AV 28th August 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE Zydus Cadila’s DNA-based Covid vax gets nod for use SEE PAGE - 26 Sitharaman unveils £60 bn national asset monetisation plan

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inside

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side Organ Donation: We can save lives even after we have passed on SEE PAGE - 7

28 AUG - 3 SEP 2021 - VOL 50 ISSUE 17 “Living is more expensive than death,” says an Afghan Sikh in Britain

Virginia hotelier Vinay Patel named chair of AAHOA board of directors

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Continued on page 6

2 UK

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

www.asian-voice.com

28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

with Keith Vaz

Railway season tickets may rise by £150, highest in the decade

Fizza Askari Teacher Fizza Askari was born in Pakistan but grew up in Burundi previously known as Congo Belge which was French colony. She has attained a European education. At the age of 17, she came to the UK with her family and attended college in London she went to Lycee Francaise in Kensington, London.

After completing her O Levels, Fizza moved to Leicester after she got married and have 3 children.

When her youngest was 7 years old, she enrolled herself on a TA course and worked hard to obtain qualification of a Level 3 TA Diploma.

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

For me personally Burundi and London are home.

2. What are your proudest achievements?

There are many moments in my life where I have felt proud. When I became a mother, that was the most specialist moment of my life. When my eldest son and daughter graduated, when my son got married and I became a grandmother. When I qualified as a TA. 3. What inspires you?

People who are willing to sacrifice their wellbeing for justice, humanitarian. I observe people. One can always learn something from everybody it can be human as well as animals. For example, a small ant carrying a grain of sugar to its nest if there's a stone in its way it will stop & find a way around the stone & carry on. The lesson for us is there's always a way out.

4. What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

The biggest obstacle in the begging was race, gender which was followed by religion later on health issue.

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

My biggest influence has been my father. Back home he had set up large industries, rice factory, palm oil factory, nail factory, candle factory, big factory, soap factory, match factory, as well as he set up a large show run of Opel, Renault, Isuzu, Suzuki Kawasaki cars and bikes on his own.

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

Most rewarding aspect of my current role is that I am in a position where I can be of help to others.

7. And the worst?

The worst aspect is when I can't help or when the person doesn't want to accept that you can't perform magic.

8. What are your long-term goals?

My long term goals are 1) to be able to help/guide everyone. 2) to provide free education for all (third world). 3) provide free shelters for genuine homeless as well as kitchen serving food 3x a day at least. 4) open workshops for both girls and boys where they can come freely to talk learn new skills.

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

If I were prime minister first thing, I would do would be tax people according to their income by making sure to remove loopholes Cut down on unnecessary expenses, invests in my country first, improve the NHS cut down salary or make the consultants work for what they get paid, improve education system, definitely scrap university fees for UK citizen.

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

If I was marooned on a desert island, I would like to spend my time there with Ayatollah Khomeini. I have always been fascinated by him. He single handed toppled the Shah of Iran. I do know that he's revelation is inspired by the Events of Karbala and Imam Hussain as. The other person would be Gandhi as he did the same.

Citizens continue to pay the price for a pandemic multibillion-pound bailout of railways, as a result of which the cost of a full-time season ticket may rise by 4.8% in the new year.

On the lines of inflation plus a 1% price rise in fares in England and Wales earlier this year, there may be an addition of £150 to the ticket fare, which

would be the highest since

2012.

The full-time annual season ticket may reach £3295 which means that overall cost has increased by 50% in just over a decade.

The highest increase is expected to be on Birmingham to London Euston ticket, which could cost over £12000 next year.

Education chief calls DfE’s suggestion of moving school classes outdoors in an English winter difficult The Department of Education’s new document says schools should consider outdoor lessons if five pupils who have mixed closely test positive for Covid-19.

National Education Union’s joint leader Mary Bousted has called it absurd

saying that classes cannot be taught outdoors in the wind and the rain in an English winter.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the association of schools and college leaders, says the union was ‘concerned’ the framework was intro-

duced during summer holidays with very little time for schools and colleges to update their planning as they are now expected to have in place plans for extra action in the event of a certain number of coronavirus cases occurring within their setting.

Sentence extended of hotel staff who barged into woman’s room and assaulted 39-year-old Zeeshan Akhtar who was given 11 months sentence for sneaking into a woman's room and attacking her, while on porter duty - has now had his sentence increased by over 3 years.

On January’18, there was a work Christmas Party at Talbot Hotel in Oundle, Northamptonshire. A woman at the party returned and went

to sleep in her room. However, Akhtar who was on porter duty

at the hotel came into the room without knocking and climbed into the quilt laying over her. He pinned her arms above her head and started to bite the left side of her neck.

Akhtar was convicted and sent for 11 months on 24 June, but, on Wednesday her sentence was found to be unduly lenient and was increased to more than 3 years.

Three men sentenced for 6 to 21 years for rape and sexual assault Zahid Hassan, 32 Saqib Raheel, 34 and Sholan James, 30 of Huddersfield were found guilty for various offences Leeds Crown Court and sent to sentence of 21, 10 and 6 years respectively.

While Hassan, formerly of

Bland Street, was convicted for four rapes and one attempt of rape, Raheel was convicted of rape and sexual assault of underage girls and James was convicted for assaulting an underage girl by penetration.

Judge Phillips QC has said that “these girls were often targeted because of their extreme vulnerability and perceived naivety. Some girls were almost senseless when they returned home”.

Home Secretary says we cannot resettle 20,000 Afghan refugees together In line with David Cameron’s decision for Syrian refugees in 2015, the Home Office announced on Tuesday, that the UK has planned to accept 20,000 Afghan refugees over the next five years, with 5000 expected to arrive in the

first year.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said that it was not possible to take more than 5000 refugees in the first year as we have to think carefully about the practicalities.

Patel is also going to write to councils across England to

ask if they can take in Afghan families. Hotels for those seeking asylum are also being readied by the Home Office as people begin to arrive in the UK, who will need temporary accommodations before the council can find them long-term homes.

The Home Office has said that funding will be available to enable local authorities, schools and health services to provide vulnerable refugees with a safe environment and the chance to rebuild their lives.

Apart from this, the most

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Recent figures from Ipsos’ Retail Recovery Index show that Harrow appears to have the second-best recovery in the three months since non-essential retail re-opened on 12 April.

National footfall was down by -36.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, but Harrow appears to have a high level of footfall. While Sailsbury ranked above Harrow, even Brent Cross and the only other local area had a high bounce back.

However, the City of London was

down at -68.9 per cent and the West End was -49.9 per cent when compared to 2019.

vulnerable refugees may be helped by an exceptional cases fund. UK Ministers are also under pressure to clarify exactly how much aid the UK will give to Afghanistan amid warnings of a humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule.

Shops closed in Sudbury Hill as a man was attacked On 15 August around 6:50 pm, shops were closed and police were called to Greenford Road in Sudbury Hill after reports of an assault.

A man around the age of 24 suffered from deep cuts on the left side of his head.

At present, the Met Police have not disclosed more details. The man was treated by the ambulance service and later to the hospital. The investigation is in progress and no one is arrested. Currently, enquiries are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time.

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28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

Family businesses - bedrock of economy and community Bond actor Daniel Craig recently in a debate said that he does not want to leave too much of his wealth to his children. The actor was recently reported to be receiving $100 million upfront for Knives Out sequels and will also reportedly pocket $25 million for the upcoming James Bond film.

But the actor’s children are likely not to see much of it, as Craig believes it is “distasteful” for him to leave his money to his children. He has two children, one with ex-wife Fiona Loudon and one with current wife and actor Rachel Weisz.

This has opened a debate regarding the value of inheritance in the UK- many of which add up the wealth of family run businesses.

Many British Asian family businesses, that are essentially built from scratch and then then grown through generations, crumble due to lack of succession planning, but till they last, they contribute considerably to a nation’s employment and domestic output, and not to forget innovation.

However, studies show not all family businesses succeed in the world. A report in The Hindu said that: family businesses account for 85% of India’s businesses. However, the survival rate of these businesses to the third generation is around 13% and dips further to 4% beyond that. But this is not just unique to India. A Cornell University study shows the exact rates for family businesses even in the US. Family Business Management programmes came from the realisation that, while they urgently needed succession planning and modernisation, any potential solution had to work out within their unique structure and requirements, threatening their survival.

But in the UK, The Institute for Family Businesses consider

family businesses as the backbone of the economy and communities. There are over 5 million family businesses in the UK and they generate over almost a third of UK GDP. In 2018, the family business sector paid £196 billion in tax, over a quarter of the Government's total revenue. Family firms employ 14 million people in the UK, 50% of private sector employment.

The Economist in fact pointed out that numerous studies in the last few years indicate that family enterprises are, overall, more successful than their non-family counterparts.

One of the studies said, “A Boston Consulting Group study of 149 large, publicly traded, family-controlled firms, for instance, revealed that their long-term financial performance was higher across board. Similarly, research by Credit Suisse looking at data of 280 family companies worldwide from one financial year showed that family businesses outstripped public companies in revenue growth – this during the global recession of 2011-12.”

Justin Craig, clinical professor of family enterprise at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University said, family business leaders are committed and focused to taking care of the enterprise and handing it over to the next generation in better condition than when they received it. He said, “When I ask owners who do they work for, they answer ‘for my kids and their kids.’”

From Tatas to Jatanias to Popats to Hindujas to Mittals- family businesses and inheritance have made the companies grow.

As a social responsibility, there is a value in letting children build their own career and wealth from scratch, but it is never ‘distasteful’ to let you children further your dream, by providing a much-needed base.

At 75, independent India a political super power?

The turmoil in Afghanistan now questions the world balance that was dominated by the US over 70 years. With the cowardice of Joe Biden, and G7 failing to support the extension of troops, it is likely the Russo-Chinese support will tip the balance of the geopolitics. The Cold War that started from 1947, lasted 44 years, and suddenly the Berlin wall fell, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe.

In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted, and the Cold War came to an end.

USA then created the Mujahideen army to fight the growing encroachment of Russia in Afghanistan to safeguard their borders.

While Beijing has yet to formally recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new government, China issued a statement on Monday saying that it “respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny” and will develop “friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan.”

The message here is clear, as The Economic Times suggests.

Zho Bou, New York Times, writes that Beijing has few qualms about fostering a closer relationship with the Taliban and is ready to assert itself as the most influential outside player in Afghanistan now all but abandoned by the United States.

“Unlike the United States, China brings no baggage to the table in Afghanistan. China has kept a low profile in the country since the US invasion, not wishing to play second fiddle to the United States in any power politics. Beijing watched as Washington’s foray in Afghanistan became a messy and costly morass. In the meantime, China provided Afghanistan millions of dollars in aid for medical assistance, hospitals, a solar power station and more. All the while, Beijing was fostering stronger

trade relations, eventually becoming one of Afghanistan’s largest trading partners.”

With Britain emphasising on the Indo-Pacific treaty with India, clearly eyes are on India to balance the change of power.

India and Russia have had a cordial relationship for years. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited its close relationship with India which resulted in both nations sharing an important relationship. Owing to the bonhomie shared by the countries' respective leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin, the bilateral relationship has seen further growth and development. An informal meeting between them in 2018 at Sochi helped accelerate the partnership, displaying the role of interaction and cooperation between India and Russia.

Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on five major components: politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism cooperation and space. These five major components were highlighted in a speech given by former Indian Foreign Secretary and High Commissioner to the UK, Ranjan Mathai. However, in recent years a sixth economic component has grown in importance, with both countries setting a target of reaching US$30 billion in bilateral trade by 2025, from about US$9.4 billion in the year 2017.

Though India’s relationship with China may be controversial, some think allowing the US to exploit the differences between China and Russia may help it climb back on top. But independent India at 75 has a significant role to play. With already a great existing relationship with the US, UK and Russia, if done right, it will finally perhaps be the rise of India as a political super-power.

Will Taliban be able to give Afghans a peaceful govt?

Afghanistan is a changed country now. It has gained some progress in almost all fields. The Taliban seized power in the country after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and president Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing an unprecedented end to a two decade old US campaign. US president Joe Biden has put the future of Afghanistan in jeopardy. He would have waited till an alternative arrangement was made before withdrawing US forces from the country. The Taliban which seized power do not have any experience on how to run a civil administration. The US could have ensured that the country was in some reliable hands before hurriedly withdrawing troops.

Now that the Taliban have seized power in the country it won't be able to take the country back to the old times and easily impose its harsh Islamic laws. Two thirds of its population are under 25 years of age. The young Afghans will not allow the Taliban to impose its strict Islamic laws. Ninety per cent of young Afghans have access to mobile phones and social media.

So they have their own ideas about what their future should be.

Even the women have education now. So, Taliban will find it near impossible to keep the women under the purdah. Cricket has given Afghans enormous pride and satisfaction. The young Afghans have a broader world view now.

After capturing power the Taliban wanted to consolidate the power by forming a government. They held discussion with former President Hamid Karzai about forming a government.

Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan are interested in serving as middlemen in resolving the crisis in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. At the same time, he said, Russia opposes the ideas of allowing Afghan refugees to enter the ex-Soviet region of Central Asia - located between Russia and Afghanistan - or having United States troops deployed there. Official says CIA director William Burns met Taliban political leader in Kabul amid evacuation effort. Now

that the US has abdicated its world policeman's role, a new power has to take that position. China and Russia cannot fill that gap. That role can be filled by a democratic country only. Since India is democratic country it has a part to play in Afghanistan not in any military role but in an advisory role in guiding the future government of that country, if that is possible.

The UN human rights chief warned that she had received credible reports of severe abuses in areas under Taliban control in Afghanistan, including summary executions of civilians and security forces who had laid down their arms and restrictions on women. Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council to take bold and vigorous action to monitor the rights situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban's stunning takeover raised fears that they will return the country to the brutal rule they imposed when they were last in power. Taliban leaders have promised to restore security and tried to project an image of moderation, but many Afghans are skeptical and are racing to leave the country, leading to chaos at Kabul's international airport. Amid scattered reports, it has been difficult to determine how widespread abuses might be and whether they reflect that Taliban leaders are saying one thing and doing another, or if fighters on the ground are taking matters into their own hands. Leaders from the Group of Seven nations have discussed the burgeoning refugee crisis and the collapse of the Afghan government amid wrangling over whether the full US withdrawal of troops could be extended beyond the end of the month to allow more time to evacuate those desperate to leave. US administration officials have refused to be pinned down about whether an extension is likely or even possible given that a Taliban spokesman has warned that August 31 is a red line and that extending the American presence would provoke a reaction. Let us hope that the Afghans will have a peaceful existence without any more bloodshed.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”

– Winston Churchill

Alpesh Patel

India and UK Relations and Afghanistan The unfolding crisis in Afghanistan is a massive concern for the international community. As the Taliban takes control of the country, many voices call for some intervention from the UK. However, to be truly effective in the region, the UK will need to call on its allies in the area. All of this means that India will have a big part to play in helping to bring stability.

India / UK Relations India and the UK's relations have been strengthened by a bilateral agreement this year. While much of the announcements about the two countries' closer relationship focused on economic deals, strategy in the Asian region was also a considerable element of the talks. Now that the Taliban have emerged as a potential threat, action is required.

The Taliban as a Potential Threat The potential threat of the Taliban seems to have been underestimated by both US and UK leaders. There are several factors at play here, but one overlooked aspect is the UKs colonial assumptions.

Years of financial, military and political investment have failed to produce their desired result. And now it seems that Afghanistan is back where it started.

One of the biggest concerns over this situation identifies the support the Taliban has received from Pakistan. Col. Richard Kemp, a former British Commander who led troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, suggests that the ties between Islamabad and Pakistan are a concern. He states that Pakistan created, funded, and now support the Islamist religious-political military organization.

For Kemp, the biggest concern is one that existed during the UK occupation: What happens if the Taliban take over or get access to Pakistan's nuclear capabilities or weapons? He suggests that Russia, China, and Iran have also supported the extremist group over recent years and proposed that India will be a powerful ally for the UK in the coming months.

India's Response With many Afghan citizens fleeing the country, the international community has been looking for ways to help. India has promised to facilitate the repatriation to India of Afghanistan's small Sikh and Hindu populations. However, this was met with some criticism, leading India to commit to a fast-track visa for Afghans of any religious affiliation.

What Role Can India Play in this Crisis?

Of course, repatriation of citizens is just one element of assistance required by Afghan citizens.

When dealing with the Taliban, the UK and India need to come together.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb underlined the importance of the UK and India relationship and called for an international "contact group" to ensure that Afghanistan can't be used as a base to launch terrorist attacks on the UK or its allies.

Conclusion The horrifying situation in Afghanistan has brought into focus the UK and India's strategic relationship in Asia. The Taliban are a considerable threat to stability and wellbeing in the region, which requires a response. With Iran and China proving difficult bedfellows for the UK, India's role in bringing peace to the area cannot be underestimated.

Asian Voice is published by

Asian Business Publications Ltd Unit- 7, Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Editor: CB Patel Website: www.abplgroup.com

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28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

New campaign showcases how DWP work coaches are helping jobseekers find work A new campaign showcasing how Work Coaches are helping job seekers back into work through a government website has been recently relaunched by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The campaign aims to increase usage of the JobHelp website, as well as raising awareness and increasing uptake of the Work Coach support, gov-

ernment skills, employment and support programmes and training courses available to those eligible.

DWP’s ‘jobs army’ of Work Coaches, including 13,500 additional recruits taken on since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, are using online resource JobHelp to tackle unemployment in the UK. The JobHelp website

opens up the expertise of DWP Work Coaches to job seekers who are unable to claim Universal Credit (UC), while offering UC an online customers resource to refer back to throughout their job search.

Over 58% of Black Asian Minority Ethnic workers have had their employment affected since the start of the pandemic, compared to

47% of white workers.

Bangladeshi’s are most affected with 80% reporting a change in their employment circumstances, compared to 58% of Pakistani’s; and 55% of the UK’s Indian population.

Furthermore, women across all ethnicities have been disproportionately affected compared to men.

Overall, 52% of women

have seen their employment affected as a result of the pandemic compared to 45% of men. This includes 70% of Asian women, who have reported a loss in income or change to their employment situation.

“As restrictions ease, organisations across the country will increasingly be looking for new people to join them. If you’re applying for work, the JobHelp

website can help you find these vacancies and support you with every stage of your application,” says Mims Davies MP, Minister for Employment. “We know this has been a challenging time, but we are serious about supporting Britain’s workforce as we build back better.”

For more information about JobHelp, visit https://gov.uk/jobhelp

Linkage between football Farani Taylor Solicitors help matches and rise in domestic PIA win a case at the Supreme Court of England abuse cases According to Metropolitan Police officers, there is a connection between football games and a spike in domestic abuse cases. More than 67,000 people have been arrested by the police in the previous year.

However this year, cases have reduced and there was no rise even during Euro 2020.

Met Commander

Melanie Dales told Daily Mail, “We have additional resources arranged to deal with the increase in cases.

Whenever there are any big football events and if the country loses it, we found that there is a spike in domestic abuse cases.

Generally, we think about the women being the sufferer but we should equally recognize male victims and

treat those with the same seriousness.”

According to the Scotland Yard, due to lockdown domestic abuse has increased by 3.3 per cent who live in the same household. Between August 2020 and July 2021, around 1,404 domestic violence protection orders were issued – a rise of over 71 per cent in the last year.

Hindu Council of Wales host Raksha Bandhan in Cardiff The Hindu Council of Wales celebrated Raksha Bandhan on Sunday 22nd August in Wales with members of the armed forces.

The event was organised by the Hindu Council of Wales in conjunction with the Indian Honorary Consul Raj Aggarwal.

As per previous years, the event was to show support and thank the armed forces, emergency services and community leaders for their valuable contribution to the community. The dignitaries attending included, Sgt Paul Higgins, Col Sion Walker, Lt Cdr Suzanne

heavily relied on the sale of flight tickets as well as anybody else who would call the travel agency to book a ticket to Pakistan.

Managing Partner Farhan Farani of Farani Taylor Solicitors confirmed that the impact of the judgment is enormously huge in English Law. He

added: “This decision effectively resets the boundaries of duress and will have major ramifications for commercial negotiations in future. PIA would have ended up paying huge commissions retrospectively from 2012 and it would have opened floodgates for them."

SEVA Trust UK opens a new office and e-learning centre in India Left to right - Sgt Paul Higgins, Col Sion Walker, Hindu Council of Wales Chair Vimla Patel, Raj Aggarwal, Lord Lieutenant for South Glamorgan Morfudd Meredith, Lt Cdr Suzanne Lynch

Lynch, representing the RAF, Army and Royal Navy respectively, Hindu 24 hour helpline e

020 8361 6151

• An independent Hindu fam mily business • D Dedic di atted d Shiva Shi chapel h l off restt • Washing and dressing facilities • Ritual service items provided • Priest arranged for perforrming last rites • Specialists in repatriation n to India

Chandu Tailor Jay Tailor Bhanubhai Patel Dee Kerai

Five judges at the Supreme Court of England have ruled in favour of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in a landmark case.

The ruling said that the Pakistani national airliner was right to use lawful act under economic duress on a British Pakistani travel agent while enforcing a new contract for the sale of tickets to Pakistan in 2012.

PIA was presented by Farani Taylor Solicitors, which is being called one of the longest-running cases against the claimant times travel a small familyowned travel agency in Birmingham.

This case goes back to the time when PIA was the only airline that operated direct flights between the UK and Pakistan. The Pakistani community

07957 250 851 07583 616 151 07939 232 664 07437 616 151

24 hour helpline: 020 8361 6151 | e: info@tailor.co.uk | w: www.tailor.co.uk Chani House, Lower Park Road, New Southgate, London, N11 1QD

Council of Wales Chair Vimla Patel, Indian Honorary Consul Raj Aggarwal, and Lord Lieutenant for South Glamorgan Morfudd Meredith.

Speaking at the event at the Sanatan Mandir Community Centre in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon, Raj Aggarwal said: “It is such a special moment to be able to enjoy each other’s company today. It’s been so long that we’ve not been allowed to have any events or celebrations, and it’s something that’s been greatly missed. It’s great to see so many familiar faces here today. It is dedicated to friendship, mutual support, and protection for each other. The event has been a superb opportunity to reaffirm the strong bonds of brotherhood and emphasises the core values of courage, discipline, care and affection."

Social Education Voluntary Association (SEVA) Trust UK, a Bedford based charity supported by SEVA Trust UK (India) who are working for the betterment of education, health and environment has opened a new office and an e-learning centre in the state of Haryana in India which was inaugurated by Tilak Raj Gulati a renounced social activist and Chairman of Manav Kalyan Samiti, an

NGO involved in a wide range of charitable work in the state.

Founder Chairman of SEVA Trust UK Charan Sekhon, said, “We have supported over 700 students and over 300 families in the UK facing hardships during Corona pandemic. In addition to all the community support work SEVA Trust teams are doing in the UK, we are trying to play our sincere part in serving com-

munities in India and set up SEVA Trust India Team.

This new office and e-learning centre is another positive step to reach out to more students and needy people in north India. We feel it is important to support the rural youth, girls empowerment and developing technical skills at the early education stage to ensure a proper future for the youth from disadvantaged families.’’

Gurkhas end hunger strike after 13 days After 13 days of going on a hunger strike. British Army veterans who protested at Downing Street against the Gurkhas’ unequal pensions, the protesters have ended the strike.

A spokesperson at the Ministry of Defense told BBC that the department was happy, and hope to move forward together. The BBC also reported that Mr

Gurung who is 60 years old and belongs to Basingstoke, Hampshire was taken to hospital on Wednesday after his heart rate went down, but he was later discharged.

Mr Gurung is one of the protesters who has been protesting on a wheelchair with fellow ex-soldier Gyan Raj. Gurkha Equal Rights Twitter handle tweeted,

“The government has struck a deal with the Nepal Embassy for a government to government dialogue 13 days of fast and to death, the hunger strike has now been called off. Thank you everyone for your support and love.”

The protest included almost 100 People who marched in support of the Gurkhas.

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“I urge everyone e to just put on th heir trainers and get started!”

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Vin’s tips for getting active: Start small >OLU P[ JVTLZ [V ILPUN HJ[P]L L]LY``[[OPUN SP[[SL [OPUN JV\U[Z ,]LU [OL ZTHSSLZ[ LɈVY[ JHU THRL H IPN KPɈLYLUJL [V `V\Y OLHS[O Ä[ULZZ HUK ^LSS ILPUN HUK OLSW `V\ I\PSK momentum to o do more V]LY [PTL Make it easy to succeed +VU»[ KV [VV T\JO [VV ZVVU 7HJL `V\YZLSM HUK [YY` ` [V PUJVYWVYH[L WO`ZPJHS HJ[P]P[` PU[V `V\Y ZJOLK\SL ;Y` [V L_LYJPZL H[ [PTLZ [OH[ HYL JVU]LUPLU[ [V `V\ ^OLU `V\ RUV^ `V\ OH]L [OL TVZ[ LULYN` Get the right support /H]PUN UV HJJV\U[HIPSP[` VY OLSW THRLZ P[ LHZ` [V W\[ VɈ NL[[PUN Z[HYY[[LK 0UZ[LHK ask friends and d family to OLSW `V\ Z[H` VU [YHJR HUK THRL \ZL VM HWWZ SPRL 5/: *V\JO [V 2 MVY N\PKHUJL HUK TV[P]H[PVU

6 UK

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28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

OUR WAKE UP CALL Continued from page 1 However, the UK is calling for urgent global action in response to the latest report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This has happened right after the UN report that came out in early August leaving the world alarmed with the fact that we could reach 1.5 degrees warming in the next decades without immediate action. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and COP26 President Alok Sharma, have called for urgent steps to cut global emissions.

During G7 The Prince of Wales told the leaders, "The fight against this terrible pandemic provides if ever one was needed, a crystal clear example of the scale and the sheer speed at which the global community can tackle crises when we combine political will with business ingenuity and public mobilization. Ladies and gentlemen, we are doing it for the pandemic, so if you don't mind me saying so, we must also do it for the planet." In his latest article in the Daily Mail, Prince Charles writes, “Our planet is in crisis and, no matter where you are, no country is immune.”

Asian Voice spoke to members of the Asian community in the UK as well as experts on climate change to comment on the ongoing climate crisis and what can be done to move towards a sustainable future with better environmental techniques.

New climate change reports a wake-up call Soon after the news broke, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “The UK is leading the way in decarbonising our economy faster than any country over the last two decades. I hope that today's IPCC report will be a wake-up call for the world to take action now before we meet in Glasgow in November for the critical COP26.”

In response to the report, Alok Sharma said, “We can do this together by coming forward with ambitious 2030 emission reduction targets and long-term strategies with a pathway to net-zero by the middle of the century and taking action. Now, to end coal power, accelerate the role of the rollout of electric vehicles, tackle deforestation and reduce methane emissions.”

In a recent visit to India last week COP26 President Alok Sharma held a meeting with India's energy minister for discussions of over $100 billion Green Climate Fund. He also expressed the willingness of the UK to collaborate with India on its ambitious Green Hydrogen Project.

Further trying to involve India in

cementing the UK-India partnership, on his three-day visit to India. Mr Sharma met climate action ministers, industry leaders and representatives of civil society organisations, ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Scotland, Glasgow from 31 October.

How is the community contributing towards a sustainable future?

Speaking to Asian Voice, Colour Expert,

Momtaz Begum Hossain; Image credit: Liz Seabrook/Craftivi st Collective Momtaz Begum-Hossain said, “I’ve been conscious of environmental issues from childhood but it’s in adulthood after seeing frightening changes to the earth that have made me step up my commitment to ‘saving the planet.’ I’m involved with the ‘Canary Craftivists’ project as a way of doing some good. Craftivism is a form of gentle protest where you make handmade crafts with a message.

“Ahead of the COP26 the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November, the idea is to make a canary and send it to your MP this September with a note to say that you care about global warming, and you would like them to lobby the Prime Minister to take the issue seriously to speed up and stop climate change.

Sending an MP a handmade gift is powerful because it will stand out and get noticed.

“The campaign is centred around canaries because these bright yellow birds used to accompany coalminers into the mines and would give the miners warning signs when the air became too toxic. The Craftivist Collective website has free craft patterns you can use to make a canary and advice on how to word your accompanying letter to your MP. If you’re a creative person and have never done any climate change protest before this is a great way to start.”

Indian households have been practising sustainable living for generations Shweta Bahri, Co-Founder at Earth Warriors Global - Sustainability & Education Policy Expert is also the founder

Shweta Bahri

of No More Waste which is a platform to promote sustainable solutions for individuals and businesses in India.

Shweta commented, "Indian households have been practising sustainable living for generations. In most Indian households glass jars are never thrown out and wrapping papers and plastic packets are carefully kept away for reuse. Before plastic became commonplace terracotta cups, steel

‘Funding’ a huge barrier for Climate Change Sukhbir Sidhu, 65, who moved to the UK at a young age, and his son Ricky Singh, 38, launched solar panel installation company Evergen Systems in 2011 – aimed at reducing energy consumption and cutting CO2 emissions. By 2019 Evergen was ranked eighth fastest-growing company in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and forecasting group turnover of £23 million next year with sights set on building their own UK factory to start manufacturing by 2026. With over 23MW installed to date, they are a leading Solar company in the UK. In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Sukhbir Sidhu addressed concerns about climate change, the UK-India partnership at COP26 and shared more details about his project.

Q - At an entrepreneurial level, how do you think companies together can impact climate change?

Large/public companies are required to publish quarterly results so are under constant pressure to show growth in profits.

Whilst they will have environmental policies, in most cases, this is just a tick in the box.

Small, entrepreneurial companies on the other hand can put a great deal of focus on environmental issues and make a huge impact. For example, in smaller companies, it is easier to adopt, communicate and enforce environmental policies across the entire workforce. It is often the smaller things like reducing waste, which together can make significant differences. I think Government should also step in and offer tax incentives to companies who reduce their Carbon footprint, at the same time impose Carbon taxes on imports. Why are we importing plastic bottles for hand sanitiser halfway around the world from China?

Q - How many more Evergens would it take to bring about a real change in pollution levels?

This year two entrepreneurs are making plans to send space vehicles to Mars, yet we can’t solve a centuries-old problem of urban air pollution. Fact is, if you really want to improve air quality now, there are only two options (1) stop polluting (2) start cleaning.

The first one is impossible as we can get polluted air from overseas (pollution particles can travel hundreds or even thousands of

plates and banana leaves were the norms in India. Most Indian families in urban India are now being encouraged to adopt some of these old practices".

"Many Indian children learn sustainable practices from their grandparents in multigenerational households and, just like the UK, India has a large youth for the climate movement, however, India doesn’t have climate education as part of its national curriculum, something many activists are advocating for. Partnerships are key for successful climate action so it would be ideal for India and the UK to actively engage youth audiences, jointly advocate for climate education & partner on zerocarbon initiatives to combat climate change as a global issue".

More people embracing a meat-free lifestyle Sharing his opinion on the climate crisis and sustainable living, Dr Mehool

Dr Mehool Sangharajka MBE Sanghrajka MBE - Managing Trustee of the Institute of Jainology, told us, “What the last year has taught us is that poor treatment of animals, destruction of their natural habitat, and poverty (which leads to demand for ever cheaper food), have dire consequences. It also shows us that all life is interdependent (a long-held Jain tenet), and our actions have long-term consequences.

Over the longer term, this ‘reset’ of our consumer lifestyles will mean more people embracing a meat-free lifestyle, more awareness of our environment and a need to educate and alleviate people from poverty. It’s a lesson we need to learn and a blessing that we may be able to do this before it is too late.”

If we fail to act now, we will fail our current and future generations Daisy Narayanan, Member of Scotland’s Climate Assembly Evidence Group told the

Daisy Narayanan

ments. As the Assembly members statement of ambition made clear, climate change requires immediate action at all levels of society. If we fail to act now, we will fail our current and future generations, in Scotland and across the world.”

Reincarnation Programme

Shilpa Bilimoria Cherry Addressing a rather serious environmental concern, Founder of House of Bilimoria, Shilpa Bilimoria-Cherry said, "It’s no secret that the textiles & fashion industry is one of the leaders in contributing to the climate crisis. Every stage of the process of production, from fibre to end of life, is contributing to the speed we are seeing our planet and its resources deteriorate. House of Bilimoria’s mission revolves around creating awareness, consciousness and connection for the consumers and the products that they choose to clothe themselves in. With our circular design policies, our pieces are made from second hand, vintage, and heirloom textiles, not limited to, but namely sarees.

Seeing first-hand how many of these beautiful textiles are often worn once.

Then hidden in wardrobes until eventually heading to landfill too. We build relationships and connections with textiles.

Aiming to have people understand that buying less, wearing more, and being conscious about what happens to the items once they are done with them will start to create the ripple effect that is needed, now more than ever. Alongside this mission, we implement our ‘Reincarnation Programme’ whereby items purchased can be returned at end of use, for a 30% voucher towards the customer's next purchase.

That item will be luxury upcycled or recycled responsibly by ourselves.”

Hybrid cars and recycling at home At a household level, Sharmee Mavadia,

Sharmee Mavadia

newsweekly, “We know that tackling the climate crisis will take an immense collective effort, requiring a systemic change to build a fair and sustainable future for all.

However, community and individual action can be both empowering and impactful in making a difference to the environment and help build resilience to climate impacts.

As part of Scotland’s Climate Assembly, people from across Scotland came together to lay the foundations of a strategic vision and urge governments – local and national – to commit to a plan of action for Scotland to deliver on its climate change commit-

Director Sharp PR is doing her bit and also raising her daughter with the right information and approach towards sustainable living. She said, “As a family of four, we try to recycle and reuse as much as possible.

My daughter is concerned about the environment so is keen to ensure we recycle where we can. We also have a hybrid car that helps us minimise journeys and we do try to walk if possible. In addition, I have put some money into Clim8 Invest - an easy-to-use app for people looking to make a positive impact with their investments.”

miles). To do and the second requires investment. So far Governments, Local Authorities, Cities and Municipalities have focused on transport as it’s the easiest to blame the motorist, also it generates revenues. The London Congestion charge was introduced in February 2003, TCharge in October 2017 and ULEZ in April 2019. Whilst £billions have been collected from Sukhbir Sidhu motorists there has been NO measurable reduction in particle pollution.

So, unless Governments and authorities start investing in air cleaning solutions, there will be no improvement. Air is a shared resource, so why should private companies invest in developing technologies to clean urban air, if no one is prepared to pay for it? Evergen has made the investment and commitment and so far, we are one of the very few.

Q - How can the UK and Indian governments play an important role especially with COP26 coming up, to help entrepreneurs like you?

Whether it’s in UK or India, Governments need to change a number of important things (1) the pace at which they adopt new ideas and technologies (2) Reach out to smaller, innovative companies and not just the huge corporations who are fat and happy and not agile (3)

INVEST, INVEST, INVEST. Private companies will only risk developing new technologies if they know there is a potential for return. The Government will say “we are investing £billions on measures to combat Climate change”. This is true but how much of that money filters down to small innovative companies? The process of navigating Government schemes and grants is hugely complicated and cumbersome and small companies rarely have the time and resources to apply.

Funding is also a huge barrier. Whilst large corporations can raise money from the market or banks, smaller innovative companies are seen as risky by the banks so borrowing is difficult. Also, the banks demand personal guarantees so Directors are expected to put their homes on the line.

Britain had the Green Investment Bank which was dedicated to lending to environmental projects. But this was sold in 2017 to Australia’s Macquarie Bank and that avenue closed. The Government received huge criticism for this and is now announcing a new British Infrastructure Bank. We will wait and see.

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28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

We can save lives even after we have passed on Every day, three people in the UK die, waiting for a lifesaving transplant. You are five times more likely to need a transplant than be in a position to be able to donate. Only 1% die in circumstances in which they are able to donate their organs.

Shefali Saxena Transplants are life-saving. Since April 2021, 1295 people in the UK have received life-saving transplants. However, there are still over 5000 people on the transplant waiting lists. Every day, 3 people in the UK die, waiting for transplants. This issue affects BAME communities far more with South Asians waiting for longer for a transplant.

BAME communities are overrepresented on the transplant waiting lists – 28% of lists. This means that people from these communities are more in need of transplants but the organ donor register is under-represented i.e.

9%. Furthermore what is worrying is that BAME families are more likely to refuse. Only a third of BAME families agree when approached at end of life.

Worryingly there is an increased number of opt-outs from BAME communities as well.

There are a number of reasons for this. Religious and cultural barriers play a huge role in increased anxiety in BAME communities about organ donation. BAME families worry that their faith beliefs are not respected. They are worried that the sanctity of the body is not preserved i.e. donation and

Dr Radha Sundaram

retrieval of organs may result in mutilation of bodies. They also do not have the same access to information.

A number of measures have been introduced by the NHS to address this inequality. There is a public information campaign with BAME communities that seeks to improve access to accurate information. Faith beliefs can be recorded in the organ donor register. There are a number of community projects all over the UK involving religious and faith organisations promoting awareness.

Dr Radha Sundaram MBBS MRCP FRCA DICM FFICM is a Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthetics at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. She is the Regional Advisor for training in Intensive Care Medicine for the West of Scotland and is also a

Clinical Lead for Organ Donation in Scotland to promote awareness amongst BME communities.

Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, she addressed how the community can be encouraged to come forward and volunteer to take part in organ donation.

Only 50% on organ donor register She said, “There is tremendous public support for the donation which has been evidenced by surveys of the public. In Scotland, over 90% of the public support donation but only 50% are on the organ donor register. There exists a gap between intent and action.

The simple gesture of discussing our wishes with our families leaves them certain and empowers them to respect the wishes of their dying relative. We can record our wishes by signing up to the register.

“BAME families decline when approached – while this may be due to anxieties around fulfilling cultural and religious post-death rituals, a significant number say no because they are unaware of what their dying relative would have

wished. We need to encourage conversations about our choice around the end of life.

We need to normalise discussions about death and donation.

There is a section in the organ donor register now that asks us about our faith and beliefs – this is a safeguard and ensures that teams are aware that certain families have specific religious beliefs that need to be considered.

What happens when people drop out?

When asked how doctors deal with last-minute drop-outs and lack of volunteers while they watch patients die, Dr Radha said, “The loss of a patient is always very distressing. The patients that die on a transplant waiting list may not always die in an intensive care unit and the doctors that approach families regarding donation are never the doctors who look after the transplant patients. This is a fundamental safeguard in the UK so that doctors who look after the dying patient who has the potential to donate have no conflict of interest or ulterior motive. When doctors approach families at end of life they do so to give families an opportunity to respect their dying relatives wish, facilitate donation

if the patient has had no expressed objection to it and in a small way, change a devastating situation into a life-affirming one because the decision to donate is legacy building and saves lives.”

She also mentioned that there is no published data on the gender distribution on the NHSBT or government website but it might be worth looking to see which gender is more likely to donate.

Only 1% deaths can proceed to donation In her message to the readers of Asian Voice, Dr Radha said, “It is important that we leave our relatives certain and discuss our dying wishes. Only 1% of deaths can proceed to donation. At the time our families are approached, they are enveloped by grief at the impending loss. If we have shared with them our wishes about donation, they are then in a position to respect our wishes to donate and help build our legacy. It is the most selfless gift they can give.

“The change in the law to Optout actually safeguards the rights of the individual robustly and if we support donation as a society and accept transplants, it is important that we consider a donation, discuss our wishes, opt-in (i.e. register online) – by doing so, we can save lives even after we have passed on.”

8 WOMEN'S VOICE

AsianVoiceNews

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www.asian-voice.com

28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

Sharing jewellery in our culture is

an expression of love Shefali Saxena The founder of Jewel Jar - Parneet Kaur – launched the business just before the pandemic after working in styling, image consulting and marketing for almost a decade.

During childhood, Parneet suffered from body image issues and bullying that had a detrimental impact on her confidence. While clothes didn’t make her feel good about herself and caused anxiety, she learnt that jewellery made her feel beautiful and empowered – becoming her style and personality.

She believes that jewellery is a form of selfexpression that empowers people to be experimental with their own style. Coming from an Indian heritage herself, she found that traditional jewellery was often limited to special occasions so set about bringing together an eclectic mix of jewellery with personality for diverse women to wear whatever the occasion.

In an exclusive Q&A with Asian Voice, Parneet answers some pertinent questions: - Tell us a bit about your inhibitions about body image as a young person and how did you overcome them?

During childhood, I suffered from body image issues and bullying that had a detrimental impact on my confidence. While clothes didn’t make me feel good about myself and caused anxiety, I learnt that jewellery made me feel empowered. It became my style and personality. I believe that jewellery is a form of self-expression that gives people the self-belief to be experimental with their own style.

- Looking back today, what do you wish you'd have done differently or received a certain kind of counselling or assistance?

I don’t regret anything because it was my journey and it taught me many things - most importantly the value of a healthy mind and

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body. It taught me to be strong and make changes to my life. There were tough times too. My mental health was impacted and I developed various complexes so it would have been good to know that help existed.

- Asians love jewellery, but what's the right way to select the kind of jewels that suit you? Is there math behind it?

As an image consultant, I would advise that face shape and skin tones play important roles. It’s all about balance. For people with a round face, hoop earrings may not work while warmer skin tones suit gold jewellery the best. Don’t let the jewellery take over your personality, simply wear items that add to rather than detract from your personality.

- Our community has a habit of sharing jewellery within the family. Would you recommend that given we're still not out of a pandemic?

Sharing jewellery in our culture is an expression of love as many pieces are family heirlooms. For fine jewellery, if disinfecting using warm water and soap, sharing could be an option. For artificial jewellery, it’s a lot trickier as water can damage the pieces.

Options like UV sanitisers can be used to disinfect fragile or artificial jewellery. At the end of the day, it is a personal choice.

- What's the best way to maintain the jewellery we buy?

For artificial jewels, keep them away from water, moisture, perfume and hair spray.

Store them in a sealable pouch or bag and do not store them on top of one another as they may scratch. Don’t wear them while exercising. Wipe items with a microfiber cloth if they need cleaning.

- What do you think would be the postpandemic trend in jewellery?

The pandemic has taught us to be cautious spenders and move towards slow fash-

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Parneet Kaur

ion trends. I advocate versatility and believe we should re-wear the pieces we love in several ways for several occasions. At Jewel Jar, I carefully handpick contemporary pieces that can be worn with both Indian and western outfits which offer much better value for money and you get to be creative!

- As an entrepreneur who started before the pandemic, how did it impact your business and what kind of changes and challenges did you see?

My initial aim was to showcase the collection through pop-ups and events so people could witness the quality of the collection in person, which is crucial for jewellery. I had to pivot to online a lot sooner than expected which was difficult in terms of readiness, resources and skills. Other than that, mental motivation to keep going and monetary resources were other challenges.

However, as restrictions have now eased, I’m delighted to announce that we will be touring the country to stage a series of exciting pop-up events to introduce our beautiful jewellery to a wider audience on the following dates: York – 24 September Manchester – 30 September London – 23 October A virtual event will also take place on 17 October.

For more information, please visit www.jeweljar.com

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no matter how small, can help make a difference.”

You can donate to the UN Women UK website which will help their team find practical, safe solutions so that they can continue to operate and make a positive difference for the people of Afghanistan who have already suffered far too much and who deserve peace and prosperity.

The organisation has also written a letter to the UK Prime Minister which says, “We call on Boris Johnson and the UK Government to immediately

assist Afghan women leaders, activists and negotiators who are now at imminent risk.”

The letter published in The Guardian presents three salient points: “First, to work closely with governments of neighbouring countries and other international powers to ensure safe and legal exit from the country for women and their families at risk of imminent danger.

“Second, we call on the government to extend the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) to include Afghan

individuals and their dependents at a heightened risk of persecution due to their activism on women’s rights.

“Third, we call on the British government to guarantee attempts to protect these women in any actions taken in response to the situation. This includes leveraging multilateral avenues to safeguard Afghan women and girls.”

You can show solidarity and sign this letter to protect the freedom and safety of Afghan women and girls.

Binti celebrates 7 year anniversary by launching national menstrual curriculum in The Gambia Binti International celebrates its 7 year anniversary by announcing a partnership for menstrual education with the Gambian government. The first of its kind on a global level, The Gambia will become the first government to roll out a national menstrual curriculum throughout all schools and colleges across the country beginning next month.

Binti has worked closely with the government to look at the long term impact that menstrual knowledge has on mental health, physical health and education as a whole.

Binti founder Gill explained, “Having worked with young people in The Gambia over a number of years, we were able to really understand the core of

PREMIER LEAGUE GETS ITS FIRST SOUTH ASIAN WOMAN

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UN Women UK comes forward to help Afghan women In a sincere attempt to help women who are stuck in Afghanistan amid the terrifying regime of the Taliban, the UN Women UK has said, “Women in Afghanistan are facing violence and uncertainty. Whatever happens in the coming days, we hold true to the idea that women can and should help shape the future of Afghanistan. Our international community of supporters matters now more than ever.

We've put together a list of actions you can take today to show your support. Every action,

in brief

their needs as a community.

Through our grassroots work, we know that the ripple effect of inadequate knowledge of menstrual health is a barrier for education in developing countries and increases the dropout rates for girls when they start their periods. This, compounded with a lack of period products, is directly linked to health issues

such as increased risk of cancers, reproductive and gynaecological health issues and absenteeism of 10-20% of school days. We are delighted that we have the support of Hon. Claudia Cole, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education to start teaching young people about the importance of menstrual health and creating impactful change for communities throughout the country”.

Hon. Alhagie Jawara MP for Lower Baddibu said, “One of my passions is to transform the lives of Gambians and I strongly feel that starting at one of the root causes to health and development of young girls in the country starts with education. Binti has already transformed the lives

of young people by rebuilding a school roof, which will allow over 1200 students and staff access to at least one wholesome meal a day. The impact of that is that they will stay in school longer and complete their education. I look forward to seeing the growth and transformation of young Gambians through the menstrual curriculum that Binti is going to provide”.

With menstrual trainers working across 5 continents and in over 13 countries, Binti is excited for what the next chapter of this award-winning charity brings. Binti is in the last stages of finalising a curriculum that will be available for schools across the UK and globally to access via a digital platform.

To increase diversity in the boardroom, Brentford has added Preti Shetty to the Premier League in non-executive director roles. According to a publication, “Shetty is set to become the only British South Asian woman in a Premier League boardroom, with the CEO of technology-based social enterprise company Upshot having spent a decade working in football, most notably at the Football Foundation.

THE STIGMA OF COLOUR In an Op-Ed in the Stylist magazine, Youtuber, Podcaster and Author of What Would The Aunties Say? Has brought up the issue of colour shaming in the community and the stigma related to it. She accepted that dark sinned girls are suppressed with social stigma and in relationships as well. She wrote, “Darker-skinned girls face so many problems in brown communities. Due to societal stigma, they have reduced chances of friendships, romantic relationships, employment and sometimes even basic safety”

UK MAKES A HEARTY DONATION TO THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME TO HELP WOMEN AND CHILDREN The UK has donated £788,000 to the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) on behalf of the British government to help women and children in Nepal who have inadequate nutritional support. This money will help atleast 100,000 people. "The WFP welcomed today an additional contribution of £788,000 (NPR 130 million) from the Government of the United Kingdom towards its nutrition support for vulnerable families in Nepal," the UN's food assistance arm said in a release.

WOMEN EARN LESS, SAVE LESS The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has demanded the appointment of more women and non-white minorities to the leadership of Britain’s largest firms. FCA has proposed that women should make up at least 40% of the boards of all listed companies, there should be at least one senior position held by a woman, and at least one board member should be from an underrepresented group.

According to the UN’s report, Policy Brief: The Impact of Covid-19 on Women: “Across the globe, women earn less, save less, hold less secure jobs, are more likely to be employed in the informal sector. In addition, they have less access to social protection and are the majority of single-parent households. Their capacity to absorb economic shocks is, therefore, less than that of men.”

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“Living is more expensive than death,” says an Afghan Sikh in Britain Shefali Saxena “Unfortunately, as the situation is getting worse day by day, we are losing our history,” Karanjee Gaba, an Afghan Sikh who lives in the UK said. His family has been around Afghanistan for more than 100 years. In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Gaba told us why it is imperative to know about Afghan Sikhs.

Sharing his sentiment about the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan as an Afghan Sikh in Britain, Gaba said, “I feel very lost and heartbroken. My father used to tell me about his experience in Afghanistan, as it is a beautiful country that involves food, lifestyle and fashion. During his time, they used to visit the mountains and picnic near the flowing rivers. Each family used to have minimal food but they were happy. Right now things are misplaced and it isn’t really helping anyone. Living is more expensive than death.

“My parents have become anxious and feel fearful that history again is repeating itself. The land is moving back to what it was, after a long war the results have yet been the same. Hoping that the situation will stabilise and one day the pace will come.”

Gaba added, “We have nothing back home (Afghanistan) anymore. Everything we had has been lost and probably destroyed or occupied by someone.”

Helping us learn more about the cultural differences and similarities between Sikhs from Asia and Afghan Sikhs, he said, “Our culture is different in terms of Asian is by our

food, our songs and our sense of style.

Religiously, we follow and do the same rituals and ceremonies. In terms of culture, we are different.”

Speaking about some of his early memories of learning about his heritage from parents and family, Gaba told the newsweekly, “I was lost. I never knew anything about my culture and every day I am expanding my knowledge about back home. I made a film called Hindko, which is available on YouTube in back 2019. The film is about the Sikh language Hindko and Culture exploration. Many Sikhs didn’t know including my family that Afghan Sikhs speak Hindko, it also explains the culture and differences between Afghan and Asian Sikhs.”

People don’t know the history Commenting on the lack of awareness about Afghan Sikhs and what can be done to increase knowledge among the community, Gaba said, “Many people in the community don’t know history themselves due to the fact many have left their homes, flee to another country or even the history has been destroyed. I think media is the most powerful tool and we need to make more films/videos for people to learn about Afghanistan and involve youth in it.”

But how has moving to Britain changed the life of his family?

“Moving to London has given the chance for many afghans to educate. I was freely able to walk in a city and Not being judged for my appearance. It made me feel safe, until some racists men tried to tell us to back

Karanjee Gaba to our country. As safe as Britain is, it still has some elements of racism that we cannot control. Other than that, I now have become

one of the first Afghan Sikh models. A journey that is allowing me to speak on the behalf of Afghan Sikhs and I am able to shine a light on Afghan Sikhs,” Gaba explained.

Is he more British than Afghan now?

“To begin with, I was more closer to British Culture but during my journey, I wanted to explore more about my identity.

As an Afghan, I then went to speak with the elderly about our community and from there I have become more attached to our culture as we need to carry on the legacy. We need to keep it for the future and may it never be forgotten. We cannot lose our history because if we do, it’ll mean we have lost our identity,” he told Asian Voice.

NHS doctor claims high-speed blender turns bones into ashes during cremation NHS doctor, Dr Karan, Rajan, went viral on social media last week after debunking the medical myths, including what cremated ashes are really made of. Dr Karan Rajan, who posts on TikTok said, "Basically a highspeed blender that processes bones to look like ashes." His video had over 698,000 times and over 64,000 likes.

It left many people disturbed by this morbid topic. The story was first reported

by The Daily Star where the doctor explained in a video that incinerating a human body doesn't turn it into ashes like wood when it is burned.

Commenting on this story, Rajnish Kashyap, General Secretary/Director, Hindu Council UK (HCUK) told Asian Voice, "For Hindus, the Ashes are what remained after the cremation of the body.

The ashes are called asthī (bones of the deceased). Hindus respectfully call these ashes Phool (flowers) to express respect and devotion to the departed soul. The asthi need to go into running water (the sea is permissible). This is to allow the spirit a smoother tradition to the next life.

Scattering asthies in the river after the cre-

mation is an important part of the rituals in the Hindu religion – this symbolizes the cycle of life. Water is associated with purity and purification. By immersing the asthies, the relatives are helping the dead person to purify sins. If Dr Karan Raj’s comments that the asthies after cremation are then crushed and blended to make ashes are correct then for Hindus it is against their rituals and totally unethical even to think about it.”

Harsha Shukla MBE, Vice President, North of Hindu Forum of Britain consulted the Lancaster crematorium to share her perspective on this subject. She told Asian Voice that the crematorium uses the deceased body and the coffin in the furnace.

But before that, all the nails and screws get removed with the help of a magnet. The furnace decides how much time it takes to cremate bodies of different sizes.

“Everything (the remains after cremation) goes back to the family. In India, we might have small bones left but in the UK, everything turns into ashes. We turn our bodies into Panch-Mahabhoot. So, what we get from nature, is returned to nature to maintain a balance,” she told the newsweekly.

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READERS' VOICE

in brief brief in LABOUR-RUN CROYDON COUNCIL CELEBRATES INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

Labour-run Croydon Council celebrated the Indian Independence Day with the hoisting of the national flag and singing of the national anthem. Holding the flag is the Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Sherwan Chowdhry. A representative from the High Commission of India was also present. Labour Friends of India also organised the independence day celebrations on zoom. As a guest speaker Nitin Mehta emphasised that though we are celebrating the 75th Independence day, India was actually a civilisation going back tens of thousands of years. It is the oldest and living civilisation. The great minds of India had made amazing discoveries in Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine, Shipbuilding and in almost all facets of life.

CLARIFICATION This is a clarification for a story titled "Turmeric cures Alzheimer's fraudster claims" which appeared in AV's issue dated 21 August 2021. The first paragraph should have read as follows: "An investigation has been launched by Barclays bank against 48-year-old Suphil Philipose, who had approached a customer who was a victim of a scam to invest in his start-up which claims to provide a turmeric-based cure for Alzheimer’s disease."

MASJID FAIZUL ISLAM CLOSED FOR ALMOST A WEEK On August 13, Masjid Faizul Islam mosque declared closure "until further notice" on its Facebook page. The venue was closed for almost a week after police were called to a breakup inside. West Midlands Police told Birmingham Mail: "We are inspecting the disorder at Faizul Islam Mosque, Perry Barr just after 7.30 pm on 12 August. A man has been charged of the attack as the door and windows inside the mosque were damaged. We have the person’s details and he will be interviewed by the officers.”

“Our investigation is in progress. People can share any information with us via Live Chat on our website quoting crime reference 20/1354919/21.”

Bhupendra M. Gandhi

Questioning the world’s largest democracy Philip Sherwell, your Asia correspondent, accuses Narendra Modi of a “£2 billion splurge” on the project to build a new parliament “as his citizens die around him” (World News, last week). India has had the same parliament building since independence 75 years ago and it is no longer fit for purpose.

The project has got the go-ahead after careful scrutiny and approval by the High Court. Here in the UK we too have lost tens of thousands of people to Covid but that has not stopped the government spending money on crucial projects, one of them being the overhaul of the Houses of Parliament. The Indian people want a parliament that does justice to the world’s largest democracy and an emerging superpower.

Nitin Mehta, Croydon, London Note courtesy: Sunday Times

Tributes flood in for Councillor Chris Mote A long-standing and much-loved Harrow Councillor passed away last week after a short illness. Councillor Chris Mote has served as a Conservative Councillor in Harrow for over 27 years.

He was the former Leader of the Council and also Deputy Mayor of Harrow.

KHICHADI Kapil’s

Bullets versus Beliefs A conflict between believers and non-believers is an ongoing situation since people started believing in God who is One Almighty divine figure while different religions are simply different ways to reach this desired destination.

Still, human beings are so narrow-minded that they fight simply to prove that their God is supreme and insinuate that their religion provides a direct and shortest route to heaven or hell as the situation may demand!

The West, having lost so many conflicts, like Korea, Vietnam, Syria and now Afghanistan, have learnt nothing from these humiliating defeats when they possessed far superior weapons and numerical strength in manpower, well trained and well-armed to the teeth.

While the Afghanistan government had a wellequipped army of three hundred thousand, well-armed and well trained by British and US experts, they practically surrendered to a rag-tag outfit of Taliban poorly armed but well-disciplined without firing a single shot. The reason, if we are still ignorant, is simply that while the Afghan army was paid soldiers fighting for financial reward, the Taliban, on other hand, believed strongly in their religion, culture, tradition and way of life, willingly giving their lives to impose their ideology on the people of Afghanistan. Death was no deterrent, infect it was a shortcut to heaven!

Even the might of the Roman Empire could not defeat Jesus Christ. Although he was brutally murdered, his legacy, his insidious teachings and his disciples spread like wildfire and today, Christianity is the leading religion, spread across five Continents.

So how come the West still believes that bullet is mightier than belief, they can defeat ideology, culture and religion with arms! Is lamentable West still living in cuckoo land! Afghanistan is neither the first nor will be the last country to impose such a humiliating defeat on the gullible West, unless they wise up, follow into the footsteps of China and fight with gusto, determination and what they believe, not just to impose democracy, a Western way of life that may not suit every nation!

Speaking at Cllr Mote’s funeral was Lord Dolar Popat who paid tribute to his character and legacy, “he was the embodiment of public service in the truest sense. He gave over 25 years of selfless public service to the residents of Pinner and the London Borough of Harrow. He

ANNOUNCEMENT The Gujarat Hindu society wishes to honor and celebrate all devotees management committees, volunteers, employees and patrons who have served the society since its inception. It is hosting the Gujarat Hindu Society Historic Souvenir 1965 to 2021 Launch event on Sunday 29th August to 2021 at 2pm. The chief guest for the event will be Publisher-Editor of Gujarat Samachar Shri CB Patel. You can join the publication's launch at 2pm in the main hall at the Gujarat Hindu society, South Meadow Lane, Preston PR1 8JN. Lunch will be served at 1pm, followed by the launch. Please RSVP by email, admin@ghspreston.co.uk, or by telephone 01772253901 by 25th August 2021.

Jai Shri Krishna The Management Committee at The Gujarat Hindu Society

will also be remembered for his distinguished service in the Army, as well as his energy and commitment across so many areas of national life, including being a Magistrate.”

Lord Popat also paid tribute to Chris’s wife and fellow Councillor, Janet Mote for the exceptional care and devotion she provided to Chris, “Janet was the apple of his eye, his pride and joy. The care Janet provided is an example to us all.”

Cllr Susan Hall, another former council leader and current leader of the Conservatives in the Greater London Assembly, also described Chris as a “gentleman”, saying she will “miss him greatly”.

Harrow Current Conservatives’ leader Cllr Paul Osborn said: “over the years been an amazing source of wisdom and advice to me and many others from all political

parties.”

Councillor Fellow Ameet Jogia said that “Chris was a role model to so many and empowered people to come forward and take part in civic duty.

He will be greatly missed.”

Due to Chris’s military background, he was given a military funeral for his services to the country.

Tributes continue to flood into the family by those who were helped by Chris over the years.

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Anti-Hindu Terrorism in American Universities Kapil Dudakia Several American Universities (40+ according to the event propaganda) will be supporting a three-day event in September titled, ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’. The event appears to be organised by anti-India and antiHindu forces in American Universities. These include professors and lecturers from university departments that have long championed Pakistan, Islamic extremists, elements of the Church fraternity and those who have been systematically attacking India for several decades.

Since 2014 when PM Modi came into power, their attacks have become very open, very prominent and supported it seems by the hierarchy of these universities.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) took on the task of challenging these anti-Hindu intellectual bigots, and the universities that were supportive of them. The campaign quickly attracted a global perspective – after all, the organisers did name it ‘global’ and global outrage they got.

There are supporters of this type of anti-Hindu hatred like Prof. Srila Roy from Wits University who on twitter said, ‘Hindutva, a deeply entrenched right-wing nationalist movement in India with major traction in the diaspora. NB: there is no such thing as Hinduphobia; there is Hindu supremacy’.

Then there was Pieter Friedrich, journalist who has been challenged for his anti-India views and it seems this bothered him so much that now he is promoting this event also. Speakers at the event include Anand Patwardhan, Ayesha Kidwai, Banu Subramaniam, Bhanwar Meghwanshi, Christophe Jaffrelot, Kavita Krishnan, Meena Kandasamy, Mohammad Junaid, Nandini Sunder, Neha Dixit and P. Sivakami. The cowards are so scared that they have not invited even one pro-Hindu speaker to challenge their anti-Hindu narrative.

Suhag Shukla, Executive Director and co-founder of HAF, and her team have been working round the clock to challenge this coordinated attack on Hindus in America.

When universities have been challenged, a startling discovery has been made. Some universities whose name has been used by these ant-Hindu event organisers had never given permission. It seems the organisers are liars who will use every dirty trick in the book to make themselves look legitimate.

The event propaganda states the co-sponsors to be departments at: North Western, UC Berkeley, U Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, UPenn, Princeton and Stanford.

We now have a situation where Hindus from India are lining up to spend huge amounts of money to go to these American Universities. In return, they are abused by the very same universities. This is akin to these universities exhibiting antisemitic behaviour openly – do you think the Jewish community, Jewish businesses, Jewish politicians, or Israel would allow for such open bigotry to stand?

It’s time Hindu sponsors of American universities who give millions of dollars every year, to reconsider their choices. It’s time India utilises its unique position globally to send a clear message to America that inciting such Hindu hatred will not be tolerated. It’s time to take these universities to the courts for inciting hatred and racism towards Hindus.

Bankrupt these universities. In America the only thing that works is money. Hit them hard where it hurts and let them know the cost of their racism. It's time to teach these bigots a lesson. This Anti-Hindu terrorism industry in our higher educational establishments must be challenged and exposed. Today we see this in America, tomorrow they will attempt the very same in UK universities.

The likes of Prof Audrey Truschke from Rutgers University have dedicated their lives to undermining Hindus. She would never attempt to take on the Islamists. Let us remember, these people would run a mile before they dared do an event titled: ‘Dismantling Wahabbism" or "Dismantling the CCP”.

It's time to dismantle these preachers of hate.

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

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Offices urged to clean up their act before staff return to the workplace Companies are being urged to make sure IT Equipment is professionally cleaned and disinfected as staff return to the office after lockdowns.

Trafford-based Tech Disinfect says firms need to put the safety and wellbeing of employees first as office working makes a comeback over the coming months.

The company, founded

by Urmston-based businessman Karim Samani in 2019, specialises in the professional disinfection of IT devices using its own high-grade anti-bacterial products.

Karim, who himself became ill because of dirty and unhygienic office equipment, says most employers

take office cleaning seriously. But properly disinfecting items such as computers, keyboards, laptops and printers etc are often an after-thought.

Hidden dangers lurk in our tech, with lab tests carried out by the company revealing evidence of harmful spreadable infections such as Coronavirus, Norovirus, Salmonella, Listeria, Swine Flu and more.

Karim said: “Professionally cleaning office IT equipment is something most employers sadly don’t think about. Time and resources are devoted to cleaning most areas of the office – but for some reason,

we neglect the machines we spend eight hours a day using.

“Covid-19 should be a wake-up call for us all that we can no longer ignore the hidden threats to staff safety and wellbeing in our workplace. Just tip a keyboard upside down and you will see the nasties that are lurking in there. Our own expert cleaners have found everything from food and crumbs to maggots and dead bugs.

“That’s just the dangers we can see through. Look under a microscope and you will see even more threats to our health from a huge range of bacteria and pathogens.”

First sponsor announced for global investment summit Barclays is the first sponsor to be confirmed for the Global Investment Summit (GIS) taking place on 19th October, the UK Government has announced.

Hosted by the Prime Minister and supported by members of the Royal Family, the summit will showcase British innovation, demonstrate commitment to green industries of the future ahead of COP26, and promote the UK as the best destination for foreign investment. British banking giant Barclays will be one of several sponsors to be announced in the lead up to the event. Barclays has the

ambition to be a net-zero bank by 2050 and committed to £100bn of green financing by 2030 in line with the Government’s clean growth agenda. The announcement comes as the Department for International Trade (DIT) publishes a new report highlighting the UK’s foreign investment successes over the past year.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “The UK is the best investment destination in the world offering strong returns in a low-tax, highskill economy, respected worldwide for its strong rule of law.

Liz Truss

“Today’s report proves that time and time again investors are choosing the UK. Greater investment in our industries of the future will create high-value jobs, boost the economy and level up the country as we build back better. “Now is the time to seize these immense opportunities and our Global Investment Summit is the springboard that will propel our economy towards a more prosperous, exciting future.”

Life-saving world-first NHS test for pregnant women A same-day life-saving test to rule out a potentially fatal disease in pregnant women is being rolled out across the NHS. Known as placental growth factor (PLGF) testing, the new blood test is the first of its kind in the world to rule out pre-eclampsia – a life-threatening condition for both pregnant women and their babies that often results in long hospital stays

– and has already helped thousands of expectant mothers.

The test means the condition can be ruled out on the same day, relieving stress and anxiety for those given the all-clear, and allowing treatment to swiftly start for those who need it. Not only does the test provide a quick diagnosis, but it also significantly reduces the need for hospital trips, freeing up

clinics and staff workload.

The new testing is being rolled out as part of the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambitions to invest in more world-class treatments and cutting-edge technologies. Three-quarters of maternity units are already using the test, which has helped tens of thousands of women to date and will be available across all of England within the next two years.

New website launched for ethnic community groups who have lost their vision and those at risk of losing their sight The newly formed Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Vision group called BAME Vision will be launching a brand new dynamic website on 1st September 2021, to help those working within the field of eye health, the sight loss sectors and to support those who are blind or partially sighted, with information, resources and positive lived experienced role models to positively change the perception around Vision Impairment.

To coincide with the website launch, from Sunday 19th -26th September 2021, BAME Vision will also offer a series

as a newly of workshops formed group based on the to explore our themes of this priorities, years National Eye vision and Health Week, mission, we which is an annual have also been event marked on engaging with the 3rd week of ethnic groups September. The on various workshops will be Bhavini Makwana platforms, and presented by creating and sharing content experts and will include in a variety of languages. We those with lived experience were also delighted to see providing useful informasuch a great impact caused tion and sharing personal within communities, due to experiences. The workshops regular informative talks will end with a great opporprovided by our team memtunity to ask questions and bers, Subash Suthar and receive any support Jayshree Vasani”, shared required.

Chair Bhavini Makwana.

“Whilst having meetings

A Long Covid sufferer shares his experience of living with chronic symptoms He is now encouraging people to get vaccinated Many adults make a full recovery from Covid-19 but for a significant number of people, the road to rehabilitation doesn’t end once they are clear of the infection. It’s estimated that over a million people in the UK continue to experience chronic symptoms – ranging from shortness of breath to extreme tiredness – for months after their body is clear of Covid disease, a condition known as Long Covid.

The issue is so concerning that £19.6 million of government fundi ng through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has been allocated for an extensive programme of 15 new research studies that will help improve understanding of Long Covid and identify effective treatments.

More than 47 million people in the UK have had their first dose of a Covid vaccine – that’s nearly 90% of the adult population – there are still many who have not had one dose – leaving them less protected against the virus and Long Covid.

More than a year on from when he contracted Covid-19, Paresh Patel, 48, is still experiencing the aftereffects of the illness.

The dentist contracted Covid in March 2020. He first suspected he had the virus when he experienced a fever and shortness of breath, some of the symptoms typically associated with the disease of which very little was known at the time.

While Paresh didn’t require hospitalisation, an oxygen concentrator, a device prescribed to patients who don’t have enough oxygen in their blood, was sent to his home and he was prescribed medication to improve his condition.

Despite this, it would take around four weeks until he started to feel slightly better.

Paresh says: “When I realised I had Covid-19 I was initially a little worried but

this escalated when my symptoms became much worse.”

He’s now had both doses of the vaccine and couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

“I felt very relieved for the population when the rollout occurred and definitely feel there is a huge gain to be made from the vaccination programme,” Paresh says. “I feel reassured that with a vaccination, if I were to catch Covid again, the symptoms should not be so bad.”

Paresh isn’t alone in suffering poor health long beyond the infection is out of his system.

Recent research estimates that more than 2 mill ion people in England may Paresh Patel have had Long Covid.

Some even experience prolonged symptoms of the virus after an initial mild case of Covid-19 disease.

While information on Long Covid is limited, research shows that two doses of a Covid vaccine decreases the risk of Covid-19 infection by more than 80%, therefore reducing the possibility of Long Covid.

While research into the impact of vaccines on Long Covid is ongoing, a recent report suggests that the risk of Long Covid is substantially reduced in individuals who have received double vaccination.

Data shows that across all age groups, the odds of experiencing symptoms for more than 28 days after post-vaccination infection was approximately halved by two doses.

Getting vaccinated against Covid is the best way to protect yourself and others from Covid-19 and Long Covid.

To book your Covid vaccination appointment, visit nhs.uk/CovidVaccine or call 119 free of charge.

Contact your GP if you’re worried about symptoms 4 weeks or more after having Covid-19.

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Fundraiser Roshni Ruparelia gets defibrillator installed Roshni Ruparelia led a fundraising initiative to purchase and install a defibrillator for community access at Canons Park, Harrow. While hearing the personal stories of local community members, she was motivated to install a defibrillator for those who

suffer heart problems felt much more comfortable.

She received more than £4,000 She collected more than £4,000 with huge support from ward Councillor Ameet Jogia and other Harrow Council representatives, who helped

her to get in touch with charity The the Community Heartbeat Trust.

The unveiling ceremony was held earlier this month and the Mayor of Harrow, Cllr Ghazanfar Ali attended the event.

Birmingham council lauds people’s efforts in keeping the city clean Cabinet Member for Street Scene and Parks, Cllr John O’Shea has said that it is evident that cleaner, greener streets have been the top priority of the people of Birmingham.

In April alone the council has issued 5000

pieces of litter picking equipment and 2000 bags to those taking part in clean-ups. The council also supports people by arranging for collected waste to be taken away.

The council has offered to provide the advantage of

councils support offered to

any new groups or individuals, who can request the equipment on www.birmingham.gov.uk/li tterpick website. John has said that achieving the goal is a team effort, but we need to provide reliable, effective support to them.

More tube drivers’ strikes expected over TfL pension changes Transport of London is warning commuters of several disruptions across the Tube network. This may be due to planned strikes by the RMT union next week to resist changes to TfL’s pension scheme.

TfL was required to review its generous pension

scheme in a bid to cut costs.

This was intended as a part of the Government's

GBP1.08 billion emergency funding deal.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch has said that our members who were hailed as heroes for keeping transport services running throughout the

pandemic have a threat of poverty on retirement now.

London Underground has also met with the RMT through conciliation service ACAS several times before leading to constructive discussions and suspensions of strike actions.

Proposed plan to raise age limit for free medications from 60 to 66 may affect 2.4 million Free prescriptions which normally cost £9.65 are currently available free for anyone aged 60 and above.

But, consultations began last month to revise this age, in line with the pension age, from 60 to 66.

This may bring in an

estimated GBP300m additional for the NHS by 2026/27, but it will affect over 2.4 million people between the ages of 60-65 and it may also outweigh the money saved by the additional costs in treating people for the NHS. That is

because there are fears that people with low incomes

may skip medication due to less affordability.

However, the Department of Health has said that they will continue to protect the most vulnerable by continuing the availability of support for those on a low income.

Israeli scientist urges UK to go for booster dose of vaccine Israeli Biologist Professor Eran Segal has warned that the UK must quickly roll out the Covid vaccine booster to avoid a deadly fourth wave. Not only that, it needs to convince sceptics for the jab.

This is in reference to

Israel’s situation which has

CMO urges people not to delay vaccination There were 1189 deaths up to 15th August, of people who are likely to have been affected by Delta Variant and have died within 28 days of testing positive.

Starking 64% of those under 50 years of age were unvaccinated, while in the same age group, people who had taken one or two doses of vaccine were 10%

& 24% respectively. In the over 50 or 50 years age group 30% were unvaccinated while the remaining 70% had either taken one or two doses.

The UK's Chief Medical Officer has urged people to get vaccinated quickly as there are some ‘very sick’ young adults in hospital with the virus.

seen the effects of the Pfizer vaccine waning after 6 months of the second dose.

In addition to this, there is a spread of highly infectious Delta variants.

He insists Britain should learn from the mistakes of Israel that are

seeing infection rates rapidly climbing towards the peak they hit in January.

The UK Government has said that it is considering giving booster shots to the most vulnerable groups from September.

Mother denies murdering his son The mother of a young boy, Hakeem Hussain has denied manslaughter when she appeared at Birmingham Crown Court last Thursday, by a video link from HMP Peterborough.

Laura Heath is charged to have unlawfully murdered Hakeem Hussain, who was found dead by experts in nearby Cook Street on November 26, 2017.

According to the

Birmingham Mail, the prosecution claimed that she is charged to have violated her duty of care to Hakeem and failed to control his asthma and

medication. Heath was remanded to appear back with a trial now set to take place next year.

If u don't ask, you don't get

Rohit Vadhwana How many times does it happen that you wish for something and it comes ready on your platter? Rarely, right? It is evident that whatever you want, you have to ask for it, clearly and unequivocally. Prayers that we offer in churches, temples or mosques are also a way of presenting our wishes to the almighty, requesting for them to be granted. We believe that the superpower is hearing the words said in our minds and is able to make them come true. Even in the story of Aladdin and Jin, the master is required to clearly express his desire for his omnipotent creature.

In some cultures, people consider it impolite to ask for anything from others. Well, that's true, you should not embarrass anyone by putting forward demands. But, in one way or another, we all have to ask. This asking may be in different forms: a request, a wish, a command, or a proposal.

The underlying force and persuasion behind each of them is different and works in its unique way to get what you want.

In case of a request, there has to be clear communication or at least enough knowledge about the need. Unless the other person knows about your requirement, in most cases a genuine one, chances are fewer that your request will be conceded to. This is a very basic principle of communication and persuasion.

Similarly, in case of a wish, it has to be made clear why it is very important for you. Wish is generally granted only as a prerogative of the giver, not as a right. In most cases, if a wish is fulfilled, it becomes additional happiness in one's life. A wish is not a need and therefore, it should not be compared with a request. Although sometimes in our mind, we blur this thin line and make our life miserable when our wish remains unfulfilled.

A command has authority behind it. A force that certainly creates a compulsion and pressure on the other person to follow it. Anything asked as an order or command has to be given, in most cases in the manner, within the time and in the order, it is commanded for. A command is followed when the person has coercive authority to punish failure.

But any proposal is completely different from the other three forms of asking. Here you have to convince the other person how it is in his/her interest to accept the proposal and give whatever is asked for. A proposal of marriage, a proposal to buy a house, or any other proposal - to be successful - has to be beneficial to both parties.

Asking is not bad, giving is not harmful. But it happens only when there is clear communication of ask by the person.

Just thinking in mind and wishing to get it can happen only in prayers where we have to rely on the supreme power we believe in. But for any other form of requirement, wish, command or proposal, it is pertinent to clearly convey what is wanted, how, when and why. Lack of communication may deprive you of something which otherwise would have been very easy to get. So, next time, try to ask clearly whenever and whatever you want.

Because, if you don't ask it, you don't get it.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

Young girl spreads message against bullying Ava-Lilly from Solihull is spreading awareness among other children who are suffering from mental health problems after surviving PTSD. At the age of seven, a group of girls harassed her at school, which led her to suicidal attempts. After a tough battle with the disease, today she is the youngest board member of the Beyond mental health charity and sharing her experience in helping other victims via a two-minute video clip.

After suicidal attempts, Ava was referred for cognitive behavioural therapy. At present, she has recorded footage to mark Mental

Health Awareness Week which went viral. The clip tells her story and shares a message for other young victims of bullying - to speak to a person whom they trust.

A £4,000 was donated to her school to appoint a counsellor to help other youngsters who need someone to talk and listen to.

On 22 August, she started to climb Mount Snowden in support of the cause, to make a difference across the UK.

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Navigating through a changing environment Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Suresh Vagjiani

Welcome to our property section of the Asian Voice. We have some interesting pieces in this supplement, in particular the article from Charter House, which speaks of getting the formula right before investing; this is of particular significance in the current environment.

It is not enough now simply to want to invest in property, one needs to examine the structure used, the tax implications of this structure, not just income and capital gains but also inheritance depending on which stage of life

you are in; and once you have done all of this to regularly check again whether this is the best structure for you periodically; as rest assured the environment will continue to change.

We have had a massive shift over the last couple of years.

If you are reliant upon the mainstream media, you will not be getting a correct picture of the actual geopolitical landscape.

There is more going on than meets the eye, you need to study the undercurrents to see what’s actually occurring.

Regardless of the cause it would be correct to say the commercial landscape has shifted permanently, there is no going back to normal. The damage caused to the economy is likely to be permanent, and has not float-

ed up to the surface yet. In short, expect further redundancies and bankruptcies, rest assured they are in the pipeline.

So, what does this mean for the property market? Well, the most accurate parameter is the auction market, as this shows the pulse today. There is no time lag here. When the hammer falls you have your price.

Often when one examines comparables the view is distorted, as you have an intrinsic time lag of usually 3-6 months, this is the difference between when a deal is agreed to when it actually completes. Therefore, you don’t actually have the correct information from looking at the figures, especially in a rapidly changing environment as we are in now.

The figures show sales in auc-

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Liverpool auction. This is less the tions are heating up in both seccase now as all the auctions are tors, residential and commercial. online. There was a stronger Mostly, they go well in excess of chance when it was in a physical the guide price. A recent Acuitus room. Nonetheless the chances auction had a sales rate of 94%; are you are likely to get this at a and a very recent lot we were bidmore favourable price. Also, look ding on went to £331K from a for unknowns in the auction lots, guide price of £200K. then do the investigations to So, are there deals to be had make them known to you. in the auctions? Yes. I just met Thereby, you have knowledge one gentleman yesterday, who which the chances are others may picked up a deal from a prominot. nent auction. He picked up a There will be many opportuprobate property prior to the nities coming soon, especially in actual auction, purchasing it for the commercial sector. Empty £200K in Shepherd’s Bush, and commercial properties, which looking to resell it for £350K, all have become redundant. The within a few months. money will be made in repurposThey do exist, but you need to ing them to residential under a look harder and do the digging. new piece of legislation, which Look for anomalies, e.g. properhas only very recently come into ties in the wrong auction is one. force on the 1st August 2021.

What I mean by this is, for exam15:50 Exciting times ahead. ple, a London property 1in 23/08/2021 a

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Commercial Property Market Observation Dean Walik, Solicitor in Axiom DWFM’s Commercial Property Department

Pragnesh Modhwadia, Managing Partner

The Covid-19 Pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on individuals and companies alike. It has changed the way we interact with each other, our environment and the real -estate market in its entirety. Our market observation on the Commercial Property market in summary is as follows:Logistics & Warehouses There has been consistent and growing demand for modern logistics. Investor appetite will increase further in

the already booming U.K. logistics sector this year following the pandemic’s permanent impact on online retail and an improved understanding of the role of warehouse space within our essential national infrastructure.

The strong demand and weakening supply of sizeable warehouses will cause rents to continue to rise for well-situated assets adjacent to cities, urban areas and other strategic “last mile delivery” hubs.

Office Prime assets are expected to outperform due to stable demand prospects. There is a continued focus on strong urban locations with competition in the short, medium and long term.

Whilst demand for office space has contracted, the expansion of permitted development rights may allow some Landlords to re-model existing space. There is an abundant supply of building stock that is currently not fit for purpose and if Landlords are seeking to maximise yields and capital values, significant capital expenditure by Landlords will be required to bring in the most attractive tenants. Tenants of such spaces may seek Landlord consent to vary restrictive user clauses to enable alternative use and many are seeking substantial rent-free periods as an incentive to take up occupation.

Conversely, many small and medium size landlords are facing downward pressure from Banks and potential events of default in respect of loans. As a way of offsetting some of the pressure and as a way of securing their assets, some Landlords are insisting that Tenants put down more sizeable rent deposits and/or authorised guarantee agreements as well as insisting that some Tenants take on new reversionary leases.

Retail Leisure & Hospitality The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the leisure and hospitality sector with the long-term effects still to be determined.

Excess retail space and dropping values generate opportunities in the short- to medium-term for retail assets to be repur-

posed to include alternative uses, such as innovative popup retail, co-working spaces and mixed-use schemes.

Conclusion: For some sectors such as high street retail, the pandemic has compounded pre-existing issues. Covid -19 has undoubtedly accelerated the long term-trend that has faced our retail stores for the last five years. Social distancing has increased e-commerce and reinforced consumer habits. One can expect to see increased level of distress and a flurry of CVA’s as operators seek to restructure their business.

Similarly, while co-working/co-living has seen an increase in popularity within the last few years with big operators such as the Office Group, Regus or WeWork attempting to redefine the office space, short-term income and long-term liabilities will result in more volatile cash flows and growth is anticipated to slow down in the medium-term.

Conversely, statistics from market commentators reveal that industrial investment volumes in logistics overtook retail for the first time in 2019, attracting a total of £196 billion globally which represents a sixfold increase from 2009.

Logistics is continuing to gain momentum and is now the third most-asset class after office and residential and second within the commercial real estate space, accounting for almost 20% of all global property investment in the first half of last year.

Only time will tell how the market will react in the long term….

Dean Walik, Solicitor in Axiom DWFM’s Commercial Property Department tel: 0203 827 6128 email: D.Walik@axiomdDean Walik wfm.com

No summer slump as property market remains busy and competitive Paresh Raja, CEO, Market Financial Solutions

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The summer months, typically regarded as a quieter period for the property market owing to holiday disruption, have been of particular interest in 2021. Specifically, the build-up to the first deadline for the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) holiday on 30 June prompted a great deal of speculation regarding how the market would react.

As expected, since July there has begun a process of recalibration in house prices.

After all, Nationwide had reported that UK house prices rose by 13.4% in the year to June 2021 – this rate of growth was unsustainable.

However, crucially, there has not been the sudden, sharp fall in either activity or prices that were predicted Paresh Raja throughout the first half of the year. In reality, the market has remained in rude health in the two months since the first SDLT deadline passed, with strong competition ensuring there has been no summer slump.

Research by estate agent comparison site GetAgent found that asking prices across England did still creep up between June and July – albeit by just 0.1% – despite some people forecasting a sizeable drop-off in July. In London, prices actually rose more notably.

An important point to remember is that there was a backlog of deals that were not completed in advance of 30 June. Data released by Rightmove estimated there were 704,000 sales going through the conveyancing process at the time of the first stamp duty holiday deadline; it has kept the market busy this summer.

Certainly, demand in the buy-to-let (BTL) sector remains high. According to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association,

2021 will be the best year for BTL house purchases since 2016. This marries with Market Financial Solutions’ (MFS) own experiences over recent months, with a large number of BTL investors still actively pursuing new opportunities.

Fast finance remains key The picture, then, is a positive one. The Government’s decision to introduce the tax break undoubtedly had the desired effect of catalysing transactional activity and market growth – in truth, the Chancellor et al. must be surprised by just how impactful the initiative has been.

Stamp duty rates return to their normal levels from 1 October 2021, which means we are likely to see another rush among property buyers looking to complete deals in September. Indeed, this has been a prevalent theme over the past year – as mortgages took longer to acquire, an increasing number of buyers looked to the greater speed and flexibility of bridging loans.

According to figures from Trussle, the average amount of time it took to get a mortgage approved almost trebled from eight to 22 days over the course of 2020. And that is just for the approval of the application, not the delivery of the loans. By contrast, MFS can deliver a bridging loan in under four days.

While the desire for fast finance is nothing new, it has become an even more important consideration among the clients we work with. It is vital, therefore, that clients partner with bridging loan providers that will ensure there are no undue delays, allowing buyers to proceed with confidence and at pace.

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Calls to 0344 412 4 4444 use free plan minutes if available, otherwise they cost the e same as 01/02 prefix calls.

NRI Account and a Home Loan products and services are offered by ICICI Bank Limited L (“ICICI Bank”). ICICI Bank is incorporated in India and is re egulated by the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) and maintains its corporate office in Mumbai, India a.

ICICI Bank PLC C (Company No: 04663024) is au uthorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority uthority. Its registered office is One e Thomas More Square, London E1W E 1YN. It is subject to the laws of England and Wales. All products cts and services are subject to terms and conditions, which are available at www.icicibank.co.uk

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Tax and Legal aspects of investment in real estate in India Sachin Vasudeva, Senior Partner, SCV 7 Co LLP, Chartered Accountants, Noida India, whether the subject property has clearances Revival of the real estate sector during the onunder the environmental laws is critical. going pandemic has been like a silver lining Depending upon the nature and purpose of on the dark and gloomy clouds of Covid. The the investment, a SPV could also be used. work from home culture has bought with it Investment through REIT’s is also gaining an enhanced realization of the importance of popularity and can be considered as an option. owning a home and low interest rates and cut in stamp duty has enabled a revival of this Interest paid on money’s borrowed for the purchase of property is eligible for tax sector. Industry reports suggests that the real deduction and therefore deserves estate sector has been resilient during the second wave as compared to the first wave consideration when planning for acquisition of the property. An important provision and the sector is now firmly on the growth trajectory. Besides domestic investors, even which is often overlooked is that investment in more than two self-occupied properties is FPI’s continue to repose faith in the real subject to notional taxation. If an estate sector. investment is being made to claim a Former President of the United deduction from capital gains earned States Franklin D Roosevelt had said “Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor from sale of an existing property, then can it be carried away. Purchased with timelines specified in the law need to be adhered. Withholding tax and GST common sense, paid for in full, and implications on acquisition/sale of managed with reasonable care, it is property also need to be borne in about the safest investment in the mind. In case of sale of property by world.” These words are like divine a NRI, the withholding could be as guidance given by Lord Krishna to Sachin Vasudeva high as 20% of the sale Arjun in the Bhagvad Gita and consideration which can be reduced by therefore its importance cannot be seeking a lower withholding certificate from undermined. the tax authorities. Last but not the least Understanding the regulatory framework one needs to ensure the timely submission and compliance thereof is the first step. of tax returns both under the income tax Investment in agricultural land by law and GST. NRI’s/PIO’s is still prohibited and any current holding of such property acquired when the Post-acquisition whether the property is person was a resident is under RBI scanner. self-occupied or leased out, the same would The investment can be made through either a require maintenance. Often there are people NRE or NRO account. Investment made in the extended family or friends who are through NRE account is fully repatriable willing to help. In the absence of help being (albeit subject to conditions) whereas available there are professional agencies who repatriation of investment made through the can be appointed to do this task. A power of NRO account is regulated by the one million attorney executed in favor of such person USD remittance scheme. Diligence to ensure would facilitate this process.

Happy Investing! clear title, reputation of the seller and

AUCTIONING YOUR PROPERTY Just-sold.co.uk

FREE INSTANT ONLINE VALUATION The initial reaction to auction from sellers is, “It is only for desperate people” or “I am not giving my house away for less” or “That’s only for run-down properties” or ‘’only cash buyer will be able to buy my property‘’, but the fact is – online auction offers a secure method of selling a property and provides a platform for exposure whilst you retain control of the complete process.

All properties are sold subject to a reserve price met. The property won’t sell for less than the agreed amount (i.e. reserve price) which means you are in control of the price you accept. We have partnered up with an agent with over 10 years of auction experience and an extensive partner agent network; we can ensure maximum exposure on a national scale for your property.

Private Treaty Sale Vs Auction If your property in one of following kind, it is worth putting in auction rather normal sale.  69 Years or Less on Lease  Defects i.e. Flood, Fire, Subsidence, Japanese knotweed, etc...  Deadline  Huge Potential  Demised/Probate/Distress  Damage/Rundown/STPP  Freehold Potential / Investment Potential High Yield  Land/Plot  Historical/Extraordinary  Company Owned Properties In Private Treaty Sale following are the hurdles  No Guarantee of Time Frame  Large Commission Payable to Estate Agents  Sometime property doesn't get SOLD and you may get charged for marketing  Due to Finance Issue of the buyer, Sale Fall through and Nowhere you are at fault but your time get wasted  Sometime there isn't any fault of Buyer or Vendor, however due to Lender, Solicitor or Local Authority sale fall through  Small defects found buy the surveyor



and your sale fall through Due to upper or lower chain your property stays in market longer and sometime doesn't get sold at all  Gazumping or Gazundering takes place at the last minute and buyer or seller suffers at the end  No transparency in sales process or about buyer and vendor rely on Estate Agent throughout the sale Just-sold.co.uk is selling property faster than a high street estate agent. The process is secure guaranteed and proven. Our simple and straightforward online auction puts your property in front of thousands of potential buyers irrespective of their geographic or personal limitations. Online auctions also allow you to: Attract a wider pool of motivated bidders, generate higher selling prices due to increased competition and add excitement and interest to your traditional live auctions.

What else? It’s free!!! It's 0% fees to pay by the vendor, on top of that you also have the option to sell through the unconditional or conditional routes without any room auction or estate agency fees (if desired).

You will have the advantage of the full online auction, secure now sales option and the advertising and marketing without any costs to you. A small fee will be paid by the buyer upon a successful bid, also there is an immediate exchange of contract on fall of the gavel (end of the countdown). If the reserve price is met or bidder goes on top of it. An additional reservation fee is collected from the buyer allowing us to push the sale.

Furthermore, to give our clients confidence in our process, company and establishment we are proud to inform you that we are an accredited (NAVA) agent, registered (TPO) auctioneer and client contentment is our aim. For more details contact our dedicated sales team today on 020 8903 1002 / 020 8459 3333.

Sachinkumar Gupta BSc., MNAVA, MARLA, MNAEA, ANAEA (Comm), Member of ARMA & LLAS

Manningham Housing Association to join new anti-racism movement Later this month, a new anti-racism movement is being launched by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit. The movement has received unconditional support from the B ra d f o r d - b as e d Manningham Housing Association (MHA).

A statement shared with Asian Voice read that the movement, a recommendation from a West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership review published last autumn into the impact of Covid-19 on health inequalities, will see staff and members of the local community putting their faces to the movement’s visuals in high profile places including sports clubs and hospital grounds.

It also highlighted that imagery from the campaign will be displayed on buses and across social media

Barrington Billings

platforms with the hashtag #WYHRootOutRacism highlighting real-life stories.

Lee Bloomfield, MHA Chief Executive, said: “Manningham Housing Association rejects racism and will challenge it wherever it is found. We are proud to join colleagues around the region in opposing racist behaviour and shining a spotlight on those who seek to sow hatred, discrimination and division in communities.”

Lee Bloomfield

Barrington Billings, MHA Chair, said: “As one of the country’s leading BME housing associations, MHA has always taken a lead in tackling racism head-on.

Racism was an evil blight on society when MHA was founded 35 years ago and it remains equally abhorrent now. We will stand up for those who are subjected to vile racist abuse and discrimination, and stand against the sick individuals and groups who peddle racist words and deeds.”

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Buy To Let Mortgages Ritesh Malkan, Crystal Financial Solutions A buy to let mortgage is a loan worth £400,000 with a deposit for someone looking specificalof £100,000 (25%), on a 2-year ly to buy a property as an fixed rate, the lowest rate curinvestment, rather than as a rently available is 1.51%. With a home to live in. One of the higher deposit of £160,000 main reasons for investing into (40%), the lowest rate currently buy to let property is to earn is 1.19%. additional income. In the long There are more options term, you may also gain from and lenders available to you, Ritesh Malkan the stronger your credit worcapital appreciation of the property. To fully understand thiness, which means you may how profitable it can be, you need to weigh qualify for better rates. The number of up the income with the costs. It’s also fundalenders available to you can be limited if mental that you seek tax advice before you you’ve had problems with your credit file take the plunge. such as defaults, County Court Judgements To be able to get the best deals or rates (CCJs) or declared bankruptcy, this could you need to distinguish between the differlead to you being offered higher rates. In ent buy to let mortgages available. These addition to your individual circumstances include normal residential buy to let, Houses the rates can vary depending on the term of in Multiple Occupation (HMO), Limited the product ie 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10 year fixed/trackCompany buy to lets and Professional er rate period. Choosing the term of product Landlord buy to lets. Depending on the type comes down to your personal circumstance of property and investor that you are, you and financial objectives. will fall under one of the categories above.

Whilst the lowest rate will always look We will focus on how to get the “best” deals appealing there are a range of factors to conor rates for residential buy to let. sider which will make the overall rates more The main area to consider is your indicost effective. These include cashback incenvidual circumstances. This takes into tives, product fee, free valuations and conaccount your income, credit worthiness and veyancing. deposit available. At the same time, you need The final point to factor in is how you to ensure that you meet the lenders criteria. approach applying for the mortgage. You can Some lenders are more flexible, and others go directly to most lenders yourself. may have stricter policies. Whilst a few However, using an independent mortgage lenders are willing to lend with just a 20% broker can be beneficial, as we have access to deposit, most lenders will require 25% lenders which are not available to the generdeposit. al public.

The best rates will ultimately be offered Overall, to get the best rates you need to to individuals or couples, that have a strong have a larger deposit / lower Loan to Value, credit worthiness and low Loan To Value good credit worthiness and ideally an experi(also commonly known as LTV). Loan To enced adviser to help match your circumValue is the percentage of borrowing against stances to the lenders criteria.

For expert advice contact: Ritesh Malkan the property value. at Crystal Financial Solutions on 0208 901 The lower the LTV, the better the rates 3737, or email mortgages@crystalfs.co.uk will be. To demonstrate this, on a property

Avoid the elephant stampede!

Abhishek Sachdev, CEO, Vedanta Hedging Ltd LIBOR will be phased out by the end of this year. The cessation of LIBOR as a benchmark for GBP interest rates should have been communicated by now to all borrowers. It is important that borrowers act now to agree the transition process with their banks but what is the optimal approach?

Lenders and borrowers’ transition processes are moving at different speeds and although some progress has been made, discussions on the transition to SONIA remain fragmented.

A common concern is that more progress has been made in the derivatives market in comparison to the debt market.

Therefore how can borrowers ensure that there is no mismatch between their loan(s) and hedges? This can have wider implications for those who apply hedge accounting in the form of added scrutiny from external auditors and the potential for hedge accounting ineffectiveness.

ISDA has already published its protocol which governs derivative products but nothing similar has yet been published to govern the loan markets.

With only a few months to go until the cessation of LIBOR, the level of preparedness for SONIA is not consistent across banks. Only some are able to offer loans/hedges referencing a replacement RFR. Some lenders are offering Base Rate loans or Fixed Rate Loans, however this is not an option offered to all borrowers.

With banks offering a wider range of options to some borrowers but not to others, there could be adverse outcomes

Abhishek Sachdev

for those with a limited choice or different outcomes for different loans with different lenders for the same borrower.

Ultimately what is our advice? Get ahead of the curve! Every bank and borrower will need to do something before 31/12/21. The first step is to identify where you have Libor exposures and decide your best case outcome. Be involved and shape your LIBOR transition otherwise it will be shaped by others. There could easily be a stampede for the exit as the deadline approaches which may impact the transition process.

Importantly, there will be a spread adjustment made to any replacement RFR so be sure to avoid any unintended transfer of value (by understanding how the spread is being calculated, SONIA conventions and the presence of “zero” floors in the loan). Engage with your lenders now, and seek commercial (not just legal) advice on the implications of this for you.

Do you run a buy to let property rental business?

David White, Joint Managing Director, Charter House If so, you’ve likely been impacted by the raft of legislative changes affecting landlords over recent years and are increasingly feeling the financial squeeze as a result.

Government legislation has increased ‘red tape’ and workload for landlords, with large fines introduced for those failing to abide by regulations. To add further pressure, the removal of reliefs such as ‘wear and tear’ and ‘section 24 – mortgage interest relief’ now fully in place post tax rental profits, have been significantly reduced as a result of effectively being taxed on notional profits. As a result, it is getting harder to obtain buy to let mortgages where the interest, fees and loan to value ratio are needing to be more commercially viable. All this at a time when the equity being required from the borrowers is at an all-time high.

Plus, it is not just UK resident landlords that need assistance because overseas landlords are now impacted by the capital gains tax changes.

Landlords must also consider the impact of increasing property values on inheritance tax – the Charterhouse approach is to discuss this with you as part of your overall objectives and if this is a concern, we will factor this in to provide a flexible platform to meet your succession planning objectives.

Structuring your portfolio to achieve your objectives is a critical step for the future success of your business. Great care must be taken as it is full of pitfalls for the unwary, however with careful planning these traps can be avoided.

Undertaking a structuring exercise that only deals with a specific issue can leave you open to unintended consequences elsewhere within the structure, both tax and commercial, further down the line. For instance, it may be that you’d considered your capital gains position had been

improved but in reality, the underlying liability was simply deferred or that you have an efficient corporate structure for the rental profits only to discover you David White face significant liabilities when extracting funds into your personal name. It could be that steps you thought you’d taken to allow to plan for future generations to become involved in the business have not had the desired outcome and you still face liabilities today when passing your wealth down.

Structuring your business efficiently is one of the most important steps you can take and although the issues faced in doing so are complex, the rewards for getting it right first time can be monumental whilst the consequence of getting it wrong don’t bear thinking about. It is therefore imperative that you seek not only professional advice but the right professional advice. Don’t just take our word for it, call us today for a free initial chat to find out more and see the difference for yourself.

About Charterhouse Charterhouse, and its top team of accountants and tax advisors, have been helping businesses to grow for over 50 years.

We are also the ‘go to’ firm of financial experts for other accountants, providing them with a consultancy service on the more complex and technical tax issues they face.

To find out more about how Charterhouse’s unique and bespoke approach can help you and your business, please contact: David White, at Charterhouse on david.white@charterhouse.net or 020 8863 4566 or 07831 250 149.

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Furnished rental hotspots that could Free security upgrades rolled out save you money in the long run to protect homes in Lutterworth The decision between renting a furnished or unfurnished home is one familiar to the majority of students. And while furnished homes offer superior ease and convenience, the more affordable rent prices offered by unfurnished homes often tips the scales.

The cost of renting a premium furnished property as compared to the cost of furnishing a rental home yourself has been the subject of study in the latest research by Manor Interiors.

The study revealed which major university towns offer the best chance of finding a fully furnished rental when heading off to university.

•

The key findings of research show: -

the rental homes currently on the market are fully furnished.

• In Coventry, 92% of the market is fully furnished; in Birmingham and Newcastle, it’s 91%; in Leeds it’s 89%; Cardiff 88%; and Sheffield 84% of the rental market is fully furnished.

CEO of Manor Interiors, Farhan Malik, commented: “This data tells us that, over the course of a year, it’s actually cheaper, sometimes much cheaper, to opt for a fully furnished home.

“Furthermore, when it comes to moving out of shared student housing, having to dismantle and move all of that furniture you’ve brought can be a real pain, especially if it was purchased as a household of people now going their separate ways.”

The average student could be facing as much as £1,796 to adequately furnish a rental home while at university.

However, a furnished property does carry a renal premium and Cardiff is home to the highest where the average rent price is £746 per month but the furnished premium is an average of 7%. This equates to an additional cost of around £52 a week, or £627 a year, to rent a furnished After closing the initial phase of a £500m fund, Wayhome, home instead of an unfurnished home.

But when this is measured against the the Gradual Homeownership provider, recently cost of kitting out an unfurnished home announced in a press statement that it has begun buying (£1,796), a fully-furnished flat is actually homes. It stated that this capital, raised from pension the more affordable option, saving funds, will be used to support would-be homeowners onto the property ladder, as part of Wayhome’s mission to Cardiff students an average of £1,169.

In Coventry, the premium for a fur- reinvent homeownership.

It implied that customers could buy a home worth six nished flat is 15%, a figure which equates to £1,283 a year. Compared to the aver- to eight times their household income, as compared with age cost of furnishing a home, this is a 3.5 times if buying with a typical mortgage, as per Wayhome’s affordability rules. It also means that homesaving of £513 a year.

In Edinburgh, a premium of 10% owners will be able to live in a bigger home in a more culmakes furnished homes an average of turally similar and warm environment.

The press release categorically mentioned, “Wayhome £1,320 a year more expensive. When customers simply require a deposit worth at least 5% of measured against the cost of furnishing the purchase price. Wayhome then arranges to buy the a home, this is a saving of £476 a year.

• As for the availability of fully fur- home in full, in cash – by partnering with institutional nished rented homes, at the top of funding partners. Customers don’t need a mortgage, the table is Edinburgh where 94% of instead, they simply rent the share of the home that they

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460 households in Lutterworth will now enjoy free security improvements to protect their homes against burglary. A team of partners at the PCC are working to deliver a package of improvement to protect people’s property. Safer Streets partner 24-7 Locks Ltd is is helping eligible households by offering measures such as high-security door locks, window locks, door alarms and window alert alarms.

The team includes Harborough District Council, Leicestershire Police, North West Leicestershire District Council, Melton Borough Council and Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.

“Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews have secured funding

worth £432k from the Home Office's Safer Streets Fund to increase safety in the town centres of Castle Donnington, Hinckley, Lutterworth and Melton Mowbray - areas identified as having a disproportionately higher risk of street crime,” a press note read.

This project will encompass up to 1,104 households by providing free security upgrades worth £186k across the don’t own at a fair market rate. four towns. Benefits for “To be eligible, customers need a household income of the community will comat least £30,000 and are subject to an application process. prise automatic number Wayhome scours the open market to pre-select homes plate recognition (ANPR) that will work for the Gradual Homeownership scheme. and additional CCTV cam“These are usually priced between £200,000 and eras with enhanced street £500,000, are in good structural condition with no build- lighting. This is above the ing work needed, have between two and five bedrooms government’s announcewith well-sized rooms, and are situated in desirable areas. ment of an £18.3m funding Wayhome doesn’t buy new builds, so homes have the package in the second security of longevity as well as avoiding the wait for new phase of its Safer Streets housing supply.”

Fund.

Nigel Purves, CEO of Wayhome commented: “It’s a A total of 40 areas grim reality that homeownership is out of reach for mil- across England and Wales lions of people in the UK. Because lenders only offer loans have been chosen to receive based on low-income multipliers, even those who have grants to tackle neighboursaved a significant deposit are often prevented from bor- hood crime and clamp rowing enough to buy the type of home that they can down on burglary, robbery comfortably afford to rent.” and vehicle theft.

Wayhome launches ‘Gradual Homeownership’ after pension funds fill the initial phase of £500m fund

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28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

UK female directors paid a fraction of their male counterparts A brand new research reveals female directors at UK’s biggest companies are still being paid a fraction of the amount their male counterparts receive.

The average pay for FTSE 100 female directors stands at just £237,000, which is only slightly more than a quarter of the £875,900 paid to their male counterparts, revealed research by New Street Consulting Group.

With female directors paid 73 per cent less, figures show the gender pay gap at blue-chip companies is far worse than the overall population, with women paid 15.5 per cent less than men in the broader jobs market. The large pay gap at board level is mainly due to the majority of female directors at FTSE 100 companies holding non-executive jobs which attract lower salaries. New Street Consulting Group director Claire Carter said the number of female directors at FTSE 100 firms has increased sharply in the last five years, but the research showed there is “much more to do.” She said, “Focusing solely on the percentages of directors that are women is not enough when trying to approach equality.”

In this year’s final update on the government-backed Hampton-Alexander review, which looked at female representation at the top of business, its target of 33 per cent of board positions at FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 firms being held by women by 2020 had been achieved. Sir Philip Hampton, who chaired the review, hailed the progress but said businesses needed to recruit and promote women to top executive roles “to sustain the changes made.”

Carter said, “The key to doing that will be ensuring that women have more executive responsibilities and are trained and prepared properly for taking on that responsibility. It will be a case of examining whether there are any barriers that are preventing females from reaching the very top at their organisation.”

Liberty Steel reportedly in talks with US lender Liberty Steel owner and industrialist Sanjeev Gupta is reportedly in talks with US lender White Oak Global Advisors over a refinancing deal that could help boost UK steel plants. GFG, the metals group run by Gupta, has been seeking fresh funding since March this year, when its key lender Greensill Capital collapsed into administration.

Gupta is keen on

British recovery is being held back by record levels of disruption in supply chains, as backlogs hit and staff shortages take a toll on multiple industries. The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest Industrial Trends Survey found that manufacturers are suffering the worst stock shortages on record, with supply chains upended by escalating shipping costs and impact of the pingdemic on staffing levels.

Meanwhile, a business index published by IHS Market and the Chartered Institute of Procurement

remains a challenge.” He said he had contacted HMP Hollesley Bay in Suffolk, but the rehabilitation officer said there was such a big demand for inmates “we’ve reached our quota and we are not allowed to let any more out to go to work.”

The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), whose membership includes the UK’s meat processing companies, said businesses were doing everything to find workers, including contacting the Prison Service. Multiple industries across the UK are facing severe shortage of workers. In a letter to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and freight trade group Logistics UK have warned that consumers will suffer unless the government intervenes. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said, “Helping prisoners find jobs during their sentence and after release makes it much less likely they will re-offend.

We will support all industries with skills shortages where possible, and are working towards bringing levels [of release on temporary licence] back up towards prepandemic levels as restrictions allow.”

UK govt urged to give protection to shop workers The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and union Usdaw urged UK government to follow Scotland's example in extending new protection for shop workers. BRC boss Helen Dickinson said "enough is enough. It is incomprehensible that despite Holyrood's decisive action, the UK government has so far failed to provide the same protections to shop workers in the rest of the UK," the head of the trade group said.

The new Scottish law will also see tougher sentences for perpetrators. Usdaw is also calling on the government to bring forward an amendment to extend the same protections to retail staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland when its policing bill goes to the House of Lords for a second reading in September.

South Australia. It was previously in talks with Gupta over a loan potentially worth £200m for Liberty Steel UK, but initially said it would walk away from the deal after the Serious Fraud Office announced an investigation into suspected fraud and money laundering at GFG companies.

While the investigation has not concluded yet, talks on refinancing GFG’s

Sanjeev Gupta

European operations are continuing.

Economic recovery held back by supply chain disruptions, backlogs

UK food manufacturers want to use prisoners to solve labour crisis The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers are pleading with the government to be able to call upon prisoners to solve a labour crisis blamed on the effects of Brexit and Covid. The group, which represents butchers, abattoirs, and processors, said it had a call set up with the Ministry of Justice that would explore how its members could recruit more current inmates and exoffenders.

Several companies are trying to draft in prisoners via a scheme that allows inmates to undertake paid work on day release. They are also contacting charities for exservicemen and women to try to rake in staff. Tony Goodger of the meat suppliers’ association said some of its members already had inmates on the release on temporary licence programme working for them and found them to be an asset.

Goodger said, “Much of the food industry is facing a recruitment crisis. The advice we have received from the Home office is that the UK’s domestic labour force should take priority. However, hard we and many of the members have tried, staffing

securing a new lender as he tries to prevent his steel empire from sinking amid a criminal investigation. The collection of GFG-owned companies employs about 35,000 people, including 3,000 steelworkers in the UK. Liberty Steel plants have operating been intermittently for months.

White Oak has already stepped in to lend to GFG’s steel and coal operations in

Its general secretary, Paddy Lillis, said shop workers face "violence, threats and abuse" on a regular basis. This has been exacerbated by staff being asked to enforce Covid-related measures such as social distancing or mask-wearing during the pandemic, Usdaw said.

"We've always had abuse against us, but since the pandemic it has gotten so much worse," says Michelle Whitehead, who has worked at the supermarket in Wolverhampton for two decades. After politely asking customers to wear a face mask when restrictions were in place, or explaining why certain items were out of stock, she has faced both verbal and physical abuse. One male customer told her he would wait for her after closing.

and Supply (CIPS) showed the UK’s rebound continued to lose momentum this month. The flash composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for August fell sharply to 55.3, from 59.2 in July, a six-month low.

IHS Markit said the number of companies reporting that shortages of staff and materials were hurting growth was a record 14 times the normal level.

Among the worst affected by product availability in August, were electronics manufacturers as the industry suffered from semiconductor shortages that have been devastating

the automotive sector.

Lead economist at the CBI, Alpesh Paleja warned that ongoing disruptions “could choke off future manufacturing growth.” He said, “It’s therefore vital that businesses and the Government continue to work together to smooth over some of the frictions in supply chains and the wider sector, until activity settles back down to normal levels.”

Chief business economist at IHS Markets, Chris Williamson said, “Rising virus case numbers are deterring many forms of spending, notably by consumers, and have hit

growth via worsening staff and supply shortages.”

Kieran Tompkins, an at Capital economist Economics, warned the slowdown presented twin risks to the economy. He said, “First, that the economic recovery might be slowing a bit faster than we had thought, posing a downside risk to our view that the economy will return to its pre-pandemic level by October. Second, that materials and staff shortages might feed into second-round effects of rising wage growth, meaning that inflation is higher for longer.”

20 FINANCE & REAL ESTATE

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Govt against merging Vodafone Idea India asks US court to junk Cairn’s $1.2 bn suit with BSNL and MTNL The government is against the merger of ailing Vodafone Idea with stateowned BSNL and MTNL, sources said. The stand comes weeks after industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla had said that he is “willing to hand over” his 27% stake in the crippled telco to “any entity - public sector/government /domestic financial entity” in the name of “national interest”.

Government sources said “multiple and strong logical reasons” suggest “outright rejection” of any proposal that gets the debtladen and loss-making private entity within the fold of the state-owned companies, which themselves have a poor track record of managing their business and are operational mainly on the back of recurrent government bailouts. “How can we even allow this. It’s almost like having privatisation of profits, and nationalisation of losses?” a senior officer said.

Birla’s call appeared to be in line with a suggestion

made in a report of Deutsche Bank. “…the only viable solution is for the government to recapitalise Vodafone Idea by converting its debt into equity, preferably, while merging it with BSNL, and then providing it a clear commercial mandate based on profitability targets and incentives,” it had said in the recent note.

Cultural difference will make merger a sure failure Deutsche Bank added that “should this happen, Vodafone Idea’s shareholders would be heavily diluted

as government debt is roughly six times the (telco’s) current market-cap, and such a solution might be an acceptable outcome to shareholders.”

The numbers are, however, stacked against such suggestions. Vodafone Idea, the third-largest telecom operator with around 270 million subscribers, is under heavy debt, owing £9.63 billion to the government in deferred spectrum payments, while being liable for another £6.1 billion towards AGR liabilities.

The liabilities come with interest burden of billions, with the company having another £2.3 billion bank debt. Its losses in the previous two quarters have been in excess of £700 million. On the other hand, BSNL and MTNL had to be handed out a £6.9 billion revival package around 2019 to keep them afloat, and are still struggling to attain profitability. As per a reply of minister of state for communications Devusinh

Chauhan in Rajya Sabha, total liabilities of BSNL stood at £8.12 billion while MTNL’s at £2.93 billion.

“It will be a financial mess if all the struggling entities are brought together and merged. What purpose does it serve? In fact, if their operations are brought together, it may turn into an even-bigger financial drain on the exchequer in the coming years if the operations do not turn around,” an officer said. “In any case, instead of being so considerate for an inefficient private entity, the government may simply focus more on the BSNL/MTNL combine and give them more funds to make them competitive and turn them around.”

Niti Aayog, which has been roped into the issue by the telecom department, is also against the proposal. The think-tank government feels that any such measure may also see an “erosion in value” of Vodafone Idea, and thus not much may be left in the deal for BSNLMTNL to gain from.

Jet employees seek stay on Jalan-Kalrock resolution plan The Jet Airways Cabin Crew Association (JACCA) and Bhartiya Kamgar Sena, in their petition before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), have submitted that dues of all workmen of the airline were not included as part of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) cost. JACCA claims to represent a majority of the airline's cabin crew, while Bhartiya Kamgar Sena claims to represent more than 70 per cent of the airline's ground staff.

The two Jet Airways employee groups have requested the NCLAT to "quash and set aside" the order passed by the NCLT's Mumbai Bench that approved the Jalan-Kalrock consortium's resolution plan for Jet Airways. They have sought a stay on the execution of this order till their petition is heard.

The petition has pointed out that the approved resolution plan mandates demerger of Jet Airways' subsidiary Airjet Ground Services Ltd (AGSL). Also, the services of the airline's employees, who were on the payroll as on the date of approval of the resolution plan, will be transferred to the demerged entity.

“It further proposes that with the said demerger of employees, the corporate debtor (Jet Airways) will not be liable for all the retirement benefits of said demerged employees at all

and the said AGSL, which is not yet even operational, will be solely responsible for the said liability," it further noted. As per the petitioners, their members did not receive any salary from March 2019 and had submitted their claims during the CIRP. NCLT had assured earlier that entire ground staff, engineers and pilots should be considered as an asset of the company. "The above observation by NCLT as well as the approach of Respondent No 1 (Resolution Professional) clearly depicts that the dues of all workmen were that point of time considered as CIRP cost," the petitioners have contended.

The petition has also sought a stay on the proposed liquidation of the AGSL as well as sales of assets like aircraft, aircraft spares and ground equipment of Jet Airways till the NCLAT reaches a final decision. Further, the employee groups have flagged the consortium's requirement that if its proposal, dated July 5,

2021, was not accepted by 95 per cent of the employees, then it would be entitled to liquidate AGSL. According to the petition, it was also mentioned

that if any employee challenges the proposal, then the proposal will stand withdrawn. The proposal, dated July 5, pertains to employee dues and retirement benefits, among others. It also mentioned that 76 per cent of AGSL will be held by the Employees Welfare Trust of AGSL. In a nutshell, the entire liability of retirement benefits of said demerged employees of Jet Airways will be saddled upon their own back through this new entity AGSL and through this Employees welfare Trust mechanism, the petition said.

The Indian government has asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss Cairn Energy’s suit seeking enforcement of a $1.2-billion arbitral award, saying it had sovereign immunity under US law. The UK’s Cairn had in May asked a US federal court to force Air India to pay a $1.2-billion arbitration award the firm had won in December.

The government on August 13 filed a ‘motion to dismiss’ petition in the US district court for the District of Columbia, saying it lacked subject matter jurisdiction in the dispute between Cairn and the Indian tax authority, according to a filing.

This comes a week after the government scrapped a law that gave the tax department power to go 50 years back and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas, but business assets were in India. That rule had been used to levy a cumulative £11 billion of tax on 17 entities, including £1.03 billion on Cairn. Officials said rules for withdrawal of such tax demands are being framed.

“One of the requirements for dropping of the retrospective tax demands is that the parties concerned have to give an undertaking for withdrawal of all cases against the government/tax department. So, while all this is in process, the government is obligated to respond in any legal matter where there is a time bar for doing so,” an official said.

Cairn had challenged the tax demand before an international arbitration tribunal, which in December last year overturned the same and ordered the government to refund the money collected. The government initially refused to return $1.2 billion, forcing Cairn to take action to recover that money through a seizure of Indian assets overseas.

In May, it took flag carrier Air India to a US court and last month got a French court order to seize real estate belonging to the government in Paris. It had contended before the US court that Air India is controlled by the government and the airline should be liable for the arbitration award.

In response, the government filed a dismissal motion last week, citing protections afforded by the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). India said the court “lacks subject-matter jurisdiction under FSIA because India never waived its sovereign immunity and, likewise, never offered - let alone agreed - to arbitrate the present dispute with petitioners.“India also never ‘clearly and unmistakably’ excluded judicial review or delegated exclusive competence to decide these questions to an arbitral tribunal,” implying Cairn couldn’t satisfy any exception to sovereign immunity under the US law, it said.

Officials said the government couldn’t have waited for the tax dispute to be closed in line with the new law and had to file a motion, failing which an adverse court order would have led to more embarrassment. Cairn had asked the US court in February to recognise and affirm the December 2020 award against India from the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the rules that will lead to the scrapping of the retrospective tax demands made on companies such as Cairn Energy Plc and Vodafone Plc will be framed soon. The government has to refund about £810 million that it had collected using the retro tax law. The bulk of this - £790 million is to Cairn Energy alone.

SEBI puts Adani Wilmar's £450 mn IPO on hold Capital markets regulator Sebi has kept the proposed £450 million initial sharesale of edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) in “abeyance". However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) did not clarify further.

The company had filed preliminary papers with Sebi on August 3, to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

Without disclosing the reason, Sebi said “issuance of observations kept in abeyance" with regard to the Adani Wilmar IPO, according to an update in the SEBI website as on August 13.

In market parlance, observations of Sebi is a

kind of go-ahead to float a public issue. The proposed listing of AWL on the stock exchanges will comprise an IPO in the form of fresh issue of new equity shares

by AWL for an amount of up to £450 million (approximately USD 600 million).

There will not be any

secondary offering, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), the flagship firm of Adani group, had said in a regulatory filing. The company, which sells cooking oils under the Fortune brand, is a major player in the edible oil industry.

Proceeds from the IPO

are proposed to be used by AWL to fund capital expenditure for expansion of existing manufacturing facilities. The funds will also be utilised for developing new manufacturing facilities, repayment/ prepayment of borrowings, to fund strategic acquisitions and investments, and general corporate purposes.

AWL is a 50:50 joint venture company between the Adani group and the Wilmar group.

Currently, six Adani group companies are listed on domestic bourses. Apart from AEL, other listed ones are Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.

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in brief

ACTOR PANKAJ TRIPATHI TO BE HONORED IN MELBOURNE Pankaj Tripathi who has given life to iconic characters on screen will be honoured at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne with the Diversity in Cinema award. This award is for artistes who have left an indelible mark in the industry through their different roles, across all formats, portraying incredible versatility with their varied performances. Trpathi keeps his characters and performances real and modest, and it is this quality that makes him a performer extraordinaire. He has made his presence reverberated in films as well as web series. He has also been nominated for the Best Performance (Male) in the film category for “Ludo” and for the Best Performance (Male) in Web series for “Mirzapur Season 2.”

His short film “Laali” has also made it to the festival this year.

INDIAN AMERICAN VYING FOR SALISBURY COUNCIL SEAT Nalini Joseph is hoping to win a spot on the city council in Salisbury, Massachusetts, this November, and put her decades of experience in the courts to good use. Nalini wants to bring her experience and her ability to reach agreements regardless of political and ideological viewpoints to the city level as a council member, a Salisbury Post report notes. If elected to council in November, Nalini, 53, will be the first Indian American to serve, the report said. She was born and grew up in India after her father moved there to begin a ministry. After high school, Nalini moved to the US to attend Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She found her way to Salisbury in 2011. In the last 14 years, Nalini has served as district administrator of the Guardian ad Litem Program, which advocates for abused and neglected children through the state’s district courts, for Iredell and Alexander counties, the publication continued.

NO-MASK RULE: SINGAPORE JAILS UK NATIONAL A UK man living in Singapore was sentenced to six weeks in prison after he repeatedly refused to wear a face mask in public.

Benjamin Glynn, 40, was found guilty on four charges of breaching coronavirus protocols.

He refused to wear a mask on a train in May and at a court appearance in July. Glynn, who represented himself in court, was accused of causing a public nuisance and using threatening words towards public servants.

He was earlier subjected to a psychiatric assessment ordered by the judge as a result of his conduct and remarks in court, according to local media outlet CNA. The judge told Glynn he was “completely misguided” in his belief he was exempt from Singapore’s laws on wearing masks. It is mandatory in Singapore to wear a mask outside home for everyone aged six and above

AFTER MOLEST OF YOUTUBER, ANOTHER VIDEO SHOCKS PAK After a video of a woman YouTuber being assaulted by hordes of men on August 14 in Lahore recently went viral, another clip has surfaced apparently from the same day of another woman being assaulted in Pakistan.

In the video, which was shared on social media, two women are seen travelling with a child in a rickshaw when a man jumps onto the footboard of the vehicle and apparently kisses her on the cheek. Startled, the women scream but no one intervenes. The News International reported that the rickshaw appears to be surrounded by men carrying the national flag, which indicates that the incident took place during Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations. The video triggered anger on social media, with many people calling for the government to take strict action against sexual harassment.

7 die in crush as thousands try to get a flight out of Afghanistan KABUL: The Taliban fired in the air and used batons to make people line up in orderly queues outside Kabul airport on Sunday, witnesses said, a day after seven people were killed in a crush at the gates.

On Sunday, there were no major injuries as gunmen beat back the crowds and long lines of people were being formed, the witnesses said.

Britain’s defence ministry said seven Afghans, including a toddler, were killed in the crush around the airport as thousands of people desperately tried to get a flight out, a week after the Islamist militant group took control of the country. Sky News showed footage of soldiers standing on a wall on Saturday attempting to pull the injured out from the crush and spraying people with a hose to prevent them from getting dehydrated. “Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the ministry said in a statement.

A Nato official said that at least 20 people have died in the past seven days in and around the airport. Some were shot and others died in stampedes, witnesses have said. Panicked Afghans have tried to get on flights abroad, fearing reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the Sunni Muslim group exercised when it was in power two decades ago. The WHO and Unicef called for a humanitarian air bridge to deliver aid to Afghanistan to help more than 18 million people in need.

Leaders of the Taliban, who have sought to show a more moderate face since capturing Kabul last Sunday, have begun talks on forming a government. The US and other foreign countries, including Britain have brought in several thousand troops to manage the evacuations of foreign citizens and vulnerable Afghans, but have stayed away from the outside areas of the airport. “Our forces are maintaining strict distance from the outer areas of the Kabul airport to prevent any clashes with the Taliban,” the Nato

official said.

A Taliban official said that “we are seeking complete clarity on foreign forces’ exit plan”. “Managing chaos outside Kabul airport is a complex task,” the official said. Another Taliban official blamed the US for the chaotic evacuation. “America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport.

There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport,” Taliban official said.

Afghans who fled the country this week have spoken about their despair at leaving loved ones behind and the uncertain future ahead. “It was very difficult to leave my country,” a veiled woman said in Doha. “I love my country.” On Saturday, the US and Germany warned their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid the airport. American officials cited the possibility of another threat: an attack by the Taliban’s Islamic State rivals. With the risks rising, 5,800 US troops at the airport had been “metering” the flow of Americans, Afghan allies and other foreigners through the gates, according to Major General William Taylor of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. Taylor said that in the past week the US has evacuated 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans.

Australia ran four flights into Kabul on Saturday night, evacuating more than 300 people, including Australians, Afghan visa holders, New Zealanders, US and British citizens, PM Scott Morrison said.

The Taliban’s swoop into power came as US-led forces were withdrawing after a 20year war that President Joe Biden sought to conclude. Biden has come under heavy criticism at home and abroad for the way the war has ended. On Saturday former President Donald Trump called it “the greatest foreign policy humiliation” in US history, even though his own administration negotiated the withdrawal deal last year.

Taliban meet Karzai in talks to form govt A Taliban commander and senior leader

Pakistan to allow fully jabbed Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to allow fully-vaccinated Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur from next month with strict Covid-19 protocols, ahead of the 482nd death anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev on September 22, media reports said.

On this occasion, three-day rituals will be held at the shrine from September 20. Guru Nanak died in Kartarpur on September 22, 1539. Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The decision to open the Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.

Dawn newspaper reported that the NCOC meeting unanimously decided to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur next month under strict Covid-19 protocols. Due to the Delta variant, India was in category C in Pakistan from May 22 till August 12, and a special approval

was required for people coming from the country, including Sikh pilgrims.

However, fully-vaccinated persons with certificates will be allowed to enter Pakistan provided they show Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test reports which should not be more than 72 hours old. Apart from this, a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) will also be conducted at airports and in case of a positive result, the individual will not be allowed to enter Pakistan.

Besides, as per NonPharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs), a maximum of 300 people will be permitted to assemble at a time at the darbar. According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), Pakistan had introduced three categories to deal with the coronavirus spread.

of the Haqqani Network terrorist group, Anas Haqqani, has met former president Hamid Karzai for talks, a Taliban official said, amid efforts by the Taliban to set up a government. Karzai was accompanied by the old government's main peace envoy, Abdullah Abdullah, in the meeting, said the Taliban official. He gave no more details.

The Haqqani Network is an important faction of the Taliban, who captured Kabul.

The network, based on the border with Pakistan, was accused over recent years of some of the most deadly terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.

Taliban destroy statue of foe, stoking fear A statue of a prominent anti-Taliban fighter killed by the group before they took power for the first time in the 1990s has been decapitated in Bamiyan city, residents said. Abdul Ali Mazari, a political leader who represented ethnic Hazara community, was declared a national martyr in 2016 more than two decades after the Taliban said he had died in a gunfight aboard a helicopter. “We are not sure who has blown up the statue, but there are different groups of Taliban present here, including some... who are known for their brutality,” a resident said. Pictures of the damaged statue being shared on social media showed it largely intact, but with the head resting at the plinth. Another resident said a group of Taliban fighters used a rocketpropelled grenade to destroy it earlier.

“The statue is destroyed and people are sad — but also scared,” she said.

Afghan resistance force ready for conflict but open to negotiations

Kabul: Former Afghan government forces forming a resistance movement in a fortified valley are preparing for “long-term conflict”, but are also seeking to negotiate with the Taliban, their spokesman said.

Since the Taliban took control of the country, thousands of people have made their way to Panjshir, Ali Maisam Nazary said. There, Ahmad Massoud, the son of Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated by al-Qaida two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, has assembled a fighting force of 9,000 people, he added. The National Resistance Front’s main goal is to avoid further bloodshed and press for a new system of government. But Nazary said the group is also prepared for “long-term” conflict, and if the Taliban do not negotiate. “The conditions for a peace deal with Taliban is decentralisation - a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all,” said Nazary, the NRF’s head of foreign ties.

Talks between local leaders from Afghanistan’s north and authorities in Pakistan were taking place until just days ago, he said. He added that Masood had different views to Amrullah Saleh, latterly the country’s vice-president who is also holed out in the valley and vowed to lead an uprising, on Pakistan. “Mr Saleh is anti-Taliban and anti-Pakistani. He is in Panjshir and he is respected. That does not mean he is a part of this movement. The aim right now is to defend Panjshir and its people,” he said.

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Gujarati woman in fray for Canada polls TORONTO: For the first time, Rinku Shah, a Gujarati woman, has been fielded as a candidate of Conservative Party of Canada for Toronto. She is a known name among the Indian community and had migrated from Vadodara to Canada 10 years ago. She has been engaged in community service for over eight years now and was also actively involved in Covidrelated work. Rinku was instrumental in providing essentials to more than 10,000 international students, senior citizens and retirement homes during the pandemic. She is Conservative party’s candidate from Humber River -Black Creek, Toronto.

Rinku Shah

For over eight years now, she has been working for the community and has facilitated several events for the consulate.

A mother of a 10year-old boy, she has also been organising mega community festivals like Taste of India food festival, Ganesh festival, garba festival and kite festival to promote Indian and heritage culture among Indo-Canadian citizens. Rinku is pitted against Judy Sgro, the Liberal Party incumbent.

“Our party’s agenda is to secure the future. It includes the

economy, jobs, accountability and mental health. Over a million jobs have been lost in the country during the pandemic and we wish to recover them,” Rinku said. “As the first Gujarati woman to have contested polls, I have an immediate connect with the local population which has a sizable number of Gujaratis.

There are many Sikhs in the Canadian parliament but no Gujarati. I am hopeful,” she added.

She moved to Melbourne for higher studies after completing graduation from MS University of Baroda. She then moved to Canada with her husband Vrajesh. The polls are scheduled for September 20.

Virginia hotelier Vinay Patel named chair of AAHOA board of directors DALLAS: The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA ) announced Virginia Indian American hotelier Vinay Patel is the new chair of AAHOA’s Board of Directors.

Patel became chair at the conclusion of the 2021 AAHOA convention and trade show, which was the first major convention in Dallas since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Serving America’s hotel owners as the AAHOA chair is an honor, and I look forward to working with AAHOA’s nearly 20,000 members on the road to recovery,” Patel said. “Industry estimates continue to project a full recovery sometime in late 2023 or 2024. Coming together as an industry is paramount to economic recovery, especially as new variants threaten to inhibit the reopening of America. I am confident that AAHOA’s enhanced advocacy and education efforts as well as the

implementation of our new strategic plan will help our industry get back on track.”

Patel plans to focus on elevating the association’s advocacy and engagement at the state and local level, including coordinating political education efforts with the American Hospitality Alliance. “We must be united in our advocacy efforts, especially as we engage with local governments,” Patel said.

In his inaugural address, Patel highlighted the importance of the industry’s collective efforts to keep the lights on during the pandemic as well as the necessity of remaining optimistic about the recovery and efforts to stop the spread of Covid. “We are in uncharted territory as a country as we emerge from this crisis. In a way, we are all letting our eyes adjust to the sunlight after spending more than a year in the darkness. It will be challenging.

Indian American named deputy director of SEC’s enforcement division WASHINGTON: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointment of Sanjay Wadhwa as deputy director of the Division of Enforcement. The Indian American attorney most recently served as the senior associate director of the Division of Enforcement in the New York Regional Office, where he managed more than 150 personnel in enforcing federal securities laws. His new role is effective immediately, said the SEC press release.

"Over the hundreds of investigations he has overseen, Sanjay has helped the SEC root out wrongdoing, pursue charges against those who seek to manipulate or defraud investors, and partner with criminal authorities to prosecute bad actors," said SEC chair Gary Gensler. "Sanjay's breadth of experience and dedication to protecting investors make him well qualified to serve as deputy director of the Enforcement Division. I look forward to working with him in his new role."

"Sanjay brings a tenacious approach to our work, and he is passionate about protecting American investors," said Gurbir Grewal, the SEC's Director of Enforcement. "I am eager to work closely with him in his new role." "It has been an honor to serve alongside the SEC's esteemed Enforcement staff for the past 18 years," said Wadhwa. "I look forward to working with Gurbir and the entire Enforcement Division to oversee investigations and litigation matters to help protect investors and promote integrity in the marketplace by holding wrongdoers accountable."

It will be frustrating. But AAHOA is here to help guide us as we rebuild, reinvest, and recover.”

Patel joined AAHOA in 1993 and has served on its board since 2014. AAHOA members elected him as secretary in 2018. He is the president of Fairbrook Hotels, which owns and operates 11 properties including IHG, Hilton, Radisson, Choice, and Wyndham brands. Patel also Vinay Patel serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia award winners are: Nanda Patel; Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Cecil B. Day Community Service Association and is the president Award: Mitesh Jivan; IAHA of the Herndon Hospitality Independent Hotel of the Year: Association.

Hotel Lexen; Outreach Award AAHOA also announced its for Philanthropy: Masudur award winners during its Khan; Outstanding Women convention, recognizing Hotelier of the Year: Priti Patel; achievement and excellence in Outstanding Young Professional the hospitality industry. The of the Year: Saajan Patel; and winners received their awards Political Forum Award for during the general session. The Advocacy: Bijal Patel.

Asian American population increases by 37 pc WASHINGTON: The Asian American population grew almost 37 per cent over the past decade, even as the US overall experienced a slowdown in growth, according to new data released by the Census Bureau. The Bureau has not released disaggregated data for Asian American sub-ethnicities, including Indian Americans. Nicholas Jones, director and senior advisor of Race and Ethnic Research and Outreach at the Census Bureau, said that disaggregated data for several ethnic groups is expected to be released in late September.

“The US population is much more ethnically diverse than what we have measured in the past.” he said. More than 24 million Asian Americans reside in the US, not including those who identified as multi-racial. California alone is home to more than six million Asian Americans, a 25 per cent jump over 2010 data.

About 4.6 million Indian Americans reside in the US, according to American Community Survey data released last year. The overall US population now stands at 331.4 million, an increase of 22.7 million, despite the slowdown in percentage of growth from previous Censuses.

The US Census is taken once every 10 years, and aims to count every resident in the US, regardless of immigration status.

The 2020 Census had a couple of major hurdles: attempting to collect data during the Covid-19 pandemic and stayat-home orders; and an attempt to add a question about citizenship to the ninequestion form, which civil rights advocates fought against, fearing it would deter immigrants from filling out their Census forms.

Census data is used to allocate billions of dollars of funds to states to shore up infrastructure, public health, housing, and a myriad of public services.

Cities and counties use the data to determine where to place new schools, transportation, hospitals, and other services.

The data collected by the Census determine the number of seats each state has in the US House of Representatives and is also used for redistricting: adjusting or redrawing electoral districts based on where populations have increased or decreased.

“These data, with their rich demographic characteristics, play an important role in our democracy,” said Ron Jarmin, acting director for the Census Bureau. He noted that the pandemic “significantly delayed our ability to process data in a timely manner, but we are confident that the data is accurate.”

in brief NEPAL’S LARGEST COMMUNIST PARTY OFFICIALLY SPLITS Nepal’s main opposition CPN-UML, the largest communist party of the country, has officially split, with one of its factions led by dissident leader Madhav Kumar Nepal applying for registration of a new political party. Madhav Kumar Nepal submitted an application at the Election Commission for registering his party named CPN-UML (Socialist), bringing to end a long-standing feud between him and former PM K P Sharma Oli. Earlier, President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued an ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act 2071, aimed at easing the procedure for political parties to split. The amendment ordinance stipulates that 20% or more members of the party’s parliamentary and central committees of a party can split their mother party. Previously, the act required dissidents to have the support of 40% of members for split.

ISMAIL SABRI IS MALAYSIAN PM Ending political uncertainties of the past few months amid a worsening Covid crisis, Malaysia’s king appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the PM. Sabri will become the 9th PM of Malaysia, bringing back the Malaybased UMNO party in the driving seat. Sullied by graft charges and the 1MDB scandal, UMNO was routed in the 2018 general elections. Former deputy PM under predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin, Sabri, 61, has been an influential, but moderate leader in UMNO. According to observers, as far as India-Malaysia ties go, Sabri will be on an even keel, focusing on trade. India’s trade deficit with Malaysia has reduced by about $1 billion in 2020-21, as compared to 2019-20.

S KOREA MULLS LEGAL STATUS FOR ANIMALS South Korea is keen on amending its civil code to grant animals legal status said Choung Jae-min, the justice ministry’s director-general of legal counsel. It is likely to be approved by the parliament in September session, making South Korea among the few countries that recognise animals as beings, with a right to protection, enhanced welfare and respect for life. South Korea’s animal protection law states that anyone who abuses or is cruel to animals may be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison or fined 30 million won ($25,494), but the standards to decide penalties have been low as the animals are treated as objects under the current legal system, Choung said.

ONE COVID CASE SENDS ALL OF NZ INTO LOCKDOWN New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has put the country under strict lokdown after the country’s first Covid-19 case in six months was reported in Auckland. Ardern’s “go hard, go early” strategy has helped curb Covid but her announcement left people struggling to stack up essentials, businesses shutting abruptly and schools and offices making last minute changes to go online. All New Zealand will be in the toughest, level-four lockdown for at least three days. Auckland and Coromandel, a coastal town where the infected person also spent time, will be in lockdown for seven days. “The best thing we can do to get out of this as quickly as we can is to go hard,” Ardern said. “Beating Delta means lifting our game.” The country has overall reported about 2,500 Covid cases and 26 deaths. But New Zealand has been slower than other developed nations to inoculate its population. Only 32% of people have had at least one shot and 18% are fully vaccinated.

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Covid jabs for kids may start only by March 2022 The government is likely to start vaccination of children against Covid-19 only

by March 2022, even as three-four vaccines are likely to be approved for the Under-18 age group by December, official sources said. Zydus Cadila’s Covid19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, is expected to get an emergency use authorisation for the 12-18 cohort by end of August, whereas Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin – the world’s only vaccine being tested for use in the age group of 2-18 yrs - is also likely to get a go-ahead by September.

There is also an mRNA vaccine being developed by Gennova Pharmaceuticals. Though the mRNA vaccine is currently under clinical trial for use in adults, it is likely to be approved for children without separate trials. These vaccines are already being given to children in other countries, an official said.

The Novavax Covid-19 vaccine, named Covavax in India with Serum Institute of India (SII) as its manufacturing partner, is likely to be approved for emergency use by December. The gov-

ernment aims to vaccinate the adult population by the year-end, but officials are aware that this also depends on persons being willing to be vaccinated apart from availability of the shots.

The government will prioritise children with co-morbidities - estimated to be around 30,00,000 - to receive the vaccines initially and then include others depending on availability.

Overall, there are around 40o million young people below 18 years. “Covid vaccination among children will start only once all

adults are vaccinated. We also have to ensure that there is adequate supply of the approved vaccines to cover all children,” the official said.

Total of over 57o million doses have been administered across the country till Thursday last with over 49% of 940 million adult population getting at least a first dose of the vaccine. Around 14% of adults are fully vaccinated.

Officials say vaccination of children should not stop schools from opening if staff is immunised.

“Children are not severely impacted by the infection. In most cases, it is mild. Primarily they spread the disease. So, if school staff and parents are all immunised, it is safe to open schools,” the official said. Though the pace of vaccination has increased of late, limited supplies

and the upcoming festival season are seen as challenges that may again impact the speed of the programme. Even though new vaccines like ZyCoV-D are expected to enhance supplies, it will depend on by when these vaccines are actually available and in what quantity.

Former UP CM Kalyan Singh Fifth FIR against former Mumbai police chief Param Bir is no more An FIR was registered against former police commissioner Param Bir Singh and dismissed assistant police inspector Sachin Waze for allegedly extorting cash and cellphones collectively worth Rs119,000 from a construction contractor.

Four civilians have also been booked, of which one, Sumit S, was arrested. The case has been transferred to the crime branch. This is the fifth FIR against Singh, who was promoted as director general (home guards) earlier this year.

The complainant, Bimal Agrawal, said he hoped police would offer protection to him and his family.

Incidentally, Agrawal is a coaccused with Singh in an extortion case filed by Thane Nagar police in July 2021. In 2012, Agrawal was booked in a case by the economic offences wing of Mumbai

Police and was also arrested in 2017 by the CBI and ED. In his statement, Agrawal said he first came into contact with Waze in 2000-01 when he was receiving threat calls and had registered a police complaint. Almost a decade later, Waze visited Agrawal’s office to learn more about the BMC’s tendering process as Agrawal had taken up contracts with the BMC. In the beginning of 2020, Waze informed Agrawal that Singh was set to be the new police commissioner. He egged on Agrawal to start a hotel business as he (Waze) was going to be entrusted with “collection work.”

Accordingly, Agrawal became a partner in two

Param Bir Singh

restobars. Shortly afterwards, Singh was posted as the commissioner and Waze was inducted into the crime branch.

Agrawal’s complaint states that Waze, having conspired with Singh, and his aides threatened him from time to time to pay up if he wanted to run his restobars without police harassment. Agrawal and his business partner handed over money to Sumit on a few occasions.

India slams Pakistan’s ‘hospitality’ for terrorists With concerns mounting about possibility that Afghanistan could now be used as a launch pad for terrorist acts, India said at the UN Security Council that the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the country would only embolden terror groups active in the region, including Pakistan-based LeT and JeM, which continued to enjoy “state hospitality’’.

Chairing a UNSC event on the threat from terrorist acts, external affairs minister S Jaishankar asked the council to not take a selective view of the issue as he underlined India’s concerns about developments in Afghanistan and its continued efforts to fight terrorist activities emanating from safe havens and sanc-

tuaries from across its borders. Sources said UNSC member-states joined India’s call for a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations leading to adoption of a “very strong, substantive and forward looking’’ press statement that outlined key concerns, especially to ensure a “strict check on terror financing and bringing perpetrators of terror attacks to justice’’.

LeT and JeM operate with impunity Whether it is in Afghanistan or against India, groups like Lashkare-Taiba and Jaish-eMuhammed continue to operate with both impunity and encouragement. It is, therefore, vital this

council does not take a selective, tactical or even a complacent view of the problems we face,’’ said Jaishankar .

“We must never countenance sanctuaries for terrorists or overlook the raising of their resources.

And when we see state hospitality being extended to those with innocents’ blood on their hands, we should never lack the courage to call out this double-speak. We heard from the aggravating attack of the pandemic.

What is true of Covid is even more true of terrorism: none of us are safe until all of us are safe,’’ he added. He said some countries continued to subvert the collective resolve to fight terrorism.

Kalyan Singh who was the UP chief minister when Babri Masjid was demolished, died after a prolonged battle against kidney-related ailments on Saturday.

He was 89 and is survived by an MP son and a minister grandson. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him the voice of marginalized, while home minister Amit Shah said the country and its people would always be indebted to his contributions. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath termed his passing away as the end of an era.

Yogi, who was at the hospital when Kalyan Singh breathed his last, has announced a three-day mourning in the state. His last rites were performed on the bank of Ganga in Narora on August 23.

Kalyan Singh

Singh’s appeal went beyond caste moorings As the chief minister, Kalyan Singh is remembered as a tough administrator, especially during his first tenure between 1991 and 1992. As a politician, he is considered the first BJP leader to take it beyond the image of an upper caste party. So much so that BJP’s successful experiment in 2014, uniting non-Yadav OBCs in its favour, is still called the “Kalyan Singh formula”.

He was a Lodh, which

comes under the OBC, but his appeal went beyond the caste moorings. He started his political career in 1967 by winning the Atrauli Vidhan Sabha seat in Aligarh as a Bharatiya Jan Sangh candidate. He won the seat nine times till 2002, losing just once, in 1980.

In the late 80s, he not only provided impetus to the Ram temple movement in the state, but also was able to unite Hindus, divided between upper and lower caste following implementation of the Mandal Commission report. It was because of this the BJP gained majority in the 1991 assembly elections and when it came to choosing UP BJP’s leader, RSS chose Singh over the likes of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, who is also said to be in the race for top post in the state at that time.

India sees 13.6% dip in weekly Covid cases, sharpest fall in 2 months India saw its sharpest fall in weekly Covid-19 cases in nearly two months with infections declining by 13.6% in the week ended Sunday, although testing for the virus was impacted during this period due to major festivals such as Onam and Rakhi.

The country reported just over 221,000 fresh cases in the week (August 16-22), down from 2,55,819 in the previous seven days.

This was the first doubledigit fall in weekly cases since the June 28-July 4 week, when the number had dipped by 11.4%.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the day of the Rakhi festival, fresh cases dipped to a 166-day low of just around 22,500. A day after Onam, Kerala posted 10,402 new cases, its lowest daily tally

in more than a month since 9,931 infections were detected on July 19.

During the August 1622 week, Kerala was among other major Covid-hit states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha to report a dip in cases as compared with the previous seven days.

However, with testing affected in Kerala due to festivities, the daily positivity rate in the state has climbed to over 16% in the past few days. This indicates that cases are likely to surge again next week once

testing numbers are back on track. The northern states continued to report a very low number of new cases through the week.

The spike in infections in Himachal Pradesh, seen in the past two weeks, started to decline in the last seven days. The pandemic also continued to recede in the northeast, which had seen several weeks of surging numbers till earlier this month.

Deaths due to the coronavirus continued to decline gradually in the country. In the current week, 3,111 fatalities were recorded, a drop of 6.7% from last week's toll of 3,334. Maharashtra, Kerala and Odisha, in that order, reported the highest number of deaths during the week.

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Give Election Commission-like autonomy to CBI: Madras HC to Centre CHENNAI: The Madras high court issued a slew of directives to the Centre, including bringing an Act granting statutory status to the CBI with more powers and greater jurisdiction to the agency so that it becomes “more independent” like the Election Commission and Comptroller and AuditorGeneral of India.

“There is always a clamour for a CBI investigation whenever any sensitive, heinous crimes are committed and there is no proper investigation by local police-...such is the trust and faith of the people,” the division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi said while considering a CBI plea that it has been working under constraints such as shortage of manpower. “...Very sadly, the CBI is dragging its feet, whenever there is a demand for (an) inquiry, on the ground that resources and manpower available with it are

restricted and, therefore, it cannot conduct investigations.

This is the usual stereotypical defence of the CBI before courts.” The bench passed the order while refusing to grant relief in a PIL filed by the Ramanathapuram District Pathikkapattor Sangam, seeking a CBI probe into a chit fund scam.

The judges recommended a separate budgetary allocation for CBI and stressed granting the director of the agency powers equivalent to that of a secretary to the government.

The CBI chief shall directly report to the minister concerned or the PM, they said.

The high court bench directed the CBI director to send a detailed proposal seeking further increase in divisions and wings along with staff strength within six weeks.

On receipt of the proposal, the Centre shall pass appropriate orders on the same within three months, it said. The Supreme Court was the first to call the CBI a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice” back in 2013, when it censured the then UPA government for its handling of the agency after it was tasked with probing the coal block allocations case.

Noting that that an aura of reverence was attached to the CBI, the high court bench said the only way to ensure

autonomy befitting that stature was to give it statutory status.

The agency should also have a dedicated cadre of officers instead of relying on deputation, it observed.

On perusal of a detailed report on the queries raised by the court regarding the resources, manpower, investigating skills, infrastructural facilities and status of cases being investigated

by CBI, the judges took note of the fact that the agency has been functioning under multiple constraints such as funding and facilities at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).

The judges observed that delay in receiving opinion from forensic experts was one of the reasons for CBI’s inability to close cases quickly. The laboratory should have facilities on a par with those available to FBI in the US and UK’s Scotland Yard, they said.

PUNJAB

Sidhu summons his 2 advisers over their controversial remarks CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu summoned both his advisers Malwinder Singh Mali and Pyare Lal Garg to his residence to discuss their recent comments on Pakistan and Kashmir.

Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had warned against “atrocious and illconceived comments that were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of the state and the country”, referring to the recent statements made by the two advisers on sensitive national issues like Kashmir and Pakistan.

A press release issued from the Chief Minister’s Office had said that Amarinder urged Sidhu’s advisers to stick to giving advice to the PPCC president

and “not speak on matters of which they clearly had little or no knowledge, and had no understanding of the implications of their comments”.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Manish Tewari has urged the party to introspect on whether those who do not consider Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India and have pro-Pakistan leanings should be part of the Punjab Congress. He said such people mocked all those who have shed blood for India.

"I urge Harish Rawat, AICC Gen Secy in-charge Punjab to seriously introspect that those who do not consider J&K to be a part of India and others who have ostensibly Pro-Pakistan leanings should be a part of Punjab Congress," he said on

Twitter.

Avoid ill-conceived remarks Amarinder said, “Kashmir was and is an inalienable part of India,” adding that with his proclamation to the contrary, Mali had effectively and inexplicably toed Islamabad’s line. “This is totally antinational,” he said, also slamming Mali for failing to withdraw his statement despite the widespread condemnation it had evoked not only from other parties but also from within the Congress.

Ridiculing Garg’s statement that criticism of Pakistan by him (Captain Amarinder) was not in the interest of Punjab, the Chief Minister said Sidhu’s adviser was clearly disconnected from the ground reality. “The fact, which every Punjabi and in fact every

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Indian knows, is that Pakistan’s threat to us is real. Every day they are pushing weapons and drugs into Punjab via drones in a brazen attempt to destabilise our state, and our nation.

Punjabi soldiers are dying at the borders at the hands of Pakbacked forces,” pointed out the Chief Minister, dubbing Garg’s remarks as irrational and unjustified?

WEST BENGAL

CBI sets up four teams to probe violence in Bengal KOLKATA: The CBI formed four teams to probe the complaints of murder and rape collated by the NHRC-led committee, hours after the Calcutta high court five-judge bench handed over the cases to the central investigating agency.

The agency has also sought details of cases from West Bengal director general of police Virendra. Each team of seven members will be headed by joint director-level officers and include officers of deputy inspector-general and superintendent ranks.

According to sources, additional director Ajay Bhatnagar is likely to monitor the investigation’s progress.

Sources said so far around 25 officers had been earmarked from Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai and from other states, and they would be divided into four

teams.

Last week, the CBI wrote to the DGP seeking details of the cases. “The court has clearly demarcated the cases that CBI and SIT will investigate. We have asked the state government to provide us with details of the cases. FIR will be lodged following that,” a CBI official said.

The HC’s five-member division bench had earlier handed over to the CBI the investigation of murder, rape

and atrocities against women allegedly committed during post-poll violence. In his observations, Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal said that in a number of cases, FIR was registered after the NHRC-led committee flagged off the incidents.

There are FIRs registered against political workers and supporters of a party not in power.

According to CBI sources, the teams started work immediately after the probe was handed over. After they receive documents from the state government, the teams will head for Bengal where they will conduct an extensive investigation into the allegations.

Bengal government officials said they were examining the judgment but refused to specify

whether they would challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court. “That is among the options being considered,” an official said. The acting CJ, in the lead judgment, recorded the NHRC report, the state government’s “exception” petition to the NHRC report, the procedure adopted by the NHRC and commented on the allegations of “bias” against the NHRC and EC’s responsibility.

The judges dealt separately with the allegations of bias against three members of the NHRC because of their affiliation to a political party.

“The allegation against the committee is not material because this court has considered not only the report but other materials, including the arguments of the counsels,” Justice Mukerji observed in his judgment.

in brief DOING EVERYTHING TO CONTAIN COVID: KERALA HEALTH MINISTER Amid continuous surge in Covid-19 cases, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the state government is taking the best possible measures to contain the disease. She said, "We are ramping up the testing to identify every single case. Our system is already on high alert and we are taking the best possible measures to contain the disease. Kerala Government has already started talks regarding vaccine production in the state.

We are trying to introduce fill-finish units. We have discussed the issue with the Union Health Minister and the Centre's response is very positive." Asked about her meeting with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Veena said, "It was a very positive meeting. We asked for 11.1 million more doses of Covid vaccines by September end. He agreed to it. We are thankful to the central government."

TAMIL NADU LOSES TWO LS SEATS Tamil Nadu has faced "unfair" political representation in the Lok Sabha since 1962 after the state managed to successfully bring down its population, the Madras high court said recently. In its order, the court asked the centre to see if the Lok Sabha representation of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh - the other state that has seen a drop in representation in the parliament - be restored, or to see if the two can be compensated monetarily. The court pegged the monetary compensation to Tamil Nadu at £560 million. "Tamil Nadu and Andhra lost 2 Lok Sabha seats after they effectively controlled population. Why states which could not successfully implement population benefits with more representation in Parliament? Why not compensate these states with equal Rajya Sabha states," the HC bench asked. In 1962, Tamil Nadu had 41 Lok Sabha members. The state's Lok Sabha representation was reduced to 39 ahead of the 1967 general polls after it successfully controlled its population growth.

LOW TURNOUT FOR DELHI GURDWARA BODY POLLS The polling for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee elections witnessed a low turnout of 37.27 per cent on Sunday, officials said. The DSGMC which controls shrines in the city, including Rakabganj and Bangla Sahib Gurdwaras as well as various academic institutions and hospitals, goes to polls after every four year. In the DSGMC, 46 members are directly elected from 46 wards in Delhi. Rest of the members are appointed from different seats of Sikh religion and groups. The elections being conducted by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Gurdwara Elections, has 342,000 voters. The voting percentage of male voters was 39.95 per cent and it was 34.95 per cent for females, officials said. The Punjabi Bagh ward recorded the highest voting percentage of 54.10 per cent while Sham Nagar recorded the lowest 25.18 per cent, according to the figures issued by the directorate.

HC JUDGE IN MAMATA’S LINE OF FIRE GETS PROMOTED Kaushik Chanda, an Additional Judge of the Calcutta High Court whom the Supreme Court Collegium has appointed as a Permanent Judge, was in West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s line of fire over his alleged proximity to the BJP and the TMC leader had even opposed his confirmation. Justice Chanda had on July 7 recused himself from hearing a petition by the Trinamool Congress chief challenging the election of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram after she expressed apprehension of bias against her by the judge.

Seeking reassignment of her election petition to another bench, Mamata’s counsel had also written to the Acting Chief Justice saying the chief minister “had objected to the confirmation of the Hon’ble Judge as a Permanent Judge of the HC and as such, apprehends that there is a likelihood of bias on the part of the judge concerned.”

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Indians in South Africa get Shashi Tharoor cleared of charges threats, go into panic mode in wife Pushkar’s death case As uneasy calm settled over the troubled KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces of South Africa, worst affected in the July violence following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, cracks are beginning to show. Their prime targets Indian-origin South Africans in Durban and Johannesburg - say they have been receiving WhatsApp messages threatening renewed or ‘Part-II’ of the violence, asking “Indians to go back from where they came”.

Kimeshan Raman, a 33year-old resident of Durban and social activist, who has recently applied for an OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card, said, “It’s a panic reaction. Messages and videos are being circulated targeting Indians. We want to protect our families.” At

least 330 people, many of them Indians, were killed in the riots that ravaged parts of South Africa for about two weeks, from July 9. It was four days after deadly arson and looting before President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed the army to quell the violence.

South Indian-origin African citizens have gone into panic mode, desperate for a “backup” plan. Several of them admitted they have applied for the OCI cards or were in the process of doing so. Potential applicants blame poor upkeep of docu-

ments, including the ship list of indentured labourers brought from India nearly 150 years ago, and the lackluster response of the Indian Embassy to their plight. “We are scared of another round of violence. I will be applying for an OCI card,” said Krishna Jagarnath, 35, a Durban resident, whose ancestors hail from Bihar.

Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter Ela Gandhi, who resides in Durban, said, “We are trying to unite people across racial lines and build peace and goodwill.”

But there’s a lot of uncertainty and insecurity because of threats from certain sections. “We don’t know where they are going to attack and when they are going to attack,” she said.

In a relief for Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, a Delhi court discharged him in the Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Special judge Geetanjali Goel said, "The accused is discharged.” The order was pronounced in the presence of Tharoor, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa appearing on behalf of Tharoor, and additional public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava.

Tharoor, who attended the court proceedings virtually, thanked the court for discharging him of all offenses. "It had been seven and half years and it was a torture. I'm so grateful,” he said. The order in the matter has been deferred several times earlier. On July 27, the prosecution had submitted that it wanted to bring on record and rely upon a recent judgment on the aspect of a "prima facie" case

at the time of framing of the charges. Goel had directed for the judgment to be placed on record and its copy to be supplied to Tharoor's counsel. However, the court clarified, "I will not be entertaining any more applications.”

Earlier on April 29, May 19 and June 16, the order was deferred due to the pandemic impacting the judicial work. The order pronouncement was adjourned again on July 2, after the court received an application from the prosecution seeking one week's time to file written submissions. Pushkar was found dead on the evening of Jan. 17, 2014. Initially, Delhi police investigated the same as a murder, with an

Shashi Tharoor

FIR registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), charging Tharoor under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498A (cruelty by husband).

Shrivastava had argued that before her death, Pushkar had sustained injuries on her body, and they were reflected in the post-mortem report. He submitted that 27 tablets of Alprax were found in her room, although it was not clear as to how many pills she had consumed.

Meeting of 19 oppn parties calls for stir from September 20 Accusing the government of ignoring people’s issues and plunging the economy into a spiral, the opposition parties announced joint protests across states in September with Congress president Sonia Gandhi urging the parties to start preparing for the 2024 elections.

Sonia said the opposition must work for an alternative to unveil a government based on "values of the freedom struggle and the Constitution". She urged the parties to rise above "compulsions" and work together while other leaders like West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the issue of leadership need not be addressed at present.

The protests, to be held between September 20 and 30, will be a joint show of 19 parties that attended a virtual meeting called

by Sonia Gandhi. The deliberations

Sonia Gandhi

were attended by TMC, DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena, JMM, CPI, CPM, RJD, JD(S), RLD, NC and PDP, among others. The move is a clear bid to translate the coordination established at the leadership level

in recent months and cemented during the just-concluded Parliament session, into a grassroots alliance.

Unity is not enough: Rahul Congress MP Rahul Gandhi

Upadhyay said that an exchange of firing took place but declined to share details. “No casualty has been reported on both sides,” he said.

A senior district official, however, said that miscreants from the Mizoram side showered bullets in darkness from the top of Darasing Hills when workers were constructing a road leading to the border from Bilaipur under the MGNREGA scheme. “In reply to the firing from the Mizoram side, Assam Police personnel also fired several rounds,” the official said.

Upadhyay said that he along with the Deputy Commissioner of Hailakandi, Rohan Jha, rushed to the spot immediately after the firing at around 2 am. “Huge security forces have been deployed in the area,” he added. Two days after the July 26 stand-off, it was decided at a meeting convened by the

Parliament session exhibited cohesion among parties, which will be sustained in future.

The alliance said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had sent a letter saying he could not attend the meeting because he was travelling, but expressed his agreement with the statement issued. The tricky subject of leadership of the opposition also came up for mention.

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said the opposition should not dwell on the leadership issue and that "people will lead". She said all anti-BJP parties should be roped in, including those which are at odds with Congress. "Fight is against BJP. Let us set up a core group and work together," she said, in what appeared an allusion to outfits like BJD, TRS, AAP and YSRCP. "Let us keep our personal interests aside,” she remarked.

HC grants interim relief to Kundra

Fresh tension grips AssamMizoram border Three weeks after a violent clash between police forces of Assam and Mizoram, a firing incident last week escalated tension on the disputed interstate border again.

While Mizoram alleged that Assam police personnel fired on its civilians injuring one, the neighbouring state claimed that cops only returned the fire after miscreants from the other side of the border sprayed bullets on them.

H Lalthlangliana, district deputy commissioner of Kolasib, Mizoram, said the firing incident occurred at the disputed Aitlang area bordering Assam’s Hailakandi district when three residents of Vairengte town went there to collect meat from a friend, a resident of Bilaipur in Assam, who invited them to come.

One person was injured in the firing by Assam Police personnel who were guarding the inter-state border, he claimed. Hailakandi Superintendent of Police Gaurav

said “opposition unity” was not enough and the alliance needed to present an “alternative vision” of what it stands for since the vision offered by the RSS-BJP is being liked by people. While CPM's Sitaram Yechury said "the opposition is united by the Constitution of India", Rahul argued it needed to be fleshed out in people’s language that they could relate to and understand why it was important for the country.

For the fledgling axis, the planned protests require Trinamool Congress and Left coming together in West Bengal, Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka, SP, RLD and Congress in UP - an early test to the experiment being put in motion. The deliberations among things, emphasised unity in a joint statement issued after the meeting. Sonia noted that the

Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi that a neutral central force will be deployed along the disturbed Assam-Mizoram border.

Chief secretaries and DGPs of the two states attended the meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. State police forces, however, have continued to guard the border. Representatives of Assam and Mizoram held talks in Aizawl on August 5 and agreed to resolve the inter-state border dispute amicably.

“Representatives of Governments of Assam and Mizoram agree to take all necessary measures to promote, preserve and maintain peace and harmony amongst people living in Assam and Mizoram, particularly in border areas,” a joint statement issued after the meeting had said.

The Bombay HC continued interim relief against arrest to businessman Raj Kundra in a November 2020 case registered by the nodal cyber police station for alleged distribution of obscene content.

The case also invoked the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. Kundra is in judicial cus- Raj Kundra tody in connection with stint in custody. another case under the Both Kundra and Kamat have Information Technology Act for challenged the sessions court alleged publishing and transmisorder which had refused them sion of “pornographic content” anticipatory bail, but had granted registered earlier this year. His interim protection till rejection of counsel submitted that two other their plea. Kundra’s senior counsel co-accused were granted protecShirish Gupte and Patil informed tion earlier.

Justice S K Shinde that the copy of In a similar relief to co-accused the sessions court order is not yet Umesh Kamat, the HC continued available. The prosecutor, PP interim relief of pre-arrest bail to Shinde, sought time till August 25 him in the November 2020 case. in Kundra’s petition to seek Kamat’s case, through his lawyer instructions for a response.

Sudatta Patil, is that his name is The HC adjourned both matnot even mentioned in the FIR and ters to August 25 and said pending he has no role or nexus in the hearing, “no coercive steps shall be alleged offence. Kamat is out on taken” against them. bail in the case after a three-month

26 INDIA

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Zydus Cadila’s DNA-based Covid vax gets nod for use Zydus Cadila’s anti-Covid jab ZyCoV-D secured regulatory approval for emergency use, becoming the world’s first DNAbased vaccine for Covid-19 that will be administered to children above 12 years and adults.

The company has indicated a supply of around 50 million doses

by December, a senior official said.

The delivery of vaccines is likely to begin by next month-end. The DNA-based vaccine is the sixth shot to receive approval in India.

While the government is yet to sign a final agreement with Cadila, supplies to the national programme are set to be augmented.

To start with, the company will supply around 10 million doses in a month. Pankaj R Patel, chairman, Cadila Healthcare, said that the vaccine showed 66% efficacy against moderate Covid infection and 100% against severe Covid, preventing serious disease and

hospitalisation. The clinical trials were conducted on over 28,000 subjects, including kids, and were done when the Delta variant was prevalent across the country. This has been the largest vaccine trial so far in India for Covid-19.

According to the WHO, DNA technology is a radically new approach to vaccination that involves direct introduction of a plasmid containing the DNA sequence encoding the antigen (in this case the Covid virus) against

which an immune response is sought. This approach offers a number of potential advantages over traditional approaches, including stimulation of both B and T-cell improved responses, vaccine stability, absence of any infectious agent and the relative ease of l a r g e - s c a l e manufacture," says the WHO. The three-dose Zydus vaccine, developed in partnership with the department of biotechnology, has been approved with a dosage cycle where the second and third shots will be administered at an interval of 28 days and 56 days, respectively, from the first dose.

Among the other vaccines in use in India, Covaxin’s overall efficacy is 77.8% while Covishield has a proven efficacy of 70% in India.

Sputnik V demonstrates 97.6%

efficacy.

Till now vaccines, which are in trials or approved globally, use either the whole virus (Bharat Biotech), protein subunit (Novavax), viral vector (AstraZeneca/ Serum and J&J) or messenger RNA (Pfizer and Moderna) technology platforms.

The Zydus shot is a needle-free vaccine administered using a special device, "PharmaJet", which ensures painless intradermal vaccine delivery, the company said.

The company plans to manufacture 100 to 120 million doses of ZyCoV-D annually, and has started stockpiling the vaccine.

The platform, because of its rapid plug and play technology, can be easily adapted to deal with mutations in the virus, such as those already occurring, it says.

"This is a historic milestone with ZyCoV-D, a product of Indian innovation becoming the world’s

first DNA vaccine being offered for human use and supporting the world’s largest immunisation drive.

We are particularly happy that our vaccine will contribute to this fight against Covid-19 and enable the country to vaccinate a larger population, especially in the age group of 12-18 years,’’ Patel said.

The approval assumes significance as it will not only help the government ramp up vaccination but also play a crucial role in immunising children between 12 and 18 years once supplies improve going forward.

Apart from the DNA-based vaccine, Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V are available in India, whereas vaccines developed by Moderna and J&J have also been approved with emergency authorisation. The Ahmedabadbased company has also conducted Phase 2 study for two doses of the vaccine but is yet to apply for Phase 3.

Empires built using terror have temporary existence, says Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that destructive forces and people following the ideology of creating empires using terror as a tool have an ephemeral dominance and they cannot suppress humanity forever. Modi’s comments come in the wake of Taliban’s stunningly rapid takeover of Afghanistan and the subsequent anarchy in the country, which has forced thousands people, petrified of the extremist group’s possible brutalities, to scamper for refuge in other countries.

PM Modi was speaking after virtually inaugurating several beautification projects at the famed Somnath temple. He cited the example of repeated plundering of Somnath temple and how it survived every attack. ‘This temple is emblematic of the belief

that truth can’t be defeated by falsehood and faith can’t be crushed by terror. The destructive powers and thinking that tries to establish an empire on the basis of terror may dominate temporarily, but its existence is never permanent. It cannot suppress humanity for a long time. This was true when some tyrants were plundering Somnath and it is equally true even today when the world is apprehensive of such ideologies,” he said without naming any country or terrorist organization.

Modi, who is also the chairman of Shree Somnath Trust, said, “This temple was demolished several times over several centuries in the past. Idols of deities were also desecrated. Attempts were made to erase its existence all together. But it came up again in

its full glory every time it was destroyed.”

Recalling the contribution of India’s ‘Iron Man’ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in building the present Somnath temple, the PM also paid tributes to India’s first President Dr Rajendra Prasad and freedom fighter from Gujarat Kanaiyalal Munshi who played pivotal roles in its construction. Modi inaugurated projects worth £8.3 million which included a 1.4-km long ‘Samudra Darshan’ promenade, a newly built museum housing ancient artefacts and the renovated Juna Somnath temple (also called Ahilyabai Holkar Temple), besides performing the ground-breaking ceremony for a Parvati Temple.

PM Modi also laid emphasis on promoting spiritual tourism

IN MEMORY OF PIE CROSBY Mira Kakad & Nishi Patel Pie Crosby, our beloved friend, passed away on 5th January 2021, aged 38 years old. She bravely battled cancer for the last 5 months of her life.

Pie was a unique personality, always giving and thinking of others before her-

"Pie's friends join part of the walk.

From the left, Meera Shah, Alex Gaitan (Pie's partner), Jagruti Chudasama, Isha Gupta, Nishi Patel, Mira Kakad, Hannah ElBaz and Nita Gorasia"

self. In September 2020 Pie was diagnosed with cancer and our lives changed forever. Through the COVID pandemic, Pie very courageously fought a tough battle and it was very difficult to see the young mother go through such a painful journey. Pie passed away peacefully but she lives with us always and forever.

On 5th July 2021, we walked a marathon (26.2 miles) including some locations that were meaningful to her cancer journey, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The resources this charity provided were very helpful to Pie giving her positivity, hope and the strength to keep fighting. Our route passed the following significant

locations: Orley Farm School, Wembley Park, Wellington Hospital, University College Hospital, Wood Pie Crosby Green and Kensal Green Crematorium.

We started the walk at 8.30am and finished at 10.30pm raising £3,683.

Macmillan Cancer Support provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, and campaigns for better cancer care. They take the time to understand the individual, so that they can provide support, tools and inspiration needed to find their best way through, understand-

" Nishi and Mira with Pie's daughter, Amelia"

ing everyone´s cancer journey is unique.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where 1 in 2 people are affected by cancer in their lifetime. We urge you to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support and help people who are fighting this tough battle.

saying that as Indian people’s propensity for spiritualism has ensured the country remained united for centuries. Describing the connection between economy and development of spiritual tourism, Modi said, “Gujarat has closely witnessed the results of linking modernity with tourism with projects like SOU and transformation of Kutch. It was the demand of every time period that we look for new possibilities in religious tourism and strengthen the links between

Narendra Modi

pilgrimage and local economy.” He also hailed India’s jump to 34 in 2019 from 65 in 2013 in the the World Travel and Tourism Competitive Index.

Third wave at hand, likely to imperil children, warn experts

A committee of experts constituted under the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has warned of an imminent third wave of Covid that could peak around October and sought better medical preparedness for children who might be at similar risk as adults.

The report of the committee, set up on the directions of the home ministry, has noted that “paediatric facilities - doctors, staff, equipment like ventilators, ambulances, etc. are nowhere close to what may be required in case a large number of children become infected”. The report has been submitted to the PMO. The report has called for prioritising vaccination among children with comorbidities and a special focus on those with disability. Even with “strict interventions”, the peak of the third wave is expected to arrive by late October, the experts have concurred with earlier assessments of different institutions.

Several studies have spoken of the likelihood of a third wave but these are estimates.

The vulnerability of children as they have not been vaccinated have been discussed and experts are of the view that they are not prone to severe infections though that can pass the virus to others.

Other estimates have said the third wave, seen to be the result of renewed mobility, may prove to be less severe than the second.

Covid care facilities for kids The recommendations made by the committee has suggested “a holistic home

care model, immediate increase in paediatric medical capacities and prioritising mental health issues among children”. It has mooted structuring of Covid wards in a way that allows children’s attendants or parents to safely stay with them through their recovery. The experts have expressed concern about 82% shortage of paediatricians in primary health centres and 63% vacancies in community health centres (the data cited from a parliamentary standing committee). “Therefore, the situation is already dire, and might worsen due to lack of adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB), insufficient medical facilities and lagging vaccination,” the report has warned.

It pointed out how during the second wave, about 60 to 70% children hospitalised due to Covid had co-morbidities and their low immunity was the primary cause behind many developing MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome), a “rare but extremely serious condition” developed post-Covid recovery.

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Hindus, Sikhs and Afghan nationals among 400 airlifted from Kabul While India’s evacuation efforts in Afghanistan continued to focus on its own nationals, among the close to 400 people flown to India on Sunday were also about 60 Afghans, including 23 Sikhs and Hindus. With an increasing number of people, including foreigners, seeking help from India in their bid to exit Afghanistan, the Centre has deployed a team of diplomats and defence ministry officials at the Kabul airport to coordinate evacuation efforts with the US and other countries who have been facilitating the exercise.

The 60 Afghans, including two lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa, were brought out amid reports that the Taliban were not allowing locals to leave the country. India had earlier Afghan nationals, assured including members of minority communities, with ties to it that it would prioritise visas for them and set up an emergency e-visa service for them.

A total of 168 people, including

107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown earlier from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals was brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF 130J transport aircraft, officials said.

Six countries to fly out Indians Six countries - UK, France, Germany, Qatar, UAE and US-

have agreed to take Indian citizens who have been working for in them Afghanistan back to their countries from where India will bring them back. This is expected to ease the pressure on the evacuation process in Kabul, and make repatriation back here smoother.

Meanwhile 146 Indian nationals were flown into India from Doha after they were evacuated from Afghanistan earlier and an IAF C-130 evacuated 78 more people from Kabul on Monday afternoon.

These passengers will reach Delhi on August 24 in an Air India special flight.

However, another Indian flight that was ready to evacuate more from Kabul couldn't take off because of firing at the airport. An

Afghan security guard associated with Western forces was killed in a gunfight with unidentified assailants, according to international media reports from Kabul, throwing the airport again into chaos after the Taliban had managed to restore some order outside the airport. Official sources reiterated Monday that the first priority was to evacuate Indian nationals.

Afghan crisis shows why CAA is needed Amid the ongoing evacuation from Afghanistan, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the problems faced by the Sikh and Hindu communities point to why the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was necessary. “Recent developments in our volatile neighbourhood and the way Sikhs and Hindus are going through a harrowing time are precisely why it was necessary to enact the Citizenship Amendment Act,” Puri tweeted.

On Sunday, 168 people

including 28 Afghan nationals and two senators landed in India in a special Air Indian Air Force flight.

The government has promised help to Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan, as well as its friends in the country who need help.

Earlier in the day Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said he was happy to note that 209 Indian nationals were safely evacuated and flown to Delhi, along with other evacuees, of whom 24 are Afghan Sikhs. “I have been informed that MEA is working on evacuation of another 222 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus. Praying for safety of all,” he said.

The CAA, which came in to force in January last year, provides for citizenship for non-Muslim minorities - Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities - from Muslimmajority countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, if they fled due to religious persecution and entered India before 2015.

Union minister Rane gets bail hours Sitharaman unveils £60 bn national after arrest over 'slap Thackeray' remark asset monetisation plan Indian Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a four-year road map for a £60 billion asset monetisation plan. A large chunk of this will be through brownfield assets of central ministries and public sector entities across roads, railways and power.

The FM made it clear that the plan only involves brownfield projects and not land and also promised to give incentives to states for undertaking disinvestment and asset monetisation.

“Ownership of assets remains with the government and there will be a mandatory handback, which means they will have to give back after a specified time. Let there be no confusion that this government is selling away.

No. These brownfield assets will still be the ownership of the government,” Sitharaman said, while unveiling the road map, which is a crucial element along with privatisation of state-run companies for raising resources to push growth and create jobs against the backdrop of the pandemic.

The FM, in the 2021-22 budget speech, had announced the launch of

asset monetisation programme as a funding mechanism for greater infrastructure spending. The government has already announced a £1,000 billion national infrastructure pipeline. The national asset monetisation pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in consultation with infrastructure ministries.

The assets include roads and highways, pipelines, power transmission lines, telecom towers, railways station re-development, private trains, tracks, goods sheds, dedicated freight corridor, 15 railways stadiums, 25 airports, 31 projects in nine major ports, 160 projects in coal mining,

761 mineral mining blocks, two national stadia, redevelopment of colonies and hospitality assets. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said there are over 20 asset classes across 12 ministries, which have been identified for the pipeline and these are brownfield de-risked assets, which will be offered for private investment.

Sitharaman said the Centre will incentivise states to undertake disinvestment of PSUs and asset monetisation and outlined a three-point plan. States, which raise money through disinvestment of state PSUs or give up control, will be given an equal amount by the Centre.

Union minister Narayan Rane, arrested over his remarks about slapping Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for what he called Thackeray's "ignorance of the year India won Independence", has been granted bail by a court in Maharashtra's Mahad.

Rane was taken into custody by police in coastal Ratnagiri district, where he is travelling as part of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, an official said.

Rane, who joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet in July as Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, is the first Union Minister to be arrested in 20 years. Rane had claimed Thackeray forgot the year of independence during his August 15 address and had to check with his aides mid-speech.

"It is shameful that the Chief Minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to ask about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap," Rane said in the public meeting at Raigad.

Rane has been granted bail by the court in Mahad.

His lawyer Aniket Nikam

Narayan Rane

cited Rane's health conditions and that Rane is a Union Minister in the bail plea. Notice was not given before Rane was arrested and whatever sections were imposed were politically motivated sections, Nikam further argued.

Shiv Sena had filed cases against Rane over his remarks on Monday at a "Jan Ashirwad Yatra" organised nationwide by the BJP. Rane had lashed out at the media for reporting his ''imminent arrest'', saying he was no ordinary man. "I haven't committed any crime. You should verify and show it on TV or else I will file a case against you (media). Despite not committing any crime, the media is showing speculative news about my 'imminent' arrest. Do you think I am a normal (ordinary) man?" he had said.

The Sena alleged that Rane, a former leader of the party, deliberately made the remarks to provoke tension in Maharashtra. Clashes erupted as Sena members marching towards Rane's home in Mumbai, carrying flags and shouting slogans, were stopped by BJP workers. Sena workers also targeted BJP offices in cities like Nashik. The BJP's Devendra Fadnavis said he didn't support Rane's comments but compared the police action to the Taliban.

Sena MP Vinayak Raut demanded his removal from the central government. "To impress the BJP leadership, Rane has been attacking Shiv Sena and its leaders. He lost his mental balance after his induction into the Modi-led ministry.

Modi should show him the door," Raut said.

Women officers in Indian Army cleared for promotion Five women officers from “combatsupport arms” have for the first time been cleared for promotion to the rank of Colonel (time-scale) in the Army after completing 26 years of service like their male counterparts. The Army said a selection board has cleared the promotion of Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana (Corps of Signals), Lt Col Sonia Anand and Lt Col Navneet Duggal (Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers), and Lt Col

Reenu Khanna and Lt-Col Ritcha Sagar (Corps of Engineers) to the Colonel (time-scale) rank.

An officer becomes a “selectiongrade” Colonel in around 15-17 years. The “passed over” male officers become Colonel (timescale) after completing 26 years of service.

The promotion of the five women officers is the outcome of the Supreme Court order to the 13,00,000 strong Army last year to end the gender bias and grant

permanent commission (PC) to women officers in eight more branches, in addition to previously existing legal and education wings.

Consequently, the Army has till now granted PC to 424 of the 615 short-service commission (SSC) women officers (who can only serve for a maximum of 14 years) eligible for it. The Supreme Court had last week also allowed women to take the exam for the tri-Service National Defence Academy this

year, in yet another order to ensure gender equality in the maledominated environs of the armed forces. Women officers, excluding the medical stream, number just about 1,650 in the 43,000-strong officer cadre in the Army. Till now, women officers could reach the rank of Colonel only in the medical, legal and education streams.

“The widening of promotion avenues to more branches of the Army is a sign of increasing career

opportunities for women officers.

Combined with the decision to grant PC to women officers from a majority of branches of the Army, this step defines the Army's approach towards a gender-neutral force,” said the Army.

The eight new branches for women officers to get PC are Army Air Defence, Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, EME, Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps and Intelligence Corps.

28

MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S Chautala takes exam at the age of 86 Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala took class 10 English exam last week. He sat for the exam at Arya Kanya Senior Secondary School in Sirsa. He had reportedly requested a writer because of a fracture and was allowed one. The 86-year-old president of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) reportedly finished the exam in two hours and left. Chautala had taken his Class 12 examinations under the Haryana Open Board earlier this year. But when the results were declared on August 5, his result was held back because he had not yet taken a mandatory Class 10 English exam. For his Class 12 results to be released, the veteran Haryana leader needed to clear the English compartmental exam. The former CM passed his Class 10 exam from the National Institute of Open School in 2017, while he was serving a jail sentence over his role in a teachers' recruitment scam.

Chautala studied for the latest exam while in Tihar Jail, where he served his 10-year sentence from 2013. Along with his son Ajay Chautala and 53 others, the four-time CM was released last month, two months before schedule on account of a special remission. (Agency) Grandparents rescue toddler from leopard

A couple in Madhya Pradesh fought off a leopard to save their two-year-old granddaughter in a village close to Kuno National Park, literally snatching the baby from its jaws. The leopard had sneaked into the backyard of their house while they were sleeping on the floor. Around midnight, 50-year-old Basanti Bai Gurjar woke up to the wails of the child, who was sleeping by her side. She was horrified to see the toddler’s right foot in the jaws of a leopard, which was dragging her away. In reflex, she kicked the leopard even before an involuntary scream escaped her throat.

And went on kicking. The leopard wouldn’t let go. Basanti’s husband, 55year-old Jai Singh Gurjar, woke up to the screams of his wife and grandchild and the growling of the leopard. "I kicked it with all my strength," he said. The couple grabbed the child and tried pulling her out of the leopard’s mouth, while kicking the animal in the nose and eyes. The big cat let go of the toddler but turned on the couple, biting and slashing them. Both Basanti and Jai Singh were injured in their legs, but kept fighting till neighbours came running, armed with sticks. The leopard scampered back into the forest. (Agency) A kind cop himself pays the fine of auto driver

A senior police inspector in Nagpur paid an auto driver's fine after coming to knew that he had brought money from his child's piggy bank to free his vehicle.

According to Nagpur city police senior police inspector Ajay Malviya was moved when he saw the auto driver using his son's savings to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 and decided to pay the amount from his own pocket. The auto driver had reportedly parked his vehicle in a no-parking zone on August 8, for which he was issued a challan of Rs 200. He also had unpaid fines for which the total amounted to Rs 2,000. As he could not pay the fine his autorickshaw was seized by the police. For

the auto driver, his vehicle was the only means of earning a living. Staring at a loss of income and unable to pay the fine himself, he brought coins from his son's piggy bank to the police - however, the police refused to accept the coins, local media reported. A teary-eyed driver then approached senior inspector Ajay Malviya.

Noticing the plastic bag of coins in his hand, the cop asked him what the trouble was. Upon getting to know about the auto driver's financial situation, Malviya returned the boy's money and paid the fine himself. (Agency) A recreational park for cats

Upendra Goswami, a custom house agent, has been running his feline garden in Gandhidham with 200 cats since 2017.

Goswami firmly believes that his elder sister Meena, who died at the age of 18 and loved cats, had come back to the family in the form of cat. In 2015 a cat came to his house and its activities convinced him and the entire family that it was his sister who had come back to them. In order to maintain the cat lineage, he started the garden to help the felines thrive. “I started feeling that my dead sister came back to my home as a cat and when I started to believe the cat which did not allow to touch anybody came and sat in my lap,” Goswami said. Dismissing the charge of superstition, he said: “I was peon in the firm in which I am currently a business partner. The happiness and growth they brought into our lives is unimaginable.” At the garden they were living without any human or dog interference. Now there are about 125 cats playing in Goswami’s house. In 2017.

Goswami brought a plot in Gandhidham near his house to create a cat garden to accommodate the huge family. (The Times of India) Reticulated python breeds after 4 years

The Chennai Snake Park recently welcomed 29 baby reticulated pythons.

Separated from their mother, they are in isolation and are healthy. Executive chairman S Paulraj said that reticulated pythons, native to South East Asia, are the longest snakes in the world and very sensitive. The new additions have been born after nearly four years. In 2017, a dozen eggs hatched and seven of them are alive. A couple of months ago, the park designed and created a new enclosure for its reticulated pythons. The male and female then mated. As soon as the authorities found out the female was getting ready to lay the eggs, she was separated from the others in the enclosure. “She was kept in an enclosure and it was ensured that she was not disturbed by anyone. She laid the eggs that hatched in about 65 days,” he said.

The new born pythons are being fed mice and small frogs on alternative days, while their mother is given a live chicken and bandicoot. World over, reticulated pythons are one of the most sought-after pets. In the wild, their life span is not more than 20 years, but they can live up to 28 years in captivity, he said. (Agency)

of spirituality, said Madras high court, dismissing a bail petition by C N Siva Shankaran alias Sivashankar Baba, who was arrested by CB-CID on charges of sexual abuse. Justice M Dhandapani before whom the plea came up for hearing, expressed shock at the manner in which the common man, in spite of his intellect and faculties, is being brainwashed by persons, who, under the guise of spiritual awakening and intellectual liberation, commit perverted acts on the women folk, as is alleged in the present complaints. Stating that it would not be in the interest of justice if the self-styled god man is granted bail as he is also booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, the court denied bail to the godman.

(Agency) Police dog sniffs out rapists/killers in 20 minutes

Haryana govt bans phrase ‘gorakh dhanda’

The Haryana government has announced a ban on the use of the phrase “gorakh dhanda,” which is generally used to describe unethical and unfair practices.

A decision was taken by CM Manohar Lal Khattar after a delegation of the Gorakhnath community met him and urged him to ban the phrase as it hurts the sentiments of the followers of saint Gorakhnath. The CM said as guru Gorakhnath was a saint, using the phrase ‘gorakh dhanda’ in any official communication, speech or in any context hurts the sentiments of his followers.

Therefore, the use of this phrase in any context has been completely banned in the state. (Agency) Activities of fake gurus irk HC Society's collective gullibility in matters of faith comes handy for fake godmen and the so-called spiritual gurus to exploit people to the hilt. The reverential faith reposed on such spurious gurus by their multitude of minions stands betrayed at the eventual exposure of their wickedness hid behind the mask

An indefatigable 18-month-old female Dobermann, a member of Vadodara rural cops’ dog squad for about a month now, has proved to be the ‘Holmes’ among canines, yet again. Jawa took less than half an hour to end a ghastly murder story by leading cops right up to six criminals who raped and killed a 38-yearold woman. Displaying high athleticism, sharp focus and a tenaciously determined sense of purpose the dog sniffed a dupatta and a bottle on the crime spot and started walking in the northern direction. It walked continuously for around 2 km, through fields and bushes until it crossed the busy AhmedabadMumbai railway line and entered a tent where it started barking agitatedly making it significantly clear that she arrived at her goal - leading to the arrest of six men. In this case, the mother of three children was gang raped by six men in a farm where she was cutting grass on the outskirts of Dethan village of Karjan taluka. The accused later strangled her to death fearing detection. The body was found by her family who were searching for her as she failed to return home till late. A case was registered and it took less than 30 minutes for Jawa to track down the culprits. (The Times of India)

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Alia, Ranveer begin shooting for ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ A brand new project that sees a collaboration between Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt has begun shooting. The movie sees Karan returning to the director’s chair after a gap of almost four years, stars a stellar cast of veteran actors including Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, and Shabana Azmi.

Alia, Ranveer, and Karan shared a video showing snippets from the sets revealing Alia’s traditional look. The actor was dressed in Indian clothes with a red bindi on her forehead. Ranveer could be practising dance moves and also shooting a scene with Alia as Karan supervised the shoot. The crew can be seen hard at work.

Karan captioned the video, “The day is finally here & I have so many feelings going on in my head but what emerges at the top is - gratitude! As we begin our Kahani ka first schedule, seeking all your pyaar & aashirvaad! It’s time to roll! Movie camera #RockyAurRaniKiPremKahani #RRKPK.” Karan announced the movie on Ranveer’s birthday, July 6. Written by Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan and Sumit Roy, ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ will release in 2022.

Kartik Aaryan resumes shooting for 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' Prolific filmmaker Anees Bazmee who thinks laughter is the best medicine for Covid, is back to shooting with his leading man Kartik Aaryan for 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', the sequel of sorts to the 2007 hit 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' with Akshay Kumar.

Kartik who has been on a signing spree this year is back shooting for Bazmee’s comedy which got delayed due to the pandemic. Says Anees, “We were shooting for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in Lucknow when the pandemic broke out in March 2020. The shooting remained cancelled. But now we are back. Kartik and Tabu are with us. Their comic timing will shock audiences.”

Director Bazmee is all praise for his leading man. “He brings a certain positivity to the set. His comic timing is impeccable.

Audiences are going to love his scenes with Tabu.” Interestingly Tabu and Kartik have formed a mutual admiration society. He

can’t sing enough praises of ‘Tabu M’aam’.

She is all praise for Kartik’s comic timing.

“The two are deadly in my film.

Audiences will come away from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 hoping to see them together again,” promises Anees. The last time Tabu shone within an unconventional pairing was when she did 'Andhadhun' with Ayushmann Khurrana. Anees promises a similar uncharted chemistry between Tabu and Kartik in 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.'

Glimpses of Salman Khan’s ‘Tiger 3’ revealed Eagle-eyed fans of superstar Salman Khan caught him shooting for the much-awaited ‘Tiger 3’ in Russia.

Salman and co-actress Katrina Kaif left for Russia last week to shoot for the third instalment of the ‘Tiger’ franchise. A fan of the actor posted a series of pictures from the sets of the movie on social media.

The photos featured Salman sporting a long beard as he shot for a car chase sequence. Considering the actor plays a spy in the movie, the look may be one of his disguises. Another picture showed Salman posing with his Russian fans. The actor began shooting for ‘Tiger 3’ right before the second wave of the coronavirus struck India in March end.

The shoot was paused for four months until earlier this week, when the actors were shot leaving the country. The movie features Emraan Hashmi as the antagonist. Salman is expected to return to India by October to shoot for is reality TV show ‘Bigg Boss 15’.

Shilpa Shetty posts quote on strength amid controversies Actress Shilpa Shetty seems to be facing adversity in all its might. The actress and her family remain marred in controversy ever since her husband and businessman Raj Kundra got arrested in a porn apps case in July. The actor herself faces constant speculation and potshots online.

Shilpa took a three-week-long break from Sony TV reality show ‘Super Dancer’ Chapter 4. But, as she returned to the judge’s panel of the show earlier this week, she made a statement about her courage without addressing any controversy. Shilpa spoke about a woman’s indomitable strength while praising a contestant’s performance but later took to Instagram to share her thoughts on female power.

“There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

Shilpa’s return to ‘Super Dancer’ is her first public appearance since Kundra’s arrest. A source from show said the team had always been keen to get Shilpa back, however, she wanted to take her own time.

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Ananya talks about internet trolling, struggle and controversy Actor Ananya Panday was the latest celebrity to arrive on Arbaaz Khan’s show ‘Pinch’.

Going by the format of the show, the host reads out hurtful tweets to the celebrities and they respond to the haters. Ananya is no stranger to trolling and hate, and has faced attacks for her take on nepotism, Instagram photos and captions.

Talking about trolling, Ananya said, “There’s no solution to the hate. If someone is filled with so much hate and poison, the response should be love.

If you also respond with love, there will be more hate in the world.” Unfazed by the comments, Ananya laughed at some, particularly regarding her accent. “Everyone has opinions, some are funny, if they aren’t too mean or something personal.”

Ananya also talked about her ‘struggling days’ comment made

at a roundtable interview with Rajeev Masand, where she equated struggle to not being part of ‘Koffee With Karan’. She said, “I could have framed it in a better way. What I wanted to say didn’t come across well and it came across wrong. I think I’ve become calm, and I think before I speak. I’m not saying this will be the last mistake I’ll make. I just want people to be on this journey with me, grow and change. I’m very young and still in the limelight. Usually people my age are going to college and partying, but I wouldn’t want to change my life now.”

Ananya acknowledges that she has made mistakes, and will continue to do so. She said, “Honestly I’ve made lots of stupid things. When someone asked me what I would eat for breakfast, I’ve answered omelette with egg.”

‘BellBottom' grosses £835,000 after three days Actor Akshay Kumar-led action-thriller ‘BellBottom’ has grossed £835,000 after three days of its box office journey. It collected £ 300,000 on its third day. Directed

by Ranjit M Tewari, the film also stars Adil Hussain, Zain Khan Durrani, Vaani Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Lara Dutta, Denzil Smith, Dolly Ahluwalia, and Sunit Tandon in pivotal roles. The film is the first big release after theatres reopened.

Trade analyst Girish Johar said the film would have earned £2 million on opening day in pre-Covid times. He said, “As industry insiders, we are not looking at it from the perspective of box office numbers, but it will help the industry’s revival. With the release of BellBottom, the wheels of the industry will start moving.”

‘BellBottom’ has received mostly positive reviews so far. Film critic Shubhra Gupta gave it 3 stars. She concluded her review by saying, “‘BellBottom’ works on its stated metrics of see, no complexities, everything easy.

Fun and games and rat-a-tat action, and no hostages lost, just as they didn’t in real life after the rescue operation was pulled off successfully. We get the flag, but no strident flag waving. We get bad Pakistani terrorists who brainwash hapless Indians, but no loud jingoism. Bad guys lose. Good guys win. Jai Hind.”

Kareena celebrates Jeh’s six-month birthday Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan is enjoying the time of her life in sun-soaked Maldives. While she has been treating her fans with gorgeous selfies every day, she shared a beautiful photo with her younger son Jeh on the completion of six months of birth.

Kareena captioned it, “Love, happiness, and courage to you always Happy 6 months my life.” Kareena flew to Maldives along with husband Saif Ali Khan, and sons Taimur and Jeh to ring in Saif’s 51st birthday. Before leaving for her vacation, Kareena launched her book, ‘Pregnancy Bible’, in which she detailed her experiences during pregnancy and motherhood.

The book paved way for a controversy as reports suggested her second child is named Jehangir Ali Khan. Kareena, however, remains unfazed. In an interview, she said, “Bollywood celebrities, in every situation, are a soft target. I’m a very positive person. I’m very happy and content and I want to spread positivity. In a time like Covid, I can’t think of trolls, I can’t think of any form of negativity. There’s no place for negativity in our lives because look at what the pandemic has taught us. It’s bringing us closer, it has brought the world closer, we have to stand for each other. That’s the way I think, all of us think and I think all of us should think.”

Sonu Sood shows solidarity with victims of Afghan crisis

Actor-philanthropist Sonu Sood showed solidarity to victims of the Afghanistan crisis. He also pointed out that Indians who have been left homeless in the war-torn city need support like never before. The actor, who has been in the forefront helping migrant workers reach home after the nationwide lockdown was announced last year in March, has become quite the hero.

His acts of philanthropy have only exceeded since.

Taking to Twitter, Sonu wrote about the need for jobs and a good living for the many distressed families. He tweeted, “The world should show the solidarity to Afghanistan by giving jobs and a good living to every Afghan family that became homeless.”

Sonu also showed concern over those Indians who have been in Afghanistan for many years. He further wrote, “Also all the Indians who lived in Afghanistan all their life and now are homeless, they need us. It’s Now or Never. Jai Hind.”

Sonu’s fans supported his appeal and called him a “super hero”. The Taliban’s take over of Afghanistan has prompted several Bollywood celebrities like Kangana Ranaut, Armaan Malik, Rhea Chakraborty, and Swara Bhasker to express solidarity with the war-torn country and its people.

Vaani Kapoor on role in ‘Shamshera’: Lot of substance and char Actress Vaani Kapoor is all set to play the female lead in Ranbir Kapoor-starrer action-adventure ‘Shamshera’.

Directed by Karan Malhotra, the Yash Raj Films project is said to be set in the 1800s and tells the tale of a dacoit tribe fighting for their right and independence from the British. Vaani says the movie reminds her of 1993 blockbuster ‘Khalnayak’ featuring Sanjay Dutt, and Madhuri Dixit-Nene.

Vaani said, “We have grown up watching films like Khalnayak and a few other. It gave me a sense of that. It is a cook film and it is so different.” She added, “I love Karan Malhotra’s ‘Agneepath’. He knows how much to push each emotion.

To be part of a film which is like that and coming from a filmmaker like Karan was icing on the cake.”

The actor said her co-star will surprise the audience with his performance in the film. “The setting of the film is very different. Ranbir has a different look and character in the film. He has pulled it off and how. He will surprise you with this film,” Vaani said.

About her role, she sad her character goes through a significant evolution in the film. “This girl has a cool evolution. The way Karan has mounted her is different. There is a lot of substance and charisma about her. It is a dream character,” Vaani said. Also featuring Sanjay Dutt, ‘Shamshera’ was originally set to arrive in theatres in July 2020, but was pushed to June 25 this year due to Covid-19.

However, the uncertainty posed by the pandemic has delayed the film’s release further.

On the work front, Vaani will be seen opposite Ayushmann Khurrana in ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’.

Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, the romantic-drama is billed as a progressive love story.

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28 Aug - 3 Sep 2021

Malayalam actor Chithra passes away at 56 Malayalam actor Chithra passed away last week following a cardiac arrest at her home in Chennai. She was a known name in the south film industry. Chithra acted in almost 100 films throughout her career and worked with the likes of Mohanlal and Prem Nazir in her debut film ‘Attakalasham’ in 1983.

She went on to star in other hit Malayalam dramas ‘Adavitam’, ‘Nadodi’, ‘Ekalavyan’, including ‘Devasuran’, ‘Commissioner’, ‘Aaram Thampuran’, and ‘Ustad’. Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran mourned the demise of the actress, and tweeted, “Rest in Peace!”

Chithra appeared in a Hindi film titled ‘Razia’ and later was a part of the 1984 film ‘Ek Nai Paheli’.

Filmmaker Selvaraghavan regrets lying about film budget

The actor is survived by her husband Vijayaraghavan and daughter Mahalakshmi.

Prithviraj -Manju Warrier to star in ‘Kaapa’ Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran announced his latest film ‘Kaapa’ co-starring Manju Warrier. The movie will be held by cinematographer-turned-director Venu and penned by GR Indugopan. Billed as a story of Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, ‘Kaapa’ also stars Asif Ali and Anna Ben. Prithviraj shared an official announcement teaser of the film, and said that he is “privileged” to be a part of it.

“Privileged to be part of ‘Kaapa-The Ring of Death!’ #FEFKA Writers Union and #TheatreOfDreams Production.

A story out of my city…

Thiruvananthapuram.”

Southern superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty launched the motion poster of the movie, which is presented by FEFKA. Both actors wrote on their respective social media handles, “Here’s the motion poster of ‘KAAPA’, directed by Venu, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Asif Ali, Manju Warrier, and Anna Ben. This is a venture initiated by FEFKA Writers Union and I wish them all the very best.”

TV Listing * Schedule is subject to change

MON 30 AUG FRI 3 SEP 2021 6.00 Var To NRI J!!

13.00 MAHAVIR HANUMAN 14.00 RASOI SHOW 15.30 JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16.00 SAU DAHDA SASUNA 18.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MANMILAP.COM 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 SHANI

Filmmaker Selvaraghavan took his fans by surprise when he revealed that he lied about the budget of his cult movie ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ ahead of release to create hype around it. He took to his Twitter page and wrote, “The actual budget of #aayirathiloruvan was £1.8 million. But we decided to announce it as a £3.2 million film to hype it as a mega budget film. What stupidity!

Even though the film managed to collect the actual budget it was regarded as average.

Learnt not to lie whatever the odds are!”

Despite being a critical hit, ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ was considered a box office failure at the time owing to the inflated cost provided by the producers. The film is about a team of archaeologists who set out to trace the last whereabouts

of the Tamil Chola dynasty.

Starring Karthi, R Parthiban, and Reema Sen in the lead roles.

Selvaraghavan will be making the sequel with his brother

Dhanush playing the lead role. He is planning to mount this film on a large scale as just the preproduction work alone will take more than a year. The movie is expected to open in theatres in 2024.

The filmmaker is also directing Dhanush in a yet-to-be-titled film, which will hit the screens before ‘Aayirathil Oruvan 2’.

Teaser of Karthik Subbaraj’s ‘Mahaan’ unveiled

21.00 PREM NI BHAVAI SATURDAY 28 AUG 6.00 MARI NANANDINO VEER 13.00 MAHAVIR HANUMAN 14.00 RASOI SHOW 15.30 JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16.00 SAU DAHDA SASUNA 18.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MANMILAP.COM 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 SHANI 21.00 BOLO KETLA TAKA SUNDAY 29 AUG 12.00 Dholo Mara Malakno 15.00 Oxygen 18.00 BOLO KETLA TAKA 19.00 SHU CHALE CHE 19.30 ABHILASHA - EK ASTITVANI 21.00 BOLO KETLA TAKA 22.00 SHU CHALE CHE

Filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj unveiled the teaser of his upcoming film ‘Mahaan’ featuring Vikram. The teaser opens with folk theatre artistes putting their

acter has many strengths and qualities.

‘Mahaan’ is the 60th film in Vikram’s career. The movie marks the first collaboration between

make-up on as they prepare to tell a mythological tale involving characters with supernatural powers.

Next, we see Vikram enter on a motorbike. He’s carrying a prop behind his vehicle, which gives him an impression of a mythical character with multiple arms. The teaser suggests that Vikram’s char-

Vikram and his son Dhruv. It also stars Simran, Bobby Simha, and Sananth. On the work front, Vikram has multiple projects. He has been simultaneously shooting for ‘Chiyaan 60’, Mani Ratnam’s upcoming magnum opus ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, and Ajay Gnanamuthu’s ‘Cobra’.

SATURDAY 28 AUG

16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS

17.30

DESI BEAT (SEASON 3)

18.00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 30 AUG - FRI 3 SEP 2021 88.30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN

16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS

17.30

CHHUTA CHHEDA

18.00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18.30 DIL KA RISHTA

19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

19.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK

20.30 BARRISTER BABU 21.00 BALIKA VADHU 2

21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

19.30 EK SHRINGAAR SWABHIMAAN 20.00 DIL SE DIL TAK

20.30 DESI BEAT RESET

21.00 FEET UP WITH THE STARS (SEASON 1)

21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

SUNDAY 29 AUG

16.30 RASOI SHOW-DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 DESI BEAT (SEASON 3)

18.00 BOLLYWOOD KI SHAAM

BLOCKBUSTER KE NAAM DO RAASTE

21.30 DESI BEAT RESET

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T20 World Cup: India to face Pakistan in first match The International Cricket Council (ICC) last week announced the whole fixture for the Men's T20 World Cup which was scheduled to be held in India but will now taking place in the UAE and Oman.

The competition for the coveted trophy will begin from October 17 to November 14 and as many as 8 teams will be involved in the qualification round. Only 4 will make it to the Super 12 stage, which will get underway from October 23.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will play their first match on October 24. Both sides have been drawn in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage. The group also features Afghanistan and New Zealand as the other two automatic qualifiers.

The Men in Blue will next face New Zealand on October 31 in Dubai before moving to Abu Dhabi and facing Afghanistan on November 3. They will return to Dubai to face the two

qualifiers on November 5 and 8.

India play a total of 4 matches in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi.

None of India's Super 12 matches are scheduled in Sharjah.

The tournament will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on 17 October, with Scotland and Bangladesh, clashing the same evening. Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Namibia making up Group A - will be in action in Abu Dhabi the next day.

According to ICC, the first semi-final will be held in Abu Dhabi on 10 November at 6 pm local time. The second semifinal will be in Dubai on 11 November. Both semi-finals have reserve days as well. The final clash of the tournament will take place in Dubai at 6 pm local time on November 14, Sunday, with the following Monday acting as the reserve day.

Victim of racism abuse asks Yorkshire to come clean Azeem Rafiq, 30, a former Yorkshire captain, has threatened to reveal the evidence of racism abuse he suffered unless Yorkshire release the full report on racism at the club.

Earlier, Yorkshire acknowledged that an independent report had upheld some of the allegations of racism made by Azeem. In a statement, the county apologised for the “inappropriate behaviour”.

However Rafiq accused the club of trying to play down his suffering by not mentioning racism in their apology. Rafiq also called for senior figures at Yorkshire - namely Mark Arthur, the chief executive, and Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket to stand down. The independent investigation was launched a year ago after Rafiq claimed “institutional racism” at the club had forced him to contemplate taking his own life. In a separate employment tribunal case, the former bowler alleged

Azeem Rafiq

discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race, as well as victimisation.

Yorkshire conceded that some of his complaints had been upheld, but did not specify which ones. The full report will be published in the coming weeks. Several Asian Yorkshire players are understood to have told the panel that they had been called a “smelly P***” and that a former captain had routinely used the word “n ***** ”. The panel was also told a number of coaches had been told not to select too many Asian

Mayor’s Cricket Cup The Mayor’s Cricket Cup is an inter-generational tournament held at world famous Edgbaston Stadium.

It will bring together girls and boys aged 14-16 and adults over the age of 55 years for a fun mixed-team cricket tournament. The Mayor’s Cricket Cup is a collaboration between the West Midland’s Combined Authority, Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, and the Edgbaston Foundation, the official charity of Warwickshire CCC and Edgbaston Stadium.

The tournament will take place on the morning of Sunday 26th September. The event will give young people the chance to play with the older generation.

The event is part of an ongoing commitment of bringing different communities together and enabling people of all ages to stay active.

The tournament is being supported by Warwickshire County Cricket Club, with the club providing professional coaches and umpires on the day.

This is a soft-ball event with mixed -aged teams of 8 a side, and we welcome players of all abilities.

Registration for places is now open and places are limited. It will be a first come, first served basis. For more information on the event and registration, please visit. https://edgbaston.com/foundation/edgbastonfoundation-projects/creating-connections/registerfor-the-2021-mayors-cricket-cup/

players.

Yorkshire’s statement expressed their “profound apologies” and noted their failure to “implement policies and procedures”, but left Rafiq incensed. “To try and tone racism down to inappropriate behaviour. . . I find it really difficult to understand what they think they are doing,” he told Sky Sports News. “At the end of it [the statement] there is some sort of apology, but it is spoilt by the words that are used to try and minimise what my allegations were.”

He added: “I want to know which of my allegations have not been upheld. Most of my allegations are about people who are at the club in leadership positions so to try and say these are historic allegations from a long time ago - yes there are some things on there that go back to the start of my career, but the majority of them are about people who are still there and

from my second spell at the club.

“I think the chief executive, the director of cricket, everyone who was in that room when I said it, and the inclusion and diversity manager whose front room I sat in and cried my eyes out, they need to go. I can put stuff in the public domain and let people work it out for themselves - [I’ve] no problem with that either. We need to avoid that car crash for everyone concerned.”

Yorkshire’s statement insisted that the allegations were historical. “There were many allegations made against the club, most of which relate to a period more than ten years ago,” they said. “Several of the allegations made by Azeem were upheld and that sadly, historically, Azeem was the victim of inappropriate behaviour. This is clearly unacceptable. We would like to express our profound apologies for this.”

Bright chances for T20 to become an Olympics sport The chances of T20 cricket becoming part of the Olympics sport at the 2028 Los Angeles games has brightened.

Paraag Marathe, the head of the Cricket USA, said international cricket had united behind the effort for the first time, and that even though the Olympics would be in the middle of the English cricket season it would pay dividends for the sport to be involved.

He met Ian Watmore, the chairman of the ECB, in London for talks on the next stage of the campaign to gain Olympic status. “I am hopeful that it is very likely,” Marathe said. “For the first time 106 ICC member nations are supportive about getting cricket into the Olympics.

“You are talking about the second biggest sport in the world, and for the sport to be played in the biggest media market in the world in LA 2028 is just such a tremendous opportunity. For the first time we have a united effort

of wanting to be in the Olympics. We have a billion fans of the sport around the world, including 30 million in the US, and we are just in the nascent stages of building something.

Obviously we do it with full humility and deference to the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and the LA 2028 committee on being able to compete with other sports to be selected.”

Marathe said the plan was for the T20 format to be used, but that there was flexibility if the IOC preferred something else, such as the Hundred.

“The T20 format is probably the best one - it is easily digestible and works, it fits in with the format of American sports, which is roughly three hours,” he told the Sport Unlocked podcast.

“It’s an understood format because of the success of the IPL but we will work with the IOC and if there is a different format they prefer then we are open to it.”

SHAILI SINGH IS INDIA'S NEW LONG JUMP QUEEN

Shaili Singh

Shaili Singh, 17-year-old Jhansi girl, became the new long jump queen of India by winning silver medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi. She missed the gold by by just one centimetre. She was raised by her mother Vinita, a single parent to three children, who encouraged her to work hard to turn her dreams into gold. “It was a tough battle for my mom in the beginning. She had to raise three kids as a single mother. But all credit to her, she worked hard to support all of us. She is very strong. She was expecting a gold medal from me,” Shaili said. The 17-year-old trains at the Anju Bobby Foundation in Bengaluru. After World junior medals by Neeraj Chopra (2016) and Hima Das (2018) in the past, the Kasarani stadium in the Kenyan capital saw the emergence of another young Indian athlete as Shaili won India’s second silver medal at the meet. The young Indians ended with a haul of two silver medals and one bronze. Coach Robert Bobby George, who was happy to help India win another world medal in long jump after a gap of 18 years, said: “She joined the sports hostel on Sep 4, 2017 and just after four months on Feb, 8 2018 she was in the national camp. She almost met my target. Even though she lost the gold today, she will get another chance in the next edition. I’m sure that she will rule the international scene for the next 10-12 years. She will erase Anju’s record, 6.83m, in the next three years,” the coach said. The 17year-old went into the title round as a favourite to win the gold but in the end her best of 6.59m, 11cm better than her personal best that came in her third attempt, won her the second spot behind Sweden’s Maja Askag who touched down at 6.60m to complete a grand double of long and triple jump titles.

AMIT KHATRI WINS SILVER IN 10,000M RACE WALK

Amit Khatri

Amit Khatri won a silver in the men's 10,000m race walk event to clinch India's second medal at the World U-20 Athletics Championship in Nairobi after the 4x400m mixed relay team won bronze a few days back. The 17-year-old Khatri, the national record holder and world U-20 season leader, clocked 42 minute 17.94 seconds to finish second behind Kenya's Heristone Wanyoni (42:10.84) on the fourth and penultimate day of the championships. Khatri was leading after the 9,000m mark but the local athlete, Wanyoni, pulled ahead with less than two laps left in the race to win gold with a personal best time. The high altitude conditions in the Kenyan capital affected Khatri's performance as he struggled for breath during the race.

“It is not the result I expected but I am happy with the silver medal. Even though I came here five days before the event to acclimatise, the high altitude affected me," Khatri told the reporters. "At some point in the race, I could not breathe properly but I am happy with the silver medal," he added.