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Tories Ban 14 Members after Islamophobic T Facebook Row
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he UK Conservative Party has suspended a staggering 14 of its members following the discovery of Islamaphobic comments on social media. The news comes at a time of growing speculation towards the Tories as an investigation into the party’s most senior members has been requested... ...continued on page 6
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South and City College (Digbeth Campus) Organises The Homeless Project On the 26th February 2019, South and City College, Digbeth Campus organised an event for the homeless. Many people, from the staff to students and the ambassadors were involved in the project. Rough sleepers were seen to be entering the college and picking themselves up different types of clothes and getting free hot drinks and food. Many of the homeless were visibly happy that the college had organised the event and were also getting assistance by students in choosing which clothes they wanted to have and by being shown around the facilities. The range of free clothes on offer included: t-shirts, full-sleeve shirts, jumpers, tracksuits and underwear. The owner of ‘Touch of Everything’ was also present and was making candy floss and popcorn for the homeless. He had mentioned that he was happy to get the chance to become involved in the event and bring a smile to so many homeless people within the local community. One of the staff members, Anthia Holligan, who is based at Bordesley Green campus said: “This event is the second one I have attended, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. The very fact that people can come in have and something to eat. That they’re in the warmth, and not in the streets standing up and eat-
By Tauseef Asif turn-out than the Last Homeless Project which was ran in December of 2018. This shows that the word is getting around to a lot of rough sleepers around the city. Whilst each and every homeless was leaving, a young student was completing a survey on how well Digbeth Campus performed in running the event and what the visitor liked best about being there. One of the homeless had said: “The event was really good, what I liked best about this event was that they were giving out clothes to all of us and they were helping us choose as well.” When we asked one of the students, how well can you do if there was another event like this? They said: “There should be more people getting involved in such a noble cause and bringing a smile in these people’s faces. After all they are humans just like us.”
AW Facts Did you know? ing, but here sat at a table and having a meal. When they finish they can get something to wear and if they want a
haircut, then that is also available. so long story short we are trying to cater for everyone’s needs and it’s a fantastic
idea and we hope to be doing many more events for these people.” SCC also stated the event had a higher
Birmingham is the third most popular place to go shopping in the UK.
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Editor’s Note Hello to our readers and welcome to another edition of Asian World Newspaper! We hope that you’re all in good health, and that the last month has been productive and prosperous for you! In this edition of our newspaper, we are bringing you some of the most shocking outbursts in recent events, to ensure you’re up-to-date with all the major news! So, be sure to read over the following sections carefully and don’t miss a thing! In this issue, we will be reflecting on the amazing work of volunteers in the Great British Spring Clean to tidy up their local Mosque. To read more on this story, please take a look at page 4. We will also be getting up to date with the deeply tragic stabbings of school children that have been happening around the Birmingham area. For a full insight into this story, please turn to page 14. In this issue, we also have Q&As with the hottest Asian film and TV Stars. This March, we’ve gotten up front and personal with rising star Deep Sidhu on his new film Saade Aale. We also interviewed the much loved Skins and Tomb Raider star Antonio Aakeel who you’ll be seeing on
screens in Eaten by Lions later this month! For more show-biz news, please read through the Glam section on pages 28-37. We have also been keeping tabs on the latest innovations in health and technology. For a look at the latest in artificial intelligence and social media site updates, flick onto page 46! And for the most accurate fitness facts and tips: western medicine-fibs and facts, and how to get fit with your dog.... simply read through pages 41 and 42! Whichever you pick, there is a story for everyone. So shut off your laptop, take a break from work and take this paper with you to a warm, comfy corner and settle down. Read through the rest of this paper NOW! For latest and exciting advertisement offers for 2019 please don’t hesitate to Contact us: on 0121 771 4545 or email: sales@asianworldnews. co.uk Have a great read! Editor: Manisha Bhanot editor@asianworldnews.co.uk Visit us online at: www.asianworldnews.co.uk
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March 2019
More than 250 mosques help Keep Britain Tidy! #VisitMyMosque
Ahead of this year’s Visit My Mosque Day, volunteers from over 250 mosques across the UK took part in the Great British Spring Clean.
This year’s campaign, in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, launched with a street clean at the London Muslim Centre that saw volunteers both
young and old, Muslim and otherwise, don gloves, litter pickers and high-vis jackets. The launch happened ahead of Muslims around
the country welcoming in their neighbours on Visit My Mosque day on 3rd March, to learn more about each other’s lives and in particular common values for the care of the environment and respecting Mother Nature. Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said, “Whatever faith or background you come from, care and cleanliness for our local environment is a unifying force that brings communities together.” He continued, “We are pleased to be supporting Keep Britain Tidy in their Great British Spring Clean campaign this season and we hope Visit My Mosque going green will spark conversations across the country on what more faith-based and other community groups can be doing to support local environmental causes.” Visit My Mosque is a national initiative facilitated by the Muslim Council of Britain, the country’s largest Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations. An estimated 25 million tonnes of litter is dropped annually in Britain costing the UK taxpayer over £1 billion a year. Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison OgdenNewton said, “This year we’re aiming to inspire half a million people to join forces to collect and safely dispose of litter from our streets, parks and beaches, through our annual Great British Spring Clean campaign. We are delighted for the support of over 250 mosques in Britain getting out early and hope to see many more turn out again in spring!” Visit My Mosque this year is supported by British Muslim-led charities Penny Appeal and Muslim Aid, as well as the grant-making charity the Aziz Foundation.
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Dewsbury Driver Jailed for Jamming Police Speed Cameras An ex-businessman has been prosecuted for purposely interfering with speed camera equipment, whilst driving on UK roads. Michael Twizell, aged 58, of Dewsbury, was spotted speeding in North Yorkshire across junctions, illegally breaking the motorway speed limits put in place. He pulled off the trick by using a jamming device attached above the grill of his BMW 3 series car. However, officers finally caught onto his scheme when he sped past a police safety camera van on the A658 some months ago. The camera jamming device deploys a signal error onto highway speed checking software, thus giving the incorrect mph count of the travelling vehicle. After discovering that the flashing error message meant someone was tampering with the software, North Yorkshire police deployed a probe to track down the offender. Twizell was sentenced to three months in prison at York Crown Court for interfering with the course of justice. He was also fined £1,500 for his crime. The judge sentencing the case informed Twizell: ‘The police have a duty to protect us from speeding vehicles’, also implying that the gadget that Twizell had used interfered with such process. He added that perverting the course of justice was a very ‘serious’ offence and the local courts ‘must stop people offending in this way.’ He further stated that he had no choice in the matter than to impose an immediate custodial
sentence. A local constable from North Yorkshire Police said: ‘To use this device which was capable of interfering with police speed measurement is clearly, as shown today, a very serious matter.’ ‘I advise anyone who may have a similar device fitted to their vehicle to
think about the consequences of using such a device and strongly recommend that they remove it from their vehicle to avoid a future prosecution.’ Twizzel formerly worked as a marketing director at Elite Systems, a company based in West Yorkshire. The manufacturers model ecologically
friendly homes and commercial buildings. Prior to that, Twizzel worked as the director of a manufacturing firm in Newcastle. Currently retired, he has been living in an upper-class area of Dewsbury within a £400,000 priced home.
After the sentencing, North Yorkshire Police released a statement claiming that they will: ‘Continue to investigate similar allegations’ when people use such jamming devices to ‘interfere with the normal course of justice.’ by Manisha Bhanot
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March 2019
Tories Ban 14 Members after Islamophobic Facebook Row By Manisha Bhanot
front page story cont’d... The abusive posts were first discovered on Twitter under the account @matesjacob and afterwards racist comments were also found on the unofficial Jacob Rees-Mogg Facebook Group, which many Tory MPs interact with. The offensive remarks included ones from an individual who stated they wanted to get “all Muslims out of office” and also emit all Mosques in the country. There was another member who said they were in favour of Muslims being thrown off a bridge. Among the Facebook posts were a picture of a map dotted with all of the Mosques in Britain, which received a particular amount of backlash from group participants. This included responses such as: “This is not a Muslim country” and concerns that enough was not being done to preserve British sovereignty. This is not the first time that members of the Conservative party have come under fire for racist abuse. Previously in 2015, another MP tweeted: “Turkey buys oil from Isis. Muslims sticking together”, suggesting the country was involved in terrorist affairs. Since the Facebook group was not a legitimate one, a representative of the Conservative Party said that it is “in no way affiliated with” Tory MPs. Many of the members of the group were part of the general public; however, those who were in fact part of the Conservative Party have been temporarily banned and subjected to further enquiry. The enquiry is being supported by ex-Tory Chairman Sayeeda Warsi as well. Many members of the Islamic Community have reacted to the events with shock and horror. A Muslim Council of Britain spokesperson said the posts showed “the scale of Islamophobia” which is widespread through the Tory party, and that it was “astonishing”. The council
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further emphasised the need to call for an independent inquiry regarding anti-Muslim abuse within the party. The owner of the Twitter account vouched that the homophobic views being shared on the platform were not their own. The stated they were “disgusted” by the racial slurs and the derogatory language they found online and felt as though nothing was being done to act on the issue. Many followers of the Conservatives have said that the party’s embedded racism should be taken more seriously by PM Theresa May herself.
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March 2019
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March 2019
This month in History
Pakistan Resolution Day
Pakistan was declared as an Islamic Republic on 23rd March 1956. The Lahore Resolution, which is popular as the Resolution of Pakistan was approved on 23rd March 1940 in Minto Park, which now is known as known as Iqbal Park of Lahore. The Lahore Resolution day is otherwise called Republic day. It is a national occasion in Pakistan to respect the Lahore Resolution day (23 March 1940). The general population of Pakistan celebrate the event on the 23rd of March each year to recollect the Lahore Resolution day. The Lahore Resolution day march by the military is a typical festivity for the occasion. The day is commended in the memory to remember the occasion when the Muslim League drafted the political resolution at the Minar-ePakistan. The resolution called for setting up an independent alliance, involving the regions with Muslim dominant populations being situated in the north-western and north-eastern locale of British controlled regions in India on 23rd March 1940. The main festivals are held in the Islamabad the capital of Pakistan. On the 23rd of March the President of Pakistan is normally the Chief Guest of the occasion. News channels cover the entire occasion live. The occasion incorporates a full military and regular citizen march in the capital, Islamabad with respect to the festival. The occasion is held in the early morning. “Pakistan implies opportunity and freedom as well as the Muslim Ideology which must be safeguarded, which has come to us as a valuable blessing and fortune and we hope others will share it with us” - Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Oxford and Cambridge race cancelled since both boats sink
On 30th March 1912, the annual race amongst Oxford and Cambridge was dropped after the two boats sank. The race is a yearly convention between the two universities where they compete along a 4.2 mile stretch of the River Thames. The race started in 1829 and has been led each year since 1856, aside from amid the two World Wars. Prior to the race, both club presidents flip a coin to choose which group gets the opportunity to pick their favoured side of the stream. The quickest waterway flows through the central point of the river Thames, which the two sides frequently attempt to pick up a lead towards the beginning, so that they may move into the middle. This makes it troublesome for the restricting group to surpass. One thing is sure, that the race always proceeds regardless of what the weather is like. Upon the arrival of the race in 1912, the climate conditions were disgraceful and there were extremely high breezes. The University of Oxford won the coin hurl and began at the north side of the Thames. The race started at 11:43am and regardless of Cambridge picking up an early lead, by the end of the minute Oxford were ahead. The Oxford group were going up against a huge volume of water and the steer needed to guide the race to the bank where the water was discharged from the boats. As they endeavoured to proceed with the race the umpire informed them that Cambridge had additionally sunk, and the race was to be cancelled. The next day the weather had not improved, but rather a re-row still occurred. Once more, Oxford won the hurl and this time picked the south side of the Thames. Oxford, in the end, won the race by six lengths – the biggest winning edge since 1903.
Bangladesh gets Independence
After the Pakistani general election in 1970, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the biggest political party in Pakistan, the Awami League, was successful. The Pakistan military government, which was going by Yahya Khan was not willing to hand over power. Arrangements started yet were never completed. At the point where the truth eventually surfaced, guarantees given were not finished, and the entire country of Bangla-speaking Muslims and Hindus of East Pakistan plunged into the soul and vibe of a genuine battle. On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujib gave his well-known speech at the Ramna Racecourse where he required a non-collaboration development. Pakistan Urdu and Punjabi-talking peoples rounded up with Bangla-talking military officers, NCOs, and enrolled staff. On the night of 25 March in a meeting with David Frost, Sheikh Mujib still vouched openly for an assembled Pakistan. That night the Pakistan Army spilt out onto the streets, killing and began Operation Searchlight. It was legitimate, they were not prepared for a quiet exchange of political capacity to the Awami League driven by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Amid the early long periods of 26 March 1971, the freedom of Bangladesh was claimed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the rebel battle formally started. The general population of freedom pronounced Bangladesh participated in this war to be a different country, independent from Pakistan.
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March 2019
Taxi driver sentenced to 12 years for raping a Hampshire woman
A man working as a taxi driver in Winchester in 2017 was jailed in February last month after being found guilty of rape following a seven day trial at Southampton Crown Court. Ferham Khan, aged 29, from Derby Road, Southampton was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for raping a 33-year-old woman in his taxi in September 2017. The woman had been enjoying a night out with her friends and at the end of the evening called for a taxi so she could get home. The court heard how Khan had picked up the woman from Broadway in Winchester at around 1am on Saturday 30 September 2017. On the journey home, Khan preyed on the woman, believing she had fallen asleep he pulled over in an unknown location and proceeded to sexually assault her and orally rape her. The woman was so scared that she froze, and when Khan thought she had passed out through having too much to drink, he had the audacity to call the police and complain that he had an unconscious woman in his car and that he wanted her removed. As soon as police and paramedics turned up, the woman was able to disclose her ordeal. Khan was immediately arrested and his taxi seized for forensic examination. When questioned by officers, Khan said it was an accident, saying that the woman had fallen on him whilst he had his trousers unbuttoned. Later he admitted that was a lie, saying he was concerned his wife would find out he had had a sexual
encounter with another woman. He went on to say the whole situation was consensual, claiming the victim had started touching him first and even suggesting that she did it for a cheaper fare. The jury found Khan guilty by unanimous verdict. The judge sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment. In a quote, the victim explained the impact the events of that night has had on her life: “On that night, I did as any young woman would. I went out with friends and I took a taxi home. What happened in the taxi destroyed me. That man shattered my world into tiny pieces. The pain and suffering I have endured because of what he did to me has left me broken. I don’t know who I am anymore. This man had stripped me of my identity. “At the moment I am simply surviving, I take each day as it comes and pray that one day I will feel like me again and be able to start living.” Police Staff Investigator Joanne Parr-Daniels said: “The bravery and strength we have seen in this woman is commendable. Khan turned her life upside down that night 17 months ago. We are so impressed with her courage. No matter how traumatic this has been for her and continues to be, she has supported this protracted and complex investigation of rape. Without her we would not have been able to get Khan to face justice for what he did.” “I hope now this sentence means she will be able to move forward with her life.”
Asian World News Motivation! Within You… WITHIN you right now, this very moment you have the power to make that positive change, that will revolutionise your very existence. At times it will be challenging; you will be required to be disciplined but in the end, it will definitely be worth it. I am not going to talk to you about any complex theory or solution to how you can achieve your success, I am going to simplify the process right now and all you have to do is follow a few straightforward steps! If you can take the necessary initial steps to begin the journey to achieve your goals you will find that once you are on the right track your adrenaline and purpose will take over. At this precise moment your internal pilot will switch on and you will become Unstoppable... Throughout these articles my duty and purpose is to provide you with the right information and inspiration to make your dreams become a reality, all you have to do is to follow the instructions by taking action. So, to begin with, I would like you to think about that goal that you want to achieve, you know the one that excites you each time you think about it. This can be a goal that you have always dreamed of achieving but just kept putting it on the ‘back burner’ – for once and for all, silence that internal voice of procrastination in your head and take action, right now! This very moment, stop reading this article, sit back, close your eyes, relax, take a deep breath and then exhale slowly. Now, ask yourself this question ‘what action no matter how big or small can I take right now to start achieving my goal?’ Then, make yourself a promise to take that action as soon as you possibly can. Plan a day for when you are going to take the first steps towards your achievement. This is so important because you need to get that ball rolling in order to achieve that goal. If you don’t start, you will never achieve and your goal will always remain a wish. I know you want to achieve your goals and can do so, otherwise, you would not be reading this article. Contact that gym, that singing class, start writing that book, whatever your goal is take that step right now to make it materialise and become a reality one day. Spending endless time with Netflix marathons, idle gossip, partying all the time and social media will not help you achieve your goals. Put all your distractions aside and take action. Spend your time wisely, invest in it carefully because once it’s gone it will never come back... When you have taken the initial small steps towards achieving your dreams and goals, you will be amazed to see what impact this will have on your self-esteem and confidence. This new found confidence will encourage you to keep moving forward and take even bigger and more powerful steps towards the attainment of your goal. Once you have finished reading this article, read it again then take action right away to start achieving your goal... Do something right now! You can do it! The decision to take the necessary steps to create a compelling future for yourself lies in your very own hands. Decide what you really want out of your life. Make a list, then full-throttle towards your dreams and
awaken the amazing powerful individual that lies asleep within you. Jag Singh is based in London/Essex. He is an inspirational freelance writer and speaker. He is constantly campaigning for Anti-Bullying, Mental Health and many other areas that affect the well-being of our communities. Jag has supported the NSPCC (The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) by conducting seminars and workshops campaigning and working in child protection. He has also been supported by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Sikh Channel, Zee TV and many other organisations. Jag is also an expert in Effective Sales/ Business and Team Management. For booking/information on seminars and workshops, you may contact us on the email provided below. For constant daily motivation, you may follow Jag Singh on Twitter ~ @ jagsingh_ican YouTube - The Inspiration Zone - Jag Singh If you found the above article (or any of our articles) effective and supportive please do contact us and we would be glad to hear about it. We always highly appreciate and welcome your feedback... Email ~ jagsingh@asianworldnews.co.uk If you found the above article (or any of our articles) effective and supportive please do contact us and we would be glad to hear
about it. We always highly appreciate and welcome your feedback.. Email ~ jagsingh@asianworldnews.co.uk
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Four men jailed for a total of 50 years for kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail
Four men have been jailed for a total of 50 years for two incidents of kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail. The men were jailed in February at Southwark Crown Court and sentenced as follows: Mohammed Kodoris, 52, of Blackthorn Road, Ilford, was sentenced to 16 years for two counts of false imprisonment, eight years for blackmail, to be served concurrently and two years for ABH, to be served concurrently. Progghnamoy Chowdhury, 32, of Elsenham Road, Forest Gate, was sentenced to 16 years for two counts of false imprisonment, eight years for blackmail, to be served concurrently and two years for ABH, to be served concurrently. Shah Abdal, 45, of Powlesland Court, Stepney, was sentenced to 12 years for kidnap, 12 years for false imprisonment to be served concurrently, nine years for blackmail to be served concurrently and two years for ABH, to be served concurrently. Mohammed Sajon, 45, of Ingestre Road, Forest Gate, was sentenced to six years for blackmail. Kodoris, Chowdhury and Sajon pled guilty to the offences. Abdal was found guilty at the conclusion of a trial. In the first incident the victim, a 29-year-old man, was in Stepney at around 18:00hrs on 21 September 2017 when he was met by Chowdhury, a male known to him. Chowdhury took the victim to an address in Dersingham Avenue, Forest Gate, where Kodoris was present. There, they assaulted the victim and threatened him over several hours, before demanding he hand over his bank card so that money could be withdrawn from his account. Over £600 in cash was taken. After a number of hours, the victim was allowed to leave the address after photographs had been taken of his identification documents as well as pictures of his family. Threats were made towards him and his family and further money was demanded. He was left with reddening to his skin after being kicked and reported the matter to the Police straight away. In the second incident police
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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Inspirational Rubena Leads the Way for Charity
by Mohammed Zafran
were called to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel at around 00:41hrs on 10 March 2018. Officers attended and found the victim, again a 29-year-old man, who had been beaten. He had suffered a broken arm and scratches to his face and spent a couple of days in hospital recovering from the attack. He was later interviewed by police where he alleged that earlier in the day on 10 March he had received a phone call from Abdal, who was known to him, telling him to go to a postcode in Bow on the offer of potential employment opportunities. On arrival, he was met by Abdal who took him to an address where, once inside, he was taken upstairs by a number of men including Chowdhury and Kodoris who began assaulting him with wooden sticks. They then searched his pockets and took his ID cards, mobile phones and £650 he had in cash. The males then demanded that he contact his friends and family, due to a misplaced belief that they were wealthy, to get them to pay money for his release. Two of the victim’s friends agreed to pay money with one handing over £500 in cash and the other £200 in cash.
He was beaten and threatened over several hours by the group, made up of Kodoris, Chowdhury, Abdal and Sajon. They demanded the victim obtain a further £50,000 from relatives or otherwise he or his family would be killed, intimating that they had a firearm. After he could not transfer any further money, the group drove the victim to his home address. Officers from the Central East Command Unit launched an investigation and identified the group responsible through CCTV and phone work, which led to them being charged in 2018. Detective Constable Megan Bushell, of the Central East Command Unit, said: “These were terrifying incidents in which two men were, in completely separate attacks, taken completely against their will and subjected to a horrible level of violence and threats. I am pleased to have secured significant custodial sentences for each of the men involved in these very serious crimes. I’d like to thank the victims for their bravery in supporting our investigation and hope that this gives them some small measure of comfort in seeing justice done and their attackers imprisoned.”
There are many people who will influence you throughout your life, some of these people inspire you to change for the better. If I can influence and inspire somebody who reads this article, then I will be honoured. And if you learn anything from this, let it be that everyone can make a difference no matter who you are. My journey started almost 4 years ago via a worldwide campaign I did for Abdul Sattar Edhiso so that he could receive the Nobel Peace Prize. There are 3 people who inspire me to do the work I do; our Prophet Muhammed [PBUH], Abdul Sattar Edhi and my late father Syed Shabir Hussain Shah. Reading the life story of the great Abdul Sattar Edhi made me question my life. If he could help those in need regardless of race, colour and religion then I have no excuse. My campaign was a great success. And with the help of Malala Yousufzai the petition we created gained thousands of signatures and Edhi Saab was nominated for the Nobel. The death of Edhi Saab was a huge loss but the Edhi Foundation continues to do some amazing work. The foundation will always be close to my heart and I will always support their work. The ladies of my community have helped so much in my endeavours. They are my right arm and without them, the work I do would be impossible. There is no prejudice on the topic of who I aid, ranging from an individual in need to people in war-torn countries or suffering I will try to the best to fundraise for anyone in need. The very first charitable endeavour I carried out was to place food collection bins at supermarkets in the town I live in. It was a massive success as people were very generous.
The donated food items were regularly sent to food banks in Burton and Derby. Donations were also sent to the refugees in Calais. I personally made 2 journeys to the camps situated there and distributed food parcels to the refugees, it was a very humbling experience. Food parcels were also regularly distributed to families and individuals in need locally. I have worked alongside some amazing charities. Charities supporting and working alongside one another is a must, we all strive for similar goals and doing so would help reach them. One of the charities I regularly raise funds for is “Muslims In Need”, they are a local charity based in Derby. I have sent medicines and medical equipment to Syria through them several times and working with them has been a privilege. I have also been a trustee to a charity called “HEAL” who strive to aid the street children of Pakistan. I believe that the building blocks of a charity start at home so helping the underprivileged around the UK is also something I am passionate about. I have worked with an organisation called “The Homeless Period Project”, which supplies sanitary items to women who are homeless, living in refugee camps or generally underprivileged. We take so many things for granted in this country, but problems with the system make it so that women struggle to even buy basic hygienic items such as sanitary towels. My own personal battle with anxiety disorder for 19 years has never stopped me from doing my work. Mental illness can be debilitating like any physical illness, but the disorder has made me more determined to carry on with the work I do. Mental illness is seen as a taboo
subject in the Asian community but speaking openly about it can help other sufferers. In 2017 my beloved father Syed Shabir Hussain Shah passed away. He was my role model and a very respected member of our community in Burton. His death was devastating for me and my family. But as a tribute to him and the example he set me, I decided to set up my own charity. It has only been a few months since I set up the charity “The Syed Shabir Shah foundation”, named after my father to pay tribute to him as well as enabling my work in his name. My father passed away with lung cancer, motivating me to raise funds for local cancer charities and to create more awareness about cancer in my community. I have now started to work closely with Macmillan cancer. We are planning on holding workshops in our local community centres. The first workshop we held was for Asian women to make them aware of the early symptoms of breast cancer. Women from the medical profession came to speak to educate the ladies of my community, possibly even saving their lives in the future. Women can achieve so much if they support each other and work together. We have raised money by holding charity barbecues, one dish parties, charity desert events, mehndi event and such. Hopefully, there will be many more of these planned in the future With the help and support of my family, friends and external organisations, I will continue my charitable work. My next venture is to work closely with organisations and charities that help child victims of abuse and murder in Pakistan as there have been so many reports of this taking place, and I want to do my best to mitigate this issue.
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March 2019
Mayor joins Sikh community leaders’ discussion
The University of Wolverhampton hosted a visit by The Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, recently to update him on the progress of the Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies. The Centre is the first of its kind in the UK and was launched in 2018, offering PhDs and Master’s level courses in Sikh studies as well as continuing professional development (CPD) courses for teachers and managers. The Mayor joined community leaders including Avtar Singh the Head of the Council of Sikh Gurdwaras UK, Dr Sadhu Singh who is from Wolverhampton and also a regular presenter on the Sikh Channel, Dr Sujinder Sangha, a
retired Principal, Councillor Kuldip Sahota from Telford and Sham Sharma, the owner of Zuri’s Coffee shop also attended, along with his son, Dr Sharma. They discussed joint working, future plans and how to continue to exchange knowledge on an international platform using the links already established with Sikh Studies scholars across the world. The Mayor gave an overview of his recent visit to Amritsar and Delhi, exploring the connectivity between the cities and the links between businesses, as well as his experience of visiting the Golden Temple for the first time. Dr Opinderjit Takhar updated the group on the progress being made at the
Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies. She said: “We are the first centre of its kind across Europe and with it being the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev who founded the Sikh Faith, we are planning a series of exciting events during 2019. “The Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies is very much a part of our community, not an ivory tower research centre. Over the coming months we are planning a huge international conference. We are also delivering professional development training for Granthis and Gianis, individuals who take the religious lead in Gurdwaras. “Our aspiration is to create a space for current and future generations in which they can feel comfortable in enquiring about their faith, its principles and ethos. The Centre will be a ‘go-to place’ for any individuals or organisations wanting to know more about the Sikhs and their faith.” The Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, said: “I am a big supporter of the Centre and its work. When I was in Amritsar I visited the Guru Nanak Dev University and spoke with them about this really interesting and globally significant work the University of Wolverhampton is doing. It is something that generates pride in our region and reminds us of the immense contribution of the Sikh community to our region.” Anyone interested in getting involved with the new Centre should contact Dr Takhar by emailing: O.takhar@wlv.ac.uk.
Riffat Mughal: Empowering Pakistani Women Across the UK
Pakistani born and educated mother of three Riffat Mughal is committed to encouraging and motivating Pakistani women from all sectors of the community. Riffat believes that women remaining idol and on the sidelines is not the solution to challenging gender roles and giving men and women an equal platform. Instead, South Asian females should raise their voices to tackle current issues to make them-selves heard. Within the last year, Riffat has become the chairman for the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) in order to continue with her important work. The organisation was established in 1949 by Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, wife of first Pakistani PM Liaquat Ali Khan. APWA focus on the safe-guarding and social well-being of Pakistani women who come abroad into foreign countries. They make sure they are well integrated and settled into their host nation, and have a strong network of support around them at all times. Through partnering with APWA, Riffat has took part in amazing work including promoting Breast Cancer Awareness and mental health; both highly tabooed subjects in the South Asian community. Riffat has undertaken the organisation of special events in the past such as: music
nights, public trips and Eid parties, as well as seminars to educate female Pakistani women on their rights. Riffat has identified strong female leaders to support her in setting an example of empowerment for other Pakistani women, so they may progress in their personal lives and make independent
careers for themselves. Riffat believes that the only way she can achieve her goal is by expanding her platform and continuing with her important work. She sustains the belief that inclusivity is the key in doing this, and encourages other women in the local Birmingham area to reach out and join her in her mission.
LITTLE BADMAN
AND THE INVASION OF THE KILLER AUNTIES HUMZA ARSHAD AND HENRY WHITE ILLUSTRATED BY ALEKSEI BITSKOFF
The first novel in a hilarious new series for children from Humza Arshad and comedy writer Henry White LITTLE BADMAN, is a funny and fast-paced adventure story created by comedy duo Humza Arshad and Henry White and with illustrations from Aleksei Bitskoff. Full of mischief, silliness and with a delightful cast of characters the series is sure to appeal to fans of traditional British Asian comedy. Humza Khan, he is the greatest eleven-year-old rapper Eggington has ever known: he is Little Badman and he is destined to be rich and famous. But when Humza’s music teacher is taken ill his dreams are put on hold. His Auntie has stepped in as substitute, and nobody seems to care about the unorthodox teaching because of the endless sweet treats. As other teachers start to disappear, with more Aunties appearing in their place, Humza knows something isn’t right. With the help of his elderly Uncle and friends Umer and Wendy, Humza discovers that the suspicious Aunties might not be as friendly as they seem. Now he must find a way to destroy them before they take over the world… “I love my aunties, but any Asian kid will tell you, a gang of aunties is a force to be reckoned with and to make them extra powerful and extra scary was a lot of fun. Exaggerating some of my childhood experiences and turning it into a kids adventure is a bit of dream.” - Humza Arshad
Humza Arshad (@HumzaProduction) is one of the UK’s most popular British Asian personalities. After graduating from Richmond Drama School Arshad wrote, directed and edited an episode called Diary of a Badman. Over 90 million views of the series later, Humza became the first British YouTuber to have his own scripted comedy series on BBC Three in the mockumentary series Coconut. Equally important to Humza has been using his influence and comedy for a greater purpose. In 2015, Humza partnered with the UK Counter Terrorism Unit and he is YouTube’s first ambassador for the Creators for Change campaign. Humza has spoken and shared the stage with the likes of Will Smith, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Kevin Hart and Whoopi Goldberg. Henry White is a comedy writer working in television and children’s fiction. He grew up in west London and began his career in online animation. Henry went on to write and direct adverts for a number of British comedy channels, before working as a sitcom writer. Aleksei Bitskoff is an Estonia-born British contemporary illustrator, character designer and children’s book illustrator. LITTLE BADMAN AND THE INVASION OF THE KILLER AUNTIES will be available from 7th March 2019 in Puffin paperback, ebook and audiobook format
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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March 2019
Parents Beware - Soon You Will be fined for Driving Your Own Children to School
Stabbing in Small Heath as Knife Violence Continues
By Tauseef Asif
Many schools over the UK will forbid parents from driving their kids to school in a bid to cut poisonous air contamination, and safeguard children’s health across Britain. The new plan will fine parents £50 at the school entrance and in some instances, points will be added as penalties on their licenses. A huge number of schools are set to facilitate the plan in an attempt to cut the down CO2 emission being breathed in by their children. Alison Cook, director of the policy and communications at the British Lung Foundation charity stated: “Toxic air is connected to asthma and endless chest issues, and harm to the lungs in early age is irreversible. This is the reason why the unlawful dimensions of pollution around schools is vastly worrying.” One parent, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah had her little girl Ella passed away at nine years old from an asthma assault. Mrs Adoo-Kissi-Debrah stated: “The UK has the most astounding rates for asthma deaths in Europe. Contamination levels can take off by as much as 50 percent by cars left running, generally happening at school entrances. I can’t pressure enough how harming this is to our children’s wellbeing.” Police officers in Solihull are backing the school by issuing £50 fines to drivers if they are breaking the rule. A report discharged in 2018 uncovered that almost 2,000 schools are in areas with harmful amounts of lethal air contamination. Chris Bennett of transport charity Sustrans, which is helping a proportion of the plans, stated: “Helping more schools to execute road closures during school pick-up and drop-off time will knowingly help decrease childrens’ exposure to air contamination, while making a safer environment for children, parents and teachers.” There have been a recorded 40,000 premature deaths in the UK connected to air contamination alone.
Abdullah Muhammed was found critically injured in Herbert Road, Small Heath, at around 8 pm on Wednesday, 27th February. Despite the best efforts of paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene. A 15-year-old boy, who was also attacked, endured minor wounds and was treated at the scene. After the incident, Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe approached the locals to work with police to distinguish those associated with violent
crime involving knives. DCC Rolfe stated: “We’ll be investigating every possibility to locate those reliable and bring them to justice. You’ll see an extremely hearty policing response that is touchy to the feelings of fear and worries of our neighbourhood communities. “Our considerations stay with Abdullah’s family, friends and the local community in Small Heath. Help us to explain this heart-breaking crime yet in addition to work with us to
secure our youngsters”. The lethal wounding of another 16-year-old kid has been one among multiple knife attacks in recent weeks. Sidali Mohamed was cut outside Joseph Chamberlain College, Belgrave Road, Balsall Heath, on Wednesday, February 13th. The victim was found with a grave attempt wound to his chest within the area just after 4 pm. He had been in a coma since the knife attack, but tragically his life support machine
was switched off on the 15th February. The police had said that the Joseph Chamberlain College student died with his family around him. Hazrat Umar aged 18, was found seriously injured in Norwood Road in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, at around 2 pm on Monday 25th February. He died on the spot. Mr Umar was a relation of the former chief prosecutor for North West England Nazir Afzal. He was also a student from the South and City College Birmingham and lived in Bordesley Green. He was the third teenager to be killed in the city by knife crime within 12 days. Another stabbing took place on the 27th of February on Aston Road by Aston University. A 29-year-old was injured due to being stabbed in the arm, just after 2.30pm. He was taken to hospital and a barrier was put up around the area shortly after to maintain evidence. The news came after the police announced stop and search powers werebeing put into place across the entire city in an extraordinary move following the three deaths and countless others injured in a wave of knife crime. This became the fourth stabbing in two weeks. Anybody with information about knife crime in their area can get in touch with the police through live chat at west-midlands.police.uk between the hours of 8 am and midnight. Members of the public may call 101 whenever or contact Crime Stoppers discreetly on 0800 555 111. Quote log number 2202 of 20/2.
Father of Shamina Begum says she made a mistake and must come back
By Tauseef Asif
Shamima Begum’s father has pleaded the British Government to bring back his daughter while asserting that she “committed a mistake” in joining ISIS. The ISIS bride’s father spoke from Bangladesh, where he encouraged his daughter to apologise for her actions. Speaking to ITV news, Ahmed Ali demanded that his daughter should return home to the UK to confront justice for any wrongdoings she has committed. In an urgent request, Mr Ali vouched that his daughter hadn’t completely understood what she had been doing when she had left the UK to join the terrorist group at the age of 15. He stated: “My daughter was a little kid and she committed a mistake, and she didn’t know properly. I would want to make an appeal to the British Government not to strip her of her citizenship. If she has committed any mistake, take her back to London, and let them do whatever they believe is necessary, however returning her to London, I believe is important.” After leaving Bethnal Green school four years ago, Ms Begum wedded a Dutch ISIS fighter and recently gave birth to her third child with her husband. She is currently 19 and remains in a Syrian Refugee Camp with her
infant, following the demise of her two past children. Ms Begum conceded that she was shocked to discover that the Home Office was revoking her UK citizenship. Ms Begum stated: “It’s a bit worrying
and disappointing. I sense that it’s a bit unjust to me and my child.” Following the choice from the Home Office, her family wrote a letter where they announced her activities, but also admitted that they would “assist Shamima
in challenging” the decision. Her father straightforwardly condemned the Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s activities and stated that Mr Javid has done the “wrong thing” in revoking Ms Begum’s British citizenship.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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Blue/Orange Play Review, Birmingham Rep.
By Saiqa Latif
Can an orange ever be blue? The French surrealist poet Éluard thought so, he claimed that the ‘world was blue like an orange.’ Not surprisingly, such statements spoken by the wrong person at the wrong place could have a person held and sectioned for “acting funny at the markets.” Such is the fate of Christopher, a young black man from West London who claims oranges are blue and that his father is the former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. The play begins on the eve of his release after a 28-day enforced stay at a psychiatric unit. Excited by his impending release, Christopher is oblivious to the concerns of the junior doctor supervising his care, who doubles up his efforts to convince the patient and the senior consultant of his urgent need for further treatment. With conflicting diagnoses resulting in drastically different consequences, the professional discord between the two doctors heightens into personal attacks that become the focal centre of the play. The gulf between patient and clinician is further widened by race and cultural divergence. When the senior consultant likens Christopher’s idiosyncrasies to his African cultural connections, these are swept aside by his junior colleague with repeated assertions that “he’s from Shepherd’s Bush!’ He nervously reacts to Christopher’s complaints of police harassment with advice to “laugh if off” to which his patient rapidly fires back, “laugh? Then they lock you up!” The young doctor’s unconscious bias unravels as the play unfolds, startling him as much as the watching audience. His blind spots are exposed as he blanketly dismisses cultural variations in defining normality and abnormality. The senior consultant defends Christopher’s right to be angry, depressed and paranoid. However, the veneer of his altruistic sympathies soon falls away to unmask personal
ambitions and grandiose theories in a bid to further his own career. With just three actors, the two-hour play is dialogue heavy. The stage is set with three statue-like chairs and a table to pull the full focus on the power of language, and how words matter. In a fitting tribute to art imitating life, the patient is spoken of more than his is spoken to. His long silences add volume to the few times he’s able to have his say. In the closing scenes he takes command of the stage in a dramatic role reversal, accusing his attending doctor of being ‘’provocative, patronising and possibly on drugs.” Engaging and demanding, the play evokes more questions than it gives answers. It questions the methods of providing care for BAME communities in an increasingly culturally pluralistic Britain. According to NHS statistics, black and Asian people with mental health issues are significantly less likely to seek help despite being more likely to suffer from a disorder. Though the play remains unchanged since it was written twenty years ago, it’s testament to the growing need for awareness. What perhaps has changed are the barriers upholding the social stigma of mental health and discrimination. The two- week run of Blue/Orange at the Birmingham Rep is part of a season of plays on the theme of injustice that will continue with the forthcoming stage production of a Thousand Splendid Suns this coming May. Adapted from Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel, the focus will shift to the struggle of women in Afghanistan. It’s part of the Rep’s push to put the spotlight on stories and influences that reflect the cultural diversity of Birmingham. It’s a welcome opportunity for theatre to take centre-stage and bridge the gaps in understanding that are undermined by divisive policies in the current political climate.
Creative Cohesion West Midland’s Pink Tea Theatre Company Presents: Rung
Rung – (Colour) is a play-set in Birmingham which gives importance to the early arriving immigrants in Britain during the late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It exclusively includes those from South Asian communities, especially from Kashmiri, and Pakistani backgrounds. The play covers real lived events, life’s different colours of happiness, joy and sadness. We hope the Stories of life experiences, knowledge and wisdom of generations will be shared. A real sense of drama, passion and heartfelt stories will be shared from people’s first hand encounters of early settlement and struggles. The play will also touch and give some insight to possible future issues facing communities living in Britain and their links to South Asia.
Rung is being performed on 30th March 2019 7.00- 9.00pm At Maitland Hall Washwood Heath Road Washwood Heath Birmingham B8 2HF CCWM Background Creative Cohesion West Midlands was formed in September 2015 as a community organisation working to fill a substantial gap and under representation of certain communities in the Creative, Art, Media and Sport sectors and is working to address this. Creative Cohesion West Midland has created Pink Tea Theatre Company, a unique and innovative initiative to give opportunities for inner city communities to engage in expressive Art and Creativity.
Pink Tea Theatre The Pink Tea Theatre is working innovatively by creating theatre from people’s own stories and experiences. We are developing creative ways for local communities to engage, involve and take part in our theatre productions by bringing theatre at homes, local venues and open spaces. We are still looking for people who want to get involved in our play RUNG •Acting, Directing, Custom Designing • Sharing Stories • Script writing • Producing or Story telling • Reading People’s stories • Wanting to learn New skills Please Contact: info@creativecohesionwm.org or Shafaq 07530786507 Rani 07906860044
16
March 2019
GLOBAL
Children Sued by Own Parents
By Will Rymer
T: 0121 771 4545
www.asianworldnews.co.uk
Imran Khan Vouches to Name Baloki Forest after Guru Nanak
By Manisha Bhanot
Bangladeshi father, Abu Taher, has recently sued his son, Mohammad Shahjahan, for failing to provide him with the requisite financial support. Mr Taher, who previously ran a clothes shop in Chittagong, retired with a meagre sum of money, meaning that he has relied on support from his son and daughter. However, Taher alleges that while his daughter still supports him, his son stopped caring for and supporting his parents after getting married himself. Mohhammad Shahjahan, who now works as a banker, refutes his father’s claims, insisting that his father is bringing this case against him in order to ‘disgrace’ him and that he has in fact been supporting him nonetheless. Taher was able to file the case under the Parents Maintenance Act, a Bangladeshi law which allows parents to claim money from children who fail to support them. Such laws are often referred to as laws of ‘Filial Responsibility’ and state that adult children have a responsibility to provide financially for impoverished relatives. Such laws do in fact exist in a number of US states (such as Kentucky and Nevada) and some countries in Europe (France and Germany), but there is rarely a need for them to be enforced. In Asia, however, these statutes are more commonplace. For example, China, India and Bangladesh have developed such systems in recent times to meet the demands of ageing populations. As people live longer
AW Facts Did you know? Due to its shape, Sri Lanka is likened to being the ‘tear drop of India.’
into retirement (The World Health Organisation estimates that by 2020, the amount of people older than 60 years will outnumber those aged under 5), more financial assistance is needed for people who have retired and thus no longer work for a living. In places like Bangladesh, it is the duty of adult children to provide money to look after ageing, impoverished parents even once they have left home. Punishment for neglecting ‘filial duties’ has varied from fines to imprisonment. In Sichuan, China, there was a recent case in which five adults were sentenced up to 5 years imprisonment for abandoning their father. The presence of this law in the Bangladeshi legal system has meant that Taher could sue his son through a local court in Chittagong. Taher has been quoted as saying that ‘It was a hard decision for me. Everybody was telling me to file a case for a long time, but I did not want to. I filed the case when there was no other way.’ As father and son have been estranged for decades, it is unclear what part other motivations may play in Taher’s decision to take his own son to court. However, it appears that the case may be dropped after Taher and Shahjahan struck a deal out of court. Mr Shahjahan has agreed to pay the equivalent of £92 to his father every month and, if he continues to keep up his end of the deal (as he reportedly has so far) Taher will withdraw the case from the court in Chittagong.
Pakistani PM Imran Khan Vouches to Name Baloki Forest after Guru Nanak At the opening ceremony of the Spring Tree Plantation event 2019, Imran Khan expressed his desire to make Pakistan an all-inclusive nation that belongs to each citizen equally, regardless of religious and class background. He also said that he will do everything in his power to make sure that the Sikh community are accommodated for their celebrations of Guru Nanak’s 550th Birthday celebration. Shortly after that, he took onto the social media platform Twitter to write the following post: “I would like to request the administration to name the Baloki Forest Reserve after Guru Nanak and also desire to establish a University in his name.” He also claimed that complete information would be provided
to the Sikh Yatris concerning the Kartarpur Corridor issue. The muchanticipated opening of the corridor for the Parkash Gurpurab in 2019 was agreed last year between Pakistan and India. It is a pathway that will allow worshippers to travel between Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, Indian Punjab to Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur in Pakistan with ease and without Visas. Both of these are important pilgrim destinations, as the Gurdwara in India is a shrine to the founder of the Sikh religion, whereas the Gurdwara in Pakistan marks the final resting place of Shiri Guru Nanak Dev himself. Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is situated across the river Ravi, approximately four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. It was allegedly founded by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first ever Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built at the site, where the legendary saint Baba Bud-
dha Ji settled for some time as well. It is said to be where Guru Nanak Dev also died. Meanwhile, although the Kartarpur Corridor has been a joint collaboration between Narendera Modi’s Indian government and the Pakistani government of Imran Khan, the former has come under fire from Mehbooba Mufti. The ex- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister has criticised Modhi via public Twitter, stating his party’s priority seems to be re-naming Indian cities with Hindi names and re-building Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “How times change. Centre’s top priority is seemingly renaming historic cities & building Ram Mandir. On the other hand, heartening to see that Pak PM has initiated steps to name Baloki forest reserve after Guru Nanak Ji & create a university under his name”, he tweeted.
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LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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Kashmir Killings: Indian Troops US Hunter Paid Dead in Pulwama Attack over 100K to Kill By Tauseef Asif
Militants during another Kashmir strike during mid-February have left an Indian Army major and no less than three different officers dead. The incident occurred only days after a shocking bombing, which also killed many Indian security officers as well. Fears are presently rising that Kashmir, a questioned area, which lies among India and its provincial rival, Pakistan, could be sliding into a particularly lethal period of turbulence once more. Political relations among India and Pakistan are separating; Kashmiri students are being gathered together and assaulted; other youngsters have been accused of rebellion for criticising the Indian Army. Also, Indians are lashing out at Pakistani regular citizens; including Bollywood on-screen characters.The ongoing violence in Kashmir, in India, is mostly controlled by Muslim Militants, with India being a majority Hindu country. India has recently opened a flood of patriotism that has been given clearance crosswise over India. The orange, white and green national banner is going up all over the territory, and numerous of individuals state they need vengeance. Pakistan has a long history of supporting militant groups in the Indian-controlled
area of Kashmir. India has blamed Pakistan for arranging the ongoing violence and have promised to strike back. Yet, India has couple of good military choices certified, which examiners state the general population seems to realise. “There is a genuine feeling of dissatisfaction and outrage since Pakistan is in the image,’’ said Gurcharan Das, an Indian writer. “A ton of Indians feel that India has failed with respect to Pakistan and that it has not been sufficiently intense and has pacified Pakistan.” He concluded: “Be that as it may...I don’t assume anyone truly needs a war.’’ The strike began under the cover of the night at around 2 a.m, Indian officers in the Pulwama District of the Kashmir Valley confirmed that a house which was believed to be an assailant hideout was utilised in the attack. The fighters started shooting at moving targets unexpectantly, murdering a Indian soldiers and injuring one other officer. At least one civilian was executed in the crossfire. Indian authorities said the assailants inside the house were individuals from Jaish-e-Muhammad, or the Army of Muhammad, the rebel assemble that guaranteed duty regarding the bombarding, which murdered at least around 40
Indian soldiers. The attack is considered one of the deadliest assaults with the region in decades. By mid-afternoon, Indian authorities said two attackers had been murdered. In any case, security forces were attempting to draw nearer to the house since several Kashmiri regular citizens were flinging rocks with an end goal to shield the militants, who are generally found in Kashmir as authentic freedom fighters. Pakistan has denied association in the ongoing bombarding in Kashmir, for which the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has guaranteed “a befitting answer.” Striking back would convey huge dangers, as the two countries field nuclear weapons stores, and regional elements, which are particularly touchy at the present time. Joined States authorities have been approaching local forces to aid with a harmony plan towards an American withdrawal from Afghanistan, where Pakistan has for quite some time also been involved. Be that as it may, India is going into real decisions in the following couple of months, and Mr. Modi barely needs to look weak. As trouble between the two major super powered nations continues, Pakistan’s airspace became closed after the country’s air force shot down two Indian air crafts in recent weeks. One Indian Airforce Pilot, who has been named as Abhinandan Varthaman, was captured alive by Pakistan on 27th February. As the country faces global pressure, PM Imran Khan released the pilot as a “gesture of peace.” Pakistani Politicians also gave their approval.
Sikh Officer Appointed as PRO in Pakistan The relations between India and Pakistan have always been unstable. Sometimes they go through a good phase and during other times they hit a rough patch. However a step taken by the Pakistani government may go a long way in resolving such issues and also for bettering the image of the country on the global map. For the first time in the history of the country of Pakistan, a Sikh officer has been appointed as PRO to Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. According to the information revealed by the Punjab Governor’s Office, Pawan Singh Arora was previously working as District Information Officer at Nankana Sahib. He was also part of the social media team of Punjab’s Governor in Pakistan. He has now assumed charge as Sarwar’s PRO. Born on April 12, 1989, the 29-year-old Sikh man has also worked as a content writer at a leading advertising agency called Message Communications. He has previously been a professional actor at Ajoka Theatre as well. Additionally, Arora was a radio broadcaster at Daily Nai Baat, Apna FM Network and Mast FM 103. With such a vast knowledge in handling social media and a wide experience of working in different positions, Pawan Singh Arora can surely be labelled as a perfect choice for
By Priyanka Dutta
the post. The Sikhs form a small community in Pakistan. Most of them live in Punjab, and parts of the Sindh and KhyberPakhtunkhwa. In November 2017, Prime Minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor. The Kartarpur corridor connects two Sikh holy sites namely Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan and Dera Baba Nanak in India. Pakistan’s friendly gesture is meant to facilitate the Indian Sikh community to visit the sacred place where Baba Guru
Nanak, their spiritual leader, lived for 18 years until his death in 1539. The appointment of Pawan Singh Arora to such a high post in the Pakistani Government came days after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan took a jibe on the minority issue at Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Many feel that this appointment has been done strategically so as to get the attention as well as the sympathy of the foreign based Sikhs. These foreign based Sikhs have actually wanted to donate a considerable amount of money for the building of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. Pawan Singh Arora did not opt for the minority quota but he got selected on open merit. He also mentioned that he will be applying all his expertise in the PR field to showcase the works and achievements of the Office of the Governor. Indeed, it remains to be seen whether this step was completely based on the educational qualifications and experiences of Pawan Singh Arora, or if is due to some deep political strategy of the Government in Pakistan. Whatever the case may be, for the time being, Pawan Singh Arora needs to be congratulated for assuming such a high post in Pakistan.
Rare-Mountain Goat on Pakistani Territory
By Manisha Bhanot
Bryan Kinsel Harlan of Texas has been paid a record $110,000 to shoot a stunning goat, with gigantic asymmetrically twisted horns and ragged fur. The rare animal, belonging to the species of the Astor Markhor, was shot on site in its natural habitat of rocky snow capped mountains. The incident took place in a tourist expedition of Pakistan’s Northern Himalayan territory of GilgitBaltistan. The killer of the animal had commented: “It was an easy and close shot. I am pleased to take this trophy.” He was also photographed kneeling close to the animal and smiling afterwards. The circulated image was viewed with shock and sadness by many, as the public questioned why these exotic animals (Capra falconeri), could not be photographed and admired by visitors of the tourist site, instead of being shot. The Markhors are also officially listed national animals of Pakistan. Their numbers have dwindled down to just around 2,500 in the wild, as a result of poachers, deforestation, and unlicensed hunting. Pakistan has a strange rationale for allowing a certain number of the animals to be tracked down and killed by hunters annually. India has assigned five sanctuaries for Markhors in the mountain border state of Jammu/ Kashmir, and Pakistan has banned all localised hunting. However, Pakistan recently began allowing a small number of overseas hunters to enter the
country and shoot up to 12 male goats per season in “community conservation areas”, such as Gilgit. The resulting funds are supposed to be largely distributed to the poor and isolated villagers in the goats’ mountain habitat, who collectively receive around 80 percent of the income raised to not poach the Markhors themselves. The rest of the twenty percent goes to Government wildlife agencies. A professional hunter from Gilgit named Tabarak Ullah, guided Harlan on his expedition to hunt down the animal and has done the same with other Americans in the past. He has claimed the costly permit funds for killing such animals are utilised for local education and health authorities as well as for preserving species. “This is not just about hunting… The number of animals is increasing, and these foreign hunters are millionaires who go back and tell the world that Pakistan is safe…Now, more and more tourists are coming”, he formerly stated. Many other authorities are in complete disagreement over the hunting allowances. Animal rights group PETA posted on Twitter: “Goats are gentle individuals, not trophies.” Some Pakistanis citizens requested a ban on hunting animals such as the Markhor, which are categorised as near-threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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March 2019
A businessman sues his parents for giving birth
A businessman from Mumbai, Raphael Samuel advised that it’s inappropriate to bring children into the world since they have to endure long-lasting suffering. Mr Samuel, obviously, comprehends that our agreement can’t be sought, before we are conceived, but “it was not our choice to be conceived.” So, as we didn’t request to be conceived, we ought to be paid for whatever is left of our lives to live, he argues. An interest like this could cause a rift inside any family, however, Mr Samuel says he gets along great with his parents (both of whom are lawyers), and that they give off an impression of managing their careers and family life well. In an announcement, his mom Kavita Karnad Samuel
By Tauseef Asif individuals are suffering. If humanity is extinct, then the Earth and creatures would be more joyful. They’ll unquestionably be in an ideal situation. Also, no human will at that point to endure. Human presence is absolutely futile.” A year back, he made a Facebook page, Nihilanand, which highlights blurbs that demonstrate his pictures with tremendous phoney facial hair, an eye-cover and anti-natalist messages like “Isn’t forcing a child into this world and compelling it to have a profession kidnapping?” Or, “Your parents had you rather than a toy or a dog, you owe them nothing, you are their amusement.”
disclosed her reaction to “the ongoing change my child has made.” “I should respect my child’s nerve to need to take his parents to court knowing the two of us are lawyers. Also, if Raphael could think of a balanced clarification about how we could have looked for his agreement to be conceived, I will acknowledge my blame,” she said. Mr Samuel’s belief is established in what’s called anti-natalism. This is a logic that contends that life is filled with misery, which individuals should quit reproducing quickly. He says, this would progressively eliminate mankind from Earth and that it would be much better for the planet. “There’s no good reason for mankind. Such huge numbers of
‘Dark night of the soul’ drove Mother Teresa to serve poor in India - study
Personal tragedy during the early years of Mother Teresa’s life was the main reason why she travelled to India to serve the poor, according to new research. Dr Gëzim Alpion, from the University of Birmingham, claims that her father’s poisoning by Slavic nationalists when she was nine in 1919, marked the beginning of Mother Teresa’s attempts to replace him with Jesus, a divine father, and the start of her lifelong doubts about the existence of God. He also contends that such painful experiences, together with her brother’s association with Benito Mussolini’s Fascist army, and her concern about the safety of her mother and sister in communist Albania post 1945 caused her to never speak about her private affair. Alpion suggests that the nun’s ‘dark night of the soul’ determined all her decisions, including: • Entering the religious life and choosing India as her destination • Leaving the Loreto order to set up her Missionaries of Charity congregation • Expanding her work outside India from 1967 onwards. Dr Alpion, from the Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology, says: “Mother Teresa
entered the religious life and chose India as her destination not simply or primarily to serve the poor but in the
hope that, through them, she would discover the elusive God, as well as to get rid of her ‘dark night of the
soul’. Her devotion to the poor was unwavering and genuine to the end.” “Mother Teresa’s spiritual aridity began during 1919 to 1922 when she lost her father and eight close relatives. The ever-presence of death in her early years had a lifelong traumatic impact on her spirituality and relationship with family members, her nation and especially vulnerable people. Mother Teresa was never cured of her doubts about God; nonetheless, she always held sacred the dignity of every human being.” Dr Alpion claims that Mother Teresa’s projects in Australia in 1969 began as another attempt to escape her spiritual desolation as she began to realise that it was an incurable condition. Some of these findings are included in Alpion’s latest study titled ‘Why are modern celebrity icons absent in celebrity studies?’ which has just been published in Celebrity Studies Journal (Routledge). Alpion finds the side-lining of spiritual personalities in celebrity studies bizarre given that the spread of celebrity culture has led some scholars to approach this modern phenomenon as a form of religion as well as because, like everything else, religion has been affected by celebrity culture. In this study, Alpion announces for the first time the existence of a
hitherto unknown member of Mother Teresa’s family in Australia, a first cousin who was adopted by the nun’s mother as an orphan at the age of six, something he initially discovered during a visit to Melbourne in 2011. Since then Alpion has been using the information from this and other new sources to write the study provisionally titled Rooting Mother Teresa: The Saint and Her Nation, a monograph which will be published by the end of 2019. Next year, Alpion will complete a book about Mother Teresa’s forgotten sister in Australia. In his acclaimed 2007 monograph Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity? Alpion probed into the nun’s early years. He looked into the life of Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, as she was then known, in order to examine the origins of her religious devotion and charity work. Mother Teresa, also known in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary, born in Skopje (now the capital of Macedonia) in 1910, then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Macedonia for 18 years she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life until she died in 1997.
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March 2019
19
India’s Standard Time Zone takes its Toll on National Citizens
India is the second largest country in the continent of Asia and the seventh largest in the entire world. The total area covered by the nation is 32, 87, 263 KM squared, with a longitude of 82.5 degrees East. With a country of this magnitude, many would deem it unusual for India to follow a single time zone. The standard time zone within the borders of the country corresponds to a two-hour difference between the far East and West. This means that the sun can rise as early as 4 am in the Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, and set as early as 4 pm, in comparison to the Rann of Kutch in the West. The running of Indian Standard Time (IST) was first introduced after the country’s period of independence, from 1955 onwards. It is similar to the procedure which runs in India’s neighbouring country of China. The American equivalent to this rule would be the states of New York and Utah sharing one time zone. Scholars have argued that IST has numerous negative effects on its citizens. This includes; a loss in productivity and a loss in energy as electrical lights are turned on earlier in the day. It also means a loss of shut-eye, as the levels of the sleep hormone melatonin rise as soon as the sun sets, and decrease when the sun rises, thus setting up our regular body clocks. In a recent research project, economist Maulik Jagnani of Cornell University stated sunset induced loss of sleep results in under privileged children having the quality of their education reduced. He supported this with the fact that the school day begins at roughly the same time all across India, however children
go to bed at a later time and have less sleep within areas where the sun sets first. An hour’s delay in sunset time lessens children’s sleep by 30 minutes. “This might be because sleep environments among poor households are associated with noise, heat, mosquitoes, overcrowding, and overall uncomfortable physical conditions. The poor may lack the financial resources to invest in sleep-inducing goods like window shades, separate rooms, indoor beds and adjust their sleep schedules,” said Mr Jagnani. Statistics from the India Time Survey and the national Demographic and Health Survey have underlined the fact that school-enrolled children used to later sunsets receive fewer years of education. They are also less likely to complete primary and secondary school. Time zones were previously established during the period of Colonial rule in India, under the British Empire. Time zones were utilised under Bombay Time and Calcutta Time, as these were two important commercial capitals prior to Indian independence. Additionally, Mardas time, introduced by astronomer Goldingham in 1802, was used by many railway companies. The government of Assam in India, which is an important tea-growing district, want to introduce a separate time zone across the state and within other regions of North-East India. This is due to the loss in production the late rising of the sun inflicts on the farming industry. A campaign was set-up in 2014 but is yet to be completed, and India’s national government still remains unconflicted on implementing a standard time zone across all of its states. By Manisha Bhanot
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Donkey Export to raise Pakistan’s dwindling foreign exchange
By Khushboo Chauhan
The country of Pakistan possesses the third largest population of donkeys in the world. However, it is set to begin exporting such number to China, in exchange for much needed foreign income during the ongoing period of rough financial pressure Pakistan is facing. Across the world, the animal is kept specifically for labour work, the most common roles being: the transportation of materials and people, cart pulling and towing. A lot of families in developing and poor countries rely on donkeys for their livelihood but traditionally in China, donkeys have always been in huge demand, especially for their hide. The recent news has come during a time when Pakistan has been battling the foreign exchange crunch, and its favourite ally China has come to its rescue, with a total loan of 42.5 billion in exchange of donkey export. With a donkey population of 5 million, Pakistan is expected to cash in millions and help boost its economic state form this trade, while exporting as many as 80,000 donkeys in
the first three years. As reported by the livestock department of Pakistan, the country will begin donkey farming, the first of its kind the world has seen, as government workers Dera Ismail Khan and Mansehra will forge a global partnership. Medicinal Properties of Donkeys: Donkeys are highly prized in China, especially for their hide, which is used to manufacture Chinese medicine. Gelatin form donkey hide, also known as ass-hide glue is very valuable, as it is obtained from the skin of the donkey by the method of soaking and stewing. It is used as an ingredient in Chinese traditional medicine, where it is called “Ejiao.” Ejiao has manifold traditional uses in China. It is used in a variety of conditions such as bleeding from a wound, dizziness, insomnia and dry cough. It is believed that the medicine helps to improve blood circulation and improve the condition of those suffering from anaemia. Ejiao takes the form of a hard gel that can be dissolved in hot water or
alcohol to be used in food or drink, as well as beauty products. Ejiao demand in China Pakistan is already prepared to export the animal to China, where the population of donkeys is already the highest in the world. With the increase in demand for Ejiao dramatically in the last few years, the donkey population has hence begun to fall in China. Traders from China were transporting the animal for their skin from other countries including Africa, mostly illegally and selling them in the black market. This caught the attention of the “Donkey Sanctuary”, which is an international animal welfare and rescue charity and it came forward to contain the heinous act. To stop illegal trafficking and to keep the foreign exchange moving in its ally’s home, China has invested a huge sum of money in Pakistan for Donkey farming, where according to reports, foreign reserves dropped drastically and caused the country to reach out to nations like Saudi Arabia and China for support.
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March 2019
Top 10 Historic Cities of Pakistan
By Manisha Bhanot
1. Lahore
2. Karachi
3. Faisalabad
4. Gujranwala
5. Quetta
Some scholars have traced the origins of the city of Lahore as far back as 4000 years. However, evidence concludes that Lahore has existed for at least over a millennium, as the oldest written document about the city was discovered dating back to 932. Aeons ago, the city was formerly named as Lavapuri, which translates as the city of Lava in Sanskrit. It is believed that the city was established by Prince Lava, the son of Sita and Rama from the epic poem Ramayana. The city has been ruled over by a number of Empires and is a great example of lasting Mughal architecture. Lahore is located on the banks of the river Ravi, only a few kilometres away from the border of India. Lahore also lies in the present-day province of Punjab, where it is also the capital and the second largest city in Pakistan. Historic sites to explore in the city include Badshai Masjid, the Golden Mosque and the 13 Gates of Lahore.
Karachi had its origins as a small fisherman village settled close to the Indus River. At the turn of the 18th Century, the settlers there began trading with Muscat and inhabitants of the Persian Gulf region. From then on, the settlement began to grow as a Port for commercial trade. When it first emerged, the inhabited area was named ‘Kolachi Village.’ The original community still yet live in the small island Abdullah Goth situated close to Karachi’s port. A fort was also constructed around the growing bay area, which was then overseen by the rulers of the Sindh. This was before the city was overtaken by British rule in 1843. Present day Karachi stands as the city with the largest population in Pakistan, and is the country’s financial capital. Karachi is located on the banks of the Arabian Sea, and has its own coastline area as well. Some of the sites popular with tourists in Karachi are Quaid e Azam’s mausoleum, Clifton Beach and Bagh Ibn e Qasim.
In the past, Faisalabad was known to be part of the Jang district. However, when British Raj took over, the region was named as the city of Lyallpur, after an English Lieutenant/Governor. After Pakistan gained independence, the city was re-named Faisalabad in 1979, after King Faisal of Saudi Arabia who made considerable donations to the country. Faisalabad is situated in the midst of the Chenab River and many agricultural products from cotton to sugarcane are grown inside the city. When the city was first being constructed by the East Indian Empire, it was designed in the layout of a Union Jack with a large market clock to stand in its epicentre. Faisalabad has earned its reputation as a large distribution centre due to its many major roads, railways and airports. The city is the second largest in size within the province of Pakistan. Notable places to visit inside Faisalabad are Ghanta Gar, Jinnah Garden, Company Bagh and many more.
Unlike other surrounding settlements, Gujranwala is a relatively modern city with unclear origins. Many locals declare that it was probably established in the 1500s. The city has been under the influence of a number of dynasties, including Mughals, Sikhs and the British. Inhabitants of the city believe that Gujranwala’s previous name was Khanpur Shansai. Contrastingly, documentation has it written down as Serai Gujran instead. Gujranwala has a number of railways built by its previous administrators to connect it to other parts of Punjab. The city is renowned for its local fighters and their diet. Some attractions in the area include Nishan e Manzil, Sheranwala Bagh, Quba Park and the Model Town Park. Gujranwala, as with other cities in Punjab, is an epicentre for Pakistani culture.
The first documental record of Quetta has been found to be produced in the 11th century. Ruler of the Mughal Dynasty Akhbar was left in the city by his father Humayun in 1543. The city was also part of the Afghan Hotak dynasties before it was captured by the British in 1876. Quetta is similar to Kōṭ, a Pashto word meaning “fortress.” By the time the major Earthquake hit and destroyed much of the city in 1935, Quetta had grown into a bustling city with numerous skyscraper buildings. It had been nick-named “Little London” due to this. The surrounding area of Quetta is home to many mountains and rolling hills. The city is also covered in a variation of many plants and animals relative to the dry climate of the western planes. Famous tourist attractions in the area include Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, Hannah Lake, and the various fruit parks and a few places as well.
6. Rawalpindi
7. Islamabad
8. Sialkot
9. Hyderabad
10. Multan
The area around Rawalpindi has been inhabited for many millennia. The city lies within the archaic borders of Gandhara. Much of the region is dotted with Buddhist ruins and architecture. Rawalpindi is known by Pakistanis as the ‘twin city’ due to its adjacent location with Islamabad. In 1943, the city was re-named ‘Rawalpind’ by the Gakhars. It became part of the Sikh empire in 1765 and vicinity of British Raj in 1849. The city also become the largest Garrison regiment town of the British Army. To this day, the city remains a military hub and holds the headquarters for the Pakistani Army. Since the region is socio-economically associated with Pakistan’s capital city, it has a merge of developed and developing infrastructures. Sites of interest for visitors in Rawalpindi include Jinnah Park, Ayub Park, Bahria Town, Liaqat Bagh, Rohtas Fort, and the Taxila heritage site, where allegedly the world’s first University was built.
Islamabad is regarded as one of the earliest inhabited cities in the whole continent of Asia. Stone artefacts have been identified in the area, dating back to one of the previous ice ages. Many great armies such as those lead by the infamous Genghis Khan and Ahmad Shah Durrani passed through the region on invasive missions whilst leading their troops. The city’s name, Islamabad, is taken from two words, collating to mean the Urdu name of the religion Islam, and the Persian noun for an inhabited location, or city. The name is inspired from the Mughal Empire’s name for the port city Chittagong, which was formerly called Islamabad. Islamabad currently stands as the capital of Pakistan. The city remains independent from any other province and is located below the Margala Hills. Highlights to visit in this city include Faisal Mosque, Saudi Pak Tower, the Pakistan Monument and much more.
There is uncertainty regarding the origin of Sialkot’s early settlements. However, various legends are used to constitute to the city’s history. One states that Siakot’s foundations were laid by King Shalya from the epic poem Mahabharata. Although, the first official documentation of the city records its capture by Alexander the Great for Greece. Sialkot is comparatively wealthy in regards to the other cities in Pakistan. It has been appraised for its strong entrepreneurial spirit and good finances. The location was regarded as one of the British Empire’s most valuable hot-spots due to its industrialisation, which is still prevalent in the city’s landscape today. Sialkot can be found in the Eastern part of the Punjabi province. Some of the tourist attractions there consist of Sialkot Fort, Iqbal Manzil, the Sialkot Clock Tower and Gulshan e Iqbal Park.
Uncovered archaeological evidence has linked the city back to the Iron Age, dating back from at least the 6th Century. The city was primarily ruled by the Chalukya Dynasty. After this, it was taken over by the Kakatiya Dynasty and passed down from the Mughals until the British invaded. According to the Oxford Dictionary, Hyderabad means the “City of Haydar” or “Lion City.” For instance, Haydar translates to lion and abad to city. The city was named after the valiant warrior Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who demonstrated lion like movements in battle. Hyderabad is located in the Sindh, on the Eastern banks if the Indus river. The city’s main income rests on the agricultural production of wheat, cotton, rice and fruits. Famous attractions in the lion city include Rani Bagh, Sindh Museum, Pacco Qillo, The Tombs of Talpur Mirs, and much more.
According to Ancient Hindu Mythology, the city was founded by the sage Kashyapa. It then went on to become the capital of the Trigarta Kindom and home to the Katoch dynasty. However, Persian historians argue against this and state that Multan was primarily developed by the grandson of Noah from the Bible. There are vague theories as to where Multan originated its name. Many think it comes from the Sanskrit word mulasthana, or the similar Persian word, translating to a patch of “frontier land.” There is also a Hindu Tribe called Mul, and a Hindu deity is commonly worshipped at the Multan Sun Temple. Multan can be found in the Pakistani Province of Punjab on the banks of the River Chenab. Due to its many famous forts and shrines, Multan is a popular place of worship and visitation for many tourists. Some of these are namely the Shamsuddin Sabzweri, Khwaja Awais Kagha, and Shah Rukn e Alam tombs.
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By Manisha Bhanot
‘Crucially, the bill will help private and social renter’s voices to be heard, by giving them the right to take their landlord to court over unfit and unsafe conditions in their home.’ ‘The Bill could help to prevent another tragedy like the Grenfell tower fire. This was the starkest reminder of the dangers of unsafe accommodation.’ The charity also states that there are currently up to one million rented homes in the UK which pose a serious risk to the lives of the people living inside them – which could be as many as 2.5million occupies. Heather Wheeler, the Minister for housing and homelessness, said that the new law is a ‘further step to ensure that tenants have the decent homes they deserve’. With more and more families choosing to rent privately, the government is attempting to do all it can to safeguard the living conditions of young children and their parents, as well as the
March 2019
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Landlords Can Now be Taken to Court for Cold and Mould in Homes
Tenants will now be able to sue their landlords over properties which are cold, mouldy and insufficient for residence. If the property owner hinders in making repairs, a court sanction from the judge could mean that they are forced to carry out the work under the law. The new bill which will become into effect during March 2019, is called Fitness for Human Habitation and will be associated with the Homes Act. Under the new rules and regulations, landlords who own a tenancy of fewer than seven years will be forced to make a court appearance if their tenants choose to report them for inadequate housing conditions. Under current guidelines – property owners should fix maintenance issues within 24 hours if they pose a danger to occupiers’ health and safety. If the issue is less serious then they are allowed up to a month to fix the problem. The Homeless charity Shelter shared in a blog post:
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underprivileged in society. Previously, many tenants have been forced to deal with substandard and often unsafe accommodation partly because of a 1985 law which deemed it the responsibility of local authorities to investigate housing conditions. Since many local councils are already spread thin as a result of massive budget cuts, standards have commonly only been partly or poorly enforced. This meant some landlords could skim over costs of upkeep and repair, allowing tenants to deal with the disastrous consequences. The new laws will also hopefully act as a deterrent for lazy landlords who hope to get away with renting out run-down and dangerous properties to the public. Circumstances allowing tenants to sue their landlords will include an insufficient supply of the following: ventilation, freedom from damp, natural lighting, clean water, drainage plus sanitation.
Pound Rate Increases in Value
By Tauseef Asif
The pound has flooded to a 22-month high versus the euro, as it has been revealed that Theresa May could postpone Brexit or even rule out a no-deal situation, in order to subdue an uprising inside her cabinet. The sterling, which has risen dramatically in regards to following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, hit the value of €1.16 by the end of February 2019. The pound has not achieved this level since May 2017, where it closed the previous highest value of €1.153.The currency has also risen more than a penny against the US dollar to climb above $1.32, its highest value since October 2018. Theresa May earlier disclosed to the MPs that if her Brexit deal is dismissed one month from now, then they would be offered two separate votes by 13 March on whether the UK leaves with no deal or postpone Brexit beyond the present 29 March due date. Sterling slipped back slightly after the PM told the Commons that a growth would not make getting concessions from the EU any less demanding.The pound has turned into a Brexit
pointer for financial markets, with its regard going up, the more investors see the odds of a delicate Brexit or the UK’s take off from the alliance being possibly stopped. It has also been reported that three senior ministers will leave, if the PM does not ensure that Brexit can be postponed, if her deal is dismissed again by the MPs. Labour also toughened its position on the possibility of a cliff
edge exit, saying its secondchoice arrangement would urge a “Credible Leave Option and Remain.” However, it would not contain the choice of a nodeal departure. Sterling’s rise hurt qualities on the FTSE 100 record, struggling to win the main part of their incomes in foreign currency, particularly in dollars. This is because the value of those sales is decreased when they are booked in the UK.
22
March 2019
Roll-Royce goes into a loss of £2.9 billion
By Tauseef Asif
Emerging Entrepreneurship in Pakistan The noun ‘entrepreneurship’ is a French term which was first coined by Jean-Baptiste Say and published in the dictionary during 1723. The English word “adventurer” refers to the same meaning, so the character of an entrepreneur is considered to be one of a risk taker; someone who is un-divertible, socially engaging and possessive of an optimistic personality. French legends define entrepreneurship as the risky process where resources are deliberately allocated to exploit opportunities, in order to maximize financial return. Companies such as Apple.inc, Microsoft Corporation and alphabet.inc make impact have especially taken part in the entrepreneurship process and emerged as tech giants. Indeed, the reasons behind the successes of many developed countries are the entrepreneurs who work as pillars in their nation’s development. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a south Asian country, declared as independent since 1947. Pakistan is the sixth largest country in terms of population and 33rd largest in term of area. Since independence, this country has been in the monopoly of politics which has made many of its national citizens wary and uncertain about Pakistan’s near future. Whilst a regular eight hours on-duty job for either some national or international company may
By Nadeem Jahangir - business entrepreneur be sufficient for some workers, for othIn the past few years a significant ers it is not. There has been a fashion change in the number of startups has of doing a good job rather than creating been observed, the growth demands jobs until in recent years, the students of attention as startups from every field are some local universities started to think filling flaws in their sector of service. of and emerge ideas for future. With These startups will go on to shape the sound ideas and proper guidance, some country’s small and medium scale enterstartups hence bloomed and the culture prises (SME), which will contribute 40 of entrepreneurship began to rise in the percent of the country’s GDP annually ‘underdeveloped’ country of Pakistan and create more than 70 percent job opfrom 2010 onwards. portunities in Pakistan. A great number The NUST technology incubation of incubation centers and accelerators center has seeded young student entrehave been attracting investors towards preneurs and become the threshold for emerging entrepreneurship in Pakistan. likeminded people. In 2012 Plan9 was This is due to the fact the rise of potenfounded by Dr. Umar Saif, an incubatial startups is on the way, whom are tion center to run under the Government seeking funding from potential buyers, of Punjab, Pakistan to facilitate initiaas well as cultivate grants. tives from around the country. Between In nine years Pakistan has become a big 2012 and 2015, many big startups market where ideas are executing and initiated such as daraz.pk (old name market flaws are being overcome with Kaymu.pk). The first and now the largsmall/big idewith higher and higher est e-commerce platforms of Pakistan, potential. Tech startups in the field of Rozee.pk and Pakwheels are other big the Internet of Things, Artificial intelnames to consider. Now that the seed ligence and Block chain technology has been sowed, the national educaare prominent. The mindset of students tional institutes have started to nurture is changing from job seekers to job the idea of “MAKING JOB CREATcreators. Interesting ventures are being ERS.” Universities such as NUST, made, incubation centers have been LUMS, UMT, and the superior group of placed and accelerators are ready to colleges have played an important role work. GDP is improving and the emergin emerging the entrepreneurial spirit ing entrepreneurship rate in Pakistan is in students, by motivating them and seeking out more and more opportunibringing their ideas from an abstraction ties as time goes on. to reality.
Design Engineering company RollsRoyce swung into loss approximately a year ago, after expanded the expanding costs by repairing the issues of its Trent 1000 engines. The organisation additionally lost an income of £186m after Airbus said it was ending the production of its A380 superjumbo aircraft. RollsRoyce revealed a pre-tax loss of £2.9 billion for 2018, down from a benefit of £3.89 billion from the previous year. The organisation’s largest falls were recorded on the FTSE 100 – where it was shown to be down by 4% in stock. The company’s basic working benefit, which strips out the costs of uncommon items, jumped up to 71% at a total of £633 million in 2018, increasing from £317 million in 2017. “The financial outcomes are in front of expectations, with great development in benefit and income. Following the restructuring we declared in June a year ago we are beginning to see the significant social changes expected to continue our momentum,” CEO Warren East said. A year ago, a fault with Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines grounded planes at British Airways as well as other different carriers. This included the Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. At the time, the organisation said that the issues would
take “a few years” to fix. It said parts in its Trent 1000 motors were wearing out quicker than anticipated. However, it “had an answer” to the issue. In its outcomes statement, Rolls-Royce said it had expanded the charge it had taken on fixing issues with its Trent 1000 motors to £790 million, up from £554 million. Rolls-Royce said that following the Airbus choice to stop running the A380 in 2021, it had surveyed the effect of its Trent 900 motor program, in relation to its clients and providers. As a result, the company compiled a report which: “identifies with difficult contracts, tooling benefits and the acceleration of depreciation and amortisation on related Trent 900 program resources.” The organisation is now refocusing its business on civil aerospace, defence and power systems. In any case, Rolls Royce has said it will no longer supply engines for Boeing’s proposed new fair sized jetliner, which was hoping to fill a gap between the air-carrier’s narrow and wide-body aircrafts. “We can’t focus on the proposed timetable to ensure we have a sufficiently developed product, which supports Boeing’s desire for the aircraft,” RollsRoyce said.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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Cryptocurrency Calamity
By Jemma Tennison
UK based ‘Insync’ bike brand owned by India, the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer by volume
Manchester-based Indian-owned Hero Cycles is announcing ambitious plans to unleash an export drive, in partnership with Cheshire ecommerce giant The Hut Group, for its new bike brand – Insync. Hero, the world’s biggest bike maker by volume, launched the new Insync range of 75 bikes for the UK market in May 2018 at Old Trafford football ground, and is now ready to launch the brand formerly overseas via its website www. insyncbikes.com Sreeram Venkateswaran CEO of Hero’s UK subsidiary Avocet Sports said the new export drive aims to catapult the Insync brand and Hero Cycles into wider European markets. “This is one of Hero Cycles boldest ever moves, to grow its international footprint into Europe,” he said. “Together with The Hut Group we have developed the Insync website to be specially optimised to operate across Europe which represents a new and potent market for Hero Cycles. This move shows Hero Cycles’ ambition to totally transform a UK company in Avocet, into a pan-European operation. It has taken a lot of careful planning to arrive at this point. Having invested in our Manchester Global Design Centre and recruited a team of top bike designers, we now have a range of high-quality bikes offering great value to customers in UK and Europe. Plus, we have The Hut Group’s formidable digital knowhow to sell and promote the bikes into Europe online.” Mr Venkateswaran said Hero Cycles’ investment in the UK is a strong example of how Indian and UK companies can join forces sharing expertise and resources.
“India and Britain share a common heritage, culture and language,” he said. “That bond makes doing business so much easier. Our venture in Britain is very much in line with what the UK Government wants to see post-Brexit, more UK and Indian companies working together targeting international trade. In terms of India, our model fits with Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, as the know-how, design and marketing have come from the UK but the actual manufacturing will take place in India. In addition, all the bikes bought via the Insync website will be distributed worldwide from UK
warehouses, to start with, operated by Hero and The Hut Group before eventually moving to warehouses closer to the core markets.” Mr Venkateswaran added that Hero Cycles is kick-starting a large investment in a new ‘bicycle valley’ in the Indian state of Punjab. The valley is designed to offer customers greater efficiency and flexibility by bringing its manufacturing centre and supply chain together. He said the operation is already working well with around 90 per cent of bikes sold by Hero Cycles in the UK being sourced from its Indian factories.
The CEO of the cryptocurrency company Quadriga has died, taking with him C$190 million in Bitcoin from clients. 30-year-old Canadian Gerald Cotten was in Jaipur, India with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, when he suddenly died due to complications with Crohn’s disease. The company’s social media page stated that Cotten was a “visionary leader” who was in India for the “opening of an orphanage.” The couple lived in the region of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Cotten ran his company from his laptop. Cotten was known for being conscious about taking security measures; the laptop, email address and messaging system he used to run his business were encrypted and he took sole responsibility for the handling of funds and coins. Cotten viewed Bitcoin as technology to change the world using the virtual currency free from governments and banking systems. Launched in December 2013, Quadriga allowed users to deposit cryptocurrency through its online trading platform. It would store the digital coins on blockchain ledgers that are only accessible by an immutable alphanumeric code. The company had become Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has 363,000 registered users. However, court filings have found that 92,000 of these have account balances that owe them money. It was also recently revealed the company transferred Bitcoins valued at almost half-a-million dollars into cold storage in early February 2018. Using this offline safeguard against hacking and theft meant these funds could not be accessed except by Cotton. Quadriga’s had been facing liquidity problems months before this problem. In January 2018, the Canadian bank CIBC froze five accounts containing an estimated C$26m linked to Quadriga’s payment processor in a dispute over the real owners of the funds. This dispute ended in court and this money was inaccessible. Quadriga also claims to have millions in bank drafts that it has been unable to deposit into accounts, as banks have been unwilling to accept them. A “severe liquidity crunch” was created due to these issues and left users unable to access their funds. Robertson
has reported that she cannot find her late husband’s passwords or business records for the company and experts brought in to try to hack into Cotten’s other computers and mobile achieved only “limited success.” The firm also cannot pay the C$70 million in cash clients are owed. All trading on the platform is suspended for now. The Canadian Press reported that the company was granted temporary bankruptcy protection by Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael Wood, to stop any lawsuits from proceeding against the company for 30 days. Meanwhile, some Quadriga clients who claim they’re owed large sums of money are undertaking their own legal pathways, including software engineer Xitong Zou of Orillia, Ontario. Zou claims to be owed about C$560,000, being “one of the largest individual affected users” - in accordance to the affidavit filed in court in early February. There has also been speculation over Cotten’s will, which was filed only 12 days before his death and left substantial assets to his wife, including many international properties, an aeroplane and a yacht. There has been online speculation surrounding Quadriga’s story, with many who doubt only Cotten had access to funds. Industry experts have analysed the transaction history and have raised the possibility that the cold storage reserves may not even exist. Others have been speculating if Cotten faked his death as part of an “exit scam” and Robertson has reported she has received death threats and online since Quadriga’s public announcement. One thing is for certain: there are mysteries surrounding the Quadriga case that may never be resolved, and funds that clients may have lost forever.
AW Facts Did you know? Gambling generates more income than the cinema, sports and music industries combined.
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March 2019
CULTURE TRIP GOES “BEYOND HOLLYWOOD” TO GHANA, PAKISTAN, SCANDINAVIA AND HONG KONG
On the heels of the success of its first original digital series, “Hungerlust,” Culture Trip, the travel, media and entertainment start-up, has announced the launch of its new series “Beyond Hollywood.” Designed for a culturally curious audience, the series will take a wry look at global cinema, shining a spotlight on some of the lesser-known creative hubs that thrive outside Hollywood. Viewers will meet some of the key figures and gain insights into the unique film industries booming in Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Ghana. Hosted by Culture Trip’s Film Editor, Cassam Looch, the eight-episode season sees the inimitable film host dive headfirst into everything these cultural hubs have to offer, from riding rickshaws in Pakistan to foolishly facing off against Hong Kong’s leading stuntman. Beyond film, Cassam discovers the culture that makes these locations stand out from
the rest. “An overwhelming majority of our audience is interested in exploring a culture through their local film and TV,” said Mick Greenwood, Director of Visual Content at Culture Trip. “To them, local creative expression helps highlight what’s special and unique about a place. ‘Beyond Hollywood’ will help our audience celebrate the imagination and energy in some hugely creative, but rarely discussed, communities in the world.” Beyond Hollywood, the new eight-episode series from Culture Trip, is available to stream https://beyondhollywood. culturetrip.com. “Beyond Hollywood” Episodes: Scandinavia From frozen pine forests and sundrenched islands to one of the world’s oldest working movie studios, we head to Stockholm and Copenhagen to explore the stunning locations that made
‘Scandi noir’ famous, and learn why a new generation of Danish filmmakers are breaking with tradition. Ghana Diving into Ghanaian cinema, we explore the rise of new wave following the demise of Ghallywood, and take on our very own 48-hour film challenge. Can we write, shoot, produce and screen a movie in two days? Pakistan Emerging from Bollywood’s shadow, Pakistan’s film industry finds a new home in Karachi and has a transformative impact on Lyari, a district that remains under the radar even for much of the local population. Hong Kong An action-packed two-part episode in Hong Kong, covering everything from martial arts with a top stuntman to virtual-reality cinema, to the local ritual of ‘petty person beating’…
To learn more about Culture Trip, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest @CultureTrip. “Beyond Hollywood” is produced and directed by Adu Lalouschek for Culture Trip. ABOUT CULTURE TRIP: Culture Trip is a start-up focused on travel, media and entertainment. With offices in London, New York and Tel Aviv, it features stories that reveal what is special and unique about a place, its people and its culture. In-house creative teams together with a global network of more than 300 freelance creators produce location-based inspiration from around the world, including articles, videos, photography, illustration and animation. Founded by former academic psychiatrist Dr Kris Naudts, Culture Trip has been dubbed one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies by Forbes. The website attracts approximately
18M monthly unique visitors, with 2B+ video views in the past two years alone. The app has been downloaded 1.5M+ times. With a social media following of 7.5M+, Culture Trip brings the world to everyone and, in doing so, brings us all closer together. On the heels of the success of its first original digital series, “Hungerlust,” Culture Trip, the travel, media and entertainment start-up, today announced the launch of its new series “Beyond Hollywood.” Designed for a culturally curious audience, the series will take a wry look at global cinema, shining a spotlight on some of the lesser-known creative hubs that thrive outside Hollywood. Viewers will meet some of the key figures and gain insights into the unique film industries booming in Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Ghana.
Pakistan Pitches for Pay-Pal’s Introduction to Economic Market Finance Minister Asad Umar has denied accusations that Pakistan’s deferral government is delaying Paypal’s entry to their national economy. “I have personally reached out to PayPal’s CEO for providing this facility for payment on international dealings in Pakistan,” he told reporters in Peshawar. “PayPal is neither stuck at my desk, nor the State Bank, nor any other government institution. The situation is actually reverse. We are [actually] chasing PayPal. I took this even though this issue is not directly related to me,” he stated. The minister confirmed that PayPal would be a quick and easily transferable method of payment and receiving income for Pakistani citizens. He also praised the company for being an effective system for young entrepreneurs who work from their homes. This generation currently receives a lot of inconvenience as a result of not having PayPal available to them, as other consumers and local business owners across the world already have the privilege of using the system in their home countries.
By Manisha Bhanot Umar has also said that second to his attempts to bring PayPal to Pakistan, he is currently working on yet another online payment system named AliPay. “After PayPal, the second [biggest online payment system] in the world is AliPay, whose subsidiary is Ant Financial. This Ant Financial has acquired the majority shares of Telenor Bank, which previously used to be Tameer Bank. In my talks with them, they have assured me that among their first few projects will be an online payment system. So that [is also on the table] but we will keep on chasing PayPal as well.” In February 2019, the State Bank of Pakistan said that the country had been successful in documenting straight money worth $1.5 billion because of the unavailability of online payment systems such as PayPal and AliPay. In November 2015, the Pakistani IT Ministry had declared that it was preparing to invite global online payment giants Alibaba and PayPal to offer their services to the country. However, it is still unclear whether the invitation was progressed and what the duo’s replies were.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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March 2019
One in every 401 UK adults entered personal insolvency during 2018
In 2018, over 115,000 individuals were declared insolvent due to unmanageable debt, an increase of over 16% from the year before, and the highest figure for 7 years. Insolvency describes a situation when a company or individual can’t pay what they owe on time, or when the value of their assets is less than the money they owe. In such scenarios, formal legal proceedings begin if a viable solution is not put in place. A record number of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) triggered the spike in 2018, increasing 20% from 2017. An IVA is a legally binding agreement between the debtor and the creditor, which enables those in debt to restructure their affairs, while retaining an element of control, and relieving the pressures that are faced when dealing with debt. Recognising the warning signs Financial pressures present themselves in many ways, and early action is the key to avoiding and navigating financial difficulties.
Dean Nelson, Head of Business Recovery & Insolvency at Smith Cooper comments “For individuals’ financial difficulties may appear in the form of late payments,
insufficient funds to meet payments or high cost loans. Having problems with debt can be a stressful time, and one which most of us try to avoid. However, if you put
these issues off you may end up losing out financially and will most likely end up in a worse position.” Dean continues “Equally, for business owners, the cost of
business can rise sharply and unexpectedly, and coupled with an inconsistent stream of cash, this can make it tough to manage liquidity. t can also make it difficult
to distinguish between a temporary dip and long-term decline.” “Financial struggles can appear in many ways – cash flow issues, management resignations, sudden sale of assets or high levels of staff turnover for example. Getting the right advice at the right time can be crucial to yours or your businesses financial future, and it is important to seek the advice of Insolvency specialists who can utilise their wealth of skills and specialism to implement solutions before it’s too late.” The Business Recovery and Insolvency division at Smith Cooper try and avoid formal insolvency at all costs, by conducting rigorous and comprehensive reviews of your organisation, recognising distress signs early in the decline curve. They assess ways in which to prevent any further damage to the business, initiating methods to try and restore liquidity, add value and ultimately rescue the business in whole or part, should it reach that stage.
Latest Brexit Motion Rejected
The House of Commons votes against May’s amendments In February, the House of Commons voted against the latest amendments to the Brexit deal. This vote, although merely symbolic, sends a message that there is still a lack of agreement on the way forward following the rejection of the original Brexit deal on the 15thJanuary. Many argue that this defeat is bringing the UK closer to a no-deal exit. The UK’s Approach The British Prime Minister has been working with EU leaders in order to address the controversial clauses within the Brexit agreement, mainly that of the backstop guarantee for Irish borders. Upon voting on the original withdrawal
agreement, this clause caused significant commotion, where Pro-Brexit MPs argued for it to be completely taken out of the agreement. However, the issue at hand is that EU leaders are unwilling to change the text of the agreement. Theresa May has, hence, been trying to mediate between the EU and the House of Commons to change their stance on such an issue and finally reach a settlement. The way forward The House of Commons have another important vote in two weeks’ time, where they will be discussing and making decisions on the outstanding issues. This vote has significant importance as MPs will be arguing for the extension of the 29th March deadline as well as the issue of a no-deal Brexit.
Despite the fact that the UK is already facing economic troubles as a result of the uncertainty of the way forward, the biggest threat to its economy will be in the case of a no-deal Brexit. Hence, many are pushing towards it being taken off the table in the case that the 29th March deadline is not met. Chetcuti Cauchi have recorded numerous webinars in order to prepare businesses on the way forward in a postbrexit world, particularly for those involved in advanced manufacturing, aviation, pharma, insurance as well as banking. This will address any queries on how to maintain relations with the rest of Europe, regardless of the Brexit agreement reached.
AW Facts Did you know? In the 70’s India overtook the US as the largest film producer.
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March 2019
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The World’s Longest Running South Asian Film Festival Outside India, Announces ‘Revolution’ Theme for 2019
Feminist-focused Festival Celebrates 21 Years. Festival Programme To Run Across Four Cities, London, Manchester, Leicester, Edinburgh, From 27th March to 4th May 2019. At a time of significant change the world’s longest running South Asian film festival outside India marks its 21st anniversary with a curation inspired by the theme of Revolution. UK Asian Film Festival, historically known as Tongues on Fire and then London Asian Film Festival, is also synonymous with championing South Asian feminist films and supporting pioneering artists and auteurs. It will run in four cities across the UK, London, Manchester, Leicester and Edinburgh, from 27th March - 4th May 2019, supported by the BFI with National Lottery funding. Continuing the Revolution theme, Bengali film Chegu (2018, Dir. Nabamita) tells the story of a young boy from the lower middle class that will fight his own battles by taking inspiration from Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara. The film addresses multiple social issues through the eyes of the teenager, the ideals of Guevara forming a key part of the narrative. Noblemen (2019, Dir. Vandana Kataria) sees the loss of a 15-year-old boy’s innocence as he prepares to star in a production of William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice when he rebels against a gang of bullies in a posh boarding school. The Opening Film is India’s youngest Oscar-nominated and two-time National Award-winning filmmaker Ashvin Kumar’s No Fathers In Kashmir (2017). The film is a coming-of-age portrayal based on hundreds of true stories about the Kashmir conflict that is shrouded by propaganda and misinformation. It is a tender-storm of first love and heartbreak that engages teenage and young audiences to empathise with their counterparts in Kashmir. Noor, a British Kashmiri teenager re-traces her roots in search of her father. Majid, a local boy smitten by her, takes her to a forbidden area near the Indo-Pakistan border where they stumble upon mass graves that the Indian army wants to keep secret. They are arrested. Being British, Noor is released but Majid is not. Having put him in peril, how far will Noor go to have Majid released? A reflection of the socio-political policing and censorship issues plaguing India, Kumar has been engaged in an ongoing struggle with the CBFC (Central Board of Film Classification) in India who,
after months of delay, have Adult-rated the film, while the director insists it warrants a UA (parental guidance for children under 12) certificate. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Ashvin Kumar and actress Soni Razdan. To mark the 40th anniversary of Southall Black Sisters, one of the UK’s leading organisations for black and minority women, UK Asian Film Festival will be screening four films, one for each decade of SBS history, curated by the organisation to reflect the central, political themes that have informed the work and campaigns of Southall Black Sisters and reflecting the migrant experience in this country. These will comprise a screening of biographical drama Provoked (2006, Dir. Jag Mundhra) with a Q&A with Kiranjit Ahluwalia; and Burning An Illusion (1981, Dir. Menelik Shabazz) on Saturday 30th March, Rich Mix. This will be followed by screenings of My Beautiful Launderette (1981, Dir. Stephen Frears); and Brick Lane (2007, Dir. Sarah Gavron) on Saturday 6thApril, Rich Mix. Southall Black Sisters have been in existence since 1979. In 1982/3, they set up a not for profit advocacy and campaigning centre for black and minority women facing violence and the erosion of their fundamental human rights. Festival Director, Dr Pushpinder Chowdhry MBE says, “This year’s festival will present pertinent stories of the ordinary person told through films that address global challenges
of our time. Revolutions help define who we are; they can either bring glorious freedom to our inner thinking and outer aspects of our lives or restrain us by what we think is acceptable. Only then can we break the boundaries to realise our full potential and to navigate our way in the world.” Young Curators aged between the ages of 18 and 25 have been given the opportunity to learn curatorial skills for diverse films addressing vital societal challenges and celebrations. Young Curators have viewed a selection of new features including No Fathers In Kashmir,Chegu and Noblemen. The winner of the Young Curator Lab film will be screened as a Youth Gala. Additionally, the festival has also launched a Young Critics Vote for the Short Film Competition, inviting young, film enthusiasts and creatives to become part of the Shorts Corner judging panel. The Short Film Competition Screening will take place on 30th March at Regent Street Cinema.
Festival Dates: London: 27th March – 7th April Edinburgh: 29th March – 31st March
Leicester: 4th April – 7th April Manchester: 30th April – 4th May
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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with Rizwan and Muazzam w e i v Inter
By Manisha Bhanot
• How did your uncle the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan inspire your shared passion for music, and to take up singing as a full-time career? We were always inspired by our Uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as the entire singing of our family is different from that of others and his technique has always been inspirational to us. He sang the most difficult compositions in such an easy way that even the person who does not understand the dynamics of singing will be able to enjoy hearing them. • In your own terms, how do you think the style of Qawwali differentiates itself from other genres of music?
Qawwali is basically a spiritual type of music but now it has become so popular among social events, as opposed to when it was limited to shrines. This is all thanks to our ancestors. Now, a lot of contemporary songs are also sung in the Qawwali style. Qawwali singing is more focused on lyrics as well as instrumental tones, which, has developed more meanings for audiences and generate a greater variety of responses. • What is the largest audience you’ve played in front of and what kind of turn-out are you expecting from your UK Tour in March 2019? We have performed in front of as many as 20,000 people at Womad festival several times, and 30,000 people at
Roskilde festival twice, and likewise many other festivals as well. We expect a good turn-out in March 2019 as we had mostly sold out shows back in March 2017, where our Barbican performance was live streamed to over 1 million people. • What instruments and musical sounds can we expect to hear alongside the traditional Sufi music on your tour? We are trying to keep the Qawwali and our family tradition alive. Therefore you will only see the traditional instruments Harmoniums, tablas and hand clapping, etc. These traditional instruments have a much more mesmerising effect than any extra instruments.
• Does either of you have a favourite song among the classics and Nusrat repertoire that you love to perform? We love all of his songs and it’s very difficult to choose one among all of the rest. However, we will be performing Nusrat’s qawwalis live, which have been much less sung and some audience members may not have listened to them before. • Can you list any inspirations for your devotional and mystical music and the accompanying lyrics? There are many, as follows: YahayyoyaQayum, Bibasadadilmordey, Main to peyaseynainamilaairey, Munkuntomaula, Nami da numcheymanzil, Ishqeycheykirakheya, and many more.
• Is there a particular artist or group you would like to collaborate with the most? We are always interested to collaborate with any talented artist. We have collaborated with Temple of Sounds, Fundamental, Susheela Raman and many more. • Do you have any new songs or upcoming projects that you’re working on at the moment? We will have some new songs on the tour and also I (Muazzam Ali Khan) have released a solo song myself called ‘Ishqa’, and have some more on the way.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
with Deep Sidhu of Saade Aale w e i v r e Int 1) Tell us a bit more about the Synopsis of the film and what kind of experience audiences can expect from watching the film in theatres? The film is based on a short-story which we adapted and made into a script. The storyline revolves around today’s Punjab, especially the villages in the region and the kind of life one lives there. I think that the film is a type of content cinema with a concept that myself and the producers believe in strongly. 2) What was it like being on set and working with fellow cast members Guggu Gill, Amrit Aulakh and Mahabir Bhullar and director Jatinder Mauhar? What was the group dynamic like, did you all get on well with each other backstage? Yes, I think we did get along well together. When you work as part of a team there’s always going to be differences between yourself and others. There are times when you’re friends and times when you’re not. You may agree on some points and disagree on others. But then again, all of us possess strong personalities, and all of us were working towards a collective goal – to make a really great film. 3) How does your role in Saade Aale differ from the characters you’ve played in your former films such as Ramta Jogi, Jora 10 Numbaria and Rang Punjab to name a few? The role I had to play in this film was especially different in regards to the other projects I’ve acted in. In Ramta Jogi I played the character of a boy next door who falls in love. In Jora 10 Numbaria I played the role of a gangster as it was a crime drama. In my third film, Rang Punjab I was a cop. And now in my fourth film Saade Aale, I’m playing a guy from a village who’s a sportsman! Not only is there a lot of variation but there’s a completely different type of life that I get to portray with each acting role. 4) You were born in Muktsar, Punjab within India. Was it difficult creating a name for yourself in the entertainment and show business industry after coming from a regular family background?
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By Manisha Bhanot
There’s always a struggle in everything people do. But it’s our passion, honesty, focus, and hardwork which takes us forward. And trust me it really happens – if you dare to dream, life takes you towards that direction. As long as you can visualise yourself doing a particular type of work, you can end up there. And that’s how my journey is – I believed in myself and I knew I would get there. 5) You have been known to have disconnected with the Modelling industry quite early in your career to have begun practising as a lawyer instead. You formerly worked with Sahara India Pariwar as a legal advisor and with the British law firm Hammonds. What was the reason for this brief change in career before you went on to become an actor? I started to model when I was at a younger age alongside my studies. My father was a Lawyer and after graduating from Law school I went on to complete my Masters and practice as a lawyer myself. Of course, I was interested in Law but my real passion was for creativity – for film making. At one point I just realised I needed to follow my dream, which is to make cinema and so I left Law behind completely to become an actor. 6) Without revealing too much, can you tell us about your most memorable scene to film in Saade Aale? There’s this scene in the film where I come back from wherever and I meet a persona who is very similar to the role of a Mother for my character – the way we embrace and cry together was an especially emotional scene and an amazing experience to film. 7) What kind of response are you expecting from audiences once the film hits cinemas nationally and overseas? Of course, as actors we always want people to go and watch the films we make and to love and appreciate our work. I’m no different as an artist. I’m not sure what type of commercial angle the film will take but I want people to go and watch it in cinemas and enjoy themselves overall.
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March 2019
Sudip Pandey will make biopic of RAW agent Ravindra Kaushik
Mumbai: Bhojpuri super hit action hero Sudip Pandey’s Hindi feature film “V for Victor” will be released in March. Till now he has acted as a hero in over 40 Bhojpuri films and has produced more than a dozen Bhojpuri films. After “V for Victor” he is set to make a biopic of RAW agent Ravindra Kaushik, titled “Black Tiger.” He will play the lead role of Ravindra Kaushik in that film. Some writers have already began a research and story-writing for the film. “My forthcoming film “V for Victor” is based on boxing and patriotism”, Sudip Pandey said and added that “It also has a character of a RAW agent. While selecting the characters for this film, I came to know about Ravindra Kaushik and deployed my team for research work.” “Based on Ravindra Kaushik’s story, I will make my next film “Black Tiger.” The agents of RAW work for the country, but no one is aware about them. So much so, even their family members are not aware about their activities. If they are caught, even the Government doesn’t recognise them. Their life is hard and full of difficulties. That is the reason, I decided to make this biopic. The people should know about such patriots” Sudip Pandey said.
AKSHAY KUMAR JOINS DRUG FREE INDIA MOVEMENT BY THE ART OF LIVING
The burden of drug abuse in India has been increasing tremendously in the past few years. As per the stats, about 74 percent of Indian homes have at least one member who is a drug addict. The Art of Living has launched a nationwide campaign called Drug Free India. The campaign was launched at the Chandigarh University and Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology in Hisar, Haryana, earlier in the month of February, with the support from Haryana government in the presence of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Megastar Akshay Kumar has also said that he supports the DrugFree India campaign completely. The ‘Gold’ actor shared a tweet and said, “In complete support of the wonderful initiative taken by @SriSri for a #DrugFreeIndia. Be a part of this great movement by @ArtofLiving & work towards a healthier future.”
Movie ‘Code Blue’ Premiers at Berlin International Film Festival
Film maker Alena Khan received a standing ovation at the Berlin Film Festival for the premiere of her movie Code Blue. Alena witnessed the devastating impact Triple Talaq, the controversial practice that allows Muslim men to end their marriage by stating ‘talaq’ a total of three times had on many women she came across in her medical career as a doctor. This encouraged her to use the medium of movies to highlight the impact on women who are faced with this instant divorce practice, which is outlawed in Pakistan and Bangladesh, with a current ban in India. Code Blue is inspired by an innocent girl story’s whose is faced with the consequences of her husband committing adultery and deciding to use the practice to separate. The title signifies the story telling of bringing her back to life after the words of triple talaq leave her soul shattered. Speaking about her venture, Alena said, “Muslim women are forced by society to sacrifice their lives for the needs of a man’s wishes, often emotionally and physically. They are judged by society with little con-
sideration for the value of their existence.” Alena has a clear vison for her movie which is to ultimately stop the practice and not create unfair bias when a Muslim couple divorce or separate. She feels the Berlin Film Festival an opportunity to continue with her vision, “We took it to Berlin because the film is voice of women in general and Berlin brings us
wider audience and the reach of message is global.” Being from the Muslim community Alena hasn’t deterred from bringing such sensitive issues to the spotlight for discussion and debate, with a hope to empower women. She says, “Educate yourself, know your rights, raise your voice.”
Amazon Prime Video, Excel Media & Entertainment and Tiger Baby launch Prime Original Series Made in Heaven ~ Created by Zoya Akhtar and ReemaKagti and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, the upcoming series will launch across 200 countries and territories in March. ~ Prime Original SeriesMade in Heaven is Amazon Prime Video’s latest collaboration with Excel Media and Entertainment following the success of Mirzapur and InternationalEmmy nominated Inside Edge ~ ~Made in Heaven is an immersive drama series reflecting the lives of upscale modern India, narrated through the eyes of two wedding planners, set against the backdrop of quintessential Indian weddings ~ ~ Starring Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi, Made In Heaven is directed by Zoya Akhtar, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Shrivastava and Prashant Nair ~ : Amazon Prime Video, Excel Media & Entertainment and Tiger Baby have announced the launch of their upcoming Prime Original Series Made in Heaven. The trailer invites viewers to take a peek into the lives of Tara and Karan, two Delhi-based wedding planners. Their stories unfold over the course of an opulent wedding season. As tradition jostles with modern aspirations against the backdrop of big fat Indian weddings, many secrets and myriad lies are revealed. Created by Zoya Akhtar and ReemaKagti, Made in Heaven is set to release on March 8th, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across 200 countries and territories. Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “Made In Heaven brings to Indian customers a show with a fresh storyline, incredible talent and a layered narrative that will draw the viewer in. We endeavour to bring viewers’ local, immersive stories that are relatable – Made In Heaven is a gripping drama series from the house of Tiger Baby Productions and our long-time collaborators, Excel Media & Entertainment. Indian weddings are a heady mix of celebrations, drama and intrigue for customers everywhere and this show will offer just that by lifting the veil and looking closely at what transpires behind-the-scenes. We are ecstatic to work with Zoya, Reema and the team and are certain audiences will enjoy this voyeuristic
view beneath the veneer of grand Indian weddings.” Ritesh Sidhwani, Excel Media & Entertainment, said, “We have had two mega-hits in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video. Inside Edge nominated at last year’s International Emmy Awards was a phenomenal success and Mirzapur connected with customers not only in India but also globally. We believe our next show Made in Heaven will take our successful collaboration a step further. Made in Heaven holds a mirrorto society, bringing to light the tussle between tradition and modernity in India. The series will certainly make viewers reflect on the state of Indian society – a culture in transition.” Zoya Akhtar and ReemaKagti, Creators, Tiger Baby, said, “Creating Made in Heaven has been a labour of love. Our objective with this project was to tell a story that was inherently entertaining but strong anddeeply rooted in our society. Grand Indian weddings acted as just the right backdrop to examine the liberal fabric of educated, modern Indians and their dichotomous value systems that co-exist peacefully at times and at others come into conflict. The 9-episode series is the culmination of the creative vision of four directors – NityaMehra, Prashant Nair, Alankrita Srivastava and me (Zoya Akhtar), brought to life by Amazon Prime
Video, who have been fabulous collaborators to work with.” The trailer of Prime Original Series Made in Heaven gives viewers a glimpse into the drama that is waiting to unfold on March 8th only on Prime Video. The show chronicles the lives of Tara and Karan, two wedding planners in Delhi. These two headstrong individuals often mask their supreme vulnerability - sometimes even from each other, as their wedding planning agency “Made In Heaven” forces them to open up andreveal themselves. The show portrays today’s India as a potent blend where tradition jostles with modern aspiration, set against the theme of the ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding.’ Indians believe marriages are made in heaven and it is against these sacred unions that Tara and Karan’s personal journeys are juxtaposed. With world class production values and a magnificent scale, the show provides the viewer with a grand cinematic experience of intricacies and the drama around upscale Indian weddings. The Prime Original Series is directed by Zoya Akhtar, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Shrivastava and Prashant Nair, executive produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, and stars Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
London Fashion Week
Farm, Fiber, Fabric, Fashion Foreign: International Institute of Fashion Design & London School of Trends bring 5 “F”s to London Fashion Week for celebration of emerging Indian student designers India based International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) and London School of Trends (LST) took Indian Fashion to Foreign by celebrating the artistry of emerging Indian student designers at the Passage to India event during London Fashion Week last month, for the 6th consecutive
season the fashion show took place in the Freemasons Hall at Covent Garden. INIFD, in collaboration with the LST, is the first fashion institute in the world to showcase their students’ collection at two major fashion capitals of the world New York and London. The INIFD has showcased the work of its students at Mumbai’s Lakme Fashion Week for the past 22 editions. Independent labels from India such as Malmal Tadka, Namza & Rocky Star also showcased their collections along
with the students at London Fashion Week. The chief guest for the evening was Mr. Manish Singh from the Indian High Commission along with other dignitaries, who were present to support the young Indian designers. The inspiration behind the fashion show was Prime Minister Narendra Modi 5F Formula, which translates to; Farm to Fibre to Fibre to Fabric, Fabric to Fashion and Fashion to Foreign. The designers pushed their boundaries and they believe in constantly expanding, innovating and
creating a collection that appeals to the global audience while still retaining a vintage aesthetic. With more than 500,000 graduates and 25,000 students graduating every year, the INFID is the largest Global network of Design Institutes with more than 24 years of trust, performance and success, leading it to become the cornerstone of the fashion industry. Along with its many national and international tie –ups, it is the only Indian student body to successfully showcase for five consecutive
March 2019
seasons at ‘India Day’ during London Fashion Week. The LST is a premier fashion school with over two decades of rich experience in the fashion and design industry and has moulded the careers of several top names in fashion. Its remit is to nurture the talent and creativity of its students to bring out their maximum potential. The LST has close associations with institutions globally and exclusively with the INIFD in Asia.
‘Sajid Rashid’ Tops The British Muslim Awards 2019
Winners for the 7th British Muslim Awards are now revealed following a glamorous black tie event in the city of Bradford in late February last month at the Bradford Hotel, after 300 of the most remarkable British Muslims were shortlisted as finalists. The awards were held to recognise a wide range of achievements from outstanding Muslim individuals across the UK who positively impact business, charity, sport, arts, culture, religious advocacy, education and medicine among others, and simultaneously and unknowingly battle negative stereotypes every day. The awards endeavour to showcase the strength of the British Muslim community, the impact it has on culture and its achievements over the last year as well as highlighting the significant role Muslims play in contributing to a better Britain. Sajid Rashid BEM, a multi-award winning Philanthropist from
Burton-on-Trent was in attendance at the award ceremony on Tuesday night as a finalist, where it was announced on the night to their
delight that he had won the ‘One to Watch’ award category. Sajid is regarded as one of Britain’s most inspirational figures scoop-
ing many of the UK’s Top national accolades including The National Diversity Awards & JCI UK’s Ten Outstanding Young Person (TOYP)
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awards. “It’s an honour and privilege to accept this award, firstly I would like to thank the lord almighty for everything he has blessed me with & also congratulations to all the finalists and winners, win or lose in my eyes you are all winners. It people such as yourselves that put the ‘Great’ back into Great Britain” Sajid Rashid said in delight. Irfan Younis, CEO of Oceanic Consulting said: “I’d like to congratulate all the winners and every finalist from the 7th British Muslim Awards 2019. Every year I think we’ve seen the best the British Muslim community has to offer but every year I’m blown away by just how special the talent is and just how hard people work to service their communities. I already look forward to seeing what next year has to offer; I have no doubt that the Muslim community will continue to thrive and act as leaders for future generations to come.”
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March 2019
with Antonio Aakeel w e i v r Inte v
a Bhanot
By Manish
EATEN BY LIONS will be released in UK cinemas 29th March https://www.eatenbylions.com/
1) Tell us a bit more about the Synopsis of the film and what kind of experience audiences can expect from watching the film in theatres? Eaten by Lions is a coming of age film about two half-brothers that go in search of my character’s father. Together they travel all the way to Blackpool in the hopes of meeting this vague image of a paternal figure which Omar has imagined. From then on, you see our characters take part in this whacky road-trip, and meet a bunch of crazy people on the way who are played by the likes of Johnny Vegas, Asim Chaudry and Nitin Ganatra, who are obviously some really great comedians. 2) What was it like being on set and working with fellow cast members Jack Caroll (Britain’s Got Talent, Trollied), Nitin Ganatra (Bride & Prejudice, Eastenders), and Director Jason Wingard (In Another Life)? What was the group dynamic like, did you all get on well with each other backstage? We all got on really well. I think we had to in order to create something really authentic in regards to playing family members especially. Jack and I had a very intimate relationship that had to translate well on screen. In preparation for that I would essentially become his carer; get him lunch on set and spend all day with him just so we could really build up that brotherly bond. And I’m quite positive that was something we were really able to achieve. In regards to the other actors, it was a very collaborative experience. We had a massive opportunity to improvise scenes and sketches and it really allowed some of the comedic performances to shine. 3) How does your role in Eaten by Lions differ to playing your other characters in Tomb Raider and Skins? The most obvious being that Skins is a drama not a film and Tomb Raider being an action drama instead of a comedy such as your most recent film. I think cinema is a very different platform to television or even short films. In regards to the character, I think it was something I’d never played before. It was an opportunity to really question my own sense of identity, and I guess find that in another character. Growing up in an all-white northern town I really struggled to see myself rep
of Eaten by Lions
down South in order for my career to progress. 5) After graduating with Firstclass honours in English you turned down an offer to attend the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in favour of leading a national theatre tour of Guantanamo Boy. Can you talk us through this change in direction? My first love has always been theatre. So, getting an opportunity to actually perform on a stage, take the role of a lead character on a national tour, travel the country, (which I’d never done before as an actor), felt like too good an opportunity to turn down. Any good actor that I’m aware of has begun their career on stage doing theatre, spreading the boards as they call it, and I just wanted to take the same leap.
resented in the media. I was one of the only brown kids at my school so I could really relate to this character’s journey. 4) You were born in Wolverhampton, England, and moved around the West Midlands as a child in pursuit of developing your skills in local theatre. Was it difficult coming from a small city and getting recognised in the acting world for your talents? I think coming
from outside of London it’s very difficult to break into the industry because so much of it is in the capital, including a lot of the agencies and auditions. The main problem I had initially was access to work, which is what really differentiates you from other people in London itself. There’s a massive lack of opportunities in the North, especially in the Midlands. Hence, I had to essentially make the move
6) Without revealing too much, can you tell us about your most memorable scene to film in Eaten by Lions? A memorable scene would probably be one Jack and I have a real visceral and brotherly argument together in a bedsit which is run by Johnny Vegas. It’s memorable for me because we had done about twenty takes and the director still wasn’t happy because he said it didn’t feel real. So, I ended up provoking Jack in order to gain that type of response from him. But, the second we were half-way through arguing the director called action and we went straight into playing the scene, and it just felt like magic. 7) The bond between the two brothers Omar and Pete is quite humorous and entertaining to watch, which one would you say gets in the most trouble, your character or Jack’s? It would have to be Peter. Pete is a troublemaker by nature as is Jack so he pulls the other brother into difficult situations with his schemes, and it’s the same case in real life too! 8) What kind of response are you expecting from the film once it hits local and national theatres? I’m quite positive people are really going to resonate with this film because it’s about family, love and identity. Especially in a post-Brexit world, I think nothing is more antiBrexit than a film which promotes inclusivity, diversity and multiculturalism.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
WEDDINGS
T: 0121 771 4545
www.asianworldnews.co.uk
Asian Wedding Section Welcome to the renewed version of the AsianWorld wedding directory – inclusive in your monthly copy of our newspaper. This section will include a handful of all your favourite and well established brands, as well as some new and upcoming featured businesses. Either way, we aim to make planning your perfect wedding
so much easier! The lay-out and design of the next few pages is set to put you at ease – either side of the bridal party will find it simple to dip into our list of useful clientele, services and products, and tick off all their wedding needs! On average, the Asian wedding costs a huge
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sum of £50,000 upwards, which is more than twice the price of a traditional British ceremony. Whether it be a Sikh, Muslim or Hindu marriage, Asians are known to invite all of their friends and members of their extended family from near and far. With an invitation list that normally exceeds 100 guests, hosts are eager to please. Hence, the
average Asian couple will spend around one fifth of their entire lives’ earnings on this single most prestigious event! If you would like your business advertised in our wedding directory, and promoted across the West Midlands in various ways, you can get in touch with us using the contact details on page 3.
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March 2019
INDIAN WEDDING INDUSTRY FACTS The Asian wedding industry is publicised to be a business worth 40 billion dollars (around Rs 2.5 lakh crores), developing at an unstable rate of 2530 percent annually. Weddings in India have experienced an ocean change as far as arranging ceremonies in variation of style and spending plans over recent years. Weddings have moved far from simply being private family activities, and have come to embrace a progressively current look. However, the brilliant shades of reds, Bollywood music, flashy gems and bling connected to the rituals, still continue to rule. With the trend of destination weddings on the ascent, Indians now have started going overboard on outings to fascinating regions alongside loved ones to make it a two of one event. Now the total expenditure commonly includes wedding costs plus holiday affairs. It is no big surprise that the industries of fashion, media, beauty, wellness and travel are profiting by this rising pattern. The industry has concluded that the main 15 Indian cities where more weddings take place than anywhere else include: Jaipur, Udaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai. Usually people do spend between two million rupees to 20 million rupees for three to five days for the festivities of their dream wedding. These usually begin with a mehndi and sangeet and then a haldi, bharaat
and pheras, concluding with the bidai. According to a research paper discharged in June 2015 by Reetika Madaan, Assistant Professor of Department of Management, Ludhiana Group of Colleges, nearly 10,000,000 weddings occur in the nation per year. This is equivalent to 900,000 in a month and around 30,000 relational
unions for every day. As per a book called ‘The Big Indian Wedding: The Ultimate Guide for Dummies’ written by Sakshi Salve: “The most recent of 30 years have been astonishing in the Indian wedding industry. From home to hotels, roses to travels, ‘chai’ to champagne and from huge ‘dil’ to huge bill. In-
dians have basically reworked the whole wedding setting.” Salve says that the multi-day events are finished with fireworks, exhibitions by Bollywood performing artists, worldwide music stars and a huge number of welcomed visitors. “There is no uncertainty that Indian weddings are by a long shot lavish and much fun. No
By Tauseef Asif other nation on the planet can flaunt their weddings the manner in which Indians do,” the book says. Further discussing the impact of the industry, Salve states that Indian weddings are tied in with making an immense commitment towards the family. There are a gazillions of people who run their homes on account of this booming industry, which include cooks, racketeers, ‘tent waalas’, ‘light waalas’, ‘sound waalas’, DJs, ‘phool waalas’, ‘mehndi waalis’, beauticians, style fashioners and goldsmiths would all be bankrupt if there were no huge Indian weddings, the author includes. The experts of the industry propose that alongside costs of gold on jewellery, the clothing spending plan for a high-end Indian wedding nearly crosses 375,500 dollars, since, alongside the groom and bride, even their families are a part of the occasions and ceremonies, which last approximately five to six days. So an intricately woven wedding lehenga or a sari can put a hollow in a pocket of more than Rs 75 lakh. No big surprise, Indian designers have almost 80 percent of their business driven by marriage tailoring. Despite the fact that the tailoring takes weeks in India, it is not the same as those in the western nations, as Indian alterations are essentially focused around the overwhelming marriage style.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
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March 2019
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March 2019
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March 2019
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March 2019
SUNDAY 17TH MARCH 2019
BIRMINGHAM CONFERENCE & EVENTS CENTRE
HILL STREET, BIRMINGHAM, B5 4EW | 11AM - 7PM OPPOSITE NEW STREET STATION, NEXT TO HOLIDAY INN
WWW.NATIONALASIANWEDDINGSHOW.CO.UK
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March 2019
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Novel software offers possible reduction in arrhythmic heart disease
Potentially lethal heart conditions may become easier to spot and may lead to improvements in prevention and treatment thanks to innovative new software that measures electrical activity in the organ. The heart’s pumping ability is controlled by electrical activity that triggers the heart muscle cells to contract and relax. In certain heart diseases such as arrhythmia, the organ’s electrical activity is affected. Cardiac researchers can already record and analyse the heart’s electrical behaviour using optical and electrode mapping, but widespread use of these technologies is limited by a lack of appropriate software. Computer and cardiovascular experts at the University of Birmingham have worked with counterparts in the UK, Netherlands and Australia to develop ElectroMap – a
new open-source software for processing, analysis and mapping complex cardiac data. Led by researchers from the School of Computer Science and the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, at the University of Birmingham, the international team has published its findings in Nature Scientific Reports. Dr Kashif Rajpoot, Senior Lecturer and Programme Director for Computer Science at the University of Birmingham Dubai, commented: “We believe that ElectroMap will accelerate innovative cardiac research and lead to wider use of mapping technologies that help to prevent the incidence of arrhythmia. “This is a robustly validated open-source flexible tool for processing and by using
novel data analysis strategies we have developed, this software will provide a deeper understanding of heart diseases, particularly the mechanisms underpinning potentially lethal arrhythmia.” The incidence and prevalence of cardiac disease continues to increase every year, but improvements in prevention and treatment require better understanding of electrical behaviour across the heart. Data on this behaviour can be gathered using electrocardiogram tests, but more recently, optical mapping has allowed wider measurement of cardiovascular activity in greater detail. Insights from optical mapping experiments have given researchers a better understanding of complex arrhythmias and electrical behaviour in heart disease. Dr Davor Pavlovic, of the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, said: “Increased availability of optical mapping hardware in the laboratory has led to expansion of this technology, but further uptake and wider application is hindered by limitations with respect to data processing and analysis. “The new software can detect, map and analyse arrhythmic phenomena for in silico, in cellulo, animal model and in vivo patient data.”
Is your dog keeping you in top form?
Dog owners in the West Midlands walk and talk more than those without
A new study has found that Brits with dogs walk and talk more than those without as dog lovers claim to walk 870 miles a year – just walking their pet. The study, of 2,000 adults including 1,000 dog and non-dog owners was commissioned by Lintbells - manufacturer of natural joint supplements for pets and people. It found that dog owners in the West Midlands on average walk more than 15 miles a week. Across the country, on average almost 17 miles are walked every week thanks to our dogs, while those without a pooch will trek less than 14 miles. Results show that the average pooch in the West Midlands is taken out on a walk for an average of 32 minutes every day and 8 times every week. With each walk covering almost 2 miles, that means a total of around 4 hours a week or 9 days a year, spent exercising the dog! 44% of the dog owners surveyed in the West Midlands confirmed that owning a dog has improved their overall mental health and has reduced their stress levels. 25% of dog owners in the West Midlands say they walk further now than they did before getting their four-legged friend. Gemma Cunningham, from Lintbells said: “Dogs can be a great addition to the family and a real incentive to get out and spend some quality time with your family and friends. It’s great to see that the results of the survey show how much our dogs have a positive impact on their owner’s lives. It is important, to take time out of your
busy schedule to exercise – both for your own and your canine’s overall health and wellbeing.” “Just like humans, dogs are social beings and don’t welcome loneliness so getting out and exercising can be a perfect way to leading happier and healthier lives.” It may not all be roses though, as before dog owners even step outside the door there will be more than 156 family rows in the West Midlands over ‘whose turn it is’ to take the pooch out each year. Around 45 per cent of dog owners in this region also admit they try and pass the walk on to their children – an average of 4 times a month. The survey carried out via OnePoll.com also found that although 88 per cent of dog owners in the West Midlands say they enjoy walking their four-legged friend, with a third blaming poor weather for not getting out more often. Around 27% of those in this region don’t have time to walk their dog any more than they already do, while another 20% are too busy with work issues. Results also revealed that dog owners in the West Midlands also pick up nearly 832 ‘poop bags’, play 1,664 games of fetch and call their pet’s name at least 1,248 times, annually – all when walking the family pet. Gemma further added: “The winter months, and the wet Spring season also, can make even the best of us feel down in the dumps. The cold dreary weather, postChristmas blues and lack of sleep can make us feel sluggish and overweight. “At Lintbells, we have always emphasised
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the importance of staying active as it is the key to a happier and healthier lifestyle, both mentally and physically. The results of this survey solidify this claim and we urge all dog and non-dog owners to set aside some time for exercise every day. If you’ve got a dog that’s the perfect motivator as well!”
Bollyfit with
By Reema Sarin, Founder Bollyfit
Reema Sarin
Don’t Over Exercise! Remember, getting results is what matters with exercise right? Any exercise will produce results, but you want to get the RIGHT results. In fact traditional, very long, boring cardio workouts like running, cycling, spinning or aerobics for prolonged periods of time can actually damage your brain, heart, lungs and metabolism, making you sicker, fatter, older and more tired! Intelligent movements and moderate exercise naturally enhance your metabolism by pushing it just enough to adapt to make it stronger. However, not too much that it fights back, making you a better fat burner, toning your muscles and giving you a huge lift in energy. Exercising for too long (which a lot of people do regularly) can actually cause major metabolic damage, which makes you gain weight. If you have ever ran, cycled or done aerobics for 45-60 minutes or more only to get poor results, you will soon realize your mistake! Why does this happen? When you push too long and too hard, your metabolism fights back... Driving up your appetite, bringing down your energy and slowing your metabolism to low levels, leaving you more unfit, bulkier and more frustrated day-by-day. Moderate exercise increases your body’s ability to produce antioxidants, like the powerful glutathione, which hunts down and neutralizes excess free radicals, leaving your skin smooth, protecting your organs and boosting your cellular health. Excessive exercise could rust your body from the inside out resulting in wrinkled, saggy skin, a damaged brain, a weak heart and low energy. All types of exercise cause your body to release tiny molecules called free radicals. But too much exercise or the wrong kind unleashes a tidal wave of these molecules that overwhelms your body, damaging your most sensitive cells, especially your skin, heart and brain. Excessive faulty cardio workouts release an overload of cortisol (the stress hormone), which triggers fat accumulation on your belly. Not only that, it also wears out your tissues, weakens your bones, destroys muscle and damages your joints. Inflammation is a key component of your immune system, helping your body to protect and repair itself. However, too much inflammation is extremely dangerous, putting you at risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Typical long-duration exercise damages your body so much that a fiery inferno of inflammation spreads, causing more damage multiplying your risk of developing those deadly, damaging diseases. Shorter, smarter workouts boost levels of glutamine, an essential amino acid that helps to bulletproof your immune system against stubborn, nasty bugs and bacteria. A strong immune system also means a smart immune system, providing protection against developing an auto-immune disease which attacks your own body, including the thyroid, joints and brain. So WORKOUT SMART AND NOT HARD! Cheers!
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It is thought that around one in five people in the UK suffer from vitamin D deficiency. Interestingly, people from a BAME community are at higher risk of suffering from than those who are not. Why is this the case? Dr Preethi Daniel, Clinical Director at London Doctors Clinic vouches to explain. What is vitamin D and how do we normally obtain it? Vitamin D, otherwise known as the sunshine vitamin, is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps regulate minerals such as calcium and phosphate in the human body. Much of the vitamin D in our body is made naturally from exposure to sunlight and naturally levels increase in the summer months when they days
Why Vitamin D Deficiency is such an issue in BAME communities
are considerably longer and brighter. It is thought that deficiency levels can rise from 8% in summer to as much as 40% in the winter. In addition to natural sunlight, some foods can also be a source of vitamin D. These are: Oily fish Egg yolks Fortified cereals (cereals which have added vitamins and minerals) Cheese Red meat Exposing your body to natural sunlight may not always be possible, especially if you work in an office but eating food with Vitamin D will help boost levels. What are the benefits of vitamin D? Vitamin D has several benefits but one
of its main purposes is to keep your bones strong and to reduce general aches and pains. Another key benefit of Vitamin D is that it can help to regulate and boost your mood – which is one of the contributors to us generally feeling low in the winter. What are the symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency? Some of the most common signs that you are lacking vitamin D are feelings of fatigue, low mood could also indicate the same. Aches and pains are also common. This can contribute to lower productivity, difficulty coping with stress and lack of motivation. It can cause thin and soft bones, also known as Osteoma Laci, which may not always be present along with the other symptoms.
Why is vitamin D deficiency so prevalent in the BAME community? People from BAME backgrounds that have a deeper skin tone are less able to absorb sunlight into their skin and therefore less able to produce vitamin D. The increased melanin (the pigment in skin and hair which imparts your skin tone) in the skin reduces its ability to absorb UV rays from the sun. While this is great and helps a long way from getting skin cancer, it means we do not have the ability to produce much vitamin D from the sun. Thus, the darker the skin tone, the harder it is to produce vitamin D. The increased melanin, combined with the lack of sunlight during the dreary winter months (and short summer months) in the UK makes absorbing
sunlight and producing vitamin D far more difficult. The element of wearing modest clothing in the BAME community can also further prevent the exposure of sunlight to the skin. Another factor which could contribute to the lack of vitamin D in BAME communities, in particular those from an Asian background is dietary choice. As a large proportion of Asians are either vegetarian, vegan or ‘pure’ vegetarian (do not eat eggs), thus it is more difficult for them to get vitamin D through their diet. How can those in the BAME communities who are deficient ensure that they are getting enough? As those in BAME communities do not get as much of a vitamin D boost from sunlight, it is important to be more proactive in obtaining vitamin D. Looking for fortified cereals and fat spreads will help to provide an extra vitamin D boost. Supermarket milk in the UK is not fortified with vitamin D; make sure to check the labels on the products you purchase. Many yoghurts and other dairy products do contain vitamin D. In addition, you should try and get outside as much as possible, even if it is in your own garden, particularly in the spring to summer months, as this will help your skin absorb sunlight. In some instances, supplements are recommended, particularly for those who are low in or are at a higher risk of being low in vitamin D. These supplements are available widely, in a spray or tablet form. The recommendation is of around 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day. Dr Preethi Daniel is the Clinical Director at the private GP London Doctors Clinic To book an appointment go onto https://www.londondoctorsclinic. co.uk/services/
Western medication: is it About Health or Wealth?
By Georgia Horsell
Very few people in recent times will outright deny the effectiveness of Western Medicines or patented drugs; they are without debate the only way to cure some illnesses and the fastest way to cure others. However, the foundation of patented drugs and global medication corporations is seedy, to say the least. The rapid expansion of such companies started by Rockefeller in 1910. It involved the discrediting of more herbal or homoeopathic medications as ineffective, medications which had been used for centuries and advocated by doctors before this time. Such monopolisation of the market by Rockefeller led to high medicinal prices which we still experience this today. Patented or branded drugs can be up to 30 times more expensive than the identical generic drug, with pairs such as Nurofen and Ibuprofen being chemically identical but very different in price. Global corporations that discover a drug have an exclusive patent on it before anyone else can produce it. This is understandable, the company obviously has to make back the money it invested in years of research and experiments, but it also means people who need the medication aren’t able to access it despite it being safe, resulting in unnecessary deaths. This particularly
NHS, but it can definitely be used more carefully. With the threat of antibiotic resistance with the overuse of drugs now more eminent than ever, we need to ensure that we only take medication when it is necessary. Moreover, when we do take it, then only for so long as it is directed or prescribed. There isstatistically no cure for the common cold, so maybe instead of expensive cold and flu tablets that help with the symptoms of a cold, try more homoeopathic options like vitamins and herbal teas. Cranberry juice has long been known to aid with UTI’s and gargling warm salt water is a well-recommended home remedy for sore throats and even tonsillitis, so try that before booking your next doctor’s appointment in future.
AW Facts Did you know? impacts developing countries, where the mortality rate is highest, and whose governments cannot afford the high prices of patented drugs. There are often rumours that in such a profit-driven industry straight-out cures
for fatal illnesses are buried when medications that minimise symptoms sell so well. The conspiracy theory that the cure for cancer won’t be released while corporations are making billions from chemotherapy is perhaps not true, but
certainly reflects the wealth over health nature of the industry. So what is the solution? It would certainly be a bad idea to boycott all western medicine, when it is effective, often fast and free for us under the
Not exercising now can cause as many deaths as smoking.
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Women Power in Aviation
By - Rida Khan (Aviation Author) - (Instagram A/c - aviationauthor.ridakhan )
female aircraft engineer and a senior manager in Abu Dhabi new airport. She is an aviation lover, dreaming about aircrafts and eagerness to become part of aviation field from childhood.
portunities rather than challenges. Pilot Susanna Sundberg -
I could only spend one night at home and I had only a few hours to see my 10 months old daughter. She is very well taken care of by her father but it was still difficult to leave them behind. Captain Eser Aksan Erdogan
Photo Credit: Suaad Sultan Alshamsi Women are now no longer behind men, they are succeeding in every profession and field with their careers. From the older days till now there is a statement which is still believed in the minds of the people i.e. “Aviation is a male dominated industry” and it’s somewhat true. When you enter in the airport will find more women working as flight attendants or as ground staff. But as aviation is expanding globally, they have opened the path for women, providing them with different programs like CRM seminars & training sessions, motivational and development programs etc. But there are many challenges which are more often faced by females rather than males in this industry like motherhood, personality traits, financial & cultural factors and much more. I came across some of the female pilots and aircraft engineer whose stories are quite difficult, but have not lost hope to work in the field and have faced these challenges with immense determination. Let’s talk about their views on this topic. Captain Maria Cristina Maldonado – Maria Cristina Maldonado is from Colombia, South America. She is the First Colombian Female Pilot who flies in Vietnam and one of the first Latin American female Pilots in Asia. She has been a commercial pilot since 2007 and upgraded to a Captain in 2017. She is married and is a mother of three kids.
Her Views on the Topic are Men and women have the same ability; there is no difference in terms of professionalism between both the genders. I do not get scared by working surrounded by men, it’s my usual environm¬¬ent and they respect my professional behavior in the cockpit. The industry is a different place where it was ten years ago. Airline industries are being managed by women nowadays but still 94% are leaded by men. Women in aviation have risen along the roles from commercial all the way to operations in the industry. When I was a little girl, boys played with cars and my friends with dolls. I played with airplanes and had a clear vision of what I wanted to be. In this career it’s a big challenge to become a mother because you have to stop due to maternity leave which sometimes can last for two years since you get pregnant but once ready you regain your training and get up to date to continue flying. At the end of the day you adapt and strike a balance with your family life. Suaad Sultan Alshamsi (Aircraft Engineer) (Instagram A/c - suaadalshamsi ) Suaad Sultan Alshamsi is the first UAE
Her Views on the Topic are – Aviation has been a male dominated environment. Male have since tried to teach females the secret to grow the aviation industry & continue beside him. Now it’s no more a male dominated industry, it is a field where both males & females can work equally. Sharing my personal experience about the challenges which I faced while becoming an aircraft engineer was, when I graduated and announced as the first UAE female aircraft engineer, people thought negatively and talked randomly that I will never get married, they were trying to attack me emotionally. But I didn’t want to change my career so I continued to work and ignored them. And now I am married with two adorable kids. It’s almost tough, difficult to maintain and fly with time in each shift, away from your family sacrificing your social life but if women love her work what she is doing then it will create new op-
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(Instagram A/c – susythepilot) Susanna was born in Sweden and is working as an Airbus 319/320 pilot in Belgium for Brussels Airlines. She started her career in 2001, working as a flight instructor and Operations Officer. In 2014 she moved to Belgium and started working for Brussels Airlines. She flew over to Europe and also Northern Africa. Her Views on the Topic are – I think it is important to realize that the job as a pilot is just as suitable for women as for men. I never noticed any differences and I have never been treated differently. Besides the role to safely transport our passengers we also act as representative for our Airlines. Since we are quite few female pilots in the world (5- 10 %) we can also inspire other women to take up a career in aviation. The most important is that we focus on who is suitable for the job, not if it is a man or a woman. The most challenging part for me is to balance work and raising a family. If you have children it might be very difficult to spend a lot of time away from home. During my first week at work
( Instagram A/c - echosierra85 ) Eser Aksan Erdogan is a 33 years old airline Captain pilot flying Boeing 737 for around 5 years. She was born in The Netherlands and is based in Istanbul. Her Views on the Topic are – When I first started flying I was the only girl in my class during flight school. The gender gap between male and female is still there, only around 6% of the airline pilots worldwide are female. As in all male dominated industries there are always some men who think women don’t belong there, the first time I flew with a female captain, the men were joking about that we shouldn’t gossip and do make up in the cockpit... that was only 4 years ago. If you have a passion to do something then no matter what challenges come in your way, you cross them and live your passion. On behalf of Asian World Newspaper I would like to thank all of you for sharing your views with us and giving me your interview and taking out time from your busy schedule.
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The essence of the arctic
Exclusive video shows how photographer captures the remote beauty of nature from the sky to the seas • Norwegian photographer and Sony ambassador Ole Salomonsen shares his top tips for capturing the best northern lights and wildlife images • Exclusive video takes viewers on the journey to see first-hand how the images are created • Ole shows how Sony’s α9 and α7RIII are the perfect companions for capturing everything the snowclad landscape throws at him
A new video of leading photographer Ole Salomonsen plotting the perfect route around northern Norway on a mission to capture the stunning hues of the aurora borealis and whales in their arctic feeding ground is released today. Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful natural phenomena’s in the world and featuring highly on the bucket list of nature photographers everywhere, the northern lights are both awe inspiring and tough to capture properly. Ole has been shooting photography in
these beautiful, but often harsh, wintery environments for over ten years. An award-winning ambassador for Sony, he shoots with the α7RIII and α9 and as he says, “they’re the perfect companion in these conditions”. For the Northern Lights, here are his Ole’s tips to help others get the most of the night sky: 1). Find a high megapixel camera with a good dynamic range - “The Sony α7RIII has 42 megapixels. It’s an amazing camera for landscape photography. It also has an amazing
dynamic range. The range between the northern lights and the foreground can be more than 15 stops, so the good thing about the α7RIII is that it has such a good sensor.” 2). Look for ISO invariance in your camera – “This means I can under expose the picture deliberately not to burn out the highlights of the strong auroral display. But then I can raise the exposure later in post, without adding any noise.” 3). Lower shutter speeds mean greater detail – “I prefer to push the ISO slightly and lowering the shutter
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speed to get more of the details of the aurora and this camera actually enables me to do that. The α7RIII is fantastic as I can go as high as maybe ISO 10,000 and still have a clean image and lower the shutter speeds from let’s say 5 seconds to 1 second and I’ll have much more detail in the aurora light.” For pictures of wildlife, Salomonsen switches to the Sony α9 where the unique sensor, especially in low light, helps capture wildlife even in the difficult lighting of the arctic whilst 20fps and fast AF enables him to capture the perfect moment, every time. Here’s why: 1). The benefits of the black-out free screen – “The blackout-free screen you find on the Sony α9 makes it so much easier for me to concentrate on following the subject because you never miss a moment, ensuring you can always keep the subject in view.” 2). High frames per second is key – “I shoot at high speed at 20 frames per second; it’s such an advantage being able to pick that one shot that is spectacular and knowing that I won’t have missed it.” 3). Be ready with the help of AF– “When shooting any wildlife, but in particular whales, you have to be ready, you have to try to predict where they are coming up and as soon as you see the nose of them you just start shooting. I love the autofocus of this camera and the hit rate that I get is just amazing.”
AW Facts Did you know? The world’s longest flight is 17 hours; from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Los Angeles, California.
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Government puts £6M REVIEW OF BE2 WIRELESS into Charging Stations BLUETOOTH IN-EAR for Electric Cabs
The UK legislature has put aside £6 million in spending for 17 councils to introduce electric vehicle charging points that will help the running of electric cabs across the country. Local councils, which are spotted around the UK in urban communities, for example, Manchester, Brighton and Leicester, will set up a total of right around 350 charge points. Of those, around 300 will be ultra quick chargers, while 46 will be secondary fast chargers. As per the Department for Transport (DfT), around 800 ultra-low-outflow cabs and exactly 3,000 private contract vehicles will make utilization of the charging stations. Transport Minister Jesse Norman said the new foundation would enable the nation to make the change to low-outflow transport. “The government wants all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040,” he said. “Getting the right infrastructure and investment in place is a crucial part of this. “Today’s funding will support almost 4,000 ultra low emission vehicles across the country. It is a further sign that the UK is making real progress in the transition to greener transport.”
HEADPHONES
By Uzair Janjua
Richard Harrington, Automotive Minister, claimed the charging points would play their part in cleaning up the environment. “The UK has led the world in cutting emissions while maintaining growth in our economy,” he said. “These new charge points for greener taxis will help accelerate a cleaner environment for people across the UK. This will also point the way for a better,
healthier future for us all as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy which builds on the government’s long-standing partnership with the UK automotive sector.” The Local Government Association (LGA), which is associated with councils across England and Wales, has approved of the announcement, claiming councils are “determined” to improve air quality.
India Eager to Climb on Board for the Venture of 5G
India has been aggressively competing with rival countries for the implication of the 5G network within its nation states. The new venture is estimated to bring approximately one trillion dollars of revenue to the country. Having previously been slow to implement the benefits of 3G and 4G, India is determined to “not miss the 5G bus”, as declared by the country’s Communications Minister Manoj Sinha. He has underlined the country’s rise in mobile internet consumption, cheap data deals and other increases in telecom services in recent years. With the introduction of 2G in the past, consumers were able to use the functions of voice calling and instant messaging. After that, 3G paved the way for using the web on mobiles and allowing media sharing such as images and videos. However, the most modern 4G technology changed how consum-
ers use apps and their content systems forever. It also allowed clear HD video calling/face-timing and made ordering a takeaway or uber achievable through a few easy clicks. With the running of 5G, much faster download speeds to tablets and mobile phones will become available. “We’re not just waiting for the future, we’re building it,” previously said Ronan Dunne, executive vice-president of US company Verizon Wireless. Despite the fact the first 5G-compatible smartphone won’t hit the market until early next year, the network is still being rolled out in some areas across the US including LA and Houston, Texas. “Simply put, 5G means that the network will be ready for millions of devices and not just the smartphone in your hand,” stated Bhaskar Ramamurthi, who runs the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, IIT Madras. “To-
day, through their smartphone, consumers can decide which restaurant is nice and where they want to eat, but 5G will usher in internet of things (IoT), which will enable much more intelligence in the system along with higher data speeds,” he concluded. India has included that the security and safety of its country’s participants using the 5G will be of vital importance during the period of this digital transformation. The country will focus on testing and running appropriate security standards concerning the network before it becomes available to citizens. “To ensure that we are able to launch 5G services in India along with the world, we have established 5G test beds through industry-academia partnerships, and we expect trials to be conducted over the next 12 months,” declared Mr Sinha.
Wireless headphones are a very convenient piece of technology and when purchasing a pair, you should always look to get the best. In this review we will be taking a look at the Optoma NuForce BE2 wireless Bluetooth in-ear headphones and they are an excellent deal for persons looking for a budget earpiece that delivers in performance. The Optoma NuForce line of earbuds are priced at £50. They produce incredible noise isolation and have over 10 hours of battery life. The BE2 have the same angled drivers, flat ribbon cable and waterresistant remote controls found on their contemporaries. The BE2 are IPX5 rated, making them sweat and water resistant but bear in mind, this doesn’t mean you should dunk them into water, though they would undoubtedly survive being under the rain. Despite the price at which the BE2 come, Optoma has made no compromise in sound quality as the earphones produce sounds almost
identical to the range found on the BE Sport 3. This means you get a balanced presentation with a slight mid-bass bump. Battery life on the BE2 is good, providing about 10 hours of playtime, close to what you would get from the BE3. This means you will have to charge the earpiece say, midweek if you are looking to use it on your commute. Overall, Optoma did an excellent job creating an earphone as high as this for £50, and you would never get the feeling that you are using an inferior earpiece. Although you don’t get the metal build of the BE3 or as many accessories as you would get on the BE Sport 3, or NuForce BE6i. However, for most persons, the Optoma NuForce BE2 are an excellent device for their shop listed price. Compared with other earpieces such as the Jaybird Freedom, which are four times as expensive, the NuForce BE2 provides twice the battery life and superior sound quality. For the price, it’s hard to beat the Optoma NuForce BE2.
AW Facts Did you know? The average smart phone owner checks Facebook roughly 14 times a day.
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Artificial intelligence: The Most Remarkable Milestones Achieved So Far By Muhammad Nadeem Jahangir - Technology Correspondent
Artificial intelligence, also known as machine learning, is the field of computer sciences where a machine is trained with sets of data to understand and learn the difference between every element of a set. This then makes the machine understand and recognise the same pattern every time it completes the process. Hence, the machine, which understands zeros and ones, becomes artificially intelligent. In this current decade, the trend of AI is very prominent. Modern problem solvers are implementing new logic to build systems with intelligence, which reserve the goal of utilizing technology in accordance with human needs. We have been observing the changing era of information technology, as AI is reshaping the future of the next generation. AI is not a recent term but has in fact been around for almost a century, and now it has become the most demanding field in the tech industry. In 1637, scientist and philosopher Rene Descartes predicted that machines
would someday think and make decisions just as humans did. In 1956, John McCarthy coined the term “Artificial Intelligence” and organised a summer workshop by inviting field experts together. During a brainstorming session, they laid down a framework to allow the thinking of machines to begin. In 1966, Joseph Weizenbaum developed the world’s first natural language processing chatbot ELIZA. ELIZA was developed at MIT and was capable of communicating through writing. XCON, a digital equipment corporation introduced its first expert learning system in 1980. By 1986 it created an annual saving of $40 million, which led the company to spend $1 billion annually on AI. In 1988, a team of researchers from IBM published a statistical approach of predicting the behaviour of nature, based on previous data. With the birth of the internet in 1991, the computers around the world started to get connected, and the advancement in AI along
with this helped researchers a lot in improving their products. In 1997, IBM deep blue defeated the World Chess champion at that time. This was the biggest achievement in the ‘90s for IT, as it was the first time a human brain was defeated by an electronic machine implementing artificial intelligence. In the next decade, work on AI remained in consistent flow, where small to big projects were initiated. In 2011 IBM Watson, a cognitive computing engine won $1 million by defeating a TV game show champion in Jeopardy. Jeff Dean, Andrew NG and other scientists at Stanford University and Google published a collective paper. Their research explored unsupervised learning, which does away with the expensive and time-consuming task of manually labelling data before it can be used to train machine learning algorithms. They described a model that can build an artificial network containing around 1 billion connections. By 2015, machines become more ef-
ficient in visual capability than humans. By 2016, neural networks made history by defeating the World Go champion 5 times. It was found that rather than using brute force algorithms which calculate the chessboard moves, it is more efficient to introduce an artificial neural network to study the game as it played. As the year 2018 started there were many headlines emerging on new environmental efficient systems. The introduction of virtual reality to make people feel as though they are in a real environment was one of them. Augmented reality emphasizes the use of a camera with the help of virtual assistance within a real-time situation. Self-driving cars are considered to be the best achievement of this year. Google launched Waymo’s first self-
driving taxi in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the first commercial autonomous vehicle hire service and is being used by 400 members of the public who utilize the cabs within an area of 100 square miles. With the beginning of 2019, people are expecting more development in the field of AI as the 4th industrial revolution is on the verge. Machines are becoming more and more intelligent with advance data sets. Research in the field of data science is the major concern of every scientist, every new technology traces artificial intelligence to some extent, which is making the world more autonomous and responsive.
LinkedIn Launches LinkedIn Live, a New Live Video Broadcast Service By Khalid Karim - Technology Correspondent LinkedIn — the social network for professionals with 500 million+ users globally —has video as its fastest-growing format, alongside original written content and shared news. However, now it is taking its next much-anticipated next step to incorporated Live Video format on its platform, better late than never I say. The company is indeed launching the tool in the coming weeks, giving people and organisations the ability to broadcast in real-time video to select groups in the USA. The scheme is currently in its beta testing phase and to running by invite only. LinkedIn Live (as the beta product is called) has already had great feedback from those lucky enough to be on the invite list. The implications for this will be immense if and when it is rolled out worldwide. The kind of content LinkedIn hopes to see broadcasted is in line with the kind of content you are already used to seeing in the LinkedIn news feed. Such as coverage of conferences, product announcements, Q&As and other events spearheaded by influencers, mentors, peek into the inside world of big tech companies, graduations and awards ceremonies and much more. Linkedin is very keen to get the format right in its first phase of development and not to release it as half-hearted user-generated content. The social media platform has high hopes that streams of the upcoming
Image by QuinceMedia on Pixabay videos will fit with its wider ethos. LinkedIn is currently also working closely with a select few third-party developers in regards to live broadcasting streaming space. The creators will work collaboratively with one another to produce more professional and polished live video content on LinkedIn. These include players like Wirecast, Switcher Studio, Wowza Media Systems, Socialive and Brandlive, “with more to come in the following weeks,” LinkedIn said. There are other major players involved who are technical partners such as Microsoft, with part of its cloud division providing encoding. Even though
Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016, it has mostly kept a distance in terms of combining together product development between the two, so this is a notable exception. However, Skype is not involved in the development. Fashionably Late to the party? In comparison to its competition in the social networking world, LinkedIn has been a late entry when it comes to video. Amid developments from competitors like Twitter, Facebook and most recently Instagram have been bringing a larger audience to its platforms with the use of gifs; the Microsoft-owned LinkedIn announced its first video features only in the summer of 2017, which has been proved very popular.
Since launching a native video feature over 17 months, LinkedIn has seen a surge in traffic and revenues from (un-live) video on its social media platform. “Video is the fastest growing format on our platform right now, and the one most likely to get people talking,” said Pete Davies, the director of product management at LinkedIn. Specific figures in terms of the number of creators or viewers there as stats were not available, except to note that “millions” of LinkedIn members have used the feature. Davies did point out that live video has been the single biggest request — no doubt the prominent players in
on other social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have influenced their decision to enter the market. “Live has been the most requested feature,” he said. These other social platforms are serving as a template of sorts: as with these other platforms, users can “like” videos as they are being broadcast, with the likes floating along the screen. Viewers can ask questions or make suggestions in the comments in real time. Hosts can moderate those comments in real time, too, to remove harassing or other messages, Davies added. There may be another reason behind the strong demand for Live Video for why LinkedIn is expanding video: it’s proving to be a strong source for engagement, driving traffic and revenue growth towards the company. LinkedIn wouldn’t comment on future monetisation plans, and for now, isn’t even putting video ads into LinkedIn Live videos. “That will come down the road, but for right now we are focused on awesome use cases,” said Peter Roybal, head of video product management, in an interview. “This could even be a way to try out some new ideas.” Exciting times ahead for those that create content on LinkedIn and if you are used to only doing so on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, this will feel like a natural move to drive more engagement.
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AW’S
Kitchen Kebab e Murgh • Try to use a grill that is good for charcoal rather than gas. • Get nice flat skewers so that when you insert it into the meat, the meat stays flat and when turning the skewer over the grill, the meat stays with the skewers, rather than turning around the skewer. • When you place the skewers with the meat over the grill, make sure the meat does not touch the grill grids. So, for this purpose, use some devise to be placed on the grill surface so that the skewers stays up about an inch above the surface of the grill. I suggest some pieces of bricks might do the job. Or if you are handy and love barbeque, you go to Home Depot and buy some metal rods about one or two inches thick and make a rectangle shape frame the size of your grill surface. • Place the metal frame on the grill and place the kabob skewers on top of the frame. • This way, its guaranteed that the meat on the skewers will not touch the grill. For more delicious and mouth -watering Afghani recipes, visit www.afghankitchenrecipes.com
– Afghan Chicken Kebab Marinade Cooking Time 20 mins
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Prep: time 24 h
Ingredients
Method
• 5 lbs. chicken breast- all fats removed and cut up about one-inch cubes • 1 pc. fresh ginger- about 2 inches long- peeled • 5 cloves garlic • ½ large bell peppers- seeds removed • 1 cup olive oil • 1 Tablespoon turmeric • 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika • 2 teaspoon kosher salt • 1 teaspoon black pepper
Step 1 In a large bowl, place the chicken and set aside. Step 2 In a blender place the ginger, garlic, bell peppers and run it till its liquid. Pour the liqid over the chicken and add the oil and the rest of the spices. Mix well the chicken with the mixture and wrap the bowl tight and refrigerate at least over night or 24 hours before grilling.
Serves 4 Step 3 Start up your grill to be hot. Take about six or seven pieces of the marinated chicken, stick the skewers into them so that the pieces of chicken stay flat. Place the skewers over the hot grill and every 6 or 10 seconds turn them over till the chicken are done. Keep the skewers moving to different parts of the grill. This way the chicken will cook evenly. Serve the chicken kabob with pita or flat bread, Afghani salad with yogurt sauce or spicy chutney.
Ready in 24h 20mins
AW Facts Did you know? Using Peas as a pizza topping is common in Brazil.
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March 2019
Dubai, a city best known for its tourist attractions. The destination is a melting pot of cultures and traditions. However, Emirati culture is the main essence of Dubai which still has reign. The Emirati way of living and cooking is mesmerizing and instills a burst of flavor in each cuisine. The Arabic accent spread all over Dubai is full of love and welcoming. Emirati culture follows the Islamic religion; which is rich in hospitality. These people welcome their guests with traditional Arabic coffee and dates, a custom also found through Emirates airways Airbus A380, or Boeing 777 business class as I discovered on my travels. According to Emirati Cuisine as per Wikipedia, Arabic diets consist of 3 types: Bedouin’s diet – Consisting of meat and camel milk Fishermen diet – Consisting mainly of fish and sea foods Farmer’s diet – Home grown produce, including of dates The single pot cooking technique is largely popular in Dubai. This is the method of mixing up all ingredients and heating them like a stew. This was originated to reduce the number of dishes to wash as in deserts there was water scarcity. One thing which I like about food of Dubai is that they make everything fresh and in variation in order to serve to the people. Health is the first priority for them. Traditional dishes like Harees, Chabab, Machboos, Khameer, Mandi etc. are some of the dishes which are continued till now include desserts like Luqaimat and Baklava.
Flavours of Dubai By - Rida Khan (Aviation Author) - (Instagram A/c - aviationauthor.ridakhan )
To elaborate more on this topic I have interviewed some of the eminent chefs of Dubai. Let’s know their views about it.
Chef Saud Al Matrooshi
Chef Khaled Alsaadi
Chef Saud is an executive Sous Chef in Emirates flight catering. He looks after the menu development, events, and the lounges of Emirates Airways first and business class. He is the first Emirati Chef in Emirates Flight Catering. His Views on the Topic are Food in Dubai is so special because of its diversity. Yes people like traditional but also go to the places which serve fusion foods of multicultural platters. In Emirati cuisine the ingredients are very crucial, they have to be traditional too like the ghee and mix of spices, called BZAR, it is an essential item in our Emirati food. On asking about his favorite food he said: I like all sorts of food with strong flavors and traditional food is on the top. Yes I like to create fusion with a twist, but I don’t go very far like gastronomy.. NO. May be I mix two cuisines together keeping their identities. I always advertise Machboos, which is easy to prepare and unique also. We have it in the Gulf region in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait… It’s done differently in every country. You have all options of international food in this city. I would like people to try out the traditional food of Dubai, such as Harees a kind of porridge with meat and Luqaimat which is a bite-sized traditional Emirati dessert.
Khaled Alsaadi is a 28 year old young Emirati chef. His Views on the Topic are :Dubai is considered a premium location for all who are visiting the Middle East. Emirati food to me is a home food. I am interested in the cultural relevance of each dish, specific to each emirate. I feel like as a chef I would like to demonstrate my culture on the modern dining table perfectly. To me personally, I love my Grandmother’s cooking, the way she would make braised meats in stews or have them with rice. The popularity of dishes here varies between the areas and cities around the Emirates. However, I feel the most a popular dish would be the Machboos (a one-pot cooked meal using rice and a protein), due to its simplicity to make and lack of complex ingredients. I would recommend visitors to try more of the traditional foods in the old parts of our major cities. Today we have people from over 180 countries and we can successfully say that we have something for everyone. With food, there are thousands of ingredients and millions of ways to cook them. I recommend that you try something new every once in a while and you never know what may be your all time or monthly favorite.
( Instagram A/c - chef_saud ) –
( Instagram A/c - khaleds_insta ) -
Chef Bader Najeeb ( Instagram A/c - chef.b ) -
A 23 year old Emirati chef, also known as Chef B on social media. You can say that it was his passion to cook food from childhood and watching his mother. He taught himself by taking help from watching YouTube cooking channels and with the support of his family. He has done many culinary shows on Sama and Abu Dhabi TV. He received his scholarship from the Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland specializing in Swiss chocolate and sugar arts. His Views on the Topic are :Chef Bader says there are big varieties of the different cuisines you will find here, many people are coming with new ideas and innovative dishes which make Dubai food special. Traditional cooking does exist in Dubai. Personally I like the food cooked by my grandma. Food culture in Dubai is grown so much in past years that now it’s a hub for the people who love food. It’s quite interesting to see how young people are creating their own restaurants. I will advise you to come to Dubai, you will find your favorite food in variety here. “To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” - La Rochefoucauld.
On behalf of Asian World Newspaper I would like to thank all the chefs for sharing with me their valuable views and Interview. Wishing you immense success in all your future endeavors.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
MOTORING
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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SUTTON LAUNCHES ‘VIP CLASS’ RANGE OF ULTIMATE LUXURY PEOPLE-CARRIERS AT LONDON CLASSIC CAR SHOW UK MOTORISTS ARE DRIVING FEWER MILES
• Mercedes-Benz V-Class and Sprinter ‘VIP Class’ conversions provide ultimate in luxury, space and refinement • Sutton Monster Raptor, 1967 GT500CS ‘restomod’ Mustang and Sutton Bespoke Mustang GT700CS also on display at the Show • Clive Sutton is one of the UK’s leading coachbuilding, custom and specialist car dealers Sutton Bespoke has launched its new ‘VIP Class’ vehicles – a new range of high-specification, highly luxurious people carriers based on Mercedes-Benz V-Class and Sprinter models. The bespoke people carriers can be specified with a range of seating configurations and are customised using the finest materials. An extensive list of available luxury options includes electric heated and cooled seats with a 10-point massage function, advanced infotainment for all passengers, and a driver’s partition for enhanced privacy. Sutton Bespoke displayed two of its coach-built VIP Class models at this year’s London Classic Car Show, showcasing many of the available VIP Class enhancements. The first example on display is a new deluxe bespoke reimagining of the Mercedes Sprinter, finished in Obsidian black and trimmed in soft-touch ‘bio-leather’. Between the driver and passengers is a custom electrically-actuated partition providing privacy for the rear passengers to enjoy two 40-inch 4K Smart TVs and a cinema system with
seven-zone audio. All interior panelling is clad in the same luxurious soft-touch bio-leather with custom stitching, and there is high-quality thick-pile carpet throughout. The six rear seats have been upgraded to include full reclining functionality, and all have access to a console with a control panel, cup holders and lockable storage unit containing a champagne bucket. To further enhance privacy the vehicle is fully tinted, and sound insulated. The price of this show car is £160,000 plus VAT for business buyers (and £192,000 incl. VAT for private buyers) The second is based on the MercedesBenz V-Class, with a subtle Obsidian black exterior and a spacious cabin with seven seats retrimmed in ultra-soft Nappa leather (all with black centres and grey bolsters). A double-glazed panoramic roof is surrounded by a stitched headlining in platinum suede, which also covers the A-, B-, C- and D-pillars. Between the two front seats is a two-tone quilted lifting armrest, which tops a large integrated fridge and cup holders with four cut-crystal glasses. A
roof-mounted antenna provides 4G connectivity for occupants who also have access to Apple TV, DAB and FM radio via the centre console-mounted touchscreen television. The whole passenger compartment is trimmed in a luxurious thick-pile black carpet. The price of the show car is £92,000 plus VAT for business buyers (£115,000 incl. VAT for private buyers). Sutton Bespoke Mustang models also on show Also on the Sutton Bespoke stand at the London Classic Car Show was a very special 1967 Sutton Mustang GT500CS. This contemporary interpretation of the original GT500 is truly unique and provides a full ‘restomod’ specification, with contemporary high-performance upgrades. Alongside this will be a Sutton Bespoke GT700CS – a modern UK-spec Mustang with a selection of Sutton Bespoke and official Ford Performance upgrades. Sutton Bespoke fits a Ford Performance supercharger, active exhaust and Recaro sports seats among many other enhancements. The price of the Sutton
Mustang GT700CS is £95,000, on the road. Sutton will also upgrade customer Mustangs to their specification using Ford Performance parts. The mighty Mustang CS800 displayed in 2018/19 model guise features an allnew enhanced Whipple supercharger, which means the car now produces a massive 850hp and 660 lb/ft of torque. The show-spec CS800 is priced at £115,000, on the road. Sutton Monster Raptor CS520 Also on display at its first UK debut is the right-hand drive Sutton Monster Raptor CS520 off-road performance pick-up truck. The CS520 is remanufactured with an uprated intercooler and a remap, helping it produce 520hp and 515 lb/ft of torque. The truck is re-engineered in right-hand drive and distributed by Sutton in the UK, Australia and across South East Asia. The on-the-road price of the vehicle is between £107,000 and £125,000 plus VAT, depending on options.
Motorists are driving 21% fewer miles than they did 10 years ago according to the new analysis from automotive data experts cap hpi. The mileage of an average used car aged between 2.5 to 3.5 years old has dropped from 39,583 miles in 2008 to 31,199 in 2018. Older cars aged from 4.5 to 5.5 years old fell from 62,504 in 2008 to 55,824 in 2018, a fall of 10.6%. Commenting on the trend Derren Martin, head of UK valuations at cap hpi said: “There will be a number of factors driving this trend. The rise of buyers using personal contract purchase and personal contract hire to finance their car will constrict motorists who seek to balance mileage with affordability. “Equally, as Britain’s roads have become more congested it has an impact on the distances and regularity that people drive.” The company has also reported that used car performed strongly in 2018 as many in the motor trade dubbed it the ‘year of the used car.’ The data shows that in some sectors values increased. Average values for all used cars at one year old increased by 1% through 2018, equating to just over £100. The figure is derived by comparing all generations of cars that existed at the one-year-old age point at both the start and end of the year, so excluding any newer models entering the market that may skew the figures. As cars traditionally depreciate as they age within their lifecycle, this increase was an unusual phenomenon. The most significant increase was in the MPV sector where values increased by an impressive average of 5% or around £750 throughout 2018. Some electric cars increased in value over the course of the year, in particular, the Nissan e-NV200, Renault Zoe, Citroen C-Zero and Peugeot iOn all went up by around 25%. Martin concluded: “The average used car is a good proposition for the motorist. It has a lower than mileage than an equivalent model 10 years ago and feature lower emission engines.”
AW Facts Did you know? The last manufactured car with a built-in cassette player was the Ford Crown Vic in 2011.
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March 2019
CONTINENTAL BECOMES ONE OF THE FIVE MAIN PARTNERS OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE IN 2019 • Continental, official partner of the Tour de France from 2018 to 2022, upgrades its sponsorship to Main Partner of the race in 2019
• This year, six teams will be racing on Continental tyres • Continental is to equip the official Tour vehicles with premium car tyres
On July 6, when the Tour de France begins with the Grand Départ in Brussels, Continental will embark upon its first year as one of the Tour’s five Main Partners – alongside LCL, E.Leclerc, Krys and Skoda. As one of the five Main Partners to the event, Continental will enjoy greater visibility throughout the Tour. The Continental logo will appear on the arch above the finish line as well as on the “flamme rouge” arch, one kilometre from the finish. As a further benefit of the enhanced visibility, a representative of Continental will present the trophy to the stage winner on the podium. “Being a Tour de France sponsor makes the perfect match for our products and corporate values,” says Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board of Continental AG and Head of the Tire division. “After one year as a ‘smaller’ partner and official tyre sponsor, it’s a great pleasure now to play a major role at the most important cycling race in the world. Being a stage-winner partner enables us to create higher visibility for our high-tech tyres that stand not only for road safety but also for a passion to win.” Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, adds: “The joy of winning a stage is a daily emotion on the Tour de France. The rider that lifts his arms at the finish line, whether he
is a many-time victor or takes his only career win, surely experiences one of the highlights of his life. Continental associates its image to these thrills, which are also linked to the notion of performance, defended at the highest level by the brand of tyres. The Tour champions, from Brussels to Paris via Saint-Etienne, the Tourmalet or Nîmes, will recognize themselves in this quest for excellence that defines Continental”. This year, six World Tour teams (Sky, FDJ, Movistar, Bahrain-Merida, Katusha-Alpecin, Sunweb) will be racing on the high-end Competition Pro LTD tyre from Continental, specially designed and hand-made in Korbach, Germany. In addition, drivers of the of-
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ficial vehicles of the Tour de France will get to savour the performance of the latest Continental car tyre, the PremiumContact 6, which is manufactured in Sarreguemines, France. The technology company is also making use of its partnership with the Tour de France to promote its “Vision Zero” strategy, for a world without road fatalities, injuries or accidents. Tour de France fans can find tips on traveling safely to and from the various stages on the Continental website. In addition, the tyre manufacturer will once again be offering free mobile tyre checks for vehicles parked along the route. On the course itself, for the first time ever, dangerous corners will be highlighted
for riders and support-vehicle drivers with special warning signs in bright Continental yellow. The history of tyre manufacturing at Continental stretches all the way back to 1892 when the first air-filled “Pneumatics” bicycle tyre was produced, while the first car tyre followed in 1898. That makes Continental the tyre manufacturer with the longest tradition in Germany. Currently the company is working to enhance its two-wheeler and car tyres by sharing some of the same technologies. By way of example, the “Black Chili” compound provides high grip not only in Continental bicycle tyres but in the company’s high-performance car tyres as well.
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
Testing Times: Britain’s MOT Failure Hotspots Revealed
• Kirkcaldy has the worst MoT pass rate in the UK • Plymouth, Dundee and Truro also rank badly The Royal Burgh of Kirkcaldy is the MoT failure capital of the UK, according Government data analysis by consumer champion HonestJohn.co.uk. The Scottish coastal town has the lowest MoT rate in the country, with just 55% of the region’s 135,000 cars passing the MoT at the first attempt. Plymouth, Dundee and Truro also rank poorly, along with Exeter, Torquay and Hull. The south east of England has the best MoT record in the UK, with Enfield topping the table with a pass rate of 73.5%. Other towns that perform well include Bromley, Ilford, Romford and Croydon. The HonestJohn.co.uk MoT Files is the most detailed analysis of Government MoT data in the UK, covering every post code in England, Scotland and Wales. The data is obtained from the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) through the Government’s OpenData scheme and based on millions of MoT tests that take place up and down the country by qualified technicians. The research also show that the most common reasons for MoT failure relate to defects with vehicle lighting, brakes, tyres and suspension. Daniel Powell, Managing Editor of HonestJohn.co.uk said: “The MoT Files is designed to educate and inform drivers about the MoT and the potential issues that will results in their car failing the test. “One of the most surprising aspects to come out of The MoT Files is the amount of regional variations. Harsher road and weather conditions will inevitably put more pressure on a car’s mechanical components and motorists
• Enfield in North London has highest pass rate in the UK • Data published in full at the HonestJohn.co.uk MoT Files
Bottom 10 post code regions
1) Kirkcaldy (KY) – 55.0% pass rate 2) Plymouth (PL) – 55.3% pass rate 3) Dundee (DD) – 55.6% pass rate 4) Truro (TR) – 56.5% pass rate 5) Exeter (EX) – 57.8% pass rate 6) Torquay (TQ) – 58.1% pass rate 7) Hull (HU) – 59.1% pass rate 8) Aberdeen (AB) – 59.4% pass rate 9) Bristol (BS) – 59.6% pass rate 10) Taunton (TA) – 59.8% pass rate
Top 10 post code regions
can use the MoT Files to ensure their vehicle is not failing on something that can be easily fixed beforehand.” Other reasons for regional variations may include higher average mileages in rural areas, and a higher fail rate in areas with traditionally lower incomes.
What many motorists don’t realise, however, is that you can check their car’s MoT history for free, and identify any potential future problems when buying a used car with HvonestJohn. co.uk user homepages.
1) Enfield (EN) - 73.5% pass rate 2) Bromley (BR) – 73.0% pass rate 3) Ilford (IG) – 72.9% pass rate 4) Romford (RM) – 72.7% pass rate 5) Croydon (CR) 71.9% pass rate 6) Chelmsford (CM) – 71.6% pass rate 7) Slough (SL) – 70.8% pass rate 8) South East London (SE) – 70.7% pass rate 9) Dartford (DA) – 70.7% pass rate 10) Southend-on-Sea (SS) – 70.5% pass rate
MOTORPOINT STAFF SLEEP OUT RAISES OVER £6K FOR DERBY COUNTY COMMUNITY TRUST
• Motorpoint staff took part in Stadium Sleep Out • Motorpoint staffed raised £6,360 to support the Trust’s Ram’s in Kenya project and tackle homelessness and poverty in the city • Event forms part of a yearlong series of fundraising events by Motorpoint in Derby
Motorpoint staff swapped their suits for sleeping bags recently to help raise over £6,000 for the Derby County Community Trust. A four strong team from the UK’s leading independent car retailer’s headquarters in Derby braved sub-zero temperatures to take part in the Stadium Sleep Out event outside Pride Park, home of Derby County Football Club. Jon Baird, Eleanor Shakespeare, Manjit Virk and Ben Wall spent a Friday night with other participants from partners of the Derby County Community Trust representatives from other business in the city sleeping in the shadow of the stadium with only cardboard, warm clothing and a sleeping bag to help them see through the night. The Stadium Sleep Out was organ-
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ised by Motorpoint’s charitable partner – the Derby County Community Trust. Together the four Motorpoint colleagues raised an incredible £6,360 – over three times the amount they had hoped to raise at the outset.
The funds will be used to support Rams in Kenya, a flagship programme at the Trust which this year will make its eighth trip to the slums of Nakuru, Kenya to support the building of facilities which will help children who live in absolute
poverty. It will also help vulnerable individuals in Derby who are at risk of becoming homeless through substance and alcohol misuse, or those who are recovering from addiction and are leaning on the support of the Derby County Com-
munity Trust and other charities to overcome difficult times in their lives. Eleanor Shakespeare, Marketing Director of Motorpoint, said: “We really can’t thank people enough for their generosity. It’s hugely appreciated. It was very humbling for us all sleeping rough for the night but what made the cold that much more bearable was being able to make a difference to those less fortunate and get more people off the streets and into permanent accommodation.” Motorpoint is headquartered on Chartwell Drive in Derby. Founded over 20 years ago, Motorpoint Derby stocks over 500 low mileage nearly new cars available to drive away same day from over 30 different manufacturers, with access to a further 7,000 cars online and across the UK wide branch network. All cars are backed by the company’s Price Pledge. Motorpoint will refund the difference to any customer within seven days of their order if they find a like for like car from a competitor. As an added bonus, it will also give the customer £50 worth of Amazon vouchers to spend.
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March 2019
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS AND THE SPECTACULAR GIFT OF EXTRA TIME FOR WEARY CAR COMMUTERS HALFORDS AUTOCENTRES DECLARES CODE READ, AS MOTORISTS REJECT ROAD REFERENCE MANUAL
Studies have shown that DRIVERS save a total of 25 minutes or more on their commute to work every time there is a school holiday period or half-term break. More than half of Britain’s car commuters gain at least five minutes each morning, as school traffic disappears from the roads. It all adds up to a spectacular total of 1,365 years saved across the whole country just per one week of school holidays. Nearly 22 million people commute daily in cars and new research by the online motor retail specialist BuyaCar. co.uk suggests more than half of them enjoy shorter journey times during school holidays. Adding up the time commuters spend at the wheel when there is no school traffic on the roads reveals a spec-
tacular figure of 273 years saved each morning for Britain as a whole. Around 32 million people are in work and the Department for Transport says 67% of them commute by car. BuyaCar.co.uk polled more than 500 drivers and found that 53% say their journey to work is significantly quicker during school holidays. That suggests more than half of Britain’s 21.7 million car commuters will save at least five minutes each morning. Just over 12% said their journey times improve by at least five minutes. Another 14% put the figure at up to ten minutes - the most common figure cited by drivers in the survey. A similar number said they would save 15 minutes each morning. And the rest estimated savings of up to 20 minutes or more.
Austin Collins, Managing Director of BuyaCar.co.uk, said: “We are all familiar with anecdotal stories of how much quieter the roads are during school holidays but we believe this is the first time the full extent of the time saved has been revealed.” “It may seem hard to believe at first that British drivers save more than a thousand years in total over the course of just one week, but with nearly 22 million car commuters on the roads daily it soon adds up.” “The saving for the country as a whole is spectacular but even for individual travellers a 25-minute reduction or more in journey times over the course of the half-term break spells a reduction in stress and maybe even an extra five minutes or so in bed.”
• Over a third of British Motorists haven’t looked at the Highway Code since passing their tests • One in five drivers
hasn’t refreshed their knowledge in more than a decade • Only 11.5% have read it in the past year
NEARLY one-in-four motorists hasn’t picked up a Highway Code since they first passed their driving test, according to data gathered by Halfords Autocentres as part of its Roadworthiness Week campaign. The nationwide servicing and repair chain surveyed over 22,000 drivers as part of the Halfords Autocentres Roadworthiness Quiz, which revealed the disturbing statistic. A total of 36% of drivers confessed to not reading the rules of the road since passing their driving test, with one-in-five drivers (20%) admitting it was over a decade since they picked up the road users’ manual. “Our Roadworthiness Quiz has produced some very interesting findings, including that some drivers could benefit from refreshing their knowledge of the rules of the road,” said Andy Randall, Halfords Autocentres Managing Director. “We’re passionate about road safety, which is why we want people to prepare ahead of the half term getaway.” The quiz features 11 questions aimed at testing drivers’ knowledge in a fun, interactive format, and also aims to help road users understand some of the newer or less well-known Motoring laws. It can be found at https:// www.halfordsautocentres.com/ advice/news/quiz-how-roadworthyare-you As well as the Highway Code question, motorists can test their knowledge of ‘queue jumping’, find out the laws around windscreen washers and tyre tread depth, and also gain tips on how to ensure their car passes its MOT first time around.
“As well as being a bit of fun, our interactive quiz aims to broaden drivers’ knowledge and help keep our roads safer, as well as put road safety and preventative maintenance front-of-mind for those undertaking long road trips during the upcoming February half-term ,” said Randall. The initiative has also won the support of Highways England, which is very keen to keep the country’s network of motorways and major A roads running smoothly and safely during the first big getaway of 2019. Richard Leonard, Highways England Head of Road Safety, said: “We want all drivers to arrive at their destinations safely, and we urge Motorists to make sure they are ready for their journey by checking their vehicles beforehand. “Simple checks of things like tyre tread and pressure, along with making sure you have plenty of fuel and oil in the vehicle can all help to prevent breakdowns. This quiz will helpfully remind people about the importance of those checks.” There are 85,000 breakdowns a year on the country’s roads, and of those around 40 per cent are preventable with better vehicle maintenance. Fewer breakdowns means better safety all round, for drivers, their passengers and those involved in recovery and incident management on the country’s roads. Halfords Autocentres is the UK’s leading MOT, car service, brakes, repairs and tyres specialist, with over 300 Autocentres nationwide. For more information or to book visit www.halfordsautocentres.co.uk
LOCAL 4-15
GLOBAL 16-20
BUSINESS 21-26
GLAM 27-34
WEDDINGS 35-40
HEALTH 41-42
TRAVEL 43-44
TECH 45-46
FOOD 47-48
MOTORING 49-52
SPORTS 53-56
March 2019
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SPORTS Lord’s Taverners named as a ECB Takes Up Action ‘Cricket 4 Good Partner’ During Plan to Recruit ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 20K South Asian Female Coaches
T: 0121 771 4545
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The Lord’s Taverners announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as an official ‘Cricket 4 Good Partner’ at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup this summer. The partnership celebrates the scale, reach and diversity of the Lord’s Taverners national cricket programmes including Super 1s, Table Cricket and Wicketz and showcases the commitment of the ICC to deliver a positive cricketing and social legacy through the Cricket World Cup. In September 2018, the ICC and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an ambitious plan to engage 1 million 5-12-year-olds through the Cricket World Cup to ensure that the tournament is used effectively as a platform to grow and diversify the game across England and Wales. Part of this plan see’s the ICC Cricket World Cup partner with leading cricketing organisations to ensure that the whole cricket family has a part to play in delivering a positive legacy. The Lord’s Taverners is the leading youth cricket and disability sports charity in the UK, delivering a number of national programmes including Table Cricket, Super 1s and Wicketz which improve the prospects of thousands of disadvantaged and disabled young people through sport and recreation. This partnership will give participants of these programmes the unique opportunity to play an active role in the tournament. This will include visits from the trophy to several Lord’s Taverners programmes as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, driven by Nissan. In addition, young leaders from the Lord’s Taverners programmes will be given the chance to step onto the field of play as official ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ‘Flag Bearers’ and will also play a role as tournament volunteers (Cricketeers). Finally, the Lord’s Taverners will be able to bring the excitement of the
Cricket World Cup to their programmes, using Cricket World Cup branding and collateral. To launch the partnership, on Wednesday the 20th of February the Lord’s Taverners LutonWicketz project hosted nearly 100 youngsters from 20+ different nationalities to take part in a miniworld cup tournament which included a visit from the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy and top coaching tips from England cricketer Sam Billings and former England fast bowler Devon Malcolm. The event highlighted the power that cricket and the World Cup has to bring communities together and is the first of a series of activities that the ICC will run in partnership with the Lord’s Taverners. Speaking at the event, England international and Lord’s Taverners ambassador Sam Billings said: “Throughout the country, the Lord’s Taverners cricket programmes make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of disadvantaged and disabled youngsters and being named as a Cricket 4 Good partner will help showcase the fantastic work of the charity. “Like millions of cricket fans across the world, the Wicketz participants in Luton
can’t wait for what promises to be a fantastic tournament to start.” Commenting on the partnership, Steve Elworthy, CWC19 Managing Director, said “The ICC Cricket World Cup is a once in a generation opportunity for us to grow and diversify the game, and achieving this is something we are deeply passionate about. We all know the power that cricket plays in uniting communities, and the diversity and colour that the World Cup brings presents us with the unique chance to positively impact lives across the country. As part of this commitment, we are delighted to be working with the Lord’s Taverners in 2019. They are the leading youth cricket and disability sports charity with a strong reputation for delivering world class programmes that support the lives of thousands of disadvantaged and disabled young people up and down the country. Through the partnership we want to give the Lord’s Taverners the opportunity to use the Cricket World Cup to enhance their programmes, as well as bringing them into the tournament itself through our amazing Flag Bearers and Cricketeers programme, as well as our Trophy Tour visits. Yesterday’s event was a brilliant showcase of this and we all look forward to upcoming activities where this partnership will flourish”. Lord’s Taverners CEO, Paul Robin added: “Throughout the country, our programmes are breaking down barriers and empowering young people to fulfil their potential and build crucial life skills - and there is no better example than our LutonWicketz project to demonstrate how we are uniting communities across the country. Our programmes tackle key issues across the country while also developing team work, confidence, leadership and independence – all using cricket as the tool to engage young people. “We’re delighted to be named as a Cricket 4 Good Partner which will allow our participants across the country to play their part in the tournament that will unite communities. There is no better way to celebrate and demonstrate our ongoing work than by being part of the kaleidoscope of colour and noise that the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will bring to this country.”
By Manisha Bhanot
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are aspiring to transform the way that the sport engages with South Asian communities throughout the region. The organisation has already received a total of £1.2 million in funding from the National Lottery, as awarded by Sport England to set their new agenda into place. A new action plan is being launched on account of the received funds, which will aim to introduce cricket to scores of young women and girls. One of the ways ECB aims for this to happen is by taking on approximately 2K female coaches and mentors. These new ‘aviators’ will act as sources of inspirational guidance for the next generation of cricket players that this country will see. The ECB has been quoted as declaring the following on their website: “It is our responsibility to make cricket a game for everyone...South Asian communities represent a third of the recreational playing base... we must improve engagement with South Asian communities, doing so is ‘core businesses’ to achieving our ambition.” The 11 point action plan which will encourage community cohesion and inclusiveness in local British cricket covers a range of terms. These include: Creating more opportunities for the aforementioned communities to engage with the sport, breaking down cultural barriers, utilising the sport to make positive changes, and to build strong relationship networks within localities. The action plan will also include the implementation of a new ‘All Stars Cricket’ scheme. This will be a beginner’s level programme to
enhance the skills of 5-8 year olds, in 7 cities across the map. These will range from: Bradford, Birmingham, London, Leeds, Manchester Leicester and Nottingham. Non-Executive Director of the ECB Lord Kamlesh Patel commented: “When we launched the Action Plan some months ago, we knew that there was a lot of hard work to be done and that a lot of people within the British South Asian community were counting on us to deliver on our promises.” “I’m pleased to say that in a relatively short space of time, progress has been made in a range of different areas including identifying our first Urban Cricket Centre and commissioning and installing 58 non-turf pitches. The announcement of funding from Sport England shows that we are in a great position to deliver on another element of our plan.” The 11-point action plan has been made after much deliberation, including liaising with local members of the South Asian community and 15 months of preparation. Aside from improving the quality of players within the National team sport of cricket, the plan hops to enable people to make new friends, develop a range of skills and improve their overall fitness and health.
AW Facts Did you know? Shin guards were invented by the Ancient Greeks.
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BT Sport Pub Cup is back and bigger than ever before
Rahat – The Advantages of Training Ropes in Fitness for Youths and Adults
The effectiveness and viability of strength and training for children and youths have been tested in Sports Science extensively. There has been an expanding body of proof which has accepted the importance of exercising in preparing the foundation for long term athletic development. The advantages of incorporating youth workouts have become vital in light of mainstream decreases in proportions of muscular fitness. For instance, strength, lower muscular endurance and motor ability in modern-day youth. For example, during the 1980s the 50th percentile for modified pull-ups went from 6 to 10 repetitions. And yet, the present 50th percentile for six-year-olds to teenagers, in the United States is 2-4 repetitions. Ongoing reviews reasoned that the early introduction to formative proper quality and detail projects can improve markers of wellbeing, improve physical skill and decrease the damage hazard in youthful competitors. Such reports have prompted actions in further research regarding the neuromuscular impacts of various kinds of opposition preparing for children. However, information on
the cardiometabolic responses to opposition practice in youths is limited. Also, examinations inspecting the cardiovascular and metabolic replies to opposition practice on children is expected to fill the research gap. A variety of activities including free loads, weight machines, elastic bands and machine balls have been used in youth excellence and moulding programs. More recently, professionals have begun to consider preparing rope conventions into physical training classes. Unlike jump ropes which are slender and light, Training Rope (TR) are thicker, heavier and more and can be used for a range of purposes including pulling hammering and wave preparing. The accessible information found demonstrates that TR protocols can be viable detailed devices for adults, in view of the powerful cardiovascular and metabolic requests of this kind of activity. The intense cardiometabolic answers to 13 different opposition exercise practices were previously compared in trained men. They discovered that the TR convention suggested the biggest intense increase in cardiometabolic reactions.
• Over 190 men’s and women’s pub football teams to compete at Premier League grounds across the UK. • UK’s biggest pub team kit giveaway, all BT Sport Pub teams who enter the draw will receive a free kit for next season. Today BT Sport has announced that the BT Sport Pub Cup will return for its third year, with this year’s tournament set to be the largest yet. Following the success of last year’s competition, which was won by East London pub, The Gun, in thrilling fashion, the 2019 BT Sport Pub Cup will be open to more teams than ever before, with over 190 places up for grabs across a men’s and a women’s tournament*. This year BT Sport will also be giving away a full Puma team kit for every BT Sport Pub team that enters the draw to compete**. The free-to-enter competition, which aims to celebrate pubs and their football teams, begins on the 8th May with twelve regional qualifiers at stadiums across the UK, including Anfield - Liverpool, Selhurst Park – Crystal Palace, St. Marys - Southampton, Molineux - Wolverhampton, Stadium of Light – Sunderland , Liberty Stadium - Swansea and Windsor Park - Belfast, before the winning teams face off in the semi-finals at the state-of-the-art City Academy, home of Manchester City and with the final at Newcastle’s St. James’ Park on 4th June.
Bruce Cuthbert, director commercial customers, BT Sport, said: “This year we’re bringing back the BT Sport Pub Cup, bigger and better, with more teams able to take part and the biggest pub team kit giveaway ever.Sport is such an important part of pub culture and this competition aims to strengthen the tie between licensees and their communities by offering a once in a life time experience to pub football teams up and down the country.” Robbie Savage, manager of last year’s winners, The Gun, said of the 2018 competition: “It’s been very professional, very organised and a fantastic initia-
tive to give these guys the opportunities to play at some fantastic venues.” John Hartson, who managed last year’s finalists, the Liver Vaults said: “The Pub Cup is a great advert for all the pubs across the country and fair play to BT Sport for putting something like this on.” Both new and established teams representing their local BT Sport pub can enter. Entrants can sign up until the 31st March 2019 at www.btsportbusiness. com/pubcup.Teams wanting to enter and represent a BT Sport pub can find their nearest BT Sport pub at www.btsportbusiness.com.
India Attempts to Gain ICC support in order to Ban Pakistan from World Cup
By Manisha Bhanot
Following the recent terrorist attack in Kashmir, India has formed a proposal to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in favour of banning Pakistan from participating in the Cricket World Cup. A letter was sent by the Committee of Administrations (CoA) in India, addressed to ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar. It has been discovered that the letter was drafted up by the Board for Cricket in India (BCCI), specifically its acting CEO Rahul Johri. In the letter, the Indian side commented that they would consider not participating in the cup if Pakistan were still allowed to play. The two teams are scheduled to go up against one another in Manchester on June 16th this year. Tickets for the event became sold out within 72 hours. One Sports fan commented on the news: “BCCI can’t do anything like that. Asking a governing body to ban a country from participating in a global event is easier said than done.” The commenter went on to declare that India was being foolish in their actions. Moreover, the ICC could not act on behalf of everyone within a multi-national tournament. After the letter was delivered, the ICC met with BCCI board officials in the capital of New Delhi to talk-over the proposal. The BCCI is also planned to consult with team India over whether or not the match will take place. However, the ICC has hinted that plans of going
through with India’s proposal to ban Pakistan are unlikely. India is concerned that the security of its players and national spectators should be of the highest importance in the 2019 World Cup. However, if the country
does in fact decide to pull out of the upcoming scheduled match, they would receive huge repercussions and a hefty fine from the ICC.
Altus Football launched in Birmingham to boost diversity and opportunity through sport • Altus Football expands to Birmingham and Derby in 2019 following a successful pilot in Bradford and East London last year • Obayed Hussain, an Imam and founder of the Saltley Stallions Football Club, is to lead the Birmingham team to the final at St George’s Park • This initiative founded by professional footballer Kashif Siddiqi, Altus Football seeks to break down barriers to local community participation in sport International charity, Kashif Siddiqi Foundation (KSF), is proud to announce the launch of Altus Football in Birmingham following a smaller successful pilot campaign which took place in Bradford and East London at the beginning of 2018. Due to popularity, the initiative is returning to both locations and now expanding to Birmingham and Derby in 2019 with the goal of increasing participation in sports amongst local communities. The eight-week project for young
budding footballers combines weekly training sessions with coach-player mentoring, promoting teamwork, discipline and leadership, to empower young men with valuable life skills. More broadly, the initiative seeks to tackle the cultural divides and barriers which prevent many unrepresented communities from getting involved in sport and bring the diverse diasporas in Birmingham together. The second season of Altus Football will be led by professional footballer, Kashif Siddiqi, in collaboration with Obayed Hussain, an Imam and founder of the Saltley Stallions Football Club, who was brought on to coach the Birmingham team. The weekly training sessions kicked off at the beginning of February and will run into March before culminating in the final at St. Georges Park the home of the England national team at the end of the month. Obayed Hussain, who co-founded the UK’s first Ramadan Midnight Football League in 2018, said:
“Altus Football enables the different communities of Birmingham to come together on the football field to share their passion and enjoyment. It also provides a support framework for young people that lack a sense of belonging and purpose. I am proud to be supporting and helping to run this project, which builds stronger communities. Football has the power to do good, helping unify and facilitate
social change, which is something I am extremely passionate about and have been doing for many years in Birmingham.” Kashif Siddiqi is one of only eleven British South Asians to have made it in the professional ranks in the UK, having previously played with Northampton Town and Arsenal. He hopes that by harnessing his own experiences and utilising the expertise
Q&A with Kash Ali What inspired you to become a boxer? I was always going to do it. My dad was into boxing, so I was constantly surrounded by the sport. Watching it while I was growing up, it was always something I had my mind set on. It wasn’t really a choice. Since you are being trained by Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, do you think you will be able to send David Price into retirement? All I know is that I am going to win, and what’s going to happen after that it is all up to him. I can’t answer about the retirement, because that’s up to him. But I am going to go in there and win the fight, that’s it. That’s all I can do.
By Tauseef Asif enter the ring while the audience is chanting your name? Brilliant, it’s just exciting isn’t it, when you get to show you’re good at something? But myself and my team know what I can do, so when you’re in the ring, it’s for the people to watch and to let them decide. Do you see yourself fighting against the biggest heavy weight boxers and also winning the World Championship in Boxing? Yeah 100%, but all I know is whenever I get my shot, whoever the champion at the time is they’re going to be beaten, because I am coming full-on and I am getting that help. What are your future plans? Well, I am due to fight next in Birmingham. I will win the David Price fight and then I will take it from there. My long-term goals would be to unify the division.
How did you feel winning with a big knockout against Paul Butlin? Yeah, It was good. I just gave a big shot on him and took him out of there. I have showed people that the power was serious, and it was no joke. How often do you train before the upcoming fight? It depends on the date I get. Normally I box between 5 to 10 weeks or something. It all rests on what show it is
of coaches and ambassadors of the campaign, he can make a difference in the lives of young men across the UK and build healthier communities. Kashif Siddiqi, founder of Kash Siddiqi Foundation and Altus Football, said: “I am really excited to be joining forces with Obayed. His work in the Birmingham community has been inspirational and we hope to help continue that in bringing Altus Football to the area. “Just as football has brought Obayed and I together in our work we can see the extraordinary capacity of football to unite people the world over. More than 3.5 billion people watched the World Cup in Russia last year, so it is clear to me that whatever our background, race, religion or ability, football has the power to bring people together and transcend any divisions in the community.” For further information, visit www.altusfootball.com.
and if the fight’s right. But normally it is 5 to 8 weeks.
Have often have you got injured in the fights you had so far? So far I haven’t been badly injured
and I’ve been alright in all of my fights. How do you feel now when you
Any messages you want to give to your fans? Thank you to each and every one, who supports me and comes to my fight and sends me positive messages on a daily basis. I want to thank all the fans and all the people who follow the sport of boxing.
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