P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i , m a r k i n g t h e 7 5 y e a r s o f I n d i a ' s I n d e p e n d e n c e , a d d r e s s e d t h e n a t i o n f r o m t h e f o r t i f i c a t i o n s o f Red Fort for the 9th consecutive time. In his 83 minute long speech, h e s a i d t h a t I n d i a w i l l b e a d e v e l o p e d n a t i o n i n t h e n e x t 2 5 y e a r s . H e a l s o t a l k e d a b o u t t h e f o r g o t t e n h e r o e s o f t h e c o u n t r y , p a n c h p r a n , n a a r i s h a k t i , c o r r u p t i o n a n d f a m i l y d y n a s t y , among other things. 226 3 FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE Let noble thoughts come to us from every side VOL 51 ISSUE 16 07 09 Climate emergency is as real as it gets in the U K Mayor of London Sadiq Khan receives Sitara i Pakistan award Janmashtami: Celebration of spiritual rejuvenation Apache Indian says, Commonwealth Games closing ceremony ‘biggest highlight of my career’ Continued on page 25 I N S Tarangini joins Indian Independence Day celebrations in the U K SEE PAGE 1 5 20 - 26 AUGUST 2022 Full story on page 06 Celebrating the South Asian heritage Anusha Singh A s S o u t h A s i a n H e r i t a g e M o n t h celebrates its 3rd year, the theme for 2022 is ‘Journeys of Empire’. T h e t h e m e r e f l e c t s o n m a j o r a n n i v e r s a r i e s t a k i n g p l a c e t h i s y e a r : 7 5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e independence of India, Partition, the creation of Pakistan and the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin. As the South Asian communities in the UK celebrated their heritage, history and culture, Asian Voice r e a c h e d o u t t o a f e w m e m b e r s from the community to celebrate their stories. Shortlist announced for 20th annual Asian Achievers Awards SEE PAGE 11 Dr Nisar Ul Haque P M M O D I ' S B I G R E S O L U T I O N Make India a developed nation in the next 25 years Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the audience after unfurling the national flag at Red Fort
ai Nirm al, 79, trau matised a
Prashant Sh ah is a serial entrepreneu r in life sciences and tech in which one of those com panies was acquired by a public company He is cu rrently active in seed inv esting , pro duct/ IP developm ent, ser vices, and building lab/off ice infrastructure His early career was w ith th e Strategy g roup at Accenture and he has a BEng, an MSc, in which he worked o n the Hum an Genome Program at th e S anger C entre, and an M Phil in Management from the Judg e Institute Prashant is also a General Partner in the o2h SEIS/EIS Hum an Health Fu nd T he o2h group has its head qu arters in Cambridge,U k and has nu rtured an east w est footprint encomp assing UK/ U SA and India When Prashant is not working, he likes to relax by playing football, snow boarding, boxing and reading /writing 1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in? I was born in Cambridge, UK I feel equally at home in the UK or India.
g irl, who was then und er 14, to a
PR A SH
paign of sexual abuse in d if ferent parts of the cou ntry b etw e en 1 9 75 a nd 1 9 8 6 Nirmal w as registered as a G P w i th t h e G en era l M ed ic al C o u nc i l be tw ee n 1972 and 1995 The abuse took place in various locations including
L ali tku m ar
B e i n g b o r n t o I n d i a n p a r e n t s a n d being a frequent traveller to India for work and social reasons I have seen how India has transformed over this period I also feel highly motivated to contribute to the countr y of my birth and be an active UK Citizen 2) What are your proudest achievements? The renovation of a vandalized list ed building that had been disused for 40 years into an incubator for life sci ences and technology in Cambridge It was an old English heritage beauty that had fallen into disrepair 3) What inspires you? People who dedicate themselves to o t h e r s o r t h e i n v e n t o r s a n d entrepreneurs that shape the future 4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career? Learning to think bigger 5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? My father taught me how to sur vive in the world, to have purpose and impact and not waste my time! 6) What is the best aspect about your current role? I enjoy shaping and building teams and cultures that are loving and also high performing 7) And the worst? Dealing with egos, that can’t admit their mistakes and are not generous in giving credit to others 8) What are your long term goals? To seed new ideas in life science, tech and green innovation, support idea creation in the UK and India that has meaning and impact 9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change? Do more to support the inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs in the UK , they change the world and create the wealth which helps us pay for our soci ety 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why. Mahatma Gandhi to learn from this great man, wisdom and courage CEO/Co founder o2h Group ctor Muljibh young cam Croydon, Sydenham in east L o n d o n a n d Cw m b r a n i n Wales D u r i n g t h e t i m e o f offending, Nirmal was a GP in a practice in the south We l s h t o w n T h e v i c t i m , who cannot be named for legal reasons, was known to Ni r m a l b u t w a s n o t a patient I n r e l a t i o n t o h e r, Ni r m a l a d m i t t e d e i g h t counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 y e a r s a n d fo u r c o u n t s o f gross indecency with a girl under the age of 14 years In addition to this, he was also convicted of a single count of indecent assault against another young girl he knew A n j i e B o w e n , S e n i o r Cr o w n P r o s e c u t o r a t t h e Crown Prosecution Ser vice’s R a p e a n d S e r i o u s S e x u a l O f fe n c e s u n i t , s a i d : ‘Lalitbhai Nirmal carried out a sustained campaign of sex u a l a b u s e , w h i l s t h i d i n g b e h i n d a v e n e e r o f r e s p e c t a b i l i t y a s a d o c t o r and trusted local GP His v u l n e r a b l e v i c t i m s h a v e been left devastated by the h a r m f u l i m p a c t o f h i s offending on their lives ‘One of Nirmal’s victims endured appalling abuse at h i s h a n d s fo r a d e c a d e , throughout a large portion of her childhood ’ Reports were f irst made to police in October 2019 After that, in August 2020, the sex offender was inter viewed under caution and he was charged in May the following year Ni r m a l , o f M a l h a m Close, Friern Barnet, north L o n d o n , d e n i e d b u t w a s c o n v i c t e d o f i n d e c e n t assault DS Mark Morris, from South East BCU CID, said: ‘I w o u l d l i ke t o e x t e n d m y heartfelt thanks and grati tude to the victims in this c a s e , w h o h a v e b e e n e x t r e m e l y c o u r a g e o u s i n c o m i n g fo r w a rd t o p o l i c e and recounting the trauma of the years of abuse they suffered because of Nirmal Met police dropped 40 per cent of domestic burglary cases after 24 hours
Last year, nearly 40 per cent of domestic bu rglaries were a ba n do n ed b y th e Metro politan Po lice withi n 24 ho urs, acco rding to th e data as ses se d by th e T h e Times On the day the report was made, Britain's biggest police force “screened out” 1 6 , 1 5 0 o f 4 0 , 4 8 5 c a s e s , meaning off icers had decid ed quickly that there were no further fruitful lines of inquir y The same day, the force also closed 10 per cent of robber y reports, more than 3 7 p e r c e n t o f v e h i c l e offences, 29 per cent of bike thefts and a quarter of cases of personal theft Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabular y, said off icers across England and Wales were not follow ing the basic routine such as gathering CCT V evidence, conducting house to house inquiries and keeping vic tims informed A r e p o r t b y He r M a j e s t y ’ s I n s p e c t o r a t e o f C o n s t a b u l a r y a n d F i r e & Rescue Ser vices (HMICFRS) found that just 6 per cent of robberies and 4 per cent of thefts led to a charge It h a s b e e n o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e p r o b l e m s w i t h policing extend far beyond staff ing issues, considering the recent scandals, includ i n g t h e r e s p o n s e t o t h e Sarah Everard murder case, that have exposed worr ying c u l t u r a l i s s u e s i n s o m e forces Considering the crisis, it is believed that there is a need of Royal Commission to identify how policing in Britain can be reformed so that it can best deliver on t h e p u b l i c ’ s e x p e c t a t i o n s and win back public trust Half avoid telling GP of cancer sign More babies born out of wedlock for the first time Fo r t h e f i rs t t i m e s i nc e record s beg an, the num ber of babies born to m others who are not married or in a civ il partnership has su r p as s ed m o th e rs w h o a re married There were 320,713 live births registered outside a marriage or civil partner ship last year, according to t h e O f f i c e fo r Na t i o n a l St a t i s t i c s , w h i c h s t a r t e d recording the numbers in 1845 Dr James Tucker, head of health analysis at the ONS, said: “The number of live births registered out side marriage or civil part nership exceeded the num b e r o f b i r t h s r e g i s t e r e d w i t h i n m a r r i a g e fo r t h e f irst time in 2021 This fol lows the long term trend of d e c l i n i n g m a r r i a g e r a t e s and increasing numbers of cohabiting couples seen in recent decades Ho w e v e r, c a u t i o n should be taken in inter preting today’s numbers as we don’t yet know the full impact of the pandemic on marriage and civil partner ship statistics ” Sham marriages dodging justice H u nd re d s o f p eo p le w h o h ave exploited a post Brexit resid ency scheme by using s h a m m a rri a g es h a v e no t been pro secuted and contin u e to liv e here T h e E U S e t t l e m e n t Scheme, which was intro duced in 2018, enabled citi z e n s f r o m t h e Eu r o p e a n Union to remain in the UK with their spouses and fami lies after the countr y for mally left the bloc Un d e r t h e s c h e m e , spouses from any countr y were eligible which required families to be resident in the UK by December 2020 and apply for permission to stay All proposed marriages where one of the partners l a c ke d i m m i g r a t io n s t a t u s are referred to the Home Off ice for investigation and since the policy began, it has found 365 marriages to be shams
Accord ing t o the re se arch, h alf o f the a dults wh o have i de nti f ied a possi ble sy mp to m of ca ncer d o no t con t a ct t he i r G P wi t hi n si x months O n l y 4 8 p e r c e n t o f those who had experienced a “red flag” symptom i n c l u d i n g c o u g h i n g u p blood, unexplained weight loss or a new or unusual lump got in touch with their GP within six months of doing so, a YouGov poll of 2,468 people for Cancer Research UK found The sur vey also indi c a t e d t h a t p e o p l e w h o belong to higher socioeco nomic backgrounds were more likely to secure an appointment after contact i n g t h e i r G P, a n d m o r e likely to go back to their GP if the cancer symptom persisted with Keith Vaz A N T SH A H
02 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022 MORTGAGESRemortgagesBuytoLetResidential ALFINANCIA PROTECTIONIncomeProtectionCriticalIllnessLifeInsurance SERVICES mortgage@majorestate.co77HighStreet,Wealdston Call: 020 Mortgage8424Ad Dinesh S C Please conta om ~ majorestate.com ne, Harrow, HA3 5DQ 4 8686 / 07956 810647 dviser Shonchhatra act: A&E patients wait 12 hours as health crisis deepens A mid the w orst crisis in the history of the NHS, nearly 1, 000 patients a d ay are h av ing to end ure 1 2 h our waits i n o v er w h e lm e d A &E departments Me d i c a l l e a d e r s a r e accusing the Conser vative Party leadership candidates of ignoring the “demise of t h e h e a l t h s e r v i c e ” , a s monthly statistics laid bare an unprecedented collapse in NHS performance Within the four hour target last month, only 71 per cent of patients in emer g e n c y d e p a r t m e n t s w e r e s e e n He a l t h c h i e f s a r e e x p e c t i n g t h a t f i g u r e t o deteriorate this winter Last month, a total of 29,317 patients waited for at least 12 hours to be admitted from A&E departments R i c h a r d Mu r r a y, c h i e f executive of the King’s Fund healthcare think tank, said: “ T h e i n t e n s e p r e s s u r e o n NHS and social care ser vices has barely featured in the Conser vative Party leader ship race, yet the new prime minister will inherit a health and care system in a state of steady crisis " 79 year old former GP sent for 15 years for sexual abuse Form er d o
Indian Independence and Her Children
Challenges India facing to fulfil the pressing needs Are we really woke?
It has been observed that the problems with policing extend far beyond staffing issues, considering the recent scan dals, including the response to the Sarah Everard murder case, that have exposed worrying cultural issues in some forces It is time the force pulls up the socks, as shaking off distrust and unworthiness will be difficult with passing time
03AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www asian
Thanos (a fictional character by Marvel), why is free speech still rare? With so many uncertainties in life already, how can basic rights be still under attack standing on western soil? 33 years a man has lived in hiding in fear of losing his life, how are we not shameful of not being able to protect a man better? In the era of being ‘woke’ (therefore being diplomatically and politically correct sometimes to a fault), Rushdie’s courage should be an example But is the world feigning to be righteous and courageous actually getting more and more intolerant? voice com Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you Wal t Whitman
The Guardian reported how one of the women prosecuted for attending a vigil for Sarah Everard is suing the Metropolitan Police for claiming the force breached her rights when it issued her with a fine and conviction She was charged with “partici pating in a gathering of more than two people in a public out door place”, but the group who attempted to organise a vigil established that the Metropolitan Police had “misinterpreted the law”
exceptions Marwa Mohammed, a mum was left terrified after a serving Met Police officer made a series of creepy comments includ ing telling her he would love to conduct a search on her PC Andrew Turner made inappropriate remarks about 28 year old's body, told her he "really liked" her and asked if she had “enough Nando's for two” He also told the mum he "would have loved to conduct a search on her in custody" in a phone call that she recorded because she was so sickened by his conduct The officer was slapped with a final warning after a mis conduct panel ruled his actions were "inappropriate and fell far below the standards expected" Though this could be one of the rare cases, but Everard murder makes it seem more common than not
In March, the High Court found that the force had wrongly claimed Covid restrictions made a vigil illegal and that its deci sions were “not in accordance with the law” because it allowed
Many of you will s ee o n I ndian Independence Day wis hes to Indians for Hap py Indep endence Day This is wrong You're welcome world is the greeting You're welcome for the largest volunteer army in the history of the world that fought for western democracy and liberalism against tyranny and hopelessness in a conflict not of her making You're welcome for Mahatma Gandhi of whom it was said “I believe, when we most needed it, he offered the world a way out of madness " through non violence You're wel come for the world's largest democracy on a day when theocrats laud attacks on a writer and communists perse cute thousands of Muslims You're welcome for the pharmacy of the world which provides the vaccines and the medicines for the rest of us You're welcome for a secular liberal constitution under whose sky one in six of humanity sleep You're welcome for a country that showed the highest offices can be held by a minority faith time and again a feat few in the West have managed despite advertising their credentials relentlessly to be capable of it You’re welcome for the largest most diverse population in the world defying all logic and predictions and basically keeping their act together and not messing things up for everyone It ain't easy, it's a miracle Yes, yes, do comment about the imperfections but leave it till tomorrow; today, just celebrate in admiration So, for all humanity Happy Independence Day Switching from the birth of a nation to the death of one of her sons The words of the Chairman of this major bank of its former Co CEO are telling "Anshu Jain played a key role in expanding Deutsche Bank's position in our global business with companies and institutional investors Today, this is of strategic importance not just for Deutsche Bank, but for Europe as a financial centre," Alexander Wynaendts, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank "Europe as a financial centre" There was a time if you said an Indian would be CEO of a one of the most important European Banks, let alone President of a major American one, you'd be laughed at Today, were an Indian not in con tention to be leader of a major company or country, it would be surprising Happy Independence Day India for 15th Aug your sons and daughters continue to do you proud from the nurses to the corporate titans the new soldiers replacing the old who went to foreign shores and were the pride of the nation For me it was his continued philanthropy for causes global and Indian that was inspiring He never forgot his roots They are not long, th e days o f wine and roses: Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream And finally, one more political observation I saw pic tures of Rishi Sunak and contrasted hustings with Indian audiences (preaching to the converted) where he is mobbed l i k e a r o c k s t a r u n s u r p r i s i n g l y a n d m o r e m a i n s t r e a m Conservative Party audiences non Indian origin, folded hands, seated, pearls and twinsets That’s where the battle is The battle is also in specifics 10 point plans should state not just 1 I will reduce energy bills but 1 I will reduce energy bills to their average of the past decade by enforcing a cap on companies What you will do and how you will do it That’s psychology And nine more on the things the Conservative Membership are most concerned about such as 2 Energy security 3 Defence 4 Law and Order 5 Control on spending 6 A smaller State 7 Border control 8 The Union 9 Winning the election and keeping the red wall seats 10 NHS efficien c y a n d t h r o w i n U K ’ s p l a c e i n t h e w o r l d t h r o u g h NATO/UN/US alliance projecting significance on the world stage What will you do, how will you do it, with specific numbers Alpesh Patel
British American author Sir Salman Rushdie’s, who was born in India, was attacked in Western New York on Friday, stabbed fatally To everyone ’ s relief he is recovering now Rushdie who has had a fatwa issued against his name by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader then, after Rushdie’s book
20 26 August 2022
Thought for the week Political Sketchbook Met Police failings a worrying trend
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech from the Red Fort on Monday described independent India's 75 year journey as one of ups and downs Praising those who fought for India's freedom, the Prime Minister pointed to the coun try's achievements even as he acknowledged the challenges of fulfilling the pressing needs of an ever aspirational society National pride and self esteem were dominant themes as he urged the country to rid itself of the need to look for approval from abroad Asking the question about how long India could go on living on 'certificates' from abroad, the Prime Minister wondered why India could not develop its own 'markers ' Though PM Modi provided no context to these remarks, his comments could indicate his unhappiness with international criticism directed at his government on governance and human rights issues Successive Prime Ministers have used their independence day speech as a stock taking of their gov ernment's record and as an insight to what the nation might face With two years left for the general election, the Prime Minister was in an expansive mood, taking up issues of women's safety, energy self reliance, celebrating the diversity of India, the need to respect all languages and promising an all out war against corruption and parivarvad or the perni cious influence of dynasty The Prime Minister asked the peo ple to give him their 'blessings as the battle against corruption enters a decisive phase where even the big fish will not be spared Even as he dwelt on governance issues, PM Modi laced his speech with a political appeal The Prime Minister said that he had "dedicated" his entire tenure to fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi's vision of empowering the last man in queue He also remembered the sacrifices made by revolutionaries during his speech, like Mangal P a n d e y , T a t y a T o p e , B h a g a t S i n g h , S u k h d e v , R a j g u r u , Chandrashekhar Azad, Ashfaqulla Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil He also praised women freedom fighters, saying, "Every Indian is filled with pride when they remember the strength of the women of India, be it Rani Laxmibai, Jhalkari Bai, Chennamma, or Begum Hazrat Mahal " PM Modi assert ed that India must become a developed nation in the next 25 years "I urge the youth to dedicate the next 25 years of their lives for the nation's development; we will work towards the development of the whole of humanity," he said The Prime Minister noted that the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign is an example of the entire nation coming together to celebrate the spirit of India The nation s enthusiasm for Tiranga could not have been imagined by many It symbolises the nation's reawakening," he asserted He also called out the prevalence of misogyny and emphasised on the importance of respecting women "A distortion has crept in our conduct and we at times insult women We can take a pledge to get rid of this in our behaviour," PM Modi said, adding that pledging support to 'Nari Shakti' is a must Taking a veiled dig at corruption, he said that on one hand, there are people who don't have a place to stay; on the other, there are people who don't have space to keep their stolen goods, He also said that when India gained independence, there were many who doubted the country's development potential However, despite several challenges, nothing could hamper the zeal of India's citizens, he said PM Modi was silent about his promises he made in 2016 to double the income of farmers by the time the country cele brated its 75th independence day However, he did lay out his vision for development in the next 25 years, the 100th year of independence in 2047 Details of how the country would reach the objective were scanty, apparently kept for another day The Prime Minister underlined that India got a stable government after many decades, resulting in speedy decision making There are little in his 82 minute speech about the strategic challenges before the country in the wake of ten sions at the borders and turbulence in the international order following the Russian invasion of Ukraine To achieve its full potential, India must not only be able to overcome many obstacles that hold it back but also sail with the rest of the world in meeting the benchmark of democratic rights, equi table distribution of wealth and access to health and educa tion India might not need approval from other countries, but it needs to do better on rights and freedom, welfare and jus tice, growth and development, and in building a more egali tarian society Some of the challenges India faces are lack of access to safe drinking water and agrarian catastrophe India’s farm economy is in turmoil An estimated 260 million people work in the agriculture sector making a large number of India’s population dependent on the sector Despite the govern ment’s implementation of the new MSP regime, profitable remuneration is eluding farmers Another challenge is unem ployment After the pandemic a large number of people were rendered jobless Bureaucratic sloth coupled with slow settle ment of cases in India’s courts is another scourge Poor polic ing is another pressing issue to be fixed Asian Voice is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Units 207 208, Harrow Business Centre, 429 433 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 4HN Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup com Website: www abplgroup com
With Navratri, Dhanteras, Diwali a month away, South Asian people who tend to keep jewelleries and gold at home, are being advised to not keep such valuables at home Gangs have been found to be behind brutal attacks, which has left many families shocked and psychologically scarred for months But as the community turns to the Met Police for assis tance and more of community support, The Times has released a data, suggesting, last year, nearly 40 per cent of domestic bur glaries were abandoned by the Metropolitan Police within 24 hours
The Satanic Verses came out in 1988 and was considered blas phemous by Muslims However, the author recently said that he lived a fairly normal life, as the fatwa was an old one What is fatwa? The Washington Post reported according to Lama Abu Odeh, a Georgetown University Law Centre pro fessor, in Islamic law, a fatwa is a “legal opinion on a matter that is raised by a constituent” to a mufti, a Muslim legal authority “It's neither a judge nor a lawyer, but a person who issues legal opinions,” she said Jake Kerridge in an article in The Daily Telegraph wrote how The Satanic Verses would never be published today “In the 33 years since The Satanic Verses came out, however, there is an increasing suspicion of satirical comedy as an appropriate means of telling the truth about the world Thus, The Satanic Verses would be never published today, particularly in an industry that is becoming increasingly risk averse “Indeed, publishers are terrified of causing offence in any way nowadays, and if their authors are accused of transgress ing against today’s orthodoxies by the moral guardians who congregate on social media, the likeliest response is a stream of apologies or, in some cases, the dropping of the author,” says Kerridge There are many questions revolving around this attack, that left the knighted author fighting for his life at 75 First how was such a major security breach even possible when a public event allowed a man to enter the premises with a knife unchecked? Has America not learnt lessons from the hundreds of gun crimes it faces every year that kills so many inno cents? Batool Subeiti in Prersstv wrote, “Is it a question of America being unable to protect him, given the fact that he has lived most of his life under tight protection? Or it is the US facilitating the attack, to get rid of the man, and then blame the Islamic Republic for it? It is important to ask why Rushdie’s security was relaxed by the American authorities ” Second, in 21st century, when the world is so different from the 80s, having gone through devastating events such as t h e C o v i d 1 9 p a n d e m i c , t h a t w i p e d o f f g e n e r a t i o n s l i k e
Games volunteer told him to move as they "didn’t want disabled people in the pic ture" Dr Darke also reported ly alleged the area he moved to was only empty because other disabled people had been "cleared" from their seats so as not to block the Birmingham 2022 branding behind them Games organ isers are investigating the allegations D r D a r k e , w h o attended the event with his wife, reportedly said he was "shocked" by the incident and had "tar nished" his experience of t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h Games He runs Outside Centre, a charity which puts on art projects for disabled people Dr Darke h o p e s G a m e s o r g a n i s e r s would be ‘held accountable' A s p o k e s p e r s o n f o r B i r m i n g h a m 2 0 2 2 s a i d : “This is the first time this h a s b e e n r a i s e d w i t h u s Now we have been made aware of this, we will con duct a thorough investiga tion and reach out to the spectator to communicate our findings ” (File photo) Woman suffers after husband stabbed her in front of children
F i ref i g h te rs w e re a t t h e Saffron L ane hom e which has been occup ied by a fam ily for more th an 60 years for sev eral h ours after the re si d e nt , a 64 y ear ol d wo man, fled to safety T he f am i ly h o m e i n L e ic es te r was overcom e by fire and its kitch en w ind ow blo wn i n wh en a blaze after a neigh bour's garden spread rap idly out of co ntrol last nigh t T h e b l a z e a l s o c a u s e d severe damage to the neigh bour's home and a gas leak which saw 25 properties in the immediate vicinity evac u a t e d N o i n j u r i e s w e r e r e p o r t e d , h o w e v e r p e o p l e w e r e u n a b l e t o r e t u r n t o t h e i r h o u s e s f o r s e v e r a l hours and a number of them were offered refuge in the nearby leisure centre The woman was helped to safety by another neigh bour as the flames quickly spread up the side of her home, reaching the roof and blowing in her kitchen win d o w H e r f a m i l y s a i d t h e blind was down at the time a n d p r o t e c t e d h e r f r o m shards of flying glass but t h a t t o o q u i c k l y " d i s i n t e grated" when it caught fire T h e p o r c h a r e a a n d f r o n t g a t e l e a d i n g t o t h e woman's back garden were d e s t r o y e d , l e a v i n g o n l y a charred timber frame in its place Such was the scale of the fire that an upstairs bed room was also severely dam aged, while the roof was left scorched The incident prompted a wide emergency response t h a t c o n t i n u e d i n t o t h e early hours after the blaze l e d t o a g a s l e a k Leicestershire Police assist ed the fire service response as 25 properties had to be evacuated A y l e s t o n e L e i s u r e Centre was used as a refuge point for people waiting to be let back into their homes T h e c i t y c o u n c i l s a i d i t h e l p e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 0 0 residents
Photo courtesy Omaze co uk
Pervert made indecent conversation with an undercover cop posing as schoolgirl Paed ophile Rajinder Kumar to l d th e 1 2 ye ar o l d h e w ould 'ki ss her in all th e naug hty p laces' after bad gering her with requests to see her 'body' But the 50 year old mar ried glass cutter, from the Black Country, was unaware he was actually speaking to an undercover police officer, posing as a schoolgirl called Megan, secretly hunting for sex offenders online Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how Kumar's offending was exposed dur ing an operation carried out by Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit H e w a s h a n d e d a n eight month sentence, sus pended for 21 months, as well as a 50 day rehabilita t i o n a c t i v i t y r e q u i r e m e n t and £250 costs The defen d a n t m u s t s i g n t h e s e x o f f e n d e r s r e g i s t e r f o r 1 0 years H i s w i f e o f 2 2 y e a r s continues to stand by him a l t h o u g h s h e i s ' n o t v e r y happy' with his offending Mr Cadwaladr added: "It's extremely fortunate for him that she has decided not to e n d t h e m a r r i a g e b u t t o stand by him " A job is also 'still available' to him at the O l d b u r y f i r m , w h e r e h e works
Man from Leicestershire wins £3mn house in Cornwall U t t am Pa r m a r , who is fr om Ashby, is the new owner o f a fo ur bedroo m £3 ,00 0,000 hou se t hat overlo oks the C amel Est u ar y in C o r n wa l l I t w as t he t op pr ize u p fo r grabs in t he latest O m az e M il l i o n P o u n d Ho u se Draw Mr Par mar, had entered every draw o n t he fu ndr aising p l at fo rm s i nc e it l a u n ch ed in 2 0 2 0 He s ai d t h e Co rnwall ho use was his f av o u r i t e o f al l t h e p r iz e s, a dd in g t ha t " p at i en c e r e al l y is a virtu e, as I've now won m y own p iece of par adise" When Omaze first contacted Mr Parmar to tell him he had won, he was in hospital, so rushed back to find out if he had w o n t h e g r a n d p r i z e house P a r m a r r e p o r t e d l y said, "We were so excited that we might have won the grand prize, we called our son Aaron to see if the w i n n i n g e n t r y c o d e matched ours when he triple checked the num bers matched, we must've b u r s t h i s e a r d r u m s s c r e a m i n g d o w n t h e p h o n e " M r P a r m a r a d d e d , " W e ' v e h o l i d a y e d i n C o r n w a l l o v e r t h e y e a r s a n d always thought it would be incredi ble to have a place here and now we d o W e ' r e s t i l l p i n c h i n g o u r selves ” Aside from making Mr Parmar and his wife, Raki, m u l t i m i l l i o n a i r e s , the draw also raised £1 million for Blood Cancer UK A c c o r d i n g t o Parmar, "We have a large extended fam i l y s o n o d o u b t they'll all be asking to have their next b i r t h d a y p a r t i e s h e r e ! We're not sure if we'll rent, sell or live in it yet it's the best dilemma we've ever had! Whatever we decide, it's a life changing win for the whole family!”
04 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022 NORTH/MIDLANDS
Leicester fire evacuated people from 25 properties
Adil B utt was sentenc ed to a hospital order earlier this week, followin g the 'fren zi ed and vici ous' attac k at t he i r f a m i l y h om e i n Crumpsall, i n outski rts of M an che st er The 34 yea r old stabbed his wi fe of 12 years , as she fix ed a vac uum at the top of the stai rs , next to their ki ds, aged three and four G r a b b i n g a l a r g e kitchen knife that she had been using, he inflicted 27 s e p a r a t e w o u n d s t o t h e front of her neck, several more to the sides of her neck, head, back and defen sive wounds on her hands as she battled to stop him
In a victim personal state ment, the woman described the hell that she has gone through since the incident S h e d e s c r i b e d t h e attack as the 'worst day of her life' as she believed she w a s g o i n g t o d i e , b e f o r e e x p l a i n i n g h o w h a r d t h e incident had been on their children Butt lied to the emer gency services after his wife c a l l e d f o r a n a m b u l a n c e , t e l l i n g t h e c o n t r o l r o o m that she had stabbed herself and he’d tried to stop her from taking her own life following the attack at 1pm on 27 January, 2020 S e n t e n c i n g B u t t , o f Saxelby Drive, Judge Potter s a i d t h e v i c t i m w a s “ e x t r e m e l y f o r t u n a t e ” t o have not been killed in the attack (F le photo)
Photo courtesy Omaze co uk
Wheelchair user moved from seat? D r P a u l D a rk e, a wh ee lc h a i r u s er wh o wa s a ba to n b e ar er b ef o r e t h e Co mmo nwealth Games b eg an h a s r ep o rt ed ly a ll eg ed th at di s ab l ed p eo ple were moved from th ei r s eats a h ead o f a medal ceremony for the table tennis to urnament at the NEC on Au gu st 8 Commonwealth Games officials are to investigate Dr Paul's allegation The 60 year old said he moved from the seat where he watched the live sport to an empty area where other disabled people had been sitting to get a better view of t h e m e d a l s b e i n g h a n d e d o v e r B u t h e c l a i m e d a
05AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
GESE: Graded Examinations in Spoken English A speaking and listening in English test available at levels A1, A2 and B1 Tests available seven days a week at centres UK wide Provisional result received by 9am the next day and certificates sent within seven days
Secure English Language Tests (SELTs) approved for applications to UKVI for visas, visa renewals, British Citizenship andScanSettlementtheQRcode or visit trinitySELT.co.uk to book your Trinity SELT test UK Visas and Immigration Great experience! Everything was on time. As soon as you enter, staff will assist you and take you to your exam room and registration process. Fatima George Alagiah encourages South Asians in London to use the free NHS bowel cancer screening kit
T h e BB C b ro adc a s te r, George Alagiah is supp ort ing th e NHS London life saving camp ai gn to enco ur age more So uth Asian peo p le to use their free NHS b o we l c an c e r sc r ee ni n g h ome tes t, which checks if they cou ld have bo wel can cer S p e a k i n g o f h i s o w n experience of bowel cancer G e o r g e s a i d : “ I f c a u g h t early, especially with some thing like bowel cancer, it’s very treatable ” He explains “I know a lot of people are worried about going to the doctor, but I want people to know these simple tests are done in private at home ” G e o r g e k n o w s h o w important it is to normalise conversations about bowel health “I understand people may feel embarrassed talk ing about bowel and stool but this test is easy to do but m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y c o u l d save your life ” The campaign features Dr Bu Hayee, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Kings C o l l e g e , w h o u r g e s Londoners who have been s e n t a f r e e b o w e l c a n c e r screening kit to complete and return it “Doing the test is quick and easy ” He goes on to say “Bowel can cer is one of the most com m o n c a n c e r s I n t h e U K , 43,000 people are diagnosed with it and over 16,500 peo ple die from it each year more than 45 a day ” “Screening which you do in private at home can help prevent bowel cancer or find it at an early stage w h e n i t ’ s e a s i e r t o t r e a t Those who complete bowel c a n c e r s c r e e n i n g a r e 2 5 % less likely to die of bowel cancer “ T h a t ’ s w h y t h e N H S sends out free bowel cancer s c r e e n i n g k i t s t o u s e a t home They are for people w i t h n o s y m p t o m s a n d most people do not require any further investigations S o i f y o u a r e s e n t a k i t , please use it ” About 98 out of 100 peo p l e w h o u s e t h e i r N H S bowel cancer screening kit need no further tests Bowel cancer screening saves lives For further infor m a t i o n , p l e a s e v i s i t h t t p s : / / w w w h e a l t h y l o n don org/BCS Risk of skin cancer increases with heatwave As the UK reco rded its h i gh e s t e ve r te mp e ra t u re o f 40 2 C l as t month, as climate scien tists stressed the h eat wave was no t a one off and h igh temp eratures were likely to bec ome more frequent N o w m e d i c s a r e warning that the chang ing climate will cast a long s h a d o w s h o u l d p e o p l e spend more time in the sun and have greater exposure t o U V r a d i a t i o n E x p e r t s h a v e s a i d h i g h e r s u m m e r temperatures caused by the climate crisis may fuel an increase in cases of poten t i a l l y d e a d l y s k i n c a n c e r s such as melanoma Julia Newton Bishop, a c l i n i c i a n s c i e n t i s t l e a d i n g t h e m e l a n o m a r e s e a r c h group at the University of Leeds, said: “Melanoma is caused essentially by sun burn, and this weather is so e x t r e m e t h a t I a m c o n cerned that sunburns will increase and later so will the incidence of melanoma ”
According to data from Cancer Research UK, skin cancer death rates among men in the UK have more t h a n t r i p l e d s i n c e t h e 1 9 7 0 s , w i t h i n c r e a s e s a l s o r e c o r d e d a m o n g women It is thought the rise may be down to a n u m b e r o f f a c t o r s i n c l u d i n g g r e a t e r s u n exposure due to package holidays, with Michelle Mitchell, the chief exec utive of Cancer Research UK, warning that getting s u n b u r n j u s t o n c e e v e r y two years can triple the risk of skin cancer K a r i s B e t t s , a s e n i o r health information manag er at Cancer Research UK, s a i d i t w a s t o o e a r l y t o k n o w t h e i m p a c t o f t h e recent heat waves on skin cancer cases as cancer usu a l l y t a k e s m a n y y e a r s t o develop Roofs in UK hospitals may collapse any time M a ri a C a ul f i e l d, h e a lt h m in iste r ha s revea led the s i tu a t i on i n a wr i t t e n an swer to a parliam entary q ue s t i on a s k e d b y t h e Li beral Dem oc rats’ health s po k e s pe r s o n , D a i s y C ooper She said surveys carried out by the NHS found that 34 buildings at 16 different health trusts contained a c e r t a i n t y p e o f c o n c r e t e that is not fit to last M s C a u l f i e l d ’ s a d m i s s i o n m e a n s m o r e N H S facilities are at risk from reinforced autoclaved aer ated concrete (RAAC) than previously thought A f f e c t e d h o s p i t a l s include Hinchingbrooke in C a m b r i d g e s h i r e , F r i m l e y Park in Surrey and Airedale in Yorkshire Ms Caulfield said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has set a s i d e £ 1 1 0 m “ t o m i t i g a t e the immediate risk” In her written response t o M s C o o p e r , s h e s a i d trusts would receive £575m more to help, but several of the affected trusts say it would be cheaper to build a new hospital than rebuild one According to the DHSC spokesperson, “By 2030 we will have 40 new hospitals which will provide state of the art facilities to ensure w o r l d c l a s s p r o v i s i o n o f h e a l t h c a r e f o r N H S patients and staff by replac i n g o u t d a t e d i n f r a s t r u c ture ”
Vik Kainth
Manny Kang Dr Uzma Haque and Dr Nisar Ul Haque
Dr Bal Sidhu with family
C E L E B R A T I N G T H E S O U T H A S I A N H E R I T A G E Continued from page 1
06 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
The advice Dr Bal has for the South Asian community is a per fect doctor’s advice “It’s my duty to promote ‘prevention is better than cure ’ It’s important we all a t t e n d o u r r o u t i n e s c r e e n i n g appointments, as picking some thing up early saves lives We can a l l l i v e l o n g e r a n d h a v e f e w e r problems if we take responsibility for our own health ” A legacy in healthcare: Dr Nisar Ul Haqu e and Dr Uzma H aqu e For Dr Nisar, childhood was a time filled with happiness and sur rounded by family and friends He moved to England at the age of 27 after qualifying for Medicine He was curious about what England had to offer While, he enjoyed his time in the country, he missed his family and couldn’t visit them as often as he wanted On his inspi r a t i o n t o p u r s u e M e d i c i n e , h e s a y s , “ M y f a t h e r w a s m y r o l e model as he was also a doctor I used to spend my holidays with h i m , v i s i t i n g a n d w o r k i n g i n deprived villages around the inner S i n d h d i s t r i c t s w h i c h I r e a l l y enjoyed So, from a very young age, I had made up my mind to study Medicine ” While his father inspired his career in Medicine, it was Dr Nisar who inspired that of his daughter, Dr Uzma Haque Talking about her father’s influ ence on her career, Dr Uzma said, “He has always encouraged me and if it wasn’t for his insistence, I probably wouldn’t have realised my potential I love the way he is so proud when he hears what I’m involved with at work ” She pro m o t e d s a f e t y p r a c t i c e s d u r i n g C O V I D a n d a t t e n d e d s e v e r a l roadshows in town centres and religious sites, as well as made TV appearances and was interviewed on radio programmes A bittersweet journey to the W est: Dr Asad Khan R e c e n t l y , D r A s a d K h a n shared his South Asian heritage story on Twitter and it was one b i t t e r s w e e t t a l e A s a d t a l k e d about his father’s arrival in the UK from India with £3 in his pocket and his family’s journey in the country over the years The high light of the thread is a side by side picture of his father holding him as a newborn and Asad holding his newborn son, 35 years later He talks about both his grandfathers’ death and how he never knew either of them, and goes on to tell the story of his parents’ dream to ‘get the best specialist medical t r a i n i n g p o s s i b l e s o t h a t t h e y could return to India & serve the poor & needy’ He followed in their footsteps, but ended up stay ing in the UK Asad has family in all three countries: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh His family, divid ed by borders, represents another t r a g i c l e g a c y o f p a r t i t i o n C u r r e n t l y , d u e t o t h e t e n s i o n s between the countries his wife and daughter are unable to get visas for India and Asad fears that they may never be able to see his frail parents again A l t h o u g h t h e m i g r a t i o n o f South Asians to the UK goes back m a n y c e n t u r i e s , n u m b e r s g r e w significantly during the 50s, 60s a n d 7 0 s M a n y t r a v e l l e d h e r e directly from South Asia, whilst others (known as ‘twice migrants’) came through countries that they had settled in throughout Africa Whilst some families made their own choice to move to the UK, some had no other alternative but to leave the country they knew as h o m e T h i s i n c l u d e d a l m o s t 60,000 Asians who were expelled from Uganda in 1972 and had to rebuild their lives in the UK
A fam ily has been left 'gutted' after th eir g ran was refused a visa for a w ed d i ng b ec au s e th e Ho m e Office think sh e won't 'g o back hom e' Civil engineer Khadim Hayat, 28, from London, has been told his gran Fatima Hayat, 82, will miss his brother Fahim's wedding at the end of September She will also miss Khadim's MA in Civil Engineering gradua t i o n f r o m L o n d o n S o u t h b a n k University in October The family have not seen their farm loving grandma since 2019 after the pan demic with the Taliban takeover m a k i n g i t t o o d i f f i c u l t t o v i s i t Afghanistan F a t i m a " n e v e r w a n t e d t o come" to the UK and has not even visited since they moved 20 years ago The engineer moved to East London from Afghanistan after his parents left Pakistan for the UK in 1994 after fleeing the Soviet invasion K h a d i m s a i d t h i s r e p l y a m o u n t e d t o a n a c c u s a t i o n o f "dishonesty" He added: "They are saying I am not a person of good character, that I am lying What is an 82 year old going to do here? I am really upset It was so much effort to do this " After writing to his local MP Stella Creasy, Khadim learned he would be unable to appeal He wanted to raise awareness about the lack of appeals process to help other families facing the same sit uation His family includes doc tors, business owners, an accoun tant, and a scientist working in UK health security among their rank Dr Khan with family
Rep resenting his roots thro ugh his art: Vik Kainth Vik Kainth, a Punjabi Hindu i l l u s t r a t i o n a r t i s t w i t h r o o t s i n India, feels that, “Heritage itself is an important thing to consider, where we come from and how it moulds our future ” According to him his art plays a major role in all that he has learned about his cul ture and heritage, “I feel like I had to learn a lot about my heritage and culture, so being that I learnt a l o t o f i t t h r o u g h m y a r t a n d research for the pieces I made!” Vik’s work majorly includes mod e r n i z e d t r a d i t i o n a l I n d i a n a r t W h e n a s k e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f inculcating his heritage into his art, he said, “I believe I am able to represent our people in a majestic way, with respect and by telling the truest untold stories using visual imagery Females in our communi ty are a big part to that, and I hope that is evident in my work where a lot of it revolves around the female m a h a r a n i a e s t h e t i c ” F o r V i k , whose roots felt confusing as he was growing up, he had to learn a lot on his own through his art He started out with illustrating a lot of H i n d u g o d s a n d g o d d e s s e s a n d Sikh guru ji artworks, going into celebrity portraits etc He grew more into himself as he went into doing royal style maharaja, maha rani portraits and is now at a point o f d o i n g m o r e o r i g i n a l w o r k s Having worked with Marvel on Ms Marvel is one of Vik’s recent achievements and what made the c o m m i s s i o n e n g r o s s i n g f o r h i m was the show not losing the true feeling of the culture and religious contexts throughout His excite ment was not limited to working w i t h M a r v e l A c c o r d i n g t o V i k , “Most artists, choreographers and m u s i c i a n s w h o w o r k e d o n t h e show were South Asian and that was amazing to know, we are all part of something so huge today ” The art of giv ing : M anny Kang M a n i n d e r “ M a n n y ” K a n g , a d i e h a r d W o l v e r h a m p t o n Wanderers supporter has shown unmatched dedication in raising funds for Dementia While he has cycled for miles, and organized sleepouts and participated in vari ous other activities in order to raise funds, it was his unique idea of ‘Samosa Saturday’ that caught p e o p l e ’ s u n d i v i d e d a t t e n t i o n According to Manny, his faith has been a major driving factor for his work Sharing is a key pillar of the Sikh faith, “This isn’t just about giving money, but time, words and actions too which create positive c o n s e q u e n c e s ” , e x p l a i n s M a n n y He considers himself to be fortu nate enough to be blessed all the basic needs and a healthy body and wants to help those who do not have the access to the same neces s i t i e s T a l k i n g a b o u t ‘ S a m o s a S a t u r d a y ’ , M a n n y s a y s , “ T h e biggest fundraising event I’ve held is Samosa Saturday, which invites W o l v e r h a m p t o n W a n d e r e r s F C supporters to donate to Dementia U K i n e x c h a n g e f o r a s a m o s a We’ve served 35,000 samosas to date, prepared by my family at h o m e , a n d h a v e r a i s e d a r o u n d £40,000 ” The idea for the event was to give something back to the wonderful people who step up to contribute their hard earned sav ings to help The Samosa "We call it our “humble little triangle”, he explained The money raised by Manny goes towards the posts of more specialist dementia nurses, f r o m d i f f e r e n t b a c k g r o u n d s A d m i r a l N u r s e s p r o v i d e l i f e changing support to families living with dementia from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities E x p l a i n i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f Admiral nurses, Manny said, “They h e l p f a m i l i e s m a n a g e c o m p l e x needs by getting to know the per son with dementia, their needs, background, and culture, as well as building relationships with their close family members to give them t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e c a r e ” M a n n y feels humbled to have come across people from various communities, i n c l u d i n g t h e S o u t h A s i a n Community, who have lent a help ing hand for his cause Today, dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK By 2025, more than one million people in the UK will be living with this devastating condition According to Manny, “We shouldn’t have to wait until we are touched by dementia per sonally to get involved with raising awareness and funds for charity it is everybody’s responsibility ” He also emphasizes the importance of bringing attention to the support available for families with demen tia from the South Asian commu nity, due to the lack of culturally appropriate resources available to them Voice of the com munity: Radio Sangam Radio Sangam is the UK's most followed Asian music station and an important pillar in the connec tivity of the South Asian commu nity The station has been organiz ing ‘Sangam festival’ for the past t w o y e a r s , c o i n c i d i n g w i t h t h e South Asian heritage month Asian Voice got in touch with Qaisar M a h m o o d , F e s t i v a l D i r e c t o r o f Sangam Festival and CEO of Radio Sangam to understand the part ‘Sangam Festival’ and the station play in bringing the community t o g e t h e r A c c o r d i n g t o Q a i s a r , “Sangam Festival attracts people f r o m a c r o s s t h e U K t o W e s t Yorkshire to celebrate South Asian heritage arts and culture and pro mote community cohesion during South Asian Heritage Month ” The b i g g e s t e v e n t , t h i s y e a r , a t Greenhead Park, had almost 7,00 people enjoying live music, food a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t E l a b o r a t i n g further, he said, “Festival partici pants also enjoyed eco craft work shops, heritage storytelling walks, Bhangra, Dhol and Qawwali, along w i t h a n e x t e n s i v e s c h o o l a n d o n l i n e p r o g r a m m e ” S i n c e i t s launch, Radio Sangam has con nected with the South Asian com munity in the UK and in 52 coun tries worldwide by promoting local and international artists The sta tion keeps the language of South Asia alive, broadcasting in Urdu, P u n j a b i , P u s h t o a n d r e g i o n a l dialects of India and Pakistan In addition to broadcasting, the sta t i o n r u n s m u s i c a l a n d c u l t u r a l events and work closely with local theatres to broaden and expand culture A h ealthcare h ero: Dr Bal Sidh u Dr Bal Sidhu was born in a small farming village in a rural area of Punjab, India where he lived a simple and enjoyed a hum ble, happy and carefree childhood He lived in his own bubble and did not know much about the rest of the world For him, things started c h a n g i n g w h e n h e m o v e d t o England Dr Bal moved to England on 25 February, 1968 Describing his journey, he said, “At the age of 12, I was very excited to be flying on a plane and travelling to a big city But it was also very frighten ing, especially as I was leaving my parents, brothers and sister and there was a fear of the unknown ” T a l k i n g a b o u t h i s e a r l y l i v i n g experiences in West Bromwich, he recalls being a part of one of the two Asian families in the locality and as someone who didn’t speak, r e a d o r w r i t e E n g l i s h , h e w a s thrown in at the deep end He had no choice but to learn English quickly and found a friend in a Punjabi speaking boy who helped him get by When asked about his inspiration to study medicine, he s a i d , “ A c o u p l e o f b o y s t h a t I l o o k e d u p t o w e n t o n t o s t u d y Medicine, so I decided that could also be the career path for me I went Swansea University to study Biochemistry and three years later, I was more educated, academically minded and making wiser deci sions ” He began working as a GP in Warwickshire in 1988 and has been there ever since He recalls working at NHS being much easi er, with less pressure and work load Commenting on how things h a v e c h a n g e d , h e f e e l s t h a t , “ T e c h n o l o g y , d i a g n o s t i c s a n d equipment have all changed vastly over the years, but this means the actual cost of care has spiralled in what we know as a free healthcare s e r v i c e ” D r B a l i s p a r t i c u l a r l y proud of his sons who have fol lowed in his footsteps While his elder son has studied Medicine at Oxford and set up his own phar maceutical company, his younger son has just completed his Masters in Immunology Dr Bal has been involved in charity work and has funded concerts to advocate the youth to stay away from drugs His way of promoting South Asian cul ture is through music and he has written over 80 songs including “Rail Gaddi” which featured in the Bend it Like Beckham soundtrack
Engineer's 82 year granny from Afghanistan denied visa on his wedding
• An English language ability (at least level B1) It is a condition of this visa that an employee remains with the sponsored employer for a minimum of 6 months. The skill level is higher than that u n d e r t h e S k i l l e d w o r k e r r o u t e Applicants can switch into this route whilst in the UK The advantage of the route for an employee is that it enables a movement between jobs much easier It also allows applicants to become self e m p l o y e d o r t o t a k e v o l u n t a r y w o r k E m p l o y e e s c a n b r i n g i n d e p e n dants Ho w will it work? Once the employer has a licence as a S c a l e U p s p o n s o r t h e y w i l l a s s i g n Certificates of Sponsorship The appli cant will be granted a visa in 2 tranches, 2 years initially followed by 3 years follow ing which they will qualify for settle ment At the date of the publication of this article, there is no guidance or any infor mation available for the employer to con sider other than the criteria listed above. It is not clear what the process will be or how long it will take Until the employers are granted Scale Up licences the move ment of employees cannot begin This category is designed to inject skills into the labour market However the employee is only required to work in skilled work for 6 months and can there after engage in a wide range of work which could include low skilled work
• A minimum of 10 employees at the beginning of the three year period Given the pandemic and the financial impact of it on thegrowth of companies, there are many businesses that will not qualify This category is aimed at medi um sized and large companies
Scale up visa: The new buzz word Maria Fernandes, Fernandes Vaz Solicitors Accord ing t o the Home Off ice, a s of 22 Aug ust 20 22 a ne w cat ego ry, the S ca l e U p v is a w il l be going live So what is it? It is basically an additional route for employers to recruit overseas nationals
T h e a d v a n t a g e t o e m p l o y e r s o f obtaining this is that it would exempt the employer from paying the Immigration S k i l l s c h a r g e , c u r r e n t l y s t a n d i n g a t £1000 Furthermore the employee would in effect be tied to the employment for a minimum of 6 months
Climate emergency is as real as it gets in the UK Anusha Singh T he back to to back climate crisis in the UK is an i ndicato r for the need o f stricter actions to be taken wh en it co mes to Climate p olicies T h e c o u n t r y w e n t through a nation emergen cy, as the hottest day with a record temperature of 40,3 °C, was recorded in July Not even a month later, the A m b e r a l e r t w a s b a c k i n place and a heatwave was to be endured for four days T h e r e w a s r i s k o f f o r e s t f i r e s , r a i l w a y s c a m e t o a stand still as the tracks were at the risk of buckling and breaking and airports sus pended flights due to runways melting Now as the Britons come out of the heatwave, the coming week has forecast to bring storms and shower that can cause damage to homes and gardens, reported News Today H o m e i n s u r a n c e e x p e r t a t Confused com, Jessica Willock, says: “The recent heatwave sparked safety concerns as t e m p e r a t u r e s c l i m b e d a b o v e 3 0 d e g r e e s Celsius And now storm and flash flood warnings in some areas of the UK means damage to our homes and gardens may occur, with fallen trees, water damage and defects to property exteriors ” This climate crisis struck the country as half of Europe is in the grip of a drought, including England Additionally, there are reports of River Thames drying up and an over all scarcity of water While the climate crisis takes turn for the worse as time passes, it begs the ques tion whether all the climate conferences and plans are practical or are mare theories A b b a s A b d u l R a f i u , a r e s e a r c h e r a t Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex said, “Not only in the UK, but the entire world is also at a tipping point The government is taking many actions, but there is no coordination Institutions are working in silos, and addressing climate change challenges requires galvanising ideas for solutions ” He feels that there is a need to encour age policy engagement with academics and individual communities by politicians with out setting boundaries Talking about how the public can con tribute to climate action, Abbas further added, “Communities and individuals need t r a n s i t i o n s i n l i f e s t y l e s t o a c c e l e r a t e sociotechnical, socioeconomical and socioe cological regimes required to remedy these tripartite limitations ” Research also shows that we don't only need technology to solve the current chal lenges posed by changing climate, but social innovation is also critical at this point
Wh a t a r e t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a n empl oye r t o becom e a S ca le up sp onso r? For the employer to qualify as a Scale Up sponsor, the business will need to demonstrate: • An average annual turnover and/or employee growth rate of at least 20% for the preceding three year period
Children’s reading hour by a drag queen interrupted by protesters A children’s read ing h our by a drag queen, A id a H D ee, rec en tly be ca m e a p ro t es t g rou nd for far righ t extremists Protesters h urled transp hobic and hom opho bic slurs at the parents and tried to stop the kids from m eeting the d rag queen, repo rted C NN T heyclaimed that th e event w asn’t children friendly and was sexualising them Banners r ead i ng “ w elc o m e g ro o m ers ” an d “ ad u l t entertainer” were unfurled Sab Samuel, who was performing as Aida said, “The term "groomer" is a homophobic stereotype used to falsely smear queer peo p l e a n d t h e i r s u p p o r t e r s a s c h i l d s e x abusers ” He was accused of being a pae dophile by anti vaxxer, Michael Chaves Samuel had to be escorted by the police as he left the venue after the event Following the incident, the Rochdale c o u n c i l h a s b e e n u n d e r h e a v y c r i t i c i s m LGBTQ+ protesters are accusing the council of “sticking up with bullies” as it postponed three of the drag queen ’ s reading at its libraries Simultaneously, the police is also taking heat for not taking strict actions against the protestors While this incident is considered to be a pushback against the L G B T Q r i g h t s , t h e i g n o r a n c e o f p e o p l e when it comes to this issue makes sense fol lowing the results of a LGBTQ awareness study came out According to a study by Greene King, fewer than a third of people (30%) know what the LGBTQ+ acronym stands for, and only 17% of Brits are aware Pride month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots These figures clearly highlight the lack of awareness and knowledge when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights and history UK government spends £1mn everyday as Afghan refugees refuse to move to Scotland and Wales A r ound 9,5 0 0 Afg han s a nd the ir fam il ies e v a c ua t e d fr o m Ka b u l a f t e r t h e T a l i b a n t akeove r of the countr y are st il l being housed in hote ls a y ear on, at a cost of about £1 mil l ion a da y This comes on top of t he £3 mil l ion a day t axpaye rs ’ bil l for hot els for 26,000 a sy lum seek ers including Channel migra nts A b o u t 7 , 0 0 0 A f g h a n r e f u g e e s h a v e r e c e i v e d p e r m a n e n t a c c o m m o d a t i o n through councils but Home Office officials have yet to find appropriate housing for the r e m a i n i n g 9 , 5 0 0 e v a c u e e s T h e s e A f g h a n refugees housed in hotels have refused move to Scotland and Wales because they believe the countries are too cold and don’t speak English, it has emerged Officials are under stood to be “working hard” to break down m i s c o n c e p t i o n s a b o u t l i f e o u t s i d e t h e s o u t h e a s t o f E n g l a n d b u t a d m i t t h a t refugees coming to the country see the UK through the prism of London About 350 councils have signed up to house Afghan refugees but officials said it was a complex process, particularly given t h e l a r g e r s i z e o f m a n y f a m i l i e s L o r d H a r r i n g t o n , t h e r e f u g e e s m i n i s t e r , h a s appealed to councils to help get people out of hotels and into housing, saying that in June there were fewer than 100 properties available
Many employers already hold Sponsor licences and sponsor Skilled Workers and those coming on Intracompany transfers Employers will need to hold a sponsor licence specifically in this category to be able to sponsor “Scale up ” employees The advantage to the employer is that it is exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge which currently is £1000 per sponsored worker per year for medium and large sponsors and £364 for small or charitable sponsors
07AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
• The job must be at the appropriate skill level (RQF6) • A salary must meet all of the follow ing: at least £33,000 per annum (guar anteed basic gross pay), £10 58 an hour and the going rate for the occu pation code
Wh at do es th e empl oye e ne ed to show?
Rohit Vadhwana Food is such a comm on part of ou r life th at we hard ly pay much atten tion to it, yet more or less everyone seem to be obsessed with taste and pre sentation of cu isine It is something which is not in our mind yet doesn't go out of our attention Food is such an important aspect of our lives, we cannot disassociate from it If we ever think about food is it a necessity, entertain ment, a social custom or all of them? When a child is born, family distributes sweets and organises customary meals
Home Office buys thousands of ‘migrant tracker’ wristbands To monit or t he moveme nt s o f f or e ig n n a t io n a l s, t h e Home O ffice has signe d a six figure cont ract for t hou s a n d s o f ba r co d e e n a b le d w r i s t ba n d s t o be u s e d a s “mig ran t tr acke rs ” Last month, the depart m e n t e n t e r e d a o n e y e a r deal with specialist tech firm Barcode Warehouse, based in Newark According to a procure m e n t n o t i c e , t h e e n g a g e ment, which is worth just under £150,000, constitutes a “contract for the provision of barcoded wristbands and c o r r e s p o n d i n g s c a n n i n g equipment, in addition to asset tracking software”
Many religions do instruct its followers what to eat and in what manner, based on certain belief system Medical sci ence also takes into account the effects of various nutrients on health of a person But those who are concerned only with fun and party, involving various cuisines, might not look into aspects other than taste and presentation of the edibles What we eat is important for our overall growth and development When does a person eat and how does s/he gulp down meal tells a lot about his/her personality Consuming frequently without caring for need of the the body leads to an unhealthy condition and poor digestion
As the child grows, there are many celebratory ocassions when feast is served If we are happy, we go to a restaurant to celebrate; if sad, we munch on junk to divert disturbing thoughts Friends are made over a meal, and they meet to break the bread together Lack of food has become cause of death for millions and excess of food has also been a leading cause of death Food could be a reason for unity or war or animosity In big events, lot of attention is given to cuisine, manytimes they succeed or fail on account of the quality of cookery served How we think depends on what kind of food we eat, and also vice versa Vegetarianism and veganism have developed based on ideology of not harming animals
Food for thought (Expressed opinions are personal)
08 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
Preston revenge porn blackmailer jailed A man who threatened to share intimate pictures and videos o f two wo men and blackmailed them h as been se n te nc e d to s ev en y ea rs and th ree month s Zehshan Mahmood, 30, from Preston, admitted two c o u n t s o f b l a c k m a i l a n d three counts of disclosing sexual photos or films with intent to cause distress Over the span of three years, two victims sent him nearly £90,000 to avoid the images being shared but he posted some of them online anyway, police said As part of a joint effort b e t w e e n G r e a t e r M a n c h e s t e r P o l i c e a n d L a n c a s h i r e P o l i c e , Mahmood was arrested in February 2021 D e t C o n L u k e B r u n d r e t t s a i d h e h a d operated a web of lies and manipulated the victims to get exactly what he wanted, when he wanted", adding t h a t t h e s e n t e n c e w a s "much deserved" Polio vaccine will be offered to London children In the next fo ur weeks, al l c h i l dr en ag ed betw een o ne and nine in Lo n do n a re t o b e off ered a p olio bo oster vac cine, health o fficials have said Before taking their children to get a jab, p a r e n t s h a v e b e e n asked to wait until they are approached by the NHS Majority of the doses will be given by the GP surgeries B e t w e e n F e b r u a r y a n d July, the UK Health Security A g e n c y ( U K H S A ) s a w t h e polio virus 116 times in 19 s e w a g e s a m p l e s a c r o s s London Most are harmless forms of the virus but some have been identified as “vaccine derived poliovirus (VDPV2)” VDPV2 is when the virus i n t h e v a c c i n e r e p l i c a t e s , mutates and behaves more like the wild form of the dis ease, which can cause paraly sis UK helpline launched to combat racism against east and southeast Asian victims
Commonwealth collectable coins selling at high price on eBay
A 50p collectable coi n was des ign ed t o ce lebr ate th e Co m mo nw ea lt h G am e s coming to Bi rmingh am thi s summer in a collaboratio n be tw ee n T h e R o ya l Mi n t and Birmingham 2022 The coins went on sale back in early July and were a l s o a v a i l a b l e i n s p e c i a l c o l o u r e d i t i o n s T h e 5 0 p coin collection features a privy mark, a small emblem r e p r e s e n t i n g e a c h o f t h e teams, added to the design The 50ps also played a key part in the Games, being the official coin toss across all team sports And now s o m e o f t h e c o i n s h a v e made their way onto eBay The coin was inspired b y t h e L i b r a r y o f B i r m i n g h a m a n d f i r s t u n v e i l e d i n T h e R o y a l Mint’s Annual Sets back in January The Royal Mint has a h i s t o r y s u p p o r t i n g t h e Commonwealth Games on British soil This includes the first 50p to celebrate C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s minted for Glasgow 2014 One of the coloured 50p coins is listed on the popu l a r s e l l i n g w e b s i t e f o r £14 99 Another was going f o r £ 1 0 4 9 p l u s £ 2 5 9 postage There was one sell e r s e l l i n g a s e t o f f o u r c o l o u r e d 5 0 p c o i n s f o r £109 00
Two Pakistani boxers missing in Birmingham B ox e r s S ul e m a n B a l oc h an d N a z e e r u ll a h d i s ap peared a c ouple of hours before the team's departure for Is l am a ba d, c on f i rm ed Pak istan Boxi ng Federation (PBF) secretary N asir Tan g The duokistani boxers h a v e g o n e m i s s i n g i n Birmingham after the con c l u s i o n o f t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s , the national federation said or Islamabad The Birmingham CWG ended on Monday “The travel documents i n c l u d i n g t h e i r p a s s p o r t s a r e s t i l l w i t h f e d e r a t i o n officials who accompanied t h e b o x i n g t e a m t o t h e games, ” Tang said He said the team man agement has informed the P a k i s t a n H i g h Commission in the UK and the relevant authorities in London about the disap pearance of Suleman and Nazeerullah
According to the ana lysts, average annual house hold energy bills might rise above £5,000 in 2033, D u r i n g a m e e t w i t h energy company representa tives, Boris Johnson exhort ed them to help consumers but said that any significant policy announcements will be the responsibility of his successor Gordon Brown, the for m e r p r i m e m i n i s t e r h a s urged suspending the price cap, making more support available to struggling con s u m e r s , i d e n t i f y i n g m o r e supplies abroad and storage capacity at home, and as a l a s t r e s o r t t e m p o r a r i l y nationalising energy compa n i e s t h a t d o n o t p r o v i d e s o c i a l t a r i f f s d i c t a t e d b y “what people can afford” Student’s device can save lives of stab victims A student has been gi ven a f e l lo ws h i p to t he R oy a l Ac ademy of Engineering for i n v e nt i n g a d ev i c e th a t s tops stabbing vic tims from b leeding to death 2 3 y e a r o l d J o s e p h Bentley, from Cambridge, was inspired to produce the g a d g e t a f t e r t w o o f h i s f r i e n d s w e r e s t a b b e d i n London Both men survived but the attacks led Bentley t o e x p l o r e t h e c r i m e i n more depth while he was studying at Loughborough University During his research, he found that most stabbing victims die from blood loss d u e t o m u l t i p l e w o u n d s and that treatment for lac erations is often ineffective He started developing a handheld tool that can stop catastrophic blood loss He invented a portable device that inserts an expanding tamponade (a plug made of a b s o r b e n t m a t e r i a l ) i n t o knife and gunshot wounds to reduce the amount of blood lost To develop the device, B e n t l e y r e c e i v e d a n 1 8 5 1 E n t e r p r i s e F e l l o w s h i p t o t h e R o y a l A c a d e m y o f E n g i n e e r i n g a n d w a s awarded £50,000 in fund ing Tavistock gender clinic ‘to be sued by 1,000 families’ The Tavistock gender clinic i s facing mass legal action from youngsters who claim they were rus hed i nto tak i n g l i f e a lt er i n g pu be r ty b lockers About 1,000 families to join a medical negligence l a w s u i t a g a i n s t t h e T a v i s t o c k g e n d e r c l i n i c a l l e g i n g t h a t v u l n e r a b l e children were given a mis diagnosis and placed on a damaging medical pathway L a w y e r s e x p e c t a b o u t 1 , 0 0 0 f a m i l i e s t o j o i n a medical negligence lawsuit a l l e g i n g t h a t v u l n e r a b l e children were given a mis diagnosis and placed on a d a m a g i n g m e d i c a l p a t h way They are accusing the g e n d e r i d e n t i t y d e v e l o p ment service [GIDS] at the T a v i s t o c k a n d P o r t m a n NHS Trust of multiple fail ures in its duty of care
In r espo nse to dr a mat ic rise in h ate cr i m e di r ec t ed towar ds ESE A peo p le s inc e st ar t o f p an de m ic , a f r ee na t io n w id e 2 4 h o u r h el p l in e, O n You r Side, of fering su p p o r t f o r e as t an d s o u t h e as t As ia n v i ct i m s o f r ac i sm and oth er fo rms of hate in the UK has been launched Specialist advisers will run the helpline who will provide tailored and cul turally sensitive support On Your Side, first of its kind in the UK, is being funded by the Hong Kong British nationals (overseas) w e l c o m e p r o g r a m m e through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities H e l p l i n e o p e r a t o r s s p e a k v a r i o u s l a n g u a g e s i n c l u d i n g J a p a n e s e , C h i n e s e M a n d a r i n , C a n t o n e s e , H a k k a a n d H o k k i e n , T a g a l o g a n d I n d o n e s i a n , b u t c a n extend the support to vic tims in any language with s u p p o r t f r o m t r u s t e d interpreters
No magic solution to soaring energy bills
Mother of girl killed in explosion accuses gas company A fou r year o ld w h o w as ki ll ed i n a su s p e ct ed g a s explosion, was set to cele brate her fifth birthd ay Her mother h as accused a u tili ties comp any of negligence fo r failing to tackle a leak S a n a A h m a d , 2 8 , d e s c r i b e d h e r d a u g h t e r Sahara Salman, as the “most amazing thing to ever walk this planet” T h e N H S r e c e p t i o n i s t i n f o r m e d t h a t t h e f a m i l y had contacted Southern Gas N e t w o r k s ( S G N ) t e n d a y s before the explosion, which happened at about 7am on M o n d a y , a n d w h i c h s h e likened to a missile strike
T he energ y price cap, which is based on the wholesale p rice of energy, is likely to e xc ee d £ 3 , 5 0 0 c o m p ar ed w it h £ 1 , 9 7 1 n o w , f ro m O c to be r m a ki ng i t a s a n exceptional crisis
A H o m e O f f i c e s p o k e s p e r s o n s a i d : “ S i n c e A u g u s t 2 0 2 1 , t h e H o m e O f f i c e h a s s u c c e s s f u l l y tagged over 2,000 foreign criminals, reassuring victims that their perpetrators can not escape the law and will be removed from the UK at t h e e a r l i e s t o p p o r t u n i t y Since January 2019, the gov ernment has removed over 10,000 foreign criminals " F o r e i g n c r i m i n a l s should be in no doubt of our d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o d e p o r t them and the government is doing everything possible to increase the number of for e i g n n a t i o n a l o f f e n d e r s being deported ”
On the other hand, those who do not take enough intake suffer from malnutrition A person who is very systematic and organised in nature would prefer a well served plate of meal rather than eating at a fast food stall One who is in hurry and believes in saving time might not go for fine dining Japanese cul ture advises to chew food 30 times before swallowing but many people don't seem to have time, patience and habit for that Swallowing down grub in big loaves devoid us of nutritive benefits we are told by doctors since the child hood, but a habit is habit In a way, it becomes interesting to sometimes pick our brain over subjects which are in sight yet out of mind and certainly the food is one of them
The Hi gh Commiss ioner of P ak i s t an t o th e U K , M oa z z a m A hm a d K ha n , c on ferr ed t he c ivi l award on the Mayor of London, Sadi q Khan on behalf of the P re s i d en t of P a ki s t a n Feli citating the Mayor, the H igh Commissioner under li n ed th at c onf er me nt of the prestigious c ivil award was a testimony to Mayor Sadi q Khan's c onstruc tive rol e in b ri ngi ng our tw o c o un tr i e s t og e th er T he Mayor of London became the first B ri tis h politician to receive the prestigious Sitara i Pakistan f or h is c on tr i bu ti on t ow ar ds bu i ldi n g closer and cordial ties between Pakistan and the Uni ted Kingdom, as well as hi s services to various communities in the UK On receiving Sitara i Pakistan, Mayor of London, said: “I am both humbled and honoured to accept the Sitara i Pakistan on this special day as Pakistan marks 75 years of independence Over the past few d e c a d e s , w e ’ v e u n d o u b t e d l y s e e n t h e fruits of the relationship between our two c o u n t r i e s , e s p e c i a l l y h e r e i n L o n d o n , where those of Pakistani heritage have made and continue to make a hugely positive contribution to our society, econ omy and culture I look forward to contin uing to work with the High Commission to strengthen our relationships and pro mote opportunities for growth as we work to build a better London for everyone ”
The ceremony concluded with popu lar national songs by local singers Similar events were held at Pakistan Consulates at Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and Glasgow Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan conferring Sitara i Pakistan on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at Pakistan High Commission London
The PM is said to believe if Ms Truss doesn’t quickly “get a grip” on the looming crisis Tory MPs would welcome his return as a “winner” who can save the party from elec tion oblivion A Labour leader has said: “This sort of scheming shows just how out of touch the Tories are and why we need a fresh start with a Labour government Friends of the PM see the forthcoming C o m m o n s P r i v i l e g e s C o m m i t t e e i n q u i r y into whether Mr Johnson lied to MPs as the biggest obstacle in the way of his return to power PM consults lawyers to keep Tory MPs quiet on Partygate
On this occasion, a beautiful portrait of the Quaid i Azam, painted by a young British Pakistani artist Amina Ansari, was also unveiled to pay special tribute to the Founder of the Nation T h e e v e n t a l s o m a r k e d t h e I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y o f P a k i s t a n , w h i c h started with a flag hoisting ceremony at the Pakistan High Commission London H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r M o a z z a m A h m a d Khan hoisted the national flag in the pres e n c e o f t h e d i a s p o r a c o m m u n i t y a n d British friends of Pakistan who turned up in large numbers to attend the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Pakistan
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan receives Sitara-i-Pakistan award
Johnson and allies plotting a comeback
09AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022 WESTT LLO BUSINESS P LONG DRIVE, GREENFORD, UB6 8UH ONDON S ARK ORON UNITS PAATIONTIOOCTLTIPLE UNITOR SINGLE OAILABLE FVAILABLEAV WAREHOUSEAREHOUSEL / W10 NEW BUILD INDUSTRIAL MULAVTIPLE UNIT CUPA wwwwestlondonbusinesspark.co.uk : 5,400 - 60,000 SQ FTO LETT
T he gov ernm ent’s ch ief whip has rep orted ly w arned Tory MPs to k ee p qu i et ab o u t th e i nq u ir y exam ining wheth er Boris Johnson m isled p arliament over Partygate It com es as th e caretaker prim e m inister is said to be consulting w ith law yers on the best way to h and le th e Com m ons priv ileg es com mittee probe set to beg in in the autumn Johnson ally Nadine Dorries has been accused of waging a “terrorist campaign” to discredit the inquiry, after she urged Tory MPs on the cross party committee to quit the “witch hunt” In an email to all Tory MPs, chief whip Chris Heaton Harris said he wanted to “remind” them that MPs had already voted to set up the inquiry and would get to vote on any punishment rec ommended by the committee S e n i o r C o n s e r v a t i v e M P S i r B e r n a r d Jenkin who sits on the committee set to probe the PM lashed out when asked about Dorries claims of a “witch hunt” “If people wish to criticise it please write to the committee don’t just conduct a sort of terrorist campaign to try and discredit the committee,” he said when asked about the culture sec retary’s attacks Allies also told the newspaper that they accept it now a “fore gone conclusion” that he would be found in contempt of parlia ment But the PM hopes to avoid a 10 day suspension from the Commons a sanction that would allow his Uxbridge constituents to start a recall petition and possible by election if he is not found to have “knowingly” misled par liament Mr Johnson denies misleading parliament over what he knew of rule breaking gatherings inside Downing Street Three former officials at No 10 report edly believe that the PM did not tell the Commons all that he knew about rule b r e a k i n g g a t h e r i n g s h e l d d u r i n g t h e Covid crisis One of the ex staffers has agreed to give evidence to the privileges committee inquiry into whether the PM misled parliament, while two others con tacted by the committee are considering whether to testify Buckland switches support from Sunak to Truss R o be rt B u ck la nd , B ri ta i n's S ecretary of State for Wales, has sw itched his suppo rt to Liz Tru ss f ro m Ri s h i S u n ak i n t h e C onservative Party lead ersh ip race to select th e new p rime minister B u c k l a n d h a s r e c e n t l y s a i d that he had earlier backed former f i n a n c e m i n i s t e r S u n a k d u r i n g Parliamentary rounds as he felt t h a t S u n a k " w a s a t t h a t s t a g e embodying what we needed "As the campaign has moved on, and as I have listened carefully t o b o t h c a n d i d a t e s , I h a v e thought deeply about the issues that move me and what I want to s e e t h e n e x t p r i m e m i n i s t e r doing Changing your mind on an issue like this is not an easy thing to do, but I have decided that Liz Truss is the right person to take our country forward," Buckland wrote Sexual offenders may be imprisoned for two years T h e H o m e Of fi c e h a s launched a consultation t o am end th e 1 9 8 6 P ublic Ord er Act in a bid to create a new offence o f “public sexu al harass m ent” P o s s i b l e o f f e n c e s include following some o n e , m a k i n g o b s c e n e comments and gestures or cornering a person Unlike hate crime laws, it will not be neces sary for the defendant to be motivated by hostility based on the victim’s sex Men who sexually harass women in public could be jailed for up to two years under new rules being considered by the Government A document on the proposed law states: “Public sexual harassment will sometimes be based on such hostility, but not always, and this is one of the reasons why the Law Commission concluded that sex should not be added to hate crime legislation, and why the Government agrees with that conclusion ” T o r y l e a d e r s h i p h o p e f u l L i z T r u s s l a s t month vowed to make c a t c a l l i n g a n d w o l f w h i s t l i n g a c r i m i n a l offence if she is made Prime Minister She also r e v e a l e d p l a n s f o r a national domestic abuse register as she admitted politicians need to “do more ” The Foreign Secretary said: “Over the last two years, our nation has been shocked by a number of high profile murders of women, many here in London It is the responsibility of all political leaders, includ ing us in Westminster and the Mayor of L o n d o n , t o d o m o r e V i o l e n c e a g a i n s t w o m e n a n d g i r l s d o e s n ’ t h a v e t o b e inevitable Women should be able to walk the streets without fear of harm, and perpe trators must expect to be punished ”
A well placed Westminster insider claims the lame d uck Tory leader Boris Johnson is d etermined to m ake a comeback He and his supporters are said to be “delusional” about his prospects of winning another General Election after his popular ity tanked in the polls But the source said a disastrous first few months of a Liz Truss premiership would be seen as an opportuni ty for him to swoop in And a second, Conservative Party source said: “I think that could well intensify if things go badly for Liz you get people thinking 'Would he have been any worse?'
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• Kapil D udakia Har Ghar Tiranga K A P I L’ S K H I C H A D I
So when Laal Singh Chaddha was made, to many people (and those in our armed forces) it seemed that the prestigious Sikh regiment was being portrayed as being full of low intelligent men who could be sacri ficed Young men and women who put their life on the line for the nation are now being portrayed by Bollywood and Aamir Khan as morons Can there be a bigger insult? The Indian people finally woke up and the movie has been boycotted As far as I know, it has now become a major flop The two leading actors, Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, who hitherto had exhib ited huge egos, are now begging an end to the boy cott Hit them in the pocket, and they all fall to their knees! There is a lesson for all Indians The silent major ity that has been victimised by the extremists and the anti nationals, have the power to affect change It’s time to put that power to good use Jai Hind Where are our decent, kind and caring politicians?
Independence Day by singing and uploading patriotic songs and quotations on social media Even in schools, we do the same We teach our children to sing patriotic songs and stage an emotional play that shows patriotism Of course, it enhances patriotism in young minds, but what about the next day? We see the flags of our country on the floor and in dustbins Is it our love for our country? We must focus on our country's needs It does not need patriotic songs or only one day celebrations Be sincere and honest with your work A common man cannot change the whole system but many common people together can do this Ju bel D Cruz Mum bai, India
Wednesday Would she give as good as she gets or wilt under his forensic interrogations and be reduced to red faced humiliation? We look forward to a riveting time ahead Ru dy Otter Labour party sought to reset relations with British Indians Facts Peering into the future Muharram 'The Apprentice' winner Harpreet declares her relationship with co-contestant
Speaking about national interest I was shocked when the movie, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, was released recently The initial fanfare was that it was the Bollywood remake of the hit Hollywood movie ‘Forrest Gump’ For those who may not be aware, Forrest Gump was about an American soldier, his life experiences and his part in the Vietnam war serving in the US Army So, what is the issue you ask?
10 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
Har Ghar Tiranga is a national campaign by the In dian Government to celebrate India’s 7 5th year of in dependenc e As the n ame suggests, the aspiration bein g that the In dian national flag wil l b e flying proudl y from every home In an y other democratic nation, it w oul d not be an issue, however, in In dia it has brought out the anti nationals who a prob lem with it The vast majority have how ever embraced this nation buil din g initiative with b oth hands, w ith mil lion s loggin g on to the n ational w ebsite to register their support b y sharing a sel fie Since 2014, India has gradually found its way in the world Under the leadership of PM Modiji, there is an increase in respect for self, and the nation When an Indian goes out into the big world using their Indian passport, they are no longer shamed Western democracies now increasingly having to be very careful that they do not disrespect any Indian since they know that the Government of India will no longer tolerate such overt or covert racism There is still a long way to go of course, and every Indian needs to do their duty as well They cannot enjoy the benefits and not sacrifice a bit to safeguard those lib erties Har Ghar Tiranga in my view should be extended There should be an expectation by every Indian that every commercial enterprise, be it shops, manufac turing companies, service companies, restaurants, recreational facilities, or any public facing enterprise, that they fly the flag with pride In fact, in my view every Indian should expect this wherever they spend their hard earned money And if it is not flying, then why on earth would any self respecting Indian spend their money with those who care so little for the nation and its people? There should be a boycott of any entity that does not fly the flag It will expose the anti nationals for what they are, and it will stop funding those who do not always have the interest of the nation as their priori ty
Did you know that there was a US initiative called, ‘Project 100,000 ’ This was to recruit 100000 soldiers quickly to help with the war in Vietnam The project was also known as McNamara's Morons, McNamara's Folly and McNamara's Misfits Yes, you read that correctly, the US Army had a specific policy to recruit men of low intelligence to the war effort After all, if they died who cares!
Although people rarely trust their politicians, comparing them with Estate Agents who are also held in poor esteem, I have to admit that I never had a bad experience with either of them Even with politicians, it is not too difficult to establish close and friendly relations, espe cially with your own MP, although it takes time and patience which most of us lack During the last fifty years or so I have been here, a country I admired as a child; I must admit I have found few politicians whom I can describe as politicians of real quality When we set foot on British soil in 1968, Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister, the last Labour leader I had some respect for with one sole exception But my most admired labour PM was Gordon Brown who was kept out of office by greedy Tony Blair for a long time, breaking the promise he made to his deputy Gordon Brown What a tragedy it turned out to be, with two Gulf wars and political, social and labour unrest throughout Middle and Far East during the reign of PM Blair It was a time of turmoil with strikes and disorder with left leaning Trade Union Council controlled by not so patriotic leaders One name that readily springs to my mind is that of Miners’ leader Arthur Cargill who singly handedly brought the coal mines at a standstill, govern ment forced to introduce three day week, harming our economy to the delight of our competitors who watched the farce from a distance with motor vehicles and ship building industry taking the full force of industrial unrest they never recovered from The politician from Conservative side I admired most was Lady Thatcher who browbeat her opponents, won us the Falkland War that no other PM would have dared to take on Lady Thatcher obtained concession, refunds from EU that Tony Blair gave up timidly, expecting a g o l d e n p o l i t i c a l h a n d s h a k e i n r e t u r n L o o k i n g a t Labour’s Shadow Cabinet, I feel the cupboard is void of talent that we need to navigate during these uncertain time David Cameron would have gained my vote if he had not dragged us in another unholy war with Gaddafi’s Libya, a country still suffering internal strife after the downfall of Gaddafi It seems our politicians are living in the past, although glory days are well over and forgotten by the rest of the world B hupendra M Gandhi
Enlightening the Power of Speech R i g V e da s a y s , “ O n e s ho u l d r e s p e c t h is m otherland, his cul ture and his mo ther tongue bec ause they are givers of hap piness” Languag e is the road ma p of cul ture, it te lls y ou where its p eopl e c ome from. Mothe r tongu e e nc omp asses m ore than jus t a la ng uage and inclu des a person ’ s p ersonal, so cial a nd c ultural identity “Learn Gujara ti”, a sp ecial initia tive by Gujarat Sa mac har, written by the ir C onsulting Editor, Jyo tsnaben Sha h, to revive and spread the val ue of the m other tong ue and culture to our co ming ge neration. Com e jo in this ca mpa ign to em power the im porta nce of the Gu jarati langua ge For mo re details, check pa ge no 05 of this week's Gujarat Sama char Make it memorable We celebrate Independence Day on August 15, and it's just a c e l e b r a t i o n f o r m o s t o f u s M a n y p e o p l e c e l e b r a t e
Unfortunately it looks as if I shall be right in my prediction that Rishi Sunak would not win the leadership race to be Tory party leader and Britain’s prime minister The polls show his rival Liz Truss powering towards the finishing line, leaving Rishi gasping and well behind as he struggles in vain to catch up As I wrote recently in this newspaper, Britain is not ready yet to welcome an ethnic minority can didate to head its government That time will come and already I am seeing hopeful signs on the horizon as black, white and Asian members of parliament are supporting each candidate with equal fervour I would have been less optimistic if black MPs only supported black candidates, whites only supported whites and Asians only supported Asians! It would be interesting to see how Liz Truss would square up to Labour party leader and former barrister Sir K e i r S t a r m e r a t P r i m e M i n i s t e r ’ s Q u e s t i o n s e v e r y
Britain’s Opposition Labour Party has sought to reset its troubled relations with British Indians with an eye on the next general election, which is due by 2024 or even earlier depending on how the ongoing Conservative Party leader ship race pans out It is to be noted that British Indians are a crucial elec torate that could hold the swing factor in such a poll To coincide with the 75th Indian Independence Day cel ebrations this week, Labour Leader Keir Starmer took to Twitter to extend his greetings to “vibrant, multi faith democracy” India and the over 1 5 million strong Indian diaspora in the UK One of Labour’s newer British Indian MPs who was elected from Stockport in 2019, Navendu Mishra, penned a moving tribute to the country of his ori gins as he announced the revival of the Labour Convention of Indian Organisations (LCIO) as a crucial resource to “inclusively” connect British Indians to Labour and to engage with India as an “equal partner” As Mishra points out, Labour traditionally built its strong connect with India and global Indians through robust organisations such as the India League, now the 1928 Institute, and the revival of LCIO is aimed as reinvigorating those roots while looking ahead to strong UK India ties “From the economy to healthcare, from hospitality to the faith sector, from show business to politics, British Indians have a growing role in our national life Further, bilateral trade between India and the UK is worth over £16 5 billion, and the UK is India’s biggest G20 investor The LCIO encourages and celebrates this reality for the good of all,” reportedly said Krish Raval OBE, member of LCIO Steering Committee and Director, Faith in Leadership A former winner of the hi t show 'The Apprentice' has gi ven f ans a shock after revealing that she i s datin g one of her fel l o w c o n te s t a n t s Ha r pr e e t K au r , w h o gr e w u p i n B irmi ngha m, told fan s that she and A kshay Thak ra r have b een datin g for the las t thre e months Akshay was fired from the most recent series after fail ing to impress Lord Sugar But it seems he managed to make more of an impression on Harpreet, who won the show with her chain of dessert parlours Taking to Instagram earlier this week, series 16 winner Harpreet posted some photos of the couple as she told her 92,000 followers: "The best things in life happen unexpect edly I love sharing my Oh So Yum business journey with you all but this time it’s a personal one Responding to the post, Akshay commented: "So happy you ’ re mine Excited for what's to come!" The pair's friends and fans rushed to congratulate them, with former contestant Navid Sole commenting: "I always said to Akshay harpz you both belong together and it actually happened !!! So proud of you and an amazing couple don’t forget my invitation to your wedding " Photo: Twitter
Pratik Dattani Managing Director EPG The Shortlist: A R T A N D C U L T U R E: v Simone Ashley v Chandra Chakraborty v Namit Malhotra v Charli XCX B U S I N E S S P E R S O N O F T H E Y E A R v Dr Debashis Bhattacharya v Shamil and Kavi Thakrar v Praveen Karadiguddi v Dr Gordon Sanghera C O M M U N I T Y S E R V I C E v Zareen Roohi Ahmed v Haris Kiani v Katharine Moana Birbalsingh CBE v Krishna Pujara v Dev Trehan E N T R E P R E N E U R O F T H E Y E A R v Shamash Alidina v Samir Desai v Shahid Munir Sherry Vaswani Lifetime Achievement Award To be announced on the night M E D I A v Raj Baddhan v Ahmed Hussain v Aasmah Mir v Naga Munchetty Professional of the Year Professor v Dr Manu Agrawal v Sir Shankar Balasubramanian v Naina Bhattacharya v Viresh Paul S P O R T S P E R S O N A L I T Y O F T H E Y E A R v Karenjeet Kaur Bains v Salma Bi v Millie Chandarana v Amir Khan U N I F O R M E D A N D C I V I L S E R V I C E v Alisa Ahmad v Captain Harpreet Chandi v Sal Naseem W O M A N O F T H E Y E A R v The Rt Hon Suella Braverman v Rita Chowdhry v Emb Hashmi v Raga D’silva Natasha Asghar Senedd Regional Member, Welsh Conservative Party Sujata Bhatia COO, Monzo Bank Bally Sagoo Music producer Bas Javid Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police Dr Mayur Lakhani CBE Former President Royal College of General Practitioners Sandeep Virdee OBE Artistic Director, Darbar Festival at the Barbican Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘At the end of the day, it’s just a film’ Shefali Saxena #BoycottBo llyw
Artistic Director of the Darbar Festival Sandeep Virdee OBE Established in 2000 and held annually since then, the Awards return in 2022 fol lowing the pandemic Hosted by global advisory firm EPG and supported by media partners Asian Voice, Zee TV and Sunrise Radio, the AAA are consistently recognised by the community as the most prestigious and highly respected such Awards in the calendar “The Asian Achievers Awards aim to cel ebrate Asian excellence across the UK They harbour a special place in the community, documenting our growth and contribution to life in the country over the last two decades We have been impressed by the breadth and calibre of nominations from across the country that came in this year which show quite how extensive our posi tive contribution is across all aspects British life,” according to Pratik Dattani, Managing Director, EPG Performers on the night include Brit Award nominee Rumer and star of TV’s Man Like Mobeen stand up comedian Tez Ilyas, with Lord Jeffrey Archer conducting the charity auction in support of the chosen Charity Partner Pardada Pardadi To find out more about the AAA and to attend, visit asianachieversawards com call 020 7993 6851 ood or #Boyco tt along with a mo vie name is a com mon trend on social m ed ia these days Rig ht befo re the release of a big Bollyw ood mo vie, such hashtag s gain m omentum While they’ re not co mmunity sp ecific or actor specific, the increase in hate against a film around its release is slo wly im pacting th e film economy in a big way An Op Ed in the Firstpost read, “The recent and classic example can be taken from A a m i r K h a n ' s L a a l S i n g h C h a d d h a T h e adaptation of Forrest Gump, which is strug gling at around Rs 50 crore at the box office, has garnered around one lakh forty thou sand votes on IMDb Well, if we analyse the votes and collections, we can come out with the result that many of them gave negative votes to the film without even watching it, which is honestly an unethical and unfair practice,” it further added Other films that have been a part of this B o y c o t t m o v e m e n t a r e B r a h m a s t r a a n d Vikram Vedha When actor Hrithik Roshan praised Laal Singh Chaddha, his upcoming film the Hindi remake of Vikram Vedha started trending as #BoycottVikramVedha W h i l e t h e s o u r c e o f t h e s e h a s h t a g s i s unknown, it is directly impacting the creator and film distribution economy Trade pun dits have predicted that Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, the official adaptation of Tom Hanks’ starrer Forrest Gump will be off the cinemas by next week F o r i n s t a n c e , i n t e r n a t i o n a l c r i c k e t e r Monty Panesar is not happy with the por trayal of Sikhs and the Indian Army in Laal Singh Chaddha He took to Twitter and called for a boycott of t h e A a m i r K h a n a n d K a r e e n a K a p o o r s t a r r e r H e t w e e t e d : "Forrest Gump fits in the US Army because the US was recruiting low IQ men to meet requirements for the Vietnam War This movie is a t o t a l d i s g r a c e t o I n d i a n A r m e d Forces Indian Army and Sikhs!! D i s r e s p e c t f u l D i s g r a c e f u l #BoycottLalSinghChadda (sic) “Forrest Gump fits in the US Army because the US was recruit ing low IQ men to meet require ments for the Vietnam War This movie is a total disgrace to Indian Armed F o r c e s I n d i a n A r m y a n d S i k h s ! ! D i s r e s p e c t f u l D i s g r a c e f u l #BoycottLalSinghChadda ” Mehak, a professional with over a decade of work experience in the Indian film indus try, belongs to the Sikh community, and watched Laal Singh Chaddha with her fami l y S p e a k i n g t o t h e n e w s w e e k l y , M e h a k explained that the film gives references to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Operation Bluestar Therefore, she said, “Some parts of the film that may be uncomfortable and triggering to watch for t h e p e o p l e o f o u r c o m m u n i t y , g e t t i n g reminded of the traumatic experiences all over again ” She further added, “However, Laal Singh Chaddha is just a character, like every other character, who happens to be a Sikh and the film follows his story Yes, recruiting a low IQ individual into the Indian Army might be questionable and debatable, but what’s that got to do with his religion? At the end of the day, it’s just a film, telling a person s story, and it should be viewed as just that, without attaching it to the labels of caste, colour or religion Personally, his simplicity and the unconditional love he had for his friends and family, struck a chord with me ” It is imperative to note that several social media users shared an image showing a group of Sikh men holding their religious flag and posters of Laal Singh Chaddha Those who shared the picture claimed that the image was from a protest by the Sikh community against the movie in Punjab’s J a l a n d h a r N e w s c h e c k e r , a f a c t c h e c k i n g website found the claim to be false and that the men seen in the viral image actually came out in support of the movie and not against it F i l m j o u r n a l i s t D e e p a n j a n a P a l o f F i l m C o m p a n i o n w r o t e , “Ironically, when it comes to holding a mirror to society, the most telling detail might j u s t b e t h e e s s a y s i z e d announcement at the start of Laal Singh Chaddha Prior to its release, the film was sub j e c t e d t o v i c i o u s , o n l i n e trolling by those who stand o p p o s e d t o L a a l S i n g h Chaddha because it’s head l i n e d b y o n e a c t o r w h o i s Muslim and another who is Hindu but married to a Muslim To pre empt any misunderstandings or allegations of ‘distorting’ facts, the film begins with a written assurance to the audience that while there are visual effects used on archival footage, Laal Singh Chaddha does not seek to rewrite history or cause any offence to anyone It says a lot about present day India that being imaginative has to come with a disclaimer ” What we see on social media, and what goes into writing and producing the film are two different spectrums Indian cinema has always been perceived as the most influential m e d i u m f o r I n d i a n s o c i e t y , a n d o f l a t e , there’s a resurgence of realistic cinema cin ema that mirrors society However, as view ers no matter how evolved the audiences become, cinema at large will always be first a source of entertainment, then education
11AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www asian voice com 20 26 August 2022
Shortlist announced for 20th annual Asian Achievers Awards LONDON, 1 5 A ugust 2022: The sh ort l is t f o r th e p re s ti g i o u s A s i an A chiev ers Aw ards for th is year has been announced , and it contains business executiv es, Hollywo od actresses and music stars that have found fam e across the world South Asians in the UK t o d a y o c c u p y l e a d e r s h i p positions across a range of fields, including poli t i c s , b u s i n e s s a n d c i v i l s o c i e t y T h e A w a r d s recognise the outstand ing work of such individu als right across the South Asian community A c r o s s t e n c a t e g o including Art & Culture, Business Person of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and Community Service, the AAA received more than 500 nominations, from which the Judges shortlist four per catego ry, evenly divided between male and female candidates Included in the business names in the shortlist are Namit Malhotra, the Indian C E O o f v i s u a l e f f e c t s c o m p a n y D N E G , which has won seven Oscars, as well as Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, the co founders of iconic London restaurant Dishom Dr Zareen Roohi Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of Gift Wellness, championing an award winning range of natural products, while Dr Debashis Bhattacharya is a sur geon by training and currently is the Global r e c t o r o f H u m a n R i s k Management at Reckitt Fellow s h o r t l i s t e d c a n d i d a t e S a m i r D e s a i f o u n d e d F u n d i n g C i r c l e i n 2 0 0 9 , w i t h o v e r £13 7bn of loans provided to more than 122,000 business es since inception Amongst the shortlist is a l s o t h e R t H o n S u e l l a raverman, the British politician barrister who is the Attorney G e n e r a l f o r E n g l a n d a n d W a l e s Captain Harpreet Chandi, a 32 year old Indian origin British Sikh army officer and physiotherapist also known as Polar Preet, has created history by becoming the first woman of colour to complete a solo unsup ported trek to the South Pole A l o n g s i d e t h e m a r e K a r e n j e e t K a u r Bains, first female Sikh powerlifter to repre sent Team GB and Mercury prize winner Charli XCX, who started writing songs at just 14 years old The Judging Panel for this year ’ s AAA was reflective of the diversity and experi e n c e o f t h e n o m i n a t i o n s r e c e i v e d I t i n c l u d e s F o r m e r D e p u t y A s s i s t a n t Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bas Javid, Former President of the Royal College of General Practitioners Dr Mayur Lakhani CBE, COO of Monzo Bank Sujata Bhatia, music producer Bally Sagoo, Welsh A s s e m b l y M e m b e r N a t a s h a A s g h a r a n d
or
The man who envisioned India's national flag was a humble schoolteacher from Andhra Pradesh who lived most of his life in penury and died in debt Pingali Venkayya, who had served in the British Indian Army in South Africa before becoming a Gandhian foot soldier, created the initial design of the Indian National Congress flag in 1921, little knowing it would go on to become Independent India's national flag with a few changes. Born to Pingali Hanumantha Rayudu and V e n k a t a R a t n a m a t B h a t l a p e n u m a r r u v i l l a g e i n K r i s h n a d i s t r i c t ( M a d r a s Presidency then) on August 2, 1878, Venkayya never had an easy life He would go on to become a teacher, agriculturist, author and linguist, but somehow struggled to make ends meet While he refused to cash in on his reputation as the man behind the Tricolour, Venkayya's pride in his creation didn't dim till his death on July 4, 1963 His last wish was to have his body draped in the Tricolour till the burial ground. He then wanted the flag to be tied to a tree until his funeral was completed. (Agency)
SCRUTATOR’S
A 21 year old man died of blood loss after his father allegedly severed his hand with an axe in a fight over motorcycle keys in Madhya Pradesh, police said The fight followed after Moti Patel (51) and his elder son Ram Kisan (24) asked younger son Santosh for the keys of their motorcycle, police said "After Santosh refused to give the keys, Moti and Ram Kisan attacked him Moti placed Santosh's left hand on a wooden platform and severed it with an axe He then arrived with the axe and his son's severed hand to Jarat police outpost A police team ran to the spot and rushed Santosh to a nearby primary health centre He was then shifted to the district hospital, where doctors said he needed advanced treatment in Jabalpur” Santosh died due to blood loss en route to Jabalpur Both Moti and Ram Kisan have been arrested, the Additional SP said (Agency)
The delicate hands of a 26 year old woman from Ahmedabad have been transplanted to a man in Tamil Nadu who lost both his limbs to electric burns This is one of the handful of cases in India involving intergender hand transplants Venkatesan, 24, a resident of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, was working at his workshop when he got electrocuted Both his hands were amputated to save his life After four years, he finally felt the sensation on tip of hand which was not his own! Thanks to a donation from an Amdavadi, Venkatesan got his hands elbow down after four years The team of surgeons were felicitated by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in Chennai as the patient successfully completed two months with the transplanted hands Dr S Selva SeethaRaman of Gleneagles Global Health City Hospital in Chennai said that what matters in inter gender transplant is the compatibility (The Times of India) Man dies after father cuts off his hand
Tricolour’s creator lived in penury, died in debt
The forest department of West Bengal shared the photograph of a clouded leopard, a rare sighting of one of the most ancient cat species
Thai tourists in ceremonial attire denied entry to Taj A group of six tourists from Thailand wearing ceremonial attire for a photoshoot at the Taj Mahal were stopped from entering the monument's premises A 37 second video showing the three Thai tourists a man and two women wearing ceremonial attire entering the security check gate of the Taj Mahal highlighted the incident In the clip, the tourists can be seen arguing that it was their traditional dress and a matter of pride for them, yet they were being denied entry Later, on the suggestion of local shopkeepers, the group conducted a photoshoot behind the World Heritage monument, at Dursherra Ghat However, ASI officials denied that the tourists were stopped due to their attire “They were asked to keep their masks, crowns and other metal objects in the cloakroom of the monument but they refused to do so, ” said ASI conservation assistant Prince Vajpai (Agency) Rare sighting of clouded leopard in Buxa Tiger Reserve
12 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
The photo, clicked at the Buxa Tiger Reserve, was posted by the forest department on its Facebook page on the occasion of International Clouded Leopard Day on August 4 The leopard has been listed as vulnerable species by the IUCN red list due to a huge decline in its population Less than 10,000 clouded leopards are believed to be living in the wild "Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is a big cat species found in India Its range is very limited and only in a few pockets of dense forest it has been documented in the country Buxa is one such place where you can find clouded leopards also There have been many pictures captured by camera traps in recent times Sharing one such clear camera trap picture captured recently from Buxa Tiger Reserve," the West Bengal forest department said in the caption of the photo uploaded recently The photo of the majestic big cat was liked by many social media users, including Indian Forest Services (IFS) Parveen Kaswan, who reshared it "Absolutely amazing," a Facebook user commented on the forest department's post Others found the photo fantastic The clouded leopard population experienced a sharp decline in the second half of the 20th century as a result of poaching and deforestation They are said to be nocturnal, arboreal, and predators of small mammals According to West Bengal Tourism Department, the Buxa Tiger Reserve was created in 1983 and got the status of a national park in 1992 The tiger reserve has been set up in an area of 759 square km Its name has been derived from Buxa Fort The reserve is rich in biodiversity and has a great collection of rare orchids and medicinal plants Owing to inaccessible terrain, some parts of Buxa hills in the Sinchula range are still unexplored The generic diversity of mammals here is second highest among all tiger reserves of India (Agency) Cricketer meets his family after 9 years Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai Indians cricketer Kumar Kartikeya revealed that he has met his family after nine years and three months and can’t express his feeling on being with his dear ones after a long time The 24 year old took to twitter to post a picture along with his mother to express his joy Kartikeya had earlier said that he would return home only after becoming something in life Back in May, he said that he would go home after the completion of the 2022 IPL where he made his debut The bowler made his first class debut in 2018, bowling traditional left arm spin, but it wasn’t until Mumbai Indians signed him in IPL 2022 that he switched to bowling left arm wrist spin He made his IPL debut in MI’s match against the Chennai Super Kings on April 30 In four matches, the tweaker went on to pick up five wickets at an economy rate of 7 85 (Agency) Son traces mom after 27 years Almost three decades after a woman was allegedly gang raped in Shahjahanpur by two brothers when she was just 12, police arrested one of the absconding accused, 48 year old Mohammed Razi He was hiding in Hyderabad Cops said that the other accused, Naqi Hasan, was somewhere in Odisha, his location traced, and “would be nabbed soon ” “Razi confessed to his crime and said that he never imagined that the case would be opened after all these years, ” said inspector Dharmendra Kumar Gupta, who is part of the investigation The case dates back to 1994, when the woman was raped multiple times by Razi and Hasan, her family's acquaintances When she got pregnant, she was forced to give up her son for adoption and was threatened by the accused not to file an FIR However, in early 2021, her son tracked her down and encouraged her to fight for justice After the filing of the FIR, police identified the accused brothers ” When cops approached the accused, they claimed they didn't know the survivor After a DNA test, it was established that Razi was the biological father of the survivor's son (Agency) Russian weds Ukrainian in Dharamshala Sergei Novikov, an Israeli citizen of Russian descent, and his Ukrainian girlfriend Elona Bramoka, have been dating for quite some years and they chose the serene Himalayan hill town of Dharamshala to start their new life And they got what they came for a full course Himachali wedding, with locals extending a happy helping hand to the couple to perform the rituals Pandit Sandeep Sharma of the ashram said: “Sergei and Elona are staying at Dharamkot near Dharamshala for the past one year with a family, which made all the arrangements for their wedding Pandit Sharma recited Sanskrit hymns and solemnised their marriage, and told them about its sacred sanctity under the Sanatan Dharma traditions ” Host Vinod Sharma and his family performed the marriage rituals, including “kanyadan” of Elona People danced to the beat of folk songs belted out by a ‘pahadi’ band, and feasted (Agency) Neighbours catch woman who fell off from fifth floor A 21 year old Nalasopara woman who fell off from her fifth floor balcony after feeling dizzy, had a miraculous escape as she managed to hold on to the grill of the flat below The occupants of the fourth floor flat, along with her family and other building residents held on to her for about 30 minutes till she was rescued by firemen Raziya Khan was standing on the balcony of her flat She felt dizzy and fell off the balcony that does not have grills However, as the flat below had an entirely grilled balcony, she managed to hold on to it and began screaming Her screams alerted the occupants of the fourth floor flat, her family and other residents The occupants of the fourth floor flat managed to get a grip on her through the grill They immediately informed the fire brigade Four firemen arrived and with the help of a grinder broke the iron grill Eye witnesses said that the residents of the building tied her with a rope to ensure that she did not fall (Agency) Gujarat woman’s hands transplanted to TN man
While Britons are seen s trug gling w ith cost of livin g crisi s, T or y le a d e r s hi p c on t e n d e r Ri shi Sunak is believed to be s p l a s hi n g o ut on a n ew £400,000 s wimm ing pool j us t in time f or the heatwave A e r i a l p h o t o s h a v e b e e n s u r f a c e d t h a t s h o w c a s e s t h e construction of a mini leisure complex well under way at would be prime minister Rishi Sunak’s sprawling £1 5million mansion Last year, the multi million aire ex Chancellor and his wife Akshata Murty were granted plan ning permission to build a swim ming pool, gym and an adjoining tennis court on farmland at the manor house Priti Patel lauds UK’s evacuation effort
Well done!
S i n ce t he st a rt o f th e B i rm i n g ha m 20 22 Commonw ealth Game s, a total of 1 7 athle te s a n d d e le g a t e s h a v e b e e n re po rte d m i s si n g , police have rev ea le d The numbe r included 13 competitors an d four others who we re part of the i ndivi dua l team s Of 17 missing people, nine people have been found while eight remain unaccounted for Of the missing eight, two are said to be Pakistani boxers Suleman Baloch and Nazeer Ullah Khan Police informed a dozen members of the Sri Lankan team went missing, of which seven have now been found A force spokesperson said: “We’ve received a total of 17 missing people reports from visit ing Commonwealth Games delegations 13 competitors and four other delegation mem bers Of those, nine have since been found and eight remain outstanding "We’re making enquiries alongside immi gration officials to ensure they are safe and well ”
Home secretary Priti Patel has ex p re ss ed h er “ tre m en d o u s pride” in the gov ernm ent’s con trov ersial ev acuatio n op eration follow ing th e fall of Kabul to the Taliban In a v ideo to mark the first anniv ersary of Op eration Pitting, Ms P atel d escribed the U K ef fort as “ seism ic ” and a d emo nstration of th e country’ s “bond of trust” w ith th ose Afgh ans w ho had helped UK forces H e r p r a i s e c a m e d e s p i t e a s c a t h i n g r e p o r t e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r b y M P s , w h i c h described the chaotic efforts to get the UK n a t i o n a l s a n d t h e l o c a l p e r s o n n e l w h o worked with them out of the country as a “disaster”, and a “betrayal” of allies which would damage British interests for years to come T h e c r o s s p a r t y C o m m o n s F o r e i g n Affairs Committee criticised the then for eign secretary Dominic Raab and the most senior civil servant at the Foreign Office for not returning from their holidays to take charge as the Afghan government crum bled in the face of the Taliban advance It said that British soldiers and civil servants who worked hard to get as many people out as they could had been “utterly let down” by the “deep failures of leadership” within the gov ernment Ms Patel said that 21,000 people had been brought to the UK from Afghanistan, including 15,000 evacuated directly through Operation Pitting, and a further 5,000 arriv ing subsequently She said that the Border Force staff who worked alongside British troops processing those Afghans seeking to get to the UK would be presented with a spe cial commemorative award
Rishi Sunak splashes £400,000 on new swimming pool
Intro du cing A ara V alentina th e s h in in g 8 year o ld d au g h te r o f Dhiren & Hinta Patel Earlier this year Aara went through trials to represent her school for the Borough athletics a n d w a s s e l e c t e d t o r e p r e s e n t T u d o r c o u r t p r i m a r y s c h o o l where she is studying She was chosen to participate in the Long Jump and won Gold One medal was seemingly not enough, as she has since also won G o l d a g a i n f o r p e r f o r m i n g Flawless “Kata’s” in her Ju Jitsu training when her Sensei random ly assessed the whole class She is not only the pride of her whole family and school, but it seems she is fast becoming pride of her borough and who knows maybe even the country Well done Aara Valentina keep aim ing high!
'Missing' CWG athletes and delegates rises to 17
Th e Department of Health and Social Care has informed MP s that it is g oing to get rid of a £4bn stockp ile of personal p rotective equip ment that w as procured during the early days of the pand em ic, bu t wh ich can not be u sed by the NHS Earlier this year, to dispose of the surplus PPE on a £35m contract, the department appointed waste firms Suez and Veolia DHSC had effectively lost £9bn of the £12bn spent on PPE, members of parlia m e n t ’ s P u b l i c A c c o u n t s C o m m i t t e e s a i d demanding an update on the department’s work to dispose of the excess and unusable PPE “ I t i s e x p e c t e d t h a t t h i s w i l l h a v e increased to 15,000 pallets per month in the next few months,” DHSC said Goan diaspora celebrates Feast of Assumption in Wembley Ryan Fernandes On th e auspiciou s day of 1 5 A u g u s t 20 2 2 , t h e G o an C hap laincy U K in ass oci a tion w ith th e mem bers o f Brent North C onserv ativ es an d t h e U K G o an A ssociatio n along with the Goan d iaspo ra in th e UK cel ebrated the solemnity of The A ssum ption of M other M ary at the St Joseph's RC C hurch in Wem bley, Lo ndo n Th e F ea st o f th e A s s u m p ti o n marks the day wh en the Blessed Virg in Mary ascended into Heav en and the feast mass was celebrated by Fr Feroz Fernand es and Fr Patrick D’S ouza at 6:3 0 pm This year ’ s feast also coincided with India's 75th Independence Day of indepen dence The Goan community as part of the Indian diaspora held the Indian National Flag in support of the occasion Floyd Dias D o R o s a r i o ( D i r e c t o r o f U n i t e d G o a n s Affiliation UK Ltd and Local Activist from W e m b l e y ) a l o n g w i t h C l a y t o n A n t o n i o B a r r e t o ( O f f i c e r t o I n d i a n H i g h Commissioner) and Ravi Vaz ( D i r e c t o r o f U K G o a n A s s o c i a t i o n ) o r g a n i s e d a drawing competition on the same day for children in the age groups of 4 6 years, 7 9 years and 10 12 years The c h i l d r e n s u b m i t t e d t h e i r drawings to the organisers w h e n t h e y a r r i v e d a t t h e church and the results were declared after the mass In the 4 6 years category, t h e f i r s t , s e c o n d a n d 3 r d p r i z e w i n n e r s w e r e A d e l e Albuquerqure, Ninoshka DaCruz and Cheryl Fernandes respectively The 1st prize in the 7 9 years category was won by Greshon Fernandes, Alicia Fernandes came second while Etnan Antonio Barreto came 3rd In the final category of 10 12 years, the prize was won by Lionel Albuquerque The event was a great success around 1000 people par ticipated and was followed by serving of some Goan snacks and tea This was the first event of this kind organised by Goa Chaplaincy along with Goans in the UK
13AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
DHSC to get rid of £4bn stockpile of unusable PPE
14 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly 20 26 August 2022 www.asian-voice.com
A fter more than 70 years, t h e g lo b al M i s s U n iv ers e p ag eant is m aking “i nclu siv e ” chang es to its selection p rocess Starting next year, the pageant will allo w m ar ried wo men and m oth ers to com pete in the com petitio n “ W e a l l b e l i e v e t h a t women should have agency over their lives and that a human’s personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success, ” the pageant said in a statement For the first time in its history, Miss Universe will allow married women and mothers to compete in the international pageant The new rules will take e f f e c t f o r t h e 7 2 n d M i s s Universe pageant in 2023, a c c o r d i n g t o a n i n t e r n a l m e m o o b t a i n e d b y T h e N a t i o n a l P r e l i m i n a r y pageants have already begun for this year's Miss Universe, w h i c h w i l l b e h e l d i n December A s o u r c e c l o s e t o t h e Miss Universe organization confirmed with Insider, that t h e r u l e c h a n g e d w i t h Insider and said the memo went out to national direc tors on Friday " W e a l l b e l i e v e t h a t women should have agency over their lives and that a human's personal decisions should not be a barrier to t h e i r s u c c e s s , " t h e m e m o r e a d , a c c o r d i n g t o T h e National Before the rule change, o n l y w o m e n b e t w e e n t h e ages of 18 and 28 who had never been married and had no children were allowed to compete for Miss Universe The age bracket will remain the same, the source con firmed to Insider
Miss Universe to allow M A R R I E D W O M E N ?
Bride-to-be ditches fiancé and runs with his £5000 cash and bags A c o u p le f ly in g to R om e f ro m H eat h ro w t o ld t h e staff that th ey were g o i ng t o R o m e to marry Ho wev er, in a film y turn o f events, th e b ri d e t o b e ra n away with £500 0 cash and the fiancé’s bags A c c o rd i ng to T h e Sun, wh en the m an, said to be British, left h is fi ancée m ind i ng their cases to go to th e toi let, she v anished and to ok everything w ith her The distraught groom to be told Terminal 5 staff she had swiped £5,000 he had given her for the wed ding One onlooker said: “He was in bits totally incon solable Apparently, they’d only met very recently and he’d fallen head over heels for her “ H e ’ d p r o p o s e d a d a y earlier and she’d accepted “ T h e y ’ d p l a n n e d t o marry in Rome and were a b o u t t o f l y t h e r e Then she did a runner while he went to the loo and vanished with all their belongings “ S t a f f l o o k e d e v e r y w h e r e f o r h e r , but she was nowhere to be found “ I t w a s n ’ t e v e n clear if she’d gone out of the airport or on to another country “In the end, the police were called Even her name was in doubt by then ” Last night a Met Police s p o k e s w o m a n c o n f i r m e d they were called to investi gate S h e a d d e d : “ E n q u i r i e s continue No arrests have been made at this time ” Baba Vanga may have correctly predicted UK’s drought Blind " mystic" Baba V a ng a s p ro p h e cies for 2022 have come tru e here's what else sh e's p re d ic t ed T h e l at e c la i rv o y an t f ro m B u l gar i a, wh o s e v agu e p re di c t io ns h a ve gr i p p e d th e wo rl d s in ce h er de ath in 1 996, h as left a spate of fo re casts righ t through to 5079 But it's her visions for 2022 that h ave haunted many The bling granny, who apparently predicted every thing from Princess Diana's death to 9/11 and Barack O b a m a ' s p r e s i d e n c y , s a i d 2022 would be gripped by two devastating natural dis asters Vanga had also vaguely predicted that large cities would be hit by a drought and crippling water short ages though this could be i n t e r p r e t e d a s h a p p e n i n g anywhere, at any time L o a n d b e h o l d , o n Friday, a drought was offi cially declared in the UK T h e N a t i o n a l D r o u g h t Group (NDG) met to dis c u s s t h e c o n t i n u e d d r y weather, which is expected t o c o m e t o a n e n d o n Sunday with thunderstorms a n d h e a v y r a i n T h e D e p a r t m e n t f o r E n v i r o n m e n t , F o o d a n d Rural Affairs later declared the most affected areas of England the South West, parts of southern and cen tral, and the East are to be moved into drought status The risk of hip fracture in women on plant-based diets is unclea: results from the UK Women’s Cohort Study
The risk of hip frac tu re in w o m e n o n p lan t ba se d d ie ts i s un c lea r T h e s tu d y aim ed to i nv es tig ate the risk o f hip fracture in o c c as i o nal m ea t eat ers , p es c at ari an s , and vegetarians com pared to regular meat eat ers i n th e U K Wom en ’ s C ohort Study and to d ete rm i ne if p o ten ti al as so ciatio ns betw een eac h diet g ro up and h ip fracture risk are mo dified by body mass index (BMI) T h e s t u d y c o n c l u d e d that vegetarian women were at a higher risk of hip frac t u r e c o m p a r e d t o r e g u l a r m e a t e a t e r s F u r t h e r research is needed to con firm this in men and non European populations and to identify factors responsi ble for the observed risk dif f e r e n c e F u r t h e r r e s e a r c h exploring the role of BMI and nutrients abundant in animal sourced foods is rec ommended Hip fractures are most c o m m o n i n e l d e r l y w o m e n a n d a r e becoming increasing ly prevalent in the UK a n d g l o b a l l y d u e t o growing ageing popu lations Health relat e d q u a l i t y o f l i f e d e c l i n e s a f t e r h i p fracture and mortality increases Social and e c o n o m i c c o s t s f r o m h i p fractures are also substantial with an international aver age cost 12 months after the first hip fracture of $44,000 per patient There are grow ing concerns regarding bone health and fracture risk in i n d i v i d u a l s o n m e a t f r e e d i e t s , b u t a s s o c i a t i o n s between these diet groups and hip fracture risk remain unclear An estimated 5% of the US population, 3% of the UK population, and 30% of I n d i a ’ s p o p u l a t i o n f o l l o w vegetarian diets The num b e r o f v e g e t a r i a n s w o r l d wide is increasing, possibly d u e t o a c c u m u l a t i n g e v i dence of reduced risks of s e v e r a l c h r o n i c d i s e a s e s , i n c l u d i n g d i a b e t e s , ischaemic heart disease, and cancer, and a lower environ mental footprint of vegetar i a n d i e t s c o m p a r e d t o o m n i v o r o u s d i e t s Understanding hip fracture risk in vegetarians, in partic ular, is therefore becoming i n c r e a s i n g l y i m p o r t a n t t o public health
Maternity Disparities Taskforce discusses faith and human rights recommendations P atient S afety and Prim ary C are M inister Jam es Morris and Chief M idwifery Officer P r o fe ss o r J a cq u el in e D u nk le y Be nt c o c h ai r ed t h e th i rd m e eti ng o f t h e M ate rni ty D i sp a ri ti es T a s kf o rc e o n M o n d ay 1 8 Ju ly 2022 At the meeting, t h e M u sl i m Wo m en ’ s Network and h uman rig hts o r g an is a ti o n Bi rt h ri g h ts p r es en ted f i nd i ng s f ro m t h ei r lat es t r ep o rt s o n M uslim w omen ’ s m aternity e xp e ri enc e s and h u m a n righ ts in U K maternity care T h e M u s l i m W o m e n ’ s N e t w o r k ’ s r e p o r t b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r t h e m a t e r n i t y experiences of over 1,000 Muslim women from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, which includ e d e x a m p l e s o f w o m e n describing being pressured into decisions, feeling as if they were being treated like a c h i l d a n d b e i n g d e n i e d pain relief during birth B i r t h r i g h t s t h e n p r e sented their report on racial injustice and human rights in UK maternity care The task force discussed their findings and consid ered key interventions that could be undertaken by the s y s t e m t o h e l p s u p p o r t women from ethnic minori ties to access maternity ser v i c e s A l l a g r e e d t o t h e importance of listening to the experiences of women, u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e m a n d seeking actions that benefit everyone from the women to their families, the health and care system and staff Using the expertise of its members, the task force is d e v e l o p i n g a c t i o n s w h i c h a d d r e s s d i s p a r i t i e s f o r mothers and babies
Equalities and rights: Conflict and the need for clarity A tto r ney G ene ral S u el la Brav erman sp oke at P olicy Exch ang e ab ou t equ aliti es and human rig hts Here are so m e h ig h li g hts fro m h er speech that adv ocated the ri g h ts an d r ef o rm s o f women B r a v e r m a n s a i d , “ O u r values lie at the heart of the centurieslong development of human rights in the UK For instance, on women ’ s rights, in 1928 Parliament g a v e w o m e n t h e r i g h t t o v o t e B e t w e e n t w o w o r l d wars, it ratified internation al human rights treaties pro t e c t i n g w o m e n a n d c h i l dren The Government pro moted same sex marriage Over the years, administra tions have pushed through s e v e r a l h u m a n r i g h t s statutes such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (promoting rights to liberty and to a fair trial) and the Children Act 1989 The Protection of Freedoms Act 2 0 1 2 a n d t h e D e f a m a t i o n Act 2013 were promoted by the Government to protect p r i v a c y a n d f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n W h a t t h e s e human rights achievements have in common is the lead ing role of Parliament in set ting the scope of protection of these rights “ F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f G e n d e r R e c o g n i t i o n Certificates, we do not oper ate a system of self identifi c a t i o n i n E n g l a n d a n d W a l e s B u t s o m e s e r v i c e providers behave as if they have a legal duty to admit biological males who identi fy as females into women only spaces, from rape crisis centres and domestic abuse refuges to bathrooms and changing rooms In my view t h i s i s n o t i n a c c o r d a n c e with the law “The law supports the position adopted by my col leagues Nadine Dorries as C u l t u r e S e c r e t a r y a n d Nadhim Zahawi when in the post as Education Secretary P a r a g r a p h s 2 6 a n d 2 7 o f schedule 3 of the Equality Act are clear They permit d i r e c t d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o n grounds of sex: they permit “ w o m e n o n l y ” a n d “ m e n only” services, provided that the rule is a proportionate means of achieving a legiti mate aim “In law, single sex ser vices are intended for one sex only: that is the very thing permitted by schedule 3 It follows that it is not possible to admit a biologi cal male to a single sex ser v i c e f o r w o m e n w i t h o u t d e s t r o y i n g i t s i n t r i n s i c nature as such: once there are XY chromosome adults u s i n g i t , h o w e v e r , t h e y define themselves personal l y , i t b e c o m e s m i x e d s e x The existence of a Gender Recognition Certificate can create a legal position but c a n n o t c h a n g e b i o l o g i c a l reality The operation of the Equality Act is such that the permission to discriminate on grounds of gender reas signment is permission to discriminate against some one who may be the ’right’ biological sex for a particu lar activity but has the pro tected characteristic of gen der reassignment “By way of example a ‘ w o m e n o n l y ’ r u l e f o r a women ’ s judo class excludes all men and will be lawful under paragraph 26 if a joint service would be less effec tive, and it is a proportion a t e m e a n s o f a c h i e v i n g a legitimate aim It will no doubt put people with the protected characteristic of g e n d e r r e a s s i g n m e n t ( e g t r a n s w o m e n , b y t h a t I mean a biological male who identifies as a female) at a disadvantage compared to those without that charac teristic But in my view if the benefit that it confers is suf ficient to justify direct dis c r i m i n a t i o n a g a i n s t t h e whole class of men, it will in almost all circumstances be sufficient to justify indirect d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a g a i n s t a much smaller class of trans women ” She further added that this interpretation is in fact supported by the explanato ry notes to the Equality Act Those notes give an example of a group counselling ser vice for female victims of sexual assault In that case, it is clear that an individual with the protected charac teristic of gender reassign ment (e g a trans woman) could be lawfully excluded if organisers believed that oth e r w i s e , w o m e n w o u l d b e unlikely to attend the ses sion
O n 1 5t h Au g u st 20 22 , t h e G u ild ha ll h e a d qu a r t e r s o f t h e Ci t y o f L o n d o n Co r p or a t ion sp a nning m o re th an 800 ye ar s was illumina t e d wit h Ind ia ’ s Tricol our to ce le br at e th e cou ntr y ’ s 75th Ind ep ende nce Da y The l igh t ing also cele brate s t he stro ng tr ade links betwe en the UK a nd India the tota l annua l t ra de in g oo ds and se rv ice s b e t we e n t h e U K a nd In d ia a mounted t o £26 bil lion C i t y o f L o n d o n
Guildhall decked up in Indian Tricolour to mark 75 years of India’s independence
Acting High Commissioner of India to the UK, Mr Sujit Ghosh giving his speech Welcome address to the guests by Naval Advisor, Indian High Commission, Commodore Anil Jaggi
Commanding Officer of INS Tarangini Commander Praveen Kumar presenting a gift to Chief Guest Lt General Charlie Stickland CB OBE Dance performance at the celebration in West India dock
Corporation Policy Chairman Chris Hayward said: “We are proud to celebrate this land m a r k a n n i v e r s a r y , t h e i m p o r t a n t r o l e India has played in the past 75 years as the world’s largest democracy and the strong and developing trade links between the UK and India ” Rehana Ameer, the Indian born elect e d C o u n c i l l o r i n t h e C i t y o f L o n d o n Corporation who ideated this lighting, said “This lighting symbolises the great ness of India and the huge economic opportunity it offers to the world The British Indian diaspora is a living bridge between the UK and India, and there can not be a better occasion to recognize and celebrate the remarkable contribution of t h e 1 5 m i l l i o n s t r o n g B r i t i s h I n d i a n diverse community to the UK economy and all walks of British life ”
www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
INS Tarangini joins the Indian Independence Day celebrations in the UK Rupanjana Dutta P rim e M inister Boris Jo hnson m arking 75th anniv ersary o f Ind ia’s ind epend ence tweeted a throwback pho to of himself on M onday m o rni ng , g arl and in g M ah at m a Ga nd h i ’ s statue at Sabarm ati Ashram in Guj arat, du r ing h is recent visit to India M r J o h n s o n ’ s a c c o m p a n y i n g m e s s a g e said, “Congratulations to the people of India on 75 years of independence During my recent visit to Gujarat and New Delhi I saw f o r m y s e l f t h e t h r i v i n g L i v i n g B r i d g e between our countries I look forward to see ing these bonds go from strength to strength in the next 75 years ” Celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the flag hoisting ceremony took place at India House on Monday morning followed by an evening reception at t h e W e s t I n d i a D o c k s , near Canary Wharf The celebration that had many f r o m t h e e n t h u s i a s t i c d i a s p o r a a t t e n d i n g , a l s o included the arrival INS T a r a n g i n i , a n I n d i a n Naval sail training ship, visiting the UK moored there E c h o i n g P r i m e Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ cam p a i g n , I n d i a n d i a s p o r a also raised a Tricolour at a W e s t L o n d o n h o m e where the Indian spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo lived from 1884 87 The celebration coincided with Shri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary The West India Dock in East Loondon looked majestic on Monday with the huge sail ship in the backdrop of Thames and Canary Wharf, and a grand Tricolour flap ping in the wind, towering above all The welcome address to the guests was g i v e n b y N a v a l A d v i s o r , I n d i a n H i g h Commission, Commodore Anil Jaggi S p e a k i n g a t t h e e v e n t , A c t i n g H i g h Commissioner of India, Mr Sujit Ghosh said, “The visit of INS Tarangini adds to the occa sion We are delighted the Commanding Officer of Tarangini and his officers are here today to celebrate the day with us India’s 75 years of journey has truly been a remarkable one Today India is the fastest growing major economy in the world, driven by the mantra of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka viswas and sabka prayas ’ India is home to 1 3bn people and known for its democracy, diversity, inclusiveness, credential as an eco nomic power, together with science, tech nology, and innovation India has made con siderable strides in the field of education, h e a l t h , s a n i t a t i o n , i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , a n d poverty alleviation We are a young nation, we are also an ancient civilisation, rooted in the value and wisdom of our ancestors ” C h i e f G u e s t L t G e n e r a l C h a r l i e Stickland CB OBE said, “Our Navy to Navy relationship is incredibly strong and diverse and has multiple themes of activities capa bility, cooperation, and people at a national level The emphasis we place on the rela tionship is that India is about being with anoth er outward looking part ner, taking interest in g l o b a l i n t e r e s t s a n d global responsibilities “We believe in the rules based system, we b e l i e v e i n f r e e d o m o f navigation And we are k e e n t o o p e r a t e a n d w o r k a l o n g s i d e a n y n a t i o n t h a t w a n t s t o w o r k f o r s t a b i l i t y a n d security that underpins p r o s p e r i t y a r o u n d t h e globe That is why we work so closely in India A n d o n c e y o u r e a l i s e , P r i m e M i n i s t e r Modi's vision for security and growth for all of the Indo Pacific, as two of the world s leading economic powers reliant on mar i t i m e t r a d e , w e a r e c o o p e r a t i n g c l o s e l y more and more “We look forward to the signing of new agreements on logistics training, and infor mation sharing, particularly in maritime d o m a i n a w a r e n e s s I n t h e f o r t h c o m i n g meeting of our defence ministers soon, industry to industry collaboration is grow ing And that is in line as you've heard with the Make in India policy Our views avenues of cooperation span integrated electrical propulsion for ships to advanced core tech nology for jet engines But there is so much more we can do with technology and with industry, in the underwater battle space, missiles and air defence, and in modern fighting aircraft and helicopters, and pro fessional military training, and education ” The concluding speech with humour was given by Commanding Officer of INS Tarangini, Commander Praveen Kumar Evening celebration photos by Raj D Bakrania, Prmediapix Flag hoisting ceremony at the India House on Monday morning
Souls Reunited have come together to perform on stage for Charity Led by Bali Brahmbhatt, along with Saira Khan and Vinod Shinde (both of Bollywood fame), this concert is going down memory lane Enjoy the Nostalgia! All funds raised from this event will go towards Education and Health projects in very remote parts of Tribal India Please book tickets early, directly through The Beck Theatre, either by the booking office (0343 310 0044) or online (www BECKTHEATRE ORG UK)
Heavy rain on the day did not discourage guests from attending and there were hundreds present to see the flag raising cere mony at Cardiff Castle and h e a r s p e e c h e s b y R a j Aggarwal, Counsel General Mick Antoniw MS, and the Lord Mayor, which were fol lowed by traditional patriot ic Indian dancing organised by the Dance with Sinjini troupe T h e e v e n t w a s t h e o f f i c i a l Indian government's celebration i n W a l e s t o c o m m e m o r a t e t h e a n n i v e r s a r y o f I n d i a n I n d e p e n d e n c e ( A u g u s t 1 5 , 1 9 4 7 ) and it was the first time in three years that there were no restric t i o n s o n n u m b e r s t h a t w e r e allowed to attend the festivities In his speech Indian diplomat R a j A g g a r w a l s a i d : " I n d i a n Independence Day is celebrated all over the world with lots of love and pride, and we are glad that this year we can celebrate it with a l l o u r f r i e n d s a n d c o l l e a g u e s again Raj Aggarwal (left) with Lord Mayor of Cardiff Graham Hinchey and dancers from the event
P acked cro wds attend ed the o fficial Ind ian gov e rn m ent ce rem o n y to com memorate the 75th a nn iv ers ar y o f I n d i an Independ ence Day F o r t h e f i r s t t i m e since the Covid pandem ic, hundreds of guests attended the flag raising ceremony at midday on M o n d a y 1 5 A u g u s t a t Cardiff Castle which was illumi nated in the saffron, white and g r e e n c o l o u r s o f t h e I n d i a n national flag and flags flew from the ramparts to celebrate the occa sion
India – A Vibrant Democracy and Pluralistic Society
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Ambassador A. R. Ghanshyam F or m uch of the tw o th ousand years o f the C omm on Era, Ind ia w as t h e la rg e st e c o no m y c o n tributing a third of the g lobal out p u t A rc h a eo lo g i c al ev i d e nc e t rac es t h e o r i g i ns o f an ci en t India’s Ind us Valley Civ ilization to t h e 5 th m i ll enn iu m bef o re th e C o m m on Era Du rin g med i ev al times too India witnessed several g lo rious em pires and g reat civi lizations spread across millions o f m iles und er enlig htened emper o rs Towards the last quarter of the last millennium, India came under t h e i n f l u e n c e o f E a s t I n d i a C o m p a n y f o r a l m o s t a c e n t u r y during 18th and 19th centuries Thereafter the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 compelled the British to place India directly under the British Crown for another ninety years For almost two centuries, there fore, India was anchored to Great B r i t a i n s e r v i n g t h e i n t e r e s t s o f only the British Empire Of all the colonies the British conquered, controlled and immensely benefit ed from it was India that was by far the biggest and the wealthiest and was often referred to as the Jewel in the (British) Crown Before finally leaving India the British divided the Indian subcon tinent into two countries in three parcels India, Pakistan West and Pakistan East India’s population then was 330 million and the GDP was INR 2 7 trillion a paltry 3% of the global GDP A country which accounted for a third of the global output for much of two millennia before had thus been bled bone dry by the colonial masters Independent India I n d e p e n d e n t I n d i a h a s w i t n e s s e d s e v e n t e e n f r e e a n d f a i r Parliamentary Elections with fif teen Prime Ministers at the helm each contributing his/her mite to the growth, stability and develop ment of the Indian Nation, its society and economy How indi vidual Prime Ministers of India tried to build a modern India from the debris of two centuries’ rule by the British Empire is in itself a great story and has been narrated by many authors, Indian and for eign In the seventy five years since independence, India has negotiat ed a difficult, at times treacherous, j o u r n e y r e p l e t e w i t h f i v e w a r s (1948, 1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999) and facing frequent occurrence of n a t u r a l c a l a m i t i e s i e f l o o d s , famines, droughts and epidemics Two of its elected Prime Ministers were brutally assassinated and a third died mysteriously after sign ing the Ceasefire Agreement in the Soviet city of Tashkent post the India Pakistan 1965 War A stretch o f 2 1 m o n t h s d u r i n g 1 9 7 5 7 7 remains an aberration in India’s otherwise uninterrupted democ racy when fundamental rights of Indian citizens were suspended d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f n a t i o n a l emergency Prog ress achieved Much water has flown in the Ganga since India attained her independence During 1950 51 the contributions to Indian GDP by agriculture, industry and services sectors were 56%, 15% and 29% respectively Agriculture employed the largest work force of 72% with Manufacturing and Services pro viding 10% and 18% jobs respec tively Today the service sector accounts for 54% of Indian GDP The Industry and agriculture fol l o w w i t h 2 5 9 2 % a n d 2 0 1 9 % respectively Life expectancy on the eve of independence was 32 years It has now gone up to 70 years In 1950, infant mortality rate in India was 145 6/1000 live births and mater nal mortality ratio in the 1940s w a s 2 0 0 0 / 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 l i v e b i r t h s which declined to 1000 in the 1950s There were just 50,000 doc tors across the entire country and the number of primary healthcare c e n t r e s w a s 7 2 5 T o d a y , i n f a n t mortality is 27 7 per 1000 births and maternal mortality rate is 103 per 100,000 India now has more than 1 2 million doctors There are 54,618 Sub Health Centres (SHC), 2 1 , 8 9 8 P r i m a r y H e a l t h C e n t r e s (PHC) and 4,155 Urban Primary H e a l t h C e n t r e s ( U P H C ) , a s o n December 8, 2021 There are as many as 70,000 public and private hospitals As of April 5, 2022 there were 117,771 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB HWCs) are operational in India apart from 748 e Hospitals estab lished across the country as part of the ‘Digital India’ initiative of the government As for education, when the B r i t i s h l e f t I n d i a t h e r e w e r e 210,000 primary schools, 13,600 middle schools and 7,416 higher secondary schools in India apart f r o m 4 9 8 c o l l e g e s a n d 2 7 Universities Today there are 1 6 m i l l i o n s c h o o l s , 4 2 , 3 4 3 c o l l e g e s and a thousand Universities More t h a n 2 5 0 m i l l i o n c h i l d r e n a r e going to school today in India and close to 40 million are enrolled in our Universities India survived a devastating once in a century pandemic of Covid 19 and its economy con tracted by 7 3% in the financial year 2020 21 It may be some con solation that this contraction was l o w e r t h a n i n o t h e r m a j o r economies As per latest available estimates the growth rate of GDP f o r 2 0 2 1 2 2 i s p e g g e d a t 8 7 % which has to be seen in the con text of 7 3% contraction in the pre ceding year India is bound together as a great nation by the strength and stability of its democracy, the rule of law and a breath taking diversi ty of its populace in terms of reli gion, language, culture, climate, history, geography and more At the time of India’s first census in 1 9 5 1 H i n d u s w e r e 3 0 5 m i l l i o n ( 8 4 1 % ) , M u s l i m s 3 5 4 m i l l i o n (9 8%), Christians 8 3 million and Sikhs 6 86 million (1 9%) In 2022 the estimated population is 1090 million Hindus (79 80%), 200 mil lion Muslims (14 23%), 31 2 million C h r i s t i a n s ( 2 3 % ) , 2 3 7 m i l l i o n S i k h s ( 1 7 2 % ) , 9 6 m i l l i o n Buddhists (0 70%), 5 1 million Jains (0 37%) and 9 1 million (0 66%) o t h e r r e l i g i o n s a n d 3 3 m i l l i o n (0 24%) religion not stated There are two million Hindu temples, 300,000 active mosques, 8,114 Jain temples a few of them abroad, more than 125 Buddhist temples, monasteries, stupas and pagodas, some 35 Jewish synagogues etc At the time of independence many predicted that India will splinter into pieces based on caste, creed, tribe, language, culture etc , but she has remained in one piece and stronger than ever Future Prospects In the last ten years, despite a sliding down of growth rates since 2016 till the economy picked up this year and a significant unem ployment burden haunting policy makers in the country, there is a quiet revolution taking place in the arena of technology, digitiza tion and innovation spearheaded by young Indian companies The government’s Atmanirbharta cru sade has given an impetus to it Latest research of the Indian economy in the last ten years by analyst Ruchir Sharma has a few exciting revelations In 2011 India had 55 Billionaires with a cumula tive wealth of US $ 256 billion w h i c h w a s t h e n e q u i v a l e n t t o 13 5% of India’s GDP Ten years later in 2021 India hosts 140 bil l i o n a i r e s w i t h t h e c u m u l a t i v e wealth US$ 596 billion equivalent to 19 6% of the GDP Sharma adds t h a t 1 1 0 o f t h e s e a r e n e w B i l l i o n a i r e s c r e a t e d d u r i n g t h e course of just last decade At the time of independence India was the sixth largest economy in the world In 2021 it retains the same p o s i t i o n w h i c h i s n o m e a n achievement with India’s popula tion having more than quadru pled N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e a b o v e , there is no room for complacency because (a) India still have a large population that lives below the p o v e r t y l i n e , e s t i m a t e d b y t h e World Bank at 140 million which is 10% of the population, (b) the formal and informal sectors may not able to absorb the large num ber of educated young who are passing out of colleges (2022 esti mate is 10 76 million), (c) external a n d i n t e r n a l f a c t o r s w i l l k e e p haunting the policy establishment in its effort to achieve double digit GDP growth rate which is the need of the hour for India Be that as it may India also has several advantages (i) a median age of less than 30 years, (ii) a strong and focussed government, (iii) growing m a r k e t , a n d , ( i v ) a n i n n o v a t i v e Indian youth If India persists with its pursuit of building and consol idating its infrastructure, keeps the society cohesive and harmo nious, stabilizes predictable con sistency in policy formulation and implementation, a brighter future can be ensured for its future gen erations *** (Ambassador A R Ghanashyam is a retired Indian diplomat who has served as Ambassador of India to Angola and High Commissioner of India to Nigeria)
The Bhavan London celebrates 75th Independence Day of India with cultural performances T h e Bh av an L ondo n celebrated t h e 7 5th I nd ependence Day o f I nd i a w i th a g rand event of cul tural performances o n 4th A ugust The audience was treat e d to m el o d i o u s p a tri o ti c s o ng s i n Beng ali, Hind i and Tamil and con c l ud ed w i th sc i nti l lat i ng Bharatanatyam and Kath ak per formances by T he Bhavan’s stu d ents Chief Guest of the evening HE S u j i t G h o s h , A c t i n g H i g h Commissioner of India to the UK e n u m e r a t e d t h e g r e a t p r o g r e s s India had made in various fields He points up nurturing the role of the younger generation in taking forward the glory of the country Amish Tripathi, Director of the N e h r u C e n t r e s p o k e a b o u t t h e contributions of Indians in various fields, the glorious past that we come from and the philosophy and ethics of our culture that is admired and respected all over the world C l l r D a r y l B r o w n , D e p u t y M a y o r o f H a m m e r s m i t h a n d Fulham spoke about the impor tant work of The Bhavan in the local as well as the wider c o m m u n i t y L a l Chellaram (Corpus F u n d D o n o r ) , D r S u r e k h a M e h t a ( V i c e C h a i r m a n , B h a v a n U K ) , a n d B a r o n e s s U s h a P r a s h a r O B E ( H o n o r a r y p r e s i dent UK community Foundations) shared a few thoughts about the thriving Indian community in the UK and the robust work being done by the Indians in the UK in all sectors T h e e v e n i n g b e g a n w i t h a prayer by Executive Director Dr M N Nandakumara, followed by the w e l c o m e a d d r e s s b y E x e c u t i v e Committee member Mr Subhanu Saxena The vote of thanks was given by the Executive committee member Varinder Singh Mr Nandakumara addressing the audience with all guests Bhavan's Bharatanatyam students Independence Day at Cardiff Castle
The event had been organised by Indian Honorary Consul Raj Aggarwal and was attended by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff Graham Hinchey, Chief Medical Director Sir Frank Atherton, cross party assembly members, senior officers from the armed forces, police and c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r s T h e Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh regi m e n t w e l c o m e d t h e a r r i v i n g guests with a fanfare and played the national anthem
Naval Officer and Gurmit Singh Randhawa MBE (Chairman of Sikh Council of Wales)
Leader Kanailal Dutta
AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
On the second day of ch ain h ung er strike o ver the slow pace of project t o es tab li s h a d i r ec t ro ute to the anc estral h om e of rev olutionary S u k hd ev T h ap a r f ro m C haura Bazar area, kin o f martyr and members o f S h ah ee d S u kh d e v T h a p ar T ru s t ac c u se d the P unjab g overnment o f ig noring the martyr T h e p r o t e s t i n g k i n o f m a r t y r a n d m e m b e r s o f d i f f e r e n t m a r k e t a n d religious organisations said the state government’s tall c l a i m s o f f u l f i l l i n g t h e d r e a m s o f m a r t y r s i s i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e f i l t h y condition around martyr’s ancestral house They said the project to b e a u t i f y t h e s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a o f t h e h o u s e i s a l s o moving at snail’s pace and m u n i c i p a l c o r p o r a t i o n officials are not paying heed to the issue President of Knitwear and Textile Club Vinod Thapar also extended support to the agitation S h a h e e d S u k h d e v T h a p a r M e m o r i a l T r u s t president Ashok Thapar said t h e y h a v e b e e n s e e k i n g establishment of the direct a p p r o a c h r o a d t o t h e revolutionary leader’s house in Naughara mohalla from C h a u r a B a z a r , b u t t o n o avail “ T h e g o v e r n m e n t i s i g n o r i n g t h e f r e e d o m fighter as no AAP leader or MLA approached even after t h e c h a i n h u n g e r s t r i k e going on for the last two days We demand that chief m i n i s t e r B h a g w a n t M a n n s h o u l d a l s o v i s i t t h e ancestral house by May 15, Sukhdev’s birth anniversary, a n d d i r e c t o f f i c i a l s t o e x p e d i t e t h e p r o j e c t T i l l t h e n , t h e c h a i n h u n g e r strike of members of the trust will continue,” Thapar said, adding that around 40 square yards of land has to be acquired for providing a d i r e c t a p p r o a c h road to the house, but the authorities have been delaying t h e p r o c e s s e v e n a f t e r t h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t h a s i s s u e d n o t i f i c a t i o n regarding the same The family had e a r l i e r a n n o u n c e d to stay away from t h e t h e s t a t e l e v e l Independence Day function where Punjab chief minister is expected to hoist the flag They claimed that despite s e v e r a l r e q u e s t s , n e i t h e r b e a u t i f i c a t i o n w o r k h a s been done nor direct access t o h i s h o u s e h a s b e e n e n s u r e d I n t h e m e m o r a n d u m , t h e m a i n d e m a n d w i l l b e t h e c o m p l e t i o n o f l a n d acquisition for direct access t o t h e h o u s e , a p a r t f r o m n a m i n g t h e c i t y r a i l w a y station and one train after m a r t y r S u k h d e v T h a p a r T h e o t h e r d e m a n d s i n c l u d e d i s s u i n g a p o s t a l stamp in his name, giving him the status of ‘shaheed’ and announcing a national h o l i d a y o n h i s b i r t h anniversary, May 15 PM Modi thanks global leaders for congratulating India
Freedom fighters’ kin share untold stories of struggle
'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign generates business of £50 mn A s In dia ce le bra te d its 7 5 t h y e a r of i n d e pe n d e n c e o n A ugust 15, 2022, Pr ime M i n i st e r N a r e n d r a M o d i 's c a ll f or " Ha r G ha r T ir a n g a " w a s wid ely adopt ed by t he c o un t r y m e n S a l e of m ore t han 3 00 million n at ion al flags this y ea r g e n e r a t e d a bo u t £ 50 m illion in r eve nue, said t he Confed era tion of All In dia Tra der s (C AIT) C A I T N a t i o n a l President B C Bhartia and S e c r e t a r y G e n e r a l P r a v e e n Khandelwal said that over 3000 Tiranga events were organised nationwide over the course of the past 15 days w i t h t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f n u m e r o u s b u s i n e s s p e o p l e and people from all walks of life The trade leaders added that the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' m o v e m e n t h a s demonstrated the capacity a n d c a p a b i l i t i e s o f I n d i a n b u s i n e s s p e o p l e , w h o p r o d u c e d m o r e t h a n 3 0 0 million tricolors in a record 20 days in order to meet the astronomical demand of the people Large scale Tiranga activities, including rallies, m a r c h e s , t o r c h l i g h t p r o c e s s i o n s , t h e T i r a n g a G a u r a v Y a t r a , a s w e l l a s o p e n m e e t i n g s a n d c o n f e r e n c e s , a r e h e l d throughout the states at the b e h e s t o f t h e t r a d e associations
R e vo lu ti o n ar y le a d er Kanailal Dutta of the J u ga n ta r g r oup wa s hanged on November 1 0, 1 9 0 8, f o r t he assass inati on of British a pp ro ve r N a re n G o s wa m i i n t he A l i por e C e n tr a l J a i l ’ s hos pital A day before t he ha ng in g, hi s b rot he r, A s hu to s h, h a d r eq u es t e d h i m t o ha n d ov e r something that the fami ly could keep i n memory of t he i r 1 9 y e ar ol d s on Kanailal had agreed that the f a m i ly c ou ld k e ep hi s s p ec t a c le s a ft e r b e i n g hanged On the 75th year of I n d ep e nd e n c e, D ut ta ’ s grandni ec e, Sharbaree Bose, is wri ti ng down the details of the m em or ab il i a s tory that was pass ed on as oral history in her family T w o J a d a v p u r University alumni Oyeshi G a n g u l y a n d S h r i y a D a s g u p t a a r e d i g i t a l l y r e c o r d i n g s u c h u n h e a r d tales of Bengal’s freedom fighters that are usually not d o c u m e n t e d i n h i s t o r y b o o k s f o r t h e i r A g n i j u g Archive “ M y g r a n d f a t h e r h a d o n c e w r i t t e n a b o u t t h e specs story But the article and his diary entries have n o w b e c o m e t o o b r i t t l e T h e s t o r y o f h o w m y granduncle wore his high p o w e r e d g l a s s e s t o t h e gallows have survived in our family He had thought the British might want him to read out something before being hanged That wasn’t finally required Before the black cloth was being tied a r o u n d h i s h e a d , h e h a d handed over the glasses to a guard and asked him to pass t h e m o n t o h i s b r o t h e r They are now kept in the C h a n d e r n a g o r e F r e n c h Museum,” Bose said Another unheard story is about Mohit Moitra who, l i k e K a n a i l a l , w a s a l s o a m e m b e r o f t h e J u g a n t a r g r o u p M o h i t w a s sentenced to Kalapani in 1932 for being involved in the Arms Act case In 1933, the prison inmates went on a hunger strike to demand b e t t e r l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s F e a r i n g e s c a l a t i o n , t h e British tried to force feed M o i t r a a n d a c c i d e n t a l l y , the tube containing food e n t e r e d h i s w i n d p i p e instead of the food pipe He had to be immediately h o s p i t a l i s e d a n d fought for his life f o r 1 0 d a y s H i s n e p h e w , P i n a k i , s a i d : “ W h e n t h e doctor came to him w i t h f o l d e d h a n d s and requested him to at least have the medicine, my uncle smiled at him and said: ‘I am still on hunger strike M y c o m r a d e s h a v e n o t eaten So, I’ll also not eat’ The day after, on May 28, 1933, he passed away ” G a n g u l y a n d D a s g u p t a ’ s a r c h i v e h a s f a s c i n a t i n g a n e c d o t e s a b o u t h o w B a g h a J a t i n ’ s w i f e I n d u b a l a D e v i c o n t i n u e d w e a r i n g sankhasindur till her last days since their guru told the family ‘Baccha (Jatin) a b h i z i n d a h a i ’ , h o w Vijaylakshmi Pandit turned down the request for a job by Sunanda Gupta (wife of Chittagong Armoury Raid hero Ananda Gupta) when the family was struggling in London where Ananda was undergoing treatment for h i s m o r p h i n e a d d i c t i o n induced by the British in j a i l a n d o f h o w S h a n t i G h o s h a n d S u n i t i C h a u d h u r i w e r e s e e n s t u d y i n g h a r d f o r t h e i r final exams a day before going to kill the DM of Comilla
The trade leaders also said that a year long Swaraj V a r s h s e r i e s w i l l i n s t i l l a sense of pride in the nation's independence and educate y o u n g p e o p l e a b o u t t h e s a c r i f i c e s m a d e b y i t s citizens to win freedom The S w a r a j V a r s h w i l l b e e x c e l l e n t a t b i n d i n g t h e fabric of the nation together w i t h t h e t h r e a d o f patriotism at a time when a s m a l l n u m b e r o f p e o p l e d e s i r e t o d e s t a b i l i z e t h e country Martyr Sukhdev’s kin demand Punjab CM's visit to ancestral house in Ludhiana
A civilian and a police personnel were injured in two terror attacks that took p l a c e i n B u d g a m a n d Srinagar districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday P r i me M i ni s ter Na re nd ra M o d i , V i c e P r e s i d e n t Jagdeep Dhankar and his s p o u s e S u d e s h a t t e n d e d t h e ' A t H o m e ' r e c e p t i o n h o s t e d b y P r e s i d e n t Droupadi Murmu On the ocassion of the Independence Day, people a t m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 c r o s s r o a d s i n L u c k n o w stood in rapt attention and r e n d e r e d t h e n a t i o n a l anthem Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on M o n d a y f l a g g e d o f f a s p e c i a l m e t r o c a l l e d t h e ' A z a d i E x p r e s s ' , w h i c h s h o w c a s e d t h e f r e e d o m s t r u g g l e a n d t h e s t a t e ' s beauty The Azadi Express is a s p e c i a l i n i t i a t i v e o f t h e M u m b a i M e t r o p o l i t a n R e g i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y ( M M D R A ) a n d M a h a M u m b a i M e t r o Operation Corporation Ltd ( M M M O C L ) t o c e l e b r a t e Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, according to a government statement Aug 15, 2022 06:20 PM IST U t t a r P r a d e s h : C o m p l a i n t f i l e d a f t e r teachers miss flag hoisting a t s c h o o l i n H a r r a i y a development block A complaint was filed with officials after teachers a n d o t h e r s t a f f a t a government primary school i n H a r r a i y a d e v e l o p m e n t b l o c k i n U t t a r P r a d e s h missed flag hoisting A probe in the matter has b e e n o r d e r e d b y t h e d i s t r i c t B a s i c S i k s h a Adhikari (BSA) Gujarat c h i e f m i n i s t e r B h u p e n d r a P a t e l o n M o n d a y a n n o u n c e d a three per cent hike in the dearness allowance (DA) f o r s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t employees under the 7th P a y C o m m i s s i o n , w i t h r e t r o s p e c t i v e e f f e c t f r o m January 1, 2022 A c e r e m o n i a l p a r a d e w a s h e l d a t t h e E a s t e r n N a v a l C o m m a n d P a r a d e G r o u n d i n V i z a g t o celebrate the day A 750 square feet tricolour, that t r a v e l l e d f r o m S i k k i m t o Antartica, was displayed at Lal Chowk R u s s i a n P r e s i d e n t Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated India on its 76th Independence Day “By joint efforts we will e n s u r e t h e f u r t h e r development of the whole r a n g e o f p r o d u c t i v e i n t e r s t a t e t i e s f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f o u r f r i e n d l y peoples, in the interests of s t r e n g t h e n i n g s e c u r i t y & stability at the regional and global level,” Putin said in a statement
T h e U n i o n Government's modification of the Flag Code to permit t h e m a n u f a c t u r e o f f l a g s f r o m p o l y e s t e r a n d m a c h i n e s a l s o p l a y e d a significant role in the ease of production Previously, only Khadi or cotton could be used to create the Indian t r i c o l o r M o r e t h a n 10,00,000 individuals in the n a t i o n n o w h a v e j o b s b e c a u s e o f t h e f l a g l a w reform since they can now make Tiranga flags at home or in smaller facilities A vast number of Indian flags were produced in a very organised m a n n e r b y t h e S M E manufacturing and trading s e c t o r , w o r k i n g d a y a n d night The annual selling of the Indian tricolor during I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y celebrations was previously limited to about $ 150 200 m i l l i o n T h e ' H a r G h a r T i r a n g a ' m o v e m e n t , h o w e v e r , h a s s i g n i f i c a n t l y improved sales to the t u n e o f £ 5 0 m i l l i o n , CAIT added I n s u p p o r t o f t h e v i s i o n o f " A t m n i r b h a r Bharat" and "Vocal on L o c a l , " B h a r t i a a n d K h a n d e l w a l a r e p l e a d i n g w i t h P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i t o p r o c l a i m Swaraj year beginning o n A u g u s t 1 5 t h T h i s w i l l h e l p I n d i a s t a n d out as a separate nation o n t h e g l o b a l s t a g e They went on to say that the government, in a PPP model w i t h o r g a n i s a t i o n s f r o m various sectors, should run a c a m p a i g n t o a w a k e n t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s p i r i t o f " N a t i o n P a r a m o u n t " t h r o u g h o u t t h e n a t i o n i n light of the enthusiasm and p a t r i o t i s m o f t h e p e o p l e demonstrated over the past 20 days across the country t o w a r d t h e T r i c o l o r campaign
P ri m e M in i st er Nar end ra M o d i o n Monday thanked g lo bal lea d er s, i n cl u d i ng F ren ch P res i d e nt Em m an u el M a cr o n, A u s tra li an P ri m e M i ni s ter A nth o n y Albanese and Nepalese P ri m e M i ni s te r S h er Ba h ad u r D eu ba , f o r cong ratualting India on its 76th Ind ependence Day
Strike by workers to badly affect Royal Mail T he C omm unications Workers U nio n (C WU ), wh ich repre sents more than a 100 ,00 0 Royal Mail po stal wo rkers, said British po stal wo rkers will hold the strike in p rotest over p ay o n Au g 26 and 31 as well as Sept 8 and 9 Royal Mail (RMG L) has warned that it could post a loss in the UK for the full year 2022 23, if four days of strike called by the CWU in August and September went ahead The recent strike announcement is the latest industrial action in the country as workers demand wage rises to cope with soaring inflation at a time when Britain faces its worst cost of living crisis in decades read more The centuries old Royal Mail, which saw a parcel boom during the pandemic, now also faces challenges to its busi ness due to a slowdown in the UK economy, ebbing con sumer demand, and sky high inflation However, the company has said it has contingency plans in place and will be working hard to minimise disruption and restore normal service as soon as possible Bus i ne s s e s a nd the wea l t hy r ec e iv e d almos t £40bn in tax c uts while Rishi Sun ak was c hanc el l or , le aving other s footing the b il l for B rit ain’s recovery from the pandem ic in the midst of a cost of l iving c risis, acc or ding to new anal y sis Mr Sunak rejected calls for an emer gency budget to help struggling families earlier this week after former prime minister Gordon Brown urged the gov e r n m e n t t o a n n o u n c e m o r e s u p p o r t before a “financial timebomb” of rising bills in October “pushes millions over t h e e d g e ” T h e l e a d e r s h i p h o p e f u l launched a fresh attack on his rival Liz Truss’s plan for tax cuts in an emergency Budget, describing it as a “big bung” for l a r g e b u s i n e s s e s a n d t h e b e t t e r o f f which would do little to help those most in need But a review of tax “winners and losers” across every Budget that took place while Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak were in Downing Street found that the Treasury had favoured tax breaks for business over help for individuals and families Tax Justice UK calculated that the government handed at least £35 8bn to businesses in tax cuts, compared to plans in place when Theresa May’s gov ernment came to an end Tax Justice UK’s report shows that Ms Sunak also handed a £2 2bn net reduction in taxes on wealth, primarily through a heavily criticised stamp duty holiday which cost £5bn, while primarily helping well off homeowners The move also helped to inflate the UK’s property bubble, pushing prices even further out of reach for first time buyers Mr Sunak also announced a windfall tax on oil and gas company profits but at the same time gave a tax break for investing in new fossil fuel projects Other controversial and expensive tax policies included a 5p cut in fuel duty, which followed two years of freezes That cost the Treasury £4 5bn but made little impact in the face of record high fuel prices
The estimates, which are an update to the Bank of England’s previous official inflation forecast in March, show that the UK’s debt and welfare payments bill will go up by more than £50 bn next financial year The findings forecast that debt service costs are likely to almost double next year from £50 bn to £95 bn because £500 bn of the UK’s public debt is linked to the consumer price index That bill falls as inflation comes down, but is replaced by higher social security benefits, which are also linked to prices, and are set to be £23 bn higher every year by the time of the next election These payments will leave the new Tory leader hoping that tax revenues remain strong, helped by high inflation, at a time when the BoE thinks the economy will slide into recession In March, the Office for Budget Responsibility said that ministers would meet their own fiscal rules with £30 bn headroom to spare in 2024 25 But officials close to the Treasury and OBR say more severe forecasts will be laid bare by the fiscal watchdog by the time the new prime minister takes office L as t w e ek , th e Ba nk o f Eng land p redicted th at the UK will fall into a recession by th e autumn and could hav e more than a year of subsequ ent econo mic con traction A l t h o u g h t h e r e w a s some growth in April, May and June in service activities such as travel agencies as Covid 19 restrictions were lifted, the ending of the test and trace initiative dealt a blow to the economy Darren Morgan, direc tor of economic statistics at t h e O f f i c e f o r N a t i o n a l Statistics said "These were partially offset by growth in h o t e l s , b a r s , h a i r d r e s s e r s and outdoor events across the quarter, partly as a result o f p e o p l e c e l e b r a t i n g t h e Platinum Jubilee " There was a large fall in June of 0 6%, partly caused by the significant reduction in services spending as coro navirus test and trace was p h a s e d o u t , a n d p a r t l y b e c a u s e t h e P l a t i n u m J u b i l e e m e a n t t h a t t h e r e w e r e t w o f e w e r w o r k i n g days that month The UK's economic per formance was worse in the second quarter than that of countries such as Canada, Italy, France, and Germany, with underlying data show ing that economic pressures were beginning to take hold on consumer spending Private consumption fell by 0 2% in the second quar t e r a n i n d i c a t i o n t h a t record high prices for some p r o d u c t s w e r e s t o p p i n g people from spending Liz Truss vow ed to do “all tha t I can ” to he lp hous eholds s trugglin g with the cos t of li vin g crisi s, in a chan ge of ton e that her C onse rvativ e leader ship ri v a l Ri s h i Su n a k d e s cr i b e d a s a “major U turn on the bi ggest is sue facing the country” The foreign secretary, frontrun ner in the race to be the next prime m i n i s t e r , h a s p r e v i o u s l y s a i d s h e favours tax cuts over “handouts” as the best way to alleviate the inflation ary surge and assist people facing energy bills that could top £4,000 a year by next spring Her critics, led by Sunak, claim she is indifferent to the plight of the p o o r a n d p e n s i o n e r s , m i l l i o n s o f whom do not pay tax His team called it a “serious political and moral mis judgment” Truss had said: “I understand how difficult the rising cost of living is making life for many and, if elected, I will do all that I can to help struggling h o u s e h o l d s ” T r u s s a l s o r e i t e r a t e d that taxing people more and then handing them back their own money what her team calls Sunak’s “social i s t t a x a n d s p e n d ” i s n o t a Conservative approach Neither Truss nor Sunak has out lined how exactly they would address the issue but the former chancellor has said he would make direct pay m e n t s a m o u n t i n g t o h u n d r e d s o f pounds to the poorest households “It’s all very well offering empty words about ‘Doing all you can ’ , ” the Sunak campaign said “Taking action m e a n s p r o v i d i n g d i r e c t s u p p o r t , which Truss has previously dismissed as ‘handouts’ ” Sunak said that the next prime minister had “ a moral responsibility” to help poorer house holds through the winter, saying he would rather lose the Tory leadership race than “win on a false promise” Last week Truss was forced to aban don a policy to cut public sector pay outside London and the south east to save almost £9bn “Mistakes like this would cost the Conservative party the next election,” said a Sunak aide However, Truss is viewed by poll sters and bookmakers as the fron trunner in the Tory leadership con test, which will be decided by party members in a ballot, with the result announced on September 5
Andrew Bailey The w inner of th e Co nserv ative party leadership contest w ill face hug e ad ditio nal costs of serv icing th e nation’s debt and paying social security benefits as a result of rising inflation and interest rates
The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Centre ( G F L E C ) u n d e r l i n e d t h i s i n a r e c e n t s u r v e y T h e women survey were less confident in the US stock mar ket Additionally, they were less confident in their abil ity to make investment decisions GFLEC believe that confidence and knowledge are strongly correlated If true, this underlines the importance of education to close the investment gap If you're hoping that these attitudes will change with newer generations, you might have to wait a little longer 56% of Millennial women said that fear is what is holding them back from the market
Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel OBE BoE chief warns leadership against any interference
In light of the statistics demonstrating great results, why don't more women invest? One interesting reason is that 77% of women see money as a tool to help their families Men are less likely to see money this way, which could partially explain why they invest more As the wage gap continues to close, women will have more funds to invest However, more work must be done, especially when it comes to granting raises
Next UK PM will face fiscal dilemma Liz Truss vows to help struggling households UK economy to fall into recession by autumn: BoE Bank of E ng land go vernor A nd rew Bailey has sent a strong w arning to th e next p rime minister no t to inter fere politically in the regula tion of the C ity o f London, saying that it w ould hit the country’s competitiveness In a letter to the House o f C o m m o n s T r e a s u r y s e l e c t c o m m i t t e e , Bailey said politi cal interventions to be achieved through the gov e r n m e n t ’ s n e w financial services bill could have the opposite effect to that intended and make the UK less competitive B a i l e y s a i d t h a t t h e r e was a need for “parliament, stakeholders and the public at large to hold regulators to account fully” but made no m e n t i o n o f t h e p r o p o s e d new power for ministers to look over the shoulders of regulators S u n a k p r o p o s e d t h e “ p u b l i c i n t e r e s t ” c a l l i n power following frustration that City regulators were not acting radically enough in reviewing EU legislation, notably to free capital for investment Bailey has been scrupu lous in not talking about the different plans Sunak and T r u s s h a v e p u t f o r w a r d , insisting that “it is not for the BoE to get involved in t h e l e a d e r s h i p e l e c t i o n ” But he has said that he does not think there is a need to c h a n g e t h e s t r u c t u r e o f monetary policy or financial regulation In the UK, the govern ment sets the objectives for monetary policy, leaving the BoE to meet them free from p o l i t i c a l i n t e r f e r e n c e H o w e v e r , B a i l e y i s c o n cerned the latter part of the balance of power might be eroded on monetary policy and financial regulation
18 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022 Th e Indian P M g av e a po werf ul emph at ic speech on ending m isog yny in India So l et me sp eak abou t wo men and f inance Wom en typically invest less than men fo r a mix of rea sons: 1 The gender pay gap means, on average, women have less money to invest 2 Women tend to save in cash ISAs at a higher rate than men 3 Women cite a reluctance to take risks at the same rate as men 4 Many women lack the confidence to invest A lack of confidence and a lower risk appetite are cited as reasons why women invest less However, there is some evidence to suggest that this might not be the disadvantage it seems at first glance Men tend to overestimate their ability in the market, which can lead them to take an excessive amount of risk R e s e a r c h f r o m t h e M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e o f Technology has shown that the people most likely to panic sell are men aged 45 or over who consider them s e l v e s t o h a v e " e x c e l l e n t i n v e s t m e n t e x p e r i e n c e " Women are more likely to hold on to stocks instead of timing the market Betterment suggests that women trade less, take fewer risks, and generally stay within the confines of financial advice Some conservatism in investment is great over the long term Men and women approach risk in different ways One of the most glaring differences between invest ment styles is research Women tend to do a lot more research than men before investing Additionally, they tend to demonstrate more patience in the market As mentioned earlier, women are less likely to unload stocks during a stock market dip Women outperforming men in investing isn't a new phenomenon either University of California, Berkeley looked at 35,000 private brokerage accounts over a six year period in the 1990s The study found that women outperformed men by around one per centage point The average real rate of returns is around 5%, so even a 1% rise is impressive One barrier to investment for women is a lack of confidence Indeed, only 9% of women believe they are better investors than men The research tells us some thing different However, it also highlights the fact that men tend to overestimate their ability as investors
Tax Justice UK calculates at least £35.8bn handed to businesses in tax cuts by Sunak
Indian fl yers may b race f or air fares to get dearer in the c om ing hol iday sea son and c hea per during l ean pe riods or to certain destinations as the government will do away wit h the pa ndem ic spurred minim um and m aximum fa re caps fr om Augus t 31, lett ing airlines charge in line with demand and s upply Fare bands were introduced in India on May 25, 2020, as part of measures and r e s t r i c t i o n s f o r d o m e s t i c f l i g h t s t o resume operation after a two month C o v i d i n d u c e d s u s p e n s i o n T h e s e bands, as of now, are effective for tickets purchased for travel within 15 days A return to the pre pandemic system could render struggling airlines even m o r e v u l n e r a b l e t o f a r e w a r s f r o m s t r o n g e r p l a y e r s a m i d e s c a l a t i n g operating costs because of high jet fuel prices and a weak rupee According to the government, the move will spur growth in the pandemic hit aviation sector A c c o r d i n g t o u n i o n a v i a t i o n m i n i s t e r J y o t i r a d i t y a S c i n d i a , “ T h e decision to remove air fare caps has been t a k e n a f t e r c a r e f u l a n a l y s i s o f d a i l y demand and prices of air turbine fuel S t a b i l i s a t i o n h a s s e t i n a n d w e a r e certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future Airlines were lately demanding an upward revision of fare caps as jet fuel prices have almost tripled in the past two years more so after global crude oil prices rocketed up since the Russia Ukraine war broke out this February The weak rupee against the dollar made matters dire for the airlines, prompting them to seek excise relief on jet fuel e d I u se t h e w o rd su f f e r e d l i g h t l y T hough the rate s h ave gone up, th eref ore thei r cost of d oing th e pr opert y busi ness h ave increased , they ar e sti ll me eti ng t hei r objectiv es One clie nt who had a £ 2M mortg age go ing throug h, a t a t hen spe ci al rat e of 4 99% ha d hi s ra te jump to 5 99% Th is me ans an i ncr ea se i n p ay me nts of a ro und £ 200 K ov e r th e d ecad e h e is ti ed to the pro duct To be f ai r h e d id n’t f linch, h e took it on the nose a nd mov ed o n, knowing h e coul d p ut t his money t o ha rd wo rk wh ich wi ll e arn h im e ven mor e In contrast to this, we have a landlord who is purchasing her second BTL property, borrowing a 5 year fixed This product was pulled without warning, to be replaced with higher terms Instead of looking at the bigger picture the couple focused on the increased monthly payments Their decision will be to go for a 2 year fixed which is slightly cheaper, or reject the property It is interesting to contrast the two different mindsets One concentrates on the increase in pennies every month, the other on moving on and focusing on the deal, rather than in the slight increase in expenditure I believe given 5 years ’ time looking back at this instance, it will have very little material effect in comparison to the increase in capital value It will be no surprise to note the £2M client has hundreds of BTL properties in the background, and the other client has only one Is it the mindset which leads to the increased asset base? Or is it the large asset base which allows one to have the luxury of a more aloof mindset? I believe the former, meaning the mindset comes first In fact, the £2M client started from humble beginnings According to figures, 40% of mortgages will be coming up for renewal this year; this means many b o r r o w e r s w i l l f a c e a r e a l i t y c h e c k f r o m t h e honeymoon period they have been living in The base rate is still low at 1 75%, but there is the anticipation of future rate rises which have now become incorporated into fixed rate products As these hiked up rates start to kick in, the first to suffer will be those who are highly leveraged If this is likely to be you it is better to take a hard look at your situation now, and deal with it, rather than being forced to deal with it via a receiver This situation will also bring deals to the surface; troublesome times often do One doesn’t know who is swimming naked, until the tide pulls in Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd Mind Over AssetIndia to become Asia’s strongest economy
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In d ia n t e le co m s e r v i ce pr o v id e r Bh a r ti A ir t e l h a s sa id t hat it will sta rt rolling ou t 5G se r vi ce s fr om t hi s mont h an d cove r a ll town s an d k ey rur al ar ea s of India by M arch 2024 “We intend to launch 5G starting August and extend to a pan India rollout very soon By March 2024, we believe we will be able to cover every town and key rural areas with 5G Detailed n e t w o r k r o l l o u t p l a n s f o r 5,000 towns are completely in place This will be one of the biggest rollouts in our history,” Airtel MD & CEO G o p a l V i t t a l s a i d i n a n e a r n i n g s c a l l I n t h e r e c e n t l y c o n c l u d e d s p e c t r u m a u c t i o n s , A i r t e l a c q u i r e d 1 9 , 8 6 7 8 M H z f r e q u e n c i e s b y s e c u r i n g a p a n I n d i a f o o t p r i n t o f 3 5 G H z a n d 2 6 G H z b a n d s and select purchase of radio waves in the low and mid band spectrum for a total consideration of £4 3 billion Vittal said the company ’ s c a p i t a l e x p e n d i t u r e w i l l remain around the existing levels and played down the need for buying premium s p e c t r u m i n t h e 7 0 0 M H z b a n d , w h i c h r e q u i r e s l e s s number of mobile towers for coverage compared to other b a n d s t h a t o p e r a t o r s currently have
19AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022 FINANCE & REAL ESTATE Gi ven the ra te ha s risen by 0 5% to now 1 75%, clie nts who h ave mortga ge ca ses go ing thr ough th e pi pel ine h a v e su f f e r
Government removes air-fare caps in India Inflation in India a 5-month low, but still above tolerance level
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Retail inflatio n in Ind ia mod erated to a five month low in July on th e back of easing of food prices, bringing relief for p olicymakers, who are battling price pressures However, the ov erall nu mber still remains above Reserve Bank of Ind ia s up per tolerance level for the sev enth consecu tive month Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), rose an annual 6 7% in July, lower than the 7% in June The food price index eased to 6 6% during the month from 7 6% in June as supplies improved and measures undertaken by the Centre and the RBI fed through the system Rural inflation was higher at 6 8%, while urban was at 6 5% Out of the 23 states and union territories, 15 had an inflation rate above 6%, while eight recorded inflation below 6% Soaring inflationary pressure had prompted RBI to raise interest rates and in its recent review it hiked interest rates by 50 basis points The retail inflation data showed vegetable price rose an annual 10 9%, while fuel and light prices rose 11 8% during the month due to increase in crude oil prices Easing of global commodity prices due to fears of recession in the developed world may also have a cooling effect on domestic prices “Though July print is above RBI’s target for the seventh straight month, we firmly believe that the downward trajectory of inflation has started in India (and possibly in the US also) Core CPI (minus food and fuel) also moderated to 10 months low to 5 79% in July,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser at State Bank of India Economists said they still expect the central bank to raise interest rates in the months ahead to bring inflation closer to its target range Separate data showed factory growth at a robust 12 3% in June, lower than the 19 6% in May Manufacturing sector grew at 12 5% during the month compared to a growth of 13 2% in June 2021
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Profit of Ta ta Sons mor e t han doubled in fiscal 20 22, boost ed by ga in s m ade fr om part icipa ting in t he share buy back of TCS as well as by divid end s re ce ived fr om the softwar e serv ice s compan y Pr ofit zoom e d 1 64 % to £1 7 1 billion fr om £651 2 million in fiscal 2021 T h e a n n u a l c o m p e n s a t i o n o f N Chandrasekaran, who was reappointed as Tata Sons chairman in February, rose 19% to £10 9 million in FY22, making him one of the highest paid professional chieftains in India The company has called for an annual general meeting this month to s e e k s h a r e h o l d e r s ’ a p p r o v a l o n t h e a m e n d m e n t o f i t s a r t i c l e s o f a s s o c i a t i o n ( A o A ) d e a l i n g w i t h t h e c h a i r m a n ’ s a p p o i n t m e n t p r o c e s s a s w e l l a s o n t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f investment specialist Anita George on its board as an independent director With Anita’s induction, the Tata Sons board will expand to 10 members In its FY22 report, Tata Sons said that it has received a request from Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata T r u s t ( t h e t w o c o n t r o l l i n g s h a r e h o l d e r s o f t h e c o m p a n y ) t o include in its AoA that “ a person who is the chairman of either of the Trust or o f b o t h w i l l n o t c o n c u r r e n t l y b e e l i g i b l e t o b e t h e c h a i r m a n o f t h e company ’ s board” This means that w h o e v e r w i l l s u c c e e d c u r r e n t T a t a Trusts chairman Ratan Tata will not be able to occupy the chairman’s seat at Tata Sons, which has 286 subsidiaries across the world N Chandrasekaran Airtel to roll out 5G services from this month
LIC' s assets zoom to £41 billion I L C ra ti n ( LIC) has repo rted a net p rofit of £ 68 3 fo the quarter end ed June 2 022 co mp ared to £ 260, 00 0 in th e corresponding quarter of the previous year However, it is to be noted that the num bers are no t co mparable as the c o rp o r ati o n w a s no t p r ep a ri ng quarterly results in earlier years Prior to its IPO i n th e first qu arter, th e accounting policies of the corporation h ad ch anged O n a s e q u e n t i a l b a s i s , t h e c o r p o r a t i o n ’ s n e t p r o f i t w a s d o w n from £237 1 million for the quarter ended March 2022 The value of new business margin, which reflects the profitability of products sold during t h e q u a r t e r , s l i p p e d t o 1 3 6 % f r o m 15 1% Corporation officials said that this was largely because of a change in product mix as funded group policies h a d a l o w e r m a r g i n c o m p a r e d t o individual products An improvement i n a s s u m p t i o n s p a r t l y o f f s e t t h e reduction in margin due to a change in product mix A n n o u n c i n g t h e r e s u l t s , L I C chairman M R Kumar said, “We are positive that growth in new business w i l l b e g o o d , C o v i d h a s a l m o s t vanished and all our agents are back to work We have launched a couple of non par products and we now have m o r e n o n p a r p r o d u c t s t h a n p a r products” In the first quarter, the corporation m a d e g r o s s e q u i t y i n v e s t m e n t s o f £4 64 billion and sales of £1 24 billion, resulting in a net investment of £3 4 billion The corporation’s assets under management stood at £41 billion a 7 6% increase over £38 1 billion at the end of the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal Tata Sons profit more than doubles in FY22
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M org an Stanley economists h av e pre d ict ed th at I nd ia c o u ld e m er g e a s A s i a' s strongest econo my in 2022 20 23 as it is best p ositioned to g enerate robust do mestic d em a nd , h e lp ed by economic p olicy reforms, a y o u ng w o rk fo r ce and business inv estments The brokerage expects India's growth to average 7% f o r 2 0 2 2 2 0 2 3 a n d contribute 28% and 22% to A s i a n a n d g l o b a l g r o w t h , respectively M o r g a n S t a n l e y ' s projection comes as Asia's t h i r d l a r g e s t e c o n o m y , India, grew 9 2% in the fiscal year 2022, a sharp recovery from a 6 6% contraction in the previous year as Covid 19 lockdowns took a severe t o l l o n i t s e c o n o m y T h e country now expects GDP growth for 2022 2023 at 8 to 8 5% In 2019, India had cut corporate tax rates to woo m a n u f a c t u r e r s a n d r e v i v e p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t , a n d launched the PLI scheme in 2 0 2 0 t o a i d d o m e s t i c manufacturing M o r g a n S t a n l e y s o u t l o o k a l s o c o m e s a s developed economies paint a g l o o m y p i c t u r e , w i t h b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t y i n t h e United States and eurozone contracting in July, as per their PMI data While India, like other economies, raised interest r a t e s t o b a t t l e i n f l a t i o n , M o r g a n S t a n l e y s a i d t h e c o u n t r y ' s $ 5 2 9 7 b i l l i o n budget for the current fiscal year has continued to tilt t o w a r d s l i f t i n g p u b l i c i n v e s t m e n t I t e x p e c t s d o m e s t i c c o n s u m p t i o t o pick up and services exports to hold up better than goods exports
RUSSIANS BUY LAST OF WESTERN GOODS
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BE IJ ING: C hina and Nep al hav e d ecided to build the so called Trans Himalayan Multi Dimensional C onnectivity Network, the Chinese foreig n ministry said , fo llowing a meeting between the for eig n ministers of the two countries They also gu aranteed $1 18 mil lion in assistance to Nepal to invest in v arious projects th is year after Nepal foreig n m inister Narayan Khadka held talks w ith h is Chinese co unterpart Wang Yi to further streng then the bilateral ties As part of the agreement, Wang said China would finance the viability study of a China Nepal cross border railway and send experts to Nepal to conduct surveys this year, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the foreign ministry, said in Beijing The network, under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, will involve the building of railways and communication networks During a landmark visit by President Xi Jinping to Nepal in 2019, China and Nepal elevated their relationship to a “strategic partnership” Khadka, who is on an official visit to China, met Wang in the Chinese city of Qingdao “The two foreign ministers took stock of overall aspects of Nepal China relations and agreed to promote fur ther cooperation in various sectors, including trade, connectivity, investment, health, tourism, poverty alleviation, agriculture, disaster management, education, culture, and people to people exchange, among others,” the Nepalese foreign ministry said in a statement Both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress made in a series of matters of bilateral cooperation since the official visit of Wang to Nepal in March this year Wang also announced 3 million RMB worth disaster relief materials as per Nepal’s request Khadka during the meeting also reiterated Nepal’s unwavering commitment to the one China Policy and assured that the Nepali territory would not be allowed to be used for any anti China activity, according to the statement Lanka introduces bill to clip presidential powers CO LOMB O: Sev er al fea tur es, incl uding cur b ing t he Sr i La nk an President's power to sack the Prime Minist er a nd the Cabinet, have be en incl ude d in t he dr aft of a constitutional amen dme nt bill that seeks to r educe the con cent ration of power in one per son, justice min ist er Wije yedasa Rajapak she has said He said the text of the draft of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was changed after the ouster of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa "The former president wanted to retain the power to sack the prime minister and the cabinet as he wished Since his departure we have changed that so the president can't remove the Prime Minister and the Cabinet," Rajapakshe said His comments came as he submitted to Parliament the constitu tional amendment bill to clip the powers of the president, a key demand of protesters calling for political reforms and solutions to the country's worst economic crisis Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives after an uprising against him on July 9 and four days later he resigned after reaching Singapore Now Thailand has given him temporary asylum in the country The minister said the reforming of presidential powers was in line with the demand of the protesters who carried on a relentless campaign for over four months demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa for his bungling of the ongoing economic crisis He said for a long time since Sri Lanka adopted the Constitution in 1978, the need to reduce too much power in one person was a major demand "The demand was to either abolish the presidential system or prune powers to make parliament empowered," he said The 22nd Amendment was formulated amid the ongoing economic turmoil in the country which also caused a political crisis Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since independence which has led to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the country The street protests had been triggered across the country over the poor handling of the economic crisis and the lack of accountability to it Protesters demanded the resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and political reformscountries warned China loans for projects H A K A: B a n g l a d e sh ’ s fin a n ce minister has warned devel oping coun tries to thin k twice ab out t a k in g l oa n s t h r ou g h C hi n a ’ s B elt an d Road Initiative as gl ob al infla tion a nd sl owing gr owth add t o the strains on e me rging ma r k ets A H M M u s t a f a K a m a l a l s o said China needed to be more rigorous in evaluating its loans amid concern that bad lending decisions risked pushing coun tries into debt distress He point ed to Sri Lanka, where Beijing b a c k e d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e p r o j e c t s that failed to generate returns h a d e x a c e r b a t e d a n e c o n o m i c crisis “ W h a t e v e r t h e s i t u a t i o n [ t h a t ] i s g o i n g o n w o r l d w i d e , everybody will be thinking twice to agree to [BRI loans],” he said “ E v e r y b o d y i s b l a m i n g C h i n a China cannot disagree It is their responsibility ” H e s a i d S r i L a n k a ’ s c r i s i s highlighted that China had not been rigorous enough in decid ing which projects to support It n e e d e d t o “ m a k e a t h o r o u g h study” before lending to a pro ject, he said “After Sri Lanka we felt that Chinese authorities are not taking care of this partic ular aspect, which is very, very important ” B a n g l a d e s h l a s t m o n t h became the latest country in Asia to approach the IMF for financ ing as surging commodity prices a f t e r R u s s i a ’ s i n v a s i o n o f Ukraine weighed on its foreign reserves The country, a partici pant in China’s BRI, owes about $4 bn, or 6 per cent of its foreign debt, to Beijing Kamal said Bangladesh want ed a first instalment from the IMF of $1 5 bn as part of a $4 5 bn package, which would include financing to help it fund climate change resilience projects and b u t t r e s s i t s b u d g e t T h e f u n d said a loan to Bangladesh had not yet been negotiated Bangladesh was also seeking up to $4bn from other multilat eral and bilateral lenders, includ i n g t h e W o r l d B a n k , A s i a n D e v e l o p m e n t B a n k , A s i a n Infrastructure Investment Bank a n d J a p a n I n t e r n a t i o n a l Cooperation Agency, Kamal said He was optimistic the country would secure loans from them
In a last possible attempt to buy the giant retailers’ goods from stores in their country Russians are snapping up western fashion and furniture this week as Sweden based H&M and Netherlands based IKEA sell off the last of their inventory in Russia The two retail giants are moving forward with their exit from Russia after it sent troops into Ukraine I will start looking at Russian brands, one H&M shopper, who gave only her first name Anya, said after emerging from the store Another shopper, Leonid, said he was “very hurt” that H&M is closing down: “A good store is leaving ”
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20 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
Three people were killed and dozens wounded as Israeli forces raided the occupied West Bank city of Nablus The Israeli military said a senior militant commander was among the dead The latest violence comes two days after deadly fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza was halted by a truce The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics treated 69 people for gunshot wounds across the Nablus area at least four of them in critical condition
A Lebanese man armed with a shotgun broke into a Beirut bank, holding employees hostage and threatening to set himself ablaze with gasoline unless he receives his trapped savings, a security official said The man allegedly entered a branch of the Federal Bank in Beirut’s bustling Hamra district carrying a canister of gasoline and held six or seven bank employees hostage said the official The man also fired three warning shots the official said Local media reported that he has about USD 200 000 stuck in the bank in briefLanka allows entry for Chinese ship despite India's concerns
A bombing killed a prominent Taliban cleric at his religious center in the Afghan capital of Kabul, authorities said the latest attack to strike the country in the year since the former insurgents seized power Officials identified the cleric as Rahimullah Haqqani, a name that signifies he graduated from Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan, an Islamic university long associated with the Taliban Bilal Karimi a deputy Taliban spokesman, acknowledged Haqqani’s death, calling him a “great personality and academic figure ” Karimi said that Haqqanihad been killed by “a brutal attack of the enemy,” without elaborating There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing Following the bombing, Taliban fighters prevented reporters in Kabul from getting to Haqqani’s religious center Taliban officials did not say if anyone else had been killed
A 62 year old man belonging to the Ahmadi community was stabbed to death by a religious fanatic for refusing to praise controversial cleric and Tehreek i Labbaik Pakistan founder Khadim Hussain Rizvi Naseer Ahmad was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds The suspect is in custody The TLP chief died in 2020 Rizvi was arrested for asking troops to rebel against the army chief and spent months in jail before being released in 2019 The parliament in 1974 declared the Ahmadi community as non Muslims A decade later, they were banned from calling themselves Muslims
China offers $118 mn aid to Nepal projects
3 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN FRESH ISRAELI RAID
MAN STABBED TO DEATH IN PAK FOR NOT PRAISING CLERIC
MAN HOLDS BANKERS HOSTAGE
CO LO MB O: Sri La nka s govern men t gr anted permission for a co nt r ov er sia l Ch ine se re se a rch v essel to visit the island de spite n e i g hb o ur i n g I n d ia 's con c e r n s t hat it coul d spy on Ne w Delhi's m i l it a r y i n st a l l a t io n s, of fic ia l s said T h e Y u a n W a n g 5 i s described as a research and sur vey vessel by international ship p i n g a n d a n a l y t i c s s i t e s , b u t according to Indian media it is a dual use spy ship New Delhi is suspicious of Beijing's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean and influence in Sri Lanka, see ing both as being firmly within its sphere of influence The Yuan Wang 5 was origi nally due to call at Sri Lanka's C h i n e s e r u n H a m b a n t o t a p o r t on August 11, only for Colombo t o a s k B e i j i n g t o i n d e f i n i t e l y defer the visit following India's objections But Sri Lanka's harbour mas ter, Nirmal P Silva, said he had received foreign ministry clearance for t h e s h i p t o c a l l a t H a m b a n t o t a f r o m August 16 to 22 "The d i p l o m a t i c c l e a r a n c e w a s r e c e i v e d b y m e t o d a y W e w i l l w o r k w i t h t h e l o c a l a g e n t appointed by the vessel to ensure logistics at the port," Silva said Port officials said the Chinese vessel was about 1,000 km south east of Sri Lanka on Friday night and was heading slowly towards the Hambantota deep sea port Sri Lanka leased the port to China for 99 years for $1 12 billion, less than the $1 4 bil lion Sri Lanka paid a Chinese company to build it According to Indian reports, t h e Y u a n W a n g 5 c o u l d b e employed for space and satellite tracking, and has specific uses in intercontinental ballistic missile launches The Indian government has expressed concern that the ship could spy on its activities, and h a d l o d g e d a c o m p l a i n t w i t h Colombo New Delhi's foreign ministry has said it will closely monitor "any bearing on India's security and economic interests and takes all necessary measures to safeguard them" Imran Khan praises India again, vents his frustration L A H O R E : Fo r m e r Pa k i s t a n p r i m e m i n i s t e r I m r a n Kh a n v e n t e d ou t hi s f r us t r a ti o n agai nst the Shehbaz Sharif gov ern ment yet again by shower i ng prai se on In dia “If Indi a, that gai ned i ndependenc e wi th us, ca n frame i ts foreign policy to suit the needs of i ts people an d ens ure self reli ance, then who are these people who say ‘beggars a re not choos ers ’ , ” the c ricke ter turned poli ti cian can b e he ard s aying in a vi deo of a m ega event i n Lahore A t t h e e v e n t , K h a n w a s referring to India’s stance on p u r c h a s e o f o i l f r o m R u s s i a despite pressure from the West amid the Ukraine war “The US told India to not buy oil from Russia India is a strategic ally of the US We (Pakistan) don’t have any alliance with the US,” Khan said at the event H e w a s r e f e r r i n g t o S Jaishankar’s remarks a couple of months ago about Europe’s r e l i a n c e o n R u s s i a n e n e r g y when he was asked during a f o r e i g n v i s i t a b o u t I n d i a ’ s decision to continue to buy oil after the war in Ukraine had s t a r t e d “ T h e y ( t h e W e s t ) squeeze every other source and then ask us not to be depen dent on Russia,” S Jaishankar w a s h e a r d s a y i n g i n a c l i p p l a y e d o u t b y I m r a n K h a n I n d i a ' s f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r h a d drawn praise for the remark at the time The comment was played up in Lahore amid a political row "We had spoken to Russia about buying cheaper oil but t h i s g o v e r n m e n t h a s n o courage to say no to the US pressure Fuel prices are sky rocketing, people are below the poverty line I am against this slavery,” Khan said slamming his country’s government This is not the first time that Khan has lauded India amid attacks on Shehbaz Sharif, who formed the government after the col lapse of the Imran Khan gov ernment following a no confi dence vote
Developing
N A IR O BI: De spit e cha os an d a physica l at tack on Ken ya's t op e le ct ion s official, the co u n t r y s e l e ct io n s c o m mi s si o n ha s an nounced t hat Deputy Pr esiden t William Rut o will be t he East A fr ica n na tion's fifth pre side nt In an election marked by high drama and shifting of alliances, Ruto triumphed over Raila Odinga, Kenya's longtime oppo sition leader who had forged an alliance with outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta that his supporters thought guaranteed him the presidency But after six days of counting and just as the electoral commission was ready to announce a final tally on Monday, four out o f t h e s e v e n e l e c t o r a l c o m m i s s i o n e r s walked out of the main tallying center in Nairobi, saying they could not support the final result because of the "opaque nature" of the vote count The commission's chairman, Wafula C h e b u k a t i , w e n t o n s t a g e a n y w a y a n d chaos ensued He was attacked by a sena tor Others jumped on the stage, ripped b a n n e r s , t i p p e d o v e r t h e l e c t e r n a n d attacked the remaining electoral commis sioners Two of them were injured, but Chebukati returned to the stage once more and declared that Ruto had won narrowly with 50 49% of the vote to Odinga's 48 85% "We have a constitutional duty to per form," he said "That is why I stand before you today despite the intimidation and harassment I took an oath of office to serve this country and I have done my duty in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the land But across the capital city, scenes of celebration mixed with anger In the city's two biggest slums Mathare and Kibera p r o t e s t s t u r n e d v i o l e n t I n M a t h a r e , a woman was killed after a crowd threw s t o n e s a t h e r c a r a n d i t f l i p p e d o v e r Residents of the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi begin to riot, lighting fires in the street and destroying local businesses in reaction to William Ruto being declared the winner of the election Kibera is a long t i m e s t r o n g h o l d o f s u p p o r t f o r R a i l a Odinga "We are angry," Jared Ochieng, 55, said as he watched the flames from afar "This is not what we expected Now, what can help K e n y a i s t o g o f o r a n o t h e r e l e c t i o n " Odinga, the opposition leader, did not appear in public, but his running mate, Martha Karua, tweeted, "It is not over till it is over " Odinga now has seven days to lodge an appeal before the country's constitutional court
MCDONALD’S TO SOON REOPEN IN UKRAINE McDonald’s will start reopening restaurants in Ukraine in the coming months a symbol of the war torn country s return to some sense of normalcy and a show of support after the American fastfood chain pulled out of Russia
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A fire ripped through a Coptic church in the desely populated neighborhood of the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Sunday as congregants worshipped, killing at least 41 and injuring 14 It was one of the worst fire tragedies in Egypt in recent years An initial investigation pointed to an electrical short circuit police said The Coptic Church cited health officials in reporting that the fire broke out while a service was underway Fifteen firefighting vehicles were dispatched to the scene President Abdel Fattah el Sissi spoke to the Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II to offer his condolences, the president s office said BIG FALL IN JAPAN’S POPULATION
The burger giant closed its Ukrainian restaurants after Russia s invasion nearly six months ago but has continued to pay more than 10 000 McDonald s employees in the country McDonald s said that it will begin gradually reopening some restaurants in the capital, Kyiv, and western Ukraine, where other companies are doing business away from the fighting Western businesses like Spanish clothing retailers Zara and Mango are open in Kyiv “We’ve spoken extensively to our employees who have expressed a strong desire to return to work and see our restaurants in Ukraine reopen ”
BEIJING: Chin a sa id it ha s star ted t he pr ocess for the return of Indian st ude nts stuck ba ck home due t o the Covid 19 visa r estrict ions he re and the first batch ma y arr ive soon, raising hopes for t he thousands of st ude nts waiting to re join t he ir coll eges in this count ry “We are working intensively for the return of foreign students to China and this process for Indian student’s return has begun,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told media briefing here when asked about social media posts by some Chinese diplomats about opening of a new visa policy for all the foreign students soon “We believe we will see return of the first batch of Indian students very soon and we will continue to pursue it with relevant work while ensuring safety against Covid,” Wang said Asked at what stage is the process of the list provided by the Indian Embassy here about the Indian students wanting to return, he said the relevant information will be released soon China is currently processing the list of hun dreds of Indian students wanting to return to the country to re join their colleges Over 23,000 Indian students, mostly studying medicine, are reportedly stuck back home due to Covid visa restrictions India has submitted a list of several hundred students after China sought the names of those wanting to return immediately to pursue their studies
NZ TEEN BUILDS RECORD 25 METRE LEGO TRAIN
BAPS
Some students from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Russia and several other countries arrived on chartered flights in recent weeks
Flights between India and China which were halted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago A B U D HA B I: Ra ksha Ba ndhan, a tr aditional H in du festival cel e b rating the b on d bet we en sisters an d brothe rs wa s cel ebra ted in a unique way by the BAPS Hindu t e m p l e i n A b u D ha b i T h e women win g of the BAPS creat ed more than 10,000 r akhis, a hol y thr ead that a sister t ie s on he r b rother's wr ist as a sy mbol of l ov e a nd pr ot ect ion The 15 0 strong women wing wa s at wor k for more than a mont h, colla ting dat a of devote es who have visit ed the t empl e Each woman volun te er then r eache d out to 40 devo te es and e nsure d personal deliv er y of rakhis Swami Brahmaviharidas, the head of the BAPS mandir, led a special prayer where rakhis were offered to more than 4,000 expat workers who attended the ses sion The workers came in differ e n t b a t c h e s a n d b e l o n g e d t o companies across the UAE The workers, many of them living alone, were overjoyed to receive the handmade rakhis A worker said, “This is a great occasion I was earlier thinking that yet another year has passed without being home for Raksha B a n d h a n a n d o t h e r f e s t i v a l s This is a great initiative by the temple ” Another worker, noted: “I feel like I am back home with my family We are grateful to the Swamis and Mandir for inviting us to celebrate Raksha Bandhan together with so many brothers and sisters T A IP E I/W A SH INGT ON: A d eleg ation o f U S lawm akers arriv ed in Taiwan on Su nd ay for a tw o d ay tr ip d u ri ng w h i ch t h ey w i ll m ee t President T sai Ing w en, the second high lev el group to visit while there are military tensio ns betw een the self ruled island and Ch ina Beijing, which claims democratically gov erned Taiwan as its own territory, has conduct ed military drills around the island to express its anger over U S House of Representatives speak er Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in early August The de facto US embassy in Taipei said the del egation is being led by senator Ed Markey, who is being accompanied by four House lawmakers on what it described as part of a larger visit to the Indo Pacific region Taiwan’s presidential office said the group would meet Tsai Markey leading a delegation to v i s i t T a i w a n o n c e a g a i n d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s C o n g r e s s ’ f i r m s u p p o r t f o r Taiwan,” it said Markey’s office said the lawmakers “will reaffirm US support for Taiwan as guided by the T a i w a n R e l a t i o n s A c t , U S C h i n a J o i n t Communiques, and Six Assurances” The group will meet “elected leaders and members of pri vate sector to discuss interests, including reduc ing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and expanding economic cooperation,” Markey’s office said William Ruto declared winner of Kenya's presidential election
Reese, who is co founder of an organisa tion that offers residencies to writers facing persecution, called Rushdie “ one of the great defenders of freedom of speech and freedom of creative expression”, adding, “The fact that this attack could occur in the US is indicative of the threats to writers from many governments and from many individuals and organisations ” The attack, given Matar’s purported Iranian sympathies, immediately took on geopolitical colours, coming as it did just days after the Biden administration’s Justice Department charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of try ing to orchestrate the assassination of for mer national security adviser John Bolton Iran’s fundamentalist clerical leadership led by Ayatollah Khomeini had passed a death fatwa on Rushdie following the publication of his book ‘Satanic Verses’ in 1988 The fatwa had never been formally revoked, but after y e a r s i n h i d i n g a n d u n d e r p r o t e c t i o n , Rushdie, currently living in New York City, had lately resumed normal engagements Salman Rushdie As Covid curbs ease, Indian students can return to China soon
S KOREA PREZ PARDONS SAMSUNG HEIR
A New Zealand teenager has set a Guinness World Record (GWR) for the most carriages in a Lego toy train The 14 year old Aucklander Alexander Blong constructed a toy train with 101 cars, with support from the All Blocks Lego User Group Auckland Transport and One Rail According to GWR, it took Alexander roughly 50 hours to build the 101 carriage locomotive The record breaking toy train measured 25 metres long In order to break the record the train had to pull the weight of the trailing carriages along a 10 metre plastic track It also had to be made with a specific type of Lego, be publicly displayed, captured in one single video and have witness statements from an independent judge in brief Rushdie off ventilator, able to talk temple in Abu Dhabi distributes rakhis to expat workers lawmakers’ delegation visits Taiwan amid row E Y O R K : S al m an Ru s h d i e, t h e acclaim ed autho r w ho w as h ospitalised last w ee k w it h s er i o us in j u ri es a ft er be i ng repeated ly stabbed at a public ap pearance in New York state, is off a ventilato r and his cond ition is improving, his ag ent, Andrew Wylie, said on Sunday Rushdie, 75, was set to deliver a lecture o n a r t i s t i c f r e e d o m a t C h a u t a u q u a I n s t i t u t i o n i n w e s t e r n N e w Y o r k w h e n
police say a 24 year old man rushed the stage and stabbed the India born writer, who has lived with a bounty on his head since his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” prompted Iran to urge Muslims to kill him Chautauqua Institution president Michael Hill tweeted that Rushdie was able to talk ”
US
The suspect, Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a court a p p e a r a n c e , h i s c o u r t a p p o i n t e d l a w y e r said Matar faces up to 32 years if convicted of both charges During the hearing, prose cutors told the court that Rushdie was stabbed roughly 10 times They also said the attack was premeditated and targeted
Following hours of surgery, Rushdie had been put on a ventilator and was unable to speak as of Friday, Wylie said in a prior update on the novelist’s condition, adding that he was likely to lose an eye and had nerve damage in his arm and wounds to his liver
21AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
South Korea s President Yoon Suk yeol pardoned Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y Lee, with the justice ministry saying the business leader was needed to help overcome a national economic crisis The pardon is largely symbolic with Lee already out on parole after serving 18 months in jail for bribery in a scandal that led to massive protests and brought down then President Park Geun hye in 2017 However analysts said the pardon should mean Lee will be able to carry out business activities with fewer legal restrictions, and could herald some large investments from Samsung, the world’s biggest phone maker South Korea is grappling with soaring inflation
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The stabbing was condemned around the world as an assault on freedom of expression In a statement, President Joe Biden commended the “universal ideals” of truth, courage and resilience embodied by Rushdie and his work “These are the build ing blocks of any free and open society ”
Paul Pomroy corporate senior vice president of international operated markets, said 41 DIE IN FIRE AT COPTIC CHURCH IN CAIRO
Japan’s population totaled 125 93 million as of January 1 2022 representing the largest drop in the overall number and by percentage since comparable data were recorded in 1950 the latest government data revealed As deaths exceed births and Covid 19 border controls restrict the entry of foreigners, Japan s overall population fell to 125,927,902, down by 726,342 or 0 57 per cent from the previous year The number of Japanese nationals reduced by 619,140 to 123,223,561 in 2021, with births at a record low of around 810 000, outstripped by a record high around 1 44 million deaths
Jain passes away
Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM, Tejashwi is his deputy A day after ann ounc ing a new grand a lli ance with the Ra shtri ya Janata Dal (RJ D) a n d ot he r op po s i t i o n parties after breakin g away from the B JP, N itis h Kumar took oath as the Bihar c hi ef m i n i s te r fo r t h e e i g ht h t i m e A l on g wi th h i m , T ej as h wi Yad av , the RJ D l e a de r , t oo k t h e o a th a s deputy C M A s wearing i n c e r e m o n y w a s h el d i n M a n d a p a m o f th e R a j B h a v a n w he r e t h e tw o leaders took the oath Tejashwi, after taking the oath, touched the feet of Nitish Kumar and took his blessings Nitish Kumar a l s o g r e e t e d T e j a s h w i w a r m l y B e f o r e g o i n g t o t h e R a j B h a v a n , N i t i s h Kumar spoke to RJD chief L a l u P r a s a d o v e r t h e phone After taking the oath, Nitish Kumar said “After t h e 2 0 2 0 A s s e m b l y election, I did not want to become the chief minister of Bihar Our party faced a loss after going with the B J P T h e s i t u a t i o n worsened in the last two m o n t h s , ” N i t i s h K u m a r said Nitish Kumar became the chief minister of Bihar in March 2000, November 2 0 0 5 , N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 0 , February 2015, November 2015, July 2017, November 2020 and August 10, 2022 T e j a s h w i h a d t a k e n t h e oath of deputy CM of Bihar in November 2015 and now on August 10, 2022 No c on fidenc e motion agains t speaker Sinha The Mahagathbandhan l e a d e r s h e a d e d b y L a l i t Y a d a v b r o u g h t a n o confidence motion against present Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Singh A letter signed by 50 MLAs of the M a h a g a t h b a n d h a n w a s s u b m i t t e d b e f o r e t h e s e c r e t a r y o f t h e B i h a r Vidhan Sabha
Namgya C Khampa U day Um esh Lalit, wh o w ill take charg e as th e 49th Chief Ju stice of India on A ugu st 27, said a m echanism must be d evi sed fo r speedy p erco lation o f the S upreme C ou rt’ s d ecisions to the g round level and lam ented th at M uslim w omen still face v ag aries of triple talaq despite it being d eclared unco nstitutional fiv e years ago by the top court He said, “look at the civil side, fruits of decree, got after years of litigation, eludes the decree holder There the system needs complete tune up or complete revamp We may lay down law, but, in the actual dispensation, what happens is there are many misses between the cup and the lip On the positive side, the law which is getting laid down by the SC is of the highest order” Asked why the SC repeatedly rules and espouses the right to equality for women and giving them their due, yet not facilitating appointment of adequate number of them as judges of the constitutional courts The CJI designate said the scenario would undergo a complete change in the next 10 15 years “The number of women judges in the trial courts has risen substantially For example, in Rajasthan, of the 190 candidates who underwent an induction programme as trial court judges recently, 129 were women Similar is the story in O d i s h a a n d o t h e r s t a t e s O f t h e f e w w o m e n j u d g e s appointed to the SC, Justice Lalit said if one looks at the talent pool available for selection to the SC, say the 100 most senior HC judges, there are only few women among them “So it would not be possible to select them, without their acquiring requisite seniority But I’m very sure the scenario will undergo fast paced change in the next decade or half,” he said
President exhorts youth to give everything for country
Verdicts must percolate fast to all levels: CJI designate President Dro upadi Murmu sai d o n S u nd ay th e I nd ia n y o u t h sho uld pledge to give everyth ing th ey can for the s ake o f safety, security, p ro gress and p rosperity o f t h e c o u n t ry “ Ou r be lo ve d cou ntry h as given us everyth ing we h a ve i n o u r l i f e Ou r existence will beco me meaningful only in building a glorious India,” s h e s a id i n h er m ai d en Independence Day eve address to th e nation S h e a l s o s a i d t h a t i n c e l e b r a t i n g I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y , I n d i a i s a l s o c e l e b r a t i n g i t s ‘Bharatiyata’ “Our country is full of diversity But, at the same time, w e a l l h a v e s o m e t h i n g i n c o m m o n I t i s t h i s c o m m o n t h r e a d w h i c h b i n d s a l l o f u s together and inspires us to walk together with the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’,” she said She also highlighted India’s achievements in handling Covid 19 and the vaccination drive that followed and added India is now among the fastest growing major economies in the world, despite the pandemic, with a high ranking startup ecosystem T h e e x h o r t a t i o n of President Murmu, the first head of the s t a t e t o h a v e b e e n b o r n a f t e r Independence, to the y o u t h t o r e p a y t h e d e b t t o t h e c o u n t r y seemed to mirror the N a r e n d r a M o d i government’s pitch to citizens to balance their rights with their duty to contribute to n a t i o n b u i l d i n g I t w a s a l s o reminiscent of the ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country’ t h e m e t h a t d e f i n e d f o r m e r U S p r e s i d e n t J F K K e n n e d y ’ s inaugural address “The pandemic has uprooted lives and also economies in the entire world When the world has b e e n b a t t l i n g t h e e c o n o m i c consequences of the great crisis, India got its act together and is now moving forward,” she said “The success of startups in our country, especially the growing number of unicorns is a shining e x a m p l e o f o u r i n d u s t r i a l p r o g r e s s T h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d policymakers deserve credit for b e a t i n g t h e g l o b a l t r e n d a n d h e l p i n g t h e e c o n o m y f l o u r i s h , ” the President said F r o m t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e P r a d h a n M a n t r i G a t i S h a k t i Yojana, which integrates India’s transport systems across water, land and air routes, to the Digital India initiative and the National E d u c a t i o n P o l i c y , P r e s i d e n t Murmu also said India is readying the future generation for the next s t a g e o f i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n while also “reconnecting it with our heritage” S h e s a i d I n d i a h e l p e d t h e world discover the true potential of democracy, served as a beacon for showing compassion towards t h e d o w n t r o d d e n , n e e d y a n d those on the margins, and proved sceptics wrong by not only letting d e m o c r a c y g r o w r o o t s i n t h e Indian soil but also allowing it to be enriched She also spoke about the environment and said when t h e w o r l d i s f a c i n g n e w c h a l l e n g e s , I n d i a m u s t r e m a i n determined to preserve its flora and fauna Droupadi Murmu A nshu J ain, the pres ident of t h e A m e r i c a n m o n e y b ro k i n g b u s i n e s s C an t o r Fi tz ge ral d, a ti tan of th e world of bank ing an d bes t k n o wn f or hi s t en u re a t D e ut s c h e B an k ha s d i e d aged 59, five yea rs after a d i a g n o s i s o f d uo d e n a l c ancer T h e I n d i a n b o r n J a i n m a d e h i s r e p u t a t i o n a t D e u t s c h e B a n k a f t e r a career on Wall Street and t h e C i t y “ T h r o u g h a combination of exhaustive personal research, tactical s k i l l , a m a z i n g c a r e g i v e r s , and sheer force of will” he h a d s u r v i v e d f o u r y e a r s longer than expected after h i s d i a g n o s i s i n J a n u a r y 2017, his family said He became joint chief e x e c u t i v e o f G e r m a n y ’ s biggest bank in 2012 just as the industry was battered by controversy over rigging o f t h e b e n c h m a r k r a t e L i b o r a n d m o n e y laundering allegations By the time he left in 2015 the bank had been lambasted b y c r i t i c s f o r o v e r s e e i n g m u l t i b i l l i o n d o l l a r f i n e s and for having a difficult r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h regulators But Jain who regulators c o n c l u d e d h a d n o t personally misled them over when he knew about Libor r i g g i n g w i l l b e remembered for helping to t u r n t h e s l e e p y G e r m a n bank into a big player on the i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a g e a n d breaking the mould of its previous bosses because of h i s I n d i a n h e r i t a g e a n d , despite his best efforts, an inability to speak German fluently Born in Jaipur in 1963 and brought up in Delhi w h e r e h e a t t e n d e d u n i v e r s i t y a n d e a r n e d a degree in economics, Jain w a s a c c l a i m e d i n h i s homeland He spent little of his career there, moving to America at a young age and starting his career at Kidder Peabody, a firm that had a reputation as an early p i o n e e r i n d e r i v a t i v e s , f i n a n c i a l p r o d u c t s t h a t allowed bets to be taken on products ranging from oil to soybeans He is survived by his wife, Geetika, and their two children Anshu Jain Namgya Khampa appointed India's High Commissioner to Kenya N a m g y a C K h a m p a h a s b e e n a p p o i n t e d a s t h e H i g h Co m m i s si o n e r o f Ind ia to K enya Namgy a i s c u r r e nt l y se r v i ng a s De puty Chie f of Mi ssion i n t h e E m ba s sy o f In d i a , K a t h ma nd u S h e i s e xp ec te d t o ta ke u p th e n e w a ssi g nm e n t sh o r t l y T he Mini stry of External A f f a i r s co n f i r m e d t h e a ppointme nt I n d i a a n d K e n y a a r e maritime neighbours The c o n t e m p o r a r y t i e s between India and Kenya have now evolved into a r o b u s t a n d m u l t i f a c e t e d p a r t n e r s h i p , m a r k e d b y r e g u l a r h i g h l e v e l v i s i t s a n d i n c r e a s i n g t r a d e a s well as investment K h a m p a j o i n e d t h e Indian Foreign Service in 2000 She has served twice i n I n d i a ’ s d i p l o m a t i c Mission in China (Beijing) f r o m 2 0 0 2 t o 2 0 0 6 a n d from 2013 to 2016 She has a l s o w o r k e d i n t h e P e r m a n e n t M i s s i o n o f I n d i a t o t h e U n i t e d Nations in New York from 2009 to 2013 While in New Y o r k , s h e w a s e l e c t e d t o s e r v e a s a M e m b e r o f t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e o n A d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d B u d g e t a r y Q u e s t i o n s (ACABQ) from 2011 to 2013 Khampa also served as I n d i a ’ s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o n the Executive Board of the UNDP and UNFPA during her tenure in New York At t h e F o r e i g n M i n i s t r y i n New Delhi, Khampa has at d i f f e r e n t t i m e s h a n d l e d relations with the United S t a t e s , S r i L a n k a a n d M y a n m a r S h e h a s a l s o s e r v e d o n d e p u t a t i o n t o the Prime Minister’s Office f r o m 2 0 1 6 t o 2 0 1 8 S h e headed the Development Partnership Division in the Foreign Ministry handling Indian grant assistance and development cooperation w i t h n e i g h b o u r i n g countries She joined the E m b a s s y o f I n d i a i n K a t h m a n d u a s D e p u t y Chief of Mission in July 2020 and now she is going to take charge of the High Commissioner of India to Kenya in a few days
SC clubs FIRs against Nupur Sharma, Delhi cops to probe
World banking titan Anshu
22 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
In an order of relief, the Sup reme Cou rt swep t aside th e West Bengal g overnment’s objectio ns to club all existing and f u tu re FI R s a g ai n st Nu p u r S h a rm a fo r h er all eg e d blasphemous statement against the Prophet and ordered th at all FIRs must be investig ated by a special cell of th e Delhi Po lice A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala, which had earlier tuned down Nupur s plea for relief, reiterated its conviction about serious threat to life and liberty faced by her from instances narrated by her counsel Maninder Singh and said that it would be very difficult for her to travel to the states concerned to approach the high court for quashing of the FIRs lodged there It also protected her from arrest in any of the FIRs The West Bengal government opposed clubbing of FIRs and demanded that its police be allowed to probe the FIRs lodged in the state which witnessed maximum number of violent incidents because of Nupur’s alleged blasphemous statement For the state, senior advocate Menka Guruswamy said, “We will give whatever security she needs (when she goes to WB to join the investigation) ” She then suggested a j o i n t S I T o f W B a n d D e l h i P o l i c e a n d t h e n a c o u r t appointed SIT for probing the clubbed FIRs against Nupur She pleaded with the court to supervise such SIT probe as t h e b e n c h s a i d t h a t i t c o u l d d i r e c t t h e D e l h i P o l i c e C o m m i s s i o n e r t o s e t u p a n S I T J u s t i c e K a n t s a i d , “Monitoring of SIT probe by an HC or SC, I believe, puts undue and undesirable pressure on the investigating team Probe agencies should have complete independence and a dispassionate atmosphere for investigation
D ays prior to the monsoon s e s s i on o f th e as s e m b ly , allocation of portfolios i n Ma hara shtra’s c abi net has b e en f i n a li s e d w i t h B J P s e c ur i n g k ey mi n i s t ri e s , inc luding home and fi nanc e f or i ts l e ad e r D ev e nd r a Fadnavis CM Eknath Shinde has k e p t a l a r g e n u m b e r o f berths for himself, appar ently to distribute some to supporters in the Shiv Sena in the next phase of cabinet e x p a n s i o n T h i s i n c l u d e s urban development, public e n t e r p r i s e s , s o c i a l j u s t i c e , e n v i r o n m e n t , g e n e r a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , t r a n s p o r t and minority affairs Likewise, Fadnavis has b e e n g i v e n w i t h h o m e , finance, planning, law and judiciary, water resources, housing, energy, some of which may be divested to future BJP recruits in the c a b i n e t A g r i c u l t u r e h a s gone to Abdul Sattar, a rebel S e n a M L A f a c i n g a l l e g a t i o n s t h a t h i s d a u g h t e r s w e r e b e n e f i c i a r i e s o f a teacher entrance test scam I n d u s t r y i s w i t h U d a y S a m a n t , a g a i n a w e l l k n o w n S e n a f a c e i n t h e S h i n d e c a m p ’ s c a m p a i g n a g a i n s t t h e U d d h a v Thackeray faction Yet, in the current scheme, most h i g h p r o f i l e m i n i s t r i e s , i n c l u d i n g r e v e n u e (Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil), h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n (Chandrakant Patil), rural d e v e l o p m e n t ( G i r i s h Mahajan) has gone to BJP Sonia tests positive for Covid again
Krishna spent most the life; is dec orated for the festival Dwarka means “door to salvation” After Krishna’s death, it is said that the city was sunken in the water The events in Dwarka are the most famous in India The festival is structured similarly to the daily routine of Lord Krishna and it begins with a performance of the mangla arti Following his venera tion, he is again made available for devotees to perform darshans and in the evening, mangla arti is per formed once again, Lord Krishna is offered with his favorite sweets Lord Krishna preached about good karma and the theory of Bhakti He was born in a prison which was in the control of Kansa But his father Vasudev gave him to his friend Nand to save him, because he knew that Kansa was evil minded Thus Krishna grew up in a Gokul family How is J anmas htam i ce leb rated? Krishna was fond of eating M a k h a n a n d p e o p l e p l a y t h i s sport called Dahi Handi They tie an earthen pot (matki) The judge of the game ties the matki really high from the ground; a person fills Makhan in the matki and, what people do is build a human p y r a m i d t o b r e a k t h e m a t k i However the matki is too elevat ed they have to build a tall pyra mid As a result, lots of people h a v e t o t a k e p a r t i n s p o r t Likewise, there are other teams too, who stop them from break ing the matki This is an interest ing sport many people gather to watch this sport Many commu n i t i e s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e i n Mumbai, also participate in Dahi Handi A celebration often con cludes by doing Raslila, which is a drama that re enacts scenes of K r i s h n a ’ s l i f e t h r o u g h j o y o u s dance Fo rm e r W es t B en g a l G ov e rn o r J a g d e ep Dh a n k h a r w a s on Thurs day sworn i n as the 14th vice presiden t of In dia in the pre sence of several n ational leaders Dhankhar took the oath in Hindi in the name of god President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to the 71 year old Dhankhar in a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was attended by o u t g o i n g V i c e P r e s i d e n t M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former President Ram Nath Kovind and former V i c e P r e s i d e n t H a m i d A n s a r i among others A number of Union ministers, i n c l u d i n g A m i t S h a h , R a j n a t h S i n g h , N i t i n G a d k a r i , N i r m a l a Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, c h i e f m i n i s t e r A r v i n d K e j r i w a l and Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla also attended Before the swear i n g i n , t h e E l e c t i o n C o m m i s s i o n ’ s n o t i f i c a t i o n d e c l a r i n g t h e e l e c t i o n o f Dhankhar was read out India g ifted a Dornier reconnais s a nc e ai rc raf t to S ri L ank a to s tr en g th en th e i sl an d na ti o n ’ s capability to tackle d rug trafficking and m aritim e security challenges, w ith th e mov e coming a day ah ead o f a controversial v isit by a Ch inese research vessel The aircraft w as h anded ov er in a special ev ent h eld at th e Sri Lankan A ir Force base at K atunayake Sri Lankan Presid ent R an il Wi c kre m es i ng h e, I nd i a n Navy’s vice ch ief Vice Adm iral S N G h orm a d e, In d ian env o y Go pa l Baglay and th e h eads of the th ree serv ices of S ri Lanka attended th e event that coincid ed w ith th e cele bration of Ind ia’s 75th anniv ersary o f independ ence The public show of support for s t r e n g t h e n i n g S r i L a n k a ’ s m a r itime security came a day ahead of the scheduled arrival of Chinese v e s s e l Y u a n W a n g 5 , u s e d b y China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to track satellites and ballis tic missiles, at Hambantota Port The Sri Lankan side gave in to pressure from China and cleared the entry of the vessel after calling on the Chinese side to defer the ship’s visit on August 5 The statement said “The air craft would act as a force multipli er, enabling Sri Lanka to tackle multiple challenges such as human and drug trafficking, smuggling a n d o t h e r o r g a n i s e d f o r m s o f crime in its coastal waters more effectively Induction of the air craft is timely in view of the cur rent challenges to Sri Lanka’s mar itime security The aircraft’s capa bility to undertake search and res c u e o p e r a t i o n s e x e m p l i f i e s i t s direct benefit to the Sri Lankan people, and the gift “will equip the c o u n t r y t o c o n t r i b u t e m o r e towards the security of the Indian Ocean region at large” M a r i t i m e s e c u r i t y h a s b e e n identified as a key support of the C o l o m b o S e c u r i t y C o n c l a v e , a g r o u p t h a t i n c l u d e s I n d i a , t h e Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, with Bangladesh and Seychelles as observer nations I n d i a n h i g h c o m m i s s i o n e r Gopal Baglay spoke on the occa sion emphasised that the aircraft’s induction will “help in creating a peaceful environment for progress and prosperity of the people of India and Sri Lanka” The gifting of the Dornier air craft also underscores the coopera tion between India and Sri Lanka i n t h e d e f e n c e a n d s e c u r i t y spheres, the external affairs min i s t r y s a i d T h i s c o o p e r a t i o n i s envisaged to add further capability and capacity to Sri Lanka and is in line with India’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)
The fes tival of Janm ashtami is cel e brated to comm emorate the birt h of Lo r d K r is hn a A c c o r di ng t o Hin du m yt hol ogy , Lor d K ri s hna was the incarnation of Vishnu This event has s ignif ic ance in V rindavan and Mathura as it is Hindu festivals, the Janmashtami does not have a fixed date It is celebrated on the eighth day of t h e m o n t h o f B h a d r a p a d a i n India This year Ashtami Tithi begins at 9:20 pm on August 18 and ends at 10:59 pm on August d a y o f K r i s h n a tami is regarded as st important day for a d e v o t e e s a s i t i s hey fast and pray to r d t o p r o t e c t t h e m
India gifts Dornier aircraft to Lanka ahead of Chinese vessel's arrival China blocks India-US bid to blacklist Pak-based terrorist C hina has blocked a joint India US pr o posal t o sanction a Pakist an based t er ror ist, Abdul Rauf Asghar , an accused in t he 1 9 9 9 I C 81 4 h ij ac k in g , t h e 2 00 1 Parl iament att ack and the 2016 at tack on an Indian Air F or ce base in Pathankot The latest move comes at a t ime when it i s ho pi ng I nd i a w i l l s up por t C h in a ’ s e ffor t s t o defen d its “ sover eignt y and security” on t he Taiwan issue Asghar is also the deputy chief of UN d e s i g n a t e d t e r r o r g r o u p J a i s h e M o h a m m e d a n d b r o t h e r o f M a u l a n a Masood Azhar, who heads the same orga nization Beijing had in June also blocked a proposal to designate deputy chief of Lashkar e Taiba, Abdul Rehman Makki, as a global terrorist Official sources reacted angrily to the d e v e l o p m e n t s a y i n g C h i n a ’ s a c t i o n s exposed its “double speak and double standards” on the issue of terrorism and t h e g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y ’ s s h a r e d b a t t l e against the menace “Such politically motivated actions by China in blocking the listing of Pak based terrorists undermine the entire sanctity of the working methods of the UNSC Sanctions Committees,” said a source, adding it was unfortunate that the UNSC sanctions committee had been prevented from playing its role due to “political con siderations” China had blocked the list ing of Masood Azhar too as global terror ist before finally relenting in 2019 under international pressure In Beijing, the decision to put a tech nical hold on the Abdul Rauf proposal, the Chinese foreign ministry said China needed more time to assess the “relevant applications” India’s permanent repre sentative to UN Ruchira Kamboj had only this week called for ending the practice of p l a c i n g h o l d s a n d b l o c k s o n l i s t i n g r e q u e s t s a g a i n s t n o t o r i o u s t e r r o r i s t s without giving any justification, while slamming double standards in the fight against terrorism
23AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
Janmashtami: Celebration of spiritual rejuvenation
T wo m o n t h s af t er c o n t r a ct in g C o v i d 1 9 , C o n g r e ss ch ief S o n ia Gandh i test ed p ositive f or t h e in f e ct io n ag a in an d wi ll r em ain in iso l atio n E a r l ie r t h i s w eek , h er dau ght er Priyanka G andhi h ad also t ested positive “Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has tested positive for Covid 19 on Saturday She will remain in isola t i o n a s p e r g o v e r n m e n t p r o t o c o l , ” t w e e t e d Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh Sonia had tested positive for Covid in early June as well Days after she had tested posi tive, she was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi on June 12 She was discharged on June 20
During this period, a l s o d e c o r a t e t h e i r nd idol of Krishna as Devotees of Krishna lila to commemorate s i n c i d e n t s i n L o r d life and his undying Radha i d o l o f i n f a n t na, is placed inside a le Every member of the family presents the child with but t e r a n d s u g a r a s hna was known for his fondness for but ter After offering all the dishes to the Lord, the devotees break their fast How to celebrate Janmashtami In India, the various ways that people celebrate the festival are v e r y d i v e r s e I n M a h a r a s h t r a , people perform Dahi Handi to celebrate the festival During this event, children form a human pyramid to break a pot of butter known as a Handi Other places such as Vrindavan and Mathura a l s o o b s e r v e t h e f e s t i v a l w i t h much zeal People in these areas prepare various dishes and sweets to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna It is a very strong belief that Lord Krishna comes at mid night and has the prasad made by his devotees On the day before his birth, devotees keep a fast until mid n i g h t w h i c h i s t h e t r a d i t i o n a l hour of his birth Later the image of Krishna is bathed in water and milk and dressed in new clothes H e i s o n e o f t h e m o s t l o v e d deities in Hinduism He entered the world to establish the religion of love He is often shown as play ing a flute and standing near a holy cow Special foods are pre p a r e d d u r i n g t h e c e l e b r a t i o n ; p e o p l e m a k e s w e e t s l i k e Doodhachi Kheer, Gopal Kala and G u l a b J a m u n t o c e l e b r a t e t h e occasion I n D w a r k a , t h e c i t y w h e r e
Dhankhar sworn in as Vice President BJP secures key portfolios in Maharashtra
C H A N D I G A R H : A mi d d et er i o ra ti n g finances, th e AAP go vernment in P unjab h as pitched fo r a £10 billio n sp ecial p ackage f ro m th e C en tr e a s i t gr ap p le s w i th mounting du es and s ubsidi es T he demand for th e p ackage h as been made by P unjab c h i e f mi n i s ter B h a gw an t Ma nn , w h o anno unced several sops , including free 300 units o f electri city to every hou seh old every month The moves have come despite the state having unpaid subsidy bills of more than £900 million to the distribution entities a n d g o v e r n m e n t d e p a r t m e n t s h a v i n g arrears of over £260 million A recent study by the Reserve Bank of India had identified Punjab among the five most fiscally vulnerable states, and had warned that freebies would accentuate the c r i s i s A f t e r t a k i n g o v e r a s t h e c h i e f minister, Mann had met Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on March 25 and sought the special package from the Centre to put the state’s economy back on track He also raised the issues of Punjab during the recent meeting of the NITI Aayog governing council and sought funds f o r s e c t o r s l i k e f o o d p r o c e s s i n g a n d a special package to strengthen the canal system
SOUTH INDIA PUNJAB WEST BENGAL 24 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww.asian voice.com 20 26 August 2022
KERALA REPORTS 30% OF INDIA’S DAILY COVID DEATHS
A man slit the throat of his wife with a machete at a family court in Karnataka where the two had gone to attend a counselling session after they filed for divorce The man tried to escape after the attack but was overpowered by bystanders and handed over to the police The woman was rushed to the hospital where she died during treatment Minutes earlier, at the counselling session the couple had agreed to bury their differences and reunite to save their marriage of seven years Shivakumar attacked his wife Chaitra when she stepped out after one hour counselling at the Holenarasipura family court in Hassan district He followed her to the washroom and slit her throat with a machete
Kerala’s total Covid cases may be showing a decline but there is no respite from daily new deaths
75 ‘AAM AADMI CLINICS’ LAUNCHED Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday dedicated 75 Aam Aadmi Clinics to the people of the state to mark 75 years of India s independence Mann said these mohalla clinics will offer around 100 types of clinical tests for free, besides giving free medicines to patients Each of these clinics will have four staff members, including an MBBS doctor and a laboratory technician, he said “We had promised to set up mohalla clinics in Punjab The experiment of setting up such in Delhi has been very successful,” he said Mann also spoke about his government’s other initiatives such as ‘One MLA, One Pension’ and free electricity “After the AAP government was formed we started taking decisions from Day One and now results of these decisions have started coming ” he said BJP ASSIGNS 3 UNION MINISTERS TO BENGAL Keen to defend the ground that BJP gained in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with an unprecedented 18 of 42 parliamentary seats the party leadership has already planned its moves for the 2024 contest with at least three Union ministers tasked to focus on the state Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Smriti Irani and Jyotiraditya Scindia have been deputed for the state They have started taking stock of issues since BJP lost some ground and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC registered a landslide victory in the 2021 assembly polls for a third consecutive term in office Others like Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha are also expected to be roped in later in brief Mann urges people to join hands to make ‘Rangla Punjab’ Punjab seeks £10 bn special package from Delhi CBI arrests Trinamool leader in cattle smuggling case No leadership change in Karnataka now, say BJP sources BE NG ALUR U: Karnataka Ch ief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will stay i n the to p p ost at least till t h e ne x t a s se mb l y e le c ti o n , whic h is less th an a year away, so urces in th e Delh i BJP have c o n f i rm ed am i d m u c h sp eculation o n the matter in th e s tate Th ere has been a buzz abou t a ch ange, but so urces in D e lh i r u l ed o u t s u c h a p ossibility Confirming that the party is " n o t h a p p y w i t h B o m m a i , " a senior BJP leader in Delhi said, " O n e m u s t r e m e m b e r t h a t Bommai was selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after consulting with BS Yediyurappa a n d t h e R S S l e a d e r s h i p S o definitely they will not change him now, and even if the high command does that, they will be risking their image just ahead of elections," he added T h e l e a d e r s h i p c h a n g e r u m o u r s s t a r t e d a f t e r U n i o n home minister Amit Shah met B o m m a i a n d i s s a i d t o h a v e taken up the issue of alleged law and order failure in the state B a s a n a g o u d a P a t i l , t h e M L A f r o m B i j a p u r c i t y a s s e m b l y c o n s t i t u e n c y w h o p r e d i c t e d t h a t Y e d d i y u r a p p a w i l l b e replaced, has been vocal this time too Another state BJP l e a d e r , B S u r e s h G o w d a , added to fuel to the fire Y e d d i y u r a p p a h a s s t a u n c h l y r e b u f f e d t h e r u m o u r s T h e r e i s n o q u e s t i o n o f c h a n g i n g t h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r w h e n s t a t e elections are just seven eight months away The rumours on C h i e f M i n i s t e r c h a n g e m u s t stop now," he told reporters T h e c o n f u s i o n h a s g r e a t l y c h e e r e d t h e o p p o s i t i o n C o n g r e s s , w h i c h h a s c a l l e d B o m m a i a " p u p p e t C h i e f Minister" "Bommai is being controlled by the high command and he has not been allowed to work freely That is hampering the development of the state The o r i g i n a l B J P l e a d e r s a r e n o t happy with Bommai They feel that a newcomer to the party h a s b e e n m a d e t h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r , " s a i d w o r k i n g president of Karnataka congress Saleem Ahmed Basavaraj Bommai L U D H I A N A : P un j ab C h i ef M i ni s te r Bhagw ant M ann called upon peo ple to jo in h ands and w ag e a war ag ainst social m alad ies l i ke u ne m p l oy m en t, c o rru p t io n , com munalism and social discrim ination to realise the dreams o f our freedom figh ters and make a 'Rangla P unjab' A d d r e s s i n g a g a t h e r i n g t o m a r k Independence Day at Guru Nanak Stadium, the Chief Minister said these maladies are hampering the progress of the state and p r o s p e r i t y o f i t s p e o p l e U n f u r l i n g t h e Tricolour on the occasion, he said the time has come to weed out these maladies, adding that this mission cannot be accomplished without the active support of the people The Chief Minister said it is a matter of great pride and honour for every Indian that our country has completed 75 years as an independent and democratic republic on M o n d a y C o n g r a t u l a t i n g a l l t h e countrymen, especially Punjabis in India and across the world on this historic occasion, Mann said India’s road to independence was long and hard, but equally difficult is the path to maintain this freedom The Chief Minister said it is unfortunate that some people are posing questions over t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f g r e a t m a r t y r s H e r e m i n d e d t h e p e o p l e t h a t t h e s e g r e a t n a t i o n a l h e r o e s a n d m a r t y r s r e l e n t l e s s l y fought to free the country from the shackles of the British regime He said questioning t h e c r e d e n t i a l s o f m a r t y r s i s a n unpardonable crime The Chief Minister asked the people to remain vigilant of the nefarious designs of some fissiparous forces to destabilise the state He said that these forces want to derail the peace and progress of state Mann said that though the land of Punjab is very fertile and anything can be grown on it but seeds of h a t r e d a n d c o m m u n a l i s m c a n n e v e r germinate here The Chief Minister added that great Gurus have shown the way to Punjabis to fight against tyranny, injustice and oppression He said that life of great G u r u s a h i b a n s h a v e e v e r i n s p i r e d t h e Punjabis to make supreme sacrifices at the altar of motherland The Chief Minister also felicitated freedom fighters and their kin in recognition of their valuable contribution in the freedom struggle of the country
Bhagwant Mann K O L K A T A : Th e C e n tr al B u re a u o f I n v e s ti g at i on l a s t w e e k a rr e s te d T ri n a m ool C o ng r es s l e a de r An u br a ta M ondal i n connection with the c ros s borde r c attl e s muggl in g c a s e Th e ar re s t c ome s a f ter M o n da l , a pr om i n en t TM C l e a de r s k i p pe d s e ve r al s u m mo n s b y t he a ge n c y , i ncluding two in the past one week C B I o f f i c i a l s a l o n g w i t h several CRPF personnel arrived a t t h e h o u s e o f M o n d a l a t B o l p u r i n B i r b h u m T h e y entered the house and picked
u p t h e T M C leader and drove o f f “ T h e s a i d a c c u s e d w a s c o n s i s t e n t l y a v o i d i n g C B I ’ s s u m m o n s s i n c e l o n g a n d n o t c o o p e r a t i n g w i t h t h e C B I i n v e s t i g a t i o n into the case, ” a press statement by the CBI said The TMC leader was produced before a court in Asansol which remanded him to CBI custody t i l l A u g u s t 2 0 T h e r e w e r e protests outside the CBI court in Asansol where supporters of BJP and Left parties were seen protesting side by side Mondal was asked to appear before the CBI on August 8 and 10, but the TMC leader skipped t h e s u m m o n s O n A u g u s t 8 , Mondal tried to get admitted to S t a t e r u n S S K M h o s p i t a l i n Kolkata but the doctors said t h a t h e d i d n o t r e q u i r e hospitalisation Of the 10 times the TMC leader was summoned in the case, he had appeared only once on May 19 this year Reacting to the arrest TMC leadership said that the party has zero tolerance to corruption b u t r a i s e d q u e s t i o n s o n t h e i m p a r t i a l i l t y o f c e n t r a l i n v e s t i g a t i n g a g e n c i e s T h e arrest of Mondal comes as a m a j o r e m b a r s s a m e n t t o t h e p a r t y a n d T M C l e a d e r s h i p appears not to put their weight behind the party’s key organiser in south Bengal The party has, h o w e v e r , c a l l e d f o r p r o t e s t s against central agencies No s tranger to controversy Mondal, a prominent TMC l e a d e r a n d h a s b e e n i n s t r u m e n t a l i n e s t a b l i s h i n g party’s dominance in Birbhum and adjoining districts He has been no stranger to controversy and often accused of violence a n d p o l i t i c a l m u r d e r s o f t h e s u p p o r t e r s o f O p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s M o n d a l h a s a l s o grabbed headlines for his public utterances like “hurling bombs a t t h e p o l i c e ” a n d m o r e recemtly “Khela Hobe (Game is On)” before 2021 Assembly polls in the State The cattle smuggling case r e l a t e s t o t h e s m u g g l i n g o f c a t t l e t h r o u g h t h e I n d i a B a n g l a d e s h b o r d e r t h r o u g h cattle markets in Birbhum The CBI has lodged an FIR in the case on September 21, 2020 and filed chargesheets in the case, t h e l a s t b e i n g o n M o n d a y ( A u g u s t 8 , 2 0 2 2 ) I n t h e chargesheet, Mondal’s security officer Saigal Hossain has been named as accused Hossain has been arrested in the case and remains behind bars The other a c c u s e d n a m e d i n t h e chargesheets include a former B S F c o m m a n d a n t S a t i s h K u m a r , b u s i n e s s m a n E m a n u l H a q u e , f o r m e r T r i n a m o o l leader Binya Mishra, and Abdul Lateef, owner of a cattle haat in Birbhum
The state now reports 25 30% of the daily new Covid deaths in India Kerala has so far reported 2 037 Covid deaths per one million people the highest in the country This is almost double of Maharashtra which comes second with 1,297 deaths per one million people In contrast, neighbouring Tamil Nadu reported 560 deaths while Karnataka reported 627 deaths per one million people The national average is 382 deaths per one million people “The reason for this is because we are testing all suspected cases We are screening even suspected Covid deaths and reporting in an honest manner,” said Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association chief GS Vijayakrishnan MAN SLITS WIFE'S THROAT AT COURT
Both Gandhi and Nehru were as reluctant, as Jinnah was adamant on Partition, but as later historical events transpired, the bloody division finally took place in August 1947 with India flanked by Pakistan to the west and East Pakistan, or modern day Bangladesh, to the east The top brass of AIML, including Jinnah and others several who later went on to become Presidents or Prime Ministers of the new Muslim nation confabulated, strategised the country's break up, means to browbeat the Congress leaders and solicit cooperation of the British Raj, etc The critical details of Partition were hammered in parleys among the three top barristers then Jinnah, Gandhi and Nehru before the trio sat with the Britishers to carve out the country into three geographical entities and two political nations Before Jinnah left for the new country where he was subse quently revered as 'Founder of Pakistan, Quaid E Azam or Father of the Nation', he had expressed his desire to come and live at Jinnah House sometime But it was never to happen as he passed away in September 1948 barely eight months after India's Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948 Twenty four years later, Pakistan's eastern Dominion was severed by then Indian Prime Minister Inidra Gandhi, and the erstwhile East Pakistan was born as Bangladesh in December 1971, in what was regarded as 'sweet revenge' for the Partition of India in 1947 After returning from Great Britain to take over the reins of AIML, Jinnah built his beloved European style house in south Mumbai in 1936, at a staggering cost of Rs 200,000 Though he owned another bungalow in Delhi, it was the Bombay home where he spent over 10 years before leaving India to take charge of the new nation named Pakistan in 19 Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
25AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
M um bai's f amed landmark the Jinnah Hous e on M alabar Hill whic h was once the hub of brainstorming s ess ions over t he con t entious Partition of India, rem ains a charming orphan since t he pas t 75 years
Top l eaders of the Al l India Mus lim League (AIM L) use d to c onverge here frequently to s trategise and push f or th t he much abhorred 't wo nation theory', f irs t propounde d by Choudhry Rehmat Ali in 1933 , when he was s tudying l aw at t he University of Cam bridge Then AIML supremo Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Indian National Congress leader Mahatma Gandhi initially negotiated the Partition here in 1944, followed by another decisive round on the nitty gritties between Jinnah and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1946
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the billionaire investor, is no more PM Modi's big resolution Jinnah House in Mumbai remains a charming orphan Ra ke sh J h u nj h u n w al a ( 62 ) , In d i a ’ s s elf styled big bull of the sto ck markets, p assed away on Su nd ay m orni ng Jhunjh unwala had an estimated net w orth of $5 5 billion, making him th e 3 6th richest m an in India, according to Forbes Born on July 5, 1960, Jhunjhunwala was the son of an income tax officer and hailed from the district of Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan He graduated with a B Com degree from Sydenham College (University of Mumbai) and thereafter enrolled at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India J h u n j h u n w a l a b e g u n i n v e s t i n g w i t h $100 in 1985 when the BSE benchmark index Sensex was trading just at 150 He ran a pri v a t e l y o w n e d s t o c k t r a d i n g f i r m c a l l e d RARE Enterprises Some of his biggest investments were T i t a n , C R I S I L , A u r o b i n d o P h a r m a , P r a j I n d u s t r i e s , N C C , A p t e c h L i m i t e d , I o n Exchange, Fortis Healthcare, Lupin, VIP Industries, Geojit Financial Services, Rallis India, Jubilant Life Sciences, etc Besides, he loved to dabble in derivatives, currency and gold Recently, he had invested £26 million in the new budget airline company Akasha Airlines Jhunjhunwala had also shown interest in film production and his philanthropic portfolio included nutrition and education He had pledged to give away 25 per cent of his wealth to charity His most valu able listed holding was watch and jew ellery maker Titan, part of the Tata c o n g l o m e r a t e A f t e r t h e C o v i d 1 9 lockdown ended, when Jhunjhunwala met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he was wheelchair bound He was always willing to talk pas sionately about how India's economy and financial markets would soon join the ranks of global superpowers His family found him unconscious early Sunday morn ing and rushed him to Breach Candy hospi tal where he was pronounced dead T r i b u t e s p o u r e d i n C a l l i n g h i m ‘indomitable’, PM Narendra Modi said he was full of life, witty and insightful “He leaves behind an indelible contribution to the financial world He was also very pas sionate about India’sprogress His passing away is saddening My condolences to his family and admirers Om Shanti,” the PM tweeted C ontinued fro m page 1 PM Modi started his speech by honouring the forgotten heroes who played a role in the c o u n t r y ' s I n d e p e n d e n c e a n d r e c a l l e d t h e strength of women and sacrifice of freedom f i g h t e r s i n c l u d i n g R a n i L a k s h m i B a i a n d B e g u m H a z r a t M a h a l H e a l s o s a i d t h a t Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Vir Savarkar and others were the nation builders The PM said, “The citizens are thankful to Mahatma Gandhi, N e t a j i S u b h a s h C h a n d r a B o s e , B a b a s a h e b Ambedkar and Veer Savarkar who gave their lives on the path of duty " Marking that the heroes of history have been forgotten, he said India's innumerable r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s s h o o k t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f British Rule This nation is thankful to Mangal Pandey, Tatya Tope, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, R a j g u r u , C h a n d r a s h e k h a r A z a d , A s h f a q u l l a Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil and our innumerable revolutionaries who shook the foundation of the British Rule” 'Panch pran' pl edge During the speech, which he started after unfurling the Tricolour, he talked about the five pledges calling it “Panchpran” to help India become a developed nation in the com ing years In the coming years, we have to focus on Panchpran (5 promises) First, to m o v e f o r w a r d w i t h b i g g e r r e s o l v e s a n d a resolve of developed India, second, to erase all traces of servitude, third, to be proud of our legacy, fourth, to focus on our strength of unity and fifth, to fulfill the duties of citizens with honesty, which should be done by the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers as well " Mo ther o f demo cracy India is the mother of democracy and diversity is its strength, he said, "Despite chal lenges faced post independence, nothing could hamper the zeal of Indian citizens This soil has power; despite many challenges, India did not stop, did not bow down and kept moving forward Our nation has proved we have inher ent strength coming from our diversity; com m o n t h r e a d o f p a t r i o t i s m m a k e s I n d i a unshakeable I have dedicated myself to fulfill ing Mahatma Gandhi's vision of empowering the last man in the queue " Attacks corrup tion, ' parivaarvaad' He said India is currently facing two big challenges Corruption and “parivaarvaad” ( n e p o t i s m ) " C o r r u p t i o n i s h o l l o w i n g t h e country like a termite and we will have to fight it " He added that those who looted India in the past are "paying for their sins now We are confiscating their ill gotten gain In India, where people are fighting poverty, we need to fight against corruption with all our might " 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign Modi said the nation's enthusiasm for 'Tiranga' seen in the last three days could not have been imagined by many experts and that it symbolises the nation's reawakening Har Ghar Tiranga is an example of an entire nation coming together to celebrate the spirit of our glorious country W h i l e I n d i a w a s c e l e b r a t i n g ' A z a d i k a Amrit Mahotsav', the historical monument in Delhi was covered with multi layered security with more than 10,000 security personnel deployed at the venue Around 7,000 invitees arrived at the Red Fort and a 5 km area around the monument was marked as a no kite flying zone'' till the national flag was hoisted PM Modi said, "We must turn India into a developed country in the next 25 years, in our lifetime " "It's a big resolution, and we should work towards it with all our might," he said Despite the rapid rise in economic clout for the country, there's still a long road ahead if Modi's goal is to be realized India's per capita income has more than quadrupled since 2000, when it was below $500 per person per annum He told the crowd at the Red Fort that India had seen ups and downs over the past 75 years, battling against all odds with resilience and perseverance He asked people to remove any trace of a colonial mindset PM Modi did not mention tensions with China or Pakistan in his speech, nor any steps to improve relations
Birmingham welcomes The World Reimagined trail
Apache Indian says, Commonwealth Games closing ceremony ‘biggest highlight of my career’
A centrepiece of the spectacle will be the UK’s largest puppet a folklore styled towering 10 metre giant, which will tour the streets of the city centre accompanied b y f l a s h m o b s t y l e d p e r f o r m a n c e s a n d music along the route O n S a t u r d a y , A u g u s t 2 7 , S t o r m ’ s journey begins at Town Hall Square at 12noon, travelling to the Clock Tower where she will be met with sizzling samba rhythms from Leicester’s Sambando at 2 30pm, before a climactic performance by dancers from Studio 79 to mark the end of S t o r m ’ s j o u r n e y a t J u b i l e e S q u a r e a t 3 55pm On Sunday Storm’s route will see the c o l o s s u s t r a v e l l i n g f r o m T h e C i r c l e outside the Mattioli Woods Building in W e l f o r d P l a c e , a c c o m p a n i e d b y t h e t h u n d e r o u s J a p a n e s e d r u m m i n g o f Leicester Taiko at 12noon Indian dance company Nupur Arts will lead Storm to the farewell finale at the Clock Tower at 1 15pm, with a parade of o c e a n f r i e n d s , s h o w c a s i n g I n d i a n C l a s s i c a l , B o l l y w o o d a n d I n d i a n F o l k dance Throughout the Saturday and Sunday, there will also be a packed programme of i n t e r a c t i v e p l a y , e x p l o r a t i o n a n d discovery From 12noon till 5pm on Saturday, Jubilee Square will host activities i n c l u d i n g P l a n k t o n b y E n t e r Edem, where visitors can explore the micro beauty of the oceans w i t h i n t e r a c t i v e p u p p e t r y workshops, bringing the story of this unseen world to life The Bees offers an engaging i n s t a l l a t i o n o f m u l t i s e n s o r y h i v e s , e a c h h i d i n g a u n i q u e , u n e x p e c t e d i n t e r i o r w o r l d I t takes place at 12noon, 2pm and 4pm, while Focus offers free art activities and games, including d e s i g n i n g a b a n n e r , m a k i n g a green pledge and joining in with family games voice
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City Festival 2022 prepares to take to Leicester’s streets
Birmingh am 's heritage and sh ared histo ry will be explored throug h a tra i l o f g i an t g l ob es th a t w a s launched in the city centre today (12 A ugust 20 22) T h e W o r l d R e i m a g i n e d which is supported by Birmingham City Council aims to explore the city’s history in particular its links with the trans Atlantic Trade of Enslaved Africans by bringing to life the reality and its impact by remembering the past and celebrating the spirt and culture that survived The trail was launched in St Philip’s Square where the sculptures Dear Archives by Glory Samjolly and Unity by Gabriel Choto were unveiled Each of the 10 globes have been designed by an individual artist based on themes including Mother Africa, Still We Rise and Expanding Soul Cllr John Cotton, Cabinet Member for S o c i a l J u s t i c e , C o m m u n i t y S a f e t y a n d Equalities for Birmingham City Council, said: “We are delighted to welcome this national and internationally significant project to Birmingham, which will not only e n c o u r a g e a g r e a t e r a w a r e n e s s a n d conversations around racial injustice but also to provide a visual spectacle which will inspire people across the city “ I w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k T h e W o r l d R e i m a g i n e d t e a m a s w e l l a s a l l t h e s t a k e h o l d e r s a n d f u n d e r s f o r t h e i r commitment to this project, which is vital to achieving a better understanding of our city’s history ” The globes have been decorated by artists from Birmingham and across the UK, bringing the city to life with diverse e x p e r i e n c e s a n d c r e a t i v e s t y l e s T h e y include local artists Create Not Destroy, K a s s e s s a G a n d a r a , G a y a n i , A r i y a r a t n e , Pauline Bailey and Jay Percy, alongside Donna Newman, Tamika Galanis, Gabriel Choto and Jess Perrin
Anhad festival comes to Hounslow T he sounds, song s and stories of South A sia w ill burst into v ibrant li fe i n Ho unslow town centre this weekend w ith a day long free carniv al of cu lture
A fter 11 days of enthralling sporting action, t h e cu r tai ns ca m e d o w n o n t h e C omm onwealth Gam es 2022 with a grand closing ceremo ny at th e Alexand er Stadium in Birmingh am o n Tuesday Boxer Nikhat Zareen and table tennis player Sharath Kamal, both of whom won g o l d m e d a l s a t B i r m i n g h a m 2 0 2 2 , w e r e India s flag bearers for the glitzy encore to what has been a memorable CWG for India While India’s medals tally of 61 medals, 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze, was only India’s fifth best haul at the Commonwealth Games, it was a special campaign for several reasons With shooting the sport which has accounted for a vast majority of India’s m e d a l s a t t h e C W G a b s e n t t h i s t i m e around, Indian athletes did well to put up a decent showing which placed them fourth in t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s 2 0 2 2 m e d a l s t a l l y a f t e r A u s t r a l i a , h o s t s E n g l a n d a n d Canada T h e c l o s i n g c e r e m o n y b e g a n w i t h a musical tribute to Birmingham’s working c l a s s h e r o e s w h o h e l p e d r e b u i l d t h e industrial city after the devastation caused by the Birmingham Blitz during World War II Performance by local artists depicting tidbits of the city’s history and cultural diversity was accompanied by Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, Ocean Colour Scene’s Hundred Mile High City and a live performance by 70s pop band Dexys Midnight Runners as the background scores The upbeat mood was given a touch of Reggae with a live performance of Boom Shack A Lak by Apache Indian The party continued with Musical Youth and UB40 belting out popular numbers like Pass the Dutchie and Red Red Wine Live dhols and traditional bhangra to Punjabi MC’s Mundian To Bach Ke kicked up the temperature a notch, adding some Punjabi pop spice to the mix Apache Indian, Neelam Gill and Panjabi MC performed during the closing ceremony o f t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h g a m e s Hits composer Apache Indian is a singer songwriter and reggae DJ, r a i s e d i n H a n d s w o r t h , B i r m i n g h a m H e w a s r e c e n t l y a w a r d e d t h e B r i t i s h E m p i r e M e d a l ( B E M ) f o r s e r v i c e s t o m u s i c a n d y o u n g p e o p l e a n d p l a y e d h i s f a m o u s h i t B o o m Shack A Lak this evening at the ceremony P a n j a b i M C , a r e c o r d i n g artist, rapper, producer and DJ, is best known for the worldwide bhangra hit he played during the ceremony titled Mundian To Bach Ke which sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling singles of all time Panjabi MC released their latest song Jinni Marji last month Apache Indian told Asian Voice, “It was a great experience and honour, to be able to perform at the commonwealth games in my home town of Birmingham It was probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done and the highlight of my career It’s more than just performing a song it represents culture, diversity and everything about who I am and where I live I want to thank everyone who made it possible, and thanks for all the feedback from all the fans across the globe ”
A n h a d m a r k s S o u t h A s i a n H e r i t a g e Month in Hounslow and promises to be a festival without limits with a dazzling blend of outdoor arts and performance at Bell Square and along Hounslow High Street on Saturday, 13 August The festival, part of Hounslow Council’s Summer of Culture programme, takes its name from the Sikh word for limitless Between 2pm and 9 30pm, some of the UK’s most promising and acclaimed South Asian artists will take centre stage T h e c o r n u c o p i a o f c e l e b r a t i o n s w i l l include dance, music, performances and processions throughout the day and into the summer night A n h a d i s d i r e c t e d b y a w a r d w i n n i n g producer, director and cultural leader Mira Kaushik OBE, formerly one of the leading l i g h t s i n L o n d o n b a s e d d a n c e t r o u p e Akademi Mira is working with Watermans Centre to bring the event to Hounslow She says the celebration is the first of its kind to provide such a prominent platform for South Asian creativity in all its forms M ira said : “The festival promises the very best of UK based South Asian outdoor arts performed and created by the best South Asian artists from across the country working alongside Hounslow’s artists and communities ” Hou nslow Co uncil’ s C abinet M ember C o m m u ni ti e s a nd E qu a li ty , C o u nc i ll o r S h iv raj Gr ew al , s a i d : “ S e e i n g o u r l o c a l c o m m u n i t y f l o u r i s h t h r o u g h o u t o u r Summer of Culture has been amazing The sheer number of events across the borough r e i n f o r c e s t h e b r e a d t h o f c u l t u r a l experiences our residents can enjoy Anhad is yet another opportunity for our borough to see contemporary performance across our public spaces and it’s a great opportunity to showcase South Asian culture ” A painting by Il Morazzone worth £2 million at risk of leaving UK S elf Portrait as a Knight, w ith a horse, an easel with painter’s palette and a page ’ by P ier F rancesco M azzucchelli, also known as ‘ i l M o razzo ne ’ , is at ri sk of leav i ng th e cou ntry unless a bu yer can be found The painting is an example of Lombard art, which has its origins in Lombardy in northern Italy during the early 17th century and remains a relatively unexplored field in a r t h i s t o r y T h e s t y l e c o m b i n e s n a t u r a l realism with intense spirituality and piety A work by il Morazzone is rare outside of n o r t h e r n I t a l y a n d t h i s p a i n t i n g w a s presumed lost until its appearance on the London art market in 2020 A departure from the UK of this newly discovered self portrait would amount to a significant loss Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: There are no significant self portraits by il Morazzone in any public collections in the UK, so this painting is a rare treasure I hope that a buyer comes forward so that it can be studied and admired in this country
26 20 26 August 2022 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweeklywww asian
L eice st er ’ s city ce ntr e stre ets ar e d ue t o come alive this month with a bre ath taking festiva l sh owca sing l iv e p e r f o r m a n ce s , s t r e e t a r t s, in t e r a ct i v e f u n a n d t h e U K ’ s la rge st pup pe t City Festival 2022 takes place o v e r t h e A u g u s t B a n k H o l i d a y w e e k e n d , o f f e r i n g a t w o d a y programme packed with events, activities and attractions suitable for all ages and tastes The spectacle will take place at sites throughout the city centre i n c l u d i n g H u m b e r s t o n e G a t e , C l o c k T o w e r , J u b i l e e S q u a r e , Church Gate, Town Hall Square and Green Dragon Square near Leicester Market
U nh ealthy lifestyle co uld increase th e risk of kid ney diseases sig nificantly It is impo rtant to exercise reg ularly, eat h ealthy, av oid sm oking and drinking , o ver the counter painkillers and drink the required amount of water to keep your kid neys in g ood shape Dr Sh ri Ram Kabra, Directo r Nep hro log y and K idney Transplant Medicine Marengo QRG Hospital, says one sho uld av oid the following comm on bad habits that m ay harm your kid neys Overuse of over the counter (OTC) pain medications and body building health supplements, if you use them on a r e g u l a r b a s i s f o r c h r o n i c p a i n , headaches or arthritis, you are advised to discontinue them immediately
Some yoga poses to calm your nervous system
Habits that can damage your kidneys
The nervous s ys tem help s us to function op ti mal ly, hand le chal lenges and navigate li fe But when we are under stress, experi enci ng trauma or anxi ety, th en our ho rmones can go for a toss and impact the nervous system and overall well bei ng It i s important to calm your nervous s ys tem d own otherwise i t can show u p as sl eep i ssues, chroni c pai n, h ormo nal ch anges, d iges tive is sues, cardi ovasc ular changes and mo re
People with hi gher levels of harmf ul f ats or cholesterol are m ore lik ely to e x p e r i e n c e s y m p t om s f r om b o th C o v i d 1 9 a n d n o n C o vi d di s e a s e , ac cording to a study The fi ndings are b ased on data from the ZO E Hea lth Study app by King’ s College Lon don The s cienti sts analys ed blood m arkers f r o m 4 , 78 7 pe o pl e a n d c o m p a re d them with those livin g in the c om mu n ity, where the ma jority of people wi th Covi d have been treated T h e b l o o d m a r k e r s i n a s y m p tomatic people had a healthier pattern that is associated with a lower risk of heart attacks and diabetes The people with long lasting symptoms showed higher levels of ‘bad cholesterol, and unhealthy fatty acids, the team said The analysis also showed that those with Covid symptoms for more than 28 days could not be clearly distin guished from those with non Covid illnesses of prolonged duration Both had a set of compounds in their blood commonly seen in patients who are at risk of heart disease and diabetes Experts said this association could mean that research looking at ways to treat other diseases might also play a role in Covid “We saw a clear differ ence in blood fats of people who had had asymptomatic Covid compared to those with long lasting symptoms,” said Dr Marc Osterdahl, clinical fel low and lead author at King’s “We were able to look at whether changes we saw were specific to Covid or whether they reflected something more general about prolonged symp toms What is interesting is that we saw the same pattern of harmful fats i n p e o p l e w i t h l o n g s y m p t o m s i n Covid and non Covid disease,” added Dr Claire Steves, co author and lead researcher in the ZOE Health Study “We think this might shed light on t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f l o n g C o v i d a n d other conditions, where people take time to recover from illness,” Steves said
W hi le m ult i v it a m in s are n’t helpful, at lea st t he y ’ r e n ot h a r mfu l But the mon ey people sp end on the m could be be t t e r s pe n t o n p ur c h a s in g h e a lt hy food s, accordin g t o Dr Piete r Cohen , a n a ssociat e pr ofe ssor of me dicin e a t Ha rva rd Medical Sch ool R esear chers an alysed 84 stud ie s in volv ing ne arly 700,000 pe ople The ir rev iew, publishe d in JA MA, foun d litt le or n o e viden ce t hat t akin g vita min and min era l suppleme nt s he lps prev ent ca ncer a nd cardiov ascular d ise ase tha t ca n lead t o hear t at ta ck s a nd str oke, nor do th ey he lp pre ven t an e ar ly d eat h “Most people would be better off just drinking a full glass of water and skipping the vitamin,” said Cohen, an expert in dietary supplement research and regulation “We have good evidence that for the vast majority of people, taking multivi tamins won’t help you, ” he added There are some exceptions, however Highly restrictive diets and gastrointestinal condi tions, or certain weight loss surgeries that cause poor nutri ent absorption, are examples of reasons why a multivitamin or individual vitamins might be recommended A daily vitamin D supplement may be necessary when a person gets insufficient sun exposure Your doctor may rec ommend an iron supplement if you have a low red blood cell count (anaemia) Surveys suggest people take vitamins to stay healthy, feel more energetic, or gain peace of mind These beliefs stem from a powerful narrative about vitamins being healthy and natural that dates back nearly a century “This narrative appeals to many groups in our population, includ ing people who are progressive vegetarians and also to con servatives,” Cohen said Vitamins are very inexpensive to make, so the companies can sink lots of money into advertis ing, he noted But because the FDA regulates dietary supple ments as food and not as prescription, the agency only mon itors claims regarding the treatment of disease
27AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com Available from Superdrug, Holland & Barrett, Lloydspharmacy, GNC, supermarkets, health stores independent pharmacies, www vitabiotics com CALCIUM + Magnesium + Vit D3 MOST TRUSTED UVITAMINS K’ S AWA R D W I N N I N G N O.1 S K I N, H A I R , N A I L S B e a u t y T a b l e t s Most trusted for pregnancy TA B L E T S For all women over 40 years M e n o p a u s e Ta b l e t s HEALTH & VITALITY GTablets entle IRON+Vitamin syrup sponsored by: 20 26 August 2022 Clear the cholesterol to stay away from Covid Cycling can improve your physical and mental health In recent years, the culture o f c yc li ng h a s g ai ne d tremend ous m omentum in our country C ycling is fun, healthy and a low im pact f o rm o f w o rk o u t f o r al l ag es E xp e rt S ri ra m S undresan shares benefi ts of cycling : Weigh t loss Weight gain due to a sedentary lifestyle is a com mon problem these days Riding short distances to t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d s h o p , school, or work are mini w o r k o u t s y o u c a n s n e a k into your routine and an effective strategy for weight loss Not only would this ensure that you are physi cally active, but these ped alling sessions would also h e l p i n t o r c h i n g f a t Approximately 45 60 min u t e s o f c y c l i n g c a n h e l p burn up to 300 calories Prevention of lifestyle diseases Cycling regularly helps keep various health issues like diabetes, obesity, car d i a c p r o b l e m s , o r o t h e r l i f e s t y l e d i s o r d e r s a t b a y Regular cycling has in fact proved to keep blood sugar l e v e l s i n c h e c k C y c l i n g works as an effective stress buster, in essence, it defi nitely helps in mental well being R educ es depress ion and anxi ety The benefits of riding a b i c y c l e e x t e n d b e y o n d p h y s i c a l f i t n e s s C y c l i n g gets you outdoor, among nature, leaving you to feel revitalised, energetic and o p t i m i s t i c D e p r e s s i o n , anxiety and stress are all positively affected by exer cise, but the combination of exercise and exposure to the outdoors is a bit of a m a g i c c o m b i n a t i o n f o r e m o t i o n a l a n d m e n t a l well being So, hop onto your saddle and soak up some sunshine Builds m us cle The resistance element of cycling means that it just doesn’t burn fat, but it a l s o b u i l d s y o u r h a m strings, quads and calves a n d c a n a l s o t o n e y o u r c a l v e s , p r e s e r v e m u s c l e mass and strengthen your core Keeps heart healthy Cycling and cardiovas cular fitness go hand in hand Cycling on a regular b a s i s k e e p s y o u r h e a r t healthy and is considered a great cardiovascular activi ty Regular cycling stimu l a t e s a n d i m p r o v e s y o u r heart, lungs and circula tion, reducing your risk of c a r d i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e s a n d a l s o s l o w i n g d o w n ageing Boosts im munity One of the rising con cerns in the present times is keeping ourselves safe, ensuring that we have the i m m u n i t y w e n e e d C y c l i n g d a i l y h e l p s w i t h k e e p i n g y o u r p h y s i c a l health in check, increases y o u r s t a m i n a , a n d h e l p s keep the immune system young In general, the fitter y o u a r e , t h e s t r o n g e r i s your immune system
Gulping multivitamins daily could be useless!
According to an expert," When you experience stress & anx iety, your body works to protect you by activating the flight or fight response In this system your body is alert, your heart rate & blood pressure increase, muscles get tensed and your digestive system goes into hibernation This is a state of action and chaos, which is vital for your survival You naturally move in & out of this system often But when there are constant stressors, anxiety or past trauma present, this hightened state can impact the function of your nervous system, body and mind " The expert says, “Yoga poses help in nurturing your nervous system which allows you to tune into the state of your body and build resistence, while also having tools that can help promote a sense of safety & calm within "
Regular use of excessive salts pose a threat to the kidney as they not only generate excessive sodium load but also cause hypertension So, it is suggested to focus on eating fresh, naturally low sodium foods such as cauliflower, blue berries, seafood and healthy grains More consumption of processed food is dangerous They are loaded with sodium and phosphorus Patients w i t h k i d n e y d i s e a s e s h o u l d r e f r a i n from eating packaged food Consuming high phosphorus, processed foods can b e d e t r i m e n t a l t o t h e k i d n e y s a n d bones Eating too much sugar can cause obesity, which raises your risk of high blood pressure and diabetes, resulting in kidney disease So cut down the sugar intake Similarly, avoid regular consumption of biscuits, condiments, cereals and white bread as they all con tain sugar Not getting enough sleep can be problematic It is a vital time when kid neys regenerate its damaged tissues and a poor sleep wake cycle may not only damage this organ, but may also c a u s e h i g h b l o o d p r e s s u r e a n d a t h e r o s c l e r o s i s , w h i c h i n t u r n m a y cause a decrease in kidney blood flow Not keeping yourself hydrated can be harmful You should drink good amount of water to hydrate yourself as it not only maintains blood circulation of the kidneys but also helps in excret i n g m e t a b o l i c w a s t e s a n d p r e v e n t s p a i n f u l k i d n e y s t o n e f o r m a t i o n Patients with kidney problems need l e s s f l u i d i n t a k e B u t p e o p l e w i t h healthy kidneys should drink 3 4 litres of water daily Not exercising regularly is a way to develop kidney complications Sitting for too long is associated with the d e v e l o p m e n t o f k i d n e y d i s e a s e A n i n a c t i v e l i f e s t y l e c a n h a v e a d v e r s e effects on kidney health Do regular aerobic exercises with a 40 minute walk at least 4 times a week Eating too much meat can damage your kidney too Animal protein is known to produce high amounts of acid in the blood which can be detri mental to the kidneys and cause acido sis Smoking is harmful to your health which includes your kidneys People who smoke are prone to having protein in their urine, which is a sign of kidney damage Quit or limit smoking as quit ting smoking can improve the blood flow of the kidneys E x t r e m e a l c o h o l c o n s u m p t i o n : High alcohol intake may raise uric acid generation and damage your kidneys and hence it is mandatory to cut down on alcohol intake
Following are some yoga poses that will help you ease stress and calm your nervous system: C hild 's pos e
Physically, this pose helps release tension in the back, neck and shoulders, where many of us hold stress It encourages a steady, even, and prolonged breathing pattern that has a calm ing, relaxing effect on the mind and emotions Legs up the wall This is the best pose for restoring the body and mind In addition to providing immediate lower back relief, this pose also successfully reduces anxiety symptoms A calm area of your home with minimal distractions is the ideal setting for this pose Brid ge pose A mild inversion pose can be both energising and restora tive, depending on how it is performed When the sacrum is supported by a block, it is more therapeutic and revitalising Crocod ile pose This pose facilitates diaphragmatic breathing and relax ation By inducing the relaxation response, it is also associated with calming the neurological system The lower back and ribs expand because the abdomen is resting on the floor in this posi tion The tension in the shoulders and spine is released, and the pose also helps to correct bad posture patterns It also helps reg ulate blood pressure and anxiety
On late actor Sridevi's 59th birth anniversary, her daughter Janhvi Kapoor shared a picture with her on Instagram In the photo, Sridevi is seen hugging a little Janhvi as they posed for a picture Sridevi died in 2018, just a few months before Janhvi Kapoor's debut film 'Dhadak' was released Sharing a picture, Janhvi wrote, “Happy birthday Mumma I miss you more and more every day I love u forever " Manish M a l h o t r a , V a r u n D h a w a n , a n d Z o y a A k h t a r d r o p p e d h e a r t e m o j i s i n t h e comments section of the post One fan commented, “May god bless her soul every sec ” Another one said, “She will always be there with you, and I bet she is proud of you ” S r i d e v i t i e d t h e k n o t w i t h f i l m producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 They welcomed Janhvi on March 6, 1997, just a f e w d a y s a f t e r h e r f i l m ' J u d a a i ' w a s released Their daughter Khushi was born in 2000 In a 2017 interview, Sridevi said that she wasn't in favour of Janhvi entering the f i l m i n d u s t r y S h e s a i d , " S h e ( J a n h v i ) wanted to do the film and initially, I wasn't in favour I don't think it's a bad industry I am a creation of this world But, as a parent, it would give me greater joy to see her married But her happiness matters more, and if she does well as an actor, I will be a proud mother " Sridevi was born on August 13, 1963, as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan She was known for her iconic roles in films such as 'Chandni', 'Lamhe', 'Tohfa', 'Mr India', 'Chaalbaaz', 'Nagina', 'Judaai' and 'Nagina', a m o n g m a n y m o r e H e r l a s t f i l m w a s 'Mom', for which she also received the N a t i o n a l F i l m A w a r d f o r B e s t A c t r e s s , posthumously She died on February 24, 2018, in Dubai
Talking about the film, Kareena spoke about the fears of comparison between 'Laal Singh Chaddha' and Tom Hanks’ movie She said: “It’s an official adaptation Atul Kulkarni has written it I think that it’s so beautiful adding a lot of more layers and emotions to the film Comparisons can’t be there because it is an official adaptation It’s in a different language We’ve adapted and made it to suit the I n d i a n a u d i e n c e s t w o d i f f e r e n t a c t o r s there and here I have a feeling people are just going to love it ” It is fun to experiment with roles: Manushi Chhillar
Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor were recently spotted at the airport, and ever since the pictures went viral fans started speculating where the loved up couple is off too! Well, worry no more, because the location is confirmed Italy. The parents to be are currently soaking in the Italian sun and Sonam Kapoor just confirmed it. Alia posted a beautiful, sun kissed picture o f h e r s e l f w i t h o u t m e n t i o n i n g h e r whereabouts Sonam then commented, “I went there for my Babymoon too! It’s literally the best! Have fun!”
Former Miss World and actress Manushi Chhillar, who recently made her debut with the period film 'Samrat Prithviraj', has been cast opposite John Abraham for the film 'Tehran' The actress feels grateful that she is getting to portray different roles that allow her to explore more as an actor and showcase her acting credentials to people 'Tehran' is inspired by true events and the actress has already started working on the second schedule of the film She said, “Yes, I have started the second schedule of my film Tehran with John Abraham ” S h e s h a r e d t h a t g e t t i n g t o e x p e r i m e n t a n d taking up diverse roles in the early phase of her career brings in a certain validation to her, “Tehran is a project I’m extremely excited about as it not only gives me a chance to present myself in a new avatar but will also allow me to learn and grow as an actor, given the role I have in the film ” The film is being produced by Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films, who has been “hugely supportive” towards Manushi, as she is still getting acquainted w i t h t h e w o r l d o f c i n e m a “ I t w a s r e a l l y heartwarming to receive so much love after my first look from Tehran dropped It’s fun to experiment with roles and I hope I get to challenge myself even more ” 'Tehran' has been directed by Arun Gopalan, written by Ritesh Shah and Ashish Prakash Verma, produced by Dinesh Vijan, Shobhna Yadav and Sandeep Leyzell A p a r t f r o m T e h r a n , J o h n w i l l a l s o s t a r i n S i d h a r t h A n a n d ’ s n e x t d i r e c t o r i a l ' P a t h a a n ' alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, which is all set to hit theatres on January 25, 2023 On the other hand, Manushi is yet to announce her other projects Janhvi remembers Sridevi on her birth anniversay
The 41 year old, whose latest release is 'Laal Singh Chaddha', an adaptation of 'Forrest Gump', confessed her “love” for her profession She added: “I just love acting It is a part of my being but I try to make a difference to do a film which will not be similar to the rest I am working with Aamir Khan for the third time but '3 Idiots', 'Talaash' and 'Laal Singh Chaddha' are completely different “ Y o u c a n ’ t e v e n p u t a l l t h e t h r e e c h a r a c t e r s i n o n e s t r e a m T h e y a r e completely different people I think that has always been the aim to kind of making differently ”
lia, Ranbir lebrating abymoon Italy
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For the unversed, in June this year, Sonam and her husband Anand Ahuja also celebrated their ‘babymoon’ in Italy Sonam and Anand announced their pregnancy in March earlier this year Coming back, Alia announced that she is expecting her first child with Ranbir in June this year The 'Brahmastra' couple tied their knot on April 14, 2022 Just after two months of their marriage, the couple treated fans with such a big surprise In competition with self always, says Kareena Kareena Kapoor Khan has given out some of the most unforgettable characters in Bollywood in a career spanning over two decades The actress agrees that she is in constant competition with herself as there is a pressure to deliver. Asked if she feels the pressure to up her own game with every character she plays, Kareena said: “There is always pressure to deliver because otherwise it is not possible to last 22 years in the career The idea is to constantly keep trying to change yourself on screen and keep it real off screen Just doing different characters and enjoying the process of acting is what I love ”
TV Listing Sara gets a special birthday wish from her fans in NY Sara Ali Khan celebrated her 27th birthday with her friends in New York City last week. Also, the actress was surprised by her fans as she stepped out in the city to celebrate the day. However, the cherry on the top was the Simmba actress featured at Times Square, New York. In a viral video, a group of fans can be seen dancing to all her songs on the street while Sara stands there amazed Later, they point toward a billboard in Times Square that features a birthday wish for the actress The billboard lit up with Sara's pictures, including photos of her family and friends In the video, the actress looks pretty in a white crop top paired with blue jeans In another viral picture, Sara can be seen happily posing with her fans Sara offered a glimpse into her birthday celebration She reshared a picture on her Instagram handle that showed her with a cake In the image, the 'Atrangi Re' actress is sitting with her friend Kamya Arora in a yellow ensemble and in front of them we can see a cake that has a lit up candle on it The picture was originally posted by Kamya on her Instagram handle along with a sweet note for the actress It read, "Happiest birthday to a most bright light in my life You make all difficult things feel doable, and all beautiful things all the more stunning Love you so much (star emoji) " Meanwhile, on the work front, Sara will be next seen in 'Gaslight', co starring Vikrant Massey and Chitrangada Singh
29AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 26 August 2022
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Tabu sustains injury on sets of 'Bholaa' in Hyderabad
Kiran Rao returns to director’s chair Producer director Kiran Rao is all set to make her comeback in direction after over a decade with 'Laapataa Ladies' The film’s teaser was released along with Kiran’s ex husband Aamir Khan’s 'Laal Singh Chaddha' in theatres worldwide on August 11. 'Laapata Ladies' is set in 2001, somewhere in rural India and will follow “the jolly mess that ensues when two young brides get lost from a train”. The main cast of the film includes Sparsh Shrivastava, Ravi Kishan, and Chhaya Kadam, and the project is also launching two very talented young actresses who play the brides 'Laapataa Ladies' is produced by Aamir and Rao, the script is b a s e d o n a n a w a r d w i n n i n g s t o r y b y B i p l a b G o s w a m i T h e s c r e e n p l a y a n d d i a l o g u e a r e written by Sneha Desai, and additional dialogues are written by Divyanidhi Sharma Rao is best known for directing 'Dhobi Ghat', which was released in 2010 Sdharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani fulfil fans' wishes
Rumoured couple Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani fulfiled their fan's wishes of seeing them together as they celebrated one year of the release of their film 'Shershaah'. Sidharth and Kiara went live on Instagram from his house and recalled t memories they made during filming of 'Shershaah' As he had promised to fans earlier in the day, Sidharth went live from his Instagram account at 6 pm, a while after Kiara was clicked by the paparazzi entering his house After talking to his fans alone for a few minutes and thanking them for the love given to 'Shershaah', he invited Kiara to join him on Instagram Live Kiara, who was in another room at his house, tuned in from h e r h a n d l e a n d t h e y s p o k e a b o u t 'Shershaah' memories During the chat, Sidharth and Kiara recalled how they first met at a party where ere invited by Karan Johar five s a g o S i d h a r t h t o l d K i a r a out 'Shershaah' at the party, nd later played B Praak's song Mann Bharya for her, which was later included in the film i a r a w a s f i n a l i s e d t o p l a y imple Cheema in 'Shershaah' ch later, and had not even m e d S i d h a r t h ( t h o u g h h e knew) when she went for the script reading The two also recalled some of the fun memories they shared while filming the film They recalled that a scene in the biopic, in which Sidharth's Vikram Batra proposes to his girlfriend Dimple, had to be r e s h o t i n C h a n d i g a r h b e c a u s e o f b a d lighting Sidharth shared that while Kiara was on a strict diet at the time, he convinced her to try a lot of delicacies He said, "I have brought some amazing flavours to your life and changed your palate," and she replied, "My entire palate has changed since the shoot, thanks to you "
Tabu who is playing a fearless, high ranking police officer in Ajay Devgn’s action extravaganza 'Bholaa', escaped a major injury while performing a daredevil stunt This is one of the films in which Tabu will be seen performing several high octane stunts alongside the leading man, Ajay Devgn, who is playing the title role of Bholaa S o u r c e s s a y t h a t t h e N a t i o n a l A w a r d winner was reportedly driving a truck in a dense jungle The truck was being chased by some motorcycle goons In one take, one of the bikes that were racing crazily alongside the truck collided with it And, Tabu who was in the truck caught some shredded glass from the crash The source added that the impact of the collision was so stro th t piece of glass flew Tabu just above he eye The cut was bl but fortunately, the was on her forehea a b o v e t h e r i g h t eyebrow Medical h that was available set said, ‘The injury minor She will no be needing stitches on the gash ’
Digital release 'Darlings' is set to be remade in Tamil and Telugu language, producer Red Chillies Entertainment announced The dark comedy, directed by debutante Jasmeet K Reen, is receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences since its release on Netflix recently G a u r a v V e r m a , p r o d u c e r a n d COO, Red Chillies Entertainment, said the story of 'Darlings' deserves to be made in multiple languages “We had the script of Darlings with us for a while now and through the journey of making it, we decided to make it in multiple languages The film has a certain landscape which can be adapted very well in multiple languages The process is on as we speak,” Verma said in a statement The Mumbai set film explores the lives of a mother daughter duo (played by Shefali Shah and Alia Bhatt) trying to find their place in the city, seeking courage and love in e x c e p t i o n a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s w h i l e fighting against all odds Verma said while they will keep the basic plot line same, the story will be localised as per the need The remakes will also mark Red Chillies Entertainment’s foray into the Tamil and Telugu market as a standalone banner “To go to the Tamil and Telugu market is not something we will consolidate or have offices there, but it’s going to be on a s c r i p t t o s c r i p t b a s i s D a r l i n g s h a s t h e potential, so we are taking it there,” he added Darlings is also produced by Alia Bhatt under her banner Eternal Sunshine Productions Simbu wins the fans' hearts by turning down a huge offer!
Kajal Aggarwal, currently enjoying motherhood, has always shared pictures of her munchkin with her fans. She recently recreated a significant 'Bahubali' moment with her son Neil and the fans can't get enough of it Kajal and Gautam Kitchlu became parents to Neil earlier this year On August 10, Kajal took to Instagram sto ries to share a photo with her son In the viral photo, she recreated an iconic s c e n e f r o m S S R a j a m o u l i ' s f i l m 'Baahubali' She wrote, "@ssrajamouli sir, this is Neil's & my dedication to you How could we not (sic) " Kajal and Rajamouli have worked together in the historical fantasy film 'Magadheera' (2009) The movie had R a m C h a r a n i n t h e l e a d r o l e a n d became a hit across southern states In a way, the film laid the foundation for what was to come from Rajamouli She will be resuming the shooting of her upcoming film, 'Indian 2' oppo s i t e K a m a l H a a s a n , i n S e p t e m b e r Directed by Shankar, 'Indian 2's' shoot ing will be wrapped up in 2023 She also has 'Karungaapiyam', 'Ghosty' and 'Uma' at different stages of production Kajal recreates an epic 'Bahubali' moment with son
Simbu received an honorary doctorate from the prestigious Vels Vistas institution earlier this year. He is currently shooting for 'Pathu Thala' while his upcoming film 'Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu' is gearing up for a grand release on September 15 He also has 'Corona Kumar' in the pipeline N o w , t h e l a t e s t h o t n e w s i s t h a t Silambarasan has turned down an alcohol advertisement deal despite huge offers After gaining too much weight a few years ago, STR used the lockdown time to get his body back to its old form and he had given up his unhealthy habits So, the star has declined whopping offers to promote booze Also, the multi talented actor made a tremendous comeback in his cinema career with Venkat Prabhu's 'Maanadu', a political time loop thriller It is worth mentioning that 'KGF' star Yash won the fans' hearts ear lier for rejecting a multi crore Paan masala advertisement deal
30 20 26 August 2022
‘Darlings’ set to be remade in south languages
Shruti Haasan's new photo with her mom Sarika goes viral Actress Shruti Haas the most successfu heroes in the Indian film industry and is a well known face all over the country Recently she met with her mother Sarika and the pictures of them are going viral on social media platforms S h r u t i a n d S a r i stepped out for gro shopping in the Max c i t y T h e l a d i e s t w i black as they enjoye out While the 'Salaar actress chose a black strap top with baggy beige pants, the veteran star was equally charming in a own cotton suit k a a n d K a m a l n married in 1988 divorced in 2004 e i r 1 6 y e a r m a r a g e c a m e t o a n n d w h e n S h r u t i was still a teenag er The couple also h a s a y o u n g e r aughter, Akshara aasan O n t h e w o r k t , S h r u t i h a s r ' a l o n g s i d e 'Mega154' oppo 'Chiranjeevi', and 'NBK107' with Balakrishna in the making at the moment She is currently living with her boyfriend in Mumbai
'Raksha Bandhan' to premiere on OTT platform in mid-Nov
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Hollywood star Alec Baldwin and former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko who played Camille Montes in 2008’s 'Quantum of Solace' alongside Daniel Craig as 007, and is also known for her role as Taskmaster in the 2021 Marvel blockbuster 'Black Widow' will lead Jesse V Johnson’s upcoming motion picture, 'Chief of Station' C h i e f o f S t a t i o n ' f o l l o w s “ f o r m e r C I A S t a t i o n C h i e f ( B a l d w i n ) , a f t e r learning the death of his wife was not an accident, is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with adversaries and r o g u e a g e n t ( K u r y l e n k o ) t o u n r a v e l a c o n s p i r a c y t h a t challenges everything he thought he knew” The White Elephant helmer and former stuntman said: “I am honoured to be collaborating on this epic action adventure with one of the bonafide legends of c i n e m a , a n d p a i r i n g A l e c a n d Olga will certainly bring some onscreen magic, she is a force of nature ” I t m a r k s a r e u n i o n f o r Johnson and Kurylenko, 42, as s h e p l a y e d V a n e s s a F l y n n i n c r i m e m o v i e W h i t e E l e p h a n t , w h i c h s t a r r e d B r u c e W i l l i s a s mob boss Arnold Solomon
The show will present bitter rivalries, jealousy, lust, the quest for power, and betrayal that will tear the Targaryens apart and threaten to destroy a dynasty that has ruled unchallenged for a century S a p o c h n i k , C o n d a l ’ s c o s h o w r u n n e r w h o a l s o d i r e c t s several episodes, said: “Our story begins with the Targaryens in a secure place because they have the dragons (weapons of mass destruction) and as long as they d o , i t ’ s h a r d t o i m a g i n e h o w anybody can step up to them They know this, but that hubris could be a downfall ” T h e s e r i e s w i l l s t r e a m o n Disney+ Hotstar from August 22 w i t h n e w e p i s o d e s d r o p p i n g every Monday Florida grooves to ‘Oo Antava’ It’s been almost eight months since Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Allu Arjun’s hit dance number ‘Oo Antava’ from the film 'Pushpa: The Rise' created waves, the track was played at a cricket stadium in Florida In a recent clip shared by fans, features the attendees of India vs West Indies fifth T20I match in Florida can be seen grooving to the Telugu track T h i s s o n g b r o k e m u l t i p l e r e c o r d s worldwide as it launched and everyone was left awestruck seeing The Family Man’s Raji in such a hot sensual avatar and clearly, it is still the same rage as it was months ago As per recent consecutive reports by Ormax, the stunning and talented actress has topped the last three featuring the Most Popular Female Star across India, proving that not only does she have an enigmatic charm but also an unparalleled fandom nationwide Sam is all set to be seen in big ticket projects like Shaakuntalam, Yashoda and Kushi along with other unannounced projects
New spy thriller on cards
Aanand L Rai's new directorial venture, 'Raksha Bandhan' starring Akshay Kumar, Sadia Khatib, Smriti Shrikant, Deepika Khanna, and Sahajmeen Kaur with Bhumi Pednekar has been released in theatres last week. Now, the producers are planning to release the film on a digital platform, exactly 12 weeks after its theatrical release. Tipped to be the biggest family entertainer of 2022, 'Raksha Bandhan' was released in theatres on August 11 Theatres and multiplexes owners are looking forward to the film bringing in huge business A theatre owner reveals, "We are relieved that the film will have a digital release only after three months This gives us an opportunity to screen the film to packed theatres for the next couple of weeks " In Raksha Bandhan, director Rai has tried to dwell on the bond that brothers and sisters share The story revolves around Lala Kedarnath (Kumar) and his relentless efforts to get his four sisters (Sadia K h a t i b , S m r i t i S h r i k a n t , D e e p i k a K h a n n a , a n d Sahajmeen Kaur) married while upholding his family values His sense of responsibility towards his sister comes in the way of his own marriage with his childhood sweetheart Sapna (Pednekar) Produced and directed by Aanand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma in association with Zee Studios, Alka Hiranandani and Cape of Good Films, written by Himanshu Sharma & Kanika Dhillon, the music of Raksha Bandhan has been composed by Himesh Reshammiya and lyrics are by Irshad Kamil Dragon riders are back! As 'House of the Dragon' approaches release date, showrunners Ryan J Condal and Miguel Sapochnik reveal it is a “complex Shakespearean family drama”. The series takes the audience deep into the extraordinary world of Westeros and explores the Targaryen family the all powerful dragon riders, the seemingly invincible rulers of the seven kingdoms Even though it is a prequel to 'Game of Thrones', 'House of the D r a g o n ' h a s a n e n t i r e l y n e w story with new characters played by an impressive cast Chalking out the difference between the t w o s h o w s , R y a n s a i d i n a s t a t e m e n t t h a t ' G a m e o f T h r o n e s ' w a s a b o u t m u l t i p l e families going to war over justice and decency
Former India allrounder Manoj Prabhakar has been appointed head coach of the Nepal cricket team Prabhakar succeeds Pubudu Dassanayake who stepped down from the position in July to take up head coach’s role with Canada Prabhakar who featured in 39 Tests and 130 ODIs for India between 1984 to 1996 has previously coached Delhi Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh Ranji teams He also served as the bowling coach for the Afghanistan national team in 2016
SINDHU PULLS OUT OF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sachin Tendulkar s son Arjun has parted ways with Mumbai due to lack of game time The left arm pacer, who played 2 T20s (against Haryana and Pudcherry) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January last year, will play for Goa in the next domestic season The left arm pacer applied for a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from the Mumbai Cricket Association The 22 year old was included in the Mumbai team’s Ranji Trophy squad for the group stage of the tournament last season, but didn’t get to play a game He was then excluded from the squad for the knockouts “Getting maximum game time on the ground is important for Arjun at this juncture of his career We believe that the shift will improve the probability of Arjun featuring in more competitive matches He is embarking on a new phase of his cricketing career ” a statement from SRT Sports Management read
Seni or opener KL Rahul will be leadi ng the Indi an team i n the t h r ee m a tc h O DI s e ri es i n Zim babwe after be ing declared f it b y the BCC I medic al team S h i k ha r D ha w a n , w ho w a s n amed the c aptain i nitially, will n ow be Rahul's deputy R ahul wa s rec overi ng from a s ports h e r n i a s ur g er y a n d w a s s up po s e d t o p l a y th e We s t I n di es s e r i e s b e f o re te s t i n g posi ti ve for Covid 19 S i n c e h i s r e c o v e r y w a s taking time, he was not initially selected for the Zimbabwe tour and given time to get fully fit before the all important Asia C u p H o w e v e r , t h e m e d i c a l team has now given an all clear after he cleared all the requisite f i t n e s s p a r a m e t e r s t o b e available for selection Since he is an all format first choice deputy to regular s k i p p e r R o h i t S h a r m a , h i s availability meant that Dhawan w a s r e l e g a t e d t o v i c e c a p t a i n c y f o r the series Rahul's a d d i t i o n t o o k t h e squad strength to 16 as the selectors didn t replace any player But Rahul's p r e s e n c e m e a n s t h a t t h e r e i s virtually no chance for Ruturaj Gaikwad to get a game in this series T h e r e w i l l b e n o R o h i t Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh P a n t , S h r e y a s I y e r , J a s p r i t Bumrah or Mohammed Shami for this series as they had all been rested Bumrah, however, is nursing a back injury and is already ruled out of the Asia C u p i n t h e U A E , s t a r t i n g August 27 From this squad, Rahul, Deepak Hooda are the only two players in the main squad India Squad for 3 ODIs: KL R a h u l ( C a p t a i n ) S h i k h a r Dhawan (vice captain), Ruturaj G a i k w a d , S h u b m a n G i l l , Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket keeper), W a s h i n g t o n S u n d a r , S h a r d u l Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar P a t e l , A v e s h K h a n , P r a s i d h Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar KL Rahul Ten Sri Lankans go missing from Commonwealth Games T e n m e mbe r s of cr i si s h i t S r i L a nka s Co m m o nw e a l t h Ga me s co nt i ng e nt i n Bi r m i ng h a m h a v e d i sa p p e a r e d i n a su spe cte d atte mp t to r emai n in Brit ain, a top spor ts o ffi ci al sa id The ni ne a thlete s and a manage r vani she d a fter comp leti ng the ir eve nts, the Sri L anka n o ffi ci al sa id T h r e e o f t h e m j u d o k a C h a m i l a Dilani, her manager Asela de Silva, and w r e s t l e r S h a n i t h C h a t h u r a n g a h a d disappeared last week That prompted a p o l i c e c o m p l a i n t b y t h e S r i L a n k a n officials "Since then, another seven have v a n i s h e d , " t h e o f f i c i a l s a i d , w i t h o u t identifying them "We suspect they want to remain in the UK, possibly to get employment " T h e 1 6 0 s t r o n g S r i L a n k a n contingent's management possessed the passports of all members to ensure they returned home That failed to deter some from leaving British police located the first three that disappeared, but as they had not violated local laws and held visas valid for six months, no action was taken, the Sri Lankan official said In fact, the police got us to return the p a s s p o r t s t h a t w e w e r e h o l d i n g a s a deterrent against defections," the official said "The police have not told us about t h e i r w h e r e a b o u t s " B r i t a i n ' s W e s t M i d l a n d s p o l i c e f o r c e , w h i c h c o v e r s B i r m i n g h a m , s a i d i t w a s l o o k i n g i n t o reports of six Sri Lankans going missing f r o m t h e G a m e s , a n d s a i d " e n q u i r i e s continue to ensure they are safe and well" Two P ak bo xer s go mi ssing Menwhile, two Pakistani boxers have also gone missing in Birmingham after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games, t h e n a t i o n a l f e d e r a t i o n s a i d P a k i s t a n Boxing Federation (PBF) secretary Nasir Tang confirmed the news that boxers S u l e m a n B a l o c h a n d N a z e e r u l l a h disappeared a couple of hours before the t e a m ' s d e p a r t u r e f o r I s l a m a b a d “ T h e t r a v e l d o c u m e n t s i n c l u d i n g t h e i r passports are still with federation officials who accompanied the boxing team to the games, ” Tang said
India s star shuttler P V Sindhu pulled out of the upcoming BWF World Championships owing to a stress fracture on her left foot In a statement she shared on Twitter the double Olympic medallist confirmed that she will be missing the 2022 World Championships Sindhu has won the World Championships gold in 2019
The South African team will wear black armbands in honour of Koertzen when they face England at Lord's in a Test match in briefPM Modi hosts India’s CWG contingent P rim e M inister Narend ra Mod i h ailed the sho w o f th e Ind ian c o nt i ng e nt w h i c h r etu r ned w ith 61 med als, includ ing 22 g old, 1 6 silver and 23 bronze d u ri ng t h e j u st co n cl u d ed C omm onwealth g am es He said t h e g o ld en p er i o d o f In d i an sp orts is knocking on the d oors Modi on Saturday hosted the Indian contingent at his r e s i d e n c e t o f e l i c i t a t e t h e players “The real assessment of this performance can’t be made with just number of medals, our a t h l e t e s c o m p e t e d n e c k a n d n e c k S o m e o f t h e a t h l e t e s m i g h t h a v e j u s t m i s s i e d t h e medal by a small margin, but I am confident that our athletes will plug that gap in future,” PM Modi said during his speech “It is just a start and we are not going to just sit quietly, golden p e r i o d o f I n d i a n s p o r t s i s knocking on the doors ” “We have the responsibility of making a sporting system which is the best in the world, inclusive, diverse and dynamic No talent should be left out as they are all assets ” W h i l e I n d i a p r o d u c e d a d o m i n a t i n g s h o w i n b a d m i n t o n , w r e s t l i n g a n d weightlifting, the athletes also did well in athletics, judo and l a w n b o w l , w h e r e t h e y w o n India’s first ever medal in the Games
Former South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, labelled the 'slow finger of death' by the media has died in a car accident, a family member said He was 73 “Rudi suffered fatal injuries after an accident near Stilbaai between Cape Town and Gqeberha," said the family spokesperson "My father went to a golf tournament with some friends and they were expected to come back, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf," his son Rudi told a Gqeberha radio station
Fit again KL Rahul to lead India in Zimbabwe
MANOJ PRABHAKAR IS NEPAL COACH
BRAVO FIRST BOWLER TO TAKE 600 WICKETS IN T20 CRICKET
AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www asian voice com20 26 August 202232
Rajasthan Royals owner slapped me, alleges Ross Taylor F orm er New Zealand batter Ro ss Taylo r rev ealed that he was ‘slapped’ by one of th e o wners of the Rajasthan Royals franch ise d uring the 20 11 IPL seaso n Taylor made this shocking revelation in his new autobiography, Ross Taylor: Black & White, and said that the incident took place after RR suffered a defeat against Kings XI Punjab ( Punjab Kings) in Mohali “The chase was 195, I was lbw for a duck and we didn’t get close,” Taylor wrote in his book, a section of which was published on Stuff co nz as quoted by ESPNcricinfo “Afterwards, the team, support staff and management were in the bar on the top floor of the hotel Liz Hurley was there with Warnie [Shane Warne] One of the Royals owners said to me, ‘Ross, we didn’t pay you a million dollars to get a duck,’ and slapped me across the face three or four times He was laughing and they weren’t hard slaps but I’m not sure that it was entirely p l a y a c t i n g U n d e r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , I wasn’t going to make an issue of it, but I c o u l d n ’ t i m a g i n e i t h a p p e n i n g i n m a n y p r o f e s s i o n a l s p o r t i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s , ” h e further wrote in his autobiography
ARJUN TENDULKAR TO PLAY FOR GOA NOW
Women’s IPL to be held in March 2023
Former West Indies all rounder Dwayne Bravo became the first ever bowler to clinch 600 wickets in T20 cricket The all rounder reached this landmark during his side Northern Super Chargers’ match against the Oval Invincibles at the ongoing The Hundred competition Bravo bowled Sam Curran to achieve the feat Bravo took 545 matches to take 600 wickets at an average of 24 12 and an economy rate of 8 21 His best bowling figures in the format are 5/23 In terms of wickets Bravo is followed by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (466 wickets) West Indies Sunil Narine (457) South African Imran Tahir (451) and Bangladesh s Shakib Al Hasan (418 )
FORMER UMPIRE KOERTZEN DIES IN CAR ACCIDENT
A senior BCCI offic ial said that women's IPL will be starting from March 2 023 to b e h el d i n a on e m on th wi n d ow a nd i n a ll likeli hood wi th fi ve teams Th e B CC I b i g w i gs h a ve discussed the issue and a M ar c h wi n d ow h as b ee n found for the tournament af t e r th e W om e n 's T2 0 World Cup in South Afric a “Yes, the WIPL will start in the first week of March and we have earmarked a four week window for the first year The T20 World Cup in South Africa is from F e b r u a r y 9 t o 2 6 a n d immediately after that we plan to hold the WIPL,” a senior BCCI official said “As of now, we are going ahead with five teams but it could be six as there is a lot of interest among potential investors In due course of t i m e , t h e p r o c e s s o f auctioning of teams will be announced,” he added
