial needs especially keeping in mind the regional requirements and the development objectives.

Hitesh Hingu London

Good and bad manners I asked an Asian shopkeeper if he sold soap. Instead of saying “sorry, no” or “you may like to try the shop across the road,” he simply shook his head. I turned and strode out. At another Asian shop the smiling assistant greeted me with “good morning, can I help?” and led the way to the soap shelf. He thanked me for the purchase and added: “Have a nice day.” I shall certainly shop there again.

In response to Nationality Discrimination by the United Kingdom, The Government of India has decided to Impose Reciprocal Tit for Tat Covid-19 tests on United Kingdom Nationals arriving from the United Kingdom to India. These New Regulations come into effect from Monday 4 Oct 2021 Irrespective of their vaccination Status will have to undertake 1 Pre Departure Covid RTPCR Test 72 Hours before arrival 2 A Covid RTPCR Test at an airport on arrival in India 3 Covid-19 again on day eight upon arrival in India 4 Mandatory Quarantine at home or a destination address upon arrival in India I am copying this letter to Ms Gaitri Issar Kumar. High Commissioner London Mission for her attention and onward transmission to you in Delhi.

I am also writing to my Member of Parliament Steve Reed to raise this issue of Nationality Discrimination with Her Majesty Government at the earliest available date also to Liaise with the Government Republic of India to resolve this continued stalemate with expert advice from the World Health Organisation, after all, we are all in this together to combat Covid -19 that knows no boundaries.

Every Chief Minister of all the 29 states that make up the Republic of India through their NRI office will know that the Indian family unit of today is made up of different generations living and settled across all five continents and are made up of various Nationality holding different coloured passports. The only link with India is the document Overseas Citizen of India a compromise for dual Nationality (OCI) many of us including myself living and settled in the United Kingdom have not got round in obtaining one will be a target for discrimination by this Regulation.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Tit for Tat is not the answer. Let us all keep India Incredible and assist all who serve her.

Wishing you best of Health and Regards Melvyn Fernandes

Skipping Sikh runs his first marathon at 74

Landowner couple fined £190,000 for scam in Walthamstow

Skipping Sikh with his wife and daughter

Rajinder Singh MBE, popularly known as Skipping Sikh with his family after running his first marathon. His daughter Minreet Kaur tweeted:”What a legend! A day to remember. My dad @SikhSkipping at 74 didn’t train much, just had water and kept on praying and reciting waheguru and this got him through the @LondonMarathon. His story has inspired so many. I’m even ready to do a full marathon. We are really proud!”

Mohamed Lahrie, and wife Shehara, claimed they were letting six of their astounding 600 properties to a sole tenant, who was their letting agent have been fined almost £190,000.

This meant Waltham Forest Council were unaware of multiple occupation houses, so authorities did not inspect them or charge HMO licence fees.

The defence lawyer Lahries, appealing for leniency, told District Judge Andrew Sweet the properties were just “1 per cent” of their total property portfolio which they have forced to sell. It is believed to be one of the largest fines in the UK as Mr Lahrie was fined £126,500 and Mrs Lahrie, who did not attend court, £60,500 for eight counts of failing to license an HMO. Due to a failed legal challenge by the Lahries, Waltham Forest’s legal case began in 2017 but was postponed for four years.

Muslim mum terrified after being abused on a regular basis when I’ve worn the niqab, it’s been the worst”. “Last year, when I was travelling by bus in Harrow Road, some people tried to light my niqab with a lighter.

In one horrifying incident, she claims a bus passenger called her ‘Osama Bin Laden’s wife’ and blamed her for being a suicide bomber.

The mum said Boris’s explanation of women who wear burqas as ‘letterboxes’ had also led to the insult at her from the public.

However, Boris previously apolo-

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq’s car attacked Last week, Tulip Siddiq, 39, MP for Hampstead and Kilburn since 2015 went to the Labour Party conference in Brighton. After returning she parked her car near her house. On the next day, she noticed some damage to her car and it is believed to be a targeted attack.

Siddiq said, “Usually, a lot of cars get smashed in my constituency and they steal stuff. But this time nothing was stolen but the window was smashed and its roof was scrawled with a message. Though I don’t know what the words referred to.”

It comes at a time when the safety of female MPs has been in the spotlight.

gised for his 'letterbox' remarks, which he made in a Daily Telegraph column in 2018.

Siwan Hayward, director of compliance, policing operations and security at TFL, recommend everyone who experiences or witnesses hate crime to report it to the police by calling on 101 or tweet @MetCC. Details can also be shared anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online, or via the TruVision website: https://www.report-it.org.uk/

Duo arrested after woman’s drink was allegedly spiked As per the reports of the Independent, two 18-year-old men have been arrested from Gloucestershire after a video posted on social media showed a person dropping a pill into a woman’s drink while reaching for his own in a nightclub.

According to the Avon and Somerset Police, inquiries into the incident are ongoing. The statement said, “If you think your drink has been tampered with on a night out, we’d advise alerting bar or security staff at the venue, reporting the incident to police by calling 101 and seeking immediate medical advice”.It further added: “Adding any material to anyone’s drink without their consent is a serious offence, especially if used for the commission of other offences, and could result in a serious problem.”

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KHICHADI Kapil’s

Covid -19 Nationality Discrimination Republic of India vs United Kingdom

Rudy Otter

Souad Mohammed, 47, who lives in the London borough of Westminster, which has one of the highest numbers of Islamophobic hate crimes in the capital, claims that she is afraid to go out wearing her niqab as she orally abused regularly and was almost set on fire last year.

The mother of three has been called an 'ISIS bride' and 'Osama Bin Laden's wife' while out in public.

Souad, told The Mirror: “It’s very unsafe to live here. In all the years,

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Hindus for Labour: A Sell Out? Kapil Dudakia Last week I wrote about ‘Hindus for Labour’ (HfL), a group led by Dr Neeraj Patil to champion Hindu cause in Labour. How wrong was I to expect that there would be anything different in this group, to what we found in ‘Labour Friends of India’.

For their event of 29th September, speakers included as it turns out, a Farooq Abdullah. Yes, that same anti-India politician who turned a blind eye when Pakistani sponsored terrorists committed genocide on Kashmiri Pandits in 1991.

Dr Patil’s group put forward a proposal that states: ‘The Labour Party stands for international peace and justice and we want peace in Kashmir. One of the proposals we are recommending is converting the current LoC into a soft international border with free movement of people, goods and services similar to what we have in Northern Ireland and greater autonomy for the whole region of Kashmir’. It seems some Hindus are either just plain stupid or seem to think they can fool the Hindu voter. Regardless of who or what they are, they are a danger to the community.

It was encouraging to note that both Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB) and Hindu Council UK (HCUK) turned down the invite to the event. What transpired showed their decision to be right in protecting the interest of all Hindus.

Trupti Patel, President of HFB said, ‘We were not satisfied that HfL appreciated the seriousness of Labour transgressions against Hindus. Given Labour has no intention of apologising for their shameful behaviour, it’s not possible to engage when all trust has broken down’.

She was ably supported by Rajnish Kasyap, Secretary General HCUK who said, ‘The Hindu community was let down by Labour when anti-India rhetoric was orchestrated by Labour MPs in Parliament. Particularly, Ms Naz Shah who took pleasure in calling the PM of the largest democracy, a butcher. Labour has collectively disrespected a billion Indians who elected Mr. Modi twice through democratic means. Mr. Keir should have denounced his MPs for such contemptible lies’.

As it turns out, Pt Satish Sharmaji was at the HfL event. He told the audience why the Hindu community were leaving Labour. He commented, ‘Nowhere in any country are Hindus seen as a toxic minority. As a community Hindus are civilisation builders. However, in 2013 we Hindus faced an assault driven by malice from the Parliamentary Labour Party. What was an extraordinary shock to us was that we were denied the opportunity to even engage in dialogue? To this day we have no explanation as to why we were treated in this manner’.

Steve Reed, the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government responded to Pt Satish Sharmaji and said, ‘some of the motions passed at Labour conference were unhelpful. Given our colonial history, to interfere in the politics of India, absolutely that is not appropriate’.

I have a message for Patil, Reed and co, the whole of Jammu and Kashmir has always been part of India, and this was reaffirmed on 26 October 1947 by way of the same Instrument of Accession that was used by all other states. Pakistan breached international law by attacking and occupying part of Indian Kashmir. Even the UN resolution states that the very first mandatory step BEFORE anything else can happen is for Pakistan to get out of occupied Kashmir. What HfL should be doing is telling their party to call out the Pakistani cross-border terrorism, and to withdraw to the 1947 boundary immediately.

I hope for the sake of ‘Hindus for Labour’, that it does not become known as ‘Labour Hindus for Pakistan’.

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

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The Environmental Problems Deserving Our Attention

Ruchi Ghanashyam Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was 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. @RuchiGhanashyam

The UK will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 26, from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, postponed due to the global pandemic from November 2020. The UNFCCC hopes that the Conference will help increase climate ambition, build resilience and lower emissions.

COP 26 is important as temperatures have been rising globally.

The last decade was recorded as the warmest. Fossil fuel emissions caused by humans are intensifying extreme weather events linked to climate change - heavy unseasonal rains, cyclones, heatwaves, floods and forest fires. Governments have therefore agreed on the need for urgent collective action.

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9 - 15 October 2021

The impact of climate change is visible, ice melting in the glaciers which will lead to rising water levels, threatening coastal areas and small islands. Sudden and unexpected rains, coupled with droughts will cause disruption in food production, while cyclones, floods and heat waves will cause other problems.

Climate change and rising emissions have global implications and receive global attention. Governments all over the world are concerned, while activists take to the streets to press governments to take this crisis seriously. Young people are especially concerned as they face an uncertain future if climate change is not averted.

A number of other challenges to our planet simultaneously deserve our attention.

Air pollution is a major problem in many parts of the globe. Delhi becomes like an envelope of polluted air in winters. For the past few years, there has been extensive focus on this problem so that the lungs of people, particularly children, can be saved from Delhi’s polluted air. This year, Delhi has installed two smog towers already and it has been announced that the national capital will receive green funds under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) for 2021 to cater to critical gaps in air pollution management. Over 130 cities in India will receive assistance, though small, from one source or another to deal with this challenge. Clean air, especially in winters still looks like a long way off, notwithstanding the Delhi government’s “Winter Action Plan” including complete ban on sale and bursting of firecrackers till January 1, 2022.

Solid waste management is another huge challenge not just for India but for the world.

The issue of garbage mounds and waste processing was raised in Prime Minister Modi’s speech at the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 on 1 October, eve of Gandhi Jayanti. He said that the “mountain of garbage” in the city should be removed. The problem of solid waste management facing

Delhi is enormous, as the city generates over 11,400 metric tonnes of garbage daily, out of which about 5,200 metric tonnes is processed locally with the help of compactors and waste-to-energy (WTE) plants.

The remaining gets dumped in three landfills. A number of plans have been put in place to deal with this garbage! PM’s assurance that the garbage mountains in cities will be processed and removed completely as part of Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 is thus, most welcome.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 was also launched at the same time to provide basic services like water supply and sewerage to households. AMRUT 2.0 hopes to ensure that every household has access to a tap with the assured supply of water and a sewerage connection. It will adopt the principles of a circular economy and promote the conservation and rejuvenation of surface and groundwater bodies. The two missions have been designed to make cities 'Garbage Free' and 'Water Secure'.

As the climate change crisis threatens our planet, worsening air and water pollution can make life impossible, while the accumulating solid waste could swallow our planet. The mountains of garbage in landfills have been polluting the groundwater.

Noxious gases escape from these waste pits and pollute the air. The Covid-19 pandemic has had its own impact. With increased home deliveries, there’s additional packaging waste.

With a much higher level of consumption, the per capita waste generation is far higher in developed countries than in developing countries. The latter lack resources and technology to address the massive challenges facing them. Climate change and pollution do not respect national boundaries. A global focus on tackling all these challenges together is essential. As we save our planet, we must ensure that human beings can flourish in a sustainable manner.

Dominic Raab positive for allowing asylum seekers to work in the UK In an interview with the Spectator, Dominic Raab’s comments were encouraged by supporters who have asked for a change in present policies which leave many claimants destitute. Most asylum seekers depend on the government for their housing and basic needs as they are not allowed to work. Raab is a child of a refugee as his Jewish father fled from Czechoslovakia. Asking about the asylum seekers and their work, Raab said, “I would be open-minded about it. One of the biggest challenges with migration over the last 20, 30 years is that we just don’t integrate people well enough. If they learn the language and they can work, they integrate much better and they make a positive contribution which will benefit the economy and society.”

As per the general rule, asylum seekers can only apply for work in the UK if their claim takes more than a year for an initial decision. If they are permitted the right to work, they can only work in specific professions which are experiencing manpower shortages.

The reports have claimed that the Home Office has been reviewing the right of asylum seekers to work since 2018.

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SCRUTATOR’S Army officer cycles from Leh to Manali in 25 hours Lieutenant Colonel Sripada Sriram from the Indian Army’s Strikers Strategic Division has created a new Guinness world record by cycling from Leh to Manali in just 24 hours and 54 minutes.

The previous record was held by another officer, Lt Col Bharat Pannu, who had peddled from Leh to Manali in 35 hours and 32 minutes. After reaching Manali, Lt Col Sriram acknowledged that he was motivated by Lt Col Pannu to take up the expedition. “The total distance that he covered is 472 km with a total elevation gain of approximately 8,00 metres. This event was part of Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations, and also marks the occasion of 195th Gunners’ Day.” Lt Col Sripada said riding at high mountain passes in night was very challenging, as the temperature was too low. He also added that some stretches of the road, which are not blacktopped, consumed too much time. The daunting Manali-Leh highway has been attracting adventure enthusiasts for its windy roads, high mountain passes and challenging conditions. (Agency) Manipur boy built 'Iron Man' suit from scrap

Industrialist Anand Mahindra has a keen eye to spot talent. And he has also followed through on his promise. Days after he said that he would like to support a young man from Manipur, who built a spectacular replica of the Iron Man suit using scrap material without any formal training, Mahindra's team visited Prem and his family. Mahindra said he was awestruck by Prem's ambition and skills that, he added, flourished despite “his circumstances”. Top members of the Mahindra Group have been asked to mentor Prem's career and facilitate his and his siblings' education. “I am awestruck and inspired by Prem's ambition & skills that have flowered despite his circumstances. Many of us from privileged backgrounds never appreciated enough the resources we were given. But Prem uses scrap material & basic tools to shape his creations,” Mahindra said in a tweet.

He shared images of drawings that Prem had made before starting to actually build the suit, suggesting meticulous planning by the young man. He said Mahindra Group's Chief Design Officer will mentor Prem's career and the head of Mahindra Foundation will ensure that Prem and his siblings get a complete education.

(Agency) Grandfather, kin fight off armed robbers, kill one A 60-year-old man and his family in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur fought off a gang of five dacoits, killing one of them, when they tried to harm a child because they

were resisting the robbery bid. Sureshdas Bairagi and his family took an axe to the fight against the robbers, who were armed with a pistol and cleavers.

Police are now taking legal advice to sort out the case as a life has been taken. Three of the robbers are in custody. The incident took place in Mahuatoli Jholanga village, close to the Jharkhand border. According to Jashpur SP Vijay Agrawal, word had spread in the village that Bairagi had recently made Rs 18,000 from selling paddy and had bought some gold and silver ornaments. The dacoits, who live in nearby villages, were tempted by this. “They barged into the house and demanded all their money and jewellery.

They thrashed Bairagi when the family resisted. His wife handed over Rs 10,000 but the robbers wanted more. The family had no choice but to show them the room where the valuables were kept,” Agrawal said. Three dacoits went into the room while two others waited outside. It was then that Bairagi heard them discuss that they would harm his grandchild to teach the family a lesson. In desperation, the 60-year-old hurled himself at the two robbers and began punching them. The whole family joined forces, locked up the three men in the room and beat up the two other dacoits. (Agency) Newborns named after Cyclone Gulab

At least two women in Odisha's Ganjam district have named their newborn daughters after Cyclone Gulab that brought rainfall and caused landslides in the state. Kuni Rait and Nandini Sabar gave birth to daughters in

different government hospitals when the cyclone made landfall in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. They accepted suggestions from nurses to keep the name of their bundles of joy 'Gulab' (rose).

Sabar, a resident of Soradapalli village, delivered the girl at Sumandala community health centre. Some of the staff there suggested that the baby be named 'Gulab' so that everyone can remember the time of her arrival. Rait, who lives in a village under Ankuli panchayat, delivered a girl in the Patrapur community hospital. She also wants to name her baby after the cyclone. (Agency)

Opening up the world’s largest non-polar glacier and the highest battlefield for tourism could also prove to be a harbinger of ‘border tourism’ in Ladakh wherein tourists may be allowed at least day visits to villages along the China border to take the economic fruits of tourism to the isolated communities. The Ladakh administration had last month abolished the Inner Line Permit system for Indian tourists. Yet, entry to ‘zero km’ villages such as Demchok and Koyul may still remain a no-no.(Agency)

Cat on vigil at sibling’s grave

Death of loved ones will undoubtedly depress you. But Munnavar Shaikh, a railway employee in Valsad, and his family were surprised with their pet’s behaviour.

Leo, a Persian cat sits next to its sibling Coco’s grave for hours together since September 23, the day Coco was buried.

Video of Leo mourning the death of its sibling by sitting quietly near the grave has gone viral. “We buried Coco in our compound. We were surprised to see how Leo would go to the grave and sit there for long hours,” said Shaikh's son Faysal.

The siblings belonged to the Persian cat variety which Faysal received as a gift from his friend four years ago when they were kittens. The family enjoyed the company of the siblings. But around two and half years back Coco went missing.

After six months, they got back brought back Coco from the possession of another family with police help. By that time Coco had developed some serious health issues.

“Even after a gap of two years, both the siblings identified each other immediately. They played a lot with each other. But Coco died due to health complications. We tried to get it treated at a veterinary hospital but could not save it,” said Faysal. (The Times of India)

Man mauled to death by tiger In a horrific incident a man is dragged off and mauled to death by a tiger in Delhi zoo after he climbed into a zoo enclosure. The footage shows the man is being cornered by the tiger while terrified onlookers pelt the hungry beast with stones in a desperate bid to distract it.

According to the staff at the Delhi Zoo the man, identified as 20-year-old Maqsood, had climbed into the enclosure.

However, eyewitnesses claimed he had slipped. The beast appears to be playing with its prey for some time before it attacked, witnesses said. The tiger, named Vijay, can be seen locking its jaws around the victim's neck and dragging him around as police rushed to the scene.

Onlookers criticised the zoo's handling of the incident, claiming that the staff had failed to go to the man's aid quickly enough and did not put the big cat down with a tranquilliser gun. Eyewitnesses said there were no guards near the enclosure at the time. The man seemed to have jumped into the enclosure. I don’t know what was he trying to do. The victim's body was retrieved nearly two hours later when staff were able to push the animal away. (Agency) The bond between a monkey and goat

Siachen base camp opened for tourists

The government has opened the Siachen Base Camp in Ladakh for tourists from September 27, the World Tourism Day. Coming nearly two years after defence minister Rajnath Singh’s announcement, the move fulfils a long-standing demand of the locals in Panamik area, about 141 km north of Leh. Army curbs on visiting the Base Camp discouraged tourists who wanted a “piece of the action” from visiting Panamik. So they thronged Diskit and Hunder on the western flank of the Nubra region.

Ladakh hill council chief executive councillor Tashi Gyalson flagged off the first batch of civilian visitors from Leh to kick off ‘Base Camp tourism’ in the presence of Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering.

The video of a baby monkey clinging onto a goat has surfaced on the Internet.

The duo can be seen eating the berries offered by a man in the video. The video has gone viral on social media. In the clip, a man can be seen standing with berries and he is also calling out to the goat to eat. After hearing the voice, the goat comes out from the woods and runs towards the man. When it comes closer, a baby monkey is also seen clinging to the goat’s back. Finally, both animals enjoy the berries being offered by the man. Initially, the monkey was reluctant to eat the berries but later it also joins the goat and starts eating the fruit. The video has garnered 16.2 million views. A user wrote, “I am now in love. I need to be near them both. I will devote my life to them. Feeding them berries and nuts and whatever their little heart desires.

How cute. I didn't even notice the little hanger-on at first, another commented.

(Agency)

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Priti Patel should resign for failing, says Chair of Sikh Federation UK On Wednesday, 22 September, the Crown's Prosecution Service dropped charges and freed the three United Kingdom (UK) Sikhs who were arrested for allegedly killing a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in December 2020. This came after a hearing to extradite the three men to India had just begun.

Supporting the three men, many people gathered outside Westminster Magistrate’s Court and others on social media expressed unhappiness towards the government.

“While the State of India claimed their involvement in the killing of RSS worker Rulda Singh in 2009 and has asked for their extradition and a subsequent trial in Indian courts, Sikhs across the UK protested the trial and the Boris Johnson government's compliance with Indian authorities,” The Quint reported. #WestMidlands3 had become a Twitter movement.

The three men aged - 37, 38, and 40 are British nationals, had been detained by the local police under suspicions of being part of the murder conspiracy against the RSS member. The trial was to determine if there was any reason to extradite them to India.

dence. Had it been heard it One of the three accused would have provided a was detained in 2010 by the convincing history of the West Midlands Police in conbehaviour of Indian police nection to the same case and in towards Sikhs and high2015, a court in Patiala prolighted how India’s dracoclaimed him an offender in the nian and repressive laws case. An NIA probe also linked are used to target the Sikh him to the targeted killings minority.” across Punjab in 2016-17, The UK courts have, in including the murder of anoththe past, conducted trials er RSS leader – Brigadier for the extradition of Sikh Jagdish Gagneja (Retd) – the suspects to India; the most Indian Express reported. recent being in February However, this is not an end 2021, when the court in itself. The Sikh community found no reason to support is also seeking the freedom of the extradition of a 44another Scottish Sikh – Jagtar year-old alleged to be a Singh Johal. member of the Khalistan "He (Johal) has been held Zindabad Force, Baaz without conviction for three Protestors outside Magistrates Court News reported. years and has claimed to be Bhai Amrik Singh, the tortured to sign the confesChair of the Sikh Federation (UK) said: “We sion," the BBC reported.

In a press statement, Sikh Federation UK have maintained all along that Priti Patel sharing court solicitor Gareth Pierce’s obserstarted extradition proceedings to simply vations wrote, “She expressed some disapappease the right-wing Indian government pointment that the case had finished withthat she enthusiastically supports. out the defence being able to present its evi“When the Foreign Secretary, Dominic

Raab visited India in December 2020 to discuss a trade deal it was too much of a coincidence that Priti Patel disgracefully sanctioned the extradition process and ordered the arrests the next day.

“This was an entirely politically motivated course of action for which Priti Patel must be held to account. She certified the extradition request and ordered the arrest of the three British Sikhs without any new evidence that would stand up in a British court.

“Priti Patel should resign for failing to follow due process and doing India’s dirty business of trying to silence British Sikhs.

“She has wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money to play roughshod with the lives of three innocent British Sikh men, their wives and children in a shocking ordeal over the last nine months and held the Sikh community to ransom.”

Preet Kaur Gill MP also wrote on her Twitter: “Following the collapse of the case against the #WestMidlands3, I've written to the Home Secretary demanding answers to my concerns that an extradition request has been certified despite multiple previous investigations and no credible new evidence.”

Women-led organisations gear up against sexual abuse in the Sikh community Amid news of sexual abuse within the Sikh community in the UK, Kaur Movement UK tweeted: “The grim exposure of “Bhai” Sukha Singh abusing *9 men* is the tip of a decades-old iceberg. For years, there has been a collective suppression, avoidance and extreme gaslighting of victims and their experiences (something we have seen evidence of with Derby Rape Case).” They also tweeted about challenging Gurudwaras that according to Kaur Movement UK, “cover-up abuse”.

Rupinder Kaur from Asian Women Mean Business took to Instagram and said in a video, “I joined Twitter spaces about some of the allegations that have been made in this picture. I listened to that conversation for about three hours. And what I heard, left me deeply shocked, left me heartbroken. And I just felt so sad that we, as a community have fundamentally failed to help the victims. I just want to make it really clear that we fundamentally support any organisation that is supporting the victims. If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, we support you, we hear you, we believe.

“Some of the stories that were shared yesterday boiled my blood and how have we allowed ourselves to get into this position where victims are not being believed victims are being shamed, where victims are being told, oh, no, that didn't happen. You must have misunderstood the situation that is fundamentally incorrect and wrong at every level. And it's so important. It's never been more important than it has been now, I think but anyone that believes the victims for anyone that supports them to come forward and say, we believe you, we support

‘Prevalence and impact of domestic and sexual abuse in the Sikh/Panjabi Community.

They will also be presenting their findings from a report that evidences the prevalence and impact of domestic and sexual abuse in the Sikh/Panjabi Community across all settings. There will also be an opportunity to hear about lived experiences of those that responded to the survey. This conference,

you, we're here for you.”

Female-led professional support service with 40+ years sector experience for domestic and sexual abuse in the Sikh & Panjabi Community, Sikh Women’s Aid tweeted: “What we find so frightening is, that if all the women, men and children in our community came out and exposed their perpetrators, faith leaders, music artists and business leaders, we would no longer be viewed as a giving, caring community. All because our people have been consumed with lust, greed and power. We are heartbroken to hear the horrendous stories of our brothers and sisters and of our children, all who have been silenced by parents, family members, the community and the panth. Well, we won’t be silenced anymore. Our Humanity is more important than your shame and honour and we will expose those that perpetuate and abuse their power.”

The Sikh Women’s Aid is organising a conference on 23 November to discuss

Sikh Federation to have a mass protest against Indian PM Modi’s visit to the UK In a Twitter post, the Sikh Federation UK wrote, “Modi is expected to attend the #COP26 climate summit in Glasgow between 1-12 November.

The FSO has called for 2 protests to be held in London & Glasgow, details to be confirmed, but likely in

the first week of Nov. The UK must send a clear message to the fascist BJP leader & party that they are not welcome here & are accountable for the deaths of 000’s Sikhs & minorities across India under their dictatorship. Please share and attend the Protest events.”

perhaps the first of its kind in England, will look to gather both grassroots community and sector voices around the impact and barriers faced by Sikh/Panjabi victims of abuse in the UK. The conference is also taking place to mark both the Janam Divas (birthday) of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji - the founder of Sikhi and the International Day to End Violence Against Women and Girls.

14 WOMEN’S VOICE

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Juggling priorities may be more contextual based as opposed to gender Shefali Saxena

the gap between gender inequalities continues to amplify.

The amount of emotional and psychological What role do extended periods of isochanges that women have gone through durlation and lack of human touch play in ing the pandemic are innumerous. While on the possible changes in a woman as coma regular day the life of a South Asian woman pared to a man? is full of multitasking and tremendous sociIt is difficult to say for certain the impact etal perspectives surrounding her, what extended periods of isolation can play in exactly must have been the change in women compared to men. We can agree the psychology of women in the women and men have different coplast 20 plus months? Asian ing strategies when it comes to Voice spoke to Priya dealing with a range of different Ahmed, PhD Health mental health problems or life Psychology, Teesside circumstances.

University about it.

Women had to don sevPriya is a PhD stueral hats during the pandent currently studying demic (especially South Asians) at Teesside University. to juggle work, home and perHer project is exploring sonal life. Is the female mind the role psycho-social culdesigned to multitask? tural factors play in South Is this simply a myth? Juggling priPriya Ahmed Asians’ dietary behaviour. Her orities may be more contextual based as main interests are type 2 diabetes opposed to gender. There is psychological and developing preventative lifestyle interresearch suggesting differences in mental ventions using behaviour change models to functioning between males and females. improve health outcomes for the South However, understanding how effective one Asian population. gender is in multitasking compared to the How do you think the pandemic has other depends on the situation. impacted the psychology of women?

Many women have been victims of The global pandemic as we know it, abuse or PTSD amid the pandemic. highlighted the structural inequalities in our Do you think some of them have gathered society. Women and girls are always at a risk courage to reach out to a mental health of facing disproportionate health and social expert? If not, why? consequences in times of crisis. From jugThe restrictions caused by the pandemic gling home commitments to front line jobs resulted in an alarming rise in domestic vioas nurses and teachers, questions are raised lence leaving women and girls at a higher to address social security for the crucial role risk of violence and abuse. We know this a woman plays in society. Women’s mental much that calls to domestic violence health will have been negatively impacted as

Q.

Q.

Q.

Q.

helplines surged however we cannot explicitly say if this has encouraged women to reach out to mental health services without further evidence.

What role does nutrition play in one's mental health?

The relationship between good nutrition and mental health is a new area of research being backed by the medical field. Women more than men need a good diet to function and minimise mental distress in their daily life. This is because women need a greater variety and level of nutrients to support their emotional wellbeing according to evidence.

What are the cultural health factors that play a key role in shaping a woman's psychology?

The interaction between psychological and social factors result in different cultural influences impacting on women’s health, at different stages in their life. Defining the role of women differs across western and eastern cultures. Alongside this, how women prioritise their own health and wellbeing will also be dictated by social and cultural norms in society. This may include health beliefs women may hold towards their own health.

Practising their own religion or spirituality which may dictate their lifestyle.

Q.

Q.

Priti Patel: £25 million investment to make streets safer The government is allocating a further £25 million to local projects through the safer streets fund aimed at increasing the safety of public spaces for all with a particular focus on tackling violence against women and girls. Created with the objective of tackling local acquisitive crimes like car theft and burglary, the latest round of the Safer Streets Fund is focused on making public places safer for all, with an emphasis on the safety of women and girls.

Crimes which take place in public places such as sexual harassment disproportionately affect women, which is why this latest investment largely focus on making spaces safer for women and girls.

Recipients of funding have submitted bids for innovative plans to increase the safety of public spaces or projects which will focus on

changing the behaviour of perpetrators.

Since its inception, the Government has committed £70 million to the Safer Streets Fund to support local areas across England and Wales to introduce initiatives aimed at stopping offences happening in the first place.

Round two saw 50 projects across England and Wales awarded a total of £18.4 million to go towards mea-

sures proven to cut crime, including simple changes to the design of streets such as locked gates around alleyways, increased street-lighting and the installation of CCTV. Safer Streets is just one of the ways The Government is working to tackle violence against women and girls.

In August we published the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which commits to radically changing how we stop violence and abuse using a whole system approach.

The strategy was informed by the over 180,000 people who shared their experiences of harassment, abuse and violence online.

We have also funded a new police lead, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, to set the policing strategy for tackling violence against violence towards women and girls

across England and Wales.

Priti Patel, Home Secretary said: “We have made good progress in tackling violence against women and girls, but these crimes are still all too prevalent in our society.

“That is why earlier this year we launched the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, informed by the largest ever public survey of women and girls on this issue.

As part of this, the £25 Safer Streets Fund will invest in crime prevention initiatives across the country where women and girls say they feel most unsafe.

“The tragic cases of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman touched us all. As we Build Back Safer from the pandemic, tackling violence against women and girls is my priority.”

Rose-hip compound offers relief from Menopausal joint pain October is Menopause Awareness Month, dedicated to tackling the taboos of a subject often suffered in silence, as well as sharing support options for health and wellbeing.

Hot flushes, night sweats, low mood and anxiety are all commonly recognised menopausal symptoms.

However, the lesser known symptom of joint pain affects as many as 40% of all menopausal women1, and joint stiffness is the most common contributor to impairment of quality of life and work in women of a menopausal age1.

Menopausal joint pain is often mistaken as an inevitable part of the ‘ageing’ process and

whilst women may seek help for other symptoms, they struggle on with aching and painful joints. Commonly affected joints include the hands, shoulders, knees and hips, although all joints can be impacted2. For many this results in a downward spiral of taking less exercise, weight gain and further joint pain.

Dr Anne Henderson, Consultant Gynaecologist and

Accredited Menopause Expert comments; “Women may overlook aching or painful joints as a natural sign of getting older, but it’s important to understand the impact hormonal changes can have when approaching the menopause. Oestrogen has a direct impact on the musculoskeletal system, particularly joints. It can decrease collagen which is found in muscles, tendons, ligaments and the joint itself, as well as helping the “synovial buffering” fluid in joints such as the hip and shoulder. A reduction in oestrogen during the menopause helps to explain why women of this age are much more likely to suffer from mus-

culoskeletal conditions.”

The symptoms of the menopause usually start to appear between 45-55 years of age. However, according to consultant rheumatologist Dr Rod Hughes; “Menopausal joint pain can start several years before other menopausal symptoms. This is due to oestrogen levels starting to decline several years before the menopause, causing a reduction in collagen, loss of cartilage and an increase in inflammation leading to joint pain and stiffness.”

Fortunately, there are simple and effective self-management tips that can reduce joint pain for women of a menopausal age.

in brief NISHA KATONA JOINS GOVERNMENT’S COUNCIL FOR POSTCOVID RECOVERY OF HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY British Indian chef Nisha Katona MBE has been appointed as a member of a new UK government council that has been setup to help the country's restaurants and cafes with their post-Covid recovery. She is among over 20 hospitality industry experts who have been appointed to the council. Nisha Katona is the founder of the Mowgli Street Food restaurants. “Mowgli Trust charity joins the Hospitality Sector Council to help identify and oversee actions related to the government’s Hospitality Strategy and create solutions using expert knowledge and assess the strength of the sector,” iGlobal reported.

COUNTING DEAD WOMEN Karen Ingalasmith who runs the Twitter handle Counting Dead women reshared a list of women who passed away in the past few months. According to her website, at least 110 UK women have been killed by men (or where a man is the principal suspect) so far in 2021. Some Asian names among these women include: 31 January 2021: Ranjit Gill, 43, was found dead at home in Milton Keynes with significant injuries. Her husband Anil Gill, 46, has been charged with murder. 4 March 2021: Geetika Goyal, 29, was found stabbed and dying in a street in Leicestershire. Kashish Aggarwal, 29, has been charged with her murder. She died one day after Sarah Everard. 23 March 2021: Smita Mistry (also known as Smita Saunders), 32, was found dead in house in Leicester.

Frank Farrell, 36, has been charged with her murder.3 May 2021: Maya Zulfiquar, 26, from London, was strangled and shot in Lahore, Pakistan. It is alleged that she had been threatened by men who wanted to marry her.

No charges have yet been made.29 June 2021: Sukhjit Badial, 73, and her husband, were found dead in their home in Warwickshire. She died from ‘a number of injuries’. Police believe he killed her before killing himself. 4 July 2021: Ishrat Ahmed, 52, was beaten to death and her husband was also seriously injured at their home in Lancashire. Mohammad Yaqub Malik, 58, has been charged with her murder. 2 September 2021: Fawziyah Javed, 31, from West Yorkshire ‘fell’ to her death from Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Kashif Anwar, 27, has been charged with her murder. 17 September 2021: Sabina, Nessa, 28, was killed in Kidbrooke, south-east London. 10 days later, Koci Selamaj, 36, was charged with her murder. 19 September 2021: Sukhjeet Uppal, 40, was stabbed multiple times and died in her home in Wolverhampton. Jai Singh, 50, has been charged with her murder.

ONLY 83 OUT OF 750 OFFICERS SACKED More than 750 Metropolitan Police Service officers and staff have faced sexual misconduct allegations in the past 11 years with just 83 of them sacked. A total of 771 officers and staff – 88 per cent of whom were serving officers. Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Dame Cressida Dick said outside the Old Bailey, “I absolutely know that those feel their trust in us is broken. I recognise that trust has been damaged.”

Countless people have demanded Dame Dick’s resignation amid the arrest of one of her police force officers - Wayne Couzens in Sarah Everard’s murder case. Last weekend, one more police officer from Couzens’ unit was allegedly accused of assaulting a girl.

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Rikki Shah: Congo Social Sunetra Senior Rikki’s digital marketing agency is at the height of the modern industry.

Slick, super-organised and socially savvy, the young CEO’s enterprise epitomises the power of the tech age: connectivity, efficiency and aestheticism fundamentally define Congo Social, which also differentiates it in the market. Its unique hands-on revisions create a bridge between brand and today’s consumer, holding the respective client simultaneously through to success. “We pay attention to detail,” CEO Rikki, told us: “to understand what makes a company. Many consultancies will give perfunctory advice. This results in generic campaigns that undermine potential impact. We do the Rikki Shah opposite!” Indeed, Congo Social have a compact yet highly skilled team who explore the corresponding markets, tomer experience in the physical world. That will never be doing the due research to thoroughly boost and manage matched by the new medium. There is a lot of value outthe brand: “our experts have years of experience in digital side of screens. Whether you are marketing and will be working on talking about friendships on FB your campaigns day to day. We’re versus real-life, or mini-golf on the very proactive and deal with chaltangible course versus experience lenges as they arise. We’re also pason a VR-headset. Humans need life sionate about tech so we really care in both versions. You should read as about the trajectory and want to much as you scroll; interact in-perdeliver the money’s worth.” son as much you do online. This is The agency specialises in using why any brand should provide cussocial media to resonantly thrive. tomers as broad an experience as Founder, Rikki, actually started his possible.” Not only do Congo Social demonstrate the first business, trikki, in trendy streetwear, growing the superiority of digital know-how but as much the timeless enterprise online when brands had just begun to grapple virtue of human touch. Without the primary value of peowith incorporating new media into the world of traditionple, there would be no buzzing business. This is the social al marketing. “It was difficult at times, but I became adept. ethos behind the company’s striking yet relatable brand.

In 2016, I was having conversations with others who were What would be your favourite form of social media? facing similar challenges; exchanging thoughts. It was a As far as business goes, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all natural progression to executing millennial businesses approach. It will be different for individual businessand campaigns that were the same size as trikki." In short, es. In terms of exposure, Google and Facebook are the Congo Social contemporarily reinvents. Nowadays, the most powerful. They pour the most into their budget. company works across a variety of corporate industries; However, platforms such as TikTok, Reddit and Snap “everything from commercial womenswear to water filChat have a lot of reach and can sometimes outperform ters and graphic-design software.” those. You can go viral on TikTok without putting any Rikki elaborated on the process: “It’s less to do with money behind it. It’s a case of playing around with ideas experience within a specific industry as it is a way of creand learning how to put your story across with a range of ative thinking: how to approach & treat your customer visuals. and sell them the products online – this helps inform the exact model and campaigns. We work very closely with In terms of selling, how much of business is aesthetics our clients, and are always friendly. We look at what the and the design aspect? company has been doing so far, their own expertise, It makes a huge difference if your ads are beautiful. including what they’ve tried and where they eventually People pay attention: keep that style consistent and peowant to be. Often clients will come to us because agencies ple will remember. The value of creative within a camhave not assessed the business model correctly or overpaign is enormous. We have independently analysed that charged etc. We deeply analyse the data, proposing the figure and built an average: at least 50% of the worth of best social channels for the brand. We build a collaborayour campaign is based on creative alone. This corretive strategy through which we can design campaigns, sponds with research FB have carried out too – with making sure that the creative is happily approved. We whom we’ve had meetings. pride ourselves on consistent advertising which But it’s not just superficial – in order to reflects the core of the business, strongly create an impressive exterior, you do first advocating the message. We work with; have to understand, transforming the short-videos, animation, static images content?

Humans need life and a whole range of modern media.

Yes, it’s about being able to sumThis means a premium polished in both versions: one marise a message in the most sucface with which to move forcinct way possible. should read as much as ward.”

Tell us more on your first Essentially, Congo Social's they scroll; interact in-person enterprise: trikki. How did it multi-dimensional approach radiates the conceptual power of as much as they do online. This evolve?

I spent a lot of time designing the business. It is as if the fashis why any brand should and working on the clothesline. I ioning of diamonds out of the provide customers with as studied Fashion Design Tech for surrounding ruff. Indeed, Rikki’s Menswear at the London College of prior business was one of minibroad an experience as Fashion. The course obviously malist style: “although not technipossible.” helped, but didn’t necessarily give me cal, my urban menswear was the practical skills required to launch a inspired by playing basketball and whole business. This I learned while internfootball and listening to hip-hop in the ing with Tesco in retail. I was familiarised with Nineties. It's simply sports.” Furthermore, the production process, including how to manage one of his most successful campaigns to date has supply and demand chains and deliver in a cost-effective been for an upscale jewellery brand akin to Pandora: manner. I was always interested in the commercial sector.

Trollbeads. We designed the UK campaigns both online What is your favourite part of Digital Marketing? and for physical stores. We then helped with their camGetting such instantaneous feedback. You would paigns off the back of that momentum in the US.” Finally, not get that anywhere else in marketing. There is a sense as grounded as they are sharp, Congo Social shows how an of continuous achievement – it’s highly motivational. impactful digital presence means having authentic perEvery night I can check in on campaigns and it’s so excitsonality inherent. ing as you can see what’s happening in real-time. Congo “Many forms of conventional marketing are being Social has done so well. I’m looking forward to maintainslowly but surely run in a way that is similar to online e.g., ing the service and progress and seeing where that takes bidding in an auction rather than paying a set sum for an the team. ad, enabling you to buy in the same way as digital media.

W: https://www.congosocial.com/ Having said that, there is so much to be said for good cus-

Let’s Reset: The Film & TV Charity launches behaviour change campaign to champion better mental health On Wednesday, the Film & TV Charity launched a new campaign to tackle the mental health challenges facing the industry.

‘Let’s Reset’ is a 12month campaign designed to tackle the stigma still associated with mental health by challenging common preconceptions, improving attitudes and behaviours across the industry, and demonstrating the benefits of healthier, more supported, and inclusive working environments, including greater creativity, diversity, and retention of talent.

The Let’s Reset campaign seeks to show individuals working in film and TV that the commitment to improving the industry’s mental health and wellbeing comes from the top-

down, with senior leaders showcasing their support for the campaign and pledging to: m Directly address underlying causes of poor mental health m Encourage open discusto challenge sion unhealthy behaviours m Put specific support in place, including clear signposting of The Film and TV Charity’s growing suite of support services available to anybody working behind the scenes in film, TV, or cinema m Highlight the work being done internally and build on work being done by other organisations including BECTU, BAFTA, BFI, Coalition for Change, ScreenSkills and beyond

BBC News presenter grateful to stranger at A & E Last Friday, BBC newsreader, Reeta Chakrabarti was in hospital, where an unknown person stepped in after he saw that Reeta was suffering.

The stranger went to get her something to quench her thirst during her hour of need. The broadcaster shared the incident on Twitter in view of her 16,000 followers. Reeta tweeted: "I was in A and E, it wasn’t serious thankfully but I was in pain. A lovely person and a complete stranger called Jamie Marshall saw I was suffering

Reeta Chakrabarti

and went to buy me some cold drinks. Hope you are on Twitter Jamie, thank you."

Reeta thanked him in the candid update on her Twitter handle, confirming she is now feeling much better.

Two in three UK finance workers from BAME have suffered discrimination in the workplace According to an industry survey revealing shortfalls in the City of London’s diversity agenda, two in three UK finance workers from black and minority ethnic backgrounds have suffered discrimination in the workplace.

800 employees from 440 companies were surveyed in this Race to Equality report, with more than £1.4tn in annual revenue between them. It also revealed that 66% of BAME staff had experienced discrimination at work as a result of their background.

More than a quarter (28%) said discrimination was holding back their career, while nearly half (48%) felt their career progression was slower than for white colleagues. Four in 10 (41%)

thought their employers were failing to demonstrate a full commitment to creating an inclusive environment, while only half said they felt their leadership teams truly believed diversity was critical to the future success of the business.

16 GANDHI JAYANTI SPECIAL

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2021: Does Gandhi Matter?

In collaboration with LSESU India Society & the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK, a roundtable was held on September 30, focussing on the contemporary relevance of Gandhi, Father of the Indian nation & global icon of non-violence. It tried to explore whether the younger generation is aware of the dramatis of Gandhi's ideas & appeal, or is he just a historical icon in their minds, appearing on currency, postage stamps. Speakers discussed Gandhi's ideas, and its place in the globalised universe of social media.

The speakers included: Akash Banerjee, a journalist, and Founder & Host of 'The Deshbhakt', a social media platform which uses satire to disseminate news, Faisal Devji is Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford, Mridula Mukherjee is a historian of modern India, and retired as Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Nilanjan Sarkar is Deputy Director, LSE South Asia Centre and Sanam Arora an LSE alumnus, and Chairperson of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK Chair was a discussant.

Is Gandhi relevant today?

Historian Mridula Mukherjee said, “Let's just go back to the last month of 2019. In India, when we had one of the most powerful grassroot levels, almost spontaneous mass movements in India, in which the youth were at the forefront and women. Both groups with whom Gandhi had always been very popular, the movement which emerged against the proposed legislation on the issue of the National Register of Citizens and Citizenship Amendment Act. I think it was about altering the way citizenship was granted, changing the ground bringing in religion as a factor in various ways. But in this movement, very consciously, Gandhi was a guiding figure.”

She also said that Gandhiji very clearly articulated what was to be the India of his dreams. What was his idea of India as Nehru asked, which he was setting out to mold according to his own wishes and ideals?

Mukherjee quoted, “I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice and India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people. And in India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. Overall interests not in conflict with the interests of the dumb millions will be scrupulously respected, whether foreign or indigenous.” She further added, “Personally, he said, I hit the distinction between foreign and injudicious, this is the India of my dreams, I shall be satisfied with nothing less.

And since we have not yet achieved the India of Gandhiji his dreams. He remains very, very relevant to us today.”

Dr Professor Faisal Devji (who is professor of Indian history at Oxford and is the author of the impossible Indian Gandhi and the temptation of violence, which was published in 2012) said, “What should be done, he thought, was rescuing social relations from this logic of property and interest owned by the state through non violent practices of renunciation and self sacrifice. When you look at all of Gandhi's categories, negative categories are hidden. They all begin with “non” , something that doesn't exist. There are renunciate story categories and practices,

they are sacrificial in various ways. And it was only in this way that he thought they could claim their sovereignty that ordinary people claim the sovereignty.”

Journalist Akash Banerjee said, “Somebody brilliantly said that, you know, this is a question that has been asked for the last 50 years or more. And everybody questions whether Gandhi is going to be relevant or not, and we keep questioning it and he completely keeps being relevant.”

Sanam Arora, LSE alumnus, and is Chairperson of NASA, UK “I do not think that an adequate attempt has been made by the progressives, the liberals, the fact driven people, the academia, to reach out in a simplistic manner to the next generation, in a very easy conversant social media friendly, short, content based format. So I think that is what needs to be done.”

GANDHI JAYANTI CELEBRATIONS IN THE UK High Commissioner Gaitri Issar Kumar and Officers of the Indian High Commission paid floral tribute to Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi at Parliament Square, London, on the occasion of his 152nd Birth Anniversary.

152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Parliament Square

Lord Rami Ranger, Representatives of India League and the Indian community were joined by Deputy High Commissioner Shri Sujit Ghosh and officers of High Commission of India, London at Tavistock Square to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti. The High Commissioner addressed the Indian community on Gandhi’s place in history, enduring universal relevance. Lord Bhikhu Parekh analysed aspects of Gandhian philosophy, Lord Rami Ranger praised his contribution to India’s freedom, HC B'desh hailed his contribution to freedom, secularism in Bangladesh.

On the occasion of the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the High Commission of India in London paid homage to the Father of our Nation with floral tributes, bhajans and talks on the relevance of his life and message in the present times.

The day began at Parliament Square where High Commissioner HE Gaitri Issar Kumar, Deputy High Commissioner Shri Charanjeet Singh, Heads of the Defence Wings and other officers of the High Commission paid homage in the form of floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

At Tavistock Square Gardens, Deputy High Commissioner Shri Sujit Ghosh welcomed the Mayor of Camden Councillor Sabrina Francis, the guest of honour. Wreaths were placed to pay homage to the Gandhi memorial by the Deputy High Commissioner, Heads of the Defence Wings, community leaders, councillors and MPs. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and the Sergam Cultural Institute collaborated to bring some of Bapu’s favourite bhajans. A peace march organised by the Gita Foundation and the National Association of Patidar Samaj were flagged off.

The High Commissioner inaugurated an illuminating exhibition of Gandhi’s life illustrated in photographs, curated by Mr Pandey from Benaras. She also announced the curation of a special volume of essays by prominent Gandhian Scholars. At The Nehru Centre, the High Commission’s cultural wing, a virtual talk was hosted by Shri Amish Tripathi with Mr. Raju Hirani on the concept of ‘Gandhigiri’.

The High Commission of India with the support of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan launched virtual Sanskrit Speaking Classes lessons for ten weeks from 2 Oct - 4 Dec 2021 from 4 to 5 PM.

Indian Foreign Secretary pays homage to Gandhi on Sri Lanka visit Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister GL Peiris, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay here on Mahatma Gandhi's 152nd birth anniversary.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the High Commission of India in London with British Indians organised a Peace Rally in London. In which a lot of young riders participated and rode 5Kms within London City.

Consul General Dr Shashank Vikram paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi & lit the peace candle on the solemn occasion of Gandhi Jayanti Service at the Manchester Cathedral.

Alpesh Patel OBE

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Southall Travel Group refunds in excess of £110m The Group also repays all monies received from the UK governments furlough scheme The Southall Travel Group has refunded in excess of a staggering £110m, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has devasted the UK travel industry.

Southall Travel Group, which has been operating for almost 40 years, is also one of the UK’s only major travel companies to have completed all refunds on package holidays which were cancelled due to the pandemic.

To meet the extraordinary demands, the Group significantly invested in both its customer care centre and its refund processing team shortly after the pandemic began to severely impact the business, in order to deliver a first-class experience.

Furthermore, due to a unique cost structure that is both scalable for upsizing and downsizing, the Group was able to take these positive changes to its business, while reducing its administration costs by 65%.

The Southall Travel Group has also repaid all the monies received from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough), which it received from the UK government last year and this year.

Kuljinder Bahia, Director at Southall Travel Group comments: “Last year was a year like no other for our industry. Whilst no one saw this coming and businesses were simply not prepared, we very quickly made the decision to ramp up our refund operations in order to meet with the demands of customers.

“Despite our business being significantly

impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we recently made the decision to repay all furlough money received from the UK government, for 2020 and 2021. We felt it was ethically correct to take this action, and not add to the already extreme pressures on the public purse caused by the unprecedented pandemic.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to impact our business, however with the incredible success of the vaccine rollout, and the recent positive changes positive to travel restrictions here in the UK which will make it much easier for people to travel abroad, there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel.

“These changes have had a positive impact on trading, and we are now much more confident that bookings will soon return to pre-pandemic levels.

“I am incredibly proud of the team here at the Southall Travel Group, who have worked so tirelessly and adapted seamlessly to the new way of working throughout the pandemic.”

The Southall Travel Group is one of the UK’s leading travel companies, offering a range of travel products including flights, hotels, and package holidays, to destinations around the world including the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, the USA, and the Far East.

Durga Pujo: Continuing the tradition Rupanjana Dutta Durga pujo is around the corner. Though the spirit is a little marred for those heading to Kolkata this week, due to the new quarantine rules, for those staying back in the UK, grand celebrations await as life normalises.

People have already decided what to wear, which pujos to attend, as the festivities begin from mid-week to the weekend of 16-17 October.

Adda Slough launched its first Durga Puja in 2019 becoming one of the best pujos in the UK by bagging two accolades. Adda, known for its innovation and trendsetting, in 2019 they hosted their first ever ‘Pandal’ (temporary marquee) in Slough Cricket Club.

It created the nostalgia of gathering or adda like Kolkata’s famous Maddox Square Pujo.

Continuing the tradition this year, they are adding two significant features. Adda raised and sent INR 5 lakhs (roughly GBP 5000) back to Kolkata and Sundarban area during Covid and Amphan cyclone. The organisation worked in collaboration with Banglanatak.com to create an exclusive and beautiful gate made of wooden dolls by artisans of Agradwip, Bardhaman. This gate will be featured at Adda’s pujo this year. Adda also wants to recreate the magic of Chandannagar’s lighting at their pujo. The pujo will be inaugurated by Slough MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi.

The UK will be witnessing over 40 durga pujos this year including one Mega Durgotsav organised by BIBA (Bilete Bangali) at Zoroastrian centre. To visit Durga pujos near your home, check out a comprehensive list prepared by Indian Bengalis in UK (IBUK), a diaspora group, at https://www.indianbengalisinuk.net/durgap uja. They are also organising a Grand Bijoya Sammiloni on 23 October at Heston Catholic Social Club this year.

Roshni Mukherjee, founder of Myosutra, a popular Bengali boutique for shopping in the UK has been planning and preparing for pujo since past few months. Speaking to Asian Voice, Roshni said, “This year we have

seen that people are extremely concerned for the weavers’ conditions in India. They have been terribly affected by Covid. So, people have consciously decided to buy handloom products through us.

There is a steady increase in demands for muslin sarees too. But besides that, youngsters have bought trendy items like our saree with London skyline or Harry Potter prints. Also, we have seen a growing trend of fusion of two traditional sarees, becoming increasingly popular.

“We have also encouraged people to recycle old clothes. Families are recycling old Baluchari and Patola sarees into creating something trendy for each of the family members. Like a Johor coat (jacket) for men or dhoti or kurta for their children and blouses for women. People are really excited to celebrate pujo as normal this year.”

For Bengalis no pujo is ever complete without finger-licking delicious traditional cuisine. Anjan Chatterjee of Mainland China and Oh Calcutta fame is opening their first restaurant Chourangi in London on 7 October 2021, right in time for pujo celebrations. He has flown in three chefs from Kolkata and gearing up for the festive period ahead. The restaurant is inspired by old Kolkata coffee house and will feature a curated set menu for pujo. Anjan said, “We have an opening menu called Best of Chourangi. It will include our famous dishes such as cutlets, luchi, sandesh, kulfi etc. We will also have sides like aam kashundi begun (aubergine), rajbari kofta, specifically for festive season.”

Prosenjit Banerjee of new Bengali restaurant Adda Hut in Reading said, “We are planning to make Paturi this year as well as Arsalan (famous restaurant in Kolkata) style biriyani. The pujo in Reading is in its 9th year. So, Bengalis living around would naturally like to have a full course traditional Bengali meal to celebrate pujo. We have different types of set menus including an exclusive vegetarian menu, side dishes and various desserts including mishti doi.”

Navratri 2021: Are you Garba ready?

Navratri will hopefully be more colourful, joyous and exciting this year as compared to last year. Thanks to the vaccines and the courage and strength shown by the community, this Navratri you will finally be able to celebrate with friends and family and also play Garba. Asian Voice has collected some information and details about Navratri events for its readers.

Preeti Varsani of Red Lotus Events told the newsweekly, “We've had a very terrible past year and a half. Last year, we did an online Navratri, which didn't feel the same. But this year, we are doing at the full capacity, which is around 850.

“However, we are asking everyone to do the lateral flow tests before they come. We will be doing temperature checks. They will have to take part in our Red Lotus events track and trace as well. So it's not just the NHS one, but they'll also have to do all one as well.

“I know not everyone will show the symptoms, so the temperature checks may not even work. However, that's why we are very strict about the lateral flow test. You have to test negative on the lateral flow test on a daily basis, then you are allowed to come. And we need to see proof of that as well. After this, we're taking people to enter upstairs, which is the main Grand Hall.

We're allowing them to then mix in with just the general public or anything.

“We're doing 10 nights, so nine Nights of Navratri, and then we're doing one on Poonam. We've also got two kids events as well, so basically quarterback just for the children. We got completely booked out for that one. Because of this, we've had to add another date, which is the 16th.

“We are also handing out free activity packs, which are custom made from us. We

made these last year as well. And we handed out to around 4000 children free of charge.

And it was all about what Navratri means and why we celebrate it.

“If someone is fully vaccinated, they have to show proof of full vaccination.

However, even though you're fully vaccinated, I recommend people take the lateral flow test because you can still be a carrier right?”

The Sattavi Patidar Centre Trust Board has decided to resume the celebration of the Navratri festival due to be held between Thursday 7 to Saturday 16 October 2021. They have planned this event in line with Government’s guidelines on the Covid – 19 pandemic.

Navnat Navratri celebration 2021 will take place from 7 to 15 October, between 3.30 pm - 5.30 pm. Only 50 tickets are available first come first served. Only members of NVA(UK) and its affiliates are eligible to participate. There will be no live music. For those double-vaccinated against Covid-19, a proof will be required for entry and temperature checks at the door must be passed. A face mask must be worn at all times when not playing Garba. The tickets are free but registration is required. If you want to join, you can contact: Bacoobhai Mehta 07828 693937, Hasmitaben Doshi 07951 105686 and Chernaben Desai 07521 9311077.

Jeweller Deepak Kondhia and President of Soni Samaj told Asian Voice, “We aren’t hosting any events this year but in terms of Navratri related events, we at Jyoti Jewellers in Kingsbury are doing several special offers for Navratri and later for Diwali too. We sell silver colourful payal and anklets, jhanjhra, mataji-na garba, juda, and 22 carat gold and diamond sets.”

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9 - 15 October 2021

Supply Chain Disruption and Rising Interest Rates: Which Stocks Will Benefit?

Last month was difficult for the equity markets. This Alpesh Patel wasn't too unexpected; the Dear Financial "September Effect" is a wellknown phenomenon.

Voice Reader, However, it was the stock market's worst September in over a decade.

All three main U.S. equity indexes took a tumble. The Dow Jones dropped by 3.5%, the Nasdaq by 4.6%, and the S&P 500 shed 3.9%. There are several reasons for this. As mentioned earlier, September is traditionally a difficult month. But there were two other significant factors at play.

Supply Chain Disruption Firstly, supply chain disruption caused many U.S. companies to revise their earning predictions. With COVID-19 cases surging in the U.S. and worldwide, businesses are being affected by logistical issues.

As a result, companies can't meet demand. These production failures translate into fewer sales, which will show up as fewer profits in future quarters. Another aspect of the supply chain issues is higher material and labour costs.

Rising Interest Rates Second, rising bond yields are bad news for many of the tech giants. Bond yields have gone up because the market expects strong economic growth. However, if increasing interest rates accompany this growth, it will harm companies with high valuations based on future profits. Higher interest rates mean the profits these giants promise in the future will be worth far less.

So, with tech and manufacturing stocks facing challenging headwinds, which stocks can benefit?

Which Stocks Can Benefit from Supply Chain and Interest Rate Issues?

CNBC's Jim Cramer sees this recent downturn as an opportunity to pick up specific stocks at a discount. He believes that investors with an eye on the long term could use this opportunity to add some big tech stocks to their portfolio. Rising bond yields took a chunk off Apple, Amazon, and Salesforce in September.

Another sector that has been performing well are bank stocks. Bank stocks have performed well in 2021, but they are still considered cheap by many analysts.

As the U.S. economy recovers from the pandemic, experts suggest the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy. If the Fed increases interest rates late next, it will significantly benefit lenders profits.

The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index closed out the month strongly. It's up 37% already this year. At this rate, bank stocks are set to have their best year in almost two decades.

The Fed's latest dot plot suggests 9 out of 18 officials anticipate a rate hike in 2022. This number is up from seven in June. Additionally, Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve, has indicated that the central bank is likely to scale back some of its substantial bond purchases.

For banks who are sitting on long-term loans, an interest hike will add to their earnings. These future profits are reflected in bank stocks outstanding performance. All 24 KBW Nasdaq Bank Index members are up at least 3.5%, with half of the index up by 10%.

Three banks that investors should consider are Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JPMorgan Chase NYSE: JPM), and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB). Bank of America because of its excellent asset quality, JP Morgan Chase for its high profits and innovative fintech, and U.S. Bancorp for its reliable and consistent earnings from stable consumer products.

Summary As the pandemic continues to play havoc across the globe, supply chains are beset with logistical issues. Holdups in supplies and materials have forced many companies to revise earning predictions. On top of this, rising interest rates are making the future earnings of tech companies less appealing to investors. However, if interest rates continue to rise, holdings in banking stocks are a good idea. Higher interest rates mean higher profits on loans. If the Fed make it official in 2022, as expected, bank stock prices could keep rising. Any stock has to however meet my approved list criteria and I will share more of these names going forward.

BoJo maintains no crisis in supply chains, result of 'giant waking up of economy' Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted there is no crisis in supply chains however, admitted just 127 visas were granted to tanker drivers. Speaking in BBC Radio 4’s Today, when asked if he believed there was a crisis, Johnson said “no” and said difficulties were linked to the revival of the economy, calling it a “giant waking up”.

Boris said the government had asked the road haulage industry to provide the names of the foreign drivers who want to come to the UK and only 127 names have been submitted yet. He said, “What that shows is the global shortage”. He also spoke about a difficult winter of the petrol crisis, shortages on supermarket shelves

low-wage, low-skilled labour, very often very hardworking, brave, wonderful people, who come in, working in conditions that frankly are pretty tough, and we shouldn’t be going back to that.”

The PM also criticized workers who had not returned to their offices, saying there were Downing Street staff still working from home. He said young people who wanted to learn “can’t just do it on Zoom” and said they would be “gossiped about and lose out” if they worked from home.

The Conservative party conference heard speeches from the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, and Home Secretary Priti Patel, on Tuesday.

Major recession warning issued; Gold, silver and Bitcoin to be hardest hit The best-selling author of ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, Robert Kiyosaki has forecast a “giant” market crash is set to happen this October. The personal finance guru said wheels are already in motion for this recession to happen, and the price of gold, silver, and Bitcoin will drop dramatically as a result.

The warning comes close in the heels of the United States Government’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s statement of support to remove the debt ceiling from Congress’ control.

Kiyosaki asserted that any intervention from Secretary Yellen or the country’s Federal Reserve will not stop the pending market crash.

With the stock market being artificially inflated during the pandemic, the finance expert believes an economic crisis is set to happen regardless of any efforts made by any government.

He explained that the world’s largest economy has expanded the volume of

money while the velocity of cash has fallen, primarily due to lack of spending. The finance expert slammed the US Government for “printing fake money”.

He said, “This is going to be the biggest crash in world history. We have never had this much debt pumped up…

the debt to GDP ratio is out of sight.” So they pump all this money in, prices go up.

So it is transitory inflation, but we’re stacked with this massive debt and all it’s done is bump up the stock market and real estate market. The money has not gone into the economy, that’s the sad part.

So the rich get richer, but the poor and middle class are getting poorer. It’s tragic what’s happening today.”

Kiyosaki also warned that the real estate market would fall at the same time as the stock market and cited the collapse of China’s Evergrande Group as to why this will happen, explaining it would also impact the United States.

UK sees plunge in Sept car sales amid severe fuel crisis Sale of new cars in the UK took a deep plunge to the weakest September total for over two decades. However, the loss for petrol and diesel cars was a gain for electric vehicles.

A total of 215,312 new cars were registered last month, the lowest September figure since 1998 as per the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A year-on-year comparison

Bakery chain Greggs calls out govt business rates Bakery chain Greggs has warned that higher business rates risk making some of its stores unviable. The statement comes at a time when the ministers consider overhauling the tax. Chief executive, Roger Whiteside said it was “coming to London with renewed vigour” as part of expansion plans to reach at least 3,000 stores. It currently operates across 2,150 outlets.

Like-for-like sales were 3.5pc higher than pre-Covid levels in the three months to September 30, prompting the company to raise its annual profit forecasts. Annual revenue is now expected to double within

low-wage, low-cost immigration for a very long time. I think actually this country’s natural ability to sort out its logistics and supply chains is very strong. But what we won’t do is pull the lever marked ‘unconBoris Johnson trolled immigration’.”

Johnson also douand rising energy bills were bled down on his insistence reminiscent of a positive that disruption would be economic path the country temporary but said it was was on. part of the transition to “This government is offering more people better doing difficult long-term pay and conditions, saying things. We got Brexit done, drivers often had to “urinate which was a very difficult in bushes” because the thing to do, and we are now workforce was not valued by going to address the big the industry. He said in the underlying issues that face show, “What you can’t do is the UK,” he said. Part of the go back to the old, failed problem was that businesses model where you mainline had been able to “mainline

the next five years. However, Whiteside warned about the expected hit from business rates relief ending early next year.

The relief was introduced at the beginning of the pandemic to help the high street and ministers are assessing whether broader business rates reform is needed.

Whiteside said, “The business rates system simply isn’t responsive enough to market conditions, it’s out of date. Once the business rates system is restored fully, then that will affect the viability of individual units. It will make some units not profitable when they really should be.”

revealed a 34 per cent downgrade in the number of vehicles sold.

The figures come at a time when the country grapples with severe fuel shortages. September is usually the second-busiest month of the year for the industry, however, with the global chip shortage holding back car production, sales were down almost 45 per cent compared with the 10year average before the pandemic. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the headline figures were “desperately disappointing” and further evidence of the impact the shortage of semiconductors, especially from Asia, was having on the industry.

The biggest falls were in diesel and petrol car sales, down 77 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. However, there was a 49 per cent uptick in the sales for electric cars, with 32,721 registered last month. The Tesla

Model 3 was the bestseller last month. Chief executive of AA Cars, James Fairclough said, “For those already thinking of going electric, the sight of electric vehicle drivers breezing past long queues at service stations during September’s fuel crisis may have been a clincher.”

Hawes, meanwhile, called on the government to step up investment in charging points. “The rocketing uptake of plug-in vehicles, especially battery electric cars, demonstrates the increasing demand for these new technologies.

However, to meet our collective decarbonisation ambitions, we need to ensure all drivers can make the switch, not just those with private driveways, requiring a massive investment in public recharging infrastructure.

Chargepoint rollout must keep pace with the acceleration in plug-in vehicle registra-

tions.”

The overall demand from private buyers fell 25 per cent but a bigger fall was recorded in large fleets, down 43 per cent year on year. New car sales so far this year are only 5.9 per cent better than 2020 figures, and down 29 per cent on the pre-pandemic decade-long average.

Managing director of Close Brothers Motor Finance, Sean Kemple said it could be March next year before there was a real recovery in car sales.

“The ongoing chip shortage, compounded by rocketing manufacturing costs, continues to present challenges for dealers, manufacturers and consumers.

Consumer demand is there, but choice is stifled. Buyers are turning to “nearly new” options, a growing trend where vehicles up to 12 months old are outstripping the price of their new counterparts,” he said.

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FINANCE & REAL ESTATE

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9 - 15 Octobar 2021

Tata group likely to get Air India; decision on sale soon State-run carrier Air India could be headed back to its founder Tata group, which has outbid the other contender, a consortia comprising of SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh. Final approval for the keenly awaited sale is likely to come from a panel of senior ministers led by Union home minister Amit Shah within a week, sources said.

A panel of secretaries that met earlier this week had fixed the reserve price for the sale and the Tata group is learnt to have emerged as a front-runner.

“They (the Tata group) bid aggressively. A final call will be taken by the Air India specific alternative mechanism,” a source said, referring to the panel of ministers that will decide the winner, but did not elaborate.

Efforts are on to get the meeting convened within a week and the sale is likely to be wrapped within this month, the first privatisation of a state-run entity almost 20 years since the Atal Behari Vajpayee

government pushed ahead with a raft of such transactions.

The other members of the panel of ministers are finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal and civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. Several attempts have been made to sell off the loss-making Air India in the past 20 years but those attempts had to be aborted due to a string of factors, including lack of interest from investors for the cashguzzling airline.

Almost 21 years ago, an attempt to sell a stake in the airline had to be abandoned by then disinvestment minister Arun Shourie after

Singapore Airlines, which bid with the Tata group for a 40% stake in the airline, pulled out of the consortium.

The government had set the reserve price for AI, which is learnt to be in the range of £1.5 to 2 billion.

Tata bid is learnt to be higher than the reserve price and much more than Ajay Singh-led consortia’s bid.

The airline was nationalised in 1953 and if the sale goes through, it is now looking at a home-coming to the Tata group after almost 68 years.

On October 15, 1932, J R D Tata had flown the first ever flight of Tata Air Services from Karachi’s Drigh Road Aerodrome to Mumbai’s Juhu Airstrip via

Ahmedabad on a single engine De Havilland Puss Moth carrying 25 kg of 4anna airmail letters. Tata Aviation Service was the forerunner to Tata Airlines and Air India.

The winner will get AI’s intangible assets like 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing and parking slots at Indian airports; and 900 slots at airports abroad. The winner will also get AI Express and AI’s 50% stake in AI-SATS ground handling company.

AI had a total debt of £6,01 billion as on March 31, 2019. The buyer will need to take on debt of £ 2.333 billion. The remaining amount will be transferred to an SPV, Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL). The SPV will monetise AI’s assets like property and land bank and use those funds to pay off the debt. The sale of Air India is expected to spur the government to put other stake sales such as BPCL, Shipping Corporation of India, Concor, BEML on the fast track.

With £51 bn assets, Adani is now Asia’s 2nd richest India has added five billionaires every month in the last 12 months as the value of businesses such as chemicals, software and pharmaceuticals soared.

Among the traditional billionaires, Gautam Adani (59) and family, with £51 billion (a 261% surge), for the first time has become Asia’s second-richest. His family has added £100 million a day over the last year.

Mukesh Ambani (64), with £72 billion, remained the richest Indian for the 10th year in a row. The rise in commodity prices has enabled magnates,

including Lakshmi Mittal (71) and Kumar Mangalam Birla (54), to be part of India’s top 10. Vaccine king Cyrus S Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India, whose wealth increased by 74% to £16.37 billion occupies the 6th position.

Gautam Adani's brother Vinod Shantilal Adani, who owns a trading business in Dubai, too made it to the top 10, ahead of Birla, with his wealth growing threefold to £13.1 billion.

The last decade has seen the fastest pace of wealth creation with India’s rich adding £202 million of wealth every day for the past

10 years. Hurun, which compiles a list of the superrich in India in partnership with IIFL Wealth management, has in this year’s r a n k i n g highlighted trends Gautam Adani for the last decade. reflection of India’s “The number of economic growth story,” entrants in IIFL Wealth said Hurun India MD & Hurun India Rich List has chief researcher Anas grown from just under 100 Rahman Junaid. According ten years ago to 1,007 now. to Junaid, a decade ago the At this rate, in five years, I cut-off for being part of the expect the list to grow to top 10 in India was £3.08 3,000 individuals. The billion, which has gone up evolution of the IIFL Hurun to £12.16 billion.

India Rich List is a

More up than down Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Only yesterday I went to see a small commercial property in a leafy upmarket area, just outside of London, which is described as commuter belt. The idea being, you get to experience you’re in the country but can dip into London as and when you need to; you are not cut off from the action. Having studied Mortality as a standalone subject, I know there are statistics which confirm a longer life expectancy when you live outside of urban areas and in the country side, this is reflected in lower life assurance premiums. This is no wonder why pockets such as these are extremely popular, and therefore demand a premium on the property values.

This is an empty well done up property marketed for circa £300K; originally for rentals but it has recently come up for sale. It doesn’t appear the rental market is buoyant in this particular area, hence the reason for the sale.

The property as is with a little adjustment and tweaking would easily convert to a one bedroom flat, valued at say £350K. This can even be done post exchange, so that by the time completion comes you are no longer completing on a commercial property but on a residential one.

Once this has been done it can be financed on a residential BTL basis at 75% LTV at reasonable rates of interest. This would leave very minimal funds in the property, and the loan would be serviced by the rental income. The ideal product would need to be a no penalty product for the reasons given below.

This is not the end of the deal but just the first step into it. There is a bigger game to be played with this deal. The roof is a pitched roof with plenty of headroom. Neighbouring properties have pushed through the roof with a mansard, therefore adding a large chunk of square footage to the property.

On the surface this planning permission does not look contentious, and hopefully will come through without a hitch. There is also further potential to extend to the rear, taking up some of the garden space.

The next question to address is whether this property would lend itself to one residential dwelling or two flats. Intuitively, I would say one dwelling, however, I’m not best placed to answer this with any authority.

One would need to see which segment the local demand is coming from. This question would be best answered by a getting a couple of local agents to give their opinion. If it was central London, the answer would probably be flats, but here the demand for the area seems to be from family units.

This is a small deal, with little down side but plenty of upside; if it whets your appetite why not give the office a call to find out more.

RIL extends deadline to complete Future Group deal Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), the retail arm of Reliance Industries, has extended the Long Stop Date for completion of its £2.47 billion deal with Future Group by another six months to 31 March next year in view of the longdrawn-out legal battle with Amazon, Future Retail said in a regulatory filing.

Earlier, RRVL had extended the timeline for the Long Stop Date from March 31, 2021 to September 30, 2021, said Future Retail.

Long Stop, an established practice in mergers & Acquisition transaction, is a timeframe in which parties agree on which all the conditions precedent for a transaction need to be fulfilled and the transaction completed.

Last year in August, RRVL had announced that it

Dhoot, 2 others fined in insider trading case

had acquired Future Group's retail business across the apparel, lifestyle and grocery segment. They said they were paying close to £2.5 billion in exchange for some of the most iconic retail brands of our time - Big Bazaar, Nilgiris, fbb, Easyday, Central, and Brand Factory.

But just when all of us thought the deal was about to be consummated, Amazon, an investor in Future Coupons that in turn is a shareholder in Future

Retail Ltd, intervened. They were livid that Future Group was selling a sizeable part of its retail business to Reliance without their explicit consent.

In August 2019, Amazon had agreed to purchase 49% of one of Future's unlisted firm, Future Coupons Ltd (which owns 7.3% equity in BSE-listed Future Retail through convertible warrants), with the right to buy into the flagship Future Retail after a period of 3 to 10 years.

Markets regulator Sebi has penalised promoters of Videocon Industries Venugopal Dhoot and two of his investment companies - with a total Rs 75,00,000 for pledging Videocon shares without proper disclosure to shareholders and also for entering into off market transactions using inside information. The case relates to violations by these entities between April and September 2017.

Each of the entities have been fined Rs 25,00,000.

Interestingly, the Sebi order showed that despite sending several notices, Dhoot neither replied to them nor appeared before the regulator’s adjudication officer for the case. Dhoot,

Venugopal Dhoot

the main promoter of the company, was also the chairman & MD. The other two entities named in the order are Videocon Realty & Infra, and Electroparts (India), formerly Shree Dhoot Trading & Agencies.

“Noticees being insiders had executed offmarket transactions while in possession of unpublished price sensitive

information (UPSI),” Sebi said in the order. During the period of investigation

by Sebi, Dena Bank, one of the lenders to Videocon, had classified its loans to the company as a nonperforming asset (NPA), which in turn was expected to have a negative impact on Videocon’s stock price.

Hence, this was considered an UPSI.

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9 - 15 October 2021

Taliban fighters told to leave private homes KABUL: The Taliban ordered their fighters to leave private homes they had taken over during last month’s blitz when the group seized control of Afghanistan, an apparent effort to impose order among Taliban ranks. Meanwhile, in the capital of Kabul, the Taliban fired shots to disperse a women’s rally demanding equal rights while the regional chief for the International Federation of the Red Cross warned that Afghanistan was sliding into a deep “major humanitarian crisis” with severe financial shortfalls.

The order by Taliban PM Hasan Akhund followed recent public statements by Taliban officials hinting at plans to improve organisation and marshal fighters. It said Taliban members belonging to the militant group’s defence, interior and intelligence agencies who are living in private homes need to “report back to military bases” across the country. In recent weeks, the Taliban abandoned their traditional, civilian dress and donned military fatigues to project an air of authority. Bilal Karimi, a Taliban security official, confirmed the directive.

The Afghan army abandoned most of its positions or surrendered to the Taliban during the August blitz, allowing Taliban fighters to take over military bases as well.

No recognition for Taliban regime Fifty days after Taliban occupied Kabul, there are no international takers for the regime with India putting the onus on the secrecy of Doha deal makers to take the first step towards recognition of the medieval Islamic regime. After capturing power on August 15, the Taliban have formed an exclusive government with no space for neither the minorities nor women. Women have been pushed back to the medieval ages with Sharia law in force and large scale atrocities have been mounted on anyone perceived to be an enemy of the Taliban.

According to a Kabul watcher, no country wants to take lead in recognising the Taliban regime after all the commitments made and publicly voiced

by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to the Doha process have been thrown out of the window. To add to this, the international community is now blaming the Doha deal makers for human rights abuses in Afghanistan as it

was none other than UK CDS Carter who the promoted Taliban by calling them “country boys” and wanted the global community to give them space as the majority of the Taliban boys were born after the 9/11 attacks.

Indian abducted in Kabul freed An Indian national, who had been abducted early this month in Kabul, was released last week, said Puneet Singh Chandhok, President of the Indian World Forum. “I can confirm that Bansri Lal Arendeh, Indian national businessman aged around 50 years, who had been abducted on September 14 on gunpoint at Kabul has been released and is currently with his elder brother Ashok Lal,” Chandhok said. Early this month, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said that the Indian government is closely monitoring the investigation by the Afghan authorities in the case of Bansuri Lal Arindeh.

Blast outside Kabul mosque kills 5 At least five civilians were killed in a bomb blast at the entrance to a Kabul mosque last week, a Taliban official said, describing the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since US forces left at the end of August.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell

on Islamic State-Khorasan extremists who have stepped up attacks on the Taliban in recent weeks, particularly in its stronghold in eastern Afghanistan. The roadside bomb went off at the gate of the sprawling Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul at a time when a memorial service was being held for the mother of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Qari Saeed Khosti confirmed the deaths.

Three suspects have been arrested, Bilal Karimi, Taliban official spokesman said. Taliban fighters were not harmed in the attack, he said. He added a probe is on.

1964 constitution ‘temporarily’ adopted The Taliban said they will temporarily adopt a 1964 constitution that granted women the right to vote, but will eliminate any elements they disagree with.

The Taliban’s acting justice minister issued a statement saying the Islamists planned to introduce a constitution used during Afghanistan’s short-lived golden age of democracy, but only briefly and with amendments.

“The Islamic Emirate will adopt the constitution of the former King Mohammad Zahir Shah’s time for a temporary period,” Mawlavi Abdul Hakim Sharaee said. But anything in the text found to conflict with Sharia law and the principles of the Islamic Emirate would be discarded, he added.

Gunmen kill Sikh physician in Peshawar ISLAMABAD: Unknown gunmen shot dead a Unani physician belonging to the Sikh community in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, triggering panic among the minority community in the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Sikhs have demanded that the Pakistan government ensure their security and rein in the elements targeting them.

According to the police, the attackers escaped after firing four shots at Hakeem Satnam Singh who was inside his clinic, Dharmandar Dawakhana, on Charsadda road in Peshawar.

Singh was rushed to a nearby hospital in a critical condition

Hakeem Satnam Singh

where he succumbed to his injuries. Police said a case has been registered against unknown assailants and investigation is underway.

A Sikh social activist, Radesh Singh Tony, said that Satnam’s family members were from the Tira tribal community in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai Agency.

Just 520 Sikh families live in Peshawar. Majority of them had migrated to the city from the tribal regions of Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber to escape terrorism. It started in the mid1980s which increased tremendously with the emergence of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2007. The demand for jizya (protection money from minorities) and several socioreligious curbs by the TTP had forced the Sikhs to leave.

There have been over a dozen killings of Sikhs in the last few years. Among the victims was Swaran Singh, adviser to KPK chief Parvez Khan Khattak,

who was shot dead on April 22, 2016.

IS-K claims responsibility The IS’ Afghanistan affiliate, dubbed Islamic State Khorasan or IS-K, has claimed responsibility for the killing Satnam Singh.

In a message posted on social media, the IS-K claimed the killing. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Mahmood Khan condemned the crime and directed police to take steps to arrest the killers. The IS-K, which has stepped up attacks in several Afghan cities since the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15, had also claimed the deadly suicide attack at Kabul airport on August 26.

Bangladesh arrests five over the killing of Rohingya activist DHAKA: Five Rohingya men have been arrested in connection with the killing of a prominent community leader in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, according to the police, adding that they were probing links to an armed group.

Mohibullah – a high-profile figurehead for the nearly one million-strong Muslim minority in Bangladesh – was killed by gunmen last week in one of the sprawling camps in Cox’s Bazar district. Mohibullah’s family blamed fighters from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group behind several attacks in Myanmar, with activists claiming they were enraged by his growing popularity in the camps.

“We have arrested five peo-

ple over the murder of Mohibullah,” the commanding officer of the police unit in charge of camp security, Naimul Haque, said. Two of the men were remanded in custody for three days for questioning, authorities said. The other three have not yet appeared in court.

A 28-year-old Rohingya man was also arrested over the murder last week. All six are being investigated for links to ARSA, which has instead blamed “unidentified criminals” for Mohibullah’s death. A member of the rights group that Mohibullah headed up alleged that one of those arrested, 35year-old Mohammad Elias, was a member of ARSA and had threatened the popular leader in June.

The member, who asked to remain anonymous as he feared for his safety, said at least 10 leaders of Mohibullah’s group were in hiding as they were afraid of more attacks. And while authorities have stepped up security in the camps, Mohibullah’s family said they were afraid of even stepping outside their homes.

“We can’t get out of the house. They [ARSA] are threatening to kill us,” Mohibullah’s younger brother Habibullah said. “We received threats through audio messages in the past few days. I am now in a state of panic. We received the death threats for saying that ARSA members killed my

Mohibullah

brother.”

A spokesman for the Cox’s Bazar police, Rafiqul Islam, said they were ready to provide security to Mohibullah’s family if they made an appeal. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for a “prompt, thorough, and independent investigation” into the killing.

in brief COVISHIELD GETS AUSTRALIA APPROVAL Australian PM Scott Morrison announced that a ban on Australians travelling abroad will be lifted next month, a move that will ease one of the world’s harshest border closures spanning over 18 months. The government also said that it has put India’s Covishield on its list of “approved vaccines” for incoming travellers. Residents, international students, economic and humanitarian visa holders who have been administered Covishield - a version of AstraZeneca manufactured in India - or China’s CoronaVac will be considered “appropriately vaccinated” for entry, said the government.

Notably, Indian students make up for the second largest cohort of international students in Australia behind China. In 2018-2019, Indians contributed $5.5 billion dollars to the $33 billion dollar education industry while China contributed $12.1 billion. Travellers vaccinated with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin or Sputnik, however, will not be considered “appropriately vaccinated”.

UK PENSIONERS TO GET £10 IN EXTRA CASH Recipients of pension in UK are eligible to get £10 in extra cash from the government as Christmas bonus. The bonus is a tax-free payment and the amount is automatically deposited into your account, meaning that there is no time-consuming application process required to receive the cash. The payment will be deposited into an account such as a bank account, in the same way that other benefits, pensions and allowances are normally paid. The transaction may show up as ‘DWP XB’ on one’s bank statement, so people who believe they may be entitled to receive the Christmas bonus should pay attention to their bank statement to see if they have received the £10 payment.

People who use online banking should also be able to see from their transaction history whether or not they have received the Christmas bonus.

TTP KILLS PAK ARMY CAPTAIN In yet another attack on the Pakistani security forces, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed an army captain during an operation in the northwestern Tank district next to the country’s restive tribal district of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, the InterServices Public Relations, the military’s media arm, said. In a statement, the ISPR said that forces conducted an operation after receiving information about the presence of terrorists in Tank. Separately, the Pakistani security forces claimed they had killed 10 suspected terrorists, including four commanders, in the remote Sarwakai area of South Waziristan. A statement from the ISPR said the terrorists were killed in an intense exchange of fire. The TTP, however,, contradicted the military’s claim, saying that Pakistani security forces had carried out a drone strike that killed a woman and 2 children.

A THIRD GENDER CATEGORY IN NEPAL CENSUS Nepal has introduced a third gender category in its census for the first time, a move the Himalayan nation’s LGBTQ community hopes will bring them greater rights. Officials from the Central Bureau of Statistics have been visiting homes across the country of 30 million people, giving respondents the option of choosing “others” as their gender, alongside male and female. Nepal already has some of South Asia’s most progressive laws on homosexuality and transgender rights, with landmark reforms passed in 2007 prohibiting gender or sexual orientation discrimination. A third gender category for citizenship documents was introduced in 2013 and Nepal began issuing passports with the “others” category two years later. But gay and transgender Nepalis and rights activists say the LGTBQ community still faces discrimination, particularly for jobs, health and education.

They say a lack of data has hampered access to benefits they are entitled to.

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in brief ARAB WORLD’S FIRST WOMAN PM Tunisian President Kais Saied appointed Najla Bouden Romdhane as the first female prime minister in his country to form a new government.

Since 2011, she has served as director general in charge of quality at the Higher Education Ministry. She also held the position of head of the Purpose Action Unit in the ministry. Addressing the newly head of government, Saied announced that “given the exceptional situation the country is going through, I decided to entrust you with forming a new government,” Xinhua news agency reported. “You are the first female head of government in the history of our nation,” Saied added. “We will work together with a strong will and determination to eradicate corruption and put an end to the chaos,” said Saied. “I hope you will manage to propose the composition of the government in the coming hours or days, in accordance with the provisions of the last exceptional measures,” the president added.

CHINA UNVEILS PLAN TO TIGHTEN CENSORSHIP China unveiled a three-year plan to bring the algorithms related to internet information services of its fast-growing web industry under state control. Chinese regulators will strengthen the management of algorithms related to internet information services to foster “healthy” and “orderly” development of the industry, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. A three-year campaign will seek to put in place a sound management mechanism and supervision system, and a standardised algorithm ecosystem, according to new guidelines issued by nine ministries or departments including the cyberspace administration of China. The guidelines urged enterprises to strengthen their sense of responsibility and set up responsibility systems for algorithm security and sci-tech ethical review systems. Legal violations and malpractices related to algorithms will be severely punished, the report said.

LENNON RECORDING SELLS FOR $58,300 A cassette tape with a 33-minute audio recording of John Lennon being interviewed by four Danish teenagers 51 years ago as well as an apparently unpublished song by the late Beatle fetched 370,000 kroner ($58,240) at an auction in Denmark. The tape, recorded on January 5, 1970, chiefly consists of Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, speaking about being in Denmark and world peace. It also has the couple singing two songs: 1969’s “Give Peace a Chance” and “Radio Peace”, which was made for a radio station in the Netherlands but never released. The cassette was put up for sale by Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneer in Copenhagen, together with 29 still photos and a copy of the school newspaper for which the teenagers had interviewed Lennon and Ono. The pre-sale estimate was $31,481 to $47,222. It was not immediately known who bought the recording.

PRISON EMERGENCY IN ECUADOR Ecuador’s president has declared a state of emergency in the prison system following a battle among gang members in a coastal lockup that killed at least 116 people and injured 80 in what authorities say was the worst prison bloodbath ever in the country. Officials said at least five of the dead were found to have been beheaded. President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency, which will give the government powers that include deploying police and soldiers inside prisons. The order came a day after bloodshed at the Litoral penitentiary in Guayaquil that officials blamed on gangs linked to international drug cartels fighting for control of the facility. Images circulating on social media showed scenes that looked like battlefields. The fighting was with firearms, knives and bombs, officials said.

Earlier, police had said that bodies were being found in the prison’s pipelines.

Rich businessmen back Raila Odinga’s presidential bid NAIROBI: Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga picked a crucial endorsement for his presidential bid by an influential club of big campaign financiers, capping a week in which President Uhuru Kenyatta also appeared to publicly suggest support for his former political rival for the first time.

The group of rich businessmen calling itself Mount Kenya Foundation, which has backed President Uhuru Kenyatta and his predecessor Mwai Kibaki in past elections, hosted Odinga at a five-star hotel in Nairobi, where speakers praised Raila’s Handshake-cum-co-operation with the incumbent and sought to portray him as a safe pair of hands.

President Kenyatta, visiting Nairobi’s Kibera slum - Odinga’s Nairobi political stronghold - to launch a government hospital in the company of the former prime

minister, hinted at an imminent endorsement, asking the crowd to make the right choice in the coming elections.

Mount Kenya Foundation’s backing is a big catch for Odinga, who needs a considerable war chest to compete with the freespending campaign of Deputy President William Ruto, the other front runner in the 2022 presidential race.

Ruto’s significant outlay on early campaigns in the past four years, including generous church donations and contributions to fundraisers for youth groups in different parts of the country, has rattled opponents, who have questioned his source of wealth.

Details of the Deputy President’s personal wealth controversially disclosed by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i in parliament last month gave a glimpse of Ruto’s campaign war chest, with five helicopters linked

to him.

Helicopters have become a fixture in presidential campaign expenditure in recent Kenyan elections, with candidates buying their own or renting one or more at millions of shillings an hour to fly them to remote or rural areas. In addition to campaign logistics, adverts, events management, printing and merchandise branding also take a chunk of a presidential campaign budget.

Candidates are not obligated to disclose the source of their funds. Just this past week, legislators killed a proposed law capping presidential campaign spending at $40 million and requiring submission of a register of donors to the electoral commission, which had been bogged down in parliament since 2017.

In Mt Kenya Foundation’s campaign financiers signalling support for Odinga’s anticipated

Raila Odinga

candidature, Ruto and those affiliated to his UDA party have downplayed their influence on voters.But in private, the Ruto camp will most likely be wary of the tycoons’ resolve to dismantle UDA’s most potent campaign narrative against Odinga – the notion that he is unelectable in the region. The ‘unelectability’ tag on Odinga has endured partly because of past campaigns characterising him as anti-business, citing his involvement in street protests as opposition leader, and historical political rivalry between Kikuyu and Luo ethnic communities going back to postIndependence rivalry between Oginga Odinga and Jomo Kenyatta.

Lanka to resolve issues through democratic system: President tells EU delegation COLOMBO: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that as the oldest democratic country in the region, which has never been under a dictatorship or an authoritarian regime in any period of its history, Sri Lanka will provide solutions for issues through a democratic system. The President made these remarks during a discussion with a delegation from the European Union (EU) at his private residence.

The delegation is expected to review Sri Lanka's compliance with the agreements which Sri Lanka has already committed to adhere to under the EU GSP+ regime, its co-operation with Sri Lanka and the European Parliament's views on Sri Lanka, Presidential Media Division (PMD) said.

The representatives of the European Union, who paid special attention to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), pointed out the need of a timeline based solution. The delegation said that a formal report based on the

findings of the visit would be submitted to the European Commission and the European Parliament.

The President said that the necessary Committees have been appointed and the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General have been instructed according to the reports of the Committees and immediate steps will be taken to amend the necessary provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. President Rajapaksa also stated that the country would abide by the agreements on human rights in the world today.

The President also pointed

out the impact of Covid19 pandemic on the economy and the obstacles that the government faced in fulfilling its expected comprehensive strategies.

The President explained the steps taken by the government despite this situation to address many of the problems caused by the prolonged war and to establish democracy as well as to carry out development in the North and East. During the discussion, it was also pointed out the steps that have been taken to provide relief to the families of the missing persons and to pay compensation to the families of victims.

The President also stated that even at the UN General Assembly, he stressed the need for the Tamil political parties, members of the Tamil Diaspora and all expatriates to work together to resolve the country's internal problems and take the country forward.

The President said that he is

working with civil society organizations with a mutual understanding and that their support would be sought for the reconciliation process and development in the country. It was pointed out that instructions have been given not to use batons, water cannons or tear gas to control any of the protests during the last two years and that a separate area has been allocated for protests in front of the Presidential Secretariat.

Though the government acted in a democratic manner, the President said that the attention has not been paid to them and it was unfortunate that various parties spread misconceptions based on a minor incident.

The President pointed out that steps are being taken to ensure that the public and private sectors are working together, to enhance the private sector in order to contribute better to the development of the country and to adopt the technological strategies of developed countries for a quality public service.

Pak is home to 12 foreign terrorist outfits: US report

Kenya suspends visafree transit with Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is home to at least 12 groups designated as “foreign terrorist organisations” by the US, including five of them being India-centric like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, according to the latest congressional report on terrorism. US officials have identified Pakistan as a base of operations or target for numerous armed and non-state militant groups, some of which have existed since the 1980s, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in the report.

The report, “Terrorist and Other Militant Groups in Pakistan”, released by the bipartisan research wing of Congress on the eve of the Quad summit hosted

by President Biden last week, said these groups operating in Pakistan can be broadly categorised into five types - globally-oriented, Afghanistan-oriented, India- and Kashmir-oriented, domestically-oriented and sectarian (anti-Shia).

“LeT was responsible for major 2008 attacks in Mumbai,” the CRS said. JeM was founded in 2000 by Kashmiri militant leader Masood Azhar and was designated as an FTO in 2001. Along with LeT, it was responsible for the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, it said. JeM also has openly declared war on the US, it noted. Harakat-ul Jihad Islami was formed in 1980 in Afghanistan and was designated as an FTO in 2010. After 1989, it redirected its efforts toward India. “With an unknown strength, HuJI today operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, and seeks annexation of Kashmir into Pakistan,” the report said. Hizbul Mujahideen, formed in 1989 was designated as an FTO in 2017. It is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in J&K. Among other terror groups operating from Pakistan are al-Qaida, CRS said.

NAIROBI: Kenya's Interior Ministry ordered the suspension of a visa-free transit agreement with Pakistan. The move was prompted after social media sites showed videos with crowds of Pakistani nationals crowding residential areas across the capital, Nairobi.

According to the authorities there has been an influx of Asian foreigners who at first were thought to be Afghan refugees. Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho ordered the police to work closely with the immigration services to crack down on illegal foreigners.

In a statement, Kibicho said "the majority of these travellers have originated from Pakistan and have valid transit visas to Saudi Arabia that are issued on arrival. Going forward, the government will restrict the number of foreigners transiting through the country to levels that do not pose a risk to Kenya's national interest". Kenya’s Citizen Digital reported that in a letter to the High Commission of Pakistan, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said: “the Government of Kenya regrets that some of these passengers are taking advantage of Kenya’s status with these countries with regard to the Covid-19 quarantine regulations. This threatens to undermine Kenya’s agreements with these countries which are put in place to ensure continuation of business and travel operations between our countries.”

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US states to celebrate October as Hindu Heritage Month HOUSTON: Several US states, including Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Massachusetts, have proclaimed October as the Hindu Heritage Month, noting that Hinduism has “contributed greatly” to America through its unique history and heritage.

The proclamations came after various Hindu organisations in the US announced the addition of another major festival, an entire month of festivals, in October as the Hindu Heritage Month.

The respective declarations issued recently from the office of the governors of various states, congressmen and Senators noted, “Communities of the faith have long served as beacons of hope, sharing their beliefs and bettering their communities through service; improving and inspiring the lives of thousands of followers around the world. Hinduism has contributed greatly to our state and nation through its unique history and heritage.”

The Hindu groups in

America are now campaigning and striving hard for the declaration of “Hindu Heritage Month” formally by the US government. The organisers said they want President Joe Biden to formally declare by an Executive Order the month of October as the Hindu Heritage Month.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) president Ajay Shah said it is surprising to know how little people know about Sanatan Vedic Dharma.

"It's high time to educate the world on our philosophy and ethos.” He said by mid-July the VHPA along with other Hindu groups had sent over 20 letters

to state government heads, requesting for proclamation of October as Hindu Heritage Month.

The Hindu Heritage Month celebration will showcase the diversity that is so fundamental to Hindu civilisation. “Hindu heritage and culture are thousands of years old; it is our duty to share it with the world and pass it onto our next generations for them so that they take pride in their roots," said Sanjay Kaul, vice president of the World Hindu Council of America, one of the organisers of this event.

According to the organisers, the celebrations will include cultural programmes, fashion shows, webinars, multi-day conferences, walkathons and more. Dr Jai Bansal, World Hindu Council of America vice president, underscores the fact that the Hindu community is, by nature, rather unassuming.

However, with second and third generations now making their

mark in their adopted lands, the time has come for the Hindu community to come out of their shell and talk about its rich cultural heritage and important role in making the multitude of contributions to every aspect of the fabric of the adopted lands.

According to the president of Hindu University of America, Kalyan Viswanathan, “The Hindu Heritage Month is a great opportunity for the Hindu community to remember our collective journey so far — from the ancient Vedic times, our own golden eras, through the trials and tribulations of conquests and colonisation — and look optimistically forward at the opportunity we have for recovering and rearticulating the Hindu worldview for future generations.”

General Secretary of the Coalition of Hindus of North America (COHNA) Shobha Swami made a point about the diversity of the culture that is going to be celebrated the whole of October.

US Sikh marine may sue Corps for full religious freedom WASHINGTON: A 26-year-old Sikh-American officer in the US Marines who has been allowed to wear the turban - the first person in the 246-year history of the elite force allowed to do so, but with a few limitations, plans to sue the Corps if he is not granted full religious accommodation, according to a media report.

“Almost every morning for five years, First Lt. Sukhbir Toor has pulled on the uniform of the United States Marine Corps.

Recently, he also got to put on the turban of a faithful Sikh,” a report said. Toor’s turban is a first in the 246-year history of the Marine Corps, which has almost never allowed deviations from its hallowed image, the report added.

Sukhbir Toor “I finally don’t have to pick which life I want to commit to, my faith or my country. I can be who I am and honour both sides,” Toor said in an interview.

Toor’s case is the latest in a longrunning conflict between two fundamental values in the United States military: “the tradition of discipline and uniformity, and the

constitutional liberties the armed forces were created to defend," the report said.

However, Toor, who grew up in Washington and Ohio and is the son of Indian immigrants, has been allowed to wear the Turban while on duty with limitations. He "can wear a turban in daily dress at normal duty stations, but not while deployed to a conflict zone, or when in dress uniform in a ceremonial unit, where the public could see it."

The report said Toor has “appealed the restrictive decision to the Marine Corps commandant, and he says that if he does not get full

accommodation, he will sue the Corps". “We’ve come a long way, but there is still more to go,” he said. “The Marine Corps needs to show it really means what it has been saying about strength in diversity - that it doesn’t matter what you look like, it just matters that you can do your job.”

The Corps has maintained that “uniformity was as essential to a fighting force as well-oiled rifles”. “In a stern response, one Marine Corps general warned that individual expression of that kind could fray the fabric of discipline and commitment that binds the Marines. It could erode the nation’s trust in the Corps. It could undermine combat effectiveness. It could cost lives,” the report said.

Two more Indian-origin experts join Biden team

Indian origin student-led stir reverses ban on diversity books in US

WASHINGTON: Indian American law expert Nitin Shah has been appointed by President Joe Biden to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the US (ACUS). Shah, who currently serves as general counsel of the US General Services Administration (GSA), was appointed member of the ACUS along with two others: Leslie B Kiernan and Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo.

He oversees all legal matters arising before the agency, is GSA’s designated agency ethics official and manages a nationwide office of approximately 170 attorneys and staff, the White House said. During his career, Shah has focused on administrative law issues from various perspectives. He previously served in the department of justice.

In the second development, Indian-American financial expert Rohit Chopra was confirmed by the Senate to be the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Chopra, 39, would serve a five-year term at the helm of the federal consumer watchdog, Washington Post reported. The Senate voted 50 to 48 to confirm Chopra to be the head of the federal agency tasked with protecting the interests of consumers financials. The bureau regulates the offering and provision of consumer financial products or services under the federal consumer financial laws and educates and empowers consumers to make better informed financial decisions. Progressives see him as an experienced and headstrong rule maker who is not afraid to take a hard line against big banks.

WASHINGTON: Edha Gupta and Christina Ellis, two high school seniors in York County, Pennsylvania, were furious when they read last month in a local paper that their teachers had been effectively banned from using hundreds of books, documentary films and articles in their classrooms.

The list, which was created in 2020 by a diversity committee in the Central York School District, was meant to serve as a resource guide for students and teachers as they grappled with the racial and social turmoil that followed the murder of George Floyd.

It included a documentary about James Baldwin and a statement on racism by the state’s association of school administrators. It also included kids’ books like “A Boy Called Bat,” about a third grader with autism and “I Am Rosa Parks”.

But what began as an effort to raise awareness somehow ended with the materials on the list being banned from classrooms by the district’s school board in a little-noticed vote last November. Some parents in the district had objected to materials that

they feared could be used to make white kids feel guilty about their race or “indoctrinate” students.

“I was ready to go to battle,” said Ellis, 17. She and Gupta, 17, recruited other students to wear black T-shirts to school in protest. They created signs that read “Diversity is our strength” They began protesting every day before school. They started writing letters to the editor and reading excerpts from the banned books on Instagram. The controversy drew national media attention.

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, and some of the authors whose books were on the list voiced support. On September 13, the school board met to discuss the list but again voted to keep the materials from being used in class.

The students continued their protests. Less than three weeks after the students began their campaign, the board met again, on September 20, and temporarily lifted the freeze. The board said that its November 2020 vote was not intended to be a ban, but rather an effort to give a curriculum panel time to review the materials.

in brief RUSSIA THREATENS NAVALNY AND ALLIES Russia sharply escalated a campaign against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, opening a new criminal case against President Putin’s fiercest domestic critic that could allow the authorities to hand him another decade in jail. In a case condemned by the West, Navalny, 45, is already serving two-and-a-half years in prison for parole violations he says were trumped up to thwart his political ambitions. The new case, details of which were published on the website of Russia’s Investigative Committee, named Navalny as being suspected of founding and leading an extremist group. Such a crime carries a punishment of up to a decade in jail. The statement said some of Navalny’s key allies were suspects in the same case.

WORLD’S YOUNGEST ASTRONOMER When Nicole Oliveira was just learning to walk, she would throw up her arms to reach for the stars in the sky. Today, at just eight years of age, the Brazilian girl is known as the world’s youngest astronomer, looking for asteroids as part of a Nasa-affiliated programme, attending international seminars and meeting with her country’s top space and science figures. The project, called Asteroid Hunters, is meant to give young people a chance to make space discoveries of their own. It is run by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, a citizen science programme affiliated with Nasa, in partnership with Brazil’s ministry of science. Beaming with pride, Nicole said she has already found 18 asteroids.“I will give them the names of Brazilian scientists, or members of my family, like my mom or my dad,” she said. If her findings are certified, which may take several years, Nicole will become the youngest person in the world to officially discover an asteroid, breaking the record of 18-year-old Italian Luigi Sannino.

WOMAN WHO FLED NAZI WAR CRIMES TRIAL FOUND A 96-year-old German woman was caught hours after failing to turn up for her trial on charges of aiding and abetting mass murder in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, a court spokesperson said. Irmgard Furchner is accused of having contributed as an 18-year-old to the murder of 11,412 people when she was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp between 1943 and 1945.

But her trial in the far northern town of Itzehoe could not begin in her absence. “The defendant left her home in the early hours and took a taxi to an unknown location,” the spokesperson said. Itzehoe is some 100 km from the Danish border. Furchner has been detained and that a doctor was assessing whether her health would allow her to be imprisoned. The next hearing was scheduled for October 19, the spokesperson added.

MALAWI’S EX-DEPUTY SPEAKER SHOOTS HIMSELF DEAD A former deputy speaker in Malawi has shot himself dead inside parliament in the capital, Lilongwe, authorities said. Clement Chiwaya, who moved in a wheelchair, had gone to the building to discuss vehicle benefits entitled to him when he left office two years ago. “The incident is in relation to frustration with the implementation of his conditions of service.”

Chiwaya, who was 50, bought his official vehicle at the end of his five-year term in 2019, as provided for in his contract. But he had tried to get parliament to pay for damages incurred in an accident that happened six months later.

“Unfortunately, the comprehensive insurance had expired at the time of the accident,” the parliament’s statement said. A source at parliament said that Chiwaya shot himself in the head inside the office of the clerk of parliament.

Before he became deputy speaker, Chiwaya served as a member of parliament from 2004.

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Will quit Congress soon but won’t join BJP: Amarinder The crisis in Congress escalated with former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh announcing that he will quit Congress soon and senior leader P Chidambaram joining Ghulam Nabi Azad, B S Hooda and Anand Sharma to criticise protests by a group of workers outside G23 leader and former minister Kapil Sibal’s house.

While Amarinder also clarified that he is not joining BJP, his departure from Congress puts paid to efforts to mollify him even as the sudden resignation of his rival Navjot Singh Sidhu as Punjab state chief continues to roil the party, posing a stiff challenge to the Gandhis who have backed the former cricketer. “I will not remain in Congress. I have already made my position very clear. I will not be treated in this manner,” Amarinder said. Later, he dropped Congress from his twitter profile.

He also let out that a new force will come up in Punjab, suggesting launch of a new party. If he does do that, it would be for the second time, having floated a party when he left Congress protesting Operation Bluestar.

Capt meets Amit Shah Amarinder had an hourlong meeting the Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his home in Delhi amid the Congress's crisis in Punjab and speculation about his joining the BJP days after he stepped down from the top post in the state. His media advisor Raveen Thukral had said, "too much being read into Amarinder's visit to Delhi".

"He is on a personal visit, during which he'll meet some friends and vacate Kapurthala House (the Punjab Chief Minister's residence in the national capital)... No need for unnecessary speculation," he had added.

While stepping down, Amarinder said he was "humiliated" thrice by the Congress leadership in his battle with Sidhu. He also said his political options were open and that he would take a decision after talking to "friends". After meeting Amit Shah, Amarinder also met National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.

Amarinder met Doval at his residence here. The meeting between the two lasted for around 30 minutes.

Rawat and Amarinder in war of words A day after Amarinder announced that he would quit Congress, the former CM came under a no holdsbarred attack from AICC’s Punjab minder Harish Rawat who alleged that Captain had circulated the theory about “humiliation”

like Ajay Maken suggested that the senior lawyer was an ingrate in questioning Sonia Gandhi who “had sent him to Parliament and made him a Cabinet minister”.

Protesters damage Sibal’s car Immediately afterAmarinder Singh wards, a group of party workers aggressively at the hands of Congress demonstrated in front of leadership to gain sympaSibal’s house which was thy. On the former Punjab pelted with tomatoes. The CM’s recent meeting with protesters also damaged his Amit Shah, Rawat said that car. Statements from memit “raises a question mark bers of G23 - a grouping of over his secular credenparty leaders who are tials”.“Amarinder’s ideology unhappy with the current does not align with that of arrangement marked by the BJP leaders and I believe absence of a full-fledged they are simply using him as party president, an elected a mukhauta (mask),” Rawat Congress Working said.

Committee (CWC) and Amarinder hit back at where Rahul Gandhi takes Rawat’s “outrageous claims crucial decisions without and allegations”, which he holding any formal role said were clearly prompted suggested that they considby the “pathetic” situation ered the protests to be a the party now found itself “command performance”. in Punjab after being on a G23 leader Ghulam winning spree for four and Nabi Azad called for an a half years. urgent meeting of the Rising unhappiness CWC, and in what seemed Chidambaram’s tweet like an effort at damage pointed to rising unhappicontrol, party spokesman ness over how Rahul and and Rahul aide Randeep Priyanka have handled Surjewala said the apex Punjab, as he said, “I feel panel is likely to meet soon. helpless when we cannot Azad is understood to have start meaningful conversacalled for a meeting of the tions within party forums. I “core” CWC and not invialso feel hurt and helpless tees, who, dissidents suswhen I see pictures of pect, play the role of drum Congress workers raising beaters for the official facslogans outside the resition.

Support for Sibal, who dence of a colleague and had upset family loyalists by MP. The safe harbour to attacking the leadership for which one can withdraw the mess in Punjab, made it seems to be silence.” clear that the fear of Manish Tiwari and Shashi Gandhis getting annoyed Tharoor also came out with them, was speedily losstrongly in Sibal’s support a ing its deterrence value. day after family loyalists

OBITUARY

Treasure trove detected at Emar Mutt in Puri A treasure hunt is being carried at the Emar Mutt in Puri's Jagannath temple in Odisha with teams of archaeologists armed with metal detectors searching for a lost hoard. The mutt, located in the south-eastern corner of the 12th Jagannath temple, came into limelight following a request by Narayan Ramanuj Das, the head of Uttarparshwa Mutt, who is also an in-charge of Emar Mutt. The Mutt authorities as well as historians suspect that a hoard of valuable is buried inside the premises.

The belief that a stash is buried underground comes from discoveries of two earlier troves. In2011, the police have stumbled on a treasure trove of 522 silver ingots weighing 18 tonnes inside the Mutt worth about Rs 900 million. Earlier in April 2021, around 45 more silver

ingotsweighing about 35kg each were found from the Mutt.

Besides this, a silver tree and flowers, bronze cow sculpture, around 16 antique swords werealso found from the Mutt established by Ramanujacharya before 500 years ago. As many as 18mutts belonging to Ramanuja sect were established in Puri. All these mutts are closely linked to the Shree Jagannath Temple and are involved in rituals associated with the Temple.

ArcelorMittal offered land on the outskirts of Surat In August 2021, Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, accompanied by the company’s CEO Dilip Oommen, paid a visit to Gujarat’s former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. During the visit, Mittal expressed his eagerness to invest £10 billion in Gujarat.

Mittal expressed commitment of investment of £5 billion for the expansion of his unit near Hazira in Surat while also expressing intention of investing £5 billion in solar energy, wind energy, and hydrogen gas pro-

duction sectors, it said. The company sought land near Surat for the expansion of his Hazira project and solar energy project.

Now the state government has allotted 11,88,389 sq.m. of government land and 1,25,150sq.m. land near Surat district. In addition to these, the group has also acquired 44,819sq.m. government land of Hazira gram panchayat, 6,51,737 sq. m. land of the port department and 1,600 sq. m of another land.

Gujarat’s Kartik Jivani grabs 8th position in UPSC exams The result of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has been declared. For the first time, Gujarati candidate has grabbed a place in the top 10. Kartik Jivani from Surat secured the eighth position.

Shubham Kumar from Bihar has secured first position in the exams. He has graduated in BTech. While Jagruti Awasthi and Ankita Jain have grabbed second and third positions respectively. The top 25 candidates include

13 men and 12 women. This time, 13 Kartik Jivani candidates from Gujarat have cleared the exams.

In 2017, Kartik appeared for the exam but was not able to clear it. In 2019, Kartik was selected for IPS as he secured first position in Gujarat and 84th rank in India.

However, in his third attempt, Kartik made a record by securing the eighth position.

OBITUARY Tribute to my father Sri Krishna Kumar Johri 08/07/1936 – 27/09/2021

MEENABEN JAYANT MADHVANI 27th June 1929 – 29th September 2021

The iconic and devoted wife, mother, grand-mother, great grand-mother, cousin, mother-in-law, sisterin-law, aunt, loyal friend and a great nationalist.

We were so privileged and forever hold you in our hearts.

Aum Shanti! Aum Shanti! Aum Shanti!

The Madhvani Family

A father is someone who can lead by example. I was lucky to have a father who always guided me to choose the right path.

Despite having a difficult childhood, he managed to achieve success in life with his hard work. He always believed hard work and honesty. He was completely selfless and always helped people around him by giving them all his love and support. So many times, since my childhood I saw my father helping people by going out of his comfort zone. There were times when we used to feel upset but then he would explain to us that, “the more you help others, more you will get from God” and honestly speaking I have personally experienced this happening. He was a senior government officer in Rural Development Department in UP Government, India. After working as a Principal at many Rural Development Institutions, he retired as an Additional Director from State Institute of Rural Development, Lucknow, India. Despite of having several domestic help at home, I cannot remember a day when he asked anyone for a glass of water. His humble and praising nature was unique. Hope I can continue to follow his teachings for rest of my life and make him proud. I would like to share a few lines as my tribute to him: I am a rose So what if I have lost my beauty I have seen everything Bright sunshine, beautiful stars, gentle breeze, thunderstorms I have enjoyed every moment of my life When I was young, nature asked me…

Do you want to keep your beauty or fragrance?

I kept my fragrance…

And I am proud..

Come close to me and smell I still have my fragrance…

And this will remain with me forever So what if I have lost my beauty I am still a rose.

Vineet Johri

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SOUTH INDIA

Karnataka may enact law against religious conversion: CM BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is seriously considering bringing in a law against religious conversion either by force or through inducement in the state, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

"Such things (conversions) are happening here and there.

Couple of days ago I gave appropriate directions to district administrations not to allow any religious conversion through inducement or by force, as it is illegal," Bommai said in response to a question on alleged incidents of religious

Basavaraj Bommai

conversions in Kalaburagi and Byadarahalli in Karnataka.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, "as several such incidents are happening, we are seriously considering a law against religious conversion

through inducement or by force."

State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had last week told the legislative assembly that the government was mulling enacting a law to regulate religious conversion, as a ruling BJP MLA from Hosadurga Goolihatti Shekhar said his own mother has converted to Christianity falling prey to inducement.

Meanwhile, Byadarahalli police are investigating a case of

forceful religious conversion. It was alleged that in a building owned by one Narayanaswamy, as many as 20 children were forced to participate in prayers.

Based on the complaint, the police have issued a notice to Narayanaswamy. A similar case was also reported from Yadgir.

The issue of religious conversion had rocked the recently concluded legislative assembly session. BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh already have laws to prevent forcible religious conversion.

PUNJAB

Sidhu again demands removal of DGP, AG CHANDIGARH: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu again demanded a replacement of Punjab’s police chief and advocate general on Sunday, saying otherwise the ruling party in the state will suffer a loss of face.

Hours later, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi reminded that the names of 10 police officers have already been sent to the Centre. He asserted that a “good” officer will be appointed as the director general of police (DGP) after consulting Sidhu, ministers and MLAs once the state government receives three shortlisted names from the Centre.

“Demand for Justice in Sacrilege cases and for arrest of main culprits behind the drug trade brought our Govt in 2017 & due to his failure, people removed the last CM. Now, AG/ DG appointments rub salt on wounds of victims, they must be replaced or we will have No

face!!,” Sidhu said in a tweet.

The development comes three days after Sidhu and Channi held a meeting, following which it was decided to set up a coordination panel for prior consultation on all major decisions of the state government.

Talking to reporters in Morinda on the sidelines of a government function, Channi said a regular DGP is yet to be appointed when he was asked about Sidhu’s demand for changing the state police chief and the advocate general. “I have told Sidhu sahab and he also knows that the names of the police officers who have completed 30 years in service have been sent to the Centre for the appointment of a DGP. “We have sent the names and the Centre will now send us a three-member panel (for the selection of a regular DGP),” he said. The state government has sent the names of 10 police officers to the Union Public

Service Commission (UPSC) for the appointment of a regular DGP. Sidhu to stay as Punjab Congress chief After a two-hour meeting with Channi, Sidhu has decided to continue as Punjab Congress chief. The Navjot Singh Sidhu meeting also decided to set up a coordination this regard, the sources said. panel, which is expected to be However, it is still unclear how consulted before any major differences over the decisions by the Punjab appointment of the DGP and government in future, party the AG will be dealt with. sources said. The decision was Miffed Sidhu had raised a reached after an over two-hour question over the appointments meeting at the Punjab Congress of the DGP, state's advocate Bhavan between Channi and general and "tainted" leaders.

Sidhu, who had resigned from Besides Channi and Sidhu, the the post of the state party chief meeting was attended by senior last week.

Congress leader and central The panel may comprise the observer Harish Chaudhary, CM, Sidhu and a representative minister Pargat Singh and of the AICC, the sources said.

Punjab Congress working The All-India Congress president Kuljit Nagra, the Committee (AICC) is expected sources said. to make an announcement in

WEST BENGAL

Bhowanipore gives Mamata biggest assembly poll victory KOLKATA: Voters in south Kolkata's Bhowanipore on Sunday gave their "ghorer meye" (daughter of the house) Mamata Banerjee the mandate she needed to continue as Bengal CM in the form of her biggest-ever victory margin of 58,835 votes in an assembly poll. Trinamool also retained the Jangipur and Shamsherganj seats.

"There were so many conspiracies against me. The people of Bhowanipore have given a befitting reply to those conspiracies and the conspirators...You have inspired me to work harder," she said, basking in the afterglow of a comeback just five months after a rare poll setback in Nandigram.

"They sent 3,500 central forces to this small constituency. But the people of Bhowanipore have given an answer on behalf of Bengal and India," Mamata said in her victory speech, punctuated with chants of "Didi, Didi" from the crowd.

Jakir Hossain won Jangipur

for Trinamool by a staggering 92,480 votes while Amirul Islam emerged victorious in Shamsherganj to maintain the party's strength of 213 in the 294member assembly. Party seniors said the ease of Mamata's victory, more than anything else, would help set the agenda for the four by-polls later this month and the civic elections after that.

"Every ward has given us a lead. This is a seat where Hindus stay with Muslims and Sikhs and Bengalis stay with Gujaratis, Punjabis, Oriyas, Biharis and people from Uttar Pradesh. I thank every one of them," she said. For Mamata, the victory margin of 58,000-plus votes bettered her 2011 vote tally of 54,213, also in a by-election. The margin was also more than double of Trinamool's April 26 victory by 28,719 votes, when it had trailed in two wards (ChakraberiaPaddapukur and Alipore). Mamata got 71.9% of the total votes cast, leaving only 22.2% for BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal. BJP

had garnered a vote share of more than 35% barely five months ago.

CPM also took a Mamata Banerjee body blow, getting is awaiting Raj Bhavan's nod, only 3.5 % of the vote share and assembly speaker Biman losing its deposit in a seat Banerjee said. labelled "mini India" during the Bengal BJP president Sukanta bypoll campaign. Mamata Majumdar said the party stressed all these points and accepted the people’s verdict. more in her speech from the lane "But we have to ask whether the outside her Kalighat home, result truly reflects the mandate flanked by her sisters-in-law, of the people when only 57% have nephew and party national voted," he added. Bhowanipore, general secretary Abhishek like the rest of Kolkata, usually Banerjee and his school-going has a turnout lower than the rest daughter. The backdrop was a of the state even in general giant photo-collage that elections. Losing candidate supporters had put up a few Tibrewal said getting over 25,000 minutes earlier. Emblazoned votes "in a contest against the across the collage was the CM" was an achievement for her. coinage "Modishahsurmardini "I am overwhelmed by the (slayer of the Modi-Shah asura)". affection of people and the She cautioned party workers commitment of my party against bringing out victory leadership and workers," she said, rallies, asking them to instead admitting that "organisational focus on helping flood victims weakness" plagued the party in across the state. The date for Bhowanipore.

Mamata's swearing-in as an MLA

in brief KERALA COPS SEEK BAN ON BOOK Kerala police asked the state government to ban circulation of the book "Mashari alAshwaq ila Masari al Ushaaq" and said the book can misguide the youth into extremism and force them to join terrorist organisations.

According to the police, the book contains content promoting anti-national attitude and hatred among religions. Police recommend the government to ban the circulation of the book on all platforms, including social media.

The state government has formed a threemember committee to examine and recommend suitably on banning of the book.

The committee will examine whether the book contains any incriminating material.

60 STUDENTS TEST COVID POSITIVE IN BENGALURU A residential school in Bengaluru has become a Covid -19 cluster after 60 of its nearly 500 students tested positive. Two were found to be symptomatic and the school has been shut till October 20.

Bengaluru district collector J Manjunath said the symptomatic students had been admitted to hospital and the rest quarantined at a proper medical facility.

Manjunath said 105 RAT (rapid antigen tests, the less reliable kind) and 424 RT-PCR test had been carried out, and that a team of medical and government officials had been stationed at the quarantine centre housing the students. "We'll conduct a re-test on the seventh day. The school has been closed till October 20. There is no cause for worry, this is a proactive measure," he added. Of the students who tested positive, 14 were from Tamil Nadu and the rest from Karnataka.

PUNJAB POLICE SCRAP EXAMS TO FILL VACANT POSTS Punjab Police said it has scrapped the examinations that had been conducted for filling up 560 vacant posts of sub-inspectors (SIs). The common computer-based tests to recruit SIs in four cadres/wings of Punjab Police were held from August 17 to August 24 in different centres of the state. The official spokesperson of Punjab Police said the examinations were scrapped “on the directions of the Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to maintain the integrity and fairness of the examination process for recruitment”. The spokesperson added that dates to conduct fresh examinations for the recruitment of SIs will be notified soon. Former Akali Dal minister Bikram Singh Majithia demanded a high-level inquiry into the alleged Punjab Police recruitment scam. He also asked for scrapping of the current recruitment process and holding of fresh tests to fill all available posts.

SC ALLOWS BENGAL’S APPEAL AGAINST CBI PROBE The Supreme Court said the West Bengal government has made out a case for entertaining its appeal challenging a Calcutta high court order directing CBI and SIT probe into post-poll violence in May after Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, romped home in the assembly elections with a massive mandate. A bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose issued notices to a bunch of petitioners who had filed PILs in the HC seeking independent investigation into the violence. The HC had initially ordered an inquiry by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which had set up a seven-member committee for the purpose. Based on the NHRC’s report, the HC on August 19 had ordered CBI probe into cases involving murder and a probe by SIT headed by Justice Manjula Chellur into other incidents of violence and arson after TMC emerged clear winner on May 2.

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9 - 15 October 2021

Shah Rukh's son Aryan among 8 arrested in drugs case The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in its remand application seeking custody of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s 23-yearold son Aryan Khan and two others, said that the agency has found links in the form of pictures, chats etc on Aryan’s mobile phone pointing towards an international drug trafficking chain. Officials claimed in the remand plea to have found “shocking incriminating material” on Aryan’s phone.

The NCB had arrested eight persons following a raid carried out on a cruise liner on Saturday night. The Esplanade court after a three-hour hearing extended the remand of Aryan and the two others in NCB custody till October 7.

In a separate order, it also granted NCB custody of the five other arrested accused till the 7th.

The NCB said that in its scrutiny of Aryan’s mobile phone, “there are several suspected characters,

whose identification is still to be established by accused Aryan Khan.” The application, parts of which were read out by additional solicitor general Anil Singh who appeared for NCB with advocates Aditya Thakkar, Shriram Shirsat and Advait Sethna, said, “Prima facie investigation conducted reveals that there is incriminating

material in form of WhatsApp chat etc clearly showing the nexus of these respondents with suppliers and drug peddlers on a regular basis.” In his order, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate noted the NCB case against the trio was “of involvement, of consumption, sale and purchase of contraband” and they were

“arrested in connection with seizure of 13 gram of cocaine, 5 gram of MD, 21 grams of charas and 22 pills of MDMA and Rs133,000 in cash.” The NCB wants to confront the accused with others over the “shocking information from Aryan and incriminating material from his phone showing pics chats pointing towards international supply needs to be investigated,” the magistrate recorded in his order. It also noted that Aryan’s counsel Satish Maneshinde said whatever was recovered was from the ship and nothing from him.

Singh said the chats showing links to an international drug chain may need probing, and NCB may take help from other agencies for its probe. He also said a new arrest of a supplier was made after a fresh raid. “In the raid we found commercial quantities of drugs,” Singh said, adding, “nowadays it

has become common to see persons and college students taking drugs. Young people consider these high-profile people as role models. Unless we probe the person doing drugs, how can we find the source of the drugs, the suppliers and financiers to break the racket.”

Others arrested along with Aryan were his friend and film actor Arbaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha. Dhamecha is said to be the daughter of a businessman from Madhya Pradesh, and Merchant the son of a timber businessman. Others are Nupur Satija, Ishmeet Chadha, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra and Vikrant Chhokar. An official however, said that Aryan has been booked only for consumption under Section 27 of the NDPS Act, which attracts a maximum punishment of one year or with fine which may extend to Rs 20,000.

Maharashtra launches ‘massive Large number of Chinese troops deployed across Ladakh: Army chief search’ for Param Bir Singh A week after the CID failed to serve a bailable warrant against Param Bir Singh as they could not find him at his address, state home minister Dilip Walse Patil said the state government had launched a massive search to trace the former Mumbai police commissioner for his alleged involvement in Param Bir Singh serious crimes. he has fled India. We do When asked if Singh not have concrete informahad gone to London or tion. As per rules, it is Russia, as alleged in certain mandatory for any employquarters, Patil said he had ee or even the CM to secure no such information. A permission of the governweek ago, the Chandiwal ment before leaving the commission probing into country.

Singh’s letter to the CM In case of Singh, it has which made allegations been found that he never against former state home applied for permission to minister Anil Deshmukh travel abroad. In fact, the had issued a bailable warCID has issued a lookout rant to secure his presence notice against him.” before the commission, but Further, Patil said that as the state CID failed to trace per rules, whenever an him. employee proceeds on Patil said, “We have medical leave, as Singh had, launched a search to trace he has to inform the govParam Bir Singh. We are ernment of his wherealso taking the assistance abouts during the leave of the Central government period. However, Singh did for the purpose. Our offinot inform the government cers are coordinating with about his place of resithe Centre. We do not dence. “We will take action know his whereabouts, if

as per provisions of law,” he said.

Meanwhile, state Congress president Nana Patole obliquely blamed the NCPcontrolled home department for its failure to arrest Singh “for his alleged involvement in planting explosives outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.” Patole said when it emerged that dismissed assistant police inspector Sachin Waze had been directly involved in planting the explosives, the Mumbai police should have arrested Singh and the state home department should have suspended him immediately.

“In police circles, the link between Singh and Waze was well known, and the Mumbai police and home department should have acted swiftly.

Subsequently, both the police and home department were helpless as the entire probe into the episode was taken over by the National Investigation Agency,” Patole said.

India expects to hold a 13th round of talks with China on the Ladakh standoff and disengagement of military forces next week, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said while he added in the same breath that "there has been an increase in the deployment of Chinese troops", which has been a matter of concern.

For the last six months, however, the situation has been "quite normal," he underlined.

"Chinese (troops) have deployed in considerable numbers all across Eastern Ladakh and Northern Front right up to our Eastern Command. Definitely there has been an increase in their deployment in the forward areas, which remains a matter of concern for us," he said. "But we are monitoring all their developments. Based on whatever inputs we get we are carrying out matching developments in terms of infrastructure. At the moment, we are quite well poised to meet any eventuality," he said, adding he doubts "any aggression can be shown in any area".

On achieving disengagement through dialogue, General Naravane said: "By and by, all friction points will get resolved. I am of the firm opinion that we can resolve our differences through dialogue. I am hopeful we will be able to achieve results. We're hopeful of having the 13th round of talks in the second week of October and reaching a consensus on

to just over 79,00,000 doses/day (up from 59,19,000/day in August), as more than 10 million doses were administered on four separate days including 25 million on September 17. The daily average, however, dropped slightly last week (September 25-October 1) to 68,84,000 doses/day from 76,14,000 doses/day in the September 18-24 week.

The first-dose coverage of the country’s adult population has also increased significantly to around 70%

of the estimated 940 million people aged18 and above. So far, 26% of the adult population has received both doses. The government aims to increase the first-dose coverage of the adult population to at least 80-85% by end of October.

While more than 52.8 million doses of unutilised anti-Covid jabs were available with the states and Union territories till Saturday morning, officials are expecting supplies to improve further over the next few weeks.

how disengagement will take place."

Earlier, the General took stock of operational preparedness in Eastern Ladakh. An Army spokesperson said he visited several forward areas and was briefed on the current security situation. The Army said he also interacted with the troops and complimented them on their resoluteness and high morale.

The Army has deployed the first K9-Vajra self-propelled howitzer regiment in the Ladakh sector, along the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border with China.

"These guns can also work in high-altitude areas; field trials were extremely successful.

We have now added an entire regiment, this will be really helpful," the Army Chief said.

India and China have been locked in a standoff for more than a year. Twenty Indian soldiers died in the line of duty amid clashes with Chinese troops last year in June.

PRARTHANA SABHA & FUNERAL Prarthana sabha and funeral details of

Shri Vinodbhai Harmanbhai Patel As shared earlier, Shri Vinodbhai Harmanbhai Patel (VH Patel) passed away on Sunday 26 September 2021.

Funeral and Prathana Sabha details are below

India crosses landmark with 904 mn jabs India crossed a significant landmark in its Covid vaccination drive by administering 904 million doses till Saturday evening.

More than 72,00,000 doses were administered till 9:30 pm on Saturday, with Bihar taking the lead by pushing 264.10,000 jabs in a single day.

Maharashtra, which inoculated the second-highest number of people, trailed Bihar with a much lesser count of 754,000 doses.

India’s average daily vaccinations has increased substantially in September

Manoj Mukund Naravane

Prarthana Sabha (live webcast): Date: Saturday 9 October 2021 Time: 8.00 pm Funeral details (live webcast or personal attendance): Date: Tuesday 12 October 2021 | Time: 12 noon Address: St. Marylebone Crematorium, East End Road, Finchley, London N2 ORZ

Website: https://watch.obitus.com/ Username: nifa2958 | Password: 318407 Unfortunately, due to the restrictions in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic, wellwishers should not visit the family home or attend the funeral ceremony. The family humbly request everyone to offer their prayers in their own homes.

Contact Details : Jayeshbhai (son): +44 7789 745246 Thank you, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, UK & Europe

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Sachin Tendulkar named among several in 'Pandora Papers' investigation Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar's name figured among more than a dozen heads of state and government, from Jordan to Azerbaijan, Kenya, and the Czech Republic, who have used offshore tax havens to hide assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a farreaching new investigation by the ICIJ media consortium.

The so-called "Pandora Papers" investigation - involving some 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC, and The Guardian - is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world.

Some 35 current and former leaders are featured in the latest vast trove of documents analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) - facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance.

In most countries, the ICIJ stresses, it is not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders. But such revelations are no less of an embarrassment for leaders who may have campaigned publicly against tax avoidance and corruption, or advocated austerity measures at home. The documents notably expose how Jordan's King Abdullah II created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to

million-pound property in amass a $100 million London when he and his empire from property wife Cherie bought the Malibu, California to offshore company that Washington and London. owned it.

The Jordanian embassy in • Members of Pakistan Washington declined to Prime Minister Imran comment, but the BBC cited Khan's inner circle, lawyers for the king saying all including cabinet ministers the properties were bought Sachin Tendulkar and their families, are said to with personal wealth, and secretly own companies and trusts that it was common practice for high holding millions of dollars. In a series of profile individuals to purchase properties tweets, Khan vowed to "take via offshore companies for privacy and appropriate action" if any wrongdoing security reasons.

by Pakistani citizens is established.

In total, the ICIJ found links between As well as politicians, the public almost 1,000 companies in offshore figures exposed included the havens and 336 high-level politicians and Colombian singer Shakira, the German public officials, including more than a supermodel Claudia Schiffer and the dozen serving heads of state and Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. government, country leaders, cabinet Multi-agency to probe allegations ministers, ambassadors and others. More The Indian government has once than two-thirds of the companies were again announced that it will use the set up in the British Virgin Islands. "I multi-agency group - comprising guess it mostly demonstrates that the officers from the Income Tax people that could end the secrecy of Department (IT), Enforcement offshore, could end what's going on, are Directorate (ED), Financial Intelligence themselves benefiting from it," the ICIJ's Unit (FIU) and the Reserve Bank of India director Gerard Ryle said in a video (RBI) - to investigate entities mentioned accompanying the investigation.

Among the other revelations from the in the Pandora Paper leaks, for allegedly ICIJ investigation: stashing money in tax havens. The • The former British prime minister group headed by CBDT chairman is Tony Blair, who has been critical of tax already investigating individuals and loopholes, is shown to have legally corporate entities mentioned in the avoided paying stamp duty on a multiPanama and Paradise paper leak cases.

Tribute to Late Shri Dineshchandra R. Shah on his 1st Death Anniversary

Date of Demise: 7-10-2020 Dear Dad, It is coming up to be a year since you left us for your onward journey. Whilst we all know that we need to leave this life one day but in reality, it will take all of us our own time to adjust to your loss.

We have missed you on the first birthday, the first anniversary, the first of every event.

Whilst missing you is natural, we will endeavour to celebrate herein on every family event: your life, your positivethoughts and our happy memories with you.

To this end I want to leave your everlasting signature quote for all that had the pleasure in connecting with you in this lifetime: “Heaven is not going to fall down” Love you Dad always Hardik, Heeral and Karina Note for anyone going through loss There is lot of material available that can support you in your journey of dealing with loss. I want to shout out, the ones that has been beneficial to me: • www.happylifehabits.co.uk • The 5 stages of Grief- Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance; By Elizabeth Kubler-Ross • Thoughts Reach the One Who Died: Ep 20: Subtitles English: BK Shivani(Youtube)

My Father

As we approach the first anniversary of my father’s passing, there are many emotions that come to the fore. I miss him immensely and think of him each and every day. I never knew loss until now and the grief has not passed. Life feels incomplete. The whole year has felt strange and surreal, with everything that once was, now, hardly recognisable. I know our lives will never be the same again.

However, I take comfort in knowing that whilst my father was alive, he lived the best way he knew, he made each day count and always cared for the people around him.

He had no regrets and was always smiling. I try to follow this. I take less for granted and most importantly, celebrate that we have all been given a life for a reason. My father’s purpose in life was crystal clear to him. He loved unconditionally and was a giver.

I recall the days, not that long ago, when I could hear my father’s voice. I could usually hear him on the telephone, even from a distance. His day was filled with advising and helping others both financially and otherwise. He was always giving his best and never complained about a thing, I think working made him more youthful.

Since his passing, many people have said the most wonderful things about him and told us stories of how he had supported them, some through their darkest hour. This has filled me with so much pride and appreciation for my father.

I feel so privileged to have spent time with him until his 77th birthday. He was an active person who would have liked to have kept going. He is the most interesting person I know. A finance professional, a lawyer, an extremely talented singer and had even acted on stage several times. He was blessed with so many gifts.

My father was a pillar of strength for all of us, he gave everyone everlasting hope, advice, shelter and money: the tree that provided shade for everyone without discrimination. I look fondly at the emails he often sent to us whenever he came across worthy quotes or good guidance. I wish I could have had more conversations with him.

Every year, my father would write to us on 26 November and remind us of his journey from India to the UK in 1982.

He would tell us how many years we have been in this country and take the opportunity to thank his own parents for their sacrifices. It was always a deeply sentimental email but always forward looking. I have read these emails retrospectively and found new meaning and strength within them.

The courage and energy he gave us and still does, is really spectacular.

I miss my Saturday mornings with him and my mother together. I wish he could teach my daughter Virina classical Indian music, he taught her two lines last year which she sings with so much care as that was her special moment with her dada. My older daughter Vihana remembers she helped dada to print a letter last year, she feels so happy that she was able to help him with his work. Manish, my husband, also remembers him with so much affection and believes that dad is looking after us and is our guiding light. Losing his own father recently has been traumatic and we strongly believe that both fathers are looking out for us.

I hope that I can keep our memories alive and have

Minister’s son booked for murder of protesting farmers in Uttar Pradesh A day after eight people were killed in violence during a farm protest in UP's Lakhimpur Kheri, a murder case has been filed against junior Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni's son Ashish Mishra. The minister, too, has been booked for criminal conspiracy. A deadlock between protesting farmers, who refused to cremate the bodies of those who died on Sunday, and the administration was resolved afternoon after a meeting. The government has promised a judicial inquiry headed by a former high court judge, compensation of Rs 45,00,000h each to the kin of the dead and a government job each for the bereaved families.

ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar said, "Eight deaths have been confirmed, including that of a journalist.

Cross FIRs have been registered at Tikunia police station (under whose jurisdiction the violence took place on Sunday). One by farmers’ families against Ajay Mishra for criminal conspiracy and Ashish Mishra for murder, causing death by negligence and criminal conspiracy. The second was lodged by the family of the driver who was killed, against unidentified persons, for rioting."

Priyanka Gandhi arrested Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been arrested from Hargaon in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district while she was on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri. Other opposition leaders are also being stopped from proceeding towards Lakhimpur Kheri after Sunday's incident. Priyanka's convoy was stopped in Lucknow and the police surrounded the Kaul House where she stays during her Lucknow visits. However, Priyanka managed to hoodwink the cops and walked out of her residence form the side gate and after a short distance, she got into a waiting car and left for Lakhimpur Kheri with Congress leader Deependra Singh Hooda at the wheel.

something permanent to remind everyone of how great he was. I know he truly deserves it. Some people are born to make a mark in life, my father was one of those people. He touched everyone’s heart and we love him dearly.

- Hema Rachhoya ---------------------------By the time this newspaper is being read, it will have been one year since the passing of our Dad, D. R. Shah, or D R as he was popularly known. One year. Twelve months. 365 days. 8760 hours. 525,600 minutes. Time which we have spent in numb pain and disbelief at the biggest, most unnecessary and hard-hitting loss suffered. This wound has not had a chance to even scab, let alone heal. Dad’s death was closely followed by the losses of yet another parent for me, Heeral and Manish each. Life has felt like such an anathema. On the one hand, it feels like our loss occurred so long ago and yet we can remember and relive every moment of our pain, our sorrow, like it happened yesterday. We rage at God for taking away our Dad. More so since his death was designated as one ‘not due to natural causes’. How can one console oneself against such a loss, when, by all accounts, it should not have occurred in the first place!

We thought that gradually our tears will have dried- but they have not. My daughter Maansi elected not to participate in her graduation ceremony at The University of Edinburgh, without her Dada. My son Dhyaan doesn’t want to sit in his Dada’s place at the dining table and has worn Dada’s jumper to shreds over the past year. In so many moments, big and small, whether it be watching television, talking to our family in India, sorting out his affairs, eating his favourite food, birthdays, silver wedding anniversaries – they all feel bland and bereft without our Dad. While trying to deal with his absence, though, we have also learnt what his presence meant to people – to family, friends, acquaintances, clients and colleagues with whom he had crossed paths. When his son, my husband Jigar, did an ‘atthaai’ (an eight day, water only fast) in his honour; when Rajan has given up chocolate for an entire year; about Vijay working to buy a new house ‘because Uncle wanted me to’; about Krishna, our Nepalese son-in-law trying to learn about Gujarati ‘shraadh’ rituals to offer for a father, about Rinku who thought of our Dad, her financial advisor, as her Dad - our hearts feel lighter, because we know our sorrow is shared. There are countless such examples, too many to mention here. We know then that although our Dad is away from us physically, he will Always live on in the hearts and minds of the people whose lives he touched. He will live through his actions, in the tremendous love, affection, and respect he inspired in those who met him.

We only have to look within and Dad will be with us: guiding us, inspiring us, teaching us, leading us to be good human beings. It is a simple and elegant concept, but so difficult to emulate and quite impossible to achieve. Yet Dad, with his actions and his attitude in life, achieved this effortlessly and remarkably. Now we only pray that we be granted the opportunity and ability to live in a manner befitting being part of the legacy that was our Dad, D. R. Shah. We love you and miss you Dad. - Namita

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HEALTH

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9 - 15 Octobar 2021

Once-a-week jab offers new hope to diabetic patients A brand new once-a-week jab can help type 2 diabetes patients “into remission”, slashing blood sugar to normal levels, cutting cholesterol and blood pressure, and helping patients lose a stone and a half or more.

The results of a pivotal trial into the drug, announced at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes last week, found that it vastly outperformed current treatment regimes, offering hope to those with the incurable condition.

The new medicine called tirzepatide, is reportedly so effective it may offer patients a viable alternative to weight-loss surgery, which is at present the most effective method of treating patients who need to lose large amounts of weight and bring their type 2 diabetes into remission.

Professor of Diabetes Medicine, University of Leicester, lead researcher for the global trial, said, “It’s about choice. Surgery is available to only a tiny minority of patients. To

have drugs that give similar results would have been unheard of until a few years ago, but it’s likely that will be the case in the near future.”

One of the first type 2 diabetes patients to benefit from tirzepatide lost an astonishing 4st after four months of weekly selfinjections. administered Retired telecoms boss David Batson, 64, who participated in the trial between December 2019 and March 2020, also saw his blood sugar fall into the non-diabetic range and his blood pressure return to normal.

He said, “And I achieved it all by doing nothing more than sitting down in my living room and reading a few books.”

The drug combines an existing form of medication called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, and a new, similar drug, known as a glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide, or GIP. The drugs send signals to the brain, helping curb the appetite, stimulate the body to use up glucose in the blood and lower the amount of sugar that’s digested and absorbed from food.

A number of GLP-1 receptor agonists are now available, including exenatide, liraglutide and semaglutide, which is available in both injection and tablet form. However, the inclusion of a second active ingredient, GIP, is what some experts say makes tirzepatide more effective.

GIP works similarly to GLP1 receptor agonists, mimicking a naturally occurring digestive hormone, helping both stimulate insulin release and absorption of sugar from the blood.

Given on its own, it was ineffective in type 2 diabetes treatment – for reasons not fully understood. But in combination with other medicines, it had a transformative effect. On the trial, 1,879 patients – mostly middle-aged – were given selfinjector pens. They were instructed to take either a dose of tirzepatide, or semaglutide once a week for up to ten months. The new drug worked better than semaglutide in every aspect, giving greater weight loss and better blood sugar control even at the lowest doses.

Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in diabetes and metabolic medicine at The University of Glasgow, welcomed the new findings. He said, “In some respects, these drugs mimic the process of remission,’ he said.

‘The key to developing diabetes is usually excess fat building up in the liver and other organs. Losing a considerable amount of weight gets rid of this, so the body can function normally again.”

Trials for a Covid-19 pill reported successful The first data from a large Phase III trial of an oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19 has been revealed, and interim results show the treatment reduces a person’s risk of hospitalisation or death from the virus by 50 per cent, when taken within five days of symptoms appearing. With the pandemic far from over, and talks of a booster/third dose of the vaccination in process, a pill for the virus is a positive sign to say the least.

Pharmaceutical company Merck’s oral Covid-19 drug is named molnupiravir. It had been in development for quite some time before the pandemic, as an antiviral agent targeting RNA viruses, with a primary focus on influenza. The drug was ready for initial human trials in late 2019, but when SARS-CoV-2 appeared all research focus shifted to whether molnupiravir would work against coronaviruses.

Pharma giant Merck stepped in in May 2020, and

by October a large Phase 2/3 began, spanning over 20 countries. The trial was designed to find out if molnupiravir reduces the risk of hospitalisation or death in patients at high-risk of severe Covid-19. Patients in the trial were given a fiveday course of the oral drug, beginning within five days of their symptoms initially appearing.

The drug was found to reduce rates of hospitalisation or death by 50 per cent compared to placebo. Only 28 out of the 385 patients taking molnupiravir ended

up in hospital with Covid19, compared to 53 of the 377 patients in the placebo group. More importantly, none of the hospitalised patients died, as compared to eight deaths in the placebo group.

Cellular microbiologist from the University of Reading, Simon Clarke says these results seem extremely promising. But as the full trial data is yet to be published it is unclear if this drug will be suitable for everyone. The interim data from Merck points out no adverse effects have been detected in the cohort trialled, however, Clarke says there is still plenty to learn about how this drug affects different people.

He said, “This drug works by causing the machinery that reproduces Covid-19’s genetic material to make mistakes, therefore stopping effective replication. That mode of action could cause problems with our own cells, and while reports are that the drug is well tolerated, we still don’t have full details of any side effects.” CEO of Merck, Robert Davis said he is confident the trial results are sound and says the company plans to submit an emergency use authorisation to the US Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) very soon. The US government has already pre-ordered 1.7 million courses of the drug.

Davis said, “With these compelling results, we are optimistic that molnupi-

ravir can become an important medicine as part of the global effort to fight the pandemic and will add to Merck’s unique legacy of bringing forward breakthroughs in infectious diseases when they are needed most. Consistent with Merck’s unwavering commitment to save and improve lives, we will continue to work with regulatory agencies on our applications and do everything we can to bring molnupiravir to patients as quickly as possible.”

Why Rejection Can be Redirection Psychologist Mamta Saha Like a lot of people, I’ve lost count of the number of the countless rejections I’ve received throughout my journey. Both in my personal and professional life and if there is one thing, I know really really well it is that rejection equals redirection.

Trust the greater plan and life will come together Rejection brings about a slow-burning anger, the frustration, and despair which is completely natural.

We as humans like to be liked and accepted. We always work to succeed, and when we spend time and effort doing something, we expect others to value all the things we do to build it, but life my darlings is not always is it like this. If I am being honest, rejection is a necessary part of the human experience. Everyone experiences rejection at some point in their life. The fact is, that if you are never rejected, you are probably still in your comfort zone, and are not sufficiently challenging yourself.

If you don’t want to be critised: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing Well, you can think about it this way, when you are rejected, you are ushered to contemplate what you can do better next time. If you are always playing it safe and doing the same things you will never even realise that you need to push yourself to become better. Every time I think back to the times, I have been rejected I realised it help me reevaluate myself and really ask myself “what’s working, what’s not, what needs to change, and how can I be better”. Not only did it help me focus on my values, but it also helped me reconsider my goals.

The fastest way of moving backwards is by standing still There is no doubt that rejection hurts, and in the immediate result of a rejection, you’re not really in a space to think about it because of the pain. Rejection is a direct blow to our self-esteem, so we need to be intentional about replacing negative thoughts with the truth to build ourselves back up. And it is in these moments, self – care is truly important. Practicing powerful affirmations can help you recognise and identify strong parts of yourself. Affirmations help you remind yourself of what makes you, you. This is extremely helpful in the face of self-doubt and insecurity.

Nothing is impossible For any questions, thoughts, and coaching reach out to me at Mamta@mamtasaha@icloud.com or head over to my website for your very own set of my popular and globally loved affirmation cards. If you are looking for more try out my Emotionally Stronger Masterclass, also on my site. Take care and good luck beautiful people. All the best, Mamta.

Obesity linked to Covid-19 mortality: Study A new study has established a link between Covid-19 mortality and the proportion of overweight in adult populations across 154 countries.

Findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Public Health in Practice’.

Leading researchers from the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of WisconsinMilwaukee noticed increasingly evident links between obesity and mortality since the earliest pandemic of the 21st century. They went on to investigate if excess body weight may have been associated with high rates of Covid-19 mortalities around the globe.

Lead principal investigator Hamid Beladi, UTSA’s Janey S.,Briscoe Endowed Chair in Business, and his colleagues analyses plausible associations of Covid-19 mortality and excess wright in nearly 5.5 billion adults from 154 countries around the world. To identify potential patterns in data, the researchers employed cutting-edge techniques of statistical analyses.

Beladi said, “The main finsding from the analysis is a statistically significant positive association between

Covid-19 mortality and the proportion of the overweight in adult populations spanning 154 countries. This association holds across countries belonging to different income groups and is not sensitive to a population’s median age, the proportion of the elderly, and/or proportion of females.”

He added, “The average individual is less likely to die from Covid-19 in a country with a relatively low proportion of the overweight in the adult pop-

ulation, all other things being equal, than she or he would be in a country with a relatively high proportion of the overweight in the adult population.”

The researchers say, clinically, excess body weight is related to several comorbidities that can lead to an increasingly severe course of and consequent death from Covid-19.

“Some firms in the food industry have taken the liberty of using the pandemic as a platform for marketing in ways that are all but conducive to restraining body weight,” Beladi explained. He concluded, “Our observed association, between Covid19 mortality and the share of the overweight in nearly 5.5 billion adults residing across 154 countries that host almost 7.5 billion people around the globe, serves as a caution against putting more lives at stake.”

To Our Readers

We are publishing these reports in good faith. Before you try any of these remedies, please consult the doctor. We are not responsible for any adverse effects.- Editor

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ART & CULTURE

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9 - 15 October 2021

Move over Bond, can we have “Noor”?

Noor Inayat Khan

Shrabani Basu

Shefali Saxena Actor Daniel Craig announced before the release of No Time To Die that his fifth Bond film would also be his last. His departure was the subject of rumours beforehand, though – with Craig stating on several occasions that he planned on retiring after Spectre was made.

With his exit, as the hunt for a new James Bond continues, netizens debated whether or not we, as an audience, would rather want to watch a female spy/agent as the lead protagonist of a film franchise and become a part of a revolutionary approach towards filmmaking.

Reacting to the discussions, a Twitter user wrote, “People make such a big deal over bond being portrayed by a woman or a black guy that if they actually do it, it will be largely to appease these maniacs who have nothing better to do. Instead of making bond female, why not create a new female spy/agent and not turn Bond into a woke fantasy where all that matters is that it satisfies a load of weirdos online. he can be black, that's fine but it still radiates "we

Digital literature platform, Pratilipi acquires The Write Order publishing house Over the years, Pratilipi. India’s largest freeaccess digital publishing and storytelling platform with 3,60,000 writers and over 25 million monthly readers across 12 Indian languages, has broadened its reach across numerous categories, having developed inhouse web series and audiobooks with their Comics and FM offerings having 850,000 and 300,000 monthly active users. As a part of their ongoing extensions, Pratilipi is delighted to announce the acquisition of the largest anthologies publishers of India - The Write Order which will further offer a fully functional publishing arm.

Established in 2017, The Write Order has published books by over 150 solo authors and following the acquisition by Pratilipi in January 2021 they have witnessed a 10 fold growth in revenue and 500 fold increase in author acquisition. Since the

acquisition, Pratilipi has published 13 books with The Write Order including 7 Hindi and 6 Gujarati - all of which are available on Amazon and through offline distributors.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ranjeet Pratap Singh, co-founder, Pratilipi said, “Pratilipi was founded with the mission to build a vibrant community of Indian language writers and readers. We have committed ourselves ever since our foundation to offer aspiring writers an accessible platform for publishing their work while simultaneously establishing a dynamic forum for readers to interact in meaningful ways with content and one another. Every writer's dream is to be published in print, and we're thrilled to be able to help make that a reality with this acquisition.”

had to do this because twitter was angry" energy. Bond is still a legit film series, focusing on how good and enjoyable they are, not whether the casting infuriates your obsessive need to police the exact number of men and women in a film like it matters.

If you can't sit through a film without foaming at the mouth over the gender of one character, maybe film isn't for you and you'd have much more fun getting into things like art or being sectioned.”

A Los Angeles based artist is even running a thread on Twitter, sketching one Bond woman at a time, using the #WomenofBond. But it wouldn’t be a crime to ponder over the fact that the idea of women of bond could potentially be an independent series where a woman is Bond, not a leading man’s sidekick or love interest. Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC, also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was a British spy in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive. When we can have the ‘Bond series’, why can’t we have a ‘Noor’?

Sunday Times bestselling author whose books include Spy Princess and Victoria &

British Citizen Award to Indian-origin artist Ragasudha Vinjamuri, a University-educator Hosted by renowned actor and presenter and classical dancer has been honoured with Tim Vincent, the medals of honour the prestigious British Citizen Award (BCAa) inscribed with the words “For the Good of for her contributions to Performing Arts. the Country” were presented to each of the recipients while outlining their The medal ceremony was conducted in commitment and the House of Lords, efforts. When asked Palace of Westminster, about her inspiration, with Dame Mary Ragasudha has Perkins (Founder, acknowledged her Specsavers), Wendy Gurus and highlighted Pretten (MD, Places for dance as a powerful tool People) and other key in raising awareness on dignitaries in important social, attendance. BCA is cultural and awarded each year as environmental themes. formal recognition for Ragasudha has recently exceptional endeavours Ragasudha Vinjamuri presented invocation to those who have made classical dance before a meaningful impact on the Vice President of India honourable society including Education, Healthcare, Venkiah Naidu at the virtual Telugu Bhasha Volunteering and Arts. Twenty-six people Dinotsavaalu where 75 organisations from have been selected from all over the UK for all over the globe came together. this round of awards 2021.

Madame Tussauds pays tribute to James Bond To mark the return of James Bond in the film "No Time to Die" starring Daniel Craig, Madame Tussauds has marked this event with six wax statues of stars who portrayed the iconic spy on the silver screen in London.

“The figure of Sean Connery, the original Bond, is inspired by his 1963 performance in "From Russia with Love". The wax look of Roger Moore, seven times 007, is inspired by the 1977 film "The Spy Who Loved Me".

Timothy Dalton, a two-time Bond, was inspired by his role in 1989's "Licence to Kill", and Pierce Brosnan, a four-time Bond, has a figure inspired by 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies". George Lazenby is the only Bond in the series to have made only one 007 film, "Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969.”

Euronews reported.

The wax statues went on public display from September 30.

Idli on an ice Celebrating being proud to be cream stick? this Black History Month 2021

The internet stood divided when a photo of idlis on ice cream sticks along with sambar and chutney went viral last week. A Bangalore based restaurant attempted this variant of steaming idlis, not in their usual button shape, but on an ice-cream stick.

October 1 sees the start of this year's Black History Month. The theme for this year is proud to be.

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black history, heritage, achievement and culture, as well as to remember Black communities’ tremendous contribution to Brent and the UK. Brent Council’s line-up of virtual events and activities throughout October is about just that. From cook-alongs to a talk about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and even a book club. They are free and open to all ages.

Scroll down for more information.

Black History Month also sparks important conversations about race and equality. It is a time of celebration but also a time to reflect on what still needs to change.

Locally, change is being driven by the Brent

Abdul (made into a major film) and Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer, Shrabani Basu told Asian Voice, “Yes, I definitely think that a real-life secret agent like Noor Inayat Khan can be the lead character in a drama series/film. In fact, my biography of Noor -- Spy Princess -- has already been optioned for a television drama series.

However, her story is limited to her life.

She cannot be a fifty-year franchise like Bond, as he is a fictional creation. But stories based on women agents can be fictionalised and developed further to become drama series.

Keir Starmer said that James Bond should be played by a woman next. He told ITV: "I don't have a favourite Bond, but I do think it's time for a female bond." A user countered Starmer’s statement, saying, “Just let women have their own « Bondtype » series. Create a new tradition rather than just « pink washing » an old and fairly misogynistic one!”

What is your opinion on this debate?

Write to Asian Voice at shefali.saxena@abplgroup.com. We’d be happy to publish your thoughts.

Black Community Action Plan (BCAP), a 10-year delivery plan which is coowned by the council and the local community.

“Since the launch of the BCAP, we have given £2m of funding to 23 local projects, organised events to give Black communities a space to talk and learn and set up advisory groups to help make sure their voices are represented. We still have a long way to go but this work is vital and we want to make sure that our ambitions are backed up by sustained action we can hold ourselves accountable for.

I hope you will join us in celebrating and look forward to seeing many of you at our ever-popular annual Black History Month celebration event, which is being held virtually this year, on Thursday 21 October,” Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council said.

UK Arts Council in trouble for sponsoring a show that wasn’t safe for children The UK Arts Council is under major scrutiny for sponsoring a drag show which wasn’t safe for children to watch.

According to a website, Family Education Trust, a Middlesex-based charity, has issued a letter of concern to the Arts Council of England after it was discovered that a drag queen who usually does sexually explicit and inappropriate shows was being funded to also put on drag activities for children. In a local news piece on the outrage, Tanya Carter of the Safe Schools Alliance referred to images on the performer’s Instagram from just before it was made private this Tuesday, saying: “Children who see the show will be able to start Googling the performers. They will very quickly come across this Instagram feed, with loads of highly inappropriate sexualised images. The most concerning image is of Adam dressed up as a pig in some sort of leather bondage gear.”

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Priyanka wields a gun in new BTS photo from ‘Citadel’ Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who is currently filming for her next series with Russo Brothers, ‘Citadel’, in Spain, has shared a behind the scene picture from the sets.

Sharing the photos, Priyanka wrote, “Facing fears like the warrior she is…can’t wait for you to meet her. #BTS #Citadel.”

The picture features her with her back to the camera, carrying a gun on a beach. It garnered a lot of attention from her fans, one of whom wrote, “An awesome look”.

Another commented, “So super”.

The actress has been sharing regular updates from the shoot in Europe, and had recently shared a selfie in a face mask while on her way to the sets. She captioned it,

“Taking advantage of the drive to work!” One of the makers of the series, Joe Russo was all praises for the actress in a recent interview.

He said, “She’s an incredible star. I mean I think she has been amazing. We just had a table read of the show a couple of days ago and it was fantastic. We are so proud of that show. We are excited for audiences to see it.”

On the work front, Priyanka has multiple projects in the pipeline. She recently announced the Bollywood film ‘Jee Le Zaraa’ with Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt. She also has ‘The Matrix Resurrections’, ‘Text For You’, a wedding themed reality show, a romantic comedy, and a Ma Anand Sheela biopic.

‘Haider’ helped to find me: Shahid Kapoor Vishal Bhardwaj’s much-acclaimed adaptation of The Bard’s ‘Hamlet’, ‘Haider’ completed seven years of its release. The movie pegged actor Shahid Kapoor in the industry, as he gave one of his career-best performances as the protagonist. He dedicated a social media post to the film, and wrote that ‘Haider’ answered a lot of questions he often asked himself as an actor.

He said the film nudged him in the right direction as an artist. He wrote, “To be or not to be. An actor or a star. Looking outside or deep within. To find meaning or be meaningless. To dare or to submit. To hold on or to let go. The many questions an actor faces at a critical juncture in his journey of choosing who he decides to be.” He added, “The possibilities are many.

But there is only one right one. #haider you helped me find me. Ever indebted to you for that. HUM HAIN!!”

'Haider' was Shahid’s second outing with Bhardwaj after 2009’s ‘Kaminey’. On the work front, Shahid is currently filming his maiden web series, a Raj and DK directorial featuring Raashii Khanna. He also awaits the theatrical release of ‘Jersey’.

Karisma dances with papa Randhir Kapoor Karisma Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor were shooting for a project when they broke into a small dance between shots. She has now shared a behind-the-scene video with her father from the time. Randhir and Karisma can be seen getting their touch-up in the video that she shared.

Karisma is helped by her hair while she fixes Randhir's suit. Soon, they start dancing as everyone else steps out of the frame.

Karisma posted the video and wrote, “Hopping on trends with Papa #papalove #behindthescenes.” Karisma and Randhir recently shot for Kapil Sharma’s comedy show, The Kapil Sharma Show.

Karisma also shared pictures from their time together on the sets of the TV show. She also thanked Kapil and Archana Puran Singh in her posts.

A promo for the show showed Randhir talking about an incident involving Raaj Kumar. Once Raaj Kumar visited their house for a party and asked Randhir that he wanted to step outside. “Mujhe unhone bulaya aur kaha, ‘Main bahar jaana chahta hoon’ (He called me and told me that he wanted to go outside).”

When Randhir asked why, Raaj Kumar told him that he wanted to urinate but refused to use their bathroom. “Raj Kapoor ek raja hai aur hum bhi ek raja hai. Raj Kapoor ke ghar mein aake peshaab karna uski tauheen hogi. Hum bahar jaake karenge (Raj Kapoor is a king and I am one too. If I urinate in Raj Kapoor’s home, it will be an insult to him. I will go outside),” Raaj Kumar told Randhir.

Legendary comedian Umer Sharif passes away at 66 Legendary comedian Umer Sharif passed away in Germany last week after battling serious health problems. He was 66.

His death was confirmed by Arts Council of Pakistan's president Ahmed Shah, who said he had spoken to Sharif’s family members. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn of Sharif's passing. Taking to his Twitter account, he said that he had "the good fortune" of touring with the comedian to raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital.

"He was one of our [greatest] entertainers and will be missed," he said. Sharif had boarded an air ambulance for treatment at a hospital in the US on Sept 28. However, his condition deteriorated on the way and was admitted to a hospital during a stopover in Germany. The veteran actor's medical condition became a subject of national concern after he made a video appeal to PM Imran to help him secure a visa to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The federal government had assured him that it would help and the Sindh government also stepped in, sanctioning Rs 40 million for his treatment. Sharif had suffered a heart attack in August and according to his close friend, Pervaiz Kaifi, he had gone through two heart bypasses.

He was born on April 19, 1955. He started his career as a stage performer using the name Umer Zarif but later renamed that to Umer Sharif. Two of his popular comedy stage plays were 'Bakra Qistoon Pe' and 'Buddha Ghar Pe Ha'. Sharif received national awards for best director and best actor in 1992 for 'Mr. 420.' He received ten Nigar Awards and remains the only actor to receive four Nigar Awards in a single year.

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Twinkle reveals the lesson she taught son Aarav on privilege Actor and writer Twinkle Khanna, who has two children with her actor husband Akshay Khanna, revealed a significant conversation with her son Aarav on privilege. In conversation with Sudha Murthy, Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, Twinkle said that sometimes children who come from well-off homes have a certain amount of guilt.

She asked Sudha how she ensured her children remained grounded.

Twinkle agreed, “One day, my son asked, ‘Why do I have all these things and those people don't?’ And I told him, ‘When you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth, it's your responsibility to use that. Even if it's not a silver spoon, maybe it's a plastic spoon. But if you have any spoon of any sort, you use that to scoop up some porridge and give it to someone who doesn't have it’.”

She added, “And I think from that day, I've also seen him looking at life differently and also realising that privilege is a platform which can be used to help other people.”

Besides Aarav, Twinkle and Akshay also have a daughter Nitara. Twinkle refrains from sharing pictures of her children too often on social media.

Kangana targets Aamir for SamanthaChaitanya separation Actress Kangana Ranaut has targeted ace actor Aamir Khan for the recent separation of south actors Samantha Akkineni and Naga Chaitanya.

She implied that the breakup occurred very shortly after Chaitanya came in contact with Bollywood’s “divorce expert”.

Posting through a series of Instagram Stories, Kangana wrote, “Whenever divorce happens, fault is always of the man…. May sound orthodox or too judgemental but this is how God has made man and woman their nature and dynamics… Primitively, scientifically, he is a hunter and she is a nurturer. Stop being kind to these brats who change women like clothes and then claim to be their best friends.”

Kangana added that “one out of hundred” women could be wrong. She wrote, “Shame on these brats who get

encouragement from the media and fans. They hail them and judge the woman…

Divorce culture is growing like never before.” She also questioned the timing of the separation.

“This south actor who suddenly divorced his wife was married for 4 years and in a relationship with her for more than a decade recently came in contact with a Bollywood superstar who is also known as Bollywood divorce expert... Has ruined many women and children’s lives, is now his guiding light and agony aunt... so it all went smoothly... This is not a blind item we all know who am talking about,” she wrote.

Aamir had recently announced his split from Kiran Rao after 15 years of marriage. He was previously married to Reena Dutta.

Sonakshi talks about her past relationships Actor Sonakshi Sinha revealed her first real relationship was only after she was already 20, and that it was a “long one”. Daughter of actors Shatrughan and Poonam Sinha, Sona also gave details about her past relationships, and whether she is feeling the pressure to get married.

She said she had a “cutesy” relationship when she was in school, but when she graduated, she said, “Okay Bye” to the boy. Her first “serious” relationship happened much later. “Relationships happened later. I think I must have been 21 or 22 when I had my first serious relationship.” Asked how long it lasted, she said, “It was a long one, five-plus years.”

Sona added, “It's important to always learn from your relationships and move on, because everybody is different, everybody has their own personality.

You just have to find someone who is willing to tolerate you. I learned a lot of things actually. I was also very young. You change, you grow, your experiences change you a lot. I started working more. I met so many new people, learned so much from them. And I think all of that changes you as a person. There's nothing in particular that you should do or shouldn't do. You just have to be yourself, and find someone who'll love that about you.”

The actress joked that if it were up to her father, she would remain unmarried at home, however, her mother has begun questioning her about her intentions to get married.

Very conscious about personal fitness: Pankaj Tripathi

Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who doesn’t believe in working out to show off, is still very invested in fitness. He says he has grown quite fitness conscious, and even built a home gym.

Speaking in an interview, he said, “Main bahut conscious hoon fitness ko lekar (I am very conscious about fitness).

And more so in the past two years, for two reasons. First, I have crossed the age of 45, and secondly, I had an injury and there were some complications.”

He said he does cardio at home, “par sab fitness ke liye, six ya eight pack abs banana ke liye nahi (but only for fitness, not to gain six or eight pack abs).

While his hectic schedule makes it difficult to exercise, Tripathi makes sure he gets on with it, even if its for just half an hour. “I don’t work out every day. I have divided it like three days for yoga and two days for the gym. I walk as much as I can, ranging from 45 minutes to an hour as it depends on the shooting. Kisi dubbing ke beech beech mein kar leta hoon (I make time between dubbing schedules). And now advertisements have also got added to the everything, it is tough managing everything.”

On the work front, Tripathi will be soon seen in cricket biopic ’83’, where he plays a coach.

Vicky Kaushal justifies delay of his upcoming ‘The Immortal Ashwatthama’ Vicky Kaushal-starrer ‘The Immortal Ashwatthama’ has been delayed by a few months, however, the actor is not disheartened and believes there will always be a better time to make the movie. Tagged as a superhero action film, the project is being directed by Aditya Dhar of ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ fame. Makers of the movie had announced last

October that the movie will go on floors in April this year.

However in August, media reports emerged stating that the film has been shelved due to budget constraints.

Producer Ronnie Screwvala later said in a statement that the shoot has been put on hold for another six to nine months. Kaushal, meanwhile, justified the delay. He said, “There will be a better time to make that film. More than disheartening, it is that thing that any film should be made at the best time for that film. Every time the film is bigger than me or any individual attached to the film. So, we have to choose a time that justifies making that film. So, we are waiting for that time to come.”

Planned as a trilogy set in modern times, the movie marks the second collaboration between Dhar, Screwvala, and Kaushal. On the work front, Kaushal is now gearing up for the digital release of ‘Sardar Udham’, a biopic based on the life of revolutionary Sardar Udham Singh who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in British India in 1940, to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The movie is set to premiere on October 16 on Amazon Prime Video.

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Nivin Pauly to return to Tamil cinema with director Ram’s next Actor Nivin Pauly announced his new project, which marks his return to the Tamil film industry after a gap of four years. The unnamed film will be written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Ram. The film will be bankrolled by producer Suresh Kamatchi of 'Maanaadu' fame and Yuvan Shankar Raja will score the music. Besides Nivin Pauly, the film also stars Anjali and Soori. “A beautiful chance to explore a new path ahead, a chance to unlearn and learn again.

Always a pleasure to work with Ram Sir (sic),” wrote Anjali, while sharing the announcement of the project

on her Twitter page.

Nivin’s last film in Tamil was Richie, which came out in 2017. The film was the remake of Kannada hit 'Ulidavaru Kandanthe.'

It is director Ram’s second collaboration with a popular Malayalam actor. His last film 'Peranbu,' which had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2018, had Malayalam superstar Mammootty playing the lead role. The film revolved around the struggles of a single parent raising a daughter with special needs.

Jayasurya’s ‘Sunny’ to feature in multiple international film festivals Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ set to release on January 7 Rajamouli’s SS magnum opus ‘RRR’ has a brand new release date.

While makers of the movie were earlier aiming for a Diwali release, they announced that the film will now release on January 7. Ram Charan shared a poster featuring himself in a police avatar along with Jr NTR, Alia Bhatt, and Ajay Devgn. He captioned it, “Get ready to experience India’s Biggest Action Drama in cinemas worldwide.”

Coincidentally, the movie is coming out a day after Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ featuring Alia Bhatt in the titular role heads to the theatres.

Producers of ‘RRR’ announced earlier this year that Netflix and ZEE5 have acquired the streaming rights of Rajamouli’s film. The producers announced that post the theatrical release, the film’s Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada versions will be made available on ZEE5, while the Hindi, Portuguese, Korean, Turkish and Spanish versions of ‘RRR' will stream on Netflix.

Filmmaker Ranjith Sankar’s Jayasuryastarrer ‘Sunny’ has been selected for screening at popular international film festivals. The Jayasurya-starrer will be shown at Calella Film Festival in October this year, and Dhaka International Film Festival in January next year.

In a statement, Ranjith said, “It’s very exciting that our film is being screened at film festivals, especially in a European festival like Calella. When we made Sunny, we showed it to a few people in the festival circuit in India and they felt that the film has a universal appeal and suggested we give it a shot. That’s how we applied at Calella. Sunny is selected in the competition section and is the only Indian film in the Calella Film Festival right now.”

He added, “The festival has been screening very good films for the past five-six years and it’s a very proud moment for Team Sunny that we have got an opportunity to showcase it in front of an international audience. Sunny is also going to be screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival. It

has been selected for screening at the Asian Competition section. We are very happy and really looking forward to the experiences.”

Sunny is a one-actor movie that revolves around a man looking for easy solutions to all his problems in life. Set in the aftermath of Covid-19 induced lockdown, the film explores the personal journey of the protagonist, who hits depths of despair in stateforced solitude. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on September 24.

Aishwaryaa Dhanush to direct bilingual thriller Starring Jr NTR and Ram Charan in the lead role, 'RRR is a fictional story about two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR), who fought against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad respectively. The film also marks the regional debut of Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn.

TV Listing * Schedule is subject to change

MON 11 OCT FRI 15 OCT 2021 6.00 Ekko Badshah Rani 13.00 Narsinh Mehta (Re-run) 14.00 RASOI SHOW 18.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 MANASA 21.00 PREM NI BHAVAI

Filmmaker Aishwaryaa R Dhanush is all set to direct a bilingual thriller film, as announced by the producers. The yet-untitled movie will be backed by producers Subas Karan and Mahaveer Jain for Lyca Productions. Daughter of megastar Rajinikanth, Aishwaryaa made her directorial debut with 2012 movie ‘3’, which featured her husband Dhanush in the lead.

She followed it with the critically-acclaimed 2015 feature ‘Vai Raja Vai’. Aishwaryaa said she is excited about her new film and is looking forward to collaborating with Lyca. In a statement she said, “I’m so excited to direct this film and with Lyca backing this project, our collective endeavour will be to bring a much needed, family entertainer for our pan-India audiences.”

21.30 BOLO KETLA TAKA SATURDAY 9 OCT 6.00 Chundadi Odhu Ne Sajan Sambhre 13.00 Narsinh Mehta (Re-run) 14.00 RASOI SHOW 18.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 MANASA 21.00 PREM NI BHAVAI 21.30 BOLO KETLA TAKA SUNDAY 10 OCT 12.00 Had Thai Gai 15.00 Love Story Ma Locho Padyo 18.00 PREM NI BHAVAI 19.00 SHU CHALE CHE 19.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 22.00.00 SHU CHALE CHE

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 11 OCT FRI 15 OCT 2021 8.30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 14.00 BIGG BOSS15-WEEKEND KA VAAR 16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18.00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18.30 DIL KA RISHTA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 19.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN 20.00 BALIKA VADHU 2 20.30 BARRISTER BABU 21.00 THAPKI PYAR KI 2 21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 22.30 DIL SE DIL TAK

SATURDAY 9 OCT 14.00 BIGG BOSS 15 16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 DESI BEAT (SEASON 3) 18.00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 19.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN 20.00 DESI BEAT RESET 20.30 FEET UP WITH THE STARS (SEASON 2) 21.00 THAPKI PYAR KI 2 21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 SUNDAY 10 OCT 14.00 BIGG BOSS 15-WEEKEND KA VAAR 16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 DESI BEAT (SEASON 3) 18.00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 19.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN 20.00 DESI BEAT RESET 20.30 BFFS WITH VOGUE(SEASON 1)

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Indian women’s team put up a highly commendable performance, dominating Australia for the better part in its maiden Day/Night Test, which ended in a draw primarily due to inclement weather during the first two days. Resuming the day at 143 for three, Ellyse Perry (68 not out) and Ashleigh Gardner (51) went on to share an 89-run stand before Indian pacers triggered the batting collapse, reducing Australia to 241 for nine from 208 for four.

What followed was an interesting declaration from Meg Lanning at the stroke of dinner. India, who made 377 in their first innings after being asked to bat, played 35 overs in second innings before declaring after tea to set Australia an improbable 272run target in just 32 overs. Shafali Verma made a fine 52 off 91 balls while Punam remained unbeaten on 41 off 62 balls.

The target was virtually out of reach for Australia who lost Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney cheaply. Australia were 36 for two in 15 overs before players of both teams shook hands to settle for a draw.

As per rules of multi-format series, both teams settled for two points. The series score stands at 6-4 in Australia’s favour. More than 80 overs were lost due to weather over the first two days, making draw the most likely outcome of the four-day match.

India could have declared at tea with 242-run lead and 41 overs to bowl but they didn’t want to leave anything to chance and took the safety-first approach. India, who came into the game with only two practise

Indian women dominate Australia in drawn day-night Test

sessions with pink-ball, outplayed the Australians in all departments. It was the first time in 15 years that two teams played a Test.

Smriti Mandhana struck a memorable hundred to set the foundation for India’s big total before the pace trio of Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh and Pooja Vastrakar put the Australian batters under pressure. It would be fair to say that the Indian fast bowlers got more out of the drop in pitch than their

Australian counterparts.

Debutant Meghna impressed with her swing bowing, 38-year-old Jhulan was relentless as usual and showed age was just a number and Pooja as first change provided no respite to the batter. India reached 106 for two in their second innings at tea. First innings centurion Mandhana (31 off 48) fell to a fantastic catch in the deep by Ashleigh Garnder.

Yastika Bhatia (3) was then promoted to

Spirited Capitals ensure top-two slot Shimron Hetmyer kept his nerves and played some fine shots under pressure to guide Delhi Capitals to a three-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a battle for top-two finish in the Indian Premier League on Monday. Needing 28 from the last three overs to reach the target of 137, the Guyanese picked 12 runs against Dwayne Bravo and then got 10 off pacer Josh Hazlewood to bring down the equation to six runs from six balls. DC completed the job with two balls to spare despite losing Axar Patel. Hetmyer remained not out on a vital 28 off 18 balls, including a crucial six in the penultimate over. A disciplined performance by Delhi bowlers restricted Chennai Super Kings to 136 for five despite a 43-ball 55 not out from the seasoned Ambati Rayudu.

Chennai confirm their playoffs spot Chennai Super Kings became the first team to confirm their spot in the playoffs of the IPL 2021 after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Chasing 136, Chennai overcame a mini-collapse in the middle to reach the target with two balls to spare. It also makes Hyderabad the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. Chennai were in complete control of the chase from the word go. After a sedate start of 12 for no loss in three overs, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six each on the on-side in the fourth over. In the next over, du Plessis creamed Jason Holder on both sides of the ‘V’. Gaikwad and Du Plessis added

75 runs in the opening partnership. Dhoni finished off the chase with a huge six over deep mid-wicket off Kaul in the final over to seal a playoff spot for his team.

Chahal & Maxwell help RCB qualify Royal Challengers Bangalore registered a six-run win over Punjab Kings and stroll into the playoffs with two matches to spare.

Chasing a competitive 164/7 put up by RCB, Punjab finished on 158/6. The result leaves their qualification chances hanging by a thread. While Glenn Maxwell (57) again starred with the bat for RCB, Yuzvendra Chahal (3/29) and Harshal Patel set the ball rolling for a fine win. Opting to bat on a wicket that slowed down as the match progressed, RCB’s opening pair of Kohli (25) and Devdutt Padikkal (40) got the team off to a brisk start. However, the skipper struggled to connect, and after a few misses, his frustration was palpable. In the eighth over, Punjab were left disappointed after Padikkal’s reverse sweep off Ravi Bishnoi’s googly landed in wicketkeeper Rahul’s hands.

With the decision referred to the third

umpire K Srinivasan, the ultra-edge showed a slight spike off Padikkal’s glove, but the decision went in the batsman’s favour.

Kolkata move closer to playoff berth Kolkata Knight Riders stepped on the ground in Dubai on Sunday evening knowing fully well that only one playoffs spot remains up for grabs. The team showed the intent to go for it right from the word go after Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat.

The KKR bowlers set up the platform by restricting the rivals to 115 for eight and then opener Subhman Gill led from the front to take the side home getting 119 runs losing four wickets. The six-wicket victory kept the Kolkata side firmly on course to make the last four with 12 points and Rajasthan Royals to play in their last encounter. Except for a small phase in the middle overs when eight runs came from 24 balls (7-10th over), SRH bowlers failed to build up enough pressure.

Gill then broke free as he came down the wicket to lift Rashid Khan over the midwicket boundary to bring up the 50 of the innings.

IPL points table Team 1 DC 2 CSK 3 RCB 4 KKR 5 PBKS

M 13 13 12 13 13

W 10 9 8 6 5

L 3 4 4 7 8

NRR +0.526 +0.739 -0.157 +0294 -0.241

Pts 20 18 16 12 10

In race to pip ICC, BCCI comes up with IPL media-rights tender In a race to be a step ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the BCCI came out with a hurried statement that it will bring out the media rights tender for the 2023-27 cycle of the Indian Premier League (IPL) soon after the auctioning of two new franchises next month.

The submission of bids for the two new franchises - the tender for which was brought out earlier this month - is scheduled for October 25. “The IPL media rights tender for the cycle 2023-27 will be released immediately after the appointment of two new IPL teams,” the BCCI statement read.

The ICC has planned a board meeting on November 16 in which the game’s global governing body is in discussions to float a media rights tender for its next eight-year

cycle. Top BCCI sources said that the Board has asked president Sourav Ganguly to speak against the said motion and insist that the ICC should delay the said process.

“The BCCI clearly wants to wrap-up its sale of the next IPL rights cycle before the ICC brings out its own ITT (Invitation To Tender).

Honestly, it doesn’t make a difference because the industry understands that IPL is and will remain the elephant in the room,” sources tracking developments said.

Between the submission of bids for the franchise and the ICC board meeting, “there’s a gap of only three-and-half-weeks”. By bringing out this timely statement, the BCCI clearly wants to announce to the industry in a hurry that it will go to the market before

anyone else, especially the ICC. The IPL media rights will once again be for a period of five years. The BCCI evaluated the decision to reduce the rights cycle from five years to three, but eventually decided against it. The process of sale, as mandated by the Supreme Court in 2017, will be an e-auction.

In 2017, when the BCCI last sold its media rights for five years, Star India – now part of the global Disney set-up – had spent a massive £1.63 billion (at US$2.3b in exchange value at that time) in a consolidated bid to grab the space. Sony Pictures was the only other bigticket spender for television rights alone at Ts 1.15 billion while social-media giant Facebook made a huge, but unsuccessful, digital rights bid of £390 million.

number three to push the scoring rate but she could only last 12 balls. In the first session, India pacers made the new pink ball talk before an under pressure Australia made an interesting declaration. In what seemed as an attempt to move the game forward, Meg Lanning declared the innings before her team could be bowled out.

Mandhana scores a century Indian women’s cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian woman to score a century in a pink-ball Test when Smriti Mandhana she played a 127-run knock against Australia in the one-off Pink Ball Test. This is also the first century by an Indian woman on Australian soil. The southpaw, who was 80 not out overnight, maintained her composure to reach the landmark on Day Two in Carrara, Queensland. She took 171 balls to cross the triple-digit mark and got out for 127 runs. Mandhana made 127 off 216 balls with the help of 22 boundaries and a six and added an Indian record of 102 runs in Australia for the second wicket with Punam Raut (36), continuing the good work after putting on 93 with Shafali Verma on a rain-marred opening day.

ODISHA FOOTBALL CLUB SIGNS DEAL WITH UK-BASED IBG

Odisha Football Club has signed a deal with British-based India Business Group (IBG) to cement commercial relationships between India and the UK. The MOU means both the club and IBG will work towards economic benefits for Odisha’s diverse communities. “This is truly exciting for India and UK relations,” said IBG’s chair, Professor Lord Patel of Bradford. Lord Patel, a former vice-president of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), believes this new connection will create opportunities. Earlier this year, Odisha FC appointed Coventry-born commercial and sport consultant, Raj Athwal, as its president. Athwal brings with him decades of working with topflight English and Scottish soccer clubs and coaches. “Soccer is more than just two rival teams battling to win a game,” he said. “We only have to look at Manchester United and England star, Marcus Rashford, to know footballers do great things for their communities in which they are invested.

For several years, IBG has been bringing UK and Indian businesses together, creating successful partnerships which it believes it will emulate in Odisha. “Odisha Football Club is thrilled to have signed this strategic partnership with the UK-based India Business Group,” said owner, Dr Anil Sharma, founder and chief executive of GMS. “Our shared values, passion and mutual interest in embracing the power of sport as a global gateway for education, health and well-being and entrepreneurship in and with India makes this collaboration significant for the state of Odisha, which is emerging as the sports capital of India.”