Asian Voice

VOL 40. ISSUE 40

80p

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

2G scam: SC scraps all 122 licences granted by Raja Trial court rejects Swamy’s plea to prosecute Chidambaram

Why make UK-India trade a controversial ‘football game’?

The British aid to India of £250mn per year out of a total budget of £3bn has to be seen in the background of the size of the population, people under poverty as well as the GDP of that country and the per capita income.

The recent developments are not very counterproductive and it is very futile. The Chairman of the Labour friends of India saw it fit to intervene in the debate and the way he has done it make us believe of its raging importance. His outburst about the appointment of the Indian High Commission is above his normal astute and of course a very well thought out initiative.

As a senior member of the British Parliament, representing a very large Indian origin constituency, particularly his involvement with the Labour Friends of India since inception has given indeed ample opportunity and access to Barry Gardiner to write to the Indian PM, Foreign Minister and the

Indian High Commission here. Has he done that?

One would like to know.

On the eve of Indian Republic Day, normally believed to be a 'friend of India' if he has taken a certain step, one is inclined to ask what was the motivation?

The Labour Friends of India is surely expected to give friendly advice to the power that may be in India and Britain in a matured and dignified way.

Let's talk about philanthropy and motivation of the donors. Bill Gates of this world have so much wealth that their motivation cannot be challenged.

Other well known philanthropists are also moved by poverty, hunger, disease or other deprivation. But did no state aid have any expectation ever? Of

Chancellor George Osborne and Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during a UK-India trade relation meeting in London

course they did! Trade is one of them, so is goodwill generated through common humanity. That word 'goodwill' is very important.

The aid to India is a fact. The recent irresponsible statements by eminent politicians and some media is surely counter

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In a major embarrassment to the Manmohan Singh government, the Supreme Court of India last week cancelled the 122 2G spectrum licences granted by former telecom minister A Raja A Raja & P Chidambaram on the ground approach the High court, that they were issued in a if it still goes against him, "totally arbitrary and he would appeal to the unconstitutional" manner.

Supreme Court. He also Meanwhile, in a major said he had a strong case relief to home minister P against Chidambaram and Chidambaram, the A Raja, that they made the Supreme Court said the decisions together. trial court would decide on Upon being asked if he Janata Party chief was disappointed with the Subramanian Swamy's verdict, he said there was plea to make no question of disappointChidambaram a coment. However, he did say accused in the 2G speche was surprised at the trum allotment case. The judgment because he said apex court said that the his evidence was complete. trial court should decide Swamy had filed a the matter within two plea seeking direction to weeks. Later the trial court the Central Bureau of rejected Swamy’s plea to Investigation (CBI) to prosecute Chidambaram. probe the role of Speaking to the media Chidambaram in fixing after the verdict, Swamy 2G licence prices and said, "This order deserves grant of spectrum. to be reversed". He clearly stated that he would Continued on page 26

First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe 11th Feb to 17th Feb 2012

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productive. How? Let us look at the whole background of this tragic comedy.

India chose a French company as its first choice to build a £13 billion force of fighter jets, rejecting the British-built Typhoon.

Continued on page 2

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

one to one Keith Vaz MP with

Professor Soraya Dhillon MBE, BPharm, PhD, FRPharmS, Head of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Hertfordshire Professor Dhillon is Head of the School of Pharmacy and pioneered the development of the new School at the University of Hertfordshire. Professor Dhillon has over 20 years academic experience in pharmacy education and research. Professor Dhillon works nationally and internationally developing education and research in Clinical Pharmacy, Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacokinetics. Her management and leadership experience also spans her role as a NonExecutive Director in the NHS from 1991. Most notably Chair Luton & Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1999-2010. Currently General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Registrant Member . She was awarded an MBE for Services to Healthcare in the 2007 New Years Honours and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Charter Gold Medal for outstanding services to the Profession May 2008, as well as the Lloyds TSB Jewel award for Excellence in the Public Sector in October 2008.

1) Please tell us about your current position?

I am currently Head of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Hertfordshire.

My School employs over 40

academics, 15 technical and 3 professional staff and has 600 undergraduates, 40 postgraduates and 20 PhD students.

As the first Head of School, which was established in 2004, I

the Queens New Year Honours, and the Charter Gold Medal for science and practice conferred by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (Professional Body). In my role as an NHS Chair transforming Luton & Dunstable Hospital to Foundation Trust Status and achieving double excellence in the care quality commissions rankings.

And lastly, becoming the first Asian Woman Head of School.

comes of achievement.

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

8) If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change?

Excelling in my career and balancing this with personal issues.

Social welfare system to ensure equity is maintained in terms of allocating limited resources to the most needy.

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

My father – values, principles and beliefs which underpin who you are and how you excel in your career.

5) What is the best thing about your current role?

helped develop and implement the School's Business Plan and achieve Professional Body Accreditation.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

Receiving the MBE for services to healthcare in

Leadership and management; the ability to engage at grass roots levels and interface with students in research and teaching, seeing the out-

student

6) And the worst?

Academic life is 24/7 and involves long hours, academics find it hard to switch off.

7) What are your long term goals?

My long terms goals now are phased retirement and a portfolio career. Main priority is to keep in good health!

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

Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The main reason is to understand how these individuals pioneered social movements, I admire their compassion and humility and how they used this to overcome major political hurdles.

Why make UK-India trade a controversial ‘football game’?

Continued from page 1 BAE is now been signalled to reduce the price of the Eurofighter Typhoon to win the Indian tender. While Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary insisted that foreign aid is very important for UK's national security and cancelling the programme will cause "a grave political embarrassment" to Britain, Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian finance minister, reportedly told the Indian parliament’s upper house, the Rajya Sabha, that “we do not require the aid” and that his government wanted to give it up. “It is a peanut in our total development exercises.”

These revelations are probably due to reignite the controversy over the sums given by the UK in development aid to a country whose economy has been growing up to 10% a year.

The UK has spent £1.2 billion on aid for India in the past five years and is planning to spend a further £600mn by 2015.

As Dean Nelson in the Daily Telegraph points out that the rift between us (India and Britain) has become wider. That tension was exposed in embarrassing style over Christmas when Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear arrived in India for a “trade promotion special” in a customised Jaguar complete with its own toilet in the boot to spare our colourful presenter the reality of India’s notorious sanitary facilities.

The Indian High Commission eventually lodged a formal complaint.

Prior to this announcement by the Indian finance minister and post the rejection of British built fighter jets by Indian government, Barry Gardiner MP, Chair of both Labour Friends of India and the All Party Group on UK-India Trade, called for major reforms to UK Trade and Investment.

Barry also called for radical reform of the Indian High Commissions role in promoting UK-India trade. He criticised both the UK and Indian Governments for allowing the relationship to be ‘downgraded’.

He told Asian Voice, “India House has now been without a High Commissioner for seven months, something that would be inconceivable in Beijing or Washington. This demonstrates that the Ministry for External Affairs in Delhi no longer see the UK as strategically vital to India's interests.

I want to see British companies investing in India to support her growth and modernisation. We in the UK need this too in order to rebalance the British economy towards a market which will offer the best opportunities for growth in the coming decades.

In a few weeks Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will arrive for talks around the long stalled Free Trade Agreement.

Hopes of a strong FTA have all but been abandoned. Both countries must use his visit to inject new energy & purpose into UK India trade."

On January 25th, speaking at a debate titled UK-India trade in the Parliament, Barry spoke of

Barry Gardiner MP

his concern that India’s failure to reform its markets, deal with corruption and establish an economy open to foreign investment meant that she was failing to reach her potential for economic growth. He was critical of the first time absence of a representative from the Indian High Commission in the debate and also criticised the UK Government for failing to do enough to encourage UK companies to see India as a major market, which has led to the UK to drop down the list of India’s biggest trading partners. He also made remarks on Congress, its attacks on Anna Hazare and the recent Lok Pal bill, that has "real question marks hanging over it".

In response to Barry Gardiners comments, the Indian High Commission issued a press release that said, "There has not been any downgrading of our trade relations with UK. As a matter of fact, India-UK trade has crossed £10 billion mark till November 2011 against £9.8 bil-

lion in whole of 2010, despite the continuing global economic slowdown. FDI from UK into India registered a substantial increase in 2011, from a level of USD 755 million in 2010-11 to over USD 2.5 billion during April - October 2011. There have been several new investments and acquisition of businesses by Indian entities in the UK in 2011.

Last year 2011, has seen a very full range of trade and investment engagements between India and UK including Infrastructure financing conference, SME conference, IndiaWales business meet in Cardiff and a number of ministerial visits and bilateral interactions from India to UK." Alpesh Patel, the founding principal of Praefinium Partners Ltd, who has been closely involved with the UKTI as 'India Dealmaker', appointed in 2005, told Asian Voice, "Britain currently gives aid to India because it is home to a third of the world's poorest people, who live on less than 80p a day. There are more poor people in India than sub-Saharan Africa.

I strongly support the new aid relationship with India, which this Government has helped shape. It now focuses only on helping the poorest, especially women and girls. Aid no longer goes through the central Government of India but is targeted direct to projects in the poorest states.

The priority is boosting the private sector in these very poor areas, to ensure delivery of jobs, products and basic services.

Aid is just one part of Britain's wider relationship with India, which includes trade. This contributes to both Indian and British prosperity. For example UK exports to India grew by 45 percent last year. And last year UK companies announced £9 billion of investment in India 18 times more than the previous year. Britain will not give aid to India for ever but now is not the time to quit."

The most senior British MP of Indian origin, Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP is to visit India from 11th – 17th February to promote UK-India relations. He is particularly keen to encourage Indian students to study in the UK and strengthen trade relations between the two countries.

Mr Vaz has recently been involved in campaigning against Dow Chemicals’ sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics. He has been vocal over the Top Gear India Christmas Special and Jeremy Clarkson’s unhelpful comments.

Rt Hon Keith Vaz told Asian Voice: “Following recent events I am keen to strength Britain and India’s vital and enduring relationship. It is to both countries’ benefit to maintain it as one of the closest and warmest in the world.”

A British-Indian business leader, who plays an important role in promoting trade between the two countries, believes that Britain needs to counter an impression of hostility to Indians by relaxing tough visa restrictions, and to turn the aid issue in Britain’s favour by privatising it.

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

COMMENT

Salute to her Majesty on Diamond Jubilee Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II marked her 60 years on the throne with a “thank you” to the nation and a pledge that she would serve for the rest of her life.

There was a 41-gun Royal Salute in London’s Hyde Park, echoed by similar ceremonies at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland and by the Navy in the southern port of Portsmouth.

In a Diamond Jubilee message, the queen thanked Britons for the “wonderful support and encouragement” she had received over the past six decades. “In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness’ ...” she said.

Commemorations of the day when her father, King George VI, died of lung cancer at the age of 56 on Feb. 6, 1952, were kept deliberately low key, with nationwide celebrations reserved for a long weekend of pageantry in June. She was fairly young, hardly 25 years when she lost her father.

She has been through many ups and downs, seen the transition from monarchy to commonwealth, but she has remained graceful and stoic. She has made a lot of sacrifices.

Even on day of diamond jubilee, amid freezing temperatures, the Queen, 85, paid a visit to the market

town of King’s Lynn, in the east of England, with Prince Philip, 90, her husband of 64 years.

In 2011, the Queen hit a record by becoming the second-longest reigning monarch in 1,000 years of the British history. She made up as the most widely travelled head of state in history as the ups and downs of politics continued to challenge Queen Elizabeth during her reign “Always dedicated, always resolute and always respected, she is a source of wisdom and continuity,” said PM David Cameron. Labor Party leader Ed Miliband said: “For our country and our Commonwealth this is a day to pay tribute to the wise, tireless and trusted presence of our Queen. She has been a source of stability and security in a changing world during her 60 years on the throne providing guidance and comfort to all she meets,” said Miliband.

During her reign, the queen had “inspired hope, cooperation and unity” and “actively and graciously represented the United Kingdom towards European partners and the rest of the world.” As the run-up to the transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations, which the queen experienced during her 60-year reign, over 20 countries gained independence from Britain in the 1960s and 1970s.

UK does not buy influence by giving aid to India The decision of the government of India to buy 126 Rafale French planes rather than the British-backed Eurofighter Typhoon has created a major controversy in UK. The British government thinks that it has a right to get the deal as it is an aid giver to India. With time, the economy of country changes and with such changes, one needs to understand the change in real sense to analysis its needs and demands.

Just consider the new India. The ninth largest economy in the world by GDP, it is growing at over seven per cent and is predicted to overtake the UK by 2022.

There are more billionaires in India than in this country. Since India gained independence in 1947, Indians have squirreled away more than the rest of the world.

India also gives £3.5 billion of aid to Africa and is spending £2 billion to put Indians into space.

So why should British taxpayers send India £260 million of aid to India, which will amount to over a billion by 2015? Defenders of aid argue that India still has 600 million people living on less than $2 a day. That amounts to 30 per cent of the world’s poor, more than in all of sub-Saharan Africa. By giving aid, Britain is reaching out to parts of India nobody else does, not even Indians. And no doubt it gives the British a nice moral glow. But it certainly does not buy influence. But there are also strong voices to stop aid to India, especially after the failed jet deal.

The Indian government argues that their preference for the French fighters was based on pragmatic considerations of cost. As the Indians see it, they are a mature democracy. The recent developments are not very counterproductive but it is very futile that the chair-

man of the Labour friends of India Barry Gardner saw it fit to intervene in the debate. His outburst about the appointment of the Indian High Commissioner here is above his normal and well thought out initiative.

Indian’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had told the Rajya Sabha, that “we do not require the aid” and that his government wanted to give it up. “It is a peanut in our total development exercises.” The IndiaUK trade relations has recently been characterised by disappointment and rancour as ministers and businessmen voiced growing frustration at the pitfalls of doing business in India. Vodafone found itself in court facing a $2 billion tax demand, which was only withdrawn last month. Cairn Energy, one of Britain’s most successful oil firms, was stopped from completing a £6 billion sale of its local operations until it agreed to cut the Indian government in on a larger slice of the deal.

Small British firms found themselves facing bankruptcy as Indian government officials withheld millions of pounds in payments for work on Delhi’s 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Vikram Sood, a former head of India’s intelligence service believes Britain’s aid programme is a “colonial hangover” which has become an obstacle to better relations and should be gracefully retired. “There is a hangover there, the feeling that you give aid and should get something,” he says. “Our finance minister said we can live without it and we can. The British were here as colonisers, not the Salvation Army. It would be better if the two prime ministers met and agreed we just don’t need the aid any more. Not having it would lend greater equality.”

Scandals put Manmohan govt in danger The Manmohan Singh government is in blundering retreat from one indefensible position to another. The government hoped that the two court judgments would provide it some breathing space, it would be delusional. The government may have managed to survive, but it is caught in multiple wars, all with its own making. The Supreme Court while ordering the cancellation of 122 telecom licences issued during A Raja’s tenure accused the government of “virtually gifting away an important natural asset at throwaway prices.”

According to a former adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Singh had seriously considered stepping down at times during the turbulence of the past 12 months, but has continued out of loyalty to Congress and Sonia Gandhi. There was some relief for the government when a court cleared home minister P Chidambaram of signing off the sale of the mobile network licences, which may have cost the public exchequer of up to $36 billion on lost revenues.

Buoyed by this ruling, which kept the blame for shortchanging the nation from spreading across Singh’s cabinet - the Congress party is most likely to try to limp on, just as it did through 2011.

Last year it survived detention of a minister on the telecom scandal, country-wide protests over corruption, flip-flopping by fickle regional parties in its coalition and dismay over a policy paralysis as economic growth was sliding. It even blundered into an embarrassing legal face-off with the country’s Army chief over his date of birth and retirement. The former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief R Madhavan Nair is challenging the government action

against him and his key scientists in the bizarrely hyped ISRO-Devas scam. And as if a government at war with its Army chief and space research star (Nair was the man behind Chandrayan and was honoured with Padma Vibhushan by the same government in 2009) was not enough, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi writing protest letters to the prime minister that his autonomy is under threat.

Is the government in a permanent state of war with itself (not to forget coalition partners) or merely in a state of siege? The court verdict in the case of Chidambaram may subdue, for now, voices demanding his resignation, but if the Army chief wins the challenge on his age, there would be equally strong clamour for defence minister A K Antony’s resignation.

Two looming events could decide whether the government could ride out 2012. The first is the election in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh and the second is the budget session of parliament in March. The Congress is expected to fare better in UP poll than last time, when it won a mere 22 of the state assembly’s 403 seats, in part thanks to the tireless campaigning

by Rahul Gandhi. But if there is only a modest improvement in its seat tally, Congress will be further weakened. This may encourage the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to go for the offensive. The coalition partners may also be tempted to desert the government. If the government fails to win enough support in parliament for it’s 2012/13 Finance Bill in mid-March, then under the constitution it must resign, which could trigger a mid-term election. This may pose the question whether the parties are ready to face an election.

www.abplgroup.com

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Thought for the Week Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?

- Nelson Mandela

Cllr Rabi Martins Watford Borough Council

Legalise same sex marriages The news that the Coalition Government plans to legalise same sex marriages by 2015 has predictably led to a conflict of opinion between the traditionalists and modernisers.

The former group see this as yet another nail in the coffin of traditional Christian Britain whilst the other argues that same sex couples have every right to expect to be treated the same as heterosexual couples in the eyes of the law as well as in society.

The traditionalists argue that marriage is sacred sacrament and that this blessed union between a man and woman is primarily to have and raise children.

The modernisers say marriage is much more than that. That it is in fact a public declaration of a spiritual bond between two individuals and as such can apply equally to members of the same sex.

The debate will rage on Uganda born and the second most senior bishop in the Church of England Dr John Sentanmu, said the church did not object to the introduction of civil partnerships in 2004, but that marriage should only be between men and women. In his view “The government should not overturn centuries of tradition by legalising gay marriage” In his view there is a real case for enhancing the rights and social status that civil partnerships bestow upon same sex couples but says “ If you begin to call those marriage, you're trying to change the English language.”

He has a point. Because the term “married couple” is universally taken to mean “man and a

woman” The Civil Partnership Act came into force on the 5th December 2005 and has allowed samesex couples aged over 16 to obtain legal recognition of their relationship The take up was swift.

Published figures show that the formations of civil partnerships hit a peak in 2006, shortly after the act was introduced. Over 16,000 gay couples registered for a civil partnership with nearly a third more males than females.

It is of course understandable that same sex couples should want more legal protection for their union.

Legal recognition of a marital union opens up a wide range of entitlements, including social security, taxation, inheritance and other benefits unavailable to couples unmarried in the eyes of the law. But opponents of same sex marriage argue that it is perfectly possible for government to frame laws which bestow the rights these couples seek without actually calling it marriage.

Peter Tatchell, the co-ordinator of the Equal Love campaign accuses Archbishop Sentamu of being a religious authoritarian who wants to impose his personal opposition to same-sex marriage on the rest of society. “It is not a Christian value to demand legal discrimination against gay couples and to treat them as inferior, second-class citizens with fewer rights than everyone else."

His opponents say Tatchell needs to accept that he represents a minority and that it would be fundamentally Continued on page 6

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Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

In brief

Email: majithia.meera@gmail.com

Leicester Voice

By Meera Majithia

Temple is first place of worship in the country to receive award of its kind

L-R: Martin Morgan-Taylor, Bob Mason MBE and Kirit Patel

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Leicester is the first place of worship in the UK to receive an award from the British Astronomical Association for their Campaign for Dark Skies.

The aim of the campaign is to preserve and restore the beauty of the night sky by campaigning against excessive inefficient and irresponsible lighting that shines where it is not wanted or needed.

UK coordinator for the Campaign for Dark Skies, Bob Mizon, MBE and fellow Leicesterbased committee member and vice president of the International Dark Sky Association Martin MorganTaylor, presented the lead coordinator of the temple, Kirit Patel, with the special award on Thursday 2nd February, for their part in reducing light pollution in their area of Leicester.

Mr Patel said: “I am delighted

to be receiving this award on behalf of the entire community of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Leicester. Whether it be on a local scale or a global scale, environmental issues are very important to us.”

The committee was particularly impressed with the lighting of the shikhars (spires) and domes of the temple, which highlighted their intricate form, without overspill into the night sky.

Mr Morgan-Taylor said he was particularly impressed at how the project team had managed to take traditional Hindu temple architecture and blend it with modern tech-

nology to create both function and beauty.

Temple spokesperson Sanjiv Patel revealed that the temple has also implemented low-voltage LED lighting and movement sensor switches throughout the building to ensure efficient energy usage.

Correct lighting can greatly reduce energy use and waste and the most visible aspect of energy waste is that of night-time lighting.

On seeing the low voltage LED lighting around the temple, Bob Mizon commented that the streetlights of the future would soon be adopting the same sort of light fittings.

University receives £1.9m grant for diabetes prevention programme A whopping £1.9m has been awarded to a group of researchers from the University of Leicester to spearhead one of the largest diabetes prevention programmes in the UK. The study, called the ‘Prevention of Diabetes Through Physical Activity Education with Different Levels of Ongoing Support’ (PROPELS), aims to provide information to the NH to help reduce the number of people who develop type 2

diabetes in the future.

Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Professor Melanie Davies and Dr

Tom Yates, of the Departments of Health Sciences and Cardiovascular Sciences, are collaborating with researchers at the University of Cambridge and the MRC to test whether this approach is effective among participants across Leicester and Cambridge.

Professor Khunti (pictured) said: “Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly common, chronic condition affecting 6 million people in the UK. Type 2

Entrepreneur bags business award A Leicestershire-man has been named as the Midlands Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Midlands Business Awards Former University of Leicester student, Suleman Sacranie scooped up the accolade at the Midlands Business Awards for his venture 99pWholesaler.com.

Beating stiff competition from five other contenders, he received the trophy from sponsor Guy Ashworth of HCK Communications at a ceremony held on Friday 3rd February at the NEC Hilton Metropole Hotel.

The company - 99p Wholesaler.com - is the third to have been set up

by Mr Sacranie. It features daily deals across the FMCG industry at competitive prices and offers branded goods for bulk purchases by retailers in a similar way to the traditional cash and carry model but online.

Mr Sacranie said: “I am delighted to have won this award. It recognises the huge efforts my team have put in and the support of my backers.”

He also paid tribute to the University of Leicester, particularly

Rajinder Bhuhi, Enterprise Learning Officer who was on stage with him to collect the award. Mr Bhuhi said: “Suleman was shocked and delighted to win. He was very grateful for our nomination and all the support we have given. It is great to see his commitment and determination acknowledged for starting his businesses and attracting investment.”

This is the sixth year that the awards, organised

by Leamington Spa-based UK Special Events, have taken place.

diabetes costs the NHS over £10 billion annually.

Many cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable through changes to lifestyle, such as increasing physical activity.

“There is very little data on how long-term education programmes can reduce type 2 diabetes. We hope to explore how much ongoing support is needed to sustain behaviour change in people at high risk of developing diabetes.

“Our application was helped by the fact our team has international expertise in this area and in particular prevention of diabetes in people of south Asian origin who are at high risk of developing diabetes.

Police arrest second man in connection with jewellery-shop raid

A second arrest has been made in connection with an armed robbery that took place at Ram Jewellers.

The 22-year-old man was arrested on 3rd February and has since been released on bail, pending further enquiries. Another 22-year-old man who was arrested on 1st February was also released on police bail pending further enquiries.

The raid took place just after 6pm on Monday 20th January at the jewellers on Belgrave Road.

Four masked men armed with hammers forced their way through the locked shop door and smashed the display cabinets, stealing a number of gold rings and bangles. The men fled the scene after company director Mahul Visram activated a security device, which filled the shop with thick smoke. They rushed off in a silver Peugeot 306, which was later found abandoned in Burfield Street, Leicester, near to Cossington Street recreation ground.

Detective Inspector Simon Preston, who is investigating the incident, said: “This second arrest is a step in the right direction but we are still appealing for people with information to come forward.

“I would like to reassure members of the public and residents in the Belgrave Road area that we are working closely with the business community and local Neighbourhood Watch scheme and aim to find those responsible as quick as we possibly can.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Leicestershire Police on 101*, quoting incident reference 599 of 30/01/12 Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, which is free** and anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

Police thank public for peaceful protest rally

Leicestershire Police Chief Constable Simon Cole has sent a public thank you to the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland for their support in ensuring Saturday’s (4th February) marches in the city centre passed peacefully. Around 700 supporters from the English Defence League (EDL) and 200 from Leicester Unite Against Fascism (UAF) carried out separate marches in the city centre. There were no arrests directly connected to the marches. Mr Cole said: “The success of the operation is due to a number of factors, not least the support from Leicester City Council in preparing the city for today’s event and the co-operation of the Leicester public.

“More than 2,000 officers and staff were involved in policing the marches joined by colleagues from 17 others forces and to those we owe a huge debt of thanks for their support.”

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: Whereas the last visit from the EDL ended in violence and the city being brought to a standstill, this year it has largely been business as usual. “The city has proven it takes more than a demonstration like this to pull our communities apart and that when the going gets tough, the city unites. Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon, city commander, said: “We appreciate the support we have received from the community and can now begin to get the city back to normal.”

Cannabis discovered in city business premises Over 100 cannabis plants were seized in a police raid on Monday 6th February.

Officers from Spinney Hill Park police station discovered an illegal cannabis factory concealed in a business premises in Humberstone Road, Leicester. The raid was prompted by an anonymous tip-off to the police, and resulted in 100 mature cannabis plants being

seized, together with cultivation equipment. The likely cannabis output of the plants has an estimated street value in the region of £28,000.

Sgt Stuart Wood led the police raid. He said: “I am delighted with the outcome of this raid, which has prevented a large amount of cannabis from reaching the streets of Leicester. This was a sophisticated drug

producing operation, and I am delighted to close it down.”

A 33-year-old Leicester man has been arrested by the police in connection with this operation.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Positivist Baroness Warsi In a recent interview of Sayeeda Warsi to the FT magazine made some remarkable comments on ambition, careers, success.

Speaking about achievements she said, she is lucky enough to have some really sensible kids.

Talking about her routes to success: ambition or talent, she added, “success comes because people are in the right place at the right time.” Satisfied with her life, she emphasised that everybody should have at least three careers. She hopes to have a few more. That does not rule out the baroness as a family person. Talking about house, she said, “I have more than one house, but only one home.”

A positivist, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who is the co-chair of the

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

Conservative party and minister without portfolio and a lawyer by profession, is the first Muslim female minister in a British government. She strongly believes that you can make anything of yourself if you are determined, though she marvels at her own accomplishment at the age of 40.

Memorial Meeting for Late Pradip Bose The London-based Netaji Subhas Foundation (NSF) held a memorial meeting to mourn the death of Pradip Bose, a nephew of Subhas Bose, who helped to found the body. Suhas Khale, president of NSF, led tributes to the departed soul, who passed away in Delhi in November. Bose, who divded his time between Delhi and Derby, was unanimously described as “a scholarly, yet unassum-

ing person” and thanked for inspiring the creation of the NSF. Bose, once a member of the Praja Socialist Party, was a activist with Socialist International. He was associated with Willy Brandt, the former German chancellor. He also wrote several books, including one on Indian communism and another on his uncle Subhas. He is survived by his English wife, Joyce.

Investigation launched against racist abuse on London tube Police are investigating yet another video of a London Underground passenger hurling racist abuse at foreign passengers.

The film shows the middle-aged white woman direct a tirade of abuse at Asian passengers on a Central Line train between St Paul’s and Mile End stations.

She begins by shouting ‘all f****** foreign s********’ in a shocking seven-minute long expletive-ridden rant in front of stunned onlookers.

It shows the woman, whose name is not known, sitting between two Pakistani men.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: ‘BTP is aware of the videos posted on YouTube which show a woman making alleged racist comments on board a Central Line Tube train between St Paul’s and Mile End stations during the evening of Sunday, 23.

‘Detectives were made aware of the videos on January 24 and immediately launched an investigation.

Stressed City trader goes to Employment tribunal A top City trader who lost £17million in one day claims he was ignored and forced out of the company after he admitted to his bosses that he was suicidal from work stress.

Asif Turabali Mohamedali, who earned £4.2m a year at Credit Suisse, was allegedly told ‘tough luck, dude, pull yourself together’ by senior staff at the bank, Stratford Employment Tribunal heard.

The 35-year-old claims he began ‘hating life’ after he was forced to take on the jobs of three people during the credit crunch.

He says the stress of work and the disciplinary

‘Anyone who witnessed this incident, or who has information which they believe can assist police, is asked to get in touch and help us build up a full picture of what took place.

‘BTP treats all allegations of racism on the London Underground very seriously and would urge anyone with information about this incident to contact us.’

process led him to go into the Priory in July 2009, where a psychiatrist ‘told me that she had not seen someone so severely depressed in her many years of practice.’

In October Mr Mohamedali, pictured, who is claiming unfair dismissal and disability discrimination, was told he had committed ‘serious misconduct’ and a fundamental breach of the firm’s rules, resulting in his immediate dismissal, the Daily Mail reported.

But he said: ‘I now know that cause of my mistakes was my depression allied to the fact that I continued to work in a highly pressurised and stressful environment.’

Credit Suisse claimed they launched disciplinary proceedings against Mr Mohamedali for buying stock on his own behalf while selling the same stock as a Credit Suisse manager - a claim Mr Mohamedali strenuously denies, reported the daily.

They also alleged that he had failed to disclose two bank accounts to the compliance unit as was required.

Marisa Drew, who made the final decision to sack the trader, reportedly said there was no evidence he was clinically depressed before the disciplinary proceedings started.

Ms Drew, co-head of global markets solutions group, said Mr Mohamedali was a ‘top notch’ trader who was able to perform his job at the highest level before the bank launched its investigation.

Garrett Curran, head of fixed income sales, told the daily that Mr Mohamedali made basic errors and sold bonds personally while buying the same bonds on behalf of his bank.

He said: ‘It was a blatant conflict of interest that could be potentially very damaging to the bank.’

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Damian Green: ‘Benefit Britain’ not just ‘benefit by it’

By Spriha Srivastava

JNUites form London chapter UK-based alumni of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi held their first-ever alumni meet in London on Saturday, February 4th at The Clay Oven Lounge in Kingsbury. The event coincided with the annual JNU alumni meet that was held simultaneously in New Delhi at the campus.

Co-organised by Mr. Kapil Lamba, the Chief Executive of Bank of Baroda’s European Operations in London and Mr. Gowri Shankar,

Deputy-Director of The Nehru Centre, the event brought together a number of JNU alumni along with their families from London and outside.

The event was sponsored by the Bank of Baroda.

Also present at the event was Mr. Jitendra Kumar, First Secretary

(Consular & Community Affairs) at the High Commission of India, London who praised the get together and thanked the organsiers for bringing the alumni together.

The event is the first step towards establishing a strong alumni network in order to bring together JNUites from not only UK but Europe as well. The event also included delicious food from The Clay Oven Lounge and music and dance by the alumni in the end.

Faiza Seth: A woman of substance Faiza Seth is a young UKbased Asian entrepreneur who is also the founder of a children’s charity in India called Soham for Kids. Seth is the CEO of the award winning interior design house Casa Forma in London but dedicates her spare time to her newly founded charity.

Soham for kids school is based in Hyderabad and was founded in 2010. She has recently also been appointed as a judge for the Miss India UK Pageant to be held this month. I spoke to her in detail about Soham and her involvement in charity work.

Tell us about your charity Soham for kids?

I have always believed in giving back because we live in a community and we need to help one another.

Therefore, I have spent every Summer of my life volunteering since I was 16 years old and typically volunteered at a hospital or a nursing home.

However, in my 20’s my family and I used to visit India for holiday and spend a part of our holiday visiting orphanages, charity schools, and other charitable institutions in India. We used to distribute hygiene kits, shoes, food, toys to the underprivileged people and children we met however I felt that this wasn’t a long term solution to help these people.

I felt that providing the underprivileged a quality education, which allows them to obtain the skills they need to eventually

provide for themselves and their families, was the only real solution to break the cycle of poverty. So I decided to open a charity school in a village around Hyderabad for underprivileged and orphaned children to do this exactly. However, I take a holistic approach to support the Soham for Kids students and not only provide them an education, but provide them also with essential nutrition, and healthcare so they are able to be at optimum emotional,

mental, and physical health so they can focus on school. I wanted to establish a charity school in Hyderabad, India, because I was born in India and wanted to give back to a country that is close to my heart. We chose Mallapur to set up Soham for Kids, because after surveying 200 villages around the Hyderabad area Mallapur at that time was one of the poorest villages and the community wasn’t being serviced by a school.

How long have you been working in this field and what attracted you the

most?

Soham for Kids is a relatively new charity and is only 3 years old. I never came from a nonprofit background but as I mentioned previously I think it's important to give back and I feel that education is a long term solution to help the impoverished and poor acquire the skills they need to eventually provide for themselves.

What are the hurdles that you came across in your work?

The largest hurdle in launching Soham for Kids (www.sohamforkids.org) was the fact that I live in London and the school is based in a little impoverished village outside of Hyderabad called Mallapur.

However, where there is a will, there's a way, and now Soham for Kids has a student population of 100 and is now offering adult classes as well.

How do you think the problems of child labour and malnutrition in children can be taken care of?

As Hilary Clinton said in 2007, 'It takes a village to raise a child' the problem of child labour and malnutrition in children requires an effort from the government, local community, and family. The impact of individuals and people outside the immediate family have a large effect on a child's well-being and these problems require the efforts of the 'whole village' to target them and diminish/or eventually eradicate them.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

Damian Green, the British Immigration Minister, in a speech at Policy Exchange on Thursday 2nd February 2012 told the present audience that the newcomers must show how they can “benefit Britain” rather than just benefit by it.

In a key speech spelling out the ground rules for a more selective immigration policy, he suggested that it will redefine the “points-based system” as a “contribution-based system”.

He said that the Britain does not need more middle managers or unskilled labour and only wants the “brightest and the best” migrants. The Government has pledged to cut net migration from the current 242,000 a year to the “tens of thousands”, with planned overhauls of every immigration route including work, study, family visas and settlement rights.

Speaking at central London, he said: “We need to know not just that the right numbers of people are coming here, but that the right people are coming here.

“People who will benefit Britain, not just those who will benefit by Britain.

“Whether you come

executives, technical specialists, entrepreneurs and exceptional artistic and scientific talent.

“One of the tasks for the future is shaping the system so that it allows us to be Damian Green more precisely selective.” here to work, study, or get And new specialist married, we as a country routes will be developed are entitled to check that further to improve the visa you will add to the quality system for short-term busiof life in Britain.” ness visitors and entertainHe added: “What we ers, encouraging worldneed is a national consenclass performers to come sus on how we can make to Britain. While the immigration work for inflow of students will be Britain. restricted, the “We are evidently a Government will also long way from such a confocus on ensuring they sensus but I want to start leave at the end of their to build it ... the legitimate visas, “reinforcing the question in today’s world notion that study is for a is how we can benefit from limited period”, he said. immigration.”

He also insisted only those Outlining the principle with the graduate jobs will of selectivity, he said: be allowed to get post “Importing economic work study visa and a mindependency on the state is imum requirement of earnunacceptable. ing to come on work per“Bringing people to mit will vary from £31,000 this country who can play - £49,000 per annum. no role in the life of this Families wanting to country is equally unacsettle in the UK will also ceptable.” Instead “everyface tougher requirements one who comes here must and the link between be selected to make a posi“coming to work and staytive contribution”... ing on permanently” will “We do need top of the be broken. range professionals, senior

Lord Loomba speaks out about Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill Speaking during the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims (Amendment) Bill at the House of Lords on Friday 27th January 2012, Lord Loomba spoke about the continued effects domestic violence can have on the entire family. As the Vice- President of London based charity organisation Barnardo’s, Lord Loomba also introduced in short the work Barnardo’s is doing to combat domestic violence in the UK. Lord Loomba not only discussed about the effects domestic violence has on children but also the result domestic violence has on women and the implications the budget cuts will cause, “Significant reductions in the vital help and support available to women and children at risk will put additional pressures on the services that survive.

The impact of reduced specialist domestic violence services as well as cuts to other services, such as police, risks an increase in deaths or serious harm caused by domestic violence. We cannot afford to take that risk. I urge the Minister to examine these cuts, because when you assist a woman you are actually helping the entire family.”

In his closing argu-

Lord Loomba

ment he stated “No civilised society or nation can live in peace if crimes are committed against women and children. We must set an example to the rest of the world in affirming that women are the cradle of civilisation and we will not be compromised by any legislation that treats them different-

ly, particularly on issues of violence”.

The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill which was initiated by Lord Laming seeks to amend Section 5 of the current legislation and expand its content following a rise in the number of unprosecuted parents and carers who cause serious harm to their children, but did not kill them. Following the case of Baby P, Lord Loomba and all who participated in the reading, were all in favour of creating a more definitive and precise section to the Bill.

Legalise same sex marriages Continued from page 3 insulting to the majority of heterosexual couples if government were to change the law to pacify one minority section of the community.

The issue same sex marriage is of course not a matter just for the Christian communities Most Hindus remain opposed to same-sex unions but this is changing. For instance, when a Shaiva priest from India was asked to perform a wedding for two women in 2002, he hesitated at first but then agreed on the basis that Hindu scriptures state that, ‘marriage

is a union of spirits, and the spirit is not male or female.”

But others say the Hindu concept of svadharma, or living according to one’s own nature and duty (as mentioned in Bhagavad Gita), forbids the marriage of same sex couples.

We live in a changing world where the boundaries of socially acceptable behaviour is increasingly defined by the demands of highly influential groups with sectional interests Only time will tell whether the changes have made the world a better place for us all.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

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Girl died twice, and will Nepalese thug can be never walk again removed from Britain the street after the bullet passed through her body. And s u r g e o n s brought her back to life again as she suffered a heart attack during emergency surgery in hospital.

Parents Jeyakumar Ghanasekaram, left, But Thusha and Sharmila Kamaleswaran was left permashop. He suffered a bullet nently paralysed from wound to his face. You will see the waist down and will that moment also.’ never walk again after Nathaniel Grant, 21, and the shooting in Anthony McCalla and Kazeem Stockwell, South Kolawole, both 19, are accused London. Her parents over the shooting. Grant is were at the Old Bailey accused of pulling the trigger. on Monday as three Mr Brown said all were young men went on alleged members of a gang trial accused of involved in rivalry with anothoffences including er. ‘The immediate legacy of attempted murder. They are that gang violence lies in suspected of being gang memThusha’s permanent disability bers who wanted to kill a rival and the bullet that remains in in the latest episode of a vioMr Selvakumar.’ lent feud.

‘There can be little doubt Prosecutor Edward Brown that not only was Roshaun QC said that instead they hit Bryan in the line of sight of the two innocent bystanders who gunman but also that Thusha, were both ‘remarkably lucky’ there in the shop, was in the to survive. line of sight.’

‘One was a five-year-old The three defendants, all girl. You will see the moment from South London, deny she was shot. It was captured attempting to murder Mr on CCTV. The other was a 35Bryan, causing grievous bodily year-old man. harm and firearms offences.

‘All he was doing was getThe trial continues. ting provisions from his local

Thusha Kamaleswaran

A girl of five ‘died’ twice after being shot by three masked suspected gang members trying to gun down a rival, a court was told yesterday.

Thusha Kamaleswaran took a bullet in the chest as she played beside her parents in the aisle of her uncle’s grocery shop. She was hit by one of two shots fired through the open door by young men circling outside on bicycles after their intended victim fled into the shop.

Her life was saved by paramedics who operated on her in

Judges have quashed a notorious ruling which allowed a Nepalese killer with no wife or children to stay in the UK to protect his right to a family life.

Campaigners hope the ruling in the case of Rocky Gurung (pictured) will be the first step towards restoring some common sense to the country’s deportation and human rights laws.

Gurung was one of a group of thugs who killed an innocent man by throwing him into the Thames on a drunken night out.

The victim, Bishal Gurung – no relation – was the son of a hero Gurkha.

The Home Secretary wanted to remove the killer from the UK. But, in a judgment that provoked outrage, the Upper Tribunal of the asylum and immigration court ruled that deporting Gurung would breach Article 8 of Labour’s Human Rights Act – the right to a family life.

His parents live in Britain, and he successfully argued that if he were deported, his father would have to go with him to look after him, breaking up his family here.

Now, the three senior Appeal Court judges have overturned the tribunal’s verdict.

The Appeal Court judgment describes Gurung, who was given indefinite leave to remain in Britain in 2005, as a ‘physically

fit and intellectually sound young man who had lived in Nepal in the past’.

It went on: ‘There was no objective need for his father to return with him, save perhaps briefly, if he was now deported there.’

Bishal Gurung, 23, was a waiter whose father served with the Gurkhas for 16 years.

In April 2008, Bishal was chased along the Embankment in London by up to 15 men before being forced to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the head, then hurled into the Thames.

Following a trial in 2009, Rocky Gurung was convicted of manslaughter, along with an associate, and jailed for three years.

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Dee Katwa

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Midland Voice Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or dhiren.katwa@abplgroup.com

Honours for role models in Business One of the Midlands’ leading academics has called on the East and West Midlands to work together with each other and with the region’s universities to ensure its continuing economic prosperity.

Sexagenarian, Professor Sir Robert Burgess, pictured, Vice-Chancellor of Leicester University, made his comments after receiving the Lifetime Contribution to Midlands Business accolade at the Midlands Business Awards, held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham last Friday.

The award recognised his role in dramatically expanding the university both as a place of higher education and as a business. “We must work much more closely together as a single region,” he told the around 500 guests. “And we need to build bridges between the research and development activities of higher education and the business community. Combined, we can contribute to the regeneration of the regional economy and that of the UK.” His award was the culmination of an evening that saw nine other categories of awards handed out. TV chef Alan Coxon, who has just finished filming a new series for The Food Channel, was named Entrepreneur of the Year, while former Leicester University stu-

dent Suleman Sacranie and the driving force b e h i n d 99pWholesaler.com was the Midlands Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

The University of Northampton was judged the region’s most enterprising university, while Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Chamber was voted top business club. Henrik Court from Birmingham Chamber was crowned Midlands Networker of the Year, Johnsons Bus Travel took the title for Midlands Service Provider of the Year and Dean Walton and his team from celebrity mask producer Maskarade received the Innovation of the Year award.

Industrial supplies specialist Hall-Fast of Newark was voted the Midlands Exporter of the Year and the overall winner of the title of Midlands Business Person of the Year was Gary Hall, CEO of Coventry Transport Museum The awards, now in their sixth year, are the brainchild of Harj Sandher, of Leamington Spa. Working tirelessly throughout the year, dad-of-three Mr

Hospital marks milestone Rampton Hospital, which provides high secure services for Nottinghamshire Healthcare, is celebrating its centenary this year. The Trust has planned a variety of exciting events throughout the year to commemorate 100 years of improving patient care. In addition, the hospital has scored 98% in an audit by the Prison Service for risk reduction and containment procedures. Photo: Dr Mike Harris, Executive Director for Forensic Services, raises the new centenary flag at the front of the visitor entrance at the hospital.

Accountant locked up An accountant who plundered thousands of pounds from two hotels – because he was medically unable to stop stealing – has been jailed for two years. Portuguese Luis Da Silva, 39, stole £7,000 from Hotel Malmaison in Birmingham and £24,000 from Aviator Boutique Hotel in Farnborough, where he worked. Birmingham Crown Court heard how Silva, pictured, suffered from bipolar disorder and “could not resist temptation”.

Sandher, a former entertainment industry guru, said: “To see genuine deservers recognised, on merit, on stage gives me immense pleasure.”

The event, hosted by BBC Midlands Today news anchor Kay Alexander and toastmaster Reuben Lynch, also featured, for the first time, a cat walk by local fashion graduates and students.

There was mass laughter when Mr Lynch slipped up on his script. Quickly realising this, he too laughed saying ‘thank you’ and moving on. Pity nobody from East End Foods, who had reserved a table, turned up. Then again, some guests said, they can afford to not turn up!

Prisoners ‘bullied’ to take drugs New inmates at Birmingham Prison are “guaranteed to be addicted” to drugs when they are released because of pressure from fellow crooks, reports the Birmingham Mail. According to a former officer at the jail, the privately-run site is ruled by the rival Johnson Crew and Burger Bar Boys gangs. The ex-employee, who left the G4S-run jail just days ago, said clean prisoners were forced to take drugs to “create new customers”.

He said: “The gangs motivated by drugs introduce inmates to substances by befriending them. All they are doing is creating a new customer. If that doesn’t work they will bully inmates into becoming involved with drugs. There is no escaping the gangs because they have people on every landing in every area of the prison.” But, his allegations have been denied by security firm G4S, which took over the jail last October. A G4S spokesman said the firm had a “robust” anti-drugs strategy. The former officer also claimed “corrupt” officers turned a blind eye to prisoners’ misdemeanours, smuggling and violence. Responding to this, the G4S spokesman said officers named in the corruption allegations had since left the jail. The 1,450-capacity prison was the first placed in private ownership from government operation on a 14year deal. But prisoners were locked up for almost 24 hours after a set of keys fitting every cell door went missing in the same month the handover took place.

Power of Faith in Poverty A major conference on world debt and poverty took place in Birmingham last Thursday.

The all-day event, entitled Faith in Justice, brought together representatives from ten faith groups, each of whom shared their perspective on the theme of the day. A panel discussion, led by Professor Michael Taylor, stimulated further discussion and debate. The aim of the networking event was for people to learn about each other’s faiths and finding ways of collectively tackling debt and poverty issues.

Hats off, again, to veteran and fierce campaigner Audrey Miller from the Jubilee Debt Campaign, one of the organiser groups, for going the extra mile, always, to raise awareness of a familiar theme, which continues to be discussed at all levels, internationally. However, there still remains, unfortunately, a massive disparity between talk and action. Photo: Archana from Birmingham gives the Jain perspective on debt, poverty and charity.

Job cuts at Post & Mail Alison Dayani, health correspondent at the Birmingham Post and Mail, has moved on to pastures new. Alison, pictured, one of just three reporters of Asian parentage at the media group, had earned a glowing reputation for her work. She left last Friday.

Other victims of job cuts at the newspapers in recent weeks include travel editor Ed Stephens, business reporter Anna Blackaby and local government correspondent Paul Dale.

News in Brief World Music event An inter-cultural celebration, Equinox, inspired by the 2012 Olympic Games will take place at Birmingham Symphony Hall on 17 March at 7.30pm.

Over 300 choral and percussion performers from the West Midlands will take part. For more details visit www.citychoir.org.uk/equinox

Uncollected council tax Birmingham has the country’s highest level of uncollected Council Tax, according to a trade union survey.

The GMB poll revealed the city had £33 million; the West Midlands, £102 million outstanding in Council Tax and business rates.

TV licence fee dodgers More than 10,000 people were caught in Birmingham watching TV without a licence last year, it has been revealed. The 10,700 tuning in illegally in the city made up nearly half of the 24,100 found by licence inspectors in the West Midlands in 2011.

MP to become dad, again Controversial Birmingham MP John Hemming is to have a second child with his mistress, it has been revealed. Mr Hemming, 51, pictured, who represents Yardley for the Lib Dems, already has a daughter, Isobel, with lover Emily Cox. He also has three children with Christine, his wife of more than 30 years, with whom he still shares a house in Moseley.

Online lunch Brummies take an average of only 15 minutes for their lunch break, according to a study. The research

by Campbell Soup revealed that 87% of workers will spend their break by going online compared to the national average of 78%.

Chamber Dinner Lord Michael Heseltine and John Lewis boss Andy Street will be keynote speakers at the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce annual dinner. The annual event will take place at the ICC on April 25, the week before Birmingham voters go to the polls on May 3 to decide if they want an elected mayor. If they vote yes, the election will take place in November.

£1.2m aid for riots damage Around 900 riot-hit Birmingham businesses have received £1.2 million in council aid to recover trade from last August’s disturbances. More than 340 claims – totalling £5.4 million – have been made to West Midlands Police Authority. The council’s Backing Birmingham marketing campaign which aimed to restore public confidence in the city centre and local high streets following the riots, cost £447,150.

Car collision kills mum-of-six A mother-of-six from Birmingham was knocked down and killed as she crossed a road.

Melanie Nall, 46, from Mere Green, suffered massive head injuries after being hit by a car in Sutton Coldfield. The tragedy took place on Jan 24 but details were only released by police last Friday. Melanie, pictured, leaves behind six children, aged between 27 and 15. Among the many tributes one read: “Can’t believe it. Life is too cruel. It is always the good ones that are taken so soon. It seems like if you do the right thing, you are punished for it. It’s not fair, it’s really not. So sad.”

UKS

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

As I See It Irrespective of the announcements and pronouncements, statements and retractions on the fire jets of Indian air force, irresponsibly tagged with the so called foreign aid, is surely detrimental to the image of Great Britain- one of the most generous donor in the world. But beggar belief that some well known British politicians have entered the fray in a thoughtless manner (elsewhere in this issue this subject is much deliberated).

I would like to raise some other issue as a British Gujarati as well as a British Indian.

Lets look at some well known facts: 1. The State of Gujarat comprises of some 5% of the total land area of India and 6% of the total Indian population.

Unlike some other states there never has been any public demand of separation or special privilege as an autonomous state.

2. In industry, infrastructure, trade and other economical activities Gujarat is a leading state of India, if not no. 1 on all counts.

3. Gujarat contributes almost 40% of India's oil and gas, 45% of pharmaceutical industry and 90% of the polished diamonds and has achieved enormous success than in many other excellent indicators of the economic sector.

When India's GDP growth is 7, 8, 9% per annum, according to the Planning Commission of India's report Gujarat grew by 10, 11 or 12%.

The traditional Gujarati acumen, good investment, hardwork, savings and investment orientations (30% if not more of the Indian stock market investment are made by Gujaratis). The labour situation is not a problem in Gujarat, so also is the peaceful and progressive community life.

Finally amongst the 25mn Indians living abroad, at least 30% are believed to be of Gujarati stock. In the US, UK, Canada and other developed countries, Gujaratis amongst the Indians are between 33-35%. Without any doubt Gujaratis form the largest contingent of the Indogenic people living in those countries.

Inspite of all the above facts, there are some issues which really bothers many, who travel frequently to India: a. Visa on Arrival is a welcome facility for foreign passport holders especially when they have to travel urgently for some personal tragedies. Even businessmen and women have to fly at a very short notice.

Recently India's Home Ministry has done the right thing. At Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai airports there are facilities of visa on arrival. Well done!

The Indian authorities have to be complemented also for extending visa on arrival facilities at Bangalore, Cochi and Hyderabad.

By all accounts why is Ahmedabad airport not provided with this much needed facility? After all due to the rapid economic growth of Gujarat and the large Gujarati origin community

Cheating peers will be ejected

abroad, it must be needed? b. Direct flights from London or some other destinations- UK, US and Canada are a much needed service. It was there before the advent of this UPA government. For whatever reasons direct flights to Ahmedabad have been stopped and inspite of a vigorous campaign and a bold pronouncement by Praful Patel, the then civil aviation minister, nothing has been done.

Anyone going to Gujarat has to make a transit through other airports, mainly Mumbai, Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Qatar, Dubai etc.

I have seen Lord Bhikhu Parekh and other MPs and Ministers wasting 34 hrs in the transit lounge. Very often even their luggage has to be removed and reloaded! Why? Why we tolerate such avoidable inconvenience and hardships?

Not only the bigwigs and the politicians, think about the elderly, mothers with babies, pregnant women and physically challenged people. Thankfully there are direct flights to other states in India. Why is Gujarat systematically deprived of this much needed service? c. In the last 18 months during my 7 visits to India, I travelled through West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Punjab, UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat.

The road signs in each state is in English, Hindi (except in South India) and the local language. In Gujarat the Express way, the National highway and other roads have signs in English and Hindi only. Some villagers from Saurasthra went to the High Court recently and a decision was given that signs in Gujarati is as required as in other states. The ball is in the Court of the UPA government. I wonder! d. Recently the honours list was announced on the Republic Day of India. Thankfully there are four names from Gujarat, out of about 120. But somehow such honours or Bharatiya Pravasi Divas honours, Gujarati names are not to be seen or are only of the supporters of the Congress party. Why? The above observation are not only for the powers that may be in India but for the information of my esteem readers whether of Gujarati origin or otherwise. I would welcome any comment on this issue.

I would like to bring this to the notice of Prof Lord Bhikhu Parekh who is the only British member (as to my knowledge) of the Indian Prime Minister's advisory panel. Will Prof Parekh publicly state whether I am factually right or wrong? I stand to be corrected by such an eminent academic.

But if I am proved to be correct on the facts, it will be assumed by the readers of Asian Voice that he (Lord Parekh) will bring such unnecessary and avoidable "discriminations" to the attention of PM Manmohan Singh or those who are his closest advisors and officers (in the PMO).

- CB

Woman who swindled cash handed suspended jail A woman who conned her own mother out of 30,000 has been handed a suspended jail term.

Janet Anne Lakhani, 60, and her husband Amyn Abdullah Hasham Lakhani, 50, were both handed 36-week prison sentences suspended for two years after swindling 30,000 of care funding from the elderly lady as reported by the Bakewell

Today .

The couple of Snitterton Road, Matlock, appeared before Preston Crown Court in Lancashire on Friday on charges of fraud.

Cumbria police staged a 12-month investigation where officers found the couple had removed 29,671.83 from the 86year-old woman’s care funds. The couple also

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applied for credit cards in the pensioner’s name and had run up bills of 17,000.

The pair were arrested in March 2011 as a result of the investigation.

The couple were both given a two year community order and 200 hours unpaid community work along with a 36-week jail sentence suspended for two years.

The proposals of ejecting the peers involved in benefits are contained in a bill introduced by Lord Steel, the former Liberal leader Peers who fiddle their expenses will be convicted of a criminal offence and will face being thrown out of parliament under this reform to clean up Westminster.

The government is planning to give peers the powers to expel any colleague they find has been guilty of misconduct or who drags the House of Lords into disrepute.

The reforms, expected to be included in the Queen’s speech this year, are part of a threepronged assault on misconduct in the upper house.

The bill also includes Dr. Rami Ranger MBE, a British-Indian business tycoon received the GOPIO Community Service Award 2012 at Jaipur, India from Hon. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and His Excellency Shivraj Patil, Governor of Rajasthan.

Also in this photo, (from left to right): Dr. Piyush Agrawal, International Executive Vice President of GOPIO; Mr. Ashook Ramsaran President of GOPIO and Mr Sunny Kulathakal, GOPIO International Co-ordinator.

Lord Paul

Baroness Uddin

measures requiring peers who do not turn up for long periods to take a permanent leave of absence from the House of Lords.

This could potentially be applied to Baroness Uddin, the Labour peer who was suspended from the house and ordered to repay £125,000 after cheating on expenses or

Lord Bhatia

on Lord Swaraj Paul or Lord Bhatia or any other peers who cheated with expenses, have either not returned the fund or returned partly or the full amount. The clean-up is also likely to lead to a ban on peers using tax avoidance schemes such as claiming non-domicile status.

10

YOUR VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

New immigration policy

Arise Sir….

It is ‘naive’ on the part of a section of Black and Minority Ethnic Community (BME) to criticise the present government for the new Immigration policy in restricting the number of skilled immigrants coming to the country from outside Europe.

I do not understand why the British government should allow skilled foreign workers to come to this country at all when there are more than 200 universities in Britain. More than 600 000 students undergo further education training in universities and further education colleges. Britain has the most prestigious universities like Oxford, Cambridge, University College, London, Imperial college and so on and thousands of students from Indian sub-continent come here for higher studies.

The higher educational policy of the previous Labour government resulted in creating new universities and most of them offered ‘micky mouse’ courses in sports and leisure, business studies, media studies, beauty therapy and so on without concentrating on core subjects in science and technology which are necessary for an industrialised society. The present government has realised the need to train more apprentices to solve the skill shortage in the lower level and spending money on them.

The unemployment among the Black and Asian youngers is more than 10 per cent and they cannot compete with cheap labour brought in from non- European countries.

Media reports suggest that the former boss of RBS has been stripped off the knighthood which was bestowed upon him by the Queen. His title of CBE has been annulled and cancelled.

A knighthood, or a Dame-hood, its female equivalent, is one of the highest honours an individual in the United Kingdom can achieve. While in the past, a knighthood used to be awarded solely for military merit, today it recognises significant contributions to national life.

The other person whose knighthood has been annulled was Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who was condemned over violence ahead of a presidential run-off election.

Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the rights and wrongs of this, one would have thought that a knighthood, or any other honour for that matter, could only be taken away in extreme cases eg treason.

It is indeed an honour to be recognized in such a way by the head of the State. Almost all higher grade civil servants, and many in the lower grades, receive honours in recognition of the services to the Crown.

Others, like yours truly, even though nominated for having given 36 years service to the country’s education system, have to wait their turn to be sifted through the sieve.

Arun Vaidyanathan By email

Values of democracy and freedom of speech Your editorial denigrated India’s government in regards to the Rushdie imbroglio, as an embarrassment, collective failure and intolerance. Weighing a whole nation against one author is unfair, unjust and unpatriotic.

Rushdie did not need visa; government did not ban entry. Security was prepared to protect Rushdie if he attended.

Rushdie backed out, clearly stating that it would be irresponsible to attend in face of assasination threat.

Freedom of speech is supposed to have no limit. If blaspheming Allah is permissible as freedom of speech, it should not cost Britain millions to protect Rushdie for hurting Muslims’ sentiments. That is also why Hindus protested against rude paintings by Hussein.

Grandiose values of democracy, freedom of speech etc are ignored even by puritanical super-powers, when faced with stark reality: USA replaces word friendship with interest, UK emphasises national interest, Australia asks migrants to honour indigenous culture or leave.

So why does India have to use meek Indians, especially Hindus, as cannon fodder to satisfy foreign espionage agencies, MNCs, religious, political meddlers and the ilk?

Ramesh Jhalla By email

2G spectrum’s scandal in India It is unbelievable that Mr A Raja, the then Telecom Minister could have decided independently to grant 122 2G licences to telecom industries without the knowledge or approval of, particularlym the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister Mr P Chidambaram in such a huge contract of national interest.

It was known that such licences were sold by billions of pounds to industries in Britain and could not be sold so cheaply in India.

It is said that the UPA government had explicitly and emphatically totally discontinued the previous NDA government’s policy regarding this matter in 2005 and as such it is undair that they blame the NDA. It seems they reserved the NDA’s past policy to cite as a pretext to manipulate in their favour as the case might be.

They seem not straightforward. Their arguments seem baseless, absurd and unfair.

The spirit of the SC decision seems deemed to encompass most of them for their involvement in the action. It would have been better for them to refrain from it for the sake of good governance.

RN Patel Dagenham, Essex

PM shows courage of conscious

Dinesh Sheth By email

Politics of trade I read about the UK-India trade relation controversy in various newspapers and I think that India as a country is failing to understand the following points.

India could have a 10% GDP growth but that does not make the country completely financially independent.

India as a country has many living the poverty line. Probably more than Africa or even China! These poor people depend on various factors that are indirectly related to the foreign aid.

The banks, law firms and various chain of supermarket stores are not being allowed to open their offices in India.

That is essentially to promote the local market and its business. But still in India the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

Of course Pranab Mukherjee can call UK’s contribution as a peanut, but it musn’t forget India was not in this strong economic situation always. There was a time when it did depended on the foreign aid. Foreign trades between countries of course give some sort of security to Britain and enhances other relations between these countries including a cultural flow. It is more like a mutually beneficial relationship.

India might be at a strong position today, but this arrogance and haughtiness will not help. The fighter jet issue might be just a catalyst. There is of course much more to the politics of such bilateral relations. May be it is time to ponder over them or the invisible sources.

Arun Sengupta Manchester

I am glad to acknowledge that British PM David Cameron has not used his veto against Christianity, as is the norm for most trendy, left leaning, misguided, dogooder politicians our country is overloaded with.

Britain is preliminary but not pertinaciously a Christian country with Christian values, without upper or plebeian magnitude that unable us to mix and assimilate with the mainstream population with our assiduous, law abiding, family oriented but easy going culture.

It was English language, the excellent educational establishments like Oxbridge and Christian values that first attracted us to these shores. We have taken full advantage, especially on education front and our younger generation has climbed the carrier ladder as if there is no tomorrow, in law, accountancy, medicine and business and now even journalism, as Gujarat Samachar, Asian Voice and its wonderful pool of talented young writers so ably demonstrates.

It was time some one with authority challenges the liberal, almost mischief making views and opinion expressed by the Church, especially by Dr. Rowan Williams who has expressed sympathy with the summer rioters who brought this country to a standstill with looting, burning and thuggery. It seems so many prominent personalities in the Church hierarchy are willing to reduce, confine Christianity to moral dust-bin on the altar of multi-faith, multi-centralism.

It is the duty of every individual to defend moral values, upheld law and order and in the face of “moral neutrali-

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‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar Boyle says Mumbai dwarfed the statuette

E-mail: support@abplgroup.com

Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seen so euphoric on Monday morning, as they expected a couple of Oscars. British Indians in the UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township of Mumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almost the entire Bollywood waited in expectation, glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebrations as one by one, their heroes, the actors of the British Indian film and the music maestro, A R Rahman bagged the top awards in the world of entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won the Oscar after having missed it almost five times earlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on a cleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directed

by American director Megan Mylan, won the Oscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

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When Lady Thatcher said Lady is not for turning, people believed her and it made sense but when Chancellor George Osborne nails his colour to the Coalition’s economic plans rigidly, refusing to budge, thus risking economic future of this nation, people find it difficult to trust him, take him seriously.

Now that the economy has gone into reverse with negative growth of -0:2% and double deep recession looming on the horizon, it is time for the Chancellor to rethink his strategy and speed up the tax allowance of £10,000 in the next budget rather than do it in stages over the life of the parliament.

But giving spending power to people without producing goods and services will only create jobs in China and India.

So his tax cuts has to match with support for our beleaguered manufacturing industry which is in the doldrums and crying out for lead, novel afflictions, government support to be creative and competitive.

But this government is as clueless, ineffective and ignorant as any of its predecessors when it comes to creating real jobs, not the ones created by Sainsbury, McDonald and Subway, no matter how welcoming they may be in this harsh economic climate.

It would be counter productive for the PM to cry wolf at every PM’s question time blaming the last Labour government for leaving the economic mess that the Coalition has to sort out. People know this and that is why they voted you in but a bit more of action and less of blame game will go a long way in avoiding the new economic crisis.

Unfortunately Labour, under the uninspiring leadership of Ed Miliband has failed to put forward credible plan to save this nation from economic meltdown that may rival the thirties depression.

Bhupendra M Gandhi By email ty” that pervades modern life. It is profoundly wrong to believe that promoting Christianity would “do down other faiths” according to our PM David Cameron.

It is time other politicians show the courage and speak up for the well-being of this nation. After all vote bank politics has no standing in our multi cultural society.

Kumudini D Valambia Via Email

Disclaimer Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

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Health Watch

Our rigid Chancellor

!

EDUCATION / COUNCIL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Ealing Council demands High Speed 2 rail rethink

Ealing has pledged to fight for measures to reduce the impact of the proposed High Speed 2 rail link.

The Transport Minister Justine Greening recently announced that following a consultation, to which Ealing Council submitted a holding objection, the route would go ahead, as planned, through Northolt, Greenford, Perivale, Ealing and Acton. The announcement did not provide details of what mitigation would be provided to residents in the borough, despite having done so in other areas. The planned route will run parallel to the central line through the north of the borough coming out of a tunnel in Acton and now re-entering a tunnel just beyond Northolt.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for Transport and Environment said: “This isn’t about party politics. It is about the lives and homes of people who face years of blight and disruption from construction work and will then have the noise of high speed trains thundering through

High Speed 2 Rail’s key sticking points

their neighbourhoods. It’s a slap in the face for people in this borough and we will not allow our residents to be treated like second class citizens. We will continue to make our demands for measures to reduce the impact loud and clear to the government and push for proper compensation for those who will be affected.”

Councillors at the full council meeting on Tuesday 31 January, agreed a motion expressing disappointment at the decision to proceed with the HS2 rail link without appropri-

ate mitigation for residents in Northolt, Greenford, Perivale and Acton who will be affected by it.

The council is due to meet with HS2 Limited shortly to discuss details of the route, appropriate compensation packages and how disruption during the construction works will be managed, as well as to lobby for measures to minimise the impact. A holding objection against the proposals was lodged last summer and remains in place until council has full details of the route and its impact.

Redbridge named top local authority for quality of schools Redbridge has been named as one of the top 10 local authorities in England for the quality of its state schools according to a recent study.

A study by the thinktank CentreForum ranked Redbridge as the fourth most “over performing” local authority in terms of school quality by adjusting factors including poverty, ethnicity, a child’s first language and gender, which tend to skew exam performance.

The research looked at GCSE results for more than 600,000 pupils who sat

exams in summer 2010, combining this with data about children’s achievement in earlier years. The study did not include private schools.

This year Redbridge pupils produced an impressive set of results with 68.5 per cent of students achieving five A* to C grades including English and mathematics – 9.6 per cent above the national average.

Nine of the Borough schools also increased the percentage of students achieving A* to C including English and mathematics.

More than 50 per cent of our students achieved an A*, A or B in English and mathematics which is nine per cent higher than the national average in English and 14.6 per cent higher in mathematics.

Disadvantaged students which included those on free school meals and children looked after is significantly better in Redbridge than across the country. The gap between those pupils and other students achieving five A* to C including English and mathematics is 5.1 per cent narrower in Redbridge.

Brent library supporters vow to carry on campaign Campaigners leading the fight to save Brent’s closed libraries are not giving up hope and have vowed to carry on.

The news library supporters had been dreading was announced Friday – that the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, will not hear their case.

Margaret Bailey, who helped to take the fight to the High Court and the Appeal Court, said: “Obviously the decision is disappointing, and worrying that judges are able to make decisions that allow for the disregard of laws that are meant to protect people simply so that councils can make cuts.

What next? Ignore the Equalities Act, the Human Rights Act because they may be too expensive to enforce?”

11

University students: Fines over access threatened

Universities that fail to recruit more students from poor backgrounds should be heavily fined, the man ear-marked as the head of fair access has said.

Prof Les Ebdon, the government's preferred candidate for Director of Fair Access, told MPs he was prepared to "press the nuclear button".

This means stripping universities of their right to charge top fees of up to £9,000 from 2012. Those charging more than £6,000 have to sign an agreement with the watchdog.

At a pre-appointment hearing, Prof Ebdon told the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee that refusing to sign a university's access agreement was a "significant sanction" and one that he was prepared to use if necessary.

Under the government's university funding reforms, every institution setting fees at more than £6,000 a year has to have an access agreement setting out how it plans to support and encourage poorer students to apply.

These agreements are be reviewed and approved by the Office For Fair Access (Offa) each year, with institutions that fail to

meet their agreed targets on recruitment and retention facing fines or losing the right to charge higher fees.

Prof Ebdon, who is currently the vice-chancellor of Bedfordshire University and chair of the Million+ think tank, has been an outspoken critic of the government's reform plans. He told the cross-party group of MPs that the challenge was to set strict targets and hold people to them.

"At the moment, there are two sanctions. One is a £500,000 fine, which is hardly a sanction at all, and the other is to refuse to sign an access agreement, and that is a significant sanction and that is clearly the sanction that one uses," he said.

"And I guess the task is to use the nuclear option with subtlety and that will be my role."

Prof Ebdon said he would hopefully never

have to press the "nuclear button".

But he added: "Once one talks about nuclear buttons, if you ever say you will never press the nuclear button then you don't have a nuclear button. I think we will be helped by making these targets transparent, open, so people know what they are and to hold people to account in public. I think the court of public opinion is powerful."

Prof Ebdon said universities were independent, autonomous organisations and liked that to be respected.

"They should be evidence-based in their thinking, and they should know what things to do to improve participation and they should realise that if they don't do that, there will be an office which will not be afraid to employ sanctions if they don't achieve these outcomes."

12

VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

f ashionista

by Debasree Ghosh

Facts about Valentine’s day Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is observed on February 14 honouring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”).

The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle

Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid.

Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Gift ideas for your valentine If you want to really touch the heart of your loved one this Va l e n t i n e ’ s day, stay away from high street and go for something more original- may be an unusual piece of jewellery, a limited edition of a book or a painting, or some delicious sweets or drinks.

Valentine’s day does not stand for only sharing that special moment with your partner. It also stands for spend-

ing that great time with your friends and family- any one you love.

Jewellery can be a bit of ‘cliche’ as an idea sometimes, especially on Valentine’s day. Hearts are too twee, and when they come in two parts, for “His and Her” wearing, it becomes too gooey. So opt for something which could be a statement ‘you anchor my life’ or something like- ‘you weigh me

down’. Sometimes ambiguity is good, as the Guardian suggests.

Books are of course a lovely gift, but you must not indulge in high street chains and low cost websites. They make the whole purpose go wrong! Try looking up handmade books or may be letterpress books by artists.

Guardian had suggested about a love bird print, a detail from a 17th century Gujarati wall hanging. But then again if you want to remain artistic but don’t want to gift something in particular to your community, the V&A online shop has various ethnic items that are very very pretty and are worth buying for such a romantic cause.

Besides ‘mug for two’ or various chocolate and sweet treat boxes, Scented candles are, admittedly, hardly the most adventurous of gifts, but then they are probably the most soothing and refreshing. A candle lit bath can of course revitalise the skin and the mood.

Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to share with us, please write to Shree at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Love Is All You Need

So Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us again.

The wonderful season of tacky Hallmark cards and purple balloons.

Nevertheless, whether you're single, crushing, or involved... there's no excuse for not taking some cues from Cupid when it comes to dressing up in the lovey-dovey spirit. You may be a skirtsuit type or a biker chick, this time of the year, pretty and feminine is the where it’s at. The one day of the year we can wear red, pink, hearts and glitter and not look like a 5 year old. Embrace it, ladies!

Whether you’re going on a hot date, kicking it with your girlfriends over Cosmos, or attending a slew of fashion shows (raises hand), we’ve got your covered with these Valentine’s Day themed ‘fits.

Try these on for size:

The Sultry Red Dress: The ultimate no brainer, a red dress gives homage to the holiday with its bold hue. If

you’re feeling more girly, opt for pink. Add a dash of fashion with classic leopard…a coat, shoes, or even a belt, faux of course. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, you can even give it a retro spin, with fingercurled hair, a scarf and kitten heels.

A floral arrangement: Yes, I know...this is as predictable as they come.

But believe me on this, men actually understand old-fashioned pretty better than hot-off-the-ramp edginess. Get a little funky with florals if you want. The great thing about the print is that you can wear it all year round; dust your frock off

Vivek Singh to open third restaurant in Soho Opening mid-March is Cinnamon Soho, the third restaurant from executive chef Vivek Singh. As Cinnamon Kitchen’s younger, cheekier sibling, the new Soho restaurant is sure to be one of the hottest tables in town with its accessible menu and central location.

Vivek, together with head chef Ramachandran Raju, has created an allday menu that combines modern Indian fare with an unexpected nod to British favourites, while the design retains Cinnamon’s sleek style with a sexy Soho twist.

Cinnamon Soho is sure to become another firm favourite with both food-

A Snow Ganesha was made in the Woodford Green area by Rekha Patel, family and friends and sent to Asian Voice for publication. Well done all!

Vivek Singh

ies – and, just off the cobbles of Carnaby Street – fashionistas, too.

Church hall in England converted to Hindu temple

If you want to make it more adventurous, may be you can book a weekend away to a spa or may be a forest cabin. It will be 2 days of exclusive togetherness, where you can enjoy your times, away from the city humdrum and the rush.

again for a wedding, for example, or pair it with a blazer for work.

An LBD with some red accent: This is a copout strategy but effective nonetheless. Everyone has a little black dress in their closet, so pull yours out if you’re really going for no fuss. Show your romantic spirit with a dashing red lip, red nails, or red pumps.

Casual chic: Hate Valentine’s day? Not really going out? Too cool for love? Would rather meet the girls for pizza?

By all means! You can still do a little something with a heart themed tshirt, maroon pants, or a cool red leather jacket with jeans. Only if you want to of course.

Last but certainly not the least, invest in some nice underwear! Most times, you dress for yourself. This is not one of those times. Give in to your feminine side and dress to impress. And finally, remember that there is no better accessory than a hot adoring dude in your arms!

A Old church hall in Beeston in England is being converted to a Hindu temple.

Sri Thurkkai Amman Temple is being created out of a former church hall in Beeston Rylands, which will reportedly officially open on April eight.

Beeston in the borough of Broxtowe is suburb of Nottingham in East Midlands. It has one of

the highest concentrations of pubs-per-person in United Kingdom.

Prominent people associated with Beeston include singers Anne Briggs and Edwin Starr, actor Richard Beckinsale, and fashion designer Sir Paul Smith. Milan Radulovic is Leader of Broxtowe Borough Council while Jacky Williams is Mayor of Broxtowe.

Formal investigation launched The Brent Council Standards (Initial Assessment) SubCommittee meeting took place on Monday, 6th February, 6:30pm about an investigation regarding the Brent Council Labour Leader, Cllr Ann John, who is accused of influencing the decision on a controversial planning application for the Shirdi Sai Temple. The committee agreed that the allegations were enough to require a full independent investigation. The results will be reported back to the Standards Committee which will then decide what or if any action to be taken at all.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Alpesh Patel’s

13

Political Sketchbook The Politics of Aid

As I argued on Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman and on NDTV with Shashi Tharoor, there is not one credible argument why Britain should not be giving aid to India and if you don’t believe me, then here’s the cheat sheet to answer every complainant.

But India has more billionaires than Britain doesn’t it?

Yes, but India has one in three of the world’s poor in its borders.

It’s the Government of India’s problem. We’ve got enough problems of our own.

And they can afford space craft and rockets. So why should we give them money? If we don’t the only people to suffer are the hungry malnourished women and children. If we could force the Indian government or their billionaires to make up for the monies the UK is giving, then we would still need to give, as the problem is just enormous.

But it’s compulsory if the taxpayer is paying. Why should I? If we could pick and choose what tax money is spent on, we wouldn’t have governments. But more importantly, it is a minute amount; it makes no difference in the tax bill of UK tax payers. It is a rounding error. So why not get something good for it. In fact, if

each of the children helped were to write each tax payer a thank you note, would we feel so aggrieved?

India gives more aid than it receives. So why are we giving them aid? UK’s aid goes direct to the people and States needing it. If the UK stopped, there would not be a re-allocation of monies from elsewhere to fill the gap left.

Why India? Why not everyone? India has one in three of the world’s poor. India is the world’s largest democracy. It nestles between Russia, China, Pakistan. This is a country of immense importance to the UK. Actually currently it sits on the UN Security Council as a nonpermanent member and voted with Britain over Syria and against the Russians and Chinese. This is a friend and ally.

But they don’t buy our jets, even though we gave them aid.

So why help them? If feeding malnourished children meant you got trade deals, that would be heaven. But our jet deals should be evaluated on their own merits and our aid decisions on theres. Indian companies employ tens of thousands of Britons through their ownership of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tetley and so on. They don’t

ask for aid in return for their investments, and we don’t ask for trade in return for our aid.

As you’d expect India does not make national security decisions based on the size of aid donations. We do it because it is the right thing to do given who we are helping.

Aid encourages corruptions and dependence. It will do the same in India wont it? Actually the UK’s aid programme is more advanced than ‘spray and pray’. It works to get a return on investment by seeing tangible long term results. For instance developing skills. It’s a bit like the old saying, ‘give me fish, you feed me for a day, teach me to fish, you feed me for life.’ This way we won’t need to give aid forever.

It’s so patronising, colonial to give aid isn’t it? The children and women receiving it don’t know or care about Britain’s imperial past. Those working in the UK government and those receiving aid weren’t around the time of the Raj. If some peoples feeling are hurt, then that’s not important. What’s important is who is helped on the ground.

How do I know it will be well spent? Because the Government knows if it’s not, then a hundred reporters will

be there to break stories about it. But also because the organisations through which the aid is provided are vetted, experienced and effective.

One of their Ministers called it ‘peanuts’ didn’t he? We cannot let the women and children receiving this aid, in fulfilment of our and India’s Millennium Development goals go without because of politicians. It’s the innocents who suffer in a war of words between nations.

Why are we interfering in the internal affairs of another country? Since before the advent of the United Nations, what goes on inside another country is very much of concern to every other.

Why don’t others help?

They do. In fact Britain isn’t the most generous donor measured by population or given our size of economy. But we do in Britain have a long tradition of helping the poorest the world over.

You sound very sensible and diplomatic, but what do you really think? Yeah, let the malnourished Indian kids suffer because we don't want to patronise middle class India; their feelings matter more than hungry kids. And anyway more suffering children will prick the

conscience of the nuclear armed country to feed those kids am sure. It’s also patronising and colonial to have a UN interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq. (Well, it's what their dictators say when they want to continue their corrupt ways) Oh and for that matter, patronising for Britain to interfere in the German-Polish relations in 1939. I am my brother's keeper, and the keeper of his weak and poor...and because what goes in your country is very much my business. (UN Charter 1948 - you signed up to it). You can stand for the children or you can stand for 'national pride and honour and all that guff'. A country has no dignity and honour when 50% if it's under 5's are malnourished. And whether or not they were a colony, they can get over it. Tough. It happened.

Honour yourself, or be embarrassed when someone else intervenes to feed your children. And aid and trade SHOULD be tied. I will give you aid, and you better be grateful and look favourably upon me too. And if you don’t want to be patronised...get your act in order then. Oh, and don't blame me for your poverty either.

Commercial Property Auction Thursday 23rd February 2012 On behalf of The Governors of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Highways Agency on behalf of The Secretary of State for Transport, Robert Dyas, Gentian, Rugby Estates plc, Joint LPA Receivers and Administrators amongst others.

30 lots to be offered, including: Worcester Park KT4 8DR

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Aldershot GU11 1HW

Entirely let to Marks & Spencer Plc until 2023.

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5 Feasegate 56-58 High Street, Staines

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Bolton BL1 1NE 13 Newport Street Let to Harvey & Thompson Ltd on a new 20 year lease, minimum fixed rental uplift in 2017.

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Let to Stonebeach Limited (t/a Patisserie Valerie) until 2025.

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Halifax until Nov 2022.

Accrington BB5 4EQ

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Birmingham B1 2NP The Prince of Wales Public House, 84/85 Cambridge Street

41 Paddington Street

Adjoins ICC & Birmingham Symphony Hall, let to Punch Taverns (PTL) Ltd (on Assignment with AGA) from Punch taverns (VPR) Ltd until 2021.

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Highly affluent West End location.

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Nottingham NG1 2JF

Scarborough YO11 1LP 122 Westborough Let to Country Casuals Limited.

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Let to Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd until 2015.

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14 Deptford High Street

City of Westminster W1U 4HN

Let to Bank of Scotland Plc T/a

Hyndburn Road

London SE8 4AF Ground & Basement let to Betting Shop Operations Limited until 2028, Prominent Retail Location.

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56-58 High Street

13 St Peter’s Gate Entirely let to Café Rouge Restaurants Limited until 2031, Planning Permission for Retail Use. Rent £104,079 p.a.x

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4F Shirland Mews, Maida Hill Excellent location close to Little Venice in The City of Westminster.

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www.acuitus.co.uk

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UK

India Connect How do I apply for a visa to India?

If you are planning a trip to India, irrespective of the reason of travel, you need to complete an online application form, take a print out and submit it at the nearest India Visa Application Center in the United Kingdom.

This Form is common for all categories being applied for and can be found on our website at http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk along Jiten Vyas, VFS Global with all required information on fees, documents required and locations where the application can be submitted.

You also have the option to send us the application form and all required documents via post to our visa application center in Hayes.

It is very important to keep in mind that the two photographs that you do need to submit along with your application must be of a specific size i.e. 50x50 and with a white background. The visa centers in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh do have photo booths that will be able to provide you with the right size and quality.

Please note that incorrect or incomplete applications, documentation or photographs may not allow us to proceed with accepting your dossier at the visa center. A comprehensive FAQ tab on the homepage of our website will provide you with more information on your application requirements.

Where do I apply for a visa to India?

There are 8 locations within the United Kingdom where you can submit your application for a visa to India. These are: India Visa Application Center 60-62 Wilton Road, Victoria, London, SW1V 1DE. India Visa Application Center 142-148 Goswell Road, London EC1V 7DU. India Visa Application Center 1-3, Canalside, Uxbridge Road, Hayes, Middlesex, UB4 0JN India Visa Application Center 20 - 21 Pemberton Street, Birmingham B18 6NY India Visa Application Center 66 Hanover Buildings Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2NN Submission of Application for all the above centers: 0830 - 1430 Hrs Collection of processed passports from all the above centers: 1300 - 1630 Hrs Monday-Friday India Visa Application Center C/o. The India Centre, Sanquhar Street, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 2AA. Working hours are from 09.00hrs until 14.30hrs Monday to Friday India Visa Application Center C/o. Mel Milaap Centre 134 Berkeley Street, Glasgow, G3 7HY. Working hours are from 0930 - 1430 Hrs Monday-Friday India Visa Application Center C/o. Jain Community Centre 669 Stockport Road, Longsight, Manchester, M12 4QE. Working hours are from 0930 – 1430 Hrs Monday-Friday What documents are required and the subsequent fees to be charged?

Complete information on the documents required and the subsequent fees which will be charged can be found under the section ‘All About Your Visa’ on the homepage of our website http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk. Under each category information is broken down into four tabs at the top of the page titled: Visa Fees, Document Checklist, Application Form, Photo Specifications and FAQ.

For more information regarding any quires about Indian Visa please contact by email or post: Email: info.inuk@vfshelpline.com Customer Relations Department.

India Visa Application Center, 60-62 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE

India Connect - your questions answered on India visas” a service offered by

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Terror gang arrested for planning bomb attack on London Stock Excahnge Four men inspired by alQa’ida admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange last week. Five other men have pleaded guilty to other terrorism offences and all nine will be sentenced next week. A handwritten target list found at the home of one of the men included the names and addresses of the London Mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the American embassy and the Stock Exchange.

The nine men, who are all British nationals, were followers of Anwar AlAwlaki, the senior alQa’ida recruiter and planner killed four months ago in a US drone attack in

Yemen. They kept copies of al-Qa’ida’s Inspire magazine, which aims to galvanise Western radicals to bring terror to their own countries by offering fundamentalist teachings and instructions on making bombs.

Four of the gang admitted the Stock Exchange plot, while five accomplices admitted associated terrorism offences.

The men wanted to send mail bombs and also discussed launching a “Mumbai-style” atrocity.

They were followed by undercover police observing landmarks such as Big Ben, Parliament and

The nine men, aged between 20 and 30, had all denied terrorism charges but yesterday, on the eve of a five-month trial at Woolwich Crown Court, they each pleaded guilty.

Mr Justice Wilkie is expected to sentence the men next week.

Chowdhury, the key connection between a group of men from London, Cardiff and Stoke, was told he could expect a sentence of more than 13 years with a five-year extended-licence period.

He has already served 13 months on remand and could be free in six years.

Westminster Abbey and recorded researching how to make pipe bombs and talking of raising funds to send British citizens to training camps abroad.

When they were arrested, the man accused of being the “lynchpin” of the gang, Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, had a list of targets as well as a sketch of what appeared to be a car bomb.

Their primary aim, Andrew Edis QC, for the prosecution, explained, was to cause terror and economic damage but their actions would undoubtedly have “maimed and killed” innocent people.

Continued on page 30

Youth Conference 2012 3 March 2012, 11:30am at Brunei Gallery (SOAS, University of London), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG The youth are the future of a country and to have a secure and prosperous future, we must invest in them today. The global financial crisis has led to record youth unemployment in Britain, according to Government figures.

We at Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar believe that our youth need to be empowered to the right social and economic changes. Educational achievements alone are not sufficient to get ahead in the ever more competitive employment market. Young people now, more than ever, need to stand out with their skills, experience and personal accomplishments.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are organising a Youth Conference at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London on Saturday 3 March 2012 for 15-25 year olds. The conference will feature leading professionals from different walks of life (including finance, law, medicine, politics, media and the arts) who will share their personal experiences and offer practical advice on how young people can fulfil their aspirations. The conference will also include interactive sessions and mentoring opportunities.

Confirmed speakers include: l Menhaj Huda (film director, producer and writer); l Divya Talwar (BBC News Reporter); l Misha Patel (Assistant General Counsel, KPMG); l Councillor Krupa Sheth (the youngest Councillor in Brent at the age of 20); l Aekta Mahajan (Cabinet Office); l Pratik Dattani (economist and Chair of the City Hindus Network); l Amit Sodha (lifestyle coach and stand up comedian); l Dr Pranav Somaiya (vascular surgeon); and l Rajay Naik (Director of Government and External Affairs, The Open University).

We will also be launching the pilot for the national enterprise scheme Young Asian Social Enterprise (YASE), launched in collaboration with the City Hindus Network.

This innovative scheme is based on an annual national competition for students to fund raise for charities supporting free education for underprivileged children in India. In return, the participants will be invited to present their idea and fund raising results to a panel of esteemed judges at the end of the competition. Those that have shown a real entrepreneurial spirit and drive will be presented a YASE award and receive expert mentoring and bespoke coaching from some of the City's top firms.

If you are interested to take part in this FREE conference, please email Rupanjana with your full contact details and age by Saturday 18th February 2012 at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com. Limited seats available, are filling up fast, so please register asap to avoid disappointment.

Cllr Krupa Sheth

Pratik Dattani

Aekta Mahajan

Misha Patel

Menhaj Huda

Divya Talwar

Amit Sodha

Rajay Naik

Date: Saturday 3 March 2012.

Timings: 11:30am- 4:30pm.

Location: Brunei Gallery (SOAS, University of London), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG (nearest tube stations: Russell Square, Euston, Tottenham Court Road).

Registration: Email Rupanjana with your full contact details and age by Saturday 18th February 2012 at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com. Strictly limited capacity and pre-registration required.

Target age range: 15-25.

Other details: A vegetarian lunch will be served.

Please note: Limited seats available, are filling up fast, so please register asap. No entry without registration for security reasons.

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

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Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Why ‘Podaa Podi’ being delayed?

A lot of rumours were flying high why ‘Podaa Podi’, which has Simbu in the lead role, is being delayed. Now, the film’s director, debutant Vignesh Shivan has opened up on why the much expected dance musical is being delayed. “Podaa Podi is a film that sees Simbu and Varalakshmi in three phases of life. Thus this film of course takes more time to wrap than usual flicks. The film is entirely being shot in London and we want to shoot it only during a particular season as the script demands it”, says Vignesh. “There’s also a child in the film who needs to be shot during birth and at six months of age. The time the film is taking to be wrapped is calculated and the team has been well aware of it”, he further adds.

Akon to sing in Tamil?

When Akon fluently mouthed the Hindi lyrics of “Chammak Challo,” it took listeners by storm. The song became a sensation overnight. However, the R&B singer's tryst with India does not end there. Buzz is that director AR Murgadoss has signed the singer to sing a Tamil number for his next film “Tuppaki” starring superstar Vijay. Says a source, "Shah Rukh Khan has been in talks with Murgadoss for his next South remake and that is how he got introduced to Akon. One song in ‘RA.One’ has given him the kind of mileage he couldn't have even imagined. So he is obviously looking to expand his base in India. The director thinks that Akon's voice is very catchy and it'll work for the kind of music Thupakki has."

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Saranya poses nude for ‘Mazhai Kaalam’ Posing nude is not a sin anymore in Indian film industries. While Bollywood has accepted it a couple of years ago and the Kannada film industry is on the verge of admitting it, the Tamil film industry, without much-hype, is ready to witness its first dare bare scene in the recent years. Well, actress Saranya of “Kaadhal” fame is ready to surprise the Kollywood in her bold avatar in her upcoming movie “Mazhai Kaalam.”

We hear that Saranya has shot a nude scene in the film recently. The sequence comes in the climax, where she drops her cloths in front of an artist, who desires to paint her portrait. It will be similar to the nude scene of famous Hollywood movie “Titanic” that was shot on Kate Winslet. The scene will be shown to the audience through a shadow due to censor issues.

Hot Garam masala Sunny Leone taking Hindi lessons Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone, who will be playing the female lead in Mahesh Bhatt's 'Jism 2', says she is taking audio Hindi lessons for her debut film. “At the gym and also taking audio Hindi lessons! Hindi Hindi Hindi!. I believe this is my birth right to speak Hindi and Punjabi it's who I am.

Indian & proud! 'Jism 2' is giving my big break in movies, So thankful!!," Leone posted on Twitter. The 30-year-old actress moved to India for 'Bigg Boss 5', where Mahesh Bhatt appeared in the show to sign her for the sequel of his hit 2003 film. Leone, on her part, is doing everything for the film. "The people around me probably think I'm crazy. Repeating what I hear out loud in Hindi... Haha whatever! Anything for 'Jism 2'," she added.

Mahesh Bhatt barred from 'Raaz 3' sets Emraan Hashmi has banned Mahesh Bhatt from coming on the sets of “Raaz 3: The Third Dimension,” especially during the shoot of the climax scene. Reason: He fears that his uncle – cum mentor who is a compulsive tweeter may write something about the climax of the film and reveal the suspense. A source close to Emraan says, "Raaz 3 is the Bhatt's much-anticipated next. It is also the homecoming of Vikram Bhatt who directed the first film in the trilogy. Since it's a horror mystery, Emraan and Vikram are extra careful about keeping things under wraps." Emraan is well aware of his uncle's habit of tweeting anything and everything. In the past too Bhatt has tweeted stuff about his movies that was not supposed to be revealed.”

Arnie fails to turn up to award Abhishek Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger failed to turn up at a function last week to present Abhishek Bachchan a Green Globe award for helping create a greener environment. Abhishek says he was not aware that Schwarzenegger would present him the award. "I had no idea, I was just told that I would get the Green Globe award. I was never told that I would get the award from him," Abhishek said.

The 64-year-old former governor of California arrived in Delhi to attend a function. He was due to attend the Green Globe Foundation Awards Ceremony but did not turn up.

Riteish, Genelia tie the knot Bollywood couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza tied the knot on Friday according to Marathi traditions in the presence of Bollywood and political biggies.

The marriage came at the end of an eight-year-long courtship with Riteish (32) and Genelia (24) taking their vows around a sacred fire at the suburban hotel in Mumbai.

Amidst the singing and dancing, Riteish, with his face covered with a sehra (flower veil), waved excitedly while sitting on the horse.

The actor’s Congress minister father Vilasrao Deshmukh was dressed in a brown sherwani. Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Subodh Kant Sahay, Sunil Tatkare and Johny Joseph were among the political figures present at the wedding.

B-town guests present included Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Kajol and Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan, Karan Johar, Shahid Kapoor, Ashutosh Gowariker, Sajid Nadiadwala, Satish Shah, Asin, Jacky Bhagnani, Vashu Bhagnani, Ramesh Taurani, Nishka and Neeta Lulla.

Kareena, Imran in London for film promotion Bollywood actors Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan, the leading stars of Karan Johar's upcoming film “Ek Main aur Ekk Tu,” were in London to promote their film. The duo later interacted with the press and met their fans at Cineworld in Feltham.

While Imran had met fans at the cinema for promotional events before, it is the first time that Kareena interacted with her fans there. "It's always great to come and meet fans in London," said Imran Khan. Kareena and Imran gave out special goodies and merchandise from the film and also answered questions at the event.

“Ek Main aur Ekk Tu,” produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Dharma Productions is this year's Valentine week flick and is slated to release in UK cinemas on February 10.

After item number, it's daredevil stunts for Katrina Katrina Kaif was shooting in Havana for Kabir Khan's "Ek Tha Tiger" and Hollywood action director Conrad Palmisano was making the actress do daring stunts like free-falls.

Katrina, under the protective eye of co-star and friend Salman Khan, was doing what one member of Cuban unit describes as "the real thing." "These are stunts that any macho hero would think twice before daring. Katrina was really pushing the envelope as far as the female machismo was concerned. She was doing free-falls with Salman by her side.

Katrina said: "Yeah, it's scary but great fun. I've only done very feminine delicate roles so far. This is a new challenge for me. I guess that's what I'm looking for at this stage of my career."

Palmisano, who had supervised the stunts for over 200 topnotch films and television series, oversaw Sheila LeBeouf's stunts in "Transformers: Dark Of The Moon", Nicolas Cage in the forthcoming "Seeking Justice" and Jackie Chan in "Rush Hour," was supervising her stunts. .The actress was preparing for them every morning. "She wakes up at the crack of dawn to get warmed up for Palmisano's stunts. Then she gets down to action. Very risky ones, I might add which many of our Bollywood heroes would insist on being done by doubles.”

No work for Shahid Kapoor now After his father’s directorial debut “Mausam” (2011) bombed at the box-office, actor Shahid Kapoor was rumoured to have been offered a bunch of projects. The most recent being director Puneet Malhotra’s next for producer Karan Johar. Before that, it was said that he was going to play a gangster in Ekta Kapoor’s “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai” sequel, where his role would be modelled on gangster Chota Rajan. The third film he was believed to have started work on was his dad’s next as a director.

Bring this up, and he says, “Unfortunately, I’ve no work to do. I’ve finished working on Kunal Kohli’s film ‘Teri Meri Kahani.’ It’s turned out nice. I enjoyed sharing the screen with Priyanka (actor Priyanka Chopra) again. And now, I’m waiting for Maneesh (director Maneesh Sharma of 2010 flick, ‘Band Baaja Baraat’) to recover from his illness. He’s had a slip disc. The only film I’m supposed to start now is his. Once he recovers, we’ll be on the floors. I don’t know where the rest came from.”

Reportedly, the 29-year-old actor had started working doubly hard on his father Pankaj Kapur’s next, soon after Mausam’s box-office fate was announced. “Really?” he exclaims. “When I last spoke to my father, he was in New York holidaying. And he hadn’t started on anything. But who knows… He could have started something with some Hollywood actors without telling me.”

Sanjay Dutt to do an item song After the success of “Agneepath” and Kancha Cheena's moves in the ‘Chikni Chameli” item number, Sanjay Dutt seems to be the most wanted item boy in Bollywood.

For his upcoming film “Zilla Ghaziabad,” Sanjay Dutt will be seen growing to a song composed by Bappi Lahiri's son Bappa titled ‘Main Item No.1’. Southern actress Shreya Saran will join Sanjay in this dance number. It was learnt that initially, there were no plans of an item song featuring Sanjay in the film. "Sanjay's character is rugged. He doesn't sing or dance. But after ‘Agneepath,’ the makers decided to include an item song with Sanjay in it," revealed a source close to the film.

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‘BollyBrit’ film, ‘Naachle London’ ready for release

The first ever ‘BollyBrit’ film “Naachle London” will be release in UK on 24th Feb. It is a Bollywood- inspired film presented by a UK-based Asian distribution company Aviary Films.

“Naachle London” retells the rich girl - poor boy love story in a contemporary British setting, while dealing with issues that face British society today such as the recession, inter-racial relationships, the stigma attached to divorcees among Asian communities and selfesteem and acceptance issues facing teenagers in modern Britain. “Naachle London” seamlessly blends Bollywood with international film stylistics and techniques. It has catchy song-and-dance numbers and traditional themes such as family respect and honour, while international cinema, most notably Hollywood, inspires multilayered characterisations, nuanced themes and fastpaced editing.

Producer/ Director Neville Raschid said,

“Making a film is the closest thing a male filmmaker can come to creating a child. You ‘carry’ the film for many months. Naachle London’s male lead, Raj Ghatak (‘Vijay’), said, “Where this film has its USP is in its Britishness.

There have been British Asian movies before like ‘Bend it like Beckham’ and ‘Four Lions,’ but this film has been written, directed, produced, financed, acted, composed, and choreographed by British Asians, which makes it unique and why I wanted to come on board.

Lead stars Raj Ghatak and the inimitable Sofia Hayat demonstrate their acting prowess. British acting talent including Kulvinder Ghir, Harvey Virdi, Fagun Thakrar and heartthrob Jake Canuso are in the film.

In addition to 'Naachle London', Aviary will be making its second BollyBrit film - a re-boot of Shakespeare’s immortal comedy, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, in early 2012.

Farhan Akhtar's film to be shot in Pak The Farhan Akhtar starrer director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag “ a biopic on legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh, is expected to start its shoot in Pakistan very soon. The director wants to add authenticity to the film and thus have decided to capture the towns of Pakistan were Milkha was born and brought up. Rakeysh has been putting a lot of time and effort in getting the detailing of the project correct.

Rakeysh is keen to visit the same towns were Milkha stayed and shoot with Farhan Akhtar who plays Milkha in the film. He says, "Yes we are quiet keen to shoot at the borders of Pakistan to achieve more authenticity for the film as Milkha was born in one of the towns there. We will be applying for permissions soon."

Farhan Akhtar has devoted all his energies and is getting ready to play the Flying Sikh of India. He has been going through a rigorous training schedule for the film.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Indian govt lowers GDP growth at 6.9% Dear Financial Voice Reader: The stocks that pay ‘Stocks fall on Greek concerns’; ‘stocks rise on hope of Greek deal’. Pick a day, pick a headline. Back and forth. Wish the markets and the Germans would make their minds up. So whilst the Greeks are having problems paying their lenders, which stocks are paying shareholders good dividend income? And given the Xtrata takeover, who may else be likely to be a takeover target?

Those stocks with some of the best dividend yields, in other words paying the most income for every £100 of shares, are Man Group (10% per annum), RSA Insurance and International Power (8% pa in dividends). That’s not a bad return. Of course the risk is the share price could fall. And indeed with Man Group it’s been sliding all of last year, but now appears to have made a comeback.

The FTSE 100 measure of the UK’s largest 100 companies is up for the year, but still under 6,000 (which was the 2011 peak and a level first hit in 1998! As I write a report states that UK retailers had their second worst January since records began 17 years ago. This follows from a December which saw the end of La Senza, Barratts and Peacocks.

Indeed Morrisons which was one of the best performers in 2011, has since January fallen to its April 2011 share price levels, which it first hit in 2007. But Next, which also had a great 2011 for its shares, although falling in January, has already recovered to where it peaked in 2011 and sits at an all-time high.

So what of takeover targets? Well one place to often look is at the undervalued companies. Those whose profits per share are not reflected in their share price.

Of the 100 largest UK companies – those in this category are: Cairn Energy, Rio Tinto, BAe Systems. The other place to look are some of the poor performers because a bidder will look to buy something they can turnaround to former glory days. Essar would be on the cards on that basis as would Admiral and Man Group.

Of course buying in expectation of a takeover is not a clever strategy as you could end up waiting a long time. The final category of target is the perennial riser.

Here the company doing the take over wants to buy the target because of its superior performance. So in the case of Autonomy, HP wanted to buy it because its share price only ever rose.

Companies whose share prices only ever seem to reach for the skies include Tullow Oil, Randgold Resources, Aggreko, Diageo, Bunzl, SAB, Xstrata, Next, Intertek.

Well that’s enough names to be going on with. If your goal is to beat the index, then those ones should be an excellent start.

Norway backs Telenor, says it did nothing wrong Telenor, which holds a 67% stake in Unitech Wireless, on Monday said that it would decide on bidding for fresh 2G licences and spectrum after the rules are finalized even as the Norwegian government made public its decision to back the firm where it is a majority shareholder.

"It is normal for ministers to take up issues like these. It is important for Norwegian companies to have a fair treatment, transparency in India and stable long-term treatment," Norwegian minister of government administration, reform and church affairs Rigmor Aasrud told a press conference. She met telecom minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday and discussed the issue with him.

Terming the discussions "fruitful", Aasrud confirmed that she had raised the issue of protection for Telenor's 3 billion dollar investment in the

Indian telecom sector.

"I don't think Telenor has done anything wrong.

The Supreme Court order has decided on how the government handled licences. The licences were given before Telenor came to the market," the minister said.

Even Telenor representatives have taken the same position, which was reiterated at a separate press conference by Uninor MD Sigve Brekke on Monday. "We came here after an invitation from the Indian government to compete...

But India changed its mind and it is impacting us as a foreign investor. We had nothing to do with the way the policy was chosen and implemented. Now, we are ones who are being blamed," he said.

Brekke said that they were exploring legal options and simultaneously trying to influence "as many stakeholders as possible".

India’s economic growth is likely to fall to a three-year low of 6.9 per cent in 2011-12, mainly due to sharp slowdown in manufacturing, agriculture and mining sectors, against 8.4 per cent expansion in the last fiscal.

Agriculture and allied activities are likely to grow at 2.5 per cent in 2011-12, compared to a robust growth of 7 per cent in 2010-11, according to the advanced estimates released on Tuesday by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

Manufacturing growth is also expected to drop down to 3.9 per cent in this fiscal from 7.6 per cent last year.

The CSO's GDP growth projection is a tad

Pakistani’s rescue bid for Peacocks Alshair Fiyaz, a Pakistani textile billionaire, is working on a rescue bid for Peacocks with the retailer’s management team.

Fiyaz, whose family wealth is estimated at £3 billion, is also working with Solstra Capital, a Danish investment fund that manages £1 billion of assets. Solstra is expected to submit a second-round bid to KPMG, Peacocks’ administrator.

Sources said an Indian clothing manufacturer may also table a bid.

Despite the arrival of a surprise bidder, there are still fears that no deal will be reached and the company, including up to £40m of stock, will have to be liquidated. This could lead to 600 stores closing and up to 7,500 people losing their jobs. Fiyaz has dabbled in retail property investment in Denmark but his main interests are shipping and financial services. Three years ago he bought Magasin du Nord, known as Denmark’s Harrods, subsequently leasing the chain to Debenhams.

lower than the 7 per cent forecast made by the Reserve Bank of India in its quarterly monetary policy review last month.

In its mid-year economic review, the government had also pegged growth at around 7.5 per cent. The current estimate is a sharply lower than the 9 per cent growth projection for 2011-12 made by the government in its prebudget survey in February

last year.

The latest GDP growth estimate of 6.9 per cent for the entire fiscal means that the pace of economic expansion slowed in the second half of 2011-12, given that GDP growth in the April-September, 2011, period stood at 7.3 per cent.

According to the advance estimates, mining and quarrying is likely to witness a decline of 2.2 per cent, compared to a growth of 5 per cent a year ago.

Growth in construction is also likely to slip to 4.8 per cent in 2011-12, against an 8 per cent in 2010-11.

Furthermore, the finance, insurance, real estate and business servic-

SBI opens retail banking head office in London State Bank of India, UK opened its new retail banking head office at Hasilwood House, 60 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AW, recently. Mr Hemant G Contractor, bank’s Managing Director & Group Executive (International Banking) opened the new office.

“Consumer and wealth is a key focus of SBI. We are completely committed to providing a different retail banking experience for UK customers across our distribution channels, and more specifically, with our branch-banking, where we offer accessibility, transparency, as reflected in our simple, fair transparent products," said Mr Contractor.

Centrally located at the heart of London’s financial district, the new office reflects the bank’s commitment to retail banking in the UK. This particular focus is also highlighted by the bank’s recent branch expansion and product launches. Last year, SBI increased its UK presence

SBI Managing Director & Group Executive (International Banking), Mr. Hemant G. Contractor (left) opening the new SBI UK Retail Banking Office. SBI UK Regional Head Rajnish Kumar (2nd left) looks on. Also in the photo (R-L) SBI UK Head of Consumer & Wealth Deepak Ahuja, SBI UK CEO Venkataraman Subramanian, SBI UK Head of Performance and Admnistration Ajay Kalra, and SBI General Manager, International Banking Group Vijay Jasuja.

by opening three new branches in East Ham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. From an original branch network of seven, the bank now has a total of 10 in the UK. All the new branches reflect the bank’s focus of transparency and accessibility with a welcoming environment offering personalised customer service and easy access to their local branch manager. The bank has also launched a spate of new

High-profile Indian financier fined for insider trading India-born Ravi Sinha is the second high-profile financier to have found himself in the crosshairs of the Financial Services Authority. Last week, it fined David Einhorn, one of America’s top hedge fund bosses, and his firm Greenlight Capital £7.2 million for insider trading.

Mr Sinha may be even better known than Mr Einhorn on this side of the Atlantic. Born in India but raised in the West Midlands, Mr Sinha studied at Oxford and Columbia before going on to a glittering career in the City. He worked at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley before

es sectors are likely to grow by 9.1 per cent this fiscal, against 10.4 per cent last fiscal.

Commenting on the GDP growth estimates, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said: "The 6.9 per cent is consistent with what we have been saying.

"We said 7 per cent for year (2011-12) as whole.

(With) 7.3 per cent in the first half and 6.9 in the third quarter, 7 per cent is possible." According to the data, growth in electricity, gas and water production is, however, likely to be better this year. The segments are expected to grow up by 8.3 per cent in 2011-12, against 3 per cent in 2010-11.

Ravi Sinha

joining JC Flowers, the American buyout fund founded by Chris Flowers, a former Goldman banker, in 2003. Mr Sinha ran JC Flowers’ UK business from 2005 until 2009, when he was fired after the firm discovered that he had obtained £1.4 million by issuing fraudulent invoices.

Before his dismissal, Mr Sinha spearheaded JC Flowers’ attempts to buy the stricken Northern Rock in 2007 and Friends Provident, the insurer, in 2008. He made $1.2 million a year, not including his share of JC Flowers’ profits from its investments, and lived in a lavish house in Sloane Square.

Mr Sinha was bankrupted after being dismissed by JC Flowers and was discharged in August last year. He was unemployed at the time, according to bankruptcy records.

Mr Sinha argued that the fine would push him back into bankruptcy.

products, including competitive fixed deposits, ‘Buy to Let Mortgage,’ Current Account, Instant Access Savings Account, Business Instant Access Savings Account, Multi-currency Fixed Deposit and Hi Return Fixed Deposit.

Its product offering is open to a range of individuals and businesses including UK residents, non-UK residents, company partnerships and charitable institutions.

ArcelorMittal posts $1 bn loss in fourth quarter Steel maker ArcelorMittal says it posted a $1 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, mostly due to tax and restructuring charges.

That compares to a $780 million loss in the same quarter in 2010.

ArcelorMittal reported a profit of $659 million in the third quarter of last year.

ArcelorMittal said on Tuesday its net income was hit by $1.3 billion in charges for deferred taxes, restructuring and impairments.

It says sales were up 8.5 per cent at $22.45 billion from the fourth quarter of 2010, but fell 7.3 per cent compared with the third quarter last year.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

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You Snooze, You Lose Suresh Vagjiani Managing Director Sow & Reap A Property Investment & Financing company.

Property is a business where time is of the essence, there are only two main points in a property deal: price and time. If you can execute quickly you can command a reduction in price. Time has become an important factor in transacting especially now as many sellers are struggling for cash and face pressure from the banks.

Currently we have a property dealer who is hoping to flip a property on for a quick profit. He picked up a block for £630k and is selling it on for £750k, giving him a quick profit. We later discovered he had bought the property using a bridging loan and hence is now under severe pressure to sell.

If the deal is completed this week there will be a £15k discount on the price otherwise he wants £755k, this is to reflect the charges from the bridging company.

Another real example where time has been an issue is a property we exchanged on last week Thursday after spending three months on trying to get it through. It was a small deal at £233,000, the property is a one bedroom in a purpose built ex council block at over 500 Sq ft. The attraction to this property was the layout and how easily it could be converted to a two bedroom. Simply by switching the kitchen to the living room you would have an extra bedroom. A two bedroom property can now command a rental of £420pw, which comes to £21,000 pa, a 9% yield. With a long lease and low service charge this was a rare find.

The client in all fairness was and is swift in his responses and never delayed in returning paper work. This is the second time he is buying through us, having previously bought a similar property about a year ago. He does not live in the UK, hence the time he comes in he wants everything ready. He simply asks us what the solicitor and the valuer will require to exchange and then transfers the full amount to us to disperse to the relevant parties without even looking at the properties.

F or him it’s a pure numbers g ame, and he has developed t he confid ence by bu ying previo usly through us.

The initial issue which caused a block was getting the mortgage.

The mortgage companies at the moment are paranoid about money laundering to the point it becomes ridiculous, in this case the deposit was shown in Barclays bank. This was not good enough for the mort-

The Real Deal When time is off the essence Originally we had been offered two freehold titles consisting of four flats, two regulated tenants and one sold on a long lease. These were conversions in Willesden NW2.

The regulated tenants were to be honest not our forte. We had researched that these would be worth 50% to 70% of the open market value, and we are in touch with dealers who deal in only regulated tenants. The tenants were in their late seventies and had no dependents, both these points are important. The age is important as holding regulated tenancies as I understand is a bit like being a butcher, you make money on the death of your tenants. Unpalatable perhaps but true! At the point of death of your tenant you can make, in this case, about £150,000. The point of no dependents is important too as the tenancy cannot be passed on with the death of the original tenant to someone else.

Whilst we were mulling over these, the decision had been made for us when we were told they had been sold off to a dealer who only does regulated tenants, and now only the vacant flat is left for sale.

We have arranged to attend and exchange at the seller’s solicitor’s office later on today. The price we will be paying for a three bedroom flat with garden is £250k. The aim is to punch

through to the loft to extend and resell at £375k after spending £50k on works. This is plain vanilla and something we are confident of executing.

Luckily both our solicitors are walking distance from each other in Baker Street. Actually you do not need to attend, things can be done just as fast nowadays without getting up from your chair, but we had a stubborn seller who would not send out contracts, so if we wanted to do this deal we had no choice but to attend.

gage company, they required to see the statement of the bank it had come in from.

Given Barclays bank is a large bank and the client would have gone through their procedures already it was an unnecessary request. So we had a delay of a month to get the Ugandan bank to basically produce a statement to suit the lender. Given this was simply made up for them by the bank, it was an unnecessary tick box exercise to satisfy someone who doesn't know what they are doing.

Unfortunately we have to dance to their tune, as beggars cannot be choosers. In this market credit is not as abundant as it once was, we were dependent on this mortgage going through. The process took many weeks.

So after the big issue of finally getting the mortgage, we breathed a sigh of relief, we were ready to exchange only to discover there was another contract out on this property. Unbeknown to us the agents had decided to go with another seller without informing us.

This deal had been on the burner since early November, so it had been brewing for three months. To find another buyer for this property is easy to do as there is not much around at this price level and potential. The lower the price of a property the more accessible it becomes for people to enter.

Luckily we had a good Jewish solicitor on the case and he immediately moved into action and arranged to see the client the day after he arrived in the country, done all the checks and got insurances for the ones he didn't do and we swiftly moved to exchange contracts to blow the other party out.

You can never be too relaxed when purchasing a property, surprises can come out from any nook and cranny.

Most people think once you’ve exchanged the deal is secured and you are safe, which is true......until the lender starts asking further questions regarding the mortgage offer… they are not bound by the exchange or even aware of it, the mortgage offer comes into play at completion.

I have seen offers being revoked post exchange, leaving buyers high and dry. The only option they have is private funds or bridging money, which is expensive and may just be prolonging the pain of losing the exchange money.

Smaller deals are harder to come by, the real potential this year is in the bigger ones. These can be accessed by arranging small investment groups. If you would like to find out more please call the office to arrange a meeting.

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Specialists in: l Property Sourcing l Mortgages l Commercial Finance l India Properties

UK Sales 0207 313 4595 India Sales 0203 384 5323 Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

Tips of the Week l When it comes to investing in property more people have lost money through procrastination than making a wrong decision. l Much of the funds sitting in banks are already depreciating through inflation, a tangible asset will help you protect against this.

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FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Property price surging in India Dharmesh Doshi Managing Director India – Real Estate: For an industry that is rapidly evolving and energetically meeting the challenges of the future, 13 years is a short time indeed. During this period, however, India’s real estate sector has metamorphosed beyond recognition. Even a decade ago there was little or no property market to speak of; choices for home buyers were limited, builders were generally considered – sometimes with very good reason – as being untrustworthy; and the boom in housing and home finance had yet to happen.

The evolution of the Indian real estate sector has been phenomenal since 2000, propelled by a growing economy, liberalised foreign direct investment policy and

the higher yields the sector’s offering.

The Information Technology boom also had a huge impact on the real estate sector.

While other forms of investments like gold, mutual funds and shares have shown severe fluctuations, the real estate has managed to remain steady especially in a city like Chennai where the conservative nature of the buyers has helped keep the market steady.

Most developers agree that real estate has been a safe bet especially over the past decade with returns from investments in the sector yielding higher rates.

Asset India feels when it comes to buying property, any time is the right time. If you are prudent and take the right decisions, investment in real estate is the wisest thing to do. So if someone is looking at real estate as an investment, they have to do it today, Delay in taking a decision could result in prices going up and making it all the more tougher to buy property.

Investment in real estate is asset-backed in Chennai and the market

has seen very few speculators. Most buyers are end users and as a result, the market has seen very few fluctuations. There has hardly been any volatility.

People in Chennai are conservative by nature and a lot of thought goes into buying property. This is the inherent strength of the market. But it is important not to over stretch yourselves. If you plan according to your financial capability there is no reason for you to make a mistake.

Though globally, a downturn seems to be hovering on the horizon, in a country like India that is witnessing rapid urbanisation, the outlook is good. As internal demand rises, and despite the squeeze on affordability in current times, aggregate home loans by commercial banks reportedly rose 21% to3,64,170 crore as of end August 2011 from 3,00,929 crore in March 2010, with much of the growth in bank credit this year driven by home loans. Cushman and Wakefield and Global Real Estate Institute in a report released this October say that hous-

ing demand is estimated to be over two million units across the next five years in major cities including Chennai.

Chennai: Chennai formerly known as Madras is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a metropolitan population of nine million.

Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the automobile, computer, technology, hardware manufacturing and healthcare industries. The city is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (IT) and information-technologyenabled services (ITES).

A major chunk of India's automobile manufacturing industry is based in and around the city, which leads it to be called as 'The Detroit of Asia'.The city is also called as 'Gateway to South India', due to its importance as a port city and its major role in South India's development.

According to Forbes magazine, Chennai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It has a diversified eco-

Locality

Price Range

Average Price

(Rs./Sq-ft)

(Rs./Sq-ft)

OMR

3,270-3,582

3,426

Oragadam

2,888-4,923

3,905

Sriperumbudur

2,562-2,674

2,618

Tambaram West

2,720-3,014

2,867

nomic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, health care and financial services industries. According to the CII, Chennai is estimated to grow to a $100billion economy, 2.5 times its present size, by the year 2025.

Chennai serves as a major gateway to southern India, and the Chennai International Airport, is the third busiest airport in India and has the second busiest cargo terminus in the country. The existing airport is undergoing further modernisation and expansion with an addition of 1069.99 acres, and a new greenfield airport is to be constructed at an estimated cost of 20,000 million in Sriperumbudur on 4,200 acres (17 km2) of land.

Asset India is a global company specializing in the real estate investment sector in India

with customers, who are Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), in UK, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Spain, USA, Canada, Australia, Gibraltar and Kuwait and shortly spreading its reach in Dubai, Singapore & Hongkong.

We have a team of specialized real estate portfolio managers and finance professionals – all of whom are real estate experts who together have decades of experience in the real estate industry in India and the UK. We are purely an investor-driven company who provide a one stop shop for all your India property investment requirements including facilitating Resales, Rentals, Property management, Finance and Foreign exchange facilities.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

21

Foreign Exchange Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

Greece again holds centre stage The Euro remained steady last week, as the US and the seemingly long awaited Non-Farm Payroll was in the limelight and the debt crisis was on the back burner.

The US printed superb NonFarm Payrolls. There was a gain of 243K jobs, and a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.3%.

This triggered risk appetite with commodity currencies. The US Non-Farm Payrolls had the strongest impact on a pair that didn’t even involve the dollar.

This was EURAUD. The rise of commodity currencies and the drop of majors, especially the troubled Euro, are sending EURAUD to 1.22 – a new all-time low. Australia, New Zealand and especially Canada are better prepared for US and global growth. European currencies are in a different boat .Their economies are struggling.

The main driver for their gains against the dollar was Bernanke’s lower for longer pledge, that there will be no hikes till late 2014 and the hints about QE3.His concerns about the high unemployment were echoed in his testimony.

Well, unemployment is now lower. As things are looking better, the QE3 hot air left the euro

balloon. Yet the hope of growth helps the Australian Dollar as it does the entire commodity based currencies.

In the week to come Greece returns to centre stage, will a solution be found? Or should we expect further downside weakness? The main event this week will be Thursdays rate decision; there is a relatively low chance that Mario Draghi will cut the interest rate to 0.75%. Most economic indicators across the continent point to a recession, and a rate cut could help the economies. However such a move will likely run into opposition, as 1% is the lowest rate ever.

In addition, headline inflation is still above the 2% target, at 2.7%. It’s clear that for Draghi, headline inflation isn’t the ‘single needle in the compass’, but he will have a hard time convincing other members.

Pressure is growing on Greece’s politicians to accept harsher measures regarding the labour market and to fully commit to them, also after the elections. Negotiations are at a sensitive point. In the US, the excellent jobs report lowers the chances of QE3 and provided hope for the whole world. It

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 7th February 2012 @ 4pm GBP - INR = 77.99 USD - INR = 49.19 EUR - INR = 65.12 GBP - USD = 1.59 GBP - EUR = 1.20 EUR - USD = 1.32 GBP - AED = 5.82

weakened EUR/USD. The British pound rally against the dollar slowed this week, with the pound gaining slightly against the greenback, closing the week at the 1.58 level. The Purchasing Managers’ indices in the UK were generally better than expected in January, and an official recession now seems less likely.

However, another round of QE by the control bank seems inevitable. Despite stronger US growth, the pound has had a spectacular run, rising over 500 pips against the dollar since midJanuary.

The upcoming week has seven releases affecting the GBP. We start the week with the

Halifax HPI, the Housing Price Index which measure inflation in the UK housing market.

Thursday will see the release Manufacturing Production, This index has been on the rise, although it is still showing contraction in the manufacturing sector. The forecast for February calls for an increase of 0.3%. A rise into positive territory would be welcome news for the hardpressed industry.

This news will be followed by the UK rate decision and the all important rate statement, it’s likely that direction will be provided on further QE measures in this statement so it will be an important measure to hone in on.

GBP - CAD = 1.58 GBP - NZD = 1.90 GBP - AUD = 1.47 GBP - ZAR = 12.01 GBP - HUF = 346.76

www.rationalfx.com Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

22

fInancIal VOIce

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

India’s credit rating could tilt towards ‘negative’ zone: S&P

Maria Fernandes

maria@abplgroup.com

Statistics and the political football This has been an uneventful week in terms of actual policy but it has been a good week for political rhetoric or as it is known in the US, dog whistle politics. It started with Ministers publishing statistics purportedly showing a large number of foreign nationals claiming benefit only to be rebuked by the independent watchdog for misinterpreting the statistics or in other words for ‘bending the truth’. When the will statistics were more closely examined it turned out that foreign nationals are less likely to claim benefits than British born workers. Then there was a speech by the Immigration Minister talking about the fact that only those who earn a certain amount (pitched at £30000) can qualify for entry. There are already plans in hand to prevent those who come in to work from obtaining a right to settlement.

As statistics go there has been a drop of 8% of British students applying to go to University.

Interestingly there has also been a drop of 14% of overseas students as

well. Overall 20% less students.

These must have implications for Universities and colleges.

True it means that it may help the Government reach their target of reducing migration but it also means that colleges and Universities are suffering a drop and that this will have a drip effect on the loss of jobs.

The speech by the Minister placed emphasis on the fact that only those with high salaries are of benefit to the UK and will qualify for settlement because in effect they are of benefit to the UK. Nurses, chefs, teachers and care workers are given no value in terms of the jobs they do or the benefit they bring to the table. Taking this argument forward the bankers earning well in above of the £300000 mark must surely be gods in terms of the benefits they brought to the UK. And there is talk of the brightest and the best qualify. This meaningless term is actually stating a fact, that education in certain places, earnings of a certain level, a lifestyle that is based around

money is good and everything else is worthless is a very dangerous and morally bankrupt argument and is a reason why we in the West are in the predicament we find ourselves in.

When Mitt Romney, the candidate for the Republicans, dismissed the need for the poor to be given a hand up there was an outcry. The pronouncements by the Minister are similar but because it is aimed at foreign nationals it immediately appears to be acceptable.

The Government can play statistics with peoples lives. They may even achieve a result, a reduction in numbers although their task is gargantuan if it is to achieve its aim. It is predicted that this will inevitably result in an increase of cases in court and the increased role of the judges to cure the defects that exist.

Maria Fernandes has been in practice exclusively in immigration for the past 25 years. Fernandes Vaz is based at 87 Wembley Hill Road Wembley in Wembley and can be contacted by telephone on 02087330123, by email on info@fernandesvaz.com.

Indians behind over 50% US business innovations

Over 50% of total patents filed for industrial innovations in the US have Indian brains behind them, says a study by Indian Institute of Management , Ahmedabad (IIM-A ).

Foreign firms, including research and development (R&D ) centres, have increased their dependence on all-Indians teams - a trend reflected in the number of Indian inventors in patent applications filed by foreign companies in India and abroad in recent years.

The study 'Foreign R&D Centres in India: An Analysis of their Size, Structure and Implications' measures the contribution of multinational companies in the generation of innovations from India.

The trend suggests maturing of Indian researchers and the fact that local researchers are the most important sources of ideas for R&D projects for foreign companies in India, according to the study.

The authors, IIM-A faculty Rakesh Basant,

along with Sunil Mani from the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, conducted a survey on a sample of 120 MNC R&D firms, the bulk of which were set up after 1990.

The study also says foreign R&D centres seem to have become the locus for creating 'reverse innovations' , which means inno-

vations that are first created in India by these centres and then exported back to their parent firms for use both in developed and developing country markets.

Majority of the R&D centres are either subsidiaries or branches of US-based MNCs and one industry where they are extremely active is the ICT sector. "Over time, 50-66

% of the total US patenting of industrial innovations are recorded in India, conducted through these centres," says the study.

According to private estimates, the number of foreign R&Ds operating in India till December 2011 was about 900. The R&D expenditures by foreign companies have shown a robust increase from Rs 2.86 billion in 2002-03 to Rs 28.83 billion in 2009-10 .

Moreover, the share of foreign companies in total R&D has increased to around 20 per cent, according to the most recently available estimates, says the study.

Finally, the study suggests that in order to get spill-over benefits of MNC R&D activities in India, R&D policy should be enhanced. "India does not have any explicit policies to promote FDI in R&D although there exists in the country a number of policy instruments, fiscal and otherwise, for promoting FDI and incentivising the conduct of R&D,” the study says.

Global rating agency S&P warned that "the balance of risk factors" for India's sovereign credit rating could tilt towards 'negative' zone this year, given the headwinds being faced by the country on domestic and global fronts.

However, Standard and Poor's (S&P) maintained that it does not expect to downgrade or revise its 'stable' outlook on the investment grade 'BBB-' long-term sovereign credit rating on India in the near future.

At the same time, S&P said, India was battling with high inflation, a weak government fiscal position, and slower economic growth on domestic front, while European sovereign debt problems could add to the pressures for the country.

"Like many countries,

India is facing some challenges on a few fronts, and the balance of risk factors for the sovereign credit rating may be shifting slightly toward the negative," S&P Ratings Services said in a report.

"Standard & Poor's doesn't expect to downgrade or revise the outlook on the long-term rating in the near future. However, the negative factors, combined with the government's weak policy formulation and implementation, may lead us to a tipping point," S&P credit analyst Takahira Ogawa said.

"India has been grap-

‘Oneworld’ alliance defers Kingfisher's entry

Ailing Kingfisher Airlines, which was suspended by IATA for non-payment of dues two days ago, would not join the global airlines' grouping 'oneworld' as slated later this month due to its precarious financial position.

"Kingfisher Airlines and 'oneworld' today agreed to put the airline's entry into the alliance on hold to give it time to strengthen its financial position," a joint statement said.

The liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned carrier was slated to formally join the alliance on February 10.

The development came a day after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suspended Kingfisher from its Geneva-based clearing house (ICH) due to nonpayment of dues to airline members.

Like other global

alliances, 'oneworld' includes 12 of the world's leading airlines and 20 affiliated carriers, like American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair Japan Airlines (JAL), Qantas and Royal Jordanian. Together, these airlines operate nearly 10,000 daily flights to more than 750 destinations across the globe.

The statement quoted 'oneworld' CEO Bruce Ashby as saying that "these are turbulent times for the airline industry in India and in many other parts of the world. We have been working closely with Kingfisher over the past months and it has become increasingly clear recently that the airline needs more time to resolve the financial issues it is confronting before it can be welcomed into oneworld."

He said the alliance would set a new joining date for Kingfisher, "once it is through this current period of turbulence". Mallya was quoted as saying that in view of "many priorities centred around Kingfisher's recapitalisation effort, we felt it prudent to defer our entry into the alliance for a little while."

pling with a political gridlock and the government's ability to implement measures to improve economic growth and fiscal prudence will be vital to boosting confidence," Ogawa said.

As per the report titled "Several Factors Could Weigh On India's Current Stable Sovereign Rating In 2012", high inflation, a weak government fiscal position, and slower economic growth have hurt investor confidence in the rupee, triggered a capital outflow, and weighed on the stable sovereign outlook on India in 2012.

"Our stable outlook on the 'BBB-' long-term rating on India currently reflects our expectation of strong economic growth in the medium term and gradually improving fiscal performances," Ogawa said.

India’s Q3 results beat market expectations Third week into the current results season, most of the top companies in India have surprised analysts and investors with betterthan-expected results for the quarter ended December 2011. On an aggregate basis, of the 75 among the BSE 200 companies that announced their results recently, total revenue grew by a healthy 25.6% compared to the year-ago period (Y-o-Y ), while net profit rose 5.6% (Y-o-Y ), an analysis by Edelweiss Financial Services showed.

India’s budget on March 16

India’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the annual budget for 2012/13 on March 16, while the railways budget will be presented on March 14, Pawan Kumar Bansal, the minister of parliamentary affairs, said on Tuesday. The budget session of parliament will start on March 12, Pawan Kumar told reporters. The government will present on March 15 the Economic Survey for 2011/12, a document on the state of economy, he said.

Piramal buys 5.5% more stake in Vodafone Piramal Healthcare has agreed to acquire additional 5.5% stake in cellular services operator Vodafone India for Rs 30.07 billion in cash. The stake will be acquired from ETHL Communications Holdings (Essar), and post the stake buy Piramal will hold about 11% in Vodafone India (VIL).

"The transaction follows the settlement between Vodafone and Essar over the sale of Essar's approximately 33% stake in VIL, announced in July 2011 and the purchase by Piramal of

approximately 5.5% of the issued share capital of VIL from Essar in August 2011," it said on Saturday.

The deal contemplates various options for Piramal to exit VIL in future, including through a potential public share sale

by VIL and by selling its stake back to Vodafone.

Piramal sold its formulations business to USbased Abbott in 2010 and has been looking to invest outside the pharma space. It recently announced its foray in the financial services segment. It has also

entered the real estate sector with the acquisition of IndiaReit Fund Advisors and IndiaReit Investment Managers.

Meanwhile, Piramal has raised Rs 18 billion through commercial papers to pay in part for raising its stake in Vodafone India unit, a company executive said on Monday.

The firm paid a yield of 10.65 per cent and 10.15 per cent for the April and March maturity commercial paper transactions, respectively, which was arranged by Kotak Mahindra Bank.

world

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

23

217 killed as Syrian forces shell Homs group In Focus Beirut: At least 217 people were killed in shelling by Syrian forces in the city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human rights said on Saturday. "The death toll is now at least 217 people killed in Homs, 138 of them killed in the Khalidiya district," Rami Abdulrahman, head of the British-based group, said citing witnesses.

Residents said Syrian forces began shelling the Khalidiya neighbourhood on Friday morning using artillery and mortars. They said at least 36 houses were completely destroyed with families inside.

"We were sitting inside our house when we started hearing the shelling. We felt the bombardment was falling

on our heads," said Waleed, a resident of Khalidiya.

It was not immediately clear what had prompted Syrian forces to launch such an intense bombardment at a time when diplomats at the UN Security Council are discussing a draft resolution on

an Arab League plan calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up power.

Homs is a stronghold of opponents calling for Assad to quit, and has become the heart of a growing insurgency against Assad forces.

One activist said resi-

dents were using primitive tools to rescue the people.

They feared many people were buried under the rubble.

"We are not getting any help, there are no ambulances or anything. We are removing the people with our own hands," he said, adding there were only two field hospitals treating the wounded.

Each one had a capacity to deal with 30 people, but he estimated the total number of wounded at 500.

"We have dug out at least 100 bodies so far, they are placed in the two mosques."

Activists said hundreds of people in the cities of Hama and Idlib took to the streets to show solidarity with the Homs victims.

India preparing to fight limited 74 dead in Egypt's worst conflict with China: US official soccer disaster

Washington: The Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to "fight a limited conflict" with China, said a top US intelligence official who added that "a major Sino-Indian conflict is not imminent".

"India is increasingly concerned about China's posture along their disputed border and Beijing's perceived aggressive posture in the Indian Ocean and AsiaPacific region," US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee. "The Indian Army believes a major SinoIndian conflict is not imminent, but the Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to fight a limited conflict along the disputed border, and is working to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean," he added.

The official also said that India has expressed support for a strong US military posture in East Asia and US engagement in Asia.

On Iran, Clapper said that Tehran is still undecided on whether to make a nuclear bomb though it has the ability. "There is dissension and debate in the political hierarchy of Iran (over whether to build a nuclear weapon)," Clapper told the hearing.

While weighing the pros and cons of making a nuclear weapon, Iranian politicians have not yet reached "unanimity" on the issue, he said, adding that though Iran is capable of producing a nuclear weapon, the Islamic Republic is not building one right now, reported Xinhua.

Clapper also said Iran was more likely to respond with an attack on the US. The new US sanctions would have a great impact on Iran, but they were not likely to result in the fall of its regime, he said.

CIA Director David Petraeus, who testified at the same hearing, said new sanctions on Iran "have been biting much, much more in recent weeks", but it remained to be seen.

Port Said, Egypt: At least 74 people were killed and over 1,000 injured when Egyptian soccer fans staged a pitch invasion in the city of Port Said, the deadliest incident since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak from power. Angry politicians decried lack of security at the match between Port Said team al-Masry and Cairo's Al Ahli, Egypt's most successful club, and blamed the nation's leaders for allowing - or even causing - the tragedy.

"Down with military rule," thousands of Egyptians chanted at the main train station Cairo where they awaited the return of fans, quickly turning the biggest disaster in the nation's soccer history into a political demonstration against army rule.

"The people want the execution of the field marshal," they shouted, turning on the ruler of the military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who tried to assuage anger by vowing

Suu Kyi gets clearance to run for Parliament Yangon: Myanmar's E l e c t i o n Commission gave opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi the green light to run for parliamentary by-elections, another step toward political openness in a country emerging from nearly a halfcentury of iron-fist- Aung San Suu Kyi ed military rule. Suu releasing hundreds of political Kyi announced her intention prisoners, signing cease-fire last month to run in the April deals with ethnic rebels, elections but was waiting for official approval from the comincreasing media freedoms mission, which said it had to and easing censorship laws. scrutinize her eligibility. A Myanmar's government hopes spokesman for Suu Kyi's party the rapid changes will prompt the West to lift economic sancsaid the commission approved tions that were imposed on her candidacy and would the country during the milimake a formal announcement. tary junta's rule.

"There is no objection to her Western governments and nomination and we can say the United Nations have said that her candidacy is officially they would review the sancaccepted," Nyan Win said. tions only after gauging A nominally civilian govwhether the April polls are ernment took office last carried out freely and fairly.

March. The new government The April election is being has surprised even some of the country's toughest critics by held to fill 48 parliamentary

seats vacated by lawmakers who were appointed to the Cabinet and other posts. Even if Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party wins all 48 seats, it will have minimal power. The 440-seat lower house of Parliament is heavily weighted with military appointees and allies of the former junta. But a victory would be historic for Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate who spent most of the last two decades under house arrest. She would have a voice in Parliament for the first time after decades as the country's opposition leader.

Her party won a sweeping victory in the 1990 general election but the junta refused to honor the results. Suu Kyi will run for a seat representing Kawhmu, a poor district south of Yangon where villagers' livelihoods were devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

Iran issues ultimatum to India over gas field Tehran: Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to an Indian consortium over the development of a gas field whose delay by India has been attributed to western pressure.

Tension between Iran and the West rose last month when Washington and the European Union imposed the toughest sanctions yet on Iran in a bid to curb its nuclear programme. "Possibly foreign pressures played a role in influencing Indian's delays to develop the field," he said.

Philippine quake kills 43 Manila: At least 43 people were killed when a 6.8 magnitude quake struck off the coast of the central Philippines on Monday, officials said. The powerful quake hit a narrow strait between the heavily populated islands of Negros and Cebu causing buildings to collapse, cracking roads and bridges and shutting down the power supply. Local military chiefs said 43 people were confirmed killed but officials warned the death toll may rise. Dozens of others are feared injured or are missing with landslides having blocked roads for rescuers in mountainous areas.

Islamists win majority in Kuwait parliament

to find the culprits in a phone call to a TV channel.

The post-match pitch invasion provoked panic among the crowd as rival fans fought, with most of the deaths among people who were trampled in the crush of the panicking crowd or who fell or were thrown from terraces, witnesses and health workers said.

"I saw people holding machetes and knives. Some were hit with these weapons, other victims were flung from their seats, while the invasion happened," Usama El Tafahni, a journalist in Port Said who attended the match, said.

Many of the Al Ahli fans involved were "ultras", dedicated supporters of the team.

Maldives president resigns amid protests

Male: Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on Tuesday following weeks of public protests over his controversial order to arrest a senior judge, the military said.

Brig. Ahmed Shiyam told reporters that Nasheed has agreed to step down and hand over the presidency to his Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan. There was no immediate comment from Nasheed. The resignation would come after weeks of protests in this Indian Ocean island nation known more for its lavish beach resorts than political turmoil. It also would mark a stunning crash for Nasheed, a former human rights campaigner who defeated the nation's longtime ruler in the country's first multiparty election. Nasheed is also an environmental celebrity, traveling the world to persuade government's to combat the climate change.

Kuwait City: Kuwait's Islamist-led opposition has won a landslide majority in Kuwait's snap polls by securing 34 seats in the 50member parliament, officials results released on Friday showed. Sunni Islamists took 23 seats compared with just nine in the dissolved parliament, while liberals were the big losers, winning only two places against five previously. No women were elected, with the four female MPs of the previous parliament all losing their seats.

Indian-American Preet Bharara appears on Time cover Washington: Eminent Indian-American attorney Preet Bharara has made it to the cover of the prestigious Time magazine for his crusade against Wall Street corruption and irregularities, including insider trading.

"This man is busting Wall Street" - Bharar's picture appeared in the latest edition of Time last week, the day on which he announced to have taken action against one of the oldest Swiss banks for having evaded American taxes and helping in flight of US money. Currently US Attorney for New York, Firozpur-born Bharara is engaged in a number of high-profile corruption cases.

Gaddafi's bloodied shirt, ring up for sale London: Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's wedding ring and the shirt he wore when he was killed by rebels last October have been put up for sale for $2 million. The disgraced dictator was wearing the silver ring and bloodied beige shirt when he was dragged from a drainpipe near his home town of Sirte before being beaten and shot. Libyan national Ahmed Warfali is apparently asking for $2 million for the items which somehow came into his possession. He believes he could have attracted a higher value if he had been selling them in Europe. But critics say Warfali should not be selling the Gaddafi items.

Mubarak to be sent to jail for first time Cairo: Egyptian officials say Hosni Mubarak will shortly be moved to a prison hospital as soon as the facility there is upgraded. They said the hospital in Tora prison in Cairo will be upgraded in "record time", but there is no set date for the move.

Since his arrest last April, he was in custody first at a hospital of Sharm el-Sheikh and later at an army hospital outside Cairo.

Slippers hurled at UN chief Beit Hanoun (Gaza Strip): Relatives of Palestinians held in Israeli jails flung slippers at an armored convoy carrying visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon and tried to block the vehicles from entering the Gaza Strip. About 40 relatives of Palestinian prisoners gathered at the Erez Crossing between Gaza and Israel.

24

PakISTan-BanGladeSh-SrI lanka

In Focus 10 killed in Karachi violence Karachi: In the renewed wave of sectarian and ethnic killings in Pakistan, at least 10 people were killed in Karachi. Some of the target killings appeared to be because of sectarian disputes. Security has been beefed up and a ban has been imposed on pillion riding in the city as a precautionary measure. Police and paramilitary rangers had carried out raids in different parts of the city and rounded up some 50 to 60 suspects who were being interrogated. The victims in the latest series of bloody violence included the wife, daughter and driver of Mir Bakht Yar Domki, the sitting lawmaker from Sibi in the restive Baluchistan province.

They were gunned down near up market Clifton area while they were returning home after attending a wedding. The killings appeared to be the result of a family enmity which is common in Baluchistan.

Pakistan gets new fighter planes from US Islamabad: With an eye to India, Pakistan on Monday received the last of 18 F-16 fighter jets from the US. Dawn said the primary consideration for purchasing the new aircraft was to improve the fighting capability of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) vis-a-vis the Indian Air Force. The last F-16D Block 52 aircraft as well as the first two of the upgraded fighter jets have arrived in the country.

The fighter aircraft is equipped with state-ofthe-art avionics suite and latest weapons with night precision attack capability.

3 killed in Pak factory collapse Lahore: A three-storey factory collapsed in the Pakistani city of Lahore after a gas explosion, killing at least three people and trapping dozens, emergency officials said.

"The factory has completely collapsed and two houses next to it as well," an emergency official at the site said adding authorities were having trouble getting heavy rescue machinery to the area because of narrow streets.

US warns Americans over safety risk in Pakistan Washington: The US has issued a travel advisory, warning its citizens about the risks while travelling to Pakistan amid recent developments and tension in US-Pak ties in the aftermath of the NATO raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Replacing its earlier travel warning dated April 8, 2011, the US State Department asked its citizens to avoid protests and large gatherings, which are happening in Pakistan amidst turmoil in the country. The State Department said the presence of the al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and indigenous militant sectarian groups pose a potential danger to US citizens throughout Pakistan.

Hafiz Saeed to join Pak politics?

Islamabad: Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has kept the guessing game on about his reported political ambitions. In Karachi, he parried questions on whether the JuD would declare itself a political party and participate in elections.

There is speculation that Saeed plans to contest upcoming elections either to the Punjab assembly or the National assembly, the lower house of parliament. He said it was a "misconception" to not consider JuD a political party as its activities were of political nature. “We believe the politics of polarization harms the Ummah (Muslim brotherhood )," Saeed was quoted as saying.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar 'sent letter to Obama' Washington: Mullah Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, has reportedly sent US President Barack Obama a letter, indicating an interest to initiate peace talks. The unsigned letter reportedly carries a message from the insurgent group's leader to Obama, asking him to release senior Taliban fighters from Guantanamo Bay as a first step towards peace talks in Afghanistan. White House officials, however, said that it cannot be confirmed who had sent the letter.

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Pak doesn't want war with India: Gilani Islamabad: Pakistan and India have fought four wars on the Kashmir issue but can't afford any more in "this 21st century", Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said while calling for resolving issues through dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus.

Gilani said with four wars already fought on Kashmir issue, the region still was a flashpoint. "But in this 21st century, we cannot afford wars". Pakistan and India have had armed conflicts in 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

"We want to resolve the issues through dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus," the prime minister said.

Gilani said Sunday that Kashmir issue remained the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy.

"We are committed to continue with the moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris. The whole

nation including all the political parties are united on the cause of Kashmir," Gilani said while addressing the Kashmir Convention held here. The prime minister added that since Pakistan is a responsible country as well as a responsible nuclear power, it has to make responsible policies.

"We want to resolve the issues through dialogue, diplomacy, prudent policy and national consensus," he remarked.

Gilani said the country's policies should be made with

Gilani should have acted on our orders in Zardari case: Pak SC

national consensus and by the chosen representatives of masses and not by individuals. He cited the example of Pakistan-China friendship and said the whole nation was united on it and wanted to take this friendship forward. On Afghanistan, the prime minister said after the Nov 26, 2011 attack on Pakistani border posts, the whole nation under the democratic government stood united and solid and "we halted NATO supply line, got the Shamsi airbase vacated and boycotted the Bonn Conference".

The Shamsi airbase was used by the Americans to launch drone attacks while the Bonn conference was focussed on the future of Afghanistan.

"Gone are the days, when the foreign policy was made by individuals. Now, the policies would be made by the chosen representatives and through the parliament," he said.

The prime minister referred to his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Maldives and said the two sides agreed to discuss all the core issues including Kashmir.

Regarding Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, Gilani said it was approved by the cabinet with a consensus decision. He clarified that MFN was not a special status as generally thought, rather it was nondiscrimination in trade like with other 100 countries of the world.

The decision was meant to hold trade talks, but the government would never compromise on national interests, he said.

He also mentioned that the cross LoC (Line of Control) trade since 2008 had reached around Rs.15 billion. "But the cross LoC trade does not mean that we will back out from the issue of Kashmir."

Don’t relay on ‘imported solutions’: Rajapaksa

Islamabad: Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani should have written to Swiss authorities to revive money laundering charges against Asif Ali Zardari before invoking the defence of immunity for the President, Pakistan's Supreme Court said as it heard a contempt case against the prime minister. The apex court adjourned till the contempt case against Gilani after hearing arguments that the Premier had done nothing wrong by deciding not to act on its order to reopen graft cases against Zardari.

Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, one of Pakistan's top legal minds, and the sevenjudge bench led by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk sparred on various technical issues during the proceedings.

The premier had personally appeared before the bench when it first took up the contempt case on January 19 but he was exempted from further hearings.

Ahsan insisted that the President had complete

immunity from prosecution in Pakistan and abroad and the government could not ask foreign authorities to act against him.

The bench, however, maintained that the government should have acted on the apex court's order to write to Swiss authorities to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari and then invoked the defence of presidential immunity.

Ahsan then said Gilani had acted on the advice of his legal aides, including the law minister and the law secretary, when he decided not to write the letter to the Swiss authorities.

He said there was no harm in writing the letter but pointed out at the same time that contempt of court would not be committed if the letter is not written. Ahsan further said a Constitutional provision gives the prime minister immunity for his actions and maintained that no contempt case could be made against the premier.

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa goes through the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, that investigated alleged wartime abuses during the country's civil war, in Colombo.

“It is the duty of all parties in the country to solve problems according to the people's wishes by participating in this Parliamentary Select Committee rather than relying on imported solutions and utilising foreign influences,” Rajapaksa has said.

Addressing the nation at Anuradhapura, on the occa-

sion of the Sri Lankan Independence Day, he said that Sri Lanka believed that the mechanism for solving the question is the Parliamentary Select Committee. “We are engaged in the task of creating a stable peace and national unity after liberating the country from terrorism. This is not a task confined to one individual or a party. Remember, the country would not benefit by trying to please selfish groups who receive foreign funds.

Similarly solutions cannot be obtained by implementing the proposals of extremist groups of whatever persuasion. What is required today is the formulation of policies based on a vision that is commonly applicable to the whole country,” he said.

The President was directly referring to the Indiainspired 13th Amendment plus, and the intransigence on the part of the Tamil National Alliance to join the PSC, unless it was given several guarantees.

Washington/Islamabad: The US has asked Pakistan to snap the ties between the ISI and the Taliban and act against terrorist safe havens after a NATO report revealed that the Pakistan's spy agency was secretly helping the insurgents to recover lost ground in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "raised many of these issues when she was in Pakistan last fall", State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland informed when asked about a leaked NATO report published in the British media about the ISI's "manipulation" of Afghan Taliban's senior leadership.

"So from that perspective, obviously this is not new our concerns about safe havens, our concerns about whether together we are

believe to be true."

The classified report should not have come out into the open, she said, suggesting, "It was not designed for any purpose other than to help those in the field understand what Taliban detainees were saying."

"So, it was in no way Hina Rabbani Khar designed to impact on our doing enough to go after ongoing efforts to get back on these groups, our interest in track with Pakistan, which concooperating with the tinue," the State Department Pakistanis to do more," spokesperson said.

Nuland said.

The NATO report that However, Nuland sought has been prepared from thouto play down the import of sands of interrogations says the report saying, "The conthat the Taliban have wide support among the Afghan text, as described by NATO, people. is that this is basically a sumIt alleges that Pakistan mary of the views of those knows the locations of senior Taliban that we have in Taliban leaders. Pakistan has, detention. So it's a summary however, rejected the accusaof what they think, what they

tions and called it "ridiculous".

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in Kabul, "This is an old wine in an even older bottle" and "we can disregard this as a potentially strategic leak".

Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Basit said in Islamabad "We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle."

The secret report said: "Pakistan's manipulation of the Taliban senior leadership continues unabatedly."

At the Pentagon, spokesperson Navy Capt.

John Kirby said the US had "long standing concerns" about links between the elements of the ISI and the Taliban and wants Pakistan to "cut off" those ties.

Snap ISI-Taliban ties, US tells Pakistan

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Amy chief Gen Singh wins Round 1 in apex court

The unprecedented legal battle between the government and army chief Gen V K Singh over what should be the latter’s date of birth got underway in the Supreme Court with Justice R M Lodha saying the defence ministry’s rejection of Singh’s statutory complaint was “vitiated”.

A day after the army chief had a surprise late evening interaction with the government’s chief trouble shooter, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the hearing saw the Centre standing by its decision to treat 1950 as the gritty general’s year of birth.

Attorney general G E Vahanvati told the bench of Justices Lodha and H L Gokhale that the statutory complaint was rejected as it was not maintainable.

While the bench did not go into questioning the merits of the decision, Lodha expressed disapproval of the process the government followed to reject Singh’s statutory complaint.

Army chief age row: SC questions govt procedure, defers hearing till Feb 10 Defence minister A K Antony had issued an order on December 30 turning down the statutory complaint of Gen Singh that his date of birth be treated in Army's records as May 10, 1951 and not as May 10, 1950.

Court dismisses Kalmadi’s plea to visit Pune

A Delhi court dismissed sacked CWG Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi’s plea seeking exemption for two days from appearing before the court in order to visit Pune for a medical check-up and to meet his family members.

Kalmadi’s plea for exemption from personal appearance on February 3 and 4 was rejected by special judge Talwant Singh on the ground that he was earlier allowed to go to Pune for a day but failed to avail the opportunity and attended the court proceedings on that day.

“The accused (Kalmadi) was earlier granted permission to visit his grand daughter (in Pune) on January 28 but on his own he chose not to avail the opportunity and he was present in the court on January 28,” the court said. Regarding Kalmadi’s medical check-up, the judge said he is already undergoing treatment at two private hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon and these hospitals were among the best for treatment of heart ailments.

The judge, however, said Kalmadi could go to Pune on February 11 and 12 as the court would remain closed.

V K Singh

Posing questions to the government, the bench was of the view that the defence ministry's order of July 21, 2011 holding the date of birth as May 10, 1950 was based on the opinion of attorney general and so was the case when the December 30 order was passed on the statutory complaint.

After the court asked whether the government would like to withdraw the December 30 order, attorney general G E Vahanvati said he would seek instruction from the government on the issue.

The court said there were other remedies available for Gen Singh if the government withdraws its December 30 order.

It said in that case Gen Singh's statutory complaint against July 21 order can be reconsidered by the authorities and there was also an option for him to approach the

Armed Forces Tribunal.

During the hearing, the bench observed that when it was held that Gen Singh's complaint was not maintainable, the only remedy he had was to approach the apex court.

From the outset, the bench questioned the decision-making process of the government.

"We are not concerned as much with the decision but we are concerned with the decision-making process which is vitiated as the July 21 order was also based on the consideration of opinion given by the attorney general and when the statutory complaint of the Army chief was decided on December 30, there also attorney general's opinion was taken into consideration," the bench observed.

The bench further said, "The material on record will not withstand the test of principle of natural justice and principle of ultra vires."

The attoreny general and the solicitor general Rohinton Nariman defended the government action and said on the facts no prejudice is caused to Gen Singh.

Reacting to the court order, one of Gen Singh's counsel Punit Bali said they were definitely happy with the order but would not go into the merits of the case since it is sub judice.

After Rushdie shame, it’s now Taslima ‘lajja’ for India Before the storm over Salman Rushdie’s absence from the Jaipur Literature Festival could abate, a fresh one started after the Kolkata Book Fair cancelled exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin’s book release, saying the government had warned of security problems.

Organizers, however, cited problems with the auditorium as the official reason to call off the event to launch Taslima’s latest book ‘Nirbashan’ (Exile).

Writers and book lovers were taken aback, more so because the gag on Rushdie at Jaipur was the main buzz at this year’s Kolkata mela. The publishers released the book at their own stall amid a small gathering of writers and rights activists.

The author of ‘Lajja' (Shame), who lives in exile under state protection in India, was scathing in her reaction. Fundamentalists had been emboldened by their success in keeping Rushdie away from Jaipur, she said. “The mullahs scored a victory by preventing Rushdie from coming to Jaipur. They celebrated by not allowing my

Taslima Nasrin

book to be launched in Kolkata. What next?”

She said her hopes of a better Bengal under Mamata Banerjee had been dashed. “Like the CPM, Mamata is also soft on fundamentalists. All parties are scared of fanatics. That encourages fundamentalists.” Mamata is also the state’s home minister.

Taslima claimed on Twitter that Kolkata Police had arm-twisted book fair organizers to cancel the launch. The Publishers and Booksellers’ Guild first claimed the auditorium was not ready, but then clarified in the evening that they feared the release could have affected the security of thousands of visitors at the fair.

25

In divine light

By Rajen Vakil After Ashtavakra had defeated Bandi in King Janaka’s court, the king said to him. “I have heard your divine voice and the arguments they have put forth. Even though in a physical body, you are not of this world; you are a god in human form. I give this Bandi to you to punish him as you please.”

Ashtavakra said, “I have no reason to keep this Bandi alive so let him be drowned in the river so he can go back to Lord Varuna, his father.”

Then Bandi spoke, “I have no fear on drowning in the river. Very soon all the Brahmins who have gone to my father’s yagna will return and Ashtavakra will meet Kahod, his father.”

At that very moment all the Brahmins whom Bandi had got drowned over a period of twelve years rose from the river.

Kahod then addressed King Janaka, “The meaning of the word putra (son) is one who delivers the father from hell. This, my son has done. Even a weak person can have a strong son, and even one with little knowledge and wisdom can have a son who is wise beyond his years. O king, I am very happy today, may the lord of death destroy your enemies and may you be ever victorious.”

Ashtavakra then took his father to meet his mother. It was a happy reunion after twelve long years. His father then told Ashtavakra to enter into

The Story of Ashtavakra (Part-6) the river called Samanga.

Ashtavakra did as told and when he came out, his deformed body, which was crooked in eight places, was healed of the deformities. He was free from the curse his father had given him while in his mother’s womb.

Rishi Lomesh, who had been narrating the story of Ashtavakra to Yudhisthira and his brothers, asked them to take a dip in the holy river that had washed away the deformities of Ashtavakra’s body. He added that whoever listens to or recounts the story of this great rishi will lead a long, healthy, and prosperous life.

Everything changes in life. A certain person, thing, or event that attracts us today could repel us tomorrow. Then again, a new idea could strike and the same things attract us again. Our inner states of like and dislike swing constantly, consis-

tent with the law of the pendulum. We interpret that people have changed and that is why we are not attracted to them anymore. The scriptures say that everything that happens in life happens because of the action of three forces. Every event or thing or person is merely a conductor of a force.

The same person or event may, at a certain time, be conducting an active force and so we like it, and at other time, be conducting a passive force and so we dislike it. The person or event is the same, nothing has changed but the force that is conducted is different. The three forces that make up events follow a law called ‘The Law of Octaves’.

Octave means eight and the eight crooked parts of Ashtavakra’s body represent the workings of this law.

More on octaves in next week…

All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

Canada report claims ‘payoff’ to Praful Patel In a major embarrassment for heavy industries minister Praful Patel, the Canadian police filed a case in an Ottawa court against a local businessman of Indian origin for bribing Patel to get an Air India contract when he was India's civil aviation minister.

The police alleged that an Indian- born Canadian businessman Nazir Karigar described to others how he funnelled a $ 250,000 bribe to Patel when he was the aviation minister, according to a report published in a leading Canadian newspaper ‘The Globe and Mail.’

The federal justice department is planning to prosecute the businessman on charges that he violated the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act - a law that forbids the payment of bribes abroad.

The case is scheduled to be heard at Ottawa's Ontario Superior Court of Justice in September, the newspaper report states.

A rattled Patel dashed off a letter to Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh denying the allegations and seeking his help to take up the issue with the Canadian authorities. Patel has informed the Manmohan Singh that the New Delhi bureau chief of The Globe and Mail, Stephanie Nolan, had met him before the report was published and he had "in no uncertain terms denied these allegations as being baseless and preposterous."

Patel has stated in his letter to the PM that the allegation relates to a tender that Air India had floated in or about 2006 for the supply of facial recognition software/ machine readable boarding cards.

Patel's letter also states that "the tender remained

inconclusive and was scrapped virtually at the inception. No follow up action has been taken in this regard since then". He has forwarded the documents from Air India pertaining to the tender for the computerised face biometric passenger identification system to Singh. "I earnestly request you that the factual position can be conveyed to the authorities in Canada in order to avoid any embarrassment to the Government of India or to me personally," Patel adds in his letter to the Prime Minister.

The case filed by the Royal Canadian Mountain Police against Karigar also includes Hasan Gafoor, a former Mumbai police commissioner.

Gafoor conspired with Karigar to rig a contract worth $ 100million, the police said.

In an interview at his office in New Delhi, Patel said he was baffled that Canadian authorities could implicate him in an alleged bribery scheme that he had never heard of.

26

INDIA

In Focus Aamir Khan meets villagers who closed liquor vend People of Changal village in Punjab got to see Bollywood star Aamir Khan pat their backs for their effort. Changal residents had launched a strong campaign against liquor and forced a vend there to close.

Khan met the villagers through a video conference at the local government school where his eponymous production house had set up the system for the purpose. He asked sarpanch Paramjit Singh and other residents about how they were able to do this when they stayed in a region known for its love for alcohol. The talk lasted 20 minutes. He also asked women in the village about how they felt when the vend was closed. Gurmail Kaur said most of the meagre earnings of her family were drowned in liquor consumption earlier and now, all of it was being utilized for food and fulfilling children's educational requirements.

India to clamp down on lavish weddings

India is set to clamp-down on lavish weddings and cap the amount poor families can spend on them in an attempt to reduce rising debt and dowry-related crimes. Despite being regularly celebrated in Bollywood films, glitzy Indian weddings have been blamed for putting pressure on poor families to borrow money to finance garish ceremonies and meet excessive dowry demands.Campaigners believe these pressures are the cause of many 'dowry murders’ of new brides and debt-related suicides of farmers in rural India. They believe many female foetuses are aborted because of family fears of high wedding costs sometimes up to ten times their income.

Modi seeks country-wide ban on cow slaughter Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi sought country-wide protection of cow progeny and a ban on its slaughter. “People should press the Central government for enacting a law for the protection of cow progeny and particularly for a ban on ferrying of beef in railways,” Modi said, while speaking at an event in Gandhinagar. The Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act 2011, imposes complete ban on cowslaughter, transportation and selling of cowbeef. It came into force from October last year. As per the Act those involved in cowslaughter and other related activities will be subjected to imprisonment of up to seven years as well as a fine of `50,000.

Aakash 2 tablets to be made in India: Kapil Sibal The low-cost Aakash tablet PC will be made completely indigenous and its production base diversified, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said."We are now going to diversify production base and indigenise Aakash tablet. We are planning to create eco-system for end to end development of Aakash in India. This will create enormous opportunities for R&D institutions, developers, electronic production houses," he said at a function here. He said the IITs and the ITIs are onboard on development of the device which has so far reached out to a handful of students.The HRD Ministry has already said that it will require an additional 22 crore units of Aakash and for this fresh tenders will be issued enabling other companies along with the present manufacturer Datawind to also get a chance. At present, the device is available to students at `1100 after government subsidy.

Revoke AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir: LJP Expressing concern over reports of excesses by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, LJP demanded revoking of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in the state. "We strongly condemn the protection given to the Army in the form of AFSPA. Before tackling terrorism in the Valley, government should first tackle the excesses by security forces against our own people by withdrawing the Act," LJP Secretary General Abdul Khaliq said.

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Ethiopians win Vadodara Marathon

Thousands of people from across the country and overseas participated in Vadodara International Half Marathon but the Ethiopians and Kenyans walked away with top prizes in professional category yet again. Both Ethiopians and Kenyans finished in top three positions in the male and female elite 21 kilometres category.

In 2011 marathon too, Kenyans and Ethiopians had bagged most prizes.

Over 250 international runners had registered with Vadodara Marathon (VM) for the third edition that was dedicated to Maharaja Sayajirao III, erstwhile Baroda state’s tallest ruler. Eager participants turned up at Vaccine Institute Ground by 6 am and queued up at the starting line. Chief minister Narendra Modi arrived soon after and flagged off the marathon. He first praised the efforts of Vadodara Marathon and congratulated the organizers and citizens for hosting such a successful event. “Winning or losing doesn’t matter in sports.

Participation is important. And, I have

Ethiopia’s Shiferaw Belery and Mekkebu Birkeayele finished first and second

always said ‘Ramshe Gujarat to Jeetshe Gujarat’. When it comes to marathon, Vadodara has set a benchmark for cities that too are organizing such races. I congratulate all of you,” Modi said to a cheering crowd.

The race was flagged off by 7 am.

City’s eminent sportspersons and international players took off first and were followed by elite category runners. Modi waved at the runners who didn’t miss the opportunity to click him by their mobiles cameras. “Barodians came for-

ward to make this event a success. While the professional athletes competed well in the elite category those in the five kilometres category too had their share of fun and race. We are most touched with the participation of differently abled people and their neversay-die spirit,” VM director Tejal Amin said.

Ethiopia-based Shiferaw Andulam, who came first in 21-kilometres elite men’s category, said, “This is my first marathon in India and I must say that the experience was great. Apart from best facilities during the race, we also enjoyed the warm hospitality of the city.” Twentyyear-old Shiferaw, who completed the race in 61.02 minutes, is a student, who also works part time.

Twenty-one-year old Yebrgual Melse from Ethiopia completed the race within 61.02 minutes in female 21 kilometres category to bag first prize. “I work as hotel manager and have participated earlier in Mumbai and Nagpur marathons. I had been working hard to win this marathon,” Melse said.

Facebook files compliance Goa, Kerala best states in report before Delhi court which to be born in India Facebook India filed its compliance report before the Delhi court which had ordered it and 21 other websites to remove objectionable content from their websites.Google India also told the court that it has removed certain web pages from the Internet on which objections were raised by the petitioners.Meanwhile, Facebook, Yahoo and

Microsoft told the court that they have no role to play in the case and there is no cause of action against them in the matter.Additional Civil Judge Praveen Singh also posed a query to the counsel appearing for petitioner Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi, as to whether the blog service-providing companies can be made a party to the case for any content posted by the users on the blogs.The court, which will further hear the matter at 12:30 PM today, also asked Google Inc as to why it was not coming up "properly" with a reply and brushed aside its contention that it had received the copy of the judgement and other documents related to case only.

"Why are you (Google Inc) not coming properly with your reply?" the court said."Don't tell me you have been served only on Friday.

After all this hullabaloo that has been created in the last few months you should have been prepared," it stated.The court also asked the petitioner to supply the copies of all the documents relied upon, to all the opposite parties.The court had on December 20 last year, in a ex-parte order issued summons to 22 social networking websites asking them to remove "anti-religious" or "antisocial" content in the form of photographs, videos or text which might hurt religious sentiments.It had on December 24 set February 6 as deadline for the websites for the same.

Santosh Pandey, the counsel appearing for complainant Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi, had assured the court that he would provide the companies with the copy of the complaint and other related documents. The court's order had come amid a raging controversy over monitoring the content on Internet and of those websites depending on user generated contents, which arose after Union Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal had asked the social networking websites to "screen" the contents.

Goa and Kerala seem to be the best place to be born in India, while Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha are the worst.

According to the latest Union health ministry data, Goa recorded the lowest infant mortality rate - 10 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, followed by Kerala at 13. MP recorded the highest IMR at 62, followed by UP (61) and Odisha (61).

MP, which has the highest IMR, also recorded the largest dip along with Himachal Pradesh, by five points between 2009 and 2010. According to the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) data, the figures augur well for the entire country.

IMR has dropped further by three points from 50 to 47 infants deaths per 1,000 live births during 2010.

The IMR for rural areas has dropped by four points from 55 to 51 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, while the urban rate stands at 31 from the previous 34/1,000.

Urban IMR was the highest in Chhattisgarh and UP 44 infant deaths per 1,000 births.

States like Assam with an IMR of 58, Bihar (48), Chhattisgarh (51), Haryana (48), Madhya Pradesh (62), Odisha (61), Rajasthan (55) and Meghalaya (55) still have IMRs more than the national average of 47.

In Maharashtra, 28 chil-

dren died per 1,000 live births, whereas Delhi's IMR stood at 30. West Bengal's IMR was recorded at 31 (as against 33 in 2009) and Tamil Nadu's at 24 (28 in 2009).

Around 11 states have shown decline of more than the national average decline (dip of more than 3 points).

These include Bihar (from IMR of 52 in 2009 to 48), Gujarat (48 to 44), MP (67 to 62), Odisha (65 to 61), Punjab (38 to 34), Rajasthan (59 to 55), Tamil Nadu (28 to 24), Himachal Pradesh (45 to 40), Meghalaya (59 to 55), Sikkim (34 to 30) and Tripura (31 to 27).

Dr Ajay Khera, deputy commissioner child health and immunization, said, "One of the main reasons for this dip in overall IMR is the attention states have given to neonatal health. Another factor has been the setting up of 340 sick and new born child units (SNCUs) and 9800 newborn care corners."

According to the Union ministry's plans, all district hospitals will have a SNCU to handle critical neonatal cases over the next five years.

They will mainly cater to children born at full term with low birth weight.

Low-birth weight babies have a greater risk for developing respiratory symptoms, including wheezing, coughing and pulmonary infections that increases their chances of mortality.

2G scam: SC scraps all 122 licences granted by Raja Continued from page 1 In his application, he had said under the 2003 decision of the empowered Group of Ministers (GoM) approved by the cabinet, the pricing formula for spectrum was required to be finalised jointly by the department of telecommunications (DoT) and the finance ministry headed by Chidambaram at that time.

In the 2 G verdict the Supreme Court which imposed a fine of Rs 50 million each on three telecom

companies, directed regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to make fresh recommendations on allocation of 2G licences.

Asking the government to take steps on the recommendations of TRAI within a month, a bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said the allocation of spectrum will be done through the policy of auction within four months.

The order came on petitions filed by NGO CPIL and Subramanian Swamy alleging

scam in the allocation of spectrum licences by Raja in January, 2008 during the tenure of UPA-I government, on which the CAG had assumed the presumptive loss of up to Rs 1,760 billion.

The 122 licences were given

by Raja for over Rs 90 billion, while 3G auctions for a smaller number of licences had fetched the government a sum of Rs 690 billion.

The companies that are set to lose on account of the cancellation of the licences are Uninor (joint venture

between Unitech and Telenor of Norway), Loop Telecom, Sistema Shyam (joint venture between Shyam and Sistema of Russia), Etisalat DB (joint venture between Swan and Etisalat of UAE), S Tel, Videocon, Tatas and Idea.

Among the 122 licences issued by Raja in January 2008 on first-come first-serve basis, Uninor was allotted 22 pan India licences, Loop 21, Sistema-Shyam 21, EtisalatDB 15, S Tel 6, Videocon 21, Idea 9 and Tatas 3.

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

27

Isro crisis: CAG puts Madhavan Nair in dock for Devas deal In Focus The Comptroller and Auditor General has severely indicted former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and senior officials of Indian Space Research Organisation and Antrix Corporation for their role in the S-band deal with Devas Multimedia. The CAG report is expected to be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming budget session.

"A transparent, objective and documented system was not in place to carry out functions such as allocation of transponders, finalization of Insat contracts, and frequency management. Critical decisions were being made by only two or three officers of DoS/ISRO. The multiple responsibilities of officials in ISRO and Antrix resulted in conflict of interest and in the present case their decision making proved disadvantageous to their parent organization," the CAG report said.

According to details of the CAG report, the most

critical failure was that Nair played five key roles that led to severe lapses, shortcomings and conflict of interest.

As chairman of ISRO, Nair "appointed Dr Shankara Committee to examine the proposals submitted by M/s Forge Advisors, USA in April 2004 proposing therein to introduce Devas service in the country. He mandated Dr Shankara Committee to finalise the financial aspects of the proposal but the committee did not have any financial members. The com-

mittee submitted its report in January 2005, in the very same month Antrix-Devas deal was signed", the CAG report said.

As chairman of Antrix, Nair allowed ISR's commercial arm to sign "transponder lease agreement against a stipulation of SATCOM policy. He authorized executive director Antrix to sign Antrix-Devas agreement, the terms of which were heavily loaded in favour of Devas including heavy penalty for the delayed delivery of satellites," the report said.

As secretary, Department of Space, Nair "put up a Cabinet note seeking financial sanction for the design, development and launch of GSAT-6 satellite in which the fact that the satellite was being realized for a specific customer was concealed".

The Cabinet was given the impression that several firms had submitted Expression of Interest "when in reality DoS

had already prior to approaching the Cabinet inked the deal with Devas", the CAG report said.

In his role as chairman, Space Commission, Nair "chaired the 104th meeting in May 2005 and 114th meeting in October 2009 in which the proposal seeking financial sanction was approved by Space Commission for GSAT-6 and 6A satellites respectively. In both these meetings the position that these two satellites were being specifically developed for Devas was not brought to the notice of the commission", the report said.

As chairman, ICC ( Insat Coordination Committee), Nair "did not convene a single meeting of ICC after 2004. Thus the views/concerns/interests of key stakeholders represented through secretaries of ministries and departments concerned were effectively blocked off in the decision making process."

Guj Lokayukta appointment: Now, Kadva Patels SC admits Modi's plea welcome tribal bahus

Necessity is the mother of not only invention, but also acceptance. Seven tribal women will marry Kadva Patels of north Gujarat in a specially organized mass marriage on Sunday, reflecting a drastic change in the social fabric of the region, forced by a skewed sex ratio.

The event has been organized by Nano Baar Gaam Kadva Patidar Samaj, representing 12 villages between Gandhinagar and Mehsana, like Sardhav, Pethapur, Kalol and Randheja. The tribal girls are from Dahod, Bharuch, Vadodara and Panchmahal.

Interestingly, the Mota Baar Gaam Kadva Patiodar Samaj had only last week solemnized nine marriages of Patel youths, three of whom had tribal brides! There was a time when a Patel boy or girl marrying outside the community was considered sacrilege.

Mumbai serial blasts suspect claims he trained with Osama Haroon Rashid Naik Sheikh, one of three men accused of the triple blasts in Mumbai in July last year, allegedly spent some time with Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2001.

Sources in the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) say that Sheikh handled the funding of last year's terror attacks in Mumbai. Their investigations reveal that Sheikh, 33, met the former Al Qaeda chief in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, in August 2001.

Here, he was given training for 40 days in how to execute terror attacks; his alleged instructors included Osama. According to the ATS that has custody of Sheikh, the terror suspect, while in Pakistan, also met Zaki-ur-Rehman-Lakhvi, the man who masterminded the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2009.

Cut to 2012, and the community elders are not only blessing alliances with tribal girls, but also batting for mixed marriages. The Patel community has barely 700 girls for every 1,000 boys.

"Boys have to get married, we can't be choosy. It is better to open our arms and hearts to other communities," justifies Shankar Patel, vice president of Moti Baar Gaam Samaj.

"While rich city boys get girls, many involved in farming, find it difficult to find a match. Earlier, there were marriage agents, but now tribal daughters-in-law help get more girls from their region," says Ranchod Patel, an elder of Sardhav village. Jigna Patel, a girl from Sardhav, who studied sociology, says the village has 20-odd tribal daughters-in-law, who have learnt the local dialect and even turned vegetarian.

The Supreme Court admitted an appeal filed by the Gujarat government challenging the state governor's decision to "unilaterally" appoint justice (Retd) RA Mehta as the Lokayukta.A bench of justices BS Chauhan and JS Khehar said it would examine the matter at length as vital question of constitutional law is involved.The bench said it will hear the matter at a stretch of three days from February 20.The Gujarat government has challenged the state high court order upholding the appointment of Justice Mehta as the Lokayukta on the ground that it was unconstitutional and done without its consent.The Gujarat high court had on January 18 upheld the appointment of justice Mehta as the Lokayukta while sharply criticising chief minister Narendra Modi for his

tion is important. But this is certainly not a do-or-die one for Rahul," Vadra said.

Priyanka will take her own call Vadra was also non-committal about Priyanka's political career, especially after her comment that she could step out of the family constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli if Rahul asked her to. "This is entirely Priyanka's call and only she would decide. It's up to her," Vadra said.

A Congress spokesman, when asked about Vadra's comment on his role in politics, said he had not seen the press conference despite the fact that it was shown on most TV channels for the better

19 infants die in two Bengal hospitals Highlighting the poor state of health services in West Bengal, 19 infants have died in two district government hospitals in the past two days.Nine infants died at Malda Medical College and Hospital, while 10 perished at the Bankura Sammilani Medical College.

"Ten babies have died at the hospital in the last two days. They were suffering from pneumonia and birth asphyxia and some were underweight at birth," Superintendent of Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital Panchanan Kundu said, explaining the reasons. The newborns were admitted from rural hospitals in Malda district and outside with afflictions ranging from pneumonia to septicaemia.According to hospital officials, around 125 infants have died in the Malda hospital in the new year.

Leftist spoof of ‘Last Supper’ creates furore in Kerala

"pranks" that had sparked a "constitutional mini crisis".In the petition filed on January 19, the state government sought stay of the high court judgement and also of the August 25, 2011, order of governor Kamla Beniwal by which the warrant of appointment of justice Mehta as Lokayukta was passed.

Robert Vadra ready to take political plunge

While Priyanka Gandhi still remains wary of the electoral fray, her businessman-husband Robert Vadra has no such fears. On Monday he said he was ready to enter mainstream politics if he thought he was "in a position to make a change for the people he represents". "Only then will I take a decision to join politics," Vadra added.

This isn't the first time Vadra has voiced his eagerness to enter electoral politics. In October 2010, in an interview he said, "I can definitely win (an election) from anywhere, but I am a businessman ...

There is a time and place for everything. If I feel that I know enough about this line (politics) ... then why not?"

Vadra's remarks came during Priyanka's roadshow in UP, at a press interaction on the sidelines of a Congress rally in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency. Election 2012, Vadra declared, is as crucial as any other election. "Each elec-

French firm bags $20bn IAF deal First, the Americans, Russians and Swedes were ejected from the hotlycontested race.

And now, the Eurofighter too has been shot down in the dogfight, leaving only the French flying high in Indian skies. After an exhaustive technical and commercial evaluation spread over five long years, India selected French jet Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon for the gigantic almost $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) programme to supply 126 fighters to the Indian Air Force — the largest such “open-tender’’ military aviation deal in the world.

It will take another four to five months for the contract to be inked after the final round of commercial negotiations between the defence ministry and French aviation major Dassault, and the requisite final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security. Under the MMRCA project, the first 18 jets will come in “fly-away condition” from France from mid-2015 onwards.

part of Monday.

BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain said, "This is an internal matter of the (Gandhi) family. BJP would not like to comment on it." Hussain went on to say, "Rahul is not so older than Priyanka. There is not much age difference between them and they are contemporaries.

So, Priyanka cannot join politics after Rahul (completes his innings in politics)."

Vadra reached Amethi with his daughter on Sunday night, where Priyanka is camped for the last three days. Lending a helping hand, he flagged off a motorcycle rally from Gauriganj. He said he was there to carry forward Rahul's message to the masses, although both Rahul and Priyanka, he added, did not require any such help. Vadra also addressed the electorate in Salon assembly segment.

Praising the changes brought about among Amethi's women, Vadra said that their confidence level had risen several notches in the last 15 years.

Karl Marx must be turning in his grave. The founder of Marxism, a confirmed atheist, is going to be featured along with Jesus Christ at a historical exhibition organized by the CPM as part of its state convention in Thiruvananthapuram. To add to the CPM's woes, a fresh controversy has broken out over a flex board erected in Thiruvananthapuram, spoofing Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, 'The Last Supper'. In this caricature, Christ is replaced with US President Barack Obama, who has Congress and BJP leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi as his companions. Fearing protests, the CPM quickly removed the controversial board and filed a police complaint against those who had put it up.

No differences within BJP, says L K Advani Veteran BJP leader and MP from Gandhinagar, L K Advani asserted that there was no difference of opinion within the party over campaigning in Uttar Pradesh.

Advani, who chaired a district-level rural development departmental review meeting of vigilance and monitoring committee at the circuit house here said the Gujarat chief minister will campaign in UP at his convenience. He could not meet Modi during his two-hour visit as the chief minister was busy with his Sadbhavana fast."There are no differences within the party with regard to the election campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

SC restores JD-U MP's Lok Sabha membership The Supreme courtset aside a Patna High Court order quashing the election of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Lok Sabha member Manghni Lal Mandal from Jhanjharpur constituency. An apex court bench headed by justice R. M. Lodha also imposed a cost of Rs.100,000 on petitioner Bishnu Geo Bhandari, who had contended that Mandal had not disclosed the assests of his wife and children while filing his nomination.

Justice Lodha observed that the high court did not explain how the non-disclosure materially affected Mandal's election.

28

travel & women

asian voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Purvi’s travel bag

women achievers

By Purvi Apurva Shah

AmI TrIvedI a face to reckon with

By Av Correspondent

Kolhapur hosts India’s own wax museum

Do you think only London and Paris have wax museums? For ordinary people, the word ‘wax museum' is a synonym for ‘Madame Tussauds'. With almost a dozen of museums spread over Europe, US and Far East Asia, there is another strong contender for the same, in the country of countless wonders – India. It is the Siddhagiri museum at Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

Many have enjoyed this wax museum, in fact this museum proves to be a mirror image of old India, it is very useful for

the new generation and the Indians settled abroad to know India in its real flavour. It is a wax treat; the village life of India is shown in 300 wax statues and 80 wax scenes.

One will be amazed to find that such humble life still exist in villages of India. But it’s true, this museum showcases different aspects of Gramjivan (village life).

‘Gram’ means ‘village’ and ‘jivan’ means ‘life.

This initiative was a dream project of Mahatma Gandhi, visually and symbolically creat-

ed through the vision and efforts of Siddhagiri Gurukul Foundation Trust. It shows the history of self-sufficient village life before invasion of Mughals in Maharashtra.

depicts the humble life of villagers, it reminds Indians of their origin.

Wax scenes like the grandma stitching ‘Godhadi’( village mattress). In this small house

Ami Trivedi is a known name in the small screen industry as well as in the theatre circles. She has been active in the Gujarati theatre for many years. She has appeared in number of Hindi serials also. Her father, Tushar Trivedi, is a well-known theatre actor and has been involved in Gujarati plays for over 20 years. Her elder brother, Karan Trivedi, is also a theatre actor and voice-over artist. Ami started acting from childhood. Since her father has been involved the theatre field, she literally grew up in the theatre.

Both Ami and her brother have been child artists. As a child artist, she did cameos in a few Hindi serials like “Hamrahi” and “Zee Horror Show.” In 1994, she acted in Prakash Jha's telefilm “Didi” which focused on education of female children in rural areas.

Then she took leave from the acting field for her studies. She graduated in science from Jai Hind College, Mumbai. She was keen to study medicine and wanted to be a doctor.

But it eventually didn't happen. After study, she returned to her first love – the Gujarati theatre - and her acting was well appreciated by the audience.

Her theatre background helped her in getting many acting offers from television channels. She got her first break for a small cameo role in a daily soap “Babul Ki Duwayen Leti Jaa” which was aired on Zee TV. Thereafter, she did cameos and supporting roles in some shows like “Dil Chaahta Hai,” “Khichdi” and “Kumkum - Ek Pyra Sa Bandhan.”

Later she bagged the lead role in a new serial – “Kituu Sab Janti Hai.” That serial gave her a big break and she quickly stole the limelight as effervescent 'Kituu' in the serial, playing the role of a young extrovert 20-something girl who takes the plunge to face the professional world. She was well appreciated for her work and after that she started working in a number of Hindi serials.

Ami was last seen acting in SAB TV's comedy serial “Sajan Re Jhoot Mat

Bolo,” that ended recently.

She portrayed the character of "Tulika" which was a supporting role but was something she never did before. She also made a guest appearance in famous dance class show ‘Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan’ hosted by Saroj Khan in December 2011.

Besides, Ami became very popular for her role of "Kokila Parekh" in SAB TV 's popular sitcom “Papad Pol.” Ami's father is now directing plays at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in London. Ami's mother, Jaya Trivedi is a housewife. Ami says that her mother is the greatest inspiration in her life.

Jaya commutes between Mumbai and London. Whenever she’s in Mumbai, she visits her daughter on the sets with homemade food and also helps her to select the right kind of work. Ami's brother, Karan Trivedi has done many Gujarati theatres with her father and sister and is still working. She married Niraj Sanghai in 2009. She has been living with her husband in Mumbai for the last two years.

The rags-to-riches story of a cook Purvi Apurva Shah

The museum is spread over 7 acres and the surrounding countryside is beautiful and is surrounded with lush greenery.

Every wax statue

she can be seen stitching a ‘‘Godhadi.’ Such an aged woman, one normally considers to be incapacitated, provides covering to the entire family.

When such covering is unfit for use, it is used as a bed-spread and a new one is used for covering.

The making of ‘Godhadi’ is characteristic in itself. The bottom portion in such ‘Godhadi’ is normally made with a worn out sari. The second layer is a worn out ‘Dhoti’ and over it some small pieces of coloured rags are stitched. On the top of it

pieces of new coloured cut pieces are duly stitched and spread over it.

We, Indians talk about India’s culture, but not many have seen or know much about it. This is a fantastic chance to touch India in its typical mood.

This museum can be reached on PuneBangalore highway, near the outskirts of Kolhapur.

Gujaratis are believed to have a Midas touch, especially in the field of business.

Whatever they touch, they turn it into gold. One such example is the story of ‘Chakka Maharaj,’ an uneducated poor Patel boy selling popcorn packets on road side, turning into a food catering entrepreneur earning millions. Initially he was struggling for his daily bread but later turned his attention to catering and become a celebrity in Gujarat. Now he owns many luxurious cars, ultra-super villa and moves around with personal bodyguards and secretary in his service.

He comes from farmer’s family of Chandkheda in Ahmedabad and trained himself into one of the best food caterers of Gujarat.

People queue up for his appointment; in fact people first confirm his availability before fixing up their wedding date. Originally named Kaman Kantilal Patel, he has become Ahmedabad’s favourite ‘Chakka Maharaj.’ It is said the way to one’s heart is through the stomach. And it comes true as Chakka Maharaj has won the heart of millions by his culinary skills.

He has created a huge empire and enterprise with his cooking skills. A man who used to do odd jobs to earn his bread now can afford private helicopter to reach the catering venue.

In fact his arrivals at the

‘Chakka Maharaj’ (centre) with his bodyguards

venue create more excitement than the arrival of bride and groom themselves. He wears expensive watches, gold jewellery and is very keen on wearing new clothes everyday.

During schooldays, he was poor at studies and dropped-out. He started working as a road-side labourer and did all types of odd jobs. Once while he was repairing a pressure cooker, he hit upon the idea of becoming a cook.

But the problem was that he did not know how to cook? Since his mother never allowed him in the kitchen, he picked up cooking skills from his ‘bhabhi.’ “Indian men can never become a good cook” mentality did not deter him at all. In fact he was firm on experimenting with cooking. So, whenever he gets a chance, he would enter into his neighbours and friends houses and experiment with his new cooking ideas. He kept on pursuing his passion, and tried to master the art of cooking. Once a friend suggested that he

should get his visiting cards printed and circulated it to get catering orders.

He did not even think for a minute, but got his cards printed and circulated among people. Soon, he received the first order.

And with time his catering orders started multiplying rapidly. And at present he is the most sought after caterer in Ahmedabad. His aim is to feed people with delicious food. He wants to rule everyone’s taste buds. He has made it big without any high-profile catering degree.

“I am not interested in becoming Mukesh or Anil, but want to be Dhirubhai Ambani,” he says. With a dynamic enterprising attitude, he has served varieties of cuisines. His expertise is in theme catering. He relates food to the theme and makes lot of varieties according to the theme.

His is a rag-to- riches story. “I love living high lifestyle but I want the same for my staff. I have plans to build a clubhouse for them where they can stay and live a life which they have just dreamed about.”

HEaltH Watch

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012 lthough it is true that there are no such A things as "bad" exercises,

certain faulty techniques can make an exercise useless and compromising.

While some of these exercises aren't optimal for fitness, some others should be avoided as they can easily lead to injury.

However, it is important to understand that they are not always unsafe or unproductive. Adopting or avoiding any exercise technique depends on an individual's personal fitness goals and objectives.

Spot reduction exercises: An ineffective method of 'burning fat' followed by many people is spot reduction. The popularity of this belief can be largely attributed to the many exercise gimmicks that we often see in infomercials regarding localized weight reduction.

But always keep in mind that weight loss can never be isolated to a particular area. Localized strengthening and toning exercises will only help to firm muscles but will have no effect on the fat content of the target area. A better alternative is to adopt a wellrounded full-body weight reduction program.

Leg extensions (Seated): A very popular exercise for working the anterior thigh muscles,

seated leg extensions are actually one of the most dangerous exercises in the gym. This is because the exercise places an

Exercises you need to avoid

unhealthy amount of stress on the knee joint.

According to research individuals who worked on the leg extension machines found no benefit during functional tests.

This can be particularly dangerous for those who have any kind of knee problems. Safer alternatives are simple lunges and squats without any added weights.

Leg press: Another form of exercise that should be avoided is the leg press as this can place undue amount of stress on the lower back. This can thus predispose a person to low back injuries.

Although, many claim that seated leg press exercises can train your hams, quadriceps and gluts, in reality, it does not engage these muscles at all. All it does is force the spine into a flexed position. Hence, instead of this, try working on body weight squats.

Seated abduction or adduction: Just like leg press, seated abduction/adduction movements can place great amounts of stress on your spine. Also, such movements only train these muscles as prime movers. But, in reality, during actual physical activity, they are used only as stabilizers and not as prime movers. An easy and effective alternative is lunges which can be used to train these muscles for their actual purpose of stabilizing.

Leg curls: According to strength and conditioning coach exercises like deadlifts are more effective than leg curls. This is because the latter trains the hams only as knee flexors while, during activity, they are used mainly as hip extensors.

Sit ups: As per the recommendations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a person should never apply more than 3400 newtons of force on his back at a time. Crossing this limit would place unnecessary stress on the back muscles leading to stress or injury.

On an average, a regular sit-up program contributes around 3413 newtons of force on the back muscles. To avoid this, opt for short range crunch movements or tabletops.

Lat pulldown exercises (behind the head): This is a big "no-no" without proper form, as this may affect your shoulder joint functioning. Only those with extreme shoulder joint flexibility can opt for this exercise and that too, with extreme care for correct form. A better alternative for working your lats is by pulling the bar towards your chest and not behind the head.

But, remember to keep your spine straight and abs pulled in while performing this.

helps burn body fat.

Cardamom is considered one of the best digestive aids and is believed to soothe the digestive system and help the body process other foods more efficiently.

Chillies: Foods containing chillies are said to be as foods that burn fat.

Chillies contain capsaicin that helps in increasing the metabolism. Capsaicin is a thermogenic food, so it causes the body to burn calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chillies.

Curry leaves: Incorporating curry leaves into your daily diet can help you lose weight. These leaves flush out fat and toxins, reducing fat deposits that are stored in the body, as well as reducing bad cholesterol levels. If you are overweight, incorporate eight to 10 curry leaves into your diet daily.

Chop them finely and mix them into a drink, or sprinkle them over a meal.

Garlic: An effective fat-burning food, garlic contains the sulphur compound allicin which has anti-bacterial effects and helps reduce cholesterol

and unhealthy fats.

Mustard oil: This has low saturated fat compared to other cooking oils. It has fatty acid, oleic acid, erucic acid and linoleic acid.

It contains antioxidants, essential vitamins and reduces cholesterol, which is good for the heart.

Cabbage: Raw or cooked cabbage inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat.

Hence, it is of great value in weight reduction.

Moong dal: The bean sprouts are rich in Vitamin A, B, C and E and many minerals, such as calcium, iron and potassium. It is recommended as a food replacement in many slimming programmes, as it has a very low fat content. It is a rich source of protein and fibre, which helps lower blood cholesterol level. The high fibre content yields complex carbohydrates, which aid digestion, are effective in stabilising blood sugar and prevent its rapid rise after meal consumption.

Honey: It is a home remedy for obesity. It mobilises the extra fat

deposits in the body allowing it to be utilised as energy for normal functions.

One should start with about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken with hot water early in the morning.

Buttermilk: It is the somewhat sour, residual fluid that is left after butter is churned. The probiotic food contains just 2.2 grams of fat and about 99 calories, as compared to whole milk that contains 8.9 grams fat and 157 calories. Regular intake provides the body with all essential nutrients and does not add fats and calories to the body. It is thus helpful in weight loss.

Millets: Fibre-rich foods such as millets jowar, bajra, ragi, etc absorb cholesterol and help increase the secretion of the bile that emulsifies fats.

Cinnamon and cloves: Used extensively in Indian cooking, the spices have been found to improve the function of insulin and to lower glucose, total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides in people with type 2 diabetes.

12 Indian foods that cut fat

ou don't have to acquire a taste for Y olive oil, seaweed or soya

to maintain a low-fat, healthy diet. Indian cuisine can be healthy too, if it's cooked with oil and ingredients that take care of your heart and health.

Ayurveda suggests you include all tastes - sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent - in at least one meal each day, to help balance unnatural cravings. Here are 12 foods that can help you lose weight and gain health: Turmeric: Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, is an object of research owing to its properties that suggest they may help to turn off certain genes that cause scarring and enlargement of the heart. Regular intake may help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, increase blood circulation and prevent blood clotting, helping to prevent heart attack.

Cardamom: This is a thermogenic herb that increases metabolism and

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29

Use coconut milk to get rid of dry skin

Jaishree Sharad, "There are definite reasons to try it in your beauty regimen.

It's good for people with dry, itchy skin. What happens is, coconut milk penetrates till the deepest level of the skin and can lock in the moisture there, which is its biggest advantage. You can put it on in the morning and the skin stays fresh till the evening. It's a great cleanser too. Also, while other soaks or scrubs made of ingredients like olive oil may lead to whiteheads and block pores, coconut milk does not block skin pores. It's a good idea to use it in your bath soak, moisturiser, lip and facial care routines."

This season, get rid of dry skin by pampering yourself to a wonder regime, using coconut milk With the cold in the air, it's simply a good idea to warm up in a tub but one that can also be beneficial to the skin, if you add the right ingredients to your bath. And coconut milk that is made out of the inner white matter of the fruit works well in this regard. It can make the skin smooth and supple and add to its complexion. The milk content is also useful for treating itchy skin that appears in winter.

How it works: Coconut milk softens and moisturises the skin.

Says skin expert Dr

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Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

CB Live is only a Gujarati programme in UK on MATV SKY 793 In Kingsbury during Easter a Jain temple is being opened by the Mahavir Foundation. This week in CB Live Vinodbhai Kapasi will discuss about it. Also to celebrate Valentine's day, exclusive entertainment will be provided for the viewers.

If you do not have a SKY, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

Forthcoming Special Events in 2012 Political & Public life awards Venue: House of Commons Date: 23 February, 2012 Asian Youth Conference Venue: School of Oriental and African Studies, London Date: London on 3 March, 2012 British Punjabi Date: April 2012 Devdaya Gala Charity Night Venue: City Pavillion, London Date: 21st April, 2012 Gujarat Samachar & Asian Voice 40th Anniversary special issue & Gala launch Venue: TBC Date: May, 2012 Finance Banking Insurance Venue: House of Commons, London Date: 24 May 2012 British Tamils Date: May 31st Anand Mela - A Gala celebration of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar's 40th year anniversary Venue: Harrow Leisure Centre, London Date: 16 & 17 June, 2012 12th Asian Achievers Awards Venue: Grosvenor House, Park Lane London Date: 14 September, 2012

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500 You should enjoy a

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 very popular phase in your

life where everyone wants to invite you to parties. This is a good time for romantic liaisons. Jupiter, the planet of excesses is associated with splashing out on luxury items which we do not want - take care or you will have things that you have no use for.

7pm to 8pm Every Thursday

For more information e-mail:

cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk

Terror gang arrested for planning bomb attack on London Stock Excahnge Continued from page 14 Chowdhury, along with fellow Londoner Shah Rahman, 29, and Abdul Miah, 25, and Gurukanth Desai, 30 (a Bengali Muslim with Indian Hindu name- not his real name), both from Cardiff, admitted plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

Three others, Nazam Hussain, 26, Usman Khan, 20, and Mohammed Shahjahan, 27, all from Stoke, admitted attending meetings to discuss attacks, as well as raising funds to send British men to training camps in Kashmir.

The men were recorded as they met for the first time in a park in Cardiff on 7 November 2010, the start of numerous gatherings and hundreds of calls to each other over six weeks. The London and

Cardiff groups, all of Bangladeshi origin, discussed sending five mail bombs and plans to detonate a bomb in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange just before Christmas 2010. On 28 November, Chowdhury and Shah Rahman were followed as they went around looking at London landmarks.

A few weeks later the pair were recorded experimenting with how to make a pipe bomb. During the same period, Miah and Desai were seen setting light to something outside the latter’s Cardiff home.

Their Stoke counterparts, of Pakistani origin, talked of leaving home-made explosives in local pubs.

The police decided to act and raided addresses across the country, arresting the nine men on 20 December 2010.

Coming Events l Maha Shivratri Celebration by Jalaram Jyot, Repton avenue, HA0 3DW. Sunday 19th Feb, 3pm7:30pm. 20th Feb: 9.00am- 7.00pm.

Contact CJRabheru - 07958 27522

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

Do not kid yourself that emotional problems can always be solved by material means. This only covers the cracks and does nobody any good in the end. Be prepared to confront the issues. If love has left you feeling rather dejected or cynical, it looks as though soon events will pull you out of this mood of despondency.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 It is certainly going to be a fortunate time for those already married or in an established relationship. The keynote is emotional enrichment through close interaction with a loved one. Facets of your life that have been a source of restriciton and dissatisfaction will begin to loosen their hold.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 Brilliant ideas come easily as you trust your higher self and allow thoughts to flow freely. You are able to embrace new opportunities and make positive changes in your life. Your efforts bring a greater stability to your work than ever before. This is an important development, considering all the changes occurring around you.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 Try to take things in your stride rather than anticipating what might happen. Keep calm as conflict and disagreement could be sparked off by your short-sightedness. Think carefully about the implications of your actions. Intense focus is what is needed now so do not let yourself be distracted by non-essentials.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 The outlook remains optimistic as developments point the way forward and bring you a sense of real achievement. However, this is not likely to be an easy-going week as demands on time and energy are going to be heavy.

Relationships look great as Venus and Mars help to enhance your personal magnetism.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 It is certainly going to be a fortunate time for those already married or in an established relationship. The keynote is emotional enrichment through close interaction with a loved one.

Facets of your life that have been a source of restriciton and dissatisfaction will begin to loosen their hold.

l Dr Rami Ranger, MBE, FRSA, International Chairman & Mr Ashok Verma, President GPS UK Chapter celebrate the festival of Holi on18 March 2012, 1100 – 1500 hrs, Mumbai Gardens, Harrow, HA2 6LY Ph: 020 8421 1679 Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer ABPL: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 - Mobile: 07875 229 220 Email: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com Accounts Executive: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Managers: Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 151 893 Email: alka.shah@abplgroup.com Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Media Consultant: Rovin John George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 Nihir Shah - Email: nihir.shah@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4089 - Mobile: 07875 229 111 Business Development Manager: Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Design and Layout: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 Your social graces will serve you well career-wise. Mixing business with pleasure will bring you benefits. You will achieve a lot by being responsible and diplomatic. Ego confrontations with family members are possible now, to handle this do your best to strengthen your relationship with your family and your home base.

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 You will find added scope and greater incentive to push full steam ahead with your cherished aims. You must be careful not to tread on other people's toes. This is the right time to talk things over with your loved one - especially anything that has been worrying you or making you feel insecure.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 You are endowed with a level of determination that others sometimes find formidable. Once you set your mind on a goal you stay the course no matter what obstacles you encounter. Saturn's placement in your Solar 10th house often denotes a phase of restriction, sometimes frustration, in one's life.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 Now is the time to cultivate an easier relationship with life, get out and about, explore fresh possibilities and make new friends. Any effort to enrich your life by making changes is almost certain to work in your favour and you will be surprised how circumstances help you once you make the initial move.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Your energy and attention will be very much devoted to financial matters. The tide of fortune continues to run strongly in your favour for some time to come. You will be working harder than usual, intent on getting thing done. Close personal relationships may come under some stress and strain.

SPort woRLd

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

It is the same old story for India

It is the same old story for India in Australia. After losing the Test matches and the first T20 match, India’s victory in the second T20 match gave hope that Dhoni’s men have found the winning streak now. But Indians again failed and lost the first game of the Commonweath Bank ODI tri-series on Sunday and Michael Clarke’s men romped home by 65 runs.

There was pace, bounce and movement for the Australian pacemen under the lights - the ball often whistled past the outside edge. India, chasing 217, could make just 151.

The Australian pressure discipline and incision in bowling and razor-sharp fielding - was relentless. And Matthew Wade, the wicketkeeper batsman who can do no wrong at the moment, was adjudged Man of the Match for his crucial 67.

The match was reduced to a 32-overs-a-side contest after rain cut into play at the conclusion of the 11th over of the Australian innings; the host was 35 for two at that point. When play resumed, India sought a third paceman who was not there.

The visitor, then, stumbled while in pursuit. Left-armer

Australians celebrate the dismissed India's openers in 1st ODI in Melbourne

Mitchell Starc was red hot for Australia. Sachin Tendulkar sliced one into point's hands and southpaw Gautam Gambhir nicked a delivery that lifted and seamed into the 'keeper's gloves.

Virat Kohli (31) promised much while Rohit Sharma looked tentative. Lanky paceman Clint McKay removed them both in one over. Kohli was taken on the cut while Rohit edged a delivery with bounce and slight away movement.

Suresh Raina, targeted by the short ball, miscued a pull off seamer Daniel Christian.

Ravindra Jadeja lasted longer before McKay snared him with a lifting delivery.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (29) battled before

being taken in the deep off left-armer spinner Xavier Doherty. Soon it was all over for India.

The Australian innings was powered by wicket-keeper Wade's strokeful 69-ball effort at the top of the order.

The left-handed Michael Hussey conjured a gem - a blazing 45 off 32 - and David Hussey delivered the meaty blows towards the end with a rollicking 30-ball 61.

Finally a win for India: Without a win across four Tests and the first T20I, India were able manage a convincing eight-wicket win over the Australia in the second Twenty20 on Friday.

Gautam Gambhir struck a fine unbeaten 56 to help India register their first win

IPL 5 auction: Chennai buy Ravindra Jadeja for $2 mn in tie-breaker Dashing wicketkeeperbatsman Brendon McCullum was the first to be auctioned as he was bought for $900,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders followed by the Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was clinched by Chennai Super Kings for whopping $2 million in the tie-breaker of IPL 5 auction in Bangalore on Saturday.

Former Pakistan player Azhar Mahmood, who now has a British passport, has been picked up

by Kings XI Punjab for $200,000.

Australia's James Faulkner was also grabbed

by Kings XI Punjab for $190,000.

South Australia batsman Daniel Harris, who had a base price $50,000, sold to Deccan Chargers

for $70,000.

Kevon Cooper, the Trinidad & Tobago allrounder, has been bought

by Rajasthan Royals on base price of $50,000.

West Indies opener Lendl Simmons couldn't attract any buyer.

Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera, who had a base price of $50,000, was

snapped by Mumbai Indians for $650,000.

Sunil Narine was bought for $700,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders while Romesh Powar has been snapped up by Kings XI Punjab for $160000.

Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis went unsold along with compatriot Rangana Herath, Graeme Swann, Peter Siddle, Vernon Philander, Xavier Doherty, Mark Boucher, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bought seamer R Vinay Kumar, who had a base price $100,000, for $1 million.

Fast bowler RP Singh, who had a base price of $200,000, was bought by Mumbai Indians for $600,000.

on the tour. Chasing 132 to win, India reached 135 for two in 19.4 overs, with Gambhir and MS Dhoni (21 not-out) in the middle.

Openers Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided India a confident start to their chase after the bowlers restricted hosts to 131.

Sehwag looked in good nick as he hit two boundaries and a six for his innings of 23 off 16 balls. But when it looked Sehwag will destroy the opponents, Brad Hogg got the better of the right-hander.

Virat Kohli then joined Gambhir in the middle and the duo took India closer to the target. The two added 54 runs for the second wicket before Kohli fell to Mitchell Marsh for 31 off 24 balls.

Australia thrash India: In the first T20 match, Australia rode on wicketkeeper-batsman Mathew Wade's blistering 43-ball 72 to score an imposing 171 for four and then bowled well to restrict India to 140 for six in what turned out to be a lop-sided contest. The induction of the limited overs specialists in Indian team didn't bring about any change in the script as neither the batsmen nor the bowlers could create any sort of impact.

Match fixer Majeed gets cleaner's job at UK jail

British cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, who played a crucial role in the 2010 controversial 'match fixing' scandal, reportedly has fixed himself a cushy cleaner's job in a jail in Britain.

Majeed orchestrated the betting scam that involved Test match cheating by Pakistan's then captain Salman Butt and two fast bowlers, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir. According to reports, he gets 9.50 pounds a week for cleaning at the Ford open prison in West Sussex.

He also gets his own cell with free view TV. "He's over the moon. He could have been given harder jobs," a source said, while another added: "Inmates grumbled about favouritism.

One said, 'I'd take bets on him getting an easy job'." Butt, and Asif, and Amir were jailed for the spot fixing scandal in 2010 against England. Amir was recently released after serving half of his six-month sentence due to good behaviour.

Sahara withdraws team India sponsorship, IPL team The Sahara Group has pulled out of its sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the diversified business conglomerate said on Saturday.

Citing instances where it has been denied "natural justice" in IPL, Sahara said in a statement: "We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged (out) any further. We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI. "However, we don't want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to

get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money until then.

"All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they

do not get a chance to play," added the group which has been the sponsor the Indian cricket team since 2001.

Sahara's existing sponsorship deal, at $719,000 per match, was to end on Dec 31, 2013.

"It's unfortunate," BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla told reporters.

While he did not elaborate, denying the Saharaowned Pune franchise a replacement for their ailing player Yuvraj Singh is perceived as a major reason behind the fallout.

The development came barely an hour before Saturday's IPL players auction in Bangalore.

Sahara claimed its first

bid to enter IPL in 2008 was foiled by "a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI". "Our humble request once again to the BCCI is that through the right process ... they should pass on our (IPL) team to some other interested party immediately," the group said.

Instead, the group would reinvest the money and set up 20 sports promotion centres with an international standard sports academy.

Sahara bid $370 million to become owners of the IPL Pune franchise in 2010 and invested $100 million in Force India for a 42.5 per cent stake in the Formula One team last year.

31

Action at a Glance Yuvraj Singh diagnosed with Grade I cancer Cricket allrounder Yuvraj Singh has been diagnosed with Grade I cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the United States. A tumour on his lung was diagnosed as non-malignant late last year, but his physiotherapist, Dr Jatin Chaudhary, said it was cancerous but "100% curable". He said that he expected Yuvraj to be fit to play by May this year. "It is a rare tumour and is cancerous but it has been detected in stage 1 itself (Stage 0 refers to cancer that is just beginning, while stages 1 to 4 are progressively more advanced cancers)," Dr. Chaudhary said. "Doctors had to decide whether to continue medication or go for chemotherapy but since parts of the tumour are just above the artery of his heart, there was a danger that while running it could burst. But it is 100 per cent curable. "The doctors decided that he would have to undergo chemotherapy and he travelled to the US on January 26. End of March, he would undergo a CT scan and should recover by then," Dr. Chaudhary said. Yuvraj hasn't played competitive cricket since the Tests against West Indies last November, when news of his tumour became public.

Olympic flame to be lighted by sunrays on May 10 Lord Coe, Chairman of L o n d o n Organizing Committee for Olympic G a m e s (LOCOG), has said the Olympic Flame would be lit by the sun's rays on the morning of May 10 in Greece at the beginning of its expedition to the London 2012 Games. An hour-long lighting ceremony at the historic wrecks of the home of the ancient Games at the Temple of Hera in Olympia will mark the commencement of an eight-day relay around Greece before the flame reaches Britain, starting in Cornwall. "It gives me great pleasure to confirm 10 May as the flame lighting date and Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose as the Olympic Flame's arrival point into the UK," Lord Coe was quoted as saying. Lord Coe said his team was determined to create exciting events, which would mark the Greek origin of the flame. "My team is looking forward to working with the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Defence and our commercial partners to create exciting events to mark the flame's Greek provenance and its arrival to our shores," he added. The flame will disembark at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on May 17 where a London 2012 representative will be ready for the official handover.

ICC to give more prize money to top four Test cricket teams The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to raise the prize money for the top four Test cricket teams as part of plans to promote the inaugural Test Championship in 2017. The top-ranked team on April 1 presently receives 175,000 dollars, but that will increase to a minimum of 450,000 dollars by 2013, 475,000 dollars by 2014 and 500,000 dollars by 2015 in a total pool of 3.8 million dollars. The ICC has said there would be another increase in 2016. A twoday board meeting of the ICC also discussed ways to draw more fans toward Test cricket. "There were some board members who were not so sure about simply increasing the prize money," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Haroon Lorgat Chief Executive, ICC, as saying.

32

Asian Voice - Saturday 11th February 2012

Action at a Glance Djokovic crowned world sportsman of year World No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic was crowned the world sportsman of the year at the Laureus Awards in London. He has won the Australian Open this year and ended the season with a 70-6 winning record. Former champion Pete Sampras described Djokovic's season as "the best I have seen in my lifetime," news.com.au reports. Djokovic succeeds his Australian Open final opponent Rafael Nadal as sportsman of the year, while Roger Federer won the title four times between 2005 and 2008. Meanwhile, Kenyan distance runner Vivian Cheruiyat was chosen as the world sportswoman of the year. Cheruiyat won three world titles this year on both track and trail (5000m, 10,000m and cross country). English football legend Bobby Charlton was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

Aisam-ul Haq hints at teaming up with Sania Mirza Pakistan's tennis ace Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi has hinted at the possibility of teaming up with Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles tournaments. "We can form a strong team considering our rankings.

I may look into the option next year and it'll be huge for promotion of tennis in the subcontinent," The Express Tribune quoted Aisam, as saying. He, however, said he may not re-unite with his former Indian partner Rohan Bopanna if his partnership with Jean-Julien Rojer yields desired results.

New Zealand seal series win against Zimbabwe New Zealand cruised to a 141-run victory over Zimbabwe after amassing 372 for 6 at the Cobham Oval here in the second one-day international, and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Opener Rob Nicol's 146, Jacob Oram's 28-ball 59 and Martin Guptill's 77 helped New Zealand set an imposing target for Zimbabwe. However, the early loss of three wickets in the first seven overs of their chase, scuppered Zimbabwe's hopes of a win, and they meandered to 231 for 8 in their 50 overs. For Zimbabwe, Chigumbura scored 63 and Taibu 50. New Zealand allrounder Oram grabbed three wickets for 29 runs. New Zealand's effort featured 29 fours and 16 sixes, while Zimbabwe's reply consisted of just two fours until the 28th over of the chase.

Pak complete a clean sweep against England Pakistan's bowlers sealed an emphatic 71-run win in the third and final Test against England on Monday, inflicting a 3-0 humiliation on the Englishmen.

Pakistan won the first Test here by 10 wickets and the second at Abu Dhabi by 72 runs.

Set a daunting 324-run target, England was bowled out for 252 with paceman Umar Gul taking four for 61 and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (four for 67) to help Pakistan achieve a first-ever Test clean sweep against its opponent.

Pakistan has become the first team to win a Test after being bowled out for under 100, since 1907, when England, shot out for 76, beat South Africa at Leeds.

It was England's seventh series whitewash and its first at the hands of Pakistan. Pakistan has now recorded five series whitewashes, its last coming against Bangladesh in 2003. England's last series whitewash came in 2007 when it was routed by Australia 5-0.

Spinners dominate: So dominating were the Pakistani spinners that Ajmal finished the series with 24 wickets while Abdur Rehman had 19.

With the ball turning, it was always going to be a difficult task for the England batsmen, who have been unable to read the Pakistan spinners throughout the series, on a weary fourth day pitch at the Dubai Stadium.

England looked for solid partnerships after resuming at 36 for no loss but that never transpired. Pakistan could have wrapped the match earlier had it not dropped two crucial catches, the first off Andrew Strauss on 26 when wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal grassed a simple chance off Gul. But that didn't hurt Pakistan as Rehman trapped the England captain in the very next over. Strauss challenged the decision by Australian umpire Steve

Pietersen through the gate for 18. He had a mere 67 runs in the series during which he was out to the spinners on five occasions.

In his next over, Ajmal produced another sharp turning delivery which caught the edge of Cook's bat and was smartly held by a diving Younis Khan, the lone slip.

Ian Bell (10) and Eoin Morgan (31) added 37 for the fifth wicket but again failed to produce a big score in the series as Gul dismissed them in the space of just three runs.

Pakistan took the second new ball at 196 for six and the first ball saw Gul dismissing Stuart Broad (18) and then Graeme Swann for one. Matt Prior was left high and dry on 49.

The teams will now play four ODIs and three T20s.

England dump Ian Bell from limited overs squad

England dropped struggling batsman Ian Bell from their one-day and Twenty20 squads on Tuesday while drafting in Danny Briggs and Jos Buttler for the limited over series against Pakistan.

Bell struggled in the threeTest series against Pakistan 29 being his highest score in six innings - as England, the top ranked Test team, suffered a rare whitewash.

All-rounder Tim Bresnan has ! $ ! been included in both squads but '78 +1.'(1+ '6)+1 !+6:.)+7 his participation is %461* %.*+ subject to a fitness test to gauge his recovery from an elbow injury, the +6 England and Wales Cricket Board said 6'3)-+7 in a statement.

Hampshire left% & # " ! #" arm spinner Danny Briggs's prospects "448.3, of an international debut brightened 2'.1 /92(4 5'6)+1 ;'-44 )4 90 " 551; with the selectors

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Pakistani players gather to celebrate their 3-0 whitewash of England

Davis but his review failed.

Gul then let off Alastair Cook at 24 when he failed to hold a top-edge sweep off Rehman.

Ajmal then broke a dangerous looking 37-run stand between Cook and Jonathan Trott (18) by forcing a top-edge sweep which was smartly snapped up by Rehman at square-leg.

England, 89 for two at lunch, was still in with a chance with Cook (49) and Kevin Pietersen (18) batting well, but it lost four wickets in the space of 84 runs.

It went to tea at 173 for six.

Pietersen, who struggled for runs in the series, hit Rehman for a boundary before hoisting him for a six to bring up England's 100. But, Ajmal struck from the other end.

Peach of a delivery: The off-spinner produced a beautiful delivery to bowl

naming the 20-year-old in both the one-day and Twenyt20 squads.

Buttler, Somerset's hardhitting 21-year-old who has played four Twenty20 Internationals, has also been named in the 16-member oneday squad.

"We have selected two squads that include both experienced international players and younger players who have performed strongly for England Lions in recent months and deserve an opportunity to further test them-

selves against quality opposition," national selector Geoff Miller said.

"Playing against Pakistan in the UAE will be challenging but it is important that these players continue to develop their skills so that we are able to make strides in limitedovers cricket, particularly on the subcontinent."

England ODI squad: Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steve Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.

England Twenty20 squad: Stuart Broad (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann.

Sachin's T-shirt fetches `111,000 in auction The auction of gifts received by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has fetched more than Rs 20 million, even as a T shirt gifted by Sachin Tendulkar to Modi was sold for Rs111,000, officials said. The exhibition and auction of 1,399 gifts received by the chief minister was held at Ravishankar Rawal Kala Bhavan in Ahmedabad from January 27 to 29. The value of the gifts was fixed at Rs 4,160,000, but they fetched Rs 20.4 million. “The response to the auction was very good, and all gifts put up for auction have been sold. A total of 2,255 bids were received, with some of the items receiving multiple bids. Many individuals had even submitted bids for more than one item,�

Ahmedabad district collector, Vijay Nehra, said.