AV 30th September 2023

SEE PAGE - 27 SE

INDIAN DIASPORA URGES FOR 'AMICABLE CONFLICT RESOLUTION'

Amid Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations that the Indian government was behind the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, Indian diaspora across the globe tells Asian Voice EXCLUSIVELY that they are urging for an amicable resolution to this conflict

Anusha Singh & Shefali Saxena

Jaishankar makes case for a more ‘contemporary’ U N S C

SE E PAGE - 23

Asian Sports Foundation’s strategy launched to get more Asians into sports

SE E PAGE - 32

Justin Trudeau's allegations of Indian government involvement in the fatal shooting o f H a r d e e p S i n g h N i j j a r , t h e K h a l i s t a n T i g e r F o r c e c h i e f , i n

C a n a d a T h i s t e n s i o n h a s m a d e travel between India and Canada d i f f i c u l t f o r o r d i n a r y p e o p l e , affecting their daily lives and jobs.

Canadian citizens of Indian origin

a n d N R I s o f n o n - S i k h f a i t h , express deep concerns and call for dialogue to resolve the issue

Continued on page 12

T h e H o u s e o f L o r d s w i t n e s s e d a h i s t o r i c moment on Friday 22 September as Gujarat Samachar, UK’s first ever Asian newsweekly celebrated its golden jubilee with much pomp and gaiety

Lord Jitesh Gadhia was the chief guest of the event and this significant event witnessed t h e a n n o u n c e m e n t o f a S e l e c t G r o u p o f Patrons and the launch of a special souvenir t i t l e d ‘ E y e s o f T o m o r r o w ’ - a b r a i n c h i l d o f

Subhash Thakrar

C h a i r m a n a n d E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f C B P a t e l recalled the contribution of readers, clients, community and senior team members in the u n i n t e r r u p t e d j o u r n e y o f S e v a Y a g n a a n d

Gyan Yagna

A full report will be published in the upcoming issue

South Asian heroes honoured at the 21st Asian Achievers Awards

Community members stand in solidarity with Pandit Shastri and Dharmesh Lakhani in Leicester

Parliament clears women’s quota bill in 2 days

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi

with Keith Vaz

SH A L I N I B H A RGAVA

Shalini Bharg ava was born in India and was raised and ed ucated in Delh i Sh e com pleted h er BA (Ho ns) in English Literature from Univ ersity o f Delhi and soon after g raduating was married to come to th e U K In the UK , Shalini as a single parent p icked up her ed ucation once again and qualif ied in the leg al f ield Shalini V Bharg av a is a practicing solicitor w ith 23 years o f experience in the legal f ield She is registered with th e Law S ociety of England and Wales

Shalini set up her own law f irm in 2011 and is the Managing Director of Aschfords Law Solicitors based in Harrow, London Shalini was named in the Asian Who’s Who 2011 in the U K She has been a regular guest on Zee T V channel and other T V channels broadcast in the U K and throughout Europe, giving immigration advice Her business also assists with Family Law, Litigation and Wills & Probate

She is also a Trustee at Harrow Carers, a charity providing support to carers in the community

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

I was 21 years old when I came to the UK from Delhi For many years I felt unsettled, I was neither here nor there Almost 35 years on, London is def initely my home but somehow, I will always be a Delhite at heart

2) What are your proudest achievements?

I am ver y proud of the person I am today, the most challenging phase of my life has taught me the real meaning of spirituality, compassion and hope I was never c a r e e r o r i e n t e d s o a c h i e v i n g m y L a w Degree as a mature student from The College of Law in London was amazing

3) What inspires you?

The deep core feeling of wanting to help and give someone “hope” inspires and motivates me the most This is what I thrive upon, and it gives me the will to start my day and be at my desk ever yday

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

For me the biggest fear and challenge was how I would catch up with my peers as a newly qualif ied lawyer of mature age and a single parent Asian woman In hindsight I do not think I saw that as an obstacle or challenge, I was determined and focussed just like Arjun from Mahabharata who only focused on the eye of the f ish and nothing else mattered

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

My son has been the biggest influence on my career His existence was the reason I turned to academics again He was the source of strength and determination to obtain my Law Degree I had no option but to achieve and provide for my son, there was no place for failure, it had to be only progress and success

Due to s ecurity c oncern s related to anti-Ulez protests , a set-piec e public m eetin g where Londoners q uestion M ayor Sadiq

Rishi Sunak's government alerts councils for possible snap election

Ri s hi S un ak's g ov e rnm ent h as p u t loc al co unc ils on hig h alert for an impend ing election, fuelling rumours of a potential snap vote next May

S o u r c e : F c k r

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

I enjoy the interaction with clients and helping them to f ind solutions for their complex legal issues I like the friendly and compassionate approach that my law f irm has when delivering the legal ser vices to people not just in the U K but across the world

7) And the worst?

The continuous changes in the UK Immigration Law and the inconsistencies i n t h e d e c i s i o n -m a k i n g p r o c e s s o f t h e Home Off ice

8) What are your long term goals?

The long-term goal is to build the team of Aschfords Law Solicitors to provide UK immigration advice to individuals and businesses in the U K and across the world with the same passion and compassion that I have

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

Def initely the UK immigration policies to bring stability in the law and promote good economic growth for the countr y To name one change, I would allow the British citizens to bring their parents to the UK under the Adult Dependant Relative route to look after their elderly who are living outside the U K

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

Florence Nightingale was a legend in her own lifetime and one of the most famous women in British histor y She was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing One of the famous quote from the “lady with the lamp” that I resonate with is “Mankind must make heaven before we can go to heaven”

Khan is likely to be re loc ated away from c entral London

The Metropolitan Police has reportedly

Local government leade r s a r e i n t e n s i f y i n g t h e i r preparations after receiving instructions to "be election ready" by the coming spring, a c c o r d i n g t o i n s i d e r s Anticipating what could be one of the most f iercely contested campaigns in years, t h e C o n s e r v a t i v e Pa r t y headquarters has been allocating signif icant resources to develop localised "mini

Rishi Sunak

election" strategies for various regions

This effort includes cond u c t i n g c o n f i d e n t i a l a n d comprehensive polling on a

c o n s t i t u e n c y - b y - c o nstituency basis, focusing on the 100 most closely cont e s t e d s e a t s M Ps w i l l b e informed about policy areas that resonate well with the e l e c t o r a t e a n d s h o u l d b e e m p h a s i s e d i n t h e i r l o c a l campaigns

The objective is to replicate the unexpected success s e e n i n t h e Ux b r i d g e b yelection, where the Tories won after framing it as a referendum on the unpopular Ulez anti-car charge This s t r a t e g i c p l a n h a s b e e n d e v i s e d b y To r y p o l l i n g expert Isaac Levido

UK Home Secretary warns of 'existential challenge' from uncontrolled migration

Br it ai n's Ho m e S ec re tar y, S u ell a B rav e rm a n, h as i s su e d a st ark w ar ni ng , asserting that uncontrolled mig ration poses an "existential ch allenge" to Western nations She called for a revision of the United Nations refug ee convention, wh ich h as sh a pe d g lo bal asy lum policy for sev en decades Sp e a k i n g a t t h e A m e r i c a n E n t e r p r i s e I n s t i t u t e i n Wa s h i n g t o n , Braverman argued that the UN refugee convention has broadened the def inition of "persecution," resulting in a greater number of people qualifying for refugee protection

She urged a comprehen-

s i v e g l o b a l o v e r h a u l o f immigration policies, a topic likely to feature prominently in Britain's upcoming genera l e l e c t i o n e x p e c t e d n e x t year Braverman highlighted h o w c a s e l a w s t e m m i n g from the UN's 1951 convent i o n , t h e fo u n d a t i o n fo r g l o b a l r e f u g e e p r o t e c t i o n , has lowered the threshold Asylum seekers now need to d e m o n s t r a t e "d i s c r i m i n ation" rather than a real risk o f t o r t u r e o r v i o l e n c e t o qualify

She expressed concern that the number of people e l i g i b l e fo r a s y l u m h a d b e c o m e " u n s u s t a i n a b l e "

Braverman pointed out that individuals fearing discrimi-

Suella Braverman

nation due to factors like their sexual orientation or gender could now qualify for protection

T h e g o v e r n m e n t c o ntends that the UN convention has been a signif icant legal hurdle in addressing the arrival of individuals in small boats in Britain

SNP MP's report calls for abolition of House of L ords

A n S N P M P, To m m y Sh epp ard , has stro ng ly criticised Scotland s representatio n in the House of Lord s, stating th at Scotland's peers in the upp er house "fail at ev er y l ev e l" to e ffe ct iv ely re p res en t t h e co u n tr y's needs

advised against holding the next People's Question Time (PQT) event in Westminster in November as originally planned This decision comes after an earlier PQT event in March, held at Ealing Town Hall, experienced disruptive incidents During that event, antiUlez protesters, some of whom were characterised by Mr Khan as far-Right, gathered outside the meeting venue, leading to a hostile atmosphere inside

It's worth noting that Mayor Khan is currently under investigation by City Hall standards for his remarks at the Ealing meeting, where he stated that Ulez opponents were "holding hands" with the far-Right

A report authored by Mr Sheppard advocates for the abolition of the House of Lords, the UK Parliament's s e c o n d c h a m b e r W h i l e members of the House of

L o r d s s c r u t i n i s e g o v e r nment policies, they are not elected by the public but are appointed

The report, titled "Their Scottish Lordships," identif ies 78 members who could be considered as representing Scotland, based on their strong ties to the countr y or the Scottish titles they have been awarded M r S h e p p a r d a r g u e s that the current system does not adequately represent the m a j o r i t y o f S c o t l a n d , a s most Scottish peers are "privately educated men over the age of 65 "

Post Office knew lawsuit could bankrupt Horizon IT victim

A solicitor who worke d for t h e Po st O f f i c e h a s co nfessed that the org anisat ion wa s aware tha t a post off ice o p e r a t o r , L e e C a s t le t on , would likely be ba nk rupte d a s a re sult of a le gal ca se h e init iate d

The Post Off ice's intention was reportedly to send a warning message to others Castleton had purchased a post off ice in Bridlington, E a s t Yo r k s h i r e , i n 2 0 0 3

However, within a year, his computer system displayed a £25,000 def icit, despite his making 91 calls to the Post Off ice's helpline because he suspected that the Horizon IT system was responsible for the discrepancies

L e e C a s t l e t o n w a s brought to court by the Post Off ice, where he had to act as his own legal representative due to f inancial cons t r a i n t s T h e c o u r t r u l e d

t h a t h e m u s t r e p a y t h e m o n e y a n d c o v e r c o s t s a m o u n t i n g t o £ 3 2 1 , 0 0 0 , which ultimately led to his bankruptcy

During an inquir y into t h e Ho r i z o n I T s c a n d a l , Stephen Dilley, who represented the Post Off ice in the civil case against Castleton, acknowledged that the Post O f f i c e w a s a w a r e t h a t Castleton would not have the means to pay if he lost

Tommy Sheppard

Sadiq Khan's public meeting relocated due to security concerns

Save the unsung heroes of this world

The importance of diplomacy is not just about ending wars and calling for peace after conflicts It is essentially about “ an international order conducive to the non-violent resolution of disputes and expanded cooperation between states”

India’s Sikhs have fought two world wars, among others and recognised as one of the bravest communities that has protected the nation for years The effect of a ban of visa and collapsing diplomatic relationship between Canada and India, will lead to failing NRI support for the poor in respective villages, especially for farmers, which may trigger a different challenge for the Indian government right before they go to polls in 2024

Canada turning a blind eye towards the growing fundamentalism on its soil, also breaks the trust of those thousands of Indian immigrants who have lived and worked there, begging to resolve this tension amicably Some have reached out to Asian Voice (see p1) narrating their personal stories of horror

At the same time the migrants in the UK are facing a different challenge! From 4 October the Home Office will reportedly charge between 15-35 per cent more for visas to visit, live, study and work in the UK British businesses will take a massive hit, as they will have to pay extra for recruit-

ing “the brightest and the best”, as migrant healthcare payment increases by 66 per cent

Some families will now have to shell out £28,000 to move to the UK and it’s feared those already working in the UK may end up undocumented if they cannot afford their visa extension fee

Student visa fees will also increase by £500, while those applying to live indefinitely in the UK - including doctors and their families and spouses of British citizens – will face a 20 per cent increase, roughly making it £3,000 per person

At the same time, a study has suggested that Britons have now been hit hard by inflation, they haven’t witnessed since 1970s According to The Guardian, BMJ Public Health said that people dying before they reach 75 years, will rise by 6 5% this year in the UK due to the cost-of-living crisis

Migrants are the unsung heroes Hostility towards them through baseless financial pressure, is a worrying growing trend and must be addressed Rishi Sunak’s and Keir Starmer’s agendas include many reforms, that will be included in the 2024 election manifestos post upcoming party conferences in October Extended financial support to immigrants should also be added to them on priority basis to save these forgotten heroes

All eyes on US election 2024

T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s P r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n o f 2 0 2 4 h o l d s immense significance not only for the nation but also for the world, taking place against the backdrop of the country's enduring status as a global superpower As the world's largest economy, a military powerhouse, and a key player in internat i o n a l d i p l o m a c y , t h e o u t c o m e o f t h e s e e l e c t i o n s w i l l undoubtedly have far-reaching implications for global politics, economics, and security

With too many contenders eyeing the presidential election, there is a presence of diversity, including a wider range of backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and ages Republican candidates- Donald Trump is dominating a field of 10 major candidates who have largely avoided criticising him directly for fear of alienating his base of diehard supporters His rivals, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have instead argued that Trump’s legal woes will hamstring him in a general-election fight against Biden Entrepreneur and recent political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy is running as an inheritor of Trump’s populist America First platform, one that is wary of an expansive federal government, corporate power, and international alliances

On the other hand, Democratic leaders are backing Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris Robert F Kennedy Jr , scion of the storied political family, who has pushed anti-vaccine and anti-Covid-19 safety views, is a long-shot challenger Biden s pitch for a second four-year term rests on his stewardship of the economy as it has emerged from the Covid pandemic and what he calls the "battle for the soul of America," a fight against Trumpaligned Republicans However, a recent poll indicated that US President Biden was trailing Trump by 10 percentage points at this point in the election cycle, despite the fact that the survey's large margin of Trump's lead is significantly at odds with other public polls that indicate a virtual tie in the

Thought for the week

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh Patel

The Canadian Terrorism Problem

"While the w orld was d eeply affected by the events of 9/11, the w orst terror attack before th at, the bombing o f tw o passeng er p lanes on June 23, 198 5, w hich resu lted in 3 31 deaths, was orch estrated by C anad ians " [Air Ind ia flight blown up by K halistani C anadian terrorists What wo uld America have done?

general election

Research stated that 63% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the candidates who have emerged so far Setting aside the presidential campaign, there has been a downward trend in views of the quality of all political candidates

Since the 1970s, substantial majorities have asserted that the government is "run by a few big interests looking out for themselves" rather than being operated for the benefit of all citizens However, the influence of money in politics continues to be a major source of public annoyance According to research, 72% of Americans, including comparable majorities in both parties, support limits on the amount of money individuals and organisations can spend on political campaigns

Two Indian American contenders Vivek Ramaswamy and N i k k i H a l e y a r e s e r i o u s c a n d i d a t e s f o r t h e 2 0 2 4 U S Presidential elections To win the election, Ramaswamy has promised to advocate fortifying ties with India, South Korea, and Japan as a strategy to diminish the United States' economic reliance on China and Taiwan On the other, Haley who calls herself proud daughter of Indian immigrants will build a stable relationship with India

India stands to gain from the outcomes of American elections, given the strategic partnership and multifaceted relationship shared between the two nations The country's relationship with Donald Trump's administration was a mix of cooperation and challenges There were notable advancements in areas like defence and security cooperation, trade tensions, and policy differences on issues like climate change and immigration With Biden, there is an upward trajectory in relations between India and the US If an Indian American is elected president, it could serve as a bridge between the two countries, fostering stronger diplomatic and economic relations We must now patiently observe the outcome of the next election and hope they will create a striving relationship with India

Women’s equality is now a reality

The passage of the women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha, nearly three decades after its initial presentation in Parliament, marks a significant and long-awaited breakthrough

The current underrepresentation of women Members of Parliament, constituting only around 15% of the Lok Sabha's (lower house) composition, underscores the glaring gender disparity in political representation, which has been a cause for concern The 128th Constitution Amendment Bill, known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, aims to rectify this imbalance by reserving one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and legislative Assemblies for women

This measure includes a 15-year sunset clause for the quota, with provisions for extension if necessary Given the challenging history of the women's reservation struggle and previous failed attempts, despite its approval by the Rajya Sabha (upper house) in 2010, it is commendable that the Lok Sabha has passed this significant bill as the first legislative action in the new Sansad Bhavan

Politically speaking, by rectifying the long-standing gender imbalance in legislative bodies, the ruling BJP gains a strategic advantage in election campaigning While various political parties may lay claim to initiating this historic legislation, it is the Modi-led government that is poised to be credited with its passage The voting data highlights a rising trend of increased female turnout in elections, both in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and State Assembly polls, highlighting the importance of addressing women-centric concerns and makes it an electoral imperative Over the years, the percentage of women voters has steadily increased, surpassing male voter participation in the 2019 elections

While various political parties have voiced slogans about empowering Indian women in politics, these proclamations

have often amounted to mere words when viewed in the context of statistics In the outgoing 16th Lok Sabha, only 66 women members were present out of a total of 543 seats, constituting just 12% This statistic remains strikingly low, even 67 years after the inaugural general elections To provide historical context, the first Lok Sabha in 1952 had 24 women members, a number that remained unchanged when the second Lok Sabha was formed in 1957

Even as we celebrate this historic legislation, the implementation of this bill is unlikely to be realised in time for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections Several prerequisites, such as the completion of the delimitation exercise and conducting a caste census, must precede its rollout These processes are anticipated to extend until approximately 2026 or 2029 Had the long-pending legislative proposal for 33% reservation of Lok Sabha seats for women been enacted, it could have guaranteed the presence o f a t l e a s t 1 7 9 f e m a l e m e m b e r s i n t h e L o w e r H o u s e o f Parliament today

While the Reservation Bill represents a significant stride towards achieving gender equality, it is imperative for the government to adopt a comprehensive strategy for advancing women's empowerment in all walks of life to create a more just society Hopefully, with women gaining strength in the decision-making processes of the country, a positive change will reflect on the women of the country

These positive changes include ensuring women's safety, elevating investments in gender-focused budgeting, enhancing opportunities for quality education- especially in STEM disciplines, increasing allocations for women's healthcare, facilitati n g g r e a t e r a c c e s s t o f o r m a l f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s a n d entrepreneurial support, extending social welfare safeguards to marginalised women, and expanding care infrastructure

“Why has Canada become a hub for international terrorist organizations, and what factors contribute to its appeal for these groups? How can Canada strengthen its internal security measures to prevent the growth and activities of terrorist networks? What collaborative efforts can be made between Canada and its allies, especially the U S , to combat the global threat of terrorism?”

“Bell, an award-winning investigative journalist, raises concerns about why terrorist networks have been able to thrive in Canada and how they pose threats to Canada's allies, especially the United States He questions the policies and actions of Canada's policymakers and their security and intelligence forces in addressing and disrupting terrorist operations ”

So states the book by award winning Canadian journalist who wrote “Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World”

Worse still they ad mit to surv eilling Ind ian d ip lom ats in Canada the principle of not sp ying o n d iplomats is rooted in the Vienna Convention o n Diplomatic Relations o f 1961 This international treaty outlines the fram ew ork for d iplomatic relations between states and establishes the rules for how diplomats sh ould be treated Key p rov isio ns relevant to spying include:

1 Inv iolability o f the d iplomatic mission: Article 22 states that the premises of a diplomatic mission, such as an embassy, are inviolable This means the host country cannot enter the premises without the consent of the mission head This inviolability is meant to protect the mission from any intrusion or interference

2 Inv iolability o f the diplom atic bag: Article 27 affirms the inviolability of the diplomatic bag This means the host country cannot open or detain the official correspondence or other official communications of a diplomatic mission

3 Inviolability of the p erson: Article 29 states that the person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable They cannot be detained or arrested, ensuring their safety and freedom from interference by the host country

While the Vienna Convention does not specifically mention "spying" or "espionage," the inviolability provisions make it clear that interference, intrusion, or unauthorized surveillance of diplomatic missions and their personnel is prohibited

Being British, I turn to Yes P rime Minister o n wh at must h av e happened in Trudeau’ s o ffice:

S etting: An opulent office in Ottawa with a backdrop of a scenic Canadian vista Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pacing, while Sir Humphrey Appleby, a seasoned civil servant, lounges in an armchair Bernard Woolley, the young private secretary, stands near the door

T rud eau: Humphrey, Bernard, we've got a situation It appears there are Khalistani extremists in Canada And one of them seems to have been "neutralized" under mysterious circumstances

S ir Hum phrey: Ah, Prime Minister, when you say "neutralized," do you mean in the metaphorical or the, shall we say, more permanent sense?

B er nar d : H e m e a n s t h e y t h i n k h e ' s d e a d , S i r Humphrey

S ir Hump hrey: Ah, I see Very inconvenient, that

T rud eau: That's not all The Khalistanis are pointing fingers at India, hinting that someone named Bond is involved

Bernard: James Bond, Prime Minister?

T rud eau: That’s what I thought, but they insist it's some Indian fellow

S ir Hu mp hrey: Perhaps an undercover Bollywood actor turned spy? (smirking) Maybe it's his distant Indian cousin, Raj Bond

T rud eau: (exasperated) Humphrey, this is serious!

Bernard: But isn't James Bond British, and also, fictional?

S ir Hum phrey: Precisely, Bernard This could be a classic case of misdirection or, more likely, a monumental misunderstanding

He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery! - Anne Frank

Sadiq Khan criticised as data reveals London bus cut extent

Recently acquired data has sh ed new ligh t on reductions in Lo nd on's bu s serv ices, includ ing th ose serv ing som e of th e c i ty 's o u te r b o ro ughs

S t a t i s t i c s f r o m M a y o r S a d i q K h a n ' s o f f i c e r e v e a l t h a t G r e a t e r L o n d o n h a s experienced a six percent annual decrease in the total distance covered by buses across the capital

The mayor's team attributed the reductions in bus services to Government funding cuts" and "the constraints imposed by the r e c e n t s h o r t - t e r m f u n d i n g

a g r e e m e n t " b e t w e e n Transport for London ( T f L ) a n d t h e D e p a r t m e n t f o r Transport (DfT) They a l s o h i g h l i g h t e d t h e forthcoming completion of the Superloop network, a system of express buses serving outer London, scheduled for spring next year

T h e d a t a , w h i c h w a s o b t a i n e d i n r e s p o n s e t o a r e q u e s t f r o m G r e e n L o n d o n Assembly member Siân Berry, examines the kilometres covered annually between 2014/15, during Boris Johnson's tenure as mayor, and 2022/23

Tory MP cautions against digital currency's privacy risks

A Con serv ative Me mbe r of Pa rlia men t has wr itte n to Pr ime Minister Rishi Su n a k t o e x p r e s s co nce rns a bout the implications of a ce ntr alise d digit al cur ren cy on priva cy

This comes after disc u s s i o n s b e t w e e n t h e Bank of England and the Treasury regarding the potential implementation of such a digital currency in the future In the lett e r a d d r e s s e d t o S u n a k a n d C h a n c e l l o r J e r e m y H u n t , Marcus Fysh, the Conservative C h a i r o f t h e A l l - P a r t y Parliamentary Group for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC),

DLUHC readies commissioners for 'bankrupt' Birmingham

T he Department for Levelling

U p, Housing , and C omm unities

( DL UHC) has outlined its intentions to send commissioners to o v ers ee B ir m i ng h a m C it y

C ouncil's affairs

The DLUHC's intervention proposal follows Birmingham's issuance of a Section 114 notice, which is the local government

LANDLORDS' COMPLAINT HANDLING SHOWS HIGH NON-COMPLIANCE

Michael Gove

Marcus Fysh

inquired about when t h e g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d p u b l i s h i t s response to a consultation on a Bank of England-issued digit a l c u r r e n c y T h i s c o n s u l t a t i o n p e r i o d c o n c l u d e d o n J u n e 30, 2023

F y s h a l s o r a i s e d c o n c e r n s about the potential privacy risks a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a C B D C a n d questioned the economic benef i t s i t m i g h t o f f e r A B r i t i s h CBDC, if introduced, would represent a new form of sterling currency and could be issued by the Bank of England

Braverman and Facebook clash over private message plans

Meta, th e parent com pany o f Facebo ok, has respond ed to a gov ernm ent cam paig n critical o f its plans to im plem ent end -toend encryption for messages

The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, expressed concerns t h a t e n c r y p t i o n c o u l d b e exploited to conceal child abuse, e m p h a s i s i n g t h a t e n c r y p t i o n s h o u l d n o t c o m p r o m i s e c h i ldren's safety Meta, on the other hand, argues that encryption is crucial for protecting users' privacy In July, Ms Braverman conv e y e d h e r a p p r e h e n s i o n s t o

Meta through a letter co-signed b y t e c h n o l o g y e x p e r t s , l a w e n f o r c e m e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , survivors, and leading child safety organisations However, Meta contests the claim that it did not provide the required information and suggests that it had indeed supplied that information in July A significant portion of this information has now been made public online

Meta asserts that it has spent the past five years developing robust safety measures to prevent, detect, and combat abuse while preserving online security

Cocaine-filled suitcase discovered in hideout

A s ig ni fi c an t d r u g d e ale r, M an ji n d er P am a, w as a p p rehended by the po lice when they trac k ed h i m to th e Bl ac k C ountry and discovered a suitcase filled with drugs

e q u i v a l e n t o f d e c l a r i n g bankruptcy The city cited a substantial outstanding equal pay settlement, potentially reaching £760 million, with a monthly increase of £5 million to £14 mill i o n , a s i t s p r i m a r y f i n a n c i a l c h a l l e n g e A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e escalating costs associated with its Oracle IT system are adding to the city's financial woes L e v e l l i n g U p S e c r e t a r y M i c h a e l G o v e i n f o r m e d Members of Parliament that he intends to appoint local government turnaround specialist Max

Caller as the lead commissioner for Birmingham City Council but has yet to finalise the rest of the team members

Gove also published a letter to Birmingham's CEO, Deborah C a d m a n , o u t l i n i n g D L U H C ' s planned intervention and providing the council's senior leadership team with five working days to provide their input on the proposal

Gove emphasised the urgenc y o f t h e s i t u a t i o n i n B i r m i n g h a m , n e c e s s i t a t i n g immediate action

Abuse uncovered in Brook House immigration removal centre inquiry

T he first p ublic inquiry i n to ab u se s at a U K i m m ig rat io n d et ent io n c en tr e h a s f o un d ev id ence o f a "toxic cultu re" and " cred ible ev id enc e" o f hu man rig hts law v iolations related to torture and inhum an or degrad -

i n g tr eat m en t T h e rep ort also high lig hts the use of racist and derog atory lang uag e by some staff members to wards d etainees

The inquiry's findings have p r o m p t e d c a l l s f o r e x t e n s i v e c h a n g e s t o t h e i m m i g r a t i o n detention system, including the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a 2 8 - d a y time limit Initiated by the thenHome Secretary, Priti Patel, the 711-page report has identified 19 i n s t a n c e s w h e r e t h e i n q u i r y chair, Kate Eves, found "credible evidence" of acts or omissions that could be considered mistreatment under Article 3 of the E u r o p e a n C o n v e n t i o n o n Human Rights

The most serious incident involved the application of pressure to a detainee s neck while h e w a s i n e x t r e m e d i s t r e s s

O t h e r i n c i d e n t s i n c l u d e d t h e r e p e a t e d u s e o f a d a n g e r o u s restraint technique, handcuffing

individuals with their h a n d s b e h i n d t h e i r b a c k s w h i l e s e a t e d , which was previously linked to the death of Angolan immigration d e t a i n e e J i m m y Mubenga in 2010

F u r t h e r m o r e , there were instances of men being forcibly moved while naked or partially clothed

Additionally, it has come to light that Suella Braverman halted annual inspections of immigration detention centres like B r o o k H o u s e l a s t y e a r T h i s decision was made shortly after ministers received direct warnings that vulnerable individuals, including torture victims, were being left unprotected, according to the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration (ICIBI), David Neal

Neal had specifically warned t h e i m m i g r a t i o n m i n i s t e r , Robert Jenrick, that protections n e e d e d t o b e e s t a b l i s h e d f o r "vulnerable detainees" and that essential changes were progressi n g t o o s l o w l y T h e a n n u a l review of adults at risk held in removal centres was stopped by B r a v e r m a n i n S e p t e m b e r , a s revealed by Neal

The Housing Ombudsman has reported a record number of landlords failing to comply with complaint handling failure orders (CHFOs) during the last quarter In the period from April to June 2023, the ombudsman issued 43 CHFOs, with 18 of them not being adhered to – marking the highest number of non-compliance cases since data was first recorded The Housing Ombudsman noted that it is "exceptional" to have to issue a failure order, which typically follows multiple attempts to engage the landlord The regulator has also written to landlords who failed to comply with more than one CHFO including the London councils of Haringey Southwark and Barking and Dagenham

CALL FOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF STRUGGLING SERVICE

The probation watchdog has called for an independent review of the "struggling" Probation Service to assess whether it should return to local control This request comes two years after significant reforms aimed at renationalising private probation services In the final annual report of the outgoing chief inspector of probation it was highlighted that chronic staffing shortages and reforms had placed immense strain on probation services, leading them to be overshadowed by prisons Justin Russell, the chief inspector emphasised the need for change, describing 2022-23 as a "disappointing year" to conclude his term in office

LARGE NUMBER OF MET OFFICERS SUSPENDED OR ON RESTRICTED DUTY

Scotland Yard has acknowledged that it will take years to eliminate rogue officers within the Metropolitan Police as a significant number of officers are suspended or placed on restricted duties Currently, 201 officers are suspended, and 860 are on restricted duties, which is roughly equivalent to the size of police forces in smaller counties like Warwickshire or Wiltshire The Metropolitan Police has a total of 34,000 police officers

The effort to transform the culture and standards within the Met has resulted in 100 dismissals for gross misconduct in the past year, representing a 66% increase compared to historical averages Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy, who is leading these reforms, has acknowledged that it will take several years to complete this work

Pama

narcotics

the Midlands The 43-

him leaving a concealed drug stash in Wolverhampton The investigation began with a raid o n a r e s i d e n c e i n B e d w o r t h , Warwickshire, in January, during which a mobile phone containing messages related to drug requests was discovered T h e p h o n e n u m b e r l e d authorities to Pama, who was taken into custody after being o b s e r v e d l e a v i n g a h o u s e i n Wolverhampton He has pleade d g u i l t y t o p o s s e s s i o n o f cocaine with intent to supply, being involved in the supply of cocaine, and possession of criminal property

He was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison at W a r w i c k C r o w n C o u r t o n September 11

Sexual assaulter gets three years in prison

A bid Kh anzad a, a man w ho sexu ally assaulted fiv e w omen in North L ond on, h as been sentenced to three years in p rison Khanzada, aged 27

a n d r e s i d i n g i n

C a m d e n , t a r g e t e d young women in the Euston area, assaulting them

b e t w e e n J a n u a r y 1 5 a n d

February 21 of this year His actions included shoving his hand up their skirts and grabbing them from behind He was identified by one of h i s v i c t i m s a n d w a s a p p r e -

h e n d e d o n D r u m m o n d R o a d during a police operat i o n i n i t i a t e d i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e attacks Although he i n i t i a l l y d e n i e d t h e

most serious charge of a s s a u l t b y p e n e t r ation, he later pleaded guilty to all five counts after overwhelming CCTV evidence and being picked out from a suspect parade He was remanded into custody at Highbury Magistrates' Court on February 27 before his sentencing on September 13

EU PROPOSES NEW UK 'ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP' PLAN

France and Germany have put forth a proposal for a new inner circle of European Union (EU) membership aimed at countries willing to reform the EU The proposal includes a new outer tier of membership that would encompass the UK

The Europe ministers of France and Germany, Laurence Boone and Anna Lührmann, presented a plan for a four-tiered EU structure that would incorporate countries not "willing and/or able to join the EU in the foreseeable future " This proposal is expected to play a significant role in the EU's commitment to granting full membership to Ukraine within seven years as part of a major overhaul

Sadiq Khan

was described as a "key supplier" of

in

Kate Eves

Abid Khanzada

Manjinder Pama

Tackling escalating sexual assault cases on UK university campuses

U K universities are facing a g row ing crisis of sexual assault cases on th eir camp uses, w ith com plex issues aro und consent and leg al rep resentation adding to the ch allenges Wh ile univ ersities are m aking efforts to address these issues, there remains a pressing need for a com prehensiv e and fair app roach to supp ort bo th v ictims and the accused in these troubling cases

A study from Oxford University reveals that one in four female students at the university has experienced some form of sexual assault in the preceding year However, such findings are often underreported, as universities fear the implications and repercussions

These incidents often involve male students who are accused of doing something wrong to female students they know, like being in the same classes or living in the same place

As universities prepare for a new term, they are faced with an increasingly frequent and complex problem Many victims are reluctant to involve the police due to the justice system's perceived slowness, trauma, and low conviction rates in rape cases Consequently, more students are turning to their universities to address these incidents

Prof Steve West, ViceChancellor of the University of the West of England, leads one of many universities grappling with this issue He emphasises that once a student files a complaint and expresses reluctance to involve the police, the university's internal investigation process accelerates swiftly While criminal rape investigations can drag on for years, universities aim to complete their investigations within a few months

In severe cases, universities may suspend the accused student to maintain some separation during the inquiry

However, a critical issue arises concerning legal representation The Office for Students has stated that universities are not akin to courts of law and should accept evidence from students supported by friends or family Nevertheless, they also advise that accused students, facing suspension or expulsion, may have legal representation Prof West decries this practice, seeing it as unfair and unmanageable, with accused students often having legal representation while victims do not, potentially discouraging victims from coming for-

ward

The landscape of consent on university campuses has grown more intricate, with instances of strangulation – often referred to as choking – frequently featuring in sexual assault complaints This trend mirrors the prevalence of such acts in violent pornography, which many students encounter even before entering university

Smita Jamdar, Partner and Head of Education at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, has been called in to assist with sexual assault investigations when universities feel out of their depth She highlights that students today navigate a complex landscape of online sexual content, often dealing with allegations of sado-masochism, including choking In response to these concerns, many universities have introduced training on sexual consent as part of their orientation programs for new students However, not all universities make such training mandatory, despite calls for it by female students

Investigating sexual assault cases is a challenging task for universities, as they lack the forensic resources of the police and operate in a quasi-legal process where both sides must be heard Victims often find the process painful, and some may feel let down by the system, leading to underreported assaults

Instances of parents hiring barristers for male students accused of rape are on the rise, turning the investigation process into a power struggle Female students are increasingly hesitant to involve the police, given fears of delays and traumatic questioning, coupled with low rape conviction rates Instead, they turn to universities, creating complex cases for institutions to handle

While universities emphasise that their student conduct panels are not akin to courts of law, Prof Sir Steve West argues that the presence of lawyers in these proceedings creates an imbalance, with victims typically lacking legal representation He warns that this imbalance may deter victims from coming forward

Smita Jamdar, an advisor on sexual assault hearings at universities, worries about the impact of recent high court cases overturning university findings, citing the need for legal representation even in academic proceedings These complexities have disrupted the efforts universities have made to encourage reporting of attacks

Alok Sharma challanges Sunak’s net-zero emissions policy

Prim e Minister Rish i S unak has recently announced significant chang es to po licies ai m ed a t h el p i ng t he U K ac hiev e its leg ally bind ing goal of ach iev ing net-zero carbon em issio ns by 2050

One of the key changes is the postponement of the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, which was originally set for 2030 but has now been extended to 2035 Additionally, targets to e n c o u r a g e h o u s e h o l d s t o transition away from fossil f u e l b o i l e r s h a v e b e e n relaxed, and plans for more stringent energy efficiency r e g u l a t i o n s f o r l a n d l o r d s have been scrapped S u n a k d e f e n d e d t h e s e

changes by pointing out that t h e U K h a s m a n a g e d t o reduce its emissions more rapidly than any other G7 c o u n t r y s i n c e 1 9 9 0 H e argued that the altered polic i e s a r e n o t e s s e n t i a l f o r meeting the emissions targets The Home Secretary, on the other hand, emphasized t h e n e e d f o r a p r a g m a t i c a p p r o a c h t o a c h i e v e n e tzero carbon emissions, stating that it s not possible to " s a v e t h e p l a n e t b y bankrupting the British people " A l o k S h a r m a , f o r m e r chair of the Cop26 UN summit, has also challenged UK PM Rishi Sunak to demon-

Sir Alok Sharma

strate how the country will fulfil its international clim a t e c o m m i t m e n t s a f t e r recent policy reversals S u n a k ' s r e c e n t a n n o u n c e m e n t i n c l u d e d extending the deadline for the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035 and weak-

ening the phase-out of gas boilers by 2035, actions that a r e e x p e c t e d t o i n c r e a s e e m i s s i o n s o v e r t h e n e x t decade However, Sunak did not clarify how these emissions would be offset elsewhere Sharma emphasised the n e e d f o r m i n i s t e r s t o urgently outline their plans to achieve the UK's legally b i n d i n g n e a r - t e r m c a r b o n b u d g e t s a n d t h e i n t e r n at i o n a l l y c o m m i t t e d 2 0 3 0 emissions reduction target H e w e l c o m e d t h e p r i m e minister's commitment to m e e t i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l agreements but stressed the necessity of concrete plans to achieve this

HS2 faces axe as costs surge by

Rish i Su nak m ay co nsi der d iscontinuing the latter p ortion of HS2 as early as this w eek, following an £ 8 billion surge in expenses that h as jeo pardised th e allocatio n fo r other transpo rtation initiatives

Mr Sunak and Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, are anticipated to convene early this week to conclude their intentions to abandon the second phase of the embattled railway project, which w a s o r i g i n a l l y p l a n n e d t o extend from Birmingham to the North Officials anticipate that

£8 billion

g o v e r n m e n t ' s a s s u r a n c e s that they would regain control over escalating expenses a n d p r o t r a c t e d d e l a y s , a s highlighted in a comprehensive review conducted during Boris Johnson's leadership

Tory's major donor profited from £135m of NHS contracts

F ran k H es te r, a p ro m i n ent h ea lt hc are te ch entrepreneur and one

LIZ TRUSS CLAIMS FUND FOR EX-PMS DESPITE 49 DAYS TERM

the upper estimate for constructing the initial London to Birmingham segment of the line will rise by at least one-fifth, equating to more than £8 billion beyond the £45 billion figure reported in June 2022 This significant escalation is projected to occur d e s p i t e t h e C o n s e r v a t i v e

T h e s e s t a t i s t i c s h a v e prompted concerns within t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h a t t h e overall expenses for the project are once again likely to s u r p a s s t h e £ 1 0 0 b i l l i o n m a r k , w h i c h w a s i n i t i a l l y put forth by Mr Johnson before the decision to cancel the eastern leg of the line in an effort to contain costs

Nirav Modi moved to private prison in London

N i r a v M od i , t he wa n t e d I n di a n di a mo n d m e rc ha n t f a ci n g fr a ud a n d mo n e y l aundering cha rges, has b een t ransfe rred from one of the UK's large st and most overcrowded prison s t o a privatel y-run facility in London

The 52-year-old former billionaire was scheduled to a p p e a r i n a m a g i s t r a t e s ' court to address legal costs and fines amounting to GBP 150,247 00, imposed by the High Court in London as part of his failed extradition a p p e a l p r o c e e d i n g s However, the court had to a d j o u r n t h e c a s e t o N o v e m b e r b e c a u s e B a r k i n g s i d e M a g i s t r a t e s ' Court in east London was u n a b l e t o l o c a t e N i r a v i n

time for his scheduled videolink appearance T h i s t r a n s f e r o c c u r r e d shortly after a high-profile escape by a terrorist suspect from Wandsworth prison in s o u t h - w e s t L o n d o n Although the suspect, Daniel K h a l i f e , w a s l a t e r a p p r ehended and returned to custody, UK Justice Secretary

Alex Chalk stated earlier in the month that 40 inmates had been relocated from the p r i s o n a s a p r e c a u t i o n a r y measure following the security breach

T h e e s c a p e h a d r a i s e d concerns regarding alleged u n d e r s t a f f i n g a n d o v e rc r o w d i n g a t W a n d s w o r t h , w h e r e N i r a v h a d b e e n detained since his arrest on a n e x t r a d i t i o n w a r r a n t i n March 2019

I t a p p e a r s t h a t N i r a v Modi was among the group of 40 inmates relocated, and h e i s n o w h o u s e d a t Thameside prison in southe a s t L o n d o n , w h i c h i s r e p o r t e d l y f a c i n g i t s o w n issues related to overcrowding

Sunak mulls UK cigarette ban for future generations

B ri ti s h P r i m e M inister Rishi Su nak is exploring the po ssibi lity o f i mp lem enti n g m eas u re s th a t w ou l d p rev ent t h e next generation from e v er p u rc h as i ng c ig arettes , ac co rd i ng t o g ov ern m en t s o u rc es c i te d i n a r ep o rt by T h e Guard ian S u n a k i s c o n s i d e r i n g anti-smoking measures akin to those introduced by New Z e a l a n d l a s t y e a r T h e s e

measures include a prohibition on selling tobacco to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009, as per the report A m o n g t h e m e a s u r e s

o f th e C ons erv ati v e P ar ty' s lar g es t- ev er donors, has repo rtedly pro fited from contra c ts w it h th e U K

D ep ar tm e nt o f

H eal th and S o c i al

Care worth £ 135 m illion in under four years

H e s t e r ' s c o m p a n y , t h e P h o e n i x Partnership (TPP), provides computer systems and software to the NHS and has supplied software to approximately 2,700 GP surgeries in England Between 2019 and 2022, TPP paid out over £20 million in dividends, with Hester being the sole shareholder The company's main operating arm, the Phoenix Partnership (Leeds), recorded a turnover of £75 million and a pre-tax profit of £47 million in the year ending March 2022, according to Companies House documents Hester recently donated £5 million to the C o n s e r v a t i v e P a r t y , m a r k i n g o n e o f t h e largest donations to the party in decades

£17k romance fraudster jailed for swindling single women

A ro m anc e s c am m er w h o ta rg e ted s i ng le w o m en , d e c ei v i ng th em into g iving him s u bs tan ti al s u m s o f money, has been fou nd guilty Khalid Mahmood, r e s i d i n g a t V i c a r a g e Crescent in Redditch, avoided imprisonment but has been ordered to pay £20,000 in restitution This 44-year-old admitted to three charges of fraud through false representation and three counts of theft

Liz Truss, despite serving as Prime Minister for only 49 days, has reportedly been making claims from the £115,000-a-year public fund allocated to former prime ministers to manage their offices Accounts from the Cabinet Office released on Tuesday reveal that the Conservative MP claimed £23,310 in the first five months following her departure from office It is understood that she has continued to make claims in the current financial year, which began in April, but the specific amount will not be disclosed until the next annual report

ASIAN MEMBERS SINGLED OUT FOR ID CHECKS AT CONSERVATIVE AGM

Numerous disgruntled Conservative members have filed complaints with the national party, alleging incidents of racism' during a Black Country branch AGM Attendees of the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association meeting on Saturday, September 9 expressed their outrage and some walked out due to several issues they claim transpired

Among the allegations, it has been claimed that Asian members, including elected councillors, were required to show photo ID before being granted entry to the meeting while their white counterparts were not subjected to the same requirement Additionally some members have contended that £54 000 allocated for legal expenses in the accounts was approved without the opportunity for concerned members to discuss it The Conservative Party has responded by stating that a review of the meeting is currently underway Some members have threatened to leave the party, while others are calling for a re-run of the AGM

RISHI SUNAK CONTEMPLATING INHERITANCE TAX CUT

being considered are the distribution of free vape kits, the introduction of a v o u c h e r s c h e m e t o e n c o u r a g e p r e g n a n t women to quit smoking, a n d t h e e x a m i n a t i o n o f mandatory cigarette pack inserts, the spokesperson elaborated

I n M a y , t h e U K announced its intention to c l o s e a l o o p h o l e t h a t allowed retailers to provide free vape samples to children as part of a crackdown on e-cigarettes

A-level shake up possible

Rishi Sunak is contemp lating a significant ov erhaul o f A -levels in England, p otent i all y in tr od u ci n g a n ew e d u c ati o na l q u ali f i ca ti o n t erm ed th e " Bri ti s h ba ccalaureate " T h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r ' s e n v i s i o n e d r e f o r m s m i g h t e n t a i l c o m p u l s o r y m a t h ematics and English education up to the age of 18, as per reports in the press This proposed transformation of A-levels is expected to be m e t w i t h c o n t r o v e r s y , although no definitive deci-

sions have been made as of now

h e

a b o u r P a r t y h a s

criticised these suggestions a s a n " u n d e l i v e r a b l e g i mm i c k " T h e g o v e r n m e n t , however, has refuted claims that Mr Sunak is seeking radical proposals solely for p o l i t i c a l g a i n , w i t h 1 0

Downing Street stating that the Prime Minister is primarily focused on long-term solutions

M r S u n a k i n i t i a l l y introduced the idea of a new baccalaureate qualification d u r i n g h i s u n s u c c e s s f u l leadership campaign against Liz Truss last year

He was apprehended by law enforcement upon his arrival from Pakistan and was subsequently handed a suspended prison sentence of nine months for a period of two years This judgment was delivered at Inner London Crown Court on September 20th He has also been mandated to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and partake in a 35-day rehabilitation program

D u r i n g t h e c o u r t p r o c e e d i n g s , i t w a s revealed that Mahmood employed a consistent set of tactics to defraud women he had met on a dating website on three separate occasions

Wanted, potentially violent man escapes facility

A man with a history of occasio nal violence has es c ap e d f ro m a ca re facility in East Londo n, l ead i n g to a p o li c e ap p eal B ala sa nk ar Na ra yan an d e p art ed f ro m th e Il fo r d ca re h o m e o n T h u r sd a y, Septem ber 21, and the Red bridg e neighbourhood po licing team of the Met Police has issu ed an app eal fo r assistance in locating him

The 43-year-old was last observed wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms, along with a black baseball cap Narayanan has connections throughout London, particularly in Newham, Greenford, Hammersmith, Highgate, and Ilford, as well as in the West Midlands

He has previously fled from the same facility after filing appeals earlier this year and in 2021 Authorities believe he may be using London's train system for his travels

Rishi Sunak is reportedly contemplating a reduction in inheritance tax as part of his efforts to win over voters and create policy distinctions from the Labour Party, which currently enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls These plans could pave the way for the eventual elimination of the inheritance tax as reported by the Sunday Times Nevertheless Downing Street has downplayed the speculation that the Prime Minister is actively formulating tax reduction plans

Currently inheritance tax is levied at a rate of 40% on estates exceeding £325 000 in value with an additional allowance of £175,000 applicable to the main residence when passed on to children or grandchildren This allowance can be shared by a married couple, which means that parents can pass on up to £1 million to their offspring without incurring any tax liability

OFFICER FACING COURT FOR COMPUTER MISUSE CHARGES

An officer, PC Mohammed Sardar aged 31 and assigned to the East Area Basic Command Unit, has been charged as a result of an investigation conducted by the Metropolitan Police s AntiCorruption and Abuse Command Sardar was charged on August 23 with five counts under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 These charges are related to alleged unauthorised access to information on police computer systems and are said to have occurred between 2018 and 2021 The investigation was carried out by the Met s AntiCorruption and Abuse Command under the oversight of the Independent Office for Police Conduct He is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, September 22 PC Sardar continues to be suspended from duty

Frank Hester

Balasankar Narayanan

Rishi Sunak

Sanatan Dharma goes way beyond idol worship

Nitin Mehta

A ttacking th e Swaminarayan

M ovement is opening a pand o r a's bo x o n S ana tan

Dharm a Som e Gujarat based S adh us h av e taken i t up on th e m s el v es t o ta rg et th e

Sw am inarayan mov em ent with out realising the serious im plicatio ns it has on the vast and div erse

Sanatan Dh arma

Their main gripe is that the Swaminarayan Sampradaya does not respect Hindu deities, never haveing entered a Swaminarayan Mandir, obviously The first deity present in a BAPS Mandir is Ganesh Bhagvan You first take his Darshan and then at the end before you leave the m a n d i r y o u t a k e D a r s h a n o f H a n u m a n j i

However since these Sadhus and other misguided individuals have taken it upon themselves to police Sanatan Dharma, they will also have to start their battle with a huge section of Hindus w h o d o n o t m e e t t h e i r c r i t e r i a o f p e r f e c t

Dharma

F i r s t , t h e y w i l l h a v e t o c o n f r o n t t h e

Ramakrishna Mission of Swami Vivekanand and h i s G u r u R a m k r i s h n a P a r a m h a n s S w a m i Vivekanand who is considered as a great philosopher and ambassador of Hinduism believed in the Advaita doctrine which basically denies the existence of any God at all The ultimate reality for the Advaita doctrine is Brahman

The Mandukya Upanishad explains that the word Aum was used for the first time to explain Brāhman as the only and the ultimate reality, a concept that became the basis subsequently for the emergence of Advaita Vedanta or the philosophy of monism Brāhman is seen as the only and the ultimate formless reality Brahman is formless and yet it is the birthplace of all forms in visible reality The individual Soul or Atma is capable of achieving the highest goal of liberation on its own This is in stark contrast to the Dvaita doctrine which believes in an almighty God By the standards of a few Sadhus the whole of A d v a i t a m o v e m e n t i s a n i n s u l t t o S a n a t a n Dharma Will they now start demanding to them that they better change?

Let us now look at the Arya Samaj and its f o u n d e r D a y a n a n d S a r a s w a t i D a y a n a n d Saraswati completely rejected deity worship He wanted Hindus to go back to the Vedas and aband o n t h e w o r s h i p o f a n y G o d s J u s t l i k e Sahajanand Swami he challenged the negative p r a c t i c e s t h a t h a d t a k e n h o l d o f S a n a t a n Dharma He challenged superstition and all the negative practices of the time Will the Sadhus now warn the millions of Arya Samaj followers to stop denying that there are Hindu Gods and Goddesses?

L e t ' s l o o k c l o s e r a t h o m e T h e r e a r e Vaishnava Sampradayas in Gujarat who completely deny Lord Shiva and Hindu Goddesses Will they now direct their fire towards them?

And there is the whole of South India where different Saivaite lineages which are Advaita believing in formless Brahaman as the ultimate reality Will the Gujarat Sadhus warn Hindus of South India to change?

Sanatan Dharma is a huge, diverse, universal pathway to self-realisation and a road map to getting out of cycles of births and deaths

It is accompanied by a way of life based on Sanskars, Ahimsa, Karma and Reincarnation

This is further enhanced with a rich culture with festivals that inspire and Gurus like Pramukh

Swami Maharaj and Mahantswami The BAPS Swaminarayan movement has brought about a revival of Sanatan Dharma on an a unprecedented scale Its dedicated followers are at the forefront to bring relief to the people at the time of any calamities

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel one of the greatest leaders of India said the following about the S w a m i n a r a y a n m o v e m e n t : ' T h e f r a g r a n c e o f high morality was spread all over Gujarat by the effect of the pious and virtuous conduct of Shree Sahajanad Swami(Lord Swaminarayan) and His saints The sect has played a great deal in changing over the thousands of ordinary,illiterate,brutal hearts into highly moral led and cultures ones'

Let no one divide us We are on a journey to bring Sanatan Dharma to the world www nitinmehta co uk

Hindu Economic Summit discusses uniting vision and prosperity to inspire the business community

T he Hindu Economic Forum of the UK (HEF-UK) marked a historic milestone with its recent ev en t, the " Hin du E co no m ic

S u m m i t: U n iti ng Vi si o n an d

P r o sp e ri ty " He ld o n 2 1

S e p tem ber 20 23 , at th e

A no o p am M i s s io n ,

S w a m i na ray an T e m p le ,

Denh am

T h e s u m m i t b r o u g h t

t o g e t h e r e s t e e m e d t h o u g h t

l e a d e r s , e n t r e p r e n e u r s , a n d professionals from diverse sectors to discuss and inspire the Hindu business community

D i s t i n g u i s h e d K e y n o t e

S p e a k e r s a t t h e e v e n t w e r e

S w a m i V i g y a n a n a n d J i ,

F o u n d e r o f W o r l d H i n d u

F o u n d a t i o n , P u j y a S a h e b j i ,

S p i r i t u a l h e a d o f A n o o p a m

M i s s i o n , S u b h a s h V T h a k r a r

F C A F R S A , B u s i n e s s L e a d e r , P a s t C h a i r m a n o f L o n d o n

C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e a n d

New Committee Members

President Anil Puri announced the induction of three new committee members- K Shanker - National Coordinator, Rajesh Singh - Marketing Coordinator, Milan Patel – Networker

Manish Tiwari FRSA, Founder of Here and Now 365 They shared their insights on various topics, including the interconnectedness of Dharma, Artha, and Rashtra, and the distinction between Dharma and religion

WHEF 2023@Bangkok

As part of the third World Hindu Congress (WHC), the World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) is organising WHEF 2023@Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand, from 24th to 26th November 2023 The theme for this event is "Jayasya Aayatnam Dharmah " meaning "Dharma the Abode of Victory "

The event reinforced HEFUK's commitment to championing Hindu-owned businesses i n t h e U K A n i n v i t a t i o n i s e x t e n d e d t o j o i n W H E F - U K with an annual membership fee of £100, which covers entry to 4x quarterly Summits, access to t h e m e m b e r s ' d a t a b a s e f o r WHEF-UK, and the Chanakya App for connecting with Hindu Businesses worldwide

The launch of Bharati Pankaj's identity poems

Bh arati P ankaj's bo ok of IDENT ITY P OEMS was launch ed at the event o rganised by Gujarati

Literary Grou p, Leicester, on

F riday, 1 5th S ep tember 2 02 3

P ro f Werner Mens ki was the Chi ef Guest, and Abdu l K areem G h e ev al a w as t h e G u e s t o f Ho nour P o e t s a n d p o e t r y l o v e r s f r o m L e i c e s t e r , Y o r k s h i r e , L a n c a s h i r e , C o v e n t r y , a n d London, were present on the occasion

Poet Bharati was honoured b y B e d a r L a j p u r i a n d Y u s u f Sadat, who felicitated her with a s h a w l T h e b o o k w a s launched by Professor Menski, who has written the afterword of the book He congratulated the poet and said that

Bharati 's poetry is significant for intercultural commun i c a t i o n M r G h e e w a k a emphasised the need to preserve our literary and cultural heritage

Asha Nathvani gave examples of Bharati's poetic expressions and how they move the r e a d e r A d a m T a n k a r v i referred to the renowned poet H a r i s h M i n a s h r u ' s c o m m e n t

on Bharati's poems, which are not 'feminist' but are poetic expression of 'feminine sensibility'

A l k a G a n d h i m e n t i o n e d t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n m a d e b y

B h a r a t i t o t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f

G u j a r a t i S a h i t y a F o r u m

A h m a d G u l O B E , w h o s e

G u j a r a t i P o e m s h a v e b e e n t r a n s l a t e d i n t o E n g l i s h , emphasised the need to pres e r v e o u r G u j a r a t i l i t e r a r y works through English translation

Kavita Dattani, a poet writing in English, said that the English translation is valuable b e c a u s e ' t h e n a t i v e E n g l i s h

Remembering an author who offered a nuanced portrayal of India

Gita M ehta, who p assed aw ay at th e ag e of 80 , mad e a significant im pact on Western read ers with boo ks publish ed o ver two decades A s a writer, documentary filmm aker, and g rac i o u s h o st in Ne w York, London, and New Delhi, she had a remarkable talent for brid gi ng different world s w ith her irrev erence and insigh tful p erspective Throughout her vibrant life, M e h t a e f f o r t l e s s l y c o m b i n e d g l a m o u r w i t h r e s i l i e n c e S h e c o u l d e l e g a n t l y w e a r c h i f f o n saris at Manhattan gatherings, yet she was equally comfortable reporting on the 1971 Bangladesh

w a r , v i s i t i n g d r o u g h t - s t r i c k e n villages, or exploring the early g a r b a g e m o u n t a i n s o f I n d i a ’ s capital city

She was married to the late p u b l i s h e r S o n n y M e h t a , w h o passed away in 2019 They are s u r v i v e d b y t h e i r s o n , A d i t y a Singh Mehta

speakers such as myself can access this wealth of poetry '

Nimisha Parmar described her love for Bharati's poems and h o w h u n d r e d s o f v i e w e r s a p p r e c i a t e a n d e n j o y t h e s e poems through Facebook

B h a r a t i p r e s e n t e d h e r poems and also talked about her creative process In the Question - Answer session, she reminisced about the literary activities Pankaj and herself did together

A s p e c i a l f e a t u r e o f t h e event was the presentation of B h a r a t i ' s p o e m s t h r o u g h Kathak dance This was choreographed by Nilimadevi, MBE

T h e d a n c e r s w e r e C h a n d n i Premji and Andrea Monalisa

T h e p r o g r a m m e e n d e d w i t h a v o t e o f t h a n k s b y

Sadhana Vaidya It was beautifully compared by Imtiaz Patel

V a r e d i y a w a l a D i l i p G a j j a r s k i l f u l l y h a n d l e d t h e m i c r o -

phones

T h e f e e d b a c k f r o m t h e audience was positive, and they all said that it was a very pleasurable experience Photo courtesy: Gordon Chen

Dilipbhai, Bharti Pankaj, Bedar Yusuf, Dr Abdul Karim, Prof Menskiji and Dr Adam Tankarvi

Andria Monalisa

Gita Mehta

Joint event focuses on unity and collaboration within the Global Lohana Community

A n i m p o rt an t j o i nt e v en t took place in North Londo n at Dh amecha Lohana C entre

U K on 22 S eptem ber 2023

T he p rimary purpose of this event w as to fo ster u nity and c o ll ab o rat i o n w i th i n t h e g lo bal L oh ana co mm u nity

T he ev ent marked the prese nc e o f th e P res i d en t o f S hree Lo hana M ahaparishad S atishbh ai Vithalani

A t t e n d e e s g a t h e r e d t o d i s c u s s v a r i o u s w a y s o f bringing Lohanas from all corners of the world together, with a specific focus on areas such as business netw o r k i n g , f i n d i n g m e d i c a l professionals, and establishi n g t h e r i g h t c o n n e c t i o n s T h e P r e s i d e n t o f S h r e e

Lohana Mahaparishad delive r e d a n i n s p i r i n g k e y n o t e s p e e c h , e m p h a s i z i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f u n i t y a n d c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h i n t h e Lohana community worldwide

The event drew a diverse crowd from different walks

o f l i f e , i n c l u d i n g b u s i n e s s p r o f e s s i o n a l s , h e a l t h c a r e practitioners, and community leaders, all sharing Lohana heritage The event featured panel discussions and workshops that explored practical strategies for Lohana indiv i d u a l s a n d b u s i n e s s e s t o

Nagrecha Parivar organised Loti Utsav

collaborate and support one another

T h e d i s c u s s i o n s a n d workshops held during the event laid the foundation for f u t u r e c o l l a b o r a t i o n a n d support within the Lohana community worldwide This event served as a testament to the strength and resilience of the Lohana community, highlighting its potential for growth, prosperity, and coll e c t i v e w e l l - b e i n g t h r o u g h mutual cooperation and networking

T o c e l e b r a t e t h e r i c h L o h a n a c u l t u r e , t h e e v e n t i n c l u d e d c u l t u r a l p e r f o rm a n c e s , t r a d i t i o n a l f o o d , and exhibitions showcasing Lohana heritage

Henry Dundas slavery plaque disappears amid ongoing controversy

A cont roversial pl aque linking an 18th-ce ntury Scot tish politician t o slave ry ha s my st e r io us l y v a n is he d , t h e Tel egra ph reporte d T h e r e m o v a l o f t h e p l a q u e f r o m t h e H e n r y Dundas statue at Edinburgh's base fueled the ongoing argument

H i s t o r i a n s a c c u s e d t h e p l a q u e o f i n a c c u r a t e l y attributing the enslavement of over 500,000 Africans to D u n d a s T h e y h a v e t a k e n issue with the plaque’s word-

ing, asserting that it distorts historical facts

Due to Dundas's ties to the slave trade, the plaque was first installed after the M e l v i l l e M o n u m e n t s t a t u e was vandalised by Black Lives M a t t e r d e m o n s t r a t o r s i n 2020

Edinburgh council, however, has stated that it did not a u t h o r i s e t h e p l a q u e ’ s removal and has initiated an investigation into the matter

“As caretakers of the statu e , a n y a l t e r a t i o n s t o t h e

monument would require the council’s consent, which was not sought or granted in this

instance,” Cammy Day, the leader of Edinburgh council, is reported to have said

The divisive monument c l a i m s t h a t D u n d a s , w h o served in government in the 1790s, was instrumental in d e l a y i n g t h e e n d o f t h e

A t l a n t i c s l a v e t r a d e u n t i l 1807

Additionally, the memorial is dedicated "to the memory of the more than 500,000 Africans whose enslavement w a s a r e s u l t o f D u n d a s ' s actions "

Nagrecha Parivar

Sahebji blesses Kunjan on his birthday

Well-known versatile singer Mayaben Deepak from

a

Migrants from South Asia most likely to report religious affiliation

Mig rants fro m Bangladesh , S o m a li a, a nd P a ki s tan in England and Wales exhibit the hig hest rates of relig ious affiliation, accord ing to 20 21 C ensus data from the Office f o r Na ti o nal S tat i st ic s (ONS ) A pproxim ately 94 9% of Bang ladeshi migrants, followed closely by So mali and Pakistani migrants at 94 8%,

reported a relig ious affiliatio n Furthermore, the top 10 countries of birth with the highest percentage of residents expressing a religious a f f i l i a t i o n p r i m a r i l y h a i l from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia South Asian count r i e s d o m i n a t e , w i t h P a k i s t a n r a n k i n g t h i r d a t

94 8%, followed by Eritrea (94 7%), Sri Lanka (94 2%), and India (93 8%)

In contrast, a little over half (56 8%) of all usual residents in England and Wales i d e n t i f y w i t h a r e l i g i o n C h i n e s e m i g r a n t s ( 1 8 9 % ) and Japanese migrants (32%) reported the lowest levels of religious affiliation

Millions of Brits neglecting eye health, survey reveals

M il l i o ns o f Br it o n s ar e negl ecting their eye h ealth, as indicated by a recent su rvey o f 2,000 adu lts, pro mpting c oncerns f rom exp erts Th e stu dy reveals that a significant 41% o f respo ndents admit th at eye issu es are negatively imp ac ting their overall quality of life

But just seven per cent b e l i e v e t h e y h a v e a g o o d

understanding of what different eye conditions entail –with 39 per cent unfamiliar w i t h w h a t g l a u c o m a i s I n a d d i t i o n , 7 9 p e r c e n t a r e u n a w a r e o f w h a t d i a b e t i c retinopathy is, and 62 per cent wouldn’t be able to recognise the signs of age-related macular degeneration

T h i s r e s e a r c h , c o m m i s -

sioned by Newmedica, a specialist eye clinic serving both NHS and private patients, was conducted as part of National E y e H e a l t h W e e k ( 1 8 - 2 4 S e p t e m b e r ) I t u n d e r s c o r e s the need for increased awareness and regular eye checkups to ensure early detection and prompt treatment of eye conditions

Criminal probe into UK Care Home following dementia patient abuse video

A criminal investig ation has been initiated into a hig hend care facility in S urrey after d isturbing hidd en camer a f oo t ag e e xp o s ed instances of abuse inflicted upo n an 8 8-year-old d em entia patient named A nn King

A n n K i n g ' s c h i l d r e n reported the abuse to the p o l i c e , b u t i t w a s l a t e r revealed by ITV News that

h e r c a s e w a s o n e o f o v e r

1,000 allegations of abuse or neglect within care homes last year that did not result in criminal charges

T h e C a r e Q u a l i t y Commission (CQC) has now launched a criminal investigation into the matter, citing "concerns raised" about the care provided at the Reigate Grange facility, which costs

£8,000 per month

A C Q C s p o k e s p e r s o n stated, "We are conducting a criminal investigation into c o n c e r n s r a i s e d r e g a r d i n g t h e c a r e p r o v i d e d t o A n n King at Reigate Grange No d e c i s i o n h a s b e e n m a d e regarding potential enforcement actions We will prov i d e a n u p d a t e o n c e t h e investigation is concluded "

Left to Right: Ashok Rach VP LCUK, Panna Raja LCUK, Rayna Paw, Ronak Paw VP LCNL, Sadhna Mehta, Dinesh Shonchhatra, Meena Jasani LCNL President Satishbhai Vithalani LMP President Bharat Sodha President LCUK

organised the Loti Utsav on 17 September 2023 at Hariben Bachubhai Nagrecha Hall Leyton Road. Loti Puja was followed by bhajans and raas garba Photo: From left to right: Ushaben Karia, Jayaben Chandarana, Aartiben Nagrecha, Hasubhai Nagrecha, Vinubhai Nagrecha, Prishal Radia, Nilamben Nagrecha and Umi Radia

Gujarat is on

UK visit with her family Her son Kunjan's birthday was on 21 September Mayaben, Deepakbhai Panchal and Kunjan visited the Anoopam mission and took blessings from Pujya Sajebji Sahebji gave blessings to Kunjan for a happy, successful & peaceful life Kunjan did an M Sc in Biotechnology and studied at California State University, Fresno.

Former London mayor battling Alzheimer’s

F orm er Lo nd on mayor Ken

L iv in g s to ne h as be en rev ealed to hav e Alzheimer's d isease, as confirmed by his family

The 78-year-old is currently under the dedicated c a r e o f h i s f a m i l y a n d friends as he leads a private l i f e i n r e t i r e m e n t Livingstone made history as t h e f i r s t d i r e c t l y e l e c t e d mayor of London in 2000, a position he held for eight years H i s f a m i l y s a i d : " I n response to media inquiries,

Ken Livingstone

the Livingstone family today a n n o u n c e t h a t K e n L i v i n g s t o n e , e x - M P f o r Brent and former mayor of London, has been diagnosed

Kinship care in England and Wales: Insights from Census 2021

w i t h a n d i s l i v i n g w i t h Alzheimer's disease

"Although a previously p r o m i n e n t p u b l i c f i g u r e , Ken is now retired and lives a private life

Ken is being well cared for by his family and friends

a n d w e a s k y o u f o r y o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d t o respect his privacy and that of his family "

I n 2 0 1 8 , h e r e s i g n e d f r o m t h e L a b o u r P a r t y amidst allegations of antisemitism, which he consistently denied

Improving Dementia care with technology

A recent survey reveals that o ver two-thirds (67%) o f UK General Practitioners (GPs) express a desi re to p rescribe a s s i st i ve te c h no lo g i es to t h e i r de me nt i a p a ti e nt s u p on diagno si s, ac co rding to research p ublished today

The survey, conducted nationally among GPs, was c a r r i e d o u t b y t h e L o n g i t u d e P r i z e o n D e m e n t i a , f u n d e d b y t h e A l z h e i m e r ' s S o c i e t y a n d

Innovate UK, and delivered by Challenge Works Its aim was to gauge primary care d o c t o r s ' w i l l i n g n e s s t o employ technology to aid people and families grappling with dementia

A yearning for assistive tech no lo gies GPs, particularly, wish to see the development of n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s t a i l o r e d t o h e l p i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h d e m e n t i a m a i n t a i n t h e i r

than supporting daily activities, a concern shared by 86% of surveyed GPs

T ech th at enables independence

Remaining at home can pose challenges for those w i t h d e m e n t i a , i n c l u d i n g issues such as loss of confidence, anxiety while navigating their surroundings, medication reminders, and difficulty recognising peop l e M a n y G P s b e l i e v e responsive tech like intui t i v e a p p s f o r n a v i g a t i o n , m e d i c a t i o n r e m i n d e r s , o r smart glasses that identify i n d i v i d u a l s c o u l d b e n e f i t their patients

Challenging stereotyp es

Challenging the stereotype that older individuals shy away from technology, 49% of GPs report that the majority of their early-stage dementia patients use technology in their daily lives

ing conditions While 87% of GPs believe early-stage d e m e n t i a p a t i e n t s w o u l d b e n e f i t f r o m t e c h n o l o g y d e s i g n e d f o r t h e i r c o n d ition, 84% feel that technolog i e s i n t e n d e d f o r g e n e r a l u s e ( l i k e p h o n e s , t a b l e t s , and TVs) do not adequately consider dementia patients' needs

Longitude Prize o n Dementia

Approximately 59 2% of children in kinship care lived with at least one grandparent.

A s K i ns h i p C are Wee k ap p ro ac h es ( 2 -6 Oc to be r 2 0 2 3 ) , t h e O ff i c e f o r

Na ti o na l S tat i st ic s ( O NS )

o f fer s a g l i m p se i nto t h e lives of children residing in "kinsh ip care" households in England and Wales, based o n d ata d eriv ed from th e 2021 C ensus

Kinship care pertains to children aged 17 and under on Census Day (21 March 2021) who were living without a parent in their usual residence but resided with a n o t h e r a d u l t , s u c h a s grandparents, older siblings, and/or other relatives The analysis was conducted on h o u s e h o l d s o f u p t o f i v e individuals

The analysis delves into v a r i o u s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f children in kinship care and t h e i r h o u s e h o l d s , e n c o mpassing factors like age, ethn i c b a c k g r o u n d , r e l i g i o n , country of birth, health and disability, employment status of kinship carers, and household deprivation

into care arrangements for thousands of young people in England and Wales who live with a relation other than their parent(s) As we mark Kinship Care Week, it’s striking how important grandparents are in providing care In part, this is why many such households are characterised by people living there who are less likely to be employed and who are in poorer health than househ o l d s w h e r e c h i l d r e n l i v e with their parent(s) "

There were 121,000 children residing in kinship care within households of five or fewer individuals in England and Wales at the time of the 2 0 2 1 C e n s u s , c o n s t i t u t i n g 1 14% of all children aged 017 in the census Children in k i n s h i p c a r e h o u s e h o l d s t e n d e d t o b e o l d e r t h a n t h o s e i n p a r e n t a l h o u s eholds Approximately 41 8% of c h i l d r e n i n k i n s h i p c a r e households were aged 13-17, compared to 27 1% of children in parental households

ents Approximately 59 2% of c h i l d r e n i n k i n s h i p c a r e l i v e d w i t h a t l e a s t o n e grandparent A third (34 4%) of kinship care households r e s i d e d i n s o c i a l r e n t e d homes, as opposed to 19 4% o f p a r e n t a l h o u s e h o l d s A m o n g t h o s e e m p l o y e d , p o t e n t i a l k i n s h i p c a r e r s were more likely to work part-time (38 1%) compared to parents (33 1%) A quarter ( 2 5 3 % ) o f k i n s h i p c a r e households had one or more i n d i v i d u a l s w h o s e l o n gt e r m p h y s i c a l o r m e n t a l h e a l t h c o n d i t i o n s l i m i t e d them significantly, in contrast to 10 0% of parental households

independence

Nearly 88% of GPs believe that individuals with dementia residing i n t h e i r h o m e s c a n l e a d more fulfilling lives, with 77% asserting that it would e n h a n c e t h e i r l i f e s p a n H o w e v e r , 8 3 % o f G P s e x p r e s s f r u s t r a t i o n t h a t their dementia patients lack adequate support at home While some existing techn o l o g i e s c a t e r t o p e o p l e with dementia, the focus is often on monitoring rather

A d d i t i o n a l l y , 6 4 % o f G P s r e c o m m e n d t e c h n o l o g yrelated strategies to their dementia patients, such as a d d i n g m e d i c a t i o n reminders to smartphones and smart speakers

Need for adap tive tech no lo gies

The survey underscores the importance of considering dementia's progressive n a t u r e w h e n d e s i g n i n g a s s i s t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s t o ensure they adapt to chang-

The Longitude Prize on Dementia, a £4 42 million i n i t i a t i v e , a i m s t o c r e a t e p e r s o n a l i s e d , t e c h n o l o g yb a s e d t o o l s c o - d e v e l o p e d with individuals in the early stages of dementia These tools aim to help them live independent, fulfilling lives and continue enjoying their interests In total, £3 42 million will be awarded in seed funding and development grants to promising solut i o n s , w i t h a £ 1 m i l l i o n grand prize in 2026 The initiative recently announced 24 semi-finalists working on a s s i s t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s f o r dementia, ranging from virtual reality devices to augm e n t e d r e a l i t y n a v i g a t i o n apps, each receiving grants of £80,000

T h e s e t e c h n o l o g i e s o f f e r h o p e f o r a b r i g h t e r future for individuals living with dementia, enhancing t h e i r i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d overall quality of life

Teenager's identity revealed after NHS Trust legal battle

A judg e has g ranted p ermission to reveal the id entity of a 1 9y ea r- o ld w o m an, S u d i ks h a T hirum alesh , wh o passed away following a legal dispute w ith an NHS trust reg arding her treatm ent for a rare mito ch ond rial d isord er

Sudiksha Thirumalesh, an Al e v e l s t u d e n t , a n d h e r f a m i l y were engaged in a legal battle with an undisclosed NHS trust regarding whether she should transition to palliative care

Sudiksha Thirumalesh

During proceedings in the court of protection, it was disclosed that Thirumalesh, who could effectively communicate with her medical team, expressed a desire to travel to North America to participate in a clinical

trial described as "experimental " She was described as a determined individual and had conveyed to a psychiatrist, "This is my wish I want to pursue life to the fullest We must explore all options "

N o n e t h e l e s s , t h e c o u r t i n

London had previously heard of a " f u n d a m e n t a l d i s a g r e e m e n t "

between the family and the trust concerning the teenager s care and what was deemed to be in her best interests

Legal representatives for the trust contended that Thirumalesh, known as ST during the legal dispute, was in an "actively dying" state and was experiencing severe respiratory episodes

Steve Smallwood from t h e O f f i c e f o r N a t i o n a l Statistics (ONS) highlights the significance of the findings, stating, "Today’s analysis using Census 2021 data p r o v i d e s v a l u a b l e i n s i g h t

A noteworthy finding was that 11 9% of children in kins h i p c a r e h a d d i s a b i l i t i e s u n d e r t h e E q u a l i t y A c t , compared to 6 6% of children living with their par-

T h e N o r t h E a s t o f England reported the highe s t p r o p o r t i o n o f k i n s h i p care households, while the S o u t h E a s t a n d E a s t o f England had the lowest In E n g l a n d , l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s s u c h a s H a r t l e p o o l , Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland exhibited the highest proportion of kinship care homes In Wales, local authorities including M e r t h y r T y d f i l , B l a e n a u Gwent, and Caerphilly had the highest proportion of kinship care households

I

Education, employment & immigration

Most American media houses like the newspapers such as Washington Post and TV channels like CNN have been discussing job security and immigration policies at length Hard work is the keyword to success in life and people from across the world have been struggling to feed their and mending their lifestyle

America, the hub of milk and honey is naturally attracting people and countries from all over the world The fact is that nothing can be done overnight as is evident by the great hard work and brave efforts, physical and mental, behind building the entire American continent Actually, this message should be loud and clear to everyone out there

I usually chat to many schoolers and college students enroute in my native areas like Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Kanyakumari, encouraging them on the academic front, and have witnessed people working hard on the farm in Korkai, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Nagercoil on the other hand

As an experienced professional, I can feel the pain of searching for jobs and that of standing up to questions posed by employers and fellow colleagues in the industry

Knowledge and beauty always court attention and appreciation Again, the countries from Asia and the rest of the world should encourage the students to focus on research activities in agriculture just like America has been encouraging the people and the students in the agriculture field

We humans have been living through the changes and crises taking place across the world since time immemorial

First up, Asia has been home to all kinds of wealth, culture, education, knowledge, extensive beautiful habitats and natural sources As a recap, both America and Russia were the most-pronounced names in the syllabus during my 1990s schooldays in my native areas like Tuticorin, Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu

Secondly, there are some surprising moments to cherish and rejoice US President Joe Biden has now been in full swing to review and even rescind the previous laws and orders enacted by the Trump administration Making changes to the immigration policy out there in the US is the best thing to appreciate Mr Biden has even ordered setting up a task force to reunite the families and children separated at the Mexico border Yet, there are a lot more changes to come through, especially bringing some more positive news to all the US-based employees and all the immigrants out there

Having been to various locations like Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai for my profession, all a long way off my native areas like Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Korkai, I could easily place myself in the position of all those separated from families

O n t h e w h o l e , t h e B i d e n - H a r r i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n deserves many a round of appreciation for their compassionate yet bold acts in the immigration policy The media both in the US and at the world stage should voice for all the good deeds of the new regime in America On their part, both Mr Biden and Ms Harris should be careful and cautious of handling the opposing voices all over there

P Senthi l S aravana Durai

Be kind to animals

We will be celebrating World Animal Day on October 4 I'm sure, many of us are not even aware that this day exists The day is a reminder for us to treat our pets and stray animals with respect If we look around our highways and streets, we will find plenty of stray animals roaming about That's no way to show respect to these animals It s like we have disowned them Animals enrich us in ways we don t even know

October 4 is also the feast day of St Francis of Assisi who loved animals It is a day to celebrate animal life in all its forms It is a day to acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives It is a day to acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives

World Animal Day is a wonderful reminder of the different ways in which animals enhance our lives

The theme for World Animal Day 2023 is "Great or small, love them all" The mission of this year's World Animal Day is to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe

Jub el D'Cr uz

Is NHS sabotaged from within?

Our beloved NHS is a world-renowned medical institution appreciated and admired on equal termsthroughout the world It is impossible for our younger generation even to guess what life was like before the post-war Labour government of Clement Attlee and his fiery Welshman Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health; introduced National Health Service free to use for everyone at the point of delivery that changed the health of the nation, taken-up by many war-weary nations, looking to us to give them a lead!

In pre-WW2 Britain, it was a lottery as to who could afford, and who could enjoy the excellent medical facilities that were a privilege for the few rich and influential people while ordinary people were literally left to die on the streets of London and other big cities Whatever little free medical help was provided was by the Church and other voluntary organizations NHS was introduced as the resort of last chance for the long-suffering public It is difficult to believe that hardly any patient was referred to the hospital by their GPs who themselves were not overrun by patients, as it is the case today! Was it due to the excellent health of the public or just because people were reluctant to use free medical services? Perhaps it was a bit of both But people were not hypochondriac, as is the case today in certain sections of the community

But now our beloved NHS is not fit for the purpose it was created It is inundated by patients twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, so often there may be a hundred patients waiting patiently in the A & E ward that may take half a day before they are seen and admitted to the hospital where they may have to wait on a trolley for hours before they are allocated a bed in the Ward Do we deserve this indifference, take it or leave it attitude? Would it change under Labour if they win the next election?

NHS is such a holy cow that no political party dares to change it, no matter how outdated it may be, unfit for the modern time, in need of a shake-up Most GPs advocate a £20 charge for a face-to-face appointment, £30 for a home visit and £50 to attend A & E department In addition, £50 to £100 bed and breakfast charges when admitted to NHS hospital

This is the trend in many EU countries Compared to what we may have to pay if we go private, many do prefer p r i v a t e t r e a t m e n t , e i t h e r t h r o u g h t h e i r e m p l o y e r s , Unions or private insurance, the NHS charges if introduced are more than fair, and would deter time waster or hypochondriac that occupies so many much needed NHS beds No wonder many patients die before they are seen by their Consultants

I hope one of the main political parties will show the sense, urgency and courage to give us the ultra-modern NHS that British people deserve, rather than their political slogan that it would be a two-tier system, preferring the rich

We do not all drive Jaguar, Mercedes or BMW, live in detached four bedroom houses or go on expensive cruises, visiting faraway places like Australia, Japan, NZ, Falkland islands and many more Some of us have to be satisfied with Spain, France and Portugal, our tried and trusted destinations at our doorstep!

Bhupe ndra M Gandh i

Bright ideas?

It is clear that the Conservative and Labour Parties are desperately wonderinghow to woo voters well before the looming general election Both the majorparties are firing off ideas and watching how they appeal tothe electorate If an idea falls flat the political leader concerned either tries torevise it or abandon it altogether and launch another idea in the earnest hopethat it will delight millions of voters Alas, we can expect to be bombarded withmany more fanciful ideas to tempt us in the coming weeks and months!

A sh Gupta Bharat

Kapil Dudakia

K A P I L’ S K H I C H A D I

Self Defence - A Sovereign Right for Bharat

This week has been hectic on the international front Every Tom, Divya, and Harminder from right across the world seemed to have an opinion on the death of t h e K h a l i s t a n i t e r r o r i s t H a r d e e p S i n g h N i j j a r i n Canada

The situation was escalated by the Canadian PM Trudeau who made a surprising statement in which he basically accused India of killing a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil He said, ‘Canada was looking at credible allegations potentially linking the Indian state to Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder’

Wha t PM Trude au f org ot to menti on in his pres s conf eren ce was that C ana da:

a Has provided a haven for Khalistani terrorists to set up terror training camps

b Has provided a haven for Khalistani terrorists to escape their crimes committed either in India, or with the intention of committing murders and creating anarchy in India

c Has refused to extradite these Khalistani terrorists by turning a blind eye to their crimes

d Has refused to prosecute these terrorists

T h i s i s t h e s a m e C a n a d a t h a t a l l o w e d theKhalistaniterrorists who blew up Air India Flight 182 on 23rd June 1985 to get away with it Only one terrorist was convicted, Inderjit Singh Reyat, but even he was set free early The Governor General-in-Council of Canadain 2006 appointed the former Supreme Court Justice John C Major to conduct a commission of inquiry His report, Air India Flight 182: A Canadian Tragedy, made a damning indictment of actions taken before and after the tragedy It goes on to say there were"cascading series of errors" by the Government of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that allowed the terrorist attack to take place It seems Trudeau has not learnt anything for their past failures

Canada that turns a blind eye to terrorism and extremism It’s a nation that habours known terrorists

A nation whose own commission tells us about the negligence and incompetence of its agencies 329 lives lost, and 280 of them were Canadians But it seems, for Canada maybe these victims of its gross negligence were a bit too brown for them to take seriously

So they told us Reyat was working as a mechanic, but in reality, he turned out to be a mass murderer

S i m i l a r l y , i t s e e m s H a r d e e p S i n g h N i j j a r w a s a plumber, but in his photos he is seen with machine guns This terrorist was not hiding his credentials, he was openly sharing videos of the terror camps in Canada and firing off machine guns In fact, he was so well known for his extremism that he was even put on a ‘No Fly’ list by the Americans! Right across Canada huge billboardsdisplayed the Khalistani terrorists asking people to do harm to Indian diplomats And yet, the Canadian PM and his law enforcement agencies didn’t see anything wrong with such an open demonstration of incitement of hate and violence It begs the question; what madness are the people of Canada promoting? Canada is to North America; what Pakistan is to South Asia

I have no idea who killed Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada Apart from wild accusations, we have not seen one shred of verifiable evidence that would stand up in a court of law Yet, PM Trudeau in his infantile wisdom thought it would be great idea to accuse India I am always amazed that western nations reserve the right to c o n d u c t e x t r a j u d i c i a l k i l l i n g s w h e n i t s u i t s t h e m

However, this right is reserved only for western nations All other nationsare treated as second class The mindset of the white supremacists never changes it seems

The power of music

Cassandra Mae Spittmann who is blind but has a big vision, who sings in Indian languages and Sanskrit Her blindness could not stop her from achieving this extraordinary feat Music touches the lives of all -the rich and poor, young and old, cutting across people of different regions & religions, cast, creed and communities Music has an amazing capacity toheal the soul and unite the world

Since its Independence, India has been divided on a religious basis: Pakistanfor Muslims and Bharat for the restSanatan Vaidik Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists etc So the name “India “ no longerrelates to Bharat

R N Patel

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 Shefali at shefali.saxena@abplgroup.com

The fault lies of course with the rest of the world It has allowed the duplicity and the bigotry of the west to thrive India will no longer tolerate these double standards In my view, it is time for India to step up and escalate their actions The life of an Indian, anywhere in the world, is worth at least the same as that of western citizens India cannot, and should not, allow itself to be brow beaten into submission I was therefore heartened when I learnt that the Government of India is finally taking steps to revoke OCI and other types of visas of these rouges, and that all their assets in India will be frozen or placed in state custody It is not necessaryfor Bharat to ever accept the narrative of the west In the end, such exhibition of grandiose narcissism from the west must always be treated with the contempt it deserves

Leicester school children tour Parliament to help boost career aspirations

A gr ou p of p up ils fr om 5 L e i ce s t e r sc h o ol s ha v e t o u r e d L o n d o n a n d t h e House s of Pa rlia men t in a bid to help ra ise their life an d ca re er a spir ation s

The trip was organised b y t h e R a n d a l C h a r i t a b l e F o u n d a t i o n , L e i c e s t e r s h i r e Police and the Centre for S o c i a l J u s t i c e ( C S J ) F o u n d a t i o n a n d w a s s u pp o r t e d b y L e i c e s t e r s h i r e S o u t h M P a n d S h a d o w P a y m a s t e r G e n e r a l ,

Jonathan Ashworth

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, Chairman of Leicestershire b a s e d , R a n d a l C h a r i t a b l e Foundation, who was instrumental in enabling the trip, said: “There are moments in t h e l i v e s o f y o u n g p e o p l e which can be turning points, for good and for bad

“We organised this special tour to create a memorable moment in time – to s h a r e s i g h t s a n d s c e n e s , which might be exciting, but also which might raise aspir a t i o n s f o r s o m e o f t h e y o u n g p e o p l e j o i n i n g o u r tour ”

Following the success of the trip the partners are now l o o k i n g a t e x t e n d i n g t h e s c h e m e i n L e i c e s t e r s h i r e , which could eventually create a national blueprint for others to follow

The CSJ is an independent, award-winning organisation that puts social justice at the heart of British politics The CSJ’s vision is for those living in the poorest and most disadvantaged communities across Britain to be given every opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential

The CSJ estimates that

only 12 3% of the most disadvantaged pupils in England access full-time higher education by the age of 19, while a child from one of the UK’s p o o r e s t a r e a s i s 2 7 t i m e s m o r e l i k e l y t o a t t e n d a s c h o o l r a t e d ‘ i n a d e q u a t e ’ than a child in one of our wealthiest areas S t e v e M e a d w e l l , C S J ’ s Regional Manager for the Midlands, said: “Talking to t h e s t u d e n t s , m o s t h a d never been to London or even out of Leicester, so to have this experience was an a m a z i n g o p p o r t u n i t y a n d a s p i r a t i o n b u i l d e r , w h i c h you could see through each student’s face, throughout the day ”

The trip would not have been possible without the expert community outreach w o r k o f L e i c e s t e r s h i r e P o l i c e , w h i c h i s c u r r e n t l y e n g a g i n g L e i c e s t e r s h i r e schools with its Mini Police programme Mini Police is an innovative and fun police e n g a g e m e n t i n i t i a t i v e , which is delivered in schools with the support of Police C o m m u n i t y S u p p o r t Officers (PCSOs) from the local neighbourhood police team

Indian solar venture named for Prince William's prestigious Earthshot Prize

S4S Technologies, a p ion ee ring India n solar ven tur e, has e me r ge d as on e o f th e 15 g l ob a l f in a li st s c o mp e t in g for Pr ince Willia m's pre stig i o us E a r t h s h ot P r i ze in 2023 R e c o g n i s e d i n t h e Earthshot Prize to Build a Waste-Free World category, S4S Technologies has earned this distinction for its innovative solar-powered drying a n d p r o c e s s i n g e q u i p m e n t t h a t a d d r e s s e s f o o d w a s t e challenges, especially among small-hold farmers in India

need for costly conventional industrial food preservation methods like cold storage

Inspector Yakub Ismail from Leicestershire Police said: “I have been delighted t o w o r k w i t h t h e R a n d a l Foundation and Centre for Social Justice on this event t o h e l p b u i l d s u s t a i n a b l e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e schools and young people who live in East Leicester

This was a unique opportun i t y f o r y o u n g p e o p l e t o really see the heart of government and deepen their knowledge of government and social justice ”

R a c h a e l M c C o r m a c k , Chief Operating Officer for t h e F o u n d a t i o n , a d d e d : “We’re a family foundation with a global reach and the futures of our young people a r e v e r y i m p o r t a n t t o u s indeed – so we ’ re delighted to be supporting this partnership initiative We hope it was an exciting and eyeopening experience for the young people from across L e i c e s t e r s h i r e , a s w e l l a s being the catalyst for a wider p r o g r a m m e o f w o r k t o inspire young people across the UK ”

For more information on the work of the Randal Charitable Foundation visit www randalfoundation org uk

16-year-old Indian tech prodigy to give keynote address at Bett Show 2024

N amy a Joshi, a 16 -yea r-old I n d i a n t e c h p r o d ig y f r o m L udhiana , Punjab, will delive r a k ey note addr ess a t Bett U K , w h i ch t a k e s p la c e a t L ondon’ s Ex Cel Cen tre fr om 24-26 Ja nua ry 2024 Br inging t oget her mor e tha n 30,00 0 e d uca t or s, in no va t or s, a nd c h a n g e m a k e r s , it i s t h e wor ld ’ s big gest ed tech confe ren ce

She will lead two sessions, on why game-based l e a r n i n g h o l d s t h e k e y t o s o c i a l - e m o t i o n a l d e v e l o pment, and building engaging game-based lesson plans

N a m y a , a l r e a d y a c c l a i m e d a s “ T o p T e c h

Savvy Student In India” and a global teacher at the age of 16, got hooked on Minecraft, realising that it can also be used as an education tool F o l l o w i n g h e r o w n #EachOneTeachTen principle she’s trained thousands o f t e a c h e r s a n d s t u d e n t s worldwide on the power of M i n e c r a f t , m a k e c o d e ,

Python and other ICT tools, using Skype, Teams, Zoom or Google meet She has mentored and t r a i n e d m o r e t h a n 1 5 , 0 0 0 teachers and students to create game-based lessons to be used in classrooms, and been a powerful advocate for girls in STEM and was named an o f f i c i a l M i n e c r a f t S t u d e n t A m b a s s a d o r b y M i c r o s o f t , a t t a i n e d t o p c e r t i f i c a t i o n s from Adobe, and has also written a bestselling book, as well as given TED talks N a m y a w a s r e c e n t l y named a top 50 finalist for

S 4 S T e c h n o l o g i e s empowers rural communities in India with affordable s o l a r - p o w e r e d c o n d u c t i o n dryers and food processing machinery, enabling them to preserve crops on-site This a p p r o a c h e l i m i n a t e s t h e

T h e o r g a n i s a t i o n a l s o e m p h a s i s e s s u p p o r t i n g female farmers and assists them in transforming preserved waste into valuable f o o d p r o d u c t s s u c h a s

ketchup S4S connects these p r o d u c t s w i t h c o m m e r c i a l

b u y e r s a n d r e t u r n s t h e majority of the profits to the farmers Nidhi Pant, co-founder o f S 4 S T e c h n o l o g i e s , expressed gratitude for the r e c o g n i t i o n f r o m t h e Earthshot Prize and highlighted the interconnected c h a l l e n g e s o f f o o d w a s t e , r u r a l p o v e r t y , a n d g e n d e r inequality in India By 2025, S4S aims to reach 3 million s m a l l h o l d e r f a r m e r s a n d 30,000 entrepreneurs, ultimately reducing food waste by 1 2 million tonnes and mitigating 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2026 P r i n c e W i l l i a m ' s Earthshot Prize, launched in 2020, seeks to identify and scale innovative climate and e n v i r o n m e n t a l s o l u t i o n s worldwide

Brit-Asian Dana, Saku join ‘Great British Bake Off 2023’ line-up

The Gre at Br it ish Ba ke Off is re turning with 12 bra nd-new co n t e s t a n t s T h e po p ul a r b a k i n g co mp e t i t io n , pr oduce d by Love Productions, has just announce d its full cast for t he much-ant icipated fourt eenth season

The Great British Bake Off has once again brought together a creative group of bakers who will be entering the tent next week seeking to

get a Hollywood Handshake and the title of Star Baker

Two British Asians named Dana and Saku are in the running for the forthcoming 2023 edition and are expected to dazzle the judges with their baking prowess

Dana, who is 25 years old and a database administrator, comes from Essex When she was 16 years old, she discovered a need in her fami-

ly's traditional Indian culinary repertoire and developed a passion for baking

She now owns a kitchen of her own and is the family's g o - t o c a k e m a k e r f o r a n y occasion Saku, on the other hand, is an intelligence anal y s t f r o m H e r e f o r d s h i r e Saku, who was born in Sri Lanka, bases her baking on the customary tastes of her culture

the 2023 Chegg org Global Student Prize, which recogn i s e s t h e o u t s t a n d i n g a c h i e v e m e n t s o f y o u n g c h a n g e m a k e r s a r o u n d t h e world In 2018, Namya won t h e N a t i o n a l M i n e c r a f t C o m p e t i t i o n , a n d i n 2 0 2 1 s h e r e c e i v e d t h e P r a d h a n M a n t r i R a s h t r i y a B a l Puraskar She has also been nominated as both an SDGs F o r C h i l d r e n A m b a s s a d o r a n d a T e a c h S D G s Ambassador She said: “I am so excited to take part in Bett 2024, w h i c h f o r y e a r s h a s b e e n h e l p i n g d r i v e m e a n i n g f u l change in education through technology I can’t wait to c o n n e c t w i t h t h e g l o b a l e d t e c h c o m m u n i t y a t t h e show, and exchange ideas on how video games can help c h i l d r e n l e a r n I f i r m l y b e l i e v e t h a t w e a l l h a v e k n o w l e d g e t o s p r e a d , a n d B e t t i s o n e o f t h e m o s t

Namya Joshi

Nidhi Pant

INDIAN DIASPORA URGES FOR 'AMICABLE CONFLICT RESOLUTION'

They emphasise the importance of maintaining control over language a n d e m o t i o n s w h i l e m a k i n g d e m a n d s T h e y a l s o h o p e f o r improved relations between India and Canada for the sake of Indian students studying in Canada and emphasise that innocent people should not be punished due to India’s posed visa restrictions on Canada

O n T h u r s d a y , I n d i a a s k e d Canada to come down hard on terrorists and anti-India elements o p e r a t i n g f r o m i t s s o i l a n d s u s p e n d e d v i s a s e r v i c e s f o r Canadians, as escalating tensions between the two nations over the killing of Nijjar pushed their ties to an all-time low

A s o u r c e a l s o s a i d t h a t t h e government has asked the agencies t o i d e n t i f y K h a l i s t a n i t e r r o r i s t s settled in countries like the US, U K , C a n a d a a n d A u s t r a l i a a n d cancel their Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) so that they don’t come to India

C a n a d i a n A r m y V i c e C h i e f Major General Peter Scott added s o m e r e s p i t e o n T u e s d a y afternoon, saying, "Between both of our armies, this is not affecting us I spoke to your commander of t h e A r m y ( I n d i a n A r m y C h i e f General Manoj Pande) last night W e b o t h a g r e e d t h a t t h i s i s a p o l i t i c a l i s s u e a n d h a s n o i n t e r f e r e n c e o n o u r ( m i l i t a r y ) relationship ”

The ongoing dispute between the two countries is undeniably having negative consequences It has the potential to tarnish India's reputation as a strong democracy and could result in Canada facing adverse effects on trade and its ability to engage with Indo-Pacific i n s t i t u t i o n s A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e personal sense of security for many Indians in the country has been affected in the past few days They a r e f a c i n g u n p r e c e d e n t e d s i t u a t i o n s a n d f e e l t h r e a t e n e d , some for the first time, in Canada

A source close to Asian Voice in C a n a d a t o l d u s , “ E a c h o f u s i s trying to convey a message to stay calm and not to get much involved in any debate or argument related to this matter Hoping, everything will be fine ”

T h e s o u r c e a d d e d , “ T h e ground-level situation is very tense h e r e i n C a n a d a I n d i a n - o r i g i n H i n d u C a n a d i a n s h a v e a l r e a d y been ‘threatened’ to leave Canada but no actions have been taken by the government There are around 800,000 Sikhs in Canada and at least 60% are pro-Khalistani ”

M e a n w h i l e , I n d i a n s t u d e n t s planning to study in Canada are f a c i n g u n c e r t a i n t i e s d u e t o p o l i t i c a l t e n s i o n s , a n d t h e s e developments may have broader i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e S i k h c o m m u n i t y i n b o t h I n d i a a n d C a n a d a A c o n s u l t a n c y f i r m i n Ahmedabad suggests that students c o n s i d e r r e s c h e d u l i n g t h e i r academic plans to the August 2024 s e s s i o n t o a v o i d p o t e n t i a l d i s r u p t i o n s i n t h e u p c o m i n g s p r i n g a c a d e m i c s e s s i o n s e t t o begin in January M a n y s t u d e n t s a r e apprehensive about their future in C a n a d a , w i t h s o m e p o s t p o n i n g their plans and others proceeding cautiously by making payments for

the next intake Concerns about t h e s a f e t y o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n C a n a d a a n d f e a r o f p o t e n t i a l r e t a l i a t i o n f r o m C a n a d a a r e c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s t o t h e s e decisions Consequently, there is a noticeable decline in the number of students opting for Canada as their study destination Canada has become the second m o s t f a v o u r e d d e s t i n a t i o n f o r Indian expats between 2018 and 2023, with a significant number of Indian citizens choosing to settle t h e r e H o w e v e r , t h e r e c e n t tensions may impact this trend, with a potential decrease in the number of Indian students and expatriates choosing Canada F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e s e i z u r e o f properties owned by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the head of the b a n n e d s e p a r a t i s t o r g a n i s a t i o n S i k h s f o r J u s t i c e , b y I n d i a ' s

N a t i o n a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n A g e n c y a d d s t o t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e situation This move is seen as part of India s efforts to crack down on terror and secessionist activities, which could have implications for Sikhs in Canada

B r i t i s h L a b o u r P a r t y M P

T a n m a n j e e t S i n g h D h e s i h a s expressed concerns about reports from Canada, where many anxious Sikhs have contacted him

Insecurity stemming in Indians in Canada

Jayraj, who has recently moved to Ottawa, is trying to remain calm and adhere to the governmenti s s u e d g u i d e l i n e s t h r o u g h t h e s i t u a t i o n H e s a i d , “ T h e r e a r e guidelines in place for the safety and security of the Indians and to protect them from any communal o r p o l i t i c a l o u t r a g e , i f a n y , i n Canada There are some protests as well as an ongoing debate about t h e c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n i n t h e parliament Other than that the s a n i t y o f t h e s i t u a t i o n i s maintained ” “ I n t h e b e g i n n i n g , i t w a s disturbing as there were no proper guidelines and it seemed that there might be a problem for the Indian students as well as visitors who are staying in Canada There is still uncertainty about staying because if this rift is not controlled it might r e s u l t i n g o i n g b a c k t o h o m e country”, he added

In Canada, long-term resident Mohit (name changed) expressed n e w f o u n d i n s e c u r i t y s t e m m i n g from recent events, attributing it to the Canadian Prime Minister's political considerations ahead of elections He believes the Prime Minister aims to appease Jagmeet Singh, whom he sees as a major i s s u e i n C a n a d a - I n d i a r e l a t i o n s due to Singh's involvement with a n t i - I n d i a c o m m i t t e e s M o h i t h i g h l i g h t s o n g o i n g p r o t e s t s b y K a l i s t a n i a c t i v i s t s a n d l i n g e r i n g animosity among some Gurudwara leaders in Brampton, expressing concern that they pass on such sentiments to their children Many

parents of expatriates are anxious f o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s s a f e t y V i s a c o n c e r n s a r e g r o w i n g a m o n g I n d i a n v i s a h o l d e r s , w i t h s o m e considering Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) as a precaution

Threats to Canadian Indian-origin Hindus?

Amid escalating tensions, the b a n n e d p r o - K h a l i s t a n i organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) h a s i s s u e d t h r e a t s t o C a n a d i a n Indian-origin Hindus who support I n d i a i n t h e N i j j a r k i l l i n g controversy A viral video featuring S F J ' s l e g a l c o u n s e l , G u r p a t w a n t Pannun, who is designated as a terrorist in India, called for IndoHindus to leave Canada, accusing t h e m o f s u p p o r t i n g I n d i a a n d suppressing pro-Khalistan Sikhs' speech and expression I n r e s p o n s e , C a n a d a ' s g o v e r n m e n t a c t e d s w i f t l y t o reassure the Hindu community P u b l i c S a f e t y M i n i s t e r D o m i n i c LeBlanc and Minister Anita Anand urged calm and stated that Hindu C a n a d i a n s s h o u l d n o t f e e l threatened by the online video Canada has a significant Sikh p o p u l a t i o n , w i t h a s u b s t a n t i a l p r o p o r t i o n e x p r e s s i n g p r oKhalistani sentiments Meanwhile, Indian-origin Hindus in Canada face potential threats, as tensions rise, with graffiti targeting Hindu t e m p l e s a n d h a t e c o m m e n t s becoming pervasive The situation r e m a i n s t e n s e , a n d t h e r e a r e concerns about possible attacks on Indian Hindus D e s p i t e t h e s e c h a l l e n g e s , efforts are being made to promote c a l m a n d u n i t y , w i t h H i n d u c o m m u n i t i e s c e l e b r a t i n g t h e i r r e l i g i o u s f e s t i v a l s a n d u r g i n g p e o p l e t o a v o i d g e t t i n g d e e p l y involved in divisive debates The h o p e i s t h a t t h e s i t u a t i o n w i l l eventually stabilise Asian Voice reached out to the diaspora community in the UK to understand their sentiment of the situation

Speaking at a community level, the Sikh Press Association said, “Many UK Sikhs are concerned a b o u t e v e r f l y i n g i n t o I n d i a , whether they will be allowed in or even allowed to leave A Britishb o r n c i t i z e n K i r a n K a u r i s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g s t o p p e d f r o m leaving India because her husband A m r i t p a l S i n g h ) i s i m p r i s o n e d there ”

Speaking to the newsweekly, S ik h F ed e rat io n ( U K ) P ri nc i p al A dv i ser Dabi nd erj it S i ng h OBE , e x p r e s s e d c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e security of Sikhs, especially in the UK, where the mysterious death of Avtar Singh Khanda raised many questions

However, Lo rd Rami Rang er CBE, whose father was a renowned S i k h l e a d e r w h o d i e d t r y i n g t o u n i t e t h e H i n d u s a n d M u s l i m s during India’s partition, told Asian

V o i c e , “ N o c o u n t r y s h o u l d s u p p o r t separatist groups in their country, especially when t h e y a r e d e m o c r a t i c countries and believe in the rule of law Indian c o n s t i t u t i o n a c c o r d s equality to every citizen regardless of their race, r e l i g i o n a n d g e n d e r There are laws against d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a g a i n s t anyone on any basis People in I n d i a a r e f r e e t o c h o o s e t h e i r leaders and form political parties t o e l e c t a g o v e r n m e n t o f t h e i r choice As a result, there is no need for any separatist groups to engage in anti-India activities in a friendly country which also happens to be a m e m b e r o f t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h a n d s p o i l b i l a t e r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s with their activities In fact, such a c t i v i t i e s n o t o n l y d a m a g e t h e relationship with India but also the s o c i a l c o h e s i o n o f c o u n t r i e s b y h a r b o u r i n g d i s s i d e n t g r o u p s C a n a d a a n d I n d i a a r e t w o important countries of the world their cordial relationship benefits m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e i n t h e i r c o u n t r i e s a n d b e y o n d t h e i r b o r d e r s B o t h c o u n t r i e s s h o u l d resolve their differences for the greater good of humanity ” Canada does not intend to provoke or create problems with India

On Tuesday evening, as we went to press, it was revealed that t h e D e l h i P o l i c e r e c e n t l y submitted a chargesheet in the P a t i a l a H o u s e C o u r t , r e v e a l i n g that two arrested terrorists had planned a post-January 26 terror attack in the national capital The Special Cell arrested Jagjit Singh, alias Jagga alias Yaqub, aged 29, from Uttarakhand, and Naushad, aged 56, from Jahangirpuri, after discovering a dismembered body i n D e l h i ' s B h a l s w a D a i r y a r e a , s u s p e c t i n g t h e i r t e r r o r l i n k s D u r i n g t h e a r r e s t , v a r i o u s i n c r i m i n a t i n g m a t e r i a l s , including mobile phones, Wi-Fi

D o n g l e s , a n d S I M c a r d s , w e r e seized

E x p e r t a n a l y s i s a t C E R T - I n uncovered inflammatory content, videos, audio, pictures, and chats from these devices In response to t h e a l l e g a t i o n s , b o t h c o u n t r i e s h a v e e n g a g e d i n a s e r i e s o f

a c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g e x p e l l i n g d i p l o m a t s , p a u s i n g t r a d e a n d suspending visa services Prime Minister Trudeau has stated that C a n a d a d o e s n o t i n t e n d t o provoke or create problems with India and has urged New Delhi to t a k e t h e m a t t e r s e r i o u s l y a n d c o l l a b o r a t e w i t h C a n a d a t o uncover the truth W h i l e a d d r e s s i n g a p r e s s conference, outgoing Sri Lankan H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r t o I n d i a Milinda Moragoda has said that I n d i a ' s r e s p o n s e t o C a n a d a ' s allegations has been "firm and d i r e c t " a n d C o l o m b o s u p p o r t s New Delhi on the matter He said that the people of Sri Lanka have suffered due to terrorism and that his country has zero tolerance for terrorism On being asked about C a n a d a ' s a l l e g a t i o n s a g a i n s t India, he said, "I think India's response has been inequitable and also firm and direct And I think as far as we are concerned, we support India on that ”

Police break into pensioner's home after uneaten meals pile up

Wh en an eld erly w oman's meal deliv ery serv ice did not receiv e a resp ons e, foo d w as left o n h er doorway for w eeks without any inquiry as to wh ether she needed as si s ta nc e T h e w o m an, M u kt a C h u d a sa m a, res i d es in th e Belgrave Road neighbourhood of L ei c es ter w a s re g i st ere d w i th Manav Seva, a com munity centre located o ff M elton Road , for a tw i c e- w ee kly m ea l d el i v ery service

She was hospitalised in March after a fall, but when she did not a n s w e r h e r d o o r t o a c c e p t t h e f o o d , t h e m e a l s , w h i c h M r s C h u d a s a m a p a y s f o r , w e r e l e f t outside, where they piled up for two weeks No service personnel signalled an alarm at that time H e r s o n , N i c k C h u d a s a m a , said he was "appalled" Her door w a s e v e n t u a l l y f o r c e d o p e n b y p o l i c e a f t e r n e i g h b o u r s b e c a m e worried for her safety seeing the m e a l s u n c o l l e c t e d o n h e r doorstep

The Canadian Terrorism Problem

Continued from page 3

Trudeau: We're in a tight spot W e c a n ' t a f f o r d t o l o s e t h e Khalistani votes But the UK a n d U S a r e n ' t p l e a s e d T h e y believe a Khalistani extremist being gone is good for global security

S i r H um p h rey : P r i m e Minister, while it's essential to consider the global perspective, we must remember that every cloud has a silver lining Or in this case, perhaps a golden gun

B ern ar d : ( c o n f u s e d ) S o we're happy he's gone?

Trud eau: No, Bernard! We can't be seen as being indifferent Canada is all about inclusion and understanding I need to confront the Indians about this alleged spy without actually letting them know we've been spying on them And the Brits and US are not happy with me, let alone Xi And I just got a message from my now ex-Wife It’s like the Khalistanis are the only friends I have And god help me if Trump gets back inhe called me two faced!

S i r H u m p h re y: I n d e e d , P r i m e M i n i s t e r P e r h a p s w e could diplomatically suggest to the UK and US that while we don’t condone extremism, we also cannot rejoice at anyone's d e m i s e I n t h e m e a n t i m e , maybe a quiet inquiry into this "Indian Bond" could be benefic i a l I f t h i s R a j B o n d e x i s t s , maybe he could solve the problem of your upcoming divorce?

T r u d ea u: H u m p h r e y , c a n you handle it discreetly? Just try not to stir up any more trouble

Sir Hu mphrey: Of course, Prime Minister We shall proceed with shaken, not stirred, caution

The scene fades with Trudeau l o o k i n g b e m u s e d a n d S i r Humphrey giving Bernard a stern look

National Demonstration For Kashmir supposed Sikhs fighting for independent Khalistan outside India House in London

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Lord Rami Ranger

Nandini Das on exploring the untold stories of the empire

Anusha Singh

Nand ini Das, a Professor of Early Mod ern Literature and Culture at the U niv ersity of Oxford , has been shortlisted for the British A cademy Book P rize for Global Cultural U nd erstand ing for her w ork " Courting India: Eng land , M ugh al Ind ia and the Origins of Em pire ”

The prize, which is worth £25,000, recognises research-based non-fiction works that contribute significantly to the public's understanding of global cultures and their interconnections Das, who hails from India and has been educated both in India and England, has also co-edited books like 'The Cambridge History of Travel Writing' and is known for her contributions as a BBC New Generation Thinker, hosting television and radio programs

Speaking to Asian Voice, Nandini discussed her writing style, book and the inspiration behind it

How would you describe your writing and how has it evolved over the course of your career?

I am a literary scholar of the 16th and 17th centuries by training, so rigorous reading and underpinning every part of my argument with evidence is very much part of my writing What writing Courting India for a wider non-specialist readership allowed me to do is to show how that research can fill in the gaps of what we think is a familiar story - of the East India Company, and the early days of its contact with India In the process, I was able to explore ways of story-telling that don't usually find a home within academic journals and monographs - little fragmentary pieces of information about Indian presence in 16th century England for instance, which are too fleeting and too sketchy to claim a central space in an academic publication But they deserve a voice too, and I’ve tried to acknowledge that in my book

Can you provide an overview of some key historical events and interactions covered in your book?

Courting India began at a point of great economic crisis for England in the early 1600s, when the East India Company, which at this point had only been in business for a few years,

Chetna Maroo's debut novel shortlisted for Booker Prize

how counter-intuitive that story was in comparison to our understanding of the British Empire in India I wanted to find out more

Could you elaborate on some of the lesser-known facts about the Mughal and British empires that have been explored in your book?

managed to convince the new king, James I to send an official ambassador to the Mughal court in order to negotiate the all-important ‘firman’ or permission to trade The power difference between the two nations is stark, and essentially nothing that we take for granted later is a certainty for Sir Thomas Roe, the man chosen by both the Company and the King to become England's first ambassador to the court of

the wealthy and cultured ‘Great Mogol,’ whose dominion was widely considered to be one of the greatest and richest empires of the world I wanted to understand that encounter, and I wanted to understand not just what Roe saw in India, but how and why he responded in certain ways, and how it shaped both Britain and India in the centuries to come

What inspired you to write 'Courting India,' and what specific aspects of the relationship between England and Mughal India motivated your research?

The history of the British in India is often told in proleptic terms, with an eye to what the British Empire was to become in the future, assuming that how that history turned out was always what was meant to be When I came across Roe’s journal from his embassy, and the accounts of his embassy by other contemporaries and fellow travellers, I was struck by

The counterintuitive imbalance of power between the two empires runs throughout the story I tell in Courting India, and it is something that I have tried to highlight throughout, because so much of the behaviour of Roe and his contemporary English merchants depended on it, and so much of the latter has just been absorbed into received history as objective facts , rather than subjective evaluations I have also very deliberately tried to bring both English and non-English into play from a huge range -Mughal, Sanskrit, Marathi, Portuguese, Dutch, and Latin, among others That helps to illuminate multiple things which we often tend to ignore One small example, for instance, involves how the emperor Jahangir's favourite wife Nur Jahan's past history in Bengal (she spent a formative period there with her first husband, Sher Afgan Khan) may have alerted Roe to the possibility of the English setting up trade there His contemporary English merchants thought it was impractical, but over a hundred years later, their successors would think otherwise when Kolkata (Calcutta) became the centre of operations for the entire British Empire in India

What authors or literary works have influenced or inspired you with their distinctive voices?

There is no specific writer whom I consciously emulated, but there are innumerable writers, both academic and non-academic, historical and literary, whose voice and style and humanity have I hope helped to shape my own style

What advice would you offer to aspiring writers looking to find their style?

This is more what works for me, than advice, perhaps - but to read as widely and as curiously as possible, and not to limit myself simply to the subject on which I am writing, has always been helpful for me

L o n d o n - ba s e d a ut h o r Che tn a M aroo has e ar ned a spot on t he shortlist for the 2023 Book er Pr ize wit h her d e b ut n o v e l, " W e st e r n L a n e " B or n i n Ke n y a , M a r oo 's n ov e l de l ve s in t o t he British Guja rat i en vironm e n t a n d h a s g a r n e r e d pr aise fr om Booke r jud ge s for its sk illful use of squa sh a s a met aphor for intr ica te huma n emot ion s T h e n a r r a t i v e r e v o l v e s around the experiences of a n 1 1 - y e a r - o l d g i r l n a m e d Gopi and her relationships with her family

“Chetna Maroo’s deeply evocative debut of a family g r a p p l i n g w i t h g r i e f c o n -

Chetna Maroo

v e y e d t h r o u g h c r y s t a l l i n e language which reverberates like the sound of a ball hit clean and hard with a close echo’ It is stunning and it s t a y s w i t h y o u , ” s a i d

C a n a d i a n n o v e l i s t E s i Edugyan, the chair of the Booker Prize 2023 judging

panel, as she announced the shortlist

Maroo said it would be fair to call it a sports novel

“It’s also been called a c o m i n g - o f - a g e n o v e l , a d o m e s t i c n o v e l , a n o v e l about grief, a novel about the immigrant experience Recently a friend asked me if the book has something of the detective story about it, with Gopi trying to find her w a y , p i e c i n g t o g e t h e r t h e c l u e s o f s m a l l g e s t u r e s , a c t i o n s a n d f r a g m e n t s o f o v e r h e a r d c o n v e r s a t i o n s ; she has little to go on and since she’s dealing with the mysteries of loss, there are no answers for her,” she said

Sheffield women to launch equal pay claim against city council

Thousan ds of women in Sheffield are l aun chin g an e q ua l pa y c l ai m a ga in s t the city's coun cil, al legin g d i s c ri mi n a ti o n i n p ay based on gender

The claim centres on S h e f f i e l d C i t y C o u n c i l ' s j o b e v a l u a t i o n s c h e m e , which research from the GMB union suggests systematically discriminates against female-dominated roles, resulting in lower pay for workers in clean-

ing, caregiving, and housing allocation positions

T h e c l a i m a i m s t o address these pay disparit i e s , w i t h s o m e w o m e n reportedly missing out on up to £11,000 per year in earnings The launch of the claim took place at the Sheffield Women of Steel Statue

Women in roles dominated by female workers are experiencing annual pay disparities, particular-

ly in full-time positions:

- Cleaners are underpaid by £1,710 annually

- Care managers face a pay gap of £7,301 per year

- S e n i o r t e a c h i n g a s s i stants are experiencing up to £11,383 less in annual earnings

T h e G M B i s u r g i n g women across the council workforce to reach out to discuss whether they may have a valid claim

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Nandini Das

It's a really exciting time in terms of representation

Anusha Singh

G ro w i ng u p i n a w or ld d ev oi d o f o nscreen rep resentation often leads ind iv i d u als to ad op t t he pe rsonas of the few ch aracters they do enco unter, all in an a ttem p t to bel ong Th at' s w h y s tres s in g th e s ig n if icance of South A sian rep resentation in the creativ e arts is param ount, as it not only enhances cu ltural div ersity but also nu rtures inclusiv ity and em powers m arginalised v oices I n r e c e n t t i m e s , t h e r e has been a promising shift in the landscape Films crafted, p r o d u c e d , d i r e c t e d , a n d spearheaded by members of t h e S o u t h A s i a n d i a s p o r a and subcontinent are gaining substantial recognition a m o n g g l o b a l a u d i e n c e s , b r e a k i n g f r e e f r o m t r a d itional stereotypes and offering a more diverse casting spectrum

In this evolving industry, P r i y a n k a P a t e l , w h o h a s dedicated years to her craft, p r o v i d e s i n s i g h t i n t o t h e i n d u s t r y ' s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n and the remarkable diversity that is now taking centre stage

Can you share some insights into your journey as an actor, including your early influences and what drew you to this profession?

I don't really remember a s p e c i f i c p o i n t w h e r e I 'decided' I wanted to act Family members noticed my enjoyment for acting before I did and I was glued to the TV growing up I watched a l o t o f c h i l d r e n ' s c a r t o o n s b e c a u s e t h e s e c h a r a c t e r s lived in these make-believe worlds, with 'perfect' friends h i p g r o u p s a n d l i v e d extravagant lives - it was a form of escapism I think As I got older and I would see a teeny tiny glimmer of someone who looked like me on screen, which were far and few in between With proj e c t s l i k e B e n d I t l i k e Beckham and East is East, I w a s s o m u c h m o r e i n t r i g u e d , w h i c h I l a t e r realised was an itch to get involved They were families a n d c h a r a c t e r s I r e a l l y understood and I wanted a

Modern retelling of “Mahabharata” set to make UK debut

ticket into these worlds Representation of the South Asian diaspora in film and television has evolved over the years How have you seen the industry change in terms of roles and opportunities for South Asian actors?

It's a really exciting time i n t h e i n d u s t r y a t t h e moment in terms of representation on screen but it's taken us a long time to get here - and we have a long way to go! I remember auditioning when I was a lot younger and the roles felt very stereotypical and 2Dand there was a huge difference in the quantity of auditions I had compared to my white counterparts These problems still exist but lucki l y w e ' v e h a d s o m e g r e a t S o u t h A s i a n t a l e n t ( ( R i z A h m e d , A r c h i e P a n j a b i , Bally Gill, Parminder Naga) sweep our screens over the years and have helped bridge some of those gaps We're s e e i n g m o r e S o u t h A s i a n stories being told through s o m e w e l l - t h o u g h t - o u t characters I hope more of us can be included in every aspect of this industry, both i n f r o n t a n d b e h i n d t h e c a m e r a , t o c o n t i n u e t o equalise the playing field Can you tell us about your experience working on Malpractice and the significance of the role you portrayed?

Malpractice was just the best I was extremely lucky to be brought on board cons i d e r i n g h o w m a n y h u g e names were attached to it, all thanks to Phil for taking a chance on me The whole e x p e r i e n c e w a s a m a s t e rclass watching my idols in action It was inspiring to me to keep getting better It was intense at points too T h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r w a s

heavy and came at a really important time, politically Our NHS nurses and doctors were/are struggling and were striking a lot Playing R a m y a , a j u n i o r d o c t o r , became all the more important She gets really shaken up early on in her career and we see her try to handle that on top of the everyday struggles of working in an overworked hospital

What challenges, if any, have you faced as a British Indian actor in the industry, and how have you overcome them?

W h e n a r o l e c o m e s t h r o u g h t h a t d o e s n ' t f e e l well rounded, it can be a challenge to fight that I've grown up being so appreciative to audition in the first place, because opportunities can be so sparse, that it's hard to question if I'm there just to tick a diversity box and if it's the right role for me at all As I've progressed in the industry, I've learned a lot more about the content I want to be involved in and that makes it easier to question scripts when they come through I have a really great agent who is always open to h a v e t h e s e c o n v e r s a t i o n s with me and help me fight my corner

What does the future of representation in the entertainment industry look like to you, and what steps can be taken to ensure continued progress?

I think everyone plays a role in continuing progress in the industry, especially if you're lucky enough to have your voice heard I hope the future for the representat i o n m e a n s m o r e S o u t h Asian presence in every sector of the industry, I would love to get involved in some s c r e e n w r i t i n g m y s e l f A s a c t o r s , i t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o push back on projects/roles you don't agree with so that the shift starts to happen further back in the chain B u t w e ' r e i n a n e x c i t i n g place right now and I hope t o c o l l a b o r a t e w i t h m o r e creatives who look like meand don't! - so these conversations continue and we can m a k e m o r e w e l l - r o u n d e d work

Solicitor by day, DJ by night

K av ita Varu , who works as a lawyer during the day and transforms into DJ Kavita at nigh t, em bodies th e "wo rk h ard, play harder" eth os At 53 , she com mand s the stag e, w ith an enth usiastic crowd singing along to her DJ sets

She is not your typical solicitor While she spends her weekdays working in the l e g a l d e p a r t m e n t o f Rotherham borough council i n b l a c k s u i t s , s h e t r a n sforms into DJ Kavita on the w e e k e n d s , d o n n i n g sequined disco outfits and l i v e - s t r e a m i n g h e r F u n k y

K a v i t a V a r u ' s journey into DJing s t a r t e d w h e n s h e had to cancel her b i g 5 0 t h b i r t h d a y garden party due to l o c k d o w n r e s t r i ctions In its place, she decided to host an online party and live-stream her first DJ set Initially, her audience starte d w i t h 9 0 p e o p l e o n Facebook, and she enjoyed it s o m u c h t h a t s h e b e g a n DJing every Friday evening V a r u ' s v i b r a n t h o u s e a n d d i s c o m u s i c q u i c k l y g a rn e r e d a g l o b a l f o l l o w i n g ,

"Mahabh arata" (pro nounced Mah-hah-BAH-ruh -tah) is a m o d er n in te rp re tat io n o f th e anc i en t S a ns kri t ep i c p o em T h i s ad a p tat io n delv es into a heart-wrenchin g fam il y co n fl i ct w h i le delv ing into profound philosophical and spiritual concepts These timeless tales, o v er f o u r th o u s an d yea rs o ld , h o l d a f o un d at i o nal place in South A sian culture

T o r o n t o ' s W h y N o t Theatre, a prominent company from the South Asian

Shakuni to the audience

She says, “My intention is not to impose a specific perception of Shakuni on the audience I want each person to form their own i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , f r e e f r o m any preconceived notions

It's truly fascinating to hear what different viewers make of it “ I f I w e r e t o d e f i n e Shakuni as the evil plotter

Kavita Varu

with fans tuning in from countries l i k e S p a i n , Norway, Canada, A f r i c a , a n d V e n e z u e l a , p r oviding her with a p o s i t i v e a n d u p l i f t i n g e x p e r ience S h e r e c e n t l y r e c e i v e d the "Rising Star" award from I n s p i r i n g I n d i a n W o m e n Varu, who has gigs lined up f r o m S h e f f i e l d t o I b i z a , found solace and a new passion in DJing following her d i v o r c e a f t e r 2 4 y e a r s o f marriage

community, is behind this grand-scale retelling Their production marks the first major international adaptation of the epic, and it is set to make its UK debut at the Barbican Theatre, running from October 1st to October 7th

Cast member Sakuntala

R a m a n e e s p e a k s t o A s i a n V o i c e a b o u t t h i s m o d e r n retelling, her characters and diversity in theatre

On playing Sh akuni and S anjaya

Shakuntala portrays two distinct characters in this production In the first part, s h e p l a y s t h e c h a r a c t e r Shakuni Shakuni's role is intertwined with the royal f a m i l y , p a r t i c u l a r l y K i n g Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari S h a k u n t a l a d i v e s i n t o her understanding and port r a y a l o f S h a k u n i a n d e x p l a i n s t h a t , “ S h a k u n i ' s c h a r a c t e r i s p r o f o u n d l y intriguing to me due to his tumultuous past As a child, he witnessed the imprisonment and gradual starvation of his entire family at the h a n d s o f B h e e s h m a Tragically, he was the only o n e a l l o w e d t o h a v e t h e daily ration of rice, a cruel reminder of the family's suffering “ H i s f a t h e r m a d e h i m p r o m i s e n e v e r t o f o r g e t their agony, ensuring he carried that pain throughout his life Shakuni's actions may appear villainous, given his later schemes and strategies to bring down the family

“However, I don't view him solely as a villain His actions stem from the deep l o y a l t y a n d d e v o t i o n h e h o l d s f o r h i s f a m i l y H e remains committed to fulfilling the pledge he made as a c h i l d , d e m o n s t r a t i n g r e m a r k a b l e s t r e n g t h a n d determination ” S h e f u r t h e r a d d s , “ I n e s s e n c e , w h i l e S h a k u n i ' s actions may seem devious, they are rooted in a deep love for his family and a

b u r n i n g n e e d f o r j u s t i c e This multifaceted portrayal a l l o w s m e t o e x p l o r e t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f h i s c h a r a c t e r b e y o n d mere villainy ” Sanjaya's character, on the other h a n d , s t a n d s i n s t a r k c o n t r a s t t o others in the story In the midst of the i m p e n d i n g w a r , King Dhritarashtra, t h o u g h p e r h a p s responsible for its escalation, cannot bear to witness the conflict It's an i n t e r n a l s t r u g g l e f o r h i m and this is where Sanjaya comes into play Known for h i s u n w a v e r i n g l o y a l t y i n p r o t e c t i n g D h r i t a r a s h t r a throughout the tales, he is chosen by Krishna to be the trusted eyes, a role that carries immense responsibility

D e s c r i b i n g S a n j a y a , Shakuntala says, “Sanjaya's duty is to witness the war in its entirety and convey it to the blind King with absolute honesty This task is not to be taken lightly As I stand amidst the chaos and behold t h e u n i m a g i n a b l e , I a m overwhelmed, for I bear witness to both the divine and the gruesome war ”

“The contrast between Shakuni and Sanjaya is like a p e n d u l u m , s w i n g i n g between the extraordinary and the brutal ” Stepp ing into a m ale role as a female-identifying actor

Shakuntala has taken up a fascinating challenge, port r a y i n g a m a l e r o l e a s a f e m a l e - i d e n t i f y i n g a c t o r Talking about her transition into the characters, she says, “Initially, I found it a bit strange, almost preoccupied with the idea of portraying a m a n H o w e v e r , a s t i m e passed, the significance of gender started to diminish

“As I approach my character, Shakuni, I don't think of him as strictly male or female Instead, I focus on the qualities that define him – his role as a political adviser, his strategic mind, and his ability to steer events T h e s e q u a l i t i e s r e s o n a t e with me more than any spec i f i c g e n d e r ” , s h e f u r t h e r added

I n t e r e s t i n g l y , m a n y other female actors in the production are also taking on male roles This choice is driven by the predominantly male nature of the entire story On audience’s perceptio n of S hakuni

S h a k u n t a l a p r e f e r s t o leave the interpretation of

a g a i n s t t h e P a n d a v a s , i t w o u l d a u t o m a t i c a l l y c a s t the Pandavas as pure heroes and the Kauravas as pure villains ”

Th e d iversity within a united South Asian cast

T h e c o m p a n y , w i t h

“Mahabharata” has undertaken an endeavour that is both courageous and pioneering They have successf u l l y u n i t e d i n d i v i d u a l s , i n c l u d i n g a c t o r s a n d p r od u c e r s , f r o m a c r o s s t h e globe who are part of the South Asian diaspora S h a k u n t a l a s a y s , “ T h i s diversity means that among us, there are individuals representing the first, second, and third generations of our r e s p e c t i v e f a m i l i e s , e a c h with our own distinct backgrounds and journeys Our ancestors paved the way for us, guiding us to different countries, and somehow, we all found our way into the world of performing arts

“This convergence feels like magic, akin to destiny or fate, depending on your perspective It's a privilege and a humbling experience to be entrusted with the task of s h a r i n g o u r a n c e s t r a l Sanskrit poem in this exact moment ”

Greater representation for the South Asian d iaspora In Shakuntala’s opinion, there is a need to push the envelope even further withi n t h e b r o a d e r t h e a t r e industry

“Historically, particularly in television but also in t h e a t r e , t h e r e h a s b e e n a t e n d e n c y f o r i n t e r c u l t u r a l pieces to depict characters from diverse backgrounds as outsiders or symbols rather than fully integrated memb e r s o f s o c i e t y T h i s approach can leave viewers, especially younger generations, feeling disconnected from their own communities”, she explains

She also adds that “the government, on an economic level, has not invested in the arts, nor have they recognized its numerous benefits This has been a trend not only in the past 12 years but in previous administrations as well, and I strongly oppose it “

Priyanka Patel

Sakuntala Ramanee

Keval Gami: Utilitrack

Sunetra Senior

A s th e c o ld o f w i nt er d em o n st rab ly descends, U tilitrack emerges as o ne of the U K ’ s le ad i ng in d ep en d en t c o ns ul tan ts , helping a variety of businesses systematically save on gas, electricity and water Fro m local new sagents and green grocers to big corporate retailers, U tilitrack boasts a veritable range of happy custom ers, all of who m have been provid ed bespoke financ ia l ad v i c e M an ag i n g D i rec to r , K e v al , comm ented: “Mu ch o f ou r clientele renew th e sug gested contracts and are incredibly satisfied w ith the serv ice ”

South Asian heroes honoured at the 21st Asian Achievers Awards

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The Asian Achievers Awards provide a great opportunity for us to recognise the outstanding accomplishments of British Asians in the UK. It is good to celebrate the positive impact and contribution all the nominees have made in creating a more modern, dynamic and globally-facing economy in the UK.”

investment banks, Keval knows well his work “I have personally developed where the regular direct networking has given me new confidence and broadened my horizons You are meeting and connecting with such a wide client base all the while building deep trust This is a hard time with prices being ridiculously high and it’s a privilege to be able to provide people with the concrete comfort and advice ”

As well as compiling new contracts, Utilitrack also helps customers whose contracts are about to expire, those moving to

1 5 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 3 , L O N D O N : Attendees from around the world gathered i n L o n d o n f o r t h e 2 1 s t a n n u a l A s i a n Achievers Awards, which saw leading South Asians from across the UK honoured for their contribution to building British society The event was hosted by Eastenders actor Nitin G a n a t r a a l o n g s i d e P a k i s t a n i B a l u M a h i a c t r e s s A i n y J a f f r i Rahman, with more than 500 attendees from business, entertainment, and public service

a t t h e A s i a n A c h i e v e r s A w a r d s W i t h t h e P r i m e Minister of the UK himself commending these Awards, it gives me great pleasure to be in a room full of changemakers ”

Indeed, in an ongoingly difficult economic climate, competent fiscal counsel is paradoxically priceless! From expert audits on water bills to offering competitive rates, Utilitrack allows the overwhelmed client to gain an advantage For example: did you know that 1 in 4 commercial water bills are inaccurate? Keval continued: “We do care a lot about the customer and what supplier will be the most cost-effective Our industry experts always help negotiate the best overall deal and without being too pushy There is genuine dialogue between our brokers and the customer ” ***

Hailing from a reputable background in sales, having prior worked with notable

new locations and struggling with changing developments Not only does Utilitrack show us that even the most successful of us can always do better, but that there is also a constructive workable way “We are fully ethical and legal,” Keval aptly concluded “Transparency is important for us with the charges shown upfront and the service itself free ”

W: https://www utilitrack co uk/

Celebrating the Mahatma

Last year, the India League an d H igh Commi ssion of India in London, led by the new H igh Commi ssioner Vikram D oraiswami, paid tribute on the 153rd birth an nivers ary of Mahatm a Gandhi

The day marked a gathering of the Indian diaspora, parliamentarians, and community leaders at a historic statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Tavistock Square in London Team High Commission of India in London, MPs, Camden City Council & Indian diaspora paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Tavistock Square on #nonviolenceday

"His life was one that was lived in simplicity, in strife, and in an effort to bring out from each of us the best that we could be The more we engaged with it, the more we realised that his message contained wisdom and a value that remained universal," HC

Doraiswami said in his speech in 2022

Amongst the winners w a s W B C s i l v e r m i dd l e w e i g h t c h a m p i o n , Hamzah Sheeraz, coming hot off the 18th knockout of his career the previous weekend In an exceptionally difficult time for healthcare workers in the UK over the last few years with the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and historic pay disputes, the night saw three NHS workers win coveted awards

Former paramedic Salman Desai BEM was awarded for his outstanding work for the North West Ambulance service, and Dr Lalitha Iyer for her dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic targeting a reduction i n d e a t h s f o r e t h n i c m i n o r i t i e s C h i e f

Clinical Officer of NHS Bexley CCG Dr

The event was organised by global advisory firm EPG alongside bridging loan comp a n y M a r k e t F i n a n c i a l Solutions (MFS) Paresh Raja, CEO of MFS, said: “We need t o c e l e b r a t e B r i t i s h S o u t h A s i a n s u c c e s s e s g i v e n j u s t how unlikely they could have been It takes a lot for generations of families with overseas roots to adapt and fit in with a different society Not to mention all the other civil challenges they may face such as culture clash, or potential xenophobia Yet, even with odds against them, we ’ ve seen British South Asians not only integrate but thrive ”

Attendees included Deputy Mayor of Business for London Rajesh Agrawal, the first Gujarati to represent the Conservative

Nikki Kanani won Professional of the Year

Music composer Jasdeep Singh Degun was commemorated for his contribution to the Art and Culture category, Dr Harren Jhoti FRS OBE won the Business Person of the Year award for being at the forefront of British science and innovation, particularly his leadership in discovering and developing drugs in oncology and diseases of the central nervous system Other victors included Tani Dulay as Entrepreneur of the Year, artist and p h o t o g r a p h e r P o u l o m i D e s a i f o r C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e , a n d I T N p r e s e n t e r Anila Dhami in the Media category For his work in the British real estate industry and t h e c h a r i t a b l e s e c t o r , t h e L i f e t i m e Achievement trophy went to Shashikant K Vekaria

Party in the Upper House Lord Dolar Popat, and novelist Lord Jeffrey Archer as well as s e v e r a l s t a r s o f l e a d i n g M a r v e l , N e t f l i x , Nickelodeon and BBC shows

Lord Archer ran a charity auction on behalf of charity partner One Kind Act, which provides grants for poverty alleviation a n d e d u c a t i o n c a u s e s a c r o s s A f r i c a a n d South Asia, raising nearly £200,000 The charity said this figure would help uplift several thousands of young people out of poverty in the neediest areas of the world With this fundraiser, it takes the total amount raised for good causes by the Asian Achievers Awards over the last two decades to over £5m

India

League president Alpesh Patel said, "Generations to come scarcely believed that one such as this of flesh and blood ever walked this earth: those were the words of Albert Einstein

Consider that the greatest mind in Western civilisation held in awe and wonderment the greatest that my civilisation had ever

produced Consider also the values he represented at that most dangerous time in the world We had a man whose values transcended countries and religions "

Like last year, this year too, the Indian diaspora, India League and High Commission of India in London are expected to pay tribute to the Mahatma at Tavistock Square in London on 2 October

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The A s i a n A c h i e v e r s A w a r d s p r o v i d e a g r e a t opportunity for us to recognise the outstanding accomplishments of British Asians in the UK It is good to celebrate the positive impact and contribution all the nominees h a v e m a d e i n c r e a t i n g a m o r e m o d e r n , dynamic and globally-facing economy in the UK ” I n d i a n s i n g e r K a n i k a K a p o o r w a s b e s t o w e d w i t h t h e S p e c i a l A w a r d f o r Contribution to Music honour as her songs have been streamed nearly 200 million times just on Spotify She said: “After more than a decade in the film and music industry, I am delighted to receive this special recognition

Pratik Dattani, Managing Director of EPG, said: “The last year was a watershed for South Asians in the UK Leaders of the gove r n m e n t o r m a i n p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s i n Westminster, Scotland, Ireland and London are all from a South Asian heritage It was important for this year ’ s Awards to recognise the gems in our community across the country Our community is leading the way in helping Britain to level up, something sorely needed in a cost-of-living crisis ”

The event was organised with support from the Royal Air Force, bank SBI UK, clothing leasing firm Ayrela, translation specialists Language Interpreters, Moussaieff Jewellers, as well as think tank Bridge India, m e d i a p a r t n e r s A s i a n V o i c e , G u j a r a t Samachar

Radio

"This is a hard time with prices being ridiculously high and it’s a privilege to be able to provide people with concrete comfort and advice”

KEVAL GAMI

High Commissioner of India to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami at Tavistock Square on Gandhi Jayanti 2nd October 2022

and Sunrise

The Royal Air Force were one of the key supporters of the event, as in earlier years Warrant Officer

Murugesvaran Subramaniam (pictured in the centre with his wife in green) was also shortlisted for the Uniform and Armed Forces category

Charity partner One Kind Act raised nearly £200,000 on the night

Sitar virtuoso Jasdeep Singh Degun won the Arts & Culture Award, sponsored by think tank Bridge India

Shashikant Vekaria of Vascroft Construction receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Pratik Dattani, Nitin Ganatra and Ainy Jaffri Rahman

Community members stand in solidarity with Pandit Shastri and Dharmesh Lakhani in Leicester

On 19 September, a po li ce o fficer named Adam Ahmed a l le ge dly u s ed e xc e ss i v e fo rce o n an elderly p riest d u ri n g Ga ne s h C h at u r th i c e le b ra ti o n s i n L ei c e st er , UK Vi deos o f th e inci dent went viral o n social media, sp arking o utrage

Apparently, this wasn't Ahmed's first incident; prev i o u s l y h e w a s a l l e g e d l y s e e n m a n h a n d l i n g H i n d u devotees at a Ram Katha event This week's tensions come a year after large-scale disorder in the east of the city involving mainly young men from sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities which led to dozens of arrests after days of vandalism, assaults, and attacks on property T h e i n c i d e n t l e d t o q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e behaviour of the police offic e r a n d c o n c e r n s a b o u t H i n d u o p h o b i a I n J u l y , J i x 5 A s h a r e d v i d e o s o n X ( p r e v i o u s l y T w i t t e r ) o f Ahmed's alleged mistreatment of Hindu devotees at t h e R a m K a t h a e v e n t Attacks on Hindus in the UK have been on the rise s i n c e A u g u s t 2 0 2 2 , w i t h some Hindu families leaving Leicester due to violence and property damage

In response, police have called for community cooperation to prevent tensions d u r i n g r e l i g i o u s f e s t i v a l s Leicestershire Police urged event organisers to provide advance notice for gatheri n g s a n d p r o c e s s i o n s

During a recent unplanned p r o c e s s i o n , a 5 5 - y e a r - o l d c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r D h a r m e s h L a k h a n i w a s arrested, leading to allegations of police heavy-handedness Police are investigating the complaint

This incident occurred a year after a large-scale disorder in Leicester, involving y o u n g m e n f r o m M u s l i m a n d H i n d u c o m m u n i t i e s , r e s u l t i n g i n n u m e r o u s a r r e s t s d u e t o v a n d a l i s m , assaults, and property damage It underscores the need f o r p e a c e f u l c e l e b r a t i o n s a n d c o m m u n i t y e n g a g ement to prevent such tensions in the future

In its latest statement, Leicestershire Police reportedly said: "We want all communities to celebrate festivals safely, which is why we encourage organisers to give p r i o r n o t i f i c a t i o n t o t h e police and council of any processions, celebrations or e v e n t s i n a d v a n c e " L o c a l officers continue to engage with the local community and those involved in any celebrations to ensure that everyone is able to celebrate s a f e l y " T h e f o r c e a d d e d extra patrols would be carr i e d o u t i n t h e E a s t L e i c e s t e r a r e a o n Wednesday night to prevent any further issues

Asian Voice reached out to Leicestershire Police for a c o m m e n t b u t d i d n ’ t h e a r from them until we went to

press on Tuesday

Online petitio n i n favour of the alleged victims

In an online petition on C h a n g e o r g s t a r t e d b y

Jyotsna Pala, a member of the Hindu community has e x p r e s s e d o u t r a g e i n t h e c o m m e n t s T h e p e t i t i o n said, “We the undersigned were shocked at the events that occurred in Leicester o u t s i d e t h e S h i v a l a y a Temple on the evening of M o n d a y 1 8 t h S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 3 W e c o n d e m n t h e actions of Sergeant Adam Ahmed, in the way in which h e t r e a t e d M r D h a r m e s h

Lakhani a heart patient and Pandit Shastri Ji, the elderly Priest at the Temple We welcome the investigation that has been initiated by L e i c e s t e r s h i r e P o l i c e i n order to ascertain the facts and to reassure not just the Hindu Community but the w h o l e c i t y H o w e v e r , w e believe that the best course of action is for an independ e n t i n q u i r y i n t o t h e a c t i o n s o f t h i s P o l i c e Officer In the meantime, until the matter has been c o n c l u d e d S g t A h m e d should be immediately suspended from his post ” Community members stand in s olidarity F o rm er Le i c es t er E as t M P K e i th V a z s a i d ,

“Leicester is a great city It's a city that passionately celeb r a t e s f e s t i v a l s , b e i t V a i s a k h i , E i d , D i w a l i , o r C h r i s t m a s A n e v e n t occurred earlier this week d u r i n g t h e G a n e s h Chaturthi festival At that event, many of us have seen the way in which one particular officer has dealt with t w o i n d i v i d u a l s w h o m I have known for many years O n e i s a p r i e s t a t t h e

Shivalaya temple Someone

who has worked tirelessly on behalf of the local comm u n i t y P a n d i t S h a s t r i j i , t h e o t h e r w a s D h a r m e s h Lakhani, a person whom I have known for the last 35 y e a r s H e ' s p e a c e f u l , l a wa b i d i n g , s t r o n g , b u t n o naggressive A pillar of our c o m m u n i t y a n d s o m e o n e w h o b e l i e v e s p a s s i o n a t e l y and strongly in the unity of Leicester We in this country and in Leicester, have policing by consent Many of us were shocked by what we saw happening outside the temple on Monday as we would be outside any p l a c e o f w o r s h i p i n Leicester or anywhere else That is why I'm glad that the Leicestershire police will be h o l d i n g a f u l l , d e t a i l e d , transparent inquiry into the actions of its officer and in particular, take into account t h e c o m p l a i n t s t h a t h a v e been made about the way o n e p a r t i c u l a r o f f i c e r behaved Let us enjoy the rest of this very important festival Let us then move on to celebrate the next fest i v a l a n d c e l e b r a t e a c i t y that brings all communities together ” V i n o d K o te c h a, E xCh ief Executive Officer o f th e Co nfederatio n of Indian Or ga ni s a ti o n s ( U K ) s a i d , “Leicester is truly a multicultural & diverse city and p e o p l e o f d i f f e r e n t f a i t h s and races have been living peacefully for decades It is t h e c i t y w h i c h c e l e b r a t e s d i f f e r e n t f e s t i v a l s b e i t D i w a l i , V a i s h a k h i , E i d , G a n e s h C h a t u r t h i & C h r i s t m a s T h e i n c i d e n t t h a t h a p p e n e d o n 1 9 September 2023 at Shivalaya Temple on Belgrave Road in Leicester was very alarming, u n f o r t u n a t e & u n w a n t e d T h e j o y o u s c e l e b r a t i o n s

w e r e a b r u p t l y d i s r u p t e d when the police intervened Shockingly, during this religious festival, a member of t h e L a b o u r C o u n c i l l o r

Dharmesh was arrested

What's even more concerning is that this arrest came at the hands of the s a m e S o m a l i o f f i c e r w h o h a d p r e v i o u s l y a r r e s t e d a m e m b e r a t B h a g e s h w e r D h a m P r a j a p a t i H a l l I t s e e m s a p p a r e n t t h a t t h i s particular officer has had multiple interactions with the Hindu community, and tensions appear to be escalating

G i v e n t h e s e r e c u r r i n g incidents, it is imperative t h a t e v e r y o n e a f f e c t e d o r c o n c e r n e d a b o u t t h e s e a c t i o n s s h o u l d c o n s i d e r making a formal complaint against the officer This not only helps address potential issues within the communit y - p o l i c e r e l a t i o n s h i p b u t also ensures that the rights and freedoms of all community members, regardless of t h e i r b a c k g r o u n d , a r e respected and protected ”

S h i t al f ro m I N S I G H T UK said, “On Wednesday, 20 September 2023, we went and spoke with Shastriji He w a s v e r y u p s e t a n d s a ddened by the whole incident that had happened It s a very sad state of affairs that the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration was disrupted by the police

A s I N S I G H T U K Leicester, we have reassured him We will be following up on the matter with the police to see how we can all work together in harmony so that this sort of incident does not occur again ”

C o m m u n i t y l e a d e r

Nitin Meh ta told us, “Do not let this incident drag on The Police have promised to look into it We must not let this destroy our trust in the p o l i c e A l s o , w e m u s t respect the conditions laid out by the police about how t o t a k e o u t p r o c e s s i o n s Also, we must not celebrate f e s t i v a l s o r c r i c k e t m a t c h victories on the streets on a whim We have to ensure our reputation is good with the people of the country ”

South Asians urged to become organ and stem cell donors in Parliament

S eema Ma lho tra M P and h e al th ca re wo r ke rs h av e urged Sou th Asians to sign up to become o rgan and stem cell donors

The call came during an awards ceremony hosted by Seema Malhotra MP in the House of Commons during O r g a n D o n a t i o n W e e k

The event recognised the w o r k o f v o l u n t e e r s f o r

Upahaar, a charity dedicated to improving awareness of organ donation among South Asian communities, and was attended by repre-

8-year-old Aditi receives a transplant without the lifelong requirement for immunosuppressant drugs

In a g ro und breaking m ed ical milestone, an eigh t-yearo ld g i rl n am ed A d i t i Shankar has ach iev ed a h istoric first in th e UK - receiving a transplant w ithou t the li f elo n g req u i rem en t f o r imm uno su ppressant drugs

Aditi, who suffers from a r a r e g e n e t i c c o n d i t i o n , underwent a unique proced u r e w h e r e s h e r e c e i v e d both a new kidney and bone marrow from her mother, Divya This remarkable feat was made possible through the pioneering efforts of the medical team at London's G r e a t O r m o n d S t r e e t Hospital (GOSH)

The key to this medical b r e a k t h r o u g h w a s a s t e m c e l l t r a n s p l a n t f r o m h e r m o t h e r ' s d o n a t e d b o n e marrow Astonishingly, just one month after receiving the new kidney, Aditi was able to discontinue the use o f i m m u n o s u p p r e s s a n t m e d i c a t i o n s , a s h e r b o d y embraced the transplanted kidney as if it were a natural part of her

Immunosuppressant drugs are a vital component of p o s t - t r a n s p l a n t c a r e f o r most recipients, as they prevent the body from rejecting a t r a n s p l a n t e d o r g a n However, these medications achieve this by suppressing the immune system, leaving individuals vulnerable to a higher risk of infections and other complications

A d i t i ' s j o u r n e y b e g a n when she was referred to GOSH at the age of five, w h e r e d o c t o r s d i a g n o s e d h e r w i t h S c h i m k e ' s immuno-osseous dysplasia, an exceedingly rare condit i o n a f f e c t i n g b o t h t h e i m m u n e s y s t e m a n d k i dneys Initially, her immune condition posed a significant barrier to receiving a k i d n e y t r a n s p l a n t , a s e x p l a i n e d b y P r o f e s s o r Stephen Marks, a specialist in children's kidney care at GOSH

T h r o u g h c o l l a b o r a t i v e efforts with medical experts from around the world, the

r e n a l , i m m u n o l o g y , a n d stem cell transplant teams a t G O S H d e v e l o p e d a n innovative treatment plan Professor Marks explained that the first step involved correcting Aditi's immune deficiency by infusing her mother's bone marrow

T h i s c r i t i c a l i n t e r v e ntion enabled Aditi's body to recognize her mother's kidney as an integral part of herself Astonishingly, just one month after the transplant, Aditi was able to cease immunosuppressive drugs, sparing her from their associated side effects

P r i o r t o t h i s m e d i c a l b r e a k t h r o u g h , A d i t i ' s l i f e had been dominated by freq u e n t h o s p i t a l v i s i t s f o r dialysis, a procedure necessary to remove waste products and excess fluids from the bloodstream when the kidneys failed to function properly Today, she enjoys the newfound freedom to swim, sing, dance, and play on her trampoline

A d i t i ' s m o t h e r , D i v y a , expressed her profound joy at being able to provide her daughter with both blood cells and a kidney, feeling an immense sense of pride

Aditi herself shared her thoughts on the life-changing experience, saying, "My mum gave me my new blood cells I got the kidney transplant when I went to a spec i a l s l e e p a n d c l o s e d m y eyes Now that I've had the l i n e r e m o v e d , I c a n g o swimming "

This remarkable medic a l a c h i e v e m e n t n o t o n l y s i g n i f i e s a s i g n i f i c a n t advancement in transplant m e d i c i n e b u t a l s o r e p r esents newfound hope and a brighter future for Aditi and others facing similar medical challenges

1m NHS appointments and operations cancelled in England since strikes began

s e n t a t i v e s f r o m A n t h o n y Nolan and DKMS and supported by NHS Blood and Transplant

Every day someone in the UK dies waiting for a transplant, due to a shortage of people donating At present, there are around 7,000 people waiting for a t r a n s p l a n t H o w e v e r , a s only 1,400 people die in circ u m s t a n c e s w h e r e o r g a n donation is possible, every donation is precious and c a n m a k e s u c h a d i f f e rence

Seema Malhotra said:

“Increasing the number of people on the international stem cell and organ register is vital ” “If you are white, you have a 72% chance of getting a match, but if you are an ethnic minority, that d r o p s t o a 3 7 % c h a n c e ”

“Getting on the register is a simple process that only takes a swab ”

Since being set up in 2017, Upahaar has signed up over 7000 donors, 96% of whom are from ethnic minority communiti

Statistics revealed th at more th an 1 m il li on o ut p ati ent ap p o i nt m en ts an d o p erati ons hav e been cancelled si n ce s tr ik es beg an i n December across the NHS in England

Hospitals were obliged to reschedule 129,913 additional "episodes of care" last week as a result of the consultants' and junior doctors' four-day strike, bringing the total to just over 1 million, according to NHS England

Those postponements mean that in all 1,015,067 have had

to be rescheduled D r V i n D i w a k a r , t h e N H S n a t i o n a l m e d i c a l director for secondary care a n d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , s a i d : “ T h e s e f i g u r e s r e v e a l j u s t part of the relentless impact of strikes over the last 10 months with the number of a p p o i n t m e n t s r e s c h e d u l e d hitting more than 1m, with pressure on services increasing as junior doctors and c o n s u l t a n t s t o o k j o i n t action last week for the first time in the history of the NHS

A view of the aisles and outside of an Indian supermarket in Leicester

Experiencing Ganesh Chaturthi celebration in London

Kunjan Panchal

19th of September this year marked the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi, which is a major festival celebrated by Hindus worldwide It falls on the fourth day of the bright fortnight (‘Shukla Paksha’) of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada This festival commemorates the birth of Hindu God Ganesha, who is the remover of obstacles, lord of new beginnings andsymbol of good luck, wisdom and intelligence

On the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi, devotees bring idols of Lord Ganesha to their homes These idols are prepared by a r t i s a n s m o n t h s b e f o r e t h e f e s t i v a l Some organizations install idols at public p l a c e s c a l l e d ‘ p a n d a l s ’ E c o - f r i e n d l y Ganesha idols are mostly made of clay, paper pulp and natural colours It is said that upon praying to the Ganesha idol with proper procedure, the energy of Lord Ganesha resides in the idol and blesses the devotees.

One of my mother’s friends in London, Mrs Rashmi Amin had requested her to g e t a G a n e s h a i d o l A f t e r a r r i v i n g i n London, we gave her the Ganesha idol, upon receiving which she was very happy It was a beautiful idol of Lord Ganesha having a smoky-gray colour

On the day of celebration, we all woke up early, got ready and reached Rashmi A u n t y a n d A s h w i n U n c l e ’ s h o m e i n Kingsbury From there, me and my mother went to Bharat Uncle’s homewhere the Ganesha idol would be welcomed initially T h e e n v i r o n m e n t t h e r e w a s a l r e a d y e n e r g e t i c a n d b u z z i n g P e o p l e w e r e interacting with each other and soft drinks and traditional snacks were being served B h a j a n s w e r e b e i n g s u n g a l o n g w i t h rhythm After some time, the priest and my father, who was carrying the Ganesh idol, arrived there People were eagerly waiting in line to welcome Ganeshji and the excitement and happiness on their face w a s t h e r e t o s e e T h e y w e r e c l i c k i n g p h o t o s a n d v i d e o s t o c a p t u r e t h i s memorable moment Upon welcoming the

Book Review

Rediscovered in 1819, the Ajanta caves have continued to captivate both experts a n d e n t h u s i a s t s w i t h t h e i r s t u n n i n g paintings and sculptures These Buddhist artworks hold a place of great significance among the world's cultural treasures

However, despite their popularity among tourists, the historical context of the caves often goes unnoticed While we admire the exquisite sculptures within the Ajanta caves, we frequently overlook the captivating stories they convey

"The Ajanta Caves: Ancient Buddhist Paintings of India by Benoy K Behl is a meticulously restored collection of photographs and goes beyond showcasing the remarkable surviving examples of ancient B u d d h i s t a r t W i t h t h i s b o o k , h e h a s explored all that is ignored about the caves T h e b o o k d e t a i l s t h e e x q u i s i t e murals narrating tales of Buddha's previous incarnations, depict princely processions, and feature imaginative depictions of birds and beasts It offers a rare glimpse into painting styles that originated in India and continue to hold great importance

idol, Bharat Uncle and his wife performed Puja under directions by the priest Now the idol of Lord Ganesha was to be taken to Rashmi Aunty’s place for ‘Sthaapna’, m e a n i n g i t w o u l d r e m a i n t h e r e u n t i l

‘Visarjan’ (immersion in water)

When the Ganesha idol arrived there, many women were laying a white carpet for Ganeshji until he reached the home It was their way of showing their ‘bhaav’ or devotion towards the Lord The house was b e a u t i f u l l y d e c o r a t e d w i t h c l e a r instructions for devotees to ensure smooth operations Finally, the idol was placed on a l a r g e a l t a r w h i c h w a s m a g n i f i c e n t l y decorated Now, the elaborate puja called ‘Shodashopchar’ started wherein God is

worshipped systematically with 16 rituals

My mother and father had the chance to sit in this Puja Offerings such as food items, flowers, etc were made to Lord Ganesha Many people had gathered at Rashmi Aunty’s home and a devotional atmosphere had been created M e a n w h i l e , v o l u n t e e r s h a d s t a r t e d receiving and preparing for food On the o t h e r h a n d , t h e ‘ A b h i s h e k ’ o f L o r d G a n a p a t i w a s b e i n g d o n e ‘ A b h i s h e k ’ means to bathe the idol of God with things like milk, sugar, honey, curd, ghee, etc One by one, all got the chance to do Abhishek This marked the end of the

H e e x p l o r e s r a r e p a i n t i n g s , t a l k s about the preservation of these caves and the appreciation of it He also talks about how photography has been used to reproduce and restore the art What is absolutely amazing about this collection, however, are the stories Mr Behl has incorporated his knowledge in the form of storytelling wherever he could and that simply takes the book to another level, especially for readers who absolutely need a gripping story to build interest in any book

The stories mixed in his writing of the Jataka, the excavation phases, the sculptures and his general explanation o f B u d d h i s m , r e m o v e t h e m o n o t o n y from the flow Another aspect of the book that one can appreciate, are the detailed photo captions

The photographs expertly capture the beauty and radiance of these artworks, bringing the paintings closer to their original splendour The restoration enhances the clarity of the paintings while preserving their original grace and subtlety, allowing for a deeper appreciation of their artistic brilliance

Puja People offered their final prayer to Lord Ganesha while leaving Some also took blessings of the priest It was a day filled with activity as organizing such a celebration takes a lot of effort and team work; and I had the chance to be a part of it It was an enriching experience May Lord Ganesha shower his blessings on us all Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Kiriteshwari village: Best tourism village in India

Kirites hwari vil lage, s ituated in t he Mur shidabad d is t r ic t of We s t Be n g al , ha s r ec en t l y a c h ie v ed national rec ognition as the "Bes t Tourism V il lage in India, courte sy of the Ministry of Touris m T h e v i l l a g e d e r i v e s i t s n a m e f r o m t h e

Kiriteshwari temple, revered as one of the 'Shakti peeths,' with a legend attributing it to the place w h e r e a p o r t i o n o f g o d d e s s S a t i ' s s k u l l f e l l

Kiriteshwari village boasts not only this significant temple but also hosts several other newer temples and remnants of ancient shrines Located approximately 20 km away from the district headquarters in Berhampur, this tranquil hamlet is home to just over 1,200 residents, primarily engaged in farming

What sets the village apart is its remarkable example of communal harmony The temple committee includes members from the Muslim community who actively participate in various rituals associated with Hindu religion and culture Moreover, the Muslim community has generously allocated land to their Hindu counterparts due to the presence of a temple fragment on it

T h e d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e o f t h e 3 0 0 - y e a r - o l d

Kiriteshwari temple lies in its architectural blend, reflecting elements of Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim styles in its roof and the design of the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) where a black stone is venerated as the goddess Following the recent honour bestowed upon the village, tourists from various regions have begun visiting Kiriteshwari, appreciating its cultural and historical significance

"The Ajanta Caves: Ancient Buddhist Paintings of India"

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel OBE

As su mmer ends, you may th ink it’s tim e to pu t away your summer reading Not so Go ing thro ugh my books helf, might I s ugges t the f oll owing? Bu t I have su mmarised them f or yo u to o I t’s also for all the readers and their kids wh o are starting at University Since they’ll be reading anyway, they s hou ld tear o ut this article (or the p arents can wh atsapp it to them) I kno w readers o f Asian V oice are of cou rse into reading and financial educ atio n I want to impro ve financial l iteracy in o ur co mmunity thro ugh my C ampaign for a Million – ww w camp aignforamillion co m

"Th e I ntel ligent I nvesto r" by Benjamin Grah am

1 Do llar-C os t Averaging: Invest a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, regardless of stock prices, to reduce risk

2 Margin of Safety: Always invest in stocks that are priced well below their intrinsic value to minimize downside risk To learn how, see www investing-champions com

3 Divers if ication: Spread your investments across different asset classes to mitigate risk We do this as a community by having property and gold but probably not enough stocks

2 "S ecurity Analysi s" by B en jami n Graham and David Dod d

1 Intrins ic Valu e: Always calculate the intrinsic value of a s t o c k b e f o r e i n v e s t i n g A g a i n s e e w w w i n v e s t i n gchampions com

2 Qual ity O ver P ric e: Don’t be swayed by low prices; focus on the quality of the asset

3 Lo ng- Term P erspec tive: Invest with a long-term horizon and ignore short-term market fluctuations For me this is 12 months, then review to replace stocks that no longer meet my criteria

3 " Comm on Stocks and Uncommon Profits" b y Phili p Fi she r

1 Scuttl ebutt Metho d: Use multiple sources to gather information about potential investments I like Simply Wall St and Koyfin

2 Invest in I nno vation: Companies that focus on R&D are likely to have sustainable growth I like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon a lot

3 Qu ality Management: The competence of a company ’ s management team is a critical factor in its success For me, this is to just look at share price success on Trendspider com

4 "A Ra ndom W alk Dow n Wa ll Stree t" b y B urton G Malki el

1 Ef fic ient Market Hypo thesis: Understand that all available information is already reflected in stock prices That does not mean the price cannot rise in the future of course I like Cisco and Costco for instance

2 I ndex Investing: Consider investing in low-cost index funds for long-term gains If you do not have the time for individual stocks, then S&P500 is fine

3 Rebalanc ing: Periodically review and adjust your portfolio to maintain your desired asset allocation For me, it’s every 12 months, unless a stock drops 25% from it’s peak in which case I exit

5 "One Up On Wall Street" by Peter Lynch

1 Invest in W hat Y ou Know : Stick to industries and sectors you are familiar with Better familiarise yourself with AI I prefer companies that I am familiar with or make myself familiar eg Globant

2 Earnings Gro wth: Focus on companies with consistent earnings growth

3 I gnore Market No ise: Don’t get swayed by market predictions and rumors Unless news is negative ie earnings poor and will remain so

6 The E ssays of W arren Bu ffett by Warren Buff ett and Lawrence A Cu nningh am

1 Econo mic Moats : Invest in companies that have a competitive advantage

2 Ow ner ’ s Mi ndset: Think like an owner, not just an investor

3 Intrinsic Value and Market P rice: The market price is not always reflective of intrinsic value

7 "Rich Dad Po or Dad" by Ro bert Kiyos aki

1 F inancial Edu cation: Continuously educate yourself about financial matters You need www campaignforamillion com

2 Ass ets Over Liabil ities: Focus on acquiring assets that generate income

3 Th e P ower of Leverage: Use other people’s money to amplify your investment returns

8 The L ittle Bo ok o f Co mmo n Sense I nv esting by Jo hn C Bo gle

1 Lo w- Cos t I ndex Fu nds: High fees can erode your returns; opt for low-cost index funds S&P500 ETF index tracker not investment trusts run by fund managers

2 Long-T erm I nves ting: Short-term trading often leads to lower returns

3 Sim plicity is Key: A simple, diversified portfolio is often more effective

9 "F ool ed by Rando mnes s" by Nas sim N ich ol as T aleb

1 U nderstand Pro bability: Not all successes and failures are skill-based; luck plays a role

2 Em brac e U nc ertainty: Markets are unpredictable; prepare for various outcomes

3 Avo id E motional Investing: Emotional decisions often lead to poor investment choices

10 "Th e Millionaire Next Do or" by Th omas J Stanley and Wil liam D Danko

1 Live Below You r Means : The less you spend, the more you can invest

2 Time Valu e of Money: Understand the compounding effect of money over time

3 Financial Independence: Aim for financial independence, not social status

Shefali Saxena

Saujanya Phagre is a d ynamic and forw ar d - th i nk in g p r o fe ss i o na l w i th a strong passion fo r nurtu ring the bu siness p artnership betw een Ind ia and th e U nited K ing dom His jou rney has been marked by a relentless com mitm ent to brid g ing th e g ap betw een th e se t w o ec o no m ic p o w erh o u s es , lev e rag i ng h i s f in anc ial ac um e n to unlock inv estment opportunities and his tech-sav vy approach to driv e innovatio n He spoke to Asian Voice about GI B C - Glo b al I nd i a B us i ne ss Ch am bers Lim ited

Please briefly explain the mission and vision of GIBC

G I B C ’ s m i s s i o n i s t o f a c i l i t a t e , enhance, and promote trade and commerce between the UK and India We are committed to fostering a dynamic ecosystem that empowers businesses, entrepreneurs, and industries in both n a t i o n s B y p r o v i d i n g t a i l o r e d resources, strategic connections, and actionable insights, we aim to drive sustainable economic growth, job creation, and mutual prosperity

Our vision is to create a robust platform that propels UK-India trade and commerce to new heights By forging enduring partnerships, breaking down barriers, and navigating the evolving global landscape, we aspire to be a driving force behind a vibrant, balanced, and resilient trade relationship

How is it different from UKIBC?

GIBC and UKIBC are both organisations dedicated to promoting business and trade between UK and India While both GIBC and UKIBC share the goal of fostering business and trade relations between the UK and India, they differ in their approach, target audiences, services, and areas of expertise GIBC is not just a professional services firm; we're strategic partners in navigating the dynamic l a n d s c a p e o f c u t t i n g - e d g e i n d u s t r y s e c t o r s i n U K a s w e l l a s I n d i a Whether it's in the realms of technology, finance, healthcare, or any other cutting-edge sector, we're here to help our clients and partners to uncover o p p o r t u n i t i e s , n a v i g a t e c h a l l e n g e s , and achieve goals

W h a t k i n d o f o f f e r i n g s w i l l G I B C p r o v i d e s u c h t h a t b o t h U K - I n d i a c a n b e n e f i t f r o m t h i s partnership?

G I B C o f f e r s a w i d e range of services and initiatives that benefit both United Kingdom and India i n t h e i r p a r t n e r s h i p f o r e c o n o m i c a n d t r a d e growth We provide comprehensive support for businesses looking to enter either the UK or Indian market, offering market research, regulatory guidance, and strategic planning to ensure a smooth and successful transition Some of our key offerings include Market Entry and Expansion, Business M a t c h m a k i n g , I n v e s t m e n t F a c i l i t a t i o n , T r a d e P r o m o t i o n a n d Policy Advocacy GIBC's comprehensive offerings can play a pivotal role in s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e e c o n o m i c t i e s between the UK and India At a time when the FTA is hanging by a thread, what does a body like GIBC convey as a message of hope between the two nations?

In times of uncertainty and when FTA may face challenges, an organization like the GIBC can convey a message of hope and resilience between UK and India GIBC can serve as a beacon o f p o s i t i v i t y a n d c o l l a b o r a t i o n b y emphasizing several key messages such as Long-Term Vision, Commitment to C o l l a b o r a t i o n , I n n o v a t i o n a n d

A d a p t a t i o n G I B C i s c o m m i t t e d t o

C a t a l y s i n g P r o s p e r i t y t h r o u g h Collaborative Commerce and we envis i o n a f u t u r e w h e r e t h e s y n e r g y between our nations' economies fuels innovation, diversity, and shared value

In the process of acquiring a team that would fuel the initiative of GIBC, what k i n d o f k n o w l e d g e e x c h a n g e w i l l happen between the two nations?

GIBC strongly believes that both nations (India and UK) have a lot to offer to each other The collaboration areas include Skill Transfer, Cultural

A w a r e n e s s , B e s t P r a c t i c e s , M a r k e t Insights, Technology and Innovation, R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t , Sustainability and ESG Practices By

Councils forced to sell £15 bn in assets amid cash shortages

Accord ing to a stud y by the Institute for P ublic Po licy Res ea rc h ( IP P R ) , Br it is h co u n ci ls g r ap p l in g w i th fi na nc i al c h al le ng e s h a v e sold ap proxim ately 75, 0 00 public assets valu ed at £1 5 billio n since 2010

This research, utilising local government data and insights from a Freedom of Information request, sheds light on the ongoing depletion of public assets over the past 13 years On average, m o r e t h a n 6 , 0 0 0 c o u n c i l assets, with a total value of around £1 2 billion per year, have been divested annually since 2010, primarily due to

Ch a n ce l l or J e re m y H un t i s pla n ni n g a si g ni fi ca n t ov erha u l of In d i v i d ua l Sa v i n g s Accoun ts ( ISAs) to en coura ge more people to use the se taxfr e e s a v i n g s v e hi c l e s fo r i n v e st i n g i n L on d o n -l i s te d compa nie s T r e a s u r y o f f i c i a l s h a v e

the government's austerity p o l i c i e s H o w e v e r , o n l y 2 , 5 0 0 a s s e t s h a v e t r a n s it i o n e d i n t o c o m m u n i t y ownership during this period, leaving a significant gap

The report also warns that an equivalent number of council-owned buildings and assets remain at risk over the next five years

f o s t e r i n g a c u l t u r e o f k n o w l e d g e e x c h a n g e w i t h i n t h e t e a m a n d across borders, GIBC can harness the collective wisdom and expertise of prof e s s i o n a l s f r o m t h e U K and India to drive innovat i o n , e c o n o m i c g r o w t h , a n d m u t u a l l y b e n e f i c i a l partnerships

What is the importance of South Asian community and members of the community like you, who are trying to further nurture the living bridge?

The South Asian community plays a significant and multifaceted role in nurturing the living bridge between South Asia and UK The South Asian c o m m u n i t y i n t h e U K h a s m a d e invaluable contributions across various facets of British society Through i t s r i c h c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e , entrepreneurial spirit, and active participation in business, education, and civic life, this vibrant community has significantly enriched the fabric of the UK From fostering cultural diversity and promoting understanding to driving economic growth and innovation, the South Asian community's presence is a testament to the power of cultural exchange and collaboration in building stronger and more inclusive societies

What do you think is unique about India that helps to compensate for what the UK doesn't have?

I n d i a p o s s e s s e s s e v e r a l u n i q u e attributes that can complement what the UK may not have, creating opportunities for mutual collaboration and benefit Vast Market Potential, Young and Dynamic Workforce, Low-Cost Manufacturing and Services, Strong Scientific and Research Community are some of the key attributes with which India can collaborate with UK By leveraging these unique attributes, businesses, governments, and institutions in both India and the UK can establish mutually beneficial partnerships, drive innovation, and tap into each other's strengths to address global challenges and opportunities

Tata Steel unions meet with bosses to prevent job losses

Charlotte Brum pton-Ch ild s

o f th e GM B U ni o n h a s shared insights into d iscussions between union rep rese nta ti v e s an d T a ta S te el reg ard i n g c h ang es at th e

P o rt T alb o t s te el w o rks

U ni o n l ead ers co n v en ed with Tata Steel executives in London to seek furth er clarity about the plant's fu ture R e c e n t l y , a d e a l w a s reached between Tata Steel a n d t h e U K g o v e r n m e n t , outlining plans to transition the site to a more environmentally friendly steel-making process However, conc e r n s p e r s i s t t h a t t h e s e c h a n g e s c o u l d j e o p a r d i s e

Hunt to overhaul ISA rules

held discussions with industry executives to simplify ISAs and make it easier for individuals to invest in stocks One option being considered is the introduction of an additional ISA allowance for investing in UK f i r m s O t h e r i d e a s i n c l u d e a l l o w i n g c a s h s a v i n g s a n d

stock market investments to be held within a single ISA These changes aim to simplify the system and boost retail savings for long-term investment, aligning with efforts to stimulate economic growth Hunt's previous reforms, a s o u t l i n e d i n h i s M a n s i o n

thousands of jobs in Port Talbot

T h e a g r e e m e n t , c o nfirmed on September 15, is aimed at safeguarding the plant's survival while reduci n g c a r b o n - i n t e n s i v e s t e e l

production Despite government subsidies and a £700 million investment by the I n d i a n c o m p a n y i n t o i t s o p e r a t i o n s , a n e s t i m a t e d 3,000 jobs may still be lost at the site

House speech in July, targeted r e d i r e c t i n g p e n s i o n s a v i n g s into growth initiatives, while these ISA reforms are focused on increasing retail savings for similar objectives The government plans to announce these measures during the Autumn Statement in November

South Asian community's presence is a testament to the power of cultural exchange and collaboration

Saujanya Phagre

IndiGo and British Airways announce new codeshare partnership

I n diG o , I nd ia ' s l e ad in g a ir l in e , a nd British Airways h ave s igned a c odeshare agreement to furth er boos t connections between I ndia and th e U K Thro ugh this partnersh ip wh ic h s ees Britis h Airways ad d it s c o d e o n to a c o u p l e o f des tinatio ns acros s IndiGo’s netwo rk –c u s t o m e rs c an e nj o y im p r o v ed c o n ne c t iv it y be t w ee n I n dia a n d t h e United Kingdom fo r travel from O ctober 12, 2 023

W i t h t h i s c o d e s h a r e p a r t n e r s h i p with IndiGo, British Airways will now be able to add three additional routes to their existing network:

Amritsar to London Heathrow via New Delhi; Kochi to London Heathrow via Mumbai; Ahmedabad to London Heathrow via

A look in the rearview mirror

Mumbai; Goa to London Heathrow via M u m b a i ; T h i r u v a n a n t h a p u r a m t o London Heathrow via Mumbai (new);

K o l k a t a t o L o n d o n H e a t h r o w v i a Mumbai; Rajkot to London Heathrow via Mumbai (new); Vadodara to London Heathrow via Mumbai (new)

T h e a g r e e m e n t m e a n s t h a t customers travelling, for example from Rajkot to London, or transiting through London Heathrow (or vice versa) will be able to connect to their destination on a single ticket

I n d i G o o p e r a t e s a n e x t e n s i v e domestic and regional network with a fleet of A320 aircraft All British Airways c u s t o m e r s t r a v e l l i n g o n w a r d s w i t h

I n d i G o w i l l b e a b l e t o e n j o y a complimentary meal and the UK carrier’s

France's Total Energies raises stake in Adani Green to 50 per cent

F ranc e ’ s T otal E nergies will ramp up its investments in A da ni Gr e en E n er g y by p ou ring in $300 mill io n to f orm a 50: 50 jo int venture to g e ne r at e s o l ar an d w in d p ow er The fres h investm ent f oll ows To tal’s sus pension of a 2 5 % s ta k e- p u r c h as e i n Adani New I ndus tries’ green h yd r o ge n p r o j ec t o v er a l le gat io ns by Hi ndenb u rg, w hich the gro up h as denied A d a n i G r e e n , i n w h i c h Total already owns 19 75%, w i l l t r a n s f e r c e r t a i n r e n e w a b l e a s s e t s t o i t s s u b s i d i a r y A d a n i G r e e n Energy Twenty Three, where t h e F r e n c h m a j o r w i l l contribute $300 million for a 50% equity Adani Green said i t s b o a r d h a s a p p r o v e d execution of a binding term sheet with Total for a JV and to modify certain terms of investment in Adani Green

Twenty Three

Adani Green, which has a portfolio of 30 gigawatt of r e n e w a b l e e n e r g y , w i l l transfer 10 gigawatt to Adani Green Twenty Three The 10 gigawatt of solar and wind p o w e r w i l l b e a b l e n d o f operational (300 megawatt), u n d e r c o n s t r u c t i o n ( 5 0 0 megawatt) and planned (250 megawatt) assets T h i s i s p a r t o f A d a n i G r e e n ’ s a s s e t r e c y c l i n g strategy, a source said Adani G r e e n T w e n t y T h r e e ’ s portfolio will mirror that of its parent Adani Green, but it w i l l b e s m a l l i n s i z e T h e source said: “The difference between Total’s investment in Adani Green and Adani Green Twenty Three is that t h e f o r m e r i s m o r e o f a growth investment, while the F r e n c h m a j o r ’ s a d d i t i o n a l investment in Adani Green

Twenty Three is more of an operational investment ”

Gujarat SME IPOs raise £61.6 mn in just 6 months

The r ece nt bull run of Indian e q ui t y m a r k e t s a n d t he h a n d so me r e t u r n on i n v e st m e n t s h a s pi q ue d inv est or s ’ in tere st into stock inv est me nts In t he pr ocess, G u j a r a t ’ s S ME I P Os ha v e g a i n e d b i g in me r e l y s ix m o n t hs F r o m A pr i l t o S e p t e mb e r t h is y e a r , G ujar at’s SMEs raised £61 6 mill ion through IPOs, which is at par with £63 6 mill ion r aise d by t he se entities in the e ntire fiscal yea r 2022-23

W i t h t h i s , G u j a r a t ’ s SMEs account for 26% of the total funds raised across India through IPO

A c c o r d i n g t o investment consultants, the sizes of the SME IPO have also increased Data from a stockbroking firm, Monarch Networth Capital Limited, suggests that 28 SME IPOs were registered on BSE SME platform and NSE Emerge, from across the country in F Y 2 0 2 1 , w h i c h i n c r e a s e d 342% to 124 in FY 2023 In t h e s a m e p e r i o d , t h e

number of SME IPOs listed f r o m G u j a r a t r o s e 7 2 5 % f r o m f o u r e n t i t i e s t o 3 3

From April 1 to September 21 this year, Gujarat saw 22 SMEs listed

E x p l a i n i n g r e a s o n s , Vaibhav Shah, director of t h e c o m p a n y , s a i d , “ T h e recent market rally, better r e t u r n s a n d i m p r o v e d liquidity reinforced investor confidence in SME IPOs In t h e p a s t y e a r , m o r e S M E e n t i t i e s r a i s e d f u n d s through IPO channel As a result, overall funds raised by entities are rising year after year ”

generous baggage allowance in economy via codeshare for flights to India – two checked bags up to 23 kilos per person

British Airways is now exceeding pre-pandemic levels of flights to India, ahead of celebrating 100 years of flying t o D e l h i n e x t y e a r T h e a i r l i n e i s operating 56 flights a week, to five Indian g a t e w a y s : D e l h i , M u m b a i , C h e n n a i , Bangalore, and Hyderabad

Akasa Air will not wind up, says CEO

A m i d h e ad w i nd s, Akasa Air said it is a well-run airline with stro ng finances, a d ay after telling th e Delh i Hig h Court that it is in a "state of crisis" as abrup t resignations of more than 40 pilots h av e led to m u lt ip le fl i g h t cancellations

"I urge you not to be a l a r m e d o r d i s t r a c t e d b y media headlines, especially those that are speculative and claim that the airline w i l l s h u t d o w n W e a r e never more confident about our future and continue to i n v e s t p r u d e n t l y , w i t h l o n g e r - t e r m f i n a n c i a l success in focus," Akasa Air f o u n d e r a n d C E O V i n a y Dube told the staff

A m i d t h e f l e d g l i n g airline moving high courts i n D e l h i a n d M u m b a i i n

r e l a t i o n t o t h e i s s u e o f r e s i g n a t i o n o f p i l o t s without serving their notice periods, Dube also asserted that shortage of pilots is an i s s u e t h a t t h e a i r l i n e i n d u s t r y h a s f a c e d f o r decades and said that it has a ten-year plan that covers pilot recruitment, training and career upgrades

Earlier, the airline told the Delhi High Court that it i s i n a " s t a t e o f c r i s i s " following the "sudden and abrupt resignation of over 40 pilots who left the airline w i t h o u t s e r v i n g t h e mandatory notice period

India Ratings ups FY24 GDP growth estimate to 6.2 pc

India Rating s and Research up ward ly rev is ed i ts FY 24 real GDP growth estimate to 6 2 per cent from the 5 9 per cent expected earlier T he d o m es ti c r ati ng s ag e nc y attributed its rev isio n to a variety of factors, including th e g o v e rnm ent ’ s c ap i ta l exp e nd i tu r e, d el ev e rag ed balance sheets of India Inc and banks, subdued g lo bal co mmod ity p rices and the prosp ect of private capital expenditure picking up India Ratings, however, a l s o f l a g g e d s o m e c o n s t r a i n t s o n G r o s s D o m e s t i c P r o d u c t ( G D P ) growth in the current fiscal

y e a r b e f o r e t h e g e n e r a l elections, including a slip in global growth, which has hit I n d i a n e x p o r t s , t i g h t e r financial conditions upping cost of capital domestically, a deficit monsoon, and tepid manufacturing growth ”All these risks will continue to weigh and restrict India’s GDP growth to 6 2 per cent in FY24, and the quarterly GDP growth, which came in at 7 8 per cent in the June q u a r t e r , i s s l a t e d t o s l o w d o w n s e q u e n t i a l l y i n t h e remaining three quarters of F Y 2 4 , ” i t s p r i n c i p a l e c o n o m i s t S u n i l K u m a r

Sinha said

India’s JSW Steel slows stake buy in Canada

l L t d i s s lo w in g d o wn t h e process to buy a stak e in t he st e el m a k in g c oa l un it of C a n a d a ’ s T e c k R e s o ur ce s , re ports said

Ties between India and Canada deteriorated sharply after New Delhi and Ottawa

e x p e l l e d e a c h o t h e r ’ s

diplomats in a dispute over t h e m u r d e r o f a S i k h s e p a r a t i s t l e a d e r i n t h e

C a n a d i a n p r o v i n c e o f

British Columbia in June

The source said discussions between JSW Steel – India’s l a r g e s t s t e e l m a k e r b y capacity – and Teck over the stake sale had slowed down,

t h o u g h w o r k o n t h e p a p e r w o r k w a s g o i n g o n

“We will wait until the issue s u b s i d e s , ” r e p o r t s a d d e d “ W e a r e n o t e x p e c t i n g things to go out of hand We are doing the paperwork for t h e v a l u a t i o n , t a l k i n g t o b a n k s a n d t h i s i s s t i l l h a p p e n i n g , ” t h e s o u r c e added

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Rates are starti ng to drop, and there are products that have appeared which are actually below 5%, that too for BTL properties On ly the other day we quoted for a client regarding a remortgage on a 5-year fixed T h i s d r o p i s s t a r t i n g t o m a k e B T L i n v e s t m e n t justifiable again Though, I do think property owners have been spoilt, since Feb 2009 until March 2022 we have had a rate of 1% or below It becomes normalised, people’s lifestyles and expenditure increases in line with the surplus income They don’t see what’s around the corner and tend to live for the moment

I had a client who was on a base rate tracker, 0 39% below base, when the rate dropped to 0 1%, technically the bank should pay him; however, there was a clause in the contract specifying a nominal payment

Given the base rate is currently 5 25%, it seems the anticipation is that there will be further rate reductions as the five year rates are below this level Only time will tell Rental cover, which is the multiple of rent over the monthly mortgage payment, never used to be an issue; typically it needs to be 125% or 145% of the monthly payment It never was an issue but all of a sudden it governs the amount one can borrow, the actual value of the property being a secondary consideration This criteria, which puts a ceiling on the amount one can borrow, has become the governing factor There are some lenders who have evolved to allow for something known as top slicing whereby when the rent is not sufficient, they use the borrower’s surplus income as a top up to get to the amount required

Some readers may recall in Oct 1989 the base rate went all the way up to 14 88%, nearly triple of the current rates The reason for this hike was partly to control house prices which rose steeply by 79% from 1982 to 1989 This hike had the effect of dropping prices, as expected, to a level where the income to house price ratio was three times

Back then the average house price was £56,615 and the average wage was £11,327, a multiple of 5 times Currently, the average house price is £287,546 and the average income is £33,402, a multiple of 8 6 times

To compound this, I suspect you could actually buy a house for £56K in 1989 The current average figure given for a property will most likely only buy you a flat This would serve to increase the multiple to even higher levels

The difference between the two periods is, more people trust and have faith in UK property They also accept if there is a storm it is a temporary one, and when it clears this asset class will bounce back

Investors have become more focused on finding property deals Investments presented now by the big agents tend to be around 8-10% yield, accommodating the recent rate hikes

JP Morgan to add India

G-Secs to its emerging market bond index

G l ob a l f i n a n ci a l s e r v i c e s m a j o r J P Mo r g a n h a s de cid ed to in clude I ndi an gove rnment securiti es (GS e cs ) i n i t s e m e r g i n g m a r k e t b o n d i n d e x - a move seen to boost dollar i n fl ow s i n to the coun t ry an d bri ng down the rate of i nter est Th is i s t he fi rst t ime I nd i an G- Se cs ha ve b e e n a d d e d to a ma j o r glob al b on d i nde x

JP Morgan said India’s

G - S e c s w i l l b e incorporated in three of its bond indices consisting of similar instruments issued b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t s o f e m e r g i n g m a r k e t s l i k e

China and Indonesia from June 28, 2024 Beginning

w i t h 1 % w e i g h t a g e , o v e r t h e n e x t 1 0 m o n t h s t i l l

March 2025, the weight of

Indian G-Secs would rise to the maximum 10% S i n c e t h e i n d e x i s widely followed by global bond fund managers, some e s t i m a t e s s a y $ 4 0 - 4 5 b i l l i o n f u n d s c o u l d f l o w into India because of this i n c l u s i o n b e t w e e n J u n e 2024 and March 2025 A c c o r d i n g t o b o n d m a r k e t p l a y e r s , t h e i n c r e m e n t a l b u y i n g o f

I n d i a n G - S e c s b y g l o b a l funds would lead to a fall in yields which, in turn, w o u l d b r i n g d o w n t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’ s c o s t o f borrowing Also, since gilt yields are benchmarks for yields on corporate bonds a n d t h e m a r k e t r a t e o f interest, it could result in a lower cost of borrowing for companies

95mn Pakistanis under poverty, urgent reforms needed: IMF

I SLA M A BA D: Poverty in Pakistan shot up to 39 4% a s of las t fis cal y ear, with 12 5 m illi on m ore people falli ng i nto the trap due to poor ec on om ic conditions , the World B a n k ha s s ai d, a s i t ur g e d th e c a s hs trapped c oun try to tak e urge nt steps to ac hieve fi nanci al stabi li ty

The Washington-based lender unveiled draft policy notes that it prepared with the help of all stakeholders for Pakistan’s next government ahead of the new election cycle Poverty in Pakistan rose within one year from 34 2% to 39 4%, with 12 5 million more people falling below the poverty line of the $3 65 per day income level, according to the World Bank About 95 million Pakistanis now live in poverty, it said

“Pakistan’s economic model is no longer reducing poverty, and the living standards h a v e f a l l e n b e h i n d p e e r c o u n t r i e s , ” s a i d

Imran charged with ‘criminal conspiracy'

Tobias Haque, the World Bank’s lead count r y e c o n o m i s t f o r P a k i s t a n T h e g l o b a l lender urged Pakistan to take urgent steps to tax its ‘sacred cows ’ agriculture and real estate and cut wasteful expenditures in an effort to achieve economic stability through steep fiscal adjustment of over 7% of the economy

Bangladesh FM says not bothered by US visa curbs, promises free elections

DHA K A : Th e U S has imposed v isa restrictions on unid entified Dhaka officials in an effort to prom ote free and fair g eneral elections that are sch ed uled to take place early next year Banglad esh's foreig n minister h as stated that his nation w as not "both ered " by the restrictions “T he U S is a democracy, so are we, ” A K Abdul Mom en told the m ed ia

“As a global power, they, of course, can exercise power over others but we are not bothered because we know how to hold an acceptable election,” he said, echoing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s assertion that her government is capable of conducting free and fair elections

Bangladeshis "responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh" will be subject to visa restrictions, the US Department of State

announced

A s t a t e m e n t i s s u e d b y t h e S t a t e Department spokesperson Matthew Miller mentioned “these individuals include members of law enforcement, the ruling party, a n d t h e p o l i t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n ” a n d “ t h e i r immediate family may be found ineligible for entry into the United States ”

The State Department did not release any names as the “[visa] records are confidential under US law,” Bryan Schiller, US Embassy spokesperson in Bangladesh told the local media

The visa restrictions come nearly four months after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of curbs, as Washington has expressed support for “free, fair and peaceful national elections” in the South Asian nation of 160 million people

Nepal, China sign 12 pacts during Prachanda’s visit

BEIJ IN G /K A THM AN DU : China an d N epa l sign ed 12 agr ee ment s, including se ven MoUs t o en han ce bilat era l coope rat ion in sectors in cluding t rad e, roa d con nect iv ity, a nd inform ation te chn ology , a ft er Pre mier Li Qia ng a nd PM Pushpa Kama l Daha l “Pr achan da” h eld wid e-ra nging t alks in Be ijin g

The two sides exchanged views on the ways to further strengthen and consolidate the mutual understanding and cooperation and give a new impetus in the front of economy, trade and people-to-people cont a c t s , i t s a i d , t w o d a y s a f t e r C h i n e s e P r e s i d e n t X i J i n p i n g h e l d t a l k s w i t h Prachanda in Hangzhou on the sidelines of the Asian Games being held in the eastern Chinese city

P r a c h a n d a a l s o m e t w i t h N a t i o n a l

People’s Congress Chairman Zhao Leji dur-

PAK ELECTION IN THE LAST WEEK OF JANUARY 2024

Imran Khan

L A H ORE: Pakistan’ s ousted PM Pakistan

I mra n K han and o th er P TI lead ers and wo rkers hav e been charged with “criminal conspiracy”, which carries a m aximum sentence of the death penalty, for “masterm inding” the attack o n army installations and inciting th e people to mu tiny on May 9, Lahore police senior inv estigation officer

A noosh M asoo d said at a press conference

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that the much-awaited general election in the country will take place in the last week of January next year The electoral watchdog said the polls, which were due in November, were delayed due to fresh marking of constituencies The poll panel said a preliminary list of delimitations being carried out in line with the new census will be published on September 27 “A final list of new constituencies will be published by November 30 and the vote will take place late in January after a 54-day process that includes filing nomination papers appeals and campaigning ” the ECP said According to Pakistan’s constitution elections must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of the national or a provincial assembly on completing a full term, or within 90 days if the legislature is dissolved earlier

I SL A M A BA D : P akistan’ s military has conveyed to form er PM Naw az Sharif to stop accusing former g enerals and retired apex court judg es of involvement in a “conspiracy ” to oust him fro m office in 20 17

Since announcing his return home from L o n d o n , t h e P a k i s

M u s l i m L e a g u eNawaz’s (PML-N) exiled chief has taken exarmy chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, and former judges Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa head on, slamming them for “political engineering” to bring incarcerated ex-PM Imran Khan, their blue-eyed boy then, to power The renewal of such criticism has caused unease in the establishment and PML-N’s ranks The Army, reports suggest, has com-

ing which they focused on further broadening the historical ties between Nepal and China and promoting exchange of high level visits, it said

D u r i n g h i s m e e t i n g w i t h C h i n e s e P r e s i d e n t X i J i n p i n g , ‘ P r a c h a n d a ’ s a i d Kathmandu will support a series of important concepts and initiatives proposed by China Terming his talks with Jinping as “highly productive”, he said they would significantly strengthen bilateral relations and deepen ties

“The China visit this time has been part i c u l a r l y u n i q u e , a n d w e h a v e a c h i e v e d remarkable results I have observed that these discussions have created a more confident environment for our country,” he said at an evening reception organised by the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing

municated to Nawaz through Shehbaz its displeasure at his fresh bout of criticism

Speculation has also swirled that interim PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar, considered close to both Nawaz and the Army, headed to London for a possible “secret meeting” with the exiled leader Ahead of his departure from New York, Kakar parried most questions about such talks, only saying the former PM would be “treated under the laws of Pakistan”

With a sympathetic military leadership s e e n a s h e l p i n g h i m , s e v e r a l o b s e r v e r s believe Nawaz’s abrupt change in stance is merely political rhetoric to grab votes in the upcoming elections “If it’s something more than rhetoric, it will have consequences, ” said analyst Nazrul Islam

“Besides section 120-B, Khan and others will face nine other offences regarding giving provocation with intent to cause riot, abetting mutiny and attempting to wage a war against Pakistan A challan of the case has been prepared by the police investigators and prosecutors and will be submitted t o t h e A

Masood said

TORNADO KILLS 10, HUNDREDS RELOCATED IN CHINA

T e r r

r i s m C o u r t L a h o r e , ”

Pakistan saw massive nationwide antigovernment protests following the arrest of Khan by Paramilitary Rangers in a corruption case on May 9 Khan was later released on bail Dozens of military installations and government buildings, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, were damaged or torched during the riots Over 100 vehicles of police and other security agencies were set on fire Khan and hundreds of PTI leaders and workers were accused of attacking Lahore Corps Commander House and Askari Tower in the city on May 9

Khan has been in Attock Jail in Punjab province since August 5 He was arrested in the Toshakhana (gifts) case and subsequently handed down a three-year imprisonment

He was later granted bail in the case after the higher court suspended the verdict However, he was re-arrested in the cipher case under the Official Secrets Act Khan has a p p r o a c h e d t h e I s l a m a b a d H i g h C o u r t (IHC), seeking post-arrest bail in the cipher case

A tornado in eastern China killed 10 people and seriously injured several others state media said, the latest in a string of extreme weather events to strike the country The tornado affected more than 5,500 people, with 137 houses collapsing, according to "preliminary statistics " More than 400 people have been temporarily relocated because of the twister, state media said Video footage shared on social media showed high winds whipping debris around residential buildings, as well as a street strewn with fallen signs and other objects

EX-MP BANNED FOR ‘DISRESPECTING THAI MONARCHY’

Thai politician and activist Pannika Wanich was banned from politics for life for breaching “ethical standards” with decade old photos deemed disrespectful to the kingdom s revered monarchy Wanich is an activist with the progressive Move Forward Party and previously an MP with the now-dissolved Future Forward Party Thailand has strict royal defamation laws banning any criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family Srisuwan Janya, a royalist activist, filed a case in 2019 over Facebook posts on Pannika s account - including one at her 2010 graduation where she was photographed pointing at former King Rama IXsaying they were disrespectful to the monarchy

THOUSANDS EVACUATED IN INDONESIA

NA I ROBI : Kenya is considering the Fam ily Protectio n Bill 2023 , which could lead to 50year prison sentences for non-consensu al sa me- sex acts Sp o nso red by Ho m a Bay Tow n legislator P eter Kalum a, the bill aim s to ban hom osexuality, sam e-sex unions, and LGBTQ activ ities and cam paigns It also intend s to p roh ibit gay p arad es, assem blies, march es, and public cross-d ressing

According to the bill, individuals engaging in non-consensual same-sex acts could face imprisonment for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 50 years Owners of premises used for same-sex relations may be fined $14,000 (£11,000) or serve a seven-year jail term if the bill becomes law

This development follows recent antiLGBTQ protests in Mombasa by clerics and civil society organizations It also comes after Kenya's Supreme Court upheld a midSeptember decision to allow the registration of LGBTQ non-governmental organisations, overturning a decade-long dispute with the N a t i o n a l G a y a n d L e s b i a n R i g h t s Commission, which had been denied regist r a t i o n b y K e n y a ' s N G O C o o r d i n a t i n g

Board

The Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year deemed such discrimination unconstitutional, marking a significant milestone for LGBTQ organizations in Kenya

Indonesia s Mount Semeru erupted last week blanketing roads and homes in volcanic ash and prompting evacuations of nearly 2 000 residents in East Java province, according to authorities in the country A statement from Indonesia s disaster management agency (BNPB) said no injuries or deaths have so far been reported and evacuees have taken shelter in public facilities, including village halls and schools More than 20 000 face masks have been handed out to mitigate respiratory health risks from volcanic ash, it added

FRANCE TO END MILITARY PRESENCE FROM NIGER

President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country as a result of the coup that removed the democratically elected president Niger’s junta said in response that the announcement signals a “new step towards the sovereignty” of the country The announcement was a significant blow to France’s policy in Africa with French troops having had to pull out of neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso in recent years after coups there France had stationed thousands of troops in the Sahel region at the request of African leaders to fight Islamic extremist groups France has maintained some 1,500 troops in Niger since the July coup

Nawaz urged to hold fire against ex-generals ahead of return

Kenya's anti-gay bill proposes 50-year jail term

SWISS HOUSE OKAYS BAN ON FULL-FACE COVERINGS

The lower house of Switzerland s parliament voted to give final legislative passage to a ban on face coverings such as the burqas worn by some Muslim women The National Council voted 151-29 for the legislation which was already approved by the upper House It was pushed through by the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party, easily overcoming reticence expressed by centrists and the Greens The move follows a nationwide referendum two years ago in which Swiss voters narrowly approved forbidding niqabs, which leave slits for the eyes, and burqas as well as ski masks and bandannas that are worn by some protesters

ZELENSKY VISITS US TO SHORE UP SUPPORT

President Biden told President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that the US would be “staying with you” as its grinding war with Russia continues, even as a growing faction of the Republican Party has threatened to hold up aid that Zelensky said could cost his country the war Zelensky’s second wartime visit to Washington was spent visiting Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and, finally, the White House, in an extended appeal for more weapons During a meeting at the Capitol with dozens of senators Zelensky said Ukraine would lose the war without the aid according to Senator Chuck Schumer

BIDEN ALLY IN SENATE INDICTED ON BRIBERY CHARGES

US prosecutors charged powerful Senator Robert Menendez and his wife with bribery over their relationship with New Jersey businessmen, which could complicate Democrats’ efforts to keep their slim majority in the US Senate in next year s elections The US attorney s office accused the defendants of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s influence as New Jersey’s senior senator to seek to enrich the businessmen, and benefit the government of Egypt Menendez has been an important ally to President Joe Biden as he has sought to reassert US influence on the world stage as Biden rallies support for congressional aid to Ukraine and Washington looks for ways to push back against a rising China

US TO OPEN EMBASSIES IN PACIFIC ISLANDS

President Joe Biden is set to announce the opening of new US embassies on Cook Islands and Niue as the administration aims to demonstrate to Pacific Island leaders that it remains committed to increasing American presence in the region The announcement about the new diplomatic missions in the South Pacific comes as Biden prepares to welcome leaders to Washington for the twoday US-Pacific Island Forum Summit Talks are expected to heavily focus on the impact of climate change in the region Biden has put a premium on improving relations in the Pacific amid rising US concern about China s growing military and economic influence

IRAN DETAINS 28 TERRORISTS

Authorities in Iran have neutralised 30 bombs meant to go off simultaneously in Tehran and detained 28 terrorists linked to IS, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing the intelligence ministry “Some of the members are of IS and the perpetrators have a history of being affiliated with Takfiri groups in Syria Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Kurdistan region of Iraq,” Iran’s intelligence ministry added in a statement The militant group has claimed several attacks in Iran including deadly twin bombings in 2017 that targeted Iran’s parliament and the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Khomeini More recently IS claimed responsibility for an attack on a Shia shrine last October

Indians form 6% of US immigrant population

W A S H I N G T O N : St at i s ti c s re l ea s e d r ec e n t ly by th e U S Census Board show that legal and illegal immigrants together formed 13 9 % of the US population of 330 million, as of July 2022 Thi s ratio was 13 6% the previous year In other words , it ca n b e sa id t hat on e out of seven US residents i s forei gnborn, a term used in the report Indian and Chinese immigrants comprised 6% each of the total immigration count in 2022 The number of Indians as

p e r t h e 2 0 2 2 c e n s u s w a s 28,40,000, as against 27,09,000 the previous year - an increase o f 4 8 % C h i n e s e i m m i g r a n t s showed an increase of 79,000, totalling 28,30,000 - an increase of nearly 3% Though Mexicans

c o n t i n u e d t o t o p t h e l i s t a t 106,80,000 (or 23% of the immigrant population), there was a slight drop of less than 1% from the previous year ’ s statistic

Compared to the number of i m m i g r a n t s f r o m t h e s e t o p t h r e e c o u n t r i e s , n u m b e r s o f

Developing countries renew push for UNSC reform

NE W Y ORK : Th e L 69 g rou ping of d ev eloping cou ntries, in a meeting h osted by Ind ia, has giv en a renewed call for the ref o rm o f th e U N S e cu ri ty Council, with the inclusion of bo t h m o re p erm ane nt and non-p ermanent m em bers in the council I t h a s a l s o e x p r e s s e d t h e h o p e t h a t I n t e r g o v e r n m e n t a l N e g o t i a t i o n ( I G N ) p r o c e s s , w h i c h i s w h e r e t h e i s s u e o f reform is being discussed among all member states, will deliver a “single consolidated text” which can then serve as the basis for moving towards “concrete outc o m e s w i t h i n a f i x e d t i m eframe”

L 6 9 i s a g r o u p i n g t h a t includes countries from Africa, L a t i n A m e r i c a , C a r i b b e a n , Pacific Island states and Asia In 2007-08, the group had tabled a document – L69 - which kicks t a r t e d t h e I G N p r o c e s s Representatives of the member

countries of the group participated in a ministerial meeting at the permanent mission of India in New York In a joint press s t a t e m e n t , t h e g r o u p s a i d today’s complex and interconn e c t e d c h a l l e n g e s h i g h l i g h t e d the urgency of reforming UNSC to “better reflect contemporary g e o p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t i e s , a n d t o e n h a n c e i t s l e g i t i m a c y , e f f e ctiveness, and implementation of its decisions”

The group also reaffirmed that expansion of the Council, in both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, was “essential to make the body more representative, legitimate, and effective”

t h o s e f r o m A f g h a n i s t a n a n d Venezuela are less significant at 4,07,000 and 6,70,000 respectively However, owing to the influx of asylum seekers and refugees from these two countries, the percentage increase in 2022 over 2021 data is significant at 229% and 22% respectively Commenting on the alarm raised by some sections over the rise in number of immigrants, David J Bier, associate director of immigration studies at Cato

Institute, a Washington based think-tank, points out in his post that “the immigrant share of the US population rose just 0 3 p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t s f r o m 13 6% to 13 9% from July 2021 to J u l y 2 0 2 2 ” H e g o e s o n t o e x p l a i n t h a t t h e i n c r e a s e i n immigrant share of the population over the last decade (20122 0 2 2 ) w a s t h e l o w e s t e v e r Immigrants were 13 1% of the US population in 2012, which has now increased by just 0 7 percentage points

New poll shows Ramaswamy and Haley catching up with Trump

W AS HI NGTON: Florida gove rnor Ron DeSa nti s, once considered a c hi e f r i v a l o f f orm e r p re si d e n t Donald Trump, has falle n behi nd two India n Ame rica n pre sidentia l ca ndid ate s - entre pre ne ur Viv ek R a m a s w a m y a n d f orm e r So u th Caroli na governor Nikk i Hale y - i n the latest GOP polls in the crucia l e a r ly p ri m a r y s ta te of Ne w Hampshire, a CNN survey showe d A c c o r d i n g t o t h e C N N / U n i v e r s i t y o f N e w Hampshire poll, Trump remains the first choice with 39% of likely GOP primary voters in the f i r s t - i n - t h e - n a t i o n p r i m a r y state “That lags a bit behind his performance nationally, where Republican primary polling routinely finds Trump with majority support,” the news channel reported Ramaswamy is next to Trump with 13% support, closely followed by Haley at 12% and f o r m e r N e w J e r s e y g o v e r n o r

C h r i s C h r i s t i e a t 1 1 % , C N N r e p o r t e d “ D e S a n t i s ’ d e c l i n e s t e m s f r o m a s h a r p d r o p - o f f a m o n g m o d e r a t e s , f r o m 2 6 % backing him in July to 6% now, ” the opinion poll said A c c o r d i n g t o t h e p o l l , Ramaswamy’s popularity is conc e n t r a t e d m o r e a m o n g t h o s e w h o a r e n o t r e g i s t e r e d R e p u b l i c a n s a n d a m o n g younger likely voters Haley’s increase is a bit larger among those with more formal educat i o n a n d a m o n g m o d e r a t e s , while her support among conservatives is roughly even with July, the poll showed

Nihar Malaviya confirmed as CEO of Penguin Random House

NE W Y O RK : N i h ar Ma lav iy a has officially been named th e CE O o f P en gu i n R a nd o m Hou se ( PRH), marking th e cu lminatio n o f a transitio n th at began follo wing the departure of Marku s Do hle at th e close o f 2022

B e r t e l s m a n n , t h e p a r e n t company of PRH, has removed the interim designation from Nihar Malaviya, who had been serving as the interim CEO for PRH’s global operations This move confirms what had been

widely anticipated within the publishing world T h o m a s R a b e , C h a i r m a n a n d C E O o f B e r t e l s m a n n , e x p r e s s e d h i s c o n f i d e n c e i n M a l a v i y a , s t a t i n g , “ N i h a r Malaviya is the right leader for PRH at the right time ” Rabe c o m m e n d e d M a l a v i y a f o r h i s s t r a t e g i c v i s i o n , s a y i n g , “ A s i n t e r i m C E O , h e h a s s e t a n i m p o r t a n t s t r a t e g i c c o u r s e , transforming the structures at Penguin Random House to foster creativity and entrepreneur-

Turkish president raises Kashmir issue during UN assembly address

U N I T E D N A T I O N S : Tu r k is h

Pr eside nt Recep Tay yip Erdogan raise d the issue of Kashmir durin g his address to worl d leade rs at the high-le vel 78th session of the UN Gener al Assembl y session here

Another development that will pave the way for regional peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia will be the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan,” Erdogan said in his address to the general debate

"As Turkiye, we will continue to support the steps to be taken in this direction,” he said His comment comes weeks after he m e t P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi during which both the leaders discussed

strengthening trade and infrastructure relations Erdogan said it was a matter of pride that India was playing a r o l e a t t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l H e s a i d h e favoured making five permanent and 15 temporary members as permanent members of the UN Security Council

"Those 20 (5+15) should be p e r m a n e n t m e m b e r s o f t h e UNSC in rotation But as you know, the world is bigger than five When we say the world is larger than five, what we mean is that it's not only about the US, UK, France, China and Russia," he said

In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the issue of Kashmir in his address to world l e a d e r s a t t h e h i g h - l e v e l U N General Assembly session

ship among the publishers and publishing groups ” PRH’s largest division, its US branch, has undergone sign i f i c a n t c h a n g e s u n d e r M a l a v i y a ’ s l e a d e r s h i p E a r l i e r this year, he initiated a restructuring effort that saw the division split the Random House Publishing Group into two distinct groups, with the recreation of the Crown Publishing Group A d d i t i o n a l l y , a m a n a g e m e n t group was established to oversee PRH US, eliminating the

need for a new CEO following t h e d e p a r t u r e o f M a d e l i n e McIntosh

M a l a v i y a , w h o i n i t i a l l y joined Random House in 2003, a s c e n d e d t o t h e r o l e o f President and Chief Operating Officer of PRH in 2014 During his tenure, he spearheaded the development of various industry-first capabilities, including advancements in data science, s u p p l y c h a i n m a n a g e m e n t , t e c h n o l o g y , a n d c o n s u m e r insights

Student in Africa cycles 4,000 km to study in Cairo university

GU I NE A (W ES T ERN A FR IC A ) :

A s tu d ent fr o m G u in ea, ( We st ern A f ri c a) cy cl ed fo r ap p r o xi m at el y 4 , 0 0 0 km t o Egypt, to study at his d ream univ e rs it y, A l- A z h ar A l - S h ari f , a prestigious institute for S unni Islamic learning in the w orld

T h e 2 5- ye ar- o l d M am a d o u S af ay o u B ar ry tr av e lle d fo u r

c o u ntr ie s i n a s p an o f fo u r m o nt h s w h i le d e al in g w i t h harsh weather conditions and political turm oil in th e nations He was offered a full sch olarsh ip when h e reached Cairo

He said that he was unable t o a f f o r d t h e I s l a m i c S t u d i e s course at Al-Azhar or the flight tickets to the country However, the reputation of the institute made him undertake the tough r o u t e t h r o u g h M a l i , B u r k i n a Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger and

Chad Sharing his experience, he said that he witnessed attacks on civilians by Islamist militants in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which has led to coups and political instability in the country

"To travel through these countries is very hard because they don't have security at this time They have so many problems and people there are very scared - in Mali and Burkina Faso people were looking at me like I am a bad man All over I was seeing the military with their big guns and cars," Barry said

Vivek Ramaswamy Mamadou Safayou Barry with the Dean of Islamic studies at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif

Work begins on Micron’s £2.25 billion plant in Gujarat

US- based Micron Tech nology h e ld th e g r o u nd b rea ki ng c er em o n y f o r i ts £ 2 2 5 b ill io n c h ip as sem b ly and te st f aci lity in I nd ia Th e assem bly, testing , m arking, and packag ing (A TMP ) p lant for Micron will be built on 9 3 ac re s o f l and i n th e S anand GIDC-I I ind ustrial p ark and is anticip ated to be o perational in 18 months

U n i o n i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d r a i l w a y s minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union MoS for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar and G u j a r a t C M B h u p e n d r a P a t e l w e r e a m o n g o t h e r s p r e s e n t T h e c o m p u t e r storage chip manufacturer will now begin construction of its semiconductor plant

T h e f a c i l i t y w i l l f o c u s o n t r a n s f o r m i n g w a f e r s i n t o b a l l g r i d a r r a y ( B G A ) integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid state drives

The factory will be built in two phases with an initial expenditure of $875 million T h e s t a t e a n d f e d e r a l governments will fund the

remaining investment Over the following five years, it is a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t t h e combined investments will provide about 5,000 direct jobs and 15,000 chances for community employment

Construction of Phase 1 w i l l i n c l u d e a 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e f e e t c l e a n r o o m s p a c e , s c h e d u l e d t o b e

operational by late 2024 The factory will be designed in accordance with LEED gold s t a n d a r d s o f t h e G r e e n

B u i l d i n g C o u n c i l a n d w i l l i n t e g r a t e a d v a n c e d w a t e rs a v i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s , e n a b l i n g a z e r o l i q u i d discharge system

G u j a r a t C M P a t e l remarked that the ceremony was taking place just three months after the MoU was signed “The fast progress is due to the proactive policies o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t W i t h t h i s p l a n t , t h e s t a t e w i l l b e c o m e a h u b f o r s e m i c o n d u c t o r a n d c h i p manufacturing It is the first step towards self-reliance in t h e s e m i c o n d u c t o r s e c t o r and creation of over 20,000 jobs,” he said

Call to declare Joshimath as a ‘no new-construction zone’

Th e N a ti o na l D i s a s t er M an a g em e n t Au th or i ty stated i n its 130-page "Post Dis as ter Need As sessment" asses sment on the town's "s inking" that Jos himath is f ar a b ov e i t s c a rr y i ng c a pa c i ty a n d mu s t b e desi gnated a zone of "n o new c onstruc tions " It’ s one a mo n g e i gh t r e po rt s on Joshi math, eac h by a key c e nt r al s c i e nt i f i c a nd tec hni c al in st ituti on, that the s tate governmen t has not made public for the past several months

T h e m e d i a h a d

e x c l u s i v e a c c e s s t o t h e reports' recommendations, w h i c h h a d b e e n k e p t "secret" by the government f o r t h e p r e v i o u s f e w m o n t h s , d a y s a f t e r t h e U t t a r a k h a n d H i g h C o u r t q u e s t i o n e d t h e s t a t e ' s decision to do so

The eight institutionsCentral Building Research Institute, Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute of H i m a l a y a n G e o l o g y , N a t i o n a l G e o p h y s i c a l Research Institute, Central G r o u n d W a t e r B o a r d , Indian Institute of Remote

Sensing, National Institute o f H y d r o l o g y , a n d I I T R o o r k e e - r e c e i v e d t h e mandate in January of this y e a r w i t h t h e t a s k o f determining the causes of ground subsidence in the a r e a n e a r a n d a r o u n d Joshimath and of carrying out corrective measures

T h e y s u b m i t t e d t h e i r preliminary reports to the N a t i o n a l D i s a s t e r M a n a g e m e n t A u t h o r i t y towards January-end The reports were subsequently s h a r e d w i t h t h e s t a t e government but were never

As Chandrayaan-3 falls asleep, Sun probe Aditya-L1 is awake and kicking

The Ad itya-L1 sp acecraft from India, which was launch ed on th e na ti o n' s f i rs t m i s s io n to s tu d y th e s u n, h a s n o w c om p lete d i ts fi rs t O rbi t R ai si ng M ano e uv re ( f ir ed i ts onbo ard engines to propel itself farth er from Earth) In th e ea rly a ft ern o o n o f S ep t em b er 2 nd , a P S L V - X L ro c ke t lau nch ed the probe into an elliptical (egg -shaped) orbi t around the p lanet

Meanwhile, the Indian moon probe Chandrayaan-3 is being 'put to sleep' near the Lunar South Pole, as the Lunar night (fortnight-long on earth) fast approaches

m a d e p u b l i c L a s t w e e k , copies of the reports were placed in a sealed cover by the state government for t h e U t t a r a k h a n d H C ’ s consideration

T h e t o w n s c a r r y i n g capacity, poor construction d e s i g n , a n d s o i l b e a r i n g c a p a c i t y w e r e a m o n g t h e s i g n i f i c a n t o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s p r o v i d e d by specialists from the top i n s t i t u t i o n s N o t a b l y , t h e s e t t l e m e n t h a s r i s e n o n loose soil or moraine that h a s b e e n l e f t b e h i n d b y landslides

"Aditya-L1 Mission: The satellite is healthy and operating nominally The first Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#1) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru The new orbit attained is 245km x 22459 km The next maneuvre (EBN#2) is scheduled for September 5, 2023, around 03:00 Hrs IST" ISRO said on X, formerly known as Twitter on September 3rd

Aditya-L1 is a mission to study the solar, although it would barely cover 1% of the distance between the Earth and the solar, in contrast to NASA s Parker Solar Probe, which has travelled a few million kilometres near the Sun

India t ries wak ing up Cha ndraya an-3 moon la nder Engineers at the Indian Space Research Organisation ( I S R O ) h a v e s t a r t e d m a k i n g a t t e m p t s t o a w a k e n t h e Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander and rover from their two-week hibernation On September 22, ISRO said in a post on X, that it has made attempts "to establish communication with the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to ascertain their wake-up condition " So far, the engineers haven't heard back from the iconic duo, the first two human-made objects to land in the moon's south polar region

Modi invites Biden as chief guest at 2024 Republic Day

T h e I n di a- M i dd le E a s t-

E urope Eco no mic Corrido r ( IM E E C ) , wh i ch I nd i a p r op o s ed d ur ing th e G2 0 S u mm i t, wa s p ra i s ed b y P ri m e Mi n i s te r Na re n dr a Mo di, who asserted th at it w o u l d s e rv e a s th e co rnersto ne of glo bal trade fo r th e foreseeable future

T he PM claimed th at th e c o r ri d o r' s f o u n da ti o n o n Indian so il wou ld go down i n h isto ry

M o d i c l a i m e d t h a t t w o r e c e n t events -the success of Chandrayaan-3 and the splendid hosting of the G20 - had multiplied the happiness of every Indian in his monthly radio speech, "Mann ki Baat " By bringing the African Union into the G20 as a full member, India, a c c o r d i n g t o h i m , h a d demonstrated its leadership prowess On the massive IMEEC, the PM said, “You must be aware that during the time w h e n I n d i a w a s v e r y

prosperous, the Silk Route was a part of discourse in o u r c o u n t r y a n d i n t h e world This Silk Route was a major medium of business and trade Now in modern times, India has suggested another economic corridor i n t h e G 2 0 T h i s i s t h e I n d i a - M i d d l e E a s t - E u r o p e E c o n o m i c C o r r i d o r T h i s corridor is going to become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come, a n d h i s t o r y w i l l a l w a y s remember that this corridor w a s i n i t i a t e d o n I n d i a n soil ”

Supreme Court plans to establish a permanent Constitution bench

T he Suprem e C ourt plans to e s tab li s h a p erm ane nt C o ns ti tu ti o n b en ch w i th v ary i ng c o m p o si t io n s to a d d r es s c as es ref er red to benches of five, sev en, and nine judg es, Ch ief Justice D Y C hand rachud said T h e n i n e - j u d g e b e n c h w i l l h a n d l e 1 3 5 c a s e s , including the one related to the entry of women of all age groups into places like t h e S a b a r i m a l a t e m p l e , m o s q u e s , a n d a g i y a r i s W h i l e a d d r e s s i n g t h r e e critical constitutional issues, which include the validity of S e c t i o n 6 A o f t h e

after the Assam Accord of 1 9 8 5 , t h e v a l i d i t y o f constitutional amendments t o S e c t i o n 3 3 4 a i m e d a t preserving the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and assemblies, and the correctness of the 1998 r u l i n g t h a t g r a n t e d immunity to MPs and MLAs i n c a s e s o f v o t e - f o r - b r i b e scams, the Chief Justice said that Constitution benches with different compositions would become a permanent fixture H e a l s o s t a t e d h i s i n t e n t i o n t o s c h e d u l e h e a r i n g s t h o u g h t f u l l y a n d even constitute a nine-judge

b e n c h t o h a n d l e p e n d i n g m a t t e r s T h i s s t e p a l i g n s with the original objectives o f t h e f r a m e r s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , w h o v e s t e d t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t w i t h e x c l u s i v e j u r i s d i c t i o n t o a d d r e s s i n t e r - s t a t e a n d C e n t r e - s t a t e d i s p u t e s , established the decisions of t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t a s binding law nationwide, and granted it extensive powers under Article 142 to ensure complete justice F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e Supreme Court serves as the ultimate court of appeal for cases challenging decisions made by High Courts

PM Modi said India had t u r n e d t h e s u m m i t i n t o “ p e o p l e ’ s G 2 0 ” a s a l a r g e number of people became p a r t o f t h e y e a r - l o n g p r o g r a m m e s a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y H e s a i d t h e r e would be a G20 University C o n n e c t P r o g r a m m e o n September 26 and he would participate in it He urged c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n i t w h i l e m e n t i o n i n g t h a t m a n y prestigious institutions like I I T s , N I T s a n d m e d i c a l c o l l e g e s w o u l d a l s o participate

US Presi dent Jo e Bid en has b ee n i nv i te d by P r i m e Minister Narend ra Mo di to be the chi ef guest at the Republi c Day celebrati ons i n January 2 0 2 4 , U S am b as s a d o r E ri c Garcetti s ai d W h i l e t h e r e h a s b e e n c o n s i d e r a b l e s p e c u l a t i o n i n diplomatic circles about India h o s t i n g a Q u a d S u m m i t a r o u n d t h e t i m e o f t h e R e p u b l i c D a y c e l e b r a t i o n s , G a r c e t t i d i d n ’ t c o n f i r m w h e t h e r a m e e t i n g o f t h e grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the US would be held in January

Speaking to reporters on

SC pulls up UP police for shoddy probe in schoolboy slapping case

The Supreme Court took str ong exception to the UP police f or not invoking relevant provis ions of law in conne ction with t he M uzaf farnagar incident in which a sc hool boy was al legedly s lapped by his clas sm ates on t he ins truc tion of a teacher f or bel onging t o a partic ul ar religion and said it s houl d have shaken the “ c ons cience” of the state Asserting that the state government had "prima facie" failed to enforce the law, a bench of Justices Abhay Soka and Pankaj Mithal stated that excellent education cannot be offered in educational institutions if pupils are singled out for being members of a group The court ordered the UP government to hire a senior IPS officer to investigate the case and submit a status report to the court within a week The bench questioned the state police's handling of the matter and noted that the FIR was not only submitted after much delay, but it also omitted any reference of the youngster beaten due to his faith

The court rebuffed the contention of additional solicitor general KM Nataraj who submitted on behalf of the state government that the communal angle was blown out of proportion in the case

the margins of an event at a think tank, Garcetti said PM Modi extended the invitation to President Biden to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 2 6 d u r i n g t h e i r b i l a t e r a l meeting on the margins of the G20 Summit on September 8 I f B i d e n a c c e p t s t h e i n v i t a t i o n , h e w i l l b e t h e second US president to be the chief guest at the event after B a r a c k O b a m a , w h o w a s invited in 2015 Biden made his first visit to India after b e c o m i n g t h e p r e s i d e n t t o a t t e n d t h e G 2 0 S u m m i t earlier this month

T h e i n v i t a t i o n t o a foreign leader to be the chief guest at the Republic Day is a s i g n a l h o n o u r r e s e r v e d f o r I n d i a ’ s c l o s e s t a l l i e s a n d partners There were no chief guests at the celebrations in

2 0 2 1 a n d 2 0 2 2 b e c a u s e o f d i s r u p t i o n s c a u s e d b y t h e C o v i d - 1 9 p a n d e m i c T h e invitee is chosen through a combination of foreign policy and economic priorities, and t h e i n v i t a t i o n t o B i d e n reflects the rapid growth of t h e I n d i a - U S s t r a t e g i c p a r t n e r s h i p , w h i c h r a n g e s from close cooperation in the defence and security sphere to work on projects such as the I n d i a - M i d d l e E a s t - E u r o p e E c o n o m i c C o r r i d o r ( I M E C ) that was launched during the G20 Summit

IMEEC will be basis of trade for generations, says PM Modi

Jaishankar makes case for a more ‘contemporary’ UNSC

India's exte rnal affairs minist e r S Ja isha nk a r a ddr e sse d t h e 78 t h U n it e d N a t i on s

G e n e r a l As se m b l y o n Tuesday and said that the gl obal or ganisation must a im t o make the Unite d Na tions S e cu r i t y C ou n ci l ( U N SC ) 'more conte mpora ry '

Citing India’s G20 presid e n c y a s a n e x a m p l e , h e pointed out how Africa was made a permanent member of the group and exhorted the United Nations to draw inspiration and take steps to adapt to changing times

At the G20 Summit in N e w D e l h i e a r l i e r t h i s m o n t h , t h e g r o u p i n g o f e m e r g i n g a n d d e v e l o p e d economies adopted the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration t h r o u g h c o n s e n s u s a n d included the African Union as a permanent member of the bloc

“ I n d i a ’ s i n i t i a t i o n t h a t

S Jaishankar

led to Africa becoming a perm a n e n t m e m b e r o f G 2 0 s h o u l d i n s p i r e t h e U N , a much older organisation, to make the Security Council m o r e c o n t e m p o r a r y , ”

Jaishankar said at UNGA

H e a d d e d , “ T h e U N s h o u l d m a k e t h e S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l c o n t e m p o r a r y B r o a d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s a prerequisite for effectiveness and credibility ”

“As the United Nations i t s e l f s y m b o l i s e s , f i n d i n g common ground is imperative To listen to others and to respect their viewpoints is

not a weakness; it is the b a s i c s o f c o o p e r a t i o n Only then can collective efforts on global issues be s u c c e s s f u l , ” J a i s h a n k a r said P i t c h i n g f o r I n d i a ’ s seat as a permanent member at the UN high table, t h e m i n i s t e r a d d e d , "India, the world’s most populous country, has been at the forefront of years-long efforts to reform the Security C o u n c i l , s a y i n g i t r i g h t l y deserves a seat as a permanent member at the UN high table, which in its current form does not represent geopolitical realities of the 21st century ”

Further, avoiding a direct r e f e r e n c e t o C a n a d a , J a i s h a n k a r a l s o m e n t i o n e d t h a t p o l i t i c a l c o n v e n i e n c e s h o u l d n o t d e t e r m i n e r e s p o n s e s t o t e r r o r i s m , e x t r e m i s m a n d v i o l e n c e

Though Jaishankar did not mention Canada, a country with which India has seen tensions rising of late, the minister said that "respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercises in cherry picking When reality departs from the rhetoric we must have the courage to call it out "

During his speech at the 7 8 t h U N G A , t h e m i n i s t e r called for a fair, equitable and democratic world order “ I n o u r d e l i b e r a t i o n s , w e often advocate the promotion of a rules-based order From time to time, respect for the UN Charter is also involved But for all the talk, it is still a few nations who shape the agenda and seek to define the norms This can't go on indefinitely nor w i l l i t g o u n c h a l l e n g e d ” , Jaishankar said

PM Modi flags off 9 Vande Bharat trains, to link 11 states

N i n e V a n d e B h a r a t t r a i n s w e r e l a un ch e d off b y P M N a r e n d r a M o di t h r ou g h v ide o confe rence in a single da y The se tr ains woul d offer q uick train conn ect ion to 11 sta tes Spe aking at t he e vent, t he PM urge d eve ry railway e mpl oy ee to al ways be mindful of "ease of tr avel " a nd to g i v e c us t om e r s a po si t iv e e xperience

He said the “day is not far off when Vande Bharat will connect every part of t h e c o u n t r y ” w h i l e h i g h -

l i g h t i n g t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s focus on modernising infrast r u c t u r e H e a d d e d t h a t i n t r o d u c t i o n o f V a n d e B h a r a t t r a i n s w a s p a r t o f t h a t e n d e a v o u r W i t h t h e n e w i n t r o d u c t i o n s , t h e

number of such trains has touched 34 On the increasing popularity of t h e s e m o d e r n s e m ihigh-speed trains, Modi said over 11 million pass e n g e r s h a d a l r e a d y travelled in these trains

The PM said the speed and scale of infrastructure development in the country w a s m a t c h i n g t h e a s p i r ations of 1 4 billion Indians “ T h i s ( t h e V a n d e B h a r a t trains) matches the aspirat i o n s o f I n d i a ' s y o u t h ,

India flags ‘fake’ media reports in Maldives about its embassy, officials

Th e Indi an H igh C ommi ssi on i n the Maldi ves claims that s ome lo cal medi a o utlets have b ee n d i s s em i na t i ng " f ak e r e p o rt s " w i t h t h e a i m o f i nt i m i d at i n g a nd h ar a ss i ng m is si on repres entati ves and t h e ex p at r i at e p o p u l at i o n th ere

“These fake reports are designed to create a clim a t e o f h a t e a n d f e a r among the Maldivian public with the intention to adversely affect the friendly relations between India a n d M a l d i v e s , ” a p r e s s s t a t e m e n t i s s u e d b y t h e

Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur makes spirituality accessible globally

I n th e p resenc e o f gl obal s piritual leader and fo under o f Shrimad Rajch andra Mission Dh arampur, Pujya Guru devsh ri Rakeshji, th ous ands of devo tees from India and abroad h ave been celebrating th e festival of sp irituality at the Do me @N SC I, Mu mbai T his event h as been a magnificent celebratio n o f inner pu rification, s piritu al awakening and inner jo y

Rajchandra Mission has undertaken various innovative strategies over the years to connect seekers to their spiritual heritage and promote the message of true happiness and peace throughout the world About a year ago, one such effort was the g l o b a l m u l t i - l i n g u a l i n i t i a t i v e t o t r a n s l a t e G u r u d e v s h r i Rakeshji’s discourses into 7 languages – which have regularly been enriching over 1 2 million subscribers across 191 countries through YouTube The Rajchandra Mission introduced a series of discourses translated with Gurudevshri Rakeshji’s own divine voice using AI - allowing millions of people to receive spirituality in its true and native language

women, professionals, busin e s s m e n , a n d s a l a r i e d employees,” he added These trains are especially important for those who want to travel to another city for just a few hours of work, and return the same day, the PM said In 11 states - Rajasthan, T a m i l N a d u , T e l a n g a n a , Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, O d i s h a , J h a r k h a n d , a n d G u j a r a t - t h e n i n e t r a i n s would offer speedier connectivity

Maharashtra governor Rameshji Bais also participated in these celebrations and expressed his appreciation for this initiative He said, “Maharashtra has always been a land of s a i n t s , a n d i t i s o u r i m m e n s e p r i v i l e g e t h a t S h r i m a d Rajchandraji too graced this city back when he was 19 years old I bow down to Gurudevshri Rakeshji for keeping alive Shrimad Rajchandraji’s legacy of knowledge, and walking the path laid by Shrimadji, through his humanitarian and compassionate efforts today I’m deeply grateful to Rajchandra Mission for making me part of these Paryushan celebrations!”

PM Modi calls for one- hour cleanliness drive on Gandhi Jayanti day

On the eve of M ahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, P rim e M inister Narend ra M odi urged citizens of the entire nation to perform an hour of "shram daan" (v olunteer work) fo r cleanliness on October 1 at 10 am He claim ed that this w ould be a fitting hom ag e to Gandhi

high commission said The High Commission noted that the relationship b e t w e e n I n d i a a n d M a l d i v e s w a s b a s e d o n mutual trust and respect “Such irresponsible acts by m o t i v a t e d ‘ m e d i a p e r s o n s ’ p e d d l i n g a g e n d a - d r i v e n f a k e r e p o r t s n e e d t o b e c o n d e m n e d i n t h e s t r o n g e s t t e r m s , ” t h e Indian High Commission said “We also call upon the M a l d i v i a n a u t h o r i t i e s t o investigate such instances o f f a k e n e w s c i r c u l a t i o n which are being brazenly

carried out in the name of journalism ”

It is, however, not clear as to which “fake r e p o r t s ” t h e I n d i a n High Commission is referring to The statement by the Indian Embassy came a d a y a f t e r M a l d i v i a n Finance Minister Ibrahim A m e e r d e n i e d r e p o r t s claiming that he had met w i t h t h e I n d i a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r i n t h e Maldives to seek a loan of 3 billion Maldivian Rufiyaa (nearly £162 million) from New Delhi, according to

Will win in MP & Chhattisgarh, likely in Rajasthan: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi argued th at despite the o pposition INDIA bloc's unparalleled unity and the fact that seat-sharing w as still unresolv ed in only a few tiny states, Congress will w in in Chh attisgarh, Madh ya Prad esh, and T elangana, and has a g ood chance of retaining power in Rajasthan He said the “BJP is in for a big surp rise” in the 2024 Lok Sabh a p olls

Speaking at a conclave, Rahul said the opposition realised that it was no longer fighting a political party but the “financial a n d m e d i a a t t a c k ” r e v o l v i n g a r o u n d a “friendly monopolist”, and BJP was “generating a huge amount of money from this”

He added that any businessman, who

stood up to this “monopoly” or supported the opposition, faced destruction under the present regime

Rahul Gandhi said, “I have not seen the opposition working like this before We can sit down and say, ‘ we don’t agree with you on that, etc’, and then find a compromise There is a great deal of flexibility We know what is at stake It is to defend the soul of India the concept of India, free elections, free speech are under mortal threat We are not fighting a political party, but the Indian state ” The Congress spokesman emphasised that in MP and Chhattisgarh as well as Telangana, "where the BJP is decimated," the opposition was controlling the narrative

the media

A m e e r c a t e g o r i c a l l y denied any such meeting or loan request made to India by the Maldivian government Elections for president are now taking place in the Maldives The second round of voting will take place on September 30 after the first round on S e p t e m b e r 9 w a s c o mpleted

In an effort to encourage mass participation for this “big event” on cleanliness, called Ek Tareekh Ek Ghanta Ek Saath (One Date One Hour Together), the garbage vans used for picking up household waste will make announcements and play jingles, besides special mobile caller tunes will be launched to sensitise people, sources said Modi spoke about the event in two programmes - Mann ki Baat and during the launch of Vande Bharat trains “You can also join this cleanliness campaign in your street, or neighbourhood or at a park, river, lake or any other public place, and cleanliness must be undertaken wherever an Amrit Sarovar has been built,” he said

The media has learned that recently cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba met for hours with top officials from the federal government and the states to ensure the success of this firstever simultaneous cleanliness campaign For this widespread action, the district administration and urban local authorities have been involved The housing and urban affairs ministry said the initiative invites individuals to participate in handson cleanup projects at public facilities such as markets, railway tracks, water bodies, tourist hotspots and religious sites

Outrage over BJP MP’s remarks against BSP’s Danish Ali

BJ P MP R a m e s h B id h u r i ’ s d e r o g a t o r y

r emar ks aga inst Da nish A li in the Lok Sa bha t rigge red a huge polit ica l fire storm wit h the BSP member t hrea te ning t o quit Par lia ment if a ct ion wa s not t ake n aga inst Bidhuri an d t he e nt ire oppo sit ion ra llyin g beh ind Ali, w i t h so m e c a ll in g t h e c om m e n t s “ h a t e spee ch” T h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s d e m a n d e d Bidhuri’s suspension even as Speaker Om Birla took “serious note” of the matter and warned the MP of “strict action” if such b e h a v i o u r w a s r e p e a t e d T h e B S P M P lamented that if a minority member was a t t a c k e d w i t h c o m m u n a l s l u r s i n s i d e Parliament, what must be the fate of ordinary Muslims outside

“This is nothing less than hate speech

This is hate speech on the floor of the House

H a t e s p e e c h e s w e r e b e i n g m a d e o u t s i d e Parliament but now hate speech has been delivered on the floor of the House by a BJP MP,” Ali said

“I expect that the Speaker will take action on this But if action is not taken, then with a heavy heart, I can consider quitting the membership of this House because people have not sent me to Parliament to listen to hate speeches ”

Ali wrote to the Speaker demanding an investigation by the privileges committee into Bidhuri’s "most foul" comments while Congress, NCP, TMC and DMK wrote to Birla separately with the same demand Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with party general secretary K C Venugopal, visited Ali at his residence to express solidarity with him

in brief

C H EN NA I : Ta mil Nad u's

AIADMK officially ends alliance with BJP, exits NDA Kumaraswamy meets Shah, Nadda as

AI ADMK ha s sn apped ties wi th the Bhara tiya Jana ta P a r t y a n d t h e BJ P- l e d N a ti on a l D e mo cr a t i c

A l l i a n c e - j u s t m on t hs b e f o r e t h e n a t i o n a l election - a mi d a row over comments by the latte r party s sta te b os s, K A nna mala i The AIA DMK ha d accus ed the BJP leade r of de lib erately defa mi ng its pres ent and past leade rs

T h e b r e a k - u p w a s a n n o u n c e d b y

AIADMK Deputy General Secretary KP Munusamy after a resolution was passed unanimously at a meeting of MPs, MLAs a n d d i s t r i c t h e a d s i n C h e n n a i " T h e

AIADMK will fight the 2024 election with its allies," Munusamy also said AIAMK spokesperson Sasirekha said, " based on m e m b e r s ' o p i n i o n w e a r e t a k i n g t h i s resolution This is the happiest moment (for us) We are very happy to face the upcoming elections (on our own), whether Parliamentary or Assembly " Annamalai - who is on a padyatra, or foot march, in Coimbatore, said, "Our national leadership will respond " Earlier

h e h a d r e f u s e d t o b a c k d o w n H e argued that what he had said was part of history and needed to be understood in t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e r o w o v e r T a m i l N a d u m i n i s t e r U d h a y a n i d h i S t a l i n ' s remark on Sanatan Dharm

At a meeting in Delhi last week - a lastgasp effort to revive strained ties - the s o u t h I n d i a n p a r t y s t o o d f i r m o n i t s demand - that Annamalai either apologise f o r r e m a r k s o n t h e l a t e f o r m e r C h i e f Minister CN Annadurai, or be replaced w i t h a " n o n - c o n t r o v e r s i a l l e a d e r " Annadurai was the mentor of AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran

A s e n i o r A I A D M K l e a d e r a t t h a t meeting said discussions were "cordial", but remarks by the BJP's M Chakravarthy painted a different picture " leadership does not relish idea of shifting Annamalai as he has been (instrumental in) reviving the party (in Tamil Nadu) he only made a r e m a r k a l l u d i n g t o A n n a d u r a i d u r i n g Sanatan Dharma row "

BJP announces revamp of Punjab unit; Amarinder, Manpreet in core group

CH AN DI G AR H: The BJP a nn oun ced t he a ppointme nt of ne w office bear ers t o it s Pun jab unit in a rev amp hav in g a m ix of old and n ew gua rds

The move comes after Sunil Jakhar was appointed the unit’s chief The BJP in Punjab has inducted former chief m i n i s t e r A m a r i n d e r S i n g h , U n i o n minister Som Parkash, former MP Vijay

Sampla, ex-finance minister Manpreet

Singh Badal, former Lok Sabha deputy s p e a k e r a n d e x - S A D M L A C h a r a n j i t

Singh Atwal in its core group

A m o n g o t h e r n a m e s i n i t s 2 1m e m b e r c o r e g r o u p a r e f o r m e r

Congress leaders Rana Gurmeet Singh S o d h i , R a j K u m a r V e r k a a n d K e w a l

Singh Dhillon, former Punjab BJP chief

Ashwani Sharma, Avinash Rai Khanna and Tikshan Sood, according to a list issued by the Punjab BJP

P a r t y l e a d e r s S u b h a s h S h a r m a ,

Surjit Kumar Jayani, K D Bhandari and R a j e s h B a g h a , a n d f o r m e r C o n g r e s s leaders Arvind Khanna, Fatehjang Singh

Bajwa, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet

Singh Kangar have been appointed as the BJP’s state vice presidents

A s p e r t h e l i s t , R a k e s h R a t h o r e ,

JD (S) joins NDA

N EW DEL HI: In a boost t o t he BJP in Karn at aka a he a d o f 20 2 4 L o k S a bha p o lls, J a n a t a Da l ( Se cular ) h as d e ci de d t o a lly wi th the pa r ty f o llo w i n g a m e e t i n g of i t s le a d e r H D Kuma ra swa my with Home Ministe r A mit Sha h a nd pa rty preside nt J P Na dda

After the meeting, Nadda said on X, "I am happy that JD (S) has decided to be the part of N a t i o n a l D e m o c r a t i c A l l i a n c e W e wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA This will further strengthen NDA and vision of PM Narendra Modi Ji for 'New India, Strong India' " Shah was present in the meeting Headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, the JD (S) has long been a strong third player in Karnataka where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties The regional party, however, suffered a sharp decline in the r e c e n t a s s e m b l y p o l l s i n t h e s t a t e a n d t h e Congress scored a big win, reducing the BJP to a distant third The BJP, which heads the NDA, believes an alliance with the JD (S) will ensure its domination in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as the regional party enjoys considerable influence in south Karnataka where the saffron party has traditionally been weak

Punjab properties of Khalistani separatist Pannun seized

N E W D E L H I / C H A N D I G A R H : C on ti nu i n g i ts crackdow n on finances of p ro-Kh alistan terror o utfits and terrorists, the National Inv estigation Ag ency (NIA) c o n fi s ca ted th e p ro p er ti es o f G u rp a tw an t S in g h

P annu n, the US -based self-styled ‘ g eneral counsel’ o f o utlaw ed ‘Sikhs for Justice’ ( SFJ), in Am ritsar and C hand igarh

PARTIAL RESPONSE TO BENGALURU BANDH

The Bengaluru bandh called by farmers and Kannada organisations and backed by the BJP and JD(S) in protest against the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu evoked partial response, with most of the public services functioning normally, but fewer people venturing out Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti an umbrella outfit of farmers associations and other organisations led by farmer leader Kuruburu Shanthakumar, has given the call for dawn-todusk Bengaluru shutdown Shanthakumar and other leaders were detained by the police at the Mysuru Bank circle Several activists of Kannada organisations were also whisked away by the police Farmers leaders and Kannada activists hit out at the government for allegedly using police force to curtail the protests and bandh City police have taken adequate security measures to respond to any violence that may happen during the protests About 100 platoons have been deployed Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said that prohibitory orders were in place across the city in the wake of the bandh Meanwhile a Karnataka bandh, a state-wide shutdown, has been called on September 29 by 'Kannada Okkuta , an umbrella organisation for Kannada organisations, led by Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj They are not supporting Tuesday s bandh

NAIDU’S JUDICIAL REMAND EXTENDED TILL OCTOBER 5

A local court in Vijayawada extended TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s judicial remand in the Skill Development Corporation Scam case till October 5, following the expiry of judicial remand and police custody The order came after a team of Andhra Pradesh Police CID officials concluded its two-day interrogation of Naidu in the scam case Special Public Prosecutor Y N Vivekananda, representing the CID, said that the Vijayawada ACB Court has extended Naidu’s judicial remand till October 5, in the wake of the two-day police custody ending He noted that the CID is likely to file a separate petition seeking Naidu’s custody Further the former CM’s bail application and two more CID prisoner transit (PT) warrant petitions are expected to come up for hearing later

D a y a l S i n g h S o d h i , A n i l S a r e e n ,

Jagmohan Singh Raju and Parminder Singh Brar have been appointed state general secretaries Prominent names a m o n g t h e 1 2 n e w s t a t e s e c r e t a r i e s include former Congress MLA Harjot K a m a l , S h i v r a j C h a u d h a r y , S a n j e e v

Khanna, Daaman Thind Bajwa, Renu Kashyap and Karanveer Singh Tohra J a i I n d e r K a u r , t h e d a u g h t e r o f Amarinder Singh, will head the Punjab BJP’s Mahila Morcha (women’s wing), while former IAS officer S R Ladhar has b e e n m a d e t h e h e a d o f t h e p a r t y ’ s S c h e d u l e d C a s t e s w i n g F o r m e r S h i r o m a n i A k a l i D a l M L A A m a r p a l Singh, who joined the BJP in February, has been given the charge of the state unit’s OBC morcha

T h e c o n f i s c a t e d p r o p e r t i e s i n c l u d e 4 6 k a n a l agricultural land in Khankot village near Amritsar and one-fourth share of House No 2033 in Sector 15C in Chandigarh Though Pannun is based in the US, he had inherited these properties in India

The two properties were earlier attached following orders passed by the government in two different cases These properties were confiscated on the court’s orders under Section 33(5) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967, in a terror case registered by NIA on April 5, 2020 “This is the first time that the properties of an absconding accused of NIA have been c o n f i s c a t e d u n d e r S e c t i o n 3 3 ( 5 ) o f t h e U n l a w f u l Activities (Prevention) Act,” said an NIA official

The timing of NIA’s move is significant It comes when India is at the receiving end of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s allegations about a “potential link” b e t w e e n t h e k i l l i n g o f c r i m i n a l - t u r n e d - K h a l i s t a n i terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Indian agencies, something that India has rejected as “absurd” Nijjar headed the Canada chapter of SFJ and his killing had led Pannun to threaten “retaliatory” strikes against Indian diplomats

TMC plans to take 2,000 job card holders to Delhi for protest

K O L K A T A : T h e T ri n am u l Co ngress h as decided to take o ve r 2 , 0 00 j o b c a rd- h o ld er s under th e 100- day employment gu arantee scheme to Delhi by a sp ec ial train to p arti cip ate in programmes the party p lans to organise in th e national cap ital nex t m on th t o p res s fo r th e Centre’s release of fu nds du e to Bengal

The transportation of job c a r d h o l d e r s t o D e l h i i s t h e latest change in Trinamul’s plan f o r t h e p r o t e s t p r o g r a m m e s Sources in Trinamul said there h a d b e e n a n u m b e r o f difficulties in sticking to the o r i g i n a l i d e a c o n c e i v e d b y

FORMER MINISTER BOOKED IN LAND PURCHASE CASE

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered a criminal and corruption case against former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and four others VB has arrested three accused Rajiv Kumar, resident of New Shakti Nagar, Bathinda; Amandeep Singh, resident of Lal Singh Basti, Bathinda; and Vikas Arora, resident of Tagore Nagar Bathinda The vigilance team conducted a raid at Manpreet s house at Badal village It was learnt that he was not home A spokesperson of the VB said the case was registered on a complaint of Saroop Chand Singla, former MLA of Bathinda city, against Manpreet and others He said during the probe it was found that Manpreet during his tenure as finance minister from 2018 to 2021 used his political pressure and influenced to purchase two plots measuring 1 560 square yards of land in Model Town phase-1 Bathinda near TV tower thereby caused a financial loss of millions to the state exchequer

BENGAL GOVERNOR CANCELS US VISIT IN LAST MINUTE

M a m a t a B a n e r j e e a n d h e r

nephew Abhishek

Banerjee as the venue of the protest is Delhi where the police administration r e p o r t s t o U n i o n H o m e Minister Amit Shah

A Trinamul leader said it h a d r e s e r v e d a t r a i n f r o m Howrah, which will ferry the M G N R E G S w o r k e r s f r o m various Bengal districts to Delhi T h e t r a i n w i t h o v e r 2 , 0 0 0 people will leave Howrah on September 30 and depart from Delhi on October 3 Trinamul’s district leaders were recently asked to select at l e a s t 1 0 j o b c a r d - h o l d e r s , including women, from each of 3 4 1 b l o c k s a n d a p p o i n t o n e p e r s o n w h o w o u l d b e t h e i r h a n d l e r A l t h o u g h T r i n a m u l will send no more than 2,000 such people to Delhi, they will be shortlisted from the 3,410

people named by the district leadership

“The top brass of the party want to make the Delhi protest a mega show and that is why the plan to take the beneficiaries of t h e r u r a l j o b s c h e m e a s t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s w a s t a k e n T h e leaders in the districts have been asked to send as many women job card holders as possible,” s a i d a T r i n a m u l l e a d e r i n

Kolkata

Trinamul claims Bengal has central dues amounting to over £11 5 billion, of which around £700 million is on account of t h e 1 0 0 - d a y e m p l o y m e n t guarantee scheme

Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose announced his decision to cancel his 12-day visit to the United States less than 24 hours ahead of his previously scheduled departure time The decision perceptively taken, was finalised in the wake of the spreading dengue menace in pockets of the state and to not exert further burden to an already cash-strapped state coffers, a communication from the Raj Bhavan claimed Interestingly, the Governor s decision to cancel his US visit coincided with a desperate Bengal government shooting a letter to Bose to fast track the swearing in of Trinamul Congress MLA Nirmal Chandra Roy who won the Dhupguri Assembly seat in a by-election Bose was invited by Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of United Nations to attend the World Culture Festival (WCF) scheduled in Washington D C from September 29 to October 1

Mamata Banerjee

KP Munusamy & K Annamalai

Parliament clears women’s quota bill in 2

H istory was made i n I ndi a l ast week when the Con sti tuti on (One Hund red and TwentyEi ghth Amend ment) Bill 20 23, whi ch s eeks to reserv e 33% of s eats in the Lok Sabha an d s tate assembli es for women, was pass ed by the Rajya Sabha wi th no di sag reement, a d ay after eas ily pas sing the Lok S abha

The unanimous vote, a rare if not the only one so far, clears the way for the governm e n t t o s e c u r e t h e President's assent - a prerequ i s i t e b u t y e t a f o r m a l i t y Once enacted, the women's q u o t a b i l l ( N a r i S h a k t i V a n d a n A d h i n i y a m ) w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y a p p l y t o assemblies of all states and UTs of Delhi and Puducherry

According to government sources, the amendment does not need to be accepted by

h a l f o f t h e s t a t e s b e c a u s e Parliament has the authority to determine the membership of assemblies that are powerless to change the situation A tribute to cou ntl es s wo men: Modi "A defining moment in o u r c o u n t r y ' s d e m o c r a t i c journey" is the passage of the w o m e n s r e s e r v a t i o n b i l l ! S o o n a f t e r t h e m e a s u r e

days

T h e P M s a i d w i t h t h e p a s s a g e o f t h e b i l l i n Parliament, the country has ushered in an era of stronger representation and empowe r m e n t f o r t h e w o m e n o f India

PM Modi to attend Vibrant Gujarat celebrations in Ahmedabad

r e q u i r i n g a 3 3 % q u o t a f o r women in the nation's legisl a t u r e s w a s a p p r o v e d b y Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people of India

The PM, who was present in Rajya Sabha when the bill was put for voting, thanked all MPs who voted for the b i l l “ S u c h u n a n i m o u s s u pport is indeed gladdening,” he said in a post on X

Earlier in a brief intervention in Rajya Sabha just before the voting, the PM said, “This bill will lead to a new confidence in the people of the country The bill would empower the women to come forward in leadership roles It also shows the positive thinking of all the political parties which will give new energy to women ’ s empowerment All members a n d p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s h a v e played a significant role in e m p o w e r i n g w o m e n a n d enhancing ‘Nari Shakti’ Let us give the country a strong message ”

Pawar, wife attend Adani Foundation event in Ahmedabad

N at io n al i s t C o n gr es s P a rt y (N CP ) l eader Sh arad P awar and his wife P ratibha P awar a r r iv ed in Ah m e da b ad to a t t en d a l u n c h h o s t e d b y entrepreneur Gau tam Adani a t h i s h o m e P a w ar h ad defended Adani despite the o pp osition p arties ' attacks on h im f o l l o w in g t h e H in de nb u r g re p o rt ' s c l ai m th at the gro up w as "targeted "

The Adani Group was accused of stock manipulation by a US-based shorts e l l e r , H i n d e n b u r g Research In less than a year,

the millionaire industrialist and the NCP leader had met t h r e e t i m e s A d a n i m o s t recently paid Pawar a visit in June in Mumbai

Along with Adani, Pawar travelled from the airport to l a u n c h t h e n a t i o n ' s f i r s t l a c t o f e r r i n f a c i l i t y a t

One-poll panel decides to seek views of political parties

The high-le vel pan el, hea ded by for mer Preside nt R am N ath Kov in d to ex plor e the fea sibilit y of t he ‘ one nat ion, one e le ct ion’ ide a, decide d to se ek views from p olitical par ties a nd the law commission a t its fir st mee ting

H o m e m i n i s t e r A m i t S h a h , l a w m i n i s t e r A r j u n R a m

Meghwal, former leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former finance commission chairman NK Singh, former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap, and former chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari attended the meeting Noted lawyer Harish Salve joined virtually Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was not present He had written to Shah after being included in the panel "declining to serve on the committee" in protest against the exclusion of Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge

In order to "seek suggestions or viewpoints on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country," the statement said the members decided to invite opinions of recognised national parties, parties with governments in states, parties with representatives in Parliament, other recognised state parties, and the law commission

Indian football federation hired astrologer for team's good luck: report

It h as come to ligh t that All India Foo tball Federation (AIFF) sp lurged Rs 1 6, 00, 000 on an astrology agency w hich it h ad h ired to "m otiv ate" the natio nal team sid e, which confirm ed its berth in the 24-team AFC Asian C up Final

The Sunil Chhetri-led side topped the Group to qualify "A motivator was appointed for the National team ahead of the Asian Cup Later on, it came to light that the company which was engaged, was an astrological firm," a team insider said "Plainly-speaking, an astrologer was appointed to motivate the team Huge payment to the tune of Rs 16,00,000 was made," the source claimed The astrological firm apparently took three sessions with the Blue Tigers but a Kolkata-based player said: "At least I've not heard of this as I joined the team late "

Former India goalkeeper Tanumoy Bose ridiculed the idea and hit out at the AIFF for becoming a laughing stock "At a time when the AIFF repeatedly failed to conduct proper youth leagues, and many prestigious tournaments were forced to shut down, incidents like this will further tarnish the image of Indian football," Bose said

E x y m p o w e r i n C h a c h a r w a d i , A h m e d a b a d district Sources claim that the company is run by a b u s i n e s s m a n f r o m P u n e w h o i s e s t a b l i s h i n g h i s l a c t o f e r r i n m a n u f a c t u r i n g facility in Gallops Industrial Park-II in Ahmedabad

Later in the day, Pawar took to microblogging site, X, to post, “It was a privilege to inaugurate India’s first

L a c t o f e r r i n P l a n t E x y m p o w e r i n V a s n a , Chacharwadi, Gujarat along with Gautam Adani ” “ W h i l e t h e N C P c h i e f had to inaugurate a factory in Ahmedabad along with Adani, he and his wife were also part of a private prog r a m m e h e l d b y A d a n i F o u n d a t i o n , ” s a i d J a y a n t P a t e l , p r e s i d e n t , N C P , Gujarat

Pri me M inis ter Naren dra Modi arri ved on a two-day vi sit to Gujarat from Tues day an d to partic ipate in the c ele brati on of 2 0 years of Vibran t G ujarat Global Sum mit at Sc ienc e City, Ahmedaba d, on Wednes day

Modi will also dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of projects worth more than £520 million, including school infrastructure worth £450 million under “Mission Schools of Excellence” programme, at Bodeli, Chhotaudepur, on Wednesday

The Vibrant Gujarat celebrations will witness participation of industry associations, prominent personalities from trade and commerce, young entrepreneurs, students of higher and technical education colleges, among others T h e V i b r a n t G u j a r a t G l o b a l S u m m i t w a s s t a r t e d b y Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of the state 20 years ago, on September 28, 2003

In the last 20 years, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit has evolved from “Making Gujarat as preferred Investment Destination” to “Shaping a New India” event Modi will a l s o l a y t h e f o u n d a t i o n s t o n e o f t h e p r o j e c t “ V i d y a Samiksha Kendra 2 0 ” This project will be built upon the success of “Vidya Samiksha Kendra” which has ensured continuous monitoring of schools and improvement in student learning outcomes in Gujarat The prime minister will also dedicate to the nation multiple development projects, including a new bridge built across Narmada river on the Vadodara-Dabhoi-Sinor-Malsar-Asa road in Sinor taluka, Vadodara district

The other projects will be Chab Talav redevelopment project, water-supply project in Dahod, about 400 newly built houses for the economic weaker section at Vadodara, village Wi-Fi project across 7,500 villages across Gujarat

The prime minister will also lay the foundation stone of a water-supply project in Chhotaudepur, a flyover bridge in Godhra, Panchmahal; and the FM Radio studio at Dahod, to be built under the Centre’s “Broadcasting I n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d N e t w o r k D e v e l o p m e n t ( B I N D ) ” scheme

PM with the women MPs after the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam at Parliament House

Microdevices can be used to treat brain cancer, say researchers

A d e v i c e d e v e l o p e d b y B r i g h a m a n d

Women's Hospital researchers can aid in therapeutic testing for those who have glioma brain or spinal cord tumours In a phase one clinical trial, the device, which is intended to be utilised during regular s u r g i c a l p r o c e d u r e s , o f f e r s u n i q u e information into how medications affect g l i o m a t u m o u r s w i t h o u t h a v i n g a n y negative effects on patients.

The pilot clinical trial results for the d e v i c e a r e p u b l i s h e d i n S c i e n c e Translational Medicine

Co-principal investigator and co-corresponding author Pierpaolo Peruzzi, MD, PhD, said, "In order to make the greatest impact on how we treat these tumour, we need to be able to understand, early on, w h i c h d r u g w o r k s b e s t f o r a n y g i v e n patient The problem is that the tools that are currently available to answer this question are just not good enough So we came up with the idea of making each patient their own lab, by using a device which can directly interrogate the living tumour and give us the information that we need "

To overcome some of the obstacles to precision medicine in gliomas, Peruzzi collaborated closely with co-principal investigator Oliver Jonas, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Radiology at Brigham Before surgery, these microdevices are removed after being implanted in a patient's tumour

Effective ways to stop a panic attack

Unexpected panic attacks can occur, leaving vi cti ms ov ercom e w ith terror and worry Althou gh these episodes can be upsetting , it's crucial to keep in m ind that there are metho ds for pu tting a halt to panic attacks You can take back control o f yo u r em o t io n s and fi n d c o m f o rt throu gh trying tim es by being aw are o f and u sing these tactics

Deep breath ing : These exercises are one of the quickest ways to combat a panic attack Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for four, and then exhale through your mouth for another count of four Repeat this process until your breathing returns to a normal, steady pace

Grounding techniques: Concentrate on your surroundings to re-establish a connection with the present Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste This can help divert your attention away from panic-inducing thoughts

P ro g r es si v e m u sc l e rel ax ati o n: Tensing and then relaxing several muscle units is known as progressive muscle relaxation Release tension from your toes up to your head by starting at the bottom This technique can reduce the bodily signs of terror

Visualisations: Close your eyes and transport your mind to a calm, peaceful place Visualising yourself in a serene environment, like a beach or a forest, can help reduce anxiety and panic

Arthritis sufferers advised to avoid apple and tomatoes

Mil lions of peopl e livin g w ith the pain of arthritis in the UK have been w arn ed of two common fruits which can worsen life with the condition

In addition to limiting a person's mobility, the illness can also cause pain, edoema, and inflammation Although a r t h r i t i s d o e s n o t c u r r e n t l y have a cure, there are strategies to control the symptoms

T h e P h y s i c i a n s C o m m i t t e e has issued a warning against eating particular foods that may operate as "pain triggers" since, like many other health

d i s o r d e r s , d i e t c a n h e l p t o improve or exacerbate the disease Among those listed as “ common pain triggers” are common apples and tomatoes

Avoid doing these things post-meal for better digestion

It's just as cru cial to let your body di ge s t y o u r f o o d T h e t yp i c a l errors we frequently make that have an impact o n o ur s tomach have frequ ently been mentioned by h ealth sp ecialists It c ould be time to watch what yo u do after meals if you are having digestive p ro b l em s N u t ri ti o n i s t Bh ak ti Arora Kapo or said, " It's cru cial to pay attentio n to what you do after a meal, as it can significantly i m p a ct yo u r di ge s ti o n an d overall well- being Here are some th ings yo u sho uld avoi d like th e plague "

P ost-meal nap: Avoid taking a winker immediately after eating In fact, simply lying down can lead to acid reflux and indigestion

Wo rk-ou t: Hitting the gym right after a meal diverts blood flow from digestion, making it l e s s e f f i c i e n t A l l o w a n h o u r b e f o r e e n g a g i n g i n s t r e n u o u s exercise

Dri nking tea or co ffee: We're aware that a lot of folks will find this one challenging However, drinking tea or coffee just after a meal might prevent the absorption of iron and cause mineral imbalances If you require a beve r a g e a f t e r e a t i n g , u s e w a r m water or herbal tea

Smoke: Smoking after a meal is worse because it's a habit that generally harms your body more It affects your gut in addition to your lungs

Eating fru its: As hard as it is to resist that plate of cut fruit, eating them after a fulfilling meal may cause bloating and discomfort

A c c o r d i n g t o a report, “while genetic factors are important,

s t u d i e s s h o w t h a t l i f e s t y l e f a c t o r s , including diet, play a r o l e I f y o u h a v e rheumatoid arthritis, a diet change could help you, and perhaps even e l i m i n a t e y o u r p a i n e n t i r e l y I n r e s e a r c h studies, many people who cut out certain trigger foods find t h a t t h e i r p a i n s u b s i d e s o r goes away When those foods are gone, so is the inflamma-

tion A survey of more than 1 , 0 0 0 a r t h r i t i s p a t i e n t s revealed that red meat, sugar, fat, salt, caffeine, and nightshade plants most commonly worsen the condition ” S o l a n i n e i s a p o i s o n o u s glycoalkaloid that is present in both apples and tomatoes It is mostly present in species of the nightshade family A 2013 study that looked at the connection between solanine and arthritis was published in the A r a b J o u r n a l o f N u c l e a r Sciences and Applications

Everyday meditation can cut stress-related high BP

With the adv ent of a fast-paced li fe, t he re h av e bee n g ro w i ng calls for d eliberate m ind fulness to beat com mon lifestyle issues

A new p osition pap er published in the Journal of Hypertension in d i c ate s a ne w w a y to bea t stress-related hi gh blood p ressu re It im p lies th at d aily 4 5minute m editation sessions can h av e a m aj o r i m p a ct T h e In ter na ti o nal S o c i et y o f

Hyp ertensi on states that stopping smoking and lo wering salt consum ption are also imp ortant components of lifestyle m anag ement of h ypertension A s p e r t h e p a p e r a b s t r a c t , hypertension, associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, can be controlled by lifestyle changes even

a s " b l o o d p r e s s u r e - l o w e r i n g medications are prescribed " The

s t u d y r e p o r t e d t h a t l i f e s t y l e management recommendations w e r e c o m p i l e d a s a p r i m a r y

Study examines how people with OCD deal with uncertainty

Brain imaging was utilised in a new study published in the E l s e v i e r j o u r n a l B i o l o g i c a l

Psychiatry:

Cognitive Neuroscience and N e u r o i m a g i n g t o l o o k a t t h e m e c h a n i s m s u n d e r l y i n g h o w o b s e s s i v e - c o m p u l s i v e d i s o r d e r

(OCD) sufferers perceive ambig u i t y N e u r o l o g i c a l i l l n e s s i s c h a r a c t e r i s e d b y c o m p u l s i v e , repetitive behaviours like cleani n g a n d c h e c k i n g e v e n w h e n there is apparent objective proof that the environment is clean,

orderly, and proper T h e s t u d y ' s i n v e s t i g a t o r s , under the direction of Valerie V o o n , P h D , f r o m t h e University of Cambridge, sought to examine processing in OCD a n d h o w c a p s u l o t o m y i n f l uenced processing It is considered to be a form of therapy that lowers brain activity linked to OCD Dr Voon said, "We used a simple card gambling task like that commonly used in drinking g a m e s P a r t i c i p a n t s w i t h a n

open card simply bet whether they thought the next c a r d w o u l d b e h i g h e r o r l o w e r t h a n t h e o p e n c a r d A t t h e extremes, with high or low open c a r d s , c e r t a i n t y i s h i g h , b u t uncertainty was much higher with cards near the middle of the deck " The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI), two brain regions

method for preventing and managing hypertension in adults by a global panel of experts assembled by the International Society of Hypertension College of Experts

It read, "Specific recommendations based on literature evid e n c e a r e s u m m a r i s e d w i t h advice to start these measures early in life, including maintaini n g h e a l t h y b o d y w e i g h t , increased levels of different types of physical activity, healthy eating and drinking, avoidance and cessation of smoking and alcohol use, management of stress and sleep levels "

Adding, "We also discuss the relevance of specific approaches including consumption of sodium, potassium, sugar, fibre, coffee, tea, and intermittent fasting as well as integrated strategies to implement these recommendat i o n s u s i n g , f o r e x a m p l e , behaviour change-related technologies and digital tools "

associated with decision-making, were the main focus of the functional magnetic resonance i m a g i n g ( f M R I ) t e s t s W h e n d e t e r m i n i n g c e r t a i n t y , O C D participants showed abnormal activity in this circuitry compared to unaffected controls

Children living in cities more susceptible to respiratory infections: Study

Young child ren who grow up in t o w n s a n d c i t i e s e x pe r i e n ce more res piratory ailments than t h os e w h o d o s o i n vi ll a g e s , accordi ng to a s tud y prese nted a t t h e E u r o pe a n Re s p i r a t or y Soci ety In tern ation al C ongre ss in Milan , Italy

Dr Nicklas Brustad, a physician and researcher from the C o p e n h a g e n P r o s p e c t i v e S t u d i e s o n A s t h m a i n Childhood (COPSAC), based at G e n t o f t e H o s p i t a l a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C o p e n h a g e n , Denmark, presented the study I t i n c l u d e d 6 6 3 c h i l d r e n a n d their mothers who participated in the research from pregnancy

years old

areas experienced an average of 17 respiratory infections, such as colds and coughs, as opposed to a n a v e r a g e o f 1 5 i n f e c t i o n s among children who resided in rural areas

Dr Brustad said, "Our findings suggest that urban living is an independent risk factor for developing infections in early life when taking account of several related factors such as exposure to air pollution and starting daycare Interestingly, changes in the blood of pregnant mothers and newborn babies, as well a s c h a n g e s i n t h e n e w b o r n immune system, seem to partly explain this relationship ”

Ananya Panday, Suhana Khan and Shanaya

Kapoor 'go crazy' at NMACC art exhibition

Friends and actors Ananya Panday, Suhana Khan, and Shanaya Kapoor had a girls' day out as they visited an art exhibition at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai They were joined by actors Chunky Panday and Sanjay Kapoor

Ananya took to Instagram and shared a bunch of pictures She's seen clicking a selfie with Suhana and Shanaya in the first photo, donning all-black outfits She captioned the m o v i e , " E x p e c t t h e u n e x p e c t e d @nmacc india " Suhana is seen in a dress, while Ananya is seen in a black sleeveless top and black jeans with a brown belt Shanaya wore a black top with distressed blue jeans

S h a n a y a p o s t e d s o m e s e l f i e s o n h e r Instagram as well One was a selfie video with her and Ananya catwalking near an art installation She also posed with her father, Sanjay, in one of the pictures She wrote in the caption "Go crazy with your art best experience at @nmacc india with the best people "

A c t o r a n d A n a n y a ' s f a t h e r , C h u n k y Panday, posted more pictures and selfies on his Instagram and a picture of the three girls at a spaghetti-themed art installation He wrote in the caption, "Night at the Museum @nmacc india," referring to Ben Stiller's popular fantasy comedy franchise

On the work front, Ananya recently d e l i v e r e d a b o x - o f f i c e h i t i n R a a j Shaandilyaa's comedy 'Dream Girl 2,' also starring Ayushmann Khurrana Meanwhile, Suhana and Shanaya are set to make their a c t i n g d e b u t s w i t h Z o y a ' s N e t f l i x I n d i a p e r i o d c a m p u s c a p e r ' T h e A r c h i e s ' a n d Mohanlal-starrer pan-India film 'Vrushaba '

Parineeti weds Raghav

Chadha

in

lavish wedding ceremony

Bollywood

star Parineeti Chopra and politician Raghav

Chadha exchanged vows in a lavish wedding ceremony held in the enchanting city of Udaipur. The star recently uploaded a series of images on Instagram with the caption, "From the very first chat at the breakfast table, our hearts knew. Been waiting for this day for a long time. So blessed to finally be Mr and Mrs! Couldn’t have lived without each other Our forever begins now "

The bride can be seen dressed in a breathtaking champagne-coloured Manish Malhotra lehenga, while the groom opted for an ivory sherwani, as per Vogue India The star-studded event, which took place on September 24, saw the coming together of influential figures from both the entertainment industry and the political arena

Among the illustrious guests in attendance were none other than Priyanka Chopra Jonas' mother, Madhu Chopra, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, and renowned actor Bhagyashree The wedding festivities commenced with Parineeti s chooda ceremony at the opulent Maharaja Suite, setting the tone for a series of breathtaking events

The wedding celebrations were nothing short of magical, with rituals including the sehrabandi, Baraat procession, and Jaimala ceremony taking place with sheer opulence Against the backdrop of a setting sun, the couple exchanged their vows in a heartwarming Pheras ceremony To keep their wedding looks under wraps, Parineeti and Raghav utilized giant umbrellas and sheets, adding an air of mystery to their special day

Kareena, Saif enjoy a magic cards game at her birthday party in Pataudi Palace

Kareena Kapoor appears to have had quite the birthday as she celebrated it with family at Pataudi Palace. In a video now doing the rounds on social media, she's seen with her husband and fellow actor Saif Ali Khan, playing a magic cards game performed by a famous mentalist

Shared by renowned m e n t a l i s t a n d i l l u s i o n i s t K a r a n Khanna, the video showed Bebo and Saif holding a few playing cards under their palms Their younger son, Jeh also joins them briefly, only to scoot away soon after Khanna then shows h o w t h e c a r d s u n d e r t h e i r p a l m s d i s a p p e a r e d i n t o t h i n a i r w i t h i n seconds Upon removing their palms, K a r e e n a i s s h o c k e d a n d k e e p s

s c r e a m i n g , " N o n o , " multiple times

L a t e r , a s K a r a n b i d s adieu, Saif congratulates h i m o n t h e g o o d j o b Kareena and Saif's elder son Taimur Ali Khan is seen around them, while K a r i s m a K a p o o r i s s e e n capturing the moment on h e r p h o n e i n t h e background Karisma also shared multiple pictures f r o m K a r e e n a ' s 4 3 r d birthday celebration at Saif's ancestral home in Haryana On the work front, Karisma will be next seen in Abhinay Deo's crime drama 'Brown ' Kareena will next star i n H a n s a l M e h t a ' s c o p d r a m a 'Buckingham Murders' and the heist comedy 'The Crew ' Saif, on the other hand, will be next seen in Kortala Siva's 'Devara '

Ranbir Kapoor's customised Raha cap thrills fans

Actor Ranbir Kapoor was recently spotted at the T-series office in Mumbai for Ganpati darshan. In nowviral images and clips, he can be seen sporting an oversized navy blue shirt paired with black pants. He added a special touch to his look by wearing a customised cap featuring his daughter Raha's name on it in pink

N e t i z e n s w e r e l e f t s u p e r

impressed A fan commented, "Daddy goals," while another wrote, "How cute " Ranbir and Alia Bhatt tied the k n o t o n A p r i l 1 4 , 2 0 2 2 , a n d announced their pregnancy in June 2022 They later welcomed their first child, a daughter named Raha, on

Amitabh, Anil Kapoor and others pay tribute to 'Amar Akbar Anthony' writer Prayag Raj

The sudden demise of veteran screenplay writer-director Prayag Raj has shocked the movie industry. Raj breathed his last at his residence in Mumbai last week. Several celebrities took to their social media handles to pay tribute to the filmmaker as soon as the news broke

November 6 The couple are yet to disclose her face to the media Announcing the baby's arrival, Alia, via an Instagram post, said, "

PARENTS!!!! Love love love Alia and Ranbir ”

front, Ranbir is all set to come up with a film titled 'Animal,' which also stars Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandana, and Bobby Deol The f

Taking to Instagram story, Anil Kapoor, who worked with Raj in 'Hifazat' expressed sadness at the demise and wrote "I'm truly saddened by the loss of the late Prayag Raj Working with him on Hifazat was a privilege May his soul rest in peace " He also shared a still from the movie sets

Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan shared the news of Raj's demise on his blog He wrote, "last evening we have lost another pillar of our great Film Industry PrayagRaj passed away at 4 pm yesterday " They both collaborated in films like 'Amar Akbar Anthony,' 'Naseeb' and 'Coolie '

'Amar Akbar Anthony' actor Shabana Azmi took to X and wrote, "Sorry to hear about the passing away of writer-director actor Prayag Raj RIP

Raj worked with Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and others He wrote the screenplay for films including 'Dharamveer,' 'Ponga Pandit,' 'Coolie,' 'Mard,' 'Desh Premee,' 'Naseeb,' 'Suhaag,' 'Parvarish,' 'Amar Akbar Anthony,' 'Bhai Ho To Aisa,' 'Hifazat,' among others

AR Rahman faces criticism for posting video of his controversial Chennai concert

Sai Pallavi clears the air on her 'wedding picture'

SaiPallavi has finally broken her silence on the picture of her "secret wedding" that has been floating around the internet for over a day now. She has clarified that the image is actually from the mahurat Pooja of her new film, and it's been cropped and misused intentionally for completely "vile" reasons.

Sai took to X and wrote a befitting response to the rumours Her post read, "Honestly, I don't care for Rumours but when it involves friends who are family, I have to speak up An image from my film's pooja ceremony was intentionally cropped and circulated with paid bots & disgusting intentions When I have pleasant announcements to share on m work front, it's disheartening to have to explain for all these jobless doings To cause discomfort like this is purely vile!

The picture shows her wearing white kurta and a golden-brown dupatt in a traditional avatar Standing besid her is a man in a pink shirt and blue den ims Both are wearing red garlands an are seen smiling at the camera Howeve as per the clarification, the picture w cropped from the mahurat pooja of h new film from the sets in Chennai T man standing next to her is the film dire tor, Rajkumar Periyaswamy, and he's a seen holding the film's clap

I n o t h e r p i c t u r e s f r o m t h e e v e they're standing next to the lead actor of the film 'SK21,' Sivakarthikeyan and veteran actor Kamal Hassan 'SK21' is set against a war backdrop, and a schedule of the film has already been completed in Kashmir

Rahman posted a "highlights" video of his controversial Chennai concert 'Marakkuma Nenjam,' sparking an online uproar The show, which took place on September 10, received immense backlash

Director Atlee reveals getting Hollywood offer after 'Jawan' release

The police eventually registered cases against an organiser official, ACTC Events, for overselling tickets, committing a breach of trust and causing inconvenience to people Rahman tweeted the concert video but turned off the post's comment section The composer, however, was slammed in quote tweets, where fans called him out for being tone-deaf and sharing a celebratory video

Some comments called out Rahman for going ahead with a "highlights" video when the concert was a traumatic experience for m a n y w h o a t t e n d e d i t T h i s p o s t w a s entirely unnecessary at the moment after many of his fans & the general audience experienced heartbreak " , a fan wrote, while another commented, "never thought ARR would stoop so low "

After the backlash for the concert, AR Rahman wrote on Instagram that he is okay with being the "sacrificial goat" if it means a wakeup call for a better, safer live art scene in Chennai

"Some people call me GOAT let me be the sacrificial goat this time for all of us to wake up let chennai's live art flourish with a world class infrastructure, increase in tourism, efficient crowd management, traffic management , refining audiences to follow rules creating a safe and surreal experience for children and women Triggering a cultural renaissance at chennai celebrating our deserving ,illuminated local and international talent! he wrote

Director

Atlee is on cloud nine that his latest movie 'Jawan' produced by and starring Shah Rukh Khan is racing towards the £100 million mark at the worldwide box office In a recent interview the sensational filmmaker has revealed he from Hollywood.

Atlee speaking to famous Bolly film critic Anupama Chopra stated t when he got the call from a Hollywo agent he was quite surprised since h thought 'Jawan' would connect only to Indian audience He has however no elaborated on whether he would be pursuing it up or continue with hi current Indian assignments

According to reports Atlee's ne film will most probably star Allu A with Sun Pictures bankrolling and An on board as music composer Atlee said in an interview that he is plann that will star both SRK and Thalapathy Vijay and that both the super-

rs have already given their nod to him

Jawan' an action entertainer has Shah Rukha Khan and nthara in the lead roles with Vijay Sethupathi as the chief st and Deepika Padukone in an extended cameo The film by Anirudh Ravichandran and is running in theaters near you right now

'Leo' actor Trisha quashes marriage rumours

Actor

Trisha Krishnan appeared irked as she addressed the circulating rumours of her marriage She took to social media to set the record straight and hinted that the reports were the handiwork of a mischievous person

Without mentioning marriage rumours, the actor wrote on X, "Dear 'You know who you are and your team', Keep calm and stop rumouring Cheers! The tweet went down well with her followers and fans as they cheered her boss-level attitude One of the fans wrote, "Slipper shot reply " Another wrote, "Epic reply " A follower also commented, "Thalaiviiiii @trishtrashers No commitment, still single An end to false rumours "

A few days back, there were reports that the 'Ponniyin Selvan' actor would tie the knot with a producer from the Malayalam film industry On the work front, Trisha will next be seen in 'Leo ' The actor plays the female lead in the Lokesh Kanagaraj film, led by Vijay

Oscar-winning music composer AR

Alia attends the Gucci Ancora show alongside Anna Wintour, Kendall Jenner

Theglobal brand ambassador for luxury fashion house Gucci, Alia Bhatt, was seen at the Milan Fashion Week 2023 before she returned to Mumbai over the weekend Ruling the front row at the show, watching Sabato De Sarno's debut, she was seated next to singer Bad Bunny, supermodel Kendall Jenner, Vogue's Editorin-Chief Anna Wintour, and British Vogue Editor Edward Enninful.

Alia wore an embellished green top paired with flared denims, a Gucci bracelet, a bag and black shades She wore a Gucci Jackie 1961 Small Leather shoulder bag and the runway collection Ancora red pointed stilettos

She also reunited with Thai actress Davika Hoorne

The two of them were seen having a great time Earlier this year, Alia was in Seoul for the Gucci Cruise 24 event as the Indian brand ambassador, where she met Davika, Thailand's brand ambassador for the luxury brand

On the work front, Alia Bhatt will next star in YRF's spy drama, and Vasan Bala's next

Pakistani actor Hania Aamir grooves to 'Jawan' song 'Chaleya'

Pakistani actor Hania Aamir is a big fan of Shah Rukh Khan and often posts videos of herself dancing to his songs and giving his signature pose She took to Instagram to provide a glimpse of her night Hania posted pictures as she got together with her friendssinger Yashal Shahid, Aashir Wajahat, and Nayel Wajahat, among others.

Jacqueline Fernandez spotted hanging out with Selena Gomez

Priyanka enjoys pool date with Malti after giving Parineeti's wedding a miss

After giving her cousin Parineeti Chopra's wedding a miss, Priyanka Chopra chose to spend her Sunday with daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas She took to Instagram to share a glimpse of their day out in the pool of their Los Angeles mansion

Actress

was originally posted by Akari on her Instagram page but deleted later It showed Priyanka in a pool, wearing a green bikini top and throwing Malti in the air The little one

Jacqueline

Fernandez has made a very famous friend in the West A picture shared by one of her friends, Caroline Franklin, shows her hanging out with US pop star and beauty mogul Selena Gomez. The photo shows Jackie in a white top and grey pants, posing with a group of people.

Franklin captioned it, "Tuscany mems " Jackie commented on the post, writing, "Best days ever!" A fan even replied to her comment, asking, "Omg hi how was it like to meet @selenagomez " More pictures from the carousel show the group hanging out with famous Italian singer Andrea Bocelli and posing with him

Jacqueline also shared pictures from the night on her Instagram page "@andreabocelliofficial you have given me the most beautiful memory that I will forever cherish! I feel like I'm still dreaming," she wrote as she sat in his lap

On the work front, Jacqueline will be seen next in 'Welcome to

the Jungle' with Akshay Kumar and many others Recently, she was part of India Day celebrations in New York

A Delhi court granted Jackie permission to travel abroad as she was banned from travelling without prior permission of the court She is accused in a £20 million money laundering case, in which Sukesh Chandrasekhar is also accused

In her application, Jacqueline claimed that "being an actor of international acclaim, she frequently engaged in film shooting, appearance at events, participation in various award functions, etc , indispensable to her professional occupations and livelihood In certain situations, it becomes time-consuming for the accused to get the court's approval for going abroad, which is mandatory under bail terms

also wore a bunch of swimming gear Priyanka did not add any caption to the photo

Fans of the actor found the photo cute “Mommy and daughter playtime,” wrote a fan Another commented, “Wonder where this is? Such a doll ” The picture was clicked at Priyanka and husband Nick Jonas' home in Los Angeles

While Priyanka could not attend the wedding, she was a part of Parineeti's engagement ceremony in Delhi in May In Udaipur, where Parineeti and Raghav tied the knot, Priyanka's mother Madhu Chopra was asked by the paparazzi about the actor's absence. She said that Priyanka was busy in LA with work

In the first photo, she posed while Yashal laughed as she held her legs Aashir and Nayel were seen sitting near them She also posted a video in which she and her friends danced to 'Chaleya' from Shah's latest film 'Jawan ' Dressed in a loose white top and pink pyjamas, Hania danced in front of her television, playing the original song featuring Shah Rukh Hania didn't caption the post b u t w r o t e , " G a n d a " R a p p e r B a d s h a h a n d S h e h b a z B a d e s h a have liked the post Reacting to the post, a fan wrote, "The smile on your face is everything! May Allah protect your inner happiness from evil eyes and keep you safe A m e e n ! @ h a n i a h e h e o f f i c i a l Always keep smiling!!" A comment read, The dance is so cute We want to see you with Shah Rukh in a film," said an Instagram user I n A u g u s t , H a n i a p o s t e d a video of herself on Instagram as s h e d i d S h a h R u k h ' s s i g n a t u r e pose--extending her hands to the side while leaning sideways She was dressed in different outfits as she did the pose The video ended w i t h t h e a c t r e s s l a u g h i n g S h e captioned the post in Hindi, "Hey, you aren't getting bored, right?"

The original music video of the s o n g f e a t u r e s S h a h R u k h a n d N a y a n t h a r a C o m p o s e d b y Anirudh, 'Chaleya' has been sung by Arijit Singh and Shilpa Rao The song is from 'Jawan,' helmed by Atlee

Priyanka shared a picture clicked by her friend Akari on Instagram Stories The photo

India win ODI series against Australia

I ndia beat A us trali a by 99 run s in the rain -in terrupted second O DI to take an unass ailable 2-0 lead in the threem atc h series at Holk ar Stadi um in I ndore B atti ng firs t, I ndia am assed 399 with cen turies from Shubman Gi ll an d Shreyas Gill after b eing asked to ba t firs t Leading the team i n the firs t two games of the three- match serie s, KL Rahul made 5 2 off 38 balls, Ishan K i s h a n c on tr i b u te d a n 18 - b a l l 31 , while Suryakumar Yadav needed jus t 37 balls to s core 72 after reac hing his half- cen tury in 2 4 de liverie s Se t a revis ed target of 317 i n 33 overs af ter the d ay's s ec ond rai n in terrupti on , Australia were all out for 217 in 2 8 2 overs Chasing a target of 400, Australia i n n i n g s g o t o f f t o a b a d s t a r t a s

Prasidh Krishna (2-56), who replaced Jasprit Bumrah, dismissed Matthew Short for 9 and stand-in skipper Steve Smith (0) off back-to-back deliveries in the second over

With Australia at 56-2 after nine overs, another rain break of more than an hour - the second of the day -

meant the match started losing overs and the revised target of 317 in 33 overs became an even more uphill task for the Aussies After resumption, they had to score another 261 runs in 24 overs which was almost 11 runs per over but they kept losing w i c k e t s a n d w e r e e v e n t u a l l y bowled out for 217 to lose by 99 runs via DL method Earlier, Gill’s 104 in 97 balls came with the help of six fours and four sixes while Iyer’s 90-ball 105 was laced with 11 fours and three sixes The carnage didn’t stop with Gill and Iyer’s departure as stand-in skipper KL Rahul (52) and Suryakumar Yadav (72) pressed on the gas to make sure India forged ahead at breakneck pace

ICC announces venues of 2024 men's T20 World Cup in USA

ICC M en ’ s T20 World Cup 2024 is set to be co-hoste d by USA and W est Indie s The a pe x c r ic k e t bo d y a nn oun ced tha t thr ee ma jor citie s in the USA will be t he v en ue s for the mat che s in t he tour nam ent Dallas, Florida and New York have been confirmed as the three major USA cities where the matches will be played for the blockbuster tournament The venues will be Grand Prairie in Dallas, Broward County in Florida

and Nassau County in New York “ W e ’ r e d e l i g h t e d t o a n n o u n c e t h e t h r e e U S A venues that will host part of the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever staged, with 20 teams competing for the

trophy The USA is a strategically important m a r k e t a n d t h e s e v e n u e s g i v e u s a n excellent opportunity to make a statement in t h e w o r l d ’ s b i g g e s t s p o r t m a r k e t , ” s a i d

I C C C h i e f E x e c u t i v e Geoff Allardice

“We explored a number of potential venue options in t h e c o u n t r y , a n d w e w e r e h u g e l y e n c o u r a g e d b y t h e e n t h u s i a s m t h e e v e n t g e n e r a t e d a m o n g s t

PM Modi lays foundation stone for cricket stadium in Varanasi

P rim e Minister Narendra Mod i laid the foundatio n sto ne of the International C ricket Stadium in his parliam entary constituency V aranasi T his p roject is estim ated to have a budg et of around £ 45 m illion and will h av e a seating c apac ity f or 30 , 0 0 0 sp ectato rs T he stadi um's archi tectural them e draws i n sp i ra ti o n fr o m L o r d S h i v a, w it h u n i qu e f ea tu res s u ch a s c res c en ts h a p ed ro o f c o v er s, f lo o d l ig h ts r es em b li ng tri d e nt s, se ati n g arrang em ents resem bling g hat step s, a nd m eta lli c s h eet s o n t h e f ac ad e d esig ned in the shap e of Bilv ipatra

D u r i n g t h e e v e n t , P M M o d i emphasised that cricket is becoming a

India win historic gold in dressage team event at Asian games

In dia won it s fir st g old m e d a l o n t h e d a y in E qu e st r i a n , w i t h t he dr essage tea m securing a h i st o r i c t o p - p od i u m finish, bea ting the lik es of Chin a an d Hon g Kong in Asian game s The quar tet of Sudipti Haje la, Div yak riti Sin gh, Hrida y Vipul Chheda , a nd An ush Ag arwa lla scor ed a t ota l of 209 205 to win gold

Earlier in the day, Neha Thakur opened India's medal account with a silver in sailing while Eabad Ali added another medal – bronze – in the sport The Indian men's hockey team continued on its goal scoring exploits with a brilliant 16-1 win over Singapore In other events, India cruised past Pakistan in the women's squash team event, while the 4x100m medley team also qualified for final in swimming, creating a new Indian record for best timings at the event Later in the day, Sachin Siwach also made a winning start, beating Asir Udin of Indonesia comprehensively to enter round-of-16 India finished the third day with 14 medals

prospective hosts, reinforcing t h e g r o w i n g a w a r e n e s s a r o u n d c r i c k e t ’ s m a s s i v e f a n b a s e a n d i t s p o w e r t o unite diverse communities," added Allardice A l l a r d i c e a d d e d t h a t m o d u l a r s t a d i u m technology will be used to i n c r e a s e f a c i l i t i e s f o r t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e u p c o m i n g c r i c k e t e x t r a v a g a n z a T h e stadiums will be increased in size to expand seating and m e d i a a n d p r e m i u m hospitality areas

On the second day India won two gold and six bronze medals Shooters Rudrankksh Patil, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Divyansh Singh Panwar won India’s first gold medal and shattered the world record in the men ’ s 10m air rifle team final The women ’ s cricket team soon followed, winning a first-ever gold medal at the continental meet Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, meanwhile, also settled for bronze in the men ’ s 10m air rifle individual event Vijayveer Sidhu, Adarsh Singh and Anish Bhanwala, too, bagged bronze in the men ’ s 25m rapid fire pistol team event Rowing added two more bronze medals - men ’ s four and men ’ s quadrupleto finish their stint at Hangzhou with five medals In Wushu, Roshibina Devi Naorem assured at least a bronze medal after winning her women's 60kg quarter-final bout

Pakistan refuse to move India Davis cup tie to neutral venue

global connector for India, with an i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r o f c o u n t r i e s showing interest in the sport He also e x p r e s s e d h i s u n p a r a l l e l e d j o y i n v i s i t i n g K a s h i ( V a r a n a s i ) N o t a b l e figures in attendance included cricket l e g e n d S a c h i n T e n d u l k a r , B C C I president Roger Binny, BCCI secretary J a y S h a h , a n d U t t a r P r a d e s h C h i e f Minister Yogi Adityanath

T o f a c i l i t a t e t h e s t a d i u m s c o n s t r u c t i o n , t h e U t t a r P r a d e s h government allocated £12 1 million for land acquisition Media reports suggest t h a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l - l e v e l c r i c k e t stadium is expected to be completed by the end of the following year

"In Varanasi, a stadium is under c o n s t r u c t i o n w i t h t h e h e l p o f t h e S m a r t C i t y M i s s i o n o f t h e C e n t r a l G o v e r n m e n t T h i s i s t h e t h i r d International stadium of Uttar Pradesh and the first to be constructed under the supervision of BCCI It will provide a platform to the cricket enthusiasts of east Uttar Pradesh and Bihar I would like to thank BCCI and PM Modi for g i v i n g t h i s g i f t t o U P , " s a i d c h i e f minister Yogi Adityanath

Th e P aki stan Tennis Fed eratio n (PTF) has refused to mo ve their Davi s Cup home ti e wi th I nd ia to a neutral venue, telli ng the I nd ian team th at they shou ld travel to P aki stan India and Pakistan have drawn each other in the World Group I play-offs, set to take place in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan Tensions between the two countries are often high and have erupted into several wars and conflicts over the decades

When India drew Pakistan in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie in 2019, the venue was moved to Kazakhstan due to security concerns As a result, Pakistan's top players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Kahn opted not to play in the tie as a sign of protest at the move

This year, the PTF has refused to change the location Kahn and Qureshi have both expressed their hopes that the Indian team will travel to Islamabad this time around "I hope they come and give us a chance to host," Kahn said, while Qureshi added, "Hopefully this time it will be played in Pakistan "

Meanwhile, the PTF president Salim Saifullah Khan has echoed these sentiments, saying that they will host India on grass courts He also praised the Indian team, saying it would send a good message to have them play in the country

Asian Sports Foundation’s strategy launched to get more Asians into sports

A sian Sp orts Fo undation’s (AS F)

S tr ate g y ‘ A c ti v e L i v e s, H ea lth y Futures’ was launched at City Hall Lo nd on on 1 8th Septem ber 2023

T h e s tr ate g y i s to fo c u s o n imp rov ing th e health of the A sian c o m m u ni t y li v i n g in En g l and

A mong the attendees at the launch w e re P ar li am e nta ry U n d er Secretary of State for S port Stuart A nd rew M P, th e Chief Executive o f S p o rt E n g la nd T i m H oll ing s w o rth and A n nie Zai d i M B E , fo u n d er o f th e C o ac h A nnieZ Fou nd ation – an initiative supp orted by ASF Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport Stuart Andrew MP said: “Sport and physical activity p r o v i d e h u g e b e n e f i t s f o r o u r mental and physical health, so we are determined to improve access

and inclusivity across the sector

“I welcome the Asian Sports

F o u n d a t i o n ’ s ‘ A c t i v e L i v e s ,

H e a l t h y F u t u r e s ’ s t r a t e g y t h a t

c l o s e l y a l i g n s w i t h o u r o w n

recently published sports strategy which aims to have 3 5 million more active people by 2030 ”

Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of S p o r t E n g l a n d , s a i d : “ S p o r t

England is delighted to support the launch of this strategy and the a i m s o f t h e A s i a n S p o r t s Foundation ‘Active Lives, Healthy Future’ brings a welcome, timely and important focus on the role t h a t p l a y i n g s p o r t a n d b e i n g

p h y s i c a l l y a c t i v e c a n h a v e i n i m p r o v i n g t h e h e a l t h a n d wellbeing of the Asian community living in England ” J u g J o h a l , C h a i r m a n o f t h e

A S F , s a i d : “ W e a r e f u r t h e r developing our plans to increase

A s i a n p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n s p o r t t o

i m p r o v e t h e h e a l t h o f t h e community, with the additional g a i n s o f b e t t e r c o m m u n i t y cohesion, positive attitudes about life and living in the UK and even on crime prevention ‘Active Lives, H e a l t h y F u t u r e s ’ i n v o l v e s A S F

undertaking and then providing research and insight to national s p o r t i n g b o d i e s , p r o f e s s i o n a l s p o r t s c l u b s a n d a n y o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n s l o o k i n g t o b e t t e r engage with Asian communities in England ASF will offer tailored training courses (online and faceto-face) for organisations looking t o b e t t e r e n g a g e w i t h A s i a n communities The ASF will help o r g a n i s a t i o n s t h a t p r o v i d e t h i s s o r t o f o u t r e a c h w o r k t o f i n d longer-term funding ” T h e A S F i s a c h a r i t y established in 2015 that aims to increase the sporting and physical activity levels of people of all ages f r o m e t h n i c m i n o r i t y backgrounds, with a specific focus on supporting people from Asian communities in England

MP (left) and Jug Johal (right)