AV 19th June 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE The charm of old cook books, Indian curry and a unique food dictionary SEE PAGE - 14

Ram Temple Trust accused of land scam SEE PAGE - 25

“The Granddaughter Project” allows for more cross-generation interest and connection SEE PAGE - 28

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inside

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side Most ethnically diverse list honours key figures in UK vaccine drive SEE PAGE - 15 - 17

States in India prepare for possible third wave SEE PAGE - 26

19 - 25 JUNE 2021 - VOL 50 ISSUE 7 Adani stocks fall as NSDL freezes 3 FPI accounts SEE PAGE - 23

PM Modi calls for 'one earth one health' approach for Covid at G7 summit SEE PAGE - 26

TIE THE KNOT WITH A MASK ON?

Photo courtesy: Bhavna Barratt

As the UK government announces change in rules for weddings and further lockdown relaxations, there’s still a catch.

Shefali Saxena London based Tanveer Mann, 30, and Anish Pujara, 31, are finally tying the knot on 4 July after a long wait.

“We're really happy that our wedding can go ahead in July with our immediate family and friends. It's such a relief after weeks of uncertainty and not being able to plan anything. We have a reception planned but we're currently waiting for more clarification on how it will look with the current restrictions, whether we can have a dance floor or how many guests to a table etc.,” Tanveer told Asian Voice.

Continued on page 6

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19 - 25 June 2021

with Keith Vaz

Wembley businessman wins £120,000 National Lottery prize

Mr Neel Raithatha BSc, RHAD, MSHAA Neel Raithatha was born in London after his parents migrated to the UK from East Africa in the 1970s. He grew up in Leicestershire and harboured early ambitions of becoming a professional cricketer, representing his local county youth team during his teenage years. He qualified as an Audiologist from Aston University in 2008 and initially worked within the NHS. During this time, he was also awarded a prestigious Medical Research Council (MRC) PhD scholarship to conduct clinical research in Audiology at the University of Manchester.

In 2011, he decided to take a sabbatical and worked as a self-trained Pastry Chef at some top restaurants, which included a secondment at Gordon Ramsey’s flagship 3 Michelin Star restaurant in Chelsea. He later returned and founded The Hear Clinic, which is an international multi-award-winning Audiology Clinic based in Leicester. He also later co-founded Clearwax and successfully pioneered endoscopic ear wax removal in the UK. Which place, or city or country do you What is the best aspect about your most feel at home in? current role?

This has to be without a shadow of In recent years, I’ve been privileged a doubt Leicester! Although I was born to receive media requests to appear on in London, I moved to Leicester when I radio, national and international online very young and all my earliest memories newspapers and even make TV appearare from growing up here. It’s a wonderances, which has all been great fun! In fully culturally diverse city to live in and addition, I’ve also been invited to give we of course have a decent football guest lectures to local GPs, national team! charities, as well as international Audiology conferences which I’ve also What are your proudest really enjoyed doing! achievements?

And the worst?

I would say graduating as an Audiologist with First Class Honours.

Running a business can be stressful Whilst studying at University, I was also at times. There is so much that goes on sole carer for my terminally ill father behind the scenes and quite simply not who sadly passed away during my secenough hours in the day sometimes! ond year. It was an extremely difficult However, it’s all worth it at the end of time and I hope he is looking down the day! proudly upon me today.

What inspires you?

What are your long-term goals?

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I am very fortunate in that I have the privileged opportunity through my profession to make a significant difference to someone’s quality of life on a daily basis by improving their hearing and reconnecting them with their friends and family. This is my inspiration and what get’s me out of bed every morning.

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Self-doubt. Coming from a very humble upbringing and not being born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I’ve had to work extremely hard for everything I have achieved and accomplished.

As is life, there are always naysayers who don’t enjoy seeing other’s relative success and try to destroy their inner belief and confidence.

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

Mr Stephen Darius Rejali. He is a Consultant ENT Surgeon whom I trained under whilst studying as an Audiologist. We later worked together and became co-founders of Clearwax.

Not only is he an extremely talented and skilled surgeon, but he is also a very humble and genuine human being.

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I would like to set up an initiative where I can help and mentor aspiring young people from less privileged backgrounds like myself to achieve their dreams and ambitions. Additionally, being an avid wildlife fan, I would love to get involved in some wildlife conservation projects in the future.

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

I would like to put an end to all forms of animal cruelty once and for all.

This would mean introducing the harshest of prison sentences and fines for anyone found guilty of animal cruelty. It truly breaks my heart when I see or hear stories of people deliberately trying to hurt and harm animals.

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

Leonardo da Vinci. Was there anything this man couldn’t turn his hand too? A painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. He was to put it mildly way ahead of his time. I’m also sure he would have been able to hatch an escape plan off the desert island for us too!

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Hitendrakumar Maugi bought a National Lottery 'Set For Life' ticket but was clueless as he had matched five numbers. He said, “As I logged into my National Lottery account and saw that I had matched five numbers on the Set For Life game I said to myself there must be a problem, logged out and back in again only to see the same message congratulating me on the win.

"I just couldn’t comprehend that millions of people play The National Lottery and yet I, Hitendrakumar Maugi from Wembley, had won!”

“Before sharing the news

with my family, I wanted to be 100 percent confident that I really was a winner before sharing this amazing news. They were both over the moon and said that this is a blessing for

me because I have always tried to live a good and honorable life.”

Hitendrakumar plans to help charities he already supports, donate to the temple in Wembley and to look after his family.

‘Set For Life’ offers a top prize of £10,000 a month for 30 years when the five main numbers and the Life Ball are matched.

Hitendrakumar's winning numbers on March 8 were 2, 16, 28, 32, 45 and the Life Ball was 10.

Lloyds bank manager 'sacked for helping customer' headhunted Nadia Begum lost her job at a branch of Lloyds in Oxford after assisting Clifford Weedon, 86, with tasks as his eyesight worsened. Lloyds said its decision was based on ensuring customers were protected by its "colleague code of responsibility".

Mr Weedon said he was "absolutely over the moon" Ms Begum was working again.

The pair became friends when they had dealings at the Carfax branch, but as the pensioner's eyesight grew worse he said Ms Begum became a "godsend".

Mr Weedon, from

Headington, said any suggestion he was taken advantage of was "absolutely ridiculous", describing the bank's decision to fire her as "horrendous".

"She's an angel in disguise," he said. "I've never met a person like her."

Both Mr Weedon and Ms Begum said when the bank found out about their friendship it carried out an investigation, but no illegal activity was discovered. Ms Begum said: "I thought that's my career over, and how am I ever going to get another job”?

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said a tribunal on

Ms Begum's case was scheduled for next year and that it would be inappropriate to comment.

They added: "Supporting and protecting our customers is our absolute priority. To ensure this happens we have a colleague code of responsibility in place to safeguard both our colleagues and customers. "In this instance our standards were not met."

But Ms Begum said she had already decided not to go ahead with the tribunal.

"Eighteen months on, I don't want to put myself through it anymore, and I want to look forward," she said.

Sexual harassment 'normalised' for children in schools, according to Ofsted report 90% of girls and 50% of boys said being sent unwanted explicit pictures or videos happened "a lot" or "sometimes".

Sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sharing nude photos are becoming "normalised" among school children, according to a review by Ofsted.

The chief Inspector of schools says she was "shocked" after discovering teachers, government, and indeed Ofsted itself, were under-prepared for the scale of sexual abuse among children.

Ofsted's inspectors visited 32 state and private schools and spoke to over 900 young people.

Inspectors were also told that boys sometimes collected "nudes" of the girls and shared them on social media. The children interviewed said that sexual harassment and sexist name-calling occurs so frequently that it has become

Parole Board will decide whether to release terror boss or not Rochdale-born Rangzieb Ahmed was jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years in 2008 A hearing is due to take place this week to consider the case of Rangzieb Ahmed, the first person to be convicted in the UK of directing terrorism.

The Rochdale-born Muslim was jailed after his trial heard how he headed a three-man al Qaida cell which was preparing to

commit mass murder.

Counter-terrorism chiefs were not sure where Ahmed was planning to strike, but were convinced an attack was imminent, his trial heard.

His scheme was revealed with the discovery of three diaries, which were found to contain details and phone numbers of key al Qaida operatives written in invisible ink.

He later sued MI5 and

MI6 for alleged collusion in his torture by Pakistani intelligence, but last year had his damages claim thrown out by the High Court.

Ahmed had claimed he was tortured at the hands of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency while detained between 2006 and 2007, before being deported to the UK and charged with terrorism offences.

"commonplace".

The report found that children "often don't see the point of challenging or reporting this harmful behavior because it's seen as a normal experience".

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "Ofsted's review has rightly highlighted where we can take specific and urgent action to address sexual abuse in education. But there are wider societal influences at play, meaning schools and colleges cannot be expected to tackle these issues alone."

The report was commissioned after the website Everyone's Invited recorded thousands of testimonies from children, mostly girls, who claimed to have been abused by their peers. Its founder Soma Sara has revealed it has had contributors from 3,000 schools which is three quarters of all secondary schools in the UK. Many teachers said they do not feel prepared to teach outside their subject specialism, or lack knowledge on topics like consent, healthy relationships and sharing of sexual images.

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19 - 25 June 2021

Can a jab heal a broken nation?

A new research has highlighted the difficulties and distress people have faced, when they tried to get support after the death of a loved one, during the Covid pandemic. Study revealed that 51 per cent have experienced a long wait to get support, suffering from severe vulnerability in their grief. Some are also told that they were ineligible of support, as they struggled for help.

The study by Cardiff University’s Marie Curie Pallative Care Research Centre and the University of Bristol, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council - a part of UK Research and Innovations’ rapid response to Covid-19, found that of bereaved people demonstrating high or severe levels of vulnerability, where 74 per cent were not accessing formal bereavement services or mental health support.

Most people seeking help with their grief reportedly said they had struggled to access bereavement services. Of the 40 per cent who tried to get support, just over half faced difficulties such as long waiting lists, ineligibility, or a lack of suitable support. People also reported uneasiness in asking for help and were unsure how to access services, without clear directives.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. As the lockdown continues for another one month, fears are growing of further mental health hazards, besides the financial and social setbacks. There is now an exponential growth in number of Covid cases, people afflicted by the Delta variant, first found in India. As it delays the roadmap to ‘Freedom Day’ doubts remains, how will we combat the situation?

During the G7 summit, leaders committed themselves to provide 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses for low and low-middle income countries over the next year. The Carbis Bay declaration signed at the G7 summit in Cornwall on 13 June also reportedly set out steps to prepare better for any future pandemic by improving early warning systems and increasing and coordinating global

manufacturing capacity. But the World Health Organization (WHO) and campaigners said this falls far short of the 11 billion vaccine doses needed. Unless people are vaccinated in every part of the world, this pandemic is here to stay, wreaking havoc.

Writing in The Guardian the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the summit would be remembered “only for a colossal failure to honour Boris Johnson’s promise to vaccinate the world.”

But is the onus on world leaders alone? In the beginning of the year, when Indians were being offered vaccines, there was an unbelievable hesitancy among even the medical fraternity. Down the months, as Covid ripped the country apart, people scrambled for a single dose of vaccine, with its efficacy becoming significantly admired against severe cases of the disease.

Britain has been relatively better and more receptive at vaccination, but the situation is far from ideal. The government’s slow action to closures or different variants has caused a nonfavourable situation affecting businesses the most. In 2006, in London alone there were 41,000+ Asian owned businesses. In 15 years, that number has grown but no clear study reveals the exact numbers after the pandemic and what sort of assistance they have received for the last one year. As the weaning of the available business schemes and loans happen, it worries one about the consequences. Employment may be up but are they satisfactorily enough to stabilise the economy without any support from the government? Boris Johnson has a big responsibility ahead.

Steering out a disease-stricken country of its delicate situation will not be possible without additional financial support for the business community, especially the small and medium businesses that form UK’s backbone. And this is the time to test the accord between the Treasury and Prime Minister - hoping one won’t be disappointed.

A stitch in time saves nine The Queen’s Honours List this year has seen several Asians receiving awards for their commitment to the community, either in voluntary or paid capacity. It was the most ethnically diverse list, with 15% of the recipients from the ethnic minority background. Out of 1,129 people, over 30 are of Indian-origin, 567 are women, which is 50 per cent of the total.

This time after many years an Indian-origin man Hamid Patel has received knighthood, along with many recipients recommended for Covid-19 service including in health and social care, and those who have provided critical infrastructure support.

But 21-year-old period poverty activist and Cambridge student Amika George, one of the youngest recipients of the MBE raised a pertinent point about the term ‘Empire’. She said she almost rejected the honour, thinking of Britain’s “horrific” imperial history, and reportedly found it shameful in associating herself with the honour. But with much self-reflection, she accepted it, thinking it was an opportunity to represent her community, which is already underrepresented.

Amika isn’t alone. 40-year-old Indian-origin author Nikesh Shukla turned down an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List because he does not wish to be associated with what it stands for. Nikesh, who is 40, was born and brought up in Britain but like many East African Indians, his father grew up in Kenya, his ancestors having migrated from Gujarat.

Of course Britain has come a long way in terms of equality.

The number of ethnic minority students in top schools and universities as well as faculty members have increased over the years.

In 2020, the entry rates for all ethnic student groups were higher than in the previous year. It increased from 36% to 53% over 14 years (since 2006).

A new research has shown that an increasing number of aca-

demic economists in UK universities come from non-white backgrounds but ethnic minorities remain under-represented in the most prestigious institutions.

The Guardian reported that a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that of the economists doing research at universities, 24% were from ethnic minorities in 2018 – an increase of 5 per cent since 2012.

The thinktank said individuals of Chinese and Indian ethnicity were over-represented while those of Black were under-represented, especially in the Russell Group, a self-selecting association of 24 institutions including University of Oxford and Cambridge.

With the increasing number as well as awareness especially after the movements like Black Lives Matters, colonialism is no longer a topic tucked away in the shadow with shame. Students have raised voice against the Rhodes statue in Oxford while some have asked for the Queen’s portrait removal.

The Queen in her 90s, with much revolt to face from her own grandchild and his wife, has an example to set. When Meghan Markle married into the family, it was the much-anticipated step towards racial harmony – atonement of all the past crimes against the colonial subjects. But recent interviews of the family have proved otherwise. Teaching about colonial past is a step in the right direction. So is rejecting the glorification of perpetrators through monuments, statues, and blue plaques. But this denunciation must connect one with correction and emancipation - not revenge. It has taken a great deal for us to reach where we are today, to celebrate our achievements. It is right to demand justice through appropriate dialogues, apologies and acknowledgements.

And it is about time for the Royals to change their discourse – which will not only help them rebuild trust but help build a new Britain. May be charity could begin at home?

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s futile bid to dominate the world With vast economic resources and military power, Chinese president Xi Jinping dreams it is his duty/opportunity to establish a new world order of domination. At the G7 summit, the Western allies discussed plans to counter China's challenge. A similar move was carried out by Western countries during the cold war against the Soviet Union. But this time the competition, it cannot be termed confrontation, is between two ideologies - democracy and dictatorship or one-party rule. It is not just about democracy versus communism, it is a matter of values, dignity of human beings and the many advantages associated with democracy. Democracy is frail but worth preserving.

Former British prime minister Margret Thatcher and US president Ronald Reagan devised a strategy to counter Soviet Union.

Soviet Union was a resourceful country mainly with hydrocarbon deposits. It has a huge landmass and a country with a vast nuclear arsenal. According to western media, Russia has far more nuclear weapons, bombs than that of America. But America with its wealth, scholarship, research and development and the attitude of the USA, were able to exhaust Soviet Union on two fronts. Soviet Union invested a lot of money in Cuba, Vietnam and other countries because they thought that these countries would become communist. The treasury of Soviet Union got more and more depleted, especially as they invested huge resources for the development of arms and ammunition. America, on these fronts exhausted Soviet Union. They could not nurture or look after the countries within the whole Soviet Union block. The former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev realised that it is a futile exercise to dominate the world and disbanded the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republic and allowed the division of USSR into smaller countries.

The Chinese leadership today following the USSR is spending huge amounts of money on defence and on the Belt and Road

Initiative. China, at least is open, its ambition is very clear, and they want to dominate the world. China knows that it is impossible to win over the war through the army, navy or air power alone. The economic resourcefulness of America, G7 countries and India will eventually exhaust China in competition. The world is going to be ruled not by muscle power alone but by intelligence, science, technology, humanity and spirit of co-existence. Nato has warned that Russia and China are the biggest threats to world security and the West. British prime minister Boris Johnson cautioned against a new Cold War as leaders met US President Joe Biden for the first time. They also highlighted China's moves to work secretly with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Nato said aggression from Russia over nuclear weapons, cyber hacks and malicious intimidation were still a top concern for the alliance. They agreed to work together against the “systemic challenge” posted by China’s aggression - and put Russia on notice about blatantly flouting international laws.

The alliance took aim at China’s attempts to build nuclear weapons and its moves to work secretly with Russia in an attempt to build influence on the world stage. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said there were concerns over “China’s coercive policies” under president Xi Jinping, but stressed they were not an enemy. The allies also demanded Russia withdraw its forces in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova - where it has stationed troops “without consent.” Johnson insisted that no one wanted a new Cold War with China, despite the risk it posed to the safety of the allied nations. India has a different role and responsibility. The old definition of non-alignment has to change. Mutual, non -defence pact cooperation on all fronts between democracies is the call of the day. Indian cooperation is both the need and opportunity for western democracies.

In my career, there's many things I've won and many things I've achieved, but for me, my greatest achievement is my children and my family.

- David Beckham

Alpesh Patel

Nato and India Given the threats Nato is focussed on and the values of democracy and respect for human rights and a transparent free press, should Nato not have a closer alliance with India?

When the then Prime Minister appointed me the UK India Roundtable in 1999 to examine ways of developing closer UK India ties, this was one of my key recommendations to Number 10 back then.

UK-India military exercises already exist but given the China threat to both countries and to Nato a more formal India Nato alliance makes sense.

The answer to the question seems to be yes.

For example, Nato and India already have a commonality of purpose against terrorism, with both having suffered huge terrorist attacks in recent years on their civilians and from the Afghan and Pakistan based terrorist groups that target both countries.

There is also much trade between India and Nato countries, particularly with Germany, France and Britain.

UK diplomatic missions in Afghanistan and Pakistan were working closely with Indian intelligence agencies to tackle the threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba.

There is also an element of deal making here. With Pakistan making clear they will be distancing themselves from the US unless paid handsomely, which the Americans have wised up to not doing anymore, then India becomes a more important ally.

China is a threat to India and NATO and a closer link between India and Nato therefore makes sense.

And the UK is predisposed to support India anyway as a close partner and ally.

India is not part of the "Five Eyes" alliance that includes Australia and New Zealand that was formed by sharing intelligence on issues including counterterrorism and arms sales and so a Nato connection would make up for that failing.

India's Defence Planning Committee (DPC) is currently chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA) and has cabinet ministers from the Ministries of Defence, Finance, External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs. The DPC coordinates India's military planning with the US, and other Asian nations as well as Russia.

Again India is part of the ‘Quad with Japan, Australia and US’ and a India Nato alliance would seem a natural next step.

For example, in January 2017, India and Japan carried out joint air force exercises for the first time.

These exercises were conducted at the Kalaikunda air force station, which is in West Bengal. This included an air-to-air refueling exercise with the Indian Air Force's IL-78 aircraft and C-130J Hercules aircraft. The Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) uses its own KC-767A tankers and one of its own C-130Js to refuel the Indian Air Force planes during exercises.

Air-to-air refueling is a specialised skill and, with world oil reserves dwindling, it is likely to become more valuable in the future. India has been using airto-air refueling to project its air force presence further beyond its borders at shorter notice. Tanker aircraft, such as the IL-78 and KC-767A in this case, are specially modified military transport or strategic bombers that can transfer fuel from their fuel tanks to the fuel tanks of other aircraft.

In April 2017, India and Russia held joint military exercises near Siachen glacier in Ladakh on the borders with Pakistan. This concerned Pakistan which then launched its own large scale military drills. It remains to be seen whether India and Japan will hold joint military exercises in the region again in the future.

The exercise coincided with the Indian Air Force's (IAF) first use of its Boeing-made C-17 Globemaster III transport plane that can carry out operations in most environments, including landing on short, austere airstrips in high-altitude areas. Continued on page 9

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Number of pensioners living in poverty tops two million Pensioners have been urged to claim pension credit to combat poverty, with Black and Asian older people most at risk. The number of pensioners in poverty has now passed the two million mark,with Black and Asian older people most at risk of struggling financially in later life, warns the Charity Age UK, as it urges any older person who feels financially hard-pressed to check their eligibility for Pension Credit.

The Charity is working to encourage pensioners on low incomes to see if they can receive a Pension Credit top-up, and boost uptake of a benefit that can typically

take an older person who receives it above the poverty line. Being found to be eligible for Pension Credit also acts as a gateway to some other benefits, potentially transforming an older person’s standard of living.

Since 2013/14, the number of pensioners in poverty has risen by almost a third (31 per cent) from 1.6 million. Official figures show that a third of Asian older people (33 per cent) and just under a third of Black older people (30 percent) in the UK live below the poverty line, compared to 16 percent of White older people. The over-85s, renters, and single, female pensioners, are also

at greater risk of poverty than the older population as a whole. The total number of older people living in poverty in the UK now stands at 2.1 million.

Despite these high numbers and recent government figures showing that nearly a million older people could not afford an unexpected bill of £200, nearly a million (920,000) pensioner households are missing out on Pension Credit payments

worth up to £1.6 billion every year – that’s an average of £32 a week, or over £1,600 a year, per recipient.

Any older person who is worried about money and/ or who may be entitled to claim benefits should contact Age UK by calling its national advice line free of charge on 0800 169 65 65 visiting (8am-7pm), www.ageuk.org.uk/money or contacting their local Age UK for free information and advice.

To make a claim, people should call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234 or visit www.gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim.

Bhavik Haria launches new album ‘Roots & Changes’ After building overwhelming anticipation through a year of regular live YouTube and Facebook Bhajan concerts, attracting over 500,000 views from supporters around the globe, Bhavik Haria is launching his much anticipated album, Roots & Changes.

The album brings together musical elements from both traditional Indian and Western cultures to create a contemporary appreciation of Bhajans, fulfilling

his mission to inspire the next generation and spread the love for Bhajans.

The first Bhajan on the album, the ‘Gayatri Mantra’.

10 years after his first album was released, Bhavik embarked on a mission to inspire the next generation through his music and release this new album showcasing a contemporary collection of Bhajans via a crowdfunding campaign.

Bhavik Haria's crowdfunding campaign reached its

funding target of £15,000 in just 14 days and still continues to attract supporters to this genre and mission.

Bhavik said, “When I started out many years ago, I didn’t know what all the bhajans meant either as they can be quite complex, but I’ve grown to understand and appreciate what they mean and how they impact people. Seeing my friends now, who, growing up, didn’t understand or enjoy them, come to my events

and really get into it is really rewarding and humbling” The album has been produced by the incredibly talented UK based producer, Rushil, who has worked with many renowned musicians both in the UK and internationally.

CIIr Ketan Sheth

Chair, Brent Council Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

48 New Steps in Wembley Park and One Giant Leap for the Brent Community Many residents and visitors to Wembley Park may have already seen the new 48 individual granite steps which has replaced the pedway.

The local community has always been at the heart of the transformation vision. The new Olympic Steps, named after the 1948 Summer Olympics, has provided over 12,150 sqm of new public space at ground level – an area bigger than the Arena or the football pitch inside the Wembley Stadium itself. In addition to the new public space, the Olympic Steps provides better access for the needs of older people and those with mobility impairments with the introduction of four new lifts from ground level to the Wembley Stadium concourse. Each lift will be able to accommodate four wheelchair users plus their companions, providing a total capacity of 12 wheelchairs at a time.

The Olympic Steps, formally opened earlier this month ahead of the UEFA European Championship, will provide an exciting new public space for Brent’s residents, workers, students and visitors to discover and enjoy a new cultural pocket within Wembley Park.

A safe, open space for everyone in the community to relax and enjoy while taking in the views of the transformed Olympic Way as we slowly emerge from the pandemic, and once again have the opportunities to discover something new in our neighbourhood with our closest friends and families.

In its name and the new year-round experiences it will host, the Olympic Steps will continue to celebrate Wembley Park’s longstanding entertainment and sporting heritage that we can continue to be proud of and will provides giant strides in bringing our communities together as we turn a corner from the pandemic.

BMA supports legal action against hospital trust and the General Medical Council BMA supports legal action against hospital trust and the General Medical Council, claiming their actions ‘contributed to the doctor taking his own life.’

The widow of a doctor who took his own life is to be supported by the BMA in her claim against her husband’s former employer, and the General Medical Council, for negligence and under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act – the right to life.

Th BMA also hopes that the case will raise awareness of the risks of suicide and self-harm and the responsibilities that institutions and others have to identify any doctor who may be at risk.

Dr Sridharan Suresh, a Consultant anaesthetist at the Consultant Anaesthetist at the University Hospital of North Tees, took his own life in May 2018 after being suspended from the Trust the previous month for an initial period of two weeks.

He was under investigation

by Cleveland police after a patient claimed Dr Suresh had sexually abused her.

The description she gave to

the police of her attacker did not match Dr Suresh; the police later dropped the case due to insufficient evidence.

Senior managers at the Trust told Dr Suresh he was not under investigation and that they’ fully supported him.’ He was also told he would not be referred to the GMC; but the police did refer him. At least two senior managers at the hospital - medical and administrative - knew the police had done this but failed to tell Dr Suresh, despite knowing the action had been taken.

Managers at the Trust were also aware that Dr Suresh was distraught by the allegations against him and concerned about his future.

Within hours of receiving a letter from the GMC, Dr Suresh took his own life Now the BMA is supporting Dr Suresh's widow and her children in legal action against both the trust and the GMC. A letter before action has been sent to the GMC, from the BMA appointed lawyers. It says the GMC should have known there was a real and immediate risk of suicide,

and that there were system failures after the GMC failed to take any steps to liaise with Dr Suresh’s employer or the police to assess his vulnerabilities, despite Dr Suresh telling his trust how the investigations were affecting him and his family.

A letter before action has also been sent to the University Hospital of North Tees; the letter will say the trust’s failings contributed to Dr Suresh’s decision to take his own life. It will say the trust owed him a duty of care and breached that by wrongly informing Dr Suresh that he would not be referred to the GMC, failing to update Dr Suresh or their medical director when the police made a referral to the GMC and failing to take steps to protect Dr Suresh’s mental health in light of those developments.

The letter says the trust could have put appropriate measures in place to provide further support to Dr Suresh, including a more interventionist approach where counselling and occupational health could have been arranged.

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TIE THE KNOT WITH A MASK ON? Continued from page 1 Many like Tanveer and Anish have heaved a sigh of relief after Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an announcement to change the rules for weddings. From 21 June, weddings will be allowed to go ahead with no fixed size limit, despite the pause to lifting lockdown completely. Instead, they will be allowed to be as large as is permissible at the venue under social distancing guidelines that remain in place.

What do the rules say?

From 21 June, there will no longer be a maximum number cap for attendees set out in law. Instead, the number of attendees at weddings, civil partnerships and receptions will be determined by how many people the venue or space can safely accommodate with social distancing measures in place.

This will be based on the Covid-19 risk assessment of the venue or outdoor space, and the measures put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19. Guests will have to remain seated at tables of no more than six, and the current ban on dancing indoors will remain in place apart from the newlyweds' first dance - however these specific details were not included in Mr Johnson's speech.

The proposed new Freedom Day is 19 July.

In a Covid-secure venue, where the premises are operated or used by a business, a charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic institution or a public body (such as a place of worship or a hospitality venue) the venue manager will need to tell you the maximum number of people who will be able to attend.

For events taking place in other venues, (such as a garden of a private home or on private land), organisers will need to make the space as safe as possible. A marquee or other structure in a private garden must have at least 50% of its walled area open at any time for it to be classed as ‘outdoors’ and for the limit based on safe capacity to apply.

If you plan on having more than 30 people in your chosen venue or outdoor space, you must do this by completing a Covid-19 risk assessment to determine how many attendees will be able to attend and following this guidance to make the event as safe as possible.

But unfortunately, restaurants and pubs ‘face collapse’ as lockdown gets extended in England. Business groups are calling for the government to support the hospitality industry including nightclubs and bars.

Full reopening without measures such as social distancing will not be allowed until 19 July, Boris Johnson said on Monday, with a review in two weeks’ time “unlikely” to result in an earlier relaxation.

Hospitality Unions disappointed in Rishi Sunak “But the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, shied away from offering any fresh funding package to prop up hard-pressed businesses that cannot trade profitably, or at all, under the restrictions. The UK’s largest trade bodies joined hospitality businesses and trade unions in urging the government to change its mind and come up with new support measures, warning that businesses will be driven to the wall otherwise,” The Guardian reported.

In an unsettling development, furlough will not be extended because Mr Sunak has rejected pleas from businesses and says help schemes will begin to be phased out from 1 July - even though Freedom Day is to be delayed. Staged withdrawal of the scheme will begin 1 July, ending at the end of September. Business groups have urged the Chancellor to delay the wind down.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has said the delay would cost pubs £400m and demanded more support and no further delay beyond 19 July. Pubs have been operating with reduced capacity because of social-distancing guidelines and limits on household mixing.

Reports further suggest that under the proposals the government would set a guideline that landlords forfeit 50% of rent debt. Where the two sides cannot agree on how much rent should be due, hospitality bosses want an official arbitration process

that would last up to a further six months.

Hospitality firms, broadly defined, are estimated to have built up £2.5bn of unpaid rent during the pandemic and the hardball class of landlords will want to grab what it can. Fear of being at the back of the queue of creditors will tempt some to Asma Khan make demands for unpaid rent on day one, potentially killing thousands of businesses before they’ve had a chance to try to trade their way out of crisis.

Darjeeling Express founder Asma Khan tweeted moments after the news broke saying, “Please can the government start talking to independent restaurateurs- especially in central London. We are paying rent for lunch & dinner but many of us struggle to fill tables for lunch service with few tourists & office people in central London. #TalkToUs @BorisJohnson,” as she attached a media that read: ‘We need 100% Business Rates relief and VAT at 5% extended to the end of the year. #LondonHospitality.’

In response to a tweet that followed her reaction, wherein a user suggested withdrawing support, Asma replied, “My business rate is £70,000 a Amit Lamba year. I need to start paying next month. There is a huge difference in business rates. Sorry to lose your support.”

Speaking to Asian Voice, Amit Lamba of Laguna Caterers said, “At the moment our events team are assessing the updated guidance and seeing how we can adapt the function to meet new government guidelines and ensure that the event is as safe as possible for guests and all staff work- Abdul Shayek ing at the event.”

Arts sector ready to thrive Commenting on the latest lockdown rules, Abdul Shayek, Artistic Director Tara Arts told Asian Voice, “Whilst disappointed we appreciate the need for us to respond to the current situation with caution and sensitivity. Tara Theatre will remain open and will still be welcoming in audiences at limited capacity. The theatre industry is of course already struggling due to the impact of the lockdown and the announcement of an extension means that the sector will have to fight even harder to survive. Theatre is, and has always been however, an incredibly powerful tool for change and is central to UK culture. This is why we at Tara Theatre are Bhavna Barratt confident that we will not only survive but thrive.”

The backbone of a wedding Bhavna Barratt, an Asian wedding photographer and a key lobbyist for the weddings campaign as well as the wedding task force thinks that although the restrictions for numbers have been lifted for weddings, this still has a huge impact on Asian weddings. Speaking to the newsweekly, Bhavna said, “As you know Asian weddings are held over numerous days and have guests between 200-800, this lifting of ‘restriction’ of numbers doesn’t allow for Asian weddings to take place in the same way, it impacts caterers, florists and venues in a negative way where they can’t be making profits, we’re already at a loss not having had any support for over 18 months.”

She further added, “Additionally there is non-dancing, no canapés, no drinks reception all this doesn’t lend itself well to Asian weddings where dancing is an integral tradition.

“It’s been challenging navigating the pandemic with no support for the wedding sector. My business has survived, because of the amazing clients I have and because I’ve been able to create a second business plat-

form online, but without that I would not be able to sustain myself or my wedding business.

“I know of many businesses that have closed down and many on the verge of breakdown because of the lockdown rules and no support from the government. I would like to add as well that a large percentage of the Asian Weddings sector is made up of women, when the rules keep changing, we need to keep changing our childcare provisions too, the Picture credit: Bhavna Barratt changes to lockdowns don’t just affect the business but personal lives too. that the whole period of transition where Many haven’t been able to afford childcare people will be looking for jobs is going to be challenging.” at all.

According to Mayank, the priority is “We’ve had a lot of enquiries over the last two weeks, couples just want to be able about making sure we address the people to get on with their lives now, so lots of inti- who are without jobs. “The government mate small wedding enquiries coming our needs to step in to provide support and help way but we’ve also had enquiries for larger to families. The health and wellbeing of people should be the biggest priority of the gov300-guest weddings.

“I suspect though that after the recent ernment,” he added.

With 16 years of experience, Mayank also announcement to move lockdown to the 19 July, couples will be feeling less confident to explained that businesses, especially SMEs run by people of colour make for about one book anything.”

What will it take on her part to nurture million businesses that really employ 3 milher business while making sure that Bhavna lion people.

Citing lack of access to support from the and her co-workers are protected from the virus and any other kind of future spread? government, lack of awareness, Mayank She said, “Lots of visibility, great customer mentioned that most of these people are in service and making sure we keep talking businesses that are worst affected by the panabout weddings. Making sure we look after demic or hospitality or low pay. “Whether it's our clients as they are so unsure of things and about access to finance, furlough scheme. We the changing rules. Making sure we are all need to do more to support minority busicompliant and follow the guidelines too. This nesses,” he added.

Richard Burge, Chief Executive of is key.”

Bhavna agreed that this has a huge London Chamber of Commerce and Industry impact on her business and the wedding sec- said, “If the data says that a delay in further tor. “Photography is seen as a luxury service, restriction easing protects the health of their there will definitely be a knock-on effect to staff and customers, then, as they have done our services, as with other parts of the Asian all pandemic, businesses will play their part. wedding sector, where the couples decide not But the government must ensure that businesses directly and indirectly impacted by to book such a service,” she added.

A new study has found the mental health this delay are sufficiently supported.

“Businesses that cannot open their of home-carers deteriorated more during lockdown than non-carers. The research, led doors, or those in quiet city centre areas like by the University of Glasgow’s MRC Social the City of London that were banking on a and Public Health Sciences Unit with col- return of commuters from June 21, should leagues at the University of Essex – found not have to now pay increased furlough conthat unpaid carers who looked after another tribution. Nor is it the right time for the member of their household (home-carers) business rates holiday to end. Plus, many of had poorer mental health than the general these directly and indirectly impacted busipopulation before lockdown and that this nesses, and those who are self-employed in impacted sectors, will also require further worsened as lockdown continued. financial support.

Support minority business“In London these issues are further exaces- extend furlough or risk erbated by the curtailment of international job disasters business travel. The government must use Mayank Shah, Founder this delay period to ensure that we finally and CEO, Minority Supplier have a border system in place that allows for Development UK, who runs sustainable economic recovery. Otherwise, a leading supplier diversity we will not capitalise upon the success of the advocacy network support- Mayank Shah NHS vaccination programme.” ing and connecting ethnic Responding to the latest unemployment minority businesses to global brands, had figures, Minister for Employment Mims some imperative observations.

Mayank said that it’s not just the wed- Davies MP said, "There are real signs of ding industry, but the whole supply chain recovery in the labour market with tens of that suffers. Whether it is the florists, cater- thousands of Work Coaches working hard ers, venue owners, hundreds of thousands of to support people across our growing netpounds are at stake. Many of them are self- work of Job Centres to help build their employed who were not getting the same skills, get interviews ready, and find their amount of support from the furlough next roles - with over three quarters of a scheme. “That has been the biggest task, the million vacancies out there.

"Our Plan for Jobs is working - creating biggest frustration. I still think people have to be cautious, because as we reopen, as it new opportunities and boosting job comes to having weddings in marquee or prospects right across the country - as jab by open spaces, I’m just throwing the caution jab we lay the foundations to build back betthat how Covid has affected the ethnic ter."

But Liberal Democrat Treasury minority community and organisers, therefore, we need to make sure that we don’t Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said, "A spread the virus, we use common sense , and fall in unemployment is always welcome, those wedding should be done in small num- but the Government must provide further bers following covid safety guidelines,” he reassurances to business, or we risk a jobs disaster when the furlough ends. The suptold Asian Voice.

Talking about the change in consumer port furlough offers will be reduced from behaviour patterns during the pandemic, next month and will end abruptly in Mayank said, “Ethnic minorities are worst September. We must not underestimate the affected due to the deprivation and the social impact this withdrawal will have on peoeconomic inequalities that exist in this coun- ple’s lives at a time the pandemic and its try within minority communities. More peo- new variants are still forcing businesses to ple have lost jobs within the community close. This latest delay to the roadmap, because they were in the hospitality, service emphasises the need to extend the furlough industry or the NHS, which leads to mental scheme and provide businesses with the stress effect on families. I personally think certainty they need to drive our recovery.”

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Boris 'lashed out at Priti Patel' The Prime Minister is said to be furious about the number of small boats arriving in the UK. He reportedly told a minister: 'what the f*** is the Home Office doing? When is she [Priti] going to sort this out?'

An estimated 4,725 migrants have crossed the Channel this year, with 8,410 having made the journey in 2020.Ms Patel is bringing forward new laws to try to crackdown on the journeys but ministers are

apparently frustrated that officials are failing to enforce the existing rules.

But Number 10 has moved to downplay the claims of a rift, with a Downing Street source telling the newspaper that 'everyone is frustrated at this problem' and the recent increase in crossings is 'deeply concerning'.

The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary both want to see an end to the illegal immigration that is

taking place through such dangerous journeys across the Channel,' they said.

The Government set out plans in the Queen's Speech earlier this year to toughen migration laws to deny refugee status to any asylum seekers who have passed through a 'safe

country' before reaching the UK. Ministers are blaming officials for the surge in crossings, amid claims they are not acting on existing Government policy to be more proactive in stopping the journeys.

Just 407 made the treacherous trip in the same timeframe last month with May ending up smashing the monthly record as 1,619 migrants arrived in 80 boats.

Legal age to get married is set to be raised to 18 Currently, people aged 16 are allowed to marry with their parents’ consent.

Campaigners have long said that the status quo facilitates sexual abuse when women are forced into marriages.

Sajid Javid, the former chancellor, is introducing a private member’s bill next week that will make it illegal for anyone to marry below

the age of 18.

Justice Ministers have indicated that they will back the bill and give it time on the floor of the House of Commons, all but guaranteeing that it will be passed.

It is expected to receive cross-party support.

Arranged teenage marriages are also known to be exploited by foreign nation-

als as a way of obtaining British citizenship. Javid, who is of Pakistani heritage, said: “I’ve seen this myself in the community I was raised

in: young girls expected to enter into marriage far before they were ready to with painful consequences.

Let’s call this what it is: child abuse.”

UNICEF considers a marriage of a minor under 16, as child marriage and a violation of rights. The marriageable age was fixed in 1929.

Teen stabbed sisters to death after making deal with devil to win lottery Danyal Hussein, 19, allegedly stabbed two sisters, Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, a total of 36 times in a “savage attack” for winning the lottery in Wembley, north west London, in June last year.

A murder trial at the Old Bailey was told a handwritten note, in which Hussein allegedly made the bargain, was found at his home by police following the attack.

Prosecutors said the

deal added he would not be suspected of any crimes.

Police officers also found lottery tickets, three of which were folded inside the note.

Hussein, from south east London, was identified after police found his DNA at the scene, on the bodies of the victims and on a bloodstained knife found nearby, the court was told.

He denied both counts of murder and possessing a

knife.

The sisters had been in the park with friends to celebrate Ms Henry’s birthday.

The following day their bodies were found intertwined and concealed in a hedgerow.

Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC told the jury that Ms Henry was stabbed eight times while Ms Smallman was wounded 28 times. The sisters had been “butchered” one after the

other.

He said: “Once the two sisters had been brutally murdered, their killer dragged their bodies across the grass and concealed them in a hedgerow.

Police also found CCTV which led officers to Hussein. The 19-year-old allegedly bought a set of knives in Asda and attended hospital the day after the killings with cuts to his hand from a knife.

British Airways furloughs thousands of staff The British Airways confirmed last week that a large number of its workers – including management staff – has furloughed thousands of its staff, citing delays to travel as the reason behind its decision.

Workers were being brought off furlough ahead of the summer holiday period after the Government set May 17 as the date for the

restart of international travel.

A BA spokesman said::Like many companies we’re using the furlough scheme to protect jobs during this unprecedented crisis.

It comes as Airlines UK, a trade association representing UK carriers, argued furlough support for aviation workers should be

extended until April next year.

In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the industry body said airlines have made pre-tax losses running into billions of pounds and announced more than 30,000 job cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.

The furlough scheme, which pays up to 80% of wages, is due to end on

Muslim voters withdrawing support for Starmer A poll result has recently revealed that the Labour party is supposedly losing support among British Muslims because it has fallen by a tenth under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. This news has surfaced amid fears that the party might lose next month’s by-election in Batley & Spen.

The poll was conducted on 504 voters by Survation for the Labour Muslim Network. Batley & Spen’s one fifth population is Muslim. Muslim Council of Britain suggested that the number of Muslim voters likely to turn out in the seat

is 8,600, more than twice the present Labour majority.

It is imperative to note that Starmer’s rating among Muslim voters who backed Labour in 2019 was minus 4 per cent, compared with 34 per cent among all Labour voters.

The Times reported: Starmer’s popularity lags far behind that of his party among Muslim voters after criticisms of his stance on Kashmir, Palestine and a report on Islamophobia in the party. The Labour leader has a favourability rating of minus 7 per cent among Muslim voters, compared

with his party’s rating which sits at 42 per cent. Labour is still far more popular with Muslims than the Conservatives but the findings suggest that this may be changing. The party’s support among Muslims fell by 11 per cent between 2019 and 2021.

September 30, but the letter called for it to be extended until the end of April 2022.

BA boss Sean Doyle said the announcement was “a step in the right direction”.

“We are now at a critical point and need action without delay, including clear criteria and a timeline.

Anything other than this could result in tough consequences.”

Head vs Heart Rohit Vadhwana Most of the models and theories of social sciences like economics are based on assumed rationality in human behaviour. Economists believe that people will make choices to make optimal use of resources and there will be equilibrium in society.

But that does not happen always, rather it happens rarely. Why? Because we do not behave rationally as assumed by those economists. Simply because in life, career, marriage or market, we do not follow our brain but heart, we behave less logically and more emotionally. It is not the requirement but preference that matters more to us. Inherently, there are human behaviours which cannot be explained by economic models.

If we behave based on economic theories, no one will ever make charity because it takes away money from your pocket. But people do donate, out of pocket, out of own time and skills and end up losing in pure theoretical terms. However, if asked, that loss gives them utmost happiness that otherwise they could not achieve. Not only social decisions, but even in economic decisions, people behave more on the basis of their gut feelings than rationale. People do invest in companies that promise more return, only because their desire to earn better return leads them to develop justification for investing in a company which later turns out to be a fiasco. It is not always due to lack of information, but because of not listening to logic.

People smoke, drink and gamble - with full knowledge that it may harm them financially, emotionally, socially and even physically. While they make a choice, they are aware that it will make them choice-less one day. But some kind of urge compels them to still go ahead with that behaviour. The simple reason for this behaviour - or misbehaviour - is that we are human beings, with emotions and preferences. We pay more for a match or concert ticket than its actual price because of perceived notion of value. Those who have ticket of a match may not sale out even at double the price, knowing fully well they will be in profit. Because their preference of pleasure over profit is stronger than economic principles.

Frankly, if everyone starts behaving in purely profit and loss terms, this world will end up being much worse than it is today. Everyone do not make decision simply on the basis of profit or benefit and therefore they think of own emotions, other humans, society and values. It leads to behaviour which may be inexplainable in economic theories but perfectly acceptable in human society. It will be interesting to examine what choices are you making in real life which are based your strong preference but cannot be justified in economic models.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

Barbican launches probe after being accused of 'institutional racism London's Barbican Centre has been described as 'institutionally racist' by its own staff who claim bosses called people from black or ethnic minority backgrounds 'yellows' and 'diversity hires'.

One worker claimed they were forced to cut back their afro hair to stop workers touching it while black staff insist they were regularly muddled with colleagues of the same race by white bosses.

Others said they were regularly confused with cleaners and an employee alleged that he was only asked if he could sell someone some cannabis because

he is black.

The statement added: 'Although we have not received any formal complaints, all staff will be able to contribute to the independent review so that their experiences can be heard and those affected can get the support they need. We want everyone's voice to be listened to and respected.'

And staff also claimed that they were called 'n****r' by visitors. The Barbican declined to comment on specific allegations - but promised an independent review of them. After George Floyd's murder the Barbican posted three black

squares on social media during 'blackout Tuesday'.

Staff claimed the squares lacked meaning and were merely 'performative', the Barbican's managing director Sir Nicholas Kenyon released an antiracism action plan admitting his organisation had not done 'enough over time to address these issues in our organisation'. It committed to 'eradicating racism in all its forms'.

But staff believed the plan was vague and released their claims today because they feel Sir Nicholas' action plan has not fulfilled its promises.

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HMRC can help towards the cost of children’s summer holiday activities HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working families that they can use Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for their childcare costs over the summer.

Tax-Free Childcare – a childcare top-up for working parents – can be used to help pay for accredited holiday clubs, childminders or sports activities – giving parents and carers that extra peace of mind that their child is having fun during the school summer holidays and it can save them money. Tax-Free Childcare is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. And for every £8 deposited into an account, families will receive an additional £2 in government top-up, capped at £500 every three months, or £1,000 if the child is disabled.Parents and carers can check their eligibility and register for Tax-Free Childcare via GOV.UK. They can apply for an account at any time and start using it straight away. By depositing money into their accounts, families can benefit from the 20% top-up and use the money to pay for childcare costs when they need to, for example, during the summer holidays. More than 282,000 working families used their account in March 2021, the highest recorded number of families in any one month since the scheme was launched in April 2017. These families received a share of more than £33 million in government top-up payments. Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders or other childcare providers. Families with younger children will often have higher childcare costs than families with older children, so the tax-free savings can really make a difference.

Gurkhas rally through London streets demanding equal rights Rupanjana Dutta Hundreds of Gurkhas rallied across Whitehall on Tuesday noon for a ‘Gurkha Satyagraha’ – a protest for justice, asking the UK government to respond to their 14point letter, demanding equal social and financial rights and pensions.

The letter that calls for a meeting between Nepal and UK governments aims at resolving the issues concerning equal pension, under the Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS) and Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS75). The letter which has deadline of 30 June 2021, still hasn’t generated

any reaction from the UK government, disappointing this fiercely loyal community.

Gyanraj Rai, Chief Coordinator, Gurkha Satyagraha told Asian Voice, “We demand for a powerful dialogue committee to resolve the issue of this discrimination. We

have been serving the British Crown for the last over 200 years, but we have been compelled to struggle for more than three decades.” There were approximately 40,000 Gurkhas when they started their campaign, but the numbers have reduced to 16,000 and dwindling, as people struggle in poverty. Many Gurkha veterans have been left alone to fend for themselves as their families are not allowed to join them in the UK. The rally also called for immediate health care support, including vaccination to Nepal. This was joined by Sikhs and war veterans from other communities.

BMA research finds doctors are suffering ‘emotional’ and ‘psychological’ distress New research by the BMA has revealed doctors are suffering ‘moral distress’ and even ‘moral injury’ because they cannot give their patients the care and support they want when they feel they need it.

The Association has undertaken the first ever pan-profession survey of its kind and as part of the research, the BMA surveyed UK doctors during March and April of this year. Almost two thousand doctors took part and, whilst the majority said they were experiencing distress when they weren’t able to provide the care they knew was needed, many did not realise they were suffering what is identified as ‘moral distress.’

Moral distress can be understood as the feeling of unease stemming from being unable to undertake an ethically correct action due to institutional or resource constraints. Over three quarters (78.4%) of respondents stated that moral distress res-

onated with their experiences at work. An even greater proportion of critical care doctors and foundation year junior doctors stated that moral distress resonated with their experiences at work (88.9% and 88.5% respectively). Over half of doctors who

responded to a question about causes of moral distress cited ‘insufficient staffing to suitably treat all patients’ as one of the leading causes of their moral distress, with ‘individual mental fatigue’ as the second most significant contributing factor.

Nato and India Continued from page 3

The C-17 is also capable of carrying out heavy-lift airlifting missions in all weather conditions, and is now used by the United States Air Force for transporting personnel, cargo and fuel.

Clearly, a Nato alliance allows it’s member nations especially France, UK, US to sell more defence capability hardware to India too. Russia's Air Force agreed to help develop India's strategic nuclear strike capability with a contract worth $1.5

billion that will see Russia’s state-owned military aerospace company, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), upgrade Indian supersonic cruise missiles from 300 miles to 2,000 miles (4800 km). Nato sees Russia as a threat and India’s close historic ties with Russia show how that leads to commercial benefits.

Of course, India may well have to get over Pakistan being a Nato partner country (not full member) as Nato will have to get over India Russian relations.

10 READERS' VOICE

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Anti-India reporting bias by the BBC and The Guardian It was interesting to read about members of our community being aggrieved by the unfair and unbalanced reporting on India (letters to your newspaper). In my nearly 50 years of living in the UK, this has always been case with these two media businesses as well as The Observer newspaper (before its merger with The Guardian). There are two pertinent questions to ask ourselves: 1. Will that ever change? and 2. What can we, as a community, do to get them to change their editorial policy?

Sure, we can all write letters to these two organisations protesting about their biases but that is unlikely to have any meaningful change because the decision makers are unlikely to read or act on our protesting letters with only a marginal chance of such letters even being published. AntiIndia reporting bias seems to be ingrained in the BBC’s DNA. I don’t want to sound defeatist, but I cannot see The Guardian changing its editorial policy on reporting events in India unless its income is affected adversely. With the BBC, there is a possibility of change because it is publicly funded. BBC’s Charter and licence fee will be due for review so may I humbly suggest that the more productive way of getting our voices heard is to write to your MP and the Minister responsible for Culture & Media about your views. You could even suggest that the licence fee is an involuntary tax which should be abolished in this age of multiple free channels for us to choose from. In my experience, it is only when its revenue is in danger that organisations are more receptive to structural and fundamental change. Our ask is simple and not unreasonable that is fair and balanced reporting on events in India and in our community in UK. I have already written to my MP. Let us hope that we don’t have to wait another 50 years for such a change to occur.

Dinesh Rai

Drink driving reports Following on from a small IN BRIEF news item about Drink Driving, Page 4, in Asian Voice 29th May -4th June, I would like to add little more information for our readers.

As an ex-Highways officer (Casualty Reduction, Road Safety), this story was of personal interest to me. Drink driving is one of the biggest causes of road deaths and is a cause for concern. One bad decision can shape a future of regret and potentially life-changing guilt for the driver plus any other parties involved.

There are numerous reports and data produced by different government bodies, charities, and private organizations giving in depth analysis, reviews, and the wide impact Drink driving is having on the society. Some of them I list here as a matter of anyone’s further interest: PACTS (Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Studies) and a report on drink driving can be found on: www.pacts.org.uk/news-and-publications/pacts-report. This report from the government gives all the data about reported drink driving accidents and causalities as produced by Department of Transport. These reports will give in depth statistics by months, gender, and regions, time etc. and updated. NHS has also been providing useful data and reports on drink driving (digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical). ROSPA - The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident, which is a charity, has produced a drinking and driving factsheet available at www.rospa.com/rospaweb/docs/advice-services/road-safety.

There is an Institute of Alcohol Studies which is an independent body which debate on alcohol’s impact on society. It also provides best available evidence in public policy decisions about alcohols use. Please do not risk drink driving. It can destroy lives and the consequences are just not worth the risk. There should be a zero-tolerance drink drive limit, the safety of road users come first.

Jatish Shah Northampton

Till death do us part As a paper reporting Asian News "till death do us part" is a particularly Christian concept you are trying to bring to the Asian community. Current Western culture is focused solely on husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend relations as opposed to the traditional Asian extended family. Living in a "Christian" culture we follow local laws, so marriage law is one of them.

As a Hindu brought up in the UK, I began the search of who I am, living in England. After some research, I concluded that the West does not know the origins of gender, rooted in the Hindu Shiv Shakti tradition, which then lead to the concept of marriage in Ancient India as one of the 16 sacraments in life.

A favourite story is "5000yrs ago an evil king Ravan kidnapped the wife Sita of another king Ram, while in captivity Sita sent secretly a ring to her husband of say she was still his wife". Today we see this ring exchanged in the west as part of marriage but the original purpose "to further Dharma" all but lost.

Jayesh A Patel London

KHICHADI Kapil’s

Pros and cons of Overseas Aid Overseas aid is the topic of conversation, not only at our dining table but at every event, every occasion where people could discuss politics in a civilized manner befitting our law abiding, peace loving British Indian community.

While every point raised, even infatuated with either pro or anti cut to “Overseas Aid” budget (OAB) is valid, at least in the eyes of persons who may have raised the question, it is imperative that politicians who are normally much better-off financially than ordinary British people, some living in Ivory Tower with the bridge raised, understand hardships ordinary people, many unemployed had to face every day, struggling to decide where cuts should fall, on food, energy, car or follow in the foot-steps of those luminaries who use clothes until they are only fit for “Scarecrow”, out of dedication to environment and that includes Prince Charles!

With £1:5 trillion national debt, only second highest to America, we are leaving heavy burden of debt for younger generation to deal with! By far majority of British public support government’s temporary cut of £4 billion to OAB. But our well-meaning and misguided politicians see cuts as conspiracy!

Deprivation I have observed in daily lives of people at bottom-end is heart-breaking, so often persons must choose which medicine to leave out, out of four or five prescribed by their GP, as they could not afford prescription charges of all medication which may exceed £40!

Same goes to food, buying cheapest, especially fruits and vegetables and tinned food, so often nearing “Sell by Date”, at giveaway price. One solution may be for government to introduce special tax, 1 to 5% tax over certain earnings that should go directly to OAB! I wonder if it is made voluntary, how many would opt-out, especially premier league footballers who earn millions. Many earn more in just one year than we earn in a lifetime! Yet, many of us OAPs living on pensions, keep £500 aside for our favourite charities! Lets’ see what response we receive, especially from politicians!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi London

Father’s Day A father is a family’s strong backbone- always caring and loving. Though less recognised by Gurus, Priests, Mullahs, Kathakar, Writers and Societies, he is the unsung hero never expecting any rewards, praises in return of his selfless sacrifices. Emotions and feelings for his family are always in his heart not to be seen but to be felt.

Respect by others towards his family never demanded by him but commanded. He defends and protects his own like the Himalayas and fights back like Arjuna of Mahabharata.

Paradise lies at the feet of your parents.Never get trapped by the commercialisation of the Father’s Day by buying expensive gifts. Instead make a point to spend quality and memorable time with him whenever possible not only on Father’s Day but on other days too. It shouldn’t be celebrated as a one-day event but should be 24/7x365 days a year. If he lives far or abroad, connect by phone call, WhatApps or by Facetimes and involve our children too.

Happy and holy Father’s Day to all fathers, living as well as those in our memories.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel Markham, Canada

New scams and frauds continue to make the headline “New scams and frauds continue to make the headline” (AV dated 5-11 June) reveals the extent to which this issue has become serious. With the advancement of technology, lives of people have become easier but at the same time the lives of fraudsters have also become more comfortable.

These gangs work to get personal confidential information about finance, your movement, when you are not home etc to gain access to bank details or in the property in your absence.

Elderly people can easily be tricked because of a lack of technical knowledge and because of the momentary fear these people create to put pressure to act in a harry.

Mustafa Khanwala and Neha Mehta in the article on page 4 have highlighted some startling facts about the new techniques being used. Neha has highlighted that even people who give donations from their hard-earned money may also be trapped by these gangs. These gangs try to get IP address to gain control of the computer and get money by hook or by crook. There is no full-proof solution to eliminate this problem, but we can always take some preventive measures to reduce the damage it may cause. The first and foremost is to teach high school students about cybersecurity and its potential impact on society. Other measures could include things like never give the password, date of birth, OTP (One Time Password to access the bank account), leave community computer open with sensitive bank details, answer any anonymous phone call, and give sensitive personal details. Ask the caller to give his / her number to call back, if the caller is genuine, he/she will give the number. Fraudsters will say they are not allowed to give office number. Since more and more people use online facilities, the gangs keep on “inventing” new methods to cheat people. We cannot avoid internet transactions, but we can avoid a careless approach and be more vigilant.

Hitesh Hingu London

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

I Won't Take the Knee Kapil Dudakia I won’t take the knee because I refuse to be a slave.

The fashion of taking the knee, borne out of a Marxist/anarchist movement has hoodwinked many People of Colour (PoC) into thinking they should go on their knee and somehow that will bring about race equality and change the world. Madness, I know, but let us be honest, there are many people who are just not getting it and are far removed from the real meaning of being forced to get on your knee. They actually believe jumping on this latest bandwagon will help with their own shame.

There are only two meanings to being on one’s knees.

The first is when some people pray to their God. The other is when you are forced to by your master since that is the very meaning of being enslaved. The whole world accepts and knows the concept of being forced to go on your knee. And it has nothing to do with race equality, freedom, empowerment or being independent. It has everything to do with a person or people who believe they are superior to you, and hence they believe you are beneath them and as such, you are forced to get on your knees.

Our ancestors were forced to get on their knees, not so that today we end up on our knees. They would bury their heads in shame knowing that their sacrifice over hundreds of years, is being undermined by their own descendants choosing voluntarily to go on their knee again. What can be more disrespectful than that?

The white Marxists and anarchists have actually managed to get some very silly PoC to take the knee. In decades to come people will look back and hang their heads in shame.

Slave owners used to force their slaves on their knees before branding them with a hot iron to mark them as their property. Slaves were either on their knees or hanging from a tree. A slave was property, and they would never dare to raise their heads.

So, if we want to show our displeasure at the racists, then let us have an act that is empowering. Why not stand tall. Head raised high. And if you like, have one hand raised with a clenched fist. That shows the world that we the PoC will never yield.

When Colin Kaepernick and his allies “took the knee” they adopted a pose drawn from the 18th/19th century of abolitionism. People mistakenly believe that by so doing it cuts the white emancipator from the frame. The truth, it reinforces the image of slavery and that PoC are nothing more than property worthy only of being on their knees and being subservient.

What I do know is that there are those taking the knee who are racists, and that there are some booing the taking of the knee who are also racist. For the media to paint one side negatively is to create a fake narrative. One that allows the racists to get away with it, because all they have to do is take the knee and guess what, the world salutes them for their ‘bravery’.

Are you going to be taken in by these rogues? Are you still a slave who is comfortable being on your knees? At what point will you, a PoC, free yourself of the chains of subservience? In the 21st C, you are guilty of your own enslavement if you bow to these white woke masters.

I won’t take the knee because I refuse to be a slave.

Misleading statements on social media about the Covid-19 vaccines There are lots of rumours spreading on social media about the Covid-19 vaccines that it will have harmful effects on people after it is administered.Some people have said in conversation that they will not take the vaccine even if they have fever, cough or cold. It is rumoured that those who have received the second dose of the vaccine have also become ill or are dying. What is the benefit of getting ourselves vaccinated? Whatever it is, we will not get ourselves vaccinated, I heard people say. Citing social media, some even said that the government had developed a fake vaccine that was killing people, while others said there was a risk of infertility.

There are sincere calls for vaccinations, but people say that if they get themselves vaccinated, they will die or fall sick. Therefore, a meagre population has been vaccinated against Coronavirus so far. There is also a misconception about the vaccine that people are getting sick after taking both the doses. Attempts have been made to make people aware that the vaccines are safe but to no avail. However, doctors are convincing people that they should not believe in misleading statements spread on social media like YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. Jubel D'Cruz Mumbai, India

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Changes that we don’t notice

Ruchi Ghanashyam Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK-India relations.

With the gradual opening up of Delhi, a friend whom we hadn’t seen for over two months came to visit us. Thanks to the pandemic, this otherwise joyous occasion, evoked a mixture of guilt and apprehension, not unlike that for a diabetic eating gulab jamuns at night. During the course of the evening, we discussed how the pandemic has changed our lives.

A very clear impact has been on our shopping habits. Even the most tech-wary amongst us have shifted at least partly to ordering things online. I fall in the category that believes in buying things from a store. One should be able to see what one is buying! But slowly my children have encouraged me to find things online. I have been using online companies for many years to buy small things but I had forgotten how to return them if they weren’t right. When something had to be returned, I would find someone or the other to do it for me.

During the lockdown, there was little option but to shop online, as most shops were closed. A few days ago, I ordered some garments for my mother as she had suddenly lost a lot of weight. The first lot that came was not up to the mark. It was also too small and had to be returned. As the children were busy, I started thinking about who I could give them to. At this point, my cook asked me why I was trying to find someone to take them off me instead of returning them? I told him that the children were busy and I had no idea how to return the items. He promptly came across to me and showed me how simple it was!

Since then, I have become a regular user of online ordering.

A few months back, we had hired a lady attendant to care for my mother who needed close personal attention at that time.

The attendant had recently come from her village in north India.

She was smart but did not have too much education.

Notwithstanding her paucity of schooling, she was wedded to her smartphone and could easily find what she wanted to buy on online platforms. I also notice that every other staff member, not just at my home, but in other homes in my neighbourhood as well, are devoted to their phones!

While this is anecdotal and by no means a serious study, it seems to be an indication of how things are changing in the world around us. Smartphones, and not just ordinary phones, are a necessity of life today. Do we remember the old phones that we were using just a couple of decades ago? So many other things have become relics of a past that was the reality just yesterday.

Thanks to the super fast progress of technology, changes are happening at a much faster pace. In the fast pace of change, we never really notice that the world around us has changed so drastically! These days, the global pandemic has added to the fast pace of change brought about by technology. Online shopping was already a big segment of the market before the pandemic.

Many departmental stores had become distressed or gone out of business due to the bleeding competition of online shopping even before the pandemic. But as markets have been closed and people locked up in their homes, online shopping has at times become really the only option. How many businesses, big and small, have folded up during this time? Sometimes, the thought of the stress faced by ‘Mom and Pop’ shops across the country fills me with despair.

Perhaps, the story that I narrated earlier, also contains the hint of a solution. We can no longer be content with the way things are; we need to remain nimble to keep pace with changing circumstances. Today, more than ever, there is a need to keep an eye on what is happening around us, regularly upgrade one’s skills and stay ahead of the curve. This is easier said than done.

There is also a need to keep in mind that technology can widen disparities especially in rural settings and economically disadvantaged areas. It is often said that technology is a great equaliser. One can avail of online teaching to upgrade oneself, if one can’t afford to go to a university. But in economically disadvantaged families, when there is only one phone or computer at home, or none at all, it is impossible for the disadvantaged to keep pace with the rest. Women and girls are likely to lose out even more. Policy makers have to aim for a level playing field and to keep an eye out for girls’ education and welfare.

The pandemic has changed our lives. But the faster we adapt to change, the better it would be for us!

Own a piece of British history as homes at the former Old War Office On 15 June one of London’s most iconic buildings went on sale at The OWO Residences by Raffles, Europe’s first Raffles branded residences. Offering a rare opportunity to purchase a piece of Winston Churchill’s legacy, 85 homes are available in the impressive Grade II* listed the former Old War Office building, which has been closed to the public for over a century.

Having undergone a monumental and painstaking transformation over the last five years, the London landmark is set to complete in 2022 and will also comprise the capital’s first Raffles hotel with 125-rooms and suites, a collection of nine restaurants and bars, and an immersive spa.

Situated at one of London’s most historically important and powerful

addresses, the Old War Office, originally completed in 1906 and designed

by British architect William Young, is steeped in history.

The Hinduja Group has partnered with world-renowned Raffles Hotels & Resorts, who will be operating the 125- room and suite flagship hotel at The OWO, as well as the 85 branded residences. Prices for a twobedroom residence start from £5.8million.

Gopichand P Hinduja, CoChairman, Hinduja Group said, "Launching sales of these extraordinary residences is a significant milestone for us as a family and for the project team at The OWO - it’s one step closer to opening the storied building to the public for the first time where branded residences will

sit alongside a flagship Raffles hotel.

London is one of the best cities in the world, steeped in history and tradition, and has been our home for over forty years. With our knowledge and experience in restoration of historic buildings, everything we do, and every decision made on The OWO is underscored by our passion and respect for the heritage of the building and long term commitment to London.

74% did not receive formal bereavement or mental health support A survey, carried out by Cardiff University's Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre and the University of Bristol, found that of bereaved people demonstrating high or severe levels of vulnerability, three quarters (74 per cent) were not accessing formal bereavement services or mental health support. It signifies how many people struggling after a bereavement faced long waiting lists for support or were told they were not eligible. Others reported discomfort asking for help and were unsure how to access services, researchers found.

The survey, of 711 adults bereaved between March and December 2020, is believed to be the first to highlight the experiences of those trying to get support after the death of a loved one during the pandemic.

As per the survey, most participants had not tried to access support, but more than half (56%) of those who did experienced difficulties.

deserve so people can access the right More than half (51%) of those sursupport when they need it.Over the veyed were assessed as experiencing last year we have given more than £10 high or severe vulnerability. But million to mental health charities, as almost three quarters (74%) of this well as those who support people group said they were not accessing dealing with bereavement. We will formal bereavement or mental health continue to work closely with the UK support. And four in 10 respondents on Covid-19 Commission (39%) reported difficulties in getting Bereavement, its Steering Group, and support from friends and family. the Lived Experience Advisory Minister for Bereavement, Nadine Forum to ensure support is there Dorries, said: “Losing someone close where and when it is needed most.” to us is one of the most difficult things anyone can go through and behind every death are friends and families grieving their loss.

Covid-19 has put pressure on An ‘artificial pancreas’ designed to revolutionise the life b e r e a v e m e n t of people with Type 1 diabetes will be provided by the services and I’m NHS, 100 years after the discovery of insulin, health sercommitted to vice chief executive Sir Simon Stevens announced. ensuring grief Upto 1,000 patients will benefit from a pilot of the issues get the innovative ‘closed loop technology’, which continually attention they monitors blood glucose and automatically adjusts the

MPs criticise DCMS for ‘notable opaqueness’ in Covid-19 support for charities The government showed a “notable opaqueness” in some decision-making over the allocation of emergency funding to charities and spent £2m on consultants, parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has said. MPs further criticised the Department for Digital Media and Sport (DCMS) for not having a clear idea about how to measure the impact of funding to support charities during the pandemic, in a report, Covid19: Government Support for Charities.

The committee had set up an inquiry to look at how DCMS had spent the £513m it was allocated from the £750m package of support for charities. PAC has now made five recommendations for the government.

Its inquiry followed on from a National Audit Office report which highlighted that some money had been awarded to organisations where officials had initially been unsure that the applicant was eligible. PAC said that the lack of transparency about decision-making, deviation from formal processes and inadequate attention paid to impact was part of a worrying trend across government. Accountancy firm PwC was paid £2m by DCMS to perform due diligence on applications to the NLCF. PAC highlights that NLCF is an experienced grantmaker. “But the department paid PwC £2m for specialist support on data collection, analytical support, and due diligence,” the report says. The PAC report draws a number of comparisons with funding targeted at cultural organisations and the charity sector, with the former receiving “nearly three times more funding” than the latter.

Patients with type one diabetes to get artificial pancreas at NHS

amount of insulin given through a pump. Professor Partha Kar, NHS national speciality advisor for diabetes, said: “One hundred years after the discovery of insulin, the ‘artificial pancreas’ is a potentially revolutionary development in the treatment of diabetes. The NHS has long been at the forefront of clinical advances in care for major diseases, including diabetes, which have allowed patients to live longer and healthier lives.”

12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S Cheetahs set to make grand entry into MP; a gain for Gujarat too Cheetahs, the fastest animal on earth, are set to make a grand entry in India as eight animals will be brought from South Africa to be reintroduced in the Kuno-Palpur region of Madhya Pradesh. Gujarat might as well rejoice in MP's gain. In fact, the Gujarat government was ordered in 2014 by the Supreme Court to part with it's Asiatic lions-for translocation in Kuno-Palpur. Now, Gujarat is understood to be relieved because, according to an expert, lions can be let into Kuno-Palpur only after the cheetahs have had two litters.” The expert added, “We believe that the lions can now be translocated to Kuno-Palpur only after a decade because early introduction of lions can prove detrimental to the process of settling the cheetahs in.” Earlier, Gujarat government was told to translocate some lions from the Gir sanctuary following an apex court order in April 2014. However, the Gujarat government delayed the process as it sought clarification on translocation guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But now that cheetahs are being introduced, lions can be moved in only when the cheetah population stabilizes. (The Times of India) Juhi Chawla explains why she filed 5G petition

Days after Juhi Chawla's petition against the rollout of 5G in India was dismissed by the Delhi High Court, the actor put out a video explaining why she chose to approach the court. The court, which said the lawsuit was apparently "for publicity", also said the petitioners should pay Rs 20,00,000. "In the past few days, there was so much noise that I could not hear myself. In this noise, a very important message was lost," she said in a video. "And that was, we are not against 5G. In fact, we are welcoming of it... All we're asking the authorities, (is that) they certify 5G safe." The lawsuit said if the telecom industry's plans for 5G became a reality, it would cause irreversible damage to the environment and "no person, animal, bird, insect and plant on earth will be able to avoid exposure, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to radiation hundreds of times greater than what exists today." "All we're asking is that you certify this, publish the studies and research in public domain so that the fear we have goes away and we can all sleep in peace. We just want to know that it is safe for children, pregnant women, unborn children, old, inform and for flora, fauna... that is all we are asking," Juhi said in her video. (Agency) Minister clarifies on 'mistranslated' airport sign

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted a clarification after an old image of a 'mistranslated' airport sign began doing the rounds of the Internet again, flagging it as fake. "Listen people. This is a morphed image doing the rounds since 2015," Puri tweeted, sharing photos of the sign in question. He further said that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had issued a clarification on the morphed sign in 2019 as well, when it had resurfaced on social media. "Farsh par khaana sakht mana hai," the sign reads in Hindi, which

translates to "Eating on the floor is strictly prohibited." On the sign, however, the translation reads: "Eating carpet is strictly prohibited", with the word "on" missing.

Puri's recent clarification on the sign came after the image was shared by a Twitter user this week, who suggested that the AAI needed Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's help to correct the language on the sign. Responding to the now-deleted tweet, Tharoor had said, "They are incorrigible" - as a screenshot shared by Puri shows. "Let us all do a bit of due diligence before putting such things out," the aviation minister urged in his tweet. "Fake images and morphed pictures don't do any good to people who are posting them." (Agency) Std V girl wins CJI Ramana’s appreciation

raped in an empty school building in Haryana by a man and eight minors who also shot the crime and uploaded the video online, the police said. The family realised the crime only two weeks later after the video went viral, they said. A case was filed soon afterward and the accused arrested. Five out of the nine accused are said to be close relatives of the victim. The incident took place in a village in Rewari district on May 24, according to the complaint filed by the girl's family. The girl was playing outside her house when the accused "kidnapped her". "The accused allegedly took the girl to an empty school building in the village and raped her. The 18-year-old shot the video of the crime while two minors forwarded it to others and made it viral," the police said. Five of the minors accused of rape are aged between 10 and 12. (Agency)

Trikuta Hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir – last week, in which one building was completely damaged and “some cash and records” were gutted.

Three shrine employees who were trapped in the fire were rescued and the fire was controlled in a short time. A huge plume of smoke was seen billowing from the building housing the cash counting room, where the fire started. The firefighting squad of the shrine immediately swung into action after CRPF personnel raised an alarm. The fire is believed to have been triggered by an electrical shortcircuit. (Agency) 31 drunkards in a bus unleash terror on highway

5-year-old dies of thirst after long walk in Rajasthan

Chief Justice N V Ramana was impressed by the letters of a boy and a girl he received. Lidwina Joseph, a fifth standard student in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Thrissur, Kerala, sent a letter reflecting the awareness of today’s young population. She said, “I was much worried about the deaths in Delhi and other parts of country due to corona. From the newspaper, I understood that your honourable court has intervened effectively in the suffering and deaths of people in the fight against Covid-19. I am happy and feel proud your honourable court has passed orders for supply of oxygen and saved many lives. The girl was referring to the SC taking up issues relating to short supply of oxygen to Delhi and some other states during the pandemic. The CJI said, “I have received your beautiful letter along with a heartwarming illustration of the judge at work.

I am really impressed with the way you kept track of happenings in the country and the concern that you have displayed for the well-being of people... I am sure you will grow up into an alert, informed and responsible citizen who’ll contribute immensely towards nation building.” A few days ago, the CJI had responded to a Class12 student from Andhra Pradesh who sent a letter written in Telugu. The CJI appreciated his effort and said it was rare these days to come across youngsters writing letters in their mother tongue.

(Agency) 10-year-old allegedly gang-raped A 10-year-old girl was allegedly gang-

A five-year-old girl died of thirst while her grandmother fell unconscious in Raniwara in Jalore district of Rajasthan, police said. The incident took place when Sukhi (60) and her granddaughter Manju (5) were travelling by foot to see a family member in Roda village, station house officer Padma Ram said. While on the way, they felt thirsty but could not find water around as the place was uninhabited, he said. Later, some shepherds spotted the duo from atop a small hill and informed the village sarpanch who informed the police. The police rushed to the spot and after first aid, both were taken to the hospital where Manju was declared dead while Sukhi is undergoing treatment. (Agency) Massive fire at Vaishno Devi shrine complex

A massive fire broke out in the Vaishno Devi shrine complex - nestled on

A group of 31 heavily drunk men returning from the Diu unleashed terror on the Bhavnagar-Somnath coastal highway, smashing bottles on heads of toll tax employees, assaulting cops, home guard jawans and stabbing a villager. The mayhem continued for nearly four hours before their bus was intercepted by a team of cops from four police stations at around 2:30am after a high-voltage chase of 50 km. All those arrested are natives of Bhavnagar city’s Karchaliyapara locality and aged between 19 and 36 years. They had hired a private bus and gone to Diu for boozing and started for Bhavnagar in the night. The high drama started unfolding around 11:30 pm at Dudhala toll booth in Amreli district when they refused to pay the toll tax. Some of the men got down from the bus and smashed beer bottles on the heads of employees.

(Agency) Sodhi gets APO regional award R S Sodhi, managing director of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which sells the popular Amul products, has received Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Tokyo regional award as Asia Pacific productivity champion. Sodhi is the first person in the last 20 years from India to receive the award. Government of India’s National Productivity Council (NPC) had unanimously recommended Sodhi’s name for APO award from India. “It is the recognition of India’s most productive, efficient supply chain of milk in the world. The system helps farmers get 7080% of consumer price compared to world average of 35-40%” said Sodhi.

(Agency)

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19 - 25 June 2021

Tube driver says, government's response was “slow” and strategy was “criminal” Shefali Saxena Since the first lockdown in March 2020, transport workers have worked to maintain vital services in transporting health and other key workers, medicines, food and much more in response to the global pandemic. As passenger numbers dramatically dropped (as low as 5% of prepandemic numbers), workers have delivered a service as close to the maximum to facilitate social distancing on journeys.

Brixton based Tube driver Unjum Mirza spoke exclusively to Asian Voice as London awaits to breathe in a new normal sometime next month.

Commenting on what the government could have done better and averted the rising cases of Covid-19, especially Delta variant, Mirza said, “The government's response was slow while it's strategy was criminal. Initially, the government followed a strategy of "herd immunity" endangering thousands upon thousands of lives. Since then, the government has failed to follow a strategy to suppress and eliminate the virus, favouring instead to

Unjum Mirza

manage and mitigate. This has allowed the virus to further adapt and mutate with devastating consequences in a second wave commencing last year resulting in 150,000 avoidable deaths.”

Standing with TFL, Mirza further said, “On London Underground, the employer has followed the government advice throughout.

Fortunately, the unions have organised independently and fought to keep the workplace as safe as possible while we offered our efforts and solidarity to our NHS staff in the battle to save lives.”

Are the growing number of Delta variant cases worrisome for a front liner? He said, “Presently, we appear to be entering a third wave caused by the now dominant Delta (formerly known as "Indian") variant which is growing at an increasing exponential rate. While the vaccines will hopefully assist in reducing the number of

fatalities, the likelihood is that the NHS will struggle as the number of hospital admissions rise.

“As a workforce, we are also organising an industrial response (including strike action if necessary) against government proposed cuts in transport which include cuts to services. These cuts can only undermine our efforts in assisting our colleagues in the health service to save lives, both now and in the future.

With passenger numbers rising to 60% on London Underground trains, maintaining social distance on trains during a third wave is increasingly impossible and therefore hindering our efforts in cutting the chains of transmission of the virus,” he told the newsweekly.

Will we ever be able to travel in full capacity on the London Underground without having to worry about the virus? He said, “Most agree that we cannot return to the pre-pandemic past - we need a new normal . But that new normal can only be won through mass struggles against a homicidal government and employers who aim to make us pay for the Covid crisis.”

SEVA Trust UK receives 'Non-Profit Organisation of the Year - London & South East’ Award SEVA Trust UK, a Bedford based charity has been recognised for their exceptional community support work and awarded 'NonProfit Organisation (NPO) of the Year London & South East' Award by the Corporate Live Wire Prestige Awards Team.

These are the annual awards given to the best performing businesses and nonprofit organisations who have made a significant social and community impact.

The Founder & Chairman of SEVA Trust UK Charan Sekhon said, We launched our

first Covid19 project on 25th March 2020 and 15 months on we are still supporting the elderly and vulnerable who are facing tough times. We dedicate this award to all of our volunteers and supporting partners. We are a charity run by 100% volunteers, we have no paid staff and we operate a 100% donation policy that means all the donations go towards the cause, not to pay anyone salary or expensive overheads. If anyone wishes to support our ongoing projects please visit www.sevatrustuk.org’ said Charan.

First Rishi Modi Intern appointed The first intern of the Rishi Modi internship has been appointed Anthony Rodrigues, 22, a graduate from the University of York has been appointed as the first Rishi Modi Intern. The Rishi Modi Internship will last for a three month period . The intern will be working on the production team of Talking Points with Rishi Modi Keith Vaz, Lyca Radio’s flagship current affairs programme.

The interns will learn all the basics of working in the media industry such as researching and contacting guest speakers to appear on the programme, drafting the script for the programme and learning how a current affairs programme works. Rishi Modi was a radio presenter from Leicester who had previously hosted a breakfast programme on Sabras Radio and was well known among the South Asian community across the UK. Rishi recently passed away from Covid aged 35 while visiting his family in Kenya.

Anthony Rodrigues said, "I am delighted to have been selected as the first Rishi Modi intern, I look forward to

Anthony Rodrigues

having a splendid time learning the ropes of media broadcasting and communications, it will I am sure be a rollercoaster and I recommend this internship for anyone who has an interest in the media.

Keith Vaz the programme presenter said : ”This is a great way to remember a special talent and we look forward to developing the skills Anthony already has“ A partnership with a number of universities is underway, many motivated students especially those studying media will have the exciting opportunity of working on Lyca Radio with the hope that they will use these skills as a Rishi Modi intern to begin their career in the media and journalism industry.“

14 WOMEN’S VOICE

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The charm of old cook books, Indian curry and a unique food dictionary Shefali Saxena Sejal Sukhadwala is one of the longest-established Indian food feature writers in the UK, London-based Sejal has been writing about food and restaurants for nearly two decades.

She is currently writing an Indian food dictionary; plus ‘The Philosophy Of Curry’, to be published by the British Library in Spring 2022. In an exclusive Q&A with Asian Voice, she spoke about the mighty Indian curry and gender norms associated to Indian food.

Q - How would you describe "Indian food" for westerners who still think it's all about curry?

It’s frustrating that Indian food has been reduced to curry, something I’ll be addressing in my book ‘The Philosophy Of Curry’, a cultural history of curry published next year. To a westerner, I would explain that ‘Indian food’ is in fact extraordinarily hyper-regional: not only based on region, but also individual cities, castes, sub-castes,

communities and religious sects.

I’d point to our rich tradition of steamed and fried snacks and street foods; and also explain the influence of international cuisines.

Q - Indian food is often associated and very wrongly so (in a patriarchal way) to women in most conversations. What is your take on this?

As in other cuisines, humble home cooking is associated with women, and innovative and show-offy restaurant cooking with men – even when those men cite their mothers’ and grandmothers’ food as their inspiration. Isn’t it sad that, while most Indian cookery writers are female, there are barely any Indian women who’ve made their mark internationally as chefs and restaurateurs? Why are Indian women, whose recipes are often superior to the men we currently see on TV, not rewarded with their own cookery shows?

Q - I particularly love how insightful your tweets are about cultures and history. How do you find time to pursue more hobbies and juggle work to make time for yourself, while building a voice on social media?

Sejal Sukhadwala

Thank you. Because my books are still in relatively early stages of research, I’m able to continue tweeting – though that might change later. I used to be more random and spontaneous, but have recently limited my scrolling and tweeting to about once or twice a day; and I’m more focused on posting about things I discover or get excited about on a daily basis. As for building a voice, it helps that I’m opinionated, and can be relied upon to come out with really bad jokes!

Q - Can you give us a brief about the dictionary you're working on?

I’ve been writing a dictionary of Indian ingredients, dishes and cooking terms and techniques for the past three years; and, as it’s already very long, I’m

not sure whether to also include drinks, cooking equipment, historic books and important historical figures. It’s an extremely challenging long-term project, complicated by the fact that there are countless regional variations and names in different languages of every dish, and written historical information can be scarce, unreliable or difficult to access.

Q - What is your perspective on old cookbooks, diaries with handwritten recipes? Do you think they're still superior to the new age digital videos and flyers?

They both serve a different purpose – and yet they have more in common than you’d think. Old cookbooks give extremely valuable historical insight into what Indian food used to be like, and how it’s changed and evolved over time.

YouTube and TikTok shed a light on how people currently cook, and encourage young people to get into the kitchen. But today’s digital records are tomorrow’s historical resources: what is Instagram but an online archive, available to future generations, of what people ate in the early twenty-first century?

PEEQUAL: Women to test an innovative urinal Two alumni from University of Bristol have created a women's urinal which is allegedly six times quicker to use than a conventional loo.

“Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane designed the hands-free Peequal because they were fed up with long queues for the ladies toilets at festivals, the BBC reported.

Explaining the architecture of the urinal, McShane told the BBC that there are no funnels involved

and it's semi-private, you can't see anything from the waist down.

They’ve even put a prototype on trial at the Bristol Comedy Garden.

McShane told the BBC, "So

Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment A Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment is now live and will help providers to understand the needs of people who have experienced domestic abuse in Coventry.

This survey is a chance for people to tell the city council about their own experiences and about any services they may have used. This includes understanding any impact that the Covid-19 pandemic may have had.

"Tackling Domestic Abuse is a priority for Coventry.

We need to hear from people across the City affected by this issue. Help us to build a better picture of what is needed to protect and support victims. Your views and experiences will help to inform how we continue to develop the services currently available; from housing and refuge places to

safety planning and practical support for families.

Remember, help is available NOW if you are experiencing abuse. If you are in immediate danger please contact the police on 999.

For access to advice, information and the local helpline visit www.safetotalk.org.uk or call 0800 111 4998," the official website read. The deadline for responses is 30 June 2021. All responses will be anonymous with no personally identifiable information reported.

for our masters project, we were asked to solve a real life problem and we knew straight away what we wanted to do. It's actually an adaptation of a hole in the ground toilet but it's what we call the pedestal. It's designed like a boat to minimise splash back and also to have a little place for your clothing in front.”

More than 2,000 women in focus groups and pubs around Bristol were consulted after which the duo came up with their

"queue busting" urinal.

Speaking about the time that women have been wasting for a long time in toilet queues, Probyn said, "We realise this is a shift in behaviour but it's a more efficient way of doing things. At the start of the day you might look at this woman's urinal and be like 'I'm not sure about that' but after a few bevs, and after you've waited in the queue for about 15 minutes already - this option suddenly becomes much more appealing."

Are we ready to get out of our pyjamas?

Pandemic clothing took a U-turn when most women realised that they hadn’t worn their jeans, sarees, salwar-kameez, and brassiere for over a year.

Life in pyjamas became quite comfortable because mobility became more easy and sluggish at the same time. Most people sat over their office Zoom calls with a shirt on, or a decent blouse, with the most fancy pyjamas on, because no one was watching.

For those women who spent the pandemic alone or without their partners, shaving or waxing became a tertiary task. Many of us who always wished to have Pyjama parties, and work-days in pyjamas, actually ended up living a dream. But, as we all get vaccinated, and the world starts to reopen, it might be a good idea to air your sarees, jeans, and other garments which you haven’t touched in almost a year now. “In the post-pandemic rush, we're giving up the sartorial freedoms many of us found in lockdown,” Veronique Hyland wrote in Elle magazine.

"People are reevaluating what they want to wear, maybe for the first

time ever since they were kids," argues Karen, who serves as a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and who, last March, released a book, Dress Your Best Life.

"They don't have all these Draconian measures and rules to follow, except to wear a mask. People are thinking, 'Okay, well, what do I want to wear, if I could wear anything I want?'"

Do you think women need to go back to the old way of dressing or we could after-all revolutionise the postpandemic era with clothes we want to wear, even if that means, we still remain in our pyjamas and rule the world? Do let us know your thoughts.

You can write to us about your idea of post-pandemic clothing for women on Twitter and tag @asianvoicenews.

in brief 100,000 HELP SHAPE WOMEN’S HEALTH STRATEGY Women from Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those living in the Midlands and East of England and women between 16 and 18 years old and those over-50 are being urged to respond to the government’s call for evidence. There has already been an incredible response to the call for evidence, with over 100,000 women, organisations, clinicians and carers sharing their experiences of the health and care system, to help inform the first ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy.

The Health and Social Care Secretary, and the Minister for Women’s Health are urging women to respond before the call for evidence closes on Sunday 13 June to enable as many women as possible to have their say and capture a variety of views on access to services, experiences and health outcomes.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, said: “I am committed to making sure women’s health and wellbeing needs are being met - and we need your help to do this. 100,000 responses is incredible and I am grateful for everyone who has taken the time to share their thoughts with us. Women’s experiences are diverse and it’s crucial we make sure this strategy is representative of all the challenges they face and that we are meeting all of their needs. This is the final push - there are only a few days left so I urge you to keep spreading this message and keep responding to our call for evidence.”

ABORTION RATES HIT A RECORD HIGH

Abortion rates have hit a record high as figures suggest large numbers of older women terminating pregnancies is behind the rise. A record high of 210,860 abortions were carried out in England and Wales last year. Women aged over 35 accounted for an 'unprecedented' 40,000 of those figures. The Daily Mail reported that the rise in abortions among older women has been linked to pressures to maintain careers and lifestyles at a time when many are in unstable relationships. Leading charity figures described the record total as 'incredibly distressing'

THOUSANDS OF SEX OFFENDERS ESCAPING JUSTICE According to the Home Office, offenders accused of nearly 20,000 stalking and harassment crimes over the past three years avoided court in favour of community resolutions that will not show up on their criminal record. Those accused of 1,250 sex offences followed the same path even though the system is designed for less serious crimes. “This year there was national outcry about the treatment of women in the criminal justice system after the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard — one of more than 55 women to die violently in 2021,” The Times reported. Many sex offenders have been able to avoid prosecution. The Times also found that abusers are being given informal punishments, including simply being asked to apologise, even as rape convictions fall to record lows.

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The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021

MOST ETHNICALLY DIVERSE LIST HONOURS KEY FIGURES IN UK VACCINE DRIVE 15% from ethnic minority communities including 6.8% Asians and over 30 people of Indian-origin Shefali Saxena The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021 is the most ethnically diverse list to date, with 15% of recipients coming from an ethnic minority background. Among those, almost 23% of recipients are recommended for Covid-19 service. These include about 1,129 award recipients who have given charitable and voluntary support to communities, health and social care, and those who have provided critical infrastructure support. The majority of awards are for the contributions people have made in their communities. Of those receiving an award, 62% are recognised for their community work. Out of these, 567 are women and the list comprises over 30 names of Indian origin.

Hamid Patel CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Star Academies has been awarded the Knights Bachelor Knighthood for services to education (Blackburn, Lancashire), reportedly making him one of the first Asians in many years to receive this prestigious honour. Amika George has become the youngest recipient of MBE for her services to

education at the age of 21 She is the founder of the #FreePeriods Campaign. Priya Guha, Venture Partner, Merian Ventures, and Member, Innovate UK Council, has received MBE for services to international trade and women-led innovation.

Divya Kolkata-born Chadha Manek has been honoured with an Order Hamid Patel of the British Empire (OBE) for her involvement in the research and development of vaccines and the resulting clinical trials.

Sikhs recognised by the Queen in the Birthday Honours List 2021 Numerous Sikhs and people of Sikh heritage have been honoured by the Queen.

Amongst the notable individuals who have been awarded OBE, is Professor Jagjit Singh Chadha, Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), Rajinder Pryor, Senior Account Manager at

been singled out for praise and made MBEs Network Rail (Telecom) and a trustee of in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Seven Women in Rail, Jasvinder Singh Rai, Founder researchers based at the University of and Chairman of the Sikh Recovery Network Oxford have today been honfor services to the Sikh comoured as part of Her Majesty munity, and Jasjyot Singh of the Queen’s Birthday Honours the Lloyds Banking Group List. The researchers have all for services to financial serplayed key roles in leading the vices during the pandemic.

Awards for Covid warriors University’s response to the and Coronavirus pandemic, from community service the development of new vaccines to the discovery of new Members of the British drug treatments, findings Empire (MBE) include Devina Banerjee, from the Divya Chadha Manek which have saved many lives.

Prime Minister Boris Vaccine Taskforce, Johnson said: “The Queen’s Birthday Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Anoop Jivan Chauhan, Honours allow us to pay tribute to all those Professor of Respiratory Medicine and who have gone above and beyond in their Executive Director of Research, Portsmouth service to this country. Throughout the panHospitals University NHS Trust; and Dr demic we have seen countless examples of Ananthakrishnan Raghuram, Consultant everyday heroes. From those using their expertise to help develop life-saving vacPhysician, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS cines, which are now being rolled out sucFoundation Trust.Other names include cessfully to all parts of the UK, to the people Sumit Goyal, consultant oncoplaswho have given time and energy to care for tic surgeon, Cardiff and Vale their communities.”

University Health Board, for services to breast cancer and Cardiff Breast • 695 (62%) of the recipients are people who have Centre Charity, undertaken outstanding work in their communities Vimalkumar Choksi, either in a voluntary or paid capacity; Councillor, Ashton • 567 women are recognised in the List, representing Waterloo, Tameside, 50% of the total (39% of recipients at CBE level and for services to the comabove are women); munity in Greater • 15% of the successful candidates come from an ethManchester; Gurveer nic minority background: Dhami, senior private • 6.8% of recipients are from an Asian ethnic secretary to the Secretary of State group; for Education.

• 4.2% of recipients are from a Black ethnic group; Twenty-six people from • 3.3% of recipients with a mixed ethnic backacross Oxfordshire were honground; oured, with most of the awards • 0.7% of recipients come from another ethnic praising those who worked background; throughout the pandemic. • 9% of the successful candidates are disabled or have Eminent names from Dorset like a long-term health condition; George Streatfeild, Staff Sergeant • 17.3% of recipients considered themselves to come Jamie Barrett, Henry Faure from a lower socio-economic background; and Walker and Alison Hughes have • 5% of recipients are LGBT.

ASIAN RECIPIENTS IN QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST 2021 Knights Bachelor Knighthoods Hamid PATEL CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Star Academies. For services to Education (Blackburn, Lancashire) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Rimla AKHTAR MBE, Co-founder, Muslim Women in Sport Network. For services to Equality and Diversity in Sport (London, Greater London) Vidhya ALAKESON, Chief Executive, Power to Change Trust. For services to Social Equality (London, Greater London) Professor Jagjit Singh CHADHA, Director, National Institute of Economic and Social Research. For services to Economics and Economic Policy (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) Lolita CHAKRABARTI, Actress and Writer. For services to Drama (London, Greater London) Javed Akhter KHAN, Chief Executive Officer, Barnado's. For services to Young People and to Education (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) Adnan KHAN, Team Leader, Ministry of Defence. For services to Defence (London, Greater London) Divya Chadha MANEK, Clinical Trials, Workstream Lead, Vaccine Taskforce. For services to Government during the Covid-19 Response (London, Greater London) Mohan MANSIGANI, Trustee, St John Ambulance. For charitable services to Healthcare (London, Greater London) Jasvinder Singh RAI, Founder and Chairman, Sikh Recovery Network. For services to the Sikh community during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Derby, Derbyshire) Syed Naeem Pasha SHAH, Head of Engagement, People, Places and Communities Division, Ministry of

Housing, Communities and Local Government. For services to Faith Communities (Stretford, Greater Manchester) Jasjyot SINGH, Managing Director, Consumer and Business Banking, Lloyds Banking Group. For services to Financial Services during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Sumita SINGHA, For services to Architecture (London, Greater London) Members of the Order of the British Empire Arif Mohiuddin AHMED, Reader, Cambridge University. For services to Education (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) Rashmi Shahin, BECKER Founder, Step to Change Studios. For charitable services to People with Disabilities (London, Greater London) Professor Anoop Jivan CHAUHAN, Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Executive Director of Research, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. For services to Respiratory Medicine (Southampton, Hampshire) Vimalkumar CHOKSI, Councillor, Ashton Waterloo, Tameside. For services to the community in Greater Manchester (Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester) Gurveer DHAMI, Senior Private Secretary to the Secretary Of State For Education. For services to Education (London, Greater London) Priya GUHA, Venture Partner, Merian Ventures, and Member, Innovate UK Council. For services to International Trade and Women-Led Innovation (London, Greater London) Dr Abdul HAFEEZ, Founder and Chief Executive, Association of Pakistani Physicians and Surgeons of the United

Kingdom. For services to the NHS particularly during Covid-19 (Warburton, Greater Manchester) Zillur HUSSAIN, Owner, Tavan Restaurant. For services to the community in Peterborough during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Peterborough, Cambridgeshire) Dilwar HUSSAIN, For services to Interfaith and Social Cohesion (Leicester, Leicestershire) Kiran Kumari JASSAL, Senior Operational Manager, HM Prison Winchester. For services to the HM Prison and Probation Service during Covid-19 and to Diversity and Inclusion (Woking, Surrey) Nahim KHAN, Team Member, Leadership and Shared Capability, Digital Group. For services to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff in the Department for Work and Pensions (London, Greater London) Fahima KHANOM, Halifax Check Challenge Appeal, Hub Manager, Valuation Office Agency. For services to Customers during Covid-19 (Halifax, West Yorkshire) Davinder John LAIL, Head of Ozone Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Team, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. For services to the Environment (London, Greater London) Neena MAHAL, DL Chair, NHS Lanarkshire. For services to Healthcare (Caumbernauld, Dunbartonshire) Shivarubeni MAHATHEVAN, Curriculum Manager and Tutor, Redbridge Institute of Adult Education. For services to Education (London, Greater London) Sofia MAHMOOD, Director, Empowering Minds, Bradford. For services to Education (Bradford, West Yorkshire) Dr Murthy Lakshmi Narayana MOTU-

PALLI, General Practitioner, NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group.

For services to Education, Training and Support for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Doctors and to General Practice (Blackburn, Lancashire) Sarah-Jane MUKHERJEE, For services to British Agriculture and Farmer Wellbeing (Royston, Hertfordshire) Meera NARAN, Campaigner, Road Safety on Smart Motorways. For services to Road Safety (Leicester, Leicestershire) Rowhi Mahmood NEMER, Owner, CamCab. For services to Frontline NHS Workers and the community during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) Zahir PATEL, Case Progression Officer, Operational Delivery, Crown Prosecution Service. For services to Law and Order (London, Greater London) Ashraf Rahimsha PATEL, Associate Specialist, Breast Surgery, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. For services to Funding and Research for Breast Cancer (Harlow, Essex) Rajinder PRYOR, Engagement Lead, Network Rail. For services to Diversity and Inclusion within the Rail Industry (London, Greater London) Karin QURESHI, Mental Health Lead, Birmingham City University. For services to Mental Health and Higher Education (Birmingham, West Midlands) Dr Ananthakrishnan RAGHURAM, Consultant Physician, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS and the Covid-19 Response (Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) Continue on Page 16

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Continued from Page 15 Kermal SINGH, Police Staff, Avon and Somerset Constabulary. For services to and Diversity (Downend, Policing Gloucestershire) Reshma SOHONI, Co-founder, Seedcamp. For services to the British Technology Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (London, Greater London) Ashok Kumar Jackisondas TAYLOR, Operations Officer, Government Legal Department. For services to Government and especially during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Muna Mohamed Rashid YASSIN, Managing Director, Fair Finance. For charitable Financial Services to Disadvantaged People during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Medallists of the Order of the British Empire Harmit AHLUWALIA, For services to the community in East London during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Nagina AKHTER, For services to the community in Bradford, West Yorkshire during Covid-19 (Bradford, West Yorkshire) Atif ALI, For services to the community in Birmingham during Covid-19 (Birmingham, West Midlands) Saiqa ALI, Founder and Chair, Southern Women's Aid Network. For services to the community in South London particularly during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Syed Masum ALI, Lately Case Handler, Co-Operative Bank. For services to Financial Services and the community in Greater Manchester during the Covid-19 Pandemic (Oldham, Greater Manchester)

Harpreet BAINS, For services to the community in the London Borough of Ealing during the Covid-19 Pandemic (London, Greater London) Santokh Singh DHALIWAL, Coordinator and Treasurer, 50 Plus Group, Indian Community Centre Association Nottingham.

For services to the Indian community in Nottingham (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) Yousif Mohammed ELTOM, Leader, Muslim Scout Fellowship Unit Manager, The Scout Association. For services to Scouting and Young People (Birmingham, West Midlands) Wazid HASSAN, For services to the community in the London Borough of Redbridge during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Abrar HUSSAIN, For services to the community in Halifax, West Yorkshire during Covid-19 (Halifax, West Yorkshire) Mohammed IMRAN, For services to the community in Bradford, West Yorkshire (Bradford, West Yorkshire) Humayun ISLAM, For services to the community in Bradford, West Yorkshire (Bradford, West Yorkshire) Bashir KARA, For services to Tennis (Southampton, Hampshire) Pooja KAWA, Manufacturing Strategy Lead, Vaccines Taskforce, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. For services to the Development of a Covid-19 Vaccine (London, Greater London) Raj Wali KHAN, For services to the community in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) Manoj Kumar LAL, Immigration Officer, Immigration Enforcement, Home Office. For services to Assisting Vulnerable Migrants in the West Midlands (Brierley Hill, West

Former University Head of Wellbeing head awarded MBE for student support during pandemic Karin Qureshi, who oversaw the department between 2014 and 2020, was included in the most recent Queen’s Birthday Honours ‘for services to Mental Health and Higher Education (Birmingham, West Midlands)’.

Karin previously worked as a Staff Nurse at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, initially in the Cardio Thoracic Neonatal Unit before becoming Ward Sister of the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Unit.

Karin moved into hospital management covering medical services before returning to clinical practice in clinical psychology as a counsellor in 1997. From 1997 to 2002 Karin worked in staff support services, the child bereavement team and the on-call psychology team.

Karin left the NHS in 2002 to work part time to look after her family and worked in several part-time posts including in student support services at Coventry University, the University of Birmingham and Aston University.

Karin also worked as a counsellor in staff support services at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, where she managed external contracts including with the police and ambulance services in the West Midlands.

Karin returned to fulltime work when she joined Birmingham City University in 2014 as manager of the student-facing mental health and wellbeing service,

Karin Qureshi

before retiring in May 2020 and taking up a part time Mental Health Mentor role working with Birmingham City University students through Unitemps.

A mental health practitioner and qualified counsellor with over 30 years’ experience in providing mental health and wellbeing support within the NHS and across several higher education providers, Karin said, “I am delighted and honoured to have been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

“During the first few months of the Covid outbreak I was fortunate to have a team that pulled together and worked together in uncharted territory.

“We supported our international and home students going through an incredibly difficult time and they needed us to be there for them in ways we could never have foreseen.

“The wider team effort across the University included accommodation, faculty administrators, and international and registry offices. I am looking forward to the challenge of finding and wearing a hat, and receiving my award.”

Midlands) Qamar NAWAZ, Frontline Food Retail Worker, The Co-operative Group. For services to the Food Supply Chain (Stockport, Greater Manchester) Rajendra Parshotam Popat PANKHANIA, For services to Older People and to the community in Stanmore, North London (Northwood, Hertfordshire) Idris PATEL, Chief Executive Officer, Supporting Humanity. For services to the community in Ilford, London Borough of Redbridge during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) Proshanta Lal Datta PUROKAYASTHA, For services to the Bangladesh Hindu Association (UK) (London, Greater London) Mohammad Jamil RADHA, Healthcare Assistant, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. For services to the NHS during Covid-19 (Epsom, Surrey) Mohammed SAEED, Vice Chairman, Community First, Peterborough. For services to the community in Peterborough (Peterborough, Cambridgeshire) Nikhil SANTOS, Catering Manager, St Mary's University, Twickenham. For services to Higher Education (London, Greater London) Reha Begum ULLAH, Trustee, Muslimah Sports Association. For services to Sport (London, Greater London) Daksha VARSANI, For services to the community in London during Covid-19 (London, Greater London) OVERSEAS AND INTERNATIONAL LIST Member of the British Empire (MBE ) Mohammed M AHMED, Aviation Security Liaison Officer, British Embassy,

Riyadh. For services to British nationals overseas Jyoti RAMJEE-AGGARWAL, Desk Officer, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For services to British foreign policy Imtiaz RAZVI, Director Examinations Pakistan, British Council. For services to UK examinations overseas Tammy SANDHU, lately Chair, Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic Network, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For services to Diversity and Inclusion Tiphaine SHAH, lately Joint Head, Covid-19 Medical Supplies Team, British Embassy Beijing. For services to the Covid19 response in China Rajeev SINGH, lately Border Force Higher Officer, British Embassy Rabat. For services to British nationals overseas Amika GEORGE, youngest recipient, founder of the #FreePeriods Campaign. For services to education Devina BANERJEE, from Vaccine Taskforce, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for services to Covid-19 vaccine development Sumit GOYAL, consultant oncoplastic surgeon, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, for services to breast cancer and Cardiff Breast Centre Charity QUEEN'S POLICE MEDAL ENGLAND AND WALES Q.P.M. Mohammad Wasim CHAUDHRY, Chief Superintendent, Greater Manchester Police.

Bhupinder Kaur RAI, Temporary Chief Superintendent, Thames Valley Police *This is not an exhaustive list.

Road safety campaigner dedicates her MBE to son Leicester based Meera Naran (37) has been awarded services to road safety.

Meera Naran's son Dev died when the car he was in was hit by a lorry while stopped on the M6 hard shoulder. She has dedicated this award to Dev. According to the BBC, Dev Naran was killed in May 2018 after a lorry struck his grandfather's car on the hard shoulder of the M6, which was being used by moving traffic.

Meera’s contribution lies in calling for improvements to the smart motorway system, playing a key role in the government's new 18-point safety plan.

She said she was "truly honoured and humbled" for the recognition.

She played a pivotal role in the inclusion of updates to the Highway

Code around motorway driving and successfully campaigned for the government's £5m road education drive.

She told the BBC, "I'm accepting this in the memory of my son, Dev, and for me it's about continuing to focus on my campaign, which is safer drivers on safer roads. The first person I actually wanted to tell was Dev and it was so hard because he's not here. We were always each other's cheerleaders - it's really hard."

"I feel so emotional but truly honoured and humbled for my hard work to be recognised in this way, especially in memory of Dev. I was very determined from the beginning. I set out to ensure the changes were made and I guess I just didn't look back and contin-

Meera Naran

ued with my journey. I'm just really pleased it has got me where we are today, but obviously it comes with the sadness of losing my baby,” she further added.

Divya Chadha Manek awarded OBE for vaccine development Divya Chadha Manek has been awarded an OBE for Vaccine Development.

When Divya left India for the UK, her father told her to “do something great”. 35 year old Manek, remembered her father, Narin Dark Marchada, who died in December when he went to England on an 18-year-old scholarship.

She said: “When I was 18, I left India and came to England. My dad gave me £ 500 while I was on the plane.

He said, “Do good.And do amazing things so that you will be able to meet the Queen someday. That was the motto of his life. Do good, do

Divya Chadha

good.”

According to a report published online, Manek was seconded from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to become the Clinical Trials Workstream Leader for the Vaccine Task Force. She is honored to have played an important role in convincing the manufacturer of a testing hub in the United Kingdom. She added: “I lost my dad last year. To me, this honor is very personal and wonderful. I know he is proud to see me, but it’s done by the team. It is also a reflection of that. ”

Senior health and policy advisor conferred with MBE Senior health and policy advisor at the British High Commission, Dr Himangi Bhardwaj, has been awarded the MBE. She is one of two Indian women who have received this honour.

“It’s one of the biggest moments of my life. I feel incredibly privileged and honoured to have this level of recog-

nition for my work. It’s a great feeling and a culmination of really good nine years I have spent at the British High Commission,” Dr Himangi told a news portal called HerStory.

Bhardwaj is an Army officer’s daughter. Dr Himangi joined the British High Commission in 2012.

Dr Himangi Bhardwaj

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in brief LECTURERS PROTEST OVER REFUSAL TO REMOVE CECIL RHODES STATUE More than 150 lecturers are reportedly refusing to teach students at Oxford University’s Oriel College in protest at the institution’s decision not to remove a contentious statue of Victorian imperialist Cecil Rhodes. The academics have also pledged to withdraw from all talks, seminars and conferences sponsored by Oriel and to stop their involvement in interviewing students and recruiting fellows as part of the boycott, according to a news report.

An independent inquiry had been set up to examine Rhodes’ legacy last June after the body “expressed their wish” to remove the statue but the college ultimately decided three weeks’ ago not to proceed, arguing the time frame and cost involved would pose “considerable obstacles”.

In a stinging letter to the college, the signatories wrote: “The collegiate university can only effectively and credibly work to eradicate racism and address the ongoing effects of colonialism today if all the colleges do so. Oriel College’s decision not to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes undermines us all.

“Despite votes in favour from its student common rooms and despite an earlier vote of the governing body expressing their wish to remove it, Oriel has now decided not to.

MOTORISTS NEED HELP REPLACING VEHICLES, SADIQ KHAN TOLD More help is needed for motorists wanting to scrap polluting vehicles ahead of the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone, Sadiq Khan has been told.

Two of the three scrappage schemes set up by the Mayor for small businesses, charities and low-income Londoners had to close last year after running out of money due to the scale of demand. The GLA Conservatives said they had identified £50m from City Hall’s “bloated” business rates reserve that could be used to subsidise the switch to greener vehicles. They estimated this could enable a further 7,000 polluting vans, minibuses and lorries to be taken off the roads. About £52m has already been spent on grants to drivers who scrap vehicles whose emissions would breach the Ulez rules. More than 600 cameras have been installed around the new boundary to spot non-compliant vehicles. An advertising campaign warning motorists to prepare for the scheme’s launch is due to be unveiled shortly.

The schemes to help charities replace minibuses and low income and disabled Londoners scrap or replace privately owned vehicles remain open to new applicants.

CITY CORPORATION REACTS TO ANNOUNCEMENT OF UK-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT The Department for International Trade announced that it has secured a free trade deal with Australia. Reacting to the announcement, Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell said: “The UK and Australia are old friends that already enjoy close ties in many sectors. I am therefore delighted to see agreement on a FTA to further build on this long standing relationship, and look forward to more announcements down the line on how we can also strengthen ties in financial and professional services.” City of London Corporation Policy Chair Catherine McGuinness said: "The UK and Australia have much to gain from working more closely in this area, and huge opportunities exist in fintech, open financing, data, asset management and green finance, particularly in the lead up to COP26.”

Knighthood conferred upon Star Academies CEO Hamid Patel, CEO of Star Academies, who hails from an Indian origin Gujarati Muslim Family with ancestors from South Gujarat, has made history by being awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Patel is the head of one of Bradford’s biggest academy chains which runs six schools in the district. Barkerend Primary, Eden Boys’, High Crags Primary, Laisterdyke, Thornbury Primary and Tong Leadership Academies are all part of the Star Academies Trust.

Patel was awarded a CBE in 2015 when the multi academy trust comprised just 7 schools.

Since then, Star has grown to 29 schools (including 11 sponsored academies) with a pupil population of over 18,000. 14 of the schools have been graded outstanding by Ofsted.

Hamid’s leadership of a collaboration of partners galvanised rebuilding of the education infrastructure in a deprived part of Birmingham, resulting in a much better deal for young people. Hamid’s brainchild StarLine was born out of the Covid-19 crisis, co-ordinating the expertise of 21 MATs and parenting organisations with 165 active volunteers.

Hamid was appointed as a non-executive member of the Ofsted Board in 2019.

Speaking to a news portal, Blackburn based Hamid Patel said, “This is a tribute for all those who have worked so hard at Star Academies whose care, diligence and passion continue to inspire young people and nurture tomorrow’s leaders.

“All those involved with our schools at every level – our talented teachers, and our

Hamid Patel

supportive parents, governors and wider community – have made a telling contribution to the positive impact we have had on the lives of so many children and young people. The last 16 months have arguably been the hardest that any of us working in education have experienced but we, like those across the sector, have continued to put our pupils first, prioritising their wellbeing and giving them the best academic, extra-curricular and social opportunities.”

Sikh community shines in Queen’s Honours From civil servants and community activists through to the industries of banking and transport, the Sikh community has received recognition for its dedication to the service of others.

Amongst the notable individuals is Professor Jagjit Singh Chadha, who is the Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and a renowned expert on financial markets and monetary policy. During his career he has acted as Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee and an academic adviser to both the Bank of England and HM Treasury, as well as to many central banks and the Bank for International Settlements. He receives a OBE for services to economics and economic policy.

Professor Chadha said “From under the long shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am pleased to have been able to contribute, with the work of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, to the understanding of our economy and towards the achievement of better economic policies for all. While the pandemic did not because of all our economic woes, it has exposed many of our previous failings. If we can continue to improve the influence of economic science on policy, I will be proud of my work and that of my colleagues in the economics community.”

Jasvinder ‘Jaz’ Singh Rai is a well respected campaigner and activist who stablished the Sikh Recovery Network, which supports people with alcohol and drug addictions and specifically tried to tackle the stigma of addiction in the Sikh community. The charity works throughout the country and has been supporting between 50 to 100 people each week during lockdown. He receives an OBE for his inspirational leadership during the pandemic. Jaz said “I'm overwhelmed to receive an honour. I was addicted to alcohol for over 15 years, and I'm now living a life beyond my wildest dreams helped by fellow addicts in recovery who help me do something I couldn't do on my own, staying sober. To be able to support others through The Sikh Recovery Network has been a gift to me. Getting clean from alcohol and

drug addiction is one of the hardest things to do as well as the most worthwhile. Seeing someone who joined the Network when they hit rock bottom and then celebrating a year of being sober is just amazing.

No honour or award can beat that From left to right: Professor Jagjit Singh Chadha OBE, feeling.”

Rajinder Pryor is Senior Jasvinder ‘Jaz’ Singh Rai OBE and Rajinder Pryor MBE Account Manager at Network Rail and Inclusion (Woking, Surrey) (Telecom) and a trustee of Women in Rail. She • Davinder John LAIL - Head of Ozone has promoted diversity across the rail industry Depleting Substances and Fluorinated and raised awareness around domestic abuse, Greenhouse Gases Team, Department for particularly during the pandemic, via the Rail Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - For to Refuge scheme and Online Safe Spaces. She services to the Environment (London, receives an MBE for her diversity and inclusion Greater London) work. Rajinder said “I’m so humbled to be • Tammy SANDHU - lately Chair, Black, recognised in such a way but it is really down Asian, Minority Ethnic Network, Foreign, to colleagues from across the rail industry who Commonwealth and Development Office have stepped up to drive change and support For services to Diversity and Inclusion that has made a difference. The rail industry is • Kermal SINGH - Police Staff, Avon and changing and it’s great to see the increasing Somerset Constabulary - For services to diversity and feel included as part of the railPolicing and Diversity (Downend, way family. So many have inspired me and Gloucestershire) been role models so I endeavour to follow their BEM lead. Helping others is what motivates me with • Harmit AHLUWALIA - For services to the a passion rooted in the Sikh principle of ‘seva’ community in East London during Covid(selfless service). It’s a privilege to represent my 19 (London, Greater London) British Sikh heritage and to highlight the many • Harpreet BAINS - For services to the comopportunities across the rail industry whilst munity in the London Borough of Ealing helping others.” during the Covid-19 Pandemic (London, Other recipients of Sikh heritage in the list Greater London) include: • Santokh Singh DHALIWAL - Coordinator OBE and Treasurer, 50 Plus Group, Indian • Jasjyot SINGH - Managing Director, Community Centre Association Consumer and Business Banking, Lloyds Nottingham For services to the Indian Banking Group - For services to Financial community in Nottingham (Nottingham, Services during Covid-19 (London, Greater Nottinghamshire) London) QUEEN’S POLICE MEDAL MBE • Bhupinder Kaur RAI - Temporary Chief • Gurveer DHAMI - Senior Private Secretary Superintendent, Thames Valley Police. to the Secretary Of State For Education Notable interfaith allies of City Sikhs who For services to Education (London, Greater have received honours from the Queen include London) Pasha Shah (Head of Engagement, People, • Kiran Kumari JASSAL - Senior Operational Places and Communities Division at MHCLG) Manager, HM Prison Winchester - For serwho receives an OBE, and Dilwar Hussain vices to the HM Prison and Probation (Chair of New Horizons) who receives an MBE. Service during Covid-19 and to Diversity

Hesitation and honour The youngest recipient in the Queen’s Honours List 2021 is 21-year-old Amika George, founder of the “Free Periods Campaign”, who becomes an MBE for her work championing the distribution of sanitary wear in UK schools.

Amika’s parents are from Kerala. Her father Kishore hails from Pathanamthitta, while her mother Nisha is from Kozhencherry. She was born in the UK. She had to think twice before accepting it — given its association with Britain’s colonial past.

In accepting, she said, she wanted to “draw attention to our lack of education around the Empire and Britain’s history, but also to show other young people, particularly from the Asian community, who maybe don’t feel very empowered politically or don’t feel seen”.

“It wasn’t an easy one for me with the

Honours system’s association to the (British) Empire and our colonial past,” said the 21year-old history student at the University of Cambridge in an interview with Indian Express.

Meanwhile, IndianNikesh Shukla origin author Nikesh Shukla turned down an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List because he does not wish to be associated with what it stands for — “Member of the Order of the British Empire”. Shukla, who is 40, was born and brought up in Britain but like many East African Indians, his father grew up in

Kenya, his ancestors having gone there from Gujarat.

He tweeted: “Last month I was offered an MBE for services to literature. I said no thanks. I do not wish to be a memAmika George ber of the order of the British Empire.” He added: “The main reason for not accepting the MBE was because I hate how it valorises the British Empire, a brutal, bloody thing that resulted in so much death and destruction. To accept the MBE would be to cosign it.”

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Wake up call Subhash V Thakrar One cannot but admire that in just 30 years of reforms, China now commands the title of the 2nd biggest economy of the world after the US. Of course the political and economic model of China is quite different.

Yet it seems to have worked to make it one of the fastest growing economies. All the actions that are being taken by the Chinese Communist Party(CCP), which is de facto the government of China, are with the clear objective of making China the biggest economy of the World and imprinting its philosophy and model on the rest of the world. This is estimated to happen in less than 10 years from now.

China sits on the world's largest foreign reserves amounting to $3.2 trillion. The US figure is $129bn! She commands the position of the manufacturer of the world.

Every time we make a purchase of an item, most often it will be made in China. It's an export driven economy.

Before the reforms began in 1978 the Chinese GDP was $149.5bn in comparison to the US at $2.3 trillion and Japan at just over $1trillion. In just over 30 years of reforms, the figures are $22.2 tn for the US, $15.4 tn for China and $5.5 tn for Japan. So China was 0.065 the size of the US in 1978 and now it is 0.69 the size of the US! This shows the momentum of Chinese growth and how quickly it is catching up with the US. What is not so well known in the West is the increasing level of influence that China is having in our policies, education, culture etc. The influence is so silent that we just do not notice it's impact. I just finished reading an interesting book called Hidden Hand by Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg which brings to our awareness how much influential infiltration has taken place and continues. The initiatives are wide ranging and most often look non harming.

One of the major initiatives is the Belt and Road Initiative to aggressively work with vulnerable economies to promote their infrastructure projects thereby increasing political and economic influence. Other ways are grooming prominent policy makers and political elites as Part of friendship groups like EU-China Friendship Group, Britain’s 48 Group Club around the world's top economies.China will also mobilise the Chinese diaspora by encouraging them to be part of United Front to follow and support Chinese cause and to also warn any dissidents by reminding them that they have family back in China.

In recent times, China has started to dominate the media sector by taking over companies and influencing the news. It has also started becoming powerful main sponsors under The China Arts Foundation for cultural events, working with western Universities to set up Confucius Institute with well trained teachers brought from China as well becoming major financial contributories by having large numbers of Chinese students at the Universities. China has influenced a number of think tanks and also set up their own to push forward their agenda. It has also become a major influencing force within the United Nations. For an ambitious country these are remarkable moves.

There needs to be a wake up call for the West to get to know and understand the soft power of China and address this with good knowledge. The Hidden Hand was an eye opener.

The Modern Commonwealth Dr Prem Sharma OBE, CBiol, FRSB Chairman, The Magna Carta Foundation After Brexit, the Commonwealth provides an opportunity to leverage “Commonwealth” for global good for promoting strong economic and cultural linkages as well as the use of English as the most spoken language in the world.

I believe that member countries benefit most from the Commonwealth when they leverage the ‘Commonwealth factor’, such as similar administrative, legal, financial, and business practices to help enhance trade and investment in their countries. These shared features make trade easy and cheap. The Commonwealth has shown a tremendous rise in Trade and investment flows in the last 20 years.

The Commonwealth can become an even stronger force for good, promoting multi-party democracy, human rights, the rule of law, good governance and socially responsible market orientated economic policies.

Another key factor that binds the Commonwealth is the use of the English language, which is a key asset for the economic development of member countries.

Countries that subscribe

to these beliefs should be welcomed into the Commonwealth Club and join in its success.

Yes, there are no common geographic borders or fronts between the UK and other Commonwealth countries. In Africa, however, there are common business practices, languages, agreements and treaties between them, which offer excellent opportunities to companies to succeed in their global trade. The corporates which have identified these synergies and explored them have excelled in the international arena.

The Commonwealth also has some of the world’s largest economies as members, like India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, and Nigeria. 54 Commonwealth countries big and small are located in all continents of the world.

I foresee more joined up opportunities for businesses across the Commonwealth countries.

The United Kingdom enjoys favourable business agreements with all Commonwealth nations and British companies are using India, Malaysia, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries as manufacturing bases, having taken advantage of similar practices and

ease of doing business. .

While we all are aware of the fast economic growth of Asian countries like India, Malaysia and Singapore, Africa is also rising fast. I am pleased to say that several of the world's fastest growing economies are in Africa. In fact, as a firm believer in the growth potential of Africa, I have extensive experience of work in Nigeria. My advice to companies looking for expansion is to expand in Commonwealth countries, particularly in the African continent.

Also, when it comes to investing in Commonwealth developing countries, do not go in with the expectations of a quick profit, as these destinations work for your longterm investment plans, not short-term gains. Another factor which makes this common frontier special is the people, who have specific ties to a large number of British people.

Indian, Asian and African companies are hungry for expansion and they see the UK as a financial hub where they can list on the LSE and AIM to raise their profile and IPO. In fact, I believe, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a favoured route for globally ambitious companies seeking capital to fund their growth.

Moreover, such companies are

raising capital in the UK (London) to invest in African and Commonwealth opportunities, increasingly in infrastructure.

Though we are seeing more trade between Commonwealth countries, what large Commonwealth countries like UK, India, Australia, Canada and others should next look into is exploring closer links in academia and R&D. They should invest in technology transfers and collaborations for business growth and high returns. To sustain high growth Commonwealth countries need to focus on expanding trade and investment between each other to sustain their high growth rates and better infrastructure, better technology and better education. The UK with its strong R&D base, education & skills and financial centre status is an ideal partner in this common frontier.

Lastly, I would like to emphasise the role the Commonwealth can play in becoming the food basket for the world.

The Commonwealth countries in Africa like Nigeria have a great potential of developing agriculture and food production for the world. This can be done with technology and investment partnerships with UK companies.

G7: 1 bn coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer nations The world is short of 11 billion doses of the Coronavirus vaccine. This is the number we need according to the head of the World Health Organization in order to vaccinate at least 70% of the world’s population by mid2022 and truly end the pandemic.

At the G7 summit of global leaders, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the doses would come both directly and through the international COVAX program. The Group of Seven wealthy nations have pledged over 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer nations.

Indian PM Narendra

Biden meets the Queen at Windsor Castle US President Joe Biden along Heathrow Airport with his wife, the first lady of before taking the the United States of America, Marine One heliDr Jill Biden met the Queen copter the short disat Windsor Castle last week tance to Windsor. on Friday.

They were greeted by the Queen at the A BBC report stated that dais in the castle's the visit included a Guard of quadrangle.

A Honour and afternoon tea Guard of Honour with the monarch. Biden was Image source: Twitter formed of the reminded of his mother Queen's Company First Battalion when he saw the Queen and he has invited Grenadier Guards gave a Royal Salute, and her to visit the White House. the US national anthem was played,” a BBC Biden was in the UK for the G7 summit report said. in Cornwall, where leaders of the world's The role of escorting a visiting head of biggest economies have discussed issues state to inspect the troops was usually carincluding vaccines and climate change. ried out by the Duke of Edinburgh, before Mr and Mrs Biden met the Queen at he retired in 2017. Prince Philip died in the Eden Project during the G7 reception April, aged 99, the report further estabwhich she attended. lished.

“The Bidens travelled from Newquay, The meeting lasted for over an hour.

Cornwall, on Air Force One to London's

Modi attended the G7 Summit via video conference on Saturday. India, invited as a guest country along with South Africa, Australia and South Korea, will be participating virtually, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing three breakout sessions over Saturday and Sunday.

PM Modi sought G7's support for a proposal moved at WTO by India, South Africa for patent waiver on Covid related technologies.

Modi explained India's successful use of open source digital tools for contact tracing and vaccine management.

(Read P26 for full coverage on Modi.)

The highlights of the G7 Summit included discussions between the world leaders on ending the pandemic and preparing for the future by driving an intensified international effort, starting immediately, to vaccinate the world by getting as many safe vaccines to as many people as possible as fast as possible.

The leaders agreed upon reinvigorating economies by advancing recovery plans that build on the $12 trillion of support we have put in place during the pandemic. The central idea is to support economies for as long as is necessary, shifting the focus of our support from crisis response to promoting growth into the future, with plans that create jobs, invest

Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with the world leaders at the extended family photocall during the G7 Summit at Carbis Bay hotel in Cornwall, UK on 12th June 2021. ©Karwai Tang/G7 Cornwall 2021

in infrastructure, drive innovation, support people, and level up so that no place or person, irrespective of age, ethnicity or gender is left behind.

G7 also marked a discussion on how we can secure our future prosperity by championing freer, fairer trade within a reformed trading system, a more resilient global economy, and a fairer global tax system that reverses the race to the bottom.

This will also be followed by efforts to protect Earth by supporting a green revolution that creates jobs, cuts emissions and seeks to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees.

“We commit to net zero no later than 2050, halving our collective emissions over the two decades to 2030, increasing and improving climate finance by 2025; and to conserve or protect at least 30 percent of our land and oceans by 2030,” a statement read. “We will do this in a

way that values the individual and promotes equality, especially gender equality, including by supporting a target to get 40 million more girls into education and with at least $2¾ billion for the Global Partnership for Education.

We shall seek to advance this open agenda in collaboration with other countries and within the multilateral rulesbased system,” the leaders signed on.

In concluding remarks, the leaders agreed that In Cornwall they have revitalised the G7 partnership.

“As we do so we look forward to joining with others to ensure we build back better, in particular at the G20 Summit, COP26, and CBD15 and the UN General Assembly, and reiterate our support for the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in a safe and secure manner as a symbol of global unity in overcoming Covid-19,” a statement from G7 said.

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19 - 25 June 2021

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel Tech Stocks or Banks for Better Returns?

Tech stocks have been providing excellent returns over the last few years, especially the last 12-18 months. However, concerns over inflation have led to a slight pullback in 2021.

For some, this is a sign that the tech bubble is over.

This year, banking stocks have rallied. The economies of the UK and US are both improving. And with rising long-term yields providing a safe haven for excess liquidity, banks should continue to beat their earnings estimates.

So, let's take a hard look at the evidence. Will tech stocks still provide reasonable returns for the rest of the year? Or are bank stocks a better bet?

FTSE 100 Bank Stocks The FTSE 100 has been performing well in recent weeks, boosted by energy and banking stocks. Four of the best performing banking stocks came from the financial heavyweights HSBC (HSBA.L), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), Prudential Plc (PRU.L) and Barclays (BARC.L) US Bank Stocks For US banking stocks, many have suggested that they are well-positioned for the future.

Stock in UBS has outperformed the S&P 500 by a few per cent, with a 17% rise. The $1.9 tr stimulus package and the broader economic recovery will have played their part in these strong returns; however, the stock is still undervalued for some analysts.

A 27% year-on-year jump in the UBS investment bank division could translate into increased revenue jumps over the coming quarters. Of course, UBS isn't the only attractive US banking stock. Banks prepared for huge COVID-19 losses.

However, as mentioned above, they stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the Joe Biden Administration relief and recovery plans. Gerard Cassidy, an experienced and respected Wall St analyst, outlined some of the reasons why bank stocks will keep delivering over the next year. Cassidy, who covers the top 20 US banks, suggests many of them will announce significant dividend increases in 2021. Additionally, many will announce stock repurchases before the year-end.

The banking stocks that Cassidy recommends keeping an eye on over the coming year can be split into three categories: US-focused, regional, and acquisition banks.

US-focused banks, like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, make sense because they will directly benefit from gains in the US economy. Per Cassidy, some regional banks are undervalued, like KeyCorpss, Regions, and FifthThird. Finally, companies that have made acquisitions in recent years, like PNC and Truist, should accelerate growth.

Acquisitions Indeed, acquisitions could have a significant effect on the market. Most countries are dominated by at most around five banks. After 2008, smaller challenger banks — backed by governments — were supposed to take on the big players.

However, experts predict a round of acquisitions of smaller banks and fintech companies in the UK and US. Loan Growth While banks have been one of 2021's success stories, one factor could help them rise even further: loan growth.

Businesses and households have built up excess capital during the pandemic. Once that money is spent, banks can lend again, increasing their future returns.

Tech Stocks While tech stocks performed excellently during the pandemic, there has been plenty of talk about corrections.

FAANG stocks have had an up-and-down year, with some analysts advising caution.

Todd Gordon, the founder of TradingAnalysis.com, suggested Apple is still worth buying this year. He recommends buying if it hits $116. However, he added that with Netflix missing its target of new subscribers last quarter, the streaming stock might be worth avoiding.

Of course, because tech stocks hovered close to a bubble for many during the last year, finding value is what could provide returns. Cathy Wood of ARK Investment has highlighted several tech stocks that could give a good opportunity for investors.

Her number one tip was Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE: PSTG), a California-based data storage company. Returns have exceeded 8.5% over the last few years. Marco Gabelli of GAMCO Investors has also shared ten tech stocks he believes are cheap at the moment. His top tip is Diebold Nixdorf Incorporated (NYSE: DBD), an Ohio-based tech company, which has returned around 183% over the last year.

Conclusion While the runaway returns of the post-pandemic crash are unlikely to be replicated by any sector this year, there is still plenty of value to be found. Banking stock is in a favourable spot both in the UK and across the Atlantic, which should continue.

Outside the FAANG stocks, there are plenty of companies that are providing innovation and potential growth.

We recommend a mix of tech and banking stocks, keeping an eye on some of the more resilient stocks that have been performing well over the last few years.

To learn about investing, I have my free campaign to teach a million people – see www.campaignforamillion.com

Britain bounces back; economy grew by 2.3 per cent in April The British economy has grown by 2.3 per cent in April – the highest monthly rise since last July. The bounce back comes after coronavirus restrictions eased in the past few weeks, and people hit the British high streets and pubs. While the upward trend is worth celebrating, it also should be noted that the UK economy is still 3.7 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) was up 2.3 per cent in April. The figure would have been higher if not for a slowdown in the construction sector compared to strong growth in March. Non-essential retailers drove much of the growth as they welcomed

customers back into stores from April 12 in England, with clothes stores seeing a boost of 69.4 per cent.

The services sector saw an overall growth of 3.4 per cent, although it remains 4.1 per cent below prepandemic levels of February 2020.

This included restaurants, bars and cafes where customers could dine and drink outdoors again.

People also helped caravan parks and holiday

destinations grow 68.6 per cent, while hairdressers and other personal services grew 63.5 per cent.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the figures were “a promising sign that our economy is beginning to recover.” He said, “With more than a million people coming off furlough across March and April and the number of employees in work rising, it is clear that our Plan for Jobs is working. But I know there are people who still need our support, which is why the furlough scheme is in place until September to protect as many jobs as possible.”

Chief Executive of New

Economics Foundation, Miatta Nema Fahnbulleh said in a BBC interview that the economy is bouncing back in a similar way to the last time restrictions were eased. She said, “The numbers are consistent with what we saw in March, which was a big bounce as the restrictions start to be eased and the economy goes back to normal. We're likely to see this for the next few months over the summer as more and more restrictions are removed. Underneath this is a story of two halves.

The numbers tell us the economy is recovering but it is uneven, with bounce-back being driven by parts of the economy that are essentially being insulated by the worst pay of the pandemic.”

Sunak rejects calls to extend furlough scheme Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reportedly refused to extend the furlough scheme despite repeated pleas from businesses. The coronavirus job support scheme will continue to cover a portion of people's salaries until September. However, the government will stop covering 80 per cent of wages for those not at work from July, as employers are forced to start contributing more. Sunak said businesses will have to contribute 10 per cent of the cost from July, increasing to 20 per cent in August and September as the economy hopefully reopens.

Businesses have urged the Chancellor to delay the withdrawal of funds if

Rishi Sunak

lockdown is extended beyond June 21. However, sources close to Sunak insisted the timetable for gradually phasing out furlough would remain the same. It is argued that an extension until September was enough to cover any delay to Britain's unlocking and that the Treasury had already “gone long”.

Relief for retail, hospitality and leisure facilities will drop from 100 per cent to 66 per cent from July 1 and remain in place until the end of March next year. The industry has urged Sunak to reconsider his plans and keep full relief in place until the start of October.

Trade body UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls was quoted in a report as saying, “We recognise that the Chancellor has provided long-term support for the sector which extends into the recovery period, but there is no doubt that any extension to the restrictions will be challenging for sectors yet to open and

those still trading at a loss to navigate.”

She added, “Among other measures, the Government must postpone business rates payments until at least October and extend the rent moratorium while a long-term solution is found.

Businesses need a swift, p u b l i c l y - s t a t e d commitment that such support will be in place in the event of any delays, giving them much-needed reassurance after more than 15 months of closure and severely disrupted trading.”

“Hospitality is desperate to get back to what it does best and can play a key role in the economic recovery of the UK – but only if it is given the proper support.”

UK ministers facing up to five year lobbying ban after leaving office An anti-corruption watchdog has said that UK ministers could be banned from lobbying for up to five years after leaving office, and also face possible penalties if found breaking rules.

Chair of the committee on standards in public life, and former MI5 Lord Jonathan Evans made the proposal in an emergency review published in the aftermath of the David CameronGreensill scandal.

The intervention comes as a response to claims that the rules continue to be flouted by former ministers, special advisers and senior civil servants once they leave office. Lord Evans' report demands an overhaul of the rules that allow them to use their contacts and expertise for private gain. Under current rules, ministers and senior civil servants are in effect banned from lobbying their former colleagues for two years after leaving their post.

David Cameron-Greensill

The committee also raised concerns that the system of appointing to public bodies may be leaning towards ministerial patronage and away from “merit”. No 10 is expected to wait until the final report from the committee later this year before saying which recommendations it might accept. The report names former prime minister David Cameron and concludes that the current rules are inadequate, and ministers should disclose informal lobbying over WhatsApp and text messages in future.

Cameron told MPs last

month there was “absolutely no wrongdoing” in his lobbying attempts, but accepted that former prime ministers must “act differently”. The report forms part of the committee’s “landscape review of standards”.

The committee also proposes introducing antilobbying clauses into the employment contracts of ministers, special advisers and civil servants; designing a system of possible civil penalties for rule-breakers; banning ministers from taking jobs for two years in sectors over which they had direct responsibility in

office; and giving the appointments watchdog the power to apply tailored restrictions, including banning ex-ministers from taking certain jobs for up to five years “where appropriate.”

It also calls for new rules so that the government releases details of lobbying every four weeks, rather than quarterly; and regulating the appointment of nonexecutive directors to Whitehall departments amid fears politicians are appointing “cronies”.

In a foreword to the report, Evans says, “We have found that four areas of standards regulation require significant reform: the ministerial code and the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, the business appointment rules and the advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba), transparency around lobbying, and the regulation of public appointments.”

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India's forex reserves cross $600 billion for first time India's forex reserves crossed the $600-billion mark for the first time on the back of continued foreign investment flow into the capital markets.

According to the RBI, forex reserves increased by $6.8 billion in the week ended June 4 to $605 billion.

The current level of forex reserves are enough to cover nearly 16 months of imports.

According to RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, the central bank has enough ammuni-

tion to meet the challenges arising out of “ g l o b a l spillovers” a reference to any sudden policy changes in the US or geopolitical shifts that could lead to funds exiting India.

India is now less than $200 million behind Russia, which has an almost identical level of reserves. The pileup of foreign exchange reserves is an outcome of the RBI’s strategy of buying dollars when there is a sudden spurt of inflows which causes volatility in the forex mar-

kets. In FY20, the RBI added over $100 billion to the reserves. It has also sold dollars when the rupee came under pressure. In February and March, the central bank had depleted its stockpile by almost $10 billion by selling dollars.

Foreign fund buying of shares and debt in India also added to the reserves.

According to the data from CDSL, in FY21, net inflows of about $37 billion came in through these routes and while another $400 million net flows were added to it.

According to a report by

Brickworks Ratings, the exchange rate volatility demands more forex interventions by the RBI. Hence, the accumulation of forex reserves helps the RBI to maintain the exchange rate at a comfortable level. The report points out that doubts over India’s economic recovery led to significant capital outflows in April and May. The RBI’s purchase of dollars also has a corollary impact on rupee liquidity. Every $1 billion that the RBI purchases results in around Rs 7,300 crore of rupee funds being released.

Tata Digital to acquire majority stake in 1MG Technologies Tata Digital Ltd, a whollyowned arm of Tata Sons, said it will acquire a majority stake in 1MG Technologies Ltd, an online healthcare marketplace. The company, however, did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. Just days after the company said it will invest $75 million in fitnessfocused Curefit Healthcare for an undisclosed stake, Tata Digital said its investment in 1MG is in line with the group's vision of creating a digital ecosystem which addresses the consumer needs across categories in a unified manner.

Tata Digital said e-pharmacy, e-diagnostics and teleconsultation are critical segments in this ecosystem and have been among the fastest growing segments in this space, as this sector enabled access to healthcare through the pandemic. The overall market is around $1 billion and is expected to grow at around 50 per cent

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) driven by increased health awareness among consumers and greater convenience. This category will form a key element of the Tata Digital ecosystem offering.

"The investment in 1MG strengthens Tata's ability to provide superior customer experience and high quality healthcare products & services in the e-pharmacy and e-diagnostics space through a technology-led platform," Tata Digital CEO Pratik Pal said. 1MG co-founder and CEO Prashant Tandon said, the investment by the Tatas "marks a significant milestone in 1MG's journey to make high-quality healthcare products and services accessible to customers across India."

Started in 2015, 1MG is among the leading players in the eHealth space and enables easy and affordable access to a wide range of products like medicines,

health and wellness products, diagnostics services and tele-consultation to customers. The company currently operates three state-of-the-art diagnostic labs, has a supply chain covering over 20,000 pincodes across the country and through its subsidiaries is also engaged in the business of B2B distribution of medicines & other healthcare products, the statement said.

Earlier, Tata Digital had announced that it would invest $75 million in fitnessfocused Curefit Healthcare for an undisclosed stake.

Curefit's founder and chief executive Mukesh Bansal will join Tata Digital in an executive role as its president, an official statement had said, adding will continue in his leadership role at Curefit as well. Tata group has been on an acquisition

spree in the e-commerce space. Last month it had acquired a majority stake in online grocery seller BigBasket for an undisclosed sum of money, pitting it against the likes of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance and Amazon. The deal would pit the salt-to-software conglomerate against Ambani's JioMart, Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart for a pie of the online grocery business that has grown exponentially during the pandemic. About half of India's $1 trillion-retail market comprises grocery sales. The online grocery market is expected to reach $4.3 billion in 2021 from $2.9 billion in the previous year.

Alignment of Discount & Location

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Currently, we are negotiating a deal in Central London; a block of flats on a prominent road. The price is surprisingly cheap given the location. The property is not freehold, but leasehold, and is above a commercial premises.

Although this is a leasehold deal, under the legislation as the majority leaseholder you have the right to purchase the freehold. There are a few benefits to this, for example: one, of course, is you will never have to keep paying a premium to keep extending the lease; another, is you have an enhanced value as a freehold property. But, the biggest benefit would be you would have control over the building, and communal areas, in order to improve and maintain the building.

Not all leaseholders are fortunate to be able to execute this legislation. There’s a notorious freeholder just down the road from here, who has a reputation of excessive service charges, and very poor major refurbs when they do them; which means they keep having to do them. They have owned the freehold of many blocks, and for many generations. Their yearly legal bills are in the millions, no doubt keeping leaseholders at bay.

The reason the leaseholders cannot get together and purchase the freehold is because they ensure they keep ownership of just over 50% of the land which is made up of communal parts, courtyards, and then they purchase the number of leases they require to keep control, in line with legislation, but clearly not in spirit.

This location used to be the fag end of a very central location, but as time has gone on the ripple has spread, and this is going to be a very strong location, given its proximity to the station, which is only seconds away, and the money which has gone into developments close by; which will serve to uplift the area strongly.

The entry price is about 30% below market level, and that’s current market levels. The value of the asset is reflected in the rental yield which is circa 6%.

In this location, the rental yields are around 3-4%, this correlates to the discount on price.

The properties themselves are reasonably generous for the location, and well proportioned. Deals with this level of discount, in this location, are hard to come by. This too in an area which is still growing. We are currently matching this deal with an investor. Please do get in touch if you are interested in similar deals.

NCLT clears Vedanta's £300mn World Bank slashes India's growth forecast to 8.3% offer for Videocon Group The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved billionaire Anil Agarwal’s £300 million offer for the debt-ridden Videocon Group. The offer

by Twin Star Technologies, a company owned by Agarwal, is against the more than £4.6 billion debt of the Videocon Group.

The transaction, when completed, will be Agarwal’s third asset purchase under the Indian bankruptcy code after Electrosteel Steels and Ferro Alloys Corporation.

Lenders of Videocon Group, comprising 13 entities, had sought NCLT’s nod after they accepted Agarwal’s proposal in December last year. In 2019, NCLT had allowed combining multiple bankruptcy proceedings against 13 Videocon Group companies

into one. The NCLT nod for Agarwal’s proposal comes with riders. One of these is that payment to the dissenting lenders will have to be a priority. This is the first consolidated group resolution under the bankruptcy route.

Videocon Group, with interests in consumer appliances and oil, was pushed into bankruptcy in 2017 after it defaulted on loans. Its erstwhile promoter, the Dhoot family, had offered to clear the loans in a bid to pull the 13 companies out of bankruptcy proceedings. But the lenders turned down the Dhoots’ proposal and chose Twin Star’s bid for Videocon.

Agarwal was interested in Videocon as his Vedanta Group holds a 23% stake in the Ravva oil field. And when the Videocon trans-

action is completed, Vedanta’s stake in the oil field will increase to 48%, thus becoming its largest shareholder. Public sector company ONGC holds 40% in the Ravva oil field. The average output from the Ravva field was 14,232 barrels of oil equivalent per day in fiscal 2020.

Interestingly, Vedanta has shown interest in buying Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), in which the government plans to sell its 53% stake.

Vedanta’s interest in BPCL is driven from the synergies with its oil & gas business.

The more than three-year delay in the debt resolution of Videocon highlights the challenges faced by lenders to recover their money even as the Covid pandemic threatens to add to bad loans.

The World Bank slashed India’s GDP growth estimate for the current fiscal year to 8.3% from its previous projection of 10.1%, citing the impact of the second wave of Covid.

The multilateral agency is the latest in the long list of economists, investment banks and other agencies that have cut India's growth estimates due to the impact of the localised lockdowns imposed to prevent the spread of the second surge of the pandemic. Many now expect the economy to grow in single digits, sharply below the double digit projections made a few months ago. Cases have reduced now and the unlock process is underway across cities.

“India’s recovery is being hampered by the largest outbreak of any country since the beginning of the pandemic. Recent outbreaks

have disproportionately affected India and, to a lesser extent, some other large EMDEs such as Brazil,” according to the World Bank’s Global E c o n o m i c Prospects report.

It said that in India, an enormous second Covid-19 wave is undermining the sharper than-expected rebound in activity seen during the second half of FY 2020-21, especially in services. With surging Covid-19 cases, foot traffic around work and retail spaces has again slowed to more than one third below pre-pandemic levels since March, the report said.

“For India, GDP in fiscal year 2021-22, starting April 2021, is expected to expand 8.3%. Activity will benefit

from policy support, including higher spending on infrastructure, rural development, and health, and a stronger-than-expected recovery in services and manufacturing,” the report said.

“Although the forecast has been revised up by 2.9 percentage points, this masks significant expected economic damage from an enormous second Covid-19 wave and localised mobility restrictions since March 2021, ” the report added.

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in brief TELLY AWARD FOR INDIAN AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHER The 42nd Annual Telly Awards has honoured Joya Nandy Kazi with silver statuette for Best Online Commercial in beauty, fashion and lifestyle for her choreography in WOW Skin Science’s “Holi Love Story ft. Joya Kazi.” The premier award, which honors excellence in video and television across all screens, received over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents. When WOW Skin Science approached Kazi to model for their product photoshoot paying homage to the company’s Indian roots, she pitched an alternative campaign concept that would feature both the product and the vibrancy of Indian dance during Holi noted a press release. Kazi brought in the best of her company dancers, created stunning choreographic moments, designed vibrant costumes, and shared the screen with actor Sachin Bhatt, making for a delightful pairing.

CYBER ATTACK ON HOSPITAL: INDIAN CHARGED The US Department of Justice has filed charges against Indian-origin Vikas Singla, a former cyber security official, for a cyber attack on a hospital in the state of Georgia in 2018. According to the indictment, Singla, 45, the chief operating officer of a metro-Atlanta network security company Securolytics that served the health care industry, allegedly conducted a cyber attack on Gwinnett Medical Center that involved disrupting phone service, obtaining information from a digitising device, and disrupting network printer service. Singla is charged with 17 counts of intentional damage to a protected computer, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10-year imprisonment, and one count of obtaining information by computer from a protected computer, which carries a maximum penalty of five-years imprisonment.

IMRAN'S PARTY LEADER SLAPS PPP LAWMAKER A senior female leader of PM Imran Khan-led PTI party slapped a lawmaker of opposition PPP following a verbal duel between the two during a TV talk show, a video of which went viral on social media showed. The incident occurred when debate between the two leaders, PTI’s Firdous Ashiq Awan and PPP’s member of National Assembly Qadir Khan Mandokhel, about the government’s performance and excessive load shedding in the country, turned into a shouting match over the recent collision of two trains in Ghotki district. The situation further escalated when the PPP lawmaker brought up corruption allegations against the PTI leader.

Shortly after the programme, a video clip surfaced on the internet showing Awan physically attacking and slapping Mandokhel.

SECURITY COUNCIL BACKS GUTERRES' REELECTION The United Nations Security Council formally recommended the re-election of António Guterres as secretary general, assuring a second term for the Portuguese statesman that will keep him in office until 2027. The recommendation, which goes to a ceremonial vote of approval by the 193-member General Assembly in a few weeks, ended any hope among the seven little-known contenders who had aspired to the job, including two women. The secretary-general position has been held by males since the founding of the UN in 1945. Guterres, 72, was the only officially recognized candidate this year for the 2022-27 term, despite a more competitive and transparent system to the selection process first made in the 2016 election for secretary-general.

After ship fire, Lanka faces environmental catastrophe COLOMBO: A fire erupted on a container ship, MV X-Press Pearl, anchored at a distance of around 9 nautical miles northwest of Colombo on May 20.

The Singapore-flagged vessel was loaded with 1,486 containers carrying 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals as well as raw materials to manufacture plastic bags. The ship was also carrying 300 tons of fuel in its tanks.

The fire, which raged for a fortnight, has been doused. An attempt by salvage experts to tow the ship into deeper waters to contain the damage to the coastline failed when the ship began sinking on June 2. Sri Lanka is now bracing for an oil spill. This is “one of the worst marine disasters that has happened in Sri Lanka,” said marine biologist Dr. Asha de Vos. Sri Lanka is strategically located: Just 6 to 10 nautical miles south of the island lies the busy East-West shipping route.

Over 60,000 ships carrying two-thirds of the world’s oil and

half its container shipments ply this route annually. However, this is the second accident to take place off the Sri Lankan coast over the last 10 months.

In September last year, a oil Panamanian-registered tanker, New Diamond, which was carrying 270,000 tons of crude oil from Kuwait to India, caught fire. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, the tanker didn’t break up. The island thus escaped the disastrous impact of a major oil slick. This time the island is less lucky.

Toxic and highly corrosive chemicals have been released into the sea. “The damage to the marine ecosystem is incalcula-

ble,” said Hemantha Withanage, executive director of Sri Lanka’s Center for Environmental Justice. Scientists are pointing out that the plastic micropellets will be far more damaging than the chemicals that X-Press Pearl spewed into the sea. The chemicals on board the ship burned or poured into the sea and would have dissolved. So the impact of chemicals, according to Asha de Vos “is mostly localized and short term.” This isn’t the case with plastic micro-pellets. Being buoyant, they are carried over long distances by waves. Plastic micro-pellets have washed ashore, blanketing long stretches of Sri Lanka’s coastline, de Vos pointed out.

Although Sri Lanka has started cleaning up its beaches, the damage done is permanent as plastic micro-pellets are “not biodegradable,” said Charitha

Pattiaratchi, a professor of coastal oceanography at the University of Western Australia.

Micro-pellets are often ingested by fish, where they enter the food chain. Plastic entering the food chain has implications for human health. People will avoid consuming fish, which will impact the livelihood of fishermen. Tourism, which is an important component of the Sri Lankan economy, is likely to be severely affected as well.

Tourists would prefer to stay away from the island’s beaches.

Sri Lankan officials believe that the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak on board the ship. Apparently, the ship’s crew were aware of this leak since May 11 and had sought to dock in Qatar and India but were denied permission by authorities in the both countries. That Sri Lankan authorities allowed the ship to anchor off its coast when two other countries had turned it away has triggered public outrage in the country.

Italian police hunt Pak family for honour killing of 18-year-old girl ROME: Police in Italy are hunting the relatives of a Pakistani girl who they think was strangled to death and buried in a shallow grave in a so-called honour killing. Saman Abbas, 18, has been missing since May 1 when she was last seen on CCTV at a farm near the city of Reggio Emilia, central Italy, where her father Shabbar, 46, worked.

Police says Shabbar conspired her mother Nazia Shaheen, 47, uncle Hasnain Danish, 33, and cousins Nomanulhaq Nomanulahq and Ijaz Ikram, 33 and 28, to kill her and bury her body behind the farm before fleeing the country.

Investigators believe the relatives hatched the plot after Saman refused to marry a cousin in Pakistan because she had a boyfriend in Italy and wanted to live a 'Western' lifestyle.

Ijaz has since been arrested in France on suspicion of murder and extradited back to Italy.

Shabbar and Nazia are in Pakistan and have denied murder of their daughter. The whereabouts of Hasnain - who prosecutors say masterminded the killing - and Nomanulhaq are unknown. Prosecutors say the case dates back to autumn last year, when the family tried to force Saman into an arranged marriage in her native Pakistan.

Saman fled the family home after an argument and since October had been living in a refuge fearing for her safety.

But she returned home on April 11 this year, apparently to collect identity documents.

Police believe that by April 26 the family had begun preparing for her murder. That is the date on which uncle Hasnain is alleged to have bought plane

Pakistan’s defence budget raised by 6% to $9 billion ISLAMABAD: Pakistan government has proposed to allocate nearly Rs1.4 trillion (about $8.9 billion) for the defence sector in its budget for fiscal 2021-22, an increase of almost 6.3% over the estimated allocations for the last financial year.

An interesting aspect of this year’s defence budget is that all armed services have got an equal raise of about 6.2%. The army as always has the biggest share of the pie at Rs 651.5 billion (47.55% of the defence budget), the air force will be given Rs 291.2 billion (21.3%), the navy will get Rs 148.7 billion (10.9%), and interservices organisations are being allocated Rs 278.5 billion (20.3%).

The proposed defence allo-

cations, announced by Pakistan finance minister Shaukat Tareen, constitute 16% of the total federal budget outlay, which is almost Rs 8.5 trillion.

Moreover, the allocation is 2.5% of the GDP, indicating its magnitude vis-a-vis other allocations of public importance. The allocation, however, does not give the full picture. For instance, the Rs 360 billion to be paid to retired military officers would come from the civilian government’s current expenditure instead of the defence budget. Military acquisitions are also believed to be funded separately. Funds for the nuclear weapons programme, which are placed under a secret head, are also not included.

tickets for her parents to fly back to Pakistan, prosecutors say. Then, on the evening of April 29, CCTV captured three men who police say are Hasnain, Nomanulhaq and Ijaz walking into fields behind the farm around 7.30 pm. They were carrying two shovels, a bucket, and a blue bag with a crowbar in it. They are gone for around two hours, before returning home.

The following day, Saman reportedly overheard a conversation between her relatives, and told her boyfriend that they were planning her murder. Saman's boyfriend told Italian newspaper Gazzetta di Reggio Emiliano that she texted him saying she had overheard her uncle remark that murder is 'the only solution' for girls who disobey Pakistan's strict honour codes.

The boyfriend was instruct-

ed to contact police in two days if she hadn't messaged him. The boyfriend said he tried to reassure her, but she said: 'I'm not confident.' Police believe the parents handed Saman over to her uncle and cousins who were waiting in the fields and who killed her and buried her body somewhere on the farm.

The family then left home Shabbas and Nazia for Pakistan while Ijaz headed into Europe.

When police called at the family farm looking Saman on May 5, they found Hasnain and Saman's 16-year-old brother at home, who explained that the rest of the family had gone to Pakistan to see a sick relative.

Then the pair also vanished. On May 9 they were stopped at the Italian border with France because the brother was not carrying his identity documents.

Pak cleric held over threats to kill Malala PESHAWAR: Pakistani police have arrested a cleric after a video of him went viral on social media in which he threatens Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai over her recent comments about marriage, officials said.

The cleric, Mufti Sardar Ali Haqqani, was arrested in Lakki Marwat, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Waseem Sajjad, a local police chief. In the video, the cleric threatens to target Malala with a suicide attack when she returns to Pakistan, allegedly because of her comments earlier this month to British Vogue magazine about marriage that he claims insulted Islam.

At one point in the Vogue

Malala Yousafzai

interview, Malala says: “I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?”

The remark caused a stir on social media in Pakistan and angered Islamists and clerics like Haqqani. Under Islamic laws, couples cannot live together outside marriage.

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BJP most popular party among Indian Americans NEW YORK: While the Bharatiya Janata Party is the most popular Indian political party among Indian Americans, a majority is critical of government policies despite showing overall strong support for the country, according to a study. Thirty-two per cent of Indian Americans surveyed said they identified closely with the BJP and only 12 per cent with the Congress Party, the study reported.

But 40 per cent of those in the survey said they did not feel close to any Indian political party. Overall, however, those closely identifying with a party other than the BJP is 28 per cent, if the supporters of the Congress and other smaller parties are added up, according to the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey published by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in International association with Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania.

The survey of 1,200 Indian Americans was conducted in September last year by YouGov and the analysis by a group of experts was published June 9.

Seventy-five per cent of Indian Americans said that they were "pro-India,” but their attitudes to the Indian government varied sharply with 58 per cent critical of the government to some degree. Only 17 per cent identified themselves as also being "pro-government,” while 35 per cent were critical of some of the government's policies, and 23 per cent critical of most of the government policies.

According to the survey, 49 per cent of Indian Americans rated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance favorably, with 35 per cent giving strong approval. But 31 per cent disapproved of his record, with 22 per cent expressing strong disapproval. Evaluating how warmly the survey participants rated Indian organizations and leaders, the study came up with

a "mean thermometer rating" based on a scale of favorable attitudes (not percentages) reported.

Modi got 58, the BJP 57, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh 46, and the Congress Party 44; Rahul Gandhi lagged at 38.

Among Republican Indian Americans, Modi received a higher "thermometer rating" of 71, versus 55 among Democrats, while Gandhi got more warmth from Democrats with a 42 rating but 31 among Republicans, the study said. President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party got a rating of 64, while Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Indian American descent, got 63.

But the study found a big contrast in the attitude to the US in the survey conducted before the US elections, and the current Covid-19 surge: 67 per cent reported that the US is on

the wrong track, while just 33 per cent believed it is on the right track. Corruption was ranked by the Indian Americans surveyed as the top problem for India with 18 per cent listing it, and the economy came next with 15 per cent naming it. Ten per cent ranked "religious majoritarianism" as the country's most important challenge, according to the study. Fifty-three per cent of the Indian Americans said that "Hindu majoritarianism" is a threat to minorities in India, but 73 per cent said that "white supremacy" is a threat to minorities in the US.

South African woman gives birth to 10 babies breaking world record PRETORIA: A South African woman has given birth to 10 babies, breaking the world record held by Malian woman Halima Cisse who gave birth to nine children in Morocco in May. According to South African local media, Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37, underwent a caesarian operation to give birth to seven boys and three girls making her the Guinness record-holder for the most children birthed by one woman at once.

Reports further indicate that the Sithole and her husband Teboho Tsotetsi were expecting eight babies but two babies had apparently missed the scan due to the fact that they were tucked inside the wrong tube.

“I am shocked by my pregnancy. It was tough at the beginning. I was sick. It was hard for me. It’s still tough but I

am used to it now. I don’t feel the pain anymore, but it’s still a bit tough. I just pray for God to help me deliver all my children in a healthy condition, and for me and my children to come out alive. I would be pleased about it,” Sithole said told local media.

Speaking to the Pretoria News, Tsotetsi said Sithole gave birth to their bundles of joy 29 weeks into her pregnancy and that her pregnancy was natural as she was not on any fertility treatment. Sithole who also has

Man runs truck over Muslim family in Canada, kills 4 TORONTO: A driver plowed a pickup truck into a family of five, killing four of them and seriously injuring the other in a deliberate attack that targeted the victims because they were Muslims, Canadian police said.

Authorities said a young man was arrested in the parking lot of a nearby mall after the incident in the Ontario city of London. Police said the black truck mounted a curb and struck the victims at an intersection.

“This was an act of mass murder perpetuated against Muslims,” Mayor Ed Holder said. “It was rooted in unspeakable hatred.”' The extended family issued a statement identifying the dead as Salman Afzal, 46; his wife Madiha, 44; their daughter

Yumna, 15; and a 74-year-old grandmother whose name was withheld. The hospitalised boy was identified as Fayez, 9. “We need to stand against hate and Islamophobia,” the statement said. The family immigrated from Pakistan about14 years ago.

Nathaniel Veltman, 20, was in custody facing four counts of first-degree murder. Police said Veltman, who is White, was wearing a body-armor type of vest. Authorities are reviewing the possibility of terror charges.

Canada PM Justin Trudeau promised to take more action to dismantle far-right groups.

“This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities,” he said in the House of Commons.

six-year-old twins told journalists of the birth of the decuplets, saying he is 'happy' and 'emotional'.

In May, a Malian woman gave birth to nonuplets in Morocco, breaking the record held by an American woman, Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to eight babies in 2009. Reports show that only two other sets of nonuplets have been recorded since the 1970s, but the babies all died within days.

The South African woman said she was worried about her babies' well-being but was looking forward to meeting her children. "How would they fit in the womb? Would they survive?

"What if they came out conjoined at the head, in the stomachs or hands? Like, what would happen? "I asked myself all these questions until the doctor assured me that my

womb was starting to expand inside.

Professor Dini Mawela, of Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, said her case was rare and usually caused by fertility treatments before adding that the babies will spend the next few months in the incubator. "It’s quite a unique situation. I don’t know how often it happens. It’s extremely high risk (pregnancy).

The danger is that, because there is not enough space in the womb for the children, the tendency is that they will be small. What would happen is that they would take them out pre-term because there is a risk if they keep them longer in there. The babies will come out small, chances of survival compromised. But all this depends on how long she carried them for."

Sam Joshi wins Edison Democratic primary Edison, (New Jersey): Edison Council Vice President Sam Joshi won the Edison Democratic primary defeating Edison Democratic Chair Mahesh Bhagia by a 2-1 margin. With most of the votes counted, including Vote By Mail, Joshi bagged 5,868 votes to Bhagia's 3,145. Joshi's Council running mates Harris, Poyner and Patel also won.

"I am very humbled and grateful for the confidence that the Democratic voters in Edison have placed in me," Joshi said.

“My running mates and I want to thank all the voters who participated in the Primary," Joshi said. Joshi won almost all the Township's 78 voting districts. He received the backing of the Middlesex County

Democratic Committee, and with it nearly every party politician in the state.

"So many of our residents who I have spoken with want a government that is efficient and cost-effective, that is transparent and represents everyone and continues to make Edison one of our State's greatest places to live, work and raise a family,"; said Joshi. With his victory over Bhagia, Joshi will now face Republican Keith Hahn in the November election. If he wins, Joshi will be the first South Asian Mayor in Edison's history.

Joshi, a Rutgers Universityeducated councilman, is a mortgage broker by trade. There were two Indian Americans contesting for mayorship, including Mahesh Bhagia.

in brief US DROPS TRUMP ORDERS TO BAN TIKTOK, WECHAT The US administration has dropped Trumpera executive orders that attempted to ban apps TikTok and WeChat and will conduct its own review aimed at identifying national security risks with software applications tied to China, officials said. A new executive order directs the commerce department to undertake what officials describe as an “evidence-based” analysis of transactions involving apps that are manufactured or supplied or controlled by China. Officials are particularly concerned about apps that collect users’ personal data or have connections to Chinese military or intelligence.

MAN WHO SLAPS MACRON JAILED FOR 4 MONTHS A 28-year-old Frenchman who described himself as a right-wing or extreme-right “patriot” was sentenced to four months in prison for slapping President Emmanuel Macron in the face. Damien Tarel was also banned from ever holding public office in France and from owning weapons for five years over the swipe, which caught Macron’s left cheek with an audible thwack as the French leader was greeting a crowd.

Tarel testified that the attack was impulsive and unplanned, and prompted by anger at France’s “decline.” He sat straight and showed no emotion as the court convicted him on a charge of violence against a person invested with public authority. He was sentenced to four months in prison and handed an additional 14-month suspended sentence. His girlfriend broke down in tears. Tarel described himself as a right-wing or extreme-right “patriot” and member of the yellow vest economic protest movement that shook Macron’s presidency in 2018 and 2019.

WASHINGTON OFFERS ‘JOINTS FOR JABS’ TO BOOST COVID VAX USE The US state of Washington is offering "joints for jabs," in the latest innovative bid to get more Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 as inoculation rates continue to slow. Cannabis dispensaries in the state where recreational marijuana sales were legalised in 2012 - will be allowed to offer one free, pre-rolled joint to anyone aged 21 or above who gets vaccinated at an in-store clinic. The move follows a decision last month to allow bars and other liquor licensees to provide one free alcoholic drink to adults in Washington who receive their jabs within a six-week “window”. Just over half of Washington state adults (54%) have got at least one dose of a vaccine so far.

GATES IS AMERICA’S BIGGEST FARMER! Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has been reported to be the largest private farmland owner in the US. Gates and his estranged wife Melinda had acquired more than 269,000 acres of farmland in the United States in the past 10 years. The Gates have accumulated land in at least 18 American states. These include 14,000 acres of farmland in Washington where potatoes are grown in most part besides carrots and onions, 70,000 acres in North Louisiana where soybeans, corn, cotton and rice are grown and 20,000 acres in Nebraska where soybeans are grown. They have an additional 6,000 acres in Georgia. Critics of Bill Gates argue that he holds too much power over food and agriculture, and is interested in enriching himself rather than helping the planet.

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EXCLUSIVE

Covid-19 unlocks new opportunities for India’s pharma industry Kunjal Zala The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been witnessing phenomenal growth in recent years, driven by rising consumption levels in the country and strong demand from export markets. Being one of the most progressive and advanced amongst all the developed and developing countries, today, India stands in the top five pharmaceutical emerging markets across the world. It has a great pool of pharmacists and scientists with good potential to steer the industry ahead to greater heights.

India has the source of around 60,000 generic brands and accounts for manufacturing more than 500 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) which ranks India’s API industry as the third-largest in the world. The major supply includes Over-The-Counter (OTC) medicines that are employed to cure general and non-life-threatening conditions.

The major pharmaceutical hubs

include Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Visakhapatnam, and Ahmedabad.

The foremost generic drug manufacturers of India such as Sun Pharma, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin, Aurobindo Pharma, etc. have a strong foothold in the global drug supply chain.

In comparison to the western market, India has a significant number of factors that have the potential to steer its pharmaceutical industry to a higher level.

Huge labour force, innovative and scientific manpower, low Research and development costs, reasonable production, policy support, health insurance, upscaled medical technology, and a large number of national laboratories gives India an upper hand in this sector.

Covid-19 has pushed up sales of medicines and resulted in exponential growth for the pharmaceutical sector in the country.

According to total sales audit data from the world's largest pharmaceutical market research

firm IMS Health, the Indian Pharma Market (IPM) grew 59 percent YoY in April 2021 vs 16 percent YoY in March 2021 due to the low base effect in April 2020 and sharp a surge in Covid-19related sales.

The government has said India will produce a total of 1260 million vaccines between AugustDecember. However, the current vaccine makers Serum Institute the biggest in the world - and Bharat Biotech are working hard to meet the demand. India has so far given more than 100 million doses of two approved vaccines Covishield and Covaxin. Russia's Sputnik V has been deemed to be safe and works in a way similar to the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab which is being made in India as Covishield. Sputnik V gives around 92% protection against Covid-19, late-stage trial results published in The Lancet revealed.

India has shipped 64 million doses of vaccines to 86 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. The recipient countries include UK,

Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. Both Covishield and Covaxin have been exported - some in the form of "gifts", others in line with commercial agreements signed between the vaccine makers and the recipient nations, and the rest under the Covax scheme, which is led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year.

Milan Patel, Chairman of Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association and Joint Managing Director – Troikaa Pharmaceuticals said, “Covid- 19 has shifted the perspective for many of the frontline warriors and I do believe that pharmacists have played an almost equal role to a front line corona warrior. Not only they have been providing services in the worst of the outbreaks and lockdowns, but they have also guided and counselled many patients to control health issues. With our health care system under tremendous stress during the outbreak, the role of

Milan Patel

pharmacists is invaluable.”

He further added, “India is the powerhouse of pharmacy as far as manufacturing capabilities and qualified manpower is concerned.

So if the world wants to protect itself from corona and make it a healthy place again, the global companies have to leverage the advantage of India’s manufacturing capabilities. If the world-wide research and progress is not shared with India, it will be very difficult to defeat the virus and make the world a safe place.”

Although India has been widely known as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’, it has seldom been appreciated for its contribution.

Historically, India has played a key role in making drugs affordable and accessible. Covid-19 has enabled the much due recognition for Indian pharma industry.

Adani stocks fall as NSDL freezes Head of 'world's largest family' 3 FPI accounts dies in Mizoram The stocks of six Adani Group companies, run by billionaire businessman Gautam Adani, went into a tailspin on Monday after it came to light that accounts of three key foreign investors were frozen by depository NSDL, resulting in the conglomerate losing around £7 billion market value at one point during the session. The stocks, however, recovered later in the day after the group claimed that the accounts remained active.

Citing a mail from NSDL, the Adani group said the accounts of the three FPIs that were shown as frozen on May 31 on the depository’s website, remained active. “As may be verified from the said system, the status of demat accounts …are held in ‘Active’ status in (the) NSDL system,” a document from Adani group quoted from the mail it received from NSDL. All group companies informed the bourses that their registrar and transfer agents have also clarified that the demat accounts “in which the aforesaid funds hold the shares of the company are not frozen”.

The three foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) whose accounts were frozen as of May 31 were Albula Investments, APMS Investment and Cresta Fund. Their combined investment in the listed Adani entities add up to £4.3 billion. Sources said the accounts of these three FPIs, along with several others, were frozen as a result of an Sebi order of 2016 relating

Gautam Adani

to depository receipts (DRs), that is Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) and American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

At the end of each month, depositories come out with the list of demat accounts which are frozen by it due to various reasons including regulatory directives and nondisclosures.

Since the distinction between the accounts was not made on the NSDL site, the markets got jittery. As a result, in early trades, all the group companies - Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Adani Green and Adani Total - were at their respective lower circuit

levels, after falling up to 20%. The sell-off in one of the most talked-about groups in India, which saw its total market valuation jump multiple times in just a couple of years, weighed on market sentiment.

As a result, the sensex was down by about 450 points but after the company’s clarification, the index finally closed marginally higher, at 52,552 points, up 77 points on the day. On Monday, there was panic among investors on Dalal Street in early trades since the sell-off in these stocks was strong. This was more so because of the smart rise in group stocks in recent months, a dealer with a local brokerage said. For example, so far this year till Friday, the stock price of Adani Enterprises has gone up more than three times from Rs 479 to over Rs 1,600. On Monday, after touching an intra-day low at Rs 1,441, the stock closed at Rs 1,501, mainly because of the end-of-the-session pullback rally, the dealer said.

Ziona Chana, the head of a religious sect that practised polygamy, died on Sunday, leaving behind 38 wives, 89 children and 36 grandchildren. The news was confirmed by Mizoram's chief minister, Zoramthanga, who offered his condolences on Twitter "with a heavy heart." Chana reportedly suffered from diabetes and hypertension.

Doctors said that Chana's condition deteriorated at home in his village, Baktawng Tlangnuam. He was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening, where he was declared dead on arrival. It's hard to say if Chana was indeed the head of the world's largest family since there are others who claim the title.

It's also hard to estimate the exact size of Chana's family. At least one report claims he had 39 wives, 94 children, 33 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, which adds up to 181 people.

While various local news reports have referred to him as holding the "world

record" for such a large family, it's unclear which global record it is.

It has also been widely reported that the family has been featured twice on the popular TV show Ripley's Believe it or Not. But world record or not, Chana and his family are a local sensation of sorts, attracting tourists to their village in India's north-east.

And Chana's extr-ordinary life has grabbed several headlines over the years.

The enormous family lives together in a four-storied house called "Chuuar Than Run" or New Generation House, with 100 rooms. His wives share a dormitory near Chana's private bedroom, according to local media.

The mansion is a major tourist attraction in the state, with people from around the world thronging the village to get a peek into the family's lifestyle.

According to reports, Chana

was born in 1945. He met his first wife, who is three years older than him, when he was 17. The family belongs to a Christian sect - Chana Pawl - that has about 2,000 followers. They all live around Chana's house in Baktawng Tlangnuam, about 55km from Mizoram's capital, Aizawl. The sect, which allows polygamy for men, was founded by Chana's grandfather in 1942.

Despite his family's large size, Chana said in an interview in 2011 that he wanted to boost its numbers. "I am ready to expand my family and willing to go to any extent to marry," he said. "I have so many people to care for and look after, and I consider myself a lucky man."

Indian boy gets world’s most expensive medicine A three-year-old boy from Hyderabad who has been suffering from a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has been treated with what is said to be the world’s most expensive drug after tens of thousands of donors responded to his parents’ crowdfunding plea to enable them to purchase it.

Ayaansh Gupta was given Zolgensma, a gene therapy medication manufactured by Novartisowned American biotech company AveXis that was especially imported from the US, after his parents, Yogesh and Rupal Gupta, began a fundraising campaign on social media on 4 February.

By 23 May, the Guptas had already raised £1.5 million from some 65,000 donors moved by the

story of their son’s plight. Celebrities including India cricket captain Virat Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma were among those helping the family to reach their fundraising goal by donating generously.

Ayaansh was duly treated with the single-dose intravenous injection at Rainbow Children’s Hospital at Vikrampuri in Secunderabad and kept under close observation before being discharged.

“Except fever, which the doctors say is quite normal for a couple of days, he is absolutely fine,” his father said, proudly sporting a “My son has designer genes” T-shirt. Doctors have advised the family to keep their son in quarantine for two months to

avoid complications developing but pronounced the treatment a success.

“Since his immune system is weak, there is a possibility of him getting other infections. The doctors asked us not to allow any visitors,” Gupta explained. Known by the chemical name onasemnogene abeparvovec, the treatment works by creating a new copy of the gene that makes the human SMN protein, a deficiency of which causes SMA. Late last month, five-month-old baby Arthur Morgan became the first British child to be treated with Zolgensma at the Evelina London Children's Hospital thanks to the NHS.

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SOUTH INDIA

Tamil Nadu among states with low vaccination rate CHENNAI: Despite a robust health care system, Tamil Nadu has fallen behind in the vaccine race and is among the bottom five states in terms of vaccinating its population against coronavirus. So far, the state has inoculated only nine per cent of its 70 million population with the first dose of the vaccine. This has put the state right at the bottom of the list of states with low vaccination percentage along with UP, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Tamil Nadu now ranks much below states like Gujarat which, with a comparable population, has vaccinated 20.5% of its population with a single dose and Kerala which has achieved 22.4% coverage.

Health authorities attributed the poor show to the initial vaccine hesitancy in the state and said that things are better now. A patient from Chennai,

who was part of the vaccine trial, had alleged adverse impact and popular comedian Vivek died a few days after taking his first dose.

Between January and February, Tamil Nadu could administer only 457,000 doses, but the rate of vaccination rose by more than 5 times in March, crossing 28,00,000 doses that month and nearly seven times in May, crossing 30,00,000 doses, authorities said. The state government also accused the Centre of supplying vaccines only according to utilisation and not in proportion with the state's population.

Now authorities claim that there is high awareness and many takers for the vaccine but there are no jabs in the state except for just over a thousand doses in Chennai. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said, "Now we personally feel that it should not

be held against Tamil Nadu.

There is no vaccine hesitancy now and people are getting vaccinated in a big way. So, we need to calculate it on this basis and supply. Government of India has more than doubled our supply from May to June."

Chief Minister MK Stalin has tacitly blamed the union government of dispatching more vaccines to BJP-ruled states with lesser population.

The Centre has denied this.

While vaccine hesitancy did slow down Tamil Nadu, the second wave has led to a sharp rise in demand for vaccines and now state's demand stands at 20 million doses a month – 600,000 doses a day. With vaccine stocks nearly drying up in Tamil Nadu, many say pressure is mounting on the Centre to dispatch more vaccine doses to this southern state.

PUNJAB

SAD, BSP to jointly contest Punjab Assembly election CHANDIGARH: As the battle for the upcoming Assembly election in Punjab gains momentum, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) joined hands to contest the polls due in early 2022 in the State. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal made an announcement in this regard.

“As per the seat-sharing arrangement, the SAD will contest 97 seats and the BSP 20,” he said at a press conference. There are a total of 117 Assembly constituencies in Punjab. Badal said the alliance was not a temporary one and would remain intact as both parties will contest not just the upcoming Assembly poll but other elections together as well.

Given the fact that Dalits make up nearly 32% of the total population in the State, the

Mayawati & Sukhbir Singh Badal

alliance is being seen as critical for the SAD, especially after it broke its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party over the contentious farm laws issue.

With the Assembly poll a few months away, parties are aware of the importance of Dalit votes. The SAD had earlier announced it would

appoint a Dalit as Deputy Chief Minister if it forms the government.

With the announcement on Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, the SAD attempted to convey that it is pro-Dalit.

Mayawati hails alliance Meanwhile, BSP supremo Mayawati welcomed the

alliance. Taking to Twitter, Mayawati said that the alliance is a new political and social initiative that will bring a new era of development in Punjab.

She congratulated the leaders of both the party and looked forward to bringing prosperity to the state.

Mayawati earlier asserted that under Congress rule in Punjab, every section of the society is suffering from poverty, corruption, and unemployment. However, the most affected part of the society is the Dalits, farmers, youths, and women. She emphasized that the success of the alliance is very crucial to address their issues and mitigate them. Mayawati also appealed to the people of Punjab to join SAD and BSP. She urged the general public to support the historic alliance.

WEST BENGAL

Mukul Roy dumps BJP, returns to Trinamool KOLKATA: In a big blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal, its all-India Vice President and MLA Mukul Roy joined the Trinamool Congress along with his son Subhrangshu Roy, almost four years after deserting the Trinamool camp for the saffron brigade. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was present at the Trinamool Bhavan during the meeting to induct Roy back into the party fold, said that more people will come out of the BJP and join the Trinamool Congress.

Roy and his son were greeted back into the Trinamool by its all-India General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee. “Mukul (Roy) is our old member and he has come back. He was not in a good condition in the BJP because the saffron party created pressure on him through agencies, as a result he was not

in mental peace. I was watching that his health condition had also deteriorated because one cannot stay in the BJP. It is a heartless party and no human being can stay there,” Mamata Banerjee said. Roy, who had left Trinamool Congress in 2017, said, “I am having a nice feeling for being among familiar people again. This has a kind of homely atmosphere. I am confident that West Bengal will again reach to the top under the leadership of our leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.”

When asked what made him return to the Trinamool, the former all-India General Secretary of the party said, “I shall not work for the BJP again, so I have come back here.”

Denying having any difference with Roy even when he was in the BJP, Mamata said, “Even when he was in the BJP, he never

in brief AIADMK BACKS DMK'S DEMAND TO ABOLISH NEET AIADMK's top leader O Panneerselvam urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abolish the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and other similar examinations for all professional and other courses. A day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also urged PM Modi to cancel all national level tests and allow the state to fill professional seats, including the MBBS seats, based on class 12 marks.

Panneerselvam while backing the DMK government's position said till her death, late AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa had strongly opposed NEET and AIADMK government opposed it all along and two Bills were also adopted in the state Assembly in 2017 but to no avail. Panneerselvam listed the difficulties being faced by marginalised communities in the state to pursue medical education.

FISHERMEN’S KIN, GOVTS ACCEPT £1 MN COMPENSATION FROM ITALY The Supreme Court took on record the agreement among the Centre, the Kerala government and the families of the two fishermen shot dead by two Italian Marines in 2012 to accept £1 million compensation from Italy, which will now be responsible for trial of the two navy officers on murder charges. A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and M R Shah was informed that as per the agreement with the families, £40,000 each would go to the legal heirs of the two fishermen while £200,000 would go to the boat owner.

Appearing for Italy, senior advocate Suhail Dutt and advocate Jagjit Singh Chhabra requested the bench for closure of the FIRs filed by the NIA against the two Marines.

NUMBER OF CRITICAL COVID PATIENTS IN PUNJAB FALLS With the Covid cases falling, there has been a decline in number of critical patients in Punjab.

This has reduced pressure on the hospitals.

When last month the state was reeling under the peak of the second Covid wave, the daily average of Covid patients on ventilator support was above 400. Similarly, the number of patients on oxygen support had hit around 10,000. The number of critical patients on ventilator support as well as those on oxygen support started falling in middle of May. With every week, it kept on reducing almost at the rate of 10 to 15 per cent. Currently, the number of patients on oxygen support is around 2,500. Similarly, the patients on ventilator support is around 200.

Similarly, the number of cases has reduced to just 20 per cent of the cases being reported in mid of last month. The deaths have also reduced by almost 80 per cent. In mid-May, the daily cases were around 9,000 and deaths over 200.

At present, the cases have come down to around 1,000 and the deaths remain around 50.

BENGAL EXTENDS LOCKDOWN FOR 2 WEEKS

Mukul Roy

said anything against me or the party. He has always been good with our party leaders. Even during the elections, he was quiet about our party.”

Hinting that more people from the BJP are likely to join the Trinamool, the Chief Minister said, “Trinamool will welcome everybody who is sober

and gentle. But there are some people who betrayed the party before the elections and badmouthed the Trinamool leaders. They are betrayers, and the party will never accept them.” Mamata did not elaborate on Mukul’s role in TMC, merely saying that he would “play an important role.”

The West Bengal government has extended the Covid-19 induced lockdown in the state by two weeks, until July 1 but announced several relaxations to the curbs imposed to stem the spike in coronavirus cases, which was seen following the eight-phase general assembly elections. West Bengal is among the states which were hit severely by the onset of the second Covid wave. The state witnessed its perday count peaking to above 20,000 in May. However, over the past few days, the cases have decelerated. The active caseload has dropped to 17,651. As per the fresh guidelines released by the state government, public transport will continue to be off the roads. The movement of private vehicles, taxis and auto-rickshaws, too, remains prohibited unless they are on their way to hospitals. Restrictions on transport services continue. No public movement, other than those associated with emergency services, would be allowed between 9 pm and 6 am.

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Ram Temple Trust accused of land scam Two opposition parties of Uttar Pradesh accused the Ram Mandir Trust set up by the Centre last year of pulling off an illicit land deal in Ayodhya. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claim the transaction took place in March this year. It involved two real estate dealers allegedly purchasing a property from an individual for £200,000 and selling it - minutes later - to the Trust for £1.85 million, according to the allegation. The temple body has brushed the charge aside as frivolous.

The allegations are significant as the Ram temple in Ayodhya is an emotive issue in Uttar Pradesh, where elections are due next year.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra is a Trust that was set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in February 2020 to oversee and manage the construction of the temple based on a Supreme Court verdict. It was awarded around 70 acres of land in the ruling and 12 of its 15 members

are nominated by the Centre.

Former Samajwadi Party MLA and Uttar Pradesh minister Pawan Pandey held a press conference in Ayodhya alleging that the fraudulent land deal had taken place with the connivance of local BJP leaders and some Trust members. He showed some documents that allegedly prove that a property located next to the Ram Janmabhoomi site was traded at a multi-fold markup. The documents were allegedly the stamp duty papers of both transactions and had common 'witnesses' - the Mayor of Ayodhya and a local who is a member of the Trust - according to Pandey.

"What gold did this property throw up that its price went from £200,000 to £1.8 million -plus in a matter of minutes? This means loot to the tune of £1.65 million has taken place. There should be a CBI enquiry," the SP leader said.

"Millions of people gave donations to the Ram Temple Trust. They dug into their savings to donate. If

this is what you do to their money, then this is an insult to the 1,200 million people of the country," Pandey said.

Similar allegations were made at a separate press conference by AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh. "No one can even imagine there will be corruption in the name of Lord Ram. But these documents show that millions of rupees have been embezzled," Singh said.

Trust dismisses allegations "All kinds of allegations have been made for over a century.

Some also blamed us for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. We do not worry about such allegations. You should not either," said Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Champat Rai, who is also Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. When asked if he would comment on the allegations, Rai snapped back saying: "No. We will study it." In a late night statement on Twitter, Rai said the allegations were "influenced by politics".

China, Pak conduct joint military exercise in Tibet In a new development along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), China and Pakistan are conducting a joint military exercise in Tibet. It has two-pronged goals targeting warships, besides launching land attack from sea; and honing air-defence skills to target enemy aircraft, missiles or UAVs. The exercise comes in the backdrop of a recent move of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which has, for the first time, integrated its units with air-defence assets with PLA-Air Force (PLAAF) along the LAC. The exercise, which reportedly started on May 22, is scheduled to end soon.

China and Pakistan often exercise together. This year, the drill comes in the backdrop of around 1-year military standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh. The number of Pakistan troops taking part in the exercise is not known. From the Chinese side, troops of the 3 Air Defence Division are participating in it.

In the run-up to the exercise, the PLA conducted a pre-exercise

training for the Pakistan army at Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.

Pakistan already uses some of the missiles being used in this exercise. For India, this means that similar arsenal could be on board PLA navy and Pakistan navy warships. Moreover, Indian pilots, drones and missiles could face similar threats and counters on both borders.

Indian security establishment is aware that the Chinese low-tomedium altitude air-defence system, also known as LY-80, is being used. This is a medium-range surface-to-air defence missile system with around 150-km range. It can

and intercept destroy aerial targets flying at low and medium altitude. The second set of missiles being used in the exercise are SM-6, Eagle anti-ship cruise missiles (better known in military circles by their numbers - YJ81, YJ-82 & C-802).

C-802 is the export version of YJ802 land attack and anti-ship cruise missile with a range of 120150 km. The C-802 anti-ship missile can also be launched from a fighter jet. Tibet has several lakes and water bodies where dummy ships are placed for target practice.

Meanwhile, the PLA has changed its defence tactics along the Line of Actual Control. The PLA air-defence units in its western theatre (Tibet & Xinjiang) form a combined air-defence control system. At least 10 PLA units in the western theatre have been integrated for sharing inputs on early warning and combat readiness.

TMC MP Nusrat Jahan flaunts baby bump amid separation row Amid rumors of TMC MP Nusrat Jahan's tumultuous relationship with estranged husband Nikhil Jain, Nusrat has confirmed her pregnancy. In a photograph that has gone viral on social media, Nusrat can seen be sporting a baby bump. Reports of the Nusrat dating actor-politician Yash Dasgupta started doing the rounds ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. The rumours took a backseat after Yash Dasgupta lost the election from the Chanditala constituency. Reports also claimed that Nusrat and Yash are expecting a child.

After a fairytale romance and a wedding in the picturesque town of Bodrum in Turkey, she confirmed her separation with businessman Nikhil claiming that the

Nusrat Jahan

marriage ceremony was “invalid.”

Issuing a statement the TMC MP said, “Being on foreign land, as per Turkish Marriage Regulation, the ceremony is invalid. Moreover, since it was an interfaith marriage, it requires validation under the Special Marriage Act in India, which did not happen. As per the court of law, it is not a marriage,

but a relationship or a live-in relationship. Thus, the question of divorce does not arise.”

Nusrat further said, “The one who claims to be 'rich' and 'been used by me' has been taking money from my account by accessing my bank accounts illegally and by illegitimate means at odd-hours of the night, even post-separation.”

Nikhil on the other hand slammed Nusrat's statement calling their marriage 'invalid' stating that they lived together as 'husband and wife' since their union in 2019 but despite his 'best of efforts' her attitude towards him changed within a year. He also revealed that Nusrat was against registering their marriage under the Special Marriage Act in India after their Turkey wedding.

He claimed the original buyers of the property had entered into an agreement with the owners years ago for the price applicable at that time. In March, they formalized it at the same rate, and then sold the property to the temple trust at the current market price.

Only, it is not explained how the difference between the two transactions, carried out within minutes, was a staggering £1.65 million. Rai also said it was impor-

tant to acquire some properties adjacent to the east and west side of the Ram Temple complex "to create easy access for pilgrims".

He underlined the Uttar Pradesh government has also been acquiring land in Ayodhya for development work, and so property prices have gone up in the town.

The "particular property in question is located at a very prominent spot close to the Ayodhya railway station," as per the statement.

Choksi denied bail by Dominica high court Punjab National Bank scam accused Mehul Choksi was denied bail by Dominica high court calling him a ‘flight risk’ while terming his entry to the Caribbean island illegal.

India has also filed affidavits in the high court seeking to implead in the case and argue for his deportation to India where he is wanted in a £1.35 billion money laundering case.

Choksi’s lawyer has called it a temporary setback as the fugitive diamantaire didn’t have a place of residence in Dominica and hence he was denied bail. The Indian legal team is assisted by senior advocate and Queen’s Counsel Harish Salve who had earlier claimed that the court proceedings may take a few weeks, but expressed confidence that the fugitive will be deported to India.

After the CBI and Enforcement Directorate registered cases against Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, in January 2018, the diamond traders fled the country with other family members. While Choksi took up citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, Nirav Modi was caught in London and has been in prison without bail for two years now. On May 23, Choksi claimed, he was abducted from Antigua and taken to Dominica where he was arrested for illegal entry.

Authorities in both Antigua and Dominica have told local courts that they favour his deportation to India where he is wanted in multiple cases of serious financial frauds. Indian enforcement agencies have prepared a comprehensive dossier of the fugitive diamond trader to be used for pleading in the court seeking his deportation.

Indian authorities have claimed that Choksi remains an Indian citizen as he had fled the country after committing a serious crime and when warrants were issued against him asking him to present before investigating agen-

cies for questioning. A non-bailable warrant has been pending against him since 2018; a Red Corner Notice issued by the Interpol and multiple chargesheets filed in the courts against Choksi and his associates.

For deportation, courts in any foreign jurisdiction primarily look for whether charges have been framed against a fugitive and if he jumped bail and evaded trial in courts. In similar circumstances, India had successfully deported British national Christian Michel from Dubai in December 2018.

Michel was wanted in India in connection with alleged bribing of Indian officials and politicians in the Agusta Westland VVIP chopper deal, which was finally scrapped in 2014.

Centre, CBI prepare for legal battle The government of India and the CBI have sought to join Choksi's case in the Dominica High Court, sources said. While the CBI will focus on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will argue on Choksi's citizenship status, sources add. The CBI has filed an 'impleadment' application in the Caribbean nation's court on Choksi's habeas corpus plea. The agency seeks to submit the PNB case details against the jeweller before the high court to establish that he is a fugitive, sources say. Relying on the non-bailable warrants issued against Choksi by Indian courts for skipping summons, CBI has submitted, "Choksi, a fugitive" is evading justice in the £1.35 billion PNB scam case.

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PM Modi calls for 'one earth one health' approach for Covid at G7 summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week called for following a "one earth, one health" approach to effectively deal with the coronavirus pandemic globally, and sought the support of the G7 grouping to lift patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, during a virtual address at an outreach session of a summit of the bloc.

Calling for global unity, leadership, and solidarity to prevent future pandemics, Modi also emphasised the special responsibility of democratic and transparent societies to deal with the challenge, according to an official statement.

Sources said Modi's call for adopting a "one earth, one health" approach received support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

They said Australia and several other countries came out in strong support of Modi's call to waive patents on coronavirus vaccines to boost their production. India and South Africa have come out with the proposal at the World Trade Organisation.

The prime minister, speaking at

Narendra Modi

the G7 outreach session titled 'Building Back Stronger - Health', also highlighted India's 'whole of society' approach to fight the pandemic, while synergising the efforts of all levels of the government, industry and civil society. In his address, Modi sought the support of the G7 countries for a proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa, for patent waiver on Covid related technologies.

"The prime minister committed India's support for collective

endeavours to improve global health governance.

He sought the G7's support for the proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa for a TRIPS (TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver on Covid related technologies," the statement said.

"Prime Minister Modi said that today's meeting should send out a message of 'one earth, one health' for the whole world," it said.

The Group of Seven (G7) comprises the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. As chair of G7, the UK invited India, Australia, South Korea, South Africa to the summit as guest countries. The leaders of the world's advanced economies held the summit in Cornwall in the UK from June 11-13. It was for the first time the leaders of the

States in India prepare for possible third wave As India begins the process of unlocking, several states/UTs have started preparation for a possible third wave of Coronavirus infections. Health experts have warned of a possible sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, like the second wave in March-April. Among states, Gujarat has prepared an action plan to tackle any such situation.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced an action plan for this and said his government is prepared to put in efforts almost double the intensity to those made during the second wave. In the action plan, setting up a statewide control system for real-time updates on hospital beds, additional 600 Covid centres, more oxygen and ICU beds and a special focus on children are some of the initiatives the government has planned. The state government is also planning to fill up all the vacancies in medical facilities and boost testing.

Southern state Kerala has announced a twopronged strategy – increasing vaccination coverage and augment paediatric health infrastructure – in order to get ready for a possible next wave. The government has already prepared a set of guidelines to treat children.

Telangana has started s t r e n g t h e n i n g infrastructure at all paediatric hospitals. It has also decided to convert all existing beds in government hospitals into oxygen beds.

With improvement in the Covid-19 situation,

many states/UTs have begun the process of unlocking. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are among the major states where gradual unlocking has started amid Covid restrictions. States like Haryana, Karnataka have eased lockdown restrictions and allowed more activities in their states. More states/UTs are looking to open up in the coming days as cases continue to fall.

Meanwhile, India has been reporting below 100,000 new Covid cases for the past few days. India reported 60,471 new coronavirus cases (the lowest after 75 days) in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally of Covid cases to 2,95,70,881, while the daily positivity rate declined to 3.45 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

Active cases further declined to 9,13,378, and now accounted for 3.09 per cent of the total infections.

Deaths in 2nd wave cross 200,000 The official death toll in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has crossed 200,000. Fatalities recorded since March 1 this year account for nearly three of every five deaths

from the virus reported since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2000.

India has reported more than 205,000 deaths since March 1 (taken as the beginning of the second wave), which translates to an average of more than 2,000 deaths every day.

Fatalities in the second wave are now nearly 57% of all Covid deaths in the country. India's cumulative death toll from Covid currently stands at 3,63,029.

Globally, only Brazil, with nearly 225,000 deaths, recorded a higher toll during this 102-day period.

The toll in the US - which cumulatively has the highest deaths at more than 610,000 - was 82,738 since March1 (counting that day).

grouping were meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began.

"Participated in the @G7 summit session on health. Thanked partners for the support during the recent Covid-19 wave. India supports global action to prevent future pandemics. 'one earth, one health' is our message to humanity," Modi tweeted. During the session, Modi expressed appreciation for the support extended by the G7 and other guest countries during the recent wave of Covid infections in India.

"He also explained India's successful use of open-source digital tools for contact tracing and vaccine management, and conveyed India's willingness to share its experience and expertise with other developing countries," the statement said.

India a natural ally Describing India as a natural ally of G7, Modi said democracy and freedom were a part of India's civilisational ethos while sharing concerns that open societies were particularly vulnerable to

disinformation and cyber attacks and underlining the need to ensure that cyber space remains an avenue for advancing democratic values and not subverting it. Modi's references to cyber space can be read in the context of disinformation, commercial data theft and cyber attacks becoming a part of tactics employed by state actors. The leaders later adopted the ‘Open Societies Statement’ that hailed, among other things, freedom of expression, both online and offline, as a freedom that safeguards democracy and helps people live free from fear and oppression.

Participating in another session on climate change, Modi highlighted that the planet’s atmosphere, biodiversity and oceans could not be protected by countries acting in silos, and called for collective action on climate change. Speaking about India’s unwavering commitment to climate action, he mentioned the commitment by Indian Railways to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

India behind China and Pak in nuclear-warheads but not worried India is assured of its strategic deterrence functionality, which can get a higher punch with the continuing induction of Agni-V missiles and Rafale fighters as effectively as the commissioning of nuclear submarine INS Arighat in 12 months, although it lags behind each China and Pakistan within the variety of nuclear warheads. China now possesses 350 nuclear warheads, whereas Pakistan has 165, in comparison with 156 of India, as per the newest evaluation of the Stockholm Worldwide Peace Institute (SIPRI).

The report comes at a time India and China stay locked in Ladakh, which erupted 12 months back with no indications of deescalation as yet. However, the border ceasefire with Pakistan has held since February. Indian officers say steady supply methods like land-based ballistic missiles and nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic nuclear missiles (known as SSBNs), with “assured second-strike capabilities”, have extra strategic significance other than the precise variety of warheads.

“Nuclear weapons are meant for deterrence, not war-fighting. Pakistan, in fact, has benefited from its nexus with nuclear and missile proliferation with China and North Korea. However India is doing nice with modernisation of its indigenous credible minimal deterrence,” mentioned an

official. The tri-Service Strategic Forces Command is now inducting the over 5,000km vary Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile, which brings the entire of Asia and China and some parts of Europe and Africa inside its strike envelope, after shorter-range missiles. Equally, the brand new Rafale jets have boosted the prevailing “air vector” for supply of nuclear gravity bombs after some Sukhoi-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s and Jaguars have been earlier modified for that position.

However, the third leg of the “nuclear triad” remains to be removed from being credible.

India at the moment has just one SSBN in INS Arihant, with 750-km vary Okay-15 nuclear missiles. Nations just like the US, Russia and China have SSBNs with effectively over 5,000-km vary missiles. India has three extra SSBNs below improvement, with INS Arighat slated for commissioning after some delay. The developmental trials of Okay-4 missiles, with a strike vary of three, 500-km, in flip, have been accomplished.

However, the induction remains to be away.

Pakistan doesn’t have sea-based nukes, although it has examined the 450-km-range Babur-3 cruise missiles for deployment on standard diesel-electric submarines. China, in fact, is much forward with its Kind-094 or Jin-class submarines armed with the 7,400km JL-2 missiles.

Patel Brothers raise £500,000 for Covid patients at Karamsad Kokila Patel Coronavirus has ravaged India in a devastating second wave in recent months. Shri Krishna Hospital located at Karamsad in Anand district of Gujarat with 950 beds has been at the forefront during the pandemic.

Identified by the state health authorities as a designated Covid-19 hospital, the hospital’s Waymade Critical Care Cenre (WCCC) has helped treat more than 5,000 coronavirus patients since the pandemic broke last year. The hospital is fully financed by UK based charity - The Shanta Foundation.

The co-founder Vijay Patel and Bhikhubhai Patel, leading Asian

businessman and philanthropists based in the UK have raised £500,000 to expand the facilities for treatment of Covid patients as well as ones who are battling with black fungus disease. Founded more than four decades ago, the Shanta Foundation has helped raise money for many hospitals and schools across India and Africa. The foundation is named after Vijay and Bhikhubhai’s mother Late Shantaben Patel – a passionate woman strongly committed to her cause.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Vijaybhai said, “Shanta Foundation will donate £500,000 to Waymade Critical Care Centre for the patients who are

Vijay Patel and Bhikhubhai Patel

infected with Covid-19, fulfilling the pledge to match any donation received up to £1million.”

Vijaybhai also expressed his gratitude towards the readers of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar for all the support received so far.

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AsianVoiceNews

HEALTH

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

27

19 - 25 June 2021

First ever Alzheimer's drug gets FDA approval The USA's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first ever drug that slows Alzheimer's. The agency gave aducanumab the go ahead after trials found high doses “significantly” boosted memory and language skills. This is the first ever drug for the brain disorder in nearly 20 years.

The FDA approval will most likely increase the chances of big pharmaceuticals developing new treatments and investing more time in researching the disease. While the new drug awaits approval by the UK's Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory

Agency (MHRA), it is expected to be rolled out on the NHS by 2022.

Director of Brain Health Scotland and Professor of the Psychiatry of Ageing, University of Edinburgh, Prof Craig Ritchie said, “The announcement by the FDA is welcomed as it opens a new chapter for drug treatments in Alzheimer's disease. Use within the NGS though remains some months away and it is critically important that the safe use of this intervention in those people most likely to benefit is fully considered.”

Director of the Systems

What is Emotional Strength?

Psychologist Mamta Saha

Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff Prof Paul University, Morgan added that any development in the area should be applauded. He said, “Celebration because any progress in the development of effective drugs for this devastating disease must be welcomed; caution because the evidence base for the use of this drug is

limited, evident from its very chequered history of trials failure and phoenixlike re-birth.” Alzheimer's is a type of dementia caused by a build-up of toxic proteins that damage brain cells. Chief Executive at Alzheimer's Research UK, Hilary Evans said approval by the MHRA would be a “historic moment” in the fight against the disease.

Vegetarian, Pescatarian diet reduces risk of Covid-19: Study A brand new study finds a vegetarian or pescatarian diet reduces one's risk of developing severe Covid-19 as compared to meat eaters.

A research team conducted a study of 2,884 frontline doctors and nurses exposed to the virus between July and September 2020. Their research into diet and Covid-19 severity found that plant-based vegetarian diets reduce the risk of moderate to severe Covid19 by up to 73 per cent and a fish-based pescatarian diet reduces the risk by 59 per cent.

Details regarding participants' eating habits were also included in the survey, which had 10 diet categories – whole food diet, keto, Mediterranean,

Paleolithic, low fat, low carbohydrate, and high protein diet. All of these include red and white meats, plant-based/vegan diet, vegetarian diet, and pescatarian diet. There was an additional 'Other' option.

Only 41 of those who reported the illness claimed to be on a plantbased diet, while another 46 were pescatarian. The remaining 481 had all been on some form of meal regimen which included livestock and poultry. Authors of the study said in a press release, “Our results suggest that a healthy diet rich in nutrient dense foods may be considered for protection against severe Covid-19.”

The new study is published in the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. It remains unclear why the two specific diets have potentially fared better during the pandemic as “limited” study can only show an association between the groups and severe Covid-19 illness.

Deputy chair of the UK's NNedPro Nutrition and Covid-19 Taskforce, Shane McAuliffe said in a statement, “This study highlights the need for better designed prospective studies on the association between diet nutritional status and Covid-19 outcomes.”

What are wisdom teeth and why we get it extracted Most adults between the ages 17 and 21 develop their third set of molars – commonly called wisdom teeth.

They are all the way in the back of your mouth, and an average adult gets three sets of molars on top and bottom, and on both sides of the mouth. They are called wisdom teeth because they are the last teeth to emerge.

Babies are born with a full set of teeth higher up in the skull structure when they are born. A set of 20 baby teeth erupts and falls out. Then 32 permanent teeth grow in. The first set of molars usually becomes visible at age 6, the second set around 12, and the final set sometime before age 21.

Wisdom teeth were once essential for an early human diet of roots, leaves, meat, and nuts. However, they are no longer necessary really.

Scientists believe humans have evolved beyond needing wisdom teeth, and so some people may never get any.

However, just because you don't see them does not mean they aren't there.

Dear Readers, how are you all? Have you been feeling more hopeful now that the evenings are lightening up and the sun is warmer? Have you managed to get out of your home to meet friends and family? I sincerely hope so. In the midst of it all, did you give yourself the much-deserved recognition to say, “Despite it being a very challenging time in the world, I did well”. We shouldn’t take for granted the impact that the last year and a half has had on our mental health. As a strong community, Asians are used to challenging times. We get on with tasks and duties often seamlessly, one after the other yet how often do we acknowledge the toll that this has on our mental well-being? When was the last time you stopped and gave yourself a hug?

Many of my clients have been struggling with striking a balance between work life and personal life.. Some are not able to see their loved ones due to lockdown, which stirs feelings of loneliness. Others may choose to take on more work-related tasks and forget to dedicate time for themselves, which brews anxiety. Getting used to the new normal can be more challenging than it seems. My advice is to face your feelings, don’t suppress them. It may feel scary to acknowledge how you feel and if you don’t they may sit within you and create heaviness.

Other clients have been encountering difficulty in terms of building or maintaining relationships. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, many have been cooped up at home.

Eventually, social interactions become limited and as a result, the individual may find difficulty creating new relationships when circumstances change. On the other hand, maintaining relationships may arise in tension. However, it must be taken into account that experiences of the past can mould an individual to act differently. Potentially, this leads to disagreements and conflicts arising, which result in long term disruptions.

I have created a Masterclass called Emotionally Stronger. This class will help you to find a productive and simple way to deal with your emotional heaviness. The classes will revolve around utilising crucial tools to build and focus on your inner peace. Giving time to your inner voice will allow you to find happiness on a long term which leads to sustainable happiness, another element the masterclass builds on. Confidence is key when encountering challenges in your life. With confidence comes higher selfesteem which you will strengthen once you join the master class. The class also covers constructing your vision which will help create a crystal-clear pathway for you and your future. Tackling difficult relationships with the power of your influence will be worked on. This masterclass hears all your problems and is willing to build on a new and true you. To book your space please reach out on www.mamtasaha.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Mamta.

The importance of learning CPR

Sometimes wisdom teeth don't ever erupt and won't ever become visible.

However, they are present under your gums.

So why do we get wisdom teeth removed?

Invisible wisdom teeth cause greater oral health problems than visible ones.

Scientists believe the human brain grew bigger over time, and their jaws got smaller over the evolutionary period. Smaller jaws mean there isn't always enough room in the mouth for all our teeth. There are four wisdom teeth in total.

Most human jaws are done growing by the time a person is 18 years old, but most

wisdom teeth emerge when a person is around 19.5 years old.

Most wisdom teethrelated problems are due to the fact that they just don't fit. They could be crooked, growing sideways, tooth decay, cysts under the gums.

There are many reasons.

Ideally, teenagers should be evaluated for wisdom teeth removal surgery. It is believed people who get their wisdom teeth removed at a younger age tend to heal better from surgery. If one decides not to have their wisdom teeth removed, they tend to become problematic over time.

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen's recent collapse on field during a Euro 2020 game has once again shone light on the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR as we all know it.

Importance of learning CPR is rarely ever overstated. We can't always simply rely on medical experts or emergency responders to master CPR techniques.

There are several good reasons why you should learn CPR. You never know who would need it.

CPR is designed to keep oxygenated blood flowing to the heart and brain when sudden cardiac arrest occurs. Because the heart can't pump blood, tissue and organ death can occur in literal minutes. If you are thinking to yourself when you'll ever be required to act in such an emergency, cardiac arrest can occur at any time. It is the number one killer worldwide, and claims more lives than can-

cer, auto accidents, HIV and firearms.

The mortality rate among cardiac arrest victims is around 90 per cent.

If the majority of us train in CPR procedures and are capable of responding to out-of-hospital emergencies, the chances of cardiac arrest victims surviving will grow greatly.

CPR keeps blood flowing to vital organs while you await the arrival of emergency services. A meta-analysis of 79 studies found that bystander CPR increases a victim's odds of

survival by four times. The standard survival rate for outof-hospital cardiac arrest is only about 10 per cent, however, the survival rate among sufferers receiving bystander CPR is nearly 45 per cent.

CPR improves the effectiveness of defibrillation, and the combination of these two practices can improve survival rates by an additional 9 per cent.

While an automated external defibrillator (AED) works to restore a normal heart rhythm, the CPR works as a stopgap to keep the blood flowing and the organs nourished.

Learning CPR is very easy and takes little time.

However, to the right person, it will make all the difference in the world.

To Our Readers

We are publishing these reports in good faith. Before you try any of these remedies, please consult the doctor. We are not responsible for any adverse effects.- Editor

28

ART & CULTURE

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 June 2021

“The Granddaughter Project” allows for more cross-generation interest and connection Shefali Saxena Shaheen Chishti, The Granddaughter Project. Shaheen is a renowned Sufi Islamic World peace advocate and a direct descendant of the revered Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, one of the most significant saints of the Indian subcontinent and founder Chishtiyya order of Sufism.

The Granddaughter Project charts the experience of three very different women from around the world, who collectively use their voices to improve societal attitudes towards women for the benefit of their granddaughters. In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Shaheen spoke about the project.

Q - Exploring the themes of gender suppression, racial oppression, economic disadvantage and empowerment can be emotionally triggering as a writer. What was the process like?

It was helpful to draw from the past experiences of my friends and family. I had to go through quite a lot in my mind about previous incidents and the ones that I witnessed. It was not easy at times as it triggered bad memories. But overall, it was a positive experience as I feel that the book society’s mistakes and highlights weaknesses with the view to improve it for the better. I also wanted to help young women find their voices and power, and to make the most for themselves – not for their society. So many young women now are the living legacies of strong women who came before them, able to live their lives and enjoy their freedoms and identities because of the sacrifices made by their grandmothers. So many grandmothers went to their graves without telling their stories, for fear of the

Queen's portrait removed after vote by Oxford University students The Queen's portrait has been removed after a vote by Oxford University students.

Members of Magdalen College Middle Common Room (MCR) deemed the image a symbol of "recent colonial history".

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson branded the move as "simply absurd". The president of Magdalen said the decision was one for the students, not the college.

According to the minutes of Monday's MCR committee meeting, the motion was tabled in an effort to make the common room more welcoming and to recognise that "for some students, depictions of the monarch and the British monarchy represent recent colonial history".The vote ended with 10 in favour of removing the portrait, two against and five abstentions.

One member, whose name was withheld in the minutes, said "effectively 'cancelling' the Queen" sent out a "dire message that is sure to enrage", while another said: "We are not capable of cancelling the Queen. This is about our communal space and making people feel welcome."

The education secretary, who tweeted his thoughts, said: "Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd. She is the Head of State and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign she has worked tirelessly to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity and respect around the world."

repercussions and consequences upon their families. Some understandably lacked courage, others lacked opportunity. But now they can be unburdened.

Q - How did you come up with this heartwarming title for the novel?

I feel that “The Granddaughter Project” allows for more cross-generation interest and connection. The title makes me think of all these grandmothers together and inspiration. The same would be applied to deciding to do something important for the first Muslim lady Khadija RA as she their granddaughters. It is a simple was a successful merchant. Other way of conveying that these smaller South Asian women set out to make communities can draw from something positive happen and this to their benefit. I really put in hard work, planning and think that this book will go a effort. They had a vision and long way in helping, resolving they were going to make it and changing many minds. succeed.

Q - How can more women Q - In general, ethnic come forward to tell untold and communities from across religions Shaheen Chishti important stories of women? have placed immense trust and We should encourage small faith in your ancestors. Does that put you women centres where these stories can be under any kind of pressure as a writer shared, confidential telephone lines to because people expect a certain level of report any issues and education for men in spiritual touch from you? issues where we are struggling are just Yes, my ancestors have been the unifying some of my suggestions. I learnt so much force between all communities (Hindus, about how women and girls bear the brunt Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jews – all faiths). of suffering and abuse – especially in times I wanted to be fair and honest about my of war, famine and poverty. It was a real account of the issues that women face. I did eye-opener in many ways. It is something feel the pressure in the sense that I must that we know but until you read the extent come up with a good product and I think of it, you don’t really believe it. that the readers will enjoy the end product.

Furthermore, we always associate this type The Chishti Motto has always been: “Love of abuse with soldiers or the enemy, but in towards all, malice towards none.” many cases, it was fathers, brothers and Q - How will South Asian women be able to friends inflicting this mistreatment. It relate to your novel? makes it so easy to dismiss these women as The first character in the book relates casualties of war, but they are preyed upon to Goddess Durga and someone from by men who want to make themselves feel which women in India can take better about their bad situations.

Father’s Day 2021 Why is the mushroom always invited to parties? Because he’s a fungi” was voted the UK’s favourite dad joke (21%).

This year, on Father’s Day (June 20), Jacob’s Creek have partnered with comedians Matt Richardson and Kojo Anim to offer lucky dads the world’s ‘smallest’ comedy stand-up set* and a complimentary case of wine. The UK’s best-known wine brand1 is launching a competition to offer entrants the chance to treat their lucky dads to (literal) barrel of laughs.

Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel is finished in aged whisky barrels for a richer, deeper, and smoother taste.

Meanwhile, according to the Kilburn Times, two dads who grew up with absent fathers have written about raising their own children in a totally different way. “Renaldo 'RP' Falconer who lives in Kingsbury, and Sam Draper, who lives in Kilburn, have both contributed to Update DAD: Untold Stories

of Fatherhood, Love, Mental Health and Masculinity. The compendium is a compilation of 20 powerful and defiant stories from the MusicFootballFatherhood.com team,” KT reported.

Ahead of Father's Day we do acknowledge and remember the fathers we lost in the community this year. While nothing and no one can fill that void for the bereaved, it may be a good idea to prepare your father’s favourite dish this Sunday, light a candle, sing his favorite song and feel him in those little moments.

It may also be a great idea to embrace your father’s fears, help them in navigating through their emotions and tell them that it’s okay to not be okay. We’re all in this together, and crack the joke from the first line of this story. Happy Father’s Day to those who celebrate!

in brief MUSEUM OF THE HOME RE-OPENING

East London’s Museum of the Home re-opens on Saturday following a three-year renovation to improve visitor access and double its space for exhibitions, events and collections. It is reopening with a new artist commission by BLKBRD Collective, called Bearers of Home.

The commission is made up of five doublesided banners, set on the Kingsland Road lawns, which represent those that see home as a space lacking stability and permanency.

Entry is free. It'll be open from June 12 to September 26.

CALLING COVENTRY CREATIVES Coventry City Council is looking for artists to create murals for Coventry Market with designs that celebrate the city and capture people’s interest. They will be commissioning five designs to be painted on 10ft x 7ft panels around the market, creating vibrant, pictureworthy pieces depicting the city’s past, present or future – or anything that’s great about Coventry!If you're interested, submit your design ideas/sketches and examples of previous works, or any questions, to coventrymarket@coventry.gov.uk by 18 July 2021. This will be a paid opportunity.

£10,000 TO BE RAISED FOR CHARITY VIA MURAL ARTS

An exclusive, limited-edition artwork endorsed by the Prime Minister and signed by a number of significant Birmingham dignitaries is up for grabs in aid of Acorns Children’s Hospice. The piece is a print of a Digbeth street art mural named ‘Forward in Unity’ by street artist Gent48 and is valued at £10,000. It is currently under auction to raise money for Acorns and the charity’s work providing care for life limited children and their families. Depicting a striking image representing Birmingham’s spirit in the face of the Covid pandemic, the mural was developed as part of a project by local organisation Art4Charity in an initiative which has so far raised over £54,000 for a number of local causes.

Santanu Battacharya wins Spread the Word’s Life Writing Prize 2021 Santanu Battacharya who is based in Islington, North London is the winner of Spread the Word’s national writing competition, the Life Writing Prize 2021, for The Nicer One. Now in its fifth year, the Life Writing Prize, run in association with Goldsmiths Writers’ Centre, was established to find and develop the best new life writing from new and emerging writers. Santanu wins £1,500, a writing mentor, an Arvon creative writing course, and membership to the Royal Society of Literature.

The Nicer One explores a chance encounter with a childhood classmate that sets off a series of difficult memories, and a carefully-constructed yet fragile life begins

to unravel. Themes covered within The Nicer One include LGBTQ rights, childhood bullying, sexual abuse, mental health, immigration.

Santanu Bhattacharya grew up in India. In 2021, he won a London Writers Award and was selected for the Tin House Writers’ Workshop in Portland, USA. His non-fiction essays have appeared in The Oxford Student, Feminism in India, and the book Revealing Indian Philanthropy. Santanu has degrees in public policy from Oxford University and in engineering from National University of Singapore. After having lived in eight cities across three countries, Santanu now lives in north London.

He said: "I'm so delighted to have won this Prize. It means a lot to be Santanu Battacharya recognised at this early stage of my writing career. The Life Writing Prize is a platform like no other, and celebrates the kind of stories we need more people to tell. Writing this piece was both a haunting and healing experience, and has helped me explore a certain vulnerability that I didn't know I could write about." Mentors for Santanu, Carla and Matt are the writers Max Porter, Winnie M Li, and Katy Massey. The Life Writing Prize, which is free to enter, is funded by Joanna Munro.

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AsianVoiceNews

BOLLYWOOD 29

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

19 - 25 June 2021

Ankita holds special prayer ahead of Sushant's first death anniversary Actress Ankita Lokhande held a special prayer at home ahead of her former boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput's first death anniversary. She took to her Instagram and shared a glimpse of the set up. While the actress herself wasn't visible in the video, a person was seen preparing for the prayers.

Sushant died on June 14, 2020.

The news of his reported suicide sent shockwaves across the country. A lot has been said, written, and reviewed since then. His girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty has been in the centre of the controversy.

Several celebrities and fans have pitched in on the incident, all of them

mourning the loss.

Ankita and Sushant met on the sets of TV series 'Pavitra Rishta', and went on to date for six years before they parted ways. Since his untimely death, the actress has been seen visiting his family in Mumbai and interacting with them on social media. The actress has spoken about the late actor in the past. She had said, “Sushant always taught me acting. I wasn't an actor. He was the one who used to teach me what acting is. Because I was a junior, he was a senior. He always taught me.

He was a brilliant actor, brilliant costar and I was very fortunate to work with him.”

Ajay Devgn holds vaccination camp for industry workers

Did Akshay Kumar really fight The Undertaker?

Actor Akshay Kumar recently celebrated 25 years of his iconic action film 'Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi'. In a tweet, he finally answered the one question we all have been asking for so long. Did Akshay Kumar really fight wrestling icon The Undertaker? Reposting a meme about how he was among the few people who managed to defeat the wrestler, Akshay clarifies it was an actor who played the character in the film.Kumar tweeted, “A hilarious note to mark 25 years to the release of #KhiladiyonKaKhiladi tomorrow! A fun fact though : it was wrestler Brian Lee who played The Undertaker in the film.”

The film had a lot of hype over the appearance of the character with many believing to this day that the real Undertaker featured in it.

The Undertaker is a licensed character played by wrestler Mark Callaway since 1991. Brian is also a wrestler but appeared as an Undertaker impersonator in a few matches in 1994. When Mark's real Undertaker returned, he beat the impersonator in the ring and reclaime his identity.

Callaway hung up his jacket and hat last year in November.

'Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi' featured Akshay Kumar, Rekha, and Raveena Tandon. It was directed by Umesh Mehra and was the fourth instalment in the 'Khiladi' series. On the work

front, Akshay will be next seen in Rohit Shetty's action-drama 'Sooryavanshi'. He also has 'Raksha Bandhan' with Bhumi Pednekar, 'Bell Bottom' with Lara Dutta, Vaani Kapoor, and Huma Qureshi, 'Ram Setu' with Nushrat Bharucha and Jacqueline Fernandez, and finally 'Atrangi Re' with Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush.

Actor-producer Ajay Devgn organised a vaccination camp in Mumbai for workers in the entertainment industry and media professionals.

The news was confirmed by trade analyst Taran Adarsh on his Twitter handle. He wrote, “AJAY DEVGN ORGANISES VACCINATION CAMP... #AjayDevgn's NY Foundation conducted a vaccination camp on 11 June 2021 in #Mumbai... Those vaccinated included workers associated with the entertainment industry and media professionals.”

The actor had joined hands with BMC and Hinduja Hospital in April, to set up ICUs and provide emergency medical facilities to people affected by Covid-19 in Mumbai. Several other celebrities have come forward during these tough times to provide services to the less fortunate. Earlier, filmmakers Rajkumar Hirani, Karan Johar, and producer Mahaveer Jain had joined hands to start a free-of-cost vaccine drive for the workers of the entertainment industry.

Bollywood's Yash Raj Films (YRF) studios too organised a Covid vaccination drive, aiming to inoculate around 4,000 workers in the first phase. The group aims to vaccinate a total of 30,000 registered members of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). Others to hold such drives include producer Sajid Nadiadwala whose vaccination campaign inoculated 500 employees and their families of his company Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.

The Producers Guild of India (PGI) also began their vaccination drive for its members and associated production crews, while the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) and Screenwriters Association (SWA) have also announced that they will be organising free vaccination drives for their staff members.

Priyanka remembers her father on his 8th death anniversary Actress Priyanka Chopra remembered her father, Dr Ashok Chopra, on his 8th death anniversary last week. She took to Instagram to share an anecdote from when she was five years old. She also shared a picture seemingly from her book 'Unfinished', featuring her kid self smiling and holding a mic on stage alongside her father who is seen looking at her while singing.

Dated December 31, 1987, there is a note under the photo that reads, “From my earliest years, my dad and I had an understanding: Whenever he was performing at the army club he would look me in the eye during the first song. The New Year's Eve I was five he forgot, so I started to leave in a huff. Dad jumped off the stage and pulled me up onto it with him, coaxing me into a duet – a nursery rhyme – and winning my forgiveness.”

PeeCee captioned the post, “It never gets easier... love you dad.”

Dr Ashok Chopra died in June 2013, after a fiveyear battle with cancer. Priyanka has time and again commemorated him on social media. She also has a wrist tattoo dedicated to her father. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she talked about him. She said, “I do feel that he's been instrumental

in me being where I am today. He's helped me find a sense of peace, which I never had when he was around. He always saw me as a reckless, trying to get to the new place thing and he always wanted me to have a sense of peace. That's when I feel him around, when I feel peaceful.”

On the work front, Priyanka is currently

working on spy series 'Citadel' alongside Richard Madden. She has finished shooting 'Text for You', and will soon be seen in an Indian wedding comedy with Mindy Kaling, which she will coproduce and feature in. Priyanka also has 'Matrix 4' and a film based on the life of Ma Anand Sheela in the works.

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Katrina resumes fitness regime post-Covid Actress Katrina Kaif has hit the gym after her stint with Covid-19. Over the weekend, she took to Instagram to share a new photo of herself as getting back to work after recovering from the infection is no piece of cake. Sharing the picture, Kat wrote, “Back at it. Post covid I've had to be patient with myself in terms of getting back to exercise – u have to go at your own pace and listen to your body. U have good days and then days when u feel exhausted again. Going slow and trusting your body's healing process and giving yourself time. Step by step.”

Kat is known to be a fitness enthusiast and often shares updates from the gym. On April 17, this year, she announced that she had finally tested negative for the virus. She shared a picture of herself on Instagram and wrote, “Negative ... (everyone who checked up on me, thank you, it was really sweet, felt a lot of love).”

On the work front, Katrina has 'Sooryavanshi', 'Phone Bhoot' and 'Tiger 3' in her kitty.

Shah Rukh returns 'Loki' actor Tom Hiddleston's love Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan responded to Marvel star Tom Hiddleston's Word Association video, where he mentioned the Indian actor. In a promotional video posted on Disney Plus Hotstar's official Twitter handle, Tom was seen playing the game. At the mention of India and Bollywood, he replied with “Shah Rukh Khan”.

In a promotional video posted on the official Twitter handle of Disney Plus Hotstar, Tom Hiddleston was seen playing the game of Word Association. At the mention of India and Bollywood, his reply was Shah Rukh Khan. At the mention of an Indian city, Tom picked Chennai as his elder sister or ‘akka’ used to stay in the city.

Shah Rukh retweeted the video over the weekend, and wrote, “You are kind, God of Mischief... hope there's no mischief behind this claim though. Lots of love Tom and can't wait to binge Loki!!! Starting now- Ep 1!”

Tom returns as the titular anti-hero in Marvel Studios' latest web series that began streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar from June 9. The show picks up from where Loki disappeared with the Tesseract in 'Avengers: Endgame'. He is presented before the Time Variance Authority to undergo trial for his “crimes” against the sacred timeline.

Sonu Sood launches initiative to provide scholarships for IAS aspirants Sonu Sood has expanded his philanthropic efforts beyond Covid-19. The actor, along with New Delhi-based youth organisation DIYA Delhi has launched an initiative to provide coaching scholarships for IAS aspirants. He shared the news on his Twitter handle, alongside a photo. Sood wrote, “Karni hai IAS ki tayyari Hum lenge aapki zimmedari Thrilled to announce the launch of 'SAMBHAVAM'. A @SoodFoundation & @diyanewdelhi initiative. Details on http://soodcharityfoundation.org.”.

Since last year, Sood has been on the frontline, helping migrants reach their home, and carrying out other philanthropic endeavors. He even mortgaged his Mumbai property to raise money to help the needy.

Third child due on June 22, may be sooner: Randeep Hooda speaks Lisa Haydon out on being a celebrity during pandemic In a recent interview, actor Randeep Hooda is against use of the term “celebrity” when it comes to helping people during a crisis. He says, “When you say celeb, you're actually categorising us in a different way. Everybody is human, trying to do what they can. I always believe that speaking about it isn't enough. You have to put yourself in an actual helping position. I'm trying to do whatever I can.” The actor admitted that he felt “helpless” as a human being when he saw so much suffering around. Which is why he decided to team up with an NGO to supply oxygen concentrators to those in need.

Elaborating about his endeavor, Hooda said, “With Khalsa Aid, we're travelling the country, helping people in these difficult times. I do it because as a human being I feel helpless, and want to contribute towards easing other people's pain. There are hundreds and thousands of people like me who've gone all out and done it.”

Reminiscing about the time when the country went through an “emergency” when “oxygen became more important than food”, Hooda stressed. “Every small step counts.

We shall overcome this, we should know. There's help around everywhere, so many people have come out for the sake of humanity, to help their fellow human beings. It's heartening to see everyone offering help, but also depressing to see the state of people under so much stress.”

He insists that health and life are the most important virtues right now. On the work front, Hooda was recently seen as an antagonist in Salman Khan-starrer 'Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai.'

Model and actor Lisa Haydon and businessman husband Dino Lalvani are all set to welcome their third child, a daughter, on June 22. Lisa announced that the happy couple are expecting a daughter, earlier in February. They tied the knot in October 2016, after dating for a year. Dino is the son of Pakistan-born British entrepreneur Gullu Lalvani. The couple have two sons, Zack and Leo. Speaking in an interview, Lisa said, “Our third child – a daughter – is due to arrive on June 22, but I can already feel the contractions, so it might happen sooner. When Zack was born, Dino and I were like, 'Where did this angel come from?'

And when Leo was born, he was a force of nature, and we were like 'That's our child, the other one's an angel'.”

Talking about her children's reactions to her pregnancy, Lisa said, “Zack, who is four now, is very excited about the prospect of having a little sister... I think he was a bit jealous when Leo came along, but he is now looking forward to being a big brother.” Lisa and her sons featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar India's June edition. She was seen wearing a white bikini top paired with a black and white skirt. Her boys wore casual beachwear as they posed with her.

Lisa's last big-screen performance was in Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' in 2016. In 2018, she hosted reality show 'Top Model India'.

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Mahesh Babu's ancestral

village fully vaccinated A seven day vaccination drive conducted in Telugu star Mahesh Babu's ancestral village Burripalem has successfully concluded, as announced by the actor's wife and producer Namrata Shirodkar. Mahesh had last month announced that he will vaccinate people of the village, the birthplace of his father, actor-filmmaker Krishna. Mahesh Babu had adopted the

village in 2015.

Namrata shared pictures from the vaccination camp which was held in collaboration with Andhra Hospitals. She captioned the post, “Successfully completed the 7-day vaccination drive in Burripalem!! Can't be happier to have got our village vaccinated Thank you Mahesh Babu, for always being as solid as a rock,

'Navarasa' set to stream in Netflix on August 6 Tamil anthology film 'Navarasa' is expected to start streaming in Netflix on August 6. However, an official announcement is awaited. The streaming giant's second major Tamil release in 2021 after Dhanush's 'Jagame Thanthiram', the movie is a charity project conceived by directors Mani Ratnam

@andhrahospitals @mbofficialteam for your relentless support and most importantly, a big thank you to all our villages who came forward to take it.”

She said vaccination is the “need of the hour” and requested her fans to get vaccinated soon. She ended the caption with a hashtag “Burripalem Gets Vaccinated.”

Prithviraj forgives Clubhouse imposter

Nambiar, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Karthik Subbaraj, Karthick Naren, K.V. Anand, Ponram, Rathindran Prasad and Halitha Shameem. The movie will also see the directorial debut of actor Arvind Swamy.

Actors include Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swami, Siddharth,

With the launch of audio-only app Clubhouse, several fake accounts under the name of big Malayalam stars have emerged.

Actors like Dulquer Salmaan, Nivin Pauly, and Prithviraj Sukumaran have expressed displeasure while cautioning their fans against imposters. In the latest update, actor-filmmaker Prithviraj issued a statement forgiving his imposter, a day after calling what he was doing “criminal”.

It appears as if the imposter personally reached out to Prithviraj, and made amends for his action. In his statement, the actor said, “Dear Sooraj. It's alright. I understand that it was all meant to be a harmless joke. But I hope by now you've realised that something like this could have very serious repercussions. At one point, I believe more than 2,500 people were listening in to you and that a good majority of them thought it was me speaking. I had repeated calls and messages from many people in and outside the industry, and it was imperative that I put an immediate stop to it. I'm glad you admit that it was a mistake.”

He added, “Mimicry is a wonderful art form and I’m sure you know many of Malayalam cinema’s all time greats have found their way into the industry from the world of mimicry. Dream big, work hard and never stop learning. I hope you have an illustrious career ahead and wish you the very best.”

His note ended with, “PS: To all my well wishers and others, I DO NOT condone online abuse. So please stop it. And once again..I’M NOT ON CLUBHOUSE .”

Tamil film 'Koozhangal' selected for Shanghai International Film Festival

and Jayendra Panchapakesan.

Both veteran movie filmmakers came together with a team of directors, actors and technicians who agreed to work on the project for free. Earnings from the film will be used to help those impacted during the Covid-19 lockdown.

'Navarasa' is a set of stories based on nine “rasas” or emotions. Directors included in the project are Bejoy

Prakash Raj, Saravanan, Alagam Perumal, Revathy, Nithya Menen, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Aishwarya Rajessh will be in the film. Several leading composers including AR Rahman, D Imman, Ghibran and top cinematographers such as Santosh Sivan, Balasubramaniem, Manoj Paramahamsa among others are all part of this probono project.

Tamil film 'Koozhangal' has been officially chosen for the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival. The movie is backed by actress Nayanthara and her filmmaker boyfriend Vignesh Shivn through their production company Rowdy Pictures. A tweet from the company's official Twitter handle read, “We are happy to announce that our film has been selected to be screened in the prestigious Shanghai International Film Festival!”

The movie had recently won the prestigious Tiger award in the competition section of Rotterdam International Film Festival. The international title of the movie is 'Pebbles'. It tells the story of

a father-son duo, broken by poverty, as they seek to find their way in life. It stars newcomers and marks the directorial debut of P.S Vinothraj. It also features music

by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Vignesh had released a statement regarding the movie. He had said, “There are certain days that become precious and valuable when we come across a film that makes us proud of the field we are associated with. One such moment was watching this beautiful movie Koozhangal, which marks the directorial debut of P.S Vinothraj. The film’s premise is as simple as the title but created an exquisitely loveable impact within.”

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Morgan and Buttler now face probe for alleged in brief 17-YEAR-OLD BENGAL racist remarks against Indians FOOTBALLER IN

World Cup-winning England captain Eoin Morgan and vicecaptain Jos Buttler are under investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board over their alleged tweets mocking Indians surfaced on social media. The ECB has said appropriate action will be taken and each case will be considered individually. The tweets allegedly from Morgan and Buttler surfaced on social media days after fast bowler Ollie Robinson was suspended for his historical racist and sexist tweets. Robinson, whose Test debut was overshadowed by the controversy, missed the 2nd Test against New Zealand.

"Screenshots have also been shared of a message by Buttler in which he says 'I always reply sir no1 else like me like you like me' and, separately, Morgan includes Buttler in a message

While the skipper leads Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Buttler is one of the key players for Rajasthan Royals.

The ECB acknowledged that several historical Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler offensive posts allegedly by England which says, 'Sir you're my players have surfaced after favourite batsman'," according Robinson suspension and that to a report in the the board would conduct Telegraph.co.uk. "Although thorough investigations before there are questions over the taking appropriate action. precise context of the tweets, "Since we were alerted to they were written at a time offensive tweets last week, a when Buttler and Morgan were number of historical social established England players media posts by other and have caused offence on individuals have been social media," the report added. questioned publicly as well," an Morgan and Buttler are ECB spokesperson said. established England stars who "There is no place for also have lucrative Indian discrimination in our sport, Premier League contracts. and we are committed to taking

relevant and appropriate action wherever required. Given the concerns which have been raised are clearly now broader than a single case, the ECB Board will discuss how we deal with issues over historical social media material in a timely and appropriate manner.

Each case will be considered on an individual basis, looking at all the facts. We will assess cases with the ECB Board before making further statements."

Meanwhile, England's alltime wicket-taker James Anderson has also been alleged of posting a homophobic tweet in 2010. "For me, it's 10-11 years ago, I've certainly changed as a person. And I think that's the difficulty, things do change, you do make mistakes," Anderson said, as quoted by the British media.

Indian cricketers begin intra-squad practice match India cricketers, who are serving a 10-day quarantine period ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, began their England sojourn with a two-day intra-squad practice match at Hampshire Bowl. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released pictures as well as a video on Saturday with the highlights of first day's play on Friday.

India captain Virat Kohli is seen batting, defending and clipping the ball off his toes, as also Shubman Gill and

wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who is seen hammering a big shot. Pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj are seen bowling.

Newcomer Arzan Nagwaswalla is also seen in action. Spinner R Ashwin is also seen rolling his arm over.

Pant apparently reached a milestone as he is shown lifting his bat in celebration. The Indian team is on a three-anda-half month tour of England where it plays the WTC final against New Zealand from June

18 and then a five-Test series in AugustSeptember. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India are not allowed to play any local club or county team unlike in the past. Even New Zealand played an intra-squad warm-up game last month on arrival in Southampton.

However, unlike the Indian cricket board, New Zealand Cricket passed on the details of the match especially the outstanding performances

from the day's play. The Indians had reached Southampton on June 3. Their workload increased gradually as directed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) which is hosting the WTC final.

Racism still a problem in Dhawan to lead Indian team on Lanka tour football: Henderson England midfielder Jordan Henderson said fans who booed players for taking a knee before matches proved racism is still an issue and that the team will continue to take a stand during the European Championship.

There were jeers from a small section of spectators at the Riverside Jordan Henderson Stadium in and the Czech Republic four days Middlesbrough when players took later after playing Croatia, with all the knee before England's friendly games being held at Wembley. A wins over Austria and Romania similar incident took place in recently.

Hungary before Tuesday's 0-0 draw "It shows that if there are still with Ireland. people booing because we're Ireland coach Stephen Kenny standing together against racism, condemned the "incomprehensible" then there still is a problem and behaviour of Hungary fans who we've still got to fight it and stand booed his players for taking a knee together," Henderson said before before the game in Budapest. While opener against Croatia. "It shows Ireland players took a knee, the even more that we have to keep Hungary team stood and pointed to going, keep fighting it. From our their sleeves, which had European side, it's about being together and soccer governing body UEFA's doing what we think is right." 'respect' badge.

In an open letter to fans, coach "The fact it was booed is Gareth Southgate said his team will incomprehensible really and it must not "just stick to football" during the be damaging for Hungary, with the Euros and that it was his Euros in Hungary," said Kenny. “It's responsibility to put debates such as disappointing and it doesn't reflect racial awareness in the spotlight. well on Hungary really, on England, semi-finalists at the 2018 Hungarian support."

World Cup, face Scotland on June 18

India opener Shikhar Dhawan was named as captain of the Indian team that will travel to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs tour next month as the BCCI announced a 20-man squad, packed with youngsters, including six uncapped players. With India's top cricketers already in England Shikhar Dhawan for the World Test Championship final and the subsequent England series, the selection of a number of youngsters in the squad is on expected lines.

Many of them impressed in the suspended IPL and have been rewarded with their maiden India call-up. They included Devdutt Padikkal, pacer Chetan Sakaria, Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Varun Chakravarthy. Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey have made a comeback but Shreyas Iyer is missing which means he has not yet recovered from his shoulder injury.

Out of favour spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are also part of the squad that also has Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal - apart from two wicketkeeper batsmen in young Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson.

India are scheduled to clash with Sri Lanka in three Oneday Internationals and as many Twenty20 matches on the tour that will begin on July 13 and conclude on July 25. All the matches will be played at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.

INDIA'S SQUAD: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya.

BAYERN MUNICH'S WORLD SQUAD

Subho Paul

Subho Paul, a 17-year-old football player from Bengal, has been selected for the German club FC Bayern Munich's world squad, which includes 15 U19 prospects from 15 different countries. What makes his achievement all the more creditable is the fact that as many as 654 players from 64 nations applied for a spot on the roster. In the next few months, Subho and 14 others like him will be digitally trained by professional FC Bayern coaches with a view towards making them more attuned to the European way of training. All of that will eventually culminate in a match between the World squad and the FC Bayern U19s sometime later this year in Munich. The digital training will be led by Bayern youth coach Christopher Loch and former club captain and World Cup winner Klaus Augenthaler, who were also involved in the scouting and selection process. The initiative, which aims to provide a platform to talented players from all over the world and at the same time facilitate cultural exchange between them, is a joint effort by Bayern Munich and Volkswagen. Subho, who hails from Howrah in West Bengal, has been prolific over the past couple of seasons for Sudeva FC. In the 2019-20 campaign, he found the net 14 times in 11 matches in the AIFF Youth League. Promotion to the senior team followed soon, and Subho could score two important goals for Sudeva in their debut I-League campaign against TRAU FC and Indian Arrows.

Based on his impressive displays, he was made the captain of the side too. The youngster, who already is a vital cog in India's U17 national team, also represented India in the 2021 AFC U16 Asian Cup qualifiers, where he scored thrice in as many games.

BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL FOR REAL KASHMIR COACH David Alexander Robertson, coach of Kashmir’s famous football club Real Kashmir FC, has been honoured with British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to the community in the valley and strengthening UK-India relations, a feat he dedicated to the people of Kashmir and the team he has been engaged with. According to the list released on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, “Manager, Real Kashmir Football Club, India, receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community in Kashmir and UK-India relations.” The 52-year-old Robertson, who has been coach of Real Kashmir Football Club, has received a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the local community. “The award recognises Robertson’s outstanding contribution to the sport and the community as head coach of RKFC since January 2017,” the official list read.