AV 10th December 2022

D O W E R E A L L Y ‘ C A R E ’?

E n g l a n d ’ s s o c i a l c a r e workforce has shrunk for first the time in ten years “People’s lives and dignity a r e a t r i s k , ” s a i d H e l e n Wildbore, director of the R e l a t i v e s & R e s i d e n t s A s s o c i a t i o n t o l d T h e Guardian in October 2022. The South Asian comm unity has its cultural and p r a g m a t i c r e s e r v a t i o n s against the regular norms of caregiving

On 5th December Monday, t h e I n d i a n H i g h C o m m i ssion in London announced t h e r e i n s t a t e m e n t o f e l e c tronic visa for UK travellers v i s i t i n g I n d i a . I n r e c e n t m o n t h s , t h e r e h a s b e e n a massive rush for travellers to India. In such circumstances, the reinstatement of e visa is indeed a welcome move.

I t h a s a l s o b e e n a n n o u n c e d t h a t t h e w e b s i t e u p g r a d a t i o n p r o c e s s i s already underway and pro spective travellers from the United Kingdom will be able to apply for e visas online as early as this week before the winter holidays begin.

Nobel Laureate Dr Venki Ramakrishnan receives Order of Merit

Indian student in Bristol setting up plogging community

Remittances from overseas Indians to reach $100 bn in 2022: World Bank

The Rabit’s Hole carefully designed speakeasy cocktail bar

A happy festive gift: E-visas to India reinstated for UK travellers

Shefali Saxena

Founder/Director Rvedaa

Born in Banga P unjab India, Reem a Vird ee is the Found er and Director of the health brand, Rvedaa, p artner at th e Indian travel app Driv e1 3 and founder of a wom en ’ s entrepreneurial platform, S angini Being an activ e spo rtsp erson in school in Delh i, she went on to stud y at th e Indian Fashion Institute in Dehradun Mo ving to the UK after her m arriage, Reema was working 9 to 5 in a High Street bank How ev er, sh e alw ays had bigger aspirations and at so me business netwo rking ev ents, she was spo tted by the CE O of an Au strian M NC and offered the post of C orp orate Trainer in an MNC in Ind ia

The Covid 19 lockdown affected her career and offered her an opportunity to reflect Whilst in India, she founded an organisation for women entrepreneurs called Sangini and launched her own business, Rvedaa, focussing on health products based on the ancient philosophy of Ayur veda Rvedaa is an upcoming brand in India and is replacing the more traditional brands She is also a partner in a Travel app, DRIVE13 connecting 20,000 drivers and businesses throughout north India with plans to expand throughout India

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

I live in the UK and have been here for the large part of 18 years, however, I am still deeply connected to India I celebrate Indian festivals throughout the year, I lis ten to Indian music, I love dancing to B o l l y w o o d a n d I p e r fo r m t r a d i t i o n a l

Punjabi folk dance for cultural events for the High Commission I spend a lot of time each year in India and I like the fact that many Indians (in India and abroad) still live by certain traditions that mean so much more than the pursuit of wealth Our emphasis on family relationships and charity is increasingly being recognised in the west too

2) What are your proudest achievements?

A p p o i nt e d c o r p o r a t e t r a i n e r o f a n MNC in India; Setting up my own brand Rvedaa and making it successful both in India and UK; Being an inspiration to the m e m b e r s o f S a n g i n i a p r o g r a m fo r women entrepreneurs which I founded 3) What inspires you?

When someone has big dreams and decides to take action I am inspired by struggle and when someone sees their struggle as the reason to do something and not the reason to do nothing I am inspired by a positive attitude despite the odds

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

C o v i d 19 l o c kd o w n W h e n I n d i a went into lockdown in 2020 it caused mayhem Medical ser vices in India were overstretched Furlough did not exist in India People we knew lost their jobs and loved ones It affected both my career and personal life The obstacle of Covid reset my career and it caused me to ques tion what is most important in life My answer to that was health and time with loved ones Rvedaa allows me to discover healthy lifestyle choices and running my

own business gives me the freedom to choose how I spend my time

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

My husband has always believed in me and always rallies to my support My father taught me to never give up on my dreams and to face up to challenges

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

Best aspect of Rvedaa is that I am able to promote a healthy lifestyle and make a positive difference to people's health I am able to promote herbs that are familiar to many Indians to other communities and internationally

7) And the worst?

Importing products from India is governed by a lot of red tape and some times unnecessar y bureaucracy Whilst it is essential to keep on top of this, it is n o t s o m e t h i n g I p a r t i c u l a r l y e n j o y doing

8) What are your long term goals?

Introduce a larger product range and go global in as many countries as possi ble Ever yone in the world should bene f it from the wisdom of Ayur veda and the purest and best combination of herbs and ingredients

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

I would remove VAT and duty on health supplements that cannot be easily r e p l i c a t e d l o c a l l y T h e g o v e r n m e n t should be promoting good health and well being of the nation

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

L o r d K r i s h n a s o t h a t I c a n g e t answers on life's big questions and truly understand how to live by the laws of n a t u r e a n d u n d e r s t a n d h o w k a r m a works Sri Krishna can play melodious tunes on his flute while I contemplate on his teachings

Nobel Laureate Dr Venki Ramakrishnan receives Order of Merit

No be l L a u rea te D r Ven ki R am ak ri s h na n h a s b ee n appointed to th e Order o f Merit by K ing Charles III in re co g n i ti o n o f h i s d i s ti n gu ish ed serv ice to science

Dr Ramakrishnan, who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistr y, is among six people chosen by the late Queen before her death, and the f irst appointment to the Order made by King Charles since he became sovereign Master of Trinity, Dame Sally Davies, said:

2015 2020, the Royal Society campaigned for the contin ued involvement of UK sci e n t i s t s i n Eu r o p e a n a n d international research ini t i a t i v e s a n d fo r a c c e s s t o funding after Brexit

A

He h a s r e c e i v e d h o n o r a r y d e g r e e s f r o m t h e M a h a r a j a S a y a j i r a o Un i v e r s i t y o f B a r o d a , Un i v e r s i t y o f Ut a h , Oh i o

Few honours are higher in the United Kingdom than the Order of Merit and this year ’ s recipients are the f irst to be appointed by King Charles

Venki Ramakrishnan is o n e o f Tr i n i t y ’ s m o s t e s t e e m e d a n d ye t m o d e s t Fellows A Nobel Laureate, a n d fo r m e r Ro y a l S o c i e t y President, not to mention numerous other accolades The Order of Merit is a f it ting honour and I congratu late Venki

A Group Leader at the M R C L a b o r a t o r y o f Mo l e c u l a r B i o l o g y i n C a m b r i d g e , D r R a m a k r i s h n a n b e c a m e a Fellow of Trinity in 2008, was knighted in 2012 and was elected President of the Royal Society in 2015

During his Presidency,

D r R a m a k r i s h n a n a l s o forged the Royal Society’s response to the COVID pan d e m i c , h a r n e s s i n g t h e expertise of UK scientists, i n c l u d i n g e c o n o m i s t s a n d b e h a v i o u r a l s c i e n t i s t s , t o analyze data and advise the g o v e r n m e n t o n i t s p u b l i c health strategy

D r R a m a k r i s h n a n w a s P r e s i d e n t o f t h e R o y a l Society, 2015 2020

In 2009 he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistr y with Thomas A Steitz and Ada Yonath for their discov e r y o f t h e s t r u c t u r e a n d function of the ribosome a journey he describes in his w e l l r e c e i v e d p o p u l a r s c i ence book, Gene Machine (Oneworld, 2019 ) He is cur r e n t l y w r i t i n g a p o p u l a r book on why we age and die

D r R a m a k r i s h n a n w a s elected a Fellow of the Royal S o c i e t y i n 2 0 0 3 He i s a m e m b e r o f t h e Eu r o p e a n Mo l e c u l a r B i o l o g y O r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e U S Na t i o n a l A c a d e m y o f S c i e n c e s , t h e G e r m a n A c a d e m y o f S c i e n c e s L e o p o l d i n a a n d t h e

Un i v e r s i t y, a n d t h e Un i v e r s i t y o f C a m b r i d g e , i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t D r R a m a k r i s h n a n h a s e i t h e r studied or worked at Founded in 1902 by King Edward VII, the Order of Merit is conferred on indi viduals of exceptional dis tinction in the armed forces, science, arts, and literature, or for the promotion of cul ture, based on the choice of the monarch

There are only 24 mem bers of the Order at any one t i m e T h e o t h e r a p p o i n t ments in 2022 are the archi tect Sir David Adjaye, nurs i n g s p e c i a l i s t P r o fe s s o r Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, broadcaster Baroness Floella B e n j a m i n , h i s t o r i a n P r o fe s s o r M a r g a r e t M a cM i l l a n , a n d g e n e t i c i s t and biologist Sir Paul Nurse

Renters have to pay hefty unethical fee s to secure a home

Letting ag encies are earning th o u s an d s o f p o u nd s i n c o m m i s si o n a nd in s o m e cases flou ti ng th e ban o n te na nt fee s b y fo rc i ng renters to sign u p to contro v e rs i al “ z ero d ep o s i t” s ch em es A n i nv es tig ati o n has uncov ered ev idence o f p res s u re se lli ng tac ti cs b y

some ag encies in England , including cases where p eo p le w ere to ld th ey w er e required to sign up as a co n dition of securing a tenancy

To u t e d a s a l o w c o s t o p t i o n , z e r o d e p o s i t s c h e m e s t y p i c a l l y i n v o l v e payment of a fee equivalent t o a b o u t a w e e k ’ s r e n t

A free service to help NHS staff with mental support

Mor e than two year s o n the fro nt line o f o ne of the wor st p andemics in histo r y has left many health care p rofessionals' ment al health at breaking p oint

No r e e n Ng u r u Berkou worked as a doc tor in the NHS for nine years across a range of N H S t r u s t s i n L o n d o n and the South East But, a f t e r c o l l a p s i n g f r o m exhaustion during a ward

round and ending up in the same bed as those she was treating, she decided to quit Noreen says: “A lot of us are operating on g o o d w i l l I c o u l d b e s c h e d u l e d t o w o r k 1 2 h o u r s b u t I c o u l d b e w o r k i n g 1 4 1 6 h o u r s because somebody needs my help I just remember thinking you can’t have h e a l t h y p a t i e n t s i f y o u don’t have healthy doc

t o r s ” A f t e r s e e i n g t h e stress of doctors treating her dad in hospital and working as a counsellor herself, Claire Goodwin Fee knew she had to help S o s h e c r e a t e d Frontline19 a free ser v i c e , f u n d e d b y d o n a tions, which is now help ing 9000 medical profes sionals ever y week with c o n f i d e n t i a l a d v i c e a n d support

instead of a standard securi ty deposit, which is normal l y f i v e w e e k s ’ r e n t B u t unlike a traditional deposit, the fee is non refundable, w i t h t e n a n t s r e m a i n i n g liable for damages at the end of their tenancy They can also face extra costs for membership renewals and u n l i ke w i t h s t a n d a r d deposits face fees for adju dication in the event of a dispute, leaving them worse off in the long run Despite t h e c o n c e r n s , r e n t e r s a r e routinely being advised to sign up for the schemes by letting agents, who stand to earn a commission of up to 30% for each person they refer

Agents introducing the schemes should give tenants a true choice about signing up, provide accurate infor m a t i o n a b o u t h o w t h e y work and declare any com mission, he said But while “good agents” abide by those standards, others do not

m e r i c a n P h i l o s o p h i c a l Society He is an Honorar y Fellow of the Academy of Me d i c a l S c i e n c e s , a n d o f Somer ville College, Oxford

Your Christmas gift has arrived

The UK India partnership has finally passed the test of time and controversies that erupted amid a rather celebratory chain of events since Rishi Sunak became the prime minister of the UK Expectations soared and so did criticism Sunak and Indian PM Narendra Modi met on several occasions and their photos in the press weren’t just for the camera

Their first meeting in Bali, Indonesia has clearly green lit many coveted points in the agenda of nurturing the Living Bridge When Modi met his British counterpart Rishi Sunak at the Group of 20 Summit in Bali, the duo discussed ways to boost trade between the two countries And looks like they’ve delivered a timely Christmas gift to the diaspora with the renewal of e visas for UK nationals to India This news comes at a really promising and momentous time when many tourists and British Indians like to travel to India to attend fes tivals and weddings The renewal of the e visa facility has bro ken the shackles of the so called cold waves in the UK India partnership All is well and is about to get better Next on the calendar is the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 Convention which will be held in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), India from 8 10 January 2023 In his special column for Asian Voice (issue 26th November), Deputy Mayor of London for Business, Rajesh Agrawal who is attending the convention, explained that overseas Indians send money back home to their families in India last year alone this amount was a whopping $89 billion about 3% of India’s GDP! In addi tion, they contribute through tourism, investments, and expanding their businesses in India

“

remarkable No aspect of our lives and no part of this earth is untouched by the talent, hard work and achievements of the overseas Indians In the UK, they are powering our National Health Service (NHS) as doctors and nurses, keeping our high street buzzing as restaurateurs and retailers, creating jobs and wealth as entrepreneurs and business leaders, innovating as engineers and scientists, enriching our culture in arts & enter tainment and contributing in politics at national, regional and local levels,” Agrawal added

H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r o f I n d i a t o L o n d o n , V i k r a m Doraiswami applauded the renewal of e visas and said, “That should enable friends from the UK far more easily to India So welcome back, e visas are up ahead and all of our other ser vices including visas at your doorstep remain available to you We look forward to a good winter season in which everyone gets to celebrate their festivals in India which is the land of fes tivals "

Prime Minister Sunak has also declared that by 2050, the Indo Pacific will deliver over half of global growth compared with just a quarter from Europe and North America combined “That's why we're joining the Trans Pacific trade deal, the CPTPP, delivering a new FTA with India and pursuing one with Indonesia," he said

While we await the FTA to be delivered (after enough delay), the diaspora has a lot to celebrate with the timely gift of Christmas delivered by the successful dialogue between the two countries

Back to ‘Square One’?

"Racism has no place in our society," his Kensington Palace office said to prevent the backlash over Prince William’s god mother Lady Susan Hussey’s (83) treatment of a Black advocate for survivors of domestic abuse from overshadowing his trip to the United States Here, the culprit was an honorary member of the royal household after the chief executive of an east London women's refuge said Hussey repeatedly asked her where she really came from after she told the older woman that she was British The exchange took place at a Buckingham Palace reception for those working to end domestic violence

"These comments were unacceptable, and it's right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect,” the Palace said

Institutional and subtle racism is no alien words for people of colour and ethnic minorities in the UK While Lady Susan’s conduct may have made international headlines, this is not the first time Britain has been accused of racist behaviour It’s just a coincidence that this time it involves an honorary member of the royal family The paradox lies in the word ‘honorary’ and whether stepping down after passing a racist remark heals the humiliated person ’ s honour

Racism at the NHS, especially against people of South Asian heritage who tirelessly continue to serve the nation is not a hidden truth Stories of how they were treated as third grade citizens with limited access to PPE kits during the Covid 19 pandemic are out in public The UK loves to mark anniversaries of movements like Black Lives Matter, and also doesn’t leave a stone unturned to bookmark major world events that celebrate diversity and inclusion However, there is still a major backlog of internalising what the citizens are preaching during off world events

Yes, the historic win of Rishi Sunak as the prime minister

of the UK is not really because the public voted for him, but because his party members had no other choice than to turn to a man who exhibited all the required qualities and talent to lead the nation when the former outgoing prime minister Liz Truss’ empty promises left her no choice but to become the shortest serving PM of the nation Accepting Sunak and his wealthy wife, as well as his faith in his culture, was scrutinised to the very last thread the man wears in the name of his faith

The true test of British people practising egalitarian and anti racist policies to the core will be in the 2024 general elections where Sir Keir Starmer and a worthy Conservative Party candi date will face the heat Sunak’s fate will not necessarily depend on the leader of the opposition and their capabilities, but also heavily on how racially accepting and tolerant Britain is Whether or not he wins, the votes will truly reflect what young Britons think of an Asian origin prime minister whose skin colour doesn’t match their own, despite him being a staunch British first, followed by a man with a multicultural heritage tracing back to India and Africa

Racism unfortunately still exists in Britain, but when it comes to turning to hire more care workers or the elite need to hire helpers for menial jobs on petty rates, Britain has always benefited from the people of colour Especially following Brexit, which made the country lose millions of labour to the Eastern European nations and the EU, all eyes rest on South Asians, who are serving Britain across a wide spectrum Remember, the first lady is richer than the Queen, while paradoxically, the Duchess of Sussex is about to reveal her side of the story on the alleged practices in the royal family which are sure to take the world by storm on a globally popular OTT platform British may criticise both these women, but they can’t do without talking about both That makes us wonder, are we back to square one?

Voters show support to PM Modi's policies

The Bharatiya Janata Party is predicted to win a consecutive seventh term in Gujarat assembly elections while the party is expected to just have an edge in a close fight with Congress in Himachal Pradesh In the Delhi civic body polls, BJP is set to face defeat there after 15 years The electoral battle in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has turned more intense with the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party in the electoral battle According to predictions, BJP is set to win any where between 125 and 162 seats in the 182 member House leaving Congress with at best 50 seats AAP s tally was project ed to be in single digit or may just touch double figure BJP is projected to capture enough votes to retain power in the hill state A win for BJP in Himachal Pradesh would buck the trend of incumbents being uprooted by voters

The results will show a stamp of approval for the policies followed by BJP governments at the Centre and in Gujarat It is pay back time for the voters to the good work being done by PM Modi at the Centre During the Modi rule, the living conditions of the people in general have improved and India has become a global economic power Communal riots which were a com mon occurrence during the previous Congress regime have become a thing of the past Even corruption has been somewhat eliminated Another plus point which helped for BJP in Gujarat was lack of effective opposition In previous elections, Congress was a major force But now, Congress is almost absent from the scene The Gandhi family did not even canvas for its candidates But a major issue haunting the parties and the Election Commission is the urban voter apathy The voter apathy con tinues unabated from Shimla to Surat In Shimla, the turnout was more than 10 percentage points lower than Himachal’s

state average of 75 6% The trend continues in Gujarat polls where the urban turnout was lower than the surrounding rural areas In Delhi's local polls, better off classes largely stayed away The trend is not new In the first three decades of elections, the relative participation of urban voters was greater The gap between urban and rural turnout has widened since the 1980s

There are certain unique factors about India’s urban gov ernance that are relevant to voter turnout Political scientists have used surveys and election data to study the plausible rea sons for the lower turnout in urban areas The common thread running through some of the studies is that rural turnout is positively influenced by a more pronounced emphasis on group mobilisation and a greater need for the intervention of politicians to compensate for state failure The second aspect is relevant even within urban centres For example, in Delhi’s 2020 assembly election the turnout in New Delhi was 52 15%, almost 20 percentage points lower than some constituencies with large slum clusters Poorer urban Indians still need politi cians to improve some services Better off classes, who can insulate themselves somewhat from civic non governance, don’t have a lot of incentive

That the urban rural vote divide is not decreasing even in national polls where supposedly ‘big’ issues familiar to mid dle classes are debated tells us that it’s not just apathy that keeps better off city Indians from voting There’s nothing wrong in electoral politics focussing on the rural areas, and more so on lower income rural poor But the disconnect between city middle classes and elections is still something politicians should think about

Thought for the week

Growing UK India Relations

Th is week I h osted an event as Ch airman of City Hi ndus Network with invites to the India League (www theindi aleagu e org) of which I am President It felt ap propriate to ho st i t at the India Club on the S trand which had become th e ho me o f th e India Club T he India Leagu e after Indian Independence, transformed itself to p romote UK India relatio ns and from the club yo u are a stone’ s th row fro m th e Indian High Commissio n

A lot has happended this year India took over the G20, UK has a British Indian PM And now the Indian High Commission has announced e Visas for UK visitors This is important because when I was in India a whole UK delegation of businesses had to cancel their trip because their visas had not come through on time I really am lik ing the new High Commissioner He speaks to camera and get’s things done

The two nations seem determined for a robust eco nomic alliance Whilst the UK media will play out its occasional imperial patronising condescending self righ teous tone towards India, the Indian side knows the media is not the political will

The UK knows India’s alliance with Russia is due to cheap oil for a population which cannot afford higher prices, despite an economy bigger than the UK’s The UK also knows the Indian side knows Russian military hard ware is a joke and needs replacing But more expensive Western supplied and Western made hardware is not the answer Domestically made cheaper Western hardware is as the EU is doing in Gujarat The Indians will flex their muscles over make in India They are more assertive (except against China their will be a time and place for a reckoning, now is not it)

The UK has a fantastic alliance sending its satellites on Indian space rockets But space is not military In space even Russia and US work together Military is dif ferent This year the UK Carrier Strike Force visited India fantastic A ship from that also visited Pakistan Well, ask the Indian’s in a closed room, off the record how that feels

UK knows if you do not condemn Pakistan, the way Americans have, then India will not trust you And Russia provides a guaranteed UN security council veto Russia will not be removed entirely from the equation any time soon Indians will tell you about 1965 and 1971 It’s their prerogative not to forget

The French not turning up to support Tipu Sultan is long forgotten, though Thanks to the French rolling out the red carpet time and again in recent years

For UK businesses, India presents a significant oppor tunity India has a population of 1 3bn, ten per cent of whom are English speaking With the incredible potential for further financial growth, this is precisely the type of opportunity the UK needs to make the economy a success post Brexit

Currently, trade between the two countries has plenty of room to grow: India is only the UK's 6th biggest non EU trading partner Indeed, with India set to loosen its protectionist policies, including increasing foreign stake holder allowance from 49pc to 74 per cent, this represents exciting news for the UK's biggest export: professional and financial services

Security, especially cyber, is the key area for closer ties We can all think of trade and investment issues, but there are plenty of people working on those Security issues the way the EU, France and US are getting a jump are key for the UK to keep it’s rightful place at the table I hope our military leaders understand just how significant the issue of terrorism out of Pakistan is to India and man ufacturing and intellectual property rights are too

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I think we all have empathy We may not have enough courage to display it. Maya Ang elou

Alpesh Patel

Indian student in Bristol setting up plogging community

A student w ho set up a lit t er p i c ki ng co m m u ni ty i s p lanning to tour 3 0 cities in 3 0 days across the UK in a fig ht against climate chang e

V i v e k G u r a v h a s b e e n collecting rubbish and has picked up 5,000kg of waste while out running in Bristol, an activity known as 'plog ging' Gurav, 26, said: "I want to set up a UK wide plogging community like I did back in India " He added he wanted to inspire people so they could "start their own groups''

Mr Gurav, who came to Bristol last year to study for a master's degree in envi

ronmental policy and man agement, first started a com munity plogging campaign in his home city of Pune, in India Over the past four years, he has covered 420 miles (675km) litter picking

on 120 "plogging missions"

The 26 year old hopes to be joined by fellow ploggers, environmentalists and keen runners as he visits each city via public transport to litter pick across the country

Leeds food bank focuses on people

While fo od banks help tho u sand s o f th ose strugg ling to m ake ends meet, the good s g iven are not always suitable for everyone due to religio us o r cultural reasons Here is a rep ort of one centre w hich is com mitted to making su re ev ery bag is righ t for the recip ient

A queue snakes outside the doors of the Cultural Food Hub, as bags full of ingredients like rice, lentils and kidney beans are hand ed out Hana Agha manages

this centre in Leeds, where she says the number of low income families using her

7 0 people a week Now we're serving 170 and it's still going up," she explains Hana's team saw "cul

turally inappropriate" goods b e i n g d i s t r i b u t e d b y f o o d banks during the Covid pan demic This included items some religions can't accept, such as pork being given to Muslim and Jewish people So, this project by Give A Gift and Leeds City Council focuses on serving suitable food for those people The food hub coordinator says it's important to keep her clients healthy, as well as fed, with a variety of dishes this winter

Spike victim had to wait 5-months for test results

A w o m an w h o h ad be en injected w ith morphine in a n i g h tc lu b w ai t ed f i v e m onths for test resu lts after rep orting the attack to the p olice

Becca Collins, 20, said she was spiked while on a n i g h t o u t i n M a i d s t o n e , Kent, on 30 October 2021 She only received the result at the end of March, when she followed up her report K e n t P o l i c e h a s a c k n o w l edged the delay and said it intends to learn from the experience Ms Collins was attacked during a visit to a club

"After 12 o'clock I don't remember any of the night," she said, "the next thing I remember is waking up in my brother's apartment the next morning I felt really

u n w e l l , m o r e t h a n j u s t a hangover I thought this has to be more than just alcohol, and I went to have a bath and noticed the mark on my leg that would indicate a n e e d l e " S h e r e p o r t e d t h e incident to Kent Police two days later

The force said it was not

unusual for samples to take a number of months to be p r o c e s s e d , a d d i n g t h e y a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e r e w a s some delay in notifying Ms Collins Kent Police said it would review the circum s t a n c e s t o i d e n t i f y a n y opportunities to learn and improve

Pharmacist shares cold and flu products that are of no use

C hemist Click's super inte n d e n t p h a r m a c i st A bba s Ka na ni who is an ex pert in a ll t hings cold and flu has r ev ea le d the best pr oducts t hat can t rea t cold a nd flu s y m p t om s a lo n g wi t h t h e b ig g e st m e d ici n e m ist a k e s pe ople make

H e h a s s h a r e d w h i c h ingredients in cold and flu p r o d u c t s a c t u a l l y h e l p i n treating symptoms and the biggest mistake people make when they have a cold or the flu

While speaking to The Mirror, he emphasised tak ing stock of one's symptoms before buying any cold and flu medicine

Abbas said: "Lemsip Max capsules for example have paracetamol which will help bring down your tempera ture if you have a fever, it's a l s o g o t P h e n y l e p h r i n e H y d r o c h l o r i d e w h i c h i s a vasoconstrictor that helps to reduce the swelling of blood v e s s e l s i n y o u r n o s e a n d relieve nasal congestion and

it's got Guaifensensin which is what s known as an expec torant and it helps cough out phlegm from the air ways

"So when you have a cold and flu, you need to know w h a t k i n d o f c o u g h y o u have If you have a dry cough and you've got nasal conges tion and you took Lemsip M a x , i t w o u l d n ' t h e l p because it would be encour aging you to cough and if you have a dry cough there's nothing for you to clear "

Drug offenders from Bow appear in court

Th ree men from Bow h av e appeared in court charg ed with d rug offences T he trio were am ong four m en arrested and charged after warrants were carried ou t at five addresses in To wer Ham lets and o ne in Peckh am o n November 30

Leban Abdi, 25, of Saxon Road, was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) and being con cerned in the supply of Class B drugs (cannabis) Suraj Sanusi, 19, of Aqua Vista Square and Gary Byfield, 40, of Whitton Walk, were each charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) A fourth man from Southwark was also charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin) The men appeared in custody at Thames Magistrates’ Court on December 1 Abdi and Sanusi were remanded in custody and Byfield was bailed to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 4 The charges are part of Operation Continuum, which the Met Police said is aimed at crack ing down on drug supply in Tower Hamlets

Teen spends hours recycling

A teenager who sp ends hours col lecting glass waste on the back of his bicycle has been described as a comm unity h ero

Ronnie, 15, cycles around Lady Bay in Nottinghamshire each week collecting bot tles and jars from his neighbours, before tak ing them to a recycling centre He has been providing the Recycling Ronnie service for the past four years in exchange for pocket money, which he puts towards school trips and holidays with friends "I don't want to toot my own trumpet and say I m a local celebrity but when everyone hears the rat tling of the glass jars they know who it is," he said Councillor Rob Inglis, portfolio holder for environment and safety at Rushcliffe Borough Council, said: “Recycling Ronnie is a community hero praised for his tremendous work in helping others to recy cle within the Lady Bay community "

Mayor to unveil air quality inspired artwork ‘Breathe:2022’ as he announces £10,000 towards a permanent memorial for Ella

T h e M ay o r o f L o nd o n , Sadiq Khan unv eiled th e f in al p h as e of a rti s t D ryd en G o o d w i n ’ s Breathe:20 22 p roject, p art of L ewisham’ s year as th e L o n d o n Bo r o u g h o f C ulture 2022 Th e Mayor c rea te d and fu n d ed t h e L o n d o n Bo r o u g h o f C u l tu re p r o g ram m e to imp rov e access to cu lture, b ri ng co m m u ni ti es to g eth e r and p ro v id e y ou n g L o n d o ne rs w i th p o s i ti v e o p p o rt u ni ti es , with Lewisham the third boro ugh to be award ed th e title

F o r B r e a t h e : 2 0 2 2 , Dryden created a multi site commission combining drawings of six Lewisham residents and clean air cam p a i g n e r s T h e s e i n c l u d e WHO air quality advocate and Ella’s mum Rosamund A d o o K i s s i D e b r a h a n d A n j a l i R a m a n M i d d l e t o n , co founder of the Choked U p c a m p a i g n g r o u p T h e portraits have been devel oped into large scale public p r o j e c t i o n s , a p p e a r i n g a s still and moving images on bridges, buildings, and digi t a l h o a r d i n g s a r o u n d t h e borough, inviting the public to imagine a clean air future for all Today, for the first time, the 1,300 drawings of the six residents will be ani m a t e d s o t h e p e o p l e f e a tured appear to be breathing a n d t h e a r t w o r k s w i l l b e projected onto the side of Lewisham’s Old Town Hall in Catford

In addition to support i n g D r y d e n ’ s l a u n c h , t h e Mayor will announce that C i t y H a l l w i l l c o n t r i b u t e £10,000 to the Ella Roberta F a m i l y F o u n d a t i o n T h i s will support the creation of a p e r m a n e n t m e m o r i a l

incorporating a pollution absorbing statue, wildflower m e a d o w a n d a i r q u a l i t y monitor in memory of Ella Adoo Kissi Debrah

Ella, was just nine years old when she died from an asthma attack in 2013 and is the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed on h e r d e a t h c e r t i f i c a t e H e r m o t h e r R o s a m u n d A d o o K i s s i D e b r a h f o u n d e d t h e E l l a R o b e r t a F a m i l y Foundation in her daugh t e r ’ s n a m e a n d h a s b e e n working tirelessly to raise awareness of the devastating effects of toxic air pollution on public health ever since

T h e l e g a c y p r o j e c t named First Breath for Our Future Ancestor will be i n s t a l l e d i n M o u n t s f i e l d Park, Lewisham and include an air quality sensor to help local residents monitor the air they breathe

Air pollution is a matter of life and death, leading to thousands of Londoners a year dying prematurely If n o a d d i t i o n a l a c t i o n w a s taken to reduce air pollu t i o n , a r o u n d 5 5 0 , 0 0 0 Londoners would develop

diseases attributable to air pollution over the next 30 years and the cumulative cost to the NHS and the social care system is esti m a t e d t o b e £ 1 0 4 billion

The Mayor has made tackling the triple chal lenges of air pollution, cli mate change and conges tion one of his top may oral priorities Last week Sadiq announced plans to e x p a n d t h e U l t r a L o w E m i s s i o n Z o n e ( U L E Z ) L o n d o n w i d e i n A u g u s t 2023 to ensure five mil lion more Londoners can breathe cleaner air T h e M a y o r o f London, Sadiq Khan said: “ A s B r e a t h e : 2 0 2 2 reminds us, toxic air is a matter of social justice and it affects us all, from cradle t o g r a v e , c a u s i n g a s t h m a and stunted lung growth in the young and dementia in t h e e l d e r l y T h e c o s t o f inaction is so much greater t h a n t h e c o s t o f a c t i o n , w h i c h i s w h y I r e c e n t l y announced the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Z o n e L o n d o n w i d e T h i s will mean five million more p e o p l e b r e a t h i n g c l e a n e r air, and will help tackle the g l o b a l c l i m a t e e m e r g e n c y enabling us to build a fairer, greener London for us all

“For too many grieving f a m i l i e s i n L o n d o n , t h e urgency of our air quality crisis is painfully clear That is why it I am proud to sup p o r t t h e F i r s t B r e a t h f o r Our Future Ancestor pro ject which will help pre s e r v e E l l a ’ s l e g a c y T h e m e m o r i a l w i l l n o t o n l y serve as a powerful tribute to the life of a much missed young Londoner but will a l s o h e l p e d u c a t e o t h e r s about the dangers of toxic air ”

Queen Elizabeth's aide resigns amid racism row

Liz Truss was frozen out of Budget discussions, smuggled documents

After being sidelined from policy d iscussions in 2018, Liz Truss co nv inced a Treasury official to smug gle out a cop y of Budget announcem ents, a new book has revealed

The incident is mentioned in Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss, a new book by journalists Harry Cole and James Heale

The authors write that the actions were “extremely high risk and probably illegal” but did not become public at the time

guest about wh ere she was “really” from Lady Susan Hussey is believed to have made “unacceptable and deeply regrettable com m e n t s ” t o a b l a c k , B r i t i s h b o r n d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e c a m p a i g n e r a f t e r asking her “what p a r t o f A f r i c a ” she was from Buckingham P a l a c e s a i d i t t o o k t h e i n c i dent “extremely s e r i o u s l y ” a n d had investigated i m m e d i a t e l y T h o u g h t h e King and Queen C o n s o r t a r e u n d e r s t o o d t o

The book also focuses on Ms Truss’s ascent to the top of British politics, as well as her 49 days in No 10 which made her the shortest serving prime minister in history

Between 2017 and 2019, Ms Truss served as chief sec retary In the run up to the 2018 Autumn Budget, Mr Hammond, now Lord Hammond, reportedly sidelined her from announcement discussions

Poppy Trowbridge, a senior Treasury aide, would close proceedings, according to the book, by saying: “Not a word of this to Liz Truss, this Budget does not leak ”

Reverend mentions

'colonialism and racism' ahead of Prince William's speech

P rior to Prince William kicking o ff his first ev ent in Boston, Rev Mariama White Hammo nd asked aud ience members g athered to see the ro yals at C ity Hall “to consider th e leg acy o f colonialism and racism ”

“The ways it has impacted people across the world and its connection, its deep connection to the degradation of land and our planet that we are all seeking to reverse, ” White Hammond, who is Boston’s chief of environment, energy and open space, addressed the crowd

“The stories lost, the species made extinct, but also the persistence of people in the face of oppression and the fun damental dignity of all of our relations,” she added

White Hammond’s comments came after a spokesper son for the Prince of Wales condemned a racist incident that occurred at Buckingham Palace

A spokesperson from the Mayor’s Office of Environment, Energy and Open Space confirmed that there was no con nection between the remarks and the incident at the palace, as the remarks in White Hammond’s speech were planned Ngozi Fulani, the founder of the charity Sistah Space, said a member of the royal household repeatedly asked her “what part of Africa” she was from and touched her hair, she said

Boris Johnson will fight the next general election

It has been co nfirm ed that Boris Johnso n will be stand ing as a candidate in the next g eneral election S ince d eparting Num ber 10 in Sep tember, J ohnso n has been o n the back benches Now , he will fight for his seat in his U xbrid ge and S outh Ruislip constituency

Mr Johnson put down his papers in the summer over a series of scandals and mass resignations by ministers but is still a favourite of Tory MPs and the party membership

The Uxbridge & South Ruislip Conservative Association said they fully support Boris Johnson as our local MP and candidate at any future election"

"Since his re election in 2019 he has delivered on his plans for a redevelopment and modernisation of Hillingdon H o s p i t a l a s w e l l a s i n c r e a s i n g p o l i c e n u m b e r s a c r o s s Uxbridge," they added

be “ aware ” of the incident, the matter was dealt with by senior aides

For more than 60 years, Lady H u s s e y , 8 3 , s e r v e d a s Q u e e n Elizabeth s lady in waiting and is a godmother to the Prince of Wales

F o l l o w i n g t h e e v e n t , N g o z i F u l a n i , t h e d i r e c t o r o f t h e e a s t London charity Sistah Space, claimed a palace representative she directed on social media as “Lady SH” had approached her within ten minutes of arriving, moving her hair to see her name badge, before asking per sistent questions about where she was from She said she had been “stunned t o t e m p o r a r y s i l e n c e ” , f i n d i n g i t “such a struggle to stay in a space that [she was] violated in”

“I think it is essential to acknowl edge that trauma has occurred and being invited and then insulted has caused much damage,” she said

Rishi Sunak claims Keir Starmer 'not fit to lead'

A s Ri s h i S un ak and K ei r

Starmer clashed o ver Labou r ’ s plan to scrap ch aritable status for private schools, the former claimed the latter is "not fit to lead"

The Prime Minister, who attended Winchester College, t o l d S i r K e i r d u r i n g P M Q s : "Whenever he attacks me about where I went to school he is attacking the hardworking aspi ration of millions of people in this country

"He is attacking people like my parents This is a country t h a t b e l i e v e s i n o p p o r t u n i t y , not resentment and he doesn't understand that and that's why he is not fit to lead "

Sir Keir hit back and said: "If he thinks the route to better

education in this country is tax breaks for private schools in the hope they might hand some of that down to state schools, that is laughable Trickle down edu cation is nonsense "

The policy would see private s c h o o l s l o s i n g t h e i r V A T e x e m p t i o n , m e a n i n g p a r e n t s could be asked to inculcate a 20 per cent tax on fees

Labour claims and believe t h a t t h i s p o l i c y w i l l h e l p t o bring in £1 7 billion a year which c o u l d b e r e i n v e s t e d i n s t a t e schools but critics feel the poli cy would backfire and end up r e d u c i n g f u n d i n g f o r s t a t e s c h o o l p u p i l s b e c a u s e s o m e families would be priced out of the private sector, increasing the burden on the state sector

Susan Hussey

Buckingham Palace

DO WE REALLY ‘CARE’?

visa

Care giving is an intimate task From an emotional perspective, a family or a person that is seeking care from a professional caregiver d o e s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y h a v e a n extended family or children to take care of them Hence the need to hire outside help Those who have c h i l d r e n a n d f a m i l y , m a y n o t always be able to seek their support since everyone has their own battle to fight, not to forget that the cost of living crisis is a curse for the younger generation and the middle class More often than not, young sters and children who hire care givers or put their elderly in care h o m e s r e m a i n g u i l t r i d d e n a n d e m o t i o n a l l y h e l p l e s s T h e p r e s sures of the modern day work cul ture and economic crisis are not alien, but definitely not easy for the elderly to completely under stand So families who opt for care workers, already make an emo tional compromise It is common k n o w l e d g e i n t h e c o m m u n i t y , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h i n t h o s e f a m i l i e s who are actively looking for carers that youngsters or even adults who would previously take up caregiv

report outlining the challenges the sector is facing, which will impact on Britain’s most vulnerable The findings call for urgent reform in the social care sector, explaining that ‘ years of chronic underfund ing, severe workforce issues, and a fragmented system mean we can not adequately meet the growing needs of the population ’

Dr A nil Jain, ch air o f th e BMA’ s c o m m i tt ee on c om m u ni ty ca re added: ‘It is alarming that we could see up to 500,000 vacancies in social care by the end of 2030 This, alongside an ageing population, means that we are effectively fac

ing jobs are not interested in doing i t a n y m o r e T h e y w o u l d r a t h e r wait tables and work as bartenders at pubs, than give their time and energy to the elderly which to them is clearly a more demanding task, sometimes beneath them It is unfair to critique them for their choices, but with the given short age of labour, NHS backlog and pressure on the healthcare system, the future of caregiving looks grim

According to new figures from Skills for Care, England is project ed to need close to 500,000 more care staff by the middle of the next decade, but last year there was a net fall in the workforce of 50,000 people, leaving about 165,000 jobs vacant The largest ever review of their standards of care, seen by the G u a r d i a n , h a s f o u n d e t h n i c minorities are less likely to get an e a r l y o r “ t i m e l y ” d i a g n o s i s , l e s s likely to access treatment, and less l i k e l y t o r e c e i v e s u p p o r t w h e n diagnosed, because of a “totally inadequate” system set up decades a g o f o r a p r e d o m i n a n t l y w h i t e population

Care experts said this shortage of care workers has exposed the “absolute crisis” facing a system still reeling from the impact of C o v i d a n d B r e x i t A c c o r d i n g t o Carers UK, at least 1 in 8 adults (around 6 5 million people) are car e r s A n e s t i m a t e d 6 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e take on a caring responsibility each day, equalling over 2 million peo ple each year

E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , t h e B M A ( B r i t i s h M e d i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n ) warned of a ‘ an unprecedented cri sis in social care ’ and released a

ing a ticking time bomb ’ The report urges the Government ‘to effectively remunerate and value care workers to ensure that there are enough staff to look after all those in need of social care in the future ’

A Glasgow based care worker told the press that she felt burned out Her hourly rate of £10 02 bare ly covers her bus fare, let alone her bills There have been times when s h e h a s w a l k e d e v e r y w h e r e because her energy bills were high er due to cold weather “There was o n e s h i f t w h e r e I c h e c k e d m y Fitbit, and it turned out I had walked 11 miles that day I always call it my 11 mile shift But then sometimes service users live far out, so I can’t walk to them and have to get a bus, which can cost around £10 for the journey,” she told a publication Additionally, sometimes, Katie not just with the long hours, she also endures the occasional instance of dealing with verbally abusive service users

Nirmala Bhojani, Founder of W o m en o f th e W o rld A w ard s, J o u rn al is t, C o m m u ni ty A ct iv is t and Camp aig ner told A sian Voice, “I think your feature is quite topi cal as the situation with care work ers has certainly got worse after the pandemic Many of our elderly do not want to pay Agency rates for trained staff, so they are actually relying on women who clean or cook for them, for a bit of cash Care work is not paid well or val u e d a n d m a n y p e o p l e c a n n o t afford to work the hours required to survive if they are students, as they are only allowed to work lim

ited hours This means that the elderly who are vulnerable may be at risk as they are looked after by the untrained staff, who don't have a proper understanding of their needs Some who live on their own are feeling isolated and neglected and I find that they have no one to talk to I run a Chai n Chat group in Leicester where many of the elderly women share their stories with me, it's so sad to hear how lonely they are I have just spoken to a friend who is struggling to find a carer for her mother! Looks like there is a Carer Crisis in the Asian Community ” S h a ku ntl abe n I na m d ar fr om Cambrid ge told th e newsw eekly, “Although care workers play a vital r o l e , t h e y a r e e n t i t l e d t o f e e l under prepared, under supported, u n d e r p r o t e c t e d a n d u n d e r rewarded Those on the front line o f t h i s c r i s i s h a v e r i g h t l y b e e n lauded as heroes, but for our care workers, these have too often been merely warm words I personally b e l i e v e t h e c h a n g e c a n o c c u r i m m e d i a t e l y I n d i a n c o m m u n i t y arrived in the UK in the 1970s from Africa has proved to fulfil the gaps and hence they played a vital role in the history of making Britain prosper This should be a good example to set a programme in place to enhance further future development in community care today ”

Major contributing factors of this crisis

Chronically meagre wages are a key problem, with one in five care home workers most of whom are w o m e n a n d d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y black estimated to be in poverty, according to a separate study by the Health Foundation thinktank of earnings data even before the cost of living crisis hit Reportedly, t h e a v e r a g e h o u r l y p a y o f c a r e workers, £9 50, is currently £1 less than novice healthcare assistants in the NHS receive

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e G u a r d i a n , e v e n j o b s a v a i l a b l e a t A m a z o n warehouses for people with zero p r e v i o u s e x p e r i e n c e a r e p a y i n g £11 45 per hour for a day shift, ris ing to £22 90 per hour overtime Almost a quarter of care jobs are on p r e c a r i o u s z e r o h o u r s c o n t r a c t s compared with 3% in the wider population Hospitals are having to keep patients on wards longer than n e c e s s a r y b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e n ’ t enough care beds and homecare packages available, which is slow ing down the delivery of other medical treatments

From January to April 2021, just 1 8% of new starters in adult social care were from overseas, compared with 5 2% in the same period in 2019, according to Skills for Care figures The government’s post Brexit immigration system initially all but locked out people from moving to the UK to work as care workers through a skilled worker

Recru itment barriers

However, around half of care workers and a third of senior care workers earn less than this, said a r e p o r t e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r b y t h e M i g r a t i o n A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e , which advises the government on immigration Also, care workers were only added to the shortage list for 12 months, pending a gov ernment review, while employers must pay for a sponsorship licence, and then face ongoing charges, to bring staff in on a health and social care visa PM Sunak has promised to cut overall immigration while

home by care workers has never been more instrumental in shap ing the society than it is at the moment

The language barrier challenge

Karan Jutlla, the author of the report and dementia lead at the U n i v e r s i t y o f W o l v e r h a m p t o n said, “We are losing people in the system ”

“There’s also a language barrier challenge,” said Jutlla “English is not the first language for many o l d e r p e o p l e w i t h i n t h e s o u t h Asian community Materials and support are largely provided only i n E n g l i s h , l e a v i n g f a m i l i e s t o

assuring the CBI that he would “unapologetically create one of the w o r l d ’ s m o s t a t t r a c t i v e v i s a r e g i m e s f o r e n t r e p r e n e u r s a n d highly skilled people” Opposition leader, Sir Keir Starmer, believes that it would be “pragmatic on the basic lack of people”, but that any loosening of visa rules would come with new conditions for business to “help the British economy off its immigration dependency” There are more speculations than solu tions at hand

U K health serv ices failing south Asian p eop le with d em entia A l z e i m h e r ’ s S o c e i t y f r o m London School of Economics and P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e p r o j e c t e d t h a t m o r e t h a n 2 5 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e f r o m Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in the UK are affected by d e m e n t i a M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , a s life expectancy rises, the popula t i o n w i t h d e m e n t i a c u r r e n t l y 900,000 is expected to hit 1 6m by 2040 It has been perpetually reported in the press that people of south Asian heritage in the UK are more likely to develop the disease than the general population due to their higher risk of other illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes, that increase the risk of dementia The number of them liv ing with dementia is set to increase by 600% within the next three decades Barriers to dementia diag nosis, care and support faced by south Asians are harming “all areas of their lives: mentally, physically, s o c i a l l y a n d f i n a n c i a l l y ” , w i t h m a n y s u f f e r i n g f r o m i s o l a t i o n , anxiety, loneliness and depression as a result Many elderly people in the South Asian community, fortu nately, have the means and mone tary resources to afford better care Quality care at home and finding skilled carers are worrying subjects for many old aged people in the community With Brexit driving thousands of skilled carers away from the UK, the state of social c a r e i s p i t i a b l e W i t h s t a n d i n g more harsh truths like Dementia, L o s s o f h e a r i n g , P a r k i n s o n ' s , C a n c e r , L o n g C o v i d , A r t h r i t i s , Liver and Kidney dysfunction, car diovascular diseases and also the loss of key members of the family to the pandemic, care given at

piecemeal translate leaflets and c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h h e a l t h c a r e professionals We also heard of care agencies muddling up south Asian languages and thinking they are interchangeable ”

Getting a dementia diagnosis in the first place is often more dif ficult for south Asians, her review says, because of a “lack of cultural ly appropriate diagnostic tools” Because questions in some cogni t i v e t e s t s a r e a b o u t s i g n i f i c a n t events in UK history, many first g e n e r a t i o n s o u t h A s i a n i m m i g r a n t s h a v e i n s u f f i c i e n t k n o w l edge to complete the assessments

A r e p o r t t i t l e d ‘ S a t i s f a c t i o n with social care services among S o u t h A s i a n a n d W h i t e B r i t i s h older people: the need to under stand the system’ published online b y C a m b r i d g e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s b a c k i n 2 0 1 5 w h i c h w a s c o a u t h o r e d b y t w o S o u t h A s i a n s among four writers, explained the crisis years ago

It stated that the then national surveys showed that people from minority ethnic groups tend to be less satisfied with social care ser v i c e s c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e w h i t e population, but do not show why Research indicated that barriers to accessing services include lack of information, perceptions of cul tural inappropriateness and nor mative expectations of care

Kate Lee, the chief executive officer of Alzheimer’s Society, said south Asian people were expected to see a 600% increase in dementia diagnosed by 2050 compared with 100% in the general UK popula tion

Jabeer Bu tt, the chief executive o f the Race Equality Fo undation, told The Guardian, “It’s unaccept a b l e t h a t i n 2 0 2 2 , s o u t h A s i a n c o m m u n i t i e s a r e h a v i n g w o r s e experiences with dementia simply because of prehistoric systems and support Not only are south Asian people more likely to receive their dementia diagnosis at a later stage, limiting their access to treatment, but most cognitive tests used to diagnose dementia have been vali dated and tested in English, with a strong bias for western culture, language and education ”

Autumn Statement 2022

Statement on 1 7 No vember 2022

rela ti ng to energ y, infrastructure and inno vation Cum ulatively, how ever, the tax measures w ill have a sig nificant impact o n the nation’ s finances, and som e of the most sig nificant mea sures are described below

P ersonal tax

The threshold at which tax becomes payable at the highest “additional” rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be cut from £150,000 to £125,140 from 6 April 2023 When the additional rate was first introduced in 2010/11, it affected fewer than 250,000 individuals, but more than one million taxpayers will soon be paying tax at this rate

The income tax personal allowance was already due to be frozen at £12,570 until April 2026, and the Chancellor announced that it will remain frozen for a further two years until April 2028 Various other amounts were also announced as being frozen until April 2028, including the higher rate income tax threshold, various NIC thresholds, and the inheritance tax nil rate bands The freezing of the income tax and NICs thresholds will over time see many more people being brought either into the tax net or into paying tax at higher rates

Individuals currently pay no tax on the first £2,000 of dividend income that they receive during a tax year This allowance will be reduced to £1,000 from 6 April 2023 and then to £500 from 6 April 2024 Along similar lines, the annual exempt amount for capital gains tax will be reduced from the current £12,300 to £6,000 from 6 April 2023 and then to £3,000 from 6 April 2024 I n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 2 , t h e t h e n C h a n c e l l o r o f t h e

Exchequer increased the threshold above which SDLT first becomes payable on standard residential property transac tions from £125,000 to £250,000 Jeremy Hunt has now announced that this measure would come to an end on 31 March 2025

C orp orate and business tax

No changes were announced to the rates of corporate tax previously announced, so from 1 April 2023 the main rate of corporation tax will be 25% The capital allowances super deduction will end on 31 March 2023 as always envis aged but, as previously announced, the annual investment allowance will be permanently set at £1 million from 1 April 2023, thereby providing 100% relief for annual qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery up to this limit

The Chancellor announced significant changes to the rates of R&D tax relief Under the “large company ” scheme, the rate that is applied to qualifying expenditure to calcu late the above the line tax credit will increase from 13% to 20% from 1 April 2023 The SME scheme, however, will become less generous with the rate that is applied to qual ifying expenditure to calculate the “enhanced deduction” decreasing from 130% to 86%

The Chancellor also announced that the appropriate percentages (used to determine the benefit in kind rate) for electric and ultra low emission cars will increase by 1% per year for each of the three years from April 2025, the freezing of the VAT registration threshold at £85,000 until 31 March 2026, and an extension of energy related windfall taxes

Government running out of prison places

T he governm ent is facing a dearth of prison p laces and h as had to as k the po lice f or 400 c ells to make su re there is e nou gh ac co mm oda tion fo r th e p ris on p op ulation

Prisons minister Damian Hinds informed MPs that in recent months there has been an "acute and sudden increase in the prison population", as a result of which, for the first t i m e s i n c e 2 0 0 7 , t h e

Operation Safeguard contin g e n c y p l a n h a d b e e n launched

He said the government had "long anticipated" the rise owing to the additional mea sures to tackle crime, and had been "planning ahead" for it

However, Mr Hinds has blamed strike action by the C r i m i n a l B a r A s s o c i a t i o n (CBA), saying it had led to more people being held on remand

And with court hearings now returning to normal, he said the government was "see ing a surge in offenders com ing through the criminal jus tice system, placing capacity pressure on adult male pris ons in particular"

The CBA in their defence has disputed the minister's c l a i m s , s a y i n g t h e r e m a n d prison population was already at "a decade high" of over 13,000 before they went on strike

Schools face bankruptcy as energy bills jump 300%

As the cost of l ivin g crisis cont in ues t o pla ce unpre cede nte d pre ssure on the e d uca t io n s e ct o r , e n e r g y b il l s ha v e jumped 300 per ce nt in some school s across the country

The Rev Steve Chalke, whose Oasis foundation runs 52 academies across E n g l a n d , s a i d s k y r o c k e t i n g b i l l s w i l l force schools to eat into their reserves this year

E v e n w i t h t h e s i x m o n t h e n e r g y price cap in place, the average energy bill for Oasis secondary schools has skyrock eted from £112,000 last year to £356,000 this year For the foundation’s primary schools, the figure has jumped from £26,000 to £89,000

“ T h e r e ’ s h u g e , h u g e p r e s s u r e o n schools that’s not being met [The fund ing announced by Mr Hunt] doesn’t help with the energy costs We don’t know

how long the ceiling on price per unit is going to last, so we don’t even know what’s going to happen towards the end of this academic year, ” said Rev Chalke “If push comes to shove, we can eat

into our reserves even though we ’ re not supposed to,” said Rev Chalke “That means we’ll go bankrupt at a slower rate, but we’ll still go bankrupt in the end, as will many, many schools ”

Farming union predicts food supply crisis for UK

The UK is "sleepwalking " into a food supply crisis and the gov ernm ent must step in to help farmers, the National Farmers U nion (NFU) h as warned Yields of tomatoes and other crops will likely slump to record lows this y e a r , i t s a i d , w i t h p o t e n t i a l s u p p l y problems ahead as already seen with eggs Soaring fuel, fertiliser and feed c o s t s w e r e p u t t i n g f a r m e r s u n d e r severe pressure, it added But the gov ernment said that the UK has a "highly r e s i l i e n t f o o d s u p p l y c h a i n " S o m e

supermarkets are rationing egg sales after farmers cut back or halted pro duction because of rising costs a situ ation made worse by the Avian flu out break The war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic have driven up the price of food, energy and fuel over the last year, affecting consumers and businesses alike Grocery prices are ris ing at their fastest rate for 45 years, the latest official figures show, with the cost of staples such as milk, cheese and eggs surging

Vijay Tanna, FCCA, Partner Moore Kingston Smith LLP

Army could be drafted to fill in during strikes

Sol diers cou ld be draf ted in to fil l critical rol es in the NHS and Bo rder Forc e to minim ise dis r up tio n f ro m a w av e o f s trikes, N adhim Zahawi has s aid

The Conservative Party chairman confirmed the mili tary could be used to drive ambulances and staff ports as the Government braces for m a s s w a l k o u t s l a t e r i n D e c e m b e r T h e C a b i n e t O f f i c e l a t e r s a i d a r o u n d 2,000 military personnel and c i v i l s e r v a n t s a r e b e i n g trained to support a range of services in the event of strikes

going ahead They include up to 600 armed forces personnel and

3,000 free childcare places will be created for two-year-olds in Wales

Two Leicestershire company directors banned for a total of 19 years

Team, as well as other parts of the Civil Service Recently it was announced thousands o f a m b

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e

s h a d voted for strike action with action also expected before Christmas Strike dates are yet to be announced for Border Force staff one of 124 Government departments that voted for strike action last month

Pharmacists pour cold water on government plans

P h arm a ci s ts h a v e p o u r ed c o ld w a ter o n r ep o rt ed Gov ernm ent plans to draft t h em i n fo r h el p d u r in g N HS s tr i kes , w i th o n e b ra nd i ng i t “ ca te g o ri ca ll y im possible” unless funding is increased

S e n i o r c h e m i s t F i n McCaul said the sector was already facing a workforce c r i s i s a n d c o u l d n o t b e stretched to follow the plans without better investment T h e p r o p o s a l s w o u l d s e e pharmacists given permis sion to screen people for minor conditions and pre scribe antibiotics to reduce d e m a n d f o r G P a p p o i n t m e n t s U n d e r t h e p l a n s ,

c o m m u n i t y p h a r m a c i e s would be allowed to diag nose health problems such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) and Strep A, accord ing to the paper

But Mr McCaul, a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said pharma c i s t s a r e f a c i n g t h e s a m e financial pressures as nurses and other NHS staff prepar ing to strike this winter

Networking with Santa: Christmas celebration by Harrow Business Centre

t

The mon ey for t hese e xt ra pla ce s in t he F ly in g St a r t progr amme will be fun ded as par t of £100m p led ged by th e W e lsh go v er n m e n t to im prove ava ila bilit y It is not yet k nown which ar eas will ben efit, an d e ligible familie s will be cont acted in the new yea r T h e W e l s h C o n s e r v a t i v e s s a i d m o r e affluent families would ben efit "while the most deprived lose out Of the remaining c a s h , £ 7 0 m w i l l p a y t o u p g r a d e c h i l d c a r e s e t t i n g s and £3 8m will be spent on b o o s t i n g W e l s h l a n g u a g e provision The investment is p a r t o f a p h a s e d p l a n t o expand early years provision t o a l l t w o y e a r o l d s i n

W a l e s , w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r emphasis on strengthening W e l s h m e d i u m p r o v i s i o n , which is a commitment in the co operation agreement between the Welsh govern ment and Plaid Cymru Plaid C y m r u M e m b e r o f t h e Senedd (MS) Sian Gwenllian said children "learn and ben efit so much from high qual ity childcare provision"

" W e l o o k f o r w a r d t o continuing to work together with the Welsh government t o d e l i v e r t h i s i m p o r t a n t c o m m i t m e n t f o r a l l o u r communities," she said The money for improvements to facilities and maintenance is a v a i l a b l e f o r r e g i s t e r e d childcare settings via local authorities in Wales

NHS pension rules to be overhauled

Plans to overh aul NHS pen sio n rules hav e been set out by th e g o v ernm ent in an att em p t t o ret ai n m o re senior do ctors in the health serv ice

L a u n c h i n g a n e i g h t week consultation, minis t e r s s a i d t h e p r o p o s e d changes would also remove barriers to retired clinicians r e t u r n i n g t o w o r k T h e y include new “flexibilities” to allow retired and partially r e t i r e d s t a f f t o r e t u r n t o work or increase their work ing hours without having payments to their pension r e d u c e d o r s u s p e n d e d Officials said it would allow

staff to claim a portion or all of their pension benefits but continue working and con tributing to their pension M i n i s t e r s h o p e t h a t b y encouraging more staff to carry on working, pressures on the NHS over the com ing winter will be eased

It comes after NHS fig ures showed there were 10 times more people in hospi tal with flu in November than at this time last year There were an average of 344 patients a day in hospi tals in England with flu in mid November, more than 10 times the number at the beginning of last December

Zoo boss advised by stranger to not employ black or gay

The boss of Chest er Zoo say s a st ra nge r at black t ie eve nt once told him not to hire any one black or ga y Jamie Christon , who is ga y, said the shock ing com ment wa s only made a fe w ye ars ago

T h e 5 0 y e a r o l d C E O was at a black tie dinner and a stranger approached him and said: “I hope you don’t employ black or gay people” At first he thought it was a “ very crude joke” but quickly realised it wasn’t and the comment was in fact of a serious nature, reports the Liverpool Echo Jamie, who is originally from Yorkshire, says he still “kicks” himself

for not calling them out In a s t a t e o f s h o c k , J a m i e e x p l a i n e d h e d i d n ’ t k n o w what to say but remembers l e a v i n g t h e e v e n t e a r l y b e c a u s e o f t h e c o m m e n t Jamie, who joined Chester Zoo in 2013, explained how i f a n y t h i n g i t m a d e h i m work harder towards “striv ing for inclusion, equality and diversity” at the zoo

He added: “We employ over 700 people here at the moment and we have people from all walks of life with different backgrounds and this is something we have always and are keen to push forward ”

S a v i o G il be r t P e r e i r a , 4 6 , a n d S a ji d A n v e r V a l i m o h a m m e d , 37, have been dis qua lifie d as com pan y d ir ector s for a tot al of 19 y ea rs followin g se par ate Insolve ncy Se rvice inv estiga t i on s w h i ch u n c o v e r e d fin ancial miscond uct

P e r e i r a , o f M a r k e t Harborough was sole direc t o r o f H i m a l a y a n Z e s t T a k e a w a y L i m i t e d , w h i c h w a s i n c o r p o r a t e d i n A p r i l 2 0 1 8 a n d t r a d e d a s Himalayan Zest on Market Street in Lutterworth until it w e n t i n t o l i q u i d a t i o n i n November 2021

I n J u n e 2 0 2 0 , P e r e i r a applied for a Bounce Back L o a n o n b e h a l f o f H i m a l a y a n Z e s t B o u n c e B a c k L o a n s w e r e g o v e r n ment backed loans designed to help businesses stay afloat d u r i n g t h e C o v i d 1 9 p a n demic

Under the rules of the s c h e m e , c o m p a n i e s c o u l d apply for loans of between £2,000 and £50,000, up to a maximum of 25% of their turnover for 2019

P e r e i r a s t a t e d t h a t Himalayan Zest’s turnover was around £207,500, which a l l o w e d t h e r e s t a u r a n t t o r e c e i v e t h e m a x i m u m £50,000 loan

When the business went into liquidation the follow i n g y e a r o w i n g a r o u n d £ 5 1 , 5 0 0 , i t t r i g g e r e d a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n b y t h e I n s o l v e n c y S e r v i c e w h i c h found that Pereira had exag g e r a t e d H i m a l a y a n Z e s t ’ s turnover in order to falsely claim the loan

Investigators discovered that the company only had around £54,600 in its bank account following receipt of the Bounce Back Loan, and b e t w e e n J u n e a n d A u g u s t that year, Pereira had made a £10,000 payment to himself, £ 2 8 , 0 0 0 i n v a r i o u s d e b i t pa yments to an unkno wn r e c i p i e n t a n d h a d w i t h drawn a total of £16,800 in cash

P e r e i r a w a s u n a b l e t o p r o v e t h a t t h e s e t r a n s a c tions were for the economic support of the restaurant

A second director, Sajid A n v e r V a l i m o h a m m e d , o f Leicester, was director of J Dee Designs Ltd, which was

Thousands of rural businesses receive payments from the RPA

i n c o r p o r a t e d i n J u l y 2 0 1 9 and traded as a fashionwear f i n i s h e r f r o m U p p e r C h a r n w o o d S t r e e t i n Leicester until it went into l i q u i d a t i o n i n D e c e m b e r 2020

But Valimohammed had f a i l e d t o k e e p b u s i n e s s a c c o u n t s a n d r e c o r d s a legal requirement of compa n y d i r e c t o r s a n d w a s unable to hand them over to the company ’ s liquidators, which led to an investigation by the Insolvency Service

Investigators discovered t h a t V a l i m o h a m m e d h a d w i t h d r a w n m o r e t h a n £286,000 from the company bank account through 199 separate transfers with the r e f e r e n c e ‘ M r r e f S e l f F T ’ during the time J Dee Design was in business

They found that around £ 3 1 5 , 3 0 0 w a s w i t h d r a w n from J Dee Design’s bank account during the period i n c l u d i n g £ 3 0 , 0 0 0 f r o m a Bounce Back Loan that the company had applied for b u t V a l i m o h a m m e d c o u l d not prove that the transac t i o n s w e r e f o r l e g i t i m a t e trading activity, or whether the loan money had been used for the benefit of the company

And due to his failure to k e e p c o m p a n y a c c o u n t s , i n v e s t i g a t o r s w e r e a l s o unable to verify whether J Dee Designs had paid the c o r r e c t a m o u n t o f t a x i t o w e d , o r t o a s c e r t a i n t h e true financial position of the company when it went into l i q u i d a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g whether liquidators would be able to make any recovery of debts

Valimohammed did not contest the disqualification o r d e r a t c o u r t a n d w a s banned from being a direc t o r f o r 8 y e a r s o n 9 November this year His ban began on 30 November and the court also awarded full c o s t s t o t h e I n s o l v e n c y Service

within the centre We have regular client events, which give all the members plenty of networking oppor

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) con firmed on 6th December that 95 3% of farm ers have already received full payments in the first few days of the payment window This means that £872m has been released into the rural economy to build on the ear lier payments which farmers received in July and August Over 102,000 payments have been made, bringing the total paid to farm ers to £1 528bn, across the Basic Payment S c h e m e ( B P S ) , C o u n t r y s i d e S t e w a r d s h i p (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) schemes which support farmers to achieve certain standards and deliver environmental

outcomes in a range of habitats Eligible farmers should expect to receive their pay ment within the payment window which opened on 1 December and ends on 30 June 2023 As announced in May 2022, customers claiming Direct Payments have received two separate payments this year, with the first made from the end of July 2022 and com pleted by August 2022 This was in response t o t h e c o s t p r e s s u r e s f a c e d b y f a r m e r s caused by global gas prices rising and Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, and to boost cash flow for many businesses during this uncer tain period

Separately, the Secretary of State accepted a disquali f i c a t i o n u n d e r t a k i n g f r o m S a v i o P e r e i r a i n O c t o b e r , after he did not dispute that he had caused his restaurant to falsely apply for a Bounce Back Loan of £50,000, and had failed to use the money for the economic benefit of the company

Pereira’s disqualification started on 15 November this year and lasts for 11 years The bans prevent the two d i r e c t o r s f r o m d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y b e c o m i n g involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court

u n i t i e s H a r r o w B u s i n e s s Centre is a proud member o f t h e F l e x i b l e S p a c e Association ” Group Centre Manager Melody Iberhysaj said, “We

conduct quarterly Network Client Lunches, Annual get together for all members of the business centre We are going to introduce Yoga & W e l l n e s s g u i d e s f o r t h e workplace very soon ”

Pooja Raval, Mahesh Liloriya, Atul Sangani, CB Patel Deven Sangani Kishor Parmar

Shelini Raja Taya Agard Flynn

Melody Iberhysaj, Pooja Raval, Jaya Pindoria & Hetal Joshi

Gita Jayanti celebration in British Parliament

The event was done by the newly formed SSUK to spread the message of Shri Krishna & celebrate the International Gita Jayanti in the Houses of Common, in the Parliament of the UK The event started with Sholokas chanting by Saloni Belaid & Abhi Yogi along w i t h s o m e c h i l d r e n s a y i n g t h e V a s u d e v Sutam Then Keshava Maharaj explained the r e l e v a n c e o f t h e B h a g w a d G i t a & S h r i Krishna and how it affects our lives still in a most unique way when we follow the Gita Abhi Yogi of SSUK explained the objec tives and vision behind creating SSUK and P r a v e e n K u m a r f r o m H a r y a n a g a v e a detailed presentation on Kurushetra and the various places a person can still visit in K u r u s h e t r a , H a r y a n a t o s e e t h e v a r i o u s places of Hindu History in this land

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK) celebrates UK Parliament Week 2022

In th is 6t h year of p art ic ip ati o n i n U K P arl i am e nt We ek ( U K P W ) , Hi nd u Swayamsevak S angh U K (HSS UK) w inner of UK P arliament Week official partner o f the Year Aw ard 2 020 h osted acti vi ti es at 44 shakhas up and dow n the country HS S U K has been featured as IMP ACT STORY of U K parliam ent Ed ucation and Engagement It was an oppo rtunity, especially for th e youth to ‘have their say ’ and ‘M ake A Difference’ on the issues that matter to them the m ost Shakh as rep resenting 34 constituencies and Council Ward s across the United King dom signed u p to be p art of th e conversation UK Parliament Week is a UK wide festi val which takes place in November UKPW week activities aim to involve the entire pop ulation, including members of the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh communities in

given to empowering young people

JVB London wins London Faith and Belief Community Award

JVB London has been awarded London Faith and Belief Community Award This was in recognition of the extraordinary voluntary services offered by our devo tees under the gui dance of Sam anij is during the Covid 19 pandemic

from different backgrounds and encourag ing them to get involved

Participants at shakhas from all four cor ners of the country had the opportunity to ask questions, think critically and engage with the UK Parliament and demonstrate that we are very much an integral part of a t h r i v i n g d e m o c r a c y A p l a n n e d f o r m a t included showcasing activities of the HSS UK including Khel and Surya Namaskar to t h e i n v i t e d g u e s t s a n d c o n d u c t i n g Parliament style debates on topics ranging from ‘The Cost of Living Crisis’, ‘ Yoga must be part of school curriculum’ ‘Government must put more resources in policing’ ‘NHS must be declared a national emergency ’ ‘ and a s e x p e c t e d , a h e a t e d d e b a t e o n ‘ E n v i r o n m e n t : D o G o v e r n m e n t s c a r e ? ’ Balloting on these and other debated topics threw up some interesting results! There w e r e d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h M e m b e r s o f Parliament, Councillors and Mayors on the topic of ‘ On Line safety must be taken seri ously ‘ ‘ Single use plastics must be banned’ ‘ M a k e H i n d u H e r i t a g e M o n t h O f f i c i a l ’

During the question and answer session with the invited guests, the issues raised indicated that even the youngest members were inter ested in learning more about parliament and the workings of the Town Councils A num b e r o f s h a k h a s h e l d Q u i z z e s , p r e s e n t e d videos on the UK parliament and discussed how parliament works

Nationally, we had the opportunity to interact with invited guests from across the political spectrum which included a local M a y o r , l o c a l c o u n c i l l o r s , M e m b e r s o f Parliament and members of a local Hindu Community MPs Theresa Villiers, Angela R a y n o r , A l e x C h a l k , A n t h o n y B r o w n e , Richard Fuller, and Claire Hanna took great interest in the activities of the HSS and

praised the work HSS does to bring aware ness about the workings of Parliament and holding conversations with our lawmakers Mike Freer MP for Finchley and Golders Green added ‘ HSS plays a huge role in e n s u r i n g t h a t p e o p l e u n d e r s t a n d t h e strength of our democracy, and we recognise the enormous part the Hindu community plays in our public life

Guests were impressed with the disci pline and good values of SEWA, SANSKAR and SANGATHAN that HSS UK seeks to inculcate in the youngsters HSS (UK) spokesperson said: “We are excited that so many shakhas across the country got involved in UK Parliament Week 2022 and demonstrated how they can play a vital role in their democracy Over 1400 par ticipants from shakhas up and down the country debated, balloted, enjoyed quizzes, and had Q & A sessions with MPs and Councillors This is what UK parliament Week is, a celebration of democracy We are promoting responsible citizenship through U K P W P a r t i c i p a n t s w a n t t o M a k e A Difference”

In 2021, UK Parliament Week reached almost 1 1 million people, with more than 10,000 activities This year ’ s UK Parliament Week festival is expected to be the largest ever

Annie Waddington , Senior Partnership Officer UK Parliament Week Engagement , said: “We are delighted Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK has taken the opportunity to par ticipate in this year ’ s UK Parliament Week and inspire their members to get involved in their democracy and have their say on the issues they care about most This year ’ s UK Parliament Week has been the largest ever with HSS UK demonstrating that it is truly a success story of UKPW’’

The award ceremony was held at the iconic venue, Westminister Abbey and was attended by more than 300 dele gates

There were around 100 nominations and JVBL was selected based on Health s e r v i c e s , S p i r i t u a l c o n s u l t a t i o n s b y Samanijis and Food distribution

The award was presented by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Greater London’s Council on Faith, Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE

Shri Bob Blackman in his speech high lighted that ‘Hindus should not fear in showing their Dharma as Hindus are very peaceful and always give a message for ben efit of others also’ Amish Tripathi in his speech highlighted many incidents from Vedic history that the Hindus should learn to pass on their knowledge to future genera tions effectively

T h e 9 0 m i n s e v e n t w a s f i l l e d w i t h Bhajans, a monologue on Krishna and mul tiple things which kept the place filled with joy and a full house throughout The event’s h i g h l i g h t w a s t h a t m a n y c h i l d r e n w e r e utilised by SSUK along with youth in deliv ering the message of Shri Krishna Children as young as 7 years came and did Sanskrit Sholakas and youth came and told about how reading the Gita transformed their lives and helped them overcome teen problems also

The event was finished with a closing speech by Hirdesh Gupta of SSUK along with the distribution of prasad, also close to 100 Gitas were given out to all attendees on this occasion, provided by Keshava Maharaj Ji (ISCKON)

The Awards are an initiative of the Faith & Belief Forum and supported by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Greater London’s Council on Faith The Awards w e r e s e t u p t o d e m o n s t r a t e h o w Londoners of all faiths and beliefs can work together for a fairer and more i n c l u s i v e c i t y E a c h w i n n i n g p r o j e c t receives £500 to further their work

M

Bob Blackm an (M P Harrow East) , A mish Tripathi (Minister of Cu lture & Director of Nehru C enter) alo ng with th e rev ered saint Shri Keshav Maharaj Ji (Senio r p riest in Iskcon, UK)

Food for thought

Our media is full of horror stories about poverty and hunger that are ravaging our once mighty nation that used to rule half the world, affecting ethnic minorities more than the general population So where our dedicated politi cians are going wrong?

This should not happen in one of the sixth largest economies in the world It seems there is no shortage of finance and food; that is if there is a will on the part of our politicians Yes, food prices have climbed steeply, in some cases going through the roof But it has affected every country, a global problem that needs clever and articulate handling, to concentrate on the home front rather than trying to be Robin Hood to every country in trouble

It seems Ukraine is the priority for us, more important than problems on the home front, in sharp contrast to other EU nations bordering Ukraine While countries like France, Germany and most EU nations pay lip service but keep on the right side of Russia, in sharp contrast US and UK have gone out of their way to antagonize Russia, a bel ligerent nation fighting for its survival, ready to use tactical nuclear weapons if cornered Surprise, surprise, we could be their first target, not France or Germany!

Only a decade ago, there were 30 food banks from where families collect free bags of essential foodstuffs, now the figure is 300, ten times more, unbelievable but true! Even working people, in full time employment, like nurses, cleaners, low grade clerical assistants and many more have to queue outside food banks to feed their families What a disgrace, a shameful situation created by our penthouse politicians!

First, we let Japan and China destroy our manufactur ing and industrial base, then our agricultural, making us dependent on the EU and developing nations for our daily bread No wonder we are a laughing stock on the interna tional stage, our politicians like Mrs Teresa May were humiliated by tiny EU nations once we used to rule!

Let us hope that the new team at No 10 will have more success than our two previous PMs!

Bhup endra M Gandhi

Colourful issues

That royal aide at a Buckingham Palace function who asked a black charity worker where she “really” came from reminded me of an amusing incident in England I heard years ago involving an Indian male “coconut” (description of a deluded person said to be white on the inside, brown outside) He was at a party with a group of white friends and had obviously wanted his English pals to think that he was one of them During the party, another Indian, known only to the whites, joined their group and was introduced to the Indian “coconut” who asked the new arrival in a fake posh voice: “So where did you get your brilliant tan?” to which the quick witted Indian replied: “Same place where you got yours ” All the whites exploded with laughter, causing the “coconut” acute embarrass ment!

Rudy Otter

70th anniversary of historic smog

Sev enty years ago, a thick sm og cov ered London

The city is no stranger to its bouts of fog, but noth ing compared to the Great Smog which descended on L o n d o n o n D e c e m b e r 5 , 1952 The smoke like pollu tion became so toxic it left thousands dead and sick It was reported that even cows choked to death in the fields f r o m t h e s m o k e l a d e n weather phenomena

L o n d o n i s s t i l l f a c i n g a toxic air problem today,

but new laws aim to signifi cantly reduce the level of toxicity in the capital’s air Smog had been a problem in L o n d o n s i n c e t h e 1 7 0 0 s , a m i d t h e I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n D u r i n g t h i s t i m e , B r i t a i n w i t n e s s e d a dramatic increase in air pol lutant emissions associated with the burning of coal F a c t o r i e s a t t h e t i m e were known to emit gases and particles into the atmo sphere resulting in high lev els of pollutants

40% independent theatres fear closing down this Christmas

Two in five ind epend ent theatres fear they could close their doors for goo d th is C hristmas am id a cost of liv ing crisis that has seen attend ance d rop by as mu ch as a third

Small theatres those with fewer than 300 seats could lose out on more than £845m in ticket sales this year com pared with 2019 as three in five Britons scale back on cultural activities The sector has already faced a difficult few years, with venues closed for long periods of time during the pan demic Some 80% of smaller venues are hosting a Christmas production 42% of which are traditional pantomimes but there are concerns about dwindling audiences Three quar ters say their ticket sales have not returned to pre COVID levels, and most hope to generate around 25% of their rev enue for the year during the festive period, according to research from GoDaddy

4th child dies from Strep A infection

•

Indian Sacrifices for Bangladeshi Freedom

On 16 December 19 71 in Dhaka, th e P akistani military signed th e i nstrument of surrender marki ng th e freeing o f East Paki stan to become th e new natio n of Bangladesh It was o f course India that made thi s history possible when it defeated Pakistan yet again

P a k i s t a n , i n w h a t b e c a m e k n o w n a s ‘ O p e r a t i o n Chengiz Khan’ attacked Indian air stations with aerial strikes The provocation by Pakistan fired the shot that started the Indo Pakistan War of 1971

In thirteen days, the Indian armed forces destroyed the very foundations of the Pakistani military operations Imagine, the Pakistani army was actually attacking its own citizens in East Pakistan

The Pakistani army and its supporters used rape as a weapon It is estimated some 400000 women and young g i r l s w e r e s y s t e m a t i c a l l y r a p e d A u s t r a l i a n d o c t o r , G e o f f r e y D a v i s ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l P l a n n e d P a r e n t h o o d Federation (IPPF) and the United Nations) came to D h a k a a n d w i t n e s s e d t h e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e h o r r o r Alarmingly, Dr Davis intimated that these numbers might be an underestimate There are accounts of women being tied to trees and gang raped, breasts hacked off, bodies dumped in mass graves, and thousands being held in Pakistani rape camps

Indian intervention saved the lives of millions of Bangladeshis It captured more than 93000 Pakistani p r i s o n e r s t o m a r k a n o t h e r h u m i l i a t i n g d e f e a t f o r Pakistan In thirteen days, Pakistan lost the whole of East Pakistan

More! More!

I was delighted to hear enthusiastic cries of "More! More!" from the assembled Tory MPs during a recent session of Prime Minister's Questions as PM Rishi Sunak fired salvo after salvo at his bemused opponent Sir Keir Starmer Rishi must keep up the pressure at PMQs (aired every Wednesday on BBC2 at 12 noon) because Starmer continues to stay well ahead of him in the opinion polls Rishi badly needs to chalk up big successes if the Tories are to win the next General Election Go for it, Rishi Ash Gupta

Unsafe feeding practices warned on rising prices

Increasing num bers of vu lnerable families will be forced to reso rt to u nsafe feeding p ractices d ue to the soaring cost of infant formula, charities hav e w arned

The cost of formula has soared over the last year, with the price of the cheapest brand increasing by 22 per cent, according to an analysis by the British Pregnancy Advisory S e r v i c e ( B P A S ) H e a l t h y S t a r t V o u c h e r s c u r r e n t l y

provide women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who are pregnant or have young children with £8 50 a week, which can be used to buy nutritious food, meaning they are no longer enough to pay for the amount of infant formula needed to safely feed a baby in the first six months of their life, BPAS said NHS guidance recommends that babies are exclusively breastfed for the first year of their lives However, figures suggest that the majority of babies will be partially or fully formula fed by the time they are six to eight weeks old The charity Feed said families that were unable to afford enough infant formula had resorted to watering down the product or feeding their babies unsuitable food, such as porridge

A child who we nt to school in west Lon don ha s be come the fourt h to hav e died from a St re p A in fe ct ion Health officials said the child went to a school in Ealing Dr Yimmy Chow, the health protection consultant at the UK Health Security Agency, said: "We are extremely sad dened to hear about the death of a child at St John's Primary School, and our thoughts are with their family, friends and the school community “Working with Ealing Council public health team, we have provided precautionary advice to the school community to help prevent further cases and we con tinue to monitor the situation closely " Two other schoolchil dren elsewhere in the country have died from the infection in the past seven days Last week, a six year old died after an outbreak of the same infection at a school in Surrey The par ents of a four year old boy from Buckinghamshire have paid tribute after he died on November 14 after contracting a Strep A infection The first signs of scarlet fever can be flu like symptoms, including a high temperature, a sore throat and swollen neck glands A rash appears 12 to 48 hours later which starts on the chest and stomach, then spreads A white coating also appears on the tongue which peels, leaving the tongue red, swollen and covered in little bumps (often called “strawberry tongue”)

VRU to build London coalition of support for inclusion charter

the capital to build a broad coalition of support to develop a London inclusion charter

London’s VRU is commit ted to tackling school exclu sions and firmly believes in the importance of education and the support and guidance that good quality schools, col leges and alternative provi sion settings can give a young person

Today, the VRU’s held its first ever London Education S u m m i t , a s s e m b l i n g y o u n g people, parents and carers,

We have witnessed this pattern of grotesque barbaric behaviour before Time and again, Pakistani sponsored terrorists have attacked India in Jammu and Kashmir In 1991 we all remember the blood curdling cries of attack ers, Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive (convert to Islam, leave or per ish) The Islamists used rape as a weapon It was a geno cide of Hindus in Kashmir (though some like Nadav Lapid, a fellow of IFFI jurors appear to be deniers of truth), but also a genocide of women by using rape as a weapon In the history of India, we have seen the same pattern repeated time and again Each time, rape used by Islamists as a weapon of mass subjugation

We have seen this with other groups of women The Hazara community in Afghanistan and Pakistan faced the same ordeal Add to that how ISIS fighters enslaved Yazidis They transformed Yazidi women into a commod ity, forced to be wives, turned into prostitutes, and the raped became human incubators

T h e t i t l e o f t h i s p i e c e i s , ‘ I n d i a n S a c r i f i c e s f o r Bangladeshi Freedom’ It would be wrong not to mention the sacrifices of the Indian army that also suffered losses The sacrifices of the Bangladeshi people, for the hun dreds of thousands that died in that conflict, and the women who paid the ultimate price Had it not been for India, let us not be in any doubt, the Pakistani armed forces and their ‘friends’ would have massacred millions of Bangladeshis

We also remember the role of the USA, and other western nations who sided with Pakistan The USA hav ing travelled halfway around the world to interfere by entering the Bay of Bengal with its naval presence At the same time, UK dispatched its aircraft carrier HMS Eagle to the Arabian Sea The aim was to corner India from the West, and the East It’s therefore also right that we remember how Russia, a constant friend of India, entered the arena as an independent observer with real power Russia docked its naval might in the Bay of Bengal and stopped western interference in its track

c o m m

i t y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , teachers, local authorities and education specialists togeth er, to develop an agreement for a London partnership that works towards ensuring edu cation provision is available for a wide range of complex needs The VRU’s aspiration is to garner support to devel op a London wide inclusion charter that all London bor oughs contribute to, that are locally designed and led by each local authority in part nership with their schools

Evidence shows that chil dren with a history of either suspension or exclusion from school are more likely to be affected by violence

Western nations will always be shamed since they were happy to stand by and watch the massacre of mil lions of Bangladeshis by Pakistani forces The only force willing to save them was India

T h i r t y o n e y e a r s o n , I r e m i n d o u r B a n g l a d e s h i friends, in your time of need, it was India that came to your rescue and freed the nation There is a massive responsibility on the Government of Bangladesh, and the people of Bangladesh, that they do not allow the Islamists in their country to attack Hindus and other minorities A nation born from the inhumanity of Pakistan cannot, and should not, ever allow itself to become like 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 Shefali at shefali saxena@abplgroup com

Kapil D udakia

Saving Childhood

orphaned or lost the main breadwinner in the family during the pandemic Others lost their livelihoods Even when children did not lose their parents and the latter kept their jobs, they faced struggles with o n l i n e e d u c a t i o n ; a n d o f t e n a m o b i l e shared between siblings would be the sole means of connecting with the school

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 o n l y t h e s e c o n d w o m a n H i g h Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she w i t n e s s e d a n u m b e r o f s i g n i f i c a n t developments in the UK India relations

@RuchiGhanashyam

Acouple of weeks back I hap pened to see a short vid eo film sent by some one in a WhatsApp group T hese days, w ith technolo gy m aking it sim pler to make sh ort film s, o ne gets sev eral unso licited vid eos every d ay on so cial media Like oth ers, I too d elete such v ideos fro m my WhatsA pp regularly S omething abou t th is v ideo inv ited one ’ s attention Perhaps it was th e d es cri pti on , ‘ aw ard wi nni ng short film on child labour’ that caught my attention I was glad to have watched it!

T h e s h o r t f i l m , t i t l e d ‘ B a i t u l l a h ’ i s about a young boy called Baitullah, who works at a tea shop, carries small glasses of tea in a wire rack that holds twelve small glasses of tea These are filled with fresh, hot tea, every morning by the tea stall owner even before sunrise Baitullah goes from shop to stall to private homes, giving people their morning tea He repeats this routine later on during the day! He looks healthy and doesn’t look unhappy Having seen a little boy carrying glasses of tea innumerable times in life and in films, one tends to accept Baitullah’s routine unques tioningly Hints of things not being right come when he looks longingly at a plate of fruits and more so at children going to

It is learnt that data from the national child helpline and anecdotal evidence from the ground point to an increasing number of children being subject to abuse and vio lence, or being forced into labour, early marriage or other gross child rights viola tions National and global authorities also highlighted the spike in cases of online exploitation of children, as further evi dence of the worsening situation for chil dren

The film, Baitullah, is a reminder of the l o s t c h i l d h o o d o f m i l l i o n s o f c h i l d r e n around the globe It has been sponsored by the Mukul Madhav Foundation I was

A happy festive gift: E-visas to India reinstated for UK travellers

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

Covid 19 outbreak in March 2020 Travellers would be able to apply through the same Indian visa website for the e visa

Anno uncement on T witter Vikram Doriaswamy, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, announced the big news through a video he posted on Twitter His Twitter announcement said t h a t t h e “ H i g h Commission of India team i s d e l i g h t e d t o c o n f i r m t h a t e V i s a f a c i l i t y w i l l again be available for UK n a t i o n a l s t r a v e l l i n g t o India System upgrade is underway & the visa web site will soon be ready to receive applications from friends in the UK ” The t e x t a n n o u n c e m e n t a c c o m p a n i e d t h e v i d e o announcement by Vikram himself

A s p e r t h e H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r , " W e a r e r o l l i n g o u t e v i s a s o n c e again and this service will be made available to you forthwith (Dates will be announced shortly) That should enable friends from the UK far more easily to India So welcome back, e visas are up ahead and all of our o t h e r s e r v i c e s i n c l u d i n g v i s a s a t y o u r doorstep remain available to you We look forward to a good winter season in which

those travelling as a group, typically via a travel agency to the same destination using the same flights

How to Ap ply?

As per the Indian government website, e Visas are admissible under 6 categories: e Tourist Visa, e Business Visa, e Medical Visa, e Medical Attendant Visa and e Conference Visa

To apply for an e visa, applicants can

delighted to discover that my friend, Ritu Prakash Chhabria is the Managing Trustee of this Foundation On asking for details of their work, it was heartening to learn that the Foundation is working not just with children but with women and transgenders too Its major intervention in India for chil dren has been with the British Asian Trust (BAT) for the elimination of Child Labour and Protection in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, and for preventing Child Trafficking in vulnerable districts in Bihar

From providing hot meals to the home less and in schools; to supporting children w i t h e d u c a t i o n s c h o l a r s h i p s , s t a t i o n a r y support, mental health awareness sessions

school It’s at this point that one begins to realise that the smiling and happy looking boy is missing out on his childhood

Towards the end, the tea stall owner slaps him for dropping and breaking glass Baitullah gets angry; a police officer steps in and asks him why he isn’t going to school Baitullah then reveals his dream by asking what it would take for him to become like the police officer The next instance, resigned to his fate, Baitullah picks up the broom to clean t h e b r o k e n s h a r d s o f glass from the ground!

In the end, the short film reminds us that every child has a dream and he/she shouldn’t have to spend a lifetime picking pieces of that dream It cites a figure from the 2016 report of the International Labour Organisation, that 152 million children worldwide, between the ages of 5 16 are being forced into child l a b o u r u n d e r u n s p e a k a b l e c o n d i t i o n s

According to UNESCO’s 2017 GMR report, 264 million children worldwide are denied the right to education

These statistics are not the latest, but we know that the impact of the Covid pan demic has been disastrous for families, especially children Several children were

and with regular health c a m p s t o a s s e s s t h e i r well being for those at school, to rescuing chil dren and their rehabilita tion, including of traf ficked children; are some of the activities of the M u k u l M a d h a v Foundation

There are other individuals and organi sations devoted to protecting and nurtur ing children in India and the world Kailash Satyarthi won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work protecting children from child slav ery Many recognised global NGOs are working in this area, apart from UN devel opment agencies All of them need help

Each one of us can find a way to help this noble cause in our own way Let us try and give each child a childhood Let us try and save childhood

Photo Credit: Short film Baitullah (Matheno Films)

everyone gets to celebrate their festivals in India which is the land of festivals "

The news was instantly greeted People on Twitter dubbed the news as ‘excellent’ a n d ‘ w o n d e r f u l ’ T h e t w e e t h a s s o f a r r e c e i v e d h u n d r e d s o f responses from travellers and future travellers who have described it as a ‘big relief’

It was reported earlier that many Britons had to cancel or postpone their holiday plans to India after v i s a a g e n t s i n t h e U K received notices that they could no longer apply for tourist visas on behalf of the applicant There has b e e n a g r o w i n g b a c k l o g recently for Indian visas as applicants lament the lack of open appointments and protracted processing times M easures to boost Indian v isa p rocessing

The long awaited move for e visa fol lows several measures undertaken to boost Indian visa processing facilities, including a new Indian visa centre in central London and Visa at Your Doorstep (VAYD) service, to a d d r e s s t h e h i g h p o s t p a n d e m i c t r a v e l demand from the UK to India The new I n d i a V i s a A p p l i c a t i o n C e n t r e ( I V A C ) a t Marylebone is operated by VFS Global, the o u t s o u r c i n g a n d t e c h n o l o g y s e r v i c e s provider for governments and diplomatic missions, which has also facilitated a more streamlined process for group tourism or

visit the official website of the government i e indianvisaonline gov in Click on ‘Apply here for e visa’ on the website and fill in the required information and the category of e v i s a t h e a p p l i c a n t w i s h e s t o a p p l y f o r Upload a Photo and Passport Page

After this is done, pay the e Visa fee online using a Credit / Debit card / Payment Wallet The fees are coun t r y s p e c i f i c E l e c t r o n i c Travel Authorization/ETA will be sent to the provided email Print ETA and pre s e n t i t a t I m m i g r a t i o n Check Post where the e Visa will be stamped on the passport After the e Visa application is submit ted, the same shall be scru t i n i z e d a n d i f a n y D o c u m e n t / I m a g e i s n o t appropriate, the applicant m a y b e a d v i s e d o n t h e given email to re upload the same To re upload use the tab at the bottom of the page Applicants should normally receive this mail within 24 hours

Time and Fees

The e Visa application may take 72 hours or more for processing They will be intimat e d a b o u t t h e i r V i s a s t a t u s ( G r a n t e d o r Rejected) on the provided email id provided in the e Visa application

The processing fees are country specific Currently, as per the website, for an e tourist visa, the fee ranges from $10 $80 depending on the duration of the visa applied The fee charges for e Business, e Medical, e Medical Attendant and e Conference Visa ranges from $80 $100 There is no fee other than the processing fee for the e Visa application and it is non refundable the website states It is important to note that only indian visaonline gov in is the official website to apply for e Visa services

Editorial credit Gritsana P Shutterstock

SCRUTATOR’S

Miscreants ‘steal’

2 km road in Bihar

Bihar is witnessing a streak of bizarre thefts for last few months where thieves have been involved in burglary of stuff that seem far fetching After iron bridge, train engine and mobile tower, a theft of a village road in Bihar’s Banka district is making the headlines Isn’t it mind boggling? Villagers and people living nearby slept at night only to find out in the morning that the only road connecting their village to the outside world had disappeared. They were out and out astonished to find out there were just fields with crop sown over the 2 km long stretch. As per the reports some thugs used tractors and plow to turn the road into an agricultural land overnight, as per a report They sow wheat on the land When locals objected to the exercise, the ruffians retaliated by attacking and threatening them. Since the road had disappeared, locals been using footpaths to travel outside the village. However, several villagers reported the incident to Zonal Officer who assured strict action against miscreants He said the road will be reinstated soon (Agency)

after completing his studies Born on April 16, 2018, the child was enrolled this year in nursery class at Serkong Public School, Tabo “The lamas contacted us and asked if we shall give our child to them They told us about the reincarnation of the Rinpoche We told them that we were extremely happy and why would we not give our child to the noble cause, ” said Nawang’s grandfather Tsetan Angchuk His father and mother were happy and sad at the same time (Agency)

India’s Presidency of G20 in 2022 23, the statement said “India and Egypt enjoy warm and friendly relations based on civilisational and deep rooted people to people ties,” the statement said Leaders of friendly nations have graced the Republic Day celebrations since 1950, when the then Indonesian President Sukarno was invited as the chief guest (Agency) HC bars ‘unauthorised’ use of Big B’s name, voice

Debt hit techie kills daughter, tries to end life

A 32 year old Delhi based passenger, Harikesh Kumar Dubey, travelling the Puri bound Neelachal Express died after a five foot long and 1 5 inch thick iron rod came crashing through the window and pierced his neck near Aligarh last week The freak accident occurred when the train was running between Danwar (Bulandshahr) and Somna (Aligarh) railway station in the Prayagraj division of UP The passenger was sitting by the window in the coach next to the engine when the rod pierced his neck The train was later stopped at Aligarh junction The matter is being investigated in detail by a joint team of the railway protection force (RPF) and government railway police Assistant security commissioner of RPF, Surendra Pratap Singh, said, “A sharp and pointed iron rod pierced several inches through the portion dividing the two compartments There could have been more fatalities It was a lucky escape for other passengers The type of iron rod involved in the incident is normally used by railways for civil works The passenger's body has been sent for postmortem (Agency)

4 year old to head Tibetan Buddhism’s Nyingma sect

Student caned for posting teacher's pic with caption 'boring class'

A teacher in Telangana's Kamareddy district allegedly caned a student for posting a picture of her with caption “boring class” on a social media platform, police said A purported video of the female teacher caning the girl student has gone viral The girl found to be at the receiving end is a first year intermediate student at the institute in Madnoor mandal She had reportedly clicked pictures of the teacher using a cell phone during the class and posted it on a social media platform, captioning it "boring" class When the teacher was made aware of the social media post, she questioned the student who reportedly apologised The teacher, however, beat her up along with some of her classmates inside the classroom, according to the report Another student present in the classroom captured the incident on cell phone, which then went viral on social media The student lodged a complaint with the police after which a case under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act and IPC was registered against the teacher (Agency) Egypt president to be R Day chief guest

Amitabh Bachchan’s voice, image, name or personality attributes can’t be used without his permission, the Delhi HC said in an interim order, on a suit filed by the veteran actor Bachchan had moved court alleging exploitation of his “publicity rights as a celebrity” by several individuals, including the person behind a “KBC lottery” to scam the public Granting relief to the 80 year old actor, justice Navin Chawla said he was a wellknown personality across the globe and his wrongful representation “ may even bring disrepute” to him “The plaintiff is aggrieved that defendants are unauthorisedly using his celebrity status to promote goods and services without his permission or authorisation,” the judge noted (Agency)

Wrestler confesses to molesting 100 women

A four year old boy from Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti has been ordained as the head of Dorje Drak monastery in Shimla after the monks identified him as the reincarnation of Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, supreme head of the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism It ended an almost 6 year search for a head of the oldest sect in all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, following the death of the Rinpoche on December 24, 2015, whose body was preserved at his monastery for a long time before cremation A team of lamas reached Rangrik village in Spiti’s Pin valley last week to take Nawang Tashi Rapten with them His enthronement ceremony was held at Dorje Drak monastery, but he will take full charge

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in January, the ministry of external affairs said “This is the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt will be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day,” the MEA said in a statement PM Narendra Modi had sent a formal invitation to al Sisi which was handed over to the Egyptian president by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on October 16 Both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year Egypt has been invited as a ‘Guest Country’ during

A Gujarat based wrestling champion was arrested for allegedly molesting a yoga teacher in Rajkot but his confessions of resorting to the same pervert behaviour with at least 100 women left even the cops shocked Wrestler Kaushal Pipaliya, 24, who bagged gold medals in 74kg freestyle wrestling in the state level championship in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, was arrested when his name was revealed after he molested a yoga teacher and disappeared A complaint was registered with the Malaviyanagar police station by the victim on November 23 She told the police that a man was sitting in the parking lot where she had parked her two wheeler and was about to take the lift when he suddenly appeared in front of her and barred her from closing the escalator door

Thereafter, the accused, who wore a mask, proceeded to remove his pants and made vulgar gestures at her When she pushed her way out of the lift and rebuked him, he tried to physically abuse her and even slapped and attempted to throttle her When she began to scream, he fled, she told the police Police said that Pipaliya has admitted to having molested around 100 women and was getting pervert pleasure from his vile act (The Times of India)

Harassment by lenders prompted techie Rahul Paramar (45) to kill his two and a half year old daughter and end his life He bought biscuits and chocolates for his daughter after driving out of Bengaluru He even played with her in the rear seat But thoughts of harassment by lenders prevented him from returning home and he did the unimaginable killing the little girl before trying to end his life But the techie survived the suicide attempt He told police, “she started crying and I didn’t have any money left with me A worse situation awaited me if I returned home I just hugged her tight and killed her My helplessness to buy her food made me take the decision I jumped into the lake with her to kill myself, but didn’t drown,” he claimed Rahul, who was arrested by the police on charges of killing his daughter Jiya and dumping her body in a lake Police sources said Rahul was disturbed while trying to explain how it all unfolded “He took some time to get down from the vehicle In the beginning, he wept inconsolably But he gained control of himself and started narrating his version By then, he saw his father Vinod Paramar and wife Bhavya standing on the lake bed and again broke down Rahul said he regrets killing his daughter, but had no choice,” sources said (Agency)

Teacher calls Muslim student ‘Kasab’, gets suspended

An assistant professor at Udupi's

Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) was taken off the roster after he was purportedly caught on camera calling a student “Kasab” in the classroom, alluding to the lone Pakistani terrorist captured alive during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks The unnamed teacher is seen in the viral video defending his remark as "a joke" when confronted by the student at whom it was directed When the assistant professor repeats that he didn't mean to hurl a slur, the student counters him with, "Will you talk to your son like that? Will you call him by the name of a terrorist? You can’t call me that " The exchange was recorded on a mobile phone by one of the other students in the classroom The institute issued a statement condemning the incident and ordered a probe "We would like everyone to know that the institute does not condone this kind of behaviour, and this isolated incident will be dealt with in accordance with the laid down policy" it said (Agency)

Man dies on train as iron rod pierces neck

An Early Philanthopist, Physician and War Veteran

to cross the seas and visit a foreign land Thus this act was strictly for bidden by many Against all the odds of society, Bhola Nath Bose and his co students not only trav elled to England and earned their certificates but also established s u c c e s s f u l c a r e e r s o n c e t h e y returned back to India His col leagues in this legendary endeav o u r w e r e D w a r k a N a t h B o s e , G o p a l C h u n d e r S e a l a n d S o o r j o c o o m a r G o o d e v e

Akshata Murthy took style advice from Kate Middleton?

Way b ef or e t h e e st ab l is h ment of the Universit y of C a l c ut t a , fo ur I n di a n s from B engal w ere sponsored by a c o n so rt iu m c o mp ri s in g B a b oo Dwarka Nath Tagore, t he Direct ors o f t h e Ea s t I n d ia C om pa n y a n d other b en efactors to study medicine in England under t he guardian ship of Dr Henry Goodeve a n d t he n he ra l d a new age of w est ern m ed i c in e o n t h e ir return to In dia

The timing of this e v e n t w a s a l m o s t a d e c a d e a f t e r t h e establishment of the first modern Medical College in the shape o f t h e C a l c u t t a M e d i c a l C o l l e g e i n 1835 which was built o n a p l o t o f l a n d donated by the legendary shipping m a g n a t e a n d p h i l a n t h r o p i s t M r Mutty Lall Seal The students thus selected for this overseas endeavour were those who belonged to the most erudite class of medical stu dents and one of them was Mr Bhola Nath Bose who was already a stu dent of the college for quite a few years

Earl y Years

Bhola Nath Bose was born in the year 1825 The early years of his life were spent in Barrackpore where he received his early education in the p r e s e n t d a y B a r r a c k p o r e Government High School which was s e t u p b y L o r d A u c k l a n d , t h e G o v e r n o r G e n e r a l h i m s e l f w h o would often visit it along with oth ers It was in this institution that Lord Auckland came across a bright individual by the name of Bhola Nath Bose whom he would go on to patronise for ages to come After his s c h o o l i n g d a y s w e r e o v e r , L o r d Auckland ensured that Bhola Nath Bose received admission to Calcutta Medical College It was here that he further excelled and was among the brightest candidates of the institu tion Lord Auckland also ensured that Bhola Nath Bose received a stipend of Rupees Ten every month, a responsibility which he ensured from his own estate When Bhola Nath Bose was finally selected to travel to England, while it may seem like a great opportunity to many but o n e s h o u l d n o t f o r g e t t h e t i m e frame of the incident, that being m o r e t h a n a d e c a d e b e f o r e t h e I n d i a n R e b e l l i o n o f 1 8 5 7 1 8 5 8

Around this time it was considered a taboo among many Indian families

Chuckerbutty Lord Auckland on D r B h o l a n a t h B o s e ' s r e t u r n t o India reportedly sent him a mone tary gift as a sign of remembrance R et urn From Engl and B h o l a n a t h B o s e e a r n e d h i s MRCS and then a first division Bachelor of Medicine degree The b o o k " C o u n t e r f l o w s t o C o l o n i a l i s m : I n d i a n T r a v e l l e r s and Settlers in Britain 1600 1857" by Michael H Fisher states that Bhola Nath Bose was awarded gold medals in Botany and Comparative A n a t o m y a n d s i l v e r m e d a l s i n Chemistry and Materia Medica He a l s o e a r n e d c e r t i f i c a t e s i n Midwifery, the practice of Medicine and Surgery He finally followed this with an MD degree and thus he

In mere 1 0 mo nth s, Aks hata M urth y has definitely ad opted th e art o f d i p l o m at ic dressing For the v isit fro m U krai ne's Fi rs t Lad y, Olena Zelenska, M u rth y ch o s e t h e perfect ou tfit under standing that her o ut fit choice w ill be scrutinised C o n s i d e r i n g t h e c u r r e n t cost of living crisis, anything w i t h a f o u r f i g u r e p r i c e t a g would obviously have been con

sidered eyebrow r a i s i n g S o , instead, she went f o r a n a v y b l u e d r e s s d e m u r e with its collar and b e l o w t h e k n e e l e n g t h f r o m Beulah London P r i c e d a t

£820, it's a firm favourite of K a t e M i d d l e t o n ' s , w h i c h means it was nevertheless cho sen to send a subtle message T h e m i s s i o n o f B e u l a h

London is to empower vulner a b l y a n d t r a f f i c k e d w o m e n through the business of fash ion 'Our alternative business model what we have termed our Freedom Model is a vir tuous circle built to enable the women in our supply chain to gain sustainable employment b y i n c o r p o r a t i n g t r a d i t i o n a l c r a f t s t e c h n i q u e s s u c h a s hand weaving and embroidery into our collections,' Beulah London's website reads

Met officer compares Suella Braverman's migrants' speech to Rivers of Blood

Suella Braverm an ’ s co mm ents on im migration are being com pared to Enoch Po well’s infa mous Rivers of Blood speech by Bri ta i n ’ s m o s t s eni o r A si a n police officer

The UK’s former head of c o u n t e r t e r r o r i s m N e i l B a s u described the Home Secretary’s choice of language on the asy lum issue as “inexplicable” and “horrific”

Ms Braverman is being crit icised for her statement when

she said she dreamed of sending migrants to Rwanda and also when she described the current crisis as an “invasion”

During an interview ahead o f h i s r e t i r e m e n t f r o m t h e Metropolitan Police, Basu said

such language reminded him of the racism his family faced fol lowing Powell’s inflammatory speech

He told Channel 4 News: “I find some of the commentary coming out of the Home Office inexplicable It is unbelievable to hear a succession of very powerful politicians who look like this, talking in a language t h a t m y f a t h e r w o u l d h a v e r e m e m b e r e d f r o m 1 9 6 8 I t ' s horrific ”

Queen Consort condemns violence against women

Th e Queen C onso rt, C am illa has warned of a "global pan d em i c o f v i o l enc e ag a i ns t women" and has called for an end to these "h einous crim es"

S h e w a s s p e a k i n g a t a Buckingham Palace event high lighting the threat of domestic a b u s e a n d v i o l e n c e a g a i n s t women

one her most personal causes

She spoke about the issue against the background of the U n i t e d N a t i o n s ' " 1 6 d a y s o f activism against gender based violence"

probably became the first Indian to earn that advanced degree alongside being the first Indian to earn a for eign degree On his return to India from England after three years of s t u d y , h e w a s d e s i g n a t e d a s a n Uncovenanted Medical Officer He w a s a p p o i n t e d S u r g e o n a n d S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f S u k e a L a n e ' s Dispensary in Calcutta, present day Kolkata He also had a respectable military career and served in the Anglo Sikh War of 1848 1849 and was thus awarded a medal with a clasp He also went on to serve in the Santhal Rebellion of 1855 It is not sure why he never appeared for t h e I n d i a n M e d i c a l S e r v i c e Examination in 1855 when it was open to the Indians but it might have been the result of his advanced age and secured job and medical practice in India Dr Bose served for many years as Civil Medical Officer in Faridpur, undivided Bengal Las t Years & Legacy

This son of Bengal finally met his end as a result of a carbuncle in his neck in 1884 It should be noted that some old reports also report the year of his death as 1882 While he left the mortal world his philan thropic side ensured his presence in the medical world with the estab lishment of two separate dispen saries which were founded with the contribution of money and property from his estate including one in B a r r a c k p o r e T o d a y t h e D o c t o r B h o l a N a t h B o s e S u b D i v i s i o n a l Hospital in Barrackpore not only bears the name of this legendary doctor but also continues serving society as a medical institution of repute

T h e Q u e e n C o n s o r t s a i d s u r v i v o r s o f d o m e s t i c a b u s e n e e d t o b e " l i s t e n e d t o a n d believed"

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e p a l a c e sources, Queen Consort feels "passionately" about this issue a n d w a s t h e h i g h e s t p r o f i l e effort to raise awareness about

" W o r l d w i d e , m o r e t h a n 2,000 women will be killed by a partner or a member of their o w n f a m i l y , " t h e Q u e e n Consort told more than 300 guests at the Violence Against Women and Girls reception

S h e s a i d o n e i n t h r e e w o m e n a c r o s s t h e i r l i f e t i m e , would face domestic violence

Among those attending the r e c e p t i o n a t B u c k i n g h a m P a l a c e w e r e S o p h i e , t h e

C o u n t e s s o f W e s s e x , H o m e Secretary Suella Braverman

British army used to "bail out failing services"

As the NH S and Civil Ser vice announce strike s, British force s a r e b e i n g w it h d r a wn fr om Estonia to “bail out fail in g ser vices”

Nurses have announced that t h e y w o u l d g o o n s t r i k e o n T h u r s d a y 1 5 a n d T u e s d a y 2 0 D e c e m b e r w h i l e c i v i l s e r v i c e departments like the UK Border Force have announced strikes for the month UK troops may have to take over and fill in for staff short

a g e s c a u s e d b y t h e s t r i k e s , putting a stop to their defensive duties in Estonia, following ris ing fears from Russia

It is believed that the shad o w d e f e n c e s e c r e t a r y J o h n Healey wrote to defence secre tary Ben Wallace warning that troops “ may be diverted from e s s e n t i a l d e f e n c e t a s k s ” t o accommodate for staffing gaps c a u s e d b y s t r i k e s i n B o r d e r Force, the NHS and elsewhere As per the reports, army offi

cers know how to drive ambu lances and are qualified to stand in for frontline hospital staff in case of an emergency and the government has to deal with a winter of strikes in the NHS

Along with this, around 600 uniformed soldiers were being trained to cover for immigration staff this winter following the d e c i s i o n o f t a k i n g i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n b y t h e P u b l i c a n d C o m m e r c i a l S e r v i c e s ( P C S ) Union

Covid no longer excuse for Royal Mail to miss delivery targets

Owi ng to the pande mic, Roy al Mai l h ad fa il ed to me et i ts deli ve ry targ ets f or 20 21 2022, Br i t a i n s c o m mu n i c a t i o n s wa t ch d og Of com conclu de d but ha s warned the post and parcel serv ices compa ny t hat h e nc e f o r t h i t ca nn o t us e COV ID as an e xcuse T h e r e g u l a t o r , w h i c h began probing in May, said R o y a l M a i l , o w n e d b y I n t e r n a t i o n a l D i s t r i b u t i o n s Services Plc (IDSI L), was not i n b r e a c h o f i t s r e g u l a t o r y obligations for the period H o w e v e r , t h e p e r f o r mance of Royal Mail into the

2 0 2 2 2 3 p e r i o d w a s " f a l l i n g well short of where it should be", Ofcom added " O u r f o c u s r e m a i n s t o restore our service to the high s t a n d a r d s o u r c u s t o m e r s e x p e c t t o r e c e i v e , " a R o y a l Mail spokesperson said in an emailed statement

The findings have come as t h e m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 y e a r o l d company is under the pres sure of settling a damaging dispute with its largest labour u n i o n o v e r p a y a n d o t h e r w o r k p o l i c i e s , w a r n i n g o f severe losses and job cuts if the strike action is not called

off

"Looking back at last year, C O V I D 1 9 w a s c l e a r l y s t i l l having a significant impact on R o y a l M a i l ' s o p e r a t i o n s , " L i n d s e y F u s s e l l , O f c o m ' s group director for networks and communications, said in a statement

"However, the company's had plenty of time to learn lessons from the pandemic, and cannot continue to use it as an excuse," Fussell added

The regulator also said it w o u l d b e o b s e r v i n g R o y a l M a i l ' s p e r f o r m a n c e f o r t h e rest of the year

Dr Bhola Nath Bose

Abhiroop Sengupta

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

and f o r m e r S p i c e G i r l M e l a n i e B r o w n , w h o w e l c o m e d t h e Queen Consort's initiative, say ing it was "brave for her to give awareness to something that is somewhat still a taboo"

The Rabit’s Hole - carefully designed speakeasy cocktail bar

Ajay Kalsi is an ambitious and enthusias tic entrepreneur as well as an aerospace engineer As he progressed in his career as an aerospace engineer he was also developing the skill of organising events and weddings not only in the UK but abroad as well. This skill made him realise that he could start his own business down the line, and he started looking into hospitality a little closer and saw a gap

The gap between the golden ages of cocktails and the new generation of cocktails This gap influenced and encouraged him to start this new journey of The Rabbits Hole and bring back the art and crafts of the golden time Every little bit of The Rabbits Hole was built from scratch Ajay designed each and every corner of it, he dedicated himself to bringing his dreams into reality

He exclusively spoke to Asian Voice about his speakeasy cocktail bar

When

did you start The Rabbit’s Hole?

The Rabbit’s Hole opened in September 2022 The progression from start to finish acquired almost five years as Covid 19 triggered a vast unanticipated deferral During these five years, continuous work and research were

transmitted to shape a strong and clear foundation to reach people’s hearts through our dedication and enthusiasm

What makes The Rabbits Hole more special?

All our unique cocktails are freshly made in the bar using fresh ingredients We want to bring back the lost art of cocktails through a beautiful blend of freshness and creativity

The Rabbit’s Hole tributes to the golden age of cocktails, bringing to you over 140 classic cocktails and ten of our own signature cocktails which are presented to you through a unique board game

The Rabbit’s Hole has been carefully designed to showcase an elegant setting for all our guests assuring a great customer experience

How

has the cost of living crisis impacted your business?

Unfortunately, this has impacted us from the front end as well as the back end On the front end, we have seen a small decrease in the number of clients, although due to our reasonable prices and

amazing customer service we have kept our regular clients which we are proud of making in such a short period of time In the back end, we have been impacted by an increase in costs from suppliers, despite this, we are determined to not let this affect the quality of drinks provided to our clients

How has the autumn statement impacted you?

The autumn statement has currently left us unknown of the future as the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which has been supporting non domestic users of energy such as ourselves will change after 31st March 2023, and a treasury led review will determine the support for non domestic energy users Along with this, the business properties will be revalued for business tax from 1st April 2023 Although the help with the uncertainty the Autumn statement has ensured that there is a transnational relief provided to limit bill increases following the revaluation of the business rates Furthermore, the retail, hospitality and leisure relief is being extended and increased from 50% to 75% in 2023/24

Historic Royal Palaces launches appeal for South Asian

Boy meets Rishi Sunak for Christmas tree lights switch on M

ilan Paul Kumar, aged 1 0, fro m Bolto n Greater Manchester, who attend s Bolton Schoo l Junior Boys is also the Bolto n New s Yo ung Person o f the Year He self published a book in 2020 called Co vid C hristmas Parad e about a young boy sp read ing festiv e cheer during the pandemic with proceeds fro m th e book g oing tow ards the National Literacy T rust and raised over £ 10, 000 by supporting the ch arity He w as even praised by the Duch ess of Cornw all, who is a p atron for h is efforts

objects and memories at Hampton Court Palace

I n 1919, the grounds of Hampton Court Palace played host to a large conti ngent of Indian soldiers taking part in the post war Peace Celebrati ons H aving fought in the Fi rs t World War, almost 1800 Indian A

WW1

reated to hous

them during thei r stay, which was one of the largest gatherings of people from Indi a and South Asia ever as sembled in Britain at the time Now, for the fi rst time, their contributi on to the war and their visit to Hampton Court will b e marked by a new dis play due to open at the Palac e in 2023, exploring their story and experiences

T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t f o l l o w s t h e s u c c e s s f u l r e t u r n o f t h e S t a n d i n g w i t h Giants installation in the Palace’s East Front Gardens this November Over 100 life sized soldier silhouettes went on show including specially commissioned ones representing the Indian soldiers who took up residence on the Hampton Court estate for both the coronations of King Edward VII in 1902 and King George V in 1911, and again for the First World War Victory Parade in London The new display, opening in September 2023, will go one step further in shining a light on the encampments, including the story of the 1919 Peace Celebrations, where the soldiers set sail from India to England to t a k e p a r t i n a c o m m e m o r a t i v e p a r a d e through central London The camp was built following instructions from the King that ‘everything possible should be done for the comfort of the men ’ Accommodations w e r e m a d e t o m e e t t h e c u l t u r a l a n d religious requirements of the soldiers, and recognising that this was the first visit to England for the vast majority of those in attendance the soldiers were entertained with excursions to attractions in London and across the country, including trips to the Tower of London and a Chelsea football match The intimate display will explore the Indian soldiers experience within camp and more widely in England, with many of them visiting the country for the very first time It will also look more widely at the South A s i a n p r e s e n c e i n B r i t a i n i n t h e e a r l y

twentieth century and its impact W h i l e o f f i c i a l r e c o r d s o f t h e encampment and parades can be found in archives, the display also aims to explore the human stories of the soldiers who attended t h e m a n d s h a r e a n i n s i g h t i n t o t h e i r p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s A s p a r t o f t h i s , H i s t o r i c R o y a l P a l a c e s ( H R P ) t h e i n d e p e n d e n t c h a r i t y t h a t c a r e s f o r Hampton Court Palace is appealing to people from the South Asian community or those who have South Asian heritage to contribute objects and memories in order to reflect the various national occasions that I n d i a n s o l d i e r s c a m p e d a t t h e P a l a c e Objects can relate to themes of World War One or Two, the Indian army, or various royal coronations (up to and including the coronation of King George VI in 1937), e n c o m p a s s i n g a n y t h i n g f r o m l e t t e r s t o photographs, recipes or drawings that speak to the South Asian role in these historical events HRP are also working with local South Asian community groups, who are helping to expand the Palace’s history to include stories such as the encampment Representatives from the groups which include A Little History of the Sikhs, who develop tours and lectures to introduce Sikh, Anglo Sikh and Panjabi history to new a u d i e n c e s w i l l h e l p t o s e l e c t o b j e c t s submitted within the call out Zakira Begum, Interpretation Assistant, at Historic Royal Palaces said, “We’re really excited to be shining a spotlight on the stories of the Indian soldiers encampment a t H a m p t o n C o u r t P a l a c e n e x t y e a r , celebrating the contribution that they made

to the Palace’s history Working with South Asian community groups has been a key part of bringing this story to life, and we look forward to seeing the objects people share with us to form part of the d i s p l a y H a v i n g s e e n t h e e m o t i o n a l i m p a c t t h e S t a n d i n g w i t h G i a n t s installation had on our visitors and the connections it created, we know that we have more work to do and look forward t o e x p l o r i n g t h i s s t o r y f u r t h e r W e e n c o u r a g e a n y o n e w i t h S o u t h A s i a n connections to delve into their attics and share their stories and memories of their ancestors with us, and look forward to s h a r i n g t h e s e w i t h o u r v i s i t o r s n e x t

September ”

Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill, military expert at A little History of the Sikhs, said: “In 2021, and 2022, the Standing with Giants project has given us a platform to shine a light on the historic relationship between t h e I n d i a n A r m y a n d H a m p t o n C o u r t Palace This manifested in the form of presentations and tours It was clear that our audiences were intrigued to hear of the hidden stories of our forefathers contained within the walls of the Royal Palace, and a connection that nearly all were unaware of It is therefore pertinent that these stories are further explored Through our research and outreach work, we have established connections with descendants of Indian soldiers who resided in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace in the first half of the twentieth century at historic events such as Coronations We look forward to d e v e l o p i n g u p o n t h i s r e s e a r c h a n d s u p p o r t i n g t h e t e a m a t H i s t o r i c R o y a l

Palaces to interpret submissions from our community to the call out and working on the display at the Hampton Court Palace in 2023 ”

For more details on how to contribute an object for consideration for display, please visit www hrp org uk/hampton court palace/indian soldiers exhibition object call Entries close on 01 January 2023 Full terms and conditions for submissions, as well as consent to share information, can be found on the webpage above

During the event, Milan met Sunak and his wife Ashkata Murty The prime minister welcomed Milan with a friendly smile and ‘hi His wife led him up the stairs to the reception rooms and interacted with him Milan spoke to Ashkata on two separate occasions Later he managed to see Sunak again at the end to say ‘bye and thank you ’

“I had the honour and privilege of meeting the Prime Minister and his wife at 10 Downing Street They are such lovely, friendly, down to earth people Thank you for welcoming me into your home,” Milan said after the meeting

Shefali Saxena

Ajay Kalsi

Milan met prime minister Rishi Sunak for the Christmas tree lights switch on event at 10 Downing Street During the event Christmas carols were sung, the brass band played and after a 5 second countdown Sunak lit up the tree which is tall enough to reach the first floor of Number 10, and is topped with a golden star This year's tree came from Staffordshire

He received a personal invitation from Sunak The prime minister also welcomed Ukrainians who had found shelter in Britain, serving personnel from Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire and Points of Light award winners for the event

Hema Pindolia: The Fantastical

Sunetra Senior

Fine, fun p ieces define the work of talented v isual artist, Hema, who u ni qu el y bl end s th e sc ien ti fi c and creative to produce spectacular grap hic prints One piece m ay depict fru i ty c of fee as w ell as th e cu rv y, plump beans of wh ich the popu lar d ri n k is c o m p r is e d w h i l e a no t h er mig ht deconstruct a wo man w ith a fri lly u m brella i nto sev eral s lend er dancers w ith the brolly transfo rmed into three w ebbed tutus Interestingly, Hem a currently works fulltime as a scientific research assistant in vaccine d ev el op m ent w h e re h er bu d d i ng ar ti st ry p r o v i d es a c o m p l em en ta ry es c ap e: “ I fe el fre e p a in ti ng , ” th e yo ung artist com mented “It’s wh ere I am able to exercise entirely another part of my brain I d on’t need to solv e an equation or m anag e v olatile ch em icals It’s relaxing and provid es a break from wh at i s an otherwis e intense job ” In fact, Hem a ’ s art demonstrates a merging o f two world s wh ere precise obs erv atio n is exp lod ed wi thin th e imagination There exists an almost analytical attention to detail ap plied to the wonder of the ev eryday, ulti mately colourfully celebrating it ***

“There is definitely a relationship between my work in the lab and the images I create I enjoy nature, both animals and people, and this is at the

heart of my work ” In short, the artist emphatically focuses on the vitality of l i f e “ M y f o r m a t i v e w o r k s w o u l d include sketches of cells and a paint ing I have completed of Hydrangea flowers is actually hanging up in the c o m m o n r o o m a t m y w o r k p l a c e ! ” H e m a ’ s r e g u l a r l y c o m m i s s i o n e d pieces are often of personal nostalgic m o m e n t s w h i c h a r e r e q u e s t e d b y clients e g , a couple laughing on their wedding day, individual and group portraits and babies and pets These, t o o , c o n t a i n t h e a r t i s t ’ s s i g n a t u r e flourish where ordinary but signifi cant moments are dreamily embel

H e m a a l s o c r e a t e s l a n d s c a p e s , e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e and abstract art: two red phone booths b r i g h t l y b e c k o n y o u into the moody back drop of London, for example, and flamin g o s d o n ’ t j u s t w a l k , b u t s e e m t o d a n c e together in the water in another “Van Gogh is one of my favourite i n s p i r a t i o n s , ” H e m a c o n c l u d e d , “ a n d h i s w o r k ’ S u n f l o w e r s ’ i s b e a u t i f u l I l o v e t h e hidden depth to his work ” Indeed, in that one simple piece, the l e g e n d a r y a r t i s t e n c a p s u l a t e s t h e grand paradox that is both life and d e a t h F i n a l l y , n o t only does Hema epit o m i s e t h e a l l u r e o f strong engaging art, b u t a l s o i l l u m i n a t e s i t s e n i g m a t i c s e c r e t for us: to not simply a p p e a r s t r i k i n g , b u t further intellectually compel Is your artwo rk pri m ar il y s h o w c as ed on Instagram, or w ill we find it hang ing in o ther places too?

I would love to see where the commis sioned works take me I am still enjoy ing exploring within the discipline too e g I recently got into digital art and have painted a few works, playing around It is not exactly the same experience as traditional paints but

UK's first space launch soon

The UKs first space la un ch could st ill ha ppen t his ye ar bu t , w it h a t le a st f o ur li ce n ce s o ut s t a n d in g , I T V N e w s c a n r e v e a l o ffi c ia ls ha ve be en t old it m a y be 20 2 3 be fo r e V i r g i n O r b it la unches

T h e I r i s h A v i a t i o n A u t h o r i t y ( I A A ) t o l d I T V News they are “working on t h e b a s i s o f V i r g i n O r b i t activity taking place some t i m e b e t w e e n 1 2 t h December and 6th January 2023 ” The IAA have yet to give approval for the flight to operate in their airspace, although they say the “ per m i t a p p l i c a t i o n i s a t a mature stage, and is pro

gressing consistent with the launch timetable ”

The planned flight from Newquay Airport will head west into the Atlantic from where it will launch a rocket, from under the wing of a 747 aircraft, with its payload of satellites Virgin Orbit have planned for “the proposed t r a j e c t o r y o f t h e L a u n c h e r O n e r o c k e t [ t o ] begin at a drop point south west of Ireland [continuing] s o u t h s o u t h w e s t o v e r t h e A t l a n t i c O c e a n w e s t o f France, Spain, and Portugal "

The flight will use the a i r s p a c e o f f o u r n a t i o n s Regulatory approval is tak ing time

Indian startup wins £1m Earthshot Prize

Ind ian startup Kh eyti, a pio neering s o luti on fo r loc al sm all h o ld e r fa rm e rs to reduce costs, increase yields, and p rotect liv elihood s on th e fr o ntl in es o f c li m a te ch a ng e , w as a m o ng f i v e winners of T he Earthsh ot P ri ze f o r th e i r g ro u nd brea ki ng s o lu ti on s to th e g re ate st en v i ro nm e nt al challenges facing the planet

very interesting

Do you use a d iverse range of medi ums usually?

Yes! I have been using acrylics, charcoal, oils, inks and watercolours I enjoy inks in particular I’ve also just put down the implements and used my fingers and pieces of raw material such as cardboard to capture an idea I love the experimental hands on ele ment I think this general approach allows me to best produce a particular piece

Wh

a t h as b een a h i g h li g h t m oment?

When one of my paintings was h u n g a t t h e c o f f e e s h o p w h e r e I worked That was wonderful I also enjoy hearing the feedback from cus t o m e r s w h o ’ v e e n q u i r e d a f t e r t h e pieces and even asked me to do more pieces for them

Wh at makes a strong visual artist?

Yes, but I do have works in coffee shops and would love to get work into

Of course, the attention to detail Also, patience is crucial Often you are building up layers as you paint You also have to be creative and think about your pieces properly the little things can be enough to inspire you Fin al ly, w h a t i s y o u r a d v i c e to other up and com ing artists?

Prince William and The Earthshot Prize revealed in Boston recently, the 2022 winners an accomplished group of entrepreneurs and i n n o v a t o r s s p e a r h e a d i n g groundbreaking solutions to repair and regenerate the p l a n e t E a c h w i n n e r w a s awarded a 1 million pound prize at the second annual Earthshot Prize awards cer emony

I n s p i r e d b y l a t e U S President John F Kennedy’s Moonshot challenge in the 1 9 6 0 s , w h i c h u n i t e d m i l lions of people around the goal of putting a person on the moon within a decade, The Earthshot Prize aims to d i s c o v e r a n d h e l p s c a l e i n n o v a t i v e s o l u t i o n s t h a t put the world firmly on a trajectory toward a stable climate by 2030 a world i n w h i c h c o m m u n i t i e s , oceans and biodiversity can thrive in harmony Kheyti has developed a simple solu tion that is already having a c o n s i d e r a b l e i m p a c t I t s G r e e n h o u s e i n a B o x i s d e s i g n e d f o r s m a l l h o l d farmers and the crops they grow, offering shelter from unpredictable elements and destructive pests

Achewell operations taken

over by Harry Meghan

Th e Duke and Du chess are to take over the ru nning o f th e i r A rc h e we ll c o mp an y after a senior aide step ped do wn from her role

lished For example: there’s trendy soulfulness in her depiction of mod ern romance and big eyed joy radiates from the charismatic illustration of a young child

physical galleries at some point

Wo u ld yo u l i ke t o be co m e a

painter fulltime?

I have only just started my career in science and am enjoying it so per haps not in the near future However,

Start by explor ing every style and medium and try to identify what works for you Take pic tures that can be v e r y g o o d f o r i n s p i r i n g u n i q u e pieces of interesting a r t A l s o , d o n ’ t o v e r t h i n k i t a n d t a k e b r e a k s ! Sometimes looking at the same piece

M a n d a n a D a y a n i h a s a n n o u n c e d s h e i s l e a v i n g h e r p o s t a s p r e s i d e n t A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said they will now t a k e “ f u l l l e a d ” o f t h e i r Archewell media and chari t a b l e f o u n d a t i o n a n d M s D a y a n i ’ s r o l e w i l l n o t b e replaced It is believed that Ms Dayani, 40, has been at t h e h e l m o f t h e c o u p l e ’ s m e d i a a n d c h a r i t a b l e e m p i r e f o r l e s s t h a n 1 8

are grateful for her passion, c o m m i t m e n t a n d l e a d e r s h i p M s D a y a n i w a s b r o u g h t o n d u r i n g t h e i r parental leave to move the c o m p a n y a n d i t s p r o j e c t s forward She has continued t o s h a p e i t s v i s i o n a n d future successfully

H e r t r a n s i t i o n w a s m u t u a l l y p l a n n e d , w i t h i n t e n t f o r t h e D u k e a n d Duchess to now take full lead of their company ”

HEMA PINDOLIA

months She ran the day to d a y o p e r a t i o n s T h e s p o k e s m a n s a i d : “ M s Dayani has been an integral part of Archewell and we

BoE errors cost taxpayers £200billion

W he n t h e f in a nc ia l c r is i s s truck in 2009, the Bank of E ng l a n d s l as he d i nt e r e s t r ates and s tarted a controver s ial bond b uying program me c all ed quantitative easing, or QE It appeared to s ave the day, but now we are dis cover ing ther e is a hidden c os t

The BoE has come in for r e n e w e d c r i t i c i s m a f t e r i t a d m i t t e d t h a t t a x p a y e r s could be on the hook for any thing up to £200bn as under fire governor Andrew Bailey scrambles to unwind its vir tual money printing policy known as QE The BoE first u n l e a s h e d Q E a f t e r t h e financial crisis to buy bonds in a bid to cut interest rates, boost shares and support the economy So far, the govern m e n t h a s r e c e i v e d p r o f i t s t o t a l l i n g £ 1 2 0 b n f r o m Q E d u e t o l o w i n t e r e s t r a t e s Today it is running at a loss a s i n t e r e s t r a t e s r i s e T h e higher they rise, the bigger the loss

T h e O f f i c e f o r B u d g e t Responsibility forecast that

the Treasury faces a bill of £ 1 3 3 b n b e t w e e n n o w a n d March 2028, wiping out ear lier profits The BoE itself has admitted that the total net loss could range from £50bn to as much as £200bn The truth is that it has abso lutely no idea how much tax payers are on the hook for Altmann said QE has dam a g e d y o u n g e r p e o p l e b y inflating house prices and u n d e r m i n i n g p e n s i o n s “Now taxpayers will lose out, too ”

T h e B o E s h o u l d h a v e ended QE support earlier, said Victor Trokoudes, chief e x e c u t i v e o f s a v i n g s a p p Plum “Last year it made the infamous reference to infla t i o n a s b e i n g ‘ t r a n s i t o r y ’ , when in fact it had taken r o o t ” T h e c o s t o f Q E i s increasing sharply with little a p p a r e n t w a y o u t , Trokoudes added “The only hope is that interest rates w i l l n o t r i s e a s m u c h a s e x p e c t e d , m i t i g a t i n g t h e cost ”

TikTok star double murder trial jury dismissed

T he jury in the trial of a T ikTo k influencer and her m oth er accused of murder ing tw o m en w ho died in a crash h as been d ismissed

Mahek Bukhari, 23, and Ansreen Bukhari, 46, deny t h e m u r d e r o f S a q i b H u s s a i n a n d M o h a m m e d Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21 The two men, of Banbury, O x f o r d s h i r e , w e r e k i l l e d after their car left the A46 in Leicestershire in the early hours of 11 February A retri al will take place in the new

year, Leicester Crown Court heard

Mr Justice Saini said the discharge was "by reason of j u r y i r r e g u l a r i t y " , a d d i n g that it had nothing to do with any alleged conduct of t h e d e f e n d a n t s , o r t h e friends and family of either M r H u s s a i n o r M r Ijazuddin, "but was purely i n t e r n a l t o t h e j u r y " A l l e i g h t d e f e n d a n t s h a v e denied two counts of mur d e r a n d t w o a l t e r n a t i v e charges of manslaughter

Furious scientists raise alarm over energy sources to PM

Prim e M inister Rishi S unak has been bombard ed w ith co mplaints fro m over 600 furious scientists who hav e raised the alarm ov er th e U K s d i s tu rb i ng e ner g y so urce which is reportedly hav i ng " d ev astati ng " env i ronmental imp acts Experts are i nc red ib ly co n c ern ed o v er t h e U K ' s u se o f bi o m as s , w h i c h i nv o l v e s ch op p ing d o w n trees and bu rning them to generate electricity S cientific experts hav e w ritten a letter to Mr Sunak urg ing h im to d itch th e c o nt ro v e rs ia l e ner g y so u rc e , w h i c h t end s to divid e scientific opinion

T h e B i o m a s s U K R e n e w a b l e E n e r g y Association argues that it is a g r e e n e n e r g y s o u r c e

because plants and trees are continually grown for a vari ety of purposes While these p r o c e s s e s o f t e n c r e a t e residues that aren't needed, such residues "can be used as a low carbon, renewable alternative to displace fossil fuels We can also use pur pose grown crops"

But hundreds of experts have warned that the con troversial energy sources are destroying the "lungs of the earth" and are hamstringing t h e f i g h t a g a i n s t c l i m a t e change This comes just a week in advance of COP15 in Montreal, in which nego tiators will meet to discuss how to put an end to the loss of nature that provides food, medicine, income and pollination across the globe

Calls grow to disestablish Church of England

Census results g iv ing away that England is no longer a majo ri ty C h ri sti an country hav e fuelled calls for abol ish ing th e ch urch’ s role in p arl ia m en t a nd sc h o o ls , w h il e L ei c es ter a nd Bi rm i n g h am b ec am e t h e first UK cities w ith “minori ty maj orities”

This has happened for the first time when less than h a l f o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f E n g l a n d a n d W a l e s 2 7 5 m i l l i o n p e o p l e h a v e d e s c r i b e d t h e m s e l v e s a s “ C h r i s t i a n ” , 5 5 m i l l i o n fewer than in 2011

Census has set off an u r g e n t r e f o r m o f l a w s requiring Christian teaching and worship in schools and Church of England bishops to sit in the House of Lords

A c r o s s E n g l a n d a n d Wales, the Muslim popula tion rose from 2 7 million people in 2011 to 3 9 million in 2021 While 46 2% of peo ple said they were Christian, 37 2% said they had no reli gion If current trends go on for longer, more people will h a v e n o r e l i g i o n t h a n C h r i s t i a n i t y w i t h i n a decade

The ONS census deputy director, Jon Wroth Smith, said the figures showed “the i n c r e a s i n g l y m u l t i c u l t u r a l society we live in”, however, added that despite the rising ethnic diversity, “nine in 10 people across England and Wales still identify with a UK national identity, with nearly eight in 10 doing so in London”

Leicester one of first cities with no ethnic group majority

I n th e UK , Le i ce s te r h as b e c om e on e of t he f i r s t c ities where people i denti fyi ng as white are no longer the maj ority, the lates t cen s us data shows

According to the figures f r o m t h e O f f i c e f o r National Statistics (ONS), 41% of the city described themselves as white the

lowest of any city in the UK

When the data was last c a p t u r e d b y t h e O N S i n 2011, a total of 51% of the city said they were white 29 year old Demi Essex is a dance teacher who was born and raised in the city and belongs to a biracial family her dad is white British and her mum is half

British and half Bajan

Coming from a mixed heritage, she feels proud of its new status

" I t a l l o w s y o u t o n o t only be educated in that culture but also experience and understand how [other cultures] live, how they eat," she says

M y g r a n d a d w o u l d

always cook Caribbean cui sine and he would always t e l l u s t o g o t o t h e C a r i b b e a n c a r n i v a l s o I always had that nice side It's just great to embrace both sides

"I feel privileged being in a city that holds so much diversity and inclusivity as well

White British people now a minority in UK's two largest cities

Th e ce ns u s h as r e v ea l ed t h at Brit ain’s two larg est cit ies are no w minor it y wh it e British

According to the results of the census, London and Birmingham now both have minority popula tions who identify as white British with statisticians saying the figures indicate the "increasingly multicul tural society we live in"

T h e O f f i c e f o r N a t i o n a l

Met officers to be monitored for targeting blacks

Poli c e off i ce rs i n s c hools are to be monitored to see i f they are disproportionately ta r ge ti n g b l a c k c h i ld re n The initiative i s part of new mea sures agreed upon i n ne got ia ti on s b et wee n th e M et ro po li t a n po li c e a n d the Lon don mayor, Sadi q Khan

Under the plans, the use of powers by so called safer school officers in London, such as arrests and stop and searches, will be examined to see if there is racial bias The measures are billed by the mayor as a way to tackle d i s p r o p o r t i o n a l i t y i n t h e

use of police powers, which is more likely to affect black p e o p l e , a n d b o o s t c o n f i dence in the London force It comes amid an expansion of officers in schools by the Met to more than 500, and mixed reactions from par ents and teachers with s o m e p r e s s i n g f o r m o r e , and others concerned about criminalising the young Concerns about police in schools were heightened a f t e r t h e C h i l d Q f u r o r e when a teenage girl was left t r a u m a t i s e d a f t e r b e i n g s t r i p s e a r c h e d b y o f f i c e r s for drugs she did not have

Sajid Javid to not contest elections

Form er chancellor and lo ng se rv i n g C a bi ne t m in i st er Sa ji d Ja v id h as co nfi rm ed that he will not be co ntest ing the next election

A h e a d o f M o n d a y ' s deadline for Tory MPs to confirm whether they wish to run at the next election, Javid tweeted, After much r e f l e c t i o n , I h a v e d e c i d e d that I will not be standing again at the next General Election "

“Serving as the Member o f P a r l i a m e n t f o r B r o m s g r o v e r e m a i n s a n incredible privilege, and I will continue to support the Government and the causes I believe in ”

5 2 y e a r o l d J a v i d w h o first entered the Commons in 2010, said that serving in government was "the privi lege of my life"

"I can only hope my best was sufficient," he added

Under three prime min isters, Javid has held six dif f e r e n t s e c r e t a r y o f s t a t e r o l e s , m o s t r e c e n t l y a s health secretary He has also led departments for culture, business, local government, the Home Office and the Treasury

J a v i d w a s b o r n i n R o c h d a l e t o a P a k i s t a n i immigrant family and was a s u c c e s s f u l b a n k e r b e f o r e being selected as the candi date in the safe Tory con stituency in Worcestershire after the retirement of the sitting MP Julie Kirkbride

I n a b i d t o r e p l a c e J o h n s o n , h e l a u n c h e d a s e c o n d l e a d e r s h i p b u t withdrew after failing to gather enough support He s u p p o r t e d t h e e v e n t u a l winner Liz Truss but was not rewarded with a job and returned to the back benches

National ambulance's first strike in more than 30 years

As patients face an NHS c ri s is i n t h e r un u p to Ch ristmas, paramed ics and other am bu lance workers have decided to strike

For more than 30 years, i t w o u l d b e t h e f i r s t national ambulance strike

N

S

(

)

h o w t h e w h i t e B r i t i s h p o p u l a t i o n o f B i r m i n g h a m a c c o u n t e d f o r 581,000 in 2011 and by 2021, that fell to 43 per cent, or 491,000 peo ple Meanwhile in London, in 2011, the figures fell from 45 per cent, or 4 9 million people to 37 per cent, or 4 7 million people in 2021 A n a l y s i s c o n d u c t e d b y

M i g r a t i o n W a t c h s a i d : " T h e Census figures reveal the extent of h u g e d e m o g r a p h i c c h a n g e s wrought by mass immigration for t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f E n g l a n d a n d Wales "

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e O N S , t h e number of people in England and W a l e s i d e n t i f y i n g t h e i r e t h n i c g r o u p a s w h i t e h a s f a l l e n b y around 500,000 over a decade

On the night of 29th N o v e m b e r , U n i s o n , t h e union that represents hun d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f health workers, including ambulance staff as well as p o r t e r s a n d c l e a n e r s , announced that 80,000 of its members are affirma tive about taking industrial action

G M B t h e l a r g e s t union for ambulance staff is too expected to declare i t s m e m b e r s h a v e v o t e d overwhelmingly in favour of walk outs

I t ' s m a n d a t o r y f o r unions to give two weeks’ notice of industrial action, meaning walk outs affect i n g a m b u l a n c e s e r v i c e s c o u l d t a k e p l a c e n e x t month while the nurses' strikes are already sched uled for December 15 and 20

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced as well that up to 100,000 nurses will join walkouts in 76 locations

A l t o g e t h e r , 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 h e a l t h w o r k e r s a r e n o w b e l i e v e d t o b e b a c k i n g strikes

Lord Popat calls for great diversity in African Governments

Fo llow ing a recent visit to U gand a, Lord Dolar Pop at, P ri m e M in i st er ’ s T rad e E nvo y to U gand a, Rw anda and the Dem ocratic Rep ublic called for greater div ersity in A frican Gov ernm ents, w hilst s p ea ki ng a t an A fr ic an Sum mit hosted by President Mu sev eni of U gand a I n h i s k e y n o t e s p e e c h , Lord Popat called for greater diversity in Ugandan politics and a celebration of the role Indians have played in the country so far A s t h e T r a d e E

Rwanda and DRC, Lord Popat has been c h a m p i o n

between the UK and Africa for many years now His efforts have reflected that the UK is looking beyond Europe and towards Africa

great opportunity for further engagement

Lord Popat commented that he wanted to see big companies return to Uganda and p r o v i d e c o n f i d e n c e t o t h e m a r k e t t o follow I have UK businesses lining up to invest and trade with Uganda, but they require a pace of delivery that Uganda needs to be able to support

L o r d P o p a t h a s d o n e three things to achieve this First, he has continued to progress the Memorandum o f U n d e r s t a n d i n g s s i g n e d w i t h t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f U g a n d a i n t o c o n t r a c t s t o support agricultural exports, e n e r g y a c c e s s a n d r o a d s Second the introduction of the 99% duty free access and the launch of the UK Growth Gateway

The Conservative Friends of India held their flagship Diwali Reception last week

A

Government, Lord Popat

h e A f r o I n d i a n I n v e s t m e n t S u m m i t w h e r e t h e 5 0 t h Anniversary of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians, the 100th Anniversary of Indians in U g a n d a a n d t h e 6 0 t h A n n i v e r s a r y o f U g a n d a n independence was marked

One of the focuses of the summit was the living bridge that Indians are across the w o r l d T h e U K h a s 8 parliamentarians of Ugandan heritage and many more of E a s t A f r i c a n h e r i t a g e i n c l u d i n g o u r P r i m e Minister, Rishi Sunak This is a testament to the strong link the UK has with East Africa The UK has diversity in its government, not for the sake of diversity, but because it delivers better results and reflects the population Indians have been in Uganda for over 100 years now and similar lengths in many other East African countries, the time for more diversity in African governments has come L o r d P o p a t c o m m e n t e d , “ I c a l l u p o n people who call Africa their home to get involved in civic duty, including politics for the sake of your country’s future as well as your own ”

During the speech, Lord Popat said, “I am proud of my Ugandan heritage but also proud of how the UK continues to embrace diversity, with the huge welcome given to myself That acceptance has le to the first UK Prime Minister of East African origin and a Cabinet of people with family ties across the great continent ”

“However, now is the time for UK A f r i c a r e l a t i o n s h i p s t o d e e p e n a n d strengthen Africa, particularly Uganda can take the lead in showcasing that same diversity in its governments with more politicians of Indian origin The UK has shown that diversity makes all levels of society, from the economy to its social fabric stronger ”

Lord Popat sent a strong message to P r e s i d e n t M u s e v e n i o n t h e n e e d f o r further engagement This comes after 70% of Uganda’s GDP and tax revenues come from Indian owned businesses, reflecting a

The progress of Indians has not only been marked in British politics but also globally with 20 g l o b a l c o m p a n i e s i n c l u d i n g G o o g l e , Microsoft, IBM, Citigroup, Pepsico, Nokia and Motorola all having Indian senior executives leading their brands This has a g a i n d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e p r o g r e s s o f

D u r i n g h i s t r i p , L o r d P o p a t highlighted the work the UK is doing to s u p p o r t b u s i n e s s i n A f r i c a i n c l u d i n g l a u n c h i n g t h e G r o w t h G a t e w a y Programme This programme is a digital portal that helps support UK and African businesses to trade and invest in one another’s markets From next year, over 99% of all goods exported from Uganda will be eligible for duty free access to the U K T h e s e i n i t i a t i v e s a n d c h a n g e s t o r e g u l a t i o n s w i l l h e l p c o n t i n u e t o strengthen the trading relationship we already have

T h e U K s u p p o r t s v a r i o u s U g a n d a p r o j e c t s , i n c l u d i n g a n e l e c t r i c i t y t r a n s m i s s i o n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n n e t w o r k working with Gridworks Ltd worth £100 million and an agricultural project worth £350 million This is part of a new strategy to industrialise Uganda, which includes a n e w U K E x p o r t F i n a n c e C o v e r a g e o f Uganda of £2 5bn Other flagship projects include the construction of a new airport in Hoima and a £1 5bn deal by British company McDermott to construct an oil pipeline across the country

These projects are about creating jobs in Uganda and building infrastructure to enable the country to industrialise By helping Uganda flourish, we flourish

The

Attendees

The High Commissioner of India, His Excellency Vikram Doriswami and Deputy High Commissioner Surjit Ghosh were also present

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh was also present highlighting the friendship between India and Bangladesh

The Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi

opened the reception welcoming the Indian H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r H e m e n t i o n e d t h e incredible role CF India played as the “Living Bridge” in building bridges with India

Nadhim mentioned how CF India had become the largest group of the Conservative Party and how their membership had surged this year CF India has subsequently become a campaigning and fundraising machine for t h e P a r t y , a s w e l l a s b r i n g i n g i n n e w candidates

Priti Patel thanked CF India for their support jn her journey in Parliament

Bob Blackman was praised for his work in engaging with the British Indian community over the last 40 years

Over 200 guests were present at Taj Hotel in St James’s to mark the occasion

place

store, now boarded up But d e v e l o p e r G e r i W a r d h a s begun turning the building i n t o w h a t s h e c a l l s a celebration of Cumbria

a 13 4% drop in department stores across Great Britain Two years on from the first lockdown in 2020, there were 328 fewer s u c h s t o r e s K e n d a l i n C u m b r i a w a s o n e o f t h e t o w n s t o l o s e i t s B e a l e s

M o r e t h a n 8 0 0 H i g h Street banks and building societies closed their doors during the pandemic ( 8 1%) along with the loss of more than 6,000 cash machines ( 13 2%) The changes suggest t h e p a n d e m i c a c c e l e r a t e d t h e m o v e a w a y f r o m physical cash based retail to card based online shopping

immigrant Indians across the globe and their determination to succeed

Dear Financia Voice Reader Alpesh Patel OBE

I’ve just bought s om e new stocks f or m y SIPP, ISA and m y s on and wife’s ISA too (M ore about thes e bel ow) But firs t, l et’s look at the f or ecas ts I’ve gone through quite a few pub l ic ations f or you to take in t he views of ot hers 2 023 Stock Forec asts

Ins ider

a looming recession

the US,

Bank

Landau, major stock markets will plunge 25% when the US recession hits, but then recover completely by year end 2023, assuming the recession lasts only several quarters Goldm an Sac hs

In 2023, Goldman Sachs Research predicts the bear mar ket in stock markets will intensify before giving way to more hopeful signals Goldman Sachs Research predicts that the global stock market will enter its "hope" phase later this year Recovery usually begins during recessions when valua tions rise In the past, investing in stocks after the bottom has produced better returns than investing before it: aver age 12 month returns are higher after the bottom than before it Therefore, Goldman Sachs strategists think it s too early to position for a bull market transition

Forbes

Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and high inflation aren't going anywhere in the near future, unfortunately The U S economy could do much better in 2023 if the Fed controls inflation and navigates a soft landing

According to CME Group, there is an 86% chance of another Fed rate rise by June 2023 The first quarter of 2023 is expected to see a 1 7% rise in earnings for the S&P 500, but only a 1 7% decline in the fourth quarter of 2022

IFA M agazine

With good earnings momentum, UK equities offer sig nificant value in a currency that is currently undervalued UK listed equities should benefit from nominal growth in an undervalued market Some of the most likely beneficiaries will be high quality, cash generating companies, which form a significant part of our portfolios

Kiplinger

The stock of Amazon com (AMZN) has had a terrible year so far in 2022, but Wall Street says the company is poised to outperform next year

According to Doug Anmuth, a J P Morgan analyst, Amazon stock is one of the firm s top 2023 ideas AMZN s price target of $145 was reiterated, along with an Overweight recommendation (buy)

M arket Sc reener

A "mild" recession is expected to begin in the second half of 2023 as the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame inflation weigh on consumer spending and investments

The US economy is expected to suffer from slower con sumer spending by December of 2023, according to Gapen Despite the continued decline in inflation, Gapen doesn't see inflation reaching the Fed's 2% target in 2023

Marke ts Ins ider

Bank of America reports that a large majority of Wall Street money managers expect stagflation in 2023, similar to the 1970s

92% of funds managers in the bank's most recent survey predict low economic growth and high inflation in 2023, while only ten percent anticipate a bullish "goldilocks" sce nario in which the economy avoids recession

Reuters

Rising interest rates and slowing growth are further dampening the outlook for fourth quarter U S earnings after a disappointing third quarter

IBES data from Refinitiv showed analysts were expect ing S&P 500 earnings to decline 0 4% year over year in the fourth quarter According to their forecast on Oct 1, the increase would be 5 8%

Benz inga

Ethan Harris, an economist at the University of Texas at Austin, says the Federal Reserve might not be able to control inflation without tipping the U S economy into recession

In Harris s projections, the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates by another 0 5% in December and February, and by another 0 25% in March, bringing the terminal fed funds rate range to 5% 5 15 percent Yahoo Finance

Recently, JP Morgan Asset Management released its Long Term Capital Market Assumptions (LTCMAs) As a result of lower valuations and higher yields in asset markets today, these projections provide a 10 to 15 year view of risks and returns Over the next 10 15 years, a USD 60/40 stock bond portfolio is expected to generate an annual return of 7 20%, up from 4 30% last year ME

As you know, I pick stocks I think will be resilient to market falls and benefit from rises For a 12 month holding I just bought 1 UnitedHealth 2 Amerisource 3 AbbVie 4 Arthur J Gallaher If you would like to learn how these are selected then do visit www alpeshpatelventures com/links to get all my free resources to educate

Brexit has created new opportunities

Mo ving from Germany to th e UK to stu dy fo r th e M ast ers in An alyt ic s and M a na ge me nt at L o nd o n B u s i n es s S c h o o l wa s a n e x p en s i ve , b u re au cr at i c ch allenge for Alex Scheu er

The 23 year old had to spend £800 to obtain a stu d e n t v i s a a n d h u n d r e d s more on health insurance because, following Brexit, his German citizenship no longer gave him free care through the UK’s NHS He is still unsure whether he w i l l l o o k f o r a j o b i n L o n d o n a f t e r h i s d e g r e e “To be honest, I am not

sure if I can stay here,” he says “I opened the door to come to London, but the h i g h e r w a g e s a r e n o t e n o u g h t o o f f s e t t h e increased living costs com pared with where I was ”

Despite all this, Scheuer has no regrets about com ing to the UK and would recommend that other EU c i t i z e n s d o t h e s a m e , a t least to attend the coun try’s best institutions His m o s t l i k e l y m o v e a f t e r g r a d u a t i o n n e x t A u g u s t will be to return to Berlin, b u t t h e p a y b a c k f r o m s t u d y i n g a t t h e L o n d o n

school made it worth com ing to the UK, he believes “The LBS brand sets you up for a career wherever you go, ” Scheuer says “I made a calculation that my busi n e s s s a l a r y i n G e r m a n y should increase by about half, meaning that I can earn back the tuition fees I’m paying from my savings in two years ”

B r e x i t h a s h a d s o m e impact on the UK business education sector but not as g r e a t a s s o m e f e a r e d Changes to the UK student visa programme, lowering a barrier to international stu

dents that predated the EU referendum, as well as the drop in sterling’s value after Brexit, have helped attract b u s i n e s s s t u d e n t s t o t h e U K f r o m t h e E U a n d b e y o n d P o s t g r a d u a t e enrolments from EU coun tries for the 2022/23 aca demic year were down at 47 p e r c e n t , s u r v e y s h o w s H o w e v e r , 5 0 p e r c e n t reported significantly high er intakes from other parts of the world this year, with a f u r t h e r 2 4 p e r c e n t r e p o r t i n g t h e s a m e o r slightly higher intakes from non EU countries

The U K's financial services se ct o r m u s t d o m o re t o “b reak th e ‘ c las s ’ c ei lin g , ” accord ing to a go vernment backed task force, w ith new targ ets calling for at least h alf o f s en i or lea d er s t o co me from working class or low er so cio economic back gro und s by 2030

T h e C i t y o f L o n d o n Corporation, the governing b o d y t h a t o v e r s e e s U K ’ s finance industry, said that the moves were crucial not only for improving board

Eat Out to H elp O ut and two other Covi d sc hem es lost a whopping £4 5 billion in fraud, the head of H M Re v e nu e a n d Cu s to m s (HMRC) has told MPs

And the taxpayer is only s e t t o g e t £ 1 1 b n b a c k Speaking at the Treasury C o m m i t t e e , H M R C c h i e f executive Jim Harra said the billions of pounds were lost to fraud via the furlough, self employed support and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme Eat Out to Help Out ran for one month, in A u g u s t 2 0 2 0 , a f t e r b e i n g i n t r o d u c e d b y t h e n

room diversity but also for boosting growth in the sec tor In a new report, the gov e r n i n g b o d y ’ s “ s o c i o e c o nomic diversity task force,” which was commissioned in 2020, outlined a pathway for firms to ensure that accents and parentage do not dictate workplace progression “We need to break the ‘class’ ceil ing removing unfair barri e r s t o p r o g r e s s i o n i s n o t only the right thing to do, it will enable firms to boost productivity, retention lev

Chancellor Rishi Sunak It was one of the first govern ment policies aimed to help businesses to reopen after t h e f i r s t C o v i d 1 9 l o c k down

The scheme saw the government discount 50% of the cost of food and non alcoholic drinks at partici p a t i n g r e s t a u r a n t s , c a f e s and pubs, with the inten tion to drive up custom on quieter days It ran for a month, from 3 to 31 August 2020, applying all day and was UK wide Harra said the scheme had a fraud level of around

HSBC to shut a quarter of UK branches

HS BC is to close a quarter o f i ts U K bra nc h es a s c u s to m er s m o v e o nli n e and t h e bank com es under p res s u re fr o m i ts big gest investor to cu t c o s ts T h e lend er said it would sh ut 1 1 4 branc hes ac ro s s th e co u n try fr o m next April, leav ing 327

T h e c l o s u r e s , w h i c h HSBC attributed to a shift in customer preference for o n l i n e b a n k i n g , r e f l e c t a longer term, industry wide retreat from expensive real e s t a t e p o r t f o l i o s , w h i c h c a m p a i g n e r s w o r r y c o u l d disadvantage those, such as t h e e l d e r l y , w h o r e l y o n c a s h H S B C ’ s U K b r a n c h n e t w o r k h a s s h r u n k d r a matically from almost 1,200 at the end of 2012 In March, i t s a i d i t w o u l d c l o s e 6 9 b r a n c h e s I t s l a t e s t

a n n o u n c e m e n t b r i n g s t h e total number of branch clo s u r e s a n n o u n c e d b y U K lenders this year to more t h a n 6 0 0 , b a s e d o n d a t a from cash machine provider L i n k , r e p r e s e n t i n g m o r e than 10 per cent of the total remaining network HSBC said more than 97 p e r c e n t o f t r a n s a c t i o n s , personal loan applications and credit card applications n o w t o o k p l a c e d i g i t a l l y , a n d t h a t s o m e o f t h e branches that will close had fewer than 250 customers a week

e l s a n d i n n o v a t i o n , ” C a t h e r i n e M c G u i n n e s s , chair of the task force, said According to the study, around half of all UK finan cial services employees are currently from non profes sional backgrounds, defined as working class and inter m e d i a t e b a c k g r o u n d s Y e t , they tend to progress 25% slower than their peers Just over a third (36%) of those employees manage to climb the ladder to senior levels, the report said Meantime,

Study tells UK banks to break ‘class ceiling’ £4.5 bn lost in three Covid schemes to fraud

9%, which is "much higher" t h a n w o u l d n o r m a l l y b e expected in the tax regime generally It worked on a self assessment basis, rely ing on cafes and restaurants d e c l a r i n g t h e c o r r e c t amounts to HMRC

Efforts to clamp down on fraud have led to some arrests, which resulted in "quite a few voluntary dis closures" from restaurants w h o v o l u n t e e r e d t h e y ’ d made a mistake and repaid their claim Harra said: "I’m aware of one case where a restaurant claimed to have a record month in sales at

employees from non profes sional backgrounds tend to g e t p a i d u p t o £ 1 7 , 5 0 0 ($20,890) less per year, with zero links to their profession a l p e r f o r m a n c e T h e r e p o r t also said that the UK has one of the poorest rates of social m o b i l i t y i n t h e d e v e l o p e d world, meaning “those who a r e a l r e a d y e c o n o m i c a l l y advantaged tend to stay at the top” The report did not reference what repercussions firms might face for failing to meet the thresholds

the same time as they were c l a i m i n g t o h a v e f u r loughed all of their staff You’d be surprised at what people think we won’t join up with ”

A paper from Thiemo Fetzer, an economist at the U n i v e r s i t y o f W a r w i c k , found that Eat Out to Help Out was closely linked to an increase of Covid 19 cases in the summer of 2020 He f o u n d t h e v i r u s s p r e a d more rapidly in areas with a lot of participating restau rants and infections slowed w i t h i n t w o w e e k s o f t h e scheme ending

British fashion retailer

Boohoo associates with India's Myntra

Onl i ne B ri ti s h f as h i o n retailer Booh oo said it was entering the Ind ian

Myntra

T

T o m a k e i t e a s i e r f o r c u s t o m e r s t o b r o w s e t h r o u g h t h e c a t a l o g s , t h e three brands will be housed u n d e r a s p e c i f i c o n l i n e

brand store on Myntra, the group said in a statement

"Boohoo, DP and Nasty Gal are poised to be well received by discerning fash ion conscious consumers in the region," Myntra's Chief B u s i n e s s O f f i c e r S h a r o n Pais said

Boohoo, which targets 16 to 40 year olds with its clothing, shoes, and acces sories sales, issued a warn ing about full year sales ear lier this year after its half year profit more than halved as a result of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions

com pany C u r r e n t l y , T a t a S o n s owns 100% in Air India and 5 1 % i n V i s t a r a , w i t h S I A h o l d i n g t h e b a l a n c e 4 9 % Tata Sons and SIA did not d i s c l o s e t h e m e r g e r r a t i o

but the latter said it will invest £205 9 million ($250 m i l l i o n ) i n t h e c o m b i n e d e n t i t y a s p a r t o f t h e transaction

U n l e s s o t h e r l o c a l players decide to bring in a

foreign partner as investor, SIA would continue to be the o n l y i n t e r n a t i o n a l c a r r i e r with a sizable stake in an I n d i a n a i r l i n e a f t e r t h e m e r g e r i s c o m p l e t e d Shareholders of SIA will have

t h e a b i l i t y t o v e t o s p e c i a l resolutions with a 25% plus one share in the combined unit According to the law, s p e c i a l r e s o l u t i o n s m u s t receive the support of at least 75% of the shareholders

B y M a r c h 2 0 2 4 , t h e merger should be complete, p e n d i n g c l e a r a n c e f r o m t h e c o m p a n y l a w t r i b u n a l , I n d i a n a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n t i c o m p e t i t i o n a u t h o r i t i e s , a n d o t h e r g o v e r n i n g organisations Air India and Vistara will continue to run independently throughout this time

Profiting from short sight

There’s a very interesting property which has come across our radar; interesting not from the view of architecture or aesthetics, but from a profit angle It seems to tick all the boxes, almost in a formulaic manner It generates income whilst the planning is being applied for, it’s an easy building to work with, it’s close to a station, and there’s an added planning angle which can be applied for once the main planning has been obtained

The property is let to a high street retail company, with an excellent balance sheet The lease is expiring next year, which gives just about enough time to obtain planning; both the main planning and the enhanced planning

The vendor is a UK fund, which fits the profile of why they would want to dispose of this type of stock This kind of property is purchased in the same manner one would invest in a bond It’s a yield play; the income is far greater than the cost of capital They look no further than this Perhaps this could be described as their short sightedness, or perhaps not Therefore, when the yield looks like it’s going to end, there is no use for the investment And they dispose of it

The compe tition to purchase R el iance C apita l (R Cap) in b ankr uptcy has at tracted five b idders Ther e ha ve been n o individual bids for R eliance's o wn er sh ip of t he l ife a nd g e n e r a l i n su r a n ce compa nies, which ma ke up 90% of the group val ue , and a l l of t h e b id s a r e a t t he holding compan y leve l A c c o r d i n g t o s o u r c e s , t h e b i d d e r s i n c l u d e t h e Hinduja Group the only n e w g e n e r a t i o n b a n k without a group insurance c o m p a n y T h e o t h e r s a r e Ahmedabad based Torrent Group, Oaktree, Piramal & Cosmea Financial combine, a n d U V A s s e t Reconstruction Group

P i r a m a l a n d C o s m e a h a v e s u b m i t t e d " s e v e r a l " b i d s f o r t h e c o m p a n y b e c a u s e P i r a m a l i s o n l y i n t e r e s t e d i n R e l i a n c e G e n e r a l I n s u r a n c e a n d C o s m e a w i l l b u y t h e

remaining companies Each p a r t y i s l i a b l e f o r t h e i r respective obligations under a two party several liability bid

Among the companies t h a t h a d p u t i n a n e x p r e s s i o n o f i n t e r e s t , Zurich Group and Advent, w h i c h w e r e k e e n o n R e l i a n c e G e n e r a l e a r l i e r , have not put in a bid Aditya B i r l a S u n L i f e h a s a l s o stayed away

I n d u s I n d B a n k i s sponsored by The Hinduja G r o u p , a n d O a k t r e e , a p r i v a t e e q u i t y f i r m , c o m p e t e d a g a i n s t P i r a m a l f o r D H F L b u t c a m e u p short Sam Ghosh, a former A l l i a n z e x e c u t i v e w h o o v e r s a w t h e B a j a j A l l i a n z joint venture before being chosen by Anil Ambani to run Reliance Capital, is the CEO of Cosmea Financial Five years ago, Ghosh left Reliance Capital

Le d by local b rands, highly a ffo r d a b l e p r od u ct s a n d fe st i v e de m a n d , I n d ia e me r g e d a s t h e b ig g e st smar twa tch ma r ke t in the wo r l d , a he a d o f N o r t h Ame rica and China, in the thir d q ua rter of t his year

A s o p p o s e d t o t h e s i t u a t i o n i n s m a r t p h o n e s , w h e r e C h i n e s e c o m p a n i e s p r e d o m i n a t e , t h e b r a n d s contributing to the surge are primarily local ones, giving the leadership significance

T h e m a j o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l brands Samsung and Apple are seeing healthy demand in India as well, but because o f t h e i r h i g h p r i c e s , t h e y d o n ' t s e l l a s m a n y u n i t s overall

In the quarter between J u l y a n d S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 2 , India's share of the global s m a r t w a t c h m a r k e t increased to 30%, surpassing China's 16% share and North America's 25% share In the

same quarter last year, India came in third with a 14% share, trailing only China's 2 2 % W i t h a 2 7 % s h a r e , N o r t h A m e r i c a t o o k t h e lead Volumes in India have been led by brands, such as, N o i s e ( l e a d s t h e s m a r t watches category) and Fire B o l t t T h e g r o w t h i n t h e quarter stood at 171%, even as China fell 28%, severely i m p a c t e d b y C o v i d r e s t r i c t i o n s a n d t h e e c o n o m i c d o w n t u r n C h i n a ’ s m a r k e t s i z e d e c r e a s e d f o r t h e f o u r t h consecutive quarter Anshika J a i n , s e n i o r a n a l y s t a t Counterpoint, said a number of factors contributed to the India surge She added that “The main factor was India’s festive season Indian brands e x p a n d i n g t h e i r p r o d u c t portfolios at affordable price points and emphasis on local m a n u f a c t u r i n g a l s o contributed ”

India's GST mop-up rises by 11% to £14.6 bn

India's Goo ds and Services T ax (GS T) co llection ro se by 1 0 9% to £1 4 56 billion in N o vemb er, maki ng i t th e slowest pace of expansion since J une 2021, but experts w er e u p b ea t o n th e p ro spects

A c c o r d i n g t o a statement from the finance m i n i s t r y r e v e a l e d t h a t , " D u r i n g t h e m o n t h , r e v e n u e s f r o m i m p o r t o f

goods are 20% higher and the revenues from domestic t r a n s a c t i o n s ( i n c l u d i n g import of services) are 8% h i g h e r t h a n t h e r e v e n u e s from these sources during the same month last year "

C o l l e c t i o n s f o r t h e c r u c i a l f e s t i v a l m o n t h o f O c t o b e r w e r e t h e f i f t h highest ever in November and represented the ninth consecutive month of over

£ 1 4 b i l l i o n m o p u p , s h o w i n g t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t i g h t e n i n g m e a s u r e s t a k e n b y t h e federal government and the s t a t e s h a d c a u s e d c o l l e c t i o n s t o s t a b i l i s e a t that level

“ T h e G S T r e v e n u e s a b o v e £ 1 4 b i l l i o n f o r a consecutive period of nine months indicate that there is no effect of recession on

the Indian economy so far The GST on imports has b e e n d o w n b y 6 8 % t h i s month compared to the last 4 months (except October 2022, which was a festive m o n t h ) w h i c h i s a n i n d i c a t o r t h a t I n d i a i s m o v i n g t o w a r d s a m o r e self reliant economy, ” said S a u r a b h A g a r w a l , t a x partner at consulting firm EY India

Adani Group wins Dharavi redevelop project bid

T h e A d an i G ro u p h as e m er g ed as th e h ig h es t bidd er for the 259 hectare D h a rav i R ed e v el o p m en t P roject, official sources said T h e g r o u p h as p u t i n a £ 506 9 m illion bid for th e red ev elopm ent of one o f th e largest slu m sp rawls in th e w or ld , o u tb i d d i ng D L F , w h ic h h ad q u o te d £ 20 2 5 m il li o n, c h i ef exe cu t iv e o fficer of the project S V R S rinivas said "We will now be sending t h e d e t a i l s t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t , w h i c h w i l l c o n s i d e r a n d g i v e f i n a l approval," he said, adding t h a t t h e E k n a t h S h i n d e

government will approve it in a couple of weeks

According to him, the b i d i s f o r t h e e n t i r e £ 2 billion project, with a total p r o j e c t d u r a t i o n o f s e v e n y e a r s t o r e h a b i l i t a t e t h e 650,000 slum dwellers who are currently dispersed over a 2 5 sq km area

T h e p r o j e c t has been in limbo f o r m a n y y e a r s d u e t o i t s c o m p l e x i t y T h e w i n n i n g b i d d e r w i l l b e a b l e t o b o o k h i g h r e v e n u e s b y selling millions of s q u a r e f e e t o f residential and commercial space in central Mumbai

Eight bidders, including entities from South Korea and the UAE, had attended a p r e b i d m e e t h e l d i n October and three of them actually bid for the project Naman Group, a city based

d e v e l o p e r , w a s t h e t h i r d whose bid did not qualify

The government is likely to consider both technical a n d f i n a n c i a l e l i g i b i l i t y before selecting the winning b i d d e r a n d h a s s e t a minimum consolidated net w o r t h r e q u i r e m e n t o f £ 2 billion

Adani already has a real estate division in the nation, and it has already completed or is currently completing p r o j e c t s i n t h e n a t i o n ' s financial capital, including ones in the central Mumbai n e i g h b o u r h o o d o f B y c u l l a a n d t h e s u b u r b a n

The property has been guided at £500K, and has an income of £70K which represents a very attractive yield of 14% of the guide price The term of the income is just enough time to get planning over the line

The property is freehold, with a commercial tenant occupying the ground and first floors, with a separate tenant occupying the second floor The property is made up of three floors in total

Converting the building into residential should be straightforward process The potential to add a mansard also exists, making the building into four floors in total

Ignoring the potential for the mansard, the property when developed into flats would have an estimated end value of £2 4M, with a development cost of about £750K

Even at a purchase price of £800K, assuming a deposit of £400K, this represents an extremely high return, within a defined period and all the while there is money flowing in Inevitably, there will be speed bumps on the way, this cushion of return allows one to cross them with confidence, despite the deal looking like it is all lined up

The aim would be to refinance and hold the deal, benefitting from the positive monthly cash flow The property is close to a station and so the void period should be very small, and the rents should rise with time

We are looking at a very turbulent 2023 Therefore, there is no guarantee that the price of properties will be stable, they may even decrease Whenever this occurs rents tend to increase

In order to insulate from the turbulent times ahead we would be looking to refinance on a 5 year fixed rate on this deal; as the only security which can be relied upon is the monthly cash flow, and that too will be fully insured

India's GDP growth declines to 6.3% in Sept quarter

I n d i a ’ s g r os s d o m e s t i c p r o d u ct ( G DP ) g r o w t h s lo w e d i n t h e J u ly Se pte mbe r quart er due t o a n umbe r of factor s, includ ing h i g h i n fl a t i on a n d r is i n g in ter est r ate s, impact of t he g e o p o li t i ca l s it u a t io n a n d c on t r a c t i on i n ma nufacturin g and min in g s e ct or s, bu t p o li cy ma k e r s said gr owth was ex pecte d to be in th e 6 8% 7% r ang e for 2022 23

Data from the National S t a t i s t i c a l O f f i c e ( N S O ) revealed that the economy grew more slowly than the 1 3 5 % e s t i m a t e f o r t h e months of April and June and the 8 4% estimate for t h e m o n t h s o f J u l y a n d S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 1 2 2 T h e m o s t r e c e n t r e a d i n g , however, was in line with the Reserve Bank of India's ( R B I ) s e c o n d q u a r t e r e s t i m a t e o f 6 3 % E c o n o m i s t s s a i d t h a t a p o s i t i v e t r e n d w a s t h e

r e b o u n d i n g r o w t h o n a s e q u e n t i a l ( q u a r t e r o n q u a r t e r ) b a s i s T h e t r a d e h o t e l s , t r a n s p o r t , communication and services r e l a t e d t o b r o a d c a s t i n g posted robust growth during the three month period at 14 7% All the sectors were a b o v e t h e i r p r e p a n d e m i c level, economists said " T h e e c o n o m y i s o n course to grow by 6 8 to 7% in the current fiscal year

T h e e c o n o m y h a s m a i n t a i n e d m o m e n t u m , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e w a k e o f global headwinds, according to festival sales, bank credit g r o w t h , a n d p u r c h a s i n g m a n a g e r s i n d i c e s , c h i e f economic adviser (CEA) V A n a n t h a N a g e s w a r a n t o l d reporters He also noted that domestic demand will drive growth and that the external environment was uncertain and that exports were not performing as well as they did last year

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Nepal ruling coalition bags 90 seats out of 165

t i o n h a s w o n 9 0 H o u s e o f

Representatives seats out of 165

Khadka, CPN (Maoist C e n t r e ) c h a i r m a n P u s h p a Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, vice c h a i r m a n N a r a y a n K a j i S h r e s t h a , C P N ( U n i f i e d Socialist) chair Madhav Nepal and Rastriya Janamorcha vice chairperson Durga Paudel were among those who attended the meeting The five party coali

During the meeting, the top leaders of the ruling alliance said the election results have re confirmed the need and rele vance of the alliance In a state ment issued after the meeting, the coalition leaders said the results have pointed at the need f o r m o v i n g a h e a d f o r g i n g m u t u a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d cooperation “It is necessary to continue the present coalition to face the challenges before t h e c o u n t r y , ” s a i d t h e s t a t e ment

Senior NC leader and for mer deputy PM Prakash Man S i n g h s a i d t h a t t h e m e e t i n g

mainly dwelt on issues relating to power shar ing and formation of t h e g o v e r n m e n t P M D e u b a ’ s N e p a l i Congress has emerged a s t h e s i n g l e l a r g e s t p a r t y b y w i n n i n g 5 7 s e a t s C P N ( M a o i s t C e n t r e ) h a s w o n 1 8 seats, CPN (Unified Socialist) 10, Loktantrik SamajwadiParty four and Rastriya Janamorcha o n e P o l l s t o t h e H o u s e o f Representatives were held on November 20 to end the pro longed political instability that has plagued the nation N e p a l ’ s E l e c t i o n Commission said the opposi

tion Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) got 4 4 s e a t s R a s t r i y a S w a t a n t r a Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the Janata Samajwadi Party h a v e w o n s e v e n s e a t s e a c h L o k t a n t r i k S a m a j w a d i P a r t y a n d N a g a r i k U n m u k t i P a r t y have won 4 and 3 seats respec tively, it said

Russia rejects Pak plea for 30-40% discount on crude

I SL A MA BA D: A Paki stan i del e gation holdi ng talks wi th thei r Russ ian coun terparts has a ske d f or a 30 4 0% di scoun t

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in brief

INDIA BORN WOMAN TO LEAD OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Indian born educator Jayathi Y Murthy has become the 16th president of the Oregon State University (OSU one of the top universities in the US renowned worldwide for its cutting edge research and facilities particularly in the fields of AI robotics and advanced technology Murthy 64 is the first woman of colour to lead OSU that works on addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the planet from climate change to sustainability An IIT Kanpur alum, Murthy is a leader in higher education engineering teaching, research and service She is recognized as a champion for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and has made it her top priority at OSU

SAUDIS HAND PAK FRESH $3 BN LIFELINE

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According to a report in the News, the delegation, which i n c l u d e d s t a t e m i n i s t e r f o r petroleum Musadik Malik, sec r e t a r y f o r p e t r o l e u m C a p t (retd) Muhammad Mahmood, joint secretary, and representa tives of the Pakistani embassy

IS L A M A BA D: P akistan’ s newly appo inted arm y chief has said the military is ready to defend the country if attacked as he vis ited the Line of C ontro l (LoC ), w h ic h d i v i d e s th e d is p u te d K ashm ir regio n

A c c o r d i n g t o a s t a t e m e n t issued by the military's media wing , Lieutenant General Asim Munir said, "Let me make it cat e g o r i c a l l y c l e a r , P a k i s t a n ' s armed forces are ever ready, not only to defend every square inch

in Moscow, requested a dis count during negotiations in Moscow The talks ended with no cogent conclusion but the Russian side promised to con sider Pakistan’s demand and to s h a r e i t s d e c i s i o n l a t e r o n through diplomatic channels, t h e p a p e r s a i d , c i t i n g i t s sources

T h e g o v e r n m e n t c l a i m e d that Indian oil companies' suc c e s s i n i m p o r t i n g o i l f r o m Russia at a discount has helped t h e e c o n o m y p a r t i a l l y o f f s e t the effects of high crude prices, which had risen to $130 a barrel

of our motherland, but to take the fight back to the enemy if ever war is imposed on us "

“Indian state will never be able to achieve her nefarious designs,” he said India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for com ment Munir made the visit days a f t e r h e t o o k c h a r g e o f Pakistan’s powerful military

I n d i a ’ s D e f e n c e M i n i s t e r R a j n a t h S i n g h s a i d i n l a t e O c t o b e r t h a t N e w D e l h i w a s

Pak embassy in Afghanistan attacked

K A B U L : P a ki s ta n ’ s e m ba s sy in K ab u l c am e u nd er attac k last week with gun f i r e i n j u ri n g a P ak i s ta ni s ec u r i ty guard, officials said, i n wh at I sl am ab ad called a bid to assas s i n at e i t s h e ad o f m i s s io n, w h o wa s u nh u rt I n a s ep a rate attack in th e Afgh an capi tal, one person was killed in a su icide bo mbing near the o ffic e o f th e Hezb e Islami party of f o r me r P M Gu l b u dd in H ekmatyar

It was not immediately clear who was behind the embassy attack, which came just days after Pakistan’s foreign minister led a team to Kabul to meet Taliban authorities to ease ten sions along the border between the two countries According to two sources, the embassy com pound was targeted by gunfire from a nearby building It was

u n c l e a r h o w m a n y s h o o t e r s there were or if they had been apprehended

A s p o k e s p e r s o n f o r t h e

Taliban foreign ministry con demned the attack The attack occurred at a time of height ened security concerns in areas bordering Afghanistan after the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) said it w o u l d n o l o n g e r a b i d e b y a months long ceasefire with the P a k i s t a n i g o v e r n m e n t T h e

Afghan Taliban have been facil itating peace talks between local militants and Pakistan authori ties since late last year

i n t h e w a k e o f t h e w a r i n

Ukraine

Industry sources claim that at the height of the crisis, the oil firms were able to negotiate a $ 1 0 p e r b a r r e l r e d u c t i o n Russia, according to the News, can provide crude at the same prices it is offering to its major clients, which are stable and sound economies, at the appro priate time

T h e R u s s i a n s i d e a s k e d P a k i s t a n t o f i r s t h o n o u r i t s c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e f l a g s h i p p r o j e c t o f t h e m u c h t o u t e d Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline

ready to reach Gilgit Baltistan, a s e m i a u t o n o m o u s r e g i o n i n P a k i s t a n I n d i a s a y s G i l g i t Baltistan is part of Kashmir and is illegally occupied by Pakistan I s l a m a b a d c a l l e d S i n g h ’ s statement “ridiculous” and said it represents New Delhi’s expan s i o n i s t m i n d s e t a n d h o s t i l i t y t o w a r d s i t s n e i g h b o u r B o t h S o u t h A s i a n n u c l e a r p o w e r s claim all of Kashmir but govern o n l y p a r t s o f i t T h e y h a v e fought two of their three wars

to be constructed from Karachi to Lahore Pakistan’s official delegation left for Moscow on November 29 on a three day visit for talks with the Russian authorities to explore possibili ties of import of crude oil at a discounted price, mode of pay m e n t a n d s h i p m e n t c o s t C i t i n g i n d u s t r i a l m i n i s t r y s o u r c e s , t h e p a p e r s a i d t h a t Russian crude oil can be pro cessed in Pakistan’s refineries, and in the past one private r e f i n e r y h a d u s e d R u s s i a n crude oil to deliver finished products

over the Himalayan region

Both sides frequently accuse one another of violating a 2003 ceasefire by firing and shelling across the Line of Control, a de f a c t o b o r d e r t h a t d i v i d e s Kashmir in two and is 740 km long Following the renewal of the ceasefire, the LoC has been largely quiet since early 2021 Pakistan’s generals retain a strong influence over security m a t t e r s a n d f o r e i g n a f f a i r s , according to analysts

Pak govt now invites Imran’s PTI for ‘negotiations’

IS LAM AB AD : The Pakistan gov e rnm e nt i nvit e d Im r an K ha n ’ s Pa kis t an Te hre ek e In sa f pa rt y for hol ding “ unc onditional ta lks”, s aying negotiations are part of the political pr oc ess and complex prob lems ar e res ol ved when two s ides hear each other out

Addressing a joint press con ference with interior minister R a n a S a n a u l l a h , m i n i s t e r f o r railways Khawaja Saad Rafique s a i d t h e o p p o s i t i o n P a k i s t a n Tehreek e Insaf party should sit down and negotiate with the g o v e r n m e n t t o r e s o l v e t h e impasse over holding early gen eral elections

At the same time, they said that threats and talks cannot go t o g e t h e r T h e d e v e l o p m e n t c o m e s a f t e r P T I c h i e f K h a n warned that he would dissolve the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces ruled by his party if the federal g o v e r n m e n t l e d b y P r i m e Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not sit down for talks and announce

dates for the general elections

The federal government led b y P r i m e M i n i s t e r S h a r i f i s o p p o s e d t o h o l d i n g e l e c t i o n s now The term of the current National Assembly will end in August 2023 Khan, 70, last week announced that his lawmakers would resign from the provin cial assemblies as he withdrew a threat to march on the capital I s l a m a b a d b y s a y i n g t h a t i t w o u l d r e s u l t i n d e s t r u c t i o n

“They should sit with us for u n c o n d i t i o n a l t a l k s , ” R a f i q u e said

Saudi Arabia extended the term of a $3 billion deposit it made to Pakistan s foreign reserves, state news agency SPA and Pakistan s central bank said Saudi Arabia had deposited the money in Pakistan s central bank late last year as a loan to shore up the cash strapped country’s reserves The central bank reserves stood at $7 5 billion as of November 25 this year Too low to cover more than a month of imports, the reserves together with a widening current account deficit have threatened a balance of payment crises for the South Asian economy, which has to settle another $1 billion bond this week

INDONESIA SET TO PENALISE SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE

Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass a new criminal code this month that will penalise sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, officials have confirmed The legislative overhaul will also ban insulting the president or state institutions and expressing any views counter to state ideology Cohabitation before marriage is also banned

The new criminal code is expected to be passed on December 15 Indonesia’s deputy justice minister Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej said The code if passed would apply to Indonesian citizens and foreigners alike and would change Indonesia s image as a holiday and investment destination

5 LETTER BOMB DEFUSED AT US EMBASSY IN SPAIN

Bomb disposal experts defused a letter bomb at the US embassy in Madrid, the sixth such device sent to high profile targets in a wave that prompted Spain to step up security and vow not to be deterred from supporting Ukraine On November 24, a package was sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to kick off the campaign prompting Madrid to step up security around government buildings Similar devices have also been sent to the Ukrainian embassy where a security guard was slightly hurt an air force base a weapons manufacturer and other locations

FREE MOVEMENT FOR PEOPLE OF EAST AFRICA

East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) signed an agreement on the free movement of people as representatives from the eight African countries gathered in the Sudanese capital Dr Workneh Gebeyehu the authority s secretary stated that representatives from seven countries, with the exception of Uganda s minister, who was not present had signed a free movement of people agreement and a "trans human protocol " Gebeyehu provided no further details about the two deals, which were signed behind closed doors He called it a "very big achievement for the region "

Sher Bahadur Deuba

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in brief Sikh woman shot dead at gas station in Canada

FORMER CHINESE PRESIDENT JIANG

ZEMIN DIES

Jiang Zemin, the Shanghai Communist kingpin who was handpicked to lead China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and presided over a decade of meteoric economic growth, died last week in Shangau He was 96 A Communist Party announcement said the cause was leukaemia and multiple organ failure His death and the memorial ceremonies to follow come at a delicate moment in China, where the ruling party is confronting a wave of widespread protests against its pandemic controls a nationwide surge of political opposition unseen since the Tiananmen movement of Jiang’s time

16 KILLED, MOSTLY KIDS, IN AFGHAN BLAST

At least 16 people were killed and 24 others wounded by a blast at a madrassa in Afghanistan s northern city of Aybak, a doctor at a local hospital said There have been dozens of blasts and attacks targeting civilians since the Taliban returned to power last year, most claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group A doctor in Aybak said the casualties were mostly youngsters “All of them are children and ordinary people,” he said, asking not to be named A provincial official confirmed the blast at Al Jihad madrassa, an Islamic religious school, but could not provide casualty figures

DEMOCRATS CHOOSE

EX LAWYER TO REPLACE PELOSI

Democratic lawmakers have unanimously elected Hakeem Jeffries as their next leader in the House of Representatives after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she would step aside as the party s most senior member of Congress Jeffries, the 52 year old congressman from New York, was selected in a meeting of Democratic members of Congress Jeffries, who ran unopposed, becomes the first black person to lead a major political party on Capitol Hill The smooth transition of power in the Democratic caucus comes as Republicans remain at odds over who should lead their party in the wake of disappointing midterm election results

THAI TEMPLE LEFT EMPTY AFTER MONKS FAIL DRUG TESTS

A Buddhist temple in Thailand has been left without monks after all its holy men failed drug tests and were defrocked a local official said Four monks including an abbot at a temple in Phetchabun province s Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine The monks have been sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, the official said

DNA TESTING LEADS TO ARREST IN 1983 MURDERS

IN CANADA

Genealogical testing has led to an arrest in the 1983 murders of two women in Toronto, one of whom was the daughter of a founder of gold mining giant Barrick Gold, police said Erin Gilmour 22, and Susan Tice, 45, were found stabbed to death four months apart in in 1983 in their respective bedrooms after having been sexually assaulted Joseph George Sutherland was taken into custody at his home in Ontario last week and charged with two counts of first degree murder after police connected him to the crime scene via genealogical probe using DNA

TO R ONT O: A 21 year old Canadian Sikh woman has been shot dead, in an appar ent “tar geted” killing in Canada’s On t a r i o p r o vi nc e , a c co r d in g t o t h e pol ic e T h e v ic t im, i d en t i fi ed a s

Pawanpr eet Kaur fr om Brampt on, was fatall y shot by an unidentified assailant in Mississauga cit y of Ontario, accor ding to the Peel s Regional Pol ice

According to the Toronto Sun news paper, Kaur was shot outside a gas sta tion Police received information about a woman being shot and located the vic t i m w i t h a p p a r e n t g u n s h o t w o u n d s upon arrival at the scene Life saving measures were attempted, but the vic t i m s u c c u m b e d t o h e r i n j u r i e s T h e police believe it to be a “targeted” inci dent Kaur was pronounced dead on the

scene, according to duty inspector “The culprit was seen running from the scene wearing all dark clothing,” he added “We saw her fall down and then sudden ly the gunman pointed the gun at her head,” the newspaper quoted an eyewit ness as saying This comes days after an Indian origin teenager was stabbed to death in Canada’s British Columbia

Canadian Sikhs reach out to

drivers stranded in snowstorm

TORO NTO: Volun tee rs with a Sikh gurd war a in Ca nad a ste pped in wit h food, hot t ea an d shelte r whe n he avy snow le d to block ed br id g e s a n d h ig h wa y s a r ou n d V a n co uv e r le avin g ma ny drive rs str an ded and shiver ing Dr i v e r s r e p or t e d b e i n g s t u ck o n N e w We st minste r's Que ensborough Brid ge a nd Highwa y 91 for hours a long with a g roup of volun te ers from G urdwa ra Sa hib Suk h Saga r T h e g r o u p m a d e t h e i r w a y t o t h e Gurdwara, which was adjacent to the bridge on the Queensborough side, and came back with hot tea and packed snacks for the stranded motorists As the traffic stood still even after sunset, the volunteers decided to use the Gurdwara's kitchen to cook meals for the people trapped in their vehicles "We decided we should prepare 200 meals, 300

meals right away so we could feed maxi mum people when they need it We just thought we have to do that," Amandeep Singh Garcha, spokesperson for the Khalsa Diwan Society of New Westminster, said The gurdwara also opened its doors for drivers who wanted to sleep and stay warm until traffic began moving on the bridge Posting a video of the volunteers at work on their Twitter handle, the Sikh Community of BC wrote: "Thank you to community members and teams at local gurdwaras for providing emergency assistance and food to stranded drivers during the storm Sikhs protect the oppressed and serve those in need We call upon local politicians to step up and be proactive in extreme weather events "

More Chinese cities ease curbs, but full zero-Covid exit still a far cry

B EIJ IN G : Fol lowing massive pr otests over restriction s last wee kend, Chin a is att empt ing to make its zero Covid policy mor e tar gete d a nd ma nageab le b y reducing coron avirus b ans in more Chine se cities, incl uding Urumq i in the fa r west The National He alt h Commission stated that the nation re corded two new Covid 19 de aths in the pr ov inces of Sha ndong an d Sichua There was no infor ma tion provided r egarding the victims' ages or vaccinat ion status

Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region and where the protests first erupted, will reopen malls, markets, restaurants and other venues, authorities said, ending strict lock downs after months

People in Zhengzhou, the central city home to the world’s largest iPhone plant which was last month rocked by violent unrest, will no longer have to show Covid test results to take public transport, taxis and to visit “public areas ” , stated by authorities

Karaoke bars, salons, internet cafes and other indoor venues can reopen but must check for a negative 48 hour Covid test result

In Shanghai a negative Covid test will no longer be required to take public transport and visit parks, said authorities An additional criterion for a negative Covid test to use the subway was removed in Nanning and Wuhan The Haizhu district of Guangzhou has stated that it will no longer urge those without symptoms of Covid to get tested for the virus unless they fall into one of many special cate gories, such as frontline workers or those with a red or yellow designation Authorities in Beijing said that registration is no longer need for the purchase of fever; cough and sore throat medicines Sources revealed that China is set to announce an easing of its Covid 19 quarantine protocols in the coming days and a reduction in mass testing, a marked shift in policy after anger over the world’s toughest curbs fuelled widespread protests

Trump shocks US by calling for scrapping of Constitution

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Iran abolishes morality police after months of protests

TE HR A N: Iran has reportedly abo lished its m orality po lice, accord ing to a statem ent from the attorney general that was broad c as t o n st ate m ed i a T h i s c o m es af te r m onths of unrest that w as sparked by th e d eath o f Mahsa A mini, a young wom an w ho w a s d e tain ed by th e f o rce fo r al leg ed l y breaking the natio n's strict Islamic d ress reg u lations A cco rding to state media reports, t h e st ate m en t b y att o rne y g ene ra l M ohamm ad Jav ad M ontazeri claimed that " the sam e authorities w ho installed it abo l ish ed the morality police " But h e went on to sug gest that the jud iciary w ould still enforce restrictions o n “social behaviour” He also indicated that the authorities were review ing the head scarf reg ulations But it w as not clear wheth er th e authorities planned to relax the hijab law, which rem ained in force

The morality police's main duty was to u p h o l d t h e l a w s g o v e r n i n g I r a n s s t r i c t Islamic dress code, which had been put in place following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and had recently been reinvigorated by the nation's new ultraconservative president The dress code for women became an ideo logical pillar of the ruling clerical establish ment, central to its identity

Protesters chanted “ woman, life, free dom,” tore off their hijabs, burned them in street bonfires and cut their hair in symbolic acts of defiance University students chanted “Killings after killings, to hell with morality p o l i c e ! ” B u t t h e p r o t e s t s s o o n g r e w t o encompass the entire range of discontents with Iran’s ruling establishment, making it unclear whether protesters would be satis fied with this concession

T h e m o r a l i t y p o l i c e w e r e s u b j e c t t o sanctions from the US in September A crackdown by security forces in response to the protest movement has resulted in hun dreds of deaths, and the government has t h r e a t e n e d s e v e r e p e n a l t i e s f o r d i s s e n t , including executions Rights groups say that at least 300 people have been killed since the protests began, including 50 minors, and the United Nations has said that some 14,000 people have been arrested

US rebukes China for criticising military exercise with India

WA S HING TO N: The U S joined India in rep rim anding Ch ina for criticising the ongo i n g I nd ia U S m i l it ary e xer ci s e in U ttarakhand , not far from the LA C, as its top d iplomat supp orted Ind ia's position that the joint exercises, officially know n as Yud h A bhyas, is no ne of C hina's bu siness

throu gh

the years into consi derati on, form er President Donald Trump shocked the US political establish ment by calling for the abolition of the US constitution because, in h is w ord s, th ere was "m assive fraud" in the 2020 presid ential electio n, a claim that has be en r ep ea te d ly r ef u ted and r ej ec te d Tru mp's unprecedented call to revoke the constitution came after E lon M usk, the bil lionaire ow ner of Tw itter, hired a reporter to exam ine internal emails of the service before he assumed contro l to d em onstrate that the p rev i ou s a d m i ni s tra ti o n h a d " c en so r ed " reports about the promiscuous lifestyle o f Joe Biden's son, Hu nter Biden, w ho w as then running for president Musk, Trump, and their backers implied

that Twitter had aided Democrats' victory by r e m o v i n g n e g a t i v e a r t i c l e s a n d g r a p h i c images of Hunter Right wing, pro Trump m e d i a o u t l e t s p u b l i s h e d t h e s t o r i e s a n d images depicting Hunter in questionable sit uations, but the pre Musk Twitter effective ly restricted its reach by banning posts and links

“Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 out and declare the rightful winner, or do you have a new election? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regu lations, and articles, even those found in the constitution,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, accusing “Big Tech” of working closely with Democrats “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”

U S c h a r g é d ' a f f a i r e s E l i z a b e t h J o n e s , however, defended the US decision to allow Pakistan to sustain its F 16 fleet saying the $450 million package was meant for mainte nance, and not upgradation of Islamabad's F 16 programme While India had lodged a strong protest with the US, Jones said the US has similar maintenance packages for all countries it supplies the aircraft to On ties with Pakistan, she said the US had separate policies for India and Pakistan and these were not related to or dependent on each other

In response to a question about democ racy and press freedom in India, the coun try's permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, stated that India does not need to be told what to do regarding democ racy

Jones also spoke on the Russian oil price cap saying that while it will be "appropriate" for countries to take into account that the cap is meant to reduce Moscow’s ability to wage war, what they finally do will have to be a sovereign decision

Exit polls predict big win for BJP in Gujarat, slight edge in HP

Exit polls predict a big win for BJP in Gujarat and just a slight edge in a close fight w i t h t h e C o n g r e s s i n H i m a c h a l P r a d e s h , w h i l e unanimously giving AAP a t h u m p i n g w i n i n t h e m u n i c i p a l p o l l s i n t h e n a t i o n a l c a p i t a l T h e e x i t poll results were declared after the second phase of Gujarat assembly elections on Monday

A number of exit polls o n G u j a r a t g a v e B J P anywhere between 125 and 161 seats in the 182 member H o u s e , l e a v i n g C o n g r e s s with at best 50 seats AAP’s tally was projected to be in s i n g l e d i g i t s o r m a y j u s t touch double digits, though t h e p a r t y i s p r o j e c t e d t o capture enough of a vote share to split the opposition

vote down the middle In H i m a c h a l , p o l l s w e r e unanimous on the contest being close but divided on t h e v e r d i c t , t h o u g h m o s t gave BJP the edge The India T o d a y A x i s p o l l w a s t h e only one to give Congress a clear edge with 30 40 in the 6 8 m e m b e r H o u s e compared to 24 34 for BJP T h e p o l l s w e r e a l s o unanimous that AAP would fail to open its account in t h e s t a t e A w i n f o r B J P w o u l d b u c k t h e t r e n d o f incumbents being unseated by the voters of the hill state

I n M C D e l e c t i o n s i n D e l h i , a l l t h e p o l l s s u g g e s t e d a c r u s h i n g victory for AAP, ending 15 years of BJP supremacy in t h e c a p i t a l ’ s m u n i c i p a l b o d y T h e f o r e c a s t s

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suggested that AAP could win a two thirds majority while Congress would be left struggling to take its tally into double digits Exit p o l l s h a v e h a d a m i x e d

record in the past in India and the actual results on Wednesday and Thursday w i l l r e v e a l w h e t h e r t h e i r latest efforts count among their wins or losses

Lower turnout of urban voters in Gujarat assembly poll

Th e a pp e a l s b y p ol it i c a l pa r t ie s a n d th e E l e c t i on Com miss ion of India (ECI) asking urbanites t o come out and vote s eem to have had little im pac t as the turnout in the s econd and final phas e of t he a s s e m b l y e l e c t io n in Gujarat for 93 seats wa s only sl ightly better than the f ir st ph a s e wh ic h r e g is te r e d a tur nout of 63 31% Of t he 25 4 million elect orate, nearly 6 4 3 9 % e xe r c i s e d t h e ir franc his e on M onday, nearly 6 pe r c e n t a ge po in t s l es s c om pa r e d t o t he s e c o nd phas e turnout in 2 017

Gujarat’s chief electoral o f f i c e r P B h a r a t h i s a i d , “Monday was a working day W e d d i n g s c o i n c i d i n g w i t h e l e c t i o n , a n d f e w e r v o t i n g h o u r s a f f e c t e d t h e p o l l i n g a d v e r s e l y , ” B h a r a t h i s a i d , blaming urban apathy too “In our report, we will ask the ECI to increase the voting h o u r s ( i n f u t u r e e l e c t i o n s ) and take steps to improve voting in urban areas, ” she added

T h e s e c o n d p h a s e w i l l decide the electoral fate of 833 candidates in central and north Gujarat districts, some of the big names being chief m i n i s t e r B h u p e n d r a P a t e l and his eight ministers along with young Turks and caste a g i t a t i o n l e a d e r s H a r d i k P a t e l , J i g n e s h M e v a n i a n d Alpesh Thakor

W h i l e t h e r u r a l a r e a s d i s p l a y e d d e m o c r a t i c f e r v o u r , p e o p l e i n u r b a n c e n t r e s t r u d g e d t o p o l l i n g booths, many of them after m u c h c o a x i n g b y p a r t y workers

The far flung villages of T h a r a d a n d D e o d a r i n B a n a s k a n t h a c a m e o u t overwhelmingly with the two seats recording an impressive 7 8 % a n d 7 4 % v o t i n g respectively

B e d r i d d e n p e o p l e , patients on oxygen support,

s e n i o r c i t i z e n s i n c l u d i n g c e n t e n a r i a n s , a n d t r a n s p e o p l e w e r e a m o n g t h o s e who came out to vote, setting a n e x a m p l e f o r o t h e r s t o e x e r c i s e t h e i r d e m o c r a t i c r i g h t T h e f a c t t h a t m o s t voters in cities preferred to cool their heels at home was evident from the fact that the 2 3 u r b a n s e a t s o f A h m e d a b a d , V a d o d a r a a n d G a n d h i n a g a r , s a w t h e turnout drop from 67 02% in phase 2 of 2017 to 56 15% this time The lowest voting was i n A h m e d a b a d ( 5 4 8 8 % ) followed by Vadodara (58 5%) and Gandhinagar (60 47%)

Several reasons like long q u e u e s a n d n o t b e i n g a l l o w e d t o t a k e m o b i l e p h o n e s i n t o t h e p o l l i n g c e n t r e s a d d e d t o t h e disinterest In tribal areas, w h i c h u s u a l l y w i t n e s s massive turnouts, the polling r e m a i n e d m u c h l e s s compared to the 2017 poll In t h e 1 3 t r i b a l s e a t s , t h e turnout was 61 76%, much less compared to 67 67% in the second phase of 2017

O n t h e s i x s c h e d u l e d c a s t e ( S C ) s e a t s t o o , t h e polling fell from 69 74% in 2017 to 63 28% this time Stray incidents of violence w e r e r e p o r t e d f r o m P a n c h m a h a l a n d D a h o d Stones were pelted at the car o f C o n g r e s s c a n d i d a t e Prabhatsinh Chauhan after f r i c t i o n b e t w e e n p a r t y workers in a village where he had gone to check reports of b o g u s v o t i n g A C o n g r e s s

w o r k e r w a s s t a b b e d i n M a r g a l a v i l l a g e o f D a h o d d i s t r i c t f o l l o w i n g s o m e quarrel at a polling booth S k i r m i s h e s w e r e a l s o reported in Pirozepur village near Vadgam between the B J P a n d t h e C o n g r e s s workers 63 31% turnout in first phase

The final figure of the voter turnout for the 89 seats t h a t v o t e d i n P h a s e I , i n Saurashtra, Kutch and South Gujarat, was 63 31% This w a s a b o u t f i v e p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t s l o w e r t h a n t h e t u r n o u t o n t h e s e s e a t s i n 2 0 1 7 B h a r u c h d i s t r i c t r e p o r t e d a t u r n o u t o f 6 6 3 1 % , a d e c l i n e o f 7 1 1 percentage points from 73 42% in 2017

O t h e r d i s t r i c t s t h a t reported major declines were Rajkot (6 84 pp), Dangs (6 48 pp) and Jamnagar (6 28 pp) Of the 19 districts that voted, Devbhoomi Dwarka was the only one to report a higher turnout, with a 1 9% i n c r e a s e T h e t u r n o u t i n 2 0 1 7 w a s 5 9 8 1 % , a n d increased to 61 71%

T r i b a l d o m i n a t e d N a r m a d a d i s t r i c t r e p o r t e d the highest turnout, 78 24%, f o l l o w e d b y T a p i , a n o t h e r t r i b a l d i s t r i c t , a t 7 6 9 1 % Navsari recorded a turnout of 71 06%, the EC said

D e d i p a d a i n N a r m a d a r e c o r d e d t h e h i g h e s t turnout, 82 71%, followed by K a p r a d a a t 7 0 5 7 % T h e lowest turnout was on the Gandhidham seat, 47 86%

Karanj was second lowest at 50 54% By district, Botad recorded the lowest turnout, 5 7 5 8 % , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e E C ’ s f i n a l t a l l y A m r e l i followed closely at 57 59%

Turnout was 62 27% in Surat and 60 45% in Rajkot T h r e e v i l l a g e s r e p o r t e d b o y c o t t s o f t h e e l e c t i o n Dhrafa in J amnagar, Samot i n N a r m a d a a n d K e s a r i n Bharuch district

During voting, 89 ballot units, 82 control units and 2 3 8 v o t e r v e r i f i a b l e p a p e r audit trail (VVPAT) units had to be replaced in these 19 districts, the chief election officer’s (CEO) office said

A total of 104 complaints were received during voting, i n c l u d i n g s i x r e g a r d i n g malfunctioning EVMs, two regarding bogus voting, 30 r e g a r d i n g l a w a n d o r d e r i s s u e s , 3 6 r e g a r d i n g violations of the model code of conduct (MCC), and 30 for issues such as slow voting, bogus voting and power cuts, it said in a release

Moderate

to high voter turnout during by-elections

M o de r at e t o h ig h v o t e r t u r n o u t w as w i t ne ss ed dur ing by elections f or the M ainpur i Lo k Sabh a seat in U t t ar P r a de sh , an d s ix a ss em bl y s ea t s in f iv e states, which were h el d on M o n day a l o n g wi t h t h e second p hase of assembly e l ec t i o n in G u j ar a t Th e a ss em bl y se at s w er e Ramp ur Sadar and Khatauli i n U t t ar P r ad es h , P ad am p u r in O di sh a, S ar darshahar in Rajasth an, K u r h an i i n B ih ar , a nd B h an u p r a t ap p u r in Ch hattisgarh

Except for Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, where only a b o u t 3 1 % o f v o t e r s c a s t ballots, by elections for the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and six assembly seats saw m o d e r a t e t o h i g h v o t e r turnouts

The turnout was 80 per c e n t i n P a d a m p u r i n Odisha, nearly 70 per cent i n S a r d a r s h a h a r i n Rajasthan, 64 86 per cent in B h a n u p r a t a p p u r i n Chhattisgarh and around 58 per cent in Kurhani in Bihar No major untoward incident was reported

Mainpuri parliamentary c o n s t i t u e n c y , w h i c h f e l l vacant after the death of Mamajwadi Party patriarch M u l a y a m S i n g h Y a d a v , r e g i s t e r e d 5 3 3 1 t u r n o u t w h i l e K h a t a u l i a s s e m b l y segment in Muzaffarnagar r e c o r d e d 5 6 4 6 p e r c e n t polling, according to the Election Commission app

In Mainpuri, Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav i s p i t t e d a g a i n s t B J P ' s R a g h u r a j S i n g h S h a k y a , once a close associate of Shivpal Singh Yadav It had recorded a turnout of 56 61 per cent in the 2019 polls

The son of former party l e g i s l a t o r S h i v B a h a d u r Saxena, Akash Saxena, is r u n n i n g a g a i n s t A z a m K h a n ' s h e n c h m a n A s i m Raja in the Rampur Sadar a s s e m b l y d i s t r i c t I n t h e

e a r l y y e a r a s s e m b l y e l e c t i o n , i t h a d e a r n e d 56 61 per cent of the vote, but on Monday, it was only 31 22 per cent

In Khatauli, the main f i g h t i s b e t w e e n V i k r a m S i n g h S a i n i ' s w i f e R a j k u m a r i S a i n i a n d M a d a n B h a i y a o f t h e Rashtriya Lok Dal It has seen a turnout of 68 88 per cent in the last assembly polls After Congress MLA M a n o j S i n g h M a n d a v i passed away last month, t h e B h a n u p r a t a p p u r s e a t was expected to see a direct election between the BJP and the Congress In an effort to hold onto the seat, t h e C o n g r e s s f i e l d e d S a v i t r i M a n d a v i , t h e deceased MLA's wife, while t h e B J P d i d s o w i t h a f o r m e r M L A I n t h e M a o i s t a f f e c t e d K a n k e r d i s t r i c t o f C h h a t t i s g a r h , where voting started at 7 a m a m i d h i g h s e c u r i t y , 64 86% of eligible voters participated

A c c o r d i n g t o a n o f f i c i a l , 6 9 9 1 p e r c e n t voting was recorded by 5 30 pm at Sardarshahar seat in Rajasthan's Churu district The Congress has fielded Sharma's son Anil Kumar, w h i l e t h e B J P h a s n o m i n a t e d f o r m e r M L A Ashok Kumar

N e a r l y 8 0 % e x e r c i s e d their franchise in Odisha's P a d a m p u r a s s e m b l y constituency, an Election C o m m i s s i o n o f f i c i a l said “There was no report of any untoward incident i n t h e e n t i r e P a d a m p u r a s s e m b l y c o n s t i t u e n c y during the voting process, ” O d i s h a ' s C h i e f E l e c t o r a l Officer (CEO) S K Lohani said

In Bihar s Kurhani, the d i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n o f R J D MLA Anil Kumar Sahani p r o m p t e d t h e p o l l s a n d around 58 per cent voting t u r n o u t i s r e g i s t e r e d i n Kurhani (Bihar)

Gujarati origin shot dead by two teenagers in US

A n a r m e d r o bb e r y i n T e nn e ss e e , US , cl a i me d t h e li fe of a 36 y ea r o l d n o n r e si d e n t G u ja r a t i f rom Unt va vill age in K ad i ta luka in Me hsana d istrict T wo 15 y ear old bo ys wer e d e t a i n e d by t h e M e t r o p o l i ta n N a sh v i l l e P o l i c e D e p a r t me nt i n conne cti on wi th the cri me

A c c o r d i n g t o M a h e n d r a P a t e l , s a r p a c h o f U n t v a v i l l a g e , t h e y received information that Vishal Patel, a native of his village, was shot dead by two men in US Mahendra said that Vishal’s parents had emigrated to US about

a decade ago “Vishal first went to Canada and then m o v e d t o U S H e w a s working in a convenience s t o r e t h e r e , ” M a h e n d r a told media

T h e N a s h v i l l e p o l i c e s a i d , “ T w o 1 5 y e a r o l d s from Kentucky have been c h a r g e d w i t h m u r d e r i n Juvenile Court for the fatal shooting of Vishal Patel, 36, at the Kwik Sak, 4890 Lebanon Pike, last Monday afternoon ”

They added that after t h e a c c u s e d t e e n a g e r s entered the gas station and s p o k e w i t h V i s h a l f o r a short time, one of them

pulled a handgun and shot V i s h a l , a w o r k e r t h e r e A c c o r d i n g t o t h e p r e s s release, Vishal was taken to S k y l i n e M e d i c a l C e n t e r , where he passed away In a stolen car the accused pair drove away from the scene Police located the stolen c a r w h e r e t h e t w o teenagers were taken into c u s t o d y P o l i c e r e l e a s e f u r t h e r s t a t e d t h a t b o t h teenagers admitted to their i n v o l v e m e n t d u r i n g a n i n t e r v i e w T h e p o l i c e department said that the duo was also involved in a n o t h e r r o b b e r y a d a y before they shot Vishal

Remittances from overseas Indians to reach $100 bn in 2022: World Bank

Remittance

of choice

Indian

Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to a

dominant share of high skilled employment in high income countries

“Between 2016 17 and 2020 21, the share of remittances from the US, the UK and Singapore increased from 26% to over 36%, while the share from the five GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar) dropped from 54% to 28%,” it said

In 2020 21, US remittances surpassed that of the UAE as the top source country, with a share of 23% of total remittances The report pointed out that nearly 20% of India’s emigrants are in the US and UK

According to the US Census, of the five million or so Indians living in the US as of 2019, about 57% had been residents for more

than 10 years The report went on to say that many people obtained graduate degrees during this time, p r e p a r i n g t h e m f o r a q u i c k t r a n s i t i o n i n t o t h e h i g h e s t earning group

R e m i t t a n c e s a r e s e e n a s a crucial source of foreign exchange At $ 1 0 0 b i l l i o n , r e m i t t a n c e s f r o m I n d i a n workers overseas will be 25% higher than the FDI flows, which the government estimated will reach around $80 billion this year

According to the report, the structural c h a n g e i n j o b r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d f i n a l destinations has sped up the growth of

15 months after discharge in Sunanda case, cops move HC against Tharoor

a g a i n s t h i m i n a c c o r d a n c e with Sections 498 A (husband or relative of husband subject ing a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetting suicide) of the Indian Penal Code

remittances associated with high salaries, particularly in the service sector "Indian migrants in high income nations worked f r o m h o m e d u r i n g t h e p a n d e m i c a n d b e n e f i t e d f r o m s i z a b l e f i s c a l s t i m u l u s packages In spite of high inflation, post pandemic wage increases and record high employment levels supported remittance growth, it said

Bilkis Bano moves SC against release of 11 convicts

T h e p l e a w a s a l l e g e d l y n o t served on Tharoor and was "delib erately" sent to the wrong email address, according to Justice D K Sharma, who requested that police provide a copy of their petition to Tharoor's attorney

The court also issued notice and sought response of Tharoor on an application by police seeking to condone the delay in filing the revi s i o n p e t i t i o n a g a i n s t t h e t r i a l court’s August 18, 2021 order, as police approached the court after more than 15 months The attorney for Tharoor informed the court that the court had issued numerous

orders stating that no one should have access to the case's records during the course of the trial

The court then directed that copies and documents relating to the case shall not be supplied to any other person except the parties and listed the matter for hearing on February 7, next year

Tharoor was discharged in the case more than seven years after businesswoman Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel in the capital T h e D e l h i P o l i c e f i l e d c h a r g e s

The prosecution had earli er alleged that Pushkar was s u b j e c t e d t o m e n t a l c r u e l t y which led to her bad health It claimed that her death was not an accident and supported this claim with the postmortem report, which indicates that poisoning, either oral o r i n t r a v e n o u s l y , w a s t h e l i k e l y cause of death Pushkar, a promi n e n t f a c e i n D e l h i c i r c l e s , w a s found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel on the night of January 17, 2014 The couple had been staying in the hotel as Tharoor’s official bungalow was being renovated at the time

India, Germany sign pact to tackle climate change

For the year 2023, I ndia and German y have agreed to i nvest EU R 1 billion in developme nt projects Thi s wa s sign ed j ointly by the two parties against the b ackdrop of the development partners hi p f or s us t a i n a b l e a n d gr e e n de v e l op m e n t t h a t G e r m a n C han cellor O laf Sc holz and Indi an Pri me Min ister N arendra M odi signed in M ay of this y ear

The German Chancellor is likely to visit India twice in 2022, according to Philipp Ackermann, the German ambassador to India, who was speaking to media in New Delhi The bilateral visit will be cen tred on strengthening strategic ties between the two parties and emphasising sustainable and green devel opment

The bilateral visit will be ahead of the G20 Summit in September 2023 under India’s presidency

The transition to renewable energy, climate resilient urban development, and sustainable use of natural resources are just a few of the projects that the two nations have already finalized, according to the ambassador These projects, which are part of the partnership for green and sustainable development, have an annual budget of about EUR 1 billion

During PM Modi’s visit to Germany this year in

May, the German Chancellor had announced support of at least EUR 10 billion by 2030 u n d e r t h e G S D P D r P h i l i p p Ackermann said that a large part will be in the form of credit lines from KfW Development Bank A n d t h e i n t e r e s t r a t e s a r e between 2 7 per cent to 3 2 per cent

According to him, all the new joint ventures in India will not only help in cutting down the greenhouse gas emissions, but will help adapt to climate change

The main points of bilateral development cooperation with India will continue consistently and expand further in the com ing years

He stated that the Projects which have been finalized are going to be located in Meghalaya, T a m i l N a d u , R a j a s t h a n a n d Himachal Pradesh

Israeli director's remarks on 'Kashmir Files' create a row

Israel i fil mma ker/ dir ect or Nada v Lapid’s dis pa ra ging comme nts ove r t he incl usion of “The Ka shmir File s ” in the competitive sec t ion of the Inte rnational Fil m Festival of India t hat concl uded in Goa tr iggere d a st rong b acklash wit h even Israel ’ s e nvoy to India, Na or Gil on, ca lling t he m “insensitive and pre sumpt uous ”

Pramod Sawant, the chief minister of Goa, t h e f i l m ' s d i r e c t o r V i v e k A g n i h o t r i , a n d Anupam Kher all criticised Lapid at the same time that the political opposition seized on the Israeli director's comments as the jury's chairman as support for their claims that the movie was "BJP backed propaganda "

Union ministers Anurag Thakur and L Murugan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner A s h a P a r e k h , A k s h a y K u m a r a n d R a n a Daggubati were among the audience at the 53rd edition of IFFI's closing ceremony Lapid, the head of the international competition sec tion, said that he and his fellow jurors were "disturbed and shocked" by the inclusion of "The Kashmir Files" in the artistic competi tion After sparking a political row with his comments criticising ‘The Kashmir Files’ as a “propaganda” film, Lapid said that he stands by everything he said because “in countries that are increasingly losing the ability to speak the truth, someone needs to speak up ”

Bilk is B ano, a survivor of rape, a ske d the Supre me Cour t to hol d an ope n hear ing on he r r equest for review of the SC's May 13 decision al lowing Gujarat to consider the remission ple as of 11 l ifers who we re convicte d of ga ng ra pin g ma ny p eopl e an d kill ing 14 dur in g the st ate s 2002 communal r iot s She a lso filed a wr it petition t o chal lenge the B JP rule d sta te's decision to a rb it ra ril y an d inappropriatel y rel ease the convict

Before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, counsel Shobha Gupta sought an urgent hearing of the two petitions filed by Bilkis According to the CJI, a bench presided over by J u s t i c e A j a y R a s t o g i i s c u r r e n t l y hearing the earlier petitions (filed by Subhasini Ali and others) contesting the grant of remission and release of prisoners “I'll look into the possibil ity of listing both of these petitions the review and the writ by Bilkis before the same bench I'll give the necessary orders ”

On August 10, the state com

muted the sentences of the convicts u n d e r t h e 1 9 9 2 R u l e s o n t h e g r o u n d s t h a t t h e y h a d a l r e a d y served more than 14 years in prison Importantly, the state government had conceded that the remission proposal was opposed by both the trial court judge at Mumbai, where the trial was shifted from Gujarat on the SC’s orders, and the prosecuting agency CBI on the ground that the convicts did not deserve remission a s t h e y h a d c o m m i t t e d h e i n o u s offences in a gruesome manner Bilkis in both her pleas narrated the 2002 incident as “ one of the most gruesome and heinous crime of mul tiple gang rape of a five month preg nant woman (Bilkis), gang rape and m u r d e r o f h e r m o t h e r , a n d h e r cousin sister who was weak due to child delivery Brutal murder of 8 minors, including a two day old girl child of her cousin, her three and a h a l f y e a r o l d d a u g h t e r ( h e r f i r s t child) by smashing her head on a rock, her two minor brothers and sis ters, and other relatives ”

Shashi Tharoor & Sunanda Pushkar

DMK seeks to quash Citizenship Amendment Act Maharashtra ministers unlikely to visit disputed village in Karnataka

New Delhi: S eeking quashing o f th e C iti zensh ip A mend m ent A ct ( CAA ) for being u nconstitutional, DM K told the Suprem e C ourt that the Act d estroys th e basic fabric of secularism by discriminating on the b as i s o f r eli g i o n a nd al so i t i s a g ai n st th e T a m i l ra ce f o r no t bring ing Tam il refug ees with in the ambit o f the law

I n a n a f f i d a v i t f i l e d b y i t s organising secretary R S Bharati, the governing party of Tamil Nadu pleaded the apex court to quash the amendment, which has also been challenged by people from various walks of life

“I respectfully submit that the Act introduces a completely new basis for the grant/non grant of c i t i z e n s h i p o n t h e g r o u n d o f religion which destroys the basis fabric of secularism There is no reason as to why Muslims were a l t o g e t h e r e x c l u d e d e v e n i n s i x c o u n t r i e s w h e r e i n t h e y s u f f e r e d persecution I humbly submit that the Act is against Tamil race a n d k e e p s o u t s i m i l a r l y p l a c e d Tamils who are residing in Tamil

Nadu from the purview of the Act," the affidavit said

The party said the Act ignores the reality that for several decades, T a m i l r e f u g e e s s e t t l e d i n T a m i l Nadu are deprived of fundamental rights and other rights due to non c i t i z e n s h i p a n d d u e t o n o n naturalisation and the Act does not provide for any reasons to exclude them

I t s a i d t h e l a w i g n o r e s t h e reality of Tamil refugees who fled S r i L a n k a t o a v o i d p e r s e c u t i o n there and settled in Tamil Nadu It questioned the Act for not bring religious persecution in Sri Lanka, within the ambit of the law

M U M BA I : A s the border dispu te between Maharash tra and Karnataka worsened , the Eknath Shinde go vernment w ent on th e b ac kf o o t o n M o nd a y, w i th th e v i s i t of m i ni s ter s Ch andrakant Patil and Shambhuraje Desai to Belagavi district unlikely to g o ahead The K arnataka gov ernm ent remained combative, with the Belag av i d istrict ad ministratio n clamp ing prohibitory orders to prevent the ministers from entering Belag av i city

K a r n a t a k a C M B a s a v a r a j B o m m a i w a r n e d , “ I f t h e y (ministers) try to enter the state, officers have been asked to initiate suitable legal action ” Last week, Bommai had asked Maharashtra to cancel the visit in order to maintain interstate harmony Meanwhile, 10 gram panchayats of Akkalkot tehsil in Solapur district passed resolutions to join Karnataka, and 55 villages in Nashik’s tribal dominated Surgana taluka, which borders Gujarat, also declared their inclination to merge with the neighbouring state Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis indicated that there was a rethink on the Belagavi visit Fadnavis said the timing of the v i s i t o n M a h a p a r i n i r v a n D i n , t h e d e a t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f Babasaheb Ambedkar, may not be appropriate “It is an important day and an agitation is not appropriate We are thinking about this, and CM Shinde will take the final decision,” Fadnavis added Responding to the opposition’s criticism that the Shinde Fadnavis government was not taking a tough stand, he said, “We can go there in the future No one is scared No one can prevent anyone from going to any part of the country ”

in brief

KERALA HC LIVE STREAMS HEARING ON YOUTUBE

The Kerala High Court last week live streamed its proceedings on YouTube for the very first time The court held a special sitting on Saturday to hear a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the notification issued by the Travancore Devaswom Board inviting applications for the post of chief priests in Sabarimala and Malikappuram Temples

The move came after the request made by Sijith TL one of the petitioners in the case before the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court The special sitting of a Division Bench consisting of Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice PG Ajithkumar was streamed live on YouTube Sijith filed this writ petition along with Vijeesh PR who are qualified Priests/Archakas as per the notification issued by the Travancore Devaswom Board except the condition that the applicant shall belong to Malayal Brahmin born in Kerala

KERALA TO BRING BILL TO REMOVE GOVERNOR AS CHANCELLOR

PA NC HK ULA (H AR YA NA ): In a major embarr assment for the B JP, it lost all the 10 seat s in Pan chkula in the Zil a Par ishad poll s, results of w hich we r e de cl a re d l a st we e k Ne it her Congre ss nor a ny other par ty conte ste d the pol ls on the par ty sy mb ol e xce pt for B JP which c on t e s t e d o n p a r t y s y mb ol on t h e s e 10 s e a t s M os t of t he c a n d id a t e s b l a m e d fa r m e r s ’ a git ation for the BJP’s loss in the r ur al be lt of Panchkula dist rict

Ward 1 to 3 fall in the Pinjore belt while Ward 4 and 5 fall in the Morni, ward 6 and 7 fall in Barwala and ward 8,9 and 10 fall in the Raipurrani belt Among the winning candidates, five are women and five are male candidates

BJP leader and Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said , “Yes, though it was totally an election of villages, several combinations have played a role In few areas, farmer agitation was the reason and in some it was entirely caste based ”

S i g n i f i c a n t l y , i n P a n c h k u l a , local MLA Gian Chand Gupta and

are from the BJP Sudarshan Renu, 41, who won by a margin of 145 votes from ward 10 defeating BJP candidate in the Raipurrani block, said, “In fact, B J P ’ s p o l i c i e s h a v e l e d t o t h e i r defeat Despite bringing in various Cabinet ministers for campaigning, they couldn’t win because people at the ground level are really upset with their anti people policies ”

She added, “Post Covid, there w a s n o h e l p a t a l l f r o m t h e government to people here There has been absolutely no development at all that has taken place here in the v i l l a g e s N o r o a d s , n o b a s i c amenities, people were just befooled all these years The party will face defeat in all the forthcoming polls ”

In purported interview, Goldy Brar claims not detained in US

C H AN DI G A R H : Days af ter Pu njab C hief Mi ni ster Bhagwant Mann claimed th at Gold y Brar was d etai ned in Cali forni a, a purported i ntervi ew of the gangs ter surfaced onli ne on Monday wherei n he cl ai med th at he was no t held and nor was h e i n the US Mann on December 2 had confirmed in Ahmedabad that Brar the alleged mastermind behind the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala had been detained by the police in California and that he would "definitely be brought to India" He will be in the custody of the Punjab Police "very soon", Mann had told reporters

However, Brar in a purported interview given to a journalist on YouTube denied these claims The authenticity of the interview could not be ascertained In the purported interview, the person calling himself Goldy Brar claimed that he had not been detained and also he was not in the US In the audio clip of the interview, he could be heard contradicting Mann's claims about his detention Brar was the alleged mastermind behind the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala in May this year

Mann has been under fire from the opposition parties over his claim of the detention of Brar Punjab Police had got a red corner notice issued against the gangster through the Union home ministry The CM claimed there was evidence Goldy had been in contact with Pakistani agencies Goldy, whose roots are in Punjab’s Muktsar, moved to Canada on a student visa in 2017 and built a life in crime from there He apparently shifted base to the US after Moose Wala’s murder near his native village in Punjab’s Mansa

TMC and BJP turn Bengal as battleground

Banerjee w ill ho ld a public m eeting at E a st M e d i ni p u r ’ s K a nth i, w h ic h i s kno w n to b e a s tr o ng h o l d o f o p p os i ti o n l ea d er S u v en d u A d h ik ar i, the BJP lead er w ill be taking h i s m ig h t t o B ane rj ee ’ s

Diamond Harbour

Ahead of the panchayat elections, dates for which have not yet been notified, the ruling TMC has released

a video in which Abhishek is heard challenging Adhikari

“Come if you have the guts I am going to challenge y o u i n y o u r a r e a , y o u r locality ”

There has been no love lost between the two leaders and they have been pitched as arch rivals Even when Adhikari was in the TMC, he w a s k n o w n t o b e “ a n t i Abhishek” and party insiders

said when Abhishek gained m o r e p r o m i n e n c e a f t e r 2014, it was unacceptable for A d h i k a r i a n d c o u l d e s s e n t i a l l y b e t h e r e a s o n why he left the party to join t h e B J P O n c e s a f e l y e n s c o n c e d i n t h e s a f f r o n p a r t y , A d h i k a r i m a d e Abhishek his hit target while making political statements in public, they added

A b h i s h e k , t o o , h a s p u b l i c l y c a l l e d A d h i k a r i a ‘ g a d d a r ’ , o r b e t r a y e r Political analysts said since b o t h t h e l e a d e r s passionately opposed each o t h e r , t h e i r p u b l i c r a l l i e s will be interesting

TMC demands action against 2 Union ministers

M

H AN

The Kerala government will introduce a Bill in the Assembly to divest the Governor of his role as Chancellor of universities, the latest move in their escalating tussle over varsity administration The Kerala Cabinet took this decision after Governor Arif Mohammed Khan did not act on a government recommendation for an ordinance to this effect The Assembly session begins this week A statement from the CMO said the Cabinet ratified the draft of the Bill which would amend laws to appoint eminent educationists as Chancellors As per the draft Bill, the government will have the power to remove a Chancellor from office based on an inquiry conducted by a former judge of the Supreme Court or High Court in case of serious allegations of misconduct

SC VOICES CONCERN OVER DRUG MENACE IN PUNJAB

“The youth will be finished,” an anguished Supreme Court said voicing concern over illicit liquor trade and drug menace in Punjab, and asked the state government to fix responsibility on the local police for failing to keep vigil A bench of justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar asked the Punjab government to spell out specific steps taken to curb the production and sale of illegal liquor Senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha appearing for the Punjab government assured the court that the state is taking action and has already destroyed over 13,000 illegal liquor bhattis (distilleries) The top court was hearing a plea arising out of a September 2020 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court

A (WE

G A L):

The march, attended by North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha and others, was one of a series of rallies in the northern part of the state organised by the ruling party to mount pressure on the BJP leadership to take steps against Barla and Pramanik The TMC had taken out such rallies earlier in Darjeeling and Siliguri A warrant was issued against Pramanik in connection with a theft at a jewellery shop in Alipurduar town in 2009

TMC LEADER AMONG 3 KILLED IN BOMB BLAST

A Trinamool leader, his brother and another man died when a bomb went off at their house in Nariabila village, in Bengal’s East Midnapore district Two others were wounded The bodies of Rajkumar Manna, his brother Debkumar Manna and Biswajit Gayen were found wrapped in mattresses 2 km away from the Mannas’ home fuelling questions whether a bomb set off in the house or was it hurled from outside The explosion ripped apart a large part of the house Rajkumar s wife Latarani alleged that bombs were thrown at their home when her husband and the others were inside

PUNJAB

BJP loses all 10 seats of Panchkula in Zila Parishad polls

Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal

India may resume work in 20 stalled projects in Af: Taliban

T

Afg hanistan h as said that Indi a will resu me work in at least 20 stalled pro jects acros s th e war torn country In June, India re established its diplom atic p resence in K abul by d ep loying a "tech nical team " in its em bassy in the A fg han capital I

from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, fol lowing concerns over their securi

diplomatic presence in the coun try would result in the completion of "unfinished projects" that New Delhi had initiated and the com mencement of new ones

Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) said the Indian charges d'affaires, Bharat Kumar, expressed interest in the

improvement of relations and the resumption of stalled projects in the country, according to news portal Tolo News

Kumar made the remarks dur ing a meeting with the Minister of Urban Development and Housing, H a m d u l l a h N o m a n i , i t s a i d A c c o r d i n g t o t h e M U D H , i t i s

expected that India will resume work on at least 20 projects in sev eral provinces of the country

" P r o j e c t s t h e y w e r e i m p l e menting during the former gov

SDG and food security emerging as top agenda at G20 meet

E m e r g i ng m a r ke t e conomi es f rom China t o A rg e n ti na a nd Ru ssi a t o S outh Af rica calle d upon t he G20 to focus on accel e r a t i n g S u s t a i n a bl e D eve lopment Go als (SDG) a nd a d d r e s si n g i ss u e s r elat ed to food a nd e ne rgy s e c u r i t y , wi t h so m e o f t hem compli menting Ind ia f or the role pla ye d i n ev olv i ng a consensus i n Ba li At a me eti ng o f the e me rgi ng ma rke ts group on si del ines o f t h e G 20 m e e t i n g , Indonesia , whi ch was the h ost , comp limente d Ind ia f or h elpi ng ev olve a con sensus at th e recent lea d e rs ’ summit i n Bali Ru ssia p rai se d the e mergi ng ma r k e t g r o u p f o r wo r k i ng t ogeth er, so urces f ami liar wi th t he del ibera tions said In order to highlight its

accomplishments and offer s o l u t i o n s a r o u n d d i g i t a l payments and e services to p o s i t i o n t h e m a s d i g i t a l p u b l i c g o o d s , I n d i a i s a t t e m p t i n g t o b r i n g c l i mate finance, disaster risk reduction and startups to the fore of the G20 agenda as India begins its presi dency of the group of the world's richest countries

Given the geo political tensions at a time when the global economy is just recovering from the Covid 1 9 p a n d e m i c , I n d i a w i l l also try to get countries that account for nearly 85% of global GDP to address i s s u e s a r o u n d s p i l l o v e r e f f e c t s o f r a t e h i k e s i n a d v a n c e d e c o n o m i e s o n t h e e m e r g i n g m a r k e t s Besides, the finance min istry is keen to get the G20

members to work on creat ing a set of rules to deal with crypto currency

F o r e i g n m i n i s t e r S J a i s h a n k a r s a i d I n d i a would like to use its G20 presidency to reflect the interests and concerns of the global south because as these have been sidelined

Speaking at the annual s u m m i t o n t h e " G e o p o l i t i c s o f Technology," which is co h o s t e d b y t h e e x t e r n a l a f f a i r s m i n i s t r y a n d Carnegie India, Jaishankar s a i d t h a t I n d i a ' s r i s e i s inextricably linked to the d e v e l o p m e n t o f I n d i a n t e c h n o l o g y a n d t h a t t h e n a t i o n c a n n o t r e m a i n indifferent to changes in a field that has taken on sig n i f i c a n t p o l i t i c a l o v e r tones

q u o t e d M o h a m m a d K a m a l A f g h a n , a s p o k e s m a n f o r t h e MUDH as saying Economists said the move will f a c i l i t a t e j o b o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d boost development in the country "The resumption of these projects can also create job opportunities for the people and it can promote p e o p l e ' s i n c o m e a n d d r i v e Afghanistan out of political isola t i o n , ' ' D a r y a K h a n B a h e e r , a n economist was quoted as saying in the report "The restart of these projects will decrease the level of poverty a n d u n e m p l o y m e n t , " s a i d N a z k a m i r Z i a r m a l , a n o t h e r economist

India has not recognised the new regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the forma tion of a truly inclusive govern ment in Kabul, besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used

for any terrorist activities against any country

New Delhi has been pitching for providing unimpeded humani t a r i a n a i d t o A f g h a n i s t a n t o address the unfolding humanitari a n c r i s i s i n t h e c o u n t r y I n d i a extended humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and it has already dispatched several ship ments of humanitarian assistance c o n s i s t i n g o f 2 0 , 0 0 0 m e t r i c t o n n e s o f w h e a t , 1 3 t o n n e s o f m e d i c i n e s , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 d o s e s o f Covid 19 vaccine and winter cloth ing, according to the MEA T h e s e c o n s i g n m e n t s w e r e h a n d e d o v e r t o t h e G a n d h i Children Hospital in Kabul and UN agencies including the World H e a l t h O r g a n i s a t i o n a n d t h e W o r l d F o o d P r o g r a m m e F u r t h e r m o r e , I n d i a h a s a l s o shipped more medical assistance and foodgrains to Afghanistan

SA inks pact to send 12 cheetahs to India

Barba ra Cre ecy , the South A f r i c a n m i n i s te r f or fore stry, fis herie s, and the en viron men t, has approved a n M o U w i t h I n d i a f or P r o j e ct C h e e t a h , e n d i n g m on th s o f s u s p e n s e , s o ur ce s s ai d T h e pa pe r s a r e n o w w i t h P re s i d e n t C yril Ramaphosa

W i t h t h i s , 1 2 m o r e cheetahs will be relocated to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, joining the e i g h t t h a t w e r e b r o u g h t t h e r e f r o m N a m i b i a i n S e p t e m b e r B e f o r e b e i n g fully released into the wild, t h e s e e i g h t c h e e t a h s a r e currently housed in hunt ing enclosures

I n J u l y 2 0 2 2 , S o u t h Africa was asked to send 12 cheetahs as part of India's initial reintroduction effort at Kuno But as a result of

Roys leave NDTV, give control to Adani firm

Pra nnoy Roy and Ra dhika Roy, the founders of NDTV, r esigned from the board of R RPR Hold ings , the m ain holding c om pany of the pro m oters that owns a 29 2% s take in the m edia company, s igna lling a turning point in t he Ada ni Group's takeover of t he network At the s ame t i m e , t hr e e n e w p e opl e S ud ip t a B h at t a c h ar y a , Sanjay Pugal ia and Sent hil S in n ia h C he n ga l v a r a ya n were inducted int o the c om pany ’ s boar d as direc tors, a disc losure on BSE said

Exchanges were notified by RRPR Holdings that it had changed the warrants it h a d p r e v i o u s l y g i v e n t o Vishvapradhan Commercial (VCPL) into equity shares The promoter's 29 2% stake in NDTV will now be held by VCPL, a business under t h e c o n t r o l o f t h e A d a n i Group, as a result of this c o n v e r s i o n i n t o e q u i t y shares

To put things in per spective, about a decade ago R R P R H o l d i n g s , t h e p r o m o t e r e n t i t y , h a d i s s u e d

w a r r a n t s c o n v e r t i b l e i n t o equity shares to VCPL to avail of a loan that was then used to run NDTV’s opera t i o n s I f a l l t h e s e i n s t r u ments were converted into shares, nearly full control of RRPR Holdings will shift to V C P L T h e A d a n i G r o u p took over VCPL in May of this year and requested that the warrants be converted i n t o e q u i t y s h a r e s

Additionally, this triggered t h e S e b i t a k e o v e r c l a u s e , which required the Adani Group to publish an open offer to purchase an addi tional 26% of NDTV from the market In order to comply with

Sebi's takeover regulations, VCPL and two Adani Group c o m p a n i e s l a u n c h e d t h e i r open offer on November 22 to acquire an additional 26% of NDTV Sebi had given the Adani Group permission to proceed with its open offer for NDTV on November 11 a t a p r i c e o f R s 2 4 9 p e r share

Since the Adani Group announced its takeover of NDTV, the stock price has rallied on the BSE and it closed 5% higher at Rs 426 Despite the huge discount for the open offer price to t h e m a r k e t p r i c e , A d a n i Group has already garnered nearly 32% of the equity cap

ital of NDTV, disclosures on BSE showed

A day after Roys leaving N D T V , R a v i s h K u m a r , senior executive editor of channel, put his resignation “with immediate effect” He a n c h o r e d s e v e r a l n e w s b a s e d s h o w s o n N D T V I n d i a , s u c h a s H u m L o g , R a v i s h k i R e p o r t , D e s K i B a a t , a n d P r i m e T i m e Kumar has been conferred t w i c e w i t h t h e R a m n a t h G o e n k a E x c e l l e n c e i n

Journalism Award, besides t h e R a m o n M a g s a y s a y Award in 2019

" w a r n i n g s a n d n e g a t i v e reports" from a lobby of s e l f d e s c r i b e d c o n s e r v a tionists in both countries, t h e M o U w a s r e p e a t e d l y p o s t p o n e d , a c c o r d i n g t o sources Initially, the ship m e n t o f c h e e t a h s f r o m

South Africa was to coin c i d e w i t h t h o s e f r o m Namibia

O f 1 2 S o u t h A f r i c a c h e e t a h s p i c k e d u p f o r Kuno, nine are in quaran t i n e i n R o o i b e r g i n Limpopo province and the rest in Phinda, KwaZulu Natal province While the current carrying capacity at K u n o i s o f 2 1 c h e e t a h s , once expanded, it can hold about 36, said sources

PM Modi met Hiraba, holds meeting with BJP leaders

On the eve o f Gujarat' s s ec ond round of vo ting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled there to get his moth er Hiraba's bles sing The PM vo ted at N is han Scho ol in Ahmedabad' s Ranip neighbou r ho od, wh ere he is a registered voter

The PM spent some time with mother Hiraba, who stays with her younger son Pankaj Modi at Raysan in Gandhinagar He chat ted with her over a cup of tea and sought her blessings before leav ing her home The Prime Minister then travelled to the state party s headquarters in Kamalam, where he met home minister Amit Shah, chief minister Bhupendra Patel, state BJP president C R Paatil and other officials Sources revealed that the PM was briefed by party leaders about steps being taken to ensure maximum vot ing, especially in the urban areas which went to polls on Monday There was a drop in the voter turnout in the first phase of the elec tion compared to the voter turnout in the first phase of the 2017 assembly poll

IMD says northeast and northwest to see warmer winters

Winter is likely to b e s lightl y warm er in many pa rts of northwes t and most pa rts of northeast India, the India Mete orologic al Depa rtment said while rel easing tem pera ture outlook f or Decem ber 2022 February 2 023 period

The majority of this zone will experience normal to above average maximum tempera tures (warmer days) over the next three months, despite the isolated areas of the core cold zone in the north and northwest possi bly experiencing below normal minimum temperatures (colder nights) India's penin sula is predicted to have below average tem peratures

Asked about impact of warmer winter on

r a b i c r o p s s u c h a s w h e a t , I M D c h i e f Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said there could be variations in the temperature on a day to day basis and the impact depends on the dynamic behaviour of the weather and the stages of plant life cycle

According to the IMD, "Above normal maximum temperatures are likely over the majority of northwest India, east and north east India, and many parts of central India" regarding daytime temperatures during the season Over the majority of southern penin sular India and some areas of central India, normal to below normal maximum tempera tures are likely

Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy

Empower, prioritise and don’t feel guilty

Shefali Saxena

L i g h tb u l b Fi l m Dis tri bution have recently s hared the new pos ter and trai ler for the c om edy I ndia Sweets and Spices , from the p r od u c e r s o f C ra z y R i c h A sia ns The film hits UK c inem as on 9th Dec ember

Directed and written by G e e t a M a l i k (Troublemaker, Shameless), the film stars Sophia Ali (Uncharted), Rish Shah (Ms Marvel), Adil Hussain (Life o f P i ) , M a n i s h a K o i r a l a (Bombay) and Deepti Gupta (Little Fires Everywhere)

When Alia (Sophia Ali) returns home from univer sity, she challenges her par ents' elitist lifestyle; expen sive jewellery, lavish dinner parties and gossiping aun ties But when she invites the son of a local shopkeep er to her mother's upcom i n g s o i r e e , f a m i l y s e c r e t s begin to surface

Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, actor Manisha Koirala who plays the role of Sheila Kapur, mother to Alia (Sophia Ali), said that it took her one night to say yes to the script

She described this film as a story that explores the f i r s t g e n e r a t i o n m i g r a t e d family, and how they are desperately trying to fit in and create a world around t h e m s e l v e s T h e y ' r e v e r y affluent What happens is they are into weekend par ties and costumes and then t h e k i d s s t a r t n o t i c i n g there's something not right with the parents Sheila’s daughter doesn't like her mother who believes in the p e r f e c t l i f e , t h e p e r f e c t home, and hosting perfect parties “She wants to be the talk of the town but in a good way, and she doesn't

want people to gossip about her in a wrong way So she's v e r y c o n s c i o u s o f h e r image And she does a lot of things according to to have to fit into that It's a daugh ter who realises that some thing is amiss between the parents And there's a cer tain tension that goes in

her belly for people's rights, especially women's rights and all that And she actually puts her mother into a space where you k n o w w h a t h e r m o t h e r w a s meant to be Over t h e y e a r s S h e i l a

have tried to see where I went wrong And what are t h e w a y s I n e e d t o n o t repeat my mistakes? So it’s my journey into navigating life, navigating, you know, from illness to health, navi gating my career, navigat ing who I want to be if I get a second chance, you know, what quality of life I want to lead I've tried to make it light, I don't want it to be very, very heavy, because I don't want people to say, Oh, that was too much I mean, he has a lot of chap

Police failing to act on domestic abuse reports, with ethnic minority victims hit hardest

Domestic abu se v ictim s are rep o r ti ng ab u se to th e p o li c e u p w a rd s o f th r ee ti m es b ef o re a p p ro p ri a te action is taken, with Black and ethnic minority v ictim s be in g d i sp r o p o rti o na te ly d i sm is s ed a nd s i d e li n ed , according to new research by t h e c h ari ty V ic ti m S u p p o rt th e co u n try ’ s big gest provid er of dom estic abuse serv ices

The research, released to mark 16 days of action on v i o l e n c e a g a i n s t w o m e n , r e v e a l s t h a t a l m o s t h a l f (48%) of Black and ethnic m i n o r i t y r e s p o n d e n t s f e l t that the police treated them differently because of their ethnic background or her itage

One victim told of feel ing repeatedly judged and l e t d o w n b y t h e p o l i c e , describing how a as “ a tall B l a c k w o m a n ” o f f i c e r s “don’t think as much care needs taking over you ”

action was taken

More than one in ten ( 1 2 % ) o f r e s p o n d e n t s said that they do not feel appropriate action was ever taken

W h e n r e p o r t i n g a n i n s t a n c e o f d o m e s t i c abuse, almost half (48%) o f B l a c k a n d e t h n i c m i n o r i t y r e s p o n d e n t s felt that the police treat ed them differently to other people because of their ethnic background or heritage

Last year, police report edly made 33 arrests per 100 d o m e s t i c a b u s e r e l a t e d crimes

and then later in that whole process, she discovers that the mother is not what she is In fact, there's a lot more to her mother than she is doing right now Right now she just hosting parties and l o o k i n g g l a m o r o u s a n d look talking crap and just s h a l l o w a b o u t t h i s t h i n g but she's actually had some r e a l l y m e a n i n g f u l p a s t And, so she is shocked and she starts fighting with her m o t h e r a n d s h e a c t u a l l y eggs her mother nudges a mother do not to forget her values and the things that she fought for the fire in

has compromised with a value over the years given to the so called per c e i v e d n o r m s o f s o c i e t y There's this daughter who's m u c h w i s e r I t ’ s a n o u t and out commercial setup B u t i n t h e u n d e r c u r r e n t , there is a strong message attached to it

S p e a k i n g t o u s a b o u t her book, ‘Healed’ which is K o i r a l a ’ s a c c o u n t o f h e r quest with Ovarian Cancer a n d o v e r c o m i n g i t , Manisha said, “II have been thoroughly honest in this b o o k A n d r a t h e r t h a n putting blame on others, I

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland instructs the Department of Health to commission abortion services

T h e Se c re t ar y o f St at e f o r N o r th er n I r el a n d, C h r is Heaton Harris MP , h as w rit t e n to th e D e p a rt m e nt o f Health , to form ally c ommis s io n ab o r t io n s e r vi c es in N orth ern Ireland

This instruction follows t h e U K G o v e r n m e n t ’ s a n n o u n c e m e n t o n 2 4 O c t o b e r t h a t i t w o u l d b e commissioning abortion ser v i c e s i n N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d , where the Secretary of State is under a statutory obliga tion to ensure that access to s a f e h i g h q u a l i t y a b o r t i o n and post abortion care are available

Currently, early medical abortion services (EMA), and c a s e s w h e r e t h e r e i s a n immediate necessity to save the woman ’ s life or to pre vent grave permanent injury, a r e a v a i l a b l e i n a l l f i v e H e a l t h a n d S o c i a l C a r e Trusts in Northern Ireland

The formal commission ing and availability of fund

ing will enable Health and Social Care Trusts to recruit and train staff in the coming m o n t h s t o s u p p o r t t h e development of sustainable services in Northern Ireland so that a full range of high quality services are available

While women can access early medical abortions up to nine weeks and six days gestation across all Health and Social Care Trusts and up to 11 weeks and six days gestation at the Northern T r u s t , t h o s e w h o n e e d advice or access to these ser v i c e s i n N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d should contact the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, by visiting their web site or calling 0333 234 2184 for further support

Where a woman needs abortion care that is not cur rently available in Northern Ireland, she will continue to b e a b l e t o a c c e s s U K G o v e r n m e n t f u n d e d N H S s e r v i c e s i n G r e a t B r i t a i n

Bookings can be accessed by v i s i t i n g t h e M S I Reproductive Choices web site Women must be resi d e n t i n N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d and also registered with a GP

Further guidance of avail able services can be found on the NI Direct website

The Secretary of State for N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d , C h r i s Heaton Harris MP, said:

“The UK Government is steadfast in its commitment t o e n s u r i n g w o m e n o f Northern Ireland have access to safe, high quality and local abortion services

“As Secretary of State for N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d , m y o f f i cials at the Northern Ireland Office and I will continue to work with the Department of Health and healthcare pro fessionals to ensure a range of a b o r t i o n s e r v i c e s b e c o m e r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e a c r o s s a l l Health and Social Care Trusts in the coming months ”

ters is a lot of pain, because t h a t ' s t h e r e a l i t y I f a c e d through But also I've tried my I've made it consciously, slightly light because I want people to take few things away from it, if and it is useful to them, not take it, you know, like a very, you know, hard hitting sort of p a i n f u l e x p e r i e n c e w h i l e reading this book ”

She further added, “The most quality that a woman n e e d s t o f o c u s o n i s t o empower yourself, to pri oritise yourself and don't feel guilty about it ”

I t c o m e s a f t e r r e c e n t data published by the Office f o r N a t i o n a l S t a t i s t i c s showed that police recorded 912,181 offences related to domestic abuse in the past year, up 8 per cent com pared with the year before

T h e r e s e a r c h , w h i c h consulted over 1000 domes tic abuse victims, found:

Over half of all respon dents (53%) reported an i n s t a n c e o f d o m e s t i c a b u s e a t l e a s t t w i c e before they felt appro priate action was taken by the police

Nearly a quarter (24%) reported an instance of domestic abuse to the p o l i c e t h r e e t i m e s o r more before appropriate

Valerie Wise, National D o m e s t i c A b u s e L e a d a t Victim Support said: “The police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse every 30 seconds It takes a huge amount of courage to c o m e f o r w a r d v i c t i m s n e e d t o k n o w t h a t t h e i r report will be handled with the utmost seriousness, and not dismissed The idea that someone ’ s race or appear ance could impact the care t h e y r e c e i v e , a n d t h e i r access to justice is appalling

“On average, domestic abuse leads to two women being murdered every week in England and Wales the stakes are too high for the police to not be getting this right every time ”

D a t a f r o m V i c t i m S u p p o r t ’ s N a t i o n a l H o m i c i d e S e r v i c e , w h i c h supports the family of all murder and manslaughter v i c t i m s i n E n g l a n d a n d Wales, showed that over the last three years, around thir ty per cent of all their cases were domestic homicides

HIV testing in heterosexual men and women remains lower than 2019 and similar to 2020

T he latest data publish ed by t h e U K H ea lt h S e c u ri t y Agency (UKHS A) on World AIDS D ay reveals th at new HIV diagnoses i n England f el l b y n ea rl y a th i r d b et we en 2 01 9 a nd 2 02 1 (from 2,9 86 to 2,023)

T r a n s m i s s i o n o f t h e virus among gay, bisexual and men who have sex with m e n ( G B M S M ) c o n t i n u e d to fall and the estimated number of GBMSM living with HIV who are unaware of their infection decreased between 2019 and 2021

H o w e v e r , p r o g r e s s towards ending HIV trans mission has slowed during the coronavirus (COVID 19) p a n d e m i c , a n d d i a g n o s e s among heterosexual people rose slightly in 2021, despite lower levels of HIV testing This means HIV transmis sion and undiagnosed HIV

infection in this group has not fallen

In 2021, there were an e s t i m a t e d 4 , 4 0 0 p e o p l e unaware of their HIV infec tion, equivalent to 5% of all people estimated to be liv ing with HIV in England ( 9 5 , 9 0 0 ) T h i s f i g u r e h a s fallen from 2019 (5,600) An e s t i m a t e d 1 , 5 0 0 G B M S M were living with an undiag nosed HIV infection com pared with 1,100 heterosex ual men and 1,500 hetero sexual women

Increased testing is vital for reducing the number of p e o p l e u n a w a r e o f t h e i r HIV infection The COVID 1 9 p a n d e m i c h a s h a d a n i m p a c t o n H I V t e s t i n g behaviours, with reductions i n t e s t i n g s e e n f o r o t h e r infectious diseases through out the pandemic

Across all sexual health

s e r v i c e s ( S H S s ) , 1 , 0 5 3 , 1 6 9 people received an HIV test, a 20% reduction from test i n g r e p o r t e d i n 2 0 1 9 ( 1 , 3 1 9 , 9 1 5 ) W h i l e t e s t i n g showed a partial recovery toward pre pandemic levels i n 2 0 2 1 , t h i s h a s m a i n l y been driven by an increase in testing by GBMSM com pared to 2019 Testing in h e t e r o s e x u a l m e n a n d women remains lower than 2019 and similar to 2020 U K H S A ’ s H I V A c t i o n Plan monitoring and evalu a t i o n f r a m e w o r k r e p o r t continues to highlight the i m p o r t a n c e o f e q u i t a b l e access to and uptake of fre quent HIV testing, to HIV p r e e x p o s u r e p r o p h y l a x i s ( P r E P ) , a n d a l s o t o p o s t exposure prophylaxis (PEP) t o m a i n t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s ’ HIV negative status and end HIV transmission by 2030

Coffee should be treated as a 'health drink'

Epidemiolog ist, writer, and the co founder o f the Zoe ap p , D r T i m S p ec to r believ es that coffee is p ossi bl y o ne o f t h e h eal th i es t drinks Fo r years, research has sugg ested th at th e drink ca n ex ten d o u r li f es p an s, im p ro v e h eart he alth and bo ost g ut health However, it still h as a bad rep , espe ci a lly i n c o m p ar i so n to green tea

S p e a k i n g o n a r a d i o show, Dr Spector said that c o f f e e r e a l l y i s a “ h e a l t h d r i n k ” H e s a i d t h a t i t s health benefits come from the fact that coffee is made using a fermented plant that is full of polyphenols “If you have three cups, that’s actu ally about a third of your

f i b r e i n t a k e , ” D r S p e c t o r said “What we thought was a nasty thing that gives you heart flutters new science is telling us that coffee is actually one of the things that we should be prioritis ing We should kick orange j u i c e o u t o f t h e h e a l t h range it’s just sugar like Coca Cola, whereas coffee is right up there, even above green tea as a health drink ”

He says that doctors “ are t a u g h t v e r y l i t t l e a b o u t nutrition at medical school or as junior doctors”, adding that he was one of those doctors who used to think that they knew all there was to know about health and nutrition After conducting h i s o w n r e s e a r c h , D r

Spector still believes in uni versal nutritional goals we should aim for if we want a healthier body and gut Red w ine

“Wine is a plant with red wine, it’s all about grape skin,” he explains Wine is made from grapes; for red w i n e , t h e p o l y p h e n o l s o f those grapes are still pre sent

Eat 3 0 different plants a w eek

“The first thing to do is try to eat 30 different plants a week ” That means not just relying on eating the same boring kale salad daily but adding different nuts, seeds,

h e r b s a n d s p i c e s t o o u r meals

Ferm ented food s “ E a t f e r m e n t e d f o o d s daily cheese is a fermented f o o d , a s i s y o u r h i g h f a t yogurt, kombucha and kim chi ”

Try interm ittent fasting

While it’s not for every one, Dr Spector says that j u s t r e s t i n g o u r g u t s overnight can have benefits The easiest thing to do is to leave 12 hours between din n e r a n d b r e a k f a s t T h a t means, for example, having your last bite at 9 pm and waiting until 9 am to have your breakfast

Ayurvedic remedies to get relief from dust allergy

For many pron e to sea son al allergi es, this time of the year w ould me an ex ces si ve coughi ng an d s ne ezi ng A r e la t i v e l y t y pi c a l ty p e o f allege i s dus t a llergy, which is brought on by little d ust mi tes Managi ng this dis or der is g enuin ely di ffi cult, a s it ca n be s tarted b y a vari e t y o f s u b s t a n c e s S om e common si g ns of a d us t a l l e rg y i n c l ud e s n e e z i n g , r un n y n o s e , t e a r y e y e s , co u g hi n g , a n d b r e a t hi n g dif ficulties

In a recent Instagram p o s t , A y u r v e d a a n d g u t health coach Dr Dimple Jangda shared some effec tive Ayurvedic remedies to fight dust allergy

Turmeric

Turmeric is a powerful spice that is a panacea for m y r i a d h e a l t h i s s u e s , i n c l u d i n g d u s t a l l e r g y symptoms It reduces con

stant coughing and swelling f r o m e n v i r o n m e n t a l i r r i tants Drinking a glass of w a r m t u r m e r i c m i l k a t night before bedtime helps treat dust allergy Tuls i Containing ample vol umes of cooling bioactive c o m p o n e n t s a s w e l l a s a n t i m i c r o b i a l e l e m e n t s , tulsi is an age old home remedy for a host of respi ratory complaints, includ ing dust allergies Boil the leaves in warm water, and

distil the extract to prepare a herbal drink Sipping this t u l s i t e a t r e a t s s i g n s o f i n f l a m m a t i o n a n d d u s t allergies

Black Cu mi n

Black cumin or kalonji is a storehouse of antimi crobial agents that thwart i n f e c t i o n a n d i n f l a m m a t i o n i n t h e r e s p i r a t o r y tract A herbal remedy for a l l e r g i c r h i n i t i s i s b l a c k c u m i n s e e d o i l , w h i c h w h e n a p p l i e d a n d m a s s a g e d o n t h e n o s e a n d

throat twice a day aids in t h e d e c o n g e s t i o n o f t h e nasal and oral passages Yog a

A r d h a c h a n d r a s a n a , P a v a n a m u k t a s a n a , V r u k s h a s a n a a n d Setubandhasana are bene f i c i a l y o g a p o s t u r e s f o r a l l e r g i e s P r a n a y a m a (breathing exercise) helps a lot to increase the body's immunity to allergens It e n s u r e s p r o p e r n o u r i s h ment and functioning of body cells

longer

A new study invol ving m ore t h an 3 07, 000 U K res ident s s u gg es t s a vit a m in D deficienc y can increase yo ur o ve r al l ri s k o f p r e m at u r e death and a sp ecific risk o f c a n c er I t i s an i m p o r t an t m i c r o nu t r ie nt f o r y o u r o veral l health , and yo u can get the required amou nt fro m f o o d in c l u di ng m il k , e gg s , m eat, and sunlight

Vitamin D not only helps you have better bone health, b u t i t c a n a l s o h e l p f i g h t i n f e c t i o n s T h e r e a r e a l s o several studies that talk about its role in preventing cardiac a i l m e n t s a n d m e t a b o l i c disorders like type 2 diabetes F o l l o w in g a re f iv e w a y s vitamin D can extend yo ur l if e:

Strengthening bones and

preventing fractures: It has a w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d r o l e i n a b s o r b i n g a n d r e g u l a t i n g c a l c i u m a n d p h o s p h o r u s , which are essential for bone strength

Fighting germs: Vitamin

D h e l p s i m m u n e c e l l s p r o d u c e g e r m f i g h t i n g proteins and controls excess i n f l a m m a t i o n , t h u s l o w e r i n g t h e r i s k o f infectious diseases P r e v e n t i o n o f h e a r t

d i s e a s e a n d d i a b e t e s : M u l t i p l e s t u d i e s h a v e demonstrated that Vitamin D d e c r e a s e s i n s u l i n resistance and improves fat m e t a b o l i s m l e a d i n g t o a lower incidence of diabetes and heart disease

Prevention of dementia, d e p r e s s i o n , a n d o t h e r n e r v o u s s y s t e m d i s e a s e s : V i t a m i n D r e g u l a t e s nervous function through calcium regulation and the production of nerve growth factors It improves mood b y i n c r e a s i n g s e r o t o n i n levels in the brain

Cancer prevention: By r e g u l a t i n g c e l l s i g n a l l i n g and cell growth, vitamin D prevents cancer, especially of the breast, colon, lung, kidney, and pancreas

Laser therapy effective for improving shortterm memory problems: Study

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in th e UK an d B ei j i n g N o r ma l Un iv ers i ty i n Ch i na h a ve de mo n s tr at ed th a t l a se r ligh t th erap y may benef it s h o rt te rm m e mo r y T h e no n invasive therap y could i mp r o ve s h o r t te rm o r wo rking memory in p eo ple by u p to 25 per cent

T h e t r e a t m e n t , c a l l e d transcranial photobiomod ulation (tPBM), is applied to an area of the brain known as the right prefrontal cor t e x T h i s a r e a i s w i d e l y recognised as important for working memory In their e x p e r i m e n t , t h e t e a m showed how working mem o r y i m p r o v e d a m o n g research participants after s e v e r a l m i n u t e s o f t r e a t m e n t T h e y a l s o t r a c k e d c h a n g e s i n b r a i n a c t i v i t y u s i n g e l e c t r o e n c e p h a l o g r a m ( E E G ) m o n i t o r i n g during treatment and test ing

P r e v i o u s s t u d i e s h a v e shown that laser light treat ment will improve working m e m o r y i n m i c e , a n d human studies have shown t P B M t r e a t m e n t c a n improve accuracy, speed up reaction time and improve high order functions such as attention and emotion This is the first study to c o n f i r m a l i n k b e t w e e n tPBM and working memory in humans

Dongwei Li, a visiting P h D s t u d e n t a t t h e University of Birmingham's C e n t r e f o r H u m a n B r a i n Health, is a co author of the paper He said, "People with c o n d i t i o n s l i k e A D H D (attention deficit hyperac t i v i t y d i s o r d e r ) o r o t h e r attention related conditions could benefit from this type of treatment, which is safe, s i m p l e a n d n o n i n v a s i v e , with no side effects ”

In the study researchers a t B e i j i n g N o r m a l U n i v e r s i t y c a r r i e d o u t experiments with 90 male a n d f e m a l e p a r t i c i p a n t s a g e d b e t w e e n 1 8 a n d 2 5 P a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e t r e a t e d with laser light to the right

treated with a sham, or inac tive, tPBM to rule out the placebo effect

A f t e r t P B M t r e a t m e n t over 12 minutes, the partici pants were asked to remem b e r t h e o r i e n t a t i o n s o r colour of a set of items dis played on a screen The par ticipants treated with laser light to the right prefrontal cortex at 1064 nm showed c l e a r i m p r o v e m e n t s i n memory over those who had r e c e i v e d t h e o t h e r t r e a t m e n t s W h i l e p a r t i c i p a n t s r e c e i v i n g o t h e r t r e a t m e n t v a r i a t i o n s w e r e a b o u t t o remember between 3 and 4 o f t h e t e s t o b j e c t s , t h o s e with the targeted treatment could recall between 4 and 5 objects

D a t a , i n c l u d i n g f r o m e l e c t r o e n c e p h a l o g r a m ( E E G ) m o n i t o r i n g d u r i n g the experiment were anal y s e d a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B i r m i n g h a m a n d s h o w e d c h a n g e s i n b r a i n a c t i v i t y t h a t a l s o p r e d i c t e d t h e i m p r o v e m e n t s i n m e m o r y

performance

The researchers do not k n o w p r e c i s e l y w h y t h e treatment positively affects w o r k i n g m e m o r y o r h o w l o n g t h e e f f e c t s w i l l l a s t Further research is planned to investigate these aspects

P r o f e s s o r O l e J e n s e n , a l s o a t t h e C e n t r e f o r Human Brain Health, said, "We need further research to understand exactly why the tPBM is having this pos itive effect, but it's possible that the light is stimulating the astrocytes the power plants in the nerve cells within the prefrontal cortex, and this has a positive effect on the cells' efficiency We w i l l a l s o b e i n v e s t i g a t i n g how long the effects might last Clearly, if these experi ments are to lead to clinical intervention, we will need to see long lasting benefits

prefrontal cortex at wave lengths of 1064 nm, while o t h e r s w e r e t r e a t e d a t a s h o r t e r w a v e l e n g t h , o r treatment was delivered to the left prefrontal cortex Each participant was also

Katrina gives dancing tips to Vicky Kaushal

Vicky

Kaushal is all set to be seen in ‘Govinda Naam Mera’, and revealed in an interview that his wife and actress Katrina Kaif gives him dancing tips He said Kat guides him after he shows her his rehearsal videos Calling her a “spectacular dancer”, he added she has a “lot of knowledge about dancing” in films Kaushal also said that Katrina has always given him a lot of input regarding dancing When asked if he discusses his film with Katrina in an interview, he said, “Of course, whenever I would rehearse, I’d go back home and show her the video of the rehearsal Actually she comes up with she’s not like, ‘yeh accha hai, yeh bursa hai (this is good, this is bad) ’ She’s a spectacular dancer and she also has a lot of knowledge

about dancing in cinema so she has very specific feedback to give ” E x p l a i n i n g K a t r i n a ’ s ‘ c o n s t r u c t i v e

feedback’, Vicky further said, “She knows how it comes across to camera, what to do and not to do So, I’d take a lot of guidance from her and she’d actually help me a lot She gives very constructive feedback, ask me to put strength in it, take your chin up She knows a lot about lighting I regularly show her my rehearsal videos and she’s g i v e n m e a l o t o f i n p u t , t h a t a l w a y s happens ”

On the work front, after the release of his upcoming film ‘Govinda Naam Mera’ with Kiara Advani and Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky will be seen in ‘Sam Bahadur’, based on the life of India's first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw The movie will be released in December 2023

Ayushmann reveals he was disciplined by parents while growing up

Ayushmann

Khurrana recently sha he was physically disciplined by h parents during his growing stage In a conversation with Siddharth Aalambayan on ‘The Bombay Journey Khurrana talked about his childhood, having strict parents, and his struggling days in Bombay. Khurrana rose to fame after winning the second season of ‘Roadies’ in 2004 and began his career in anchoring In 2012, he ma his Bollywood debut with ‘Vicky Dono When asked about what he had m i n d w h e n h e c a m e f r o m C h a n Bombay, Ayushmann said, “Mera bhi Shah Rukh Khan moment hua tha, ki jab mai aaya tha Mumbai naya naya maine socha tha jab tak mujhe kaam nhi milega, mai samundar ki taraf dekhunga nahi, mai beach mai nahi jaaunga 3 4 din mai radio ka contract haath mai aagya (I also had a Shah Rukh Khan moment when I came to Bombay, I was firm in mind that I won't visit the beach until I find work Within 3 4 days, I got a call fr radio station) ”

Kareena praises Malaika ahead of OTT debut

hmann explained that his father was trict and he was beaten badly as a d He said in a sarcastic tone, “North ai jisne maa baap se thappad na haaya ho, chappal na khaayi ho toh woh upbringing ho hi nahi sakti (In N o r t h I n d i a , p a r e n t s u s u a l l y s l a p heir kids, beat them up by slippers, t is part of our bringing) ”

He also shared a personal story bout his father who came to Bombay d told someone that his son would me a big star While Ayushmann aware of the incident, he said he d that he did not end up becoming one

On the work front, Ayushmann saw the release of his latest film, ‘An Action Hero’, on December 2 The film got a very dull start in theatres The film is directed by Anirudh Iyer, who previously worked as an assistant director on Aanand L Rai’s ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ (2011) and ‘Zero’ (2018) Neeraj Yadav has penned the e

Shah Rukh shares details about ‘Dunki’

Arora is all set to make her digital debut with her upcoming show ‘Moving In With Malaika’ Set to stream on Disney+Hotstar, the show is touted to share parts of her life through unfiltered conversations Ahead of the show’s premiere, one of Malaika’s best friends, Kareena Kapoor Khan, praised her and her upcoming show

Malaika

Kareena said, “We all know Malaika as a very guarded person The fact that she is doing a r e a l i t y s h o w i s s u p e r i n t e r e s t i n g I t w i l l b e amazing to see somebody as gorgeous as Malaika to kind of open up As a friend, I think she’s rock solid, super hot and the original supermodel Malla, let your guard down and go for it Be absolutely full of guts because no guts, no glory ” Kareena and Malaika are part of Bollywood’s f a v o u r i t e g i r l g a n g , i n c l u d i n g t h e i r s i s t e r s Karisma Kapoor and Amrita Arora

‘ M o v i n g I n W i t h M a l a i k a ’ w i l l f e a t u r e celebrities close to the host’s life and will also show her son Arhaan Khan Produced by Banijay A s i a , i t s t a r t e d s t r e a m i n g f r o m D e c e m b e r 5 onwards Malaika had earlier said in a statement, “For the longest time, the world has viewed me through the lens of social media But this time, I am excited to shake that up a bit With this show, I want to break that barrier between me and my fans and invite them into my world through ‘Moving In With Malaika’ ”

Bollywood

we have had in our country, Raju Hirani It is written by a very fantastic writer, Abhijat Joshi It is a story of people, who want to c o m e b a c k h o m e w h e n y o u finally get the calling ”

Helmed by Rajkumar

‘Dunki’ also

Taapsee Pannu,

Shah’s

he a t t e n d e d t h e R e d S e a I n t e r n a t i o n a l F i l m F e s t i v a l i n S a u d i A r a b i a , h e s p o k e a b o u t ‘ D u n k i ’ d u r i n g a n i n t e r v i e w Shah Rukh said, “In English, my film would be called Donkey, it is Donkey But the way a part of the country pronounces donkey in India, it is ‘dunki’ The Punjabis say it (donkey) like dunki How m u c h t o t e l l y o u a b o u t t h e story It is a film directed by one of the most brilliant filmmakers

The actor further said, “It is a c o m i c f i l m H i s ( R a j k u m a r Hirani) films are always a mix of comedy and a lot of emotions about the country So, it is a big journey film, and the film goes through different areas around the world and finally comes back home to India ”

‘Dunki’ is scheduled to be released in December next year S h a h R u k h h a s a n i m p r e s s i v e line up of movies in 2023 He has t h e a c t i o n f i l m ‘ P a t h a a n ' c o starring Deepika Padukone and J o h n A b r a h a m H e a l s o h a s Atlee’s upcoming action drama, ‘ J a w a n ’ , w h i c h a l s o f e a t u r e s N a y a n t h a r a , V i j a y S e t h u p a t h i , Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani and Sunil Grover, among others

star Shah Rukh Khan described his upcoming film ‘Dunki’ as the “story of people who want to come back home ” Shah recently wrapped up the film shoot schedule in Saudi Arabia, and while not much is known about the film's premise, he tried to share some details without giving away too much

Hirani,

stars

and marks

first film with Rajkumar as a director As

Karan Johar wants Ranveer to play him in future biopic

Haven’t felt nervous even with films which didn’t do well: Yami

Actress Yami Gautam’s upcoming film

Karan Johar is currently prepping for the release of his Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ This is his seventh feature film after he made his directorial debut with ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ He was originally due to direct Ranveer earlier in the period multi starrer ‘Takht’ which was shelved in 2020 due to the pandemic The Mughal drama was set to feature Ranveer, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Janhvi Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor

Filmmaker

On a live show on the video sharing app Roposo, Karan stated that he would choose Ranveer to play him in a feature film He said, “I think Ranveer Singh He is like a chameleon, and he will do his best I had a wonderful childhood, my parents were so good to me and taught me the most amazing life lessons ”

He added, “However, it was also a little bumpy as I was an unusual kid and there were a few emotions that I festered as a kid I was also different compared to others, so I had to pay the price for it It was tough, but also a very energizing time because when I look back, I feel like I learned a lot in that phase ”

Karan's last feature film as director was ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ in 2016 starring Ranbir K a p o o r a n d A n u s h k a S h a r m a H e a l s o d i r e c t e d s e g m e n t s i n t h e s h o r t f i l m anthologies 'Lust Stories’ in 2018 and ‘Ghost Stories’ in 2020 Ranveer recently won Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards this year for his portrayal of Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan's sports drama ’83’ in 2021 which followed India's maiden victory at the cricket World Cup in 1983

‘Lost’ garnered a hearty response at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Speaking in a recent interview, she said, “Actually, I was not nervous; I am quite excited by the response we got You do get nervous, but not when you are prepared for what’s going to come and you are reasonable with your understanding of how the film has shaped up I don’t think I have felt nervous even with the ones which have not done well, because I know the result I have mostly been correct with my understanding and predictions so far ”

When asked if she can give her 100 per cent on a film set if she already has a feeling of it not doing well upon its release, Gautam said, “You still have to give your 100 per cent You still chose to

be a part of that film, you are still on that set I don’t think you can ever cheat that unless it’s such a bad experience in terms of behaviour or something which is beyond your dignity Until it reaches that point, you must give your best, and do justice to the best of your ability ”

The 33 year old explains that it has happened with films in the past, where she tried to save them She says, “You still try to reason out with the director, and salvage, what can be worked out I am one of those people who won’t leave till the end What can be done, is there anything? Let’s sit post pack up and see if we can tweak the performance I have done that with two three films of mine, and yes they didn’t turn out to be the way I wanted But I was prepared In terms of my work, you can’t say I was bad because I think I did justice to myself and my sensibility ”

Kartik Aaryan talks about scrap

ActorKartik Aaryan is at the peak of his career, delivering one of the very few H interview, he opened up about the initial days of his career and said there were selected for a film but the project would get scrapped In the interview, Kartik recal everyone about his projects which later “didn’t take off ”

Kartik said he never got an apology when he was not chosen to be part of a f was ever selected for a film then it would be “bohut bada ahsaan (huge favour) bhi hua hai ki jo ek aadh film jo main almost lock hogaya hun aur, before my de off Aur maine pure jahaan mein bata diya tha ki 'Meri film hone wali hai' and baad in fact ek bohut sahi cheeze maine yeh jaani ki kabhi kisiko batana mat ( that one or such film that got locked, before my debut also, it didn't take of everyone 'My film will happen' and it didn't take off After that, I came to know you shouldn't tell anyone) "

He added, "When ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’ was happening, when I got my f film, I never told anyone that I'm shooting for a film or I'm doing anything Becau I thought, pata chale yeh bhi scrap hogayi toh (what if this got scrapped too)?”

Kartik revealed that he didn't even tell his roommates while he went on se for filming The actor said he would tell them he was doing an internship at th Kokilaben hospital and as per them he would be there from morning till night Later, when the release date of ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’ was locked, he gathered around his 12 roommates and showed them the trailer

Kartik made his debut with ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama’ in 2011, and since then has been featured in multiple movies Kartik features in ‘Freddy’, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, alongside Alaya F The film also features Jeniffer Piccinato H will also be seen in ‘Shehzada’ opposite Kriti Sanon Kartik will be seen ‘Satyaprem Ki Katha’, which is all set to hit the theatres on June 29, 2023 Apart Kartik, Kiara Advani is also a part of the film

No star husband, why is there a star wife: Mira Rajput

Actor Shahid Kapoor’s wife and content creator Mira Rajput recently spoke out on being labelled a star wife whenever she is spoken about in the press Since their wedding in 2015, Mira has risen in popularity on social media, became a YouTuber, and an investor, and often endorses homegrown brands online Chafed against being termed a star wife often in the seven years she has been married to the actor, she argued recently on how the derogatory term should be dropped completely.

Speaking with host Janice Sequeira on the first episode of ‘Social Media Star With J a n i c e ’ i n i t s f i f t h s e a s o n , M i r a s t a t e d w h y t h e l a b e l should be banned, even when referring to the children of stars She said, We ought to

get over it now Maybe it was a n a s s o c i a t i o n t h a t o n e n e e d e d t o m a k e f o r r e c a l l value But even if you put that on a kid, and you say star k i d , p e o p l e d o n ’ t l i k e listening to ‘star kid’ for all of i t s n e p o t i s t i c c o n n o t a t i o n s and all of that But that term is still in use, like it needs to kind of find its way out and l i k e w i s e , I h a v e n e v e r understood the concept of a s t a r w i f e , w h a t d o e s t h a t mean?”

A p p e a r i n g a l o n g w i t h singer rapper Badshah, Mira s t a t e d , “ Y o u c a n h a v e a n actor or celebrity or a star who has a wife or a husband, n o b o d y s a y s s t a r h u s b a n d , why is there a star wife?”

Mira and Shahid are also p a r e n t s o f t w o y o u n g children, six year old Misha and four year old Zain The actor often appears in Mira s YouTube videos online

Radhika Madan hopes to spark a conversation around women with ‘Sanaa’

ActressRadhika Madan is currently busy promoting her film ‘San ’ d in recent days has travelled multiple film festivals, with the latest being the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival She said in an interview, “The response at the fest was really overwhelming A lot of tears, a lot of hugs and a lot of appreciation. We also realised that the emotion that we’re trying to tackle is universal. It doesn’t matter from which part of the world you are, you will connect to the film on some level and we could see that at the screening and it’s been really special ”

M a d a n h o p e s t h e p r o j e c t s p a r k s conversation around women breaking from the patriarchal misogynist society The 27 year old added, “Walking the first black carpet for me was really special Seeing people there greet you with so much warmth and appreciation reinstates your faith in the way you approach films Sanaa was all hard for me I gave it my all and to see it being received with so much love makes me go for

more projects like this with all my heart ” ‘S aa ’ is a relationship drama t a h e a d s t r o n g a n d m b i t i o u s w o m a n , a n d t h e ctor admits that portraying such omen onscreen holds a s p e c i a l p l a c e i n h e r h e a r t R a d h i k a s a i d , “ R e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a h e a d s t r o n g a n d a m b i t i o u s w o m a n l i k e this is important but for m e , i t i s t h e t r u e p r e s e n t a t i o n , n o t t h e ature representation of a ong and ambitious woman

It is important to show it’s humanness, of what goes behind that image That is what we ’ ve tried to show in Sanaa ”

The actor continues, “We’ve tried to target a lot of things How do you survive in this patriarchal misogynist society? How do you not lose a part of yourself? What all do you or lose in order to achieve that? So we ’ re targeting a lot many layers I hope people will be able to connect with our narrative and introspect, both men and women Our aim is to just start a conversation and we hope that we ’ re able to do it by the end of it”

MON 12 DEC FRI 16 DEC 2022

6:00 MARI NANDI NO VEER

9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT

9:30 SUR PRABHAT

10:00 DESHI BEATS

17:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR (O)

17:30 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:00 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:30 SURI (O)

19:00 JODE REJO RAAJ (O)

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU (O)

20:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI (O)

20:30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU (O)

21:00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (O)

21:30 GEETA (O)

22:00 MARI LADKI RE (O)

SATURDAY 17 DEC 2022

6:00 MAA TE MAA BIJA VAGDANA VAA

9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT

9:30 SUR PRABHAT

10:00 DESHI BEATS

MON 12 DEC

Fan suggests Samantha’s name for ‘HIT 3’

Adivi

Sesh’s Nani production ‘HIT 2’ was released in theatres last week with positive reviews One of the fans of the thriller suggested the makers opt for a female protagonist for the upcoming films in the franchise He also gave Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s name for the lead role as an option

The tweet read, “I think in one/two of #HIT future instalments, there should be female protagonists like Samantha What do you say? #HIT2 ” Replying to the tweet, Adivi called it a ‘terrific’ idea He wrote on Twitter, “ T h a t ’ s a t e r r i f i c i d e a ! W h a t d o y o u s a y S a m ? @ S a m a n t h a p r a b h u 2 # H I T 2 # B l o o d y B l o c k b u s t e r #Hit2Review ”

Samantha Ruth Prabhu quickly responded to the

actor as she tweeted, “A badass cop sounds like fun Congratulations on your super HIT @AdiviSesh always cheering for you ”

Now, if this is just banter between the two actors or a hint towards Samantha playing the lead role in 'HIT 3 ’ can’t be said Fans of Samantha got excited after the exchange of tweets between their favourite star and Adivi Sesh One of them commented, “Waitinggggg and u should have that shade of Raji in family man ” Another fan wrote, “Badass Cop bring it on ” ‘HIT 2 ’ has Adivi Sesh essaying the role of cop KD, who is investigating a brutal murder by a serial killer on the loose in the city of Vishakhapatnam This is his sec ond release this year after his pan India film ‘Major’

Allu Arjun promotes ‘Pushpa’ in Russia

Actor Allu Arjun is currently in Russia promoting ‘Pushp The Rise’ ahead of the film’s release in the country on December 8 A

Listing

17:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR (O)

17:30 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:00 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:30 SURI (O)

19:00 JODE REJO RAAJ (O)

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU (O)

20:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI (O)

20:30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU (O) 21:00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (O) 21:30 GEETA (O)

22:00 MARI LADKI RE (O)

SUNDAY 18 DEC 2022

6:00 RASOI SHOW ® 7:00 GEETA ®

8:30 MARI LADKI RE ®

10:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR ®

12:00 PALAVADE BANDHI PREET 15:00 MARI LADKI RE ® 17:00 RASOI SHOW ® 18:00 RASOI SHOW ® 19:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 20:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 20:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 21:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 21:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 22:00 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU ®

As per the ‘Pushpa’ team, special premieres of the film were planned on D e c e m b e r 1 a n d 3 i n M o s c o w a n d S t P e t e r s b u r g , r e s p e c t i v e l y D i r e c t e d b y Sukumar, the movie features Arjun as a lorry driver who smuggles red sandalwood ‘ P u s h p a , d e s p i t e o p e n i n g t o m i x e d responses from audiences and critics alike, has managed to mint big numbers at the domestic box window

Originally shot in Telugu, it was bed and released in Hindi, a m i l , M a l a y a l a m , a n d Kannada It’s the first film for Allu Arjun to have a s i m u l t a n e o u s r e l e a s e i n five languages Meanwhile, ‘Pushpa 2' shoot is expected to com mence from December last week The project went on e shooting floors last month a look test The film’s cine matographer Miroslaw Kuba Brozek took to Instagram recently and shared a picture from the sets He captioned the post as the beginning of the adventure ‘Pushpa: The Rule’, the second part will focus on the face off between Allu Arjun and Fahadh Faasil, who was introduced as the prime antagonist towards the end of t h e f i r s t p a r t I t a l s o s t a r s R a s h m i k a Mandanna

Deverakonda reacts to ED questioning over ‘Liger’ funding

Actor

Vijay Deverakonda was recently questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the funding of his last release ‘Liger’ The update comes two weeks after filmmaker Puri Jagannadh and producer Charmee Kaur were also questioned about the funding for the film ED summoned Vijay to know about the identity of the financiers following reports that money used to fund the film came from a foreign source, a clear violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, the actor said he went and met the officials because it was his duty Vijay said, “With g r e a t p o p u l a r i t y c o m e s c h a l l e n g e s a n d there’s nothing you can do about it But I see this as an experience I did my duty when

Telugu

t h e y c a l l e d I w e n t a n d answered their questions ” He confirmed he was questioned for 12 hours but didn’t say if he has been called again

‘Liger’ also starred Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan and R o n i t R o y I t w a s p r o m o t e d a g g r e s s i v e l y a s a p a n I n d i a n f i l m , e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r K a r a n Johar came on board to release the Hindi version However, the film opened to a largely mid dling response from the audi ences with most calling the film ‘ f o r m u l a i c ’ a n d ‘ w a s t e d o p p o r t u n i t y ’ f o r Vijay who spent three years on the project

On the work front, Vijay will be seen a l o n g s i d e S a m a n t h a R u t h P r a b h u i n a n upcoming romantic drama film ‘Khusi’ The film is all set to hit the theatres on December 23 Vijay debuted with the 2011 Telugu film ‘Nuvvila’ He shot to nationwide fame with 2017 blockbuster ‘Arjun Reddy’

Telugu actor Poonam Kaur diagnosed with fibromyalgia

Poonam made her acting debut with the 2006 Telugu film, ‘Mayajalam’ She went on to star in films such as ‘Souryam', ‘Vinayakudu', ‘Eenadu’, ‘Ganesh’ and ‘Gaganam’ among others She currently

‘Nathicharami'

video clip of the actor from the airport has surfaced on social media as he gets ready for the flight The movie crew unveiled the Russian version trailer last week ahead of the grand release.

actor Poonam Kaur announced that she has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a medical condition defined by the presence of chronic widespread pain, fatigue and depression. Sharing a note, Poonam wrote, “Let’s rest for a bit. Fibromyalgia is when a motivated person with lots of plans is forced to slow down and rest…” Her fans wished her a speedy recovery in the comments section.

awaits the release of the Telugu film

Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ features among 100 greatest films

British magazine Sight and Sound has revealed its poll of the 100 greatest films of the time, with Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman’s 1975 drama ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles’ at the top spot Unveiled in 1952, the magazine releases the poll once every decade This year’s ballot was organized with 1639 participating critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics who each submit their top 10 ballots

Rajamouli wins best director at New York Film Critics Circle

SSRajamouli’s ‘RRR’ registered its first major international win after the filmmaker won Best Director at The New York Film Critics Circle Founded in 1935, it is the oldest critics group in the US with members from newspapers, magazines and online publications The group will hand out its awards at a dinner in early January

A Telugu feature starring Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, and Ajay Devgn among others, ‘RRR’ released in March 2022 It is a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem Despite the movie’s huge s u c c e s s , i t w a s n o t s e l e c t e d a s India’s official entry for Oscars 2 0 2 3 S o m a k e r s o f t h e m o v i e applied in 14 categories under 'For your consideration' campaign The producers applied to The Academy For the Oscars in main categories ‘ R R R ’ t e a m h a s a s k e d f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n c a t e g o r i e s i n c l u d i n g B e s t P i c t u r e ( D V V D a n a y y a ) , B e s t D i r e c t o r ( S S Rajamouli), Best Actor (Jr NTR and R a m C h a r a n ) , B e s t S u p p o r t i n g A c t o r ( A j a y D e v g n ) , B e s t S u p p o r t i n g A c t r e s s ( A l i a B h a t t ) and more

Meanwhile, the New York Film Critics Circle has named “ Tár ” its best picture of the year, with Todd

Field’s contemporary drama about a r e n o w n e d c o n d u c t o r a n d composer also nabbing best actress f o r C a t e B l a n c h e t t ’ s l e a d i n g p e r f o r m a n c e T h e g r o u p m e t Friday in New York to vote on and a n n o u n c e i t s s e l e c t i o n s f o r t h e year T h e C i r c l e i s k n o w n f o r spreading awards across a wide swath of the year ’ s film Other winners included Charlotte Wells ‘Aftersun’, selected as the best first film, and Dean Fleischer Camp s ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ for the best animated film

Veteran Odia film actor

Das dies at 77

This year, the list features one Indian film

spot The magazine says, Pather Panchali announced the arrival of a humanistic, Calcutta centred Indian art cinema, distinct from the commercial product of Bollywood Among the film’s intensely memorable moments is a scene in which Apu (Subir Banerjee) and his sister run through a paddy field to catch a glimpse of a passing train ”

Additionally, some of the most recent releases to have found a place on the list include most recent additions being Celine Sciamma’s ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019), Barry Jenkins’ ‘Moonlight’ (2016), Bong Joon ho’s ‘Parasite’ (2019), and Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ (2017)

condoled her death "Saddened to

S h e w i l l a l w a y s b e remembered for her outstanding c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e O d i a f i l m industry My deepest condolences to the family and her admirers," the president tweeted

CM Patnaik announced that the last rites of Jharana will be performed with full state honours " H e r i m p a c t f u l p e r f o r m a n c e o n stage and in film will always be remembered May her soul rest in

peace and my condolence to the b e r e a v e d f a m i l y , " h e s a i d i n a statement

Born in 1945, Jharana started her acting career in the 1960s and w o n s e v e r a l a c c o l a d e s f o r h e r brilliant performance in landmark films like ‘Shree Jagannath’, ‘Nari’, ‘ A d i n a m e g h a ’ , ‘ H i s a b n i k a s ’ , ‘Pujafula', ‘Amadabata', ‘Abhinetri’, ‘Malajanha’ and 'Heera Nella’

J h a r a n a e a r l i e r w o r k e d a s a child artist and announcer with All India Radio (AIR), Cuttack, and as a n a s s i s t a n t s t a t i o n d i r e c t o r o f D o o r d a r s h a n i n C u t t a c k M a n y l a u d e d h e r d i r e c t i o n i n t h e b i o g r a p h i c a l d o c u m e n t a r y o n f o r m e r O d i s h a c h i e f m i n i s t e r Harekrushna Mahtab Jharana was also a trained classical dancer and w a s h o n o u r e d w i t h G u r u Kelucharan Mohapatra Award for lifetime achievement in 2016

Sharon Stone spots Shah Rukh, screams 'Oh My God'

Actor Shah Rukh Khan made a very memorable presence at the Red Sea Film Festival last week, enthralling many including Hollywood star Sharon Stone A video from the event went viral on the internet over the weekend, featuring Sharon looking at Shah with awe on spotting him right next to her

I n t h e v i d e o , a s t h e h o s t i n t r o d u c e s S h a h R u k h t o t h e audience, Sharon gasps at first and then exclaims ‘oh my God!’ She was seen in a beige dress with black gloves on her hands She clutched her chest as she screamed while sitting in her chair Shah Rukh spotted her reaction and

bent down to give her a kiss on her cheek

Shah Rukh and Kajol attended the Red Sea Film Festival as their blockbuster ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ was the opening film In one of the clips doing the rounds o n s o c i a l m e d i a , S R K i s s e e n singing ‘Tujhe Dekha Toh’ song from ‘DDLJ' for Kajol He also d e l i v e r e d h i s f a m o u s l i n e f r o m ‘Baazigar’ for Kajol S R K a l s o r e c e i v e d a s p e c i a l h o n o u r a t t h e R e d S e a F i l m Festival "I am truly honoured to receive this award from the Red Sea International Film Festival It's wonderful to be here among my fans from Saudi and the region

w h o h a v e a l w a y s b e e n h u g e s u p p o r t e r s o f m y f i l m s I ' m looking forward to celebrating the region's talent and being a part of t h i s e x c i t i n g f i l m c o m m u n i t y Film is a unifier because it transits shared human experiences across cultures You like a film because it s t i r s y o u r e m o t i o n s , b e i t i n whatever language or culture it is f r o m A n d T h a n k G o d f o r s u b t i t l e s I t b r i n g s a l l t h a t i s human to the fore, and it shows perhaps better than any other art how despite the immense diversity of the world we live in, our basic p u r s u i t s a n d e m o t i o n s a r e t h e same," he said after receiving the award

Disney ropes in Gurinder Chadha to

direct, produce Indian film

will reunite and co write

project

“dynamic

Chadha is a British Indian film d i r e c t o r a n d p r o d u c e r w h o founded Bend It Films after the success of ‘Bend It Like Beckham’, w h i c h s h e w r o t e , d i r e c t e d , a n d produced She also directed the a c c l a i m e d W e s t E n d m u s i c a l adaptation of the popular film Her o t h e r f i l m s i n c l u d e ‘ B r i d e a n d Prejudice’, ‘Blinded by the Light’, ‘Viceroy’s House’, ‘The Mistress of S p i c e s ’ , ‘ A n g u s ’ , ‘ T h o n g s a n d P e r f e c t S n o g g i n g ’ , a n d ‘ I t ’ s a Wonderful Afterlife’

She is also reportedly working o n a d a p t i n g N i d h i C h a n a n i ’ s h i g h l y a c c l a i m e d g r a p h i c n o v e l ‘ P a s h m i n a ’ i n t o a n o r i g i n a l C G animated musical for Netflix

Asreported by Deadline, Disney has commissioned its first musical based on an Indian princess from ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ filmmaker Gurinder Chadha The original report suggests that she

with Paul Mayeda Berges The

will focus on a

princess from Indian history” However, plot specifics are being kept under wraps for the moment

Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ at the 35th

movie actor Jharana Das passed away at her residence in Cuttack at the age of 77 A winner of the state government’s prestigious Jaydev Puraskar for her lifetime contribution to the Odia film industry, she was suffering from an old age related ailment

in brief Bangladesh win first ODI against India

Me hi dy H as an Mi r az hi t an un b ea t en 38 a nd p ut on a record tenth wicket stand as Bangladesh edged out India by on e wi c k e t i n a th ri l l i n g opening one day international on S un d ay C ha s i n g 187 f or vi ctory, the hosts fell to 136 9 before Mehi dy and Mustafizur Rahman put together a 51 run partnership B angladesh’ s bes t ever for the final wicket in a s uc c e s s f ul run c h as e t o ac hi ev e th ei r ta rg et w it h 24 balls to spare in D haka Mehidy, coming in to bat at No 8, hit four fours and two sixes and survived a dropped c a t c h b y w i c k e t k e e p e r K L Rahul on 15 to turn the match on its head Mehidy hit the w i n n i n g r u n s i n h i s 3 9 b a l l k n o c k t o t r i g g e r w i l d c e l e b r a t i o n s a s t h e p l a y e r s came running onto the field

and the home crowd erupted

“This performance is really memorable for me, ” said player of the match Mehidy Skipper L i t o n D a s s a i d h e h a s “ n o words to describe this feeling” a n d c o n g r a t u l a t e d M e h i d y after he made a winning debut as ODI captain in the absence of the injured Tamim Iqbal

Mustafizur scored 10 off 11 balls as he and Mehidy stood firm in the fourth highest 10th w i c k e t p a r t n e r s h i p i n a successful ODI chase to record a famous win Shakib Al Hasan s e t u p v i c t o r y a f t e r h i s impressive bowling figures of 5 36 helped bowl out India for 1 8 6 i n 4 1 2 o v e r s d e s p i t e

Rahul's 73 Bangladesh collapsed after a f e w g o o d p a r t n e r s h i p s i n c l u d i n g a 4 8 r u n s t a n d b e t w e e n D a s a n d S h a k i b S p i n n e r W a s h i n g t o n S u n d a r got Das out for 41 and then S h a k i b t o a s t u n n i n g o n e handed catch at extra cover by V i r a t K o h l i B a n g l a d e s h s u f f e r e d a d o u b l e b l o w i n s u c c e s s i v e b a l l s w h e n M a h m u d u l l a h R i y a d a n d Mushfiqur Rahim fell after a 33 run stand for the fifth wicket B a n g l a d e s h l o o k e d t o b e cruising at 128 4 in the 35th over, but lost their way after M a h m u d u l l a h f e l l l b w t o S h a r d u l T h a k u r a n d t h e n M o h a m m e d S i r a j b o w l e d M u s h f i q u r D e b u t a n t f a s t bowler Kuldeep Sen came back to pick up two wickets in the first over of his second spell

England score 74-run victory over Pak in first test

England p ulled off a stunning 74 run victory ov er Pakistan in t h e f ir st T es t o n M o nd a y, c l ai m i ng t h e f i nal w i c ket i n rap idly fading light to take a 1 0 lead in the th ree match series T he v isitors am assed 657 in their first inning s and d eclared their s e co n d o n 26 4 7 , s ett in g P akistan an imp robable v ictory target of 34 3 on a docile track in Rawalpindi

Pakistan fought gamely and r e a c h e d 2 6 8 b e f o r e b e i n g dismissed in an absorbing final s e s s i o n , S a u d S h a k e e l t o p scoring for the hosts with 76 M o h a m m a d R i z w a n m a d e 4 6 and Azhar Ali scored 40 with an injured finger but they could

only delay the inevitable P a k i s t a n ’ s l a s t p a i r o f Naseem Shah and Mohammad Ali resisted for nearly nine overs before the former fell lbw to Jack Leach barely 10 minutes before the scheduled end of play

“A few days ago we were running around trying to start

o n t i m e , ” E n g l a n d captain Ben Stokes said r e f e r r i n g t o a v i r u s which affected several E n g l a n d p l a y e r s “ S o credit to the group for c o m i n g h e r e , t u r n i n g up under the weather W h a t w e ’ v e h a d t o d e a l w i t h c o m i n g i n m a k e s t h i s w i n e v e n better ”

Stokes’s bold declaration set the stage for a riveting contest and his bowlers put up a lion hearted effort on a lifeless pitch to secure a memorable victory James Anderson (4 36) and O l l i e R o b i n s o n ( 4 5 0 ) w e r e E n g l a n d ’ s m o s t s u c c e s s f u l

England footballer leaves WC in Qatar after armed break-in at home

E n g la nd p lay er Ra h eem S terling has been forced to l ea v e th e Wo r ld C u p i n Q at ar af ter ar m ed i n tru d e rs b ro ke i nt o h i s h ome w hilst his family was i n si d e T h e fo r w ard w a s m is s i ng f ro m th e T h r ee L io n 's 3 0 v i c to ry o v er S eneg al on Sund ay night after the incident took place o n Satu rday ev ening

Reports said that Sterling was said to have been shaken and concerned about his children and partner following the break in T h e C h e l s a W i n g e r w a s f l o o d e d w i t h support on social media as Match of the Day host Gary Lineker wrote: "Thoughts are with @sterling7 and his family after their awful and harrowing ordeal "

Speaking at the press conference after

t h e v i c t o r i o u s g a m e , England Manager Gareth Southgate said: "Raheem, as the FA statement says, is having to deal with a family situation, so he’s g o i n g b a c k t o E n g l a n d “ W e ’ v e g o t t o g i v e h i m time to try to resolve that or be there for his family That’s the most important thing at this time, so we ’ re going to give him that space

“I spent a lot of time with Raheem this morning, but you know you have days where events happen and you have to deal with them “He’s on his way home and, yeah, w e ’ r e o b v i o u s l y m i n d f u l o f h i m b e i n g a l l o w e d s p a c e a n d ( h a v i n g ) p r i v a c y respected, so we don’t want to talk in too much detail ”

India pull out of bid to host 2027 AFC Asian Cup

grassroots and youth development was more important than hosting big events

Chaubey said India has always been “ a w o n d e r f u l a n d e f f i c i e n t h o s t ” t o b i g tournaments, like the recently concluded FIFA U 17 Women's World Cup, but the focus will now shift to strengthening the c o u n t r y ' s f o o t b a l l a t e v e r y l e v e l , f r o m grassroots to youth development

b o w l e r s w h i l e S t o k e s marshalled his team expertly in the field Robinson, who made 3 7 i n t h e f i r s t i n n i n g s a n d f i n i s h e d t h e g a m e w i t h f i v e wickets, was adjudged player of the match

“ W e w e r e n o t u p t o t h e mark,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam rued “We had a golden chance to win this Test, but s e s s i o n b y s e s s i o n w e k e p t losing wickets ”

The second Test in Multan begins on Friday Bri ef Sc ores : England 657 and 264 for 7 decl beat Pakistan 5 7 9 a n d 2 6 8 o / n 8 0 f o r 2 ( S h a k e e l 7 6 , A n d e r s o n 4 3 6 , Robinson 4 50) by 74 runs

49% cricketers ready to become freelance agents for T20 leagues

The c r ic k et ing e c os y s te m i s wit ne s s in g a pa r a d ig m s hi f t w it h a m a jor c hu n k of i nt e r n a ti on a l c r i c k et e r s , b a r r in g In di a ns , re je cting their re spec tive countr y's cen tral contrac ts t o be come f reelanc e agents for the T20 l eagues ac ros s the globe, world play ers' body FICA stated in its annual report

It must be mentioned that the Indian players' body is not under the aegis of FICA whose sample survey doesn't include the Indian cricketers As per the latest report, “ 4 9 % w o u l d c o n s i d e r r e j e c t i n g a c e n t r a l contract if they were paid more to play in domestic leagues” There is a growing debate that 50 over cricket is fast losing its relevance and the survey suggests that there is a marked dip in the percentage of cricketers who still t h i n k t h a t O D I W o r l d C u p i s t h e m o s t important event in the ICC calender “Fifty four per cent still consider the 50 over World Cup as the pinnacle ICC event, although this has reduced significantly from 86% in the 2018/19 FICA survey, ” the report stated

SHAFALI TO LEAD INDIA IN WOMEN'S U 19 T20 TEAM

Shafali Verma was named captain of India’s 15 member squad for the ICC U 19 Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in South Africa from January 14 to 29 The All India Women’s Selection Committee picked the team for the maiden edition of the U 19 Women’s T20 World Cup as well as for the upcoming bilateral away T20 series against South Africa U 19 beginning December 17 Shafali will also lead in the five T20 matches against South Africa U 19 Squad: For SA T20s: Shafali Verma (C) Shweta Sehrawat (VC), Richa Ghosh (WK) G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala, Hrishita Basu (WK), Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD, Shikha, Najla CMC, Yashashree

For ICC U 19 T20 World Cup: Shafali Verma (C), Shweta Sehrawat (VC), Richa Ghosh (WK), G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari Sonia Mehdiya, Hurley Gala Hrishita Basu (WK) Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap Archana Devi, Parshavi Chopra, Titas Sadhu, Falak Naz, Shabnam MD Standby s: Shikha, Naj la CMC, Yashashree

PANT RELEASED FROM ODI SQUAD IN BANGLADESH

Flamboyant wicket keeper batter Rishabh Pant has been released abruptly from the Indian ODI squad for the three match series against Bangladesh, the BCCI said Pant was released following consultation with the BCCI medical team and no replacement has been sought “In consultation with the BCCI Medical Team, Rishabh Pant has been released from the ODI squad He will join the team ahead of the Test series No replacement has been sought ” the BCCI said in a media release

991 PLAYERS SIGN UP FOR IPL 2023 AUCTION

A total of 991 cricketers including 714 Indians have registered for the IPL 2023 Players’ Auction to be held in Kochi on December 23 Among the 14 overseas countries Australia with 57 players have the most in the auction pool followed by South Africa (52) West Indies (33) England (31) New Zealand (27) Sri Lanka (23) Afghanistan (14) Ireland (8), Netherlands (7), Bangladesh (6), UAE (6), Zimbabwe (6) Namibia (5) and Scotland (2) are the other countries If every franchise were to have a maximum of 25 players in their squad, 87 players are available to be bought in the auction (of which up to 30 players can be overseas players),” said the statement issued by BCCI secretary Jay Shah

LAKSHYA REGAINS

CAREER BEST SIXTH SPOT

Lakshya Sen jumped two spots to regain his career best sixth position in the latest BWF World Rankings The 21 year old from Almora, who had a stellar run this season, has 75,024 points from 23 tournaments Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy remained static at world number 11 and 12 respectively Women s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand broke into the top 20 by jumping two places to world number 19 The pair, winner of bronze medal in Birmingham CWG, has 46,020 points from 17 tournaments

Malhotra, Jatin named as new CAC members

India's bid was launched amid much fanfare in 2020 when Praful Patel was the AIFF president but the current dispensation under Kalyan Chaubey feels “building the foundations of football structure” through

“The EC has decided that the overall strategy of the federation currently remains on focusing on the fundamental goals to strengthen our football at every level from grassroots to youth development,” he said

Former Indi a players and nati onal selecto rs As hok Malho tra and Jatin Paranjape wi ll jo in Sul akshana Naik in the three member Cricket A d v i s o ry C o m m i t te e (C A C ) w h i c h w i l l b e entrusted wi th the d uty of pi cking th e new se lect io n pa nel l ater th i s m onth Mal ho tra replaced former Indi a seamer Madan Lal and Paranjap e came i n place of Rud ra Pratap Singh, who has joined Mumbai Indi ans as a tal ent s c ou t O nl y f or me r w o me n ’ s i nte rna ti o na l Naik remained f ro m the last committee

“Malhotra has represented India in seven Tests and 20 ODIs and recently served as the President of the Indian Cricketers’ Association Paranjape has played four ODIs for India and w a s p a r t o f t h e s e n i o r m e n ’ s s e l e c t i o n Committee,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah was q u o t e d a s s a y i n g i n a p r e s s r e l e a s e I n November, the BCCI had sacked the entire selection panel headed by Chetan Sharma The other members were Harvinder Singh, Sunil Joshi and Debasish Mohanty

Raheem Sterling