AsianVoiceNews
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9 22 - 28 January 2022
in brief MAN KILLS DAUGHTER’S MUM-IN-LAW OVER MARRIAGE FEUD Mohammad Malik killed Ishrat Ahmed and injured her husband Afaq with an axe after his daughter’s marriage ended "acrimoniously". The incident took place on their doorstep in Nelson on 4 July 2021, Lancashire Police said. The police confirmed that there were "ongoing disputes" between the families. Malik, 58 was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter at Preston Crown Court. According to the police, Malik drove to the Ahmeds' house to find their son Wasim, whose marriage to one of Malik's daughters was called off. Malik then attacked them in their own doorway. Mrs Ahmed, 52, later succumbed to serious head injuries in hospital while her 55-year-old husband has since recovered from serious brain injuries. He will be sentenced on 11 February.
9 AREAS IN LONDON REPORT ABSENCE OF PUPILS AMID COVID According to the latest figures that were released by the Department for Education, the nine areas that recorded the highest number of children off school were in London. Amongst the nine areas, Harrow, Southwark and Bromley had the highest Covid absence rates in the country before Christmas. Harrow had the highest Covid absence rate in the country, with 10.8 per cent of pupils absent due to the virus. On December 16, in total, 34,971 London pupils were off school due to Covid. Along with this, staff shortages were also worst in London, with 5.3 per cent of teachers and headteachers in London. Following Harrow, Southwark and Bromley, Lewisham, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, Hillingdon, Waltham Forest and Merton had the next highest absence rates. As per the National figures, before Christmas, the number of children off school at the start of this term was higher by almost 15,000.
LIFE EXPECTANCY TO FALL DUE TO COVID, SAYS REPORT A baby born in the 2020s in the UK will die five years earlier than precited, new data shows. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), girls that were born last year are expected to live for 90.2 years while boys will live for 87.3 years. Girls born in 2020 are expected to live 4.8 fewer years than predicted in 2012, and boys have 4.5 fewer years. The coronavirus pandemic is being considered as one of the factors for the decline in expected life expectancy. David Finch, assistant director of healthy lives at the Health Foundation, said that “The government faces a massive challenge in delivering its promise to improve life expectancy for people in the UK.” The ONS said: “There are projected to be many more people at older ages by 2045, in part because of the baby boomers from the 1960s now being aged around 80 years, as well as general increases in life expectancy.”
TONGA TSUNAMI- BODY OF BRITISH WOMAN FOUND British woman Angela Glover was swept by the tsunami while rescuing her dogs has been found, her brother informs. Nick Eleini told broadcasters the family was "devastated". Her death is considered to be the first in the disaster when an underwater volcano erupted, sending a tsunami towards the Pacific island nation. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha apai volcano, which erupted on Saturday, was about 40 miles (65km) north of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa, where Angela and her husband James lived. Mr Eleini said Angela and James loved their life in Tonga and adored the Tongan people. He added Angela was the heart of their family and they will miss her every single day.
Father’s four-year fight with council for disabled son Continued from page 1 Mr Puri moved to Hertfordshire county in 2017 and was told the council was unable to provide a local school for Meet due to lack of space. Instead, Meet was placed at a school in Brent, a 45-minute car journey from Hertfordshire. Mr Puri was told the council would try to place his son in a local school once a space became available. However, Mr Puri said, “It’s been four years living in South Oxhey now and Hertfordshire Council have not offered Meet a place at any local schools.” After a number of attempts in contacting Hertfordshire Council over the years, Mr Puri said the issue has remained unresolved. He said: “Before Christmas, I called the council three or four times asking for a place at a local school but got no response.” Hertfordshire Council did provide transport to and from school for Meet but at the beginning of this year, Mr Puri was told he would now have to contribute £518 per term towards funding transport for
Meet as he is now over 16. Mr Puri said £518 is a “huge amount” for his family and was told by the council he would need to contribute towards transport or Meet would have to use public transport to get to school like other children. Meet’s one-way commute to school on public transport would take over two hours and because of his cerebral palsy, Mr Puri believes the mental and physical stress on Meet would be too much. Since Meet’s transport was ceased by the council a week before Christmas, Mr Puri has been attempting to contact the council. Meet has been unable to go to school for the last two weeks and is feeling “depressed, discriminated against, and let down by the council and education ministry,” said Mr Puri. He said the council remained “unresponsive” until a few days ago when he finally received an email from Councillor Christopher Alley who said he “cannot promise anything but will try to get an
London Mayor wants temporary visa scheme for construction workers London Mayor Sadiq Khan has is proposing that ministers should create a Coronavirus Recovery Visa, a temporary visa scheme for construction workers to handle the double impact of Brexit and the pandemic on the building industry. Mayor believes that scheme will help sectors struggling with shortages of workers, including construction. He has also called for a regional shortage occupation list that will allow London and other cities to attract and retain staff in sectors with acute staff shortages. The mayor said that before Brexit, the capital was dependent on migrant building workers, with more than half the workforce being from the EU and beyond. He also added that as per the official figures, in the three years to April 2020, the number of construction workers in the capital from the EU fell 54 per cent. Mr Khan said: “We’ve worked tirelessly over the last five years to get London build-
UK population to outgrow due to 2.2 mn migrants The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released a report that states that the UK’s population growth from 2020 to 2030 will be driven by the arrival of 2.2 million migrants as native deaths will outnumber births. Due to the decline in fertility rates across the world and the increasing age of the post-war 'baby boom generations', the ONS believes that deaths would outnumber births by 59,000 in the decade to 2030. However, an increase in migrants will push the UK's population to an estimated 67.1million in mid-2020 to 69.2 million in mid2030. ONS statistician James Robards said: 'The UK population is projected to grow by 2.1 million over the ten years to mid-2030, with England's population expected to increase more quickly than the other UK nations.” Its analysis noted: ‘Over the 25-year period between mid-2020 and mid-2045 it is projected that there will be 1.4 million more deaths than births. During this period, the population will grow by 3.9 million, again driven by projected net migration of 5.3 million.'
ing again, and the construction sector forms a key part of London’s Covid recovery plan. However, both our recovery and efforts to deliver the genuinely affordable homes Londoners desperately need could now be put at risk if there isn’t the skilled workforce available to build them. The Government must look beyond their current blinkered approach to immigration and recognise the impending crisis that is already enveloping one of our most vital industries.”
explanation for Hertfordshire County Council’s decision regarding your son’s transport.” Mr Puri said he is left wondering if his son and family are being discriminated against by the council. He wonders how there has been no availability in any of the local schools in the past four years and why the council are comparing his son’s school commute with other kids who have no special needs. According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the prevalence of cerebral palsy in the UK is about two per 1000 live births. This figure has not changed significantly in the past forty years. Mr Puri and his wife Rajni, 42, are finding it very difficult to see their son depressed and so upset. He said, “We see him sad and depressed, and we feel helpless and very disturbed to see his already difficult life get even more stressful.” Mr Puri and his wife continue to resolve the situation with Hertfordshire County Council.
Two Keralites killed in a car accident in Cheltenham Two Keralites were killed in a car accident at Cheltenham town in Gloucester, England. Bins Rajan (32) of Kunakkal in Muvattupuzha and Archana Nirmal from Kollam did not survive the crash. Three of their other family members are said to be injured. According to a web portal, the incident took place around 11:15 am on A-46 Road at Pegglesworth on Monday when the car collided with a lorry. Rajan and Nirmal were visiting a friend in Oxford when their car collided. Rajan’s wife Anagha and their two-year-old child, and Archana’s husband Nirmal Ramesh were injured. The child’s condition was reportedly very serious, has been admitted to NHS Hospital in Oxford. UK Malayalis (UUKMA) are helping the relatives in Kerala to receive their mortal remains.
Six men on trial for raping eight girls A gang of six men sexually exploited and abused vulnerable young girls after luring them over Facebook with the promise of drink and drugs, a court heard. These six men are accused of forcing themselves on eight vulnerable victims aged between 12 and 15 in the Redditch area of Worcestershire between 2013 and 2017. Abdul Hussain, 21, Usmaan Asghar, 22, Arslan Tazarab, 25, Ethashan Tazarab, 21, Usman Ali, 28 and Numan Mohammed, 23, has been charged with a total of 24 sex offences going back almost
ten years, are now on trial at Worcester Crown Court. Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said, “This case is about eight girls in their early to middle teens and from 2013 to 2017 they were sexually abused by these defendants. Some were crudely groped simply because they were in reach. Some were lonely and wanted attention. Others had made poor lifestyle choices which made them vulnerable. This included drinking, taking drugs, and being sexually available - they were easily taken advantage of.”
Vaccine passports likely to be scrapped At the end of the month, facemasks are likely to remain a legal requirement on public transport and indoors, but work from home guidance and vaccine passports are expected to be scrapped. Oliver Dowden, the Conservative Party chairman, expressed that “signs are encouraging” for lifting coronavirus restrictions on January 26. He also added that he felt hopeful and optimistic after seeing “some very promising data” on infections and hospital admissions. Taking economic impact into consideration, ministers have decided to end work from home guidance as a priority while vaccine passports provoked a Tory revolt in the
Commons last month. While the spread of the Omicron variant appears to be reaching a plateau in London and the South-East, there is a lot of pressure on hospitals in the North-East and NorthWest NHS regions. Hence, the requirement to wear a face mask is likely to remain.
