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VOL 51 - ISSUE 11

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Crematorium project: A test of Hindu unity and creativity

Nina Darmeci: Cosmopolitan Choreography

Celebrating Kolkata couple Cheitan and Abhishek’s gay marriage

64 killed as heavy rains lash several parts of Gujarat

RACE FOR UK’S FIRST BRITISH INDIAN PM BEGINS

What women want from their PM By 5th September, the UK will hopefully find its new Prime Minister. Whether the successful candidate will be Asian or NonAsian, man or woman, the general public’s experience and media’s criticism of Boris Johnson’s approach towards women and women-related issues will always be criticised more than critiqued.

Continued on page 14

New Lanka President to be elected on July 20

Clockwise: Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch, Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi, Tom Tugendhat, Penny Mordaunt, and Jeremy Hunt

Shefali Saxena

The domain readyforrishi.com was first registered with GoDaddy on 23 December 2021, while ready4rishi.com was registered on 6 July 2022, two days after Sunak resigned as Chancellor.

Whether or not his plans to resign were planted in his head back in December, the Chancellor’s exit followed by a leadership bid for the prime ministerial elections in the UK has given us one food for thought Is Britain ready for its first Indian origin prime minister? We find out.

His #Ready4Rishi campaign kicked off with a message on Twitter, accompanied by a video made up of

images of his Indian-origin grandparents and parents who migrated to the UK via East Africa. Much like Boris Johnson once hailed as India’s ‘jamai’ (son-in-law; he was married to Marina Wheeler who is half-Indian), Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Indian software major Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, one of the most respected tycoons in the country.

However, the first Indian-origin candidate to bid for the position of Britain’s new Prime Minister was Suella Braverman, former Fernandes. The UK Cabinet minister and Attorney General boasts of Goan ancestry.

Continued on page 06

Colombo: The Sri Lankan parliament will elect the new president to succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa on July 20, speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced on Monday. The decision was taken during a crucial all-party leaders meeting held earlier in the day.

President Rajapaksa is yet to resign formally, however, he informed the speaker on Saturday that he will quit on July 13.

Continued on page 20

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AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

16 - 2 July 2022

with Keith Vaz

British Airways check-in staff suspends strike at Heathrow

PAMILA RODRIGUES Senior Systems and Training Support Officer Pamila Rodrigues, born to Cain D’cruz, a successful businessman and Mrs Nicklin D’cruz, a seamstress. Pamila studied at the prestigious St. Xavier’s college in Mumbai & Carmel College in Goa majoring in English & Political Science. She came 1st in the Goa University for her project on the ‘Khazan Lands – Dying’ Pamila started her career as a Call Centre Associate and began climbing the corporate ladder making it to Team Manager role. She took a career break for 2 years to have her daughter in 2009. She re-started her career from scratch again in 2011 as a receptionist and climbed her way up again to Employment Engagement Office with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, manufactures of cars, trucks, tractors, mopeds and bikes in Mumbai, handling their Pan India uniform distribution for the 2 wheeler division.

Pamila moved to the UK in 2014 and once again had to being her Career from scratch, she is currently working with the London Borough of Hounslow as Senior Systems and Training Support Officer. She lives in Hayes with her husband Keven and their three children.

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

Goa – An ideal day in Goa for me will be having potato bhaji and sweet bun for breakfast, enjoying the breeze of the coconut palms in my balcony and cooking some fish curry rice for my family.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

I was very proud of myself when I was promoted as Team Leader the Citi Group when I was just 24yrs old. To be able to run the team successfully with some of the team members double my age was quite an achievement for me.

3) What inspires you?

Challenges inspire me – When challenged or under pressure that urge to overcome that obstacle brings out the best in me.

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Well, being a mother of 3 young children and being a go getter personally can be quite a task professionally at times.

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

My husband Keven, without his constant support and belief in my abilities I don’t think I would have achieved so much.

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

The best aspect is that I can train and learn so much about the Adults & Children’s services within Hounslow.

7) And the worst?

Its very difficult to be emotionally detached from the cases we work with.

8) What are your long term goals?

To be a Councillor to begin with and work with people.

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

Too early to answer that one, I am like my younger son, still taking baby steps in that direction.

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

Mahatma Gandhi – Needs no introduction but I’d like to meet the person/husband/father behind the Mahatma

Man charged with terror offences at Luton Airport A man was arrested after arriving at Luton Airport in Britain on suspicion of being a member of the banned militant “Tamil Tigers” organisation.

Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police arrested the man, in his 30s.

The arrest was made on suspicion of him being a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), more widely known as the Tamil Tigers, and also on sus-

picion of supporting a proscribed organisation.

He was taken to a local police station, where he was later released under investigation.

It was founded in 1976 where the guerrilla organisation fought for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, claiming the Tamils were persecuted by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government.

In 2006, the EU listed the

group as a terrorist organisation.

Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Across the UK, there is a network of counter-terrorism officers working at our ports and borders.

“Officers work closely with colleagues from the UK Border Force and other partners to help keep the public safe from any potential terrorist threats".

British Airways check-in staff at Heathrow airport have suspended their strike following an improved pay offer made by the company, unions confirmed on Thursday.

Union members who are involved in the dispute will now be balloted on the proposed offer, the Unite union said.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “We welcome that BA has finally listened to the voice of its check-in staff. Unite has repeatedly warned that pay disputes at BA were

inevitable unless the company took our members’ legitimate grievances seriously. I pay tribute to, and stand with, our members who have fought hard to protect their pay.”

Unite regional officer Russ Ball said: “I want to salute the solidarity and bravery of our members, who, through acting in unity, have ensured that a vastly improved offer has been made.

“I am proud to be associated with our check-in members at British Airways.

In June, the check-in

Man in 50s stabbed to death in Uxbridge Police found a man, thought to be in his 50s with a stab injury to his chest in The Greenway on Wednesday around 7pm.

Shortly after, a man in his 40s handed himself into a local police station and was arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody.

A Scotland Yard

spokesman said: “Police were called to reports of a stabbing at the junction of Cowley Road and The Greenway, Uxbridge.

“Officers attended along with London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance. A man, thought to be aged in his 50s, was found with a stab injury.

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“Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene. His next of kin are yet to be informed.”

Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 6685/06Jul. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

NHS to cull up to 8,000 jobs In an effort to reduce duplication, NHS England is going to merge with NHS Digital and Health Education England.

Following the merger, Amanda Pritchard, the head of the health service, ordered a cull of between 30 and 40 per cent of jobs at NHS England.

These changes are being made to save £1 billion in five years, following government promises of a “war on waste and wokery” as NHS funding increases.

The plans will include abolishing 8,000 of the 20,000 jobs at the central

organisations.

NHS England made it clear that voluntary redundancies would be offered from this autumn, with recruitment already restricted.

While the number of officials working in the Department of Health and NHS England doubled in two years, the number of nurses rose by just seven per cent, thinktank the Policy Exchange found.

Ms Pritchard is the highest paid, earning £255,000 almost a third more than her predecessor, Lord Stevens.

Robert Ede, head of

health and social care at Policy Exchange, said: “Despite only being created in 2012, NHS England has quickly become one of the largest and most complex arm’s length bodies in England.

“The extraordinary growth in headcount during the first two years of the pandemic was never going to be sustainable, and the consolidation is well timed as the integrated care systems get up and running.

This should lead to a more nimble and agile organisation at the centre of the NHS.”

Teen suffers head injury after being hit by car A teenager was struck by two cars in Poplar High street during a fight in Tower Hamlets. Following the crash, he was rushed to hospital with a head injury by paramedics just after midnight on Wednesday.

Officers are hunting for

the drivers by going through the CCTV footage around the crime scene.

A police statement said: “Police were called at 00:18hrs on Wednesday, 6 July to reports of a group of people fighting in Cotton Street, Poplar.

All over-50s to be offered Covid booster this autumn All over-50s will be offered Covid booster jab this autumn as infections in the UK jumped by more than half a million in a week.

Meanwhile, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had recommended only over-65s be offered a booster in the autumn, along with younger people at risk, care home residents and staff, and health and social care workers.

However, the government has decided to defy the advice considering the rise

workers voted to take industrial action in the pay dispute, saying a 10 per cent wage cut during the height of the pandemic had not been reversed.

Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, said: "These are frontline workers facing anger from customers daily. The least they deserved was fair pay.

It seems holidaymakers will welcome this news, who were already facing summer travel disruption caused by the mass cancellation of flights due to extreme staff shortages.

in cases.

Before resigning, then health secretary Sajid Javid warned the cabinet about the rising infections.

As the infections and hospital admissions are happening due to Omicron sub-variants, Pfizer and Moderna are working on developing boosters specifically for those variants.

If the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approves it, the new shots will be considered by the JCVI for the booster pro-

gramme, which will be expected to start from September.

Mary Ramsay, director of clinical programmes, said: “We continue to see an increase in Covid-19 data, with a rise in case rates and hospitalisations in those aged 65 years and over, and outbreaks in care homes.

“We can also now see a rise in ICU admissions in older age groups.

“Vaccination remains the best defence against severe disease and hospitalisation.”

"Officers attended and found an 18-year-old man with head injuries. He was taken to hospital and later discharged.

“It was reported the man had been involved in an altercation with a group of people in Poplar High Street a short time earlier.

“During this, the man was reportedly deliberately struck by two cars which left the scene before officers arrived.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances and identify the cars involved.

Officers are keen to hear from any witnesses who were in the area who may have information or dash cam footage.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 84/06Jul. To remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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16 - 22 July 2022

A mammoth task in hand The Met Police has a new Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley. The Met Police, which is Britain’s largest police force has a task in hand. After Dame Cressida Dick, people wonder if Sir Rowley, recruited on Friday, will prove to be of actual use, in fixing all the accusations against the force.

The force has constantly been criticised over the years for not only being racist but also having officers, of poor temper and quality. Earlier this year extensive racist and sexist WhatsApp messages among serving officers were discovered during a probe.

Dame Cressida Dick was eventually asked to resign when scandals after scandals broke out including Sarah Everard’s kidnap, rape, and murder by a serving officer called Wayne Couzen. It led to London Mayor Sadiq Khan saying he had no confidence in her to lead the Met. Though Home Secretary Priti Patel criticised the decision of Mr Khan, he was right in standing up to a broken force that could not do its basic job of providing security to its citizens.

PC Idominik Efeotor, an officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, recently said the force struggled to tackle racism in part because it was not attracting high-quality recruits.

Mr Rowley retired from policing in 2018 but returned as

the Met Police’s chief on Friday. However, one of his former colleagues reportedly said he was not “enthralled” upon learning about this appointment, claiming he was “more of the same” and no different from his predecessor Cressida Dick, the Independent reported.

Sir Mark Rowley, who is no stranger to Asian Voice, is hopefully aware of the mammoth task at hand. When he was in charge, there was no Black Lives Movement, nor there was a Sarah Everard case, that made the public question Met’s integrity as a force. In his career, he has obviously mitigated threats, though he needs to ensure that more people of ethnic origin need to get a chance to join the force. It is easier to neutralise a threat or explain the problems from different perspectives or trust when a familiar face from one’s own community is in the force. So, recruitment among Asians or other ethnic groups needs to go up. He also needs to engage with the communities better and give women all the security and assurance they require on the streets and in their homes.

London recorded the highest number of firearm and knife offences across all counties. In London, April 2019 to March 2020 saw 15,930 knife offences per 100,000 people. He particularly needs to find a better method to tackle it, without typecasting or racial profiling.

PM's leadership race is not just about ethnicity UK’s leadership bid to find a new Prime Minister has begun.

As Asian Voice went to press, Sajid Javid dropped out of the leadership race, failing to garner adequate support. By the time our readers receive the paper, the second round of the leadership race has already happened, and the community is hoping they will see Rishi Sunak becoming UK’s first Indianorigin Prime Minister (see p1).

But there are certain nuances that deserve attention. First, a community should not be voting for one of their own just because he represents their ethnicity. Their mandate needs to appeal to voters and party members, especially as the road ahead is quite hard. With a cost-of-living crisis, energy crisis, lack of staff, and union strikes - Britain is going through unprecedented times, as it tries to normalise life after Covid.

With surging cases of the virus, yet again, questions arise about an available vaccine and ready-made NHS service, that could save lives.

Post-Covid the NHS has undergone tremendous stress to resolve problems and restart normal services, and some of the hospitals and PCTs have a waiting list of 5 years for terminally ill patients. There is a lack of doctors, and front-line staff, crippling the system as the government cut aides and support to NHS over the years.

Third, the increase in National Insurance next year, or energy bills, that compels people to choose between eating and heating, the economic situation is dire, as the country

crawls towards a recession. The housing market is volatile, making buying an impossible task in London for first-time buyers.

Whether it is Mr Sunak or Mr Braverman or Ms Truss or Mr Hunt or whoever of the other 11 candidates, the upcoming job is beyond community comfort. Northern Ireland treaty, Scottish Referendum 2023, Brexit and support for Ukraine demand the immediate attention of the new leader.

The UK-India FTA, which has identified 26 areas of new deals and special cooperation, is meant to finish by Diwali 2022. People obviously wonder if that will be delivered should the new Prime Minister not consider India as a close ally.

Rishi Sunak, whose family comes from East Africa, has achieved every immigrant’s dream. He became the Chancellor, being richer than the Queen. Wealth is a denomination to achieve a certain level of access within the Tory membership, and not every wealthy woman or man is removed from reality just due to the wealth they have acquired over the years, through sheer hard work.

Mr Sunak is a proud Hindu and British-Indian, married to a Tamil Hindu woman, with certain conservative family values or culture- which may be considered a hindrance in a certain social setting. The diaspora is of course thrilled by his nomination, as well as that of Suella Braverman’s, but a leadership run needs a balancing act of many fine elements, which one can only hope they can have and sustain till the end.

BJP gains by putting Shinde in driver’s seat The BJP threw up the biggest surprise by naming Eknath Shinde of the breakaway Shiv Sena faction, and not veteran leader Devendra Fadnavis, as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. In doing so, it has pushed Uddhav Thackeray to the corner and won the game of optics. It was assumed by all that Fadnavis would make a return to the chief minister’s chair and Shinde, who orchestrated the rebellion, as his deputy chief minister. However, in an unexpected move, Fadnavis announced that Shinde will be the next chief minister and that he alone would be sworn-in. He added that he would be out of government but would ensure smooth functioning of the government which is coming as an alternative after Uddhav resigned. Accordingly, Shinde then took the oath of office as the new chief minister. That was when a new twist emerged, as Fadnavis was also sworn-in as deputy chief minister.

As events unfolded, two questions emerged: What is behind the BJP’s move to make Shinde chief minister and what led to Fadnavis being sworn-in as deputy chief minister hours after he said he would be ‘supporting the new government from outside’. Minutes later, BJP president JP Nadda said that Fadnavis would be part of the Cabinet led by Shinde, whose rebellion against the Sena leadership brought down the two-and-a-half-year old Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

“Fadnavis has just now announced that Shinde will be the CM of Maharashtra and he will not be part of the government, it shows the character of our party and our leader and that we are not working for power but for our ideology… BJP’s central leadership, however, has decided that Fadnavis should become a part of the government. So, I made a personal request to him and the Central leadership has said Fadnavis should take charge as deputy CM of Maharashtra,” Nadda said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a tweet, said: “at the behest of BJP president, Fadnavis has decided to join the government in the interest of the state of Maharashtra and its people. This decision is a sign of his true loyalty and service towards Maharashtra. For this I heartily congratulate him.”

For many, the BJP, with its decision to elevate Shinde - and not Fadnavis - as chief minister has changed the optics of Maharashtra politics and also an attempt to cut Uddhav to size. According to some political pundits, Shinde’s elevation

to the top post will help him woo the Shiv Sainiks at all levels and wrest control of the party. This would make it all the more difficult for Uddhav and his son Aditya to rebuild the party after the massive rebellion that has left them with just 13-odd MLAs out of 55. This means that Uddhav will now have to focus on saving his party rather than focusing on the BJP and its politics in the state. This would be highly beneficial to the BJP; a Maharashtra without the Thackerays is an easier deal for the BJP. Also, this means that the BJP won’t have to contest the next Assembly elections in 2024 or the general elections in the same year against the combined forces of the Sena, NCP and the Congress.

With Shinde’s elevation to the top post, the BJP has also shown its political acumen and been able to checkmate Uddhav, who had questioned the rebels just a week ago - “If I quit, can you guarantee that the chief minister will be a Shiv Sainik?” Shinde being made the chief minister also tackles the criticism levelled against the BJP of being power-hungry and subsuming its allies. BJP’s move also shows that the party truly supports the legacy of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

In fact, while addressing the media, Fadnavis had said: “After all, with a Shiv Sainik in the CM’s chair, Balasaheb’s dream still remains fulfilled.” Shinde’s choice as chief minister will also quieten the rising decibels within the Maratha community who have been vociferously demanding reservation. A Maratha, he hails from Satara and moved to Thane to earn a living. There are also some who believe that the BJP’s move sends a strong message to Fadnavis and all others in the party that the central leadership is the final word on all matters.

Long before the BJP veered down the path of muscular Hindutva, Sena had established itself as a fierce defender of Hindus in general and native Maharashtrians in particular.

Yet in recent years, Sena had mellowed down. Uddhav had built a reputation for competence and good administration.

The state had remained mostly free of religious clashes. That earned Uddhav new admirers, even among liberal types who once loathed his party. It also earned him the hatred of the BJP. BJP has been trying to bring down the state government ever since. It repeatedly accused the Sena of forgetting its Hindutva antecedents. Uddhav, for his part, emphasised governance over hate mongering: “Our Hindutva is not to burn houses, but to light stoves in houses,” he said at a rally in May

Thought for the week The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same. - Colin R. Davis

Political Sketchbook Alpesh Patel

A New (type of) Prime Minister By the time you read this the candidates for PM will be whittled down to under half a dozen if not just three or four.

Dear Future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, I don’t know of any Prime Minister who has come into office without some kind of crisis. You’ve got your fair share. At least it can’t get worse (famous last words).

You have inflation, a new experience for your young team to grapple, strikes, covid, a looming recession, a shadow war in Europe, housing problems, food banks, winter looming and an energy crisis, social order issues and a whole lot more.

And you want this job? The pay stinks to what you could get in the private sector. Oh, and the media will print vitriol and hate 24/7 of a level no predecessor has had. Others with such profile left the country – Prince Harry for one.

But you want to stay and it is a great great nation.

Your very election and back story will be evidence of what a great nation it is.

So let’s tick off some things. I won’t presume to give you solutions but more a reminder, in a non-partisan way, of what you will need to focus on.

Brexit: Relations with the EU, peace in Northern Ireland. A reset is needed. A collaborative open approach from the hard-line one. Be transparent and open about everyone’s perspective.

Defence: Kit needs upgrading – it always does and the Ukraine war is ours. Make sure the money is spent on buying British, building British, and creating British jobs.

Environment: It’s too easy to forget the long-term in the short term chaos. You can’t take your eye off this.

Inflation: What can you do? The Bank of England can raise rates and people are spending now because they know they’ll be poorer tomorrow anyway. So that doesn’t help. Destroying businesses and bankrupting people is not the way to reduce inflation. Raising taxes is not only unpopular – especially so now, but fuels the problem in the short term. In the short term, before the obvious answer that it will be monetary and fiscal tightening, I’ve always preferred targeted VAT rises on luxuries. People have a right to essentials. Luxuries – tax them. You can easily identify those through VAT and raise the rate on those. If it dampens demand, so be it. And no, one man’s luxuries are not another’s essentials. This is a targeted focussed tax.

Use this to cut fuel duties. Wealth tax on corporate profits – yes. Even as a signal to get them to temper pay rises and escalate hiring salaries. I don’t have the right to be able to afford this year what I could last year. I do expect a right to essentials.

Speaking of essentials, our essential workers, NHS, defence, police, teachers and such like need special provisions to make life cheaper for them, from schemes encouraging companies to offer discounts to tax exemptions. We worked it out during covid. We can work it out again.

Free Trade Agreements – get the excel spreadsheets out, get round a table and get these ticked off. It needs speed and efficiency.

Hospitals – those private, outsourced organisations – keep an eye on them to avoid abuse.

Children, Schools – we have a problem with child care. You don’t have the money to solve this now, but long term benefits of more women in the work place (it is them providing care) is clear. Our schools need upgrading. Again, focus on innovative ways of improving this. I wish I knew what that is. Get the private sector to sponsor schools – they’re rich.

They’ve filled their boots with profits over the past decade. Do it the way an oligarch would – round a table and it’s not the law you need as the answer. Such a quiet voice and a big stick and large carrot.

Social care – you can’t simply privatise or spend.

Those can’t be the two options. Innovation takes too long. Good luck.

Size of the state – public spending ballooned and debt payments are soaring due to rising rates. This needs reducing. You know that. Not for ideological reasons, but cost.

At least exports are cheaper and inward investment into the UK cheaper due to the cheap Pound to Dollar.

That’s enough for now. Good luck and godspeed.

04 NORTH/MIDLANDS

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AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

16 - 22 July 2022

Thieves ransack home and steal car in Leicester neighbourhood Thieves raided a couple’s home and got away with a car in the Stoneygate area of Leicester. On Tuesday, July 5 the pair woke up to find someone had smashed their way through a side door at their home, taken their keys and driven off in their Mercedes GLS. Police say they have witnessed a rise in the number of car crimes in Stoneygate and officers are now stepping up patrols to catch the culprits.

The victim who did wish to be named said he and his wife slept through the raid

on their home.

The 28-year-old said: "They had been through all the rooms downstairs and done through all the coats in the cupboard. And then we saw that they had found our car keys."

A group of four people wearing hoods, breaking

into the side door of their house were seen on the CCTV footage of neighbours.

"We don't really have to deal with crime in this area, to be honest. But recently, this seems to be a problem."

A spokesperson for the force said: “Officers are regularly patrolling the area in a bid to tackle the issue and any report made to us regarding a stolen vehicle will be thoroughly investigated".

Fish and chip shops for sale in Leicestershire In Leicestershire, people who are willing to do a business of fish and chips can run their own shops as seven such shops are up for sale with one priced under £10,000.

Budding entrepreneurs or experienced business owners can expand and enjoy life behind the fryer right from Loughborough to Hinckley, Melton Mowbray, Leicester, and more, a number of premises are up for grabs.

Here are some of the fish and chip shops that are up for sale -Clifton Chippy Where: 10 Clifton Way, Hinckley, LE10 0XN Price: £95,000 Hinckley’s Clifton Chippy lies in the middle of a parade of shops opposite a busy Sainsbury's Local store in Hinckley, Leicestershire with great links to the A5, A47, M6, M1, and M69. For

the past 16 years, it has been under the same management.

Now it is up for sale for just under £100,000.

-Dabbs Fish Trailer Where: Relocatable trailer Price: £9,995 This trailer sells fish and chips as well as chicken tikka, samosas, and more. It is available under £10,000 with a turnover of £60,000 according to businessessforsale.com.

Families in Leicester can get £60 toward school uniforms The Household Support Fund (HSF) is part of a Government-wide scheme that is offering up to £60 towards the cost of school uniforms in a form of support to parents in Leicester.

The Schoolwear Association found the average price of compulsory uniform and sportswear items is now £101.19 per pupil, via the largest survey of school uniform costs in the UK. The HSF can provide help paying the likes of food, energy bills and in some circumstances, rent and are open for applications from May 9 to September 4, 2022. It is also offering parents and guardians up to £60 to pay for the increasing price of school uniforms.

For children who are on free school meals, their parents and guardians will be awarded a £60 voucher per child through the school.

Parents or guardians can get in touch with social workers, neighbourhood housing officers, housing-related support workers, and income management officers. In case anyone doesn't have these contacts, they can email household-support-fund@leicester.gov.uk or call 0116 454 1019, Monday to Friday between 10 am and 3.30 pm.

If any parent needs to apply to receive free school meals prior to requesting the school uniform voucher, they can do so on the Leicester City Council website.

Teachers at Lordswood Girls’ School in Harborne to strike for five days The National Education Union (NEU) members at Lordswood Girls’ School are set to strike over the period of five days at a Birmingham girls' school starting from Tuesday, July 12. The staff are striking over the 'forced transfer of employment of teacher and support staff mem-

bers to King Edward VI Academy Trust in September'.

The NEU said: "The NEU has offered to suspend all planned strike action if the school agrees to stop the transfer and begin meaningful consultation with staff. If the outcome of this consultation is that

Tens of thousands gather to celebrate Eid al-Adha in Manchester park Double-decker bus with a remarkable history spanning more than 90 years and now AEC Regent 486 has been restored for £500,000.

In 1931, the bus started life on the roads of Birmingham. During World War Two it was sent to work in London. It returned to Birmingham after the city lost 145 buses in an air raid at Hockley. Then it was sold for scrap in 1946. In 1970, it was discovered in a Herefordshire field and is now a gleaming reminder of a bygone era of transport at a museum in north Worcestershire.

Its restoration at Transport Museum Wythall, which began in 2013, was beset by technical problems.

More than 160 faults were identified during the work.

Also, ahead of an unveiling in 2019, the engine caught fire and then of course there was a global

pandemic.

"It's been a hell of a lot of pressure and stress until we got it out on the road again," admitted Rob Handford, who spearheaded the restoration project.

"I'm just about beginning to enjoy it now, and there is huge satisfaction and relief. The satisfaction is people saying 'this is fantastic - this is an incredible vehicle'.

"It shows the standard of vehicles that were turned out, and this is what people are amazed by."

The original estimate for the restoration work on the bus was £300,000.

the school should join an academy trust, and staff believe that King Edward VI Academy Trust is the most appropriate trust for the school to join, this could then happen towards the end of the next term.

"We ask that parents trust their judgement on this and sup-

port them in asking for the transfer not to go ahead on September 1, and for meaningful consultation to take place before a final decision is made. Once again, we are very sorry it has come to this and we apologise for the inconvenience the strike action will cause."

Step-grandfather jailed for abusing girl A step-grandad who sexually abused a child member of the family has been given a hefty prison sentence.

He groomed and abused his stepgranddaughter, between the ages of 11 and 15.

The victim, who is more than 40 years younger than her abuser, eventually confided in a member of staff at school. This led to the defendant, from the Hinckley area, standing trial at Leicester Crown Court.

To protect the girls identity, he was unanimously convicted of a series of 14 sex offences, representing multiple rapes and sex assaults and is not being named. In May, the jury was told the abuse escalated after the victim's grandma died.

The victim told the court: "I think he just replaced her with me.

Instead of going out and finding someone his own age he just slept with me. I was continually scared of someone finding out. I suffered in silence."

Sentencing, Judge Robert Brown said: "You took ruthless advantage of the trust placed in you by that little girl. You groomed her, you seduced her and you raped her.

"You showed no respect for her and you corrupted her. You've never shown any remorse or acceptance of

guilt. The victim had to re-live the entirety of the abuse in court. You denied it and called her a liar. She wasn't lying."

The defendant was jailed for 18 years.

in brief UNEARTHED PHOTOS OF BIRMINGHAM IN THE SUMMER OF 1976 In 1976, Birmingham baked in the hot sun and families and friends kept themselves busy in Lidos, pools and any other body of water to beat the endless heat and stay cool.

At first, the cold winter and rainy spring gave way to the glorious weather but as the days of sweating and hay fever wore on into July and even September though, it really started to take its toll. In those days, people used to go to their local reservoirs. Also, some parents used to send their children to fill up the buckets when the news of the Drought Act came out. Along with this, fires were a real hazard. At some points, the West Midlands Fire Service took 100 calls to attend fires every day. As Britain went bone dry, hosepipe bans, standpipes and water tanks in the streets became common sights.

One company on Warstone Lane that made golfing umbrellas switched to brightlycoloured garden ones and had a great time.

"Four years ago we had a marvellous summer when it rained all the time", said the boss.

"Now the situation has been totally reversed."

When the rain finally touched the parched ground in September storms, the worst of the Drought Act powers came to an end.

HEARTLANDS HOSPITAL MURDER VICTIM NAMED AS 'KIND-HEARTED DAD' 30-year-old Mohammed Kasim who was nicknamed as "Kazee" was fatally shot in a car on Eversley Road, Small Heath, and died later at Heartlands on July 7. He has been named as a 'kind-hearted and selfless dad'. West Midlands Police said the victim - and another injured man - made their own way to Heartlands Hospital where he died.

In a statement, Mr Kasim's family said: "A kind-hearted, selfless, caring person. An amazing dad, son and brother who will be missed so dearly." So far, no arrests have been made and the investigation is still ongoing. In a statement, police said: "Tributes have been paid to a 'kind-hearted father' as we continue to appeal for information into his fatal shooting in Birmingham. Mohammed Kasim sadly died at Heartlands Hospital during the early hours of yesterday (7 July).

"The 30-year-old had made his way to the hospital shortly after midnight with gunshot injuries along with another man. He remains in hospital but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening." "Any footage or information can be uploaded here.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. Please quote log number 69 of 07.07.22."

Tributes pour in for late Leicester judge Richard 'Dick' Pollard Tributes were paid to a top Leicester judge, Richard 'Dick' Pollard, who was described as 'a guiding light' in the judiciary. Barristers and judges gathered at the crown court, in Wellington Street, in memory of the well respected 81-year-old retired judge. He died unexpectedly at home last weekend.

Eulogy was conducted in a packed courtroom attended by Judge Pollard's wife, Angela, and daughter, Emma.

Judge Philip Head described him as having

been "a wise and humane lawyer".

Judge Head recalled an incident where a remand prisoner in HMP Leicester wrote a letter to the court mentioning that he will plead guilty to his crimes but only if Dick was the judge.

He was also known for sharing his skills by tutoring others, said Judge Head, and was a course director with the Judicial Studies Board.

He referred to the retired judge as "warm, kind, witty and exceptionally good company."

Leicester's current senior resident judge, Timothy Spencer QC, said, "He was gravelvoiced and grounded, trusted by juries and the Bar. He was fair and humane - and many a judge would do well to model themselves on him."

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Crematorium project: A test of Hindu unity and creativity CB Patel

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t the turn of last year, in December 2021, Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice were pleased to publish extensive coverage of the landmark planning decision secured by Anoopam Mission UK to build a state-of-the-art crematorium on its grounds in Denham, Buckinghamshire.

We applauded this long-awaited development, paving the way for the first purpose-built Hindu faith crematorium in Param Pujya Sahebji the UK. Six months after this decibenefit of the whole of Sanatan Dharma in sion, a Bhoomi Poojan ceremony will take an inclusive way. The branding as “Aum place on Friday 15 July, and a Community Crematorium” is a good start, which signals Briefing and Consultation will be held on that the facilities will be open to all Hindu Saturday 30 July, in Denham. When the customs - as well as other dharmic tradiplanning permission was received, Param tions such as Jains and Sikhs - to observe Pujya Sahebji, Spiritual Leader of Anoopam ‘antim sanskar’, or last rites, in accordance Mission, said that the new Aum with their own particular beliefs.

Crematorium was “an opportunity to serve The building of a crematorium is a sigthe Hindu population of the UK”. He nificant undertaking with a long-lasting added: “We look forward to working with impact over many decades, so it should be all Hindu organisations to deliver this set up as a self-sustaining independent vision for the whole community.” This is entity and overseen by a body which is exactly the right sentiment to approach accountable to the “whole community”, such a significant and noble project. guaranteeing that it will remain open and Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice, inclusive to all. This unity and creativity therefore, urge all Hindu community would be the greatest legacy of such an organisations to participate fully in the important milestone for the Hindu forthcoming consultation and to make Community. their views known. In turn, we hope that For ease of reference view our e-paper Anoopam Mission UK will take the oppordated 25th December 2021 at this link: tunity to provide a transparent update https://issuu.com/abpl/docs/av_25th_dece about the progress of the project and how mber_2021 the crematorium can be delivered for the

‘No escaping the fact that the Met faces a multitude of challenges’ Sir Mark Rowley has been named as the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, taking over the role vacated by Dame Cressida Dick. Sir Mark, 57, served as head of the Met Police's counter-terrorism unit between 2014 and 2018, before leaving to take a role in private industry. Dame Cressida stood down as commissioner in February following a series of scandals.

In a statement, he said: "Our mission is to lead the renewal of policing by consent which has been so heavily dented in recent years, as trust and confidence have fallen.

"We will deliver more trust, less crime and high standards for London and beyond, and we will work with London's diverse communities as we together renew the uniquely British invention of 'policing by consent'."

Sir Mark will serve an initial five-year term, with an annual salary of just under £293,000.

In response to the announcement that Sir Mark Rowley has been appointed as the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Labour’s London Assembly Policing and Crime Spokesperson,

Unmesh Desai AM, said: “My congratulations go to Sir Mark Rowley, who will now succeed Dame Cressida Dick as the new Met Commissioner.

“There is no escaping the fact that the Met faces a multitude of challenges- not just in terms of cleaning up some of the toxic parts of its culture but also when it comes to turning around the failures that have been

exposed in its day-to-day performance and operations.

“At this critical juncture, the new Commissioner must hit the ground running. I want to see him bring his extensive experience working in senior and specialist roles across policing units and forces, into leading the Met Police to a place where it can regain the full trust and confidence of Londoners.

“I now look forward to his first appearance at the London Assembly Policing and Crime Committee, where I will be questioning him on his priorities and the strength of his plans to improve policing in London”.

Deputy Mayor hails London as ‘fintech capital of the world The Deputy Mayor for Business has acknowledged London as the “fintech capital of the world” but has warned that the capital must “remain open” to continue to thrive as tech investors gather in the Square Mile for a two-day conference to mark Fintech Week London.

“London is truly the fintech capital of the world – we’ve got over 3,000 fintech companies which is more than any other city [but] we’ve got to remain open for talent at all levels”, Rajesh Agrawal said.

According to figures from the Global Startup Ecosystem Report, London is the world’s top destination for fintech investment, with $6.3 billion (£5.3 billion) raised in the first six months of 2022 alone.

06 16 - 22 July 2022

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RACE FOR UK’S FIRST BRITISH INDIAN PM BEGINS

AsianVoiceNews

Continued from page 1 be a focused legacy as Prime Minister Johnson.”

Joining them among the Interestingly, while he competes in the attempt within South Asians standing up sections of the top 4 contenders in the race to No.10, Sunak for this prestigious role Conservative said that while Mr Johnson may be flawed "so was former Health party to ensure are the rest of us". He said: "I will have no Secretary Sajid Javid, who is that he does not part in a rewriting of history that seeks to of Pakistani origin. He was reap the rewards demonise Boris, exaggerate his faults or deny the first cabinet minister to of his perceived his efforts." resign, followed by Sunak after Boris was once UK’s Foreign Secretary. disloyalty. As a a gap of a few minutes. However, result, if Sunak makes He has made visits in that capacity to several on Tuesday evening, Sajid Javid it to the last two candi- countries around the globe, especially India, dropped out of the leadership race to dates, he will likely have fewer and over the years, built a friendly connecbecome the new leader of the Tory party. votes from Conservative Party MPs in the tion with the likes of Indian PM Narendra Priti Patel confirmed she will not launch a final count.

Modi (whom he fondly calls Modibhai), last-minute Conservative leadership bid, as “Yes, I think the UK and the Tory party including West Bengal Chief Minister we went to press. The Home Secretary had are ready for an Asian-origin PM. This is evi- Mamata Banerjee who has hosted him in been urged to stand as a right-wing unity can- dent from the number of ethnic minority Kolkata, not just for an official visit, but perdidate by more than a dozen MPs but has candidates (including Asians) who are con- suaded him to overstay and attend the now confirmed she is not going to enter the testing the leadership; they would not be Bengal Business Summit, which Johnson fray before nominations closed on Tuesday. "I doing so if they felt that they would all do duly attended. Johnson has made several visam grateful for the encouragement and sup- badly. This fact is important by itself.” its to Ukraine during the ongoing Ukraineport colleagues and Party members have Will Britain manage to find a pro-India Russia crisis winning applause for helping a offered me in recent days in suggesting that I PM? Rahul said, “I think that the reality is that war-torn country. enter the contest for the leadership of the any British PM will not be pro-India but proInternational leaders have reportedly Conservative Party. I will not be putting my Britain. This includes, especially, any Indian- liked Johnson for his spontaneity despite name forward for the ballot of MPs," Ms Patel said.

Among non-Asians, the UK’s first female defence secretary Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State is also among the top contenders for keys to No.10.

The second round of voting by 14 July will determine the final two candidates, but the third round of voting is possible on July 18, with the final two names set to be announced on July 21. This will be followed by Dr Indranil Chakravorty MBE Rahul Roy Chaudhury Rajnish Kashyap 160,000 party members making a final choice through the postal ballot. origin PM. We must get rid of the rhetoric criticism from the homeland for being a Asian Voice reached out to British and focus on the reality of the ‘living bridge’, “liar”, “dreamer” and not being able to deliver Indians, asking them their opinion of Rishi which is that any British-Indian politician or on his promise of reviving the economy for Sunak, his probable chances of winning the official could be pro-India, when in fact they NHS. election, will the FTA between UK-India be will always be pro-Britain. The quicker we If a ‘Remainer’ takes over, the EU might delivered and whether Britain is finally ready realise this the better. In this respect, I would get away with some better deals. Most of for an Indian/Asian origin Prime Minister. argue that a non-British Indian PM like Boris Boris’ supporters hailed from middle British Indians have collectively resonat- Johnson could be more favourable to India England during the 2019 snap election, they ed with the idea that Rishi Sunak will face than a British Indian PM.” are the old-aged Britons who believed tough competition as a Prime Ministerial He also mentioned that to deal with Johnson could resurrect the NHS and finally candidate, however, the chances of him win- Brexit-related issues, the new PM will have to “get Brexit done”. Even from the new Prime ning the elections are not entirely dependent engage with India and focus on the ‘Indo- Minister, this would remain their expectaon him being of Indian origin, but more on Pacific’ foreign policy tilt. tion. the party’s perspective on social justice and Brexit, an ‘unmitigated disaster’ NHS crisis, the biggest challenge value system. Brexit and NHS continue to be Tom Tugendhat who is standing to be Asian Voice exclusively spoke to Dr the paramount pain points amid cost of living the next Prime Minister, has dismissed criti- Indranil Chakravorty MBE, Physician, crisis in the UK. cism of his lack of ministerial experience Researcher in innovation, health Ready for Rishi? after Dominic Raab said it was “no time to Inequalities, about the role of outgoing Rajnish Kashyap, General learn on the job”. Tugendhat served during Prime Minister Johnson in tackling racism at Secretary/Director - Hindu Council UK the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. He the NHS, and the chances of a new PM (HCUK) told Asian Voice, “Let’s start by stat- also served in Afghanistan, in a civilian resolving issues for Britain’s healthcare sysing that Boris Johnson has promoted and led capacity, for the Foreign & Commonwealth tem. a Cabinet and Government that is more eth- Office (FCO), and helped set up the National Sharing background information from nically diverse than ever in British History. A Security Council of Afghanistan and the gov- the NHS, Chakravorty said, “The background prime example of this is that those who put ernment in Helmand Province. The chair- of unprecedented pressures on acute and their name for the leadership of the Tory man of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee emergency care, queuing ambulances unable Party and to become the next Prime Minister, said: “I know the pain families are feeling to off-load their critical patients, a constant many are from ethnic minority communities. now. That is why my first pledge is to take bed crisis, serious financial constraints leadWe must appreciate this regardless of who fuel duty down by 10p a litre. My second is to ing to curtailment of clinical services and becomes the leader of the Tory party and reverse the national insurance rise. This isn’t plans to lay off non-clinical staff, growing then becomes PM. about percentages. It’s about jobs. That’s why displeasure with primary care services and a “No doubt there is a huge support for Mr I didn’t vote for the increase then, and I crisis in workforce recruitment/ retention Sunak from Indian communities. He is well wouldn’t now.” and you can start to see what we can see as regarded and currently seems to be in lead Commenting on the ongoing ordeal to doctors in the frontline. If you are one of the but in the end, it is up to the party who choose UK’s next Prime Minister, Labour MP 47% of doctors and 1 in 5 of NHS staff or chooses their leader Virendra Sharma told us, “The Tory Party are patients who are from minority back“I ought to say UK and Tory should be looking to elect a new leader, sadly Boris grounds, then you are aware of the instituready (many Asian were holding powerful Johnson's vision for the party lives on and tional racism and bias that is deeply posts in the cabinet and they all were accept- will shape the new leader. Same Tories, new ingrained in society and the health service. ed) but I have my doubts for an Asian PM face. Brexit continues to be an unmitigated Year on year, since 2015, the Workforce Race because don’t forget racism still exists. disaster, but any new Tory Party leader will Equality Standards survey data has demon“Brexit has happened so not a priority for have to ignore that reality and pander to the strated the persistence of racism and bias the new pm it’s getting the UK economy sort- right-wing. The UK is pro-India, the experienced by the healthcare workforce and ed. For this, it is important for the Tory Party Government just reflects the public, I believe the recent Medical WRES data is no differto deliver the Free Trade Agreement. India that the future lies in a better and closer rela- ent.” and The UK both are major economies, so tionship with India. A free trade deal is a long While Partygate and Johnson’s untimely they need to have cordial and positive rela- way off, sector deals are achievable now, but decision during lockdown cost millions of tionships which they normally have.” the differences make a full FTA impossible in lives and painful departures and goodbyes for Not pro-India but pro-Britain the short term. families who lost loved ones to Covid, Speaking to Asian Voice, Rahul Roy“The ethnicity of the new Prime Minister Chakravorty does give credit where it's due.

Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia - is irrelevant, I hope Tory MPs and party He said, “The administration under Rt Hon The International Institute for Strategic members will elect any new leader on their Boris Johnson has indeed acknowledged the Studies (IISS) said, “Sunak has the toughest merits and their policies. We devalue politi- existence of health inequalities which contest for the leadership role. This is due to cal debate when we silo each other. The Tory became apparent in the first months of the the perception that his resignation from the Government has increased taxes in the mid- Covid-19 pandemic and supported the aspiBoris Johnson cabinet, being the most high- dle of the cost-of-living crisis and tinkered at ration for levelling up. One of the first conprofile, set the trend of further resignations the edges, doing practically nothing. All of crete steps taken to understand the health that brought down Johnson as the party lead- these ministers and MPs stood by Boris impact of racism and bias was the formation er and prime minister. As a result, there will Johnson for years, they all own the same of the NHS Race & Health Observatory in

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

2021, which has secured its funding for the next 5 years, receiving the support of Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS E/I. Navina Evans has taken over from Prerna Issar as the NHSE/I’s Chief People’s Officer along with her role as the CEO of Health Education England, the body responsible for education and training for all healthcare staff in England.”

Indranil added, “As a professional of Asian origin, working in the frontline of the NHS the tumultuous world of political hunger games is not only highly interesting but also anxiety-provoking in equal measure.

Rishi Sunak may have been born in a family who originated from India, but his education, values and upbringing were as British as they can be. It is interesting that in an early interview during the pandemic period of lockdown, Rishi acknowledged that as a ‘British Asian’ growing up in the UK, he was ‘of course aware of the existence of racism in British society’ and had experienced it himself. However, he was quick to clarify that ‘huge progress’ had been made in society,

Virendra Sharma MP

that racism was no longer as it was when he was growing up and that violence was not the way to solve it.

“It is increasingly acknowledged by academics that mere awareness of racism is insufficient for a society to tackle this, but that leaders and institutions need to be proactively ‘anti-racist’ in order to begin to engineer social change. I very much doubt that Rishi has the experience or the necessary understanding of the huge impact of racism on people’s lives, livelihood and outcomes to tackle this actively.”

Stating his expectations from a new PM, he said, “As a doctor, I would like to see the shift of power to the people through the allocation of resources to people’s cabinets, local government and public health experts. A vast increase in primary care, a multi-professional workforce akin to the bare-foot doctor/ health worker model in low-income countries, who will provide care close to home and an investment in social care for the elderly in care homes run by local governments supported by primary care professionals.”

Does Rishi Sunak stand a chance to be the first Indian-origin PM of the UK? Chakravorty said, “He has demonstrated his understanding of finances and his willingness to take tough decisions to turn the country’s economy around post-Brexit. He has a few weaknesses, his elitist education, his personal and family wealth and his colour are significant disadvantages which will weigh down his chances of success. As a British Asian, I am interested in his chances of getting the votes needed for the top job and do think he is capable of delivering.

“Professionals tend to vote on policies and demonstrated actions/ successes, not on the basis of colour or ethnicity, so it is unlikely that he will secure the ‘brown or black vote’ if there was such a thing in existence. He may appeal to the young professionals who are more likely to be open to diversity but are usually not ones to go to polling stations and do not make up sufficient numbers of Tory members. However, as a doctor working on the frontline, witnessing (often helplessly) the challenges faced by the people and the NHS in delivering the promise of health for all, I don’t think Rishi or any of the other leadership aspirants from his party have the values of social justice, sufficient understanding of the principles of the NHS (or health for all) and the conviction to take the bold measures that are needed to deliver.”

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Boris Johnson sacks Michael Gove, leaves him homeless Sacking Michael Gove as housing secretary, Boris Johnson has taken his revenge for sabotaging his 2016 leadership bid.

Mr Gove not only lost his extra ministerial salary of £67,505 a year leaving him his MP’s pay of £84,144, but also his £25million grace and favour apartment in Westminster’s Carlton Gardens near Buckingham Palace.

It is believed that the PM always resented Mr Gove for rubbishing his bid to replace David Cameron which forced him out of

101 hate crimes reported at London football stadiums in a year There were 101 hate crimes reported at London’s football stadiums in the year to June 2022, new figures reveal. Labour’s London Policing and Crime Spokesperson, Unmesh Desai AM, who obtained the new data through a written question to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that while an increase in reporting shows that fans are becoming more comfortable calling out “vile language, or disgusting behaviour”, lots of abuse is still going unreported - and unpunished.

Between 1st June 2021 and 31st May 2022, the Metropolitan Police dealt with 83 Public Order Offences, 60 of which were racially, or religiously, aggravated and 18 Violence Against the Person incidents flagged as hate crimes at football grounds. Another written answer from the Mayor of London to Mr Desai stated that 116 hate crime offences had been reported at football stadiums in the capital between January 2015 and December 2018.

A report from the organisation, Kick it Out, found that in the UK, half of all fans surveyed in 2018 had witnessed racist abuse (50%), but less than half would know how to report it (40%).

the race Theresa May went on to win.

Mr Gove infuriated the PM by telling him to quit along with an ultimatum of 9pm to do so. At 8.58 Mr Johnson called Mr Gove and fired him.

A friend of Mr Gove confirmed to the Sunday Mirror: “Yes, he will now need to find somewhere else to live.”

Announcing his intention to run for the Tory leadership alongside a host of other contenders, Sajid Javid said it was only last weekend that he started to lose confidence in the Prime Minister.

Javid says he wrestled with his conscience for months from inside Boris Johnson’s Government but decided to resign as health secretary

Nadhim Zahawi is under investigation over his tax affairs Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is 'under investigation by HM Revenue & Customs over his tax affairs'.

Offshore tax specialists have 'launched a probe' into his finances after they were handed information by the National Crime Agency (NCA) - known as 'Britain's version of the FBI'.

Downing Street officials 'flagged concerns' to Boris Johnson before his appointment as Chancellor.

Following the NCA investigation in 2020, 'no evidence was found that met the criteria to bring criminal charges'.

It is believed that experts from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) have investigated the newly appointed chancellor's finances.

Meanwhile, Mr Zahawi, 55,

has denied any wrongdoing and has promised to fully co-operate with any HMRC queries.

A spokesperson said: 'All Mr Zahawi's financial interests have been properly and transparently declared.

'Mr Zahawi is not aware of any formal investigation by HMRC. His taxes are all fully paid and up to date. He will provide full information to any queries that HMRC have about his tax affairs.'

Young Rishi Sunak's embarrassing clip goes viral After Rishi Sunak announced his candidacy for the Prime Minister, an embarrassing clip was unearthed in which the former Chancellor is seen boasting about his private education and Etonian friends.

In the clip a young Rishi Sunak admitted

Boris Johnson accused of derailing Rishi Sunak’s bid to be the next PM Boris Johnson is being criticised by senior Tories for refusing to leave No 10 with good grace and trying to torpedo Rishi Sunak’s bid to succeed him as prime minister as the leadership race has descended into bitter infighting.

On Saturday night, as a quartet of cabinet ministers entered the contest, senior MPs said the battle risked inflicting even more damage on the party than the fall of Margaret Thatcher more than three decades ago.

Javid wrestled with his conscience for months inside the government

Another senior figure in the government said: “This is not an administration that is going to go quietly. There is a lot of anger about how this all happened. It is clear that much of it will now focus on Rishi. It is all very Trumpian.”

that he had "no workingclass friends" which has gone viral on social media.

The video, taken from a 2001 BBC documentary, resurfaced.

Mr Sunak made the embarrassing confession during the BBC series Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl.

In the clip, Mr Sunak says: "I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are working-class... Well, not working class."

The clip left many social media users shocked.

One wrote: "No understanding of reality.

How is this man going to deal with the #torycostoflivingcrisis when he doesn’t have a clue!"

Another said: "Imagine having no working-class friends.

Unreal. I dunno why but I stupidly assumed that they at least knew normal people."

Meanwhile, Akshata Murty’s photograph carrying a tray full of tea cups and cookies went viral on social media.

on Tuesday morning at a parliamentary prayer breakfast.

As the controversy over how Mr Johnson dealt with the Chris Pincher scandal was unfolding on Tuesday morning, Mr Javid said he attended a parliamentary prayer breakfast with MPs and the Prime Minister which “made me reflect”.

In his policy pitch, Javid said he

would scrap the Government’s controversial national insurance hike, bring forward the planned 1p income tax cut to next year, and introduce a further “significant” temporary reduction on fuel duty.

As health secretary, Javid had backed the hike and said it would help fund the recovery of the underpressure and backlogged NHS.

Boris Johnson's Downing Street renovations cost over £200,000 Boris and Carrie Johnson have been ridiculed for their taste after an invoice revealed the makeover of their Downing Street home cost more than £200,000 - including a £3,675 drinks trolley and £8,500 lamp.

The couple refitted the grace and favour apartment at No.11, which reportedly looked like a 'John Lewis nightmare' after Theresa May's residency, with the help of society interiors guru Lulu Lytle.

A leaked copy of the invoice for the renovation, seen by the Independent, reveals that the No11 flat makeover included a £7,000 rug, a £3,675 drinks trolley and two sofas which cost more than £15,000 in total.

The Johnson couple were quickly mocked for their taste online, with many social media users tweeting their dismay at the cost of the renovations.

The Johnsons ordered a 'Nureyev Trolley' worth £3,675 and said to be 'inspired by a French 1940s drinks trolley owned by ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev', according to the leaked bill.

Eight dining chairs cost £11,280, and the couple spent £7,000 on a rug and £3,800 on an antique mirror for the hall.

After a refurbishment of Johnson's Downing Street flat - led by a celebrity designer and including gold wallpaper - Britain's electoral commission fined the Conservatives £17,800 for failing to accurately report a donation to pay for it.

However, he concluded that Johnson had not intentionally lied about the messages.

Interior designer Lulu previously revealed she 'hated every minute' of being caught in the 'political storm' over her makeover of Boris and Carrie.

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NHS nurses quitting because 'they can't afford to feed their kids' Enfield council leader Nesil Caliskan said London nurses, who are the backbone of the NHS, are considering leaving London to work in neighbouring counties as they 'can't afford to feed their kids'.

Council Caliskan said: "As long as you have the lowest paid workers in health and social care unable to pay their rent in this city, quite frankly, as a nurse said to me 'Why would I continue to work in A&E in North Middlesex hospital and not

go to a Hertfordshire hospital, have a much quieter life and be able to pay my rent and feed my kids?' and quite frankly, she's right.

"As long as we don't solve [this] we will have a workforce crisis in this city...ultimately this all has an impact on the patient that walks through the door."

Councillor Caliskan added: "Health inequalities differences that exist in our communities exist because they are the family members

of the lowest paid members of staff in health and social care. If you take my borough [Enfield], there are 5k care workers, they live in the areas where there are one in three children living in poverty, be in no doubt, that the work lifting up pay standards in the workforce will have the greatest impact in terms of life chances in London which experience high levels of deprivation and being disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis."

Hunt for man who racially abused bus driver in Eltham The driver of the 314 bus route was verbally abused on January 12 at 12.15am in Eltham High Street, as he was called racist slurs and sworn at by a passenger.

Police are now appealing to find a man who racially abused the bus driver.

It happened after the driver challenged him when he pressed the emergency exit button on the bus.

The image of the man has been circulated by the police and is wanted in con-

nection with the incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Dougall, said: “The Met does not tolerate any form of discrimination or abuse and is committed to working with partners, including TfL, to robustly tackle hate crime by holding offenders to account.”

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Anyone who recognises the man or has any information is urged to contact local

police by dialling 101 quoting crime reference CRIS 3600880/22.

“Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or tweet @MetCC with any information.

“Victims of hate crime can report any incident directly to the Met or through a national hate crime reporting portal via the TruVision website.

“Further advice can be found via our website.”

117,000 died on waiting lists for NHS, 6.5 million wait for treatment Last year, approximately 117,000 patients died waiting for care on the NHS, including thousands on waiting lists at London NHS trusts, with 2,512 at Barts Health, 1,078 at King’s College hospitals and 894 at University College London hospitals, figures have revealed.

The death toll was directly linked to the record number of patients waiting for non-emergency NHS care — about 6.5 million, said Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting.

The figures were obtained via freedom of

information requests to every NHS trust in England by the Labour Party.

67 trusts revealed a total of 34,896 deaths. Labour said that extrapolating the number across all trusts would lead to a death toll of 116,667.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "It is deeply misleading to draw a causal link between deaths and those on an NHS waiting list, as people may be waiting for a range of treatment, including routine surgery, and their deaths may be completely unrelated.

“We are putting record investment into the health service in order to bust the Covid backlogs - an extra £39 billion is going into health and care services over the next three years and we are rolling out up to 160 community diagnostic centres across the country – with 90 already open and one million scans delivered.

“The NHS is making great progress in ensuring those waiting the longest get access to vital treatment as part of our plan to bust the Covid backlogs, already reducing two-year waits by two-thirds since January.”

Two men convicted of savagely murdering their 'friend' Mohammed Aqil Mahdi,22, from Camden was found dead by a dog walker in a secluded enclosure behind Springer Court, Navigation Road just after 8am on the morning of November 6, 2021.

He had been "savagely attacked" and stabbed eight times in his shoulder, abdomen and buttocks six hours earlier, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following a month-long trial at the Old Bailey, on July 7, Majed Ahmed, 19, of Navigation Road, in Bromley-by-Bow and Muzahid Ali, 22, of Bishops

Way, in Cambridge Heath, were found guilty of his murder.

Their co-defendant, Abul Kashem, 29, of Victoria Dock Road, Newham, was acquitted of murder. Aqil had spent the previous evening with the three men, and they had all travelled in Mr Kashem's car to

Southend, jurors heard.

DCI Laurence Smith, who led the investigation, said: "I cannot imagine what went through Aqil’s mind in those last few moments, and my, and the team’s thoughts are with his family and friends today.

"They will have to live with this loss for the rest of their lives and, while this result won’t give them the one thing they want – Aqil safely back – I hope the verdict will offer them a shred of comfort.”

On July 14, both men will be sentenced at the same court.

Doctor, 85, gets three-year term jail after fatal blunder 85-year-old NHS Dr Isyaka Mamman has been sentenced to three years in jail after a mother of three during a procedure. He also repeatedly lied about his age to keep working beyond scheduled retirement. He pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.

The judge criticised the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust for hiring Dr Isyaka Mamman, despite of two formal complaints against him of using the same “highly dangerous” bone marrow biopsy procedure which killed Shahida Parveen, 48.

Medical watchdogs had already suspended him for lying about his age but was rehired and treated Parveen in September 2018.

A bone marrow biopsy had been advised and the routine procedure was allocated to Mamman, where he attempted to get a sample from Parveen’s sternum.

However, he used the wrong biopsy needle, and missed the bone and pierced her pericardium, the sac containing the heart, Manchester crown court was told. Parveen died the same day.

Mamman qualified as a doctor in Nigeria in 1965 and had worked in the UK since 1991.

Woman and two kids hurt in head-on crash On 5th July around 6:55 pm, a head-on crash happened on Bell Lane near the Newquay airport entrance, where a woman and two children got injured.

The incident involved a dark green Vauxhall Insignia and a black BMW 1 Series.

All three occupants of the BMW were admitted to Treliske Hospital.

The driver - a woman in her 40s from Newquay reported multiple serious injuries, while a young girl sustained a serious shoulder injury and a teenage girl had minor injuries.

The male driver of the Vauxhall was uninjured.

In suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving while unfit through drugs and drink driving, a local man in his 30s was arrested.

For now, he has been set free under investigation pending further enquiries.

Officers who are investigating the cause of the collision are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Please email 101@dc.police.uk or telephone 101, quoting log number 708 of 05/07/22.

10 days' Vipassana Rohit Vadhwana s mentioned last week, I attended 10 days' Vipassana (Vipashyana) and would like to share my experience with readers. The following striking features of Vipasana are worth mentioning.

Origin: As per its founder Late Shri Satya Narayan Goenka, the practice of Vipashyana existed in India much earlier than it's currently known propounder Gautam Buddha. Buddha rediscovered, practised and preached it for the benefit of millions of people not only in India but also in other countries. After Lord Buddha, again the practice was lost from India, however, luckily it was maintained in its truest and purest form in Burma and carried on through Guru Shishya parampara. Sayagayi U Ba Khin was the Guru from whom S N Goenka learnt and eventually brought it to India, and spread it across the world. I attended it at Dhamma Pith, near Ahmedabad.

Simple life: I saw that all participants- Sadhaks were required to follow simple life. Use of perfume, ornaments etc were not permitted. During the stay, they eat simple, satvik vegetarian food which comes from the money donated by other Sadhaks who have participated in earlier shivirs. We are also required to wash our own plates and clean our own rooms. This Bhikshu-like life is intended to give much-needed humility to Sadhaks. Personally, I liked this approach of simplicity and was comfortable following the rules. Food never became an issue as I was comfortable with whatever was being offered.

Strict Schedule: A rigorous schedule of Sadhna is followed throughout the period of ten days, from 4 AM to 9 PM, spanning over 17 hours. It required us to sit for more than 12 hours in meditation/lecture every day, as per a predecided schedule. Timing for food is fixed, except when Sadhaks are not allowed to eat. The Dhamma Sevaks (volunteers) would go to every room, ringing a small bell, if the sound of a large bell coming through speakers installed on the campus does not do the job to wake you up. After the 4th day, Sadhaks also follow Adhisthaan bethaks - nomovement sittings for certain hours every day. For me, waking up early was a big challenge but the body clock got set in two days. As the sitting sessions were quite long, during my free time I did lots of walking on campus.

Meditation process: The process of Sadhna involves observing your own breath, not controlling but only observing as it is when you inhale and exhale. As days pass, Sadhna goes on to observe subtle vibrations in the body, maintaining complete equanimity and a balanced approach, developing an awareness that nothing is permanent. No music or chanting or other process is involved in meditation. Observing the sensations of the body, without being judgemental about them, is the main tool through which a Sadhak has to learn to remain equanimous in life.

This was a new thing I learned here, and during the course of Shibir, at times, I could feel subtle sensations in my body. This has to be practised even after the Shibir is over for more benefits.

Philosophy: It is absolutely non-sectarian in nature and mainly follows the tradition of Buddhist Dhamma which is based on the rules of the universe. Our sense organs feel sensations which in turn generate reactions from our subconscious mind. These reactions give birth to desire or dislikings. These desires create insatiable positive or negative cravings - trishna. The philosophy is not to remain completely away from the sensations, as it is not possible while living in this world, but it tells us to disassociate the sensations from trishna, and it can happen by understanding the non-permanent - anitya - nature of everything. I liked the logical approach and explanation behind the whole process. I tried but keeping the mind absolutely free of thoughts for a longer time is not possible initially.

Nobel Silence: This is the key feature we generally know about Vipasana. The ten days every Sadhak is required to maintain Nobel silence - means no external communication in any form, neither through speech or gesture. This Sadhna also compels you to remain away from mobile, laptops and any other kind of connectivity. It also didn't permit the use of a pen and diary, or even reading a book. It was a complete disconnect from the outer world and aimed at connecting with the inner self. This was manageable, speaking was not required, and things were quite well set and systematic. I missed reading and writing, though. I had written articles earlier and scheduled them through email, so you got last week's column.

Other things one has to settle before submitting mobile, and family should be informed of any urgent work.

Overall, it was a new and different experience for me to go for the 10 days' Vipassana. It helped in many ways, cleared my mind to a certain extent (at least for some time), gave me the much-needed break from constant work and worked as a process of digital detoxification.

A

(Expressed opinions are personal)

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Brain-Up Abacus Mental Maths annual national tournament Brain-Up hosted their 6th Annual National Tournament on 9th July 2022.

Karina is a pupil of the Milton Keynes centre and was invited by her teacher to participate in Group C of the tournament.

Over 100 students from various groups participated from 12 centres across the UK. Karina Shah is the daughter of Hardik and

Connect the dots to support Ukrainian refugee families in UK, Lord Loomba urges the government Some of the 87,000 Ukrainians who have come to the UK since the Russian invasion last February are suffering problems because of unintended gaps in the support arrangements, Lord Loomba told the House of Lords in a special debate to discuss the welfare of refugees from the war-torn country [7 July].

Lord Loomba commended the Government on the progress made in processing refugee applications, providing a helpline and welcome pack, and the financial support for refugees, host families and local authorities, but there are gaps in the system and not enough thought has been given to

what happens when the original commitments from hosting families come to an end.

Highlighting the Loomba Foundation’s

Starmer and Rayner escape having to resign in Beergate row

Heeral Shah who won the ‘Champions’ trophy at the tournament.

About Brain-Up Mental Maths Brain-Up Abacus Maths is a UK-based Ofsted-approved provider offering children aged between 5 -13 years to master mental arithmetic using an abacus.

Brain Up Abacus is working closely with other Abacus Academies all over the world including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the USA, Japan and many more countries.

What is Abacus?

‘Soroban’ the Japanese modification of the Chinese abacus is in use by the Brain Up’s programme. By manipulating the beads, complex arithmetic calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and finding the square root could be carried out efficiently and accurately.

Benefits of learning abacus Abacus arithmetic simultaneously stimulates both the left and right sides of the brain, thus leading to more balanced brain growth. Exercising the skills used in abacus arithmetic is beneficial in helping children have a stronger understanding of mathematical formulations and the numerical system. It also helps in improving concentration, building confidence and innovative creativity in problem-solving.

Public sector workers fearful The decision by Boris Johnson to step down as prime minister – and a series of changes to his cabinet – have left public sector workers increasingly fearful that long-overdue pay rises will be pushed back to the autumn.

Union leaders have warned newly appointed cabinet ministers that many teachers and nurses will quit their professions in the coming weeks if public sector pay deals are further delayed by chaos at the top of government.

Teachers, NHS workers and others in the public sector have been demanding increases of at least the rate of inflation – currently 9.1% – while ministers had been insisting that pay restraint was necessary because the Treasury needs to limit spending and curb inflation.

A government spokesperson said: “The government wants a fair pay deal for nurses, doctors and the taxpayer, and is carefully considering the recommendations from the independent pay review bodies.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner have escaped being fined by police over their Beergate row.

Durham Constabulary agreed with the pair's argument that a boozy curry they held indoors with 15 others in April last year was a 'work event'.

The force found there was 'no case to answer' after concluding their probe into claims the gathering - held at the Miner's Hall in Durham - breached Covid regulations.

Sir Keir and Ms Rayner had both previously promised to stand down if they were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for breaking lockdown rules.

Sir Keir had repeatedly insisted he and his colleagues returned to their duties after sharing a takeaway and beers in the run-up to local council elections and the Hartlepool

Covid infections surge across UK UK sees the highest estimate for total infections since late April, but is still some way below the record high of 4.9 million seen at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave at the end of March.

The Covid-19 infections have jumped by more than half a million, with the rise likely to be driven by the latest Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, figures show.

Hospital numbers are also continuing to increase, with early signs of a rise in intensive care admissions among older age groups.

A total of 2.3 million people in private households are estimated to have had the virus last week, up 32% from a week earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The virus remains most prevalent in Scotland, where 288,200 people were estimated to have had Covid-19 last week, or one in 18.

Wales has seen infections jump to 106,000, or one in 30, up from 68,500, or one in 45.

Dr Mary Ramsay, director of clinical programmes at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “We continue to see an increase in Covid-19 data, with a rise in case rates and hospitalisations in those aged 65 years and over, and outbreaks in care homes.

by-election last year.

Durham Constabulary found the 30th April event was 'reasonably necessary work' and said they would not be issuing any fines and 'no further action will be taken'.

Sir Keir and Ms Rayner both called for Mr Johnson to resign as PM when the Met Police first launched their Partygate probe back in January and before any fines had been issued by Scotland Yard.

Mr Johnson, as well as ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, were both fined for attending a 56th birthday celebration for the PM which he had been unaware was being planned - in Number 10.

A report by senior civil servant Sue Gray found the gathering, on 19th June 2020, lasted 'around 20-30 minutes' and included sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks and cans of beer.

partnership with Barnardos, under which 1,000 refugee families receive vouchers redeemable in Barnardos shops for everyday needs such as nappies, toys and clothes, Lord Loomba said: “We are playing our part as best we can, but it is only Government that can connect the dots and ensure the inevitable gaps are plugged.” It is on that basis, he added, that he was asking the Government to help identify where things could be better and to make improvements.

Problems that have come to light included an increase in demand for food vouchers, poor access to technology devices leading to digital exclusion, and concerns about the adequacy of vetting for unaccompanied minors.

With regards to education, Lord Loomba said, “Barnardos have seen instances of children’s applications to schools being rejected because of fear of disruption. He appealed to the Government to provide funding for ICAM, a programme to support children affected by migration.

“Many Ukrainians are educated to a degree or professional level but are struggling to find work because their qualifications are not recognised,” Lord Loomba said, urging the Minister to look at this urgently.

When families move on from their hosts, continuity of childcare, schooling, and employment should all be carefully considered before they are relocated. “Are the resources available to local authorities sufficient to address rehousing needs when we already have Syrian and Afghan families accommodated in hotels?”

In response, the Refugees Minister Lord Harrington welcomed Lord Loomba’s contribution and proposed arranging a meeting with Lord Loomba and Barnardos to address the points that had been raised and see if improvements could be made.

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Better late than never The recent joint address by MI5 Director General Ken McCallum and his American counterpart FBI Director Chris Wray should not come as a surprise to anyone who follows world events and has some knowledge of past history of China. These two spoke about the business threat, China stealing Western developed technology that saves China billions and some ten years of development, thus undercutting the West and taking over markets in consumer goods as well as arms in Africa and South Asia. China has no qualms in selling arms to b brutal dictators like Idi Amin of Uganda and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

They admitted that the real threat of world domination on the economic, political and even military front will come from China, not Russia. China has already constructed a huge naval base in “Horn of Africa” to dominate the Arabian Sea and threaten India. Russia’s involvement in Ukraine was unfortunate; a scapegoat for the West, Ukraine fell in by hook, line and sinker! It was a NATO plot to take on Russia through a proxy to test and learn about Russia’s latest technology in missiles and in other fields developed under President Putin.

The world should have woken up when China started building illegal, artificial islands in international shallow waters of the South China Sea they could use as a military baseto conquer Taiwan, a thorn in China’s ambition to be the greatest military power on earth. China’s navy already outnumbers the US navy with most modern ships, and aircraft Carriers being added regularly.

India, on its own, is no match for China. Fortunately, articulate PM Modi used his personal close relationships with Australia and especially Japan to create a joint naval task force with the US taking the lead. This has rattled China somewhat. Nobody should be surprised if China opens another front on India’s border with Tibet, a country brutally taken over by China without a murmur from the West, especially India, under PM Nehru whose slogan was “Hindi, Chini Bhah-bhai!” This shows what harm saintly figures do to their nations when they enter politics they know nothing about!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi

ANNOUNCEMENT The Bhavan's annual Summer School Now in its 37th year, The Bhavan's annual Summer School is the most sought-after summer intensive in Indian Classical Arts in the UK. Train with some of the best teachers from India and Europe and immerse in three weeks of intensive training live at The Bhavan in subjects ranging from Hindustani and Karnatic Vocal, Sitar, Tabla and Mridangam to Bharatanatyam and Kathak. The unique Summer School experience is filled with fantastic showcases by the visiting teachers. At the grand finale on August 6th & 7th, all students will perform to the public.

Please note, that all classes will be held live at the Bhavan unless otherwise specified. Please check the website for all details.

Shinzo Abe was an outstanding leader With the assassination of the Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on July 8, the world has lost the finest leader wedded to democracy and the welfare of humanity. Shinzo Abe was considered to be a towering personality who immensely contributed a lot to Japan's economy during his long term as the prime minister.

He was a towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator. He dedicated his life to making Japan and the world a better place.

India shared a deep relationship with Japan, much of which must be credited to the personal bonding between Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi. Like Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, he too was shot because some people did not like him. He was Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister.

May his soul rest in peace.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

Honour for charitable and voluntary service Congratulations on receiving OBE to Vinubhai Bhattessa.

You have made me very proud and happy to your family, BAPS and Hindu community for severing selflessly to the community, especially during Covid -19. This personal achievement was achieved with the many blessings of your parents and BAPS Gurus. These accumulated blessings gave strength and courage to serve the community.

A recent study of the Kindness Test of over a study of 60,000 people around the world found that two-thirds thought Covid-19 pandemics have made them kinder and more caring. The generosity of Kindness nourished us and nourished the sufferers. Kind words can also create another person less suffering.

So many people became victims of this deadly virus that made suffering to their loved ones. Covid – 19 made people realise and understand what suffering is. Understanding of suffering, people became compassionate and donated generously money to buy food, clothing, and medicine for the needy. From cleaners to doctors, they provided selfless service to the suffering. Many died, during giving their services. We pray their soul rest in peace.

There are so many inspiring stories of courage that have emerged to fight back Covid – 19. Some stories we may never know. They all were serving humanity.

Covid united the world of on family.

Covid – 19 has taught that when you see that the other person is suffering inside, compassion and empathy are born in your heart. You want to do something to help that person suffer less.

During Covid, you practised humanity with love, kindness, resilience and compassion. This is the teaching and wisdom of Hindu culture. Swaminarayan Bhagwan has also said, he will take away all suffering of his devotees. When suffering ends, seeds of happiness manifest.

Once again congratulations on your selfless service to the community and achieving OBE from Her Majesty The Queen. In the joy of others, you serve the community.

Suffering and happiness are part of life.

Manoj and Ramila

No, Prime Minister I would be the first to happily click my fingers and lead Asians everywhere in a Bhangra dance if Rishi Sunak succeeded Boris Johnson as Britain’s prime minister, but I regret this is unlikely to happen. I do not think Britain is ready yet to welcome an ethnic minority candidate, however brilliant and capable, as their political leader. So my prediction is that a white Brit, male or female, will be ushered into No.10 Downing Street. As for the other ethnic minority hopefuls, they might as well retrieve the proverbial hats they threw into the ring and place their ambitions on the back-burner until the country’s deeply entrenched attitudes change for the better.

Rudy Otter

•

NHS staff honoured with George Cross Presentation The head of England’s NHS has today praised the exceptional efforts and skill of health service staff across the country, after being presented the George Cross

by Her Majesty The Queen at Windsor Castle.

In an audience at Windsor Castle, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard was joined by May Parsons, a matron for respiratory services who delivered the world’s first Covid vaccination in December 2020, to receive the award.

The George Cross, awarded to the four National Health Services of the UK, is in recognition of over 74 years of service including the exceptional efforts of NHS staff across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. The presentation came exactly one week after the NHS’ birthday.

The award, created in 1940, sits at the top of the UK honour’s system joint with the military Victoria Cross and is the highest civilian gallantry award. It is given for acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.

12th July marked only the third time the George Cross has been awarded to a collective body, rather than an individual. It was previously awarded to Malta in 1942 and to the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1999.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “It was an incredible honour to receive the George Cross today from Her Majesty The Queen, on behalf of all NHS staff – current and former – who have given so much to care for patients and their loved ones.

“The award recognises the extraordinary courage, compassion and dedication of staff over more than 70 years, particularly in the face of the Covid pandemic.

“So it was particularly special to receive it alongside May, who made history when she delivered the world’s first Covid jab outside of the clinical trial, kick-starting the most successful vaccination programme in NHS history.

“The story of the NHS is one of adaption and innovation as the health service addresses the changing needs of each generation and that has never been more true than during the pandemic when health service staff’s can-do spirit shone through.

“As we look forward to the NHS’s 75th birthday next year, we will use that same determination and agility to address the challenges we face in the next phase of the response to Covid. “I was deeply honoured but also humbled to play a part in this momentous ceremony and represent the 1.5 million brilliant, dedicated and heroic NHS staff across England.”

Kapil Dudakia

KAPIL’S

KHICHADI

Is the UK in Jeopardy?

A week is a long time in politics, but sometimes, a day can change the very course of a nation. On Thursday 7th July PM Johnson concluded that given the avalanche of resignations, he had no option but to resign. Priti Patel holds an important position, for her to resign would have placed the nation at risk from foreign and domestic enemies. I am sure in those moments of anarchy at Number 10, she must have advised the Prime Minister of the only option open to him. And one thing we do know, the Prime Minister listens to Priti Patel. She not only has her finger on the pulse of the nation, but also commands support from core Tory MPs, and even more from the wider membership.

We have to acknowledge that the Prime Minister with all his failings, delivered on the fundamental mandate of getting Brexit done. The voters gave him a huge mandate, and he got that done, and then faced off two massive global challenges in COVID and Ukraine. In the end, it was his flaws that let him down.

He took his eye off the ball in his own back yard, and those who should have known better, compromised his position even further. In the end, it is right that he leaves and makes way for a fresh face, a new vision, a better focus and fundamentally, getting back to the core Tory values.

We will see many put their names in the hat to become the next leader of the Conservative party, and of course to become the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. What most people will fail to grasp is that whilst the membership of the Tory party might prefer a particular candidate, it is the Parliamentary party of Tory MPs that will decide which two names are finally presented to the membership. In effect, the MPs can stop a popular candidate from getting into the last two.

The early stage feverish whatsapp chatter in many groups has become hyper and self-serving. Gossip feeding more gossip. Everyone claiming they have the inside line from this, or that candidate. We will see the full spectrum of manipulation via social media, and don’t forget, the media itself will misinform and misdirect the public by their shenanigans.

Given Rishi Sunak has thrown his hat into mix, the Indian diaspora has also gone into overdrive. The rampant racism has now come out with racist tweets emerging from vested parties. One person even asked whether the Tories were ready to select a ‘brown man’.

The left has gone into meltdown. Remember, the Labour Party has never had a female leader or Prime Minister. It has never had a person of colour as their Chancellor. And today we see the left orchestrating a hit job on the Tories by exhibiting their racism on Rishi, Suella Braverman, Sajid Javid, Nadhim Zahawi and Kemi Badenoch. The Tory leadership election is the kind of diversity that the Labour Party could only dream of, and the Tories did it all without any appeasement.

From my perspective, the nation needs a good leader with a clear focus. Someone who commands knowledge, skill and understanding of the big government departments, and someone who can face the challenges brought about by global events. I don’t care about their colour, race or how much money they have. The only thing that matters is fitness to do the job, for the nation and its people.

The one thing this nation does not need is a Labour government. It remains unfit to govern housing so many MPs who are openly supportive of extremists. The nation cannot be placed in jeopardy, and it is now for the Conservative party to ensure it behaves properly and is led by a one-nation Tory who also speaks to the red wall. Could it be that the Prime Minster we need has hitherto not declared their candidacy? I hope she does, but I will also understand if she declines it on this occasion.

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

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Campaigners demand interim payments to victims of the contaminated blood scandal About 3,000 people are believed to have died and thousands more have been infected as a result of the scandal, which has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. It resulted from haemophiliacs being given factor VIII blood products that were contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C imported from the US in the 1970s and 80s and patients being exposed to tainted blood through transfusions or after childbirth.

The delegation, including people from all four UK home nations, want the prime minister to implement without delay the recommendation for interim compensation made by Sir Robert Francis QC in

his government-commissioned report.

Campaigners are to hand-deliver a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to deliver immediate interim payments to victims of the contaminated blood scandal before more of them die.

In his report published last month, Francis said interim payments “should be made now”, suggesting a figure of £100,000 as the minimum compensation any infected person could expect to receive.

The government said it was considering Francis’s recommendations and that that process would include listening to his evidence, and that of others, in the inquiry.

IFA Shield UK celebrates Bengalis’ ageold football club rivalry from Kolkata, with a socio-cultural message

T

he age-old rivalry of the socio– cultural supremacy of Bangal (Bengalis from undivided India's East Bengal side are called Bangals) or Ghoti (Bengalis from West Bengal are called Ghotis) culminated in a gala football tournament for the 5th edition of Indian Fan’ Alliance (IFA) Shield UK 2022 on 9th July Saturday at Slough FC ground, Arbour Park. It was celebrated with the usual fervour of ‘saab khelar sera bangalir tumi football’ and delectable illish – chingri cuisines organised by Heritage Bengal Global (HBG), the diaspora of Bengalis with roots in Bengal.

One of the most popular amongst annual cultural and community events in UK after Durgapujo, the football tournament this year also received endorsement from Berks and Bucks FA, recognising it as a commu-

Prisoners denied access to forensic evidence Prisoners convicted of serious crimes who may be the victims of miscarriages of justice are being blocked from access to crucial forensic information that could prove their innocence, experts have warned.

Campaigners are calling for legal reforms to provide improved access to evidence that may help prove the innocence of the wrongly convicted. They say a supreme court ruling in 2014 is effectively being used to deny access to police files and evidence.

Appeal, a charity and law practice that fights miscarriages of justice, wants any review to include an overhaul of the rules of disclosure and a new independent body to oversee

the regime.

The supreme court set a legal threshold for getting access to evidence after a conviction involving the case of former salesman Kevin Nunn from Woolpit in Suffolk. Nunn was convicted at Ipswich crown court in November 2006 for the murder of his former girlfriend, Dawn Walker.

An attempt to challenge the decision by judicial review was rejected in 2019 on the grounds that the charity had not met the threshold required in the Nunn ruling.

Campaigners say the CCRC uses its powers conservatively and will only typically look at cases that have already been appealed.

Growing white nationalism among UK and EU police Police forces in the UK and across Europe are suffering from a growing “culture of extremism”, according to a report that warns of an increase in officers sharing racist and far-right content online. The report, by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), says UK policing has a growing extremist problem and highlights issues across Europe. In France, 81% of gendarmes declared they would vote for farright politician Marine Le Pen. In France, Belgium, Germany and Hungary former high-ranking police officers have become extreme-right mayoral and parliamentary candidates.

In the UK, a series of recent cases involving the

Metropolitan police have further damaged the reputation of a force long accused of being “institutionally racist”. They include officers sharing images on WhatsApp of two murdered black sisters.

Another group of officers, at a central London station, were found to have joked about rape, killing black children and beating their wives.

The Met was last month placed on special measures after scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer, the strip-searching of innocent black children, and stopand-search controversies including that of the British Olympic sprinter Bianca Williams.

covid. He also launched the IFA Shield UK 2022 theme song sung by Bollywood famed Amit Kumar on the previous day of the tournament at the statue of Swami Vivekananda at Harrow, who only professed that one can reach God faster through football than through the Gita.

This year’s tournament also had another first, with organisers following global standards for the environment, social and governance (ESG) compliances with help of Kolkata-

Kreamz East Bengal Kid Fans holding the Aditya Academy IFA Shield UK for Kids

tion of the Bengali diaspora in three continents and connecting them over football. Secretary of Mohammedan Sporting club, Dipendu Biswas expressed his keen interest to collaborate in next year’s tournament, thus completing the trio along with EB and MB.

HDFC Mohun Bagan Women Fan’s team holding the SNU IFA Shield UK For Women

nity development initiative. The other major highlight of the tournament was the participation of the Indian Government officials settled in UK, as part of ‘azadi ki amrit mahotsav’ celebration of 75th year of Indian Independence; and won the Aidias Super Shield 2022 as ‘Friends of Heritage Bengal Global’, defeating both the EB and MB fans teams, who came second in their respective groups’ league.

Several diversified Academic and Corporate entities from Bengal like Sister Nivedita University, IIHM, Aditya Academy, Aidias Consulting, iLEAD, Acquist Reality, Chess Solicitor and George Telegraph institute supported the tournament, along with the clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan themselves. Pointers Business Forum of Kolkata, a growing ecosystem of MSME businesses also supported the event.

Indian Football Association’s hony. secretary, Anirban Dutta praised the efforts of IFASUK to spread the sporting tradition of Bengal globally, mixed with the emo-

Friends of HBG holding the AIDIAS SUPER SHIELD

The Royal Air Force (RAF) was a big attraction in this year’s event with senior level officers being present throughout the tournament and gave away prized at the end of nearly six hours of football, fun and entertainment.

Kreamz East Bengal kid fans won the Aditya Academy IFA Shield UK for Kids; and HDFC Mohun Bagan women fans won the IIHM IFA Shield UK for Women in a surprise display of their talents in kicking a football in the penalty shootouts for ladies. The coveted SNU IFA Shield UK for Men was won by Colours of India East Bengal fans team who defeated Chess Solicitors Mohun Bagan by a solitary goal in a keenly contested final.

Chima Okerie, the original Kolkata maidan legend to don both EB and MB jerseys in the ‘80s and ‘90s and a regular visitor in this annual tournament for last four years essayed the role of the referee in the inaugural fans derby match, as the designated FA referees couldn’t attend due to

Colors of India East Bengal Men Fans team holding the SNU IFA Shield UK for Men

based consulting firm Futurestation.

The organising committee of Heritage Bengal Global in London led

by Vice President Mahua Bej and members Sourav Pal, Sayantan Chakravorty, Rajib Saha, Ramita Ghosh, and Tamalika Basu actively coordinated with the team in Kolkata namely Debashis Ghosh. Subir Das, Subhojit Choudhury and Kaushik Ghosh to facilitate the logistics and media connection at both ends. Atanu Biswas and Avijit Bag from Leeds and Sanjay Guha from Mumbai, as EB fans from overseas also joined the event.

And nothing could beat the enthusiasm and excitement of the women and kids at the Slough FC stadium which displayed the spirit of the culture as well as sports heritage of Bengal in its true essence. Many ladies had put up stalls at the venue with commodities ranging from men and women’s accessories, health and beauty products and a food extravaganza celebrating traditions of Bengal including ‘Calcutta biryani’ on the occasion of Eid festival on Sunday.

HBG Director, Anirban Mukhopadhyay was happy to add, “This year’s success and enthusiasm have already caught the attention of the RAF and neXt year we might see all the three British armed forces, Army, Navy and Air Force participating. Next watch out for the Atlanta edition of Indian Fans’ Alliance Shield Global on August 14th and the Sydney edition on November 26th this year.”

The Manor’s Summer Festival of Colours On Saturday 9th July, ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor staged a new and exciting summer festival on its lavish grounds. The event included market stalls, prasad, a music stage and most notably a Festival of Colours.

4000 guests enjoyed their visit on that particularly warm and sunny day.

The Festival of Colours has its origin in

India, where it is exclusively known as Holi. Celebrated since ancient times, Holi traditionally welcomes the country's spring. It is also seen as a new beginning where people can release all their inhibitions.

This festival is planned to be held at Bhaktivedanta Manor annually, during the UK's warm summer months.

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SCRUTATOR’S Father, daughter fly fighter jet together Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma, a veteran fighter pilot, and his daughter, Flying Officer Ananya Sharma, 24, recently flew in the same formation of Hawk-132 planes at the Bidar airbase, becoming the first father-daughter duo in the IAF to achieve the feat. “There has not been any previous instance in the IAF where a father and his daughter were part of the same fighter formation for a mission. They were more than just father and daughter. They were comrades, who had full faith in each other as fellow wingmen,” an officer said. Commodore Sharma is obviously bursting with pride. “Ananya always used to say ‘Papa, I want to be a fighter pilot like you’. The biggest, proudest day in my life was when we flew in the Hawk aircraft in the same formation at Bidar on May 30,” he says. Flying Officer Ananya, in turn, adds, “As a child, I would often ask my father why there were no women fighter pilots. He would tell me in his characteristic style ‘Don’t worry, you will be one’.” (Agency) Crocodile crawls into school

hours to complete the entire letter which measured 434 metres in length and 5 kg in weight," she added. The angry Krishnaprasad told the media that he was very happy when he received the letter.

(Agency)

Kashmiri photojournalist stopped at IGI The government school in Dena village, about 10 km from Vadodara, got an unexpected visitor last week. A six-footlong crocodile crawled into the primary school premises at about 2.30 am. The reptile was luckily spotted and rescued just hours before the school children walked in to attend their classes. “The reptile must have ventured out of the Vishwamitri that is located just half km away from the school. It entered the school compound and began crawling around on the ground where the students play during the day time,” said Hemant Vadhwana, wildlife activist. Some stray dogs spotted the crocodile and started barking, following which some curious locals reached the school. They immediately called the forest department and Vadhwana who rushed to the spot. “It took us some time to rescue the crocodile as it was dark and the reptile was a bit aggressive,” Vadhwana said. (The Times of India)

Kerala woman sends 5 kg letter to placate brother

A Pulitzer winning photojournalist from Kashmir, Sanna Mattoo, was reportedly stopped by immigration authorities in Delhi from boarding a flight to Paris. Mattoo said that she had a valid passport and a visa for France. “The immigration officers refused to give me a proper reason for denying me boarding. When I pressed on, all they said was that they were acting on instructions received from the SSP CID headquarters in Kashmir. I called the CID office in Kashmir and was told that my visa and passport were all in order. Then why am I being stopped? It’s not that I have any police records or an FIR against me,” said the Srinagar resident, who was among the four photojournalists from India who received the Pulitzer prize in feature photography this year. Mattoo’s project was about juvenile detention in Kashmir. Asked if she had a hunch about why she might have been stopped from travelling, Mattoo said, “If there was something wrong with me then I wouldn’t have had a passport or a visa.” (Agency)

water or a fire extinguisher. However, the man fearlessly waves his arm over the blaze, knocking the burning centrepiece to the ground. He then continues to put the flames out by stomping on top of it before hilariously resuming his groove without missing a beat or a hip thrust. The man is yet to be identified but he has already been branded as a “hero.” (Agency)

Techie wants to bringing mother for salary negotiation Salary negotiation is the hardest part when it comes to switching jobs. The candidates start the negotiation with high hopes, that they will convince the human resources (HR) person on the other end of the phone to send the offer letter according to their expectations. But often, it's the other way round and candidates usually get convinced by the offer that's made by the HR. People approach their seniors, or relatives, to find ways to present their candidature in a better manner. But now, a techie has come up with a novel idea that has created a buzz on LinkedIn. Nitesh Yadav, a software engineer, has suggested bringing mothers to the salary negotiation table. "Can I bring my mother on salary negotiation call? She can definitely make better deal," Yadav said in his post. The question has divided social media. While some users were amused by the idea, others called it "outrageously silly". (Agency)

A drunk guest nearly burned down a wedding venue.The video has garnered more than 13 million views on Twitter. The caption of the post read, “This how drunk I'm tryna be at my wedding.” The clip begins with the unnamed man, dressed in a black suit, walking out of the venue with two sparklers in his hands, while bopping along to the 1992 hit song. Disaster almost struck after one of the sparklers found its way onto a centrepiece and quickly went up in flames. “Ah, fire! Fire!,” other guests are heard screaming in the video while the man calmly continues to dance. People dash around in an apparent effort to find

Couple cancels Haj plan, donates land for 'Life Mission' project Jasmine and Haneefa, residents of Aranmula in Kerala, were making arrangements for their long-cherished Haj pilgrimage and were preparing to sell their land to raise funds for the trip when they had second thoughts. Instead, the couple, decided to donate 28-cent of their ancestral land to LIFE Mission, the Kerala government's flagship housing scheme for the landless. The couple's decision came after they saw the plight of a neighbourfamily living on rented premises and founding it difficult to cremate the body of a family member who died recently. "We were planning to sell our property and use the funds for Haj pilgrimage. But, in the past couple of months, we saw some incidents in which certain families find it difficult to cremate their family members as they don't own a property. Such incidents made us rethink our Haj plans," Haneefa said. "After that incident, we decided to make use of the land to help the needy instead of going for Haj," Haneefa said. (Agency)

Baarat battles rain, moves ahead

Guests need escort to enter this society

Man nearly sets wedding venue on fire

A 434-metre long letter weighing 5 kg was how a Kerala woman placated her younger brother for forgetting to wish him on International Brothers Day this year by writing a 434-metre long letter weighing 5 kg. He even stopped her calls and even blocked her on WhatsApp. Realising how hurt her younger sibling, Krishnaprasad, a fourth year engineering student, must have been for not wishing him, Krishnapriya, an engineer herself, decided to write him a letter about the relationship they share and her love for him. So I decided to write him a letter. I began writing on A4 size sheets, but soon realised that it would be insufficient as I had a lot to convey to him.

So I decided to buy longer sheets. But when I went to the market, they said they only have billing rolls which are longer. So I brought 14 rolls. It took me around 12

There are nearly 10 stray dogs always lurking around and two of them have been attacking people. (The Times of India)

Guests visiting Nandavan Society in Katargam area of Surat need someone to escort them inside. They have to first make a call to the owner of the house they are visiting and the latter then comes to pick them up, sometimes armed with a stick or even stone, lest a stray dog lunges upon them. The society with a population of around 2,500 people, has been living in fear as stray dogs have bitten many over the past one year. Children have stopped from playing on the road and they go out only in the company of elders who are always armed with sticks or stones. “More than 50 people have complained to the office bearers in the past one year about dog bites. These include residents and visitors both,” said Mahendra Kachariya, an office bearer of the society committee.

The process of planning a wedding is as hectic as it gets and takes up months of time. Saying "yes" to the proposal seems like the easier part when you realise how much of a task wedding planning can be.

So, it is very disappointing to see all your efforts wasted if a wedding is cancelled or postponed. The hosts do not want that to happen. This proved right in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, from where a video has emerged on Twitter showing a wedding continuing towards its destination despite heavy rain. The clip has become a hot topic of discussion on social media. It shows the baaratis using a large sheet of waterresistant material (called tarpaulin) to cover themselves while moving ahead.

Some enthusiastic attendees are also seen dancing on the road, undeterred by the downpour. The procession is moving along with a wedding band, with its members belting out popular numbers. The video has been shared by many Twitter users and viewed thousands of times. "It happens only in India," said a user. "No matter what the situation is, we will take the bride," commented another. (Agency)

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‘The Maverick Effect’ unfurled its stories to triumphantly announce that India can no more be ignored: Dr Mohan Kaul Indian Partnership Forum (IPF) organised the first international launch of Harish Mehta's Book ‘The Maverick Effect’ in London at the Taj Hotel on Tuesday 5 July. The book received an overwhelming response.

CP Gurnani CEO & Managing Director Tech Mahindra, Phiroz Vandrewala Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Diligenta, Deepak Parekh Chairman Housing Development Finance Corporation and Deepak Bagla Managing Director Invest India bring their conversational flair to the discussion under the gracious chairmanship of Dr Mohan Kaul President Indian Partnership Forum.

L-R: Lok Nath Mishra, CEO, ICICI UK, C P Gurnani, CEO, Tech Mahindra, Deepak Parekh, Chairman of India’s Leading Housing Finance Corporation, Harish Mehta, Author, Maverick Effect, Dr Mohan Kaul, president, IPF, Phiroz Vandrewala, Executive Vice President, Tata Consultancy, Lord Dholakia, Deputy Leader, Liberal Democrats, Deepak Bagla, Managing Director, CEO, Invest India

Dr Kaul said, “For a city that’s a melting pot of nationalities, it felt The Maverick Effect unfurled its stories and messages to triumphantly announce that India can no more be ignored. Now we all accept that India, once we knew, had changed immeasurably, that Indian IT has helped pave that path to change, and that NASSCOM and its unique values make for an industry association unlike the world has ever seen. India is now an unstoppable engine of tech-related growth galvanized by its multitude of tech start-ups, tech services, and digital public goods like UPI & Aadhar.”

Harish Mehta, Founder and Executive Chairman of Onward Technologies Ltd. said "I was pleasantly surprised to see the persons of Indian origin being moved by what our industry and NASSCOM had achieved, to finally find a glorious chapter in India's dark history. But perhaps what truly made the evening come alive for me, was when a UKsettled Indian walked up to me and bared his emotions unflinchingly, proclaiming, Today, I feel proud to be Indian.”

Passengers stuck baking on plane for 90 minutes Passengers who were trapped in a sweltering plane in Nice for more than an hour said that they were left in tears and were feeling unwell.

To cool down after the heat became too much, the pilot of the grounded British Airways flight was forced to let passengers back onto the airbridge.

The BA flight from Nice to Heathrow was scheduled to depart at 7.35 pm, but earlier delays meant weary passengers were left on the tarmac for 90 minutes without air conditioning.

‘It’s disgraceful. It is hotter than hell on this plane.

British Airways is slowly killing us,’ one angry passenger shared the ordeal.

'Passengers are crying and on the verge of passing out.’

UK heatwave: Train tracks catch fire ‘from stray spark’ As the UK swelters on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far, the blaze occurred on a bridge in Battersea, south London which caused the suspension of services between Victoria and Brixton.

Network Rail has launched an investigation into the incident and said “stray spark” could be the cause of the fire.

A spokesman said: “With extremely hot temperatures expected this week, our specialist weather teams will be monitoring key hotspot locations to make sure we can keep services running safely and reliably for passengers.

“Speed restrictions are likely to be in place in some parts of the network most affected by the hot weather.”

Vishwa Shanti Mahayagnas held at Neasden Temple for peace, protection and global harmony BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London held a series of Vishwa Shanti Mahayagnas commemorating the centennial birth anniversary of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj. A special smoke-free flame was used to allow these traditional Vedic ceremonies to be conducted indoors.

In the final yagna on Sunday 3 July, Lord Jitesh Gadhia accompanied by his son Dev, CB Patel Editor in Chief of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice, Vinubhai Bhattessa OBE BAPS Trustee, Members of

BAPS Sadhu_s performing lighting the scared lamp of the Yagna

Nigel Lane architect of Neasden Temple participated.

The yagnas were conducted by expert pandits, supported by children and youths who provided skilled guidance on the rituals and explained their deeper spiritual significance. The In the World Peace Mahayagna, Lord Gadhia tied Rakshasutra to his events provided son Dev and introduced him to the eternal tradition. Accompanied by the entire family BAPS Trustee Vinubhai Bhattessa OBE.

Dawn Buttler MP Guests participating in the yagna

Parliament Dawn Butler, Barry Gardener and Virendra Sharma, Cllr Muhammed Butt Leader of Brent Council, Krupesh Hirani London Assembly Member and

information that explained the importance and significance of yagnas.

During these yagnas, thousands of participants collectively prayed for peace, protection and global harmony, growing also in their family unity – all values that Pramukh Swami Maharaj embodied and fostered throughout his life.

Besides London, the mahayagnas were also conducted at mandirs in Birmingham, Leicester and Manchester. In all, 27 yagnas were conducted over five weekends, with more than 8,000 yaj-

Virendra Sharma MP Leader of Brent Council, Cllr Muhammed Bhutt

London Assembly Member, Krupesh Hirani participating in the Yagna with fellow guests

with an opportunity to worship and learn the values together.

Young children were given a specially designed activity booklet of puzzles, games and bite-sized

mans participating in total. They commenced on Thursday 2 June, coinciding with the lighting of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon.

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WHAT WOMEN WANT FROM THEIR PM Continued from page 1 It is imperative to note that women like Lizz and Suella Truss Braverman are running for the position of Britain’s next prime minister. Home Secretary Priti Patel hasn’t filed her nomination yet.

Asian Voice asked women in the British Asian community to tell us what qualities they want in their new prime minister. Here’s what some of them said.

Business Coach Shilpa Panchmatia told the newsweekly, “With Boris Johnson's resignation from the role of Prime Minister comes the need for a new individual in power. With this open position comes new opportunities: empower-

Boris Johnson

The next UK Prime Minister needs to be a natural finisher, turning goals and future political strides into action. As a multicultural society, Britain does not need to focus on the race of the next Prime Minister to be the main concern, but instead, the concern should be placed on the quality of accomplishment, turning beliefs

PM with a diverse range in terms of background, race etc. 7 of these candidates are people of colour and this shows some progress.

So far both Sajid Javad and Rishi Sunak have been criticised even though they showed some integrity by quitting recently.

Others like Priti Patel and Nadhim Zahawi have also caused controversy. I do

UN Human Rights Council 50: UK statement on women and girls in Afghanistan Ambassador Simon Manley, the UK's Permanent Representative in Geneva, delivered a statement ahead of the adoption - by consensus - of a resolution on the situation of human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Manley said, “This initiative comes at a crucial moment for women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.

And it sends an unequivocal message from this Council to all Afghan women and girls: we stand with you. As so poignantly put by Ms Fawzia Koofi during the Urgent Debate here – women in Afghanistan are having to advocate for their basic rights not to be invisible, and not to be erased from public life.

We stand firmly behind the core message of the draft before us: an immediate end to all human rights violations and abuses against all

individuals and the reversal of the policies and practices restricting the human rights of Afghan women and girls.

“This must include empowering women and girls to participate fully, equally and meaningfully in all spheres of public life. It must include ending all forms of discrimination and violence, particularly sexual and gender-based violence.

And it must include ensuring that victims and survivors have access to justice and redress, and access to full, unhindered, safe sexual and reproductive health services across the country.

President, “Mr Afghanistan is the only

country in the world where girls are unable to attend secondary school. That is why it is so important that the resolution before us includes language which reflects the devastating reality of girls’ education across the country.

And why it reaffirms the equal right of every Afghan child to education without discrimination and calls upon the Taliban immediately to open schools for girls of all ages.

Mr President, “The UK is proud to cosponsor this draft resolution and thanks the main sponsors of this resolution and their continued efforts to build consensus in this Council. We urge all members of the Council to join us in supporting this initiative and stand with the women and girls of Afghanistan.”

All public buildings to have separate male and female toilets

Soma Ghosh

Shilpa Panchmatia

ment, freedom, and equal rights opportunities.

Women in Britain today are still facing the issues of domestic violence, budget cuts, maternity rights, harassment, and rape.

Looking back on the roles of previous Prime Ministers, specifically Theresa May who was the second female Prime Minister of Britain, we see a woman in power who upheld strong and radical beliefs about equal rights, opportunities, and protection for women; however, she failed to execute and deliver tangible solutions to the gender inequality seen among the country.

and dreams into a reality.”

Careers adviser & podcast host Soma Ghosh said, “The skills and qualities I feel the Next PM would need to have to help resolve work-related issues. The PM should have Kindness, Empathy and must listen to what women really want e.g. flexible work and more equality with the gender pay gap etc. while having a willingness to understand diversity and inclusion without it being a buzzword.

“I am not sure the UK will elect an Asian PM we may have a good chance there are 14 candidates for

think it’s also about trust right now the public feels deflated by some of the issues that still haven’t been resolved like healthcare and energy bills etc.”

If you are a British Asian woman who’d like to express her opinion on how a new Prime Minister should tackle womenrelated issues and address their concerns, please write to shefali.saxena@abplgroup .com by Monday 9 am BST. We’d be happy to hear from you and publish your take in about 100-150 words along with your photograph.

All new public buildings should have separate male and female toilets, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced. All new public buildings should have separate male and female toilets, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced today (4 July 2022).

The approach will mean women, who may need to use facilities more often for example because of pregnancy and sanitary needs, have appropriate facilities.

The move follows a call for evidence which gathered a wide range of views, including from pregnant women, older people, disabled people and people

Artificial intelligence in the NHS could fail women?

In an exclusive report, inews has revealed that a new government-backed study has found that artificial intelligence models built to identify people at high risk of liver

Black and South Asian women in the UK report taking two months longer to get a first job than white people Business Insider reported that Black and South Asian women typically waited nearly two months longer than white colleagues to secure their first job, a new survey has suggested.

The research, conducted by hiring platform Total Jobs and The Diversity Trust, found that on average Black women waited 5.1 months to secure their first role after leaving full-time education and South Asian

women, 4.9 months. This compared to white women who typically waited 2.8

months and white men 3.4 months.

The findings were based on a survey of 1,006 UK women of Black and South Asian heritage between May 11 and 19. It also surveyed 2,000 UK workers, of whom 873 were white men and 884 were white women. The

who come under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

The rise in ‘gender neutral’ toilets raised safety concerns from women who feel they are losing privacy and being unfairly disadvantaged.

Separate unisex (or universal) toilets should be provided if there is space, but should not come at the expense of female toilets.

A consultation will be launched in the autumn, which will also consider the

design of unisex self-contained cubicles to maximise and whether privacy improvements to disabled persons toilets should be made.

The changes will be made through building regulations and guidance.

Disabled toilet provision will not be affected by the changes.

Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch MP said: “It is vital that women feel safe and comfortable when using public facilities, and that their needs are respected.

These changes will ensure that separate toilets for men and women are preserved at the same time as providing universal toilets for those that want them.

This is a common sense approach.”

survey also found that Black and South Asian women were more likely to have completed unpaid work experience or internships before landing their first job – 76% of them compared with 67% of white men and 64% of white women who had to do the same.

Some 18% of Black and South Asian women adapted their name on résumés, to improve their chances of getting a job.

disease from blood tests are twice as likely to miss disease in women as in men.

The researchers examined the state of the art approach to AI used by hospitals worldwide and found it had a 70 per cent success rate in predicting liver disease from blood tests.

But they uncovered a wide gender gap underneath – with 44 per cent of cases in women missed, compared with 23 per cent of cases among men.

This is the first time bias has been identified in AI blood tests.

“AI algorithms are increasingly used in hospitals to assist doctors diagnosing patients. Our study shows that, unless they are investigated for bias, they may only help a subset of patients, leaving other groups with worse care,” said Isabel Straw, of University College London, who led the study, published in the journal BMJ Health & Care Informatics.

“We need to be really careful that medical AI doesn’t worsen existing inequalities.”

“When we hear of an algorithm that is more than 90 per cent accurate at identifying disease, we need to ask: accurate for who? High accuracy overall may hide poor performance for some groups.”

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ISKCON’s role in preserving the local landmark

Nina Darmeci: Cosmopolitan Choreography Sunetra Senior

N

ina is the Founder & Director of award-winning company: Nina’s Choreography.

The vibrant platform specialises in teaching cosmopolitan dance inspired by classical Bollywood.

Using her professional experience in traditional Bharatanatyam training, modern showbiz and impressive globe-trotting through life, the mover and shaker introduces contemporary twists to standard Bollywood routines to uniquely ignite confidence. The dances are dynamic, colourful and passionate. “People are widely taken by the glamourous world of Bollywood – the music, the outfits and Bhangra – and adding alternative contemporary influences, such as Salsa or Belly dancing, makes it truly universal.

I started by learning classic Indian dance then trained in Hip-Hop and

dance workshops, Nina’s platform operates both in-person and online.

“Social media has been pivotal in my success,” the creator commented: “when I first began choreographing in London, I had only had two clients.

Through hard work and sincerity for the medium, I gradually amassed a significantly large following. This kept growing through the time of lockdown.”

Perseverance then for Nina is the psychological key. *** Her entrepreneurial journey originated in Hong Kong where she first started conducting classes in Indian

dance where this alone was wellreceived. “No one else was broadcasting accessible Bollywood and people just loved that I was doing it.” Now, Nina not only opens the door to glitzy South-Asian culture but also emotional openness and experiential celebra-

eventually a mix of many dance forms.

Some influential divas back then for me are Karishma Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.” Here, Nina’s Bollywoodinspired Zumba is especially popular; earning her the current title of The ‘Zumba Queen of North West London.’ The expressive human flamingo is also flexible with her classes. From the teaching of different types of Bollywood fusion in groups to instructing individual weddings, corporate shows and events and leading

“People are taken by the glamourous world of Bollywood – the music, the outfits and Bhangra – and adding alternative contemporary influences, such as Salsa or Belly dancing, makes it truly universal" tion itself. “Earlier in my life, I actually wanted to work in Bollywood but found that not having connections hindered proper progress. Despite my tremendous talent and knowledge, I could not quite break through. I was doing a lot of fun work as a background artist. Then, over time, I realised why go through someone else when I have the ability to launch myself? I wanted simply to be me!”

Sourav Ganguly dances on 50th birthday in London Former Indian captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly celebrated his 50th birthday on July 8 with friends and family in the UK. A video of the former cricketer grooving to a popular Bollywood song has gone viral on social media.

Ganguly, who was pictured celebrating his birthday with Sachin Tendulkar, Rajeev Shukla, and Jay Shah

a day ago, was seen shaking a leg to the tunes of ‘Om Shanti om’. The event occurred when the former cricketer took to the streets along with his family to celebrate his life half-century near London Eye. While the Prince of Kolkata enjoyed himself with his loved ones, his daughter Sana was pictured away from the crowd.

Kartik Kavi ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) Leicester was devastated, when a survey in 2017 found significant damage to the roof of their temple.

After raising £350,000, and receiving an

This sentiment was shared by local councillor Patrick Kitterick, who said “The city centre is the common ground for all the com-

NINA DARMECI Indeed, breaking a few social barriers, the 42-year-old firecracker has more energy than Jennifer Lopez’ back-up dancers put together: “some classes easily include 600 squats which are all organically integrated into the dance sequence.” The physical fitness fluidly extends from thrill and active enjoyment. “There is no age-limit. I teach students across different generations”.

Nina also makes sure to note exceptional amateur dancers who emerge in the classes to give them opportune exposure: “A highlight moment, for example, was organising big show for Diwali in Trafalgar Square. I was proud to showcase so much talent, having choreographed absolutely everything myself.” Drawing proactively from her own experiences, the metropolitan star philanthropically rights what she’s felt has been personally wrong. She elaborated on the touching emotional impetus for her work: “when my second child was born, there was a complication. She was deemed disabled. Having paused my career to nurture a strong family, I was naturally saddened and went into depression. However, one day, I noticed my little girl smile at me and it was the most beautiful moment. I realised I shouldn’t be defeated and that connecting to my joy again was the priority. Ultimately, dancing does make you incredibly happy. There is an unrivalled rush of endorphins – this is what enhances your selfesteem.” And so, Nina finally shows us the broader lesson of pure success: not simply living in the moment but literally throwing yourself into it! This is what simultaneously transports you to the next advanced level. Today, Nina has been invited to choreograph for Marvel, contributed to music videos for noteworthy saxophonists and even acted on the side in a few Bollywood movies. She also has the “privilege” of having a televised segment, Zumba with Nina, for 6 weeks on MATV UK. W: https://ninaschoreography.co.uk/

Pradyumna Das, Temple President

Patrick Kitterick

additional grant of £750,000 from Historic England, in 2021, ISKCON began the process of renovating the 150-year-old roof.

The project received

financial support, after close collaboration between Leicester City Council’s conservation team, ISKCON and Historic England, due to the building’s historical and geographical significance.

Pradyumna Das, president of ISKCON Leicester, explained the importance of having a temple in the centre of the city, stating “We believe we have a special message to share with the people of Leicester. A message of peace and spirituality. That message needs to reach all people so being in the centre allows connecting with a wide variety of people.”

ISKCON Temple - Leicester

munities in Leicester, a place that is rich and diverse. People can share cultures and ideas and the temple adds to this richness.

Councillor Kitterick, who highlighted ISKCON’s role in preserving the local landmark, added “The new use for historic buildings and to find someone who will love and take care of them is a real prize. I am glad this magnificent building has found a purpose in the 21st century.”

Despite the pandemic prolonging the renovation, with the building now due to open later this year, ISKCON has remained defiant in carrying out its vital work. Pradyumna Das reported “Even though the temple is closed right now due to renovation, we have restarted our programs and connect with families across the city. We also use Avanti fields school for gatherings on Sunday afternoons, festivals, celebrations and education”. He also added, “In the absence [of the temple] we continue to provide our services because that’s the real essence of what we offer.”

Leading UK chefs join Commercial Kitchen’s stellar seminar line-up The organisers of Commercial Kitchen, the essential industry event for kitchen innovations, have an eclectic line-up of leading chefs for its 2022 Keynote programme. These include Tom Aikens, Anna Haugh, Romy Gill, Ruth Hansom, Cherish Finden, James Golding and the return of Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL. The two-day trade show returns to ExCeL London on14-15 September.

Romy Gill, Chef Romy Gill MBE is a British/Indian chef, food/travel writer and broadcaster based in the southwest of England. She was the owner and head chef at Romy’s Kitchen. In 2016 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours list.

Romy is one of the regular chefs on BBC1's Ready Steady Cook and has appeared on many other TV programmes, including Sunday Brunch, BBC's The

One Show, Country Life, Celebrity MasterChef, and The Hairy Bikers’ Comfort Food and James Martin’s Saturday Morning.

Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL (Chef Patron, Café Spice Namaste and Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen) joined the Commercial Kitchen line-up for the first time last year. Cyrus is a staunch advocate of education and training; Café Spice Namasté was the first-ever restaurant in the UK to win

a National Training Award.

Commenting on the importance of the event for the sector, Cyrus Todiwala says “Visiting such a show is extremely important for operators because it helps professionals keep abreast of changes and advances in technology and new equipment on the market. I’m excited to see product development and Commercial Kitchen is the show to find it all under one roof!”

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16 - 22 July 2022

Grand procession to commemorate Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s centennial birth anniversary A grand procession will take place from Alperton to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London – popularly known as ‘Neasden Temple’ – on Sunday 17 July 2022 to commemorate the birth centenary of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, one of the world’s great spiritual leaders and the creator of the iconic Neasden Temple.

The ‘Nagar Yatra’, as the devotional parade is traditionally called, will bring together hundreds of men,

women and children from across the country for a colourful, joyous occasion through the streets of Alperton and Wembley.

The procession will feature giant 3D decorative floats exhibiting various aspects of the forthcoming ‘Festival of Inspirations’, including the ‘Island of Heroes’, a children’s cultural adventureland packed with fun shows and interactive games.

The celebratory gathering will include devotional

Councils evict over 2,500 families during pandemic Renters' union has slammed councils for kicking out thousands of households amid the turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The union has blamed the council for driving people to 'homelessness and destitution' So far, councils have evicted more than 2,500 households over the last three years for not paying rent.

According to Freedom of Information (FOI), more than 2,575 households have been evicted from social housing this way since 2019.

Renters' union ACORN said: "2,500 households evicted during the worst of

the pandemic by social housing providers is a shocking figure and represents thousands of families and individuals facing homelessness and destitution.

"ACORN trained hundreds of people during the pandemic to defend against evictions as we recognised that more than ever, access to a safe, secure home could mean the difference between life of death, health and illness."

music and will be flanked by traditional Indian folk dancing by children and youths dressed in vibrant costumes.

The procession will fittingly conclude beside the ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Maha-Murti’ – a 27-foot image of Pramukh Swami Maharaj housed in the courtyard of Neasden Temple that has been created as a tribute to the Mandir’s creator.

Pooja Barot, one of the lead organisers of the event, shared, “This wonderful, uplifting occasion will

invoke memories from 1995 when a similar nagar yatra was held from Trafalgar Square and travelled to Piccadilly Circus in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj during the inauguration of Neasden Temple.

We are delighted to bring together hundreds of people once again and share with the local community the universal cultural values that Pramukh Swami Maharaj fostered during his many visits to the UK and on his travels throughout the world.”

Lies of investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood exposed in new Amazon Prime documentary The disgraced investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood, who worked for the News of The World, was jailed in 2016 after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice in the case of pop star Tulisa Contostavlos after asking her to arrange a drug deal.

Journalist Mazher Mahmood who worked for the News of The World was jailed for 15 months in 2016 after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

The secrets of Birmingham's Fake Sheikh journalist - a disgraced

investigative journalist who posed as a mega-rich Arab to trick celebrities and even royals into making outrageous and embarrassing comments for news stories - will be exposed in a new Amazon Prime documentary.

Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations

by Sanskruti Centre Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence organised a unique cultural showcase as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations in London. The event at the Nehru Centre, ICCR London included art and culture of 12 states, 1 Union Territory, and 1 community, making it an exuberant presentation.

More than 40 participants have performed a variety of dances of different regions of India. After a short welcome by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, Founder of Sanskruti Centre, the program opened with paying tributes to Sindhu (Indus) Valley Civilisation and with Sindhi songs by renowned singer Renu Gidoomal, accompanied by Sunil Jadhav and Amritpal Dhuffer on Keyboard and Tabla.

This was followed by a classical dance on River Sindhu by Manju Sunil.

Kunbi dance was coordinated by Lui Godinho, Karma dance was coordinated

by Dr Piyali Basu and Kummi dance was coordinated by Lakshmi Aveen. A vote of thanks was rendered by Sushil Rapatwar and the program was anchored by Ragasudha and Ravi Sanskruti-Veekshanam program participants with Cllr Sunil Chopra, Sharma of Lyca Radio.

Mayor of Southwark It is noteworthy that together in the vision for the performing Performed in succession first edition of Azadi ka arts in his borough. Sahyog later were distinct folk and Amrit Mahotsav celebraFoundation, Goan tribal dance forms of tions on Republic Day in Association of UK, Haryana Meghalaya, Manipur, January 2022 at The Bhavan, in UK Association, British Mithila, Andhra Pradesh, and in the second edition at Himachali Society, Natraj Himachal Pradesh, Madhya the Nehru Centre now (in Dance Academy, Rajput Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, July 2022), the dance, herSamaj of UK were the particGujarat, Tamil Nadu, itage, and culture of 21 states ipating organisations.

Punjab, Haryana, and and 3 Union Territories of Jhijhiya dance of Mithila Telangana- some being preIndia have been highlighted was coordinated by Cllr sented for the very first time in London by Sanskruti Sharad Kumar Jha, Talwaar on British soil. Cllr Sunil Centre, raising public Raas was coordinated by Chopra, Mayor of awareness of authentic Ranjeet Rathore, and Southwark has lauded all dance forms of India and Giddha dance was coordiwho presented & the organSouth Asia. nated by Reema Virdee, isers and has spoken of his

Charusat Educational and Healthcare Trust (CEHT) launching in UK on July 16 Changa: To inform the Indian Diaspora living in the U.K about the 2 mega projects of Charotar University of Science and Technology (Charusat) and the world-class multi-speciality Charusat Hospital of the worldfamous Charusat Campus in Changa, Charusat Educational and Healthcare Trust (CEHT) has been established in U. K. in April 2019. The trust is registered with and registration received from Charity Commissioner U.K. The charity and website were then softly launched by CEHT. With the noble intention of providing education and health services to every section of society, CEHT has been established. The purpose of establishing CEHT was to learn about the affiliation of CEHT and Charusat affiliates, the various educational programs offered by Charusat University certified by NAAC as ‘A’ grade, the quality of health services provided by Charusat Hospital to society at reasonable rates and to spread awareness in the Indian community living in India. In which distance learning courses, seminars, lectures, and workshops will be organised, opportunities will be provided for student exchange and knowledge will be exchanged. The development of healthcare facilities in India will enhance the education of medical students-professionals as well as help in raising funds for the construction of infrastructure services for the development of health facilities.

Kiritbhai Rambhai Patel, a renowned hotelier and donor, is currently the Director of CEHT. He Has experience in managing various hotel properties and the hotel industry in UK. Another Director of CEHT, Shri Ambareeshbhai J. Patel (UK) Joined as a scientist at the invitation of the British Medical Council and was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal by Majesty the Poet in 1977 for his scientific work. Another Director of CEHT, Shri Kamleshbhai G. Patel (UK) as an entrepreneur-pharmacist Has started and developed a pharmacy chain as the CEO of Prime Health Group.

While Indravadan A. Patel is a Secretary, who has a professional career in industrial photography and print industry, started his own business in joined the U.K. in 1994 and is now engaged in social-charitable activities.

All the members of CEHT are actively involved in the development of various activities of the Trust.

The trust will now be expanded. Shri Kiritbhai N. Patel (Changa / U.K.) and his sister Indirabahen (U.K.) have donated 50,000 pounds to the trust.

On Saturday, July 16, 2022, Charusat Educational and Healthcare Trust (CEHT) will be launching in the UK. With the launch of this trust, it will be easier for Gujaratis-Indians living in London to get tax relief as per the rules under CEHT and provide financial assistance to Charusat-affiliated organisations.

ABOUT UK - Londonbased Charusat Educational and Healthcare Trust (CEHT-UK) Virendrabhai Patel, Vice President of Charusat Healthcare and Research Foundation, Trustee of Kelvani Mandal, a member of Charusat 's Governing Body and a U.S.based businessman told that a high-level delegation from Charusat will visit the UK to participate in this launching event and fundraising event including Shri Naginbhai Patel, President of Matrusanstha-Charuset Healthcare and Research Foundation and Trustee of Kelvani Mandal, Shri Virendrabhai Patel, Shri Vishnubhai Patel, Trustee of Kelvani Mandal, Shri Navneetbhai Patel, Vice President of Matrusanstha, Dr Devang Joshi, Registrar, Charusat University. Dr. Umaben Patel COO, Charusat Hospital. They will promote Charusat University and Charusat Hospital in the UK. Charusat Educational Foundation Inc. was established 8 years ago to promote Charusat University and Charusat Hospital in the United States under the management of Virendrabhai Patel.

CEHT and Charusat -India cordially invite all the wellwishers to visit the Charusat University Campus in Changa, located between Anand and Nadiad.

For more information contact: 07956 435 108 (UK) Email: Secretary@charusatuk.org.u k Website: https://charusatuk.org.uk

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SPECIAL

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16 - 22 July 2022

Nitin Mehta

Indian Diaspora-A Global Impact Nitin Mehta As the race for selecting the new Prime Minister of the UK gathers pace all eyes are on Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak's parents are from Kenya. Their parents settled in Kenya from India. We, therefore, have an Indian-origin contender for the highest position in the land. This trend of Indian-origin people holding powerful positions is not confined to the UK. Over 200 leaders of Indian origin have ascended to the highest echelons of public service in 15 countries across the globe according to the Times of India.

Let us start with Australia. Lisa Singh was the first woman of Indian origin to be elected as a senator from the state of Tasmania. Her great grandparents were from Bengal and came to work on sugar cane farms in Fiji. Lisa is now the director of the Melbourne-based Australia-India Institute. She played a supporting role in the formation of Quad which is a security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the US. In neighbouring New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand is a former lawyer, judge and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011. His grandparents came to Fiji in 1911.

Sir Satyanand has said: 'For 200 years, people of Indian descent have lived in New Zealand and for 200 years they have embodied India’s traditions and values. That heritage is one that New Zealanders have increasingly come to appreciate and cherish'.

In Canada, there are many politicians of Indian origin and Anita Anand is Minister for National Defence.

In Fiji, almost 38% of the population is of Indian origin. Mahendra Chaudhry was the first Fijian Prime Minister of Indian origin. There are many more politicians of Indian origin in Fiji.

In Guyana, almost 40% of the population is of Indian origin. There are many Indian-origin politicians and the present vice president is Bharat Jagdeo.

Trinidad and Tobago has an Indian-origin population of 37%. Kamla Persad Bissessar was the Prime Minister of the country from 2010 to 2015.

Suriname has an Indian-origin population of 27.4% and it makes up the largest ethnic group. Pretaap Radhakishun was a former Prime Minister. Ramsewak Shankar was a former president of the country. Chan Santokhi is the present President of Suriname.

Mauritius has had several Prime Ministers and Presidents including Sookdeo Bissondoyal one of the founding fathers of independent Mauritius.

Wavel Ramkalawan is the President of Seychelles from 2020.

In Malaysia, there are dozens of Indian-origin politicians. Singapore has had several Presidents of Indian origin.

In South Africa, Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan is a politician and antiapartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 until 2015, and as Minister of Public Enterprises from February 2018.

In the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania the Indian community has deep roots. One individual of Indian origin who has impacted many countries of the world is Yash Pal Ghai. He has advised over twenty countries on constitution-making and other issues, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Fiji, Somalia, Libya, and Kenya (where he chaired the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) from 2002-2004, as well as the National Constitutional Conference (“Bomas”).

The United States of America: President Joe Biden has appointed around 17 people of Indian origin to key positions in the country. Kamala Harris the vice President is one of them. Vinay Reddy is the director of speechwriting for president Joe Biden. Dr Madhu Lika Guhanthakurta is leading the world's first mission to the Sun. Dr Suresh Kulkarni, 'Rocket Man' has successfully launched 55 rockets and has designed several rockets and missile components for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile System. Rush Doshi is a senior China director on the National Security Council. Pritesh Gandhi is Chief Medical Officer, Department of Home Security. Mili Gosar is Deputy Chief of Staff -Operations in the Department of Interior. Anil Menon a lieutenant colonel with the US air force and SpaceX's first flight surgeon has been selected among the 10 new astronauts who could fly to the Moon in future. He was the first responder during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

Sharmila Bhattacharya is a Nigerian-born Director of Research in the Bio model Performance Laboratory of the Space Bio-Sciences Division at NASA. There are many more Indians in very high positions who will create scientific breakthroughs that the world has never known before.

Some Indian origin Ambassadors and High Commissioners:, Suriname's Ambassador to the US: Niermala Badrising Australia's High Commissioner to South Africa: Gita Kamath Suriname's Ambassador to India: Aahna Kanhai Fiji's High Commissioner to India: Namita Khatri Singapore's Ambassador to the US: Ashok Kumar Khatri Canada's High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Nepal and Bhutan: Nadir Patel Conclusion: Given the skills shortages faced by many countries the Indian diaspora is set to settle in big numbers in other parts of the world and their influence on these countries will grow simultaneously. A day is not far when an Indian-origin Prime Minister will meet an Indian Prime Minister. The Indian-origin Prime Minister while having great love for the land of his forefathers will strenuously push the cause of his country. This code of Dharma is well explained in the Mahabharata when Guru Dronacharya decided to fight for the Kauravas. His reason was that he had always worked for Kauravas and had to be loyal to them. Similarly, all Indians settled all over the world will and should fight for the interests of their adopted country.

Celebrating Kolkata couple Cheitan and Abhishek’s gay marriage Shefali Saxena

C

heitan Sharrma and Abhishek Ray, a gay couple from Kolkata, recently tied the knot in a traditional wedding ceremony on July 3.

The couple received unprecedented love and adoration from netizens on this occasion and their photos went viral on social media. Asian Voice exclusively spoke to Chietan and Abhishek about tying the knot, breaking stereotypes and acceptance of LGBTQ+ community in South Asian culture.

The festivities began with Ganesh sthapna in the morning of July 1, followed by tilak ceremony in the evening. The next day, mehendi, the engagement and cocktail was organised.

On July 3, the haldi ceremony was organised in the morning and the nuptials took place in the evening.

Acceptance in South Asian culture Speaking to Asian Voice about acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in South Asian culture, Ray said, Abhishek “Somewhere deep down the society, the school or college we go to or be it work, wherever we go, we'll look for acceptance. We look for inclusion. We look for being together with people right and the whole fact of discrimination against somebody's sexuality or sexual orientation is actually quite alarming, especially in a country like India.”

Ray believes we need to educate people. “We really need to strike a message somewhere that acts as an eye-opener to not only the general crowd but in general in particular the children who are actually trying so desperately to identify themselves with alternate sexuality, which is not straight probably.

“Me and Cheitan have gone through that ordeal when we were growing up. We have been bullied in school for various reasons, probably not complying with the so-called quote-unquote, masculinity terms when a boy growing up in school is expected to play football and cricket. This society has kind of like thrust upon you, which defines our own gender roles. So, both have faced that we have been bullied in school we have been called various names. And you know, and then like, what does a child see when they kind of experiences something like this happening with him at the educational institution, he wants to come back home and probably wants to open up to his parents. So at that front also, if the child thinks that, you know, I can't talk to my mom or dad about this, because then they're also he feels like you know, he is kind of banging his head on a wall.

So then it becomes really difficult for him,” Ray told the newsweekly.

Message to South Asian parents Ray further added, “My message to the parents my message to the families is that the moment you understand that your child is actually a little different from others when it comes to his sexual orientation, accept it. Let him be the way he is. Let him be courageous enough to face the world with his own orientation. And let him choose his own path be helpful in that rather than confining, trying to confine in the so-called norms set by the society.”

Ray mentioned that Cheitan did have his initial phase where he had to go an extra mile probably in trying to convince his family. Ray believes that when you get that extra additional strength to fight society.

Ray believes in two approaches to help a child who may identity to be LGBTQ+. He said, “Number one, do not make the child conscious about his body language or his choice. In

whichever field that is, is his is trying to excel in, make him comfortable in his skin. The moment we become all as a united all it is your choice it is whether you want to choose boy or girl or transgender or whatever, the moment is distinction goes away, I think we that will be a milestone.

And that that is what we should all strive to. So removing our efforts should be in trying to stop distinction, this distinction between somebody straight and somebody is gay, we are all human beings, and that is what counts.”

Not without obstacles Speaking about getting hitched in India, and not opting to marry abroad (which many LGTBQ+ people do in order to escape societal scrutiny) Cheitan told us, “We both decided we will not go into run from all types situation. Because we are very close to our family and friends.

Definitely if there is any career opportunity, we will move abroad, that’s because we definitely want to grow our career. We are we are quite happy with the setup that we have here in India.

Mentioning an imperative practice, that needs to change, Cheitan said, “Like rather than asking ‘do you have a girlfriend or do you have a boyfriend?’ they should ask like ‘do you have a partner?’ Because we don't know who's the partner. If somebody all of a sudden comes to me and asks me ‘how's your wife doing?’, I will be very embarrassed for change right so we need to I think reframe certain thing or we need to add a particular thing in our education system that rather than asking, rather than using the gender.”

Love above cultures Further explaining the journey of marrying Abhishek, Cheitan said, “I'm a Marwari and it was difficult to convince the elders and my parents, but I think they took their time as well. So I think people from our community should not hesitate or should not think about what will happen how badly they will react. But they should openly tell this to their parents because it's good for them because they will end up getting married to someone whom they will not be wholeheartedly accepting. Then you are given not be ruining their life but the other person life also. Just so many examples from our community, people on a family pressure they get married and later on. Maybe they get divorced or maybe they're in troubled marriages.

“We have to normalise this thing we are in 21st century and we are still discussing about our identity. I think we we were the luckiest or you can say we are the blessed one that we are around with, like the good souls or you can say but I think it's a initial struggle that everybody says and I think they need to come out of that zone ASAP. Rather than involving or using or involving themselves into more like situation which were which will lead into more depression.”

Ray and Sharma got massive love from people in Kolkata as well, and they give due credit to the soceity in the city who embraced their marriage like a celebration of their own. This is reportedly the first gay marriage in Kolkata that has been cleebrated throughout the country and abroad by the Indian diaspora, proving ‘love is love’ after-all.

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Dear Financial Voice Reader,

Alpesh Patel OBE

Stocks You Should Buy During Periods of Stagflation – which are they?

In today's economy, stagflation is being discussed more frequently. This is because we are witnessing inflationary pressures in several parts of the world while growth rates are stagnating.

Stagflation occurs when there is a combination of high inflation and slow economic growth. This results in a decrease in purchasing power and rising unemployment rates. Such an environment can be difficult for businesses since they have to grapple with both high costs and low demand.

However, certain stocks tend to do well during periods of stagflation. Here, we will take a look at some of the best-performing stocks during stagflation periods.

Which sectors and stocks do well in periods of stagflation?

Stagflation is likely to have a different impact on various businesses. When looking for stocks to buy during stagflation, it is important to consider companies that are less likely to be impacted by the decrease in purchasing power. These companies should also be able to benefit from the slow economic growth.

Here are some of the best stocks to buy during periods of stagflation: Food and beverage companies Food and beverage companies can increase prices without seeing a significant decline in demand. This is because people still need to eat, even during periods of economic hardship. These companies also have low production costs, which gives them a competitive advantage. But it’s the companies which are not discretionary food items which are sensitive to demand.

Some of the best food and beverage stocks to buy during stagflation include Nestle (NSRGY), Coca-Cola (KO), and PepsiCo (PEP). These are so diversified that yes you may cut back on some of their products, but they still get you on the other products.

Healthcare companies Healthcare companies are also relatively immune to the effects of stagflation. This is because people will still need medical care, even when the economy is struggling.

Furthermore, healthcare companies have strong balance sheets due to the high barriers to entry in the industry.

Some of the best healthcare stocks to buy during stagflation include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Pfizer (PFE), and Merck & Co. (MRK).

Utility companies Utility companies are seen as defensive stocks since they provide essential services that people need, regardless of the state of the economy. These include electricity, gas, and water. These companies also have stable cash flows and can weather tough economic times.

Some of the best utility stocks to buy during stagflation include American Electric Power (AEP), Duke Energy (DUK), and Southern Company (SO).

Gold miners Gold miners are another type of stock that does well during periods of stagflation. This is because gold is a safe haven asset and people tend to invest in it when the economy is struggling. Gold prices also rise when inflation is high.

Some of the best gold miners to buy during stagflation include Barrick Gold (ABX), Newmont Mining (NEM), and Goldcorp (GG).

Which sectors and stocks should you avoid during periods of stagflation?

While there are some sectors and stocks that do well during periods of stagflation, there are others that should be avoided. These include companies that rely on consumer spending, as well as those with high production costs.

Some of the sectors and stocks to avoid during stagflation include: Retail companies Retail companies are often impacted negatively by periods of stagflation. This is because people have less money to spend when the economy is struggling. Many retail companies also have high production costs, which makes it difficult for them to compete when inflation is high.

Banks Banks are another sector that should be avoided during periods of stagflation. This is because they are typically impacted by the decrease in economic growth. In addition, banks often have to increase interest rates to offset the effects of inflation, which can hurt their profitability.

The Better Investment For me it is not as black and white as stocks and sectors. We have to have a quick due diligence process that allows us to evaluate any company at any time for the best returns. That’s the basis of what I will be teaching in my summer school.

UK's BII to invest in new EV company by India's M&M UK’s development finance institution British International Investment (BII) will invest Rs 19 billion into a new dedicated, fourwheeler electric passenger vehicle arm which India's automobile company Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) will incorporate.

M&M and BII will invest $250 million each into the new entity called EV Co. at a valuation of Rs 700 billion ($9 billion). The two companies have signed a binding agreement for the same.

The announcement comes ahead of M&M's planned EV strategy it would announce next month. Last month, M&M said the company's first "born-electric" concept will break cover on August 15, 2022. This will be one among the several such models M&M would bring starting 2025 as it seeks to enter the race for pure battery propelled vehicles.

The event will take place at its newly opened design studio in

Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, which has been instrumental in designing these concepts. This will be followed by a reveal of the electric XUV 400 in September 2022. M&M envisages 20 to 30 per cent of Mahindra SUVs to be electric by 2027. The EV Co "will significantly leverage the broader manufacturing capabilities, product development, design organizations along with the ecosystem of suppliers,

dealers, and financiers of M&M," the statement said.

The funds will be utilised primarily to create and market a world-class electric SUV portfolio with advanced technologies.

The investment alongside M&M in the new EV company supports BII’s undertaking that at least 30 per cent of its total investments will be in climate finance.

UK getting tougher on money-laundering The debate about the presence of Russian oligarchs and their vast assets in the UK after the Putin regime’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed the problem of money-laundering up the political and regulatory agenda.

An estimated £88 bn is laundered each year in the UK, according to research

by Credas Technologies, a specialist in ID verification software. Based on data from the OECD, its figures indicate that only the US (£217bn) is home to more

money-laundering.

The UK’s figure is well above that of France (£55 bn) and Germany (£51 bn). Yet there is evidence that even before this sudden – and, many would say, overdue – concern in the UK about the scale of criminal activity, the authorities were already starting to take a tougher line on the issue.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started using its power to mount prosecutions on top of imposing regulatory penalties and civil fines against

money-launderers.

The regulator was granted this capability in 2007, but it was only in October 2021 that it secured its first conviction. NatWest was fined £264.8m for failing to properly monitor the activity of a commercial customer, Fowler Oldfield, a jewellery business based in Bradford.

During the time that NatWest served as the firm’s bank, approximately £365 mn was deposited with it, of which about £264 mn was in cash, even though their original busi-

ness arrangement did not cover the management of cash.

In some countries, extra investments in antimoney-laundering enforcement have produced a healthy return, as fines are imposed and profits are properly taxed. Bullough and other campaigners are calling for political support for those involved in a highly complex and sometimes risky area of law enforcement that can cause embarrassment for the rich and powerful.

60% households in UK hit Female entrepreneurs better at hardest by financial trouble coping with fighting for capital The number of UK households facing acute financial strain has risen by almost 60% since October and is now higher than at any point during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey found.

According to an estimate by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust and researchers at the University of Bristol, 16% of households, or 4.4 million, are in “serious financial difficulties” and a further 20% are “struggling” to get by.

The pressure on the government to do more to help comes amid a period of political turmoil after PM Boris Johnson was forced to resign last week. In May, his government announced an extra £15 billion in cost of living support but calls are growing for additional aid to be announced well before a successor for Johnson is chosen.

The report described the lengths many are going to in order to save money. Of those in serious financial difficulty, 71% have reduced the quality of food they eat, 36% have sold or pawned possessions and 27% have canceled or not renewed insurance.

Steps to save on energy bills this year include bathing and cooking less, while more than a fifth of casual workers had stopped or reduced pension contributions. Single parents, social renters and households with children are being hit hardest.

In May, one of the world’s most prominent venture capital firms, Sequoia, issued a 52-page memo titled Adapting to Endure. The message was clear: RIP the good times. The days of cheap cash are in the past and profitability, rather than growth, is now the focus. Costs must be cut, the note stressed, or a death spiral will ensue. And even after these changes, the recovery will be long.

The memo sent a chill through the tech world. Venture capitalists closed their cheque books and start-up folk began dusting off survival skills acquired during the 2009 downturn. But on Twitter, the town square of tech, one group has since appeared largely unfazed: female founders. Brittany Fuller, co-founder of data analytics start-up, Notably, summed up the mood: “Female founders who were raising before the corrections aren’t shook. This is funding climate as usual for us.” Female entrepreneurs may cope better in harsh investing climate as these founders have always had to fight harder for capital, an issue that many in finance have still not addressed.

Encouraging more women to start businesses and not providing them with adequate capital for growth is like sending talented novice mountain climbers up Everest without oxygen, a guide and a tent. Few will make it to base camp, and for those that do, the odds of survival are even lower.

UK businesses in awe of recession and slowdown The latest data on gross domestic product indicates that UK economy has slowed faster than economists had expected, while business confidence has fallen sharply in recent months. Analysts are already cutting forecasts for earnings next year for the UK, Europe and the US, with some predicting widespread profit downgrades and warnings in the autumn.

British companies are preparing for a recession this year as they face the double hit of slowing consumer demand and rapidly rising costs from inflation on their own businesses.

Bosses have said they already see signs of a slowdown, in particular among retailers given the impact of rising costs on consumers.

Electricals retailer Currys cut its profit forecast this week, while rival AO raised £40 mn in what its chief executive described as a “sensible piece of financial housekeeping given the short-term macroeconomic uncertainty”.

The CBI has also warned that the government has only weeks to change the direction of the UK economy, with recession now “a very live” risk as household spending turned downwards.

Goldman suggested that the hardest hit companies were typically travel and leisure. “This is the thing people cut first,” said Bell, pointing to a combination of higher rates, lower savings and higher costs from the rising energy price cap and other inflationary factors.

Export credit agency provided £7.4 bn to UK businesses UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance, in its annual report and accounts for 2021-22, has revealed that they had provided £7.4 billion to UK businesses for the purpose of exports, with 81 per cent going to SMEs, totalling £6 billion, as part of their support.

The UK Export Finance improved their small business offering by fully deploying the General Export Facility to support a wider range of SMEs, during which, they provided £180 million of support, 92 per cent of which went to SMEs. For the year ahead, UK Export Finance has pledged to continue widening the availability of the General Export Facility with new delivery partners, as well as utilising the Export Finance Manager network to reach a greater number of SMEs whose turnover is less than £10 million a year.

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RBI eases FPI, NRI deposit norms to stem rupee slide The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a series of measures, including relaxation in foreign investment in debt, external commercial borrowings, and NonResident Indian (NRI) deposits - to prevent the slide in the rupee and shore up India's foreign exchange reserves.

With the rupee depreciating 4. per cent to 79.30 against the US dollar in the current financial year till July 5, FPIs (foreign portfolio investors) pulling out £ 23.2 billion in six months and $50 billion being shaved off forex reserves over the last nine months, the measures are expected to further diversify and expand the sources of forex funding, mitigate volatility, and dampen global spillovers.

In a significant move, RBI has

allowed banks to temporarily raise fresh Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank i.e., FCNR (B) and Non-Resident External (NRE) deposits without reference to the current regulations on interest rates, with effect from July 7. This relaxation too will be available till October 31, 2022.

The central bank said investments

by FPIs in government securities and corporate debt made till October 31, 2022, will be exempted from this short-term limit. These will not be reckoned for the short-term limit of one year till maturity or sale of such investments. Currently, not more than 30 per cent of investments each in government securities and corporate bonds can have a residual maturity of less than one year.

In another measure, the RBI has

Machine Gun or a Sniper?

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

decided that category one banks can utilise overseas foreign currency borrowing (OFCBs) for lending in foreign currency to entities for a wider set of end-use purposes, subject to the negative list set out for external commercial borrowings (ECBs). The measure is expected to facilitate foreign currency borrowing by a larger set of borrowers who may find it difficult to directly access overseas markets. This dispensation for raising such borrowings is available till October 31, 2022, it said.

India’s services sector at its fastest pace in 11 years According to a survey, India’s crucial services sector expanded at its fastest pace in 11 years as demand conditions strengthened.

However, price pressures continued to pose a concern.

Rising from 58.9 in May to 59.2 in June, the S&P Global India Services PMI business activity index was at its highest mark since April 2011 and signalled a steep rate of increase. The acceleration in growth was broad-based across the four monitored sub-sectors.

According to panelists, the upturn stemmed from ongoing improvement in demand following the retreat of pandemic restrictions, capacity expansion and a favourable economic environment. The survey is compiled from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 service sector companies.

Although firms expect the recovery to be sustained over the coming 12 months, concerns surrounding price

pressures restricted business confidence. Input costs continued to rise at a historically elevated pace, although one that was the slowest in three months, while charge inflation hit a five-year high, near according to the survey.

The vital services sector had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic waves as curbs imposed to prevent the spread of the deadly virus shuttered shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and hurt tourism and travel.

Services firms noted a substantial upturn in new work intakes at the end of the first fiscal quarter, with the rate of increase improving to the best in over 11 years.

Firms were able to secure new orders despite charging more for their services. June data showed the fastest rise in selling prices since July 2017 as several companies sought to transfer part of their additional cost burdens to clients.

India’s L&T to jointly Adani to spend £1.9 bn to expand Hazira port develop electric air taxi with US company

Adani Hazira Port Ltd (AHPL), a subsidiary of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ, will expand Hazira port near Surat to at least six times its present size. The company will reportedly invest an estimated £1.9 billion for the expansion.

The company has reportedly made an expansion proposal before the state administration, according to sources. The proposal also states that AHPL intends to triple the cargo handling capacity. An outer harbour plan will be developed, as part of which land utilisation will be increased from 228 hectare at present to 1,494 hectare. Accordingly, cargo handling capacity will expand from 84.1 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) to 234 MMTPA. In its submission, AHPL plans to set up a desalination plant as well to meet its 37. 5 MLD (million litre per day) water requirement. “With the proposed 150 MMTPA capacity addition through the outer harbour project, a multipurpose cargo handling facility will further be developed. The outer harbour capacity will be used for cryogenic liquid/gas/cargo and multipurpose cargo, as proposed,” a source said.

AHPL has reportedly applied for coastal regulation zone and other clearances. AHPL has already begun with locallevel stakeholder consultations. “The company could initiate ground-level development work by the end of this year,” claimed a source. AHPL handles various types of cargo including bulk, break-bulk, bulk liquid chemicals, petroleum products and edible oil, containers, automotive and crude.

Besides its proximity to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), AHPL has connectivity to the northern, north-western and central parts of India. It also makes a convenient international trade gateway to Europe, Africa, America and the Middle East.

A subsidiary of Indian engineering giant L&T will develop an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) air taxi jointly with Texas-based aerospace company, Jaunt Air Mobility.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) says it has won a multi-year $100 million plus electric air mobility deal from Jaunt that has its design and manufacturing centre in Montreal, Canada. As part of the contract, LTTS says it will open an engineering and R&D Centre in Canada “for the next-gen electric aircraft manufacturer to provide engineering services for the eVTOL air taxi. ” India's aviation minister J M Scindia had recently invited eVTOL manufacturers to come to India to set up

manufacturing units and operate services here.

Sources said the L&T-Jaunt craft could first have its pilot runs in the US and subsequently come to India and other countries. The US firm is learnt to have “taken an interest in India”.

Jaunt is rolling out a new generation of sustainable aircraft to meet the growing demand for faster urban and regional travel. These eVTOLs take off like a helicopter and transition to flying like a fixed-wing plane.

“These new air taxis will make it possible to travel more than 110 km in the air in 25 minutes or less, with trip costs affordable to the public.”

Reliance to bring back fashion brand Gap to India Reliance Retail has recently announced its long-term partnership with the American iconic fashion brand Gap and plans to bring back the brand to India. “Through a longterm franchise agreement, Reliance Retail has become the official retailer for Gap across all channels in India,” the two companies said a joint statement.

Earlier, Gap had a franchise business relationship with Arvind Fashions, a company from the Lalbhai Group. It was mutually terminated in September 2020 after Covid led pandemic set-in.

Reliance Retail CEO, fashion & lifestyle, Akhilesh Prasad said, “We believe that Reliance and Gap complement each other in their

vision to bring industry-leading fashion products and retail experiences to their consumers.”

MD of international, global licensing and wholesale at Gap Inc Adrienne Gernand said, “Partnering with regional experts, like Reliance Retail in India, allows us to deliver our relevant, purpose-driven brand to customers around the globe.”

We had an interesting couple of cases yesterday; both where time was of the essence. One case was about a property which was involved in a family dispute. The property had been transferred into a family member’s name, so that it could be used as collateral to raise debt.

The property was then geared to the hilt. The individual concerned got into some trouble with the HMRC, this then resulted in the property being frozen. However, there existed a trust deed. This means the legal owner is not the beneficial owner, the legal owner is holding the property in trust for someone else. This agreement did exist, and had been witnessed by solicitors; there was other evidence as well. This did not stop another £30K being spent in legal fees, to enforce this agreement against HMRC. A side issue was the current mortgage provider refused to accept money from anyone else apart from the named borrower. This has resulted in arrears and the possibility of repossession. To compound the issue the property has been converted illegally into a couple of flats. Furthermore, they have been punted around to a number of lenders via a broker, one who had done a valuation and then rejected the case. Not a pretty picture. Most lenders would not be able to get their head around the issue of trust law, which originated from the 12th century during the time of the crusades. This, compounded with an illegal conversion, would not fit into a criteria led lending scenario.

This kind of deal has been dealt with using a machine gun. It should have been a sniper.

Having understood the case and the salient points, we are confident of placing it with the right lender. It would require us to speak to a senior underwriter to first ensure the case goes through without touching any posts. It may require a twofold approach where we choose a temporary lender until the planning has been regularised, with another long term lender to follow.

In addition to this case we came across an investor who is in danger of dropping his 10% deposit as well as the properties he has exchanged upon at auction. The completion period of 6 weeks has expired, as well as the notice period. It seems the auctioneer is keeping the properties for him purely out of discretion but it is borrowed time. He needs all of the funds to be extracted from an existing property which has lapsed planning.

Neither of these cases could be described as plain vanilla; and both could have been avoided. But, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I guess it gives us something to get our teeth into and show our mettle.

India’s new private airline Akasa Air gets licence

Indian billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala backed private airline Akasa Air has now got the air operator certificate (AOC or licence) from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and will begin flying by the month end. With Indian aviation veterans like Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh on board, Akasa will soon have two Boeing 737 MAX and then start commercial operations.

Among big/upcoming airlines, Akasa will be the fifth Indian budget carrier after IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoFirst, AirAsia India and Air India Express. Overall, it will be the eighth (big) airline of India apart from fullservice Air India and Vistara and regional carrier Alliance Air, which is the only

government-owned fixedwing airline now.

After Jet airways stopped its operations a few years later, the restart of Jet 2.0 had got its AOC on May 20, but it is yet to place an aircraft order. Jet 2.0’s real and sustainable revival rests completely on JalanKalrock’s ability and willingness to infuse significant amounts of funds regularly in it and bear losses for the first few years.

Akasa founder-CEO Vinay Dube said, “We are extremely thankful to the ministry of civil aviation and the DGCA for their constructive guidance, throughout the AOC process. We now look forward to our flights by late July. ”

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Budget leak: Nepal’s finance minister forced to quit KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Finance Minister Janardan Sharma was forced to resign from the post after the government yielded to the pressure to form an all-party parliamentary probe committee to go into the “budget leak” allegations on the eve of its presentation in the House six weeks ago.

Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota announced the formation of an 11member all party committee that will probe the allegation that Sharma discussed the budget and the taxation policy for fiscal year 2022-23 before it was to be presented in the Parliament in the presence of two people representing private business groups at his office on May 14.There were speculation that the tax proposals were changed at the last minute to suit three or four business houses on the direct intervention of Sharma. Pressure on him has mounted after the finance ministry said CCTV footage from the day when the alleged changes in the budget were made was not available saying “it was not available as it has

Janardan Sharma

crossed the 13-day time limit of preservation.”

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had been under pressure to sack Sharma if he did not quit voluntarily. Later, he held a meeting with Maoist chief Prachanda, Sharma and Purna Bahadur Khadka. “Although Sharma was against resigning, he was given no other choice,” a senior Minister said. The terms of reference of the probe committee is yet to be announced but there are demands, at least from the main Opposition that the end beneficiary of the “budgetgate”, including senior officials and the business houses, should be also be probed.

79 Bangla Hindus said to have been killed in last 6 months DHAKA: Govinda Chandra Pramanik, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajot, claimed that 79 Hindus were killed and £2.6 million looted from them and temples from January 1 to June 30 this year. He added that 620 people were threatened with death, 145 murder attempts were made and 183 people were injured in attacks and 32 people were missing.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, he said that the information was collected through the branch committees of the organization all over the country. The Mahajot demanded 60 reserved seats for the minority Hindu community in the National Assembly and the “re-establishment” of a separate electoral system to prevent violence against Hindus.

According to the report, during the last 6 months, 468 Hindu houses were vandalized and looted, 343 were set on fire, 93 Hindu businesses were attacked, 2159.36 acres of Hindu land were seized and 419.63 acres were on the process of being seized. Besides, attempts were made to evict 717 Hindu families.

According to the report, there have been 501 organized attacks on Hindus, 56 temples attacked and 50 idol were looted. In addition, 97 members of the Hindu community have been arrested, dismissed and jailed in fake cases, 802 families have been socially boycotted, 57 religious institutions have been desecrated, 60 religious ceremonies have been obstructed, and 100 people have been forcefully fed religiously forbidden beef.

IMF may ban Pak Karachi varsity blast: Man who gave from seeking more tech support held Pakistan said it loans from China KARACHI: had arrested a militant who ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) intends to ban Pakistan from borrowing more from China, according to reports. Islamabad’s plan to seek PKR 7. 9 billion from China for China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects is now likely to hinge upon the IMF recommendations.

Driving Pakistan’s economy with the help of external doles is unsustainable and Pakistan desperately needs structural reforms. The IMF has raised objections to Pakistan’s loans from China and arbitrarily high payments made to Chinese independent power producers (IPP), suggesting Islamabad renegotiate its energy agreements with Beijing, reported Financial Post.

Pakistan is obligated to pay over PKR 350 billion power dues to multiple Chinese IPPs operating in the country. IMF’s demand follows Beijing’s rejection of modification to the conditions of agreements for projects under CPEC. Pakistan’s budget for FY 202223 has not addressed key structural issues proving to be an obstacle to revival of its economy.

provided technical support for a deadly suicide bomb attack on Chinese teachers at Karachi University in April. A suspected female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers, drawing strong condemnation from Beijing, in the first major attack this year against nationals of long-time ally China working in Pakistan.

Four people died in total, including the minibus driver and the three Chinese staff from the Confucius Institute, a cultural and educational program that China operates at the university.

The attack was the result of the combined efforts of two separatist groups, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Sindh province

FLASH FLOODS KILL 25 IN BALOCHISTAN At least 25 people have been killed, including six women from the same family, after seasonal monsoon rains caused flash floods that wreaked havoc in Pakistan’s Balochistan province last week, prompting authorities to declare an emergency in Quetta district. There are fears that the death toll could go up as several people are still reportedly missing due to flash flooding in remote areas of the Balochistan province, said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

CHINA, PAK NAVIES TO HOLD LIVE-FIRE DRILLS The navies of China and Pakistan will commence a live-fire drill off the Shanghai coast as part of a four-day joint maritime exercise code named Sea Guardians-2, official media reported. Fleets participating in the drill will set off from a military port in Shanghai for the scheduled sea area. The joint exercise aims to enhance defence cooperation, exchange expertise and experience, deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries and militaries, and promote the development of the ChinaPakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. Professional and technical exchanges, tug-of-war and basketball matches took place on Monday.

BABY GOAT WITH 54 CM-LONG EARS

information minister Sharjeel Memon ssaid.

The accused man, Dad Bakash, confessed to being commander of a sleeper cell of the BLF, he said. “He confessed to carrying out surveillance of Chinese nationals at Karachi University and important installations on the task given by BLA and met and provided assistance to the

female suicide bomber and her husband.”

Recently, Pakistan has been under increasing pressure from China to provide foolproof security to Chinese working in Pakistan.

Mineral-rich Balochistan houses a deep water port in Gwadar which Beijing is developing under the China Pakistan Economic-Corridorproject.

New Lanka President to be elected on July 20 Continued from Page 1

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also said he will step down after a new government is formed.

After receiving Rajapaksa’s resignation on Wednesday, Parliament will convene on July 15 to announce the vacancy and will reconvene on July 19 to accept the nominations for the post, speaker Abeywardena said. A parliamentary ballot will be held on July 20 to elect the new president, he said.

Rajapaksa agreed to bow down to the party leaders’ request to resign following the popular uprising on Saturday.

Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, if both the president and prime minister resign, the speaker will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days.

The parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term of Gotabaya.

President Rajapaksa had appointed Wickremesinghe as PM in May after his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was

in brief

forced to resign amidst growing pressure on the government over the mismanagement of the economy.

The cash-starved island nation witnessed a tumultuous day on Saturday when protesters broke into Rajapaksa’s official residence in Colombo. About 100,000 protesters amassed outside the president’s official residence, demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation.

Protesters did not spare PM Wickremesinghe despite his offer to resign

and set on fire his private residence. Sri Lanka is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil,leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.

India says it stands with people As chaos reigns in Sri Lanka, India sought to maintain a distance from the Lankan political establishment with the Centre saying that it stands with the people of the island nation as they seek to realise their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established institutions and constitutional framework.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar said the Indian government had always been supportive of Sri Lanka and was “trying to help” the neighbour through its economic crisis.

“They are working through their problems, so we have to wait and see what they do. It is a very serious crisis, and it has been developing over the years. Answers to Sri Lanka are in Sri Lanka,” he said.

A baby goat with extraordinarily long ears has become something of a star in Pakistan.

Simba was born last month in Karachi with ears that were strikingly long - and have grown further to reach 54cm. Breeder Mohammad Narejo says he has approached Guinness World Records to see if his charge can be included as the Greatest Of All Time, although “longest eared goat” category doesn’t currently appear on its website.

GUNMEN KILL 15 AT SA BAR Gunmen armed with rifles and pistols opened fire at people in a bar in the South African township of Soweto, killing 15 and wounding nine. Police said that the group of men entered the Orlando East tavern, in the township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, before “shooting randomly at the patrons.”

Police confirmed that there had been a second shooting in a tavern in Pietermaritzburg, about 500 km southeast of Soweto, killing four people and wounding eight. “We do not think the incidents are linked,” said a police spokesperson. In both cases, the gunmen fled the scene and are now on the run.

IRAN SHUTS THREE CAFES OVER UNVEILED WOMEN Authorities in Iran have closed three coffee shops in the city of Qom because female customers were not wearing headscarves, local media said. “Three coffee shops were closed in Qom due to numerous violations, including women’s lack of veils and other issues,” said a statement by Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army. “The owners of the cafes were summoned by police before legal action was taken,” the statement added.

Qom, a city revered by Shias, is located 150 km south of the capital Tehran. Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iranian law has required all women to cover their bodies with loose clothing and veil their heads in public.

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in brief PUTIN TO BECOME DAD AGAIN AT 69 Russian president Vladimir Putin is having a ‘war baby’ with his ex-gymnast lover, reports claim. The 69-year-old Putin is said to have already fathered two kids by 39-year-old Alina Kabaeva. Now the couple are expecting a daughter, according to the General SVR Telegram channel. The same reports claim that when told of the news, Putin grumbled: “I have enough children as it is, and had enough daughters long ago”. Putin’s private life is shrouded in secrecy - and it is not known exactly how many children the despot has.

US HITS OUT AT ASEAN FOR NOT PRESSURING MYANMAR US secretary of state Antony Blinken has criticised Southeast Asian nations for not doing enough to press Myanmar’s military government to return the country to the path of democracy following last year’s power seizure. But as Blinken lamented the lack of progress in Myanmar, he also moved to strengthen US ties with key regional ally Thailand - part of efforts to counter Chinese influence across the Indo-Pacific. Speaking at a news conference in Bangkok, Blinken said it was “unfortunate” that repression in Myanmar was continuing nearly 18 months after the military takeover. He said he was disappointed that Myanmar’s neighbours weren’t applying pressure for it to end.

CHINA RECRUITING STUDENTS ON SPY MISSIONS Hainan Xiandun, a Chinese technology company, is actively recruiting Chinese university students as English language translators even after US law enforcement agencies accused Beijing of setting up such companies as a “front” for spying operations against western targets. Hackers with suspected links to China’s intelligence agencies are still advertising for new recruits to work on cyber espionage, even after the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted the perpetrators in an effort to disrupt their activities. In another covert move by China, Beijing is luring job seekers into committing state-sponsored espionage on western targets along with persuading them to translate stolen papers collected from govt agencies.

FOUR STABBED AT MAJOR SHANGHAI HOSPITAL Four people at a renowned Shanghai hospital were wounded by a knife-wielding assailant, in the second reported stabbing incident after a Covid lockdown of the financial hub was lifted in early June. At the Shanghai hospital, police found a man holding a crowd hostage with a knife on the seventh floor of the outpatient department. When the man threatened to hurt the hostages, the police opened fire, subduing him, police said. None of the wounded is in a life-threatening situation and the incident is being investigated, the police said.

RUSSIAN LAWMAKER JAILED FOR DENOUNCING WAR A court in Moscow sentenced an opposition lawmaker to seven years in prison for denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine, handing down the first prison term for what the government made a crime shortly after the invasion. The sentence is likely to have a chilling effect on Russian society by further raising the stakes for anyone who publicly opposes the war that began in February. The opposition lawmaker, Alexei Gorinov, was found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army and its activities, the court said.

Congressman seeks to exempt Quad leaders express shock over Abe’s murder India from US sanctions NEW DELHI: Quad leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, expressed shock in a joint statement at the tragic assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe while lauding his formative role in the founding of the Quad partnership and his vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Abe was the chief architect of Japan’s free and open IndoPacific policy and also the leader who proposed and designed Quad. “We, the leaders of Australia, India, and the United States, are shocked at the tragic assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe,” said US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and PM Modi in a joint statement, adding that Abe was a transformative leader for Japan and for Japanese relations with each one of the Quad countries.

Quad promises peace efforts The Quad leaders in the joint statement said, “Our hearts are with the people of

Shinzo Abe

Japan - and PM Kishida - in this moment of grief. We will honour Abe’s memory by redoubling our work towards a peaceful and prosperous region.” Abe, the 67-year-old former Japanese PM, died after being shot while giving a campaign speech in the southern Japanese city of Nara last week.

PM Modi said, “In the passing away of Abe, Japan and the world have lost a great visionary. And, I have lost a dear friend.” In a blog titled “My Friend, Abe San”, Modi described Abe as “an outstanding leader of Japan, a towering global statesman, and a great champion of India-Japan friendship”.

China opens up air travel, but no word on services to India BEIJING: China has started permitting international flights after a two-year ban due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there is no word yet on the resumption of air services to India, even after Beijing lifted a visa ban for Indian professionals and their families last month. China has further setup the procedures for those arriving into the country after reducing the quarantine time to 7 days in designated hotels followed by 3-day isolation at home from the previous 2-day isolation for inbound travellers.

The decision has prompted a huge increase in flights connecting China with other countries, especially the US, and the number of people travelling out of the country, touting it as a sign of China further re-opening its borders to the world. Since

Covid pandemic, China has made one of its most substantial adjustments, as its embassies and consulates in in 125 countries announced policies to streamline procedures for people entering the Chinese mainland, adding that 2,025 inbound passenger flights were set to resume from early this week.

Over 23,000 Indian students, mostly studying medicine, are reportedly stuck back home due to Covid visa restrictions. India submitted a list of several hundred students after China sought the names of those wanting to return immediately to pursue their studies. Stranded students from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Russia and several other countries have started arriving on chartered flights. China has permitted limited flight services, including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal.

WASHINGTON: Ro Khanna, an Indian-American Congressman, has introduced a legislative amendment in the US House of Representatives seeking a waiver to India against the punitive Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, highlighting that it will strengthen US-India defence ties and deter "aggressors."

CAATSA authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

While making a legislative amendment, Khanna, the Democratic lawmaker from California, said, “while India faces immediate needs to maintain its heavily Russian-built weapons systems, a waiver to sanctions under the CAATSA, during this transition period is in the best interest of the US and the US-India defence partnership to deter aggressors in light of Russia and China’s close partnership”.

The amendment says that India faces direct and serious regional border threats from

Ro Khanna

China, with continued military aggression by China along the border. Noting that India relies on Russian-built weapons for its national defence, the amendment says that the United States should take additional steps to encourage India to accelerate its transition from Russian-built weapons and defence systems while strongly supporting India’s immediate defence needs.

India's ministry of external affairs said that the country was pursuing an independent foreign policy and its defence acquisitions are guided by its national security interests. In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then-Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.

Toronto rolls back 'clean-shave' policy after protests by Sikhs TORONTO: A so-called “clean-shave” policy for workers at shelters and congregate settings in Toronto has been modified after some Sikh security guards reportedly lost their jobs for refusing to shave their beards.

An official with the World Sikh Organization (WSO) of Canada confirmed the change in policy. It comes after approximately 100 Sikh security guards employed by third parties were either terminated, transferred, or had shifts cancelled due to non-compliance with a city policy that required some employees to be clean shaven in order to be properly fitted for N95 respiratory masks.

“We received a call from Mayor Tory and he confirmed that the security guards could return to their jobs and the City would work with the security contractors to make it possible. He also confirmed the N95 would only be required where there is an outbreak,” Balpreet Singh, WSO’s spokesperson and legal counsel, said.

Balpreet Singh, of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, earlier urged the City of Toronto to reinstate bearded security guards who were removed from their job due to a "clean-shave" masking policy.

Gita Gopinath to feature on IMF's 'wall of former chief economists'

Gita Gopinath

WASHINGTON: India-born Gita Gopinath became the first woman and second Indian to feature on the ‘wall of former chief economists’ of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The first Indian to achieve the honour was Raghuram Rajan who was chief economist and director of research of IMF between 2003 and 2006. Gita was appointed as IMF chief economist in October 2018 and was later promoted as IMF’s first deputy managing director in December last year.

Gita had served as the first female chief economist of the Washingtonbased global lender for the last three years. IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said in a statement last year that under Gita’s leadership, IMF’s research department made contributions, including in multilateral surveillance through the World Economic Outlook, developing a new analytical approach to help nations respond to international capital flows and her recent work on a plan to end the Covid crisis by setting targets to vaccinate the world at a feasible cost.

New Covid cases: partial lockdown in 3 Chinese cities BEIJING: At least three Chinese cities put in place partial lockdowns and the gambling hub of Macao shut its casinos for the second time since the start of the pandemic, as authorities tried to stamp out the latest outbreaks. In mainland China, the cities of Xi’an, Lanzhou and Haikou imposed partial lockdowns, closing nonessential businesses and enforcing mass testing, setting restrictions on millions of residents.

In Macao, a semi-autonomous Chinese city, authorities also closed nonessential businesses, including its 42 casinos, which are the main drivers of the city’s economy, and asked residents to stay home except to buy food. The latest measures follow lockdowns in Shanghai and in Beijing where millions of people were confined to their homes earlier this year as China dealt with its biggest outbreak of the virus.

Macao’s 680,000 residents have been relatively sheltered from the virus. It has reported two deaths and fewer than 2,000 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to government data. Until now, Macao had avoided shutting down the casinos, which were last closed in February 2020, for 15 days.

On Sunday, a health official in Shanghai said that the first case of an omicron subvariant, BA. 5. 2. 1, has been found in the city. The news triggered more mandatory testing orders for residents of several neighbourhoods.

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DGCA issues notice to SpiceJet 22 sailors rescued from sinking ship in Gujarat over high malfunction incidents The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has issued a show cause notice to budget carrier SpiceJet airline over unusually high incidents of malfunction. The regulator said that the airline has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services under Aircraft Rules, 1937.

DGCA has pointed out that the airline is operating flights with degraded safety margins, poor internal safety oversight, not paying vendors on time, leading to shortage of spare parts for the SpiceJet. The DGCA notice said “SpiceJet is operating its

in China, returned to Kolkata when pilots realised after takeoff that its weather radar was not working. That was 8th incident of technical malfunction happened on a SpiceJet aircraft in the last 18 days.

fleet on MEL (Minimum Equipment List) which means the aircraft is considered safe to fly but not all systems are necessarily operational”.

SpiceJet said its freighter aircraft which was heading to Chongqing

Adani group to join 5G spectrum auction The Adani Group has officially announced that they will participate in India’s 5G spectrum auction.

The Ahmedabad-based enterprise confirmed its participation, which pits it against Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel and Kumar Mangalam Birla's Vodafone Idea in the telecom sector.

Adani group has clarified that it has no interest in the consumer mobility space and is in the 5G airwaves sale race only to cater to its inhouse businesses. While Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea’s participation in this auction was expected, Adani entering in the race has taken the industry by surprise. July 8 was the last date to submit applications for auction.

Adani group said, “we are participating in the 5G spectrum auctions to provide private network solutions along with better cyber security for airports, ports and logistics, power generations, transmission, distribution and other manufacturing operations.”

It added that access to the 5G spectrum will help the group

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 22 crew members of a sinking merchant vessel Global King-1 off Porbandar coast in Gujarat in a joint sea- air operation, official said. A Pakistani and a Sri Lankan were among the sailors who were brought back safe to Porbandar. A Dornier aircraft was involved in the search and rescue operations.

ICG received a distress alert about uncontrolled flooding on the merchant vessel Global King-1, which was reportedly 185 km off the Porbandar coast.

Despite harsh weather conditions at the time, a Dornier aircraft was

to build digital platforms and data centre capabilities. “In addition, as we build our own digital platform encompassing super apps, edge data centres, and industry command and control centres, we will need ultra-high quality data streaming capabilities through a high frequency and low latency 5G network across all our businesses”.

The company said if it was awarded the 5G spectrum auction, “it will also align with its recent announcement of significantly increasing Adani Foundation’s investments in education, healthcare and skill development in rural areas”.

The pre-qualification of 5G spectrum bidders is listed on July 18 and mock auctions on July 22 and 23. According to India telecom rules, new entities can participate in the auction provided they obtain a unified license for offering mobile/data services in the country. The group recently obtained National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences.

their recruitment procedures on July 1. An IAF officer said “compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received”.

Under the newly launched Agnipath scheme announced on June 14, where 46,000 Agniveers (40,000 for Army and 3,000 each for IAF and Navy) will be recruited this year. Only

members. ICG Ship Shoor which was already at sea, was also directed to immediately reach the area.

The ICG ship braving rough seas proceeded to the area at maximum speed.

4 celebrities from South nominated to Rajya Sabha The Modi government has nominated four noted personalities from South athlete P T Usha (Kerala), legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja(a Dalit from Tamil Nadu), screenwriterdirector K V Vijayendra Prasad (Andhra/Telangana) and Jain priest Veerendra Heggade (Karnataka) – to Rajya Sabha. The naming of the four was seen as yet another instance of the Modi government making use of selections and nominations to send out political messages.

Government sources said, “Rajya Sabha

nominations show yet another instance of the Modi government recognising outstanding Indians who have made a mark in diverse fields. The choice of personalities with illustrious careers in their respective fields and having achieved national and global recognition for their contributions is in keeping with the spirit of the scheme to recognise excellence by nominating them to the Upper House.”

The decision came days after the BJP held its national executive meeting in Hyderabad, in what was

seen as a move to supplement the party’s vigorous campaign to challenge Telangana CM K C Rao. PM Modi tweeted, “the remarkable PT Usha ji is an inspiration for every Indian.

Her accomplishments in sports are widely known but equally commendable is her work to mentor budding athletes over the last several years”. He also praised llaiyaraaja by saying his creative genius has enthralled people across generations. On Heggade's contributions, the PM said, "I have had the opportunity

to pray at the Dharmasthala Temple and was also witness to the great work he is doing in health, education and culture. He will certainly enrich p a r l i a m e n t a r y proceedings."

Modi Vijayendra emphasised Prasad has been associated with the "creative world for decades and his works showcase India's glorious culture and have made a mark globally". There were seven vacancies of nominated members in the Upper House and it is expected to be filled in coming days.

Cong files disqualification plea against Goa rebel leaders Congress filed disqualification petition against former Goa CM Digambar Kamat and former leader of the opposition Michael Lobo, a day after MLAs led by Kamat failed to get the support of two-thirds of the party’s legislative strength needed to join BJP. In a petition filed before Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, Congress accused Kamat and Lobo of working with BJP to break away twothirds of its MLAs. “We

have filed a disqualification petition against our two senior leaders because they have voluntarily given up their membership of the party.

Congress state president Amit Patkar said that there is a Supreme Court judgment that says any anti-party activity amounts to voluntarily giving up membership of the party”. He said that there was a vertical split among Congress MLAs but said Kamat and Lobo could

not manage the numbers.

“We have managed to block the defections. For the first time the Congress party has taken a proactive decision to prevent defections. We want a strong message to go out because the voter is suffering”.

Although, all congress MLAs attended the House on the first day of the twoweek monsoon session of the assembly and also claimed that they were part of Congress. Exactly three years ago, on July 10, the

Congress legislature party had split, with the then opposition leader Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar leading a 10member group and later joining BJP. Congress blamed Kamat and Lobo for the split. Besides Kamat and Lobo, the breakaway group includes Saligao MLA Kedar Naik, Siolim MLA and Lobo’s wife Delilah Lobo, Nuvem MLA Alexio Sequeira and Cumbharjua legislator Rajesh Phaldessai.

ED summons Sonia on July 21 in Herald case

IAF receives 750,000 applications under Agnipath scheme The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received nearly 750,000 online applications under the new Agnipath scheme, which is considered to be the highest number till now in any recruitment cycle, though the registration drives for Army and Navy are currently under way.

The IAF was the first to begin their registration process, which began on June 24. The Army and Navy, in turn, launched

launched from ICG Air Station Porbandar to assess the situation and relay information to vessels in the vicinity. The aircraft after reaching the area, dropped a life raft for the crew

25% of them will be selected after four years for induction into the regular military cadre to serve for another 15 years.

The government has not rolled back the Agnipath scheme despite it triggering widespread protest for over a week by youths in several states

against the short-term recruitment to the military services (Army, Air force and Navy) with no pension and ex-servicemen benefits.

However, the government has announced a series of concessions for 75 per cent of Agniveers to be released from military service from each batch.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Congress president Sonia Gandhi for questioning on July 21 in connection with the case of alleged money laundering involving the sale of assets of Associated Journals Limited by a company controlled by the Gandhis.

Sonia's session with ED had to be delayed twice after she was infected by Covid, this investigation will happen three days after the monsoon session of parliament has been convened. Indications are that the two Houses might witness Congress' protests over summons to Sonia and Rahul

Sonia Gandhi

who also appeared before the anti-money laundering agency.

ED's summons to Rahul saw Congress trying to organise protests against what it called political vendetta.

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India’s defence exports touch £1.3 bn mark India's exports of arms and defence technologies has touched a record £1.3 billion in the financial year 2021-22, with 70% contribution coming from the private sector and rest of 30% from public sector.

The defence exports witnessed considerable increase over the preceding fiscal year were mainly to the US, Philippines and other countries in South-East Asia, West Asia and Africa. Sanjay Jaju, additional Secretary (defence production) said that in 2021-22 we have recorded £1.3 billion of exports, which is highest ever number that we have ever recorded.

A major export deal inked in January this year was the $375 million contract to export BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, which will pave the way for more such deals with the country as well as other Asean countries like Indonesia and Vietnam.

The defence exports in 2021-22 were almost eight times of what they were recorded in last five years.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will reward a private

Rajnath Singh

sector organization and a public sector one that performed best in defence exports at first ever “Artificial Intelligence in defence” symposium and exhibition.

Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary said, during the event 75 newly developed AI products and technologies with application in defence will be launched. This products are in areas of automation/unmanned /robotics systems, cyber security, human behavior analysis, intelligent monitoring system, logistics and supply chains management, speech/voice analysis and C4ISR (Command, control, communication, computer and intelligence and reconnaissance) systems. Apart from 75 products being launched, another 100 are in various stages of development .

Udaipur killing: NIA arrests 7th accused The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a seventh accused in the case pertaining to the killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiyya Lal Teli, purportedly after he made some social media posts in favour of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Farhad Mohammad Sheikh @ Babla, aged 31 years and a resident of Diwan Sah Colony in Udaipur, Rajasthan was a close criminal associate of one of the main accused in the case, Riyaz Attari, and played an active part in the conspiracy to kill Kanhaiyya, the NIA said.

Sources said the accused ran a pushcart near Patel Circle, selling snacks. “He was kind of a local entity with a very wide range of local contacts . People sometimes borrowed his bikes, he also lent small amounts of money to them on a few occasions,” said an official.

Sheikh’s name cropped up when an NIA team arrived in Udaipur last week to examine Kanhaiyya’s shop “Supreme Tailors” in the Bhoot Mahal area near Maldas Street. The team also examined different places associated with the suspects to search for evidence.

The case pertains to hacking of Kanhaiyya to death by two accused at his shop in Maldas Street late last month. The accused had circulated a video of the criminal act in the social media, claiming responsibility for the murder “in order to trigger panic and strike terror among the masses across the country”, NIA had stated while re-registering the FIR that was originally registered at Police Station Dhanmandi, Udaipur.

SC jails Mallya to 4 months in jail for contempt The Supreme Court on Monday sentenced fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, holed up in London, to four months’ imprisonment and ordered him and his three US-based children to return $40 million, which was contemptuously siphoned out by Mallya, within four weeks with 8% interest.

More than five years after he was found guilty of contempt charges, a bench of Justices U U Lalit, S R Bhat and P S Narasimha said it was proceeding to sentence him in absentia since the contemnor (Mallya) neither showed remorse nor tendered any apology.

He left India in 2016 after defaulting on debts of more than $1bn, but denied fleeing the country. In 2018, a court of London ruled that he could be extradited from UK to India to face charges here. Last year, he lost his final appeal against his extradition at the High court of London. Although, he still believed to be living in London. He faced numbers of charges related to alleged financial irregularities at Kingfisher Airlines.

India set to become world's most populous country India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country next year, according to a report by the United Nations that said that the world population is forecast to reach 8 billion by mid-November 2022.

The World Population Prospects 2022 by the Nations United Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, said the global population is projected to reach eight billion on November 15, 2022.

The global population is

growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1% in 2020.

“This year’s World Population Day (July 11) falls during a milestone

year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant.

This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognise our common humani-

ty, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.

“At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.

The report said that “India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country during 2023”.

Summons issued against Amnesty India officials, former CEO A Bengaluru court has issued summons to Amnesty India officials and its former India CEO Aakar Patel after taking cognisance of a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by Enforcement Directorate against them recently under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

After imposing a heavy penalty of £5.17 million on Amnesty India and £1 million on Aakar under FEMA, ED said it had filed charge sheet for alleged money laundering against them in Bengaluru court which has taken cognisance of the chargers and issued the summons. ED said “the said complaint (chargesheet) has been taken into cognisance by the special PMLA court and summons have been issued to all accused for their appearance before the court”.

The agency has slapped money laundering charges against Amnesty India, Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and others, including Aakar Patel. ED has alleged

Amnesty and its officials of money laundering and also allegedly having received foreign Aakar Patel funds despite government having revoked its FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act).

In 2011-12, Amnesty international India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) has been granted permission under FCRA for receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK. The permission has been subsequently revoked on the basis of adverse inputs”. ED has claimed that “to escape the FCRA route, two new entities – Indians Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) were formed in 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively and received forex in the guise of service export and FDI.”

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16 - 22 July 2022

in brief

SOUTH INDIA

OPS expelled from AIADMK after EPS gains control of party CHENNAI: The AIADMK General Council meet on Monday expelled rival leader O Panneerselvam from the party’s primary membership and his post of treasurer but the defiant leader said his rival Edappady K Palaniswami has no right to show him the door and rather announced the ‘expulsion’ of the latter from the party. Amid a big round of applause from the General Council members, at its meeting at a marriage hall a special resolution moved by senior leader Natham R Viswanathan to remove Panneerslvam and his supporters was adopted unanimously.

The resolution accused Panneerselvam of siding with

O Panneerselvam

the DMK regime and having ties with the ruling party leaders and working to weaken the AIADMK. OPS acted against the party interests, its goals and principles. He took steps including approaching police to stall the June 23

General Council meet, which was jointly convened by him along with Palaniswami.

The AIADMK alleged that Panneerselvam pursued selfish interests. The party expelled Panneerselvam from his post of and primary treasurer

membership. It also expelled his supporters, R Vaithilingam, P H Manoj Pandian-both legislators and ex-MLA JCD Prabakar.

Responding, Panneerselvam said he was elected as Coordinator by “15 million" party workers and that neither Palaniswami nor another leader, K P Munusamy, had the right to expel him.

Condemning the two for expelling him “uniltaerally" and against party rules, Panneerselvam said “I expel from primary them membership," of the AIADMK. Responding to reporters’ queries on the next course of action, he said he would approach the courts with the support of party workers and secure justice.

PUNJAB

JAGAN ELECTED LIFETIME PRESIDENT OF YSRCP

Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has been elected as the lifetime president of the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP). An announcement in this regard was made on the second and final day of the party plenary here on Saturday. YSRCP general secretary V Vijaysai Reddy, who was the returning officer for the election of the party president, announced the unanimous election of Jagan as the lifetime president of the party. The YSRCP will now move the Election Commission to convey that it has modified its constitution for Jagan's election as the YSRCP president for his lifetime.

Punjab CM Mann weds Haryana 3 Dera followers jailed doctor in private ceremony over desecration of KERALA MINISTER QUITS

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann tied the knot with Dr Gurpreet Kaur at his home here in a private ceremony. The 48-year-old Mann and Gurpreet, who hails from Pehowa in Haryana’a Kurukshetra, completed the Anand Karaj rituals in presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and party Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh.

No Cabinet minister, MLA or any other party leader from state unit of AAP was invited for the ceremony that took place away from the media glare.

Only some officials from the CMO reached the venue briefly to congratulate Mann. Cabinet ministers Harpal Cheema and Aman Arora and party MLA Kulwant Singh received Kejriwal at the Chandigarh Airport but were not part of the wedding ceremony.

Arrangements were made for about 80 guests at the CM’s Sector 2 residence.

Chadha, who was first to reach the CM's residence, shared some images on Twitter showing Mann in his usual

Guru Granth Sahib

yellow turban with a ‘kalgi’ and a gold coloured kurta-pyjama. Gupreet Kaur was dressed in red bridal finery.

According to party insiders, the wedding, solemnised according to Sikh rituals, was attended by Mann’s mother and sister and just a few guests. It is learnt that Kejriwal played the role of an elder from Mann’s family and actively participated in the wedding rituals.

This is Mann’s second marriage.

He separated from his first wife in 2015 - they have two children, daughter Seerat Kaur (21) and son Dilshan (17).

Gurpreet Kaur completed her MBBS from a private university in Haryana in 2018. She has two elder sisters who are settled abroad.

MOGA (PUNJAB): A court in Punjab sentenced three Dera Sacha Sauda followers to three years imprisonment for desecration of Guru Granth Sahib at Malke village in 2015.

The court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Rahul Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Prithvi Singh, resident of Baghapurana who was a member of the Sirsa-based Dera’s state committee, and followers Mithu Singh Maan and Amardeep Singh of Malke village.

It has acquitted two other accused, Satnam Singh of Baghapurana and Davinder Singh Harie Wala village, for want of evidence. In November 2015, torn pages of ‘bir’ (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib were found strewn on the streets of Malke village in Moga. A police case was subsequently registered.

In October 2018, a special investigation team (SIT) of Punjab Police arrested the five Dera followers in connection with the incident. “Three of the five persons named in the first information report (FIR) have been convicted in the case. The trio have been awarded three years of imprisonment under section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and another three years under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code. Both punishments will run parallel,” inspector Dalbir Singh, a member of the SIT, said.

WEST BENGAL

Amid controversy, Mamata invited for Kolkata metro station opening KOLKATA: Metro Railway Kolkata has said it has invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the inauguration of the Sealdah metro station of the East-West Line, amid the controversy over it. The station is scheduled to be inaugurated by Union Minister Smriti Irani virtually from Howrah.

A formal invitation has been sent to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), and local TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and TMC MLAs Nayna Bandyopadhyay and Paresh Pal, a Metro Railway spokesperson said on Sunday.

A source at state secretariat said, the invitation has been

received but the chief minister would be travelling to northern West Bengal on Monday.

Hitting out at the BJP-led government in the Centre, the ruling TMC said the "lastminute" invitation was prompted by public pressure.

"This is nothing but lastminute realisation by the Metro of its mistake in the face of mounting public criticism. They knew about the CM's planned trip to north Bengal, but still they organised the programme so that she is not able to attend," TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy claimed.

"We want the service to commence as scheduled in the interest of the people," he said.

The Metro Railway Kolkata, the oldest in the country, is a part of the Indian Railways, unlike the metro systems in other parts of India where state governments have stakes in the operating companies.

The BJP said the TMC made a hue and cry over the issue despite knowing that such official invitations do take time to reach the invitees. "Still, none of our MLAs or MPs get invitations to official functions of the state government. The TMC should hold a mirror to itself," BJP's national vicepresident Dilip Ghosh said.

Commercial services at the

OVER CONSTITUTION REMARK

Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan announced his resignation amidst mounting criticism over his controversial remarks against the Constitution recently. Apparently succumbing to pressure, Cheriyan - a senior CPI(M) leader who holds Cultural Affairs, Fisheries and Youth Affairs portfolios in the cabinet - met media persons at the CMO and announced that he has handed over his resignation to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Meanwhile, a court in Thiruvalla directed the police to register a case against Cheriyan on the basis of a plea moved by an Ernakulam-based lawyer for allegedly insulting the Constitution, police said.

PUNJABI ACTOR ARRESTED FOR HURTING RELIGIOUS FEELINGS The Jalandhar police arrested Punjabi actor Rana Jung Bahadur for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. During an interview, the actor had reportedly made some “objectionable” remarks against Lord Valmiki, following which protests broke out in parts of Punjab, including Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar. Members of the Dalit community even burnt the actor’s effigy a few days ago and staged a dharna against him. A case had been registered under Sections 295 and 295A of the IPC and Section 3 of the SC/ST Act against the actor.

3 TMC WORKERS HACKED TO DEATH Mamata Banerjee

swanky Sealdah metro station, connecting the IT hub of Sector 5, will begin on July 15. It is a part of the East-West corridor, a part of which is built under the Hooghly River. The new station will not only increase the ridership of the line, but it will also be a boon for people living in the suburbs to reach the IT hub easily after getting down from local trains at Sealdah.

Three Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers, including a local gram panchayat member, were shot at before being hacked to death with sharp-edged weapons by unidentified assailants in Canning town of West Bengal’s South 24 Paraganas district. Swapan Majhi, a member of Gopalpur gram panchayat, and his associates Bhootnath Pramanik and Jhantu Majhi were riding a motorcycle when they were attacked, the police said. Teams of the district police and the CID reached the spot and started probe into the incident.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination. “A case of murder has been registered. Our investigation is on,” a police officer said.

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64 killed as heavy rains lash several 16 killed in Amarnath cloudburst, 40 still missing parts of Gujarat Sixty-four people have died in rainrelated incidents since the onset of monsoon in Gujarat on June 1 even as hundreds of villages and urban areas in districts of south and central Gujarat remained submerged after three continuous days of downpours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up chief minister Bhupendra Patel who apprised him about the situation. The PM assured him of all possible help from the central government.

As downpours eased slightly on Monday, scenes of devastation started surfacing in urban and rural areas of worst-hit Valsad and Chhota Udepur districts. The ferociously flowing rivers flooded houses, shops and killed a large number of livestock, dealing a telling blow to thousands of people who helplessly watched their valuables and belongings getting destroyed.

State revenue minister Rajendra Trivedi said 56 deaths were reported between June 1 and July 9 while rains claimed eight lives in the past 24 hours ending Monday morning.

Majority of the fatalities (33) were

due to lightning. Sixteen drowned, eight died in wall collapse, six due to tree fall and one in falling of an electricity pole. More than 6,000 people have been rescued in the worst-hit Chhota Udepur, Valsad, Narmada, Surat and Tapi districts where National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were engaged in rescue operations.

Thirteen NDRF and 16 SDRF have been mobilized for rescue. In Valsad district, 16 people from a village had to be air-lifted as they were stranded on their rooftop due to flooding in the Auranga river.

Around 388 roads, including state highways and village roads, were closed as they were washed away. Thirteen dams have been put

on 'high alert' and eight on 'alert' as their water level swelled due to the heavy showers.

12.5% of annual rainfall in 3 days Residents of several areas in Ahmedabad, which witnessed the highest rainfall of July in the last five years on Sunday, were struggling in the aftermath of downpour.

People were wading through waisthigh waters in residential societies, rummaging for their belongings.

Hundreds of cars in the parking of apartments were damaged. In the 24 hours ending 7am on Monday, the city recorded 219mm, which is 27.5% of the city's annual rainfall. In the last three days, Gujarat has recorded 12.5% of annual rainfall. On Monday, Umarpada in Surat and Dediapada in Narmada were pounded by over 300mm rainfall. The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy showers during the next five days in south Gujarat, and heavy downpour in central parts of the state and Saurashtra.

Sixteen pilgrims were killed in flash floods set off by the sudden rain at the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath and rescue team feared that the dead count might go to up as about 40 missing people were still unaccounted, some trapped under huge pile of mud and rocks.

Rescue teams, police, local volunteers and military units were removing debris day and night and were searching for missing people.

Two pilgrims were pulled out alive and airlifted to Srinagar, 92 km away, for treatment. Atul Karwal, NDRF director general said, “there are 16 confirmed deaths. No fresh landslide has occurred, but it’s raining. The rain has not hampered our rescue efforts. Four NDRF teams with over 100 rescuers are on the job. Army, BSF, SDRF, CRPF and others are also engaged in the operation. ” Officials said, around 15,000 people were in the mountains when the rain struck. They were evacuated to the lower base camp of Panjtarni. Helicopters were used for rescue efforts and airlifting the injured to hospitals.

PM Modi led the nation in condoling the deaths. He tweeted, “Anguished by the cloudburst near Shree Amarnath cave.

Condolences to the bereaved families. Rescue and relief operations are underway. All possible assistance is being provided to the affected”.

Baldev Thakor, an Ahmedabad based tour operator who took a group of 40 pilgrims to Amarnath said his group was at the Baltal Base Camp. We were supposed to leave for the Amarnath cave on Saturday. Although, we got the message about the cloudburst and were told that the yatra had been put on hold, we will wait here and complete the yatra when it resumes.”

War of words between BJP and TMC PM Modi unveils national emblem over Maa Kali comment on roof of new parliament building A war of words erupted between BJP and TMC soon after PM Narendra Modi’s remarks that “the limitless blessings of Goddess Kali are always with India”, with the saffron party’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya attacking Mahua Moitra and her party by raking up her “meat-eating and alcohol-accepting” goddess statement.

TMC reacted sharply, calling BJP’s idea of faith “unitary” and “not in line with the Constitution”.

Soon after Modi’s speech, delivered to mark the birth centenary celebrations of Swami Atmasthananda, Malviya tweeted: “PM Modi speaks reverentially about Maa Kaali being the center of devotion, not just for Bengal but whole of India. On the other hand, a TMC MP insults Maa Kaali and (Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee instead of acting against her, defends her obnoxious portrayal. . . ” Bengal minister Sashi Panja hit back, saying: “We have also seen that the Constitution allows the people of India to practise their faiths and religions in their own way. But BJP is almost imposing a unitary idea which is not along the lines of the Constitution.”

Reiterating the party’s stand on the Mahua controversy, Panja said: “TMC believes in the equality of all religions.

Recently there has been a controversy over the poster of Ma Kali. TMC condemned it on the very first day it surfaced. ” Attacking Malviya in a Twitter post later, Mahua said, “Would advise BJP in charge for Bengal to tell his masters to stop commenting on things they have no clue about. Didi O Didi got them the boot.

Now Maa O Maa will get them a foot on their chest”.

Meanwhile, a day after Mahua made controversial comments on Goddess Kali, Madhya Pradesh police booked the Trinamool MP for hurting religious sentiments and several police complaints were filed against her by BJP supporters in Bengal even as her party reiterated that it did not approve of her comments and it was for her to deal with the police action.

The MP on her part remained defiant, saying she was “not afraid of anything”.

The FIR against Mahua in Bhopal under IPC Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage reli-

gious sentiments), a non-bailable offence, was filed following instructions from Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the state DGP. Chouhan said, “Mahua's statement has hurt religious feelings of Hindus. We will not tolerate disrespect to any Hindu gods and goddesses.” Separately, two more FIRs, one each in Bhopal and Ratlam, were filed against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for the poster of her film "Kaali" which shows the goddess smoking.

Mahua’s remarks came at a conclave by a media house in Kolkata against the backdrop of the row over the "Kaali" poster. “To me, Kali is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess,” she said at the conclave.

Mahua stood by her remarks, asking BJP “to bring it on” and declaring in a tweet: “Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses.

Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn’t need back-up forces.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled the national emblem cast on the roof of the new building.

Made of bronze, weighing 9,500 kg and standing 6. 5 metres tall, the emblem is at the top of the central foyer of the building. It is supported by a 6,500 kg steel structure. Official sources said that the concept sketch and process of casting of the emblem went through eight different stages from clay modelling and computer graphics to bronze casting and polishing.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh, urban development minister Hardeep Singh Puri and parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi were present

at the inauguration ceremony. The Prime Minister participated in a puja before unveiling the statue. Modi also interacted with workers involved in the building’s construction and told them that they should feel proud of their work.

Opposition questions religious ceremony The unveiling of the national emblem triggered a war of words between the government and opposition parties, which not only protested being kept away from the occasion but also questioned why a religious ceremony of one faith was performed when the Constitution “clearly stipulates that the State does not profess or practice any faith or religion”.

Contesting AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi’s remarks that the PM should not have unveiled the emblem and it should have been left to the Lok Sabha speaker, BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni said that Owaisi as a legal expert should have known the administrative process before making such “irresponsible” statement. CPM alleged that the PM unveiling the emblem amounted to a “subversion” of the constitutional separation of powers. It also criticised the puja organised on the occasion. Congress said the decision to keep the opposition out of an event to celebrate the national emblem was problematic and “totally wrong”.

Jaishankar talks with Blinken, Lavrov focus on Ukraine crisis India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar held discussions on regional and global issues, with focus on the Ukraine situation, in bilateral meetings with his US and Russian counterparts, Antony Blinken and and Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali. Jaishankar also met French foreign minister Catherine Colonna.

Talks with Blinken focused on global energy and food security concerns which, the US secretary of state said, dramatically “exacerbated by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.

While New Delhi hasn’t condemned Russia’s actions, Blinken described India as a great partner and Jaishankar spoke about greater understanding in ties.

Blinken referred to a UN report that has found that 71

S Jaishankar & Antony Blinken

million more people are now in poverty as a result of the “aggression”. “I think what we’ve heard today already is a strong chorus from around the world - not just the US - about the need for this aggression to end so that we can actually focus on the challenges that are affecting people in their lives,” he said referring to the Russian

action.

“But in all of this, India is a great partner for the US. We’re working together on virtually every single one of these issues, and I look forward to pursuing the conversation that we’ve been engaged in for the last 18 months,” Blinken said.

Jaishankar discussed global and regional issues with Blinken.

“Our relationship today allows us to approach a range of challenges with greater understanding and openness,” he said.

In a brief meeting with Lavrov, Jaishankar discussed “priority issues” of the bilateral agenda, as well as topical international and regional problems including, according to a Russian readout, the situation in Ukraine. The ministers reaffirmed the mutual commitment to further expansion of the Russian-Indian contacts at all levels, said the Russian embassy in a statement.

“Discussed bilateral matters of mutual interest. Also exchanged views on contemporary regional and international issues including the Ukraine conflict and Afghanistan,” tweeted Jaishankar on his meeting with Lavrov.

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16 - 22 July 2022

Poetry and creative conversations

T

o mark the 75th year of Indian Rendezvous series. independence and to celebrate life Awarded best not-for-profit cultural events again after a two-year-long organisation in 2021, BaithakUK is a crosshiatus, Baithak and Prabha Khaitan arts platform celebrating the best of South Foundation, in association with Taj Asian cultural legacy in the UK and Chambers, hosted an evening of poetry and globally. Baithak offers a platform for creative conversations with the legendary masters and young talent to meet, poet and scriptwriter Shri Javed Akhtar. dialogue, debate and creates new work.

With him is a talent described by Satyajit Ray as “the best dramatic actress in the nation” – the fabulously gifted Shabana Azmi.

Hailing from a family of sevengeneration writers, Javed Akhtar is a Left to right- Mehrnavaz Avari GM Taj Buckingham Gate, leading Urdu poet, Sangeeta Datta (Artistic Director, BaithakUK) Shabana Azmi, lyricist and scriptwriter guest Barkha Dutt, Javed Akhtar. Photo Credit- Vipul Sangoi in contemporary India.

Baithak presents live and digital His father Jan Nisar Akhtar was a wellproductions and also runs a popular series known poet and lyricist and his mother of conversations called My Life My Art. Safia Akhtar was a Professor of Literature During lockdown times, Baithak and a writer. produced three arts festivals Connect and Awarded the title of Padmabhushan Reconnect which involved out-of-work and the Sahitya Academy Award by the artists.

Government of India, he has recently Prabha Khaitan Foundation is a received the Richard Dawkins Award in the leading literary organisation in India USA and the Poet Laureate Award by Tata promoting literature and writers, Literature Live, India. empowering women and creating events Javed Akhtar is a founding member of for children too. They are now present in Citizens of Justice and Peace, founding twenty-five cities in India where local member and chairperson for “Muslims for women’s groups organise literary events.

Secular Democracy”. In 2018 he was invited Sangeeta Datta’s said, “It is wonderful to talk in the temple of Sankat Mochan to come back to live events with the Mandir in Benaras and was given the title dynamics of artists on stage and live of Shantidoot or Peace Ambassador. audiences in the room. Nothing could be Javed Akhtar’s first book of poems better than to celebrate poetry in this post Tarkash (Quiver) has been the highestcovid period and let our imagination fly selling book of poems in India. It has been with the words of the wordsmith, Javed translated into various languages. Besides Akhtar. What makes this event special is several Indian languages, his poetry is his poetry was read in four language translated into English as Quiver, in translations French, Italian, Bengali and French as ‘D’Autres Mondes’ and in Italian English.

“In altre parole, altri mondi”.

“Anne Chantiane and Valentina Shabana Azmi is an internationally Marcio read the French and Italian acclaimed film and theatre actor. She translations, Sangeeta Datta reads the new believes in art as an instrument of social Bengali translation and Shabana reads the change. Daughter of progressive poet Kaifi English translations. The audience got a Azmi and actor Shaukat Kaifi, she has won flavour of various languages and a more five national awards for Best Actress and international audience appreciated this several international awards for acting. linguistic travel. At Baithak we always try Shabana Azmi has been a tireless and connect the legends and masters with campaigner for women’s rights, and slum younger artists.” dwellers rights, she heads the NGO “As people step out for live events Mijwan Welfare Society that works for the again, it is really important to remind empowerment of the girl child in rural them of the beauty of poetry and music India. She has served as a nominated and the place this holds in our hearts. We member of Parliament in the upper house launched our new music video Megha, a of the Parliament and was awarded the Tagore song of the rains which Javed Saab Gandhi International Peace prize at the has translated, I have sung, Shivani House of Lords in 2006. She is presently Bhandari performed and Rekesh Chauhan the Global Leadership Ambassador for the accompanied on the piano. We are always Women in Public Service Project. trying to connect legendary masters with The event was produced and younger British-Asian talent in our presented by Baithak and Prabha Khaitan projects,” Sangeeta told Asian Voice.

Foundation along with the Taj Chambers

Schools across the country to receive state-of-the-art refurbishments Sixty-one schools across the country are set to receive state-of-the-art rebuilds or refurbishments that will transform education for their pupils.

In his first announcement as Education Secretary, James Cleverly confirmed the investment to provide thousands of children access to new, modern classrooms as part of the Prime Minister’s flagship School Rebuilding Programme.

The projects will be backed by over £1bn of funding.

Chauhan to join Commonwealth Secretary-General for The Commonwealth Conference The Birmingham Commonwealth Games Business Conference hosted by the Institute of Directors will take place at Birmingham's Grand Hotel and bring together names such as former Paralympian Baroness Tanni GreyThompson and Secretary General for the Commonwealth Baroness Patricia Scotland.

On 19th July in the evening attendees will hear from former athlete Roger Black MBE, who for fourteen years represented Great Britain at the highest level of athletics along with an exclusive performance from Rekesh Chauhan.

The exclusive Business Conference will be hosted at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham, with a line-up of speakers including: Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng – Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson Member of the House of Lords and former Paralympian

Baroness Patricia Scotland Secretary General for the Commonwealth Andrew Mitchell – Director General of the Department of International Trade Andy Street - Metro Mayor (West Midlands) Rev Rose HudsonWilkin – Chaplain to the Queen and to the Speaker of the House of Commons John Crabtree – Lord Lieutenant Lord Rami Ranger CBE – House of Lords/Businessman Cllr Ian Ward – Leader of Birmingham City Council Matthew Hammond PWC Strategic International Markets Lead Partner The evening will include a three-course dinner and after dinner speech by former athlete Roger Black MBE, who for fourteen years represented Great Britain at the highest level of athletics. The dinner will be followed by various entertainment, including award-winning British Indian pianist and composer, Rekesh Chauhan.

Hotwalls Studios artists hold Within These Walls art exhibition An exciting exhibition of new art work, compiled by the creative artists at Portsmouth City Council’s Hotwalls Studios, will be on display at the Round Tower, Old Portsmouth between 10am – 4pm from Friday 15 July – Sunday 17 July 2022.

Within These Walls is a free event inspired by the studios’ unique location – the architecture, atmosphere, people and history of the Hotwalls and the Round Tower. The result is a varied collection of paintings, drawing, textiles, prints, jewellery, ceramics and more.

The city’s historic fortifications have been transformed into thirteen working

studios where artists and designer-makers start and grow their creative ventures in an environment of mutual support, creativity and innovation.

The Hotwalls Studios is easily reached by public transport: The Hard Interchange is a short walk away and offers bus, rail and coach links and a connection to the city’s Park & Ride.

Any budding artists and makers are encouraged to get in touch to register their interest in the Hotwalls Studios and will be sent an application form when any studios become available. They can also let you know about other spaces in the city and surrounding area.

The Prime Minister has appointed four trustees to the Science Museum Group The Prime Minister has appointed four trustees to the Science Museum Group for a period of 4 years from 1 November 2022 until 31 October 2026. Professor Anya Hurlbert, Baroness Nicky Morgan, Professor Gregory Radick, and Sarah Sands have been appointed as Trustees. Science Museum Group Trustees are not remunerated.

This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.

The appointments process is regulated by

the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election.

Baroness Nicky Morgan declared having been a parliamentary candidate and elected MP for the Conservative Party.

Anya Hurlbert, Gregory Radick and Sarah Sands have declared no activity.

British artist David Hockney turns 85 David Hockney, (born July 9, 1937, Bradford, Yorkshire, England), an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, photographer, and stage designer whose works were characterized by economy of technique, a preoccupation with light, and a frank mundane realism derived from Pop art and photography.

He studied at the Bradford College of Art (1953–57) and the Royal College of Art, London (1959–62), where he received a gold medal in the graduate competition. He visited the United States in 1961 and returned in 1964–67 to teach at the universities of Iowa, Colorado, and California and thereafter commuted between England and the United States until settling permanently in Los Angeles

in 1978. That city’s intense glaring light and sleek “California modern” aesthetic had a pronounced influence on his work.

Much of Hockney’s subject matter was autobiographical, including portraits and selfportraits and quiet incidental scenes of his friends and his quarters—e.g., Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972). The casual elegance and tranquil luminosity of these pieces also predominated in his still lifes.

Hockney’s exploration of photography in the 1980s resulted in Pearblossom Hwy., 11–18th April 1986 and other ambitious

photocollages.

He published several series of graphic works in book form, including illustrations for Six Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1970) and The Blue Guitar (1977).

Hockney also achieved international prominence as a stage-set designer for opera and ballet. Queen Elizabeth II appointed Hockney to the Order of Merit—a group of no more than 24 individuals at a time who have distinguished themselves in science, art, literature, or public service—in 2012.

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Hypertension poses a major health risk for patients in middle-income countries A new study reveals that several people diagnosed with hypertension in four of the world’s biggest middle-income countries stop treatment and most of these patients lose control of blood pressure, potentially leading to heart problems and death. Researchers analysed patient data from China, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa, experts found that policies solely aimed at improving diagnosis or initiating treatment may not lead to long-term hypertension control improvements in these and similar countries.

Researchers investigating how people with hypertension move through care over time looked at adults aged 40 and over. They discovered that over a 5- to 9-year follow-up period, only around 30 per cent of undiagnosed individuals

became diagnosed, whilst 25 per cent of untreated individuals became treated. The most striking finding, however, was that among those that were on treatment and had controlled blood pressure, the majority lost blood pressure control and a substantial number stopped treatment over the 5- to 9-year period.

Publishing their findings in Science Translational Medicine, the international group of researchers – including the University of Birmingham and the Technical University of Munich – observed that: South Africa had the lowest rates of undiagnosed hypertension, treatment discontinuation and blood pressure control loss, as well as the highest probabilities of individuals reaching blood pressure control.

Poor physical and mental health in adults linked to childhood trauma According to a recently published study by researchers at the Canada’s University of Toronto, older persons who experienced physical abuse as children were much more likely to experience chronic pain and chronic physical illnesses in later life. In comparison to those who did not experience this early trauma, they had a twofold increased risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders.

Anna Buhrmann, who began this research for her undergraduate thesis in the Bachelor of Arts and Science program at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario and is a research assistant at the Institute of Life Course & Aging at the University of Toronto, said, ”Sadly, our findings suggest that the traumatic experience of childhood physical abuse can influence both physical and mental health many decades later. It also underlines the importance of assessing for adverse childhood experiences among patients of all ages, including older adults."

The physical illnesses that developed included diabetes, cancer, migraines, arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The links between childhood abuse and poor physical and mental health persisted even after accounting for income, education, smoking, binge drinking, and other causes of poor health.

"Health professionals serving older adults need to be aware that it is never too late to refer people for counselling. A promising intervention, cognitive behavioural therapy [CBT], has been tested and found effective at reducing post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive and anxiety symptoms among survivors of childhood abuse," said co-author Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson,

who supervised Buhrmann's thesis research.

It was not possible for the cross-sectional study to determine the specific pathways through which experiencing physical abuse as a child affects an individual's health later in life.

Current studies suggest that childhood physical abuse affects several physiological changes, including the dysregulation of systems that regulate the response of the body to stress.

The data for this study were drawn from a representative sample of adults aged 60 and older in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It compared 409 older adults who reported a history of childhood physical abuse to 4,659 of their peers who reported they had not been physically abused during their youth. The data were drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey.

China had one of the lowest rates of reaching blood pressure control with just 9 per cent of individuals likely to achieve this – regardless of treatment status. In Indonesia, 92 per cent of individuals lost blood pressure control at follow-up, with the country also displaying the highest treatment discontinuation and lowest treatment initiation rates - suggesting substantial barriers in accessing and following up care.

In Mexico, only 27 per cent of people were likely to be diagnosed with hypertension, whilst 34 per cent of individuals with a diagnosis later discontinued their treatment. Professor Justine Davies from the University of Birmingham commented: “Hypertension affects one in four adults and is the world’s leading

cause of cardiovascular disease and early death.

Two-thirds of people with hypertension live in low- and middle-income countries and these countries in particular face considerable population ageing, which is likely to generate a surge in people requiring hypertension care.

Treating hypertension substantially reduces deaths from cardiovascular disease mortality, yet many countries have crucial gaps in hypertension diagnosis and control.” Nikkil Sudharsanan, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science for Disease Prevention and Health Care at the Technical University of Munich, commented: “Our analysis covered four

large middle-income countries making up close to a quarter of the world’s population. We found that diagnosis and treatment initiation are major bottlenecks to achieving blood pressure control.

Nonetheless, treatment discontinuation and loss of blood pressure control are equally problematic and reveal that we can’t expect long-term hypertension control from interventions that seek to improve diagnosis and treatment initiation without efforts to also keep people in care and their blood pressure controlled over time.”

Include these healthy fruits in your diet to lower bad cholesterol levels Consuming a poor diet can raise levels of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in your blood.

Leading a sedentary lifestyle paired with fatty foods and alcohol could lead to obesity and further increase your chances of heart attack or stroke.

However, not all cholesterol is bad, and there is a need for good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in our body for important functions. Nutritionists reveal there are several fruits that are good to balance the high cholesterol levels of the body. The following fruits help to manage cholesterol levels.

Apple Apple is considered one of the best fruits when it comes to lowering cholesterol. Apples are rich in soluble fibre which keeps our hearts healthy. Additionally, apples contain polyphenols which can help lower our cholesterol levels.

Banana The fibre and potassium in bananas can reduce the level of cholesterol and blood pressure.

Banana is especially known as a

good source of soluble fibre which will give one a healthy body and good immune system.

Grapes Grapes get into the bloodstream and carry all the bad cholesterol into the liver where it gets processed.

Berries Blackberry and strawberries have shown results in lowering cholesterol levels in the body. They prevent LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized, which is believed to be a major risk factor for

heart disease.

Pineapple Pineapple is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and nutrition.

Bromelain which is present in pineapple breaks down cholesterol deposits in arteries, which support healthy blood flow and reduces our risk of heart disease.

Avocados They are rich in oleic acid, which helps with bad cholesterol in blood flow. Avocados can be consumed in salads, sandwiches, toast, smoothies, and many other ways.

Ayurveda tips to keep cough and cold at bay this monsoon Monsoon is here and with it, a handful of health issues are common in this season.

Cough, cold and throat issues spread like wildfire in humid conditions, and considering the risk of contracting viral, bacterial, or fungal infections is high in the rainy season, it is important to take adequate prevention measures.

There are several ways to increase your immunity - remedies that are easily found in your kitchen. Ayurveda expert Dr. Dixa Bhavsar suggests useful Ayurvedic remedies to keep monsoon illnesses at bay. In a new Instagram post, she gives us the easiest tricks for a smooth monsoon.

Ginger and honey - Take 1 tsp shonth (dry ginger powder) with a tsp of honey thrice a day half hour before meals.

Turmeric, pepper and honey - Take 1 tsp turmeric with a pinch of black pepper and honey twice a day half an hour post meals.

Drink different kinds of warming and throat soothing teas like tulsi tea, fenugreek tea, ginger- mint tea etc.

Gargle with turmeric-salt water 2-3 times a day.

Licorice/Yastimadhu and honey: Take 1 tsp of Yastimadhu (known as Mulethi in general language) and add a tsp of honey in it. Have it twice a day 40 mins post meals. Mulethi is not recommended for people with hypertension.

Steam Inhalation with water boiled with mint, ajwain, methi and haldi.

Drink warm water throughout the day.

Dr. Bhavsar also shared Ayurvedic Formulations that work effectively for colds and coughs: • Sitopladi Churna with honey • Trikatu churna with honey • Talisadi churna with honey

• Laxmivilas Ras with warm water • Tribhuvankirti Ras with warm water • Lavangadi Vati with warm water • Khadiradi Vati with warm water The Ayurveda expert, however, warns that these formulations should always be had after consulting an ayurvedic doctor.

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Janhvi is the No. 1 third wheel between Varun and Natasha

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anhvi Kapoor is currently shooting for her upcoming film ‘Bawaal’ in Poland with actor Varun Dhawan. She posted a bunch of pictures last week, and in one of them, she was seen posing with Varun and his wife Natasha Dalal.

Posting the photos, Janhvi wrote, “Your #1 third wheel."

In the first few photos, Janhvi posed for the camera from a beautiful location and in other pictures, she captured the scenic views of Amsterdam. In one picture, she is seen sitting with a sad face, with Varun Dhawan and his wife Natasha.

Pointing out her picture with Natasha and Varun, one fan said, “You look so awkward in that picture haha." Another one wrote, “Le Janhvi thinking how to romance in film in front of his wife.” Many fans dropped heart emojis in the comments section of the post.

Last week, Janhvi announced that she has completed the Amsterdam schedule of the movie

on Instagram. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and backed by producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, the film is said to be a love story. The film went on floors in April in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is slated to hit the theatres on April 7, 2023.

Apart from 'Bawaal', the actress has a slew of projects lined up for release. She will be seen next in ‘Mili’, backed by her father Boney Kapoor.

Janhvi finished shooting for the film last year. The survival thriller, directed by Mathukutty Xavier, is the remake of the 2019 Malayalam film ‘Helen’.

Mathukutty also directed the original movie. The film will also star actors Manoj Pahwa and Sunny Kaushal.

Janhvi also has 'Mr And Mrs Mahi’ opposite actor Rajkummar Rao and Sidharth Sengupta's ‘Good Luck Jerry’ in the pipeline. She will soon be seen in an upcoming episode of ‘Koffee With Karan’ Season 7.

Aamir 'could’ve done better' with his Punjabi in ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, says Sargun Mehta

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unjabi actor Sargun Mehta has reacted to Aamir Khan’s Punjabi accent in his upcoming film ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. While praising him for his versatility in films, she added that he “could’ve done better” with the accent.

Adapted by Atul Kulkarni and directed

by Advait Chandan, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is an official Hindi remake of Robert Zemeckis` Oscar Award-winning 1994 film ‘Forrest Gump’, which featured Hollywood star Tom Hanks in the titular role. ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ will reportedly unfold some of India’s historic events as seen through the eyes of a man.

During a recent interview, when Sargun was asked about Aamir's accent in the movie, she said, "If Aamir Khan would have said in pure Punjabi, nobody could have understood. If the superstar next does a Bengali film and use too much of Bengali words, then

we’ll be not able to understand it.”

Sargun added, “Aamir sir is not Punjabi and he has taken up a role. Actors are supposed to take versatile roles. I can say that he could have done a bit better but jitna bhi unhone kia hain bahot kaam and mehnat lagti hain sirf utna karne mein bhi (Whatever he has done in the film, it takes a lot to get the results. He has worked really hard).”

On the work front, Sargun has commenced the shooting of ‘Mission Cinderella’ in the UK. Apart from her, the film will also star Akshay Kumar, Rakul Preet Singh and Chandrachur Singh.

‘Mission Cinderella’ is an official remake of the criticallyacclaimed Tamil movie ‘Ratsasan’.

Even my parents aren't so curious about my marriage plans: Sonakshi

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onakshi Sinha is living the time of her life, working on diverse projects. The actor is aware of the constant rumours about her marriage and recently laughed it off, saying even her parents are not so curious about her plans of getting hitched.

She said, “I have always maintained that if I’m being spoken about, I would rather be spoken about for my work (rather than my personal life). But of course, people are curious. They want to know what’s going on in my life and they can speculate all they want.”

She added, “Until I’m not ready to share my life with the world, I won’t do it. I have always been that sort of a person. And that reflects on my social media as well. It reflects in the places I go to, or where I’m seen and where I am not seen. It is very easy for me to balance that out. I will only share with the world what I want to share and nothing else.”

When asked about the queries on her marriage and husband, Sonakshi said, “Even my parents don’t ask me so

'Aadhar card du' asks Kartik after fans struggle to believe it’s him in Europe

much about my marriage as the media and the public. Even my parents are asking in the success of his latest release not bothered, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’, actor Kartik Aaryan had as much as a hilarious interaction with his fans abroad. He is them.” currently vacationing in Europe with his team to On the celebrate the success of the horror-comedy work front, when he ran into some fans. When they Sonakshi struggled to believe it was Kartik in front of has a couple them, a funny interaction ensued. of exciting In a video shared by a paparazzo projects in account on Instagram, a fan is seen the pipeline. walking toward Kartik, who was busy She has been having a meal from a food box. The working on fan asked Kartik, "Can I take a horror-comedy picture with you because my ‘Kakuda’, and is friends are not believing that you gearing to make her are Kartik Aaryan." The actor web debut with a thriller replied to the other fans who ‘Dahaad’. had gathered there, "But I Opening up about the am Kartik. Main Aadhar projects, Sonakshi shares, “I really card doon (Should I enjoy my work and whatever it is show my Aadhar that I’m doing. I have worked on three card)?" The very drastically different projects in the fans last year. I had a blast playing these different people all in just one year’s time”.

B

happily repeated to others that it was Kartik only, while the first one clicked a picture with him.

Fans dropped laughing emojis in the comments section. Some also requested the fans in Europe to let him eat in peace. One wrote, "Hilarious," while another commented, "KA's sense of humour is unmatchable." A third one wrote, "Middle-class humour can’t be the one to mess with.”

Kartik has also been sharing pictures from his trip on his Instagram account. Last week, he shared a picture from his hotel room and revealed that the Beatles had also once stayed there. He wrote, "Fun Fact - Beatles stayed in this same room. Hope someone someday puts a photo saying Koki stayed here." Filmmaker Farah Khan advised Kartik to put a picture of himself in the room to ensure that.

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ has collected over £18.3 million at the Indian box office and over £23.07 million worldwide since its release on May 20.

Kartik will next be seen in ‘Shehzada’ opposite Kriti Sanon.

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Ranbir interviews Ranbir, talks wedding, Kapoor legacy

Radhika Apte 'forgot to click pictures' at her wedding A

ctress Radhika Apte recently revealed that she does not have even a single picture from her own wedding. Known to be media-shy, Radhika is not as social media savvy as some of her colleagues in the industry. She married British violinist and composer Benedict Taylor in 2012. The couple, who divides time between London and Mumbai, likes to keep a low profile despite working in the entertainment industry.

Recalling her wedding, Radhika said, “When I got married to Benedict 10 years ago, we forgot to click pictures. We had a DIY marriage. We called our friends, made food ourselves, had the wedding at a place in Northern England, and partied.

R

anbir Kapoor has taken upon himself multiple roles to promote his upcoming film ‘Shamshera’. Set to feature in the first double of his career, the actor trolled himself in the latest promotional video. He talked about his personal life as he took up the role of Ranbir Kapur - Kapur with a ‘U’ for the promo.

But no pictures, even though half of our friends were photographers, none of them clicked any pictures. We were all so drunk. So I don’t have any pictures of my wedding, which is nice in a different way.”

Adding that Benedict is “worse” than her, when it comes to clicking pictures on memorable occasions but now they are slowly making amends. She said, “My husband is worse, he clicks no pictures at all. But, now when we go for holidays we try to click something at least.”

On the work front, Radhika was recently seen in ‘Forensic’, which streamed on Zee5. She will be seen next in ‘Vikram Vedha’, which stars Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan.

KJo reveals who he would cast if ‘KKHH’ is remade

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In the video, released by makers Yash Raj Films over the weekend, Kapur interviewed Kapoor on his talk show ‘The Other Kapur Show’. Introducing the actor, the interviewer said, "He is here to promote his next film, Shershah.

Welcome to the show Ranveer." As Ranbir corrected him that his name is Ranbir and the film is Shamshera, the other Ranbir said, "Yeah, whatever.”

The other Ranbir complimented Ranbir on his legacy- naming his ancestors Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor before asking, "How does it feel to disappoint all of them?" The interviewer told Ranbir that he has a problem with the actor's last name, telling him that's the only reason he got his debut film ‘Saawariya' even though both of them looked the same and auditioned in a towel for the film.

Ranbir Kapur further trolled the original Ranbir, telling him that he copied Charlie Chaplin in his film ‘Barfi’, Tintin in ‘Jagga’, and Sanju in Sanju. As the actor defended his film ‘Tamasha’, the other Ranbir said it was copied from his character in ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' which was copied from his character in ‘Wake Up Sid’. Kapur also made fun of Kapoor's 'horrible acting' in ‘Besharam’.

Things got more serious as Ranbir Kapur trolled the actor about his multiple girlfriends. He said, "I love that dialogue in Sanju - 'meri 350 girlfriends reh chuki hain (I have had 350 girlfriends).' Was it actually in script or your hidden truth came out?" As Ranbir Kapoor said he's married now, the other Ranbir asked him if his intimate small wedding with Alia Bhatt had anything to do with the pending loans he took for ‘Jagga Jasoos’.

The other Ranbir further asked, "Alia first did ‘Kalank’, then ‘Sadak 2’, then married you. What do you think when will her bad luck end?" After the real Ranbir pointed out that Alia was 'amazing' in ‘Gangubai’, the other asked, "Are you jealous?" There were more such potshots that Ranbir Kapur took at Ranbir Kapoor during the interview, before leaving him alone and in dark to promote ‘Shamshera’.

On the work front, Ranbir will be seen alongside Sanjay Dutt and Vaani Kapoor in ‘Shamshera’, which is scheduled for theatrical release on July 22. The period action entertainer will be released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages.

ilmmaker Karan Johar’s ‘Koffee With Karan’ Season 7 premiered on July 7. With the first episode streaming on Disney+Hotstar, actors Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh's interaction from the couch made for quite an interesting segment.

Meanwhile, Karan or KJo as he is famously known, has been busy promoting the show.

In a recent interview, he spoke about which actors he would cast in Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji’s roles, if his film ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was remade today. The movie was his debut as a director in 1998. The hit movie featured a love triangle involving Shah Rukh, who played the role of college sweetheart Rahul, Kajol, who was his best friend Anjali, and their friend Tina, played by Rani.

The movie went on to win Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress at Filmfare Awards 1999.

When asked to share which actors could take on the iconic characters if the movie had a remake, KJo said, “I would Ranveer (Singh), Alia (Bhatt), and Janhvi (Kapoor).

Alia would play Kajol’s role, Janhvi would play the hottie role - Rani from college - and Ranveer would be Shah Rukh.”

'Unceremoniously dropped' from ‘Bombay Velvet’: Ranveer Singh T he first episode of the much-awaited ‘Koffee With Karan’ Season 7 premiered last week, as Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt sat on the famous Koffee couch. The actors were last seen together in the 2019 film ‘Gully Boy’, and are currently working on Karan’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’.

In the debut episode, Ranveer revealed he was ‘unceremoniously dropped’ from ‘Bombay Velvet’. The lead role in the 2015 film ultimately went to actor Ranbir Kapoor, who was seen alongside Anushka Sharma.

In the episode, the actors played a game called Koffee Bingo. They had to select what applied to them from a range of statements like ‘didn’t speak to my partner for over a week’, and ‘quickie in the vanity van’, among others. When Ranveer chose ‘got rejected for a role’, Karan asked him if he was

referring to ‘Bombay Velvet’. Ranveer then clarified he was ‘not rejected’, in fact, he was ‘unceremoniously dropped’. He said his ‘star value wasn’t high’ at the time.

“I was not rejected, K (Karan Johar). I was unceremoniously dropped because at the time I couldn’t justify the budget. My star value wasn’t high,” Ranveer said. But cheekily added, “But things have changed.”

Ranveer was last seen in 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar’, which received mixed reviews, and had an OTT release following a theatrical release in May 2022. His upcoming projects include ‘Cirkus’ directed by Rohit Shetty.

Meanwhile, Alia was seen last in ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. Her upcoming films include ‘Brahamastra Part One: Shiva’ with Ranbir, Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Jee le Zaraa’ with Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif, as well as her Hollywood debut, ‘Heart Of Stone’.

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16 - 22 July 2022

Malayalam actor Ambika passes away due to Covid complications

Vikram set to attend audio launch of ‘Cobra’, 3 days after hospitalisation

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easoned actor and filmmaker Ambika Rao passed away last week. She was undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments after she contracted a Covid-19 infection. She passed away in a private hospital in Kochi at the age of 58. Ambika had been undergoing treatment for her kidney problems for a long time. However, her ailments did not stop her from pursuing her career in movies.

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ctor Vikram, who had been hospitalised, and missed the teaser launch of his upcoming film ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, seems to be recovering well.

Director of his other upcoming movie ‘Cobra’, Ajay Gnanamuthu tweeted that the actor will attend the film’s grand audio launch. Vikram was hospitalised hours before the trailer launch of ‘PS-1’ with reports claiming he’d had a heart attack, something that was later denied by his publicist and son Dhruv Vikram.

She forayed into the film industry as an assistant director in early 2000. She has assisted several directors, including Balachandra Menon, Anwar Rasheed, Shafi, and Vinayan. She also acted in many movies. Recently, she made a mark with her performances in hit films like ‘Virus’ and ‘Kumbalangi Nights’.

The members of the Malayalam film fraternity had extended their condolences on the passing of Ambika. “Rest in peace Ambika Chechi,” tweeted actorfilmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran. “Rest in everlasting peace Chechi!! ……Ambika Rao…..(sic),” wrote Kunchacko Boban.

Malayalam superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty also condoled the passing of Ambika on their social media pages.

Ambika is survived by her two children, Rahul and Sohan.

If audience like me, they will watch film: Nithya Menen A

ctor Nithya Menen hopes people embrace cinema from different regions without being “fundamentalist” as she believes being able to speak a new language is an achievement. Speaking in a recent interview, Menen said her fans often ask her to star in a movie in their language.

“Every time you seek the comments, they’ll say when are you doing the film in this or that language? I feel, if you like me, just watch it. There is something fundamentalist about language, like our culture, etc. I wish people didn’t feel like that.” The actor has worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films.

“When they ask me how do you learn languages so easily, I saw it’s because I am so open to it and I love it. What would be better than learning a new language and being able to speak it well? That’s an achievement. I wish people could see like

that too,” Menen said.

On the work front, she will be seen next in ‘Modern Love Hyderabad’, the Telugu version of Prime Video’s anthology series.

She will feature alongside Revathy in one of the six shorts titled ‘My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner’. The veteran actress credited OTT viewers for breaking the language barrier through diverse stories, adding most of the content is “dubbed or at least captioned” these days.

“Everybody will start watching it now.

You watch Korean, Spanish, or Assamese (films or series), it’s wonderful. Especially during the pandemic to the lack of entertainment, people wanted to watch a lot of things. So people have opened (up). I feel the next generation (of viewers) will change this field towards languages. India is more beautiful because of its differences. I love this bunch of things that we are,” she said.

Rajinikanth calls R Madhavan 'at par with the best directors' T

halaivar Rajinikanth heaped praises on R Madhavan’s ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ after watching it in a private screening. Taking to Twitter, the Superstar called it a “must watch”, especially for the youth. He also congratulated Madhavan on his directorial debut adding that his work was at par with the best directors.

In the movie, Madhavan plays the role of Nambi Narayanan, a former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientist and aerospace engineer known for developing efficient liquid fuel engines and who later got embroiled in a spy scandal. Apart from acting in the film and directing it, he also wrote and produced the movie.

Rajinikanth took to Twitter to share a note in Tamil. The translation of the note read, “Rocketry is a must-watch movie for everyone - especially the youth. For the space research development of our country, Padma Bhushan Nambi Narayanan suffered many hardships and made sacrifices. Madhavan has proved himself to be at par with the best directors in

his first film as a director by portraying the story of Nambi Narayanan very realistically.

My thanks and appreciation to him for giving me such a movie.”

While promoting the movie recently, Madhavan was asked if he plans on directing again. He said there are no immediate plans. “I don’t think I have it in me to direct again. It’s an exhausting process and I have no immediate plans as such to direct. Even with Rocketry, since the original director attached to the film had to exit the project due to his prior commitments, I took up the mantle as I didn’t have time to approach anyone else. Nambi believed in me and he pushed me to take up the job and I thought it was my duty to do it.” Madhavan had said.

He had also said that his wife wants him to focus on acting. “My wife wants me to focus on acting for now. I’m no Mani Ratnam to confidently make films in different genres. I don’t think I can do it. If I have to direct again, then a story should really move me,” he had added.

The film was released in theatres recently.

It was shot simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil and English. ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ was also dubbed in Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

‘Cobra' is Vikram’s next release, slated to hit the screens on August 11. Director Ajay took to Twitter and wrote, The Grand Audio Launch Of #Cobra at #PhoenixMarketcityChennai, with the presence of Chiyaan Vikram. See you all there.” The film also stars Srinidhi Shetty and former cricketer Irfan Pathan, and its music has been composed by AR Rahman.

Fans had mixed reactions to the announcement. While many were happy that the star is doing well, others expressed concern about him exerting himself. One fan replied to the tweet, “Good to known Chiyaan Vikram is ok and fit.” Another tweeted, “Chiyaan is not required. Let him take some rest for a while.”

Vikram was rushed to the hospital with a high fever, his publicist confirmed.

Even as reports mentioned a heart attack, the actor’s team insisted he was doing fine. Later in the day, Vikram’s son, actor Dhruv Vikram, also shared a note on his Instagram Stories, criticising rumours that claimed his father had had a heart attack. “Dear fans and well-wishers, Appa (father) had mild chest discomfort and is being treated for the same. He did not have a heart attack as reports falsely claim. We are pained to hear rumours to this effect. That being said, we request you to give our family the privacy we need at this time. Our Chiyaan is fine now. He is likely to be discharged from the hospital in a day,” he wrote.

As a result of the health emergency, Vikram missed the teaser launch of Mani Ratnam’s ‘PS-1’, which also stars Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, and Jayam Ravi alongside him.

The period film is scheduled to release in theatres on September 30.

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25 June - 1 July 2022

Jacqueline shares the first poster of Hollywood film ‘Tell It Like A Woman’

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acqueline Fernandez has shared the first poster from her next Hollywood film. The anthology, which was directed by eight women filmmakers is titled ‘Tell It Like A Woman’. The actor said that she is “proud” of being part of the project, which also stars Jennifer Hudson, Taraji P Henson and Cara Delevingne, among others.

Jacqueline took to her Instagram account to share the poster, which featured a picture of her, apart from the photos of Margherita Buy, Eva Longoria, Cara Delevingne, Anne Watanabe, Jennifer Hudson, and Marcia Gay Harden. In the caption, the actor wrote, "So proud to be part of this extraordinary effort by the entire team of Tell it like a Woman.

An anthology directed by 8 Female directors from different parts of the world." Jacqueline's segment in the anthology has been directed by Leena Yadav.

She added in her post, "Thank you for making me a part of this really special journey. And thank you so much to my producers @wditogether which is the engine behind this incredible film!

Can’t wait for you all to see it.”

Jacqueline also shared a picture of an article in Deadline, which said that ‘Tell It Like A Woman’ will have seven intertwining segments, making it a feature-length film. The filming has been done in Italy, India, Japan, and the United States. It is scheduled for theatrical release this year.

Jacqueline, who made her Bollywood debut with the 2009 film 'Aladin' marked her international film debut with the 2015 British horror film ‘Definition of Fear’. She will next appear in ‘Cirkus’ alongside Ranveer Singh. She also has 'Ram Setu’, an action-adventure film also starring Kumar and Nushrratt Akshay Bharuccha.

Hollywood actor Jamie Dornan sends wishes for Alia’s baby A

lia Bhatt recently wrapped up her portion of the shoot for her Hollywood debut ‘Heart of Stone’. The movie, which also stars ace actors Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan, is being shot in Europe. Alia shared pictures from the set over the weekend to mark her final day, which featured one with Gal as well.

However, Jamie was not present on set that day and has now responded to her post.

Recently, Alia posted pictures with Gal and of herself from the sets, giving the world the first look at her character from the film. She shared the post as she wrapped up her portion of the shoot and headed back home. “Thank you to the beautiful @gal_gadot .. my director Tom Harper … @jamiedornan missed you today,” Alia wrote in the caption.

Responding to the post, Jamie commented, “Sorry I wasn’t there for your last day. Had sooo much fun working with you! Good luck with (baby emoji)! And see you for promotion!” Many fans of the actor found the response adorable. Jamie is an Irish actor best known for his portrayal of Christian Grey

Michael Douglas, Catherine ZetaJones explore India in documentary trailer

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ational Award-winning director Shailendra Singh recently released the trailer of the second part of his feature series ‘Unplugged Cinema’.

The new project, titled ‘Unplugged in Mumbai’, features Hollywood star couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In the trailer, the two spoke about their love for India and recreated a moment from Deepika PadukoneShah Rukh Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’.

The trailer started with a view of Mumbai’s skyline, before moving on to other landmarks in the city. Michael says in the trailer, “So several years ago I came to India to scout for a movie. I was thinking about

in the ‘Fifty Shades’ series. Gal Gadot also shared a picture of Alia and herself on Instagram Stories and wrote, “Give some love to my girl Alia Bhatt, who wrapped up Heart Of Stone today.”

Several fan clubs have shared pictures of Alia from the sets, now featuring a visible baby bump. The pictures came from Portugal, where she was reportedly filming some action sequences. In the various pictures shared on Twitter and Instagram by fan pages, Alia is seen in khaki overalls in a desert-like setting in broad daylight. In some of the pictures, costar Gal Gadot was also seen in the frame. Gal wore a white tank top in a scene, covering it up with a black jacket in other frames.

Sharing some of the pictures, fans zoomed in on Alia to give a look at her pregnant belly. Alia announced her pregnancy last month on Instagram in a post that also featured her husband, actor Ranbir Kapoor. The couple tied the knot in April this year, after dating for five years.

‘Heart of Stone’ is helmed by Tom Harper. It is planned to be the beginning of a franchise in a similar vein to ‘Mission: Impossible’, as per reports. The film will release on Netflix sometime next year but no release date has been officially announced.

doing a sequel to ‘Romancing The Stone’ (1984).” The trailer showed Michael and Catherine visiting temples, and slums in Mumbai, and also exchanging garlands as per the tradition in Hindu weddings. Catherine said in her interview, “We feel like we have been adopted by India. We’ve just had the best time there. It’s such an immense, diverse country. We’ve only seen a tiny bit of it.” Michael concluded the trailer by saying, “Hold on India. We’re coming back.”

Michael Douglas and Catherine ZetaJones Unplugged in Mumbai, written by Nicole Sottung and edited by Arun Kumar Aravind, is scheduled to release on Shailendra’s YouTube channel on July 15.

Priyanka set to play a Punjabi woman in Mindy Kaling’s Hollywood rom-com A ctor Priyanka Chopra’s upcoming Hollywood romantic comedy will see her play a Punjabi woman, in what would be her first collaboration with Mindy Kaling.

Kaling, who has also co-written the film, recently spoke about the project and her and Priyanka’s role in a new interview.

Priyanka and Mindy will play cousins in the romantic comedy, which will revolve around a big fat Indian wedding. Mindy will play an Indian-American, while Priyanka will play her first cousin, who was born and raised in India.

Mindy Kaling recently revealed that she and Priyanka's characters will also be hailing from different cultures in India.

In a recent interview, Mindy discussed the 'diverse representation of the Asian experience in her projects,' and said, "We’re really proud of it, we show South Asian Americans that are from Southern Indian. Then we show a Muslim Indian girl.

Culturally we see how they’re different from each other. The Asian experience is not a monolith. Why would people necessarily know that if they don’t have shows that explain and explore that difference?”

She added, "I have this movie with Priyanka Chopra, she’s Punjabi Indian from India and I’m an Indian American Bengali girl from the East Coast. It’s so different and that’s what makes our dynamic so fun together.”

In a previous interview, Mindy had said that Priyanka and her love of India have also influenced how she is writing their movie together. She had said, "What’s so fun about writing that movie is playing with the expectations that Indians and Indian Americans have of each other. I’ve learned so much from Priyanka and her love of India. It’s enhanced my own love and understanding of India.”

On the work front, Priyanka was recently shooting for her Amazon Prime Video web series ‘Citadel’. She will also be seen in Farhan Akhtar's ‘Jee Le Zaraa’ alongside Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif.

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Birmingham police arrest man for England deny India T20 series sweep alleged abuse of Indian fans England redeemed themselves on the last two days of the test match against India following three poor days of cricket as the visitors thrashed the Indians by seven wickets in Birmingham, Edgbaston. The series was levelled

by England with the dominating victory on day five of the rescheduled fifth test match.

Indian bowlers couldn’t answer the aggressive assault from former England skipper Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, who stitched a match-winning partnership of 269* runs for the fourth wicket which turned the entire match upside down. The total of 378 runs looked below par against the England unit, that scored runs for fun against the Indian bowlers in the fourth innings of the test match.

Joe Root slammed 142* runs while Jonny Bairstow scored 114* and helped England go over the winning rope to level the fivematch test series by 2-2.

After claiming an upper hand in the first three days, India let the game slip away from their grasp as their batters had no answers for the short ball trap fielded by the opposition during the third innings. The well-laid plot worked for England as they dismissed India to a scanty total of 245 runs in the third innings and the lead

was blocked at 378 runs, which still was a good total to defend.

England openers Zak Crawley and Alex Lees opened their fire against the Indian bowlers and scored over 100 runs in just 20 overs. However, India got back on track after stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah scalped the wicket of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in quick succession. Alex Lees, who was timing the ball nicely, became the prey to an unfortunate mix up with Joe Root and had to lose his wicket.

However, the duo of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow did all the work for their team as they never looked uncomfortable against the Indian bowlers.

“We [India] fell short with the bat yesterday and that is where we

let the opposition in to let the match slip away from us. Ifs and buts can always be there,” said Jasprit Bumrah during the postmatch presentation.

Had Indian batters played a little cautiously against the wellplanned trap in the third innings, certainly, the result would have been something different.

Reacting to India's defeat in the rescheduled fifth Test former Indian chief coach Ravi Shastri said Team India's "timid" and "defensive" batting approach in their second innings allowed England to make a comeback on the fourth day. "I think (it was) disappointing, to say the least, because they could have batted England out of this contest," Shastri added.

94-year-old Bhagwani Devi gets gold at World Masters Athletics Bhagwani Devi, a 94-yearold sprinter from India, won the gold medal in the 100 m sprint at the World Masters Athletics Championships held in Tampere, Finland. She won the gold with a timing of 24.74 seconds. Bhagwani also bagged a bronze medal in shot put.

World Masters Athletics Championships was held in Tampere from June 29 July 10.

It is a world championship-calibre event for the sport of athletics (track and field) for male and female athletes aged 35 years and above. The Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports tweeted Bhagwani Devi’s commendable effort.

Bhagwani Devi

Former member of the Kerala legislative assembly from Piravom and senior leader of the CPM, M. J. Jacob, 82, has won two bronze medals in World Masters Athletic Tampere.

The veteran politician won the medals in the 200 m hurdles and 80 m hurdles competition in the M80

category which is for men aged between 80 and 84 years, his office said. He had won gold medals in 80 m hurdles and 200 m hurdles in Kerala masters athletics held earlier this year.

He had also won a gold medal in the Asian Masters Athletics championship previously.

Arjun Babuta wins World Cup gold in shooting Arjun Babuta, 23, won the men’s 10m air rifle gold medal at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, South Korea, on Monday. It was the first senior international medal for Arjun. Olympian rifle shooter Anjum Moudgil, who has watched his struggles over the years, said it was a “redemption” for the Punjab shooter after a “rollercoaster” ride.

Arjun defeated USA’s Lucas Kozeniesky 17-9 in the

gold medal round. He shot 630. 5 in the qualifying round and then topped the ranking round with 261.1 to make the cut for the gold medal match.

Lucas had won the 10m air rifle mixed event silver in Tokyo last year.

Arjun had won the gold medal at the 2016 Junior World Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan but seemed to have lost way after that.

“Arjun has been shooting well and working hard for the past

seven-eight years now. He has shown immense strength and strong character in the past few years,” the shooter’s father, Neeraj Babuta said.

“He missed the Olympic berth narrowly and it was heartbreaking for him.

However, he stayed positive and started spending more hours at the range. Because of training hard, he injured his back and had to undergo treatment for months,” the father said.

England grabbed a consolation win in the third and last Twenty20 international against India with a 17-run victory at Trent Bridge on Sunday. Jos Buttler celebrated his first win as England’s full-time white-ball captain despite Suryakumar Yadav’s 117 runs from 55 balls with 14 fours and six sixes.

England chose to bat first and scored 215-7, underpinned by Dawid Malan’s 77 off 39 balls, but that was overshadowed as Yadav mixed belligerence with audacity in a stunning innings before holing out in the 19th over.

India needed 21 off the last six balls but Chris Jordan sealed the win for England. Jordan took two wickets in the final three balls as India fell short on 198-9. India won the series 2-1 following three matches in four days.

Buttler had made an

inauspicious start since succeeding Eoin Morgan, and England came into this match with question marks over its T20 batting. The consolation victory owed much to pacer Reece Topley’s 3-22 in four overs, while David Willey and Jordan collected two wickets each after England had recorded an imposing total thanks to Malan and Liam Livingstone’s 29-ball 42 not out.

Having won the previous two matches, India thus beat England for the fourth consecutive time in a T20I series. India have, in fact, never lost a series to England in this format. This was India’s 14th T20I win on the trot under Rohit Sharma, and most importantly, his solid performance will help the team gain big confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia.

Clean sweep by Indian Kohli ‘asks’ for rest ahead of West Indies tour women against Lanka Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur said she was looking to give proper game-time to her top five batters in the runup to the Commonwealth Games, which she described as “very significant for all of us”.

The CWG will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8.

The Indian skipper, a top-order batter, came out at number six in the final ODI of the three-match series against Sri Lanka, which her team won by 39 runs to complete a clean sweep. “As a captain, I always want to give opportunities to every batters in this team. I have always scored plenty of runs as a top-order batter.

“However, keeping in mind the Commonwealth Games, which is very significant for all of us, it is equally important that our top five batters are getting a proper game-time before the event,” Harmanpreet said. Some fine individual performances notwithstanding, Harmanpreet attributed the 3-0 sweep, in her maiden series as fulltime ODI captain, to team effort. “This game was very important for us, just like the last two games in this series. In the past, we used to win two games but often adopted a casual approach in the last game, having already won the series.

“We decided that we would put an extra effort for this game and it was a sheer team effort. The result is for everyone to see,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match press conference.

Harmanpreet, who took over the ODI captaincy from Mithali Raj after her retirement from international cricket, produced a solid all-round performance in the third and final game. The Indian skipper, in the company of Pooja Vastrakar , bailed the team out with a stroke-filled 75 from 88 balls. Harmanpreet was all praise for Vastrakar, who too played a part in the final game, scoring 56 off 65 balls and taking two crucial Sri Lankan wickets.

Star batter Virat Kohli sought rest from the entire series against the West Indies, including the five T20Is, according to sources in the BCCI. It is also understood that the T20 squad for the tour of West Indies will be announced on July 11, one day after the shortest format series against England concludes.

“It was team management’s decision to rest Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah for the ODI series along with skipper himself,” a senior BCCI source said.

The five-match T20 series starts on July 29 in Tarouba, Trinidad followed by couple of matches in St Kitts (Aug 1 and 2) and it concludes in Florida on August 6 and 7 respectively.

“However for the T20I series, all others are playing but Kohli has himself asked for a break.

He has informed that he will be available after the West Indies tour,” the source said.

It is understood that senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be recalled for the T20 series in the Caribbean and the USA leg.

“Ashwin is very much in the scheme of things and he will be playing the T20 series in the West Indies. Also Washington Sundar is still not fit to play and by the time he gets fit, he will be playing for Lancashire in County Championship and Royal London Cup,” he added. While Kohli will get his break as he has sought but his place in the national T20 squad for the next big international assignment (Asia Cup in Sri Lanka) will depend on his T20 form.

In between, India are expected to play a short T20 series in Zimbabwe and just like in Ireland, a second string team is supposed to travel to the African nation.

KL Rahul is expected to be fit before the Asia Cup but if he recovers in time for the Zimbabwe tour, he will be part of that short series. “Obviously, the stars will be rested for the Zimbabwe series as it will be followed by Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, home series against Australia and the team then travels to Australia for the World Cup,” the source said.