AV 26th july 2014

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India-China relations set to warm up

First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe

High Commissioner hosts India's Cricket Team

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Clegg to visit India

Historic Win At Lord’s See Page 26

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 43. ISSUE 12

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26th July to 1st August 2014

History made as PM visits Indian business for the first time Dr Rami Ranger MBE receives 5th Queens Award from PM David Cameron at Sun Mark Offices

Tanveer Mann

Jadeja-Anderson spat James Anderson, the England fast bowler charged with a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct, will face a full disciplinary hearing before judicial commissioner on August 1. Anderson has been charged with “abusing and pushing” Indian allrounder Ravinda Jadeja after an incident that took place in the Trent Bridge pavilion during the second day of first Test match of Investec Series. Meanwhile, England counter-charged Jadeja with a level two offence alleging that he approached Anderson in a threatening manner and it is expected that the all-rounder’s case will

The magic spell of Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma, on the final day of the second test of England v/s India Investec Series on Monday, ended the drought of victory for India at the Mecca of world cricket – Lord’s Cricket Ground – after 28 long years. Sharma, almost singlehandedly, bowled out the England team by picking seven wickets in the England’s second inning. The lanky Indian bowler stuck to his captain MS Dhoni’s plan and kept on

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be heard by the match referee David Boon during the third test at Southampton next week. England captain and his team members described the spat as a minor incident which did not warrant any complaint. But the moot question is that if there is a reversal of roles, will British cricketers ready to treat the incident as minor one? Let the inquiry decide whether it is minor incident of not.

attacking English batsmen by delivering short-pitch balls. This 95-run victory was only India’s sixth win on English soil. The Indian team which had to wait for 28 years to repeat its 1983 World Cup triumph in 2011 had to spend exactly the same number of years to add to their 1986 Test win at Lord’s. There were many rightful contenders for the Man-of-the Match award, but none more than Continued on page 31

Sun Mark Ltd became the first British-Indian led business to have the honour of Prime Minister David Cameron visiting its headquarters in Greenford on Friday 18 July. Mr Cameron was invited to present the Queen’s Award for international trade to leading exporter Dr Rami Ranger, founder Chairman of Sun Mark Ltd and Sea, Air and Land, who has won it for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year. After a walk around the factory and meeting and engaging with Sun Mark Ltd employees, the Prime Minister made his way to the reception marquee where he was greeted by delighted guests. Despite his pressing schedule ahead, having to chair an emergency meeting at COBRA, the Prime Minister still took the time, as promised, to present the Award to

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Rami Ranger in person. He started the address by praising the Chairman, “Rami, yours’ is an extraordinary success story. It is a great story by a British enterprise. Export success is absolutely vital for our country.” “You are doing an excellent job. We recognise the contributions the British Asians are making to our country.” Sun Mark exports its products to 115 countries including China, India, Mexico, USA, Malaysia, Canada, France, Singapore and Germany, which the Prime Minister also articulated in his speech. Cameron also said he had travelled to India more than any other country, except for Brussels, and expressed his commitment to building special relations with India, adding “we want to see the ties grow stronger.” Continued on page 11

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Keith Vazwith MP

Keith Vaz MP

Shilpa Shah Shilpa Shah spent her formative years in an enriching environment crossing over four continents providing a varied multicultural experience from a young age. Although a graduate of Microbiology, she was able to extend her passion for people and places by going into a career in the travel industry, then into teaching before joining her husband in running a successful business in central London. She is one of the key organizers of ConsciousLab - a social enterprise offering a platform for transformative thinking to raise consciousness in business. She is also a Trustee of The Sarvam Trust, a UK registered charity with a strong emphasis on Education, Children and Women’s Empowerment. 1) Please tell me about your current position? I am one of the Co-Founders and Trustees of Consciouslab. Our aim is to support organisations in which human value is known to be the main generator for sustainable success and where employees connect as human beings in a collaborative way. In a time where many organisations are moving from one crisis to the next, where finances and appearance is put before basic human values, we recognised a need and a call from individuals looking to change their work environment by raising consciousness within themselves and their business environment. 2) What are your proudest achievements? To have developed this organisation with a group of likeminded people who strive to work with conscious principles

across all cultures. Since ConsciousLab’s inception – a chance conversation about mutual aspirations almost 2 years ago – we have progressed into a team of 14 people working on a voluntary basis with a branch in Geneva. In collaboration with SAFIM (Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Management, India), we strive for an integral approach to management, in all its multiple dimensions, based on a deeper vision of life. 3) What inspires you? The teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother have had a sustained deep impact throughout my life; through teenage years, marriage, raising a family, career changes, being a business professional. 4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career? My challenge has been in trying to balance and bridge the

gap between my inner search and the very important practicalities of living everyday life. For ConsciousLab, the lack of resources has been our biggest challenge. It is the shared aspiration and sheer spirit of collaboration throughout our team that pushes this organisation forward. 5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date? Navajatabhaiji, the first chief executive of the Sri Aurobindo Society in Pondicherry, India. He worked to bring about individual perfection, social trans-

Disturbing the Peace: Road dug up at night 500 times in 5 years Residents living on a road close to Earl’s Court, have described their frustration after being unable to sleep due to the digging up of a London road hundreds of

times in the middle of the night. Transport for London revealed that contractors dug up Warwick Road, next to Earl’s Court, a

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shocking 500 times in the past five years. TfL, Thames Water, UK Power Networks and National Grid Gas are some of the companies that have undertaken work on the road. Property developer Nanik Daswani, pictured, 33, and his wife, Kirsten, 41, live on the third floor of a block and say their walls shudder when the digging starts. He reportedly said: “We’re getting ready for bed and then we hear the digging. They use jackhammers, mini-diggers and JCBs, you can feel the vibrations and our building shakes. I bought the flat a couple of years ago and was aware it was a busy road, but now we are considering moving. This is bad planning.�

formation and human unity in diversity. It was his vision to create the IIHU (International Institute for Human Unity, UK) which is spearheading the activities of ConsciousLab. I would not be the person I am today without the constant support of my family and my spiritual family in Pondicherry. 6) What is the best aspect about your current role? Inspired by the above ideals and wanting to realise these objectives, I have enjoyed working with our team to organise introductory talks for anyone in business curious to look at new ways of working, tailored workshops for businesses, and experiential overseas community visits. For more information visit: www.consciouslab.org. 7) And the worst? I prefer to use the word challenges. It is a test for each of our team to overcome the often conflicting environments and attitudes between our corporate day jobs and ConsciousLab endeavours. It has been an opportunity to learn & grow at each step. 8) What are your long term

goals? To bring about a new approach to business which will lead to a more happy, sustainable, inclusive and compassionate world. 9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change? We need a positive shift in awareness. A culture change in how we lead and manage. It is something that needs to permeate every aspect of our society – at ‘grass-roots’ with our children in our education systems, in government, and in both the public and private sector, across every industry. Whether in an office or working manually, Consciousness is an essential and fundamental part of our nature. If we are not aware we cannot function properly in our personal or professional lives. When we each recognise the responsibility we have to ourselves and society, we can contribute to create a new way of thinking in business. 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why? Swami Vivekananda - A philosopher whose teachings focused on human development both within each individual and across society. He was a writer, poet, powerful orator and idealist who had a great sense of humour. Our discussions would be for me, inspiring intellectual & educational.

Gang that pistol whipped and tasered a pawnbroker, jailed A gang of armed raiders who pistol-whipped and tasered a pawnbroker began jail sentences totalling almost 100 years. The shop’s manager was dragged from his office, had a semi-automatic gun held to his head and was shocked ten times with a 50,000-volt stun gun in front of terrified staff. The Evening Standard reported that he managed to hit the panic button, forcing the raiders to flee his Maxcroft Securities store in Ilford after they ordered his staff to empty their desks. They also snatched items from a couple who had come in to redeem pawned family gold and jewellery. The manager reportedly said that his staff had been left “traumatisedâ€? by the raid – which saw ÂŁ60,000 worth of cash and gems looted – and some were threatened with being killed. Michael Carbon, 26,

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David Sadiku, 41, Paulius Strasunskas, 27, Francis Carbon, 32, Aamir Kayani, 31, Amarjeet Bharj, 48 and Kelly Day, 36, were Tuesday beginning prison sentences totalling 94 years. The manager, who has built up his business over more than 20 years, told the evening newspaper: “It really was an unnecessarily violent robbery, was very traumatic and has

had an impact on all of us. They kept on banging and shouting. There was no time to fear for your life. It just sounded like bang, bang, bang. I think 94 years is a good result under the circumstances.� He added: “The police worked in a very effective way and they deserve applause. The way they handled it was fantastic and had them arrested after a month.�

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

COMMENT

BRICS: Modi on global stage

BRICS, acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is an economic grouping on a roll. Its time has surely come. It is likely to be taken with increasing seriousness with time, given the weight of its immense geography, vast population, strong emerging economies and market size. Western governments, their political classes and media may prefer to pooh-pooh BRICS, but denial in the face of reality is not something the gods above will accept. Truth is that for all President Obama’s homilies on prayers, political freedom and economic opportunity, the inhabitants of Planet Earth (the bulk of them at least) see many of its determining contours cast in early post-war stone. Thus the IMF still has an obligatory European as its operating head, while the World Bank continues in the tender care of an American chief. The United Nations Security Council still has its wartime great powers (including France and China more by courtesy than right since their contributions to the Allied war effort were fitful and fragmentary at best). Assurances of change are a yearly ritual in Washington, but of change that matters there has been no sign. The natives have been restive at their subordinate role and have taken concrete steps to make history. Hence the emergence of BRICS. Political discourse translated into financial muscle has weight. BRICS was born a political entity; it now has acquired financial wings with a capitalized BRICS bank worth $100 billion to which its members will make an equal contribution. The bank is to be headquartered in Shanghai and its first head is to be an Indian, with a tenure of six years; the next head will be a Brazilian with a five-year tenure, as will be case of his Russian successor. The venture will be up and running in the next two years. The recent BRICS summit in Brazil was an outstanding success. Its footprint in South America is certain to grow, as Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff invited the top leaders of the continent to meet with BRICS heads of state on the sidelines of the summit. The BRICS bank will be in existence to render financial aid to those deserving of it in any part of the world. The getto-know-you session should facilitate trade and

investment between new partners, with the sky as the limit. That said, BRICS leaders had much to discuss themselves as a group, and in one-to-one meetings. This was Narendra Modi’s international debut as Indian Prime Minister, and he carried himself with the grace and assurance of an experienced practitioner. India’s BRICS partners got to know him personally and get a firsthand account of the contours and direction of Indian foreign policy, of its regional goals and of bilateral visions for the future. Prime Minister Modi’s exchanges with Chinese President Xi Jinping are carried on page 12; his talks with his host Dilma Rousseff were cordial and will yield results in a number of fields, from space to increased trade and mutual investments. Brazil will be India’s gateway to the South American continent. But it was Prime Minister Modi’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin that was the cynosure of most eyes. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, during a preliminary visit to Delhi was told by Mr Modi that he intended to take Indo-Russian ties to a higher level. In a notably relaxed conversation with President Putin, Mr Modi uttered these ringing words: “If you [Putin] ask anyone among the more than one billion people living in India who is our country’s greatest friend, every person, every child knows that it is Russia.” Mr Putin was invited to visit the Russian-designed Kundakulam nuclear power plant during his next visit to India in November for the annual India-Russia summit, an invitation that was immediately accepted; both leaders pledged to deepen their countries’ defence ties, cooperate further on India’s nuclear power projects, address India’s conventional energy needs (oil and gas), and undertake joint endeavours in space, and increase mutual investment and trade. Mr Putin said he was pleased that India and Russia were “in full consensus” working together on the international stage. India cannot be afraid of its own shadow, as it faces myriad security challenges at home and abroad.. The BRICS summit was where Narendra Modi kept his tryst with destiny as an emergent world statesman.

It doesn’t say much for the planet we inhabit that even 298 deaths, including those of women and children, is turned into an obscene political joust. The vast majority of the dead on a Malaysian Airlines flight were Dutch, but Malaysians, Australians, Indonesians, Americans and Britons made up the total tally. The aircraft, on its way from the Netherlands to Australia, where many of the passengers were due to participate in an AIDS prevention conference, was shot down by a missile. Why was the plane flying over a conflict zone, which may other airlines chose to avoid for reasons of safety? Why also was the pilot instructed to change course by Ukrainian air controllers and fly over this dangerous area? Why was he told to reduce the height of the plane’s flight path? These are questions that will have to explored and answered. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the principal voice of sanity in West, has called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, followed by unfettered access to the crash site and an independent inquiry into the tragedy. She and President Putin have agreed that this would be the best way forward. President Obama and his EU satraps would have been on firmer ground in their attacks on Moscow for allegedly arming the rebels in eastern Ukraine,

when the indulgent supplies of US and Nato arms to various jihadi groups in the Middle East have reduced much of the region to a howling desolation. These same powers have armed and encouraged the Kiev regime of Petro Poroshenko to seek a military solution to his nation’s ethnic crisis in eastern Ukraine, in which hundreds of innocent lives have been lost and many thousands displaced and forced to flee their home for safe sanctuary across their country’s borders. Do the US and its allies appear to have no recollection of an incident, in 1988, when an Iranian passenger plane was destroyed in midair by a missile fired from an American warship in the Persian Gulf. All the passengers and crew were killed, among them Indian diplomats and their families. Washington issued a curt “regret,” and there the matter ended. Today, the international community would be best served by grieving with the bereaved. This would be a display of common humanity. Meanwhile, expert investigators from all corners of the world, now assembling in Kiev, should be allowed to go about their work without hindrance and throw whatever light they can on the dark corners of the tragedy. Sometimes in such shocking tragedies, a cooler appreciation could be much more appropriate.

Former US President Bill Clinton made a considerable splash when he met with students in Jaipur, Rajasthan, after visiting the kitchen of the “Akshaya Patra” Foundation, an NGO that seeks to facilitate children’s education by providing them with school mid-day meals. Mr Clinton witnessed a machine churning out 40,000 chapattis per hour; and he joined by serving the kids of a government school. He was greeted on his arrival with a song and dance routine in which staff and students participated. Mr Clinton told his audience: “I want to thank the students and teachers for the warm welcome. This is a part of efforts that involve more than 10,000 schools in 10 states in India and feeds 1.3 million people a year. This, he said, is a remark-

able partnership between the government, private sector business community and non-government organizations.” The students gave Mr Clinton handmade baby garments for his expected grandchild, his daughter Chelsea’s first offspring. He was deeply moved by his experience and hoped the children, most from deprived backgrounds, would fulfill their dreams of a better and more rewarding life through access to education. Mr Clinton then travelled to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, where he visited a health clinic specializing in respiratory and intestinal diseases. His visit to India, part of a wider Asia-Pacific tour to oversee the work of the Clinton Foundation, was a signal success.

Tragedy of downed Malaysian airliner

Bill Clinton makes waves in Jaipur, Lucknow

3 “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” - Jim Rohn

Baroness Zahida Manzoor CBE of Knightsbridge

The road to peace is always under construction The Middle East is in turmoil. Years of conflict, corruption and poor government have destabilised the region. Now we face the threat of new extremist states emerging in the vacuum left by failing nations. The ongoing crisis is dragging vulnerable children from our communities. The Arab Spring and the ongoing conflicts across the region have led my Lib Dem colleague Paddy Ashdown to predict the collapse of the Sykes-Picot agreement. The borders are being redrawn dangerously quickly and without the input of those that they most affect. The emergence of ISIL in Northern Iraq is a serious turn in the ongoing story of the region. There have been many questions raised about the influence of the 2003 Iraq Invasion and given recent events, I’m very proud the Lib Dems opposed this war. I am deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis, with large numbers of Iraqis displaced. They need urgent support, so that the humanitarian situation does not deteriorate further. I am pleased that the UK Coalition Government have already provided £5m in immediate assistance, but more still needs to be done. I also welcome the humanitarian aid local communities and individuals are giving in the UK. But, the conflict in the region, and the increasingly sectarian nature of the fighting is causing some young people to leave our country to fight abroad. Surely there can be no glory in any bloodshed particularly when it is the vulnerable put in harm’s way. The young girls that have now been heading

abroad to fight on the front line are particularly vulnerable. As a Lib Dem I am always concerned by stories of the exploitation of women and it is particularly frightening to hear from the reports Manchester Police which suggest that these girls are subject to sexual exploitation. I am concerned that this war is becoming another theatre in which those with power are seeking to exploit the innocent and vulnerable. Those that are leaving our country clearly have some disconnect with our community and society, this is something that we must improve. We need to do more to embrace these disconnected teenagers and make them feel a part of modern Britain and of their local communities. What is happening to these young people now is the worst example of what can happen when we fail to create an inclusive and cohesive society for all. This conflict is tearing up the Middle East, causing fractures across national boundaries and allowing dangerous, and undemocratically elected people to grab power. Furthermore, it is allowing the further exploitation of the young and vulnerable. In the Lib Dems we strive to create a more inclusive society for all, allowing the most vulnerable to get on in life. This goal should not stop at our own borders, it makes sense to work with others towards a stable Middle East. It benefits no one whilst this conflict persists. Nevertheless, I fear I must agree with a colleague’s recent comment that “the road to peace is always under construction.”

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MIDLANDS VOICE

Restaurant night boost for young carers' charity

A Hall Green restaurant recently held a fundraising evening in aid of local charity, Solihull Young Carers. The Purple Rooms in Hall Green recently hosted an evening fundraising event to help funding for a local charity; Solihull Young Carers. This well-established Indian restaurant has been raising money for charity since opening in 1988; and the monies raised from the event will enable the charity to provide activities and tailored support for children aged 5-18, whose lives are affected by helping to care for someone at home with sickness, illness or a disability. The event was a great success and a complete sell-out, with over 70 attendees including the Rotary Club members, local dignitaries and the now Deputy Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Joe Tildesley. Gina Ward, manager

The Deputy Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Joe Tildesley (second left) with fellow attendees at the recent charity event held at The Purple Rooms in Hall Green

of Solihull Young Carers, said: “It’s great when businesses choose to get involved with local charities. It enables us to raise awareness and funds to reach and support more hidden vulnerable children in our community.” Hesan Choudhury, owner of The Purple Rooms and UKs Young Restaurateur of the year, was impressed by the Charity programme and wanted to do everything possible to get involved. He said:

“We’ve been raising money for great causes since the year we opened. My father has been catering for charities and events for the last 40 years. I’m not going to change that culture. We take out a lot from this community; it’s always a pleasure to give it back.” The Purple Rooms recently appeared at the BBC Good Food Show and hopes to raise more money for charity later this year.

Solicitor raises £175 for local charity Daxa Patel, a solicitor, was just one of the runners who took part in the Jane Tomlinson Leeds 10k race on Sunday raising £175 for her chosen charity Yorkshire Cancer Centre in Leeds. She finished in 1 hour and 30 minutes and said “I am p roud of myself as the last time I did any running was 20 years ago. I ran in memory of my wonderful father Shri Manharbhai Patel who passed away six months ago at the age of 95. My father has always been my inspiration and I am sure he would have been very pleased to know that with the help of my generous friends so far I have raised

£175 for Yorkshire Cancer Centre in Leeds.” If anyone wishes to make a donation they can

still do so by going to http://www.justgiving.co m/owner-email/pleasesponsor/Daxa-Patel Daxa Patel, pictured, took a break from her career to spend quality time with her father commenting: “I am very pleased I was able to care for him in his final years without the pressure of my demanding career. After all our Sanskruti teaches us to respect and care for our parents as they are representatives of God. It is better to serve them while they are with us. My message to everyone who is still lucky to have their father is to love and serve him as he is a gift from God.”

Hit-and-run driver leaves girl, six, lying in Leicester street Police are hunting a hitand-run driver who left a six-year-old girl lying in the road with a broken leg. The motorist hit the child as she was crossing Maidstone Road, Highfields, Leicester, to get to a playground near her home. People in the street at the time said the motorist drove away after hitting the girl last Wednesday – and did not even get out of his car to check she was okay. The

child was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary after being struck shortly after 2pm on Wednesday. Family friend Mussa Dakri, pictured, said: "The

family is very shocked and upset. Their little daughter has been badly injured. Her leg is broken and she was in a lot of pain. She is a strong little girl and I know she will get better. Her mother and father are with her. They are good people and are very upset. She was hit by the car as she crossed the road to go to the play area. People said the driver didn't even get out of his car. He just drove away."

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Barrister who gave first aid to gun attack victim to stand as police boss A Birmingham barrister who gave life saving first aid to a man shot just 50 yards from his house is standing to be the city’s police boss. Ayoub Khan, pictured, has been nominated by the Liberal Democrats to stand as the candidate in the upcoming by-election for the role of West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner. The by-election will be held in Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, and Wolverhampton on August 21. It follows the death of Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones, who died on July 1 aged 59. Ayoub Khan, who is

also a former Birmingham councillor, has been selected by the party to fight the election. The 41-year-old from Aston, who administered first aid to a gun-shot victim fifty yards from his house in 2002, was called to the bar in 2005. He was a Birmingham City Councillor between 2003 and 2012. He holds a degree in chemistry and a

masters in engineering from the University of Birmingham, in addition to his law degree from Birmingham City University. He is married and has six children, including twin boys. Mr Khan said: “We have a problem in the West Midlands. Crime is falling, but people feel less safe than ever. We need faster police response times. We need better crime prevention, and we need reassurance. I grew up in Birmingham, and I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve dedicated myself to serving West Midlands people, through the courts, and as an elected representative.”

Priest on just £2 an hour wins £62k temple payout A priest forced to work a 65-hour week for just £500 per month has won a £62,000 payout – and said his case should be a warning to religious groups around the country. Dr Harish Chandra, pictured, a respected scholar, sued the Birmingham temple which employed him for failing to comply with minimum wage legislation – he effectively earned £2 per hour – and wrongful dismissal. He was awarded the sum for unpaid wages and breach of contract in a judgment at Birmingham County Court by His Hon Judge Charles Purle, QC after he sued Arya Samaj Vedic Mission (West Midlands), in Nechells. The court heard the priest worked a 65-hour week and was paid £500 a month – working out at less than £2 per hour. He had originally been employed by the executive committee of Arya Samaj in March 2011 having been recruited from India. His 12-month contract gave him £500 per month,

a one-bedroom apartment and an arrangement that allowed him to receive commission based on those attending his courses. But when he started working Dr Chandra found he was expected to spend a large amount of his free time working. Despite the difficulties he encountered Dr Chandra continued in his role and in March 2012 was awarded a new threeyear contract under the same terms and conditions. In July 2012 the temple’s executive committee members stood down and were replaced by new members and in August that year Dr Chandra’s three year contract was terminated early. Speaking after the case, Dr Chandra said: “They kept on adding more work which was not specified in my contract. I was working very hard. Being made redundant was like a bombshell for me and was quite unexpected. There was no justification for them to do what they did.”

Dr Chandra was represented by Arif Khalfe, of law firm SM Commercial, who said the findings could have serious implications for religious groups and other voluntary organisations. “There are numerous priests and others employed by religious organisations and unincorporated associations across the country that are in a similar situation to that in which Dr Chandra found himself. Further, it is NOT Arya Samaj West Midlands but Dr Vidhu Mayor and the members of the executive committee in position at the time of the wrongful dismissal will be liable personally for the damages awarded and legal cost.”

A shopkeeper has told how he stood up to a robber who was threatening him with a knife. Raj Rathod spoke after two raiders who targeted his business, Shop Local Convenience Store, in Thornycroft Road, Hinckley, were jailed last week. Mr Rathod bravely

confronted one of the robbers who ran behind the counter and pulled out a knife. The 37-year-old, who has owned the shop for 10 years, suffered cuts to his hands during the struggle. However, he managed to force the pair to leave and chased them, but lost them. They were later

caught by police. The struggle was recorded on the shop's CCTV system. Mark Wellden (23) and a 17-year-old juvenile who cannot be named because of a court order, both admitted robbing the shop on February 3 this year. The pair also admitted possessing offensive weapons, knives.

Shopkeeper wrestles with knife raiders during robbery at store

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Clothes to Die For

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A documentary on BBC2 called ‘Clothes to Die For’ has featured the remarkable stories of the Rana Plaza collapse. The plaza garment factory in Dhaka that collapsed left more than 1000 people dead, and thousands injured, with survivors trapped for days under mountain of rubble. In this documentary, some of those survivors recall their remarkable stories of survival and the conditions they endured prior to the incident in a hard-hitting new documentary set to air tonight on BBC2. ‘Clothes to Die For’

features survivors reliving the moments before the collapse of the eight-story factory complex and the desperate efforts by hundreds of local people who

risked their own lives to dig out people trapped inside. The building’s owner Sohel Rana is facing charges along with a number of others, including his

parents and the local mayor who is accused of colluding with the Rana’s to add additional floors to the building without permission.

To be in India you need to be dedicated to India

Shefali Saxena

The first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has raised great expectations worldwide. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) supported by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), held its Annual India-UK Conference on “Indian Economy on the Upswing and India UK Partnerships” on July 21, 2014. CII’s annual CEOs delegation was led by Mr Ajay Shriram, President Confederation of Indian Industry and Chairman and Senior Managing Director, DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited. He discussed the renewed opportunities that India offers for business. Talking about Modi’s maiden budget Sriram affirmed that growth is expected to pick up again. Calling it an inclusive budget, Sriram also proposed the idea of having internet in every village in the given time frame of five years. On the government which was just 45 days old when it brought out its first budget, Sriram said, “The PM has reassured his responsibility through the budget.” Co-Head of Emerging

Markets, London Stock Exchange Group, Mr. Ibukun Adebayo precisely framed his remarks as, “Some more pain for effective gain,” by which he meant that finding and financing small Indian companies will prove to be beneficial for the trade relations. The idea of ‘gathering, garnering and creating opportunities for Indian capital markets’ resonated in the conference room at the Taj Hotel. Indian High Commissioner Ranjan Mathai congratulated CII on its initiative to promote advanced Indian National Networks. Mentioning Modi’s focus on removal of poverty he said, “He has to remember the last man in the line.” However, he agreed that it is not possible to take radical measures but he emphasised on having rural employment guarantee projects to design more productive assets. Mathai also stated that planned expenditure measures by the government will prove beneficial for agriculture, capacity building in health and development of skills in India. Moderated by Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian

Industry, the panelists discussed UK-India Partnerships in Trade and Investments. The panel Dhruv M included Sawhney, Past President CII and Chairman & Managing Director Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited, who stated that high end technology is greater than research, and the former is available in India. Hence we need partnerships. Dhruv also said, “Leave all notions of relationships between UK and India behind.” According to him VISA remains a serious question but he said, “Separate the issue of immigration from natural people like students.” He also asserted that, “You will see a fair explosion of growth in India.” Deepak Premnarayen, Executive Chairman and Founder ICS Group said, “India is very good at SME. SME sector in the UK has high technology but they don’t know how to market themselves.” He added that markets are not confined to India and focus should be directed towards emerging markets including medical tourism, defence and aviation. Simon Moore, Director, International, Confederation of British Industry (CBI) discussed

that the promises made by the government are modest. “Obstacles are immensely huge and very challenging,” he said. Noushad Forbes, Vice President, Confederation of Indian Industry who moderated the session said, “The budget is one step in the total process.” Debating on the IndiaUK Partnerships in infrastructure, panelist Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and CEO, Siemens Limited said, “Somewhere around the middle of the next year, probably February, you will see the change in balance sheets. Liquidity is there, it’s just being held up.” Siddharth Jain, General Manager, Business Development, Rio Tinto PLC also expressed that “Government is cognizant of the issues related to infrastructure and it trying to combat it.” This session was moderated by Sanjay Suri, Head of Europe for CNN/IBN TV 18, CNBC Europe, also including Mr. Philip Bouverat, Director JCB who described how merging the coal and power ministry will bring about mobility in the economy. He also added, “To be in India you need to be dedicated to India.”

Singing legend Dr SP Balasubrahmanyam felicitated at the House of Commons A grand felicitation to Padma Bhushan Dr. SP Balasubramaniam wasconducted at the British Parliament on 14th July 2014. Prominent Guests included Lord Raj Loomba, Lord Nanvnit Dholakia, His Excellency High Commissioner of India to the UK Ranjan Mathai, Dr Nanda Kumar, Executive Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, among others. Hosted by Rt.Hon. Virendra Sharma MP, the event started with a welcome song “Swagatam Subha Swagatam” by

young students of Sanskruti, which was followed by a dance presentation by Ragasudha Vinjamuri on Namassivaya, a rare composition on Lord Shiva. A Fellow at Royal Society of Arts, Ragasudha has been running training in Indian Classical and Folk dances, and Shloka recitation through Sanskruti Centre for Lord Raj Loomba, HE Ranjan Mathai, Dr SP Balasubrahmanyam, Virendra C u l t u r a l Sharma MP, Lord Navnit Dholakia, Dr Nandakumar with other guest Excellence in

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Lord Bilimoria conferred with honorary doctorate in UK Lord Karan Bilimoria, an industrialist and founder of the Cobra beer has been awarded an honorary doctorate in the UK for his contribution to both British enterprise and public life. The honorary doctorate comes as the seventh accolade for Lord Bilimoria, presented by Exeter University Chancellor Floella Benjaamin. The ceremony took place at the Great Hall of the University campus. He has also been made the official chancellor of the University of Birmingham, making him the first Indian born Chancellor in a Russell group University. In 2005 he become the youngest ever chancellor in the UK when he was instated as chancellor of the University of West London. Lord Bilimoria was born in Hyderabad, India, into a Zoroastrian

Parsi family. His career has seen extensive involvement in Higher Education. In a statement Lord Bilimoria said, “I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed a long and rewarding career, not only in business, but also in working to give something back to this wonderful country through my work in public life.”

16 years old Niraj Thakkar, living in Hayes West London, aspires to pursue a dream of becoming a successful airline pilot. Currently doing his PPL (Private pilots license), Niraj wishes to gain his full PPL within the next year. On 8th of July 2014 he did his solo flight that lasted 15 minutes. He dealt with the take off, landing, navigation and all the

radio calls all by himself. Speaking to Asian Voice, Niraj said, “It was probably one of the best days of my life. The whole time from when the instructor left the aircraft to when I picked him up, I felt a constant flow of adrenaline. Words cannot describe the feeling of taking off by yourself for the first time of your life, it was truly an experience and I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Lord Bilimoria, as the Chancellor of Birmingham University

London Post Office opens in Church for the first time A new post office in North London was opened on 18 July in a Church - the first of its kind in Britain. Hundreds of locals flocked to St James in West Hampstead to participate in the office’s grand opening. The project cost £600,000 and was funded by the counLondon. High Commissioner Ranjan Mathai spoke in reverence to the legendary singer while Dr Nanda Kumar highlighted SP’s musical contributions in all south Indian languages of Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu and also in Hindi. Dr Ashok Bhuvanagiri of Telugu Association of Scotland read the Sanman Patra written in Telugu in honour of the singer, which was presented to him by Lord Loomba while Lord Dholakia pre-

cil, the parish and a private donor. The Post Office also provides other services: they have opened up a stationery shop, a delicatessen called The Sanctuary and a children’s soft play centre. However official opening taking place on August 1st. sented the souvenir. Dr Balasubrahmanyam in his speech expressed how happy and elated he felt to be honoured in the prestigious House of Commons of British Parliament and rendered a shloka on Goddess Saraswati to conclude. The Vote of thanks was done by Ramesh Golkonda during which distinguished guests and attendees were thanked, with a special mention to Sanskruti and Ragasudha for their active support and help.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

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DDO Solicitors host legends for Sir Ian Botham’s Charity

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Rani Singh

Thursday 16 July, standing on the Skyline Roof Top Terrace in front of the world’s biggest cricket legends; I thought I was in Heaven as it does not get much better than this. Invited by DDO Solicitors’ Senior Partner Naynesh Desai, I was a couple of feet from England’s Sir Ian Botham, Allan Lamb, India’s Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, and Pakistan’s Wasim Akram. Alan Lamb was hosting a Q and A with the cricket legends and the team’s banter was mesmerising. I asked Naynesh to explain the background to me in an exclusive interview. “I’m a trustee of Ian Botham’s charity, titled the Beefy Charitable Foundation. For years Ian has been known for his fund raising activities for leukaemia and lymphoma research. For them he’s raised £14m over the years. In fact next year it’ll be 30 years of fund raising for Ian. A couple of years ago Ian realised that using his celebrity status and fame he could raise money for a lot more charities if he were to set up his own charitable foundation. So we, as a firm, set up the foundation for him. It’s registered with the charity authorities and last year it was formally launched. There are three trustees on the board. There’s myself, there’s Paul Monk, who’s very big in the retail sector, and Douglas Osborne, who was formerly the Chief Executive of the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Council. Lady Katherine

Cricket legends L to R: Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Botham, Wasim Akram, Alan Lamb, Rahul Dravid

Botham is the President of the organisation. She guides us during trustee meetings.” The charity has used money it has raised to give grants to five charities that include Battens Disease, Leukaemia and Lymphoma research, and Diabetes in Children. Naynesh continued, “a few months ago we decided we wanted to give the charity a bigger profile, to do something to thank the people who’d helped us, and to involve potential new sponsors. The idea was not to raise money. My firm, because of my involvement with the charity, agreed to sponsor a cocktail evening at the Courthouse Hotel which Mr Sangar, the Chairman of Bhavans, kindly agreed to help us with as well. It was supposed to be six till eight but it didn’t finish until 11. We were very fortunate- because it coincided with the start of the test match with India, there

were a lot of cricket- related celebrities there. And because of Ian’s obvious involvement with cricket we decided that whilst we wanted to talk about the charity, it would be nice for the audience to be entertained. I’m very lucky, and so is Ian, that because of the people we know in cricket, they all accepted our invitation.” The five charities made a presentation about what the grants from the Beefy Foundation have enabled them to do. After that there was a fun, lighthearted Q and A session with the legends. Because they’ve all played against each other, there was some ribbing and teasing. Naynesh revealed a surprising outcome from the event. “We’ve had several people come forward who said ‘We’ve been touched by the cause and we want to make a donation. There’s one gentleman who’s already donated £10,000. He said, ‘I can’t

Leeds Met Sikh leader and community champion honorary degrees Founder of Beeston’s Hamara Healthy Living Centre, Hanif Malik, and Chairman of the Leeds Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ), Harbans Singh Sagoo, have received honorary Doctorates from Leeds Metropolitan University on July 22 along with Mosque leader Qari Asim (see AV 12 July, page 11) As Chief Executive of Hamara, community leader Hanif has taken the Centre from humble beginnings in a small office with two part-time staff to the largest ethnic minority organisation in the voluntary and community sector in Leeds, with 30-plus staff. Earlier this year, Hanif and his team delivered a healthy living project working to improve the health and wellbeing of taxi drivers by supporting them to make positive changes to their diet, exercise and lifestyle. The research and evaluation

support was provided by Leeds Met. On receiving his honorary degree, Hanif, pictured, said: “I am absolutely honoured and privileged to get this award from Leeds Metropolitan University. My advice to students graduating today is to aim high and never let people tell you that you can’t

achieve your goals because I’d like to think I’ve proven people wrong over the years. Regardless of your background, if you aim high and you’re committed and passionate about what you do, you can get there.” Harbans was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his service to the city and region and contribution to public and voluntary service. The GNNSJ operates an open door policy serves food to the community twice a day, 365 days a year and offers educational facilities, with classes ranging from computing to learning Punjabi, to learning Indian music, to sewing and martial arts. It also caters to Sikhs outside of the area such as Denby Dale, Wakefield, Morley and Dewsbury.

come to an event like this and not be seen to be donating to your cause.’ We’ve got a few others who’ve all promised donations. In fact I think the Beefy Foundation will do this as a regular event on the eve of each test match at Lord’s now; just a nice

“We believe in research. Why don’t you give to research? If we didn’t have research, people would still be in caves in animal skins.” Sir Ian Botham. small event for 100 people. It’s obviously been well received because I was at Lord’s today and several other cricketers said, ‘How come I wasn’t invited?’Everyone’s talking about it. It’s obviously gone down well with people.” There were business-

men from round the world too. From the Middle East, from Dubai in particular, many people from India, and a lot of UK companies. I asked Naynesh about the more printable examples of the evening’s good-natured joking. “They were teasing each other because they know each other fairly well; they’ve all played against each other at one time or the other. The one that is very controversial, and still niggles, is in the 1992 World Cup, England and Pakistan faced each other in the final. Wasim Akram got a nice thick edge on Ian’s bat and he was caught behind. Ian had been doing fairly well in the World Cup until that point. Ian still, to this day, says, ‘I didn’t touch the ball. Wasim insists that he did and there was a huge nick. And then Alan Lamb piped in and said, ‘In my case it didn’t matter because Wasim just bowled me clean and knocked the stumps out of the ground.’ What’s impressive about the evening is that they all turn out. They all give up their time. Noone’s paid for it. No-one expects a car.” Naynesh explained that the cricketers have big demands on their time yet they all give it up for this special cause. “There’s respect amongst each other. There were three different countries represented at Q and A time. They all had a great time, they all said that it was a lovely evening. It shows people can get along, even though they all had fierce rivalries on the field. But off the field they set a great example.”

I asked Rahul Dravid about his motivation for attending. He told me, “I came along to support Sir Ian Botham and his Beefy Foundation. I think it’s doing some fantastic work in the community. It’s nice to be able to come here and support Naynesh and Sir Ian and see the good work they’re doing.” He then cited a story about Sir Ian introducing a canine to Sunil Gavaskar- with mixed results- that came up during the legends’ on mic chat. “I thought Sunil’s fear of dogs was really quite funny; it was something I didn’t know.” Sir Ian Botham took time out to talk to us exclusively too. “We’ve done so much and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research has achieved so much. What we want to do now is expand and spread out. The Beefy Foundation will now incorporate at least four, five, six charities and we’re open to other suggestions. If someone needs something urgently, we’d like to oblige. That’s what it’s all about. We just want to take it to another level. We believe in research. We don’t believe you can get anywhere in this world without research and if you continue to bury your head in the sand and say ‘we don’t give to research;’ why don’t you give to research? If we didn’t have research, people would still be in caves in animal skins.” To sum up the evening, Naynesh told me his rationale. “It’s one way of giving back to society. I’ve been very fortunate; it’s one way of giving back.”

Indian Designer wins Global Indian Excellence Award

Ms Neishaa Gharat receiving the award from Lord Swaraj Paul and Abhimanyu Ghosh, Chariman WCRC.

Designer and entrepreneur Ms Neishaa Gharat has received the Global Indian Excellence Award on Monday 21 July. Neishaa co-founded & pioneered the concept of a design & communication studio in Mumbai in the mid nineties and worked with many global brands. Today, being a Designer is all encompassing for her. Designing for

her art meets fashion collection that supports dying Indian arts and craftsmamship, providing it a global market, to designing for social change through an Art installation to a Mobile class room that teaches in the slums of Mumbai, coexist comfortably in her studio in London. She is a voluntary director & campaigner of Project Crayons

which supports girl children and women. As a part of its ongoing effort to applaud excellence and success, World Consulting & Research Corporation (WCRC) has created a unique platform called “The Global Indian Excellence Summit & Awards.” This first of its kind initiative took place on 21st July 2014 in London.

UK

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Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

England Cricketer Ravi Bopara loves playing India Ravi Bopara plays cricket for England and Essex and has supported the innercity cricket initiative, StreetChance supported by Barclays, for a number of years. StreetChance helps inner city children from deprived backgrounds counter negative influences through cricket and structured mentoring. Ravi helped launch the programme in 2008. He grew up playing tapeball cricket in Newham, East London, and is now encouraging young people to follow in his career footsteps. Ravi remembers picking up a bat and a ball when he was eight. “It’s not easy, cricket’s a skillbased game,” he told me. It’s not like football, where you just kick it. Cricket doesn’t come naturally to everybody. I remember missing the ball, throwing the ball wide. But the more I did it, the better I became, and that became a love for the game. I wanted to play it every day. When I was leaving school, I wanted to do it for the rest of my

working life and make it a career. I didn’t care how much I got paid; I just wanted to be happy.” Ravi was an inner city boy but he had material to draw on. “My dad, my brother, a lot of my friends played it. I enjoyed the competitiveness. I enjoy competing; I want to win all the time.” His parents found a

way to manage, though they both worked. “My dad was brilliant at taking me to all the training sessions. Any little cricket that was going on, all the games; he took me there. Any opportunity to play cricket; every day of the week, he was there. That was the key to me becoming a professional cricketer. If I didn’t have

that support, I wouldn’t have made it. My mum worked hard, long hours; 14 hours a day to make ends meet. It gave my dad the opportunity, from five to nine, to concentrate on us. My dad was an industrial cleaner. He cleaned big ovens. My mum looked after a shop.” For the boy Ravi, cricket was not hard work. “It’s more, ‘I enjoy doing this so much I can do it for six hours a day. I could play it from the minute I wake up to bedtime. I wouldn’t be tired; I just loved every second of it. Now it’s hard work, when you’ve got to hone your skills.” So what do you do, Ravi? “Now I work on specific skills to combat the opposition, the opposition bowlers. Back then it was more natural; you see the ball, you hit the ball. There are plans to get you out, every week you’ve got to work on those, and become better. You’ve got to improve and every strength you have, you’ve got to make stronger The simple technical things I work on now are getting forward, getting back; hit the bad ball, keep out the good balls.” So who structures Ravi’s training? “I make my own plans. I like to think on my own; I’m a student of the game.

I think about it a lot. When I go back home, I don’t switch off. I’m switched on all the time, I’m thinking cricket all the time. I know, naturally, what I need to improve on.”

“I’m switched on all the time, I’m thinking cricket all the time.” Ravi does manage to find downtime though. “I do relax; I like spending time with my son; my friends, my family; sometimes even cricket relaxes me. Playing the game, turning up to the ground a few hours here or there, that’s all relaxing.” 29-year old Ravi is an ambassador of StreetChance and I interviewed him in an innercity hard court on an estate where a cricket session was going on. “I’m doing the ambassadorship because I came through a similar inner city path where you don’t go to a private school or have the facilities you need to play cricket. I had to find my own way to play. First of all you’ve got to find a field where all your friends want to play. You’ve got to get noticed,

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got to find a club, and go from there. These inner city kids have got to go through the same thing, so initiatives like this are brilliant. It gets them playing cricket and hopefully you’ll see some superstars coming through.” Ravi says that there is nothing stopping others following in his footsteps. “The only thing stopping Asians coming through is if they stop themselves or their parents stop them. I don’t know if Asians are getting the support from their parents. Sometimes you don’t have the opportunity or the facilities to play cricket. But somehow, if you really love it, you’ll find a way.” Finally, which are the countries Ravi enjoys playing against? “India are always big competition, I love playing against India, I have an Indian background. Australia are always rivals; we have a lot of history with Australia. One of my special moments was playing against Sachin Tendulkar for the first time. I always admired him; He was my hero from the age of nine. I play cricket every day now, all day. You get up in the mornings; you practice from one to four hours. The only time I take off is if my body needs a rest or if I need to spend time with my family.”

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YOUR VOICE

Harrow - priorities the most in need!

Please excuse me if I am dumfounded and aghast as I read the strapline ‘leader of Harrow Council prioritises the most in need’. I have respect for David Perry as a former colleague with whom I had a seat in Marlborough Ward for 6 years after being elected in a by-election in 2008. We worked together very closely and with tremendous teamwork and comradely until the savage cuts to the most vulnerable in Harrow. While in the group I fought fiercely to stop travel passes being taken away from the vulnerable, taxi rides being cut from 140 to 40. I put the case forward to the group that these were vital lifelines to the vulnerable when an uncaring Government was in situ. My pleas fell on deaf years. The final straw was shutting down of a vital resource called Marlborough day Center for mental health service users and their families. Harrow has 54% Gujarati population and some of the most vulnerable mental health Asian community due to to stigma and discrimination amongst us. The group ‘Ekta’ was based there and Bharti Vyas’s ladies group Tea N Talk which has now stopped many diverse groups. David may not know a lot about the Asian Community but I do. My biggest regret will always be that during a short time as portfolio holder for Adult Social Care Health and Wellbeing I was not able to stop this closure. Regretfully Labour and Tories colluded and on 16th Sep 2013 they set aside 80per cent of Harrow’s constitution to push us out, they would have overturned my decision anyway. It is with deep regret that 8 of us had left the labour group in Harrow, we had not left the main party. Unfortunately unless there is a wealth of life experience immature short term decisions are made that destroy lives of the most Vulnerable at a time when Tory government continue imposing Work Capability Assessments and the bedroom tax and destroy lives in this caring country I proudly call mine. Krishna Lathia-James Chairman Independent Labour Group

Mongol Invasion of India

It is commonly believed by almost everybody that the Mongols invaded in 1526 and then started the Mogul rule, which lasted until the Indian Mutiny of 1857 against East India Company, following which the British Government took direct rule over the territories and exiled the last Mugal ruler to Andamann Islands. I copied the chronology from a history book many years ago. Unfortunately, there is no mention in the chronology of the title of the book. The following entries show that the Mongols/Mughals were trying since 1291 to conquer India but had been unsuccessful on previous occasions. 1291: First Mongol invasion; defeated by Ala-ud-din Khalji 1299: Mongols invade again and are defeated before Delhi.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Indian TV News Channels

Why do we need a plethora of religious schools

Dear Readers, Diwali is now just three months away. The New Year is knocking at the door waiting to bring in colours and light to our lives with fervour of joy and ever lasting happiness. l If you are between 7-25 years of age, write a 700 word article on: 'how you celebrate Diwali every year', 'your most memorable Diwali with friends and family' or 'how you celebrate Diwali at school' along with a suitable photo. Last date of entry is Sunday 20 September 2014. Please email your article to aveditorial@abplgroup.com with your full name, age and contact number. - Asian Voice

Baroness Shreela Flather is correct that separating children via single faith schools is not going to help them understand each other/ thus contra to community cohesion. Please note that Theosophical society’s objective about comparative study of religions to promote universal brotherhood. Theosophy is the answer to promote multi-religious ethos in schools. But she is wrong to label caste system as Hindu religious tenet. Many Hindu scholars have drawn attention to the fact that caste is foreign word introduced during British rule. The word-“casta”- wrongly interprets constructive aspect of mutual dependence of various factions of society. Hindu scriptures lay down laws of right action at appropriate times, meaning “Dharma”. Thus, directives to perform actions for righteous division of labour about are laid out. The system has been wrongly exploited by vested interest, who attached guilty complex to menial acts. Thus Hindu religious scriptures cannot and must not be blamed. She is also wrong about Catholic religion, which bans use of contraceptives, for causing population explosion. China and India have miniscule population of Catholics yet are most populated countries. Caste system is social problem and population explosion is economic problem. Religions are wrongly blamed to divert attention from global failure to tackle evils.

Indian TV News Channels have become more of Political than for News! In the Prime Time from 6 to 11 pm, they call 5 to 6 politicians of different parties asking questions on a few current issues and make them fight with one another. For us as viewers this creates dissatisfaction, abhorrence and leave us in despair. It’s bad for the young generations who resort to violence and destructions when they are the victims of our Political System. Also they constantly discuss Rape, Child and Women Abuse, Corruption, Greed Thefts, Violence, etc, nothing positive ever. Crimes breed Crimes. In Half an hour News time besides commercial, it’s full of self Ads which include their own channels, some celebrities and their own faces, past incidents, which we have seen now for weeks and months! Actual News is hardly 30%! In the news too they repeat the same things. All the reporters talk about the same for weeks, sometimes adding their own comments, not knowing realising that the Press should fair and neutral. Indian TV channels should see BBC, ITV, and Al Jazeera News. They are just sheer comprehensive news which include national, international news comprising also world share markets, oil and gold prices, sports, etc, leaving you up-to-date with world News. Like BBC we should also show programmes on Art, Science, Technology, Movies, History Geography, Religion, Entertainment, Economy and progress of other countries, wars, patriotism, etc. to increase one’s knowledge and moral of our Indians.

I have noticed that this year’ mangoes from Pakistan for sale in UK are bountiful. Tesco plc is advertising their stock at £4.99 for a box of, I think, 1.5 kg. Only this week, I made a trip to Sira cash and carry in Hayes. They also had Pakistani stock. On their boxes, I noticed a statement printed in bold “Disease Free” which I found it to be humorous. What a great scoop for Pakistan! I bet they must be rubbing their hands with glee. It seems, that, India/Indian exporters have “hot themselves in the foot” sacrificing quality control for a fast quick bucks. Rather than Keith Vaz putting pressure on UK Government, I would ask him to take this issue to the Indian Government.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Upendra Kapadia By Email

Mohindra Master Via Email

announcements to make state school exams tougher in a drive to restore confidence in the system and improve standards. He had then said that state school education was like trying to run up a down escalator. What would happen to these proposals now that he has gone to new pastures? One wonders whether this was a political move to appease school heads who were not happy with his radical reform agenda for schools. Michael Gove was a good education minister and proponded many reforms for the betterment of education in this country. It has been reported that pale males from the cabinet have been replaced by females. How about introducing some more brown females to the Cabinet? Surely there are quite a few Indian females who can fit the bill?

Soviet Union disintegrated. Compared to atrocities committed by US, Russia is a saint. US is the only nation to use nuclear weapons, dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki when Japan was on the brink of surrendering. US also used nuclear tipped missiles on Iraq and chemicals in Vietnam to deforest vast areas of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam that resulted in millions of babies born with defects. It was also on the verge of starting third world war to stop Soviet Union establishing missile bases in Cuba while stationing hundreds of Intercontinental missiles on Russian border with Turkey. Does anyone remember US shooting down Iranian civil plane with a missile fired from US naval ship, with the loss of 300 lives, a flippant in US eyes? No one was even brought to justice that lead to blowing-up of PANAM Flight 103 over Lockerby in revenge attack. Are our politicians US fiduciaries, naïve or politically expedient? Obviously what is good for gander is not good for goose.

Pale, Male and Stale

The domino effect created by William Hague’s desire to step down as Foreign Secretary has seen a few casualties among them the move of the Education Secretary to the Chief Whipps’ Office. When he was Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, had outlined his aim to break down the “Berlin Wall” between state and private schools. He had said that state schools in England should be more like private schools. This was welcome news as the proposals were designed to make pupils of state schools to take the more difficult private school common entrance exams, and the schools to stay open for longer. These proposals had come in addition to his previous 1302-3: Another invasion; defeated by Ala-ud-din’s forces. 1306: Another invasion, repelled by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq 1398: Timur crosses the Indus and invades India. He appears before Delhi, defeats Mahmud and Mallu and plunders and devastates the city. 1399: Timur’s retreat. 1524: Babur conquers Lahore 1526: First battle of Panipat. Death and defeat of Ibrahim Lodi. Babur ascends the throne of Delhi.

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History made as PM visits Indian business for the first time

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Continued from page 1

Mr Cameron concluded by saying, “You (Rami) don’t just leave it at what you do in business. You are also a real icon for your community and you also help to bring communities together...you believe in interfaith dialogue and (what you just said about) British values in our country. I think it is one of the clearest and most inspiring statements (that I’ve

India's High Commissioner to the UK, HE Mr Ranjan Mathai

felt that the Prime Minister was in attendance. “There are no words to describe what an honour and privilege it is to have you with us today, a day which I will remind my children about, a day that they will tell their children, that the Prime Minister of the UK came to our office.� Sun Mark has already won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. However, Rami said

PM David Cameron with Dr Rami Ranger

Cllr Reena Ranger Dr Rami Ranger addressing invited guests

heard) in many years. I wanted to be here because of you and everything you stand for and everything you have achieved.� India’s High Commissioner to the UK, HE Mr Ranjan Mathai, was also present and expressed his delight at

Rami’s achievement. “I am extraordinarily proud of you Rami, you are a symbol of all that the Indian community has achieved.� The Chairman’s daughter Cllr Reena Ranger, also spoke of how extremely honoured she

winning the award for the fifth time has not been easy for him. “This is a unique achievement as no other British company to date has won five consecutive Queen’s Awards and achieved this in competition with the very best in British business.�

Labour promises to boost number of ethnic minority employees The Labour party has announced on Tuesday 22 July that the party will set new targets for the percentage of black and minority ethnic (BME) employees in the Senior Civil Service. In a statement they said that people from the BME backgrounds are still woefully

underrepresented at senior levels and the Government has lost sight of the diversity agenda in the civil service. Sadiq Khan MP, pictured, Labour’s Shadow London Minister, said: “It is vitally important that the senior civil service properly represents our country

in all its diversity. This just isn’t the case at the moment and things have gone backwards under the Coalition. Currently only 4.7 per cent of the Senior Civil Service are from an ethnic-minority background - a drop from 4.9 per cent in 2010. This is simply not acceptable.�

Indian passport application goes online On Monday the Indian High Commission has announced the launch of an online-only passport application service in the UK from Wednesday 23 July. This move has been amongst the many other steps introduced by the Indian missionary including a Public Response Unit, launch of online submission of OCI applications and ‘Open Houses’ to address queries from NRIs. A statement from the High Commission said, “Applications for Passports will be accepted at the High Commission of India through online appointment system only with effect from 23.07.2014. “A total of 100 slots on daily basis will be available. The High Commission will continue to accept applications through post,� it added. The process of outsourcing the collection and delivery of passports, visas, OCI and PIO cards and var-

ious other consular services has been initiated and is

expected to be in place by the end of this year.

Bollywood veteran actor Mr Nana Patekar, leading Labour MP and Chairman of the Britain’s Home Affairs committee Rt Hon Keith Vaz, and prominent Labour MP Steven Pounds were among those present at the ceremony to witness

history being made. After the celebration, speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, Rami said, “It is a dream come true for a humble immigrant who had nothing when he arrived in the UK and now has everything by living the British dream. The presentation by the Prime Minister, speaks volumes about him. It shows he has

time for every Briton, regardless of their origin, to acknowledge their achievements and success for the nation, in spite of having an incredibly busy diary.� Asking him what’s next, Rami added, “I now wish to mentor underprivileged youth. I was honoured when His Royal Highness, Prince Charles made me a Fellow of the Prince’s Trust and asked me to inspire youth through my life. Now I wish to pass on my experiences to them so that they too can realise their ambitions and become assets for the nation. I tell them that like me, they too can succeed in the absence of a rich family or an elite education. All they need to do is adopt five golden principles; self-respect, work ethics, commitment, vision and empathy.�

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MEDIA WATCH

Having presented his Budget to Parliament and the nation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in reflective mood, touched upon a number of subjects by way of explanation. He hoped that, in the event of declining inflation, the Reserve Bank of India – the sole authority in such matters – would reduce the interest rate, revive market sentiment, stimulate investment and engineer growth. Encouragingly, the inflation figure for June fell to 5.4 per cent and should the trend continue over the current quarter, Mr Jaitley’s optimism might well be fulfilled. Also, Indian exports have risen 10 per cent in June, both developments also reflecting well on the steps taken by the previous UPA government to strengthen India’s economic platform. The present revival of the monsoon is likely to aid the process. As per his explanations, what the Finance Minister had to say on taxation should reassure investors at home and abroad. The government was aware of the negative effects of the country’s retrospective tax policies and extortionate demands on companies Clarity had to be introduced in the system to replace the era of apparent caprice and confusion.

Tax clarity

Mr Jaitley admitted to his interviewer, “The taxation policy followed in India and the functioning of the tax administration had created a scare among investors. There are four important things I have done in this Budget. I’ve provided a complete cushion against powers of Parliament to tax retrospectively [and] create fresh liability. Two, even for domestic investors, I’ve created an advance ruling mechanism before they take their decision. Three, I’ve tried to remove discretion, which is responsible for lots of litigation in transfer pricing matters. Four, I’ve created a consultation mechanism between industry and CBTD, the outcome of which will result in statutory guidelines. As we learn from future experience, I’m willing to travel a little more distance, but this is the direction.” (Times of India July 15)

Lower taxes, higher savings

Arun Jaitley delved deeper into his Budgetary aims, one of which was to lower taxes and put more money into the average Indian pocket – something for the distant future, no doubt. He went on: “There’s a pattern – I’ve consciously encouraged manufacturing, consciously encouraged real estate, consciously encouraged infrastructure and consciously encouraged agriculture. In a world of inflation, my policy has been to [leave] more money in the hands of the spender so that he spends more and saves more.”

Siemens Bangalore technology centre

German engineering major Siemens has set up its first Indian Technology and Applications Centre (TAC) in Bangalore’s industrial cluster, Penya. Joachim Zoll, global Siemens head of Machine Tools, said this was the company’s seventh such global centre. “While

on the one hand, we will have classes for those with limited knowledge about Computer Numerical Control systems and machine tools, on the other, we will have classes for those who perhaps do not know about latest functionalities that the new controls offer them.” It would help “train the trainer” through the education sector, he said. Satish Godbole, Vice-President, Control Systems, Motion Siemens, explained: “What we are bringing to the table is a technology solution to improve the productivity of industry.”

Partnerships

Siemens already has four major partnerships for its TAC project. They include Lakshmi Machine Works, Coimbatore, Ace Micromatic, Bangalore, Jyoti Automation, Rajkot, and Lokesh Machines, Hyderabad. Siemens Bangalore TAC also houses Siemens Financial Services, an international provider of business-to-business financial solutions (Hindu July 12)

Modi-Xi talks encouraging

Talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

the same in China in schemes that China planned to launch soon.. He said this would help bridge the trade gap between the countries, which at present was heavily weighted in China’s favour. President Xi said he would work with Prime Minister Modi to “constantly enhance China-India relations that were long lasting, strategic and cooperative between partners rather than rivals.” (Hindu July 16)

Naïve comment

Apropos of the Modi-Xi talks, The Times of India (July 17) fell overboard in its enthusiasm of the event. “Transforming the India-China relationship can yield big prizes for the region and indeed shake the world. Modi should not lose the opportunity.” Big prizes, yes. Shake the world – a bit over the top., surely. Previous Indian governments have talked themselves blue without getting traction on the disputed border. Because China lays claim to the entire territory of Arunachal Pradesh. Does the Times advocate handing it over together with its inhabitants? This for a relationship that is yet to prove itself on the ground. On China’s ties with Pakistan, the Times leader writer would do well to recall Beijing’s supply of a fully tested nuclear weapon to Islamabad in May 1990, accompanied by the further transfer of nuclear weapon and missile technologies. These issues have to be worked through, not tossed around like a performing seal.

Entrepreneur’s take

Chinese entrepreneur Xiaomi has entered the Indian market with the release of three smartphones priced between Rs 6,999 and Rs 13,999. Asked by an Indian reporter to explain the timing of his India launch, he replied: ”I wanted to come here sooner . There are a lot of similarities Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping b e t w e e n Indian and Chinese conFortaleza, Brazil, were substansumers…..In e-commerce, we tive and frank, according to believe India is moving in the informed sources. Scheduled to same direction. It took China last 40 minutes, they went on for 10-15 years to get e-commerce 80. President XI invited the gateways, but India is moving Indian Prime Minister to visit faster. That’s the reason why we China in November for the believe this is the perfect time to meeting of the Asia Pacific enter” [India]. (Business Line Economic Council (APEC), a July 16) “significant gesture,” said Indian officials, while the TCS profit surge Chinese leader told reporters that he was looking forward to Beating market expectations, his trip to India in September. Tata Consultancy Services Both leaders called for the (TCS), India’s largest software “negotiated resolution” of the services provider, posted an Sino-Indian boundary dispute astonishing 45 per cent profit to “at an early date.”. Mr Modi Rs 5,568 crore in the first quardescribed the meeting on Twitter ter of the current financial year as “very fruitful” on the “wide (April-June 2014), riding on susrange of issues”discussed. Mr tained growth in its key markets Modi was keen to see Chinese and industry segments. “Robust investment in Indian infrastrucvolumes and healthy growth ture projects, and President XI across all industries and key was equally keen that India did

N. Chandrasekaran TCS CEO, MD

markets helped TCS start the new Financial year on a strong note,” said Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director N. Chandrasekaran at a news conference in Mumbai (Business Line, Mint July 18)

Bridge over Brahmaputra

This engineering marvel is still work in progress, but its completion in 2016 will provide a major strategic link between the Indian plains and mountainous Arunachal Pradesh. The 4.94 kilometre rail-cum-road bridge has been a mega project in the making, involving as number of leading Indian companies, including HCC, which constructed Mumbai’s BandraWorli Seal Link. HCC is part of a consortium that includes Indian companies and a German company as well. The Bogibeel bridge is located 17 kilometres downstream from Dibrugarh, Assam, and when completed will cut travel time to Arunachal Pradesh by half (Times of India July 16)

World’s tallest link over Chenab

More than a thousand kilometers away to the north-west,

another fantastic project is in the final stage of completion in 2016. This 359 metre tall bridge over the Chernab River – 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris – will connect the mountainous region of northern Jammu and Kashmir with the plains of India. The project, handled by the Konkan Railway Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian Railways, will cost $93 million and reduce journey time from around 12 hours to a little over six. The bridge’s design takes into account seismic activity in the area as well as high wind speeds

Durgapur steel in new corvette

INS Kamorta, the Indian Navy’s latest anti-submarine corvette has 90 per cent indigenous content; perhaps more important, the special quality steel used for the first time in India’s shipbuilding, was manufactured at the Durgapur steel plant in West Bengal and strengthened at the

INS Kamorta

BhilaI plant in Madhya Pradesh. The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata constructed the 110 metre-long vessel, with a displacement of 3,400 tonnes and a speed of 25 knots per hour, was handed it over the Indian Navy a fortnight ago. INS Kamorta has a crew of 176 sailors and 17 officers. It’s wide array of weaponry includes a helicopter equipped for seaborne, underwater operations. It will join the Vizag-based eastern fleet on completion of its sea trials (Telegraph July 12).

Narendra Modi in group with BRICS leaders in Brazil. See comment page 3

Former US President Bill Clinton in Jaipur school. See comment page 3

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

13

New India Assurance gets a new Chief Executive

Political Agony Uncle Dear Alpesh, I’ve recently been elected Head of a rather large country – its’ actually the largest democracy in the world but I won’t name it as I want anonymous advice. Now everyone thinks I can solve everything. They message me daily on Twittter and Facebook and when I don’t reply they get very annoyed. I mean they don’t just don’t want me to do the important stuff like clean rivers, some of them even message me if they are having a bad hair day or problems with their wife or husband. What should I do? Also I’m worried that I’m too popular. I know that must sound odd to a man like you, but seriously, even the people who didn’t like me now want me to visit their house. There is this one guy who keeps calling each week bragging about how big and white his house is in America – I mean #stalker. And then so many of these boring politicians from other countries visit my country and I’m told I have to meet them. They don’t even speak Hindustani. So they blabber on in their own language about wanting closer ties and I just stare at them…until they leave. They bring stupid gifts too. The French brought cheese – blue cheese – that’s cheese that’s gone off right? I’ve decided they are not making any planes for my country – they’ll make them from rusty metal and call it good. The British sent this small bald man last week, and then I’m told when he got back to his country, they sacked him. He was like Foreign Secretary or something –

he kept talking about ‘happy days here’. No wonder they sacked him. I’m trying to get the people of country to understand I am not answer to everything, but they are answer. Please help.

are my the the

Yours, Leader of a Very Big Country Dear ‘Leader of a Very Big Country’ I am sorry to hear about your problems. Although to be fair you did ask for the job. In my country most politicians love the attention. We have one man here who is working on nothing but increasing mango sales from India. He’s a politician. My advice to you is to keep smiling at the foreign politicians who visit and given them autographed photos. It’s all they really want anyway. As for the Americans – yeah skip it, it’s not that big a deal. Make up some excuse, like you’re busy with your Russian friends. As for people thinking you’re the answer to everything – that’s good. Milk it. Get them to volunteer. The leader of my country created this thing called ‘Big Society’ and although it sort of didn’t work, it was a good way to try to get people to volunteer for free. Like I said it didn’t work here, but then again no one thought he was the answer to everything like they do in your country. So that’s my advice to you. Ignore the foreigners. Get people to do a ‘Big Society’ stuff. And don’t worry so much. Yours, Alpesh Patel

Girish Radhakrishnan has taken over as Chief Executive, UK at The New India Assurance Co Ltd. on 6th June, after Mr. Vasantha Krishna the previous incumbent finished his tenure and was posted back at the Head Office of the Company in Mumbai. Radhakrishnan Mr. brings with him an experience of nearly three decades in the insurance industry in India during which he headed retail operating units and technical underwriting and claims verticals at various offices and the Company’s head office. Immediately prior to this posting, he was responsible for both underwriting and claims

of large property risks and aviation lines of New India which is the largest general insurer in the entire South and SouthEast Asian region. He has also been the Chief Risk Officer of the company, an experience which should hold him in good stead now in what is probably the best regulated insur-

ance market in the world. New India has been present in London since 1920. Operating from 32 offices in 21 countries apart from nearly 2000 offices in India, the Arated insurer and reinsurer is respected all over the insurance world for prudence and technical competence. Mr. Radhakrishnan considers this to be his most challenging assignment till date and looks forward to continuing what has been New India’s twin focuses all these years – robust and healthy growth and service to the insurance industry and the insuring public.

Asians in the Government reshuffle Last week’s Government reshuffle was one of the most robust seen in a few years, with many heavyweights resigning or being dropped. The most notable proamongst the motion British Asian Parliamentarians was Priti Patel MP, who was promoted to the HM Treasury, as the Exchequer Secretary dealing with tax policy. In the House of Lords, Lord Tariq Ahmad was promoted and appointed a Parliamentar y-Under Secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Lord Popat was given additional responsibilities in the House of Lords and was appointed the G o v e r n m e n t Spokesperson for Faith and Communities. Lord Popat has always been an advocate for encouraging interfaith dialogue. Sources have said Lord Popat’s recent involvement in organising Morari Bapu’s historic recital in Rome and his efforts in strengthening relations between the Catholic Church and the Hindu community were widely recognised, making him a fitting spokesperson for faith.

Lord Popat will be part of the Ministerial team for the Department for Communities and Local Government, headed by the Secretary of State Eric Pickles MP. Upon the announcement, Lord Popat said “it is an honour and privilege to have been appointed the G o v e r n m e n t Spokesperson and Whip for Faith and Communities in the House of Lords. This is an area very close to my heart and I am sure the brief will be very interesting, particularly in promoting interfaith dialogue and British values between faith communities.”

UK

14

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

SOAS celebrated the Nobel Centenary of iconic Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore

Shefali Saxena

Indian screen beauty Sharmila Tagore was recently in London to help mark the Nobel Centenary of iconic Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore through his book ‘Gitanjali’. The 1912 English version of Gitanjali - titled 'Song Offerings' was endorsed by the likes of painter Sir William Rothenstein and poet W B Yeats. Presented by Baithak UK, a non-profit for arts organisations that celebrates the cultural legacy of South Asia, the event was held on June 26, 2014, at The Brunei Gallery at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. The event was attended by Prof. Michael Hutt, Director, SOAS South Asia Institute; Dr. John Stevens is a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Fellow at SOAS, a specialist in Bengali history and Prof. Rachel Dwyer - Prof. of Indian Cultures and Cinema. Written and directed by filmmaker Sangeeta Datta, ‘Gitanjali’ is an anthology of poems written by Rabindranath Tagore, which Datta has

tried to capture in an audio visual production. “What you see today is the result of a wonderful series of workshops and development projects with Tagore music with younger people who are creating new work,” said Datta while eminent vocalist Chiranjeev Chakravarty sang along with her. Sharmila Tagore, who is also the great grandniece of Tagore graced the occasion by reciting a few verses of the poems during the audio visual show. She read aloud Tagore’s words, “Who are you reader, reading my poems hundred year hence?” The veteran Indian actress who is in the 50th year of her career in the film industry was joined by acclaimed Sarod artist Soumik Datta who has provided the music to several Hindi translations of the poems penned by India's finest contemporary poet Javed Akhtar. dancers Classical charmed the audience with their rhythm and expressions to the Bengali music on some of the poems sung by artists at the venue. Incidents from Tagore’s life were shared, especially when he won

Virendra Sharma (MP), Jasbir Anand(director), Gurmail Malhi (Business man Southall, Owner of ‘The Centre’), Surinder Purewal (Councillor Hounslow Borough)

Pure Catering’s annual Summer Launch 2014 featured and showcased the stunning Kia Oval Cricket Stadium. On a fine summer’s day, guests were welcomed to the magnificent Corinthian rooftop with a drinks reception, with breathtaking views of the city to

keep them company. A five course dinner and dance followed in the Ashes Suite, with the famous Kia Oval Cricket ground in the background of proceedings. Sold out, with over 350 guests, the event consisted of some powerful business names.

the Nobel Prize in Literature and received a telegram. Overwhelmed by the news Tagore said, “.. which I could hardly believe! At first I felt the telegraphic language is not quite correct.” Soon after Tagore’s arrival in London, the Gitanjali manuscript got lost on London Underground and was miraculously found by Tagore’s son in the lost property office Sharmila discussed Tagore’s disagreement with Mahatma Gandhi. She said, “He wanted to find a confluence between east and west and not reject everything in the name of Swadesi which was really hurting him. He felt Swadesi was really expensive.” Taking pride in belonging to his family, she said,

“It’s a treasure for us Bengalis but I think he belongs to the world.” Sharmila shared one of her childhood incidents when she copied Tagore’s work for her class assignment. She chuckled as she recalled her teacher asking her, “Are you sure you wrote this? I said yes! It was not just copying, it was copying Tagore! One of his best poems prashna,” she said. “I went on to tell myself, that even at that age I had good taste,” the actress smiled. She agreed that his work is lost in translations. But, she believes that she shares the same sentiments and derives the same meaning out of Bengali which other people derive from translated versions of the work of Tagore.

Avi Anand & Sumit Anand Directors

Heathrow Airport Limited, Barclays and Lyoness notably. The evening was hosted by the evergreen Tony Patti, bringing the famous ‘ound of the Airwaves’ with him. Many local business owners and personalities were also present such as

Mr. Malhi, Member of Parliament Virendra Sharma, Labour Party Ealing Council Leader Julian Bell and Baljit Jhooti (father of singer Jay Sean), at what was a gem of a venue unearthed by Pure Catering and Services Ltd.

Man who sent 500,000 spam texts is convicted but remains in business Businessman Jayesh Shah, who sent over 500,000 spam text messages a day to British people, has been convicted after being exposed by a Mail on Sunday undercover investigation. However, the 43-year-old has been let off with merely a £4,000 fine and investigators say he could still be bombarding phone users with texts and calls. Shah, who runs a call centre business based in India, was revealed to be behind thousands of spam messages inviting people to claim compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) in December 2012. He was prosecuted for the Data breaching Protection Act at a trial in May. He was found guilty and fined last week at Willesden Magistrates’ Court in North-West London, despite not turning up to the hearing. During the trial in May, Shah reportedly claimed that British law did not apply to him

because he operated out of India. But a district judge ruled that Shah did have to obey UK laws because he came here looking for business. However, the I n f o r m a t i o n Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has admitted that it does not know whether Shah is still sending spam texts and nuisance calls. Shah is chief executive of his IT company Vinayak Infotech & Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Solutions (Vintels), based in the Indian city of Pune, 90 miles east of Mumbai. Vintels closed down its website last week but Shah is still registered with UK authorities as someone who handles the personal data of Britons.

Singer Tulisa walks free on drugs trial after Sun journalist lies on oath Singer and former XFactor judge Tulisa Contostavlos, 26, walked free from court on Monday 21 July, after her drugs trial collapsed. The judge ended the trial after it was found that there were “strong grounds to believe” that Sun journalist Mazher Mahmood, known as the Fake Sheikh, had lied on oath at a pre-trial hearing. Judge Alistair McCreath also reportedly said there was evidence that Mahmood had tried to “manipulate” a witness. Jurors heard how Mahmood had reportedly pretended to be Hollywood film producer Sammy Khan to trap Tulisa. He lied and said that he would give a £3 million film contract to star with Leonardo DiCaprio. He secretly

taped and filmed meetings in which she claimed to have had a drugs past and could arrange “white sweets” (cocaine) for him. When Coombs delivered the cocaine hidden in his sock to Mahmood at the Dorchester Hotel, the defendants were arrested. The judge reportedly said: “There are strong grounds for believing that Mahmood told me lies when he gave evidence (in the pre-trial hearing).” Mahmood could now face a police inquiry and possible charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Five Asian men who sexually assaulted teenage girl jailed for 23 years A group of five Asian men, from Staffordshire, have been jailed for a total of 23 years for committing a number of child sex offences on a teenage girl for six months. Police conducted an in-depth investigation into the activity that took place in Burton-upon-Trent between October 2012 and May 2013 involving the teenage victim. All five men were then found guilty after a twoweek trial at Stafford Crown Court in May. They were jailed on Friday 18 July for a total of

Jailed: Umber Farrouq, Anees Hanif, Matab Ali, Junaid Ali and Ameer Arshad

23 years. Umber Farrouq, 21, convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, was sentenced to five-and-a-half-

years for each offence to run concurrently. Anees Hanif, convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15 as well as inciting a girl aged

13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, was sentenced to five-and-a-half-years for each offence, to run concurrently. Matab Ali, 21, who was convicted of two

counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, also received five-and-ahalf-years for each offence. Junaid Ali, 20, was jailed for five-and-a-half-years

after he was found guilty of the attempt rape of a girl aged 13 to 15. Ameer Arshad, 19, was found guilty of blackmail and jailed for 12 months.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

15

MP calls for public holidays to mark Eid and Diwali

Trojan horse plot: Inquiry reveals ‘disturbing findings’ into Bham Schools

Diwali fireworks

New findings, revealed in a Trojan Horse report, have highlighted the “disturbing” evidence that people with a “shared ideology” were trying to gain control of governing bodies in Birmingham, Nicky Morgan MP reportedly said on Tuesday 22 July. The report, undertaken by former counter-terror chief Peter Clarke after allegations were made of a hardline Muslim take-over of schools, showed evidence of a reported “aggressive Islamist agenda” and found several people in positions of authority within the schools “espouse, endorse or fail to challenge extremist views”. Addressing the House of Commons, new Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, pictured, said, “What Peter Clarke found is disturbing. His report sets out compelling evidence of a determined effort by people with a shared ideology to gain control of the governing bodies of a small number of schools in Birmingham.

Teachers have said they fear children are learning to be intolerant of difference and diversity. Instead of enjoying a broadening and enriching experience in school, young people are having their horizons narrowed and are being denied the opportunity to flourish in a modern multicultural Britain”. Ms Morgan added that teachers could face misconduct inquiries, after Mr Clarke’s report found a social media group called the “Park View Brotherhood” used by male senior staff at Park View School, which included “grossly intolerant” messages. The report also found social media messages, which included “explicit homophobia; highly offensive comments about British service personnel; a stated ambition to increase segregation in the school; disparagement of strands of Islam; scepticism about the truth of reports of the murder of Lee Rigby and the Boston bombings; and a constant undercurrent of anti-west-

ern, anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment”. Mr Clarke’s inquiry places some of the blame on Birmingham City Council, raising concerns about its lack of intervention. “It’s quite clear that Birmingham City Council either knew or suspected that these things were happening for a considerable period of time, but didn’t do enough to stop it,” said Mr Clarke. The Education Secretary warned that the council’s inability to intervene reflected a “culture of not wanting to address difficult problems where there is a risk of accusations of racism or Islamophobia”. She also announced that there would be an education commissioner for Birmingham, who would report to the education secretary and to City Birmingham Council’s chief executive. Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, responded by welcoming the appointment of an education com-

missioner, who will report to both the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, and Birmingham City Council’s Chief Executive, Mark Rogers and said, “We have already accepted all of the recommendations in Ian Kershaw’s report and believe we are already making progress on most of the recommendations set out in Peter Clarke’s report. In addition, we are already working on a number of key areas such as strengthening governor appointments and training and our whistleblowing process and reporting, as well as continuing our work in reviewing our relationship with all schools.” The report by Mr Clarke is the latest in a number of reports which were sparked off by an anonymous letter claiming that there was a “Trojan horse” conspiracy to take over governing bodies and create a school with a more hardline Muslim religious ethos.

Backbench Business Committee in a bid to make government reconsider. Mr Blackman said: “This is one of the largest e-petitions we’ve ever had and I felt it was extremely important to ensure that it received its deserved time in Parliament. “I believe very passionately that community barriers and prejudices are best broken down when religions and their festivals are opened out for everyone to enjoy and celebrate. “We have fewer public holidays in this country than almost everywhere else in the world, and I feel that recognising dates of importance to our Hindu and Muslim communities – the second and third largest religious communities in our country – would be an important statement of recognition of their place in Britain today.”

On Monday 21 July MPs took part in a general debate on an e-petition on making Eid and Diwali public holidays. The Backbench Business Committee used its powers to convene a sitting in Westminster Hall on Monday 21 July afternoon on the subject of the epetition. The petitioners argued that making the sacred days in the Muslim and Hindu calender recognised in the same way that Christmas Day is would be a sign that Britain is proud of its multicultural make-up, and would only encourage better community cohesion. The initial petition that was signed by 123,000 people, was rejected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Leading Conservative MP for Harrow East Bob Blackman initiated a parliamentary debate in the

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High Commissioner of India hosts a reception for the Indian cricket team

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Rupanjana Dutta

The High Commissioner of India, H.E. Mr. Ranjan Mathai organised a reception at his residence, 9 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, in honour of the visiting Indian cricket team on Tuesday 15 July 2014, as they readied for their historic win at the Lord’s. The ambassador's garden looked beautiful with a marquee as people gathered, enjoying the balmy evening with drinks and canapes, anticipating the arrival of the Indian cricket team led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The evening was graced by many important dignitaries including Mr Kamlesh Sharma, 5th and current Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations with his wife, Deputy Indian High Commissioner Dr Virander Paul and wife Rachel Paul, Head of Chancery and Minister for Press and Information, Indian High Commission, Mr Prashant Pise, Matthew Hancock, Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Energy, Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, cricketer Farokh Engineer, journalists from

HE Mr Ranjan Mathai addressing the guests

neurs like the Hindujas, Kartar Lalvani and many others. HE Ranjan Mathai, welcoming the guests said, “I would like to say I am very honoured by the presence of so many friends, including the Indian cricket team. Indian cricket team will play these 5 test series for the first time since 1959. Geeta and I are greatly honoured to be joined by our friends. I

The Indian cricket team with Mathew Hancock MP and Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP

the Indian Journalists’ Association, Mr CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, representatives of the British South

Indians, several Indian representatives, bank MPs, Peers, former cricketers, former tennis players, organisation and community leaders, entrepre-

would like to invite the Captain of the team to address the gathering.” MS Dhoni, in his usual charming way said, “As soon as we entered as a

team, The High Commissioner asked me if we have been here before. I wanted to tell him, Sir it feels like we own the property. Jokes apart, we take immense pride to meet the community. So we will try and make this a very entertaining Rupanjana Dutta, Associate Editor, evening- with plenty Asian Voice and CB Patel, of photographs and Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and autographs. I would Gujarat Samachar with Indian cricket also like to request team captain MS Dhoni my team members to countries. I was honoured introduce themselves one to attend the Cabinet for by one”. the first time today, since While all his team being put in this position. mates shyly introduced We believe strongly in the themselves one by one, Indian skills of enterprise bowler Bhuvneshwar and strength of family. Kumar got the highest India has a great relationnumber of applauds for ship with Britain, and “I am saying, cricket has definitely Bhuvneshwar Kumar. I played a part in it.” would like to say here that Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP I am an Indian rather than said: “I was honoured to saying which part of India meet the Indian cricket I am from.” team. I know that the Test Chief Guest Mathew Series between England Hancock, Minister of and India will be a hardState for Business, fought contest and will Enterprise and Energy produce some entertaining said, “It is a huge pleasure and top-class cricket. I to welcome you, the playwish both teams well for ers and all the supporters. the Series.” We in British government believe passionately and Photo courtesy: strongly about the relaRaj D Bakrania, PRMediaPix tionship between the 2

FAST launches campaign urging young Britons not to travel to Syria and Iraq Tanveer Mann

Since the conflict in Syria began three years ago, an increasing number of young Britons have left their British lives behind and have gone to fight in Syria. Recently, the situation in Iraq has intensified, meaning more and more young people are travelling to both Syria and Iraq and are feared to have joined extremist groups such as ISIS. With immediate effect, a new nationwide campaign, urging British Muslim families across the UK to take action if they suspect a loved one might be planning to travel to Iraq or Syria, was launched on Monday 21 July at the Home Office. The launch was attended by Home Secretary Theresa May to highlight the importance of the issue and the devastating impact those who do travel have on their families back home in the UK. The campaign, called Families Matter, highlights the power families have, to make a difference by reaching out to seek help if they suspect a family member might be planning on travelling to a conflict zone. The hard hitting campaign, which has been developed by UK communi-

Home Secretary Theresa May speaking at the Launch

ty support group FAST (Families Against Stress and Trauma) reveals the trauma, pain and suffering felt by those family members who have lost a loved one to a conflict zone as well as provides practical information and advice for families in need of help. At the launch, Home Secretary Theresa May regretfully said, “The events in Syria have produced one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian crises. Over 9 million people have been displaced and many, including children, are suffering hugely from the conflict.” She continued by saying that though many want to help, the instinct has regrettably led some people to travel to Syria in the hope that by fighting, they are

helping the cause. “The result and effect on these people, their families and often on the communities they are trying to support is very destructive indeed.” Saleha Jaffer, founder of FAST, expressed her thoughts at the launch and urged everyone across all communities to unite together and engage in open dialogue in order to combat this worrying issue. She said, “every life is precious and if because of our short film and campaign efforts, just one or two people think twice about traveling to these conflict zones and leaving their families and country to go and fight, then we will consider it as a success. As the loss of one life, is one too many.” The short film, displayed at the launch,

showed three families talking candidly about the devastating impact it has had on their lives since discovering a loved one had travelled to Iraq or Syria. The film is being supported by a nationwide poster campaign as well as leaflets drawing attention to the various specialist support services families can turn to for help. Saleha said, “It is only when you hear it for yourself do you realise the pain. We hope that those affected will reach out, reach out to our website, reach out to a friend, a family member or any other organizations ready to help. Everyone has a choice. There are many many other ways you can make a difference without traveling to these areas as well as causing any heartbreak to your loved ones.” Theresa May concluded the launch with a strong message: “No one should be travelling to Syria. I welcome and support this campaign which highlights the impact on families of those who chose to travel for whatever reason. I also support this campaign, which says ‘reach out’ if you think that your family or a friend could be affected by the stories shown in this film. Families matter and families make a difference.”

Happy 1st Birthday Prince George!

He melted hearts a year ago and it seems he has stolen hearts a year later, after new pictures were released ahead of Prince George’s first birthday. A year ago, Prince George was welcomed into the world at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London and the adorable young Royal has been working his charm on all since then. Fitting for a prince, baby George has experienced more than any baby in his first year, from his first public appearance the day after he was born, to his first royal tour when he overshadowed his parents and stole the hearts of royal fans in New Zealand and Australia. Prince George Alexander Louis of

Cambridge was born at 4.24pm on July 22 2013. Weighing a healthy 8lb 6oz, George arrived at the same Paddington Hospital that his father, Prince William, was delivered at 31 years earlier. Some of his most proudest moments include stealing the show when his family touched down in Sydney. As soon as he descended of his private plane, a lineup of dignitaries, including the country’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott, were all excitedly waiting to meet the Prince. Also, his visit to Taronga Zoo, Sydney, where he was seen to be very excited to meet the bilby, one of Australia’s best-loved and most endangered species, was a highlight.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

India-China relations set to warm up Despite age-old controversies, India-China relations are set to warm up, especially after BJP’s thumping victory under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Besides the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit offered a good start between the two neighbours. Both the countries are ready to put aside controversies and ready to focus on economic growth and bilateral trade. In fact Chinese Foreign Minister described the border problem as a “leftover from history” – gave some reason to be hopeful. Modi and Jinping also pledged to resolve a border dispute that has hampered economic ties between two countries. In the run up to Lok Sabha elections, while Modi was campaigning in the contentious border areas of Arunachal Pradesh where the Chinese have been patrolling aggressively. However, after Modi’s landslide victory, Chinese government seemingly soften its stance. Last summer Chinese incursion at Daulet Beg Oldi led to a three-week long standoff between India and China. “There was need to find a solution to the border question, and maintenance of peace and tranquillity on the border was essential even while India and China work to resolve this issue,” Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry. China has sought to boost ties with India as relations with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines have deteriorated over territorial disputes. India and China, home to more than a third of the world’s population, have seen sporadic border clashes over the past five decades. As Beijing's first official outreach to the Modi regime, Wang's trip helped set the template for future engagements between the two Governments. Overall, the Chinese leadership is expected to have viewed Modi's rise to power in Delhi in a positive light, given his promarket credentials. Beijing already has experience doing business with the Prime Minister from his days as Chief Minister of Gujarat. In fact, Modi, touted in China as ‘India's Deng Xiaoping’, has visited China three times. In 2011, he was even welcomed at the Great Hall of the People - a rare honour usually reserved for heads of state. Against

this backdrop, the Chinese Foreign Minister's repeated references to the reformfuelled development trajectory that India is expected to embark under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, was on expected lines. However, Modi’s focus would be on reducing the trade deficit of more than $ 30 billion. Besides, improving the situation in the South China Sea, where Indian gas exploration efforts have been dampened due to Chinese aggression would also be cause of concern for the Indian premier. From a diplomatic point of view, China has one more reason to woo the Modi Government, and that is Japan. IndiaJapan ties have improved significantly in recent years and they are expected to grow stronger under Modi, who enjoys a personal rapport with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. China, understandably, does not want to be left out of the party. Recently, India has a major face off with both Pakistan and China on its disputed Kashmir borders. Pakistani rangers opened fire on Indian border outposts along the Line of Control in what constituted a major ceasefire violation. At the same time, Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops crossed the Line of Actual Control and were stopped by the Indian army, assisted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (IBTP). The standoff lasted no longer than 30 minutes and was

resolved peacefully with the PLA soldiers eventually returning to the Chinese side of the LoAC. The India-China Border Defense Cooperation Agreement (BDCA), signed in October 2013 between India and China in Beijing, was meant to prevent a recurrence of these sorts of incidents. By some measure, the BDCA may have proved successful in this instance as it prevented a prolonged episode like the April 2013 Daulat Beg Oldi incident when Chinese PLA troops spent over three weeks in India-administered Kashmir before retreating. The timing of the Chinese incursion is unfortunate as Modi and Jinping declared their intention to negotiate a solution to their border disputes ahead of the BRICS summit. Another issue may erupt new controversy is China’s updated national map. Last week China unveiled an update of its official national map, which claims to the South China Sea, making the islands and territories within the region appear more integral to China territorial integrity than previous maps. This same map additionally irk India as they continue to show the disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh administered by India in its entirety and inhabited by Indian citizens - as Chinese territory. The Indian Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the new maps, noting that “cartographic depictions do not

change the reality on the ground.” The timing of the controversy over the new map came as Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari was in Beijing for the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.” The principles were developed by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and China’s first Premier Zhou Enlai in the 1950s. During his visit to China, Ansari met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to raise “all issues of concern” in India-China relations, including the issue of Chinese firms planning a railway linking China and Pakistan through territory disputed by India and Pakistan in Kashmir. The maps were unveiled shortly after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi travelled to New Delhi to move bilateral relations forward under India’s new government. Wang, during his visit, emphasized a “reset” of sorts in bilateral relations with India. His visit purported to set the stage for mutually beneficial relations between Asia’s two giants by focusing on trade and investment. The new map additionally provoked the All Arunchal Pradesh Students’ Union, which condemned China’s “expansionist attitudes,” echoing Modi’s campaign rhetoric on China. Despite bilateral attempts to move the relationship into the realm of positive sum economic cooperation, India and China will continue to wrangle over their territorial disputes.

FEATURE

17

Devotion - Both the Means and Goal – Swami Tejomayananda, Global Head of Chinmaya Mission

Without exception, all of us want peace and happiness. If we have name, fame, money and power but no peace or happiness, it is all meaningless. The question is how can we achieve this goal of life? One way is through devotion for God. What exactly is devotion? When three types of thoughts – Love (prema), respect (aadhara), and faith (shraddha) combine, it results in bhakti – devotion. When true abiding and unconditional bhakti arises in a person, he or she attains true peace and contentment – the goal of life. Even in ordinary love, when we think about or meet the person we love, we experience some peace and happiness. Then what about supreme love for the Supreme Lord through which man attains lasting peace and bliss! Hence bhakti is the goal. Now, let us see how devotion is the means. Pure love for the Lord can only arise in a pure mind. Presently our love

for the Lord is polluted with many attachments, likes and dislikes. Love is the best means to purify the mind. It is said that karma yoga purifies the mind. Karma yoga is the dedication of all actions done as selfless service at the altar of the Lord; it is the attitude of love and dedication, which purifies. Therefore, bhakti(love) alone purifies. Hence it is a means. Also, the pursuit of Self-Knowledge is only possible when we have love(bhakti) for it. On Self–realization, we experience our oneness with all beings, which results in love for all. Hence the path of Knowledge too has love as its means and goal. The Tulsi Ramayana says saadhana saadhaya raama paga nehe. Both the means and the goal are love for the Lord on the path of bhakti. Chanting His name with devotion is one of the easiest methods of achieving this. In fact, the devotee immersed in bhakti gets much more than liberation. The Lord Himself becomes his servant. Instances from the life of Sri Krishna when He willingly drove Arjuna’s chariot, and allowed Himself to be tied up by Yashoda’s love, are undeniable proof of the Lord’s love for his devotee!

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Indian-origin boy to star as Mowgli

Washington: Neel Sethi, an Indian-American tenyear old, was picked from among thousands of auditions to play Mowgli in what will be his first foray into acting, Disney announced. “Casting is the most important element of any film and finding the right kid to play Mowgli was imperative” said director Jon Favreau. “Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident he can handle it.” A combination of live-action and animation, The Jungle Book will be released in 3D on October 9, 2015,

nearly 120 years after the Bombay-born Kipling first published the collection of stories. According to the Disney blog, Neel’s character Mowgli will be the only actor onscreen in the film; the rest will be animated characters. Ben Kingsley is expected to voice for Bagheera, the black panther, Idris Elba is set to play the man-eating tiger Sher Khan, and Scarlett Johansson is said to be in talks to voice-over for Kaa, the python. But the focus of attention currently is on young Sethi, the only human actor in the movie.

18

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

I’ve been asked by one reader what is the most important thing they should know when it come to trading and investing. To succeed in trading you must try and put your emotions aside when involved in a trade. Here’s an example to show the importance of setting a realistic stop-loss point. Let’s assume we’ve done all the background and decided that an irresistible price for X Co.’s shares is £2.50. As the price falls to meet our entry point, we need to allay out excitement and ask ourselves ‘What if I’m wrong?’. If you’re wrong and the price continues to fall, you have to have a back-up plan telling you when to exit. It’s a way of showing yourself that you’ve made a mistake. Then chart in front of you marking your strategy to help you identify this exit point. Money management is an essential skill of the successful trader. It’s not enough just to trade well. Many theories exist but the most reliable is the 2% rule which holds that no single trade should risk more than 2% of your total trading equity. It’s a simple rule but can cause confusion. As it’s central to any stop-loss strategy, let’s look at it a little more closely. First you need to have as much of your total trading capital exposed to the market in open positions for the maximum amount of time. Capital not exposed is idle and can be managed in a cash management account – but not for too long. Our figure of 2% means the total of our intended trading capital not the total we’ve committed to the market. We constantly add our profits to our trading capital and so our 2% calculation is constantly being updated. The 2% rule doesn’t mean that if I have £100,000 in trading capital, I can only allocate £2,000 or 2% to each position. It means that I must exit when the price falls to a figure representing 2% of my trading capital – not 2% of my entry price. The rule simply states that my risk must not exceed 2% of my total trading equity. Think of it as bounce-back potential. How much will a bad trade hit your ability to live and fight another day? If I have a total trading equity of £100,000 and I have two open positions of £50,000 each, the maximum loss I can bear on each position is £2,000 or a total of £4,000 overall. Professional money managers find 2% too high and prefer to limit themselves to 1% to 0.05% or sometimes less. Only when starting out with a small opening account should you go higher than 2%. That’s the most important thing in trading and investing.

RBI okays setting up of small banks

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banks” and “small banks”. The central bank has also said that it is open to the idea of a pure play internet bank as a payment bank. The RBI published draft norms which prescribe a minimum capital of Rs 1 billion for payment banks and local banks. Both these new category of banks are aimed at expanding banking services to micro businesses and poor households which are not serviced by mainstream banks. The RBI has said that final guidelines will be prepared after receiving comments, the last date for which is August 28. The draft guidelines come within a week of the Budget announcement that specialized banks would be set up to achieve the government’s objective of financial inclusion. Besides opening the doors to a wide range of applicants, the RBI has also prescribed lenient regulations compared to fullfledged banks.

BRICS set up bank to counter Western hold on global finances

Leaders of the BRICS nations launched a $100 billion (£58.36 billion) development bank and a currency reserve pool in their first concrete step towards reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system. The bank aimed at funding infrastructure projects in developing nations will be based in Shanghai, and India will preside over its operations for the first five years, followed by Brazil and then Russia, leaders of the fivecountry group announced at a summit in Fortaleza, Brazil. They also set up a $100 billion currency reserves pool to help countries forestall shortterm liquidity pressures. The bank will be called the New Development Bank. It is the first major achievement of the BRICS

countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - since they got together in 2009 to press for a bigger say in the global financial order created by Western powers after World War Two and centred on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The BRICS were prompted to seek coordinated action following an exodus of capital from emerging markets last year, triggered by the scaling back of US monetary stimulus. The new bank reflects the growing influence of the BRICS, which account for almost half the

world's population and about one-fifth of global economic output. The bank will begin with a subscribed capital of $50 billion divided equally between its five founders, with an initial total of $10 billion in cash put in over seven years and $40 billion in guarantees. It is scheduled to start lending in 2016 and be open to membership by other countries, but the capital share of the BRICS cannot drop below 55 per cent. The contingency currency pool will be held in the reserves of each BRICS country and can be shifted to another member to cushion balance-of-payments difficulties. This initiative gathered momentum after the reverse in the flows of cheap dollars that fuelled a boom in emerging markets for a decade.

seek permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to set up an Indian venture. It's a different matter that no company plans to enter India at present and in fact, BJP's stance against FDI has driven French retailer Carrefour out of the India as it did not see any possibility of the government opening the window any time soon. The flip-flop by political parties led by the BJP, which decided against allowing foreign chains in states ruled by it,

made foreign players circumspect. For instance, Walmart, which had parted ways with Bharti Group, has decided to focus solely on the wholesale cash-andcarry segment. Analysts said that it is tough for overseas players to return to a market after exiting it. “You have to convince the board once again and it’s not an easy task,” added a former executive, who had worked at one of the Indian ventures set up by a global chain. Tesco is the sole company that has decided to go ahead with its plans and has set up a joint venture with the Tata Group and had planned to operate in states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka, both ruled by the Congress and not averse to allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.

India's exports rose by 10.22 per cent to $26.48 billion in June, while imports increased by 8.33 per cent to $38.24 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $11.76 billion, the government data showed. Exports have posted a healthy double digit growth for the second consecutive month. The country's merchandise exports jumped by 12.4 per cent to $27.99 billion in May. In April, exports increased by 5.26 per cent to $25.63 billion. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-June this year stood at $80.11 billion, up 9.31 per cent from $73.28 billion recorded during the same period last year. Monthly trade deficit has widened to $11.76 billion in June from $11.23 billion in May and $10.08 billion recorded a month ago.

schemes in Welwyn Garden City and St Albans, although developments are also being planned in the north and west of England. A Tesco spokesperson said that the feedback from local communities and councils have been very positive where it has

already delivered housing schemes in Faversham or Highams Park. Last year Tesco wrote down the value of its land by £800m after admitting that it would never build on much of the land it had acquired. The company decided it would not press ahead with 170 projects that had been earmarked for 5m sq ft of space. Philip Clarke, chief executive of Tesco, has called an end to the supermarket “space race” and is instead focusing investment on smaller convenience stores and digital

venture. Sales in traditional out-of-town supermarkets are declining as British shoppers turn instead to convenience stores, online retailing and the German discounters Aldi and Lidl. As a consequence, Tesco is revamping its existing hypermarkets by installing restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries, but also slowing down its stores opening programme. The company has 3,400 stores in the UK, of which 247 are Tesco Extra hypermarkets and 482 are traditional Tesco supermarkets.

Indian govt unlikely to reverse FDI in multi-brand

The Narendra Modi government is unlikely to formally reverse the decision to allow 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail despite the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party's opposition to allowing the entry of overseas supermarket chains into India. Although Nirmala Sitharaman, who is in charge of the commerce and industry portfolio, has publicly stated that the party is against FDI in multi-brand retail, rescinding the decision will send negative signals to the investor community at a time when the Modi government is keen to woo investment, both domestic and foreign, to boost the economy. Officially, however, the window remains open and foreign players who want to enter the market can

India's exports rise by 10.22 pc

Tesco to build 4,000 homes in UK

Scaling back its expansion plans, Britain's biggest retailer Tesco will be building 4,000 homes on land which was previously earmarked to build supermarkets. Tesco has been criticised for hoarding vast sums of land in the UK. It is estimated to have enough unused land to build 15,000 homes. The company has not decided whether it will build the homes by itself or sell the land to house builders. According to sources, the houses will be built by 2017 primarily in south east of England, with

REAL ESTATE VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

19

Preaching to the converted

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

Last Friday we exchanged on a freehold house in Victoria at £1.85m. This property in our opinion is worth £2.6 to £2.8m after a little TLC. The property consists of nearly 2,000 sq. ft. of space. We had commitment from an elderly couple, who had invested with us previously only a few months ago. On that investment they put in £71k and received £92k in a flip over a two month period. The property was in prime Hampstead on Kidderpore Gardens and was purchased for £720k and was resold for £910k within two months. We always leave a margin in the deal and hence it’s back on the market now for £1.15m. The end buyer for our flips is rarely an end user for a couple of reasons. One is most end users require mortgages, and mortgage lenders will not lend on properties where the seller has held on to the property for less than six months. The second is we need someone to be geared up to exchange within days of agreeing the deal, this therefore is most likely to be a developer or investor who wants margin in the deal. Therefore knowing our likely buyer we need to ensure the deal is also lucrative for them. The couple who put the bulk of the money in this deal needed no persuasion. They came to us originally to purchase buy to hold properties for their retirement, which is the way they perceived best to invest their savings. Flipping is not at all what they had in mind given the stage they are in life, they didn't want too much variation and surprise. They were surprised and in truth a little pessimistic when we told them the property had been resold and the profits of £100k were in and would be distributed back to them. Actually there was much disbelief, even after we told them we sold the property they were even questioning whether they would actually receive this much money in their account even after we told them the property had been resold and exchanged!

T he last de al th ey h ad d on e was c le arly m eant f or th em, and d espit e the ir co nse rvat ive natu re the y had th e au dac ity to pu rchase th at prope rty blin d co mplet el y on o ur say, t hereby beat ing ot her in vesto rs who were i nt ere st ed in pu rch asin g t he pro pe rty but wan ted to view et c, e tc. Needless to say after the money was firmly in their account they have felt a level of reassurance and hence are entering the second deal with us, the second time was easier as we were preaching to the converted. This deal also looks like it will be flipped. Of course we can never be 100% sure on this, but mostly we can see the exit before we enter and exchange the deal. There was understandably a lot of interest in the deal and so it was slightly over subscribed and so the original investors agreed to sacrifice some of their share in favour of the other investors; a generous gesture as they know money will be made on this deal. Interestingly we had purchased a property around the corner from this property in 33 Hugh Street, Victoria; this property was purchased for £1.04m back in Dec 2011 and resold for £1,242,500 just 24 days later. Notably this property if held would now be worth in the region of £2m in just over two and a half years, nearly double the price we got it for and £750k more than we sold it for. There is also much merit to holding property and allowing it to rise naturally. I guess it comes down to the amount of funds you have to play with and your enthusiasm for dealing. If you have a fixed amount of money and you wish to do proportionally more than your money can do, buying and selling quickly will help you achieve this.

What co mpou nd ed the g ain which was mad e was we had on ly u se d £50k in t he de al whi ch eq uate s t o o nl y 5% of t he pu rch ase price . H en ce the re was a pro fit of £177,500 f rom an inve stme nt of £50k wi thin 24 d ays. In all fairness there are a couple of points to note, in order to do these types of deals £50k is not all that is required, it is however the cash which was used in the deal; we must always prepare for completion. This for us means 50% of the property purchase price must be available in cash in the event we have to complete the deal. The second point is we always have to be prepared for completion in terms of the lending, including to have the funding set up and ready if required. The IRR which is the internal rate of return is extremely high on this deal as it is based on the actual amount of cash used and the time it is used for. This however is not a true picture, and gives a distorted figure of returns, furthermore you cannot expect to do a deal like this every month. Therefore an annualised figure will not give a true rate of return. The amount of money used is very small and the time period is short therefore the IRR is exceptionally high. In fact when we had to work out the IRR for all our flipped deals in order to put this in our fund document it went into the thousand percent range. We had to dampen this figure simply to make it more believable - even though it was the truth, hence we wrote the IRR was in excess of 40%. We had to dampen the figure so it became more digestible to the investors’ psyche.

The Real Deal

Edgware, HA8 Purchase Price: £195k

Curre nt ly on a fe w d eal s we have had t hre e valu atio ns do wn valu ed in q uic k su cce ssion , t his to me is a sig nal wh ich shows valu e rs se em to be co verin g the ir back s, an tic ipatin g a sl owin g prope rt y market . Man y ti mes it se ems whe n do ing a valu atio n th e ai m is mo re to pro te ct the val ue rs rath er than givin g a t ru e market val uat ion o f the prope rt y. Thi s is th e same of many pro fe ssio n al s, whe re in t he name of servin g c lie nt s the tru th is it be co mes mo re abo ut prot ect ing th emsel ves.

l A large two bedroom ground floor flat l Open market value £235k l Very long lease l Communal garden l Only 1% stamp duty l Currently generating £900 per month rental income l Very good buy and hold opportunity Call us now to secure this deal!

However the market does indeed seem to be pausing for breath. Only a few months ago deals were being bought which didn't make sense, they were bought by investors in the anticipation of a price rise and a fear there was a lack of stock. I think this is an interesting period where decent deals will start to emerge again.

0207 993 0103

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info@sowandreap.co.uk

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Tips of the Week

l Always enquire as to why someone is selling a property. Reasons like moving abroad, getting divorced, going bankrupt or property belonging to a deceased person will need a quick sale, which is when you are more likely to get a good price.

l sIt’s cheaper to raise funds by remortgaging your residential property than by raising on a BTL property, contrary to popular belief you’re still personally liable either way.

20

BUSINESS

Frantic rush to win India at WTO trade talks

As the efforts to assuage Indian concerns about a landmark global trade pact appear to have failed, there is frantic rush to win its support before the Thursday deadline. India is the most prominent of a group of developing nations angry with rich countries for failing to address their concerns about a deal on trade facilitation struck by WTO member states in Bali, Indonesia, last year. Proponents believe the deal could add $1 trillion to global gross domestic product and 21 million jobs by slashing red tape and streamlining customs, eliminating delays at the border that can often cost more than tariffs themselves. A failure could prove disastrous for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the system of global free trade deals it underpins. As late as Sunday, hopes were high

that publicly addressing Indian concerns during a G20 trade ministers meeting in Sydney this past weekend would give it a face-saving path towards reaffirming its assent before the July 31 deadline. India stockpiles food for its poor, citing the need for food security, but doing so puts it at risk of breaking the rules of the WTO which worries that the stockpiling of subsidised food can distort trade. In Bali, WTO members agreed to give India a pass on its stockpiles until 2017, while negotiating a permanent solution.

Officials said that India had not supplied any clear indication of concessions it wanted, so attempts were made at the meeting to reassure it that its concerns, whatever they may be, were being heard. "India clearly and forcefully expressed its concern that work proceed on all fronts, including food stockpiling, and received assurances that all G20 members are committed to the full implementation of all Bali agreements on the agreed timetables," US trade representative Michael Froman said. A confidential "Summary of Discussion" circulated to G20 participants by Australian trade minister Andrew Robb details what one official said was an example of India winning acknowledgment of its concerns. In principle, the WTO could pass the agreement on the basis of a qualified

majority, but experts say that would be unprecedented and virtually impossible in an organisation that operates on consensus. "India is quite influential, so let's hope that they're going to back down in some way," Peter Gallagher, an expert on free trade and the WTO at the University of Adelaide, said. But despite reassurances it received at the meeting and in public afterwards, Indian officials again said on Sunday they had not been convinced. "The way things are moving, there is no way we can agree to the trade facilitation agreement being pushed by the developed nations at WTO within the prescribed deadline. Food security has always been India's main concern and this time we are not going to concede," an Indian official said.

Arun Jaitley and we are trying to bring civility back by clearing it," said the finance minister, referring to the capital gains tax of 2012 that was imposed with effect from 2007. Retrospective taxation has evoked much criticism from domestic and overseas investors, notably Britain-based global telecom major Vodafone. In his budget speech earlier this month, Jaitley had assured that

India will not resort to it randomly. "The sovereign right of the government to undertake any retrospective legislation is unquestionable," the finance minister had said during the course of his twohour-long budget speech. "However, this power has to be exercised with extreme caution and judiciousness, keeping in mind the impact of each such measure on the economy and the overall investment climate," he said. "This government will not ordinarily bring about any change retrospectively which creates a fresh liability." The finance minister acknowledged that after some amendments to the Income Tax Act of 1961, carried out in 2012 with a retrospective effect, a few cases had come up in various

courts and other legal arenas, which are awaiting verdicts. "At this juncture I would like to convey to this august house and also the investors community at large that we are committed to provide a stable and predictable taxation regime that would be investor friendly and spur growth." He said all fresh cases of retrospective amendments in indirect transfers and coming to the notice of the assessing officers will be scrutinised by a high level tax committee before any action is initiated in such cases. "I hope the investor community both within India and abroad would repose confidence on our stated position and participate in the Indian growth story with renewed vigour."

The percentage of companies reporting PAT degrowth would also be the lowest in two years. The amount of companies showing PAT de-growth is likely to shrink to 33% from 44% in the preceding quarter. This could shrink to just 13% by the end of 2014-15, estimates showed. The aggregate PAT of sensex companies would surge to around Rs 570 billion during the quarter. Nifty firms (excluding BPCL) are likely to report an aggregate PAT of around Rs 712 billion for the period, estimates made by Motilal Oswal Securities (MOSL) showed.

Indian income tax department's search and survey operations last year unearthed over Rs 1,000 billion of undisclosed income, data shared by the finance ministry with the Special Investigation Team on black money has revealed. According to agency reports, Central Board of Direct Taxes, under the finance ministry, shared the data disclosing that the I-T department's operations on many big business houses and some high net worth individuals in 2013-14 had unearthed undisclosed income of more than Rs 903.90 billion. The combined figure of both operations totalled Rs 1,011.81 billion. This was more than thrice the

India won't resort to retrospective tax: Jaitley

India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley said India won’t not levy any tax with retrospective effect that creates additional burden and existing anomalies in this regard would be corrected. "One thing we have made very clear: No retrospective tax creating fresh liabilities will be imposed," Jaitley told the Lok Sabha in his reply to the debate on the national budget for the current fiscal. He blamed the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of creating such an anomaly and said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to rectify it. "Retrospective tax was created by you. This mess of tax terrorism was yours

Corporate India set to see strongest showing in 2 years

Corporate India is likely to clock its strongest earnings growth in two years in the first quarter of the current financial year (April-June) aided by a low base and a recovery in operating profit margins. While companies that form part of the benchmark sensex would report a 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in profit after tax (PAT), the best showing in nine quarters, firms on the nifty index are likely to record a 14.9% increase for the period - the highest in seven quarters, estimates made by leading brokerages showed. This is the first time businesses are showing some rebound from the

very low growth rate witnessed over the last two years, market observers said. Incidentally, sensex PAT growth is projected to beat the long period average of 17% during the quarter. “Earnings would be better than expected. There has been a lot of cost-cutting and rationalisation and their effect would be more pronounced in this quarter,” said Vikram Dhawan, director, Equentis Capital.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

The First Budget of the New Indian Government

By Dr Mohan Kaul

Director-General & Chief Executive at Commonwealth Business Council

As you are aware, the maiden budget by the new Indian Government was presented by India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last week. It has been well received by the businesses and foreign investors. I am pleased to see a clear shift towards a pro-business agenda. Mr Jaitley has vowed to revive economic growth to 7-8 per cent within the next three years, stressed on reducing the fiscal deficit, and keep an eye on fiscal prudence. In its first two policy statements the railway budget and the Union budget - Narendra Modi’s government has also clearly indicated its interest both in liberalisation and in encouraging private sector participation. We can see a clear role accorded to the private sector over the public sector, an indication of transferring spending power from the Centre to the States and a strong emphasis on the creation of jobs. I particularly welcome the following moves: a) To increase FDI limits in defence and insurance up from 26% to 49%. This indeed is long overdue and a welcome news for British insurance and defence manufacturing companies. b) The government’s intention to have the Goods and Service Tax (GST) introduced finally by end of year is a positive step. Many trade bodies and companies have expressed the need for a GST and lobbied for this.

c) In a boost to increase infrastructure, the government plans to spend $1.13bn (£690m) to build 100 "smart cities" and announce programmes to promote investment in factories, roads and ports. This offers tremendous opportunities to British companies who can play a key role in India’s economic growth story. In the coming months CIC will also be engaged in activities to highlight these opportunities and participate in them. d) The plan to set up a committee to review retrospective tax claims, such as the nearly $2.2bn claim against the telecoms firm Vodafone in 2012, is very welcome indeed. The retrospective tax move has had an adverse effect on India’s image and its attractiveness as a FDI destination. e)Overhauling its $43bn subsidy regime is welcome. Many agree that it is time to see how subsidies could be overhauled to ensure better targeting of benefits. f) The FM announced a National Multi Skill programme 'Skill India” to skill the youth with emphasis on employability and entrepreneurial skills. The government announced Rs 100 cr for institutes of higher learning, including five new IITs and five new IIMs across the country. India needs to train its youth and educate its young so that it can meet its desired growth rate of 7-8 per cent. UK with its world class skills and education institutions can play a key role in becoming India’s partner of choice in the education and skill sector. It looks as if the market economy will enjoy a more dominant role under the new government. The new government has taken an important step in the right direction.

Rs 1,000 bn black money found Rs 296.28 billion disclosed last year as a result of I-T department's search and survey operations. In its report, CBDT said seizure of jewellery, fixed deposits and cash during its search operations were alone worth more than Rs 8 billion. More entities were covered under the I-T department's search and survey operations during the last fiscal compared to the previous year. In 2013-14, the I-T department executed 4,503 search warrants covering 569 entities besides surveys on 5,327 others. In the previous year, 3,889 search warrants were executed besides surveys on 4,630 entities. Agency reports said over Rs 710 billion of

undisclosed income was reported by only one corporate house involved in the energy sector. The matter is under dispute at present. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money was notified by the finance ministry in the last week of May under instructions from the Supreme Court. It is headed by retired SC judge M B Shah with heads of all enforcement and intelligence agencies as its members. According to the SIT's terms of reference, it will have access to all cases investigated by the I-T department, Enforcement Directorate, CBI and the Financial Intelligence Unit related to unaccounted money and tax evasion.

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

21

Foreign Exchange

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

Employment at a record high United Kingdom unemployment rate fell to 6.5% which is another positive sign that the Job market is improving. The number of people out of work fell by 121,000 in the three months to May as well as the claimant count falling by 36,300 in June. The employment rate has equalled its record high, of 73.1%, last set in the first quarter of 2005. However average weekly earnings excluding bonuses rose by just 0.7% annually in the three months to May. That is the slowest rate since the Office for National Statistics started measuring 13 years ago. With quarterly inflation currently at around 1.6% essentially real wages shrank by about 0.9%. The housing market in the United Kingdom reported a dip for the second time in as many months. The number of homes reaching the market for sale fell, as did the average asking prices, falling 0.4%. Much of the UK economy is funded by overseas property investment, with GBP current strength being sighted as one of the major contributing factors to

the slump due to unfavourable exchange rates making it more expensive for overseas investors to take purchase property in the UK. Deloitte released consumer confidence figures, which showed confidence in the UK’s recovery is growing at its fastest, with the growth now spreading to parts of the country that it had not previously reached. Economists suggest Greece will need to top up the 240 billion euros of loans it has received from Europe and the International Monetary Fund

since 2010. A further Greek bailout would signal weakness for the Euro. More worrying for the Eurozone was that German Bunds were the only bonds showing any purchase appetite during the previous two months. From previous auctions Bond appetite has proved a reliable barometer of economic strength. The USD gained against a basket of currencies towards the end last week. This was largely attributed to the geo-political issues that are currently grab-

bing the headlines in The Middle East and Ukraine. This dollar strength was despite the US Michigan consumer confidence index posting negative data. With further escalation of the geo-political conflicts over the weekend, we may see the Dollar continue to strengthen. Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped last week, showing further healing to the US job market. The fall in unemployment accompanied by a pickup in hiring are among reasons Federal Reserve officials are reducing quantitative easing and plan to bring an end to the stimulus program by the end of the year. Analysts at HSBC believe the US will be well on the road to recovery if the hiring pace that we saw in the first half of the year can be sustained, giving the economy a much needed boost. The Dollar gathered further momentum later in the session when the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index surpassed forecasts, indicating businesses are positive on current business conditions.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 22nd July 2014 @ 3.45pm

GBP - INR = 102.44 USD - INR = 60.08 EUR - INR = 80.89 GBP - USD = 1.71 GBP - EUR = 1.27

EUR - USD = 1.35 GBP - AED = 6.26

GBP - CAD = 1.83

GBP - NZD = 1.97

GBP - AUD = 1.82

GBP - ZAR = 18.04

GBP - HUF = 390.07

www.rationalfx.com

Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

22

UKRAINE - LONDON - USA

5 mn Britons living in a foreign land

London: Five million Britons are now living outside their country of origin. More and more are now leaving their home country to take up new jobs, retire to a place where the climate is more tolerable or to join relatives abroad. Cheap travel allows one to move around the globe. According to official figures from the United Nations five million Britons are among a record 232 million people living outside their own countries. While five million Britons are living overseas, more than 7.5 million immigrants are settled in the UK. It means that the UK has the fifth largest number of immigrants of any country in the world, despite being a relatively small place. John Wilmoth, director of the population division with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the UN said that more and more people are now living abroad. The international migrants worldwide rose from 154 million in

Simple apology can smelt heart of victims

Washington: A study by American psychologists has found that a simple apology can smelt the heart of victim turn from thoughts of revenge to one of forgiveness. For a criminal who apologises, it can make them seem less likely to commit the same crime again in the eyes of their victim. Psychologists from three US universities Miami, Minnesota and UCLA in California studied 337 adults who had been in an argument related to their relationship. The study then analysed the effects on the relationship when the transgressor had tried to make up with the victim: from saying sorry to buying gifts, such as a box of chocolates or flowers, to make up for their wrongdoing. The researchers found that victims associated conciliatory gestures with their partner continuing to value their relationship. This led to forgiveness and reduced the victims’ perception of their partner posing a “risk” to their relationship. According to the researcher these results strongly suggest that conciliatory gestures facilitate forgiveness and reduce anger by modifying victims’ perceptions of their transgressors’ value as relationship partners.

1990 to 232 million last year, with the number of British citizens living overseas rising from 4.1 million to five million in the same period. Australia has been the most popular destination for Britons in the past 20 years and there are now 1.2 million living there. More than 750,000 live in the United States, 674,000 in Canada, 313,00 in New Zealand and 305,000 in South Africa. Spain is the most popular destination in Europe with 381,000, Ireland 253,000, Germany 96,000 and Italy 72,000. The fall of the Berlin Wall has brought about a big change in British emigration to eastern Europe, with the number in

Slovakia rising from 34 to 4,276 between 1990 and last year. There were also big rises in the numbers in Bulgaria (up 5,000 per cent), Romania (1,240 per cent), the Czech Republic (1,170 per cent), Latvia (1,116 per cent), Hungary (1,019 per cent) and Poland (892 per cent). A Home Office report two years ago said that the main reason for British people heading overseas was to take up a job offer, with most saying that they intended to stay away for four year or longer. A majority of British citizens emigrating were people from professional or managerial occupations taking advantage of globalisation and job opportunities.

The majority of British people emigrating are of working age, although earlier people emigrating are over retirement age. However, the figures have fallen from a peak of 22,000 in 2006 to an average of between 4,000 and 8,000 a year now. Another reason for the emigration is the skyrocketing house prices in Britain compared with other places. Now the house owners can sell his/her property in UK and buy a house at a cheaper rate elsewhere and live comfortably there. The US was home to the most immigrants anywhere in the world, with 45.8 million people, followed by Russia (11 million), Germany (9.8 million), Saudi Arabia (9.1 million) and the United Arab Emirates (7.8 million). UK was home to the joint fifth highest number of immigrants with 7.8 million, just ahead of France (7.4 million), Canada (7.3 million), Australia (6.5 million) and Spain (6.5 million).

Bodies of Malaysian plane crash victims handed over

Donetsk (Ukraine): A train carrying the remains of some of the nearly 300 victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane downed over Ukraine was heading for Ukrainian government territory as a separatist leader handed over the plane's black boxes to Malaysian experts. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a news conference on Monday that the train carrying around 200 body bags was on its way to rebel-held Donetsk and then to Kharkiv, which is in Ukrainian government hands, from where the bodies would be taken back to the Netherlands to be identified. The train left the crash site after the Malaysian prime minister reached agreement with the separatists for recovered bodies to be handed over to authorities in the Netherlands, where the largest number of victims came from. Early on Tuesday, senior separatist leader Aleksander Borodai handed over the black boxes in

the city of Donetsk. "Here they are, the black boxes," Borodai told a room packed with journalists at the headquarters of his self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic as an armed rebel placed the boxes on a desk. Colonel Mohamed Sakri of the Malaysian National Security Council told the meeting the two black boxes were "in good condition". Two British students Richard Mayne, 20, and Ben Pocock, in his early 20s, Glenn Thomas, 49, a World Health Organisation press officer originally from Blackpool, Newcastle United fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney were among nine Britons killed in the crash. An Indian-origin crew member was also among the victims. More than 150 of those killed were Dutch, while 27 Australians and 40 Malaysians were among the victims.

The handover of the bodies and black boxes, and reports by international investigators of improved access to the wreckage of the airliner four days after it was shot down, occurred against calls for broader sanctions against Russia for its support for the rebellion, although Western leaders are struggling to agree on a united response. Shaken by the deaths of 298 people from across the world, Western governments have threatened Russia with stiffer penalties for what they say is its backing of pro-Russian militia who, their evidence suggests, shot the plane down. At the United Nations, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution demanding those responsible "be held to account and that all states cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability". Malaysian jet, Flight MH17, was shot down on Thursday while flying over rebel-held eastern Ukraine. There were no survivors reported among the 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard the plane. The pro-Russia separatists later admitted responsibility for downing the plane. An Indian origin flight steward was among the 15 crew members on-board the Malaysia Airlines flight.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

In Brief

Alarm over subsidising student loan

London: British MPs want a review of the cost of subsidising student loans after reports predicted that 45p in every £1 lent may be written off. The cost of underwriting student loans was compounded by poor record at collecting money owed, especially from graduates who moved overseas. The MPs said that the loan system had reached a “tipping point”. This year the government said it had been projected that 45 per cent of the cost of student loans would not be repaid. Experts have said that if it hits 48.6 per cent, the system would cost more than it gains in loan repayments.

British parents prefer girl child

Washington: Fertility expert Daniel Potter, who treats women in the United States, where gender selection is permitted, said that four out of five British patients who travelled to his clinic were choosing to have girls. He said that some women had become desperate for a daughter, especially if they had had a couple of sons. “Some have only one child but most have two or three of the same gender. The process is driven by the mother, who has identified with little girls since her own childhood and has always had a place for a daughter. When they do not have one, it is like a death and they grieve for their little girl,” he said.

Residence test for legal aid held unlawful

London: Lord Justice Moses has ruled that an attempt by the government to introduce residence test for legal aid as discriminatory and unlawful. The three judges declared the draft regulations now before parliament cannot be enacted. They also upheld a complaint that it would not be legitimate to discriminate against nonresidents solely on the grounds of saving money. The Commons approved the residence test for legal-aid eligibility last week by a margin of 70 votes, but peers, who have been more resistant to cuts in legal aid, are due to vote on the order next week.

How diplomats escaping punishments

London: Foreign officials who have been accused of punishable offences are escaping prosecution as they have been protected from British law by diplomatic immunity. Two Saudi diplomats accused of drinkdriving in the UK have escaped prosecution, despite the offence being punishable by brutal lashings in their own country. They were among foreign officials suspected of 14 crimes who are protected from British law by diplomatic immunity. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has revealed a list of the most serious alleged offences in 2013, including representatives from Pakistan accused of rape and child abduction, and a Zambian diplomat implicated in a sexual assault case.

Ken Clarke to retire from cabinet service

London: After a 40-year service in Westminster, Ken Clarke will be retiring from the cabinet. This Conservative titan was a former health, home, education and justice secretary and a brilliant former chancellor of the exchequer. Clarke has endured worse indignities than being dispatched to the back benches (nominally of his own volition) in his 75th year. He was one of Margaret Thatcher’s boldest reformers. He was also severely criticised by the press. The Daily Mirror, a left-wing tabloid, once ran a poll asking its readers whether Clarke was a “moron” or a “prat”. Right-wing papers, who loathed his Europhilia and louche beer-swilling style, were nastier.

7 killed as gunmen attack Kenya bus

Nairobi: At least seven passengers were killed when gunmen attacked a packed bus at Corner Mbaya, three miles away from the coastal town of Witu in Kenya’s Lamu County. Kenya’s Red Cross said that the bus was carrying 52 passengers. Of the seven killed, police said two were security officials, while the other five were civilians. The al-Qa'ida-linked al-Shabaab, the group that has carried out a number of similar attacks recently, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Reports about my wealth are exaggerated: Tony Blair

London: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair who has worked for international banks, advised foreign governments and given a series of money-spinning lectures, claims that he is worth less than £20 million. The former Labour leader laughed off suggestions that he has amassed a £100 million fortune since leaving office. Friends and foes alike have criticised his moneymaking activities. Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke said it has “damaged his reputation”. He said that reports of his wealth were greatly exaggerated.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

In Brief

Home Office wastes £350 mn on immigration computer system

London: A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said that the Home Office has wasted nearly £350 million on a computer system for dealing with immigration and asylum applications which was later abandoned. The “Immigration Case Work” system was commissioned in 2010 and was supposed to be a “flagship IT programme”, but it suffered "delays and problems" that led to it being shut down last August. Ministers have now commissioned another new computer system that is due to cost a further £209 million by 2016-17. The Home Office is also expected to incur extra costs to maintain the older system - which is due to expire in early 2016 - until the new technology is ready to launch, the NAO concluded.

Miliband’s brief meeting with Obama

Washington: British Labour party Ed Miliband who was hoping to burnish his leadership credentials just managed to secure a brief White House meeting with President Obama as he landed in Washington DC for a 24-hour visit. The so-called brush-by meeting with Obama lasted just a matter of minutes as the president dropped in on talks between the Labour leader and Susan Rice, the president’s national security chief. The two men talked briefly and Miliband used the meeting to tell the White House that he believed Britain’s place should be at the heart of Europe.

Britain tells France to stop selling warships to Russia

London: Prime Minister David Cameron urged France to stop selling warships to Russia before a critical meeting to determine how Europe responds to the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over Ukraine. Cameron revealed his exasperation with European allies over their reluctance to endorse a much tougher sanctions regime on Russia as the government scaled back its immediate ambitions for gathering of foreign ministers in Brussels.New restrictions will be targeting individuals and businesses connected with Crimea, including an airline based on the Black Sea peninsula. However, Britain concedes that it will face an uphill struggle convincing other European Union members to move to a tougher sanctions regime, known as Level 3.

Gynaecologist secretly photographed 8,000 patients

Baltimore (US): An American hospital was forced to pay $190 million to settle a lawsuit after gynaecologist Dr Nikita Levy secretly photographed more than 8,000 patients. He was fired from the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in February last year, after a colleague tipped off authorities. Levy committed suicide later. Investigators discovered about 1,200 videos and 140 images in his home, depicting female patients in states of undress. The lawsuit included allegations that Dr Levy used hidden cameras to photograph patients.

Ugandan plane crash lands on highway

Kampala: A small plane carrying six American soldiers from Entebbe airport to South Sudan crash landed on a highway outside Uganda's capital Kampala, but nobody was injured in the accident, security officials said. The plane was forced to turn back due to bad weather and then land on a highway around 40 miles from the airport after running out of fuel. There were eight passengers including the pilot and co-pilot," said Paddy Ankunda, Uganda's army spokesman. Ankunda said that this was the second time a plane had landed on one of the roads between Kampala and Entebbe. He said last year, a plane flown by an American also crash landed but with no casualties.

WORLD

UK house prices fall for the first time this year

London: Hose prices in Britain have fallen for the first time this year as stricter lending rules, looming interest rate rises, and the distraction of the World Cup cool the rampant housing market. The cost of a UK home fell 0.8 pc from £272,275 in June to £270,159 in July, according to data from the property portal, Rightmove. The North and the East Midlands suffered the biggest declines of 1.9 pc each, while house prices in Greater London dropped 0.4 pc this month, as the Capital hit an affordability ceiling and demand across the country curtailed. Property values have fallen for the first time in 2014, down by £2,116, with the UK’s annual

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growth rate slowing from 7.7 pc in the 12 months to June to 6.5 pc in the year to July, due to tighter regulation on mortgage eligibility, the Rightmove House Price Index revealed. “A price fall in July is not unexpected as prospective buyers turn their attention to the summer holidays and turned their attention to World Cup in Brazil,” said Miles Shipstone, analyst at Rightmove. “Buyer

confidence may also have taken a knock with suggestions that mortgages are becoming harder to get, and repayments may get more costly sooner than originally anticipated.” Off-the-back of a string of warnings from Mark Carney that the frenzied London housing market is the biggest threat to the UK economy, the Governor of the Bank of England took steps to prevent reckless lending and curb rising household indebtedness last month. The central bank told banks and building societies that they should only make 15 pc of their total loans at 4.5 times the bor-

rowers’ income and introduced a futuristic interest rate stress test for borrowers. Such market disruption and additional red tape has slowed the mortgage approval rate and is being felt on the ground by UK estate agents. Escalating values over the last 12 months, combined with conservative lending policy, have shut many prospective firsttimes buyers and young families out of the market, meaning the biggest group of movers are likely to be equity rich, third-time buyers, the Rightmove report found. This house price wobble is seen by the property portal as a seasonal dip during a traditionally quiet time of the year, that will pick up in September, driven by a lack of housing stock.

political connections. British Prime Minister David Cameron had cited the murder of Shaikh, who was beaten and then shot in the head, as an example of Colombo's failure to deliver justice. Shaikh was holidaying in Sri Lanka during a break from his job in the Palestinian territory of Gaza where he was fit-

ting prosthetic limbs. Hotel manager Tharanga Peiris told the court earlier this year that she tried to stop him going to the aid of another guest who was being beaten by the politician and his gang. Peiris, manager of the nature resort in southern Sri Lanka, said she saw Vidanapathirana and his men during the attack. Another hotel guest said the attackers had "behaved like animals" and went on a rampage smashing plates, glasses, car windows and toppling a threewheel taxi parked outside. Shaikh's girlfriend, who was knocked unconscious, returned to Sri Lanka this year to give evidence and identified one of her attackers in court.

Lankan politician jailed for killing Briton

Colombo: A Sri Lankan ruling party member and his three accomplices were sentenced to 20 years in jail for murdering a British holidaymaker on Christmas Eve and raping his Russian partner in the southern resort of Tangalle in 2011. The Colombo high court said town council chief Sampath Vidanapathirana was guilty of killing 32-yearold Khuram Shaikh, an International Red Cross aid worker, who had tried to stop a brawl at the beach resort. After 33 days of hearing evidence, judge Rohini Walgama told a packed courthouse that Vidanapathirana, a member of President Mahinda

Rajapakse's Freedom Alliance, and three others were guilty of all the charges. Two others were discharged. All six were charged in December after repeated allegations that there was an unnecessary delay in bringing the case to court, leading to suspicions that they were being shielded because of their

Modi’s New York speech to go live across 20 US cities

New York: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a gathering of around 20,000 people in New York, which will be broadcast live to crowds in 20 other cities in the United States on September 28, turning his first visit as Prime Minister there into a show of his popularity. Former Prime Ministers Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh have addressed people of Indian origin and NRIs

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mostly in hotel ballrooms, with a few hundred in attendance. But Modi’s show will be unprecedented in its scale and political message, said sources involved in the preparations. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal is coordinating efforts from New Delhi with Bharat Barai and Chandrakant Patel, prominent Gujarati NRIs, at the US end. The organisers had to shelve the original plan to

gather 1,00,000 people in New York after they failed to find a big enough venue. Madison Square Garden, an indoor stadium in midtown Manhattan that has been booked for Modi’s show, can accommodate only 20,000, said Patel, president of the Overseas Friends of the BJP in the US. “As an alternative, we are organising a videostreaming of his speech to around 20 cities,” Patel said.

500 killed in Gaza conflict

Gaza/Jerusalem: Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinian militants on Monday after they crossed the border from Gaza through two tunnels, the military said, as the death toll from the two-week conflict passed 500. With the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire, Israeli jets and tanks continued to pound the Gaza Strip through the night. The Israeli barrage killed 25 people from one family near Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

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INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

TN govt to enact law against dhoti ban

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said her government would bring in legislation to put an end to the practice of denying entry to dhoti-clad people into clubs in the state. In a statement in the assembly, Jayalalithaa criticized the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association club for denying entry to a sitting judge of the Madras high court as he was wearing the dhoti, the traditional Tamil attire. She dubbed the act as "sartorial despotism." She said the government would bring in a legislation to put an end to these issues in future since there are reports of clubs in the state following similar practices.

Chennai: Political parties in Tamil Nadu, including AIADMK, DMK, MDMK and PMK condemned CBSE's circular asking schools to celebrate Sanskrit Week from August 7 to 13. MDMK leader Vaiko said promoting just one language would affect national integrity. He said imposing the language of one group of people on others was mischievous and dangerous. "Tamil Nadu will never permit this," he added. The CBSE directive had wrongly hailed Sanskrit as the "mother" of all languages and the move is a conspiracy to "plant poisonous seeds" in the hearts of students who belong to diverse backgrounds, Vaiko alleged. "Sanskrit is not the common man's language. Only upper class people speak Sanskrit," said DMK spokesperson T K S

"If the clubs act against Tamil culture in future, the government will cancel licences granted to them," she said. Jayalalithaa said the bylaws submitted by the TNCA to the Registrar of

Societies had no mention of the dhoti. The dress regulation of the club states: "Persons will not be admitted into the club premises if they are not decently dressed. Persons attired in coloured bermudas, colour/multi-colour lungies, cut banians/vests and/or wearing hawai chappals will onto be permitted into the TNCA club." The chief minister said she had ordered the Registrar of Societies to issue a show cause notice seeking a reply from the club. Earlier, Madras high court judge Justice D Hariparanthaman, along with two senior advocates,

R Gandhi and G R Swaminathan, all wearing dhotis, were denied entry into the club, when they reached to attend a book release function. The staff denied them permission says saying wearing dhoti was "violation of club's dress code." The issue sparked off a heated debate. Several parties brought a call attention motion in the assembly, seeking stringent action against the clubs, including MCC, Boat Club, Madras Gymkhana Club, for insulting Tamil pride and culture. In her statement, Jayalalithaa said the club's act was a mockery of Tamil culture and tradition. "I condemn this," she said.

Elangovan. PMK leader S Ramadoss urged CBSE to withdraw the order. "Sanskrit is spoken only by 14,000 people. We can't accept imposition of it on people speaking other languages. There should be a common language policy. Discrimination is not right," he said. AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said it would be appropriate to have a 'Classical Language Week' in each state based on its linguistic heritage. "Tamil Nadu has a rich cultural heritage based on the ancient Tamil language. There has also been a strong social justice and language movement in the state. Hence, any official celebration of 'Sanskrit week' in Tamil Nadu is highly inappropriate," Jayalalithaa said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chennai: The Madras high court ordered police protection, if necessary, to a Rajasthani girl who apprehended honour killing at the hands of her own family members. Manju, 19, married a Tamil youth from Coimbatore in April this year and she was taken to Rajasthan by her parents by force later. A division bench of the court permitted Manju to go with her husband, C Sudhagar of Coimbatore. Manju said she married Sudhagar in April, but they were separated by her parents. After she was taken to Rajasthan by force, Sudhagar filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court. However, on July 10, she told the judges that she

wanted to go with her parents and not with husband. Now, in a new petition, the girl said she was forced to make such a statement before the judges by her family members, who threatened to file criminal cases against the couple and get them jailed. A division bench, recalling their earlier orders, said: "In the light of the categorical statement of Manju that she wanted to be with her husband, who is a petitioner, nothing further remains to be considered in the matter." Since she and her husband apprehend danger at the hand of her parents, the court asked the police to provide them security if they asked for it.

Chandigarh: Without levying any new taxes or announcing any concessions, Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa presented the 2014-15 budget that depicted a Rs 42.52 billion revenue deficit, while the State government committed itself to implement a Rs 201 billion Annual Plan. Dhindsa said though a budget size was worked out at Rs 735.93 billion, the effective size was Rs 585.93 billion after deducting Rs 150 billion that accounted for ways and means transactions. With total receipts likely to be around Rs 567.52 billion, the closing balance is expected to be Rs 2.27 billion. He proposed to meet the revenue gap from public account, enhanced share in Central taxes and receipt of State specific grants. Dhindsa said the growth rate of the State in 2013-14 was 5.25 per cent as against the National average of 4.74 per cent. Efforts by the State government towards fiscal consolidation were reflected in the fact

that Rs 52.59 billion revenue deficit was just 1.66 per cent of Gross State Domestic Produce as against 2.60 per cent in the previous financial year. The fiscal deficit in the current year was pegged at Rs 103.73 billion which was 2.84 per cent of the GSDP as against the 3 per cent target laid down in the fiscal consolidation path recommended by the 13th Finance Commission. The Minister said outstanding debt, which was incurred during the period of militancy, rose from Rs 922.82 billion on March 31, 2013 to Rs 1,019.70 billion on March 31, 2014 and this amount is expected to increase to Rs 1,130.53 billion by the end of the current fiscal. The State's own tax revenue, which was Rs 240.79 billion in 2013-14, is expected to rise to Rs 284.80 billion, showing a 18.28 per cent growth. While projecting that it would achieve a 85-90 per cent implementation of the Annual Plan, the government proposes to spend Rs 32.93 billion on urban development.

J Jayalalithaa

Tamil parties oppose Sanskrit week celebration

Haryana HSGPC: Badal asks Centre to intervene

New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accused Congress leadership of hatching a conspiracy to create a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for Haryana and sought the Centre's intervention to stop the move "initiated" by Bhupinder Singh Hooda government. Badal alleged that Haryana's move is "unconstitutional" and in "violation" of the existing Sikh Gurdwara Act. Badal met Union home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley and parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu and asked the Centre to intervene and annul the Act passed by the Haryana assembly to which a nod has been given by the state Governor. Badal told the central ministers that Haryana did not have any power to pass a law in contravention with the central law. "Haryana government's move is illegal and unconstitutional. It was a conspiracy of the Congress high command to divide the

Parkash Singh Badal

Sikh community," Badal told reporters. Takht ex-communicates Haryana leaders Meanwhile, the Akal Takht has ex-communicated Sikh leaders of Haryana for defying its directive and forming separate Haryana SGPC. The Jathedar of the Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh said that the three - Haryana finance minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha and Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalvi - who spearheaded the campaign for a separate HSGPC will remain ex-communicated until they approach the apex Sikh institution for forgiveness.

Police protection ordered for girl who fears honour killing

No new taxes in Rs 42.52 bn deficit Punjab budget

South Brief

Telangana CM invites Obama to Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao invited US President Barack Obama to visit Hyderabad when he visits India. KCR put forth this request when an US delegation, led by Arun M Kumar, director general of USA and foreign commercial service and assistant secretary for Global Markets, US Department of Commerce, called on him at the Secretariat. The CM assured the delegation that they would come up with a zero corruption industrial policy shortly.

One arrested for rape of 6-yearold in Bangalore school

Bangalore: Musthafa, a 30-year-old skating instructor at a private school here, was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a six-year-old student in a classroom three weeks ago that rocked this city and outraged hundreds of parents. Police said the accused was arrested after they questioned six other staff members of the school. Earlier, parents in Bangalore took to streets to protest against the rape. The protesters marched to the streets in a long queue and held banners reading antirape slogans.

Tamil Nadu man joins ISIS

Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu): Haja Fakkurudeen (37) from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu has joined ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) to fight against Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. He is now living in Syria with his wife and their three children. He is believed to be among 80-odd Muslim youth from India who has joined the war against the Syrian and Iraqi regimes. Fakkurudeen had left the native village a decade ago. He remained a Singapore citizen before ISIS's call to arms proved too big an attraction to resist.

North Brief

Harsimrat’s election challenged

Chandigarh: Navjot Singh of Dabwali Dhab village in Muktsar district has challenged the election of Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Bathinda constituency. Following this, the Punjab and Haryana high court issued notice to Harsimrat Kaur. The petitioner has alleged that Harsimrat had spent more than the prescribed amount on her election campaign, and also misused Sikh religious symbols. According to the petitioner, the prescribed limit for expenditure was Rs 7000,000 but Harsimrat Kaur spent around Rs 15 million. He also alleged that in her return, she has shown only Rs 5228,000 as expenditure and that she has not included Rs 5288,000 spent on Narendra Modi's rally on April 25 at Bathinda.

Kirron felicitated for restoring medical seats

Chandigarh: Students and their parents felicitated Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher for getting 50 MBBS seats restored to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Earlier the Medical Council of India had reduced the MBBS seats at GMCH by 50%. Kher said she was committed for Chandigarh and would do everything to solve the problems of its residents. Councillor Saurabh Joshi said, "The ministry gave its nod because of her untiring efforts." Baijnath Sharma, a parent, said, "After the Union government imposed a cut on the number of seats in GMCH-32, we met the MP who took up the matter with health minister Harsh Vardhan."

Bishnoi's 'failed' battle against 'defectors'

Chandigarh: Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi fought a battle for five years to teach his former party colleagues a lesson in democracy but in vain as the assembly's term is almost over and the case is still pending before the Punjab and Haryana high court. The case relates to the defection five MLAs of his party to Congress. Bishnoi challenged the "merger" before the Speaker and sought cancellation of the "defectors" membership. After failing to get justice, he moved the high court and later the supreme court and even after five years the case is pending but the term of the assembly is almost over.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Tantalising Turkey

T

urkey is an exciting combination of western and eastern cultures. With food to suit all tastes, sunshine for most of the year and sights, shopping and relaxing resorts, everyone can enjoy a holiday in Turkey. Its shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas. The summers are long, lasting almost eight months in some areas. Turkey is blessed with breathtaking mountains and valleys, lakes and waterfalls and offers a variety of sports. If you want to visit the capital and go for some sightseeing and culture, Istanbul has a rich tradition in opera

cars are allowed in the narrow streets of the old town so it is fantastic place to soak up the atmosphere. You can stroll though the charming harbor area whilst shopping for local handicrafts and gifts. The beach area of Lara is home to the best beach in the area, known for its golden sand and set against a beautiful mountain backdrop. Many of its grandest hotels overlook the sea on the outskirts of the town. A visually stunning five star resort to stay at in Lara is the Titanic Deluxe Beach Resort which is built in the shape of a ship. With heated indoor and out-

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TRAVEL - INDIA

25

Amit Shah - the youngest president of BJP He has contributed enormously for the success of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amit Shah not only helped BJP to carve out major victory in the recent parliamentary elections, but he was instrumental in Modi’s successful stint of 13 years as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Mayuri Dave

in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. “A new era has begun He had not only drivunder the leadership of en out the former Prime Minister Narendra Congress leader and the Modi and the entire world deputy chief minister will have to accept India’s Narhari Amin as the presmight and days are not ident of the Gujarat far off as our country Cricket Association would become world (GCA) and keep the pitch leader in his ready for Modi to take (Modi’s) leaderover as the president, he ship,” this was had also managed to the first reaction erode the Congress influof Amit Shah in ence from various copublic after he operative banks, and was unanithrough these control mously electover the farmer vote ed as the bank, systematically youngest reducing the Congress president of vote share from the the Bhartiya farm sector. Janata Party Shah again played (BJP). key role to lure Amin The 50to the BJP fold breaky e a r - o l d ing the backbone of Shah’s rise to the Congress on the eve national poliof the December, 2012, tics signifies Assembly elections and Gujarat’s domiensuring third straight nation over the victory for Modi. BJP with the forCurrently Shah has taken mer Minister of over as the president of State for home in the GCA after Modi Gujarat taking resigned from the post over as one of the after becoming the most powerful prime minister. It is post of BJP presihis organizing skill dent after his mentor and and the confidence he the former Chief Minister enjoyed with Modi that of Gujarat Narendra Modi saw the BJP to send him took the reign of the counas the party’s in-charge try as party’s second for the Lok Sabha election Prime Minister around a in Uttar Pradesh which month ago. could decide the ultimate Born in the year 1964 outcome of the elections. at Mumbai, Shah known In UP, Shah apparentfor his tremendous ly followed the rules organisational skill “Party worker’s task is not that Modi had set for initiated his political over after the victory. It in the BJP in Gujarat, career in 1983 by joining Akhil fact begins after the formation personal contacts and optimum booth manBhartiya Vidyarthi of government. BJP workers agement. He was also Parishad (ABVP), the should become bridge credited for the BJP’s students’ wing of the between government and landslide victory of 73 saffron party. people” Amit Shah out of 80 seats in UP. Interestingly he never Like his mentor handled the party’s Modi, controversy has state or even district demonstrated his skill by never left Shah. He has unit, except being once arranging veteran leader L partnered in almost every the president of the ABVP K Advani’s “Rathyatra” charge and allegations levstate unit, now Amit Shah from Somnath to elled against Modi, barsaddled with the responsiAyodhya, which was terring perhaps the state’s bility of running the minated in Bihar. Later alleged complicity in the national party and sustain Modi was also a key per2002 communal riots, a the meteoric rise the party son for Murli Manohar charge still sticking witnessed during the Joshi’s march from Kerala against Modi but not Parliamentary elections. to Kashmir. Shah’s best directly involved Shah BJP’s rise in Gujarat opportunity to show his who then was only a owed to Modi- Shah duo, organizing skill came in member of the State who was able to cement the 2002 “Gujarat Gaurav Assembly from Sarkhej the gains the party made Rathyatra” of Modi that constituency. during the tenure of the virtually sealed the Even after his tremenformer Chief Minister Congress fate in the State. dous success, he says, Keshubhai Patel in 1995 Though they were “Party work is not over and 1998. At the behest of known to each other since after the victory. Their Modi, who then was the early eighties, Shah came real work begins after the chief minister’s closest very close to Modi with formation of government. ally, Keshubhai had made the “Gujarat Gaurav” BJP cadres should become Shah the chairman of the rally and since then there strong link between the state-owned Gujarat State was no parting of ways. people and the governFinancial Corporation in After the December, 2002 ment.” According to the mid-nineties, which state Assembly elections, Shah, as a president of then had a lot of influence Shah was inducted in the BJP big challenges are on the industrial sector. cabinet by Modi as his ahead of him to make Both Shah and his Minister of State for strong base of his party in political mentor Modi Home, the office he held South and Eastern India rose in the party ranks till 2009 when he was where party has almost through organizing forced to quit after being negligible presence. Rathyatras. Like Modi charge-sheeted by the CBI

26

INDIA - LONDON

BJP leadership now wants polls in Delhi

After a week of back and forth, the BJP top brass appears to have finally decided in favour of fresh elections in Delhi, a decision contrary to the suggestion of a few camps within the party to cobble together a majority by getting opposition legislators to break away. According to sources, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's keenness on fresh polls that settled the matter for the Delhi state unit, which has been asked to prepare for the exercise and ensure it gets a clear majority in the 70member assembly. "Elections are likely to be held by December in Delhi. We have been asked

to get cracking," one of the BJP MLAs said. According to sources, BJP has already informally told the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung it is not keen on being invited to form a government. The latest development will come as a relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which, led by its chief Arvind Kejriwal, has been pulling out all the stops to thwart BJP's alleged bid at forming a government in Delhi. A fresh poll is the party's only hope of regaining its lost political glory after the drubbing it received in the Lok Sabha elections and failed attempts at coming back to power with Congress

support. AAP has even decided that it won't contest state polls in Haryana and Maharashtra to allow it focus on Delhi. "Over the last one-anda-half months, we have focused all our energy on going back to the people. Arvind (Kejriwal) has galvanized volunteers and we are now ready to face elections any time," said AAP leader Manish Sisodia. So early this week, BJP tacitly when expressed its willingness to form the government by getting MLAs to break away from the opposition, AAP was outraged outside and nervous inside. A section within BJP was of the strong view that

all efforts should be made to wean away six of the eight Congress MLAs to the NDA fold. This idea stemmed from the apprehension that a lot was at stake in case of a fresh poll because a poor performance in Delhi could jeopardise the party's prospects in other state elections. But with Congress and BJP leaving no stone unturned to keep their flock together, this became difficult. Moreover, four of the eight Congress MLAs are Muslims and they were not in favour of joining BJP. "We suggested that they can join BJP ally SAD (Badal), but they still had issues," said a BJP leader.

The Supreme Court of India issued notice to all states seeking their views on a poser whether a terminally ill person can execute a living will that life support system be withdrawn if he or she reaches a vegetative state with no hope of revival. An apex court constitution bench headed by Chief Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman issued the notice on a plea filed with it, saying the question of passive euthanasia (mercy killing) needs a comprehensive examination as there was no authoritative judicial pronouncement on the issue. The notice is returnable in eight weeks. The court issued notice as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told it that the issue entirely concerns the legislature and the judiciary should not take it up. Supreme Court said a will executed by a person can only be executed upon his or her death and not so

long as he or she was alive even if in a vegetative state. "A will can't be executed till one is living be it in a vegetative condition," said the constitution bench. The court observation came after finding itself unable to agree with counsel Prashant Bhushan's plea for voluntary passive euthanasia in the case of a terminally ill person, whose health was deteriorating and in medical opinion there was little hope of revival and recovery. The voluntary passive euthanasia being canvassed by NGO Common Cause involves withdrawal of life support system to a terminally ill person and stopping medication. The constitution bench was hearing a Feb 25 reference by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam (since retired), Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh seeking a clear enunciation of law on voluntary passive euthanasia in the light of social, legal, medical and constitutional perspective for the benefit

of humanity as a whole. Bhushan, appearing for NGO Common Cause, urged the court to put in place a procedure under which a terminally ill person or whose health has deteriorated should be able to execute his or her will and 'attorney authorisation' for passive euthanasia as and when the situation arrives. Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the court that the plea for voluntary passive euthanasia was against public policy as it would be in the lines of abetment to suicide and attempt to commit suicide. He said that since the issue concerned public policy, it can only be settled by parliament. At one point, the court felt the entire matter could be referred to the Law Commission for examination, but Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said the commission by its Aug 11, 2012, report "Passive Euthanasia - A relook" had already dealt with the issue. At this stage, the

court asked Bhushan to peruse the Law Commission report and then take a call. The court said if the issue raised by NGO Common Cause had already been addressed by the Law Commission, then it would proceed accordingly, otherwise it would ask the panel to examine the issue.

The Congress-National Conference alliance in Jammu & Kashmir ended on Sunday with both the parties deciding to go it alone in the assembly elections due later this year. However, the parties indicated the decision wouldn't affect the functioning of the present state government, which has been in power since January 2009. As the Congress announced that it would contest all the 87 seats in the state on its own, chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted he had already met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi 10 days ago and told her of the NC's decision to go it alone in the elections. Omar said there would be no impact on the present coalition government's functioning despite the

has decided to contest the assembly polls on its own," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters at a press conference. "We've consulted the various stakeholders withOmar Abdullah with Rahul Gandhi in the party and they were not in partners deciding to end favour of any pre-poll the alliance and "the coalialliance with any political tion will continue to funcparty in the state. Hence, it tion till the assembly elechas been finalized that the tions are announced in the party shall go it alone in the state". State Congress chief assembly elections," Azad, Saifuddin Soz also said: accompanied by Soz and "Let the state government AICC general secretary and runs till the elections." in charge of the state The Congress decision Ambika Soni, added. "We to go it alone was will try to find out our announced in Jammu. "The shortcomings on the Congress leadership in the ground and will take measstate, in consultation with ures accordingly," Soni the party high command, said.

Euthanasia: SC seeks response from states

Cong, NC to go it alone in J&K polls

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

In Brief

Deputy PM Nick Clegg to visit India in August

London: Following the recent visit, led by William Hague and George Osborne, and the forthcoming scheduled visit of PM David Cameron in September, the Cabinet Office has announced that Deputy PM Nick Clegg will be visiting India in August. Ahead of his forthcoming trip, he hosted a reception for a number of journalists on Tuesday, 22 July to briefly discuss his plans. The reception was also attended by a wide range of businessmen, NGOs and representatives of the Indian community. More details in next week's Asian Voice.

Kampala and Lagos to install cable cars

Kampala: Uganda's capital Kampala and Nigeria's largest city Lagos are planning to install cable cars to transport people. The idea is to build networks of several miles long with fleets of large gondolas that pass stations every couple of minutes and are capable of carrying up to 35 people each, the same as a large bus or three smaller minibus taxis. The cars could move as many as 4,000 commuters an hour. They use little energy and produce little pollution, and do not need existing ground infrastructure or land in crowded cities to operate.

Indonesia’s presidential poll loser urged to concede defeat

Jakarta: Indonesia's outgoing leader urged the presidential poll loser Retired General Prabowo Subianto to admit defeat so that the bitterly fought leadership contest could be resolved. Prabowo has almost certainly lost the 9 July election but demanded the Elections Commission to investigate vote cheating before he would accept its result. The Commission is due to announce the result soon. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters in a clear reference to Prabowo that admitting defeat is noble.

President Clinton visits Akshaya Patra's Clinton Global initiative commitment to action in India

Former US President Bill Clinton visited The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Kitchen in Jaipur on 16 July 2014. The Jaipur kitchen, which is part of Akshaya Patra’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action, was built in 2004 and currently serves free school meals to over 106,000 underprivileged students in more than 1,400 schools every day. It is one of 20 such kitchens that Akshaya Patra operates across India, home to 1 in 3 of the world’s malnourished children. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a secular charity, which in partnership with the Indian government, runs the world's largest NGO managed school meal programme. Every day they feed 1.39 million children who may otherwise be forced into child labour to supplement the family income. The Akshaya Patra school meal acts as an incentive for underprivileged children to come to school and stay in school, whilst tackling the crisis of malnutrition. For many it will be the only meal they received that day. Dipika Khaitan, Executive Director of The Akshaya Patra Foundation UK said: “Over the last 14 years, Akshaya Patra has developed and utilised technology to prepare and deliver hot, nutritious midday meals for just 6 pence per meal. As part of a unique public-private partnership, the government of India contributes half the cost of the meals. So for only £10 a year, a donor here in the UK can support a child who is Hungry for School and eager to make it in this world.” President Bill Clinton toured Akshaya Patra’s kitchen facility before meeting with beneficiary students, parents and teachers from a local school. He said: "This CGI commitment is a very important program. "The lunches served are not only healthy meals for kids, they are also tools that help to get more children into

the classroom." "This is a remarkable partnership between the government, the private sector, the business community and this wonderful non-governmental organisation." The Clinton Global Initiative has brought greater visibility to Akshaya Patra’s school meal program and its International offices here in UK and USA. The UK office of Akshaya Patra has contributed almost £1 million to the cause in India in just its third year of active fundraising. That’s enough to feed 100,000 children for a year. Harin Thaker, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation UK concluded: “We are honoured that our organisation has been one of the few projects on the selected list of CGI’s visit. The visit will help us in highlighting our work to an international audience whose support can help us in reaching our goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020.’’ Every £10 donated to AkshayaPatra can provide mid day meals for a whole year to a child in India. To make your donations, please send cheques payable to ‘The AkshayaPatra Foundation UK’ and post to 60 Worship Street, London EC2A 2DU. Or visit our website to make an online donation: www.foodforeducation.org.uk For more queries, you can email to dipika@akshayapatra.co.uk or call on 020 7422 6638

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Rajma

good to keep diabetes under check

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ating rajma (kidney beans) every day can keep your blood sugar levels under check, says a new study by a Mumbai nutritionist, which was published in a booklet of the American Diabetes Association recently. As part of the study, 60 pre-diabetic patients (impaired glucose tolerance where your blood glucose is raised beyond the normal range, but not so high that you have diabetes) were divided in two groups. While one group was asked to have rajma at least once a day for a month, the other was allowed to have regular diet. "Rajma is known to have blood glucose-lowering characteristics and is

Swimming best exercise for asthmatics Swimming is the best exercise for asthmatics, suggests an expert. "Swimming is the best option as before exercising or running, such a patient is needed to use an inhaler. This is because the work out may trigger an asthmatic attack," said Digamber Behera, head of department of pul-

monary medicine at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. Behera said that inhalers, which are lowdose steroids, are the mainstay of treatment. "Treatment should not be stopped even after the symptoms reduce. It needs to be continued for may be three-six months or more for the betterment of the patient," he added. Behera defined asthma as a chronic inflammatory disorder of airways with hyper-reactive bronchial tree.

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement it. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

also high in fibre and protein. We decided to monitor these patients and ascertain the results," said Dr Shilpa Joshi, Mumbaibased nutritionist who led the study. "Though we didn't ask them to have rajma at a particular time, we asked them to replace their evening snacks with rajma khakras," she said. After a month, their fasting and post-prandial blood sugar and cholesterol levels were very much under control, compared to the other group.

"In our study, the daily intake of rajma has shown to keep blood sugar and cholesterol levels under control in pre-diabetic patients. From my clinical experience, I am sure that including rajma in the daily diet of diabetic patients will give good results in controlling blood-sugar levels. Indian diet is very rich in protein," Dr Joshi said.

Drink warm lemon water to stay healthy

The nutritionist now plans to conduct the rajma study on a wider scale, involving a sizeable number of people. "This was a small group. We will now experiment it on a larger population and try out other pulses like chana," Dr Joshi said. Doctors say that simple lifestyle changes can help many pre-diabetic patients. Sometime back, Dr Hemraj Chandalia, Research society for the study of diabetes in India, in his study with pre-diabetic patients, showed that yoga and methi can help avoid diabetes, in case you are in a high risk group. The pilot study conducted by Chandalia demonstrated that early intervention with methi powder and yoga in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) can significantly reduce the number of those patients who subsequently develop type 2 diabetes.

Drinking warm water with the juice of one lemon is beneficial for health. Here are some of beneficial effects.

Helps your digestive system Warm lime water on an empty stomach early in the morning helps stimulate the gastrointestinal tract. Digestion improves, heartburn is reduced and it helps in the process of elimination.

Detoxifies liver Lemon juice has citric acid, which helps the enzymes to function better. It also stimulates the liver and aids in detoxification.

Works on your pH level The acidity in our body can be harmful and lemon water can help reduce this. Though lemon has citric acid, the nutrients and minerals in it are alkaline in nature. Citric acid is not a strong acid and so, is easily removed from our bodies by elimination processes like perspiration. Lemon, however, stimulates the formation of calcium carbonate that neutralises other strong acids in the body. This is

helpful, especially if your diet is heavy in proteins like meat and cheese. Experts say lemon can help change the pH balance of the blood and can also help in dealing with urinary tract infections.

Strengthens your immune system All citrus foods are a storehouse of vitamin C. This vitamin is known to fight colds and is good for your immune system. Lemons also have potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function and controls blood pressure.

Clears and freshens your skin Experts say that vitamin C is great for youthful skin, because it helps in the production of collagen. Its antioxidants revive dull skin and keep it healthy. Warm lemon water removes toxins from the blood stream. Also, diluted lemon juice, when applied to blemishes, can actually help lighten them.

Battles bad breath Juice battles bad breath by keeping bacteria away.

Aids in weight loss Lemon juice in the morning fights food craving. Also, it has been found that people who maintain an alkaline diet tend to lose weight more quickly than others.

Don’t overdo thelemon bit Do not overdo the lemon. Just because one lemon helped you lose two kilos, squeezing four in your juice will not help you lose eight! Lemon has corrosive properties too and your tooth enamel may suffer.

Note to remember: Adding a little honey to your lemon juice makes it more palatable and also battles phlegm and helps rid your body of mucous. Never: Use bottled lemon juice. Only the natural lemon is beneficial. Always: Rinse your mouth with plain water after you drink lemon juice.

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'Kayal' One more gem Shruti Haasan to team up with Tamil Aanandhi bags one more superstar Vijay on Rahman's P crown

rabhu Solomon's next 'Kayal' is on post production stage and the heroine of the film Aanandhi gets one more project in her kitty. It’s quite unusual for newcomers to find their career graph going upwards even before their first release. Director Bala was searching for a girl to feature in 'Kalavani' Sargunam's project. While searching for a suitable female lead, Prabhu Solomon has suggested Aanandhi and the Bala's camp ticked the suggestion too. Such a rare feet indeed. Meanwhile, Bala is busy with 'Tharai Thappattai' featuring Varu Sarathkumar & Sasikumar.

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niversity of California, Berkeley, honours A R Rahman by giving an Honorary Doctorate. The Mozart of Madras going places literally and bagging various awards to his excellence. The double Oscar winner has found a place for himself in Hollywood as well. Post “Slumdog Millionaire,” he has composed the original score for, 127, Million Dollar Arm, and his next international release will be, “The Hundred-Foot Journey.” Though he gets various offers from giant production houses of Hollywood, he is making sure to be a part of Indian movies as well. Year 2014 has already seen couple of brilliant albums, 'Highway' and 'Kochaidaiyaan'. 'Ai', 'Kaaviya Thalaivan' and 'Lingaa' are queuing in for rest of the year.

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hruti Haasan, who has become one of sought-after actresses in southern filmdom, will team up next with Tamil superstar Vijay in a yet-untitled film. She says it will be an epic film. “Am super happy to be vijay sirs leading lady in Chimbudevan’s next! Time to make an epic film! #tamilponnu #excitement #superu #whatastory,” Shruti

posted on her Twitter page. Touted to be a fantasy film, this project will be helmed by Chimbudevan. The regular shooting is expected to start as soon as Vijay completes his upcoming film ‘Kaththi’ with Murugadoss. Shruti is currently busy wrapping up Tamil action film ‘Poojai’ with Vishal Krishna.

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'VIP' the biggest ever release for Dhanush

he movie “VIP” is all set in release in 420 screens in TN. Chennai city itself holds close to 50 screens for the opening weekend. The worldwide screen touches almost 1,000 screens. The innovative campaign has played a major part in getting this magnificent opening. Right from the teaser cum trailer release, they ensured it reaches all sorts of audiences. The strategy to take the trailer along to the B&C centers have done wonders. The producers have achieved similiar success in their previous ventures too. 'Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga', 'Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam', and 'Maan Karaate' were all highly profitable. It

‘Kick’

“Kick” is a an upcoming action feature film. The film is directed & produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under the banner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and it features Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Randeep Hooda and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles. The screenplay of the film was written by Nadiadwala and Chetan Bhagat. The film is a remake of the Telugu film of the same name. Salman, who usually shies away from intimate scenes and from locking lips in his films, is said to have shared a "rare" moment with his onscreen love interest Jacqueline.

seems, P Madan and James has scripted a new beginning in how to expand the existing market to reach another level altogether.

Emraan Hashmi back to doing masala film

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ctor Emraan Hashmi, who had been dabbling with the off-beat side of cinema for a while, is back doing a masala film which will see him in his notorious avatar. The 35-year-old actor feels it is necessary to strike a balance between niche and mainstream films, which have all the commercial elements like romance, drama, action, music etc. “My wife doesn’t like me doing masala films but it is (about) getting food to the table. Like this film ‘Raja Natwarlal‘, has kissing scenes and I have to do it for bread and butter,” Emraan said. Last year, Emraan experimented with films like ‘Ek Thi Daayan’ and ‘Ghanchakkar’ which failed to create magic at the box office.

Bipasha wraps up first leg of ‘Alone’

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ctress Bipasha Basu has wrapped up the first schedule of her upcoming horror movie ‘Alone’. The film is the Hindi remake of the hit Thai horror film of the same name. Directed by Bhushan Patel, the film stars Bipasha and TV star Karan Singh Grover in the lead.

Hrithik’s ‘Bang Bang’ to release in three languages

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ctor Hrithik Roshan’s much-awaited film ‘Bang Bang’ will release on October 2 in three languages – Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. “‘Bang Bang’ is a trueblue entertainer and we are going to have the widest possible release for the film. We are releasing the film in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu,” Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, said. “The buzz on the film is tremendous and we are going out to market and distribute the film day and date worldwide,” he added. Directed by Siddharth Anand, ‘Bang Bang’ features Katrina Kaif with Hrithik.

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Salman Khan breaks Shah Rukh's record? ollywood superstar Salman Khan`s upcoming film `Kick` is already making headlines. If reports are to be believed, then `Dabangg` Khan`s much awaited action film has broken the record of archrival Shah Rukh Khan`s `Darr` much before its release. The king Khan`s 1993 release held the record of longest chase sequence in a Bollywood flick, which has now reportedly been broken by Sallu bhai in `Kick`. The sequence where Salman Khan is seen cycling through narrow lanes of old Delhi and walking across a railway track in slow motion clocks in at over four minutes, making it one of the longest chase sequences in Bollywood. The scene in question has been record-

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ed with multiple cameras set up on rooftops and building terraces. The filmmakers have now decided to approach the Limca Book of Records to register the scene. However, they have decided to do it sometime after the release of the film. Besides the record breaking chase, Sajid Nadiadwala`s directorial debut `Kick` has several other jaw-dropping action sequences which will certainly keep the audiences on the edge of their seats. The makers have high expectations from the film, expecting that several other records will be shattered once the film hits the silver screen. `Kick` is all set to hit the theatres this Eid.

Dev Patel to play Ramanujan in a new British film

ev Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire” will play Srinivasa Ramanujan in a new British movie which follows close on the heels of Tamil movie “Ramanujan” directed by the Gnana Rajasekaran. It opened in India last week, and has been made in both Tamil and English. The British production called 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' will be helmed by Matthew Brown, who also wrote the screenplay, based on the biography, “The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan” by Robert Kanigel. The film rights to the biography were acquired in 2006, 15 years after it was first published, and the movie took about eight years to be developed. It will have Patel with Jeremy Irons playing GH Hardy, and fresher Devika Bhise as Ramanujan's wife.

Incredible as this may sound, Bhise had portrayed Goddess Namagiri in the play “The Partition.” Incredible, because Ramanujan explained his genius by saying that Namagiri came in his dreams to offer solutions to the most complex of mathematical problems. Brown's movie will go on the floors on August 3 at the Trinity College in Cambridge - a spot where Rajasekaran also shot his film. Brown and his team will then fly down to South India and shoot in those places where Ramanujan was born, where he studied and where he worked.

Ranbir's birthday surprise for Katrina K

atrina Kaif, who turned 30 recently, is said to have celebrated her birthday with beau Ranbir Kapoor. The lovebirds flew off to another island from the French island of Corsica where Ranbir is currently shooting for Imtiaz Ali's “Tamasha.” A source says, "Katrina is shooting in Prague with Hrithik Roshan for “Bang Bang.” For her birthday, she was given two days off. She flew into Corsica to be with Ranbir for her big day. Ranbir also took time off from his shoot." Adds the source, "Initially there was the buzz that she would spend the day in Corsica with Ranbir. But he had planned a surprise getaway and he

brought in her birthday on the night of July 15. Both the actors are expected to be back at their shoots later." Katrina and R a n b i r remained unavailable for c o m ment.

I’m just a beginner to develop an attitude: Kriti

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wo films old actress Kriti Sanon is baffled at stories that she has developed an attitude following the success of her debut Hindi film ‘Heropanti’. She says she hasn’t “achieved anything to be arrogant about”. Could the fact that she has signed a film with Akshay Kumar has something to do with this? Kriti said: “How can I throw attitude? I am just two films old, one in Hindi the other in Telugu. Of course, my Hindi film ‘Heropanti’ has become a success than anyone ever imagined. But that doesn’t mean I’ve started thinking I’ve arrived.” “I am just a beginner. The two films so far are baby steps. If I develop an attitude, I’ll be finished even before I’ve started. Besides, if I started misbehaving, my folks would give me a tight slap.”

I'm here to stay: Sunny Leone I

ndo-Canadian adult film actress Sunny Leone is very busy these days. She is juggling between different Bollywood films, dance numbers in the southern movie world and brushing up her Hindi skills. In an interview she says that she is here to stay. The actress is happy about everything that is going on, happy to be working and happy that people are showing so much support. She says that her Hindi has improved and is ready to dub her on lines. She says that she has enjoyed doing item songs in South Indian films and she finds the conditions there quite different from Bollywood. She is quite happy that she was able to make some good friends in the industry and says that they will be friends for the rest of her life.

Kangana: Sonam is best dressed actress

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t seems Kangana Ranaut is nursing no grudges against Sonam Kapoor as she has called the ‘Khoobsurat’ star among the best dressed heroines in Bollywood. It is believed that Sonam took pot shots at Kangana when she said on a chat show that bad looking people are considered good actors in Bollywood, probably hinting at Kangana’s performances in ‘Queen’ and ‘Revolver Rani’. Quizzed about the best dressed actresses in the Hindi film industry, Kangana said, “These days everyone dresses really well. Jacqueline is very well dressed and so is Sonam Kapoor. Even Deepika Padukone dresses well.”

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UK

Brent Celebrates A World in Dance this weekend Brent Council and Network Stadium Housing are presenting an evening of dance from around the world at The Grand Hall, Brent Civic Centre in Wembley on 25 July 2014 from 6 pm to 9 pm. Hosted by Jonny Bower, the journey takes everyone across the continents including Africa, The Americas, Caribbean, Asia and Europe. Dazzling performances of African dance by Adanta, Chinese Ribbon dance by Step Out Arts, Andrea Queens performing a Caribbean dance,

Indian classical dance by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, Iberian Folk Dance Group with a Portuguese showcase and Swing Patrol bringing us Swing Dance styles shall all enthral the audiences. The Headline act will be Folk Dance Remixed, a fusion of maypole style folk dance and street dance not to be missed, concluding with Ceilidh Jam. For more information and booking the places, visit http://www.brent.gov.uk/ dancemonth

Fight to end GFM emphasised at The Girl Summit International Development Secretary Justice Greening held a landmark summit in a London school to boost the rights of young women. The Summit took place at Walworth Academy near Old Kent Road where PM David Cameron was in attendance. The Girl Summit is a conference aiming to wipe out FGM, as well as child and forced marriage. Alongside many new measures, the Prime Minister pledged £1.4 mil-

lion for a programme with NHS England to help care for FGM survivors and protect those at risk, and to give victims anonymity if they make an allegation. Guests included heads of state, Malala Yousafzai, the teen who took on the Taliban, and Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto. The summit coincided with the start of the “cutting season”, when parents fly their daughters abroad to have FGM performed.

Protest to be held outside Pakistan High Commission in London

Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Editorial Executive: Tanveer Mann Tel: 020 7749 4010 - Email: tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 Mobile: 078712 229 220 Email: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Business Manager: Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 1121 893 Email: alka.shah@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 40912 - Mobile: 078712 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Business Development Managers: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 078712 229 219 Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad. Tel / Fax: +91 79 2646 12960

After a period of relative inactivity, you are coming out of your shell, ready to perform and to express yourself creatively. This is a very progressive period of the year, when you are inspired emotionally. You take more pride in your your love affairs, your children, and your hobbies and are generally very sociable and make friends easily.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

With the Sun transiting your solar fourth house of family and home, these areas are highlighted during this period. Buying or selling of property or even renovating it will be uppermost in your mind as you will be trying to put your roots down permanently. It is also a time when family life will be charged with emotions so be diplomatic and respect other people's views.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

You are exploring and searching now, making connections, and paying attention to your immediate environment. Socially you are very popular and your communications strengthen your connections. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls, and light socializing. Siblings, neighbours, close relatives, friends, and co-workers may play a more important role than usual in your life during this period.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

Previous protests held by British Hindus in support of the plight of those in Pakistan

On Sunday 17th August 2014 a protest demonstration will be held by British Hindus in support of the Pakistani Hindus from 12 – 2pm, at the Pakistan High Commission, 34-46 Lowndes Square, London SW1X 9JN. protest flyer The states, “Please join us to express your solidarity with the victims of religious bigotry, hate and intolerance and demonstrate our concern and anguish at the following

Coming Events

l Sunday 27th July 2014 – Mata Ki Chonki at 3pm by Shree Budhevbhai Kansara, Shree Manubhai Kotak, Shree Surendrabhai Sharma and visiting Artists – finishing with Arti at 5.15pm – thereafter Maha Prasad at Adhya Shakti Mataji Temple, 55 High Street, Cowley, Middlesex UB8 2DZ. Contact: 07882 253 540. l Sunday 27th July 2014 – Dharmaj Society of London hosts a Summer BBQ at Ruislip Social Club – Sports Ground, Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip Manor, Middlesex HA4 6JQ from 2pm. l Monday 28th July - Sunday 3rd August 2014 – Dwadas Jyotiling Shiv Katha from 11am – 2pm at International Siddhashram Shakti Centre, 22 Palmerston Road, HA3 7RR, London. Contact: 0208 426 0678. l Friday 1st August 2014 – Maya Deepak proudly presents Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Rayina – Golden Hits of Bollywood - An evening of popular Hindi Film Songs at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 4a Castletown Road, West Kensington, London W14 9HE. Contact: 0207 381 3086.

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listed atrocities: Torture, loot, discrimination of Hindu men and rape of Hindu girls and their forcible marriage to Muslims, Campaign of vilification and slander unleashed against Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in Pakistan to denigrate and demonize their religion, Blasphemy laws used to intimidate, Radicalization of Pakistani society by jihadists and Imposition of 12 million jizya”.

l Saturday 2nd August – Sunday 9th August 2014 – Jai Siya Ram in the aid of Poor Child Education – Bapuji Programmes in UK - Shree Hanumant Katha from 4-7pm at Shree Hindu Temple, Baxter Avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and wear, NE4 9QB, UK. Contact: 0116 266 2652.

Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (M) +91 94266 36912 Email: nilesh.parmar@abplgroup.com Consulting Editor: Bhupatbhai Parekh, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Tel: +91 79 2630 4142 Urvashi Jagadeesan (India) Mumbai: Kanti Bhatt, Hemraj Shah (Jumbo Advertiser) Horizon Advertising & Marketing: 2012, Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar,Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad. Tel / Fax: +91 79 2646 12960 Email: horizon.marketing@abplgroup.com Business Manager: Hardik Shah (M) +91 992120 42936 Email: hardik.shah@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Neeta Patel (Vadodara) M: +91 9821212 11702 Email: neeta_abplgroup@yahoo.co.in Business Co-ordinator: Shrijit Rajan M: +91 98798 82312 Email: shrijit.rajan@abplgroup.com International Advertisement Representative: Jain Group (South India) Tel: +91 44 42041122/3/4 Fax: +91 44 212362973 Mumbai: +91 222471 4122 Email: jain@jaingroup.net Delhi Office: Tel: +91 44 931112811297

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CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

The Sun highlights your second house of finance, and your focus is on material affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. Your communications are extremely high making it easy to close those lucrative deals. Also, a good time to pursue any romantic liaisons that might present themselves.

The Sun transits your first house and this affects your personal identity, appearance, outward behavior, and selfexpression. This marks the peak of your physical solar cycle, and you are in the position to make an impression on others, and to assert your personal influence. Increased energy and a renewed feeling of confidence is with you now, so take advantage of your charisma to achieve your goals.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

The Sun travels through your twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and regeneration. This also heralds a time for research and unfinished behind-the-scene activities. Matters which have dragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and put to rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlightenment and take up yoga and meditation.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

The Sun illuminates your sector of friends, social gatherings and group activities. You will be in constant demand and will be in a position to network with newfound friends who will promote your cause. Personal relationships are also to the fore and some of you might even find true love. This is a time to follow your dreams and ideals, and to plant a seed in the form of a wish for the future.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 More than any other time of the year, your focus is drawn to your career and standing in the society. This is the time when you are more interested in, and focused on, accomplishing something important. Contact with authority figures is more likely during this period. Recognition will come your way whether you ask for it or not, and the responsibility that goes with it.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 You are feeling most adventurous and willing to achieve higher knowledge and spiritual growth. This is a good time to broaden your horizons through travel and higher learning. This may take you to far off lands in pursuit of your new-found goals. You must distance yourself from the mundane grind of life and take on something which is more meaningful for your inner growth. CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

The Sun energizes your sector of change, transformation and regeneration. On a more practical level, you may be dealing with joint finances and shared resources now more than usual. You should also make sure that your tax affairs are in order along with your investments. You are more willing than usual to explore and delve deeper into life's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 As the Sun transits your seventh house, you have a greater need than usual to be in a relationship. The emphasis is on "us" rather than "me". Social interactions of a personal nature are highlighted. This is likely to be an extremely busy time for most of you. Use tact and diplomacy in your dealing, otherwise you are likely to come across as over confident and egotistical.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 The Sun transits your solar sixth house and highlights your health and also makes you take pride in your day to day work. Hence, you should enhance your skills, get organized and take up a health regime for your well being. This transit highlights the need for efficiency and as such you should bring in the new and get rid of the old ideas that do not work.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

India second to Mexico when it comes to dope cheats percentage

India has earned the dubious distinction of being home to the second-highest percentage of dope cheats in the world after Mexico for 2013, according to a report by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). In its anti-doping testing figures, WADA revealed that India’s National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) tested 6,709 urine and blood samples, of which 2.49% (167) returned positive for adverse findings. Only Mexico, with 8.27% (109 of 1,345), has a higher ratio than India. In stark contrast, China, which tested more

Continued from page 1 Ishant, who bowled with sustained aggression to hammer out India’s first overseas Test victory in three years. Chasing 319 runs target for victory, England resumed batting at 105 for four wickets on the final day. The English pair, Joe Root and Moeen Ali, were comfortably steering their team towards the target till the penultimate ball before the lunch break as Moeen couldn’t handle Sharma’s bouncer and gave a simple catch to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg. With 101 run partnership broken, suddenly England was on back foot as one batsman after another succumbed to Sharma’s bouncer spree. Skipper Dhoni plugged one end with Ravindra Jadeja, who was marvellously economical. Ishant finished with careerbest figures of 7/74. While Ishant was undoubtedly India's hero, he got an opportunity to perform these heroics only because of India's valiant batting display on the first day of the test on a green top. Too often in the past, when confronted by unfriendly conditions, Indian batsmen have got blown away. At seven down for less than 150, the prospects of another batting disaster loomed large. A fighting hundred by Ajinkya Rahane with able support from Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept India afloat and the 295 runs it scored in the first innings paved the way for this famous victory. India's win sets up the series in an interesting pitch. Often in the past, an overseas victory has been followed by a defeat. This time India were aware that it was playing a demoralized English team, which has not won a single test match in the last ten it has played and whose captain was under severe pressure. England, on the other hand, will take heart from the fact that this young Indian team was still finding its feet, and that its star batsman, Virat Kohli, appears to be woefully out of form. The limitations and weaknesses of both the sides make for an absorbing contest.

than 16,000 samples, recorded just 46 (0.30%) cases with adverse findings while Japan (0.22%) has least incidents of adverse findings. India did, however, buck the global trend of a sharp increase in the number of abnormal test findings. WADA noted a 20% increase in positive samples worldwide compared to 2012. There were 5,962 adverse and atypical test results across all sports, compared with 4,723 in 2012. Adverse findings are those that detect the presence of a prohibited substance, while findings that

necessitate further investigation by anti-doping authorities are labelled atypical. India, meanwhile, recorded a drop of almost one per cent in adverse findings while the number of samples tested increased by a 100. In 2012, 221 out of 6,608 samples (3.34%) had returned positive. PSM Chandran, former director of sports medicine at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), said the 2012 figure was higher as it had been an Olympic year. “Generally, athletes use banned substances in years when big events are sched-

Historic Win At Lord’s

uled, to qualify for them. Hence, it isn’t surprising to see a dip in 2013, a nonOlympic year,” Chandran said. Out of the 167 positive cases of adverse findings, 131 were in Olympic sports with 123 in-competition and 8 out-of-competition. There were 36 positive cases in non-Olympic sports, including three in cricket. Indian boxers, meanwhile, were subject to the most frequent visits by dope testing officers. There were 478 samples collected in boxing, of which just four returned positive.

Persistence & perseverance paid rich dividend

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This 72-year-old is eyeing World Masters title

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Winner of National Master Athletic Championship, 72year-old Jayaprakash Kerketta of Manoharpur runs 20 km even today in the hope of making it big on the international stage one day. It was because of his running skills that he got a job in the police force at a very young age. For three consecutive years from 1974, he won the various range athletic championships. After a gap of 34 years, he was selected for National Masters Athletic Championship where he proved himself yet again. Every time, his achievements were lauded by the government, but he never benefited financially, he claims. "They saluted us time and again for our feat. But, nobody ever came forward to extend any financial reward," said one of his son. Both his sons have also won many national awards in athletic championships, however, both are unemployed. Jayaprakash's family runs with the pension money he gets. "I am growing old but I am not weak, my will to achieve more is not weak either. Government has ignored us, but that doesn't affect me much. I now aim to win National Masters Athletic championship," Jayaprakash said.

India invite Pakistan’s T20 champions Murli Vijay Ishant Sharma Bhuvneshwar Kumar Cheteshwar Pujara bowled really well in the everyone in the team Undoubtedly, victory at first innings and Ishant contributed in the triLord’s on Monday was Sharma in the second,” umph. “There was a lot one of the greatest in the said Dhoni adding that of pressure on us. We lost 82 years test history of batting of Ajikya Rahane, a crucial toss, which India. However, persistMurli Vijay. meant we had to fight out ence and perseverance of Gujarat cricketers those first two hours Indian skipper Mahendra Ravidra Jadeja and when there was moisture Singh Dhoni, Coach Cheteshwar Pujara also in the wicket, and I felt Duncan Fletcher and the played crucial roles in the our first three batsmen young Indian squad paid victory. Jadeja’s direct hit did that and we scored rich dividend to carve the ended Anderson’s the amount of runs that famous win. Apart from innings and ensured vicwere needed. Then the exceptional performtory for India. Bhuvneshwar Kumar ance of Ishant Sharma,

India’s Test match wins in England

1) 1971 The Oval – India won by four wickets – Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, the leg spinner with an arm withered by polio, bowls India to their first Test victory in England, taking six for 38 2) 1986 Lord’s – India won by five wickets – India’s first Test win at Lord’s. Dilip Vengsarkar makes 126 not out before Kapil Dev and Maninder Singh shine with the ball 3) 1986 Headingley – India won by 279 runs –

Vengsarkar played brilliant 50 supported by some good bowling by Kapil Dev, Roger Binny and Madanlal 4) 2002 Headingley – India won by innings and 46 runs – Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Saurav Ganguli smashed tons. Spinners Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble bowled extremely well 5) 2007 – India won by 7 wicket – Tendulkar, Ganguly and VVS

Laxman batted well supported by good bowling of Zaheer Khan under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid 6) 2014 – India won by 95 runs – Lanky Inshant Sharma stick to his skipper MS Dhoni’s plan and scalped 7 wickets for 74. Bhubneshwar Kumar also bowled well in the first inning. Murli Vijay, Ajikya Rahane and Ravidra Jadeja batted well

time together and look really happy in each other's company.” The actress, who flaunted a

black-and-white ensemble, has been with the cricketer since the first Test match ended at Trent Bridge on July 13. In the past, Virat too has travelled to Sri Lanka and Jodhpur where she was shooting for her upcoming films. Anushka too had travelled to New Zealand in past to spend time with the cricketer.

Anushka giving company to Kohli

Indian batsman Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma were spotted together in London. Though they are busy in their professional lives but seem to be managing time very well. According sources, Anushka is currently in London where Virat is part of a cricket team touring England. A tabloid quoted a source as saying, “The two have been spending a lot of

Pakistan will send its domestic Twenty20 champions Lahore Lions to play in the Champions League to be held in India in September, an official said. The Lions, led by former Pakistan Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez, beat Misbah-ul Haq's Faisalabad Wolves in the final of the event held in February. The Twenty20 champions of Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will also take part in the event. "We have received an invitation to send our Twenty20 champion team so Lahore Lions will be participating in the event in September," a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman said. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier this month announced the event will take place on its grounds, ruling out a possible neutral venue in the United Arab Emirates. The event is likely to start on September 7 although no final dates have yet been announced. The Lions also include international stars Ahmed Shahzad, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz. No Pakistan team featured in the first three editions of the Champions League, which started in 2009. The Sialkot Stallions, led by Shoaib Malik, played in the qualifying stages of the event held in South Africa in 2012 but failed to progress to the main rounds. Misbah-led Faisalabad suffered the same fate, failing to qualify for the main rounds when they featured in the event in India last year. Both PCB and the BCCI are hoping to revive bilateral cricketing ties in December 2015 after last month's signing of six series in the next eight years.

Germany captain Lahm quits national side

Germany captain Philipp Lahm has quit international soccer just days after leading his side to World Cup victory in Brazil. "It is the right time for me. I have totally enjoyed my time with the national team," the 30-year-old was quoted as saying. DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said: "Philipp called me this morning and personally told me the news. Very quickly into the conversation I realised that it was futile to try to change his mind. He was not only an outstanding player in his 10 years with the national team but always a perfect role model. I thanked him for all that he has done for the DFB." Lahm, who picked up the last of his 113 caps in the 1-0 World Cup final victory over Argentina, will continue playing for club side Bayern Munich.

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SPORT

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 26th July 2014

Saina Nehwal pulls out of Philippines halt India’s dream Glasgow CWG run in Asia cup basketball

In a major setback to Indian badminton hopes at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the event. Saina, who shot to fame by winning the gold medal for India at the Delhi Games in 2010, has expressed her inability to join the team. After her unexpected triumph at the Australian Open Super Series last month, Saina was a favourite to win gold in Glasgow. But the shuttler, who sustained blister injuries on both her feet, took some time to recover and was not able to practise properly. In fact, she did not hit the court for about a week after her return from Australia. It is also learnt that she is suffering from a knee problem. Neither Saina nor her coach Pullela Gopichand were available for comment. A source in the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said that president Akhilesh Das

Gupta and some members of the coaching staff are persuading her to go to Glasgow. However, their efforts had not borne fruit. "For the last three days we have been trying to convince her. If she goes even with 50% of fitness she can win a gold for us. Apart from Saina there are no big players among the Commonwealth countries. So far she has not agreed to be part of the squad. I don't think she will change her mind," the

BAI official said. In 2010, Saina defeated Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo in a nail biting final to win the women's singles gold. India won four medals then. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa clinched gold in the women's doubles while Kashyap secured bronze in men's singles. India had also won silver in the team event. With Saina's absence, Indian hopes will hinge of PV Sindu and the pair of Jwala and Ashwini in the women's section.

India made a quarterfinal exit from the 5th Fiba Asia Cup at Wuhan, China. Having struggled to get into their groove in the first half, India suffered a four point (66-70) defeat against World no 34 Philippines. Despite being written off with a double-digit (16point) deficit in the initial 15 minutes, the 61st ranked Indian outfit played with a nothing to lose attitude and made a great comeback. Though the Indian fightback denied them a semi final spot, but it surely earned them the respect of their opponents. After losing the first half 45-33 India rallied superbly to take control of the things but failed to pull out the much needed win. The quarter-wise progress for the World cup qualifying team ranked 27 rungs above India read 20-17, 25-16, 15-14, 10-19. Despite the defeat, national coach Scott Flemming was proud with the way his young bunch played. “We made a great

comeback but ran out of time. I am very proud of our effort and toughness in the fourth quarter. This game was lost in the first half. We had a stretch in the second quarter where we let down our intensity and mental toughness,” explained the American. Elaborating further on the Indian strategy in the last quarter where Philippines failed to score a single basket in the final five minutes, Flemming added, “Our matchup zone defense was really effective. We also hurt them with our full court press. The other thing we did well was attack the basket and get to the free throw line.” Though Philippines out rebounded India by 14 and

scored more second chance points (17:6), the 56-year-old American sees a bright future for Indian basketball when he said, “Philippines is another great team headed to the World Cup. We certainly have proven we can play with all these teams. We just need to keep working harder to beat them consistently.” With a game-high score of 20 points including his first double of 10 rebounds Amritpal Singh stole the show while Vishesh Briguvanshi and Pratham Singh, netted identical 10 points for India. Joginder Singh and Amjyot Singh contributed 9 and 8 points respectively. With this four-point defeat, India's 39-year wait of making it to the semi finals of any Asian Championship continues. India last reached the semi finals in the 1975 Asian Championship. They will now fight it out for the 5th spot in Asia. In their first classification game India face World no 30 Jordan.

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