AV 15th May 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE An EXCLUSIVE interview with Seema Misra, the ex-postmistress, who was convicted wrongfully in the Post Office Scandal SEE PAGE - 4

Lord Mahavir Janm Kalyanak Special Feature

R

SEE PAGE - 16 - 18

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

HAVE WOMEN FINALLY WON?

15 - 21 MAY 2021 - VOL 50 ISSUE 2

The landmark Domestic Abuse Bill could be a game changer

inside: Modi cancels his June visit to G7 Summit amid India’s Covid crisis SEE PAGE - 9

Shefali Saxena

Special : Asian Voice wishes all its readers a very Happy Eid

The landmark Domestic Abuse Bill has become a law after receiving Royal assent at the start of May 2021. While several significant amendments have been added to it, "rough sex" defence has been banned, non-fatal strangulation has become an offence and threats to share intimate images has become illegal.

Continued on page 6

SEE PAGE - 10-13

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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15 - 21 May 2021

with Keith Vaz

Mayur Damodar Kotecha Marathon Runner

India’s healthcare infrastructure “stands exposed” On his four day visit to the UK for the G7 leaders Summit, Minister of External Affairs (India), S Jaishankar agreed that India’s healthcare infrastructure “stands exposed” during Covid-19. “It is very clear that for 75 years, we have under-invested in health,” the MEA said during a virtual interaction with India Inc CEO Manoj Ladwa in London.

Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement Meeting Home Secretary Priti Patel, Jaishankar signed the ‘Migration

nately in each of the participants’ countries or virtually with mutual consent.

G7 in isolation While India remains on UK’s red list, Jaishankar, who has received both doses of Covid vaccination, was exposed to positive Covid-19 cases, so as he landed in London, after meeting Home Secretary Priti Patel and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he went into isolation. He was heavily criticised by Indian media and citizens for traveling amid restrictions and ultimately ending up in isolation and Which place, or city or country do you most feel strength as well as my own space to build myself virtual discussions, which could have at home in? higher than ever before. His generosity was flawhappened from India.

Difficult as I love both India and UK equally. In less. He could easily afforded luxuries like a Rolls Defending the government UK, my area of Harrow and Brent. India, I love the Royce but opted to give everything to his two sons Speaking on the blame game foothills of the Himalayas. for properties and four grandchildren not to have between the government and the pubWhat are your proudest achievements? university debts. lic surrounding havoc during the secWhat is the best aspect about your current ond wave of Covid-19 in the country, In business, creating a million-pound property role?

Jaishankar said, “There were repeated asset from £200,000 in a decade. More magical I have the freedom to live 6 months in UK and advisories going out and public health than that was giving my parents the best holiday 6 months in India where I coach at no charge peoteams sent out. There was a move to S Jaishankar ever. We spent a month in Gujarat where I saw the ple going through challenging times. Like women ramp up oxygen production. The realtwo of them laugh and enjoy all the way. We went going through challenging times in Vadodara and and Mobility Partnership Agreement’, ity unfortunately was, as the numbers to see the four places where their parents were Rishikesh. Cannot wait for current pandemic to be bringing “in a system that will require came down there was an amount of born, beach of Diu, Statue of Unity, and all Cheese over to go back. public confidence. This is genuinely the British government to properly Frankies and Masala Maggis mum could eat in cinAnd the worst? not a blame game, but I don’t think ascertain that those being sent back emas. Unfortunately, holiday got caught short in anyone in the country can say we kept are bona fide Indian nationals and not an accident in which I lost both my living Gods. I I cannot think of any except the physical con- “non-Indians”. Under the new scheme our guard up all the time.” am writing a memoir '30 Days in Heaven' which dition of my body following the horrific accident on youth mobility under which, every Mass gatherings and election rallies describes my last 30 days with them. that took the lives of my living Gods and left me in year up to 3,000 young Indian profesCommenting on mass gatherings What inspires you? hospital for 8 months. sionals can avail employment opporand election rallies, Jaishankar said, What are your long-term goals? tunities in the UK for a period of two “We are a deeply democratic and politTeachings of Vedanta and Vedic studies. It has years without being subject to the ical country and in a democracy, you enabled me to live life with dignity and given me can’t not have elections. Elections are To start a business in India based on Vedic labour market test. strength in overcoming my falls in life and walk “According to sources, the UK earsacrosanct.” He mentioned that if the principles as per book by Swami Parthasarathy forward without fear, stress, anxieties and worries government had moved to cancel the 'Governing Business and Relationships ' where we lier “misunderstood” India’s position in ever increasing complexities of modern world. elections, it would have been attacked would serve people in rural India in taking hand and believed that New Delhi was not Two great teachers of this in my life have been for doing that. made products to the western markets and set up willing to take back Indians who are Pandurang Shastri and Swami Parthasarathy. This Comprehensive Strategic Partnership village empowerment and women empowerment residing in their country illegally. But has also been my strength in business and in with the signing of the MoU, the issue Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab programs. preparing myself for the marathon. It has enabled has been sorted,” ThePrint reported. and Indian Minister of External Affairs If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect me to look myself in my eyes in the mirror and Indian publications reported that Dr Jaishankar held a virtual two hour would you change? smile. meeting where they discussed I would introduce harsh capital punishment there are around 1,00,000 Indians What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for people causing physical violence towards elder- who entered illegally or are overstaybetween the UK and India, Enhanced ly, especially parents. Someone very dear and close ing their visa in the UK. However, The fact that I was forced into studying someTrade Partnership, removing market to me had gone through violence by his eldest who India says that the figure is not more thing that I had no interest in whatsoever. This barriers and creating new British and was always happy to accept his generosity, but it than 2,000. As per the fresh MoU, the made me lose all my confidence as I felt the stupid Indian jobs, including in strategic was never enough. For a man to live in fear in his time frame to verify the nationality of fish who could not climb a tree for many years areas like science and technology. late seventies and early eighties was heart-break- a person who holds an Indian passport after. It was only after going through my worst and who has overstayed the visa will be They discussed priority areas for furing. period, and I abandoned the life that was not me, not later than 30 days on the receipt of ther progress, across trade, defence If you were marooned on a desert island, did I succeed in life in every way. I now live life and security, climate, and health. which historical figure would you like to spend request from the U.K authorities. The according to my own nature (swadharma) rather U.K will also have to follow the same Finally, they discussed the need for your time with and why? than that imposed on me (paradharma). deeper collaboration to tackle the Nelson Mandela. After being jailed for over a procedures if a British national is Who has been the biggest influence on your Covid-19 pandemic and agreed on the quarter of a century, he showed massive act of for- found staying illegally in India. The career to date?

MoU will be revived automatically need for swift and equitable access to giveness to those who wronged him and asked My father. After realising that I went through after seven years. vaccines around the world. whole of South Africa to walk forward hand in very challenging times with the breakdown of my CBI hosts global business summit India and the U.K will create a hand to make the nation great together. I would marriage, and, especially the DNA result of my Joint Working Group that will meet at As part of the UK’s 2021 G7 love to know of his secret in having the strength to eldest which took everything out of me and falling least once a year, or as necessary at the Presidency, the CBI has chaired the B7 forgive those who wronged him and his people. to my lowest, my father gave me both support and request of either participant, altergroup of leading business associations, in partnership with Deloitte from 10-12 May. The B7 acts as the voice of business for the G7 to demonstrate how business leadership and conhe told Asian Voice. him in his studies, and Velupillai was the Senior sensus among political leaders encouraging him to go to FINANCIAL A SERVICES Partner at accountancy firm can help to promote global University.

Ford Rhodes Thornton in trade after a year of internaHis career in the UK PROTECTION MORTGAGES Colombo for many years, tional supply chain disruption included many years at Life Insurance Residential where he helped to bridge and rising protectionism, creTown and City Properties, Critical Illness Buy to Let the gap between the British ate a race to the top on netleading the accountancy Income Protection Remortgages management and its Sri zero, increase the digitalisateam. He is a past President tion of trade and Lankan employees. of the Rotary Club of “The key was fostering strengthen resilience to globSouthgate, and contributed Please conta act: mutual respect between al health emergencies. to several charities, as Dinesh Shonchhatra S managers and employees, by President or Treasurer, for On Tuesday evening, the Seevaratnam Velupillai celeMortgage Ad dviser allowing employees time off Ministry of External Affairs many years, including Tamil brates his 100th birthday for key family and religious (MEA) India, said on Tuesday Refugees, Crossroads and Call: 020 8424 C 4 8686 / 07956 810647 this month (May 16). events – which encouraged that PM Modi won't attend the the Ruth Winston centre.

A native of Batticaloa, he their commitment to work summit in person. The G7 sum“I am eternally grateful credits a mathematics 77 High Street, Wealdston ne, Harrow, HA3 5DQ and the company in return,” mit is scheduled to take place in for his help, which also teacher at school for helping mortgage@majorestate.co om ~ majorestate.com he said. inspired me to help others,” Cornwall in the UK in June.

Mayur Damodar Kotecha is a Property Developer and Disabled Marathon Runner.

He was born in Mwanza, Tanzania. A bustling town on the edge of Lake Victoria. He came to the UK at the age of 8. All his studies were in the UK. His BSc degree in information Technology was at Polytechnic of Wales and his Master of Business and Administration at Sheffield University.

For nearly 10 years he enjoyed developing properties that would require total refurbishment when a tragic road accident happened, which took the lives of his parents and left him in hospital for 8 months and permanently disabled.

Doctors wrote him off for dead and one later said he would not run again. He thanked him for his opinion and said to him he will not only walk but also run London Marathon, which he is now doing this October for London Air Ambulance who are doing a fantastic job in saving lives are not funded by NHS and solely depend on donations. He will not be expanding on his property portfolio, not that it's big. He has his sight on getting hand made goods by villages of India and starting a village empowerment program.

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Sri Lankan celebrates 100 years

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15 - 21 May 2021

India, still the 'Crown Jewel’ The Queen on Tuesday outlined this government's priorities for the year ahead, as she officially reopened the UK Parliament on 12 May, while sitting on her throne at the House of Lords. In a 10 minute speech, she highlighted 30 laws that ministers intend to pass in the coming year.

Historically, the Queen's Speech is a speech that Her Majesty reads out in the Lords Chamber on the State Opening of Parliament. It sets out the agenda of legislation that the Government intend to pursue in the imminent parliamentary session.

This includes several bills that have been carried over from the previous "session" of Parliament, which ended in April and several bills included in past Queen's Speeches.

On Tuesday, which was her first speech after Prince Philip’s death, she also highlighted the deepening trade ties with the emerging markets and the Indo-Pacific region, with India at its' heart. Accompanied by son Prince Charles and his wife Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen looked composed, attentive and dignified.

She briefly highlighted how important India and the subcontinent are for Britain, to remain a major economic player; particularly as now we have left the EU. Last week, Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi met and agreed on several key investments as a major step on their route towards a full free trade agreement. Downing Street said these initial trade agreements would create 6,500 British jobs and contain more than £533m of new Indian investment into the UK, in sectors such as health and technology.

Although no timeframe has been given for this, it is an important step in the right direction for both countries, more for the UK as the global focus shifts towards the Indo-Pacific region.

India is expected to be the third largest economy by 2030, and most of the global population growth and GDP is expected to be seen in emerging markets such as India. It is therefore of vital importance that the UK positions itself as an ally and a sym-

biotic trade partner to these rapidly growing economies to make sure it is ready for the world of tomorrow.

Nayan Gala, the co-founder of venture capitalist firm JPIN VCATS said, India is a 21st century powerhouse, and the UKIndia trading relationship is already worth almost £24 billion, with 383 Indian companies in the UK employing more than 82,000 people. The ETP will help to fuel economic recovery in a post-Brexit, post-Covid UK and really allow the UK to benefit from the immense growth India is about to experience in the coming decade. A free trade deal with India could be as high as £50-100 billion and will open the door to 1.3 billion potential customers for UK businesses, and provide opportunities for business improvement, consolidation, foreign expansion and diversification in a rapidly growing market.

Though the Queen’s speech was welcomed with open arms

by Britons, the UK government has been accused of creating a “highly dangerous loophole” in plans to ban conversion therapy that are ‘coercive’ as outlined at the Queen’s Speech. The Independent said according to a government survey of LGBTQ+ people published in 2017, 5 per cent of respondents reported being offered conversion therapy while 2 per cent had undergone the practice. Critics said addressing of ‘coercive’ measures alone is not enough.

Liberal Democrats Leader Ed Davey who has vowed to put carers and homeless on the Parliamentary agenda, criticised the Government for leaving these out of the priorities. Mr Davey is also proposing legislation that would give carers a new right to reasonable adjustments, to allow them to juggle work with caring responsibilities.

With Boris Johnson facing a number of inquiries along with a possibility of Scotexit and the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael accused of using royal status to 'sell access' to Russian President Putin- this has been a fairly good start of what we can perhaps call as an ‘impactful and a sensational’ term in Parliament!

Bridging nations for a resilient future On Tuesday bodies of 40 people have washed up on the banks of river Ganges in northern India. The discovery between the states of Bihar and UP was considered shocking. Families in the UK who have not met their loved ones for months now, are worried as more and more bad news emerge. Some blame the politicians, some citizens, but the feeling of worry and despair continue.

The UK diaspora or the Living Bridge as popularly called, with a bleeding heart has come forward to help their other home and its people, with whatever aid possible. While some have donated money generously, others have sent oxygen concentrators to family and friends across the Indian nation.

Sonal Sachdev Patel, CEO of the GMSP Foundation in a blog wrote, as British Indians, we are part of a rich and dynamic diaspora; a network of people whose sense of identity is connected to and defined by two distinct places 6,500km away from each other. But no matter how far away we are, or how long we may have been gone, there is an invisible bond tying us to our ancestral homeland. We feel it tug with the familiar aromas of pani puri, we feel it when our allegiances multiply during international sporting competitions, we feel it when our world is illuminated each Diwali, and more urgently and painfully, we feel it amid crises. And right now, India is in crisis.

GMSP Foundation, that was founded by Ramesh and Pratibha Sachdev has always been guided by values of faith and family that connect us to our Indian heritage and feels that now more than before India needs us.

Sewa UK Appeal kicked off two weeks ago and has raised over £340,000 for India’s Covid situation. They have procured

250 Oxygen Concentrators and delivered 150 with 50 already distributed. Sewa International Global movement will be delivering over 8000 Oxygen Concentrators to India by next week. They are working with Sewa International India with 1000 volunteer network across 22 states. They have created a Digital Helpdesk for verified support information, distributed family and community essential kits (containing food, medicines etc) and also created an eGlobalDoctors platform to allow doctors from the global Indian diaspora to help.

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in the UK raised over £600,000 in six days to support BAPS’s Covid-19 relief work in India. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London, launched an emergency campaign to support the BAPS relief efforts in India on 24 April 2021. As a part of this initiative, BAPS began a ‘Cycle to Save Lives in India’ campaign – a 48-hour, non-stop static relay cycle challenge. It aimed to cover 7,600 kilometres – the distance between London and Delhi – but ended up almost tripling that by cycling 20,127 kilometres!

787 participants, as part of a relay, cycled during the day and throughout the night from Saturday 1 May to Monday 3 May at BAPS Swaminarayan mandirs in London, Chigwell and Leicester. Their collective efforts, sponsored by more than 14,000 donors, raised over £600,000 – every penny of which will be directed towards the life-saving relief efforts in India.

We need to show solidarity in a way that can overcome the divides now. As Sonal says we need to build bridges between where we live now and where our families came from; between communities of privilege and those who are more marginalised; between the pain of this current emergency and the promise of a more resilient, more hopeful future.

India, UK adopt roadmap to strengthen ties India and the UK adopted an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ during the virtual summit between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi that will elevate bilateral ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”

They have unveiled a plan for a free trade agreement, vaccine collaboration and a migration accord that will see India take back illegal migrants from the UK in exchange for employment visas for 3,000 Indian professionals annually. In essence, UK’s exit from the European single market and customs union has freed up London to chart a more robust course in its foreign policy. This was exemplified by the review of UK’s foreign policy earlier this year that called for a shift in focus towards the IndoPacific and boosting alliances with countries such as India. In the short term the focus of the bilateral relationship will remain on combating Covid which has wracked both nations.

In the long run though, the two countries must align their interests to jointly shape the Indo-Pacific region and resist China’s belligerent designs. These are also the reason why India and the UK have decided to keep Chinese companies out of sensitive areas like 5G technology. However, China is a reality that can’t be ignored either. Like-minded democracies need to combine forces to reinforce the rules-based order. If London is willing to shed its cautious approach, New Delhi too should drop its protectionist policies for bilateral economic and strategic synergies to flow. Britain, the world's fifth largest economy, sees clos-

er ties with India, the sixth biggest, as a key pillar of its postBrexit push to seek trade and influence in the Indo-Pacific region and address growing Chinese dominance. The agreements mark the beginning of a new era in the UK-India relationship as both the countries share many fundamental values.

The British government set out 533 million pounds of Indian investment into Britain. A pact on migration sought to address friction between the two allies, in which Britain says there are too many Indians living illegally in Britain, and India says tens of thousands who come to Britain to study are denied job opportunities. During his meeting with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, India's foreign minister S Jaishankar signed ‘Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement’, bringing “in a system that will require the British government to properly ascertain that those being sent back are bona fide Indian nationals and not “nonIndians”. Under the new scheme on youth mobility under which, every year up to 3,000 young Indian professionals can avail employment opportunities in the UK for a period of two years without being subject to the labour market test. As per the fresh MoU, the time frame to verify the nationality of a person who holds an Indian passport and who has overstayed the visa will be not later than 30 days on the receipt of request from the UK authorities. The UK will also have to follow the same procedures if a British national is found staying illegally in India. The MoU will be revived automatically after seven years.

I guess at the end of the day, all women like to be appreciated and treated with respect and kindness. - Sofia Vergara

Alpesh Patel

UK India Trade After two scheduled visits that were delayed due to India's COVID crisis, the UK-India trade agreement has finally taken shape. Boris Johnson and India's prime minister Narendra Modi have agreed terms on a new £1bn deal to provide trade, investment, and new jobs.

The deal contains £533m of new Indian investment into the UK, which will lead to the creation of about 6,000 new jobs. £200m of this investment will support low carbon growth. Additionally, growing industries like health and technology will receive a boost.

The Serum Institute of India has invested £240m into their UK vaccine business and sales office. The sales office alone will produce more than $1bn in business and boost job creation.

Additionally, UK businesses have agreed on export deals with India, totalling over £446 million.

Chief among these deals is CMR Surgical's export of its surgical robotic system Versius. The £200m deal will create around 100 new UK jobs. Another notable win was the 1,000 new jobs announced within technology firm Infosys.

Indeed, this Enhanced Trade Partnership is just the beginning. A UK-India Free Trade Agreement is in the pipeline, with more significant cooperation ensured by the Roadmap 2030 agreement.

Of course, the agreement is about far more than just trade. Greater security cooperation is another stated goal. As China expands in the region, both countries have geopolitical concerns. The UK has applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a bloc of 11 Indo-Pacific nations.

Another aspect of the agreement will tackle previous immigration tensions between the countries. A migration and mobility partnership aimed at helping Indian graduates move to the UK for up to two years has been agreed upon. In exchange, the UK will have greater powers to deport Indian workers living illegally in Britain.

Overall, this is a positive start to the UK's postBrexit deals. UK and Indian alignment is a muchneeded boost for both countries during trying times.

Job growth, cultural exchange, and greater security are all big pluses. Because the UK's most significant export is financial services, access to a developing market of 1.4 billion people should prove beneficial in an increasingly digital age.

Another meaningful aspect is the countries commitment to combat climate change. Clean energy transition and protection of wildlands is a welcome target for the 2030 Roadmap. Indeed, with the COP26 scheduled in the UK in November, securing the strategic alignment is a substantial environmental boost.

Conclusion The UK-India trade deal is a bright spot in what has been a trying time for both countries.

Investments and job growth are just the beginning, with further alignment around security, culture, and services showing great potential.

As the UK looks toward its post-Brexit economy, a strong relationship with a developing country with a large English speaking population promises to be mutually beneficial.

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15 - 21 May 2021

Justice might be delayed, but don’t give up An EXCLUSIVE interview with Seema Misra, the ex-postmistress, who was convicted wrongfully in the Post Office Scandal

Seema Misra

Shefali Saxena Ex-Sub Postmistress Seema Misra watches from distance in a car when her son plays cricket. She didn’t celebrate the birthday of her younger son for eight years because she didn’t want his friends and their mothers to come and say, ‘She’s Seema Misra’.

Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, Seema retold the story of the biggest miscarriage of justice in Britain - the Post Office Scandal.

Seema Misra was 30 years old in 2005 she joined as the sub-postmistress. Slowly her balance records stopped matching because of the faulty Horizon IT system.

“I’ve put my own money in the

Post Office, can you please sort this,” Seema asked the Post Office trainer, which was followed by an audit. Seema was given a warning as the shortfall of money (due to the glitch) rose to £4,000 from £100. Her home was searched, and she was interrogated. Seema told Asian Voice, “I had nothing to hide.”

In January 2008, she went to court. “I pleaded not guilty for the theft charges,” Seema said, as she explained that her first solicitor told her to plead guilty so that her sentence would be lesser than usual, but she didn’t. “Every time the case was heard, the Post Office was unable to give disclosure,” Seema added.

Her case was titled ‘Queen v Seema Misra’, not the ‘Post Office v Seema Misra’. “They play with the emotions of people; how can she fight our Queen?

“During the trial I found I was pregnant. I was eight weeks pregnant on my sentencing day.”

In imprisonment, she was forced to switch to vegetarian food (cutting away much needed

protein from her diet) because she doubted the hygiene standards of the meat. “I couldn’t afford food poisoning. I was scared. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would have killed myself. I had lost faith in the system,” Seema told Asian Voice.

“I was so ashamed I went to prison. While I was away, Dev (her husband) got beaten up by local people. They hurled racially motivated abuses at him.

Seema was released with a tag after four months with a warning.

She went into labour with that tag. “It was such a good moment, but such a shameful moment,” she told the newsweekly.

Her mother-in-law took care of her elder son, but Seema’s parents weren’t aware of her imprisonment. She made phone calls to them from prison saying she was well so that they felt she was alright.

Yet, no one has been punished for the IT glitch.

Commenting on that, Seema said, “We want a full public enquiry.

There were people who knew that this was wrong, but they still

let it go. Why? The Post Office can’t even imagine what they’ve done.”

Seema feels the need for a trust to be created which can give monetary help to people who have suffered in the Post Office Scandal. “I still shiver. I would never recommend someone to work in the Post Office,” Seema

told Asian Voice.

“When you know you have done nothing wrong, justice might be delayed, but don’t give up,” Seema signed off as she also cited the famous Indian saying, “Jako rakhe saiyan maar sake na koi.” (Meaning: the one who is guarded by or protected by God, cannot be killed by anyone.)

Post Office apologises Following the vindication of many innocent employees, the Post Office has contacted hundreds more postmasters who may have been wrongfully prosecuted.

A spokesman said: "The Post Office sincerely apologises for serious historical failures. We continue to take determined action for people affected. The Post Office has made strenuous efforts to identify individuals who were historically convicted and an extensive post-conviction disclosure exercise is taking place to identify and disclose all material which might affect the safety of those convictions."

Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells who was made a CBE for "services to the Post Office and to charity", said she was "truly sorry" for the "suffering" caused to sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of offences.

Meanwhile, Postmasters have taken ministers to court over inquiry failure A group of 555 sub post masters are preparing to file a judicial review at the High Court in an attempt to demand an inquiry that summons witnesses and questions them under oath, which the current inquiry does not have.

SADIQ KHAN WINS SECOND TERM AS LONDON MAYOR HOW DID ASIANS FARE? Image source: Twitter

The results of Local Council Elections 2021 – Bexley & Bromley, Brent & Harrow, Ealing & Hillingdon, Havering & Redbridge, West Central, Lambeth & Southwark and North East, Barnet & Camden, Croydon & Sutton, Enfield & Haringey, Greenwich & Lewisham, Merton & Wandsworth, and SouthWest have been announced.

Sadiq Khan has been re-elected as London Mayor despite the Labour party’s disappointing performance in the other local elections. It’s imperative to note that Khan became the first Muslim to head a Western capital in 2016, after defeating his opponent Shaun Bailey, the Conservative Party candidate. Khan won by 55.2 percent votes by a narrow margin while Bailey stood at 44.8 percent in a highly polarised and hyped result. After being re-elected Khan said, The scars of Brexit have yet to heal. A crude culture war is pushing us further apart.

"Economic inequality is getting worse both within London and in different parts of our country. As we seek to confront the enormity of the challenge ahead, and as we endeavour to rebuild from this pandemic, we must use this moment of national recovery to heal those damaging divisions." Shaun Bailey congratulated Mr Khan but hoped the re-elected mayor would not "blame everything on the government".

Khan reappointed Rajesh Agrawal as his Deputy Mayor for business. Born and raised in Indore, India, Rajesh moved to London in 2001 with £200 in his pocket. He was first appointed in this role in 2016 and has since driven business & economic brief from London’s City Hall through the unprecedented crisis caused by

Brexit & Covid-19.

Tories buoyed by close race against Khan “Conservative turnout in some areas was so high that party sources said they had revised their assessment that London was now a “Labour city”. In the London Assembly, the Conservatives gained Brent and Harrow, and Ealing and Hillingdon from Labour — boroughs with a combined population of more than 1.2 million people.” The Times reported.

Meanwhile, Brexit has unarguably changed Britain’s electoral landscape. It has changed what politics is about and driven a wedge between Labour and many of its traditional supporters.

Critiquing this win, Matthew Goodwin (professor of politics and international relations at University of Kent) wrote in The Sunday Times, “In a world no longer running on traditional class lines, the party (Labour) has lost its low-income voters to the Tories, is reduced to a rump in Scotland and even fears being squeezed by the Greens. Its confused values now appeal to nobody.”

Keir Starmer plans move out of London?

Keir Starmer is said to be planning a move out of MORTGAGES INSURANCE London as a senior frontbencher quit with a wither• Residential • Life & Critical ing attack on the 'London-based bourgeoisie' who • Buy to Let • Private Medical have taken over the party 'with the support of • Remortgages • Income Protection brigades of woke social media warriors'.

• Ltd Co Mortgages • Professional Indemnity New Blackburn Tory councillor Tiger Patel cites • Public Liability X-rated campaign video “vital for election win” WE SPEAK Tiger Patel, (real name : Altaf), stood for the Conservatives in Blackburn. The video, which was GUJARATI, HINDI, ENGLISH shared before the election, shows Mr Patel walking Sanjiv Nanavati, CeMAP, M.B.A around a local children's playground, displaying the Mortgage & Insurance Adviser damage that has been caused and its dilapidated state. Mr Patel, who says he has been described as 07970 265 748 "the BoJo of Blackburn", beat the Labour incumbent sanjiv@srfsmortgages.co.uk candidate in Audley and Queen's Park ward by 1,209 Harrow Business Centre, 429-433 Pinner Road, Harrow HA1 4HN votes to 1,096.

SRFS Mortgages Ltd is authorised & regulated by the In a historic move, Liverpool has elected its first Financial Conduct Authority (No. 839035) Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up your payments on any mortgage secured on it. black female mayor, Ms Joanne Anderson.

*This is not an exhaustive list.

WINNERS • Brent & Harrow: Krupesh Hirani (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 46% • Ealing & Hillingdon: Onkar Singh Sahota (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 41% • Lambeth & Southwark: Marina Masuma Ahmad (Labour and Cooperative Party) - 49% City & East: Unmesh Desai (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 57% LOST • Ealing & Hillingdon: Hussain Shah Khan (Liberal Democrats) - 8% • West Central: Rita Begum (Labour and Co-operative Party) - 37%, Saradhi Rajan (ReformUK - London Deserves Better) - 1% • Barnet & Camden: Marisha Priyanka Ray (Liberal Democrats) - 8%

Krupesh Hirani wins in Brent and Harrow Krupesh Hirani has been elected as the new London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow.

He succeeds Navin Shah who decided to step down from the position. On winning the seat, he paid tribute to his predecessor for serving the community for a number of decades. Krupesh has Krupesh Hirani been a Brent Councillor since 2010 and has worked in and supported the voluntary sector in Harrow throughout his life. He oversaw Brent’s year as the London Borough of Culture and was the Cabinet Member overseeing Public Health over the pandemic period. He also now chairs Metroland Cultures – the charity taking forward the legacy of the London Borough of Culture.

Krupesh Hirani AM said, “I’m thankful to the people of Brent and Harrow for electing and trusting me to represent them at City Hall.

I’m immensely proud to represent the greatest part of the best city in the world. The immediate priority for City Hall will be securing jobs and business and making sure that London’s recovery is fair for all.”

Former Gurkha becomes Hounslow's new Mayor Hounslow Council swore-in its 56th Mayor during the Council’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 4, May 2021. Cllr Bishnu Gurung takes over the role for the next 12 months from outgoing Mayor, Cllr Tony Louki, who held the position for two years because of the pandemic.

An ex-British Gurkha Staff Sergeant, he was Cllr Bishnu Gurung born and raised in Nepal, and during his time in the Army he served in various parts of the UK, along with Hong Kong, Brunei, and Singapore. He retired from the armed forces in 1995, after completing 19 years’ service. He received the prestigious Long Service and Good Conduct medal upon retirement. He is a division secretary and caseworker for SSAFA (Soldiers, Airmen and Families Association). He also serves as a trustee and advisor to the Dewachan Buddhist Centre and was the founding Chairman of the Gurkha Nepalese Community Hounslow.

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HAVE WOMEN FINALLY WON? Continued from page 1 For the first time in history there will be a wide-ranging legal definition of domestic abuse which incorporates a range of abuses beyond physical violence, including emotional, coercive, or controlling behaviour, and financial abuse.

Women's Aid said domestic abuse is a largely hidden crime, occurring primarily at home. Women or men often don’t report or disclose domestic abuse to the police (HMIC, 2014) and may under report domestic abuse in surveys, particularly during face-to-face interviews (ONS, 2015). In addition, prevalence estimates do not consider important context and impact information, for example whether the violence caused fear, who experienced multiple incidents and who experienced coercive controlling behaviour.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales showed that an estimated 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 years experienced domestic abuse till March 2020 (1.6 million women and 757,000 men), a slight but non-significant decrease from the previous year. But the police recorded 758,941 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester Police), an increase of 9% from the previous year.

Coincidentally, the act has been greenlit at a time when British Asian law graduate Mayra Zulfiquar, 24, was found shot dead in Lahore on May 3 after allegedly getting caught in a love rivalry between two locals who were allegedly her friends who were abusive, violent and were armed with AK-47 assault rifle. Her father has requested Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to launch an investigation against the accused.

Overlooking plight of migrant women Judging from the calls received on the Muslim Women’s Network Helpline, Shaista Gohir OBE, CoChair - Muslim Women’s Network UK is disappointed that the government continues to overlook the plight of migrant women.

She said, “Women seem to not recognise non-physical Shaista Gohir abuse such as coercive control, economic abuse and emotional abuse. Even threats of issuing an Islamic

divorce are a form of abuse. Last year we helped over 1200 women and girls.

“The other issue we have noticed is that women who are say British born and do have family to turn to are sometimes discouraged from leaving abusive situations and even on occasions sent back to their husbands. They are expected to suffer in silence. However, such attitudes are putting women at risk and every year women from South Asian backgrounds are being murdered by their husbands.”

Speaking her mind on the bill, Lady Kishwar Desai told Asian Voice, “I welcome the Domestic Violence Bill, because it considers many troubling aspects Lady Kishwar Desai neglected in the past, such as mental and emotional aggression. In many Asian families the status of girl children and even adult women is often subservient from birth, and so this Bill will empower those who have been victims to seek justice. Yes, there will be always the difficulty of accusing those who were supposed to be caregivers, and there will be moments of selfdoubt. I am convinced, however, that this Bill will create a space for discussion and a platform for speaking up. When issues are brought into the public space from behind closed doors, it does give courage to the most vulnerable. Young women will be able to evaluate the fact that they are the threshold of their lives — and would they like to live under constant fear and oppression or take a stand that enables their confidence and self-worth?

A lot of supportive organisations and self-help groups are needed — but in this day of social media, these will emerge to provide support to all — regardless of gender. At least, victims will not feel, then, alone and abandoned.”

‘Violence against women is a choice’ Heather Harvey, a research and development manager at NIA (a charity working on all forms of violence against women and girls), thinks that it is shocking, and indeed racist, sexist Heather Harvey and a breach of

Issa brothers told to sell 27 fuel stations to takeover ASDA

Issa brothers

The £6.8 billion takeover of Asda by the Issa brothers has hit a roadblock.

The billionaire duo have been told they will need to sell 27 fuel stations for the takeover to go ahead, the Mirror reported. It is being alleged that they would have to sell part of their network for the transaction to be reconsidered.

The warning from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) comes amid concerns the purchase of Asda could lead to higher petrol prices in some parts of the country. The CMA previously said these overlaps would financially impact consumers and could leave them worse off.

An investigation was launched into the Asda takeover in December, after the deal was given the go-ahead by Walmart.

Its job was to investigate what impact the merger could have on competition and prices in the UK. If the deal goes through they will become the first British owners of the supermarket chain in 20 years.

human rights, that the UK Government still seeks to exclude women with insecure immigration status or with no recourse to public funds from these protective provisions.

She said, “Many women of South Asian heritage may have married and come to the UK to live with their husband and in-laws and as such she has no recourse to public funds as it is deemed that her family should be able to cover all her needs. Creating this degree of dependency is something which puts her in real danger as the husband and inlaws have complete control and, in some cases, will abuse that power, abusing her with impunity knowing she is choosing between a roof over her head and both ostracism and destitution and/or deportation. We also need specialist women-only, and Black, Asian and Minority women’s services to support women appropriately.

“Trying to rebuild a life after domestic violence is excessively hard as ties, connections, support networks are ruptured, often women have nothing but the clothes they are wearing. Starting over costs time and money, takes a huge amount of administration, advocacy, and effort and this is very difficult when you have no secure income or safe accommodation and are still traumatised by the experience. It is not helpful either that so little in the way of free counselling is available. It is astonishing how resilient women prove to be and that they do manage to move on – often it is for the sake of their children that they find the courage. But what this points up too, is the need for specialist women-only and Black, Asian and Minority women’s services – again of which there is a great lack.

“It is most alarming that Courts often separate out the violence to the mother from the witnessing of it by the children and reach a conclusion that the father is still a good father to the children. Male violence against women is a choice and you can choose not to be a perpetrator,” she said.

Farah Nazeer chief executive at Women's Aid added, "We have seen results – strengthened protection in the family courts, recognition of children as victims, a guarantee that survivors escaping domestic abuse will be in ‘pri- Farah Nazeer ority need’ for

housing, a legal duty on councils to fund support in safe accommodation, and many more.

However, the new Act has significant gaps, and not all women will be protected by the new law. Despite the tireless campaigning of Southall Black Sisters, the Step Up Migrant Women campaign led by the Latin American Women’s Rights Service and the End Violence Against Women Coalition, the government has failed to deliver equal protection and support for migrant women through the new law. All survivors must have the right to seek help and live a life free from abuse. We will continue to campaign for the law to protect all women and children from domestic abuse and provide safety from abusers regardless of immigration status." The Act now recognises children as domestic abuse victims, she added.

Financial abuse finally recognised Talking about the financial abuse, Neelam Heera, Founder of Cystersgroup told the newsweekly, “I'm glad finally we recognise Financial abuse. We have countless seen times women being made to hand over Neelam Heera their wages or take out loans in their names as part of controlling and coercive behaviour. This new bill gives women legal protection from me, so they don't feel trapped emotionally and financially with the perpetrators. Coercive control protection has been long awaited as it is this misogynist behaviour that has pushed people away from reporting this behaviour as it has been normalised over the years. Rough sex is also something the bill has covered. Far too any times have perpetrators got away with women's lives have been lost due to rough sex. In relation to housing it's important that this bill has also recognised that women fleeing domestic violence are seen as a priority when accessing services and housing.

However, the bill fails to protect all women and migrant women are still being missed out as vulnerable groups that deserve to be protected by this bill. Precarious immigration status should not stop someone from accessing support and services following domestic violence it's adds to the narrative that their lives are less important when in fact we should be supporting all women.”

Mandatory calorie label UK publishing house misses J&K from on food at restaurants India’s map to tackle obesity The government’s laws have revealed in the Queen’s Speech that big hospitality firms will now be bound to add a calorie label on their food in a bid to tackle obesity. This will include restaurants, cafes and pubs.

“The new laws will make it compulsory for hospitality businesses with more than 250 employees to calorie label food in a bid to tackle obesity,” the BBC reported. “It risks a backlash from the sector which has been one of the hardest hit by forced closures during the coronavirus pandemic, although the government has ditched plans to include drink like pints of beer in pubs,” it further said.

The Queen’s Speech briefly mentioned this and read: “The government will introduce secondary legis-

lation to require large outof-home sector businesses with 250 or more employees to calorie label the food they sell.”

The health and care bill is meanwhile going to empower NHS England to ban junk food adverts online and before the 9pm TV watershed.

In an introduction to the speech, Johnson said: “We must harness the ingenuity and resolve that has been revealed in the struggle against Covid-19 and use it to create a stronger, healthier and more prosperous nation. We have been given an historic opportunity to change things for the better, level up opportunities across the whole of the United Kingdom, and address the problems that have constrained us far too often before.”

A Twitter user by the name Shivani Desai Popat called out publishing house after it published the incorrect map of India in its book, by not including the state of Jammu & Kashmir. “Below is the picture from a Collins kids book I received for my daughter from school. They clearly put the wrong India map. This is definitely NOT accepted,” she tweeted. British Indians Voice came out to join Popat in calling out the publisher and tweeted: “#BritishIndians demand from @Collins_Books to immediately correct the map of India on its books and extend an apology. Please investigate as this seems to be intentional, confirm once done.

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Liberal leader’s disparaging article on India Vince Cable’s article on India (India buckles under a deadly second wave of Covid; A global battle for supremacy emerging in the Independent) is riddled with inconsistencies and condescending arrogant pronouncements on India. Coming from a Liberal politician it is even more shocking. He describes the public cremations as lighting up the sky like a recreation of Bosch's hell. There is no sensitivity nor any respect for the situation. These comments are of a man looking down on another race of people.

Mr Cable laments that India's plight is not on 'our' priority list. Anyone seeing the media coverage on India in the last week would say we were morbidly obsessed with India's plight. British media has covered scenes which would be considered in a bad taste here in the UK. Mr Cable goes on to claim that there is a 'dehumanisation' of figures in India. Presumably meaning there are so many of them that people are just numbers. For good measure he adds many Indians die anyway of preventable diseases and poverty. He even turned his attention to public defecation as a problem, despite Modi's drive to build more toilets.He goes on to take a swipe at India's disastrous economic contraction of around 12% in 2020. It could have helped if Mr Cable had mentioned any country that was doing well at the time. He decided to ignore the fact that India was on course to be the leading growing economy this year. In the UK the governments bail out of tens of billions of pounds will mean that many generations will have to carry the burden of fighting the Covid.

In a self-congratulatory overdrive Mr Cable mentions how Britain cheerfully is looking forward to the end of the lockdown. No mention that after Modi had managed to bring coronavirus under complete control, the lockdown was lifted. Covid-19 however is a tough nut to crack. It could well be that corona will rebound here in the UK after the opening up.

Will Boris be called complacent if that happens?

Mr Cable seems to also have forgotten the almost 130,000 deaths(could they be well under the real figure?) here in the UK. He would be forgiven if he did because we have not seen on our television screens wailing relatives and the huge queues for burials of the dead. The UK has had one of the highest death rates from Covid in the world.

Finally, Mr Cable worries that while India languishes with its messy democracy and intolerant Modi, China will surge ahead. China with no democracy and massive repression is a better bet for him than India with its messy democracy! And as a parting punch Mr Cable wants the West to prop up India not for India's sake but for the sake of the West!

I suppose the often-flaunted massive trade deals with the world's largest market will be put on a backburner?

Nitin Mehta London

Thank you, medical technology I just cannot believe that in course of last few decades how advance the modern medical health care has become. I am not any medical professional or an expert but my observation, experience, talking and listening to others just makes me wonder about this modern-day miracle.

How the medical world has changed and how rapidly the new complexities of medical technology are changing our lives for betteris astounding. Thanks to all those Medical Technologist, Scientist, Engineers, Professors, Support Disciplines of these fields, who work hard to come up withinnovations.

Who would have ever thought about all this except the science fiction writers? And to think when we were young a visit to thedoctors, we experienced a dull, room smelling of disinfectants with a metal bed, sight of a big syringe, stethoscope, and few other instruments of time. And now there are multi medical devices that can be used for almost all diagnostic and therapeutic medical interventions at doctor’s clinics or hospitals. For wider hospital or longtermtreatments there is entire spectrum deployment of smart and digital technologies, remote monitoring, use of artificial intelligence, robotics surgery, stem cell treatments,defibrillators, and electrosurgical units etc. And who would have thought that within the period of Covid -19 the scientist come up with appropriate vaccination in time to protect us? Welcome to the new era of medical, health care world where there are now procedures to solve our health problems and improve our quality of lives.

Thank you to this new medical revolution that we seem to be in better care and shape.

Jatish S Shah Northampton

KHICHADI Kapil’s

BJP punished for Covid-19 blunder When Corona virus first appeared in China, it quickly spread to Japan, South Korea and Italy. Britain knew that being densely populated, it was only matter of time before virus will invade the country, putting our NHS under pressure.

PM Boris took difficult decision, total lockdown, banning export of locally produced vaccines and preparing NHS for the expected onslaught. As a result, Britain was the best prepared nation in the world to deal with the epidemic. Even countries like Germany, France and America, were caught unprepared. India who is the leading producer of medicines, including corona 19 vaccination, was caught napping.

Central government behaved like India is immune to such epidemics, playing with people’s lives, being Shylock at home while playing Robin Hood overseas, exporting, even donating millions of doses to countries in Asia and Africa and was caught unprepared when second wave struck India with vengeance.

Kumbh Mela and Assembly elections drew vast crowds, attending these meetings without a care in the world, no facemasks, and no distance. Most people here knew that India would become a graveyard, as PM Modi took off his eyes from domestic affairs to concentrate on foreign matters.

The figures of infection and deaths put out by government is tip of the iceberg, as practically every families of friends and relations in India are affected by the virus with many premature deaths. No wonder BJP fared badly, was ostracized in local assembly and panchayat elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and especially Utter Pradesh where BJP was practically wiped-out in panchayats, villages were caught unprepared, without medicine, oxygen and even testing equipment. No wonder they expressed their anger at ballot box while here Tories excelled, people appreciating door to door vaccination on offer. Indian voters do not have short memories. They will not forget this mass betrayal in a hurry. BJP will have to work hard to regain their trust and be prepared for the third wave. This will be real test for patriarch Modi and Amit Shah if BJP wants to remain in power. This is a lesson they should never forget; pride, arrogance and over-confidence leads to downfall in politics.

Bhupendra M. Gandhi London

West Bengal post-election violence It is always horrific to hear violence committed because of either winning or losing an election.No matter who one supports or that one disagrees with their point of view and policies. What is happening in West Bengal is a tragedy and again the victims are Hindus.Hindus have become targets in their motherland, and we have in the west and secularists and communist groups denigrating Hindus and some in the west have claimed that Hindus are supremacists or use of the phrase "Hindu Supremacism" to justify their attacks on Hindus, who they claim are victimising minorities in India.

Now you hardly get front line news of attacks on Hindus, rapes or kidnapping of Hindu girls and forced conversations as well force marriages in Pakistan or Bangladesh. Moreover, very scant reporting by media on so called "love jihad" where Indian Muslims are sometimes pretending to Hindus and trying to marry Hindu women, and more often that do not have at times resulted in tragedy. Now India's main religion and ancient history is Dharmic, and Vedic traditions and Hinduism is the country's main religion. No one asked the European colonist or Islamic invaders to come to India and convert the Hindu population they were minding their own business. If those who do not like it in India can leave to neighbouring countries, but none of the surrounding countries are bastions of human rights or secularism or pluralism.They are no haven for minorities especially Hindus, Jains, or Buddhists.

Visvas Patel

Ban on travellers Various countries like Australia and the US have banned travellers to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Each country has legitimate rights to protect her citizen and a travel ban from the worst affected regions is one of the measures countries take. Australia’s threat to anybody arriving from India faces fines and up to 5 years in prison is a bit too much over-cautious approach.

There are other small countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan are also affected but the same ban is not imposed on these countries. The same restrictions are not applied to them hence the questions of racism have aroused. In addition to this during the Indian cricket team’s visit to Australia in 2020, there were some racial remarks made during the match. This has added fuel to the fire.

Even Australian Human Rights Commission has asked the government to show that these measures are not discriminatory. I think it is not the time to blame each other but to work with a collaborative approach and investigate the long-term strategic ways to contain the transmission of the disease. Any aggressive or provocative remarks/action may harm long term relationship.

Hitesh Hingu London

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Saving LABOUR: The Bells Toll Kapil Dudakia In the run up to 5th May, Election Day, almost every media outlet ran stories of how the Tories weredropping in the polls and Labour were on the verge of a major breakthrough. My experience from the grassroots was rather different. So whilst all these mediawalas and Labour politicians reeled in utter shock as the results came through, I was laid back and wondered if anyone at Labour HQ was getting the message of yet another massive defeat?

The results are brutal. At this timein a parliamentary cycle,one would expect any credible opposition to make significant inroads into the majority of the Governing Party.

Instead, it was the Tories that wiped out Labour from itssocalled heartlands.

Keir Starmer: ‘Labour has lost the trust of working people across England’ If Labour wants to save itself then maybe Starmer needs to read the following.

1. Stopappeasingto the whims of the Pakistani community.

2. Accept that Jammu & Kashmir are integral to India.

3. Stopappeasing to extremists from the Middle East.

4. Stopantisemitism in all its forms.

5. Stop the anti-India, anti-Hindu rhetoric orchestrated by Labour.

6. Support our law enforcement and armed forces.

7. Reject the hooliganism of Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter and other similar woke groups.

8. Stop undermining the nation and its people.

9. Stop playing identity politics.

10. Kick out Labour politicians and members who undermine these values.

Labour has gone so far away from the centre of British life that in effect it has now become synonymous with being an anti-national party. A Party that has ignored its core working class voters to appease to its vote bank politics of wokeness.

Labour has become a Party that has allowed the antiSemites to thrive, the anti-Hindus to bully and the antiIndia mob to demonise a nation. Alongside this it has given voice to the Khalistani extremists and the madness of Hamas. Let’s not forget that many people see Labour as the Party that would rather protect the grooming gangs, and not their victims. When you begin to put together the various components that make up Labour of today, you can see a theme developing. One which rejects the nation, its people and British culture in favour of extremists, and those who wish this country harm.

Add to this narrative the madness of the Marxists that gathered momentum under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Their single-minded adherence to the extremes of a bankrupt Marxist ideology failed to understand that the British public is not in that space.

Is it any wonder that the Labour Party of today fails on so many counts? If Starmer wants a winning Party, then it’s time to perform some major surgery. This means rejecting ideology that is foreign to the British psyche, getting rid of the racists, staying out of international politics borne of vote bank politics, and becoming a Party that fights for Great Britain. This means Labour will have to split. It will lose the next election, but at least it will be ready to fight the one after on a much stronger and coherent ideology that resonates with the British public.

The Marxists, Pakistanis, Khalistanis and Islamists will throw a tantrum, but eventually they will come back since they will have nowhere else to go.A progressive centrist Labour Party might even get a few more votes from the Jewish and Indian community.

So Keir, it’s time to defund your advisers. They don’t get it. Followmy plan and you’ll get back the grassroots of Labour. The bells are tolling, do you want to save Labour?

Congratulations to ABPL When there is a will, there is a way. This is very true for me.

In fact, I didn’t want to miss virtual zoom meeting of 49th glorious anniversary of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice on 5 May. My wife and I had therapy for our knee replacement surgery, so we both had gone there.As soon as my therapy finished, I joined the zoom meeting that the newspaper had organised and listened to the inspiring messages of Lord Dholakia and Rohit Vadhwana, First Secretary,High Commission of India, London among some others.

Our holy and happy wishes to all connected with ABPL in London and India and around the world including letter writers like me.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Canada

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in brief TWO PFIZER DOSES CUT DEATH RISK BY 97% According to the latest world data on vaccine efficacy published by Public Health England (which looks at people who were infected despite being vaccinated, two doses of the Pfizer vaccine provide 97 percent protection against death and a single dose of either main UK vaccine offers 80 percent protection.

“The analysis involved almost 50,000 cases of people aged 70 and over — of whom one in five had been vaccinated,” The Times reported.

SOCIAL DISTANCING TO END SOON? Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes that social distancing will end from Monday and families will be reunited and pubs will be able to serve indoors. From May 17, pubs and restaurants will reopen for indoor service and up to six people from two households will be able to meet inside. Up to 30 people will also be allowed to gather outdoors, which will include museums, theatres, cinemas and children’s indoor play areas.

RECRUIT MORE BLACK OFFICERS, SAYS PRITI PATEL Home Secretary Priti Patel has urged police chiefs to accelerate the recruitment of black officers amid fears that the lack of diversity risks losing the trust of communities. Only 180 black officers have been recruited in 2020. Patel emphasised in her address at the National Policing Board that there’s a strong “need for strong leadership to deliver change”.

Boris under investigation for Caribbean holiday Boris Johnson is being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog for allegedly breaking rules for declaring a newyear holiday in the Caribbean.

Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner is incharge of the investigation, which he took with his partner Carrie Symonds. Downing Street has gone on record to say that “all relevant transparency requirements” for the holiday have been met. Johnson accepted the accommodation for a private holiday, was for his partner and him, that’s worth £15,000, mentioning that it had been provided by Conservative party donor David Ross.

Christian Aid appoints race and diversity lead as part of anti-racist strategy Christian Aid has appointed Kamna Patel, a new race and diversity lead, who will take forward the international development agency’s strategic vision to become an antiracist organisation. She will take over in July and joins on a two-year contract.

Patel is currently an associate professor of development studies and faculty vice dean for equality, diversity and inclusion at University College London. She has a breadth of development experience having consulted on small and large-scale projects in the UK, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, India, and many other places.

Patel said: “I’m very excited to join Christian Aid and to bring a different element to thinking about race and racism to

the organisation, drawing on my own academic research and other studies of structural racism. Through this, I hope to enhance the depth and reach of the Race and Diversity plan to enable us to realise its full potential.”

Modi cancels his June visit to G7 Summit amid India’s Covid crisis The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India, announced on Tuesday that PM Modi will not be attending the G7 summit in person, which is scheduled to take place in Cornwall in the UK in June.

The ministry cited India’s prevailing coronavirus situation as the prime reason for the cancellation of his visit. "While appreciating the invitation to the Prime Minister by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to attend the G7 Summit as a special invitee, given the prevailing

COVID situation, it has been decided that the Prime Minister will not attend the G7 Summit in person," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. The G7 comprises the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Earlier this month, Modi joined Boris Johnson in a virtual interaction from India to discuss the UK-India partnership and ‘Roadmap 2030’ where the two countries will collaborate at a multilevel partnership, including vaccines, jobs, immigration rules and more.

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Barnardo’s shares 10 ways to celebrate Eid with your children

As the holy month of Ramadan comes to an end, Barnardo’s, the UK’s largest children’s charity, is sharing ten top tips on how children and families can still enjoy Eid-ul-Fitr despite the pandemic.

This week (10-14 May) is also Mental Health Awareness Week and there are ways families and children can enjoy the festivities that can help children’s mental health.

1. Putting up decorations together 2. Cooking, baking and eating together 3. Making Eid cards 4. Dressing up 5. Giving each other presents 6. Spending time outdoors 7. Meeting up with friends and family outside 8. Taking part in group celebrations online 9. Playing family games 10. Communicating with each other Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said: “This Eid, many Muslim children may be feeling isolated, confused or even angry when they’re unable to celebrate as a community like they used to. We also have experts who are equipped to deal with children’s complex emotions during this time, and we encourage you to make use of these services so that your children are able to talk through their problems and feelings, and learn how to cope.”

The Boloh helpline number is 08001 512605 or visit https://helpline.barnardos.org.uk for information, and to use the web chat facility. The helpline is open from Monday to Friday between 10am and 8pm and on weekends between 10am and 3pm.

Islamic Relief UK and Newham community project help international students On Saturday 8 May, Islamic Relief UK partnered with Newham Community Project food bank to provide 500 food packs to international students and their families in London, who have been struggling financially during Covid-19.

Food packs with big portions of items such as tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, lentils, tea bags and biscuits were given to over 700 students and nearly 70 students with families. Many of the students lost their part time jobs due the pandemic and have not been entitled to any financial support from the Government, making paying for food, rent and university fees a huge struggle.

Elyas Ismail, organiser, Newham Community Project said: “We have been helping international students from our food bank for the past year since the first lockdown, and a lot of them have lost their work, they rely on parttime work to pay for fees for university, rent and other costs and are not

entitled to any Government help or financial support, so we had to step in. We now support 2,500 people a week. We have had fantastic support from Islamic relief UK to help distribute food. Without the support from them and other charities, it would be very difficult to carry on.”

Abdulla Almamun, UK Programmes Coordinator for Islamic Relief UK Said: "We saw huge queues this weekend of vulnerable families in urgent need of food in Newham and we shouldn't be seeing this in the UK. Covid-19 has driven families deeper into poverty and international students who are not entitled to any financial support have been hard hit. The Newham community project is a lifeline for desperate families and is doing amazing work during this very difficult time. Islamic Relief UK is proud to have partnered with the project to help some of the most vulnerable in London."

‘Surely, there is ease after hardship’ Shefali Saxena

"In terms of fundraising, there are new challenges now 2020 was not an easy year for the where you can’t do bucket world. 2021 is going to be a long haul, a collections for charities at rather difficult one for many members various shpping centres of the community because their loved which the various auxiliaries ones have suffered a lot, both physically of the Ahmadiyya Muslim and monetarily due to the pandemic Community used to do. and lockdown.

Majority of the fundraising This Eid, unlike last year, brings the has moved online and so that Adeel Shah possibility of meeting loved brings its own ones outside the house in challenges but we are open spaces, but in limited exploring new ways of raisnumbers. While the Muslim ing funds for those in need.” community handed out free Muslim Association of food, shelter, converted Britain community spaces into vac"Despite the pandemic, cination centres, it is imperthe giving spirit of the ative to note that Ramadan Muslim community is alive and Eid are a month of giv- Farhad Ahmad more than ever. Usually, at ing, charity and prayers. this time of year, many After all that the community went mosques would be offering iftar meals through in the past many months, we and food packs to the local community spoke to members of the community to but due to Covid restrictions, many know how they continued to donate, mosques are no longer able to do that. and follow the teachings of the Prophet.

But this hasn’t stopped the Muslim Farhad Ahmad, Imam at the Ahmadiyya community from giving back - for Muslim Community example, our MAB branch in “Eid-ul-Fitr comes after a month of Birmingham has been helping out at fasting where Muslims sacrifice some of local food banks and more of our their most basic needs of food and branches across the country have been drink during day-light hours. It naturaldelivering food packs to those most in ly creates a habit and practice of sacrineed in their local communities. We are fice for others. So even for Eid, in keepproud that our community members ing with the spirit of sacrifice emphaare continuing to give despite all the sised during the month of Ramadan, losses and hardship they have faced in Muslims are obliged to spend in charity the past year. and help those they can. This was the Covid may have restricted our activpractice of the founder of Islam, the ities, but it has allowed us to become Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be more creative by using online tools to upon him). help with fundraising efforts (Islamic “Last year and a half has particularly relief in 2019 received 30% more donabeen difficult for many people and so tions despite the pandemic). Even with the auxiliaries of the Ahmadiyya the hardships faced by our community Muslim Community have been running in the last year, we have shown that food drives for the homeless and donat“surely, there is ease after hardship” ing food to food banks. Other than that, Qur’an 94:5. In shaa’Allah we will get we have also been running events to through these tough times together". provide advice to those who have lost Adeel Shah, Ahmadiyya Muslim their jobs so that they are able to find Community good alternatives for making a living.

“Because we are united by lectures, There have also been thousands of sermons, because we have that system phone calls made to community memof leadership, we try to play our part bers to check up on them and especially and contribute. In the UK when the the elderly have benefited from these first lockdown happened, we immediphone calls as it has been a way for ately released a hotline. We said if them to reach out for help. you’re isolating, vulnerable or self med-

icating, if you want your prescription picked up at the pharmacy, if you want your household errand done, if you want your shopping picked up, or want someone to speak to is how we tried to contribute to society. We regularly donate blood to the NHS, plant trees, litter picking programs and we raise funds for charities. Our programmes aren’t limited to muslims. We incorporate them thinking of the entire society.

“Yes there’ve been setbacks.

There’ve been job losses. Wherever there are issues that occur around the world, our contribution increases. For those people who can’t afford Eid or basic necessities to enjoy the day, Islam has this system, those who are able to they contribute to those who can’t afford necessiteis. This system of equality within Islam has always been existent.

“Asking for contribution and forcing people to contribute is not a part of Islam. The Prophet taught us that you need to make sure people who live with you, your neighbours (Muslims or nonMuslims) should be taken care of. For example, Prophet Mohammed said if you’re cooking food and if your neighbour is starving, cook a little extra so they can enjoy food as well. The people who live 40 doors down from where you live, qualify as your neighbours, people you travel with, qualify as your neighbours, people you eat and work with are also your neighbours.

“Helping the unfortunate has always been a part of Muslim upbringing. If someone is not wealthy enough, and if they can’t afford to go to Hajj to Mecca, then it’s not incumbent on them. Contributions are done by a person’s own free will and however much they wish to contribute.

“Within our community, adhering to government guidelines is imperative.

Within the UK, from May 17th there are further relaxations. Eid this year - we’re celebrating on the 14th of May, Friday (a blessed day of the week anyway). If the law does not permit household gatherings, they shouldn’t happen.

The gift of Eid The biggest gift this Eid is the Covid19 vaccine, but one does want some good outfits to celebrate.

Sharing information on Facebook, Diya Suits and Sarees in Rayners Lane, Harrow wrote that anyone looking for Eid outfits this weekend can feel free to pop in. Their clearance sale includes Sarees,

Lehengas and Anarkali dresses with 10% off jewellery and accessories.

Oxford Mosque clarieif on their website: “In the current circumstances, congregational prayers remain suspended until further notice.”

Sharing her plans for Eid, renowned author and journalist Saima Mir told Asian Voice "I'm cele-

brating with my family. I'm hoping the weather is good, so we can meet up in a garden, have a barbecue, and listen to classic Bollywood songs as we eat and catch up. My brother-inlaw makes a mean grill, and my sister is an excellent baker. I've actually bought a new outfit this year, the first time in years!"

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11

12 SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNews

15 - 24 May 2021

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What’s cooking?

Azmina Govindji RD MBDA, Consultant Nutritionist & Registered Dietitian www.azminanutrition.com | @AzminaNutrition

Vegetable Pilau Yellow Chilli, Wembley

Gourmet Treats Wondering where to dine this Eid? We’ve got you covered.

Darjeeling Express, Covent Garden

Legendary Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s Indian restaurant Yellow Chilli in Wembley has announced its full reopening, set for May 17, 2021. The menu features a plethora of small and large plates as well as sides, with vegetarians and vegans well catered for.

Enjoy the likes of: Crescent Ring ‘Punjabi’ Samosa (spicy potatoes in a ring-shaped pastry, crisp baked, and served with homespun chutneys); Bhatti Ka Jheenga (prawns marinated with North Indian spices); Sham Savera (cottage cheese stuffed spinach dumplings in tomato sauce).

Speaking to Asian Voice, a spokesperson at Yellow Chilli said that unfortunately this Eid, as much as they’d love to deliver nationwide, they’re only able to do local deliveries at the moment. “We don't have a nationwide delivery partner , would definitely explore this option if available. With regards to Eid , we have IFTAR Menu which features a Choice of Dum Biryani (Chicken / Lamb / Pulled JackFruit) + Haleem (Lamb Haleem)+ Large Plate + Bread + Dessert. As Eid

falls on the 12th we have limited outdoor seating capacity and will look to have a celebration indoors when the restrictions are eased, however we haven't had anything planned with this regard. We do have some outdoor space for dining.We normally can accommodate upto three tables of up to 16 covers at any given time.”

Yellow Chilli

Dosa Kitchen, Newcastle

Eddie Nooner, Executive PA to Asma Khan (founder Darjeeling Express) told Asian Voice their plans for Eid, “Outside of our main dining spacecustomers can book a table on our terrace through the evening and we will be serving the Thali. We are going to have some additional desserts available as well. We are not delivering because we only deliver on Friday. For families celebrating on the weekend when the restrictions have been lifted- we will have biryani available for delivery and collection where both vegan and chicken options are available https://darjeeling-express.bignight.app/. We are giving free Masala Chai to all of our customers and we hope that people will come and eat outside. There's a lot of seating available in Covent Garden apart from our own tables- there's a court where people can sit and eat with friends and loved ones to enjoy.”

Commenting one extending the celebration from May 17, Eddie said, “Yes, I do plan to extend. We are opening for lunch on the 19th and on the 23rd is the return of the Biryani Supperclub!”

Sudarshan Prabhu of Dosa Kitchen, South Indian Canteen in Newcastle, told Asian Voice that they’re open for everyone to celebrate Eid. “For grocery we do free delivery in and around Newcastle with some great produce all imported from India . please visit www.dkgrocer.com. This could come in very handy for people who don’t have cars for going for Asian shopping and specially for students. We are open from Tuesday to Sunday . Outdoor seating with fully covered and heated facility please visit www.dosakitchen.co.Uk for more info,” Prabhu said.

Traditional biryani and pilau dishes involve frying onions and spices, often in ghee or lots of oil. This is a lowfat rice dish marbled with colourful vegetables that cooks effortlessly in the microwave. Turmeric adds yet another level of vibrancy. Suitable for vegetarians.

You don’t need weighing scales, just household measures. A perfect accompaniment to grilled fish or chicken.

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves 6 Ingredients - 1 mug (275g) basmati rice - 1 ½ mugs cold water - 1 tablespoon bouillon (stock) powder e.g. Swiss vegetable bouillon - 1 tsp crushed garlic - 1 tsp crushed ginger - Good pinch of turmeric - Whole garam masala (optional): 2 cardamom pods, stick cinnamon, 2 cloves - Generous handful of frozen peas & sweetcorn mix - 2 carrots, peeled & finely diced - Quarter head white cabbage, grated - 2 red peppers, chopped To Serve - Drizzle of sweet chilli sauce - Coriander leaves, roughly chopped - Lemon wedges Method 1. Rinse the rice in a bowl to remove any starchy powder around the rice – this will help you get nice separate grains.

2. Put rice and water into a large microwavable container with a lid.

3. Add all spices and vegetables.

4. Stir, cover and place in the microwave over a high setting for 18-20 minutes or till cooked (stir once at around 15 mins). Leave to stand for a couple of minutes.

5. Serve with fresh lemon wedges, and top with sweet chilli sauce and coriander leaves.

Stuffed Aubergines Preparation time: 15 minutes + 30 minutes cooking.

Freezin: recommended. Serves 4.

1 kg (2 lb) small aubergines 2 tablespoons sunflower oil 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds 150 ml (¼ pint) water For the paste: 100 g (3.5 oz) raw peanuts, chopped or ground coarsely 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut 75 g (3 oz) tomato puree ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chilli powder 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste 15 g packet of fresh coriander, finely chopped 1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200 degree Celsius/400 degree F. 2. Make a slit along the length of each aubergine by cutting through the pulp. Be careful not to cut it completely into two pieces.

3. Mix all the paste ingredients together and stuff each aubergine slit with paste.

4. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Fry the mustard seeds until they begin to pop.

5. Add the stuffed aubergines, water and any leftover paste. Cover with a tight fitting lid and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

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Taste of Plain Poppadoms

Batt’s Mixed Spice

79p Batt’s Chilli Powder

69p

64g

40g

Meadow Fresh Couscous

From our everyday range

69p Batt’s Easy Ingredients

Alesto Red Split Lentils

99p

170g/190g

99p

50g

240g

Taste of 2 Plain Naan Breads

99p

Meadow Fresh Houmous

49p

500g

69p

260g

Taste of Basmati Rice

200g

Jersey Royal Potatoes

85p

£1.29

1kg

Garlic

69p

69p

450g

39p

4 Pack

Veg and Potato Pies Find recipes online: lidl.co.uk/ramadanmoments

While stocks last. Subject to availability. Selected stores. Excludes ROI & NI. Packaging, sizes & measurements may vary. Decorative items not included. Prices correct at time of going to print & valid for a limited period only.

Taste of Plain Poppadoms, 64g, £1.23/100g. Batt’s Mixed Spice, 40g, £1.73/100g. Batt’s Chilli Powder, 50g, £1.38/100g. Meadow Fresh Couscous, 240g, 41.3p/100g, chilled. Batt’s Easy Ingredients, 170g/190g, 58.2p/52.1p/100g.

Alesto Red Split Lentils, 500g, £1.98/kg. Taste of 2 Plain Naan Breads, 260g, 18.8p/100g. Meadow Fresh Houmous, 200g, 34.5p/100g, chilled. Taste of Basmati Rice, 1kg, £1.29/kg. Albert Bartlett Jersey Royal Potatoes, 400g, £1.53/kg. Oaklands Garlic, 4 pack, 9.8p/garlic.

13

14 UK

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Leicestershire crematorium is first in UK to have a dedicated shrine to Shiva A Leicestershire crematorium is believed to be the first in the country to have a dedicated shrine to Shiva as part of its commitment to serve the diverse local community. Great Glen Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, the UK’s biggest independent owner and operator of crematoria and cemeteries, with 35 sites nationwide.

The white marble statue of Shiva was donated by local businessman Sailesh Raja. Mr Raja said: “I come from Uganda and am from a spiritual family where

Sailesh Raja and Harvey Watson

practising good faith was always encouraged.

“I am now 60-years-old and, since coming to the UK, I have been working to help with com-

munity activities, including through my business of Group Care Homes.

“I thought having a dedicated shrine would be a great service to the local community so I approached the crematorium. I was not confident they would agree to it but the manager was very approachable, friendly and supportive from day one, and he agreed.

“Most crematoriums have temporary shrines, but I believe this was the first to have a permanent one.

“It is very important to the

local community, as it is said that Lord Shiva is an inhabitant of the cremation ground.

“Everyone who has heard about this is very appreciative; people have told me that because of this, their first approach for cremation will be Great Glen Crematorium.

“The whole community is very happy and thankful to the team at Great Glen Crematorium. We highly appreciate the support we have had from them and look forward to working with the team in the future.”

UN says Patel’s asylum proposals risk Britain’s ‘global credibility’ The UN has criticised Priti Patel’s proposals regarding asylum seekers as so damaging they risked Britain’s ‘global credibility’.

This follows six weeks after the home secretary unveiled a sweeping immigration overhaul that included deporting migrants who enter the UK illegally to safe countries such as “France and other EU countries”. The UN’s refugee agency

is going to publish a detailed legal opinion and “likely to con-

Shriti Vadera appointed the new Chair of the RSC Shriti will take up the role of RSC Chair as the AGMof The Royal Shakespeare Company this Autumn when the current Chair, Nigel Hugill, steps down after ten years. She was recently appointed Chair of Prudential plc and was previously Chair of Santander UK (the first woman to Chair a major British bank) and served on the Boards of AstraZeneca and BHP. She has more than 30 years of experience spanning both public and private sectors, domestically as well as internationally, and early in her career served as a Minister in the

Cabinet Office and in the International Development and Business Departments. After leaving government she served as an adviser to the G20, and to governments across the globe.

Shriti is a member of the House of Lords, on leave of absence since 2011. She will be the first female Chair and first person of colour to lead the RSC Board.

Brits warned of Royal Mail scam text messages which steal bank details Martin Lewis warns, the MoneySavingExpert has warned Britons to beware of SMS text scams, claiming you owe Royal Mail money, have been doing the rounds in "twisted genius" ruse.

Criminals are getting off “scot-free” by pretending to be Royal Mail and charging a delivery fee for parcels. The message sent to people via SMS reads: "Royal Mail: Your Package Has A £2.99 Shipping Fee, To Pay This Now Please Visit: uk-royal-mailfees.com action will be taken if you do not pay this fee." Lewis said that if people click on the

link then they are asked to put in their bank details to pay. Don’t fall for the trick. Another scam text message which is similar said: "Your Royal Mail parcel is waiting for delivery.

Please confirm the settlement of £2.99 (GDP) on the following link." Royal Mail has warned customers of the ruse and is aware of the text message one mentioned by Martin. It clarified that it would never, ever ask for payment through text or email. You will only be asked to pay extra charges with a Fee To Pay card which is posted through your letterbox.

clude her plans infringe international legislation and are unworkable”. According to The Guardian, not a single European country has decided to support the UK government’s controversial asylum plans.

Despite this, Patel’s asylum proposals are to feature in the Queen’s speech on Tuesday, which lays out the

government’s legislative agenda for the next year. A UK government spokesperson said: “Our new plan for immigration is fully in line with our international and legal obligations including the UN refugee convention and the European convention on human rights.

People should claim asylum in the first safe country they arrive in rather than making life threatening journeys to the UK.”

ISIS bride Lisa Smith wins right to enter UK A judge has finally ruled that exIrish soldier, 39, who fled to Syria and married jihadi can now visit family in Belfast. Lisa Smith, 39, who had been charged with membership of an unlawful organisation, was arrested at Dublin Airport in 2019 on suspicion of terrorist offences. She had travelled to Syria a number of years ago after she converted to Islam.

“There, she allegedly became the second wife of British jihadist Sajid Aslam and had a child with him. She returned to Ireland in 2019 after being housed in a refugee camp. In 2019, Smith was served with a notice by the Home Secretary to exclude her from the UK on the grounds of national security,” Daily Mail reported. She had

appealed against the decision to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in London.

The SIAC has finally ruled in Smith's favour and allowed her appeal.

in brief 49 YEAR OLD NAGA MUNCHETTY REFUSED BOTTLE OF WINE AT SUPERMARKET In the UK, it is illegal to purchase alcohol under the age of 18, but many shops operate a Challenge 25 policy.

In an awkward moment, Naga Munchetty was "refused" a bottle of wine at her local supermarket because she looked too young to purchase one and did not have an ID. “Just been refused to be sold a bottle of wine at the local supermarket by the lovely lady at the till because I had no I.D. YES! I got ‘carded’ recently to see if I was over 25 in a supermarket. I was wearing a mask and a hat to be fair. But still,” Naga said.

GROWTH PICKS UP AS BARS AND RESTAURANTS REOPEN Britain’s economy contracted during the first quarter of 2021 due to the lockdown restrictions, however, a report published in The Times stated that “figures are also expected to show that the economy grew 1.3 per cent in March, completing the Office for National Statistics’ first estimate for the first quarter.” The economy allegedly grew by 0.4 per cent in February, after a 2.9 percent drop in January. As bars and restaurants are about to breathe with some relaxation in lockdown restrictions, this growth is further expected to improve.

20% RISE IN ALCOHOL RELATED DEATHS According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, 7,423 people died in England and Wales from alcohol-specific causes, as compared to 6,209 in 2019. It is the highest annual total since comparable records began in 2001. Experts said the increase could reflect people drinking more during lockdown, with fatal consequences for those already consuming excessive amounts.

The age-standardised death rate, which takes into account population changes over time, was 13.6 per 100,000 people in the final three months of last year, the highest rate for any quarter in almost two decades. The Royal College of Psychiatrists said that the record number should serve as “a wake-up call to the government” to give addiction services greater resources.

TRAVELLERS FIND QUARANTINE HOTELS ‘PRISON-LIKE’ Accused arms dealer Sanjay Travellers returning from “red list” countries

Bhandari’s bail extradition case extended

A UK court presiding over the extradition case of Sanjay Bhandari, an accused arms dealer and "proclaimed offender" wanted in India on money laundering charges, extended his bail until May 13.

Bhandari, who was arrested in July 2020, was due for a hearing but District Judge Michael Snow adjourned the case to allow more time for the Indian government to provide further information. A full hearing in the case has been scheduled between June 7 and 11, but those dates are likely to change.

The lawyer, Robert Berg, informed the court that he had taken over the case recently and therefore requires more time to serve evidence.

The Crown Prosecution Service, appearing on behalf of the Indian authorities, submitted a "rejigged timetable" for the case and CPS counsel Ben Lloyd informed the court that both sides hope to be able to keep to the June hearing dates unless there are "big surprises" thrown up in the defence evidence.

Bhandari also faces cases against him in India filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Indian government's extradition request had been certified by Priti Patel last year and he was arrested a month later and remains on bail.

to the UK are complaining of “prison-like” conditions, jammed windows, a lack of fresh air, exercise and decent food. Some of these travellers came from Brazil, India, Pakistan and South Africa and have been complaining of poor state of mental health due to isolation in mandatory quarantine, where they’re being forced to pay £1,750 per adult.

Speaking to The Guardian, NHS Consultant Dr Thanjavur Bragadeesh, who had returned from India, said: “It took several hours to reach the hotel after arriving at the airport.

The food is not good and the quantities are small. I got a small box of cereal for breakfast with a cheese omelette that was so hard that if I had thrown it, it would hit someone. One of the things I got for dinner was half naan bread. I don’t know who got the other half!

We are not prisoners, we are not trying to escape,” he said and also mentioned that a security guard accompanies them for a 15 minute walk outside to grab some fresh air.

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W

ith 435 days of the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s second surge saw 3,25,132 new cases; 3790 recorded deaths on May 10; weekly case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.19% and an overall CFR of 1.42%. Over almost a month, distressing images of burning funeral pyres and frightening stories of people dying gasping for breath due to lack of oxygen, filled us with gloom and despair.

The World Health Organisation has now classified the variant first spotted in India as a “global variant of concern”, saying that preliminary studies had shown that it may be more transmissible than some other variants. The UK PM also remarked on the need to carefully monitor the so-called Indian variant. This new variant has been added to those already circulating, popularly known as the Brazil, South Africa and UK variants. The fast transmitting variants cause havoc by the sudden upsurge in cases that could overwhelm even the most advanced healthcare systems. Indian healthcare system is also being tested as never before, with a workforce stretched beyond endurance as it tries to cope with this massive surge.

In the midst of this crisis came the news that two members of the Indian delegation to the G7 in the UK had tested positive, leading to the entire delegation having to isolate themselves.

The delegation returned to India after testing negative and the External Affairs Minister attending meetings virtually. A shocking a fake video popped up on my phone a few times, suggesting that the Indian delegation did not follow quarantine norms and regulations. While the original report was from Sky TV, the sign of another channel on the top left corner of the video was intriguing.

A second viewing clearly showed that the original had been edited and accusations against the Indian delegation had been inserted into the video. One is flummoxed by such malevolence at a time when people across the globe, cutting across religious and community lines are pitching in to bring this global pandemic under control.

While the situation remains extremely worrisome and the virus is moving inwards towards

smaller cities, towns and villages in India, in my own neighbourhood, I can see signs of hope. Just a few weeks back, almost every second or third home in our area was affected with the virus.

Now, as I write, for the last couple of days, there have been no new cases.

With oxygen shortages coming to the fore, various stakeholders acted fast to redress the situation. An Empowered Group has been set up to ensure the supply of oxygen across the country.

The production of oxygen has gone up to meet

India is fighting back

Ruchi Ghanashyam Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK-India relations. the increase in demand. Indian Railways, amongst others, is playing a vital role in transporting oxygen across the country. Delivery of medical oxygen has almost doubled from 4800 MT on April 15 to 8900 MT on May 8. Challenges in transportation, equipment or production have been identified and remedial steps are underway.

International community has also come forward. Lord Tariq Ahmed, Minister at the UK FCDO tweeted recently that huge oxygen generators that can be used by upto 50 people at a time and another 1000 ventilators were amongst the

latest UK medical supplies to India. Other countries have also come forward as have members of the Indian diaspora and groups and people in India. These have been reaching the intended destinations, providing relief. The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin set up a fund for assisting with supplies of equipment as well as with telemedicine to support exhausted medical professionals in India through virtual consultations with their Indian counterparts.

Similar efforts were initiated by Physicians of Indian Origin in the US and perhaps elsewhere too. I have personally been contacted by diaspora in South Africa and Ghana to guide them in their desire to assist their brethren in India.

New Covid-19 facilities have been set up by government or private establishments and citizen groups, while others are coming up fast. Several temples, mosques and gurudwaras have opened their doors to treat patients with milder cases, many with oxygen support. Despite fasting during Ramadan, Muslim boys helped get dignity in death to some Hindu Covid victims in Bhopal by getting their last rites done.

Good news has come on another front though. The DCGI has granted permission for emergency use of anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of a drug developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation, in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad.

Use of the drug has been permitted as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila is also getting ready with its application for emergency use authorisation of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate 'ZyCoV-D' in India. It had earlier announced that its drug Virafin had received restricted emergency use approval from DCGI for the treatment of mild cases of Covid-19.

Though a long and very tough road lies ahead, with new vaccines, drugs, facilities, equipment, and international friends and citizens, India is fighting back. I have renewed hope in my country and my people!

Thousands of new recruits join the health service NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens praised the ‘extraordinary’ response of nurses and healthcare workers to Covid as the so-called ‘Nightingale effect’ sees thousands of new NHS recruits mark their first International Nurses Day. Sir Simon hailed the tireless work of nurses, healthcare support workers and assistants in caring for around 400,000 seriously ill Covid patients and millions more besides and delivering the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history and one of the fastest in the world. There were over 11,000 more nurses, midwives and health visitors working in the NHS in England in January than 12 months earlier, bringing the total to a record 330,000 as well as an additional 5,195 healthcare support workers and assistants. New NHS data shows that 330,631 nurses were employed across NHS hospitals and organisations as of January 2021, an increase of 3.5% on a year earlier, while there were also 151,123 healthcare support workers, up 3.6% over the same period. Meanwhile, applications to studying nursing at university were up 34% across England this year to an all-time high of 48,830.

16 SPECIAL

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15 - 21 May 2021

Bhagvan Mahavir (Apostle of Ahimsa) Dr Vinod Kapashi OBE This year Mahavir Jayanti (Auspicious day or JanmaKalyanak) was celebrated on 25 April 2021.

Celebrations were held in India and in many countries.

Government rules will not allow large gatherings and people will celebrate in very small groups or just stay home and listen to the discourses by using the modern technology. Jain organisations in the UK have arranged programmes by using virtual platforms (like Zoom, YouTube or other media). OneJAIN organised a programme on 18 April at 4 PM which can be viewed on YouTube.

Let us now see who this great and divine personality was and why people follow His ideology.

Mahavir was the apostle of the philosophy of non-violence and peace. He believed in the ideals of living in harmony with the nature and cutting down our own material desires and possessions. He is the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jains.

He was born more than 2,500 years ago, in a small town near Vaishali in North India. Almost all Jain historians now accept that he was born in 599 BCE. His father's name was Siddhartha. His mother's name was Trishla. According to the Shvetambar tradition, mother Trishla saw fourteen dreams (saw fourteen auspicious objects/ things in her dream). She saw: A lion, an ele-

phant, a bull, the goddess of wealth (Laxmi), a garland, the moon, the sun, a flag, a jar (kumbh), a lake full of lotuses, a sea of milk, a viman (aeroplane), a heap of jewels, and a flame.

The king and queen were full of joy, as they knew that the child who was to born would be a perfect child with supreme virtues. The dream readers or astrologers also confirmed this and said:- 'When a great saviour, prophet or great victor of wars enters the womb, then his mother sees fourteen auspicious dreams. The child will become brave, he will expand his territory, and will be a great victor in battle-fields OR He will be a Jina, a religious and spiritual master, leader of the three worlds and a winner of all aspects in religion.

A child was born on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the month Chaitra. His name was Vardhaman who came to be known as Mahavir (Great and brave) as he had conquered his inner passions and gained victory over all attachments.

This is more than a victory in the battlefield. Though born as a prince, Mahavir left his royal household, gave up his worldly possessions and became a monk when he was 30 years old. He spent twelve and a half years in meditation practising non-vio-

lence and self-control. He obtained infinite knowledge when he was 42.

He spent thirty years in teaching the principles of Ahimsa (non violence) samyam (self control) and tap (austerities).

He preached the principles of Jainism, as we know them now. He said. “Everyone wants pleasure and happiness, no one wants misery but those who are ignorant and attached to worldly pleasures suffer again and again. One who knows other people's misery does not pursue worldly pleasures and avoids sinful acts” Those who can avoid the bondage of sinful acts can obtain liberation. His message is simple "No one should try to obtain happiness at the expense of others".

Mahavir recognised the fact (or rather he was the first one in human history to say) that plants have life and that they feel pain when cut. This was his message of living in harmony with nature, all birds, animals and fellow human beings. He died (Nirvana or Moksha) in 527 BC, when he was 72 years old. Jainism recognises the sanctity of all life. As a community, Jains run panjrapoles, which look after sick and invalid cattle. They feed hungry animals and birds as part of their feelings of Jivdaya (kindness towards all living beings)

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Lord Mahavir and his teachings Dr. Bharat Shah, CBE Like most people, I have heard the preaching of Lord Mahavir at temples, religious ceremonies etc Jain religion has many Jain sects. Whichever sect anyone follows the message from Lord Mahavir is universal. This message given to us almost 2400 years ago is so relevant in today’s life. Summary is as follows: Ahimsa or non-violence– meaning non violence and non-cruelty. In my opinion, I believe that the current pandemic involving the Corona Virus is due to the ‘cruelty to animals’.

Satya (Truth) – always tell the truth and do not lie to get an upper hand on others. In my business experience whenever there are lies, the business is unsuccessful and always remember the win-win formula. Everyone must win ‘equally’and if there is one winner and one loser then things do not work out.

Self-satisfaction. – everybody needs money, but Lord Mahavir has taught us that money is important in life but only as much as your needs.

Help others. In my experience this teaches charitiable work and I have noticed that charita-

ble work, not only gives inner satisfaction but pleasure in seeing others benefit.In terms of bad habits etc…. whenever I have noticed that people take to ‘highlife’ with addiction to many things not ‘normal’ in daily life has resulted in negative results.

Brahmacharya – Lord Mahavir has taught us to always have good thoughts to the others and if you can not do good, do not do bad towards others. I have done business with many companies in India and China and I have noticed the most successful business men are the ones who are simple and ‘down to earth’ and treat employees of their company as part of their family.

Simple life – Lord Mahavir has taught us not to be bachelors and priests but lead a normal working life. Try and know your inner soul and recognize what it is needs. To know and to satisfy your inner soul is what Jain religion and teachings of Lord Mahavir are.

These above simple teachings are so relevant today.

Everyone needs to follow them if we want to achieve happiness and peace not only within oneself but also in the world.

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SPECIAL

17

Jain All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) celebrates Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Global Jain community comes together for online celebration OneJAIN, the collection of all UK Jain organisations, held an online celebration of the birth anniversary of its 24th and last Tirthankara (enlightened teacher), Bhagwan Mahavir.

OneJAIN, an initiative of the Institute of Jainology (IoJ), celebrates Mahavir Jayanti in parliament every year, however this year the event was moved online due to the pandemic.

The event marked the passing of Prince

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with a minute’s silence. The Prince had been a strong supporter of the Jain community. The program then began with prayers from the children of the Jain Vishwa Bharti Gyanshala. Jain APPG MPs, Padma Shri Bob Blackman and Hon. Gareth Thomas both reflected on Bhagwan Mahavir’s message of ahimsa (non-violence), aparigraha (limiting possessions) and anekantavada (multisided view of reality), in light of events over the

Celebrating 125th Anniversary of Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra Kumar Mehta The timeless teachings of Bhagawan Mahavir are as relevant today as they were 2,600 years ago, but over time the essencehas become veiled by myriads of beliefs, customs, and practices.

From time to time, enlightened and compassionate beings arise amongst us to shine a light on our true nature and illuminate thesame timeless path, but in our time and place.

One such person was Shrimad Rajchandraji. Born near Morbi, Gujarat, in 1867, He exhibited exceptional spiritual and intellectual qualities from childhood. A profound spiritual experience occurred at the age of seven when He spontaneously recollected hundreds of His previous births while immersed in deep contemplation.

He was a remarkable poet-philosopher who lived in the state of soul consciousness and whose vast and profound literary works are an expression of His supreme inner state. The crown jewel amongst His works is Atmasiddhi Shastra, a 142-verse poetic masterpiece.

It was composed in 1896 on the sacred day of "Aso Vad Ekam" in Nadiadin a single sitting of ninety minutes. It followed from a request by Shri Saubhagbhai, a kindred spirit who had been studying Shirmadji's previous letter on the six fundamental truths and wanted something simpler to commit to memory for contemplation.

Atmasiddhi Shastra is a most remarkable composition that expresses the core of all scriptures and the quintessence of Jain philosophy; It is the means to comprehend every essential constituent of the path to liberation.

Each verse flawlessly encapsulates profound spiritual thought in an easy-tounderstand way. This inspired composition testifies Shrimadji's enlightened state, pure thought process and literary genius.

The subject of Atmasiddhi Shastra is the Soul. Since time immemorial, we have been ignorant of our true nature and so remain trapped in suffering. Atmasiddhi Shastra logically establishes the Soul's nature for us

and describes the path to Self-realisation at an experience level.

It shows us the pitfalls of misguided spiritual practices and how to correct them; to avoid dogma and religious vanity, focus on the true purpose and act accordingly to achieve it. It shows us the importance of a true living Enlightened Guru, their essential qualities, and the supreme benefit of humility and surrendering our ego.

A dialogue between a true seeker and an Enlightened Guru beautifully explains the six fundamental truths. The seeker earnestly raises his doubts regarding the Soul, and the compassionate Guruprepares him for the path, explaining profound philosophical concepts neutrally and logically. The six schools of thought are expressed in the same verses, beautifully illustrating anekantwad and Jain philosophy's comprehensive view.

Under the guidance of a true Guru, a seeker with requisite virtuesis shown to progress on the right path, first attaining Self-realisation with direct experience of the Soul and then Omniscience as right conduct purifies the Soul.

The Guru affirms that Moksha is our true nature and implores us to contemplate to achieve that state. Atmasiddhi Shastra is an invaluable gift that re-illuminates the truth propounded by BhagawanMahavir. It is a spiritual masterpiece that provides us with the inspiration, conviction, and method to fulfil our highest potential. Its poetic composition is flawless, its spiritual height and depth are unfathomable, and the benefit it bestows upon us is invaluable.

This is an abridged version of the article published at www.onejainuk.org

past 12 months.

Samani Dr. Pratibha Pragyaji, a Jain nun residing in Harrow, gave the keynote address on how lessons from Bhagwan Mahavir’s life can help us through the pandemic.

This year also marks the 125th anniversary of Srimad Rajchandra’s Atmasiddhi, a key Jain 20th century text.

Jaysukhbhai Mehta, a Trustee of the IoJ gave a wonderful summary of both the author’s life and text. Kevalee Shah, President of the Cambridge University Jain Society, spoke about the forming of the Jain Society, and how it has supported students across the UK during the pandemic.

The next keynote was delivered by Shri Samvegbhai Lalbhai, President of the Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi which manages important Jain pilgrimage sites. He spoke about Mount Girnar, near Junagadh, which has impressive temples dedicated to BhadwanNeminath, who is believed to have achieved liberation there. He showed videos and photos of how the 1,000 year old temples are maintained and preserved.

The highlight of the event was the presenting of the OneJAIN Awards for Community Excellence to four individuals for exemplary service beyond the call of duty. The winners were Mukulbhai Shah, Prafulaben Shah, Khyatiben Bakhai and Jatinbhai Shah.

Jain community leaders gave congratulatory messages for the birth anniversary and there was a message of thanks to those that had participated in

Covid vaccination and other health videos.

The program featured devotional music from local artistesSaggar Malde, Roopal Shah, and Rajvi Punatar.

A specially recorded 25 minute program to celebrate the 125th anniversary of composing the Atma Siddhi by Smt Minalben Shah and Shri Vikrambhai of Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal, highlighting the life of its author Shrimad Raj Chandra and briefly describing the essence of Atma Siddhi. This recording was played at the end of the main event.

About OneJAIN OneJAIN is an initiative of the Institute of Jainology (IOJ), which was established in 2014 with the unanimous consent of all Jain organisations in the UK. IoJ represents the Jain community in government and interfaith matters and provides the Jain community with a single coherent voice in promoting the values and cause of Jainism For more information see www.onejainuk.org About the Institute of Jainology The Institute of Jainology (IoJ) was founded in 1986 and is an international organisation promoting Jain philosophy and values through the disciplines of art, culture and education. It represents the 32 UK Jain organisations and the Jain faith under the OneJAIN banner in government and interfaith matters in the UK and elsewhere.

For more information see www.jainology.org and www.jainpedia.org

Our humble greetings e to all a Jains on n the o occasion of o

MAHAVIR M JANMA JAYANTI A

Sigma Pharmacceuticals plc • HD House • Imperial Way • North Waatford • Hertfordshire • WD D24 4LQ Switchboard: 01923 3 444 999 E-mail: info@sigmaplc.com www.sigmaplc.com

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The Teachings of Lord Mahavira

v May the whole universe be blessed, May all living beings engage in each other’s wellbeing May all weakness, sickness & faults deminish and vanish. May everyone be healthy, prosperous & peaceful. v Only the one who has transcended fear can experience equanimity. v Don't kill any living beings. Don't try to rule them. To kill any living being amounts to killing one self. Compassion to others is compassion to one's own self. Therefore one should avoid violence like poison and thorn.

Oshwal Association of UK Covid Services

(Reg. Charity 267037)

With a daily increase in Covid 19 infections in India and so many individuals and families being affected by the virus, the Trustees of Oshwal Association of the UK (OAUK) took a decision to support other charitable organizations in India who were undertaking Sewa work for those effected by the Virus.

Many Charities opened up their Centres and facilities to provide accommodation, meals and medication required to help those effected by the virus and unable to get the immediate hospital treatment due to lack of space or facilities.

Below are some pictures of those being helped in India OAUK, contributes 100% of the funds it receives from the donors. If you wish to sup-

port the work being undertaken by OAUK and wish to contribute please register on the website :https://www.oshwal.org.uk/donations/covid19-sewa-donation/ or contact the office on 01707 643838.

Oshwal Association of the U.K.

Celebration of Shri Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Sunday, 25 April 2021

Chaitra Sud Teras is the day of celebrating the birth of Shri Mahavir Swami Bhagwan. This day is considered sacred for the followers of Jainism and is also known as Veer Teras.

Under the current circumstances, Shri Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Utsav was celebrated by the Oshwal Association of the UK in a unique way, joyfully with great devotion and Bhakti, with limited number of people at the Jain Derasar in Potters Barwhen thousands of devotees viewed and participated virtually via YouTube.

Shri Mahavir Prabhu was worshiped nine times with gold and silver sovereigns, sandalwood, flowers etc. along with Prabhu Vandana, Darshan of the fourteen dreams that Mata Trishla Devi had seen and the rocking of the cradle.The children of OAUK's Gujarati schools beautifully explained about the fourteen dreams in their presentations.

The atmosphere in the Derasar was truly devine and mesmerising and the devotees viewing at home were entirely immersed in the devotional Bhakti. Our Vidhikaar, Pujya Shri Jayeshbhai Shah explained about Shri Mahavir Vandana and conducted the Puja and Bhakti accompanied with music by Shri Vijaybhai Doshi from Mumbai.

On behalf of the OAUK, Shri Nileshbhai Shah and Shri Tusharbhai Shah requested the devotees to pledge their contributions to the Covid-19 Relief Fund for an organization in Jamnagar, India and devotees generously donated for this good cause.

Varshaben Dilip Shah Religious Committee Chairperson OAUK

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Too much of anything is not good Rohit Vadhwana Excess of anything is bad. Too much love is not good, too much money is not good, too much care is not useful, and too much confidence is also not productive. Most people will agree that anything in excess is harmful in its own way. Water is required for a ship to sail and the ship cannot sail without water, but excess water when it fills the ship may sink it. The water has to remain below the ship, should not come over it.

Similarly, if one is in love, it should be in moderation, otherwise, love becomes poison, life-threatening. Take the love story of Romeo Juliet, Heer Ranjha, Laila Majnu, or from any culture, it is excessive love that has killed the lovers. A counter-argument is that true lovers can sacrifice life for love. True, but look who is saying this is alive!

A mother who cares too much for her child spoils her. Those kids who are pampered by parents beyond need turn out to be weaker and less sociable than others who were given the opportunity to grow independently. While a child will need attention and care, too much of them is a spoiler. Better to understand that every child is an individual who has the inherent strength to grow independently. They don't need hand holding beyond a point. As muscles grow stronger by exercise, children become strong by taking their own decisions independently.

If we speak of money, it is a useful tool for a better life. But it is only a tool, not life.

When money helps in living life, it makes life better. But when life is lived to accumulate money, and it goes into the mind of an individual, it is of no use. It is harmful and also leads the person in the wrong way. There are examples of the wealthiest people going behind the bars and facing jail terms because they violated laws only to become richer and wealthier. It turns out that the money is of no use at the end when they undergo jail terms.

It is a mistake to attach happiness to money.

Take an example of confidence. It is fine till the time it remains self-confident but as soon as it crosses the boundary and becomes self-arrogance, it is counterproductive. It doesn't give strength to the individual but rather makes him weak. A person with arrogance cannot behave normally and therefore is misguided by his sense of overconfidence.

It harms not only him but his organization and those who are dependent. People in the position of making a decision, when they become arrogant, lose the ability to listen to wise opinions and therefore are limited by their own inabilities. Their sense of confidence becomes an impermeable wall, preventing possibilities of growing better and wiser.

So, too much of anything is not good. It becomes harmful and an individual cannot come out of the greed and lust of accumulation. Find out if you are also on the path of having an obsession with too much in any field.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

The Queen’s Speech Officially reopening the Parliament on Tuesday, the Queen outlined the government's priorities for the year ahead. In a tenminute speech in the House of Lords, she highlighted 30 laws that ministers intend to pass in the coming year.

the sector is funded. The speech also said the government would be introducing measures to reduce racial and ethnic disparities.

The Queen's Speech is being critiqued for not addressing how best to protect people from conversion therapy, and also

The key talking points are as follows: Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill: extension of 5G mobile coverage and introduce new safety standards for digital devices, Subsidy Control Bill, Procurement Bill, National Insurance Contributions Bill, Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill, High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill, Armed Forces Bill, Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, Online Safety Bill, Counter-State Threats Bill, Telecommunications (Security) Bill, Victims Bill, Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill, Electoral Integrity Bill, Judicial Review Bill, Planning Bill, Building Safety Bill, Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, Environment Bill among others. The speech did not commit the government to introducing a specific bill to overhaul how

missed out on specifics of helping care homes and the homeless, despite mentioning that measures will be taken to reform the operation of the social care system in England.

Following the Queen's Speech in the House of Lords, Conservative MP Shailesh Vara kick-started the debate in the House of Commons. He said, "It is a great honour and privilege for me and my constituents to move this loyal address,” adding that the Queen's commitment to her nation is an example to all of us.

He further added, “It’s heartbreaking scenes on our televisions from India are a reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe". For someone from his background to be moving the Queen's Speech, "shows what a truly great and magnificent country we all live in", Vara said.

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2 May - 8 May 2020

in brief FACEBOOK’S ENCRYPTION WILL COST LIVES, SAYS NEIL BASU Neil Basu, the most senior counterterrorism officer, will become the first ethnic minority Met commissioner if he succeeds Dame Cressida Dick. Basu, the most senior officer of Asian heritage is the son of an Indian doctor and white Welsh nurse. “He is still regularly and wrongly described as Muslim”, The Times reported.

Basu has been known to be vocal against social media companies for :allowing radical material to spread online”.

“It doesn’t matter what the crime is, serious and organised crime or the incredibly serious crime of terrorism, end-to-end encryption will make [our] job remarkably difficult and lives in my view will be lost as a result,” he told the publication. Basu called on Facebook to rethink the concept of social media sharing, which in his understanding, is a “disaster”.

MUSLIM KIDS PULLED OUT OF SCHOOL BY FATHER Hunter’s Bar Junior School in Sheffield, South Yorkshire accidentally showed Prophet Mohammad’s photograph in school assembly which has left a father infuriated enough to not send his children to the school for hurting his religious sentiments.

While the school has apologised for the incident, saying the teacher responsible feels ‘mortified’ by the ‘genuine mistake’, Michael Watson, head teacher of Hunter’s Bar Junior School expressed that he ‘understands fully how offensive this is to our Muslim community’. But furious father Atif Mohammed has rejected the apology, demanding the staff member responsible loses their job.

EGGS PELTED AT WORSHIPPERS IN ‘ISLAMOPHOBIC' ATTACK Five people were hit with eggs outside the Ilford Islamic Centre in Albert Road, Ilford, around 23:00 BST on Tuesday. MP for Ilford South Sam Tarry tweeted he was "shocked and saddened" by the "Islamophobic attack".

Worshippers were pelted with eggs outside an east London mosque in a "truly appalling" attack, police said. The attack comes as worshippers mark Ramadan. Police are investigating the incident.

19-STOREY BUILDING CATCHES FIRE IN CANARY WHARF The fire at the 19-storey building was brought under control around lunchtime, following a mass evacuation over fears the structure could collapse. As Tower block residents screamed for help from balconies after hearing about blaze ripping through their building on WhatsApp. The families in Grenfell have slammed ministers for failing to remove deadly cladding. More than 125 firefighters in 20 vehicles spent hours battling the inferno and rescuing a host of people - including a small toddler - at New Providence Wharf, near Canary Wharf, in east London. Two men were taken to hospital after being exposed to toxic fumes, while a further 38 adults and four children were treated at the scene for shock and breathing in smoke.

Indian strain a “variant of concern” A coronavirus strain first detected in India has been classed as a “variant of concern” by health officials.

Figures show cases of the double mutant Indian variant of the Coronavirus known as B.1.617.2, have increased to 520 from 202 over the past week, and almost half of these cases are related to travel or contact with a traveller. The cases are spread across the country, with the majority in the northwest — mainly in Bolton — and London,

Public Health England (PHE) said.

The coronavirus strains originally found in Kent, South Africa and Brazil have been designated “variants of concern” in the UK. Scientists believe the

Indian variant is more transmissible than the strain of Covid first discovered in Wuhan, China. The Prime Minister has said the government needs to carefully handle outbreaks of the India variant of coronavirus in the UK. PHE said extra surge testing was now being put in place in affected areas along with more targeted contact tracing to try and stop the spread of the variant.

All individuals living in

specific postcodes will be asked to get a PCR test, even if they don't have symptoms. Figures from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which analyses positive swabs for different variants, also showed clusters of B.1.617.2 in places including Leicester, Bolton, Nottingham and Blackburn in the week to 24 April. It comes as seven confirmed cases of the same variant have been detected in Northern Ireland - the first discovered in the region.

London GP shares British expertise with doctors in India to fight the second wave of Coronavirus Shefali Saxena Last week Asian Voice reported that multiple bodies in the UK are helping doctors in India to treat Covid patients with their expertise and resources. Dr Harpreet Sood, Clinical Advisor for the Covid-19 Vaccine programme, Trustee of South Asian Health Foundation and a GP in London has joined the drive after his colleagues from India requested him to intervene.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Dr Sood said, "This all came around after we were contacted by our colleagues in India for us to share learning experiences from the UK's wave as well. On the basis of that we arranged a series of webinars where we're getting thousands of registrations and views. The webinars are more about helping them information and give them an understanding of what could work there based on experiences. However it is important to note that there are

Dr Harpreet Sood

organisational and cultural differences. We've got webinars on Covid oximetry at home,

remote management, hospital and ICU management, prevention and diagnosis, early management of Covid19 and mental health support and resources. With partners, we are putting a lot of guidance together as a one stop shop where we've been coordinating with some of the activities around. It's about sharing the level of expertise we have with colleagues in India. Our aim is around education, resources, knowledge and learning."

166,000 people died at home in England and Wales last year; only 8% died of Covid-19 National Statistics data indicates that more than 40,000 'excess deaths' were recorded in private homes in England and Wales in 2020 - but only 8% (3,221) were down to Covid as official data reveals the total number of fatalities was 14% higher than average.

Experts said this was because many hospitals had been forced to clear beds for Covid patients.

Experts say it's not clear whether excess home deaths are all a bad thing – many terminally ill

people may choose to die at home rather than in hospital, but others may have missed out on pain relief or quality end-oflife care. ONS data showed 14 per cent more deaths from all causes were recorded in 2020 than average - the equivalent of 76,000 people. Covid was blamed for around 97 per cent of those excess fatalities. Heart disease was the leading cause of death in the home, followed by lung cancer and Dementia. Dr Veena Raleigh, from healthcare

think-tank The King’s Fund, said: 'This "displacement" of many deaths from hospital to home raises questions about whether Covid impaired people’s ability to choose where to spend their final days. Given this enormous death toll, and the grossly disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on our poorest communities and ethnic minority groups, a public inquiry into how the pandemic was handled is urgently needed.

While the NHS is delivering an

admirable vaccination campaign, the pandemic isn't over yet – this year Covid-19 has already caused 57,000 deaths up to 23 April.'

Student boroughs worst hit in Covid second wave Reports suggest that students in Nottingham, Manchester and Durham were England's worsthit areas in the Covid second wave with up to one in five people getting infected between September and April. “7 out of 10 worst-hit neighbourhoods in

England during the second wave were student areas,” Daily Mail reported mentioning that the infection rate was 18% of the population in Fallowfield, Manchester. The Covid figures are from NHS Test and Trace, which is known not to detect all

cases in the community.

A study by Cambridge University said: 'The Student Covid Insights Survey (SCIS) shows that students follow coronavirus guidance in much the same way as the general public; however, students were

Photos of schoolboy who fell from Tower Bridge released The mortal remains of 13year-old Zaheid Ali was recovered from the Thames on April 28.

Zaheid had fallen off the Tower Bridge in London.

Zaheid was said to have been travelling with a friend on a bus but was reported missing by his school’s headteacher on 20 April. It is understood he left the bus near London Bridge, one stop before he would usually get off for his school. “According to witnesses, a member of the public went into the water to try to save the teenager but managed only to retrieve his school bag and jacket as he disappeared under the water,” The Guardian reported. City of

London police confirmed Zaheid’s age and released two pictures of him from his family, one showing him dressed in his yellow and black school uniform, and another in which he is relaxing on a sofa.

more likely not to have left their home or accommodation in the seven days prior to being surveyed than the general public.' 'The pandemic has had detrimental impacts on all of us, but most harshly on students,' said an NUS spokesperson.

BIJA smashes target raising over £100,000 to help India Over £110,000 has been raised by the British Indian Jewish Association (BIJA)’s fund-raising efforts to support the response to Covid in India. This has been raised in 3 days from over 130 donors, with Natalie Machta-Joseph leading on the campaign.

All money raised is going to the British Asian Trust’s (BAT) Emergency Appeal.

The amount raised is equivalent to helping 220,000 patients with breathing difficulties through low-flow oxygen concentrators. BIJA Co-

Chairs Zaki Cooper and Dr Peter Chadha said: “We have been overwhelmed by the response to the appeal.

Thank you to each and every one of our donors. We know there are lots of deserving causes out there and that people have dug deep. India is a very special country to so many in our communities.

This fund-raising effort shows that we stand in solidarity with the people of India in combating this terrible virus.

We will keep going as our traditions teach us about the sanctity and importance of every human life.”

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel Stock market analysts are worried. US stocks are at an all-time high, with many declaring that we are witnessing a bubble.

Investing in an expensive market poses an interesting dilemma. If the bubble bursts, losses will be sharp and dramatic. On the other hand, prices are rising, and gains are there for the taking.

JP Morgan Advise to Buy the Bubble In a recent note, JP Morgan addressed this very problem.

Their research into expensive markets provided some interesting analysis, namely that 80% of markets that crash severely eventually come back to all-time highs.

The note suggested that while the dot-com boom eventually became delivered, specific markets like Japanese Nikkei have never recovered from their late 80s peak. As a result, they suggest that investors should buy, rather than avoid, bubbles.

The Return of Active Investing When too many people passively invest, it can increase the prices of an already expensive market. Overbought index funds increase the cost of underlying stocks, decreasing market efficiency and allocating capital to the undeserving stocks.

Within index funds, well-performing stocks can drag the underperformers along with their momentum, resulting in overvalued shares.

In these times, active investing can triumph. When underperforming parts of the index are high, stock pickers can begin selecting underpriced equities that give more significant returns.

Are US Stocks Overvalued?

In the 12 years since the financial crisis, the US stock market has grown massively. The MSCI USA Index is up 641 per since March 9, 2009. By way of comparison, the MSCI World (excluding USA) index increased by 246 per cent in the same timeframe. This pattern has continued since the pandemic.

By many metrics, such as the cyclically adjusted price-toearnings, US stocks are overvalued. Much of the recent surge can be attributed to the economic stimulus from the US government and the Federal Reserve.

With many passive funds overexposed to stock that has grown with little relation to its earnings, the merits of active investment are clear.

Can Investors Time the Market?

Timing the market is tough. According to Duncan Lamont, Schroders' head of risk and analytics, shifting out of stocks is a losing strategy. He notes that an aversion to highpriced stocks would have kept most investors out of the market over the last decade.

Conclusion All of this has left many investors confused about how to proceed. The market is expensive and may yet crash, and with indexes seemingly overbought, the art of stock picking will return.

The inverse relationship with stock returns and earnings has traditionally spelt trouble in the past. Indeed, Warren Buffett warned that younger investors are in the process of learning some "very expensive lessons."

However, learning lessons about how to invest doesn't have to involve losing your retirement fund or other capital.

The Campaign for a Million – to teach a million people to be better investors gives investors a chance to learn how to invest from award-winning hedge fund manager. This free course teaches ordinary people to invest and includes instant market insights from the hedge fund desk to help investors stay up to date.

Russian budget supermarket chain set to open in the UK Russian budget supermarket chain Svetefor is all set to open its first planned store in the UK. Operating under the name Mere in Europe, it claims to cost up to 30 per cent less than Adli and Lidl. It reportedly plans to open its first store at a former Nisa branch in Preston, Lancashire.

Additional three stores are also said to be in the works – with two in Wales namely Mold and Caldicot, and one in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

Mere's UK website states it is looking for suitable locations across the nation to expand its retail chain. It says, “At the moment, despite coronavirus, we are actively involved with landlords, their representatives and agents with the aim to open our MERE retail stores ASAP.” The

business' other locations of interest include South Scotland, Devon, Cardiff, Southampton, Stockport, Neath, Banbury, Selby, Bradford, Grantham, Kettering, Gloucester and Sheffield.

Each store is estimated to have up to 1,200 products, and eight staff – counting a director, four cashiers and three delivery workers. Founded in Siberia in 2009, Mere has 3,200 stores globally. It expanded to Europe in 2018, with stores in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Latvia, and Ukraine. The announcement of its opening in the UK comes at a time when Lidl narrowly beat Aldi as the cheapest supermarket of 2020. Waitrose came in as the most expensive.

Cameron, Greensill to appear before Treasury Committee Former UK prime minister David Cameron, and founder of the now-collapsed finance firm Greensill Capital, Lex Greensill are both set to give evidence in front of MPs in the Treasury Committee. The committee has launched an inquiry into lessons that can be learned from the firm's collapse and its role working in government.

They will hear from Cameron on Thursday afternoon. Greensill's hearing will be held on Tuesday. This will be the first time either of them will speak publicly about the firm, its collapse, and the severe case of lobbying.

Conservative MP and chair of the cross-party Treasury committee, Mel Stride said, “The committee is determined to answer the key question as to whether HM Treasury responded appropriately to the lobbying on behalf of

Cameron and Greensill

Greensill Capital, including that carried out by David Cameron. We also want to establish what lessons there are from Greensill’s collapse for the operation of the financial system.”

Stride added, “Following our first evidence session of the inquiry last week with experts, next week we’ll hear from two of the key figures: Lex Greensill and David Cameron. The committee will want to carefully examine their actions in relation to Greensill

Capital and its interactions with HM Treasury.”

Greensill's collapse has garnered a lot of attention, especially with Cameron's lobbying roping in senior government officials. One of them is Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who received a text from Cameron seeking emergency Covid loans.

The former prime minister also contacted other Treasury ministers repeatedly. While the loans were not granted, Greensill's role in the government offering supply chain financing has raised multi-

ple red flags.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has ordered an inquiry led by corporate lawyer Nigel Boardman into the role of the firm and the lobbying. The public administration and constitutional affairs committee, and the public accounts committee have also said they will look into aspects of Greensill's work and interactions with the government. Independent parliamentary spending watchdog National Audit Office is also holding an inquiry into how Greensill Capital was authorised to issue financial support through the coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme (CLBILS).

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has ordered civil servants to disclose any conflicts of interest after the revelation that a senior official worked for Greensill while in government.

British Airways seeks govt action to restart flights British Airways owner IAG has said it is "ready to fly" and has called for government action to restart international travel.

Citing pent-up demand, the airline group called for "travel corridors without restrictions" between certain countries. Some foreign holidays could be allowed when England's lockdown rules ease.

Details of a "green list" of countries with the fewest travel rules are expected soon.

The airline group has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, with revenue plunging with many

of its planes been grounded. IAG reported revenues of £840m for the first three months of the year, down from €4.6bn for the same period last year, and an operating loss of €1,07bn. It repeated its call for digital health passes "to enable a safe re-opening of our skies".

There will be some "opening up" of foreign travel on 17 May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. IAG - which also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling - is "doing everything in our power to emerge in a stronger competitive position," said

Burger bar set to open in Dewsbury, create up to 50 new jobs A brand new £1million burger bar is all set to open in the building that housed the iconic Bailey's Cafe in Dewsbury. Set over two floors, Emojies has light-up tables, two huge video walls and a feature may blossom tree.

The building, bought by Dewsbury businessman Imran Ahmed in 2016, has a stunning high-end finish with an industrial theme.

The entire structure had to be renovated after a serious fire before Imran bought it.

Talking about the burger joint to local media, Imran said, “It really has the wow factor when you go inside. We want it to be on par with the kind of sitdown restaurant experience you would find in

Leeds, Manchester or London. There is nothing really nice like this in Dewsbury.” He said he wanted to create something special in his hometown.

If reports are to be believed, Emojies will have a menu based around burgers, grilled chicken and fish along with desserts, smoothies and milkshakes. It will seat 160 diners inside and out. Set to open last October, the burger bar is now planned during the first two weeks of June.

Luis Gallego, IAG chief executive.

But the aviation industry is awaiting details of the government's travel traffic light system, which is expected to be announced shortly.

The traffic light system of rules will see countries classed as green, amber or red. Travellers to green countries will not need to isolate on their return, but they will need to take a Covid test.

Arrivals from amber countries will need to quarantine, while red-list countries have the

strictest rules, with only UK or Irish nationals allowed to return and they must pay to stay in a government quarantine hotel.

Meanwhile IAG increased its number of cargo-only flights in the three months to 1,306, up from 969 in the previous quarter.

"Cargo has enabled us to operate a more extensive passenger long-haul network," said Gallego. "It generated €350m in revenue, a record for quarter one."

Northampton bids farewell to Debenhams Around 52 Debenhams stores shutdown operations permanently last week.

For Northampton, it means the town has lost its lastremaining department store. All 101 of Debenhams stores will close by May 15. The chain has struggled with falling profits and rising debts, as people resorted to online shopping more.

Senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Northampton, Kardi Sommerfield was quoted

by The Guardian as saying, “Debenhams feels to me like the last one of these giants... the world moved on and left them behind. It won't be a surprise to anybody, but it's sad. Every

shop is an ecosystem, supporting jobs and businesses. The actual store itself was limping along, clearly no investment in the infrastructure.”

She said shops on the High Street had to improve their offer as “it has to be a great experience, or else how to differentiate from shopping online? If they were getting it right, they wouldn't be in trouble.”

Debenhams' closure is touted as the inevitable “death of the High Street”.

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FINANCE & REAL ESTATE 21

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15 - 21 May 2021

Tatas sue Gupta for late payment in £7.9 mn deal Tata Steel has sued three of Sanjeev Gupta’s metal units for 7.9 million pounds over missed payments, piling more woes onto the embattled tycoon’s corporate empire.

The London lawsuit centres on the 2017 sale of Tata’s specialty steel business to Liberty House Group for 100 million pounds ($139 million).

Liberty told the Indian firm’s UK arm that it had run into difficulties as early as May 2020 when demand for steel was hit due to the

pandemic, lawyers for Tata said in documents filed at the UK high court.

Gupta’s business has been searching for funding after the collapse of Greensill Capital, its biggest lender. It looked to have

secured a lifeline for his ailing steel business when terms were agreed on a 200-millionpound loan from White Oak Global Advisors.

March By 2021, Liberty was still struggling with late payments and wrote that it was “going through a crisis arising out of the insolvency of its principal lender, Greensill Capital”, Tata’s lawyers said in the filings.

Tata is also seeking a further

payment of 10 million pounds from Liberty if it wasn’t paid by May 1. It’s not clear whether these amounts have yet been paid.

The suit was filed less than a month after Credit Suisse Group - through Citibank - filed a windingup application against another of Gupta’s businesses, Liberty Commodities.

Tata declined to comment beyond confirming that it had issued proceedings against the firms. The Gupta-led GFG Alliance declined to comment too.

RBI allows recast of home, personal & small biz loans Reserve Bank of India extended relief to individuals and small businesses who have loans up to £2.5 million by allowing them to seek a loan restructuring if they are affected by the second wave of the Covid-19.

Announcing a series of steps to ensure financial stability, the central bank also loosened its purse strings to fund the war against the pandemic by providing a £5 billion liquidity window to ramp up healthcare infrastructure. This has been topped with incentives for lenders who build a Covid19 loan book.

“This is the first part of a calibrated and comprehensive strategy against the pandemic,” said RBI governor Shaktikanta Das and made it clear that he was willing to take many more

“small and big steps”, including unconventional measures, and work with the government to “ameliorate the extreme travails” that citizens were facing “in this hour of distress.”

The loan recast will be available to individuals including home and other personal loans - and small and medium enterprises that did not restructure their loans in 2020 which were classified as standard accounts till March 2021.

RBI also allowed lenders to provide relief to small and

individual borrowers, who had availed of the restructuring option last year.

Under the £5 billion scheme, banks can lend to those involved in the war against Covid, including manufacturers, vaccine importers or suppliers of vaccines and priority medical devices, hospitals and dispensaries, pathology labs, manufacturers and suppliers of oxygen and ventilators, importers of vaccines and Covid related drugs, logistics firms and also patients for treatment.

The banks, RBI governor said, are being incentivised for quick delivery of credit under the scheme through the extension of priority sector classification to such lending up to March 31, 2022. These loans, he added, will continue to be classified

under the priority sector till repayment or maturity, whichever is earlier.

Bankers said, unlike last year, this year there is no blanket relief to borrowers on repayment and they will have to seek approval from lenders. Lenders can prevent small loans from going bad by doing a customised restructuring and giving them an additional two years to repay. This relief will cover 85-90% of all bank borrowers in India.

The governor also kept on his efforts to contain interest rates by announcing £3.5 billion of government bonds on May 20 under its government securities acquisition plan.

The announcement brought down bond yields to below 6% and boosted bank stocks in early trade.

Indian banks asked to withdraw cash abroad so Cairn can't seize it India has asked state-run banks to withdraw funds from their foreign currency accounts abroad, two government officials and a banker said, as New Delhi fears Cairn Energy may try to seize the cash after an arbitration ruling in a tax dispute.

Cairn was awarded damages of more than $1.2 billion plus interest and costs in December in a long-drawnout tussle with the Indian government over its retrospective tax claims. While New Delhi has filed an appeal, the London-listed firm has started identifying Indian assets overseas, including bank accounts, that could be seized in the absence of a settlement, which Cairn says it is still pursuing.

The company has registered its claim against India in courts in the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Singapore and Quebec, moves that could make it easier to seize assets and enforce the arbitration award. "Earlier this week a guidance was sent to staterun banks to withdraw funds from their nostro accounts,"

one of the government officials said adding that the finance ministry had issued the guidance.

A nostro account refers to an account a bank holds overseas at another bank in the currency of that jurisdiction. Such accounts are used for international trade and to settle other foreign exchange transactions. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A banker from one of India's 12 state banks confirmed the ministry had sent the guidance and said the government was concerned courts abroad could order funds in their jurisdiction be remitted to Cairn.

"There was an apprehension that some courts may take a drastic measure saying whatever the offshore funds of the government of India, those may be taken over or frozen for the time being," the banker said. "Our assets are tantamount to assets of the government of India as we are owned by them."

The Indian Banks' Association, an industry body representing lenders, did not immediately reply to

a request for comment. At least two state banks also did not respond, while others could not be reached outside of regular office hours. Cairn said in February it was discussing several proposals

with the government to find a solution. "Cairn continues to have constructive engagement with the government of India," a spokesman for the company said when asked about the case.

The Phantom Deal

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

We have been tracking a property in a desirable part of West London.The property is freehold and consists of a large shop, basement and uppers.The uppers are in a derelict, and possibly dangerous, condition.

This is an exampleof the kind of deals we seek; obviously subject to a reasonable price point.

As it is a freehold building, it should therefore be easy enough to transact.However, the representative of the owner at first claimed the property belonged to relatives, then it transpired to be himself; the square footage was also up in the air, as was the point about whether the property had planning or not.

It definitely used to have planning for something,but that had lapsed. The owner claimed it had been implemented and therefore was valid.However, no proof had been provided regarding the implementation.

To top all of this off, the owner wanted above market value for the property.

So, we didn’t know what was being sold, yet we were being asked to pay over the market value.

Usually when there are unknown variables to a property the price is reduced; and substantially. Here, we had a vendor who went against this flow and wanted an enhanced figure.

Unsurprisingly, the property didn’t sell.

Regardless, wehad stayed in touch; and recently, it seemed the deal could be resurrected.The vendor said I could purchase the property but without confirmation of the square footage, planning etc., all the important bits you need to know when purchasing a property.

I thought ok, in order to do the deal, I’ll agree the enhanced above market price, on the condition of a delayed completion (I had a strategy in mind, which would make this deal worthwhile).

Nonetheless, I still needed to know what I was purchasing, for example, the size; and a proper survey of the building was urgently required too.

In this particular circumstance, the best way to proceed was via an option agreement.So,we would agree to purchase the property within a short space of time, say 6 weeks.This would have given us the required breathing space to understand all issues and the potential with the property, allowing us to exchange with some knowledge of what we were purchasing instead of no knowledge.

I thought this was a reasonable solution given the lack of basic information concerning the property.

I thought this would give the vendor what he wants, and will allow the deal to finally move on and close. The vendor gave me a window of three days to close the deal, which is very unreasonable.

Of course, we wish to do deals; but there comes a point where frankly speaking it’s just not worth the time and energy.Often, the problems presented are not the actual issues,so, dealing with them will not bring the deal to a close.

I suspect this is perhaps one such situation.If there is an emotional attachment to the property none of what we have addressed will advance the deal to closure.

Double-digit GDP growth a bit ambitious: SBI Report The second wave of Covid has posed a downside risk to economic activity in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, but there are reasons to expect a muted economic impact as compared to the first wave, a finance ministry report said. “Learning to ‘operate with Covid-19’, as borne by international experience, provides a silver lining of economic resilience amidst the second wave,” according to the ministry’s monthly economic report.

It said that growing infections and consequent restrictions have imparted a downside risk to economic activity. The sharp surge in cases and deaths and the lockdowns in several states have hurt economic activity. Most experts now agree that there is likely to be an impact on the country’s growth prospects and the economic recovery that was under way. The first wave and strict lockdown had hurt the economy

severely, leading to a recession with two successive quarters of contraction last year. Since the opening up of economic activity, there has been a sharp recovery and most agencies had estimated the economy to grow in the 10%-12% range and emerge as the fastest growing economy in the world.

However, the second wave, which has heaped misery in recent weeks, has prompted several agencies to shave off their growth estimates marginally. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) still maintains that the dent is expected to be moderate in comparison to a year ago. In a separate report, the SBI said they are now “little apprehensive” of doubledigit growth in FY22. “Given the rise in cases and restriction in every state, real GDP growth of 10.4% looks a bit ambitious,” Soumya Kanti Ghosh, SBI group’s chief economic adviser, said.

Hyderabad-based company to roll out Covid vaccine in Aug Vaccine maker Biological E is gearing up to churn out 75-80 million doses per month of its recombinant protein vaccine candidate from August this year. The company also says it will be one of the most affordable vaccines in the country. Biological E’s MD Mahima Datla indicated that it will be among the most affordable Covid vaccines.

She added that the company certainly won’t take advantage of the situation.

“Covid did not make us enter into this business and we pride ourselves on having made vaccines accessible in pre-pandemic times to countries that needed it the most.”

Dr Maria Elena Bottazi, associate dean, National School of Tropical Medicine (NSTM) at Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine, which is collaborating with Biological E for the vaccine, has been quoted as saying that the subunit vaccine, which is modelled after the hepatitis B vaccine, uses traditional technology and is cheap to produce at only about $1.5 (Rs 110 approx) per dose.

22 WORLD

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London law graduate strangled and shot on visit to Pakistan LAHORE: A British law graduate was strangled and shot to dead on a visit to Pakistan, local reports claim. Mayra Zulfiqar, 26, is said to have been shot by suspects who broke into her apartment in Lahore. She moved to Pakistan two months ago from Feltham, West London, and had been renting an apartment with a friend in the upmarket Defense area of Lahore where she was discovered dead by her uncle next to her phone, it is claimed.

A preliminary post-mortem examination revealed the law grad had been strangled and shot - with scars also found on her body. Zulfiqar started her law degree at Middlesex University in 2015, according to a LinkedIn profile purporting

to belong to her. She spent her second year abroad in the university’s campus in Dubai before completing her undergraduate degree at the University of West London, where she stayed on to complete a master’s in international business and commercial law.

The aspiring “commercial arbitrator” had completed a five-month stint working as a

caseworker for the London West Equality Centre, and most recently, worked as a paralegal at Reading law firm Duncan Blackett. In police reports filed by her uncle, it is alleged that two of her male friends fought to marry her but she had refused them both. Lahore Police are understood to be treating the murder as a crime of passion.

Station House Officer (SHO) Qasim, of Lahore Police, said the woman travelled to Pakistan from the UK to attend a wedding - but did not return. He said: “The woman had a bullet wound to the shoulder, but the exact

cause of death will be known after her post-mortem and forensic report, whether the death was due to a gunshot wound or whether her throat was strangled.”

According to reports, her parents are understood to be travelling to Pakistan and police say no arrests have been made. One former neighbour paid tribute to her as a "happy young woman" and said he recalled seeing her coming to and from her family home in Feltham, Middlesex.

Two other men are also being probed by cops on suspicion of assisting the alleged killers. Police have not yet made any arrests. The crime scene has been cordoned off as forensic experts investigate.

Tanzanians can enter Kenya without restrictions NAIROBI: Kenya has announced that it has scrapped work visa and permit requirements for Tanzanian nationals in an effort to boost trade and tourism between the two countries, fasttracking implementation of the East African Common Market Protocol to allow workers to move freely in the region.

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the new visa policy during a joint session of Kenya and Tanzanian business community in Nairobi, which was attended by the visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu. President Kenyatta said the move would allow Tanzanians to enter the country without restrictions and work freely, attracting foreign investment and boosting tourism without compromising national security.

Uhuru Kenyatta

“The objective is to strengthen our two economies by promoting easy movement of goods and people," said President Kenyatta. “We would like to see many investors from Tanzania coming to do business in Kenya.

And I want to say this, Tanzanian investors are free to come and do business in Kenya. The only thing you will be required to do is to follow the laid down regula-

Samia Suluhu

tions and the laws that are in place,” he added.

Diplomatic and trade spats between the two countries have been cited in the past for risking regional integration, denying citizens the dream of a common market. In 2018, Safaricom chief customer officer Sylvia Mulinge was denied a permit to work in Tanzania after she was appointed Vodacom Tanzania chief execu-

tive.

Tanzanian Labour Commissioner did not give reasons for declining a work permit application in what investors saw as an attempt to lock out foreigners seeking to work in the country. The two presidents committed to eliminate barriers hindering the smooth flow of trade, instructing their respective officials to initiate and conclude trade talks within a fortnight in an attempt to scrap significant differences between the two countries.

The differences have threatened to slow down trade between the two countries, which amounts to Ksh61.5 billion ($576 million) annually. President Samia welcomed Kenyan traders to invest in Tanzania, saying the neighbouring country is ready and open for business.

Controversy over Uganda mulls lockdown as it South Africa's announces second Covid-19 wave new Zulu king

Kampala: The Ugandan government has announced that the country is now in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic after the number of infections increased by 81 per cent between March and April. The government has warned of tough containment measures, including a possible total lockdown, if the situation gets out of hand.

Dr Misaki Wayengera, the chairperson of the ministerial scientific advisory committee, said the second wave is going to be more severe and the country could experience what is happening in India. “The pandemic often starts slowly with a lag phase and then there is a rapid phase, and finally we hit a stationary phase. We are in the second wave of the pandemic, only that we are in the lag phase,” Dr Wayengera said.

He added: “We might hit a point where infections rapidly go up as it happened in India. Unfortunately, given that we have active transmission going on in the communities, this might be the same thing that will happen to us.” Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said the resurgence is presenting itself with rising cases of infections among children.

“We have started to experience a significant increase in cases of Covid-19 among the 10-29 age group. We registered a 12 per cent increase in cases among children aged 10-19 years and a 5 per cent increase in those aged 20-29,” she said. The govern-

ment announced last week that besides the Indian strain, the country had also registered four other strains including the Ugandan, Nigerian, South African and UK variants.

Dr Aceng said some of the districts hit most by Covid-19 clusters of community infections are Kiryandongo, Adjumani, Soroti, Oyam, Gulu and Jinja. “The emergence of the cases in Jinja is attributed to a cluster of individuals working in a factory in Buikwe District, one of whom recently arrived from India, and four being close contacts,” she said.

The affected individuals are being isolated, according to the minister. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, a total of 42,102 cases of infections had been reported in the country as of Wednesday.

Dr Aceng said they are increasing the efforts to prevent importation of Covid-19 variants. The Ugandan government suspended flights originating from India effective May 1 to shield the country from a second wave of the pandemic.

Dr Tegegn Woldermariam, the World Health Organization’s country representative, asked Ugandans to go for Covid-19 vaccinations to protect themselves from severe illness and avoid causing emergence of new variants which tend to occur in populations where people are not vaccinated.

PRETORIA: A new Zulu king in South Africa was named amid scenes of chaos as other members of the royal family questioned Prince Misuzulu Zulu's claim to the title.

Bodyguards whisked Prince Misuzulu away from the royal palace where his mother's will was read out. The controversy over the next king, a largely ceremonial role but one with great significance for South Africa and its 12 million Zulu people, has arisen after the death in March of King Goodwill Zwelithini, who had reigned since 1968.

Zwelithini apparently named one of his six wives, Queen Mantfombi Shiyiwe Dlamini Zulu, as the "regent of the Zulu kingdom" in his will, but her death just over a week ago after holding the title for only a month has thrown the royal succession into turmoil. The commotion broke out at the reading of Queen Mantfombi's will and hours after a memorial service for her.

Her will named 46-year-old Prince Misuzulu, her eldest son with King Zwelithini, as the next king. But another prince objected and interrupted the announcement, while two princesses have already questioned whether the late king's will gave Queen Mantfombi the right to nominate a successor on her death.

King Zwelithini reportedly had 28 children with his different wives, and Queen Mantfombi was not his first wife. The dispute over succession has been rumbling for a month since the former king's death.

in brief SAMIR PATEL NAMED DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR BARTOW Governor Brian Kemp has appointed Samir Patel, an Indian American lawyer, as the district attorney of Bartow and Gordon counties, in the Cherokee Judicial Circuit.

Patel fills a vacancy created when Kemp appointed former district attorney Rosemary Greene to the Superior Court in the circuit. Greene was named to the bench after Superior Court Judge David K Smith retired last year. Patel holds a Bachelor's Degree in Information Sciences and General Management from East Tennessee State University and a law degree from Georgia State University. Since 2010, Patel has served as Associate Attorney of White and Choate, in Cartersville. And since 2017, Patel has also served as Municipal Court Judge of Euharlee.

SENIOR POSTS FOR TWO INDIAN AMERICAN PROFS Two Indian American professors at Duke University have been appointed to senior posts in President Joe Biden’s administration. Professor and economist Ronnie Chatterji will serve as chief economist of the United States Department of Commerce, acting as the principal economic adviser to the Secretary of Commerce, while Duke Law professor Arti K Rai has been appointed to serve as a senior advisor in the Office of General Counsel in the US Department of Commerce. Chatterji earlier worked in President Obama’s administration as a senior economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Rai is an internationally recognized expert in intellectual property law, innovation policy, administrative law, and health law.

INDIAN AMERICAN COUPLE SENTENCED The United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia announced that husband and wife Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel and Chaitali Dave have been sentenced for laundering over $500,000 on behalf of India-based phone scammers.

According to Acting US Attorney Kurt R Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court, India-based call centers defraud US residents, including the elderly, by misleading victims over the telephone utilizing scams such as Social Security and tech support scams. As part of their Social Security scam, India-based callers posed as federal agents in order to mislead victims into believing their Social Security numbers were involved in crimes. The callers then instructed the victims to mail cash to members of the fraud network, including the Indian American couple of Patel and Dave, the attorney’s office said.

TORONTO SENDS 3,000 VENTILATORS TO INDIA Authorities in Canada's Ontario province dispatched 3,000 locally made ventilators to New Delhi, even as the Indian-dominated city of Brampton illuminated its city hall with the Tricolor in solidarity with the people of India. Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his economic development minister Victor Fedeli joined Indian Consul General Apoorva Srivastava and others in flagging off the shipment to India on May 6. The Indian Red Cross will receive the ventilators which have been manufactured by O-Two Medical Technologies based in Brampton.

The ventilators have been donated in response to requests from the High Commissioner to Canada and the Consul General in Toronto.

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Akanksha Arora: The Indo-Canadian who vies to be the next UNSG Mitul Paniker Indo-Canadian Akanksha Arora, 34, launched a campaign in February to become the next UN Secretary-General. A UN staffer, she has pooled her life savings to back her candidacy, one, which has not yet been recognised by any of the 193 member states of the institution. In an exclusive, Arora explains why a change of guard at the UN is imperative.

“I joined the UN in December 2016 to serve the financial reforms of the UN and I was so thrilled to be invited to this castle on the hill. It is such an elite institution, you have to be super connected to even get through here so I was like 'Wow, I feel so fortunate that I'm here. I've been invited to serve on all these forums',” says Arora. Her decision to challenge the incumbent Antonio Guterres is “influenced by two factors”.

A by-product of early immigration, her grandparents moved to India from Pakistan. “They were street vendors because that is how you finish your education. You have to fend for yourself. They could not finish their own education and so their goal was to make sure their kids are educated, so my parents are physicians. Then we moved to Canada, and Canada has been a great experience for me, I graduated summa cum laude, became a manager at a top firm.”

It wasn't until an accident in 2016, that changed her outlook towards life. “Six weeks after joining the UN, I got hit by a cab.

I broke my knee, and I was in the ER, didn't know if I would ever be able to walk again. I was in touch with my mortality. And I was talking to God, please help me get through and I will make a difference in the world. God kept His promise, and I am keeping mine by serving the world,” s h e says.

Akanksha Arora

'System isn't working' Her second factor stems from three years of working within the organisation. A whole lot of talk and not much action is what Arora witnesses. “I was in the UN for six weeks and I knew the system wasn't working. Honestly it doesn't take anyone too long to figure out that outside the place is pristine, inside it is not doing what it is supposed to.

It's wasteful. The business model is talk talk talk, write reports, conferences, so the world thinks we are busy. Same rhetoric and no results,” Arora says.

While she contemplated going back to what she does best, she says she could not find it in herself to just stand witness to the general lack of action. “I thought to myself, I need to realise my work is to reform the UN financially.”

“After two years, the system gives you two options: either to leave or accept things as they are. The salary is so generous, to be honest. They know you'll be stupid to leave.

And I think, how many people before me have been confronted with this choice? We've had nine secretarygenerals, eight reforms and I was like no, I will stand for Secretary-General myself.”

She says the decision wasn't “linear”. “I didn't know I was going to do it myself and that was in January 2019. I decided to find another leader, someone who is already established, like an ambassador who would want to do it and I will do the back-end work. I tried to meet a couple, like a former head or a foreign minister. I met them and I told them that the system is not working, we should do something about it, and they said 'oh, we know even worse news than you do. We know darker secrets that even you don't know.'”

For six months Arora tried to find someone who could take a stand and she could support. By July 2019, she decided to take the leap. “I just knew I had to do it. And then Covid-19 happened in March 2020. All this time I spent learning about the UN and I enrolled in the Columbia MBA program and finished that. I learned everything to the nth degree,” she says.

From lack of better funds, Arora finally announced her campaign to her 250,000 email connections. “I just emailed everyone, 'Dear World, today I announce my candidacy.'”

'UN election a hypocritical sham' The self-nominated candidate has a bone to pick with the higher authorities of the UN. “This is the 76th year of the UN, and the previous election took place in 2016.

Before that, all the elections were almost like selecting the Pope. It was a very closed door, hush hush elections. You don't even know who the candidates are. Then in 2015 fall, they passed a resolution called 69-321. It did not prohibit self-nomination and that was my guiding factor,” Arora explains.

“Here we are where member states are behaving in a discriminatory fashion where they are not following the rules that they have established themselves. I am allowed to be self-nominated, but member states are not giving me a hearing. All these leaders keep saying 'women empowerment', but what women? I don't know what kind of contest this is? Is this a contest on competence or their

Kamala pledges more aid to India WASHINGTON: Asserting that the “welfare of India is critically important to the US,” Vice-President Kamala Harris, whose mother hailed from India and whose aunt is a physician in Chennai, pledged that the Biden administration will do even more for India than the aid currently in the pipeline and said the two countries and the global community will get through the pandemic together.

“At the beginning of the pan- Kamala Harris demic, when our hospital beds were stretched, India sent assistance. And deaths in India is nothing short of hearttoday, we are determined to help India in its breaking. As soon as the dire nature of the hour of need. We do this as friends of India, situation became apparent, our administraas members of the Asian Quad, and as part of tion took action,” she said, noting that India the global community. I believe that if we and the United States have the greatest continue to work together we will all get number of Covid-19 cases in the world. through this,” Harris said in remarks at a “Already, we have delivered refillable diaspora event to discuss bolstering aid to oxygen cylinders, with more to come. We India. have delivered oxygen concentrators, with The vice-president had been trolled by more to come. We have delivered N95 some critics for being indifferent to New masks, and have more ready to send. We Delhi’s fight against the second upsurge of have delivered doses of Remdesivir to treat Covid, but she put her close ties to India up patients,” she added, indicating that the aid front at the event, acknowledging, “As many from Washington would continue to flow of you know, generations of my family come till New Delhi got a grip on the situation. from India. My mother was born and raised She also pointed out that the the US has in India. And I have family members who live announced its full support for suspending in India today.” patents on vaccines to help India and other “The surge of Covid-19 infections and nations vaccinate their people more quickly.

preferences about women?”

'Lack of Gender Diversity' The UN has never had a female Secretary General in its 76 year history. Arora says, “In 2016 Secretary General elections, there were seven female candidates out of a pool of 13 candidates. All those women had similar experiences and age as the incumbent; yet a male was chosen for the job. So this year, I have presented myself as a candidate, who is less than half the age of the incumbent has different but relevant experiences, and again they have a problem.”

Same is the case with youths. Where is the representation? She asks. “UK got its presidency of the Security Council in February, and the ambassador is 'Youth is at the core of all our policies'. Where is that core?

Because then, why aren't you engaging with the youth? It's not in action at all. Half of the world today is under 30 and yet I am not being given the respect of a candidate by a member state. There is a process they won't honour.”

The UN process requires candidates to be backed by a country to be recognised. When asked how many countries have extended intentions to back her, Arora says, “I emailed all member states, only seven countries responded. None of which are developed.”

'Refugee crisis' Arora launched her Vision Statement earlier this month. The ongoing refugee crisis is one she holds near to her heart. “Today we have 85 million refugees displaced and stateless. This is the highest it has ever been. The UN says it cannot meet the needs of half of them because they say they have a $400 million funding shortfall. What do you think happens to the other half? They are smuggled, trafficked or taken to join terrorist organisations for sustenance or survival. You don't have the media to tell their stories. Meanwhile, it is interesting that the UN's annual travel budget is $2.5 billion dollars – including business and first class travels. How are you telling me you cannot fund refugees?”

President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir held a dialogue with candidates on May 7, only including Guterres. To Arora there seems to be an intention to bypass the process and she says, “UK is just standing by.”

What makes her the ideal candidate?

The 34 year old says, “UK cut funding to the UN recently. The UK cut 50 per cent funding to UNICEF, it cut 80 per cent funding to the UNFPA. Which means, my experiences at the UN are so relevant for the SG that the limited resources we have now are used for the cause.

Today for every dollar, 30 cents are used for the cause. Rest goes into bureaucracy. When it comes to climate, for every dollar only 15 cents goes to nature-based solutions, the rest goes to holding conferences. All this noise people are making on climate change. They made us believe in science, I now want people to believe in math.”

Asked to share her message with everyone, Arora says, “I am outraged at the lack of democracy that is going on.

You should be too. Let's not just stop at the outrage. Let's take it to action. Tomorrow it could be you.”

American doctor dies after travelling to India to help with Covid NEW JERSEY: Dr Rajendra Kapila, 81, was an infectious disease expert at New Jersey’s Rutgers University. He died in a Delhi hospital on 28 April after several weeks of treatment for Covid-related complications.

Kapila’s widow Dr Deepti Saxena-Kapila, herself a scientist working on the pandemic, said the couple travelled together to India in the last week of March.

“For the last one year I have been working at a Covid-19 lab in New Jersey and had ensured a safe environment at home,” said Dr Deepti, who specialises in microbiology. “It is ironic that we came to India for two weeks and he contracted it here.” The newspaper quoted Dr Deepti as saying they had both been fully vaccinated with two Pfizer-BioNTech shots, though this was not immediately confirmed by Kapila’s university. Rutgers University’s chair of the department of medicine Dr Marc Klapholz sent a statement via email to colleagues, which was later also shared online, saying Dr Kapila had been a foundational pillar of the New Jersey Medical School for 50 years.

“A genuine giant in the field of infectious diseases, Dr Kapila was recognised worldwide and sought out for his legendary knowledge and extraordinary clinical acumen in diagnosing and treating the most

Dr Rajendra Kapila

complex infectious diseases,” the email said. “ He will be deeply and genuinely missed.”

Kapila’s ex-wife, Dr Bina Kapila, said in an interview that the doctor, who had underlying conditions of diabetes and heart complications, travelled to India to care for his family. "He was so brilliant when we were in college, in medical school, that the professors of medicine after they gave a lecture, they would come to him and ask him, ‘did I cover everything?’" she said.

Dr Kapila had reportedly planned to return to the US in mid-April but tested positive for Covid-19 on 8 April before he was admitted to Delhi’s Shanti Mukund Hospital, where he died 20 days later. “Whenever Dr Kapila visited India, he would deliver lectures to fellow doctors at major private hospitals in the city and never said ‘no’ to an opportunity to teach,” Dr Ruby Bansal, of India’s Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital at Kaushambi, said.

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in brief

Lockdown in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has announced complete lockdown in the state from May 8 to 16 over the rising Covid-19 cases in the state. Kerala earlier recorded single-day spike with over 35,801 fresh Covid cases and 68 more deaths on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the situation in Kerala as serious and added that stringent measures will have to be taken to curb the Covid surge.

The decision to impose a complete lockdown in Kerala was taken after reviewing the present Covid situation in the state. The chief minister said that instructions were given to strengthen the ward level committees and rapid response teams in the state by bringing in the medical students from the areas. With the addition of over 41,000 fresh Covid cases, Kerala's caseload has gone up to 17,43,932, while 23,106 people were cured of the infection,

pushing the recoveries to 13,62,000. The chief minister has said as the number of Covid patients increases by the day, the need for oxygen has also increased.

TN lockdown Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said a total lockdown beginning May 10 had to be clamped due to a sharp increase in daily infections. “The total lockdown will be enforced from May 10 to 24 to further intensify the efforts to curb the spread of the disease," he said. Puducherry is already under lockdown till May 10.

Tamil Nadu reported 28,897 new Covid cases and 236 deaths on Tuesday. The total case count reached 13,51,000 and the toll stood at 15,412. The state touched the new high just a day after logging a record 26,465 cases and 197 deaths. A medical bulletin said 23,110 people were discharged on Saturday, taking

that tally to 11,96,549 and leaving 1,39,401 active cases in the state.

Chennai accounted for most number of new infections at 6,846, totalling 3,83,644 till date. Fatalities in the city stood at 5,153.

Full lockdown in Karnataka Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa announced lockdown-like restrictions in the state from May 10 to May 24 in view of spiralling cases. There was already a curfew in place in the state from April 27, which was to end on May 12. All shops and commercial establishments, hotels, pubs and bars will remain closed during this period.

Essential goods and services like food, medicine, milk, fruits and vegetables will be available from 6 am to 10 am. The state recorded 39,305 new Covid cases and 596 deaths on Tuesday.

Only scheduled flights and

RANGASAMY SWORN IN AS PUDUCHERRY CM

trains will continue to operate during this period. Flight and train tickets shall serve as the passes for movement of persons to board flight and trains.

Hotels, restaurants and eateries shall be permitted to operate kitchens for takeaway/home delivery of food items only. No vehicles will be allowed to be used by persons for taking parcels/takeaway.

Only movement by walk is allowed for this purpose. However, hotels, restaurants and eateries can use vehicles for home delivery.

Pradesh has Andhra announced a partial lockdown from 12 noon to 6 am from May 6 for two weeks. It had earlier imposed a night curfew.

Telangana has extended its night curfew till May 15.

PUNJAB

Punjab Chief Minister warns of stern action against lockdown violators CHANDIGARH: As thousands of farmers took out protest marches at several places in Punjab on Saturday against the weekend lockdown amid rising of Covid-19 cases, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh warned that the lockdown violators will be dealt with sternly. Singh also rejected charges by the farmer groups that the state government was trying to ‘sabotage’ the farmers’ agitation.

Even as Punjab’s daily Covid caseload continued to hover around the 9,000-mark, 32 farmer unions had announced to hold street protests against the lockdown in the state and urged shopkeepers to defy the restrictions. The protest rallies were taken out in Moga, Patiala,

Amritsar, Ajnala, among other places in the state.

“We are appealing to shopkeepers to open their shops.

We are with them," announced Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan in Moga. “Lockdown is not a solution to deal with the Covid19 crisis," he said.

Farmers, including women, took out marches in the markets and appealed to shopkeepers and traders through loudspeakers to open their shops despite heavy police presence. However, the shopkeepers kept their shops closed. Reiterating that there was no question of sabotaging the farmers agitation, the chief miniser said that no violation of the weekend lockdown and

other restrictions in the state could be allowed at any cost, given the current grim situation.

“There are lives at stake, saving them is our priority, and it is the responsibility of every Punjabi to save them," he said, urging BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU (Ekta Dakaounda) leaders not to give a twist to his previous comments on the issue.

Amid the call of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha to oppose the weekend lockdown, Singh had on Friday asked the DGP to strictly enforce all the weekend restrictions and not allow any violation at any cost. “Leaders of two organisations had misinterpreted the statement to raise doubts about my intentions towards the ongoing farmers’ stir,” said the chief minister.

Amarinder Singh

“How can my government go against the interests of the farmers when it was the first in the country to move the amendment laws in the Vidhan Sabha to annul the draconian Farm Laws of the Central Government?" said Singh, asserting that as far as the central laws were concerned, his government’s stand against them had been clear and consistent.

WEST BENGAL

Mamata inducts 43 ministers into her cabinet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday inducted as many as 43 Ministers into her Cabinet, including 18 new faces. The Ministers, including nine junior ministers, were administered the oath of office by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan in state capital Kolkata.

However, two of Mamata's senior Cabinet colleagues Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Higher Education Minister Bratya Bose - were sworn in virtually. While Mitra has been unwell, Bose is said to be recovering from Covid-19. All the veterans of Mamata's ruling Trinamool Congress party Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Sujit Bose, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Shashi Panja have found a berth in Mamata's new Cabinet.

Though Mamata allocated

almost all the ministries to her new Cabinet colleagues, she has retained six key portfolios, including home and health.

Mamata took her oath as the chief minister for the third time on May 5. The swearing-in ceremony comes a day after the Governor approved the CBI's plea to prosecute four former ministers of Mamata's government in a cash-for-favours scam. Surprisingly, two of the accused in the Narada tapes scandal - Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim - are in the new Cabinet. The Narada scandal was

a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the erstwhile M a m a t a government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out unofficial favours to a private firm.

Last week, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, but also decimated the Left Front. Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old firebrand politician lost her own seat in Nandigram

to her former protege-turnedrival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes.

"This is Bangla's win... this is Bengal's win... this is your win.

This win has saved Bengal, it has saved the culture and tradition of Bengal," she said, addressing a press meet on May 5. Mamata, however, made it clear that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "How come the Election Commission reversed the results in Nandigram after formally announcing it? We will move court."

The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years - from 1977 to 2011. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections.

All India NR Congress founder N Rangasamy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry for the fourth time. He will head a coalition government, comprising the BJP. Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rangasamy at a function held on the lawns of the Raj Nivas. Immediately after the swearing-in, Rangasamy reached the Legislative Assembly and assumed charge as Chief Minister. The swearing-in was attended by a limited number of people, newly elected legislators belonging to the AINRC, the BJP, the DMK, the Congress, Independents and leaders of the AIADMK. The AINRC, which contested as part of the NDA along with the BJP and AIADMK, secured 10 seats. The BJP won 6 seats while the AIADMK drew a blank in the 30-member Assembly.

11 DIE IN ANDHRA HOSPITAL FOR WANT OF OXYGEN Eleven Covid patients who were in the ICU died at a government hospital in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati on Monday after the supply of medical oxygen was disrupted.

The deaths have been reported at a time when India is fighting a deadly second Covid wave and shortage of medical oxygen has emerged as a key challenge. Even as families of patients alleged that the oxygen supply was disrupted for about 25-45 minutes, Chittoor District Collector said "there was a five-minute lag in reloading the oxygen cylinder that caused the pressure to drop", which led to the deaths. The delay in arrival of oxygen tanker had triggered the crisis, he further said. The hospital has a capacity of over 1,100 beds; there are over 100 patients in the ICU, and 400 on oxygen beds.

HC GRILLS HARYANA GOVT ON COW VIGILANTES’ RAIDS In a significant move, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Haryana government to inform the court about the power or authority vested in cow vigilantes to raid homes of citizens.

“Haryana is directed to address the court on the power/authority of vigilantes to raid the houses of the citizens. Such actions are prima facie illegal and amount to taking law into their own hands by private individuals.

This is contrary to the Rule of Law,” observed the high court while seeking a reply from the state government. Justice Sudhir Mittal of the HC passed these orders while granting bail to Mubbi, alias Mubin, a native of Mewat in Haryana in relation to an FIR registered against him by the Mewat police under the cow protection law.

CENTRAL TEAM VISIT BENGAL TO ASSESS SITUATION Amid charges and counter-charge, a fourmember team of the Union home ministry visited Bengal last week to assess the situation in the state amid allegations of post-poll violence. The visit came three days after a home ministry letter to the state government inquiring about the law and order situation failed to elicit any response.

The team called on state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay to know about steps taken to control the post-poll violence.

A BJP delegation, led by state unit president Dilip Ghosh and Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari, later met the MHA team to present its account of the situation in Bengal. Bengal police, meanwhile, have got more than 500 fake posts deleted from social media of “post-poll violence in Bengal” and “Hindu genocide in Bengal.” Among images sought to be passed off as “Bengal violence” are old photos from Brazil, Venezuela and Bangladesh.

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Lancet sees flaws in govt response to Covid crisis India needs to overcome its shortcomings in combating Covid quickly by adopting a two-pronged strategy to control the outbreak that include setting right the vaccination campaign and measures to ensure poorer and rural citizens are not left out, medical journal The Lancet has said.

Pointing out the weaknesses in the government’s response, The Lancet said in an editorial that, "First, the botched vaccination campaign must be rationalised and implemented with all due speed." There are two bottlenecks that need to be overcome: the vaccine supply needs to be raised, with some imports, and a distribution campaign that can cover not just urban but also rural and poorer citizens needs to be set up to ensure a more equitable distribution.

The editorial

recommended measures to reduce transmission of the virus as much as possible, while the vaccine is being rolled out. “As cases continue to mount, the government must publish accurate data in a timely manner, and forthrightly explain to the public what is happening and what is needed to bend the epidemic curve, including possibility of a new federal lockdown,” it said.

The journal said the Indian government gave the impression that India had beaten Covid-19 despite

repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave and emergence of new strains, in comments that are sharply critical of the Centre on the recent surge of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India.

“The impression from the government was that India had beaten Covid-19 after several months of low case counts, despite repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave and the emergence of new strains,” the editorial said, while also criticising health minister Harsh Vardhan for

announcing in early March that the country is in the end game of Covid.

“At times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has seemed more intent on removing criticism on Twitter than trying to control the pandemic,” the editorial said. “Modi’s actions in attempting to stifle criticism and open discussion during the crisis are inexcusable,” it added.

The editorial also quoted estimates by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a global health research institution, that said India could potentially see one million deaths due to the Covid-19 pandemic by August 1. “The message that Covid-19 was essentially over also slowed the start of India’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, which has vaccinated less than 2% of the population,” it said.

Himanta Biswa Sarma takes oath as new Assam CM BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, was on Monday sworn-in as the 15th chief minister of Assam by Governor Jagadish Mukhi at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.

He also vowed to take the state to greater heights of prosperity. Along with Sarma who is the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the NDA’s version in the region, 13 other newly-elected legislators of the saffron party and alliance partners were sworn-in as ministers amid strict Covid-19 protocols.

Of the13 ministers who took oath, 10 were from the BJP. They included party president Ranjeet Kumar Dass, ministers of the previous government Chandra Mohan Patowary, Parimal Suklabaidya, Jogen Mohan, Sanjay Kishan and Pijush Hazarika.

Sarma took the oath of office and secrecy in Assamese. After taking the

Himanta Biswa Sarma

oath, he tweeted, “With blessings and grace of the people of Assam, I take over as chief minister of the state today.

Four BJP ministers of the previous government led by Sonowal did not find a place in Sarma's ministry.

They are Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Naba Doley, Ranjit Dutta and Bhabesh Kalita. The Asom Gana Parishad's Atul Bora and Keshab Mahanta, both ministers in the previous government also took the oath.

Another AGP minister in the previous government, Phanibhushan Choudhury, who was elected to the assembly for a record eighth time, did not find a place in the new ministry.

More than 170 children among Not just vax, India seeks patent 9,500Australians stranded in India waiver for Covid medicines too More than 170 unaccompanied children are among the Australians seeking to return from India as it struggles to contain a deadly second wave of Covid-19, officials in Canberra have revealed.

With the Senate’s Covid committee looking into the government’s controversial temporary ban on travellers from India, officials reported there were now about 9,500 Australians who wished to return home from India – including 950 classed as vulnerable.

The vulnerable children include “173 clients registered as under 18 in India outside a family group – that is, they’re on their own and seeking to return to Australia”, Lynette Wood, a first assistant secretary with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. Qantas doesn’t take unaccompanied minors, meaning their only options to get home are Air India and special repatriation flights, which are not scheduled to resume until after the travel ban ends on 15 May. Wood said the government was planning repatriation flights into Darwin on 15, 23 and 30 May, with a focus on vulnerable Australians, and they would go to the Howard Springs quarantine facility. The government also expects a further three repatriation flights to arrive in other state capitals before the end of this month, as announced

by Scott Morrison after cabinet meeting.

Each flight is likely to carry about 150 people but

the government has not committed to a deadline for rescuing the vulnerable Australians from India – and these facilitated flights will not be open to people who test positive to Covid-19 before departure. With the Covid-19 committee focusing on the impact of the travel ban, which criminalised the return of anyone who had been in India in the previous two weeks, Australia’s high commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell, was asked if he was aware of any citizens who had died of the disease while waiting to return home. O’Farrell said that with high infection rate and the death of about 4,000 people, Australian citizens may be among the deaths.

O’Farrell said doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in India on an assistance plane this week for the purpose of inoculating Australian diplomatic and consular staff. “It’s clear why it’s needed to do this for diplomats, because we could not help anyone across India if more of my officers – whether locally engaged or Australian staff – went down with Covid,” O’Farrell said.

Some stranded people said that the Australian government had been “totally insensitive to stranded Australians. The daily fear of going out and contracting Covid was with us every day and it still is now, the situation is so bad,” one stranded man said.

Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly argued Australia had been “faced with what was a large number of Australians returning from India … and with very high rates of positive” to the point that there was a concern about the potential failure of the quarantine system.

South Africa, India and other developing countries are expected to demand TRIPS waiver for Covid-19 drugs and medical tools in addition to vaccines. With US Trade Representative Katharine Tai indicating American support only for talks on patent flexibility for vaccines at the WTO, the scope of the proposed waiver could turn out to be the next sticking point.

In October, India and South Africa had submitted a joint proposal, which had just outlined the broad areas of TRIPS waiver. The revised draft will provide the scope, in terms of coverage as well as the duration, which could be longer than originally expected.

“Intellectual property is not the only barrier but definitely a significant barrier that can impact production of medical tools.… The scope (of the waiver) should cover health products and technology, including diagnostics, therapeutics, medical

products and personal equipment,” South Africa’s ambassador to WTO Xolelwa MlumbiPeter said at an online panel discussion.

Several patented medicines, which have been repurposed, are being commonly prescribed to tackle severe infection. The group of 60odd developing countries is also insisting that negotiations for a deal should start in a few weeks so that it can be finalized at the earliest. “We have suggested that the TRIPS Council should meet in the second half of May itself, instead of waiting until next month,” said an officer.

Experts too have said that time is of essence as a delay in supplying vaccines will adversely impact a larger population.

Experts too have said that time is of essence as a delay in supplying vaccines will adversely impact a larger population. Earlier this week, India’s

Vallabh Youth Organisation donates oxygen plants Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani virtually dedicated four oxygen plants that have been donated to hospitals in Vadodara, including one each at SSG Hospital and GMERS Medical College and Hospital, Gotri with the support of Vallabh Youth Organisation (VYO), a spiritual organisation.

The two other oxygen plants have been set up at

Narhari Hospital and VYO’s own Covid care centre at Vrajdham. VYO said that the four plants have been set up at a cost of

£128,000 with the support of NRI donors.

The organization also announced setting up of 14 other oxygen plants, which include two each at Ahmedabad and Rajkot, one each at Surat, Navsari, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Dhoraji, Junagadh, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Godhra and Sasan-Gir. They are also planning to set up oxygen plants in Mumbai.

ambassador to WTO Brajendra Navnit had suggested to the multilateral body that TRIPS waiver could be part of the deliverables ahead of the ministerial meeting in late November.

The proponents have argued that the current vaccine production capacity of 3.5 billion doses a year is inadequate when the requirement is around 14 billion. Given the idle capacity, production can be ramped up from the current level to nearly a billion doses a month. India has suggested that a global vaccination drive is needed to tackle Covid-19, just like the initiatives to deal with smallpox, measles and more recently polio. Nearly 1.5 billion vaccine doses may be needed to be produced every month. “In the first quarter we can expect the idle capacity to be used and over the next two-three quarters brownfield investment will flow,” said an official.

Countering the impact on pharma companies, which claim to have invested heavily in developing the vaccines, government sources said that the impact on pharma companies will be far lower than the loss in lives and lower economic activity due to the pandemic.

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Bodies floating in Ganga SC asks states to release prisoners to decongest jails trigger Covid panic in Bihar In order to protect prisoners’ right to life, the Supreme Court has directed states to examine releasing inmates, convicted or facing trial in non-serious charges, from jails either on regular bail or on parole to prevent overcrowding and spread of Covid-19 infection in prisons during the current surge in virulent cases.

The SC not only ordered release of prisoners on parole or bail, but also took into consideration the difficulty they would face in reaching their homes during lockdown. It asked state governments to provide prisoners, released on the basis of SC orders, with transport facility till their homes. A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices L N Rao and Surya Kant said, “Appropriate steps shall be taken for transportation of the released inmates of the prisons, if necessary, in view of the curfews and lockdowns (enforced by) in

some states.”

It asked the authorities to be considerate to the concerns of inmates and directed them “to ensure that proper medical facilities are provided to all prisoners who are imprisoned. The spread of Covid virus should be controlled in the prisons by regular testing of the prisoners and jail staff.

Immediate treatment should be made available to the inmates and the staff. It is necessary to maintain required levels of daily hygiene and sanitation.

Suitable precautions shall be taken to prevent the transmission of the deadly virus amongst the inmates of prisons”.

There are 1,350 prisons in the country consisting of 617 sub-jails, 410 district jails, 144 central jails, 86 open jails, 41 special jails, 31 women jails, 19 Borstal schools and 2 others. The prisons have a capacity to house 4,03,739 inmates, but there are 4,78,600 of them at the end of December 2019. Among them, 4,58,687 were men and 19,913 women inmates.

Residents of Chausa village in Bihar’s Buxar woke up to the sight of half-burnt bodies dumped in the Ganga washing ashore near Mahadev Ghat. Villagers said they saw at least 150 corpses, suspected to be of Covid-19 victims, floating down the river at dawn. The Buxar district administration pegged the number at around 30. “The bodies are not of local residents. It seems they were dumped in neighbouring UP three to four days ago,” Buxar DM Aman Samir said.

Instructions have been issued to intensify river patrolling.”

A resident of the Mahadev Ghat said that he and other eyewitnesses counted not less than 150 bodies. “The situation is dangerous. People in areas like Katgharwa, Kamharia and Chausa, among others, are in shock. They are now frightened to even visit the ghat for funerals,” he said.

Prem Swaroopam,

executive officer of the Buxar Municipal Council, said that a probe had been into “people initiated dumping bodies” in the river. “We have formed three teams to stop people from disposing of bodies like that. The government will bear the cost of cremating Covid victims in accordance with the official guidelines.”

Sub-divisional magistrate KK Upadhyay said the cremation of the bodies that washed ashore in the morning had begun.

He said bodies were found floating in the river in adjoining Ghazipur district

of UP, too. Some locals attributed dumping of bodies in the river to the higher cost of organising the cremation of Covid victims and fear of getting infected.

Panic in UP villages There was panic among locals of UP’s Hamirpur district after they spotted seven bodies floating in the Yamuna, amid news of deaths due to Covid-19. The incident came to light after a video of the bodies floating in the Yamuna went viral on social media. A probe is on, Hamirpur ASP Anoop Kumar said, adding that families in villages still believe in ‘jal samadhi’.

Year after clash, China reinforces positions, rotates LAC troops A year after Indian and Chinese soldiers first clashed on the north bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh, China is now further reinforcing its military positions and rotating troops in the "depth areas" along the Line of Actual Control in a clear signal that it has no intention to de-escalate anytime soon.

With the harsh winter having receded, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is fast converting the temporary structures, ammunition dumps, helipads and surface-to-air missile positions it had set up last year in the "depth areas", ranging from 25 to 120km from the LAC, into permanent positions now.

"There is no fresh accretion of PLA troops on the frontlines in eastern Ladakh. But China continues to maintain sizeable forces in the areas to the rear of the

friction points, while it reinforces military positions all along the frontier in the region," a senior officer said. "The Rutog Country area, which can act as a staging area for Pangong Tso since it is only around 100 km away, for instance, has witnessed a lot of activity in recent days. The PLA, of course, can move forces much

faster to the LAC due to better road and other connectivity," he added.

It was on May 5-6 last year that dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a major brawl on the north bank of Pangong Tso, which was followed by another one at Naku la in north Sikkim on May 9. India had then been caught off-guard by the way China had suddenly diverted its troops from its annual spring/summer exercises to undertake multiple incursions into eastern Ladakh in a well-planned manner.

Scrambling in response, India

Govt rejects Serum plea to export Covishield to UK Despite the international pressure and several rounds of negotiations by Serum Institute of India (SII), the government has turned down the request from SII to export 50,00,000 doses of Covishield to UK under its prior commitments. The decision was taken in the wake of severe supply crunch of vaccines locally and government insisting the local production be supplied to protect Indians first.

States have been prompted to approach the Pune-based company to negotiate contracts to procure these doses to meet local demand.

The doses are likely to be used to vaccinate those between 18-44 age amid the shortage of vaccines faced by several states.

“These

50,00,000 doses of Covishield vaccine are now available for inoculating people between 18-44 years age. States have been prompted and asked to procure it. Private hospitals can also get them,” an official source said. The ministry has asked the states to contact the company and initiate procurement activity at the

earliest.

However, sources said, the labels of these vaccine doses may have to be changed. Since the vaccines were packed for supply to the UK, a different label was affixed on the vials but now since they have to be supplied in the local market, they need a label for the same.

had moved over three additional divisions (each has 10,000-12,000 troops), howitzers and armoured vehicles into Ladakh, along with deploying fighters as well as attack and heavy-lift helicopters in forward bases, to match the PLA deployments.

The tense face-off had led to violent clashes in the Galwan Valley on June 15, with casualties on both sides being witnessed for the first time in 45 years, and even "warning shots" being exchanged by rival troops in the Kailash Range-Chushul sector between August 29 and September 8.

After multiple diplomatic and military talks, the two armies finally disengaged on both sides of the Pangong Tso in February. But since then, the PLA has flatly refused to pull back from Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok and

Depsang Plains. With the onset of summer, both India and China are rotating their troops in the forward areas as well as readying for their annual exercises and stepped-up deployments now. The PLA, for instance, has replaced its two motorised infantry divisions across the LAC with fresh ones over the last month.

Apart from systematically building roads, military camps, missile positions and other infrastructure all along the 3,488 km LAC from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese airbases like Hotan, Kashgar, Gargunsa (Ngari Gunsa), Lhasa-Gonggar and Shigatse have also augmented their capacities for additional fighters and bombers. "These airbases continue to have additional deployments. There is not much change," another officer said.

Cong defers party chief’s election, to focus on Covid Congress on Monday deferred the much-awaited party president’s election after a unanimous plea that the organisation focus on Covid relief. While AICC general secretary K C Venugopal presented the poll schedule of June 23 to the CWC gathering after the agenda was spelt out by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the party should not hold the elections now. It led to a chorus from within for deferment, with argument that the party could not go ahead with voting when it was criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for holding assembly elections.

The election gained importance after the demand was made by the dissident

group of G-23 and the CWC had earlier decided on June timetable to fill the vacuum created by Rahul Gandhi’s resignation after the rout in 2019 LS polls.

In the CWC, senior leader Digvijaya Singh pleaded that Rahul Gandhi retake the reins of the party, adding that he never understood why he had resigned in the first place. At this point, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pointed out that Rahul was not present in the virtual meeting because he was unwell (due to Covid).

Sources said Singh remarked that Priyanka could convey his message while saying “that the family should take a decision soon”, according to a participant.

Meanwhile, AICC later said Rahul was

still recovering and had mild symptoms. Some of the leaders were ready for polls but were surprised by the demand for deferment and went along. There was a brief moment of awkwardness when a participant lauded Sonia Gandhi for her “steward leadership”.

Apparently, Sonia shot back, “What steward leadership?

We have lost the elections.”

Sources said, Rajiv Shukla urged the CWC to leave the decision to the Congress chief, who then agreed with the demand for postponing the polls. While the poll schedule announced was only for the Congress chief, Azad apparently said the party can hold “all the elections” later, which some saw as demand for simultaneous polls for the top post and the CWC.

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SC refuses to re-examine its order setting quota limit at 50% The Supreme Court has refused to re-examine its1992 verdict, which put a cap of 50% on quota, turning down the plea made by various states that the ceiling fixed by court be scrapped and they be allowed to grant reservation beyond it.

A five-judge Constitution bench said that its three decade-old verdict in the Indra Sawhney case has stood the test of time and rejected the plea of states that 50% ceiling needed to be relaxed due to changed social dynamics.

The bench, comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat, unanimously decided that the cap on reservation was fixed “to achieve principle of equality and with an object to strike a balance which cannot be

said to be arbitrary or unreasonable”.

“To change the 50% limit is to have a society which is not founded on equality but based on caste rule. Democracy is an essential feature of our Constitution and part of our basic structure. If the reservation goes above 50% limit which is a reasonable, it will be a slippery slope, the political pressure makes it hard to reduce the same. Thus, answer to the question posed is that the percentage of 50% has been arrived at on the principle of reasonability and achieves equality as enshrined by Article 14 of which Articles 15 and 16 are facets,” Justice Bhushan said in his judgment.

The verdict may have implications on reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS), which

also breaches the 50% rule and the matter is pending before SC. Almost all the state governments put up a united front before the apex court to press for removal of the cap. The bench, however, stood firm, holding that the 50% cap can be breached only in extraordinary and exceptional cases.

“What was held by the Constitution Bench in Indra Sawhney case on the relevance and significance of the principle of stare decisis clearly binds us. The judgment of Indra Sawhney has stood the test of the time and has never been doubted by any judgment of this court. The Constitution Bench judgment of this court in Indra Sawhney neither needs to be revisited nor referred to a larger Bench for consideration,” the bench said while

rejecting the plea of state governments, including that of Maharashtra, for referring the issue to a 11-judge bench.

“There can be no quarrel that society changes, law changes, people change but that does not mean that something which is good and proven to be beneficial in maintaining equality in the society should also be changed in the name of change alone,” the court said as it rejected the plea that the changed dynamics of society warranted that the 50% quota was scrapped.

Maratha quota quashed In a setback to the Maharashtra government, the Supreme Court declared the state law to grant reservation to Maratha community as unconstitutional and held that the community is not socially and

educationally backward to be eligible to be brought within the ambit of affirmative action. A five-judge Constitution bench was unanimous in its view on the unconstitutionality of the law and quashed it on various grounds, including breaching of the 50% quota rule.

The SC rued after 70 years of Independence, more and more people and communities are vying to be declared as “backward” to get reservation benefits. The decision will cause disquiet in the politically influential community and put the Shiv Sena-led government in a spot. However, the ruling is unlikely to be altered, and the law brought in by the previous BJPSena government - is likely to remain a non-starter. Ironically, it is Sena, which will have to deal with the political hot potato.

India sees slight fall in new Covid cases Mucormycosis cases among Covid patients rising in Gujarat After recording over 400,000 fresh cases for four consecutive days, the single-day rise in new coronavirus infections in India fell to 329,000 taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 2,29,92,517, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Tuesday. A total of 3,29,942 infections were reported in a span of 24 hours, while the death count climbed to 2,49,992 with 3,876 fresh fatalities, the data showed.

After registering a steady rise for two months, the active cases have reduced to 37,15,221 comprising 16.16 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate was recorded at 82.75 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,90,27,304, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.09 per cent, the data stated.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Centre and the state governments are doing everything possible to tackle the Covid crisis, while asserting that only those who perform commit mistakes.

Singh said, "The speed displayed by the Uttar Pradesh government in tackling the Covid cases should be praised. Mistakes can be committed by anyone. Only a person who performs will commit mistakes. But this is not the time for criticism, if anyone spots any loophole and offers suggestions, the state government will welcome it."

Joining the list of growing states, Telangana, has enforced a 10-day lockdown from Wednesday amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

Apart from Andhra - where there is a partial curfew - all other southern states would be in lockdown. The Nagaland government decided to clamp total lockdown in the state for seven days from May 14.

India's Covid tally crossed the 20,00,000 mark on August 7 last year, the

30,00,000 mark on August 23, the 40,00,000 mark on September 5 and the 50,00,000 mark on September 16. It went past 60,00,000 on September 28, 70,00,000 on October 11, 80,00,000 on October 29, 90,00,000 on November 20 and the 10 million mark on December 19 last year. The figure crossed the grim milestone of 20 million on May 4.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 30,37,50,077 samples have so far been tested for the viral disease across the country.

The 3,876 new fatalities include 864 from Maharashtra, 482 from Karnataka, 332 from Delhi, 297 from Uttar Pradesh, 241 from Tamil Nadu, 223 from Chhattisgarh,171 from Punjab, 160 from Rajasthan, 155 from Haryana, 141 from Jharkhand, 127 from West Bengal, 119 from Gujarat and 118 from Uttarakhand.

A total of 2,42,362 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 75,277 from Maharashtra, 19,071 from Delhi, 18,286 from Karnataka, 15,412 from Tamil Nadu, 15,170 from Uttar Pradesh, 12,203 from West Bengal, 10,381 from Chhattisgarh and 10,315 from Punjab. The health ministry stressed that more than 70% of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconcilia-

tion.

Positivity rate 20% or more Over 40% of India’s 741 districts, or 301 of them, had a test positivity rate of 20% or more for the week from May 1 to May 7, according to data put out by the Union health ministry.

The fact that these districts are spread across 31 of the country’s 36 states and UTs reveals how widespread the current surge in Covid infections is. Of the 15 districts with positivity rates above 50% for the period, Haryana had four and Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan two each. What is striking is that most of these districts are rural ones. Since the testing numbers are not available, it is not clear whether this is due to inadequate testing or not.

The highest positivity rates for the seven-day period were in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh which registered 91.5%, but this is probably more an indication of an extremely low number of tests. Next on the list were Yanam in Puducherry, Bikaner in Rajasthan, Diban Valley in Arunchal Pradesh and Pali in Rajasthan. The state with the highest proportion of districts on the 20%-plus list is Kerala with 13 of its 14 districts figuring here.

Haryana (19 out of 22), West Bengal (19 out of 23), Delhi (9 out of 11) and Karnataka (24 out of 31) were the others with over 70% of their districts in this worrying list. All districts in Goa and Puducherry, the lone district in Chandigarh and three out of four in Sikkim were also part of it.

Four major Civil hospitals in Gujarat have reported 532 mucormycosis cases till date and cases are rising at an exponential rate even as experts say that the incidence is 0.27% - just 3 per 1,000 Covid patients. However, this low incidence rate has been enough to overwhelm the public health infrastructure of the state in terms of space, while almost everywhere there are emergency calls and pleas for help regarding availability of Amphotericin B, the anti-fungal medication that controls mucormycosis.

Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has treated about 280 Mucormycosis patients till date, with 100 active cases in the hospital as of May 9. They had more than 120 cases back in March. Rajkot Civil Hospital currently has 150 active patients, but alarmingly 70 of them were admitted in just the last two days. While CM Vijay Rupani called for all civil hospitals to set up one special ward for Mucormycosis patients, Rajkot Civil Hospital had to set aside one entire building for them after transferring Covid patients to other parts of the hospital.

Doctors say that even as Covid cases are plateauing in Gujarat, mucormycosis cases will continue and that the state immediately needs to procure anti-fungal medication before a Remdesivir-type shortage erupts again. This is because the onset of mucormycosis is faster in patients in the

second wave than it was in the first. Dean of Government Dental College in Ahmedabad said, “Earlier we used to see patients developing symptoms post-Covid, after a fortnight or a month. Now, Covid patients are developing Mucormycosis while still under treatment for Covid-19. We start them on anti-fungal medication but cannot operate on them to remove the fungus till they are RT-PCR negative.”

11,592 new Covid cases in Gujarat As many as 11,592 new Covid cases were reported in Gujarat on Monday compared to 11,084 cases on Sunday, while 14,931 recoveries were recorded. Even as the number of patients discharged from hospitals continued to grow, the number of new Covid-19 cases rose by more than 500 cases from the previous day. As many as 117 people succumbed to the infection, taking the death toll to 8,511 in the state. The recoveries stand at 5,47,935, which is 79.11 per cent of the overall tally. Currently, there are 1,36,158 active cases, with 792 on ventilator support.

Many state govts take global tender route to procure Covid vaccine Delhi, along with a bunch of southern Indian states, joined several others in taking the global-tender route to procure Covid-19 vaccines even as domestic supply fails to keep up with rising demand. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha have already chosen this option amid the searing second wave of the pandemic. The Centre says it has so far provided over 180 million doses to states and Union Territories for free. They will receive 7,29,610 additional doses in the next three days.

"Over 90,00,000 Covid Vaccine doses are still available with the states and Union Territories to be administered," the Union Health Ministry has said. Yet, many states and Union Territories still face so much shortage that many are now prioritising recipients' second doses over the first so as to not lose the vaccine's efficacy. "Till now, we had depended only on vaccines supplied by the Centre...Now, we have been instructed to float the tender and to complete the process within seven days," said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State

Covid Task Force head CN Ashwath Narayan. His state will procure 20 million doses to vaccinate those in the age group of 18-44 years .

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia even alleged that the BJP-ruled Centre was "forcing" state governments to invite global tenders. "The Central government raised a question...why we haven''t passed a global tender to procure vaccines. The Centre already exported vaccines that could have been used in India, and is now sowing a discord among states," Sisodia said.

"If states are asked to purchase vaccines internationally through global tenders, then the state with the largest coffers would unfairly procure the maximum number of doses. This will lead to fights among them..." he said. In a letter written to the Centre, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the vaccine formulae of Serum Institute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin be shared with other companies to scale up production.

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SCRUTATOR’S Fire on board INS Vikramaditya, all personnel safe There was a minor fire on board India’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, a Navy spokesperson said. The fire was doused and all personnel on board safe, the spokesperson said in a statement here. “The duty staff observed smoke emanating from the part of the warship having accommodation for sailors. The ship’s duty personnel acted promptly to fight the fire. All personnel on board have been accounted for and no major damage has been reported,” the statement said. An inquiry into the incident is being ordered, he said, adding the aircraft carrier is in Karnataka’s Karwar harbour. The warship is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier purchased by India from Russia in 2013 and was renamed in honour of Vikramaditya, the legendary emperor. Originally built as Baku and commissioned in 1987, the carrier served with the Soviet (until the dissolution of the Soviet Union) and Russian Navies before being decommissioned in 1996, it being too expensive to operate. INS Vikramaditya, a floating airfield, has an overall length of 284 metres and a maximum beam of 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from the keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks and carries around 1,600 personnel. (Agency) Grieving daughter jumps into father's funeral pyre

charges for mishandling the body of a Covid-19 infected patient,” said a police officer. He added that Dr Patel was also booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including a negligent act that can spread the infection to other people. (The Times of India)

In a tragic incident, a 34-yearold woman sustained severe burns in Rajasthan's Barmer district after she jumped on the funeral pyre of her father during his cremation. Her father had died after contracting Covid-19, police said. Damodardas Sharda, 73, died at a hospital due to Covid, they said. While Sharda was being cremated, the youngest of his three daughters, Chandra Sharda, suddenly jumped on the pyre. Although she was pulled out by people around, she sustained around 70 per cent burn injuries. She was taken to a hospital nearby and later, referred to a hospital in Jodhpur for treatment.

"Damodardas had three daughters. His wife died some time ago. Police said the youngest daughter had insisted to go to crematorium for the last rites. (Agency)

Comedian booked for violating Covid rules at her wedding Comedian Sugandha Mishra was booked for allegedly flouting

Doctor leaves body on road over unpaid dues!

A doctor was arrested for allegedly abandoning the body of a Covid-19 patient on road in Bamroli area of Surat as the family of the deceased failed to pay the hospital bill. Pandesara police arrested Dr Jitendra Patel, owner of Priya General Hospital for violation of Covid-19 guidelines after a complaint was lodged by health officials of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).

According to police, body of Bhagwan Naik was left on the road outside Patel’s hospital on May 3 after the family of the deceased failed to pay Rs 50,000 outstanding treatment charges.

Naik was admitted to the hospital on April 24 and had died during treatment. “The doctor was arrested for violation of The Epidemic Disease Act and public notification. He will also face

coronavirus norms during her wedding with counterpart Sanket Bhosale at a resort in Punjab's Phagwara last week, police said. The case was registered against her, the bridegroom's side, the owner of resort and participants of the marriage after a video went viral showing a large gathering of people at the wedding in violation of Covid-19 norms, Deputy Superintendent of Police Paramjit Singh said. The marriage ceremony took place on April 26. The case was registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant and relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act, Singh said. No arrest has yet been made, the DSP said, adding that an investigation was going on.

Mishra hails from Jalandhar, while Bhosale belongs to Maharashtra. Both had shot into fame in "The Kapil Sharma Show", though they had later left it. They are now settled in Mumbai. (Agency) Win polls, but lose life to Covid Two newly elected gram pradhans from Asmoli block in

UP’s Sambhal district succumbed to Covid-19, reports said. One of them, Dushyant Tyagi (52) from Rajha village, died on the day of the results without even knowing that he had won the polls. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Moradabad after his condition deteriorated. The other candidate, Amrish Kumar (45) from Mathna village, died in hospital a day after being elected. Sources said both candidates were involved in intense campaigning in villages during the polls. Tyagi’s family members said he was taken ill a few days before declaration of the results. Tyagi never lived to learn that he had won by 45 votes and was elected as the pradhan of Rajha of Asmoli block in Sambhal.

Amrish Kumar, who contested from Mathna village, was admitted to a private hospital 10 days before voting after he complained of difficulty in breathing.

He, too, tested positive later and succumbed to the infection a day after the election results were declared. (Agency) Baby with rare condition to get £1.6 mn jab

Four-month old Dhairyarajsinh Rathod of Vadodara whose rare lifethreatening medical condition needed a £1.6 million injection will eventually get the shot. The money for the injection was raised through crowdfunding as well as by various groups in Gujarat. Rajdipsinh Rathod and Jinal Rathod were left with no choice but to approach citizens for help when they learnt that the drug Zolgensma used to treat the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 would cost £1.6 million. It would also have invited customs duty of £500,000 to 600,000.

Rajdipsinh said that an amount of £1.61 million had been raised for Dhairyarajsinh. “The additional amount will be spent towards his hospitalization, followup treatment and other expenses,” he said.

Dhairyarajsinh was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai and the drug will be administered soon. He will be discharged after keeping him in observation for a day. The family had begun approaching people and a portal that raises funding for such needy persons.

The government also waived off the customs duty for the injection after requests from various quarters. (Agency) Covid helps trafficked girl reunite with family A 20-year-old woman from Kalyanpur village in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, who was trafficked to New Delhi three years ago, was accidentally reunited with her parents after she contracted Covid.

After being lured by a trafficker, the woman was working as a domestic help at a house in Janakpuri. She was forced to work from dawn till late in the night and was not allowed to step out of the home or even peep out of windows. Last month, she contracted Covid, following which her employers took her to an isolation centre in Sultanpuri. There, she narrated her ordeal to a few inmates, who were also from Jharkhand, and expressed her desire to return to her parents.

With help from some coresidents of the isolation centre, her story was soon out on social media. Shoba Kujur, a social worker and a former member of Chatra Zila Parishad, read her story and got in touch with Chatra police. Police ran a background check of the girl and found her identity to be genuine and later reunited the girl with her parents. (Agency) NID girl wins top global design award Radhika Dhumal, a master’s degree student of Furniture and Interior Design at the National Institute of India (NID) has won

a design award at the world’s largest international annual juries design competition.

Dhumal won the competition that has its best designers, architects and design-oriented companies worldwide for her table design, Elytra. Dhumal said that the brief for the competition was to make something innovative and creative, with nature as an inspiration and have bio-mimicry as a theme. “I took inspiration from the beetle. It is a dynamic furniture where the user can use it with wings open or closed. When one wing is opened another opens simultaneously. It gives additional table surface space to users,” she said. Dhumal’s project was mentored by NID faculty Pravinsinh Solanki. (Agency) 14 Gujarat ministers tested Covid positive, all recovered

Fourteen of the 23 cabinet ministers of Gujarat, including chief minister Vijay Rupani and deputy chief minister Nitin Patel had contracted coronavirus at one time or another. All of them have recovered and began participating in government activities. In the first wave after lockdown was lifted, which occurred around Diwali last year, a few ministers had been infected with the virus.

However, most of the ministers tested positive for Covid-19 during the local body election and the budget session of the assembly earlier this year. At present, deputy CM Nitin Patel is the only minister in the cabinet who is still in hospital. Doctors have advised him to stay in hospital as a precautionary measure and he will be discharged soon. Sharing his experience, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said, “I was in hospital for a week and in home isolation for a week. For the past fortnight, I have resumed normal work and have travelled over 1,500 km. My advice to people is not to panic and follow medical advice.” (The Times of India)

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Anushka-Virat's fundraiser crosses halfway mark Actor Anushka Sharma and husband Virat Kohli's £700,000 targeted fundraiser has crossed the halfway mark already. The celebrity couple has contributed £200,000 themselves. Anushka took to Instagram to share an update about the fundraiser which is conducted in collaboration with Ketto. She wrote, “Grateful to everyone who has donated so far. Thank you for your contribution. We have crossed the halfway mark, let's keep going.” Her post highlighted that over £360,000 had already been generated.

The goal of the fundraiser, as described

by Ketto, is to ensure “development of oxygen solutions, including concentrators and oxygen plants to hospitals across India,

and also look at bolstering medical manpower, home care and help scale India's vaccination efforts” as the country powers through a second wave of the pandemic. In a joint post, Anushka and Kohli said they were pained to see the suffering in the country, and expressed their gratitude towards those stepping forward to help others.

Anushka wrote, “As our country battles the second wave of Covid-19, and our healthcare systems are facing extreme challenges, it breaks my heart to see our people suffering. So, Virat and I have initiated a campaign #InThisTogether, with Ketto, to raise funds for Covid-19 relief.”

Anupam Kher bags Best Actor at NYC International Film Festival Actor Anupam Kher recently won Best Actor at the New York City International Film Festival for short film 'Happy Birthday'.

The movie also went on to claim the Best Short Film award at the film festival. One of the most-anticipated short films of this year, 'Happy Birthday' stars Kher and Aahana Kumra.

Talking about his victory, Anupam Kher said, “Thank you New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF) for this great honour. It's humbling to be declared the Best Actor in this prestigious film festival. The credit goes to the whole young team of 'Happy Birthday' and my co-actor Aahana Kumra, thanks to the director Prasad Kadam, and rest team.”

Co-producer of the movie, Girish Johar said, “It's really

overwhelming to receive these two awards at an International Film Festival!! Anupam Sir, is a global icon, the more we say, it always falls short. He is pure GENIUS. Ahaana, a nominee for best actress did exceptionally well.”

He added, “Also Prasad is an extremely talented director and was also nominated for best director! He knows his craft fully and has a great future. He has done wonders and will go places. So excited for receiving this honour with the well knitted 'Happy Birthday' team.”

On the work front, Anupam Kher has multiple other projects in the pipeline, including 'The Last Show', 'Mungilal Rocks', and 'The Kashmir Files'.

Hollywood director James Gunn is a fan of Aamir's 'Lagaan' Popular Hollywood moviemaker of 'Guardian of the Galaxy' fame, James Gunn has announced 'Lagaan' as his favourite Indian movie. In a Twitter Q&A with fans, if

he watched Indian films, Gunn said, “Many.

Lagaan is probably my favorite.” Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, featuring Aamir Khan as the main lead, 'Lagaan' was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, and remains the last Indian film to have found that place so far.

Gunn is not the first Marvel alumnus who vouched their love for the movie. Actor Robert Downey Jr had previously compared Aamir to Tom Hanks. In 2010, he had said in an interview, “I happened to see 'Lagaan' and believe Aamir Khan was extraordinary.”

On the work front, Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' is set to release on HBO Max and theatres in August. The release date for his

follow-up to the two successful Guardians films was also revealed. Gunn is currently working on a streaming spinoff to 'The Suicide Squad'.

Salman to provide financial aid to 25,000 cine workers Bollywood's Bhaijaan Salman Khan has pledged to offer monetary help to 25,000 daily wage earners of the film industry, as announced by the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE). FWICE president BN Tiwari said that the actor will

make-up artistes, stuntmen, spotboys and technicians. Salman has been helping workers since last year. Most recently, his banner Salman Khan Films announced that the revenue earned from his upcoming film 'Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai' will be

pay Rs 1,500 to every worker on a monthly basis. He said, “We got a confirmation from Salman Khan that he will help 25,000 workers with Rs 1,500 each monthly. We will soon finalise and send the list of the workers to those who are in dire need.”

The Maharashtra government has suspended shoot of all films and shows in the state as a measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus. FWICE has a total of 250,000 workers including, junior artists,

utilised to support Covid-19 relief work across the country.

Last year, Netflix had announced that it will contribute £750,000 to Producers Guild of India (PGI) Relief Fund to help daily wage earners. Tiwari revealed that both the organisations will transfer £350,000 from the sum to 7,000 daily wage workers. Tiwari said. “We are informed that Netflix and Producers Guild of India will help 7,000 cine workers with Rs 5,000 each.”

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Soha, Saharmila to auction personal items for charity Actor Soha Ali Khan and her mother/veteran actress Sharmila Tagore will auction personal items from their closet for charity.

The two will come together for a virtual charity event to mark Mother's Day. Purpose of the auction is to raise funds for animal welfare as well as for environmental conservation.

Speaking in an interview, Soha said, “The past year has made me value my loved ones and sharpened my perspective about what's important in life. Even though we are home-bound, we can all find ways to contribute. Clearing our closets is a concrete way to help raise funds. Our bit for environmental conservation. Proceeds from the sale will go to the (Pataudi Trust) and World For All – an NGO whose work for animal welfare through the pandemic has been admirable.”

Sharmila said, “Apart from proceeds generating funds for charities, when people buy preloved pieces over newly manufactured ones, it is beneficial for the environment. Our combined pieces would save about 8,46,527.92 litres of water and 2,070.68 kg of carbon.” Both of them will auction off personal pieces, including cocktail dresses, pashminas, Armanis, and t-shirts.

Arjun Kapoor pens emotional note for his mother Arjun Kapoor completed nine years in Bollywood on Sunday (May 9). His Bollywood anniversary also coincided with Mother's Day. As we know, Arjun Kapoor's mom Mona Kapoor died on March 25, 2012 in Hyderabad because of cancer. The actor was very close to his mom and misses her deeply. He posted a picture with her with a caption, "Yesterday was Mother’s Day I hated every bit of it.... Tomorrow is 9 years of me being an actor but I’m still lost without you Mom. Just like in this picture I hope ur smiling watching over me and u got my back..." His mom, Mona Kapoor was Boney Kapoor's first wife.

In the picture, we can see Arjun Kapoor from his younger days when he was quite overweight. He has said that he was 150 kgs at one point of time. Arjun Kapoor said

Kangana tests positive for Covid-19 Actor Kangana Ranaut has tested positive for the coronavirus.

She took to Instagram to share an update with her followers, and wrote she got herself tested after experiencing some discomfort. Sharing a picture of herself meditating, she wrote, “I was feeling tired and weak with slight burning sensation in my eyes for past few days, was hoping to go to Himachal so got my test done and the result came I am Covid positive.”

She added, “I have quarantined myself, I had no idea this virus is having a party in my body, now that I know I will demolish it, people please don't give anything any power over you, if you are scared it will scare you more, come let's destroy this Covid-19 it is nothing but a small time flu which got too much press and now psyching few people. Har Har Mahadev.”

Kangana has often been called out for refusing to follow mask hygiene in public. The actress was recently banned from social media platform Twitter after posting a series of tweets that were found to be in violation of the platform's hate speech and abusive behaviour policies. She has since taken to Instagram to voice her opinion.

Sonu Sood calls Sara 'hero' for contribution to his charity Actor Sonu Sood is all praise for Sara Ali Khan for her contribution to his charity foundation. Calling her a “hero”, he said she has inspired India's youth to come forward and help amid the ongoing pandemic. Sara contributed an unannounced amount of money to the Sood Charity Foundation which has been extremely active since last year.

Taking to Twitter, Sonu wrote, “Thank you so much my dear Sara Ali Khan for your contribution to the @soddfoundation! Extremely proud of you & keep on doing the good work.

You have inspired the youth of the nation to come forward and help during these difficult times. You are a hero.”

Several celebrities have come for-

ward to help the less fortunate as the second wave of coronavirus continues to lash across India. Sonu has been in the forefront since last year, helping displaced migrant workers, getting oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, ambulances, and other Covid-19 resources for the needy. He has a full-fledged team working around the clock to cater to everyone's needs.

that he developed asthma due to it. It seems he started looking at food for comfort after his parents split up. He said, "I started eating and then I really enjoyed eating, and fast food culture came into India at that point of time and fast food is ‘fast food’, so you can go after school and keep eating."

Arjun Kapoor was shattered as his mom did not survive to see her son on the big screen. He has said that it is the biggest regret of his life. Mona Kapoor was a successful producer, entrepreneur and businesswoman. All the ventures undertaken by her have been successful. The actor is making news for his relationship with Malaika Arora. He seems to be in the happiest phase of his life. On the professional front, his movie 'Sardar Ka Grandson' is going to release on Netflix. It also stars Neena Gupta.

'Radhe' becomes shortest Salman Khan film Salman Khan’s 'Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai' has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification with no cuts. The movie has been given a U/A certificate which means it can be watched by people of all age groups but under parental guidance. The board gave the certificate to the film on April 26, two weeks ahead of its release.

Helmed by Prabhudheva, Radhe is scheduled to release on multiple platforms on the occasion of Eid. While it will be screened in cinema halls in over 40 countries, it will have its digital premiere on ZEE5’s pay per view platform ZeePlex. It will also be available to watch on DTH services, including Dish TV, D2H, Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV. The advance booking for Radhe has already begun in UAE, informed Salman.

Radhe’s CBFC certificate also mentions that the film’s runtime is only 114.24 minutes, making it the shortest Salman Khan film ever. In a career spanning over three decades, the actor has never acted in a film that has been shorter that 120 minutes. Besides Salman, Radhe also stars Randeep Hooda, Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff and Gautam Gulati in prominent roles.

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Andrea Jeremiah tests positive for Covid-19 Actor and singer Andrea Jeremiah tested positive for Covid-19 last week as announced on her Instagram page. The actress wrote, “Last week I tested positive for Covid-19. I'm grateful to all of my friends & family members who reached out and took care of me. Im still under home quarantine, but recovering well.”

She wrote, “Took a break from social media, partly because I was sick and partly because I really didn't know what to post at

a time like this, when our country is going thru it's worst Covid crisis. and as always, when I don't know what to say I sing from my heart and hope that says it all.” Andrea rendered a beautiful wishful song as she recovers. Written and composed by her, the song 'If at all the world were mine', is a very relaxing melody.

On the work front, Andrea was last seen in Vijay's 'Master'.

She has director Sundar C's 'Aranmanai 3', 'Vattam', 'Mysskin's 'Pisasu 2' in the pipeline.

Brand new video features Dhanush serenading wife Aishwarya In a new video circulating online, actor Dhanush could be seen singing 'Ilamai Thirumbuthe' from his Father-in-law and ace actor Rajinikanth's movie 'Petta', to his wife Aishwarya. The video appears to have been from the prepandemic world, at a terrace party.

It is now going viral all across social media.

The actor is currently residing in Los Angeles with his family. He is busy shooting for his Netflix movie 'The Gray Man'. The upcoming Hollywood project is based on a novel of the same name.

It is being helmed by director Anthony and Joe Russo of 'Avengers' fame. 'The Gray Man' also stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in the lead.

On the work front, Dhanush was last seen in 'Karnan', a movie based on evils of a casteist society.

He will next be seen in director Karthik Subbaraj’s 'Jagame Thandhiram'.

Malayalam filmmaker embroiled in alleged cheating case Malayalam filmmaker Shrikumar Menon of 'Odiyan' fame, has been caught up in an alleged cheating case. He has, however, clarified that the alleged case filed against him was not related to movie production. He said he is related to cinema only as a director and the case was about a failed repayment of a loan that he would not do before the stipulated period “due to the unwelcome scenario of Covid-19”.

According to a media report, the Sreevalsam Group went to court three months ago, accusing Menon of pocketing £700,000 on the pretext of producing a film and failing to meet the promise. A case was filed against the director under Section 420 of the IPC at the Alappuzha South police station in connection with the litigation.

Menon said he had taken loans “from various individuals and institutions as loans and deposits from time to time.” He added, “I was required to appear

Trailer of 'November Story' shows promising web series

in the Alappuzha South police station to compile some legal procedures as a law-abiding citizen.” The filmmaker also said he is “amazed” at the media's interest in what he says is a personal issue between two individuals.

TV Listing * Schedule is subject to change

MON 17 MAY FRI 21 MAY 2021 14.30 KASAM 16.00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 18.30 BEST OF COOKERY SHOW THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 19.00 UDAARIYAAN 19.30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20.00 SHAKTI 20.30 MOLKKI

The trailer of upcoming Tamil web series 'November Story' was released last week. The sevenepisode series featuring Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead, follows events that unfold in the aftermath of a murder. Going by the trailer, an acclaimed crime story writer now suffering from early Alzheimer’s is at the centre of the murder investigation. All evidence points at the culpability of the writer. Which is why the accused writer's daughter (Tamannaah) takes it onto herself to get to the bottom of the truth.

Talking about the web series, the actress said, “Anuradha is a young, independent, fearless and intelligent woman who takes it upon herself to save her father from being punished for a cold-

21.00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA 21.30 RAMAYAN 22.30 NAMAK ISSK KA 23.00.00 BAWARA DIL SATURDAY 15 MAY 16.00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 18.30 BEST OF COOKERY SHOW DESI BEAT RESET 19.00 UDAARIYAAN 19.30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20.00 SHAKTI 20.30 RAMAYAN 21.30 DANCE DEEWANE 3 SUNDAY 16 MAY 16.00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 18.00 CHOTI SARDARNI 20.30 RAMAYAN 21.30 DANCE DEEWANE 3

blooded murder. Portraying such a strong female character who is the hero of the story was one of the most gratifying experiences in my career so far. With its compelling storyline and unique narrative, 'November Story' will keep audiences on the edge of their

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 17 MAY FRI 21 MAY 2021 8.30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 15.00 RAMAYAN 16.00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16.30 THE RASOI SHOW 17.30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18.00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18.30 DIL KA RISHTA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK 20.30 BARRISTER BABU 21.00 BALIKA VADHU-LAMHE PYAAR KE 21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

seats and hooked till the end as the mystery around the murder is uncovered.”

'November Story' also stars Pasupathy, GM Kumar, Aruldass and Vivek Prasanna, among others.

The show will start streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar from May 20.

22.00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 3 SATURDAY 15 MAY 11.00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 15.00 RAMAYAN 16.00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16.30 THE RASOI SHOW 17.30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18.00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK 20.30 BARRISTER BABU 21.00 BALIKA VADHU-LAMHE PYAAR KE 21.30.00 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 SUNDAY 16 MAY 11.00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 15.00 RAMAYAN 16.00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16.30 THE RASOI SHOW 17.30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18.00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK 20.30 DESI BEAT RESET 21.00 BALIKA VADHU-LAMHE PYAAR KE

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Hardik Pandya out of India Test squad For the first time in over a year, the Indian Test team will be at full strength when they travel for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand - followed by the five-Test series in England next month.

However, all-rounder Hardik Pandya missed the bus due to his inability to consistently bowl.

The selectors picked a squad of 20 players and four standbys for the three-month tour.

Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav are all back in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav has been left out of an entire tour for the first time in four years, putting a big question mark over his future with the Indian team. Navdeep Saini too has been overlooked.

Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna and Gujarat left-arm seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla have been picked as standbys. It is believed that Nagwaswalla will offer good simulation practice to prepare for Trent Boult and Sam Curran.

KL Rahul and Wriddhiman Saha have been picked subject to fitness clearance. While Rahul

Hardik Pandya

has undergone an appendicitis surgery last week, Wriddhiman Saha is recovering from Covid19 infection.

Doubts over Pandya's bowling During the home series against England in March, captain Virat Kohli harped on the need to monitor Pandya’s bowling workload as the team believes he could be crucial to the team’s chances in the English summer. Pandya bowled in five T20Is and one ODI against England in March. He didn’t bowl after that. “It doesn’t seem he is being able to sustain the load of bowling. He recovered from a back surgery, changed his action but now it’s

his shoulder that is bothering him,” a source said.

The Indian support staff monitored Pandya even during the four-Test series against England in Feb-March. But it now seems Pandya is struggling to respond to the workload.

“Even Pandya realizes that he is vulnerable if he pushes himself with the ball. He is now focusing a lot more on his batting. The team management understands that with the T20 World Cup coming later in the year, it’s better to give him more time off so that he could be in best shape for the marquee event. He will be used sparingly depending on the match situation,” the source said.

It seems that Prithvi Shaw is being served a kind of reality check by the selectors and the team management.

The dynamic 21-year-old opening batsman was not even considered as a standby. Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran has been preferred to be backup for regular openers Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal based on his

form in the past two seasons.

Prithvi was in red-hot form in Vijay Hazare Trophy and the IPL after getting dropped in Australia in December.

“Prithvi is still very slow across the turf for a 21-year-old.

He needs to shed a few more kilos. He also had concentration issues while fielding in Australia.

He has been working hard after he returned from Australia. He has the example of Rishabh Pant right in front of him. If Pant can turn things around in a few months, Prithvi too can do it,” the BCCI source said.

India squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vicecaptain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket keeper; subject to fitness clearance).

English counties offer to host remainder of IPL in Sept A group of English counties has offered to host the remainder of the IPL 2021 season in September this year. The MCC, Surrey and Warwickshire, who are based at Lord's, The Kia Oval (both London) and Edgbaston (Birmingham), respectively are understood to be part of the group who wrote to the ECB inviting them to extend the opportunity to the BCCI. The plans would see the tournament completed in around two weeks in the second half of September.

It is further understood that Lancashire's home of Emirates Old Trafford (in Manchester) could be utilised for the tournament if the offer was accepted, though Lancashire have clarified that, although there were aware of the letter, they were not signatories. The subject is likely to come up at a

virtual ICC meeting of the national chief executives.

Apart from simply completing the tournament, the counties point out that it would help top players to high-quality cricket heading into the T20 World Cup and ensure that pitches in the UAE - where the T20 World Cup could be played if it is moved from India - are fresh ahead of the global tournament. It might also broaden the UK market for the IPL. However, from the ECB's perspective, a spokesperson said: "We speak to the BCCI regularly about tours and other matters and we'll continue doing so, but we have received no indication that they are looking for alternative hosts for the IPL at the moment." In its meeting the day the IPL was postponed

after an outbreak of Covid-19 cases across four franchises - the BCCI had not discussed the England option and it isn't clear whether it has been considered since.

The counties hope the games could be played in front of fullhouse crowds - though this is also a possibility if the IPL takes place in the UAE - with two (or possibly even three) games being played on each day. There would also be no gap between the group stage and knock-out games. There are, however, numerous obstacles to the plan.

For one thing, it is hard to predict the course of the pandemic, and there is still some time before any decision is made on the T20 World Cup being held in India. There would also be numerous quarantine issues in bringing players from around

the world into the UK, although a number of Indian players being in the UK at the time for their Test series with England could be helpful. The other more challenging obstacle is the existing schedule. The EnglandIndia Test series only ends in Manchester on September 14, with England then likely to tour both Bangladesh and Pakistan for white-ball matches within the following month - they are due to play the second T20I in Pakistan on October 14. Most other sides have international commitments around the same time, with potential quarantine time to be factored in - though those final weeks in September remain less busy than most. The counties hope, however, that with some flexibility a window can be found to accommodate the tournament in England.

Call to shift T20 WC to UAE becomes louder One of the major reasons behind hosting this year’s IPL in India was setting an example for hosting the ICC T20 World Cup in Oct-Nov this year. However, with the Indian cricket board (BCCI) postponing the IPL midway through the season, the chances of hosting the T20 World Cup in India have suddenly become slim.

The T20 WC will be played between 16 national teams. As the IPL bubbles started detecting multiple Covid-19 cases in the last few days, there is much apprehension about maintaining secure bio-bubbles for 16 teams later in the year.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will play by the protocol of assessing the situation in India for the next two months. “Even if the second wave of the pandemic subsides

by September, there are

predictions of a third wave in the last quarter of the year. And ICC is unlikely to wait till September to take a call on the host venues,” a BCCI source said.

The BCCI had successfully organized last year’s IPL at three venues (Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi) in UAE. It is learnt the board had to pay the Emirates Cricket Board around £9 million

besides the expenses to host the two-month tournament.

BCCI had last month decided on nine venues in India for the T20 WC. But maintaining a bubble with so much travelling involved is not feasible, as it has been proven during this year’s IPL. While there are theories which say BCCI may propose a one-city tournament in Mumbai, the board is not confident of getting much support from other member boards in the ICC. BCCI working on passage to England The board is already working on creating a safe passage for the

Indian team to reach England for the World Test Championship Final and the subsequent Test series against England. BCCI and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are in talks with their respective government authorities to finalise the travel plans. With the IPL suspended, the team could leave earlier (preferably by last week of May) to have enough time after quarantine to get acclimatized to the conditions before their match against New Zealand which starts on June 18 in Southampton.

If the T20 WC does happen in UAE, then the Indian team will fly directly to Dubai after finishing their five-Test series in England. They may play two T20I bilateral series against New Zealand and South Africa in UAE as preparation.

in brief QUARANTINED IPL STARS TOLD TO DECIDE OVER TEST SELECTION England players who are in quarantine after returning from the Indian Premier League are to be allowed to decide whether they want to play in the two-Test series against New Zealand next month. Chris Silverwood, the head coach who is now responsible for picking the squad after the departure of Ed Smith as national selector, is expected to announce a 15-man squad next week. The decision may add fuel to the debate about whether the England management is too consensual in its relationship with the players, who were given free rein to play in the IPL at the cost of missing the New Zealand Tests.

Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, denied this meant that “the tail wags the dog”. Eleven England players are serving ten days of quarantine after the IPL was indefinitely suspended. Of these, five are contenders for the Test squad: Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes. Although there will be sympathy for their confined existence, there would have been hope that the early return of the players might have given England a near-full strength squad for the Tests at Lord’s, starting on June 2, and Edgbaston, starting on June 10. Ben Stokes has been ruled out with a broken finger but most other players were expected to be available. The squad assembles in London on May 28. The concern is that the players may not be mentally or physically fit. Even before quarantine, they spent long periods in biosecure bubbles in India, first during England’s Tests, Twenty 20s and one-day internationals, then at the IPL. Bairstow had been in India since mid-February while Ali, Buttler and Curran rejoined England’s tour for the white-ball matches around February 26, having been given time at home during the Tests series. Woakes arrived in late March in preparation for the IPL. When quarantine ends on Saturday, Bairstow will have spent almost 90 days in confinement and Ali, Buttler and Curran more than 75 days.

SAINA, SRIKANTH’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING CHANCES BLEAK The postponement of the Malaysia Open has poured cold water on the hopes of Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The India Open (May 11-16), Malaysia Open (May 25-30) were Olympic qualification tournaments that could’ve furthered the cause of the Indians, but both of them have been postponed. The Badminton World Federation postponed the Malaysia Open due to the surge in Covid-19 cases locally. "Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and Badminton World Federation (BWF) have jointly agreed to postpone the Malaysia Open... BWF can confirm the rescheduled tournament will no longer take place in the Olympic qualifying window," BWF said. Only the Singapore Open (June 1-6) remains in the Olympic qualification window, but Saina and Srikanth will not make the cut even if they win that tournament. Saina is ranked 22nd in the Race to Tokyo rankings.

With 43,037 ranking points, Saina needs to get past Beiwen Zhang of USA (49,010), Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark ((47,891) and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia (45,200). Only two players from each country make it to Olympics and that too if they are in the top-16.

To get into top-16, Saina needs at least 7,000 points. Even if she wins the Singapore Open, Saina can get only around 6,000 points.

Srikanth’s case is similar. With 42,989 points, he is ranked 20th in the Race to Tokyo rankings. A win in Singapore will fetch him 6,000 points, which will not be enough to break into the top-16. Srikanth has four players ahead of him and sources said that Singapore Open is also likely to be postponed.