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FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

Health & Healing Home remedies to cure whooping cough

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KollyCats Top 5 actresses of Kollywood in 2009

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VOICE

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 38. ISSUE 35

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9th January to 15th January 2010

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British Asians shine in the 2010 New Year Honours List

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Lord Swaraj Paul faces Scotland Yard investigation Lord Swaraj Paul

The 2010 New Year Honours List was published recognising outstanding achievement and service across the whole of the United Kingdom.

Once again, the majority of awards have gone to local heroes – extraordinary people from a wide range of fields who have made a real difference in their communities. The list includes a nun, a sheep farmer and the first-ever circus ringmaster to be honoured, as well as the four-times British National Aerobatic Champion. based Judge Mota Singh, QC, has been knighted in the Queen's New Year Honours List for 'services to the Administration of Justice, Community Relations and to the Voluntary Sector'.

Sir Mota Singh told The Sikh Times, "I really feel little humbled. It is such a great honour. It means recognition of the services rendered to the British community at large," an elated Mota Singh, who is also a Queen's Counsel His decision to wear a white turban in court, instead of a wig, came to be seen as a sign of a multicultural Britain.

Mota Singh said, he never experienced racism in Britain, when he became the country's first Sikh and Asian judge in 1982.

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More than half of the people receiving MBEs were put forward by members of the public, with nominations coming in from across the country.

In total 979 people have been recommended to The Queen for an award: ! 842 candidates have been selected at MBE and OBE level, 615 at MBE and 227 at OBE ! 73 per cent of the recipients are local heroes, who’ve undertaken outstanding work in their communities ! There are 441 successful women candidates in the list; 45 per cent of the total six per cent of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority communities Amongst the candidates from ethnic minority communities London-

Captain Kandiah Chandran

Judge Mota Singh, QC

Ramanbhai Barber

PC Sarinder Kaur Dev

Ramanbhai Barber has received an MBE. His tireless commitment and motivation for voluntary and charitable work is unrelenting and he contin-

ues to devote considerable time to engage all areas of the local community, irrespective of race, gender and age.

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One of Gordon Brown's most influential financial backers, Lord Paul, is facing a fraud inquiry over expenses as Scotland Yard announced it is investigating two more peers.

Lord Paul, a major Labour donor, is accused of nominating a flat he had never stayed in as his “main home” allowing him to claim tens of thousands of pounds in House of Lords expenses for his London property.

The peer is among three politicians named last week as now facing Scotland Yard inquiries, bringing to nine the total number under investigation.

Eric Ilsley, a Labour MP, and Lord Taylor of

Warwick are also facing criminal probes. It had been a peer, Uddin, who was the first to be reported to the police. In early May 2009 it was disclosed that Uddin had claimed more than £100,000 in expenses after telling the Lords that an empty unfurnished flat in Kent was her main home.

Over the past few weeks, the Metropolitan Police have passed files on a further six politicians – three MPs and three peers – to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS is expected to rule on whether the politicians will be charged this month.

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Health boss criticised for earning twice as much as the PM A health trust has been condemned for paying one of its bosses twice as much as the Prime Minister while NHS services are under threat, a national daily reveals.

Professor Salman Rawaf, who was director of public health at NHS Wandsworth, was allegedly paid £370,000 last year making him one of the highest-paid public sector workers in the country and well above Gordon's Brown's salary of £194,250.

Now the primary care trust has been accused of wasting taxpayers' money.

The chairman of Wandsworth council's health committee, Ian Hart, said the trust did not get good value from Professor Rawaf because

Professor Salman Rawaf

he stopped coming to council meetings and sent his deputy instead, as reported in the Evening Standard.

A spokesman for NHS Wandsworth told the daily, £175,000 of the money was paid to Professor Rawaf in pension and other "end-of-employ-

ment" payments.

Professor Rawaf was unavailable for comment.

He appeared on a list of the highest- paid public servants published by the TaxPayers' Alliance. John O'Connell, policy analyst at the alliance, told the same: "These huge payoffs would have been excessive even in the good times.

However, front-line workers in Wandsworth are being asked to take a pay freeze while those at the top continue to see salaries shoot up.

"It seems to be one rule for the boss and another for everyone else.

Ordinary families don't want to see their tax funding bonuses for bureaucrats as their essential services come under threat."

Forgery factory gang jailed A Muswell Hill man has been jailed for helping to run a passport forging factory in Barnet.

Malik Cherad, 36, of Buckingham Lodge, admitted forgery, conspiracy to manufacture and supply fake ID documents, and possession of two bogus French passports, a local media has revealed.

In April, Met officers from the Organised Immigration Crime Unit raided a house in Mill Hill and uncovered a vast array of forging equipment and fake documents.

Cherad was arrested

and charged, and admitted he had acted as a middleman passing data for the fake documents between members of the gang. He was jailed at Wood Green Crown Court for three and a half years.

The forgery factory in Mill Hill belonged to Ismail Hasko, 23, and his brother Andi Hasko, 21, who were in charge of producing the documents.

Valmir Gjoshi, 21, of Highwood Court, Finchley Road, had organised the set up of the forging equipment, and Abdi Ali, 29, of Limes Close, Limes Avenue, Arnos Grove was

in charge of selling them on for up to £100 each.

Gjoshi and Ismail Hasko were both jailed for six years, Andi Hasko was given a five year jail term, and Ali was jailed for 14 months.

Detective Inspector Clive Strong, an officer in the case, said after sentencing: "The conviction of this sophisticated criminal network sends a message loud and clear to those involved in forgery factories like this that we will not tolerate this criminal behaviour and will track down those responsible and hold them accountable."

Jailed for attempted robbery and violence Jaspoul Singh, from Bowden Road, London was convicted and sentenced on 15 December 2009 at Blackfriars Crown Court.

On 1 October 2009 at around 03:30, intoxicated Jaspoul approached the 49-year-old victim in Killick Street, N1.

The Sikh Times reports that he allegedly grabbed hold of the victim's tie and dragged him approximately 50 metres down the street whilst shouting racist abuse and threatening to stab him if he did not hand over his bag. He also punched the victim on the face. The victim managed to run

took the view that although he was a first time offender, his drunken state was no excuse for his attack on an innocent man.

TDC Marcus Johnson from the Islington CID investigated the Blackfriars Crown Court attempted robbery: "This is a away from him and called stark warning to anyone police. However jaspoul contemplating a criminal did not manage to steal or violent path. Even if it anything. is your first offence you CCTV footage from a will be jailed for a signifinearby university hall of cant period of time, that residence captured the you were drunk when you moments when Singh committed the crime is no attacked his victim. excuse."

Jailing him, the judge

Future Generations Sai School Harrow

by Aditi Vyas, Age 11

My Trip to the Maharaja Exhibition

When Sai School Head Teacher, Varsa Mistry read in the Asian Voice about the Maharaja Exhibition at the V&A Museum, she arranged a visit for pupils and parents to see this unique Exhibition on 29th December. I would like to share my experience of my Xmas holiday highlight.

I was impatiently waiting for the incredible day to come. It was a long journey in the tube to South Kensington where V&A is located.

I walked into the exhibition with Sai School pupils, my eyes slowly widening along with my mouth in great amazement. There in front of me was a fully decorated, life sized elephant positioned behind a horse! The elephant was adorned with a beautiful rich, ruby red cloth. He had a huge silver necklace around his neck. Above the elephant there was a specially designed seat

placed for a royal to sit upon. The horse was also dressed in the same fashion.

The exhibition has a rare and amazing collection from different parts of India of various items starting from 18th to 20th century, many being lent from India’s royalty for the first time. As I looked around there were many paintings, depicting weddings; people playing polo; royals meditating, people fighting and portraits.

Looking at the paintings one can deduce the richness of lifestyles that the people had. On display there were rich and glamorous robes and sarees with intricate hand stitched designs.

Men use to wear big decorated turbans and beautiful shoes.

Royals wore elaborate jewellery and they were all made of Gold, diamonds, rubies and and sapphires. On view they also had some of

the weapons that were used. The handle of the weapons were made out of gold with real stones, even the sword sleeves were made out of gold.

We could see the British’s entry into India through the British East India Company and changing role of the Maharajas under British rule. Many royals lavished gifts to the British to maintain control over their states.

There were also some footage of Mahatma Gandhi at the time of British government.

Maharajas had immense wealth, but amazingly it was someone who was born into an ordinary family in Porbandar who had the inner strength to fight for India’s independence.

It was a great trip and I would recommend people to visit the Maharaja exhibition at the V & A Museum as it finishes on 15th January.

Estranged husband get life sentence for murder Husband of Varsha Champaclal has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. He has been ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years.

V a r s h a Champaclal, aged 44, had left her husband Thaker Kardam Ramanlal, aged 48, in August 2008. Just six months later on 13 February Ramanlal went to her place of work armed with a knife and killed her.

Ramanlal, a call centre worker, from Coombe Lane, Kingston

Varsha Champaclal

was charged on the 17

February with the murder of Varsha Champaclal in Mitcham on 13 February.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished r e s p o n s i b i l i t y.

However, the jury found him guilty of her murder as evidence showed him to have intent outlining his movements on CCTV, buying a knife at his local Sainsbury's before visiting Varsha's place of work.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

COMMENT

India’s decade of hope On the evidence of the past decade India’s economic growth has given a nation of a billion and more souls reason enough to dream of even better times to come. It would be rash to dream extravagantly, for the challenges that remain are still formidable and will surely need fresh ingenuity and resolve if they are to be surmounted. For all that much has been achieved. India has surprised herself and the world beyond by her endeavours and achievements in a multitude of fields, from science and its technological applications to further industrial development. There is now a deeper momentum to the process, a reflection of past gains and the experience thereof.

The seminal event was, of course, the economic liberalization of 1991, when the fetters of the license and permit raj were removed and a new dawn emerged. By the end of the last century, India was on a steady 5 to 6 per cent growth path, which lasted until 2004, from when the more substantial 8 to 9 per cent level was reached. During last year’s global economic downturn the Indian economy grew by a commendable 6.9 per cent. This was higher than the best year of the previous growth cycle. The signs are that the current fiscal (2009-10) may well register a figure somewhere between 7.5 to 8 per cent. With the major economies such as the US and

Canada and the EU heavyweights such as Germany and France and Japan emerging from the recession, the signs for India are propitious, with the country’s foreign trade picking up. Small wonder that the Indian Sensex was up by 80 per cent for the calendar year, rising 120.99 points on New Year’s Eve, its biggest gain in 18 years. It closed at 17,464.8.

The numbers overall are a reminder of the fast changing economic scene in India. The per capita income of the average Indian has risen from Rs 1,300 per month in 1999-2000 to over Rs 3000 per month today. Allowing for the rise in prices, it means that that the average Indian’s real purchasing power is more than 60 per cent higher now than it was ten years ago. This has been made possible by rising levels of investment. While it is true that these figures conceal paradoxes and complexities, this economic surge in India has no comparable parallel in the West. We are clearly on the cusp of a remarkable development.

However, there is a downside to this story of expansive growth. The levels of poverty are still stubbornly high. There are miles to go before such poverty is substantially reduced.

This is surely one of the most demanding challenges that India will face in the coming decades. So while India has much to celebrate, there is also much cause for concern.

Political mayhem a current disease To some extent India’s size offers a measure of protection against the effects of social and political disorder. Otherwise the anarchy would have been an even greater threat to the vitals of the Indian state. The coastal strip of Telengana in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh has been ablaze with opportunistic local politicians and their unruly supporters demanding the creation of a separate state.

The case for smaller states carved out of larger entities for reasons of effective administration and development has generally been a strong one. Consider Haryana and Himachal Pradesh which were once poverty stricken constituents of Punjab but are successful and vibrant states today in their own right. So too is a smaller and more manageable Punjab. Uttarkhand has been a conspicuous success after its separation from outsize and maladministered Uttar Pradesh.

But there is a civilized way of going about things. Mob rule is not the answer. Tempers appeared to have cooled over Telengana – at least for the moment – and better sense hopefully will prevail when talks commence in Delhi.

Elsewhere, the situation is more parlous.

Maoists are on the rampage in parts of eastern and central India, with rail tracks blown up and trains derailed. Maoists are working towards the destruction of the Indian state. They want to replace it with a totalitarian model such as we witnessed during Chairman Mao’s lifetime. This cannot be. Whatever it takes the Maoist insurgency must be defeated and destroyed, however loud the cries of their human rights lobbyists.

In Communist-ruled West Bengal, various Gorkha groups have commenced a violent agitation for a separate hill state. These are descendants of Nepalese immigrants, some wedded to the cause of a Greater Nepal, one that appeals to the malevolence of contemporary Chinese statecraft.

This is not a reassuring scene. The saving grace is the strong presence of P. Chidambaram, the Home Minister, who well understands the security threats to the country. His ministry, he feels is too large and cumbersome and needs to be broken into agencies with special responsibilities. He has interesting ideas. These have to be put in place with the appropriate speed. Time is of the essence.

Indian cricket disgraced The recent farce at Delhi’s Ferozshah Kotla cricket ground, where a one-day international between India and the visiting Sri Lankan team had to be called off by the umpires, captains and match referee because of the dangerous state of the pitch, has tarred and feathered the reputation of the country’s cricket administrators.

At fault primarily are the Delhi cricket authorities who have proved to be a law unto themselves. They have been exposed as a selfseeking rabble of crooks for whom cricket is less a sport and more a perk and perquisite in the drive for power and political influence.

The President of the Delhi Cricket Association is the heavyweight BJP politician Arun Jaitley and high up its pecking order is Chetan Chauhan, a former Test player and current BJP member of the Lok Sabha. Whether they had planned a Vedic or Hindutva wicket is unclear, but it didn’t work. An official announcement following the suspension of play regretted the ‘inconvenience’ to the public: more in keeping with the routine declaration of regret for the late running of a train in

the UK. Cricket pitches are for experts with proven experience, not for Johnny come latelys out to make a fast buck. As it is Indian grounndsmen are usually paid a pittance for their labours.

Present-day Test stars such as Virener Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh have deplored the ineptitude and corruption that permeates the Delhi Cricket Association. Former cricketers such as Bishan Singh Bedi and Kirti Azad have swelled the ranks of the disaffected.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for an explanation.

An ‘unfit’ pitch could result in a two-year ban on the offending ground. Which means that the Kotla would be off-limits for next year’s Cricket World Cup. This should concentrate minds wonderfully well.

Elsewhere, the lights failed for forty minutes at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the previous match of the Sri Lanka series. The Communist government in West Bengal hasn’t as yet blamed the glitch on India’s obeisance to US imperialism for the mishap, so help us God.

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Thought for the Week

Appreciation is a wonderful thing.

It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well - Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire

“Our London” CIIr Navin Shah AM London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

Public Transport Fares Bombshell

My column in November’s AV carried a story about the unprecedented public transport fares hikes in London proposed by the London’s Mayor Boris Johnson.

This fares bombshell is worth taking yet another look and see how it will affect millions of already hard-pressed bus and tube users.

The Financial Times has condemned fares increases as the biggest in real terms in Transport for London’s history. The Mayor promised in his election campaign to “put commuters first” and arguing that the fares were too high. Like many of his u-turns the Mayor has hiked the fares and presided over a staggering bonus bonanza of £17,244,651 for senior staff of Transport for London (TfL).

The fares increase means an overall tube fares rise of 3.9% and overall bus fares up by 12.7%. As a result the fares increase include: A single bus journey by Oyster UP 20% to £1.20 A weekly oyster bus pass UP 20% to £16.60 Six-zone peak single Tube fare by Oyster UP 10.5% to £4.20 A five-zone off-peak single Tube fare (outside zone 1) UP 18.2% to £1.30 Most Oyster pay-as-yougo Tube fares UP by 20p per trip.

The pain inflicted on the commuters could easily have been avoided had the Mayor not made foolish decisions like axing of the western extension of the congestion charge; cancellation of the £25 carbon charge on gas guzzlers and replacement of bendy buses.

My worry about the Mayor is that he does not give a damn about encouraging use of public transport, the sustainability agenda and economic well being of Londoners.

ANOTHER BOMBSHELL !

CLOSURE OF TICKET OFFICES I supported Boris Johnson’s commitment during the election campaign to keep the ticket

offices of Tube stations open because he claimed that "There is little financial, strategic or common sense in these closures.

We will halt all such ticket office closures immediately." He also stated “I will also defend local ticket offices …. local people feel it is important there is a manned ticket office at their station…I will stop the proposed Tube ticket office closures in outer London " Initially – after his election success the Mayor as promised, to my delight and delight of Londoners, scrapped the plans to close ticket offices. But, the Mayor has become an expert on breaking his election pledges and mastered the art of u-turn. I’m horrified with the latest news indicating closures of ticket offices rearing their heads again. The Mayor, having once stood and signed the North Harrow petition against closures, is now going back on his promise to residents. One by one every promise he makes to suburban Londoners is being broken amidst pathetic excuses while he takes no responsibility for the TfL budget decisions he has made as the Chairman of TfL over the last eighteen months. It is now patently clear this is another area of London life where Boris will cost you dear.

I quizzed the Mayor at a Plenary meeting in the London Assembly last month about the rumoured plans to close 144 ticket offices. He tried to duck the issue by stating that the stations would be ‘manned’. When challenged and asked for clarification whether a 'staffed station' means an open ticket office, he stated that 'All London stations will be properly staffed' and 'whether or not a station needs a ticket office at all times' would be reviewed. This is not good enough. I’d continue to keep fighting on this issue and hold the Mayor to account. I urge the RMT union and others who lobbied to keep the ticket offices open to renew their campaigns.

YOUR VOICE

4

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

India tightens tourist visa rules

Indians seek apology from US TV show host

Appeal to the Gujarati community

Caste Discrimination Is a Reality

I think its high time India become serious about its border control, security of her citizens and standing up for its own security.

I think India has until now maintained very lenient immigration policies, which we all have enjoyed. India and her people has badly suffered because of this due to terrorism and loss of life and property. Its high time for a change and I welcome this move. Also I can't understand how UK and USA can oppose this move while they themselves operate much stricter immigrations policies!

Every year thousands of Indian citizens get rejected for visa despite paying huge amount of money. These countries operate immigration as business and judge applicants on the basis of their ability to bring revenue to their countries, while India has taken this move for her own security. I pay thousands of rupees worth of money to UK government every year just to bring my Indian citizen parents to see me, I have to produce enormous amount of paper work to prove I am earning enough and despite multi-entry tourist visa they are not allowed to stay here more than 180 days in year cumulative.

Remember, USA did not grant visa to Narendra Modi in the name of security. Its beyond me how these countries can moan about India's tightening visa regulations! We all people of Indian origin or ex citizens of India should understand the issues that India is facing and understand the basis of the policies before complaining about it.

I share the concerns of many overseas Indians who would suffer personally but when its the question of security of millions of Indians, we should be ready to cooperate despite.

It is understandable that the remarks of Glenn Beck have upset many Indian American organisations. I would not blame them for their ignorance. May I ask the leaders of these organisations, do they open their eyes while visiting India to see what is happening to 80 to 85% population of India and to the environments of India?

It is true that 10 to 15% population of India have improved their living standards and have built beautiful houses to live in, but vast majority of people are living in shanties. It is also true that some of the Indians have become super rich people in the world, but what they are doing to help poor people, we are yet to see.

Mr. Glenn Beck have some justified claims and is right to some extent His one remark "one big river they have there that sound like a disease. Come on it does and it is Ganges" It is 100% true for river Yamuna at least. I visited India between 17th November to 10th December 2009. You can not stand to watch this holy river even for one second around Delhi-Noida main road. It smells like hell and is covered with a foam like material. Just drive half a mile towards the river and then you can virtually see the horrors.

While taking the photographs of the river and its surrounding areas, covering my head and mouth I thought that the politicians in India should be forced to take bath in this river. May be that will wake them up!

Dharam Dev Ilford

Those of us who have been in/around Wembley cannot fail to notice the Indian students of mainly Gujarati origin walking around in inadequate winter clothing and footwear.

These students are here on student visas, which they have obtained at high expense via dishonest ‘agents’. After they arrive in the UK, their hopes are shattered as the colleges and student jobs do not materialise. This has even led to suicide on occasion.

Quite often these students live as paying guests (PG’s) with unscrupulous landlords who are not happy to have them in the house between breakfast and evenings. The result is the students are forced to walk around in the cold. They do go to the Library where they can read and keep warm but in silence, occasionally congregating outside the library to speak. It may appear that those who rent collectively are in a better situation but this is not the case as due to economic reasons several sleep together in a room with very abysmal sanitary situations etc.

My family amongst others have cooked and delivered curry/rice in Ealing Road as a temporary solution.

I think they need the temporary use of a Kitchen and a hall (church hall?) in or near Wembley. They can then at least have a daytime meal there. The facility could be run jointly by volunteers and the students with support /supervision from the local community. The rental and provisions of simple food such as dal and rice may be donated. I am appealing to the Gujarati community to facilitate this for these daughters and sons from Gujarat. The present winter is the crucial time after which things should be somewhat easier.

The government should not grant visas so easily as the prospects of these students are bleak in the present economic climate and besides the parents of these students are re-mortgaging their homes in India to raise money in the hope of their children acquiring a British qualification. ‘Better your situation' was a reason a lot of us Indians came to the UK but times have changed and we all need to take care of these young people.

I am in agreement with Mr.Harish Patel (AV19/12/09) that Caste Watch should take steps to eradicate Caste Discrimination among some British Hindus in the U.K. It appears the problem is still prevalent here in the country, otherwise what is the reason for all the sound and fury from organisations such as Voice of Dalit International, Dalit Solidarity Network and now Caste Watch UK. It is said in the late 1880's the Marathi word Dalit was used by Mahatma Jotiba Phule for the outcastes and untouchables in India who were oppressed by Hindu society because of their (outcastes) backwardness due to their being born into the particular caste in their community.

I am given to understand the caste prejudice has nothing to do with Hinduism but it is due to higher class Hindus in India who have introduced the system. Unfortunately this appears to have penetrated in this country also.

I have written twice in the past. that if nothing was done to eradicate the problem of the system it would spread like contagious disease.

The attitude of those who try to conceal the truth and pretend that there is not any kind of discrimination against the lower castes in this country, is a face saving by some if not all, by being elusive from accepting the reality.

Instead,they should come forward and find out for themselves if discrimination exists within their community or not and endeavour to eliminate the problem from the U.K. by joining their brothers.

Mitesh Shah Birmingham

Chew on this Lisa Markwell says this is no time to make New Year resolutions (26 December). One that all of us can make, which is not difficult but of great value to our future and the future of our ailing planet, would be to go vegetarian every Monday. If everyone in the UK abstained from meat one day a week it would result in more carbon savings than taking five million cars off the road.

Nitin Mehta Croydon, Surrey

ASIAN VOICE is published by

Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com www: abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

JMM-BJP Government It is outrageous on the part of senior congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan to criticise the JMM-BJP government headed by Shibu Soren as an ‘unnatural alliance of vested interests’ and she said that there is a complete lack of political integrity in BJP. Mr. Shibu Soren was part of the UPA government led by the congress party. In spite of several cases pending against him from 1974, the congress party made an alliance with Jharkhand Mukthi Morcha (JMM) in successive elections.

The Congress party would have joined hands with JMM if the Chief Minister’s post was given to the Congress party even though the congress party had fewer seats than JMM or BJP. The Congress party also has several corrupt politicians. Rahul Gandhi who took dollars in excess of what allowed in America was stopped at the airport and Mr. Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India at that time came to his rescue. Now the UPA government wants to take action against Mr. Soren for a murder case that took place in 1974.

In stead of dealing with other problems like terrorism in India and problems facing Indian students abroad, the government is bullying the political opponents by framing cases against them that took place 35 years ago.

Arun Vaidyanathan Via Email

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Zardari Oust To unseat Zardari through Supreme court orders on charges and corruption along with 250 important members is fatal political move after Supreme court failed to provide legal amnesty. This would possibly lead to a peaceful military coup and no election. Such political move is unwise to rule a country.

The Day Britain stood still We had the first snowfall of the winter and everything came to a standstill. The airports were closed, flights cancelled, there was widespread disruption to underground and over ground trains and thousands got stuck in the Euro tunnel.

The treacherous roads became impassable. Cars skidded and even aeroplanes skidded off the runway. Local Councils did not grit the side roads and footpaths and they turned into ice rinks. Many people trying to venture out of their homes slipped and got hurt. To add fuel to the fire, a second wave of snow came with a vengeance creating more dangerous conditions across the country. Bridges were closed and the icy roads turned into sheet of glass. The motoring organisations were inundated with calls and had to rescue thousands who were caught out in the big freeze. It is a disgrace that in the 21st century, an advanced country like Britain could not cope and came to a halt. And this is only the beginning of winter!

Dr K R N Moorthy Handsworth

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

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Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seen so euphoric on Monday morning, as they expected a couple of Oscars. British Indians in the UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township of Mumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almost the entire Bollywood waited in expectation, glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebrations as one by one, their heroes, the actors of the British Indian film and the music maestro, A R Rahman bagged the top awards in the world of entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won the Oscar after having missed it almost five times earlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on a cleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directed

by American director Megan Mylan, won the Oscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

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Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

5

6

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Kapil’s

Dinner in Shilpa’s Honour at House of Commons

KHICHADI

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com

Student Power – Jai ho

Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty and Rt Hon Keith Vaz on Shilpa’s wedding in India

Bollywood superstar Shilpa Shetty will have her recent marriage to businessman Raj Kundra celebrated with a special dinner in their honour at the House of Commons, in the British Parliament The dinner was hosted by Keith Vaz, Britain’s longest serving MP of Asian origin who first met Shilpa after she appeared in Big Brother.

Shilpa is one of the International Patrons of Silver Star the charity founded by Mr Vaz three years ago to highlight

diabetes awareness. Mr Vaz attended Raj and Shilpa’s wedding in Mumbai in November 2009.

British MPs and Ministers headed by the Leader of the House of Commons and Equality Minister Harriet Harman MP, leading members of the Asian community and corporate leaders were amongst the guests.

The dinner took place in the House of Commons, London on Wednesday January 6th 2009. Chefs at the House

Assault in car park resulting to death Manjibhai Hirani 48, died in the hospital after a head injury following an alleged attack on December 9 at 8.35pm outside Morrisons in Honeypot Lane in the car park. He remained in a critical condition until he passed away on the evening of December 21.

A post-mortem examination held two days later at Northwick Park Hospital showed the cause of death as head injuries and the inquest into Mr Hirani's death was due to be opened at Barnet Coroner's Court on last Tuesday (Jan 5).

Saqib Rafiq, 25, of Carlton Ave East, Wembley, appeared at Brent Magistrates' Court on Christmas Eve charged with the manslaughter of Mr

Hirani and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on April 22.

A second suspect aged 17 years was arrested and bailed on suspicion of assault on December 9. Sources reveal, the body has not been released by the coroner so far and the funeral date is yet to be announced. He is survived by wife and daughters.

The real motive of the assault is yet to be revealed.

Manjibhai lived between Kingsbury and Queensbury.

The British Indian community living around has been shocked by such an unfortunate death and are scared of their own security.

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of Commons have created a special desert called Shilpa’s Delight.

Keith Vaz MP said:“I am absolutely thrilled that we are able to celebrate the wedding of Shilpa and Raj in the House of Commons.”

“The wedding ceremony in India was an absolutely beautiful occasion and I am so pleased to be able to bring some of the celebrations to the UK. Both Shilpa and Raj have done so much for charitable causes.”

Indian-origin barrister appointed as Recorder Kalyani Kaul, a prominent barrister of Indian-origin who has handled highprofile cases in the UK, has been appointed as Recorder by Queen Elizabeth and will soon preside over hearings in county courts.

Kalyani, 49, has been practising law in Britain for the last 26 years. She studied Law from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Kalyani, is the daughter of well-known British journalists Mahendra Kaul and Rajni Kaul, both of whom worked for long years with the Voice of America (VoA) and BBC. Mahendra Kaul was the first Asian to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975.

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Australia is paying a high price for their lack of proactive action to counter the open and overt racist attacks on Indian students last year.

Latest figures suggest that numbers arriving to Australia from India are down by as much as 21%. This equates roughly to a drop in income to the universities and the local economy of about £50m per year. That is a lot of money.

It is this financial loss that has finally woken up the authorities and the silent majority who turned a blind eye when Indian students were being beaten up in broad daylight. I am glad that Indian students might finally begin to understand and appreciate the power of their ‘buck’. They no longer have to be slaves to the imperial masters or to ‘western’ powers and become beggars in a foreign land – especially when you consider that it is their money that is helping to keep open so many of these institutions.

I hope that this new found confidence in their capacity to deal with their own futures will grow. Indian students should demand the best treatment from any country and university that wants their money. No need to settle for second best – make the money talk and apply it wisely.

Extremists March of Dishonour The extremist and the now banned group calling itself ‘AlMuhajiroun’ had its reincarnation to form ‘Islam4uk’ – a small group of Islamist extremists led by Anjem Choudary. In what appears to be a highly volatile act of dishonour to British troops, the group has posted on their website a determination to hold a march through the town of Wootton Bassett. Yes, the same place where British troops who have lost their lives in fighting wars around the world are brought back and

given a guard of honour by the people of Wootton Bassett.

Islam4uk have stated that they are going to march (with replica coffins) to honour the thousands of Afghan’s and Iraqi’s who have also perished during these same conflicts. I must admit that I find their logic not only disjointed but totally absurd in its entirety.

The rights or wrongs of any war can be challenged through normal means, and Wootton Bassett is not the place for this.

If anyone wishes to honour the death of other people than they also have that right, however, logic dictates that if you wish to do that then please go to Afghanistan to honour the Afghan’s, and to Iraq to honour the Iraqi’s. You cannot do that by marching through a British town called Wootton Bassett.

Looking at its website I noted that one of the aims of Islam4uk is to secure the ‘Domination of AlIslam world wide.’

How often do we see that a few people like Mr Choudary can make life so difficult for the majority of their own faith, i.e. the very people they claim to be fighting for and represent?

My simple advice to Mr Choudary would be to cancel this absurd march. It will not only lower his standing (if that is possible), but it will otherwise adversely impact relations with the Muslim community. If he feels so strongly then I suggest that he organises a march through the main streets of Afghanistan and Iraq – he should be at the front leading his entourage. Do that Mr Choudary and maybe a few might believe that you have the courage of your conviction?

This march has nothing to do with ‘Freedom of Speech’; it does however have everything to do with grabbing the headlines and keeping those with extreme views on his side. At the time of writing this column I also note that so far none of the leading

Muslim organisations have come out to denounce this organisation and the said march. I wonder why?

It is also worth noting that within a short period of time, the number of people who had signed up on face book to oppose the march was around 200 000. I wonder if Mr Choudary has got the message yet.

McNulty – Where are you?

I promised that I would give one more update on the saga of McNulty and Lakhani. I have had responses from: the Prime Minister’s Office, the House of Commons and also the Cabinet Office. All of them have indicated that there is no information on anyone named Mr Abhay Lakhani or the fact that he is meant to be a ‘Parliamentary Advisor on Community Issues.’

What is even more interesting is that so far neither Mr McNulty nor Mr Lakhani has come forward to explain their position? I find that most interesting. Just as startling, MP’s from all three parties still have done nothing about this fiasco as they should if they followed their own rules of good governance. I wonder why? So I say to the people of Harrow (and the surrounding areas) ask each candidate to explain their position on this issue. Ask them why they have done nothing to remedy the situation? In particular, when Mr McNulty turns up, ask him point blank, ‘Why did he allow Mr Lakhani, his very close friend, to continue to describe himself as a ‘Parliamentary Advisor’ for all those years? By the way, Mr Lakhani still describes himself on face book as: Parliamentary Advisor on Community Issues, Member of National Council of Hindu Temples, Executive Member of Hindu Council UK, Co-Chair of Narottam Virji Lakhani Foundation and Managing Director of Executive Investments plc.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

By Chirag Patel, Current Affairs Officer

Caste within the Single Equality Bill 2009 Would like to show its support to Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB) and Hindu Council UK (HCUK) in the wake of the “Caste Amendment” not being included in the Single Equality Bill.

At this time we cannot claim that there is no caste discrimination in the UK, but we do support the in depth research which has been conducted by HFB and HCUK. Both organisations have published substantial evidence that caste discrimination is not prominent within the UK. There was a lobby to the government which included various Indian organisations such as Voice of Dalit International, C a t h o l i c Association for Racial Justice, Indian Christian Council, Dalit Solidarity Network and was led by CasteWatch UK. Some of these organisations operate with what we assume to be an Anti-Hindu agenda which has had led to little and almost no support from the Hindu Community We would like to highlight just a few of the instances, which have suggested biased or ignorant behaviour towards Hindu Dharma.

In a letter from Castewatch UK to Hindu Council UK: “This brutal mistreatment of young Dalit children have been in existence from pre-historic times e.g. “The story from Mahabharata

when a Dalit pupil called Eklavaya acquired fighting skills that no higher caste person could match.

Eklavaya’s martial abilities, competence and fighting skills were brutally taken away from him by a higher caste teacher by amputating his body part.” The situation in schools in India is no different today.”

This is an incorrect statement. In fact the word Dalit did not even exist until the 19th Century when it was first used by Jyotirao Phule.

Eugene Culas – Voice of Dalit International: “Hinduism is a political strategy of Brahmins, all the scriptures are written in favour of them.”

This is clearly not the case; the equivalent of this would be to say that Christianity is the political strategy of Vicars.

We at NHSF (UK) find this quote extremely disturbing, and more so his attitude of narrow mindedness and refusing to accept points for Hinduism.

Brahmin Claims: These organisations also claim that you can

only be born a Brahmin.

These claims are completely false. In fact one of the UK’s most prominent Brahmins, Kishore Ruparelia, was not born a Brahmin.

These are only three of the many Anti-Hindu incidents NHSF (UK) have come across in the last year and has lead to other Christian organisations such as Christian Aid de-associating themselves from the extremist lobby. Robin Greenwood from Christian Aid s t a t e d , “Christian Aid does not support and has not supported Voice of D a l i t International and has consistently requested that organisation not to associate itself with us.”

NHSF(UK) will only claim that there is no discrimination if research is conducted ourselves, and there are currently no plans to do so as we feel that the current research by HCUK and HFB is more than sufficient. We would also like to add that there have been no cases reported to NHSF (UK) of caste discrimination on university campus.

The feeling within NHSF is that the current caste system is not only a Hindu problem, which has been claimed by some parts of the lobby.

We also feel that laws within the UK will not solve any issue, and the only cure to such a practice is education and promotion of equality between all.

Lord Swaraj Paul faces Scotland Yard investigation Continued from page 1 The investigation into Lord Paul is particularly embarrassing for the Prime Minister as the peer has recently been made a member of the Privy Council by Mr Brown.

Lord Paul, a former deputy speaker in the Lords, allegedly gave £45,000 to Mr Brown’s leadership campaign and has allegedly donated more than £400,000 to Labour.

He has allegedly claimed £38,000 in Lords expenses despite being

one of Britain’s richest men with a fortune estimated to be worth £500 million.

He allegedly claimed that a hotel he owned in Oxfordshire was his “main home”. The peer said that he had been living in a small one-bedroom flat on the property when it was occupied by the hotel’s manager. He admitted that he had never slept there but insisted that it was his main home as it was available for his use.

By nominating the

property as his main home, he was able to claim alleged tens of thousands of pounds on expenses for a London residence where he has lived with his family for more than forty years.

The Daily Telegraph disclosed last week that at least four politicians are refusing to co-operate fully with the police probes. The three politicians named last week as now embroiled in criminal inquiries are not thought to have yet been spoken to by detectives.

7

Ex Gurkha win Inspire 09 Business Entrepreneur Award Yogendra Bahadur Chhetri, Managing Director of YBC Cleaning Services Ltd was presented with the entrepreneur of the year award at a prestigious award ceremony held on the 17th of November at the Anvil, Basingstoke. The black tie event was attended by the local mayor, councillors and crème dela crème of the borough.

The Inspire 09 Business Awards celebrate the success of regional businesses in the UK. Yogen Chhetri is the first British Gurkha Hindu to win this award in UK after the government relaxed visa rules for ex Gurkhas in October 2004.

Cleaning YBC Services Ltd is a small dynamic business offering commercial cleaning serv-

Yogendra Bahadur Chhetri, Managing Director of YBC Cleaning Services Ltd with another winner

ices to clients within Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire. The company, which is located in Aldershot, was established in 1996, has in

excess of 300 staff and has over 13 years experience in Commercial Cleaning with a wealth of knowledge gained particularly from the education sector.

Water for the future An ambitious plan to improve the future of the water in the Midlands has been launched. The Severn and Humber River Basin Management Plans, of a total 11, are six-year plans by the Environment Agency.

After three years of planning and consultation, the plans outline what steps everyone in the region must take in order to create a better place for future generations.

Tips include taking showers rather than baths, purchasing low

energy and low water use appliances and fixing dripping taps. For more tips about saving water and protecting the environment, visit www.envir o n m e n t agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/drought/38525. aspx

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8

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Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Midland Voice

Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or dhiren.katwa@abplgroup.com Dee Katwa News in Brief Where do we actually come from?

Society should focus on what unites us rather than what divides us. That's the belief of the Ethnic Minority Foundation, a charity, which held its inaugural annual lecture some weeks ago.

The evening lecture, entitled Human Genetic Diversity: A British Perspective, was delivered by Dr Spencer Wells, a leading geneticist and director of the Genographic Project.

This ongoing non-profit project, spanning five continents, and launched in 2005, seeks to map the history of human migration via DNA. The £21 million privately funded initiative, now in its final year, aims to better understand the human journey - where we came from and how humans came to populate the planet. By doing so, it aims to shed light on unanswered questions such as who are the oldest populations in Africa, and therefore the world?

Who were the first people to colonise India? Are we all related? If so, how closely?

Anybody, anywhere can take part in this project by buying a kit that contains all the material needed to add their genetic information to the

Keynote speaker Dr Spencer Wells

database. Kits sold to the public contain cheek swabs used to scrape the inside of the mouth for a DNA sample. The swabs can then be mailed to a central laboratory for analysis. After four to six weeks, the results of the analysis will appear on the website behind an anonymous password contained in the kit.

Since 2005, over 335,000 kits have been sold across 130 countries; 8,500 of them in the UK. The two-hour lecture, which brought together people from all walks of life, was held at the Church House

Conference Centre, Westminster, in London.

Almost all of the around 80 attendees, spaced out at round tables, gave their undivided attention to Dr Spencer whilst sipping on their drinks. In concluding, Dr Spencer said: “I hope that the Genographic Project will help to unite people across the globe, and remind them that we are all derived from a single, human family.” The welcome address was given

by Dr Krishna Sarda, the down-to-earth and modest Chief Executive of EMF, and the final word came from Lord Amir Bhatia, Chair of EMF, and one of the UK’s leading philanthropists.

Ahead of the vote of thanks, guests were given the opportunity to ask questions to Dr Spencer.

A multilingual Lord Bhatia, 77, said Dr Spencer’s lecture had “made me feel so much closer to my roots”. Lord Bhatia hails from a denomination of the Gujarati Muslim community, the Ismailis, who, in my experience, have a natural gift of the gab.

Also present were Anil Bhanot and Hasmukh

Charity’s volunteer record

The British Heart Foundation has seen a record number of people volunteering to work in its shops.

In 2009, the charity experienced a 40 per cent rise in people working unpaid in its branches. “Our volunteers really are the lifeblood of our shops,” said Diane Locke from the charity.

Jobs boost for graduates Lord Amir Bhatia

Pankhania, both Hindu Council UK, leading journalist Shekhar Bhatia, Coventry-based Davinder Prasad of CasteWatch UK and Baroness Sandip Verma, who silently slipped in half way through the lecture.

Credit, in particular, to EMF’s young, dynamic staff Harpal Singh Hungin and Secil Erden for their enthusiasm and excellent hospitality.

The EMF is an independent organisation that seeks to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice present in our society and the growing global inequities. To find out more about the Genographic Project visit www.nationalgeographic/genographic

Her Majesty bestows gongs Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that none of the 121 MPs leaving parliament at the next election are included in the new year’s honours list.

In a year when Westminster was rocked by the expenses scandal, nobody, it appears, was deemed worthy. Bankers were also largely absent from the list, apart from Dyfrig John, the former chief executive of HSBC,

a bank that did not require a bail-out from

Donate a fiver, get a scarf An ultra-energetic and enthusiastic volunteer, Audrey Miller, pictured, from Birmingham is urging readers to buy a fairtrade rainbow scarf as part of her fundraising mission. All proceeds will go to JDC Birmingham, a charity which campaigns for the removal of unpayable and unjust debts, globally. The scarves are hand-made by workers, many of them deaf and dumb, in Calcutta, India. To receive your scarf, send a cheque for £5.00, which includes postage and packing, payable to JDC Birmingham, to Audrey Miller, 4 Over Mill Drive, Birmingham, B29 7JL. Email jubileedebt@blueyonder.co.uk, telephone 0121 471 4175.

Missed appointments Patients failing to meet appointments are costing hospitals in the West Midlands more than £14 million a year.

In 2009, more than 215,000 people failed to turn up for treatment. Text messages and telephone call reminders have been introduced in an effort to address this issue.

the taxpayer. Those in the Midlands who did receive honours include Woon Wing Yip, pictured, the boss of Birminghambased oriental food empire, Wing Yip, who started out washing dishes in a restaurant. Mr Yip, 71, who arrived in the UK from Hong Kong as an immigrant with just £10 in 1959, becoming the first Chinese tycoon in the UK, received an OBE.

Parmajit Paul Singh Bassi, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and High Sheriff of the West Midlands, was awarded a CBE. In Nottingham, diversity adviser for the city’s mental health trust, David Henry, received an OBE for his services to healthcare. Mr Henry has also been chairman of mental health charity Mind since 2002.

New role Congratulations to Davinder Kaur who has joined the Board of the West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum. Davinder, pictured, an expert in the textiles and clothing sector, currently manages the Sandwell Women’s Development Agency, or SWEDA, which provides advice, mentoring, training and support to clients in the West Midlands.

Poor profile Wolverhampton is the fifth worst city in the world, according to Lonely Planet. Of the city’s total population of over 252,000, a quarter are from ethnic minority communities. In addition it boasts the fourth largest Sikh community in England. The local authority employs 12,500 staff of which 15 per cent are from ethnic minority communities. Wolverhampton is so bad, according to the travel guide, that it does not even rate a description on its website. In the guide, Wolverhampton is topped by America’s most run-down urban ghetto, Detroit, and Accra in Ghana.

Blue-chip companies are planning to recruit more graduates this year. IBM, the technology giant, expects to take on 150-200 graduates compared with 100 last year. Jaguar Land Rover will raise its intake from 70 to 100. In retailing, J Sainsbury wants to hire 85 graduates compared with 65 last time while Tesco has upped its number from 191 to 200. There are more than 100,000 unemployed graduates under 25, according to the Office for National Statistics. A further 300,000 graduates will enter the job market this year.

Final farewell A unisex, mixed-age audience of over 500 people came together for a peace vigil held in remembrance of Nathalal Kalyanji Thakrar, originally from Uganda, who passed away on Dec 29. He was 101.

The pin-drop silence 8pm-10pm event held at the Kadwa Patidar Hall in Harrow, London, last Saturday included devotional Gujarati hymns and speeches from local Hindu Lohana community leaders, also from Mr Thakrar's two sons and his grandchildren.

Trade delegation Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber, pictured, is in New Delhi this week. The father-ofthree arrived on Monday with a delegation of West Midlands businesses seeking new markets for new products at the AutoExpo 2010 motor industry trade fair.

Young offenders A total of 340 youngsters under the age of 16 were arrested by West Midlands Police for drink-related incidents between April 2008 and March 2009, according to new figures. Their crimes, under the influence of drink, include criminal damage, theft, violence and drug offences.

Haunted cell Terrified prisoners at HMP Brinsford, a young offenders’ institute near Wolverhampton, are calling for a priest to bless a cell in which two inmates killed themselves on the same day at the same time.

They claim the cell is “possessed” and want a priest to rid it of evil spirits. HMP Brinsford accommodates almost 600 inmates aged between 15 and 21, including many awaiting trial for serious offences such as murder, rape and robbery.

Electronic voice Nottingham City Council is to introduce an advanced telephone system at a cost of more than £3 million. The authority anticipates the “voice over the internet” system will generate significant savings. The system allows telephone calls to be made through the internet.

Focus on hate crime A major new campaign has been launched aimed at winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of the public in the fight against hate crime. The campaign, launched by the Safer Birmingham crime-fighting Partnership, aims to raise awareness about religious and homophobic crime and encourage victims not to “put up” with it.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

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10

ART & CULTURE

Spriha’s

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Corner

By Spriha Srivastava

Christmas in Vatican

cony I was waiting to see always. With red velvet curtains covering the window, the balcony looked distinct with a red chair and a red velvet carpet hung outside. The

Till now it had only been in Dan Brown novels or Hollywood movies that I had seen the St. Peter’s Basilica and the image of The Pope coming out of his famous balcony to address the crowd at St. Peter’s Square.

And that’s why the moment I landed in Rome, a childhood fasc i n a t i o n descended upon me. I had always wanted to visit Vatican and hear The Pope from his balcony. I was quite disappointed to know that the routinely public meetings that take place every week had been cancelled because of Christmas season.

I was scheduled to reach Rome at 10:30 on Christmas Eve and had made complete plans to attend the Midnight Mass at Vatican. But thanks to an absolutely nerve wrecking service from Al Italia, I reached Rome way past 12 ‘O’ clock. And thus I had to dump my plan to visit the Vatican that night.

Next morning, I got up hearing the sounds of the bells from a nearby church. Well it was Christmas Day and Rome was flaunting all its colours. Before going to Rome, I had read on the Vatican Museum’s website that the Pope gives a Christmas message at noon from his balcony. It was at that moment itself that I had made my mind to reach Vatican and live my childhood dream.

As the year comes to an end, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is how to spend a New Year’s Eve? Some may

As I stepped into St. Peter’s Square, I realised what a grand setting it was. More than a thousand people must have been present but it still seemed like it could accommodate many more. As I looked towards St. Peter’s Basilica, I saw the bal-

like to spend the last few hours drinking in a pub with friends while many would want to stay indoors with family. I decided to get a mix of both. So as much as I spent time at home with friends and family, I also got a fairly good view of the fireworks that

shots of scenes from Angels and Demons and 2012 which I had seen recently came to my mind immediately. It was exactly at 12 noon that The Pope came out and was welcomed by the enthusiastic crowd that had been waiting to hear his Christmas message. His message was of course in Italian but what mattered to me was living a childhood dream.

Christmas in Vatican was one of the best I have ever witnessed in my life.

Back to Queen’s land for New Year’s Eve

sparked the skies as we dawned upon the New Year.

According to figures, more than two hundred thousand people had gathered at the Thames to see the firework display to welcome 2010.

Below zero temperature did not affect those thousands who had been standing at the We s t m i n s t e r bridge hours before the clock struck 12. All this while I had been standing in my friend’s balcony that thankfully overlooks the London Eye and even that was extremely chilly. This year I had decided to see the fireworks from a distance since last year I had made an effort to go all the way but failed to see anything because of the crowd. I could only imagine what thousands of people would be going through at that moment but then it was New Year’s eve and nobody wants to be a spoilt sport.

Even before the clock struck 12, London Eye started flaunting its neon colours that looked absolutely magnificent.

Just as the clock struck 12, a colourful firework display lit up the sky around the Big Ben and London Eye for seven and a half minutes.

For those seven and a half minutes, it seemed like everyone was still looking at those different colours and patterns that came out of the London eye into the sky.

It was only at this moment that I felt that all the trouble that people take to stand for hours waiting for this seven and a half minute of firework show is completely worth in the end.

The lights from the fireworks were like those colours we all want in our lives and just as one goes away there comes another one. In the end it really felt that no matter whatever you do on a New Year’s Eve, make sure you spend these seven and a half minutes just looking at the beautiful display of fireworks.

It is truly very inspirational.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

Honey’s Dance Academy Searches For New Bollywood Dance Stars The doors to new students are about to open at Honey’s Dance Academy, the UK’s top Bollywood Dance School. But before they do, you’ll be put through your paces in an XFactor type audition process, dubbed the Bollywood Factor.

Students who qualify will be trained by Bollywood’s leadi n g Choreographers to take part in major Film, TV and Stage shows, with a special focus this year to compete in the UK Bollywood D a n c e Championships 2010!

The famed Academy since its inception in 1999 has grown to over 13 London Studios and has casted its dancing students in Film, TV and Stage performances such as the BBC Proms, Blue Peter, Jamie Olivers’s

Oliver Twist, even Harry Potter, Bombay Dreams and blockbuster Bollywood movie Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham!

The demand from students aged 4 years old to 18+ wanting to join Honey’s Dance Academy is hotting up, but with limited spaces the queues have been building – so

what better way to spot raw talent but to audition!

On Saturday 09th January 2010 at the St. Giles Hotel (Tottenham Court Road) the keen eye

of Honey Kalaria, the Academy’s founder and a panel of Bollywood’s top choreographers will be

hunting out new dance talent who have the passion, drive and determination to make it as a Bollywood Star!

“You don’t have to be a dance professional to audition, we’re looking for students with passion, creativity and stage presence who we can train in different styles of Bollywood

and Bhangra dance”, said Honey Kalaria, founder H.D.A Open to all skill levels the Academy has taken novice dancers and trained them to perform on the most glamorous of stage and film sets.

With Bollywood ever growing in popularity and now reaching global audiences the appeal to learn and perform in the Bollywood arts has attracted students from all cultural backgrounds – something H.D.A encourages.

Honey Kalaria, the founder of H.D.A has led a enterglittering tainment career as a Choreographer, Bollywood Actress and Singer. Her passion for dance and the arts saw her establish Honey’s Dance Academy and build it to teach, manage and promote young talent globally!

“We’re all very proud of our student’s on-going success, seeing them on stage and on the big screen is fantastic! This year we can’t wait to find more students who have a passion for dance and want to develop further with us!” said Honey Kalaria, founder H.D.A The Academy has always attracted a high number of applicants and with this year’s Bollywood Factor and forthcoming UK Bollywood Dance Championships the organisers are expecting to be inundated. So it is important for anyone interested in auditioning to register prior to the day by calling 020 8590 8050 or online at www.honeysdanceacademy.com.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010 Continued from page 1

11

British Asians shine in the 2010 New Year Honours List KNIGHTS BACHELOR His Honour Mota Singh. For services to the Administration of Justice, Community Relations and to the Voluntary Sector. (London, SW19)

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, CIVIL ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE CBE Parmajit Paul Singh Bassi, DL. Chairman, Bond Wolfe. For services to Business and to the community in the West Midlands. (Stourbridge, West Midlands) Cyrus Todiwala

Ram Parkash Lakha

Ashish Dasgupta

PC Sarinder Kaur Dev is a Diversity Recruitment Officer and has also been awarded an MBE. PC Dev initiated an Inspiring Youth Award to encourage young people from minority ethnic communities to achieve their potential.

and I hope this can offer some inspiration to other Sikh women in their own professions.”

Captain Kandiah Chandran, of Whitehall Road, Chiswick, has been awarded an OBE for services to young people 14 years after founding children's charity Preset. He has been at the forefront of the trust's work to train and support thousands of youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds in a bid to boost their career prospects.

The charity's work for 10-24 year-olds across the capital includes several projects for people in Hounslow, such as one for those who don't speak English as a first language and another launching soon to offer young people six-month placements with local businesses.

The grandfather-of-six was born in Sri Lanka and served in the national army

for many years, achieving the rank of captain in 1959, before moving to London.

"I do not consider this OBE an award for myself, but a recognition of the work of Preset and my colleagues who work together to assist young people

Atma Singh Gill

PC Sarinder Kaur Dev told a local media: “I am absolutely delighted to be honoured with an MBE. It is by far my biggest achievement and I am very proud,

OBE ! Capt Kandiah Chandran, MBE. Chief executive, Preset Charitable Trust. For services to Young People in London. (London, W4) ! Ram Parkash Lakha. For services to the Sikh community in Coventry, West Midlands. (Coventry, West Midlands). ! Sujinder Singh Sangha, Principal, Stockton Riverside College, County Durham.

For services to local and national Further Education. (Stockton on Tees, Durham). ! Cyrus Todiwala, MBE, Proprietor and Executive Chef, Cafe Spice Namaste Restaurant Group. For services to the Hospitality Industry. (London, E9). ! Iqbal Wahhab, Chairman, Department for Work and Pensions, Ethnic Minority Advisory Group. For public service and for services to the Hospitality Industry.

(London, SE1) MBE ! Hemant Acharya, Policy Adviser, Office of the Third Sector, Cabinet Office.

(Stanmore, Middlesex) ! Mohammed Aslam, Executive Chef and managing director, Aagrah Group Restaurants. For services to the Hospitality Industry. (Shipley, West Yorkshire) ! Mrs Gulrook Begum. For services to Disabled Bangladeshi People in Tower Hamlets, London. (London, E17) ! Ashish Dasgupta. Non-Executive director, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Healthcare. (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) ! Ms Sarinder Kaur Dev, Constable, South Yorkshire Police. For services to the Police. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire) ! Atma Singh Gill. For services to the community in the North East. (Chester-leStreet, Durham) ! Ms Imtaz Khaliq, Designer and Master Tailor. For services to the Fashion Industry. (London, N1) ! Ms Shahda Khan, Principal Community Cohesion Officer, Middlesbrough Council. For services to Local Government and to Diversity. (Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire). ! Mr Ramanbhai Barber. For service to the Asian community in Leicester.

Sujinder Singh Sangha

around the capital," he said.

Following is a comprehensive list of the names of people from British Asian community who have received Queen's Award in the New Year (2010).

The absolutely essential health and safety toolkit Loading and unloading goods ‘...are your employees provided with sensible safety footwear with a good grip?’

Rhaynukaa Soni Outreach Executive

The following summaries provide you with an essential checklist of some of the hazards most commonly found on construction sites. The questions will help you decide whether your site is a safe and healthy.

This is not a full list.

Manual handling ‘...can you order materials such as cement and aggregates in 25 kg bags?’ ! Are there heavy materials such as roof trusses, concrete lintels, kerbstones or bagged prod-

ucts which could cause problems if they have to be moved by hand? ! If so, can you: choose lighter materials? ! use trolleys, hoists, telehandlers and other plant or equipment so that manual lifting of heavy objects is kept to a minimum? ! order materials such as cement and aggregates in 25 kg bags? ! avoid the repetitive laying of heavy building blocks or other masonry units weighing more than 20 kg? ! Have people been instructed and trained how to use lifting aids and other handling equipment safely? ! Have people been trained how to lift safely?

Have you checked that the load has not moved or destabilised during the journey to site? ! Is there an exclusion zone around the loading/unloading area to keep people who are not involved away from the work? ! Have you planned your method of unloading? ! Does your lifting equipment have a current thorough examination certificate? ! Do you have to access the back of the lorry at all, or can the preparation work be done from !

ground level? If not: do you have a safe way of getting up and down from the back of the vehicle? ! what do you have in place to prevent workers from falling off the back of the vehicle? ! are your employees provided with sensible safety footwear with a good grip?

Noise ‘...is suitable hearing protection provided and worn in noisy areas?’

Have you identified and assessed workers’ exposure to noise? ! Have workers had information and training so they know what the risks are from noise on site, and what they need to do to avoid those risks? !

Can the noise be reduced by using different working methods or selecting quieter plant, e.g. by fitting breakers and other plant or machinery with silencers? !

Are people not involved in the work kept away from the source of the noise? ! Is suitable hearing protection provided and worn in noisy areas? ! Have hearing protection zones been marked? ! Have you arranged health surveillance for people exposed to high levels of noise?

Hand-arm vibration ‘...have you limited the time that each worker uses high-vibration tools?’ !

Helpline: 0207 556 2181 e-mail: desi@hse.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/gujarati

Has exposure to HAV been avoided or reduced as much as possible by selecting suitable work methods and plant? ! Have you chosen the lowest vibration tool that is suitable and can do the job efficiently? ! Have you limited the time that each worker uses high vibration tools such as concrete breakers, angle grinders or hammer drills as far as possible? ! Have workers had information and training so they know what the risks are from hand-arm vibration (HAV) on site, and what they need to do to avoid those risks? ! Have vibrating tools been properly maintained including keeping bits and drills sharp? ! Have you arranged health surveillance for people exposed to high levels of hand-arm vibration, especially when exposed for long periods? !

12

MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Scrutator’s We have just could have just come through the festive season, but some among us would be justified in claiming that the silly season had accompanied it with a premature appearance. How else can one explain the Times of India’s special front-page dedication – “Love Pakistan”(January1, 2010) - to an ethereal IndoPakistan relationship that never was and, dare one speak one’s mind honestly and freely, is unlikely ever to be as long as Islamabad remains the epicentre of global jehadi terror. The paper’s maudlin doggerel, for such it was, was a mindless exercise in doublespeak, a denial, as it were, that Mumbai and India had been subjected to terrorist attack from across the water on 26/11 {2008}.

It wasn’t the first time either, nor is it likely to be the last.

But it doesn’t strain the creative juices to produce the purest bilge. Worse, a joint appeal by the Times of India and Pakistan’s Dawn publishers was so utterly vacuous that it’s point – if there was one - was lost in the banal verbiage. The attempt to place India and benighted Pakistan on a common platform of moral equivalence was as effective as a damp squib, but the presentation was an example of indecent exposure of parts of the English-language media, whether print or television or a mismatch of both. It was a near obscene spectacle, which reflected poorly on the judgment and taste of a major Indian newspaper. The fourth estate in India is truly fourth-rate. How much lower will it sink?

LtoR: Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi

The saintly Mahatma Gandhi once rubbed Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s feet with oil to reduce the Qaid-e-Azam’s the pain from his corns. This didn’t stop the Muslim League’s Great Calcutta Killings of 16 August 1946, nor did it arrest the formation of Pakistan.

Why should the Times of India succeed with is trite gesture politics where Gandhiji failed with his pristine morality?

Meanwhile, the slaughter and mayhem in Pakistan continues unabated, as The Times of India and other newspapers keep reporting daily.

India’s war Doctrine Newspapers and the media can afford to be cavalier with facts and realities; they have nothing to lose save their circulation. The Indian Army (Air Force and Navy) is not blessed with a similar indulgence. India is in a state of undeclared war with Pakistan, which is aided and abetted by China. Instead of garrulous declarations of friendship, the Indian Army prefers deterrence to keep the peace.

According to The Times India’s Rajat Pandit (December 30, 2009), the Indian Army was “revising its five-year doctrine to effectively meet the challenges of a possible ‘two-front war’ with China and Pakistan, deal with asymmetric and fourth generation warfare, enhance strategic reach and joint operations with the IAF and Navy.

“Work on the new doctrine – to reflect the reconfiguration of threat perceptions and security challenges – is already under way under the aegis of the Shimla-based Army Training Command headed by Lt-General A.S. Lamba.”

Recent terror explosions in Peshawar, Pakstan

with the least possible delay, the timeline to be calculated in hours rather than weeks or months, as was the case a decade ago.

This cold start strategy will be honed in a number of war games.

Mr Pandit again: “The plan now is to launch selfcontained and highly mobile battlegroups, with Russian-origin T90S tanks and upgraded T72MI tanks at their core, adequately backed by air cover and artillery fire assaults, for rapid thrusts into enemy territory within 90 hours.”

Ve n k a t a r a m a n Ramachandran; others included Thanu Padmanabhan, of the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, who in the past eight years penciled a revised mathematical method to describe Einstein’s theory of gravity, an effect that may call for a significant change in our ideas of gravity.

R a g h a v e n d r a

World Bank, India India’s relationship with the Word Bank is on a new ascending curve, a far cry from the past, says a report in Business India magazine (December 27.

2009).

“But Robert Zoellick, the current and 11th chief executive of the Washington-based financial institution who visited India did not encounter any untoward incident. He was feted by the highest in the land and made to feel at home in the bargain.

Indian Army exercise in Punjab or Rajasthan

The 1.13 millionstrong Indian Army will be expected to mobilize and be ready for action

figures had just come out) - and how eager the Indian government was to continue its engagement with the Bank. .

“Take for instance, the overtures made to him by road transport minister Kamal Nath, who is seeing the Bank’s engagement for mega highway projects of the National Highways Authority and the proposed expressways. Nath is also looking for a $2.96

Zoellick got to know what the buzzing Indian economy was all about (The September quarter growth

Business Group is another division, whose prowess has been eclipsed by Larsen & Toubro’s more visible division & Engineering Construction. It is for this reason (to allow each division to find its feet and flourish independently) that the management of L &T decided to create separate verticals through reconstruction.

Electrical Business Group, which is focused on electrical distribution products and automation systems is a model of how an autonomous company operating under the L&T brand can move from strength to strength.

Reconstructing business is part of innovation surely.

Gujarat township World Bank President Robert Zoellick with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee

billion loan for double-laning of a 6,300 km of the 19,000 single-lane highway.” Later Nath drove Zoellick to his residence where a spanking new Tata Nano awaited the latter’s inspection.

“An awe-struck Zoellick got into the front seat, then tried the back seats and saw the engine sputter into life in the world’s cheapest car.” Mr Zoellick said: “That’s a very impressive car. I am amazed at the frugal engineering made possible by Indian companies. It shows the strength of Indian companies.”

Gadagkar, at the Indian Institute, Bangalore, has been observing wasps to probe some of biology’s biggest puzzles for insights into how biology shapes insect societies.

Finally, Mrigank Sur, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, has demonstrated that the brain’s chemistry is a lot more plastic and adaptable than had been previously assumed. His research on the brain promises to bring brain disorders such as autism into the realm of therapy.

Scientists in big-time

Larsen & Toubro is one of India’s heavyweight engineering companies, conjuring images of giant construction projects, steel plants, roads, airports, dam, defence items and the like. However, its expanding portfolio keeps pace with the times.

Electrical & Electronics

Kolkata-based Telegraph newspaper (January 1) produced a series of briefs on some of India’s outstanding scientists of the decade. We list a sample headed by the 2009 Chemistry Nobel laureate

Powering ahead

With the Gujarat government announcing a new residential township policy, the stage is set for highrise buildings to make their appearance in all the state’s major cities and possibly in the smaller towns as well.

The new regulations allow real estate developers to construct a building of a maximum height of 70 metres (or 21 floors) on payment of 7 per cent of assessed property tax. The regulations make t binding on the developers to purchase 40 hectares of land to build a residential township in areas falling under the urban development authority Ahmedabad, Surat, Va d o d a r a , R a j k o t , Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. In the case of the other towns, the developers will need to buy a minimum of 20 hectares for land.

In such matters, where Gujarat leads, India’s wise follow.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

www.abplgroup.com

Alpesh Patel Consultant Editor Financial Voice

13

British retailers to have a tough time this year too 2010 Concerns Snapshot survey says recovery could be weak, slow

Dear Financial Voice Reader, I write to you from Dubai a few hours before my flight to Delhi. So is Dubai ‘dead’? Has the credit crunch left the city a ghost town? Far from it. Properties are being built and those that are vacant are remaining vacant than being sold at deep discounts. There are no panicked firesales. There are re-negotiations. Some will lose there investments, most are going to have to wait a little longer. It is a like a property demise elsewhere except its generally the very wealthy become slightly less wealthy.

And don’t take my word for it. The legendary investor Mark Mobius is ‘very confident’ on Dubai.

Dubai is of course not just about property. Wealth let us not forget comes from being part of a commodity based economy – the main commodity being oil. Now for some New Year resolutions for you.

Resolution: Plan and manage risk Plan ‘what if’ scenarios and think about their response to each probable outcome. With a plan in hand confidence is enhanced, fear of loss reduced and that in turn assists clear thinking for entering the trade.

At what point will you exit if facing a loss? Never lose on any one trade more than 2% or 3% of all the trading capital you have. Otherwise you are what professional traders call a 'gunslinger' - someone lucky to still have money to trade. If you are likely to easily lose such an amount on a single trade, then either increase your trading capital, scale back your trade size or look for a better trade.

If that eventuality occurs then have the discipline to exit. Similarly, what will determine the point at which you will take a profit? Try not to leave it to 'I will decide the day after the market crashes'. Even a simple rule such as exiting if the price drops below its 50 day moving average, or exiting if more than 50% of the profits are given back to the market, can be better than no rule at all.

Resolution: Maintain patience Inexperienced traders' entering a trade are often driven by fear; the fear of the missed opportunity. Their mind will be screaming, “quick get on the trade, you’re going to miss it, so what if you haven't analysed it in detail? The market's are soaring, there is no time to wait."

The inevitable result is that the trade will not be profitable or as profitable as it would have been had the trader waited for the precise moment to strike based on a system he has tested.

In trading the fear of the missed opportunity leads to many avoidable losses. The game of trading is as much about avoiding losses as about capturing profits.

Resolution: Keep emotionally detached A trader’s attitude to their potential and existing positions is often a great determinant of success. When you have an open position and you are looking to close it, you will either have a profit or a loss. The emotions relating to each are quite different. For instance, when sitting on a loss many traders experience hope that the position will turn around because they fear and deny that it may not. It is for you to recognize these emotions and to discard them. Your judgment has to be based on detached reason relating to your analysis of the company.

Resolution: Take the loss and move on Toptraders cut their losses and move on. The issue is not whether the market may turn around if they hung in there. They cut their losses if it is what they had said they would do in their plan. A loss is a success if your trading plan requires you to exit and you followed it.

By cutting your losses you free up capital to place in more profitable positions elsewhere, and free up mental energy to focus on new opportunities.

Low consumer demand and weakness in the economy are likely to trouble the British economy in 2010 also, making it another tough year for the retailers. According to the details of “2010 Concerns

Snapshot Survey”, carried out by British Retail Consortium, even rising unemployment and increase in personal taxes are the factors the retailers are concerned about.

The ability of retailers

to maintain jobs and create new ones is affected by the uncertainty. A third of retailers who responded to the queries in the survey felt they would need to cut more staff this year.

Almost 80 per cent of

retailers have said that retail sales this year would be at the same levels as in 2009.

More than 20 per cent said sales could go up, while none thought it could get worse.

International expansion plans for Barclays curtailed Barclays, the British banking giant under its new head of retail banking has curtailed the plans for international expansion, according to local media reports.

Anthony Jenkins took charge as the global head of retail last month. He is of the view that the bank’s businesses have to be of

meaningful size to merit further investment. He has conveyed it to senior executives, as reported in Sunday Times.

Barclays had ambitious plans for India, but that have been scaled

down, as India has restrictions on foreign ownership in banking, making it hard to go for expansions.

The bank now plans to focus on niche areas, dropping plans for general

expansion in many other countries also.

Barclays has businesses in more than 50 countries, and could opt for sale or closing down operations in some of the businesses. It aims at expansions in only those countries where it is among one of the top 10 banks or is likely to become one.

ArcelorMittal raises $750mn for investing in Turkish, OZ firms ArcelorMittal, the UK based global steel giant last week raised $750 million to help fund investments in Turkish and Australian firms, a company statement has said.

The steel giant has issued convertible bonds and placed them privately with a Luxemborg affiliate of Caylon, the investment banking subsidiary of Credit Agricole. The bonds have been issued by ArcelorMittal’s whollyowned arm based in Luxembourg.

The funds raised through these bonds will be used to help investments in notes linked to shares of Eregil Demir & Celik Fabrikalari of Turkey and Macarthur Coal Ltd. of Australia.

ArcelorMittal subsidiaries hold shares of both these firms.

The company statement further said the Luxembourg subsidiary may also invest in other financial instruments, in consultation with investment banker. The bonds have a maturity of 17 months, with ArcelorMittal having the right to call it early, in the year prior to maturity. The steel giant has no intentions of selling the shares of either of the two firms.

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14

FINANCIAL VOICE

Forest land for POSCO to set up steel plant in Orissa POSCO, the South Korean steel manufacturer has been accorded final approval to acquire forest land in Orrisa to set up the steel plant there. A company spokesman last week said about 4,000 acres of land is needed for the project, out of which 2,900 acres would be forest land.

POSCO’s $12 billion project is long delayed, as the company had signed an MOU with Orissa government in June, 2005.

Project faced problems as farmers were not willing to give up their land.

The project, considered as the largest foreign direct investment in India, has been delayed by more than two years due to protests by farmers who fear losing their livelihood.

Even the grant of mining lease has been delayed due to litigation and now POSCO plans to go ahead with the construction of the steel plant first.

ICICI Bank to help Indian firms explore opportunities in UK A tie up with UK Trade and Investment for training events and investment assistance India’s leading private sector bank, the ICICI Bank, aiming to help Indian firms looking for business opportunities in the UK, has tied up with UK Trade and Investment.

ICICI Bank MD and CEO, Ms. Chanda Kochhar said, “Through

this initiative, we envision further awareness to the Indian businesses by means of knowledge and counselling sessions.” UK Trade and Investment is a government organisation helping UK-based companies succeed in international markets.

Reliance sells 25 mn shares to raise Rs. 26 bn Shares sold to LIC for funds to finance LyondellBasell buyout Reliance Industries Ltd raised Rs. 26 billion ($559.5 million) by selling 25 million shares at a 5 percent discount to Life Insurance Corp of India, two sources with knowledge of the deal said recently. The sale is aimed to mobilise funds for buyout of LyondellBasell, a deal that is expected to cost the Indian giant $12

billion.

Controlled by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, Reliance is engaged in manufacturing and processing of petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration as well as retail business.

Citigroup and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch were arrangers for the deal, sources said.

‘Green’ is the new mantra at Tatas Tata, the global Indian business house has embarked on an ambitious campaign to adopt eco friendly practices in all the businesses, including Steels, Auto and Hotels.

After taking the world by storm with acquisitions and later introducing Nano, the world’s cheapest car, the House of Tatas, one of India’s oldest industrial houses has stepped up efforts for bringing down the carbon foot print.

Tata Steel has a goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at its Jamshedpur plant from the current 1.8 tonne to 1.7 tonne per tonne of liquid steel made by 2012.

The ideal global benchmark though is 1.5.

Tata Motors is setting up an eco-friendly showroom using natural building material for its flooring and energy-efficient lights.

The Indian Hotels Company, which runs the Taj chain, is in the process of creating eco rooms which will have energyefficient mini bars, organic bed linen and napkins made from recycled paper.

For illumination, the rooms will have CFLs or LEDs. Tata Motors also have plans to introduce the Indica EV in select European markets this year. The group’s large companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals and Tata Consultancy Services contribute 80% of the group’s overall emissions and a panel, headed by Tata Sons director JJ Irani, has been formed to address this issue.

Tata Power has set goals of producing 25% of electricity generation within ten years from renewable sources.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

BMW races ahead of Mercedes in India sales Mercedes Benz lost it’s top position as the best selling luxury car in India in the just concluded year 2009, as BMW overtook it.

BMW sales in 2009 were 3619 cars, making Mercedes settle for the no.

2 spot with sales of 3247 cars. The two German giants came into competition in 2005, when BMW started operations in India.

In the past two years, Mercedes Benz has controlled over 50 per cent of the luxury car market, with BMW close behind,

averaging a market share between 35 and 45 per cent. The rest was contributed by the third German car major, Audi, which sells around 1,000 cars a year.

2009 was a turning point for Mercedes Benz.

Despite the overall decel-

eration in passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market, it actually posted a robust growth of 24 per cent, while Mercedes Benz posted a decline of 10.4 per cent.

Mercedes on Tuesday, 5th January unveiled the new S-500 L car, priced at

Rs 95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The new S-500 L will be assembled (from CKD kits) at the Pune factory.

Mercedes Benz also unveiled its new SUV, the GL 350 CDI, priced at Rs 64.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Zydus Cadila to go for H1N1 vaccine trails Ahmedabad drug maker likely to launch the vaccine by April Zydus Cadila, an Ahmedabad based pharma major with a German collaboration has received the approval for conducting clinical trials for swine flu (H1N1) vaccine from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).

Pankaj Patel, Chairman and Managing

Director of the company said, “Zydus Cadila became the first Indian drug maker to commence multicentric clinical trails of the swine flu vaccine.

With the vaccine in the market soon, we should be able to prevent further loss of lives to this infectious disease.”

With the speedy completion of trials and the fast track approvals, India’s indigenous H1N1 vaccine is expected to hit the markets by April this year, the company said.

The demand for H1N1 vaccine in India is estimated to touch 50 to 60 million doses in initial phase.

Mandelson pat for Tatas in waking up Britain Britain woke up to the growing strength of India only of late, as late as 2008 when Tata, the Indian industrial giant acquired the ailing UK car brands of Jaguar and Land Rover from the US automaker Ford.

Peter Mandelson, UK secretary of state for commerce and business, recently on a tour to India, had a pat for Tatas, the

new owners for JLR as well as Corus. At a CII function, he said when the Tatas acquired the British marques, the company was struggling financially, but they have been nurtured back to health by the new owners, with improving sales.

UK minister also said Britain has manufacturing potentials and hoped that the investment by Tatas

there would send clear signals to rest of the Indian industry.

Supply chain companies and higher education are two areas where British entities should focus on India, Mandelson said. With increased focus on climate change, low carbon business is another area of cooperation between the two countries, he added.

India to stay at top in global milk production In 2007-08, India achieved the feat of becoming the world’s largest milk producer, and NDDB expects that the country is set to stay at the top for the year 200809 too. Milk production in India for the previous stood at 104.8 million tonnes, and the figure is expected to be 110 million tonnes in 2008-09.

The spokesman said the world’s milk production was expected to be 688 million tonnes in 2008-09, a marginal 1.7 per cent increase over the

previous year as against about four per cent increase achieved by India.

Within India, farmers’ milk cooperatives showed a better performance.

They procured about 9.2 million tonnes, an increase of 9.7 per cent over the previous year, handling over 14 per cent of the national marketable surplus. The cooperative sector covered about 21 per cent of the country’s villages and over 18 per cent of the total milk-producing households in rural

areas.

The NDDB had prepared a Rs. 173 billion plan for the next 15 years to increase milk production with better productivity, strengthening and expanding the infrastructure for procurement and human resources development substantially. A Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food at Anand in Gujarat has also been set up. It would provide reliable and efficient laboratory services for livestock, dairy and food sectors.

Zydus Cadila's eggbased inactivated vaccine has been developed by the group's experts at its Vaccine Technology Centre in Ahmedabad. The H1N1 vaccine market at present is estimated to be US$676 million. The market is expected to cross USD 7 billion by 2011.

Surat is no. 1 globally in big diamond processing

Surat, known as the diamond city of India and one of the most prosperous cities in Gujarat has become the top player in diamond industry globally, with almost 80% of solitaire diamonds – big diamonds of above one carat being processed there. Israel and Belgium once enjoyed this spot.

According to estimates by experts, Surat diamond hub accounts for total annual diamond processing worth Rs. 500 billion and 30% of this is large diamonds. As against just 10 to 15 players in the large diamond processing some five years ago, the numbers have gone up to more than 200 in that segment.

The market share of Israel and Belgium in cutting and polishing big size stones is likely to go down to just 5% in 2010, with Surat garnering all the business. A recent KPMG study says the prime reason for this trend is rising labour costs and the industry being unable to retain manpower as also facing increasing competition from emerging centres like India.

Indian exports turn positive after 13 months Lower imports help reduce trade deficit in Nov. 2009 There are more signs of India being on a fast track to recovery, as the country’s exports registered a rise of 18.2% in November 2009. The positive trend is significant as in previous 13 months, the exports were falling.

The export growth also led to lowering of the trade deficit. A nominal

decline in India’s imports for November also contributed to the lower trade deficit.

Exports amounted to $13.2 billion, while the imports went down by 2.6% to $22.88 billion, as compared to $23.48 billion in November, 2008.

The trade deficit came down to $9.69 bn against

$12.33 bn a year ago.

Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar projects exports to be in the range of $165 to 170 bn this financial year, lower than $182.6 billion last year.

The downfall in exports started in October 2008 due to the global economic slowdown that began after the collapse of

the US investment banking giant Lehman Brothers.

As most of the advanced economies slipped into recession and faced major reduction in consumer demand, the exports communities in emerging economies including India took a beating.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

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FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Tata to drive Nano in the US market too JLR is a long term investment, says Ratan Tata Tata Motors aim to drive their small wonder, Nano into the US market also. It would be launched there only after considerable modifications, Ratan Tata said at New Delhi on Tuesday.

Unveiling atleast 3 new vehicles in the car segment at the Auto Expo 2010, the Tata group chairman also said Tata’s acquisition of the UK car brands JLR is a long term investment.

On launching Nano in the USA, he said, “We recognise there is a market

for the Nano in developing countries and the developed world as well.” He said the Nano for USA would have a larger engine and undergo more crash tests. He did not specify a time frame, but said it could be 3 years.

He said the company is prepared to return the Singur land to West

Bengal government, provided it was compensated well. He also said there will be no price rise for Nano in India for the first 100,000 cars as committed by him. On his retirement plans, without giving any time frame, Ratan Tata said, “it is my responsibility to have a successor and that will take place”.

Tata Motors unveiled four-seater Magic Iris, eight-seater Tata Venture hatchback and the 4x4, seven-seater crossover Tata Aria, as also the allnew Jaguar XJ.

Bharti gets B’desh nod for 70% stake in Warid Telecom regulator in Bangladesh has given the nod to Bharti Airtel of India for purchasing 70% stake in Warid Telecom as well as investing $300 million in the company.

Zia Ahmed, Chairman of the Bangladesh Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said the commis-

sion has approved the proposal of Airtel to buy 70% shares of Warid Telecom, held by Abu Dhabi group for a consideration of $300 million.

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile services provider will now be able to enter the lucrative neighbourhood market.

The nod comes after six

months of pursuit since the Abu Dhabi group put its stake on sale.

Warid has nearly three million subscribers in Bangladesh.

After Orascom of Egypt and Singtel of Singapore, Bharti Airtel is the fourth foreign company to enter Bangladesh market.

Air India saves Rs. 6 bn in 3 months Austerity measures help Indian flag carrier trim losses

Air India, the Indian flag carrier was successful in savings of Rs. 6 billion through austerity measures, helping the airline trim losses.

The struggling airline went of replacement of older, more fuel using aircrafts with new ones, going for refueling at foreign airports and thereby getting cheaper fuel and a host of other measures.

Air India had reported losses of Rs 54.5 billion last fiscal year and was staring at yet another weak year

after the liquidity crisis curbed air travel. It now expects to save further Rs. 5 billion in the remaining 3 month period of January to March in the current financial year, through other measures like renegotiating handling contracts, cutting aircraft material costs and improved fuel management.

“The airline inducted new fuel-efficient aircraft, which saved around Rs 1 bn on fuel, while another Rs 1 bn saving came through rentals and other administrative costs,” said the executive who can’t be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“The company also renegotiated various airports handling contracts, which saved Rs 200 crore for the airline and saved another Rs 2 bn from aircraft material costs,” he added.

Chinese firms do business with Iran, escape US sanctions!

Chinese companies that have been listed in the USA for sanctions for selling military equipment to Iran are escaping sanctions, according to a media report, quoting nonproliferation watchdog group.

A report on the Wall Street Journal website says the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control explains that the US sanctions are huge in numbers and even complex, making

it difficult to enforce them.

It is for this reasons that the Chinese companies have been able to escape the sanctions.

Gary Milhollin, a former Pentagon consultant and at present Project director at Wisconsin said, “We spend a lot of time convincing other countries of the need for tighter sanctions on Iran. At the same time, we need to better enforce our own laws already on the books”.

Some of the US companies doing business with Chinese firms say they were not aware of the fact that they were doing business with entities that are banned. The WSJ report also said, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, tasked with policing the sanctions regime, has not fined any US companies for trading with Chinese companies banned in 2006.

Alpesh Patel’s Political Sketchbook: Awards: Death in China and the fate of the world That the Prime Minister is appalled that a British citizen is executed by Chinese authorities is misguided. First, the individual was convicted under the laws of a sovereign nation and punished accordingly, albeit a punishment we in Britain no longer deploy for the same offence.

Quite different was the case of the sailors caught in Iran where Britain was able to help establish there was no offence.

Second, if the reason for being appalled was that the individual was hanged, then the PM should have been appalled at hangings generally in China – numbering 8,000 annually according to some sources on the internet.

That is moral outrage and quite different.

So what is the role of our Government in the internal affairs of a foreign sovereign nation? It is an issue encompassing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to genocide from Serbia to Somalia to hangings in China and climate change in Copenhagen. At what point is it right to interfere to enforce a rule or principle, does a legal right occur to supplement moral right, and under what punishment for non-compliance?

This one innocuous question will define the fate world in the 21st century. In a century that will continue to be dogged by cross-border terrorism – when and how will Britain and her allies attack actors within other nations – or indeed other nations themselves? In a century where Iran will build a nuclear bomb in breach of UN and other international treaties, what sanction is there for Britain to deploy? In a century where 3rd world countries will secretly breach climate change emission requirements – how will we in Britain respond? In a century where the proliferation of small arms to African tribes will see the erasure of whole races

when two tanks and a few hundred British soldiers could end the killing – what will we do and under what authority – moral or legal?

Of course dealing with people in your own country is simple. You have laws, a method of judging their breaking, and sanctions. The ultimate sanction is the confiscation of your property or your liberty. The entire legal system is founded on the ultimate sanction that your property or liberty can be removed should you not obey the laws of the land.

Take speeding. First you are fined. Then when you don’t pay, your fine is raised. Ultimately your property is confiscated.

The problem between States is first there is lack of clarity what is ‘law’.

Just ask Tony Blair. Was there a validly enforceable legal UN declaration for war in Iraq? If you want an answer to why ‘we are in Iraq’ the answers relating to morality may help you sleep better at night, but the former Prime Minister and barrister should know, enforcing the law is its own justification. Morals may lead to laws, but the moment Blair brought into the public domain arguments about morality, he entered the ‘grey’ area where everyone’s definition differs and so vast swathes remain unconvinced and he became perceived as a crusading evangelist with shifting arguments.

If you want to convince the public about your actions in Iraq as Prime Minister, the answer lay in the simple fact that the law was being upheld. Yes others similar laws may not have been enforced before or since, but this one was. Let the commentators work on the morality, because it is moral enough to uphold the law. As soon as you try justifying the decision on moral grounds because you believe ‘in the force of your argument’ you may as well

next try to win the hearts and minds of Al-Qaeda.

No the first role of Government is not to formulate its arguments on morals, but on laws.

Sometime in the 1800s Britain moved from a system of laws formulated on religious grounds and the morals it gave rise to, to those based on liberal secular principles – most notably that in general the State will not use its ultimate sanction of sequestering your property and removing your liberty and generally will not interfere in your private affairs unless your actions causes harm to others. Of course the definition of ‘harm’ varies according to party, but the laws in Britain on say, abortion, are based not on the views of the Church but on views on harm. And Britain is better for it. For those who would rather have British laws based on morals, they usually want them based on religious morals, and that changes the fundamental rules of the game in Britain.

So too with international action for genocide and acts of terror. Where the harm results in an international law being broken, expect the sanction to have to be confiscation of property or ultimately removal of liberty – which between nations means war. Expect more war in the 21st century.

There remains between nations, as within them, no more potent a sanction to ensure compliance with laws.

So just as former Prime Minister Blair should rejoice in upholding international law and leave it at that, so present Prime Minister Brown should rejoice the Chinese upheld the law.

The columnist is hails from Karamsad, a former Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

He read Philosophy, Politics, Economics at St Anne’s College, Oxford when he also interned in the US Congress and read Law at King’s College, London, qualifying as a barrister.

India’s direct tax collections up by 8.5% for April-December Direct tax collections in India have shown a healthy rise of 8.5% for the nine month period of FY 2009 – from April to December, 2009. The rise is mainly due to higher corporate tax collections.

Personal income tax revenues were, however a bit lower, down by 0.41%.

Direct tax collections during April-December 2009 rose to Rs 25000 billion, on account of

higher corporate tax collections.

In the first three quarters of the current financial year, collections of corporate tax jumped by 13.47% to Rs 16600 bn.

However, personal

income tax collections were down at Rs 83,178 bn during the period compared to Rs 83,524 bn in the same period last year.

Accroding to an official statement, the nega-

tive growth in Personal Income Tax was mainly due to higher refunds under the same head - at Rs 895.4 billion against Rs 597.9 bn in the same period last year.

Corporate tax collec-

tions in December 2009 grew by a whopping 44 per cent to Rs 5,329.3 billion. Direct tax collections were Rs 6,641 billion during the month against Rs 5,334.7 billion in December 2008.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

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Suresh Vagjiani is the Managing Director of Sow & Reap, a Property Investment & Financing company.

Make Your Money Work For You One of our readers who had been following our articles for many years, decided to finally contact us with a view of taking the plunge and stepping into the UK property market. A builder by profession he was fed up working for others and fed up of other people making good money from his hard work.

Though from a working class background he had worked hard to save and pay off his mortgage, his current mortgage was nominal he had some savings too which were lounging around in a bank account not really earning much.

So we met and spoke.

Firstly he had an aversion to working with someone as he had been burnt previously in a property transaction several years ago and hence developed hesitancy in investing again into property. I assured him we were not this type of firm, but even if a firm was not I am sure the same assurances will be given! So the bottom line is this- no trust is required! The property is bought in his sole name

and he can verify all our due diligence, the property is surveyed by a valuer the bank appoints and there is a solicitor in place who will check all the paper work.

His aim was to leave his job and do property projects full time. I sug-

two bedroom property in Westbourne Park close to the fashionable Notting Hill. The property was purchased for £275,000 and will attract a rental of £500 per week. This will generate roughly £12,500 after taking into account the interest on both mortgages and the service charge. Not bad for simply rearranging what you already have. This little

example takes into no account the capital appreciation which will occur due to the strong location of the property. Also this is passive, meaning if he decided not to get out of bed tomorrow this income will still come to him. Sow & Reap offer a full turn key solution meaning we will finance, source and rent the property we find for you.

The next step is now to hunt down property deals which have a development angle to them.

These exist in Central London in a very limited way, mostly through internal reconfigurations. If you would like help to make your money or equity work for you instead of you working for your money call us now on 0207 706 0187.

THE NRI ADVANTAGE gested this is not a good idea. Reason being we need to ensure there is same stable income first.

Property development involves many variables.

If you are banking on a property being sold and after 3 months the property sale falls through the mortgage company will not be there to listen to any stories.

My suggestion was to purchase a high yielding central London property first and then engage in property development.

This will give him an income which will insu-

late him against any issues he may have in the development side.

In order to start on this road we suggested an overdraft facility to be set up on his main residential home. Like him many are under the illusion that you should not put your

residential home at risk. I appreciate this point but as soon as you get any mortgage your residential property is at risk. In the event of a shortfall where the bank does not recover their funds from sale of your property they have the right to come after you for the rest of their funds. So your home is already at risk. But without risk there is no reward, and property despite the recent climate is still a very sensible form of risk.

The reason why we suggested to take an over draft facility and not to dig into his savings, is because the first property will be a high yielding property – one which generates a good rental, we should offset as much of the rent as possible. One of the biggest expenses incurred is the interest incurred in purchasing a buy to let property. The interest element of the mortgagee can be offset against the rental income. If the deposit is borrowed from your own home and the rest is borrowed from the property you are buying the interest on both chunks of money can be offset against the rental income.

After arranging the facility and agreeing a property our client has recently completed on a

Mortgages Commercial Finance Gujarat Properties - Sale & Resale Property Sourcing

In the last couple of years the press were reporting doom stories, daily propounding the mantra we are going through a property down turn. The power of mantra is in repetition, if said long enough it will be believed. Of course there are fundamental reasons in the economy why this was the case.

But there was a large element of propaganda.

Certainly in Central London properties below £500,000 didn't really go down.

What was occurring was actually a lack of supply.

People didn't need to sell and therefore just held onto property, agents were reporting huge buyer interest even those who had cash but they couldn't do the deals due to a lack of supply. This was the story through out the whole period of the credit crunch.

Things now seem to be picking up on a global level. One country which didn't suffer from the credit crunch - simply because it doesn't believe and have a lot of credit, and is one of the hottest places to invest now is our home land which coincidentally just happens to be one of the fastest growing

economies of the world.

What I want to show here is the tremendous opportunity we have of taking advantage of this market. Firstly we are allowed to invest. It is only NRI and POI who can purchase property in India. Not everyone is allowed into this property market which gives us an advantage and is like

a special VIP pass, before the floodgates open to everyone, which most have not taken advantage of.

Secondly we have strong buying power in pounds.

Thirdly even though interest rates offered by Indian banks are around 10% per annum people are still purchasing due to the high growth rates of Indian property.

With the current interest rates at below the 3% mark we have an advantage against the locals from a borrowing point of view. Rather than borrowing one

lump sum from the outset, many lenders offer a draw down facility allowing you to draw the funds down as the development completes. What many investors don't know is that this facility can be granted on a fixed rate too giving security against interest rate fluctuations to the borrower.

Fourthly following the rise of property prices over the years, many of us are sitting on Inheritance tax time bombs, purchasing a property in India will not only be an astute business move for the above reasons, but may help alleviate the IHT burden if done in the correct way.

It could be dangerous doing nothing as you could be sitting on an IHT time bomb.

Given the above it would only be inertia to stop someone from at least looking into this issue a little further. We will be bringing some exciting opportunities from Ahmadabad to you shortly. To register your interest and to get our report into Ahmadabad please email info@sowandreap.co.uk and we will email this free PDF to you.

Sow & Reap Call On: 0207 706 0187 Email at: info@sowandreap.co.uk

Sow & Reap Properties Limited is trading as Sow & Reap.

Registered in England No. 05083823 Registered Office Address: 31 Southwick Street, Paddington, W2 1JQ

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www.abplgroup.com

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

BY

Home remedies to cure whooping cough Cough is a contagious disease that when somebody in the family has this, it has the tendency to contaminate to all the family members.

Whooping cough disturbs your sleep at night and ruin your activities for the day. I find radish and onions very effective to cure cough. No side effects and you don't have to spend much. It will not even make you feel drowsy and you can continue with your day’s

worlk without actually being disturbed. One such method is the usage of a mix of raddish and onion. The combination might sound awful for consumption but is a quick recovery for a whopping cough.

1. Wash and peel the radish. Then slice the radish in bite size, set aside.

Wash and chop the onion and combine it with the radish.

Put the onion and radish all together in a blender. Blend it until it turns into juice Strain the blended radish and onion to take out the pulp. Put the finished product in a glass.

(1/4) glass measurement for adult and 1tbsp. for kids 7 and up yr. old.

Let the person suffering from cough drink it right away. The taste is not really good but it is very effective to get rid of the bacteria.

Do the process 3-4 times a day if the coughing is really worse.

Apart from the onion raddish mix there are other remedies which are also quite home made and can be used to get rid of cough.

These remedies are not at times

too bad for the palate unlike the onion raddish mix. By using such remedies even on a regular basis one definitely manages to keep the doctor away.

• Aloe Vera with honey • Boiled eucalyptus leaves and mint leaves in water and inhale its vapours • Ginger tea • Drink hot milk with honey at bedtime.

• A little ginger juice with honey and take for relief.

• Add a gram of turmeric powder to a teaspoon of honey for curing dry cough • Apple cider v i n e g a r Sprinkle apple

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• •

•

•

Life style

SWATI BHAN

cider vinegar on your pillowcase before bedtime Essential oil of juniperA few drops may be used in hot water for cough relief Drink herbal tea with cinnamon to stop the coughing A cup of grape juice mixed with a teaspoon of honey is recommended for cough relief Make cough syrup from baked onion juice, comfrey tea, and honey Mix a portion of lemon juice, along with some honey and hot water.

By Mamta Bhatia, Psychologist

2010 Is Your Year For a lot of folk the beginning of a New Year is about fresh starts and self discovery. Having gone through another year people have a tendency to think back and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. For others a natural focus is directed towards reinventing their look, usually backed up by splashing out on Christmas sales and indulging in a new wardrobe.

Most common at this time of year, people are feeling burdened by the weight of their good intentions and unrealistic goals that linger on from the years before. When people are quickly realising just how fast time has flown and how unproductively it may have been used.

With all this in mind, my next few articles are going to offer tips on how you can make 2010 your best year yet. Get comfortable and be ready to absorb.

Think about your attitude to your life.

When you look in the mirror and think about all that has got you to where you stand today, how do you feel?

However you may feel will most definitely be reflected in the life you are living today.

Psychologists have long said that ‘perception equals reality’. If you think positive things, you should feel proud of yourself, for in that moment you are displaying gratitude.

Appreciation for where you are regardless of the hurdles and hiccups. If you feel negative, you need to know that in the moment you confirm to yourself that you are not enough you loose the motivation to create for a better life.

The attitude and thoughts you have about yourself will ultimately shape the direction your life has taken and will

take. Do not shy away from having a positive outlook about and toward yourself. Positive thinking does not mean you have a relentlessly jolly stance. It is the belief that you can achieve anything by believing in it enough and being mindful that it is about a whole set of thinking patterns and behaviours that add up to a way of looking at life that is hopeful and resilient. Managing our attitude can have profound effects, not just on our moods, but on our relationships, achievements and health. Let go of any misunderstanding that surrounds the expression ‘Positive thinking’ and remember that this approach is about you and your betterment not anybody else.

Holding onto negativity around positivity is simply unhelpful – to you!

Remember that if you believe you deserve something good, you become more motivated to aim for it. Whatever your goals, a positive outlook can help you achieve them. Listen to what you are telling yourself. It’s estimated that we say between 200 to 300 words a minute to ourselves in our minds.

This is an internal dialogue that we have all the time. So much so that it becomes a ‘noise’ that we get used to hearing and could not imagine what it would be like if it suddenly stopped.

The things you tell yourself will have a direct impact on your attitude, confidence and self esteem. Even the most confident person will feel low and down about themselves if their internal dialogue turns negative. Understanding the impact of what we tell ourselves is very important as this conversation will ultimately shape the way we see the world.

So, it is fundamental

that your words are positive and realistic.

A lot of people come to think spa London and complain that they can not manage their negative self talk. What I advise is very simple.

The most powerful nugget is to know for a fact that you are in control of how you feel so to not be at the mercy of what you think. For example, you may think ‘No one likes me’ or ‘People are always talking about me’ or ‘Nothing I want to do will ever work out’. If we controlled what we were telling ourselves by filtering out unhelpful comments and thoughts, we decide what we end up listening to. It is about creating choices for ourselves by not having an all or nothing attitude. Buddha stated ‘All that we are is the result of what we have thought’.

Lastly, to manage your mind and what you are telling yourself you need to stop running around and find some quiet space for yourself, alone in a calm environment. If you struggle to find this at home, go to a meditation centre, library, quiet coffee shop or a friends or relatives place. Close you eyes for 10 to 15 minutes and just listen and realise.

You may want to write down what you are telling yourself, or just take note. Then visualise a volume dial in your mind and notice what level it is on, what you will probably find is that it is on quite high.

Use the power and resilience in your mind to watch that dial decrease in volume, try getting it to zero. Notice the calm that you feel and make a commitment to revisit that if the negative thoughts get too loud.

Good Luck!

If you have any questions write to mamta@abplgroup.com

kitchen Cabbage coconut

This is an authentic south Indian recipe. Generally served with rice but to keep it less oily, this recipe has been mentioned on how to cook it in a microwave oven. It is one vegetable that is available round the year, so its easy to cook and ready to eat.

Ingredients: • Coconut 100 Gms, grated • Green chilli one • Spring onion 2, chopped • Cabbage 1, chopped

Treats • Mustard seeds teaspoon • Red chilli 3 nos • Curry leaves About 5 • Oil 1 tablespoon Preparation: In a dish take oil, mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves and cook covered on high for 2 minutes. Grind the coconut, green chilli and spring onions to a paste and cook on high for 2 minutes.

Add the cabbage and cook on power 70 for 8 minutes till the cabbage is cooked. Serve garnished with chopped coriander.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

www.abplgroup.com

Salman launches hunt for unsung heroes Salman Khan has launched an all-India hunt for unsung heroes, young men and women who have performed heroic deeds which the nation doesn’t know about.

This hunt for unsung heroes (and heroines) is apparently one more effort by Salman in bridge-building and improving his image.

Says a source, “Lately Salman has been going out of his way to connect with the masses.

The idea to launch a contest on his birthday (December 27) to search for unrecognized heroes came from Aamir Khan’s recent connect-with-

masses Bharat Darshan which he undertook as part of the promotion for “3 Idiots.”

People close to Salman advised him to find a similar point of connectivity with the common man for

Salman’s forthcoming film “Veer.” And what better occasion to show his affinity to the masses than his birthday?”

Confirming Salman’s plans to search and celebrate the lives of unsung heroes from all over the country “Veer” producer Vijay Galani says, “You’ve heard correctly.

Salman is launching a contest to find real-life unsung heroes.

Since he has played the hero so often on screen he feels real-life heroes deserve to be brought out of anonymity.

We’ll be going to the remotest corners of India to select these unknown heroes. Finally one of

them will be given the Veer cup personally by Salman at a function in Mumbai.”

Throws party for only men Salman, otherwise known for his wild bashes, went surprisingly quiet for his 45th birthday celebrations. He held a simple party for his friends at his Panvel farmhouse. But there was a catch – only men were invited to the party.

According to sources, Salman whose parties are usually much talked about, didn’t throw a lavish party this time as he is still upset after his breakup with Katrina Kaif.

Idiot Aamir conquers even ‘Avatar’

Aamir Khan starrer '3 Idiots' has created a record by grossing over pound 1.32 million in its first four days.

Reliance BIG Entertainment, distributor of the film, released about 2, 000 prints across 40 countries.

Based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller "Five Point Someone", the film has been produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani.

Interestingly, the film is doing a great business even in the overseas territory which is not traditionally considered Aamir's domain. The film has said to have even con-

quered “Avatar” and other holiday releases in US and UK. Adds Vidhu Vinod Chopra: "Response has been overwhelming from

all over the world. Aamir, Raju and I knew from the responses earlier on that people liked the film but this is something else? We have got reports from places like Australia that they have reduced 'Avatar' shows and increased ours."

Released on December 25, its box office collection has beaten the initial earnings of another Aamir starrer "Ghajini", considered Hindi cinema's highest grosser till date, with 30 per cent more earnings till Sunday night. "'3 Idiots' is the highest grossing Hindi film ever in Australia on its opening

Success is boring and failure is exciting for Anupam Kher Anupam Kher's much lauded play 'Kuchh Bhi Ho Sakta Hai', which encapsulates the failed moments of his life, says failure is more entertaining than trailing success stories.

Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, Anupam's autobiographical oneman play will complete its 200th show at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) soon.

The actor was asked to pen down his memoirs by a well-known publisher and while collecting content for the book, he decided to do a play on some interesting events of his life instead.

'Harper Collins gave me a letter of intent saying that they want me to pen down my autobiography. When I was recollecting the incidents of my life for that, I selected only those incidents which were turning

points in my life. I staged it instead of writing it,' Anupam said in an interview.

The actor says the play was four hours long when the first draft was completed.

'But we edited it and kept only those incidents which were interesting and could relate to the audience. Still it's twoand-a-half-hours long and I alone play around 100 characters that include my family, brothers, friends and other people,' said Anupam.

Asked if it is difficult to speak about failures in real life, he said: 'The

moment you talk about your failure, it liberates you from the fear of it.

People tend to scare you pointing out your shortfalls. If you voluntarily admit your faults, then people won't have anything to point out.'

Anupam may be staging its 200th show, but he is as nervous as he was when he did the first show in June 2003.

'On the day of the performance I don't eat the whole day and stop talking to anyone hours before the show.'

Asked if there is any plan to transform the play into a film, he said: 'When Neeraj Pandey ('A Wednesday' fame director) saw this play, he showed interest in making a film on it, but he didn't approach me after that. It's too long to make a film on the play because it's a saga. You can't take just one portion of it and make a film.'

weekend. Similarly in the US, I have been given to understand that '3 Idiots' would be highest ever for a Hindi film, " said Chopra.

The film, which reportedly cost about pound 1.32 million, also stars R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani and Kareena Kapoor in pivotal roles.

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London’s Trinity College honours A R Rahman London’s Trinity College of Music has honoured India’s Oscar award winning music composer A R Rahman with a Honorary Fellowship.

According to the official website of Rahman, the award was presented by Barry Wordsworth, Music Director of the Royal Ballet Covent Garden on December 16 in Greenwich, UK, in recognition of his "distinctive contribution to and creativity in the arts." Trinity College of Music, incorporated by Trinity Laban, is one of the premier international music institutions. Its patron is HRH The Duke of Kent KG, while principals are Derek Aviss and Anthony Bowne. Rahman, who has recorded sales of over 300 million, was called "Mozart of Madras" by Time magazine.

Rahman sees music "as a way to connect to spirituality and embrace it" and for "creating harmony in troubled times", the website said.

Popular Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan is no more Popular Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan died of cardiac arrest in Mysore last week. He was 59.

Vishnuvardhan, whom his fans had fondly awarded the title "sahasa simha" (a valour lion), developed breathing problems and he was immediately taken to a private hospital where he breathed his last, sources said.

According to hospital sources, he actress wife Bharathi and son-in-law Anirudh were by his side when the Kannada star died. He has acted in 197 films. The last film in which Vishnuvardhan acted is 'Aaptha Rakshaka' which is yet be released and his latest film to hit the screen is "Bellary Naaga".

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Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Deepika’s date with Japanese PM

Top 5 actors of Kollywood in 2009 What ascribes an actor to be successful? Is it merely with his performance or film’s success?

Most of the times, it goes along with the latter category where a performer’s hard work and intensity levels are completely diminished with the film’s failure.

Here we bring some of the best actors of Tamil Cinema in 2009.

Surya: Being one of the prominent actors on the main league, he has accomplished with couple of projects within short span of time.

‘Ayan’ and ‘Aadhavan’ have been two films like dissimilar poles and he did his best. But regrettably, he lost his reputation for his command of bad languages on journalists.

Vikram: He suited the role of a superhero, a CBI officer and excelled well as a great singer. If ‘Kanthaswamy’ was a flop, Susi Ganesh has to be blamed. But an intellectual actor is supposed to make right decisions while choosing the

script. Let’s hope all his three releases – Manirathnam’s ‘Raavana’, Selvaraghavan’s untitled film and Vikram Kumar’s ‘24’ brings him more honors.

Nanda: At this point of time, when even a junior artist aspires to be a leading mass hero, Nanda came up with a bold attempt of a negative role in ‘Eeram’. Probably, his earnest efforts and hard work has revived his career. His upcoming film ‘Anantha Purathu Veedu’ produced by Shankar will hit screens in February while he has signed for ‘Vellore Maavattam’ – a commercial film produced

by AGS Entertainment.

Kamal Haasan: Padmashree Kamal Haasan grabbed everyone’s attention much more than his previous film ‘Dasavatharam’. He didn’t strain himself a lot, but lived under the skin of character he performed.

Mohan Lal: After a very long time, we had the Malayalam superstar coming back in Tamil film with a powerful show.

f o s e s s e r t c a 5 p o T Kollywood in 2009

es struck with glory most of the actress as s ise rpr appointing su of ar A complete ye Trisha had a very dis reviews s. Nayanthara and rst ing wo inn ed nd ch co fet se d ir in the office an nked terribly at box year as their films flu r ’ that didn’t gain he for them. debut with ‘Rendu t r jus he de ck ba ma e me Sh co Anushka: s. But her to d ha e more appreciation ‘Arundhathi’ while sh ’. She swayed us out with th Vijay’s ‘Vettaikaran rya wi in va Su get herself in ticket ‘Singam’ with has got one more big favorite lists of directors in and she is already rs. ce du ccess and pro m beauty had the su the Tamannah: The sli t ou gh continuously throu an Ay i, knocking her doors ala dh Ka n, Kanden year. Padikadhava s for the iew rev od go me and she won so . andha Thandavam’ underrated film ‘An old ar -ye This 20 Saranya Mohan: asing works in ple th wi up me co s girl ha r lu’ and ‘Eeram’. He ‘Vennila Kabadi Ku s wa u’ ud ak ay Vin Lo Telugu film ‘Village she has been a part a great hit. Though past 12 years, she of film industry for epitome of actress stepped onto the with these films. actually not Pooja: She was and just g tin ac interested in sake of glamappeared for the davul’ turned Ka n our. But ‘Naa as she off her intentions hool of sc the m fro excelled to win Bala. Pooja is sure ards. aw d an s rel the lau non: Me Sindhu but de r he g kin ma After s ja’ ira ath Bhar with m fro ay aw s wa she ‘Kadal Pookal’, bang e was back with a ely Kollywood. But sh let mp co s wa t tha with ‘Eeram’, a film based on her.

Deepika Padukone is in very distinguished company these days. The pretty lady was the only Bollywood celebrity to have dinner with Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and his ministers at the PM’s residence, which was organised in honour of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wife Miyuki Hatoyama.

The Japanese PM and his wife are huge Bollywood fans and they expressed the desire to meet Deepika. And when the dusky beauty received

a call from the PM’s office, she was much too pleased

to oblige. Dressed in a saree by Manish Malhotra, the stunner carried herself with poise and grace at the event.

Talking about the rare honour, Deepika said, “It is a privilege and honour for me to be invited for this dinner. I am excited and nervous at the same time."

Later, Hatoyama also went around exploring the Film City, Goregoan and visited other movie sets as well.

Abhishek turns metrosexual for National Bingo Night Dressed in a bright yellow coat over a pale yellow shirt and white trousers, Abhishek Bachchan sports a metrosexual look for his debut TV show "National Bingo Night" to be aired soon on Colors.

Apart from that, the actor sports a baby pink jacket for the promotional photo shoot for the show.

However, this isn't the first time Abhishek is flaunting the metrosexual look he made similar style statements in movies like "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" and "Dostana".

He is extremely excited about the show, being produced by Fox Television Studios India Pvt. Ltd.

"It's a fun-filled show where the whole country will be my guest without applying any brains or answer any difficult questions. This is such a chilled out concept and something that has never been done before in India.

The sheer simplicity of the idea and the fact that this show is highly interactive is what attracted me to it, " Abhishek said in a statement.

The game show will have two fastpaced rounds of the popular guessing game 'Bingo'.

The formal launch of the show was preceded by a flurry of marketing activity including teasers on the channel. The launch date of the show has yet to be announced.

The format of the show is owned by 20th Fox Television Distribution and it has run successfully in the US, Australia and Philippines.

partner of choice.”

Karan said: “It is another Television challenge for me. This is a unique show which I am sure will draw huge number of audiences in the UK. It will feature almost all greats of Bollyood. It is indeed exciting.” Lift Kara De will have film personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Lata M a n g e s h k a r , Dharmendra, A R Rahman, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Kajol among others.

Lift Kara De will focus on some of the crazy fans of Bollywood actors and actress who will be the contestants in the show.

Rajan Singh said: “Reality TV is now a huge audience pull in India and the UK. The central idea of reality shows revolves around finding something that the regular viewer can relate to and which reflects society.

And “Lift Kara De” is another show that I hope will have mass appeal.”

Karan Johar’s new celebrity show on Sony TV Asia

BY JAYA KUMAR It is expected to be one of the biggest shows ever seen on British Asian television.

W e l l - k n o w n Bollywood producers Yash Raj Films made their TV debut with a new reality show “Lift Kara De” on Sony Entertainment Television Asia on New Year's day.

Karan Johar, whose credits include films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Khabhi Khushi Khabhi Gham as a director and Coffee with Karan as a TV host, is the anchor for “Lift Kara De”, which will showcase top Bollywood stars and their biggest and craziest fans.

Rajan Singh, Executive Vice-president, International Business, Sony said: “We have a decade long association with Yash Raj. We obtained all their movies and when they decided to enter into TV production, we became their obvious

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

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BollyKats Soha tried hard not to be an actor

A romance and comedy flick from the banner of Yash Raj films, Pyaar Impossible is perhaps a unique film in the sense that Uday Chopra, the hero also has the credits for the story, screenplay and the dialogues of the film. As a home production, Uday is obviously the producer also. It has Jugal Hansraj as director, another hero who had a short stint at acting but couldn’t reach anywhere in that capacity.

In Ankert University, California, Alisha is a dream girl everyone wishes will come true for him.

The most beautiful girl on campus, she makes hearts flutter like leaves in the wind. A snap of her fingers and a line of boys, waiting on her every whim. Everybody Loves Alisha!

It is no surprise then that Abhay (Uday Chopra) loves her too. More than his computer programs and MAC stores he thinks of Alisha. Who is Abhay? Abhay is a nerdy, awkward, socially challenged, bespectacled geek of the college who is so far removed from her world that she doesn't even know that people like him actually exist.

This is a love story of impossible proportions, how can a man like Abhay ever hope to be with a woman like Alisha, and therein lies the story...

Abhay has quietly loved Alisha all his life. One day he musters up enough courage to go and express his true feelings to her and realizes that it is never gonna happen. He comes to terms with the fact that Alisha is a Princess and he is just a Geek.

That is when their ways eventually part. Later, their paths cross again, as Abhay is busy trying to launch his career. Fate again brings him face to face with the woman of his dreams, Alisha.

Will Abhay have the strength to believe in himself and attempt to achieve what he never thought possible? Will Alisha ever be able to see the man behind those glasses, beyond what her idea of the perfect man is? Is everything fate or can one take destiny in their own hands? Is this possible or just Pyaar Impossible?

The lead cast has Uday Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Anupam Kher and Dino Morea in a special appearance.

Pyaar Impossible has lyrics by Anvita Dutta Guptan, while the music credits are share by Salim and Sulaiman Merchant. Playback team includes Anushka Manchanda, Salim Merchant, Dominique Cerejo, Vishal Dadlani, Neha Bhasin, Benny Dayal, Mahua Kamat, Naresh Kamat, and Rishika Sawant.

New Hindi movie releasing this week 1. Pyaar Impossible 2. Dulha Mil Gaya 3. Hello, Hum Lallan Bol Rahe Hain

Top 5 Bollywood movies for the week No. Film 1.

2.

3.

4.

No. Last Week New 1 2

3 Idiots Avatar Paa The Twilight Saga: New Moon 3 5 Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year 4

Total weeks 1 2 4 2 3

Soha Ali Khan was born in a family of actors, but did not want to be an actress but eventually became one.

With yesteryear's beauty queen Sharmila Tagore as mother and superstar Saif Ali Khan as brother, one would hardly expect Soha to take up any other profession, but she insists that she was initially reluctant to become an actress.

"Taking up acting was never my aim and I have tried very hard not to be an actor. I took up other professions like banking, but then there was a wish to become a part of the entertainment industry somehow," Soha said.

And it was this wish which she could not escape and it led her to the sets of 'Dil Maange More', the film she made her Bollywood debut with.

She is a prominent face

in the film industry now, with 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' in her kitty. Soha has carved a niche for herself with offbeat films like 'Khoya Khoya Chand' and 'Dil Kabaddi' instead of going the fullblown 'masala movie' way.

"I like to keep it varied and work in every genre as my aim is to perform. Many a times you do not get a chance to perform in glamourous films. I would like to be part of those ++films where I can prove myself as an actress," said Soha.

Soha, whose last Bollywood release was 'Tum Mile' with Emraan Hashmi, is happy that she does not have to compete with her mother or brother in acting since both of them are successful in their respective spheres. But she does seek their appreciation at times.

"I don't turn to my fami-

ly members for advice. But when my film is released I want amma (Sharmila) to watch it because her female perspective comes handy.

"When I am signing a film with an unknown party, I might ask bhai (Saif) for his opinion.

He is more experienced and will know whether the script will turn out to be a good film. But ultimately its my choice since its me who has to play the role," said Soha.

"I don't want to imitate any actress, even my mother. I admire her for her body of work in every genre, be it acting in Satyajit Ray's films or working with Denzel Washington.

She is an icon for me," said Soha.

Katrina Kaif bowled over by Robert Pattinson

Twilight star Robert Pattinson has swept our own Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif completely off her feet. And if all goes well she’ll be meeting Pattinson during her annual holiday with her family in London.

The minute Katrina’s eyes fell on Pattinson she got hooked to the Twilight quartet. “I went and bought all the four books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I couldn’t put them down.

I’ve been racing through the adventures of the hottest vampire Edward Cullen for the last one week. I finished reading three of the Twilight books in less than four days. Now I’m into the fourth. I just can’t get

enough of him.”

And now Katrina wants to meet the real Edward Cullen.

“You don’t understand. This is like an obsession for me. I can’t get Robert Pattinson out of my head. I see the love of my life in every object that moves or doesn’t move. I’ve never felt this way about any man before.”

Now a meeting b e t w e e n Bollywood’s blistering babe and Hollywood’s heartthrob is discreetly being arranged.

Though Katrina is not talking about it, her representatives

are in touch with R o b e r t Pattinson’s agent. It’s been made known to the global superstar that Bollywood’s eminently desirable Katrina Kaif would probably die of longing if the meeting doesn’t happen.

Says the a c t r e s s , “Obviously I can’t stand under his window to get his attention. So yes, the meeting has to be more formal. He says he’s single. But I don’t believe him. That’s what they all say.”

Gurinder Chadha’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ goes to Sundance Film Festival Acclaimed movie-maker Gurinder Chadha was in high spirits when it was announced that her forthcoming film “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” had been selected for a world premiere at The Sundance Film Festival.

P r o g r a m m e r s announced on Monday 21st December that her film would be added to the original slate of films that have already been confirmed. The world premiere will screen outside of the competition during the festival, which takes place in Park City, Utah from January 21 until January 31.

(From left to right) Gurinder Chadha (writer, director and producer), Shabana Azmi, Sally Hawkins and Goldy Notay

Talking about the festival, Gurinder said: “I am delighted to premiere my film at Sundan having had

such a long and happy relationship with the festival. Since it is the festival for independent filmmak-

ers, I feel especially pleased because “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” is a truly independent BritishIndian co-production.”

“It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” is a supernatural comedy, which follows the story of a frantic Indian mother (Shabana Azmi) whose obsession with finding a partner for her overweight daughter takes her into the world of serial murder. The star cast also includes Goldy Notay, Sally Hawkins, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Zoe Wanamaker and Jimi Mistry. It will release in cinemas across the UK in April 2010.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

British Gujarati doctor elected as head of international emergency medicine body

Dr. Gautam Bodiwala, a British Gujarati doctor with his roots in Ahmedabad has added another feather to his cap, being the first elected president of International Federation for Emergency Medicine.

An alumnus of Diwan Ballubhai school and B J Medical Cllege, Ahmedabad, Dr. Bodiwala has settled in the UK since 1970 and has already been honoured with the Commander of the Order of British Empire, the highest civilian honour in the country. In fact, he is the founder of the federation that was set up in 1991.

A pioneer of emergency medical care in many countries, Dr. Gautam Bodiwala has quite a few other honours to his credit, the noteworthy among them being

declared ‘Man of services. the Year’ twice by “Through the the American federation, we Biographical want to offer Society as well as guidance to emer‘Mother India gency medicine International practitioners Award’ and worldwide and to ‘Videsh Samman’ establish emerfor fostering relagency medical tionship between systems where India and the UK. Dr. Gautam Bodiwala they are needed,” He has also said Bodiwala. been made an honorary He has published more life member by the British than 66 papers and writAssociation for ten a book on emergency Emergency Medicine and health care, and has is appointed as deputy many fellowships from diflieutenant of ferent colleges around the Leicestershire representworld. Hospital Trust ing the Queen.

Board named the new £ Countries like India, 7.5 mn (Rs 60 crore) South Africa, Kenya, department at the Uganda, Hong Kong, Leicester Royal Infirmary Singapore and some as ‘Gautam Bodiwala European countries have Emergency Department’ benefited from his advice in recognition of his 25 on setting up accident years of ‘outstanding servand emergency medical ice and local contribution’.

After must-vote, Modi govt plans voters’ right to recall After making voting in Gujarat local body polls compulsory, the Modi government is now mulling another, giving voters, among other provisions, the right to recall non-performing local representatives.

The state election commission has already vetted its final draft for Modi’s nod. Once operational, the law will enable the electorate to recall elected representatives across all local self-government bodies - municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats if he or she fails to deliver or is involved in any serious misconduct.

Once the Bill goes through the Assembly, District Collectors would have the power to remove any elected local body representative and order a repoll, if

one-third of the electorate lodges a complaint, and the Collector finds substance in it. Elected representatives, however, can serve an initial two years of their fiveyear term, before voters could exercise the right to recall.

“The draft for this and some other recommendations are ready. We will soon hand it over to the government for its consideration,” Gujarat Election Commissioner K C Kapoor told, adding that he “strongly believes” the government would accept it since ‘right to recall’ is already being implemented in local bodies in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh. The SEC has also suggested to legislate for barring anyone above the age of 65 from contesting any local body poll.

Arunachal students want a complete ban on Chinese goods After 12 January, businesses or state government will face action on failure

Students in Arunachal Pradesh have decided to take head on with China, as they are determined to counter attempts by Beijing to keep this border Indian state in dispute and also to dominate.

The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has set January 12 as the deadline for the state government and business houses to boycott China-made goods or face suitable action. They want no entry or sale of Chinese goods in the state.

The idea is to make Beijing stop claiming

Arunachal Pradesh for good and messing with natural resources such as rivers that flow into India.

“This deadline is also a message to New Delhi to be sterner in its dealings with Beijing on issues pertaining to the international boundary and unfounded claims on our forefathers’ land,” Takam Tatung, the students’ union leader said. The union had earlier this month asked the Congress government, headed by Dorjee Khandu, and trade bodies to shun Chinese goods immediately. “They sought at least a

month’s time, and we didn’t want to be inconsiderate,” Tatung said.

The AAPSU also wants New Delhi to go for border fencing along the McMahon Line the boundary between India and China just like the boundaries with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“Incursions by Chinese are as much of a problem as by Bangladeshis and Pakistanis,” Tatung said.

The Arunachal Pradesh government has put the onus on the trade organisations vis-à-vis the students’ union deadline.

In divine light

BY RAJEN VAKIL

DRONACHARYA – The habit mechanism The aim of our spiritual quest is to awaken our soul from the deep spell of hypnosis of life. The soul is bound by many cords but the thickest among these is that which is formed by our habits. Habits are of many kinds – intellectual, emotional, and of the body. The patterns of behaviour and thinking that have formed in our brains are all habits, which keep us asleep. We live our lives not the way we want to but at the diktats of our habits. The irony is that we not only fail to realize this phenomenon but on being questioned, we justify it saying that we can change at any time we wish to. This is the imagination or maya we live under.

Habits are formed through acharana – repetition of certain behaviour tracks till they become patterns in our sub-conscious. We can call this process as conditioning. Dronacharya is the teacher of both, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. A teacher is the one who creates the educated or cultivated self in us. Let us study the symbology and see what this represents within us. The word Dronacharya comes from the Sanskrit root ‘Dru’ meaning molten or that which is in a molten state. A child is born with many possibilities which at the time of birth are still in a molten state.

Through upbringing, education, and repetition (a process of acharana), a few of these possibilities get expressed. The unexpressed lie dormant in the unconscious mind of a person.

Hence, we often comment that a person is born with a very rich destiny but in one’s lifetime, is able to convert only a small part of it into one’s fortune. This conversion (of that which is molten) into behaviour is done by the acharya or teacher.

There are two kinds of habits – bad and good, though none of them have anything to do with morality. Bad habits increase the sleep or hypnosis of life. Good habits create conditions for us to wake up from the sleep of life.

Dronacharya is the mechanism that enables formation of habits. That is why he is the guru of both the good and bad, respectively the Pandavas and the Kauravas. For us, a habit is an action or a thoughtform performed automatically and hence, an unconscious streak. This is the very reason why when it has to side, it sides with the negative forces.

The story of the birth of Dronacharya is very interesting.

Rishi Bharadwaj was filled with lust and desire when he saw the fairy Ghritachi bathing in the Ganga. His semen ejaculated and this was stored in a pot from which Dronacharya was born.

Dronacharya was born as an accident of lust.

There is a lesson here, in that when we have children, are they accidents of our sexual desires or do we consciously make an effort to invite them.

His being born from a pot is the symbol of conditioning – something cultivated, and not natural. Dronacharya being born from desire is a symbol of habits being born from deep desires within us.

Later, Dronacharya marries Kripi, the sister of Kripacharya, the guru of the princes of Hastinapura.

Kripa means pity and the sister of pity is self-pity. Selfpity is born out of a deep desire to get something from someone by creating pity in the giver’s mind.

This habit becomes second nature to us.

Dronacharya’s son is Ashwathama, ‘swa’ means tomorrow, ‘aswa’ means not tomorrow and

‘sthama’ means that which is steady or constant. What in us is there today but changes and is not the same tomorrow, yet is still steady and constant – desire. Today we desire a car, tomorrow a house, and day after something else.

Objects of desire keep changing but desire is always constant. For all disciples on the spiritual path, this father-son relationship of habit-desire is the most difficult to break free of. Our deepest habit is that every moment we keep on desiring. If my children are going out, as they leave the door, there is an intense desire inside that nothing should befall then on the way. If I am writing this article, there is a desire inside that people appreciate it.

The desire that the outcome of our every action should be happy is the deepest habit. Once we break free of this habit, we wake up to the hypnosis of life or are enlightened.

Dronacharya was killed by deceit. This is very important as this tells us that this habitdesire mechanism within us can only be broken free of in a very sly manner. This idea has to come from the innerconsciousness or Sri Krishna. It is co-ordinated by Yudhisthira or the intellectual energy within us. Dronacharya is told that Ashwathama has died. Hearing this, he lays down his weapons and sits in meditation on the battlefield.

He is killed by Drishtadyumna, who was born through a yagna of fire, a symbol of consciousness, and only one born from fire can kill this deeply grained habit mechanism.

We must make an effort to observe this habit-desire mechanism and after sustained practice, be free of it.

(The author can be reached by emailing 3srb@live.com)

Clean Ganga by 2020 is the goal Ganga, India’s holiest river will be completely clean and free flowing by 2020. The Government of India is confident that with a project to get rid of pollution from the river, even the World Bank has committed a substantial

assistance for the Ganga cleaning project.

Environment minister of India, Jairam Ramesh has said that Rs. 150 billion will be spent on the cleaning of the holiest of the rivers in India.

The Centre plans to

save the river by making it 'nirmal' (clean) and 'aviral' (free flowing), he told reporters recently.

"We will not only ensure 'aviral dhara' continuous flow of the river stream, but also see to it that its 'nirmal dhara'

clean and pollution free flow, the minister said.

Ramesh said the World Bank has also committed India at least US$ one bn as assistance for cleaning up the heavily polluted Ganga in the first phase.

Saturday 9th January 2010

ASIAN VOICE

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Dev Patel seeks Freida Pinto's parents approval The casual love affair brewing between young lovebirds Dev Patel and Freida Pinto seems to have taken a serious turn. Even though Freida has vehemently denied all such reports, the latest move of the dashing Dev Patel meeting her parents has exposed all claims that the duo are ‘just friends’. Believe it or not but the stunning couple is going all out to take their relationship to the next level and are on the verge of sealing their love with eternal commitment. According to sources, Freida was recently in Mumbai but not alone. The stunning lass was accompanied by her beau Dev Patel, who was on a special mission to meet and impress her parents.

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Coldwave claims more than 150 in North India Heavy snowfall in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh More than 150 people have lost their lives in North Indian states in less than a week of severe cold, while life was thrown out of gear in Kashmir, UP and Delhi in particular.

Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only road linking Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, reopened after being closed for two days due to heavy snowfall.

Severe cold conditions claimed 37 more lives

Kashmiri labourers pull tourists on a sledge in Gulmarg, some 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Srinagar

Telangana stalemate continues All party meet leads to nowhere Attempts by the home minister of India, P Chidambaram to thrash out a consensus over the formation of Telangana failed on Tuesday, as the all party meeting called by him in New Delhi failed to provide any solution.

Initiating the consultations on the demands for a separate state of Telangana with the eight

recognised political parties of Andhra Pradesh, Chidambaram said, “I wish to caution all political parties that there are forces waiting on the wings, who ridicule the parliamentary form of democracy and who would be happy if we collectively fail to find answers to the issues that concern us, and we should not give any room

for these forces to gain strength or credence,” Chidambaram said. He was referring to the Naxalites.

Tuesday’s meeting, which remained inconclusive, was attended by representatives of the Congress, BJP, Praja Rajyam Party, Telugu Desam Party, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, CPI(M), AIMIM and CPI.

Tainted Tiwari says sex scam charges are fabricated Former Andhra Governor says will continue public life Former Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari, who had to resign in the wake of alleged sex scandal, spoke out after getting back to his home state and described charges against him as fabricated.

"All allegations against me are false. This is a political conspiracy against me," he told reporters at the Delhi airport. He was on his way to Dehradun. "This could be linked to Telangana crisis," he quipped, adding that he would apprise Congress

president Sonia Gandhi of the conspiracy against him.

On return to his home state, Uttarakhand, 86year old Tiwari told reporters that some people associated with Telangana statehood agitation wanted to meet President Pratibha Patil during her proposed visit to Hyderabad, but he had refused to entertain their request. These people got angry and hatched a conspiracy against him, he claimed.

Tiwari had resigned on "health grounds" in the wake of a raging controversy after a sting operation by an Andhra TV channel purportedly showed him in a compromising position with three women. The Raj Bhavan had dismissed the allegations as a "tissue of lies".

The Congress leader said he has no grudge against anybody and would continue to serve the country as well as the society. "I am not going to retire from politics," he said.

since last night with Uttar Pradesh alone accounting for 31 deaths. The six other casualties were reported from Bihar.

The national capital remained under the grip of intense cold wave as chilly northwesterly winds from the Himalayas considerably brought down the maximum temperature, which was recorded at 14 deg C -- eight degrees below normal. It was the lowest of the season so far.

DRDO, IIT join hands to forecast weather In a first-of-its-kind venture, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), to develop indigenous capability and methodology for long-term forecast of weather. Culmination of the project would enable generation of weather forecast reports over the entire duration of a season. At present, accurate weather forecast capability is limited to a week. “We are looking towards predicting weather and climatic formation about one or two months ahead, which would eventually be extended to forecast weather over a seasonal duration,” Ashwagosha Ganju, Director of the DRDO’s Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) said. “The project is expected to take around 3 years to formulate effective models for long-range weather forecast,” he added.

Engaged in studying snow physics, avalanche mitigation and climatic conditions over the Himalayas, the SASE is the nodal agency for the project.

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Rathore charged for abetment to suicide The Haryana police on Tuesday registered an FIR against former DGP SPS Rathore under Section 306 in the Ruchika Girhotra suicide.

The Haryana police has filed the FIR four days after Ruchika's brother filed a complaint with the cops for abetment of suicide against SPS Rathore.

This is the third FIR in the Ruchika suicide case.

Delay in registration of fresh case has raised questions whether the state government wanted to give the Ruchika case a silent burial.

Rathore has been charged with forcing Ruchika Girhotra to commit suicide in 1993 after molesting and harassing her. Haryana Police now want the Ruchika case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Child marriage still prevalent in Kutch A Survey conducted by a group of students on the status of child rights has found that child marriage is still prevalent in Kutch district and cases of abuse of young girls and physical harassment are being reported from the urban areas.

The study, to be published soon, has also found that issues related to child labour, health and education of children in rural area, and environment and safety in the urban areas of Gujarat still persist. The report will be submitted to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

(UNCRC) parallel to the state’s report, to show the difference between the two.

The study further finds that the implementation of child rights schemes related to child labour, healthcare, education and environment lacks quality. “The basic health care and education services have not reached the rural and remote areas of the state. Besides this, protection from harassment and abuse to young girls in the urban areas is worse than that in the rural areas,” said Parul Sheth, founder president and executive director, Shaishav.

Indian visa norms eased 2 month gap not a must, relaxation for bonafide tourists The foreign ministry on Thursday announced relaxation in the new guidelines on tourist visas issued last month which had made it mandatory for foreigners holding long-term multiple-entry visas to take a two-month gap between two visits.

The foreign ministry said the norms were eased to facilitate bonafide tourists. The tightening of visa norms following the unearthing of terror missions of

Lashkar jihadi David Coleman Headley had led to a wave of protests from the US and UK among other countries.

"It has since been decided that foreigners holding tourist visas, who after initial entry into India plan to visit another country and re-enter India before finally exiting, may be permitted two or three entries, as the case may be, by Indian missions subject to their submission of a detailed itinerary and

supporting documentation (ticket bookings)," an official statement of the ministry said.

Authorities at all immigration check posts in India, it said, had been authorized to allow tourists to make two or three entries based on production of an itinerary and documentation (ticket bookings) substantiating the need for tourismrelated travel.

Under the new rules, the visitors have to obtain special permission

from the head of the Indian mission in their country and provide certain documents to establish the legitimacy of their return visit, sources said. They are also required to register within 14 days with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) if they return within two months of their departure.

British business secretary Lord Peter Mandelson, during his India visit, had met home

minister P Chidambaram to request that the government rethink the visa policy. He said it would hurt British tourists who make India a base while travelling in the region.

The British High Commission had written to the Indian government asking for a review of the proposed visa guidelines.

Officials had later indicated they would be "flexible" if, at the time of applying for a visa, the applicant tells the Indian visa officer that he will

also be travelling to other countries in the region, using India as a hub. The visa will reflect the itinerary of the tourist, affording him more flexibility.

Under the new rules, they will have to provide an undertaking that they will use the visa for visiting specific places. The final decision, however, would rest with the head of Indian mission in that country, who will decide on the merits in consultation with the ministry of home affairs.

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Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to be prosecuted by CBI Keeping the deadline set by Home Minister P Chidambaram, Delhi's Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna granted sanction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to chargesheet senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Official sources said the sanction was given by Khanna to allow the CBI to launch court proceedings against the Congress leader, an accused in the riots that shook the country 25 years ago after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. The sanction was required in the case of Sajjan Kumar as he was also charged with section 153-A of IPC (spreading enmity between two communities).

25-year-old Indian powers New Zealand’s first rocket A 25-year-old youth whose family migrated from Bangalore in 1994 played a major role in the launch of New Zealand’s first rocket, Atea-1, on November 30.

The youth, Nikhil Raghu, was a senior engineer of the project that is now the talk of the South Pacific island nation.

What makes it even more special is that it was a private initiative, of a company named Rocket Lab Ltd. Nikhil was born in Bangalore and studied there till 1994. Later, his parents, Meera and M D Raghu, moved to New Zealand. Learning about space has been Nikhil’s passion since childhood.

However, there was no real industry or agency working in the field in New Zealand, which has a population of close to 45

lakh.

Nikhil didn’t give up hope. His patience paid off three years ago when he heard of the Atea project.

He immediately applied and joined the team comprising only 10 members.

As A senior engineer, Nikhil was part of the three-member core team for the project.

Among other things, he was responsible for analytical computations.

Around this time he joined Rocket Lab, and his parents returned to India.

“I couldn’t believe it when I was told about the success of the launch. It took some time to sink in. I was extremely happy that his hard work really paid off,” his mother said.

She hopes he gets an opportunity to work in India.

Now, Indians can fly Tricolour at night Indian citizens can now fly the National Flag even at night. This is subject to the condition that the flagpole is really tall and the flag is kept well-illuminated. The home ministry took the decision following a proposal by industrialist Naveen Jindal, who had earlier won a court battle in the 1990s for flying the Tricolour as a fundamental right for every citizen.

In a communication to Jindal, also a Congress leader and Member of Parliament, the ministry said it has examined the proposal and had no objection to installing "giant flagpoles for flying the National Flag day and night at various places."

In a representation to

the ministry in June 2009, Jindal had sought permission to fly mammoth-sized national flag on monumental flagpoles during night. Jindal had said that the National Flag is to be flown in "as far as possible between sunrise and sunset" as per Flag Code of India, but it was a common practice worldwide for massive national flags to be flown day and night on monumental flagpoles of 100 feet and above in height. Citing the example of countries like Malaysia, Jordon, Abu Dhabi, North Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Turkmenistan where monumental flags are flown at night, Jindal proposed that such flags to be flown in India also.

Haryana villagers set a unique example Tajnagar builds a railway station of its own Their quest for development led them to set a unique example that has perhaps no parallel in the history of India. Tajnagar, a village near Gurgaon in Haryana wanted a railway station, but the railways said they had no funds for the purpose. They had been after their dream for 25 years. Finally, two years ago, the village panchayat decided to collect funds from the villagers to build a station. They did ask the railways and got an assurance that if a station was built, they would get stoppages for a couple of trains.

Tajnagar residents collected Rs. 2.1 million and got the station built, as per

the railway specifications.

It was inaugurated on Tuesday, 5th January, 2010. For the villagers, it was no less than festival – a ‘Puja’ was organised on the occasion.

The village has a population of more than 3,000.

They have students who need to go to college in nearby towns or cities.

Most of the villagers also need to frequently to go to nearby cities of Gurgaon, Delhi and Rewari. Till now, they had to go to a distance of 6 kms to catch a train in either direction.

The railways have already appointed a station master and a ticket collector for Tajnagar.

Irked passengers hold AI crew hostage at Mumbai airport Fog delays and diversions led to passengers holding up all in the plane A hostage drama unfolded at Mumbai airport as passengers of Air India’s special flight held its crew hostage for more than 12 hours due to fog delays in Delhi on Saturday.

No security agency was called in to rescue the crew, who were released by the passengers — who agency reports said were Haj pilgrims — only on Sunday morning.

As fog created havoc in Delhi on January 2, it brought forth an unknown side of unruly passenger behaviour.

Passengers who sometimes misbehave with air-hostesses under the influence of alcohol turned into hijackers when Delhi-bound flights were diverted to Mumbai and they had to put up

with delays.

As visibility dropped at the Delhi airport due to fog, coupled with the failure of the runway visibility range equipment, there were more than 53 diversions of Delhi-bound planes to Mumbai, Jaipur and Ahmedabad from 2am to 10am.

AI’s Jeddah-Delhi, London-Delhi, HongkongDelhi, Shanghai-Delhi flights were diverted to Mumbai airport.

The equipment gives the ground visibility range along the runway to the aircraft and is placed at the runway’s beginning, middle and end.For the performance of operations for landing and take-off under fog conditions, it’s essential that all compo-

nents function.

However, the equipment placed at the end of runway 28 in Delhi has not been functioning for the last few days as the cable wire providing electricity to it was cut, sources alleged.

Around 6pm, MumbaiDelhi extra section flight 891A of a Boeing 777-200 with more than 200 passengers of AI’s diverted flights was formed to leave for Delhi.While AI’s regular Mumbai-Delhi flights left for Delhi, some of them could land, while others had to return due to fog after 8pm.

AI spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava said, “After the return of flights without landing, departure of further flights was

Gadkari says Advani will be permanent guide and philosopher L K Advani will play a role well beyond the speciallycreated position of Chairman of BJP Parliamentary party, according to the new party President Nitin Gadkari who made it clear that the 82-year-old veteran will be a "permanent guide and philosopher" for the whole party.

"Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani are our role models and source of inspiration.Advaniji will be permanent guide and philosopher for the whole party," Gadkari said in an interview.

He was responding when asked whether Advani's role would be limited to BJP's Parliamentary affairs after

Nitin Gadkari

his appointment to the newly-created post of Chairman of Parliamentary Party.

Advani quit the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha on December 18 in the face of attacks from within following the

party's dismal performance in the general elections. He was made the Chairman of Parliamentary Party, a move that gave an impression that his role would be confined to Parliamentary affairs of the party. 52year-old Gadkari, who is a new-comer at the national scene, does not see it as a disadvantage but feels it is an asset as he would not be biased.

Gadkari, whose appointment on December 18 came at a time when the party is going through a bad phase, said some corrective measures were needed and he would bring out a blueprint in this regard within three months.

5 Mumbai cops suspended for partying with gangsters The Maharashtra government on Sunday suspended five policemen caught on camera at a party hosted by members of the Chhota Rajan gang on Christmas eve.

Chief minister Ashok Chavan told reporters in Pune, “The policemen have been suspended and a departmental inquiry will be conducted.”

The five police officials include a deputy commissioner of police, an assistant commissioner of police, a senior inspector, an inspector S Khalatkar and a constable.

The party was held by Chhota Rajan gang sympathisers to celebrate the

release of their aides from jail, including D K Rao. Other gangsters present were Farid Tansha and Sunil Poddar besides Rajan’s wife Sujata Nikhalje alias Nani.

Police commissioner D Sivanandan had sought the suspension of the five police officials on Saturday. While recommending their suspension, the police chief had said there were “CCTV footage and photographs which may prove that the officials were present at the party” held at a private gymkhana in Chembur.

The police had sent the tapes to the state home department and also sub-

mitted a report and their recommendation.

One of the suspended official, however, strongly denied that he was present at the party. He said he had been invited to a children’s show at the Chembur gymkhana by a local Congress corporator.

In the recent past, those who were thrown out of the service for their underworld links include inspectors Aslam Momin and Pradeep Sharma.

Three constables from the Aarey colony police station were dismissed few years ago for aiding and abetting Rajan aide Balu Dokre in procuring a passport.

held up. It included AI891 A. Passengers had been boarded on the flight in anticipation of departure.

Once the flight was aborted due to poor visibility in Delhi, passengers were requested to deplane.”

Around 9pm, the airline told the passengers to alight and proceed to the transit lounge, from where they would be taken to a hotel and passenger coaches were called in.

“When the passengers were told to deplane, 20odd passengers created a ruckus on board. They blocked the exit points and refused to get down or let anyone go,” a crew member said.“As the flight was declared cancelled, the food was off-loaded,” he said.

104 ‘restricted’ Himalayan peaks now open for treks The govt of India has given its nod for opening 104 peaks in Jammu and Kashmir for expeditions.

The peaks located in the Leh-Ladakh area – along the Line of Actual Control (LoC) were so far ‘resticted.’ It shows the confidence of the government in the improved law and order situation in the state.

The peaks that have been given clearance include Lingsarmo (6955m), Rungofarka (6395m), Techafarka (6495m), Pt 6148, Shafat-I (6800m), Photoksar (6080m), Shafat-II (6302m), Shafat-III (6155m), Chiling-I (6349m), Chiling-II (6253m), Hagshu-I (6515m), Kangyarrag (6210m), Kangyassay I (6401m), Lalung-I (6243), LalungII (6157) and Lalung-III (6126m).

The move, initiated by the tourism ministry, was cleared by the defence and home ministries.

Expeditions will now only require clearance from the Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF). The decision will make India a more competitive adventure tourism destination in comparison to neighbours like Pakistan and Nepal. At present, while Nepal offers over 100 mountaineering expeditions, Pakistan has about 60 while India can only muster about 30-odd expeditions for tourists.

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) president Tejbir Singh Anand welcomed decision.

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Dhaka judge signs death warrants of Mujib killers Dhaka: A Dhaka judge signed on Sunday the death warrants of the five killers of Bangladesh’s independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, formally setting the clock for their executions within four weeks. Court officials said the signed warrants would be forwarded to the prison authorities immediately and the executions would take place within the next 21 to 28 days. However, the executions may be delayed if the five convicted men seek another review by the supreme court or request presidential clemency.

Indians way ahead of other immigrants in US

Suicides in Japan unabated

Forbes says English language skills and advanced education make them a force to reckon with

Tokyo: For 12th year in a row, the suicide figures in Japan have crossed the 30,000 mark in the just ended 2009 too.

As per the details given by the police, despite government efforts to persuade people not to end their lives, the number of people who ended their lives was 30,181 for January – November. The government efforts include counselling services.

The Asian giant has one of the highest suicide rates globally, just behind a group of former Soviet Union countries, according to the WHO. The year 1998 was the first year that saw Japan hit the 30,000 mark in suicides. The main cause was the country – second largest economy in the World than – was struggling as the joblessness rate going through the roof and corporate bankruptcies at a high.

Washington: Indians living or working in the United States are way ahead of other immigrants in corporate rankings, Forbes magazine said.

Pepsico chief executive Indira Nooyi inevitably tops the list of what Forbes calls "Eight IndianFlavoured CEOs" who lead US corporations with revenues of at least $2 billion as the premier business magazine chronicles the rise of Indians in corporate ranks in America.

"The chief executive of PepsiCo would be prominent no matter what. The fact that the current one Indira Nooyi - is an Indian immigrant and a female makes her all the more noteworthy," it says.

"Of all the immigrant groups coming in, Indians are head-and-shoulders above others, and this is partly because of their English language skills and also the advanced education that many of them are bringing to the US," Forbes quoted Richard Herman, coauthor of a book on immigrants to US, as saying.

Herman adds, " but just look at who was running the Tarp financialrescue fund - Neel Kashkari"- an IndianAmerican who is now joining bond giant Pimco as a managing director."

Of the featured eight, Nooyi, 53, says Herman, is part of a growing trend where US companies are

Indira Nooyi

being created, or led, by foreign-born individuals who bring in something special.

Vikram Pandit, the embattled CEO of Citigroup, is the other prominent native Indian

Taj is the third most-liked structure in the world Paris: France's Eiffel Tower has been named the most favourite building of the world, leaving behind Taj Mahal and New York’s Statue of Liberty, according to a new survey.

The survey by leading accommodation website Hotels.com found the iconic Parisian structure as the most favourite among international travellers, while the 16th century monument of love at Agra was the third mostliked structure in the world.

According to the survey, about 16 per cent of the over 10,000 travellers polled in five continents named Eiffel Tower as the best structure.

St. Peter’s Basilica in

the Vatican City, Rome, is the second most favourite structure with nine per cent votes, while the Taj Mahal came third with 8 per cent votes.

Three American icons - the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty made up the remainder of

the top six spots, each sharing 7 per cent votes.

The other structures in the top 10 are the Sydney Opera House, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Acropolis in Athens and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

“This survey shows that the pull of famous landmarks is so strong that many people travel to a place especially to see them. These buildings really do have a hold on our imaginations,” said Alison Couper, Communications Director for Hotels.com.

in the corner office.

Third on the list is Kenya-born Francisco D'Souza who heads Cognizant Technology Solutions, which outsources IT services for its Western world clients.

Next comes Shantanu Narayen, 46, at the helm at Adobe Systems. The diversified software company's flagship Internet video tool is Flash.

Also featured are Dinesh Paliwal of Harman International, Jai P Nagarkatti of SigmaAldrich and Abhijit Talwalkar of LSI. Paliwal, a native of the city of the Taj Mahal, joined Harman, a soundsystems company in Stamford, Connecticut, as

chief executive in 2007.

Prior to that he spent 22 years at ABB Group and set up its operations in China and north Asia.

Nagarkatti joined Sigma-Aldrich in 1976 as a development chemist, and after heading the company's scientific research business was appointed COO, in August 2004.

Talwalkar was appointed chief executive of LSI of Milpitas, California, in May 2005. Earlier, he was at Intel's digital enterprise group. He joined Intel in 1993 after stints at Sequent Computer Systems (now part of IBM), Bipolar Integrated Technology Inc. and Lattice Semiconductor Inc.

Provincial council elections in Northern Lanka this year SLFP claims Rajapaksa will get 65% votes in Prez polls Colombo: In the Tamil dominated northern Sri Lanka, provincial council elections will be held by the middle of this year.

After that, power will be devolved to the region, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary and the country’s Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena has said.

The minister added that a provincial council in the Eastern Province has been set up and that’s working. By the middle of this year, elections to the Northern Province will also be held. “The 13th Amendment to the Constitution provides us with a framework to devolve power.

“Once this council becomes functional, we will monitor its working.

If there drawbacks, we will initiate necessary measures to address them,” the senior ruling party leader said.

“President J R Jayewardene had introduced the PC system, though even he could not implement it properly in the north,” he added.

The minister refuted charges of state funds being used by Rajapaksa to entertain voters, saying it is political mudslinging.

He also claimed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will get more than 65 per cent of the polled votes in his re-election bid.

US honours Mother Teresa, Hepburn with stamps Washington: Nobel Prize winner Mother Teresa and Oscar-winning actress Katharine Hepburn will be honoured on U.S. postage stamps this year.

Joining them will be singing cowboy Gene Autry, artist Winslow Homer and Adm. Arleigh Burke. Other new stamps will honour the Negro baseball leagues and the Hawaiian rain forest, the Postal Service announced last week.

The US post office releases a series of commemorative stamps every year, honouring people, places and institutions.

These stamps remain on sale for a limited period and are widely collected.

Nepal introduces bill to 8 CIA men, 5 Canadians killed in Afghan attacks a bomb in southern war, highlighting the province, Taliban Eight CIA employallow oath taking in Hindi Kabul: Kandahar province, the Taliban's reach and coordispokesman Zabihullah ees were killed when a sui-

Kathmandu: The Nepalese government last week introduced a landmark bill in Parliament to enable the President and Vice President to take oath of office and secrecy in their mother tongues, a move likely to resolve the row over the "unconstitutional" oath by Parmananda Jha. The position of Jha is inactive after the Supreme Court held his oath in the Hindi language "unconstitutional".

He had refused to retake the oath of office in the Nepali language and had preferred to remain inactive in the post after his earlier oath was held illegal.

The government tabled the Seventh Amendment

Bill to the interim constitution in the parliament that would make it legal for the President and Vice President (VP) to take oath of office and secrecy in their mother tongues.

"The government expresses firm commitment that the endorsement of this Bill will clear the way to resolve the problem related to VP Jha. The government will instantly implement the amended provision to resolve the problem related to Jha," Prem Bahadur Singh, the minister for law and justice told the 601member House.

The government said once the amendment was endorsed from the House, it would reactivate the post of VP Jha.

cide bomber penetrated a foreign army base in Afghanistan last week, while four Canadian troops and a journalist died in a separate attack.

A "well-dressed" Afghan army official detonated a suicide vest at a meeting of CIA officials in southeastern Khost

Mujahid said.

"This deadly attack was carried out by a valorous Afghan army member when the officials were busy gaining information about the mujahideen, in the (fitness) club," he wrote in an email.

The attack is one of the most ambitious of the

nation at a time when violence has reached its highest levels since the overthrow of the Taliban regime by US-backed Afghan forces in 2001.

Five Canadians killed The five Canadians four soldiers and a journalist - were killed when their armored vehicle was hit by

Canadian Defense Ministry said. The blast occurred when the patrol team was visiting community reconstruction projects. The Khost base targeted by the suicide attacker is also a center for reconstruction projects, a key part of Obama's strategy to stabilize the country.

Attempt to blow up a US plane, one arrested Detroit: A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaeda's instructions, set off an explosive device on Friday in a failed terrorist attack on the plane as it was landing in Detroit, federal officials said.

Flight 253 with 278 passengers aboard was 20

minutes from the airport when it sounded like a firecracker had exploded, witnesses said. One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man.

Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned.

The White House said it believed it was an

attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel, but were not specified.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab.

"It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the

Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke."

At least one passenger acted heroically. Smith said the passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.

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South African president Zuma weds fifth time Nkandla (South Africa): South African president Jacob Zuma married for the fifth time on Monday, giving the Zulu traditionalist his third current wife, witnesses and family members said. Multiple marriages are allowed in South Africa and form part of Zulu culture but the practice has drawn criticism from HIV/AIDS activists in a country with one of the highest infection rates in the world. The ceremony took place at Zuma's traditional home in Nkandla, where the 68-year-old president, in Zulu tribal dress, married 37-year-old Tobeka Madiba according to clan custom.

Africa Focus Congo’s ex-rebel takes gov’t job, calls for amnesty Brazzaville: The head of Congo's main rebel group called for an amnesty for his fellow fighters last week and accepted a government job he was offered more than two years ago as part of a peace deal.

Frederic Bintsamou, known by his guerilla group Pastor Ntoumi, has been blamed for chronic violence in the central African nation's Pool region where his "Ninja" fighters waged a 1998-2002 rebellion and have since been accused of being behind a resurgence of banditry and rape. "For a real reconciliation, a true peace, all of the acts of civil war from 1997, 1998, 2000, must be covered by amnesty," said Ntoumi during a ceremony in the capital Brazzaville to mark his acceptance of the government advisory role. "Now that I am in Brazzaville, people will not say that the problems of insecurity in the Pool are Ntoumi," he said.

Nigeria gets ‘illegal’ new chief justice Abuja: The appointment of a new chief justice in Nigeria has been held “illegal.” According to a lawyer, the appointment of Aloysius Katsina-Alu is illegal as he was administered the oath of office by the outgoing chief justice Idris Lagbo Kutigi in the absence of president Umaru Yar’Adua, who is in hospital in Saudi Arabia with a heart ailment. The lawyer said that only the president has the power to administer his oath of office. Instead, the ceremony was presided over by outgoing chief justice. There have been several calls for Mr Yar'Adua to resign over his ill-health.

Senior lawyer Bamidele Aturu said that the constitution makes it clear that the chief justice can only be sworn in by the president. "This means the legality of the appointment is in question and people can go to court and challenge it," he said.

Overseas Kenyans want a say in draft law Nairobi: Kenyans Diaspora want to be included in the referendum that will ratify a new constitution.

In a presentation to the Committee of Experts managing the drafting of a new constitution, a group claiming to represent Kenyans living outside the country wants the law on the referendum amended to allow them to vote for or against the new constitution. “We acknowledge that many of us currently residing outside the country may not be able to fully participate in this exercise due to the current legal framework that does not provide opportunities for voting outside the country,” read the statement signed by Mr Julius Kaberere, the convenor, and seven others under the Kenyans4Kenya Network.

But even as they demanded a stake, they called for the amendment of the clause on dual citizenship to allow those who already have more than one citizenry to “reconnect with their motherland.”

As such, they said, the clause has to be altered to read “multi-citizenship.” The group said there are thousands of Kenyans and people of Kenyan descent who pledge their allegiance to more than two countries and such a change will help them join in building their motherland.

Tougher US screening for travellers from Pakistan Passengers from 13 other countries also to be searched thoroughly Washington: All travellers flying into the US from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and nine other countries considered high risk will be patted down and have carry-on luggage searched under new security procedures starting from Monday.

In addition, all international passengers will see enhanced random screening, which may include pat-downs, explosive

Delhiite is first Indian woman to ski to South Pole

Melbourne: Reena Kaushal last week became the first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole.

Ms. Kaushal, 38, settled in Delhi, made the historic ski-run as part of an eight-woman Commonwealth team that crossed a 900 km Antarctic ice trek to reach the South Pole to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth.

Skiing eight to 10 hours a day, Ms. Kaushal and her teammates from seven other countries covered the frozen continent to the pole in about 40 days. Each skier towed a sledge with food and gear weighing some 80 kg.

The skiers, Ms. Kaushal said in a statement online, braved blinding blizzards, jet speed winds blowing in excess of 130 km an hour and temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius.

detection testing (swabbing of luggage) or body scans, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)announced on Sunday.

The new procedures follow the botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound US airliner blamed on a Nigerian man who US officials believe was trained by al-Qaida in Yemen. Pakistan's border with Afghanistan is also

considered a key battleground in the US-led battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen are on the list as "other countries of interest". Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria are listed because they have long been identified as "state sponsors of terrorism" by the State Department.

This list was developed between Homeland Security and the State Department using the latest intelligence, NBC cited a senior federal official as saying.

"The new directive includes long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners," the TSA said in a statement.

A travelling exhibition on Lord Vishnu in US Nevada (US): Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville (Tennessee, USA) has organized a 'travelling exhibition' titled 'Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior'.

Center claims that it "will be the first major museum exhibition to focus on Vishnu".

Opening in February 2011 and presenting approximately 120 paintings and sculptures that were made in India between the fourth and 19th century, this exhibition will serve as a brief survey of Hindu art styles as well as an examination of the Vaishnava tradition, it adds.

Hindus have applauded Frist Center for developing this Hinduism focused exhibition.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

It was a laudable step for Frist Center to provide opportunity to the world

to further explore Hinduism and its concepts, Zed pointed out.

According to the Center, the first section of the exhibition will introduce Vishnu in his primary form with subsections dedicated to his attributes, his consorts, and his legends.

The second section will examine his avatars (incarnations), as a group and then individually.

The avatars that are more frequently celebrated in art will be more fully represented in the exhibition, with substantial subsections dedicated to Rama and Krishna.

The third section will show some of the ways that Vishnu has been worshipped, with images of temples and ritual objects.

Indian student stabbed to death in Australia Melbourne: An Indian student studying in Australia was stabbed to death on Saturday. While, Australia condemned the killing of an Indian student in Melbourne, India called for an end to the spate of attacks against Indian students there.

Accounting graduate Nitin Garg, 21, originally from the state of Punjab in northern India, was stabbed to death on Saturday night on his way to a job at a fast food outlet in Melbourne.

Police said the motive

for the attack, which they described as vicious, was not known.

"I obviously unreservedly condemn this attack," said Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

India’s External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Sunday issued a statement condemning the "brutal attack", with Indian media reporting him warning the attacks were creating "deep anger" in India and could have a "bearing on bilateral ties".

"There is extreme

shock and fear and anger," Gautam Gupta, president of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia, told local radio on Monday.

Indian's partly-charred body found Meanwhile, the authorities on Tuesday said that a partially-burnt body found in New South Wales (NSW) province was that of a young Indian man.

Police renewed their appeal for help to solve the death. The body was found partially burnt on the side of a road in southern NSW.

Indian-origin scientist gets Canada’s highest civilian award Toronto: An Allahabadborn scientist of Indian origin has been given Canada's highest civilian award - the Order of Canada.

Shrawan Kumar was honoured last week for his three decades of pioneering research on workplace injury and the spine at the University of Alberta.

Born in Allahabad, Kumar is an alumnus of

Allahabad University where he did his masters in zoology. After his higher studies in Britain, he worked from 1971 to 1973 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences where he set up the first biomechanics laboratory. Before landing in Canada in 1974, he was an assistant director at the Central Labour Institute in Mumbai.

Kumar is among 57

prominent Canadians who have been given the nation's highest civilian award for their excellence in various fields.

Bestowing the highest Canadian award on Kumar, Governor General Michaelle Jean said he has been honoured for "his contributions to the field of rehabilitation ergonomics, in Canada and abroad, notably in his research and

teachings on the causation, prevention and treatment of musculo-skeletal injuries".

Kumar, who joined the faculty at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1977, has done path-breaking research, published and taught on ergonomics, occupational health and lower back pain for three decades. He retired from the Canadian university

two years ago and moved to Fort Worth in Texas to join the faculty at the University of North Texas.

"I feel honoured as well as humbled by the award.

It is Canada's highest honour...the feeling has not yet sunk in," Kumar said.

"I am an inter-disciplinary scientist and my research covers various disciplines from engineering to medicine to biology.

My work involves orthopaedic research, occupational health, rehabilitation health etc," he said. The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to mark the centenary of the formation of the Canadian Confederation.

Over the last 40 years, more than 5,000 people, including many IndianCanadians, have been given this honour.

ASIAN VOICE

Saturday 9th January 2010

27

Gilani challenges Musharraf to prove his popularity Islamabad: Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has challenged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to prove his claim that he continues to be popular in Pakistan by contesting any by-election in the country, while warning that all those who violated constitution would "face the music".

Addressing a meeting in the port city of Gwadar last week, Gilani urged Musharraf to "contest any by-election and gauge your popularity and real worth. He said that Musharraf would be made to pay for abrogating the constitution.

PML-N tells Zardari its time to perform rather than talk Islamabad: Pakistan Muslim league Nawaz has criticised President Asif Ali Zardari's speech on Benazir Bhutto's second death anniversary, saying that the time had come for him to walk the talk.

"This is the time to perform, the president has already been delivering speeches for the last two years... The implementation of the CoD will strengthen state institutions and save the democratic process from derailment," the Daily Times quoted PML-Nawaz Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal, a saying.

Asif Ali Zardari

Zardari's speech has generated mixed reactions among political parties, with many saying that the stated "threat to the system" was a "figment of his own imagination".

"It is a partisan approach, not a speech of a head of the state. It was

a speech of a man in desperation, confusion and faced with pressure and fear," Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain as, saying. He added that Zardari was trying to portray himself as a victim, and made a failed attempt to boost the morale of his party workers.

Hussain said all institutions in the country were working smoothly and fears expressed by Zardari were self-centric.

Iqbal said if Zardari was sensing any danger to democracy, he should

come forward to implement the Charter of Democracy (CoD) in its true spirit.

Senator Zahid Khan of the Awami National Party (ANP) welcomed Zardari's address, saying the president had apprised his party workers about the dangers he thought threatened the democratic order in the country.

"The president did not ignore the problems confronting the nation like poverty and unemployment, and mentioned them in his speech and resolved to solve these problems soon," he said.

Suicide bomber kills 95 during volleyball match Islamabad: A suicide bomber blew himself up in an SUV at a volleyball game in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing 95 people in a village that opposes al-Qaida-linked Taliban insurgents, police said. The bomber struck as young men played volleyball in front of a crowd of spectators, including elderly residents and children, near the town of Lakki Marwat, officials said.

The bloodshed will put President Asif Ali Zardari's efforts to fight the Taliban under greater scrutiny, pressure he does not need at a time when corruption cases against his allies could be revived.

"It's just a disaster. I can see flesh, bodies and wounded all around," Fazl-e-Akbar, a witness, said. "It's dark. Vehicles' headlights are being used to search for victims."

Local police chief Ayub Khan said the bomber blew himself up in his sport utility vehicle in the middle of the field. A second vehicle was believed to have fled the scene.

"We have removed all bodies and wounded from the rubble," Khan said, adding that 95 people were killed. It was one of the bloodiest bombings since the October 2007 attack that killed at least 139 people.

AQ Khan admits Pak helped Pakistan Focus.........

Banks told to appoint eunuchs N Korea in its N-programme for loan recovery jobs Washington: Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has revealed that the North Korean Government opened a second way to build nuclear weapons as early as the 1990s.

According to the Washington Post, Khan claimed that Pyongyang might have been enriching uranium on a small scale by 2002, with "maybe 3,000 or even more" centrifuges, and that Pakistan helped the country with vital machinery, drawings and technical advice for at least six years.

Though Khan's account could not be independently corroborated, a US intelligence official and a diplomat said his information adds to their suspicions that North Korea has long pursued the enrichment of uranium in addition to making plutonium for bombs, and may help explain Pyongyang's assertion in September that it is in the final stages of such enrichment.

Khan's account of the pilot plant, which he says North Korea built with-

Abdul Qadeer Khan

out help, is included in a narrative that depicts relations between the two countries' scientists as exceptionally close for nearly a decade.

Khan says, for example, that during a visit to North Korea in 1999, he toured a mountain tunnel.

There, his hosts showed him boxes containing components of three finished nuclear warheads, which could be assembled for use atop missiles within an hour.

"While they explained the construction [design of their bombs], they quietly showed me the six boxes" containing split cores for the warheads, as well as "64 ignitors/detonators per bomb packed in 6 sepa-

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rate boxes," Khan is quoted, as saying.

His visit occurred seven years before the country's first detonation, prompting some current and former US officials to say that Khan's account, if correct, suggests North Korea's achievements were more advanced than previously known, and that the country may have more sophisticated weapons, or a larger number, than earlier estimated.

But Siegfried S. Hecker, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory director who was allowed to see some North Korean plutonium during a visit to its nuclear facilities in January 2004, said he remains unconvinced about Pyongyang having enough fissile material on hand to make such weapons as far back as 1999.

Since some of Khan's actions were exposed in 2003 and 2004, top Pakistani officials have called him a rogue proliferator.

Islamabad: The Pakistan supreme court has advised the banks to appoint eunuchs to recovery money from defaulters. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry made the observation last week while hearing a petition filed by Insaaf Welfare Trust chairman Muhammad Aslam Khaki pertaining to the rights of 'hijras' or eunuchs. Almas Bobby, the president of a hijra association welcomed the suggestion and said they were prepared to shame such people by clapping and dancing outside their homes.

"We will go to their homes and sing, dance and clap outside their doors and ask them to return what they have looted from the country. We will gherao their homes and ask them to return the loans or wear bangles and join us," Bobby said.

UN team probing Benazir killing denied access Karachi: The UN probe into the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto has hit a dead end as the government has denied access to the incumbent army chief and other top military generals for interrogation. The UN had appointed a three-member inquiry commission to determine the facts and circumstances under which Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007. According to the terms of reference of the investigation, the UN had demanded that the commission would enjoy complete cooperation from the government. The commission said that it wanted access to the Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, former ISI Chief Lt Gen Nadeem Taj and former Military Intelligence Chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ejaz Mian, among other top officials of the intelligence agencies.

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The commission’s terms of reference said: “The government shall comply with the requests of the commission for assistance in collecting the required information and testimony, and shall provide it with the necessary facilities to enable it to discharge its mandate.”

Commission gets extension Meanwhile, the UN has said it would extend by three months the mandate of the Commission. "Because of the substantial amount of information collected by the Commission in Pakistan and further follow up work that remains, the Commissioners requested additional time to complete their report," UN Chief Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky said.

IMF approves $1.2 bn loan Washington: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week approved immediate disbursement of $1.2 billion to Pakistan following a third review of its economic performance. With this Pakistan has so far received $6.54 billion from the IMF under this programme supported by a Stand-ByArrangement. In November 2008, the IMF had approved about $8.11 billion; which are being disbursed in phases; based on Pakistan's economic performance. Noting that stabilisation was progressing on the macro front and appreciating the steps being taken by the government towards structural reform in putting in place the framework for moving toward a value-added tax; the IMF's Mission Chief to Pakistan Adnan Mazarei said "significant challenges remain for the country". The Executive Board also approved Pakistan's request for a waiver for the non-observance of the endSeptember performance criterion on the ceiling of the overall budget deficit.

28

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

This week meet Jagadishbhai Patel, Manager of Brent Indian Association, who has survived many ailments yet continues to serve the community in the best possible way

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500

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Week commences 9th January 2010 ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

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Sympathetic GP cleared of sexual assault A respected family doctor who 'provided a shoulder to cry on' for his patients during an unblemished 29-year career has been cleared of a sexual assault charge.

Dr Kaivalya Desai, aged 61, believed old-fashioned sympathy, which he referred to as 'in-house help and counselling', was the best way to calm anxious patients.

However, his career was in danger of ruin when a woman patient in her early 20s complained that he had put a comforting arm around her while she was crying.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the patient was suffering from depression and relationship problems and finding it difficult to care for her two young children.

Through a video interview played to the jury during a three-day trial she admitted the GP held

her hand, which he had done before, and she thought nothing of it.

She then claimed he stroked her arm in a sexual manner which made her feel 'uncomfortable' and said the doctor brushed back her hair.

After the five-minute consultation, she alleged the doctor said, "Give me a hug?', and squeezed her tightly. claimed: 'He She kissed me on the lips then pulled back and went quiet and let go of me.'

However under crossexamination in court behind a velvet curtain, the woman admitted she was upset about personal problems.

She admitted to Gordon Bebb QC, defending, that she had been sacked as a receptionist at a different practice in the same building in 2007 after she took a fortnight off work.

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The woman said she had been worried her partner was going to leave her and had told Dr Desai she was thinking about going back to live with her parents.

Dr Desai, of Dodworth, who worked at Barnsley Hospital before becoming a GP, denied sexual assault.

He told the court he often held the hands of his patients to comfort them.

He said: 'If I feel the patient is crying a lot and is very stressed then yes I would hold their hand and help them. I feel it is a human thing.

'If someone is depressed or crying a physical touch tells them

they are not alone in the world.'

He said he offered the woman comfort by holding her hand, gave her a tissue to wipe her eyes, and put an arm around her shoulders.

She ran from the health centre in tears and told her partner who called the police.

It took a jury at Sheffield Crown Court just 30 minutes to throw out her allegation.

Dr Desai said afterwards: 'I am delighted with the verdict. In my 29 years of practice I have always sought to provide the best standard of care for my patients.'

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It would be a mistake to blame the other person if your expectations of work turn out to be disappointing.

It is said that if you do not learn from past experience you will be condemned to repeat it until you do learn. You now have an excellent opportunity to sort out where things may be going wrong.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

If you are seeking to expand and enrich your mental horizons, experience will provide you with much stimulation and inspiration for some time to come. Anything that engages your mental energies purposefully will bring excellent results. Ideas will now be easily pulled into shape, allowing you to push ahead with a new project.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

There may be a somewhat disappointing discrepancy between the energy you put out and the actual result achieved. You can do much to minimise this effect by avoiding distractions and concentrating on only what is most essential at a day-to-day level. Try to take things in your stride rather than anticipating what might happen.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 It is essential that you adopt a very open attitude now for this is a time of lucky opportunity and a chance to greatly enrich your working life and at home. New windows on the world are about to open and this is bound to have a maturing effect on you from now into the future.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 Not only will the general pace of everyday life gather a speedier momentum but there are liable to b a few unforeseen problems along the way. It is only if you try to cram too much into the day that you will come a cropper or damage you health, so be warned. Be prepared to shoulder certain responsibilities.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 Life appears to be focusing your mind on practical matters. So you will need to organise your time carefully if you are to avoid an "all work and no play" situation. Resist making any hasty moves when it come to finances - this is a time to focus on consolidation of current assets rather than make any new investments.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 You have everything to gain by following creative inclinations. If you have new ideas, now is the time to put them into practice. Whatever your present interests you are likely to find that new doors open and the way ahead offers increased scope for expressing your real self. A great time to meet and interact with people.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 It seems that you will be in gregarious mood, intent on cultivating a wider circle of acquaintances. Mentally you will be in good form to make on-the-spot decisions and also get your ideas across to the right people. Ideas that you have been juggling with will now be easily pulled into shape, allowing you to push ahead.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 Get out as much as possible. Do not be misled by inconsequential issues as you will have better opportunities if you stick to your main objectives. The domestic scene may prove to be active and harmonious as long as you use tact and diplomacy. This is also a time when you will develop fresh insights into other people.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 If any emotional tensions in your love-life need sorting out, now is the time to get things into the open. You often sabotage your own best emotional interests by keeping too much inside yourself. However, there comes a time when an inner pressure builds up and manifests as irrational moods that others find hard to understand.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

There is an element of disruption or stress which may be hard to avoid, but it appears that there is a strong sense of purpose in the background. A certain amount of sheer hard graft will be necessary for a short while, but the final result will be extremely pleasing. An exchange of opinions ought to prove very enlivening at this time.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 Social commitments are liable to increase considerably. At times this could lead to a conflict of loyalties and perhaps a degree of resentment that others are taking advantage of you. Make a very conscious attempt to stick to main priorities. Organise your time so that it is not taken up entirely by the demands of other people.

TIME

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010 4 Legal suffix 5 Wall Street acronym 6 MD athlete 7 Jewish month 8 Far out 9 Ruth’s mother-inlaw 10 Pet rodent 11 US fuel group 12”__Blue Dipinto Di Blu (Valare)” 13 Rose of Guns N’Roses 19 Come down a clff face 22 Toughens up 24 Country hotel 26 Chad michael Murray series 27 Adversary 28 Brings into harmony 30 Cartoon Alley 31 Not quite sober 33 Dayan or Arens 34 Mork’s language 36 Pickle brand name 39 White House nickname 42 Manifests 44 Erving of hoops 46 Store, as fodder 47 Uptight 49 Swiss Alp 51 Mea__(my fault) 52 Lover’s rendezvous 54 ___-Seltzer 55 Dodger, in MLB jargon 57 Former soldiers’ org.

58 __du Diable 59 Essence 61 Wiedersehen lead-in

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Chance” singer 60 Seven times a week 62 Chimney segment 63 Actress Sommer 64 Takes a big swig 65 Spider traps 66 Back part 67 D Sharp Down 1”Tuesdays with Morrie” author 2 Silhouette 3 Reason for a late fee

SPELLATHON - 69 Today’s Ratings: 02-average |03-good | 04-outstanding How many words of four or more letters can you make from the letters shown in today’s puzzle? In making a word, each letter may be used once only.

Each word must contain the central letter. There U should be at least one I F seven-letter word. Plurals, Y foreign words and proper L names are not allowed.

N British English Dictionary N is used as reference.

Solution of Spellathon - 68 ANSWER : duping, ping, PUDDING

M O S S

A S H E

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T R I V E T

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D E A D R I V E A C O N H E N D

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Solution of - 68 : Dog pound

KAKURO - 69

Example

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The numbers in the pink squares refer to the sums of the digits that you must fill into the empty spaces directly below or to the right of the pink square containing the number. For instance, in the given example, Solution of KAKURO - 68 the 2 boxes below 12 must contain 2 digits 21 3 28 that add upto 12, 13 whereas for 20, the 3 9 4 1 9 12 21 boxes places horizon26 tally next to it must add 3 4 1 9 2 7 8 4 upto 20. No zeroes are 5 used here, only the dig9 8 2 3 8 1 4 its one through nine.

10 17 3 2 1 4 8 9 35 22 18

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tific instruments large or small, displayed on the shelves or in the cupboards that have made science work.

The major part of the exhibition is located on the lower ground floor, where the theme is experimentation. You can see the actual objects that the RI scientists built and used in some of the world’s most famous experiments. The thermos flask, and the safety lamp that saved the lives of countless miners were developed here.

However, the highlight of the exhibition is Faraday’s magnetic lab as it was in the 1850s where many of his experiments contributed greatly to the understanding of electromagnetism. The theme of the ground floor is people, where you are introduced to the famous scientists (and their work) who have worked here. In the first floor is the Faraday Lecture Theatre, the heart of the RI. Most of the great

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scientists from the last 200 years have at one time or another appeared in this famous theatre. It is familiar to those who watch popular RI Christmas lectures on TV. The museum is open Mon to Fri and the entrance is free. It is more suitable for high school and college students and those who are interested in history and heritage of British science.

There is a cafe where you can enjoy a cuppa amid stunning portraits of the great scientists of the world, wondering where we would be without them.

Another science heritage institution worth mentioning is the world renowned Royal Society of London. It’s UK’s national academy of science based at Carlton House Terrace near Pall Mall in central London.

Dedicated to promoting science, it’s the world’s oldest and most prestigious scientific society in continuous existence since its foundation in 1660. Among its earliest members were such luminaries as Boyle (physicist), Wren (astronomer, architect), and Newton (mathematician).

It offers membership (Fellowship) to highly distinguished scientists.

Unlike RI it never had a lab but has a splendid library and publishes journals on scientific research.

The Royal Society has provided an impetus to scientific thought and developments in Britain for three and a half centuries.

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the world we live in today.

In the museum one can explore pioneering scientific discoveries that were made at the RI since 1799. For example, ten chemical elements (sodium, potassium, calcium etc) were discovered here.

In fact, wherever you go in the building and look around you will see scien-

Find the familiar phrase, saying or name in this arrangement of letters.

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8

HOW TO PLAY Each row, column and square 3x3 box is a sub-grid of 9 cells. Fill in the grid so that each subgrid contains the digits 1 to 9. Every puzzle has one solution.

A N N U L A R

Our solution: 4!*4! sqrt(4)/.4

Solution of sudoku-68 2 4

T O I L E T

Solution of 68 :

6 7 3

The Royal Institution (RI) was founded in London in 1799 for the promotion of scientific knowledge among general public. It has devoted itself primarily to scientific research, and to the presentation of science to nonscientific audience - a goal it fulfils to this day through events and lectures on a variety of topics.

In its day RI had one of the best equipped labs in Europe.

Many famous scientists (including 14 Noble Prize winners and other pioneers) have worked at the institution such as Humphry Davy (miner’s safety lamp), Michael Faraday (electromagnetism, electric motor, electrolysis), James Dewar (vacuum flask), father and son team William and Lawrence Bragg (x-ray crystallography), and George Porter (fast chemical reactions which helped explain process of photosynthesis in plants).

The HQ of RI is in the heart of London’s Mayfair – A Greek temple like facade at Albemarle Street. It has opened its doors to the public following a two and a half year makeover. This includes a newly expanded and refurbished museum where you can discover over 200 years of scientific history over three floors of exhibition space. You can see the scientists and the labs they worked in would have been looked like back in 19th century, and also discover many of the scientific objects that helped to shape modern science and

This is a test to gauge you mental flexibility, creativity and cunning.

Good Luck! (Example: 1 6 0 in a P. Answer: 16 Ounces in a Pound) Z = L L in the E A

3 4

Science heritage : The Royal Institution and the Royal Society

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W A K E N E R S

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By Dr Anil Mehta

Solution of Crossword-68

Sudoku-69 8

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Across 1 Colorado resort 6 Coastal bird 10 Mauj retreat 14 Tibe’ts capital city 15 Zeno of ___ 16 Zenith 17 Military posts 18 Grapevine, in a way 20 Make a choice 21 Sheepskins 23 Highways divider 25 Walks softly 29 citation’s final word 32 Actress/director Marshall

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45

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42

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35 38

58

11

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7

PASS

7 19

23

10

1 2

3 23

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6

8

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Note: A digit cannot appear more than once in any particular digit combination. For instance in the example, we cannot have the combination of 8+4+8 for 20.

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16

16

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HEALTH WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Taking gingko to improve your memory? Forget it, says study The ancient Chinese remedy ginkgo is used by thousands of people trying to stave off the effects of old age.

But after a six-year study involving 3,000 people, researchers say that it doesn’t actually work.

Ginkgo – which has been used in Chinese medicine for more than 5,000 years – was thought to help older people overcome memory lapses by improving the circulation of blood, particularly to brain cells.

But the most recent findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, contradict those claims.

The Pittsburgh University study involved 3,000 volunteers aged between 72 and 96, who took either ginkgo tablets or placebo pills twice daily.

The participants all lived in the community

and had normal brain function, or mild cognitive impairment, and were tested over an average of six years.

The researchers found ginkgo did not slow the rate of cognitive decline and there was no effect on memory, language, attention and other brain functions, compared with the dummy supplements.

Research leader Dr Beth Snitz said it was the largest randomised con-

trolled trial of its kind.

She said: ‘Ginkgo biloba is marketed widely and used with the hope of improving, preventing or delaying cognitive impairment associated with ageing and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

In the United States and particularly in Europe, ginkgo biloba is perhaps the most widely used herbal treatment consumed specifically to prevent age-related cognitive decline. (But) we find no evidence that ginkgo biloba slows the rate of cognitive decline in older adults.'

Previous research found that unique substances called ginkgolides appeared to prevent blood vessels constricting, increased blood flow and reduced blood clotting ability.

Other benefits were thought to lie in ginkgo’s antioxidant activity,

reducing the level of harmful chemicals in the body.

Ginkgo biloba is extracted from the leaves of the ginkgo tree, which grows only in central China.

It is widely prescribed in Germany and France for symptoms caused by ‘cerebral insufficiency’, in which a poor blood supply to the brain and extremities can trigger memory lapses and circulation difficulties in hands, legs and feet.

Health A S u p p l e m e n t s Information Service spokesman said: ‘More research is needed but what we do know from previous studies is that ginkgo biloba has shown good results on conditions such as memory enhancement and intermittent leg pain caused by narrowing of the blood vessels – to name but a few examples.'

The potent antioxidant Vitamin E may do more harm than good research suggests Vitamin-fortified foods and dietary health supplements can ease health worries. But what kinds of vitamins are right for you?

And how much of them should you take, and how often?

A research group from Tel Aviv University has done the most comprehensive and accurate study of clinical data on Vitamin E use and heart disease to date, and it warns that indiscriminate use of highdose Vitamin E supplementation does more harm than good. Their results were recently reported in ATVB, a leading journal of cardiology, and discussed in the journal BioFactors.

"There were so many conflicting reports about Vitamin E and its effect on various diseases, particularly heart disease, that we wanted to set the record straight,” says Prof. Dov Lichtenberg of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine.

"Our new study shows that some people may be harmed by the treatment, whereas others may benefit from it. Now we're trying to identify groups of people that are most likely to benefit from the effects of Vitamin E," added study

co-researcher Dr. Ilya Pinchuk.

The TAU research team also included decision analyst Dr. Moshe Leshno of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Leon Recanati Faculty of Management and Dr.

Yedidya (Didi) Dotan, whose PhD thesis is the basis for this analysis.

Applying a very different approach than any previous study, the team of researchers put their heads together to draw definitive conclusions

about Vitamin E. In their publication in ATVB the Tel Aviv University researchers evaluated the results of the prominent studies measuring the health benefits of Vitamin E but reached varying conclusions. There have been

many previous publications on the subject.

Analysis of the results of all these past publications together revealed that subjects who did not take a Vitamin E supplement enjoyed more qualityadjusted-life-years (QALY), a standard parameter used in medicine to assess the effect of medical interventions.

"To explain the meaning of this parameter," says Dr. Pinchuk, "consider a participant who was healthy during the first 10 out of 20 years of the study, but then suffered a stroke and became dependent on others throughout the following 10 years. The QALY during the first 10 years of healthy life is 10, but after the stroke the quality of life is only half of what this person had before. Therefore, the second decade is considered the equivalent of merely 5 years of healthy life and in sum a person's QALY is 15.

How calorie-restricted diets fight obesity and extend life span Scientists searching for the secrets of how calorierestricted diets increase longevity are reporting discovery of proteins in the fat cells of human volunteers that change as pounds drop off. The proteins could become markers for monitoring or boosting the effectiveness of calorie-restricted diets -- the only scientifically proven way of extending

life span in animals. Their study appears online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research.

Edwin Mariman and colleagues note that scientists have long known that sharply restricting intake of calories while maintaining good nutrition makes animals live longer and stay healthier. Recent studies suggest that people may

gain similar benefits. But scientists know little about how these diets work in humans, particularly their effects on cells that store fat.

The new study focused on proteins in abdominal subcutaneous fat cells from a group of overweight people before and after they went on a five-week-long calorie-restricted diet. The

volunteers each lost an average of 21 pounds.

Scientists identified changes in the levels of 6 proteins as the volunteers shed pounds, including proteins that tell the body to store fat. These proteins could serve as important markers for improving or tracking the effectiveness of therapies involving calorierestricted diets, they say.

Benefits of sleeping 'early' It shows that adolescents with parental-set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to suffer from depression and 20 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those with parentalset bedtimes set for 10 p.m. or earlier.

Those who reported sleeping five or fewer hours per night were 71 percent more likely to suffer from depression and 48 percent more likely to think about committing suicide than those who reported eight hours of sleep.

Also, participants who reported that they "usually get enough sleep" were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and suicidal ideation.

James E. Gangwisch, assistant professor at the Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC), who led the study, said the results strengthen the argument that short sleep duration could play a role

in a person's history of depression.

"Our results are consistent with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression, working with other risk and protective factors through multiple possible causal pathways to the development of this mood disorder," said Gangwisch.

"Adequate quality sleep could, therefore, be a measure preventive against depression and a treatment for the disease," added Gangwisch, according to a CUMC release.

Data were collected from 15,659 adolescents and their parents who had participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a school-based, nationally representative, probability-based sample of US students in grades seven to 12 in 1994 to 1996.

The study was published in the Friday issue of Sleep.

Arthritis? Exercise for less pain Don’t stop exercises just because you have aching knees and joints caused by arthritis.

People with arthritis who exercise regularly report less pain, says a new Mayo Clinic study.

Regular, modest exercise improves joint stability and strengthens muscles, says the study. It also improves mood, sleep, energy levels and day-today functioning.

When a person avoids exercise, joints become less mobile and the surrounding muscles shrink, causing increased fatigue and pain.

A physical therapist or personal trainer can tailor exercise programmes to health conditions and fitness levels. The key is to choose safe, appropriate activities and to take it slowly at first.

A variety of activities can be safe and helpful for people with arthritis, including: Range-of-motion and flexibility exercises: Activities such as yoga and tai chi increase joint mobility.

Doing range-of-motion exercises in the evening can reduce joint stiffness the next morning.

Low-impact aerobics: Aerobic exercise improves

overall fitness and endurance as well as muscle function and joint stability. Low-impact options include water aerobics, swimming, bicycling, walking or using equipment such as treadmills and elliptical trainers.

Strengthening: Strength training builds the muscles around the joints to provide better support.

These exercises may be done with one’s own body weight for resistance, with hand-held weights, resistance bands or weight machines.

Lifestyle: Many everyday activities — gardening and housework — provide the health benefits of moderate physical activities.

These findings were published in the December issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource.

Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

Sport in Action MBE honour for Claire Taylor Claire Taylor, the England batswoman achieved trail blazing success on the field in year 2009. Now, she has achieved crowning glory, as she is to be honoured with the MBE award this year.

A part of the England women’s cricket team that won the Women’s World Cup Cricket tournament and later Women’s World T20, Claire Taylor had outstanding contribution in

Claire Taylor

both the campaigns, earning the “Player of the Tournament” at both the occasions.

She was also named the Women’s Player of the Year at the ICC Awards.

In response to the honours announced by the British Queen, Taylor was quoted by BBC as saying, “Getting cricketspecific awards is great because it's recognition within cricket. But this is recognition in the wider community so this is special but in a completely different way.”

She is the joint record-holder for the most centuries in ODIs, and, in April, became the first woman to be named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year.

Claire Taylor also played hockey in her early days, having represented England at the U17 and U-19 levels. She read maths at Oxford, where, in addition to playing cricket, she captained the hockey team.

Dilshan leads Lanka to win tri-series opener Hosts Bangladesh beaten by 7 wickets

For Dilshan, the year 2009 was a really good one, and even in 2010, his form seems to keep company with him.

Tillakaratna Dilshan scored a solid century to guide his team to a thumping seven victory over hosts Bangladesh in the opening encounter of the tri-series that also involves India.

Dilshan scored a total of 10 centuries in 2009 in all forms of the game and started 2010 from almost

where he had left in the previous year.

Hosts scored a good 260 runs, but that was not good enough to challenge Sri Lanka.

Tharanga perhaps threw away his wicket, but Sangakkara was very harsh on anything wide of the off stump and played some delightful drives along the ground. The instinctive Dilshan didn't mind hitting it in the air.

He crossed the mark of 4000 runs in ODIs.

Sangakkara was also heading towards a century but fell off a very loose shot, tamely edging Shafiul to the wicketkeeper. Dilshan continued to grind the opposition, while Bangladesh fielding too wasn't upto the mark.

It took Bangladesh a lot of hard work and concentration to get to a formidable score. From a position of strength (65 for no loss) to a sudden collapse (74 for 4).

Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim scripted a steady and patient recovery with dogged resistance. Ashraful’s 75 was very important mainly because it kept the Sri Lankans at bay, helped the innings last the entire 50 overs. {Brief scores: SL 261 for 3 (Dilshan 104, Sangakkara 74) beat B’desh 260 for 7 (Ashraful 75, Mahmudullah 45) by 7 wickets}.

Hauritz spins OZ to Melbourne victory Pakistan collapse suddenly on the final day For the hosts, the boxing day test match at the MCG brought a sweet end to a year that was not theirs entirely. Pakistan witnessed a sudden collapse against the spin of Nathan Hauritz, as the bowler saved his place in the team.

On Wednesday, 30th December, the final day of the first test match, Hauritz claimed 4 to register his first 5 scalp haul, eventually completing the victory for his team shortly into the second session.

For Pakistan, it was a sudden collapse as they had lost just 3 batsmen

day with M i t c h e l l J o h n s o n removing Umar Akmal and Misbah-ulHaq with consecutive deliveries in his first over. Hauritz then repeated the dose with Nathan Hauritz took the two remaining the back-towickets in his first over after lunch back dison the fourth evening and missals of Kamran Akmal had 170 runs on the and Mohammad Aamer board, standing a good shortly after the first chance to play out for a drinks break to extindraw. But they could add guish any hope of a just 81 runs on the final Pakistan fightback. day. Australia began the Mohammad Yousuf

showed admirable determination to score 61, but support for the Pakistan captain was thin on the ground. The Australians required only four overs after lunch to seal victory and claim a 1-0 series lead in the three match series.

For Pakistan, the catching at the MCG was largely poor. {Brief scores: OZ 5 for 454 dec (Katich 98, Watson 93, Hussey 82, Ponting 57) and 8 for 225 dec (Watson 120*, Aamer 5-79) beat Pak 258 (Mishah 65*) and 251 (Yousuf 61, Hauritz 5-101) by 170 runs}.

India seal the Lanka ODI series 3 -1 at Kolkata Gambhir-Kohli ton eclipse Tharanga century

With youngsters Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli scoring tons at the Eden Gardens, India chased a target of 316 runs with ease, beating Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in the 4th ODI of the five match series on Thursday, 24th December, 2009. The hosts sealed the series 3 -1, while the last game resulted into an unfortunate abandonment in Delhi.

Indian team was in a tight spot, as they lost veterans Sehwag and Tendulkar in just four overs, but virtually chanceless centuries from Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir made sure that India had no problems

after that. The ease with which they chased down 316 in 48.1 overs, with the absences of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh for this match, was remarkable.

Indian batting pushed Upul Tharanga’s century into oblivion, so was Suranga Lakmal’s early bust of key wickets rendered of no consequence.

The Sri Lankan spinners were hampered by the dew, and were not helped by the ease with which the Indian batsmen kept alternating the strike.

Sangakkara's strategy to sit and wait for a mistake in the middle overs confounded equally. Of the 224 runs

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that Kohli and Gambhir added, they ran 125.

They avoided taking undue risks, neither did the required run-rate ever go over 6.7.

Gambhir and Kohli cruised towards their centuries. The century attained, Kohli holed out to long-on, trying to finish off the game early, but Gambhir made sure there were no further mishaps, scoring 47 off the 70 remaining runs.

Tharanga was made to work harder for his seventh century earlier in the day. For the first time in the series, India came out with an effective plan to keep Tharanga and

Dilshan quiet in the opening overs.

Zaheer and Nehra bowled to a plan, and lankan batsmen could not score a boundary in the first five overs, which included a maiden from Ashish Nehra.

India's fielding was a big improvement over their earlier efforts.

Tharanga and Sangakkara added 126 runs in 23.4 overs without any concern. {Brief scores: 4th ODI - India 317 for 3 (Gambhir 150*, Kohli 107, Lakmal 2-55) beat SL 315 for 6 (Tharanga 118, Sangakkara 60, Zaheer 249) by 7 wickets}.

Brawl with police leads to arrest of Jerome Taylor West Indies pace bowler Jerome Taylor had a brawl with the police in Kingston, Jamaica as he tried to resist the police asking the bar to close down after the permissible time of 11.00 pm.

Taylor was forced to Jerome Taylor fly back home from the West Indies tour of Australia due to a back injury.

According a news agency report, Jerome is facing charges of indecent language, assaulting a police officer, improper conduct and resisting arrest. He turned turned abusive and later, as the police tried to handcuff him, matters turned to worse. He was finally arrested and later released.

Bond’s ‘Bye’ to test cricket Recurring injury problems has led to Kiwi pacer Shane Bond announcing his retirement from Test cricket. He will, however continue to play for New Zealand in ODIs and T20s. The 34 year old fast bowler had joined the rebel Indian Cricket League, which he quit last year.

He thus revived his New Zealand cricket career.

Announcing his retirement, Bond said, “The hardest thing is that I've always considered myself a Test bowler - and it was such a great feeling to be Shane Bond back in the team and playing Test match cricket with the Blackcaps. It's been a tough call, because Test cricket remains the ultimate form of the game - but I'm comfortable I've made the right choice.”

Bond said he is targeting the one-dayers against Australia starting February for his comeback.

One of the fastest bowlers in world cricket since the 2000s, Bond has the distinction of being the quickest New Zealander to 50 wickets in Tests and ODIs. He ends his Test career regarded by many as New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee.

India - Sri Lanka Delhi ODI abandoned due to poor pitch conditions Even as the Indian capital city of Delhi is getting ready to host the Commonwealth games later this year, BCCI and DDCA brought disgrace for India and Delhi. Avery poor pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla led to the fifth and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka being abandoned on December 27, 2009 after Sri Lankan batsmen took a number of body blows, with the pitch providing awkward bounce to the Indian pacers.

The visitors, after playing for more than 23 overs were forced to call their batsmen back. Later, the umpires, the match referee and captains of both the teams agreed not to proceed with the game.

BCCI, the apex body ignored the state of affairs as regards to the Delhi pitch for long. It acted only after all the damage was done, yet Delhi faces the prospect of being banned by the ICC, which could rob the city of hosting World Cup matches in 2011.

For the Sri Lankans, it is their second experience of having to play on poor pitches. The first incident as almost 12 years back, when on December 25, 1997 they were to play an ODI at Indore, but the game had to be abandoned for the same reasons.

English Premier League Matches Saturday, 9 January Arsenal v/s Everton Birmingham v/s Man Utd Burnley v/s Stoke Fulham v/s Portsmouth Hull v/s Chelsea Sunderland v/s Bolton Wigan v/s Aston Villa Sunday, 10 January Liverpool v/s Tottenham West Ham v/s Wolverhampton Monday, 11 January Man City v/s Blackburn

Emirates Stadium 15:00 St. Andrews Ground 17:30 Turf Moor 15:00 Craven Cottage 15:00 Kingston Comms Stad. 12:45 Stadium of Light 15:00 DW Stadium 15:00 Anfield Boleyn Ground

16:00 13:30

City of Mcr. Stadium

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Asian Voice - Saturday 9th January 2010

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Lanka beat India in Bangladesh tri-series

Thumping win for England in Durban SA mauled by an innings and 98 runs

Samaraweera, Perara lead the charge in a climax Sri Lanka remained unbeaten in the Bangladesh tri-series that started on Monday, as they beat India on Tuesday by 5 wickets with 2 overs to spare. India looked to make things difficult for the Lankan batsmen, but centurian Thilan Samaraweera and rooky Thissara Perera thrashed in the Indian pace attack in the end to guide their team home well in time.

India set up a modest target of 280 runs for the Sri Lankans, but barring a few overs when the Indian spinners held the runs, Sangakkara’s team was never seen in any real trouble.

It was Perera who stole the limelight in the climax, pushing veteran Samaraweera into the background, as he hammered 36 runs in his brief 15 ball essay when Lankans looked like losing the game, with 54 runs needed of 39 balls.

Ashish Nehra, attempting to bowl yorkers ended up with too many full tosses and a couple of no bowls. Perera capitalised fully.

Sri Lanka got a brisk start by the new opening pair of Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne, the debutant who replaced Tillakaratne Dilshan, but once India conceded just 16 in the five overs of bowling Powerplay, the onus was very much on the old hands to see it home.

With the introduction of Harbhajan Singh, Lankan run rate was tamed a bit.

Yuvraj Singh had marked his return to the XI with 74 from 84 balls, while Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja all contributed decent cameos after Virender Sehwag had played a typically effervescent hand.

Sehwag had announced his intentions from the outset with the 50 of the innings coming in just the seventh over.

The game changed, though, in the space of two eventful overs from Welegedara.

Welegedara claimed Sehwag with a catch at mid-off by Thirimanne.

Graeme Swann completed his second five-wicket haul of the series to wrap up an innings victory at Durban on December 30

Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera during their crucial partnership at Mirpur on Tuesday

India had taken 76 from the first Powerplay, but only 13 came from the bowling one as the bowlers kept a leash on the new batsmen.

When the batting Powerplay was taken after 43 overs, India had only 225 on the board.

They took 14 from the first of those overs,

bowled by Welegedara, but with Jadeja going four-sixfour-four against Thilan Thushara, the innings finally had some energy.

Sri Lanka again came back, with Welegedara castling Raina and Zaheer, and Harbhajan playing a hideous stroke to point.

By the time Jadeja holed out in the final over, all

hopes of 300 had long since disappeared, leaving Sri Lanka with a chase that they timed to perfection. {Brief scores: SL 283 for 5 (Samaraweera 105*, Sangakkara 60, Harbhajan 3-47) beat India 279 for 9 (Yuvraj 74, Sehwag 47, Welegedara 566) by 5 wickets}.

Having battled hard to save the first test match, England stunned the hosts South Africa with a thumping victory by an innings and 98 runs at Durban on Wednesday, 30th December, 2009.

They had all the reasons to start celebrations for the new year early, as they completed the demolition of home team in less than a session on the final morning. Spinner Graeme Swann captured 5 wickets in the South African second innings that folded up in just 133 runs. The home team had a tough task on the final day after having already lost 6 wickets for just 76 runs at the end of the fourth day.

England now lead the 4 test match series 1 - 0

No UK pullout from Delhi CWG Australia too will participate in full strength England officials have denied of the country’s team pullout possibility at the Delhi Commonwealth Games over security issue or terror threat.

Ann Hogbin, general manager of the England team has said they have not received any warnings on security, while British Foreign Office has clarified that the team has not been asked to pullout from the games, to be held in New Delhi later this year.

England has plans to send around 100 athletes

for the games, seen as an important preparation for the L o n d o n Olympics to be held in 2012.

Though England athletes would be participating, many high profile sportspersons have pulled out from the Delhi games, citing other commitments.

Australia too confirms participation Australia, another

country and t h e i r sportspersons having maximum security concerns has also said a 600 strong contingent will be sent, there is no substance in reports of OZ not participating in the CWG. A u s t r a l i a n Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) CEO Perry Crosswhite, reacting to unnamed

media reports said, “Australia is planning to send a full team of over 600 athletes, coaches, managers, medicos and officials. The team will be the largest ever to compete in an overseas Commonwealth Games campaign. Not a single athlete has raised any security concerns about travelling to India.”

To be held from October 3 to 14, the 2010 Commonwealth Games will have 19 sports on the program, making it the largest Games to date.

Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were shared nine of the ten wickets in the innings.

South Africa had a remote chance of playing out for a draw on the last day as Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel had occupied the crease for a good time on Tuesday evening.

But as Swann was on a roll, it was a very difficult task for Morkel to keep him at bay for a long time.

Paul Harris was the next man in. He did his best to hang on, but James Anderson ensured that Harris would not trouble the visitors for long.

Though, it was Mark Boucher who succumbed first. The honour of capturing five wickets went to Swann, the man who had set the collapse in motion before tea on the fourth day. Dale Steyn propped forward in front of off and was instantly sent on his way lbw for 3, and England's fielders hurtled from the field to begin their celebrations.

The final Test of the decade had finished as a remarkable innings victory for England, their first in South Africa since 1964, as they set off to Cape Town with their spirits soaring and the series seemingly theirs to lose. {Brief scores: England 574 for 9 dec (Bell 140, Cook 118) beat South Africa 343 (Kallis 75, Smith 75) and 133 (Swann 5-54) by an innings and 98 runs}.